Chapter LXIV

In my diary of our third day in Honolulu, I find this:

I am probably the most sensitive man in Hawaii to-night--especially about
sitting down in the presence of my betters. I have ridden fifteen or
twenty miles on horse-back since 5 P.M. and to tell the honest truth, I
have a delicacy about sitting down at all.

An excursion to Diamond Head and the King's Coacoanut Grove was planned
to-day--time, 4:30 P.M.--the party to consist of half a dozen gentlemen
and three ladies. They all started at the appointed hour except myself.
I was at the Government prison, (with Captain Fish and another whaleship-
skipper, Captain Phillips,) and got so interested in its examination that
I did not notice how quickly the time was passing. Somebody remarked
that it was twenty minutes past five o'clock, and that woke me up. It
was a fortunate circumstance that Captain Phillips was along with his
"turn out," as he calls a top-buggy that Captain Cook brought here in
1778, and a horse that was here when Captain Cook came. Captain Phillips
takes a just pride in his driving and in the speed of his horse, and to
his passion for displaying them I owe it that we were only sixteen
minutes coming from the prison to the American Hotel--a distance which
has been estimated to be over half a mile. But it took some fearful
driving. The Captain's whip came down fast, and the blows started so
much dust out of the horse's hide that during the last half of the
journey we rode through an impenetrable fog, and ran by a pocket compass
in the hands of Captain Fish, a whaler of twenty-six years experience,
who sat there through the perilous voyage as self-possessed as if he had
been on the euchre-deck of his own ship, and calmly said, "Port your
helm--port," from time to time, and "Hold her a little free--steady--so--
so," and "Luff--hard down to starboard!" and never once lost his presence
of mind or betrayed the least anxiety by voice or manner. When we came
to anchor at last, and Captain Phillips looked at his watch and said,
"Sixteen minutes--I told you it was in her! that's over three miles an
hour!" I could see he felt entitled to a compliment, and so I said I had
never seen lightning go like that horse. And I never had.

The landlord of the American said the party had been gone nearly an hour,
but that he could give me my choice of several horses that could overtake
them. I said, never mind--I preferred a safe horse to a fast one--I
would like to have an excessively gentle horse--a horse with no spirit
whatever--a lame one, if he had such a thing. Inside of five minutes I
was mounted, and perfectly satisfied with my outfit. I had no time to
label him "This is a horse," and so if the public took him for a sheep I
cannot help it. I was satisfied, and that was the main thing. I