common thing here, however. The village consisted of about twentyfive "niau" houses, not a wooden one being in sight anywhere. It was our first experience in a native village, with nothing about to remind us of civilization. Not much regularity anywhere, the top of the ridge being left for the street, with little yards fenced off in front of the houses on each side. The fence was usually a twine string stretched from sticks stuck in the ground, and inclosed whatever each man thought should be his portion. Within the inclosure were flowers, planted haphazard, which showed a little development along the line of beautifying their surroundings. It was very evident that a strenuous effort had been made to have the street and yards cleaned and made ship shape in anticipation of our visit.

Flourishing gardens of sweet potatoes, maniota, field-corn, waterand muskmelons, were to be seen on the steep hillsides back of the houses. A good sized chapel had been built, with less than two dozen nails used in its construction; in lieu thereof a tough bark is used to tie the braided niaus in place. The woods are searched for trees that fork at just the right height from the ground, so that the ridge pole will have a good solid place in which to rest: the trunk of the cocoanut-trees make very good corner- and side-posts, being very uniform in diameter, about twelve inches, and when the bark is peeled off are of a nice, smooth, round surface, quite straight.

Mats are made of the cocoanut branches, or else dry grass is spread on the ground for the women to sit on, the men occupying a board bench along each wall. While there would be no objection made if the women were to sit on the bench, they seem to think their place is on the floor, and a majority prefer to sit there, tailor fashion, with no support for the back, nor place for their feet to hang. When two or more women meet on the roadside and care to visit awhile, they will sit on the grass or sand, and talk to their 'hearts' content.

An informal reception was held, that the brethren might present their "aroha" (offering) and tell us how glad they were to meet us. A general handshake followed numerous flowery speeches; this handshaking was getting to be a common thing with us, for at the close of each service it is the custom for all the priesthood to shake hands, one with the other, and should there be ten meetings in the one day, it would be "shake" at the end of each one. I wonder sometimes what the custom could have been among them before the advent of the white man. Did they shake hands? or rub noses? There is a native word for kiss, it is "hoi," the definition of which is, "To kiss, or touch noses." If that was the custom at the close of all their council meetings, in those days, then am I glad indeed that they have adopted the white man's custom, even though it is carried to the extreme.

We did not stay long on the hill, but hurried on to Papeete, where there was plenty of work awaiting us, with no time for sightseeing. Some chickens, sweet potatoes, squash, etc., were thrown into the wagon as we drove away; the missionary is not supposed to leave

a branch, without some additional token as an "aroha." Others were lined up along the path with shells, and other curiosities, that they wished to present to us.

I had been waiting for a good opportunity to visit the market, which is open from five thirty until seven o'clock in the morning. Thursday and Sunday are the best market days, so I went the following Thursday morning, and I will mention a few of the things that were for sale. The place that first attracted my attention was the fish market. Green, red, gold, blue, black, and white fish, ringed, striped, and spotted fish; fish with scales and fish in shells, others with neither scales nor shells, good fish and devil-fish, long fish and short fish, some one of which would weigh fifty or sixty pounds, others of which it would take two or three thousand to make one pound. Why, I have eaten over a thousand fish at one sitting,just think of it! I will not tire you with a description of these different fish at this time, but as I come across the different ones, and sample them in the future, will describe those that are especially characteristic of this part of the world.

On the outside of the inclosure, where there was no rent to pay for a stall, natives were to be seen sitting on the ground with strings of oranges or baskets of bananas in front of them, for sale; others with bread-fruit, plantains, or sweet potatoes; some with water-cocoanuts, and ripe ones as well; baskets of limes, mangoes, and pawpaws. Inside again we find fresh beef, mutton, pork, and sausages; Chinese selling nearly all kinds of vegetables, fresh and crisp, just from the garden. Chickens, ducks, and little pigs add to the babel of voices.

August 12 there was to be a wedding and another feast in Tiona, and, of course, after such a pleasant experience as we had had previously, we were glad to accept the invitation to attend. Our prancing steeds were at the door before seven in the morning, and by eight we were climbing the hill at Tiona. As we neared the top, we saw a fleeting vision in black and white, hurrying from one house to another; it was the bride vacating her dressing-room for us. After she had completed her toilet, she came and greeted us cordially, and seemed as happy as a bride should be on her wedding day, but the groom was the most bashful native I had met, and from the expression on his face, one would think he was going to his own funeral, rather than to just begin living. The wedding was to be in the chapel, at the close of the morning preaching-service, during which service the young couple occupied front seats, the groom still wearing that funereal face.

The wedding service was that in the Doctrine and Covenants, after which we all proceeded to the water side, where the groom was baptized. Truly, he was to begin life in every sense of the word.

At three o'clock we had the feast, and for abundance of food and quality of cooking it far surpassed the preceding feast in the same building. The bride and groom, with the missionaries, occupied the places of honor, and on our table was to be seen an assort

ment of Chinese restaurant food, besides roast chicken and a whole roast pig, with plenty of fruit and water-cocoanuts.

The groom was even more bashful at the table than he had been before; tried his best to eat with knife and fork, but soon gave it up in disgust, when his bashfulness seemed to vanish with the food. Mrs. Newlywed, however, continued to experiment with those manmade implements, but I am sure she was still hungry when she left the table. I felt like telling her to follow the example of her spouse and be comfortable. Soon after the feast, the groom was to be seen in the comfortable attire of a "pareu" and an undershirt, and a smile that was very appropriate to the day. When I saw the expanse of feet that had been encased in those small shoes, I knew that it was the present and not the future prospect that had given his face such a "woebegone" expression at the ceremony.

September 30 found wife and I in Tiona again, where the writer was to preach his first sermon in the native language, or rather read it, for he had spent a good part of the preceding week in writing it, not daring to trust himself to speak a new language extemporaneously (?). I felt about as shaky as had the groom, on the occasion of our last visit. When the sermon was ended, I asked some of them if they had understood me; some were honest enough to say "E, te tahi pae," (Yes, a part,) but others, hoping to encourage me, said, "E, papu roa," (Yes, very plain indeed.) The worst, however, was yet to come; the branch officers, thinking I had gotten along so nicely with my sermon, asked me to conduct a class for them. Being anxious to learn, I accepted the invitation, with the result that when we had finished, I was wet with prespiration, and not because of vigorous bodily exercise either. The day finally came to an end, and we were in the cart, on our way back to Papeete, feeling much relieved in mind, and pleased that we had made no very bad breaks, although, of course, the natives may be able to tell a different story. But you all want to read of what we see in this strange land, and of how the natives live, rather than of the writer's personal achievements.

One of the compensations to the American missionary in Tahiti is that at nearly all seasons of the year the best of fruit is to be had cheap. Oranges, the equal of any raised in the States, can be bought at twenty cents Chile money, or eight cents American, for a string of two dozen, the best of bananas at the same price or less. No grapes or berries of any kind grow here, but to make up for the loss, we have the luscious mango. I know of no fruit in America with which to compare it, that you might have an idea as to its taste; it has a flavor all its own. The inside is like a clingstone peach, both as to color and character of the stone. In the season, all the mangoes you want may be had for the picking, as the trees line the streets for shade and ornamentation. Tamarinds are also planted by the roadside and are free to all. There are plenty of melons; also the pawpaw, which tastes somewhat like the muskmelon, and is of a similar shape. The custard-apple is another

excellent fruit, which has the appearance of a large blackberry, being about the size of the average apple.

When passing along the street, the children, seeing me, would cry out, "Papa, papa," and I began to think they must take me for a Catholic priest, or, that I would have to father the whole race, but when looking in the dictionary one day, I saw that the word "papaa" meant a foreigner, and my fears were dispelled. The children here are as afraid of the white man as we used to be of a black man, and we are used by the mothers as a "bugaboo" to frighten the little ones and make them mind. It frightens them all right, but it would take more than that to make them obey their parents.

October 12, wife and I went to live with the branch at Faaa, where we were to be among the natives, and live in a "niau" house. Here we were to become acquainted with our dusky brethren, learn their ways, and more rapidly acquire the use of their language.

(To be continued.)

BRITAIN'S GREATNESS ON THE SEA; OBSERVATIONS IN PLYMOUTH.

HE NAVY of Great Britain is world-famed, regarding size and efficiency, and also justly boasts a wonderful pedigree; the record of naval daring with the scintillating exploits going back to the reign of England's idolized sovereign, King Alfred, for its origin. The accession of Alfred to the throne of the kingdom took place in the midst of national calamities and at the very point where the "star" of England's glory was at its nadir, as a result of the continuous defeats inflicted upon the Anglo-Saxons by the marauding Norsemen, whose intrepid excursions had been irresistible, and when the Saxon dynasty was threatened with extinction. So strongly did the tide of victory sweep with the Vikings that Alfred himself, in the early part of his reign, seemed powerless to resist it; and defeat dogged his footsteps with discouraging regularity, until his army was scattered and he himself became a refugee and had to

hide in a swineherd's hut to secure himself from the victorious foe. The story of the great king's dilemma, when requested by the housewife to take care of the cakes as they were cooking on the hearthstone, and how, owing to the king being absorbed in preparing for another attack upon the enemy, he forgot the cakes and allowed them to burned, to the discomfiture of the good lady whose asperity was not by any means curtailed at this domestic disaster, is one of the most familiar stories in English history; and how in after years when peace and prosperity once again smiled on the fair island home of this king he rewarded the humble swineherd whose good qualities the king had not forgotten, by bestowing upon him the bishopric of Winchester.

It was in the hour of defeat and the night of adversity that the future hope of England was conceived. Alfred, with that indomitable perserverance which was the foundation of his greatness, planned and worked; finally collecting his army and with entrancing swiftness gaining victory after victory over the foe which for years had terrorized the whole country.

The king had realized that a navy was the first and most urgent necessity to secure his kingdom against enemies, and so in the days. of peace, he himself working as shipbuilder, laid the foundation of the world's greatest navy, composed in that day of long, narrow boats, with decks fore and aft, upon which the fighting men were placed, while in the body the rowers were placed, who plied the broad-bladed oars with dexterity. With these means of accelerated mobility he guarded the shores and kept the land free from invaders, and commenced a long period of peace and prosperity.

To look upon the floating castles of steel, as they lie at anchor in the Sound of Plymouth, with their huge boilers and intricate machinery, it is almost inconceivable that in the course of evolution these are the offspring of the "oaken bulwarks," famed in song and history, whose daring sailors have produced such a catalogue of illustrious names and glowing achievements, the pride and inspiration of every British schoolboy, whose very blood seems inoculated with this overwhelming passion for the sea.

To this day the names of Drake, Frobisher, Howard, Rooke, and Nelson still shine with undimmed brilliancy; and such engagements as the defeat of the Armada of Spain, the storming and taking of Gibraltar, the battles of the Baltic, Nile, and the glorious, yet fateful Trafalgar, will never be forgotten or obscured while Britain remains.

In this toll of British brave, the Southwest may justly claim the lion's share. The natural contour of the land is a large peninsula running well out into the Atlantic Ocean, cleaving it into the English Channel on the South and the Bristol Channel on the north. The intrepid Phoenician traders, who ignored the "Ne plus ultra" of Gibraltar's frowning gateway carried their purple cloths and other wares to the far-off shores of Devon and Cornwall and traded with the ancient Britons for the silver, copper, and tin ores which enriched the rugged hills of their land. Then, when years after