The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-02-27
PROF. ALEXANDER'S History.
AN IMPORTANT WORK.

1OA- W H. -AlEAAlluClf ACsAAAANNi
Honolulu by the last Australia. 1t Is
an octave cloth-bound volume of S4l
pages handsomely printed on strong
paper, and reflects the highest credit
upon its publisher, the American
SOCK Company Of New York, Cincin-
Iati and Chicago. 1t was prepared at
ne request of the Board of Educa-
on, and published by its order, and
: intended not only for teachers and
'iigher classes in the public schools,
ut also for 1.-The benefit of the gen
raj public" at is based upon a
areful study of the original authori-
les, the writer having had the use of
'e principal existing collections of
= Awaiian manuscripts, and having
,amined the early archives of the
0verument, as well as nearly all the
Xisting materials in print" The
.'IthOr also acknowledges his indebt-
dness to the Hawaiian historian
David Malo, the elder Kamakau of
.1aawalOa, $. NJ. Kamakau the histO-
rian, HaleOle, author of Laielkawai,
le late Judge Fernandez, and "last
1t not least" ]. S. Emerson, Esq,
Jmmonly recognized as the highest
,thority in the kingdom on the an
( mt religion and mythology of the
,awaiian people.
The work is embellished with
.irty-two highly finished wood en-
favings and seven maps. The from
piece is an excellent phOtOgravure
Her Majesty Queen Liliuokalani,
tted in one of the throne room
chairs. There are also portraits, in
re following order, of Queen Kaahu-
anu in 1916, Kaiaua, Kamehameha
Kamehameha H., Kamehameha
:, KekuanaOa, Kamehameha ",
cen Emma, Kamehameha V, Luz
alilO, Kalakaua, the Queen Dow
scr KapiOlani, Bernice Pauahi
bishop, Her Majesty Queen Liliuoka-
lani, and the Heir Apparent Princess
iulani. Engravings are also in
ed of the following localities:
,'r4ter of Kilauea, Diamond Head,
Teak in lao Valley, the Pail of Nuu-
~, Port of Honolulu, and Hilo Viii
q. The Heiau (Temple) at Wal
a, on Kauai, the Hale (Housel o
ave, the Old Fort at Honolulu,
A., Government Building, and To-
.Ani Palace, are also depicted.
II remaining cuts are: the
~ Clasp, Lava Flow, an
lent idol, a feather helmet, an
Sering before Captain Cook, and
- KS monument The book also
-..u,ains beautifully executed maps
~ of the Hawaiian Islands, (2) Ocea-
q, ~ Kauai, az Hawaii, (5) Oahu,
~ Maui, % Kahoolawe and part of
5lOkai and Lanai, and (S) Molokai,
lai and part of Maui.
would be an act of presumption
cmind any resident of Honolulu of
peculiar qualifications which Pro-
ar Alexander possesses for the pre-
ation OF this history. Descended
a one of the fathers of this country,
5 a loyal son of Hawaii who from
youth has been prominently
ltified with the intellectual devel-
lent of the nation, and is moreover
hOlar whose abilities are recog-
and appreciated by every think
man in the land. OF a cautious
conservative temperament, he
speaks word or writes sem
4 hastily, and the result is that
} atterances uniformly command
t high degree of respect and conf
e that one naturally aScribes to q
n whose most prominent character
is j his love of truth. In regard to
III scholarship there can be no differ
e, of opinion. For twenty-five
years or more he has been regarded
a. he highest authority on ali mat
t. = relating to the history of this
C, untry and the comparative philo-
IL : of the Polynesian languages, and
h9 is constantly referred to as such
both at home and abroad,
a matter of sincere cOngratu-
la' Il that the reading world is now
il Nssession of a concise history of
the awaiian kingdom from its earli-
est days to recent times. Sheldon
D. e's history, published in 1889,
h, zen out of print for forty years,
al - best, was but little more than
rficial historical sketch. The
v; lie work of the late Hiram
PL'ol.am (of revered memory is also
a. ig the photographed rarities of
t. Ountry. 1t appeared forty-five
y. ago, and although it treated, to
q led extent, of secular events, it
w rimarily intended as a history
Of he origin and development
Ga Christianity in the islands.
t." later history, by Jarves,
h $50 become q rarity, and at best
is r.. arded by some as a prejudiced
mar tive, especially in respect to GER
tail vents in which the author him
self figured. Professor AleXander's
His Dry, ON the other hand presents a
sim e and unbiased historical nara
tiv~ free from highly-colored embeI-
lish ent and all attempts at rhetori-
cal play. He studiously avoids any
exu sion of opinion on points that
IL matters of controversy, and
les himself with rare skill to a
pi.. . narrative of facts. He remarked
to t writer that he had refrained
from PRODUCING into his history any
stat, I pnts save those which could be
estal saed by unimpeachableh istori-
cal aence. Although his history Isl,
in rtain sense, elementary, it re-
presents the results of protracted re-
search. extending through many
yea nd has proved to be a much
mo. .aborious intellectual task than
won. have been the preparation of
Worl f double its size. The Professor
poss es rare ability in condensing
histC al facts within narrow limits,
and presenting the substance OF
histc in terse and graphic form.
Th History proper covers 800 pages,
of VI n the first 80 are devoted to
prehI ,ric times, the II pages follow
ing n te to the period ending with
the d n of Kamehameha l., and the
rema ng 147 pages treat of Later
Histo ~ The Appendix is made up
of a G, asus Table of 1890, the Changes