The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-06-05
Continued from Thiyd bageJ

placed his house and all it contained |
at the service of the young Duke and |
his friends so long as they remained |
ashore, and they gladly avaiIed them
selves Of the hospitable tender. They
made the house a pandemonium for a
few days, and the captain substantially !
assisted in the uproar They had ev-
identity learned something of the char
aCter of their host, and the style in
which they were received at his door
satisfied them that they had made no
mistake in accepting his hospitality,
Taking the Duke by the hand the
captain bowed cOurteously and said
"Duke, l greet and welcome you and
your friends to this humble habitton
Aloha nui 1t is yours as long as you
choose to honor it with your presence.
You will be safe under its roof for it is
protected by the flag Of the greatest
nation on earth | will add the English
flag if you would provide me with one.
Do what you please with the house and
its contents. l only ask that you will
not set them on fire, unless you find it
difficult to enjoy yourselves in any other
way. One OF your uncleS, Duke, hired
lot Of Hessians to annoy some of my
ancestors a while back. But that has
been forgiven long ago. Walk right n
and I'll show you your quarters.
Entering and sampling the captains
stimuIants two or three times, which
put them all in a rollcking good humor,
the guests were escorted through the
house and finally to large room on
the ground floor containing a sunken
stone reservoir ten or fifteen feet square,
filled with water to the. depth of six or
eight feet, which was kept pure and
cool by the constant passage through it
of a rivulet of water diverted from
mountain stream. The weather was
hot and sultry and the great basin Of
cool water looked inviting
Gentlemen" said the captain, "here
is bath fit for a king. 1t is the only
place in the house that | am not
ashamed Of"
"Lovely" exclaimed the Duke, with
enthusiasm. CAS- it is sometimes the
custom of hosts to first drink fiom a
vessel before offering it to their guests,
as a guarantee against poison, it would
not be out of place, captain, for you to
take the first plunge" Then placing
his hand on the huge shoulder Of hls
host and turning to his comrades, he
continued: 81 propose, lads, that We
all unite in giving him a British bap
tism."
The proposal was received with
rollicking satisfaction, and four or five
of the party advanced as if to seize and
pitch the captain into the reservoir.
The latter smiled grimly and politely
said:
Certainly, boys, if it will assure you
in the least, pick me right up and throw
me in if you can. But as there would
be no fun in it unless l made a little
friendly resistance, you had better in.
clude in the scuffie the 200 or SOC
marines and sailors you've got aboard
to make the game somewhat nearer
even"
Roars Of laughter followed and young
Beresford seized one of the captain.
arms with the cry OF, "Catch.as-you- can,
lads"
Hold a minute, boys" exclaimed
Captain Tom, with a twinkle in his
eye. 81 intend to throw you all in,
one after another, and as I've always
wanted to duck one of Nic's boys III
commence with this one. In the name
Of the great American eagle, here goes
with which he seized the Duke under
the arms and flung him into the reser
voir. He then started for the others,
but they laughingIy scattered and the
froliC ended.
The Duke took his involuntary
plunge in the utmost good humor, and
he and Captain Tom became the jolliest
of friends. Nor did the Duke forget
him after leaving the Island He sent
him a magnificent watch and other val
liable keepsakes from the nearest port
at which they could be obtained, and
in return received a photograph of the
bath in which he had been baptized in
the name of the American eagle.
Inc lOuONluS circumstance Was lG
lated to me by Captain Spencer him
self, and is therefore substantially cor
rect. 1t occurred Immediately after
the news of the fall of Vicksburg had
reached the Islands, and when his
heart was rent with grief at the internal
strife which threatened the very life
of the republic. He was on his
way from Honolulu to Hilo. Among
the passengers of the little steamer were
two Australian tourists. In the midst
of others on deck they talked of the
rebellion in the United States, and
agreed in the opinion that General
Grant was a drunkard who knew but
little or nothing of military strategy,
and that whatever successes he had
achieved were mainly due to the cowar-
dice of his opponents The converse
ton was carried on in a loud tone, and
Captain Tom could not help but hear
the most of it as he walked the deck.
Unable to control himself he finally
stopped in front of the offending
critics, and politely said
Gentlemen, you have Just been
speaking Of General Grant in an insult