Vaughan await the arrival of his guests.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was upon the third day after receiving his letters of advice, and
near the hour of noon, that the planter, playing as usual with his
telescope, perceived in the offing of Montego Bay, and standing in for
the port, a large square-rigged vessel--a ship.
It might be the Sea Nymph, and it might not; but, taking into
consideration some circumstances, known to Mr Vaughan, the
probabilities were that it was the expected vessel.
Whether or no, the planter was determined that the programme, he had so
ingeniously sketched out, should _not_ be spoiled by any mismanagement
in the performance; and its execution was ordered upon the instant.
Bells were rung for a general muster of the domestics; a horn was
sounded to summon the overseer; and, in less than half an hour
afterwards, the family barouche--a handsome equipage, drawn by a pair of
splendidly-caparisoned horses--was on the road to the Bay, with the
overseer on horseback, riding as an escort behind it.
In rear of this went a waggon, to which eight large oxen were attached;
and behind the waggon appeared an escort _sui generis_: a rough negro
boy, mounted on the shaggiest of steeds, who was no other than the
post-boy already mentioned--the identical Quashie.
Quashie was not on his usual diurnal duty: his present errand was one of
a far more important character, and the duty confided to him of an
exceedingly delicate nature.
At this hour the great hall of Mount Welcome exhibited a scene that, to
the eye of a stranger to West Indian customs, might have appeared
curious enough.
Scattered over the floor, at certain distances from each other, were
some six or eight negro girls, or "wenches," as they are called, most of
them being of the younger brood of the plantation blacks. All were down
on their knees--each one having by her side, and within reach of her
hand, an orange freshly cut in halves, some bees'-wax, and a portion of
the fibrous pericarp of a cocoa-nut.
The floor itself was without carpet of any kind; but instead of being of
plain deal, it presented a mosaic of hard woods, of different colours--
among which might be recognised the mahogany and heart-wood, the
bread-nut and bully-tree.
To give the tesselated surface a polish was the business of the dark
damsels on their knees; and for that purpose were the oranges and
cocoa-husks provided.
To an islander the sight was one of common, indeed daily, occurrence.
The lustre of his hall floor is a matter of pride with a Jamaica
planter; as much so as the quality or pattern of his drawing-room carpet
to a householder at home; and every day, and at the same hour, the
dark-skinned housemaids make their appearance, and renew the glitter of
the surface, whose gloss has been tarnished by the revels of the
preceding night.
The hour set apart for this quaint custom is just before laying the
cloth for dinner--about three or four o'clock; and that she may not
sully the polish while carrying in the dishes, the barefooted Abigail
adopts a plan that deserves mention on account of its originality.
Having provided herself with two small pieces of linen or cotton cloth,
she spreads them out upon the floor, and then places a foot upon each.
As the toes of a West Indian house-wench are almost as prehensile as her
fingers, she finds no difficulty in "cramping" the cloth and holding it
between the "big toe" and its nearest neighbour; and with this simple
_chaussure_ she is enabled to slide over the floor without in the least
degree "smoutching" its gloss, or leaving any sign of her passage over
its shining surface.
While such a busy scene was transpiring in the great hall of Mount
Welcome, one of a different character, but of equal activity, was going
on in the kitchen. This "office" stood a little apart from the main
dwelling, communicating with its lower storey by a covered gallery.
Along this passage black and yellow wenches could be seen constantly
going and returning, each with her load--a haunch of venison, a ham of
the wild hog, a turtle, ramier pigeons, and mountain crabs, all on their
way to the spit, the stew-pan, or the chafing-dish.
A similar sight might have been witnessed at Mount Welcome any other day
in the year; but perhaps with a less abundant variety in the materials,
and with not half so much movement among the staff of wenches pertaining
to the _cuisine_--whose excited manner in the performance of their
specific duties testified, as much as the variety of luxuries lying
around, that on this particular day a repast of the most sumptuous kind
was expected from their skill.
Their master did not leave these preparations to be made without his own
personal surveillance. From the time that the ship had been descried,
he was everywhere--in the stable, to look after the sable grooms; in the
kitchen, to instruct the cooks; in the great hall, to inspect the
polishing of the floor; and, at last, on the landing outside, standing,
telescope to his eye, and looking down the long avenue, where the
carriage containing his distinguished visitor might at any moment be
expected to make its appearance.
Volume One, Chapter XII.