POLYI^ESIAN RESEARCHES. 
105 
grandeur^ the first visit I paid to the chapel left a strong 
impression on my mind. I entered from the vrest 5 and 
the perspective of a vista^ extending upwards of seven 
hundred feet, partially illuminated by the bright glow of 
strong noon-day light entering through the windows, 
which were opened at distant intervals, along the length¬ 
ened line of pillars that supported the rafters—the clean 
rustic appearance of the grass-spread floor—the uni¬ 
formity of the simple and rude forms extending though- 
out the whole building—the pulpits raised above them 
—heightened the effect of the perspective. Besides 
these, the singular, novel, light, waving, and not inele¬ 
gant adornments of the roof, all combined to increase the 
effect. The reflections also associated with the purpose 
for which it had been erected, and the recent events in 
the history of the people, whose first national Christian 
temple we were visiting, awakened a train of solemn and 
grateful emotions. How it might be when the house 
was filled, I do not know; but when empty, the human 
voice could be distinctly heard from one end to the other, 
without any great effort on the part of those who at this 
distance called or answered. 
A long aisle or passage, between the forms, extends 
from one end to the other. In walking along this aisle 
on my first visit, I was surprised to see a watercourse 
five or six feet wide, crossing, in an oblique direction, 
the floor of the chapel. On inquiry of the people who 
accompanied our party, they said it was a natural w^ater - 
course from the mountains to the sea; and that, as they 
could not divert its channel so as to avoid the building 
without great additional labour, and constant apprehen¬ 
sion of its returning, they had judged it best to make 
a grating at eacji side under the wall, and allow it to 
