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Moscow? Both were surrounded by the work of destruction; but how different the objects and results! When the colossus of war had reached that great capital, he coldly and proudly exclaimed, "At length, then, I am in Moscow, in the ancient palace of the Czars, in the Kremlin!" Yes, destroyer of men! thou art in the Kremlin, crowned with the curses and execrations of an empire! Let the votary of war view the god of European armies in this dreadful position. The patriotic Russians, preferring the loss of all things to French subjugation, nobly fired Moscow; and, while fleeing to prepare for fresh resistance, they left the devouring element to expel the ruthless invader from the palace of their emperors. In that renowned edifice, the imperial warrior slept, till awaked on the following morn by the blended light of the rising sun and the blazing city. started; and, his eye, an eye familiar with the dread ravages of fire and sword, flashing on the terrible scene, he exclaimed, "What a tremendous spectacle! It is their own work! So many palaces! What extraordinary resolution! what men! These are Scythians indeed!"* There the tyrant, encircled by a sea of fire, which blocked up all the gates of the citadel, was left to battle with the furious element. Wave succeeded to wave, and the ocean of flame rolled on towards the mighty Kremlin, whence it drove the scourge of Europe. Here was a foe that defied his cannon! He whose lion heart had never turned the back on an enemy, now fled amid the roaring of flames, the crash of walls, the fall of burning timbers, and the red-hot iron roofs, which every moment tumbled around him; and, dashing over a

*Segur, vol. ii. p. 49.

pavement of fire, beneath a canopy of flaming sky, with burning walls on either hand, he escaped beyond the city.*

Following Williams in his benevolent career, we are next conducted to Atiu, and there introduced to Romatane, the principal chief, one of nature's highest nobles. This man presents to the historical painter one of the finest subjects, in connexion with emancipation from the thraldom of darkness and the degradation of idolatry, ever exhibited on the field of missions. It is much to be regretted, that Williams did not record the principal parts of the wondrous dialogue held with this remarkable man, under circumstances of so extraordinary a character. Academic discussions, and the profoundest speculations of philosophy, are matters low and grovelling, compared with the discourse which Williams and his attendants held with Roma-tane. The process of illumination was rapid and complete. On boarding the missionary vessel, he was cordially received by all, and immediately led aside by the chief of Aitutaki, who at once apprised him of the destruction of the temples of that island, and also of the burning of the great idols; while, to confirm the strange recital, he led the astonished chieftain into the hold of the vessel, and showed him the smaller gods, which were being conveyed to Raiatea. This was the first step in the process; the second was a sermon by Williams, on the morning of the next day, which was the sabbath, from Isaiah's description of the idolater's infatuation, "With part thereof he roasteth roast, and is satisfied; and the residue thereof he maketh a god, and worshippeth it,

*Segur, vol. ii. pp. 47, 48.

and prayeth unto it, and saith, Deliver me, for thou art

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God." On the utterance of these words, the light of heaven was poured upon the mind of Roma-tane; he was filled with utter astonishment. To this succeeded a scene which it was worth sailing to the antipodes to witness. A new world had opened to the mind of the chief; the great transition had begun; he had already far advanced in his passage from darkness unto light; he now beheld, for the first time, the footsteps of Deity; his soul had burst its fetters; its covering of darkness had been rent asunder, and he obtained a glimpse of the Throne of the Great Eternal. The first element of the highest knowledge attainable by man or angel, had entered the mind of Roma-tane. Awful, sublime discovery! The effervescent rapture and school-boy exultation of the Grecian geometer, on discovering a point of science, has been much lauded as an illustration of the delight imparted by knowledge. "I have found it!" said he, "I have found it!" The levity of the philosopher indicated the quality of the discovery, and showed that there was nothing moral in it. Very different was the feeling of appalling and unutterable solemnity which filled the soul of Roma-tane. That dread idea which comprises all others, which absorbs, hides, annihilates all others, had entered his mind and heart-the idea of GOD! He was lifted up by its dignity; he was expanded by its immensity. The knowledge of all causes is as nothing, compared with the knowledge of the First Cause-the knowledge of GOD. Even Newton, the father of the new philosophy, made but a frivolous discovery respecting the law of gravity and the planetary motions, as compared with Roma-tane. As Williams expounded the mar

vellous theme, he was lost in wonder. He grasped the subject with inconceivable vigour and fervour. The new idea filled his whole mind; there was no room left for a second thought. Sleep and food were trifles beneath attention. "At length he retired and spent the whole of the night in conversation with the teachers and chiefs from Aitutaki, about the wonderful truths he had heard, frequently rising up, and stamping with astonishment that he should have been deluded so long, and expressing his determination never again to worship his idol gods."* The lesson of Isaiah was not lost upon him; how affecting to listen to his utterance of the following words: "Eyes, it is true, they have; but wood cannot see: ears they have; but wood cannot hear!" He instantly decreed the destruction of his temples, the conflagration of his idols, and the erection of a house for God. He proceeded with Williams to Mitiaro, of which he was sovereign, and exhorted the people to burn their temples and abandon their gods, and listen to the servants of Jehovah, giving instructions that the house which they were erecting for himself, should be devoted to the servants of God. His new light was employed to stifle the terrors of the people, lest the gods should be enraged and strangle them, by the bold reply, "It is out of the power of the wood, that we have adorned, and called a god, to kill us."†

This convert king next sailed with the Missionary to Mauké, an island not previously known to any European, and of which he also was sovereign. The fulness of his heart, and the decision of his character, were beautifully exemplified in his conduct on landing. The

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first words he uttered as he leaped on shore, to Tararo, a chief, and an assemblage of the natives, were the following:-"I am come to advise you to receive the word of Jehovah, the true God, and to leave with you a teacher and his wife, who will instruct you. Let us destroy our maraes, and burn all the evil spirits with fire; never let us worship them again. They are wood which we have carved and decorated, and called gods. Here is the true God, and his word, and a teacher to instruct you. The true God is Jehovah, and the true sacrifice is his Son Jesus Christ."* He then exhorted them to build a house for God, and gave to the teacher a house which had been lately erected for himself.

How great a work Williams achieved in this brief space! Behold three islands almost unknown, and two of them never before visited by any European vessel, brought at once to renounce idolatry! The first visit of the "white man" was a visit neither of idle curiosity, nor of merchandise, nor of plunder, but of Christian mercy. Thus perished, before the breath of the Lord, the glory and the terror of many generations. The sun had risen with his wonted splendour, gilding the eastern heavens with his glory; and little did the inhabitants of Mauké and Mitiaro imagine, that before he retired beneath the horizon in the western sky, "Ichabod" would be written upon the idolatry of their ancestors.

Pausing for a moment in the career of conquest, we must allow our missionary a brief space for triumph. Setting sail from Rarotonga, immediately after discovering it, he proceeded homeward to Raiatea. His arrival was an event that will long be remembered. Nothing

* Williams, p. 23.

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