Mankè and Mitiaro are subject to the three
kings of Atien. Lamont's description of these
islands, and of the habits of the natives, is not
the least interesting portion of his book. It is
a pity that he has not added a map of the islands,
which would greatly enhance the value of the
work; and we also find fault with him for not
giving dates of sailing, though we make out that
he sailed on the 14th of October, 1852, on his
expedition, and was wrecked on the 7th of
January, 1853.

Tomano-wood was the chief object of his
visit to the Harvey Islands. It resembles
mahogany, is most beautifully waved, and is capable
of a high polish, but very hard, and rather difficult
to work. It is found in large quantities at Mankè.
At Mangaia we are introduced into the domicile
of the all-important Mikenarè, or missionary, Mr.
Gill, at Onoroa, the capital of the island, and a
very desirable residence it seems to be. "Such
is the power exercised by the missionary, that
he is high priest, lawgiver, and virtually, though
not nominally, absolute monarch; and, according
to his disposition, may do much good or
evil in his office." For a very interesting chapter
on missionaries, we must refer our readers to
the book itself. Many will, probably, not
endorse Mr. Lamont's views. We give a
specimen:

"The missionary in the South Pacific has a
spacious house, far superior to what most of our
poor clergy enjoy at home, in the most salubrious
and delightful climate in the world. He has
many servants to attend upon him at little or
no expense. There is no schism in faith here,
no opposition to his particular dogmas, and a
whole people look up to him superstitiously as
a superior being. . . . A respectable salary is
paid to every missionary, which is increased
with every child born to him. The fruits of
the earth are yielded here almost spontaneously,
and the other few necessaries or luxuries of
life are laid down at his door on the half-yearly
visits of the missionary ship. Many of the
missionaries do an extensive trade with the
natives, and as they are exempt from the tax
which they have instituted against other foreign
residents, amounting almost to prohibition to
people of such small means as land here, their
profits are enormous, cloth that costs threepence
being sold at a shilling per yard, and
everything else in proportion. Spirits are
prohibited, and tobacco, though sold by the
missionary, is not used in Mangaia on a Sunday
under a severe penalty. . . . The forms of
religion are attended to amongst these islands
with superstitious reverence; but morality of
heart and life is perhaps at a lower standard
than on the day when Christianity was first
introduced among them. Sincerely honest
men and truly virtuous women are,
notwithstanding all the missionaries have done, very
rare commodities. We may be permitted to
doubt whether the transformation of the natives
into Europeans of the modern type is
altogether a desirable consummation. The coal-
scuttle bonnets, cropped hair, and sanctified
look are poor substitutes for the sunny locks,
bright eyes, and happy countenances of these
children of nature. At Aitutakè the
missionary laws prohibit the use of tobacco
altogether."

Aitutakè was the place which it was intended
to visit last, and with a pleasant breeze the head
of the Chatham was turned once more towards
California. On the night of the 6th of January,
or rather morning of the 7th, 1853, the vessel
became a total wreck; and we now come to the
wonderful adventures of Lamont and his party
among the Pacific islanders.

"I had retired to rest early," says Lamont.
"I was a light sleeper, especially in the
neighbourhood of land, having no confidence in either
the master or officers; and as we were passing
some islands laid down upon our chart (although,
according to the captain's observations, we
should have been far out of sight of any of
them), I felt uneasy. At four o'clock A.M. the
changing of the watch awoke me, and as it was
Mr. Snow's watch on deck, I did not feel again
inclined to sleep. As the mate was turning in,
he told the captain he saw something like a dark
cloud ahead, and warned him to look out for a
squall. It appears, from the statement of one of
the boys in this watch, that shortly after he
went on deck he saw Captain Snow come out
of his cabin, whisper for a short time with his
brother, and then retire. This he might have
done by the back door of the cabin without my
observing it. On this occasion the oldest and
safest hand of the watch was never brought on
deck; and the look-out forward consisted of
two inefficient hands, one a Kanaka and the
other a mere lad. The man at the wheel could
not see ahead, on account of the house on deck,
immediately in front of him. About twenty
minutes afterwards, as I looked through the
cabin door out on deck, a shock like that
produced by a collision passed through the
vessel, and I thought I beheld land close to us.
The ship's head, however, rose on the wave
towards the sky, and I waited for an instant
till she dipped again, when I beheld a long line
of black low coast stretching far on either side,
girt with a circle of foaming breakers, the roar
of which was already in my ears. A westerly
wind blew dead ashore; we were running right
before it, and were not a gun-shot from the reef.
I sprang at once on deck, followed almost
immediately by all the crew. 'Hard up!' some
one shouted, and up went the wheel, the yards
were trimmed to the wind, and the good vessel,
obedient to her command, worked round, giving
us yet a chance, when another voice called out
'Hard down,' and the mate at the helm obeyed
too faithfully the order, depriving us of the
last hope of saving the ship. The next
moment her bottom struck a sunken rock,
making the vessel reel, and almost throwing us
off our feet. A white-crested wave, raising us
on its top, bore us onward with impetuous force,
and dashed us amid the boiling foam on the
rugged walls of coral. Fortunately, we went
head on, and our bow struck into a little bight