or lesser-known regions of the new continents, as well as to the South or North Poles!
Nevertheless, even if at the beginning there was a slight feeling of disappointment in having to come back from their world of dreams faster than they had departed, if it was nothing more than a trip to the Antilles, it was nonetheless a pleasant way to spend their next vacation, and Mr. Ardagh made the laureates clearly understand all its advantages.
In reality, were these Antilles not, after all, their native land? Most of them had left when they were still infants in order to come to Europe to do their studies. They had barely trod upon the soil of those islands that had witnessed their birth, barely preserved any memory of them!
Even though—with one exception—their families had left the archipelago behind with no thoughts of returning, there were some students who would still find some family or friends there. Everything considered, for the young Antilleans this would be a fine voyage.
The extent of this can be judged according to the personal situation of each of the nine laureates to whom the travel scholarships were attributed.
First, those who were English, and in larger numbers at the Antillean School:
Roger Hinsdale, from Saint Lucia, twenty years old, whose family, retired from their business with great wealth, lived in London;
John Howard, from Dominica, eighteen years old, whose parents had come to settle in Manchester as industrialists;
Hubert Perkins, from Antigua, seventeen years old, whose family, composed of father, mother, and two young sisters, had never left their native island and who, once his education was finished, was supposed to return there to join a commercial firm.
Next are the French, who numbered about a dozen at the Antillean School:
Louis Clodion, from Guadeloupe, twenty years old, part of a family of ship merchants who settled in Nantes many years ago;
Tony Renault, from Martinique, seventeen years old, the oldest of four children, related to a family of government officials who worked in Paris.
Now the Danes’ turn:
Niels Harboe, from Saint Thomas, nineteen years old, having neither father nor mother, and whose brother, older than him by six years, was still in the Antilles;
Axel Wickborn, from Saint Croix, nineteen years old, whose family was in the wood business in Denmark, in Copenhagen.
The Dutch were represented by Albertus Leuwen, from Saint Martin, twenty years old, an only child whose parents lived in the outskirts of Rotterdam.
As for Magnus Anders, Swedish, born in Saint Barthélemy, nineteen years old, his family had come recently to settle in Gotteborg, Sweden, and had not yet given up the idea of going back there once their fortune was made.
In truth, this voyage that would bring them back for a few weeks to their country of origin was the perfect choice for those young Antilleans. Who knows if the majority of them would have ever had the opportunity to see the islands again? Only Louis Clodion had an uncle, his mother’s brother, in Guadeloupe; Niels Harboe, a brother in Saint Thomas; and Hubert Perkins his whole family in Antigua. But their classmates no longer had any family ties in the other Antillean islands; their island homes had been abandoned without any intent of returning.
The oldest of the laureates were Roger Hinsdale, a bit haughty, Louis Clodion, a serious and hard-working boy and nice to everyone, and Albertus Leuwen, whose Dutch blood had not warmed up under the Antillean sun. After them came Niels Harboe, whose vocation had not yet revealed itself; Magnus Anders, very passionate about all things having to do with the sea, and who was preparing to enter into the mercantile navy; and Axel Wickborn, whose talents would lead him to serve in the Danish army. Then, listed by age, John Howard, a little less “Anglicized” than his compatriot Roger Hinsdale; and finally the two youngest ones, Hubert Perkins, destined for commerce, as has been said, and Tony Renault, whose fondness for rowing could very well develop into a fondness for a sailor’s life in the future.
Presently, there remained the rather important question of whether this voyage would include all the Antilles, Greater and Lesser, Windward and Leeward Islands. A complete exploration of the archipelago would have required more than the few weeks that the laureates had available. Indeed, there are no less than three hundred and fifty islands or islets in the West Indian archipelago, and even if it were possible to visit one per day, it would be necessary to dedicate a whole year to such brief visits.
No! Those were not Mrs. Kathleen Seymour’s intentions. The Antillean School boarders would have to limit themselves to spending just a few days on his own island, to visiting any relatives or friends that were there, and to walking again on their native soil.
Under these conditions, obviously, one would first have to eliminate from the itinerary the Greater Antilles, Cuba, Haiti, Santo Domingo, and Puerto Rico, since their Spanish schoolmates had not ranked high enough in the competition; Jamaica, since none of the laureates was from that British colony; and Curacao, a Dutch one, for the same reason. Likewise for the Lesser Antilles, which, under Venezuelan domination, would not be visited: Tortigos, Marguerite, Tortuga, Blanquilla, Ordeilla, or Avas.
Thus, the only islands of the Micro-Antilles where the recipients of the scholarships would set foot would be: Saint Lucia, Dominica, Antigua—English; Guadeloupe, Martinique—French; Saint Thomas, Saint Croix—Danish; Saint Barthélemy—Swedish; and Saint Martin, half of which belongs to the Netherlands, the other half to France.
These nine islands were included in the geographical grouping of the Windward Islands, and each would be a port of call for the boarders of the Antillean School.
Nonetheless, no one will be surprised to learn that a tenth island had been added to that itinerary, one which would no doubt receive the longest and the most worthwhile visit.
It was Barbados, in the same group of the Windward Islands, one of the most important ones in the colonial domain that the United Kingdom possesses in those parts.
There, of course, lived Mrs. Seymour. It was the very least that the students, who were in her debt and felt a very natural feeling of gratitude, could do to honor her.
One can easily imagine how, since this generous English woman insisted on receiving the nine laureates from the Antillean School, they, for their part, felt the most urgent desire to meet the wealthy Barbados native and to express their thanks.
These nine islands were included in the geographical grouping of the Windward Islands.
They would not regret it either. A postscript in the letter, which was read by Mr. Julian Ardagh, showed just how far Mrs. Seymour’s generosity to them extended.
Indeed, in addition to the expenses that this voyage would incur—expenses for which she would assume total responsibility—a sum of seven hundred pounds sterling1 would be given to each one of them at the moment of their departure from Barbados.
As for the duration of this trip, would the vacation time be enough? Yes, provided that the start allowed by the rules be moved up one month, which would allow the crossing of the Atlantic to be accomplished during good weather both going and coming.
In sum, nothing was more acceptable than these conditions, which were received enthusiastically. There was no reason to worry that the families would object
