ART. VI.-A Narrative of Missionary Enterprises in the South Sea Islands; with remarks upon the natural history of the Islands, origin, languages, traditions, and usages of the inhabitants. By JOHN WILLIAMS, of the London Missionary Society. New-York: D. Appleton & Co. 1837.

THE rapidity with which some of the South Sea Islands threw off their idolatry and embraced Christianity, reminds us of the early triumphs of our faith, more than any thing else of which we have heard in modern days. We have in this volume, a collection of facts on the subject, related by a very competent historian. Mr. Williams was for eighteen years a zealous and laborious missionary among the natives of these islands, and he has endeavoured in this work to preserve a record of the most interesting scenes he witnessed, for the purpose of conveying to the mind of the reader an idea of the plan on which the attempt to introduce Christianity was conducted. His work is certainly interesting and instructive, containing, besides the narrative, (as the title informs us,) " remarks upon the natural history of the Islands, origin, languages, traditions, and usages of the inhabitants." It is difficult, however, within our limits to give a fair notion of the contents of this volume. The scene to which it leads us, changes so quickly from one group of islands to another, often far distant, and the facts crowd so fast upon us for the record of missionary life in these regions is necessarily a stirring and exciting narrative that we scarcely know which parts to select. We shall, however, bring before our readers a few extracts, principally with a view of showing what has been effected in those islands.

There is, probably, no portion of the world, which for many years excited a greater interest in the minds of men than the South Sea Islands. The early voyagers, Wallis and Cook, who crossed the comparatively untraversed waters of the South Pacific Ocean, and discovered many of these groups, published accounts well calculated to awaken universal attention. They represented the climate as being most salubrious, the cold of winter never known, and the heat of a tropical country alleviated by breezes from the ocean; they painted the scenery of the islands as most enchanting; their productions, varied and abundant, so as to dispense with the necessity of labour; and the manners and customs of the inhabitants as altogether novel and peculiar. Even now, we cannot take up these statements --although time has long since withered all our early feel

ings of romance-without experiencing at once a revival of our Arcadian dreams. It is no wonder, therefore, while public attention was so generally excited, that the directors of the London Missionary Society should have looked towards these islands as one scene for their operations.

The first efforts made were, however, entirely unsuccessful. One ship sent with twenty-five missionaries, was captured by a privateer, the property entirely lost, and the missionaries obliged to return to England. In several islands where their labours had been commenced, the mission failed. Nearly all of those settled at Tahiti, from fear of their lives, fled to New South Wales; so that it seemed probable there would soon be no traces remaining of this embassy of Christian mercy. A few devoted men, however, remained in Tahiti, as it seemed to them "labouring in vain, and spending their strength for nought." For sixteen years they toiled on, without apparently effecting the least good. These were years of ceaseless anxiety and depression. Not a solitary instance of conversion took place; the desolating wars of the natives raged as frequently as ever; and their cruel idolatry retained all its hold upon their minds. But in the very moment of their deepest despondency, when all seemed lost, when even the directors, discouraged by so many years of fruitless toil, entertained serious thoughts of entirely abandoning the enterprise, they at last began to perceive the reward of their labours. At a time when the missionaries had been driven from the island by a war, and were holding no communication with it, "two native servants, formerly in their families," had received, unknown to them, some favourable impressions, and had united together for exercises of Christian devotion. To these a number of persons had attached themselves, so that, on the return of the missionaries to Tahiti at the termination of the war, they found a great number of "pure Actua," or praying people; and they had little else to do but to help forward the work which had so unexpectedly and wonderfully commenced.

From this time their success was rapid. Island after island, and group after group, were brought under the influence of the Gospel. The plan pursued was this. Some island, which had embraced Christianity, was taken as a central point, from which a vessel was sent off to carry to the neighbouring groups the knowledge of the Christian faith. Wherever they were willing to receive them, some native teachers were left to instruct the inhabitants in the first principles of religion; and the vessel, (appropriately called "the Messenger of Peace,") sailed on to another island. The book before us is chiefly

made up of accounts of such expeditions, and it is through the humble instrumentality of these converted natives, that many islands have been induced to renounce idolatry. Mr. Williams says, indeed, "at the present time, we do not know of any group, or any single island of importance, within two thousand miles of Tahiti, in any direction, to which the glad tidings of salvation have not been conveyed."

As one example, we will give the account of the introduction of Christianity into Rurutu, where the way for its reception seems to have been wonderfully prepared. This is an island about three hundred and fifty miles south of Raiatea, (one of the Society Islands,) at which Mr. Williams was then residing. In 1821, a chief of Rurutu, named Auura, being at sea in a canoe with a party of his followers, they were driven from their course by a storm; so that for three weeks they traversed the trackless deep, almost perishing with hunger. At length they were borne by the winds to Raiatea :

"There, their astonishment was excited; the missionaries, their wives and families, the natives in European dresses, with hats and bonnets, their neat white cottages, together with the various useful arts which had been introduced amongst the people, filled the strangers with admiration and surprise. They were conducted to public worship on the sabbath; beheld with astonishment the assembled multitude; heard them sing the praises of the one living and true God, and listened with the deepest interest to the message of mercy. They were convinced at once of the superiority of the Christian religion, and concluded that God had graciously conduct. ed them there for the purpose of making them acquainted with its inestimable blessings. They placed themselves immediately under our instruction, when we gave them in special charge to our deacons, and supplied them with elementary books. Auura was exceedingly diligent in learning, and made most rapid progress. In a short time he completely mastered the spelling book, could repeat the greater part of our catechism, and read in the Gospel of Matthew. They were only with us little more than three months, and before they left, he and several others could read, spell, and write, correctly; although they were previously ignorant of the formation of a letter or a figure."

Although the grateful chief often expressed his earnest desire to return to his native island, yet his principal wish seems to have been to carry to his benighted countrymen the knowledge he had gained of the true God. When, therefore, the arrival of a vessel, which was to touch at Rurutu, furnished the wished-for opportunity, he objected to return, unless a teacher could be given him to instruct his people in the truths

of the Gospel, or, as he expressed it, "without a light in his hand." Two of the natives, therefore, volunteered to go, which they accordingly did. A boat of their own and a native crew also accompanied the ship, to bring back the intelligence of their reception:

"After an absence of little more than a month, we had the pleasure of seeing the boat return laden with the trophies of victory, the gods of the heathen taken in this bloodless war, and won by the power of the Prince of Peace. On reading the letters we received, and seeing with our own eyes the rejected idols, we felt a measure of that sacred joy which the angels of God will experience when they shout-The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our God and his Christ.'

"A meeting was held in our large chapel to communicate the delightful intelligence to our people, and to return thanks to God for the success with which he had graciously crowned our first effort to extend the knowledge of his name. *** In the course of the evening the rejected idols were publicly exhibited from the pulpit.

"Several most interesting addresses were delivered by the na. tives on the occasion. The two following extracts will give an idea of their general character :-Tuahine, one of the deacons, observed :

"Thus the gods made with hands shall perish. There they are, tied with cords! Yes! their very names also are changed! Formerly they were called "Te mau Atua," or the gods; now they are called "Te mau Varuino," or "evil spirits:" Their glory, look! it is birds' feathers, soon rotten; but our God is the same for ever.' "Tamatoa, the king, also addressed the meeting; and perhaps a finer illustration of the similitude of the knowledge of the Lord covering the face of the earth, as the waters cover the channels of the great deep, will not readily be found, than was used by this Christian chief:

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'Let us,' said he, continue to give our oil and arrow-root to God, that the blind may see and the deaf hear.* Let us not be weary in this good work. We behold the great deep; it is full of sea; it is rough and rugged underneath; but the water makes a plain, smooth surface, so that nothing of its ruggedness is seen. Our lands were rugged and rough with abominable and wicked practices; but the good word of God has made them smooth.

He here alludes to the fact, that the natives, having no coin, were accustomed to sell arrow-root and cocoa-nut oil to the merchant ships which touched there, and transmit the money to the treasurer of the Missionary Society in London. "On one occasion," says Mr. Williams, “I had the pleasure of forwarding, for between two and three years, no less a sum than £300, and about £27 of which was contributed in one year by the school children only. The whole of the amount I have sent from my station at Raiatea is about £700." (p. 219.)

Many other countries are now rough and rugged with wickedness and wicked customs. The word of God alone can make these rough places smooth. Let us all be diligent in this good work till the rugged world is made smooth by the word of God, as the waters cover the ruggedness of the great deep.""

But let us listen to other witnesses with regard to the condition of Rurutu, when its inhabitants had abandoned their idolatry, and we may learn also from their testimony the permanency of the change. Messrs. Tyerman and Bennet, who visited it some twelve or fifteen months after the introduction of Christianity, give the following account:

"Now, the designs of God, in sending us winds which we thought adverse, were explained, in affording us an opportunity of visiting this beautiful little island. When we reached it, we were not certain what island it was, but were greatly surprised to see several neat-looking white houses at the head of the bay. From this we concluded that the Gospel had reached its shores. A pier, a quarter of a mile in length, had been constructed of vast coral blocks, as at some of the Society Islands, which afforded a convenient landing place. We were kindly invited to the houses of the missionaries, when we received every possible attention, both from them and from the natives, who supplied us with baked pigs, fowls, and yams in profusion.

"Besides the two comfortable houses of the missionaries, we were surprised to find a large place of worship, eighty feet by thirty-six, wattled, plastered, well floored and seated-built within a twelvemonth, at the expense of great labour, by these industrious people, under the direction of the two native missionaries, who performed a great part of the work with their own hands. Mr. Ellis preached several times to the people, when every individual in the island attended. Many of the chiefs were dressed in European clothing, and all were attired in the most decent and becoming manner. the house of God no congregation could have behaved with more propriety-all was solemnity.

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"Here our eyes were struck, and our hearts affected, by the appearance of certain simple yet signal trophies of the word of God,' which in these islands is really going forth conquering and to conquer.' These were 'spears,' not indeed 'beaten into pruning hooks,' but converted into staves, to support the balustrade of the pulpit staircase; for the people here 'learn war no more,' but all, submitting to the Prince of Peace, have cast away their instruments of cruelty with their idols.

"Not a vestige of idolatry was to be seen, not a god was to be found in the island. So great a change effected in so short a time is almost beyond credibility; but we witnessed it with our own eyes, and exclaimed, what hath God wrought!'"

We might open to any part of this book, and fill our pages