The attorney-general, Hon. Stephen H. Phillips, Hon. P. Nahaolelua, afterwards a member of my brother’s cabinet, my husband, General Dominis, Kamakou, and two women in attendance occupied the space between us and the doors. Although nearing the end, the mind of the king was still clear; and his thoughts, like our own, were evidently on the selection of a future ruler for the island kingdom, for, turning to Mrs. Bishop, he asked her to assume the reins of government and become queen at his death. She hesitated a moment, and then quietly inquired why His Majesty did not appoint as his successor his sister, the Princess Ruth Keelikolani, to which question the king replied that the princess would not be capable of undertaking with success the responsibilities of government, to which Mrs. Bishop rejoined, “ Oh, but we will all help her to the best of our ability.” Having obtained her opinion, he next turned to Nahaolelua, and demanded of him who would be the proper person to be named for the succession. To this the counsellor gave a very truthful, yet scarcely fortunate response, saying, "Any one, may it please Your Majesty, of the chiefs now present." The king again hesitated, and in the intervening time, the messenger whom all must obey was gaining entrance to the death-chamber; from the effort to provide for the future rule of the kingdom he relapsed into unconsciousness, and passed away without having named his successor to the throne.
The foremost candidate for the vacancy was undoubtedly the king’s first cousin, Prince William Lunalilo; and in the matter of birth nothing could be said
