Mary Liddiard

Mary Liddiard, by W.H.G.
Kingston

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mary Liddiard, by W.H.G. Kingston
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Mary Liddiard The Missionary's Daughter
Author: W.H.G. Kingston
Release Date: October 25, 2007 [EBook #23190]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MARY
LIDDIARD ***

Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England

Mary Liddiard, by W.H.G. Kingston.
_________________________________________________________
______________Mary is the daughter of a missionary somewhere in
the Pacific Ocean. It is towards the end of the eighteenth century. Some

but not all of the natives on the island have been converted. The author
expounds at great length on the central truth of Christianity.
There is an attack by the natives of another island, which Mary and her
friends survive by hiding in a cave. Later they are obliged to leave the
island by canoe. There is a great storm, but they survive it, being
picked up by an English missionary vessel. There is a happy ending,
with a great family reunion.
_________________________________________________________
_____________MARY LIDDIARD, BY W.H.G. KINGSTON.
CHAPTER ONE.
A MISSIONARY STATION IN AN ISLAND OF THE PACIFIC
DESCRIBED.--THE GIRLS' SCHOOL SUPERINTENDED BY MRS
LIDDIARD, HER DAUGHTER MARY, AND LITTLE
MAUD.--MARY LIDDIARD'S NARRATIVE.--INTRODUCE TO
MY READERS LISELE, THE CHIEF'S DAUGHTER, ONE OF OUR
PUPILS.--MY MOTHER EXPLAINS THE GOSPEL TO HER.
"Praise God, from whom all blessings flow, Praise Him all creatures
here below, Praise Him above ye heavenly host, Praise Father, Son, and
Holy Ghost."
These words were ascending from the lips of a number of dark skinned
girls assembled round a fair haired English lady in a building thickly
thatched with the leaves of the sugar cane, beneath the shade of a grove
of tall cocoanut trees, in one of the many far off beautiful islands of the
wide Pacific. The building, erected by the natives after their own
fashion, was the school-house of a missionary station lately established
by Mr Liddiard, and the lady was his devoted wife. It stood upon a
platform of coral-stone, raised about two feet from the ground, while
the roof projected a considerable distance beyond the walls, and was
supported by stout posts formed of the bread-fruit tree, tightly bound to
the rafters by ropes of sinnet.
After the conclusion of the hymn of praise--a sound unwonted in that

long benighted region, whose groves had hitherto echoed only with the
shouts and wild laughter of the savage heathens, as they performed
their barbarous rites, and the shrieks and groans of their victims--the
pupils grouped themselves round Mrs Liddiard on the mats with which
the floor was spread.
They were of various ages; some were children, others full grown
young women. All kept their eyes fixed on her attentively, as if anxious
to understand every word she said. Some were clothed in light cotton
dresses, their black hair neatly braided and ornamented with a few
sweet scented wild flowers, while others were habited in garments of
native cloth, formed from the paper mulberry tree.
By the side of Mrs Liddiard sat, on low stools, two young girls, whose
light complexions contrasted with that of their dark skinned sisters.
Though she spoke in the native language, the two English girls
understood her perfectly, and appeared to be as attentive as their
companions, and anxious to set a good example to the rest. One of
them, with black hair, called little Maud, who seemed to be about
eleven years old, had a grave expression of countenance; the other, Mrs
Liddiard's daughter Mary, was very like her mother, with light hair and
blue eyes, full of animation and intelligence.
On one side of the house the ground sloped away down to a beach seen
between the Pandanus and cocoanut trees, of fine white sand fringing a
calm lagoon of the deepest blue, beyond which appeared a long line of
foaming breakers, ever dashing against a coral reef, which extended
parallel with the coast as far as the eye could reach. On the other side
rose the steep sides of a range of rocky and picturesque mountains,
clothed to their summits with the richest and densest foliage,
numberless creepers climbing up the trees, and hanging from branch to
branch, while here and there, amid openings of the forest, several
sparkling cascades came rushing down from the far off heights, now
falling in sheets of glittering foam, now dashing from ledge to ledge,
and at length making their way into the lagoon.
Near the girls' school-house was a building of considerably larger
dimensions, and of much greater height, with numerous windows and a

porch.