“That young Englishman is a very superior person indeed,” observed Mrs Hudson. “He has made inquiries about you and your sister every hour in the day, and I really believe had you been taken from us it would have broken his heart; he looked so anxious when I told him how ill you were. He constantly also speaks to our crew, and reads the Bible to them, and prays with them in the forecastle. They seem very well pleased to hear him, and though my husband has prayers every Sunday, he cannot go among them and talk to them in the familiar way this young man does. He tells me, though I am sure he is a gentleman born by his manners, that he has served before the mast, and therefore knows their habits and ways, and that there is nothing like being on an equality with people to win their hearts.”
“Yes, that is what a missionary must be if he follows the example of his Master,” I said. “Jesus made Himself equal to the poorest, and of no reputation, that He might gain souls to Himself.”
“Ah yes, my dear young lady, if all ministers of the gospel as well as missionaries acted thus, His blessed religion would make more progress in the world than it now does.”
In addition to my other causes of gratitude I thanked God that we had been taken on board a ship commanded by a believing captain, with a kind excellent wife. Through His mercy we were greatly indebted to Mrs Hudson’s constant and affectionate care for our recovery.
Chapter Ten.
Maud and I with most of our party recover.—Mr Norton instructs the crew, and proves that he is really converted.—The great kindness of Captain and Mrs Hudson.—They offer to take us to England, but we resolve to remain on an island inhabited by Christians, on which we land, that we may devote ourselves to missionary work.—Maud is restored to her parents.—Captain Hudson, on a subsequent voyage, brings my Father to us, and I, having become the wife of Mr Norton, we return to our island, where Masaugu having become a Christian, with Lisele and her husband, are residing.—The whole of the inhabitants before my father’s death being also converted to the truth.
We had been many days on board, and Maud and I were able to enjoy the fresh air on deck, where Captain Hudson warmly congratulated us, in his fatherly manner, on our recovery; arranging cushions on which we could recline—for we were still too weak to sit up—and kindly doing all he could for us. How glad we were again to see Abela and her companions, and to comfort them in their sorrow, for they believed that they should never again see their native land.
Young Tofa, however, was perfectly content. “I shall learn more about the religion of Jehovah, and that will be my support wherever I am,” he observed.