of life is natural; ours is highly artificial.  We are the creatures of a troublesome civilisation to an extent that one realises here.  When I go ashore for five weeks, though I could carry all my luggage, yet it must comprise a coffee-pot, sugar, biscuits, a cork bed, some tins of preserved meat, candles, books, and my hut has a table and a stool, and I have a cup, saucer, plate, knife, fork, and spoon.  My good friend George, who I think is on the whole better dressed than I am, and who has adopted several of our signs of civilisation, finds the food, cooking, and many of the ways of the island natural and congenial, and would find them so throughout the Pacific.

’May 2lst.—­The morning and evening school here is very nice.  I doubt if I am simple enough in my teaching.  I think I teach too much at a time; there is so much to be taught, and I am so impatient, I don’t go slowly enough, though I do travel over the same ground very often.  Some few certainly do take in a good deal.

’A very hot day, after much rain.  This morning we took down our old wooden hut, that was put up here by us six years ago.  Parts of it are useless, for in our absence the rain damaged it a good deal.  I mean to take it across to Arau, Henry Tagalana’s little island, for there, even in very wet weather, there is little fear of ague, the soil being light and sandy.  It would be a great thing to escape from the rich soil and luxuriant vegetation in the wet months, if any one of us spent a long time here.  It was hot work, but soon over.  It only took about two and a half hours to take down, and stack all the planks, rafters, &c.  Two fellows worked well, and some others looked on and helped now and then.

’I have had some pleasant occupation for an hour or so each day in clearing away the bush, which in one year grows up surprisingly here.  Many lemon, citron, and orange trees that we planted some years ago. cocoa-nut trees also, were almost, some quite overgrown, quite hidden, and our place looked and was quite small and close; but one or two hours for a few days, spent in clearing, have made a great difference.  I have planted out about twenty-five lemon suckers, and as many pine-apples, for our old ones were growing everywhere in thick clumps, and I have to thin them out.

’Yesterday was a great day; we cut down two large trees, round one of which I had carelessly planted orange, lemon, and cocoa-nut trees, so that we did not know how to fell it so as to avoid crushing some fine young trees; but the tree took the matter into its own hands, for it was hollow in the centre, and fell suddenly, so that the fellows holding the rope could not guide it, and it fell at right angles to the direction we had chosen, but right between all the trees, without seriously hurting one.  It quite reminds me of old tree-cutting days at Feniton; only here I see no oaks, nor elms, nor beeches, nor firs, only bread-fruit trees and almond trees, and many fruit-bearing trees—­oranges, &c., and guavas and custard-apples—­growing up (all being introduced by us), and the two gigantic banyan trees, north and south of my little place.  It is so very pretty!