There was a new missionary hymn, a free adaptation of ‘From Greenland’s icy mountains,’ which I wanted them to learn to sing, as I wanted it sung at the opening of our new church. ‘Now,’ I said, ‘I want you to learn to sing this hymn, as it is a very good one, and the author is coming to preach at the opening services, and I am sure he will be pleased to hear his hymn well sung.’ On this I started off singing the hymn to the tune ‘Missionary’; but no one joined in. I stopped and asked: ‘Why are you not joining in the singing?’ They answered: ‘That won’t do, sir.’ ‘Why won’t it do?’ I asked. They said: ‘Sir, that can’t be the proper tune for that hymn for that is the _vàdy_, wife of another hymn.’ They had married that tune to an adaptation of the English hymn, ‘Go when the morning shineth.’ They felt that it would be improper to separate this well mated and harmonious husband and wife! They demanded consistency on my part. ‘You often tell us,’ they said, ‘that divorcing is wrong, and yet here you yourself want to divorce _izy mivàdy_,’ these united ones. ‘But,’ I said, ‘that’s carrying the idea as to divorce to absurdity. Why, the hymn suffers nothing by the separation, nor does the tune.’ They said: ‘It would not be right, sir, and we don’t like the idea of separating them.’ ‘Why,’ I said, ‘over on the other side of the ocean, we have one tune to serve a dozen of hymns, and one hymn to a dozen different tunes.’ They answered: ‘You white people may do as you please on the other side of the ocean, but we don’t like such doings. We regard it as culpable divorce, and altogether wrong.’ I asked: ‘Do you really mean all this in sober earnest?’ ‘Yes, sir,’ they answered. ‘Well,’ I said, ‘I don’t want to hurt your feelings of propriety, or force you to do what you think wrong; but I am sorry, as I wanted this hymn sung at the opening services.’ ‘So you can, sir,’ they said, ‘if you wish it.’ ‘How can I?’ I asked. They answered: ‘Seek a _vàdy_ for it.’ ‘Where could I get a tune for it?’ I said, ‘I am afraid I don’t know enough about music to be able to set a tune to a hymn, even if I found one.’ They replied: ‘Oh yes, sir, if you set yourself to it, you would manage, somehow,’ and with that we passed on to the singing of another hymn.