But, being a tactful man, he only answered: "Your English sailors, my
dear, who gruffly dubbed the adjacent point 'Cape Dungeness,' have
shortened Magellan's mouthful into 'Cape Virgins.'--Yet, Ursula was a
British saint, and her memory ought to be revered, if only because it
keeps alive a classic pun."
A born raconteur, he paused.
"Go right ahead, doctor," came a voice from the lower end of the table.
"Well, the story runs that Princess Ursula fled from Britain to Rome to
escape marriage with a pagan--"
"How odd!" interrupted Isobel, and Elsie alone understood the drift of
her comment.
"Not at all odd if she didn't happen to like him," said Christobal.
"She reached Cologne, and was martyred there by the Huns. Long
afterwards a stone was found with the inscription Ursula et
Undecimilla Virgines, which was incorrectly translated into 'Ursula
and her Eleven Thousand Virgins.' Some later critic pointed out that a
missing comma after Undecimilla, the name of a handmaid, made all the
difference, assuming that two young ladies were a more reasonable and
probable number than eleven thousand. But what legend ever cared for a
comma, or reached a full stop? If you go to Cologne, the verger of the
Church of St. Ursula will show you the bones of the whole party in
glass cases, and, equally amazing, the town of Baoza in Spain claims to
be the birthplace of the lot. Clearly, Magellan had a man from Baoza
on board his ship."
"All mail steamers ought to provide a lecturer on things in general and
interesting places passed in particular," said Isobel.
Dr. Christobal bowed.
"I am sure that some of the officers of the Orellana could have told
you the history of Cape Virgins, but they, not to mention the other
young gentlemen in the passenger list, would certainly find you better
sport than puzzling your pretty head about the ship's landmarks."
"I also came out on the Orellana, but there was no Miss Baring to be
seen," murmured the Frenchman.
"You had a dull trip, I take it?" said the doctor, quietly.
"I was very ill," was the response; but, after a stare of surprise, he
joined in the resultant laugh quite good-naturedly.
"It is a standing joke that my countrymen are poor sailors," he
protested, "and that is strange, don't you think, seeing that France
has the second largest navy in the world?"
"Console yourself, monsieur," said Christobal. "Three great
sea-captains, Nelson, Cook, and, it is said, Columbus himself, always
paid tribute to Neptune. And, if I am not mistaken," he added,
glancing through the port windows, "we shall all have our stamina
tested before twenty-four hours have passed."