New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-09-30

HAWAIIAN IMPRESSIONS. By Katharine Fuller
ton Gerould. illustrated from Photographs $40.
ID NiF Isl. Charles Scrbner's Sons.
This, Mrs. Gerould declares in her
preface. is a book without plan, with
out architectonics. And then she pro
ceeds, in this very preface, to give to
her colorful tropic observations and
"reminiscences the unity which they
may lack. though none, while reading
them. will miss it. This preface, in
deed. contains some of the best writ
ing in the book. and Mrs Gerould is
an artist in words, their master and
moulder;
The remembered sweetness has
haunted each sentence rs IT was
written; palms should troop over
every page; the white Pacific surf
should beat around every margin
Il has. in memory, the unity at
least of q curious and varied ncr-
lection If have contrived to
suggest a 1.-THE of the beauties Of
that "loveliest feet of islands" to
inspire one creature with an etfcc
tive desire 70 go and taste fer
himself, | can claim one virtue.
Not only Natures beauties of palm
and flower and mountain height, OF
sun and sea and sky and climate, does
Mrs Gerould's pen glorify. The van
ishing natives have captured her heart,
their song fingers in her memory
"YGu are infinitely sorry for the Ha-
waiian when he sings; you feel sorry
for yourself that you must part COM
pany with him. What is it? A greater
liquidity of the strings than other
fingers can achieve? A minor strain
that no other vocal scale has discov-
ered?" Not the white mans vices and
diseases. but the missionaries clothes
have achieved the coming eXtermina-
ton Of this lovable race.
There is the melting pot of the ISL
ands, far more picturesque than ours.
Mrs. Gerould has seen the Japanese,
not as we see them-diplomats schol-
ars, students, merchants the
coolle. and he amuses her. She does
not believe in the Japanese danger
The japanese. she concludes from her
observations of them, are the Gascons,
not the Prussians, of the Last. They
are romantics, she says; TO listen to
the tales of their exploits is like
listening TO the wild Odysseys of your
own small boy" But the Germans, too,
are romantics; and these imaginative,
impractical, chldishly enthusiastic,
simple japanese may well have a ruling
caste like that of Germany. The Chi
nese won her respect-as they win the
rc-pect of all who come to know them /:
There is experience back Of the Chi
nese face. male or female; il is urdlt.
II has psychology in it; you feel that
il would respond TO a human problem"
The Islanders do not believe in a
Japanese danger. Bless their hoSpi-
tally, vast and sunny as the sky un-
der which they live, But, oh, their
architecture:
II IS great pity that some
young architect with sense of
fitness does not feel called" to
make mans part in the aspect OF
Honolulu a little more akin to
Gods. The Atlantic States had
Georgian memories to help them
out; California has had Spain; but
Hawaii is singularly isolated. The
natives, of course, contributed 10
architectural ideas. Il is sin
gular misfortune that the islanders
should have selected, and stuck at,
the wrong period. Il was not be-
cause they never had ANYTHING else
otlo4t thtlT eyes HoluiHR cpNlu
be more charming than Washiag-
ton Place, in Honolulu. or the old
missionary house" in Lahaiaa,
on Maui. They did not. however,
stick to the good aesthetics of the
pioneers: they seem to have gone
to Kansas for their later inspira-
tion-and never TO have come away.
A book of beauty and delight, this.
of land Of beauty and beguilement.
One puts it on the shelf with the ap-
probation and lasting pleasure with
which one hangs a rarely felicitous
picture upon his wall. The illustra-
tons are worthy of the text.