The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-09-09

the august body of United States Com |
missioners, head, trunk, hide, horns, |
hoof and tail
One learns after a bit of a while to |
know all these apart, but at first. with |
thirteen to choose from, 1 vow it was |
hard to tell a Senator from his Secre- |
tary, the great man from the small. |
An air of Importance is so monstrous |
catching. When I saw the-er-under |
gentlemen of the official party at din |
ner 1 took them all for dukes. But |
this, mind you, was at the hotel, on dry |
land, where q mans legs do not inter |
fere with his pretensions. The wilted
dignity Of great personages at sea is
what mere men make merry over on
shore.
No one came to speed the Commits
sion on its way. This official tour of
inspection about the islands, the result
of which their future government
might be said to hang, awoke not the
slightest interest in Honolulu. The
Commissioners have not, truth to tell,
been followed about at any time by
gaping crowds. No committee of re-
ception waited on their coming. No
delegation escorted them to the Ha-
waian Hotel They came humbly
enough in their hired hacks and intro
duced themselves 10 the hotel register.
Beyond the semi-public reception ten
dered them by Mr.. Harold NJ. Sewall,
eX-Minister TO the United States, moth
ing brilliant has been done for them
socially.
This reception was brilliant enough
Coming on the shabby heels of the An
neXation Ball, 1t was even dazzling.
Those who took advantage of the gen.
eral card of invitation published in the
Honolulu papers were not Of a sort to
mar the handsome rest which went on
terms of acquaintance to the eX-United
States Minister'S house. Men and Wo-
men met there in that agreeable secur-
ity which makes the rarefied social at
. mosphere, and If a few here and there
whitfield it awesomely and for the first
time, the lantern lighted grounds were
wide enough in which to lose such
harmless differences as these. And as
these grounds were wide SO were they |
beautiful, mysterious, like charmed |
groves of other stars than earth" |
lighted shiftingly by hundreds. Of little I
Japanese lanterns strung like jewels |
In the trees, shaking soft colored lights |
out on the waters-for the shaded |
lawns Of Waikiki creep down into the |
sea-gleaming on the jewels, silks and |
tulles of women, caressing soft barred |
heads and sweet uncovered shoulders, |
fearlessly given to the gentle Hawai- |
ian night. Within, the goodly throng |
bent upon the hand OF the Special
Agent of the United States-for at last
Mr.. Sewalls new title is out Of the Of |
fetal bag-and that of his wife. and
those of Senator and Mrs. Cullom of
Illinois (and. Washington and their
daughter, Mrs. Ridgway, of fl
really do not know where-and then
stood glittering in lovely frocks and
exceedingly we'll tailored garments I'M
der the electric lights, or wandered out
beneath the trees, where all shapes
were gracious in caressing half
shadows, and the band played its va
rious accompaniment to the changeless
voice of the surf.
And, although a little person in pink
tulle shrugs a dear, disdainful shoulder
with a love of a dimple in It, to the
right OF me, and remarks to some
Philadelphia shoulder straps, in fond
attendance, that she hates these polit-
zeal love feasts. I, in my social limo
cence, find 1t very fit and lovely spec
tacIe, and, since after the Annexation
Ball, 1 had not given Honolulu credit
for them, l am glad to have seen few
of her frocks and manners before
shaking the dust of these Hawaiian Is
lands from my homing. feet.
So. as I say, nobody came to see the
Commission off. The band fumed as
usual on the pier and the native boys
dived and ducked for dimes and nickels
But they were not the dimes and nick
els of the United States Commissioners,
which same, according to rumor, are
handled with economy, and so have no
part or place in this chronicle of Com
missional happenings by land or sea.
The Claudine slipped out into the
stream to the strains of "Oh, Say, Can
You Seer" which since Annexation
winds up and starts off everything here
IN a musical way and l found, besides
myself, no woman on board, but seve-
raj members of the local press, and
otherwise a representative native Ha-
waiian politician, Colonel John Rich
ardson, whose mission 1t would be to
round up natives at the various towns
where the Commissioners proposed to
speak; a few Chinese and an itinerant
merchant from Korea, who wore long,
loose flowing silken garments and car
ried his cue IN a meat safe fastened,
heaven knows how, to the top OF his
narrow, handsome head. He was al
most the only thing that happened OF
interest on the way to Lahaina, where
we touched, or rather, swung anchor
in the offing at about midnight, and
where every one got up to look over
the side and see the big, awkward,
heavy freight boats pillow back and
forth from ship to the rough landing
in the primitive fashion of early island
days. And then on again into the
boisterous channel. which romps be-
tween the islands and spends its saw
age fun on all who go down into 1t In
ships.
Three times round went our gallant ship,
And three times round went she,
And every time around she stood
upon her keel and she lay her down
to rest on port and then on starboard
side, and then rose proudly on a wave
and then sank shuddering in its trough
and leaped and plunged and dipped
and rocked and hula-hulaed her way
along the side of Maui.
Early morning brought US to Kahu-
lui harbor-if a rough bottom and such
landing as may be made from little
boats up slippery rotting steps hanging
to the side of narrow wharf may still
deserve the name Here the Commits
sion was to be taken by train to Wal
Iuku and breakfasted by native gen.
tleman and Judge called Kaalu1 and
after would address a gathering OF
Hawaiians in the Courthouse OF the
town.
I declined the honor Of being the only
11yArn T.,I aa1r IN