The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-03-09

- sSoeAeA Oh faa making
connection with the teaching of geog-
raphy-and in drawing, Let me add
that his versatility was to be seen also
III his mastery of the fine art of dee
grafton, whether in making bouquet,
IN laying out garden, or in turning
his hand-when need waste the prep
aration OF some toothsome culinary
production. In all of these matters he
was proficient.
One of Mr.. Beekwith s strong points
as a teacher was shown in his atten-
ton to what we then called sseompo-
s1tlon-writng. We did not then use
the word theme. His ideas of style
were founded on study of some of
the best models of English literature;
and this leads to the mention of his
class in English literature, the reeita-
lions IN whieh-held in the room of
general assembly--as / remember,
were listened to with hungry long.
ing, and were felt to be an inspiration
and stimulus, by many who were not
privileged 10 be members of that class.
Mr.. Beekwith had the gift of what
/ would call oratory in no small de-
gree; and it was one of his aims to
cultivate this talent and to develop it
in his pupils: not the mere studied ut
teranee of sentences for sensational
effect. His aim was higher than this,
to lead the speaker to think while on
his legs, TO make the words and
thoughts of the defamation his own.
For this purpose he instituted the prac-
tice of requiring-from those who vol
unteered-the presentation of oeea-
sional original orations on themes
chosen by the speakers. He even went
SO far as to encourage extemporaneous
speaking on the stage on each Friday
afternoon.
1t was due to his stimulus, if mis-
take not, that the PhiloIogian Debating
Society was organized and started on
a career of great usefulness. | well
remember the evening when he came
before us and after short, but In
spring, address on the methods and
purpose of debate and argument, IN
which he kindly warned us against the
arts of sophistry that would make the
worse appear the better reason, show
ing us the true way of linking to.
gether argument and illustration in
such a manner as to set forth the
truth, and then left us to ourselves.
His own Sunday evening diseourses on
Biblical theses were admirable illus
trations of his method of thought.
They were not exclusively arguntenta-
tive and were, as / remember them, IN
but Slight degree doctrinal. They
were always manly Christian appeals
to the spirit and the understanding
at the same time he did not find it
unworthy of the day or of his purpose
to lead us in imagination through
Nebuehadnezzar $ hanging gardens to
show us the walls of Babylon, or to
lead us with the children of Israel on
their march through the desert.
Outside the schoolroom Mr. Beck
with was always a lovable companion,
and he often made himself the leader
in the sports of the playground; and 1t
was he who introduced new spirit
into the popular game of baseball, IN
fusing into it more strenuous and more
scientific methods. He also was the
introducer of the now much disused
but worthy game of wicket. Those
were the days when two hours of daily
work with hoe and spade in the field
were required of each pupil who board
ed at Punahou Those hours often
found Mr.. Beckwith with US. He was
a farmers son, and he never lost his
love of the soil and everything that
springs from it. In our expeditions
into the woods he was often one Of as
Time would fail to tell of his wise
guidance of the famous expedition
that went to view the Mauna Loa erup-
ton of 1859, in which he played the
part not only of chaplain but Nestor
of the expedition.
Mr.. Beckwith was an apostle of cul-
ture in the noblest sense of the word.
He had high sense of the beauty and
dignity of a well-ordered life. Though
nurtured in a strict creed, he was keen
" alive at every portal of sense to the
wonder and beauty of nature as mani
tested in these Islands, which were to
him a second home.
In closing these remarks, I can not
do better than to quote from an adj
dress delivered by him in Honolulu
before the trustees and friends of
Oahu College in 1884, forty years after
the granting of the charter of incor-
poration to Oahu College:
There is no land anywhere more
favorable than this for the develop
ment of the best physical life. For
freedom from the malarias that weaken
and waste us; for the salubrity that
favors unceasing growth every day of
every year from birth to maturity; for
immunity from the cold that dwarfs
and the heat that dissolves us; for a
climate that invites to the only "a
tional regimen of life that is, life out
in the open air and the sunlight; for
d temperature that favors just that
measure of activity that keeps men
soundest of heart and supplest of limb;
and for that quiet beauty of land and
sea and sky that fills the soul with the
serenest peace and tends to the most
healthful content, [ have never seen
any other land like this little mid
ocean kingdom. And so, here You
ought to grow the finest sons and the
fairest daughters that can be found
out of paradise. And you viii, if you
fulfill the condition. What is the con
dition2 A physical culture that aims
at a perfected physical manhood; a
system of training Of your boys and
girls from their early childhood;
plenty of healthful activity out in the
open air and the sunlight; never an ex-
eessive activity, but always enough
every day to stir the blood, to round