Ardagh also tried to strengthen and fuse the young men’s diverse temperaments and mixed personalities, which such different nationalities present. He tried to turn his boarders into “Antilleans” and to inspire in them a lasting friendship for each other. He was not as successful as he would have liked. Sometimes, racial8 instincts, more powerful than good examples and good advice, won the day. All in all, however, even if only traces of this integration remained after they left the school, it should yield results in the future, and the system of co-education was praiseworthy and a great credit to the Oxford Street establishment.
Needless to say, the boarders were fluent in the multiple languages used in the West Indies. Mr. Ardagh even had the ingenious idea to impose their use, one at a time, during classes and recreation. One week, English was spoken; the next, French was spoken; then Dutch, Spanish, Danish, and Swedish. Without a doubt, the Anglo-Saxon students were the majority at this establishment, and perhaps they tried to impose a sort of physical and moral domination.
But the other Antillean islands were represented in adequate proportion. Even the island of Saint Barthélemy, the only Scandinavian colony, claimed several students, among whom was Magnus Anders, fifth-place winner in the competition.
All in all, the task of Mr. Ardagh and his peers was not exempt from certain practical difficulties. It was necessary to have a true spirit of justice, a sure and consistent method, an apt and firm hand in order to prevent rivalries springing up among these wealthy young heirs.
In fact, concerning the competition, one might have feared that, when the laureates were announced, personal ambitions might have caused some disagreement, protests, or jealousy. In the end, the results had been satisfactory: a Frenchman and an Englishman earned first place, having received the same number of points. It is also true that, even if it were one of Queen Victoria’s subjects who came in the next-to-the-last place, it was again a citizen of the French Republic who arrived in last place, Tony Renault, of whom none of the boarders appeared to be jealous. In between, diverse natives of the English, French, Danish, Dutch, and Swedish Antilles followed in the rankings. Yet there were no winners from Venezuela or Spain, even though there were about fifteen of them at the school at that time. One may remark, as an aside, that this particular year, the students from Cuba, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico—that is, the Greater Antilles—who numbered between twelve and fifteen at the school, were among the youngest ones and had been restricted from participating in the competition, which required them to be at least seventeen years old.
Indeed, the exam had covered not only scientific and literary subjects, but also—to no one’s surprise—questions of ethnology, geography, and commerce that dealt with the Antillean archipelago; its history, past, present, and future; and its relations with the different European states who, after the haphazard nature of the first discoveries, had later attached some of them to their colonial empires.
So then, what was the purpose of this contest? What prizes did the laureates gain? It made a series of travel scholarships available to them that would allow them to quench, for a few months, their thirst for exploration and travel, so natural in young men who had not yet celebrated their twenty-first birthdays.
So there were nine of them who, thanks to their ranking, were able to go, perhaps not around the whole globe, as the majority among them would have liked, but to some interesting region of the Old or perhaps even the New World.
And who had had the idea to fund these travel scholarships? It was a rich Antillean lady of English origin, Mrs. Kathleen9 Seymour, who lived in Barbados, one of the British colonies in the archipelago, and whose name had just been mentioned for the first time by Mr. Ardagh.
Imagine how this name was greeted by the audience and how strongly their shouts of appreciation resounded in the courtyard:
“Hip! … hip! … hip! … hurrah! … for Mrs. Seymour!”
Even though the director had revealed the benefactress’s name, the question still remained as to where they would travel. Neither he nor anyone else knew it yet. But in twenty-four hours this would become clear. The director would cable the results of the contest to Barbados, and Mrs. Seymour would answer him by telegram indicating the region that the laureates would be visiting.
One can easily imagine the speed with which opinions were exchanged among the students, whose thoughts flew already to the most fascinating countries, the farthest as well as the most unknown ones in this sub-lunar world. Undoubtedly, they would be effusive or reserved according to each one’s temperament or personality, but the truth is that they were all enthusiastic.
“I’d like to think,” said Roger Hinsdale, English to the tip of his toes, “that we will visit some part of the British colonial domain, and it is vast enough to be able to choose …”
“It’ll be central Africa,” remarked Louis Clodion, “the famous portentosa Africa,10 as our fine professor of economy says, and we will walk in the footsteps of the great discoverers!”
“No … an exploration of the polar regions!” said Magnus Anders, who would have gladly followed in the footsteps of his glorious compatriot Nansen.11
“I hope that it be Australia,” said John Howard. “There still remains much to discover there—even after Tasman, 12 Dampier,13 Burs,14 Van-couver,15 Baudin,16 Dumont d’Urville.17 there are many discoveries to be made and perhaps even some gold mines to work!”
“Rather some beautiful region of Europe,” wished Albertus Leuwen, whose Dutch character was not prone to exaggerations. “Who knows, even a simple excursion to Scotland or Ireland.”
“Come on, now!” exclaimed the exuberant Tony Renault. “I bet we’ll travel around the world.”
“Let’s see,” declared the wise Axel Wickborn, “we will only count on seven to eight weeks, so the destination will have to be restricted to neighboring countries.”
The young Dane was right. In fact, their families would not have accepted an absence of several months, which would have exposed their sons to the dangers of a more extensive expedition, and Mr. Ardagh would not have taken the responsibility.
So, after discussing Mrs. Seymour’s intentions regarding the projected excursion, there ensued another discussion about the manner in which the trip would take place.
“Will we do it by foot, as tourists backpacking with walking sticks?” asked Hubert Perkins.
“No, by car … by mail coach!” offered Niels Harboe.
“By train,” replied Albertus Leuwen, “with open tickets and under the Cook Agency’s sponsorship.”18
“I believe that it will take place rather on board a big ship, perhaps a transatlantic,” declared Magnus Anders, who saw himself already in the middle of the ocean.
“No, by air balloon,” exclaimed Tony Renault, “and on the way to the North Pole!”
The discussion continued on in this way, uselessly perhaps, full of the passion so typical of young men. Even though Roger Hinsdale and Louis Clodion showed more reserve, no one wanted to back down from his opinion.
This made the director intervene, if not to make them agree, at least to ask that they wait for the answer that the telegram he had expedited to Barbados would elicit.
“Patience!” he said. “I have sent the names of all the laureates, your ranking and
