LETTER XIV. 



Cookery- "Father Lyman's" Party-Limalilo's Intelligence — A Hilo 

 " At Home"— The last of Upa. 



Hilo, Hawaii. 



The king "signified his intention to honour Mr. and Mrs. 

 Severance with his company" on the evening of the day after 

 the reception, and this involved a regular party and supper. 

 You can hardly imagine the difficulties connected with " refresh- 

 ments," where few, if any, of the materials which we consider 

 necessary for dishes suitable for such occasions can be pro- 

 cured at the stores, and even milk and butter are scarce com- 

 modities. I had won a reputation as a cook by making a 

 much appreciated Bengal curry, and an English " roly-poly " 

 pudding, and when I offered my services, Mrs. S. kindly 

 accepted them, and she and I, with the Chinese cook and a 

 Chinese prisoner to assist us, have been cooking for a day and 

 a half. I wanted to make a gigantic trifle, a dish not known 

 here, and we hunted every store, hoping to find almonds and 

 raspberry jam among the "assorted notions," but in vain; 

 however, grated cocoanufc supplied the place of the first, and 

 a kind friend sent a pot of the last The Chinamen were very 

 diverting. The cook looked on, and laughed constantly, and 

 perhaps was a little jealous : at all events when he thought we 

 had spoilt some cakes in the oven, he capered into Mrs. S.'s 

 room, gesticulating, and exclaiming satirically, " Lu, Lu ! cakes 

 so good, cakes so fine ! " No intoxicants were to be used on 

 the occasion, Hilo notions being rigid on this subject ; but I 

 hope it was not a crime that I clandestinely used two glasses of 

 sherry, without which my trifle would have been a failure. We 

 worked hard, and made trifle, sponge cake, pound cake, spiced 

 cake, dozens of cocoanut cakes and drops, custards, and sand- 

 wiches of potted meat, and enjoyed our preparations so much 

 that we found it hard to exchange kitchen for social duties, 

 and go to " Father Lyman," who entertained the king and a 

 number of Hilo folk in the evenina:. 



