Mr. Thurston came to his home in Fitchburg for a farewell visit. He could stay but a short time, and his friends and relatives hardly expected to see him again. He preached on Sunday for the Rev. Mr. Eaton, in the old church on the common, to a crowded house, from John x. 16: "And other sheep have I which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd." The musical talent of the father ran through the family. In the choir were two brothers and two sisters,-Ebenezer, Cyrus, Sylvania and Mahala.

That day, in this little country town of Fitchburg, many prayers were being offered for the welfare and success of that brave young man, and for the success of his mission to an idolatrous and degraded people, while at that very time that same people, of their own volition, were casting down and destroying their idols and abolishing their priesthood-thus preparing the way for the mission of Christianity.

There was a gathering of friends and neighbors on the morning of the final departure of Mr. Thurston from Fitchburg. It was an unwonted scene at that little homestead on the hill. There were leave takings and farewells, tears were shed, and silent prayers were offered. At last he turned to go. As he mounted his horse he saw before him for the last time the old familiar landscape, the wellknown hills and miles of forest, just beginning to flame with the tints of autumn. In a few moments he was to leave behind him the home of his childhood, which his eyes were nevermore to behold. Nevermore was a New England autumn scene to gladden his eyes; but he pressed onward, his face toward the light and the future.

October 15, 1819, a District Missionary church was formed in the vestry of Park Street church, Boston, which church was to go in a body to the Sandwich Islands,

under the auspices of the American Board of Foreign Missions. Its members were Mr. Thurston and wife, Hiram Bingham and wife, Thomas Holman, a physician, Samuel Whitney and Samuel Ruggles, teachers, Elisha Loomis, printer, Daniel Chamberlain, farmer, and their wives. Also Thomas Hopu, William Kanui, and John Honulii, three Hawaiian young men from the Cornwall school. That same evening there was a large gathering in the body of the church to listen to a sermon from Mr. Bingham, and to the public instructions of the Prudential Committee of the Board, given by the Rev. Samuel Worcester, who for five years, from 1797 to 1802, had been pastor of the church in Fitchburg, and who had often seen Asa Thurston, a blue-eyed, roguish boy, in the family pew. Worcester spoke in part as follows:

Dr.

Dearly. beloved of the Lord: You are now on the point, the most of you, of leaving your country and your kindred and your fathers' houses, and committing yourselves, under Providence, to the winds and the waves, for conveyance to the far distant islands of the sea, there to spend the remainder of your days.

You have given yourselves to Christ for the high and holy service of missionary work. You have made your vows and you cannot go back. If it be not so, if this point be not fixed in you immovable, stop where you are, nor venture to set foot on board that vessel which is to bear this holy mission to the scene of its labors and trials and eventual triumphs. You are to aim at nothing short of covering those islands with fruitful fields, pleasant dwellings, schools and churches.

Mr. Bingham and Mr. Thurston: To you jointly is committed this consecrated mission, proceeding from the bosom of Christian and heavenly love.

Beloved members of the mission, male and female, the Christian community is moved for you and for your enterprise. The offerings, the prayers and tears and benedictions and vows of the churches are before the throne of everlasting mercy. They must not be violated; they must not, cannot be lost. But how can you sustain the responsibility? A nation to be enlightened and renovated, and added to the civilized world and to the kingdom of the world's Redeemer and rightful sovereign. In His name only and by His power can the enterprise be achieved.

The next morning, Saturday, October 16, at 10 o'clock, Mr. Thurston delivered a farewell address in the same church to a large congregation of friends of missions from various parts of New England. A portion of his words were as follows:

Permit me, my dear friends, to express the sentiments and feelings of the missionary company on the present occasion. We would express our gratitude to the Great Head of the Church for the provision he has made for the souls of men, and for the evidence which he graciously gives us that are severally interested in this great salvation. We bless God that we live in this interesting period of the world—that so much is done and so much is still doing to extend the blessings of the Redeemer's kingdom to the ends of the earth.

The present is emphatically styled a day of action. The church is opening her eyes on the mission of a world lying in wickedness. Her compassion is moved and her benevolence excited to alleviate human suffering and to save the soul from death.

We have felt that the Saviour was speaking to us, and our bosoms have panted for the privilege of engaging in the blessed work of evangelizing the heathen. We have voluntarily devoted ourselves to this great object and have been set apart to go forth and labor for its accomplishment. In a few days we expect to leave this loved land of our nativity for the distant isles of the sea, there to plant this little vine and nourish it, till it shall extend through all the islands, till it shall shoot its branches across to the American coast, and its precious fruit shall be gathered at the foot of her mountains.

The few days now remaining before embarkation were spent in preparation. They were to sail October 23 in the brig Thaddeus, Capt. Blanchard, with a cargo of general merchandise, agricultural implements, etc. On that day there were assembled on the wharf a large gathering of friends. A short service was held, the choir sang "Blest be the tie that binds," and Messrs. Bingham and Thurston, assisted by an intimate friend, sang "When shall we all meet again?" in a most affecting manner. A fourteenoared barge, manned and officered from the frigate Independence, took them to the ship. Her sails slowly filled,