Page:Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen.pdf/251

mins, Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that they wished to notify me that they would have to continue in office; and then went on with a lecture, or apology, which I could not understand, and the argument of which I do not believe he had quite mastered himself. Mr. Godfrey Brown, the Minister of Finance, came to his relief by offering the suggestion that no changes could be made in the cabinet except by the legislature. The only notice I took of their discussion was to say that I could not understand the necessity of mentioning the matter at all at such a moment. To this Mr. Petersen, the Attorney-General, rejoined that I ought to understand the situation and accept it. I replied that I had no intention of discussing situations or other political matters at all at this time, and I would defer all further notice of the matter until after the king’s burial.

At five o’clock the afternoon of the 29th of January, 1891, the solemn procession began at the boat-landing, where the men from the Charleston had landed with the king’s remains, and from whence they took up the line of their mournful march to Iolani Palace. It was a gloomy, cloudy afternoon. As they moved slowly up to the gates of the palace, there was a moment’s pause; and just then a triple rainbow was seen to span with its arch the entire structure, stretching from one end to the other, and, as it were, embracing the palace. Crowds of people thronged in, respectfully following the king’s remains, with hearts too full of grief to speak of the deceased sovereign even to each other. When the cortége arrived at the palace steps, the casket was placed