86 A MISSION TO VITI. 
away. He has also made considerable advance in trans- 
lating ‘The Pilgrim’s Progress’ into Fijian, a task which, 
if I mistake not, has been somewhat facilitated by Mrs. 
Binner’s unpublished version of a portion of that book. 
Bunyan’s great allegory has already been translated into 
one or two Polynesian languages, and the natives seemed 
to like it very much as long as they believed it to be 
a*genuine story, but when they heard that it was only 
a series of “lies,” their interest abated. It will be in- 
teresting to know how the Fijians receive it. ‘They are 
as true believers in the genuineness of their own nu- 
merous fairy tales and doings of their gods, as the an- 
cient Greeks were in those of their gods and demigods ; 
—the hold which Homer had on the national mind 
arising, probably, quite as much from his embodying this 
feeling, as well as expressing it in language still the 
admiration of mankind. 
Accompanied by Mr. Moore we went to the town of 
Rewa, in order to gather specimens of two new palms, 
one of them a fan-palm (Pritchardia pacifica, Seem. et 
Wendl.), the leaves of which are only used by chiefs, as 
was the case with those of the Talipot palm in Ceylon. 
I also collected some interesting information about the 
bread-fruit, of which there are no less than ten different 
varieties cultivated at Rewa, including the best of the 
group. 
On our way home we fell in with a little schooner 
belonging to the mission, and returning from a trip up 
the Rewa river, where she had been sent for yams. She 
had not accomplished her object, as two hostile parties 
of natives had not allowed her to pass, and even fired 
