The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-08-03


form, and with portentous pair of
bullion epaulettes on his shoulders,
and with the decorations of all his
royal orders glittering on his manly
breast, Europeans must be tolerably
familiar, but he was attircd in much
simpler fashion on the morning when
/ had the honor to be admitted to
his presence. He was dressed in a
thin suit of alpaca, and wore no rib
bon nor star. Not that his realm is
destitute of orders of chivalry. He
is sovereign of the Royal Orders of
Kamehameha, of Kalakaua, of Ka-
piolani, of the Crown of Hawaii
Aloha. A diplomatic corps is like
wise accredited to the Court of Ho-
nolulu. The United States of
America have Minister resident;
Great Britain has q Commissioners
and Consul-General; France, Italy,
and the other European Powers have
also their respective Consuls and
Charges d'Affaires. Peru, Mexico,
and Japan are also adequately re-
presented at this tiny far-away
Polynesian Court. Not without
design have given United States
Minister resident priority among the
members of the diplomatic body.
One can scarcely be half an hour in
Honolulu, keeping ones eyes and
ears tolerably wide open, without
arriving at full knowledge of the
fact that the Hawaiian Kingdom is
commercially and socially "bossed"
by the United States of America,
and by the State of California in
particular. An enterprising mer-
chant of German extraction, domi-
ciled in San Francisco, completely
controls the important sugar produc-
ton of the Sandwich Islands; the
highest offices of State are filled by
Americans, who, in some instances,
have formed matrimonial connections
with princely Hawaiian families !;
and an American banking firm at
Honolulu have great deal to say in
all matters of Hawaiian finance. The
Hawaiian coinage-and a very hand
some coinage it is-was struck at
the San Francisco Mint; Honolulu
is full of American clergymen.
journalists, school teachers, lawyers,
and storekeepers; and although
British mercantile interests are toler-
ably well represented here, cannot
help fancying that in the Sandwich
Islands it is the U. S. A. that rule
the roast.
King Kalakaua, after signifying
his gracious acceptance of the gifts
which l had brought him, and
making many kind inquiries touch
ing the health of the Baroness, of
Mr.. Burdett Coutts, and of his many
friends in Europe, dismissed me
with fair words, and L went on my
way rejoicing, to fall speedily into
the hands of my friends in the wag-
gonette, who straightway took me
into custody again and proceeded to
drive me out of my mind, tigura-
lively speaking, at the fastest pace
at which the two spirited horses
could go at tearing gallop along
magnificent roads. 1 should have
dearly longed to have had a quiet
saunter = an observant prowl =
through the leafy lanes which form
the streets of Honolulu; but my
genially imperious friends of the
waggonette would not hear of any
thing of that kind. l must ride.
must be driven by the tall, full
bearded jehu of transatlantic aspect.
The consequence was that saw
Honolulu not as in glass darkly,
but under what may term kaleido-
scopic circumstances. 1t was splen-
did day, and the sun was shining
gloriously, although far away in a
valley we could see the purple
clouds pouring down huge sheets OF
rain. On the right there was blue
sea-calm to-day, majestic, imper-
turbable; but in the foreground on
either side it was one almost mad
dening succession of kaleidoscope
panoramas. Now whole groves OF
cocoanut palm; now lofty thickets
blazing with the almost idescribably
superb scarlet Bouganvillias; Their
groves of cacti and prickly pear
then hedges bursting forth in BRILL.
ant flowers; then trim market
gardeners, delightful in their green
cry, laid out by Chinese gardeners,
Then came a vision of China, the
Flowery Land itself, dream of the
dear old Willow Pattern Plate-no
Logger uniform blue and white, but
translated into all manner of radiant
hues. There was little streamlet
crossed by little elliptical bridge
and upon my word there were three
plg-tailed Cinnamon crossing thai
bridge, looking for all the world like
the celebrated brothers of the Will
low Pattern Plate; and there were
the willows themselves, and a boat
and n pa0oda paintad hriUht raf