’I think that the alert and decisive tone and habit which was so conspicuous in the islands, and came out whenever he was roused, was not natural to his disposition, but had been acquired in early years in a public school, and faded down in the quiet routine of St. Barnabas, and was recalled as occasion required with more effort as time went on.  No doubt, his habitual gentleness made his occasional severity more felt, but at Mota his capacity for scolding was held in respect.  I was told when I was last there, that I was no good, for I did not know how to scold, but that the Bishop perfectly well understood how to do it.  Words certainly would never fail him in twenty languages to express his indignation, but how seldom among his own scholars had he to do it in one!’

This voyage is best summed up in the ensuing letter to one of the Norfolk relations:—­

’"Southern Cross” Schooner, 20 miles East of Star Island.

’My dear Cousin,—­We are drawing near the end of a rather long cruise, as I trust, in safety.  We left Norfolk Island on the 24th June, and we hope to reach it in about ten days.  We should have moved about in less time, but for the crippled state of the schooner.  She fell in with a heavy gale off Norfolk Island about June 20th-23rd; and we have been obliged to be very careful of our spars, which were much strained.  Indeed, we still need a new mainmast, main boom, and gaff, a main topmast, foretopmast, and probably new wire rigging, besides repairs of other kinds, and possibly new coppering.  Thank God, the voyage has been so far safe, and, on the whole, prosperous.  We sailed first of all to the Banks Islands, only dropping two lads at Ambrym Island on our way.  We spent a week or more at Mota, while the vessel was being overhauled at the harbour in Vanua Lava Island, seven miles from Mota.  It was a great relief to us to get the house for the station at Mota out of the vessel, the weight of timber, &c., was too much for a vessel not built for carrying freight.  After a few days we left Mr. Palmer, George Sarawia, and others at Mota, busily engaged in putting up the house, a very serious matter for us, as you may suppose.

’Our party was made up of Mr. Atkin, Mr. Brooke, and two Mota volunteers for boat work, and divers Solomon Islanders.  We were absent from Mota about seven years, during which time we visited Santa Cruz, and many of the Solomon Isles.  Mr. Atkin spent three weeks in one of the isles, and Mr. Brooke in another, and we had more than thirty natives of the Solomon Islands on board, including old scholars, when we left Ulava, the last island of the Solomon group at which we called.