HANDS ACROSS THE SEA.

Temuka Leader, Issue 7554, 18 April 1914, Page 7

HANDS ACROSS THE SEA.

LUTTM \num MISS JLLNDSAV. TO Jili.ll TEML'KA SCHOLARS. During the week a Jul ler has been received trom -Miss Lindsay, addressed to her old .'pupils at Uiu leniuka District High School. The- latter, which _ is dated from Brandon, Jianttoba, I'Y.lr ruary 2Sth, was read to the class by Mr J. T. Smart, After a few .-cheerful introductory remark, in the course of which' 31 is.s Lindsay compliments "Nancy" uj)on her essay which appeared in the "Temuka Leader," the letter proceeds :—'"And now i suppose you would like mo to tell you a little about our trip and about Canada. 1 think the part of the trip that would interest you most wo'dd be Honolulu. Honolulu belongs (o America, but has a great many Chinese and Japanese, as well as the Native llawaiians. We got ashore there in the morning, so had plenty of .lime to see the town. Kirsl of all wo changed some of our money into American dollars, and spent our lirst dollar in buying stamps to post our letters and post cards home. Then we had a look about the town. Jt was a hot day—it is always hot there, and there were all kinds -of queer smells and scents from the tropical plants aivd (lowers. We saw giowing—bananas, bread-fruit, co--coanuts, oil palms, and many trees whose names we did not know. And 1 there we lirst s a w the grape fruit and tasted it. Since then we have eaten it often. It is like a big orange, but pale in colour like a lemon, and has a taste something like both and yet' like neither. It contains a great deal of quinine, and is a wry healthful fruit, All the shops, are stalled by Japanese, and little Jap girls served us everywhere wo went. The native Hawaiian make a great nuany ilax mats and bggs, etc., to sell to visitors, but they were just like the work our M a or.is dd, so we did not bother with them. We bought some little boNes made or i\ native wood called I\oa.- • Most of the Hawaiian words are very much like the .Maori words, .Well, 'the* we took an electric ear out to Ihe aquarium .tp see all the. wonderful dishes.- And thev arc,- wonderful. Ido wish you could have been there too—Only you would hive had" your noses glued to the glass cages yet, I'm sure. •■' There were all'-shapes and colours and sizes of lislips. Canyon imagine a wee ' linv flounder, pure yellow "all over, and witlr a Jong pointed nose longer than its body? And swimming not as l\ flounder swims, but up ou iltj thin edge w. other Jishcs swi.n. >The.:K there lish, spo.tted lish—pink, .grefa, blue, violet coloured, some 'all cob'urs; some-with great frills for lins aid some with fan-siiaped }in,s "thM lcpkod just Ji,ko bulttavtlies. ' indeed, f'hiy, \ver.e, o.alled, butteiil'v lish. And al.' of these were caught'within a radm\ of 100 miles from the islands. After we c (l me out from the aquarium, we thmglit that We would like a cup - otte?, and. ue went to a plale where a iiiiii serv L ,,l drink's. "Ves," said he, "111 make you fl good cup of tea. I like 'food tea myself, and I like it hoil'M" IVcJI (hat decided us.' No ' boded'tea for us;' so we had u cool drink instead. After this we went back iiiiatO:wii \ n the car a gain. The conductor* was'a 'half-cuslc native, and he told in a great maiiy'things about I <he pla<% a jj ( | j lolls . os we p . ls>seC i_ Some of'Jie homes n re beautiful, with broad |)a/is leading up t„ the houses; anil wide lawns surrounded |,v palim (fees. Weill ad dinner at a big ho,lel and all tin waiters were Japsl and were the ts( waiters I've seen.' All about llk si reels \\e met J a ps and Chinese imual-ive dress. I think (mj children loiod (he queerest. The Chinese wed long p a nts and their tunics downilo their knees; and the , Japs wear (eir kimo.nas. Thoy wear no hats ; fc womon wear coloured . (lowers and 6mbs in (heir hair, and LI he children l/ve long pigtails, and , all wear brihtly coloured (•lollies. , Some of (he lilive. \vo7nen were (he ; leltest. people [\e <«>!■ seen. All the carls and waoghs haw huge big umlu'ellas lixed ip je s.. a t i„ shelter the driver from lh<> sv(.

; Ju.sl before we .sU.,I ,| !a ( nielli a b;i<i Amcsican T-bal <Ane j n from Japan, its decks crowded', with .laps, both men and women, at I couldn't help thinking that if I .Ved ;„ .J.,] )im l would t>ro.v tired i peeing all (,liu people look Ihe sam. . Idon't knowhow ihev can tell theit.|Yiends. They are all Ihe same si/.} all the same dark colour, and. all \jai: their hair in the same smooth, l , oily fashion. After leaving Ijfonjidult; the weather changed —we were ;inthe Northern

Hemisphere, and it wa.winter. For four days we had very ;>Uidi weather and the boat rolled pitifully. It was hard work lo walk f and at meal time we had lo hold ouvlves in our chairs, and then the dishes i 1( l knives would slide from one end oi|\e tulil ■ to Ilm other, spillintr all thiyoup and wafer, and often landing afjist on the floor. One (lay Miss CViyy had ifi loltlo of vinegar emptied >ito her

soup. '; One .niofninir we wakened toSd die hoa't (piite si ill. and wdien worked ( out we .found -that we were unbred

ofi* Victoria. Later on wo got into thj harbour, an;l about four o'clock wo were allowed lo go ashore. Wo liked Victoria very much indeed, though we did not see anything very different from our towns at home. We sailed at 11.30 that night and' were in Vancouver when we awoke. We were very sorry to do that part of the journey at night as I believe it is very beautiful. (To l;o continue:! in next issue.)