I have never heard of the toes being used as assistants, although one might fancy their being of service. _Wednesday, August 18th._--About midnight as I lay reading in bed, and a perfect stillness reigned around, we experienced a very sharp shock of an earthquake. My house shook so uncomfortably, that I really feared it was coming down, and I had the sort of feeling as of some one trying to upset it, and I felt as if I must say “Oh! do not, please leave off, you will have it down.” My neighbour’s fence was shaken so, that I fancied some considerable damage had been done. The vibration lasted a good long time, some seconds I should say, after the real shock was over, and I felt myself, a sort of palpitation for some considerable period. I was not afraid, but no one can feel an earthquake without some instinctive dread. Nothing, I think, makes one feel one’s littleness and helplessness and insecurity more, and there is such a solemnity attached to it, that you are very thankful when it is fairly over. Man, bird and beast were roused into action at once, and there was quite an excitement here for a time. Curiously enough, in the evening there was a very bright and exceedingly beautiful after-glow, and I remarked to the boys how like it was to the time when the terrible destruction was caused in the gulf of Sunda, and I said casually, that I should not be surprised if we had more earthquakes soon. The natives have a firm idea that they are the precursors of rain, and certainly this morning we have had a very heavy downpour. This is the first rain we have had for the whole month I have been here, and the first day I have been kept to solitary confinement. Most of the day I have been absolutely alone, and my pen has been kept very busy writing letters and hymns and songs. With the latter I have been very successful, and have managed four. One, particularly successful, goes to the chorus of “Wait till the clouds roll by,” and is as follows:-- Ge togatoga ririkqa. Mati ni van ra[¨n]ai, A la[¨n]i ni rowo na wia, Tavi dago na tasgoro. Gana sako na usu maraga, Gana toura na gabe tar, Gana tura goro na masi Gana koko betegag. Gana unui vagamatera A le[¨n]ele[¨n]e mas Gana tuwur, sogon le gete Toli tasgoro rik ka sem. of which the translation is:-- Wait a little bit longer, Wait till the tide is low, Wait till the wind blow fairer, And then make the tasgoro. Then we will take bow and arrow, Then we will carry our nets, Then we will stop in the fishes And gather them properly up. We will kill them dead with poison, All and every kind of fish, We will gather and lay them in baskets, What a glorious tasgoro! The _tasgoro_ I have before described. Part of beach enclosed, tabu’d, and after lapse of time opened again to the public.