Mr. Laborde.—Prince Rakoto.—Anecdote of his Life.—The Sambas-Sambas.—Mary.—Review on the Field of Mars.—The Nobility in Madagascar.—The Secret Treaty.—The English Missionary Society and Mr. Lambert.
Mr. Laborde.—Prince Rakoto.—Anecdote of his Life.—The Sambas-Sambas.—Mary.—Review on the Field of Mars.—The Nobility in Madagascar.—The Secret Treaty.—The English Missionary Society and Mr. Lambert.
Ourhost, Mr. Laborde, favored us with the following account of his life.
He was born in France, and is the son of a well-to-do saddler. In his youth he served for several years as a cavalry soldier in the French army, but, being always prompted by a desire to see something of the world, he gave up the service after his father’s death, found a substitute, and embarked for the East Indies. In Bombay he established several workshops, repaired steam-engines, manufactured weapons, set up a saddlery, and did very good business; but his restless spirit would not let him remain long in one place, so he gave up his workshops to a friend, and in the year 1831 shipped himself off to the Indian Archipelago. The ship, driven out of its course by a storm, was wrecked on the coast of Madagascar. Mr. Laborde not only lost all he possessed, but his liberty into the bargain; for, as is well known, all shipwrecked men are made slaves of in this hospitable island. Mr. Laborde was taken, with a few of his companions in misfortune, to Tananariva to be sold.
Fortunately, tidings of his skill in manufacturing weapons and other articles reached the queen’s ears. She sent for him to court, and promised him his freedom if he would serve her faithfully for five years. Mr. Laborde did this. He established a workshop, and furnished the queen with all kinds of weapons, even to little cannons, and also withpowder and other articles. In spite of her general hatred toward Europeans, he gained the queen’s confidence, and she soon got to value him so highly that she took his advice in several important affairs, and he succeeded, not unfrequently, in dissuading her from pronouncing sentences of death.
But it is not only in the queen’s estimation that Mr. Laborde stands high. The people and the nobility also set great store by him; for his many good qualities have made him popular every where, and all who need counsel or help come to him, and never come in vain. He is physician, confidential friend, and helper to them all.
The five years Mr. Laborde was to pass in the queen’s service extended to ten. His patroness gave him house and home, lands and slaves; and as he is married to a native woman, and has a son by this marriage, he will probably remain here to the end of his life, though he has long been free and independent, and may leave the island whenever he chooses to do so.
Besides his manufactories for arms and powder, this industrious man has also established works for glass-blowing, indigo-dyeing, soap and tallow boiling, and a distillery for rum. He wished also to stock the island with European fruits and vegetables, and most of those he planted flourished wonderfully, but his example remained unfollowed. The natives preferred to live on in their pristine indolence, and to continue eating nothing but rice, with the addition of a piece of beef now and then.
If Mr. Laborde, however, did not succeed in producing all the results he expected from his undertakings, they have at least done good service in showing the capability of this beautiful land for cultivation.
It was toward four o’clock in the afternoon when we arrived in Mr. Laborde’s house.
Our friendly host immediately introduced two Europeansto us, the only ones then staying at Tananariva. The two gentlemen were clergymen; one of them had been living for two years, the other for seven months, in Mr. Laborde’s house. It was not the time to appear as missionaries, and they concealed the fact of their belonging to a mission very carefully, the prince and the Europeans being the only persons admitted into the secret. One passes as a physician, the other as tutor to Mr. Laborde’s son, who had come back two years since from Paris, where he had been sent by his father to be educated.
We were soon assembled at a good dinner round our host’s table. Every thing was arranged in European style, with the exception that the dishes and plates were all of massive silver, and silver goblets supplied the place of drinking-glasses. I observed jokingly to Mr. Laborde that I had never met with such luxury at any table, and that Tananariva was the last place in the world where I should have expected to find it. He replied that similar luxury prevailed in all the houses of the rich, but that there were certainly not many houses of this description. He said he had himself introduced the fashion, but not from ostentation, but, on the contrary, on economical grounds. He found that china-ware had continually to be replaced, as the slaves were perfect adepts in the art of breaking any given number of articles in the shortest possible time, so that the use of china became very expensive.
Before we had nearly concluded our pleasant meal, while Champagne was being handed round, and the toasts were beginning, a slave came running up in hot haste to announce the approach of Prince Rakoto. We rose hastily from table, but had little time to go and meet the prince, for, in his impatience to see Mr. Lambert, he had followed close at the slave’s heels. The two men held each other in a long embrace, but for some time neither of them could find a word to express his joy. It was easy to see that a deep and truefriendship existed between them, and we who stood round could not view the scene without feelings of pleasurable emotion.
Prince Rakoto, or, to call him by his full name, Rako-dond-Radama, is a young man twenty-seven years of age. Contrary to my expectation, his appearance was far from disagreeable. He is short and slim in stature, and his face does not betray a likeness, in form or color, to any of the four races who inhabit Madagascar. His features have quite the type of the Moldavian Greeks. His black hair is curly, but not woolly; he has dark eyes, full of life and fire; a well-shaped mouth, and handsome teeth. His features wear an expression of such childlike goodness that one feels drawn toward him from the first moment of seeing him. He often goes about in European costume.
The prince is honored and beloved alike by high and low; and I was assured by Mr. Laborde that he fully deserved all this affection and honor. The son is, in fact, as kind-hearted as the mother is cruel; he is just as averse to the shedding of blood as his mother is addicted to it, and his chief efforts are directed toward mitigating the severe punishments the queen is continually inflicting, and obtaining a reversal of the sentences of death which she is always too ready to pronounce upon her subjects.
He is always ready to listen to the unfortunate, and to help them; and has strictly forbidden his slaves to turn any applicant away on the score that he is sleeping or engaged at his meals. Well aware of this, people often come in the middle of the night and wake the prince from his sleep, with petitions for their relations who are to be executed early next morning. If he can not obtain a pardon from his mother, he manages to pass as if by accident along the road by which the poor culprits are led, bound with cords, to meet their fate. Then he cuts their bonds asunder, and either tells them to flee, or to go quietly home, according as their offenses have been grave or venial. When the queen is informed of what her son has done, she never makes any remark, but only tries to keep the next sentences she pronounces as secret as possible, and to hasten their execution. Condemnation and punishment thus often succeed each other so rapidly, that if the prince is absent from the town when sentence is passed, the application to him for assistance is almost sure to come too late.
It is strange, considering how radically different their dispositions are, that mother and son should love each other so tenderly. The prince is devoted to the queen with the utmost affection; he tries to excuse her deeds of severity by every conceivable argument, and it is a bitter reflection to him that she can be neither loved nor respected by the nation.
The prince’s character is the more remarkable, inasmuch as he has had his mother’s bad example before his eyes from his earliest youth, and can not escape from her influence; moreover, not the slightest care has been taken of his education. In most similar cases, the son would certainly have imbibed the prejudices and acquired the vices of the mother.
No one has attempted to teach him any thing, with the exception of a few words of the English language; what he knows, and what he is, he owes entirely to himself. What might this prince not have been had a judicious education opened his mind and developed his talents? I had frequent opportunities of seeing and observing him, for a day seldom passed without his paying Mr. Lambert a visit. I found no fault in him except a certain want of independence and a distrust of his own abilities; and the only thing I fear, should the government one day fall into his hands, is, that he will not come forward with sufficient energy, and may fail in thoroughly carrying out his good intentions.
A few of the actions of this man will sufficiently prove the nobility of his mind.
It frequently happens that the queen orders hundreds of her subjects to perform the heaviest labor for months together for some favored personage—such work, for instance, as hewing timber for building, and then dragging it thirty miles along the road; hewing stone, and kindred occupations; for all which the poor people get not the slightest reward of any kind. When the prince hears of a case of this kind, he manages to pass by the neighborhood where the people are at work, meets them as if by chance, and asks for whom they are laboring thus. On receiving their reply, he farther inquires if they are properly fed, for wages are of course out of the question. Then it generally turns out that they not only have no food provided for them, but frequently have consumed all the provisions they have brought with them, and are trying to satisfy their hunger with herbs and roots. The prince then has one or two oxen killed, according to the number of the laborers, and this meat, with a good supply of rice, is by his command distributed among them. If the owner should come forward in surprise at this order, and attempt to remonstrate, the prince sends him away with this assurance: “Whoever works for you has a just claim to be supported by you; and if you will not make the arrangement yourself, your steward must.”
A few years ago, a ship was wrecked on the coast of Madagascar, and the majority of the crew perished. Five sailors who had escaped from the wreck were sent, according to the usual custom, to the capital, to be sold there as slaves. The prince met them during an excursion he was making, about a day’s journey from Tananariva, and noticing that one of the sailors had no shoes, and was limping painfully after the rest, he drew off his own and gave them to him. He also took care that the poor men were well fed. Mr. Laborde bought these five sailors, clothed them, gave them money and letters of recommendation, and helped them to get back to their own country. The prince isseldom in a position to carry out his benevolent designs, for he has no money, or, at any rate, very little; his whole wealth consisting in slaves, rice-fields, and oxen given to him by his mother.
Another time the prince saw a European being led as a prisoner to the capital by several natives. The poor wretch was being urged on like a brute beast by his guards with blows and pushes; he was so exhausted and weak from the long journey and the bad roads that he could drag himself no farther. The prince reproved the guards for their cruelty, himself alighted from his tacon, or sedan-chair, and told the captive to take his place.
The prince, moreover, found an opportunity of showing his generosity toward one of our bearers. True to the habits of his country, this poor wretch had stolen an ox in the vicinity of the capital, driven it to one of the markets, and tried to dispose of it; but he was caught in the fact, and brought to the capital. In cases of this kind, justice in Madagascar is very quick in taking its course; on the same day sentence of death was passed upon him, and toward evening he was to be executed in the manner of the country, with the lance or gagaya. Mr. Laborde heard of this, and sent in all directions in search of the prince to obtain his mediation. Luckily, the prince was found in time, scarcely half an hour before the execution was to have taken place. He proceeded at once to the prison, opened the door for the captive, and recommended him to flee to his own home as fast as he could.
Many similar traits were told me of the prince, and seldom, it is said, do many days elapse without his saving lives or performing some generous action. He often gives away his last dollar, distributes all his stores of rice and other provisions, and is doubly glad when he can help some unfortunate being without letting the recipient of his bounty know who is his benefactor.
The following words, which I heard from his own mouth, speak more eloquently than my weak pen could do the praises of this really noble man. He declared it to be a matter of indifference to him whether the French or the English, or any other nation, took possession of the island, if only the people were properly governed. For himself, he wished neither for the throne nor for the regal title, and would at any time be ready to give a written abdication of his claims, and retire and live as a private man, if he could by such a course insure the prosperity of the people.
I must confess that this declaration moved me deeply, and inspired me with a high respect for this prince—such respect as I feel for very few human beings. To my mind, a man of such sentiments is greater than the most prominent among the ambitious and egotistical monarchs of Europe.
May 31. This morning the queen sent one of the grandees of the empire to inquire after our health, and to invite us to take thesambas-sambasnext day in the house of the Lady Rasoaray.
On this occasion she sent Mr. Lambert a present as a mark of her favor. The gift consisted of a magnificent fatted ox, of proportions I had rarely seen equaled even in Europe, besides some very fine poultry and a basket of eggs. The presents of the queen never consist of any other articles, and are generally confined to poultry and eggs; oxen are only added when she wishes to confer on the recipient a mark of peculiar distinction.
The sambas-sambas is a dish made of fine strips of beef broiled in fat, and of rice. It is customary, in the first month of the new year, to regale friends and relations who come to visit you with this dish. Every one takes a pinch of it, rises from his seat, turns to the right and to the left, and says, “May the queen live a thousand years.” After this he may eat as much as he likes of the preparation, ormay leave it untouched, as he pleases. This ceremony is somewhat equivalent to wishing a happy new-year among us.
As we happened to arrive in the first month of the new year, and the queen wished to show Mr. Lambert all kinds of attention, she invited him to this feast, and my humble self and the other Europeans were included in the honor as friends of Mr. Lambert.
All the banquets to which friends are invited are not held in the royal palace, but at the house of the Lady Rasoaray, who is of very high birth, and whose spacious, richly-furnished dwelling is well adapted for such purposes. To eat in the palace of the queen, or, still more, in her company, would be considered too great an honor for a stranger; so far the condescension of this haughty, self-opinioned potentate extendeth not.
I made use of this day to visit the town, of which, however, I can say nothing more than that it is very bustling, and extends over a large space of ground, especially if the suburbs be taken as part of it. It is said, with its immediate environs, to contain 50,000 houses, or “roofs,” as they are called here, and 100,000 inhabitants. This estimate is probably much exaggerated; but certainly the proportion of dwellings is unusually great, from the simple reason that the houses themselves are particularly small, consisting of no more than one room, or at most but two. If the family is large, two or three additional little houses are built up around the original dwelling; all who have any pretensions to wealth have their kitchen under a separate roof; and, of course, the slaves are also quartered in various small houses. Still, I do not think Tananariva can contain many more than 15,000, or, at the most, 20,000 houses.
Mr. Laborde, for instance, is the owner of nine small dwellings, tenanted by seven free men and thirty slaves; here, then, the proportion of inhabitants to houses wouldbe as four to one. But Mr. Laborde is a European, and does not live with his people in such a crowded manner as the natives affect—with them six, or certainly at least five, inhabitants may be reckoned to every roof.
June 1. At two o’clock in the afternoon we betook ourselves to the house of the Lady Rasoaray, and were conducted to a large hall, the walls papered in European fashion, and the floor covered with handsome mats. In the middle of the room stood a table, elegantly spread, in a style of which no prince in Europe need have been ashamed. The other arrangements in the room were simple, but tasteful. Many an English lady would have been exceedingly scandalized by the fact that in the room in which we were to dine stood two beds—two very handsome beds, with heavy curtains of rich silk. As I am, however, not an Englishwoman, but only a simple German, I took no notice of the circumstance, and the presence of the two beds did not prevent me from eating my share of beef and rice in all peace and quietness of spirit. These two dishes are the only ones admitted at the sambas-sambas, and water is the only beverage allowed on these occasions.
I particularly admired two silver vases, with carving on them in relief, which stood on the table; and my wonder rose considerably when I was informed that they had been executed by native artificers. They would certainly have met with high approval even in Europe. Like the Chinese, the natives are gifted in a high degree with the faculty of imitation, but they lack originality.
Among the high personages invited with ourselves to the feast were many who spoke either French or English, English being the more common. The knowledge of this language dates from the time of King Radama, in whose reign English missionaries came to Madagascar, and a certain number of young men were sent to the Mauritius or to England for their education.
The ceremony of the sambas-sambas was very soon ended, and we returned home early; in the evening we were surprised by a visit from Prince Rakoto. He brought with him the mother of his little five-year-old son, to introduce her to me. As I have already mentioned, the prince can not, according to the laws that prevail here, marry this woman, because she is a slave, and her son has, therefore, not the smallest claim to his father’s rank; nevertheless, they are both honored with the princely title. It may certainly be said that in this country the laws are of little importance in so far as they affect the ruler; they depend solely and entirely upon the will of the reigning sovereign; and as soon as Prince Rakoto comes to the throne, he can alter them at his pleasure, and make his former slave his queen and her son heir-apparent.
I have spoken of the character of this woman. As regards her beauty, if it is to be discovered, it must certainly not be judged of by European eyes, or the beholder should have lived long enough among the natives to have become accustomed to their ugly features, and to consider the least hideous among them as handsome.
June 2. To-day we were present at a great review on the Field of Mars, a beautiful meadow spreading out at the foot of the hill in front of the town. It is asserted that from ten to twelve thousand soldiers are always assembled at Tananariva; but, like the estimate of the houses, this number must probably be reduced about one half. The military who appeared on this occasion did not certainly exceed 4500 or 5000 men. The soldiers formed a great double square, with the officers and band in the centre.
A review of this kind is held every fortnight—namely, on the third day of every second week; its object is to ascertain that the soldiers who should be on duty are present; that they are in health, and their weapons and clothes in proper condition. Their names are called over, and ifin a company only a few are missing, the captain merely receives a reprimand; but if the list of absentees is a long one, the commanding officer is punished on the spot with a dozen blows or more. The latter incident is reported to be of frequent occurrence; for among such a large number of soldiers, there are many whose homes are several days’ journey from the capital, so that they can hardly find time, between one review and another, to go thither, cultivate their fields, provide themselves with food, and return punctually.
No military manœuvres were undertaken, and I was told that war is carried on entirely without system, as among the wildest tribes. Especially when a company thinks itself lost, all subordination ceases, and the men take to flight on every side.
Horrible is the fate of the sick and wounded soldiers, not only during a flight, when, of course, no one cares about them, but even during ordinary marches. Their comrades are bound to take care of them, and to carry and feed them; but how can people be expected to do this who are themselves in want of every thing, and often so much weakened by hunger and toil of every kind that they can scarcely drag themselves along and carry their weapons? It frequently happens that efforts are made by the soldiers to rid themselves of these poor wretches. They are not killed outright, which would be rather a benefit to them, under the circumstances; but their comrades drag them along the ground, without giving them any food, or even a refreshing draught from the nearest spring. When they have ceased to give any sign of life, they are left by the wayside, no one caring to ascertain whether they are dead or not.
On these marches a fearful number of lives are sacrificed. In the last war, for instance, which the queen waged against the Seklaves two years ago, ten thousand men were sent into the field. More than half died on the march for wantof food; many deserted; and when the army reached the scene of action, its force is said to have scarcely exceeded three thousand men.
The prisoners are much better off, for care is taken of them, as a profit is derived from their sale; and even as slaves they are not in nearly so unhappy a condition as the soldiers and peasants. Their owners feed, clothe, and lodge them; nor are they overworked; for, by transgressing in this respect, the owner runs the risk of losing his bondman, for his slave runs away; and fugitive slaves are seldom captured, there being no police or similar institution in the country. The master certainly has the power of beating his slave to death; the government will not interfere with him; but his own interest will deter him from any extreme measures. Many slaves pay their owners a small yearly tax in money, and live like free men; others even keep slaves themselves, who work for their master-bondmen.
After the review, the officers and music marched past our house to welcome Mr. Lambert.
The officers were mostly clothed, like their brethren at Tamatavé, in European garb, and looked ridiculous and comical enough. One wore a dress-coat, the tails of which reached almost to his heels; another had a coat of flowered chintz; a third, a faded red jacket, which had once done duty as part of a marine’s uniform. Their hats were just as diverse in character. There were straw hats and felt hats, of all sizes and shapes, caps and head-coverings of fearful and wonderful forms. The generals wore the regulation cocked hat of Europe, and were mounted.
The military grades are modeled quite on the European plan; there are thirteen gradations from the private soldier up to the field-marshal.
I succeeded also in finding European titles in Madagascar; there were crowds of barons, counts, and princes, as at the most aristocratic European courts.
The whole population of Madagascar is divided into eleven castes. The eleventh caste consists of the regal personage; the tenth of the descendants of the royal family. In this caste alone brothers and sisters may intermarry, probably in order to prevent there being too many scions of the blood royal. The six following castes, from the ninth to the fourth inclusive, comprise the nobles of higher and lower rank; the people belong to the third caste, the “white” slaves to the second—a class including all who were once free, and have been sold as prisoners of war or as a punishment for crimes; and the first, or lowest caste, consists of the “black” slaves, namely, those who have been born in that condition of life.
A noble may take a wife not only out of his own caste, but out of the two immediately below him, but never from a higher one. On no account may he marry a slave-woman; and the law does not even allow any other kind of connection between a noble and a slave. In this respect, by the way, Madagascar might serve as a model to those countries governed by white men where slavery exists; for the morality of the entire community would be greatly benefited if this custom were observed. This law was in former times very stringently enforced, and on the discovery of a connection of the kind alluded to the noble was sold as a slave, and the slave-woman beheaded. If the woman in the case was a noble and the man a slave, both were beheaded. In these latter days, however, this strictness has been much relaxed. Indeed, in the universally low state of morality prevailing here at the present time, the greater number of the nobles and officials would have to lose their heads or their freedom; and what would then become of the court? Some amount of good is, however, still effected by the law; for when such an affair between a nobleman and his slave is suspected, he is compelled to set her free to escape punishment.
As polygamy has been introduced here, every man mayhave as many wives as he pleases; but among the nobles only a certain number of these women have a claim to the actual title of wife, and the first wife always keeps precedence over those taken subsequently. She alone lives in her husband’s house, and great respect is shown to her; her children, too, have privileges beyond those of the other wives. The other children, like the subsequent wives, live in little separate houses. The king may take twelve lawful wives, but they must be all members of the highest families. The ruling queen and her sisters and daughters have the right of sending away their husbands and taking new ones as often as they choose so to do.
Our breakfast was just over, and I had retired to my room, when Mr. Lambert came to announce that the queen had summoned us to an introduction or audience. This honor is generally accorded to strangers eight or ten days after their arrival; but her majesty seemed desirous of showing distinction to Mr. Lambert above all Europeans who had ever visited her court, and so, not later than the fourth day, we had the happiness of appearing before that exalted personage.
All these tokens of honor and consideration astonished Mr. Lambert not a little. He had already told me in the Mauritius that he had very many good friends at the queen’s court, and dangerous enemies also, who might have taken advantage of his absence to slander him in the vilest manner, not only in her eyes, but in Prince Rakoto’s too. But a circumstance that Mr. Lambert now confided to me for the first time was, that attempts had been made in another quarter to prejudice the queen against him, and that he expected not exactly to be coldly received, but to be looked upon with some degree of suspicion.
And now, for the first time, I got an insight into Mr. Lambert’s real plans and intentions, which were certainly not calculated to prepossess the queen in his favor.
When Mr. Lambert came to Tananariva for the first time in the year 1855, and saw with what cruelty the queen ruled, a wish arose in his mind to free the unhappy people from this tyrant. He succeeded in gaining the friendship of Prince Rakoto, who was also deeply moved by the people’s misery, and who at that period told Mr. Lambert that he cared not who ruled over the nation so long as the government was good and just. They soon came to an understanding, and Mr. Lambert made a treaty with Prince Rakoto, and conceived the design of seeking help from either the French or English government.
In the year 1856 he went to Paris, and in a private interview with the emperor he made him acquainted with the boundless misery of the people of Madagascar, and tried to induce the French autocrat to come to the assistance of that unhappy country. But it is difficult to enlist the sympathy of a European government where philanthropy and not state interest is in question. This audience had no result, and an interview of Mr. Lambert with the English minister, Lord Clarendon, also led to nothing; nay, instead of any advantage accruing from this step, it was productive of difficulty and discomfiture, for every thing Mr. Lambert had done in reference to Madagascar came to the ears of a great missionary society in England. The society feared that, in the event of the French occupation of the island, the Roman Catholic religion might be the only form of worship introduced and licensed, which, in their opinion, would be, of course, a much greater misfortune for the inhabitants than the mere fact of their being ruled by an utterly cruel woman, like Queen Ranavola, who plays with human lives and sacrifices them at her pleasure! The society accordingly formed the notable resolution of opposing Mr. Lambert in every possible way, and immediately dispatched a chosen member, a missionary, to Tananariva to acquaint the queen with Mr. Lambert’s design against her.
To judge from what occurred, as it was reported to me, it would appear that even an English missionary is capable of abandoning truth and sincerity in order to effect a purpose, and, upon occasion, to employ arts of a Jesuitical kind.
In the Mauritius, where the missionary made some stay before proceeding to Madagascar, he ventured to assert that Queen Ranavola had summoned him to Madagascar!
On his arrival at Tananariva he took care to impress upon the queen that he had been dispatched to her by the English government for the purpose of assuring her that England desired nothing more than to continue the same friendly relations with her country which had existed in the time of George the Fourth. He farther informed the queen of every thing that Mr. Lambert had undertaken against her in France and England; represented that gentleman as a very dangerous person, and a spy in the employ of the French government; and predicted that Mr. Lambert would speedily make his appearance, accompanied by a body of French troops, to depose her in favor of her son.
If even these misrepresentations had been made to effect some noble purpose, they could only have been justified by the very Jesuitical axiom that “the end sanctifies the means.” But the object sought here was to impede, or perhaps altogether to frustrate, a truly Christian and philanthropic work, an undertaking calculated to promote the well-being of the entire nation. A missionary society ought surely to understand the principles of brotherly love better than this, and keep in view the maxims of religion, and especially to remember that they are not to be made subservient to political views.
The missionary’s calling is the most exalted of any, for to few men are vouchsafed the opportunities of doing good that fall to his lot; but the misfortune is, that the majority of missionaries busy themselves more in worldly intriguesthan in the amelioration of the human race, and that, instead of inculcating charity, union, and toleration, they excite their followers by their preachings to hate, contemn, and, if possible, to persecute every sect but their own. I can only refer my readers to what I have written on this subject in my former works, particularly concerning the English and American missionaries.
So the missionary from England came to Tananariva bearing the sword instead of the olive-branch. He not only unfolded Mr. Lambert’s alarming schemes to the queen, but gave Prince Rakoto a long lecture on the exceeding turpitude of his conduct toward his royal mother in meditating revolt, declaring, moreover, that the English court had been so shocked by the news as verily to haveput on mourning!
The prince condescended to excuse himself by asserting, in reply, that, had he meditated removing his mother from the throne to place himself upon it, he should have merited the reproach; but that such was not the case, as he merely wished to deprive the queen of the power of perpetrating cruelties; every other privilege he wished her to retain, and for himself he had asked nothing at all.
At Tananariva, and also in the Mauritius, a report was circulated that Mr. Lambert had obtained the prince’s signature to the contract by fraud; that the prince had not been at all inclined to enter into a private treaty with Mr. Lambert, but that the latter had invited him to a banquet, intoxicated him, and prevailed on him to sign while in that condition. It was farther stated that when, on the following day, Prince Rakoto heard what he had done, he was so incensed against Mr. Lambert that he had banished him from his presence forever. Mr. Lambert was therefore very considerately advised never to return to Madagascar, as he might fear the worst from the hatred and contempt alike of the queen and of Prince Rakoto.
At Tananariva the prince himself told me the story of the signing of the treaty. He let me read the document, and assured me that the tale of the intoxication was a fiction; that he had perfectly understood what he was doing, and that he never repented this step at all. I much wish the author of this scandalous report could have seen with what contemptuous anger he was spoken of on this occasion.
I must also contradict a statement that the English missionary spread abroad in the Mauritius on his return from Madagascar. He boasted every where of the favorable reception he had met with at Tananariva, and of the great favor he enjoyed at the hands of the queen and of Prince Rakoto. This favor was so great, in fact, that after a stay of scarcely four weeks at Tananariva he received a peremptory order to depart. He applied for permission to remain longer, alleging as a reason that the fever season was not yet past, and disease was still rife in the lowlands. He begged the queen to take this into consideration, and not to expose him to mortal danger. But all was in vain; he was compelled to quit Tananariva. The queen was highly exasperated against him because he had distributed some Bibles, while Prince Rakoto resented his behavior toward Mr. Lambert.
Introduction at Court.—The Monosina.—The Royal Palace.—The Hovas.—Scenes of Horror under the Queen’s Rule.—Executions.—The Tanguin.—Persecution of the Christians.—One of the Queen’s Journeys.—Her Hatred of Europeans.—Bull-fights.—Taurine Mausoleum.
Introduction at Court.—The Monosina.—The Royal Palace.—The Hovas.—Scenes of Horror under the Queen’s Rule.—Executions.—The Tanguin.—Persecution of the Christians.—One of the Queen’s Journeys.—Her Hatred of Europeans.—Bull-fights.—Taurine Mausoleum.
Ourintroduction at court took place on the 2d of June.
Toward four o’clock in the afternoon our bearers carried us to the palace. Over the door is fixed a great gilt eagle with extended wings. According to the rule laid down here by etiquette, we stepped over the threshold first with the right foot, and observed the same ceremony on coming to a second gate leading to a great court-yard in front of the palace. Here we saw the queen sitting on a balcony on the first story, and were directed to stand in a row in the court-yard opposite to her. Under the balcony stood some soldiers, who went through sundry evolutions, concluding with a very comic point of drill, which consisted in suddenly poking up the right foot as if it had been stung by a tarantula.
The queen was wrapped, according to the custom of the country, in a wide silk simbu, and wore on her head a big golden crown. Though she sat in the shade, a very large umbrella of crimson silk was held up over her head; this being, it appears, a point of regal state.
The queen is of rather dark complexion, strong and sturdily built, and, though already seventy-five years of age, she is, to the misfortune of her poor country, still hale and of active mind. At one time she is said to have been a great drunkard, but she has given up that fatal propensity some years ago.
To the right of the queen stood her son, Prince Rakoto, and on the left her adopted son, Prince Ramboasalama; behind her sat and stood sundry nephews and nieces, and other relatives, male and female, and several grandees of the empire.
The minister who had conducted us to the palace made a short speech to the queen, after which we had to bow three times, and to repeat the words “Esaratsara tombokoe,” equivalent to “We salute you cordially;” to which she replied, “Esaratsara,” which means “Well—good!” Then we turned to the left to salute the tomb of King Radama, lying a few paces on one side, with three similar bows, whereupon we returned to our former place in front of the balcony and made three more. Mr. Lambert, on this occasion, held up a gold piece of fifty francs’ value, and put it in the hands of the minister who accompanied us. This gift, which every stranger has to offer when he is presented for the first time at court, is called “Monosina.” It is not necessary that it should consist of a fifty-franc piece; the queen contents herself with a Spanish dollar or a five-franc piece. Mr. Lambert had, however, already given fifty francs on the occasion of the “sambas-sambas.”
After the delivery of the gold piece, the queen asked Mr. Lambert if he wished to put any question to her, or if he stood in need of any thing; to which he answered “No.” She was also condescending enough to turn to me, and ask if I was well, and if I had escaped the fever.[B]After I had answered this question, we staid a few minutes longer looking at each other, when the bowings and greetings began anew. We had to take leave of Radama’s monument, and on retiring were again reminded not on any account to put the left foot first over the threshold.
Such is the way in which the proud Queen of Madagascar grants audiences to strangers. She considers herself far too high and exalted to let them come near her at the first interview. Those who have the great good fortune to win her especial favor may afterward be introduced into the palace itself; but this is never achieved at a first audience.
The royal palace is a very large wooden building, consisting of a ground floor and two stories, surmounted by a peculiarly high roof. The stories are surrounded by broad galleries. Around the building are pillars also of wood, eighty feet high, supporting the roof, which rises to a height of forty feet above them, resting in the centre on a pillar no less than a hundred and twenty feet high. All these columns, the one in the centre not excepted, consist of a single trunk; and when it is considered that the woods which contain trees of a sufficient size to furnish these columns are fifty or sixty English miles from the capital, that the roads are nowhere paved, and in some places quite impassable, and that all the pillars are dragged hither without the help of a single beast of burden, or any kind of machine, and are afterward prepared and set up by means of the simplest tools, the building of this palace may with truth be called a gigantic undertaking, and the place itself be ranked among the wonders of the world. In bringing home the chief pillar alone, five thousand persons were employed, and twelve days were occupied in its erection.
All these labors were performed by the people as compulsory service, for which they received neither wages nor food. I was told that during the progress of the work fifteen thousand people fell victims to the hard toil and the want of proper nourishment. But the queen is very little disturbed by such a circumstance; half the population might perish, if only her high behests are fulfilled.
In front of the principal building a handsome spacious court-yard has been left; around this space stand severalpretty houses, all of wood. The chief building is, in fact, uninhabited, and contains only great halls of state and banqueting-rooms; the dwelling-rooms and sleeping-rooms of the queen are in one of the side buildings, communicating by a gallery with the palace.
On the left, the “silver palace” adjoins the larger one. It takes its name from the fact that all the Vandyked ends with which the roof is decorated, and the window and door frames, are hung with innumerable little silver bells. This palace is the residence of Prince Rakoto, who, however, makes very little use of it, generally living at his house in the city.
Beside the silver palace stands the monument of King Radama, a tiny wooden house without windows; to this fact, however, and to the farther circumstance of its being built upon a pedestal, it owes its sole resemblance to a monument.
The singular custom prevails in Madagascar, that when a king dies, all his treasures in gold and silver ware and other valuables are laid with him in the grave. In case of need, the heir can dig up the treasure, and, so far as I could ascertain, this had been done in every instance.
Radama’s treasure is only estimated at 50,000 piastres, but his father’s was valued at a million. The treasure or property of the present reigning queen is computed, according to the account I received, at between 500,000 and 600,000 dollars, and her yearly income at 30,000 to 40,000 dollars. The latter sum she is able to add annually, almost without deduction, to her fund, for she incurs no expense in her government or for her personal wants. As to the first, the whole burden falls upon the people, who have to work without pay; and with respect to the latter, the queen is the owner of the land, and possesses a great number of slaves, who have to provide every necessary for her household. Even the very clothes she wears are mostly madeof materials produced in the country, and woven and prepared by male and female slaves.
Among the natives at Tananariva there are said to be some who have property to the amount of several hundred thousand dollars; but they make a secret of their wealth, for if the queen should obtain intelligence of the whereabouts of such a treasure, the wish to seize it and carry it off might very probably enter her royal mind.
The whole wealth of the island in ready money is estimated at one million dollars at most.
I do not grudge the queen the treasure she has accumulated; but it would be a fortunate thing for the population of the island if it were to be buried very soon, in company—of course—with its gracious possessor. She is certainly one of the proudest and most cruel women on the face of the earth, and her whole history is a record of bloodshed and deeds of horror. At a moderate computation, it is reckoned that from twenty to thirty thousand people perish annually in Madagascar, some through the continual executions and poisonings, others through grievous labor purposely inflicted, and from warfare. If this woman’s rule lasts much longer, the beautiful island will be quite depopulated; the population is said to have already shrunk to half the number that it comprised in King Radama’s time, and a vast number of villages have disappeared from the face of the land.
Executions and massacres are often conducted in wholesale fashion, and fall chiefly upon the Seklaves, whom the queen seems to look upon with peculiar hatred; but the Malagaseys and the other nations are not much less distasteful to her; and the only tribe that finds any favor at all in her eyes is, as I have already said, the Hovas, from whom she herself is descended.
These Hovas were once the most scorned and hated of all the races in Madagascar; they were regarded as the Pariahsare regarded in India. Under King Radama, however, and especially under the present queen, this race has distinguished itself, and attained the first place by dint of intelligence, bravery, and ambition. But, unhappily, the race has not been improved by prosperity, and the good qualities of the Hovas are more than overbalanced by their evil propensities: Mr. Laborde even declares that the Hova embodies in himself the vices of all the tribes in the island. Mendacity, cunning, and hypocrisy are not only habitual, but cherished vices with him, and he tries to initiate his offspring therein at the earliest possible age. The Hovas dwell among themselves in a continual state of suspicion, and friendship is with them an impossibility. Their cunning and slyness are said to be incredible: the most practiced diplomatists of Europe would be no match for them in these qualities.
Of Malay origin, the Hovas are undoubtedly less ugly than the other races in Madagascar. Their features have less of the negro type, and are even better shaped than those of the Malays in Java and the Indian Archipelago, whose superiors they are also in stature and bodily strength. Their complexion varies through every shade from olive-yellow to dark reddish-brown. Some are very light; but, on the other hand, I noticed many, especially among the soldiers, whose color approximated so much to the red tint that I should have taken them for more genuine “red-skins” than even the North American Indians, to whom that name is applied from the ruddy tinge in their skin. Their eyes and hair are black; they wear the hair long, and this is of a frizzly woolly texture.
Even the Hovas, the favorites of the queen, are ruled with a ruthless iron hand; and though they may not be put to death by hundreds and thousands like the other nations, they are still punished with death for very trifling offenses.
Blood—and always blood—is the maxim of Queen Ranavola, and every day seems lost to this wicked woman on which she can not sign at least half a dozen death-warrants.
That my readers may become better acquainted with this queen, whose cause the English missionary society, in its philanthropy, has so warmly espoused, whose defense their agent has dared to undertake, and whom he has sought to maintain on the throne, I will cite a few of the deeds of horror which have been perpetrated on the unhappy land at her command, and of which the first alone would be sufficient to brand with infamy the name of Ranavola forever.
In the year 1831, when the army was still well trained, and the discipline introduced by King Radama had not yet been quite forgotten, the queen conquered a great portion of the eastern part of the coast, whose chief population consisted of Seklaves. She ordered all the men of the conquered country to come to an appointed place to do homage to her. When the men, twenty-five thousand in number, were assembled, they were commanded to lay down their arms, and they were then led out into a large open space quite surrounded by soldiers. Here they were told to kneel down in token of submission; but scarcely had they done this, when the soldiers fell upon the unhappy wretches, and massacred them every one. Their wives and children were afterward sold as slaves.
Such is the lot of the conquered nations; but the queen’s own subjects are not much better off.
In the year 1837, for instance, the queen received a report from her ministers to the effect that there were many magicians, thieves, violators of graves, and other evil-doers among the people. The queen immediately convened a kabar, or judicial meeting, for seven weeks, and at the same time caused it to be proclaimed to the people that all evil-doers who delivered themselves up should have their livesgranted to them, but that those who failed so to do should suffer the punishment of death. A body of nearly sixteen hundred men gave themselves up accordingly. About fifteen hundred had voluntarily surrendered themselves to justice, and ninety-six had been denounced. Of these ninety-six, fourteen were burnt; and of the remaining eighty-two, some were hurled over a high rock, in the district of Tananariva, which has been the death-place of thousands; others were put into pits, and scalded to death with boiling water; others, again, were executed with the spear, or poisoned; a few were beheaded, and several had their limbs separately hacked off. The most painful death of all, perhaps, was inflicted on a portion of the victims, who were sewn up in mats in such a way that the head only protruded, and who were then left alive to rot.
Those who had been their own accusers were spared from execution, in accordance with the royal promise; but their fate was far worse than that of the men condemned to death. The queen declared that it would be dangerous to set such a number of criminals at liberty, and that they must, at any rate, be made harmless. So she had heavy irons fastened round their necks and wrists, and the unhappy victims were fastened together in gangs of four and five by very thick iron bars, about eighteen inches long. After this operation had been performed on them, they were set free—that is to say, they were at liberty to go where they would, only that guards were appointed in all directions, whose office it was to give strict heed that none of the irons were filed off. If one of a group died, it was necessary to cut off his head to extricate the corpse from the iron neck-ring, and the dead man’s fetters were left to weigh upon the survivors, so that at last they could hardly drag themselves from place to place, and perished miserably at last under the heavy weight.
In the year 1855 certain people in the province of Vonizonga unfortunately took it into their heads to assert that they had discovered a means of catching a thief by invisible agency; that when he stretched out his hand with felonious intent, they could charm his arm so as to prevent him from drawing it back or moving from the spot. When the queen heard of this, she commanded that the people in question should be severely punished, for she fancied she herself might one day come into that district, and be killed by similar witchcraft. Two hundred persons were taken prisoners, and condemned to thetanguin, of whom a hundred and eighty perished.
The tanguin, or poisoning test, is often applied to persons of all grades—to the high nobles as well as the slaves; for the mere accusation of any crime is sufficient to bring it upon the victim. Any man may start up as accuser. He need not bring forward any proofs, for the only condition he has to fulfill is to deposit a sum of twenty-eight and a half dollars. The accused persons are not allowed to make any defense, for they must submit to the poisoning ordeal under all circumstances. When any one gets through without perishing, a third part of the deposited money is given to him, a second third belongs to the queen, and the remainder is given back to the accuser. If the accused dies, the accuser receives all his money back, for then the accusation is looked upon as well founded.
The poisoning process in managed in the following manner: The poison employed is taken from the kernel of a fruit as large as a peach, growing upon trees calledTanguinea Veneniflora. The lampi-tanguini, or person who administers the poison, announces to the accused the day on which he is to take it. For forty-eight hours before the appointed time he is allowed to eat very little, and for the last twenty-four hours before the trial nothing at all. His friends accompany him to the poisoner’s house; here he has to undress himself, and make oath that he has not hadrecourse to any kind of magic. The lampi-tanguini then scrapes away as much powder from the kernel with a knife as he judges necessary for the trial. Before administering the dose to the accused, he asks him if he confesses his crime; but the culprit never does this, as he would have to take the poison notwithstanding. The lampi-tanguini spreads the poison on three little pieces of skin, about an inch in size, cut from the back of a fat fowl; these he rolls together, and bids the accused swallow them.
In former days, almost every one who was subjected to this ordeal died in great agony; but for the last ten years every one who has not been condemned by the queen herself to the tanguin is permitted to make use of the following antidote. As soon as he has taken the poison, his friends make him drink rice-water in such quantities that his whole body sometimes swells visibly, and quick and violent vomiting is generally brought on. If the poisoned man is fortunate enough to get rid not only of the poison, but of the three little skins (which latter must be returned uninjured), he is declared innocent, and his relations carry him home in triumph with songs and rejoicings. But if one of the pieces of skin should fail to reappear, or if it be at all injured, his life is forfeited, and he is executed with the spear or by some other means.
One of the nobles who frequently visited our house had been condemned several years ago to take the tanguin. Happily for him, he threw up the poison and the three pieces of skin in perfect condition. His brother ran in great haste to the wife of the accused to announce this joyful event to her, and the poor woman was so moved by it that she sank fainting to the ground. I was astonished at hearing of such a display of feeling from one of the women of Madagascar, and could not at first believe the account true. I heard, however, that if the husband had died, she would have been called a witch, and probably condemnedto the tanguin likewise, so that the violent emotion was probably caused more by joy at her own deliverance than the good fortune of her husband.
During my stay in Tananariva a woman suddenly lost several of her children by death. The mother was accused of causing the fate of the poor little ones by magic arts, and was condemned to the tanguin. The poor creature threw up the poison and two of the skins, but as the third did not make its appearance, she was killed without mercy.
As I have already said, the queen, immediately on her accession, had strictly forbidden the profession of the Christian faith, which had been introduced under King Radama. Notwithstanding this, there are said to be a considerable number of Christians still in the island, who, of course, keep their belief as secret as possible. In spite of all their caution, however, about six years ago all the members of a little congregation were denounced and captured. One of their number was burnt by the queen’s orders. This punishment is generally inflicted only on nobles, officers, and soldiers; fourteen were thrown over the rock, and many others beaten to death. Of the remainder, the nobles were deprived of their titles and honors, and the commoners sold as slaves. All the Bibles discovered were publicly burnt in the great market-place.
The punishment of being sold as a slave is one of the lightest to which the queen condemns her subjects. The following facts will show on what slight grounds such sales are effected.
Once the queen had caused some Spanish dollars to be melted down for silver dishes. When these dishes were brought to her, she found fault with the workmanship, summoned the goldsmiths and silversmiths to the palace, and exhorted them to furnish better work. The good people did their very best, and, to their own misfortune, turned out better dishes than they had at first produced. Thequeen was satisfied, praised the workmen, and, as a reward for their exertions, had the whole guild sold as slaves, on the ground that they had not at first delivered such good dishes as they had since proved themselves able to make.
At another time many persons lost their freedom in consequence of a death in the royal family. When a nobleman of any caste dies, the duty of wrapping him in the dead-cloth and placing him in the grave devolves upon the fourth caste. The deceased in this case had fallen into disgrace, and been banished from the capital, and mourning was not put on for him at court; under these circumstances, the nobles of the fourth class feared to offend the queen by paying the last honors to the dead man, and left this duty to men from among the people. As soon as this came to the queen’s ears, she laid a fine of four hundred dollars upon the whole caste, and had one hundred and twenty-six persons selected from it and sold as slaves; among these were many women and children.
The entire population of a village sometimes fall into slavery merely for eating the flesh of a stolen ox. Stealing an ox is a crime punished with death; but if the stolen beast belonged to the queen, not only is the thief executed, but all who have partaken of the ox’s flesh are sold into slavery; and as no one takes the trouble to ascertain who has been implicated and who not, the punishment falls upon the whole village in which the ox was sold and slaughtered. None are spared but unweaned children, who are graciously supposed not to have eaten any of the meat.
To have attained to wealth and independence is too great a crime in a subject not to draw down all kinds of persecution on the luckless delinquent. If the queen gets to know that any village is rich in cattle, rice, and other produce—money, of course, is out of the question among the villagers—she imposes a task upon the people which they can not execute; for instance, she requires them to deposit a certain amount of wood, or a certain number of stones, at a given place on an appointed day. The quantity of materials to be delivered is made so large, and the time allowed for their delivery so short, that, even with the greatest exertion, and every anxiety to fulfill the conditions, the completion becomes impossible. The people are then condemned to pay a fine of some hundreds of dollars; and as they have no money, they are obliged to sell their cattle, their rice, their slaves, and not unfrequently themselves.
Separate wealthy persons are plundered in the following way: An Ysitralenga—that is to say, a man who does not tell lies—proceeds to the house of the selected victim, accompanied by some soldiers; here, sticking a lance in the ground, he accuses the head of the family of some offense against the government—of having spoken disrespectfully of the queen, or committed some other crime, and takes him prisoner, and leads him before the judge. If the accused loses the suit, his whole property is confiscated; if he wins it, half his wealth will have gone in bribes and other expenses; for, although Madagascar is a half savage country, the judges understand their business just as well as in the most civilized states in Europe.
But executions, poisonings, slavery, plunderings, and other punishments do not exhaust the people’s catalogue of woes. In devising plans of malignity and cruelty, Queen Ranavola’s penetration is wonderful; and she has invented farther means for ruining the unhappy population, and plunging it still deeper into misery. One device for carrying out this end, often adopted by the queen, is a royal journey. Thus, in the year 1845, Queen Ranavola made a progress to the province of Mancrinerina, ostensibly to enjoy the sport of buffalo-hunting. On this journey she was accompanied by more than 50,000 persons. She had invited all the officers, all the nobles, far and near, around Tananariva; and that the procession should appear as splendid as possible, every one had to bring with him all his servants and slaves. Of soldiers alone, 10,000 marched with them, and almost as many bearers, and 12,000 men always kept a day’s journey in advance, to make the roads broader and repair them. Nor were the inhabitants of the villages spared through which the queen passed. A certain number, at least, had to follow the train with their wives and children. Many of the people were sent forward, like the road-menders, to prepare the night’s lodging for the queen; no trifling task, as the houses or tents prepared for the royal family had to be surrounded by a high rampart of earth, lest her gracious majesty should be attacked by enemies during the night, and torn forcibly away from her beloved people.
Inasmuch as this philanthropic potentate is accustomed, on a journey of this kind, only to make provision for her own support, and gives her companions nothing but the permission to live on the stores they have brought for themselves (provided, of course, they have been able to procure any), famine very soon makes its appearance among the mass of soldiers, people, and slaves. This was the case in the journey of which I speak; and in the four months of its duration, nearly 10,000 people, and among them a great proportion of women and children, are said to have perished. Even the majority of the nobles had to suffer the greatest privations; for, wherever a little rice was left, it was sold at such a high price that only the richest and noblest were able to purchase it.
In the first years of Queen Ranavola’s rule, before she found herself seated securely enough on the throne to gratify her bloodthirsty propensities on her own subjects, her hatred was chiefly directed toward the descendants of King Radama and toward the Europeans. Regarding the latter, she frequently held councils with her ministers and other grandees concerning the measures to be taken to keep thedetested race away from her territories. Mr. Laborde informed me that on these occasions the most absurd and extravagant propositions were brought forward. Thus, for instance, one of the wise councilors urged the expediency of building a very high, strong wall in the sea round about Madagascar, so that no ship should be able to approach any of the harbors. A second wiseacre proposed to the queen to have four gigantic pairs of shears manufactured, and fixed on the roads leading from the various harbors to the capital. Whenever a European came along, the shears were to be clapped to the moment he stepped between them, and thus the daring intruder would be cut in two. A third councilor, as wise as his companions, advised the queen to have a machine prepared with a great iron plate, against which the cannon balls fired from hostile ships would rebound, and sink the aggressive vessels by being hurled back upon them.
All these suggestions were received by her majesty with much approbation, and formed matter for deliberation in the exalted council for days and weeks; but, unfortunately, none of them were found practicable.
I must mention another touching trait, which the English missionary society will not fail to interpret greatly to the advantage of Queen Ranavola, should it not have done so already.
The queen is particularly fond of witnessing fights between bulls, and this noble sport is frequently carried on in the fine large court-yard in front of the palace. Among the horned combatants, some are her favorites: she asks after their health every day, and is as anxious about them as a European lady might be about her lapdogs; and, to carry out the simile, she often takes more interest in their well-being than in the comforts of her servants and friends.
In one of these contests, one of her favorite bulls—in fact, the chief of them—was slain: the poor queen was inconsolable at her loss. Until now, no one had ever seen her weep. But then, she had never before met with so heavy a misfortune. She had certainly lost her parents, her husband, a few children, and some brothers and sisters; but what were all these in comparison to the favorite bull? She wept much and bitterly, and it was long before she would take comfort. The animal was buried with all the honors accorded to a grandee of the state. It was wrapped in a number of simbus, and covered with a great white cloth, and the marshals had to lay it in the grave. The marshals showed on this occasion that the race of courtiers flourishes in Madagascar; they were so proud of the distinction that they boast of it to the present day. Two great stones are placed upon the grave, in memory of the dear departed; and the queen is said to think of him still with gentle sorrow.
The bull’s monument is in the inner town. I saw it myself, and thought, also with sorrow, not of the bull, but of the unhappy people languishing under the cruel oppression of this barbarous queen; and with sorrow, too, I thought of the equally unhappy sectarian spirit that can induce any section of a Christian community to become the champions of such a woman!