CHAPTER II

WAIKIKI AND THE PALI

STREET scenes in Honolulu are varied, beautiful, and picturesque. The streets are narrow, and, when it rains, muddy and disagreeable. The rains are so warm that, even tho one becomes drenched, he feels little discomfort. In some parts of the city it may rain every day for weeks at a time, while not two hundred yards away not a drop falls. is noted for its continued showers. nearly always be seen hovering at valley against the mountain-side. often visited by showers, tho the city may be bathed in sunshine. in this valley has given rise to a joke. a gentleman who lived at the upper end of the avenue, which takes its name from the valley, trying to direct a stranger to his house, said:

"Go up

Nuuanu Valley A rain-cloud can the head of the Nuuanu Avenue is remainder of the The constant rain It is said that

Nuuanu Avenue to the second shower, turn to the right, and the third house is mine!"

Simultaneous rain and sunshine has given to the Sandwich Islands the name of the "Land of Rainbows," certainly very appropriate, for there was

scarcely a day when I was on the islands that I did. not see a rainbow, while the beautiful phenomenon of lunar rainbows is also common.

Honolulu has that air of quiet and repose after dark common to tropical towns. The traveler from the Northern latitude is struck at the shortness of twilight in the tropics. This peculiarity is explained by the fact that the motion of the earth upon its axis is about two hundred miles per hour faster in the tropics than in the latitude of the Northern United States. When the sun sets it is dark; there is no after-glow; business houses are closed, and a peaceful quiet pervades the place. The Sabbaths are observed with Puritanic strictness, appropriate to the land of missionaries.

There are no professional beggars in the city; at least I neither saw nor heard of any; the blind boy of Hilo, a familiar object, comes nearest to being one of any person I saw, yet he would scorn to be called a beggar. He is sometimes called the blind whistler. He carries a bag about his shoulder in which are a number of bamboo whistles of various sizes, and it is said he can imitate the whistle of any steamer that comes to the harbor. For the amusement he affords on the street corners, he expects the bystanders to contribute a nickel or dime.

As structures, the residences of Honolulu are not usually imposing or grand, but the tropical trees,

shrubs, and plants with which they are surrounded give to them a charm that more than makes up for their lack of architectural beauty. The most beautiful tree that grows is the royal palm, which in the Sandwich Islands reaches its highest perfection. Mrs. Mary Clement Leavitt, in her "Around the World with the White Ribbon," says:

"The royal palm, combining the beauty of architecture in its perfectly symmetrical, highly polished, and beautifully colored columnar trunks, with the swaying grace of its long plume-like leaves, easily takes a place second to none in the vegetable world."

There are few lawns in the city in which the palm does not grow. The Hawaiian, especially of American ancestry, devotes particular care to his lawns and gardens. The approach to the house is usually between two rows of bright-leaved shrubs, well trimmed and dotted with flowers, while beyond either side of these hedgerows is a veritable flower-garden and tropical forest, such as no painter's brush can reproduce on canvas. Leaves of crimson, emerald, and gold, the tall cactus often reaching the height of twenty or more feet, the broad-leaved banana, and flowers of every hue, make the lawns look like fairyland. Oranges, dates, and figs grow in the gardens. The banyan, the tree-fern, and a hundred other varieties are found in profusion. As a rule the American has adopted the Southern fashion of building houses.