Collected works > Edinburgh edition, 1894-98 - Works of Robert Louis Stevenson > Volume 11, 1895 - Miscellanies, Volume III

FATHER DAMIEN
them my regret ; I am not free, I am inspired by
the consideration of interests far more large ; and
such pain as can be inflicted by anything from me
must be indeed trifling when compared with the
pain with which they read your letter. It is not
the hangman, but the criminal, that brings dishonour
on the house.
You belong, sir, to a sect — I beUeve my sect, and
that in which my ancestors laboured — which has
enjoyed, and partly failed to utilise, an exceptional
advantage in the islands of Hawaii. The first mis-
sionaries came ; they found the land already self-
purged of its old and bloody faith ; they were
embraced, almost on their arrival, with enthusiasm ;
what troubles they supported came far more from
whites than from Hawaiians ; and to these last they
stood (in a rough figure) in the shoes of God. This
is not the place to enter into the degree or causes
of their failure, such as it is. One element alone is
pertinent, and must here be plainly dealt with. In
the course of their evangelical calling, they — or too
many of thern — grew rich. It may be news to you
that the houses of missionaries are a cause of mock-
ing on the streets of Honolulu. It will at least be
news to you, that when I returned your civil visit,
the driver of my cab commented on the size, the
taste, and the comfort of your home. It would
have been news certainly to myself, had any one
told me that afternoon that I should live to drag
such matter into print. But you see, sir, how you
degrade better men to your own level ; and it is
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