The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-03-04
|M'COMB'S
HERE.
Former Evangelist
Now a Book
Agent.
BACK TO CANVASS
| AND TAKE A WIFE
joyful News Mission Man Returns
10 Live Again in
Honolulu.

JAMES LESLIE McCOMB, who ran
Al the Joyful News Mission in this
city for brief, but eventful pc
riod last fall, has returned to Homo
lulu from the Coast, whittier he went
last October on the City Of Picking
McComb came back on the Mariposa
on Saturday. He is the same imper-
tant-looking individual as of yore, and
says he has come to sell books When
he first landed in Honolulu ne was an
insurance agent. The plague struck
the town some time afterwards, and
McComb did not do very much in the
insurance line. During the plague he
worked for the good of humanity, and
so much per day at the Kalihi camp
When the plague was over he estab-
lished the Joyful News Mission. The
mission had a home on King street,
near Fort, at first, later moving to the
corner of King and Nuuanu streets.
The mission consisted Of Evangelist
McComb, an organist and an amateur
crimp, who acted as bait for the sail
ors along the front. The amateur
crimp, failing in his attempt to get
money out of McComb, afterwards be-
came a full-hedged crimp, until he
men than he were doing all the bust
ness. Then he got married and Is now
said to be earning an honest living.
There is a romance in the return or
the genial McComb to Honolulu. When
he sailed from this port on the 18th
of October on the City of Peking,
bound for San Francisco, there was a
young woman of Honolulu standing on
the edge of the wharf, beckoning pitt
fully for him to come back. She wept
great tears Of grief, and refused to be
comforted
hot no hos
| turned to the Paradise of the Pacific
| to claim his bride; to make the girl
who wept at his departure his wife.
! Il am awfully glad to find myself in
| this glorious country again, said the
eloquent and entertaining James Les
| lie, land l have been very much i'm
pressed by the cordial greeting which
has been extended to me by all my old
friends and acquaintance. never
knew before how many good friends l
| had in Honolulu. 1t does my heart
good to realize that my work IN this
| city in the religious line has made me
so many friends.
| when l left Honolulu circumstances
and conditions were such that the
work of the Joyful News MISSION could
not be carried on. l went up to the
/ Coast on the City of Picking. on the
way up l preached several times
aboerd the vessel The passengers
were very much impressed with my
| words, and many of them were moved
to tears Mrs. Helen Craft, who was
one of the passengers. said that she
had never heard better sermon IL
Central Union Church.
when l was in San Francisco hac
the great pleasure of meeting Francs
Murphy, that wonderful temperance
lecturer. We had a long talk together
on religious subjects, and L advised
him to stop over at Honolulu on his
way to the Colonies, for l knew what
a good field there is here Tor temper
ance work. l am strictly temperance
myself, and, while 1 do not expect t.
enter actively into missionary Woff
| here 1 am always ready to use my
Influence for the cause.
| while / was in San Francisco / solo
a large consignment of books to Dele
gate Robert Wilcox. l represent Ger
tain large publishing companies O.
New York City, and am gong 10 e es az,
fish an office in this city in one OF tn'
new buildings and put these books IN
to circulation throughout the Islands
Il expect to get married IN TN
course. of a few months. In the mean
while / will establish my business
here. I am feeling in the best o
health and am most happy to be pacl
in Honolulu.
Last night McComb dropped in a
the meetings of the different mission
about town and renewed old acqualnt
anceships.
"Aguinaldo" Smith, who intends GO
ling to Chicago to study to become a
evangelist, and who was In the nap
, of dropping in at the meetings or TN
Joyful News Mission for the purpos
of getting onto McComb's style
preaching, win be glad of the oppol
tunitv of once more taking lessor
from the eloquent book agent.