Four Young Explorers; Or, Sight-Seeing in the Tropics, Oliver Optic [best thriller books to read .TXT] 📗

cooks are very fraternal; and when one of them is to get up a great dinner, his confrères generally tender their assistance to him. As no dinner was to be served that day on the steamer, Monsieur Odervie had obtained leave of absence, and called upon the cook of the hotel. His proffered aid was accepted, and the surgeon was confident he had made the sauce for the excellent fish that was served.

It was a lively party at the table, for the guests were desirous of knowing more about the mission of the Guardian-Mother all over the world; and their curiosity was gratified, the pacha telling the Frenchman all about it in the language of the latter. No wine was served, for the reason that none was ordered, doubtless greatly to the regret of the landlord; and the commander made an explanation, though not an apology.

"I am a Frenchman, but I drink no wine," said Mr. Frôler; "for the reason that it does not agree with me. I have great respect for my stomach; for it is very serviceable to me, like my watch, if I keep it in good order. I drank no wine nor liquor in Paris, and still less would I do so in a tropical country."

"I am in the same boat with my friend Mr. Frôler. The P. & O. Company does not encourage its captains to drink anything; and when I entered the service as a fourth officer, I knocked off entirely,[217] afloat or ashore; and I have stuck to my text ever since," added Captain Rayburn.

"Then our teetotal habits do not interfere at all with our guests."

"Not at all," added both of them.

"Did you know that the captain of your consort from Borneo was a commander in the P. & O. service, Mr. Belgrave?" asked Captain Ringgold.

"I did not till this evening; I knew that he was a gentleman, and that was all that I wished to know," replied Louis.

This remark was applauded warmly by the company. The captain then said that he wished to introduce the guests of the occasion over again, though they had been presented individually to all the company. He wished to say that Captain Rayburn was actually the commander of a P. & O. steamer of six thousand tons, on leave of absence on account of sickness. He also told them something more about the Frenchman. He was a gentleman whose father had made his fortune for him, as he expressed himself; he was not engaged in any business, and held no official position. He was travelling only for his own amusement and instruction, and his stay in Saigon had been prolonged to six months.

As the party left the table, Mr. Frôler had a little talk for a few minutes, when he excused himself, and left the hotel, promising to return in half an hour. Conversation was resumed in the parlor;[218] and presently Mrs. Belgrave started one of the familiar hymns when she found a piano in the room, in which the captain of the Delhi joined with a tremendous bass voice.

While the music was in full blast, Mr. Frôler entered the apartment, accompanied by two ladies and two gentlemen, both of the latter wearing the decoration of the Legion of Honor. It was evident that the visitors were magnates of Saigon; and Mrs. Belgrave rose from the instrument, and the singing was discontinued.

"I have the pleasure of presenting to Your Excellency, Captain Ringgold, commander of the steamer Guardian-Mother, visiting Saigon with the company of tourists here present," said Mr. Frôler, leading up one of the strangers. "Captain Ringgold, I have the honor to introduce to you His Excellency the Governor of French Cochin China."

The two gentlemen then shook hands. Louis Belgrave was then presented, followed by General Noury and his wife; and the pacha then took His excellency to every member of the party, and presented each in due form. While this was in process, Mr. Frôler presented to the commander the other gentleman, who appeared to be about fifty years old, as Monsieur Larousse, merchant of the city; and Louis followed the general in introducing him to the members of the party. The master of ceremonies next led up to Captain Ringgold the two ladies, presenting them as Madame and Mademoiselle Larousse;[219] and they appeared to be the wife and daughter of the elderly gentleman who had preceded them.

The daughter was a beautiful lady, apparently about twenty-four years old, though it is not always practicable to state the age of a French lady. By this time General Noury had made his round, and the governor was passed over to Mrs. Noury, at his request. The commander made the circuit with Madame Larousse, and the pacha offered his services to conduct Mademoiselle Larousse. He presented her to his wife first, interrupting her tête-à-tête with His Excellency for a moment.

"Pretty woman," said Captain Rayburn to Captain Ringgold.

"Very pretty," replied the latter.

"Between you and me, she is the particular reason why Frôler has prolonged his stay here to six months."

"Then I congratulate him," added the commander.

"Her father is not rich; Frôler does not care for that, for he is a multi-millionaire himself, counted in francs. But the prettiest lady here is the sister of Morris, Miss Blanche."

"Madame Noury, you were singing when I came in," said the governor when the introductions had been completed.

"But they were singing American hymns, not adapted to your religion or mine," replied Mrs. Noury.

"I don't care for that," he added; and both spoke[220] French. "I liked what I heard very much, and I should wish to hear some more of it."

Mrs. Belgrave was called, and the request repeated to her in English by the magnate. And so it happened that the rest of the evening was passed in singing gospel hymns. At a late hour the company separated.[221]

CHAPTER XXIV TONQUIN AND SIGHTS IN CHOLON

There was so little sight-seeing to be done in Saigon that the tired tourists did not hurry themselves in the morning; for breakfast was not served till nine o'clock, and they went to the tables at their own pleasure. The Nimrods had risen at an early hour, and had taken a long walk before any others came from their rooms. They were the first to take the morning meal, and they had earned an appetite before the regular hour for it. At half-past ten a number of vehicles had been gathered by the landlord for the use of his guests.

Mr. Frôler was in attendance as soon as breakfast was ready, and the young men took their meal with him. He seemed to have taken a fancy to Louis when he learned that the Guardian-Mother was his college, and he took pains to inform him in regard to the affairs of the city and the country.

"How did the French happen to settle here in the beginning?" asked Louis when they were seated at the table.

"England, Holland, Spain, and especially France, began to take an interest in the countries of the East at a very early date; and France entered the race[222] for Oriental territory as early as 1787, and agreed to assist Annam in its troubles. Two years later the French Revolution broke out in the destruction of the Bastille, on the fourteenth of July, which is still celebrated. It is our 'Fourth of July,' Mr. Belgrave."

"I was in Paris on that day a few years ago, when I was a smaller boy than I am now, and I wondered that no fire-crackers were let off," replied Louis.

"They are not permitted in Paris. France had her hands full after the Revolution began, and was unable to keep her agreement in full with Annam; but missionaries were sent there, and some commercial relations in a very small way were continued until 1831. Then the king died, and was succeeded by one who did not believe in the missionaries, French and Spanish, settled in Annam, as the whole country east of Siam was then called. The new king wanted to drive away the bearers of the gospel to the natives, and killed or persecuted them.

"Twenty years later, France found it necessary to interfere, which she did by sending a small army to subdue the country. The fortifications which had been built by French engineers held the soldiers back to some extent. When the persecutions of the Christians were believed to be ended, the French soldiers returned home. They were again renewed; and France and Spain sent out a fleet and army, which captured the principal seaport, and continued the[223] war for about four years, when a treaty of peace was concluded. Annam was compelled to pay 25,000,000 francs for the expense of the war, and permit every person to enjoy his own religious belief. The missionaries were to be protected, commercial relations were established, and in 1886 a treaty was ratified at Hué, by which the country was placed under the protection of France, though the native princes were nominally continued in power. This was the beginning of the French dominion in this region."

"If it is not one now, it will eventually become a French colony," suggested Louis.

"Probably it will, for it is largely so now," replied Mr. Frôler.

Captain Ringgold, who had waited for Mrs. Belgrave, finished breakfast about the same time; for they had not listened to a historical talk while they were eating, and they left the room together. At the time appointed for the ride, all the party were in the parlor, and they were loaded into the vehicles. They rode through the principal streets, and to the botanical garden, where all the party walked through the grounds. Then they rode along the banks of the river.

"Those small vessels look like men-of-war," said Louis, who was seated in the first carriage, with Mr. Frôler, the commander, and Mrs. Belgrave.

"They are little gunboats, and the government has about twenty of them," replied the Frenchman. "But I think we had better alight here, and take a general view of the river and the surroundings."[224]

At a given signal the whole party got out of the vehicles.

"But what are those gunboats for, Mr. Frôler?" asked Louis, as the company were looking at them.

"If there should happen to be a riot, or a disturbance of any kind, up the river, which the police could not handle, they would be used for transporting troops; for we have the telegraph here, and could be notified at once. They are also used to beat off pirates, and to see that the laws are obeyed."

"Pirates!" exclaimed Louis. "Are there any about this country?"

"They are not such pirates as we read about in olden times," replied Mr. Frôler with a smile. "But some of these natives may rig up a boat, and go on a predatory excursion among their neighbors, especially in the fishing regions on the Great Lake, over two hundred miles up the river. Their principal plunder is fish, though they take anything they can lay their hands upon."

"I should hardly call them pirates," added Louis.

"But Chinese pirates have been known to capture vessels in the China Sea, off the coast of Tonquin."

"I have heard of such within a few years."

"You can see the citadel, as it is called here, though it would be simply a fort in most places. There are 1,830 French soldiers here, and 2,800 native troops. Only 3,000 of the population are French. The last census gave the country a population of 2,034,453," continued Mr. Frôler, consulting a[225] memorandum book he carried in his pocket. "They are mainly Annamites; but Cambodians, Chinese, savages from the north, and Malays contribute to make up the number. But I don't mean to lecture you, as I am told you are addressed on board your ship by some of your own number."

"But we are an educational institution in part, and we are very glad to hear you," said the commander. "We are supposed to be greedy for information about the countries we visit. I suppose we are about as near Tongking as we shall be, and I am sure my company would like to learn something more about it. We have a nice place here in the shade of this tree to hear a short lecture."

"You use the English name for the region, which is all right; and I have seen it spelled Tonkin, which I think is better yet for your people. The French name is Tonquin," (and he gave the French pronunciation). "It is larger than Cochin China; and we apply this name to what you designate as French Cochin China, for it has an area of 34,740 square miles, and a population supposed to be about 9,000,000. Its chief town is Hanoï, consisting of a number of villages, with 150,000 inhabitants; and its chief seaport is Hai-Phong. There has been war going on against the people of this country for many years."

"We read something about these operations in American papers, and know very little about Tonquin, which is the reason I asked for more knowledge of the region," added the commander.[226]

"The principal productions of Tonquin," Mr. Frôler, bowing to the captain, proceeded, "are rice, silk, sugar, pepper,