University of Virginia Library

A MONTH OF MOURNING

For a little more than a month, the late Princess—Her Royal Highness Victoria Kamamalu Kaahumanu, heir presumptive to the crown and sister to the King—lay in state at Iolani Palace, the royal residence. For a little over a month, troops of natives of both sexes, drawn here from the several islands by the great event, have thronged past my door every evening on their way to the palace. Every night, and all night long, for more than thirty days, multitudes of these strange mourners have burned their candlenut torches in the royal inclosure, and sung their funeral dirges, and danced their hula-hulas, and wailed their harrowing wail for the dead. All this time we strangers have been consumed with curiosity to look within those walls and see the pagan deviltry that was going on there. But the thing was tabu (forbidden—we get our word "taboo" from the Hawaiian language) to foreigners—haoles. The grounds were thrown open to everybody the first night, but several rowdy white people acted so unbecomingly—so shamefully, in fact—that the King placed a strict tabu upon their future admittance. I was absent—on the island of Hawaii—at that time, and so I lost that one single opportunity to gratify my curiosity in this matter.

Last night was to behold the grand finale, inasmuch as the obsequies were to transpire today, and therefore I was a good deal gratified to learn that a few foreigners would be allowed to enter a side gate and view the performances in the palace yard from the veranda of Dr. Hutchinson's house (Minister of the Interior). I got there at a little after 8 P.M.