176

DISSIPATION OF LIHOLIHO.

fectly sober. His heart seemed touched by the exhortations of his mother, and open to the persuasions of the missionaries, to forsake every evil habit, and seek the favor of God. His sensibilities were greatly excited by her baptism, death, and burial; and he resolved to abandon the habit of intemperate drinking. Apprized of this, some of the foreigners here present determined to achieve a triumph over the mission, as they considered it, by the defeat of an object so desirable and so important.

With this view, two or three successive dinner parties were made by them, one on the Sabbath, which Liholiho was importunately urged to attend ; but anticipating the design, he perseveringly declined. Other attempts were made to draw him into their company, but all proved unsuccessful until this morning, when he was induced to visit one of the ships, under the pretence, on the part of his seducers, as we are informed, of shewing some remarkably beautiful specimens of goods. After being some time on board, refreshments of various kinds, and liquors, were served; but of the last, the king refused to partake. A bottle of choice cherry brandy was then produced, as a liqueur incapable of intoxicating, and which, having never seen before, he was led to taste, and to taste again, until he requested a bottle of it to take on shore, -a favor quickly granted. The result has been, that as Mr. Ellis and myself went down the beach at sunset, we saw the king seated in front of his tent under the full excitement of strong drink; Pauahi, in a disgusting state of drunkenness, by his side; a woman in a similar condition, and almost naked, dancing and singing before them; and twenty or thirty others, of both sexes, with cases of gin and rum at hand, beginning a dreadful revel.

As we approached the circle, Liholiho immediately said to us, in a kind and self-condemning tone, "Why do you come here?" To which Mr. Ellis replied, "We have come to express our sorrow for the sad condition you are in, and to reprove these, your guilty people, for encouraging you to destroy yourself, both body and soul: " upon which he dismissed us with the answer, You are good men, you are my friends, but, eia no ke wahi o debelo!”this is the place of the devil- "and it is well for you not

66

to stay here!" The individual who has been thus successful in his end, has since boasted, not only that he has made the king drunk, but that he will keep him so, if he is obliged to send a vessel to Oahu expressly for more cherry brandy for the purpose!

But the sorrow of the evening did not rest here. At the request of the chiefs, we have attended prayers with them at the establishment of Kaahumanu, every evening about eight o'clock. On going down for this purpose tonight, we saw a considerable collection of persons gathered round governor Adams, as he was seated in the open air, surrounded by servants with torches. The bright glare of these presented the party in strong light to us, while we ourselves were shrouded by it in double darkness. In front of the governor was one foreigner upon his knees, making a mimic prayer, in imitation of a missionary; while another was writing, in large letters on a slate, and presenting to him for perusal some of the basest words in our language! As may be supposed, the recognition of our presence threw the company into some confusion; and one person hastily brushed his hand over the slate, but not until the indignant eye of Mr. Ellis fully told a knowledge of its contents.

Friday, 26. Since the exposures at night, which I underwent during the sickness of Keopuolani, I have been quite indisposed. A change of air may be beneficial, and as there is much important and interesting business before the mission at Honolulu, I have been persuaded to accompany Mr. Ruggles and Mr. Hunnewell, this afternoon, to Oahu, in the Waterwitch.

Tuesday, October 28. I sailed for Oahu on the expected evening, now more than a month ago, and after a passage of nine hours, was at the mouth of the harbor of Honolulu, which we entered at sunrise. No opportunity to return occurred until last Saturday, when the young prince came up with about seventy of his attendants, in a small pilotboat. I never suffered more, than on this passage of fortyeight hours, being exposed during the night to very heavy rains, and during the day to a burning sun, from which I could find no retreat. I did not leave the deck for a moment; for though a part of the small cabin and a berth

178

FIRST CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE

were assigned to me, and reserved for my use during the whole time, the crowd and heat below were so intolerable that I preferred lying in the rain and water on deck to enduring them, even when the showers were most heavy and sun most powerful. At five o'clock last evening, the captain of a whale ship recruiting here, kindly took me in a boat from the schooner, before she had come to anchor, and brought me to my rustic but neat and happy cabin.

Nothing of particular moment occurred while I was at Oahu. It is the season at which the whale ships visit the islands, on their way from Japan to the American coast, and I had the pleasure of seeing the captains and officers of nearly thirty ships in that business. The harbor looked quite like a busy port; besides the whale ships, there were several merchantmen there, some discharging their cargoes, just arrived from Canton, others from the north-west coast, and from the United States; some taking in sandal-wood for China, while others, hove down, were stopping leaks, &c. Two small vessels also were on the stocks, building, to sell to the government.

The distribution of the missionaries to the several stations took place before I returned, and arrangements were happily made for occupying two new stations - Kailua and Waiakea on the island of Hawaii.

Mr. and Mrs. Thurston sailed from Oahu the evening before I did, for Kailua. The brig in which they were, anchored here during the night; and we had the happiness of receiving and welcoming them at our establishment to breakfast this morning, after the severe trial of a voyage of four days in a dirty, crowded native vessel: trial, I say, for I have known none equal to that of the voyage I last made, since I have been a missionary. A gale in the gulf streain, or passage round Cape Horn, in a decent vessel, in point of comfort and enjoyment, is not to be compared with it.

The most important event at Lahaina, during my absence, was the marriage of our friend Hoapili, the husband of Keopuolani, to Kalakua, one of the queens-dowager, mother of Kamehamalu, the favorite wife of Liholiho. I received the information of it in a letter before I left Oahu,

in which it is said, "Hoapili was this day joined in holy wedlock to Kalakua; they were married in the chapel, by Mr. Richards. A large audience attended: the ceremony was solemn, and would have honored any land." This is a most happy innovation on the former habits of the people; it is the first Christian marriage ever known among the chiefs, and the second ever solemnized at the islands. Like the funeral of our late patroness, it will stand as a precedent, which I doubt not all friendly to the mission will readily acknowledge and be anxious to imitate.

Polygamy is an evil that will probably be among the last eradicated from the nation; but whatever has the least tendency towards its abolition, is desirable and gratifying. Had Hoapili followed the ordinary custom on such occasions, immediately after the burial of Keopuolani, or even before, he would have taken one, two, or more wives, without any form or ceremony; and, in fact, she was scarce deposited in her tomb, before there were five candidates for his hand, from among the highest females in the nation, he being one of the most wealthy and respectable of the chiefs. But he at once declared that he designed to follow the practice among Christians, of deferring his marriage for some time, and then taking one wife only, being married to her publicly in the house of God. This was also the wish of Kalaimoku, which of course was earnestly recommended by the mission, and has happily been accomplished. Both parties were fully instructed, by Mr. Richards, in the reciprocal obligations of the marriage contract, as understood and entered into by the members of Christian churches. Thus, my dear M bled to take courage in our labor of enlightening and christianizing this people; hoping for a bright day of glory, and rejoicing even in this, "the day of small things.'

-, are we ena

Six or eight ships have touched here for refreshments, and two yet remain. Many of the officers and men were kind in their attentions to the mission family; and some of them appeared to be of the number who love and serve God. It is a joy indeed, to meet, in this land of pollution and sin, those who exhibit the light, the purity, the blessedness of the Christian character. O that every wanderer “o'er the mountain wave," and every " dweller on the deep,"

180

COUNCIL OF THE CHIEFS.

might speedily become a light and a blessing to the dark places of the earth!

Monday, November 30. Mr. and Mrs. Thurston remained with us one week, and then left us in fine spirits, to take their station and unfurl the banner of the cross on the rocky shores of Hawaii. I admired the spirit with which Mrs. Thurston, after bidding us farewell, sprang into a rude canoe with her two children; and I watched them with a glass with lively interest, as they were paddled through the breakers to the open sea. No preparation appearing to have been made on board the brig, to hoist her on deck in a chair, which is usually done, she intrepidly mounted the ship's quarter by the manropes, and stood ready to wave us a distant farewell, before many others of the same refinement could have determined even to attempt ascending to the quarter-deck as she had done.

A few days afterwards, the brig Arab, Capt. Meek, of Boston, from Oahu, paid us a visit of a day, and then passed on to Kailua, where the king had gone in the Princess Mary, an English whale ship. The Arab returned in about a week, bringing Liholiho and his train, when it first began to be stated that he would speedily embark for Great Britain. In a few days a grand council of the chiefs was called at this place on the subject; when we had the pleasure of again entertaining our beloved friends, Messrs. Bingham and Ellis, who had been requested by the heads of government to attend the meeting, and who arrived in the whale ship L'Aigle.

It was soon determined that the king should embark for England in the L'Aigle, Capt. Starbuck. Kamehamalu, governor Boki and Liliha his wife, Kapihe and Kekuanaoa, are to accompany him, with Manuia his steward, and a few male servants.

The whole body of chiefs, together with the king, was most earnest in their desires for Mr. Ellis and his family to accompany the party, and offered a large sum for his passage: at one time they even made his going a sine qua non; and determined, in case Capt. Starbuck would not accommodate him, that the king's barge should be fitted up for the expedition. Mr. Ellis himself was desirous of making the voyage, principally on account of the very