76 
POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
mind by liis visits are so interesting, that I think it would 
be almost unjust to deprive the readers of these pages 
of the satisfaction his description is adapted to alford. 
In reference to Tahiti, and the change generally, 
Captain Gambier observes, The testimony is a 
strong one; as I had never felt any interest in the 
labours of Missionaries, I was not only not prepossessed 
in favour of them, but I was in a measure suspicious 
of their reports. It will appear as clear as light to 
the spiritual mind, that the account of their state, and 
the gratification experienced in the contemplation of it, 
was altogether of a temporal nature; that the progress 
made towards civilization and earthly happiness, in 
consequence of the moral influence of Christianity, was 
the cause of that delight. The hand of a superintend¬ 
ing Providence is generally acknowledged, it is true, but 
it is so only with respect to the temporal state. So 
true it is, that the mind itself, untaught by the Divine 
Spirit, knows nothing of the awful and overwhelming 
importance of the eternal interests of the soul over the 
things of this short-lived scene.^"" In reference to Hua- 
hine, and the station now described, though not more 
forward than others in the same group, Captain Gam¬ 
bier observes; At about ten o’clock on the morning 
of the 20th of January, 1822, the ship being hove-to 
outside the reef, a party of us proceeded towards the 
village of Fare. After passing the reef of coral which 
forms the harbour, astonishment and delight kept us 
silent for some moments, and was succeeded by a burst 
of unqualified approbation at the scene before us. We 
were in an excellent harbour, upon whose shores in¬ 
dustry and comfort were plainly perceptible; for, in 
every, direction, white cottages, precisely English, were 
