The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-05-24


sky swept upward from the dark sea.
We stared at it cOntentedly and in
silence. Suddenly, like a bit OF drift
blown by the breeze, a small. naked
child ran towards the palm, halted a
dozen yards from it's base and began
throwing invisible stones into the huge
fronds It's efforts. very literally, bore
fruit A nut dropped from the crest,
fell upon the white sands and the husk
broke. The child grasped its booty and
ran away. Once more we were staring
at the solitary palm and the flaming
sky and the dusky sea.
That" said the artist quietly,
illustrates my notion of local color"
Dan Logan croaked dissent. ooh, I
know what you are going to say" he
went on, as the artist opened his
mouth. It's all been said before The
reason you came down to this island,
the reason you people go all over the
world. has been told in fine language
till we know it by heart. You call that
local color: pigments, pencils and pa
per-" He threw extraordinary en-
phas;s on the nouns. turning to us with
bright ewes. you study years to make
a little arrangement of colors upon a
canvas. You have a name for every
tinge and tint and a philosophy for
every effect. I've seen your works of
art. Pretty, sometimes touching; once
in a while moving But what do they
contain Falsehood,"
"Ridiculoust" we murmupsd.
Logan filled his pipe hastily. you
think So" he mumbled. I'm ridicu-
lous, too. But 1 tell you I've seen more
in photograph taken by a sleepy
of paintings by masters"
He's getting amusing" said the
artist This, also, is local color
"A plain photograph Logan repeat
ed, more clearly. at had it all-what
You seek and not finding call local
COLOR
''P ain, but not specific" I remarked.
Logan puffed at his pine, turning his
bearded face to the now fading sky.
1.-The tears of three generationsi' be
said, presently. 1.-The infinite tragedy
OF heredity!"
In photograph" the artist de-
manded.
In a photograph" Logan repeated.
gently. He wanted local color, too.
Oh. he was an artist-like you
This is sublime" the artist remark
ed to the first star twinkling in the
zenith. He chuckled.
The oldest journalist in the South
Seas bit on the stem of his pipe and
waved his hand in a slight. deprecatory
gesture. II don't know the whole his
tory" he went on. 81 am getting old.
Details slip my memory. But I remem-
Der some things" He laid his hand
on the artists knee. You feel scorn-
full. seorn is the prerogative of youth
and God"
go on" we said.
1t began Che said out of the dark
nessl in a little town in the Middle |
states. There was a missionary re-
vival. And one gray afternoon, in a |
little basement chapel, in the midst |
of the singing the preacher came to
the front of the platform and said: |
81 want every brother and sister that |
feels the call of God to go and preach |
the gospel TO the heather. to come for |
ward and consecrate themselves to the
Masters work.
Out of the dingy corner in which she
sat, her hands clasped in her lap over
her worn gloves, woman got up |
stumbled over the feet of those who
sat between her and the aisle. and
started up towards the platform. She |
put her hand up to her hair when she |
got to the middle of the chapel. She |
was suddenly embarrassed and thought |
her hair was coming down. 1t was not |
and she went on, past people she knew
and others she did not know. till she |
found herself kneeling on the bare |
floor, her eyes blinded with tears The |
song rolled up and enveloped her, car /
10 n orb inf
chapel into a fresher, newer air. 1t !
ceased. she returned and felt the heavy |
hand Of the preacher on her forehead |
and heard him bless her ferventiy
She went back to her seat. her thin ]
face flushed and her meager frame /
warm with exultatiOn. | believe that
when she went outside, little ahead /
of the rest. she saw the plain town. |
the plaiu houses, the clayey streets, |
the teams hitched to the railing around |
the Square, and was very glad that |
she was going away from it. She hated |
it: il held neithe~ husband nor lover |
and she was romantic.
In due time-it seemed very long to ,
her-she got a letter from the missions /
board. 1t told her that she had been !
assigned to the foreign field and that /
she was to sail from San Francisco +
for Honolulu (Sl9 CtHleO II me 9dAld- /
witch islands, by the City of Picking. /,
on such and such a date.
So she Went across the plains to the
mountains and over the mountains /
down To the sea and San Francisco. /
She was very happy till she got on
the steamer and found that, being /
missionary. she didn't know what any
body else was talking about. She sat
on deck. on one of the benches outside /
the entrance to the main saloon stair |
wav-what did she know about steam /
er chairs ?-and read her Bible and /
memorized the catechism according 10 |
the book of instructions that she car
ried in the net bag hung over her |
arm.
1t got warmer and warmer. The
other passengers bIoomed in white /
clothes and thin silks. She sat in her
stuffv best dress, with her bonnet on,
and famed herself, when nobody was
looking, with the catechism. At last
she got up one morning and heard /
somebody say that land was in sight. !
Il nF1E-