LETTER XI. 



A Moonlight Start — Native Hospitality— Native Luxury— A Council of 

 War — The Rainy Season — The Mclithreptes Pacifica — Prospects 

 darken — A Freshet— A Dialogue under Difficulties — A Swim for Life 

 — The "Scotchman's Gulch." 



Hilo, Hawaii. 



There is a rumour that the king is coming as the guest of 

 Admiral Pennock in the Benicia. If it turns out to be true, it 

 will turn our quiet life upside down. 



We met with fearful adventures in the swollen gulches be- 

 tween Laupahoehoe and Onomea. It is difficult to begin my 

 letter with the plain prose of our departure from Waipio, which 

 we accomplished on the morning after I last wrote. On rising 

 after a sound sleep, I found that my potted beef, which I had 

 carefully hung from a nail the night before, had been almost 

 carried away by small ants. These ants swarm in every house 

 on low altitudes. They assemble in legions as if by magic, and 

 by their orderly activity carry away all that they do not devour, 

 of all eatables which have not been placed on tables which 

 have rags dipped in a solution of corrosive sublimate wound 

 round their legs. 



We breakfasted by lamplight, and because I had said that 

 some of the viands reminded me of home, our kind host had 

 provided them at that early hour. He absolutely refused to be 

 paid anything for the accommodation of our party, and said 

 he should be ashamed of himself if he took anything from a 

 lady travelling without a husband. 



It was a perfect morning. The full moon hung over the 

 enclosing pedis, gleaming on coffee and breadfruit groves, and 

 on the surface of the river, which was just quivering under a 

 soft sea breeze. The dew was heavy, smoke curled idly from 

 native houses, the east was flushing with the dawn, and the 

 valley looked the picture of perfect peace. A number of 

 natives assembled to see us start, and they all shook hands 

 with us, exchanging alohas, and presenting us with lets of roses 

 and ohias. D. looked very pretty with a red hibiscus blossom 



