In the Face of Death 
Arter the long, dark night of early missionary toil in 
Tahiti, during which the faith and patience of the mission- 
aries almost yielded to the difficulties and perils of the task, 
God was pleased to lead His servants to very encouraging 
success in their efforts. “He made bare His arm in the sight 
of the heathen, and in the sight of those, too, who looked 
on from afar, who had supported the work of the mission 
by their means and their prayers. Events were brought to 
pass such as had not been witnessed since the primitive ages 
of Christianity. ‘A nation was born in a day.’ A system 
of idolatry and superstition, the growth of unnumbered 
years, was swept away with a rapidity and completeness 
which confounded adversaries and assured friends. The 
pure religion of Christ became the religion of Tahiti, and 
that island was henceforth a radiating point whence the light 
of life went forth to other islands and groups scattered far 
and wide over the bosom of the vast Pacific... . 
“Tt is remarkable that though the first missionaries to 
Tahiti were for many years entirely at the mercy of cruel 
and relentless savages, and were often in extreme peril, not 
only from the heathen, but also from white men living on 
the island, in no case did any one belonging to the mission 
families fall by the hand of violence. Some of the early 
laborers, both men and women—noble men and women who 
counted not their lives dear unto them—died in circumstances 
that almost entitle them to a place on the martyr roll, but 
thank God, there is no case of actual martyrdom. That 
honor is reserved for natives—men who had been born and 
who had spent their early years amid pollution, cruelty, and 
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