The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1857-01-01

Mr.. EDITOR :-Christmas-dau! THooL.a.
day! Days, whose approach is hailed with So.
ments of joy by curly headed youth and silver hoo
age. The day is past But few remain, and fsa'
time closes the portals of 1856. Many are the h..
remembrances, many also the silent sighs, which e
18th calls forth in the hearts of those who h
passed the threshold of manhood many a tear =
haps, in shed IS secret, when the early dawn
{ merry Christmas tints the East and calls nm g.
the shrouded spirit land of the past the LONG foroot.~
joys and sorrows, and dreams of { days lang synan
Christmas days are to the wanderer the mile s...
on LIES checkered road, through the dim vista ofh.
many years over which the r st has flung the mis-.
veil. We perceive those land marks clear and clearo.
till we see them far, far off, rising brightly on fa
very doorsteps of" sweet home," g 'ded by : hanw
childnood's rosy morn.'' Look back, whatsoever tbnn
art, kind reader, look back the road thou has
Travelled on thy journey of life, (be it long or shortl
not every mile stone is brightly garlanded round
some perhaps, is twined the CYPRESS dark leaf; and
on others, which once were garlanded with roses, the
roses are gone, the leaves are withered, and only >
thorn is left. Christmas-day, when its sacredness Is
enhanced oy being Thanksgiying-day, is to an infant
nation the great hour, which the hand of time marks
on the dial Of the century, and those who have been
residents on this island for a longer or shorter time
would be blind not to perceive how, with every re-
turn Of " merry Christmas this people advance
with rapid strides on the path of civilization. 1t WAS
a happy thought of the Commercial .4Irerfiser to
favor his readers with the speech of the Hon. John
Ii. To those who have resided on these Islands but a
few years, it affords a real treat in comparing the
present, not only with the distant days of 1918, but
even with tho fnr yrnarc ( IN o,n ,Oaal1oo3.o, 5, III
were most forcibly reminded of this steady progress
to civilization when we happened to drop in at a
Christmas entertainment, on the evening of the 18th.
Where formerly the noisy and boisterous brawler and
the drunken @owdy had their sway, we found an
assembly of well-dressed and wcll-bred gentlemen,
not only mechanics, but gentlemen of almost every
profession in Honolulu, where formerly the sloyenly
and indecently attired sc wahines'' held their low and
disgusting reyel, We beheld neatly and handsome
dressed ladies seated modestly around the beautiful
decorated hall. The American or European found
himself transported back to the merry Christmas ball
Of far off " Faderland.'
At II O'Clock a lively march played by the
(and we need but remark that Messrs.
Dickerson and Pickering were among the performers.
to warrant the excellency of the music) gave the
for supper. Gentlemen with their best foot
and polite bows escorted their ladies to the
lbundantly supplied table, and, reader, if you looked
llong the long table, where sat Representatives of
very country and language, if you observed the de-
,orum that presided over the festive board, you would,
lfter having that morning perused the speech of Hon.
Iohn Ii, almost doubt your being in Honolulu and
lad that loyal toast, God bless the King fresh
rom warm hearts, been heard two years ago, it
night have saved to the treasury not a few thou
sands.
Such toasts and spontaneous outbursts of loyalty
ire safer guarantees than any War Department can
ievlse. Such reunions can exert but a beneficial
The free and social intermingling of the
different classes of society, under the democratic
banner of decorum and mutual esteem, deals heavy
blows on the rampant which a mock afistocracy and
upper tendon might endeavor to erect in our small
community. LINCOLN GREEN.
Honolulu, Dec 81, 1856.