The Hawaiian Archipelago - Six Months Among The Palm Groves, Coral Reefs, And Volcanoes Of The Sandwich Islands By Isabella L. Bird
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At Ten P.M.,
From The Upper Verandah, We Saw The Whole Western Sky Fitfully
Illuminated, And The Glare Reddened The Snow Which Is Lying On Mauna
Loa, An Effect Of Fire On Ice Which Can Rarely Be Seen.
I.L.B.
LETTER XII.
HILO, February 22.
My sojourn here is very pleasant, owing to the kindness and
sociability of the people. I think that so much culture and such a
variety of refined tastes can seldom be found in so small a
community. There have been pleasant little gatherings for sewing,
while some gentlemen read aloud, fern-printing in the verandah,
microscopic and musical evenings, little social luncheons, and on
Sunday evenings what is colloquially termed, "a sing," at this most
social house. One of the things I have specially enjoyed has been
spending an afternoon at the Rev. Titus Coan's. He is not only one
of the most venerable of the remaining missionaries, but such an
authority on the Hawaiian volcanoes as to entitle him to be
designated "the high-priest of Pele!" In his modest, quiet way he
told thrilling stories of the old missionary days.
As you know, the islands cast off idolatry in 1819, but it was not
till 1835 that Mr. and Mrs. Coan arrived in Hilo, where Mr. and Mrs.
Lyman had been toiling for some time, and had produced a marked
change on the social condition of the people. Mr. C. was a fervid
speaker, and physically very robust, and when he had mastered the
language, he undertook much of the travelling and touring, and Mr.
Lyman took charge of the home mission station, and the boarding and
industrial school which he still indefatigably superintends.
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