Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

1835. MISSIONARY SPIRIT. 605 missionaries have been accused by those whose society was not, perhaps, even tolerable to them, because of their vicious habits and indulgences. It was also very gratifying to me to mark the lively interest taken by Mr. Williams, Mr. Davis, and Mr. Baker in every detail connected with the Fuegians, and our attempt to establish Richard Matthews in Tierra del Fuego. Again and again they recurred to the subject, and asked for more information ; they would not hear of my calling the attempt ' a failure."" " It was the first step,"" said they, " and similar in its result to our first step in New Zea- land. We failed at first ; but, by God''s blessing upon human exertions, we have at last succeeded far beyond our anticipa- tions."" Their anxiety about the South American aborigines generally ; about the places where missionaries might have a chance of doing good ; and about the state of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, gave me a distinct idea of the prevalence of true missionary spirit. In the minds of Mr. Williams and his brother I should have expected high and generalizing ideas, similar in a great degree to those of the ' Apostle of the South"" — the ' heroic Marsden,"" as he has been most deservedly styled ; but I was unprepared to find all the members of this missionary body anxious to hear about, and talk of Fuegians and other distant tribes of savages, rather than to draw attention to themselves, to their troubles, and ultimate success, or to their own interests. At this interview it was fully decided that Richard Matthews should remain with his brother, a respectable young missionary mechanic, established at the northern end of the island, and lately married to Mr. Davis"'s daughter. Among many sub- jects of conversation we discussed the dress of the natives ; and Mr. Williams assented fully to the inconvenience of their pre- sent awkward mode, and expressed an intention of trying to introduce something like the poncho and ' chilipa'* dress of South America. With sincere regret I took leave of the resi- dents at Waimate. Instead of hours, I could have passed days * The chilipa is a kind of loose breeches.