260

POMARE'S PRAYER.

come to thy house with carelessness, and return to our own houses and commit sin. Unless thou have mercy upon us, we perish. Unless thou save us, unless we are prepared, and made meet for thy habitation in heaven, we are banished to the fire, we die: but let us not be banished to that unknown world of fire. Save us through Jesus Christ thy Son, the Prince of Life; yea, let us obtain salvation through him.

"Bless all the inhabitants of these islands, all the families thereof: let every one stretch out his hands unto God, and say,- Lord, save me,-Lord, save me.'

"Let all these islands,-Tahiti, with all the people of Eimeo, and of Huahine, and of Raiatea, and of the little islands around, partake of thy salvation. Bless Britain, and every country in the world.. Let thy word grow quickly in the world, so as to grow faster than evil.

"Be merciful to us, and bless us, for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen."

This prayer showed that Pomare had been taught aright what to pray for.

Mr. Nott and Mr. Hayward found the people very anxious to learn to read. As there were no schools in Tahiti, the people were willing to be taught by any one whom the missionaries had instructed, when they lived in the island. Many grown-up persons might

GENERAL ANXIETY TO LEARN.

261

be seen sitting under trees learning to read. Some of the missionaries' old scholars went to the other islands, and taught the inhabitants. The chiefs of these islands sent messages to the brethren, entreating them to come over, and preach to them.

When the missionaries saw and heard these things, they exclaimed, "This is the finger of God. What hath God wrought!"

The king had some time before destroyed his public idols: but he now wished to part with his family idols, that he had always kept in his houses. He sent about twelve of these frightful little images to the missionaries in Eimeo, with a letter, of which I will copy a part.

"FRIENDS,

"May you be saved by Jehovah, and Jesus Christ our Saviour. This is my speech to you, my friends.

"I wish you to send those idols to England for the Missionary Society, that they may know the likeness of the gods that Tahiti worshipped. These were my own idols belonging to my fathers, and my father left them to me when he died. And now, having been made acquainted with the true God,-with Jehovah, HE IS MY GOD. When this body of mine shall be dissolved in death, may the ThreeOne save me. This is my shelter, my close

262

POMARE'S GRATITUDE TO GOD.

hiding-place, even from the anger of Jehovah. When he looks upon me, I will hide me at the feet of Jesus Christ my Saviour, that I may escape.

"I rejoice and praise Jehovah that he hath made known his word unto me. I should have gone to destruction, if Jehovah had not interposed. Many have died, and are gone to destruction, kings, and common people; they died without knowing anything of the true God: and now, when it came to the small remainder of the people, Jehovah hath been pleased to make known his word, and we are made acquainted with his good word, made acquainted with the deception of the false gods, with all that is evil and false. It was you that taught us, but the knowledge came from Jehovah. It is because of this I rejoice, and I pray to Jehovah that he may increase my abhorrence of every evil way.

"I am going a journey round Tahiti to acquaint the people with the word of God. The principal idol that has the red feathers is Temeharo; that is his name. Look you, you may know it by the red feathers. That was my father's own god, and those feathers were given by Lieutenant Watts. It was my father that set them himself about the idol. If you think proper, you may burn these idols all in the fire; or, if you like, send them to your own country, that the people there, may know Tahiti's foolish gods."

HIS FAMILY IDOLS.

263

The missionaries, when they had read this letter, nailed up the images in a wooden case, and soon afterwards sent them to England to the Directors of the London Missionary Society.*

*They may now be seen in the museum in Bloomfield

street, Finsbury-square.

264

ARRIVAL OF MR. CROOK.

You have heard how anxious the missionaries were that some other minister, should come to help them. They were much pleased by the arrival of Mr. Crook this May. He brought with him a wife, a little boy, and six little girls. Mr. Crook was an old friend of some of the brethren, for he was one of the thirty, who left England in the ship Duff nearly twenty years before. He was then a youth of about twenty, and was so courageous that he consented (as you have heard) to be left alone among the savages in the distant islands of the Marquesas. He remained there a year and a half, but was at last obliged to leave them on account of the dreadful wars of the natives. Since that time he had been usefully employed at Port Jackson. As the people in the Marquesas spoke a language much like that of Tahiti and Eimeo, Mr. Crook was able to assist the brethren almost as soon as he arrived.

This summer the brethren made several journeys round the islands of Tahiti and Ei

meo.

I will give you some account of a journey made by Mr. Davies and Mr. Hayward round Tahiti this October, that you may perceive how great a change had taken place in the island.

The two brethren were accompanied by several canoes from Eimeo, full of men and boys;