REV. DR. W. W. GILL, who spent thirteen years in mission work in the islands of the South Pacific Ocean, speaks in his recent work, "From Darkness to Light in Polynesia," of the Raratongan Bible, a version printed in 1852, for use in that region, as follows:— "Having used the Raratongan Bible for forty-two years, I may be pardoned for saying that I regard it as an admirable rendering of the original. Many of the improvements found in the English Revised Version have been anticipated. As in all other Pacific and New Guinea versions, the sacred name of 'Jehovah' is transliterated, never translated, thus adding immeasurably to the force of the contrast between the ever-living God and the objects worshiped by the heathen. "The original translators of the Raratongan Bible caught the real genius of the language, and gave it a permanent embodiment while it was as yet utterly untouched by outside influences. The rendering of the patriarchal portions is simply perfect, the language of the islanders being so well adapted for the purpose. Indeed, Polynesian life, at its best, is strictly patriarchal. The Gospels lend themselves very readily to translation; but in the Epistles a difficulty was evidently felt by the translators in obtaining exact equivalents for the key-notes of the Christian system. Too much praise can not be given to the Rev. H. Nott, of Tahiti, and his co-adjutors, who, in making the Tahitian translation, unconsciously fixed the theological terms for several other groups. "In a literary point of view, it is remarkable that it should be possible with an alphabet of only thirteen letters to render faithfully the word of God into the languages of savages. In transliterating proper names a few other letters are used; but in the language proper, as above stated, only thirteen. No book speaks to the heart of man—whatever be his race, home or speech—as the Bible. Its voice is sure of an echo from the human heart. The islanders in reality possess but (this) one book; hence the anxiety of the brethren to make it a perfect image of what its divine Author intended."—Methodist Times.