Before leaving Sydney, a crowded meeting was held by the Australian Board of Missions to hear Bishop Selwyn speak on the Melanesian Mission, and at this meeting Patteson was introduced by the Bishop as his dear friend, one for whose companionship he ought to thank God. After this they took Mrs. Selwyn to Norfolk Island and sailed for the Pacific. They went first to the Presbyterian mission at Anaiteum, and deposited goods and letters that they had brought for the missionaries, Mr. and Mrs. Ingles. Patteson much admired their schools and wrote of their work as full of hope and encouragement. After this many islands new to the Bishop were visited. Near one of them they came across a brig with a sandal wood trader who was notorious for “dark deeds of revenge and unscrupulous retaliation upon the natives.” In the past the Bishop had been one of those who had helped to bring him to justice, but he had remained friends with him and had baptised his only son. Now he introduced Patteson to him, saying, “Mr. Patteson is come from England on purpose to look after these islands.” He was convinced that the knowledge that there were those who watched their doings would have a restraining effect upon the traders. Patteson was able to learn from the behaviour of the Bishop how to be on the look out for signs of danger. Selwyn’s quick eye was always on the watch and without any apparent suspicion of fear, he was ever on the alert to detect any slight intimation of possible danger. On one occasion whilst they were happily bartering fish hooks for cocoanuts, the Bishop, to Patteson’s surprise, made a sudden sign to come away. When they were in their boat he said: “I saw some young men running through the bushes with bows and arrows, and these young gentry have not the sense to behave well like their parents.” The Bishop’s method in his work among the islands has been described by one who watched it as follows: