The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-08-22
NEW BOOKS.
where Only Man Is Vile.


II T., Patton, B. d., for six years resident
,rissionarv on the west coast OF Tanna
lflcming II. Revell Company. There is
n very simple map Of Tanna Island In the
honk The map is not supplied with
.rale of distances, but we make out that
r,nno is less than fifty miles in length, and
half as broad US it is long. A little way to
ue northeast lies Aniwa Island, where
,ho author was born. His father, John G..
Patton. was missionary in the New
uebrides before him, and had labored in
Tonpa until he was driven out by the
savages.
The author arrived at Lenakel, on the
west coast OF Tanna, in May, 1895. He
and the others who had come with him in
the little steamer Dayspring, were met on
tho shore bv small group Of armed and
naked sagages, and by a single white man.
a tall. misunderstanding Englishman, Mr..
H. Worthington, n planter and trader,
who lived there with his wife. That he
should have lived rather than died there
.sems not a little surprising az we 30 on
With the story. We read that the savages
we're dour and silent when they were asked
n they wanted missionary. They needed
and took time to consider that question.
The visitors passed the night on board
their ship. Next morning a great crowd
az natives, men and women, assembled on
the beach. Mr.. Patton addressed him
.elr IN Iuiap, one Of the chiefs. This savage
WAS spledd figure. very tsll, with i'm
m,nse shoulders and limbs. Tie was naked
and as though he considered that nature
had not made him quite dark enough he
had painted his cheeks Jet black. His
warriors were painted in vermilion, bright
yellow and other colors, and armed with
loaded guns. 1uiap informed Mr.. Patton
that the question OF having missionaries
was not vet decided. Pressed for an ex-
preston Of his own feeling in the matte, :,
hc still insisted upon delay but ne promised
nm answer in time. He said: Suppose RIO
like missionary, me tell you. SUPPOSE lre
no like missionary, me tell vou'
Presently this great chief harsng,led
his people, with the result that their for
Kidding looks gave way to smiles. It had
been decided to have the missiona ries. We
nav say here that Iuiap never became
converted TO the Christian faith. He re-
manned steadfastly a heather. But he
was liheral-mnded savage. He treated
he missionaries always with much tolerant
consideration. and handsomely prese 9ted
hem on one occasion with a two-shilIing
niece
Another OF the chiefs was short. thick
got man with long, shaggy hair and bushv
board. One would expect to hear from
him something like a lions roar when he
spoke, but IA fact 'hls voice was strik
ingv gentle and his sweet smile belied his
whole appearance" He took the mis-
sionaries away TO look at piece OF land
on which ne hoped they would be inclined
to build. The account says: ave fol-
owed him along the shore for nearly a
mile, wondering all the time at his splendid
frame. There were strength and grace
In every movement" This was Lomai
Of the title. There are pictures OF him
after he had taken to clothes. Possibly
n IL owing TO his strong sense Of the clothes
that the sweet smile does not show itself
Mt all in the portraits. Once az he was
on his way TO become a Christian ne had a
moment OF heather relapse and beat ono
OF his wives. We sould like TO think that
the frontispiece picture OF I.omai was a
document OF that unfortunate time
but the chronology OF the story forbids
IN the portraits. as we have said, the chief
wears clothes. and 1t was before he had
assumed these that he beat his wife.
The outward reformation Of Lomai is
recorded in a chapter entitled Clothed
and In His Right Mind" The steamer
INkL
from London" The difficulty was to get
the converts to take advantage Of the
rich occasion. We have read OF savagee
who gladly awaited themselves OF the ap-
pare Of civilization. They were different
from the men OF Tanna. There it needed
tremendous moral courage to begin. Loma
was the hero who began. Mr.. Patton re-
cords: ~One Sabbath morning I saw a
man in a red shirt and lavalava coming
~ the path fastened out, thinking he
was stranger from the other side. But
IN our unutterable Joy, it was Lomai The
heathen called him an old woman, and il
there is anything Tanna man hates to
he called it Ia old woman But he paid
M heed to their ridicule. II was distinct
declaration that he had forever turned
his back on heathenism, and that he was
now an out -and-out Worshipping man.
Only those who have lived in the midst of
naked heathenism can know the Joy that
thrilled our hearts to see Lomai clothed
that morning. He had now taken the
arst decisive step; the Spirit had begun
TO work in his heart, and we knew that
the rest would follow" After him there
was no trouble about the others. The
fine boxes of clothing from London were
not in vain Mr.. Patton says: II shall
never forget the Joy of seeing these people
coming clothed for the first time! We had
stirring service, and our hearts surged
with hope"
But IL 1t is a pleasure to see the heather
clothed, it Is also a good deal of an UNDER
taking to clothe them. Starting from
nothing at all, Of course the call is COM
prehensive. In another place. noting the
arrival of more boxes, Mr.. Patton remarks:
ut takes an enormous amount Of clothing
to supply a people just emerging out Of
heathenism, and il cannot be done without
the self-denying efforts OF friends abroad"
We are reminded OF the missionarys appeal
in the ballad, regarding which we always
considered the rhyme rather feeble:
Would you Ike to give a dollar to help along tho
cause,
Twill buy a flannel pctticoat and half a pair OF
drawers.
In Tanna there is a kind of magic called