NATIVE ODE-RETURN OF MR. RUGGLES.

455

bringing those men to justice. Strange as the proceedings, from beginning to end, appeared, the result tended to convince the king and chiefs, that if they had not the energy and the will to restrain or punish such crimes, there were other powers that could and would do it for them, even if some were determined to spare the life of the murderer.

Gov. Adams remained at Honolulu till the 1st of August, then returned to his permanent residence at Kailua. Kaomi fell into neglect, and ere long, faded away and died, none seeming materially to feel his loss, or to envy the fleeting honors and pleasures of such an infidel despiser of revealed religion.

The following beautiful and striking allusions to the change of policy attempted, which she had occasion to deplore as deeply as any missionary friend of the cause of righteousness, I pencilled in Hawaiian from the mouth of Kapiolani. The transition is bold and delicate, and the air of romance or fable abates nothing from the force of the rebuke to the wrong-doer, whoever he might be.

"Love to thee, my sister Waahila,

My sister Waahila, rain of Kona,

In the days of Kanaloa, descending, gentle, and fine,
Enlarging the opening blossoms of the ohia.

"Thou didst crown thyself with a rainbow coronet,
Richly adorned was the interior of Naniuapo,

Then flourished the shrubbery of Waiakekua.

"Thou playest a god to trample down without cause;
Recklessly to confound the right policy:

The bud, the tender shoot, the stem is broken by thee-
The shoot of that which is excellent and holy."

Kapiolani was again called to give up some of her missionary friends and helpers. Mr. Ruggles, who, as a pioneer, entered the field in 1820, and labored at different places about fourteen years, much to the satisfaction of the people, finding his health greatly impaired, and having taken the advice of several physicians and of his associates, left his station at Kaawaloa, about the close of this year, in the care of Mr. Forbes, and early in January, embarked with Mrs. Ruggles and two of their children, and returned to the United States, leaving to their native and missionary friends the hope of their re-entering the field with renewed vigor.

CHAPTER XIX.

FIFTEENTH YEAR OF THE MISSION AND SECOND OF KAMEHAMEHA III.-1834.

Steady progress of the Churches-The schools during the apparent reverse-Books and printing for the nation-Almanac and Newspaper-Religious interest at Hilo and Kailua-Mission to the Washington Islands-Kaahumanu's opinion of prayer and effort-London Missionary Society's efforts-Voyage to the Marquesas-Reception of the Mission-Character and condition of Marquesans-Objections to the continuance of the Mission-Return to the Sandwich Islands.

It is a happy proof of the power of the Gospel and the presence of the Spirit of God at the Sandwich Islands, that whatever adverse forces have been brought to bear down against the missionary cause, there has been an onward progress in the churches from their first establishment, so that they have generally been enlarged year by year, notwithstanding the mortality that has prevailed and the causes of defection by which some fell away, and all the efforts made to promote worldliness and a contempt of religion among the mass.

During the most trying period of their history, from the time when Kaomi, the "engrafted king," was attempting to grow and flourish where he did not belong, the year ending June, 1834, the additions to the churches were 124, and the excisions for apostasy but five during the same time, and the whole number from the beginning reckoned as entirely excommunicated, was less than one to each church. In July, 1834, there were in the ten churches, twentyseven members under discipline, and debarred the communion, as is customary there with those who walk disorderly; two at Honolulu, eleven at Lahaina, three at Kaawaloa, two at Waimea on Hawaii, and nine at Kailua. But most of these expressed a desire to return to their duty. The number of marriages solemnized by the missionaries, the same year, was more than 1100, or equal to 112 to each station.

In the meantime, preaching was maintained by twenty-three preachers, so as to supply, in a measure, 67,000, or about one half of the whole population. The missionaries and their female helpers, had under their personal instruction twenty-nine schools embracing 1,847 scholars, fourteen of these schools being instructed by female members of the mission. Besides these, there were in the instruction of the members of the mission, 185 in singing schools, 980 in Bible classes, and 2190 in Sabbath schools, not including the multitudes taught by natives.

PROGRESS IN PUBLICATIONS.

457

The indispensableness of the schools under native teachers, imperfect as they were, not being fully understood by all, they were, in some instances, suspended by the missionaries, on the supposition that they had done their work. Still the efforts of the mission in the cause of education were undiminished, especially in raising the qualifications of teachers and furnishing books. The works, chiefly small, prepared by the mission for the people, up to this period, and printed in the native language, amounted to more than forty; the number of copies being 659,000, and the aggregate of pages 36,640,920. Of these, 25,000 copies were printed at the expense of the American Bible Society; 55,000 at the expense of the American Tract Society; 40,000 at the expense of Mr. William Williams of Utica; and 739,800 at the expense of the American Board. These were widely diffused, and gladly received and read by thousands. This year the mission prepared and published a Hawaiian Almanac, for 1835, and in conformity with the suggestion of the Board, resolved on the publication of a semi-monthly newspaper of eight quarto pages, called "Ke Kumu Hawaii," The Hawaiian Teacher. The editorship was assigned to Rev. R. Tinker, who, before the close of the year, removed from Wailuku to Honolulu, and took charge of it. Two thousand copies were issued. Its columns, to which missionaries, natives, and others contributed, were read with pleasure by many.

Of the need and design of such a work the mission, at their convention in June, expressed their views in the following resolution:

"That the periodical press may be advantageously employed in the Sandwich Islands, to exhibit truth in an attractive form before the eyes of several thousand readers; to open the sources and supply the means of useful knowledge in the arts and sciences, history, morals, and religion; to point out existing evils, their character, seat, extent and consequences, their causes, and the remedy; to make a newly and partially instructed people acquainted with the results of the experience and discoveries of past generations and with the success or defeat of the enterprises of the passing age; to supply deficiencies in the books printed, and to elucidate by various methods of simple and figurative language, diagrams, engravings, etc., every subject brought before the people, from the simplest elements of knowledge to the highest points of instruction aimed at by the mission."

A smaller paper was commenced in February of this year, for the Mission Seminary, by Mr. Andrews, called the "Lama Hawaii ”—The Hawaiian Luminary. The issuing of the Kumu Hawaii was commenced Nov. 12th, 1834.

About the close of 1833, and the early part of 1834, a protracted meeting at Hilo, and other labors of Messrs. Goodrich, Lyman, and Dibble, appeared to be attended by the influences of the Spirit of God, and a few souls appeared to be gathered from among their best instructed pupils, though they could hardly hope that a deep and saving impression could be made on the

66

458

PRAYER AND EFFORT FOR THE HEATHEN.

mass of the population of their wide field, unless a mission family should be stationed at each of the more important places along the whole extent of its sea coast.”

At Kailua the Sabbath school increased; Gov. Adams took part in it, and heard a class of his people recite their weekly seven verses of Scripture which they committed to memory: thirteen hopeful converts were added to the church in August, and a wakeful attention to the means of grace was manifested by

numbers.

At this sifting period, Messrs. Thurston and Bishop said of their charge what many a minister would be glad to say, but what few are able ordinarily to say, at least in some particulars, though the Hawaiians were regarded as naturally dilatory and indolent :

"The church as a body appear well, and live in harmony with each other, and many individuals of them are valuable helpers to us in all our social meetings, as well as in carrying into operation any measure we put on foot.

"Our Sabbath congregations, as also our weekly and morning prayer meetings, are more frequented than formerly, and more fixed attention to the preached Word prevails. We attribute this favorable state of .things, under the divine blessing, principally to the happy influence of our morning prayer meetings. The impulse to religious feeling there received at the beginning of each day, accompanies them through all the succeeding hours. We meet at five o'clock, which, at this season, is an hour and a quarter before sunrise, and continue together an hour, which is so much time gained from the empire of darkness. The number that attend is from two to three hundred."

Where, in England or America, could a daily morning prayer meeting of two to three hundred, more than an hour before sunrise, be kept up by about equal numbers of professors and nonprofessors of religion, for many months, like that at the so recently heathen village of Kailua? Could this be accomplished with spirit, who can doubt that the interests of religion would be greatly promoted by it?

During the struggles of 1833 and 1834, at the Sandwich Islands, and especially at Honolulu, the mission renewed its efforts to convey the Gospel to the Marquesas or Washington Islands, which, as a part of the history of the mission, deserve a record here.

When Kaahumanu's attention had been called to that dark portion of the human family, as needing the Gospel, and prayers were offered and plans proposed to help them, she expressed a willingness to co-operate, if possible, and her opinion was incidentally elicited on a point which was to her new. I said to her, "Suppose we offer our prayers that God would convert the Marquesan people to Christ, and we still withhold the Word of God from them, what would you think of such prayers?" After a very few moments' reflection on the importance of using efforts, if possible, corresponding with the object of the prayers

MISSION TO THE WASHINGTON ISLANDS.

459

we offer, she replied with decision, "Ua hala ia pule. Such prayers miss their mark.”

The sentiment in its bearing on the conversion of the heathen world is of great value. Whatever prayers are offered for the heathen by those who are unwilling to do what belongs to them to do to secure the answer, or to turn the answers to good account, should they be granted, may well be considered as missing their mark. If the supplicant can do nothing for the object but pray, then he is doubtless accepted according to what he hath, and not according to what he hath not.

Does not this, in part at least, explain the fact that the ten thousand thousand prayers offered for the conversion of heathen nations, unaccompanied with corresponding efforts, or while the light of God's Word is not given them, fall to the ground?

such petitions be the "fervent and effectual," prevailing "prayer of the "obedient "righteous man," which the Scriptures assure us "availeth much?"

The London Missionary Society having made efforts, at different periods, to evangelize the Marquesans, and not having, as was supposed, the adequate number of laborers to man the field so as to make a strong impression, the American Board believing that a detachment of the laborers sent to the Sandwich Islands could operate advantageously at the Washington Islands, and no conclusive objection having been made from any quarter, the annual convention of our mission in 1833 resolved on the occupancy of that field. In accordance with the wishes of the American Board and of their own, Messrs. Alexander, Armstrong, and Parker, with their wives, were intrusted with the important service of attempting to preach the Gospel, and translate and publish the Bible for the Marquesans. It was arduous, a self-denying, and hazardous service; but there was a spirit given them to undertake it which was well expressed in the motto of a sermon which one of them preached on the occasion-" The God of heaven he will prosper us, therefore we his servants will arise and build." The faith and courage with which the ladies, two of them with their tender babes in their arms, set off in this new enterprise, were highly commendable, and their unshrinking heroism too admirable to be soon forgotten.

an

This detachment from our mission embarked on board the brigantine Dhaulle, Capt. Bancroft, and sailed from Honolulu on the 2d of July, 1833, with fair trade winds, touched at Tahiti on the 24th of the same month, and reached Nuuhiva, the place of their destination, on the 10th of August. They were welcomed on shore on the 15th by the aged Hape, the head chief of Massachusetts Bay and having removed their baggage and such means of support, for a time, as they carried with them, and which required to be guarded with much care, they were, on the 21st, left by their captain in their novel and untried situation to prosecute their work.