2ro 



HA WAIL 



[LETTER XXII, 



new beauty from the exquisite ferns which covered them. 

 Long cathedral aisles stretched away in far-off vistas, and 

 so perfect at times was the Gothic illusion, that I found 

 myself listening for anthems and the roll of organs. So cool: 

 and moist it was, and triumphantly redundant in vagaries of i 

 form and greenery, it was a forest of forests, and it became 

 a necessity to return the next day, and the next; and I 

 think if I had remained at Koloa I should have been re-; 

 turning still ! 



This place is outside the beauty, among cane-fields, and is 

 much swept by the trade winds. Mr. Rice, my host, is the 

 son of an esteemed missionary, and he and his wife take a 

 deep interest in the natives. When he brought her here as a 

 bride a few months ago, the natives were so delighted that he 

 had married an island lady who could speak Hawaiian, thati 

 they gave them an a/iaaina, or native feast, on a grand scale. . 

 The food was cooked in Polynesian style, by being wrapped' 

 up in greens called luau, and baked underground. There were 

 two bullocks, nineteen hogs, a hundred fowls, any quantity of 

 poi and fruit, and innumerable native dishes. Five hundred 

 natives, profusely decorated with leisoi flowers and mailt, were" 

 there, and each brought a gift for the bride. After the feast 

 they chaunted metis in praise of Mr. Rice, and Mrs. Rice 

 played to them on her piano, an instrument which they had; 

 not seen before, and sang songs to them in Hawaiian. Mr. 

 and Mrs. R. teach in and superintend a native Sunday-school, 

 and have enlisted twenty native teachers, and in order to keep' 

 up the interest and promote cordial feeling, they and the 

 other teachers meet once a month for a regular teachers' 

 meeting, taking the houses in rotation. Refreshments are' 

 served afterwards, and they say that nothing can be more 

 agreeable than the good feeling at the meetings, and the tact 

 and graceful hospitality which prevail at the subsequent 

 entertainments. 



The Hawaiians are a most pleasant people to foreigners, but 

 many of their ways are altogether aggravating. Unlike the 

 Chinamen, they seldom do a thing right twice. In my expe- 

 rience, they have almost never saddled and bridled my horse 

 quite correctly. Either a strap has been left unbuckled, or the 

 blanket has been wrinkled under the saddle. They are too* 

 easy to care much about anything. If any serious loss arises 

 to themselves or others through their carelessness, they shrug 

 their shoulders, and say, "What does it matter?" Any 



