The history of the mission in the South Seas illustrates the doctrines of the depravity of man, of the misery of the wicked, (especially of those who forsake the Lord,) of the blessedness of patient continuance in well-doing, and of the power of God in changing the hearts of the most obdurate. If any refuse to believe the testimony of the Lord in his word, none can deny the evidence of well-authenticated facts. The Scriptures themselves frequently invite us to consider the events of Providence. "Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord."-Ps. cvii. 43. No candid and christian mind will sympathise the less in the sufferings, or rejoice the less in the success, of the devoted missionaries of the South Seas, on account of any slight points of difference between them, and ourselves, in discipline, or in forms of public worship. We, who belong to the Church of England, should not forget our union with the universal Church of Christ; and when one member suffers, we ought to suffer with it, and when one member is honoured, to rejoice with it.-1 Cor. xii. 26. When we consider the deep darkness in 10 which the heathen are involved, how insignificant do those shades of sentiment appear, which exist among true Christians-shades, which will soon be lost in the light of celestial glory! XXI. The deaths of three of the royal family XXII. The first Tahitian who learned to write |