The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-23
JOYS OF TALKING
A Naval Officer Tells All
About Them.

Saki is not indigenous to Hawaii. II
got there from Japan. But it is there
to stay. 1t is now an Hawaiian insti-
tuition. is saki. 1t is absorbed and as
simulated by the whole Kanaka popu-
lation, in quantities to suit. Apparent
| ~ it does the Kanaka no harm, but
the first experience that a Caucasian,
a member of the Indo-Iranic tribe, a
white man, has with saki---
Regard me carefully. l have toyed
with most of the gloom dispelling liq-
uids of this, my own native land. |
have been thrown by few, if any, of
| them. In moments of evil persuasion,
l have enveloped my quota, and more,
of that mesquite grass compound that
burns black holes when poured out on
western deserts. 1t is manufactured
in the morning; all that is not pur-
veyed during the hours of business is
dumped at night. 1 have had my sad
moments with sagebrush whiskey.
Pulque, the juice of the cactus, has at
times submerged me without making
me utterly depraved. That other liq
uid villainy of the west coast of
America, mescal, may have made me
a sadder and wiser man, but it never
permanently damaged me. You can
tell me naught of vodka. / have had
my pannikins, one, two, three, hun
bred, of vodka: it never got me totally
under. The Chianti of the wine-dark
Mediterranean. the heavy, heady Opor-
to of Portugal with it's dark-brown
sediment at the bottom of the glass;
the pellucid, undiluted gin of the Meth
erlands; the raisin brandy Of the bland
and simple Greek-all of these and
others 1 have encountered, without
ever losing knowledge of the where
abouts of the north star; but sakl---.
ut was q man named Doyle, a court
interpreter in Honolulu, who made me
acquainted with sal1i While he was
and is a man of unimpeachable char
acter and a citizen of standing, | here
by consign him to an inglorious i'm
mortality for the wrong he did me. In
terpreter Doyle of the Hawaiian courts
introduced me to saki. Only one thing
saved him when it was all over. He
did not do it in Honolulu proper. He
did it in Waikiki, a beach pleasure re-
sort on the outskirts of Honolulu. Had
Doyle right III the middle of the town
OF Honolulu-at one of the clubs, say
introduced me to saki--
I'VE We're Strolling around Waikiki
one Sunday afternoon. Said Doyle:
e" Now, with regard to saki---
ut was halt, pure and simple, this
allusion OF Doyle's to saki. He prob
ably felt that my intelligence was of
so low an order that l would manifest
a. desire to test saki and the virtues
thereof. L did manifest such de-
sire.
"A word about sald 1t is the fer
mented juice of rice. 1t is brownish
white in color 1t is very deceptive.
1t goes down like the most innocuous
kind of Rhine wine, which it resem-
bles in taste. But you are not
supposed to gulp it down as you. gulp
down Rhine wine; otherWise-but lay
men do not know this only Japanese
and Kanakas and court interpreters
and things
Doyle / really do not know how
should make out without salli. All
luncheon every day 1 take a quart OF
it. Gently stimulating, you know, and
no after effect whatever-positively
none, you know, really. Honest
I'VE took seats at a table under g
royal palm, and the Kanaka boy
brought a quart bottle of saki. I be
moan that hour.
Perfectly harmless Doyle wa.
saying. Least harmless of all liquids
of that sort salzi, 1 should say. Hon
est.
II drank a tall, thin gIassful. It was
refreshing, truly-just a bit tart, snap
l ny anu NOtIl1Ol tlliS5. lCoylG , olOlldCu
unfortunately, was disarranged, he
said, and so, no, thanks, he thought
| he'd not
Il took a couple more glasses. A
| glow-a mellow, rosy glow-the tur-
quoise sea at my feet-the rainbow
arching above the Nuuanu gorge-that
was all.
Just another word about saki
| When you go out, you go out all of a
| c11ddaf--liIxa HaGb-nAoff and xyo1,
are gone. There is no gradual, fore
seen approach.
MY friend Doyle the interpreter
smiling Indignantly sat, with his legs
| crossed at a table that was 600 yards
removed from me. l remember that
malignant smile very well. That was
: the last l did remember.
I Doyle was sitting beside my bed
awhen I came to, 10 hours later, the
next morning. Gentlemen I decline to
dwell upon that head. These sad epochs
| in our lives are not for common scruti-
ny. Enough, that l had never before
experienced anything like it, nor have
ever since Doyle was quite solicit
| tous. l was in a hotel room in Waikiki.
Likewise, l was absent without leave
from my ship. But that was nothing.
| The head!-the head After 1 had
| thrown everything throwable within
reach of the bed at Doyle, he began.
First, had whimpered, and, in pitt
able accents, lamented my sad life.
Doyle had enjoyed that, apparently.
Then became suddenly cheerful and
sang 'Starboard watch, ahoy, and
that sort. Doyle said it was beautiful.
Then L had become patriotic and
| heroic. A speech-Doyle said I made
a speech to the royal palms. When
| the sails of our country shall whiten
| the seas etc. Doyle said he hadn't
thought it was in me, honest, he hadn't.
Then l had fallen into dismalness, and
bemoaned the sad state Of the Kanaka
race. Then / had offered to fight Doyle
with one hand tied behind my back
and then, the hotel. How 1 loved
Doyle!
And yet, wonderful saki! Doyle
held me down by main strength and
compelled meNto take one swallow of it
in bed. In less than three minutes-'It
is a hair of the dog that bit you, with
a vengeance, said, Doyle, but you may
trust me to know saki'-I was better
than normal. The head disappeared
like flash. In ten minutes l was up
and about. Tt was miraculous. I felt
magnificent. In acquiring Hawaii, gem
tlemen-" q
AFTER that" said one of the naval
officers listeners, you played accord
ing to Doyle, and took quart of saki
every day for your luncheon?"
The naval officer shuddered percep-
tibly and ignored the question Wash
ington Star.
BISMARCK AND GLADSTONE CON-
TRASTED.