istmas Day provisions, and to bring
their own produce for sale. We accordingly gave orders that the boat
should come for us at a quarter to five, shortly before which we got
up and went on deck. We waited patiently in the dark until half-past
five, when, no boat appearing from the shore, the dingy was manned and
we landed. The lights in the town were all out, the day had hardly
dawned, and there were no signs of life to be seen. At last we met two
men, who told us we should find the market near the river, and offered
to show us the way; but when we arrived at the spot they had indicated
we found only a large butcher's shop, and were informed that the
regular market for fish, fruit, and other things was held at five
o'clock _in the afternoon_ instead of in the morning. We had thus had
all our trouble for nothing, and the non-appearance of the boat was
fully explained.

Presently we met a friend who took us to his home. It was a pretty
walk, by the side of the river and through numerous gardens, fresh
with the morning dew. He gave us the latest news from the United
States, and presented us with oranges and flowers, with which we
returned to the yacht. We were on board again by seven, and, having
packed up our things and sent them ashore, had an early breakfast, and
landed, in readiness for our excursion to Kilauea. The baggage animals
ought already to have started, but we found they had been kept back,
in case we should happen to forget anything. Quite a crowd assembled
to see us off, and a good deal of gossip had to be got through, so
that it was half-past nine before we were all mounted and fairly off.

The first part of our way lay along the flat ground, gay with bright
scarlet Guernsey lilies, and shaded by cocoa-nut trees, between the
town and the sea. Then we struck off to the right, and soon left the
town behind us, emerging into the open country. At a distance from the
sea, Hilo looks as green as the Emerald Isle itself; but on a closer
inspection the grass turns out to be coarse and dry, and many of the
trees look scrubby and half dead. Except in the 'gulches' and the deep
holes between the hills, the island is covered with lava, in many
places of so recent a deposit that it has not yet had time to
decompose, and there is consequently only a thin layer of soil on its
surface. This soil being, however, very rich, vegetation flourishes
luxuriantly for a time; but as soon as the roots have penetrated a
certain dep