The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-03-17
Life in HonoInIu.

The most pleasant Of all amusements in
Honolulu are the moonlight JidiDg- parties.
The moon seems fnller and brighter there
than in any other place; and one sees very
few prettier sights than twenty or Lhlrty young
people riding at full speed, with song and
iaueh. along one OF those white, macadamized
roads made white by being covered with
coral. dust, looking, in the subdued light, like
a river of silver stretching away into the indis-
tinet distance and bordered with all that is
lovely of verdure and luxuriant of foliage.
The rides out Of town are pleasant, and the
views perfect. The eye fairly revels in
beauty; and, If you wish to enjoy it in its
fullest sense, you should ride down to the
beach towards evening. To your right the
sun is setting in blaze of glory, leaving a
long golden trail behind it, The sky is flushed
with crimson, purple, aud gold, aud all it's
gorgeous coloring lies reflected in the bosom
of the ocean; to your left, it is raining in the
valleys, while the hill tops are touched with
sunlight; and the falling drops look like a
veritable shower of diamonds; while beyond
dark masses of vapor are floating away aud
rainbow spans the earth and ocean, radiant
one moment, then fading with the sunset.
The purple mists steal silently down the hills:
and, as night let's down its curtain, and you
60 home, your soul is filled with beauty
such as you have dreamed Of, but never
hoped to realize.
Of the young society in Honolulu can say
little. 1t has periods of the widest gayety,
when number of naval vessels are in port,
and times of dullest stagnation when they are
not. The young men are good-natured, gen.
tlemanly, and on the whole, perhaps, are the
better portion of the society. or the young
ladies, an utter absence of beauty and grace is
their most striking feature; still, they do not
want for attention. Besides their island
swains and naval admirers, they have occa-
siopally stray beau of fortune and educa-
tion, wandering, a la Lord Lovel, "strange
countries for to see, see, see," and who re-
mains there, perhaps, q month or two-frst,
from curiosity; then, enslaved by some fair
Phyllis-until, tired of rustic airs and graces,
after raising hopes be never meant to realize,
che folds his tent like the Arab, and silently
steals away"
All kinds of public amusement abound.
Concerts, where scrawny young ladies of un-
certain age, in the most Juvenile toilets.
warble, in raspy voices, 81 would | were
daisy" and bouncing maidens, in stentorian
tones, shout "CaSta DiUa," or "Lucia di quest
Gnimd;" and fairs, where the usual number
of baby socks are sold to old bachelors, and
cigar cases and pincushions are disposed of
to young ones. Strawberry festivals are also
sometimes held, as this most delicious fruit
can always be procured. The Royal Hawaiian
Theatre, patronized by occasional strolling
companies, is an important centre of amuse-
not unlike Pennsylvania barn. The inside
is built in the popular horseshoe style, with
boxes on each side of the stage. There is a
general flavor of mild decay about the
whole building rather alarming to stranger,
who is not at all reassured as it vibrates to the
laughter of an audience and trembles at their
plaudits. Here one sees the beauty and fashi on
of the city, radiant ia opera clOaks, and using
opera glasses, although the stage is not fifty
feet from any part of the house. Fancy dress
balls are also feature of society there. One
may see personages of all nations so aoou-
rately disguised that the characters they
represent would never be suspected. Emsci-
ated Falstaffs and corpulent Lucifers; native
ladies as water nymphs and Auroras; scrsggy
spinsters as flower girls and "Titanias;"
leicester" with attenuated limbs, in tights;
and Shakespeare, In the last style OF peg-t0p
trousers Diana, in full party dress, and
Minerva, ditto, dancing with Mercury, in a
white linen suit, of San Francisco make, and
a pair of wings fastened to his feet to empha-
size the chafacter-all apparently selfsatisfed
and full of enjoyment.
Honolulu is certainly a most beautiful
town, and the surrounding scenery is such as
artists love to paint and poets to praise.
Each house has its garden filed with trees,
flowers, and fountains; there is everything to
please the eye, and where, as in many cases,
the houses are built of the white coral rock,
and embraced by boughs of living green, the
effect is very charming, and one can imagine
how the lives of these people drift away IN
calm forgetfulness that an outer world exists
-EngliSh Traveller.