CHAPTER LVII.
THE EMPEROR REVIEWS THE PEOPLE AT QUARTERS.
I Beg their Royal Highnesses' pardons all round, but I had almostforgotten to chronicle the fact, that with the Emperor came severalother royal Princes--kings for aught we knew--since it was just afterthe celebration of the nuptials of a younger sister of the Brazilianmonarch to some European royalty. Indeed, the Emperor and his suiteformed a sort of bridal party, only the bride herself was absent.
The first reception over, the smoke of the cannonading salute havingcleared away, and the martial outburst of the brass band having alsorolled off to leeward, the people were called down from the yards, andthe drum beat to quarters.
To quarters we went; and there we stood up by our iron bull-dogs, whileour royal and noble visitors promenaded along the batteries, breakingout into frequent exclamations at our warlike array, the extremeneatness of our garments, and, above all, the extraordinary polish ofthe _bright-work_ about the great guns, and the marvellous whiteness ofthe decks.
"Que gosto!" cried a Marquis, with several dry goods samples of ribbon,tallied with bright buttons, hanging from his breast.
"Que gloria!" cried a crooked, coffee-coloured Viscount, spreading bothpalms.
"Que alegria!" cried a little Count, mincingly circumnavigating ashot-box.
"Que contentamento he o meu!" cried the Emperor himself, complacentlyfolding his royal arms, and serenely gazing along our ranks.
_Pleasure, Glory_, and _Joy_--this was the burden of the three noblecourtiers. _And very pleasing indeed_--was the simple rendering of DonPedro's imperial remark.
"Ay, ay," growled a grim rammer-and-sponger behind me; "it's alldevilish fine for you nobs to look at; but what would you say if youhad to holy-stone the deck yourselves, and wear out your elbows inpolishing this cursed old iron, besides getting a dozen at the gangway,if you dropped a grease-spot on deck in your mess? Ay, ay, devilishfine for you, but devilish dull for us!"
In due time the drums beat the retreat, and the ship's companyscattered over the decks.
Some of the officers now assumed the part of cicerones, to show thedistinguished strangers the bowels of the frigate, concerning whichseveral of them showed a good deal of intelligent curiosity. A guard ofhonour, detached from the marine corps, accompanied them, and they madethe circuit of the berth-deck, where, at a judicious distance, theEmperor peeped down into the cable-tier, a very subterranean vault.
The Captain of the Main-Hold, who there presided, made a polite bow inthe twilight, and respectfully expressed a desire for His Royal Majestyto step down and honour him with a call; but, with his handkerchief tohis Imperial nose, his Majesty declined. The party then commenced theascent to the spar-deck; which, from so great a depth in a frigate, issomething like getting up to the top of Bunker Hill Monument from thebasement.
While a crowd of people was gathered about the forward part of thebooms, a sudden cry was heard from below; a lieutenant came runningforward to learn the cause, when an old sheet-anchor-man, standing by,after touching his hat hitched up his waistbands, and replied, "I don'tknow, sir, but I'm thinking as how one o' them 'ere kings has beentumblin' down the hatchway."
And something like this it turned out. In ascending one of the narrowladders leading from the berth-deck to the gun-deck, the Most NobleMarquis of Silva, in the act of elevating the Imperial coat-tails, soas to protect them from rubbing against the newly-painted combings ofthe hatchway, this noble marquis's sword, being an uncommonly long one,had caught between his legs, and tripped him head over heels down intothe fore-passage.
"Onde ides?" (where are you going?) said his royal master, tranquillypeeping down toward the falling Marquis; "and what did you let go of mycoat-tails for?" he suddenly added, in a passion, glancing round at thesame time, to see if they had suffered from the unfaithfulness of histrain bearer.
"Oh, Lord!" sighed the Captain of the Fore-top, "who would be a Marquisof Silva?"
Upon being assisted to the spar-deck, the unfortunate Marquis was foundto have escaped without serious harm; but, from the marked coolness ofhis royal master, when the Marquis drew near to apologise for hisawkwardness, it was plain that he was condemned to languish for a timeunder the royal displeasure.
Shortly after, the Imperial party withdrew, under another grandnational salute.