Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/572

 '534 FIJI AKD THE FIJIAKS. Poor little sufferer ! all thy pain and trouble are over. Dear as thou wert to us, we give thee back to Him who calls thee from us. Lord, support and strengthen us ! My dear wife is but very poorly. Con- stant waking and watching have much weakened her. We fear the effects of the storm are not yet over. " We have heard to-day that a canoe, which left this place the day before the gale, has been wrecked, and nearly all the crew lost. Among them were Abraham, one of our Teachers, three Tongans, and four or five Fijians, who were members of our Society." The health of both the ladies suffered greatly, and Mrs. Watsford became so ill that her husband sent to Viwa, begging Mr. Lyth to visit her. On his way to Nandi, Mr. Lyth was wrecked at Ovalau, and barely escaped with his life, while he lost some valuable manuscripts, books, clothes, etc. In addition to all this, a year's trial proved that Mr. Ford could not stand the climate, and he returned to England. By this time, Mr. Watsford had secured a more elevated site for the Mission establishment, and had erected a capital wooden house, where- upon, as Mr. Lawry had predicted, the Christians followed their pastor, and settled in his neighbourhood. The lotu advanced in the Circuit, and produced a deep impression on the public mind. The converts were not numerous, but the evidence of the reality of their religion was such as to encourage the ^lissionary, and recommend the Gospel to others. After remaining for a short period on the Station, Mr. Wats- ford was removed to Lakemba, and Mr. Hazlewood came to Nandi, on the 19th of October, 1848. He writes :— " The Christians showed us all possible kindness by carrying all our heavy luggage to the Mission premises. Mr. and Mrs. Ford have had a most afflictive and trying year at Nandi, and only one year's residence in Fiji has strangely broken down their constitution and spirits. Mr, Ford's health absolutely demands a change of climate, if his life is to be regarded. I found a good weather-boarded house, with verandah all round, in the course of erection, in a very pleasant and apparently healthy situation. The Christians have followed their Missionaries from a miserable bog in which they lived, and have built their town here on an elevated situation by the sea-side. 22nd. — I preached to a well-behaved audience ; but widely different in appearance from the people I left at Ono. The people there are clean, well-dressed, of good complexion, and have made advancement towards civilized life. Here, they appear miserably poor, degraded, and savage. But Christianity will raise these, as it has those. They