Influence of a humane English Captain. . 27 



cised by individual English ship captains over the wild races 

 with whom they come in contact in the way of trade, and 

 how much they have it in tlieir power to make their nation 

 respected in all parts of the globe. We venture to assert 

 that these English merchantmen, during their cm-sory visits, 

 have done more towards paving the way for civilizing the 

 Nicobars than the Danish and French missionaries dm^ing 

 their residence of years. Not a single native understands 

 one Avord of Danish or French, but almost every one speaks 

 English, sufficient, at all events, to make himself understood 

 in that language. The talkative old fellow next held forth 

 an English Bible, which had been carefully stov/ed away on 

 one of the cross-beams of his hut, and of which, as he told us, 

 he had been made a present by Captain Green, on that gentle- 

 man's last visit. " This is my Jesus Christ," said Captain 

 John, full of unquestioning faith in the marvellous power of 

 Holy Writ: — "when I feel ill, I lay this little book under 

 my head, and I get well again ! " The worthy fellow could 

 neither read nor, so far as we could perceive, did he precisely 

 comprehend what was printed in the book, yet he seemed 

 instinctively to feel that it was of no ordinary pm'port, and 

 accordingly held his present in high honour, as a sort of talis- 

 man, whose power and efficacy one might confide in, without 

 his being able precisely to account for such a belief. We 

 turned over the leaves of the little volume, which had been 

 issued by the renowned, wide-spread, and beneficent London 

 Bible Society, and found on the fly-leaf some English verses 



