“... How much I enjoyed your kind letter which came by the _Dayspring_ last month! I was delighted indeed to hear that your Parish now extends to the New Hebrides,—rather a scattered one certainly, nevertheless you are bound to look after your flock, and we shall soon be expecting _a pastoral visit_....
“You were, I dare say, surprised when you heard that we had been sent to Aniwa instead of Tanna. It was a blow which Mr. Paton has hardly got over yet; but all the brethren were decidedly opposed to us going there alone, and we feel now that we have been Divinely led hither. Mr. Inglis, in his last kind letter, said to Mr. Paton that he believed he was doing more real work for Tanna, by bringing the Aniwans to a knowledge of the truth and thus fitting them for by-and-bye spreading the Gospel among the Tannese, than if he were now labouring alone among that dense mass of people. We are encouraged, therefore, to hope that there may be many ambassadors for Christ from this little Island, for the Aniwans are a superior people, and the work has made steady and rapid progress of late. I don’t mean that half the people are converted,—very far from that! There is a great deal to be done, before the soil is prepared even to receive the seed,—they cling so to their old prejudices and superstitions. I believe, to many of them, it is like taking a great leap into the dark to risk the anger of their gods by coming to the Worship. For what proof have they at first that we are leading them into the right way? True, they see we wish to be kind; but the idea of any one coming among them simply for their good is a doctrine they cannot understand.
“We are very thankful to have so many regularly at Church; and Mr. Paton possessed a great advantage in being able to address them from the first in Tannese, which some of them speak freely,—hence the double hope of training them as helpers for Tanna. You would be surprised to see with what propriety the Services are conducted. The Native Teachers, two devoted men from Aneityum who have been here for years, try to give short speeches. Then Mr. Paton usually invites one or other of the more enlightened of the Aniwans to speak, which he does by invariably pitching into his brethren in the most energetic terms, comparing them to pigs, dogs, serpents, etc., the speaker not generally including himself, and asking how long they mean to continue their ‘black-hearted conduct’?
“They are never at a loss for a text, and for a long time after we came it sounded to me something like ‘Missi Paton and Teapots.’ I supposed it to be, ‘Missi Paton _versus_ Teapots,’ but by-and-bye I discovered that it was not Teapots, but Teapolo (= Devil), against which they stormed. Lately they have been choosing more sacred subjects, generally a repetition of what they have heard from Mr. Paton before, or been helping him to translate during the week. Last Sabbath, we were much struck with the gentle, persuasive tones of the old Chief who was addressing them. Mr. Paton noted down two words he did not remember having heard before, and asked for the translation after worship. The man took him by the hand and said in Tannese, ‘Missi, I was only telling them what you have been teaching us all this time about Jesus pouring out His blood to wash away all our sins!’
“Taia, and Namakei the Chief, two of our firmest friends, give very telling speeches sometimes. The former is a tall and powerful fellow, quite a notoriety on account of his loquacious powers. He has a great deal of ready wit too; and, though he does little else but talk, it is wonderful what influence he exerts. Some time ago, he prevented a violent quarrel ending in probable bloodshed. The party who thought themselves insulted ran home, seized their arms, and were rushing past Taia’s house, where he was lying outside, basking in the sun and enjoying his pipe. He saw something was wrong, for they don’t continue the habit of carrying their arms constantly now, and he called out to them (of course in their own language), ‘Stop! stop! let me see what you are carrying. Is it the book that Missi has been busy making?’ His sly hit set them all a-laughing, and they turned into his house; there he had a long and serious talk with them, and got them to give up the idea of fighting, at least for that day. The next being Sabbath, he came to Mr. Paton before the Service to ask him to let him speak; and, having both the offending parties present, he _did_ give it them, finishing up by reminding them how difficult it had been to get a Missionary, and how he, Taia, had gone to Aneityum to plead for more Native Teachers after they had murdered Nemeyan and tried to kill Navalak, and how he had always been careful to give them food to do the work of Jehovah! In that part of the speech referring to his own conduct, there were a few embellishments which in strict regard to truth might have been omitted; but his advice seemed to do good, for we heard no more of that quarrel.