ke a benign figure in comic opera; and perhaps
because of his dignity or his multiplicity of luggage, all the boats
ardently desired him as a passenger. Two green boxes, carrying much
information painted in white on the sides, gave us all details of his
rank, ancestry, and place of residence. These were projected down the
stairway and then followed an imposing procession of servitors bearing
potted plants, packages done up in linen cloth, baskets of eggs,
limes, lemons, grapefruit, a canary in a cage, some white mice, and a
Persian cat; the last three, it is needless to say, being in separate
crates.

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