sun, they were in doubt about their position; but at length they got sight of this island, and the weather having im proved, and the swell of the sea being somewhat less heavy, some of the missionaries and their wives, together with portions of Mr. Lawes's goods, were conveyed on shore; but the number of persons on board the vessel was unusually large, as many native teachers and their companions were being conveyed from the Loyalty Islands to various spheres of labour. After the landing of some of the goods, the captain and Mrs. Williams, with others who had gone ashore, returned to the ship for the night. The wind fell, and there was a great calm; still, as the vessel was out a long way from land, they had no fears; but just after they had assembled for evening worship, the captain suddenly called all hands on deck, for he saw the ship was beginning to be drawn landward by some under-current. Then out went one boat to tow the ship forward, and they pulled away with all their might, but still she drifted slowly towards the land. Out went another boat, and all in her worked with a will, but still she drifted. Out went a third boat, but still the ship went astern, drifting slowly but surely, amid the increasing darkness, towards the reef over which the heavy swell was dashing with a terrible roar. The missionary brethren gathered around the saloon table, and cried unto the Lord. They prayed for a breeze; prayed for the deliverance of the ship. But it was not to be, for towards midnight all hope was gone; and, as they were near the reef, the captain ordered all of them to take to the boats and make for the Mission station at Alofi, a few miles off; and in a short time, by the mercy of God, the seventy souls on board the ship were all safely got into the boats; and as, happily for them, the sea was calm, they made speedy headway amid the darkness towards the shore. But they had gone a very little distance before they heard with a shudder, and with heartfelt grief, a sound as of the crashing of many thousand panes of glass, that told them that, the ship had got among the breakers, was dashed against the reef, and had become a total wreck! But more of the particulars may be gathered from what follows, extracted from a letter sent to the Editor: THE REV. A. T. SAVILLE'S ACCOUNT. "Our ship, which has been admired by thousands of visitors in the old country and in the colonies, which has been the pride of all her owners and all who have travelled in her, is now a miserable wreck upon the coral rocks four miles distant from where I write. We are daily looking across the great expanse of blue ocean to catch sight of a welcome sail which shall bear us hence, but at present we have looked in vain. We are, however, well cared for by our kind and excellent friends, Mr. and Mrs. Lawes ; they have lightened our trouble considerably by their unceasing thought for us. "Our ship has been more or less unfortunate ever since she left the builders' hands. When we had only voyaged in her a few days we encountered that fearful gale in the Channel which brought such destruction to a great number of vessels, and caused us to seek shelter in Portland Roadstead. After leaving there we were three weeks driven about by contrary winds, making only such progress as might have been accomplished in a few days of fair wind. In the Indian Ocean we were struck by part of a heavy sea, which fell with great violence upon the deck, broke through several of the skylight windows, and emptied itself f In into the saloon below, making most of our cabins several inches deep in water. Not many days after this we were overtaken by a severe gale, during part of which we were 'hove to' for twenty-four hours; and again, when abreast of Australia, we encountered a similar gale, during which also we were 'hove to.' On our way from Adelaide to Melbourne another storm broke upon us, and we again 'heaved to.' When making the short trip from Melbourne to Geelong we met with another blow, and the anchor was dropped. approaching Hobart Town, when near the entrance of Storm Bay, the heaviest gale of wind burst upon us which we have yet encountered; at that time our vessel was 'hove to' for fortyeight hours. We have met with strong winds since then, but only such as to necessitate the shortening of canvas. Difficulties and troubles, however, of a worse character have befallen the ship. You have, doubtless, heard already how she ran upon a sunken reef just as we were entering the harbour of Aneiteum, and how, in consequence m, and how, of this, she returned to Sydney for repairs, in a dangerous and leaky condition, and we were detained on the island for three months awaiting her return. "We left Aneiteum on the 29th of November, with the joyous hope that the worst of our troubles were past, and that our island homes would soon be reached. But in this matter God has thought fit to disappoint us. From Aneiteum we sailed to the Loyalty Islands, where we received a warm welcome from the missionaries of each station. We have many pleasant remembrances of our visit to these Islands, although we found our friends, Mr. and Mrs. Ella, with their people, suffering great persecution from the papists. Three weeks after leaving Maré we sighted this island; it was raining heavily at the time; but, notwithstanding this, crowds of native canoes put off from the shore to visit us. Our decks were quickly filled in every part with noisy traders, all clamorous to barter; they pointed to our coats, to our trowsers, tọ our shirts, and to our hats, and desired us to give these in exchange for bananas, cocoa-nuts, plantains, taro, and other things which they had brought with them. But as soon as they discovered that they were on board the new missionary ship, and that we were missionaries, the character of their dealing instantly changed, and they begged very hard to have us instead of our shirts. When we told them that we were destined for Rarotonga, Samoa, and Huahine, they said that each of these were bad lands, and that 'Niue' was the good land. Pointing to a village a few miles off, and taking hold of us, they continued to say, 'You missionary Avatele,' by which they meant, you be our missionary at Avatele. I believe if we had given them the slightest encouragement, they would have forcibly borne some of us away to their village, so anxious and determined were they to get a missionary. "On the afternoon of that day, Thursday, January 3rd, the captain, Mrs. Williams, and the missionaries, with the exception of Mr. and Mrs. Davies and their baby, went ashore. There is no proper anchorage in the bay opposite Alofi, or, indeed, around any part of the island, so that while the goods for Mr. Lawes were being landed, and we remained here, the ship 'lay off and on.' There is no beach at any point: every part of the coast is defended by high crags of coral it is therefore a very difficult thing for a boat to land: it can only be done when the sea is smooth and the wind is blowing from the land. Mr. Lawes has made a narrow boat passage through the coral opposite the Mission premises, which may be easily entered when the sea is calm. At the end of this passage he has erected a temporary wooden pier, in readiness for the arrival of the ship; this enabled us to walk over the surf which was boiling below. At the land end of the pier a broad ladder was placed, which conveyed us with ease to the top of the rocks. Mr. and Mrs. Lawes gave us a warm welcome to their home, while crowds of natives gathered round the house to see us. In the evening the captain returned to the ship, leaving Mrs. Williams and ourselves on shore. On the following day the remainder of Mr. Lawes's goods were to be landed, and in the afternoon we were again to join the ship and sail for Samoa. In the night, however, a strong wind sprung up, and the sea rose considerably; this compelled the captain to keep the ship far out from the land. On the following day the weather was worse; the wind blew strongly towards the land, so that we could hold no communication with the ship. On Saturday and Sunday things remained much the same; each day the captain brought the ship near enough for us to see her, then away she went to sea again. On Monday the wind and sea became quieter, and a canoe went to the ship, which brought us the good tidings that the captain hoped to come ashore on the following day. In the evening, when the ship was comparatively near the shore, it became quite calm; there was not a breath of wind to fill the canvas; at the same time the sea was flowing with a strong current towards the shore; this speedily placed her in a position of danger; for while there was no wind to keep her from the land, the sea was drifting her quickly towards it. Three boats were immediately lowered and manned; these were attached to the ship, and all strength was put upon the oars to keep her from flowing with the current. Just at this anxious and dangerous time the wind sprang up, filled the sails, and carried the vessel into a safe position. I need not tell you how grateful were the hearts of those who watched on shore, and those who remained on board, for this deliverance. "On Tuesday the captain came from the ship, much to the joy of Mrs. Williams and the satisfaction of all. The whole of the day the boats were busily employed in bringing goods from the ship, and in conveying away large presents of fruit and food which we had received from the natives. Towards the close of the day the captain and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Chalmers, and Miss Williams, joined the ship, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Watson, myself and Mrs. Saville, and the ship-carpenter ashore, the latter for the purpose of bartering for pigs. We all hoped to be on board and sail for Samoa on the following day; but in the all-wise arrangements of Providence, sorrows and disappointments were ahead of us which we little antici |