“Say no more of it, friend,” said Owen kindly, “We are all of us sinners, and it is my place to push back your ancient sins, not to drag them into the light of day and clamour for their punishment.  It is true I know that you plotted with the Prince Hafela to poison Umsuka the King, for it was revealed to me.  It chanced, however, that I was able to recover Umsuka from his sickness, and Hafela is fled, so why should I bring up the deed against you?  It is true that you still practise witchcraft, and that you hate and strive against the holy Faith which I preach; but you were brought up to wizardry and have been the priest of another creed, and these things plead for you.

“Also, Hokosa, I can see the good and evil struggling in your soul, and I pray and I believe that in the end the good will master the evil; that you who have been pre-eminent in sin will come to be pre-eminent in righteousness.  Oh! be not stubborn, but listen with your ear, and let your heart be softened.  The gate stands open, and I am the guide appointed to show you the way without reward or fee.  Follow them ere it be too late, that in time to come when my voice is stilled you also may be able to direct the feet of wanderers into the paths of peace.  It is the hour of prayer; come with me, I beg of you, and listen to some few words of the message of my lips, and let your spirit be nurtured with them, and the Sun of Truth arise upon its darkness.”

Hokosa heard, and before this simple eloquence his wisdom sank confounded.  More, his intelligence was stirred, and a desire came upon him to investigate and examine the canons of a creed that could produce such men as this.  He made no answer, but waiting while Owen robed himself, he followed him to the chapel.  It was full of new-made Christians who crowded even the doorways, but they gave place to him, wondering.  Then the service began—­a short and simple service.  First Owen offered up some prayer for the welfare of the infant Church, for the conversion of the unbelieving, for the safety of the king and the happiness of the people.  Then John, the Messenger’s first disciple, read aloud from a manuscript a portion of the Scripture which his master had translated.  It was St. Paul’s exposition of the resurrection from the dead, and the grandeur of its thoughts and language were by no means lost upon Hokosa, who, savage and heathen though he might be, was also a man of intellect.

The reading over, Owen addressed the congregation, taking for his text, “Thy sin shall find thee out.”  Being now a master of the language, he preached very well and earnestly, and indeed the subject was not difficult to deal with in the presence of an audience many of whose pasts had been stepped in iniquities of no common kind.  As he talked of judgment to come for the unrepentant, some of his hearers groaned and even wept; and when, changing his note, he dwelt upon the blessed future state of those who earned forgiveness, their faces were lighted up with joy.