Page 1 of 2 Easy
1,563
116
of Hawaii, and the late King Kalakua was its enthusiastic patron. The
costume of the dancers was composed chiefly of skirts of grass. The Hula
(so attired) is now forbidden by law. The Hula Kui is a modification of
the dance and exceedingly graceful.
Of pallid blood, again, and yet again
Have offered insults to our island races.
I own we once were savage; and the traces
Of those wild days remain; but, sir, go back
A little way, on _your_ ancestral track,
And see what you will find. A horde of bold
And lawless cut-throats, started many an old
And purse-proud race; and brutal strength became
The bloody groundwork for pretentious fame
When Might was Right. If every royal tree
Were dug up by the roots, the world would see
That common mud first mothered the poor sprout.
Your race is higher than my own, no doubt;
Then shame upon you, for the poor display
Of noble manhood that you make to-day,
Thinking each brown-faced girl your lawful prey.
You did not know across the heavens had sailed
A beautiful star in brilliancy arrayed,
The _Self Respecting New Hawaiian Maid_-
Who prides herself upon her blood and birth
And holds her virtue at its priceless worth;
And stands undaunted in her rightful place
Snow white of soul, however brown of face,
Warmer in blood than your white women are
And yet more moral in her life by far
Than many a leader in your halls of fashion.
