Wilmington daily commercial., 1874-12-14
A KING AT WASHINGTON.

A real live Ring as the guest OF the Royal |
American Republic is certainly noyelty-so
much of one that it is an event without parallel
in our short history. No reigning monarch has
heretofore claimed our hospitality. 10 be sure
this particular monarch is not very mighty |
king not one of the sort at whom the world
stands in awe but are there any such left now
a-iays2 And are we not for ourselves, upon
good political authority, race of kings WHOSE
mandates make tyranny trembleY" Be it how
it may there is at present king in Washington.
He is not white king he is described, on the
contrary, as a brawny mulattoi' but he is six
feet high and looks every inch what he
claims to be. Perhaps if Kalakaua belonged to
the proud Caucasian race little more ceremony
wonld have been made over his arrival in the
United States, but possessed Of the cuticle which
it has pleased nature to bestow upon him the
honors shown are as weighty as could have been
expected. Secretary Belknsp and few other
leading officials took heart of grace to meet King
Kalakaua a few miles from the Capital, and to
hob-nob with him in a railway car, and that was
all of it, Republican simplicity is fine thing,
but would it have been shown in this ingenious
fashion if our royal visitor had been the Czar Of
Russia, or the Queen of Great Britain, instead Of
being the King Of the Sandwich Islands? There
are kngs,-and kings.
Perhaps not being used to extrayagant .splen-
doris at any time, Kalakaua thought his very in
formal reception was quite the proper thing at
all events he bore himself with dignity and de-
corum. The railway welcome party comprized a
number of chaps who enjoy little iamboree all
the same, whatever the occaaion, and included,
of course, the inevitable newspaper men.
Champagne was brought out to drink the king'r
very good health "and his family's," and we are
told that while majesty barely placed .its lips to
the glass the newspaper men" drank heartily
and without embarrassment at the presence oil
royalty. This is easily conceivable, and il Kala-
kaua was surprised thereat he will have his pro
vincial ideas finely polished of long before he
returns to his kingdom. Another incident ol
the reception has point of a certain sort. Men
ton having been made of Iowa, the King limo
Gently asked where it was The Republican
courtiers by whom he was surrounded thereup
on broke into horse laugh After a course o
American politics and geography, Kalakaua ma.
be able to see the exquisite application of Iii
reioinder to the fact that Secy Belknap is citi
zen of Iowa, but meanwhile he must be in SOM
doubt about American good breeding. We won
der these gentlemen did not think it a neat thin
to roll into the Capital singing the old chorus o
"The King Of the Cannibal Islands,
But this visit has great significance il we loo
at it Alright. That view is clearly the eyidenc
it gives Of the breaking up Of the unreasonabl
prejudice against color. We may deport on;
selves in rather patronizing fashion towards thi
not very powerful king, but we no longer despis
him because he is mulatto, or Of the mulatt
hue. The visit will thus have good effect.
truly immense work has been done in America
Society in inducing liberal and reasonable view
on this subject-.more of a work than the mo
hopeful person would have thought possible
very few years ago.