My Valise Had Not Arrived, And I Had Been Obliged To Redress Myself In
My Mud-Splashed Tweed Dress, Therefore
I was much annoyed to find the
table set for three, and I hung about unwillingly in the veranda, fully
Expecting two Government clerks in faultless evening dress to appear,
and I was vexed to think that my dream of solitude was not to be
realized, when Assam more emphatically assured me that the meal was
"served," and I sat down, much mystified, at the well-appointed table,
when he led in a large ape, and the Malay servant brought in a small
one, and a Sikh brought in a large retriever and tied him to my chair!
This was all done with the most profound solemnity. The circle being
then complete, dinner proceeded with great stateliness. The apes had
their curry, chutney, pine-apple, eggs, and bananas on porcelain
plates, and so had I. The chief difference was that, whereas I waited
to be helped, the big ape was impolite enough occasionally to snatch
something from a dish as the butler passed round the table, and that
the small one before very long migrated from his chair to the table,
and, sitting by my plate, helped himself daintily from it. What a
grotesque dinner party! What a delightful one! My "next of kin" were
so reasonably silent; they required no conversational efforts; they
were most interesting companions. "Silence is golden," I felt; shall I
ever enjoy a dinner party so much again?
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