46 POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES. 
“ August 5.—This morning I went to Cox, in¬ 
tending to purchase some goats. I expected to 
find him, as usual, either sleeping or smoking, or 
drinking, or busy trafficking, like myself. The 
door of his hut was half open, and I was about to 
enter unceremoniously, when a scene, too striking 
ever to be forgotten, and which would require the 
hand of a master painter to do it justice, suddenly 
arrested my whole attention. 
“ About a dozen natives, of both sexes, were 
seated in a circle, on the matted floor of the 
apartment, and in the midst of them sat John 
Honoree, the Hawaiian catechist. All eyes were 
bent upon him; and the variously expressive fea¬ 
tures of each individual marked the degree of 
interest excited by what was passing in his mind. 
So absorbed, indeed, were they in their reflec¬ 
tions, that my abrupt appearance at the door 
created for some time neither interruption nor 
remark. The speaker held in his hand the Gos¬ 
pel of St. John, as published at Otaheite, and 
was endeavouring, by signs and familiar illustra¬ 
tions, to render its contents easy of comprehen¬ 
sion. His simple yet energetic manner added 
weight to his opinions, and proved that he spoke, 
from personal conviction, the sincere and unpre¬ 
meditated language of the heart. 
“ The chief himself stood in the back-ground, 
a little apart from the rest, leaning upon the 
shoulder of an attendant. A gleam of light sud¬ 
denly fell upon his countenance, and disclosed 
features, on which wonder, anxiety, and serious¬ 
ness, were imprinted in the strongest characters. 
He wore no other dress than the maro round the 
waist; but his tall athletic form, and bust, seen 
bending over the other’s shoulders, and dignified 
