g6 Voyage of the Novara. 



to be suddenly seized and thrown to a more respectful dis- 

 tance. Or if a crab of a more tremendous appearance would 

 deter my dog from exposing his nose to its claws, he would 

 bark and frighten it away, by which however I was some- 

 times more seriously alarmed than the occasion required. 

 Many a comfortable night's rest have I had in these 

 sepulchral dormitories when the nights were clear and dry, 

 and the heavens spangled with stars."* 



After such a description, one cannot but feel astonished 

 that any of these men, jealous for the faith, should have been 

 able to linger on for years in such a plight, and assuredly no 

 one will refuse to these heroes of Christianity their meed of 

 the deepest admiration and gratitude, which they merit none 

 the less that their labours among these natives were almost 

 entirely unattended by any permanent good results. 



It seems specially worthy of remark that the crew of the 

 Austrian ship Joseph and Theresa^ which spent as much as 

 five months here, and that too during the rainy season (April 

 to September), almost entirely escaped fever. This fact 

 sufficiently proves that the rainy season is by no means the 

 most unhealthy, but that the periods of transition from the 

 dry to the wet season, and vice versli^ must be considered as 



* "Letters on the Nicobar Islands, etc. Addressed by the Rev. I. Gottfried 

 Hansel, the only surviving missionary, to the Rev. C. J. Latrobe. London, 1812." 

 We are indebted for these rare pamphlets to the kindness of Dr. Rosen of the com- 

 munity of the Moravian Brethren at Genaadendal in South Africa, and do not think, 

 despite its deep interest in the history of missions, that it has ever been translated 

 into another language. Brown in his " History of Missions " has made a few brief 

 extracts from it. 



