Perceiving that no preparations were making for supper, I ordered Fritz to bring us the Westphalia ham, for that I was hungry. The eyes of all were now fixed upon me with astonishment; for every one believed that I could only be in jest; when Fritz returned, jumping and displaying with exultation a large and excellent ham, which we had begun to cut in the morning. A ham! cried one and all; a ham! and ready drest! What a nice supper we shall have! said they, clapping their hands, to give a hearty welcome to the bearer of so fine a treat.—It comes quite in the nick of time too, interrupted I; for, to judge by appearances, a certain careful steward I could name, seems to have intended to send us supperless to bed, little thinking, I suppose, that a long voyage by water is apt to increase the appetite.
I will tell you presently, replied my wife, what it was that prevented me from providing a supper for you all at an earlier hour: your ham, however, makes you ample amends; and I have something in my hand with which I shall make a pretty side dish; in the twinkling of an eye you shall see it make its entrance. She now showed us about a dozen of turtle’s eggs, and then hurried away to make an omelette of some of them.
Oh! look, papa, said Ernest, if they are not the very same sort which Robinson Crusoe found in his island! See, they are like white balls, covered with a skin like wetted parchment! We found them upon the sands along the shore.
Your account is perfectly just, my dear boy, said I: by what means did you make so useful a discovery? Oh, that is a part of our history, interrupted my wife; for I also have a history to relate, when you will be so good as to listen to it.
Hasten then, my love, and get your pretty side-dish ready, and we will have the history for the dessert. In the mean while I will relieve the cow and the ass from the encumbrance of their sea accoutrements, for I am sure they will be glad to get rid of them. Come along, boys, and give me your help. I got up, and they all followed me gaily to the shore, where the animals had remained. We were not long in effecting our purpose with the cow and the ass, who were both animals of a quiet and kind temper; but when it was the turn of the grunting sow, our success was neither so easy nor so certain; we had no sooner untied the rope than she escaped from us, and with so much rapidity that none of us could get hold of her. The idea occurred to Ernest of sending the two dogs after her, who caught her by the ears and brought her back, while we were half deafened with the hideous noise she made; but at length she suffered us to take off her cork jacket quietly enough. We now laid the swimming apparatus across the ass’s back, and returned to the kitchen; our slothful Ernest being highly delighted at finding that he was likely in future to have our loads carried for us by a servant.
In the mean while, my kind wife had prepared the omelette, and spread a tablecloth on the end of the cask of butter, upon which she had placed some of the plates and silver spoons we had brought from the ship. The ham was in the middle, and the omelette and the cheese opposite to each other; and all together made a figure not to be despised by the inhabitants of a desert island. By and by the two dogs, the fowls, the pigeons, the sheep, and the goats, had all assembled round us, which gave us something like the air of sovereigns of the country. It did not please the geese and ducks to add themselves to the number of these our curious-looking subjects: they seemed to prefer their natural element, and confined themselves to a marshy swamp, where they found a kind of little crabs in great abundance: these animals furnished a delicious food for them, and relieved us of the care of providing for their support.
When we had finished our repast, I bade Fritz present our company with a bottle of Canary wine, which we had brought from the captain’s cabin, and I then desired my wife would indulge us with the promised history. I first requested her to taste our wine, and then she began her narrative, as will be seen in the ensuing volume.
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.
Printed by R. and A. Taylor, Shoe-lane, London.