Majestic being, that St. Kitts boatmaster; never more impressive than
when he successfully landed a bishop of the isles! Dolly and I
recalled the "Admirable Crichton" in Barrie's whimsical play, who, as
butler in a titled English family, was wrecked with the entire
household on a desert island. It needed only the emergencies of
twenty-four hours to establish him as the dominant intellectual force
and the practical governor of the sadly inefficient earls, countesses,
ladies, and honorables; and before long he assumed the authority
properly belonging to him. That the earl's daughter finally fell in
love with him seemed not so much dramatic license as a tribute to his
obvious superiority. In London the lady would have been criticized as
marrying beneath her; on the desert island it actually appeared as if
she were doing particularly well for herself; indeed, Dolly confessed
that though she would prefer marrying Marmaduke Hogg she would rather
be wrecked in the company of the St. Kitts boatmaster.
* * * * *
S.S. Diana, Sunday, January 27
After breakfast, on our way to anchor at Antigua for the night, we saw
in the distance the towering cone of Nevis, the "Gorgeous Isle" of
Alexander Hamilton's birth and the famous scene of Lord Nelson's
marriage. It has fallen from its proud estate of former years into
poverty and neglect, but it is still marvelously beautiful to the eye.
We sat on deck reading, or at least glancing drowsily over the pages
of our books to the sapphire sea and the emerald forests of the island
shores with a never-ceasing delight. There were three Roman Catholic
priests on board, also four Protestant missionaries, one of them with
a wife and a family of charming children--Samuel, Naomi, Esther,
Daniel. Piously they were named and never once did they bring contempt
on the Holy Scriptures! From below in a far end of the boat we could
hear echoes of gospel hymns in some little cabin where a
Sunday-morning service was being held.
Dorothea gave a deep sigh.
"It is all so peaceful, Charlotte! One day just like another and all
beautiful and tranquil. We haven't seen anybody hurry since we left
New York. Do you remember Rudyard Kipling saying, when he came back
there after a long absence, that he was afraid to step slowly lest the
man behind him should walk up his back? Nobody ever seems nervous in
these islands. The natives can be ragged and hungry without being much
concerned. Work never appears to be a delight to them for its own
sake, but only as a means to get food. I feel slip--slip--slipping
into a heavenly state of coma. Does anything ever stir the tropics
except hurricanes and earthquakes, I wonder? How can women fight for
suffrage in this climate? How can a man be awakened to great
ambitions?"
"Alexander Hamilton was born on Nevis and passed all his boyhood and
youthful days on what is now our own St. Croix," I said.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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