heir sickness was upon him. I am ashamed to say that
these Sandal-wood and other Traders were our own degraded countrymen;
and that they deliberately gloried in thus destroying the poor Heathen.
A more fiendish spirit could scarcely be imagined; but most of them were
horrible drunkards, and their traffic of every kind amongst these
islands was, generally speaking, steeped in human blood.

The measles, thus introduced, became amongst our islanders the most
deadly plague. It spread fearfully, and was accompanied by sore throat
and diarrhea. In some villages, man, woman, and child were stricken, and
none could give food or water to the rest. The misery, suffering, and
terror were unexampled, the living being afraid sometimes even to bury
the dead. Thirteen of my own Mission party died of this disease; and, so
terror-stricken were the few who survived, that when the little Mission
schooner _John Knox_ returned to Tanna, they all packed up and left for
their own Aneityum, except my own dear old Abraham.

At first, thinking that all were on the wing, he also had packed his
chattels, and was standing beside the others ready to leave with them. I
drew near to him, and said, "Abraham, they are all going; are you also
going to leave me here alone on Tanna, to fight the battles of the
Lord?"

He asked, "Missi, will you remain?"

I replied, "Yes; but Abraham, the danger to life is now so great that I
dare not plead with you to remain, for we may both be slain. Still, I
cannot leave the Lord's work now."

The noble old Chief looked at the box and his bundles, and, musingly,
said, "Missi, our danger is very great now."

I answered, "Yes; I once thought you would not leave me alone to it;
but, as the vessel is going to your own land, I cannot ask you to remain
and face it with me!"

He again said, "Missi, would you like me to remain alone with you,
seeing my wife is dead and in her grave here?"

I replied, "Yes, I would like you to remain; but, considering the
circumstances in which we will be left alone, I cannot plead with you to
do so."

He answered, "Then, Missi, I remain with you of my own free choice, and
with all my heart. We will live and die together in the work of the
Lord. I will never leave you while you are spared on Tanna."

So saying, and with a light that gave the fore-gleam of a Martyr's glory
to his dark face, he shouldered his box and bundles back to his own
house; and thereafter, Abraham was my dear com