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REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 
 
Mission Life in Hawaii 
 
 MEMOIR. OE 
 
 RKY. WILL r AM P. ALEXANDER. 
 
 BY 
 JAMES M. ALEXANDER. 
 
 OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, 
 
 Pacific Press Publishing Company. 
 
 1888, 
 
Copyrighted, 1888, hy 
 JAMES M. ALEXANDER. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The missionary Fathers who, through God's blessing, 
 changed Hawaii's pagan night to day, have nearly all gone to 
 their eternal rest; and now it is becoming a matter of increas- 
 ing interest to save the records of their character and work. 
 Every letter and manuscript of theirs, every reminiscence and 
 memorial of them, is becoming very precious to their relatives 
 and those interested in the mission cause. 
 
 It is with a view to save some of these priceless relics, that 
 this memorial volume of Rev. William P. Alexander is pub- 
 lished for his children and particular friends. There are writ- 
 ings by him and of him, which they feel they cannot afford to 
 lose; there are narratives of his experience, the influence of 
 which they need; there are tributes of affection, which they de- 
 sire to weave as a wreath of immortelles about his memory and 
 the mission cause. 
 
 In accordance with what is known of his unassuming dis- 
 position it is not desired to claim for him more regard than for 
 the other missionary Fathers, but to show what divine grace 
 may accomplish in excellence and beauty of character and in 
 self-sacrificing labor to the glory of God. 
 
 I have been assisted by my brother, Prof. Wm. D. Alexan- 
 der, in collecting the materials for this volume, and by other 
 members of the. family in its publication, to all of whom it has 
 been a labor of love and of interest in the mission cause. 
 
 Since the above was written the death of Mrs. Mary Alex- 
 ander, the widow of Rev. Wm. P. Alexander, has occurred. 
 Another chapter is added, giving an account of her sickness 
 and death, and tributes to her memory. 
 
 (iii) j. m. a, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 I. Ancestry and Early Life, 7 
 
 II. Theological Education and Missionary 
 
 Consecration, 15 
 
 III. Voyage to the Hawaiian Islands, ... 21 
 
 IV. Arrival at the Hawaiian Islands, $6 
 V. Deputation to the English Missionaries at 
 
 the Society Islands, 41 
 
 AT. Travels on Hawaii, 66 
 
 VII. The Marquesas Islands, 71 
 
 VIII. Waioli, . 88 
 
 IX. Lahainaluna, 100 
 
 X. Wailuku, 106 
 
 xi. yovages to the marquesas and mlcro 
 
 nesian Islands, 113 
 
 XII. The Wailuku Home, 122 
 
 XIII. Sickness and Death, . 133 
 
 XIV. Memorial Discourses, Testimonials, and 
 
 Sermons, 139 
 
 XV. Mrs. Mary A. Alexander. Account of Hi i 
 
 Death and Tributes to Her Memory. . i8-j 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANCESTRY AND EARLY LIFE. 
 
 THE lineage of Rev. William Alexander can be 
 traced with considerable certainty to several broth- 
 ers of the name of Alexander, who, about the year 1734, 
 emigrated from Scotland to America. 
 
 There is a legend that seven brothers of that name 
 agreed together to remove to the New World, and that 
 at the last moment, when about to embark, they sent for 
 a clergyman to baptize their bairns. As this clergyman 
 did not belong to the Established Church of Scotland, 
 he was arrested by the civil authorities for administer- 
 ing the ordinance of baptism. The brothers looked for 
 advice in this dilemma to their mother, whom, according 
 to the Scottish customs, they implicitly obeyed even in 
 mature age. She. with their families on board of the 
 vessel, prayed over the matter all day, and at evening 
 said, " Gang ye avva men, and tak our minister and 
 bring him on boord. We will tak him to America with 
 us." They therefore took him out of jail in the night, 
 and with him put to sea. When the next morning the 
 magistrates sought for him for trial, he was far away on 
 his voyage to the land of liberty. He remained with 
 these brothers the rest of his life, ministering to their 
 families as their pastor. 
 
 One of this family had previously emigrated to Lon- 
 donderrv, in the North of Ireland, and three of his 
 
 (7) 
 
8 MEMOIR OF 
 
 sons removed to America and settled in the neighbor- 
 hood of the above-mentioned brothers. 
 
 These families were generally well educated, as is 
 shown by the books they transmitted to their children, 
 and they had the means of living in comfort, as is shown 
 by the houses they built. They settled chiefly in the 
 vicinity of Frederickstown, Maryland, and thence emi- 
 grated in various directions. Prof. Archibald Alex- 
 ander, of Princeton Seminary, was one of their descend- 
 ants, as also Prof. William Alexander, of the Presby- 
 terian Theological Seminary of San Francisco. 
 
 In one of these families Patrick Alexander was born 
 in Frederickstown, Maryland, in the year 1740. His 
 third son, James Alexander, born September 25, 1770, 
 removed to Virginia, and there married Mrs. Mary Rose 
 Depuy, December 26, 1793. In 1800 he removed to 
 Kentucky, and made a home near Paris in Bourbon 
 County. 
 
 This James Alexander is said to have been "a wise 
 and godly Presbyterian elder." It was his custom to 
 gather his family together Sabbath evenings to repeat 
 at one sitting the whole " Shorter Catechism," and at 
 other times to give Bible proof texts for all its doctrines. 
 In this way a foundation was laid for a knowledge of 
 theology, that was of great service to three of his sons, 
 Thomas, Samuel, and William, who became ministers cf 
 the gospel. He died suddenly at Cincinnati, October 3, 
 182 1, aged fifty-one years. His sixth son, William 
 Patterson Alexander, is the subject of this narrative. 
 
 Of the early life of William P. Alexander about 
 all that is known is contained in brief records written by 
 him for his own benefit, extracts from which are here 
 given : — 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. g 
 
 " Princeton, N. /., February 10, 182Q. — I now under- 
 take to write a short account of my life, that hereafter I 
 may more easily refer to God's dealings with me, and 
 that by reviewing what is pa c .t I may acquire a greater 
 knowledge of my own character. ... I was born 
 the 25th of July, 1805, at tric waters of Stoner, about 
 two miles southeast of Paris, Kentucky. . . . At 
 five ) cars of age I was sent to school to John T. Edgar, 
 at Paris, Kentucky, one mile and a quarter from home, 
 during which time I had the measles. After this I went 
 to a country school near Col. Henry Clay's, half a mile 
 from home, to a succession of teachers, till 182 1, viz., 
 Sterman, Mourning, Henry, Moffit, and David Dunlap. 
 At these schools I learned almost nothing, except with 
 Henry and Dunlap. The former waked me up to seek 
 for a reason for everything I did in arithmetic; the latter 
 was my teacher in geometry, algebra, surveying, and 
 astronomy." 
 
 This awaking to inquire for reasons for mathematical 
 processes was evidently the beginning of a new era in 
 his life. PI is diary was intended as a private record of 
 his inner religious life, and as such it is a precious relic. 
 
 But his outward life was that of other boys in those 
 early days, among the sons of pioneer hunters and 
 Indian fighters of Kentucky, and he entered with keen 
 zest into the stirring life of the period. In later years 
 his character was deeply imbued with the chivalrous 
 traits that honorably distinguished the Kentucky gentle- 
 man cf " the old school." 
 
 It appears that through the influence of his pious 
 parents his mind was profoundly occupied from his 
 earliest days with the subject of religion. Of this we 
 find the following accounts in his diary: — 
 
10 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " During the time I was at school, the pious exhorta- 
 tions of my father caused me to frequently set about 
 reform; often did I endeavor to work out a legal right- 
 eousness by abstaining from the more gross violations of 
 God's law, by praying, so far as form was concerned, two 
 or three times a day; but finding that I remained the 
 same, I at length gave up the effort. . . . But so 
 frequently did the light of God's truth penetrate my 
 mind, that about every month after I was twelve years 
 of age, I made efforts after holiness, though as often 
 convinced that they were unavailing." 
 
 He has mentioned that during this time he once 
 plead with his brother John, whom he observed anxious 
 on the subject of religion, not to defer seeking an inter- 
 est in Christ, a remarkable procedure for one not himself 
 a Christian. 
 
 "In 1 82 1," he records, "my father died. All his 
 warnings now rushed upon my mind like a flood; and 
 with more vigor than ever, I set about self-reformation. 
 My efforts proving unavailing, I gave myself up to the 
 power of sin, restrained only by pride of character. 
 
 " Being left by my father's death more at my own dis- 
 posal, I commenced the study of Latin with Ebenezer 
 Shai pe, at Bourbon Academy. I read the usual course, 
 and made some proficiency in Greek. In the spring of 
 1824, I received a call to take charge of the mathemati- 
 cal department in Centre College. This at first ap- 
 peared to be a situation just adapted to my wishes." 
 
 It is interesting to note that at so early an age as 
 nineteen years old he was called to such a position. 
 
 " While at Danville, my brother Samuel, who was then 
 at college, told me of his hope, that he had fled for 
 refuge to the Lord Jesus, and had been accepted of him, 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. u 
 
 and of his intention of making a profession of religion 
 the first opportunity. This very much affected me, and 
 caused me to again seek reformation. I tried to get from 
 under the power of sin, in order that I might with more 
 face apply to the Saviour for help ; for still my proud 
 heart was unwilling to renounce everything, and to 
 receive salvation without a price." 
 
 Desiring to resume his studies with E. Sharpe, he re- 
 turned to Paris, and continued six months more under 
 his instruction. 
 
 "Rev. John MacFarland," the pastor of the Presbyte- 
 rian Church of Paris, "about this time delivered a course 
 of lectures on the Holy Spirit. In the course of these 
 lectures I saw plainly that if ever I was saved it must 
 be by sovereign grace. I saw that I had sinned against 
 a holy God, and was filthy in his sight. Utterly despair- 
 ing of help in myself, and being convinced that there 
 was plenteous redemption in Christ, I endeavored to 
 cast myself on his mercy. I abhorred myself on account 
 of sin, and the truth that the 'blood of Christ cleans- 
 cth from all sin' was very precious to me. I recognized 
 God as my Father, reconciled through his dear Son. I 
 delighted to pour out my soul in secret to him, though 
 often a sense of my unworthiness was such as to make 
 me doubt whether God would regard me with mercy. 
 Yet the reflection that Christ was my righteousness 
 would revive my confidence." 
 
 About this time, the 1st of January, 1825, he drew up 
 a form of dedication of himself to God, which, though 
 almost too sacred for publication, is here given, for the 
 light it throws on his subsequent character and life. 
 
 "Having for some time desired to commit to writing 
 the dedication of myself to God, I shall now endeavor 
 
12 MEMOIR OF 
 
 to do it acceptably through his grace abounding in Christ 
 Jesus. 
 
 '"Lord God, who alone art Jehovah, grant through the 
 mercies of thy well-beloved Son, to pour out thy Holy 
 Spirit upon me, that I may proceed in dedicating my- 
 self to thee in an acceptable manner. 
 
 "I am a rebellious sinner, by nature alienated from 
 thee. My heart is a sink of corruption, diseased with 
 the leprosy and corroding ulcers of sin; it verily merits 
 thy holy indignation and hatred. But thanks and praise 
 to thy holy name, although I am thus vile and filthy, 
 there is a fountain opened in the house of David for sin 
 and unclean ncss. Jesus Christ has suffered in the room 
 and stead of sinners, he has borne the sins of a rebellious 
 world in his own body on the cross, and now gives the 
 assurance of a God, that all who come believing on him, 
 shall be saved. 
 
 " O God, I would plead thy promises, made to thy 
 church and its offspring. I have been given to thee in 
 baptism, and thou hast promised to ratify in Heaven 
 whatever is done in thy name on earth. Give me, O 
 God, the blessings of thy Holy Spirit, signified by this 
 ordinance. Thou hast promised to be a Father to such 
 as fear thy name, and to their children. Oh, give me the 
 spirit of adoption, that I may really recognize thee as 
 my Father, Enable me, when pleading these promises, 
 really to believe that thou art a faithful and performing 
 God. 
 
 " Now, Jehovah, I give myself to thee, body and soul, 
 and all that thou hast given me. I place all in thy 
 hands, as in the hands of a faithful Creator. Help me 
 ever to act for thee, not for myself. 
 
 "I would take thee for my Father, my Saviour, my 
 Sanctifier. Oh, enable me in deed and truth to say, I am 
 thine and thou art mine. O Lord, wilt thou ratify this 
 dedication. Father, accept me, as thou regardest the 
 death and sufferings of thy dear Son. I trust in his all- 
 prevailing name. 
 
 " Let all that is in Heaven and earth praise the Lord; 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 13 
 
 for his mercy endureth forever. O my soul, bless his 
 holy name. And to God the Father, God the Son, and 
 God the Holy Ghost, the only wise God, be honor, and 
 glory, and power, and dominion forever. Amen. 
 
 "Give me humility, whilst I subscribe my worthless 
 name, Wm. P. Alexander. 
 
 "July 6, 1826. — This day, O Lord God, help me re- 
 newedly to dedicate myself to thee ; and mourning over 
 my past failures, I would beg thy sustaining power, to 
 preserve me from backsliding from thee. W. P. A. 
 
 " Prince/on, N.J.,Jau 1, 1829. — Four years have passed 
 since I wrote this dedication ; but I have here in form 
 given myself to God, and in reality have served myself. 
 O Father, who hast borne with me, forgive my hateful 
 departures from thee, and through Jesus Christ, my Sav- 
 iour,- enable me henceforth to live for thee. 
 
 "W. P. Alexander." 
 
 The experience described by this dedication was 
 pivotal in his life. It determined his subsequent char- 
 acter and career. It naturally resulted from it that he 
 united with the church, that he entered a theological 
 seminary to study for the ministry, that he consecrated 
 himself to the cause of foreign missions, and that he 
 performed all the labors, and achieved all the success, of 
 his missionary career. 
 
 The diary continues to great length, with records of 
 events, and touching accounts of religious experience, a 
 few quotations from which will suffice for illustrating 
 his religious growth. After mentioning the fact of his 
 joining the Presbyterian Church of Paris, the Sabbath 
 after writing his dedication, he writes: — 
 
 "For one or two months I enjoyed much of God's 
 presence; but I soon found the life of a Christian was a 
 warfare; fori soon had to pas through many severe 
 spiritual conflicts, but never was so far overcome that I 
 
14 MEMOIR OF 
 
 doubted the sufficiency of my Saviour. Yet he was con- 
 tinually with me, doing me good. 
 
 "The summer of 1825 I taught school on Cooper's 
 Run, five miles from Paris, to raise money to go to col- 
 lege. ... In November I went to Maysville, to 
 assist J. T. Edgar in teaching school. ... In the 
 fall of 1826 I went to Centre College to complete my 
 education. (God had recently poured out his spirit there 
 in a remarkable manner, and was pleased to revive me 
 in some measure. ... I lived along at Dan- 
 ville, sometimes engaged in the battle, sometimes yield- 
 ing the conflict; and I certainly would have forever wan- 
 dered from God, but in great mercy he would not let 
 me go, but drew me with cords of loving- kindness, and 
 showed me that my help was still in him.) 
 
 "In November, 1827, I joined a theological class, to 
 study Hebrew and the Greek Testament, etc. In De- 
 cember, and subsequently through the winter, the Lord 
 in a remarkable manner visited his church in Paris, as 
 he had visited many other churches in the State. Dur- 
 ing this time my soul was somewhat refreshed, and I 
 sometimes was able to plead with God for sinners, and 
 to praise him for his wonderful works. In April (twenty- 
 two years of age) I was chosen an elder in the church, 
 and in May I was ordained." 
 
 Here are recorded strong expressions of regret that he 
 did not accomplish more in the office of elder. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION AND MISSIONARY CONSECRA- 
 TION. 
 
 THE theological class which Mr. Alexander had 
 joined was broken up in the latter part of July, 
 1828, by the death of Mr. MacFarland. Mr. Alexander 
 was now kindly assisted by his brother Thomas to take a 
 course in Princeton Seminary. 
 
 "I set out for Princeton," he says, ' : the 6th of Octo- 
 ber, 1828, accompanied by Brethren McRoberts and 
 Lilly, and Mrs. MacFarland. I reached Princeton the 
 1st of November, and blessed God for bringing me 
 hither. Even within these consecrated walls I found 
 a proneness to forget God, a proneness to let social 
 prayer suffice for secret, especially as I found it dif- 
 ficult to be alone. With Brother McRoberts, my dear 
 chum, feeling the need of being at times alone with God, 
 I made arrangements, by which we have an opportunity 
 for secret prayer three times a day. Since then I have 
 reason to bless God. I have had more longings for holi- 
 ness than heretofore. 
 
 "About this time my attention was turned particu- 
 larly to the perishing condition of the heathen ; and I 
 have since endeavored to inquire of the Lord whether I 
 might carry the gospel to some of them. I feel on the 
 whole more desirous to go than to remain in the United 
 States. It was my choice to go to Palestine; accord- 
 ingly I commenced the study of Syriac." 
 
1 6 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Among his papers are found copies of Syriac gram- 
 mars, written by him at this time. 
 
 "On the ioth of January, 1S29, I joined with Breth- 
 ren McRoberts, Lindly, Condit, Granger, and Harri- 
 son, in a covenant to spend every Saturday in fasting 
 and prayer for growth in grace. We meet Saturday 
 evenings, to recount God's dealings with us during the 
 preceding week, and to pray for growth in grace. I 
 bless God for this association. I think my soul has 
 been enriched by means of it, and hope yet to have 
 many delightful seasons with these dear brethren." 
 
 A voluminous diary follows of his religious experience 
 day by day through this period of his life, from which 
 his thoughts in regard to undertaking the foreign mis- 
 sion enterprise are here quoted : — 
 
 "Read a short history of the South Sea islanders, and 
 cannot but be amazed at the transforming power of the 
 gospel. That I may be permitted to carry it to some 
 dark corner of the earth is my daily prayer. 
 This evening I took a dismission from the ' South and 
 West Society,' believing that, with my present views, I 
 cannot conscientiously remain a member. For if the 
 Lord will not shut up my way, I feel bound in spirit to 
 carry the gospel to some of the millions in pagan dark- 
 ness. O Father, be my guide. . . . 
 
 " April 6, 1829. — For several days past I have fre- 
 quently inquired of the Lord whether I shall give my 
 name to the American Board of Foreign Missions. I 
 still hesitate in determining what is duty. O Lord, di- 
 rect my steps, and help me to glorify thy name. 
 
 "April 8, 1829. — This evening in conversation with 
 Mr. Evarts, Secretary of the American Board, I felt 
 aroused on the subject of missions, and inclined to hope 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. \y 
 
 that I would be allowed to serve God on heathen 
 ground. O Father, direct me, as though a voice 
 behind me were saying, 'This is the way, walk ye 
 in it.' . 
 
 " April 9. — I bless the Lord, for he has been precious to 
 my soul to-day ; and a consideration of his presence and 
 love has kept me in a melting mood. I had another 
 interview with Mr. Evarts to-day, told him all my 
 feelings on the subject of missions, and promised to 
 write to him soon. I trust the Lord will grant me the 
 grace to preach the gospel among the heathen. O God, 
 I am thine; guide me in the path of duty. . . . 
 
 "June II, 1829. — This morning I received a most affec- 
 tionate letter from my dear sister Ann. Oh, she is dear 
 to my heart, and in the most tender way she weaves 
 those ties which bind me to my native land; but I hope 
 the ties which bind me to my blessed Saviour are 
 stronger; and if he will bid me, and give me strength, I 
 will sunder all filial and fraternal bonds, and go to the 
 ends of the earth. Lord, thou art my portion be 
 thou my guide. 
 
 " November 11, iSjo. — A letter has come to hand from 
 Jeremiah Evarts, informing me that I am appointed a 
 missionary of the American Board. It produces very 
 solemn reflections. Now unless God prevent by his 
 providence, I am going to the heathen to spend my life 
 in telling them of Jesus (a thing for which I have often 
 prayed). It will be a trial to leave my friends and coun- 
 try; but 'if any man love father or mother more than 
 me, he is not worthy of me.' I do love them, but I feel 
 in my heart I can gladly bid them farewell. I may 
 meet with sore trials on pagan ground ; the rude bar- 
 barian may imbrue his hands in my blood; but no suf- 
 
 2 
 
iS MEMOIR OF 
 
 fcrings of this life are worthy to be compared with the 
 glory which is to be revealed. Furthermore, they get 
 near the throne in glory 'who come out of great tribu- 
 lation,' and 'their robes are washed and made white in 
 the blood of the Lamb.' It is a privilege, it is an honor, 
 to suffer for Christ; and I now feel as if I could count 
 it all joy, to be found worthy to suffer for his sake. The 
 sore trial after all lies deeper than this; it lies in my- 
 self. Oh, it is this load of sin, which I bear about me; I 
 am so prone to wander from God. ... I trust in 
 him, and seek him with my whole heart, and realize his 
 blessing. . 
 
 " April -[, i8ji. — Yesterday I was down at Millstone. 
 Three of my Sabbath-school teachers are anxiously in- 
 quiring the way to Jesus. I trust the Holy Spirit has 
 commenced a good work in their souls. Conversed 
 awhile with a colored scholar. ... I proceeded 
 to explain to her how Jesus Christ came into the world, 
 and suffered and died in the place of sinners. This was 
 a doctrine entirely new to her. She wept profusely as I 
 explained it to her. ... I felt as though I were ex- 
 plaining the way of salvation to a poor heathen. I hope 
 it will prove life to her soul. 
 
 " August 2, 1 8j I. — To-day I have been examined by 
 the Presbytery of New Brunswick on theology, church 
 history, church government, the sacraments, and He- 
 brew, and have been licensed to preach the gospel of 
 Christ. High and holy calling! An angel might seek 
 it, and an angel might tremble in view of its responsi- 
 bilities! How unworthy and unfit am I for the work! 
 Much heavenly wisdom is needed. Oh, grant it, Lord, 
 that thy Son may be glorified and sinners rescued from 
 perdition. But how little do I know of the love of 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 19 
 
 Christ! How poorly qualified am I to direct souls unto 
 him! I will look to him for grace and strength, and, using 
 all diligence, will trust in him, that he will keep me from 
 disgracing the holy office. Gracious Redeemer, I would 
 now covenant anew to be thine. Oh, make me wise to 
 win souls to thee; and if thou dost grant me the grace 
 to preach among the heathen thine unsearchable riches, 
 oh, may I be faithful unto death. Oh, guide my feet, 
 uphold my goings, and deliver me from sin. Grant me 
 the anointing of the Holy Spirit for thy mercy's sake. 
 Amen. 
 
 "August 7, iSji. — Yesterday I received a letter from 
 Rev. R. Anderson, informing me that Brother Arm- 
 strong and myself are designated for the mission in the 
 Pacific. To this field my heart inclined me, and I trust 
 it has been of the Holy Spirit. I rejoice in the prospect 
 of starting to the field next November. I rejoice that I 
 may so soon have the high privilege of telling poor dy- 
 ing heathen of Jesus Christ. I rejoice in having my dear 
 Brother Armstrong for my companion. Bless the Lord, 
 O my soul, for he has dealt bountifully with thee. I 
 would have been glad to have enjoyed the company of 
 Brethren Forbes, Thomson, and Boggs. Perhaps 
 Forbes may yet go with us. The Lord direct, and to 
 his will I wish to say from the heart, Amen. . . . 
 
 " I was ordained by the Presbytery of Cincinnati, Octo- 
 ber 12, 1 83 1, at the same time with Rev. W. O. Thom- 
 son" (who wrote "The Land and the Book"). 
 
 The following accounts of the action of that Presby- 
 tery are found among his papers. 
 
 " Extracts from the minutes of the Presbytery of Cin- 
 cinnati, October 12, 1 83 1. 
 
 "Presbytery satisfied with the examination of both 
 
20 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the candidates for ordination, agreed to ordain them this 
 evening, the exercises to commence at seven o'clock. 
 At which time Rev. John Thomson preached the ser- 
 mon, and the Rev. James Gallaher presided, and gave 
 the charge. And William P. Alexander and William 
 M. Thomson were, according to the rules of our church 
 government, solemnly ordained to the holy ministry, as 
 evangelists, appointed to foreign missions, by prayer 
 and the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery. And 
 the Stated Clerk was directed to furnish the newly or- 
 dained evangelists with the necessary testimonials. 
 
 "A true copy, John Thomson, Stated Clerk of the 
 Presbytery of Cincinnati. 
 
 "This is to certify, that the bearer, the Rev. Wm. P. 
 Alexander, who is appointed by the American Board of 
 Commissioners for Foreign Missions, a missionary to 
 the Sandwich Islands, is a member of the Presbytery of 
 Cincinnati in good standing; and being about to set out 
 for his field of labor, he is hereby affectionately recom- 
 mended to the Christian sympathies and fellowship of 
 his missionary brethren, or any other people of God, 
 among whom he may travel or sojourn. Certified at 
 Cincinnati in the State of Ohio, on the 13th day of Oc- 
 tober, A. D. 1 83 1, and signed on behalf, and by order 
 of, said Presbytery. By John Thomson, Stated Clerk of 
 the Presbytery of Cincinnati." 
 
 During visits with Rev. Wm. Dewitt, D. D., at Harris- 
 burg, Pa., on his journeys to and from Princeton, Mr. 
 Alexander made the acquaintance of Miss Mary Ann 
 McKinney, whom he first met while she was engaged in 
 city mission work, and to whom he was married, at Har- 
 risburg, October 25, 1831. 
 
CH A PTE R III. 
 
 VOYAGE TO THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 
 ["For his name's sake they went forth." 3 John 7.] 
 
 THE fourth re-inforcement of missionaries for the Ha- 
 waiian Islands met in Boston, previous to embark- 
 ing-, to receive instructions from the Pi udential Commit- 
 tee of the American Board. On this occasion Dr. Ander- 
 son asked Messrs. Alexander and Armstrong and their 
 wives whether they would be willing to undertake a new 
 mission to the Marquesas Islands, provided arrangements 
 could be made for it with the London Mission Society. 
 They assented. This re-inforcement consisted of nine- 
 teen persons. They were: Rev. Messrs. Alexander, Arm- 
 strong, Lyman, Emerson, Eorbes, Hitchcock, Lyons. 
 Spaulding, and their wives, Dr. Chapin and his wife, and 
 Mr. Rogers, a printer. They embarked at New Bedford, 
 November 26, 1831,011 the ship Averick, Captain Swain. 
 A journal of Mr. Alexander's and reminiscences, written 
 by his wife and others, disclose to us many pictures of 
 their voyage. We quote as follows:— 
 
 "At sea, on board ship Averick, Monday evening, 
 November 28, i8ji. — Day before yesterday, Saturday, 
 November 26, we embaiked at New Bedford, Mass. 
 The wharf was crowded with friends, who assembled to 
 bid us adieu. The)- united with us in singing, ' Blest be 
 the tic that binds our hearts in mutual love,' after which 
 Mr. Green, Assistant Secretary of the Board, led in 
 
 (21) 
 
22 MUM OIK OF 
 
 prayer. As the sloop, bearing us to the ship, left the 
 shore, we sang, 'Shall we whose souls are lighted,' etc., — - 
 words which seemed to have a new meaning, sung by so 
 large a company, bound on such an errand. 
 Our first business on board was putting our state-rooms 
 in order, and preparing for seasickness, which we did 
 none too soon. Mrs. Hitchcock was the first sick ; all the 
 rest soon followed her example. I was not much sick 
 till bed-time." 
 
 Some of the other passengers have recorded their 
 view, that it was a mistake for so large a company to 
 have been sent on a vessel with the inadequate accom- 
 modations of this. Four berths in the cabin, suitable 
 for single persons, had to be used as double beds, and 
 the rest of the passengers were stowed away in tempo- 
 rary berths on the sides of the after cabin, a dark and 
 dismal place, crowded with boxes, casks, and kegs, in 
 utter confusion. 
 
 "Before retiring for the night, Brother Emerson asked 
 permission of the captain to have prayers in the cabin, 
 to which he gave his hearty approbation. I read the 
 1 2 ist psalm, 'I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, etc.,' 
 and we sang one verse of the hymn, ' Guide me, O thou 
 great Jehovah,' after which I made a short prayer. The 
 captain attended. 
 
 "During the night a severe gale of wind arose, and 
 made us all very sick. Sabbath morning none of us 
 were well enough to attend prayers. The captain showed 
 great kindness in every particular. He seemed to watch 
 for opportunities to confer favors. . . . Sabbath 
 night the gale was still more violent; the sea broke over 
 the deck, and swept away some chickens and provisions, 
 given us by friends. This morning I hastened to the 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 23 
 
 deck. The sea ran very high. All the sails were furled. 
 The fresh air restored me. In the midst of our seasick- 
 ness we have many things for which we ought to be 
 thankful, the kindness of the captain and other officers, 
 and particularly of the steward and cook, the comforts 
 of our large state-room, and the fact that I have not been 
 so sick but that I could attend to the wants of my dear 
 wife. Here in the wide Atlantic I erect my Ebenezer 
 hitherto the Lord hath helped me. 
 
 " November jo. — Yesterday we had so violent a storm 
 that I could not write. At one time it seemed as if 
 everything in the cabin would be broken to pieces. The 
 rope which turns the helm broke, and the swell broke 
 heavily over the ship." 
 
 In this storm the casks and boxes broke loose in the 
 cabin, making confusion worse confounded. Such inci- 
 dents occurred as gentlemen setting a foot into a keg of 
 sugar, and into a firkin of butter. 
 
 " I stood on deck an hour. The wind blew fiercely, 
 with rain, hail, and snow. All the sails were furled ; our 
 cooking furnace was broken to pieces; the noise in the 
 rigging was so great that speaking trumpets were used 
 to make communications from one part of the deck to 
 another. Most of our missionary company were dread- 
 fully sick. The external seemed to cause internal com- 
 motion. I believe I was the only one who had entirely 
 recovered from seasickness. The vessel still groans so 
 much at every lurch that Dr. Chapin wishes it had more 
 oil in its joints, to keep it quiet. 
 
 " Wednesday evening. — The storm has so much 
 abated that we have the sails spread again, the trunks 
 arranged and lashed in the cabin, so that we sit around 
 the table with comparative quiet and decency. 
 
24 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " December i. — This morning, when I went on deck, I 
 found a number of ladies taking the fresh air. One of 
 them, Mrs. Lyons, fainted, and after she had been 
 revived, through Dr. Chapin's ministrations, I carried her 
 down into the cabin. 
 
 "December 2. — Mary A., who had been sick several 
 days after seasickness, was able for the first time to come 
 on deck. . . . This evening we agreed to have 
 family prayers at 7 A. M. and 7 P. M., that we preside at 
 prayers and at the table alphabetically a week at a time, 
 and in retrograde order preach on the Sabbath at 
 ten A. M. . . . 
 
 "December j. — The weather is becoming more pleas- 
 ant; the sun has burst through the long-intercepting 
 clouds; the fierce wind has fallen to a pleasant breeze; 
 our noble ship moves majes ically at eight miles an hour. 
 The evening was so favorable that for the first time we 
 had prayers on deck; we sang half an hour, the rolling 
 ocean dashing against the ship, making an impressive 
 accompaniment. 
 
 " On the swelling Atlantic. The weather is still de- 
 lightful. ... At 5 o'clock A. M. one of our number 
 announces that it is time to rise. At 7 o'clock, morning 
 and evening, when the watch-bell strikes, we assemble 
 on the quarter deck, read a portion of Scripture, sing, 
 and unite in prayer. At these times, when the sun first 
 tinges the Eastern horizon, or when night has begun to 
 spread her dark mantle over the waters, the exercises 
 are very delightful. . . . The ladies begin to fly 
 about like birds in the spring. . . To-day, with 
 
 much ado, they made us a pudding for dinner, and a pic 
 for supper. 
 
 " December 9. — Unwell, had a severe chill 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 25 
 
 " December 22. — Since the last date I have been too 
 sick to write; and now I write on my bed. I have suf- 
 fered what the doctor calls an attack of intermittent 
 fever. . . . Being within ten degrees of the equator, 
 and in a close state-room, a burning fever was peculiarly 
 trying. Alleviations: A most kind, attentive wife, always 
 at my side; good steward; kind captain, who had a pas- 
 sage for air cut in my room and also air-sails let down 
 from the deck; and especially the consolations of the 
 gospel. I have had more communion with God during 
 this sickness than all the voyage besides. 
 
 " December 29. — It has been a week since I wrote. I 
 have not felt able to write during that period. Several 
 things of interest have occurred. Thursday evening 
 last they caught a porpoise, from which one gallon of 
 oil was extracted. Its meat was brought to our table 
 four or five times. Most of the company relished it. 
 
 "On Saturday, to our great satisfaction, a school of 
 whales was discovered. We had been destitute of oil 
 ever since the storm, and had used butter and lard 
 instead for our lamps. Four boats were manned and 
 sent off in pursuit of the whales. They caught two and 
 brought them alongside. With long lances they cut 
 them to pieces, taking off the blubber, which is from 
 three to six inches thick, and the whole head, which is 
 filled with choice sperm. During the process many 
 sharks appeared. The captain struck his lance through 
 the head of one, which was then brought on deck. 
 Dr. Chapin took out its teeth; some of the brethren 
 took part of the skin to use instead of sandpaper. . . . 
 The blubber was cut into small pieces and thrown into a 
 boiler, and tried out. . . . About forty barrels of 
 oil were obtained from the two whale-;. On Sabbath 
 
26 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Captain Swain caught a mess of albicore. The brethren 
 thought it right to eat what was set before them, asking 
 no questions for conscience' sake. 
 
 "January p, 1832. — The foremast has been discovered 
 to be rotten, on which account it was resolved, last Sat- 
 urday, that we go direct to Rio Janeiro, and there get a 
 new mast. We will be detained in our voyage about 
 two weeks, but we can get many things much needed for 
 our comfort. 
 
 " Had a long conversation with Captain Swain this 
 afternoon. He is as amiable as the young man told of 
 in the gospels, whom Jesus loved; yet he is of a rather 
 skeptical turn of mind. I trust that the Lord will yet 
 open his eyes. We expect to see land to-morrow morn- 
 ing. 
 
 "January 13. — This morning, as soon as I awoke, I 
 heard that land was in view. I came on deck and saw 
 the joyful sight. The hills of Cape St. Thomas were 
 well defined twenty miles distant. A fishing sloop 
 being in view, and the wind having fallen to a dead calm, 
 a boat was manned and dispatched to make several 
 inquiries of her, and to obtain fruit. Three of our com- 
 pany, Brethren Emerson, Rogers, and Chapin, went in 
 the boat. The vessel was five miles distant. After 
 hard rowing, they returned with some bananas and 
 plantains. None of the former were ripe ; such of the 
 latter as were ripe were to me very unpalatable. They 
 also brought with them a number of fish, rockfish, cod- 
 fish, fire-eater, and skup. We are now expecting a fine 
 dinner. 
 
 " Saturday, January ij.. — The whole forenoon was 
 spent admiring and sketching South American scenery. 
 We were coasting north of Cape Frio. The view of the 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 27 
 
 high ridges of land, on three of which lines of white 
 rocks extended, with singular effect, to the summits, 
 was truly grand. Soon after we passed within five miles 
 of an island, on which, with a spy-glass, we could dis- 
 tinctly see trees. The surf raging against the whole 
 extent of the coast was very picturesque. After seeing 
 nothing but ocean for seven weeks, the sight of land is 
 very delightful. 
 
 " Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, January 16. — Yesterday 
 morning, passing high mountains and hills wildly piled 
 together on either side, we entered this delightful harbor. 
 The rude magnificence of the lofty peaks, covered with 
 tropical vegetation, beggars description. . . . To-day 
 Dr. Chapin and Brother Armstrong went ashore, and 
 ascertained that we could not get board for less than 
 $8.00 per week; we therefore expect to live on board the 
 ship while here. 
 
 "January 18. — Yesterday our whole company went 
 on shore and explored the city of Rio de Janeiro. . . . 
 We were much impressed with the degradation of the 
 slaves. The city is said to have one hundred and fifty 
 thousand inhabitants, one hundred thousand of whom 
 are slaves. Every street swarms with droves of them, 
 two-thirds naked, carrying burdens on their heads, or 
 pulling heavy drays, driven in companies, bound together 
 with chains, the links of which are half an inch in 
 diameter, and eight inches long, and which pass around 
 their necks. They were usually yelling a sort of song, 
 to keep step. Military officers are seen at every turn. 
 On almost everything is inscribed the mark of the 
 Roman beast. 
 
 "At the street corners and in the markets are abund- 
 ance of tropical fruits, bananas, plantains, oranges, 
 
28 MEMOIR OF 
 
 limes, cocoanuts, melons, peaches, etc., with confection- 
 ery. The Portuguese ladies are kept secluded, by the 
 jealousy of their husbands. When they go abroad they 
 ride in palanquins, or close carriages. For this reason 
 the nine ladies in our company were observed with 
 much curiosity. While I was engaged in shopping, 
 Mary A. and others of our company took a delightful 
 ramble to the top of a high hill. We dined at the 
 tavern of Mrs. Johnstone. We then visited a garden, 
 where we saw bread-fruit, coffee, lemons, oranges, plan- 
 tains, etc., growing in their native luxuriance. At six 
 o'clock we returned to the ship, fatigued, but gratified 
 with our visit. 
 
 " This morning I again visited the city. With Breth- 
 ren Armstrong and Rogers I ascended the hill, five hun- 
 dred feet high, on which the telegraph signal is placed, 
 from which we had a fine view of the city of tile-cov- 
 ered houses. We visited the Convent of St. Antonio, in 
 the garden of which is a cistern of holy water, that was 
 foul and stagnant. We were taken into several rooms, 
 ornamented with carved and gilt representations of 
 saints and angels, splendid monuments of superstition 
 and folly. . . . Saturday we visited the museum. 
 It excels in ornithology, mineralogy, and specimens of 
 insects, and contains fifty Egyptain mummies. . . . 
 Sabbath, escorted by four captains in their respective 
 boats, and one Portuguese boat sent by Mr. Kerr, of 
 Botofogo, we went to the Tuscaloosa, Captain Chase, of 
 Baltimore, where the Bethel flag was waving. I 
 preached to a most interesting audience. Our observa- 
 tion of the city greatly impresses us with the fact that 
 it is missionary ground. The people are ignorant, su- 
 perstitious, and vile. Oh ! when shall the true light of 
 the gospel prevail here? 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 29 
 
 "Saturday, February 11. — Last Saturday, the 4th 
 inst, we resumed our voyage. The numerous formali- 
 ties through which Captain Swain was obliged to pass 
 before he was allowed to sail, were very vexatious. All 
 things were supposed to be in readiness on the Friday 
 previous, and we hoisted sail early, but were soon visited 
 by an officer of Government and informed that we 
 could not proceed till each of the passengers had 
 obtained passports. With a fine breeze we glided out 
 of the harbor delightfully. A few of the company 
 became seasick. 
 
 " February 13. — Multitudes of Mother Carey's chickens, 
 haylets, and albatrosses around us. Brother Spaulding 
 caught an albatross, which measured nine feet from tip 
 to tip of the wings — a beautiful bird. The circumstances 
 of its capture were written on a thin board, fastened to 
 its neck, and it was then set at liberty. 
 
 ". . . .A violent storm! We cannot sit at table 
 without holding on. . . . 
 
 " February 20. — The sea rougher than before since we 
 started. The water broke in under the dead-lights, and 
 into our berth, soaking through both mattresses. 
 
 " March 2. — Yesterday we overtook a vessel, which 
 we had seen ahead more than a week, and passed her in 
 speaking distance, the Friendship, of Fairhaven, eighty- 
 two days at sea, bound on a whaling expedition. . . . 
 
 '"False as the smooth, deceitful sea.' Yesterday 
 morning the ocean was as smooth as a lake, and when 
 we retired last night all was quiet, the vessel almost 
 motionless, but before midnight the fiercest storm we 
 have yet witnessed arose. The vessel labored hard over 
 the mountain waves, her timbers groaning, and her 
 whole frame trembling, and the cabin was thrown into 
 
30 MEMOIR OF 
 
 great confusion. . . . But tossed and rolling thus 
 how sweet to feel that Jehovah is our God and refuge. 
 
 "This morning a heavy shower of rain and hail fell 
 and the air was very cold. We set up a stove, but were 
 almost suffocated by the smoke, and took it down. This 
 afternoon the storm is abating. 
 
 " March ./. — This morning going on deck at 5 o'clock, 
 I heard the cry of, "Land-ho." It was the rough heights 
 of Terra del Fuego, forty miles distant. Soon after we 
 came in sight of Staten Island, more rugged than the 
 former, its mountain-tops covered with snow, though it 
 is now here the month of autumn, the thermometer at 
 42 degrees Fahr. 
 
 "March 6. — This morning it snowed rapidly; now the 
 deck rattles with rain and hail. 
 
 ''March 8. — We have three studding-sails set, an un- 
 usual thing off Cape Horn. On Tuesday night last an 
 incident occurred which we all greatly regret. The 
 captain's chronometer stopped. We must henceforth 
 find our longitude by our watches, and by lunar obser- 
 vations. 
 
 "March 12. — Yesterday we entered the Pacific; Brother 
 Forbes preached in the cabin. I met a number of sailors, 
 and read with them the first part of the sixth chapter of 
 Matthew, and conversed freely with them. Most of them 
 are Universalists. . . . The Spirit of God can make 
 even these hardy sailors new creatures. 
 
 "To-day the Friendship sent a boat to our ship for oil. 
 It was interesting, on the trackless waters of the great 
 Southern ocean, for Brethren Emerson and Spaulding to 
 meet, as they did, an old acquaintance, a pious man, in 
 this boat. 
 
 "March 9. — Strong winds and high sea; everything 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 31 
 
 not made fast fetching away; Mary A. again seasick 
 and distressed with toothache. The vessel rocks too 
 violently for me to write more. 
 
 " March 20.— We now move like a race horse, nine and 
 a,half miles per hour. . . . Mary A. collected cour- 
 age enough to take a scat at the lee side of the ship, 
 while Dr. Chapin applied cold steel to the tooth which 
 troubled her yesterday. Brother Armstrong held the 
 light, and in a few moments the important work was 
 done. . . 
 
 ''March 26. — I begin to realize that I am far from the 
 land of my birth. Having traversed more than 9,000 
 miles on the mighty deep, I find myself smoothly glid- 
 ing over the waters of the Pacific. But though friends 
 are distant, God is near; his love and protection unceas- 
 ingly hover over us. Those in our company who have 
 been brought low with sickness begin to recover, — Sisters 
 Spaulding, Emerson, and Chapin. The weather is almost 
 enchanting, thermometer at 60 degrees Fahr. 
 Yesterday I preached in the cabin, from Romans 1 : 16: 
 T am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.' In the eve- 
 ning we had conference on the best method to fasten 
 truth on the mind of a Universalist. The captain seemed 
 affected by the remarks. If it were not for brandy I 
 would have some hopes for him. 
 
 "March 2<p. — Just before dinner the unexpected cry of 
 ' Land-ho' was heard on deck, and repeated in the cabin. 
 It was ascertained that Massa Fuero, a high island, un- 
 inhabited, except by a few fishermen who visit it occa- 
 sionally to catch seals, was thirty miles distant. We are 
 now steering for Juan Fernandez, the famous residence 
 of Alexander Selkirk, alias Robinson Crusoe, on which 
 we hope to place our feet to-morrow morning. With 
 
32 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the known longitude of Massa Fuero, we have corrected 
 our watches for Greenwich time. 
 
 " March 30. — Owing to the darkness last night we lay 
 to, not willing to risk the danger of running ashore. The 
 land is five miles distant, very bold and rugged. At 
 daybreak we descried a ship, and within an hour came 
 within speaking distance, and found her to be the Friend- 
 ship, which we had seen off Cape Horn. 
 
 ". . . Monday, April 2. — Last Saturday I returned 
 to the ship from a visit to the fairy isle of Juan Fernan- 
 dez, so fatigued that I could not write notes of my jaunt. 
 An hour and a half before dawn a boat was lowered, in 
 which Captain Swain and Brother Spaulding and Dr. 
 Chapin went ashore. At eleven A. M. the boat returned 
 for some articles for trading. In this and another boat 
 all the remaining gentlemen of our company went 
 ashore. We had a long pull of seven miles. As we ap- 
 proached the shore, the scenery of the lofty hills, two 
 thousand feet high, was wild and picturesque. The hills 
 are composed of trap, greenstone, and basalt, in every 
 stage of decomposition. We landed in a little village, 
 the seat of the empire, consisting of twenty-five thatched 
 houses covered with bamboo canes, and thirteen caves. 
 A company of human beings, seeming half savage, met 
 us, and eyed us with much curiosity. At length an 
 Englishman, Thomas, who is employed here forcatching 
 seals, asked whether we wished to see Captain Swain, 
 and informed us that we would find him upstairs in 'the 
 big house,' to which we accordingly repaired. A man 
 genteelly dressed met us at the door, who we afterwards 
 learned was a convict, sent from Chili, for treason. 
 With his guidance we ascended the stairs, with baskets 
 on our arms, which we had brought for gathering curiosi- 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 33 
 
 ties, and were heartily welcomed by the governor, who 
 informed us that he was king of the island, that he was 
 happy to see us, and that he would be very much grati- 
 fied if we would bring our wives ashore, and remain 
 with him several weeks. By invitation we dined with 
 him on bread, butter, cheese, ham, fried eggs, and let- 
 tuce. His majesty accompanied us to the caves, him- 
 self leading the way into their dismal apartments. They 
 arc dug into the hill behind the village in two tiers, three 
 in the lower and ten in the upper tier, and are one hun- 
 dred and fifteen feet in length. In one of the upper cav- 
 erns we found a blacksmith at work with rude sledges, 
 anvil, and bellows and over his furnace a cross. In the 
 far end of another we found a pulpit with a golden cross. 
 This den, his majesty informed us, was 'templum sacrum,' 
 These caves are a penitentiary for convicts from Chili. 
 I could not but be amused at the ludicrous royalty which 
 Josef Lacrier, the governor, displayed. He furnished us 
 with a guide, who conducted us up a ravine, covered 
 with brakes, spearmint, rue and balm, to the summit of 
 a hill. Here Selkirk could have exclaimed, 'I am 
 monarch of all I survey.' At about sunset we returned 
 to the ship, taking small supplies of beans, potatoes, 
 peaches, and a few fowls and eggs. Potatoes cost $4.00 
 per bushel. There are three hundred and eighhty-six 
 inhabitants on the island, of whom two are officers, forty- 
 six soldiers, seventy-three females, wives of soldiers, one 
 hundred and five convicts, and one hundred and sixty 
 
 freemen, farmers This is truly a romantic 
 
 island. But, like Rio Janeiro, it is the seat of Satan. 
 
 " April p. — For a number of days the trade-winds have 
 borne us forward six or eight miles an hour, and yet so 
 quietly that, seated in the cabin, we can scarcely per- 
 
34 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ceive that the ship is in motion. Two days ago we 
 entered the Torrid Zone, in which all our company 
 expect to lay their bones. Though my faith is weak 
 and heart hard, I rejoice that I am drawing near the 
 field of labor, and, oh, that I may prove faithful unto 
 the end! 
 
 " . . . . April ij. — The wind has blown so stead- 
 ily for five or six days that the situation of no sail has 
 been altered; the thermometer in the cabin at 78 Fahr.; 
 the sick almost well; the well almost sick with heat; many 
 flying-fish seen; all the crew tarring the rigging. . . . 
 
 " May 3. — Two days ago the northeast trades took us, 
 and since that time we have been borne forward on the 
 wings of the wind, eight or ten miles per hour, with fre- 
 quent squalls of rain. . . . Writing-desks are in 
 great requisition for preparing letters to send to America, 
 after we land. . . . Tropical birds, perfectly white, 
 with a single long feather for a tail, often flutter over the 
 mast, uttering a hoarse note like that of a wild goose. 
 . •. . At a business meeting Brother Spaulding was 
 appointed to write a letter to the Board, and I to write 
 one expressing our thanks to the captain. 
 
 " Tuesday, May 75.— -Within two days' sail of Oahu, if 
 our calculation of longitude is correct. I can hardly 
 realize that I am so soon to be in the midst of heathen, 
 amongst whom I am to spend my life. To-day I have 
 been very busy setting things in order for landing. 
 Last Sabbath Brother Emerson preached an excellent 
 sermon from the text, ' Ho, everyone that thirsteth.' Yes- 
 terday evening Brother Emerson, Spaulding and I went 
 forward and conversed long with the seamen, relative to 
 the temptations to which they will be exposed in enter- 
 ing port, and persuaded most of them to sign a pledge 
 
REV. WM. P. A LUX A XI) UK. 35 
 
 to refrain from drunkenness and vice. Wc were aston- 
 ished and delighted at our success. 
 
 "Wednesday, May 16. — This morning at ten o'clock 
 the lofty heights of Maui appeared before us in distant 
 splendor. Soon after Molokai was seen. We sailed 
 along the whole length of Molokai within five to ten 
 miles of the shore, when just betore us, we descried the 
 lofty highlands of Oahu. Now at a distance of twenty 
 miles from Oahu, the ship is ' hove to ' for the night. 
 The Lord has greatly prospered us and blessed be his 
 name. Oh, that entering on our labors in his strength, 
 we may be made wise to win souls!" 
 
C H A P T E R IV. 
 
 ARRIVAL AT THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. 
 
 a TTONOLULU, Friday, May iS, z$j2.—Yester- 
 •*■ *■ day morning' at clay-break I found the island, 
 Oahu, but a few miles distant. With a favorable wind, 
 we rounded Diamond Head, and cast anchor in the 
 outer harbor, before eight o'clock A. M. 'The town looked 
 like a city of hay-stacks; only grass houses were to be 
 seen; I believe there were one or two frame houses' 
 Soon we were surrounded by natives in their canoes, 
 bringing milk and eggs for sale, some of them altogether 
 naked, except the malo. The scenes of Rio de Janeiro 
 had prepared me in some measure for such a spectacle; 
 still the appearance of the natives was shocking; at the 
 first sight the ladies shrunk away, and hastened to the 
 cabin. 
 
 " Very soon we received a hearty welcome from 
 Brethren Clark, Dibble, Green, Ruggles, and Whitney. 
 They brought us some of the best water-melons I have 
 ever tasted. At ten o'clock we came ashore. The 
 wharf was covered with thousands of natives, whom 
 curiosity and affection had brought to see us. Some of 
 the ladies, who were ill, were conveyed to the house of 
 Mr. Chamberlain, on a cart drawn by natives. Mrs. 
 Emerson has related that ' the old mission wagon was in 
 waiting at the beach, and Mrs. Armstrong and I entered 
 it. We were drawn by a team of native men, pulling 
 (36) 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEX AX PER. 37 
 
 and pushing. This method of riding seemed so comical 
 that I could not suppress a laugh, but looking about and 
 seeing the grave faces of Messrs. Bingham and Whitney, 
 I perceived that they saw nothing unusual, and con- 
 cluded it was time to put on my customary sober face.' 
 Those of us who walked were followed by crowds 
 anxiously pressing before each other, to give us the cus- 
 tomary salutation, 'Aloha! 
 
 " All of us having assembled at the house of Mr. 
 Chamberlain, together with all the old missionary 
 brethren and sisters who were at this station, for the 
 annual general meeting, Mr. Bingham read the gen- 
 eral letter from the Board to the mission, after which we 
 united in singing the hymn beginning, ' Kindred and 
 friends, for Christ's dear sake a hearty welcome you 
 receive,' when we knelt together and Mr. Bingham led 
 in offering thanksgiving and praise for our preservation 
 during the voyage and safe arrival here. It was a truly 
 affecting interview, a company composed of old soldiers 
 who have borne the burden and heat of the day, and 
 nineteen others who are just buckling on the armor. 
 
 " Immediately after the meeting, we were distributed 
 among the various mission families who reside here. 
 Mary A. and myself were comfortably lodged in an airy, 
 commodious upper room of Mr. Chamberlain's house. 
 
 " Saturday, May 19. — We were introduced to the 
 young king to-day (not yet king, for there was a regent). 
 He received us very politely, welcomed us to the 
 Hawaiian shores, acknowledged the great good the 
 nation had received from missionary labors, and ex- 
 pressed great pleasure at the increase of their numbers. 
 A short address made to him in the name of the newly- 
 arrived missionaries was interpreted to him by Brother 
 
38 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Bingham." "Then accompanied by the king and his 
 chiefs we walked to the house of Kaahumanu. the 
 queen regent of the islands, formerly a favorite wife of 
 Kamchameha I. She was occupying a large grass 
 house partitioned into two rooms by a calico curtain. 
 She sat in a large woodsn arm-chair, attended by two 
 maids of honor wielding kahilis. She was dressed in 
 an unbleached cotton gown, and wore a wreath of pan- 
 danus fruit around her neck." (Mrs. Armstrong's 
 sketches.) "She received us with tears of joy. She was 
 very ill and unable to speak much; we therefore soon 
 withdrew. 
 
 " In consideration of the kindness of Captain Swain, 
 I handed him to-day the following letter, which I had 
 prepared at the request of the company:— 
 
 "Honolulu, May 17, 1832. 
 " Capt. Edward Swain: When on the 26th of 
 November, we saw the last wave of the hat on 
 the shores of New Bedford, we felt emotions which 
 none but friends can feel. An occasion is at hand 
 adapted to excite similar emotions. Soon, dear sir, 
 we must bid you farewell; and we should do violence 
 to our feelings did we not make some expression of 
 gratitude for the many favors you have conferred upon 
 us during a long and perilous voyage. Merely to say 
 that you have always treated us with kindness and 
 respect, would be doing you injustice. The watchful 
 solicitude of a parent or brother has been the uniform 
 characteristic of your conduct towards us. When the 
 raging storm has thrown everything into confusion, your 
 voice has quickly cheered us, your hand has restored 
 order, and with watchful anxiety you have sought out 
 and anticipated our wants. When we have been brought 
 low with sickness, you have spared no effort which 
 tender kindness could suggest, to make our situation 
 pleasant. Whether in the storm or when the cheering 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 39 
 
 breeze has borne us pleasantly along, whether at sea or 
 in port, your amiable, frank, generous deportment to- 
 wards us has been the same. It gives us pleasure to 
 make these acknowledgments; and we trust the God 
 whom we serve will abundantly reward you. 
 
 "Please present to the other officers our unfeigned 
 thanks for the numerous acts of kindness they have 
 conferred upon us. And should a few more days close 
 our intercourse on earth, oh, sir, let us labor to become 
 fellow-heirs of that rich inheritance laid up in Heaven 
 for those who love God. The close of our voyage 
 reminds us that the voyage of life will soon be over, and 
 whatever amiability of character we may here possess, 
 and however large a portion of social bliss we may here 
 enjoy, we are sure that none will then be safe except those 
 who have fled to the Lord Jesus for refuge. Let us 
 therefore seek above all things to have Christ Jesus for 
 our pilot, that we may make the same happy port. 
 Wherever you go our affections shall follow you, and our 
 prayer shall be, that He who neither slumbers nor sleeps, 
 who has preserved us amid dangers, and given us a 
 prosperous voyage, may still be with you, and make you 
 a partaker of his great salvation. Then you will be able 
 to say with the poet: — ■ 
 
 " ' Tossed upon life's raging billow, 
 Sweet it is, O Lord, to know 
 Thou didst press a sailor's pillow, 
 
 And canst feel a sailor's woe; 
 Never slumbering, never sleeping, 
 
 Though the night be dark and drear, 
 Thou the faithful watch art keeping, 
 "All, all's well," thy constant cheer.' 
 
 "Most affectionately yours." 
 It was signed by all the brethren and sisters of the 
 company. 
 
 " Sabbath, May 20. — At half past nine A. M. attended 
 native service; more than four thousand hearers. Mr. 
 Bingham preached. The services were held in an im- 
 
4 o MEMOIR OF 
 
 mcnse thatched house. There was a box-like pulpit 
 perched upon one side in the middle of the house, and a 
 few rude benches on which the teachers and chiefs sat ; 
 nearly all the congregation sat upon the floor, which had 
 been strewed with rushes for the purpose. At eleven 
 A. M. I preached in English. 
 
 " June j". — At four o'clock this morning Kaahumanu, 
 the queen regent, died in the Valley of Manca, whither 
 she had been carried a few days before with the hope 
 that the coolness of the situation would benefit her 
 health. In her the natives have lost a chief magistrate 
 in whom they justly confided, and whom they ardently 
 loved. The mission has lost a mother, a judicious 
 counselor, and a firm, unshaken supporter; but Heaven 
 has received a soul cleansed by the blood of Christ 
 from the foulest stains of heathenism, infanticide, and 
 abominable pollution. She was the first native convert 
 on the island of Oahu." 
 
CHAPTE R V. 
 
 THE DEPUTATION TO THE ENGLISH MISSIONARIES AT 
 
 THE SOCIETY ISLANDS. 
 
 SOON after his arrival at Honolulu Mr Alexander 
 was appointed to go with Messrs. Whitney and 
 Tinker as a deputation from the Hawaiian Mission to 
 the English Mission at the Society Islands. 
 
 The object of this deputation, as explained by Mr. Alex- 
 ander in a letter to Thos. T. Skillmann, of Lexington, 
 Kentucky, was "to confer with the English missionaries of 
 the Society and Georgian Islands in regard to the Marque- 
 sas, and to form some plan of co-operation with them in 
 sending the gospel to all the islands and shores of the 
 Pacific, and also to learn from their experience in mis- 
 sionary labor among Polynesian tribes whatever might 
 be useful to others laboring in a similar field. The dep- 
 utation was also to visit the Marquesas Islands, and if 
 no obstacle existed, to take such preliminary steps 
 towards establishing a mission among them as they 
 should judge expedient. Rev. C. S. Stewart had visited 
 the Northern Marquesas in July, 1829, in the U. S. 
 J 'incomes, and arrived in America in the summer of 
 1830. The deep interest he felt, and the exertions he 
 made, decided the American Board to commence a mis- 
 sion there as soon as possible." 
 
 They sailed from Honolulu July 18, 1832, on the 
 schooner Missionary Packet, which had been chartered 
 
 (41) 
 
42 MEMOIR OF 
 
 for the expedition. They were accompanied by Tute, a 
 teacher from Huahine, who had been taken to Oahu by 
 Mr. Ellis in 1823. 
 
 LETTER OF INTRODUCTION GIVEN TO THE DEPUTATION TO THE 
 SOCIETY ISLANDS. 
 
 "Sandwich Islands, July iS, 1S32. 
 
 " Dear Brethren: By the ' living epistles,' which in the good provi- 
 dence of God we are allowed to send you as our beloved fellow-laborers, 
 you will receive the salutations of all your brethren at the Sandwich 
 Islands, and be made acquainted with our state. 
 
 " You will permit us, therefore, to introduce to your acquaintance and 
 to your Christian fellowship, our brethren, the Rev. Messrs. Whitney, 
 Tinker and Alexander, members of our mission, who, in compliance with 
 your polite invitation and our own long-cherished wishes, have been duly 
 appointed to visit your stations at the Society and Georgian Islands, and 
 to confer with you on the state of the islands in the Pacific, and on the 
 methods most advisable for extending the kingdom of our glorious Re- 
 deemer throughout all the isles and shores of this vast ocean. 
 
 " In view of the wisdom, zeal and success with which you have so long 
 engaged in the missionary work, your extensive acquaintanee with Polyne- 
 sian tribes and Polynesian character, and the means of winning them to 
 the cause of Christ, and the freedom, candor and friendship which have 
 hitherto marked, and which, we trust, will continue to mark, the commu- 
 nications between you and us, we expect to derive great benefit from the 
 results of your experience and observation, communicated freely to our 
 deputation, and from such information as you will be able to give, and such 
 views, opinions and considerations as you will be able to present, individ- 
 ually or collectively, on any and every part of the great subject for which, 
 at considerable expense and sacrifice, this expedition has been undertaken. 
 
 " Every favor will be thankfully acknowledged by your brethren and 
 fellow-laborers in the service of our common Lord and Saviour, 
 Jesus Christ. H. Bingham, 
 
 " In behalf of the Mission." 
 
 They reached the Society Islands August 22, and 
 spent four weeks among them; during which time they 
 visited Raiatea, Huahine, Tahiti and Eimeo. They were 
 received with the utmost cordiality by the English mis- 
 sionaries, who gave them much valuable information and 
 counsel. From a brief journal kept during the trip and 
 letters to Mr. Skillmann the following extracts are 
 taken: — 
 
 "August 21, 1832. — Early this morning we were 
 boarded by a native pilot, and conducted into the harbor 
 
REV. J I'M. 1\ ALEXANDER. 43 
 
 of Utumaoro, at the northeast point of Raiatca. Three 
 green islets at the entrance to the harbor contribute 
 much to the beauty of the scene. On one side was the 
 island of Raiatea, completely covered with verdure, from 
 the sea to the summits of the mountains, the hibiscus 
 and other shrubs overhanging the salt water around the 
 harbor, while on the north side, beyond a large lagoon, 
 is the island of Tahaa, on which we could discern a 
 chapel near the shore. We landed on a coral wharf, 
 constructed by Rev. John Williams, and were soon met 
 by Messrs. Williams, Piatt and Smith, and conducted to 
 the mission house, where we united in thanksgiving to 
 God for the privilege of meeting under such circum- 
 stances. . . . Before we landed we had been much 
 struck with the dilapidated appearance of the houses, 
 most of which seemed to be almost in ruins, of which 
 we now learned the cause. For twelve months past the 
 people of this island and Tahaa have been engaged in 
 war with those of Bolabola (northwest of Tahaa)." 
 
 This war had been impending for ten years, and at 
 last, in spite of the missionaries, it had burst forth, in- 
 volving the inhabitants of three islands, and sadly 
 injuring the churches by arraying the church-members 
 against each other. " Out of many hundreds who had 
 cheered the missionaries as Christian converts only a few 
 could now be received to Christian fellowship. The final 
 battle had been fought a short time before we arrived. 
 The dilapidated houses and uninclosed gardens gave 
 evidence of the fury of the strife. 
 
 "We were glad, however, to find the rulers making 
 vigorous efforts to restore order. The day before we 
 arrived they had resolved to strike at the root of the 
 intemperance, which had greatly increased during the 
 
44 MEMOIR OF 
 
 war, by destroying all the distilleries. The work of 
 destruction had advanced so far that all the large distill- 
 eries but one were lying in ruins, and that one they were 
 pulling down when we arrived. They had also appointed 
 persons to go around the island, and break all the stone 
 pans which the people had made for the purpose of dis- 
 tilling. 
 
 "We had an interview with Tamatoa, the king, and 
 his chiefs, Mr. Williams acting as interpreter. The pal- 
 ace was a miserable hovel. The king and all his reti- 
 nue, except one man, were dressed in native costume. 
 The women wore bonnets, but tapa clothing. We 
 presented an address to the king and chiefs, giving 
 the salutation of the Hawaiian chiefs, and exhorting 
 them to be steadfast in peace and firm in putting down 
 intemperance. They promised to attend to our advice, 
 and professed to rejoice in our arrival as a sick man does 
 when he sees a good physician. 
 
 "As Mr. Williams is about to make a tour among the 
 out-stations in the Hervey and Samoan groups, it was 
 judged expedient that he should accompany us imme- 
 diately to Huahinc, that we might consult with him and 
 Mr. Barff together. 
 
 "We accordingly weighed anchor at two o'clock P. M., 
 and having a very favorable westerly wind, we found 
 ourselves after three hours' sail in Fare Harbor, at the 
 northwest corner of Huahine, twenty-two miles east of 
 Raiatca, a most enchanting harbor. (See Ellis, Vol. 2, 
 p. 249.) Immediately after landing we were accompa- 
 nied by Mr. Williams to the chapel where Mr. Barff was 
 conducting an afternoon service. About two hundred 
 people were assembled. He paused on our entrance un- 
 til we were introduced to him and to Mr. Buzacott, a 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 45 
 
 missionary from Rarotonga. He soon brought the serv- 
 ices to a close, and we were animated with the pecul- 
 iarly lively music with which the people sang the clos- 
 ing hymn, to one of the old fuguing tunes. 
 
 " The assembly presented a neat aspect, seated on 
 benches. Each woman wore a neat bonnet of native 
 manufacture, and a web of white tapa constituted the 
 remaining part of her dress. The men had generally a 
 shirt apiece, and in addition a 'purau' of native cloth or 
 mat around the loins. 
 
 " We then walked with the brethren to the residence 
 of Mr. Barff, where we were very kindly received by his 
 family. They occupied a whitewashed, framed house 
 of seven rooms built of native timbers, and thatched 
 with lau liala. The yard was full of sugar-cane, and con- 
 tained twelve large bread-fruit trees, besides limes, coffee, 
 etc. 
 
 "The object of our visit was introduced, and we con- 
 versed till after twelve o'clock. The brethren here at the 
 leeward islands never interfere with the affairs of those 
 at the windward, consequently they have nothing to say 
 about the Marquesas Islands. 
 
 " August 2 y. — After dinner we went to the site of Mr. 
 Ellis' house, and saw the orange and coffee trees which 
 he planted. His residence was situated far up a most 
 verdant valley watered by a delightful river. We saw 
 many bread-fruit and cocoanut trees lying on the ground, 
 which we learned were blown down by a gale last De- 
 cember, which also demolished the school-house here and 
 the church building at Raiatea. 
 
 "Saturday, August 2j. — This is the Sabbath here, and 
 we accordingly observed it as such. (N. B. — The En- 
 glish missionaries, who had come by the way of the 
 
46 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Cape of Good Hope, differed a day in reckoning from 
 the Americans, who had come by the way of Cape 
 Horn, so that their Sunday came on our Saturday.) At 
 nine A. M. Mr. Williams preached to about four hundred 
 hearers, more neatly dressed, as a whole, than congrega- 
 tions at Honolulu, everyone having at least a piece 
 of clean white native cloth thrown around him. About 
 a dozen men and two women were dressed in European 
 clothing. Most of the women wore bonnets, and most 
 of the men had shirts. 
 
 "After this service Mr. Tinker preached in English at 
 Mr. Barff's house from the text, ' Lord, remember me 
 when thou comest into thy kingdom.' (This sermon is 
 published in 'Life and Sermons of Reuben Tinker.') In 
 the afternoon I attended Sabbath-school. 
 
 ". . . At half past three P. M. Mr. Whitney 
 preached a sermon in Tahitian, which he had prepared, 
 with Tute's help, during the voyage." 
 
 " The exercises of the Sabbath are: Prayer-meeting at 
 sunrise, Sabbath-school immediately after breakfast, 
 Preaching at half past nine A. M., Sabbath-school at 
 two P. M., and Preaching again at three P. M. But when 
 I speak of a Sabbath-school, you are very liable to mis- 
 understand me, for you will at once think of a Sabbath- 
 school in Lexington ; but they have little resemblance 
 except in name, and in the fact that religious truth is 
 communicated in both. To have a just notion of a 
 Sabbath-school in the South Seas, you should be in- 
 formed that during the week the children are assembled 
 every morning at sunrise, when their teacher reads por- 
 tions of Scripture and of the Catechism, which the chil- 
 dren with one voice repeat after him till they have com- 
 mitted it to memory. The amount thus learned con- 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 47 
 
 stitutes the recitation for the Sabbath-school; in addi- 
 tion to which the pastor asks the children some ques- 
 tions, and gives them some appropriate instruction. 
 
 "August 26. — Having a fair wind to go to Tahiti, at 
 four P. M. we weighed anchor, being accompanied a little 
 way by Messrs. Barff, Williams and Buzacott, who 
 handed us a farewell letter. 
 
 "August 2Q. — Early in the morning a native pilot 
 boarded us, and conducted us into the delightful harbor 
 of Papeete on the northwest side of Tahiti. We re- 
 ceived a cordial welcome from Mr. Pritchard, who, with 
 his amiable wife, soon made us feel at home. . . . 
 In the afternoon we had a pleasant walk on the Queen's 
 Highway, which extends almost entirely around the isl- 
 and; it is often called the Sinners' Road, because it has 
 been built by sinners as the reward for their iniquity. 
 The part of it which we traversed is delightfully shaded 
 by a forest of bread-fruit and widespreading vi trees. 
 
 " After supper we conversed freely on various topics. 
 In reference to the children of missionaries, Mr. Prit- 
 chard stated that no subject gave them so much anxiety; 
 that now no one dissented from the opinion that it is 
 better for the children, in every point of view, to send 
 them home to England ; better, too, for the mission, as 
 they, if corrupted, would counteract the work of their 
 parents. (It was observed that some of the English 
 missionaries intrusted their children to native nurses, 
 who took them away to their own homes in the morn- 
 ing and brought them back at night. The consequence 
 was that the children not only learned the native lan- 
 guage before English, but also learned the vices of 
 the natives. The report of the deputation on this sub- 
 ject resulted in the salutary regulation that none of the 
 
48 MEMOIR OF 
 
 children of the American missionaries should be allowed, 
 while young, to speak the Hawaiian language.) 
 
 " August jo. — As next Tuesday will be the most con- 
 venient day for the brethren to meet and confer with 
 us, Mr. Pritchard has sent a request to each of them that 
 they assemble at his station at that time. To improve 
 the time we resolved to visit Messrs. Nott and Wilson 
 to-day. At six A. M. we embarked in a large whale-boat, 
 with Mr. Pritchard at the helm, for Matavai, some eight 
 miles to the northeast. About eight o'clock we landed 
 at Matavai, opposite Mr. Wilson's, who was one of the 
 pioneers on the Duff. After breakfast we walked to Pt. 
 Venus, where Captain Cook made his astronomical ob- 
 servations in 1768, passing through a large orange grove 
 planted by the first missionaries soon after they arrived, 
 near the site of their first dwelling. . . . We returned 
 to the church, a well-constructed framed building, in- 
 closed by a stone wall. In the church-yard are a num- 
 ber of graves, in one of which lies the wife of a Mr. 
 Jones, a former missionary here. . . . We re-em- 
 barked at two P. M., and stopped on the way to call on 
 Mr. Henry Nott, one of the first missionaries, who ar- 
 rived in 1797, but appears still hale and vigorous. He 
 is revising the Tahitian Bible. . . . Walked across 
 the point and visited the queen regent, and saw the 
 royal mausoleum, situated in a grove of the spreading 
 chestnut. Entered the boat again and came on to the 
 residence of Mr. George Bicknell, nephew of a former 
 missionary of that name, his house neat, and all about 
 him comfortable. Arrived in Papeete before sunset. 
 
 " September 1. — Tahitian Sabbath. About one hun- 
 dred and twenty people attended the prayer-meeting at 
 sunrise. Tute conducted the services and made an 
 
REV. WMx P. ALEXANDER. 49 
 
 address. . . . At nine A. M. Mr. Pritchard preached to 
 about three hundred natives. During the services an old 
 woman in the gallery kept the young people in order by 
 making a liberal use of a long rod. My attention was 
 frequently called from the preacher by the sound of the 
 blows she inflicted. . . . The Lord's Supper was 
 afterwards administered to about a hundred, in which 
 ordinance bread-fruit was used instead of bread, and the 
 wine was mingled with cocoanut milk, sweetened with 
 molasses. At eleven o'clock Mr. Tinker preached in En- 
 glish from the text, ' If the Lord be God, serve him; if 
 Baal, serve him,' to about twenty hearers. At half past 
 three Mr. Whitney preached his Tahitian sermon. After 
 supper the ' LTica Letter on Revivals ' was read by Mr. 
 Tinker. 
 
 " September j. — This morning Mr. Armitage arrived 
 here from the island of Eimeo, or Moorea, bringing us a 
 letter from Mr. Simpson, Principal of the South Sea 
 Academy, in which he cordially welcomes us, and bids 
 us go forward and occupy the Marquesas. Mr. Armitage 
 was sent out in 1821 to instruct the natives in spinning 
 and weaving cotton. (See Ellis, Vol. 2, page 296.) 
 About nine A. M. Mr. Darling, who came out in 1S17, ar- 
 rived from Burder's Point, or Punaauia, on the west side 
 of the island. (He had recently visited the Marquesas 
 Islands, and made a report on them.) At two P. M. we 
 met in the school-house. Mr. Nott was chosen Mod- 
 erator, and the meeting opened with prayer by Mr. 
 Davies. We then stated the various steps which the 
 A. B. C. F. M. had taken in reference to the Marquesas 
 Islands, and the fact that four missionary families were 
 now at hand ready to carry the gospel thither, provided 
 no obstacle existed. They, on the other hand, stated 
 
50 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the various measures which the London Missionary 
 Society had taken to plant the gospel in that field since 
 1797; that the state of the people having recently worn 
 a more pleasing aspect, they had requested the London 
 Missionary Society to send six missionaries to labor in 
 those islands, and that a mission there could be very con- 
 veniently sustained from the Georgian Islands, which 
 were comparatively near. The conversation, which 
 lasted several hours, was very frank and open, and a 
 fraternal spirit prevailed. ... It was at length 
 agreed, only one dissenting, that it is not probable that 
 the six missionaries referred to will be sent out, because 
 before the request from the Tahitian Mission could have 
 arrived in London, the Directors of the London Mission- 
 ary Society would have been informed that American 
 missionaries were on their way to the Pacific, destined 
 for the Marquesas Islands. At most, more than two 
 cannot be expected. They therefore 
 
 " ' Resolved, That our brethren be recommended to wait until we hear 
 from England on the subject of the Marquesas mission; but, if this be 
 impracticable, that they may be recommended to occupy one group of the 
 islands, leaving the other for our missionaries, should any be sent for that 
 field of labor; and further, in case none be sent, that they occupy the 
 whole.' " 
 
 We have only brief notes of a tour of the remaining 
 mission stations in Tahiti, from which the following 
 extracts are taken: — 
 
 " September 5. — Arose early and started in a whale- 
 boat about seven A. M., arriving at Burder's Point (or 
 Puunauia in Atehuru) at nine A. M. Breakfasted with 
 Mr. Darling and afterwards went through the fine new 
 chapel, the printing office, etc. We re-embarked at 
 eleven A. M. and were shown the place where the last 
 battle with the heathen party was fought. Landed 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 51 
 
 again and walked along the Queen's Highway. A boy 
 got cocoanuts for us, and an old woman gave \isfei 
 bananas. We greatly enjoyed the scenery. 
 
 " In Papara we called upon the young queen and her 
 retinue. Afterwards, followed by noisy, shouting boys 
 and girls, we marched up to the residence of Rev. John 
 Davies. Had a long conversation with him about native 
 schools and teachers. Slept comfortably after walking 
 eleven miles. 
 
 " September 6. — Breakfasted at daylight and walked 
 across a point two miles to meet the boat. Crossed 
 several streams as yesterday, on the backs of men. 
 Sailed on over coral forests. The hills more verdant 
 than yesterday. When we came within four miles of 
 Mr. Orsmond's station, in Taiarapu (the eastern penin- 
 sula), the strong wind obliged us again to land and walk. 
 We crossed an arm of the sea in a very small canoe. Were 
 received by Brother Orsmond and his wife with much 
 affection. Attended the Friday evening meeting, at 
 which Mr. Pritchard examined the congregation on the 
 sermon of last Sabbath, after which about eight arose 
 one by one and delivered speeches, composed of Script- 
 ure and as much of former sermons as they could remem- 
 ber. The little children sang finely. 
 
 " September J. — Mr. Orsmond conversed very freely 
 about the character of his people, about their supersti- 
 tions, and the late war at Raiatea. Mr. Orsmond had 
 charge of the South Sea Academy for seven years. 
 'Oh, send your children to America,' said he, and gave 
 cogent reasons for his advice, drawn from his own 
 observations. The people brought us presents of articles 
 of food. 
 
 "Saturday, September 8 {TaJiitian Sunday). — Prayer- 
 
52 MEMOIR OF 
 
 meeting at sunrise. Sabbath-school at eight A. M. At 
 nine A. M. Mr. Pritchard preached to the natives. At 
 eleven sermon in English by myself. Afternoon, ser- 
 mon by Mr. Whitney; questions on the morning sermon 
 and speeches. Evening, discussion of the salary and 
 ' common stock' systems of support. 
 
 " September p [Tahitian Monday).— After breakfast 
 took leave of Mr. and Mrs. Orsmond and their inter- 
 esting family of eight children, and at eight A. M. pulled 
 away for Papara, leaving behind the wooded hills of 
 Taiarapu. . . . Landed nearly opposite Mr. Henry's 
 plantation at twelve o'clock, and visited his sugar works, 
 mill, etc. Went up to his house on the hill and took 
 dinner with Mrs. Henry, whose husband was absent in 
 the Colonies. We re-embarked at three P. M. and landed 
 at the great morai which was building when Wallis dis- 
 covered the island in 1767. We climbed to its summit, 
 built chiefly of the coral rock, fifty feet high and two 
 hundred feet long. We walked on to Papara, crossing 
 the streams as usual on men's shoulders. Visited Father 
 Davies' very neat chapel, and took a pleasant stroll with 
 Mr. Tinker. 
 
 " September 10. — Returned to Papeete. 
 
 " September 11. — Bade farewell to Tahiti, and weighed 
 anchor at noon. At four P. M. anchored in Taru, or Opun- 
 ohu Harbor, at the north end of Eimeo, and on landing 
 were cordially received by Mr. and Mrs. Alexander 
 Simpson, Principals of the South Sea Academy at Pape- 
 toai." A letter written to Mr. Thos. Skillmann, October 
 13, gives the following account of this institution: "It 
 has hitherto been the wish of the London Missionary 
 Society that the missionaries' children should take up 
 their permanent abode in the islands. Accordingly 
 provision has been made for their education. 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 53 
 
 " The South Sea Academy, instituted for this purpose, 
 was opened in March, 1824, at Afareaitu, in the southwest 
 part of the island of Eimeo, under the superintendence 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Orsmond, under whose charge it con- 
 tinued for seven years. It is now under the direction 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Simpson, and its location has been 
 changed to ' Blest Town,' in the district of Papetoai, of 
 the same island. When we visited that island we spent 
 two days at the academy. The house is a framed 
 building, about one hundred and twenty-five feet long. 
 The apartments at the east end are appropriated to the 
 boys for lodgings and recitation-rooms, and the west end 
 for the girls. The dining-room and family apartments arc 
 in the center. In front a yard of about three acres in 
 extent, affording ample sporting-ground for the children, 
 is inclosed by a substantial stone wall, beyond which the 
 children are not allowed to go unless accompanied by 
 their instructors. 
 
 "On Saturday, September 13, we examined the 
 children on the studies of the previous week. Their 
 advancement in the knowledge of English grammar, 
 geography and history was respectable for children of 
 their age. In written composition they are very prone 
 to fall into the Tahitian idiom, yet it is believed that the 
 school will greatly facilitate their acquisition of the 
 English language. The children are allowed the privi- 
 leges of this institution until they arc fourteen years of 
 age, when, being supposed to be capable of providing for 
 themselves, they are no longer supported by the London 
 Missionary Society." The society allowed them ^10 
 apiece, if necessary, per annum. There were at this 
 time eleven girls and ten boys in the South Sea Acad- 
 emy, who were each introduced to Mr. Alexander. He 
 
54 MEMOIR OF 
 
 speaks of dining with Mr. and Mrs. Armitagc, who were 
 endeavoring to promote industry among the people — 
 especially in the cultivation of cotton and indigo. 
 
 " September ij. — News was received that the U. S. 
 frigate Potomac, Commodore Downs, had arrived at 
 Papeete, or ' Wilks' Harbor,' from Honolulu. After 
 consultation it was agreed that we should return to 
 Papeete, taking with us Mrs. Simpson, who needed med- 
 ical advice. At one P. M. we bade farewell to the children 
 and to the romantic, rugged isle of Eimeo, were be- 
 calmed an hour or two, and at seven P. M. ran safely into 
 the harbor of Papeete. I found Rev. Mr. Grier, the 
 chaplain of the Potomac, at Mr. Pritchard's, and letters 
 from Honolulu. 
 
 " Saturday, September i^.. — Tahitian Sunday. At nine 
 A. M. Mr. Pritchard preached in native, and at eleven I 
 preached in English. The Commodore and purser were 
 present. The Commodore, purser, chaplain, and Mr. 
 Warriner, mathematical instructor, took dinner with us." 
 
 They appear to have finally sailed for the Marquesas 
 on the 1 8th. The remainder of the trip is related in the 
 two following letters to Mr. Thomas Skillmann, written 
 on board of the Missionary Packet: — 
 
 " October 13. 
 
 " DEAR SIR: After much pleasant intercourse with the 
 brethren at Tahiti, taking our leave of them, we weighed 
 anchor September 18, and steered away for the Mar- 
 quesas Islands. It being impossible to sail directly from 
 Tahiti to the Marquesas, we ran out to the south into the 
 variable winds, by which we could get far enough cast to 
 be able to fetch those islands with the southeast trade- 
 winds. 
 
 "This led us to pass through the group called the 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 55 
 
 Austral Islands, in all of which the gospel has been 
 introduced by native teachers from Tahiti. We passed 
 in sight of three of them, — Rurutu, Tubuai and Rai- 
 vavai — at the former of which we called. 
 
 " Rurutu — called by Captain Cook Oheteroa — is situ- 
 ated in south latitude 20° 2j\ and west longitude 1 50 41'. 
 In 1820 a large number of its inhabitants forsook it in 
 consequence of a contagious disease which raged there 
 at that time, and went to Tubuai, which lies about one hun- 
 dred miles to the southeast. After remaining there for 
 some time, attempting to return, they were driven out of 
 their course by a storm, and, after drifting at the mercy of 
 the waves for three weeks, their canoe struck on the 
 reefs that surround Maurua — the most westerly of the 
 Society Islands. They were hospitably received, and 
 assisted in getting to Raiatea, where everything appeared 
 new and surprising. They became pupils of the mis- 
 sionaries, and publicly renounced ido atry. Shortly 
 afterwards, accompanied by two Tahitian teachers, they 
 were taken back to Rurutu in a whale-ship, and they soon 
 induced the whole population to renounce idolatry. 
 Some Raiateans, who had accompanied them, returned 
 home, taking a boat load of their idols to the mission- 
 aries as an evidence that they had renounced them. 
 Since that time they have been occasionally visited by 
 missionaries from the Society Islands, and a church has 
 been organized, consisting of eighty persons. 
 
 " The interesting circumstances attending the intro- 
 duction of the gospel among them, and a desire to see 
 how native missionaries conduct their labors, led us to 
 pay them a visit. 
 
 " On the morning of September 24, when about six 
 miles from the island, we were boarded by a double 
 
56 MEMOIR OF 
 
 canoe manned by six natives, the whole exterior of 
 which exhibited very neat carved work. The sides and 
 stern were tastefuiiy ornamented with feathers, and the 
 whole was calculated to give us a favorable impression 
 of their ingenuity and enterprise. They informed us 
 that they were in the enjoyment of peace and plenty, 
 and would be glad to receive a visit from us. We ac- 
 cordingly lowered our boat and accompanied the canoe, 
 which, going before us, showed the entrance between 
 the reefs. This is quite intricate and dangerous, being 
 not more than ten feet wide; as the swell was heavy, 
 the surf broke entirely across it. We, however, reached 
 the shore in safety. Just at the landing a large flag of 
 white tapa was streaming in the wind from the top of a 
 lofty pole — indicative of peace. About thirty natives 
 assembled on the beach, decked out in the best their 
 wardrobes could supply, gave us a hearty reception, wel- 
 coming us to their shores with many an ' I orana ' — 'Hap- 
 piness attend you.' We were conducted to a large 
 framed house, neatly plastered, in which we found two 
 large, comfortable settees, a dining-table, and several 
 well-made boxes. Having seated ourselves until some 
 cocoanuts should be brought, almost the whole popula- 
 tion of the village came in to say, ' / orana! All the 
 women that I saw had on bonnets, which the wives 
 of the Tahitian teachers had taught them to make. 
 Most of the men, too, had hats of somewhat similar 
 make. 
 
 " After being refreshed with the milk of the cocoanut, 
 I took a stroll through the village, and was as much 
 surprised as delighted to find most of their houses neat, 
 substantial framed buildings, well plastered, furnished 
 with settees, tables, bedsteads, and boxes, all of which, 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 57 
 
 as well as their houses, the Tahitian s have taught them 
 to make. W'c were sorry to learn that both the Tahitian 
 teachers had gone away. They had quarreled, and one 
 of them had been taken away by Mr. Williams at his 
 last visit. The remaining one, according to the most 
 definite information that we could get, was puffed up 
 with pride, and wished to become great, and, being 
 unable to effect his purposes, became dissatisfied, went 
 to sea in a whale-boat, and has not since been heard of. 
 (Puna, the teacher here referred to, drifted to Manahiki 
 and afterwards proceeded to Keppel's Island and Nuia- 
 fou, where he died.) Most of the people can read, andj 
 having several copies of the Tahitian Scriptures, they 
 still meet regularly for worship, and read and pray 
 together. 
 
 "The island is about five miles long, lying north and 
 south, and two miles wide. "We landed on the west side, 
 where the people now meet for worship in a large 
 building which they had built for a school-house, their 
 church building having been blown down by the great 
 storm of last December. 
 
 " Being told that the largest settlement was on the 
 opposite side of the island, and that the labor of crossing 
 over was not very great, having procured a guide, Mr. 
 Tinker and I set out to go thither. We had not gone 
 far when we came to a stream, which we crossed on the 
 shoulders of our guide. Before we reached the ascent we 
 passed through a delightful grove of tamanu, chestnut, 
 hau, bread-fruit, iron-wood, hala, papaya, cocoanut, paper 
 mulberry, sugar-cane, bananas, etc. We also passed by 
 a large bed of taro, many sweet-potatoes and a large 
 orchard of pine-apples. We found the ascent steep and 
 tiresome, the part over which we passed being, probably, 
 
5 8 MEMOIR OF 
 
 eight hundred feet above the level of the ocean, the 
 highest part of the island being about one thousand 
 two hundred feet. The thick brakes and tall grass 
 which overhung our path sometimes almost covered 
 us. After resting awhile on the summit under the 
 shade of the hau. we had just begun to descend 
 when we met a company from the village to which we 
 were going, loaded with spears and paddles curiously 
 wrought, tapas of various patterns, and paroquets, which 
 they were bringing over to trade with us. Before we 
 reached the foot of the hill, we met several other parties 
 who were also loaded with similar articles for barter. 
 Exchanging the salutation ' / orana,' we proceeded, en- 
 tering, as we descended, groves still more dense than 
 those through which we had first passed. The inhabit- 
 ants of the village gave us a cordial welcome. The 
 first object that attracted our attention was the 
 church, which is a framed building eighty by thirty- 
 six feet, the upright posts painted red, the interven- 
 ing spaces lathed and plastered. It has two windows 
 in front, one on each side of the door, one in each 
 end, and one on each side of the pulpit, which is 
 really a piece of neat workmanship. The railing on 
 each side of the stairs by which you ascend it is 
 supported by eighteen spear handles. In front of the 
 pulpit is a neat painted desk for the clerk. It has a 
 good floor of the bread-fruit wood and seats of the same 
 material. A large number of bamboos of oil are de- 
 posited at one end of the house, and a pile of tapa in 
 the pulpit, which the natives have contributed to the 
 London Missionary Society to aid in sending the gospel 
 to the heathen. While we were surveying the church a 
 large number assembled, and though they could not 
 
REV. irjlf. P. ALEXANDER. 59 
 
 understand our language, \vc did not consider it im- 
 proper to pray with and for them. Mr. Tinker there- 
 fore entered the clerk's desk, saying, l E pule tatou ;' and 
 the whole assembly kneeled and behaved with much 
 decorum while prayer was offered. The church is in the 
 center of a yard inclosed by a neat wooden fence, 
 through which, up to the door, is a raised pavement 
 eight feet wide. Opposite the church we entered a large 
 house of similar construction, in which we were pleased 
 to find several copies of the Tahitian Bible, six or eight 
 large well-made chests, two very comfortable bedsteads, 
 and two settees. The house is surrounded by a pave- 
 ment of hewn coral rock which extends about twelve 
 feet in every direction. After passing through several 
 similar habitations, wc were led by one who seemed to 
 be the highest chief, to his house. Taking us into a back 
 room he presented each of us with a piece of tapa. We 
 had scarcely time to thank him and seat ourselves on a 
 settee in his large room, when it was filled with women, 
 each having a child in her arms. These we were 
 requested to baptize, which we declined to do, and we 
 referred them to Mr. Williams, who expects to visit them 
 in a few months. A table was then spread, and as we 
 perceived that preparations were making to get us some 
 dinner, and remembered that we had to return two miles 
 over a steep hill, we intimated that vvc could not wait, 
 and taking a refreshing draught of cocoanut water, we 
 bade our kind new acquaintances an affectionate farewell, 
 and with our guide began to climb the hill. There are 
 in the village about twenty-five frame houses, besides 
 others after the original native fashion made of bamboos. 
 Taking it as a whole, I have seen no village in the Pacific 
 where the generality of houses are so good, or where the 
 
60 MEMOIR OF 
 
 people appear more kindly disposed toward missionaries. 
 They were very anxious that one or both of us should 
 stop and live among them. We hastened back and 
 found the people assembling to hear a sermon from Mr. 
 Whitney. When we reached the house where we stopped 
 first when we landed, we found a good dinner awaiting 
 us, for which our walk had sharpened our appetite. It 
 consisted of roast pig, taro, yam, bread-fruit and cocoa- 
 nut milk. As it now grew late, we judged it expedient 
 to return to our vessel. But just as we were getting 
 into the boat, we were surprised with the salutation, 
 ' How do you do, gentlemen ?' from one who looked like 
 a native. She told us that she was a native of Pitcairn 
 Island, from which she has been absent eight years. 
 She had brought her little daughter in great haste, 
 hoping that we would baptize her. She, perhaps, could 
 have given us more satisfactory information respecting 
 the islanders than anyone we had met with, but we were 
 necessarily in such haste that we could ask but few 
 questions. We therefore bade the people farewell, and 
 taking a number of curiosities that we had collected, 
 pulled away to the schooner, passing through the reefs 
 much more easily than we had expected. The number 
 of inhabitants on the island is somewhere between two 
 and three hundred. The readiness with which the peo- 
 ple parted with their spears, showed their present dispo- 
 sition for peace and order. We trust their anxiety for a 
 
 Austral Islands. — Rev. Mr. Richards, of the London Society's 
 mission at Kaialea, Society Islands, gives in the Chronicle an interesting 
 account of a visit among the Austral Islands, Rurutu, Tupuai, and 
 Rimatara, which lie made in company with Rev. Mr. Tearce, of New Guinea, 
 in the John Williams in 1SS7. The object of the tour was not merely to 
 visit the native churches, hut to secure recruits for the mission on New 
 Guinea. At Rurutu the population is increasing, now amounting to about 
 seven hundred and fifty, and their stone church, with walls two and one- 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 61 
 
 missionary to instruct them will not long be indulged in 
 vain, and that someone who loves the Lord Jesus in 
 sincerity, will be sent to show them the way of life. 
 
 "We have now been becalmed for several days. With 
 a favorable wind we could reach the Marquesas Islands 
 in one or two days. When we shall have visited them I 
 will give you some of the results of our observations. 
 "Affectionately yours, W. P. ALEXANDER." 
 
 " November 2, 1832. 
 
 "Dear Sir: After being becalmed more than a 
 week, on the 20th of October we were gladdened by seeing 
 four of the Marquesas Islands, viz., Fatuhiwa, Moakane, 
 Tahuata and Hivaoa. In the afternoon we came so 
 near Fatuhiwa that we were visited by several canoes, 
 most of their occupants perfectly naked, from whom we 
 learned that the native teachers left by the missionaries 
 from Tahiti resided on the opposite side. Being desirous 
 of having an interview with them, we lay to during the 
 night, and in the morning stood in near the place where 
 they reside. It being the Sabbath we hoped to go 
 ashore and hold a religious meeting with the natives. 
 Our deck was soon crowded with the vociferous unclad 
 savages. Their demands for powder and muskets were 
 peculiarly eager. They informed us that several men 
 had lately been sacrificed, but that they enjoyed peace 
 at present, and urged us earnestly to go ashore. At 
 
 half feet thick, will seat five hundred. The church-members number 
 three hundred and eleven, somewhat less than one-half the population. 
 Everything indicates thrift and careful cultivation, and the people are hon- 
 est and industrious. The chief trader said, " I could leave most of them 
 alone in my store without any fear of being robbed." When their church 
 was being built, the Rurutans heard that a large log of foreign wood had 
 been washed ashore on an island two hundred and twenty miles distant. 
 They at once put to sea, found and purchased the log, and brought it to 
 Rurutu to make seats for their new church. The church gladly gave up 
 one of their members and his wife to go as missionaries to New Guinea. 
 
62 MEMOIR OF 
 
 eleven A. M. the Tahitian teachers came off, and informed 
 us that thirteen persons had been sacrificed and eaten 
 within two months, that the last had been eaten but 
 the day before, that the people treated their instructors 
 with perfect contempt, that they were unmolested, but 
 had been unable to accomplish anything. They said 
 that no white men had ever landed since they arrived, 
 and they could not tell whether it would be safe for us 
 or not. As there was no prospect of holding a religious 
 meeting with the natives, and it might be dangerous to 
 go ashore, we determined to proceed, and the next 
 morning at nine o'clock stood off Resolution Bay on the 
 west side of Tahuata, the place where Mr\ Crook, an 
 English missionary, labored during the year 1797. We 
 were soon visited by Ioteta, the highest chief on the 
 island, with whom we went ashore. We found living 
 with him a Charles Robinson, of Dublin, tatooed on his 
 body and face in Marquesan style. Fifteen months ago 
 three Tahitian teachers were left here by Mr. Darling, a 
 missionary of the London Missionary Society. The 
 people laid aside their old system, and generally sub- 
 mitted to instruction, till their teachers lost their influ- 
 ence by immoral conduct. Two of them have returned 
 to Tahiti, and the remaining one was present and 
 admitted that the above was a true statement of the 
 case. Ioteta and his principal men expressed a great 
 desire to have white missionaries come and reside among 
 them, promising to renounce idolatry and the tabu sys- 
 tem, and obey their instructions. We saw in the tabu 
 houses, several large wooden idols of ghastly appearance, 
 the carving of which was exceedingly rude, to which 
 human sacrifices are offered. Many of them were 
 engaged in their chief amusement, beating drums, 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 63 
 
 accompanied by a monotonous chanting and clapping of 
 the hands. 
 
 " The Valley of Waitohu, which faces the bay, is very 
 fertile, abounding in bread-fruit, which here comes to the 
 highest perfection, cocoanuts, papayas, bananas, and 
 taro; of other trees we saw the hau, iron-wood and 
 tamanu. Pumpkins are also very abundant here, but 
 we saw no potatoes. In the evening we directed our 
 course to Uapou, which lies fifty miles to the east of 
 Tahuata. We are persuaded that missionaries might 
 reside at Tahuata with safety and with cheering pros- 
 pects of success; and I trust that the glad tidings of 
 peace on earth and good-will to men will not be with- 
 held from these benighted people, who now beg us to 
 come and teach them. 
 
 " Early next morning we reached Uapou, where sev- 
 eral canoes came off and gave us a very favorable 
 account of the state of the people; but the sea was sd 
 rough that we could not land. We therefore turned our 
 faces towards Nukuhiwa, which lies fifty miles north of 
 Uapou; and at ten o'clock A. M., October 21, we cast 
 anchor in Massachusetts Bay. Here we remained three 
 days, conferring with the chiefs and principal men respect- 
 ing the establishment of a mission among them, and 
 walking up and down the fertile valleys, which stretch 
 from the bay in various directions far back into the 
 mountains. 
 
 " The people everywhere received us with the utmost 
 cordiality, and seemed emulous who should make the 
 greatest effort to please us. Reports which had reached 
 them respecting the missionary work in the Sandwich 
 and Society Islands, had already prepared both chiefs 
 and people to plead earnestly that missionaries might be 
 
64 MEMOIR OF 
 
 sent to teach them also. They promised if we would 
 come, to renounce their system of superstition and 
 idolatry, and to give heed to our instructions. When 
 encouraged to expect missionaries in a few months, 
 Hape, the principal chief among the Teiis, who inhabit 
 the valleys around the harbor, pointed out a very fertile 
 district, abounding in bread-fruit trees and cocoanuts, 
 which he intended to give them; and he promised to 
 have a house built on it ready for their reception when 
 they should arrive. To show us how slender were the 
 ties which bind him to his old system, he ate before us 
 a portion of a sacred fowl and pig, from which the tabu 
 system restricted him. 
 
 " We also visited the picturesque Valley of Taioa, four 
 miles to the westward, and found the natives there in 
 like manner prepared for the reception of the gospel. 
 The field is white to the harvest, and shall not. the reaper 
 put in the sickle ? We saw four white men at Nukuhiwa. 
 William Morrison, an Englishman, has resided there six 
 years, is tattooed like the natives, wears his hair and 
 beard like them, and, like them, has no article of clothing 
 except the maro. William Raymond, an Englishman, 
 has been there fifteen months, and lives with Messrs. 
 Angell and Shaw, Americans, who six months ago 
 stopped there to make a fortune by cultivating vege- 
 tables to sell to shipping, when they call for supplies. 
 They have been industrious; and I think they will not 
 present any obstacles in our way. 
 
 "On the evening of the 25th we weighed an- 
 chor, and during the night ran down to Uapou, where 
 on the morning of the 27th Mr. Whitney and I went 
 ashore, and found the people far more wild than at 
 Nukuhiwa, yet perfectly friendly. They say that if 
 the people of Nukuhiwa receive missionaries and do not 
 
REV. WM. P. A LEX AX PER. 6*5 
 
 die in consequence of it, they will be willing to re- 
 ceive them too. Their talma, or inclosure for dancing 
 koika, and revelry on festal occasions, is the most splen- 
 did one that we have seen on the islands, being a neat, 
 oblong pavement three hundred feet long by one hun- 
 dred feet wide, having an outer border eight feet wide, 
 elevated three feet above the paved area which it in- 
 closes. On this border a series of houses arc erected, 
 joining each other so as to completely inclose the court 
 of idolatry. Within the inclosure are two platforms of 
 solid rock, thirty feet square and five feet high, stations 
 for those who beat drums during the festivals, besides 
 which there are four scaffolds of bamboo, the use of 
 which I did not learn. (Probably like the Hawaiian 
 lele, to place offerings on.) The whole is shaded by 
 thirty-five tall, spreading bread-fruit trees, which grow 
 within the court. The large hewn stone steps by which 
 we entered, and the whole structure, manifested far 
 greater skill in masonry than I had supposed the peo- 
 ple possessed. 
 
 "On the afternoon of the same day on which we vis- 
 ited Uapou, we turned our faces towards the Sandwich 
 Islands, to which we are now hastening, favored by a 
 fine breeze and friendly swell. The objects of our voy- 
 age are now accomplished ; and it is not the smallest 
 matter for rejoicing that the Lord has opened for us a 
 wide and an effectual door among the Nukuhivans." 
 
 They safely arrived in Honolulu about the 17th of 
 November, 1832. 
 
 It was stated in the letter from the mission to Dr. An- 
 derson, of December 27, 1832, that "the information 
 gained by the visit, both with respect to the Society 
 as well as the Marquesas Islands, was sufficient of itself 
 to compensate for all the expense incurred." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 » 
 
 TRAVELS ON HAWAII. 
 
 AFTER Mr. Alexander's return to the Hawaiian Isl- 
 ands, considerable time elapsed before it was de- 
 termined by the Hawaiian Mission and the American 
 Board, to undertake the Marquesas Mission. Mean- 
 while he was occupied part of the time in preaching in 
 English in Honolulu, and part of the time in tours 
 through Hawaii. From his letters the following ac- 
 counts of his journeys are taken: — 
 
 " Kailua, Hawaii, July 20, 1832. — Arrived off Kailua, 
 with Brethren Whitney and Tinker, on the schooner 
 Becket, at daybreak, and came ashore and took breakfast 
 with Brother Bishop and family in their cool, delightful 
 house. Took tea with Mr. Thurston, who has a very 
 commodious, excellent dwelling. At the suggestion of 
 Mr. Tinker we visited a remarkable cavern, the entrance 
 of which is in Mr. Thurston's yard, in which we traveled 
 over a quarter of a mile, under many a sepulchral arch, 
 till we came to a spacious pond of brackish water. The 
 name of this cavern is Laniakea (the wide heavens). It 
 was formerly resorted to as a refuge by those who fled 
 in battle. ... I should have mentioned the fort of 
 Kailua, and the huge idols, placed beside the cannon, 
 whose hideous features may be intended to frighten all 
 evil back into the ocean. 
 
 "This morning Brethren Whitney, Tinker, and my- 
 (66) 
 
REV. tVM. P. ALEXANDER. 67 
 
 self embarked at four o'clock on a large double canoe 
 for Kaawaloa, fifteen miles distant, which we reached 
 before seven o'clock A. M. Mr. Ruggles had sent us 
 some large bunches of grapes, like unto the grapes of 
 Eschol, which were very refreshing. Presently Brother 
 Forbes arrived with pics hot out of the oven. Thus 
 strengthened we commenced the ascent towards Mr. 
 Forbes' residence, three miles distant, at Kuapehu. 
 About every two hundred yards arbors had been erected 
 for the relief of travelers, at each of which we found it 
 refreshing to rest. In about an hour and a half we 
 reached the top, and were heartily welcomed by Mr. and 
 Mrs. Ruggles and Hulda, and especially by Mrs. Forbes, 
 who received me almost with enthusiasm. I am now 
 seated by Brother Forbes' desk, in his little grass hut, 
 everything around me neat and comfortable, the air 
 sweet and cool, the yard full of shrubbery, grass, and 
 flowers. But I assure you, it was no trifle to reach this 
 enchanted spot. Since dinner, with Brethren Forbes, 
 Ruggles and Tinker, I took a walk northward about a 
 mile along the new road. We passed through a forest 
 of the ohia apple tree, the bread-fruit, and the kukui, or 
 candlenut tree, and at openings in the woods found 
 excellent potato and taro patches. It was pleasant to 
 observe the native houses surrounded with many varieties 
 of American flowers, their porches covered with vines, and 
 their yards inclosed, not with huge mud walls, but with 
 the ti, interlocked, and its tops covered with broad green 
 leaves. We visited Kapiolani (The-prisoner-of-heaven), 
 the highest chief in this part of the island. She has a 
 very neat house wearing the appearance of civilization. 
 Brother Ruggles led us through her vineyard, which 
 covers about an acre and is loaded with grapes." 
 
68 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Soon after writing the foregoing, Mr. Alexander 
 returned to Honolulu, and a few months afterwards, in 
 company with Mr. Armstrong, made another tour on 
 Hawaii, some account of which is here given: — 
 
 " Thursday, January j, iSjj. — Arrived at Kawaihae, 
 and was hospitably entertained by Mr. Young, who has 
 been on the islands for more than forty years. His wife 
 is a church-member, and his daughters appear well. 
 ( He was the father of Emma, afterwards the queen of 
 Kamehameha IV.) Friday we embarked for Hilo, 
 and encountered a fierce gale, and with all sails furled, 
 except the foresail, and the helm lashed, we drifted at 
 the mercy of the wind two days, when at three P. M. 
 Brother Armstrong and I landed at Puako. . . . 
 After a tiresome walk of eighteen miles, drenched with 
 rain, we found the shelter of Brother Baldwin's domicile 
 at Waimea very pleasant. Brother Lyons was sick in 
 bed. 
 
 "January 7. — Went with Brethren Armstrong, Spauld- 
 ing, and Chapin to a remarkable cave, formerly a deposi- 
 tory for the dead. We counted eighty bodies, and sup- 
 pose that it contains more than one hundred. They are 
 wrapped in tapa, and have beside them calabashes for 
 water and poi, spit-boxes, and pieces of sugar-cane. 
 
 "January g. — With seven natives to carry clothes, 
 food, water, and their own provisions, Brother Armstrong 
 and I commenced the journey to Hilo via Luapele 
 (Kilauea). Passed through a fine country covered with 
 grass, shrubbery, and wild cattle, and encamped at the 
 eastern foot of Mauna Kea, having walked twenty miles. 
 The natives threw up a bulwark of grass on one side, 
 and built a large fire on the other, when having eaten 
 our evening meal, and had prayers in English and 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 69 
 
 Hawaiian, we slept comfortably under the broad heav- 
 ens. . . . 
 
 " Thursday, 10th. — Entered a field of lava, covering 
 many square miles. Night coming on, we searched long 
 for a place suitable for encamping, and at length found 
 a spot of earth under an ohia tree, large enough for us 
 all to lie upon. In the morning we found ice in our 
 calabashes. 
 
 ". . . . Within a mile of the volcano we found 
 an ignorant heathen with two children, who arc here for 
 catching birds for the feathers, of which they make lets." 
 (They were seeking the little black birds, Oo, which yield 
 a few yellow feathers under their wings. When they 
 are plucked out, the bird is set at liberty, to be again 
 caught and plucked. These feathers are wrought into 
 cloaks, capes, wreaths and kahilis, to deck royalty. The 
 value of one such cloak is estimated, by the labor of its 
 construction, as equal to $100,000.) "With axes -fur- 
 nished by them, we cut the Pulu-hapuu fern, and 
 roasted it for food, our stock of provisions being nearly 
 gone. 
 
 " Depositing our goods in a little hut, built for travel- 
 ers, at the brink of the crater, we descended by a cir- 
 cuitous, though steep and difficult, route, into the vol- 
 cano. . . . We went directly to the great boiling 
 caldron on the opposite side, two miles distant. We 
 found it a literal lake of fire and brimstone, three thou- 
 sand feet long, and one thousand feet wide, rolling its 
 crimson waves from the east to the west, and tossing 
 its fiery surges forty or fifty feet into the air. Though 
 almost suffocated with the sulphurous smoke, and roasted 
 with heat, we advanced to the very brink of the lake. 
 The pungency of the smoke compelled us to retire, and in 
 
yo MEMOIR OF 
 
 not more than three minutes the direction of the action 
 changed, and the spot on which we had stood was 
 drenched with red-hot lava. It then seemed to pursue 
 us, as if we had bjen too daring in venturing so near; 
 for as we hastened to get away, the fiery stream icll 
 nearer and nearer us, so that we became apprehensive 
 that we might be compelled to take a shower bath 
 warmer than would be comfortable. No one could K ok 
 upon this scene without being impressed with the terri- 
 ble majesty of God. If one small spot can furnish 
 such a scene, what must the whole earth on fire appear 
 at the Judgment to him who has no refuge? We 
 hastened to ascend and were glad to find ourselves once 
 more on solid ground. 
 
 " Finding our natives in readiness, we immediately 
 set out on our journey towards Hilo, and before dark 
 reached Kuolo, twenty-four miles, where \vc were 
 hospitably entertained by Kanai, a member of Brother 
 Dibble's church. His fowl and taro were acceptable, as 
 our stock of provisions was just exhausted. 
 
 "January 15. — At ten A. M. we reached Hilo, three 
 miles, and were heartily welcomed by Sister Lyman, 
 and dined on a fat turkey. . . . 
 
 "January 16. — In concert with the brethren we 
 observe to-day as a day of fasting and prayer, for 
 direction in reference to the Marquesan Mission, meeting 
 at the house of Mr. Dibble at eleven A. M. and at three 
 P. M. 
 
C II A P T E II VI I. 
 
 THE MARQUESAS ISLANDS. 
 
 AT the session of the general meeting held in April, 
 1833, at Lahaina, it was decided to undertake a 
 mission in the northern or Washington group of the 
 Marquesas Islands. The American Board had written 
 advising against this; but before their message was re- 
 ceived, the Hawaiian Mission, thinking that the offer of 
 the chief, Hape, to receive missionaries should not be 
 neglected, had already sent Messrs. Alexander, Arm- 
 strong and Parker to that field. 
 
 A brief description of those islands will prepare us for 
 the accounts of their sojourn there. The Marquesas lie 
 in two parallel groups, thirteen islands in all, extending 
 from southeast to northwest, between latitude south 
 eight to eleven degrees, and longitude west one hundred 
 and thirty-three to one hundred and fifty degrees. The 
 southern group was discovered July 21, 1595, by Alvaro 
 Mendona, and by him named Marquesas in honor of 
 Marquesas de Mendoza, the viceroy of Peru. The 
 northern group, to which our missionaries went, was un- 
 known till tzco hundred years later, when it was dis- 
 covered by an American, Captain Ingraham, and by him 
 named, "The Washington Islands." 
 
 These islands are all of volcanic origin. They are 
 simply mountains rising from the ocean, varying from 
 two thousand to four thousand feet in height. From 
 
 (71) 
 
72 MEMOIR OF 
 
 their summits sharp ridges extend to the sea, terminat- 
 ing in high bluffs, and separating the valleys from each 
 other by high precipices ; so that access from one valley 
 to another is generally impossible except by canoe. 
 Over all their rugged cliffs and rocky ridges there is a 
 perpetual robe of verdure. Nuuhiva, the largest, is 
 about seventy miles in circumference. 
 
 Mr. Coan says of it: "The peaks of this island 
 rise to the height of three thousand three hundred 
 and sixty feet. Almost every pinnacle is carpeted 
 with vines; even on the perpendicular walls of the 
 precipices a tapestry of shrubs and verdure hangs. 
 The bay of this island, called Taiohae, is shaped like a 
 horseshoe. It is nine miles in circumference, half a mile 
 wide at its entrance, where it is flanked by two grand 
 head-lands over five hundred feet high, and extends at 
 the center to two miles in breadth. Its shore is a beau- 
 tiful crescent of sand, interrupted here and there with 
 shingle and bowlders." Says H. Melville (Typee), "No 
 description can do justice to the beauty of the scenery of 
 this bay. The mountains shut in a vast natural amphi- 
 theater of deep glens, overgrown with vines and gleam- 
 ing with cascades. I felt regret that a scene so en- 
 chanting was hidden from the world in these remote 
 seas." He says of a view he obtained from the sum- 
 mit of the mountain: "Had a glimpse of the gardens 
 of Paradise been given me, I could scarcely have been 
 more ravished with the sight " 
 
 The inhabitants of these islands are the Polynesian 
 race, that has peopled nearly all the islands of the Pa- 
 cific. So similar is their language to that of the Ha- 
 waiians that Hawaiian Bibles and other books are easily 
 read by them. 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 73 
 
 The population of these islands, at the beginning of 
 this century, was estimated to be twenty thousand ; in 
 1S76 it was only five thousand, seven hundred and fifty- 
 four, diminished by war, cannibalism and disease. 
 
 The people are a finer appearing race than those on 
 the Society and Hawaiian Islands. Says Mr. Bingham 
 (Hawaiian Islands): "The Marquesans were more noble 
 in form and stature than the Hawaiians, and the women, 
 vile as they were, more comely, though some of the 
 people were horribly tattooed. But the men were dis- 
 tinguished more for pride and independence of feeling 
 than any other natives in the Pacific isles. Our mis- 
 sionaries were struck with the lofty air with which these 
 swarthy, half-naked sons of ignorance would pace the 
 deck of a foreign vessel, as if the ship and the ocean 
 were at their command, though they were as poor as 
 Robinson's Crusoe's goats." 
 
 The following accounts of the experiences of the mis- 
 sionaries in those islands are chiefly taken from reminis- 
 cences written by Mrs. Alexander: — 
 
 They embarked July 2, 1833, on the brig Dhaulle, 
 a Baltimore clipper, commanded by Captain Bancroft. 
 
 All the missionaries then at Honolulu assembled to 
 bid them farewell, " hardly expecting to again meet them 
 this side the shore of Canaan." All were much affected 
 as they sang together and united in prayer offered by 
 Mr. Bingham. 
 
 With them were two infant children, the eldest daugh- 
 ter of Mr. Armstrong, and the eldest son of Mr. Alexan- 
 der, the latter of whom learned to walk on the return 
 voyage. They took with them Hawaiian nurses, who 
 were of great service in the care of the children. 
 The voyage was anything but comfortable. They were 
 
74 MEMOIR OF 
 
 crowded together, six adults with their two children in 
 a cabin twelve feet square, in the center of which was a 
 stairway. In these close quarters they suffered much 
 for lack of fresh air, especially as it often became neces- 
 sary to close the hatch to keep out the rain, and as "the 
 vessel contained its full share of bilge water." They had 
 poor fare, of salt meat, hard bread and rice rather the 
 worse for having been brought around Cape Horn. Un- 
 favorable winds obliged them to put into the harbor 
 of Tahiti, where they arrived July 24, and enjoyed 
 three days on shore under the shade of the orange, co- 
 coanut, and guava trees. They were hospitably enter- 
 tained by Rev. Mr. Pritchard. Mr. Armstrong wrote : 
 " Nature here wears her loveliest, gaudiest dress. From 
 the beach to the topmost pinnacle of the mountains all 
 is green and cheering to the beholder. Our rooms are 
 strewed with oranges, limes, guavas and vi, which are 
 very refreshing after the seasickness of our voyage." 
 Here Mr. George Bickncll presented them with a cow 
 and a calf, the best of his herd, without which the infant 
 daughter of Mr. Armstrong would not have lived. They 
 arrived at Nuuhiva at ten A. M., August 10, 1833. 
 
 "As soon as we arrived," says Mrs. Alexander, "the 
 natives came off in great numbers, the women swimming, 
 and holding by one hand their white tapas, their only 
 garment, out of the water. [H. Melville has given the 
 reason for the swimming of the women: "Canoes were 
 tabooed to them, hence when a woman goes to a ship she 
 puts in requisition the paddles of her own fair body."] 
 The deck was soon crowded with men, women and 
 children, most of them entirely naked, a few having only 
 a strip of tapa around the waist, all making a deafening 
 noise. At sight of the women and children they were 
 
REV. WAJ. P. ALEXANDER. 75 
 
 greatly excited, jumping on the deck with loud shouts 
 of laughter. All the talk fore and aft was' Vahine* 
 and ' PikaninV (women and children). 
 
 "The ladies remained below in the cabin, until the 
 captain, throwing hard bread to the front part of the 
 vessel, gathered the natives forward, and then put up a 
 board fence, and, through an interpreter, informed them 
 that the ladies would come on deck and could be seen 
 if they would remain at the forepart of the vessel." 
 (Mrs. Armstrong's sketches.) 
 
 "As soon as we had come on deck," wrote Mrs. Alex- 
 ander, " the natives shouted 'Moatake (good). I had a 
 babe three months old; the women admired him, and 
 begged for him. Swimming beside the ship, they showed 
 how they could hold him out of the water. [They pro- 
 posed to make him their king; more likely they would 
 have put him into one of their baking-ovens.] 
 
 "The men made me think of devils. They had long 
 hair, tied in two bunches on the top of their heads. 
 Their faces were tatooed black; strings of shark's teeth 
 were strung around their necks, and tufts of human hair 
 bound to their waists and ankles." The chiefs wore 
 chaplets of cocoanut fiber binding a mother-of-pearl 
 shell on the brow, surmounted with tall bird-feathers. 
 
 At evening the captain persuaded the natives to go 
 ashore, with the promise that the next day the mission- 
 aries would land. "Some of the wild men immediately 
 proposed to exchange wives with the missionaries. As 
 we gazed at the island in the evening light, it baffled 
 comprehension, that beings so vile should be placed in 
 scenes so beautiful." (Mrs. Armstrong's sketches.) 
 
 The accounts given them by their interpreter, of recent 
 events, were not assuring. During the week previous a 
 
76 MEMOIR OF 
 
 company of four while men and a number of natives 
 had visited the opposite side of the island for kava, and 
 had there been attacked by the natives. Part of them 
 made their escape in a boat; but two of the white men 
 were killed and immediately disemboweled and eaten. 
 During the same week a Captain Dean, of the English 
 ship Elisabeth, had landed on a neighboring island and 
 been immediately murdered. 
 
 "On the 12th of August, all our company," writes 
 Mrs. Alexander, "except myself, went ashore. I re- 
 mained to care for the babes. They visited Hape, the 
 chief. He was sick, but was pleased to see them, and 
 said he would give them the house he was then occupy- 
 ing. The savages everywhere followed them shouting, 
 the women sometimes coming close and lifting the bon- 
 nets of the ladies for a fuller view, and exclaiming, 
 'Moatake! 
 
 "On the 15th of August we all took up our abode 
 in a house near the shore, furnished by Hape. It was 
 fifty feet long, open all the length on one side four 
 feet above the ground, and thatched with bread-fruit 
 leaves shingled over each other. The floor was paved 
 with smooth, round stones. We closed up the open side 
 of the house with boards, made doors four feet high, 
 formed windows by cutting away part of the bread-fruit 
 leaves from the bamboo frame-work, and partitioned the 
 house by calico and sheeting into four rooms; one of 
 these rooms, at the end, was used for a store-room ;the 
 next was occupied by Mr. Parker's family, the next by 
 Mr. Alexander's, and the next, near the beach, and 
 almost in the roaring surf, by Mr. Armstrong's family. 
 At first our doors and windows were crowded almost to 
 suffocation by the savages gazing at us. Our cooking 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 77 
 
 was done outside, under a spreading bread-fruit tree, by 
 placing kettles on stones over the fire. It was the rainy 
 season, so that outdoor cooking was difficult. Some- 
 times the natives would take the food out of the kettles 
 by hooks, and carry it away. We bought bread-fruit 
 of them, with knives, fish-hooks, and such other things 
 as they wanted." 
 
 The captain of the Dhaiille had been directed to 
 remain two weeks to make sure of their safety, but he 
 was impatient to get away from the savages. Says Mr. 
 Armstrong: "To-day (August 21) the Dhaulle takes 
 her departure, and leaves us alone in this end of 
 the earth; but the Lord is our sun and shield; and those 
 who trust in him cannot be moved." 
 
 "Our first work," says Mrs. Alexander, "was to build 
 comfortable homes. The natives were hired to bring 
 timber of bread-fruit and cocoanut trees, and bread- 
 fruit leaves, but they tried us very much by their indo- 
 lence. At length three houses were completed, placed 
 so near together that we could call from one to the 
 other. I often was made to tremble in the night when 
 the savages would pass close by with flaming torches, on 
 their way from fishing. One touch of their torches 
 would have set the houses all ablaze. 
 
 " We divided each house into a bedroom, dining-room, 
 and room for native visitors. They were so thievish 
 that we could not allow them to enter any room but this 
 which was always free to them. We once left a box of 
 articles for trade in this room, and soon found it empty. 
 They would often thrust bamboo sticks, with hooks, 
 through our lattice windows, to take whatever the)' could 
 reach. We often awoke at night to find them with their 
 poles thrust through the windows, taking clothing or any- 
 
78 . MEMOIR OF 
 
 thing they could get, or pulling up the thatch to take 
 whatever they could reach, .sometimes not one only, but 
 a gang of thieves stealing at the same time from differ- 
 ent parts of the house. It was most annoying to see 
 their black faces peering through the windows, and 
 through openings they tore through the thatch. I dared 
 not look at them, for I was sure to see a look that would 
 fill me with disgust and horror. 
 
 " The brethren went out every day amongst them 
 with pencil and paper, to learn words, and afterwards 
 compared notes, As they roamed about they were 
 delighted with the rich and beautiful scenery. The 
 groves of bread-fruit, cocoanut, and papaia, and a great 
 variety of thick vines and shrubbery, formed one almost 
 unbroken shade. At almost every house they were 
 hospitably received, and invited to eat bread-fruit poi. 
 
 " I stayed in the house with the doors locked ; for I was 
 afraid to be left alone. But such confinement was not 
 good for my health. I therefore one day proposed to 
 take a walk with my husband. We had not gone far 
 from the house, when the men followed us, and behaved 
 in such a manner that we returned to the house." 
 
 The fifth Sabbath after their arrival, Mr. Alexander 
 preached the first sermon, telling the natives of the 
 vanity of their gods, and of the true God. This sermon 
 has been found amongst his papers, marked, " The first 
 sermon preached in the Marquesas Is." 
 
 " The big bread-fruit tree that had been used as a 
 cook-house was now used as a church. The ladies sat 
 under its shade on chairs, while the natives rushed 
 around in noisy confusion. The preaching was no easy 
 task. The natives would smoke and talk and mimic. 
 Some would lie and sleep, some laugh and talk, some 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 79 
 
 mock and excite laughter; here one would sit smoking 
 a pipe, there one twisting a rope; often there was such 
 confusion that the preacher could scarcely hear himself 
 speak. Not unfrcquently the half of those present would 
 arise and go off laughing and mocking. They were 
 ready to gnash on us with their teeth when we told them 
 their gods were false. They would often say, ' Tivava 
 (it is a lie). ' Your God is good for you,' they would 
 say, 'ours are good for us.' When the preacher shut his 
 eyes, they asked, 'Is your God blind, that you shut your 
 eyes?' An ax had been stolen. They said, 'You tell 
 us your God is great and good, let him find the thief if 
 he is so great.' " Mr. Coan tells how, years after, when 
 describing Heaven, he was interrupted by the remark, 
 "That will be a good place for cowards and lazy folks, 
 who are afraid to fight, and too lazy to climb bread-fruit 
 and cocoanut trees." 
 
 Afterwards the brethren preached by rotation every 
 Sabbath, and after the eighth of December, twice on 
 Sabbath. They also preached in English to the few 
 foreigners on the island. After four months' residence 
 on the island they were able to translate into Marquesan 
 four hymns, which much pleased the natives and secured 
 their attention. The last three months they were able 
 to pray extempore in Marquesan. Generally only 
 twenty natives attended their meetings. Once one hun- 
 dred and fifty attended. Mrs. Armstrong and the other 
 ladies conducted a school for the children, but only a few 
 attended, and they very irregularly; and not more than 
 half a dozen learned the alphabet. 
 
 "This is indeed a wretched, degraded people. I would 
 not have believed there was a people so nearly on a level 
 with the brute creation, if I had not seen this people. 
 
8o MEMOIR OF 
 
 The women are greatly oppressed by the taboo system. 
 They are forbidden to enter many of the houses of the 
 men, and have few of the privileges the men enjoy; they 
 are also abused and cruelly beaten by their husbands. 
 Yet they plead for having five or six husbands. They 
 ask who will prepare their food if they have only one 
 husband. The first husband is a chief, and he must not 
 work; and it is considered not proper for the second also 
 to work; and therefore they must have five or six hus- 
 bands." 
 
 Although Hape was the chief of this part of the 
 island, the natives seemed to be almost without control. 
 One of the missionaries once asked, " Who is king here?" 
 The reply was, " You are king; I am king; we are all 
 kings." This was a sort of a democracy of liberty 
 without law. Strange to say, there were men from civ- 
 ilized lands who actually enjoyed it. There were eight 
 white men on the island, living in the same degradation 
 as the natives. The popular writer, Herman Melville, 
 spent several months here, and poetically described the 
 neighboring valley as the " Happy Valley." " Here," 
 he humorously wrote, " were none of the thousand 
 sources of irritation that the ingenuity of civilized man 
 has created to mar his own felicity. There were no 
 foreclosures of mortgages, no protested notes, no debts 
 of honor, no poor relatives everlastingly occupying the 
 bed-chamber, no beggars, no debtor's prisons, no proud 
 and hard-hearted nabobs, or, to sum up all in one word, 
 no money. All was fun and high good-humor, frolic 
 with flowers and the sport of hunting and fishing." 
 
 The missionaries saw an amusing illustration of this 
 sort of felicity in the case of a man who claimed to be 
 the son of an English nobleman, who had been sent to 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. Si 
 
 sea as a bad boy to be reformed, and had run away from 
 his ship, and was there at that time going almost naked, 
 tattooed all over, except on his face. He was accus- 
 tomed to climb over the highest ridges to attend savage 
 feasts, and he remarked that " this was the happiest pe- 
 riod of his life." 
 
 The happiness of this style of life was not entirely 
 unalloyed. To say nothing of the degradation of it, 
 and of the misery of the prevailing superstitions, there 
 was continually the horror of savage strife and cannibal- 
 ism. Sometimes, at night, a company would go in a 
 canoe to a distant bay, and there land, and stealthily 
 surround a house, and at a given signal kill everyone 
 within, and then they would hurry away with the dead 
 bodies to their port, and there have a cannibal feast. 
 The people of the distant bay would do a similar act in 
 retaliation; and thus a savage war would be occasioned. 
 
 The people of each valley were accustomed to kill 
 those of the neighboring valley at sight. Mr. Alexan- 
 der once desired to explore the valley of Typee, with a 
 view to making a mission station there. With much 
 difficulty he found a man, who was a sort of neutral, 
 that is, one permitted to go unharmed from one valley 
 to the other. With this man he and Mr. Parker went 
 to Typee. Immediately on entering that valley, they 
 were surrounded by a savage multitude vociferating 
 fiercely. In I S 1 3 Captain Porter, of the U. S. ship Essex, 
 had chastised the natives of that valley, and had pursued 
 them far into the interior of the island, killing many of 
 them. One of the natives now exclaimed, "Porter killed 
 my father." Another said, " Porter killed my brother." 
 Another, clapping his hand on his shoulder, said, " Porter 
 shot me here." The missionaries then expected to be 
 6 
 
82 MEMOIR OF 
 
 killed, when their guide said to the natives: "These 
 men are not like Porter. He came to fight; these men 
 have come to teach us not to fight." He then repeated, 
 very correctly, the sermons which the missionaries had 
 preached. The natives then shouted, " Moatake" (good), 
 and conducted them to a house, where they spent the 
 night, expecting to be clubbed before morning; but they 
 were not disturbed, and the next morning they were 
 allowed to return home, which they did, by the advice 
 of their guide, by a different route from that of the day 
 before. 
 
 The chief, Hape, at length became quite unfriendly. 
 He was disappointed that the missionaries did not cure 
 him of his sickness, and did not give him more presents, 
 for which he daily begged ; and he urged the natives not 
 to attend the meetings. 
 
 On the 4th of December he died. ''The hills then 
 echoed with wailing, the thumping of drums, and the 
 blowing of conch shells." The body was hung high in 
 a canoe over the heiau; and the first wife was obliged to 
 remain continually in care of it, to provide food for the 
 spirit, until the body had so far decayed that the bones 
 could be picked out, which it was the privilege of the 
 wife, or the nearest relative, to do. Mr. Alexander has 
 given in one of his sermons a picture of the scenes then 
 witnessed. "The funeral rites beggared description, for 
 obscenity, noise, cruelty and beastly exposure. 
 They lasted seven days, and were the darkest days I 
 ever saw. Companies came from all parts, filling the 
 air with loud waitings, dancing in a state of perfect nudity 
 around the corpse, like so many furies, cutting their 
 flesh with shells and sharp stones, till the blood trickled 
 down to their feet, the women tearing out their hair, 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 83 
 
 both men and women knocking out their teeth, in- 
 dulging in the most revolting licentiousness, and feast- 
 ing to excess, while muskets were fired and sea-shells 
 were kept a-blowing with a long, deep, sepulchral sound 
 during the whole night. Verily I seemed to be for the 
 time on the borders of the infernal regions." Mrs. Par- 
 ker mentions that " Hape soon became a nuisance to 
 all, and to us in particular, except when the wind fa- 
 vored us, blowing in another direction." 
 
 The hostility between the different valleys made the 
 situation of the missionaries very insecure. They were 
 several times informed that the Typces were coming in 
 the night to kill them, and to take their property. But 
 their most serious danger was from the foreigners, who 
 had taken their abode amongst the natives. As a gen- 
 eral rule civilized men turned savage are more danger- 
 ous than the savage-born; and their presence in heathen 
 lands is a greater obstacle to Christianity than heathen- 
 ism itself. Such a man was a convict from New Zea- 
 land, known by the name of Morrison. The night 
 after Hape died the missionaries were hastily sent 
 for, because he had become suddenly sick. The day 
 before a great school of porpoises had come into the 
 bay, and the natives had caught them in such quanti- 
 ties that their bodies were piled up on the shore; 
 and for many days, even after putrefaction had begun, 
 everyone helped himself to their flesh, as he pleased. 
 This man gave his appetite full rein. The consequence 
 was that he had an attack of apoplexy, from which 
 he died at eleven o'clock at night. The natives now 
 informed the missionaries that he had planned to fire 
 their houses, and to murder them all, in order to ob- 
 tain their few articles of property. Their hearts over- 
 
84 MEMOIR OF 
 
 flowed with gratitude to God for this providential de- 
 liverance. They, however, determined to give the body 
 a burial in Christian style, the first such burial on the 
 island. They made a coffin out of their boxes, dug a 
 grave, and with prayer lowered the body into it. A na- 
 tive then threw in a baked hog. Mr. Armstrong threw 
 it out. It was again thrown in and again thrown out. 
 The native then said, "The soul of that man will come to 
 me in the night and will say, 'You are stingy, I am 
 hungry.'" It was supposed that he afterwards dug into 
 the grave, and buried the pig alongside of the corpse. 
 
 The utterly treacherous character of the natives was 
 once illustrated in an amusing way, by an attempt they 
 made to destroy a ship. When a captain once was about 
 to take his ship to sea, and had raised his anchor and set 
 his sails, he observed that his ship made no progress, but 
 was rather approaching the shore. Taking a spy-glass, 
 and examining a crowd of savages on the beach, he dis- 
 covered that they were pulling away at a rope. He then 
 lowered a boat and found a rope attached under water 
 to the ship. This he cut, and thereby saved his ship, 
 and himself and his crew, from the savages. 
 
 After the missionaries had resided several months on 
 the island, Mr. Orsmond, an English missionary, came 
 from Tahiti, to inform them that English missionaries, 
 sent by the London Missionary Society, were on their 
 way thither. The arrangement had been made that 
 the equator should be the dividing line between the 
 English and American missions. Mrs. Alexander men- 
 tions that "he further stated that it would be much 
 easier for their mission to send supplies to missionaries 
 here than it would be for the Hawaiian Mission; since 
 they, the English missionaries, had a mission packet 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 85 
 
 that made regular trips to their outstations, and we had 
 none. It was very plain to us that they wished us to 
 give up the field to the London Missionary Society. 
 The brethren spent .April 1st, fasting and praying over 
 the matter. They decided that the economy of mis- 
 sions would not allow two large societies to occupy so 
 small a field together; and therefore they concluded to 
 relinquish the field to the English missionaries and to 
 return to the Hawaiian Islands. It was very trying to 
 us to leave, although we knew that missionaries were on 
 their way to take our place. The people were in gross 
 darkness; and I, for one, was willing to spend my life 
 among them. Shortly after, two whale-ships came to 
 the harbor for supplies; the captain of one of which, 
 Captain Coffin, of the Benjamin Rush, agreed to con- 
 vey us to the Hawaiian Islands without our goods. 
 The other, the Royal Sovereign, Captain Green, took our 
 goods to Huahine, whence a year after they were shipped 
 to Honolulu." 
 
 The missionaries now had to contrive to get aboard 
 the ship without the opposition of the natives. They 
 secretly packed their goods, darkening their windows 
 lest they should be observed; and then suddenly the 
 ladies, with their infants, which had increased in number 
 by two born during their stay on the island, went to the 
 boat with a file of sailors on each side. They were 
 quickly surrounded by a great multitude of the savages, 
 armed with spears and clubs. These they conciliated 
 by presents, and thereby they succeeded in getting away 
 from the shore. Their husbands came afterwards with 
 the baggage. 
 
 "Oh, what a sense of relief," says Mrs. Armstrong, 
 " we felt, when we were all on board! It was a critical 
 
S6 MEMOIR OF 
 
 moment; for the natives were like friction-matches, 
 ready to explode on the slightest provocation ; and when 
 (on the 1 6th of April, 1834) the sails were spread, and 
 the shores of Nuuhiva receded from view, we gave 
 thanks to God that during a residence there of over 
 eight months he had saved us from \\\t fury of that 
 heathen race." They arrived at Honolulu, May 12, 
 1834. Three or four months afterwards letters came 
 from the American Board, to be forwarded to them to 
 the Marquesas Islands, directing them to relinquish that 
 field to the London Missionary Society. Fortunately, 
 they had anticipated this action of the American Board, 
 and by taking passage on a whale-ship prevented the 
 expense of chartering a vessel to go expressly for them. 
 The Board strongly commended them for their return. 
 
 In the Missionary H erald of January, 183 5, we find the 
 following: — 
 
 "The Committee (the Prudential Committee) approve 
 of the relinquishment of the mission; and it is but 
 justice to say, that the courage, enterprise, and self- 
 denying zeal with which the brethren and their wives 
 prosecuted their mission for eight months in circum- 
 stances the most appalling to flesh and spirit, entitle 
 them to the unabated confidence and affectionate sym- 
 pathy of the Board." 
 
 Soon after their deparature, three English mission- 
 aries arrived, and commenced labor in those islands. 
 They remained there about five years, and then aban- 
 doned the field. 
 
 "In 1838 two Roman Catholic priests and one lay- 
 man commenced mission work there, and in 1839 these 
 were followed by six priests and one layman. In 1842 
 Admiral Thouars took forcible possession of the islands 
 
REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 87 
 
 for France; and the priests have occupied them at sev- 
 eral stations ever since." — Conns Life in Hawaii. 
 
 In 1853 the Hawaiian Board sent out several ordained 
 ministers, young- Hawaiians, pupils of Mr. Alexander, 
 together with Rev. J. Bicknell. These have been re-in- 
 forced from time to time, and have been visited and 
 encouraged by delegates of the Hawaiian Board. In 
 i860 there were there two hundred and twenty-one 
 pupils in the schools and thirty-four members of 
 churches. The success of the mission has not been 
 great. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 WAIOLI. 
 
 AFTER returning to the Hawaiian Islands, Mr. Alex- 
 ander was appointed by the mission to labor at 
 Waioli, on the island of Kauai, a field as yet unoccupied 
 by missionaries. 
 
 Waioli is a mountain-walled valley at the head of a 
 long bay, on the northern, the rainy, side of the island. 
 It is all, both valley and mountain, clothed with verdure 
 of the brightest green, and made still further beautiful 
 by numerous streams and water-falls, whence the name 
 Waioli (singing water); the name of the chief stream, 
 Hanalei (wreath-making), is also another name for the 
 valley. Its appearance is thus described by Miss Isa- 
 bella Bird:— 
 
 "Hanalei has been likened by some to Paradise, and 
 by others to the Vale of Cashmere. . . .It has 
 every element of beauty; and in the bright sunshine, 
 with the dark shadows on the mountains, the water- 
 falls streaking their wooded sides, the river rushing 
 under kukuis and ohias (Hawaiian forest trees), and 
 then lingering lovingly amidst living greenery, it looked 
 as if the curse had never lighted there." 
 
 " Its mouth, where it opens on the Pacific, is from two 
 to three miles wide; but the boundary mountains grad- 
 ually approach each other, so that five miles from the 
 sea a narrow gorge of wonderful beauty remains. The 
 (88) 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 89 
 
 crystal Hanalei llovvs placidly to the sea for the last 
 three or four miles, tired by its impetuous rush from the 
 mountains, and mirrors on its breast hundreds of acres 
 of cane. . . . Westward of the valley there is a re- 
 gion of mountains slashed by deep ravines. The upper 
 ridges are densely timbered. . . . For mere loveli- 
 ness I think that part of Kauai exceeds anything that 
 I have ever seen." 
 
 In climate it contests with Hilo the reputation of being 
 the rainiest district in the islands. A few facts of the pre- 
 vious Hawaiian history will aid to an understanding of 
 the condition of the field on which Mr. Alexander now 
 entered. The first missionaries had arrived March 30, 
 1820, about twelve years before the arrival of Mr. 
 Alexander and his companions. At Mr. Alexander's 
 arrival, in 1832, there were one hundred and thirty thou- 
 sand inhabitants in the islands, of whom about thirty 
 thousand had learned to read and write ; the New Testa- 
 ment and a few elementary books had been translated 
 into the Hawaiian language; most of the chiefs were 
 favorable to the missionaries; and there were in all the 
 islands eight hundred members of churches. 
 
 From the station report of 1835, the following account 
 of the selection of Waioli as a mission field is taken: — 
 
 "After making a tour of Kauai and carefully inspect- 
 ing the two unoccupied posts in Puna and Halelea, 
 Waioli was chosen in preference to Kapaa, because 
 more people can conveniently assemble there to hear 
 preaching than at Kapaa. . . . On July 20, a spot 
 was selected for a dwelling, which was ready for our 
 reception August 22, to which was soon added a cook- 
 ing house, study, and house for natives." 
 
 In September of the year 1834, Mr. Alexander took 
 
go MEMOIR OF 
 
 his family to Kauai, landing first at Waimea, and there 
 spending a few weeks with Rev. Samuel Whitney, who 
 at that time, with Rev. P. J. Gulick, occupied the south- 
 ern part of the island. From Mrs. Alexander's remi- 
 niscences the following accounts are taken: — 
 
 " We went from Waimea to Waioli with Mr. Whitney 
 in a double canoe, sent us by old Kaikioewa, the gov- 
 ernor. The ocean was calm, so that we arrived at Waioli 
 early the next morning. We went directly to a new 
 grass-thatched house built for us by the natives. It was 
 a good-sized house, and was by us partitioned into three 
 rooms by the stalks of the uluhi fern {Glichenia 
 Hawaiiensis). We had very little furniture, a settee of 
 iron-wood made by a carpenter, and a few chairs and 
 a table brought from the United States of America. 
 We had no cooking stove but did our cooking on stones 
 out-of-doors. Lumber was so scarce that we had but 
 one room with a board floor; the rest of the house was 
 covered with lauhala mats. We lived three years in this 
 house. I never was happier than during those years. 
 It was delightful to live with my doors open and to 
 have no fears of the people around me. There was only 
 one white man near by, until we had a carpenter come 
 to build us a house. Mr. Alexander needed a house for 
 a study; so we had a small one erected, of which the 
 roof was covered with lauhala, and the windows made 
 of oiled paper; for glass was scarce. The natives came 
 constantly to the house for medicines. Doses of castot 
 oil and other drugs were given them in joints of bamboo 
 used as vials. I often made bowls full of pia (arrow- 
 root) and bread-toast coffee for them when they were 
 sick. They brought us presents of fresh fish, chickens, 
 etc., in return for our care of them in their sickness." 
 
% 
 
 REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 91 
 
 " Davida, an excellent member of the Waimea church, 
 had accompanied us as a helper in building up a new 
 station, and with him his train, making in all seventy- 
 five persons. They built a town on the Waioli plain, 
 which they call Bethlehem." (Station report of 1S35.) 
 
 " My husband," Mrs. Alexander writes, " was told that 
 the way to learn the language was to teach school. He 
 therefore formed a school of young men; and soon he 
 began to preach sermons, which at first were largely 
 made up of quotations from the Bible. A good old 
 man, Papohaku (Stonewall), one of Father Whitney's 
 church-members, was employed to correct the sermons. 
 My husband would then preach them, and then call on 
 the old man, who would repeat all that he understood of 
 the discourse, and offer prayer. In a short time my 
 husband was able to preach without his assistance. 
 Meetings were held in a large native house. The natives 
 sat on the ground on mats. There were one or two 
 rough settees of their ownmake, on which the leading 
 men sat. In those days the natives had little of foreign 
 goods, but they had cloth of their own manufacture, 
 kapa made from the bark of the wauki shrub. The 
 women wore the pan (folds of kapa about the hips, leav- 
 ing the shoulders and waist exposed), and they were 
 beginning to make holukus (loose dresses). The men 
 wore the malo (a girdle), and the kihei (a kapa robe 
 knotted over the shoulder), and were beginning to obtain 
 shirts." "Some wore shirts minus pantaloons, and some 
 pantaloons minus shirts. The attention and decorum 
 of a native congregation was perfect, save that it was 
 not the fashion for a Hawaiian to suppress a cough, and 
 the attendance of numbers of dogs, who came as parts 
 of the family, would sometimes create a diversion that 
 
92 MEMOIR OF 
 
 would seriously try the gravity of a more civilized 
 audience." (Mrs. Emerson's sketches.) 
 
 In the station report of 1835, the following account of 
 the first year's labor is given: — 
 
 " During the year a substantial meeting-house has 
 been erected, ninety feet long by forty feet wide, covered 
 with lauhala, and most of the timbers are ready for a 
 school-house. The congregation Sabbath forenoons 
 has usually numbered from eight hundred to one thou- 
 sand, and afternoons about six hundred. Since the 
 first of March we have had daylight (morning) prayer- 
 meetings, usually attended by three or four hundred 
 persons. . . . 
 
 "October 19-24, Brother Whitney assisted me in 
 organizing a church at Waioli, consisting of but ten 
 members, five of whom were from the church at Waimea, 
 and five received on examination who had been pro- 
 pounded at Waimea; the Lord's Supper was adminis- 
 tered. . . . Three schools have been kept up at the 
 station during the year. ... I have been astonished 
 at the eagerness with which the people demand new 
 books. The Kumii Haivaii (newspaper) has been sought 
 for with eagerness, and seven hundred now take it in my 
 parish. It was pleasant to see the mountains illuminated 
 at night by those who encamped there for the purpose 
 of preparing pia, to purchase a copy of it. What we do 
 for this people must be done quickly, for they are fast 
 passing away." 
 
 Mr. Alexander made tours through the adjoining dis- 
 tricts, and soon held regular meetings at two out-* 
 stations, at one of which, Pilaa, in Koolau, eight miles 
 distant, he was accustomed to preach under the shade of 
 a noble kukui grove, to a congregation seated on the 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 93 
 
 ground, so romantic a place for religious meetings that 
 Commodore Wilkes afterwards had a picture of itdrawn, 
 representing Mr. Alexander with a tree for a pulpit. 
 This picture is to be found in the fourth volume of 
 Wilkes' " Exploring Expedition," page 69. 
 
 In the report for 1836 the following passage occurs: — 
 
 " The common schools have been low during the past 
 year from several causes. . . . But the load of 
 oppression which the people have suffered, has been the 
 main cause. The men have been absent from home, 
 doing public work at Koloa during three or four months 
 in the year; and when at home they were liable to be 
 called upon to work every other week for the Governor, 
 to which add heavy taxes of kapa, olona, pia, hogs, etc., 
 all of which combined have caused them to 'groan 
 being burdened,' so they had little disposition to obey 
 the sound of the school-master's horn." 
 
 Mr. Conde well describes the life of a missionary at 
 those times: — 
 
 " His work was arduous, laborious, self-sacrificing, and 
 fatiguing, owing to the extent and roughness of the 
 country to be traversed, and the hitherto untutored char- 
 acter of the people. It consisted in teaching school; 
 preaching at home and abroad on frequent tours; dealing 
 out school-books to old and young; visiting the sick, 
 trying to heal or at least to mitigate suffering by the use 
 of medicine; helping the people (a few years afterwards) 
 to acquire their little homesteads in fee simple, listen- 
 ing to their little troubles, domestic and general; giving 
 advice to promote harmony and good-will among all; 
 teaching the arts of civilization as well as the theory and 
 practice of religion; laboring with wayward church-mem- 
 
94 MEMOIR OF 
 
 bers, and stirring' up all to more watchfulness, prayer and 
 Christian activity. ... I never found the day long 
 enough for its duties, nor the night long enough for rest 
 of body." It should be added that every morning there 
 were prayer-meetings at sunrise, conducted by the 
 missionary, and also that Mrs. Alexander conducted 
 stated meetings with the women. " There was at length 
 a furor for the marriage service. Mr. Richards, of 
 Lahaina, united six hundred couples in a few months. 
 The usual fee to the officiating clergyman was a few 
 roots of taro or a fowl, a little bunch of onions, or some 
 such cheap article for the table, to the value of twelve 
 cents." 
 
 In 1836 they were cheered in their loneliness by a 
 short visit from Mr. Tinker, and enjoyed the counsel and 
 aid of Mr. Bingham and family during the month of 
 October. In 1837 Mr. Edward Johnson arrived, and 
 took charge of the Waioli school, thus enabling Mr. 
 Alexander to give his whole attention to pastoral work. 
 
 In the report of 1838 he writes: — 
 
 " During the year I have preached statedly at four out- 
 posts, and occasionally at the more distant points of our 
 field. I hope during the coming year to preach weekly 
 at six or seven different posts, so that all the people in 
 my bounds, who wish, may hear the gospel every week, 
 except about one hundred and seventy who inhabit the 
 Pali district, inaccessible except by sea. The harvest is 
 fully ripe, and, oh, for help and wisdom from on high in 
 gathering it into the garner of the Lord !" 
 
 During the years 1836 to 1838 the revival, known as 
 "The Great Awakening" occurred, and prevailed over 
 all the islands. Mr. Alexander has related that during 
 those years the natives were accustomed to come inces- 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 95 
 
 santly from early in the morning until late at night, to 
 converse on the subject of religion. "We saw," he has 
 remarked in a sermon, preached by him in the United 
 States, "displays of divine mercy, such as few are per- 
 mitted to see on earth, and for which I, for one, can 
 never be too thankful that I have been an eye-witness. 
 The time has been when the whole people seemed to be 
 moved by the presence of God, when the eager congre- 
 gation would drink in every word spoken, like men dy- 
 ing with thirst. They received the divine commands 
 with perfect trust, like little children. They embraced 
 the same Saviour in whom we trust." The desire to 
 unite with the church became so strong that Mr. Alex- 
 ander's great effort came to be, rather to prevent their 
 joining the church when they should not, than to per- 
 suade them to join. He may have erred in being too 
 rigid, though few acquainted with the Hawaiians will 
 think so; while many have erred in being too lax in 
 hastily admitting multitudes into the church. 
 
 As was truly stated by Mr. Alexander in his report 
 for 1839: "Although the great body of the people have 
 professed anxiety for their souls, yet upon careful investi- 
 gation, it is too evident that they have been more con- 
 cerned how to get into the church than how to secure 
 
 eternal life The whole system called hai 
 
 manao (telling thoughts) I have labored to suppress, 
 believing it to be productive of many serious evils and 
 of very little benefit." 
 
 In 1838 he visited Niihau, and spent five days among 
 the people of that island. Besides the labors incident 
 to the revival, Mr. Alexander was much occupied in the 
 work of erecting a church building. In 1839 the Waioli 
 people planted seven acres of sugar-cane, the avails to 
 
96 MEMOIR OF 
 
 go for the building of a church. There were two white 
 men on the island, who were good carpenters. One of 
 these made a mill to grind by horse-power, and Mr. 
 Alexander furnished them his horse. They boiled the 
 cane juice in iron pots, obtained from a whale-ship, and 
 dried the sugar in mat bags hung up to drain. Part of 
 the money realized ($413) was applied to building a 
 school-house and the rest to paying carpenters for 
 building the church. " The lumber for the building 
 was brought from the mountains. The men would go 
 up and cut it; and when it was ready to be brought 
 down, the women would go and help drag it." It was 
 an exciting time in Waioli, when the whole population, 
 with long ropes, with shouts and chanting, dragged the 
 heavy timbers into place for the church, and also for a 
 house for Mr. Alexander. Coral stone was obtained 
 by divers from the sea, and made into lime for the 
 masonry. The natives also contributed $88 for a 
 church bell. In November, 1841, the building was com- 
 pleted — a frame house, measuring thirty-five by seventy- 
 five feet, plastered inside and out. A comfortable house 
 was also built for Mr. Alexander in 1837, before which 
 stood two noble kukui trees, which are well remembered 
 by his older children, both for their beauty and for the 
 opportunity they afforded for amusement. In this new 
 house two more of Mr. Alexander's children, Henry and 
 Mary, were born. During this time he translated Le- 
 gendre's geometry and prepared a text-book on survey- 
 ing and navigation for the Lahainaluna seminary. 
 
 In 1840 he received a visit from Messrs. Pickering 
 and Brackenbridge of the U. S. Ex. Exp., and also 
 from Messrs Peale and Rich. " They were much struck 
 with the dress of the native women at church, its unus- 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 97 
 
 ual neatness and becoming appearance. It seemed 
 remarkable that so many of them should be clothed in 
 foreign manufacture, and that apparently of an expensive 
 kind; but on closer examination the dresses proved to be 
 tapas, printed in imitation of merino shawls, ribands, 
 etc."— U. S. Ex. Exp., Vol. IV, p. 69. 
 
 It now became an increasingly perplexing question to 
 Mr. Alexander and the other missionaries how to edu- 
 cate their children, without exposing them to the con- 
 taminating influence of the natives, and without with- 
 drawing from their pastoral work. In 1840 Mr. Alex- 
 ander took his two oldest sons, one five and the other 
 seven years old, in a palanquin, carried by two powerful 
 natives, as he rode beside on a horse, a journey of forty 
 miles, to Koloa, and there left them with the children of 
 Mr. Gulick, under the instruction of Miss Marcia Smith, 
 who had come as a teacher to the islands in the re- 
 inforcement of 1837. In conjunction with Mr. Armstrong 
 and other missionaries, he had for years been urging on 
 the mission the establishment of a boarding-school for 
 their children ; and a report on this subject had been 
 made to the general meeting held in May, 1837. The 
 result was the founding of the Punahou school (after- 
 wards, in 1853., chartered as Oahu College), under the 
 care of Rev. D. Dole, to which Mr. Alexander took his 
 oldest children at its commencement, in 1841, and after- 
 wards sent all his other children. 
 
 Nearly every year Mr. Alexander made voyages with 
 his family to Honolulu, to attend the general meeting. 
 In these voyages, made on small schooners or sloops, 
 crowded with natives and their dogs, greater discomforts 
 were experienced than in all the rest of their mission 
 life. On one of these voyages Mr. Alexander, with his 
 7 
 
98 MEMOIR OF 
 
 family, was nine days on a decked row-boat called the 
 Pilot, in going from Waioli to Honolulu. In the 
 latter part of this voyage provisions failed, so that they 
 were obliged to subsist on corn-gruel, cooked in a stove 
 extemporized by a wooden tub with a coil of iron chain 
 in the bottom and on the sides. Water was placed in 
 the bottom, and occasionally dashed over the sides, to 
 keep the tub from catching fire. The fat of a large hog 
 was used with a small supply of firewood for fuel. 
 When they reached Honolulu the children, after having 
 been curled up so long in a small cabin, as well as ex- 
 hausted by seasickness, were hardly able to walk. 
 
 One pleasing feature of the voyaging of those days 
 was the devotional exercises of the natives. Every 
 evening, at the command of someone in charge of the 
 deck, a hush would suddenly fall on all on board; and 
 then some pious native would arise and offer prayer. 
 The effect, far out in the deep, with no sound but that 
 of the dashing waves, and no surroundings but the wide 
 ocean and the blue sky above, was very impressive. 
 
 The discomforts of the voyages were fully compensated 
 for by the enjoyments of the general meetings. At- 
 tendance at these was to the mission like the going up 
 of the tribes of Israel to Jerusalem. After long isola- 
 tion from white society, it was delightful to meet those 
 who had been their fellow-passengers on previous 
 voyages around Cape Horn, to recount with them their 
 experiences, and to plan together for their future work. 
 There was in the common devotion with which they had 
 forsaken all for Christ, and with which they now called 
 each other "brother" and "sister," a sweeter bond than 
 that of any kindred or friends; and the children, away 
 from the circles of their American relatives, were also 
 
REV. WiM. P. ALEXANDER. 99 
 
 in fact, to each other, what they afterwards became in 
 name in the Mission Children's Society, " cousins." Of 
 the meetings of the mission, Rev. S. E. Bishop has 
 written that in them "there reigned an indescribably 
 rich fraternal enthusiastic atmosphere of social and spirit- 
 ual intercourse. . . . There was a constantly strength- 
 ening confidence, and more and more triumphant hope, 
 of the soon-coming fullness of conquest of Hawaii for 
 Christ. There was the earnest recounting in the station 
 reports of labors and their fruits, and the enthusiastic plan- 
 ning of new work. . . . The Lord seemed visibly with 
 his servants. Causes of difference and possible conten- 
 tion became merged in the onward movement. . . . 
 Very delightful children's meetings were conducted, first 
 by Mr. Spaulding, and afterwards by Mr. Coan, whom we 
 children nearly worshiped, and to whose words many 
 of us owed our first definite earnest drawings toward 
 the Lord." 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 LAHAINALUNA. 
 
 M 
 
 R. ALEXANDER was obliged by failure of health 
 to relinquish the Waioli parish, after having labored 
 there nine years, and to seek a situation in a drier cli- 
 mate. He had once had the misfortune, when on one 
 of his preaching tours, to sink with his horse in quick- 
 sands in crossing a stream; and though rescued by the 
 natives, he was so thoroughly chilled by a ride afterwards 
 eight miles in drenched clothes to his home as to con- 
 tract asthma, which distressed him the remainder of 
 his life. For this reason the mission voted for his re- 
 moval from Waioli, to take charge of the seminary at 
 Lahainaluna. He removed thither with his family in 
 1843. 
 
 Of the founding and plan of this seminary we have 
 the following account by Rev. R. Anderson: "The 
 school system ceased at length to be a power in the 
 land, such as it had been. The five or six hundred 
 teachers had taught their pupils to read and write and 
 perhaps a little more, but had now exhausted their stock 
 of knowledge, and the system was coming to a dead 
 stand. The Mission therefore resolved to establish a 
 high school at Lahainaluna, on Maui, with the special 
 object of educating teachers. The school was opened in 
 September, 1831, with the Rev. Lorrin Andrews as Prin- 
 cipal, and twenty-five young men as pupils. Before the 
 (100) 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. ioi 
 
 close of the year the pupils increased to sixty-seven. 
 The course of study was to embrace four years, and was 
 liberal for so youthful a nation. The American Board 
 did much toward the needful buildings. . . . Houses 
 were erected for a printing office and for three ordained 
 married teachers. These buildings, with dormitories 
 for more than a hundred students, formed a village of 
 some interest. There were in 1837 one hundred and 
 seven pupils. . . . There was a small theological 
 class in the seminary." 
 
 Lahainaluna is situated on the southwest, the lee- 
 ward, side of Maui, about a mile and a half inland from 
 the town of Lahaina, and on the slope of mountains 
 that rise, with grand steep ridges and narrow gorges, to 
 the height of five thousand eight hundred and twenty 
 feet. The scenery of the mountains, of the garden town 
 of Lahaina, of a frowning old volcanic crater on one 
 side, and of the ocean, and three other islands not far 
 distant, has always been greatly admired. 
 
 Mr. Alexander was here at first associated in the care 
 of this institution with Rev. J. S. Emerson, who removed 
 to Oahu in 1846, and Rev. Sheldon Dibble, who died in 
 1845, and afterwards with Rev. T. D. Hunt, who re- 
 mained one year, and with Rev. J. F. Pogue, who after- 
 wards succeeded him in presiding over the institution. 
 
 The pupils of the seminary were the most promising 
 youth from fourteen to twenty years of age who could 
 be selected from the schools of the islands. Tuition 
 was free; but the pupils were obliged to provide their 
 own food, which they did by cultivating a fine tract of 
 taro land, donated to the seminary by the chief, Hoapili. 
 To the Hawaiian people this institution was a univer- 
 sity, completing their education for school-teaching, for 
 
io2 MEMOIR OF 
 
 law practice and civil service, and for the ministry, 
 Many of the graduates became leading men in the Gov- 
 ernment and in the churches. 
 
 The students were obliged to work under overseers a 
 portion of every day in farming and in carpentry, ma- 
 sonry, and other trades. 
 
 A church was organized of the pupils and of the in- 
 habitants of the adjacent valleys. Sometimes there 
 was much religious interest, and many made profession 
 of religion, and afterwards became ministers of the gos- 
 pel and foreign missionaries. Three of these, Kauwea- 
 loha, Kekela, and Kaiwi, have proved worthy mission- 
 aries in the Marquesas Islands. 
 
 Mr. Alexander sent all of his children to the Punahou 
 school. The home-coming of these children, and of 
 those of the associate teachers, in vacations, by a tedious 
 voyage with much seasickness, in small, slow-sailing 
 craft, was a great event at Lahainaluna. A white flag 
 at the mast-head, the usual signal of missionaries, or of 
 their children, announced their coming; and long before 
 they reached the port, horses were ready for them at the 
 beach; and the welcomes home, with devout thanksgiv- 
 ings to God, were most tender and affectionate. The 
 time of vacations passed quickly for the children, in baths 
 in the sea, rambles in the valleys, and excursions to the 
 summits of the mountains. 
 
 Four of Mr. Alexander's children, three daughters 
 and one son, were born during his residence at Lahaina- 
 luna, all of whom in course of time were sent to the 
 Punahou school. The oldest sons were at length sent 
 to the United States to finish their education. It is 
 touching to read Mr. Alexander's letters of this time, 
 expressing his feelings in these separations from his 
 children. An extract from one is here civen: — 
 
REV. JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 103 
 
 '• Laiiainaluna, February 1, 1855. 
 "MY Dear Son: Last Sabbath was a joyful day to 
 us. First, it was a fair, sunshiny day after a constant 
 storm since this year began. Secondly, the steamer 
 brought home our dear ones, from Punahou school, who, 
 weather-bound, had already lost one week of the short 
 vacation, and whom we rejoice to have now safe at home; 
 and thirdly, we received letters from both you and your 
 brother. . . Altogether the tender cords of our souls 
 are so set a-vibrating that we spent the balance of the 
 day in a sort of dreamy delirium. Oh, shall we be ever 
 allowed to see you all at home together once more? 
 It would make me feel somewhat like old Simeon, ' Now 
 let thy servant depart in peace.' " 
 
 The sedentary employment at Lahainaluna was inju- 
 rious to Mr. Alexander's health, for which reason in 1849 
 he was granted by the mission one year of respite from 
 school teaching. He spent this year in surveying land 
 for the Hawaiian Government in Kamaole, on East Maui. 
 Here, at an elevation of twenty-five hundred feet above 
 the sea, he lived in a tent, and was engaged in cutting 
 trails through the forest to divide the country into sec- 
 tions for sale to the natives. He preached regularly 
 on Sundays in this district. He also did surveying dur- 
 ing the vacations of the school, and thereby both re- 
 cruited his health and obtained the means to educate his 
 children. It was during this period that that peaceful 
 revolution took place, which changed the Hawaiian Gov- 
 ernment from an absolute into a constitutional monarchy, 
 and gave the poor serfs their homesteads in fee simple. 
 In this grand movement Mr. Alexander was intensely 
 interested; and he gave to its leaders his hearty sympathy 
 and co-operation. Judge Lee, if not the prime mover, 
 was certainly the guiding mind in this reform; and 
 
104 MEMOIR OF 
 
 between him and Mr. Alexander there existed that 
 strong mutual sympathy and esteem which two such 
 noble spirits naturally feel for each other. 
 
 A biography of Mr. Alexander can hardly be 
 properly made without reference to his brother mission- 
 aries, with whose lives his own was closely connected. 
 Often his house was their resort on their way to and 
 from Honolulu. Of them all no one was more welcome 
 than Rev. R. Armstrong, his classmate in Princeton 
 Seminary and fellow-passenger on the Averick, with 
 whom he was in hearty sympathy in the work of 
 Hawaiian education, and for whom he ever cherished 
 more than a brother's friendship. 
 
 During the year 1845 Rev. Samuel Whitney, one of 
 the pioneer missionaries, and a very dear friend and 
 fellow-voyager of Mr. Alexander, arrived at Lahainaluna 
 from Oahu in serious sickness. He died in Mr. Alex- 
 ander's house a death which Mr. Alexander described as 
 surpassingly glorious in Christian hope and joy. The 
 funeral sermon, preached by Mr. Alexander, is valuable 
 for the account it gives of one of the best men ever 
 known in the islands. 
 
 On the 29th of August, 1855, another beloved mis- 
 sionary brother of his died, Rev. H. R. Hitchcock. 
 Mr. Alexander went over to the funeral at Molokai, and 
 wrote of him to one of his children, " He died rejoicing 
 in the hopes of the gospel. His dominant passion has 
 always been to preach, and his great desire to live longer 
 seemed to be simply that he might preach more." Mr. 
 Alexander wrote an obituary not ce of him for the 
 Friend. Nor can we fail to mention his neighbor and 
 life-long friend, Rev. D. Baldwin, of Lahaina, doubly 
 connected with him by family ties, who has since 
 rejoined him in a better world. 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 105 
 
 Besides his labors in the Lahainaiuna Seminary, Mr. 
 Alexander did considerable in preparing books for the 
 Hawaiians. He published a " Pastor's Manual," com- 
 mon school and Sabbath-school books, the two standard 
 books on " The Evidences of Christianity," and " A Sys- 
 tem of Theology ; " of each of which there have been 
 two editions. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 WAILUKU. 
 
 IN 1856, by advice of physicians, Mr. Alexander 
 resigned his post at Lahainaluna, after having there 
 labored thirteen years, and took charge for a few months 
 of the ranch of Ulapalakua, as an excellent place to 
 recruit his health. 
 
 In November of the same year he accepted a call to 
 the church at Wailuku, where he continued to reside 
 and labor the twenty-seven remaining years of his life. 
 
 The Wailuku parish consisted of four churches situated 
 on the slopes, below the valleys of the West Maui 
 Mountains, and was called for the running streams of 
 those valleys, Nawaieha (The -four- waters). Mr. Alex- 
 ander occupied the old mission home in Wailuku, built 
 by Rev. R. Armstrong at the mouth of the Iao Valley, 
 and three miles from the seaport of Kahului. Beyond 
 this port is East Maui, with its great mountain, Halca- 
 kela (House-of-the-sun), ten thousand feet in height, on 
 the summit of which is the largest extinct crater in the 
 world. A description of Iao Valley, by Miss I. Bird, is 
 here inserted, because it was a place of frequent resort 
 for rest and recreation: — 
 
 " At Iao people may throw away pen and pencil in 
 equal despair. The trail leads up a gorge dark with 
 forest trees, and then opens out into an amphitheater 
 (106) 
 
REV. \VM. P. ALEXANDER. 107 
 
 walled in by precipices from three to six thousand feet 
 high, misty with numerous waterfalls, plumed with 
 kukuis and feathery with ferns; a green-clad needle of 
 stone one thousand feet in height, the last refuge of an 
 army routed when the Wailuku (Waters-of-slaughter) 
 ran red with blood, keeps guard over the valley. Other 
 needles there are, and mimic ruins of bastions and ram- 
 parts, and towers came and passed in sunshine and 
 shadow. . . . And over the grey crags and piled up 
 pinnacles, and glorified green of the marvelous vision, 
 lay a veil of thin blue haze, steeping the whole in a 
 serenity that hardly seemed to belong to earth. This 
 valley is not surpassed for grandeur in the islands." 
 
 Mr Alexander preached Sabbath mornings in the 
 Wailuku church, and Sabbath afternoons alternately in 
 the three towns, Waikapu, Waiehu and Waihee, and 
 occasionally near Kahului. There were also morning 
 prayer-meetings and Wednesday afternoon meetings 
 together with pastoral visitation, and, until a physician 
 arrived in the region, much medical care of the sick. 
 
 In 1858 he was sent by the mission to the United 
 States of America to seek an endowment for Oahu 
 College and to select a President for the same. With 
 his wife and two daughters and a son of Rev. E. Bond 
 in his care, he took passage in December of that year 
 on the Mountain Wave, Captain Hardy, for a voy- 
 age around Cape Horn, and arrived at New Bedford 
 the following April, after twenty-nine years' absence 
 from his native land. The visits to the old homes and 
 re-unions with relatives and friends, and especially the 
 meeting once more of his wife with her aged mother 
 were very delightful, and yet partly sad, because of the 
 changes thirty years had wrought. He remarked at 
 
108 MEMOIR OF 
 
 this time, that, looking back over the past, he could say 
 with Joshua, " that not one thing had failed of all 
 the good things which the Lord God had promised." 
 He returned with his wife to the Hawaiian Islands, by 
 way of Aspinwall and California, in December, 1859. 
 
 During the year after his arrival home, he united with 
 the other foreign and native pastors of the island, in 
 organizing the " Presbytery of Maui and Molokai," 
 which continues prosperous and in good working to the 
 present time. 
 
 This Presbytery contained both Presbyterian and 
 Congregational Churches, as under it each pastor was 
 free to adopt the form of church government to which 
 he was accustomed. It was also combined with the 
 associations established on the other islands, under the 
 one general " Hawaiian Evangelical Association." 
 There has thus happily been a union of two denomina- 
 tions in harmonious working in the whole history of 
 the Hawaiian Mission. Mr. Alexander's sentiments, 
 and those of the mission, were very liberal, as was 
 shown by a statement he made at the meeting of the 
 American Board in Philadelphia, in 1859, that during 
 his voyage to the islands on the Averick, in 1832, it 
 never occurred to any of the nineteen missionaries of 
 his company, to inquire of each other's denominational 
 status, which were Congregational and which Pres- 
 byterian, and that this was not ascertained till they had 
 been at work one or two years. They lost nothing by 
 not entering into denominational strife. 
 
 During the same year the churches under his care 
 were blessed with a revival, which is thus described by 
 Dr. Anderson: "Mr. Alexander returned to his field at 
 Wailuku, on Maui, in June, i860, after an absence in the 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 109 
 
 United States of eighteen months, and was deeply im- 
 pressed with the low state of piety among the people. 
 But brighter days were near. In October there was 
 cheering evidence of an unseen power moving on the 
 hearts of the people. The morning prayer-meetings, 
 which had been greatly neglected, were attended by in- 
 creased numbers, and there was an evident increase of 
 solemnity in those who attended public worship on the 
 Sabbath. Backsliders spontaneously confessed their 
 wanderings, and asked an interest in the prayers of God's 
 people. Some of the most careless and profligate 
 evinced great concern for their soul's salvation, and 
 Christians prayed as they had not before been heard to 
 do. Fair professors of religion, who had been living in 
 secret sin, were constrained to come forward and con- 
 fess their wickedness, and beg the prayers of their 
 brethren. The members of the church were drawn to- 
 gether, and together they sought the Lord. For suc- 
 cessive weeks they met for prayer and exhortation three 
 times a day, and sometimes they protracted the after- 
 noon meetings till eight or nine o'clock in the evening; 
 and a few times they continued all night in prayer and 
 mutual exhortations. Fearing evil would result from 
 such protracted meetings the missionary advised their 
 discontinuance. Young converts sought out former 
 companions in wickedness, and endeavored to bring 
 them to Christ. Brethren of the church went in com- 
 panies of three, four or five, and visited every house, 
 whether of professed Christians, Baptists or Mormons. 
 Multitudes were thus brought under the influence of the 
 gospel, who, living far up the valleys and ravines, were 
 almost inaccessible to their pastor. A wonderful change 
 indeed came over the whole communnity. 
 
no MEMOIR OF 
 
 " For six months and more prayer-meetings were held 
 as early as the dawn of day in as many as eight differ- 
 ent places, and the people seemed to take delight in 
 meeting each other at that early hour. Scripture knowl- 
 edge was valued and sought, as it had never been be- 
 fore. Many entered on the practice of reading the 
 whole Bible through in a year. Pious women also were 
 very active in promoting the revival." 
 
 By appointment of the mission Mr. Alexander com- 
 menced a theological school in 1863, which, in addition 
 to pastoral labor, he taught five days each week for 
 eleven years, "instructing in all sixty-seven pupils, 
 more than half of whom entered the ministry and did 
 good work in the native churches and Micronesia." . . 
 The members of the Wailuku church generously boarded 
 the pupils. 
 
 In this connection it is interesting to quote the testi- 
 mony contained in Dr. Anderson's "Hawaiian Islands" 
 to the character of the Hawaiian ministers, as given by 
 Dr. Wetmore. 
 
 " Our ministers and delegates are as a body a very 
 respectable class of men ; we are not ashamed of them. 
 They stand up nobly on every question of importance, 
 and discuss and vote as intelligently (I was about to 
 say) as the majority of the missionary Fathers ; and I 
 think such an assertion would not be untruthful. Four 
 years ago there was considerable trepidation in regard 
 to allowing them to have an equal part and lot in min- 
 isterial work; but now such fears have vanished, and the 
 hand of fellowship is extended heartily. We rejoice 
 greatly over it. As Paul said, ' We thank God and take 
 courage.' " 
 
 Of the ministers educated at this school and at La- 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. in 
 
 hainaluna special mention should be made of Kuaia, 
 who, when an infant, had been buried alive by his parents 
 and rescued by the missionaries, and who became one of 
 the most eloquent preachers of the nation; and of Kau- 
 wealoha, who labored with great devotion in the Mar- 
 quesas Islands, and who, when the Hawaiian Board con- 
 templated withdrawing from that mission, declared that 
 he would continue to labor there, even if not supported; 
 that as he began life clothed only in a malo, he would re- 
 turn to such a dress before relinquishing his work; and 
 of David Malo, one of the most original of the Hawaiian 
 preachers. A specimen of the style of the latter is here 
 given in his discourse on the story of Dives. " Why," he 
 asked, "did the rich man in hell wish someone to be sent 
 to warn his brethren? There is no benevolence in hell. 
 Nothing but selfishness could have prompted the de- 
 sire. Ah !" he exclaimed, " I see the reason. He thought 
 he would thus himself get out. He expected that he 
 himself would be sent to warn his brethren." Seeking 
 to account for the irreligious lives of some of the white 
 men, he held two dollars over his eyes, and exclaimed, 
 " This is their predicament. They can see nothing; for 
 money blinds their eyes." A Christian was represented 
 as like a stalk of sugar-cane, sweet in the outside rind, 
 and sweet to the core. He preached a sermon to prove 
 the existence of God, which was published for its origi- 
 nal arguments, well adapted to the native mind. Mention 
 should also be made of Pilipoand Kauhane, who, almost 
 single-handed, through several successive sessions of the 
 Legislature resisted the corrupt government, and who 
 also showed great ability as preachers. 
 
 Associated with Mr. Alexander, at this mission station, 
 was Mr. Edward Bailey, who, as a missionary teacher, 
 
H2 MEMOIR OF 
 
 had done important work at Kohala and Lahainaluna, 
 and in a female seminary at this place, and who, with 
 his family, living in adjoining premises, was always in 
 delightful sympathy and co-operation with Mr. Alexan- 
 der in enterprises for the good of the people. They 
 labored together in establishing and building up the 
 East Maui Female Seminary, and in organizing the 
 Foreign Church of Wailuku. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Alexander resigned his pastorate of the 
 Wailuku church, in order to give more attention to 
 the Theological School, and in order to carry out the 
 plan of installing a native ministry. Yet he continued 
 to preach once every Sabbath, to assist in the pastoral 
 care of the churches, and to take an active part in the 
 sessions of the Presbytery and of the Evangelical Asso- 
 ciation. 
 
 In 1874 he was obliged, by failing health, to relinquish 
 the Theological School; and it was removed to Honolulu, 
 and there for a while conducted by Rev. J. D. Paris and 
 others, and afterwards by Rev. C. M. Hyde, D. D., with 
 the aid of Rev. H. H. Parker. 
 
C H APTE R XI. 
 
 VOYAGES TO THE MARQUESAS AND MICRONESIAN 
 ISLANDS. 
 
 IN the year 1871 Mr. Alexander was sent as a dele- 
 gate of the mission on the Morning Star, to the Mar- 
 quesas Islands. It was very interesting to again see 
 the field of his labors forty years before, and delightful 
 to meet his pupils, the noble missionaries Kauwealoha 
 and Kekela, and to see the success of their work among 
 the worst savages of the Pacific. He was again sent the 
 following year as a delegate to Micronesia. We have a 
 full journal of his trip through those islands, from which 
 a few extracts are here given: — ■ 
 
 " Brig Morning Star, July j, 18J2. — We had a delight- 
 ful farewell meeting at the wharf in Honolulu. As we 
 passed out by the Nebraska, her band struck up a lively 
 air that was very rousing, and just beyond, on the 
 esplanade, Brother Bingham and other friends gave us a 
 last salutation in rapturous song, 'Waft, waft, ye winds, 
 the story,' etc. Brother Pogue went out with us and 
 returned with the pilot." He then recounts very inter- 
 esting visits at many islands, on some of which he met 
 with wild, unclothed savages, and on some with orderly, 
 well-dressed congregations of Christian converts. 
 
 He first spent a month in cruising through the Gilbert 
 Islands, visiting first five islands occupied by nine Sa- 
 moan teachers, of whom he speaks very highly, and 
 8 (113) 
 
ii 4 MEMOIR OF 
 
 then six islands in which ten Hawaiian missionaries were 
 laboring with an encouraging degree of success. He 
 conversed with the Samoan teachers, through Kanoa, in 
 the Gilbert language. 
 
 At Apaiang they found the U. S. steamer Narragansett, 
 Captain Meade, at anchor. Captain Meade had come 
 to compel the chief, who had destroyed Mr. Bingham's 
 house, to make restitution. He had collected $79 from 
 him, and arranged to have the balance paid the following 
 year. He had also compelled that chief and his party 
 to leave the island and return to Tarawa. 
 
 Here they took on board a worthy couple to assist 
 Mr. Bingham in his work of translating the Bible into 
 the Gilbert language. They then proceeded to But- 
 aritari, the northernmost island, where they arrived on 
 the 15th of August. The people appeared glad to 
 receive back their faithful missionary, Kanoa, and his 
 wife. 
 
 " We visited the council-house, the largest that we 
 have seen, two hundred and fifty feet long, one hundred 
 wide, and ninety high. . . . Here I called upon the 
 king, Nakaiea, famous for having hanged one of his 
 wives, and for having shot three Hawaiian sailors. He 
 was jealous of this wife, and on one occasion, as he was 
 playing with her on a schooner, he made a noose with 
 a rope, and proposed to her to put her head into it, which 
 she did, thinking it a joke. He then made his men 
 hoist her up, and kept her swinging till she was dead. 
 He has now about twenty wives, who are kept like 
 prisoners in jail. His house is surrounded by a high 
 stone wall, and looks more like a fort than a dwelling. 
 When king Kamehameha V. wrote to him, remonstrating 
 with him for shooting Hawaiians, he sent him word 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 115 
 
 that he was read)- to fight him in single combat. He 
 would weigh two hundred pounds; he is a great drunkard, 
 and wholly addicted to heathen dances, etc. His brother, 
 however, attends the instructions of the missionaries, 
 and is hopefully pious." 
 
 The Morning Star had a narrow escape from being 
 wrecked at Mill, which he recounts as follows: — 
 
 " August 23. — Yesterday morning at quarter past 
 three I was aroused by hearing Mr. Grey, the second 
 officer, shout, ' Captain, I see breakers '. ' I was soon 
 dressed. ' Starboard the helm ! ' the captain cried. 
 Alas ! there were breakers on both sides, and land all 
 around. The sails were turned aback; the heavens 
 were dark; the rain pouring in torrents. We grounded. 
 The boat was lowered, and the water was sounded all 
 around the vessel. A depth of ten or twelve fathoms 
 was found in one direction near at hand. We got out 
 the kedge, and as the tide was rising were soon afloat 
 again, and warped into deep water. Here we anchored, 
 and, like Paul, wished for day. When it came we found 
 ourselves in a lagoon of Mill." 
 
 They had come into a small lagoon inclosed by coral 
 reef, near the large lagoon of Mill. This small lagoon 
 had so narrow an entrance that a vessel entering it 
 would strike the reef by going a ship's length either 
 way. By almost a miracle, driving blindly in the dark- 
 ness of the night, they had come into it safely. 
 
 " We had supposed we were many miles to the east- 
 ward of Mili. The captain took observations for longi- 
 tude both at eight A. M. and four P. M. the day previous, 
 but he must have made a mistake. We examined all 
 our surroundings and found that we could get out only 
 where we had entered, and that only at high tide, and 
 
1 1 6 MEMOIR OF 
 
 that the tide in the afternoon was too late for making the 
 attempt. We therefore warped up to a point near the 
 passage, ready for a breeze this morning, to take us out. 
 It is now half-past six; the tide is up, the sea smooth; 
 but, alas! no wind. What shall we do? . . . We 
 may bury the beautiful Morning Star here, and get 
 back to Honolulu, who can tell when or how? In the 
 evening a large prau visited us, and gave us pilots who 
 profess to be able to guide us into the proper place of 
 anchorage. I never felt more my dependence upon 
 God. In him is all our help. 
 
 "August 2 ./. — This morning at high tide the sea was 
 smooth, but there was no wind ; so after getting ready to 
 attempt to escape from our prison, we clewed up the 
 sails again. Then a squall and lively breeze sprung up; 
 but we dared not raise our anchor, lest while doing it 
 the wind should drift us onto the rocks on the other 
 side of the channel. W T e therefore wait another day 
 hoping then to have a kedge and hawser ready to hold 
 on by till we get the anchor out. The rain is pouring 
 and has been pouring ever since we entered here. We 
 recognize the kind hand of our heavenly Father in 
 bringing us safely in, instead of wrecking us on the 
 reef, and will praise him for it while we live. 
 
 "August 2$ t Sabbath. — A light breeze this morning 
 blows directly in where we hope to go out, and forbids 
 our attempt; so we wait another day. It is high tide 
 and seven o'clock. We must therefore go out in the 
 morning. This is the first of the Marshall Islands we 
 have visited. Though only one hundred and eighty 
 miles from the Gilbert Islands, the language is so differ- 
 ent that the people cannot converse together. They are 
 of smaller stature and differ in costume. We find 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 117 
 
 some «f them naked. They wear a mother Eve's girdle 
 of hau bark attached to a bustle around the waist and 
 hanging down to the knees. This bustle is made of 
 lauhala and is so thick as to give the appearance of the 
 Grecian bend. The people also wear their hair bound 
 up in a tuft on the top of the head. The holes for 
 ear-rings are so large that I thrust my whole hand 
 through one. Another that I measured was five and a 
 half inches in diameter, and another seven. . . . 
 
 "Friday, August jo. — On Wednesday morning the 
 wind was fair, and we attempted to come out. In the 
 swell we rubbed bottom, and rubbed harder. On we 
 went grinding, and at last stuck fast, the swell lifting 
 and dropping us down on the coral. I thought our 
 vessel would be broken up; but with a kedge we got 
 back into deep water in our prison. We tacked back 
 and returned, to make another attempt to escape, and, 
 aided by a kind Providence, we were successful. A high 
 chief of Mili was our pilot. We entered the Mili lagoon, 
 and anchored near Kahelemauna's at dark. Kahelc- 
 mauna came to us on our way. Thursday I went on 
 shore. I was delighted with the work of the Lord on 
 Mili. One hundred pupils recited large portions of 
 Scripture; they have learned to read and write and 
 cipher; they are organized into fourteen classes, each 
 having a teacher; they are warmly attached to their 
 teachers; and many are anxious to flee the wrath to 
 come. The Lord is with his servant here. 
 
 "September 2. — We reached Ebon at nine A. M. Soon 
 Messrs. Snow and Whitney came off to welcome us. 
 Oh, how hearty was their welcome ! The peo- 
 
 ple of Ebon are more civilized than any we have met in 
 Micronesia. All are dressed. The gospel has been 
 
n8 MEMOIR OF 
 
 heartily embraced by many. ... At Namerik I 
 had a very affecting meeting with Kaaia [his former 
 pupil, a missionary], who embraced me and wept like a 
 child. He has been very sick, so also his wife. They 
 are both pretty well now. In going ashore we had to 
 wade half a mile. We then crossed over to the other 
 side of the island, where Kaaia lives. His house was 
 soon filled with eager natives, all well clad. Mr. Snow 
 and I addressed them and prayed with them. I 
 vaccinated about twenty of them and gave a lancet to 
 Kaaia to carry on the work. . . . Several of the 
 ladies, after I had vaccinated them, made a graceful 
 bow and said, ' Thank you, sir,' in their language. 
 
 " September g. — We arrived at Kusaie, or Strong's 
 Island. There are only about three hundred people on 
 the island, although there were formerly twelve hundred, 
 but they are more highly civilized than any other 
 Micronesians we have seen. They all talk a little 
 English, and the children from six years old and upward 
 read and sing sweetly and are very polite. They have 
 an ordained pastor of their own people, the Rev. Libiak 
 Sa. The island is about three thousand feet high, and 
 is covered with verdure to the summit. 
 
 " Leaving Mr. and Mrs. Snow to renew their labors on 
 Kusaie, we proceeded westward, and on the 14th touched 
 at Mugil, where Bonabcan teachers have been laboring 
 with remarkable success. The chief of Mugil and the 
 teachers and several of the people took passage with us 
 to Bonabe, where we arrived September 1 5. 
 
 My visit at Bonabe was like wandering in a fairy 
 land. The verdure is excessive. We cannot get through 
 the bush except along the paths. The people go around 
 with knives to cut their way. Bread-fruit, oranges, taro, 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 119 
 
 bananas, pine-apples, papaias, arrowroot, and sago-palms 
 abound; also the durion, a forest tree loaded with pear- 
 shaped fruit, nine inches long by five inches thick; also 
 the shaddock, cheremoya, etc. I attended the examina- 
 tion of Mr. Doane's school. He has taught music more 
 scientifically than has been done in any of the other 
 mission stations. His pupils sing by note. . . . At 
 the Kiti church eight couples were married. I tied the 
 knot for the first two pairs, who were chiefs. We passed 
 near Shalong, Dr. Gulick's station, and saw the row of 
 cocoanuts he planted ; we dined at Shapalap, one of Mr. 
 Sturges' stations. Several couples were married. I 
 married the first couple, the king of Mugil and his bride. 
 We organized the church of Mugil, and administered 
 the Lord's Supper. This church consists of ten mem- 
 bers. . . . Brother Doane holds on to his work and 
 sends his feeble wife with us to seek a cooler climate. 
 . . . The Lord bless these dear brethren in their 
 solitary labors." 
 
 On returning from Bonabe, they landed their friends 
 of Mugil at their homes, and also touched at Pingclap, 
 where they landed seven natives of that island, who had 
 been instructed at Bonabe. They called at Kusaie, took 
 Mr. and Mrs. Snow back to Ebon, and then sailed for 
 Honolulu, arriving there November 17, after an absence 
 of one hundred and thirty-seven days. The following 
 summary is taken from his report: — 
 
 " The Micronesian nations differ from each other in 
 their living, their manufactures, and in their civil polity. 
 The Gilbert Islands yield for the inhabitants little else 
 than the pandanus and the cocoanut, while bread- 
 fruit, taro, bananas and yams and many other varieties 
 of food abound on the Marshall I ;lands, Kusaie and 
 
120 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Bonabe. The Gilbert islanders are the lowest in manu- 
 factures; their little canoes are made by sewing together 
 narrow pieces of cocoanut boards with sinnet; their 
 houses are simply roofs of pandanus thatch, with open 
 sides; their clothing (most of the men have none) a 
 sort of Adam and Eve's apron made of cocoanut leaves; 
 their beds a coarse pandanus mat, and another like it 
 for a covering. Their weapons of war, offensive and 
 defensive, exhibit more skill than any other manu ■ 
 facture. Their helmet and coat of mail, made of the 
 cocoanut fiber, is of such firm and substantial fabric 
 that it cannot be penetrated by their spears; and I 
 doubt whether a pistol ball would penetrate it; their 
 spears, too, varying from a foot to ten or twelve feet 
 in length, armed with sharks' teeth, or with the poi- 
 sonous stingaree, are fearful-looking weapons. 
 
 "The Marshall islanders are all clad; among them we 
 find the bustle added to the fig-leaf apron, very fine 
 embroidered mats, nice fans and curious baskets and 
 satchels, more substantial houses, and much larger canoes, 
 almost equal, in fact, to our schooners. And when we 
 reach Kusaie and Bonabe, we find looms for weaving 
 elegant belts of thread made from the Manilla banana, 
 and mats for carpet, superior to that we import from 
 China. 
 
 " The Gilbert islanders are Democratic. The people 
 meet in the council-houses and discuss and decide all 
 measures of state. This is eminently the case till we 
 approach the north end of the group, near the Marshall 
 Islands; there they have imbibed the infection of royalty; 
 but even there the chiefs are not regarded with the abject 
 reverence which is paid to them in the groups farther 
 west. In Mille, one of the Marshall Islands, the will of 
 
REV JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 121 
 
 the king is law. He has forbidden the men to wear 
 pantaloons, and none dare to wear them. The people, 
 both there and on Kusaie and Bonabc, are all serfs. The 
 chiefs own all the land. When a common native ap- 
 proaches his chief, he comes on all fours. 
 
 "The experience we have had during the voyage im- 
 presses me with the belief that a steam launch is needed 
 for the Morning Star." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE WAILUKU HOME. 
 
 " How beautiful is the old age of piety, the faith and devotion that 
 through a long life have waited upon God, merging into the peace of 
 Christ's coming and the joy of the heavenly rest. No fears, no cares, no 
 doubts; but a trust in God so calm and full that even death is waited for 
 in holy expectation, as the consolation promised to Israel, as the longed- 
 for vision of Christ."— -J. P. Thompson, on Simeon. 
 
 The quaint old mansion of Mr. Alexander, at Wai- 
 luku, at length became a sort of ideal home, beautiful 
 with many varieties of tropical fruit trees, with palms 
 and ornamental shrubbery and flowering vines, delight- 
 ful as the center of a large circle of children, dwelling 
 mostly on the same island, and as a place of unbounded 
 hospitality, and attractive by the magnetic kindness, the 
 sunny humor, and the beauty and power of the piety 
 there displayed. In this home the desire long previously 
 expressed by Mr. Alexander, for a reunion of his family, 
 was at length fulfilled; and in 1873 a gathering was held 
 of all his family, the first and the only complete gather- 
 ing of them ever held, then twenty-nine in number, 
 counting parents, children and grandchildren, amongst 
 whom there had not yet been a single death. The 
 hearts of all overflowed in thanksgiving to God. 
 
 A yet more memorable gathering was held in the year 
 1 88 1, on October 25, at Haiku, for his golden wedding, 
 an account of which, kindly prepared by Rev. T. Rouse, 
 is here given: — 
 
 "The happy event on Maui the past week has been 
 (122) 
 
RHV. WM. P. ALEX XI' ER. 123 
 
 the celebration of the golden wedding of the veteran 
 
 missionaries, Rev. \Y. P. and Mrs. Mary A. Alexander, 
 
 the 25th day of October being the fiftieth anniversary 
 
 of their marriage. The event was announced by the 
 
 previous issue of elegant cards of invitation printed in 
 
 gold, as follows : — 
 
 1831-1881. 
 
 GOLDEN WEDDING. 
 
 Rev. and Mrs. W. P. Alexander 
 will receive their friends at the 
 
 FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY 
 
 of their marriage, on Tuesday afternoon 
 
 at two o'clock, 
 
 October 25, 1881, 
 
 at the residence of their son, 
 
 Rev. James M. Alexander, Haiku, Maui. 
 
 The day was perfect. The beautiful grounds at Glen- 
 side were in complete order, and the house seemed 
 embowered in vines and flowers as you approached. At 
 the appointed hour the guests began to arrive. Rev. 
 and Mrs. Alexander welcomed them at the door, and 
 they passed into halls and parlors that were like a 
 bower of green and gold. Wreaths of fern and made, 
 braided with golden-colored flowers, adorned the walls 
 and passages. Over one entrance you were greeted with 
 ' Aloha ' and ' Welcome,' in golden letters. Between the 
 parlors was an ingenious monogram in gold, of the ini- 
 tials of the bride and groom, and the dates, 1831-1881, 
 connected by fifty small gilt stars. On the wall of the 
 back parlor was the appropriate motto in green, ' Chil- 
 dren are the crown of old men, and the glory of children 
 are their fathers.' The house was ablaze with golden 
 colors, and every table, corner and bracket was brilliant 
 with flowers and foliage; beneath a green arch across 
 
124 MEMOIR OF 
 
 one corner of the parlor were suspended two rows of 
 golden stars. The upper row, of eighteen stars, repre- 
 sented the children, both husbands and wives, the nine 
 children having become eighteen by marriage, and the 
 under row, of twenty-eight lesser stars, represented the 
 grandchildren living. Directly under these hung the 
 marriage bell, a beautiful structure of evergreen and 
 roses. Beneath this canopy of beauty, constructed by 
 the loving hands of their children, sat the handsome old 
 couple, the observed and loved of all observers, looking 
 fresh and hearty, and as if they were good for the dia- 
 mond wedding twenty-five years hence. 
 
 " Promptly at two o'clock, the rooms and verandas 
 being filled with guests, the exercises commenced. They 
 were simple, appropriate, and full of tender feeling, 
 enlivened now and then by flashes of wit and touching 
 references, drawing alternately smiles and tears. First 
 came an anthem, ' Let every heart rejoice and sing.' 
 Next an address to the parents, in behalf of the children, 
 by the eldest son, Prof. W. D. Alexander, as follows: — 
 
 '"My Dear Parents: It is no common occasion 
 that has called us together to-day to rejoice in the won- 
 derful goodness of our heavenly Father to us, and to 
 present you with these little tokens of the gratitude and 
 affection which to you is far more " precious than the 
 gold which perisheth." 
 
 " ' Fifty years ago to-day, on the banks of the blue 
 Susquehannah, you plighted faith in a union "longer 
 than life and stronger than death," and at the same time 
 consecrated your joint lives to your divine Master's 
 service. 
 
 "'If ever "matches are made in Heaven," this was 
 one over which angels might rejoice, for God's benedic- 
 
REV, WM. P. ALEXANDER. 125 
 
 tion rested upon it, and has followed it ever since. It 
 was his presence felt, though unseen, that has sustained 
 you through all the trials and perils you have been called 
 to pass through in all the horrors of that first voyage 
 around Cape Horn; again when you took your lives in 
 your hands and went among Marquesan cannibals ; and 
 through all your lonely and self-denying labors as mis- 
 sionaries on these islands. And now in your peaceful 
 old age, rich as it is in " honor, love, obedience, troops of 
 friends," the same divine presence seems to shed a radi- 
 ance on your path and to give you glimpses of the 
 celestial city, such as Bunyan's pilgrim enjoyed in the 
 land of Beulah. 
 
 " ' Like Jacob of old, who said, " With my staff I passed 
 over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands," so 
 now you can call the roll of nine children by marriage, 
 and twenty-eight grandchildren, living. And during 
 these fifty years death has entered our family circle but 
 once, when it snatched away a grandchild in infancy. 
 The words of Tennyson may be fitly applied to each of 
 you: — 
 
 " I see thee sitting, crowned with good, 
 A central warmth, diffusing bliss, 
 In glance and smile and clasp and kiss 
 On all the branches of thy blood." 
 
 '"As you look back on the past half century, what 
 wonderful changes you must call to mind. You have 
 witnessed nearly all the steps of the process by which 
 this land has been transformed from heathen barbarism 
 to Christian civilization, of which work you might truly 
 say pars magna fnimus. The railroad, the telegraph, 
 and a hundred other inventions for conquering time and 
 space, and saving human labor, have all originated during 
 your life-time ; and now, instead of one mail a year 
 
126 MEMOIR OF 
 
 reaching you, six months after date, around Cape Horn, 
 a week's voyage puts us in immediate connection with 
 the whole civilized world. What would we not give to 
 have your photographs as you appeared at the wedding 
 ceremony fifty years ago to compare with the portraits 
 painted for this anniversary. 
 
 " ' But after all, these wonderful inventions of our days 
 do not produce greater souls nor nobler characters; they 
 do not make us better or braver or wiser than our fath- 
 ers and mothers. 
 
 " ' There are some thoughts and feelings too sacred and 
 tender to be fully expressed in words. Only God can 
 know all that you have done for each of us from infancy 
 till now. Those who have known you best have loved 
 and revered you the most. 
 
 " ' By example, much more than by precept, you have 
 taught us to live for something higher than what the 
 world counts success, and to seek the favor of God more 
 than the praise of men. We thank you that you have 
 taught us to be rather than to seem, to abhor all that is 
 false and all that is sordid or base; and to cultivate 
 charity, forbearance, humility, and other old-fashioned 
 virtues, 
 
 " And thus to bear without abuse 
 The grand old name of gentleman, 
 Defamed by every charlatan 
 And soiled by all ignoble use. " 
 
 "' Accept, dear parents, this imperfect expression of 
 our gratitude and love. May your last days be your best 
 days, and "at eventide may it be light," about you, till 
 
 " Hope be changed to glad fruition, 
 Faith to sight, and earth to Heaven."' 
 
 "After this came remarks congratulatory and remi- 
 niscent by the pastor at Makawao, Rev. T. H- Rouse, 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 127 
 
 followed by prayer; and this part of the exercises was 
 concluded by an original song, written for the occasion 
 by Rev. J. M. Alexander, to the tune of Auld Lang 
 Syne, which was rendered as a solo by Miss Sheeley, of 
 the Seminary, the children joining in the chorus. 
 
 " ' Should life's long pathway be forgot, 
 
 Which hand in hand was trod 
 Through fifty years of wedded love 
 
 By gracious help of God, 
 When bright and golden memories shine 
 From days of Auld Lang Syne ? 
 
 "' With strength from old Kentucky State, 
 And beauty won from where 
 Flow Susquehannah's waters bright, 
 
 Began that pathway fair; 
 And sweet and tender memories shine 
 From days of Auld Lang Syne. 
 
 " ' Guided by holy zeal that path 
 
 Led far o'er ocean blue, 
 Six months on Av'rick's rocking deck 
 
 To islands strange and new, 
 And long the hearts of love did pine 
 For friends of Auld Lang Syne. 
 
 " 'Soon from Oahu's shores it led 
 
 To where Marquesans grim 
 Asked the first child, to make him king, 
 
 Or else for eating him; 
 And strange and weird some memories shine 
 From days of Auld Lang Syne. 
 
 " ' Again o'er seas it led to give 
 
 Waioli joy and hope, 
 To light Lahainaluna's hill, 
 
 And bless Wailuku's slope; 
 And holy, blessed memories shine 
 From days of Auld Lang Syne. 
 
 "' Long has the joyous pathway been 
 
 O'er lands and ocean blue; 
 And now its wayside flowers of love 
 
 Yield fruits of golden hue; 
 And riper, sweeter blessings shine 
 Than those of Auld Lang Syne. 
 
 " 'While now the tread of age grows weak, 
 And gray the brows enfold, 
 
128 MEMOIR OF 
 
 The sweet and tender love of youth 
 
 Has ne'er "grown dim or old;" 
 For now the hearts more warmly shine 
 Than in the Auld Lang Syne. 
 
 " 'That path, when viewed through fifty years 
 Of care for children nine, 
 And holy toil for Heaven's cause, 
 " Seems all transformed " to shine, 
 For holy light did e'er enshrine 
 Those days of Auld Lang Syne. 
 
 " ' We praise the Lord, whose hand has led 
 
 Through all this path of love ; 
 Long may he lead through scenes of earth 
 
 And to the home above, 
 Where brighter joys will ever shine 
 Than those of Auld Lang Syne.' 
 
 "Then followed another service of a different kind, 
 but most touching and beautiful. It was the baptism, 
 by the honored father, of his twenty-eighth and twenty- 
 ninth grandchildren, a son and a daughter of Mr. Henry 
 P. Baldwin and Rev. James M. Alexander respectively 
 (Frederick Chambers Baldwin and Sarah Eva Alexander) 
 The patriarchal old man, the lovely children, his tender 
 words, the sweet consecration, was a spectacle that 
 moved every heart, and appropriately crowned the exer- 
 cises of this happy day. 
 
 " Congratulations were now in order, and many were 
 the hearty shakes and loving words and tender wishes 
 for health and prosperity, that were showered on the 
 happy couple by neighbors, friends, guests, children, and 
 grandchildren, young and old. 
 
 " Refreshments followed. A table with cloth draped 
 in gold was loaded with everything that the season 
 afforded. Conspicuous was a large bride's loaf beauti- 
 fully decorated with a golden monogram, with the dates 
 183 1 and 1 88 1. This was flanked by two others of the 
 same kind, while numerous frosted loaves brought up 
 the rear, with sandwiches, fruit, lemonade, tea and coffee 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 129 
 
 in gilded cups, to all of which ample justice was done 
 by the numerous guests, numbering over eighty. During 
 the whole afternoon one great center of attraction was 
 a table standing near the bridal corner containing golden 
 presents from the children and their friends. First was 
 a gold watch for the honored father, an elaborate and 
 beautiful piece of work, richly chased on both covers, 
 and surmounted on one side by an elegant monogram 
 of the father's initials. On the inside was the name, 
 date and occasion. For the bride was also a lady's 
 watch richly chased and ornamented, inlaid with jet, and 
 engraved with name and date like the other. This 
 was accompanied with a heavy gold chain of fine work- 
 manship. Both watches were inclosed in rich and 
 highly ornamented cases, and were as perfect of their 
 kind as could be found. There was also a golden cane- 
 head for the father, beautifully finished and lettered with 
 his initials. Another valuable gift was a pair of portraits 
 of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander, life size, excellent likenesses. 
 They were painted at Wailuku by Mrs. Gillan, an accom- 
 plished artist from California. On account of the diffi- 
 culty of transportation the portraits were not brought. 
 
 " The present from the grandchildren consisted of a 
 large photograph album in velvet and gold, very beauti- 
 ful, to be filled with their pictures. An engrossed copy 
 of the addresses and poems read on the occasion, in an 
 ornamented cover, with the proper names and dates, was 
 also presented to the honored pair at the close of the 
 exercises. 
 
 " It was not expected that presents would be given 
 outside of the family; but the table contained a consid- 
 erable number of articles, useful, ornamental and elegant, 
 mostly gold, with some coins and pictures, the gifts of 
 loving friends, present and absent. . . . 
 9 
 
130 MEMOIR OF 
 
 " As evening drew on the guests reluctantly departed, 
 and thus closed this beautiful anniversary, the like of 
 which had not occurred in these islands, or among any 
 other of the mission families, though a few days only 
 were wanting to complete the fiftieth anniversary of the 
 marriage of Rev. D. B. Lyman, of Hilo, another of the 
 missionary Fathers. 
 
 "The children, children-in-law and grandchildren of 
 Father and Mother Alexander, who are living, number 
 forty-four, thirty of whom were present. The only death 
 among them in fifty years is that of one grandchild." 
 
 In 1882 the Wailuku churches, native and foreign, were 
 blessed with a revival under the labors of Mr. Hallen- 
 beck, introduced and assisted by Rev. A. O. Forbes, the 
 Secretary of the Hawaiian Board. Mr. Alexander 
 greatly rejoiced in this good work, and labored in the 
 union meetings, every night, as well as in visitation 
 through the community. His influence had extended 
 from the native churches throughout the foreign com- 
 munity. He was by all revered as a rare friend and 
 counselor, and was generally affectionately known as 
 " Father Alexander." 
 
 Besides him there now remained only one missionary 
 brother (Rev. L. Lyons), and besides his wife only four 
 ladies, of the company of the fourth re-inforcement, 
 that came to the islands on the Averick in 1832. His 
 own health was becoming precarious. In 1880 he had 
 once been suddenly taken dangerously ill; his chil- 
 dren had only saved his life by chartering a steamer 
 and sending him for the best medical help to Honolulu. 
 He sometimes spoke of death as near, and expressed 
 rare delight at the prospect of soon being in the actual 
 presence of his Lord. " Now," he would sometimes 
 
REJ r . WM. P. ALEXANDER. 131 
 
 remark, " is our salvation nearer than when we be- 
 lieved. I shall soon see the Lord." Nearly all the 
 missionary Fathers in the islands were now ^one 
 Their departure, one by one, had been like the passing 
 away of an order different from the common mould of 
 mankind. The words with which the aicient psalmist 
 sang of his delight in the "saints," as "the excellent of 
 the earth," as though they were the nobility of the earth 
 were true of them, as they lingered among the increas- 
 ing foreign population of the islands, conspicuous by 
 their white beards and gray heads, delightful with the 
 ripened sweetness and beauty of life-long consecration 
 to Christ, and elevated above the grasping greed of the 
 multitude by self-sacrificing benevolence. The following 
 lines, written at this time for the jubilee of the pastorate 
 of Rev. L. Lyons, are quoted as appropriate to the 
 subject of this sketch, and as expressing the feelings 
 with which he and the other missionary Fathers were 
 regarded: — 
 
 " Linger evening, with your glories, 
 On Hawaii's mountains grand, 
 While the deepening shadows darken 
 All the fading lower land. 
 
 " On those mighty domes, that firmly 
 
 Stand through storms and earthquake throes, 
 Brightly pour your purpling twilight, 
 Gild their dazzling crowns of snows. 
 
 "Heaven prolong the brighter evening 
 Of the self-forgetting love, 
 That o'er selfish labor towers, 
 As the mountains tower above; 
 
 "That as steadfastly endureth, 
 
 By the help of God's right hand, 
 Through the storms of sin and evil, 
 As the rock-ribbed mountains stand ; 
 
 " That through fifty years of toiling, 
 'Neath the shifting clouds and light, 
 Ever made sweet songs of gladness, 
 Like the mountain streamlets bright. 
 
132 MEMOIR OF 
 
 "Through whose shepherd care the erring 
 Oft came to the Saviour's rest, 
 As the roaming flocks find shelter 
 On the lofty mountain's breast. 
 
 " May the ev.-ning light long brighten 
 Such rare lingering lives of love, 
 Stars gleam forth as darkness gathers, 
 Till the dawn shines from above; 
 
 "Till before the Lo^e far higher, 
 Shining from the dome above, 
 Sweeter songs of praise are warbled, 
 And bright crowns are cast in love. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 SICKNESS AND DEATH. 
 
 " Made perfect ihrough suffering." 
 
 ALONG cherished plan of visiting his son Samuel, in 
 California, led Mr. Alexander and his wife to leave 
 Wailuku on the 26th of April, 1 884. A large company of 
 friends and relatives gathered at Kahului to bid them 
 farewell, almost fearing that one or both of them would 
 never return. The voyage from Honolulu to San Fran- 
 cisco was comfortably made. Three months were then 
 delightfully spent at their son's home in the invigorating 
 climate of Oakland. Mr. Alexander took walks every 
 day, sometimes going a distance of two miles, and was 
 in better health and spirits than for several years pre- 
 vious, until his last sickness suddenly occurred. The 
 history of this sickness is here given by extracts from 
 letters: — 
 
 " July jt, r88/f. — I have only time to write a line to 
 
 say that father is pilikia-loa (in a very critical condition). 
 
 . . . He suffered terribly in surgical treatment by 
 
 a doctor from San Francisco (which treatment was a 
 
 blunder, and occasioned internal inflammation.) 
 
 "August 10, Sabbath. — We are waiting for the doctor 
 this morning to hear what he will say about father. He 
 is sleeping quietly now, but I think it may be the effect 
 of opiates. Last evening was an awful time of suffering. 
 He only writhed an J groaned in agony, and besought 
 the Lord to deliver him. He felt that there was no hope 
 
 (133) • 
 
134 MEMOIR OF 
 
 of his recovery, and said, 'My life is strong within me; 
 what an awful time of suffering is before me. Pray the 
 Lord to deliver me.' . . . The doctor gave medi- 
 cine to relieve the pain, which put him to sleep; and he 
 slept nearly all night. This morning he woke up, 
 changed all his clothes, kissed us all, and is now asleep 
 again. . . . We have several times gone down to 
 the borders of the grave with him, and given up all hope; 
 and then he has revived so surprisingly, and enjoyed his 
 food, and planned for his journey home, that we have 
 confidently expected his recovery. For three weeks now 
 Sam has slept on a cot beside him, and waited on him 
 nights, and mother has sat beside him days." (Convers- 
 ing with his wife about the probability of his not re- 
 covering, he said, " I can truly say to God, Thy will be 
 done.") 
 
 ". . . P. M. — We have all been to see father, who 
 is easier, and Sam had us sing a few hymns. I asked 
 him how he felt; 'Oh, he said, 'comfortable. I love the 
 Lord, because he has heard my supplication. Those 
 beautiful psalms of David seem to have been written for 
 me and for ten thousand others.' 
 
 " . . . . Father's pain came on again very severely 
 at eleven and twelve Sabbath night. Sam coaxed him 
 to take another opiate, which made him quite comforta- 
 ble. The doctor says no man could suffer more than he 
 has already. The day his sickness commenced he said, 
 'The horizon is closing around me.' He has perfect 
 faith in answers to prayer. During last week he was 
 constantly praying to God in his paroxysms of pain to 
 deliver him from his anguish, and when he was free from 
 pain a little while he would say, ' This poor man cried 
 and the Lord heard him.' During all his sufferings he 
 
REV. \VM. P. ALEXANDER. 135 
 
 has been so patient. Once when I was in the room I 
 said, ' We feel so sorry for you, father; I wish we could 
 bear some of the pain for you.' He answered with a 
 smile, ' It has been sent where it is most needed I 
 think.' Once he said, ' Sometimes I am on the hill-tops, 
 then again down in the deep valley of humiliation.' 
 Sometimes when we expressed our deep sorrow for the 
 terrible agony he was experiencing, he would answer 
 that it was nothing in comparison with the glory which 
 should be revealed hereafter, and that these light 
 afflictions were but for a moment. M. J. A." 
 
 "August 11, Monday. — The doctor told Sam yesterday 
 morning that he would probably last several days longer; 
 but last night he had a severe chill and most agonizing 
 pain at the same time. . . . The doctor found him 
 so much weaker to-day that he says he cannot 
 possibly live many hours longer. Oh, it will be a blessed 
 relief for the dear man, when his spirit passes from this 
 life into the blessed life beyond ! . . . Monday afternoon 
 when Sam was expressing great sympathy for him, he 
 replied, ' Sam, it is harder to witness suffering than it is 
 to bear it.' He talked a great deal about the love of 
 Christ. ' Oh,' he said, ' it is wonderful ! ' I think 
 he understood that element in God's character better 
 than others, because his own heart was so full of love 
 for those around him. His wife, his children and his 
 grandchildren, he loved with every fiber of his being, 
 and he still had room in his heart for many others. He 
 was overheard in conversation with one of his grand- 
 children telling how once when riding to preach at 
 Waihee, thinking of his sermon, he had such an over- 
 powering sense of the love of Christ that he was obliged 
 to dismount from his horse and lie upon the ground to 
 recover himself. M. A." 
 
136 MEMOIR OF 
 
 ". . . . Tuesday morning. — Father sent his love 
 to all his children at the islands, but he seldom talks. 
 He hears everything. Sam said to him, ' Dear father, 
 to see if he was insensible, and he heard him instantly 
 and put up his arms and clasped them around his neck 
 and said, ' My dear son.' Then he called all the rest 
 that were in the room at the same time and embraced 
 and kissed them. It does seem to me there never was 
 so lovely a man. His grandchildren F. and L. came 
 and he kissed and blessed them, saying, ' The blessing of 
 the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob be with you; 
 but he was too feeble to talk more. 
 
 ". . . . I have come from the gates of the holy 
 city. All day it has been my privilege to linger near 
 your blessed father's dying bed. When I first entered 
 the room and stood as it were upon holy ground, your 
 brother said, ' Father, E. W. is here;' he turned his eyes 
 already dim to earthly things, and put up his arms and 
 kissed me twice so sweetly and tenderly. I said, ' My 
 own dear father (Rev. R. Armstrong) waits to welcome 
 you,' and in a sweet, faint voice came these words, ' Yes, 
 his God and our God will be waiting for me.' Words 
 were very few after that, for the life-tide seemed ebb- 
 ing fast. ... It was one of the most impressive 
 sights I ever witnessed, this wonderful triumph of faith, 
 the soul glowing with love to God and man, when the 
 veil of flesh was rent. Never once did he doubt the 
 tender Shepherd's hand in leading him through the 
 dark valley. I felt God's holy presence in that room, 
 and in all my life I shall know the power of a living 
 faith. Mrs. E. Weaver." 
 
 ". . . . Tuesday. — The doctor has just been here, 
 and says he will not probably live through the day. He 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 137 
 
 lies back breathing hard. He is so weak that the least 
 thing exhausts him. Yet his mind is perfectly clear, 
 and he hears everything that is said to him. . . . 
 His pains have all left him, and he is peaceful and 
 happy, looking forward with Christian hope and joy to 
 the home which Jesus has prepared for all who love 
 him. . . . 
 
 " While I write in this my room, our dear old father is 
 breathing his last. That blessed old man is even now in 
 the ' dark valley of the shadow of death,' and a long, 
 da.k, dreary valley he has found it. After an infinite 
 amount of suffering his dear face looks calm and quictj 
 and as I turn to look, it seems almost to shine like 
 an angel's. . . . What a joy it has been to minister 
 to his every want, and do what I could to help him; and 
 then the blessed words of love and hope that I have 
 heard him utter in night-watches! I never knew before 
 the depths of love there were in his nature ; he has been 
 the sunshine and joy of our house. . . . The poor 
 old man was so happy and well before his accident. He 
 said that he had not felt so well for many years previous. 
 Only about five weeks ago he officiated at the grave of 
 our dear little Clarence. We little thought then how 
 soon he too would be placed side by side with the little 
 boy. S. T. A." 
 
 " Wednesday, August ij. — The long conflict is over. 
 Father lies by me at rest, not father though, he is above 
 with a crown of victory. Oh, what a terrible long valley 
 of the shadow of death he had to pass through to 
 victory ! . . . He kept his consciousness to the last, 
 but his power of speech failed. . . . Mother repeated 
 the words, ' In my Father's house are many mansions.' 
 ' Come. Lord Jesus, come quickly.' . . . He lingered 
 
138 MEMOIR OF 
 
 on until twenty minutes past eleven this morning. Once 
 this morning he seemed to recognize mother; but he did 
 not speak to her. He breathed very peacefully at the 
 last, the breath growing fainter and fainter, until we 
 hardly knew when he ceased to breathe. 
 
 ". . . . Seventy-nine years of labor are over; 
 the bitter anguish of his sickness is over; and now he is 
 glorified. He is meeting with his brothers and sister 
 Ann, with his old missionary brothers, and with our dear 
 little Clarence, and, better than all, with his blessed 
 Saviour, whom he loved so well. ... A man of 
 God has gone to glory. . . . Oh, that we could have 
 one glimpse beyond the dark shadow! S. T. A." 
 
 " August i ./, Thursday. — The funeral was to-day at 
 two r. M. Father looked so natural and peaceful. The 
 sunshine that always shone in his face had not departed 
 when he lay in his coffin. . . . The services com- 
 menced by the choir sweetly and softly singing, ' We 
 Shall Meet in the Sweet By and By.' Dr. McLean 
 then read Matt. 25 : 31-41, also Rev. 7:13 to the end, 
 and another passage about the marriage supper. The 
 choir sang ' Rock of Ages.' Drs. Beckwith, Frear, and 
 McLean then made very touching addresses, and Dr. 
 McLean offered prayer. The choir then sang the words, 
 'Asleep in Jesus.' . . . ' He being dead yet speak- 
 eth.' What an inspiration such a life and death, to live 
 as he did, and to die the death of the righteous! 
 
 " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from 
 henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest 
 from their labors; and their works do follow them.' 
 Rev. 14 : 13. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 MEMORIAL DISCOURSES AND TESTIMO- 
 NIALS. 
 
 REMARKS AT THE FUNERAL, BY REV. WALTER FREAR. 
 
 I AM very glad to add my brief word of testimony 
 to the exalted character and memorable services of 
 our beloved Father Alexander. 
 
 During the past fourteen years I have known him 
 well; and the more I have come to know him the more 
 I have learned to love and honor him. I have known of 
 his work and of his influence and of the esteem in which 
 he has been held among the Hawaiian people, to whose 
 salvation he devoted himself in his young manhood, and 
 for whose spiritual and temporal welfare he has given 
 the energies of his life. 
 
 For fifty- two years he has not ceased to labor for the 
 good of that people, whom he loved with all the large- 
 ness of his nature, and with a rare and cordial fidelity. 
 He identified himself fully with their interests, took them 
 up into his affection, was sympathetic and without con- 
 straint in his relations to them ; and they in turn had for 
 him a warm and unreserved aloJia. They loved him as 
 a father and friend. They felt as they would not always 
 feel toward those who labored for them, that he under- 
 stood them. They sought his counsel freely and looked 
 to him trustingly for guidance. By his open-hcartedness 
 and genial manner he was specially fitted by nature, as 
 
 (139) 
 
i 4 o MEMOIR OF 
 
 well as by grace, to win the confidence of Hawaiians. 
 He held that confidence to the end, even against the 
 distrust of superior races, that has been growing in the 
 native mind. He continued his labors for them and 
 retained his nearness to them to the last. 
 
 Father Alexander has been, indeed, one of the fathers 
 in the Hawaiian Israel ; one of that goodly company 
 who went to dark Hawaii, and have left an enduring name, 
 a name written as it were in letters of gold, on those 
 beautiful isles, and known and read of all men. Those 
 were noble men and women, who took their lives in their 
 hand, left kindred and friends far behind, and went forth 
 into that isolated and benighted part of the earth. They 
 were earnest. They were consecrated to Christ and his 
 cause. They were, in the highest sense of the word, 
 grand characters. I have known them but to venerate 
 them. They had their individualities and idiosyncrasies; 
 but they laid at the Master's feet a noble service. By 
 faith they removed mountains of difficulty, and wrought 
 wonderful works of righteousness among an amazingly 
 degraded and polluted people. Through their toils and 
 tears and prayers a nation was born as it were in a day. 
 Out of my professional acquaintance with them has 
 grown the feeling, that they would be a specially 
 crowned and shining company in Heaven. They take 
 rank among those of whom the world is not worthy. 
 
 With our modern facilities of travel there are no 
 mission fields so remote and isolated as were the 
 Hawaiian Islands in those early days, and no mission- 
 aries to-day experience quite the discomforts that those 
 fathers and mothers of this mission cheerfully endured. 
 Among those discomforts were such things as using a 
 hatchet to chop the caked flour that reached them from 
 around the Horn. 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 141 
 
 It has fallen to my lot, I may say it has been my 
 privilege, to attend the last sickness and obsequies of 
 many of those heroes and heroines of faith. I proba- 
 bly have been the pastor of more of them than any 
 other one. The first of them to go to his rest under my 
 ministry was that mist excellent, spiritually-minded 
 man, good Deacon Amos Cooke, the father of the lady 
 of this beautiful home. Then there were Dr. and Mrs. 
 Judd, Father Parker, Mother Thurston, Mrs. Judge 
 Andrews, Mrs. Hall, Mrs. Johnstone, Mrs. Chamberlain, 
 Miss Ogden, and others, with perhaps twenty or more of 
 their descendants. I cherish their memory as among 
 the choicest treasures of my life. 
 
 Our beloved Father Alexander went to the islands in 
 what is called the fourth re-inforcement of the mission sent 
 out by the A. B. C. F. M. This was in 1832. In Jhe 
 company which sailed with him on the long voyage 
 around Cape Horn were Richard Armstrong, whose 
 widow and daughter are here with us to-day, and who 
 for years was at the head of the Department of 
 Public Instruction in the Hawaiian Government, and 
 Lorenzo Lyons, the poet of Hawaii, who has written 
 most of the hymns sung in the churches, and Cochran 
 Forbes, father of the present Secretary of the Hawaiian 
 Board of Missions, and David B. Lyman, so long at the 
 head of the Hilo Boarding-school for Boys, and J. S. 
 Emerson, H. R. Hitchcock, with their wives and 
 others. At least seven or eight of this re-inforcement 
 are still living. 
 
 They reached the islands a few years before that wide- 
 sweeping and wonderful revival, in which the whole 
 nation turned to God, and when in six years not less 
 than twenty-seven thousand persons were added to the 
 
1 42 MEMOIR OF 
 
 churches. Into this blessed work, William P. Alexan- 
 der, then less than thirty years of age, entered with all 
 the ardor of his soul, and God gave him many souls as the 
 seals of his ministry. As missionary at Waioli, Kauai, 
 1 834- 1 843, as Principal of the Lahainaluna Seminary, 
 Maui, 1 843- 1 856, as pastor and preacher at Wailuku, 
 1 856-1 884, and instructor thereof native ministers, until 
 the Theological Seminary was established in Honolulu, 
 he labored incessantly and with cheerful faithfulness. 
 
 He took a deep interest in the education of Hawaiians. 
 Many of them have looked up to him as their beloved 
 instructor. Many of the Hawaiian pastors and mission- 
 aries to Micronesia received their training at his hand, 
 and think of him with loving regard. He was a trustee 
 of Oahu College from its beginning until 1876, when he 
 resigned and his son, Prof. W. D. Alexander, was elected 
 to fill his place. He was a member of the Hawaiian 
 Board of Missions until his death, and was ever ready 
 for every good work. 
 
 In all his interests he was thoroughly identified with 
 the islands, and his large family of children have been 
 wedded into and have grown up into the island life, and 
 are a part of the best strength of the kingdom. His 
 island-born grandchildren number over thirty, and he 
 was happy in them all. 
 
 His many excellent traits of character have been 
 already dwelt upon. He always had a smile of greeting. 
 His hand-shake was cordial. It was ever a sunny pleas- 
 ure to meet him ; fair-minded, equable in temperament, 
 with a kindly twinkle of good humor in his eye, he was 
 one who always accepted the situation pleasantly, what- 
 ever might be the portent of discouragement or trial. 
 He understood the Hawaiians. He knew their weak- 
 
REV JVM. P. ALEXANDER. 143 
 
 nesscs, their foibles and their needs. He also appreciated 
 their good traits, their genial nature, their hospitality 
 and generosity, and their susceptibility to good influ- 
 ences. 
 
 He rests from his labors and his works do follow 
 him. He has fought a good fight. He has finished 
 his course; henceforth there is laid up for him a crown 
 of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, 
 shall give him at that day. 
 
 OBITUARY. 
 
 BY REV. S. E. BISHOP. 
 
 Departed this life, August 12, 1884, at the residence of his 
 son, S. T. Alexander, Esq , in Oakland, California, the Rev. 
 William Patterson Alexander, aged seventy-nine years. 
 
 We have thus to record the decease of one among us whose 
 " good gray head all men knew," and many greatly loved; one 
 whose name stands with Bingham, Armstrong and Coan, as 
 the most eminent and influential among the missionaries of the 
 A. B. C. F. M. in the Hawaiian Islands. 
 
 Father Alexander was of the strong Scotch-Irish stock, born 
 in Paris, Kentucky, July 25, 1805. His father, a wise and 
 godly Presbyterian elder, he grew into that genial, honorable, 
 conscientious, manly, and consecrated character which we so 
 well knew. . . . 
 
 In 1828 he resolved to go on a mission to the heathen. 
 Planning to go to Palestine, he began the study of Syriac, but 
 in 1 83 1 accepted an appointment to the Sandwich Islands, to 
 which the American Board were then sending the strongest 
 available men. . . . October 25, at Harrisburg, he was 
 married to Miss Mary Ann McKinney, and (in a company of 
 nineteen missionary passengers, including himself and his wife) 
 sailed from New Bedford, November 26, 1831, on the Averick, 
 Captain Swain, and reached Honolulu in May, 1832. The 
 writer, "then five years old, distinctly remembers this large group 
 of missionaries as they assembled in the parlors of Mr. Bing- 
 ham's house. Young, vigorous, able, devoted, bringing cheer 
 and strength to the veteran pioneers, they have in their turn 
 become aged and are passing away. . . . 
 
144 MEMOIR OF 
 
 In August, 1833, Messrs. Alexander, Armstrong and Parker 
 arrived at Nuuhiwa, where they passed eight months among the 
 cannibals, and then left the Marquesas work to the London 
 Missionary Society, whose missionaries were then on their 
 way thither. Mr. Alexander, in 1834, was located at Waioli, 
 Kauai, where he spent nine years of successful labor, and in 
 the exposures of pioneer work contracted asthma, which con- 
 tinued through his life. Thence in 1843 he removed to 
 Lahainaluna Seminary, where he labored until 1856, when by 
 medical advice he resigned ; but in the November following he 
 became pastor of the Wailuku church, where he has continued 
 to reside twenty-seven years. In addition to pastoral labors, 
 in 1863 he commenced a Theological School, in which were in 
 all sixty-seven pupils, more than half of whom entered the 
 ministry, and did good work in the native churches and in 
 Micronesia. In 1874 the school was removed to Honolulu, 
 passing in 1877 under the charge of Rev. Dr. Hyde. 
 
 Mr. Alexander resigned the Wailuku pastorate in 1867, but 
 continued active in many missionary labors even while the in- 
 firmities of age increased upon him. In 1871 and 1872 he 
 successively visited the missions at the Marquesas Islands and 
 Micronesia in the Morning Star as agent of the Boards. 
 
 Father Alexander's eminence as a missionary was not due to 
 gifts of eloquence, although he was an impressive, clear and 
 most instructive preacher. He was especially great in counsel 
 and executive efficiency. As an instructor he probably had no 
 equal among his brethren. To the writer his most remarkable 
 combination of qualities seemed to have been the rare and 
 difficult union of great positiveness of opinion and purpose 
 with such obvious purity, sweetness, and wise discretion, that 
 he seldom made an enemy, or failed to command the highest 
 regard and confidence of those even who strenuously differed 
 from him. He was a very decided man; saw his way clearly 
 and acted promptly and vigorously. For knavery and hypoc- 
 risy he had a keen discernment and swift rejection, but the 
 kindest tolerance and sympatny for those honestly mistaken. 
 The secret of the wide personal popularity of so positive a 
 nature lay in the strong, tender and generous sympathy of his 
 spirit which made him indescribably winning. To know and 
 confer with such a man was a rich privilege, and his associates 
 and pupils looked up to and delighted in him, in a way and 
 degree which it is impossible to describe or account for. 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 145 
 
 Father Alexander was above all beloved in his own large 
 family, where the rare tenderness and power of his strong and 
 sympathetic nature made him a father whose loss is felt as few 
 can be. Five sons, four daughters and thirty grandchildren 
 mourn the patriarch's departure from them. Until within a 
 very few weeks before his death not a break had occurred in 
 the whole number. In 1881 it was the privilege of Mr. and 
 Mrs. Alexander to celebrate their golden wedding at Glenside, 
 Haiku, Maui, the home of their son, Rev. James M. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Alexander proceeded to Oakland, May 1, with 
 a reasonable prospect of many years of comfortable life. A 
 few weeks since a slight mishap in a surgical operation led to 
 fatal results. He lingered for two weeks, attended with intense 
 suffering. This he bore with singular courage, replying to the 
 sorrow of his friends that "the sufferings here were as nothing 
 to the glories to be revealed." He talked a great deal during 
 his illness about the wonderful goodness of God. To one say- 
 ing she wished she could bear some of the pain for him, he 
 replied, " It has been sent where it was most needed, I think." 
 Once he said, " Sometimes I am on the hill-tops, then again 
 down in the deep valley of humiliation." His last conscious 
 day was one of tolerable relief from bodily pain, and of tran- 
 scendent joy of spirit. To those who were near him death and 
 Heaven took on new meanings. 
 
 Age had not dulled the faculties of our venerated friend in 
 body or mind. It may be some consolation for his hastened 
 departure, to reflect that he has been spared the painful weak- 
 ness and dependence of extreme old age. He has left his 
 large family of sons and daughters in an unusual degree of 
 honor and prosperity. His venerated widow still remains to 
 comfort her mourning family. A large number of Hawaiians 
 in honorable positions in the church and the State, look up to 
 him as their Makua (father), and will hold his memory sacred. 
 A greater number who counted him their spiritual father have 
 doubtless welcomed him to the blessed life above. We who 
 remain shall miss his benign and enlivening presence and wise 
 counsel. " Father Alexander " will be long remembered in 
 Hawaii nei. 
 
MEMORIAL DISCOURSE. 
 
 PREACHED AT MAKAWAO MAUI, 
 
 BY REV. T. H. ROUSE. 
 
 " For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." Phil, i : 21. 
 
 IN speaking of the loved one who has gone from us it 
 is not so much my purpose to sketch an outline of 
 his life, or to dwell on the facts of his history, as it is 
 to call attention to some features of his Christian charac- 
 ter, which are especially worthy of imitation. 
 
 His achievements as a Christian hero, his grand work, 
 his life-long and steady battle with heathenism and the 
 powers of darkness in these islands, his pioneer work in 
 remote stations, his labors as a teacher of youth, as a 
 preacher and pastor, as a theological instructor, the 
 mighty triumphs of the gospel he witnessed and partici- 
 pated in, his literary work and publications in Hawaiian, 
 his labors to establish Punahou College, his efforts for 
 the founding and prosperity of our Makawao Seminary, 
 — all these and other labors, which we cannot now men- 
 tion, may be far better portrayed by others, his surviv- 
 ing companions, or those who have made a study of 
 Hawaiian history, than by a transient resident, knowing 
 only by hearsay, or brief observation, of the great work 
 of God in these islands, by the hands of these mission- 
 ary Fathers, now passing away, 
 
 " For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain," says the 
 apostle. The first clause of this text gives us, I think, 
 the main, the great characteristic of his life, which wc 
 (146) 
 
REV. UAL P. ALEXANDER 147 
 
 may well seek to imitate. The second clause gives the 
 ssue of his life, which is for our consolation and joy, 
 under these trials. I call your attention, then, first, to 
 that consecrated life to Christ, which was his as it is our 
 highest honor and praise. 
 
 To give one's self to the foreign missionary work in 
 those times, when the heathen world was so little known, 
 the influences of civilization so feeble and limited, the 
 means of transport and communication so few, and the 
 perils and privations in consequence so great, required, 
 methinks, a more absolute consecration, a more utter sur- 
 render into the hands of God, of life and all its interests, 
 than in these later times, when the ends of the earth are 
 brought into such close proximity, and its nations are 
 neighbors. There were giants in those days, men great in 
 consecration and trust. Such examples as that of Titus 
 Coan going to Pategonia, or of Father and Mother Alex- 
 ander going to the Marquesas, confronting its lawless can- 
 nibalism, must ever shine conspicuous in its likeness to 
 that apostolic heroism, which said, " Neither count I my 
 life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with 
 joy and the ministry which I have received." ... A 
 life so consecrated to God will have these three features: 
 great delight in prayer, great love for the divine word, 
 and great longing for the coming of Christ in his king- 
 dom. Now these things very much characterized the 
 life of that beloved Father, whose example is before you. 
 How much was prayer his delight! He loved commun- 
 ion with God more than his daily food. The simplicity 
 of his faith, how child-like ! "I love the Lord because he 
 hath heard the voice of my supplication," he often said. 
 How sweet it was to bow with him at the family altar. 
 How many and fervent have his prayers been for his chil- 
 
i 4 S MEMOIR OF 
 
 dien and his grandchildren. In the great distress and 
 suffering of the last days of his life, how earnestly hesought 
 the Lord for help, as to one with whom he had had a 
 long acquaintance in prayer! And the Lord gave him 
 directly help from his hand. How fervently and beauti- 
 fully he acknowledged it! "This poor man cried," 
 said he, " and the Lord heard him, and delivered 
 him out of all his troubles." 
 
 As his delight in prayer was great, so was his love 
 for the divine word. His knowledge of the Scriptures 
 was great. He believed fully in the power of divine 
 truth. He faithfully preached it and had great witness 
 of its power. That word was also the delight of his 
 own heart. The promises cheered and comforted him. 
 How often they were quoted with the sweetest assurance! 
 How he loved the psalms of David ! How richly they ex- 
 pressed his own experience ! " Those beautiful psalms," 
 said he, " seem to have been written for me, as for ten 
 thousand others." " I shall think of him when I read 
 the psalms," said one, " he repeats them so often." 
 
 Conspicuous, too, was his personal love for Christ and 
 his coming in his kingdom. Often were these words on 
 his lips, " Even so, come, Lord Jesus." He did not dog- 
 matize respecting that coming, whether it was personal 
 or spiritual, but he longed for the blessed Master, antici- 
 pated with great joy the seeing of him, and seemed to live 
 more nearly than most in the spirit of " looking for that 
 blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the glory of 
 our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ." Now his hopes 
 have their fruition, and he sees the King in his beauty. 
 
 Again; a life thus consecrated to God and com- 
 munion with him must result in great usefulness. 
 . . . When we think of the results of his life, what a 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 149 
 
 view opens before us, of native minds awakened and led 
 to Christ; of youth instructed, developed and lifted to a 
 higher plane of character; of gospel ministers trained to 
 teach others and to be missionaries of light into the 
 deeper darkness; institutions of learning founded, and 
 developed to a strong maturity, in which multitudes 
 have been taught and trained to decent and noble lives, 
 and in which other multitudes shall yet be instructed — in 
 a word, a nation lifted from the blackness of heathenism 
 far on towards a Christian civilization. 
 
 Another result of such a consecration is that such a 
 life becomes transfigured far into the divine likeness of 
 love. Have we any more perfect type of what God is 
 as a father, than an earthly father, who, through loving 
 consecration to God and long communion with him, 
 has become much assimilated to his likeness ? How 
 sweet and loving were the characteristics of this precious 
 father of yours. You saw and felt them. Xone could 
 be long in his presence yet insensible to that ripe and 
 mellowed character, that loving spirit, the result of much 
 divine communion. . . 
 
 While our father and friend, whom we mourn to-day, 
 possessed, in as full proportion as most, those stronger 
 qualities of character, such as decision, firmness, and 
 executive ability, he also bore in sweet and loving 
 prominence those softer and gentler traits that win and 
 attract everybody, even, most of all, little children, to his 
 arms. How often have we seen his loving, patriarchal 
 form seated on the sofa in his home, with a little con- 
 tented grandchild under each arm and clasped to his 
 side. To see the tender look in his eye, and the bene- 
 diction of his beaming face bent over them so kindly, I 
 could only think of Christ the Saviour with the little 
 
150 MEMOIR OF 
 
 children in his arms. Long will you remember his 
 affectionate greetings as you visited his home; his loving 
 kiss; his fatherly arms thrown around you in warm cm- 
 brace; his words of affection that great, warm heart of 
 love, that held you all, that embraced everybody, that 
 went out to every child, every friend, every native, the 
 whole village where he lived, and the churches to which 
 he ministered, to all the Hawaiian churches and their 
 pastors, welcoming all to his generous heart and hospita- 
 ble home. Yes, the element of love that pervaded his 
 character so strongly, expressed itself everywhere and to 
 the last; pain could not quench it, nor anguish abate it. 
 It was wonderful, more like the love of Christ than we 
 often see, stronger than all things in him, except his love 
 to Christ and Christ's love to him, in which it had its 
 root. As one said, " He reminds one of the apostle 
 John in the sweetness and tenderness of his spirit." 
 " If he had lived on earth in apostolic times I believe he 
 would have shared with the beloved disciple the intimate 
 friendship of Jesus." 
 
 Let us look now at the issues of such a life. " To die 
 is gain," says the apostle. The end of such a life is gain. 
 It is gain to him. Is it not possibly gain to you ? It is 
 good to have such a life with us I know — oh, how 
 good! — to have it in the family, in the home, in the 
 quaint old mansion where you so often went, and where 
 there was always room for all of you and a trundle-bed 
 and crib and high-chair for every grandchild; to see his 
 face, to go to his home, to meet his smiling welcome and 
 tender embrace, — this was sweet and good and desirable ; 
 the atmosphere of Heaven pervaded that home. You 
 were lifted heavenward by that father's and mother's 
 prayers; and as you went to your own homes, your lives 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 151 
 
 were lived under more sacred bonds. . . . But when 
 such a father goes from us, it is then that lie is still with 
 us. This is no paradox. Then it is that all his life, the 
 whole past of it, is gathered up and focalized, by affection 
 and memory brought into one concentrated whole, and 
 shines upon us its holy influences more powerfully than 
 before. 
 
 But finally, to him also it was gain to die. You 
 cannot doubt this. . . . You see it to be so from 
 his worn-out body, its pain, its inevitable liability to 
 pain, but now transported beyond the reach of suffer- 
 ing forever. He knew by experience more than most 
 the ministry, of pain. More than once in his life 
 did he pass through the furnace of trial. " He was per- 
 fected through suffering." Why, we know not. How 
 wonderfully he bore it! If God did not remove the 
 " thorn," he gave grace to bear it. To one who said, 
 " Oh, that we could bear the pain for you ! " he said, 
 " It has been sent, doubtless, where it is most needed." 
 " These sufferings here," he said, " are not worthy to be 
 compared with the glory to be revealed." Sweet to him 
 after them was the glory to be revealed. Not only was 
 it gain to die for the freedom from earthly ills and suf- 
 ferings, but for the blessedness in store. 
 
 How did his spirit exult in the love of his coming 
 Saviour, and in the glorious meeting with him! "Now 
 is our salvation nearer than wh. n we believed," he often 
 said, as the end was drawing near. The transcendent 
 joys of his spirit on his last day, it was beautiful to 
 behold. His last hours were peace, and he gently passed 
 into glory. For him to die was surely gain. Not long 
 before his dear companion will join him there. Faith- 
 fully has she borne the burden and heat of life's day 
 
152 MEMOIR OF 
 
 with him. May the loving arms of Jesus be close 
 around her, in place of those upon which she has so long 
 leaned, and his rod and staff comfort her, till her pilgrim- 
 age is ended, and she joins him above. And may you 
 all, children and grandchildren, so live as to join him 
 there, in God's own time, that he may stand before the 
 throne and be able to say, " Here am I, Lord, and all the 
 children thou hast given me." 
 
 Funeral discourses containing touching tributes to the 
 memory of Mr. Alexander were also preached by Rev. 
 A. O. Forbes (Secretary of the Hawaiian Evangelical 
 Association, one of his most intimate associates in the 
 mission work) in the native church at Wailuku and to 
 the foreign residents at Haiku; but these discourses 
 were not written out for publication. 
 
 TRIBUTE OF MR. E. BAILEY. 
 
 "Wailuku, April 21, 1888. 
 " MRS. M. A. ALEXANDER — Dear Sister: It gives me 
 the greatest pleasure to bear my testimony to the worth 
 of our dear, departed friend and brother, Rev. W. P. 
 Alexander, with whom we passed so many years of 
 pleasant intercourse here in Wailuku. The memory of 
 those years is very dear in the retrospect, and they were 
 pleasant in the enjoyment. I know of no one with whom 
 I have ever been acquainted, who was more unselfish, 
 who would do more for one whom it was in his power to 
 benefit, or do it with more hearty good-will. We were 
 sad when the time came for separation, with a fear that 
 we should see his face no more, a fear that was only 
 too painfully realized. It hardly seems, even at this Lite 
 day, that we shall see no more that erect form and beam- 
 ing countenance, nor hear his words of sympathy and 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 153 
 
 good-will. To a much greater extent than is usual, even 
 among Christians, he seemed to bear ill-will to no one. 
 "As a missionary, he was indefatigable, and never 
 seemed to know when he had done enough. No call for 
 help was unheeded when it was in his power to help. 
 In counsel he was efficient, and always bore a large part 
 of the burden of planning for more efficient work. But 
 those whose relations to him were most intimate, know 
 well that, while public interests were not neglected by 
 him, his virtues shone most brightly in private life. As 
 a friend and neighbor he was all that man could be. 
 High and all-pervading Christian principle seemed to 
 give color to his whole life; and though always gentle, 
 he was not to be turned aside from what he considered 
 right. In cheering the afflicted, in bearing with human 
 frailty, in smoothing the pathway of those in trouble, he 
 was exemplar}'; and few who knew him will not re- 
 member how well he acquitted himself in each position. 
 I could add much more, but must close these few notes 
 with the declaration that he was the faithful missionary, 
 the loving friend, and the whole souled Christian. 
 
 "Most sincerely yours, E. BAILEY." 
 
 TRIBUTE OF GEN. S. C. ARMSTRONG. 
 
 " ' Father Alexander ' is embalmed in all our memories. 
 He was the soul of hospitality and of all kindness. 
 How many exhausted, wave-tossed missionary fathers 
 and mothers and children have been welcomed by him 
 as they landed from the Maria, or Hoikaika, or Kame- 
 hameha, or other lesser coasting craft on the beach at 
 Lahaina and ascended to Lahainaluna, and were cheered 
 by his unfailing humor and rejuvenated by a bath in the 
 delightful mountain waters! I can almost recall now 
 
154 MEMOIR OF 
 
 the bliss of it and the glorious view of sea and outly- 
 ing islands from those heights; it is a sensation by itself; 
 there is nothing like it. Your father was my father's 
 friend, one of his closest, dearest friends, and I deeply, 
 tenderly revere his memory. I recall his noble form, — 
 an ideal Kentuckian, embodying the Christian and the 
 heroic type, — I can almost say, ' the noblest Roman of 
 them all;' for did he not tower above all the fathers, with 
 his benignant smile and never-failing flow of wit and 
 wisdom? He lived with his family for many years in 
 the house where I was born, my father's first mission 
 station, opposite grand old Haleakela. Like it, he 
 was great. He sowed seed, the fruition of which 
 spread silently over the islands, the value of which can- 
 not be estimated. My memory wanders to the days at 
 Ulupalakua, where he was most kind to me. The ranch 
 life there was Paradise for boys. My enthusiasm for 
 him and gratitude to him will never cease. He gave 
 himself and a splendid progeny to Hawaii. The mem- 
 ory of your own and of all the fathers and mothers is 
 fragrant; it is holy. We are far below them in the 
 spirit of sacrifice and of devotion. What a heritage 
 they have left us ! " 
 
 From the Missioiiary Herald: — 
 
 " Secretary Clark recalls an incident showing the 
 affectionate interest inspired in his pupils by Father 
 Alexander: At the Jubilee of 1870, in Honolulu, as Mr. 
 Alexander came down from the platform where he had 
 been sitting during some of the exercises, Kauwcaloha, 
 one of his former pupils, who had just returned from a 
 seventeen years' absence, as a missionary to the Mar- 
 quesas Islands, rushed forward and caught him in his 
 arms. The hearty, tearful embrace of these two men 
 was alike creditable to both." 
 
rev. wm. p. Alexander. 155 
 
 HOALOHALOHA A KA AHA LUNAKAHIKO 
 I KA MAKUA, 
 
 REV. W. P. ALEXANDER. 
 
 Ue, Ue, Ua make ka Makua William, 
 
 Ua make he Elele a kr.u hoa, 
 
 Kuu hoa i paa ka Pono, 
 
 Km: hoa i ka Uc a ka Makani, 
 
 Kuu hoa i ka wela o ka La, 
 
 Ki.u hoa i ka ami o ka Mauna, 
 
 Kuu hoa i mau Kai Ewalu, 
 
 Ue, Ue, L T a hala kuu hoa, 
 
 Ka Lan: nani o Kristo, 
 
 Aole hoi hou mai. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Ann McK. Alexander: Makuahine aloha, 
 i hoonaluca ia e ka luuluu pilihue, no ka hala ana o kau 
 Kane Aloha, kou hoapili no na makehiki he 53, a oi, 
 O makou na kamaiki ma ka Uhane o ka Pono, na Kahu 
 Ekalesia, me na Lunakahiko, i akoakoa mai iloko o ka 
 Aha Lunakahiko (ma Kaahumanu) na hoa Lawchana o 
 kau Kane, ko makou Makua i aloha nui ia, me ka paulclc 
 mau aku, O ke Komite a ka Aha, ma ke ano o Ice 
 Kanaka, ke hoike nei imua ou i ke aloha ka zua/ania, ka 
 haehae, ke kimakcna ka uluku, ka lia ana, Ua hele 
 a/ianane loko iiui-haihai, wehe i ka pe-a kna o ke 
 Kanaka, ka ua mea o ke kukia mau i ka hele ana o ka 
 Makua leo ole, ka hoa kuka a ohumuhumu no na hana 
 a ka Haku, ka mea nana e hoomalamalama i na mea 
 pohihihi o ka Euanalio a Kristo, a pau ae ka pohihihi, c 
 hiki pono ai ke alakai i na hana no ke Aupuni Lanakila 
 o ke Keikihipa. E ka Makuahine, O ka ka Haku hana 
 ike ole ia keia o ka lawe ana i ke oJio-hina o kana kauwa 
 i ka Ina me ka minamina, me ka pau ole o kana hana i 
 ke ao nei no ka ulia o ka manavva. 
 
156 MEMOIR OF 
 
 E ko makou luaui-wahine o ka Pono, he mea 
 puanuanu nui keia o kou makou rnau puuwai o ka hele 
 ana o kou hoapili i kuilima pu ia' i e olua na Moana 
 nui; ka Atelanika Hikina, ka Pacifika Komohana, na 
 ale apiipii o na Kai-Ewalu; na awawa anoano o 
 Nutuhiwa, Pac aina o Maquisa, ka ua nui lokuloku o 
 Waioli, ka la kochana o Lahainaluna, kahi a olua i 
 hoiloli ai, e hoa i ka Ipukukui o ka noeau no ka Pomaikai 
 o kcia Lahui. — Ka mahiehie o ka Pono i ahai mua ia e 
 Rev. J. Kekela laua o Rev. S. Kauvvealoha i Fatuhivva, 
 a i hookahua ia c Rev, D. Kapali, G. Leleo, N. Lono i 
 ka Paeaina o ka Pacifika Hema. Me keia mau hoalo- 
 haloha ana nou, kc hai haahaa aku nei makou na hoa a 
 pau o ka Aha ma o kc Komite la, e lawe aku i ko makou 
 aloha ana no Rev. W. P. Alexander, ka oluolu, ka loko- 
 maikai. E ae haahaa aku kakou i ka kc Akua ka Makua, 
 ka Haku Iesu Kristo, me ka Uhane Hemolele haawina 
 kaumaha i kau mai maluna o kakou a pau, O kona Inoa 
 ke hoomaikai ia; Nana noi olelo mai, " Pomaikai ka poe 
 make, ke make iloko o ka Haku; E hahai aha ka lakou 
 liana mahope o lakou." Eia ko kakou manaolana: "O 
 ka mea hoohuli i ka lehulehu e alohilohi lakou ia ao aku 
 ia ao aku." Daniela 12:3. O ka makou pule ia i ke 
 Akua, E hooloihi maii na la o kou ol 1 ana, a c ike i ka 
 maha me ka Pomaikai, ma ka maka o ka olua ohana, 
 mai kou puhaka mai. 
 
 f W. P. Kau ale, 
 I O. Nawahine, 
 Komiti^ Z. S. K. Paaluhi, 
 I A. Pali, 
 ^J Haoie. 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 157 
 
 Translation of the foregoing: — 
 
 LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 
 
 FROM THE PRESBYTERY OF MAUL 
 
 Alas, alas, Father William is dead! 
 \ >ead is the missionary and friend ; 
 Our friend who stood fast for the ri;;ht, 
 Our friend in the rain and wind, 
 Our friend in the heat of the sun, 
 Our friend in the cold of the mountains, 
 Our friend on the Eight Seas; 
 Alas, alas, our friend has departed! 
 Gone to the glorious Heaven of Christ, 
 lie will return no more = 
 
 To Mrs. Mary A.Alexander, our beloved mother, who 
 art overwhelmed with a crushing weight of sorrow by the 
 death of your beloved husband, your most intimate 
 friend of over fifty-three years, we children begotten by 
 the spirit of truth- pastors and elders of the churches, 
 co-workers with your husband, assembled as a Pres- 
 bytery (at Kaahumanu church) by our committee, 
 declare to you our intense sympathy with you, our over- 
 whelming sorrow, our heart-heaving and tremor of spirit, 
 because there has been the departure in utter dissolution 
 of body and sundering of the silver cords of life, of our 
 father to be henceforth voiceless to us, of him who was 
 our friend in all our consultation and planning for the 
 work of the Lord, who was accustomed to shed light on 
 the mysteries of the gospel of Christ, and to guide in 
 the work of the triumphant kingdom of the Lamb. 
 
 O mother, we see the Lord's hand in this removal, 
 most sorrowfully regretted by us, of the gray-headed 
 veteran, his servant, to the grave before the completion 
 of his work ! 
 
158 MEMOIR OF 
 
 And, O our mother in the cause of righteousness, 
 it profoundly stirs our hearts that this is the removal 
 of your most intimate friend, who, hand in hand with 
 you, traversed the great oceans of the Atlantic on 
 the east, and the Pacific on the west, and our tumultuous 
 Eight Seas, who with you labored hard in the far isolated 
 valleys of Nuuhiva, of the Marquesas Islands, in the 
 rainy district of Waioli, and in the oppressive heat of 
 Lahainaluna, to light the lamp of wisdom for the bless- 
 ing of this nation, from whose labors there have been 
 especially conspicuous results in the missionary lives of 
 Rev. J. Kekela and Rev. S. Kauwealoha, in Fatuhiva, 
 and of Revs. D. Kapali, G. Leleo, and N. Lono, in 
 Micronesia. 
 
 With these expressions of sympathy, we, the Pres- 
 bytery, humbly express to you our love for Rev. W. P. 
 Alexander for his goodness and tender kindness. Let 
 us bow in humble submission to God the Father, our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit in this heavy 
 affliction that hath come alike on us all. Praised be his 
 name, who hath said, " Blessed are the dead who die in 
 the Lord, their works do follow them." This is our 
 hope, "They that turn many to righteousness shall shine 
 as the stars forever and ever." It is our prayer to God 
 that he will lengthen out the days of your life, and that 
 you may see rest and blessing in the presence of the 
 families of your children. 
 
 r\V. P. K AH ALE, 
 O. NAWAHINE, 
 
 Committee^ Z. S. K. Paaluhi 
 | A. Pali, 
 
 I J. Haole. 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 159 
 
 TRANSLATION OF LETTER OF CONDO- 
 LENCE. 
 
 FROM THE EVANGELICAL ASSOCIATION OF OA1IU. 
 
 To Mrs. Alexander, true mother in the Lord Jesus 
 Christ: — 
 
 GREAT ALOHA: We, a committee of the Evangelical 
 Association of Oahu, express the overwhelming sorrow 
 every member of this Association feels, together with a 
 feeling of submission to God in joyous hope, because the 
 Almighty has taken away the soul of your greatly be- 
 loved husband, that he should enter the mansions of 
 Heaven for blessing and for rest from his earthly labors. 
 You, with all the members of your family, are indeed in 
 deep distress; on you there is a heavy burden of sorrow, 
 and you are in the very depths of affliction, because he 
 has gone on a path in which there is no returning; but 
 rejoice, for "blessed are the dead that die in the Lord." 
 " Death is swallowed up in victory. Therefore comfort 
 ye one another with these words." 1 Thess. 4: 17, 18. 
 Tenderly regarded in the sight of the Lord is the death 
 of his saints. 
 
 While you are weeping and mourning for your 
 beloved departed from you, we, your friends of this 
 Association, weep with you and all your family. It is 
 well that God the Almighty should take away his serv- 
 ant to dwell with him in the kingdom of Heaven, though 
 he leaves you with tears for him on this side of the River 
 of Jordan, and us of this Association uniting with you 
 in mourning. We have no certain dwelling-place here- 
 We seek a place beyond, the everlasting home prepared 
 for believers. We, the members of this Association, 
 
160 MEMOIR OF 
 
 humbly pray the triune God, that he will takeaway your 
 weight of sorrow and ov rwhelming distress. 
 
 [Signed by the Committee] J. W. KAAPU, 
 
 J. N. PAIKULI, 
 S. Paaluhi. 
 Waialua, October S, iSS-/.. 
 
 TRANSLATION OF LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 
 
 FROM THE ASSOCIATION OF KAUAI, ASSEMBLED AT KOLOA, 
 OCTOBER 15-18, 1884. 
 
 To Mrs. IV. P. Alexander, aloha {love): — 
 
 On the 1 2th of August, 1884, it pleased our heavenly 
 Father to take away your beloved husband, a spiritual 
 father of this nation. He was a father greatly beloved 
 by our people, from whose sowing amongst us, many 
 rich fruits of Christian blessing have resulted, that will 
 ever redound to his memory. His work on earth is 
 done; a«d he has gone, we believe, to his heavenly home 
 above, with the angels to ever behold the face of his 
 heavenly Father. Therefore, all the members of this 
 association tender their fervent sympathy to you, your 
 children and grandchildren, and unite with you in your 
 mourning. "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord." 
 Rev. J. H. Mahoe, Moderator. 
 
 REV. S. U. Kapahi, Scribe. 
 
 By order of the Association. 
 
 TRANSLATION OF LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 
 
 FROM THE SABBATH-SCHOOL CONVENTION, OF MAUI AND 
 MOLOKAI, REPRESENTING THE GREATLY BE- 
 LOVED FATHER ALEXANDER. 
 
 To Mrs. Mary A. Alexander, greatly loved: — 
 
 Wc the spiritual children of you both, teachers of 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 161 
 
 Sabbath-schools, delegates of the Sabbath-scnools, of 
 the three districts (na hono Ekolu a Piilani) assembled 
 in the Kaahumanu church, at Wailuku (declare) — that 
 it is the Lord's doing, as the Bible teaches, that he should 
 take to the grave his gray-headed servant, greatly 
 mourned, without the completion of his work on earth, 
 suddenly and unexpectedly. Therefore we, your chil- 
 dren, enter with you into weeping with distressed hearts 
 and with flowing tears for our loved father, who, with 
 you, through our ocean reefs, amongst our mountains 
 and over our blue seas, has been bringing the light, the 
 lamp of wisdom, for the glorious progress of our nation 
 in material and spiritual prosperity. With these words 
 of condolence, all the children of this Sabbath-school 
 Convention weep with you. Be pleased to accept the 
 assurance of our love for Father Alexander, the courteous, 
 the delightful, the benevolent. Let us humbly submit 
 with love to the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, in the 
 removal of Father Alexander to dwell in his glorious and 
 holy bosom, in joys prepared for his own people, chosen 
 out of the world. Blessed be his name forever and ever. 
 The Bible tells us, " Blessed are the dead who die in the 
 Lord," and " their works do follow them." This is our 
 expression of profound sympathy for you. 
 
 KALUA, President. 
 
 J. Haole, Secretary. 
 
 Wailuku, Maui, December 6, 188+. 
 
 TRANSLATION OF LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 
 
 FROM THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH OF WAILUKU. 
 
 To our Christian mother, Mrs. W. P. Alexander, great ly 
 beloved, tender greeting: — 
 Since we are informed that Father Alexander has 
 
1 62 MEMOIR OF 
 
 been taken from you and from us, the children of his 
 spiritual care, therefore we express our most tender 
 sympathy for you in this very heavy affliction that has 
 come on you and on us, the children of you both. We 
 tender to you our loving condolence that you are deprived, 
 by the hand of the Almighty, of your helpmate, and we 
 unite with you and your children in weeping and mourn- 
 ing; and we have the hope that he is at the right hand 
 of God in blessing, where we most earnestly hope to 
 ourselves arrive. With flowing tears we sorrow with 
 you and your children in this affliction, in which we all 
 suffer. J. B. Keanu, 
 
 J. Haole, 
 Kahopii, 
 The Elders of the Wailuku Church. 
 
 TRANSLATION OF LETTER OF CONDOLENCE. 
 
 THE CHURCH OF WAILUKU TO THE CHILDREN OF FATHER 
 ALEXANDER. 
 
 Great ALOHA: We, the elders of the church of 
 Wailuku, tender our great sympathy to you, the chil- 
 dren who are bereaved and overwhelmed with heavy 
 affliction, by the death of your father. We unite with 
 you in grief and mourning; and we indulge the hope 
 that he has gone to dwell at the right hand of the Al- 
 mighty. We express our sympathy to you with sorely 
 distressed and broken hearts, since we too are deprived 
 of a father; and we. the elders of the church, unite with 
 you, his own greatly beloved children, in love for him. 
 With this affection and with suffering hearts, we bow in 
 reverent submission before him who dctcrmineth all 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 163 
 
 events, since we cannot murmur at the dispensation of 
 God. W. B. Keanu, 
 
 [Signed by the elders] J. IlAOLE, 
 
 KAHOril. 
 
 A SERMON PREACHED BY REV. W. P. ALEX- 
 ANDER, IN THE UNITED STATES, 
 IN THE YEAR 1859. 
 
 " And when they were rome and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed ali 
 that God had done with them, and how he had jpened the door of faith unto the 
 Gentiles.' Acts 4: 27. 
 
 The apostles were the first missionaries. Until their 
 mission commenced, the true religion had been confined 
 to God's chosen people, the Jews; but they were sent to 
 every creature. Their commission was very broad; it 
 required them to go into all the world and teach all 
 nations. Accordingly we arc told in the last verse of 
 the gospel by Mark, that the apostles went forth and 
 preached everywhere, the Lord working with them. 
 Before the last of the twelve had been called home from 
 his labors, they had proclaimed a free salvation through 
 a crucified and risen Redeemer, far and wide, among the 
 nations then known, perhaps as far as it was practicable 
 for them to do at that time. The apostle Paul was 
 particularly distinguished for his labors among the 
 heathen or idolatrous nations. To this arduous service 
 he was especially called of God, and both by gifts and 
 graces, was admirably fitted; hence he is called the 
 apostle to the Gentiles, or, as it might be expressed, 
 missionary to the heathen. After preaching in various 
 parts in company with Barnabas, he seems to have found 
 it good and important to revisit the place of their 
 former labors at Antioch, where they had been rccom- 
 
1 64 MEMOIR OF 
 
 mended to the grace of God for the work of evangeliz- 
 ing the surrounding nations. Here, as was natural, they 
 called together the church, and gave them an account of 
 their mission. They rehearsed all that God had done 
 with them, and how he had opened a door of faith unto 
 the Gentiles; how they had preached Christ Jesus in 
 every place, in Seleucia and Cyprus, Salami's, Paphos, 
 and Perga; how the Holy Spirit had been poured 
 out, and many had embraced a risen Saviour, while 
 others had rejected their message, raised a persecution 
 against them, and expelled them from their coasts. 
 
 Such a narrative could not fail to be interesting and 
 profitable to the brethren at Antioch, who needed to 
 have their hearts encouraged and their faith strengthened 
 during those trying times. What Paul and Barnabas 
 had to relate was calculated not only to increase their 
 faith in the power of the gospel, and their zeal in the 
 Saviour's cause, but also to encourage their prayers and 
 efforts for still greater displays of divine grace in the 
 conversion of the world. If such had already been the 
 power of the gospel, who could assign any limits to its 
 progress ? 
 
 Twenty-eight years ago, not without many fears, in 
 much weakness and inexperience, I left home and native 
 land, for the far distant islands of the Pacific, on a simi- 
 lar errand, and acting under the same authority as Paul 
 and Barnabas; and that was to tell those then benighted 
 islanders of a crucified Saviour. These years have 
 passed rapidly away, and in the good providence of 
 God I am once more on American soil, among scenes 
 once most familiar and dear. 
 
 It may be of use to you, as it was to the church of 
 Antioch, to hear somewhat of God's dealings with those 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 165 
 
 laboring for him in foreign nations. To rehearse all the 
 history of the Hawaiian Mission, since its commencement 
 forty years ago, in a single discourse would be impossible. 
 All that I shall attempt is an outline of what God has 
 done for that people. In my remarks I shall attempt to 
 describe: (1) The state of those islands at the time when 
 the gospel was first carried to them, in the year 1820; 
 (2) the means that have been employed for their con- 
 version to God; (3) the results which have followed. 
 
 In the year 1820, when the first missionaries arrived 
 at the Hawaiian Islands, the population was estimated 
 at one hundred and fifty thousand. Since that time it 
 has diminished to about seventy thousand or eighty 
 thousand. The barbarous nations melt away, when 
 brought in contact with the diseases and vices of civil- 
 ized lands. Where are the Indians that once roamed 
 over this broad country? White men, deserters from 
 ships, had been on those shores forty years before 
 the gospel reached them, and had carried the diseases 
 that poisoned the whole nation. Through them the 
 work of ruin commenced; and it has been going on 
 steadily ever since. No change of heart, no prayer, no 
 reformation, no degree of culture or intelligence, has 
 arrested it; for the poison has entered the very bloodj 
 bone, and muscle of the people. God seems to have 
 marked with peculiar displeasure the violation of that 
 law on which depends the happiness and the very exist- 
 ence of the human family. 
 
 There was a remarkable preparation of the way for 
 the missionaries before they arrived. The islands, which 
 had been subject to a multitude of independent chiefs, 
 continually at war with each other, had just been sub- 
 dued under the sway of a single individual, King Kamc- 
 
1 66 MEMOIR OF 
 
 hameha L; and the whole system of idolatry had 
 been abolished by his successor, while the first mission- 
 aries were on their voyage. What influenced the heart 
 of this young, dissolute ruler to do this is not known. 
 Probably he was moved in part by what he had heard of 
 the overthrow of idolatry in Tahiti, but more likely by 
 an impulse of his own reckless and impetuous nature, 
 which would not endure the restraint of tabus. This 
 left the nation without any religion. They were, indeed, 
 without an altar or a priest. In regard to all that 
 pertains to man's spiritual welfare, no people could be 
 in a grosser darkness than they were. They had no 
 knowledge of the true God, or of the way of salvation. 
 They called evil good, and good evil. To the very 
 gods they worshiped, they attributed the vilest crimes. 
 War was the business of their chiefs; and their wars 
 were cruel. Their Government was a confused, unor- 
 ganized, savage despotism of the meanest and lowest 
 character. The common people had no rights. They 
 were mere serfs, subject to the capricious will of every 
 petty chief who might at any time exercise rule over 
 them. They had nothing they could call their own, not 
 even the pig or fowl at their doors. Their little all was 
 liable at any moment to be swept away by some petty 
 tyrant. Even the king and chiefs had no defined 
 rights. They had everything by a most uncertain tenure ( 
 and were filled with jealousies among themselves. In 
 such a state of society there was no motive to industry. 
 No man will improve his land or build a good house, 
 unless he has a reasonable prospect of enjoying them. 
 If his hard earnings may be swept from him at any 
 moment, he will take care to own just as little visible 
 property as possible. Accordingly we found the people 
 
REV. I I'M. P. ALEXANDER. 167 
 
 in the lowest depths of poverty and degradation. The 
 chiefs had no other idea of ruling than to get all they 
 could from their serfs, and the people had no other idea 
 of serving than to evade the chiefs and to give them as 
 little as possible. Is it any wonder that both were poor? 
 that their habitations were grass huts, without windows, 
 doors, or furniture beyond a few mats? that their bodies 
 were naked and filthy ? in short, that their highest aim 
 was to meet the wants of the present, leaving the future 
 entirely unprovided for ? Is it any wonder, too, that 
 injustice and want led to all manner of thieving, lying 
 and fraud ? They were all liars and covenant-breakers 
 They had no sense of obligation. To keep a promise 
 or to fulfill a contract formed no part of their moral 
 code. You could bind them only when you had power 
 to compel; then they were faithful. Business could not 
 prosper, property was not safe, nobody could be trusted. 
 They had no word for conscience, or the moral sense, or 
 for gratitude, or moral obligation, because they had not 
 the ideas. Infanticide was common, in fact few women 
 did not destroy some of their children. Oh, how deep 
 their degradation ! What must be the state of that 
 mother's heart who could in cold blood take the life of 
 her own babe ! 
 
 The vice most prevalent among them, and which 
 has brought down upon them the severest sufferings, was 
 licentiousness. Previous to the introduction of Chris- 
 tianity this was universal. A description of it is im- 
 possible, you could not endure it, neither would pro- 
 priety allow it. In such a state of society there could 
 not exist what we call a family. You would look in 
 vain for the order and government of the household, 
 mutual affection and regard of husband and wife, the 
 
1 68 MEMOIR OF 
 
 proper care and government of children, regular hours 
 for sleeping and eating, labor and rest. All the founda- 
 tions of the family were out of course, and the people 
 were reduced to almost a mere animal existence. When 
 I first looked upon them I exclaimed, " Can these be 
 men and women ? Arc they not mere animals ? " But 
 no language can give you a proper idea of the state of 
 such a people. To understand it you must live among 
 them and hold daily intercourse with them. Every day 
 would furnish some new development of their mental 
 imbecility and deep moral degradation, especially if you 
 were making efforts for their deliverance from the bond- 
 age of their inveterate habits. 
 
 Before I went abroad, I had sometimes wondered 
 whether there were any people now living to whom the 
 apostle's language in his epistle to the Romans would 
 apply, where he says, " Being filled with all unrighteous- 
 ness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, malicious- 
 ness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; 
 whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, 
 boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 
 without understanding, covenant-breakers, without 
 natural affection, implacable, unmerciful;" but after 
 living a few months among the Marquesans, and many 
 years among the Hawaiians, from my own observation 
 and information the most reliable, I am persuaded that 
 every epithet here employed accurately portrays their 
 heathen state. 
 
 In no point of view does their mental and moral 
 degradation appear more complete than in their worship 
 of their deities, and in their religious rites, which they re- 
 garded as their most holy services. To their gods they 
 attributed the most atrocious crimes. They were supposed 
 
REV. U'M. P. ALEXANDER. 169 
 
 to be most cruel, bloody, and licentious; and the worship 
 they offered them was no better. If the priest called for 
 a human victim for sacrifice, he must be procured, even 
 though they went to war for the purpose. On the death 
 of chiefs the funeral rites beggared description for obscen- 
 ity, cruelty, noise, and beastly exposure. I once wit- 
 nessed a funeral scene (in the Marquesas Islands, similar 
 to those in the Hawaiian Islands), which lasted seven 
 days; they were the darkest days I ever saw. Com- 
 panies came from all parts, filling the air with loud 
 wailings, dancing in a state of perfect nudity around the 
 corpse, like so many furies, cutting their flesh with shells 
 and sharp stones, till the blood trickled down to their 
 feet, the women tearing out their hair, both men and 
 women knocking out their teeth, indulging in the most 
 revolting licentiousness, and feasting to excess, while 
 muskets were fired and sea-shells were kept a-blowing 
 with a long, deep, sepulchral sound, during the whole 
 night. Verily, I seemed to be for the time on the bor- 
 ders of the infernal regions; and I wished that all the 
 Christians in the world could have looked on that scene, 
 and asked themselves the question, " Are such human 
 beings happy ? Arc they fit for the society of a holy 
 Heaven and a holy God ? Or are they not more fit for 
 habitations of devils and lost spirits ? " 
 
 I proceed to state the means which have been em- 
 ployed to convert and evangelize the Hawaiian people. 
 These were the pulpit, the press, and schools. In the 
 pulpit there have been employed in those islands by the 
 A. B. C. F. M. since 1820, forty-six preachers of the 
 gospel and one hundred other laborers, who have assisted 
 in the work, such as physicians, school-teachers and sec- 
 ular agents; seventy-two of these were females. And 
 
170 MEMOIR OF 
 
 besides these, nine other evangelical preachers of the 
 gospel have been employed by the A. S. F. Society and 
 by the resident community of foreigners. Their first ef- 
 fort on arriving on those shores was to acquire the native 
 language. It was unwritten, and had to be learned from 
 the lips of the people, a difficult and tedious work. The 
 language acquired and no obstacle hindering, the Word 
 was preached in season and out of season, in the house 
 and by the way, with all plainness and boldness. The 
 great instrument employed was the preached Word. Do 
 you ask the character of the preaching? I answer, It was 
 eminently practical, simple and biblical. The language 
 being crude and barbarous, did not admit of much 
 philosophical discussion; and hence the great aim has 
 been to set forth in all plainness the fundamental truths 
 of revelation, such as the depravity of the heart, the 
 necessity of regeneration, the holy character of God 
 and of his law, the fullness of the atonement made by 
 Christ for the sins of the world, and the free offer of 
 pardon to all true believers, who show their faith by 
 their works. To preach these and kindred doctrines has 
 been our great business. 
 
 The press has been a powerful auxiliary to the pulpit. 
 The language when printed being simple, the natives 
 soon learned to read, and their fondness for reading- 
 seemed to take the place of their fondness for heathen 
 sports; so that it was difficult to supply the demand for 
 books. The chiefs soon learned to read and encouraged 
 their personal attendants also to learn. These when they 
 had acquired the art, were sent everywhere to teach 
 others. The translation of the New Testament was 
 completed in the year 1832, and of the whole Bible in 
 1839. Through the munificence of that noble institu- 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEX AX PER. 171 
 
 tion, the American Bible Society, several editions of 
 both have been published and circulated among the 
 natives, twenty thousand of the Bible, and fifty thousand 
 of the New Testament. And through that other noble 
 institution, the American Tract Society, a variety of 
 tracts on the great doctrines and duties of Christianity 
 have been sent forth. Besides these there have been 
 issued a number of works of science and literature, all 
 adapted to arouse and improve the mind, and elevate the 
 character. More than two hundred millions of pages 
 have gone forth from our presses, like leaves from the 
 tree of life. 
 
 Next in order of the means employed to save that 
 people have been the schools. Go where you will over 
 those islands, you will find the humble school-house 
 and the sanctuary side by side. About twenty years 
 ago the Government adopted the Puritan principle 
 that the children were the property of the State, and 
 that it was the duty of the State to see that all the 
 children were educated. A school system, rude and 
 imperfect at first, was begun, and it has been improved 
 from year to year, until it has now nearly as much order, 
 symmetry and efficiency as that of any other country. 
 The State provides for the elementary education of all 
 the youth, and requires them all to attend school. 
 There are three hundred and thirty public free schools, 
 embracing ten thousand children, besides a flourishing 
 high school and twenty select or boarding-schools, in 
 which the English language is taught. These schools, 
 if we except those under Papists, are all under g^od 
 Christian influence. 
 
 These islands are now emphatically the land of 
 Bibles, churches and schools. You will rarely enter a 
 
1 72 MEMOIR OF 
 
 house where there is not at least a Bible and hymn 
 book daily used. 
 
 Having thus briefly described t'he condition of the 
 people to whom we went, and the means employed to 
 enlighten them, I will now narrate what has been the 
 result. 
 
 First, we will notice their improvement in things 
 temporal. That cruel, iron-hearted despotism has given 
 place to a Government under a Constitution and laws 
 as enlightened and liberal as any in these free States. 
 In the year 1840 King Kamehameha III., moved not 
 by the advance of hostile armies, nor by threats of 
 insurrection or revolution among his subjects, but ap- 
 parently by a sense of right, by a feeling of good-will 
 towards his people, by the advice of Christian chiefs and 
 others around him, granted a Constitution to his subjects, 
 by which, at one blow, the whole fabric of ancient 
 despotic rule was demolished, and the people secured in 
 their rights, both civil and religious. By this one act a 
 nation of political slaves became a nation of freemen. 
 This was a wonderful event; those precious rights, 
 which have usually been obtained through bloody wars 
 and revolutions, were here secured simply by the ad- 
 vancing light and love of the gospel moving a mind not 
 subdued to the obedience of Christ. 
 
 This was not all. The same king, under that same 
 silent, soul-elevating influence, by his own voluntary act, 
 to the amazement of his subjects, made them all free- 
 holders. Every man, however low his condition, was 
 made the owner in fee-simple of the land he had been 
 in the habit of cultivating for a term of years, and a 
 royal patent for the same with the great seal of the 
 kingdom was placed in his hand ; and now the Kanaka, 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 173 
 
 who was -once a serf, trodden down in the mire by 
 the haughty chiefs, lives in his own house as his castle, 
 and literally under his own vine and fig tree. Such a 
 state of things, it is safe to say, was never brought about 
 in any other country in so short a time, and without 
 even the appearance of violence or force. But let all 
 the glory be given to God, who sends forth the gospel to 
 heal the nations. 
 
 By the same Constitution the right of universal 
 suffrage was granted to the common people, and the 
 rights of trial by jury and of a voice in the enactment 
 of laws. Xo law can now be made without their con- 
 sent. An independent judiciary was also guaranteed to 
 them ; and you may now see the lowest native before 
 the courts contending for his rights against the haughty 
 chief, who but a few years before regarded him as the 
 mire under his feet. The vast distance which once 
 existed between the chiefs, who traced their origin to the 
 gods, and were the very impersonation of pride and 
 self-consequence, and the naked, cringing, spiritless serf, 
 who could hardly realize that he had any rights, and 
 trembled at the very idea of asserting them, was now 
 immeasurably lessened ; and for the last ten years we 
 have seen both meet on the same platform, discussing 
 public measures, and hand in hand working the whole 
 machinery of society. 
 
 The right of personal liberty and the security of 
 property naturally led to more industry, though not so 
 much as was expected. Indolence is an inveterate habit 
 of the Hawaiian, induced by oppression for centuries. 
 Yet a powerful motive to improve their lands was pre- 
 sented, when they became the real owners of the soil; 
 and, in fact, thousands of neat wooden or stone cottages 
 
174 MEMOIR OF 
 
 have taken the place of the frail, dark and cheerless 
 huts; and you find more or less furniture in all, some of 
 them very well furnished. When they began to wear 
 clothes, a single garment was oppressive; now all are 
 daily clad, and to wear clothing has become a necessity. 
 Public sentiment requires it. Most < four congregations 
 on the Sabbath present a very respectable appearance 
 in this respect, in fact, they are apt to dress too well for 
 their means. And here let me say that a desire to 
 appear decently clad in the house of God on the Sab- 
 bath has had, in my opinion, more influence in promoting 
 cleanliness, order and decency among the people than 
 all other civilizing causes put together: Every man, 
 woman and child who attends the services of the sanct- 
 uary (and it is the fashion among them to go to church) 
 will find some suitable apparel to put on. The observ- 
 ance of the Sabbath has been one of the great causes of 
 their advance in civilization and outward prosperity. 
 However shabby they may appear from day to day at 
 their work in and around their houses, they will clean up 
 and try to appear well in the house of God. 
 
 The family constitution, that was once in ruins, a per- 
 fect chaos, has been in some degree built up ; but it is still 
 in an imperfect state. Where polygamy and the conse- 
 quent domestic confusion prevailed, the law of marriage 
 has been introduced, its violation punished, and some 
 degree (in some cases a high degree), of domestic happi- 
 ness exists. The higher and grosser crimes, such as 
 murder and robbery, once so common, are now seldom 
 known or heard of. You can travel unprotected over 
 the mountains and beautiful valleys of those islands 
 with as much safety as in any part of the world. 
 
 They were formerly a nation of thieves, and petty 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 175 
 
 theft is yet too common, yet with the usual care property 
 is as safe as in any country. Drunkenness once deluged 
 the land; whole villages, men, women, and children, 
 would plunge into it together; and scenes of debauchery 
 were witnessed such as you must go to a heathen land to 
 find. Now they are really a vastly more temperate and 
 sober people than you will find in almost any part of 
 this land. We rarely see a native intoxicated. 
 
 Licentiousness has been the besetting sin of the peo- 
 ple. Society was once a sea of pollution ; and many 
 ships visiting our ports were floating brothels ; and every 
 village was a Sodom. But by the power of the gospel, 
 stringent laws and public sentiment, this odious and 
 consuming vice is driven back, as in this land, into deep 
 concealment and midnight darkness. 
 
 Ignorance, deep and dreadful, once rested upon the 
 whole nation. No one knew the God that made him, 
 nor the Saviour that redeemed him; there were no 
 letters, nor books, nor schools. Captain Cook was wor- 
 shiped as a god, and his ship regarded as an island 
 afloat on the sea. The movements of the heavenly 
 bodies, the eclipses and comets, filled the people with 
 dismay. They regarded many diseases as a possession 
 of devils that could be cured only by sorcery. Now it 
 is a land of Bibles, tracts, useful books and newspapers. 
 Taking the people generally they are well acquainted 
 with the great historical facts of the Bible. They know 
 the story of Gethsemane and Calvary, and that by faith 
 in Christ we are saved. By a careful calculation from 
 official documents I have come to the conclusion that 
 as great a proportion of those islanders can read and 
 write their own language as of any State in this Union; 
 and the Government expends a greater proportion of 
 
176 MEMOIR OF 
 
 its revenue to educate the people than any other Gov- 
 ernment in the world. 
 
 But you will inquire, What has been the progress of 
 vital godliness among those islanders ? This is the 
 great thing, for it pertains to the salvation of the soul 
 and the glory of God. All the temporal improvement, 
 all advance in civilization, is very well; but this docs not 
 satisfy the Christian. He wants to know how many 
 souls have been saved, how many of the people have 
 embraced Christ by a saving faith, as far as can be 
 judged by their works. These are solemn inquiries and 
 most reasonable; and I take great pleasure in giving 
 them the most satisfactory answer in my power. 
 
 I proceed then to state that there have been received 
 into the twenty-two churches on those islands since the 
 establishment of the mission, thirty-nine thousand two 
 hundred and fifty-four persons on the profession of their 
 faith in Christ, and fourteen thousand and four hundred 
 children have been baptized; fifteen thousand six hun- 
 dred and forty-four of our church-members have died, 
 some too have fallen away and been cut off; and now 
 there remain in regular standing twenty-one thousand 
 six hundred and seventy scattered over the islands. 
 These have been gathered from a population of about 
 one hundred and fifty thousand in 1820, now reduced by 
 the progress of depopulation to about seventy-three 
 thousand. 
 
 A large harvest you will say. Yes, blessed be our 
 merciful God, there has been a great ingathering ! We 
 have seen displays of divine mercy such as few are per- 
 mitted to see on earth. The time has been when the 
 whole people seemed to be moved by the presence of 
 God, when the eager congregation would drink in every 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 177 
 
 word spoken like men dying with thirst. They received 
 the divine commands with perfect trust, like little chil- 
 dren. They embraced the same Saviour in whom we 
 trust, and on him they rely. 
 
 Yet you may inquire, How do the Hawaiian Chris- 
 tians appear ? How do they compare with Christians in 
 this land ? It is not easy to give just the correct answer 
 to these questions, as the Hawaiians differ so widely in 
 their character and habits from the people of this coun- 
 try. Many seem to suppose that converts from pagan- 
 ism, as they emerge from deep darkness into the glorious 
 light of the gospel and look back and see "the hole of 
 the pit whence they were digged," will see the truth by 
 contrast more clearly, love it more ardently, and walk 
 more uprightly than converts in Christian lands. But 
 this does not accord with my observation, nor with 
 reason. Converts among the heathen are apt to be very 
 imperfect, even those giving good evidence of real piety. 
 Their former habits of idleness, falsehood and hypocrisy, 
 dishonesty and licentiousness, are not eradicated at 
 once, even though there be grace in the heart. They 
 live in the midst of evil influences; they breathe a 
 polluted atmosphere; their old habits hang like fetters 
 upon them; everything but the grace of God is against 
 them. Is it any wonder that their pastors must often 
 exhort them not to "lie one to another ; " to "flee fornica- 
 tion;" to "keep themselves from idols;" to lay aside 
 all filthiness, all malice, and hypocrisy " ? But notwith- 
 standing all this, taking our churches as a whole, there 
 is very satisfactory evidence that they contain much 
 salt. I know of no good people in the world who give 
 better evidence of piety than many of our Hawaiian 
 Christians. Some of them for more than thirty years 
 
i/8 MEMOIR OF 
 
 have adorned the doctrine of God our Saviour, by a 
 harmless, prayerful and godly life. Their constant at- 
 tendance in the sanctuary on the Sabbath, and in the 
 weekly prayer-meetings, and their sobriety of deport- 
 ment, their keeping aloof from sinful pleasures, their love 
 of the brethren, their patient endurance, readiness to 
 give and labor for Christ's cause, afford reason to believe 
 that they are born of God, and raised to newness of life. 
 Some of them have made great attainments in piety 
 and are shining Christians. 
 
 The activity of our churches in the missionary work 
 is very encouraging. The monthly concert of prayer 
 for the heathen is generally observed, and they con- 
 tribute liberally of their substance. They have sent 
 of their people, men and women, to Christianize the 
 tribes far to the south and westward in the Pacific. 
 During the last year the contributions of the island 
 churches for foreign missions amounted to $4,000, 
 and during the same year they contributed about 
 $18,000 for the support of pastors, the erection of 
 churches and other benevolent objects. Most of them 
 are extremely poor. Having no ready market at hand 
 for their produce, and being unskillful in developing the 
 resources of their country, they get but little money, 
 and that little comes hard. But of their little they give 
 ai freely perhaps as any churches in the world. 
 
 This, then, is the result of mission effort on that peo- 
 ple for thirty-nine years. They have become a people 
 who were not a people. A nation has been redeemed 
 from darkness and bondage, raised to light and freedom, 
 and has taken its stand among the nations of the earth, 
 with its regular departments of government, its systems 
 of schools embracing all the children and youth, over 
 
REV. ir.U. P. ALEXANDER. 179 
 
 ten thousand in daily attendance, its advancing agri- 
 culture and commerce, its printing-presses, newspapers 
 and literature. The name of Jehovah is invoked in 
 every Privy Council of the king and in every legislative 
 assembly. Oaths are administered in all their courts. 
 The laws acknowledge Christianity as the religion of 
 the country and punish idolatry as a crime. Temples 
 once used for heathen worship, with all its obscenity, 
 horror and blood, once thronged by naked, sunburnt, 
 and beastly savages, have been demolished, and in their 
 stead you find the temples of the living God, some of 
 them excellent buildings, and erected by the poor 
 natives by an amount of toil and sacrifice that would do 
 honor to any Christian people. There have been received 
 to the bosom of the church about forty thousand con- 
 verts from the darkest form of paganism; of these more 
 than fifteen thousand have gone to their reward; and if 
 we may judge from a Christian life and dying testimony 
 for Jesus, many have gone to a blessed reward. Others 
 are holding on their way, twenty-one thousand of them 
 scattered over the group, in regular standing in the 
 churches. 
 
 All this has been gained, it is true, at cost of great 
 toil, self-denial, and treasure. The churches of the 
 United States have expended about a million of dollars 
 in Christianizing those islanders. And now I ask, 
 Have they not received a rich reward ? Had there been 
 no good accomplished there beyond what pertains to 
 this life, no good save that of freedom from oppression, 
 general intelligence, decency, comfort, thrift, tranquillity, 
 and self-respect, all the toil and care and lives and 
 money expended would have been a most profitable in- 
 vestment. But when we consider the value of the soul 
 
i8o MEMOIR OP 
 
 that never dies, the good hope we have that hundreds, 
 yea thousands, have been saved from perdition, and are 
 already singing and will forever sing the song of Moses 
 and the Lamb, have we not cause for gratitude that 
 we have been allowed in any way to be co-workers in 
 that blessed enterprise ? I bless God that he ever put 
 it into my heart to go thither. 
 
 I address, no doubt, those who have done much for 
 that people. Your prayers have gone up for them, your 
 sympathies have been with them in all their trials and 
 struggles during their transition state. Your money 
 has been contributed freely to aid them, and now, as I 
 have rehearsed to you something of what God has done 
 for them, do you not feel richly rewarded for all that you 
 have done ? You have a share in the work, a part of 
 the reward is yours. And, oh, when you shall stand on 
 Mount Zion above, by the mother who once murdered 
 her own child, or by the old warrior whose greatest grati- 
 fication once was to spill the blood of his enemies, or the 
 haughty, despotic queen, Kaahumanu, whose tender 
 mercies were cruelties, all washed and made clean in the 
 blood of the Lamb, clothed in white and singing by 
 your side the songs of redeeming love, will it not add to 
 your bliss to remember that you had some instrumen- 
 tality in bringing them to glory and blessedness? 
 
 Still our work among the Hawaiians is not complete. 
 We cannot, like Paul and Barnabas, leave them and go 
 on to tell other heathen tribes the glad message of the 
 gospel. The polished, educated Greeks who heard the 
 gospel from the apostles and embraced it, were very 
 unlike the besotted Polynesian savages. Among the 
 former were already the materials of a church organiza- 
 tion. The apostles found among the converts persons 
 
REV. Jl'.U. P. ALEXANDER. 181 
 
 whom they could at once ordain as pastors of the 
 churches they had just gathered. Our churches are made 
 up of babes in Christ, and they need the parental hand 
 of the missionary who gathered them, to guide them 
 still. Yet their missionary is mortal and will soon pass 
 away. Who then will take his place ? It cannot be 
 expected that the churches in this country will continue 
 to send out fresh laborers to carry forward this work for 
 forty years to come. No, Hawaii must have her own 
 youth trained and fitted to fill all her posts of church 
 and State ; and until she can do this, our work is incom- 
 plete and nothing permanent achieved. The key-stone 
 of the arch of benevolent enterprise we have been 
 erecting, is yet to be inserted ; otherwise the whole struct- 
 ure may yet fall to the ground. That key-stone is a 
 college to educate our youth, where they may be trained, 
 if God gives them grace, to take the places of their 
 fathers and carry on the work begun, yea, and extend it 
 to the thousand islands lying far to the westward with 
 benighted, degraded inhabitants. 
 
 A school was established at Punahou, on the island of 
 Oahu, in 1841, for the education of the children of 
 missionaries; for we could not feel at ease in our work 
 for the people while our own children were growing up in 
 ignorance. But as years rolled on, and our work pro- 
 gressed, we found that we needed more than simply an 
 academy. The colleges of America were thousands of 
 miles distant; few of our youth could gratify their aspira- 
 tions after a thorough education by going to those distant 
 colleges. It was undesirable to send them so far away 
 from parental and home influences; and more than 
 all, the poverty of their parents rendered it impossi- 
 ble. Accordingly, on application to the Hawaiian 
 
1 82 MEMOIR OF 
 
 Government, a liberal charter was obtained, incor- 
 porating Oahu College in the year 1853. And the 
 institution is now in progress, having a President, two 
 professors and seventy pupils. The majority of these 
 pupils are the children of your missionaries; five are 
 native Hawaiian boys; many are the children of respecta- 
 ble foreigners who have adopted the sunny islands as 
 their home. Our merciful God and Saviour has smiled 
 upon this school, and within a few months eighteen have 
 been hopefully converted. More than half of all the 
 pupils are professed Christians ; and I know of no school 
 in this land pervaded by a higher moral tone. What we 
 need now is a little pecuniary aid to endow its pro- 
 fessorships and place it on a permanent foundation. 
 It is proposed to raise $50,000 for this purpose. The 
 Hawaiian Government has generously subscribed $10,- 
 000 of this sum. Two years ago President Beck- 
 with and Dr. Armstrong, one of the Trustees, visited this 
 country for the purpose of securing this endowment; but 
 the commercial distress which then rolled over the land 
 arrested them in the undertaking; and now I have come 
 with the hope of finishing what they begun. What we 
 ask for would not more than build one small steamboat, 
 or fit out one whaleship. And I feel sure that the Chris- 
 tians here who have made so large and good an invest- 
 ment in those islands, will now take measures to render 
 that investment a perpetual source of profit and comfort 
 to their own souls and of everlasting joy to those island- 
 ers, and to the thousands who dwell in the regions be- 
 yond; that this fountain which has burst forth in the 
 desert, may send its healing waters throughout the vast 
 Pacific for the furtherance of the gospel and the glory 
 of our common Lord. 
 
MRS. MARY A. ALEXANDER. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 MRS. MARY A. ALEXANDER. 
 
 ACCOUNT OF HER DEATH AND TRIBUTES TO HER 
 MEMORY. 
 
 AFTER the death of her husband Mrs. Mary Alex- 
 ander lived at Haiku, Maui, in the families of her 
 children, finding comfort, after the sad breaking up of 
 the " Wailuku Home," in their love and sympathy, while 
 to them she was by her influence and counsel and affec- 
 tion a light and joy and a constant benediction. 
 
 Her interest for the natives, for whom she had conse- 
 crated herself in youth, continued; and in various ways 
 she sought to do them good. One of her children has 
 written of her: " She often went out to visit the natives in 
 Pauwela (near Haiku), when I hardly felt she was well 
 enough. And she would often send for the (Hawaiian) 
 minister to talk with him. I have known her also to 
 make many personal appeals to different ones (of the 
 foreign community) to become Christians. She never 
 shirked a known duty. . . . She herself lived very 
 near to God. Her thoughts were more with the next 
 world and Christ than here." Another writes: "I think 
 she spent most of her waking moments in prayer and 
 reading the Bible. How many times she has talked with 
 us of Heaven." 
 
 Notwithstanding the loving attentions of her children 
 and friends, she sadly felt the loss of her husband. In 
 
 (1S3) 
 
1 84 MEMOIR OF 
 
 a letter to one of her sons she wrote: " I miss him every 
 hour. But the separation will not be long. There will 
 be a glorious meeting by and by with all the redeemed. 
 'Those that sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.'" 
 
 That glorious meeting occurred sooner than had been 
 anticipated. Since the foregoing memoir was written, 
 and before it was published, the sad tidings have come 
 of her sudden death. 
 
 She had requested that her name should appear as 
 little as possible in this volume, and wished her portrait 
 to be excluded; but the propriety of inserting her like- 
 ness, and these brief accounts of her and tributes to her 
 memory, will not be questioned. 
 
 She was at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Emily 
 Baldwin, at Haiku, when her death occurred. She had 
 been uncommonly well Thursdav (June 28, the day pre- 
 vious to her death), and had written letters to all her ab- 
 sent children, letters that to them will be precious 
 mementoes of her. At nine P. M. she retired to her room, 
 apparently in her usual health; but directly afterwards 
 she called for assistance to her daughter, Mrs. Baldwin, 
 as she was taken with a severe attack of cholera morbus. 
 A native was sent to Wailuku (sixteen miles) for a doctor. 
 But it was a dark and rainy night, so that the doctor 
 did not arrive till five o'clock the next morning. Another 
 daughter, Mrs. Dickey, was at Makawao, and at her re- 
 quest was sent for. Mr. Dickey and Mrs. Baldwin ad- 
 ministered what remedies they could; but she suffered 
 greatly with paroxysms of pain during the night. Once 
 she remarked, " This is my last sickness." But her 
 words were few, on account of her sufferings. The doc- 
 tor, when he arrived, gave her medicines, which seemed 
 to relieve her; and she fell asleep. At 5:30 o'clock (June 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 185 
 
 29, 1888) she awaked, and in the pain and retchings of 
 her sickness suddenly fell back upon her pillow, death 
 occurring from the rupture of an artery in the brain. 
 
 The sufferings were now over; her long life of love 
 and missionary toil was ended; the Heaven she had 
 talked of, the glorious meeting with her husband and the 
 redeemed and Christ she had longed for, were realized. 
 She was at rest and in glory. 
 
 The news of her death reached Honolulu the next 
 morning. Hon. H. P Baldwin, then in attendance 
 in the Legislature in Honolulu, chartered the steamer 
 Likclike, and, accompanied by Prof. W. D. Alexander, 
 the eldest son, reached Haiku in time for the fun- 
 eral, which was at ten A. M. the following Sunday. Most 
 of the other children were in the United States, and one 
 daughter was in England. A large concourse of the 
 foreign residents and natives attended the funeral. One 
 of the children has written: " It did me good to see the 
 feeling shown by the natives. They all came in and 
 wept around her body, as she lay in her coffin. One by 
 the name of Hao made a touching prayer over her." 
 Very beautiful floral tributes were sent in, one of which 
 was sent by a native woman, a cross, which was placed 
 upon the casket. 
 
 The funeral services were conducted by Rev. Thomas 
 L. Gulick, who opened with a short prayer; the hymn, 
 "Rock of Ages," was then sung by a quartet of voices; 
 Rev. Bissell then led in prayer; the hymn, "Beautiful 
 Valley of Eden, " was then sung; then Mr. Gulick made 
 the touching and appropriate address which is appended; 
 after this the hymn, " Beyond the Smiling and the 
 Weeping," was sung; then all followed the remains to 
 the grave. This had been prepared north of the house, 
 
1 86 MEMOIR OF 
 
 amongst orange and eucalyptus trees. It is proposed to 
 remove the body at some future time, to be laid beside 
 that of her husband in the cemetery at Oakland, Cali- 
 fornia. "At the grave the native pastor led in prayer, 
 and a native hymn was sung very softly and tenderly 
 by a native choir, to the tune, ' Home, Sweet Home ;' and 
 then 'dust to dust, ashes to ashes;' but the glorified 
 spirit was already enjoying that bliss of which we can- 
 not here form any conception." 
 
 SERMON, BY REV. T. L. GULICK, AT THE FU- 
 NERAL OF MRS. M. A. ALEXANDER. 
 
 Zech. 14:7: "At evening-time it shall be light." 
 This was very true of our dear Mother Alexander. 
 After a long and bright day, filled with love and useful- 
 ness, there was a serene and beautiful evening-time, in 
 which a mild radiance shone about her, filling those who 
 knew her with thoughts of Heaven, and bright anticipa- 
 tions of the greater glory which she was soon to behold. 
 When she suddenly left us it almost seemed as though 
 we could see the pearly gates and the golden streets 
 where she had entered to join her companion in the toils 
 of earth, the innumerable company of angels, and the 
 spirits of the just made perfect. 
 
 She had but little of this world's goods, but what a 
 rich legacy she has left, not only to her children, but to 
 us all ! Its worth is above all rubies and precious stones. 
 She was so retiring that only those who were intimate 
 with her were conscious of the full strength of her char- 
 acter; but who that knew her has not felt the warm pulse 
 of her loving heart? 
 
REV. WM. P. ALU WINDER. 187 
 
 God is love, and that divine love had so entered into 
 her, that it seemed to have taken possession of her whole 
 being, and to irradiate with light and warmth all who 
 came within the circle of her influence. It was this 
 flame of divine love burning bright in their hearts which 
 led her and her husband, with a heroism surpassing that 
 of the Pilgrim Fathers of New England, to sail from New 
 Bedford, November 26, 183 1, 1 3 spend their lives far 
 from home and kindred, in lifting degraded savages out 
 of heathen darkness. It was this unquenchable love and 
 heroism which led a little company of six devoted men 
 and women, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander, Mr. and Mrs. Arm- 
 strong, and Mr. and Mrs. Parker, to make the deter- 
 mined effort for nine terrible months to live among the 
 cannibals in the Marquesas Islands, which they left 
 when they found that an English society thought they 
 had a prior claim upon the field. 
 
 For fifty-seven years, with only one short visit to the 
 home and friends of her youth, Mother Alexander has 
 spent her life in voluntary exile for the love of souls. 
 The Marquesas Islands, Waioli, Kauai, Lahainaluna, 
 Wailuku, and Haiku have for these fifty-seven years 
 been witnesses of her faith, hope, and love. Among the 
 most marked traits of her character was her modest, 
 meek, and gentle spirit, which made her heroism the 
 more noticeable and praiseworthy. It was always her 
 joy to help any who were in need or distress, at however 
 great inconvenience to herself. 
 
 Her children, her grandchildren, her neighbors, the 
 Hawaiians, all who knew her, rise up and call her blessed. 
 Those of us who have known her more during the last 
 years of her life, have been struck with her constant 
 solicitude for the spiritual welfare of all about her. The 
 
1 88 MEMOIR OF 
 
 object to which she consecrated the strength and bloom 
 of her youth, was increasingly dear to her in old age. 
 Now that she is gone, an added responsibility to work 
 and to pray for the salvation of souls, will be laid upon 
 each of us. 
 
 Our friend was one whose delight was in the Word of 
 God. It was sweeter to her "than honey and the honey- 
 comb." She "hid it in her heart," and " meditated on it 
 day and night." 
 
 One of the most familiar ways in which her children 
 can picture their mother to themselves is with the loved 
 Book open before her. Her mark was found in her Bible 
 at the seventy-first psalm, which probably was the last 
 chapter she read. 
 
 "In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; " " cast me not off 
 in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength 
 faileth." " I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee 
 more and more." " Now when I am old and gray- 
 headed, O God, forsake me not; until I have showed thy 
 strength unto this generation, and thy power to every- 
 one that is to come." " My tongue also shall talk of thy 
 righteousness all the day long." " My lips shall greatly 
 rejoice when I sing unto thee; and my soul, which thou 
 hast redeemed." 
 
 We all know with what pleasure she sang with us, 
 " Rock of Ages, cleft for me," and the other familiar 
 hymns dear to every Christian. Now she has joined the 
 heavenly choir in singing the song of Moses and the 
 Lamb. " Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God 
 Almighty, just and true are thy ways, thou King of 
 saints." 
 
 By a providential ordering, our theme at the last 
 prayer-meeting she attended, and which she afterwards 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 189 
 
 said she enjoyed very much, was " Heaven our home, 
 the home of our Father and Redeemer." 
 
 The very last words several of us ever heard from her 
 lips were the words of our Master, "If I go and prepare a 
 place for you, I will come again and receive you unto 
 myself; that where I am there ye may be also." The 
 certainty and the joy of being forever with CJirist was the 
 last thought we heard her express. How fitting ! How 
 sweet to remember ! How little we then supposed that 
 this dear mother in Israel would so soon enter the home 
 to which her loving thoughts ran forward ! 
 
 Can we not almost hear the welcome, "Well done, 
 good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy 
 Lord " ? 
 
 I cannot feel, my friends, that this is a day of mourn- 
 ing. It is a day in which Christ anew brings life and 
 immortality to light. It is a day of victory; a day of 
 welcome home to one who was ready, and who longed for 
 the Father s house. Faithful unto death, she has received 
 the crown of life. Thanks be to God, who giveth us the 
 victory through our Lord fesus Christ. 
 
 OBITUARY OF MRS. M. A. ALEXANDER, BY REV. 
 S. E. BISHOP. 
 
 By the death of this venerable missionary mother the 
 survivors of the re-inforcement of 1832 are reduced to 
 three, Mrs. Emerson, Mrs. Armstrong, and Mrs. Parker. 
 
 Mrs. Alexander's maiden name was Mary Ann Mc- 
 Kinney. She was born near Wilmington, Delaware, 
 January 10, 1810. In May, 1824, she made that public 
 profession of religion that was followed and verified by 
 
iqo MEMOIR OF 
 
 a consecrated life of faithful and steadfast Christian serv- 
 ice. She had become a resident of Harrisburg, Penn- 
 sylvania, at the time of her marriage, October 25, 1831, 
 to the Rev. W. P. Alexander. On November 26 fol- 
 lowing they embarked at New Bedford in the Averick, 
 as missionaries of the A. B. C. F. M. to the Hawaiian 
 Islands. With the Armstrongs and Parkers, the Alex- 
 anders lived for part of one year among the Marquesas 
 cannibals, during 1833-34. That mission having been 
 surrendered to the London Missionary Society, they re- 
 turned to Honolulu, having endured great perils and 
 hardships. They were then stationed at Waioli, Kauai, 
 residing there until 1843. Lahainaluna Seminary then 
 became their home until 1857, when they removed to 
 Wailuku, Maui. 
 
 Both at Lahainaluna and at Wailuku for forty years 
 the Alexander home was the seat of the warmest and 
 most abundant hospitality, to which the calm and gra- 
 cious nature and the efficient ministrations of the house- 
 mother contributed no less than the high and genial 
 manliness of the honored father. It seems to us that, in 
 the varied and pleasant memories of old missionary life 
 in Hawaii, no home stands out in memory more radiant 
 with generous Christian light and sweetness. Mrs. 
 Alexander was a woman of ever high and earnest tone, 
 wise, calm, patient, and faithful, steadfast and cheerful 
 under many trials and burdens, and mucli experience of 
 invalidism. Her faith in Christ was clear and strong 
 from the beginning to the end. It ever sustained and 
 rejoiced her, and filled her with love and zeal for the 
 salvation of men. 
 
 As the mother of five sons and four daughters, all but 
 one* of whom survive her, it was in the sacred maternal 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 191 
 
 life that Mrs. Alexander's strength of body and spirit 
 was largely expended. She was a loving, wise, and suc- 
 cessful nourisher and trainer of her flock. The large 
 and greatly prospered tribe of her children and grand- 
 children do indeed rise up and call her blessed. To her, 
 through them, Hawaii already owes much, both spirit- 
 ually and socially, and is likely to be still more a debtor. 
 Her memory and her husband's are especially dear to 
 Hawaiians, so many of whom enjoyed their training in 
 seminary and in household, as well as in pastoral inter- 
 course. It may be truly said that their memories are fra- 
 grant throughout the communities of these islands. 
 Their works do follow them. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM LETTER OF MRS. M. D. MER- 
 RITT, OF OAHU COLLEGE, TO MRS. BALDWIN. 
 
 My love and sympathy are with you in your loss of 
 the precious mother, who has gone out from your home. 
 I knew her but slightly; but she won my heart by a let- 
 ter of sympathy, when our baby died; and she has 
 seemed very dear to me ever since. 
 
 Your husband will tell you of the memorial meeting 
 for her Wednesday evening, and of the loving expression 
 from Dr. Beckwith. I have thought so many times of 
 last summer, when Mrs. Dana and I s it for nearly a 
 whole forenoon in her room, listening with the most in- 
 tense interest to her story of her life in the South Seas. 
 She told, as simply and naturally as though they were 
 nothing to be wondered at, experiences which seemed 
 to us from our standpoint, a marvel of consecrated, self- 
 sacrificing love. The impression made upon Mrs. Dana 
 
192 MEMOIR OF 
 
 was a most marked one, and she often spoke of it to me 
 afterwards. 
 
 I know what a benediction her presence must have 
 been in your house, and how sadly you miss her. The 
 sadness and the loneliness are the realities here. May 
 the dear Lord give you abundantly his presence and 
 help. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM LETTER OF MR. E. BAILEY. 
 
 So filled am I with thoughts of the blessed rest of the 
 departed one, of the fullness of joy to which she has en- 
 tered, of her meetings with the dear departed ones from 
 whom she has been separated, asd especially with that 
 Saviour, whom she had so long loved and so faithfully 
 served, that I am in danger of overlooking the sadness 
 of the bereavement to those who are left to mourn her loss. 
 Nothing can fill for them the gap so suddenly made. 
 The torn heart will weep. But their grief too cannot be 
 unmixed with joy at the remembrance of what she has 
 been to them for so long, and that she has arrived at the 
 close of a well- filled life, with so little to regret and so 
 much in which to rejoice. Such a life as hers is seldom 
 seen in our imperfect world. 
 
 She had leaned much on her husband till he was 
 taken away; and since that, although she has had so 
 many kind and dutiful children ready to do their utter- 
 most to fill his place, I am sure it could never be quite 
 filled. And now she has gone to rejoin him. What a 
 glorious meeting ! It was a marriage for eternity! And 
 we cannot doubt that the reunion is a true one. She 
 has met one child too, and will be ready to meet them 
 all as, one by one, they follow after her to the glorious 
 world. 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 193 
 
 EXTRACT FROM A LETTER OF MRS. M. E. PARKER. 
 
 I wish I had time to write much of your dear mother, 
 whom, as you know, I greatly loved. After your father's 
 death and her return to the islands we frequently ex- 
 changed thoughts on the subjects that were then engag- 
 ing much attention, political and moral and always relig- 
 ious. I miss her letters; but she does not seem to me to 
 be any farther away than while she was living on Maui. 
 
 Let me mention some of my remembrances of her. 
 Away back fifty and more years ago, when I first knew 
 her, she was beautiful to look upon. If at length the 
 outward faded somewhat under cares, labors, and sor- 
 rows of mission life, we did not think of that; for the 
 inward was strengthening in affection — in an affection 
 that included not only her friends, but also the low races 
 for whom in early youth she came to the Pacific. The 
 great desire of her heart was to bless and save them > 
 and this continued to her last days. 
 
 I well remember a little incident of our life together 
 at the Marquesas. During the first week of our resi- 
 dence there we stowed away very closely, for our homes 
 were in a small shed. Her ten feet square was next to 
 my ten feet, and Sister Armstrong's ten feet was beyond 
 hers, in the end nearest the seashore. One time Mr. 
 Alexander and Mr. Parker had planned an excursion to 
 the next bay; they were to climb the cliff and descend 
 into the Taipi Valley. This would make them absent 
 a day and night. Your mother proposed that I should 
 come to her room and sleep with her to beguile loneli- 
 ness and share anxiety. About midnight we were 
 startled by terrible, savage yells, and the sounds came 
 nearer and nearer. Whatever it might be it was headed 
 
 in the direction of our homes. Our first anxiety was 
 is 
 
194 MEMOIR OF 
 
 lest William should awake, frightened, and attract the 
 attention of the savages. Your mother said to me, "Our 
 only refuge now is our God; we will pray." The child 
 slept on between us; the sounds were deeper and nearer 
 for a short period, and then grew fainter; and the crowd 
 passed the house, and went on in another direction, and 
 we went to sleep undisturbed, under divine protection, 
 was it ? We thought so. In the morning we found it 
 was a religious procession that had passed by. A shark 
 had been taken by the fishermen, and this was a god to 
 be worshiped in the only way they knew. Does 
 not this show something in favor of the heathen nations? 
 have they not some sacred feelings ? some ideas of a 
 Being over them, to be honored and worshiped ? Yet 
 let me say it, that in their sensual daily lives it was diffi- 
 cult to believe they had souls. 
 
 I have digressed, I see, but the incident I have men- 
 tioned shows how your mother always prayed, always 
 believed in the answer of prayer, that it would come. 
 Her letters to me always closed with the words, " Let 
 us pray earnestly." 
 
 I take pleasure in telling another incident of more re- 
 cent date. We missionaries have our missionary friends, 
 away from us, some of them poor, if one can be poor 
 who serves the Lord Jesus. We have a friend who was 
 once a missionary teacher at the islands. She has been 
 many years away from us, and has had many reverses. 
 Out of love the sisters here have from time to time made 
 small purses for her. Mrs. Lowell Smith did it while 
 she lived ; then it seemed to fall to my care, the privilege. 
 But I was not always skillful as I desired to be, and 
 sometimes was discouraged. So I wrote to your mother, 
 thinking, knowing, she would send me her $5.00. When 
 
REV. WM. P. ALEXANDER. 195 
 
 the postal came it was so much I would not draw it, till 
 I wrote and asked if the figures were correct. She re- 
 plied, "Yes, right, draw it soon, for the money is paid 
 and it is not best to delay." Well, to be brief, there came 
 another $20, at her suggestion I supposed, for I had not 
 asked for it. I love to think of this and many other 
 acts; and this was among the last of her life. 
 
 Your mother's true love for Christ and his kingdom, 
 and her deep affection for her friends, and for her chil- 
 dren, words cannot tell; but you know how her works 
 testified for her. Her very last letters to me told of a 
 new joy. "I am just now able," she said, "to get around 
 to the scattered and distant homes of the natives in 
 Haiku, as Annie (Mrs. Dickey) can now take me in a 
 carriage, where I could not walk." She had often said, 
 " I have everything of comfort in my new home, only 
 the natives live so far away from me." This difficulty of 
 visiting the natives was always her deep regret after 
 leaving Wailuku. 
 
 Mrs. Lyman, of Hilo, was an especial friend and cor- 
 respondent of hers; and as you know perhaps, Sister 
 Lyman's sudden death was a great shock to her. She 
 wrote me about it in a strain that was new for her. She 
 evidently was reviewing her own life, searching out what 
 she termed defects and short-comings, and seeking to at- 
 tain a higher Christian consecration. -Her letter pained 
 me; for my impression was that she might be going 
 soon herself, and that she had no need to review her life. 
 But she recovered from this state of mind, and her letters 
 were cheerful to the end. She had built on a solid 
 foundation. Jesus was all in all to her, always, and 
 prayer was her refuge in all the storms of life. 
 
 Your father was the best and noblest of men. A great 
 
196 
 
 MEMOIR OF 
 
 deal went out of Hawaii that was love and kindness to 
 me when he went. Now your mother has gone to him, 
 and they are waiting for their children to join them in 
 the glories of the Lord.