was gratified by his being appointed to New Guinea, then a
comparatively unknown land, the people of which were savages of the
most degraded type.

At Dunedin, where the Chalmers stayed for a time, Mrs. Chalmers was
frequently urged to remain behind until her husband was settled in his
new home. 'No,' she replied on every occasion 'my place is by my
husband's side.' And so this brave woman, in spite of the
protestations of her friends, went forth with her husband to live among
cannibals. The first native who spoke to Mrs. Chalmers on their
arrival at Suau was wearing a necklace of human bones, and wishing to
be gracious to her, this same cannibal offered her later a portion of a
man's breast ready cooked! Signs of cannibalism were to be found
everywhere, and the chief's house in which the Chalmers took up their
residence until their own was built, was hung with human skulls. Such
sights as Jane Chalmers witnessed were bad enough to appal any woman,
but she bore up bravely, and was soon busy learning the language from a
young warrior, whom, in return, she taught knitting and tatting. Both
she and her husband made friends quickly, and some of their new
friends, intending to please them, invited the missionary and his wife
to a cannibal feast.

Nevertheless, it was not long before the Chalmers were in great danger
of losing their lives. The vessel which had brought them to New Guinea
was still standing off the island, and the natives, in an attempt to
capture it, had one of their number killed. For this they demanded
compensation from Chalmers, who, of course, was in no way responsible
for the man's death. Chalmers promised to give them compensation on
the following day, but the natives demanded that it should be given
immediately, and departed very sulkily when their request was refused.
Later in the day a native warned Chalmers that he, his wife, and his
teachers from Rarotonga had better get away to the ship during the
night, as the natives had decided to murder them early in the following
morning. Chalmers told his wife what the native had said, and added,
'It is for you to decide. Shall we men stay, and you women go, as
there is not room enough for us all on the vessel? or shall we try all
of us to go? or shall we all stay?'

'We have come here to preach the Gospel and do these people good,' Mrs.
Chalmers replied. 'God, whom we serve, will take care of us. We will
stay. If we die, we die; if we live,