Visit to the king. His gentlemanly 

 bearing. His conversation. 



SANDWICH ISLANDS. 



Interview with the king. 

 Saturday in Honolulu. 



255 



spersed with a few of a scarlet colour *. Above 

 the feathers appeared a large tortoise-shell comb, 

 that confined her straight black hair. Her shoulders 

 were covered with a richly-embroidered shawl of 

 scarlet crape. She sat in a large arm-chair, over 

 which was thrown a robe made of the same kind 

 of yellow feathers as decked her tiara. Her feet 

 were encased in white cotton stockings and men's 

 shoes. She was altogether, one of the most re- 

 markable-looking personages I have ever seen. 



The governor was handsomely dressed in a 

 uniform of blue and gold. 



The conversation was carried on with ease 

 through the interpretation of Mr. Richards, and 

 left upon our minds a favourable impression of the 

 intelligence of the royal family of these islands. 

 One thing was certain, namely, that, in regard to 

 personal size, they are unsurpassed by any family 

 that has ever come under my notice. 



On the 2nd October, I received a visit from Mr. 

 Richards, who communicated to me the desire of 

 the king that I should visit him. In conformity 

 with this request, I called upon him, accompanied 

 by Captain Hudson. Although I had departed, 

 after my first visit, highly prepossessed in his fa- 

 vour, I was not prepared to find him so easy and 

 gentlemanly in his manners as he now appeared. 

 He was alone when he received us, and in a few 

 minutes we found that he was able to express 

 himself very intelligibly in English, and was quick 

 in comprehending what was said to him. 



He was found at one end of the large grass-house 

 built for him by the Governor Kekuanaoa. This 

 building is about sixty feet long by forty feet wide, 

 and contains only one room, which may, however, 

 be divided by moveable screens into several apart- 

 ments. The floor was covered with mats. The 

 whole was well adapted to the heat of the climate, 

 and the smell of the sweet-scented grass was agree- 

 able and refreshing. 



He received us in a friendly manner. From the 

 representations that had been made to me, I had 

 been led to believe that the king was not only dull 

 of apprehension, but had little disposition to engage 

 in or talk of the affairs of government; I found 

 him, on the contrary, exhibiting an intimate ac- 

 quaintance with them. He entered fully and 

 frankly in tbe discussion of all the matters in rela- 

 tion to which disputes had arisen between him and 

 foreign nations; and I, on the other hand, was desi- 

 rous to elicit his views with regard to the difficulties 

 he had for the last year or two encountered, and 

 learn the feelings he had experienced in the arduous 

 situations in which he had been placed. 



He spoke of the manner in which foreigners had 

 obtruded themselves into the affairs of his govern- 

 ment, so that no one of its acts was permitted to 

 pass without his being called, in a rude and uncivil 

 manner, to account for it. He stated, that he found 

 great difficulty in acting correctly ; for foreigners, 

 whom he and his chiefs had treated with every 

 possible attention, had, from interested motives, 



* These feathers are among the most celebrated produc- 

 tions of these islands, and some idea of their cost maybe 

 formed, when it is stated that each bird yields only a few, 

 and that some thousands are required to form a head-dress. 

 The birds (melithreptes pacifica) are taken by means of 

 birdlime, made from the pisonia, and the catching of them 

 is practised as a trade by the mountaineers. The wearing 

 of these feathers is a symbol of high rank. 



urged measures upon him which he knew to be 

 wrong, and had, in many cases, abused the confi- 

 dence he had placed in them. He expressed the 

 strongest desire to do right, and to protect his 

 people from evil influences and the encroachments 

 of designing persons, by wholesome laws and regu- 

 lations. 



He said his consent had been extorted by threats, 

 to measures of which he disapproved, and that 

 there had been instances when he had been called 

 upon to perform alleged promises which he had 

 never given, for there were some of the foreigners 

 who misrepresented every thing that took place in 

 their interviews with him. 



1 at once pointed out a simple remedy for this, 

 namely, that he should hereafter transact all busi- 

 ness in writing, and have no verbal communication 

 with people of this stamp, or indeed with any one; 

 telling him that by keeping their letters, and copies 

 of his own, he would always be in possession of evi- 

 dence of what had passed. I assured him that I 

 considered his government to have made sufficient 

 progress towards a position among civilized nations 

 to authorize him to require that official business 

 should be carried on in this manner, and expressed 

 my belief, that should he adopt this method, the 

 " bullies" of whom he had spoken would give him 

 no further trouble. 



I now found that his principal object in request- 

 ing an interview with me was, that he might renew 

 and amplify his treaty with the United States, for 

 which purpose he thought it probable that I might 

 have had instructions. When he found that this 

 was not the case, and that I had no official commu- 

 nication for him, he was evidently disappointed; for 

 he appeared most desirous to enter into a close 

 friendship with the United States, and spoke in the 

 highest terms of the kind manner in which he had 

 ever been treated by our consul Mr. Brinsmade, 

 and the commanders of the United States' vessels 

 of war that had visited his islands. In conclusion, 

 he intimated his hopes that the United States 

 would acknowledge his people as a nation, and 

 enter into a new treaty with him as its ruler. 



All this was well and intelligently expressed by 

 him, but the main subject of the conversation, 

 which lasted for three hours, was his regret that he 

 had ever permitted foreigners to interfere with his 

 laws and municipal regulations, and had not rather 

 allowed them to do their worst. The only justifi- 

 cation he could offer to himself for his submission 

 was, that by yielding he had saved much trouble 

 and distress to others. 



Saturday in Honolulu is a gala day, and all ages 

 of both sexes devote themselves to amusement. To- 

 wards the afternoon, they may be seen wending 

 their way towards the east end of the town, in 

 every variety of costume, and borne along in 

 every possible manner. All who have health 

 enough must engage in this day's sport, and every 

 horse is in requisition. The national taste, if I may 

 so speak, is riding horses; and the more break- 

 neck and furious the animal is, the better. Nicety 

 of equipment is not thought of: any thing answers 

 for a saddle and bridle, and as for stirrups, they 

 are considered quite unnecessary. By four o'clock 

 the crowd is well collected, and feats of horseman- 

 ship are practised, consisting generally in those in- 

 voluntary tumblings that inexpert riders are wont 

 to indulge in. The great gathering is on the eastern 



