



4> 



r 



a 
o 

to 

o 



gc 



l> 

Co 

H 
(D 
P 



I 

o 

CO 



(1) 
O 

in rH 
00 rH 

> 



•H 
O 
+J 

O 



. 


V. 


■P 




M 


^ 


o 


CD 


D^ 


^ 


e • 


•H ! 


<D 


•H 00 


^ i 


m +J r- 






M 00 


<D 


> 


O ^^ 1 


CQ S 


EH 1 




SEE PAGE 19. 



Nt 



T H K 



Scr 



NIGHT OF 



20 1951 



A FAMILIAR ACCOUNT 



LABORS OF THE FIRST MISSIONARIES 



THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 



BY THE AUTHOR OF THE "PEEP OF DAY, 



y c 



Master, we liave toiled all the riiglit, and hava taJien notliing; neverths- 
less at tby ■word I will let down the net. — Lujcb 5 : 5 



▲ BRISOSS 



PUBLISHED BY THE 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY*, 

150 NASSAU-STKEET, NEW YORK. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

CHAPTER I. 

Departure of the ^J^fT from England, and its arrival at Ta- 
hiti, 7 

CHAPTER n. 
What the Missionaries did during the first week they spent 

at Tahiti, 15 

CHAPTER ni. 
How the Missionaries first attempted to do good to the na- 
tives, 25 

CHAPTER IV. 
The singular manners and the wicked customs of the people 
of Tahiti, 36 

CHAPTER V. 
Sheep among wolves, ....... 47 

CHAPTER VI. 
Continued unbelief of the natives, .... 56 

CHAPTER VII. 
A pleasant surprise, 61 

CHAPTER VIII. 
How the natives behaved when the Missionaries preached, 68 

CHAPTER IX. 

The deaths of three of the royal family, . . .75 

CHAPTER X. 
The first Tahitian who learned to write, ... 81 

CHAPTER XL* 
Darker days than any that had gone before, succeeded by very 
bright ones, . . 94 



4 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XII. PAGE. 

The joyfuldiscovery, 106 

CHAPTER Xni. 
How the idols were publicly insulted, . . . 113 

CHAPTER XIV. 
The battle which changed the state of Tahiti, . .121 

CHAPTER XV. 
The wilderness turned into a garden, . . . 130 

CHAPTER XVI. 
The Baba, 140 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Questions the natives asked about religion, . . 148 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
What the natives valued above all things else, . . 156 

CHAPTER XIX. 
The chapel with three pulpits, . . . . 1 G5 

CHAPTER XX. 
The new customs of Tahiti, ..... 173 

CHAPTER XXI. 
The strangers from the solitary isle, . . . 180 

CHAPTER XXII. 
Death of Pomare II., 191 

CHAPTER XXni. 
The royal marriage, 200 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
The coronation of the Uttle king, .... 212 

CHAPTER XXV. 
What befell Tahiti in the latter days of the first Missiona- 
ries, 222 



PREFACE. 



The moral change that has lately taken place in the 
South Sea Islands has attracted general attention. As it 
appeared desirable to present the history of this change 
in a form acceptable to youth, the particulars have been 
carefully collected from various sources, especially from 
the journals and letters of the missionaries, published in 
the seven volumes of " !^iss ionary Transaction s,'' and 
" J^^gQ-^^^'^Q^^V Chronicle." Several more widely circu- 
latedTvork's liave'also"'Heen consulted. 

No attempt has been made by the slightest exaggera- 
tion to heighten the interest of this narrative. It is hoped 
that its adherence to facts will be a strong recommenda- 
tion in the eyes of youth, -who, while they much prefer 
narrative to didactic writing, show, by the earnest and 
oft-repeated inquiry, " Is it true ?" that they value truth 
above fiction. As the habit of reading fiction tends to 
blunt this salutaiy predilection, would it not be better to 
encourage the young to seek relaxation in manual em- 
ployments, and in active sports, rather than permit them 
to indulge in this species of reading ? A fondness for 
reading cannot be desirable, if that fondness extends to 
works that not only indispose to useful studies, but may 
be tlie vehicles of much evil. Many fabricators of tales, 
being destitute of principle, and having it in their power 
to describe the results of actions to be whatever they 
please, leave a false and pernicious impression on the 



6 PRBFACE. 

reader's niind. Even those writers of fiction who desire 
to inculcate a good moral, may unintentionally misrepre 
sent the dealings of God with men. But the narrator of 
facts walks upon firm ground. He who undertakes to 
delineate the dealings of God in his providence, affords so 
many instances of the truth of his word. 

The history of the mission in the South Seas illustrates 
tlie doctrines of the depravity of man, of the misery of the 
wicked, of the blessedness of patient continuance in well- 
doing, and of the power of God in changing the hearts 
of the most obdurate. If any refuse to believe the testi- 
mony of the Lord in his word, none can deny the evidence 
of well-authenticated facts. The Scriptures themselves 
frequently invite us to consider the events of Providence. 

" Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even 
they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord." 
Psalm 107 : 43. 

No candid and Christian mind will sympathize less in 
the sufferings, or rejoice less in the success of the devoted 
missionaries of the South Seas, on account of any slight 
points of difference in discipline, or in forms of public 
worship. We should not forget our union witli the uni- 
versal church of Christ ; and when one member suffers, 
we ought to suffer with it, and when one member is hon- 
ored, to rejoice with it. 1 Cor. 12 : 26. 

When we consider the deep darkness in which the 
heathen are involved, how insignificant do those shades 
of sentiment appear which exist among true Christians — 
shades which will soon be lost in the light of celestial 
glory. 



THE 

NIGHT OF TOIL 



CHAPTER I. 

DEPARTURE OF THE DUFF FROM ENGLAND, AND ITS ARRIVAL AT 
TAHITI. 

On the other side of this earth there is an immense 
tract of water, called the South Seas. It is sprinkled 
with islands, as the grass is dotted with flowers in 
spring, or the sky is adorned with stars on a dark 
night. 

I am going to give an account of one of these isl- 
ands called Ta-hi-ti,* and I shall speak a little of 
some other islands that lie near it. 

Tahiti was first seen by an Enghsh captain called 
Wallis in the year 1767. It is a most beautiful place. 
In the midst of the island mountains rise that reach 
the clouds, thick groves grow almost close to the 
shore, and clear streams run down the mountain 
sides into the sea. 

It is always summer there, while fresh sea-breezes 
make the air pleasant. 

* The name of the island is pronounced as if spelt thus — 
Tah-hee-tee. The vowels in Tahitian names are called like 
those in French. 



8 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

You will desire to know what kind of people liv- 
ed in this lovely island when Captain Wallis dis- 
covered it. 

The inhabitants were tall and stout, with brown 
skins, dark eyes, and glossy black hair. They ap- 
peared merry and good-natured, and were generally 
laughing and playing. 

"When Captain "Wallis returned to England, and 
described the islands of the South Seas, a great 
many people wished to see them. Other ships paid 
visits to Taliiti, and brought back more accounts of 
it, of the fine fruit-trees that grew there, and of the 
pleasant life the inhabitants led. There were some 
persons, however, who read these accounts with great 
sorrow. You are surprised to learn that any people 
were sorry to hear of so delightful a place. But wait 
a little, and you will not be surprised. I have not 
told you yet the character of the people who lived 
in Tahiti : they were thieves, liars, and murderers — 
could they be happy ? 

There were some people who loved God in Eng- 
land, who were grieved to think of the poor natives 
of Tahiti. "Ah," thought they, "you may sit be- 
neath your spreading trees, eating the golden bread- 
fruit, or drinking the sweet milk of the cocoa-nut; 
but how can you be happy when you know not of 
the paradise above, nor of the Saviour who can wash 
out your many crimes in his blood ? for soon death 



THE DUFF SAILS. 9 

will snatch you from your sunny isle, and bring you 
before the judgment-seat." 

Did these people in England thiiilc it enough to 
grieve for the poor Taliitians? No — they remem- 
bered Avho had said, "Go ye into all the world, and 
jireach the Gospel to every creature ;" and they 
formed a plan to send the Gospel to Tahiti. 

Several gentlemen consulted together and collected 
money, and inquired whether any pious men would 
go as missionaries to the South Sea Islands. 

At last they found thi rty m en who consented to 
go. Only four of these men were ministers : the rest j 
imderstood useful tra^s. Six of them had wives, 
who were to go with them, as well as three cliildren 
belonging to them. The gentlemen who agreed to 
send them out were called "The Directors of the ' 
London Missionar}^ Society," because they met and ! 
consulted together in London. They bought a ship ' 
called the DuiT, and found a very pious captain named 
Wilson to manage it. 

The missionaries embarked from London on the \ 
river Thames, Au^st 10, 1796, at six o'clock in the 
morning. A beautiful flag waved in the wind as they 
set sail — it was purple, with three doves bearing 
olive-branches in their bills. It was not a ship ol ■ 
war, but a ship of peace, into which these holy men 
had entered. As they sailed down the river they 
Bung the hymn beginning, 



10 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

, " Jesus, at thy command, 
/ We launch into the deep." 

The sailors in the ships they passed listened With 
surprise to the sweet sounds. Many of their friends 
stood on the shore, and waved their hands, never ex- 
pecting to see them more, till they met before God's 
tlirone on high. 

On March 5, 1797, after a voyage of seven months, 
they beheld at a great distance the high mountains 
of Tahiti. The next day, at seven o'clock in the 
morning, the ship was very near the shore ; but as 
it was the Sabbath, the captain would not land im- 
mediately. 

The natives of Tahiti saw the ship, and many, 
I jumping into their canoes, soon reached it. About 
Ij seventy-four canoes, some holding twenty people, 
1 1 surroimded the ship very early. 

The captain tried to prevent the natives getting on 
deck, as he did not wish to have a crowd and con- 
fusion in his ship. But the natives easily climbed up 
the ship's side, for they were most active creatures, 
and expert climbers and svmnmers. 

As soon as they were in the ship, they began 
j jumping, laughing, and shouting, to express their joy 
l\ at the ship's arrival. They hoped to get a quantity 
j of knives, and axes, and useful things — but knew 
I not what heavenly blessings were going to be offered 
1 to them. 



ARRIVAL OF THE MISSIONARIES. 11 

The missionaries looked at the savage creatures 
with eagerness, anxious to see vv^hat sort of people 
they were going to live among: and they did not 
much like their wild appearance, though pleased with' 
their good-natured manners. 

The natives had brought a quantity of hogs and 
fruit with them, which they wished to sell to the 
ship's company for knives and other things ; but no 
one would buy them, because it was the Sabbath. 
The missionaries tried to make the natives imder- 
stand that it was the day of their God, who did not 
allow them to sell and buy upon it. After a short 
time most of the Tahitians went back in their ca- 
noes; but about forty remained on deck. Here the 
missionaries determined to have service. While they 
prayed, the natives watched them in silence. Then 
they sung a hymn to a charmuig tune, and while 
they were singing, the natives were so much en- 
chanted with the sound, that they could hardly re- 
frain from expressing their joy. The hymn begins 
thus : 

" O'er those gloomy hills of darkness. 

Look, my soul, be still, and gaze ; 
All the promises do travail 

With a glorious day of grace ! 
Blessed Jubilee, 

Let thy glorious morning dawn." 

Afterwards Mr. Cove r preached upon " God js 
love." 



j2 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

The service was concluded by singing, 

" Praise God, from whom all blessings flow." 

Soon afterwards, two men arrived in a canoe. 
They were wliite men from Sweden : one had been 
shipwrecked, and the other left at Tahiti, a few 
\ years before. They were dressed like savages, and 
i their names were Peter and Andrew. The mission- 
aries were glad to see them, because they knew a 
little English as well as Taliitian ; so that they could 
explain what the natives said, and also tell the mis- 
sionaries many things about the islands. However, 
they turned out to be very wicked men ; for though 
they had been born in a Clmstian land, they were 
even worse than the heathen. 

Peter and Andrew, as well as about tliirty of the 
natives, v^dshed to sleep that night in the ship. The 
missionaries watched all night by turns, as they were 
afraid lest their visitors should do some harm. They 
remained, however, quiet. 

Amongst the Tahitians was one old man that 
seemed to be looked up to by the rest as a great 
person. He was a high-priest to the idol gods. His 
\ name was Mane-mane. He was very anxious to 
make the captain his friend ; because it was a cus- 
tom in Tahiti to choose some person for a friend, and 
to make him presents, expecting that he would return 
the kindness when he could. Mane-mane wished to 



LANDING OF THE MISSIONARIES. ]3 

have the captain for his friend, because he thought 
he could get the most from him. At first Captain j 
Wilson refused the honor: but Mane-mane was so j 
anxious to have his wish, that he woke him at day- < 
light to ask him again. Then the captain, knowing j 
that te was soon going away, and afraid of affronting '■ 
the priest, consented. Mane-mane was delighted, 
changed names with him, threw a piece of his cloth 
round the captain, and asked him for a gun. The 
captain said he had none to spare, but would give 
him some presents by and by. 

As it was now Monday, the captain caused the 
ship to approach nearer to the shore. Most of the 
natives m the sliip threw themselves into the sea, 
and swam like fish to land : others came from the 
shore, and brought hogs and fruit to sell; some of 
which were bought by the voyagers. 

At one o'clock the ship's anchor was cast. It 
rained so hard that no one left the ship till four 
o'clock, when the captain, a few of the missionaries, 
Mane-mane, and the two Swedes, went in a boat to 
land. The people on shore received the missionaries 
with dehght, showdng their joy as they had done 
before in the ship. 

A chief showed the missionaries an empty house, i 
which he said should be given to them. It was very 
large, about a hundred feet long, but it was notj 
divided into rooms, and had no furniture. 



14 THENIGFITOFTOIL. 

The missionaries now saw what sort of a land they 
were going to live in. It was more beautiful and 
fruitful than they could have fancied ; yet to them 
it was hke a desert, for it was a heathen land, in 
which no pleasant fruits of righteousness grew, but 
only the poisonous weeds of sin. They hoped, how- 
ever, by their teaching, through God's Spirit, it would 
become like Eden, the garden of the Lord. 



MISi^lONARY D0ING3. 15 



CHAPTER II. 

C^HAT THE MISSIONARIES DID DURING THE FIRST WEEK THE? 
SPENT AT TAHITI. 

At eleven o'clock the next morning, the captain 
and a few missionaries again went on shore in their I 
boats with Mane-mane and Peter. The natives, who ' 
had crowded on the beach to look at them, when 
they saw them approaching, ran into the sea to meet 
them, dragged the boats towards the shore, and tak- 
ing the captain and missionaries on their shoulders, 
carried them to land ; so great was their delight at 
their arrival. 

On the beach the king and queen of Tahiti were 
waiting. They were both riding on men's shoulders, 
for it was the custom of the country that the king t 
and queen should never touch the ground, except 
when they were at home in their own houses ; and 
as there were no animals larger than pigs in the 
island, they could only be carried by men. It was 
reckoned a great honor to ride in this manner, and 
one which none of the natives but the king and queen 
were allowed to have. "When the king and queen 
made a journey, men came -wdth them to help those 
who carried them, when they were tired ; and in 
changing from one to another, the king and queen 



ffr 



16 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 



never let their feet toucli the ground, but jumped 
X over the head of one man on to the shoulders of the 
other. The reason they n^v^j touched the ground 
when on a journey vi^as, that whatever land they 
touched became their own, and their people would 
' have been angry if they had taken away their lands 
orhouses. 

■ TJie ki ng's name was Otu. He was about twenty 
years old. He had a dull and grave look, and did 
not seem so amiable as the Tahitians in general. 
The queen was only fifteen, and not grave like her 
husband. 

The captam told the king, and Peter interpreted 
what he said, that the missionaries were come to in- 
struct his people in what would do them good, and 
that this had been their only reason for leaving Eng- 
land ; he then asked the king to give them a large 
piece of land, full of fruit-trees, where they might 
Hve and build houses. He told him also, that the 
! missionaries would never fight either for liim or 

I against him, but would always be friendly to him, 
and only wanted him to promise not to hurt them. 

The Hng promised to do as the captain vidshed. 
He said that the large house that had been given to 
them, belonged to liim, and that he would give it to 
them, as well as a large piece of land. Otu, without 
dismounting, took the captain by the hand, and led 
• him to the house, and then back to the beach, and 



MISSIONARY DOINGS. 17 

80 from one place to another, till the captain was 
tired, and said he must return to the ship. Before 
they parted, Otu asked him to let the guns he had 
brought with him be fired. The cai)tain ordered 
them all four to be fired twice, and then went back 
with the missionaries to the ship. 

The same evening the king and queen came to the 
ship, each in a small canoe, accompanied by a ser- 
vant. The^refused_to come on deck, saying, that 
if thej touched the ship it would be theirs, a^nd none 
but their own servants might eat or dwell there after- 
wards! As the captam could not spare "his ship, he 
did not press them to come. 

Wishing to please them, he offered to have the 
great guns fired ; but the king said he was afraid 
of so loud a noise, and that it would hurt his ears. 
The kmg and queen then told the captain that they, 
had heard there we» some white women and chil-] 
dren in the ship, and that they ^\^shed very much to \ 
see them, as they had never seen any. I suppose ' 
that this was their reason for coming that evening to 
the ship. The women and little children came to 
the ship's side, where they could be seen by the 
king and queen. Little Sammy Has sel was a babe 
in arms. At the sight of these white faces the royal 
pair cried out with wonder and pleasure. 

The visitors could not, however, stay longer, for 
the sky was darkening, and they had only just time 

KightofToU. 2 



18 TIIENIGIITOFTOIL. 

to get to shore before a storm of thunder and light- 
ning came on. 

On Wednesday morning it rained so hard that the 
missionaries could not leave the ship till nine o'clock. 
They were anxious to get early on shore, because 
they wanted to begin to get their house ready. They 
went in a large boat, and took their beds and some 
of their chests with them, but left the women and 
children in the ship. The captain and some sailors 
accompanied them. Nimibers of natives were wait- 
ing on the shore, anxious to see them land. The 
king and queen also were there, riding in state as 
before. 

The natives helped to carry the chests and beds to 
the house, and were ready to assist the missionaries 
as much as they pleased. 

The great work to be done was to divide the house 
into rooms. The natives wemt into the woods to 
gather hollow sticks, called bamboos, which, placed 
close together, made walls for the rooms. A bed- 
room was made for each of the missionaries, besides 
a room for books, another for stores, and another for 
medicines. A large room at one end was to be used 
as a chapel. It served also as a hall, for peopk- 
passed through it to the other rooms. 

About noon Mane-mane brought three hogs ready 
dressed for dinner. He spread a great cloth on the 
ground ; the captain and missionaries sat around it • 



MISSIONARY DOINGS. J9 

and, after asking God's blessing, ate thankfully, 
without either knife, fork, spoon, table, or chair. It 
seemed as if they would not soon be in want of food, 
for they received a quantity of provisions as presents 
from the natives. The natives had also dressed their 
visitors in cloth made of the bark of trees, to show 
them that they were welcome. 

The missionaries, when they received these gifts, 
blessed the gracious Giver of ever}^ comfort. 

The king and queen were very kind, and held all 
their hands by turns, and shook hands also with 
them ; then looked at their clothes and examined 
them. They were very much pleased with Mr. 
Lewis' imibrella when he spread it out; but they 
warned him not to hold it over their heads, as it 
would then become sacred to their use. 

During the whole day a company of dancers were , 
playing, dancing, and shouting close by. These 
d ancer s were a most wicked set of people. They 
were called Areois^ and spent their whole time in 
going about from place to place, playing antics of all 
kinds, to amuse themselves and other people. "When 
they danced, their bodies were blackened over with 
charcoal, and their facesj^ffidj:fid with the juice of a 
plant. They ought to have been punished for their | 
idleness ; but instead of that, they were encouraged I 
both by the king and his people. Wherever they ! 
went, they were feasted and welcomed ; and, not- 



20 TIi:: MHIIT OF TOIL. 

with^tnr.dinii their wickedness, they were treated 
with respect. They even expected, when they died, 
to go to a very beautiful place at the top of a moun- 
tain, where they should always be enjoying them- 
selves. It is dreadful to think what murders they 
often committed. They Avould not take the trouble 
to bring up their little children, but always killed 
them as soon as they were born ; and a great many 
people in Tahiti followed their horrid example, as 
you will hear by and by. These idle creatures came 
near the door of the missionaries' house in the after- 
noon, and began to box and wTestle, and to knock 
each other in the face with their heads for sport. 
Alas, poor ignorant creatures^ they lived like the 
beasts that perish. How sad it is to think that in 
Christian lands there are people who act like these 
M'icked heathen. The missionaries were grieved at 
the sight of these dancers and their follies. 

The natives had been crowding into the house all 
day, yet they had not stolen any thing : perhaps they 
had observed that the missionaries were watching 
them closely ; for, as you have heard before, they 
were all inclined to thieving, and they even thought 
there was no harm in it. 

When the evening was coming on, the missionaries 
requested the natives, who were constantly laughing 
and talking, to be silent, and then they sung a h}Tfnn, 
and one of them prayed. They hked to praise God 



MISSIONARY DOINGS. 21 

before the natives, that these poor heathen might he 
led to inquire about him. 

The missionaries then requested tlie natives to go 
away, and not to return till the morning ; and when 
they were gone, the little band of Christians held 
their regular family worship alone and undisturbed. 
They supped upon the remains of their dimier, and 
for the first time slept on a heathen shore. Their 
hearts were overflowing with thanlifulness to God 
for having brought them across the ocean to this dis- 
tant spot, and for having inchned the hearts of stran- 
gers to receive them so kindly. All they desired was, 
that their message might be believed, and that the 
Lord might be honored by these poor idolaters. 

The next day was Thursday. Early in the morn- 
ing the natives came to the house, and boiled the 
Avater, and prepared cocoa-nuts and bread-fruit for 
the missionaries' breakfast. 

The missionaries had not yet finished fitting up 
the house, so that they continued to work hard. How- 
ever, they went to the ship to dinner, and some 
of the natives went with them. Otu went in his 
canoe ; but not being able, on account of his sacred- 
ness, to enter the ship, he remained paddling near in 
his canoe, and called out for something to eat. The 
captain sent htm half a roast pig in a dish, and some 
biscuit. Otu, highly dehghted, paddled to the shore 
with his present. 



22 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

The missionaries returned after dinner to their 
work ; but they did not find the natives so active as 
before. They were now tired of fetching bamboos ; 
but upon a reward being promised, they brought by 
evening a good quantity. 

So many presents of food arrived, that the mission- 
aries began to fear they sliould not be able to make 
as many presents in return as the givers would expect, 
1 who they knew were interested, covetous creatures. 

On Friday the captain came early from the sliip 
with a box in his boat containing dresses for the king 
and queen. Otu was on the beach as usual ; for he 
had a little shed built near, that he might always be 
at hand. Peter showed Otu the box, and telling him 

(what was in it, asked liim to go with them to a place 
close to his house, in order that he might be able to 
dismount. 

The whole party soon stopped under a tree near 
the king's shed. The captain asked them all to 
stand in a ring. He then placed the box in the 
midst, and requested the king to alight from liis seat, 
that he might be dressed in his new clothes. But 
' the king only answered, " By and by," and continued 
to look sullenly at the unopened box. The captain, 
tired of waiting, opened the box and took out the 
queen's dress. The instant the queen saw it, she 
jumped off the man's shoulders, and the king followed 
her example. She put on the cap, and appeared 



MISSIONARY DOINGS. 23 

delighted. The dresses were too small both for her 
and Otu, who was tall and stout ; and it was neces- 
sary to rip some of the seams. The clothes were gay, 
and the crowd around admired the king and queen 
much when they were dressed in them ; but Otu did 
not care for them, and said that a gun, a knife, or a 
pair of scissors, would have been of more use. Tlur 
was not a polite way of receiving a present, but it 
was a sensible choice to make ; indeed, though Otu 
appeared stupid, he had a good understanding, as you 
will see hereafter. 

Just after the royal pair had been dressed, Mane- 
mane appeared with some beautiful Tahitian cane in 
liis hand. He called his friend the captain to him, 
and dressed him in it. They then went together to 
the missionaries' house, and found the work going on 
well. As it was now past noon, the old priest accom- 
panied the captain to the ship to diimer. 

On Saturday the house was ready for the women 
and children, although not yet finished ; and after 
dmner they went to the shore ui the largest boat. A 
very great crowd was assembled on the beach, eager 
to see, what they had never seen before, white women 
and cliildren. They were all much delighted with 
their appearance. The king and queen seemed afraid 
to come near, or to speak to the women ; but, on be- 
uig invited, they accompanied the party to the new 
house. After the women and children were gone 



24 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

into it. the crowd still remained outside, and often 
called to them to show themselves at the door ; and 
their request was granted. 

Thus the whole family of missionaries were settled 
in their new ahode on Saturday, just one week alter 
tliey had caught sight of Tahiti. Then they had 
keen full of anxious fears,, not knowing how they 
should be treated by the savages ; but now they 
blessed God for giving them favor in the eyes of the 
heathen. 

They told the natives, that the next day was the 
day of the true God ; and that they should do no 
Avork upon it, nor receive any presents. The natives, 
however, brought them far more than enough food to 
last them till Monday. They said to the missiona- 
ries, " Shall you pray more than usual to-morrow ?" 
The missionaries told them that they should. 

At dusk the natives left the house, as they now 
always did, without being asked to do so. 



MISSIONARIES' SABBATH. 25 



CHAPTER III. 

HOW THE MISSIONARIES FIRST ATTEMPTED TO DO GOOD TO THE 
NATIVES. 

You shall now hear how the missionaries passed 
their first Sabbath on a heathen shore. 

They had service in the chapel of their dwelling 
in the morning. Many of the natives attended and 
behaved well, though they understood nothing that 
was said. The king also was jDresent. 

In the afternoon they came again, and then Mr. 
Jefjei-son beg an to speak to them, and Andrew the 
Swede to interpret each sentence as he spoke it. 
This was an unpleasant way of preaching, particu- 
larly as the Swede was a wicked man, and could not 
speak aifectionately to the people, as a pious maa 
Mould have done. However, the missionaries were 
so anxious to declare to the poor heathen the good 
news of a Saviour, that they could hardly bear to 
wait till they knew the language themselves. 

When the natives saw that Mr. Je^gg^gn was 
preaching to them, they began to look attentive, and 
to ask questions in reply. They inquired, "Is this 
message to the servants, as well as to the king and 
queen ?" 

The minister told them it was to all. He also 



26 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

said, " There is only one true God, and all men have 
offended him by wickedness ; yet he is so merciful 
that he is willing to forgive all. If any believe his 
word, he blesses them while they live, and takes 
them to everlasting happiness." 

The king looked very stubborn and untcachable 
during the service, and it seemed less likely that he 
should believe than any of the rest. 

The missionaries retired to rest again that evening, 
full of hope that God would incline the hearts of the 
people to believe his word. 

On Monday the captain saw for the first time the 
grandfather and the father of the king. 

Do not you wonder how it was that Otu was king 
while they were alive ? for you know it is the cus- 
tom in most countries for the son not to reign till the 
father is dead. But tliis was not the custom in Ta- 
hiti. As soon as a king had a son, the baby became 
king, miless his father chose to kill him as soon as he 
was born. The father from that time rode no more 
on men's shoulders, and he liimself showed respect to 
his own son, as to a king ; yet the father still had 
the 'power of a kmg, though not all the honor of a 
king. 

The father of Otu was called Pomare. He was a 
very_wise man for a heathen. Once he had been 
only a chief, but he had conquered all the other chiefs 
in Tahiti, and had become king of the whole island, 



POMARE AND OTEU. 27 

as well as of an island near it, called E-i-me-o. He ' 
was the largest, tallest man in the whole island, and 
had a pleasant, cheerful manner. He was still treated 
with so much respect, that it was thought improper 
for him to feed himself: when he drank tea in the 
ship, his servants poured the tea into the saucer, and 
held it to his mouth. 

His wife Idia accompanied him to the ship. She 
was a tall, strong woman, who had often shed blood 
in battles. 

Ot eu, the grandfather, was above seventy years 
old, and had gray hair and a very long wliite beard. 
He was treated with great rudeness by his son Po- 
mare, and his grandson Otu, on account of his age ; 
for it was one of the sinful practices of Taliiti to treat 
old men with rudeness. Pomare would hardly let 
the old man come into the captain's cabin when they 
visited the sliip, and tried to make him stay in his 
canoe. The heathen knew not the command, " Thou 
shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the 
face of the old man." 

Pomare had many great faults. He was very fond 
of eating and drinking. Once when he dined with 
the captain, he ate a whole fowl, besides two pounds 
of pork, and drank a great deal of wine. Another 
day he drank almost a whole bottle of wine, while 
he appeared unwilling that Mane-mane, who was as 
fond of good things as himself, should have c^e single 



28 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

jrlass. The wine was, of course, poured doA^ii liii 
tliroat Ijy liis servants. 

Pomare was also very covetous, and did not scru- 
ple to tell lies when convenient. He made, indeed, 
handsome presents, but it was only in the hope of 
getting more in return. The first day he came to 
the ship, he brought four large pieces of cloth made 
of bark, and wrapped them round the captain, be- 
sides four more as a present from his wife. A few 
days afterwards he came again with another piece 
of cloth, but this time he brought also a large chest. 
The captain knew well that Pomare intended^ that 
he should fill it Avith presents, but pretending not to 
understand, he asked him what it was for. Pomare 
seemed perplexed at the question, bemg ashamed to 
own his intention, and said he only wanted to have 
the lock repaired. The captain then told him to 
take it to the shore to the missionaries, and that one, 
who was a blacksmith, would mend it. This answer 
perplexed Pomare still more ; but presently he smil- 
ed, as if a lie AA^as no disgrace, and said, " It is for 
the presents that you will give to me and my wife 
Idia. Will you take it to your cabin, that my peo- 
ple may not see what I receive ?" So Pomare went 
Avith his chest into the cabin, and seated himself. 
The captain then asked him Avhat he A\'ould like to 
have. He seemed at a loss what to choose, but 
Mane-mane soon helped him, and then he mentioned 






THE SABBATH. 29 

the following things. Ten axes, five shirts, eight 
looking-glasses, six pairs of scissors, six knives, fifty 
nails, and five combs, and the same number of each 
of those things for his wife ; besides an iron pot, a 
razor, and a blanket for himself. The captain gave 
him all he asked, and locked the things up in the 
chest, for the lock was perfectly good. Pomare said 
he was quite satisfied, but as he walked about the 
ship, and saw many things Ipng about belonging to 
the missionaries, ready to be taken to their house, he 
wanted some part of all. The missionaries, however, 
knowing his covetous disposition, gave him very little. 

The next Sabbath, at ten o'clock, the missionaries 
called the natives together under some shady trees 
near their house. They had placed a long bench 
there, on which they asked Pomare to sit with them, 
while the people stood or sat in a circle around. 

Pomare had never been present at the Sunday 
service before. He had been anxious to come, and 
said that he had dreamed of the book which should 
be sent from the God of England. 

Mr. Cover preached from John 3 : 16. "God so 
loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
but have everlasting life." Peter the Swede, as 
usual, interpreted each sentence. The natives were 
grave and attentive, though they did not understand 
the real meaning of the message. 



30 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

Pomare, after service, took Mr. Cover by the hand 
and said, "Mai-tai, mai-tai," very good, very good. 

He was then asked, " Did you understand what 
was said ?" 

He replied, " There were once no such things in 
Tahiti ; they are not to be learned at once. I will 
wait the coming of the god." This answer showed 
that he did not really understand. He then said, 
" May I come again ?" He Avas told that he might 
He and his wife Idia then dined with the mission- 
aries and departed. 

After some time the blacksmith's shop was built, 
and the missionaries Hodges and Hassel began to 
work in it ; the natives croAvded round them, but 
when they saw the sparks fly from the iron, and 
heard the water liiss, they were frightened and ran 
away : however, when their fright was over they 
returned. Pomare was so delighted with the bel- 
lows and forge, that he caught the blacksmith, all 
dirty as he was, in his arms, and rubbed noses with 
him, which was the way of showing affection in 
Tahiti. 

The missionaries had a cuckoo clock, which terri- 
fied the natives wh^n they first heard it strike. One 
man brought some bread-fruit to feed the wooden' 
bird with. 

The missionaries smiled at these Httle circum 
stances ; they did not smile, however, but were ready 



PRIESTS AND GODS. 31 

to weep at the folly of the people respecting their 
idols. Their favorite god Oro was nothing more than 
a great log of wood about the size of a man.^ He 
was kept in a little shed amongst trees surrounded 
by a stone wall. In this place there were altars, 
which were like high tables, and on these lay a 
quantity of dead pigs, that remained there for months, 
and filled the air with a horrible odor. This place 
was called a Marae. Dreadful deeds of cnielty were ; 
done in it. Men were sacrificed and hung in large | 
baskets on the trees around, till their flesh was de- i 
cayed. It was horrible to see a marae, or to come 
near it. No woman was allowed to approach, as ] 
she was not reckoned worthy of the honor ; neither \ 
was she considered worthy of being a sacrifice. 

The priests wished the people to give many things 
to Oro, because they themselves got all that was 
given ; so they told the people that the gods would 
get into their food and kill them, if they did not do 
all they wished. The priests used to speak instead 
of the gods : they would sometimes take a great 
bundle of cloth and roll it up like a ban^and get 
into it, and then say in a squeaking voice, " I am 
angry, fetch the hogs, kill a man, and my anger will 
DC over." The people knew that the priest was in- 
side the cloth, and yet they were afraid of the god's 
anger. 

They thought that their gods had made the world, 



if 



i2 THE NIGHT OF TOIL 

and that one of them had stuck the stars in the sky, 
and that another very strong god held the sun with 
ropes, and would not let him go faster than he 
pleased. 

They kept some gods in their houses : in one house 
the missionaries saw a great many images, each with 
a sword or hammer in his hand, and they were told 
by the priests that those gods would kill any one that 
oflended them, unless the offender offered some sacri- 
fice for his crime. 

The people fancied their gods were like themselves 
in disposition. There was one god called Hiro, who 
they thought protected thieves ; and when they were 
going to steal, they often promised to give him part 
of what they should get. A man who had been 
stealing a pig in the night, would bring a piece of its 
tail next morning to Hiro, and say, " Here is a piece 
of the pig I stole last night; but don't you tell." 
There w^as a large stone in the island, behind which 
they said Hiro liid himself when he was caught steal- 
ing, and was ashamed. 

The missionaries found to their cost how much the 
natives resembled the god Hiro. One day a man 
stole a box for the sake of the nails that fastened it 
together ; he was caught and shut up by the mis- 
sionaries for three hours, and was threatened with 
a worse punishment another time. Pomare, hearing 
of it, brought a pig to prevent the missionaries being 



CRIMES OF THE NATIVES. 33 

an^ry, but of course it was not accepted. No won- 1 
der Pomare thought that the missionaries were as ' 
covetous as their gods. 

The missionaries hired three men as servants to 
take care of their hogs, which now amounted to 
seventy, and to help in cooking. These servants soon 
began to pilfer. One of them, whom they had nursed 
when he was ill, stole many things, and then left 
their service. After he was gone, they found out 
what he had done, and they sent after him and 
caught him. They reminded him of the kindness 
they had shown him, and of his behavior in return ; 
his conscience told him it was wrong to be ungrate- 
ful, for tears came in his eyes, and he said, " I am a 
very bad man." 

Another day, while Dr. Gillha^ was bathing, a 
native stole his clothes ; the other missionaries pur- I 
sued him, and hearing the sound of a drum, thought 
that he might be dancing, which was the case. A 
hundred people were Avith him, who fled when they 
saw the missionaries. The thief was brought to 
their house, and chained. to a pillar with a padlock ; 
but he not only contrived to get away, but to steal 
the padlock. 

The king one day sent a message to the mission- 
aries, advising them to discharge their servants be- 
cause they were thieves, and recommending them to 
take some of his ; but the missionaries kn«w too 

Night of Toil- « 



^ THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

well that the king's servants were greater thieves 
than any others, because the king was always era- 
ploying them in stealing things for him, and they 
felt sure he only wanted them to have his servants, 
that they might rob them and bring liim the things. 

But murder, which is a much more horrible crime 
than stealing, was quite common. The missionaries 
tried to persuade Pomare to forbid people to kill 
their children. They endeavored also to persuade 
Mane-mane to offer no more human sacrifices. Both 
Pomare and Mane-mane promised to do as the mis- 
sionaries vidshed, but they did not keep their promise. 

One Sunday Mr. Lewi§^ preached upon " Thou 
shalt not kill." The people said afterwards, " Good 
is the word not to kill children, not to sacrifice men." 
Mane-mane was observed to whisper something to 
another native. The missionaries asked him what 
he had said, and he replied, " I was telling the peo- 
ple to leave off their wicked ways." Yet he had not 
left off his own wicked ways. He was like the man 
to whom Paul speaks in Romans 2:1. 

Before the ship left. Mane-mane was one day ob- 
served to drink more wine than usual. The reason 
was, he was going to kill a man, and wanted the 
wine to keep up his courage, which showed that he 
felt it to be a horrible work. 

About this time Pomare's wife Idia killed her baby. 
The missionaries had told her often how wicked it 



MURDER AND SACRIFICE. 35 

was to do such things ; they had even promised that 
their wives would take care of all babies that the 
natives did not like to bring up. So they were much 
displeased with Idia. Soon afterwards she came 
with a large present of hogs to the missionaries ; but 
they would not accept them, and told Andrew to 
tell her the reason. She was much offended, andi 
said she should observe the customs of the country j 
without caring for their displeasure ; she would not, 
however, take back her present. She had before 
given the missionaries some wood with wliich to 
make her a chest. They thought it right to give 
her this chest, and she carried it off with pleasure. 

The hogs Idia had left, the missionaries desired 
Mane-mane to di^dde among the natives ; but he 
took them all home to his own house. 

Such were the people amongst whom the mission 
aries hved. They were contmually praying for them, 
and sighing over their lost state, but they could not 
yet preach to them as much as they wished. 



THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 



CHAPTER IV. 

KIE SINGULAR MANNERS AXD WICKED CUSTOMS OF THE PEOPLE 
OF TAHITI. 

Let us now pause a moment to inquire what 
were the manners and customs of the people for 
whose souls these raiissionaries labored. I will first 
speak of their food, and of their manner of taking it. 

FOOD. 

No corn nor grapes grew in Tahiti ; therefore the 
inhabitants could neither eat bread nor drink wine ; 
but the trees bore an abundance of fruit, upon which 
the people lived. The chiefs often ate the flesh of 
hogs, and sometimes of dogs, for both these animals 
fed chiefly upon fruit. 

Rats were the only beasts, besides hogs and dogs, 
on the island, when first discovered : they were very 
troublesome, and v/ere always rumiing over the beds 
and over the food of the people, but they were not 
eaten by them. Captain Cook had left some cats in 
Tahiti, which were very useful. 

The Tahitians had no regular times for their 
meals; but they generally had three every day. 
They had no iron pots, therefore they could only 
bake their food in holes in the ground, or broil it on 



FOOD. 2ft 

the ashes of the fire. The most usual dinner was 
fish and breadfruit. They were served up on leaves, 
and eaten upon leaves instead of plates. A cocoa- 
nut shell full of salt Avater was placed beside each 
person, and every morsel was dipped in it before it 
was eaten. English people dislike this sauce very 
much, but the Tahitians think it gives a relish to the 
food. Different sorts of fruit were often mixed to- 
gether, and made into puddings. The only way of 
lieating them was by putting hot stones into the 
cocoa-nut milli, with which the fruit was mixed. 

But however nice the food was, there was one 
circumstance that made the meal far less pleasant 
than one taken in England ; for the father and 
mother, brothers and sisters, never ate together. 
The men and boys generally took their meals to- 
gether in the house ; but each woman, and girl ate 
alone in a Httle hut built for the purpose. Do you 
not wonder what could be the reason of so strange a 
custom? The reason was, that the Taliitian men 
called the women common, and not fit to eat with 
them, who they said were holy : for the same reason, 
they would not allow women to eat any of the kinds 
of food that were offered to the gods, such as hogs, 
fowls, cocoa-nuts, plantains, turtle, and many sorts 
of fish. All these things were called sacred, and 
unfit for women. The men and women had also 
their food kept in different baskets, and cooked at 



38 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

different fires. A man would not even drink out of 
a cup that had been used by a woman. 

HOUSES; 

The houses were generally built by the sea-shore, 
and under the shade of breadfruit-trees. Their shape 
was long and narrow ; the walls were made of posts, 
placed two or three inches ^part, so that the passers- 
by could see into the house, as into a birdcage. There 
M^ere no windows in them, for none were needed ; 
there was, however, a door tied by cord to a post at 
one end. 

The roof was made of reeds, covered with large 
leaves. These roofs soon became old, and were often 
repaired. The beds were mats, made of cocoa-nut 
leaves woven together, and the pillows were blocks 
of wood. These mats were placed side by side all 
down the house, and sometimes there were fifty or 
sixty in one house ; for the Tahitians were fond of 
company both night and day. The floor was covered 
with dried grass, which soon became very unpleasant 
from the food that was spilt upon it. There were 
no gardens round the house ; but sometimes there 
was a little court enclosed by a low railing, and a 
walk made of black and white coral up to the house. 

There was no comfort or peace in these houses, 
but continual riot, laughing, and talking, even during 
the night. 



DRESS. 39 

When the people travelled, as they often did, they 
lodged in small sheds by the s6a-shore with their 
canoes ; for they generally went by water, and landed 
where they wished. 

DRESS. 

The men and women dressed nearly alike. They 
wore several yards of cloth of bark, wrapped round 
their bodies, and, over their shoulders, either a shawl 
or a tiputa. 

You will ask what a tiputa was. 

It was a piece of cloth with a hole in the middle, 
through which the head passed, while the ends of 
the cloth hung down before and behind, and were 
confined roimd the waist by a girdle. As the cloth 
was spoilt by the rain, in wet weather matting was 
worn. 

The natives had one strange custom, called tattoo- 
ing. They covered their skins with pictures of beasts, 
birds, flowers, and trees. These pictures were drawn, 
not with a pencil, but with a sharp fishbone fastened 
to the end of a stick. After the marks were made, ^r^ 
a dark stuff, made of this juice of a plan t, was put ^ 
?nto them. This operation was very painful. It 
was done to the young people, when about twelve or 
fourteen years old. The figures were seldom made 
on the face, but chiefly on the legs and arms. The 
chiefs were more beautifully tattooed than the com- 



40 THENIGHTOFTOIL. 

mon people, because they hired persons who could 
tattoo the best, to adorn them. 

The men generally had long hair fastened with a 
comb on the back of their heads, and the women had 
short hair, which they arranged with great care, and 
often adorned with garlands of flowers. The women 
often wore shades over their eyes made of yellow 
cocoa-nut leaves, to screen them from the sun, but 
they never wore bonnets. 

Both men and women thought a great deal of 
their appearance, and spent much time in trying to 
make themselves look handsome ; therefore they 
were extremely fond of lookmg-glasses, and when 
they could not get them, they would sit on the bank 
of a clear stream to dress their hair. 

They bathed three times a day, and thus kept 
themselves veiy clean, and improved their health. 
They were continually going into the sea ; many ba- 
bies could swim before they could walk, so that there 
was no danger of their being drowned except when 
they were at a great distance from land. They always 
bathed in a stream after they had been in the sea, as 
they did not like the salt water as well as fresh. 

IDOLS. 

You already know that the Tahitians worshipped 
idols. Some were made of stone, but most were 
made of wood, or of a kind of strmg called cinet, 
made from the outside of cocoa-nuts. Some kinds 



IDOLS. 41 

of sharks and of birds were worshipped, and were « 
not sul-bred to be killed. Altogether there were 
more than a hundred gods worshipped in Tahiti. 
The people thought that the spii'it of the gods dwelt 
in the idols. As they fancied that they were as cruel 
and as covetous as themselves, they tried to please 
them by giving them things. 

I will give you an instance of the manner in which 
they treated them. They kept live hogs and chick- 
ens in the maraes, and called these animals sacred. 
Once a traveller wanted to buy some sacred fowls, 
as there were no others to be had. The priest of the 
marae at first did not like to sell them, but when he 
saw what nice looldng-glasses and knives he could 
get for them, he went to the idol, and said, " my 
god, here are some beautiful things — ^knives, scissors, 
looking-glasses — perhaps I may sell some of the fowls 
belonging to us two for them ; they will be good 
property for us two." He then waited a few mo- 
ments, while he pretended he was listening to the 
god's answer ; then he said that the god had con- 
sented ; and some boys and dogs hunted the fowls, 
and caught them for the traveller. 

They never thought that their gods would be angry 
at sin, but fancied they could always be coaxed and 
made to like those people who gave presents to them. 
When they prayed they used to kneel upon one 
knee, and to repeat their prayers in a sort of singing 



42 THENIGHTOFTOIL. 

tone, saying something of tliis kind : " See, I have 
brought you pigs and fruit ; so be kind to me, and 
do not let me be drowned ; and let me conquer my 
enemies," 

How different is our God from their gods I He 
carmot bear sin, and he cares for nothing we can 
give him. He never could have Hstened to our 
prayers, if Jesus had not borne the punishment of 
our sins ; neither will he listen to us now, unless we 
come before him in the name of Jesus, asking for 
mercy for his sake. Therefore David said, " I will 
wash my hands in innocency, and so will I compass 
thine altar, God." And Jolm says, " If any man 
sin, we have an advocate with the Father, even Je- 
sus Christ the righteous : and he is the propitiation," 
or sacrifice, " for our sins." 

But the most horrible deed done in these temples 
was the offering up of human sacrifices. The people 
thought that Oro, the god of war, liked these better 
than any other ; so, when they were going to do any 
thing important, they used to kill men. Perhaps you 
will inquire what men they killed. When the priest 
wanted a human sacrifice, he generally sent word to 
the king ; and then the king sent a small stone to 
one of liis chiefs, as a sign that he must procure one. 
If the chief kept the stone, the king knew that he 
would do as he wished. And whom did the chief fix 
on as a sacrifice ? Sometimes on the guest who was 



TERRORS OF THE NATIVES. 43 

eating beneath his roof. In one moment the unfor- 
tmiate man was killed by a blow on the head, and 
carried to the temple in a basket of cocoa-nut leaves. 
Before he was oflered up to the god, the priest scooped 
out one of liis eyes, and placing the eye in a leaf, 
offered it to the king, who opened his mouth, as if he 
were going to eat it, and then returned it to the priest. 
The body was afterwards hung upon a tree near 
the temple ; when the flesh was quite consumed, the 
bones were buried in the sacred court, wliich was a i 
sort of Golgotha, a place of a skull, and most horn- | 
ble in the eyes of the holy God. 

If one man of a family had been offered up, the ^ 
other men in it were in great danger of sharing his • 
fate ; for the people of the same family were usually ' 
chosen imtil the whole was destroyed. 

When at midnight the sacred drum was beaten, i 
as a sign that a human sacrifice was required, many f 
poor creatures would escape to the mountaios, and 
hide themselves in the dens and caves of the earth. 
It is not surprising that some men quite forsook 
the company of their cruel fellow-creatures, wan- 
dered alone among the mountains, and became almost 
us fierce and as senseless as the beasts of the forest. 
Death was very terrible to the Taliitians, for they 
had no bright hopes beyond the grave. They thought I 
that at death their spirits went to their cruel gods, I 
who ate them three times over, and that afterwards | 



44 THE NIGHT OF TOIL, 

tliey went into the "body of a beast or bird or man, 
and lived upon the earth again. 

Sometimes- poor creatures, when they have been 
dying, have looked towards the end of the mat on 
which they have been lying, and have cried out, " 
there are the spirits waiting for my spirit — guard 
my spirit when it leaves my body — preserve it 
from them." 

How different were these cries from those of some 
dying Christian children, who have exclaimed with 
sweet smiles, " I see the angels coming to take me ; 
Lord Jesus, I come, I come." 

After a man was dead, his friends used to begin to 
cut themselves with sharks' teeth, till they were cov- 
ered with blood, and sometimes even to fight together 
with clubs and stones for two or three days, till some 
were killed. It was dreadful to behold one of these 
fights, and to hear the furious bowlings of those who 
fought. 

When a Christian loses his pious relations, he can 

sing, 

" Why do we mourn departing friends. 
Or shake at death's alarms 1 
*Tis but the voice that Jesus sends, 
To call them to his arms." 

CHARACTER OF THE TAHITIANS. 

You have already heard enough of the people U 
perceive that they were bars, covetous, thieves, > ad 
murderers. 



TREATMENT OF THE SICK. 45 

They were indeed pleasant in their manners, and 
good-natured when pleased ; but in many respects 
they were like beasts, and in others like devils. 

They resembled beasts in their love of eating, and 
drinking, and idleness ; in hardness of heart, they 
resembled devils. Their conduct to their aged par- 
ents, and to their sick friends, was barbarous. When ^ 
tired of waiting upon a sick person, his relations gen- 
erally built a little hut for him, and at first fed him, 
but often left him afterwards to die of hunger. At 
other times, the relations would throw their spears at 
the sick man, to see which would thrust him through 
first. 

I will relate an instance of the murder of one sick 
man. He was stapng with an acquaintance, who, 
growing tired of him, went one day and dug a hole 
near the sea-shore, then returned, and ofl'ered to take 
him to bathe. The sick man consented, and was 
placed upon a board, and carried towards the sea 
between two men ; but when he came near the hole, 
he suspected what was going to be done, and he 
jumped off the board and tried to escape, but his 
companion threw a stone at him, and thus stopped 
him, and then forced him into the hole, and buried 
him alive. His cries were heard at some distance by 
some women in a canoe, yet none came to rescue 
him, or were even shocked when they heard the his- 
tory. 



46 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

If the Tahitians behaved in this manner to their 
friends, what must have been their cruelty to their 
enemies ? It was more dreadful than can be con- 
ceived. They stamped upon the prisoners they had 
taken in battle, crying out, " Thus would you have 
treated me if you had conquered," and then left the 
bodies imburied, to be devoured by dogs and birds. 
Sometimes a hole was made through an enemy's 
body, and he was worn for a short time as a tiputa 
by the man who slew him. After a battle the con- 
querors destroyed all the women and children of 
their enemies, and even taught their own little chil- 
dren to kill the little creatures that they would have 
liked to play with. Sometimes the. conqueror put 
ropes through the necks of his enemies' children, or 
threaded them like beads on his spear. God has said 
in his word, that the feet of men are swift to shed 
blood. And is not this true ? 

The missionaries came to mc't the stony hearts 
of these people, by telHng them of the love of the 
Son of God. These lions and tigers could be turned 
into lambs and doves by the Spirit of God. So the 
missionaries did not cease to pray for them, and to 
teach them the good and the right way, hoping that 
God would at length give them repentance fnj. their 



WATCHING AND PRAYER, 47 



CHAPTER V. 

SHEEP AMONG WOLVES. 

We will now continue the history of the mission- 
aries, who stood gazing upon the ship, on the day it 
left Tahiti, ^dth tears in their eyes, till they could no 
longer behold it. 

They felt that they were in a very dangerous situ- 
ation, among wicked men, who coveted all they pos- 
sessed, and whose hands were often stamed Avith 
blood ; but they were able' to look up to God for sup- 
port. They set apart a day for fasting and prayer ; 
on that day they met three times to pray together, 
and twice more to hear sermons from two of the 
brethren. They agreed also to hold a prayer-meet- 
ing once a month for the conversion of the heathen, 
at the very same time that their friends in England, 
in different places of worship, met together for the 
same pui-pose. 

But though they placed their strength in God, they 
thought it right to take all possible pains to defend 
themselves. All night long two of the brethren 
watched outside the house, and very often one wa? 
appointed to watch during the day. 

The day after the ship's departure, the missionarj 
who was watching the house, overheard Idia talking 



48 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

\\itli some of the natives about the quantity of prop- 
erty the brethren possessed. Among other things, 
he heard it said, that the Sabbath-day would be a 
good opportunity to take it away, as on that day the 
brethren would be engaged together in prayer. Idia 
little thought that the man on guard understood her 
conversation. Of course he reported it to liis friends, 
who immediately desired all the natives to leave the 
nouse. Idia was alarmed when she heard of this 
order, and inquired the reason. When she was 
reminded of what she had said, she denied it, and 
sent Peter the Swede to declare that she had been 
misunderstood, as she had only been talkmg of a plan 
made by some bad men in Tahiti. This excuse was 
probably false ; but the missionaries thought it best 
to receive it, and to treat Idia with as much respect 
as usual. However, they were more on their guard 
than ever on the next day, which was the Sabbath, 
and did not take the Lord's supper together as they 
had intended. 

About three weeks afterwards they were robbed in 
a very singular manner. One morning they missed 
a great many articles frpm the blacksmith's shop, 
and they also observed a hole in the ground of the 
shop. They soon perceived a tliief had entered 
through this hole, which resembled a rabbit's bur- 
row, and had an opening outside. They saw that 
ihe hole must have taken more than one night to dig 



THE HOSPITAL. 49 

with the hands, the spade the natives usually made 
use of, and they wondered how it was that the watch 
had not observed the thief digging in the day. The 
watch then remembered that he had once remarked 
the hole, and had seen something, that he had taken 
for a hog, coiled up in it ; and now he had no doubt 
that the supposed hog was the thief. The wicked 
cunning of the robber excited the astonishment of all. 
On applying to a chief of that part of the island, the 
stolen articles "were restored. 

In vain the missionaries endeavored to win the 
natives by kindness. Because they never punished • 
the thieves when detected, they were considered as 
cowards ; though their reason for forgiving them 
was, that they remembered that they were ministers 
of the Gospel, w^hose office it was to save and not to 
judge. 

Many of the natives were suffering from terrible 
diseases ; so the missionaries prepared a place near 
their house for a hospital, and offered to nurse all 1 
who would come ; but the same reasons that prevent | 
men coming to Jesus, the great Physician, prevented \ 
the greater part of the sick natives from accepting I 
the kind proposal. Some of them Avere afraid to • 
come ; and others refused to take medicine becauH^ 
it was not sweet, or to remain more than three or 
fiur days, which was not long enough to effect a cure. 
Yet a hospital seemed very necessary, for it was 

Night of Toil. ■* 



50 THE NIGHT OF TOIL, 

Bad to see how foolishly the natives treated sick peo- 
ple, as you Avill perceive from tliis little anecdote. 

The missionaries employed native boys as their 
servants. One of them, while gathering some bread- 
fruit, fell from the tree, and broke his arm. Mr. 
Clode set it ; but five days afterwards, the boy, 
through liis ovm carelessness, broke it again. Mr. 
Clode tried to set it again, but could not prevent the 
boy feeling much agony. The father of the cliild 
then insisted on taking him home, saying, " I shall 
send for a native doctor, and pray to our god, and the 
boy will soon be well." 

The next day Mr. Puckey and Mr. Smith went to 
see the child, and weie told that he~liaar died the 
night before. They found that the father had put 
his child in cold rumiing water, while burning with 
fever, and that he had inunediately expired. The 
father lamented with tears that he had taken him 
home. By the side of the child lay a piece of cloth 
steeped in the father's blood, which had been made 
to flow in torrents by a shark's tooth, and the cloth 
now was spread out as a proof of the father's grief. 

The missionaries gazed upon the lifeless form of 
the child, as it lay decked with flowers, while the 
foohsh natives crowded around them, admiring their 
clothes. The missionaries took tliis opportunity to 
remind them that death would one day overtake 
them, and to warn them that their souls must then 



THE CHILD'S FUNERAL. 51 

appear before the only true God, who had prepared 
a place of happiness for the righteous, and of misery 
for the wicked. 

"While they were speaking, the natives ceased to 
laugh, and appeared for a moment struck by whai 
had been uttered. 

Mr. Puckey made a coffin for the child, and laid 
him m it the next day. Four little boys carried it to 
the grave, and several of the missionaries followed it 
Crowds of natives attended, who were filled with 
wonder at the coffin, having never seen one before, 
and exclaimed, " It would make a fine chest to put 
clothes in." 

The father, according to the custom, made a long- 
speech over the child's grave, describing how useful 
his son would have been had he lived, though it is 
to be feared he might more truly have said, how 
ivicked. 

The relations would have cut themselves again on 
the head, with sharks' teeth, but they were prevailed 
upon by the missionaries to refrain. 

At length the missionaries determined to try no 
longer to defend themselves from the natives ; for 
though they were so few in number that they could 
easily be overcome, they felt that God could preserve 
them from every danger. As they resolved to be 
satisfied with food and raiment, they delivered up the 
blacksmith's shop and the store-room, with all they 



52 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

contained, to Pomare, and even offered to give hira 
their own private property, but lie generously refused 

ito accept it. It was now Pomare's interest to pre- 
vent the natives robbing the house, and his servants 
were appointed to guard it by night. In what man- 
ner they guarded it you will soon hear. The mis- 
sionaries hoped that, having now given up all their 
worldly cares, they should be able to serve the Lord 
more earnestly, and to watch more diligently for the 
souls of the poor heathen. 

Both Pomare and Idia were delighted in being 
permitted to take what they pleased from the breth- 
ren. Both night and day they walked from room to 
/ room, looking on every thmg with a covetous eye, 
I and carrjdng away a great quantity. 

The natives, like greedy birds, hovered about the 
outside of the house, and invented cumiing plans of 
steahng. One of these was to hook away things 
with a very long stick, which they thrust between 
the posts that formed the walls of part of the house ; 
so that the missionaries placed any thing that they 
were very much afraid of losing, mider the care of 
8ome chief. 

One night Mr. Harris was awakened by the noise 
of thieves ransacking a box in his room ; the men 
ran ofi' the instant he saw them, taking with them 
many books and clothes. 

Another night Mr. Eyre woke, and saw, by the 



CONDUCT OF IDIA. 53 

light he always kept burning in his room, two of tho 
natives who were appointed to be Avatclimen by Po- 
mare, getting over a partition placed before his door 
He asked them what they wanted, when one of them 
cmmingly replied, " I thought I heard some thieves 
within, and was commg to look for them." 

One day Mr. Broomha ll missed two cases out of 
his room, one containmg all thmgs necessary for cup 
pmg, and the other for cutting off limbs. He was 
surprised by Idia bringing back the cases next morn- 
ing, with nothing missing but two little saws. In a 
little time afterwards she restored these also. The 
missionaries wondered how she had got possession of 
the things ; at the same time, they thought it was 
honest in her to give them back. A few months 
afterwards they discovered that she encouraged her 
servants to steal things for her, for they found she 
had an axe in her possession that had been missed 
two months before. 

She visited the missionaries very often, and chose 
Mrs. E}Te for her particular friend, and often drank 
tea with her, and paid her much attention, and 
promised that no one should hurt her. Yet she not 
only continued to steal, but this summer she killed 
her owTi infant as soon as it was bom. She looked 
ashamed when she next came to see the missionaries, 
knowing that they abhorred her conduct. She soon, 
however, recovered her confidence, and presented 



54 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

Mr. and Mrs. Epe with two hogs and a quantity of 
fmit. They received her well, and accepted the 
present ; for all the brethren had agreed that it was 
useless to be angry with the heathen for their crimes. 
St. Paul says, " What have I to do to judge them 
that are idthoutV that is, the heathen. "Them 
that are without, God judgeth." 1 Cor. 5 : 12, 13. 

Otu was now their frequent visitor, as well as 
Tetua, the young queen. They used often to call to 
see the brethren, and were always mounted upon 
men's shoulders. The missionaries were surprised 
at the ease and grace with which they sat upon their 
bearers, and also at the strength of the men, who 
generally carried the royal pair at a trotting pace. 
Otu's habits of begging were the same as ever, and 
these annoyed the missionaries very much, as they 
had now little remaming that they could well spare. 

The natives continued to be very troublesome, 
particularly at the time when the brethren dined 
together. Multitudes flocked to see them eat, and 
would almost snatch the meat out of their mouths. 
All the missionaries' servants also chose to dine with 
them, and consumed more food than their masters. 
If you inquire why the brethren kept so many ser- 
vants, you must know that the servants chose to 
come without leave. They insisted on helping the 
brethren to cook the dirmer, and then remained to 
dine without being invited, and generally found many 



MANE-MANE KILLED. 55 

private opportunities of stealing. At length the 
missionaries came to a determination no longer to 
have one dinner, but to dine two or three together 
in their own rooms, and to cook their food privately, 
with the assistance of one boy to each mess, if they 
possibly could keep away the rest of the people. 

During this year there was a quarrel between ' 
Pomare and Otu ; and Mane-mane having stirred up 
a rcbelhon, Pomare ordered liim to^be killed. Idia 
arranged the pTaiTof the' murder. UrTtRe morning 
of the day appointed, she and one of her men-ser- 
vants breakfasted with Mr. and Mrs. Eyre, and they 
both appeared as cheerful as usual. They quitted 
the house after breakfast. It was then that the 
treacherous plan was executed. The man-servant 
foUoYv'ed old Mane-mane down a hill, as he was on 
his way to Pare, overtook liun, and after talking with 
him a short time, smote him on the head with a 
Btone. Thus perished the wicked old priest, who had 
long deceived the people with the idea that he had [ 
power to curse and bless whom he would, but who 1 
could not shield his owti hoary head from the curse | 
of the living God. 



56 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

CHAPTEU VI. 

CONTINtJED UNBELIEF OF THE NATIVES. 

The more the missionaries saw of Otu, the more 
wickedness they discovered m TumT ^TleTelt no grat- 
itude for all the favors they had shown him. I will 
give you some instances of his ingratitude in several 
trifling circumstances. 

During the late war he sent his servants to carry 
off a sow and five young pigs belonging to Mr. Bick 
nell, who made no resistance to the demand. The 
missionaries complained of this conduct to Idia, and 
Avere pleased to see the pigs running near their house 
next day, though Idia had said nothing to them on 
the subject. 

One day the king came to Mr. Broomliall's apart- 
ment, and asked to see a large Bible with pictures 
that he had heard of "VMiile he was looking at it, 
he asked Mr. Broomhall to show him another book ; 
and while it was being brought, he slyly cut out of 
the Bible a picture of Adam and Eve in paradise, 
and then returned the Bible, without mentioning 
what he had done. 

Notwithstanding this conduct, the missionaries 
continued to behave generously to Otu. 

On Friday, 1st, a ship touched at Tahiti. While 
the ship was at anchor, Otu came one day to Mr, 



CHARACTER OF THE KING. 57 

Broomhall, and slipping three pearls into his hand, i 
desired him to keep them for himself, and to procure \ 
a pistol for him from the ship. "When the brethren ' 
heard of this circumstance, they wrote to the captaui 
to ask, as a favor, to purchase a gun for Otu, as they 
feared he would be offended if he did not obtain one. 
At the same time they resolved, if they succeeded 
in procuring the gun, to return the pearls to Otu, to 
show him that they did not act from motives of 
interest. 

The captain very kindly presented the gun to the 
brethren, who gave it to Otu, and returned the pearls « 
to him. They were pleased to see Otu present it to • 
his mother Idia, and to hear him speak more gra- | 
ciously to her than usual ; but they observed no dif- '-. 
ference in his general conduct afterwards. 

It was awrful to see hoAV completely Otu, though a 
king, was the slave of his own violent passions. 

One day when he had drmik a great deal of ^avay_ 
an intoxicating drink used by the natives, and was 
asleep in his dwelling, he heard a man halloomg 
outside. He immediately desired his servants to kill 
him. To what a pitch of wickedness will men get, 
who have nothmg to restrain their passions. How 
many feel such anger as Otu did, who dare not give j 
the same barbarous order. The young man who had i 
hallooed, ran to Mr. Broomhall for protection. Otu, | 
hearing where the man had taken refuge, thought it ' 



68 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

would be a good opportunity to get sometliing out of 
Mr. Broomhall, and sent a message requesting to 
have three yards of printed cloth, instead of the two 
yards of Avhite cloth that had been promised him the 
day before. While Mr. Broomhall was getting them, 
Otu himself appeared before the door and demanded 
the gift. Mr. Broomhall gave him the cloth, and 
entreated him to spare the young man's life ; Otu 
consented, but in a very sullen manner. 

This miamiable tyrant was ahvays surrounded by 
a train of flatterers, who slyly praised him to each 
other, loud enough for him to hear. The titles be- 
stowed on the king, and on all he had, were most 
/ absurd. His house was called tlie clouds of heaven, 
his large canoe the rainhoiL\ his mamier of riding 
was called fiymg, the torch that was carried before 
him lightning, and a drum that was often beat for 
his amusement, thunder. Thus, wliile m his con- 
duct he resembled a beast and a devil, he fancied 
himself a god. 

The missionaries were in much heaviness on ac- 
count of the contmued unbehef of the people. When 
they spoke to them of the Lord Jesus coming down 
from heaven, the natives sometimes replied, "If this 
were true, would not Captain Cook, and others who 
came here before the DufF, have told us of it ?" The 
missionaries tried to show them that though those 
captains had known the name of Christ, yet they had 



A CHAPEL COMMENCED. 59 

not obeyed his commands. It was dreadful to hear 
the blasphemous words that the people sometimes 
uttered against the Saviour, and how they jested about 
holy things; so that sometimes the missionaries felt 
inclined to speak of Christ no more in the presence ' 
of the heathen ; yet they could not be silent, for they 
knew that God was able to turn the hearts of these 
ignorant people, and teach their lips to praise him. 

Nothing offended the natives more than to speak » 
against their wicked customs. Even Idia, who was 1 
so much at the brethren's house, rnurdered another i 
infant this simimer. This was the third she had de- ^ 
stroyed since the arrival of the missionaries. The . 
missionaries hoped that when they were able to speak ■ 
the language well, the people would be more ready 
to listen to them ; but they found it very difficult to 
learn it, because they had no books to help them, and 
the people spoke so quickly they could scarcely catch 
their words. Yet they persevered, and already began 
to attempt to translate a few verses in different parts 
of the Bible, and they showed these translations to j 
each other, at their weekly meetings. 

In February, 1800, the brethren first determined /^v 
to build a chapel, where the natives might be invited 
to assemble To hear them preach, wliich they hoped i 
soon to be able to do. Hitherto they had only met 
together in a room in their own house. 

It was on March 5, that the first wooden posts or 



60 THE NIGHT OP TOIL. 

pillars of the chapel were reared to form the -walls. 
The time was remarkable, because it was three years, 
all but one day, since the missionaries' first arrival 
in Tahiti. The brethren were grieved to hear the 
natives who were assisting them, jeering at Christ as 
they worked, and to see them scoffingly marking each 
pillar in their manner, vdth his name. They ear- 
nestly hoped that those^pillar^ would hereafter be wit- 
nesses to the conversion of these miserable heathen. _ 
Pomare soon afterwards gave a great proof of his 
ignorance by sendmg the brethren a raw fish, with 
a request that it might be hung up in the chapel, as 
an ofiering to Jesus Christ. One of the brethren went 
to liim to return the fish, and to tell him, that it was 
not the custom of their God to receive sacrifices of 
food from any one ; but that he gave food to all, and 
that all should thank him for his gifts. Pomare seem- 
ed displeased with this answer, but tried to appear 
indiiTerent, and said, "Very well." 



TEOIIU VISITS MATAVAI. 61 

CHAPTER VII. 

A PLEASANT SURPRISB. 

The island continued in a state of disquietude- 
There was no open war, but it seemed every day 
ready to break out. Pomare was exceedingly en- 
raged against the people of Atehuru, because they 
had stolen the image of Oro, the god of war, from 
the temple at Pare, and had hid it in their ovm part 
of the country. They had done this, in the hope of 
conquering by Oro's power, when the war should be- 
gin ; for they fully believed that the god Oro some- 
times entered into this log of wood. Pomare did not 
immodiately show his anger, for he hoped that the 
idol would be given back to him soon. He even 
thought it necessary to behave with great respect to 
some whom he knew to be his enemies. For in- 
stance, when Teohu, a rebelUous chief, who took part 
with the Atehurans, visited Matavai in April, he was \ 
received with great honor by Pomare. Teohu ar- j 
rived with his train of servants in a n^umber of canoes, [ 
accompanied by two human sacrifices for Otu. As 
the king was absent, a man adorned with a bunch of 
red feathers represented liim, and was treated with 
the same respect as the king, every one luicovering 
his shoulders in his presence. Pomare caused a shed 
to be built for Teohu, while he staid at Matavai, and 



69 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

he made him presents of cloth, and even gave him a 
musket. Teohii also made presents to Pomare. Yet, 
though their words were smoother than hutter, war 
was in their hearts. Pomare, however, did not wish 
to begin the war till a boat should return, that he had 
sent to some neighboring islands to fetch pearls, and 
also human sacrifices. 

In the end of June, the war was on the point of 
begimiing, when an event of God's providence pre- 
vented it. It was the arrival of a ship. This ship 
was not a vessel used for trading, or catching whales, 
as all other vessels had been, that had arrived since 
the Duff. It was a man-of-war — a ship that sailed 
about the seas to attack the enemies of the king of 
England. 

This ship was called the Porpoise. It had been 
Bent for the purpose of buying hogs, to make into 
salt pork, for the inhabitants of Port Jackson. 

The captain brought letters from the governor of 
Port Jackson for the brethren, and for Pomare, as 
well as presents, among which was a handsome scarlet 
dress for Pomare. Though Pomare was delighted to 
receive presents, he was afraid lest Otu should be 
affronted, if he also did not receive presents from the 
governor, and therefore he asked the captain to give 
the dress to Otu. The captain consented, but desired 
his men to make another dress for Pomare. 

The Porpoise brought very delightful news to the 



ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES. 63 

brethren It was, that a ship would shortly arrive, i 
containing some missionaries, who would remain at I 
Tahiti. 

While the Porpoise was still at anchor, the wel- 
come ship appeared. It was called " The Royal 
Admiral," and contained eight missionaries. Captain 
Wilson's nephew, William, was the commander of j [ 
the ship, and was therefore called Captain Wilson. '■ ' 

The next day, some of the newly-arrived brethren 
dined and drank tea with the brethren on shore, and 
returned to the ship at night. Perhaps none of these 
brethren had ever seen each other before ; yet hov/ 
joyful their first meeting must have been I Those 
newly arrived, found kind friends ready to assist 
them in learning the language, and to prepare them 
for the trials they must endure ; while those who had 
been long settled in Tahiti, must have felt greater 
joy than can be described, at the sight of fellow-la- 
borers, and in hearing of their beloved friends in 
England. Thi-ee days after the arrival of the new 
missionaries, a public meeting was held in the open 
air, near the brethren's houses. All the brethren 
were there, and explained to Pomare, Idia, and Otu, 
the reason of more missionaries coming to the island ; 
they then asked Pomare whether he had any objec- 
tion to their remaining in Tahiti. Pomare answered, 
"No, I am pleased at their coming ; more may come 
if they will, and stay till they are tired." 



64 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

Pomare then asked all the brethren whether they 
\ would help him in his wars. They replied, that they 
\ were men of peace, and had nothing to do with war. 
Captain Wilson next reminded.Pomare of his hav- 
ing given the district of Matavai to the brethren, and 
asked him whether it was still theirs. He said that 
it was, and inquired whether the brethren wished 
the natives to be sent out of it. They rephed, "No, 
we do not w^ant to have the land, but only to be al- 
lowed to dwell on it." 

I wish I could inform you of the chief thmgs that 

happened immediately after the arrival of the eight 

missionaries, but the accounts that were written by 

the brethren were lost at sea. I know, Iwwever, 

I that the chapel was soon fuiished, and I behe've 

J that some of the brethren began to preach in it to 

' the natives. 

Though war had not yet begun, it seemed more 
likely than ever that it would break out. A great 
Imeeting v/as soon to be held in Atehuru, and then it 
I v/as expected that either peace would be made or 
I w^ar declared. The people of Atehuru had still got 
y possession of the god Oro, whom they had stolen, 
and Pomare was much afraid of therai 

Such was the state of things at the end of Febru- 
ary, when the brethren agreed that Mr. Nott should 
j go round Tahiti, to_preach to all the inhabitants the" 
J »j rospel. of peac e. Mr. Elder, w}io had recently ar 



FIRST TREACHING TOUR. 65 

rivcd, vv-as appointed to accompany Mr. Nott. Of I 
course, he knew very little of the language, and I 
therefore could not preach. 

This preaching tour was an arduous undertaking. 
"\Yhercvcr the brethren saw a few dwellings they 
stopped, and went from, house to house, entreating ! 
the people to come at an appointed time to a par- * 
ticular spot. It was often difficult to persuade them 1 
to engage to come, and, after all, the people often 
broke their promise, and did not come. Sometimes 
Mr. Nott preached three or four times in the day, 
and often he had aFove a hundred people to hear 
him. Sometimes they encouraged him by the at- 
tention they paid, for they were astonished by the 
new things he told them. They often answered the 
questions he asked in liis sermon. When he said, 
" AATiat is the true atonement for sin ?" a man once 
replied, "Hogs and pearls." Another time when he 
said that the people had no desire to knov/ tlie true 
God, one man interrupted him, by replying, " Do not 
say we liave no desire. But perhaps we shall not 
understand about God, through the badness of our 
hearts." One chief said that he felt a desire to pray 
to the true God, and asked whether liis old gods 
would not kill him if he did. 

The journey round the island was one hundred 
miles. The brethren went only a few miles each 
day, and lodged in the houses of the natives, who 



C6 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

freely received them, for the brethren had nothing to 
give them. The people almost all lived by the sea- 
coast ; but there were some narrow valleys that ran 
up among the moimtains, and Mr. Nott often went 
up these beautiful valleys to preach. 

He took with him on his journey s everal n atives^ 
who had the advantage of hearing him preach many 
times during their five weeks' tour. The last day of 
their journey, Mr. Nott was delighted to hear them 
giving a clear account of the Gospel to some stran- 
gers whom they met. Just before he reached home, 
iTe assembled them and examined them, and remind- 
ed them what a great advantage they had enjoyed, 
in hearing the truth so often, while others had only 
heard it once, and warned them not to neglect such 
a great salvation. One boy said, in reply, " If the 
Duff had been the first ship that had come to the 
island, we should have thrown away the feather 
gods long ago." 

During the last part of the journey, Mr. JSTott passed 
thrcigh the district of Atehuru just at the time 
when Jie great meeting took place, at which it was 
expected either war would be declared or peace 
established. 

Pomare and Otu desired that Oro should be given 
up ; but as the Atehurans refused to consent, Otu 
rose up in anger, seized hold of Oro, ran with him 
towards the sea, and placed him in one of the canoes. 



EFFECTS OF THE WAR. G7 

This was the beginning of .the war, which lasted 
three months. Poniare and Otu were finally victo- 
rious, though they did not recover their god. The 
new chapel which the missionaries had built was 
torn down, and the beautiful groves of breadfruit 
and cocoa-nut trees were cut down to make a fence 
around their house. The brethren felt exceeding 
gratitude to their heavenly Father when this sad 
war was over ; still, when they looked at their gar- 
dens now trodden down, at the place where their 
groves had stood, and at the ruins of their chapel, 
they felt that they had endured a heavy affliction. 
But now the storm had blo\\'n over.; and though it 
had injured their property, it had not hurt one hair 
of their heads. 



68 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

HOW THE NATIVES BEHAVED WHEN THE MISSIONARIES PREACHED. 

As the war appeared to be over for the present, the 
missionaries set about repairing their fences, digging 
and sowing their gardens, and building another 
chapel. 

They took every opportunity of preaching the 
Gospel to the natives. On Sundays several of the 
brethren used to go about the neighborhood, and en- 
deavor to collect people to hear. But the difficulties 
were very great. They found them either busy in 
beating cloth, or preparing food, or else feasting, or 
druiMng ava, or lymg down stupefied from the effects 
of the ava. Also, the people who lived at Matavai 
were more indifferent to the preaching than any 
others, because they had become tired of hearing 
often the same things. 

The missionaries, however, continued their labors, 
knowing that God, when he pleased, could p our down 
his Spirit from on high. 

They continually made journeys, two and two, 
romld the island, and were generally absejit about a 
month. Sometimes they even crossed the sea, and 
made a tour round Eimeo. 

They suffered many hardships in these journeys. 
Since the war, the houses of the inhabitants were 



SUFFERINGS OF THE TREACIIERS. 69 

more wretched than before ; for the old houses had 
been burnt, and miserable sheds had been built in 
haste. These were generally in a most dirty state, 
and full of insects ; so that the poor brethren passed 
many restless nights after their days of toil. 

They had no imibrellas to defend them from the 
rain, and in the houses there were no fires at wliicli 
to dry their clothes. They often had no shoes to 
their feet, and they were sometimes obliged to place 
leaves on the burning sands, to defend them from 
the heat, at each step they took. On some occasions 
they were distressed for want of food ; for the people 
sometimes refused to receive them into their houses. 
The brethren soon found it necessary to make fish- 
hooks and combs, and to take them vvdth them on 
their journey, as payment for their food and lodging. 
They could truly say, like the apostles, " Even unto 
this present hour we both hunger and thirst, and are 
bufieted, and have no certain dwelling-place, and 
labor, working \\ith our own hands." 

The natives little knew what great sufferings the 
brethren endured for their sakes : they foolislily 
thought that the missionaries had come to live at 
Tahiti to get their sweet food, for they had heard 
that no such fruit as theirs grew in England. They 
often behaved very ill while the missionaries were 
preaching to them, and cried out "lies," and "non- 
sense," during the sermon. At other times they 



70 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

tried to make each other laugh, by repeating sen- 
tences after the brethren, or by speaking the name 
of Christ in a ridiculous manner, or by playing antics 
and making faces. Many of the natives used to lie 
doAvu and sleep as soon as the sermon began, while 
others were so trifling as to make remarks upon the 
missionaries' clothes, or upon their appearance. Thus 
Satan filled their hearts with folly, lest they should 
believe and be saved. 

Sometimes the natives behaved even worse than 
we have already related ; for they were enraged with 
the missionaries on account of the number of diseases 
in the island, and declared they had all been sent by 
the God of England. They said that he must be a 
very cruel god, and that Oro was too good to send 
such diseases. There was one disease now common 
in the island, called the broken back. It was a 
weakness in the backbone, which caused it to bend 
outwards or inwards. Often the person died before 
the bone was bent ; and it was very remarkable, that 
when the bone was bent much the person began to 
recover, though he remained a cripple all his life. 
Once the natives brought a great many of these poor 
objects, and laid them before the missionaries while 
they were preaching, to show them what harm their 
God had done. Sometimes, when the missionaries 
entreated the natives to come and hear them, they 
said to each other in a mocking tone, " Come, let us 



THEIR GROSS DARKNESS. 71 

go, tliat we may be cured of all our diseases to-day." i 
They often said to the missionaries, " You talk to us ] 
of salvation, and we are dying. "VYe want no other \ ' 
salvation than to be cured of our diseases, and to j 
live here always, and to eat and talk." ' 

When the missionaries told them that their bodies 
would be raised after death, they would not believe 
them ; they said it was impossible, for that dead 
bodies turned to dust, and that no dead person had i 
yet been raised. In vain the brethren assured them I 
that one had risen from the dead ; they laughed the , 
whole history to scorn, saying, " Has Pomare be- 
lieved, or any of the chiefsj?'' 

It was too true that the chiefs were the greatest \ 
enemies of Christ, and discouraged the natives from 
attending to the Gospel. Once when a missionary 
was preaching about Christ having atoned for our 
sins, a man cried out to the rest, as if he liked what 
he had heard, "Do you hear that?" Immediately 
a chief who was present threw something at the 
man. 

Sometimes persons asked questions seriously during 
the sermons, and acknowledged that they were fools, 
and knew nothing ; but these hopeful signs were of 
short continuance. Once a man said to the breth- 
ren, " You offer no sacrifices to your God, but say I 
that Jesus was sacrificed. Is it because Jesus was | 
sacrificed, that you offer nothing ?" The missionaries I 



72 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

replied, that was the reason. The man seemed 
pleased, and to think the way of salvation very- 
easy. But, alas, though he could understand it a 
little, he could not believe it. The missionaries felt 
the truth of God's declaration, " Darkness hath cov- 
ered the earth, and gross darkness the people ;" but 
they were comforted with the promise, " My sheep 
shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold, and 
one Shepherd." 

It was wonderful to see what trust these people 
placed in their dumb idols. One day some natives 
caught seven large fish, and they thought that they 
had caught so many because there were some red 
feathers on their canoes. They often said the Eng- 
lish were very mikind not to send them more red 
feathers, that they might please their gods. They 
could scarcely be made to understand what the soul 
was : they fancied their souls lived in the land of 
darkness, and that they only came to them sometimes 
at night when they dreamed. All these foolish no- 
tions were taught to the people by their priests, 
and also by others who pretended to be inspired by 
the gods. Even women, who were so much de- 
spised in Tahiti, sometimes professed to have the 
spirit of the gods in them. I will give you an in- 
stance of the manner in which they tried to impose 
on the people. 

On one occasion, the brethren saw a girl coming 



ANOTHER SACRIFICE. 73 

towards tliem leading a woman, whose head was 
muffied up. These persons pretended to have the 
spirit of the gods in them. "When they saw the' 
brethren they ajipeared confused, fell upon their 
knees, and mumbled some words. Their reason for. 
doing so was, that they might appear to put the! 
spirit of the god from them. They then rose, and 
coming towards the missionaries, quietly spoke to 
them by their names. The brethren seeing their 
h}^ocrisy, rebuked them sharply, and entreated the 
people standing by not to be deceived by such tricks. 
The people laughed, and some said they knew the 
w^hole was a pretence ; but others still believed in 
it, being bUnded by Satan. 

Thus these people, who were so unbelieving to- 
wards God, were willing to be deceived by the most' 
foohsh impostors. It is often found, even in Chris- 
tian countries, that those who vidll not believe the 
word of God, will place their trust in fortune-tellers, 
dreams, and signs of good and ill luck. - It is easy 
to discover tlie cause of this difference — it is the 
love of sin : God's word forbids all evil, and there- 
fore it is despised and rejected. 

Accustomed as the missionaries were to the wicked 
ways of the people, they were filled with dismay at 
the deed which I shall now relate. 

Mr. Je fferson and Mr. _Scott, while travelling in 
Tahiti, came to the house of a chief who had often 



74 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

been desired to find a sacrifice, and who had just re- 
ceived a message from Pomare, threatening him with 
banishment if he did not kill a man immediately. 

The chief was sitting in liis house, surrounded by 
his friends and attendants, and was secretly intending 
to kill one of them, when the brethren entered. 
Knowing how they hated such deeds, the chief durst 
not do it in their presence. Soon the brethren lay 
down to rest. The cliief then invited liis compan- 
ions to accompany liim to the sea-shore. The man 
whom the cliief intended to kill, was one of his rela 
tions, who had come to visit liim. This man, with 
several others, consented to go to the beach. When 
arrived there, the chief and his servants killed him 
with stones, and put his body in a long basket of 
cocoa-nut leaves, ready to be sent to Pomare. The 
J chief then returned to the house, as calm and uncon- 
i cerned as if he h ad only killed a hog. The two 
I brethren knew nothing of the dreadful deed till 
{ after they had left the house. Who can express the 
I horror they then felt ? In such a country it might 
well be said, as it once was said in Israel, " Take ye 
heed every one of his neighbor, and trust ye not in 
any brother. Their tongue is as an arrow shot out ; 
it speaketh deceit : one speaketh peaceably to his 
neighbor with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his 
wait : shall I not visit them for these things ? saith 
the Lord." Jer. 9 : 4, 8, 9. 



DEATH OF OTEU. 75 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE DEATHS OF THREE OF THE ROYAL FAMILY, 

Have you forgotten Oteu, th e king's grandfather ? 
This old man had been introduced five years before 
to Captain AYilson, when he brought the first mis- 
sionaries in the Dufi'. The missionaries had some- 
times tried to lead the old man to think of his soul 
and of the true God, but they had found him only 
inclined to speak of earthly things. He often inter- 
rupted them by sajdng, "When will another ship 
come? Have you any ava?" He was quite dis- 
figured by the ava he had drunk : his long silver 
beard, and mild, handsome comitenance, made him 
look very venerable, but the redness of his eyes, and 
the white scurf upon his skin, showed that he was 
a drunkard. 

About four months after the war in Atehuru, Oteu 
died of old age. The people thought that he was a 
favorite of the gods, because he had lived above 
eighty years, and had died a natural death. He ex- 
pired in a house very near the brethren. Owo, his 
daughter, asked them to make him a coffin. The 
body was embalmed and placed in the coffin, in a 
shed at Pare, opposite the king's house. 

The next year Otu's younger brother, Te-are, ap- 
peared to be in a decline. He believed that liis god 



76 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

was angry with him, and therefore sent a human 
sacrifice to his temple to quiet his wrath. But he 
continued to grow worse, and was tenderly nursed 
by his mother Idia. 

As Te-are was living at Pare, Mr. Elder went to 
see him sometimes, and gave him wine and medi- 
cines. He paid him a visit the day before he died. 
He found him burning with fever, and the servants 
refreshing him by throwing cold water over him ; 
yet his body felt quite cold to the touch. Soon after- 
wards the prince grew faint, and as he thought he 
was dying, he took leave of his mother Idia, while 
the attendants stood by bathed in tears. Pomare 
was sent for immediately. He did not appear at all 
afflicted at the state of his son, because he con- 
sidered that, as all men must die, it was useless to 
grieve about death. However, he offered up to his 
gods, m the room where Te-are was lying, two hogs, 
a plantain-tree, and some red feathers, hoping by 
this means to m.ake his son better. Mr. Elder spoke 
to the poor youth of the Saviour of the soul, but Idia 
seemed to dislike his doing so, as she thought that 
all the prayers to the idols would be vain if Christ's 
name were mentioned. Though Te-are knew he 
was dying, he appeared quite unconcerned about 
eternity. The next day Mr. Elder took some wine 
to the young prince. Te-are receiA^ed the wine ea- 
gerly, though only able to swallow a table-spoonful. 



POMARE'S ILLNESS. 77 

He said that his throat was decayed, and that there- 
fore he could not swallow. Soon afterwards he 
ceased to breathe. Thus died Te-are, at the age of 
eighteen, in June, 1803. 

The missionaries were grieved to see the natives 
one after another droppmg into the grave, without 
having beUeved m the Saviour who had been preached 
to them. 

Te-are's body was embalmed, and placed in a shed 
near his grandfather's corpse. It was the custom, at 
the death of princes, to forbid fires to be lighted in 
the district in which the event happened. All the 
people of Pare were obliged, during the week after 
Te-are's death, to go to some distance to cook their 
food. 

Pomare, who had seen his son expire with so much 
indifference, knew not how nearly his own days were 
numbered. 

He had had a severe attack in the autumn before 
his son's death, and had been visited by Mr. Elder 
and Mr. Eyre, who had told him that the true God 
w^as angiy with liim for killing men for sacrifice. He 
had heard this without feeling, but when they had 
assured him, that they would pray for his recovery, 
when they prayed together at home, his heart had 
appeared touched by their kindness. Pomare soon 
recovered from this illness. 

A month after Te-are's death, an event occurred, 



73 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

which filled Pomare with delight. The rehellious 
Atehurans had fomied a plot to murder Pomare and 
Idia. For this pm-pose they killed a man, as a sac- 
rifice, and sent for Pomare to come to Atehuru, to 
offer it to the gods. They hoped that he would come, 
accompanied by only a few servants, and they in- 
tended to lie in wait, and murder both him and Idia. 
Otu heard of this plot, and informed his father of it, 
who accordingly went to Atehuru by water, guarded 
by a large fleet of canoes. When he arrived there, 
he found the Atehurans more ready than before to 
submit to his authority, and they even dehvered up 
the god Oro, that log of wood that had caused so 
much blood to flow. 

Thus peace was established in the island, on Au- 
gust 1st, 1803. But Pomare did not live to enjoy 
the submission of the people, or the possession of his 
god ; for, only one month afterwards, he was cut off 
by a stroke from the Almighty. This was the man- 
ner of his death. 

A ship, called the Dart, was at anchor near Ta- 
hiti. One morning, Pomare set out in a canoe with 
two men, to go to the ship. He held a paddle in 
his hand, and had almost reached the vessel, when 
he suddenly felt a pain in his back ; he cried out, and 
put his hand to the place "^here he felt the pain, 
dropped the paddle from the other hand, and fell on 
his face, while his outstretched arms fell over the 



DEATH OF POMARE. 79 

sides of the canoe. His two attendants immediately- 
rowed his body to the shore of Pare. As soon as the 
brethren heard of the event, they hastened to the 
spot ; Mr. Elder felt his pulse, and thought it still 
faintly beat. He did not, however, dare to bleed 
Pomare, as the natives would have accused him of 
intending to do harm to their chief The dead body 
was soon afterwards embalmed, and placed near the 
corpses of Pomare's father, and youngest son. They 
were all within sight of the king's house ; so that 
Otu, as he sat within liis palace, could behold the 
bodies of his b!"other, father, and grandfather. 

The natives did not appear either shocked or 
grieved by Pomare's sudden death ; for their hearts 
were so much hardened by continual cnielties, that 
they seldom felt pity, or grief for others. 

Otu, who was now at Atehuru, did not come to 
see his father's dead body, but desired that it might 
be sent to him.* Idia, however, asked two of the 
brethren to entreat the king to allow it to remain at 
Pare. They went accordingly to the long, and ob- 
tained their request, but foun d Otu quite unconcerned 
about his father's death ; yet he was so much terri- 
fied at night, by ftars lest his father's spirit should 
appear to him, that he caused one of his servants to 
sleep near him. * 

Otu had now more power than during his father's 
lifetime. The missionaries were afraid lest the peo- 



fO THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

pie sliould rise up against him, for he was more op- 
pressive, and was more hated, than his father had 
been. However, through the mercy of God, the peo- 
I pie made no resistance to Otu. 

From this time, Otu took the name of his father, 
and styled himself his majesty Pomare. The mean- 
^ ing of the word Pomare, is QU^Jit -cougli. The name 
was chosen by Pomare in a curious manner. Once 
when making a journey, he slept on a bleak part of 
the mountams, and caught cold. His attendants, 
observing his cough next day, called that night the 
Pomare. The chief liked the somid of the word so 
much, that he chose it for his name. 

Henceforth we shall speak of Otu by the name of 
Pomare. 



KING'S DEPARTURE TO EIMEO. 81 

CHAPTER X. 

THE FLRST TAiriTIAN WHO LEARNED TO WRITE. 

Though Pomare 11. was much less pleasing than s 
his father, yet he was not so much set against the ) 
message the missionaries brought. For some time 
past he had been a great deal with the brethren, 
and had occasionally listened to their. sermons. One 
Sabbath he sent to desire Idia to attend the preach- 
ing out of doors ; but when she came, she stood far 
enough off not to hear, for she was a great enemy to 
the Gospel. Although Pomare spent the greater part 
of his time in eating, drinkino", and_romping with his • 
attendants, yet ever since the war, he had taken I 
pains to learn to read and write. "VMien absent from ' 
the missionaries, he had carried writing copies about 
with him, and practised by hirr,=elf, and now he was 
able to write notes tolerably well. He remained, 
indeed, as wicked as before, but he grew more and 
more anxious to conceal his wickedness from the 
missionaries. 

The year after his father's death, Pomare left the ; 
brethren, and went to the island of Eimeo, taking 
wdth him his god Oro. The Atehurans were much ' 
grieved to lose the idol from their country, but they 
did not show their sorrow openly. The fame of Oro 
had become greater than ever, pince the death of the 

Night of Toil. " 



82 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

late Pomare ; for it was dccl^arcd tliat Oro had killed 
liim by his power, to punish him for having once 
placed a sacred cloth of Oro upon his son Otii. 

The present King Pomare's power was also con- 
sidered exceedingly great. It was said that he could 
kill men by his prayers, and the following story was 
related as a proof of it. 

Once while he was worshipping his idols, a man 
disturbed him by beating a dnmi. He sent to desire 
him to leave cfF, but the man continued to annoy 
him. Pomare then said, " Let him alone," and that 
same night the man expired. 

But the Idng knew that, though the people feared 
him, there were many who hated him ; and he was 
afraid of another war brealdng out. 

He wished to show the people in Tahiti, that he 
desired peace. For this purpose, while he was at 
Eimeo, he sacrificed a man, and sent various bits of 
his body to different places in Tahiti. The top of a 
finger was sent to Matavai, and pieces of the hair, 
and of the feet and hands, to other places. 

Still, he knew it was probable, that war would 
soon be declared, and therefore he tried to prepare 
himself for it, by collecting all the muskets he could 
find. He induced some of the people in Eimeo to 
exchange their muskets for ^ifts, but he forced away 
those of others. The people of Tahiti heard that he 
meant, when he returned, to take their muskets also, 



BURNING OF THE PLANTATION. , 83 

and they resolved to die sooner than to part from 
them. Thus the king's violent behavior fanned the 
spark of anger in his subjects' breasts, and made it 
more probable that they would soon rebel. 

"When the missionaries heard of these disputes, they 
saw that it was too hkely they might one day behold 
another war, which was the thing they most dreaded, 
especially on account of the women and children in 
the family. 

In September, 1805, the brethren suffered a very 
severe loss. They had enclosed a piece of ground 
about a mile from their dwellings, and planted in it 
six hundred cocoa-nut trees, orange-trees, and lemon- 
trees. They had watched over these trees for two 
years, when, in one night, the precious plantation 
was almost all burnt. They suspected that some 
envious persons had set fire to the long grass that 
grew on the outside of the fence. 

None of the natives took any pains to discover how 
the trees had been destroyed, or appeared to feel sor- 
row for the loss. The brethren met together to con- 
sider whether they should inform the king of the 
afiair, but they agreed not to complain, for fear blood 
might be shed on their account. 

The brethren would have found it hard indeed to 
continue to labor for the souls of these ungrateful 
people, had they not remembered Him, who, when 
we were enemies, delivered up his Son for our sins. 



84 THE NIGHT or TOIL. 

This Ihouglit enabled them to bear their injuries 
meekly, and to continue unAvcaried in their work of 
lore. 

The king remained in Eimeo one year and a half. 
In Januaiy, 1806, he returned to Tahiti. 

The brethren went to Pare, where the king landed, 
to meet him. The queen, who was with him, ap- 
peared to be extremely ill. The king seemed pleased 
to see the brethren, and told them that he should 
come in a few days to Matavai, and should wish them 
to build a small plastered house for him, close to their 
o^Ma., in which he might write without being dis- 
turbed. He also expressed a wish that some presents 
might -be made him. 

Although the king continued obstinate m wicked- 
ness, he appeared anxious to be more than ever with 
the missionaries. One day he requested them to ask 
his mother Avhether he might enter the new mission- 
ary house, which was built after the arrival of the 
new missionaries, as he was desirous to go into the 
upper rooms, never having seen any rooms raised 
above the ground floor. It appears that Idia had 
power to set aside the Taliitian law, which made all 
houses that kings entered belong to them. Idia gave 
the desired permission, and the king gratified his 
curiosity by walking through the ujoper rooms, but 
he did not go into the lower rooms, or into the other 
houses of the missionaries. 



THE KING'S STUDY. 85 

In March, 1806, the brethren endured a loss, not 
of property, but of one of their own selves. Mr. 
Shelley set sail with his wife and chikl in a ship that 
touched at the island. 

Mr. Shelley's room, which was up stairs, was given 
to Mr. Tessier. The missionaries were soon after- 
wards surprised at receiving the following note from 
the king. It was, of course, written in the Tahitian 
language. This is the translation of it. 

" Freexds — Give me the room above — theToom 
that belonged to Mr. Shelley — give to me for a writ- 
ing-place. Let the room below be for Tessier, and 
that above for me. If all agreed to by you, make up 
this my speech ; if agreed by you, write that I may 
know your speech. 

"POMARE, KING." 

The missionaries consulted together about what 
answer they should send to this note. They did not 
like to let Pomare have the room, for several reasons. 
One was, that Mr. Tessier wanted it, and had come 
into it the day before. Another was, that if the king 
lived there, the brethren would be much disturbed : 
people would often be coming to speak to the king 
upon business, would eat messes of food in the house 
and around it, and would make the place very imtidy ; 
would trample the garden under foot, and beg for the 
fruit growing upon the trees, or even take it without 
leave. The brethren, therefore, determined to pro- 



86 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

pose helping to build the king a small house near 
them, as he had once expressed a wish for such a 
house. Still, they were afraid that the king had set 
his heart upon living with them in their large house. 
They sent him a kind note to tell liim that they would 
have allowed him to have the room, had it not becLi 
for the noise and litter that Ms people would make. 
In a few days they were pleased at receiving the 
following answer from the king. 

" Friends — Thus my speech continueth, and tliis 
is my desire. Do you stand to my wish, and turn 
not away your hearing, but hear you my speech. 
Give you Mr. Nott and Mr. Bicknell for workmen to 
do my room towards the sea, in the new house ; for 
there it will be made, if agreed well by you. Friends, 
give also a saw, a plane, chisels, and other small 
things for the work. Agree you well to it ? Is it 
agreed ? Perhaps not. Write you your speech, that 
I may know. Tliis is all. The speech is ended. 

" May it be well with you, friends. 

"POMARE, KING." " 

The brethren readily agreed to help the king to 
build this little room, and sent the following answer. 

" May you live, king I 

*' The speech you have written we agree to. We 
will give the saw, angers, gimlets, and nails, to work 
your work. 

"JOHN DAVIES." 



DEATH OF THE QUEEN. 87 

The room was soon finished. The king spent many 
hours in it writing. He never sat down to write, but 
used to lie upon the floor, leaning on his chest. He 
also learned to read English a little. But still he 
continued to work iniquity. 

This spring his queen Tetua had an infant. Po- 
mare told the missionaries that it had died, and pre- 
tended to be sorry for its death, though he himself 
had allowed it to be killed. '^ " ~ ~'"~ 

The queen, who had been ill for some tinie, now 
grew much worse. The king sent for a man to cure 
her, who, it was said, had tlie spirit of Mane-mane 
dwelling in him. You remember that that old priest 
was considered veiy powerfLil. However, the queen 
vras not cured. 

At nine o'clock in the morning of July 21st, 1806, 
Tetua died, aged about twenty-four years. Alas, 
though she had known the mTssionanes tor nme years, 
she died a stranger to the true God. 

The king appeared mihappy at her death, and so 
did several of his servants. Idia and a few other 
women cut themselves with sharks' teeth upon the 
cccasion. The body was put in a canoe the same 
day, and taken to Pare t-j be embalmed, and placed [ 
under a shed in a little ^-.ourt. All things the queen \ 
had used in her lifetime were placed near her, such \ 
as her cups, combs, dishes, baskets, and tomahawk ; | 
but they were broken, in order to prevent people tak- 



11 



88 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

ing them away. Her relations brought her fool 
every day ; and as they laid it on the altar, they 
oflered a short prayer to tell her that there were fish 
and cocoa-nuts for her spirit. 

"While these events were occurring, the brethren 
ceased not to labor, as we have before described, in 
teaching the people, and making journeys round the 
island. As they were cast down at seeing no person 
turn to God, in May they appointed a day for fasting 
and prayer. On this day they met together four 
times for prayer, and implored God to pardon their 
sins, and to enable them to bring some of the poor 
heathen to a knowledge of himself. 

Mr. Davies had taken particular pains to teach the 
children in Taliiti. He had Avalked much about the 
island on purpose to find them ; and Mr. Scott and 
Mr. Wilson had sometimes done the same. They 
had all fomid great difficulty in getting the children 
to come round them to be taught. At first, the cliil- 
dren were shy, and frightened ; and afterwards they 
were idle ; and as they liked play better than learn- 
ing, they often 'ran and hid themselves when they 
saw their teachers coming. The growTi-up people 
did the children a great deal of harm by their bad 
advice. They told them to say to the missionaries, 
"You come very often, but what property do you 
give us ? If you do not bring us beads, pins, or fish- 
hooks, we will not be taught. What is the good of 



THE FIRST SCHOOL. 89 

teaching ns ? It only tires us. You say you pity 
us ; wliy do you not give us cloth ?" 

These poor Httle children did not know the value 
of their souls. How could they know it, when 
their parents taught them only to care for such 
things ? 

The gi'OAMi-up people often sat by the children 
while they were being taught, and talked to them, 
or even whispered nonsense into their ears, to make 
them laugh, or contradicted all the missionaries said, 
and told the children it was nonsense. 

You wdll, perhaps, wish to know what kind of in- 
struction the missionaries gave to the children. They I 
could not teach them to read, for the children would ' 
not look at their letters ; so they onl y taught them { 
to repeat a short catechism by heart. Some of the f 
children at last learhedlhis catechism perfectly, and 
even remembered it after not having been taught 
for several months. This was some encouragement 
to the brethren, and induced them to make a longer 
catechism. ' 

They found, however, that they wasted much time 
in going to look for the children, especially since the 
king's return to Taliiti ; for now there were feasts 
continually given in different places, and the children 
were always going to these feasts ; and some of the 
boys became servants to the king, and followed him 
about from place to place. 



90 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

In Novemljcr, 1806, Mr. Davies opened a. school 
in the nev/ house, and invited the boys, who hved 
near, to attend it on tlu'ce evenings in the week. The 
boys that helped the brethren to cook were among 
the scholars. The children liked the school so much, 
that a month afterwards, they asked Mr. Davies to 
teach them oftener. He agreed to instruct them 
every morning. These boys learned to read and to 
write. They were taught first to make letters on 
the sand by the sea-shore. The missionaries pre- 
pared some spelling-books for them, and some his- 
tories from the Bible, and sent the books to England 
to be prmted, and in the meanwhile they used in 
the school little books they had wTitten out. This 
school cheered the missionaries' spirits, because the 
boys seemed to take a pleasure in learning. 

Another event happened at the end of the year, 
which gave the brethren some relief. They had not 
heard from their friends in England for five years — 
not since the Hoyal Admiral had brought the new 
missionaries. At length a vessel arrived with letters 
and parcels. Their joy, however, was mixed with 
disappointment ; for the clothes that had been sent 
to them, were so much injured by the sea-water, that 
many of them could not be used at all. 

The brethren, knowing Pomare's covetous disposi- 
tion, sent him some of the tilings they had received, 
and wrote him the foUowinof note : 



POMARE'S LETTER. 91 

"PoMARE — This is the property that is left for 
you, ten hatchets, ten scissors, ten looking-glasses, 
six razors. They are frora«ZZ the missionaries. The . 
cloth is rotten, 

"JOHN YOUL." 

Soon afterwards they received the following note 
from the king : 

" Friends — I am greatly j^lcased with your present. 

"POMARE." 

As there was no word fo r." thanks" in Tahitian, I] 
Pomare could not Taveexpressecfliis gi-aTTtucle, even {' 
if he had felt any. I 

By this ship there arrived a letter for Pomare from j 
the directors of the London Missionary Society. It j 
was in English, aiid was read to Pomare by the breth- | 
ren in Tahitian. Pomare was able to answer the L 
letter himself He wrote a long letter in Taliitian, 1 1 
the brethren translated it mto English, and then Po- ; I 
mare copied the Enghsh, and sent both the Tahitian i; 
letter and the Enghsh letter to the directors. j^ 

As the letter was long, I will only give a part of it. 

" Friends — I wish you every blessing, friends, in 
your residence ui your country, with success in teach- 
ing this bad land, this foolish land, tliis land which 
knoweth not the true God, this regardless land. 

" Your request I ful ly consent to, and shall conse- 
quently banish Oro, and send him to Raiatea. 



92 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

" Friends, I hope also you will consent to my re- 
quest, which is this: I wish you to send a great 
number of men, women, and children here. Friends, 
send~aTso property and cloth for us, and we Mso will 
adopt English customs. 

" Friends, send also plenty of muskets, and pow- 
der, for wars are frequent in our country. Should I 
be killed, you will have nothing in Tahiti. Do not 
come here when I am dead ; Tahiti is a regardless 
country. 

" This also I wish, that you would send me all the 
curious things that you have in England. Also, 
send me every thing necessary for writing — paper, 
inlc, and pens, in abundance ; let no \ATiting utensil 
be wanting. 

"As for your desire to instruct Tahiti, it is what 
j I fully acquiesce in. It is a common thing for peo- 
I pie not to understand at first; but your object is 
' good, and I fully consent to it, and shall cast off all 

I evil customs. 
"What I say is truth, and no lie; it is the real 
truth." 

Was this letter sincere? Canwe think it was, 
when Pomare very soon afterwards desired thaFaT 
man might be killed at Atehuru as a sacrifice, and 
taken in a canoe to another place ? In order to con- 
ceal the deed from the missionaries, he desired that 



THE KING'S UNBELIET. 93 

the canoe, in passing Matavai, might keep far out to 
sea. Pomare made such fair promises to the direc- -, 
tors in England, only that he might coax them to] 
eend him property. He did not now wish to be in- 1 
structed about God, though he once had appeared 
mclined to attend. As he was almost all day in one 
of the rooms of the brethren, he was often spoken to 
about his soul, and his sins, but he always turned . 
the conversation to some other subject; and still j 
oeemed to be a "child of the devil," "an enemy of | 
all righteousness." 






04 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 



CHAPTER XI. 

PinKER DAYS THAN ANY THAT HAD GONE BEFORE, SUCCEEDEB 
BY VERY BRIGHT ONES. 

The event the bretlireii di-eaded at length occurred, 
j Ifi Ma ^, 1 8 07, Jhere was another -aLaiija Tahiti. 

A very trifling circumstance Avas the principal oc- 
casion of it. A man in Atehuru made the hones of 
a chief, who had once been slain in battle, uito fish- 
hooks, Now this chief was a relation of the king's, 
and it was considered an insult to the king to turn 
the bones to such a use. The king was much in- 
clined to war, and he Avas encouraged to begin it by- 
one of those wicked men who pretended to be in- _ 
spired by Oro. Tliis prophet, who was called Metia, 
said that Oro was angr}^ and that he wished the king 
to fight against the men of Atehuru. This war last- 
ed about three years, and the island was in such an 
unsettled state, that the missionariesjwere all obliged 
to leave it. Mr. Nott and Mr. Hayward went to the 
neighboring island of Huahme, but all the rest went 



to Port Jackson, in IsTew South "Wales. After someo 
time, the brethren Avho were at Port Jackson received ( 
a letter from Pomare, in which he told them that 
many chiefs had brought men from other islands to 
help him to subdue his rebellious subjects, and that 



MISSIONARIES AT EIMEO. 95 

he was now acknowledged king, and at the same 
time he entreated them to return. 

Soon afterwards letters arrived from Mr. Hayward 
and Mr. Nott, mentioning that they were with the 
king at Euneo, and that peace still continued. Most 
of the missionaries accordingly retuiT^ed the first op- 
portunity to the poor heathen. After a fatiguing 
voyage, they arrived at Eimeo on the last day of 
October. They found the long there as well as his 
mother Idia, Mr. Hayward, and Mr. Nott. 

Pomare received them with great dehght. The 
brethren soon observed that he a££eared to regard 
his idols less than he had done in time^ast : partly, 
perliaps, froni liaving found the prophecies of the 
prophet Mitia, respecting his success, so false ; part- 
ly, perhaps, from his afflictions, and the company, at 
such a season, of Mr. Nott and Mr. Hayward. 

The missionaries had to suffer great inconven- 
iences, as they had no comfortable houses, like those 
they had built in Tahiti. 

Before these missionaries had arrived, Pomare had 
written another letter to Mr. Henry, entreating him 
to come. Tliis is part of his letter : 

"Where are Mr. and Mrs. Eyre? Are they set- 
tled ? I am grieving for them. Where are the 
other missionaries ? Where is their dwelling-place ? 
I shall not give over my sorrowiiig for them. Wo 



96 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

do not regard our dwelling-place here, since the mis- 
sionaries are not here ; they are wanted to inalie us 
happy. "\Ye are now lonesome — ^Notty and Mr. Hay- 
ward also. My good friends, agree to my request to 
you, and then I shall be happy : come you here, my 
dear friend, come you here to Tahiti. When you 
come, procure a little wine for us. If you come, I 
shall be happy. Write to me, that I may know youi 
sentiments, my dear friend. Do not be neglectful, 
as I am grieving for you, my dear friend. Don't you 
closely look at this badly written letter. 

" Health and happiness to you, and Mrs. Henry ; 
may you live and prosper. Tare, Tiritahi, and little 
Jo also.*' 

" May we all be saved by Jehovah, the true God 
of this world — our Confidence. 

"POMARE." 

There were now seven missionaries in Eimeo^ 
namely, Messrs. Nott, Hayward, Bicknell, Scott, Wil- 
son, Davies, and Henry. 

The place where they settled was called Pa-pe- 
to-ai, and was situated near Talu harbor, a safe and 
convenient place for ships to cast anchor in. 

Here they built dwellings, and planted gardens; 
they built also a very small chapel, in which they 
had service eveiy Sabbath in the Tahitian language ; 

* These were the names the natives gave to Mr. Henry's 
children, Sarah, Samuel, and Eleanor. 



A JOYFUL EVENT. 97 

but very few people attended, as most of the chiefs 
had gone with their servants to Tahiti. This chapel 
only cost them twenty-four looking-glasses, which had 
been bought m England for sixteen shillings, and 
which they gave to the natives, as a reward for as- 
sisting to build the chapel. 

They also opened a school, but could only procure 
twenty scholars, whom they taught to write on the 
sand, and to read in printed spelling-books. 

They wished to go to other islands to spread the 
Gospel, but they thought it would be well first to 
build a ship that might be always at their command, 
to take them from island to island. In order to build 
it, they were obliged to remain together. Some 
events also occurred which inclined them to continue 
in Eimeo. One of these was the most joyful that 
could have happened, though others were of a mourn- \ 
ful nature. 

Pomare grew more and more attentive to the breth- i 
ren's instructions, and on one occasion he gave a proof 1 
of his disregard of his idols that caused much surprise. ' 

It was the custom, when the natives caught a tur- 
tle, to bring it to Pomare, because it was a sacred ' 
animal, that might not be eaten like other food. It ; 
was thought necessary that the king should send it 
first to the idol's temple to be dressed with sacred 
fire, and give part of it to the idol before he ate any 
himself 

Night of Toil. 7 



98 THE NlGiiT OF TOIL. 

In tli8 spring of 1812, a turtle was caught, and 
Pomare's servants were talcing it to the temple, when 
the king called them back, and desired them to dress 
it in th e ovenin his kitchen, and to serve it aU up 
for his dinner. 

The servants thought the king was mad, or in joke , 
but when they heard him repeat the order, they were 
obliged to obey. 

At dinnertime the king's friends and servants 
stood aromid in silence, expecting to see the king 
presently fall in convulsions, or drop down dead. In 
vain the king asked them to eat with him, and as- 
sured them that the gods had no power to hurt them. 
The servants, as they removed the dishes, expressed 
their surprise that he had not yet been punished, 
wliile they still fully expected, that before the mor- 
row, some judgment would be sent. But, as no harm 
did befall hmi, the king was much confirmed by this 
event, in his contempt of idols. 

Pomare's conduct on this occasion would have 
been much more surprising, if another of the natives 
had not already tried a still bolder experiment. Tliis 
native was Pahi, the brother of the king of Raiatea. 
Some time before, when he was at Tahiti vidth king 
Pomare, he dreamed that a large fierce cat pounced 
upon him, and tore his face in a shocking manner. 
He awoke in great alarm, but falling asleep again, 
dreamed the same thing ; and after again awaking, 



POMARE'S MARRIAGE. 99 

fell asleep, and dreamed it a third time. He then 
said to himself, " This is my bad god who has disturb- 
ed me; I will destroy it." Next day he seized the 
log of wood, which till then he had worshipped, threw 
it into the flames of an oven, and baked some bread- 
fruit with it. The natives were astonished at his 
boldness in burning the god ; but still more at his 
daring to eat the breadfruit that had been baked 
A\ith its ashes. Pomare was then very angry with 
Pahi, and yet, as you have seen, soon afterwards 
behaved in a similar manner. 

About this time Pomare declared, that for the fu- 
ture he would oiil^Jiave one wife. He determined 
to marry the eldest daughter of the king of Raiatea. 
Accordingly he sent a message to that monarch to 
inform him of his intention, promising to send a fleet 
of canoes with some chiefs, to fetch the princess. The 
king of Raiatea had another daughter, named Tera, 
a little younger than her sister, and much handsomer. 
She asked her father to allow her to visit Pomare 
immediately, and when she had obtamed permission, 
she set out, accompanied by a great train of chiefs, 
both men and women. "When Pomare saw her, he 
liked her so well that he determined to make her his 
wife. It is probable that Tera had hoped, before 
she set out, that Pomare would act in this manner. 
Pomare was, however, afraid lest the king of Raiatea 
should be offended at what he had done, and should 



100 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

f go to Avar Avith him ; therefore he said to Tera, "You 
shall not be my queen; your eldest sister shall be 
my queen, and you shall be my wife'' 

He sent the fleet to fetch the eldest sister, as he 
had promised ; and when she arrived, she bore the 
/ title of Pomare Yahine, or the female Pomare, and 
' was treated with more honor than her sister. But 
though Pomare appointed his wife's sister to the dig- 
nity of queen, we will not call her queen in this his- 
tory, because in other histories she is not spoken of 
j under that name. "VYe shall therefore call Tera queen, 
1 and Pomare Yahine we shall call the queen's, sister. 
I You will, however, expect to hear of Pomare Yahine 
very often, and to find that she is a person of great 
I consequence. She was also the queen of the island 
j of Huahine, though, as she did not live there, a per- 
j son called regent ruled in her stead. 

At length Tera the queen had a little daughter. 
The conduct of Pomare, with regard to this infant, 
was very hopeful. In foniier times, very strange 
commands were given upon the birth of a royal in- 
fant. JSTo fires were allowed to be lighted for many 
days, except at a great distance from its dwelhng. 
No boat was allowed to leave the shore, so that the 
people were generally much distressed for fish ; and i 
no persons were permitted to approach the child ex- 
cept sacred persons, dressed in sacred clothes. Po- 
mare observed none of these customs, but told the 



THE KING DESIRES BAPTISM. 101 

missionaries that he wished his baby to be brought i 
up lilvc an English child, and asked them to give I 
him cups, saucers, and spoons, that he might have | 
it fed in the Enghsh manner. This child was called 
Ai-ma-ta, of whom you will hear much hereafter. 

On the 18th of July, 1812, Fomare held a con- | / 
versation with the missionaries which greatly de 
lighted them. He came to them and said, "You do \^ 
not know the thoughts of my heart, nor I yours, but 
God does." This was the way he began the conver- 
sation. I cannot repeat it all, but in the course of it 
he said, "I wish to be baptized, for it is my fixed 
purpose to cleave to Jehovah, and to you, who are 
his people. I ^vish 3"ou to pray for me." 

One of the brethren repHed, "AVe have never 
ceased to pray for you, and it would truly rejoice us 
to see you give your heart to God. Then we would 
baptize you." 

Pomare again answered, " You do not know my , 
heart, nor I yours ; but He who made men knows i 
their hearts, and whether they speak truth or false- 
hood* to each other." 

The brethren then said, "It is the custom for 
missionaries not to baptize heathens as soon as they 
desire it, but to wait, and instruct them in the 
things of God for some time, and to observe their 
conduct, to see whether they have truly forsaken evil 
ways." 



102 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

Pomare replied, " I am -willing to do as you tliink 
proper, and to be baptized when you see fit." 

In the course of this conversation, Pomare said, 
" I should hke to build a chapel ;" — ^for the chapel 
already built was very small. 

The missionaries proposed waiting till all the con- 
fusion in the islands was over ; but Pomare answered, 
" Let us not mind it ; let the chapel be built at all 
events." Pomare also said, " I have been trying to 
persuade Tamatoa and Tapoa," who were kings of 
other islands, "to do as I intend to do; but they say, 
* You may do as you please ; for our parts, we will 
cleave to Oro.' But that is the same," observed 
Pomare, " as cleaving to Satan. If no one else would 
hear you, or turn to your God, yet I would ; for I de- 
sire to be happy after death, and to be saved in the 
day of judgment." 

It is impossible to express what joy the missiona- 
ries felt, when they heard Pomare speak in this man- 
ner. They were not, however, quite sure whether 
Pomare was really converted, and they waited with 
anxiety to observe his behavior. 

They would have begun to build the chapel imme- 
diately, but in less than a month after this conver- 
sation, two chiefs came over from Tahiti, and invited 
Pomare to return, promising to endeavor to reconcile 
all their disputes with him ; for the peace that had 
been already made between Pomare and his subjects 



POMARE'S PENITENT LETTERS. 103 

had not been a sound and sincere one. The mission- 
aries beheld him depart to Tahiti with great regret, 
as they feared lest he should yield to the temptations 
he would meet with. 

About this time they were encouraged to hope for 
more conversions, by the happy death of one of their 
young servants. Though, when first taken ill, he 
would not listen to them, he seemed at length to be 
brought to repentance, and cried for pardoning mercy 
through Christ, till he could speak no more. 

The brethren received from Poniare after his de- 
parture, very diiTerent letters from any he had ever 
written before. In one of these letters he said, 

" You indeed will be saved, you are become the 
people of God ; but I may be banished to hell ; God 
may not regard me ; I am a vvicked man, and my 
sins are great, and heaped together," 

In another letter he said, 

"I was taken ill about three o'clock on Monday 
morning last. My affliction is great, but if I can 
only obtain God's favor before I die, I shall count 
myself well off. But 0, should I die with my sins 
unpardoned, it will be ill indeed with me." 

In a third letter Pomare A\Tote thus : 

" I continue to pray to God without ceasmg. Re- | 
gardless of other tilings, lam concerned only that my j 



104 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

soul may be saved by Jesus Christ. It is my earnest 
desire that I may become one of Jehovah's people, 
and that God may turn away his anger from me, 
which I deserve for my wickedness, my ignorance of 
him, and my heaped-up crimes." 

Some months afterwards, Pomare seemed to feel a 
brighter hope of pardon, for he said in another letter, 

"I venture with my guilt to Jesus Christ, though 
I am not equalled in Avickedness, nor equalled in 
guilt, nor equalled in obstinate Avickedness and rejec- 
tion of the truth ; that this very wicked man may be 
saved by Jehovah Jesus Christ." 

The missionaries now thought that Pomare must 
|i be r eally converted, for he seemed so much grieved 
// on account of his sins. He also appeared anxious to 
I do what was right, for in the last letter that has 
I been quoted, he said, " There are a great many thieves 
\ in Tahiti ; they have stolen six pieces of cloth, and 
/ books, and other tilings. Shall I sin in killing the 
\ thieves ? Write me fully what you tliink, my dear 
I friends." 

* Once Pomare murdered men Avho had done him 
( no harm ; now he was afraid of being cruel to those 
who had robbed him. He also observed the Sabbath 
constantly, and endeavored to persuade all his friends 
to turn to God. Though he was a king, many 



A GREAT CHANGE. JOS 

mocked him on account of his religion, and told him 
angrily, that he was the cause of all the troubles in 
Taliiti, because he had offended Oro, who had made 
him king. 

The missionaries were filled with astonishment to 
think that so veiy wicked a man as Pomare had 
been, should turn to God ; yet Christ, they knew, 
camg to save the chief of sinners. They gave all 
the glory of the change to the great and wonderful 
grace of God, which alone could change so great and 
wonderful a sinner. 



106 THE NIGHT OF TOri. 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE JOYFUL DISCOVERY. 



The missionaries now found the people in Eimeo 
very ready to attend to their instructions, and they 
heard that the people in Tahiti also were inquiring 
after. the true God. It was agreed that two of the 
brethren should go over to Tahiti, to see whether the 
joyful report was true. 

Mr. Scott and Mr. Hayward were sent upon tliis 
errand. They landed in Tahiti, and slept that night 
in one of the native houses. Early in the morning 
they rose, and each went to look for some retired 
place among the bushes where he might pray. While 
Mr. Scott was alone, he heard a voice ; it seemed the 
voice of prayer ; he drew nearer to the place whence 
it came, and heard a Tahitian blessing the true God. 
It was the first time he had ever heard such words 
from a Tahitian's lips. Tears of joy rolled down his 
cheeks, and he longed to clasp the Christian man to 
his heart ; but he waited in silence till the man left 
the spot, and then he knelt down, and thanlied God 
fervently for havmg bestowed his Spirit upon the 
poor heathen. Mr. Scott returned to the house, and 
there met his friend Mr. Hayward, whom he in- 
formed of the joyful event. They inquired amongst 



THE PRAYING TAHITIANS. 107 

the natives for the man who had left offAvorshipping 
idols, and were told of one named 0-i-to, who had 
done so. They sought for him, and heard his own 
accomit of himself Oito had once been a servant 
to the missionaries, when they had lived in Taliiti, 
but he had not then believed ; lately he had been 
struck with some remarks the king had made, and 
longing for instruction, he had gone to a man called 
Tu-a-lii-ne, who had been servant to the missionaries 
for many years, and he had asked him to teach him. 
Tuahine was in the same state of mind as Oito. 
These two often met to pray together, and to con- 
verse, amongst the lonely places in the mountain. 
The change in their behavior was soon observed by 
their countrymen. Some ridiculed them ; a few, 
however, joined their little prayer-meetings, and 
agreed to give up worshipping idols, and all evil 
customs, and to keep the Sabbath-day. Such was 
the account that Oito gave of himself to the mis- 
sionaries. 

Mr. Scott immediately wrote a letter to mform the 
brethren in Eimeo of these happy events. When 
the brethren read the letter, they shed tears of grate- 
ful joy. They felt now that they were rewarded for 
sixteen years of toil, and watching, and alarm ; for 
God had granted to the Gentiles repentance unto 
life. 

Mr. Scott and Mr. Hayward went round the island 



108 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

of Taliiti. preaching the Gospel, and then invited 
Oito and Tnahine, and their praying companions, to 
return with them to Eimeo, to receive instruction at 
school, and at chapel. These Christian natives were 
glad to accept the invitation, especially as Tahiti 
was at this time in a state of great confusion and 
wickedness. You may imagine how affectionately 
these people were received by the brethren in 
Eimeo. 

The missionaries knew that there were many 
people in Eimeo desirous of serving the true God, 
and they were anxious to discover who they were, 
that they might instruct and watch over them. I 
will now relate the plan they adopted for this 
purpose. 

The chapel that Pomare had desired to be built, 
was opened for pubhc worship on July 2oth, 1813, 
just one year after Pomare's order had been given 
The king himself was not there at the opening, as he 
was still at Tahiti. "VMien the evening service was 
just over, Mr. Bavies invited all persons who sin- 
cerely desired to cast away their idols, to come to 
the chapel the next evening, that he might write 
down their names in a book. About forty attended 
at the time appointed. The brethren prayed and 
/ sung, and 'Mi. Xott gave a short address, and asked 
all to come forward who really desired to serve tEe 
true God alone. Thirty-one consented to have their 



ILLNESS OF THE BRETHREN. 109 

names -written down ; amongst these were Oito and 
Tuahine. The brethren invited this little company 
to meet them often in the chapel to be instructed 
privately. 

One of them named Mu-i, was soon called to his 
rest. This poor youth had shown great love for the 
word of God and prayer, and had crept to the bushes, 
to pray in secret, as long as he had strength. "VMien 
confined to his hut, he would say, as the people 
passed by on their way to school or chapel, '"My feet 
cannot go, but my heart goes with you." 

About the same time a person of a very diiferent 
character died. This was Idia. She had always 
been a bitter enemy to Christ, and had even pre- 
vented others fi'om confessing their belief in him. 
Several persons who had been afraid of declaring 
they were Christians in her lifetime, did so as soon 
as she was dead. It is true, she had been kind to 
the missionaries, but not for their Master's sake. 

The missionaries sufiered much from illness, espe- 
cially from swellings in their limbs, and from bihous 
attacks. Sometimes almost all of them were ill at 
the same time, and unable to preach. The Christian 
natives lamented their teachers' illness, with tears in 
their eyes, saving, "Alas, what will become of us, if 
you die ?" The brethren themselves feared that 
some of their lives would soon be cut short, and they 
WTote letters to England, entreating that more mis- 



110 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

sionaiies might be sent to their help ; yet in all their 
weakness they had much to rejoice in. 

They observed with delight that the people they 
instructed prayed daily, both in their families and 
secretly amongst the bushes, and constantly as^feed 
a blessing upon their food. For these habits, the 
Christians were much ridiculed by the heathen, and 
called "Bu-re A-tu-a," or praying people. This was 
an honorable title, but it was meant as a reproach. 
In all countries, the people of God are mocked by the 
ungodly. In England and the United States, they 
are often called "saints, methodists, evangelical," 
and many other names ; but such reproaches are an 
honor indeed ; for Christ himself was even called 
"Beelzebub, or the devil." Matt. 12 : 24. 

There were many persons from other islands as- 
sembled in Eimeo at this time, and some of them 
were anxious to be instructed by the missionaries, 
and came and dwelt near them. They had come to 
Eimeo to assist Pomare in his wars ; but God, in his 
wisdom, had brought them there that they might 
carry back the peaceful tidings of salvation to their 
own countries. Durmg this year, some of them 
returned to Raiatea and Hualiine, whence they 
came. 
. Mr. Nott and Mr. Haywayd went to visit these- 
i islands in a sliip that touched at Eimeo, and found 
j the people ready to assemble to hear them of their 



CONDUCT OF THE KING. Ill 

own accord, and full of contempt for their idols, call- 
ing them bad and foolish gods. At the end of two 
months, the two brethren returned with the joyful 
account to Eimeo. Some of the missionaries would 
gladly have gone to live in the neighboring islands, 
but they were obliged to keep together to finish the 
ship. They were also so frequently ill, that they 
were afraid of separating from each other. 

The missionaries were anxious to baptize those 
people in Eimeo who appeared truly converted. But 
as Pomare was the first who had asked to be bap- 
ti zed, they thought it proper to write to liim on the 
subject. They had been grieved by hearmg bad 
accounts of his conduct, especially of his drinking too 
much, a sin to which he had ahvays been much in- 
chned. In their letter to him, they begged him to 
consider his own case, and whether he was in a fit 
state for baptism. 

Pomare wrote to them in answer, that he should 
soon return to Eimeo, and that he did not wish any 
persons to be baptized before he came, and recom- 
mended the brethren to wait to see whether the 
people were sincere in their religion. 

The brethren, however, were not so fearful of any . 
of the people having deceived themselves, as they ] 
were of Pomare himself 

It was selfish in Pomare to wish to make the peo- 
ple wait to be baptized, till he should return ; but 



112 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

he seemed to have a proud desire to be the first to 
be baptized, and perhaps it was not right in the 
brethren to grant liis desire. 

After an absence of two years, the king returned 
to Eimeo ; but when he came, though he expressed 
a strong desire to be baptized, the brethren felt too 
much dissatisfied with him, to comply with his re- 
quest ; yet they did not baptize any of his people. 
He still continued firmly resolved to be a Christian 
in name, but alas, he did not appear to possess a re- 
newed heart. 



CONVERSION OF A PRIEST. 113 

CHAPTER XIII. 

HOW THE IDOLS WEKE PUBLICLY INSULTED. 

The people in Eimeo grew more and more anxious 
for instruction. There were now above three hun- 
dred names written down, and three hundred schol- 
ars, chiefly grown up people, who attended the 
schools every day. 

At this time a very stri king conversion took place, 
which shook exceedingly the power of Satan among 
the heathen. 

One evening Mr. Nott, after preaching at the tents 
of one of the great chiefs who had visited Eimeo, 
was returning home by the sea-shore, when a priest 
called Fa-ti-i, f ollowed liim. He had listened to Mr. 
Nott's sermon, and now seemed anxious to converse 
with him. Mr. Nott was astonished to hear him 
say, " To-morrow evening I shall burn the idols un- 
der my care." 

Mr, Nott replied, " I fear you are jesting Avith me : 
you know we wish you to burn them; but do you 
really intend to do so ? I can scarcely believe what 
you say." 

" Don't be unbelieving," replied Path ; " wait till 
to-morrow, and you shall see." The rest of the way, 
Mr. Nott and Path conversed only about Jesus Christ 
and his salvation. 

Night of ToU. ° 



314 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

"When Mr. Nott told his brethren what Path had 
said, they wondered whether he would keep his word, 
and feared that if he did, the people would be much 
enraged by his burning their honored idols. 

The next morning Patii and his friends were col- 
lecting wood near the sea-shore ; in the afternoon 
they were splitting it, and making a great pile near 
the idols' temple. 

A great number of the heathen, as well as the 
missionaries and their friends, assembled at the place 
in the evening. Just before the setting of tha sun, 
Patii appeared and ordered his servants to set fire to 
the pile of v v^ood. He then went to the ItTols' house, 
and brought the gods out, one at a time, as he had 
often done before. But he did not now praise them 
as in former times, but after spreading them in a row 
upon the ground, he tore off the cloths which covered 
them, stripped them of their ornaments, and then 
threw them one by one into the flames ; and as he 
threw each, he pronounced its name, and repeated its 
foolish history, calling upon the people to observe 
what a helpless log it was. Never had the sun set 
upon a more joyous sight, than upon those expiring 
flames, \^'hich had consumed the chief idols of Eimeo. 

The heathen returned home, astonished at what 
they had seen. Some expected that the gods Avould 
soon show their anger, while others doubted more 
than ever whether the gods had any power at all, 



CONTEMPT FOR ID0L3. 115 

and began to burn tlieir idols and to destroy their i 
temples. Patii himself from this time diligently 
listened to the missionaries, and walked worthy of ' 
the blessed Gospel of Christ. 

The queen's sister, about the same time, pubHcly 
showed her contempt for idols. She had arrived the 
year before at Eimeo, accompanied by a great train 
of servants. Amongst them was a man called Fa- 
refau, who became a Christian, had his name written 
down, and attended the school. 

This spring the chiefs of Eimeo sent, according to 
the custom, a large present of pigs, and fruit, as a 
feast for the princess. Before the feast was given, 
the princess, who was herself inchned to be a Chris- 
tian, consulted the king and her other friends on the 
subject. She wished to prevent the ears of a pig, or 
the head of a fish, being taken to the marae, as an 
ofiering to the gods ; for she desired the food to be 
sanctified by the true God. It was determined that 
some person should ofier a prayer to tliis God over 
the food, before it was eaten. It required great cour- 
age to offer such a prayer before the idolaters. Fare- 
fan, however, luideiiook to do it, and kept his word. 

The priests, who were waiting near, ready to carry 
the food to the marae, were enraged ; but yet they 
durst not take it there, after it had been offered to 
the Christians' God. 

Soon afterwards the queen's sister went over to 



116 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

TaMti, accompanied by the queen herself. Pomare 
gave them a book to convey to his little girl, who 
was now three years old, and who was residing at 
Tahiti with her nurse. 

When the idolaters in Tahiti heard that the king 
had sent a book to his little daughter, they saw that 
he intended to bring her up in the new religion, and 
they were more determined than ever, not to let Po- 
mare be long. 

TFe chiefs, as usual, gave a feast to the queen and 
her sister on her arrival in Tahiti. Some oi the 
priests, observing that these ladies despised their 
gods, began to speak to them in an insulting manner, 
and to threaten them with the anger of the beings 
they despised, and, at the same time, pointed to some 
bunches of red feathers, which were hanging near, 
and which were intended to represent their gods. 

Farefau, hearing these speeches, exclaimed, " Are 
these feathers the mighty tilings with whose anger 
you threaten us ? I will soon settle the affair." He 
instantly seized hold of them, and threw them into 
an oven, which was dug near, and thus destroyed 
them."""' 

This act was perhaps unwise. The idolaters were 
exceedingly provoked by it, and though they durst 
not revenge themselves on the spot, they waited for 
an opportunity to do so. 

While the queen and her sister were in Tahiti, 



POMARE'S ZEAL. 117 

Pomare set out iijion a journey round Eimco, for the 
purpose of persuading the heathen, wherever he went, 
to turn from idols. It may surprise you, after what 
you have heard of Pomare, to find that he could take 
so much pains in God's service. The missionaries 
also were perplexed by him : sometimes they hoped 
he was a child of God, and sometimes they feared he 
was a child of the devil. 

During the journey he wrote to the missionaries. 
In his letter, he said, 

" I am highly pleased, that the chief people attend ? 
so well to the word of God. This was my business \ 
in this journey, to make known to them the word t 
of God ; and, behold, they have listened unto it ; ^ 
they have regarded it. Had it been otherwise, I j 
should have been much grieved. To-morrow is our | 
meeting for prayer ; the beginning of the new month. '^ 
Should these even ask me to write do^vn their names, 
how ought I to act ? Shall I write them ? Write : 
your mind to me without delay, and give me instruc- j 
tions how to do. May you be blessed of God, I 

"POMARE, KING." 

This letter would have given the missionaries much 
comfort, had not some parts of Pomare's conduct 
alarmed them. 

While the word of God was taking root in some 
hearts, sin raged more violently in those of others. 



118 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

The rebellious Taliitians had committed dreadful 
deeds for a long while past. They had seized an 
English vessel, had murdered some on board, and 
had attempted to seize other vessels ; they had per- 
secuted the Christian natives, burnt one of their 
houses of worship, and hunted them as sacrifices for 
Oro. It was considered dangerous to be kno^\^l as a 
Christian. Some indeed were brave enough to wor- 
ship God openly ; but others, like Nicodemus, were 
afraid to confess Christ, and only met together for 
prayer at midnight, in the thick woods and lonely 
valleys. 

Amongst those who sufiered for the sake of Christ, 
was a young man, vrhose affecting history I v.ill now 
relate. 

When he became a Christian, his relations laughed 
at him ; then they made him flattering promises, on 
condition he would again worship their gods ; and 
last of all, they threatened him, and cast him out of 
his father's house. After he was become an outcast, 
his enemies fixed upon liim for a sacrifice to their 
idols. They went in search of him, and found him 
sitting beneath some trees at the top of a hill near 
his little dwellmg. He had retired to that quiet spot 
to meditate upon God, before he offered up his even- 
ing prayer. 

He saw a crowd of servants of the priests and 
chiefs approaching — as once in Gethsemane, our Sav- 



THE HAPPY ESCAPE. 119 

lour had beheld Judas and liis enemies. Suddenly 
the young man guessed the purpose for which they 
were come. AYhen they came near, they told him 
the king was arrived and wished to see him ; he 
calmly replied, that he did not beUeve the king was 
come. They then told him some of his friends wished 
to see him. But he answered, " "VYhy do you seek 
to deceive me ? I know that a man is soon to be i 
ofTered to the idols, and I knov/ that I am to be that I 
man. But Jesus Christ is my keeper. You may be ' 
pemiitted to kill my body, but I am not afraid to die. j 
My soul you cannot hurt ; Jesus Christ v.dll keep itf 
safely." 

His enemies, fmding that they could not persuade 
him to come down with them to the sea-shore, where 
a canoe was waiting, rushed upon him, and killed 
him ; then, putting his body hito a basket of cocoa- 
nut leaves, carried Mm in the canoe to the temple. 

Some time afterwards, the rebels in Tahiti fixed 
apon a young man named Aberaham.a, as a sacrifice. 
He vv'as chosen becaus'e he was a Christian. "V\Tien 
he saw the priest's servants approaching, he fled ; 
but was pursued by them, shot at, and wounded. As 
Koon as he received the ball, he fell ; and unable any 
longer to run, he crawled among some bushes, and 
hid himself His enemies endeavored to discover the 
place of his concealment ; they came very near him 
several times ; but could not succeed in finding hiin,- 



120 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

and at last went away disappointed. "When they 
were gone, and night was come, Aberahama crept 
out of his hiding-place to the house of his friends, 
who dressed his wound and carried him to a place 
of safety. He recovered from his wound, hut never 
lost the honorable scar, which showed that he had 
endangered liis hfe for the sake of Christ, even of 
that Saviour who is now seen in heaven, Uke a lamb 
as it had been slain. 



FAILURE OF THE PLOT. 12] 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE BATTLE WHICH CHANGED THE STATE OF TAHITI. yj^^ 

The year 1815 was the most remarkable that had 
ever been kno\Mi in Tahiti. I am now going to 
relate the great events that occurred in it. 

You have already heard how much the heathen 
in Tahiti hated Jhe Christian natives. At length 
some of them determined to destroy them entir ely. 
Many of the heathen chiefs, who had before been 
at enmity with each other, joined together in this 
scheme. 

They fixed upon the night of July 7th, when they | 
heard the Christians would be assembled together, ] 
probably for prayer, near the sea-shore. 

The Christians came together as was expected; 
but they were secretly informed of the plan their 
enemies had made, and immediately jumped into » 
their canoes and sailed for Eimeo, where they ar- I 
rived next morning. The heathen chiefs assembled 
at the place appointed soon after the Christians had 
escaped, and were enraged at not finding them. As 
these chiefs had been enemies formerly, they soon 
began to quarrel among themselves. The greater 
part turned against those who had first proposed the 
slaughter of the Christians, and destroyed many of 



J22 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

them. Thus God showed his anger against wicked- 
ness, by causing the wicked to fall into the pit which 
he had digged. 

The missionaries in Eimeo of course received with 
affection the poor Christians who fled to them for 
protection. When they heard what had happened, 
they felt much alarm lest the heathen should at 
length rise up in both islands, and destroy all the 
worshippers of Jehovah. They set apart^ the 14th 
of July as a day of fasting and prayer, to^beseech^ 
the Lord to turn the hearts of their enemies. They 
had often set apart days in former times to pray for 
the conversion of the heathen, and then they had 
prayed alone, but now hundreds of native Christians 
joined in their prayers. 

Their God soon showed them his ear was not 
heavy that he could not hear, nor his arm short that 
it could not save. 

Soon afterwards two chiefs from Tahiti arrived in 
Eimeo. They came to in^'ite the Christian chiefs 
who had fled to return to their lands. 

It Avas necessary the king should return with the 
Christians, that he might make good their right to 
their lands, according to the ancient customs. The 
long, therefore, set out with them and their servants, 
accompanied also by many Christians from other 
islands. They knew that they had numerous enemies 
in Tahiti, and therefore they were prepared for war. 



REMARKABLE DREAM. 123 

"WTieii they arrived in their canoes at the shores 
of Tahiti, they saw on the hcach a great number of 
people with spears and guns, who forbade them to 
land, and fired on them several times. The king 
did not fire on them in return, but sent a flag on 
shore with an ofl^er of peace. At length the people' 
allowed them to land, and appeared inclined to be 
peaceable ; so that many of the chiefs returned 
quietly to their own lands. But though the heathen 
ajoiJearecl friendly, they were forming ^lans for de- 
stroying the king and his friends,_^The Idng sus- 
pected their ■s\acked intentions, and kept a constant 
watch over their proceedings. 

One of the long's chief enemies was a man called 
U-pu-fa-ra. He had often heard of the true God, 
but would not believe in him. One night he had a 
dream, in which he saw an immense oven, with a 
very great fire, and m the midst of it a large fish 
twisting itself in agony, and trying to get out ; and 
though in the fire, not consumed, but still li^dng. 
He awoke much alarmed, and could not sleep again 
that night ; nor could he forget what he had seen, 
but thought that perhaps the dream had been sent 
to show liim what he should siifier for his sins in 
hell. 

Seeing his friends resolved to fight against Pomare, 
he said to one of them, " Perhaps we are wrong : let 
us send a message to the king, and propose to raako 



124 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

peace ; and ask for books, that we may know wliat 
this new word is." The priests, however, persuaded 
him to fight, assuring him that Oro would dehver 
the praying people into his hands. why did Upu- 
fara listen to their deceitful counsels, and resist the 
good desires that had sprung up in his heart ? Who 
ever hardened himself against God and prospered ? 

Two days afterwards he led the people to battle 
against Pomare. The day of the battle was the 
Sabbath, Nov. 12, 1815. 

Pomare and his friends did not know that they 
should be attacked by their enemies on that day, but 
they knew it was veiy probable that they should be 
assailed on some Sabbath, when they were engaged 
in God's worship ; and therefore they had appointed 
men to watch outside the chapel while they were 
assembled in it, and had desired these men to fire if 
they saw the enemy approaching. 

Early on the Sabbath morning, Pomare and eight 
hundred persons, some of whom were armed with 
spears and guns, were collected in the chapel in Bu- 
na-a-u-ia. They were just going to begin service, 
when they heard the sound of their watchmen's 
guns. They looked out and perceived an army at a 
distance, carrying before them the flags in honor of 
the idols. 

"It is war, it is war," the Christians exclaimed. 
Some of them were hastening to their tents for arms, 



THE CHRISTIANS ATTACKED. 125 

when Pomare arose and requested them to remain 
quietly in their places, assuring them that God 
would protect them during his own worship, which 
ought on no account to be forsaken. A hymn was 
then read by one of the company, and sung by the 
congregation : a portion of Scripture was next read, 
and a prayer was offered. The service being thus 
finished, those who were unarmed went to their tents ] 
to procure weapons. ^ 

The battle was fought on the sand of the sea- 
shore, and among the trees that grew close to it. 
Many of Pomare's army had not yet become Chris- 
tians ; these were not placed in the front, as they 
could not be so well trusted as the Christians, who 
even requested to occupy that situation. Among the ^ 
warriors was the queen's sister, Pomare Vahine, a 
tall, strong woman, who wore a sort of net of cords 
for armor, and held a gun and spear. On one side ; 
of her fought Farefau, herjjold Christia n ser vant. I 
Pomare himself sat in a canoe, and shot at the enemy. 

The heathen rushed upon Pomare's army with 
furious courage, having been assured by their priests, 
that their gods would give them the victory. But 
the Christians looked up to their God for help, and 
often knelt, during the battle, upon the grass, either j 
alone, or two or three together, and offered up a short j 
prayer. 

Several were killed on both sides. At length 



126 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

Upufara, the chief captain of the heathen, was shot, 
and fell. As he sat gasping on the sand, liis friends 
gathered round him, and endeavored to stop the 
bleeding of the wound. "Leave me," said the dying 
warrior. " Mark yonder young man ; he inflicted 
the wound ; on him revenge my death." Thus, 
breathing vengeance, Upufara expired. Two or 
three strong men ran towards the man who had 
shot their captain ; one of them overtook liim, and 
sprang upon him before he was aware ; but, as he 
was endeavoring to strangle him, was himself slain 
by the same gun that had destroyed Upufara, and 
which the man still held m his hand. 

The news of Upufara's death greatly discouraged 
the heathen army, who were at last obliged to flee 
to the rocks and mountains for shelter. The king's 
soldiers were going to pursue them as in former 
times, but Pomare approached, and cried out, "A-ti- 
ra," or " It is enough. Pursue none that have fled 
from the battle, neither bum their houses, nor mur- 
der their children." You know what cruelties were 
practised by the heathen on their conquered enemies. 
How great* a change had God wrought in Pomare's 
once cruel heart. Even the bodies of the enemy, 
instead of being left upon the shore for dogs and 
swine to devour, were properly buried, and the body 
of Upufara was carried to the place where his fathers 
lay in their tombs. 



ORG'S TEMPLE OVERTHROWX. 127 

Instead of ending the day in slaughter, Pomare ^ 
assembled his little army to thank God for their ! 
great deliverance. How much had depended upon 
the battle fought this day. Had Pomare been con- | 
quered, all the Christians would have been cruelly | 
killed or made slaves, and the idol gods would have \ 
been honored as in former days. But now God was j 
praised by liis servants, and even by many who had I 
never before worsliij)ped him, and who joined in the I 
praises of that evening. 

Instead of kilhng his enemies, Pomare determined 
to destroy their idolS;,, He sent a band ofTnen to the 
temple of Oro to overthrow it. Before they set out, 
he said to them, "Go not to the little islands, v/here 
the women and children of the enemy have been 
sent for safety ; turn not aside to burn houses, nor to 
destroy groves, but go straight along the highway." 
The men obeyed. When they arrived at Oro's tem- 
ple in Taiarabu, they were afraid lest the people 
should be enraged at an attempt to insult their god, 
and should attack them ; however, they were not 
prevented by these fears from acting in a very coura- 
geous manner. They began by firing into the small 
house where the idols were kept, saying, "Now, ye 
gods, if ye be gods, and have any power, come forth, 
and avenge the insults which we offer you." The 
multitude stood around, astonished both at the bold- 
ness of the men, and at the helplessness of the idols. 



128 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

The house was soon afterwards pulled down, and the 

gods shot through and through, and cast into the 

fire. Oro himself was not destroyed ; only his cover- 

^ ing and ornaments were thro^\^l into the flames. 

I He was merely a piece of wood rather longer than 

I a man, and ahout the thickness of a man's leg. This 

i senseless god was carried to Pomare, and laid at his 
feet. 

And what use do you think the king made of Oro ? 
He set it up as a post in his kitchen, fixing pegs upon 
M ^iiP*^ which baskets for food were hung, and after a 
time he used it as fuel. This was the end o f Oro,^ 
^ about whom the Taliitians had fought so fiercely for 
many years. Thus may all God's enemies perish. 

The people who had fled to the mountains, sent 
persons secretly in the night, to see whether their 
wives and cliildren had been hurt. They were as- 
tonished to hear that they were safe, and that the 
Iving and his friends promised to pardon all their ene- 
mies. At first they could not believe the news. 
After a few days they ventured to leave the moun- 
tains ; and Avhen they found that neither their houses 
nor families had been injured, they readily went to 
entreat the king's pardon, and to promise obedience 
for the future. They now saw how good the God 
was that Pomare worshipped, a God who taught 
him to be merciful to his enemies. "We had done 
every thing to oflend the king," said they; " and yet, 



THE TRIUMPH OF MERCY. 129 

when lie was able to destroy us, he freely fof^ave us." 
They had often heard before that God so loved his 
enemies, as to give his Son to die for them, but now 
they believed it. 

As soon as possible after the battle, Pomare sent 
to inform the missionaries in Eimeo of his success. 
A man who had been a chief priest and an areoi, 
was the bearer of the message. The, missionaries 
and their scholars saw the canoe approaching, and 
hastened to the beach ; but before they could ask a 
single question, the messenger exclaimed, " Con- 
quered, conquered — b y praye r _alone ;" and then, 
■with his spear in his hand, sprang upon the shore. 

The missionaries at first could scarcely believe the 
news for joy, but soon they assembled to render thanks 
to God, both for delivering them from the heathen^ 
and for overthrowinjr the idol gods. 



ifightofToa. 



130 THE NIGHT OF TOIL 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE WILDERNESS TURNED INTO A GARDEN. 

It might naturally be expected that some of the 
brethren would now remove to Tahiti, to dwell there ; 
and it was their wish to remove, but they were still 
engaged in building a ship. When they had begun 
to build this ship, they could scarcely induce people 
to hear them ; therefore they had not then so much 
work to do for souls, as they now had. They had 
intended to use the ship in going from island to 
island, both to preach, and to get pearls or pigs, to 
exchange with English ships, that they might not 
require so much money from the Christians in Eng- 
land. They were now sorry that they had ever be- 
gun it. 

But though the brethren were not able yet to set- 
tle in Tahiti, they were anxious to visit it, and to 
behold the wonderful change that God had wrought 
t here. Accordingly, Mr. Nott and Mr. Hayward 
went very soon to Tahiti, and travelled round the 
island, prcacliing to large congregations on their way. 
They found the people busy i n destroying maraes, 
and in building little chapels. In these chapels, the 
natives were accustomed to meet together three 
times on the Sabbath, and once in the week. As 
the natives in general were not able to preach, they 



POMARE'S PRAYER. 13J 

usually only prayed at their meetings, and read parts 
of the little books which had lately been printed, 
and which contained passages from Scripture. At 
these meetings they sometimes read prayers, which 
they had first written down. Pomare had written a 
prayer, which he often read himself in the chapels. 

You will no doubt hke to see a translation of this 
prayer. 

"Jehovah, thou God of our salvation, hear our 
prayers, pardon thou our sins, and save our souls. 

" Our sins are great, and more in number than the 
fishes in the sea, and our obstinacy has been very 
great, and not to be equalled. Turn thou us to thy- 
self, and enable us to cast off every evil way. Lead 
us to Jesus Christ, and let our sins be cleansed in • 
his blood. Grant us thy good Spirit to be our sane- j 
tifier. ' 

" Save us from hypocrisy. Suffer us not to come 
to thy house with carelessness, and return to our own 
houses and commit sin. Unless thou have mercy 
upon us, we perish. Unless thou save us, unless we | 
are prepared, and made meet for thy habitation in • 
heaven, we are banished to the fire — we die : but let 
us not be banished to that unlmown world of fire. 
Save us through Jesus Christ thy Son, the Prince of . 
life ; yea, let us obtain salvation through him. ! 

" Bless all the inhabitants of lliese islands, all the J 



132 THE NIGHT OF TOIL 

families thereof; let every one stretch out his hands 
unto God, and say, ' Lord, save me ; Lord, save me.' 

" Let all these islands — Tahiti, with all the peo- 
ple of Eimeo, and of Huahine, and of Raiatea, and 
of the little islands around, partake of thy salvation. 
Bless Britain, and every country in the w^orld. Let 
thy word grow quickly in the world, so as to grow 
faster than evil. 

" Be merciful to us, and bless us, for Jesus Christ's 
sake. Amen." 

This prayer showed that Pomare had been taught 
aright what to pray for. 

Mr. Nott and Mr. Hay ward found the people very 
anxious to learn to read. As there were no schools 
in Tahiti^ the people Avere willing to be taught by 
any one whom the missionaries had instructed, when 
they lived in the islands. Many grown up persons 
might be seen sitting under trees learning to read. 
Some of the missionaries' former scholars w^ent to 
the other islands, and taught the inhabitants. The 
chiefs of these islands sent messages to the brethren, 
entreatmg them to come over and preach to them. 

"When the missionaries saw and heard these things, 
they exclaimed, " T his is the fi nger o f God. Wh at 
hath God wrought." 

TheltingTiad some time before destroyed hi s pub- 
lic idols ; but he now washed to part with hk family 



THE KING'S FAMILY IDOLS. 133 

idols, that he had alwaj^s kept in his houses. He i 
se nt about twelve of these fr ightful little images to I 
the missionaries in Eimeo, with a letter, of which I ! 
will copy a part." 

" Friends — May you be saved by Jehovah, and 
Jesus Christ our Saviour. This is my speech to you, 
my friends. 

" I wash you to send these idols to England Jor the i 
missionary_society^hat they may^iow the likeness 
of the go ds that Tahiti worshipped^ These were my j 
own idols belonging to my fathers, and my father | 
left them to me when he died. And now, having ' 
been made acquainted with the true God, with Je- 
hovah, HE IS ]MY God. "When this body of mine 
shall be dissolved in death, may the Three-One save 
me. This is my shelter, my close hiding-place, even 
from the anger of Jehovah. When he looks upon 
me, I will hide me at the feet of Jesus Clirist my 
Saviour, that I may escape. 

" I rejoice and praise Jehovah that he hath made 
known his word unto me. I should have gone to 
destruction, if Jehovah had not interposed. Many 
have died, and are gone to destruction — kings, and 
commoi* people — ^they died without knowing any 
thing of the true God ; and now, when it came to 
the small remainder of the people, Jehovah hath 
been pleased to make known his word, and we are 



134 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

made acquainted with liis good word, made acquaint- 
ed with the deception of the false gods, with all that 
is evil and false. It was j^ou that taught us, but the 
knowledge came from Jehovah. It is because of 
this I rejoice, and I pray to Jehovah that he may 
increase my abhorrence of every evil way. 

" I am going a journey round Tahiti to acquaint 
the people with the word of God. The principal 
idol that has the red feathers is Temeharo ; that is 
his name. Look you, you may know it by the red 
feathers. That was my father's o"\\ti god, and those 
feathers were given by Lieutenant "Watts. It was 
my father that set them himself about the idol. If 
you think proper, you may bum these idols all in 
the fire ; or, if you like, send them to your own 
country, that the people there may know Tahiti's 
foohsh gods." 

Thejmssionaries, jwhen they had read this letter, 
nailed up the images in a wooden case, and soon af- 
terwards sent them to England, to the directors of 
the London Missionary Society. '""*" ^ 

Tliis summer the brethren made several journeys 
round the islands of Tahiti and Eimeo. 

I will give you some account of a journey made 
by Mr. Davies and Mr. Hay ward round Tahiti this 
October, that you may perceive how great a change 
had taken place in the island. 



i^/s-^ 



ANXIETY FOR THE WORD. 135 

The two brethren Mere accompanied by several 
canoes from Eimeo, full of men and boys ; for this 
time the brethren did not travel round the island on 
foot, but went by water. They landed at every 
place where there were any houses ; but now they 
had no need to go from house to house to entreat the 
people to come and hear them, for the people came 
of themselves ; and many were not satisfied with the 
public worship, but followed the brethren to the 
hous^ at which they lodged, that they might be 
present at the family worship ; for it was now the 
custom for most of the families to have prayers both 
morning and evening, and the brethren usually con- 
ducted the service, when they were present. In the 
evening, one of the brethren read a passage from a 
little book of extracts from the New Testament, and 
explained it, and then prayed. In the morning, it 
was often too dark to read when the brethren rose, 
and in tliis case they generally asked one of the 
natives to pray aloud. 

But the natives were not content with family 
prayers alone. The brethi'en were delighted, wher- 
ever they went, to see them seeking retired places 
among the bushes for private prayer, both morning 
and evenmg. 

The natives were so anxious to learn about holy 
tilings, that they often kept the brethren awake as 
they lay in bed, asking them questions, almost till 



136 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

morning. It would have been more kind, if they 
had permitted the weary missionaries to rest ; but it 
was well that they took delight in good conversation, 
instead of laughing and talking, as they used to do 
both night and day. 

On one occasion, a man called Tino, who had for- 
merly pretended to be a prophet, talked to the breth- 
ren in the night in a very sensible and pious manner. 
He observed, that no person ought to be kept back 
from coming to Christ, because of liis wickedness ; 
" For," said Tino, " I have been the most wicked of 
, men, and yet I am now turned to the true God, and 
■my heart is quite fixed upon him." 

Early in the morning people often came to the 
brethren with their books, entreating to be allowed 
to read a little piece to them. 

In every place the brethren found a chapel : some- 
times it was very small, and many of the people who 
flocked to hear the brethren, were obliged to stand 
outside. The chapels, like the houses, were built of 
posts, placed a little apart, and were thatched with 
leaves, while the ground was strewed with clean 
grass. In the middle of one side, a seat for the min- 
ister was placed, with a small table before it, while 
rows of benches were pro\dded for the hearers. 
There were jixty-six of these chapels in the island ; 
some were hardly finished when the brethren arnveT. 
The people assembled for pubHc worship three timea 



PROGRESS OF THE TRUTH. 137 

on tlie Sabbath, on "Wednesday evening, and in many 
places they met on the first Monday in the month, 
to pray for the conversion of the heathen, according 
to the custom of the missionaries, and of their friends 
in England. 

The people in general seemed much rejoiced at the 
change that had taken place. One chief, called Tati, 
observed, "If God had not sent his word, we should 
soon all have been destroyed ; for once we were a 
much larger nation than we are now ; but through 
killing infants, sacrificing men, and fighting, we were 
becoming fewer and fewer." 

But though in general the brethren were cheered 
by the eager attention of the people, they were some- 
times grieved by meeting with careless persons, yet 
seldom with the bold and scornful, as in former times ; 
for the good example of the chiefs was a check to the 
ungodly. 

At one place the missionaries fomid the people 
very giddy and inattentive at worship. They re- 
proved them, and said, "When we saw your little 
chapel, we were pleased ; but now we see your be- 
havior, we are disappointed." 

At another place they sent a message to some peo- 
ple who lived on the other side of some high rocks 
in Taiarabu, to come to them ; but the men sent 
word that they could not come, and hoped the breth- 
ren would come to them instead. Accordingly, the 



138 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

brethren, with great difficulty, clambered up the 
Eteep rocks ; but when they came into the valley, 
they were disappointed to find that all the men were 
gone to get food. They went back again, and preach- 
ed to some other persons m a chapel near the sea- 
shore. Afterwards the men who had behaved so ill 
came in, and said they were sorry they had so little 
love for the word of God as to lose opportunities of 
hearing it, especially as it was so seldom preached 
among them. 

When the brethren had gone almost round the 
island, they came to Matavai, and found the king 
there, living in a small house built on the veiy spot 
where their old house once stood. They looked at 
the trees which they themselves had planted, and 
found some of them laden with oranges and lemons, 
though most of the breadfruits were destroyed. The 
king treated them very kindly, and the people of the 
place begged them earnestly to come back and dwell 
among them again. The brethren were not able 
yet to grant the request, but they intended to grant 
it as soon as possible. 

Hov/ righteous were God's judgments on the peo- 
ple of Matavai. They had slighted the word of God 
when it was preached among them, and had driven 

Iaway their teachers by their rebellious wars. God 
had, in judgment, sent " a famine of hearing the 
words of the Lord," Amos 8 : 11, and "removed 



DANGER OF NEGLECT. 139 

their teachers into a corner." Isa. 30 : 20. It is 
very dangerous to neglect religious advantages. 
Many children who have been brought up beneath 
the sound of a faithful minister's voice, have longed 
in vain to hear such a voice in riper years. Many 
persons who have lived in godly families, have dis- 
covered what a blessing they once enjoyed, Avhen 
they could never enjoy the same again. 



140 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

THE BABA. 

About this time some new missionaries arrived. 
The ships which brought them touched first at Ta- 
hiti, where the king was residing. Pomare Avas 
much pleased to hear that Mr^_El]ia, had brought a 
printing-press with him, and asked him to put it up 
in Tahiti, and remaui there himself. Mr. Elhs, 
however, told him that he must join his brethren in 
Eimeo. 

The ship contained a present for Pomare that de- 
lighted him exceedingly : it was a horse. Pomare 
went down to see it, in the narrow place wh^re it 
had been kept, unable to lie do Mai. It was a diffi- 
cult thing to remove the animal to the shore, Pomare 
had desired two canoes to come close to the ship to 
receive it. The horse was then tied with bandages 
to a part of the ship which jutted out over the sea. 
"VMiile the horse was hanging in the air the bandages 
gave way, and the poor animal dropped into the sea. 
Pomare and the natives were much terrified when 
they saw him disappear beneath the waves. Soon, 
however, he arose snorting from the water, and began 
to swim to the shore. The natives plunged into the 
sea, and seizing the horse, some by the mane and 
others by the tail, endeavored to hold him, till he 



THE "MAN-CARRYING PIG.'» 141 

appeared in danger of being drowned. In vain the 
king raised liis voice to desire the people to leave the 
animal alone ; his voice was lost in the cries of the 
sA\immers. At length the horse reached the beach 
in safety. The natives who were assejnbled there 
immediately fled in alarm, and climbed the trees, or 
hid themselves behind the rocks and bushes. One 
of the English sailors who was on shore, went up to 
the horse, and took hold of his halter. The natives 
then returned from their hiding-places, and gazed 
at him with wonder. No horse had ever been seen 
in Taliiti, except one that had been left there by 
Captain Cook forty years before ; but few of the 
people could remember a circumstance that occurred 
so long ago. The horse was placed in a shed that 
night. The next morning the captain brought a 
bridle and saddle as a present for Pomare. Pomare 
requested him to put them on the horse, and to ride 
upon liis back. The natives were delighted when 
they saw the horse trotting and cantering on the 
beach, and they called it "land-running pig," and 
" man-carr}dng pig." Not one, I believe, would 
have dared to mount it himself. 

On the Sabbath Mr. Ellis visited some of the natives 
in their dwellings, between morning and afternoon 
service. He found them reading out of their little 
books with their families, and talking vnih them 
upon the things they read of. 



143 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

Mr. Ellis was much pleased to observe how care- 
fully they kept the Sahbath, not even preparing 
their food upon that day. On other days they were 
much more industrious than they once had been, for 
they had no-jv' left off the foolish games they formerly 
deUghted in. Gro^\^l up people no longer wasted 
their time in plapng at ball, or shooting at a mark, 
or still worse, in wresthng, boxmg, and cock-fighting, 
but employed themselves in the useful labors of 
building and planting. Little gardens of taro, Avhich 
resembles a potato, surrounded many of the dwell- 
ings. The gi-eatest ornament of these gardens was 
a little house for secret prayer, which showed that 
the owners were looking for a better inheritance. 

The brethren now consulted together respecting 
the place where they should set up the printing- 
press. They resolved to remove it to the other side 
of Eimeo, and agreed that Mr. Ellis, with Mr. Davies 
and Mr. Cook, should go and live there. By this 
means the people at the other side of Eimeo would 
have an opportunity of receiving instruction. 

Pomare sent the brethren a letter, desiring them 
to inform him as soon as the printmg-house was fin- 
ished, that he might come to see the printing. How- 
ever, he did not wait till that time, but paid them a 
visit, bringing with him a quantity of boards for the 
brethren. His mind seemed much occupied with 
thoughts of drawing, and he looked with pleasure at 



THE rRlNTING-IIOUSE. 143 

some portraits of ministers in a magazine, and also 
at some pictures of beasts and birds. IJe did not, 
however, steal any, as he had once stolen the picture 
of Adam and Eve from Mr. Broomhall's Bible. 

The brethren, as well as the natives, employed 
themselves in building the new houses. They paved 
the floor of the printing-house with stones. "Whence 
do you think they procured these stones ? From a 
neighboring marae, which had contained pieces oi 
pavement, on which the worsliippers had knelt before 
the altars. These polished stones were dug up and 
placed where God's word was to be printed. Thus 
Satan was robbed, and God Vv^as honored. 

In the begmning of June the printing-house was 
finished. Its sides were composed of boards : and 
it had two glass windows, w'liich had been brought 
from England, and which, perhaps, were the first 
ever seen in the islands. 

A message was now sent to inform the king that 
all was ready for printmg. He soon arrived, accom- 
panied by a few favorite chiefs, and a multitude of 
people. The first book that was to be printed was 
the Ba-ha, or spelling-book ; for though some hun- 
dredsliad ciice been printed, both in England and at 
Fort Jackson, there were not nearly enough in the 
islands. 

Pomare looked with deUght at the leaden letters, 
or types, placed in divisions. Mr. Ellis asked him 



144 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

•whether he would like to set them himself. Pomare 
gladly consented to begin the work. As the alphabet 
was to be printed on the first page of the Baba, it 
was easy for Pomare to take a large letter out of 
each di%asion, and set it in its place. He next placed 
the small letters, and theni a few short words, and 
thus finished setting the firstjpjige of the spelling- 
book. But as it was necessary that many pages 
should be prepared before the press could be used, 
Pomare was obliged to wait about a fortnight be- 
fore he could have the pleasure of striking ofi^ the 
first sheet. 

At last he came, attended by two favorite chiefs, 
and followed by a crowd of curious, eager people. 
The king and his chiefs made their way through the 
people that stood round the door, and entered the 
printing-house. The door was then closed, and the 
window next the sea darkened, for the king did not 
W'ish to be seen, and the people did not behave with 
the politeness which Christian cliildren are taught to 
ghow, not knowing it was rude to peep in at windows. 

The king playfully told his companions not to laugh 
at him, if he should not print in the right manner. 
Mr. Ellis then put in his hand a soft ball dipped in 
ink, and told him to strike it upon the leaden letters. 
He then placed a sheet of clean paper upon the let- 
ters, and directed the king to turn the handle of the 
press. "V\lien Pomare had turned it, the paper was 



DESIRE FOR SPELLING-BOOKS. 145 

removed from beneath the press ; the king and his 
friends immediately rushed forwards to see what ef- 
fect had been produced. When tliey beheld the large 
and black letters on the paper, they cried out together 
with wonder and delight. The.sheet was then shown 
to the crowd outside, who immediately raised a gen- 
eral shout of joy. The king printed two more sheets, 
and then continued till sunset watching the brethren 
at the work. When he returned to his tent, he took 
with him the sheets he had printed. 

Almost every day, as he passed the printing-house, 
on his way to his favorite bathing-place, he called in 
to watch the printing for a short time. The people 
also were continually peeping in at the windows, and 
through the crevices of the w^alls, often exclaiming, 
"0 Britain, land of skill!" 

In less than a mouth the spelling-books were 
printed off, and distributed among the people. The 
natives showed great anxiety to obtain these little 
books. The missionaries received a number of plan- 
tain leaves rolled up, from Tahiti ; w^hen they un- 
rolled them, they found each contained a request for 
spelling-books written on the leaves. The people, 
generally, used plantain leaves instead of paper to 
write notes upon ; but as the leaves soon withered, 
they were only fit for notes. 

The brethren knew that the people were not only 
desirous to possess books, but that they longed to 

Night of Toil. -^Q 



|46_ THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

read the contents ; for many of them had copied their 
neighbors' books on pieces of cloth or bark, having 
used a reed for a pen, and purple juice for ink. They 
were also very anxious to know the meaning of what 
they read, in their little books of extracts from the Bi- 
ble ; and whenever the brethren entered their houses, 
the natives had generally some questions to ask them, 
which the brethren were delighted to answer. 

How pleasant it would be if tracts and good books, 
and especially the Bible, were valued as much among 
us. But the full soul loatheth the honeycomb. We 
have so many books, and have had them so long, that 
we are tempted to forget what precious gifts they are. 

Mrs. Ellis and Mrs. Crook made covers for the 
spelling-books, and sold the covers to the natives in 
e»:change for food. Two roots of taro, or a bunch oi 
breadfruit, were the price of a cover. The spelling- 
books had not been sold, for fear of discouraging the 
people from learning to read. 

Amongst the persons who received spellmg-books 
was a company of poor strangers, who had come 
some time before to Tahiti, and who had followed 
Pomare to Eimeo. They came from the Pearl Isl- 
ands, which were quite flat, and which produced 
nothing but cocoa-nuts, and they themselves were 
more rude in their mamiers than the Tahitians. They 
had been very wicked, and had almost destroyed 
their nation by their wars. But now they had cast 



MISSIONARIES MADE GLAD. 147 

away their idols, and worshipped the true God, and 
had built three chapels in one of their islands. No 
Enghshman had instructed them, but one of their 
o^\^l countrjTiien, who had learned to read in Tahiti, 
had gone back to his native country, and taught his 
people. These poor strangers were longing for books 
and more teachers. Pomare had been very kind to 
them, and had offered to let them live in Taliiti, but 
they were anxious to return to their native islands, as 
soon as they had procured the books they wanted. 
As they were not satisfied with spelling-books alone, 
many of them continued to live among Pomare's tents, 
and often visited the prmting-house, and attended 
the school and chapel. 

It gladdened the missionaries' hearts to see the ^ 
knowledge of God spreading from isle to isle, and 
those who were accustomed to do evil, learning to 
do good ; which is as wonderful, as for the leopard 
to change his spots, and the black man to become 
white ; but things that are impossible with men, are 
possible with God. 



148 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

QUESTIONS THE NATIVES ASKED ABOUT RELIGION. 

When Mr. Ellis had finished the spelhng-books, he 
printed some catechisms, and then some little books 
containing a collection of texts. He had taught two 
natives how to help him at the press, and he spent 
eight or ten hom's every day in the work — so anxious 
was he to supply the people ■with hooks. 

Mrs. Elhs opened a school, in which she taught 
Mr. Crook's six girls to work at their needle, and any 
native girls who desired to learn. 

The brethren, on their first arrival, had planted 
flowers and vegetables in their gardens. The king 
was much stmck with the sunflowers in Mr. Ellis' 
garden, having never seen any before, and he asked 
for some ; Mr. Ellis, however, refused him, because 
he himself wanted the flowers for seed. The king 
then said the queen and her sister each wished for 
one. Mr. Ellis could not deny their request, and 
^ent them one a,piece. They were much delighted, 
and placed them as ornaments in their hair. This 
little anecdote shows you that Pomare and his family 
had not left oft^ their old habits of begging. 

In the course of the summer a man died, of whom 
you have already heard some interesting particulars. 
You remember Farefau, who once threw the red 



DEATH OF FAREFAU. 149 

feathers into the oven. He had contuiued to serve 
Christ ever since that time. He had often cUmbed 
the steepest rocks and mountams of Tahiti, to teach 
the people who Hved at a distance from places of 
instruction. A few weeks before his death, he was 
brought to Eimeo in a deep decHne ; yet it was not 
supposed that he was so near his end. The day be- 
fore he died, he told several people that his departure 
was at hand, but that he had no fears, for his mmd 
was fixed on Jesus Christ, the Saviour of sinners, 
who filled his soul with joy and peace. 

The brethren had a very mteresting meeting every 
Monday evenmg for conversing with the natives upon 
religious subjects. As I suppose you would like to 
hear what remarks the natives made on these occa- 
sions, and what questions they asked, I will relate a 
few of them. 

They often spoke of the sermon they had heard on 
the day before. They once seemed alarmed after 
havmg heard Mr. Da^des preach upon the character 
of Balaam. An old man afterwards asked, "AYhat 
is the difference between a knowledge of God in the 
head, and a belief from the heart?" 

Sometimes they asked questions about the doctrines 
of Scripture. Once a man asked, "May a man hope 
ever to be free from evil thoughts, while he hves?'-'. 
The brethren told him, that as long as we lived, we 
had an evil nature to fight against, and an enemy to 



150 THE NIGHT OF TOIL 

tempt us; but that if we loved Christ, we should 
strive against sin, and grow more and more holy. 
Another time, a person inquired whether the wick* 
ed would ever be released from hell, and admitted 
into heaven. The brethren answered, that as the 
wicked would never oxpent in hell, they could never 
be released. 

Another man asked why the wicked angels fell. 
The brethren told them that it was pride that made 
them fall. But when the natives inquired how pride 
came mto heaven, the brethren could give them no an- 
swer, because the Bible does not explain this mystery. 

Most of the questions asked at these meetings were 
about what things were right, or wrong to do. These 
questions showed that the natives were anxious to 
please God. 

A person inquired whether it was right, that, at 
prayer-meetmgs, the chiefs should be asked to pray, 
while poor men, perhaps more pious than they, were 
not encouraged to take a part. The brethren said 
that it was wrong to show this respect of persons in 
religious meetings, though, on other occasions, respect 
should be shown to the chiefs. 

Another time it was asked, whether a woman 
might lead family prayers when her husband was 
absent, and no other man present who could take 
his place. The brethren replied, that it would be 
right for a woman in that case to lead the service. 



OBSERVANCE OF THE SARBATH. 151 

Once a man asked, whether he ought to change 
his name, as he had. been an areoi, and very wicked. 
The brethren said, that if his heart was changed, his 
name was of no consequence. 

Another time, a man asked whether the sick ought 
to be brought to the chapel to be prayed for. The 
brethren told him that it was useless to bring the 
sick to any particular place, as God heard prayer 
everj-^vhcre. 

Sometimes questions about keeping the Sabbath 
were asked. It was inquired whether, when a per- 
son was taken very ill, his friends might be sent for 
on the Sabbath, though they lived at a great dis- 
tance ; and whether even a canoe might be sent to 
fetch them from other islands. The brethren said 
that it would be right to do so ; for that whatever 
was an act of mercy, and necessary for the welfare 
of man, might be done on the Sabbath-day. 

Two little anecdotes, which were related at tliese 
meetings, will show you how fearful the people were 
of breaking the Sabbath. Once two canoes were 
lying on the beach ; the sea, coming up liigher than 
usual, washed them from the shore ; the owner of 
the canoes saw them tossing upon the waves, but 
would not go into the sea and piill them to land, be- 
cause it was the Sabbath. In consequence, they 
were dashed to pieces among the rocks. 

Another time a man saw a pig in his taro garden ; 



152 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

he perceived that the fence was broken, and that 
therefore it would be of no use to drive the pig out 
unless he mended the fence, which he was afraid to 
do, because it was the Sabbath-day. The men who 
related these anecdotes wished to know whether 
they had acted right. The brethren told them that 
they were mistarken, though they were right not . to 
do what they thought was wrong. It is written in 
the Scripture, "Whatsoever is not of faith, is sin." 
Rom. 14 : 23. "We should, therefore, like these na- 
tives, take great pains to find out what is wrong, 
and what is right ; for even if an action is not wrong, 
we must not do it while we think it is wrong. 

There were some godly parents v/ho were grieved 
by the conduct of their wicked, disobedient children, 
and Avho asked the brethren's advice respecting their 
treatment of them. The brethren told them not to 
send these young people away from their homes, but 
to endeavor by kindness to melt their hearts, and 
continually to beseech the Lord to convert them. 

As there were now sixteen missionaries in Eimeo, 
it was desirable that all should not remain in that 
island. Yet it was thought necessary that the ship, 
still on the stocks, should first be finished, and the 
books in the press published. The ship which the 
brethren had been building for four years, was now 
ready to be launched ; but the masts and sails were 
not yet added to it. 



LAUNCHING OF THE SHIP. 153 

On December 7, the launching of the ship took 
place in the presence of the king, the missionaries, 
and vast crowds of people. The natives pulled it by 
ropes into the sea, amidst the shouts of the multitude. 

Pomare had chosen it should be called the Haweisj 
in honor of Dr. Hawei s, one of the mi nisters who had 
taken so much trouble to seiid-Qiit,lh.e iirst missiona- 
ries to Tahiti, It is pleasing to find that Pomare 
felt grateful to this benefactor, though he had never 
seen him. 

May not Pomare's gratitude to Dr. Haweis remind 
us how we ought to love One whom we have never 
seen, and who has been kinder to us than any earthly 
benefactor could be ? 

Pomare sometimes A\Tote letters to Dr. Haweis, 
who was still living. I will show you part of one 
that he wrote a short time before the ship was 
launched. 

"Deau Friend — May you be blessed, and your 
family, with the salvation of Jehovah the true God. 

"I was startled at receiving your 'letter, for I 
thought you had been taken away by our Lord. The 
small Vv'atch that you sent me is in my hands, and 
remains as a keepsake from you, dear friend. 

" Your name has been given by me to the vessel 
which has been built here. I was urgent about it, 
for some said it should have another name, but I 



154 riiE NIGHT of toil. 

said, ' jSTo ; tlie name must be the Haweis.' The 
reason I was so urgent about it was, because you 
were so very attentive to us of Tahiti, yea, indeed, 
all of you ; for the Lord put the thought into your 
minds, to send messengers here to Tahiti, that they 
might sound the trumpet, and make knowna the way 
of life. 

" I send you two little fans, which the royal family 
of these countries were accustomed to fan themselves 
■with. Wlien the day of the feast arrived, and the 
king was prayed for, those were the fans that used to 
fan away the flies. 

" What am I to do with the little pearl box which 
Avas in the little parcel you sent me ? Had it been 
directed to me, it would have been right, but there 
is another name on it, that of the queen of Lattakoo ; 
that is the reason I inform you of it. I have sent 
back the little pearl box to Mr. Marsden at Port 
Jackson, that he may return it to you. 

" If you wTite to me again, I shall be glad. If it 
be agreeable, send me three books : one very large 
Bible, one to carry about, very small, and one book 
of geography. If it be not agreeable, very well. Do 
not think evil of me, dear friend, for the small request 
that I make at the end of my letter. 

" May you be blessed by Jesus Christ, the true 
King of salvation, by whom we must aU be saved. 

"POM ARE." 



RETURN TO TAHITI. 155 

One of the brethren removed almost immediately 
to Matavai, in Taliiti, where the missionaries had at 
first resided. This was Mr. Wilson, who took with 
him his wafe and four little children. It was a joy- 
ful day to many of the people in Tahiti, when they 
again saw the face of a teacher, come to live among 
them; for nine years had passed away since the 
brethren had fled from their island. No part of Ta- 
hiti was so ungodly as Matavai, on account of the 
number of wicked sailors that visited it in the Eng- 
lish ships, and sold spirits, and set a bad example 
Yet, even here, there were a few that really loved 
God. I will give you an instance of one. After the 
Monday evening naeeting, a man once followed Mr. 
Wilson to his house, and said to him, " Is it right for 
people to weep, when they go to pray in the bushes ? 
for I cannot help weeping when I pray. Do othre 
people wxep ?" 

Mr. Wilson rephed, " Why do you weep ?" 
" It is," said the man, " the thought of God's great 
goodness to me, of the love of Christ in djdng for 
sinners, and of the return that I have made, only bad 
behavior, that makes me weep . ' ' Mr. Wilson rej oiced 
over this penitent sinner, well knowing how accepta- 
ble his tears were to Him. who permitted his feet to 
be washed with the tears of humble, grateful love. 



IS6 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

WHAT THE NATIVES VALUED ABOVE ALL THINGS ELSE. 

The natives were now looking forward to receiv- 
ing a more precious book than any they had yet 
obtained. Though this book would not contain the 
whole of the Bible, but only the gospel of Luke, yet 
the idea of possessing it filled the natives with such 
delight, that many could not sleep for joy. 

For many years past, Mr. Nott had been employed 
in translating the gospel of Luke into Tahitian,^ and 
Pomare had been very useful in assisting him, and 
copying it out for him. 

The six missionaries lately arrived had brought 

with them an immense quantity of paper, so that 

I Mr. Ellis determined to prmt three thousand copies 

; of Luke ; yet these he feared would not be enough 

I to supply all who could read. 

Hitherto the brethren had given away the httle 
books they had printed ; they now agreed to sell the 
book of Luke, because with the price they might buy 
more paper, and print more books. The price they 
fixed on was three gallons of cocoa-nut oil. Some 
months before the books were ready, they ad vised, the 
natives to begin to prepare the oil.^ 

* This was the manner of preparing the oil. The kernel 



^ 



BINDING THE BOOKS. 157 

"While the book was in press, the natives who vis- 
ited the printing-house, read different parts of it with 
great interest, and asked so many questions about 
what they read, that Mr. Elhs was often obhged to 
stop printing to explain it to them. Not only did 
visitors generally fill the printing-house, but they even 
thronged the windows, and those who could not get 
near in any other way, sat upon the top of a liigh 
fence placed around the house, or cHmbed upon the 
backs of their companions. 

When the books were nearly finished, the crowds 
increased. Numbers came from distant parts, so that 
the sea-shore was covered with 'canoes, and the land 
dotted with tents. 

The missionaries, however, did not like to distribute 
the books, till they were bound. At first they used 
mill-board and sheep-skins from England, and when 
these were exhausted, they were obhged to make 
covers of native cloth, covered with old newspapers, 
dyed with purple juice. They bound the book in- 
tended for the king in a more handsome mamier, even 
in red morocco. 

At last the people grew so impatient, that the 
brethren gave up binding the books. They were 
pleased to find that the natives did not suffer the 
precious books to remain without covers. The lives 

of the cocoa-nut was ^craped, placed in a trouga, and exposed 
to the sun, when the heat caused oil to flow from it. 



ji 



;l 



158 THE NlGlIT OF TOIL. 

of dogs, cats, and goats, were now very misafe, for 
the natives caught them for the sake of their skins ; 
they then scraped, pressed, and dried the skins in the 
sun, to prepare them for covers. The brethren were 
amused to see the trees all round the printing-house, 
thickly hung with skins stretched on wooden frames. 
Meanwhile the people were careful not to injure their 
books, and as they could not refrain from reading them, 
they placed them between thin pieces of boards, till 
the skins were ready. They were not even satisfied 
when they had bound them, but carried them about 
either in bags or baskets. They scarcely Imew what 
to do with them when they left their houses for a 
short time, as they were afraid that they should hurt 
their treasures, if they took them \^dth them, and 
that, if they left them at home, some accident woidd 
occur in their absence. 

I will mention one instance of the anxiety that the 
natives showed to obtam the books, that afterwards 
they preserved so carefully. 

One evening, five men from Taliiti landed at Afa- 
reaitu, and hastened to Mr, Ellis' dwelling. Mr. 
Ellis met them at the door, and asked them what 
they wanted. 

They rephed altogether, " The word of Luke," and 
then showed their bamboos of cocoa-nut oil.* 

* A bamboo is a hollow stick. It is net hollow throughout, 
but is divided by notches at short distances. The natives cut 



ANXIOUS DESIRE FOR BOOKS. 15D 

Mr. Ellis told them that he had no books ready 
that night, but that if they would come the next day, 
he would give them as many as they wanted, and he 
advised them to go and lodge with some friend in the 
village. Then, as it was almost dark, he wished 
them good night, and went into his house. When 
the sun rose, Mr. Ellis looked out of his window, and 
was surprised to see these men lying on the ground 
outside his house, their only bed being some platted 
cocoa-nut leaves, and their only covering the cloth 
they usually wore over their shoulders. Mr. Ellis 
went out, and said, " Have you been here all night ?" 

They said that they had. 

He next inquired, " Why did you not go to some 
house to lodge ?" 

" ^Ye were afraid," replied the men, " lest, if we ^ 
had gone away, some one might have come before 
morning, and have bought all the books that you had 
to spare, so that we should have been obliged to " 
return without any. As soon as you left us last 
night, we determined not to leave the place till we 
had procured the books." 

This answer surprised and delighted Mr. Ellis. 
He called the men into the printing-office, put the 
loose sheets of the books together, as quickly as ho 
could, and gave each of the men an mibound copy 

the bamboos at the notches, and used each piece as a bottle. 
Each piece contains nearly three quarts. 



160 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

of Luke's Gospel. They then requested to have two 
more copies for a mother and a sister. These books 
were also granted, and the cocoa-nut oil was received 
as the price. Then each of the men A^rapped up his 
book in a piece of white cloth of bark, put it in his 
bosom, and set sail for Tahiti, without having either 
eaten or drunk, or visited any person during liis stay 
at Eimeo. 

Probably many of the people, who appeared to love 
the word of God, cared more for having a book of 
their own, than for knowing God's will ; but others 
certamly did love it because it was able to save their 
souls through faith in Christ. The word of Luke 
was now read in numerous families, both at morning 
and evening prayers. Often in the day, persons might 
be seen sitting in a circle under the shade of a tree, 
hstening to some native, who was reading the Gospel 
aloud. 

The missionaries now mtended very soon to sep- 
arate from each other, and to dwell in different 
islands ; but, before they took this step, they exe- 
cuted a new plan in Eimeo. They thought that as 
the natives knew how precious the Gospel was, they 
would be willing to give some of their property to 
help to send it to heathen lands. Therefore, the 
brethren determined to form a Missionary Society in 
Eimeo. They first proposed the plan to the Eng, ~ 
"who approved of it, and who soon afterwards said to 



PLAN OF A MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 161 

one of his pious chiefs, named A-u-na, " Do you think 
you could collect five bamboo-canes of cocoa-nut oil in 
a year?" 

He answered, "Yes." 

" Do you think you could spare so much, for send- 
ing the word of God to the heathen ?" 

Again A-u-na replied, " Yes." 

" Do you think," continued Pomare, " that those 
who value the Gospel in this land, would think it a 
great labor to collect so much oil every year?" 

" No," replied A-u-na, " I do not think they would." 

" Then," said the king, " think about it, and let us 
join together in a plan for this purpose." 

The Idng and chiefs consulted privately with the 
missionaries, and arranged all the rules of the new 
society. 

On May 13th, a great meeting was held at Pape- 
toai, in Eimeo. All the missionaries assembled at 
the place, and numbers of natives came over from 
Tahiti. The day was begun by a prayer-meeting 
among the natives at sunrise, and by another among 
the brethren. It was arranged that the service was 
to begin in the chapel at three o'clock ; but, long 
before that hour, the place was so crowded that the 
people agreed to remove to a grove of cocoa-nut trees 
at a short distance. 

When the brethren entered this grove, they found 
the natives already assembled there, and they wero 

Ni^ht of Toil. 1 1 



162 THE NIGHT OF TOIL, 

mucli struck with tlie beauty of the scene. Tlio 
grove was situated close to the sea, and at the foot 
of steep rocks and high mountains. Shells and white 
coral were strewed upon the beach ; various kinds 
of lovely plants hung from the jutting rocks, while 
others twined round the stems of the trees, and 
adorned even the branches with festoons of pink blos- 
soms. The trees v»^ere so tall, and covered mth such 
large and numerous leaves, that their branches 
formed a ceihng at a great height above the people, 
and shaded them^ntirely from the sun. Multitudes, 
in their native dresses, were seated on the thick grass 
beneath. 

A wooden stand was prepared for Mr. Kott, close 
to the trunk of one of the tall trees. The king was 
seated in an arm-chair before liim, and was dressed 
in a yelloAv tiputa, \Yith a scarlet flower painted on 
the part that covered his breast. The queen and 
her ladies, and many cliiefs, were seated near the 
king. 

How delightful it was to think that these people 
were assembled, 7Wt for war, nor for bloody sacrifices, 
not for rioting, nor immoderate feasting, as in times 
past, but to assist in sending the word of God to poor 
ignorant heathen. 

The serv^ice began with singing and prayer ; then 
Mr. Nott preached from the words, " U nderstan dest 
thou what thpu readest ?" and the answer of the 



THE KING'S SPEECH. 163 

Ethiopian, "How can I, except some man should 
guide me?" Acts 8 : 30, 31. 

When the sermon was finished, Pomare addressed 
his people. He reminded them of their former state, 
when their choicest fish and fruits were offered to 
their idols, and when even men were sacrificed. He 
then described the happiness they now enjoyed 
through the Gospel, and proposed giving their prop- 
erty to help to send it to other lands. "He declared, 
he wished only those to give who gave willingly ; 
and that, as he supposed those who did not love the 
Gospel themselves, would not give ivilliiigly, he de- 
sired they should not be forced to give, or even 
called mean and avaricious because they did not 
give. Pomare concluded his speech by requesting 
that those who wished a Missionary So ciety to be 
formed, would hold up their hands. Hundreds of 
dark-colored arms were m one moment lifted up 
towards heaven. Cheering sight to the brethren, 
who remembered how lately those hands had been , 
used in executing wicked deeds I 

As the sun hid its head beneath the distant waves 
of the sea, the kmg arose from his chair, and the 
people returned rejoicuig to their houses ; but none 
rejoiced as those did who had sown the good seed 
that was now springing up in many hearts. 

Mr. Ellis had not finished distributing the Gospel 
of Luke at the time this meeting was held, therefore 



164 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

he returned Avith some of his brethren to Afareaitu 
for a short time. 

But soon the time came when the brethren might 
go and reside in different islands. The ship Haweis 
was now rigged, and was ready to convey them to 
their new stations. 

Mr. ElHs determined to leave Eimeo, and to go to 
the island of Huahine. Nine years before, the mis- 
sionaries had lived in that island for a year, and 
since that time the inhabitants had cast away their 
idols, and had built many chapels. 

Mr. Ellis left Eimeo with great regret. He had 
been much pleased with the natives while he lived 
there. They had behaved with so much honesty, 
that though he had no bolt nor lock upon his door, 
not an article had been stolen. You have not for- 
gotten their former thievish disposition, but now ihcy 
stole no more. 



THE CHAPEL AT PAPAO. 105 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE CHAPEL WITH THREE PULPITS. 

For some time past Pomare had been building a 
very large and handsome chapel in Tahiti^ at a place 
called Pa-pa-o, which was only four miles from Ma- 
tavai. 

The missionaries had advised the king not to build 
so immense a chapel, as it would be of less use than 
a smaller one ; but Pomare had replied, that king 
Solomon once built a very magnificent temple, and 
that he wished to imitate him. His immense chapel 
was finished in the spring of 1819. It contained J 
one hundred and thirty-three windows and twenty- 
nine doors. It was seven hundred and twelvejfeet I 
long, and fifty-four feet wide. 

There is not a church of so great a length. *" As 
it was impossible that a preacher could speak loud 
enough to be heard to the end of the chapel during 
a whole sermon, three pulp its were placed in it. 
The ceiling was covered with fine mattmg, and the 
floor with dried grass ; and the building was filled 
with benches and pews. The most remarkable thing 
in the ch apel was a stream of water,^that ran in a 

* St. Paul's church in London is 500 feet in length, and 180 
in breadth. 



106 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

slanting direction tlirough it. The stream had not 
been observed till after the chapel had been begun. 
The builders might have tried to turn the course of 
this stream, vrhich flowed from the mountains into 
the sea, but then, perhaps, the water would have 
overflowed ; therefore they suffered it to pass through 
the chapel. I think those who sat near it must have 
been reminded by the sight of this living stream, of 
the living Avater that Jesus gives to those who ask 
him, and of the crystal river that makes glad the 
city of God. 

The chapel was called the Royal Mission Chapel. 
Great crowds of people flocked from all theTsTarids" 
to be present at the first service performed in it in 
May. The tents of the visitors lined the shore for 
four miles. 

The day when the chapel was opened, the king and 
royal family were present. A minister stood in each 
of the pulpits. Mr. Darling, who was in the middle 
pulpit, gave out a hymn in a voice loud enough for 
all to hear, and the six thousand people who filled 
the chapel joined in singing it. Then each minister 
read Luke 14 to the people" afoifnd him, and after- 
wards prayed. Though three voices were raised at 
once, yet from the great size of the place, they did 
not interfere with each other. The three sermons 
began at the same time, and ended very nearly 
together. The congregation then joined insmgmg 



PROCLAMATION OF THE LAWS. 167 

a hymn, and the ministers concluded the service with 
prayer. Thus ended this joyful meeting. 

The next day the congregation assembled again to 
hear three sermons for the Missionary Society. In 
the afternoon they heard three more. A great many 
subscriptions had already been made to the Society. 
The king had put down his name as a subscriber of 
eight hogs a year. 

The day following, w^hich was Thursday, the laws t 
were publicly given to the people. The Idng had i 
made the laws some time before, with the assistance 
of his chiefs and the advice of the missionaries, and 
had A\Titten them out with his own hand. There 
were eighteen laws. Amongst them were laws 
against murder, rebellion, theft, and Sabbath-break- 
ing. 

Murderers and rebels alone v/ere to be punished 
v.ith death. Thieves were only to be obhged to re- 
store four times the amount of property tlisy had 
taken. 

On the day when the laws were proclaimed, the 
people assembled in the chapel, and Pomare asked 
Mr. Crook to begin with prayer and reading. Then 
Pomare stood in the middle pulpit, and after looking 
.joyfully round upon his subjects, spoke to one of liis I 
chiefs named Tati, saying, " Tati, w^hat is your de- 
sire ? What can I do for you ?" 

Tati, who sat nearly oppo.site the pulpit, arose and 



168 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

said, " Those are what we want — the papers you 

■ hold in your hand — the laws. Give them to us, 
that we may hold them in our hands, that we may 
regard them, and do what is right." 

The kmg then said in an affectionate manner to 
another very pious chief, " Utami, what is your de- 
sire ?" He replied, " One thing only is desired by us 
all — that which Tati has said-^ — the laws which you 
hold in your hand." The king then spoke to the 
other chiefs in the same manner. He next read 
aloud the eighteen laws, and explained several parts 
of them. After reading each law, the king said to 
»\ the chiefs, "Do you agree to this law?" and the 
I j chiefs replied after each, "We heartily agree to it." 
The king next asked the people after each law, if 
they agreed to it to lift up their right hands. This 
was done in an instant, and caused a rushing noise 
to be heard, so vast was the number of arms in a 
moment lifted up. When the king came to the law 
against rebellion, he seemed almost inclined to pass 
it over, as many who had rebelled against him were 
present. Yet when he had read the law, Tati, who 
I had been a ringleader among the rebels, not satis- 

■ fied with holding up his hand as usual, arose, hold- 
ing up both hands, and called upon the people to do 
the same. This was an instance of the change that 
the Gospel had made in many a proud, rebeUious 

, heart. 



HAPPY EVENTS. 169 

On the next Sabbath, the most interesting of all 
the meetings on this occasion was held. Pomare, 
who long since was ready to be enrolled as the firgt 
convert from heathenism, had lately sho\\Ti a strong 
desire to devote himself to God, and had received 
much instruction from the brethren. Three ser- 
mons were preached that morning, at the close of 
which the king solemnly professed his faith in a cru- ! 
ciiied Redeemer. The brethren, who had long watch- j 
ed over his soul, felt much moved on this solemn i 
occasion. Mr. Bicknell, in a very feeling manner, 
entreated liim to walk worthy of the profession he 
had made, remembering, that as he held the high 
office of a kmg, the eyes of men, as well as those of 
God and angels, were fixed upon him. 

Mr. Henry then exhorted the people to follow the 
example of the king, and give themselves to the 
Lord. After singing and prayer, the king shook 
hands affectionately with all the brethren. 

"VYe have thus related the events of the happy 
week when the E.oyal Mission^ Chapel first was 
opened. how different were these assemblies 
from those feasts at which Pomare and liis father 
had often distributed the bleeding limbs of men 
among the chiefs, as offerings to the gods I The rest 
of the year was full of happy events. 

As all the people preferred hearing the mission- 
aries preach to hearing the natives, they came fi:om 



170 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

a great distance to the chapels wliere missionaries 
preached. Therefore there was service no longer in 
the little chapels, which were either suffered to fall 
into decay, or used as school-houses. Many natives 
came and lived near the different stations of the 
brethren, and those who had lands at a distance, and 
could not live near them, assembled on Saturday 
afternoon in their canoes, and set up their tents on 
the beach. 

It was dehghtful to see the people preparing their 
food on Saturday, which was called " food-day," in 
consequence. They lighted fires, at which they 
boiled their puddings of bananas, and breadfruit, 
and cocoa-nut milk. Men might be seen coming 
from the stream with vessels of water in their hands, 
for washing their hands on the Sabbath, and women 
with bundles of breadtree leaves for plates. In 
each house little baskets of food vrere hung up on 
the pegs of the great posts, and the best clothes were 
put out ready to wear. The natives spent Saturday 
evening in singing, reading, and praying in their 
houses. 

On the Sabbath-day no tree was climbed, and no 
fire was lighted ; but the day was devoted to the 
care of the soul. At sunrise the people prayed alone, 
as usual, either among the bushes, or in the little 
prayer-houses, or in some retired comer of their own. 
At seven they assembled in the chapel for prayer 



THE SABBATH MORNING. 171 

and reading, though the ministers did not come so 
early. From eight to nine, the schools for boys and 
girls met in the school-houses. The natives them- 
selves instructed the children in the knowledge of 
God, and heard them repeat their hymns and 
catechism. 

At a quarter before nine, a sound was heard : 
sometimes it was the sound of a shell, that a man 
carried romid the village', and'T)Iew like a trumpet ; ^ 
in other places, it was the sound of a stone striking 
against a bar of iron hung on a tree ; and in others, 
it was the sound of a little bell ; but whatever was 
the kind of sound, the meaning was the same — 
" Come ye to the house of the Lord." Then the 
teachers led their classes to the chapel. The girls 
walked first, two and two, and hand in hand, most 
of them wearing frocks like English children, and 
bonnets made of plaited grass or bark. Each carried 
in her hand a little basket, containing her hymn- 
book, catechism, and the Scriptures. The boys came 
afterwards, dressed in native garments, a little mat 
of bark round their waists, and a little red or yellow 
shawl thrown over their shoulders, a hat of plaited 
grass, and no shoes on their feet. Some of their par- 
ents were often watching to see the children pass by. 
Many a mother then blessed God, as she looked on 
her darling cliild, for sending the missionaries, who 
showed her the sin of burning it in the earth. 



172 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

The children sat in their appointed places at 
chapel. The people were all ready before service 
began, for though they had scarcely any clocks or 
watches, they were obedient to the sound of the 
trumpet-shell. 

At half-past ten, or eleven, ser\dce was over. The 
children w^alked back in order to their school-houses, 
and were then dismissed by their teachers. Aftei 
dmner the children assembled in school again, but 
as it was very hot at that hour, each teacher often 
took a class to sit under the shade of some thick 
tree, and there asked them to repeat Avhat they had 
heard of the morning sermon, and talked to them of 
a Saviour's love for little children. 

Afternoon service began about four. By smiset 
the people were all returned to their dwellings, to 
spend the evening in reading, singing, and prayer. 
Sometimes a few families met together, and some- 
times the father of each family taught liis ov.ii chil- 
dren and servants. 

In this manner the converted natives of the South 
Seas passed their Sabbaths : they called them " a 
delight, honorable, and did honor God ; not doing 
their own ways, nor finding their own pleasure, nor 
speaking their own words, but delighting themselves 
ill the Lord." Isaiah 58 : 13. 



AN UNWILLING GIVER. 173 

CHAPTER XX. 

THE NEW CUSTOMS OF TAHITI. 

Although I have given so pleasing an account of 
the people of Tahiti, you must not suppose that all 
the people were converted in heart. It is to be 
feared that only a few were really bom again, al- 
though the behavior of most Avas changed. Some- 
times even those who the missionaries hoped were 
converted, grieved them by their conduct. 

A chief one day said to Mr. Bourne, in a proud 
manner, "What are you teaching us? Why do you 
not instruct us in Enghsh, and other things besides 
religion ?" But in a few days he came to him, and 
said he had been reading the words of Christ, " He 
that despiseth you, despiseth me," and had been so 
troubled on account of his bad behavior, that he had 
neither been able to eat nor sleep till he had . con- 
fessed his sin. 

I have told you also, that the people gave their 
property willingly to the missionary society ; yet this 
was not always the case. 

One day a man came to Poraare with five bam- 
boos of oil, and said, angrily, " Take them for your 
society." 

"No," said Pomare, "I will not mix your angry 
bamboos with the missionary oil ; take them away." 



174 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

The man returned Avith liis bamboos, much morti- 
fied at the disgrace of being refused, but I do not 
know whether he was sensible of his sin. 

The preachmg of the word was, however, often 
I much blessed to the consciences of the people. Once 
i Mr. Nott preached a sermon on the words, "Let him 
I that stole, steal no more." In the sermon he said, 
j it was a duty to return things that had formerly 
■ been stolen. 

The next morning, when he opened his door, he 
saw a number of natives sitting on the ground around 
his dwelling. He w^as surprised to see them there 
so early, and asked them the reason of their coming. 
They repUed, ""VYe have not been able to sleep all 
night ; we were at chapel yesterday, and heard you 
say from the word of God, that Jehovah commanded 
us not to steal ; whereas w^e used to worship Hiro, 
and to think that he would protect thieves. We 
have stolen : all these things that we have brought 
with us are stolen goods." 

Then one of the men held up a saw, sajdng, " I 
stole this from the carpenter of such a ship." Others 
held up knives and various tools. 

Mr. Nott, who had taught them that it was vrrong 
to receive stolen goods, replied, "What have you 
brought them to 7ne for ? Take them home, and 
wait till the ships from which you stole them, come 
again, and then return them, with a present besides." 



THE WOMEN INSTRUCTED. 175 

Still the people entreated Mr. No tt to keep the things 
till they could find the owners. 

Some of them, who had stolen some things from a 
missionary who was now in another island, took a 
voyage of seventy miles to restore the articles. 

"V\lien the natives 'found any property on the 
ground, such as knives, or tools, they would not 
keep it themselves. Still, however, there were some 
thieves, w^ho were punished by the judges, when 
they were discovered. 

Tliis autumn two men were even sentenced to 
death, for rismg up against the king. They were 
hanged upon a cocoa-nut tree, and then taken down 
and buried. 

The missionaries' wives took much pains to im- 
prove the women. They held weekly meetings with 
them to give them instruction in religion. It was 
touching to hear the mothers, at these meetings, la- 
ment the children they had murdered. Some said 
that the thoughts of their slaughtered babes tor- 
mented them constantly. One of them inquired, 
*' Ought I to go to Jesus Christ for pardon ? Were 
any murderers of their own children forgiven?" 

They were told that the blood of Christ cleanseth 
from all sin. We read also in the Bible that Ma- 
nasseh, king of Judah, made his son to pass through 
the fire, and was forgiven. This instance, perhaps, 
may have comforted some mothers. 



)7G THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

In some of the islands, great changes now took 
place in the houses and clothes of the natives. Po- 
mare did not like new customs, so that his people 
did not improve so quickly in these respects, as the 
natives of Raiatea and Huahine. 

In those islands, the people were busily employed 
in building white cottages. They obtained the white 
plaster in a singular manner. At a little distance 
from the shore, beneath the sea, there were immense 
walls of white coral, called reefi. The people 
brought large blocks of this coral to land upon rafts, 
and then burnt the coral in pits, filled with wood. 
The coral crumbled into powder, and dropped to the 
bottom of the pit ; and with this white powder, the 
natives made plaster for their new houses. They 
built them of wood, and thatched them with palm 
leaves. As they had no glass, they Avere obliged to 
be satisfied with wooden lattices, and shutters. Most 
of the houses had rooms only on one floor ; but some, 
belonging to the chiefs, had upper rooms. They 
were generally surrounded by gardens, or planta- 
tions ; and a few had A'-erandahs, as a shelter from 
the heat, or covered baJoonies, where the inhabitants 
might enjoy the sea-breezes, and an extensive view. 
They Avere as comfortable inside, as they were pretty 
outside, being furnished with wooden tables and sofas, 
and the windows hung with white curtains, made of 
cloth of bark, adorned with a painted border of leaves. 



NEW CUSTOMS. 177 

Each nativ^e built his cottage on the spot that 
pleased him best. One, preferring the edge of the 
sea, erected his on coral blocks, placed beneath the 
water ; another, chose the shade of a grove ; and a 
third, the jDure air and fine prospect of the mountain 
side ; but all fixed their abodes near some chapel 
where a missionary preached, excepting a few who 
lived on their lands in the valleys. In every village 
a narrow road sldrted the shore, and in many, a coral 
pier, or path into the sea, was built to assist in land- 
ing and embarking. 

These beautiful villages now adorned the shores 
of those islands, where savages once roamed from 
place to place, lodging at night in open sheds, like 
beasts of the field. 

The natives began also to exchange their loose 
garments for English dresses. The missionaries' 
wives took pains to teach the women to make these 
clothes, and to induce all to wear them. 

Mrs. Crook and Mrs. Nott made some loose calico 
dressing-gowns for Pomare, and afterwards a few of 
the women made them for their husbands, and then 
for themselves. Mrs. Ellis made a bonnet of leaves 
for her little girl, and a hat of plaited leaves for her 
husband. The women soon learned to plait, and 
made hats and bonnets, not only of leaves, but also 
of strips of white bark, and of yellow rushes, and 
used strips of native cloth, or of bark, for ribands. 

Night of Toil. 1 2 



178 THE NiGllT OF TOIL. 

Shoes and stockings, coats and shirts, were pro- 
cured by many natives from the ships, and worn 
upon particular occasions. Few persons could afford 
to wear EngHsh clothes every day, or could even 
obtain a complete suit. It was common to see a 
man with a hat and shoes, without stockings, or a 
shirt. Sometimes the clothes were put on in a very 
curious manner. A white shirt has been placed 
over a long black coat, because the owner was im- 
wdlling to hide the shirt by plpccing it under the coat. 
The natives, however, soon learned to laugh at such 
mistakes as this. 

The reason that the missionaries encouraged the 
people to dress in the English fashion was, because 
it helped to correct one of their chief faults, which 
was idleness. Food was procured so easily that the 
natives were not accustomed to labor, and were still 
disposed to waste much of their time in sleeping and 
talking. 

I have before observed, that Pomare did not like 
new customs. He did not choose entirely to adoi)t 
the English mode of dress, and he placed a native 

Itiputa over the shirt he usually wore. But though 
he did not like English fashions, he still loved Eng- 
lish arts, and employed much of his time in writing. 
He had a little shed built near his great house at 
Matavai, and he spent whole days shut up there 
with Mr. Kott, helping him to correct the gospel of 



POMARE'S INCONSISTENT CONDUCT. 179 

St. John, and the Acts, which Mr. Nott had just ] 
translated, and copying them out, while he lay upon ; 
liis chest on the floor. He took great pains also to 
compose a dictionary, and collected many thousands 
of words for the purpose. 

Though he was so useful to the missionaries, he 
continued to grieve them by many great faults in 
his conduct. He often bought spirits of the sailors 
that visited the islands, and drank to excess. Yet, 
strange to say, he would allow no stills in his king- 
dom, lest his subjects should indulge in drinking 
spirits. And he continued to have family worship 
morning and evening, and often sat with twenty at- 
tendants around liim, reading the Scriptures with 
them verse by verse, and afterwards either engaged 
in pro.yer hirxiself, or asked one of these attendants to 
undertake the office. 



180 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

THE STRANGERS FROM THE SOLITARY ISLE. 

As we have been obliged to speak of the faults of 
king Pomare, it will be the more pleasant to relate 
some good tilings that he did. He went to a little 
island, called High Island, or E-aivavai, which was 
four hundred miles from Tahiti, where he found the 
people fighting against each other. He entreated 
the chiefs to be reconciled, and succeeded in persuad- 
ing them to leave off war, and to cast away their 
idols, and appointed two excellent natives of Tahiti, 
whom he had brought vidth him, to teach the inhab- 
itants. As the people in tliis island considered Po- 
mare to be their king, he left this command before 
he departed : "Watch, and see ; the man who stirs 
up war again, let him be put to death." 

A few months afterwards a ship came to the island, 
and the captain was astonished to find the inhabi- 
tants crowded mto a large chapel, and above a hun- 
dred persons, who could not enter, standing outside. 
He heard that all the inhabitants had abandoned 
their idols, and had turned some of them into stools 
for their chapel. 

There were many more httle islands, which had 
now abolished the worship of idols, and left off war, 
through the instructions of native teachers. 



BIRTH OF A PRINCE. 181 

The six missionaries who now lived at Tahiti, did 
not all reside in one place, as the first missionaries 
had done, but were stationed in different villages. 

Mr. Crook was settled at Pa-pe-e-te, a place about 
eight miles from Matavai. Here also the queen and 
her sister, and the little princess Aimata, resided, and 
were in consequence very often with Mr. Crook and 
his family, to whom they became much attached. 
Aimata went regularly to school, and improved rap- 
idly. The queen and her sister attended both the 
school and Mrs. Crook's meetings for the instruction 
of women. This conduct was pleasing in persons of 
their high station, and showed humility of mind, 
that gave hope of increasing piety. 

In June a very important event occurred in the 
royal family. The queen became the mother of a 
little boy. The king, who usually resided near the 
Royal Mission Chapel at Papao, came immediately 
to see his wife and son. He appeared pleased, and 
expressed his wish that no one but Mrs. Crook should 
touch the infant : she took it, and dressed it like an 
English baby. As Mrs. Crook, however, could not 
always attend to it, the queen's sister became the 
baby's nurse ; though it was generally at the house 
of Mrs. Crook, who was called its mother, because 
the king had given her the prmcipal charge of it. 
Little Mary Crook was also called its mother, because 
she had been chosen by the queen, according to the 



182 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

old custom, as her particular friend, and she em- 
ployed herself diligently in making clothes for the 
young- prince. 

You have already heard that the Gospel spread 
fi'om island to island in the South Seas; but the 
manner in which it came to one of them is so re 
markable, that it must he related. 

There was a little island called Ru-ru-tu, that lay 
so many hundred miles from, those where the breth- 
ren labored, that it had never even been heard of in 
them. Though it was only seven miles long, it was 
so fruitful that six thousand peojole inhabited it. At 
length it was visited by a dreadful plague, which 
mowed down the people like grass, till only three or 
four hundred remained alive. 

Amongst the chiefs of Rurutu, was a young man 
named A-u-u-ra. He felt a great desire to leave the 
island, which he feared would soon be his grave. 
The thought came also into his heart, that in some 
other land he should hear something good, although 
he knew not what. Auura persuaded some of his 
friends to accompany him in a large canoe. His 
wife also went with him. There were in all twenty - 
five persons in the canoe, and a good store of food 
and water. They an-ived at length at a heathen 
island called Tu-bu-ai, a hundred miles off, where 
they were treated well, and their health was restored. 
After some time had passed, they set sail to return 



THE TEMPESTUOUS VOYAGE. 183 

to their native island, hoping either to find the plague 
abated, or to persuade the inhabitants to remove to 
a happier spot, as they feared that the curse of the 
gods rested on their country. During their voyage a 
tempest arose, which drove them out of their course. 
They rowed day after day, but could see no land : at 
length their food and their water were spent ; they 
could only refresh themselves with sea-water, and 
they grew so weak that they often were obliged to 
suffer their canoe to float idly upon the water, while 
their terror Avas increased by the fear lest they should 
be swallowed up by the evil spirit of the waters. 
Yet He, who holds the wind in his fists, was guiding 
their little vessel to a right haven. 

After three weeks spent at sea, they saw land. 
It was one of the Christian islands, and was called 
Ma-u-pi-ti. The astonishment of the strangers was 
great to find people dwelling in white cottages, cloth- 
ed from head to foot, and to see men and women 
eating together. They now heard for the first time 
of the unseen G-od, and they appeared struck wdth 
what they heard, and anxious to learn to read. They 
did not stay at tliis island, but proceeded to Raiatea, 
where they were Idndly received by Mr. AVi lliams 
and Mr. Threlkeld. These brethren inunediately 
desired some of the natives to teach the strangers to 
read. Auura and his wife paid very great attention 
to all the instructions they received, but some of the 



184 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

others appeared slothful. Auura asked many sensi- 
ble questions, and expressed a great desire to return 
to his own land to tell his poor d3dng countrymen the 
wonderful news of a Saviour ; for he was one of 4hose 
"strangers" of whom God says m the eighteenth 
psalm, "As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey 
me." God seems to have prepared his heart by the 
Holy Spirit to receive the' Gospel with gladness. 

In a few months Auura could both read and write, 
and was ready to return to his own land; but he 
could not venture to make so long a voyage in the 
canoe in which he had arrived. 

At this time a ship visited the island. It was the 
Hope, commanded by Captain Grimes. The captain 
kmdly ollered to take Auura and his companions 
back to the island of Rurutu. 

"VYhen Auura heard this proposal he was delighted. 
Only one thing grieved him, he felt he was not fit 
to instruct the people of Rurutu ; and j^et how could 
he hope that a teacher would accompany him to his 
distant land ? But though the missionaries could 
not go with him themselves, they determined to see 
w^hether any other persons would accompany the 
strangers. That evening they sent for all the people 
who professed openly to love Christ by taking the 
Lord's supper, and inquired whether any would go 
and dwell in Rurutu. Two natives arose, and said, 
"Here are we; send us." Their names were Ma- 



NATIVE MISSIONARIES. 185 

he-me-ne and Pu-na. The missionaries agreed to 
send thein, as well as their wives and little children, 
for one of them had two children. 

That whole night these two good men spent in 
preparing to leave their native land, in order to sail 
next morning. 

There was another plan that the missionaries had 
formed. They wished to learn the way to Rurutu ; 
so they asked the captain to tie one of their boats to 
his ship, and they desired some of the natives to go 
with the ship, and to return in the boat. By this 
means they hoped the natives would learn the way 
to Rurutu, so that they should be able to send men 
to it whenever they pleased. 

This was a busy night indeed. Every body in the 
chapel went home to find some present to give the 
native missionaries at parting. One brought a razor, 
another a knife, another a roll of cloth, another a few 
nails. The missionaries gave spelling-books, and, 
what was most valuable of all, a few copies of St. 
Matthew's Gospel, which Mr. Davies had translated. 
As there was some diflerence between the language 
of Rurutu and of the Christian islands, it was diffi- 
cult for Auura to understand the books, but he could 
make out the meaning with pains. It was intended 
that other books should soon be ^vritten. 

Early in the morning the missionaries and many 
of the people prayed in the chapel with those who 



186 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

were going to depart, and then accompanied them 
to the ship. 

How anxious the people left behind were to know 
whether Auura would find any of his countrymen 
living, and whether he would he able to persuade 
them to turn from idols to the living and true 
God. 

On July the 5th they parted from the strangers. 
On August the 9th they beheld the boat that the 
captain had taken" in toAV returning. And what do 
you think it brought with it ? Some prisoners, deaf, 
diunb, blind, lame, who having eyes saw not, and 
having ears heard not — the frightful idols of Rurutu. 

Besides these, the boat brought letters from Mahe- 
mene to Pomare, and also from Auura. The mis 
sionaries knev/, from seeing the idols, that these let- 
ters contained good news. However, they were anx- 
ious to know the particulars. The men also who 
returned in the boat, related many things that had 
happened. I will give you a short account of them. 

When Auura and his companions first reached Ru- 
rutu, the people were much surprised to see them, 
lor they thought they had been eaten up by the evil 
spirit of the waters. Auura on his part was glad 
to find that his countiymen had not all perished by 
the plague. The king of the island was a youth 
about seventeen years old. He received Auura 
kindly, and permitted him to hold a great meeting 



AUURA'S PROPOSAL. 187 

of the inhabitants veiy soon after the arrival of the 
boat. 

You know Avhy Auura Avished such a meeting to 
be held. He Avanted to propose to the people giving 
up their idols. One circumstance had already oc- 
curred which had made the people doubt the power 
of their idols. 

The teachers, on first landing, had accidentally 
knelt down, to return thanks to God, upon a part of 
the shore sacred to Oro', and yet had not died, as the 
people had expected. They and some others had 
afterwards eaten upon a sacred spot, and the women 
had eaten icith their husbands, and had partaken of 
hog and turtle. The P^urutans looked earnestly at 
them, as the barbarians once did at Paul, expecting 
some to have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly ; 
but when they saw no harm come to them, they 
thought that the gods would come in the night and 
kill them, and one man actually went that night to 
inquire whether Auura's wife was still alive. But 
when in the morning they found the new-comers all 
well and safe, they began to suspect that they them- 
selves had been deceived by the evil spirit. 

In this frame of mind they assembled according 
to Auura's request. 

Auura spoke first. He said, "Friends, this is my 
desire, and therefore am I come back to this land, 
that you may know the name of the Son of God, 



188 THE NIGHT OF TOIL, 

and the work of the Holy Spirit in enlightening our 
\ hearts, and the mercy of God .towards us. This is 
( my desire : Let the evil spirit be this instant cast 

Iinto the fire ; is it agreeable to you, kings and chiefs ? 
Shall we bum the evil spirit even now ? Shall we 
/ overthrow his kingdom ? Let us no more worship 
him. Let him have no more reign in our hearts. 
Let the government of these little lands become Je- 
hovah's." Then Auura proposed that they should all, 
both men and women, assemble and eat together in 
one place, and see whether they should really die, as 
the evil spirit had said. 

The king and chiefs consented to this proposal, 
and replied, "We are glad because of your saying, 
' Burn the evil spirits in the fire.' " They also ex- 
pressed their great surprise when they were told that 
they had souls within them. Auura then asked them 
to promise to be kind to the two teachers ; and the 
king and chiefs promised that they would. 

There were, however, two men in the assembly, 
who did not hke the idea of burning the gods. One 
of them spoke in a deceitful manner, saying, " We 
will hold the good word," not meaning to do so. 

The other boasted, that he could fly up into the 
sky; but Auura answered him, "Do fly up, let us 

(see you flying up immediately :" then he added, " The 
people of Rurutu have been completely destroyed 
through thee, and through thee alone, and now thou 



IDOLS OF RURUTU BURNED. 189 

shalt not deceive us again. "We know the true God. I 
Begone ! If the Son of God stood in our presence, 
thou wouldst be ashamed." 

The two teachers then spoke very affectionately 
to the people. Puna concluded liis speech w^ith tliis 
awful warning : " Should you not Hsten to this word, 
you will die, and you will bear the wrath of God, 
and you will be led by the evil spirit you have now 
cast away, into the fire of hell ; but if you regard 
the word and name of the Son of God, you will by 
that means be saved." 

The next day the people met together to eat, ac- 
cording to agreement; but, though they ate in a 
sacred place, and though women ate with men, and 
partook of hog and turtle, no harm followed. The 
people would, no doubt, have been afraid of making 
the experiment, if God had not prepared them for 
it, by letting them see others escape unhurt. 

That very evening the people burn t their idols 
and their temples. They spared, however, a few of 
the idols, that they might send them in triumph to 
the Christian islands. Auura and the teachers soon 
began to instruct them about the true God, and his 
Son the Lord Jesus, and to teach them to read. 
Auura was so diligent, that he even went from house 
to house, morning and evening, to pray in many of 
the families, because they knew not how to pray 
themselves. 



190 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

Such was the wonderful account that the letters 
from Kurutu contained. The missionaries in Raiatea 
were anxious both to return public thanks to God, 
and to let all the natives hear the joyful news. They 
assembled one evening in the chapel, when three of 
the natives who were called deacons, because they 
hel}>ed the minister, held up the idols in the pulpit, 
before the congregation. One of these was hollow, 
and filled with a quantity of little gods, and with 
the points of spears. There was great rejoicing in 
Raiatea that evening, but surely not so great as 
among the angels of heaven. 



THE KING'S FATAL ILLNESS. 19| 



CHAPTER XXII. 

TnE DEATH OF POMARE II. 

Towards tlie close of the year 1821, Po mare was j ^ 
attacked with a dropsy, which threatened his life. 
He determined, therefore, for the benefit of his health, 
to sail round the island of Eimeo ; but gaining no 
benefit from his voyage, he removed to Papeete in 
Tahiti, where Mr. Crook, who understood medicine, 
lived. The king did not reside upon the shore, but 
in a veiy little round island opposite the harbor, 
where he and some of his chiefs had houses beneath 
the shade of the tall cocoa-nut trees. By the desire 
of the brethren, a day was appointed for fasting and 
prayer for the* king's recovery. 

As soon as the sun arose on that day, Mr. Crook 
and several chiefs visited the king, and prayed with 
him around liis bed. Afterwards, there were ser- 
vices held in the chapel. The king's dropsy, how- 
ever, increased. On the 7th of December, Mr. Crook 
heard that Pomare had just had a fainting-fit. He 
hastened to him, and found him sensible, and able to 
understand a few sentences about God and his soul. 
As the king soon revived a little, Mr. Crook returned 
home. In the evening Pomare fainted again, and 
Mr. Crook was again sent for. Mr. Crook then said 



]d^ THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

to liim, " I would gladly do for you what I can, but 
I fear my best will be of little avail. You have in- 
deed been a great sinner, but Christ is a great Sav- 
iour, and none but Jesus'can help you now." Pomare 
replied, " JSTone but Jesus." These were liis last 
words. He -then fell into a kind of stupor. The 
queen and her sister hung over him, weeping aloud. 
One of his cousins also wept bitterly, but his little 
daughter Aimata did not appear much moved. Mr. 
Crook sat at the foot of the bed with the young prince 
in liis arms, mournfully watching the king's comite- 
nance. At eight o'clock that evening, Pomare ceased 
to breathe. 

Mr. Crook then knelt down with the affhcted 
family, and offered up a short prayer. Immediately 
afterwards a general weeping began, and cries of, 
"Alas, alas, our king I" The queen 'and her sister 
repeated, in a singing tone, " 'Twas he who brought us 
hither, and now, alas, alas, for the children." Each 
person who stood near, uttered some mournful words 
in a singing tone, describing his own loss in particu- 
lar, while tears rolled down his cheeks. 

A coffin v.'as made for Pomare, and a small house 
was built for a tomb, near the Royal Mission Chapel. 
Four days after the king's death, his body was placed 
in tliis small white dwelling, beneath the shade of 
spreading trees. All the missionaries were present, 
and a multitude of people. Mr. Nott addressed the 



DEATH OF POMARE II. 193 

people at the grave, and Mr. Heiir)^ prayed over it 
that God would hless the event to those who still 
lived. 

Thus died Pomare II., at the age of forty-seven 
years. " " 

Every one who has read this history must already 
be acquainted with his character. He possessed good 
abilities, great perseverance, and a fondness for study ; 
he was of a stubborn and reserved temper, and was 
disposed to pride, covetousness, deceit, and intemper- 
ance ; but the most odious part of his natural char-" 
acter was his treachery. He had, however, been a 
friend to the missionaries, and a blessing to his peo- 
ple ; he appeared to believe the word of God himself, 
and 2^ersuadecl many, wliile he forced none, to turn 
from idols. The last day will show whether he was 
a child of God ; for the numerous faults that appeared 
in him to the last, rendered it doubtful to whom he 
belonged. 

A pious chief, named Hautia, said, after Pomare's 
death, " I could not sleep all night for thinking of 
Pomare. I was like a canoe rocking on the stormy 
waves, which cannot rest. I thought of his body, 
and I said in my heart, * That is dead, and will be 
in the grave ; but his soul, where is it ?' " 

How many kings and common people, as Pomare 
liimself once observed, had sunk into the grave 
without having hSard of Christ. But God showed 

Night of ToU. ^2 



194 THE NIGHT OF TulL. 

great mercy to Pomarc, and sent to him the news of 
a Saviour. 

How sad it was that one who had received such 
singular favors, should have continued in bondage to 
many sins. The force of old habits of iniquity must 
indeed have been stronger than we can imagine. Yet 
it was not too strong for God's Spirit to overcome, if 
Pomare had diligently sought for help. 

There were, hovfever, some parts of his character 
! pleasant to reflect upon. His attention to God's 
word, liis respect for God's ministers, and his zeal for 
the spread of the Gospel, lead us to hope that the 
root of the matter was m him, and that when multi- 
tudes shall flock from the ends of the earth, Pomare 
shall come from the islands of the south to sit down 
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of 
heaven. 

It was feared by many that much confusion would 
arise in the kmgdom, in consequence of the death 
of Pomare. None, however, did arise. The people 
accepted Pomare's little son, who was a year and a 
half old, as their king. As so yomig a child could 
not govern, several chiefs had been appointed by 
Pomare, before he died, to govern in his stead. One 
of these had more authority than the rest. He was 
an old man, named Ma-nao-nao. He behaved in an 
oppressive maimer, claiming many gifts from the 
people. 



THE VOUNG KING. 195 

• The young king was called Pomare III ., as he was 
the third of that name who had reigned over Tahiti. 

He was entirely committed to the care of his aunt, 
Pomare Yahuie, who seemed fit for the charge. She 
had lately been admitted to the Lord's supper, and 
was both more correct in her conduct, and more ami 
able in her manners, than the child's mother. 

Mr. INTott came over every Siuiday from Matavai, 
to preach in the Royal Mission Chapel, which was 
only four miles off; and he promised to come and 
live near it, as soon as a house was built for him, and 
to undertake the education. of the little Idng. 

Pomare Vahine often took the child to another 
house belonging to her, near Mr. Crook at Papeete. 
The little king was very fond of Mr. Crook's family, 
which consisted of nuie children, and with whom he 
had been a great deal ever since he was born. From 
being so much with them, he soon began to. speak 
English. He also appeared to like English people 
better than natives, and to prefer their food and all 
their ways. The missionaries were glad to observe 
tliis taste, because they hoped, that when he was 
older, he would dehght in the things they would 
teach him, and hate all heathen customs. The late 
king Pomare had never cast off some of them ; for 
instance, he never permitted a woman to eat in a 
house where he had been. The missionaries were 
sorry to perceive that the servants of the little king 



196 THE NIGHT OF TOIL 

had some heathen ideas : for once when the chiM 
touched with his foot some fruit that was lying on 
the ground, the servants said, " It must not be eaten, 
throw it away ;" because they thought that the king, 
by touching it, had made it sacred. It is very long 
before a nation can get rid of superstition, and follow 
no rule but the word of God. 

Many natives from the converted islands had al- 
ready visited heathen islands ; but none had yet gone 
so far as the Marquesas, which were a thousand miles 
off, and were inhabited by a very wild race. Mr. 
Crook had lived among them in his youth, and had 
been obliged to leave them in a year and a half. To 
these islands the missionaries were anxious to send 
two native teachers. An opportunity of conveying 
them occurred at this time, for a ship called the Mer- 
maid touched at Huahine, and offered to take any 
persons to the Marquesas. 

A meeting to consult upon the subject was held 
in the chapel at Hualiine. An excellent man, named 
Hautia,* was regent of the island ; for the queen of 
the island, Pomare Vahine, lived at Tahiti. Hautia 
sat in the chair at this meeting. The missionaries 
first arose, and made speeches on the subject of choos- 
ing two natives for the Marquesas. 

Afterwards Auna rose — an excellent man, yet once 

* Hautia was the man who had compared himself to a canoe 
upon the waves, when uneasy on account of Pomare's soul. 



HAUTIA AND AUNA. Wf 

a priest of Hiro, the god of thieves. His form was 
noble, and his countenance beamed with benevolence 
and joy 

He hesitated before he spoke. Anna did not often 
hesitate. It was plain that he had something to say 
that lay very near his heart, and that he scarcely 
could utter. This was the substance of his speech : 
" It is a good thing to send the word of God to those 
who are in the same state that we once were. I have 
a little speech to make — if I and my wife might be 
so favored as to be sent to the heathen ; but perhaps 
we are not worthy." AunaTtEeiTTat down with 
great humility. 

Hautia the regent then rose, and said, " Auna is 
the man to go." Others exclaimed, " Auna is the 
man." The whole assembly agreed that Auna and . 
hi» wife were fit persons for the work, for they were I 
not only good, and able to teach the knowledge of ■ 
God, but the A\dfe could instruct the heathen women 
in platting bonnets and making clothes, and thus 
render them industrious. A man who had such a . 
wife as Auna, was called a two-handed man. 

Another man named Mattatore, and his wife, were 
chosen by the whole assembly to accompany Auna. 
It only remamed for Hautia to express his wish upon 
the subject. The congregation looked towards him, 
and were surprised to perceive him still silent and 
foil of sadness. At length he rose, and with a meek- 



198 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

ness and humility wliicli appeared very lovely in this 
noble and majestic chief, said, " I have a little speech, 
because a thought has grown up in my heart, and in 
the heart of my ^vife, Hautia Vahine. But perhaps 
it is not a good thought ; yet I must speak it, and 
this is our thought. If the missionaries and the 
church of Huahine think that I and my wife are fit 
to be companions for Anna and his wife, and to go 
and teach the good word of God to those idolatrous 
people, who are as we ivere, we should be rejoiced to 
go ; but perhaps we are not worthy, and others may 
be much better suited for the blessed work ; yet we 
should love to go." 

The whole assembly were astonished at hearing 
this proposal. Was it indeed true that this great 
chief, who^was almost a king, desired to become a 
teacher of savages ? Was he willing to leave the 
people who esteemed him, and live among those who 
would despise him ; to forsake his comfortable dwell- 
ing for a strange land ? It is said in the parable of 
Jotham, Judges 9, that the olive-tree would not leave 
his fatness, nor the fig-tree his sweetness, even to 
reign over the trees ; but this man was wilhng to 
forsake all, that he might be the servant of Christ. 

Mr. Tyerman and Mr. Bennet, gentlemen, who had 
been sent out from England to visit the islands, were 
much delighted by tliis proof of love to the Redeemer. 
One of them arose and addressed the noble pair, 



MISSION TO THE MARaUESAS. 199 

through an mterpreter. He told them that their 
AWsh was good, but that, like David's wish to build 
the temple, it must be denied ; for that they were so 
useful in Hualiine, that they could not be spared. 

Hautia appeared disappointed at tliis reply, and 
with much feeHng answered, " Since you say so, per- 
haps it is the Lord's will that we should not go to 
the Marquesas, but stay in Huahine ; perhaps we may 
serve God better here : be it so, and yet I wish it had 
fallen to me and my wife to go." 

Anna and Mattatore then came forward, and knelt 
at the tabic before the pulpit. Mr. Ellis then prayed 
that God would fit them for the undertaking, and 
afterwards Mr. Barft^ delivered to them a solemn 
charge. The ser\dce was concluded with singing 
and prayer. Though the people loved Anna and his 
companions, yet they were willing to part mth them 
for so holy a purpose as preachmg the knowledge of 
the Saviour amonfr the heathen. 



200 THE NIGHT of toil. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE ROYAL MARRIAGE. 

"While some of the natives of the South Seas were 
crossing the ocean to spread the Gospel, those at 
home were not unmmdful of the blessed cause. In. 
Tahiti and the neighboring islands there were yearly 
meetings or anniversaries of the Missionary Society 
held every May. 

The anniversary held at the E-oyal Mission Chapel 
this year was particularly interesting, on account of 
the presence of the little Pomare, who was not quite 
two years old. He was chosen president of the soci- 
ety instead of his father, and was therefore placed 
in the chair, being held in the arms of a chief named 
Hitote. It was delightful to behold a royal infant 
in such a situation. What throne could become him 
so well as the seat in which he was placed for the 
purpose of advancing the kingdom of Him who had 
given him a kingdom, and who is himself the King 
of kings ? Who cannot but desire that every mon 
arch, both young and old, in eveiy country beneath 
the sun, occupied such a post? The day, however, 
shall come when all kings shall fall down before the 
Son of God, and count it the highest honor to do him 
honor. Ps. 72 : 11. 



COURT OF JUDGMENT. 201 

The account of th e contributions mad e by the peo- 
ple during tlie year, was read aloud by the Upaparu. 
ThmagH" nearly ten thousand bamboos* of oil had 
been subscribed, besides twenty-four pigs, two hun- 
dred and sixty-seven balls of arrowroot, and one 
hundred and ninety-one baskets of cotton, yet the 
chiefs regretted that the amount had not been great- 
er, and one of them observed in his little speech, 
" Where do we lay out our strength ? Is it for God, 
or the devil ? For this world, or the next ?" 

Parents in former times did not correct their chil- 
dren, but now they took much pains with their 
disobedient children. One father, who had a very 
rebellious son, after reproving him, placed him in a 
basket in the roof. A missionaiy who entered was 
surprised to see legs hanging down from the ceiling, 
and was then told that a boy was in the basket, and 
would be taken down by and by. 

There were many rebellious young people in the 
islands, who conunitted crimes for which they were 
brought before the judges. 

Mr. Bennet and Mr. Tyerman were present on 
one of these occasions, and have given the following 
account of it. 

The court of judgment they visited was under a 
large spreading tree, near the chapel at Papetoai n 
Eimeo. Around the tree long benches were plat jd, 
* A bamboo contains nearly three quarts. 



202 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

on which thirty chiefs, who were judges, sat. The 
chief judge was distinguished from the rest by a 
bunch of black and red feathers in his straw hat. 
In other respects he was clothed, like the rest, in 
handsome native clothing. The criminals were two 
young men accused of stealing breadfruit. They 
were led in, and desired to sit on the ground beneath 
the tree. The judge rose, and callmg upon the 
young men also to stand up, told them that they 
were certainly guilty, for they had been detected in 
the theft, and represented to them how great a fault 
they had conmiitted. 

One of the young men immediately confessed his 
guilt, and owned that he had persuaded his com- 
panion to join Avith liim in the theft. 

It was pleasing to hear this frank confession. Such 
confessions were usually made by the guilty, so that 
witnesses were seldom necessar}^ The cliief judge 
consulted with the other chiefs respecting the pun- 
ishment to be inflicted on the youths, and then sen- 
tenced them each to build twenty-four feet of wall 
round a royal garden of taro. The culprits were 
asked whether they agreed to the sentence, and they 
replied that they did. 

The usual punislmient for theft was to restore four 
times as much as the value of the thing stolen, but 
the judges were allowed to appoint any other pun- 
ishment, if they thought fit. This was a defect in 



SINGULAR PUNISHMENTS. 203 

the laws, as it sometimes led people to tliink they 
were unjustly treated. Criminals were also allowed 
to receive the assistance of their friends in performing 
the tasks appointed them. A son was often helped 
by his father in his work, and a young chief by his 
companions. 

Yery strange punishments were sometimes inflicted , 
upon offenders. Li the island of Raiatea, two deep ^ 
pits were once dug on the side of a hill ; each was ; 
about fifteen feet deep, and was smaller at the top 
than at the bottom, so that it appeared impossible ' 
to climb up the sides. A woman Avho had run away 
from her husband and got herself tattooed, was put 
in one of these pits, and the man who tattooed her ' 
in the other. They were told they must remain 
there till they asked forgiveness, and promised to 
return to their duty. While they continued in the 
pits, they were fed on a little breadfruit and water. 

At the end of two days, some, loose earth falling 
upon the woman, she thought a spirit was coming to 
torment her, and by making very great efibrts she 
contrived to escape from her prison, and returning 
home, asked her husband to forgive her, which he 
willingly did. After some time the man also showed 
signs of sorrow, and was released. 

It may be thought hard by some, that people were 
not allowed to be tattooed, or to tattoo others. But 
the chiefs had forbidden these practices, for very wise 



204 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

reasons. They found that when the natives chos^ 
to be tattooed, they soon returned to many other of 
their old heathen habits. Ill-disposed young people 
were very determined in their resolution to be tat- 
tooed, and would have one limb after another thus 
marked, in spite of a punishment after each offence. 

These obstinate offenders were made useful to their 
country. In Tahiti they, as well as other criminals, 
began a broad road, that was to be made all round 
the island. In many places they brought great 
blocks of coral from the sea to build piers. The 
same persons might often be seen engaged in these 
fatiguing labors. It seemed surprising that they 
should continue in sins that brought upon them such 
severe toil ; but the servants of Satan suffer more in 
the service of their master, than God's most diligent 
servants do in liis. 

The only way to prevent tattooing was at length 
found to be, having the parts that were marked, dis- 
figured by the skin being taken ofl^ and foul blotches 
left where beautiful patterns had been pricked in. 

A very singular punishment was once inflicted on 
four men, who were detected in a house with a 
quantity of the root called ava, which they were 
going to prepare for drinking. Some men were sent 
to take away the house from over the heads of the 
offenders. They unfastened the roof, and carried it 
away on their shoulders to the house of the chief of 



PLEASING INSTANCE OF JUSTICE. 205 

the district. The night was stormy, and the culprits 
went from house to house imploring shelter, but | 
were everywhere denied, the people telling them ; 
they were bad men, with M'hom they would have \ 
nothing to do. At last the outcasts came to the mis- • 
sionaries, and were allowed to take refuge in a shed 
from the torrents of rain that were descending. 

On one occasion Mr. Bemiet and Mr. Tyerman 
observed a man standing outside a chapel m Tahiti. 
They were infomied that he had been in a passion, 
and had threatened the person who had provoked 
him to kill him, and deHver him to be eaten by his 
god. For uttering this curse, the man, by order of ' 
the chiefs, was shut out from the congregation for 
one Sabbath. 

A pleasmg instance of justice being shown to the 
poor occurred in Huahine. Little Pomare's mother, 
the queen, once visited this island, and, wanting 
some Vvood, ordered her servants to cut down a 
breadfruit tree that grew in a poor man's garden. 
Kings and queens had been brought up to oppress 
the poor, and to think only of their own pleasure ; 
therefore the queen was surprised when she was 
desired to appear before the judge the next morning. 
Trials generally took place at sunrise, when the air 
was cool. At that time the queen with her train of 
attendants appeared before the judge, who was sit- 
ting beneath the shade of a spreading tree. The 



206 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

queen took lier seat before him upon a fine mat. 
The poor man began by making his complaint. The 
judge then turning to the queen, said, "Do you not 
know that we have laws ?" 

She replied, " Yes, but I did not know they ap- 
plied to me." 

The judge then asked if it was said in the laws 
that kings and queens need not obey them. 

She answered, " No ;" and then sent her servants 
to fetch a bag of money, which she threw down 
before the man. 

" Stop," said the judge, " we have not done yet." 
The queen began to weep. " Do you think it was 
right," continued the judge, " to cut down a tree 
without the owner's leave ?" 

" It was not right," replied the queen. 

Then the judge asked the poor man Avhat recom- 
pense he required. 

The man replied, " If the queen is convinced that 
it was not right to take a poor man's tree without 
his leave, I am sure she will not do so again. I am 
satisfied — I require no other recompense." 

The people who stood round were pleased with 
this answer. I believe the queen afterwards sent 
the poor man a present equal in value to the tree. 

It is evident that the natives were rendered much 
happier by the laws than they could have been 
without them ; for the judges were only a teiTor to 



A JOVTFUL FEAST. 207 

evil-doers, and j^rotectcd those who did well. There 
were, however, many occasions on which the hap- 
piness of the people was openly shown. An account 
of one of these joyful feasts, at which Mr. Tyerman 
and Mr. Bennet were present, shall be related. 

The feast took place in the island of Raiatea, 
where Mr. "VYilliams and Mr. Threlkeld labored, 
and where the people had adopted more English 
customs than in almost any other island. 

There was a coral pier erected upon the beach 
near the missionary settlement. Upon tliis pier the 
feast was held. A thousand persons were present. 
They came from all parts of the island, some in ca- 
noes and some on foot, bringing with them both 
furniture and provisions. At break of day the prep- 
arations began. Fresh grass was spread upon the 
rough coral pavement as a carpet, and a native cloth 
was stretched above as a shelter from the sun. More 
than a hundred tables, which the natives brought 
with them, were placed on the pier, and wooden 
sofas, and chairs, and stools, were ranged aromid. 

Native cloth, or mattmg, was used for tablecloths, 
and various kinds of dinner tilings were set out. 
Some few persons had plates and knives and forks 
from England ; but most had only native plates 
made of leaves, and such spoons as they themselves 
could make. Fruit and roots were the principal 
food, though a little baked hog and fish were also 



208 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

seen. At noon the company sat down to dinner, not 
omitting to ask a blessing on their plentiful provis- 
ions. Mr. Bennet and Mr. Tyerman, with the mis- 
sionaries and their families, were seated at a table, 
luider an awning, prepared for them, and looked with 
delight at the happy assembly. 

At each table fathers and mothers were surromided 
by smihng boys and girls, who once would not have 
been allowed to eat together, and many of whom 
would long ago have been buried in the earth, had 
not the Gospel of salvation been made known. 
After duiner several chiefs arose, one after another, 
and reminded the natives of the blessings they en- 
joyed. 

One of them observed, " A few years ago, at a 
feast, none but kings, or chiefs, or strong men, would 
have got any thing to eat ; the poor, and the lame, 
and the blind, would have been trampled under 
foot, and probably killed in the rioting and drunk- 
enness of the feast." 

Another chief observed, " This is the reign of 
Jesus — that was the reign of Satan. Once we used 
to flee to the mountains to hide ourselves, lest we 
should be slain as sacrifices to Oro, and we were 
afraid to return till we heard that a victim had been 
ofTered." 

A shower of rain coming on in the afternoon, the 
company left the pier and took shelter among the 



EVENING OF A HAPPY DAY. 209 

trees on the shore. When the rain was over, they 
returned to drink tea. 

It may well be asked, How could they procure tea ? 
A few had obtained a little tea and sugar from the 
ships, and thought it a very excellent drink, because 
it was so rare. But even warm water was a luxury 
to the natives ; for, as they had formerly no vessels 
that could bear the fire, they were once unable to 
boil water. 

Many kettles and frying-pans were produced at 
teatime. One spoonful of tea was thought sufficient 
to put in a kettle of water, and sugar alone was used 
by others, for few persons had both tea and sugar. 
The chief supply indeed was taken from an immense 
pan, filled with water, and a little sugar. 

The drinking vessels were also curious. No sei 
of tea-things was to be seen ; but a mixture of tea- 
pots, cups, jugs, porringers, glasses, and bottles, vvdth 
the native drinking-vessel — the cocoa-nut shell. 

"VYhen tea was over, the assembly began to prepare 
for their departure by packing up their things ; and 
then, either bearing their tables and sofas on their 
shoulders, or placing them in their canoes, they re- 
turned home, many of them, no doubt, blessing Him 
who had given them all things richly to enjoy. 

From every dwelling the sound of prayer and 
praise was? to be heard ascending, on .the evening of 
this day of imiocent pleasure. 

Night of ToU. 24 



210 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

Nearly at the same time that this feast was given 
in Raiatea, an event of importance took place in the 
royal family of Tahiti, namely, the marriage of the 
prmcess Aimata. She was still very young, and 
would only have been counted a child in England, 
but in Taliiti she was considered ahuost grown up. 
Some time before, a husband had been chosen for her. 
He was not himself a king, but was descended from 
an ancient race of kings, who had once reigned in the 
island of Ta-ha-a. He v/as an orphan, and had been 
committed to the care of the pious king who then 
reigned over Tahaa. It vras hoped, that as he had 
received a Christian education, and appeared well 
disposed, he would prove a worthy husband for 
Aimata. 

The marriage ceremony took place a few days after 
their first meetmg, and v/as performed in the chapel 
at noon. Mr. Ellis and Mr. Barff, the missionaries 
at Huahine, took their station beliuid the communion- 
table before the pulpit. The youthful pair stood op- 
posite, and the friends of each were ranged on either 
side. Aimata was dressed in an English wliite gown, 
with a pink scarf, and a boimet made of white bark, 
trimmed with white ribands. The ladies also who 
attended her were dressed in the English manner ; 
but the cliiefs wore their native clothing. A tear 
was observed in Aimata's eye during the service, and 
this tear was a sign of feeling which, had she been a 



PLEASING REFLECTIONS. 211 

heathen, she would hardly have possessed. But 
Aimata had often been instructed m the schools, and 
was aware of the holy nature of a promise. After 
the vows were made and the blessings pronounced, 
the marriage was recorded in a book. Guns were 
then fired by the guards of Hautia, who were now 
drawn up outside the chapel. The day was con- 
cluded by a feast, in which God's name was not for- 
gotten, and in which no riotmg and excess were per- 
mitted. 

How difierent was this Christian marriage from 
those of the natives in former times. It is true, the 
heathen used to pronounce vows of fidelity in their 
temples, but they never kept them ; although the 
skulls of their forefathers were often brought out and 
ranged before the young couple, and though their 
mothers wounded themselves with sharks' teeth, and 
stamed a cloth with their blood mingled together. 

The religion of Jesus had banished these horrible 
ceremonies from these lovely isles, and had brought 
down upon them mmumbered blessings, both m time 
and in eternity. 



iJ2 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

THE CORONATION OF THE LITTLE KING. 

The little king Pomare was not brought up in all 
respects as the missionaries desired, for though his 
aunt had the charge of him, his mother sometimes 
gave directions concerning him. Before the child 
Avas three years old, he was carried on the shoulders 
of a stout man round part of the island, accompanied 
by his mother, and was instructed by her to beg of 
his subjects, according to the ancient custom of the 
Tahitian kings. As he passed by the houses of the 
natives, he was shown to the people, who came out 
to see him. The mother took this opportiuiity of 
looking into their dwellmg, and whatever she saw 
that she fancied, she desired her cliild to ask for. 
Pomare needed only to say, "Hog, plantain, mat, 
dish," and the thing wanted was joyfully given to 
him by liis dutiful subjects. 

The missionaries feared lest the child should ac- 
quire covetous habits, like those which had disgraced 
his father and grandfather. 

Sometimes the young monarch was engaged in a 
manner that delighted the servants of God. You 
have lately heard how he sat in the chair of the 
missionary meeting. On another occasion he was 
present at a scene of a like religious nature. 



LAYING THE FIRST STONE. 213 

A new chapel was wanted in Papeete, where Mr. 
Crook resided, and which was only four miles from 
the residence of the royal family. It was agreed that 
little Pomare should lay the first stone in a public 
assembly. Mr. Tyerman and Mr. Bennet were pres- 
ent at this ceremony, which was performed in the 
month of June, 1823. 

A service was held under the shade of the trees 
that grew by the sea-shore. Hymns were smig, a 
prayer was offered, and a sermon was preached by 
Mr. Crook from the words, " Other foundation can no 
man lay than that which is laid, even Christ Jesus." 

During the service, the congregation, wliich con- 
sisted of a thousand persons, sat upon the green grass. 
A great many arbors had been constructed of palm- 
branches, and provisions had been prepared. After 
the service the people took refreshment in these leafy 
tents. The royal family, Mr. Crook and his family, 
and the travellers, dined in a large arbor, from which 
they had a view of the happy company. The scene 
must have reminded them of Israel of old, when they 
kept the feast of tabernacles, sitting in tents made of 
boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and 
boughs of tliick trees, rejoicing before the Lord. 

Many of the chiefs made speeches that day upon 
the goodness of God to their nation. They could 
remember the dreadful deeds that used to be com- 
mitted at the laying the first stone of a raarae ; how 



214 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

the king fixed upon one of the multitude, as a sacri- 
fice, and made a secret sign to his servants to destroy 
him ; and how in a moment the poor creature was 
Imocked on the head, and hurried into a hole, when 
a post, or block of coral, was planted upon liis warm 
and bleeding breast, and the earth around was trod- 
den down by the feet of the spectators. Each post, 
or block of a marae was usually thus founded in 
blood. Who could remember those days without 
blessing God for Christian ministers, and exclaiming, 
" How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of 
him that bringeth good tidings, that pubHsheth 
peace I" 

It was now desired publicly to anoint Pomare king ; 
but it was thought well to improve the laws and the 
government before the coronation took place. 

Formerly the kings of Tahiti had done whatever 
they pleased ; but Pomare the Second had made laws, 
and promised to govern according to them. The 
chiefs now resolved to improve the govenmient still 
farther by forming a parhament, in some degree sim- 
ilar to that of Eiigland. Tt^as to consist of all the 
chiefs of Tahiti and Eimeo, and of two persons of a 
lower rank from each division of those islands. These 
two persons were to be chosen every three years by 
the people in each division. 

The chiefs, and the persons chosen by the people, 
were to meet together in one house every year, and 



THE NEW PARLIAMENT. 215 

to make laws, and to determine on all that was right 
to be done ; but they were to do nothing without the 
consent of the king, or of the regent, while the king 
was a child. 

The missionaries did not wish to interfere with 
this parliament ; for their business was not with the 
affairs of the Avorld, but only \^ath the word of God, 
and the souls of men : sfiU, they were willing to give 
their counsel when it was desired. 

Tliis parliament first met in February, 1824. Mr. & 
Nott was particularly requested to preside. He con- 1 
sented -to sit in the chair, and to give advice when 
consulted, but he refused to do more. Some other 
missionaries were present, as well as Mr. Tyerman | 
and Mr. Bennet. 

One of the chief faults in the old laws was the 
power left with the judge to punish many offences in 
the manner he thought best. This defect was cor- 
rected in the new laws, and a particular punishment 
was assigned to each different kind of offence. 

Some chiefs were desirous to alter the punislmient 
for murder and rebellion. They did not like that 
death should be inflicted upon men, because it took 
away the opportunity for repentance ; therefore they 
proposed that murderers and rebels should be ban- 
ished to a desert island, called Palmerston's Isle, or 
to some other similar place. 

There were many islands that lay far apart by 



216 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

themselves in the wide ocean, and from which no 
criminal could escape in any boat that he would be 
able to build. In these he might live upon cocoa- 
nuts and water, and have opportunity in his solitude 
to think of his sins, and to ask for a new heart. The 
chiefs thought that bad men would be more alarmed 
at this punishment than at death itself, while in 
reality it would be more merciful. 

Still, it must not be supposed that many persons 
had been hitherto executed. Since the laws had first 
been made, nearly five years ago, only four men had 
been put to death. They had all been guilty of 
rebellion against Pomare, but not of murder. Two 
had been hanged on one occasion, and two on an- 
other. At the last execution, Mr. Crook had attend 
ed, and had spoken to the multitude wliile the bodies 
were hanging on the pole, between two trees. Yet 
these executions had not had a good effect upon the 
natives, but had appeared to harden them. 

After a long argument between the chiefs on the 
subject of the punishment of death, it was decided 
that it should be abohshed. 

The parliament spent eight days in consulting 
together. Each day's business was begun and con- 
cluded with prayer, and the behavior of all present 
was excellent. Ko one interrupted or contradicted 
another, nor uttered an angry word, or by his manner 
appeared to think that he knew more than the rest ; 



waa X 

use, j 
was I 



THE CORONATION. 217 

but each behaved courteously, and spoke modestly 
and sensibly. 

Soon after the meeting of parliament, the corona- 
tion of the little king took place. He was now nearly 
four years old. The day appointed was April 21st, 
1824. The place of coronation was a field, where a 
platform of stones was erected under a high tree, 
with a lower platform by the side of the first. 

On the day of the coronation the people met early 
at the queen's house, which was about half a mile 
from the coronation field. The little king was 
dressed in his coronation robes in Mr. Nott's house 
the robes having been made by Mrs. Nott. He 
then conveyed to the queen's house, where many 
were waiting to receive him, and was placed upon a 
chair, mider a canopy of native cloth. 

The procession was then arranged. This was the 
order of it. 

A woman and two girls scattering flowers. 
Wives and children of missionaries. 
Mr. Bennet. Mahine, a chief judge, Mr. Nott. 

Mr. Henry. carrying a Bible. Mr. Tyerman. 

Seven missionaries, and son and nephew, in two rows. 
A chief judge. Utami, a chief judge, A chief judge. 

with copy of the laws, 

A chief judge. Tati, with crown. A chief judge. 

Iving's mother KING, King's aunU. 

aud sister. carried in a chair by four chiefs ; 

canopy supported by four youths. 

Poinare, chief of Tahaa. 

Relations of the royal family, carrying three tables, and phial of oil. 

Governors, four in a row. 

Judges, four in a row. 
Magistrates, four in a row. 



218 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

A multitude, consisting of eiglit thousand persons, 
^^ewed this procession vralk to the appointed field. 
Among the spectators were the kings and chiefs of 
Kaiatea and Huahine, and the neighboring islands. 
This -was the first Christian coronation that had ever 
taken place in the South Seas, and it was observed 
as a pattern for others. 

When the procession reached the platforms, the 
king was placed in his chair on the highest platform, 
just beneath the tall tree that shaded it, as well as 
beneath his own htlle canopy. The three little 
tables were placed before him. The crown was laid 
on the middle table, and the Bible and the laws and 
phial of oil on the tables on each side. Mr. Davies 
sat close by the little monarch, to answer for him 
when addressed. 

The royal family surrounded him, and the mission- 
aries, their v/ives and children, and the cliief judges, 
Bat Pet a little distance from. them. 

On the lower platform, the governors and lesser 
judges were stationed, and around it thek wives and 
cliildren and the magistrates were arranged. 

"VYhen all was in readiness, the coronation service 
was begun by Mr. Darling giving out a hymn suita- 
ble for the occasion. After the surging, Mr. Crook 
offered up a prayer, and Mr. Nott gave an address to 
the people. In the address, Mr. Nott pointed out to 
the people the duty of obedience to the king they 



CORONATION CEREMONIES. 219 

now publicly acknowledged, and he read over the 
laws to them, asking them to hold up their hands to 
show their approbation of them. 

When Mr. Nott had concluded his discourse, and . • 
had placed the laws again upon the table, Mr. Ben- 
net presented them~l:o the kmg, while Mr. Wilson ;■ 
addressed the following words to him : " Do you ') 
promise to govern your people in justice and mercy, \\ 
in obedience to the word of God, and these laws^ and \\ 
any other laws that the parliament may agree upon, ,' 
with your consent ?" * 

Mr. Davies then directed Poraare to reply, " I do, 
God being my helper." 

" Mr. Henry then took the oil from the table, and i 
poured some upon the head of the king, at the same v 
time observing that the oil represented the Holy • 
Spirit's power, which only could enable him to act 
like a Christian prince. Mr. Davies then prayed ;' 
that God's Spirit might rest upon the Idng, and pro- ^ 
nounced a blessing upon liim. 

Mr. Nott then took the crown from the table, and ' 
put it on the king's head, saying, " May God grant 
you prosperity, health, length of days, and grace to 
rule m righteousness, and in the fear of the Lord!" j 

The people then gave three shouts, saying, "Long | 
live the king I May the king be saved I" 
. Mr. Tyerman next presented the Bible to the king, 
while Mr. Darling addressed him in these words: 



220 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

"King Pomare, we present to you this book, tlie 
most valuable thing in the world. Here is wisdom ; 
this is the royal law ; these are the lively oracles of 
God. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear 
' the words of this book, and keep and do the things 
contained in it ; for these are the words of eternal 
life, able to make you wise and happy in this world, 
nay, wise unto salvation, and so happy for evermore, 
through faith in Christ Jesus, to whom be glory for 
ever and ever. Amen." 

Mr. Jones now gave out another hymn, and Mr. 
Wilson concluded with prayer for the king, the na- 
tion, and the church of God. 

A man now proclaimed pardon to all who were 
under punishment from the law, permitting the ban- 
ished to return, and the prisoners to be set free. 

The coronation being now ended, the procession 
descended from the platforms, and walking in the 
same order as before, proceeded to the Royal Mission 
Chapel. The little king sat in the chair of state in 
his pew, but the crown was taken from his head and 
placed on the little table before liim. The other 
tables, with the laws and Bible, were also placed in 
the king's pew. The royal family sat with the king 
in his pew. 

When pubhc worship was over, the procession 
went to the coronation dinner, which was plentiful, 
but where no excess was permitted. 



DELIGHTFUL CONTRAST. 221 

Those who had been present at the heathen festi- 
vals in honor of kings, could alone tell how differently 
this coronation was conducted. \Yhen the late Po- 
mare had become a man, he had been declared king 
according to the heathen fashion ; not by being 
crowTied, but by being wrapped in a girdle covered 
with red feathers ; and this ceremony had been at- 
tended by the slaug hter of men, and had been fol- 
lowed by the worshipping^oT the^king as a god, as 
he sat in the marae in Ore's wooden bed, between 
Oro himself and Hiro the son of Oro, and god of 
thieves. 

How happy was this little prince, whose corona- 
tion, instead of being stained with blood, was attend- 
ed by the opening of prison doors, and the sacrifice 
of the sweet incense of prayer and praise to the liv- 
ing God ! 



222 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

WHAT BEFELL TAHITI IN THE LATTER DATS OF THE FIRST MIS- 
SIONARIES. 

We liave observed God's wonderful dealings with 
the land of Tahiti for nearly thirty years. But the 
time is come when we must breaFofF the history. 
Yet we will not do so without giving a short account 
of some of the principal events that happened after 
the coronation of young Pomare. 

The little king made great progress m his learning, 
and showed such good dispositions, that the mission- 
aries fondly hoped that he would become a blessing 
to his kingdom ; but God thought fit to disappoint 
their expectations. When six years and a half old, 
he was attacked by a complaint that prevailed in 
the islands at that time, and became dangerously ill : 
he was immediately conveyed to Papao in Tahiti, 
where his mother and aunt resided, and where he 
lingered for tliree weeks. His dymg struggles were 
so painful to behold, that his relations threw a cloth 
over him as he lay in the arras of Mr. Orsmond, liis 
affectionate teacher. In a few minutes they removed 
the cloth, and found that the spirit of the child had 
fled. 

Thus God cut off with a stroke the desire of many 
hearts, and the hope of the nation. All eyes were 



AlxVIATA aUEEN. 223 

now directed towards Aimata, his elder sister, who 
became queen of Tahiti at the age of fifteen. She 
soon assumed the name of Pomare Vahine, or the 
female Pomare ; and her aunt, who once had borne 
that name, was called by another name. The young 
queen continued to live at Papao, near her father's 
tomb. Her palace was a neat plastered house, situ- 
ated beneath the shade of a lovely grove, and con- 
sisting of a hall, fom- rooms on the ground floor, and 
some above. Mr. Nott continued also to be the 
preacher at court, but he no longer could preach in 
the Royal Mission Chapel, as it fell into decay. The 
part that remained was made into a school, and a 
very neat oval chapel was built near it. 

The queen, however, did not always reside at 
home ; but was fond, as her father also had been, of 
making voyages from island to island, and, hke her 
father, was accompanied by a train of the most dis- 
orderly persons that could be found in the countr}\ 
She could read and WTite well, and was a very bright 
girl ; but in her youth she was not so serious, nor 
even steady, as to benefit her subjects by her ex- 
ample. 

In outward thuigs the people of Tahiti made great 
improvement. The road that has been already men- 
tioned, was fmished in a few years, chiefly by the 
labor of persons who were sentenced to do hard work 
by the judges. 



2*^4 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

Once it was almost impossible to travel round Ta- 
hiti on foot ; sometimes the traveller was obliged to 
creep by the brmk of frightful precipices, along nar- 
row ledges of the rocks that overhung the sea ; some- 
times he found his way blocked up by shrubs that 
grew close to the sea-shore, or interrupted by streams 
flowing from the mountains, while at every step his 
feet were wounded by stones, or entangled in the 
long grass. But the new gravel road, and the nar- 
row bridges made of planks, placed across every 
stream, enabled a person to go round the island with 
pleasure, and to view at ease the lovely ocean on one 
side, and the richly clothed mountains on the other. 
So beautiful, indeed, were the prospects on each side, 
especially the glimpses of the fertile valleys, that a 
traveller might fancy himself passing through a park, 
rather than along a common road. 

Neither were persons now obliged always to go on 
foot, for most of the chiefs had horses to ride, and 
even the poorer people were often able to buy one 
horse. Cows, as well as horses, became common in' 
the islands. Sheep did not prosper, for they were 
both worried by the dogs and injured by the heat. 

The land was much more cultivated than it was 
formerly. An attempt was made to grow com, but 
it did not succeed, for though the ears sprung up, 
they were found empty at harvest-time, owing to 
(he heat of the climate. The cofiee-plant, however, 



AGRICULTURE AND THE ARTS. 225 

flourished, and cofTee became a favorite drink of the 
chiefs. 

Sugar-canes always grew in the islands, but once 
the natives did not know how to extract sugar from 
them. Now that they had learned this art, they 
made large plantations of them. The chief, Tati, as 
well as some persons from Europe, made a quantity 
of sugar, and sold it to the ships. 

The cotton-plant was also a native of the island, 
but of no use till the people had learned how to spin 
and weave. Mr. and Mrs. Armitage had come from 
England on purpose to instruct them in these arts. 
They found them very idle at first, and were obliged 
to coax them by rewards to learn. After much 
trouble, they succeeded in teaching the people to 
weave a coarse kind of calico, which is much 
stronger than can be purchased from the ships. The 
natives dye it blue, and are fond of wearing it. A 
spimiing-wheel is also now to be seen in many a Ta- 
hitian cottage. Mr. Armitage returned to England, 
after ha^'ing spent a few years in various islands of 
the South Seas. 

The natives were also taught by the missionaries 
to make ropes to sell to the ships, and to prepare 
arrowroot, quantities of which are now to be pur- 
chased in England at a very low price. 

It is evident that the people became much more 
industrious than before ; but though industry is good. 

Night of ToU. I Q 



226 TilE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

it is often accompanied and disgraced by the great 
evil of covetousness. This sin led many of the na- 
tives to neglect school and chapel. Those who lived 
at a distance from the missionaries, did not like to 
leave their lands on Saturday, to he present at the 
Sabbath services. Such persons seldom came more 
than once a month, and even those who attended 
oftener, appeared less attentive than formerly, for 
they were inclined to think of their property during 
the service, instead of the unsearchable riches of 
heaven. 

There was another sin which ruined many, souls 
in Tahiti : it was drunkenness. Though the native 
stills had been long ago destroyed, yet the ships 
brought spirits in abundance to the shores. As the 
natives had now much property, the wicked sailors 
took every means to induce them to exchange it for 
spirits. They took spirits about, the island to sell, 
and set up shops along the shore. 

The missionaries now determmed to try to estab- 
lish Temperance societies in the island, and to en- 
gage the people to promise to leave off the use of 
spirits. 

The missionaries were accustomed to meet together 
every three months to consult about plans for the 
good of the people. At one of these quarterly meet- 
ings, in August, 1833, it was resolved that each mis- 
sionary, at his own station, would endeavor to per- 



TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. 227 

suade the people to promise to abstain from drinking 
spirits. Mr. Nott took a sheet of paper, and wrote 
down his own name, and soon obtained a hundred 
others in his district. 

The queen, with her principal chiefs, was at this 
time in Eimeo. Mr. Nott sent a messenger with a 
letter, entreating her to set an example of temper- 
ance to her subjects, and to permit her name to be 
written down on the paper that he had prepared. 
She sent a message in reply, desiring Mr. Nott not 
to be in too much haste, and saying she would con- 
sider the subject; but that she thought her aunt, 
and other chiefs, who took the Lord's supper, ought 
to write down their names before she wrote down 
hers. 

Very soon both the queen's mother and aunt, and 
many of the cliiefs, permitted their names to be 
written down, but the queen still delayed to add her 
own 

There was already a great change in the appear- 
ance of the people, for drunkards were no longer fre- 
quently to be seen staggering along the road. The 
missionaries felt that the queen's example would in- 
duce many more persons to leave off drinking spirits. 
Their desire to obtain her name was soon gratified. 
One evening, when Mr. Nott and some of his people 
were assembled for worship, a messenger entered the 
chapel — his countenance beamed with joy. He sur- 



228 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

prised the people present by exclaiming, " Brethren 
and sisters, rejoice Avith me." All eyes were fixed 
upon him. He then added, " 1 say, rejoice with me, 
because the queen has given me orders to tell Notty 
to add her name to those who belong to the Temper- 
ance society." This news was received with delight 
by all. They now thought that no drunlvard would 
dare to show his face in the islands. 

Their expectations were not disappointed. A short 
time afterwards the parliament assembled, and it 
was then proposed that a law against drunkenness 
should be made. At last all agreed to the following 
law : 

" If any person in Tahiti is found with even one 
glass of spirits in his possession, he shall be obliged, 
if a native, to pay ten hogs ; and if a foreigner, ten 
dollars, and be banished from the islands." 

Some members of the parliament proposed, that 
people should be allowed to keep a small quantity ol 
spirits by them in case of sickness ; but the greater 
part objected to this permission, because they knew 
it would be made use of as an excuse for disobeying 
the law. 

The judges immediately began to make people ob- 
serve the laM^ Tati the chief willingly spilt upon 
the ground a quantity of spirits that he possessed. 
The spirits in the shops at Papeete, and other places, 
were seized ; casks and calabashes were dashed to 



EFFECTS OF TEMPERANCE. 229 

pieces, and the spirits ^vitllin poured out. ]S^ot^vith- 
standing this la^v, sailors M'ould sometimes run away 
from their ships and sell spirits ; but when they were 
discovered, they were punished. 

Now that spirits were forbidden, people began 
again to flock to school and chapel in every place. 
The queen also expressed her desire that all persons 
should attend chapel, and that all children should 
go to school. Most of the people were glad to do 
what their sovereign wished. 

The missionaries were rejoiced to see so many 
people listening to their instructions, and they offered 
up earnest prayers to God to send his Spirit from on 
high to convert those who Avere unconverted. 

Many of the missionaries now felt a burning desire 
for the salvation of souls. They never entered their 
pulpits without using all their efforts to persuade the 
people to flee from the wrath to come. Their labor 
was not in vain in the Lord. 

In the end of the summer of 1835, many people 
in various parts of the island were converted, espe- 
cially by the preaching of Mr. JSTott at Papao. Some 
even of the wild men and women of the mountains, 
who had hitherto been disorderly in their conduct, 
now began to show a concern for their souls ; and 
many who had once known God, and who had wan 
dered from him, seemed anxious to return to him 
At first these people came to Mr. Nott in small par 



^30 THE NIGHT OF TOIL 

ties of three or four together ; but soon the number 
increased, and sometimes even thirty came at once 
to as-k the way to the heavenly Zion, They came 
at all times of the day, and even at night. They 
assembled in the chapel, at any hour Mr. Nott ap- 
pointed, to listen to his instructions. 

The heart of this faithful minister was filled with 
unspeakable joy, and many on earth, as well as in 
heaven, partook of it ; especially the pious old peo- 
ple in his congregation, who had often wept and 
prayed for the ungodly natives. They came with 
tottering steps along the beach, each leaning upon a 
staff, that they might be present wliile Mr. JNTott in 
structed the newly converted in the chapel. Mr 
Nott inquired why they wished to hear things re 
peated that they had heard so often : they replied, 
" God has answered our prayers for these people. 
We remember your sermon on the text, ' Compel 
them to come in, that my house may be filled.' We 
prayed that he would compel them to come in, and 
we like to see them coming in. tell them to give 
their chief attention to eternal things, and to stand 
upon the Lord's side. They will understand more 
quickly than we did, for they learned to read and 
write, and to understand catecliisms long ago, though 
they have been deceived by the devil, and have neg- 
lected their books ; yet they will now learn very 
quickly." Thus these compassionate Christians re- 



THE BIBLE TRANSLATED. 231 

joiced over the poor weeping prodigals, who were 
lost, and now were found. 

Among those who were now awakened were some 
of the noble of the earth, even the queen, her hus- 
band, and her mother. They all desired to be admit- 
ted to the Lord's supper. The queen and her hus- 
band were desired to \vrite to Mr Nott an account 
of the reasons which made them wish to become 
commmiicants. The queen's mother was not desired 
to write, but to come with other inquirers to the 
chapel. They were all three soon afterwards per- 
mitted to assemble round the table of the Lord. 

The queen now sho"\\;ed a great desire that her 
people should be instructed and converted. She 
herself condescended to teach poor little girls to 
read, and thus set an example of humility to all her 
subjects, and to the queens of every land. 

In July, 1836, the queen rejoiced to find that there 
were only two openly ungodly persons in the whol(? 
district of Pare, where she resided. 

Mr. Davies was almost as much blessed in his 
ministry at Papara, as Mr. Nott was at Papao ; and 
many other missionaries, in all the islands, met with 
great success 

Another event caused much joy to the natives 
The translation of the whole Bible into Tahitian was 
now completed. The greatest part of the work had 
b^en done by Mr. Nott. It was now his anxious 



232 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

r desire to place the whole Bible in the hands of the 
j natives. He thought it would be best for him to go 
to England, where learned persons would assist him 
to correct the translation before it was printed, and 
where skilful men would print it well and quickly. 
His aflectionate people were unwilling to part wdth 
him, but he asked them how he could better spend 
his few remaining years, and his failing strength, 
than in helping to give them the word of life. 

In February, 1836, Mr, Nott, accompanied by his 
wife, set sail for England, He had, a few years be- 
fore, visited his native comitiy with the translation 
of the New Testament, but now he felt that he was 
visiting it for the last time. 

He was th e only one of the niissioiiaries^whq first 
sailed in the Dufr,J;hat was still living and laboring 
in the South Seas, except Mr. Henry. How delight- 
ful he noAV found it to behold the fruits of liis life of 
toil. How different were those people, with whom 
he was nov/ parting for a time, from those ignorant 
and miserable savages, among whom he had come 
to dwell forty years before I 

^Tien he arrived in England he presented his 
translation to the directors of the London Mission- 
ar}^ Society, who caused three thousand copies to be 
printed immediately and sent to Tahiti, Mr, Nott 
remained in England about two years. He appeared 
in Exeter Hall at the great meeting of the London 



JOYFUL OLD AGE. 233 

Missionary Society in 1838, and was received with 
the affection and veneration due to a man who had 
hazarded his life for the name of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Acts 15 : 26. He showed to the assembly 
a copy of the Tahitian Bible, and told them that he 
bade them a last, though not an everlasting fare- 
well, before his return to Tahiti. 

Mr. Henry, though suffering much from the effects 
of old age and toil, and the sultry air of the South 
Seas, cannot be persuaded to forsake his beloved 
flock to dwell in a more refresliing climate. Ho 
fears lest the wolf should enter in and destroy them, 
and, therefore, with his wife and children, spends his 
latter years in watching for their souls. 

Having now followed the faithful missionaries 
through a long life of labor, let us stop an instant 
and contemplate the happiness they enjoy in the 
evening of their days. They look around, and be- 
hold the children of Satan become the children ol 
God, through their preaching. They share the joy 
of Christ, who in heaven rejoices over the souls he 
purchased with his blood. These missionaries have 
not indeed suffered the ^ATath and curse of God, as 
Christ did, from love to sinners ; but they have for- 
Baken all, and borne shame, and endured toil, and 
exposed their lives, and they have not lost their re- 
ward ; neither shall they lose it. 

And now let rae speak a word to those young per- 



234 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

sons who have had the patience to accompany me 
through the tedious, though well-rewarded labors of 
the missionaries. Do you think it enough to admire 
their perseverance, or even to rejoice at their success? 
Is there no other effect which these events ought to 
have upon our minds? There are still numerous 
dark corners of the earth, or rather I should say, the 
earth still lies in darkness, and there are only a few 
bright spots to be seen upon it. You were astonished 
at the cruelty of the Taliitians in murdering their 
infants, and torturing their enemies ; but how would 
your ears tingle at the account of the barbarous 
deeds which are even noio committed in heathen 
lands ? 

I know that many a youthful and compassionate 
heart is grieved at hearing of these horrible practices ; 
but it is not to cause pain that I allude to them 
Could nothing be done to stop these atrocious cus- 
toms, it would be better that they should never be 
mentioned. But something may be done. "Where 
the Gospel is preached and believed, there Satan, the 
author of all cruelty, loses his power. 

But perhaps some inquire, "Can we, who are so 
young and inexperienced — who have no power, and 
little property — can ive send the Gospel to the hea- 
then ?" 

Yes, even you may bear a part in the blessed work. 
There are, even now, such men in the world as those 



WHAT YOUTH CAN DO. 235 

missionaries of whom you have been reading, whose 
hearts are stirred up mthin them at the thought of 
the misery of the poor pagans, and who are wiUing 
to cross the ocean and to spend their days among 
savages. Your slender oflerings will assist to supply 
them with food and raiment m those barbarous 
lands. 

that all who are in the bloom of youth, would 
begui without delay to be the servants of God. It 
is those who have devoted their ivlwle lives to God, 
who have been the instruments of the greatest good 
in the world. Martin Oberlin, through whose labors 
the inhabitants of five French villages were made 
partakers of the blessings of the Gospel, passed sixty 
years among them. It was in the morning of their 
days that Mr. Nott and Mr. Henry devoted them- 
selves to that service which has filled hundreds of 
islands with peace and joy. 

But 'though ive should neglect to serve God, or to 
honor him, or to pray to him, yet liis kingdom must 
come ; for he has said, " I will gather all nations and 
tongues, and they shall come and see my glory." 
Isaiah 66 : 18. 

How sad it is, that when Christ has purchased 
with his blood an inheritance for the heathen, they 
ehould live and die in ignorance of it. 

Now hear a little parable. A certain man lived 
all his days in pinching poverty, and at last actually 



236 THE NIGHT OF TOIL. 

pcrishod with hunger. After he was dead, it was 
discovered that a great sum of money had once been 
left him, but that he had never been told of his good 
fortune. It was a rich man Avho had left him this 
money, and with his dying breath he had strictly 
charged his relations who surrounded his bed, to seek 
for this poor man, and to convey to him, -with, theii 
ovni hands, the valuable gift. He had said to his 
relations, " I have not forgotten you in my mil : I 
have left you more than you can need — ^}'ou will 
never miss the sum I have bequeathed to our poor 
neighbor." But though it was true that every one 
of the relations was amply provided for, they were 
too much engrossed with their omu ease and pleasure 
to take the trouble to visit the poor man, or even to 
send a messenger to inform him of the legacy. If 
these selfish relations should ever hear of the sad fate 
of that famished man, they would feel many a pang 
of conscience at tne recollection of their own con- 
duct; their sleep would be sometimes troubled by 
the thought of his expiring agonies, and his emaci- 
ated body, and they would fancy they saw their de- 
parted friend frowning upon them, and reproaching 
them with their neglect. 



END. 



PUBLICATIONS OF THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY 



D'Aubigne's HistJry of the Reforma- 
tion. A new translation, revised 
by the author, in four volumes 
12mo,\vith portraits. Price $1 75, 
extra cloth. 

Baxter's Saints' Everlasting Rest, 
I'imo, in large type ; also Ismo. 

Biinyan's Pilgrim's Progress, 12mo. 
in large type^ and ISmo. Both edi- 
tions neatly illustrated. 

Memoir of Jas. Milnor, D. D. 

Mason's Spiritual Treasury, for every 
day in the year. Terse, pithy, and 
evangelical. 

Flavel's Fountain of Life, or Re- 
demption provided. 

Flavel's Method of Grace, or Re- 
demption applied to the Souls of 
Men. 

Flavel's Knocking at the Door; a 
tender, practical appeal. 

Bishop Hall's Scripture History, or 
Contemplations on the Historical 
Passages of the Old and New Testa- 
ments. 

Bishop Hopkins on the Ten Com- 
mandments. Two standard works 
of the times of Baxter. 

President Edwards' Thoughts on Re 
vivals. 

Venn's Complete Duty of I\Ian. 

Owen on Forgiveness, or Psalm 130. 

Gregory's (Olinthus, LL.D.) Evi 
deuces of Christianity. 

Paley's Natural Theology. 

ELEGANT PRACTICAL WORKS. 



Dr. Spring's Bible not of .Man, or the 
Argument for the Divine. Origin of 
the Scriptures drawn from the 
Scriptures themselves. 

Nelson's Cause and Cure of Infi« 
delity. 

Memoir of Mrs. Isabella Graham. A 
new and standard edition. 

Memoir of Mrs. Sarah L. Huntinglou 
Smith. 

Sacred Songs for Family and Social 
Worship. Hjinns and Tunes— 
with a separate edition in patent 
notes. Also, the Hymns separately. 

Elegant Narratives, Select Tracts, 
Uustrated. 

Willison's Afflicted Man's Com- 
panion. 

Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Re- 
ligion in the Soul. 

Edwards' History of Redemption. 

Volume on Infidelity, comprising five 
standard treatises : Soame Jenyns 
on the Internal Evidence; Leslie's 
Method witii Deists; Littleton's 
Conversion of Paul ; Watson's Ro. 
ply to Gibbon and Paine. « 

Pike's Persuasives to Early Piety. ' 

Pike's Guide to Young Disciples. 

Anecdotes for the Family and the 
Social Circle. 

Universalism not of God. 

Dibble's Thoughts on Missions 

The Bible True. 



Wilberforce's Practical View. 
Hannah IMore's Practical Piety. 
James' Anxious Inquirer. 
Elijah the Tishbite. 
Xevins' Practical Thoughts. 
Melvill's Bible Thoughts, selected by 
the late Rev. Dr. Miinor. 

CHRISTIAN MEMOIRS 
Rtv. C. Buchanan, LL.D., including 
his Christian Researches in Asia. 
^RaT John Newton. 
^■^tav Henry Martyn. 
_,,,^l3v David Brainerd. 

Rev. Edward Payson, D. D 



Harris' Mammon. 
Gurney's Love to God. 
Foster's Appeal to the Young. 
Abbott's Young Christian. 
Abbott's Mother at Home. 
Abbott's Child at Heme. 
James' Young Man from Home. 



Harlan Page.*^ 
Normand Smith. 
Richard Baxter. ' 
Archbishop Leighton. 
IMatthew Henry. •- 
Rev. Samuel IVarce. 



Harriet L. Winslow, Missionary in Rev. Samuel Kilpi 

India. Madam Rmnpff and Dachcsa ie 

James Brainerd Taylor. ' Broglie. 



OTHER SPIRITUAL WORKS. 



EdwarJi on the Affections. 
Baxter's Call to the Unconverted. 
Alleine's Alarna to the Unconverted. 
Flavel's Touchstone. 
Flavel on Keeping the Heart. 
HeLffenstein's Self-Deception. 



Guide to Acquaintance with God. 
Pike's Religion and Eternal Life, 
Baxter's Dying Thoughts. 
Andrew Fuller's Backslider, 
Redeemer's Last Command. 
Burder's Sermons to the Aged. 



MISCELLANEOUS WORKS. 



Bote's Evidences of Christianity. 
Keith's Evidence of Prophecy. 
Morison's Counsels to Young Men. 
Spirit of Popery, [J 2 engravings.] 
The Colporteur and Roman Catholic. 



iNIason on Self-Knowledge. 
Divine Law of Beneficence 
Zaccheus, or Scriptural Plan of Bd" 

nevolence. 
Hymns for Social Worship 



POCKET MANUALS. 



Clarke's Scripture Promises. 

The Book of Psalms. 

The Book of Proverbs. 

Daily Scripture Expositor. 

Ten Commandments Explained. 

Advice to a Married Couple. 

HjTims for Infant JMinds. 



Daily Food for Christians. 

Chaplet of Flowers. 

Heavenly Manna. 

Cecil and Flavel's Gift for Mourner* 

Crumbs from the ]\Ta5ter's Table 

Milk for Babes. 

Dew-Drops. 



BOOKS FOR THE YOUNG. 

MANY OF THEM BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTKATED WITH EXGRAVLNGS 

Narratives of Pious Children. 



Gallaudet's Scripture Biography. 

Youth's Book of Natural Theology. 
yJPeep of Day. 
-i^Line upon Line. 

fvecept upon Precept. 

Anzonetta R. Peters. 

The Night of Toil. 

Richmond's Letters and Counsels. 

Advice to a Young Christian. 

Charles H. Porter. 

IMissionary's Daughter. 

Scudder's Tales about the Heathen. 

Trees, Fruits, and Flowers of the 
Bible, [9 cuts.] 

Elizabeth Bales. By J. A. James. 

Nathan W. Dickerman. 

Grace Harriet. 

Children Invited to Christ. 



The Dair>'man's Daughter, etc 

Charles L. Winslow. 

Withered Branch Revived. 

Peet's Scripture Lessons. 

Child's Book of Bible Stories. 

Children of the Bible. 

Amos Armfield. 

The Child's H>Tnn-Book. 

Scripture Animals, [16 cuts.] 

Letters to Little Children, [13 cuts.] 

Great Truths in Simple Words 

Clementine Cuvier. 

Rolls Plumbe. 

Pictorial Tract Primer. 

Watts' Divine and Moral Songs. 

With numerous similar works. 



Also, Dr. Edwards' Sabbath Manual and Temperance Manual, anJ 
more than 60 vols, in German, French, Spanish, Welsh, and Danish. 

Also, upwards of 1.000 Tracts and Children's Tracts, separate, bound. « 
in packets, adapted/or convenient sale by merchants and traders, many ol 
them with b3autifal engravings — in English, German, French, Spaniahf* 
Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, and Welsh. 

OC?^ It is the design of the Society to issue all its publications in good 
type, for the poor as well as the rich ; and to sell them, as nearly as may be. 
at cost, that the Society may neither sustain less nor make a profit by all 
its sales. 



DATE DUE 


JAfli»&,i«^ 


^ 
















HMT 




































































































































CAYI.ORO 






PRINTEP IN U.S.A. 

i 



