To Miss Blanche he was very polite; but he did not give a
moment more to her than to the other ladies, much to the satisfaction of
her parents.
The dinner was fully equal to Mr. Sage's best efforts, and the occasion was
as hilarious and as pleasant as it could be. Possibly the English guests
missed their wine on such an occasion. Lord Tremlyn declared that he seldom
drank it at all, and Dr. Ferrolan said the same; and Sir Modava was the
strictest sort of a teetotaler, having been engaged in preaching this
doctrine among the Sepoys as opportunity offered. The captain of the
Blanche informed the commander of the Guardian-Mother that the general had
never touched wine since he came on board.
After dinner several of the gentlemen sang songs, and the general gave one
in Moroccan, which amused the party, though they could not understand a
word of it. Later in the evening Captain Ringgold made a speech
complimentary to General Noury, and wished him many happy returns of the
occasion they celebrated. He was followed by Dr. Hawkes, Uncle Moses,
Professor Giroud, and then by the three distinguished guests from the
Travancore.
The general replied to all of them at the close of the entertainment. He
was a pleasant speaker, and his handsome face added a great deal to his
words. The affair was declared to be a great success for a dinner-party at
sea, and the commander of the Guardian-Mother invited all their hosts to
assist him in a similar one on board his ship, the signal for which was to
be the American Union Jack when the weather was suitable.
Pages:
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119