In September, 1852, the Warden, in a letter, informed the author, that Kallihirua had been in good health all the summer. "We consider him," said he, "a youth of intelligence, and quick observation. His progress in reading is necessarily slow, though he can manage words of four or five letters, he is fond of writing, and succeeds very well. He is very devout at prayers, and attentive to the religious instruction given him. I think he will one day be of essential use to a missionary in some northern region. He is grateful to you for your kind offer of books, and will write a letter of acknowledgment."
His Reverence for Sacred Places
It was but a short time after his settling at St. Augustine's College, that one of the students took him to see Canterbury Cathedral. The reverent regard with which he had been taught to look upon a church, as a place where prayer was made to God, manifested itself in his inquiry, when entering the nave, "Whether he might cough there?" This tendency to cough, arising from an ailment, the seeds of which had probably been sown long before, was often observable; and he was very susceptible of cold.
Illness from Changes in the Weather
In the spring of 1853 he suffered much from the variableness of the season. The mode in which he described his state to a friend is very [Pg 30] simple and affecting. The original letter, which was entirely his own, both in composition and handwriting, is here copied verbatim. It commences with his signature:—
"E. YORK, St. Augustine's College. April, 1853.
"My dear Sir,