in the history of naval glory, presents to our eye a picture possessing one thousandth part of the beauty of the following passage of Williams: "With grateful hearts we now turned our faces homewards, where, after eight or ten days' sail, we arrived in safety; and, as other warriors feel a pride in displaying the trophies of their victories, we hung the rejected idols of Aitutaki to the yard-arms and other parts of the vessel, entered the harbour in triumph, sailed down to the settlement, and dropt anchor amidst the shouts and congratulations of our people."* This great event, as in the case of the idols of Rurutu, was not allowed to pass without due improvement. Williams detailed to the assembled people the results which had signalized the people. The idols were suspended in proper positions about the chapel, which was illumined, and the people were addressed by successive speakers, among whom, Tuahine, the deacon, took the lead. His speech was worthy of himself and of the occasion. Its conclusion possesses great beauty; probably nothing finer in thought, or more felicitous in expression, was ever uttered by a man under similar circumstances. "Behold!" said he, pointing to the idols, while addressing the unconverted portion of the assembly, "these are still your gods, although you do not acknowledge them." Urging them to turn to Christ, by whose power the idols had been overthrown, he added, "And how can you resist his power? The gods of wood are food for the fire, but the God without form is beyond your strength; his head cannot be reached. These gods are conquered; but the invisible God will remain for ever. The idols * Williams, p. 28. now hanging in degradation before us, were formerly unconquerable; but the power of God is gone forth, by which men become Christians, and savages brethren in Christ." A second speaker brought forth, with equal force and beauty, the peculiar character of the means by which this great victory had been obtained, and presented it in striking contrast with the instruments of human carnage. Hear his remarkable words: "We have been praying that God would exert his power, and cause his word to grow, that his good kingdom might come; and now, behold, every man, with his own eyes, may see the effects of that power. These idols have not been obtained by spears clotted with human blood, as formerly; no guns, no clubs, no other weapon, but the powerful gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Formerly all was theirs, pigs, fish, men, women, and children; and now, behold them suspended in contempt before us. This is not the commencement of our joy. We saw the idols hanging about the vessel, and gladness sprang in our hearts. They called our ship the ship of God, and truly it was so, for it carried the gospel to distant lands, and brought back the trophies of its victory. Does praise grow in every heart? Is joy felt by all? Then let us not only rejoice that 'devils are subject to us, but also that our names are written in the book of life."" British youth! do try to realize the feelings of the Martyr on entering the harbour of Raiatea, and during that glorious night. How transcendant were they, as compared with those of the greatest admirals on re * Williams, p. 28. turning from the scene of ocean carnage. Who, among you, would not ten thousand times rather have been John Williams on those occasions, than Blake, or Duncan, or Hood, or Howe, or even Nelson himself, in their proudest hour? Defence of country against invasion, is, doubtless, a source of satisfaction to a patriotic heart; but the thought of blood and slaughter embitters all. The means apart, the end, how high soever, admits not of a moment's comparison with the work of Williams. How great, unutterably great, the good bestowed upon those benighted islanders! What honour, what felicity to himself, resulted from the operations of the Missionary! What raptures of delight filled his soul, while he cast his benignant eye over those verdant and lovely isles, and reflected that he had demolished their idolatry with its abominations, and lifted up the spirits of their people to fellowship with God! What joy to think that the good he had conferred, would descend from generation to generation, down to the latest ages, and that, after time, it would fill eternity! The next enterprise of the great missionary relates to the discovery and illumination of Rarotonga. Such were the profligacy and licentious violence of its people towards the native teachers, whom Williams purposed to leave, that he determined to carry them back, and, for the present, to abandon the island. But Papeiha, strong in faith, and full of pity, bravely volunteered to remain among them, and attempt the subversion of their idolatry. Just think of this converted native advancing from the vessel to the isle for this great object, having, as his weapons, simply a New Testament and a bundle of elementary books. In the eyes of mere reason, how feeble an agency! How utterly inadequate, in the esti mation of a vain philosophy, was this humble man to the arduous enterprise! But what saith history? Tyerman and Bennet, who visited the island about a year afterwards, attest that the whole population had renounced idolatry, and were engaged in the erection of a house for the God of heaven, six hundred feet in length! When the missionary Martyr subsequently visited this island, he received a welcome, of which it is not easy for us to understand the real character. Only conceive of him sitting, at the request of the teachers, outside the door of the house built by them, and assigned for his convenience during his stay, and look at yonder multitude in the distance, advancing towards the missionary, a portion of them bearing heavy burdens. The procession draws near; an enormous idol is by its bearers dropped at his feet, and another, and another, till fourteen are laid before him, the smallest of them about fifteen feet in length! Behold him, on the ensuing Lord's-day, surrounded by a concourse of about four thousand of those persons who had rejected their gods, hanging on his lips as he proclaimed the gospel of mercy!* Tinomana the chief, will continue, while Rarotonga shall exist, a beautiful example of simplicity and docility, as a learner of the way of salvation. When he asked the teachers what was the first lesson he had to learn, they told him, that he must destroy his maraes, and burn his idols; and his reply simply was, "Come with me, and see them destroyed." They followed, and anon the temple was in flames. was to no purpose that some raged, and that others broke forth in passionate grief and doleful lamentations.† * Williams, pp. 30, 31. † Ibid, p. 47. It Reader! will this islander rise up in judgment against thee? Hast thou taken up thy station on the Saviour's side? Hast thou followed the Lord fully? Hast thou destroyed thine idols, and made way for thy Lord? Hast thou received him into thy heart? Oh! remember that, according to the Scriptures of truth, thou art dead; but God has given thee life, and that life is in his Son Jesus Christ! Search the Book of God for thyself; compare its testimony with what is seen around thee, and felt within thee. Compare the blessings which it offers with those which human nature requires; compare what it proposes to do with what it has actually done, in the case before us. Is not the power which effected these marvellous changes equal to the achievement of any thing and of every thing? Would not its universal exercise upon the hearts of men put a new face on the condition of our world? Would not such a transformation be the most beneficent and glorious event that ever appeared in that world? Do not the Scriptures promise such a revolution? If Christian missions are the means by which God has appointed to effect it, can any earthly enterprise be compared, in point of importance, excellence, and dignity, with such missions? As thus compared, are not all other pursuits low and worthless? Then ought not every man, who makes the slightest pretensions to either piety or philanthropy, to range himself, with all his influence, on the side of this great undertaking? Conductors of the press! this matter deeply concerns you. Is it not full time to consecrate literature to this highest species of humanity? Is it not obligatory on your whole body to put forth their stupendous power support of it? Is it not lamentable, that hitherto so in |