One night the cat--feeling a
desire for company, I suppose--took its way to the house of a chief who
had recently been converted to Christianity, and had begun to learn to
read and pray. The chief's wife, who was sitting awake at his side
while he slept, beheld with horror two fires glistening in the doorway,
and heard with surprise a mysterious voice. Almost petrified with fear,
she awoke her husband, and began to upbraid him for forsaking his old
religion and burning his god, who, she declared, was now come to be
avenged of them. 'Get up and pray! get up and pray!' she cried. The
chief arose, and on opening his eyes beheld the same glaring lights and
heard the same ominous sound. Impelled by the extreme urgency of the
case, he commenced, with all possible vehemence, to vociferate the
alphabet, as a prayer to God to deliver them from the vengeance of
Satan! On hearing this, the cat, as much alarmed as themselves, fled
precipitately away, leaving the chief and his wife congratulating
themselves on the efficacy of their prayer."
We were much diverted with this anecdote, which the teacher related in
English so good that we certainly could not have supposed him a native
but for the colour of his face and the foreign accent in his tone. Next
day we walked out with this interesting man, and were much entertained
and instructed by his conversation, as we rambled through the cool,
shady groves of bananas, citrons, limes, and other trees, or sauntered
among the cottages of the natives, and watched them while they laboured
diligently in the taro beds or manufactured the tapa or native cloth.
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