There appeared to be but one thing upon which nearly all the natives could agree, that was opposition to Dr. Judd as the king's prime minister. He was, of course, sustained by some of his fellow missionaries, but appeared to be detested by the majority of those around him. Petition after petition was sent to the king, asking for, and even demanding, his removal. The court house and other large halls were crowded with indignation meetings, to protest against his being retained in office.
It seemed, at times, as though the people would break out in tumult and insurrection, yet the king made no move to give them satisfaction, and, for many days, no answer was given to their petitions.
All this time I had been a careful observer, and had attended their meetings. I had previously written a lengthy letter to the king, explaining the gospel as now revealed and the object of our mission to the islands.
This letter he had caused to be published in the government journal, both in the English and Hawaiian languages. Such was the impression the reading of it made on his mind, that he sent, through the Minister of Foreign Relations, to say that he would give us an audience at his earliest convenience. Up to the time of which I am writing, he had not found the convenient opportunity.
In the midst of this political commotion, I, one night, dreamed that I stood upon an eminence near a large mountain. I saw below me upon the bank of a small, but rapid stream, a large and rudely constructed frame building, apparently designed for machinery. It was not yet fully enclosed.
As I looked, I saw a dense smoke arise from the building, and heard the cry of fire from a large number of people.
It seemed that the wind blew strong from the mountain towards the building. The people came up on the opposite side of the building, to put out the fire, and they were blinded by the smoke which blew in their faces. I thought how foolish they were, to thus stay on the opposite side from the wind, to be blinded with the smoke.
Looking, I saw a bucket with a rope attached on a flume through which the water ran. I quickly took it up, drew it full of water, looked for the center of the fire, dashed it in, and, all at once, the flame was extinguished.
I thought a multitude of people came crowding into the building, wondering by whom the fire had been extinguished. Although I was with them, they appeared to comprehend nothing of my agency in the matter. I thought they were almost wild with joy, that the building, although somewhat charred and damaged, had been saved. They calculated that the damage the building had sustained was about fifty thousand dollars.
I awoke in the morning, strangely impressed with the dream. I related it to Brother Nathan Tanner, who was then with me. I told him I thought we should see its interpretation.