At eight yesterday morning the "Benicia" anchored inside the reef,
and Hilo blossomed into a most striking display of bunting; the
Hawaiian colours, eight blue, red and white stripes, with the
English union in the corner, and the flaunting flag of America being
predominant. My heart warmed towards our own flag as the soft
breeze lifted its rich folds among the glories of the tropical
trees. Indeed, bunting to my mind never looked so well as when
floating and fainting among cocoa-nut palms and all the shining
greenery of Hilo, in the sunshine of a radiant morning. It was
bright and warm, but the cool bulk of Mauna Kea, literally covered
with snow, looked down as winter upon summer. Natives galloped in
from all quarters, brightly dressed, wreathed, and garlanded,
delighted in their hearts at the attention paid to their sovereign
by a great foreign power, though they had been very averse to this
journey, from a strange but prevalent idea that once on board a U.S.
ship the king would be kidnapped and conveyed to America.
Lieut.-Governor Lyman and Mr. Severance, the sheriff, went out to
the "Benicia," and the king landed at ten o'clock, being "graciously
pleased" to accept the Governor's house as his residence during his
visit.
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