Letters from Frank Paton to Clara Paton and family, 1918

Includes letters from before Frank and Clara were married, during a trip to New Zealand, and from during his missionary trip to China, Korea and Japan.

Letters contain salutations including "Sachtzie" (a German term of endearment meaning literally treasure, but also girlfriend and sweetheart) and "Beravin keikei aken tahak" (and other variations) which appears to be in the Netwar language of the Lenakel area of Tanna, New Hebrides/Vanuatu. The first word has not been able to be translated, but "keikei" means beloved/dear, "aken" means true/real, and "tahak" means my. An examination of Frank Paton's own English/Lenakel dictionary may reveal the meaning of "beravin".