A LANDSCAPE--SAD HOUSES AND SMILING HOUSES--POLITENESS IN CHINA--EIGHT
SOUPS AT DESSERT--WIND MERCHANTS--ANOTHER IDEA OF THE PILOT'S--SUSAN,
VICE SOPHIA.
Towards five o'clock next morning everything about Rockhouse was
beginning to assume life and motion--within, all its inhabitants were
already astir--without, little remained of the recent storm and
inundation except that refreshing coolness, which, conjointly with the
purified air, infuses fresh vigor, not only into men, but also into
every living thing. The citrous, the aloes, and the Spanish jasmines
perfumed the landscape. The flexible palms, the tall bananas, with
their unbrageous canopy, the broad, pendant-leaved mangoes, and all
the rank but luxuriant vegetation that clothed the land to the water's
edge, waved majestically under the gentle breeze that blew from the
sea. The Jackal River unfolded its silvery band through the roses,
bamboos, and cactii that lined its banks. The sun--for that luminary
plays an important part in all Nature's festivals--darted its rays on
the soil still charged with vapor. Diamond drops sparkled in the cups
of the flowers and on the points of the leaves. In the distance,
pines, cedars, and richly-laden cocoa-nut trees filled up the
background with their dark foliage. The swans displayed their
brilliant plumage on the lake, the boughs of the trees were alive with
parroquets and other winged creatures of the tropics. Add to the
charms of this scene, Mrs. Becker returning from the prairie with a
jar of warm, frothy milk--Mrs. Wolston and Mary busied in a
multiplicity of household occupations, to which their white hands and
ringing voices gave elegance and grace--Sophia tying a rose to the
neck of a blue antelope which she had adopted as a companion--Frank
distributing food to the ostriches and large animals, and admit, if
there is a paradise on earth, it was this spot.
Compare this scene with that presented by any of our large cities at
the same hour in the morning. In London or Paris, our dominion rarely
extends over two or three dreary-looking rooms--a geranium, perhaps,
at one of the windows to represent the fields and green lanes of the
country; above, a forest of smoking chimneys vary the monotony of the
zig-zag roofs; below, a thousand confused noises of waggons, cabs, and
the hoarse voices of the street criers; probably the lamps are just
being extinguished, and the dust heaps carted away, filling our rooms,
and perhaps our eyes, with ashes; the chalk-milk, the air, and the
odors are scarcely required to fill up the picture.
Breakfast was spread a few paces from Mr. Wolston's bed, whom the two
young girls were tending with anxious solicitude, and whose sickness
was almost enviable, so many were the cares lavished upon him.
"You are wrong, Mrs. Becker," said Mrs. Wolston, "to make yourself
uneasy, the sea has become as smooth as a mirror since their
departure."
"Ah, yes, I know that, my dear Mrs. Wolston, but when one has already
undergone the perils of shipwreck, the impression always remains, and
makes us see storms in a glass of water."
"I am certain," remarked Mr. Wolston, "the cause of their delay is a
concession made to Willis."
"Very likely he would not consent to return, unless they went as far
as possible."
"By the way, madam," said Mary, "now that you have got two great girls
added to your establishment, I hope you are going to make them useful
in some way--we can sew, knit, and spin."
"And know how to make preserves," added Sophia.
"Yes, and to eat them too," said her mother.
"If you can spin, my dears, we shall find plenty of work for you; we
have here the Nankin cotton plant, and I intend to dress the whole
colony with it."
"Delightful!" exclaimed Sophia, clapping her hands; "Nankin dresses
just as at the boarding-school, with a straw hat and a green veil."
"To be sure, it must be woven first," reflected Mrs. Becker; "but I
dare say we shall be able to manage that."
"By the way, girls," said Mrs. Wolston, "have you forgotten your
lessons in tapestry?"
"Not at all, mamma; and now that we think of it, we shall handsomely
furnish a drawing-room for you."
"But where are the tables and chairs to come from?" inquired Mrs.
Becker.
"Oh, the gentlemen will see to them."
"And the room, where is that to be?"
"There is the gallery, is there not?"
"And the wool for the carpet?"
"Have you not sheep?"
"That is true, children; you speak as if we had only to go and sit
down in it."
"The piano, however, I fear will be wanting, unless we can pick up an
Erard in the neighboring forest."
"True, mamma, all the overtures that we have had so much trouble in
learning will have to go for nothing."
"But," said Mrs. Becker, "by way of compensation, there is the
vegetable and fruit garden, the pantry, the kitchen, the dairy, and
the poultry yard; these are all my charges, and you may have some of
them if you like."
"Excellent, each shall have her own kingdom and subjects."
"It being understood," suggested Mrs. Wolston, "that you are not to
eat everything up, should the fruit garden or pantry come under your
charge."
"That is not fair, mamma; you are making us out to be a couple of
cannibals."
"You see," continued Mrs. Wolston, "these young people have not the
slightest objection to my parading their accomplishments, but the
moment I touch their faults they feel aggrieved."
"I am persuaded," rejoined Mrs. Becker laughing, "that there are no
calumniators in the world like mothers."
"Therefore, mamma, to punish you we shall come and kiss you."
And accordingly Mrs. Wolston was half stifled under the embraces of
her two daughters.
"I am certainly not the offender," said Mrs. Becker, "but I should not
object to receive a portion of the punishment; these great
boys--pointing to Frank--are too heavy to hang on my neck now; you
will replace them, my dears, will you not?"
"Most willingly, madam; but not to deprive them of their places in
your affection."
"In case you should lose that, Master Frank," said Mrs. Wolston, "you
must have recourse to mine."
"But now, my friends, what do you say to going down to the shore to
meet the pinnace, and perhaps the _Nelson_?" said Mrs. Becker.
"Ah, yes," said Sophia; "and I will stay at home to wait upon father."
"No," said Mary; "I am the eldest--that is my right."
"Well, my children, do not quarrel about that," said Wolston; "I feel
rather better; and I dare say a walk will do me good. Perhaps, when I
get tired, Frank will lend me his arm."
"Better than that," hastily added Frank; "I shall saddle Blinky; and
lead him gently, and you will be as comfortable as in an arm-chair."
"What is that you call Blinky?"
"Oh, one of our donkeys."
"Ah, very good; I was afraid you meant one of your ostriches, and I
candidly admit that my experiences in equitation do not extend to
riding a winged horse."
"In that case," said Mrs. Becker, "to keep Blinky's brother from being
jealous, I, shall charge him with a basket of provisions; and we shall
lay a cloth under the mangoes, so that our ocean knights, as Jack will
have it, may have something to refresh themselves withal as soon as
they dismount."
The little caravan was soon on the march; the two dogs cleared the
way, leaping, bounding, and scampering on before, sniffing the bushes
with their intelligent noses; then, returning to their master, they
read in his face what was next to be done. Mary walked by the side of
Blinky, amusing her father with her prattle. Sophia, with her
antelope, was gambolling around them, the one rivalling the other in
the grace of their movements, not only without knowing it, but rather
because they did not know it. The two mothers were keeping an eye on
the donkey; whilst Frank, with his rifle charged, was ready to bring
down a quail or encounter a hyena.
Some hours after the pinnace hove in sight, the voyagers landed, and
received the warm congratulations of those on shore. When Willis had
secured the boat, he took a final survey of the coast, penetrating
with his eyes every creek and crevice.
"Is there no trace of the _Nelson_?" inquired Wolston.
"None!"
"Well, I had all along thought you would find it so; the wind for four
days has been blowing that it would drive the _Nelson_ to her
destination. Captain Littlestone, being charged with important
despatches, having already lost a fortnight here, has, no doubt, taken
advantage of the gale, and made sail for the Cape, trusting to find us
all alive here on his return voyage."
"Yes," said the Pilot, "I know very well that you have all good
hearts, and that you are desirous of giving me all the consolation you
can."
"Would you not have acted, under similar circumstances, precisely as
we suppose Captain Littlestone to have done?"
"I admit that the thing, is not only possible, but also that, if
alive, it is just what he would have done. I trust, if it be so, that
when he gets into port he will report me keel-hauled?"
"Keel-hauled?"
"Yes, I mean dead. It is a thousand times better to pass for a dead
man than a deserter."
"The wisest course he could pursue, it appears to me, would be to hold
his tongue--probably you will not be missed."
"Ah! you think that her Majesty's blue jackets can disappear in that
way, like musk-rats? But no such thing. When the captain in command at
the station hails on board, every man and boy of the crew, from the
powder-monkey to the first-lieutenant, are mustered in pipe-clay on
the quarter-deck, and there, with the ship's commission in his hand,
every one must report himself as he calls over the names.
"Then the captain will tell the simple truth."
"Well, you see, truth has nothing at all to do with the rules of the
service, the questions printed in the orderly-book only will be asked,
and he may not have an opportunity of stating the facts of the case;
besides, discipline on board a ship in commission could not be
maintained if irregularities could be patched up by a few words from
the captain. When it is found that I had been left on shore, the
questions will be, 'Was the _Nelson_ in want of repairs?' 'No.' 'Did
she require water?' 'No.' 'Provisions?' 'No.' 'Then Willis has
deserted?' 'Yes.' And his condemnation will follow as a matter of
course."
"In that case, the Captain would be more to blame than you are."
"So he would, and it is for that reason I hope he will be able to show
by the log that I was seized with cholera, tied up in a sack, and duly
thrown overboard with a four-pound shot for ballast."
"I cannot conceive," said Becker, "that the discipline of any service
can be so cruelly unreasonable as you would have us believe."
"No, perhaps you think that just before the anchor is heaved, and the
ship about to start on a long voyage, the cabin boys are asked whether
they have the colic--that lubbers, who wish to back out have only to
say the word, and they are free--that the pilot may go a-hunting if he
likes, and that the officers may stay on shore and amuse themselves in
defiance of the rules of the service? In that case the navy would be
rather jolly, but not much worth."
When Willis was once fairly started there was no stopping him.
"Dead," he continued; "that is to say, without a berth, pay, or even a
name, nothing! My wife will have the right to marry again, my little
Susan will have another father, and I shall only be able to breathe by
stealth, and to consider that as more than I deserve. You must admit
that all this is rather a poor look-out a-head."
"Really, Willis," said Mrs. Wolston, "you seem to take a pride in
making things worse than they are, conjuring up phantoms that have no
existence."
"It is true, madam. I may be going upon a wrong tack. Judging from all
appearances, the sloop, instead of being on her way to the Cape, is
tranquilly reposing at the bottom of the sea. But it is only death for
death; hanged by a court-martial or drowned with the sloop, it comes,
in the end, to the same thing."
"I dare say, Willis, had there really been an accident, and you had
been on board, you would not have felt yourself entitled to escape?"
"Certainly not, madam; unless the crew could be saved, it would look
anything but well for the pilot to escape alone."
Willis, however, to do him justice, seemed trying to smother his
grief; and, in the meanwhile, the two girls had been spreading a pure
white cloth on a neighboring rock, cutting fruit plates out of the
thick mangoe leaves, cooling the Rockhouse malaga in the brook, and
giving to the repast an air of elegance and refinement which had the
effect of augmenting the appetite of the company. The viands were not
better than they had been on many similar occasions, but they were now
more artistically displayed, and consequently more inviting.
Who has not remarked, in passing through a street of dingy-looking
houses, one of them distinguished from the others by its fresh and
cheerful aspect, the windows garnished with a luxuriant screen of
flowers, with curtains on either side of snowy whiteness and elaborate
workmanship? Very likely the passer-by has asked himself, Why is this
house not as neglected, tattered, and dirty as its wretched neighbors?
The answer is simple; there dwells in this house a young girl, blithe,
frolicsome, and joyous, singing with the lark, and, like a butterfly,
floating from her book to her work-box--from her mother's cheek to her
father's, leaving an impress of her youthfulness and purity on
whatever she touches.
For a like reason the _al fresco_ dinner of this day had a charm that
no such feast had been observed to possess before.
"We are not presentable," said Fritz, referring to his seal-gut
uniform.
"Ah," replied Mrs. Wolston, "it is your costume of war, brave knights;
and, for my part, I admire you more in it than in the livery of Hyde
Park or Bond Street."
"In that case," said Ernest, "we shall do as they do in China."
"And what is that?"
"Well, the most profound remark of respect a host can pay to his
guests, is to go and dress after dinner."
"Just when they are about to leave?"
"Exactly so, madam."
"That is very decidedly a Chinese observance. Are they not somewhat
behind in cookery?"
"By no means, madam; on the contrary, they have attained a very high
degree of perfection in that branch of the arts. It is customary, at
every ceremonious dinner, to serve up fifty-two distinct dishes. And
when that course is cleared off, what do you think is produced next?"
"The dessert, I suppose."
"Eight kinds of soup, never either one more or one less. If the number
were deficient, the guests would consider themselves grossly insulted,
the number of dishes denoting the degree of respect entertained by the
host for his guests."
"I beg, Mrs. Wolston," said Mrs. Becker laughing, "that you will not
estimate our esteem for you by the dinner we offer you."
"Well," replied Mrs. Wolston in the same tone, "let me see; to be
treated as we ought to be, there are fifty-seven dishes wanting,
therefore we must go and dine at home. John, call my carriage."
At this sally they all laughed heartily, and even Willis chimed in
with the general hilarity.
"Then, after the soups," continued Ernest, "comes the tea, and with
that the dessert, as also sixty square pieces of silver paper to wipe
the mouth. It is then that the host vanishes, to reappear in a
brilliant robe of gold brocade and a vest of satin."
"These people ought all to perish of indigestion."
"No; they are moderate eaters, their dishes consist of small saucers,
each containing only a few mouthfuls of meat, and, as for Europeans,
the want of forks and spoons--"
"What! have they no forks?"
"Not at table--nor knives either; but, on the other hand, they are
exceedingly expert in the use of two slender sticks of ivory, which
they hold in the first three fingers of the right hand, and with which
they manage to convey solids, and even liquids, to their mouths."
"Ah! I see," said Jack; "the Europeans would be obliged, like Mrs.
Wolston, to call their carriage, in spite of the fifty-two saucers of
meat: it puts me in mind of the stork inviting the fox to dine with
her out of a long-necked jar."
"We are apt to judge the Chinese by the pictures seen of them on their
own porcelain, and copied upon our pottery," said Becker; "but this
conveys only a ludicrous idea of them. They are the most industrious,
but at the same time the vainest, most stupid, and most credulous
people in the world; they worship the moon, fire, fortune, and a
thousand other things; people go about amongst them selling wind,
which they dispose of in vials of various sizes."
"That is a trade that will not require an extraordinary amount of
capital."
"True; and besides, as they carry on their trade in the open air, they
have no rent to pay."
"Their bonzes or priests," continued Becker, "to excite charity,
perambulate the streets in chains, sometimes with some inflammable
matter burning on their heads, whilst, instead of attempting to purify
the souls of dying sinners, they put rice and gold in their mouths
when the vital spark has fled. They have a very cruel mode of
punishing renegade Lamas: these are pierced through the neck with a
red-hot iron."
"What is a Lama, father?"
"It is a designation of the Tartar priests."
For some time Willis had been closely examining a particular point in
the bay with increasing anxiety; at last he ran towards the shore and
leapt into the sea. Becker and his four sons were on the point of
starting off in pursuit of him.
"Stop," said Wolston, "I have been watching Willis's movements for the
last ten minutes, and I guess his purpose--let him alone."
Willis swam to some object that was floating on the water, and
returned in about a quarter of an hour, bringing with him a plank.
"Well," he inquired, on landing, "was I wrong?"
"Wrong about what?" inquired Wolston.
"The _Nelson_ is gone."
"The proof, Willis."
"That plank."
"Well, what about the plank?"
"I recognise it."
"How, Willis?"
"How! Well," replied the obstinate pilot, "fish don't breed planks,
and--and--I scarcely think this one could escape from a dockyard, and
float here of its own accord."
"Then, Willis, according to you, there are no ships but the _Nelson_,
no ships wrecked but the _Nelson_, and no planks but the _Nelson's_.
Willis, you are a fool."
"Every one has his own ideas, Mr. Wolston."
Towards evening, when they were on their way back to Rockhouse, Sophia
confidentially called Willis aside, and he cheerfully obeyed the
summons.
"Pilot," said she, "I have made up my mind about one thing."
"And what is that, Miss Sophia?"
"Why, this--in future, when we are alone, as just now, you must call
me Susan, as you used to call your own little girl when at home, not
Miss Susan."
"Oh, I cannot do that, Miss Sophia."
"But I insist upon it."
"Well, Miss Sophia, I will try."
"What did you say?"
"Miss Sus--"
"What?"
"Susan, I mean."
"There now, that will do."