through in one afternoon to the top, and a healthy place might be
found now with little trouble to return to at night from the schools,
&c. in the village below, and so shirk the malaria.

'But the next day, as I had anticipated, rather changed his
intentions as to the principal station being formed at Vanua Lava.
We landed at Sugar Loaf Island, and with something of pride I showed
off to him the beauties of the villages where I slept in May last--
the dry soil, the spring of water, the wondrous fertility, the large
and remarkably intelligent, well-looking population, the great banyan
tree, twenty-seven paces round--and at once he said, "This is such a
place as I have seen nowhere else for our purpose."

'The Bishop had seen this island before I was with him, during one of
the "Border Maid's" voyages, and knew the people, of course, but had
not happened to have walked in shore at all, and so the exceeding
beauty and fitness of the island for a Mission station had not become
so apparent to him. We know of no place where there seems to be such
an unusual combination of everything that can be desired, humanly
speaking, for such an institution. So that is settled (D.V.) that
next winter I should be here, if alive and well; and that the Banks
Islands should be regarded as the central point of the Mission.

'Such boys! Bright-eyed, merry fellows, many really handsome; of
that reddish yellow tinge of colour which betokens affinity with
Polynesian races, as their language also testifies. The majority of
the people were pleasing in their appearance and manner. Well, all
this was very hopeful, and we went off very happy, taking Eumau, the
boy who first met us at Port Patteson when we found it out, and old
Wompas (who was with me at Lifu), and another from Mota, to see the