In the afternoon, we had our grand rally at the Queen's Stair-way. Corny couldn't come, because her mother said she must not be running around so much. So she staid at home and worked on the new flag for the coronation. We designed this flag among us. It had a black ground, with a yellow sun just rising out of the middle of it. It didn't cost much, and looked more like a yellow cog-wheel rolling in deep mud than anything else. But we thought it would do very well.
Rectus and I had barely reached the stairs, by the way of the old fort, when Priscilla made her appearance in the ravine at the head of a crowd of whooping1 barefooted young rascals2, who came skipping along as if they expected something to eat.
"I'd never be a queen," said Rectus, "if I had to have such a lot of subjects as that."
"Don't think you would," said I; "but we mustn't let 'em come up the stairs. They must stay at the[167] bottom, so that we can harangue3 'em." So we charged down the stairs, and made the adherents4 bunch themselves on the level ground.
Then we harangued5 them, and they laughed, and hurrahed6, and whistled, and jumped, while Priscilla, as an active emissary, ran around among them, punching them, and trying to make them keep still and listen.
But as they all promised to stick to us and the royal queen through thick and thin, we didn't mind a little disorder7.
The next day but one was to be coronation day, and we impressed it on the minds of the adherents that they must be sure to be on hand about ten in the morning, in front of the queen's hut. We concluded not to call it a palace until after the ceremony.
When we had said all we had to say, we told the assemblage that it might go home; but it didn't seem inclined to do anything of the kind.
"Look a here, boss," said one of them,—a stout8, saucy9 fellow, with the biggest hat and the biggest feet on the island,—"aint you agoin' to give us nothin' for comin' round here?"
"Give you anything!" cried Rectus, blazing up suddenly. "That's a pretty way to talk! It's the subjects that have to give. You'll see pretty soon——"
Just here I stopped him. If he had gone on a few minutes longer, he would have wound up that kingdom with a snap.
"We didn't bring you here," said I, "to give you anything, for it ought to be enough pay to any decent[168] fellow to see a good old person like Queen Poqua-dilla get her rights."
"Who's him?" asked several of the nearest fellows.
"He means Jane Henderson," said Priscilla. "You keep quiet."
"Jane Henderson! Dat's all right. Don' call her no names. Go ahead, boss!" they cried, laughing and shouting. I went ahead.
"We can't pay you any money; but if you will all promise again to be on hand before ten o'clock day after to-morrow, we'll take you down to the harbor now and give you a small dive."
A wild promise rang up the sides of the ravine.
A "small dive" is a ceremony somewhat peculiar10 to this island. A visitor—no native white man would ever think of such a thing—stands on the edge of a pier11, or anywhere, where the water is quite deep, and tosses in a bit of money, while the darkey boys—who are sure to be all ready when a visitor is standing12 on a pier—dive for it. It's a lot of fun to see them do this, and Rectus and I had already chucked a good deal of small change into the harbor, and had seen it come up again, some of it before it got to the bottom. These dives are called "small," because the darkeys want to put the thing mildly. They couldn't coax13 anybody down to the water to give them a big dive.
"You see," said I to Rectus, as we started down the ravine toward the river, with the crowd of adherents marching in front, "we've got to have these fellows at the coronation. So it wont14 do to scare 'em off now."[169]
We went down to a little public square in front of the town, where there was a splendid diving-place. A good many people were strolling about there, but I don't suppose that a single person who saw those darkey fellows, with nothing on but their cotton trousers,—who stood in a line on the edge of the sea-wall, and plunged15 in, head foremost, like a lot of frogs, when I threw out a couple of "big coppers17,"—ever supposed that these rascals were diving for monarchical18 purposes. The water was so clear that we could see them down at the bottom, swimming and paddling around after the coppers. When a fellow found one he'd stick it in his mouth, and come up as lively as a cricket, and all ready for another scramble20 at the bottom.
Sometimes I threw in a silver "check," which is no bigger than a three-cent piece; but, although the water was about fifteen feet deep, it was never lost. The fellows seemed just as much at home in the water as on land, and I suppose they don't know how to get drowned. We tried to toss the money in such a way that each one of them would have something, but some of them were not smart enough to get down to the bottom in time; and when we thought we had circulated enough specie, we felt sure that there were two or three, and perhaps more, who hadn't brought up a penny.
So when they all climbed out, with their brown shoulders glistening21, I asked which one of them had come out without getting anything. Every man-jack of them stepped forward and said he hadn't got a[170] copper16. We picked out three little fellows, gave them a few pennies apiece, and came home.
A SMALL DIVE A SMALL DIVE
The next day we were all hard at work. Corny and her mother went down to the queen's house, and planned what they could get to fit up the place so that it would be a little more comfortable. Mrs. Chipperton must have added something to our eight dollars, for she and Corny came up into the town, and bought a lot of things, which made Poqua-dilla's best room look like another place. The rocking-chair was fixed22 up quite royally. Mrs. Chipperton turned out to be a better[171] kind of a woman than I thought she was at first.
We hired a man to cut a pole and set it up in the queen's front yard, for the flag; and then Rectus and I started out to get the crown. I had thought that if we could find some sheet-brass23, I could manage to make a pretty good crown, but there didn't seem to be anything of the kind in the place. But, after a good deal of looking, we found a brass saucepan, in a store, which I thought would do very well for the foundation of a crown. We bought this, and took it around to a shop where a man mended pots and kettles. For a shilling we hired the use of his tools for an hour, and then Rectus and I went to work. We unriveted the handle, and then I held the bottom edge of the saucepan to the grindstone, while Rectus turned, and we soon ground the bottom off. This left us a deep brass band, quite big enough for a crown, and as the top edge was rounded off, it could be turned over on a person's head, so as to sit quite comfortably. With a cold-chisel I cut long points in what would be the upper part of the crown, and when I had filed these up a little, the crown looked quite nobby. We finished it by punching a lot of holes in the front part, making them in the form of stars and circles. With something red behind these, the effect would be prodigious24.
At ten o'clock, sharp, the next morning, we were all at the queen's house. Mrs. Chipperton was with us, for she wished very much to see the ceremony. I think Mr. Chipperton would have been along, but a[172] gentleman took him out in his yacht that morning, and I must admit that we all breathed a little bit freer without him. There was a pretty fair crowd sitting around in the front yard when we reached the house, and before long a good many more people came to see what was going on. They were all negroes; but I don't believe half of them were genuine native Africans. The queen was sitting inside, with a red shawl on, although it was a pretty warm day, and wearing a new turban.
We had arranged, on the way, to appoint a lot of court officials, because there was no use of our being stingy in this respect, when it didn't cost anything to do up the thing right. So we picked out a good looking man for Lord High Chancellor25, and gave him a piece of red ribbon to tie in his button-hole. He hadn't any button-hole anywhere, except in his trousers, so he tied it to the string which fastened his shirt together at the collar. Four old men we appointed to be courtiers, and made them button up their coats. For a wonder, they all had coats. We also made a Lord High Sheriff and a Royal Beadle, and an Usher26 of the White Wand, an officer Mrs. Chipperton had read about, and to whom we gave a whittled27 stick, with strict instructions not to jab anybody with it. Corny had been reading a German novel, and she wanted us to appoint a "Hof-rath," who is a German court officer of some kind. He was a nice fellow in the novel, and so we picked out the best-looking young darkey we could find, for the position.[173]
We each had our posts. Corny was to do the crowning, and I was to make the speech. Rectus had his place by the flag, which he was to haul up at the proper moment. Mrs. Chipperton undertook to stand by the old lady,—that is, the queen,—and give her any support she might happen to need during the ceremony.
We intended having the coronation in the house; but we found the crowd too large for this, so we brought the rocking-chair out-of-doors, and set it in front of the only window in the palace. The yard was large enough to accommodate a good many people, and those who could not get in had plenty of room out in the road. We tried to make Poqua-dilla take off her turban, because a crown on a turban seemed to us something entirely28 out of order; but she wouldn't listen to it. We had the pleasant-faced neighbor-woman as an interpreter, and she said that it wasn't any use; the queen would almost as soon appear in public without her head as without her turban. So we let this pass, for we saw very plainly that it wouldn't do to try to force too much on Poqua-dilla, for she looked now as if she thought we had come there to perform some operation on her,—perhaps to cut off her leg.
About half-past ten, we led her out, and made her sit down in the rocking-chair. Mrs. Chipperton stood on one side of her, holding one of her hands, while the neighbor-woman stood on the other side, and held the other hand. This arrangement, however, did not last long, for Poqua-dilla soon jerked her hands away,[174] thinking, perhaps, that if anything was done that hurt, it might be better to be free for a jump.
Corny stood in front, a little at one side, holding the crown, which she had padded and lined with red flannel29. I took my place just before Mrs. Chipperton, facing the crowd. Rectus was at the flag-pole, near the front of the yard, holding the halyards in his hands, ready to haul. The Hof-rath was by him, to help if anything got tangled30, and the four courtiers and the other officials had places in the front row of the spectators, while Priscilla stood by Corny, to be on hand should she be needed.
When all was ready, and Corny had felt in her pocket to see that the "permission paper" was all right, I began my speech. It was the second regular speech I had ever made,—the first one was at a school celebration,—and I had studied it out pretty carefully. It was intended, of course, for the negroes, but I really addressed the most of it to Mrs. Chipperton, because I knew that she could understand a speech better than any one else in the yard. When I had shown the matter up as plainly as I knew how, and had given all the whys and wherefores, I made a little stop for applause. But I didn't get any. They all stood waiting to see what would happen next. As there was nothing more to say, I nodded to Corny to clap on the crown. The moment she felt it on her head, the queen stood up as straight as a hoe-handle, and looked quickly from side to side. Then I called out in my best voice:
"Africans! Behold31 your queen!"[175]
At this instant Rectus ran up the black flag with the yellow cog-wheel, and we white people gave a cheer. As soon as they got a cue, the darkeys knew what to do. They burst out into a wild yell, they waved their hats, they laid down on the grass and kicked, they jumped, and danced, and laughed, and screamed. I was afraid the queen would bolt, so I took a quiet hold of her shawl. But she stood still until the crowd cooled down a little, and then she made a courtesy and sat down.
"Is that all?" asked the neighbor-woman, after she had waited a few moments.
"Yes," said I. "You can take her in."
When the queen had been led within doors, and while the crowd was still in a state of wild commotion32, I took a heavy bag of coppers from my coat-pocket—where it had been worrying me all through the ceremony—and gave it to Priscilla.
"Scatter33 that among the subjects," said I.
"Give 'em a big scrahmble in the road?" said she, her eyes crackling with delight.
"Yes," said I, and out she ran, followed by the whole kingdom. We white folk stood inside to watch the fun. Priscilla threw out a handful of pennies, and the darkeys just piled themselves up in the road on top of the money. You could see nothing but madly waving legs. The mass heaved and tossed and moved from one side of the road to the other. The Lord High Chancellor was at the bottom of the heap, while the Hof-rath wiggled his bare feet high in the air. Every fellow who grabbed a penny had ten fellows pulling at[176] him. The women and small fry did not get into this mess, but they dodged34 around, and made snatches wherever they could get their hands into the pile of boys and men.
They all yelled, and shouted and tussled and scrambled35, until Priscilla, who was dancing around with her bag, gave another throw into a different part of the road. Then every fellow jerked himself loose from the rest, and a fresh rush was made, and a fresh pile of darkeys arose in a minute.
We stood and laughed until our backs ached, but, as I happened to look around at the house, I saw the queen standing on her door-step looking mournfully at the fun. She was alone, for even her good neighbor had rushed out to see what she could pick up. I was glad to find that the new monarch19, who still wore her crown,—which no one would have imagined to have ever been a saucepan,—had sense enough to keep out of such a scrimmage of the populace, and I went back and gave her a shilling. Her face shone, and I could see that she felt that she never could have grabbed that much.
When there had been three or four good scrambles36, Priscilla ran up the road, a little way, and threw out all the pennies that were left in the bag. Then she made a rush for them, and, having a good start, she got there first, and had both hands full of dust and pennies before any one else reached the spot. She was not to be counted out of that game.
After this last scramble, we came away. The queen had taken her throne indoors, and we went in and[177] shook hands with her, telling her we would soon come and see how she was getting along. I don't suppose she understood us, but it didn't matter. When we had gone some distance, we looked back, and there was still a pile of darkeys rolling and tumbling in the dust.
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1
whooping
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| 发嗬嗬声的，发咳声的 | |
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rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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3
harangue
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| n.慷慨冗长的训话，言辞激烈的讲话 | |
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adherents
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| n.支持者，拥护者( adherent的名词复数 )；党羽；徒子徒孙 | |
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5
harangued
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| v.高谈阔论( harangue的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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hurrahed
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| v.好哇( hurrah的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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disorder
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| n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调 | |
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9
saucy
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| adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的 | |
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10
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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11
pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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12
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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13
coax
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| v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取 | |
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wont
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| adj.习惯于；v.习惯；n.习惯 | |
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15
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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16
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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17
coppers
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| 铜( copper的名词复数 )； 铜币 | |
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18
monarchical
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| adj. 国王的，帝王的，君主的，拥护君主制的 =monarchic | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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20
scramble
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| v.爬行，攀爬，杂乱蔓延，碎片，片段，废料 | |
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21
glistening
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| adj.闪耀的，反光的v.湿物闪耀，闪亮( glisten的现在分词 ) | |
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fixed
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| adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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26
usher
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| n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员 | |
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27
whittled
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| v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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28
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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29
flannel
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| n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服 | |
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30
tangled
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| adj. 纠缠的，紊乱的 动词tangle的过去式和过去分词 | |
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31
behold
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| v.看，注视，看到 | |
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32
commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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dodged
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| v.闪躲( dodge的过去式和过去分词 )；回避 | |
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scrambled
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| v.快速爬行( scramble的过去式和过去分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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scrambles
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| n.抢夺( scramble的名词复数 )v.快速爬行( scramble的第三人称单数 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞 | |
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