The Kilauea Hou offloaded two lifeboats; the first contained a dozen patients; the second, RLS and two nuns who were arriving for the first time. One of the nuns was in tears. As he put it later in a letter to his wife, Stevenson recalled his golden rule: when one is ashamed to speak, that is when one must speak up immediately. He spoke to the nuns and tried to reassure them (and himself) that God was present and welcoming them. But then they reached the dock, and a “great crowd (God save us!) of pantomime masks in poor human flesh, was waiting to receive the Sisters and the new patients.”
At the time of Stevenson’s arrival, Father Damien had already been dead for a month. Nevertheless, Kalawao, where Damien had lived and worked, was the objective for RLS,and he set out on foot from the dock. He spent a “harrowing” week there. On most mornings, he rode three miles along the base of the great cliffs to Bishop Home (a miracle of neatness, per Stevenson) in Kalaupapa where he played croquet with Mother Marianne Cope and seven young ladies. He used their mallets. Later, when asked if he wore gloves, he said: ” of course not, the Sisters suggested it, but because they didn’t use them, how could I”? Then there was lunch with the players after which he returned on horseback to Kalawao, where he conducted interviews with english-speaking residents and medical staff.
On the day of his planned departure he was refused passage because he had not been supplied with an exit permit. Perhaps it had simply been an oversight by the administrator of the Department of Health, Dr. Emerson, the man Kalakaua had pressured to grant RLS access to visit Kalawao. The matter was only resolved when Stevenson finally gathered his courage and leapt aboard, consequences be damned, as the Mokolii was casting off.
After returning to Honolulu, RLS had a grand piano sent to Bishop Home. He also sent a letter to a book seller in London with instructions to prepare a personalized set of his most popular titles (Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The New Arabian Nights, and The Merry Men) for Princess Kaiulani, who was then with the Davies in Liverpool. In August, Kaiulani received the books and sent Stevenson a thank you note which included: “I hope that when I have finished school I will be able to fulfill the position you offered me as your secretary.” But by august RLS had left Honolulu; it was too cold; there were too many electric lights; and was southbound through the Gilbert Islands on the Equator, a small trading schooner.
The departure from Honolulu had taken place on June 24th. At the very last minute, two fine carriages arrived at the dock to deposit Kalakaua and musicians. A final champagne farewell ensued, to Hawaiian musical accompaniment. They would not meet again. In eighteen months, Stevenson would be living in Samoa, at Vailima, and Kalakaua would be dead.
The Ruler of the Heavens 