KAUAI AND O A H U. 



57 



It was as i)leasing a sight as the Sunday-school exhibitions at home ; 

 and it gave Captain Hudson and myself great pleasure, at the request 

 of the missionaries, to say a few words of encouragement to them. 

 After the services were over, the scholars formed a procession, and 

 walked to Mr. Smith's church, the children of the governor and chiefs 

 heading the procession. I was invited in due form to the feast, and 

 as it was a place where I anticipated some display of the native 

 character, I made a point of going. On my arrival at the church, I 

 found several tables set out, one for the accommodation of the chiefs, 

 furnished as we see for a 4th of July lunch at home, with hams, 

 turkeys, chickens, pies, &c. The common people's children took 

 their poe and raw fish on the floor. 



On arriving at the church, the governor became master of ceremo- 

 nies, and with his numerous aids endeavoured to direct the throng, 

 but all were too eager to get the most convenient seats to heed his 

 commands, and the uproar was great. Some stopped short of their 

 allotted place, and the church soon became a human hive. The 

 governor did his utmost to maintain order and silence, biit his voice 

 was not heard ; for in such a moment the anxiety he was under to 

 have things conducted with good order, caused him for a time to lose 

 sight of his usual urbanity and decorum of behaviour. He in fact 

 showed that a little of the unbridled ferocity of former times was 

 still within him, which moved him repeatedly to use his fist, and that 

 too upon the fair sex, tumbling them over amid calabashes of poe, 

 raw fish, &c., but with little injury to the individuals. Order was at 

 last restored for a few minutes, during which grace was said by the 

 Rev. Mr. Smith ; which being ended, the clatter of tongues, clashing 

 of teeth, and smacking of Hps began. It was a joyous sight to see 

 fifteen hundred human beings so happy and gratified by this molasses 

 feast : poe and raw fish were the only additions. The latter are every- 

 day food, so that the molasses constituted the special treat. So great 

 is the fondness of the natives for it, that I was told many are induced 

 to send their children to school, merely to entitle them to be present at 

 this feast. It was not a little amusing to see the wistful faces without, 

 contrasted with the joyous and happy ones within ; in one place might 

 be seen a sturdy native biting a piece from a raw fish, and near him 

 another sucking the poe off" his fingers, with much grace and sleight 

 of hand. The molasses was either drank with water or sucked from 

 the fingers. I thought that selfishness predominated among the 

 crowd; the parents and children did not entirely harmonize as to the 



VOL. IV. 15 



