This was the first occurrence of the kind in my experience in which I
was personally prominent, and it had an importance in my eyes which it
would scarcely have were it to happen to-day. One of those who listened
to and understood this conversation was a brother-in-law of Napela's,
a half-white and a circuit judge, and a leading man on that island. He
gave a report of the conversation which was very favorable to me, and
altogether I think the missionary's sermon did good. He intended it for
evil; but the Lord overruled it, as He does all the plots and acts of
the wicked, for the advancement of His purposes.
The Lord gave me favor in the sight of the natives, and I had their
sympathy, though they dare not avow it, for fear of the consequences.
Another reason of the sermon not having so good an effect was the
preacher's allusions to Napela. He had called him by name, as the
man at whose house I stopped, and denounced him. This, of course,
was distasteful to Napela's relatives and friends, many of whom were
present. Thus this man, who fought in this manner against the work of
God, did not prosper as he expected, neither then nor afterwards.
The Lord has said in one of the revelations to His servants:
"Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you, there is no weapon that is
formed against you shall prosper; and if any man shall lift his
voice against you, he shall be confounded in mine own due time."
I have found every word of this to be true.
Napela was not frightened by what the missionary had said. He was
threatened with removal from his judgeship and with being cut off from
their church; but he manifested no disposition to have me leave his
house.
The pressure, however, finally became so strong through the continued
efforts of the preacher, that I thought it would be wiser for me to
withdraw from Wailuku for awhile. I felt for Napela, for he had a heavy
opposition to contend with, and I thought that if I went elsewhere, the
persecution would not be so severe.
There was a place called _Kula_, (which means a country near the
base of a mountain) where there were a few scattered villages, about
eighteen miles from Wailuku, to which I was led to go. It was rather an
out-of-the-way place, though just before I went there, a brisk trade
in Irish potatoes, which grew spontaneously in that region, had been
carried on; the people hauling them in carts, from there to a small
port not far distant. These potatoes were carried in schooners to
California to supply the gold diggers. But they were of a poor quality,
and when the farmers of California began to raise them the trade
ceased. The business had begun to fall off when I went there.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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