he reckon'd he'd been raised to boating as well as the next
man, and he'd be derned if he was going to trust his life to

anybody!' Samson, thinking no doubt of his own, took his
pipe out of his mouth, and towering over the steersman, flung

him like a child on one side. In an instant I was in his
place.

It was a minute or two before the boat had way enough to
answer the helm. By that time we were within a dozen yards

of a reef. Having noticed, however, that the little craft
was quick in her stays, I kept her full till the last, put

the helm down, and round she spun in a moment. Before I
could thank my stars, the pintle, or hook on which the rudder

hangs, broke off. The tiller was knocked out of my hand, and
the boat's head flew into the wind. 'Out with the sweeps,' I

shouted. But the sweeps were under the gear. All was
confusion and panic. The two men cursed in the names of

their respective saints. The 'heavy' whined, 'I told you how
it w'd be.' Samson struggled valiantly to get at an oar,

while Fred, setting the example, begged all hands to be calm,
and be ready to fend the stern off the rocks with a boathook.

As we drifted into the surf I was wondering how many bumps
she would stand before she went to pieces. Happily the water

shallowed, and the men, by jumping overboard, managed to drag
the boat through the breakers under the lee of the point. We

afterwards drew her up on to the beach, kindled a fire, got
out some provisions, and stayed till the storm was over.

CHAPTER XXX
WHAT was then called Fort Vancouver was a station of the

Hudson's Bay Company. We took up our quarters here till one
of the company's vessels - the 'Mary Dare,' a brig of 120

tons, was ready to sail for the Sandwich Islands. This was
about the most uncomfortable trip I ever made. A sailing

merchant brig of 120 tons, deeply laden, is not exactly a
pleasure yacht; and 2,000 miles is a long voyage. For ten

days we lay at anchor at the mouth of the Columbia, detained
by westerly gales. A week after we put to sea, all our fresh

provisions were consumed, and we had to live on our cargo -
dried salmon. We three and the captain more than filled the

little hole of a cabin. There wasn't even a hammock, and we
had to sleep on the deck, or on the lockers. The fleas, the

cockroaches, and the rats, romped over and under one all
night. Not counting the time it took to go down the river,

or the ten days we were kept at its mouth, we were just six
weeks at sea before we reached Woahoo, on Christmas Day.

How beautiful the islands looked as we passed between them,
with a fair wind and studding sails set alow and aloft.

Their tropical charms seemed more glowing, the water bluer,
the palm trees statelier, the vegetation more libertine than

ever. On the south the land rises gradually from the shore
to a range of lofty mountains. Immediately behind Honolulu -

the capital - a valley with a road winding up it leads to the
north side of the island. This valley is, or was then,

richly cultivated, principally" target="_blank" title="ad.主要地；大体上">principally with TARO, a large root not
unlike the yam. Here and there native huts were dotted

about, with gardens full of flowers, and abundance of
tropical fruit. Higher up, where it becomes too steep for

cultivation, growth of all kind is rampant. Acacias,
oranges, maples, bread-fruit, and sandal-wood trees, rear

their heads above the tangled ever-greens. The high peaks,
constantly in the clouds, arrest the moisture of the ocean

atmosphere, and countless rills pour down the mountain sides,
clothing everything in perpetual verdure. The climate is one

of the least changeable in the world; the sea breeze blows
day and night, and throughout the year the day temperature

does not vary more than five or six degrees, the average
being about eighty-three degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. In

1850 the town of Honolulu was little else than a native
village of grass and mat huts. Two or three merchants had

good houses. In one of these Fred and Samson were domiciled;
there was no such thing as a hotel. I was the guest of

General Miller, the Consul-General. What changes may have
taken place since the above date I have no means of knowing.

So far as the natives go, the change will assuredly have been
for the worse; for the aborigines, in all parts of the world,

lose their primitivesimplicity and soon acquire the worst
vices of civilisation.

Even King Tamehameha III. was not innocent of one of them.
General Miller offered to present us at court, but he had to

give several days' notice in order that his Majesty might be
sufficiently sober to receive us. A negro tailor from the

United States fitted us out with suits of black, and on the
appointed day we put ourselves under the shade of the old

General's cocked hat, and marched in a body to the palace. A
native band, in which a big drum had the leading part,

received us with 'God save the Queen' - whether in honour of
King Tamy, or of his visitors, was not divulged. We were

first introduced to a number of chiefs in European uniforms -
except as to their feet, which were mostly bootless. Their

names sounded like those of the state officers in Mr.
Gilbert's 'Mikado.' I find in my journal one entered as

Tovey-tovey, another as Kanakala. We were then conducted to
the presence chamber by the Foreign Minister, Mr. Wiley, a

very pronounced Scotch gentleman with a star of the first
magnitude on his breast. The King was dressed as an English

admiral. The Queen, whose ample undulations also reminded
one of the high seas, was on his right; while in perfect

gradation on her right again were four princesses in short
frocks and long trousers, with plaited tails tied with blue

ribbon, like the Miss Kenwigs. A little side dispute arose
between the stiff old General and the Foreign Minister as to

whose right it was to present us. The Consul carried the
day; but the Scot, not to be beaten, informed Tamehameha, in

a long prefatory oration, of the object of the ceremony.
Taking one of us by the hand (I thought the peppery old

General would have thrust him aside), Mr. Wiley told the King
that it was seldom the Sandwich Islands were 'veesited' by

strangers of such 'desteenction' - that the Duke of this
(referring to Fred's relations), and Lord the other, were the

greatest noblemen in the world; then, with much solemnity,
quoted a long speech from Shakespeare, and handed us over to

his rival.
His Majesty, who did not understand a word of English, or

Scotch, looked grave and held tight to the arm of the throne;
for the truth is, that although he had relinquished his

bottle for the hour, he had brought its contents with him.
My salaam was soon made; but as I retiredbackwards I had the

misfortune to set my heel on the toes of a black-and-tan
terrier, a privileged pet of the General's. The shriek of

the animal and the loss of my equilibrium nearly precipitated
me into the arms of a trousered princess; but the amiable

young lady only laughed. Thus ended my glimpse of the
Hawaian Court. Mr. Wiley afterwards remarked to me: 'We do

things in a humble way, ye'll obsairve; but royalty is
royalty all over the world, and His Majesty Tamehameha is as

much Keng of his ain domeenions as Victoria is Queen of
Breetain.' The relativity of greatness was not to be denied.

The men - Kanakas, as they are called - are fine stalwart
fellows above our average height. The only clothing they

then wore was the MARO, a cloth made by themselves of the
acacia bark. This they pass between the legs, and once or

twice round the loins. The WYHEENES - women - formerly wore
nothing but a short petticoat or kilt of the same material.

By persuasion of the missionaries they have exchanged this