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Mr. Ellis was able to converse with the people, and soon even to preach. Auna tried to persuade the people to burn their idols. In a few weeks after his arrival, a great bonfire was made of one hundred and two idols; yet some still remained hidden among the rocks. The king and his five wives began to learn to read and write; many of the chiefs followed their example, so that the missionaries thought the "fields were white already to harvest." John iv.

When the captain of the Mermaid was ready to return to Tahiti, Mr. Ellis, as well as Mr. Bennet and Mr. Tyerman, accompanied him. Auna and his wife remained, as they had promised, at the Sandwich Islands; but Mattatore and his wife did not remain. Mattatore himself had behaved very well, but his wife had done many very wrong things, and had shown that she was not fit to teach the heathen women.

She never, however, reached her native country. She was taken ill on the voyage, but appeared to be recovering, when she insisted on being carried on deck. There she was soon wet with the foam of the waves that dashed against the ship. Yet she refused to be removed, and was at last carried below by force. In the evening she grew worse, and then began to call upon God for

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mercy through Christ. No human creature can tell, whether she found it; because none can tell whether, like the dying thief, she truly repented of her sins, and believed in Christ; but as she had abused many religious opportunities, and made a false profession of piety, it is to be feared that there was no hope in her death. That night she died, and the next day her body was thrown into the sea. The death of such a woman was a solemn warning to all.

The voyage was much longer than had been expected, for the winds drove the ship many miles out of its course. This proved in the end a happy circumstance, for the voyagers were thus led to visit a very interesting island, which lies alone in the bosom of the ocean, about four hundred miles from Tahiti. When they first approached it, they knew not its name. It reminded them by its beauty of Tahiti and its sister islands; for a high mountain rose in the midst, and silver streams flowed down the sides of the wooded hills. The voyagers were surprised to see a number of white cottages adorning its shores, and a white flag waving upon the top of a high staff. They wondered what could be the name of this pretty island, but they could not immediately reach it, because the boats, belonging to the ship, required mending.

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After waiting with anxiety for some time, they beheld a native approaching, not in a canoe, but in a large wooden dish about the length of a man. When he reached them, he told

them that the island was named Rurutu.

You well remember the history of this island. Only one year and a quarter had passed since the news of a Saviour had been brought to it, and yet the inhabitants were no longer heathen.

The man in the wooden dish informed the people in the ship, that the reason why no canoes had come near them, was, that the inhabitants of Rurutu had, for some time past, been employed in building a chapel, and new houses, and had neglected to repair their canoes, and that only one tolerable canoe remained. The Rurutan was much delighted to find that there was a missionary on board the vessel. He speedily returned in his dish to the shore, to bring to his king the joyful news. The old canoe he had mentioned now started from the shore, and soon reached the ship. One of the ship's boats also was by this time mended. In these little vessels Mr. Ellis, Mr. Bennet, and Mr. Tyerman, as well as the captain, rowed towards Rurutu, and landed on a coral pier, a quarter of a mile long, that the natives had lately built.

All the inhabitants were assembled on the

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beach, and received Mr. Ellis and his friends with joy and affection, not as strangers, but as brethren. Amongst the rest the king of the island appeared. He was a youth of eighteen, of a fair complexion, mild countenance, and graceful manners. The young queen also seemed amiable and modest, and the infant prince her son was as fair as an English infant. The island of Rurutu was much less hot than Tahiti, therefore the natives were of a lighter complexion.

Near the king stood a tall chief of a majestic appearance: it was Auura, who was the friend and counsellor of the young monarch. How happy is the sovereign who has such a friend!

Mahemene and Puna, the two teachers, were there. They knew Mr. Ellis, and welcomed him with delight, and then invited him and Mr. Bennet and Mr. Tyerman to come to their houses for refreshment.

That evening Mr. Ellis preached in the chapel to a congregation of two hundred people. There was one part of the building which was very remarkable; this was, the rails of the pulpit stairs. They were formed of hard polished wood, which once had been the spears of warriors; but now the people needed spears no longer, for they had become the subjects of the Prince of Peace.

Two days afterwards a meeting was held at

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this chapel, when several speeches were made by Mr. Ellis and others. Among the rest Auura spoke, and after expressing his gratitude to those English Christians, who had first sent out missionaries to the islands of the South Seas, he uttered these memorable words: "We have given up our island to Jesus Christ, to be governed by him as our king; we have given up ourselves to him, that we may serve him; we have given our property to him, for the advancement of his glory; we have given him our all, and we desire to be entirely his."

The ship spent three days at Rurutu, and then set sail with a favourable wind, and reached Huahine on October 4th, after an absence of seven months.

Mr. Ellis then informed his wife of the promise he had made, and in a short time he removed to the Sandwich Islands, where missionaries were more needed than in Huahine.

The brethren did not forget the poor inhabitants of the Marquesas, and determined to seek for other native teachers, to send to them the first opportunity.