hotel, and to settle sundry bills. At three we were to go to the Royal
Mausoleum. This was a special privilege, and, I believe, the greatest
compliment that has been paid to us anywhere. No foreigners are
allowed to enter, except admirals on the station; and very few
inhabitants of Honolulu have ever seen the interior. The King has one
key, the Dowager Queen Emma another, and the Minister of the Interior
the third.

On our way up the hill to the Mausoleum, there was a funeral going on,
very much after the style of an Irish wake in one of the dwellings of
the poorer class. The house was decorated with flags, and was crowded
with people, all dressed in black, and generally with bright yellow
_leis_ over their heads and necks. They had evidently come from some
distance, judging by the number of carts and wagons drawn up outside
the door. Several people were sitting in an upper verandah. The corpse
was laid out in the lower room, facing the road, as we could see
through the open windows and door. It was surrounded by mourners, and
four women were waving large _kahilis_ slowly backwards and forwards
in front of it.

The Princess herself met us at the Mausoleum, which is a small but
handsome stone Gothic building, situated above the Nuuanu Avenue, on
the road to the Pali. It commands a fine view over land and sea, and
the gentle breezes waft through the open windows sweet scents from the
many fragrant trees and flowers by which it is surrounded. There lay
the coffins of all the kings of Hawaii, their consorts, and their
children, for many generations past. The greater part were of polished
_koa_ wood, though some were covered with red velvet ornamented with
gold. Many of them appeared to be of an enormous size; for, as I have
already observed, the chiefs of these islands have almost invariably