The general was then presented to all the party, passengers as well as invited guests. It may have required an effort on the part of the former to carry out the instructions of the commander; but the Pacha declared that he was delighted with his reception. He was placed on the right of Captain Ringgold, as the guest of honor, and treated with distinguished consideration by all the people from the shore.
The dinner was Mr. Melancthon Sage's crowning effort, as he had been ordered to make it. Not a word was said, or an allusion made, to the scenes of the past in which the trouble had bubbled up. The commander made a speech, and proclaimed his temperance principle so originally that the military guests hardly missed the wine to which they were accustomed. Some of them spoke, mostly of the ship and her agreeable passengers; but all agreed the Pacha made the speech of the evening, which was a comparison between his own country and those in which he had spent so large a portion of his life. In the first place, he was a very handsome man; his English was perfect; and he had a poetic nature, which developed itself in the flowery language he used.
It was a very delightful occasion, and everybody enjoyed it without any drawbacks. The Maud was at the gangway to take the party ashore; for the Parsee merchants had invited the military officers to make use of her. By eleven o'clock all were gone in that direction. Captain Ringgold had intended to sail for Bombay the next day; but the extraordinary event which had transpired at Aden decided him to remain another day.
The party from the Blanche, attended by the commander, were put on board of their steamer, in the barge. On her return Captain Ringgold was very anxious to ascertain what impression had been made upon the passengers by His Highness the Pacha. They insisted that he was not the same man at all, and that they had been pleased with him. Had he really reformed his life? Mrs. Belgrave had heard from Mrs. Sharp a fuller account of the conversion of the sinner in a high place, and she believed it.
Louis Belgrave sat at the side of Miss Blanche, and she had little knowledge of the intentions of the Pacha so far as she was concerned. He had treated her with the most scrupulous politeness and reserve, and she admitted that she "rather liked him." Mrs. Blossom declared that he was still a heathen, and wondered that Mrs. Sharp had not converted him to Christianity while she was about it, as she would have done if she had had the opportunity. But the good woman would probably have lost her case if she had tried to do too much at once.
The next day the intercourse between the two steamers was renewed; and the Pacha was decidedly a lion, though he conducted himself with extreme modesty. The impression he continued to make was decidedly in his favor. He assumed nothing on account of his wealth, his lofty station, or anything else. The passengers dined that day in the cabin of the Blanche, with about all the guests whose acquaintance the general had made on board the Guardian-Mother.
In the afternoon it was decided by the unanimous vote of the company on board of the Guardian-Mother that the two steamers should sail the next day for Bombay together. The "Big Four" had been properly noticed by the Pacha, and they had all made friends with him. He had talked with Louis a good deal, for he had become very well acquainted with him at Mogadore; and Scott even thought it possible such a man, "made of money," might yet buy a steamer for him.
The Maud, with the Parsee merchants and all the friendly officers, followed the two magnificent steamers to sea the next day, and both vessels fired salutes for them at parting. The party were going to India; new sights, different from anything they had ever seen before, were to open upon them, and it is more than possible that the young men on board would fall into some stirring adventures as they proceeded. The company of the Blanche was likely to bring with it some attractions, and to change somewhat the order of events on board both vessels. But the narrative of the voyage will be found in "Across India; or, Live Boys in the Far East."
OLIVER OPTICS BOOKS.
THE BLUE and THE GRAY
Illustrated. With Emblematic Dies. Each volume bound in Blue and Gray. Per volume, $1.50.
NAVY SERIES
WITHIN THE ENEMY'S LINES
A VICTORIOUS UNION
ON THE BLOCKADE
STAND BY THE UNION
FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHT
ARMY SERIES
IN THE SADDLE
A LIEUTENANT AT EIGHTEEN
Other volumes in preparation
The opening of a new series of books from the pen of Oliver Optic is bound to arouse the highest anticipation in the minds of boy and girl readers. There never has been a more interesting writer in the field of juvenile literature than Mr. W. T. Adams, who under his well-known pseudonym, is known and admired by every boy and girl in the country, and by thousands who have long since passed the boundaries of youth, yet who remember with pleasure the genial, interesting pen that did so much to interest, instruct and entertain their younger years. The present volume opens "The Blue and the Gray Series," a title that is sufficiently indicative of the nature and spirit of the series, of which the first volume is now presented, while the name of Oliver Optic is sufficient warrant of the absorbing style of narrative. "Taken by the Enemy," the first book of the series, is as bright and entertaining as any work that Mr. Adams has yet put forth, and will be as eagerly perused as any that has borne his name. It would not be fair to the prospective reader to deprive him of the zest which comes from the unexpected, by entering into a synopsis of the story. A word, however, should be said in regard to the beauty and appropriateness of the binding, which makes it a most attractive volume.—Boston Budget.
"Taken by the Enemy" has just come from the press, an announcement that cannot but appeal to every healthy boy from ten to fifteen years of age in the country. "No writer of the present day," says the Boston Commonwealth, "whose aim has been to hit the boyish heart, has been as successful as Oliver Optic. There is a period in the life of every youth, just about the time that he is collecting postage-stamps, and before his legs are long enough for a bicycle, when he has the Oliver Optic fever. He catches it by reading a few stray pages somewhere, and then there is nothing for it but to let the matter take its course. Relief comes only when the last page of the last book is read; and then there are relapses whenever a new book appears until one is safely on through the teens."—Literary News.
ALL-OVER-THE-WORLD LIBRARY
By OLIVER OPTIC
Illustrated, Price per Volume $1.35
FIRST SERIES
A MISSING MILLION
Or The Adventures of Louis Belgrave
A MILLIONAIRE AT SIXTEEN
Or The Cruise of the Guardian Mother
A YOUNG KNIGHT-ERRANT
Or Cruising in the West Indies
STRANGE SIGHTS ABROAD
Or A Voyage in European Waters
SECOND SERIES
AMERICAN BOYS AFLOAT
Or Cruising in the Orient
THE YOUNG NAVIGATORS
Or The Foreign Cruise of the Maud
UP AND DOWN THE NILE
Or Young Adventurers in Africa
ASIATIC BREEZES
Or Students on the Wing
OTHER VOLUMES IN PREPARATION
ANY VOLUME SOLD SEPARATELY
LEE AND SHEPARD Publishers Boston
YOUNG AMERICA ABROAD.
FIRST SERIES.
A Library of Travel and Adventure in Foreign Lands. 16mo Illustrated by Nast, Stevens, Perkins, and others. Per volume, $1.50.
Or, Young America Afloat.
Or, Young America in Ireland and Scotland.
Or, Young America in England and Wales.
Or, Young America in Holland and Belgium.
Or, Young America in France and Switzerland.
Or, Young America in Germany.
The story from its inception and through the twelve volumes (see Second Series), is a bewitching one, while the information imparted, concerning the countries of Europe and the isles of the sea, is not only correct in every particular, but is told in a captivating style. "Oliver Optic" will continue to be the boy's friend, and his pleasant books will continue to be read by thousands of American boys. What a fine holiday present either or both series of "Young America Abroad" would be for a young friend! It would make a little library highly prized by the recipient, and would not be an expensive one.—Providence Press.