POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 397 
rekia te parau maitai o te hau nei e ati paatoai te ao 
nei ia ite te mau fenua atoa, was the motto This good 
word (or gospel) of the kingdom shall be published in 
all the world,’^ Matt. xxiv. 14. and the imprint was^ 
Neneihia i te nenei raa parau a te mau Misionari, 1818. 
Pressed at the (paper or book) presser of the Mis¬ 
sionaries.^—^There being no term in the native language 
answering to the word translated Gospel^ the Greek word 
Evangelion was introduced, some of the consonants being 
omitted in conforming it to the native idiom. 
The curiosity awakened in the inhabitants of Afareaitu 
by the establishment of the press, was not soon satisfied : 
day after day Pomare visited the printing-office^ the 
chiefs applied to be admitted inside, while the people 
thronged the windows, doors, and every crevice through 
which they could peep, often involuntarily exclaiming, 
Beri-ta-nie! fenua paari: Oh Britain ! land of skill, or 
knowledge. The press soon became a matter of universal 
conversation; and the facility with which books could 
be multiplied, filled the minds of the people in general 
with wonderful delight. Multitudes arrived from every 
district of Eimeo, and even from other islands, to 
procure books, and to see this astonishing machine. 
The excitement manifested frequently resembled that 
with which the people of England would hasten to 
witness, for the first time, the ascent of a bal¬ 
loon, or the movement of a steam-carriage. So great 
was the influx of strangers, that for several weeks before 
the first portion of the Scriptures was finished, the dis¬ 
trict of Afareaitu resembled a public fair. The beach 
was lined with canoes from distant parts of Eimeo and 
other islands; the houses of the inhabitants were 
thronged, and small parties had erected their temporary 
