allowed that for husbands and brothers to be attending upon their female relatives and newly-landed guests, would be a less desirable and becoming mode than that at present adopted.

In March, 1850, five passengers of the bark Noble, bound for California, were left by a mischance on Pitcairn; the vessel from which they had landed having been blown off from the island during the night. During the three weeks of their detention, which turned out to be a very agreeable visit, the strangers, who had no property about them but the clothes which they had on, received every mark of sympathy and friendship. One of these gentlemen, Mr. Walter Brodie, employed himself chiefly in gathering materials for an account of the island and its hospitable inhabitants, which was afterward published.

Two of the other guests, the Baron de Thierry, and Mr. Hugh Carleton, especially the latter, applied themselves to the task of teaching the whole of the adult population to sing. Fortunately, the ba

ron happened to have a tuning-fork in his pocket; and the people, whose efforts in psalmody in church had been noticed as somewhat imperfect, caught with delight at the idea of a little musical instruction. They proved remarkably intelligent, not one among the number being deficient in ear, while many had exceedingly fine voices. Their progress surpassed the most sanguine expectations of the teacher. On the fourth day they sang through a catch in four parts with great steadiness. For people who had hitherto been unaware even of the existence in nature of harmony, the performance was very remarkable.

With regard to Mr. Brodie, it is worthy of remark, that though he had been thus detained at Pitcairn, he arrived at San Francisco, in California, twenty-eight days before the Noble, which had been ninetythree days from Pitcairn, the crew having suffered great privations from want of provision and water. His disappointment, which appeared so grievous, in missing his ship at Pitcairn, ended in his escaping the miseries to which the people

in the Noble had been exposed, and in reckoning those few weeks in the island as among the happiest of his life. Thus that which appeared to be a misfortune proved to be a blessing, both to the visitors and their entertainers. Thus God often is conferring mercies upon us, even when thwarting our plans and seeming to inflict misfortune.

He

Mr. Nobbs, it will be borne in mind, had spent the earlier years of his life in naval and military service. After his arrival at Pitcairn, however, he devoted himself as teacher and pastor to the intellectual and moral culture of the island families. had not at any time been set apart to the office of the ministry, although he had been long looked up to by the little community at Pitcairn. As they had grown up with a deep sense of loyalty to Britain, the land of their fathers, and had been trained in the principles of the Church of England, they very naturally looked to England and the English church for guidance and fostering care. Desirous that Mr. Nobbs should be ordained to the work

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of the ministry, they wrote the following letter to the chaplain of a man-of-war, who had written to them and referred to charges which had been made against the islanders and their teacher :

"Pitcairn's Island, South Pacific Ocean, "July 20, 1847.

"REVEREND SIR,-We received, on the 26th of February last, your acceptable present and truly valuable letter, which, so far from giving offence, is highly appreciated, and deposited in the archives of the island, to be referred to at public meetings and other suitable occasions. We extremely regret the circumstances which frustrated your intended visit, for we should be in the highest degree delighted to have made your acquaintance, received your advice, and, we trust, in some measure, your approbation; for we can assure you the report of our splitting into parties, &c. is incorrect. A few years since a partially deranged impostor, named Joshua Hill, alias Lord Hill, came here, and made much disturbance; but he was

removed by order of the British Govern ment. Respecting the letter of which you saw a copy in the Oahu paper, so far from expressing the sentiments of the community, not more than three persons were acquainted with its contents. The rest of us were ignorant of its existence till we saw it published in the above-mentioned paper. That part of it reflecting on our respected and worthy pastor has been publicly retracted, and an apology sent down to the Sandwich Islands to be inserted in the same paper in which the letter referred to appeared. Public wor ship has never been discontinued, in fact, since the death of Mr. Adams, in 1829. We cannot call to mind six Sabbaths in which divine worship, in accordance with the rules of the Established Church, has not been performed twice in the day. Whatever few exceptions there may have been, the cause was either the ill health of the teacher, or the unavoidable necessity of his attending on those who were very ill, or badly hurt. Moreover, we have a Bible-class for the adults every