The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-03-09
NEILLS In
HAWAII.
Impressions Of the
Islands by the
Actor.
INTERVIEW IN
BUFFALO NEWS
High Praise for Hospitality and
Admiration for Our
Customs.
JAMES NELL, of the Neill Compa-
nv whose performances here last

June will long be remembered,
tells of his impressions of Hawaii in /
the Buffalo News, in an article illus );
trated with views of Honolulu. The {
interview is as follows:
Although Honolulu has a very good /
opera house, few companies of the first /
class visit Hawaii. Mr.. James Neill, /
however, took his company to Honolu- t.
lu last June for four weeks engage /
ment, and during that time he became
very well acquainted with the coun-
try and its people.
In speaking of his VISIT Mr.. Neill
said:
Hawaii is land of perpetual spring. /
1t is Natures garden of fruits, flowers
and most luxurious verdure, where figs
and strawberries are as abundant in
December as in June; where roses.
lilies and carnat tons bloom the year
around. brilliant and fragrant In
winter as in summer Its climate can
be justly called semi tropical, without
the oppressive heat or the tropics or
| the insidious chill and fever of the
/ temperate zone. Winter and summer
| are simply conventional terms, and are
/
| by the length Of the days and the bril-
| liancy of the moon, shining only it
can in the tropics.
Frost and snow are unknown there,
/ save as occasional object lessons on
! the mountain SUBMITS that peer far
above the cloud belts of Hawaii and
| Maui. TornadoeS and cyclones never
disturb its serene atmosphere and the
! records of the country chronicle no
storms to compare with the destructive
! hurricanes of the East and West In
dies, or even with modern American
| bliZZards. The temperature never gets
warmer than 20 above, and never cold
, er than Go above zero.
The view that one first gets Of the
Islands is more like that of beau
tiful. conservatory than anything else,
so rich are they in all kinds of tropical
plants and trees and rare eXotics from
the temperate zones.
I'VE gave the first dramatic perform
ances ON the Islands since they became
full zfledged American territory, and
! the,@ffppropriate title of the play for
the occasion was AN American Citi-
zen The scene at our opening per-
Torrance was one of the most bril-
4 liant and interesting that have ever
seen within the four walls of a thea
ter. Nearly every lady wore an elab-
crate evening gown, and about all the
gentlemen were IN evening dress. OF
the several hundred people in the pref
ty theater, more than eighty per cent
of them had arrived in carriages, for
seldom does a theater patron think of
attending the playhouse in Honolulu
without going and returning in a car
riage. There are more hacks for hire
in Honolulu than in any other city of
its size in the world.
The scale OF prices at the theater
range from 50 for the parquet seats,
to so cents in the back gallery, and
every time that a good company can
put on new play, the theater Is
packed. One popularity is that you
cannot give the same play twice dur
ing your Engagement. The public will
not go the second time and you have
to depend very largely upon drawing
the same people at every performance
if there are enough hacks and the
ladies have enough changes of dress.
During our stay We gave fifteen differ
ent plays in sixteen performances. A
company can play with profit in Ho-
\ nolulu but four times a week; the 9TH
er days society has its functions.
Il have travelled a great many miles
and visited u great many cities, but |
have never seen such hospitabIe people
as those who live in the Hawaiian ISL
andS. They seem to go to their wits
ends to entertain you. They get UP
suppers and balls and receptions for
you as fast as you ar able to attend
them. While there We attended some
native feasts that gave us some very
5 unique experiences. AT these feaSts
$ probably there would b., more than a
} hundred persons at the table; all ma
tives except two or three invited
f guests, who would be white people, and
they offer you everything to eat and
. drink that would be considered the
best that the Islands afford. The mu-
sic at these feastS is rendered by a
: native orchestra. They play few bars
then sing few bars, and then pat
2 their feet upon the floor and then re-
peat the whole thing over again. Their
moonlight serenades are inspiring.
:, The native Hawaiian is as gentle ir
i | disposition as are the native moon
{ lights. The evening of the so-called
I terrible revolution that we read sc
l much about in this country, the peo-
pie assembled In the palace grounds &c
4 get the advice of the Queen. She final
;, ly appeared on the balcony and advised
a the people to go home and be peacef1
citizens, and they went, and while de
i termined United States marines were
S marching up the main streets, the Ha-
Waiian Government band was giving
Its usual evening concert In front OF
e the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and grea;
= crowds were listening to the incompar.
able strains of the beautiful Hawaiian
S music.
t such a thing as a thief on the Isl
ands is not known, and there are nc
n locks on the doors Of the hotel. They
iSSdlu d lnleI over there diillOSI DIS Dde
t as a murderer. I was told by Mr.. Mac.
y farlane, one of the proprietors Of the
g Hawaiian Hotel, that when Minister
0 Willis, who was sent over there by
t President Cleveland to inspect the sit
t uation, personally asked the Queer
y what she proposed to do with the Am
e orleans who had taken part in the
q revolution, she replied, Hang Them
}, He being an old man and hard of hear.
ing, thought that she said "beheading,'
= and on the strength of his not being
s in accord with the latter rather bar
barrie mode of punishment, sent in ar
adverse report to Washington.
d ''Theater-g going over there Is an ex
pensive luxury. By the time a youns
man has paid 81 each for seats fol
himself and his young LADY, hired E
o hack for both ways and taken her tt
: the customary Observation-Disclosures sup