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will. Mr. Short, at the same time, made a similar tender of his professional services to Mrs. Stewart and her family. I could only acknowledge myself deeply affected by the disinterested kindness of those, who until then were entire strangers; and refer them to the decision of my associates for an answer.

A meeting of the members of the mission then at Oahu was called, and the subject submitted to them in two propositions: 1st," Whether it was my duty, under the existing circumstances of my family, to return, at least for a time, to the United States?" and, 2d, "If so, whether the kind offer of Capt. Dale, of a gratuitous passage to London, should be accepted?" both of which were fully and unanimously decided in the affirmative and we began to prepare for embarkation at the end of eight days.

After the first emotions of a decision so important, my thoughts and affections were hurried to Maui; a spot interesting above all others to my heart, and which I could not think of leaving without the farewell visit of at least an hour. This, through the very great kindness of a principal mercantile house at Oahu, I was enabled to do by express, in a small vessel, under the command, for the occasion, of Mr. Elwell, of Boston; a gentleman connected with the establishment, to whom I had often been indebted for similar marks of friendship. We arrived at Lahaina at midnight, and, as we had been delayed three days, by head winds, on a passage usually made by such vessels in one, and no time was to be lost, in despite of the great darkness of the night and the danger of the surf, I landed immediately.

The mission house had been removed from the place on which it originally stood; but, familiarity with every spot enabled me easily to grope my way through the luxuriant plantations by which it is now surrounded. But how great was my astonishment at the peculiar circumstances in which I found our inestimable friends, Mr. and Mrs. Richards. Instead of being permitted, unobserved, to break their slumbers by the salutations of friendship and affection, how was I surprised to meet, at my first approach to the house, the presented bayonet, and to hear the stern challenge of the watchful sentry, "Who goes there?" and

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when assured that it was a friend, how inexplicable to my mind the fact of receiving the cordial embraces of my brother, not in the peaceful cottage of the missionary, but in the midst of a garrison, apparently in momentary expectation of the attack of a foe; and to find the very couch on which was reclining one who to us has been most emphatically a sister, surrounded by the muskets and the spears of those known to the world only by the name of savages!

My first thoughts were, that a revolt of the island against the general government had taken place, in which our friends had been seized, and were guarded as captives; or that some formidable party of unfriendly natives had risen with the determination of destroying them, and from whom they were protected by the higher chiefs; but as soon as an explanation could be given, I learned that their peril was not from the heathen, but fro.n the degenerate sons of a civilized and Christian country! The seamen of a large British ship at anchor at Lahaina, exasperated at the restraints laid on their licentiousness, through the influence of the mission, had carried their menaces and open acts of violence against Mr. and Mrs. Richards to such an extent as to cause the chiefs to arm their people, and defend them at the hazard of life and at that very hour, three armed boats' crews, amounting to near forty men, were on shore, with the sworn purpose of firing their houses, and taking their lives before morning!

Only two days before, after a succession of fearful threats and gross insults, the same party, countenanced and upheld by their captain and officers, and armed with knives. and pistols, had landed under the black flag of death, and surrounding the missionary enclosure, then unprotected, offered life to our friends only on condition of their retracting their instructions to the islanders founded on the sev- enth commandment. The firmness with which they were met by Mr. Richards, only made them doubly infuriate; and, as they seemed ready to fall upon him, to execute threats of horror, Mrs. Richards, with the spirit of a martyr, rushed between them and her husband, exclaiming, My only protection is in my husband and my God; I had hoped, that the helplessness of a female, surrounded

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only by heathen, would have touched the compassion of men from a Christian land- but, if such cannot be the case, know that I stand ready to share the fate of my husband! When I left my country, I took my life in my hand, not knowing when I might be called to lay it down; if this is the time, know that I am prepared sooner than disgrace the character I sustain, or dishonor the religion of my Master, by countenancing in the people we have come to enlighten a course of conduct at variance with the word of God!" For a moment the heroism of a refined and lovely woman appeared to shake the firmness of their purpose, and they retired from the ground: but it was only to return with a more relentless determination, and the interference of the natives took place in time barely to rescue the lives of their teachers, as is believed, at the hazard of their own. So resolute were they, however, in the defence, when once commenced, that three thousand men were armed, and in readiness to seize the ship, and to make prisoners of her crew, should another outrage of the kind be attempted.

The statement of these circumstances, with the unfolding of the character and object of my visit, made our interview most deeply affecting; and the remainder of the night was spent in thought and conversation, of unmingled sorrow at the termination which was about to take place, of that union and intercourse which for near three years had been the source of some of our highest and sweetest enjoyments.

A first resolution, on the mention of our embarkation in four days, was, to return with me to Oahu, for a last interview with H-; but, after beginning to prepare for the visit, it occurred to them, that, under existing circumstances, it might appear like deserting their post; or, at least, might afford an occasion to their enemies to say, that they had been driven from their station; and with sadness, but with firmness, they determined, from a sense of duty, to forego the melancholy satisfaction they had contemplated.

At sunrise, Mr. Richards and myself visited the spacious, well-built and finished chapel, lately erected by the chiefs and in the pulpit, from which we had fondly hoped

:

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DEPARTURE FROM MAUI.

jointly to proclaim the glad tidings of salvation, in tears and in prayer we looked to God, the arbitrator of our distinies, for his blessing on our future divided labors in his cause. And, in the course of an hour, after having bade a hasty adieu to the chiefs and such of the people as were best known to me, we sorrowfully interchanged embraces which we had great reason to fear would prove our last in this world.

I shall never forget the farewell words of Mrs. Richards, especially as connected with the scenes through which she had just passed, and which then might be renewed at any moment" It is true, I weep, and shall weep again and again. A heavier affliction could scarce befall me, than the removal of your family from the islands, leaving us alone on Maui, in the midst of twenty thousand heathen; but I weep not at my own loss only, I weep also at yours; I have always been contented in my situation, but I never knew the happiness of the missionary life until within the six months past. It seems but yesterday that we went forth weeping with the precious seed of eternal life, and now we are returning from our work daily, bringing our sheaves with us, and shouting the harvest home!

وو

Never did the field of labor I had hoped to occupy for life, appear so truly desirable: and I found my heart clinging closely to every object included in it, from my associates, and the thousands eagerly desirous of my instruc tion, to the very trees and shrubbery I had planted and nurtured in our garden. Struggles of strong affection filled me with sadness and gloom, and during the passage to Oahu, I had almost fully determined to permit the Fawn to depart without us, and venture a delay until the United States should arrive. How great then was my surprise and satisfaction to hear before landing, that there had been an arrival from South America, and that a packet from commodore Hull was waiting my return. That gen tleman could not know my peculiar situation. Still I was persuaded that his communication would, in the providence of God, make my path plain, and remove every doubt then resting on it. And such was fully the case; for on breaking the seal of a long and kind letter from him, though utterly unaware of the importance of the

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information to me, he gave the most unqualified assurance that it would be impossible for his vessel to make the proposed voyage to the Sandwich islands. This was all that was necessary to render our duty clear as noonday, and we prepared cheerfully to follow the path we believed pointed out of God.

Still, warm affection for our companions, some of whom, besides Mr. and Mrs. Richards-especially Mrs. Bingham were in circumstances of affliction greatly to aggravate the sorrow of a separation; love to their work, and to our work, and the highly encouraging state of the people, thousands of them delighting in our instructions, and tens of thousands perishing from a want of more laborers in a field ripe for the sickle, all caused us to bid farewell to the Sandwich islands with feelings of the most painful depression. Rude as was the throng which covered the beach as our boats shoved off, unlike as was the whole scene, except in the murmur of sympathy and the salutations and tears of affection, to the enlightened and pious multitude, and the beautiful and classic ground on which our eyes rested, as we waved a last adieu to the American shores - it was scarce less affecting, and caused an agitation of heart far more oppressive, than any we experienced, ON THE NINETEENTH OF NOVEMBER, 1822.