His kitchen garden was a sight to behold, and although for three months he has had no rain he has an abundance of cabbages, carrots, onions, shalots, garlick, parsley, spinnach, lettuce, &c. The whole garden too is laid out in the most natty matter, showing wonderful care and perseverance. Inside his house it was equally neat, and the walls were decorated with an enormous number of island curiosities. During the slack time of the year when cocoanuts are scarce he makes very curious, but extremely chaste, ornaments out of shells, and sells them to Traders at about fifteen shillings the pair. He also makes sleeve links out of opercules, and many other ornaments of personal adornment. He gave us a great basket full of eggs, and some green food for the ship. We bade the amiable and loquacious little man good-bye, and thanked him for his kindness, and then pushed on for Tavalavola where we found the whole village waiting for us, and Charles and Monica heading the party. I was most pleased to see the happy and affectionate relations which existed between them, and the natural and unaffected way in which she came into my house, and the kind care she exhibited in the bestowal of my goods and chattels. Afterwards when we went off to the ship she came with us, and went down of her own accord to see the Bishop in the cabin. We did not stay long on board, but bidding farewell to them all we came ashore for the night. I should have liked of course to stay till morning, but they were so crowded on board I thought it was better we were out of the way. It was near midnight when we finally retired for the night, and I was very tired and glad to get to bed. The boys are so nice and friendly, and come in and out of my house so naturally, that it gives one quite a homely feeling, and when they call me “Mama” (Father) I feel quite proud of the spiritual relationship. I quite look forward to my stay here, and I hope under it God may be the means of much good.
Tuesday, September 14th.—Most beautiful morning, but the night was very cold, and I was very glad of a blanket over me. We had Prayers and school before breakfast, the scholars numbering about 50 of both sexes. I was quite astonished at the admirable way most of them read and answered, and equally struck with the diligent and painstaking manner in which the boys were teaching. The school is admirably conducted, and peculiarly well and thoroughly taught. The scholars are evidently very sharp, and one or two little boys and a very little wee girl read surprisingly well. Charles, the head teacher, is a most steady and excellent young fellow, and to him the credit of the efficiency of the school is mainly due. All the other boys however, work well and steadily with him, and I was particularly gratified to see what a helpmeet his wife Monica is to him. In the course of the day the older people were about, and I told them I wanted them to come and get instruction also, to which they consented. While I was at breakfast the French Trader called on me and brought me a most noble present of green food, for which I was deeply grateful. He was very amiable, most polite and peculiarly loquacious, and I was quite interested in listening to his broken English. He is a Parisian and was in the ‘garde mobile’ during the siege by the Prussians, which of course means that he is a Communist. He left me after a time, and I set to work to put my house in order. The boys went to ‘Tahi mamavi,’ where we have a school, which I hope we shall be able now to teach regularly. Meramaeto (Paskal) had been there living, but some trouble broke out and he had to come away in consequence. Now all is pacific again, and we hope to make another fresh and vigorous start, which I hope will be permanent. In the afternoon I went to see a Trader who had sent me a request to visit him, not having a boat of his own. His complaint was, that having a Frenchman on either side of him, and he doing a better trade than either they were jealous of him, and had threatened him with violence if he did not leave. He is a Scotchman and a very decent fellow. The Frenchmen had threatened also to lay hands on his copra, looking on him as an interloper, inasmuch as they suppose the French are about to annex the New Hebrides group. I did all I could to explain his position to the natives, and ‘Tabi’ the chief, and really a big man, said that while he dealt fairly with them he would see that he was properly protected and fairly dealt with. I told him that he and I were subjects of one Queen, and of a different nationality to the Frenchmen, and that being a steady and well-behaved and honest man he ought to help him all he could. He had a great many nuts, and a large amount of copra, and I should say he was doing very well. He does not trade with powder, or guns, or spirit, and is evidently a very temperate man. He asked me to tell the natives not to bring the coconuts on Sunday as he wanted that as a day of Rest, and he asked me if I could make it convenient to come and see him sometimes on that day, because he wished not to forget his God in the midst of his mundane pursuits. He has been a sailor all his life, and has a mate’s certificate, I think. He has only been here five weeks from Sydney, and hitherto has done very well. I got back to dinner, and then went to see David, one of our teachers, who is sick. He was very full of his child, about three years old, a perfect prodigy. He told me the child would get into a perfect frenzy if he were not allowed to go to school and Prayers, and when once or twice he has been left at home he has knelt down in their house and gone through the form of prayer by himself. He will never go without his clothes, and the only time they can get him to take them off is to bathe. Even at night he must have on a garment. His mother told me too that his first thought in the morning, even before eating, was the bell, and he would tug at her sleeve until she took him up and started for the school. The same was the case too, in the evening. They also told me of a poor girl who had died about a fortnight ago. She has been most regular at school for years past, and was far away ahead of all the others in knowledge. She never would marry because she was afraid she should be debarred from attending school. She was most anxious to be Baptized, and when she was taken ill she still longed for Baptism. She importuned Charles so on the subject that just before her death, he sprinkled her with water in the Name of the Trinity, and signed the sign of the Cross on her forehead. She died perfectly happy and at peace, and her devoted life and peaceful death have produced a great and profound impression in the village.
While talking with David, his old grandmother came in, and she is a woman of great age, and marvellous energy. She is now a great grandmother, and a bright, cheery old lady. I asked her how old she thought she was, and she said she really did not know, but she was very aged. She said that I had always told her that she “tugi vetu” (was as hard as flint) and it seemed as if she really was. She comes regularly to school, but her eyes are so dim that she can only sit and listen. Several old ladies attend school only to sit and listen, and they take great interest in coming. In the evening we had Prayers, and a very nice school afterwards.
So ends my first day, and I hope all the other days I am here may be as pleasant and as happy.
Wednesday, September 15th.—A beautiful morning but a strong Trade wind blowing. After our morning duties here we sailed down to ‘Lobaha’ to see Arudale, Didi and the school there. We pulled the boat up on the beach, no very easy work with the sand so soft. Most of the boys were down at the beach and we all went up together to the village. It was a hot, steep climb and we were very liquid when we got there. The boys brought us a plentiful supply of young coconuts and with these we quenched our thirst. I was glad to see the amiability which was manifested one towards another by our people and the Lobaha folks, for lately the relations have been somewhat strained.
It appears that not long ago, the chief wife of our Head man took offence at his scolding her, and ran away to his younger brother who lives at Lobaha. Our great man was very fond of this wife, for they had grown up together from childhood, and she had always presided over his establishment in a most devoted manner. She is most queenly in deportment, and quite one of the finest native women I have ever seen. However, she went off, and “Virclumlum” was not only incensed, but very sorely grieved. He told the boys in most pathetic words how he missed his wife, how that it seemed unbearable to do without her, how that everything seemed void and empty now that she was away. However, once away it seems she was away for good, and very soon a pig arrived and that he had to accept in lieu of her. For a long time the people here have never been to Lobaha and contrariwise the Lobaha people here. However, we have, I hope, broken the ice again, although I am particularly sorry to lose so nice a woman from the place, and I believe she has deeply repented already of her conduct and would give worlds to be back again. I was glad to see a new school in course of erection, and the old men and women told me they were only waiting for it to be finished to all coming to school. Herbert has already a nice little building at his own place, but the people say it is too far away, and any excuse is enough to keep people away from religious duties. Herbert shewed me with manifest pride, the most beautiful tool chest sent by his English “mother” (Miss Mount). He has been trying to use the tools, and I saw an attempt at some amount of straightness in the new building at which he was assisting. We stayed some time with him, talking over matters in connection with the school, &c., and then we made preparations for home. The wind was blowing strong down the coast, so that a sail was useless, and we had a heavy pull. However, the boys are very good oarsmen, and we got along famously. I anchored the boat off for the night, having use for her again to-morrow. It was a very miserable evening, the wind blowing in strong gusts, and the threatened rain falling at short intervals. We had Prayers and a very long interesting school afterwards. The boys and girls here are very sharp, and learn very rapidly, and seem to understand well what they read. There are three classes of Catechumens preparing for Baptism, adults, boys and girls, all more or less proficient. Altogether, this school is very cheering, and with such an excellent head teacher as Charles, one need not fear of its stability.
Thursday, September 16th.—After our morning duties were over here we rowed up to “Lo tahi mamavi,” and had school there with a large number of people, who were very enthusiastic to know more and to be regularly taught.
There are a nice lot of boys here, and some already know how to read. The old men I had school with, and they seemed quite delighted to say the letters one by one, and afterwards to put them together, and find out that they made Opa words. I told them as far as I could about our religion, and that I had left home, and all to come and live with them and teach them, but that Jesus Christ pitied and loved us so much that He left heaven, and His Father’s glory to come down into our world to live and die for us. They were very attentive, and asked me to come again, which I promised to do on Sunday, all being well. They gave us a handsome present of food according to native custom, and we left for home. It was raining heavily and we got very wet, but the distance was not very great. It was a most unpleasant evening, and I was cold and miserable, and I began to fear ague again. Last night was most wretched, my house was not properly finished, and the strong gusts of wind blew me almost out of bed, and brought in clouds of dust. To-day the boys have been patching up the holes, and it is more snug and comfortable.
Friday, September 17th.—Fine morning and very close and hot after the rain. After breakfast I received a visit from an English Trader, who lives about two miles from me. Poor fellow, in my honour he had put on a coat, and he was literally running with perspiration when he reached my house, and he did not succeed in getting cool again before he left although he stayed some time. He seems to be doing a very fair trade here in copra, and although he has not been long on the island, he has already several tons of the dried coconut (copra). After he left I was attacked with a good-for-nothing fit and did nothing all day. In the evening I was very queer, and thought I was going to have rheumatism, my legs were so cold and my limbs generally so frail. However I managed Evensong and school, and was not sorry to be ready early for bed.
Saturday, September 18th.—General holiday here. The boys wished me to take them to Vuinago, fishing, to which I rashly consented. It was a perfectly windless day and, oh! so hot. We had a long weary pull up, but were very successful when we got there, and came home late in the evening with about eighty fish. I was very glad to be able to send ten to the French Trader, as a return for all his many kindnesses to me, the rest were divided out to different great people, and about thirty were kept for to-morrow’s dinner. I was very glad the boys did not forget the women in their distribution. I had a nice fish for my own tea, a kind of mackarel. Very soon after dinner it was Prayer time, and I am now preparing for bed being very tired, sunburnt, and sleepy.