s later she did
as not one woman in a million would have done--remained for six weeks
among cannibals with not another white person in the place.

Her husband sailed away to visit the native preachers at other
villages, but she remained behind because she did not think it right
that they should both leave their Rarotongan teachers so soon after the
disturbances already described. The natives promised Chalmers, before
he departed, that they would treat her kindly; and although the
temptation to kill and eat her must often have been great, they kept
their promise. But nevertheless she knew that her life might be ended
at any moment, and it is easy to imagine her feelings when, one night
as she was preparing for bed, she heard a commotion outside the house,
men and women shouting and screaming loudly. One of the teachers went
out to discover the meaning of the uproar, and returned with the
comforting news that there was an eclipse of the moon, and that the
natives were alarmed because they believed it would cause many of them
to die.

The cannibals were very proud of having taken care of Mrs. Chalmers,
and received with a conviction that they had well earned them, the
presents and thanks which her husband, on his return, bestowed upon
them. At the same time Mrs. Chalmers' pluck in remaining among them
made a great impression on the cannibals, and caused them to have more
confidence than ever in the missionaries.

But although Jane Chalmers was as full of courage and faith as when she
arrived at Suau the trials and excitement of the life she had led there
began to impair her health. Nevertheless, she did not complain, and
when the mission at Suau was established on a sound footing she
accompanied her husband on a voyage along the coast to visit places
where a white man had never yet been seen; but eventually it became
plain to herself and her husband that she needed rest and nursing.
Accordingly she sailed for Sydney, to wait there until her husband
could follow and take her to England. But they never met again. The
doctors at Sydney pronounced her to be suffering from consumption, and
held out little hope of her recovery. She, however, was very hopeful,
and believed that before long she might be able to return to her
husband at New Guinea. But this was not to be, and this heroic woman
passed away before her husband's arrival.

[1] _James Chalmers, his Autobiography and Letters_, by Richard Lovett,
M.A. (