New-York tribune., 1875-01-15
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Il THESpIdN MUNdRCH.


bad lot monarchs have been. His Insular
Majesty Is wholesome disenchanter. He is
royal respectability, with no nonsense about
him. Partly, we suppose, it is his breeches
pocket kingdom. Then, again, his royalty Is
so limited He refutes the old joke that
majesty stripped OF It's eyternals is "jest."
Unquestionably. if he should exhibit himself
in cloak of feathers, with frescoed face,
and with long spear in his hand, he would
make brayer impression. AS it is, impress
svenoss is just what is totally out of the ques-
ton. All the Kings associations are hOmely
and simple. Old New-Bedford whalers
knew his grandfather, or his great uncle,
or his grandmother, or himself. They
had reveled with princes of the blood, and
played billiards with them and entertained
them on shipboard; and now these old salts,
as they chew together tho festive quid or
smoke their social cigars, have all manner OF
stories to tell of their Sandwich Island adyen-
lures and of the monarchs who were their very
good friends in those regions. There was "a
time when these islands seemed almost sub
urb of New Bedford or Nantucket or New
London. Then, here is Mr.. Mcclure, for
merly trapezian in Gregoy's Troupe, which
visited Honolulu in 1870 He knew King kal-
akaua long before that gentleman ascended
the throne. and played billiards with
him frequently. King Bill was reign
ing then, and was generally drunk. Kalakaua,
according to the trapeze performer, was
respectable person, though it is added that he
was something of poet" However, the
two characters are not absolutely incompat-
ible. An empire In which the reigning mon
arch is usually drunk, and an aspirant to the
throne plays billiards with shippers and gym
nasts, reminds us chaImingly OF Rabelais. We
think of the august persOnagcs in the nursery
songs-of the king reckoning his cash in the
parlor while the queen devours bread
and honey in the kitchen. Those aston
ishing princes in Thackeray's Rose
"and Ring rise up before US. Well,
we suppose that Kalakaua r. is as good as,
and probably better than, the ruck of mon
archs. He "writes poetry" it is true-but
then he never sends it to us for publication;
and We cannot say how much we love him for
his fOrbearance. Compared with his prede-
cessor Bill,n he swells into imperial proper
tiOns. For there is an extremely funny pic
ture of "King Bill" coming down to the
Honolulu Theater in high state Of Bacchus
and demanding the instant warbling OF
"Woodman Spare That Tree" Alas some
thing still moro derogatory to his character
for common-sense happened, for he wanted to
go on to the stage!
Yesl His Majesty, drunk or sober, was hu-
man, and actually wanted to make his debut
in sock or buskin, or possibly after the man
ner of certain aspirants, with the sock upon
npa lao md fha h,cl rin nfh
structure seems to be much of muchness,
from China to Peru, or, as we may say from
New-York to Honolulu. 1t agitates alike the
manly heart and the tender female chest. II
assures the modest, stimulates the feeble, and
misleads the wise. SO King Bill, avoiding those
preliminary arrangements with the manager
which are frequently found to be fatal to am
bition, brought his courage up to the necessary
point by repeated draughts of the fiery and
the potent, and then secretly entering the
Honolulu Theater, clothed himself in theatr-
cal costume and insisted upon taking n part
In the performance. We don't know whether
he was for tragedy or for comedy, and prob
ably he did MT know himself All he wanted
was to ego on" That is all such aspirants
usually want; only just to "gO on" For
merly, they sometimes experienced an equal,
if possible a greater desire to "go off, but
that was in the days when kissing was not yet
a lost art. For Going On the loftiest tragedy has
the preference but comedy will be better than
nothing, and even farce not amss. In the
Sandwich Islands the management was cruelty
kind 1t would not let King Bill go on at all.
Was Pacific Garrick in that monarch lost
We don't know. Nobody ever will know, for
King Bill is dead. lie didn't have even
success of esteem. Being only a king they
stripped off his shining garments and hustled
him home to the palace-a summary proceed
ing, of which certain bothered managers will
read with fearful interest and wish that they
could get out of their scrapes as easily.
King Kalakaua is wiser than his predecessor.
The poetry" making is rather suspicious, but
we have reason to believe that His Majesty is
a worthy person, or parsonage, il the reader
prefers the latter word. Compared with Alex
ander the Great he is doubtless q model Of
sobriety; with Ferdinand of Naples, of intel
ligence; with Louis-any Louis of them all
a mirror of royal qualities; with George-any
GeOrge-of common sense and of good moral
character SO we wish him happy visit, a
safe return to his limited dominions a speedy
cure of his poetical complaint, and perfect
freedom from that theatrical ambition which
took possession of the Majestic Bill
-
Mt. George Walker has translated from the
Revue des Deur MoBdes, and the Messrs. Appleton