conducted, and the sermon preached, entirely by natives--very creditably
too. After service I strolled into the parsonage to see the reverend
gentleman in charge, whom I found supporting his burden in a long chair,
with a tall glass of brandy and soda within easy reach, a fine cigar
between his lips, and a late volume of Ouida's in his hand. All very
pleasant and harmless, no doubt, but hardly reconcilable with the ideal
held up in missionary magazines. Yet I have no doubt whatever that this
gentleman would have been heartily commended by the very men who can
hardly find words harsh enough to express their opinion of missionaries
of the stamp of Paton, Williams, Moffat, and Mackenzie.

Well, it is highly probable--nay, almost certain, that I shall be
accused of drawing an idyllic picture of native life from first
impressions, which, if I had only had sufficient subsequent experience
among the people, I should have entirely altered. All I can say is, that
although I did not live among them ashore, we had a number of them on
board; we lay in the island harbour five months, during which I was
ashore nearly every day, and from habit I observed them very closely;
yet I cannot conscientiously alter one syllable of what I have written
concerning them. Bad men and women there were, of course, to be
found--as where not?--but the badness, in whatever form, was not allowed
to flaunt itself, and was so sternly discountenanced by public (entirely
native) opinion, that it required a good deal of interested seeking to
find.

But after all this chatter about my amiable friends, I find myself
in danger of forgetting the purpose of our visit. We lost no time in
preparation, since whaling of whatever sort is conducted in these ships
on precisely similar lines, but on Monday morning, at daybreak, after a
hurried breakfast, lowered all boats and commenced the campaign. We were
provided with boxes--one for each boat--containing a light luncheon, but
no ordered meal, because it was not considered advisable to in any way
hamper the boat's freedom to chase. Still, in consideration of its being
promptly dumped overboard on attacking a whale, a goodly quantity of
fruit was permitted in the boats.

In the calm beauty of the pearly dawn, with a gentle hush over all
nature, the lofty, tree-clad hills reflected with startling fidelity in
the glassy, many-coloured waters, the only sound audible the occasional
cra-a-ake of the advance-guard of a flig