THE VOYAGE HALF OVER 



did not know that he could have his brains knocked out 

 if he chose. I saw the insolent youth he had scarcely 

 passed his twelfth year, and like all children of his age, 

 or younger, had not a rag of clothing about him. The 

 visit of our vessels, under the blessing of God, will change 

 the aspect of things. Captain Hudson has been very 

 active in the cause of the missionaries. The king prom- 

 ised him, before he left Rewa, that everything should be 

 done for their comfort, a new house built for them, and 

 that he would attend to their instructions. May God 

 sustain them in their trial, and abundantly bless their 

 labors, that these isles of the south may also awake and 

 join in the chorus of their " Redeemer, King, Creator." 

 Captain Hudson has on all occasions used his efforts on 

 behalf of the missionary cause, and paved the way for the 

 reception of missionaries at several ports where there are 

 none now residing. There is a printing-press at Rewa, 

 and small portions of the gospels have already been 

 printed. They lost a large package of type, which was 

 stolen by the natives. As this was some of their spare 

 type, they were not conscious of it till the package was 

 afterward brought them. 



' You see our time is fast passing away. It is already 

 twenty-two months since we left home, and as we imagine 

 ourselves within the latter half of the voyage, the time of 

 our arrival there is a frequent subject of speculation and 

 conjecture. Our discoveries south the Antarctic con- 

 tinent, which occupies the most of the frigid zone, sur- 

 veyed for 1500 miles by the Vincennes have probably 

 reached you long before this in the newspapers. Also 

 the perilous situation of the Peacock in the ice cannot be 

 news to you. During all this cruise, we (scientifics) were 

 at New South Wales and New Zealand, where I passed 

 three months very delightfully. 



" I assure you, you are much missed among us. Dr. 

 Pickering is heart and head in the botanical line, but he 

 often wishes you were here, and speaks of your lost op- 

 portunities. In the early part of the cruise there was 

 considerable dissatisfaction in the expedition; but now 

 things pass smoothly and pleasantly. Dr. Pickering tells 

 me that between four and six thousand species of plants 

 have been collected. He went twice to the summit of 

 the Andes, and wherever we have been, he is earliest off 



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