rvention of the old chief. The vessel, it appeared, by some
accident, caught fire, and had been utterly destroyed.

The captain, on hearing this, made eager inquiries about the poor woman
and the child. The former, however, had, he found soon afterwards,
died, leaving the little girl in possession of the chief.

Instead of threatening the old chief with the vengeance of his people,
as some might have done, he spoke to him gently, saying that he himself
had not come there as a judge, or to take vengeance for injuries which
other white men might have received, but that we wished to know whether
he would be ready to give up the little girl he had under his care. The
old man seemed very much struck by this style of address, and confessed
that the child was still living with him, but that he was very fond of
her, and that when she grew up he hoped that she might become the wife
of one of his sons.

This of course made the captain still more anxious to recover her, and
he used every argument he could think of to induce the old man to give
her up. He told him that, unaccustomed to the mode of life of his
people, she would probably die, as her mother had done, and that if he
really loved her, he would be anxious for her safety, and that though he
had paid him liberally for the trees, he would give him twice the amount
of goods if he would, without delay, bring the little girl on board.
This last argument seemed to weigh greatly with the chief, and he said
he would think about it, and returned on shore, leaving us in doubt,
however, what he would do.

Our anxiety about the poor girl was, as may be supposed, very great.
The men, on hearing of the matter, came aft, and each one said that he
would be ready to contribute some article to induce the chief to give
her up. Some even proposed, that should he refuse, to land and compel
him to do so by force of arms. The captain thanked them for their zeal,
but told them that that was not the way he conceived Christian men
should act.

I well remember that evening, when we were assembled to worship God as
usual, in the cabin, how my father lifted up his voice in prayer, that
the heart of the chief might be moved to restore the little Christian
damsel to those who would bring her "up in the nurture and admonition of
the Lord," and that she might be saved from the fearful fate the old man
intended for her. God never fails to listen to the prayers of
believers.

The next morning