394 HONOLULU. 



windward till the morning of the 24th, when, at 8'' 30'" a. m., we came 

 to anchor in the roads, and found the tender had arrived a few days 

 before us, all well. 



Honolulu exhibits, even to a distant view, many dwellings built in 

 the European style, with look-outs, and several steeples rising above 

 the habitations. Some edifices of large size are also seen in the 

 progress of construction. Native houses, with thatched roofs, how- 

 ever, predominate, which prevent it from losing the appearance of a 

 Polynesian town, and are associated with ideas of a semi-civilization. 

 To look upon it was, notwithstanding, a source of pleasure, as it gave 

 evidence of a change being in progress, in which some of our own 

 countrymen are performing a prominent part. It has for several 

 years past been their scene of action, and bears testimony to their 

 spirit of enterprise. They still constitute the majority of the foreign 

 residents. Many of us, also, expected to meet friends, and all knew 

 that the squadron was anxiously looked for, while letters for us had 

 certainly been accumulating, in which news from home was to be 

 found. 



The aspect of the country around Honolulu, as seen from the 

 roads, is barren ; the plain on which the town stands is almost 

 destitute of verdure, and exhibits only a few scattered houses. This 

 plain extends both east and west from the town, while behind it the 

 land gradually rises towards the Nuuanu Valley. Several crater- 

 shaped hills are in sight, one of which, called by the foreign residents 

 "The Punch-Bowl," stands out in bold relief on one side of that 

 valley. 



The entrance to the valley, with the green taro-patches, affords an 

 agreeable relief to the eye, after it has dwelt upon the scorched and 

 dusty aspect of all that is seen elsewhere. The fort, with its nume- 

 rous embrasures, and the shipping, lying in the contracted reef- 

 harbour, give an air of importance, that could hardly be expected in 

 a Polynesian island or harbour. The roadstead is safe, except during 

 the winter months, when a southwest gale may happen ; but such 

 gales have seldom been felt during the residence of the missionaries, 

 for the last twenty years. 



Mr. Brinsmade, our consul, kindly sent off our numerous letters, 

 which were indeed a treat, as we had been upwards of a year without 

 any news from home. I went on shore to make arrangements for 

 taking the ship into the harbour, and choosing a suitable position for 

 our anchorage. 



