Excerpt from the book...Your obliging inquiries concerning the attempt made by the Church ofthe United Brethren, to establish a mission in the Nicobar Islands, Ihave not been able hitherto to answer as fully as I wished, thedocuments in my possession being few and unconnected, and a referenceto Crantz's History of the Brethren, p. 504 and 614, furnishing but ashort notice of the commencement of that undertaking. The difficultyattending our correspondence with our Brethren on the Continent, haslikewise so much increased, that I cannot expect to be soon suppliedwith more detailed accounts from our archives; and the continuation ofCrantz's History, in which a concise report of the progress of themission is inserted, is not translated into English. I was gladtherefore unexpectedly to meet with an opportunity of conversing withJohn Gottfried Haensel, a missionary from St. Thomas in the WestIndies, who was formerly employed in the Nicobar mission, and residedfor seven years in the island of Nancauwery. This worthy veteran hasspent eighteen years in the East, and seventeen in the West Indies, andaltogether thirty-eight years in the service of the Brethren'smissions; yet by God's blessing, after suffering numberless hardshipsand dangerous illnesses, at the age of sixty-three he remains a mostactive, cheerful, and zealous labourer in the Lord's vineyard.