I sent word that I wuz there and craved a augence, which wuz gladly granted. She had hearn of me and I had hearn of her, which made everything agreeable. So at the appinted hour I wuz ushered by one of her hired men into her presence. I liked her looks first rate; of course she hain’t what you may call handsome, and her complection is pretty middlin’ dark, but she has a good look and a good way with her. She came forward and greeted me with great cordiality and gin the hand I extended a warm grasp, and I hern visey versey, and sez she:
“I am glad to see you, Josiah Allen’s wife.” And I sez, speakin’ the name Liliukolani well as I could, “I also am glad to hail the Queen of the Sandwich Islands.”
That tickled her, and she sez: “I was not deceived in you; you are one who can recognize royalty if the cloud of adversity and trouble is wreathin’ it in its black folds.”
And I sez, “Clouds often covers the sun and moon, but the light is there jest the same.” I felt to pity her as she went on and related her troubles to me. Her throne kicked out from under her by them that wanted to set down on it, the high chairs of her loyal friends took by her enemies who craved the soft cushions. Even her private property grabbed away from her. Why, how should any of us feel to have a neighbor walk in when we wuz havin’ a family quarrel and jest clean us out of everything––kitchen stove, bureau, bed and beddin’ and everything; why, it would rile us to our depths, any on us.
She sez, “I feel that my kingdom wuz stole away from me.” And I sez:
“I know jest how you feel. There wuz a woodsy island 113 down in our creek that Josiah had called hisen for years and years, rained peaceful and prosperous over so we spozed, it made a dretful handy place for our young stock to stand in the shade in the summer, and our ducks and geese jest made their hum there, but what should Bill Yerden do when he bought the old Shelmadine place but jest scoop up that island and try to prove that it wuz hisen. It wuz jest stealin’, Josiah and I always felt so. But he wuz down with tizik at the time, and I wore out nussin’ him, and Bill put bob iron fence round it, real sharp bobs, too, and we had to gin in. Of course it wuzn’t a big spot, but we despised the idee of havin’ it took from us just as much as though it wuz the hull contient of Asia, and we can’t git over it, Josiah nor me can’t. And I know jest how you feel, and I sympathize with you.”
And she sez, “Sympathy is sweet, but justice is sweeter.”
And I sez, “That is so, but when you can’t git justice, sympathy is better than nothin’.”
“Yes,” sez she, “I know it, but I am lookin’ forward to the day when I shall git my rights agin. I am jest as much a queen as Queen Alexandra is to-day, and my kingdom is just as much mine.”
Sez I, “That is just the way Josiah and I feel; we can’t help lookin’ forward to gittin’ our rights, but don’t spoze we ever shall, for life is short, and Josiah don’t want any more of our live stock tore up on them bobs; and, as I’ve said to Josiah many a time, Bill Yerden feels guilty, or he wouldn’t rare up such sharp defences round it.”