Ihadoccasiontoseemuchofthisexcellentman。HesailedwithusfromTai-o-haetoHiva-oa，adeadbeatofninetymilesagainstaheavysea。Itwaswhatiscalledagoodpassage，andafeatherintheCASCO’Scap；butamongthemostmiserablefortyhoursthatanyoneofushadeverpassed。Wewereswungandtossedtogetherallthattimelikeshotinastagethunder-box。Thematewasthrowndownandhadhisheadcutopen；thecaptainwassickondeck；thecooksickinthegalley。Ofallourpartyonlytwosatdowntodinner。Iwasone。IownthatIfeltwretchedly；andIcanonlysayoftheother，whoprofessedtofeelquitewell，thatshefledatanearlymomentfromthetable。ItwasinthesecircumstancesthatweskirtedthewindwardshoreofthatindescribableislandofUa-pu；viewingwithdizzyeyesthecoves，thecapes，thebreakers，theclimbingforests，andtheinaccessiblestoneneedlesthatsurmountthemountains。Theplacepersists，inadarkcornerofourmemories，likeapieceofthesceneryofnightmares。Theendofthisdistressfulpassage，whereweweretolandourpassengers，wasinasimilarveinofroughness。ThesurfranhighonthebeachatTaahauku；theboatbroached-toandcapsized；andallhandsweresubmerged。Onlythebrotherhimself，whowaswellusedtotheexperience，skippedashore，bysomemiracleofagility，withscarceasprinkling。Thenceforward，duringourstayatHiva-oa，hewasourciceroneandpatron；introducingus，takingusexcursions，servingusineveryway，andmakinghimselfdailymorebeloved。
MichelBlanchadbeenacarpenterbytrade；hadmademoneyandretired，supposinghisactivedaysquiteover；anditwasonlywhenhefoundidlenessdangerousthatheplacedhiscapitalandacquirementsattheserviceofthemission。Hebecametheircarpenter，mason，architect，andengineer；addedsculpturetohisaccomplishments，andwasfamousforhisskillingardening。Heworeanenviableairofhavingfoundaportfromlife’scontentionsandlyingtherestronglyanchored；wentabouthisbusinesswithajollysimplicity；complainedofnolackofresults-perhapsshylythinkinghisownstatuaryresultenough；andwasaltogetherapatternofthemissionarylayman。
CHAPTERVIII-THEPORTOFENTRY
THEport-themart，thecivilandreligiouscapitaloftheserudeislands-iscalledTai-o-hae，andliesstrungalongthebeachofaprecipitousgreenbayinNuka-hiva。Itwasmidwinterwhenwecamethither，andtheweatherwassultry，boisterous，andinconstant。
Nowthewindblewsquallyfromthelanddowngapsofsplinteredprecipice；now，betweenthesentinelisletsoftheentry，itcameingustsfromseaward。Heavyanddarkcloudsimpendedonthesummits；therainroaredandceased；thescuppersofthemountaingushed；andthenextdaywewouldseethesidesoftheamphitheatrebeardedwithwhitefalls。Alongthebeachthetownshowsathinfileofhouses，mostlywhite，andallensconcedinthefoliageofanavenueofgreenpuraos；apiergivesaccessfromtheseaacrossthebeltofbreakers；totheeastwardtherestands，onaprojectingbushyhill，theoldfortwhichisnowthecalaboose，orprison；