264 The Triumphs of tlie Gospel in Fiji, 
whom some were real Christians. Eight native teachers 
were busily engaged, and more were offering themselves to 
carry the Gospel to other parts of the group. Yet, although 
from the foregoing facts, it may be judged that Christianity 
had made much progress, many of the old terrible customs 
remained. Mr. Hunt gives the following account of the 
- strangling of an old woman, in his journal : This morning 
a number of women came from Mbau, to strangle a poor 
woman to whom I had been giving medicine for some time. 
I succeeded in preventing them from strangling her ; but 
they very nearly succeeded in burying her alive, unknown 
to me. I thought I should like to see how she was going 
on, fearing they would be doing something with her; and 
when I got into the town, I understood that Verani, the 
nephew of the chief of this place, had ordered her to be 
buried. I immediately went to him, and found him digging 
the grave with his own hands. I urged him by all means 
to desist, and succeeded. He ordered the grave to be 
filled up again, and engaged to leave the woman to me. 
He rubbed his hands together, saying, ' Dear me, I have 
dirtied my hands for nothing,' evidently disappointed. I 
saw the woman before I went to him, and found that she 
did not wish to die ; and seemed much pleased at the idea 
of living a httle longer. Ratu-Mara, the chief to whom she 
belongs, had sent word for her to be strangled. I gave her 
some food and medicine ; she did not seem at all willing to 
die. A message came next morning to inform me that she 
was dead. I expect they assisted her after all, though they 
said that they did not." From these, and other records 
given by the missionary labourers at Viwa, it will be under- - 
stood that only here and there was Christianity the ruling 
principle. Most of the people were still heathen, and 
while rendering formal obedience to the new rules of life, 
