shot of
the European war and the siege of Paris. That war even threatens to
disturb the peace of Honolulu itself; for there is now a French
man-of-war at anchor in the harbour, the 'Hamelin,' watching a fine
German merchant ship, the 'Count Bismarck,' that arrived a few days
before the Frenchman. The Germans have taken the precaution to paint
"Honolulu" on the stern of their vessel, and to place themselves under
the protection of the Hawaiian Government. So the commander of the
French ship, finding he can make no capture here, has weighed anchor
and steamed out of port, doubtless to lie in wait for the German
vessel outside should she venture to put to sea.

I found the Post Office a sort of joint post-office and stationer's
shop, the principal business consisting in the sale of newspapers. I
was amazed to find that though a steamer runs regularly from Honolulu
to Australia there is no postal communication with Victoria, except
_via_ America and England! This is on account of the Victorian
Government refusing to subsidize the new Californian and Australian
mail line. Should such a line become established and prosper, the
Victorians fear that an advantage would be given to Sydney, and that
Melbourne, instead of being on the main line of mail communication, as
it now is, would be shunted on to a branch. But surely there is room
enough for a mail line by both the Atlantic and Pacific routes,
without occasion for jealousy either on the part of Sydney or
Melbourne.

After settling my business at the Post Office, accompanied by my
German-Yankee fellow-passenger, I took a stroll round the town and
suburbs; though it is so open and green that it seems _all_ suburbs.
We invested a small sum in oranges, which we found in perfection, and
sucked them as we went along in the most undignified way possible. We
directed our steps to that part of the town where the better class
seemed to reside, in cool, shady lanes, the houses embowered in
large-leaved tropical trees, cocoa-nut, banana, bread-fruit, calabash,
and other palms, with cycas and tree-ferns with stems some fifteen
feet high. Flower-bearing shrubs also abounded, such as the Hibiscus,
Mairi, of which the women make wreaths, and Gardenia, with the flowers
of which they also adorn themselves. In some of the gardens water was
laid on, and pretty fountains were playing, from which it would appear
that the water supply is good, and that there is a good head of it in
some mountai