words 'Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust,' and committed to the tomb the first fruits of a family of eleven children; and should it please my Heavenly Father to call the survivors from time into eternity, I still believe I could exclaim, with the prophet of old, 'I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.'

"Three weeks after the demise of my son, death made another inroad among us. A little boy, ten years of age, son of my wife's sister, Maria Quintal, pierced his foot with a barbed arrow (used for taking fish from the holes in the rocks), which induced tetanus, and in forty-eight hours af ter the terrible disease had commenced, his happy spirit flew to the realms of bliss. During the period of the violent constrictions of the suffering body, the dear child would speak of his blessed Saviour, and ask Him to take him to be with those whom He took in His arms when on earth. The patient sufferer was aware that he could not recover; still he never expressed the least fear of death. At the time of his departure I was praying with him, his parents and several other persons kneeling around his bed, when he gave a slight shudder, and exclaimed in a clear, audible voice, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit !'

"But one fortnight had elapsed from that period, when another sad and awful bereavement fell upon the community. Daniel M'Koy and his wife went to the north-west side of the island in quest of fish. After descending to the rocks, Daniel left his wife and reascended, with the intention of passing the head of a small inlet of the sea, and then going down to the rocks on the other side. While doing so he fell, and his wife saw him roll down the fall of the crag and lie motionless on the rugged lava; but there was the before-mentioned inlet between them, into which a very heavy surf was running; to avoid which Daniel had gone round the head of the bight, and it was in the act of descending to the shore on the other side that he fell. His wife, without hesitation, plunged into the heavy surf (which she had unfortunately persuaded her husband to avoid), and, landing on the opposite side of the inlet,

found him on the rugged lava of the shore-a corpse. She had the presence of mind, previous to her braving the foam-crested billows, to call a lad at some distance fishing, and dispatch him to the village with the sad tidings that Daniel had fallen, but she did not then know the extent of his hurt. Less than half an hour previous he had left her with a smile on his countenance, for Daniel was always in a cheerful mood. What must have been the poor creature's agony as she sat by her dead husband, with his head resting in her lap, for more than an hour ere any one could come to her assistance! Her feelings I will not attempt to describe, but I will tell you what she did. finding life extinct, she knelt down and prayed that God would give her grace so to live that she might rejoin her dear Daniel in heaven. For I am sure,' said she, when speaking to me on the subject, 'that he was prepared for death, and that takes away the pain of my great loss.'

On

"I was in bed at the time of the accident suffering from bronchitis, when a long, low wail reached my ear, accompanied by exclamations of grief. Jumping from my bed, I ran out of doors, forgetting that I was, or had been, sick, and on inquiring what was the matter, learned that Daniel M'Koy was badly hurt, if not killed, by falling from the precipice. Most of the men were out in their canoes fishing, it being Saturday; the two or three that were at home hastened to the spot, and several of the women followed, among whom was my wife. Now, as they would have to go the same route by which the deceased fell, I was in great fear lest a similar accident might befall Mrs. Nobbs, and a heavy load was removed when I saw her return in safety. She had not got so far as the dangerous part of the road, when she met one of the men returning, who informed her that poor Daniel was dead. A canoe was sent to summon home the fishermen, and the whaleboat was manned and taken to the spot where the corpse lay, when, with some difficulty and danger, on account of the heavy surf, it was put into a boat and brought round to Bounty Bay, then transferred to a canoe for a bier, and

borne on men's shoulders to the village. I had been busy preparing bandages and such other things as might be necessary, and placed them in the house to which I supposed he would be brought, but the sad tidings of his death rendered all my intentions useless. However, busying myself about these things kept me in a great measure from the painful impressions induced by suspense, and from fretting myself about the safety of my dear wife. But a chapter from the Bible and a few words of prayer I found to be a panacea. At length the women returned, with my wife and eldest daughter (who I did not know had gone), and I was truly thankful.

"A messenger now came from Bounty Bay, summoning me thither, as the sister and brother of the deceased were both attacked with spasmodic fits. Taking some remedies, I started, but met them on their way home. Poor Lydia M'Koy came home in the whale-boat with the corpse. On examining the injuries, I found the spine broken at the bend of the shoulders, and the occiput badly fractured, but there were no other bones broken, that I could ascertain.

“Such, and so sudden, was the death of Daniel M'Koy, a young man beloved by all the community, and most deservedly so. He is the third of the family who has met an untimely end within a very few years. William M'Koy died from lockjaw, occasioned by a splinter of wood running into the upper part of his foot; Matthew M'Koy from wounds received by the accidental explosion of the Bounty's gun; and now the third brother, Daniel, by falling from a precipice on the north-western side of the island. May the God of the widow support poor Lydia under the awful calamity! She has no children to rest her affections upon; but she has a mother, and brothers and sisters, and receives the sympathy of the whole community. On Him, who above all others well deserves the name of Friend, may she place her unwavering trust; to Him let her flee as a very present help in trouble; and all will then be well both for time and eternity."

CHAPTER VI.

Removal of the Pitcairn Islanders to Norfolk Island.-Directions of his Excellency, Sir William Denison, K. C.B., respecting Allotments of Land.-Correspondence.-Voyage.-Arrival at Norfolk Island.-Reception by Captain Denham, H.M.S. Herald.-Visit of Bishop and Mrs. Selwyn, and of the Rev. G. N. Patteson.

It will have been observed that during the later years of the period we have just concluded a change had begun to manifest itself in the state of affairs at Pitcairn.

The colony, hitherto so prosperous, had now increased to such an extent that the "small rock in the west" was no longer able to maintain the population. Their difficulty appears to have been recognized by their friends in England as early as the year 1853, and Admiral Moresby, in a dispatch to the Lords of the Admiralty, observes: "Their rapidly increasing numbers render the produce of the isl and barely sufficient to support them; and even, with the liberal supplies given by Her Majesty's Government, and the yet larger contributions of private friends, allow but little to exchange with the whalers for necessary articles. Thus," he concludes, "the time has arrived when measures should be taken for their future welfare." While the attention of the Pitcairn Island Fund Committee was being anxiously turned in this direction, the Government had happily determined that Norfolk Island should be abandoned as a convict station.

Before any steps were taken regarding the removal of the islanders, the following reports were received from the officers who had belonged to the commissariat department in Norfolk Island while it was a convict station,

and who, therefore, were well qualified to speak of its climate and the productions.

Extract from JOHN W. SMITH's Report on Norfolk Island. "Commissariat, Ionian Islands, Corfu, March 19th, 1853. "From November, 1841, to March, 1845, I had charge of the commissariat duties at Norfolk Island, and having been thus afforded peculiar opportunities for ascertaining the agricultural and other resources of that very beautiful spot, I have no hesitation in expressing a decided opinion that it would prove most suitable for both the present inhabitants of Pitcairn's Island and their progeny for many years to come.

"Its size may be estimated at about four times that of Pitcairn's Island, being twenty-seven miles in circumference and covering a surface of twelve thousand acres, the greater part of which is of a black vegetable soil, remarkable for its richness and fertility. In fact, there is very little inferior land, or, indeed, any that does not answer for, at least, grazing purposes.

"The climate is healthy, and in this respect there can not be much dissimilarity between the two places, considering their relative positions. At every season of the year there is an abundant supply of good water in convenient situations; and although the resources for fuel must be a good deal diminished, still with economy and prudent management no apprehension need be entertained on this head, as a great number of young trees will be coming forward; and even if the wood should have to be brought from distant localities, this would be rendered comparatively easy by the excellent roads with which the island is intersected in every direction. There is neither coal nor any other mineral production, so far as can be ascertained from researches hitherto made.

"The staple articles of agricultural produce are maize and sweet-potatoes. Crops of these may always be reckoned upon, though from accidental causes they sometimes