King Kalakuau was by no means a bad-looking fellow, being tall and somewhat portly, with the usual dark complexion, dark eyes and white teeth, which were plainly visible when he smiled, that distinguished all of the Kanaka race. Somehow, and for no apparent reason, there came to my mind as I looked at him the lines of that old song:
"Hokey, pokey, winky wum,
How do you like your murphys done?
Sometimes hot and sometimes cold,
King of the Cannibal Islands,"
and I tried hard to fancy what might have happened had we landed on those same islands several centuries before.
Sunday amusements of all kinds being prohibited by an old Hawaiian law, a relic of the old missionary days, made an exhibition by the members of the two teams an impossibility, although the members of the Reception Committee, backed by many of the native Islanders, petitioned that we should do so, offering to bear any and all of the expenses incurred by us should any trouble be forthcoming. Couriers bearing petitions to the same effect were also sent around the city, and soon over a thousand names to these had been obtained. The risk was too great a one to be taken, however, as in case anything did happen we were almost certain to miss our boat and be detained in Honolulu for a longer period of time than we could afford to spend there. Our refusal to defy the law and play ball anyhow was a great disappointment both to the American contingent and to the natives, they having been looking forward to the game for weeks with most pleasant anticipations. They took their disappointment good-naturedly, however, and proceeded to make our stay among them as pleasant as possible. The most of our time was devoted to sight-seeing, some of the party going in one direction and some in the other.
In company with several others, Mrs. Anson and myself drove out to the Pali, viewing the magnificent scenery to be found there from the plateau, where, according to the tales of the natives, it rains every day in the year between certain hours. I was not there long enough to swear to the truth of the story, but as it rained the one day that we were on hand I am willing to assume that it rained the other three hundred and sixty-four, and let it go at that. We then drove through many of the city's most beautiful avenues, past the Royal mausoleum, where sleep the former Kings and Queens of Hawaii, from Kamehameha to the Princess Like Like, who was the last of those that had been interred there at the time of our visit. The parks and roadways of Honolulu are of rare beauty, and many of the principal residences and public buildings of a kind that would do credit to any country in the world. At the residence of the Hon. A. S. Claghorn, where we stopped for a few minutes, we were introduced to the Princess Kaiulani, a really beautiful Hawaiian girl, and one who was the possessor of rare accomplishments and of a most winning manner. We also paid a visit to the residence of one Hon. John H. Cummins, one of the Hawaiian sugar kings, where we were entertained in a most handsome manner. The time spent in driving around passed all too quickly, and, reaching the hotel, we began to prepare for the grand Luau, or native feast, that was to be given in our honor by King Kalakuau and Messrs. Samuel Parker, John Ena and George Beckley, and which proved to be one of the most novel and delightful features of our trip.
This feast was given in the Queen's grounds, in the center of which was placed her private residence. As we drove past the King's palace and through an avenue lined by towering palms and came unexpectedly upon the brilliantly illuminated-grounds, with their magnificent groves of banana, date, cocoanut, royal palms and other trees and plants of a tropical nature, the scene was a never to be forgotten one. The spacious enclosure was literally ablaze with light. Japanese lanterns of all colors, flaming torches of oil gleaming close together among the foliage.
As the uniformed officers at the gates made way for us we entered the grounds. Minister Morrill, Mr. Spalding, Capt. Morse of the "Alameda," and the ladies leading the way and walking toward a great tree near the center of the grounds, beneath which stood the King, the Hon. John Cummins, and the members of the King's Cabinet. At the birth of each member of the Royal family, according to custom, a tree was planted upon royal ground, and as this tree flourishes or decays it is supposed to foreshadow the future of the child for whom it was planted. King Kalakuau on this occasion stood beneath his own birth-tree, planted some, fifty years before, which at that time gave no indication of the fate that a few years later was to overtake him in a strange land. Greeting each of his guests cordially he bade all make ourselves thoroughly at home, a thing that we proceeded at once to do without further ceremony, wandering about the grounds and seeing whatever was to be seen.
An hour after our arrival the King, offering his arm to Mrs. Spalding, led the way toward the grove where the banquet was to be served, he being followed by H. R. H. Lilino Kalani, the King's sister, Prince Kawanonakoa, Mr. Spalding, Capt. Morse and the rest of the party. The tables were laid upon blocks elevated not more than six inches from the ground, in the shape of a letter U, and upon each side lay long strips of matting, upon which we sat cross-legged, like Turks, while shapely Kanaka girls in flowing robes of white stood over us moving fans of gorgeous colors. Poi was given to us in huge calabashes, while upon the big platters that were set before us and incased in the long, coarse-fibred leaves in which they had been baked, were portions of beef, pork, veal, fish, chickens and other viands usual to a banquet in our own land. Bands of native boys with stringed instruments played continuously' during the feast, making music of a peculiar character, that rose and fell as the busy hum of conversation and mingled with the joyous laughter of the men and maidens that were gathered about the table.
At last silence was requested, and as the noise died away the King's Attorney General, speaking for his majesty, expressed the pleasure that the Hawaiian ruler felt in entertaining such a representative body of Americans in his own islands. To this speech President Spalding responded in well-chosen words, thanking both the King and the residents of Honolulu for the hospitality shown us, after which, at the King's request, Lincoln entertained the guests with his satire on after-dinner speeches, his "A B C" orations, and his mixing of a soda cocktail, all of which provoked roars of laughter. After the banquet the King and the members of his court and family held a levee beneath his birth-tree, where, just before nine o'clock, we all filed by to bid him farewell, Clarence Duval having danced for him in the meantime to the patting of hands by Burns, Pfeffer, Ryan and Williamson, a performance that amused his majesty greatly, a tea-dollar gold piece being the reward that he gave to the little coon for his performance.
At the outskirts of the grounds we paused to give three cheers for King Kalakuau, three more for our Honolulu friends, and three more for the ladies, after which we were driven to the hotel and thence to-the steamer, which was to sail at ten o'clock. At the dock another great crowd had assembled to see us off, and as we swung out to sea there came to our ears the sweet strains of the "Aloha" song, from the members of the Royal Band, growing fainter and fainter as the distance between the steamer and the shore increased, until at last it died away altogether as we rounded the headlands, and it was heard no more.