Show A RIGHT ROYAL ROBE Mad of lIar FM r or 1100 Defer 01 tho Sdkh hlaod A million dollars Kcms a pretty round burn t pay for a cloak and prob ably even Worth never dreamed of ask III so fabulous II price for tile most elaborate his garments Aud yet In tho National mnacuui at VashiuKtou is n cloak the cost of vv hlch ctiunot bo reckoned at less thou this vast amount and ladies may bo pleased to learn that it was not a woman but a min who was guilty of each a picco of extravagance extrava-gance Long years ngo when the IIaw lIan Islands nuall ns they nro supported not ono but several flourishing kingdoms doms tho kings chiefs and nobles whenever they appeared in public ca Ftato occasions woro Instead of this purple and ermine of moro civilized potentates capes and cloaks of brilliant feathers Tho ladies of tho court were forced to content themselves with tenth er boas ns wo should call them known us Ids These capes and collars were nmdo from the yellow red and black feathers of a few fpcclcs of small bird peculiar to the Sandwich Islands and called from their habits honey suckers suck-ers IWilon ruled even in those days and no the vollow feathers wero scarccr than n the red yet IoNv 1 was the l fashiouablo color and the more Powerful the chic the more yellow was his mho of state Those yellow frathcri were found only I on two or threo Fpccies of birds the flnctt coming from n bird called in the native language l mamo and known uu Urcpanis paclllu t y ornithologists Thewj birds with their striking black nnd 3 ellow plumage were as dear to tho hearts of the Hawaiian monarch ns they might bo today to the hearts of patriotic Princeton students and were Bought for fir aud near throughout the islands Tho popnlaco paid poll taxes in golden feathers instead of golden dollars dol-lars 1 nud ns each bird famished but n few feathers tire taxes may bo consider consid-er d no having Leon high Some cstl mot of the value of tho feathers may bo formed from tho prices paid in later times when n piece of nankeen cloth valued at el60 was tho equivalent of five feathers but after all the great clement in tho cot ot these cloaks wa time und labor sine tho making of n single cloak required from 50 to 100 years YIaAs As tho feathers obtained for taxes were very far from supplying tile do maud tho chifcfii wcru accustomed to employ n regular staff of bird catchers much ns a modiiev baron had his tlufl of falconers These skilled foresters pro pared n bOrt of bird llmo from the gum of tho fragrant clap mixwl V fill tho juice of tho breadfruit tree and with it 1 smeared the branches of the flowtrinf trees frequented by tho honey suck Frederic A Lucas in St Nicholas |