a enemi;
Puuwai hao-kila, he manao paa;
Na ka nupepa la i hoike mai.
Ua kau Lanakila i ka hanohano,
O ka u'i mapela la o Aina-hau;
10 O ko'u hoa ia la e pili ai--
I hoa kaaua i ka puuwai,
I na kohi kelekele i ka Pu'ukolu.
Ina ilaila Pua Komela,
Ka u'i kaulana o Aina-pua!
15 O ka pua o ka Lehua me ka Ilima
I lei kahiko no ko'u kino,
Ka Palai lau-lii me ka Maile,
Ke ala e hoene i kou poli.
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[Translation]

_Song_

Fame trumpets your conquests each day,
Brave Lily Victoria!
Your scepter finds new hearts to sway,
Subdues the Pacific's wild waves,
5 Your foes are left stranded ashore,
Firm heart as of steel!
Dame Rumor tells us with glee
Your fortunes wax evermore,
Beauty of Aina-hau,
10 Comrade dear to my heart.
And what of the hyacinth maid,
Nymph of the Flowery Land?
I choose the lehua, ilima,
As my wreath and emblem of love,
15 The small-leafed fern and the maile--
What fragrance exhales from thy breast!

The story that might explain this modern lyric belongs to the
gossip of half a century ago. The action hinges about one who
is styled Pua Lanakila--literally Flower of Victory. Now
there is no flower, indigenous or imported, known by this
name to the Hawaiians. It is an allegorical invention of the
poet. A study of the name and of its interpretation, Victory,
at once suggested to me the probability that it was meant for
the Princess Victoria Kamamalu.

As I interpret the story, the lover seems at first to be in a
condition of unstable equilibrium, but finally concludes to
cleave to the flowers of the soil, the _lehua_ and the
_ilima_ (verse 15), the _palai_ and the _maile_ (verse 17),
the meaning of which is clear.
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XL.--THE OLI

The Hawaiian word _mele_ included all forms of poetical