The Hawaiian gazette., 1883-05-16
Washington Gossip.

LAlulA WI NiAA.luAdl tAELIIL lutte luAAt AtfI
WASHINGTON, d. C.. April 9Th, 1SSi
At a meeting Of the Washington Literary Soci-
ety. held five or si1 years ago in the drawing
of Mrs. Admiral Dahlgren, Mr.. Charles Nordhoa
read a paper entitled Paradise. The gathering
was fashionable and distinguished. Among the
guests were people prominent in Art, Literature
Science, Politics, Diplomacy, Society. For nearly
an hour We were held spell-boun by his eloquent
description Of this land of pure delight as the
charm became more potent, a restful look stole
the faces Of the listeners, tired officials forgot
the cares of office, beautiful women in the CLEAN
of satin and glimmer Of pearl" slaves Of the sea-
son. looked a regret that their lives had not been
cast in this land Of perpetual summer, this land
where II was always afternoon, this Earthly Para
disc. The author ended by saying that since his
visit to this place whereof he spoke, that he had
regarded himself as pilgrim and sQiOurner who
only living here from stress Of circumstances,
waiting with such patience, as he might for the
time TO come when he could gather his own to-
gether and set sail for this enchanted Island there
10 be happy ever aftorward. When he had finished
reading, the deep silence which had rcigned was
broken by an eager request for the name Of this
unknown Paradise, to which he responded, The
Sandwich lslands.' This winter our interest has
been again awakened by the interesting accounts
given by Capt. Dutton, Of his late visit to You.
He too, wishes 10 visit you again. and II would
as if the legend, that he who once tastes the
WALTERS u lllt MS OF lutll
again. was also applicable TO the Sandwich Islands.
On two or three occasions, perhaps more, Capt.
Dutton has kindly consented 10 lecture OF, as he
prefers to express 1t, tall" ON what he saw and
heard there. On two of these evenings his
marks have been charmingly illustrated by twenty
thirty studles Of scenery, in oil, made by Mr..
Coulter. In all Of these talks - he has never
omitted to refer 10 the cordial and elegant hOspi
tality which was extended TO him during the whole
Of his stay. His forth coming report will be look
ed for with interest. In a recent number of NJ
f'gs there is a review Of a late work Of Capt. but
toms, by Prof Giekie of Edinburgh, in which he
ranks him as one of the two or three most dis
tinguished biologists of the world. Mrs D1ttOn,
accompanied by her son, sailed on the 2lst inst.
for Europe, she will Immediately Join her daughter
Marion, in Neray and probably spend the summer
III North Germany. In addition 10 her many
charms of mind and heart she is an accomplished
musician. and those who have had the privilege of
listening TO her noble rendering of our great COM
pOsers, cOnsplCuOusty Beethoven, Will long remem-
Der the pleasure she gave them. DIR. and Mrs.
Mott Smith have taken a large furnished house in
the West End and have made many friends. The
Dr. quiet power Is admirably calculated 10 fur
ther Hawaiian interests. Mrs. Smith, while appaT-
emily enjoying her residence here speaks of herself
an exile and longs for the time TO come when she
can set her face towards home. A few days since
/ met her calling, elegantly and most becOmingly
dressed in black velvet walking suit trimmed
with chinchilla fur, with light bonnet outlined
with Roman pearls, which haTmOniZed with the
costume and admirably set of her gray hair, she
WIS LlAllltu uN Hut-ls MISS llhIIlss anu
waiting in the carriage outside, were her two
youngest children, the little girl in a cardinal
Mother Hubbard and the boy in kilt Of brilliant
Scotch plaid.
As Congress is not in session, everything is very
quiet here politically, though there have been an
unusual number of interesting things taking place
during the past two weeks. Prominent among
them was on the 10th, the celebration of the 2lst
anniversary Of the Emancipation Proclamation.
Though the day was stormy the festivities consist
ing of procession banquet, speeches, etc, were
carried on with undampened zeal. Fred Douglass
was the orator of the day and gave an eloquent
Of the events relating TO the condition of
the COlOred population during the past twenty
years. He said that If VIM. Lloyd Garrison and
Others could have fOrCseen the blOOdshed attendant
on the abolition of slavery, they would not have
had the courage TO advocate t, and that if Abra-
ham Lincoln could have known that in signing the
Proclamation of Emancipation he was signing his
own death warrant he would have stayed his hand.
On the 18th the National Academy Of Science be
gan session lasting three days, during which
many valuable and interesting papers were read,
one Of the most popular being that of Prof. Bar
bcr on electricity. In If he said that some Of the
sangulue were looking forward TO the time when
1t will be stored up in bottles and by means of an
oritce made expressly for the purpose, be used in
stead of meat and drink. One of the astronomers
informed US that the sun was not yellow but bi1o,
the medium through which We view IL being re-
spOusible for the impression of yellow. On the
18Th IN the Smithsonian grounds, the statue of
Prof. Henry, the discOyerer Of telegraphy, was I'M
Ntlltu VIII imposing ceremonies ms Is Il new
departure IN the art establishment Of the capitol,
all the other monuments having been erected to
military and naval heroes No man of this century
has eXeTted greater better influence than Prof.
Henry, and in discovering and demonstrating the ]
principle that Morse applied, he has done to
improve the condition and relations of mankind |
than any soldier ever did. The statue Is by the |
sculptor W. W. Story, and cost fifteen
thousand dollars. 1t is in bronze, nine feet high
ON handsome pedestal of red and gray granite, |
and represents Prof Henry in a standing attitude |
attired in an academic gown. President Porter of \
Yale was the orator. Washington was never love |
lier than now. The cyclones and frOsts and rains
have spared and the streets and parks are full |
Of bloom and.beautiful women and children. The |
" dude is also out in great force, the Washington /
variety being unusually forward. COSMOS