on a fine september morning, of the same year in which the other events of our story took place, santjoemeh was once again in a state of commotion. and no wonder. for that day had been fixed upon for the marriage of lim ho. of lim ho, the son of the opium farmer, the son of the millionaire lim yang bing, with ngow ming nio, the prettiest chinese girl of santjoemeh, the prettiest perhaps in all dutch india. she was the only daughter of old ngow ming than, a speculator who had dealt in every possible thing out of which money could be made, and who was honoured, esteemed and sought after for the sake of the millions he had scraped together. money everywhere exercises a certain power of attraction; not otherwise was it at santjoemeh, and the union of two such [445]enormous capitals was certain, therefore, to awaken general interest. moreover, a chinese wedding of this kind was a very rare occurrence, and the reports of the magnificence which the house of lim yang bing would display on the occasion, were so extravagant that they bordered on the miraculous, and opened to the imagination visions like those of the arabian nights.
all santjoemeh—taking these words in the same sense as “tout paris” on similar occasions—had been scheming and intriguing to obtain an invitation; and many a pleasant smile had been lavished on babah ong sing kok, or on babah than soe?, the purveyors of mesdames zoetbrouw and greenhoed, ladies who, in the ordinary way, did not waste their blandishments on chinamen, because it was thought that these gentlemen had a pretty large acquaintance among the staff of servants on lim yang bing’s establishment, and that through them the much coveted card of invitation might be procured.
there were some who were wicked enough to whisper, that a certain nonna had promised one of lim ho’s cousins to give him a kiss if he would procure her parents a ticket for admission. the wicked went on to say, that this chinaman, a shrewd fellow—like most of his race—had refused to undertake the negotiation, unless he received payment on account; an instalment which was not to count on the day of final settlement. that these negotiations had been very much protracted owing to the many difficulties which would constantly arise; that, on every such check in the proceedings, progress had to be reported to the young lady, and that our artful young celestial had made every fresh effort on his part depend upon the payment of another instalment on hers. if all this were true, then the poor nonna must have paid pretty dearly for her ticket—in kisses. that, however, is the story of the wicked, it is not ours. on that september morning then, santjoemeh was in a fever of excitement and expectation. if here and there perhaps lim ho’s ugly adventure with baboe dalima had not been forgotten, the remembrance of that outrage did not damp the general enthusiasm, or keep any one at home. those who were troubled with a somewhat tender conscience, laid the flattering unction to their soul that, as there had been no prosecution, probably the whole story was false, or that, at the worst, no great harm had been done. others there were who fully believed the truth of the reports which had been spread abroad; and who actually envied lim ho his “bonne fortune.” that dalima [446]was such a pretty girl! oh, no! there was no one who would deny himself the expected pleasure on that account. it was very much the other way.
the evening before the eventful day, santjoemeh had had something like a foretaste of the coming joy. for, on that evening, a procession had started to the chinese temple. now, marriage has, in the celestial empire, no necessary connection whatever with any religious observances; yet, on the present occasion, it had been thought well to propitiate the goddess má tsów p?, the guardian and protecting deity of candidates for matrimony and of newly married people. accordingly, on the eve of the wedding, a procession had been formed in front of the bride’s house. first came a numerous band of native musicians who, on their brass instruments accompanied by a drum of monstrous size, performed a selection of waltzes, polkas, mazurkas and redowas. in spite of the horrible dissonance of their execution, these lively tunes would have set even johann strauss a jigging could he but have heard them. then followed a corps of chinese artists whose grating one-stringed fiddles, clashing cymbals and discordant screeching wind-instruments, alternated with the former band; and produced a mixed medley of hideous sounds, which literally set one’s teeth on edge, and put all but the most inveterate sightseers to instant flight. at the head of the procession and in its rear, marched six torch-bearers, while eight paper lanterns were born aloft on red poles on either side. these shed a soft coloured light and, by their fantastic shapes, imparted a thoroughly chinese air to the scene. but the nucleus, and most important part of the pageant, consisted of twelve boys who walked two and two, and were called ‘lo jen see’ (barefeet). they were dressed in short nankin gowns reaching only to the knee, under which appeared the bare legs and feet, and on their heads they wore tall conical caps, trimmed with red fringe. each of these youths held in his hand the pa-lee, or hollow metal ring containing little bits of iron, from which hung small copper bells. with these, the bearers made a gentle rattling sound as they marched along.
when the temple was reached, the boys grouped themselves around the image of má tsów p?, a deity represented as standing on the clouds and wearing a crown in token of her dignity of queen of heaven. then, to a kind of measure, they began to mumble and chaunt their prayers and incantations, shaking their ring the while incessantly. this went on for about [447]the space of an hour, and then the procession reformed and marched homeward with a far greater crowd at its heels than had accompanied its setting out.
the next day, however, was the great day.
very early in the morning carriages began to rattle through the streets of santjoemeh, to fetch the landowners, officials, and other distinguished guests, who lived in the country round about. on the stroke of ten the élite of the residence had assembled in the vast inner-gallery of lim yang bing’s mansion. the gentlemen were all in full-dress, in uniform, or in black evening dress; the ladies wore ball toilettes; and at the entrance a number of chinese boys were stationed to hand to each of their fair guests a bouquet of lovely pink roses. as one by one the principal guests drove up, crackers were let off, varying in number according to the social position of the individual who presented himself. if two or more happened to enter together, bunches of crackers were exploded in exact proportion to the number of visitors; and sometimes these fireworks exploded with a din that was almost deafening.
at length mr. van gulpendam and his fair spouse made their appearance. they were received and escorted into the house by chinese officers with the most punctilious ceremony. at his entrance, two copper serpents were exploded, and there were flatterers among the company who declared to laurentia and to lim yang bing, that, compared to the din these terrible serpents made, an eruption of krakatoea was but child’s play.
the object of this infernal noise was two-fold. it was useful on the one hand to frighten away the evil spirits who might be lurking about the premises, and, on the other, it served as an expression of joy and as an evidence of cordial welcome to the visitors.
as soon as the resident had arrived, a long line of the intimate friends and acquaintances of the bridegroom, accompanied by the inevitable band and by the barefeet who had officiated on the previous evening, started off to fetch the bride from the house of her parents. meanwhile, the major and the captain of the chinese did the honours of the feast, while the lieutenants of that nation acted as masters of the ceremonies. nothing could be more courteous than the manner in which these gentlemen acquitted themselves of their onerous duties. they attended to every want, they offered refreshments; and soon the popping of champagne corks [448]indoors began to mingle with the incessant banging of the fireworks without; and generous wine, iced in huge silver bowls, was foaming and sparkling in the crystal glasses. for the ladies, there was an ample supply of hippocras, golden water, chartreuse and other liqueurs.
lim yang bing had offered his arm to fair laurentia, and the pair walked leisurely up and down that stately saloon, which, under ordinary circumstances, might be called magnificent, but had now been specially decorated with the utmost skill and taste. the woodwork, the pillars, the beams and architraves of the apartment were all curiously carved and heavily gilt, and represented either hideous dragon-forms, or else scenes of domestic life in china. the walls were tinted a delicate rose-colour, and the floor, of pure carrara marble, was covered with matting woven of the finest split rottan. at the end of this splendid saloon stood the altar of tao peng kong gorgeously decorated, while wide strips of red silk, bearing black chinese letters, hung on either side of the sanctuary.
“tell me, babah,” asked the resident’s wife, “what may be the meaning of that scribble on those red rags?”
“they are proverbs, njonja, taken from kong foe hi,” gallantly replied the chinaman.
“yes, but what do they mean?”
“that one, njonja, signifies: ‘may the five blessings abide in this house.’?”
“and the others?”
“they are the names of the five blessings.”
“ah indeed!” continued laurentia, “and what are those blessings?”
“a long life, peace and rest, love of virtue, wealth and a happy end as the crown of life.”
“and what do the letters on those lanterns signify? i say, babah, they are very fine!” said laurentia pointing upward at the lanterns, depending from the ceiling and from the beams.
they were handsome hexagonal contrivances skilfully made, in the chinese style, of wrought copper, and having large plates of pure polished crystal let into the sides.
“yes, yes, njonja,” assented the babah with a complacent smile, “as you say they are very beautiful objects; but they cost a good deal of money. now could you give a guess at the price of one of those copper lanterns?”
“not i, babah! how could i? let me see—they may be worth some fifty guilders.” [449]
“fifty guilders!” exclaimed the chinaman with something like pity for her ignorance. “oh, njonja, how could you have made such a bad shot. why! i thought you prized the masterpieces of our chinese art somewhat more highly than that!”
“well!” said the crafty woman, “and what, pray, may be the value of the things?”
“every lantern, njonja, you see hanging there, has cost me in canton, three hundred and fifty guilders, without reckoning carriage and duty.”
“oh, never mind that!” laughed laurentia, “i daresay you managed to smuggle them across.”
“no, njonja, by kong, no! i can show you the receipt from the custom-house. will the njonja—”
“no, babah, don’t trouble yourself, i take your word for it. but what may they have cost you altogether?”
“close upon four hundred guilders a piece, njonja.”
“there are about thirty of them i should think,” said laurentia.
“only five and twenty, njonja.”
“only! only five and twenty!” said mrs. van gulpendam smiling. “it is pretty well, i should say—ten thousand guilders worth of lanterns!”
lim yang bing’s face glowed with satisfaction. like most parvenus he took an intense delight in letting every one know what he had paid for the precious objects he exhibited.
“and look, njonja,” he continued, “pray look at those tigers.”
with these words the opium-farmer pointed to a pair of red marble tigers. the figures were life-size and were represented crouching on two black marble pedestals at the foot of the two pillars one on each side of the altar.
“yes, babah, i admire them much—they are very fine indeed! they must have cost a pretty penny i should think?”
“each one of those figures represents five thousand guilders, njonja.”
“but babah!” cried laurentia.
“you see, njonja,” said the babah sententiously, “when one gives a wedding party of this kind, one ought to do it well. have you noticed that cock over the altar yonder?”
“i see it, babah, i see it, how exquisitely it is carved.”
“it is cut out of a single block of peachwood,” said the chinaman, “that little thing alone has cost me twelve hundred guilders.” [450]
“i say, babah! you must be a rich man,” remarked laurentia.
“so, so,” replied the chinaman inordinately proud in his assumed modesty. “do you happen to know what the wedding breakfast and this evening’s banquet will cost me?”
“no, i don’t—do tell me, babah!”
“well, i will—they will stand me in very nearly fifteen thousand guilders.”
“why, babah! you must be a very rich man,” said laurentia in a wheedling voice.
“oh, not very,” whined the chinaman. “but you don’t know how much i give my son as my wedding gift.”
“you mean to lim ho, the bridegroom? no, i cannot guess—do tell me, babah?”
“two millions!” he whispered, fairly beside himself with delight.
“two million guilders!” exclaimed laurentia, feigning the utmost surprise. “why, babah, you must have a mint of money!”
“no, njonja, not overmuch!”
“and all of it out of your opium contract, eh?”
the chinaman looked at his fair companion, he gave her a very strange look; that word opium had completely sobered him.
“and you have only had the contract for three years, i think, babah?” continued laurentia.
lim yang bing nodded assent. in his heart he was beginning to curse his boasting and vapouring.
“have you seen the resident lately?” asked laurentia carelessly, but determined to strike while the iron was hot.
“no, njonja,” replied the chinaman politely, but with none of his former gush.
“i know he wishes to speak to you about the contract—it runs out i think with the current year?”
“yes, njonja.”
“and i think the monopoly for the next three years will be granted some time this month?”
“yes, njonja.”
“do you intend to bid for it, babah?”
“i think so, njonja.”
“yes, njonja! no, njonja! i think so, njonja!” cried laurentia mimicking the poor chinaman most comically, “but, hush, someone is listening—what do you say is the meaning of those words on the lanterns, babah?” [451]
the last question she asked in her ordinary tone of voice, with that light-hearted giggle which was peculiar to the handsome woman.
“those letters mean: ‘we pray for happiness and prosperity.’?”
“thank you, and on that one yonder?”
“the word on that one signifies: ‘lantern of heaven?’?”
thus talking they had walked away out of ear-shot.
“now,” resumed laurentia in a subdued voice, “now we can go on with our conversation:
“you seem to be very lukewarm about that monopoly business, babah. i fear you will have a competitor at the auction.”
“who is he?” asked lim yang bing somewhat eagerly.
“i have heard the name of kwee sioen liem mentioned, the solo man; you know!”
“indeed,” muttered the chinaman evidently much put out.
“yes, they say he is a rich man, he may do you some damage perhaps, babah,” continued mrs. van gulpendam fixing her glittering eyes upon her companion.
to this lim yang bing made no reply, but he kept on with measured step walking by the side of the resident’s wife.
“that bit of information does not seem to affect you very much?” continued laurentia with a slight sneer.
“is that why the resident wants to see me?” asked the chinaman.
“yes, i think so, partly at least for that; and i believe he has some other business to transact with you. the government, you know, expects the bids to go much higher this year.”
“oh ho!” grinned the chinaman.
“you now pay twelve hundred thousand guilders for your monopoly, do you not? you will have to make it twenty, or else the government will keep the whole business in its own hands.”
“let them!” said lim yang bing smiling disdainfully, “i should very much like to see that.” but, after a moment’s reflection, he went on: “it is quite impossible to offer more; as it is, we can only just avoid a loss.”
“and yet you can manage to give two millions to your son as a wedding present,” remarked laurentia, with a knowing laugh.
“aye,” he continued, as if he had not heard the remark, “if the government would grant more licenses in the residence, in that case.”— [452]
“is that all?” cried laurentia carelessly. “how many do you hold now? but; that is no business of mine. how many more do you want?”
“ten at the very least,” was the ready answer.
“that’s a good many, babah!—if ten additional licenses were granted, then i understand you to say that you are prepared to go up to two millions?”
lim yang bing could only nod assent; he had no time to express himself verbally, for at that moment the procession, which had gone to fetch the bride had returned, and was appearing at the entrance of the gallery.
its arrival was greeted with an explosion of fireworks so tremendous, and a cacophony from the chinese band so hideous, that the din was absolutely deafening. if any evil spirits had been lurking about, that atrocious noise must certainly have made them take to their heels. no, not even the shan sao could stand that. in the midst of all this uproar, a comely group of chinese maidens, very demure damsels, with finely cut features and modestly attired in picturesque gowns of yellow silk, with rose coloured sashes round their slim little waists, came forward to meet the bride and to bid her welcome. they offered her a garland of peach blossom, the emblem of maiden purity, and some nick-nacks amongst which was a cock, the emblem of the sungod, curiously carved out of peach-wood.
lim ho also advanced to offer his hand to ngow ming nio, and to lead her to a table well furnished with the customary viands. on that board appeared an endless array of dishes, the usual chinese dishes, such as sharks’ fins, soup made of stags’ tendons and birds’ nests, “kiemlo” and “bahmieh” (two fat soups) and other delicacies of no particular significance. but besides these the table contained other articles of food to which a distinctly emblematical meaning was attached. there was the pomegranate sliced in such a manner as to display to the greatest advantage its innumerable seedgrains, signifying the numerous offspring with which might the marriage be richly blessed! there were large heaps of the orange, fit emblem of the sweetness of life, which might the happy pair long enjoy! there were clusters of the oyster, typifying the distinct personality of each member and the unbroken unity of the entire family; and lastly some cuttings of the sugar cane, signifying the blessedness of the married state which, as that cane from knot to knot, from joint to joint, still increases in sweetness and in love. [453]
the betrothed couple now took their place at the table, lim ho at his bride’s left hand, the place of honour in china. before them were set two mighty goblets of pure gold. both the beakers were filled with wine to the brim, and were connected with one another by a thread of scarlet silk. then the bride and bridegroom simultaneously drained half the contents of the cups, after which they exchanged goblets, taking care however, that the scarlet thread remained unbroken. this time the cups were drained.
“ouff!” cried van beneden, who was present with his friends, “it is enough to take one’s breath away! each of those things must hold at least a bottle and a half of wine i bet! for lim ho it is nothing; but for that poor little thing!”
“aye, and i bet, you wouldn’t mind hob-nobbing with pretty ngow ming nio,” replied grenits.
“do hold your tongue!” said grashuis as he glanced at a group of chinamen who stood near, and who looked anything but pleased at the unseemly burst of merriment which at so solemn a moment, had greeted grenits’ words.
“hush! hush!” was the cry on all sides.
resident van gulpendam glared round indignantly, and laurentia looked black as thunder at the interruption in the midst of the drinking ceremony.
van rheijn would have crept underground to avoid those terrible eyes.
when the couple had thus copiously pledged one another, the bridegroom took the left hand of the bride. he raised it to the level of her breast, and in that attitude, the pair gravely saluted one another.
“i say,” whispered grenits, “i wish that dear little pet would give me such a bow.”
“i daresay,” remarked august van beneden; “a dear little pet with two millions of money.”
“hush, hush!” was again the cry.
“pooh!” cried grenits, “millions squeezed out of the opium trade!”
the young lawyer hung his head in confusion.
“you are right,” said he. “no! from such a source i would not take a single farthing!”
“hush, hush!”
van gulpendam’s eyes flashed with indignation. the next rite was a very curious one indeed. two dishes were placed before the betrothed. they contained a mixture of red and white pellets, the size of an ordinary pea. [454]
grenits turned to one of the chinamen who stood close beside him in the crowd, and asked what might be the meaning of this ceremony.
“are they medicine?” he asked.
“yes, sir,” replied the chinaman. “the red balls represent the jang or male, the white represent the jin or female principle in nature.”
“hush, hush!” resounded again on all sides. lim ho and the bride now, each in a golden spoon, took up a red and a white ball, swallowed them and once again bowed deeply to one another. then the dishes were interchanged, just as the cups had been before, the ceremony was repeated and with that act, the marriage was complete. they were now man and wife inseparably joined together.
ngow ming nio and lim ho, the one set of millions was joined to the other.
during all these festive rites, did lim ho bestow even one passing thought upon his victim, baboe dalima? we doubt it.
the nuptial ceremonies having been thus performed, the young wife took up in the spoon two of the little balls and gracefully presented them to the lips of her husband, and, with a winning smile, invited him to eat. by this rite the newly married woman bound herself to bear all the cares and anxieties of the domestic arrangements in the future household. while this ceremony was going on, one of the oldest members of the family audibly recited a few words in the chinese tongue.
“what is he saying?” asked grenits, turning to his friendly neighbour.
“o toean,” replied the latter, “it is a quotation from the sji-king, the book of songs which was printed long, very long ago.”
(it is said to have been printed in the eleventh century b.c.)
“but what is the meaning of the quotation?”
“it has a very pretty meaning—something like this: ‘the peach tree is young and fair, its blossoms are pure and bright—this young woman is going to her future home and will be an excellent manager of her domestic affairs.’?”
“very pretty indeed!” laughed grenits.
when the young wife had thus, typically, served her husband with food, both made another low obeisance, and this concluded the ceremony.
the last bow was the signal for another terrific outburst of noise. the small cannon thundered, salvos of innumerable mertjons were fired off, the band of the santjoemeh militia, [455]which had appeared but lately on the scene, played up with all its might, the chinese orchestra shrieked forth most dismal wails, and that roaring, that crackling, that drumming, that tooting, that sawing and scraping produced a din so indescribably stunning and so hideous that an ear-drum of bull’s hide could hardly have endured the noise.
in the midst of this tumult the newly married couple took up their position in front of the altar of tao’ peh kong. first, they each kindled a little stick of sandal wood and fragrant incense which, while burning, they stuck into a massive golden bowl half filled with scented ashes. thus having paid their homage to the household god, they turned to receive the congratulations of the company. this was not a national custom at all, for in china, when no white men are present, the wedded pair at once retire to their apartment. it was, in fact, a concession made to western usage, and the chinamen who were present scrupulously avoided taking any part in it. the majority of them left, to show their zeal, no doubt, by letting off some more fireworks and completing the rout of the evil spirits.
resident van gulpendam, taking his wife’s arm, at once headed the procession of europeans all eager to fall down before those millions thus auspiciously coupled together. but for these millions, however lovely might have been the bride, and though in the little world around him lim ho might have been voted a very good sort of fellow, not a single soul would have so much as dreamed of taking part in this chorus of hollow compliment. the scandal about dalima was of much too recent date. but now that the two millions on the one side had joined the two millions on the other—now that lim ho, the son of lim yang bing, the all-powerful opium farmer, was the happy man, now the entire european population was ready to crowd around that highly-favoured couple and press upon them their heartfelt and sincere congratulations.
not content with this, mr. van gulpendam considered it his duty, after having shaken hands, to add a few words of affectionate advice. very fortunate indeed it was that neither husband nor wife understood the dutch language and thus were spared the infliction of the nautical terms with which the worthy resident so richly interlarded his discourse, but which he found utterly untranslatable into malay. it was a good thing also for the patience of the bystanders, that laurentia stood by the side of her dear spouse and exhorted him to be [456]brief by digging the point of her elbow pretty sharply into his side. at length the twaddle of the chief functionary came to an end, and now ensued a scene of handshaking, of cringing and fawning, and of general cant on both sides, which would have filled any honest heart with the deepest disgust. but neither lim yang bing nor lim ho failed to notice that neither theodoor grenits, nor august van beneden, nor leendert grashuis, nor edward van rheijn had joined this troop of sycophants. they had taken advantage of the crowd and confusion to leave the house. charles van nerekool had flatly refused to go at all. he could not overcome the aversion with which lim ho had inspired him; but when he heard a report of the proceedings, he resolved that, should another such opportunity occur, though the festivities might be held on a much smaller scale, he would try and witness so extraordinary a spectacle.
it was well perhaps for our young friends that they left when they did; for presently the scene became rather uproarious. no sooner were the greetings exchanged and the congratulations ended, than the champagne corks began to pop with an energy and frequency which seemed to rival the bangs of the mertjons outside. presently the whole company, chinamen and europeans, stood up, holding aloft their glasses full of sparkling wine, and deafening cheers were raised, while the chinese “trauwkoeis” and the clattering cymbals screeched and clashed, and the militia trumpets brayed, and the serpents and mertjons banged with a noise as if a town was being bombarded. in the midst of this unearthly din the bridal pair disappeared; anxious, probably, to save their ear-drums.
in the evening, the formal banquet took place, to which eighty guests had been invited. the menu of the feast had been carefully prepared by a french maitre d’h?tel, and was excellent; although next day the wags of santjoemeh would have it that dishes decidedly peculiar to the celestial empire had graced the board, such as “potage kiemlo à la tartare,” “potage printanier à l’ail,” “croquettes aux oreilles de rats,” “bouchées d’ailerons de requins,” “consommées de tripang,” &c. &c.
after dinner, president van gulpendam rose to propose the toast of the evening; and to drink the health of the newly married couple. he did so, if the reports are to be believed, in a speech of extraordinary brilliancy. it fell to his lot also, afterwards, to propose the health of the chinese officers, and, [457]in doing so, he expressed a hope that the netherlands might always find in her chinese subjects as faithful and useful members of the community as they had hitherto proved themselves to be. he laid very marked stress upon the word “useful,” and the close of his speech was greeted with thundering applause.
lim yang bing replied to this toast, and at the conclusion of his remarks he proposed the health of mr. and mrs. van gulpendam. he heartily congratulated santjoemeh on the possession of such excellent rulers, and for the good of its inhabitants in general, and of the chinese community in particular, he expressed the hope that they might long see that noble pair at the head of the residence.
it was well that the roof of the mansion was a pretty strong one and that the foundations of its walls and pillars were firm and deep, or else some deplorable calamity must have occurred; for the deafening cheers of the company burst forth with the force of a hurricane; the soil literally shook under the feet of the assembled guests at the salvoes of mertjons and of small ordnance without, while the air within was alive with the popping of corks, which flew from the necks of the bottles with the regularity of well sustained file-fire. so unbounded was the enthusiasm with which the eloquent words of the worthy opium farmer were received. after the banquet came the ball, which was attended by almost the whole of santjoemeh. towards midnight, there was a display of chinese fireworks in the grounds, and our pig-tailed brethren, on that occasion, proved how immeasurably superior is their skill in pyrotechny compared to anything european artists can aspire to in that line. then dancing was resumed with fresh vigour, and the last couples did not leave the ball-room until the break of day.
“that was a glorious, a most sumptuous feast, babah,” said resident van gulpendam a few days later to his friend lim yang bing. “my eyes! didn’t you make the galley smoke!”
“yes, kandjeng toean,” replied the opium farmer, with a smile of intensely gratified vanity. “yes; but it has cost me a pretty little sum of money, why, in champagne alone, i have spent more than two thousand guilders, and quite another twelve hundred in rhenish wine. the fireworks i had direct from canton, and they have cost me three thousand at the very least.”
as he dwelt upon these details, the man was in the seventh heaven of delight.
