Some Notices and Reviews of Melville's Novels in American Religious Periodicals, 1846-1849

T HAT MELVILLE'S strictures on missionary operations in Polynesia were generally resented by the orthodox religious press is well known to every student of the South Seas romancer. So far, however, the evidence has been limited to the testimony of a few reviewers, notably G. \V. Peck and W. 0. Bourne.1 From the absence of further comment the conclusion has been drawn that the reception of Melville's works was far more favorable than had been thought.2 The scattered holdings of religious periodicals in American libraries make it unusually difficult to conduct any systematic study of the religious reaction to Typee and Omoo. Until someone, liberally endowed with a research grant, can make such a study, we must be content with accidental gleanings such as those presented here.'

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