No suspicion of my arrival was entertained by my former associates, till we he had nearly reached the mission houses; when we met Rev. Mr. Clark and Dr. Judd, of the last reinforcement to the mission, and shortly after, Mr. Ruggles, with our friend Mr. Hunnewell, still engaged in mercantile pursuits at Honolulu.

My first call I felt due to Mr. and Mrs. Bingham; and, therefore, made my way to the door of the old, wooden house, opening into the rooms they occupy. From Mrs. Bingham's exclamation, in an inner apartment, on hearing my voice, and Mr. Bingham's hurried entrance, I ascertained, that we had taken them by entire surprise--which Mrs. Judd verified, as she rushed into the room, from an adjoining part of the house. You, my dear H, can better imagine what my feelings, and what theirs were, for a time, than I describe them. There was a mingling of pain with the fullness of our joy, which, perhaps, all have experienced in meeting those they love, after a long separation; and, for which, Cowper well accounts, when he resolves it into a necessity, interwove with our natures and our conditionthat no earthly happiness shall be without its alloy. At the end of a half hour, and after partaking of some refreshment, Mr. Dornin returned to the village and on board ship-I having made arrangements for a boat towards evening.

It would be impossible to give even an outline of the topics of our conversation, they were so numerous, so varied, and so incongruous-embracing missionaries, chiefs, and people-friends in all parts of

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the world-scenes of joy and scenes of sorrowevents past, present, and to come; and calling into exercise ten hundred feelings of joy and sadness, of hope and apprehension, of thanksgiving and prayer: and in such power, as to rouse to excitement many of the strongest affections of the heart.

After an hour or two spent in this manner, I prepared to return on board ship. Mr. Bingham would have accompanied me to call on Captain Finch and my fellow-officers, but it was becoming late--the ship three miles distant--and the captain had sent to ask of him the favour of a translation into the Hawaiian language of the President's letter, and some remarks of his own in an address to the king, to be in readiness for an audience with the govern- ment, as soon as the necessary arrangements could be made. On my way to the town, I called on Mrs. Chamberlain and Mrs. Shepherd, who live in a couple of neat, stone cottages, near the printing office, and on Mrs. Clark, Mrs. Ruggles, and Mrs. Green, at Mr. Ellis' house. Mr. Green is at present on the N. W. Coast of America, on an exploring visit among the natives there.

I saw none of the chiefs or people that I knew. The king was out riding-Governor and Madam Boki up the valley toward the Pari-and Kaahumanu, the regent, at her country house, at Manoa. Expresses had been immediately sent, in the various directions, to inform them of the arrival of the Vincennes. The ex-queen, Namahana, died two or three weeks ago; and Governor Adams, of Hawaii, and the Princess Harieta, and Governor Hoapiri, of

Maui, only returned to their respective residences-after attending her during her sickness, and at her funeral-a few days ago. I reached the ship just before dark; and, thus, have at once furnished you with an account of my first day at Oahu.

LETTER VIII.

RECEPTION OF CAPTAIN FINCH AND PARTY, BY THE KING AND REGENT.

Ar daybreak, yesterday, we fired a gun for the pilot, and the boats of the shipping at present here; and were towed into the harbor, during the calm of the morning; and, before breakfast, safely moored in an open and pleasant berth.

At the request of the captain I went early on shore, to learn from Mr. Jones the arrangements made for the firing of a salute, and the reception of himself and officers, by the king and chiefs. And having ascertained, that the salute would be expected and returned at 12 o'clock, and the audience held directly after, I went to the mission house to apprise Mr. Bingham of the necessity of his being prepared with the translations at that time; and, also, to deliver an invitation from Captain Finch, to such of the missionaries as might have it in their power to

attend, to be at the palace at the hour appointed for the levee. Mr. Jones had been requested to present the compliments of the captain, in like manner, to the residents and visitors of respectability in port; and to invite their presence on the occasion.

At 12 o'clock, we fired twenty-one guns-the established national salute here-and, soon afterward, Captain Finch, attended by as large a number of the officers as could be spared from necessary duty, left the ship. All were in full dress; and we pulled away, in a handsome procession of four boats, while the guns of the fort were still answering those of the Vincennes. The last of these had just been fired, as the captain's gig approached the moorings of the Tamehameha-the king's finest vessel-which is kept in naval order, in the centre of the port, with a long pennant, banner, and jack flying. Much to our suprise, she commenced a salute, in compliment to the captain's landing; which brought us to our "oars," as the technical phrase is, and obliged the Vincennes, as a matter of course, to return gun for gun, according to established etiquette ---making in all eighty-four, whose bellowings had echoed far and wide, in little more than twenty minutes. Our landing, consequently, was attended, at least, with noise enough.

We disembarked in front of the consulate, where we were expected to take a glass of wine, before Mr. Jones should conduct us to the palace. Here all the residents and visitors of respectability, including the British consul, and several other English gentlemen, were assembled; and, after a general introduction,

a few moments conversation, and some refreshment, a messenger announced the readiness of his Majesty KAUIKEAOULI, or TAMEHAMEHA III., to receive us; and we formed a procession, led by the captain with the consuls on either side.

The king's establishment, but lately erected, is quite in the outskirts of the town-having the open plain towards Punchbowl Hill, immediately in the rear. In going to it, we, consequently, passed through a principal part of the village. A noisy rabble, such as no part of the island but Honolulu would now present, lined our way on both sides nearly the whole distance; large numbers of whom, running ahead through the dusty streets, in order to take an additional view after our whole number had passed once by them, made no little annoyance, in addition to the heat of a noonday sun, by the dirt they raised, notwithstanding the attendance of police officers, here and there, to keep them from pressing too closely upon us. The limits to which they could accompany us, however, were before long pointed out, by a large white gate-the entrance to the grounds of the royal residence-at the end of a street we were following, beyond which, none but our party were allowed to pass.

On entering it, we found ourselves in a spacious yard of some acres, enclosed on all sides by a well constructed and high fence, and furnished with two other gates, similar to that through which we had passed-one, on another street, in the direction of the residences of most of the chiefs in the neighborhood of the chapel and mission houses, and the other, in