MURDER OF MR. LEWIS. 
37 
to Port Jackson, when he left the Mission-house, 
and took up his residence with a taio, or friend, in 
the eastern part of the district. Three weeks 
afterwards, he intimated to his companions his 
intention of uniting in marriage with a native of 
the island, solemnly purposing to abide faithful 
towards her until death. Considering her an 
idolatress, the Missionaries deemed this an incon¬ 
sistent and unlawful act, and not only declined to 
sanction the proceeding, but endeavoured by every 
means to dissuade him from it; but Mr. Lewis, 
persevering in his determination, they dissolved 
the connexion that had subsisted between him and 
themselves, as members of a Christian church or 
society, and discontinued all religious and social in¬ 
tercourse with him. He was still constant in attend¬ 
ance on public worship, industrious in the culture 
of his garden, and in working for the king and prin¬ 
cipal chiefs, who were evidently much attached to 
him. On the 23d of November, the Missionaries 
heard that he had died on the preceding evening. 
They hastened to his house, and found the corpse 
lying on a bed ; the forehead and face consider¬ 
ably disfigured with wounds, apparently inflicted 
with a stone and a sharp instrument. The female 
with whom he had lived as his wife, informed them 
that he went out of the house on the preceding 
evening, and that hearing a noise shortly afterwards, 
she hastened to the spot whence it proceeded, and 
saw him on the pavement in front of the house, 
beating his head against the stones. On looking 
at that part of the pavement where he had fallen, 
one or two of the stones were stained with blood. 
Some of the natives said that he had acted as if 
insane; others, that the evil spirit had entered into 
him; but, from several expressions that were 
