THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, June 7, 1849.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 1, Issue 12, 7 June 1849, Page 1

THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, June 7, 1849.

Kind Maori Friends, —You, for whose instruction and amusement the Governor first designed this paper—in our anxiety to please and instruct you, we have made many inquiries as to your particular tastes, and with regard to the description of reading you would be likely to prefer; in order that we might not only be able to improve your minds, but to impart to them the same pleasures that are so eagerly sought after by the educated of all nations. For this purpose, we ha*e supplied you with various pieces of information, calculated to guard you against disease, and pointing to the manner in which you may adopt the precautions essential to the preservation of health. You have been told something of the character and qualities of the Horse. The benelits of Agricu'turo have, also, been explained. You have had several descriptions of some of the meatt3 by which England has been enabled to emerge from a state of the lowest barbarism, and in less than one thousand years of the six thousand, which the world is old, to become the. greatest Nation of that world. You Jiiive been made acquainted of the benevolent purposes of Savings' Banks; —land, in short, nothing that we ourselves or the many kind friends, who assist us, have imagined you would like to know, or wliieh we deemed it of service to impart, but what have been placed within your reach. As our Newspaper goes on, and as you become better able to understand the good it is calculated to do, we shall give you larger and more general information. We shall, also, present you with < bo me ta'es of what, in Europe, is called : imaginative literature, that is, stories so ; true to nature, that the circumstances, although not occuring to the persons described in the tales, may, and have, again and again, occurred to others, bucli :

tales, in England, France, America, and other Countries, are called Novels, and the successful authors of such tales are held in high distinction, and are paid large sums of money for their works. We are now about to givo you a Juvenile Tale, taken from a book which has been one of delight, not only to English boys and girls, but to their fathers and mothers, as well as to almost every one who has read it We are tejnpted to place this interesting story before you, because wc have been told that the anecdotes of the Canary Bird, The Wounded Fish, and The Dog and the Calf, have afforded you much gratification. We hope that we may be equally fortunate in the present selection,, and that you may find as effectual means of letting us know what you think of Andhoc&bs and tub Lion. There was a certain slave named Androcles, who was so ill-treated by liis master, that his life became insupportable. Finding no remedy for what he sulTered, he at length said to himself: " It is better to die than to continue in such hardships and misery 03 I atn obliged to Jive in. I am determined, therefore, to run away from my master. If I am taken again, I know that I shall be punished with a cruel death; but it is better to die at once, than to live in misery. If I escape, I must betake mys&lf to deserts and woods, inhabited only by wild beast 1 ); but they cannot use me more cruelly than I have been used by my fellow creatures: therefore, I will rather trust myself with them, than continue to be a miserab'e slave." Having formed this resolution, he took an opportunity of leaving his master's house, and hid himself in a thick forest, which was at a considerable distance from the city. But here the unhappy man found that he had only escaped from one kind of misery to experience another. Me wandered about all day through n vast and trackless wood, whe«e his flesh was continually torn by thorns and brambles j lie grew hungry, but could find no food in this dreary solitude; at length he was ready to die with fatigue, 'and laid down in despair in a large cavern which he discovered in the forest. The unfortunate man had not been long in the cavern, before he heard a dreadful ncise, which appeared to be the roar of some wild beast, and terrified him very much. He started op with the intention of escaping, and had already reached the mouth of the cave, when he saw a lion coming towards him, of prodigious size, which presented any possibility of his retreat. The wretched man now believed his destruction to be inevitable; but, to his great astonishment, the beast advanced towards him with.a gent'e pace, without any mark of enmity or rage, and uttered a kind of mournlul sound, as if lie demanded the assistance of the man. Androcles, who was naturally of a resolute disposition, acquired courage, from this circumstance, to examine bis monstrous guest, who gave him sufficient leisure for that purpose. As the lion approached him, Androcles perceived that lie limped upon one ol his legs, and that the foot was extremely swollen, as if it had been wounded. Acquiring still more fortitude from the gentle demeanour of the beast, he advanced towardi him, and took hold of the wounded paw, as a surgeon would examine a patient. He then perceived that a thorn of uncommon size had penetrated the ha" of the foot, and wa3 the. occasion of the swelling and lameness which he had ob« served. Androcles found that the beast, far from resenting this familial ity, received it with t!ie greatest gentleness, and seemed to invito him by Mi blandishments to proceed. He, therefore, extracted the thorn, and, pressing the swelling, discharged a considerable quantity

of matter, which had been the cause of so much pain and uneasiness. As soon as the beast felt himself thus relieved, lie began to testify his joy and gratitude, by every expression within his power. He jumped about like a wanton spaniel, wagged his enormous tail, and licked the feet and hands of his physician. Nor was lie contented with these demonstrations of kindness: from this moment Androcles became his guest; nor did the lion ever sally forth in quest of prey without bringing home the produce of his chnse, and sharing it with his friend. In this savage state of hospitality did the man continue to live during the space of several months; at length, wandering unguardedly through the woods, he met ■with a company of soldiers sent out to apprehend him, and was by them taken prisoner, and conducted back to his master. The laws of that country being very severe against slaves, he was tried* and found guilty of having fled from his master, and, as a punishment for this pretended crime, he was sentenced to be torn to pieces by a furious lion, kept many days without food, to inspire him with additional rage. "When the destined moment arrived, the unhappy man was exposed, unarmed, in the midst of a spacious area, enclosed on every side, around which many thousand people were assembled to view the mournful spectacle. Presently a dieadfid yell was heard, which struck the spectators with horror; and a monstrous lion rushed out of a den wliich was purposely set open; and darted forward with erected mane, and ilaming eyes, and jaws that gapped like an open sepulchre. A mournlul Bilence instantly prevailed I All eyes were turned lipon the destined victim, whose destruction now appeared inevitable, But the pity of the multitude was soon converted into astonishment, when they beheUl the lion, instead of destroying his defenceless prey, crouch submissively at his feet; fawn upon him as a faithful dog would upon his master, and rejoice over him as 8 mother that unexpectedly recovers her offspring. The Governor of the town, who was present, then called out with a loud voice, and ordered Androcles to explain to them this unintelligible myatery ; ond how n savage of the fiercest and most unpitying nature should thus in a moment have forgotten his innate disposition, and be converted into a harmless qnd inoflensi'e animal. Androcles then related to the assembly every circumstance of his adventure in the woods, and concluded by saying, that the very lion which now stood before them, had been hi 9 friend and entertainer in the woods. All the persons were astonished and delighted with the story, to find that even the fiercest beasts are capable of being softened by gratitude, and moved by humanity ; and they unanimously joined to entreat the pardon of the unhappy man from tlw governor of the place. This was immediately granted to him; and lie was also presented with the lion, who had in this manner twice saved the life of Androcles.