The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-07-10
WERE
ALL HERE
Missionary and Family
on the Coptic.
LEGION OF WOODBR|DCES
Brave Father and Mother Had Their
Hands Full to Care For
the Brood.

On the Coptic, from China, which tar
ried half dozen hours in Honolulu yes
terday We're the Woodbridges. There
was Rev. S. Woodbridge, Mrs. Wood
bridge and the little Woodbridges.
There We're less than a dozen of the
latter, but not many less. They were
all over the Coptic, and they owned the
ship, her cargo, crew and passengers.
There was a tiny Woodbridge for each
steamer chair not privately owned, and
one for each hempen ring in the pitch
ing game. They filled the smoking
room, occupied the stairways, and sent
the officers aloft to find surcease from
trouble.
Rev. S. Woodbridge is missionary,
worthy man who has done much good
in his Oriental station and who has ia
ken some advantage of the Boards well
understood disposition to raise its work
! ers' salaries for each new dependency
that comes. The Lord has nightly
blessed this religious man with olive
branches, and on the Coptic he was up
| tree to look after all of them. The
branches were disposed to turn into
limbs and leave, without permission,
the sides of their fond parents.
Early in the voyage from the Flowery
Kingdom they wound themselves about
the hearts of the grown folk aboard and
became intimate with every man, wo-
man and life-preserver on the iecils.
They never missed meal; they were
up early and late, and the poop deck
was not large enough to accommodate
them in their childish games.
II When the Coptic tied up to the wharf
here yesterday the Woodbridges stand
ing in a group on the land side Of the
ship caused an apparent list, and the
captain had to ask-very politely, OF
course that they intrench themselves
partly on the windward side. The Wood
bridges came ashore in relays. The
strong hearted father with a few OF
them ventured down the plank after
the Coptic had tied up an hour or SO
and at the foot of the gangway he stop
ped to count his brood. He numbered
them and called the reckoning to his
good wife, who was tallying those will
her. and adding up the two totals ar.
rived at the satisfactory conclusion thai
the Woodbridges were safe.
Coming up Fort street the family re.
sembled a gathering of the Jones clan
and excited the widest admiration il
, those who saw their passage. The cour
ageous pater held the hand of the small
est of the children, and this mite at
tached to his brother, and the brother t
I a sister, made altogether a chain tina
surrounded the missionary and hinder
} ed his movements greatly.
The Woodbridges viewed Honolulu
Some of the family expressed desires t
settle here and grow up with the Isl
ands. An hour before the Coptic sailet
J the Woodbridges were securely en-
sconsed on the piazza near the stair
to the dining saloon, and over then
brooded the good mother, whose yer,
soul had been wrung with fear tina
! some of them might be left behind. Cap
tain Kinder, who had learned well tn
ways of the Woodbridges, surveyed tn
; scene closely before he gave the fina
order to leave the shore, and the las
! word he spoke before the screw bega1
} to beat the waves was: Are the Wood
} bridges all stowed?"
a careful search made after the shiI
Z had departed proved that not a singl
4 one of the generation had remained.