SEVERAL HILARIOUS FROLICS
The ladies certainly did dress for the occasion; and not only the
ladies, but all the gentlemen. The captain put on a new uniform which he
had not worn since his ship left Colombo. Scott had a new uniform also;
Uncle Moses, the surgeon, Mr. Woolridge, and the professor came out in
evening costume, with black dress-coats; and the young men were clothed
for their age, in black. The ship's company looked at them with
astonishment when they came on deck, for they had never seen them _en
grand tenue_ before.
The ladies were properly costumed for the dinner, and all of them wore
the best they had. When the Blanchita came alongside the ship with the
Blanche's party, more surprise was manifested; for Mrs. Noury was
dressed as a princess, as she was, with the richest garments of India;
General Noury clothed in the full costume of his Moroccan rank, a dress
which had not been seen before. Captain Sharp wore his uniform, and his
wife proved that no money had been spared on her dress and adornings.
The rajah wore his Indian suit, made of the costliest materials and the
most brilliant colors, and rubies and diamonds sparkled upon him, as on
the pacha. Dr. Henderson was in keeping with his professional brother
of 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 soon
with the Italian band on board; for the general desired to serenade the
governor during the evening. It was an hour too early; for the commander
had been so solicitous that the company should not be late, that he had
overdone the matter. The landlord was to have the carriages at the
landing at half-past six, and there was an hour to wait. But the
princess and Mrs. Sharp declined to leave their seats in the launch, for
fear of mussing up their dresses; and the general called upon the band
to play while they were waiting.
It was near the close of a clear day, and the music was delightful. In a
short time not less than a hundred boats surrounded the ship, and three
times as many people stood upon the shore. The band had not played
before since their arrival. Mr. Frôler, in Parisian evening dress, had
come 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 his
garments as the ladies. The captain had ordered a carpet to be placed on
the steps of the gangway, and the polite Frenchman ascended to the deck
without peril to his clothing.
"Good-evening, Captain Ringgold," said he, extending his hand. "You have
the most ravishing music here."
"It is General Noury's Italian band, and he will take it ashore to
serenade 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 so
now, for I see that the ladies are taking their places in the launch,"
answered Captain Ringgold; "but I shall ask the governor and such ladies
and gentlemen as you will designate to spend the afternoon and evening
on 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 a
general frolic of it. The next morning we shall sail for Manila."
Both of the gentlemen hastened to the gangway to assist the ladies as
soon as the commander saw Mrs. Belgrave moving in that direction. Miss
Blanche, conducted by Louis, appeared about the same time. Her costume
was 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 a
short time they were all seated in the Blanchita, and the gentlemen then
took their places.
Precisely at twenty minutes past six Captain Sharp, prompted by Captain
Ringgold, gave the order to cast off. A quartermaster of the Blanche was
at the wheel, and in five minutes she was alongside the shore. A
_platform of clean boards, covered with a carpet_, had been laid down by
the landlord of the Hôtel de l'Europe, and the vehicles were in
waiting. The ladies were handed from the boat to the carriages without a
spot or a splash on their dresses, though the shore was very muddy.
In ten minutes more the head of the procession reached the governor's
palace. There they found an awning over the sidewalk, and _carpets laid_
down for the guests to walk upon. The French, English, and American
flags were flying on the building. The ladies were conducted to the
grand entrance of the palace, and taken by the servants to the
apartments set apart for clothing. There were not less than a thousand
natives and French people gathered in the vicinity, but they were kept
in admirable order by the Malay police. The pacha's band was admitted to
the grounds, and Mr. Frôler was acting as chief marshal; he notified
them when the party began to descend the stairs, and the music commenced
then. They came down in couples, Captain Ringgold and Mrs. Belgrave
leading, followed by the pacha and the princess.
His Excellency stood at the head of the large apartment, and received
them as they advanced. He was a widower and childless, so that he had no
wife nor daughter to present. Louis and Miss Blanche were the next,
though the commander had proposed that Louis should come next to him and
his mother; but Louis rebelled, and insisted that he should follow the
pacha. The rajah came next, and had Mrs. Blossom on his arm, to the no
small amusement of the party; but the deposed sovereign prince could
find no other lady disengaged.
Possibly Mr. Woolridge and wife were disconcerted to come next; but
their daughter had been properly honored, and both were too fond of
Blanche to be troubled about the precedence. Mr. Frôler stood by the
governor, and announced the names of the members of the party; for His
Excellency could hardly be expected to remember them. But he was very
cordial to all of them, speaking in his broken English, except to the
pacha and Louis. Some of the gentlemen had to present themselves without
ladies; but there were at least twenty ladies and gentlemen seated
around the room. After all the party from the ships had been received by
the governor, they were introduced to the other visitors. Some of the
Saigonians could speak English, and some could not; but the conversation
soon became general. The commander and Mrs. Belgrave found enough who
could speak English. There were seven persons among the tourists who
could converse fluently in French, and Mr. Frôler employed these as
interpreters for those who could not speak the polite language.
The scene was quite amusing to all; and even the governor laughed
heartily as he looked about him, and saw the struggles in the matter of
language. The chief marshal proved to be a very potent functionary, and
he was omnipresent in the apartment. When the governor spoke to him in
praise of Miss Blanche, he immediately sent Louis with her to His
Excellency. The room was the audience chamber of the palace, and the
magnate 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 was
enjoying herself very much, and the governor even more.
Mrs. Sharp was passed over to Louis, and he made the grand round with
her. The princess was instructed to do the same with Mr. Woolridge,
while the professor rendered the same service to Mrs. Woolridge. The
rajah escorted Mrs. Blossom around the chamber, and the poor woman was
in a flutter all the time. The long robe of the Indian prince bothered
her, and she had been nearly tripped up several times; but her new beau
was as polite and deferential as though she had been a queen. She had a
story to tell the gossips of Von Blonk Park which would last her the
rest of her lifetime. It was even a livelier time than that at the
hotel, made so by the confusion of tongues, which was not far short of
that at the Tower of Babel.
The dinner was announced by the major-domo of the household. Ignoring
the houris of the occasion, the polite governor escorted Mrs. Belgrave
to the table, and seated her on his right, while the captain of the
Guardian-Mother conducted the princess. Those of the gentlemen who could
speak French were requested by Mr. Frôler 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 much
amusement was derived from this source that some of the visitors
purposely 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 this
great occasion; and the table was ornamented with many set pieces, and
one from the citadel produced a Buddhist temple in sugar, which was the
admiration of the guests; and doubtless all these culinary artists would
assist the _chef_ of the Guardian-Mother for the great dinner of the
following day. But it would require a considerable volume to detail all
the occurrences of the governor's banquet. A speech was made by His
Excellency in French, which was replied to by Captain Ringgold, without
knowing much of what had been said; but Louis followed him in a few
remarks in French, thanking the governor and the residents of the city
for 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 the
military officers from the citadel, who had been informed that he was
the commander-in-chief of the armies of his country. The Italian band
had been brought into the palace, feasted, and stationed in the great
hall, where they discoursed their finest music, to the great delight of
the guests. Dancing followed, and the governor led Mrs. Noury to the
floor. The rajah asked Mrs. Blossom to dance with him; but she did not
know a step, and if she ever in her life regretted that she could not
dance, it was on this occasion. The commander of the citadel and chief
officer of the army of Cochin China led out Mrs. Noury, and the next in
rank to His Excellency who could speak English was favored by Miss
Blanche.
It was kept up till after midnight; and then the tourists returned to
the ships, visiting the hotel the next forenoon to obtain their baggage.
All the party at the _fête_ of the governor had been invited to the
ships; and the Blanchita conveyed them from the landing in two trips,
one to the Guardian-Mother, and the other to the Blanche. The guests
were shown over both steamers, and they expressed their admiration in
both languages. All the officers were kept busy, especially Mr.
Gaskette, who spoke French. Every passenger was a host or hostess, and
the confusion of tongues created as much merriment as it had at the
palace. Captain Ringgold devoted himself especially to the governor. The
Italian band played all the time on the deck of the Blanche, which was
hardly a ship's length from her consort.
After a light lunch had been served in the cabins of both steamers, the
party on board of the Guardian-Mother, with their hosts, were conveyed
to the Blanche, where they spent a couple of hours, and had a dance on
her 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 two
trips to the Guardian-Mother. When some of the guests asked how the
passengers 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 delight
of the guests.
At six o'clock dinner was announced. Monsieur Odervie had had the
assistance of not less than four _chefs_ all day; and several set pieces
in varied ingredients, original and artistic, adorned the two tables.
The bill of fare had been printed in the city, and of course it was all
French. The occasion was much the same as at the palace, with all the
confusion of tongues. At the close of the dinner Captain Ringgold made
his speech, which the governor could understand, and the chief official
of the province responded in his own language. Several others were
heard; and when Dr. Hawkes attempted to make a speech in the polite
language, he excited bursts of laughter, and it was soon evident that he
was speaking for the fun of it. His gestures were more French than his
speech, which he interlarded with English and Latin. Uncle Moses made a
remark in the latter language, which only the doctor and the professor
could understand; but it was as vigorously applauded as though every
word had been comprehended.
After dinner the governor called for some singing, and gospel hymns were
introduced. Captain Rayburn was one of the guests on board, and his
heavy 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 were
repeated in the music-room. The Cupids, as the two fat gentlemen had
been named in Egypt, did their best on this occasion,--rolled on the
floor, and were as antic as boys.
It was after midnight when the Blanchita began to convey the guests to
the shore; and the adieux were very cordial, with many regrets that the
ships must depart so soon. The river was so full of boats that the
launch had some difficulty in making her way to the shore; but the Malay
police soon made an opening for her.
Mr. Frôler had been invited to sleep on board, as had Captain Rayburn;
and both accepted, the former returning to the ship after he had seen
his ladies home.