A BRIEF SKETCH

OF THE

MISSIONARY LIFE

... OF ...

MRS. SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM

BY HER DAUGHTER

MRS. TITUS COAN.

Read before the Woman's Board of Missions for the
Pacific Islands, April 2, 1895.

Published by Request.

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

On the 2d of April, 1820, seventy-five years ago to-day, there landed on Hawaii the first messenger of the gospel tidings to the barbarous people of this group. He was one of a company of fourteen, who, for one hundred and sixty days, had voyaged hither from Boston. The paper of this afternoon is to tell you something of her who was his faithful and loving companion, Mrs. Sybil Moseley Bingham.

My mother was born in Westfield, Massachusetts, on the 14th of September, 1792. She was of pious ancestry, on the maternal side of Huguenot descent. An orphan at nineteen, she found herself looked to by three younger sisters as their comforter and counselor. Their patrimony demanded careful economy in its expenditure, and in order that the youngest sisters' education should not suffer for lack of means, Miss Moseley became a teacher.

Remarkable success attended her in this relation. Her pupils were ardently attached to her;

(3)

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SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

and her refined taste, her clear judgment, her firmness, and her gentle nature, so combined in even balance, made her a model to whom they ever felt they owed much in their own development. The experience was fitting her for future usefulness.

While teaching in Hartford, Conn., she was asked to go to Canandaigua, N. Y., then considered in the "far west." Here she had a choice, select school, which was the germ of the Ontario Female Seminary. With parents and with pupils were formed most endearing ties of friendship, ties to be broken only by death. At the end of three years she desired to visit her kindred and friends at the east, but her patrons desired a promise that she would surely return to them. This she gave with the reservation, "Unless the Lord in some marked manner opens another door." Not for more than a score of years did her feet again cross the threshold of those dear Canandaigua homes.

Visiting in Windsor, Connecticut, she was the guest of the family of Rev. S. Bartlett. In the village of Goshen there was to be an ordination of two missionaries, Hiram Bingham and Asa Thurston, which Mr. Bartlett and his wife were to attend. Would Miss Moseley like also to attend? Nothing would interest her more.

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

5

Driving to the house of the Goshen pastor, Mr. Bartlett inquired where they were to be entertained, and a young man, a guest at Rev. Mr. Thompson's, courteously offered to guide them to the place assigned. He was introduced to Miss Moseley. The name attracted him at once. A fellow-student at Andover, designated to the mission in Palestine, to which it was not thought wise by the A. B. C. F. M. to send married men, had told him that if he were allowed to take a wife, Miss Sybil Moseley would be his choice. As the young man now heard the name, he earnestly scanned her face, and mentally queried if it could be possible that the lady so esteemed by his friend, but supposed to be at the far west, was here before him. Ah, yes! The Lord had led her there. Providence was wondrously opening another door.

Her thoughts had long turned yearningly towards foreign missionary work, and her heart had been so consecrated to the Master that she had not suffered it to be entangled in bonds that would prevent her from entering upon that work. Yet once, when asked by one under appointment to a foreign field, to be his wife, she had doubted whether it would be right to consent when she had no affection for him. And a wise divine, whose counsel she sought, had said if the Lord

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SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

wanted her to go to the heathen, he would make
a way for her heart to go as well as her feet. To
those who knew her character, and her equipment
for the work, it seemed most fitting that, like Re-
becca of old, she should not delay to answer, "I
will go," when another suitor, Hiram Bingham,
so soon to start for the Sandwich Islands, asked
her to accompany him. In her letters are many
assurances like the following: "Since the memo-
rable evening that he was introduced to me as a
missionary, going at his Master's call, solitary to
the heathen, so much have I found of every ex-
cellence that deserved my highest approbation,
that he has secured my tenderest love. God did
indeed choose for me. Had he left me to choose
for myself, I could not have made myself so happy.
He has bestowed the rich gift of a kind, worthy,
and justly valued partner upon many, but I can
never think but that I stand distinguished."

The ordination of the missionaries was on the
29th of September, 1819. The marriage of Rev.
Mr. Bingham to Miss Moseley was on the 11th of
October, and their embarkation followed on the
28th of that month. On the 14th of April, 1820,
the brig *Thadeus* dropped anchor in the roadstead
abreast of Honolulu, but not until the 19th were
the weary voyagers allowed to land. As they
came on shore, "chattering natives, laughing,

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

7

shouting, trotting around with bare feet, heads, and limbs, thronged around them,” and peered into their faces.

Through the courtesy of several traders already on the ground, three thatched houses were offered for a temporary shelter to the five families debarked. Rev. Mr. Thurston and Dr. Holman, with their wives, had taken the station at Kailua, Hawaii. These unceiled, floorless houses were located, as nearly as can now be determined, a little mauka of the present post office. Into one of them my parents moved. Its only room was on the Sabbath a meetinghouse, and on other days a schoolhouse, and at all times a place for their work, their meals, and lodging. A little corner, made by a partition of mats, afforded a resort when they were not occupied by cares without, and was called their study.

The *Thadeus* had not room to bring much freight in the line of furniture, and housekeeping began without conveniences, with little of anything even necessary. Chests and boxes served for chairs and tables.*

*There were no warehouses and no lumber yards in Honolulu then. Neither furniture nor materials for cabinet work could be bought. But father had a gift of being able to turn his hand to almost anything. A bit of northwest driftwood, picked up on the seashore, another of sandal-

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SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

Their one small crate of crockery, put up for them in Boston, and supposed to be good until opened, needed no sideboard or china closet into which to transfer the refuse articles with which it had been filled. Their store was set up in a neighboring yard, and scores of almost naked natives watched, through the slender paling of the fence, the movements of the strange white women, who did their cooking or heated their irons under the tropic sky. For the "wash" that had accumulated on the six months' voyage, there was no sufficient supply of water nearer than the stream in Nuuuanu Valley. The second day's exposure under the burning sun, while laundry work went on, took the skin quite off my mother's arms. In the first week of getting settled, super-fine broadcloth for suits of clothes, and linen for

wood, given by a friend, here and there, as it came along, a stick of koa, suitable for his purpose—these, gathered together, were the wherewithal to construct a rocking-chair, while for tools there were jackknife and gimlet. Most easy and serviceable the chair proved to be. Mother rocked her babes in it—sometimes traveled in it. On the Sabbath it was carried to the old thatched church and served as pew for the pastor's wife. It made the journey around Cape Horn in 1840, and when its owner was pressed to exchange it for the finest bit of upholstery in a Boston store, she could not consent. It had been her wish that when God sent the summons for her entrance into heavenly rest, she might be waiting in that chair. And thus it was,

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

9

a dozen ruffled-bosom shirts, were brought by the chiefs, for the ladies to make for their highnesses.

In May Mrs. Bingham gathered twelve or fourteen little girls to come to the house to be taught. "That was an interesting day to me," she writes, "to lay the foundation of the first school ever assembled in this dark land. In America I reckoned some of my happiest hours to be when surrounded by a beloved school. In this heathen school my comfort has not been less. I love them tenderly, and when endeavoring in a simple way to explain to them the word of God, have never failed to feel that the dearest spot among the dearest friends in my own beloved land was not as engaging as this. In three months the school increased to forty, children and adults, some of the little waifs being fed and sheltered by the mission.

On the 9th of November there was laid in the fond mother's arms a daughter of her own, the first white girl born on the shores of Oahu. No physician and no trained nurse were at hand to render kindly aid.

On the following morning hearts leaped with joy at hearing that a vessel was in port, bringing large packets of letters from friends eighteen thousand miles away. A year had run its round since those friends had been left, and not a word had been heard from them. A day and a long, wake-

IO

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

ful night passed before the suspicious heathen
rulers gave permission for the precious missives
to be brought on shore. When the babe was six
days old, a chiefess, with a dozen or more attend-
ant, called on the mother, and, catching up the
tender infant, delightedly tossed it in her tawny
arms. In the evening came another company of
visitors, and her journal makes record that the
night was restless and sleepless, but it was to win
their favor and their confidence that she had
borne the effort of entertaining them, and her
sweet spirit breathes forth in the exclamation, "Oh,
who would not leave sisters, friends, and kindred
to tell the despairing pagan mother there may be
hope for her and her dear offspring, too, in the
Christian's God, the Christian's Saviour!"

Permission to remain upon the islands was at
first granted for but one year, but when it appeared
that the missionaries had not come to harm the
natives, but to labor for their good, the king and
chiefs became willing to allow their more perma-
nent residence. A humble frame house, materials
for which had been brought from Boston, was then
built on the barren plain, half a mile from the
village. The house, now fast falling to decay,
stands opposite Kawaiahao Seminary. It is difficult
to imagine how "four distinct families united in
one, all having infants, and one having six chil-

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

11

dren,” made their abode in this small dwelling. There was, also, lodged there a young man from New England, whose room was a goldsmith’s shop, where he repaired watches for the public good. Here there were at one time entertained as guests for four months Messrs. Tyreman and Bennet, and Rev. Mr. Ellis, a missionary deputation from London. In the upper half story, part of it an unfinished loft under the eaves, lodged sixteen persons. “Here we could all have been comparatively comfortable,” mother said, “had it not been for the burning sun beating upon the roof and unclapboarded sides of the house.” Their storeroom and eating room were on the cellar ground, and the missionary sisters took turns in superintending the domestic department, which they termed “the long table.” Mrs. Bingham writes: “Fifty were fed with something regularly three times a day—as to something to put upon the table we sometimes had beef, pork, potatoes, butter, cheese, flour, sugar, and sometimes were destitute of all of them, and of the most of them at a time. But whatever might have been the fare, a bystander would have pronounced it generally a cheerful meal. Though we sometimes wrought hard and fared coarsely yet God was pleased to allow no calamity to befall us, but gave us daily the hope that we were strengthening one another’s hands in holding up

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SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

the standard, which, in his kind providence, had
been unfurled in this distant land." And As time
passed on, other houses were built; the mission
families, increased, and, by reënforcements, were
more comfortably situated. The historic "long
table" had an end sawed off, which was sent to Hilo
with the company who first occupied that station.

A favorite watchword with my mother seems
to have been, "Go forward." I have marveled as
I read her letters, at her constant cheerful obe-
dience to the mandate. Four times in the first
four years she went with her husband to Kauai,
because, at that period, there being neither physi-
cian nor nurse for the missionary families located
there, my parents could render aid in the hour of
need. Once they went with a tender babe, three
months old, who had been so ill for weeks that the
physician, nurse, and mother, combined in one,
had rarely had an hour's quiet sleep. The second
day after their arrival a son was born to Mrs. W.,
three weeks later a daughter to Mrs. R. When
similar services were needed at Kaneohe, she
crossed the "Pali," over which no government
road then existed, having her feet placed by a
guide, step by step, as, with face to the precipice
part of the way, she descended one thousand feet,
her heart alert with fears for her child, confided
to a native carrier, more than for her own safety.

["SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.", "13", "Were itinerating tours to be made around Oahu,
her easy-chair, lashed to poles and borne on
natives' shoulders, afforded her conveyance.
With her children borne in like manner, or
one, perhaps, in the saddle with papa, she went
forward, thankful for opportunities to speak to
groups of women in the outer districts. Was a
general meeting to be held on Hawaii, thither
she went, accompanying her husband, and, with
an infant daughter one month old, hastened back
to Honolulu, that he might be present at an inves-
tigation held before Captain Ap. Catesby Jones, of
the United States sloop of war Peacock, concerning
charges made against him and his missionary
associates by cruel villifiers—enemies who threat-
ened Mr. Bingham should not put foot on shore
a live man.", "Did failing health require my father, by advice\nof his brethren, to seek respite from the over-\nwhelming cares of the central station, mother\ntook her little ones and went whither he went,\nundeterred by hardships of the way. On one\noccasion, crossing the Hawaii Channel, there was\na season of peril, of which there is this record:\n“The darkness of the night, the smallness of our\nvessel, the want of seamanship in our native pilot\nand crew, the force of the wind and of the surges\nthat broke over us in a channel as rough as any"]

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

part of the Pacific, made us feel our danger and
our dependence on Him who layeth the beams of
his chambers in the waters.”*

At another time, being at Lahaina to aid and
cheer Mr. and Mrs. Richards, they were again in
danger—not from raging elements of nature, but
from the wrath of man. They were in the deadly
range of cannon balls fired from an English
whaler by men mad with passion.

Among their trials, none were more severe than
the treatment they received from people of their own
race. As the commerce of the Pacific increased,
ships came more frequently to this harbor. Offi-
cers and crews were often of a class who feared not
God nor regarded man. When they found that
under Christian teaching the rulers of the land
enacted laws against intemperance and lust, their
anger knew no bounds. They were ready to de-
molish the house, even to take the life of him who
had instructed the chiefs in the law of Jehovah.
More than once father was the special victim of
their fury. A savage blow of a seaman's club
aimed at his head, would doubtless have been
fatal, had not the chiefess, Lydia Namahana, inter-
posed her arm to receive the blow. On this sub-
ject mother writes: "I know well what it is to

*“Bingham’s Sandwich Islands,” page 310.

SYBIL MOSLEY BINGHAM.

15

have the shafts of the enemy aimed at my better
self. When one trial of this nature has passed
over, another comes. With my defenseless fam-
ily have I sat and heard language blasphemous,
seen the furious arm thrusting at my dearest one,
his life threatened in language awful. Again I
have seen the brandished weapons, and marked
the ravings of an angry mob, closely pursuing
that dear friend—have heard the wild screams of
my child for the safety of her father, while per-
sonal safety became every moment more dubious.
But God has been to my husband a covert and a
strong tower. Though his name has been de-
famed, the song of the drunkard and the evil-
doer, he has not been hurt, nor his usefulness hin-
dered. My feeble spirit has been sustained amid
it all."

From the day of landing to that of departure
from these shores, Mrs. Bingham's life was full of
toil. Writing to her friend Mrs. Sigourney, the
poet, she says: "Many cares as well as labors press
upon me. My spirit is often oppressed as a day
closes, busy and bustling as it may have been, to
see so little accomplished. I could never have con-
ceived when thinking of going to the heathen to
tell them of a Saviour, of the miscellany of labor
that has actually fallen to my portion. Doubt-
less it was well I did not conceive of it. As each

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SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

day has brought its share, it has seemed to be of
divine appointment, and strength has been given
equal to the day. There are those on missionary
ground who are better able to realize their antici-
pations of systematic work. But not a mother of
a rising family, placed at a post like this, where
reënforcements land, where the disabled reëm-
bark, where invalids come for medical aid, where
general meetings are often held, where the king
and principal rulers dwell, where other chiefs
from other islands often assemble, where the
thousands of the inhabitants of the land who
claim to be known and remembered, go and come,
where foreign visitors of various ranks and lan-
guages and minds and manners desire attention.
[There were no hotels or hospitals in those days.]
A feeble woman in such circumstances must be
content to realize but little of the picture her
youthful mind has formed of sitting down quietly
day by day, to teach heathen women and chil-
dren."

To another she wrote: "I find it costs some
weary steps, and allows me but here and there a
quiet hour, but if the labor of my hands, with the
sacrifice of domestic order, may in divine Provi-
dence contribute to the good work, I desire to take
up the burden cheerfully. I have looked upon it
as the ordering of my blessed Master, to whose

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

17

service I engaged to devote all, making no stipu-
lation as to the kind of work to be done or the
sacrifices to be made. There is no loss, my dear
friend, in the service of such a Master as the Lord
of heaven and earth. I have no sorrow in his
employ but this, that I do not serve him with
more fidelity. Had I a thousand lives, I could not
count them too much to be disposed of as he
should direct."

When it was possible, in addition to labors in
directions thus outlined by her pen, Mrs. Bing-
ham would assume those of teaching. With
scholars about her she was in her element. As
books came to be prepared for the Hawaiians in
their own tongue, schools sprang up all over the
islands. On Oahu there were more than eight
thousand pupils, a number far too large to be
reached by the missionaries personally, but they
could take the *brightest* and instruct them so as to
be teachers of others.

Many of you know of the prayer meeting weekly
held by the women of Kawaiahao church—known
these seventy years as the “*Poalima*.” My mother
instituted this, and of it wrote: “It was a kind of
association, each individual personally admitted
with the declared resolution on her part of cast-
ing off all former evil courses, and seeking to walk
according to the rules of the blessed gospel. Their

2

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SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

names were entered in a book till they reached
fifteen hundred, and then there were almost daily
applications for the admission of new members—
not even the large schoolhouse, one hundred and
twenty-two feet long, would contain the whole.
According to their own account, they had been
liars, thieves, drunkards, adulteresses, murderer
of their own offspring. The sight of so many sable
faces crowded together, every eye turned upon me,
sometimes melted me into tears."

I should like to narrate the careful system
adopted by Mrs. Bingham for keeping watch over
the daily living of these women, coming out of
darkness into light, and give you a picture of her
as she threaded the narrow footpaths among the
taro patches in Nuuanu Valley, where, instead of
pleasant homes of foreigners as now, were native
huts, or as she went seeking them from hut to
hut, in the once well-populated cocoa groves of
Waikiki.

A long chapter might be written concerning the
relations of the missionaries with the chiefs. I
can but touch upon them briefly. From the first
they realized the importance of winning their
friendship, that they might have in them coad-
jutors in their efforts to uplift the nation. It re-
quired self-sacrifice and patience. When Liholiho
sent cloth from Hawaii with orders for five fine

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

19

ruffled shirts to be made and returned by schooner sailing for windward in three days, one of those days the Sabbath, mother dared not disoblige his majesty. Rising early and sitting up late, her school still in session, she did what she could to fill the order in part, and sent promise that the rest should follow as soon as possible. On one occasion the whole family were aroused at break of day by the loud beating of American drums at their gate. Kamamalu* was on her way to the sea for a morning bath, and had stopped to have mother sew a button on a garment.

Neatness and order were prominent traits in Mrs. B.'s character. It required sweet forbearance to endure the embraces of the half-naked, partially-intoxicated Madame Boki, her breath strong with liquor, when, crowding in, uninvited, for a seat by her side at the tea table, she threw her arms around her neck; or when some obese chief threw himself on her dainty bed to test its comfortableness. Her natural preferences were for quiet and retirement. How had these daily to be sacrificed, as the chiefs, with their attendants, thronged the missionaries' small apartments! Under an early date mother wrote: "All the chiefs have waiting men and boys, some appointed to the *kahili*, other-

*Favorite wife of Liholiho.

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SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

ers to the spit box, others to the pipe. All, of every age and distinction, are excessively attached to smoking. When a train is numerous, there is scarcely any cessation from the fumes of tobacco; a servant lights a pipe, puts it to his own mouth to see if it be in order, then passes it to the person next him, in which manner it goes around the company. Their rude, unpolished manners, the vermin attached to them, with their heathen disorder, render them no very pleasant companions, and would often make the sinking heart say, 'Excuse me from further intercourse with them,' did not the object of this nation's accession to the kingdom of Christ rise paramount to every other, making all else trifles."

When grace entered their hearts and transformed their lives, these men and women became attached and helpful friends. The once haughty, tyrannical Kaahumanu became tender and loving in her intercourse with her teachers. With the familiarity of a sister she came at any hour to their home, sat at their table, and sometimes abode for days with them. I cannot forbear to give you this little narration of an early experience: "Mr. Bingham came over to Kaahumanu's and found me on the mats by her ladyship's side. More engaged in this anticipated party (given to the commander and officers of the Vincennes),

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

21

than was common for me to be in parties in my
youth, I had gone over to see how the cake was
likely to come on, for we ladies had been requested
to make it, and, though the sun was high, no ma-
terials had come to hand to begin with. I wanted,
also, to see how the ladies at court felt, not to in-
spect their dresses exactly, but to help them to
think. When an effort is made for something a
little out of every day's concern, by a nation just
rising from their mats, some incongruity must be
expected, but we would help them to avoid all we
could. They take it kindly. You would have
laughed could you have seen Kaahumanu, when
preparing for the ceremonious introduction to
Captain Finch and his officers on their arrival,
bring her handkerchief over my shoulder as a
rod of correction, because she had not been di-
rected sooner in her dress for the occasion. The
matter of concern just then was their caps, hav-
ing selected for themselves some with the gayest
and most tawdry trimming to put on with dresses
of deep mourning.”

At another time mother wrote: “Kaahumanu
and Lydia Namahana arrived this morning from
Lahaina. We feel an increasing affection for
these two. It does appear as if they had tasted of
the good word of God. May grace prevent their
ever turning back. As soon as they had landed,

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SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

passing by their own places, they came directly
here. Of course, until quite noon our house was
completely occupied and my attention much en-
grossed. We sat a while after their arrival, then
sang a hymn and joined in prayer, after which I
made ready a comfortable breakfast, and by what
kind attentions I could sought to cherish the affec-
tionate aloha which they manifested towards us.

This affection was constantly maintained all
through life; and of the sincerity of Kaahumanu
mother left this testimony: "It has sometimes been
said by opposers that the nation's religion was
made by her *authority*. But who made *her* reli-
gion?—None could tell, nor yet none deny that she
was the subject of a most wonderful change."

Mrs. Bingham considered her correspondence
with kindred and acquaintance at home one of
her special blessings. Letters came and went by
ships long voyaging around Cape Horn, some-
times delayed in search of whales. Sometimes a
mail was forwarded by vessel, bound first to China,
or was trusted to find some conveyance across the
continent and then was never heard from. In a
precious package of rough drafts, the paper yel-
low and stained by time, I count the names of
over forty different friends addressed. The sheets
are foolscap, and crowded to their very utmost;
many contain assurances that her pen should do

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

23

more for those to whom she felt under great obli-
gations, were not the claims of the people among
whom she dwelt still greater. In the extracts
given you have traced something of the sweet,
consecrated spirit which carried her forward
through the toilsome years. Could you read the
letters in their entirety, you would see how free
they are from evil speaking, from complaints or
vain wishes. They are full of tender sympathies,
of resignation and of faith.

Another of mother's blessings was the retreat at
Punahou. This oasis, beyond the dusty, barren
plain, was given to father by Governor Boki.
There they had an adobe cottage, and thither re-
sorted when quiet and rest could occasionally be
sought. But even then the active mind busied
itself for others' weal, and many a plan was laid
and executed through her unwearying devotion.

During his twenty years' residence at the islands,
father and his fellow-laborers had no salary.
They lived upon the "common stock" system.
To their secular agent at Honolulu the A. B. C.
F. M. sent supplies of the necessaries of life. These
were measured out and divided according to indi-
vidual needs. Even the contents of boxes from
personal friends it was deemed advisable the re-
ceiver should share with other members of the
mission. Most grateful to my dear mother were

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SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

the tangible proofs of the love of many who cherished her friendship, and most highly appreciated were those gifts that saved her time in the making of garments for her family, or that precluded the necessity of calling for the like from the "depository." She was scrupulously careful to make no unnecessary drafts upon the Lord's treasury, as she considered the funds of the board.

Two of Mrs. Bingham's seven children died in infancy. Of the firstborn son she wrote: "Nine days we folded it with sweet and tender affection to our bosoms, rejoicing in its health, its growth, and fair promise. We gave him the name of our much-beloved, deeply-lamented brother, Levi Parsons, and, suffering our thoughts to run a few years down the vale of time, we said, "Perhaps, treading in the steps of him whose loved name he bears, he, too, shall be among those who, on the mountains of Jerusalem, shall lift up the standard for Israel's return. Our hearts rejoiced in this our pleasant child, while we desired to acknowledge God's superior claim. Sixteen days after he gave, he asked for the surrender of the precious gift. Our fond hearts clung to the darling treasure, but grace enabled us to say, 'It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth to him good.'"

Three years later she wrote again: "My little Evarts, my cherished babe, softly sleeps in death;

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

25

lent sixteen months, the sweet spirit is recalled,
and the much-loved clay slumbers in its little
grave by the side of our lovely Parsons. Precious
treasures to lay beneath this so lately heathen
soil. My heart is smitten under the chastisement.
He was a child of exceeding promise, and we be-
gan, I fear, to feel too much as if he were secured
to us. His long [golden] hair, his high forehead,
his brilliant eye, with his daily opening mind, had
all their charms. His mother thought him nec-
essary to her comfort in her rough pilgrimage.
But oh, but oh, God knew best! Forever blessed
be his holy name. His righteous will is good. I
am in his hands; my comforts are in his hands.
What he does with all is well."

The oldest child of the family, Sophia, was sent
to America, to our mother's relatives, at the age
of eight, and Lucy, the second daughter, an
ardent, giddy little miss, at the age of seven.
Many pages could easily be filled with extracts
from her letters that reveal the workings of the
maternal heart when she pondered the weighty
question of duty in this matter. Words most
pathetic tell of the preparations for their depar-
ture, of their tears at parting, of their anxious
waiting through the long months—eighteen and
more—for tidings from their darlings, of constant
memories of them, of unabated yearnings for

26

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

their welfare. But there are no regrets. This heaviest of her trials was borne unmurmuringly in the stern persuasion it was for the children's highest good that they were sent to a land of greater light and privilege.

After many years of living as faithful wives and as mothers of large families, these sisters have entered into rest. Three of the seven children still remain. To the daughters returning to their native land in mature life, rich experiences have been granted in carrying on something of their mother's work in instructing Hawaiian youths. To the son, bearing his father's name, there has been the honor of being a herald of the cross for almost forty years, and the joy of translating an entire Bible into the tongue of a barbarous people, who, until taught by him, had not even a written language.

After the first year of her married life, in which her health was exceptionally good, mother often suffered severe pain and great debility, was sometimes brought very low, even, indeed, to death's door. But her patience, her self-forgetfulness, her "willing feet," as father called them, kept her at her post, and at her serving, as long as there was any strength to toil, any power to lift her burdens. And not hers only; her husband's busy life and heavy responsibilities need to be

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

27

portrayed if we would know more fully what
weight of care came upon her, true helpmeet that
she was, in her desire to forward his undertakings
and secure his success.

She compared herself to a watch run down,
that with a little attention would go again.
"But," she added, "it will not always be thus; ere-
long the mainspring must fail."

She had held the hand of the dying Kaahu-
manu, as this loving queen went over Jordan;
she had seen one after another of the "phalanx of
Christian chiefs on which the nation was rising,
laid aside in the tomb," till it seemed none re-
mained. She had shared largely in the blessed
labors of the "great revival," when hearts were
full of thanksgiving over the ingathering of so
many precious souls—and she had lived through
the sad days when the Roman Catholic religion
was forced upon the land at the cannon's mouth.
The struggle for the workers of righteousness grew
more intense than ever, and she longed to meet
the increasing demands for action, but her pow-
ers were failing. She was worn, and the brave,
heroic spirit began almost to faint. In 1839 she
writes: "I am really not fit for the slightest effort.
Hitherto courage has kept full pace with strength;
it is still sustained, but if I should write just as I
feel, I should write as I have not been accustomed

28

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

to these twenty years. The future—’tis a dark way to mortal eye. Blessed truth, the eye of Him we love marks it all, and we have no need to make it our solicitous concern. My soul longs to lean on Jesus, that when his summons comes, I may calmly go and be at rest from sin and sorrow, where he dwells.”

It was plain to all that if she were to be saved for further service it was only as a return to her native land might reinvigorate the frail body.

By a resolution of the mission at general meeting in June, 1840, leave of absence for eighteen months was granted Mr. and Mrs. Bingham. But mother said, "None can ever know the fluctuations, the misgivings, the fears, the rallyings of hope attendant on the decision to follow in the course we thought marked for us in that resolution."

I think for my parents there were sadder parts when they left than there had been nearly twenty-one years before when they sailed away from Boston harbor. Throngs of natives crowded the wharf and followed to the ship. There is still a memory of their plaintive wailings as they watched their teachers departing from them, wailings that followed from beach to inland, as waves followed one another on the shore.

The voyage begun August 3, 1840, ended February 4, 1841. We disembarked at New York.

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

29

The youngest child, a little girl of six years, was in a few days smitten with scarlet fever and was very ill. When she had sufficiently recovered, we went to Hartford. Can you picture the meeting of the parents with the two daughters so long before sent from them, grown now to womanhood, one a wife and mother?

For a brief season the family circle was entire, except for the babes slumbering in foreign soil; then changes and separation came. There were times when not even one dear child was with the feeble mother to nurse or comfort her. All except the oldest were at school, with different families, in different States. Returned missionaries were more uncommon then than now. The interest of the churches in the evangelization of the world might be quickened if father went about telling them the wondrous story of what God had wrought in the isles afar off. So the parents journeyed from Maine to Maryland, from Massachusetts to Michigan. Meanwhile was carried on the task of writing and putting through the press "Bingham's History of the Sandwich Islands." They had no settled home; there was very little rest. For five years they hoped from spring to autumn, from autumn to spring—the times for the sailing of vessels—that health would be so far restored that they might return to Hawaii. Hope deferred made

is a dark eye of Him to need to be long to come, I and sor-

be saved to her body. General meet- eighteen from home. But situations, of hope the course on."

per partner nearly went away. The crowd was still as they was then, and, as

I Feb- York.

30

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

the heart sick. Instead of healing there was decline. The cough that had followed mother more or less from early life, became now a close attendant. The constant kindnesses of friends touched her deeply, but her sensitive spirit suffered with fears lest she should become burdensome to them.

At last they resigned their commissions as missionaries of the American Board, and, finding a home in East Hampton, Mass, they gathered the scattered flock together. How happy we were with mother's smiles to cheer us, her counsels to guide us, her prayers to help us; but, alas! our hearts had often to ache as we saw her steadily declining, and knew a day must come when we should lose her. Amidst her sufferings she would say, "Gentle and most merciful have been my heavenly Father's dealings with me from my youth up, and when trembling and afraid at every glance at the unknown future, how soothing and sustaining to hear the Divine Redeemer say, 'I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.'"

Thus she went forward, firm in faith, leaning on the arm of the Beloved; but her weary steps faltered fast, and the end came, even sooner than we thought, one sad winter night.* Through its solemn hours we watched our sweet pilgrim as she

*February 27, 1848.

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

31

went down to the riverside. She panted for
breath, and father led her gently to the window.
Looking out upon the starry heavens, she mur-
mured, "How beautiful!" then, being tenderly re-
placed in her easy-chair, she bowed her head upon
her hand, and seemed to be in prayer.

As the hours went on, we caught at intervals
these words: "How good is the Lord, let his name
be praised, let it never be forgotten"—"Just let me
think and know"—"Let the Lord be praised"—"Be
bold to speak the truth"—"The Lord cares for
me"—"Stop, stop, I live!"—"Hiram!"—"Almost
overcome"—"Break the bands." This was the last.
The dear eyes closed; the voice was hushed; but
while there were still a few more throbbings of
her loving heart, father prayed, commending her
to God; and then he sang:—

"Go, pilgrim, to thy Saviour;
On joyful wings ascend;
On his almighty favor
Let all thy hopes depend.
His all-sufficient merit—
His rich atoning blood,
Brings sinners to inherit
The kingdom of our God.

"Farewell—I trust my Jesus
To take my sins away;
Now on that head most precious,
My soul her hand would lay

PART II.

NOTE.—The addition of Part II has been made in the hope that those who have been interested in this brief sketch of one of the pioneer missionaries to the Hawaiian Islands, will also find an interest in fuller extracts from her letters and her journals.

L. B. C.

EXTRACTS OF LETTERS AND JOURNAL.

“‘She is lost to us in this world,’ was such the feeling of my dear sister’s heart as she took her pen to address her absent Sybil? But it was the impassioned feeling of the moment. To sudden bursts of feeling I am not a stranger. The unbidden tear, the bursting heart, as I read this first sentence of your letter, evinced that I was not. As I proceeded and read, ‘I grow more unreconciled to your departure; it is more than I can bear,’ for a moment forgetting the heathen and the vast eternity before them and me, I was ready to say, Let me fly to this dear sister to comfort her sorrowing heart. But, beloved, listen, yea, listen myself to the solemn words, ‘The time is short.’ Look at our divine Example and hear him say, ‘Ye that have made sacrifices for me

3

(33)

34

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

shall receive an hundred-fold and shall inherit
eternal life.' Attend to this and let us be com-
forted. Let us be ashamed if it has ever been in
our hearts to say of any trial, 'It is more than I
can bear.'

“I am ready to think that when the news of
God’s kind dealings with your sister, penned with
her own hand through the various changes of a
fleeting year, shall reach you, you will be com-
forted and no more say, ‘For her I sigh and
weep.’ But as great a consolation as this may be,
who shall promise it as permanent? The next
arrival might bring the record of far different
things, and former consolation with no firmer
foundation might vanish away. Then let comfort
be drawn from a divine source. Consider the
shortness of time, the duration of eternity. Tell,
if it can be told, at what you value the hope of our
sitting down together in our heavenly Father’s
house.

“Privileged with life and health, with food
and raiment convenient for me, with the oppor-
tunity of making known the way of life to those
who have long been perishing for lack of knowl-
edge, it is most grateful to my feelings to tell you
of God’s tender dealings with me. There has not
been one gloomy day, nay, not one gloomy hour
The days have flown rapidly and pleasantly

MOSELEY BINGHAM.

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

35

undred-fold and shall inherit to this and let us be commended if it has ever been in any trial, 'It is more than I

think that when the news of your sister, penned through the various changes of a reach you, you will be come say, 'For her I sigh and a consolation as this may be, it as permanent? The next record of far different consolation with no firmer finish away. Then let comfort shine from a divine source. Consider the duration of eternity. Tell, what you value the hope of our son in our heavenly Father's

life and health, with food and drink for me, with the oppor-
tunity to try the way of life to those who perish for lack of knowledge to my feelings to tell you of with me. There has not been one gloomy hour of a day, not one rapidly and pleasantly

along, and I have known no desire for an alteration of circumstances in the midst of all so much the reverse of what youthful fancy pictured to myself as pleasant."

1823. On return from Kauai.

"Many were on board as passengers. These, with their calabashes of fish and poi, provision for the voyage, almost wholly filled the deck. In the spot below, called a cabin, infested with troublesome insects, with my seasick husband and restless babe, with two sea captains, passengers, the commander and mate of the schooner, and three or four privileged natives, I passed six long nights, five of them in sight of Oahu. But I forbear. I must not stop long upon such little incommodious spots as that."

1824.

"With our precious little ones in our arms, we quickly passed down to the mouth of the river. The men plied their paddles and made much exertion to seize the favorable moment to glide over the foaming surf, which as we advanced appeared like an enemy to resist our approach. I had several times witnessed the natives' dexterity in such cases, and did not now apprehend any particular inconveniences, but, unfortunately, two angry surges made such speed upon us

36

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

that we were compelled to buffet our way through
them, our little ones terrified beyond measure,
and screaming as if the sea were about to swallow
them up. Our canoe did not upset, but we were
well drenched, and things prepared for the pas-
sage quite set afloat. Among them was our dem-
ijohn of fresh water, which was mingled with the
salt by upsetting without a cork. Our changes of
clothing were all quite wet. At the loss of these
things, which seemed so necessary, we at the first
moment felt a little concern, but soon were able
to collect our minds, and, I believe, we felt a happy
composure that God, our gracious Preserver and
Protector, would temper the wind to the shorn
lamb."

"In journeyings, by land and by water, I have
sometimes in my own mind marked the differ
ence between the nature of our accommodations,
the mode of conveyance, etc., and those enjoyed
in other days. But through God's mercy, such
contrasts never, I believe I may say, call forth
any bitter regrets. Sometimes a tender sigh es-
capes, testifying to the deep, cherished remem-
brance of loved scenes, and still more loved
friends of youthful days, but it only urges to
present duty, and is not unfrequently exchanged
for the aspiration of the heart that I may be
found faithful unto the end, and then, through free

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

37

grace, meet again those beloved ones, to partake
with them in far other than mortal scenes. With
the Christian's hope, my dear friend, shall it be
thought much to toil or suffer, if any, of whatever
name or country, through these toils and suffer-
ings become partakers of its blessed consolations."

To Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Osgood, of Springfield—
March 1, 1826.

"... As one of the fruits of that change
which it is hoped the influences of the blessed
Spirit have wrought in the hearts of some of the
highest rulers of this land, who once knew not
the Lord, there has been a strenuous and pretty
united effort to check the crying sins of the land;
and to their counsels, their entreaties, and their
example, their authority has been added, taking
such cognizance of the more flagrant violations of
the divine law that the sins of individuals be not
laid to the nation's account. In this as it respects
some points they have been opposed, not by their
own subjects, whose unhallowed gains and pleas-
ures have been proscribed, but by men from
Christian countries with the Bible in their hands.

"As might have been expected, the more decided
have been the measures of the chiefs, the more op-
posers have railed. But, unpleasant as it was, and
threatening to the personal safety of the mission-
aries, all did not intimidate nor deter from cool,

38

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

deliberate, persevering endeavor on the part of
government to oppose the torrent. . . . In
this state of affairs the schooner *D.* arrived from
the enlightened and happy land of America.
Many days had not passed before some of the
measures of the rulers of the land were most
publicly and loudly denounced. The rescinding
of the *tabu*, prohibiting women from visiting the
ships, was urged and demanded. Threat suc-
ceeded threat, and bitter railings were heaped on
the mission and the nation. But no serious dis-
turbance was apprehended. The name of Amer-
ica was regarded by the rulers, and her sons surely
could not sit down and deliberately calculate to find
in her a foe. But, my dear friends, a gross insult
was at hand for the nation, and trials for this
little band of sojourners among them. On Sab-
bath last, at the hour for assembling for public
worship, a band of seamen from the *Dolphin*, to-
gether with some from one or two whale ships,
entered the inclosure of the royal establishment
(where, also, the congregation of nearly three
thousand regularly meet), and four of them, as-
cending a flight of stairs leading into an upper
veranda of Kalanimoku's new stone house, rudely
entered the large hall where a number of the
most distinguished personages were attending
their sick and languishing, venerated chief. They

MOSELEY BINGHAM.

ŠYBĪL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

39

evering endeavor on the part of
oppose the torrent... In
the schooner *D.* arrived from
and happy land of America
not passed before some of the
rulers of the land were most
ly denounced. The rescinding
visiting women from visiting the
and demanded. Threat suc-
bitter railings were heaped on
the nation. But no serious dis-
bended. The name of Amer-
the rulers, and her sons surely
and deliberately calculate to find
my dear friends, a gross insult
to the nation, and trials for this
sumers among them. On Sab-
our for assembling for public
seamen from the *Dolphin*, to-
from one or two whale ships,
of the royal establishment
agregation of nearly three
meet), and four of them, as-
tairs leading into an upper
ku's new stone house, rudely
all where a number of the
personages were attending
ing, venerated chief. They

were at once ordered out, but peremptorily refused
to go, and, forming themselves into line, each
with his club, demanded women, threatening in
case of a denial to demolish the houses. Soon
they began breaking in the windows. Mr. Bing-
ham was in the hall on their first approach, con-
sulting with the chiefs as to the most suitable
place to address the congregation, then assem-
bling, as the afternoon was too rainy to meet them
as usual in the open air.

"You may, perhaps, be surprised that all this
was suffered, when there was the authority of the
chiefs and the strength of the people so near at
hand. It cannot be accounted for but by con-
sidering their great unwillingness to have any
controversy with foreigners, and their own scru-
pulous fears of being accounted aggressors. After
having dashed in the glass, the sailors descended
into the yard, and, brandishing their clubs awhile
there, made in a body for the yard and house ad-
joining Kalanimoku's, occupied (at that time) by
ourselves. My beloved husband hastened, by
another gate, to defend his family. I was within
with my little daughter and one or two native
women. Seeing the approach of the rioters, I
almost involuntarily bolted the door, and fled
with Sophia to apartments back. Mr. B. I did
not perceive. He, however, reached the door at

40

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

the moment they did, but, finding it fast sought
again the other yard. But the rioters, seizing him
by the shoulder, pulled him violently around, rais-
ing their clubs, and declaring he should not es-
cape. The dashing of the glass of the windows
soon led me to feel that the house would be no
security, which, added to the piercing screams of
my child, and the fears that my beloved husband
was in their cruel hands, drew me at once from
my retreat, feeling a necessity of being prepared
for the worst. Mr. B., effecting his escape into
the other yard, was most closely pursued. I saw
the crowd, but could not distinguish individuals.
Instantly I heard the cry that Mr. B. had fallen,
and hearing distinctly at the same time heavy
blows, and seeing the tumult very great, I expe-
rienced for a moment the agonizing feeling that
my friend was gone. To my great joy, I soon
caught a glimpse of him, and in a moment or
two had the happiness of admitting him with
Mr. Chamberlain into the house. We mingled
tears one hasty moment, while he assured me that
amidst it all not a hair of his head had been
suffered to be injured.

"The mob grown more furious, one had aimed
a blow at his head, which by divine goodness was
warded off partly by his umbrella and partly by
the arm of Lydia Namahana, while another drew

BINGHAM.

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

41

a knife aiming a blow. The people now rushed
forward with spirit, and but for special divine
mercy, their interposition might have been too
late. They fell upon the rioters with such fury
that it is thought their lives would undoubtedly
have been the forfeit had there not been strong
exertions on the part of the missionaries and
chiefs to save them from death. An additional
party arrived, and entering our yard commenced
another assault upon the house. What was re-
maining of the glass in the window next the door,
except one pane, was now dashed in, with part of
the sash. The door was a strong one, but the
violence upon it with their heavy clubs left little
reason to hope it could remain a moment longer,
a barrier between them and us. At this instant,
when they seemed, as it were, upon us, without
any reason which could be discovered, they turned
their strength against each other, and one, with
the same weapon with which he had tried to force
the door, leveled his comrade to the ground.
[The captain of the United States schooner had
by this time arrived on the scene.] The weight
of the captain's arm, using cane and cudgel, was
felt among them, and, commanding the living to
take up the dead, as it then appeared, the precincts
were cleared of them. My beloved friends, it was
a trying hour. Although my heart was strong in

divine goodness was
umbrella and partly by
while another drew

42

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

the confidence that the demolishing of one mission house would be the erection of many more, and while I felt assured that every drop of missionary blood thus shed would be for the more extensive publishing of that precious blood which was shed on Calvary, yet all the tenderness of a wife of a most valued husband rose in my bosom and agonized my soul. The whizzing balls in the insurrection at Kauai did not carry more terror than did every blow I heard. The Lord of Hosts was our defense."

1827.

"This attempt at seeking relaxation, and these means employed for invigorating the overtasked powers, may perhaps afford an opportunity of introducing you to some of the varieties of missionary life among a rude people."

"Whatever of romance there may be in the idea of retiring from the pressure of labor in the crowded city of a tropical land, to an elevated position on a slope of a high mountain, commanding a most extended and truly sublime prospect of the vast Pacific, borne in an eastern sedan on the shoulders of the servants of the governor, and introduced to his country seat in the midst of his luxuriant plantation, bright in perennial verdure, and all offered to be enjoyed most freely, it gives

BINGHAM.

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

43

demolishing of one mitre erection of many more that every drop of mist would be for the most precious blood which should be all the tenderness of a husband rose in my bosom. The whizzing balls in the air did carry more terror and fear to the mind than the fire of a thousand Match balls.

ing relaxation, and these mitigating the overtasked mind an opportunity of rest for the varieties of mission people.

There may be in the idea of the labor in the field, to an elevated point, in an elevated position, in an eastern sedan on the bank of the governor's seat in the midst of his own, in perennial verdure, most freely, it gives

place to sober realities when we enter this country seat of His Excellency.

"It is constructed of simple poles and grass, without a floor, door, or shutter of any kind, the rain pouring down upon it in torrents, accompanied by a terrific noise as it comes onward through the dark forest on the heights above. We find no furniture within save a bedstead, a rude table, and one solitary chair, no courts or pleasure grounds, no inclosure of any kind without. But the providence of God has placed us there, and that, too, with the great object in view of restoring the vigor of our frames. We felt that he was there, and, having what in missionary life is counted among richest treasures, the precious domestic circle, we soon found that cheerful hearts and busy hands had a transforming influence; and there was nothing of romance needed to make that little retreat indescribably pleasant, and our short stay in that sequestered spot highly prized at the time, and much enjoyed in the retrospect."

While at this retreat, on the heights of Hualalai, the eighth anniversary of Mrs. Bingham's wed-ding day occurred, and she penned the following "hints to assist us in our united supplications on this favored day":—

1. Pray that we seek with earnestness each day and night to have our trust firm in God.

44

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM

“2. That we may be enabled to look with a clearer and more steady eye at his power, his wisdom, and to think of them as infinite.

“3. That our minds may dwell with more delight on what God has taught us to believe, that he has a plan, an unchangeable plan, and that all we meet with, of whatever kind, and however bearing the stamp of human policy or human depravity, is a part of this wise, this holy plan of Jehovah, the everlasting God.

“4. That he be pleased to grant to us in a greater degree than we have ever yet experienced, a humble, attentive, filial spirit, that shall carefully note his providences, that we may discover thereby his will concerning our work, our cause, and duty.

“5. That he would of his mercy so abide and rule in our hearts that the various intelligence which we are expecting will reach us from different parts of this now agitated earth, may greatly increase our desire to devote ourselves unreservedly to the advancement of his blessed cause. And for ourselves, if he deign to grant these our requests, and give indeed unto us of his gracious presence, he will not suffer our strange hearts to be in any measure lifted up with spiritual pride, and that we may set a double watch against the intrusion of our busy foe, not ignorant of his devices.”

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

45

*To Mrs. Henry Hill, of Boston—*
Lahaina, November 5, 1827.

“Wicked men are angry. Vengeance is threatened on the heads of those who have dared thus to expose to view the dark deeds which have so long claimed concealment in this distant corner. Early yesterday an express arrived by canoe from Oahu to the chiefs here, informing them of the agitated state of things at that place, and the avowed determination of Captain —, joined by some other English whaler, to sail shortly for Lahaina, and demand the missionaries at the hands of the people, threatening in case of a refusal to blow down the village. Perhaps you cannot well conceive that danger is seriously to be apprehended. We would that it were the loud voice of wrath alone, of which, in the retrospect of our history, we had to speak. But as you have before seen, it is not. It is now not two weeks since to loud, boisterous words of wrath which fell upon our ears, succeeded the terrific sound of cannon balls.

“. . . It was to us a serious night. We took up our five little ones (one a babe three weeks old), and dear Mrs. R. from her couch, and retreated into the cellar. This retreat afforded us but little of the feeling of security, as the walls of the house were of stone, so lightly constructed as to be easily demolished.”

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

46

November 9.

“Most of this day has been spent in consultation, endeavoring to ascertain what in God’s holy providence is required of us, whether we were called to go together to Oahu, or to remain quietly here, making no particular provision for our safety, or whether to request of the chiefs some aid and flee with our little ones into the interior of the island. No light has appeared to mark distinctly any course. The result of deliberation, as the day drew to a close, seemed to be to impress still more deeply on our minds the weight of our perplexities and our absolute dependance on our divine Leader for guidance, support, and protection. We took our tea, put our little ones to sleep, and sought again to come before our gracious Master.

We sang, ‘Give to the Winds Thy Fears,’ knelt down, and sought to commit ourselves and our work into his holy hands. It has been a sweet season. Oh, may my lot be with Jesus’ little flock, in life and in death!” The decision was finally in favor of proceeding to Oahu.

December 2.

“. . . The wind was too strong to enter the harbor; the anchor was dropped in the roads. Word was brought below that the boat of the commander of the fort was in waiting for us. Our things were soon on, and, after some agitation in

SYBIL MOSLEY BINGHAM.

47

getting our little ones down into the boat, which rocked like a cradle upon the tossing water, we found ourselves quietly making for shore, to the landing place at the fort. Here stood Manuia, who, giving us a pleasant welcome, assisted us from the boat, and, conducting us a few steps, introduced us within the walls. Armed men were on each side, but what affected us to tears was the sight of our beloved Kaahumanu, who, in dignified and tender attitude, met us at the gate, gave us in silence her hand, kissed us, and wept. We made no stop, but she, stepping forward a few paces, conducted us through the inclosure to the gate. As we reached the house, built by Kalanimoku, but occupied now by the king, she proposed that we stop a moment and give him our salutations. Then we passed on, somewhat exhausted, to the mission house. Here Kaahumanu gave us her hand, said she had seen us safely to our own abode, and she would turn now to her own house to rest herself, and attend upon the chiefs who had arrived the evening before. The body, she said, had been made strong in this morning's exercise by the love of the heart.

Through the goodness of God we were again in the spot which, with all its asperities, had here and there inscribed the sweet word "home." There was nothing within which said "rest."

48

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

Dusty floors and empty cupboards, and a large family on my hands of those whose careworn countenances seemed to ask for kind attention, compelled me to enter at once into my domestic duties. Each floor and passway was filling up apace with those who came to say, 'Aloha.' . . . But these are little matters. It was the general excitement in the minds of all classes which gave the season its interest. The occurrences of the morning did indeed strengthen our hope that God would not leave us wholly to the mercy of our enemies.

"At night a guard was sent to watch within and without our doors. Next day a letter was addressed by the British consul to Mr. Richards, relative to the publication of the occurrence at Lahaina in 1825. It was answered. Correspondence continued several successive days. At length Mr. R. was invited to call at the consul's house. He went, accompanied by Mr. Chamberlain. Two hours were spent principally in venting spleen against the great moral movement of the day. Threats were in constant circulation. The chiefs kept careful watch about us. Opportunities daily multiplied for coming at the ears, the hearts, and affections of the people. The printing press was at once set into operation, and preaching was perhaps never more seriously at-

tended to. islands having foreigners and was to be settled in captain, and was a common paper produced, and be sent for. ing, from their own choice ately wrote their word. of him) to do very angry, be sent for. He instantly mined to get B. was ill, for several all day with unto this flocked out when several hala lakon! the stairs,

SY

4

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

49

tended to. At length the chiefs from other islands having all arrived, the council assembled, foreigners and chiefs. This great hewa (wrong) was to be settled in council, since redress could be obtained in no other way. The consul, the captain, and a great number of foreigners, for it was a common cause, took the floor, and the dreadful paper containing Mr. Richard's journal was produced, and it was demanded that he should be sent for. He soon had word of what was passing, from the chiefs, but was left wholly to his own choice whether to go or not. He immediately wrote to Kaahumanu that he would go at their word, but chose (if anything were required of him) to do it with his pen. At this they were very angry, and demanded again that he should be sent for. The chiefs then advised his going. He instantly consented, and the brethren determined to go with him. Dear sister Clarisse and I determined to accompany our husbands. Mr. B. was ill, had been obliged to keep his bed mostly for several days. The house had been crowded all day with lookers-on, anxious to know whereunto this thing would grow. They now all flocked out with us. We entered the king's yard, when several chiefs came to meet us, saying, 'Ua hala lakon!' (They are gone). Kapiolani met us at the stairs, saying, 'You are too late; when they

4

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SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

found you were coming, they fled like men who
had the colic.'

"Some of these things have made us weep, some
have made us laugh, but I do hope they are com-
bining to make us pray, and to seek more earnestly
for the true spirit of pilgrims and sojourners be-
low. Some days after this, when the chiefs had
attended to their own national affairs, and were
about to return to their own places, we made a
tea-party, inviting the king, the regent, and the
chiefs of the first and second class, with members
of the mission at the station. Stop with me a
moment and I will introduce you to thirty of this
company, the young king sitting in the midst, all
taking tea, the table loaded with light biscuits and
good cake (white sugar sent us in the morning by
Kaahumanu). By the side of the table are your
old friends Clarissa and Sybil, busy in pouring tea
for these old veterans of Kamehameha I."

1829.

"The precious days so ardently wished for have gone by. Our beloved brother,* greeted by us again on these distant shores, who has been with us as one of us, is gone. What is expressed in the last two words has been most upon our minds the seven days past; when, with so much pleasure,

*Rev. Charles S. Stewart.

SYBIL MOSELEY

MOSELEY BINGHAM.

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

51

we anticipated the first, we knew this must succeed, but it was so soon—so much thought of, and yet so sudden—that I must acknowledge, with all the mercies attending the matter as a whole, the disposition of my thoughts has been to sadness. But I would not have it so. True, this friend 'is gone,' but not gone from our thoughts, not gone from the affection of our hearts, not gone from labor in that service which our hearts and his love, not gone from wakeful interest in Zion's advancement, not gone from the hope of one day mingling our voices in sweet anthems of praise in that blessed land where all is perfect.

"Oh, if not deceived in my hope of being one of the dear family of Jesus, how sweetly may our busy thoughts glide over the little period of exile from you all, dear kindred in Christ, and rejoice in that glorious day when we shall all meet in our heavenly Father's house!"

To Mrs. Hubbell, of Canandaigua—
December, 1829.

"The people surround me, and on either hand some way is opened to do them good. No day but that there is free access to the houses of the rulers, whose attention might be turned to anything considered useful. A constant and pleasant intercourse might be kept up, also, with many other important chiefs, by interchange of letters,

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at the other stations. When I think of these objects, I feel ready to say, House, clothing, food and almost anything shall go as it happens, rather than that time and strength be consumed upon them, when other things of such importance have such demands. But some family care, some awkwardness of awkward domestics, some rash, childish act of my little Lucy, surrounded as she is by natives, without any school, some infantile want of my little E., some demand of somebody, breaks up my meditation, seizes hold of my thoughts, employs my hands, and my dream vanishes. But not quiet thus, I make a strong and new effort to devote myself with more ardor within my own precincts, so that I may have all well regulated there, determining then to look abroad less shackled. The bubble floats; I pursue it with all my energy—some sudden turn in our little community bursts it at once—then I exclaim, When shall I cease to labor in vain and spend my strength for naught!

"As the great work progresses, one providence and another make it more manifest that the suitable qualifications of missionaries and assistant missionaries is an object of primary importance. Vital piety is the foundation, but very much might be built thereon which, in the missionary field, would neither prove wood, hay, nor stubble, but,

BINGHAM.

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

53

consecrated to the Lord, would, with his blessing, turn to great account. . . . I would entreat all not to give over seeking not only to ascertain what the requisitions are, but whether they themselves are possessors of them. I could assure them it is an easier matter to say, 'I will go to the heathen,' than properly to fill the post when arrived there. Bear in mind, dear sister, that I have not left myself out of view, and be entreated to make constant supplication that God would supply my need according to his fullness in Christ Jesus. Happy, blessed privilege to be one among feeble, humble instruments which he will deign to employ in carrying on his one steady purpose to give salvation to men. The wealth of worlds could not buy the exalted privilege. But oh! to be more holy, more fit for the Master's use."

1830.

"It must be acknowledged that the Lord has done great things for the people of the Sandwich Islands. His future designs are all unknown. If he has a delight in them, it is easy for him to build them up—no opposing power can prevent it. When I look upon the natives, still comparatively dark minded, see their head, a youth not only, but the dupe of foreign influence, see their laws trampled upon by those whom they feel too weak to control, view their local situation, where

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the eye of cupidity, self-indulgence, and the love
of domination fixes with eagle eye upon them, I
have no hope save in what may be the sovereign
will of God to make them a nation to his praise.
They may melt away before the overflowing tide
of commerce, cupidity, and ill-gotten power, and
bright hopes in thousands of hearts with respect
to these distant islands of the sea may be blotted
out. One' thing may greatly comfort us,—what-
ever the result may be as to their national exist-
ence, we have the fullest reason to believe that in
heaven songs of praises are heard, and will be
greatly multiplied for the heavenly favor which
sent the gospel to this land.”

To Mrs. Bates, Westfield—

Waimea, Hawaii, October 1, 1830.

. . . The king, Kaahumanu, and Auhea,
with very many attendants, left Oahu about the
time we did. We spent about twenty days to-
gether at Lahaina, after which we came on to
Hawaii. Later they joined us here at Waimea.
Having spent twenty-two days with us, they left
yesterday, to pursue their journey across the is-
land to Waipio, thence along the coast to Hilo,
and so on till the tour of Hawaii is made. They
requested the company of my dear Mr. B., and he
thought it duty to comply.

“It was chiefly with the hope of recruiting health

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

55

that, by the advice of the mission, we came in
June to this spot. It is, perhaps, three thousand
feet above the sea, and something like twenty
miles distant from the fields of perpetual snow on
the summits of Maunakea. This place, from its
situation, has many advantages for diffusing ex-
tensively the knowledge of the truth. The work
of translations may also go forward here.

"It required some time to settle comfortably
down in so new a spot, but when we had got into
a snug way of living, and found our health and
that of the children improving, I did enjoy it ex-
ceedingly. The visit of the king and chiefs,
though, all things considered, very desirable, soon
put a stop to my quietude and order. The king
while with us had only his faithful old man, who
sleeps by the head of his young master, watches
his morning slumbers, and might almost be said
to move only when he moves, but the young
high chief, K., often had six or seven within our
house devoted to him.

"As for Kaahumanu, her company was enjoyed
alone or with some thirty or forty attendants.
The chiefs generally show a fondness for our table
living. Tea, coffee, and bread are always enjoyed.
It cost me some strength and calculation to set
something good before them, with the little means
I had, here in the wilderness. Occasionally a half

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dozen or more of her ladyship's servants would
come in with many dishes of various good things
of the land. These served to crowd the table, and
to be looked at, perhaps tasted of, and then afforded
some employment for those who brought them
in removing them, and I suppose some enjoyment
in consuming them. At times some variety in
our cottage scenes was afforded by large compa-
nies from the neighboring districts approaching in
single file, laying the common taxes of the country
at the feet of their sovereigns. These consisted of
tapa, mats, pork, poultry, fish, poi, etc. . . .

"I feel as if I should leave this sequestered spot
with some reluctance. It has been very grateful
to my feelings.

"The enthusiasm of youth has passed by. The
brow of care and anxiety speaks those days gone,
but the murmuring brook, the shady grove, the
verdant hills, the noisy waterfalls still have
power to please, and I hope in increasingly sweeter
accents speak to my soul of Him whose love alone
can fill the immortal desires."

To Mrs. Willard, Principal of Troy Fem. Sem.—
November, 1830.

" . . . It has been a gracious hand which has
led me hitherto, and mercy and loving-kindness
are still 'my song in the house of my pilgrimage.'
The poor sacrifices I have been allowed to make,

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

57

set by the side of infinite obligations, how they
dwindle into nothing! Had I a thousand lives to
be devoted, yet indulged in the blessed hope of
enjoying heaven at length, what would the sacri-
fice be? I do not know as it will be found to have
been my privilege to place even one stone in this
glorious building which the divine Redeemer is
erecting. But to be permitted to join my feeble
efforts, and to share in the toils, the privations,
yea, even in the persecutions of those whose work
he evidently owns and blesses, is to me far beyond
anything that earth could offer. ...

"Our firstborn is far away. We have sent the
dear child to the land of our fathers. We grieved
for her privations when we thought of the many
advantages and the increasing privileges for the
female mind in that favored land, and saw that
dear flower springing up in this rude soil with the
prospect of so little culture. To put her from
under the parental eye, to cast her in so great a
measure upon the wide world, to take the last
tender look of the little object, dear to us as our
own lives, cost a struggle of which I cannot well
speak. But we tried to look for direction to Him
who hath ever tenderly led us. After the mental
conflict of one memorable night, my fluctuating
thoughts were still, my heart was at rest, and
through every succeeding day I have felt called

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upon to be grateful for the providence, painful as it was, that made our duty clear. Will not a covenant-keeping God regard this dear lamb of his fold—himself be her Guide and Helper in time—her portion in eternity?

"There is something inexpressibly tender in this separating of children from their parents. I can hardly conceive how my feeble spirit has been braced up to it. But it is no strange thing to turn the eyes, moistened by the recollections of the past, to the two remaining ones, with the full conviction that, if life is spared, similar scenes must soon follow with reference to them. With the mind fixed on the best good of our children, there appears to us at present no other way. Can any be devised? We love our children. The maternal heart thrills with as sweet a pleasure over our smiling babes, it is solaced as richly in all its cares and watchings over helpless infancy and giddy childhood by maternal love and hopes, as though we breathed our native air, and to turn our little ones from us, sometimes literally forcing them from our arms as we embark them upon the wide waters, unable to accompany them further on life's changing voyage, filled with apprehensions for the rocks and shoals that lie in their course, wakes a conflict in our bosoms strong and tender."

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

59

To her sister, Mrs. Whiting, of Hartford—
January 1, 1834.

“... I make hard work, dear sister, of this
business. Are we called to put this little, giddy,
affectionate thing from us now? You cannot tell
what a question it is every hour of the day on
my mind. We are, indeed, taking our steps for-
ward as though the path was clear, but it is con-
stantly with a kind of scant hope of retracing
them.”

Thursday, 2d.

“We have packed Lucy’s two little chests—sent
them aboard. All is quiet around me now. My
three little ones are sleeping quietly by. Think
you how I look upon one of them. But, dear
sister, how can we at any thoughtful moment
look upon any of our beloved offspring with our
spirits unfluttered, save as we find grace to cast
them at once and most unreservedly upon the
kind arm of our blessed Saviour?”

5th, Sabbath night.

“... The prattling voice now sounding in
my ears (the dear child wholly unaffected by any
anticipations of the future), after one more morn-
ing comes, will probably fall on my ears no
more. Her thoughtless, youthful steps, who will
guide them? Her portion of life's bitter cup, who

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will sweeten? But my heart does rest in God.
My hope is there. On his covenanted mercy I
cast this little wanderer from a mother's bosom."
6th, Monday morning, one o'clock.

"You cannot blame me that I cannot sleep.
The orders for sailing stand for nine o'clock this
morning. If I talk with you, it must be now.
What shall I say about my darling child? How
can we put her from us? . . . I feel more at
ease about the ship than I did.* What resting
place could my heart have in putting such a
treasure aboard any ship, but in the preserving
care of Him whose are the winds and the waves,
yea, the universe.

"And now, dear brother and sister, if the Lord
will, this wanderer from a parents' home we give
into your kind arms. Receive her, cherish her,
be faithful to her, and the Lord will see you paid—
not because the parents are worthy—not because
the child is worthy. Oh, were it on that ground
I trusted, I could not look up! It is on other
ground. It will not fail."

To Mrs. Goodrich—
March, 1836.

"... Great numbers assembled at an early
stage of the meetings; that great house was again

*It had leaked, been twice repaired, and leaked again.

SYBIL MOSELEY BINGHAM.

61

filled as it was a few years ago. At some of the meetings, before the close of the period, while something like four thousand found a place within the house, hundreds stood without, unable to enter. And if we might judge from the solemnity of countenance, and the fixed attention given, the heart was not left unaffected. There was great plainness, and to my mind great fervor in the word preached. I felt as if Christ's ambassadors were assisted by his good Spirit to plead with dying men. We were, of course, thronged during the period, and the feeble flesh was often well-nigh exhausted, but the spirit could not but rejoice. And they continue to throng us. In the present state of feeling, a missionary might sit from morning until night surrounded by tens and by fifties, one day succeeding another in this work. . . . To speak of nothing else, the demands of the press are very great on Mr. B. While the people follow at his heels, and sit about his feet, a boy from the office presses more closely and more constantly for copy and proof sheets. The long-labored, revised edition of the New Testament *is out*—the bindery full of hands employed in putting on covers—people clamorous for them. Were there paper for it, another edition of ten thousand copies would be put to press forthwith. And for the hymns, hundreds apply every week, as if they did

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not believe us in saying there are no more. Mr. B. is night and day at the revised and enlarged edition with the music.

"Of what immense importance it is that there be seed cast into this fallow ground now, the Spirit of God nigh to water it from on high! There is, I trust, a deep feeling of responsibility among us, but oh, how weak we are!"

September, 1837.

"We have wants in common with you all, and, not having the ordinary means of supplying them, it is kind in you to think of us in these matters. We cannot say, 'Our raiment waxeth not old upon us.' We sometimes think our clothing fails sooner here than at home. There may be special reasons for it, one the manner of washing. We were slow to come into the practice, but we do it universally now,—send our clothes back to the stream to be washed in cold water. You can readily see that we cannot have such care of them as we would like. One must be in a situation to realize how precious *time* is, where thousands surround one, ignorant and needing help of every kind, before the motive can be fully appreciated which leads us to turn away from careful attention to many things which, from early habit and from present inclination, we should be very ready in ordinary circumstances to look upon as pressing