and roses. Presently I saw, halting hesitatingly at the doorway of an inner room, a tall and commanding figure clad in black. She approached, then apparently retreated, and then finally entered with two Hawaiian ladies in attendance. It was Kapiolani.

Her manner was somewhat shy, but at the same time extremely dignified. I was presented to her, and she received me with unaffected cordiality and great kindness. She must have been much past fifty years of age a perfect type of the Hawaiian woman, very tall, with a massive frame, swarthy skin, and rather irregular features. Her hair was intensely black, long, wavy, and silken, and was arranged in a lofty coil on top of her head, which added to her stature. She wore a holoku of rich stiff black silk, and around her neck a lei of the feathers of the oo, the bird which furnished the plumage of the royal mantles a symbol of rank forbidden the common people. She wore no jewels - not even a ring — her only ornament being a brooch with a portrait of King Kalakaua in mosaic with a heavy setting of gold. It was a marked peculiarity of the Hawaiian women of rank that they wore few jewels, preferring wreaths of flowers instead. Queen Kapiolani shook hands in the American fashion, and then seated herself in the red armchair. While she understood English, she did not speak it, and the conversation had to be carried on through the medium of interpreters. Her manner was exceedingly pleasing, and

the Hawaiian always a most liquid and musical language — she spoke with peculiar sweetness of tone and inflection.

The Queen-Dowager and the ex-Queen were not on friendly terms; and I was told that the same strained relations existed between Liliuokalani and the Princess Kaiulani, the young heir-apparent, who at the time of the Revolution was living in England. The Queen-Dowager, however, was exceedingly popular among the people of all classes. I should infer that she and the young Princess were friends, for I saw upon the wall a pretty portrait of Kaiulani, though none of Liliuokalani. After she had seated herself the Queen-Dowager politely expressed her regret at the many things which prevented her seeing me sooner, and wished to know if I were well pleased with the Islands. There was but one answer to this question, and I expressed my pleasure in the beauty of the scenery, the wonderful flowers and vegetation, and the enchanting climate. I told her that I had left Chicago buried in snow and sleet, that I had dreaded winter, and was glad to escape from it. All this was rapidly interpreted to her, and she replied through the same medium that she, for her part, would be greatly pleased to see an American winter, and that she thought snow most interesting.

"

was

She then made many inquiries concerning Admiral Brown, and said that she would always remember

with the greatest gratitude his kindness to the King. Kalakaua had been deeply attached to him, and he had a strong hold upon the affection of the Hawaiian people. While he was here she had greatly enjoyed his visits, and he had come to see her many times.

It was very warm, and at this interval in the conversation she asked one of the ladies to get me a fan. She sat fanning herself with one of native manufacture woven from the ti leaf, which she used with much grace. She then had the various portraits of the King pointed out to me, and explained which she liked best. The clay bust, she told me, was modelled from life. There was a cylinder of highly polished koa, or some other native wood, in a curious frame. It had a lid, and was encircled with two narrow bands and one broad band of chased gold. It resembled a small cannon with its muzzle turned to the ceiling, and was furnished with a lid. Through the interpreter she told me that it had been found during the King's reign in a cave where the ancient chiefs were buried. It was supposed to be a repository of the winds. When the priests wished to rouse a tempest, they did so by simply removing the lid. King Kalakaua had had it mounted as a memento. The World's Fair was to open the following month, and I asked her if she would visit it. She smiled and said that she had not yet fully decided. She could not make up her mind whom to

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take, she said; then added with a laugh, "I should have no women with husbands; the husbands are too much trouble." All the ladies present, to whom she pleasantly referred, laughed with the Queen at this sally. I regretted that the Islands would have no exhibit, and told her that I had not realised until I came to Honolulu what an extensive and interesting show they might have made. She fully agreed with me, but said that the matter had been deferred until it was too late.

Politics were not mentioned, nor even indirectly alluded to. Being women, we also very naturally talked of dress, and I could not refrain from saying that I thought the simple, graceful holoku much more becoming to the Hawaiians than the modern corsets and tight-waisted gowns which they were adopting and which were painfully unsuited to them. The Queen agreed with this thoroughly, and then I told her that women in the United States were endeavouring to simplify their mode of dressing, so that they might achieve some such degree of comfort as the women in the Islands enjoyed. She was very much interested, and asked many questions, admitting frankly that she did not think one could feel very comfortable in a fashionable Parisian costume. It will be remembered that when she made her tour through the United States in 1874 the Queen adhered rigorously to the holoku, which, as on the occasion of my call, was always of very rich material.

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When we finally rose to take our leave, my royal hostess kindly asked me to visit her again before my return to the United States. She then extended her hand, with the national "Aloha, aloha," which is alike greeting and farewell, and which means “My love to you." She impressed me as a woman of exceedingly liberal and generous mind, and I could well believe, what I heard many times, that during Kalakaua's reign at all the Palace functions she was always a most impressive and queenly figure.