It savours rather of an army of Puritans to know that every morning, at the very first streak of dawn, each separate tribe composing that little army mustered in array to join the teacher in saying the Lord’s Prayer, and a short prayer suited to the requirements of the day. And every evening, after the excitement of the day was over, each house separately had reading of the Scriptures, singing, and prayer; and every man in the force knelt as reverently as he would have done at family worship in his peaceful village home. I wonder of how many so-called civilised armies all this could be said? But to return to the caves. The last had scarcely been captured when Mr Gordon became utterly prostrate from what has proved to be a very serious attack of low typhoid fever. I told you he had been here for a few days after finishing work in his own district, and before proceeding to join Captain Knollys; and we think he must have contracted it here, as there have been several bad cases of the same type, and at least two men have died of it, including the builder of this house. The caves were right in the interior of Viti Levu; and as I mentioned to you, the return march was fearfully trying, both for a sick man and those in charge of him—Fijian mountain paths being pretty severe work for the strongest man. Happily Dr Macgregor was able to be in close attendance. To make matters worse, they had literally nothing that he could eat. The Doctor thought he had secured a prize in an old hen belonging to a teacher, but the owner begged she might be spared, as she was “giving milk”—a striking discovery in ornithology! But it seems this is the Fijian equivalent for _laying_. I suppose that as cows and hens are both imported animals, it was assumed that the same term would be equally expressive. But the teacher promised to bring some excellent eggs to make flip, and soon returned with a dozen. On the first being cracked a fine chicken appeared,—so _that_ was not of much use! At last they readied the coast, where a hospitable planter took care of the patient till a steamer, specially chartered for the occasion, arrived to take away most of the troops and about a hundred of the worst prisoners, who are to have a turn of hard work for their country’s good. The said steamer is one hired temporarily from New Zealand; but the luckless Government steamer Fitzroy, which was bought for £7000 when we came here, ran on to a coral-reef last month, and is a total wreck,—another bit of ill-luck for this poverty-stricken land. Her captain was the steadiest and most experienced man in the group, so it is a good proof of what dangerous navigation this is.