“Si, signor,” she replied, with a little smile at the fellow’s naïve ignorance. Never before had a royal party dined more economically: including the “capital stuff,” the bill did not come up to seven carlins a head—half a crown perhaps of our money. And when the bill was brought, or rather the amount named—for in these humble trattorie they save the expense of bill-paper—she ordered an equal amount to be added to it, with the good wishes of their Majesties of the Two Sicilies.
The man was aghast, until he had a nudge from Caracciolo: “Don’t you see that it is Her Majesty, Pasquale?” And then we had the civility and obeisances which would have spoiled the whole fun of the feast if our incognito had been betrayed earlier. And My Lady, in particular, had enjoyed herself mightily: she loved new dishes, and vowed that she would have pork fry and those little sand-fish done in oil at her next supper at the Embassy.
We did well in stopping. A heavenly evening had succeeded the storm and shower; the latter had precipitated every azotic impurity in the atmosphere, and imparted to it a fresh supply of oxygen; a luxuriant vernal vegetation exhaled its perfumes more freely—it was a treat to breathe! A brilliant moon assisted to conduct us safely and pleasantly through Portici to the Castel del Carmine; and, skirting the shore past the Immacolata, we rounded the Castel Nuovo to the Royal Palace, where we drew up in a kind of salute while the Queen entered, and then dispersed to our several destinations.
Chapter XIII.—Of the Supper at the Palace that followed.
MY Lady’s feasting on the little fish, which had almost rivalled the Prince Caracciolo’s miraculous draught, did not seem to interfere with her appetite at the State dinner, or perhaps I should say supper, which took place at the Queen’s Palace in Naples as soon as the guests could conveniently reassemble after repairing the ravages of so hot and wet a day. She ate with her accustomed heartiness, as I was in a position to see, for she had me to sit next to her. Will was there officially as the Admiral’s interpreter—an office which later was more often filled by My Lady herself, during the Admiral’s long spell ashore in the Two Sicilies. She had said to Her Majesty, in her good-natured way, “Let Tubby and Josiah come; they can’t babble away any secrets, for they will not understand one word we say.” She had quite forgiven Josiah for his brutal and at that time undeserved assault on her friendship with his step-father, and he was her devoted slave again: indeed, there was nothing small about My Lady,—even her vanity was too great to charge with pettiness. I may say here that Josiah was mighty careful that night; and I do think it was from fear of forgetting himself again, although such a very young officer was not likely to exceed before the company in which he found himself. For Her Majesty had invited all the captains that could be spared both for the expedition to Pompeji and for the banquet; and all around us, mingled with the beauties and most trusted nobles of the Neapolitan Court were such men as Troubridge and Alexander Ball, the pick of Nelson’s captains, men whom any other Power would have been glad to welcome as commanders-in-chief at that moment—such was their martial fame for the handling of their ships, and stomach for fighting.
I don’t know which was the finer sight, the scene in the ante-room under the huge rock-crystal chandeliers with their hundreds of wax tapers, or the scene at the crescent-shaped dining-table groaning beneath its rich services of the precious metals, fashioned by such gold-and-silversmiths as the Florentine, Cellini. In the former, the modest but self-reliant carriage of the men, who had made all Europe ring with the fame of their deeds, contrasted finely with the noble figures and carriage of the young Italian beauties with whom Her Majesty loved to surround herself—women who held themselves as upright as though they had borne on their heads the Greek water-pitchers of antique mould which their peasant women carry to the wells. They had, too, the strength and health on which the daughters of our country squires pride themselves, and, yet, more grace than ever we saw in the great French ladies when Will and I were with the Allies at the occupation of Paris fifteen years or more later, gone there to see the great sight, like so many of the gentry round Dover. And just as for carriage there are no women to be matched with these Southern Italians, so in many cases it was with their skins, which were exquisitely velvety and clear, and showed the rich crimson of their blood through the transparent brown. I noted, and I think Will noted particularly, the difference between Donna Rusidda and them; for her skin, while just as transparent and beautiful in texture, was more of an olive hue, and showed the blood but rarely and at moments of great agitation—though her cheeks then, to use the words of the old song, were “as ruddy as a peach” for all their brownness. But I thought, and I could swear that Will thought, that this very circumstance conferred upon her visage a kind of distinction.
Most of the ladies could by now speak a little, a very little English—a gift of tongues which was not shared by many of the officers, much as they had served in Italian waters. However, between them they could make words enough to serve while they were assembling for the banquet, and each keeping an eye on the door by which Her Majesty was to enter.
At the dinner the grace of the women was not shown to the full, nor were the attitudes of the officers so characteristic; but to make up for this came the rolls of hearty laughter. For the Queen on these occasions by no means maintained a royal reserve, for all the haughtiness in her nature. Maria Carolina loved fine men, and loved above all things to see them themselves, and I judge that she was not averse to seeing them themselves for the further reason that it enabled her to gauge their value as instruments.
Those who had known him long, like Captain Troubridge, could not help noting, even now, the change that was coming over the Admiral. Formerly he was extremely reserved when dining in the presence of ladies, saying but little and drinking no wine until the King’s health should be proposed, and always drinking such healths in bumpers. Now he took a little wine during dinner, not wishing, I think, to appear peculiar; and talked very much to My Lady, although he was sitting between her and the Queen. It was, as I have writ, My Lady’s whim that I should sit upon her other hand that night, and so I had good opportunity for observing. Will sat on the other side of Captain Troubridge to interpret between him and Her Majesty, while My Lady interpreted for the Admiral. She spoke Italian, and also the Neapolitan dialect, like English; though she could not write her native tongue better than a clever child.