The upper suite of rooms was thrown open for those
who preferred dancing under cover; but I think that the greater part
of the assemblage chose the shady walks and purple night. Supper
was served at eleven, and the party broke up soon afterwards; but I
must confess that, charming as it was, I left before eight, for
society makes heavier demands on any strength than the rough open-
air life of Hawaii.
The dwindling of the race is a most pathetic subject. Here is a
sovereign chosen amidst an outburst of popular enthusiasm, with a
cabinet, a legislature, and a costly and elaborate governing
machinery, sufficient in Yankee phrase to "run" an empire of several
millions, and here are only 49,000 native Hawaiians; and if the
decrease be not arrested, in a quarter of a century there will not
be an Hawaiian to govern. The chiefs, or alii, are a nearly extinct
order; and, with a few exceptions, those who remain are childless.
In riding through Hawaii I came everywhere upon traces of a once
numerous population, where the hill slopes are now only a wilderness
of guava scrub, and upon churches and school-houses all too large,
while in some hamlets the voices of young children were altogether
wanting.
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