The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-08-09
ISOBEL STRONGS HONEBANK Of HAWAII lid
OLD HONOLULU RESIDENT IN
NEW YORK.
Was Formerly Drawing Teacher in the
city Schools-Her Rooms Fitted up
with South Sea Curos.

Isobel Strong, whose rooms in New
York are described i'm the following ar
tiCle, spent some years in Honolulu
with husband, the late Joseph Strong,
the artist, from whom she was suisse
quently divorced. The Strongs had
studio in the Parker lot on Nuuanu
avenue, which was recently used by
Harold Mott-Smith. Mrs. Strong was
drawing teacher in the public schools Of
this city, during a portion of the Gibson
administration. After leaving Honolulu
she Joined the Stevensons in Samoa, and
made her home with them till the death
of the great author. Mrs. Strong con-
tributes articles and papers to the ma
gazines and weeklies. which are mark
ed by keen observation and a wien of
satire.
The description by writer in The
New York Tribune, of her home in New
York. runs as followes:
There is pretty fiat in Seth street
the decorations of which are Samoan in
style. This little place is the present
home of Mrs. Isobel Strong step
daughter of Robert Louis Stevenson.
The walls, book cases and tables are
covered with souvenirs of her long res
idence in Honolulu and Samoa, includ-
ing the years passed in the household
of the famous author.
Conspicuously on a door hangs
coarse blond wig, which was once the
head dress of a beauty man." who is
a recognized part of every Samoan viii
lage. The beauty man" is elected as
head of the community in peace and
war, and must possess both the physi-
cal and mental traits necessary to lead
ership.
A highly colored photograph of one of
these men is owned by Mrs. Strong.
She has also a picture of a beauty
maid, whose tact and cleverness as
well as her personal charms form the
basis of her selection as official hostess
A mat of tapa-the native cloth,
woven from the pith of a tree-forms a
background for various objects of art
from the islands. 1t is painted with
vegetable paints in crude designs that
bear some resemblance to the decora-
tive ideas of the Mexican Indians
An artistic group of birds wings,
collection of the native comos, carved
from wood and varying in inches from
three by five" to six by ten" and
small but perfect canoe, made by a
chief for young Austin Strong, are 9TH
er items in the interesting array.
clever arrangement of the hatbands
worn by bluejackets is suggestive of
Mrs. Strong life on the coast. The Unit
ed States, English, Russian, German.
French, Swedish and CHILEAN navies
are represented, and even H. NJ. S. Kali
miloa, the one ship of Kalakauas navy.
shows as braVely as any in the group
Mrs. Strong prizes especially a band
bearing the name Vandala. 1t was Civ
en- to her, just a day or two before the
ship went down, by Paymaster Roche
brother of James Jeffrey Roche, the
writer.
But what Mrs. Strong thinks is the
treasure of the collection is Koung, a
little flat-faced goddess, said by anti
quarianS to be at least 5000 years old.
he,
day, and sits serenely in the tiny tenn
pie fashioned for her by New York
architect, silently accepting the gifts
laid upon her altar.
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote several
little poems to the goddess. One, writ
ten in behalf of Mrs. Strong's son when
going away to school for the first time,
runs thus:
A little fellow, putting forth alone.
Upon his first adventure, begs Koung
10 guard his little fortunes and bring
back
Himself a bigger and a better boy
A more material offering from Mr..
Stevenson was a tooth of a shark which
heb ad killed. King Kalakaua once pre-
sented coin bearing his own princely
countenance on it's face.
Mrs. Strong was her stepfathers
amanuensis. The manuscript of Weir
of Hermiston" is owned by her, having
been given to her by Mr.. Stevenson S
| literary executor. Mrs. Strong was the
Belle of the "Vailima Letters"
In answer to numerous requests from
literary clubs and societies, she is now
preparing an informal lecture on the
home life of Mr., Stevenson