CHAPTER XXV
SEVERAL HILARIOUS FROLICS
The ladies certainly did dress for the occasion; and not only theladies, but all the gentlemen. The captain put on a new uniform which hehad not worn since his ship left Colombo. Scott had a new uniform also;Uncle Moses, the surgeon, Mr. Woolridge, and the professor came out inevening costume, with black dress-coats; and the young men were clothedfor their age, in black. The ship's company looked at them withastonishment when they came on deck, for they had never seen them _engrand tenue_ before.
The ladies were properly costumed for the dinner, and all of them worethe best they had. When the Blanchita came alongside the ship with theBlanche's party, more surprise was manifested; for Mrs. Noury wasdressed as a princess, as she was, with the richest garments of India;General Noury clothed in the full costume of his Moroccan rank, a dresswhich had not been seen before. Captain Sharp wore his uniform, and hiswife proved that no money had been spared on her dress and adornings.The rajah wore his Indian suit, made of the costliest materials and themost brilliant colors, and rubies and diamonds sparkled upon him, as onthe pacha. Dr. Henderson was in keeping with his professional brotherof the other party.
The seats of the yacht had been overlaid with rugs and other materials,that the rich costumes need not be soiled. The Blanche's barge came soonwith the Italian band on board; for the general desired to serenade thegovernor during the evening. It was an hour too early; for the commanderhad been so solicitous that the company should not be late, that he hadoverdone the matter. The landlord was to have the carriages at thelanding at half-past six, and there was an hour to wait. But theprincess and Mrs. Sharp declined to leave their seats in the launch, forfear of mussing up their dresses; and the general called upon the bandto play while they were waiting.
It was near the close of a clear day, and the music was delightful. In ashort time not less than a hundred boats surrounded the ship, and threetimes as many people stood upon the shore. The band had not playedbefore since their arrival. Mr. Froler, in Parisian evening dress, hadcome to the landing to receive the party, and when he heard the music,he came off, standing up in a sampan; for he was as careful of hisgarments as the ladies. The captain had ordered a carpet to be placed onthe steps of the gangway, and the polite Frenchman ascended to the deckwithout peril to his clothing.
"Good-evening, Captain Ringgold," said he, extending his hand. "You havethe most ravishing music here."
"It is General Noury's Italian band, and he will take it ashore toserenade the governor," replied the commander.
"I have not seen your steamer before, and she is a magnificent vessel,"added the Frenchman.
"I should be happy to show her to you; but we have hardly time to do sonow, for I see that the ladies are taking their places in the launch,"answered Captain Ringgold; "but I shall ask the governor and such ladiesand gentlemen as you will designate to spend the afternoon and eveningon board to-morrow, dining in the cabin. I arranged it with the general.Both ships will be visited, the band will play, and we will make ageneral frolic of it. The next morning we shall sail for Manila."
Both of the gentlemen hastened to the gangway to assist the ladies assoon as the commander saw Mrs. Belgrave moving in that direction. MissBlanche, conducted by Louis, appeared about the same time. Her costumewas very neat, though not showy; but she was as beautiful as a fairy,and the Frenchman clasped his hands in ecstasy when he saw her. In ashort time they were all seated in the Blanchita, and the gentlemen thentook their places.
Precisely at twenty minutes past six Captain Sharp, prompted by CaptainRinggold, gave the order to cast off. A quartermaster of the Blanche wasat the wheel, and in five minutes she was alongside the shore. A_platform of clean boards, covered with a carpet_, had been laid down bythe landlord of the Hotel de l'Europe, and the vehicles were inwaiting. The ladies were handed from the boat to the carriages without aspot or a splash on their dresses, though the shore was very muddy.
In ten minutes more the head of the procession reached the governor'spalace. There they found an awning over the sidewalk, and _carpets laid_down for the guests to walk upon. The French, English, and Americanflags were flying on the building. The ladies were conducted to thegrand entrance of the palace, and taken by the servants to theapartments set apart for clothing. There were not less than a thousandnatives and French people gathered in the vicinity, but they were keptin admirable order by the Malay police. The pacha's band was admitted tothe grounds, and Mr. Froler was acting as chief marshal; he notifiedthem when the party began to descend the stairs, and the music commencedthen. They came down in couples, Captain Ringgold and Mrs. Belgraveleading, followed by the pacha and the princess.
His Excellency stood at the head of the large apartment, and receivedthem as they advanced. He was a widower and childless, so that he had nowife nor daughter to present. Louis and Miss Blanche were the next,though the commander had proposed that Louis should come next to him andhis mother; but Louis rebelled, and insisted that he should follow thepacha. The rajah came next, and had Mrs. Blossom on his arm, to the nosmall amusement of the party; but the deposed sovereign prince couldfind no other lady disengaged.
Possibly Mr. Woolridge and wife were disconcerted to come next; buttheir daughter had been properly honored, and both were too fond ofBlanche to be troubled about the precedence. Mr. Froler stood by thegovernor, and announced the names of the members of the party; for HisExcellency could hardly be expected to remember them. But he was verycordial to all of them, speaking in his broken English, except to thepacha and Louis. Some of the gentlemen had to present themselves withoutladies; but there were at least twenty ladies and gentlemen seatedaround the room. After all the party from the ships had been received bythe governor, they were introduced to the other visitors. Some of theSaigonians could speak English, and some could not; but the conversationsoon became general. The commander and Mrs. Belgrave found enough whocould speak English. There were seven persons among the tourists whocould converse fluently in French, and Mr. Froler employed these asinterpreters for those who could not speak the polite language.
The scene was quite amusing to all; and even the governor laughedheartily as he looked about him, and saw the struggles in the matter oflanguage. The chief marshal proved to be a very potent functionary, andhe was omnipresent in the apartment. When the governor spoke to him inpraise of Miss Blanche, he immediately sent Louis with her to HisExcellency. The room was the audience chamber of the palace, and themagnate of the occasion invited her to a seat on the dais at his side.She could speak French a little; and it was soon observed that she wasenjoying herself very much, and the governor even more.
Mrs. Sharp was passed over to Louis, and he made the grand round withher. The princess was instructed to do the same with Mr. Woolridge,while the professor rendered the same service to Mrs. Woolridge. Therajah escorted Mrs. Blossom around the chamber, and the poor woman wasin a flutter all the time. The long robe of the Indian prince botheredher, and she had been nearly tripped up several times; but her new beauwas as polite and deferential as though she had been a queen. She had astory to tell the gossips of Von Blonk Park which would last her therest of her lifetime. It was even a livelier time than that at thehotel, made so by the confusion of tongues, which was not far short ofthat at the Tower of Babel.
The dinner was announced by the major-domo of the household. Ignoringthe houris of the occasion, the polite governor escorted Mrs. Belgraveto the table, and seated her on his right, while the captain of theGuardian-Mother conducted the princess. Those of the gentlemen who couldspeak French were requested by Mr. Froler to attend the resident ladies;and the most distinguished was placed in charge of the pacha. The_contretemps_ of language were frequent and laughable; and so muchamusement was derived from this source that some of the visitorspurposely made bulls to keep up the hilarity.
The dinner was a very elegant as well as a very substantial affair.Monsieur Odervie and other French cooks fraternized as usual on thisgreat occasi
on; and the table was ornamented with many set pieces, andone from the citadel produced a Buddhist temple in sugar, which was theadmiration of the guests; and doubtless all these culinary artists wouldassist the _chef_ of the Guardian-Mother for the great dinner of thefollowing day. But it would require a considerable volume to detail allthe occurrences of the governor's banquet. A speech was made by HisExcellency in French, which was replied to by Captain Ringgold, withoutknowing much of what had been said; but Louis followed him in a fewremarks in French, thanking the governor and the residents of the cityfor their kindness and hospitality.
The pacha made the speech of the evening in the vernacular of the host,which was violently applauded by the residents, especially by themilitary officers from the citadel, who had been informed that he wasthe commander-in-chief of the armies of his country. The Italian bandhad been brought into the palace, feasted, and stationed in the greathall, where they discoursed their finest music, to the great delight ofthe guests. Dancing followed, and the governor led Mrs. Noury to thefloor. The rajah asked Mrs. Blossom to dance with him; but she did notknow a step, and if she ever in her life regretted that she could notdance, it was on this occasion. The commander of the citadel and chiefofficer of the army of Cochin China led out Mrs. Noury, and the next inrank to His Excellency who could speak English was favored by MissBlanche.
It was kept up till after midnight; and then the tourists returned tothe ships, visiting the hotel the next forenoon to obtain their baggage.All the party at the _fete_ of the governor had been invited to theships; and the Blanchita conveyed them from the landing in two trips,one to the Guardian-Mother, and the other to the Blanche. The guestswere shown over both steamers, and they expressed their admiration inboth languages. All the officers were kept busy, especially Mr.Gaskette, who spoke French. Every passenger was a host or hostess, andthe confusion of tongues created as much merriment as it had at thepalace. Captain Ringgold devoted himself especially to the governor. TheItalian band played all the time on the deck of the Blanche, which washardly a ship's length from her consort.
After a light lunch had been served in the cabins of both steamers, theparty on board of the Guardian-Mother, with their hosts, were conveyedto the Blanche, where they spent a couple of hours, and had a dance onher promenade deck under an awning. Every part of the ship was visited;and after a stay of two hours, the entire company was conveyed in twotrips to the Guardian-Mother. When some of the guests asked how thepassengers contrived to amuse themselves on the long voyage, Mrs.Belgrave organized a section of them, and played Blindman's Buff,Turning the Cover, Copenhagen, and other games, to the intense delightof the guests.
At six o'clock dinner was announced. Monsieur Odervie had had theassistance of not less than four _chefs_ all day; and several set piecesin varied ingredients, original and artistic, adorned the two tables.The bill of fare had been printed in the city, and of course it was allFrench. The occasion was much the same as at the palace, with all theconfusion of tongues. At the close of the dinner Captain Ringgold madehis speech, which the governor could understand, and the chief officialof the province responded in his own language. Several others wereheard; and when Dr. Hawkes attempted to make a speech in the politelanguage, he excited bursts of laughter, and it was soon evident that hewas speaking for the fun of it. His gestures were more French than hisspeech, which he interlarded with English and Latin. Uncle Moses made aremark in the latter language, which only the doctor and the professorcould understand; but it was as vigorously applauded as though everyword had been comprehended.
After dinner the governor called for some singing, and gospel hymns wereintroduced. Captain Rayburn was one of the guests on board, and hisheavy bass was the crowning glory of the music.
The ship had been illuminated, and the band played at times on the deck.The governor wanted some more of Mrs. Belgrave's games, and they wererepeated in the music-room. The Cupids, as the two fat gentlemen hadbeen named in Egypt, did their best on this occasion,--rolled on thefloor, and were as antic as boys.
It was after midnight when the Blanchita began to convey the guests tothe shore; and the adieux were very cordial, with many regrets that theships must depart so soon. The river was so full of boats that thelaunch had some difficulty in making her way to the shore; but the Malaypolice soon made an opening for her.
Mr. Froler had been invited to sleep on board, as had Captain Rayburn;and both accepted, the former returning to the ship after he had seenhis ladies home.