The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-05-27

When Mrs. Parkinson went to Cali
fornia she did it under protest. Not a
half hearted feeble sort of protest
either, but very energetic. outspoken
one
For Mrs. Parkinson, the land of
orange flowers and rose hedges had no
charms whatever. According to her
ideas. there was no place on earth so
comfortable and all-satisfying as was
Buffalo, n. Y. She would have told
YOU that the Buffalo butchers know
how 10 cut the best sirloin steaks; that
the Buffalo grocers sold the best brand
of compressed yeast; and that the
Buffalo masculine public at large blew
less tobacco smoke into the street cars
than did the masculine public of any
other town.
All these things counted with Mrs
Parkinson. But unluckily her income
was reduced till she had nothing to de-
pend upon but a son. And that son
happened to consider California in as
favorable a light as Mrs. Parkinson
viewed Buffalo, n. Y.
1&thG@ Use ne "dS IIIdIIttQ anu COulu
not afford to support two establish
Tnents. So Mrs. Parkinson packed her
trunks, gave away few of her posses
sions, bade adieu to the butchers, the
grocers, and the other members of
that model masculine public, and with
her Gala lily in her arms, stepped into
a westward bound train.
The Gala lily was not a very large
one. but Mrs. Parkinson had reared it
from its early infancy and loved it de-
votedIy
When Emily Harper, who had been in
California twice, tried to tell her that it
would be almost funny out there, where
they had hedges of callas that were
measured by feet instead of by inches,
Mrs. Parkinson only tilted her nose
little higher than it went by nature,
and set her lips in what her family
had always termed the danger line"
So Emily kept still, and the Gala lily
started its journey.
With it's owner it arrived in early !
March and Mrs. Parkinson's pride and |
loyalty were sorely tried as she view |
ed the floral beauties around her She
did, for one moment, poise the pot on /
the tips of her fingers. preparatory to t
casting the poor little plant into outer
darkness; then she snorted majestical-
ly and drew it back.
AT any rate she exclaimed. we've
got more smell to ye than all their |
flowers put together. And [ guess, if
you're good enough to be toted from
Buffalo, N. Y, you're good enough to
live in Californy.''
1t took Mrs Parkinson some time to
accustom herself to the views of her
Il afG1E hes laHt
derision upon the butchers, the grocers,
and the men who rode on the back
platforms of the cars: but when she
went out to the little village where her
son lived. things were worse.
Its the most immoral country I ever
off, she wrote home. You Il
cant get away from divorced folks
and Chinese, and I don't see why the
Lord lets either of them live"
But her greatest trial was yet to
come. She did not realize the entire
horror of the country till the middle of
May Then. as she stood at the win
low. watering her little Gala lily in
defiant sort of way, she gave her first
srudging tribute to the wilderness of
lowers about her
''They's one good thing she said
almost gently. they'll make a lovely
howin' on the graves on Decoration !
Day"
Her sons wife. who was a Califor-
lian born. looked up with a puzzled
title glance. Then she smiled.
"Oh, Decoration Day. she said, why t
We don't observe it here"
Mrs. Parkinson dropped her pitcher s
nd her face took on look OF almost
'itifuI horror and surprise. {
What" she cried. Not observe c
Decoration Day? Don't you anywhere t
n California % e
ooh yes, in lots of places they do" I
aid her daughter-in-law carelessly, /
but not right here You see it would
e foolish There isn't an old soldier e
uried within miles of our cemetery, f
nd most of the people weren't born a
/ America anyway, and wouldn't care n