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POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
Patii, ^^wait till to-morrow, and you shall see.’^ The 
religion of Jesus Christ was the topic of conversation 
until they reached the settlement 5 when Patii took his 
leave, and Mr. Nott informed his colleagues of the suc¬ 
cess of his visit to the young chief of Huahine, and the 
determination which the priest of the district had made 
known to him. The impression which the intelligence 
of these events produced upon their minds, was that of 
mingled admiration, gratitude, and hope, to a degree 
that may he better imagined than expressed. 
The arrival of the evening of the following day was 
awaited with an unusual agitation and excitement of 
feeling. Hope and fear alternately pervaded the minds 
of the Missionaries and their pupils, with regard to the 
burning of the idols, and the consequent tumult, devasta¬ 
tion, and bloodshed that might follow. The adherents 
of Christianity were but few, (less than fifty,) and sur¬ 
rounded by jealous and cruel idolaters—who already 
began to wonder ^^whereunto this thing might grow.” 
Patii, however, was punctual to his word. He, with his 
friends, had collected a quantity of fuel near the sea- 
beach ; and, in the afternoon, the wood was split, and 
piled on a point of land in the western part of Papetoai, 
near the large national Marae, or temple, in which he 
had ofiiciated. The report of his intention had spread 
among the people of the district, and multitudes assem¬ 
bled to witness this daring act of impiety, or the sudden 
vengeance which they expected would fall upon the 
sacrilegious criminal. The Missionaries and their 
friends also attended. The varied emotions of hope and 
fear, bf dread and expectation, with a strange air of 
mysterious foreboding, agitating the bosoms of the 
multitude, were strongly marked in the countenances 
