The astrologer, an old phoongyee, had cast the infant's horoscope, which was a most favourable one.
Mr. Gilchrist listened to all this with gravity, and then presented their offerings, laying the bright sovereign upon the baby's breast.
This evidently gave great delight; as did the packet of choice cigars to the father, the silken kerchiefs to the elder daughters, the betel-boxes and sweetmeats to the sons and younger children; but something was noticeably wrong about the jars of potted meat brought for the mother, nor could the Englishmen understand what was the matter.
That offence was taken was evident; and Mr. Gilchrist, seeing one of the pots hurried out of sight, begged, in much distress, to be told what he had done wrong, assuring the head of the house that no offence was intended; he had hoped that the English jars might, when empty, be useful to the lady for holding betel nut.
After some difficulty, it appeared that Uncle Toby's attitude, with regard to the fair widow, was not considered proper.
"No Burmese gentleman would smell his wife's cheek in public," explained the phoongyee, scandalised; but willing to overlook the ignorance of foreigners who made such handsome presents.
To "smell a lady's cheek" is Burmese for kissing her; and Mr. Gilchrist, a most punctilious man in his deference to all the fair sex, coloured highly, as he explained that the gentleman in the picture was only removing from the lady's eye a bit of some extraneous matter which had blown into it.
This being perfectly understood, harmony was once more established.
Miss Silver Spring and her sisters handed round cheroots; all seated themselves, and began to discuss a suitable name for the child; while the nurse washed the little one's head in a decoction of the pods and bark of the soap acacia tree; which was afterwards carried to each guest in turn, with an invitation to lave his hands in the same lather.
Many were the names suggested for the child; some being discarded as not beginning with the same letter of the alphabet as that of the day of the week upon which it had been born. Others met with disfavour from different reasons. But at last, with an evident desire to honour Mr. Gilchrist, and make up for the misunderstanding which had taken place, he was entreated to propose a name—an English name.