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chap. in. RELIGIOUS SERVICES FOR THE SEAMEN. G7 The inhabitants of Mauritius did not limit their kind offices towards the shipwrecked strangers to the supply of their more immediate wants. A subscription was set on foot by the in habitants of the island, and the magnificent sum. of 1200/. was raised and distributed amongst the passengers, who were sent on to Sydney, their original destination, by the government. There were many English and American seamen visiting the port at this season, and, as there were no religious services amongst them on the Sabbath, I made application to the harbour master, Captain Russell, for permission to have public worship and preaching for sailors every Sunday in the port office. Permission to occupy it for this purpose was very readily granted by the governor. The requisite fittings were provided, and at times a considerable number of captains, officers, and seamen, from the vessels in the harbour, attended. I continued these services every Sabbath morning until the season when unfavourable weather is always expected, and few vessels came or remained in the harbour. Towards the close of the month of October in this year I visited Moka, an inland district about nine or ten miles from Port Louis. The morning we set out for this purpose was fine, and we started early, in order to secure the pleasant coolness of that part of the day. The road was hilly, and, though walking up the hills proved very fatiguing, we were amply repaid by the beauty of the scenery and the many objects of novelty and interest which we passed. In some places stately groves or avenues of mango trees led from the road to a large and respectable house; at others, the rudely thatched hut of the Indian or of the Creole vender of fruit or beverage stood under the shade of a tamarind tree by the side of the dusty road. In some places tall bamboos grew most luxuriantly on both sides of the road, and, uniting their