136 



HAWAII. 



[letter xiii, 



grudging generosity with which they were brought. Many o 

 the women presented live fowls tied by the legs, which were 

 deposited, one upon another, till they formed a fainting, palpi- 

 tating heap under the hot sun. Some of the men brought 

 decorated hogs tied by one leg, which squealed so persistently 

 in the presence of royalty, that they were removed to the rear. 

 Hundreds carried nets of sweet potatoes, eggs, and ka/o, 

 artistically arranged. Men staggered along in couples with 

 bamboos between them, supporting clusters of bananas weigh- 

 ing nearly a hundredweight. Others brought yams, cocoanuts, 

 oranges, onions, pumpkins, early pineapples, and even the 

 great, delicious fruit of the large passion-flower. A few maidens 

 presented the king with bouquets of choice flowers, and costly 

 lets of the yellow feathers of the Melithrepies Pacifica. There 

 were fully two tons of kalo and sweet potatoes in front of the 

 court house, hundreds of fowls, and piles of bananas, eggs, and 

 cocoanuts. The hookupu was a beautiful sight, all the more so 

 that not one of that radiant, loving, gift-offering throng came in 

 quest of office, or for any other thing that he could obtain. 

 It was just the old-time spirit of reverence for the man who 

 typifies rule, blended with the extreme of personal devotion to 

 the prince whom a united people had placed upon the throne. 

 The feeling was genuine and pathetic in its intensity. It is 

 said that the natives like their king better, because he was 

 truly, " above all," the last of a proud and imperious house, 

 which, in virtue of a pedigree of centuries, looked down upon 

 the nobility of the Kamehamehas. 



When the last gift was deposited, the lawn in front of the 

 court-house was one densely-packed, variegated mass of excited, 

 buzzing Hawaiians. While the king was taking a short rest, 

 two ancient and hideous females, who looked like heathen 

 priestesses, chanted a monotonous and heathenish-sounding 

 chant or mWe, in eulogy of some ancient idolater. It just 

 served to remind me that this attractive crowd was but one 

 generation removed from slaughter-loving gods and human 

 sacrifices. 



The king and his suite re-appeared in the upper balcony, 

 where all the foreigners were assembled, including the two 

 venerable missionaries and a French priest of benign aspect, 

 and his appearance was the signal for a fresh outburst of enthu- 

 siasm. Advancing to the front, he made an extemporaneous 

 speech, of which the following is a literal translation : — 



"To all present I tender my warmest aloha. This day, on which you 



