mother's cottage. I was anxious to know how Alea and
Vihala had become Christians, and asked Dan if he had taught them. "No,
indeed, I have not," he answered drawing himself up. "I hope that I am
too good a Catholic to teach them the sort of religion they know. There
is a sort of old missionary fellow comes over here who has taught them,
and he has left a native teacher here, who does nothing but abuse me
because I do not make the king here _lotu_, and do not _lotu_ myself, as
they call it, and give up my wives, and make myself miserable." From
this speech of Dan Hoolan's, I had no difficulty in understanding the
state of the case. The wretched man would not give up his own sins,
and, therefore, tried to keep the chief in heathen darkness. It would,
however, be impolitic to quarrel with him, or, rather, wrong, because
the so doing would have increased the difficulty of bringing him round.
I should explain that the term _lotu_ means becoming a nominal
Christian.

"But I thought, friend Hoolan, you said that you were a Christian," I
remarked quietly, looking fixedly at him.

"So I am inwardly, of course, mate," he answered, with a wink he could
not suppress. "That is to say, a right raal Catholic, as my fathers
were before me, with nothing of your missionary religion about me; but
just on the outside, maybe, I'm a heathen, just for convenience sake,
you'll understand."

I did not press the subject then, but being interested about poor Alea,
I inquired if he could tell me how her father would treat her.

"Why, send her on to her husband, of course, mate," he answered, with
the greatest unconcern; "it's the right thing to do."

"But the chief to whom she is to be given is a heathen and a cannibal,
and old enough to be her grandfather," I remarked.

"Maybe, but it's the rule; we don't set much value or women in this part
of the world," observed the prime minister; "I might have married her
myself for that matter, but it would have brought on a war with the old
chief for whom she is intended, so I did the right thing, do ye see,
mate, and let it alone."

I now turned the subject, and asked what assistance he could give in
refitting the ship and supplying fresh provisions. He was immediately
in his element, and showed himself in worldly matters a shrewd, clever
fellow. Everything now seemed to go on smoothly, and the repairs of the
ship progressed rapidly, while we had no lack of fresh provisions. We
soon di