Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1898-10-24
EX-QUEEN LILIUOKALANI.
Her Girlhood and Schooldays De
scribed by Friend.


That the ex-Queen Liliuokalani was
not born to the purple" is shown by
the following furnished The Cleveland
Leader by a school friend of the
queen:
''It was as Lydia Paki that Liliuo-
kalani grew up in Honolulu, and it
was by that name that she was mar
ried to John o. Dominis. When her
brother assembled the throne she be-
came a princess and blossomed into
the royal Lillian Kalani.
when [ first knew Lydia Pakl 1t
was when we were scholars in the
royal school of Honolulu. The chill
dren of all the foreigners, as the
white residents were then called, were
sent to that school, it being, in fact,
the only one worthy of the name IN
existence in Hawaii at the time.
Lydia was not particularly
bright scholar, but she did manage to
keep up with her class. She showed
special aptitude, however, for music,
playing both the piano and guitar and
singing in rather weak, sweet voice.
In later years she composed some
waltzes, national airs, ETC., but they
have little merit as musical cOmpO-
sitions.
Lydia went to school in consider
able state, being taken there each day
in small open cart drawn by two
natives. The cart was low, with
four wheels. A seat in the back held
two peaple, while pole extended in
front, on either side of which walked
the men who drew the cart. In pass
ing it may be said that these carts
were in general use for those who
could afford to keep their own car
riage,' for few if any horses had been
broken to harness, although there
were plenty for riding. Behind this
vehicle a native servant walked, hold
ing an umbrella over Lydia's head.
The cart was left standing in the
school yard all day, the servants go
ing back to town, returning in the
afternoon. AS most of the scholars
walked to school, up a hot, dusty,
shadeless road from the town, or down
an equally hot, dusty, shadeless road
from the valley, they were greatly
impressed with this carriage
cit was during Pakis lifetime that
Lydia's younger brother James went
on visit to the neighbOring island
of Maui, where he died, the news OF
his death being brought to Honolulu
during the night Immediately the
'wailing' began, most unearthly
sound by which the natives expressed
both JOY and sorrow, those who know
the different shades of expression say
ing they can distinguish between the
two walls, but to a foreigner who
first hears this fearful noise when
just awakening from sleep in the
middle of the night, there is some
thing terrifying in the sound.
|'In accordance with the native GUS
tom at that time, Lydia went into
mourning is, she had her head
shaved and her front teeth filed in
points. Half-mourning, perhaps, it
should be said, for the really proper
thing would have been to have had
her eye teeth knocked out. Thanks
to Paki's influence and authority, her
mourning did not extend to that dis
figurement. She was away from
school for about week, her return
being anxiously looked for by her
companions, who felt that there was
something weird, fantastic and mys-
terious about such ceremonies. When
she returned to school she wore
thick, black lace veil on her head
which successfully concealed her
lack of hair, and her front teeth soon
grew, or rather wore off, even.
"Then the time came when Lydia
became engaged to John O. Dominis.
This engagement was not at all to the
liking of Mrs. Dominis, Johns
mother. She was woman who should
have lived in a small New England
village, for her horizon never en-
larged from what it was when she
! left that small village to go to Hon
olulu. A notable housekeeper, she
kept her large house filled with
boarders, but she was meddlesome
gossip, whose biting tongue caused
unhappiness to many. To expect ner
to accept Lydia as a welcome daugh-
ter-in-law was out of the question; IN
fact, there was little expectation of
much happiness in Lydia's marriage
for those who new the facts, for not
only was there the antagonism of the
mother-in-law, but John Dominis him
self had been badly brought up. He
was inclined even then to be dis
sipated, and he had associated with
the natives until he had imbibed some
or their worst traits. By natives
in this sense is meant the common,
uneducated people whose influence
ord whose low morality made them