150 GOOD CONDUCT OF VISITEES. 
From the date of the first intelligence 
respecting the inhabitants of Pitcairn, there 
has been no variation in the character given 
of them. As they were, in purity and peace, 
those two great essentials of human happi- 
ness, when Sir Thomas Staines visited the 
island, in 1814, so they are now, in 1853, 
the same contented, kind, and God-fear- 
ing race. Nor need we feel surprise at 
this, however delighted we may be with 
the picture. They are sensible of the trea- 
sure which they possess in the Bible, and 
take it for their guide in the performance 
of their duty towards God, and their neigh- 
bour. And they have learned to estimate 
the value and excellency of the Book of 
Common Prayer, which, as a faithful ex- 
ponent of the revealed word of God, has 
tended to keep them " in the unity of faith, 
in the bond of peace, and in righteousness 
of life." 
The difficulty of landing on the island, and 
the want of harbour and anchorage, though 
at first sight a disadvantage, may have proved 
a blessing, in preserving these simple-minded 
people from the baneful effects too likely to 
