light-haired native,
very nice-looking, and a favourite with the ladies; this fact had
brought him into considerable trouble, and he was obliged to leave
his home. He stayed with me for three months, and was not killed,
but suffered much from home-sickness. He finally settled at the south
end of Pentecoste, whence he could see his beloved Ambrym, count the
cocoa-nut trees on the shore and see the heavy clouds over the volcano.

From Dip Point Mr. S. took me over to Aunua on Malekula, the station
of the Rev. F. Paton, a son of the celebrated J. G. Paton, the founder
of the Presbyterian missions in the New Hebrides. He lived there as a
widower, devoting all his strength, time and thought to the spiritual
and physical welfare of the natives.

Malekula has the reputation of being one of the most dangerous islands
in the group. The natives in the north, the Big Nambas, are certainly
not very gentle, and the others, too, are high-spirited and will not
submit to ill-treatment from the settlers. Malekula is the second
largest island of the group, and its interior is quite unexplored. I
could not penetrate inland, as I was unable to find boys and guides
for a voyage they all thought extremely dangerous. Mr. Paton, who
had traversed the island at various points, consoled me by telling
me that the culture inland was much the same as along the coast. So
I gave up my plan, though with some regret.

Mr. Paton took me to the south end of Malekula, and left me on one of
the flat coral islands, which are all connected under the surface by
an extensive reef. The landscape is charming, the sea above the reef
shining in all possible shades, and small flat islands enlivening
the view in all directions. In these islands only Christians live,
the few remaining heathen having retired to the mainland.

Here on the south coast the strange fashion obtains of deforming the
head. This habit is very rare in the Pacific, and restricted to two
small districts. It is now purely a matter of fashion or vanity,--the
longer the head, the handsomer the individual is thought to be,--but
probably there was originally some religious or hygienic notion at
the bottom of the peculiar custom. The operation is begun about a
month after birth, by rubbing the child's head with grease and soot,
and then putting on a small cap of braided pandanus fibre, which is
very tight and allows the head to develop only in the direction of the
crown. When the cap becomes too