Brandeis is a man of notable personal appearance; he looks the part
allotted him; and the military clerk was soon the centre of observation
and rumour. Malietoa wrote and complained of his presence to Becker, who
had succeeded Dr. Stuebel in the consulate. Becker replied, "I have
nothing to do with the gentleman Brandeis. Be it well known that the
gentleman Brandeis has no appointment in a military character, but
resides peaceably assisting the government of Leulumoenga in their work,
for Brandeis is a quiet, sensible gentleman." And then he promised to
send the vice-consul to "get information of the captain's doings": surely
supererogation of deceit.
_The Hawaiian Embassy_. The prime minister of the Hawaiian kingdom was,
at this period, an adventurer of the name of Gibson. He claimed, on the
strength of a romantic story, to be the heir of a great English house. He
had played a part in a revolt in Java, had languished in Dutch fetters,
and had risen to be a trusted agent of Brigham Young, the Utah president.
It was in this character of a Mormon emissary that he first came to the
islands of Hawaii, where he collected a large sum of money for the Church
of the Latter Day Saints. At a given moment, he dropped his saintship
and appeared as a Christian and the owner of a part of the island of
Lanai.
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