The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1868-10-03
The Overland Monthly.

z uefIhlntTi U nave n uE-t-tiaSs HidriHHe VI IltIL
own, and they bid fair 70 succeed. We say
- Erst-eiass - we mean n magazine in which the
style Of writing j. pure, without slang or weak at
E-ctatiOn, and in which what may be called FIRST
class topics are treated of. To expect that in
California talent is to be secured for q magazine.
equal TO what ean be obtained in older commune
tics where established institutions command the
services of all the best writers, is expecting too
much. 1t was only IN lS54 that the first maga-
zine in California, the Pioneer, was started.
During the long period which has elapsed since
the newspapers by the last mail were exhausted
we have had before US Nos. l and = OF the Ortr-
land Monthly. for July and August, and must say
the Ierusal thereof has given much pleasure. The
articles are Of breyity adapted to California i'm
patience, an average and nearly n uniform length
Of seven pages being accorded to each subject.
This sInacks of the : fiye-minute rule for public
meetings nowadays. There is but little trash,
little writing for mere effect or play upon words.
The bulk of the articles are characteristic ofearn-
est men in new countries plain and practical !;
good language used in treating of IMPRACTICAL subjects
and questions, most Of them pertaining to the
coast and neighboihood Of tie Pacific.
ThG title page announces the magazine as : : de-
fSht- w e"C NtfNAOl4AthN - Nt IOIhNl -ll
first sight n singular prospectus for a literary en-
terprisc. But Il further acquaintance with the
contents convinces us that it is at once a patriotic
and practical motto, and not adverse To literary
excellence.
The poetry Is not much. Two pieces, " Long
ing" and 50 In Blossom Time are so decidedly
TennySOnian as to destroy any real interest in
them. For instance, the lines:
90 ailnIe-. fset ofhauseh7lI tasks"
"A fuller life my spirit asks"
Then sing In the hedgerow green, o thrush"
"To u Sea Bird, - in the August number, how
ever, is short, original and expressive. The prose
article; also, which opens the July number, 81
Breeze from the Woods" by W. c.. Bartlett,
breathes Of TEoreau and Emerson, although it
is what we may call 40 pleasant reading"
More practical and more sugseLtive to the po-
litical student are the two articles by one and
the sam writer, "a High Noon of the EMPIRE"
and a " Court Ball at the Palace of Mexico"
The writer views the empire, so ill-starred and 50
soon destroyed, with an artists rather thnn u pol
itician's eye. 81 much the better. We see in it
how the picturesque fabrics OF monarchy, the really
beautiful because unreal, have TO crumble and
yield to republican simplicity, ard harshness too,
perhaps. The beautiful life Of Carlotta, amongst
her pageant-ioving but careless subjects, is well
depicted here. rs also the aching mental isolation
in which sine found herself with the handsome but
iliiterate Mexican ladies. We see here also that
tOo-cultfvated royalty is not the element To regen-
crate Mexico. W. V. Wells contributes these
interesting sketches.
Another brace Of articles ON = Art Beginnings
on the Pacific are interesting as illustrating, not
really "the growth of the fine arts in a new
country, but tl'c iapidity with which men excel
ling in every branch pour into IA country which
possesses the resources of California. Two names
are mentioned with whom we are familiar here
Z. w. Perry, "a careful student without much
Imagination - and G. j. Denny, b. whose pictures,
he chooses to- do his best, are full of spirit
and naturalncss." We will add here, OH our own
part, that Denny's depth Of coloring is much more
suited to our clcar-cut scenery than Perry's misti-
and dreamiue-s, which better suit the land
,capc Of northern latitude. Tie Yosemite Juror
in art l. well touched of in the August article.
Ii Is, however, the twclvc-Iagc article on la
~aiian Civilization in the July number that es-
pecially claims our attention. 1t will not do TO
it cOntenptuously aside, because in the OPEN
ng sentence the writer betrays his ignorance
saying. fawaiians used to eat each
'tber s 80 because ne WINS up with the coneu-
ION that the Islands should be annexed - the NJ
Ell States for the good OF the people themselves.
FOR he Is really in earnest-he is not contemptu-
lie is not attempting to disparagc any par
ocular class; hc Is after truth, and deserves a
'earing. With reference TO the first above-men-
Toned assertion 1.-THE mistake too NJ the renown-
d philadelphia letter. writer,-this author
rObably based his statement on what MAS the fact
regard to other of The Pacific Islands.
here is no pTO1f that the Hawaiians were
YER rsnrnbals, and all assertions to that effect
re uniounded. With reference to the practical
Elimination of the article, nc is not alone, nor is !
e wide OF the truth when he SAYS that not isola- l
but closer union with civilization, is the !
rue policy. On the Reciprocity Treaty occurs +, ,
he very pertinent remark, that the most impor- =
article produced on the Islands, viz, our :
elbow sugars, is excepted in its provisions. :
The article does, we think, justice to the ms 4.
n n class; but il does not do full justice {
0 the Hawaiians themselves. 1t las almost i
othing to say which is really in their favor. |
ONE things stated are too true but it is hardly "
iiF to say they have no gratitude, and very un- G
air to say that = they have no pride in themselves u
: n nntion, caring anu tnlhklhS nothing Oi u
ossible future for the kingdom" Nor is it true
they know nothing of foreign governments, :
or that when they have learned to read and :;
yriie in Hawaiian, it is about all the knowl- I
ige they can acquire in that language. The D
resent religious state of the ~IIawaiians is rather A
than otherwise; though that question u
out Of our present sphere of inquiry and for s.
IN writers should deal gently with what, from n
e very nature OF the case, they con know so Fl
t,le. The article. in short, lacks in that perfect a
.urtcsy and appreciation, which alone will win
although it contains much that IL both
nc and suggestive. u
10 goo with other Tages: .'Scalping rs u Fine u
rt' will be thoroughly appreciated By those who 81.
Lrn t-nrcleI "a CnIirtrninn Ahrnad - .. Ia o.