The news., 1882-10-31
CHASTITY SCENES.

CHASTITY SCENES.
Visiting Leper Settlement ON the Sand
wich Islands.
The home OF the leper is an en-
closure of several acres on what is
called Fisherman's Point, on Homo
lulu Bay. Scattered over the grounds
are scores of cottages, some connected
others detached, and the Offices and
buildings used by DR.. Fitch's assist
ants. Imagine if You can, a settle
ment Of Anglo-Saxons or people of
any other highly civilized race, all Of
them afflicted with, and all more or
less deformed by, an incurable and
horrible disease-knowlng it to be In
durable and seeing themselves and
each other dropping to pieces from
its dread effects. l cannot imagine
such picture, because I honestly be-
lieve that suicide would make such q
settlement impossible among any other
than people still barbarians or else in
the childhood of civilization. Such
was the settlement l visited. There
were men, women and children living
in world apart from ours, having
nothing worth living for save mere
existence, succession Of days marked
only by slow consummation of the
death that has already seized upon
their bodies and had already deprived
them of portions, which were already
returned to dust.
There we're in that strange and un-
natural community, marriages, births,
deaths. | would not attempt to de-
scribe in detail the unrelieved ghastli-
ness of the sights there, yet not one
of the inmates who help to make up
the absolute dreadfulness of the scene
failed to greet us with a smile and cor
dial aloha.
| said not one; yet there WAS one.
On bed in little cottage room,
whose open door faced the dark, cool
canon back Of the city, and whose
window looked out upon the lovely
bay and let in the lazy murmur of the
waves breaking over the coral reefs,
lay native woman dying. Nearly
all of her right hand had dropped of,
but in the remnants of her fingers she
held feather fan, which she family
waved over her distorted face, to cool
the hot aching eyes that had not been
closed for months, the palsied muscles
Of her eyelids refusing their duty
AS the doctor spoke pleasantly to
her she turned her glaring eyes upon
US, but did not speak. "Her mouth
is affected too," the doctor said. A
gentle wind just then came down from
the mountains. The swollen face res
ted and the feeble moving hand fell in
gratitude for the mountain breeze, yet,
when it died away, the hand did not
move again; it was her last moment.
The mountains gentle breeze had COM
forted her, and when il died away her
breathing ceased too.
In one cottage we saw a little
girl whose fingers had been drawn, up
until her hand YVES half closed. She
had experimental with novel cure
by calmly stepping on the bent fingers
until she had straightened them out.
She exhibited the result with pride
-four fingers straight and stiff and
as useful as SO many wooden pegs
would have been.
On what is called the playground
were some boys playing ball, one with
a useless hand, another with a palsied
leg, another with foot partly gone,
and others with swollen, senseless
faces. On the veranda Of a cottage
sat two old natives, both with use.
less legs, but neither of whom showed
any trace of leprosy in face or hands.
| As / watched them one of them be.
gan chanting hulu hulu, accompany.
ing it with appropriate movements Of
his hands. Possibly observing the
look Of astonisbment on my face, the
old mans companion with a meaning
wink at me, Joined in the chant, and
soon both the old lepers were chant
ing and waving their hands in the
sensuous measures of the lulu lulu.-
Ec.