hotel

QUEEN RANAVOLA'S TYRANNY.

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near the throne, some of whom Ranavola feared might advance a claim to it.

The treaty which Radama had made with the English she abrogated at once. Her hatred for the British was very great, and extended to every thing that came from England, even to the cattle introduced from that country. All people of English descent were to be killed, or at least banished from her dominions; nor did the French find favor in her eyes. She set her face generally against civilization, and tried hard to stifle its every germ. She drove away the missionaries, prohibited Christianity, and made all communication with Europeans difficult. Her subjects, especially those who do not belong to the race of the Hovas, from which she came, she treated with great severity and cruelty: for the smallest offenses the most rigorous punishments were inflicted, and sentences of death were, and still are, executed daily.

One only among those related by ties of blood to the late King Radama had succeeded in saving his life by timely flight. This was Prince Ramanetak. This prince had just claims to the throne; and as Queen Ranavola soon made herself hated by the people for her cruel and bloodthirsty rule, he might well have succeeded, with French help, in effecting a revolution and taking possession of the throne. This would have been very advantageous to the French, for Prince Ramanetak was very favorably inclined. toward that nation. But the government in France remained true to the policy pursued toward Madagascar for the last two centuries, and the magnificent aid they offered to the prince consisted of-sixty muskets and twenty kegs of powder.

As I have already stated, when describing my visit to Paris, the French were ultimately expelled by Queen Ranavola even from the strip of land given them by Radama in the Bay of Vanatobé. Whether France will demand satis

faction, and show the insolent rulers of Madagascar the might of a European people, or whether she will let the opportunity pass by as she has done on former occasions, I can not take upon myself to conjecture. Time will

show.

THE OLD MAN-OF-WAR.

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CHAPTER IX.

Departure from the Mauritius.-The old Man-of-War.-Arrival in Madagascar.-Mademoiselle Julie.-Account of Tamatavé.—The Natives.— Comical Head-dresses.-First Visit in Antandroroko.—Malagasey Hospitality. The Euro peans at Tamatavé.-The Parisio-Malagasey.-Do

mestic Institutions.

ON the 25th of April, 1857, I quitted the Mauritius. Thanks to the good offices of Mr. Gonnet, the owners of the "Triton" gave me a free passage to the harbor of Tamatavé, on the coast of Madagascar, distant 480 sea-miles. Our vessel was an old worn-out brig of war, which in her youthful days formed part of the British fleet at the great victory of Trafalgar in 1805. Deeply had she fallen from her former high estate; for now, in her old age, she was used for carrying oxen during the fine season of the year from Madagascar to the Mauritius. Accommodation for passengers there was none, all the space being divided into berths for the oxen; and as to the security of our vessel, the captain gave me the consolatory assurance that she was utterly unfit to do battle with any thing approaching to a storm.

My desire to leave the Mauritius behind me was nevertheless so great that nothing could dissuade me from going. I commended myself to Heaven, embarked with a light heart, and had no reason to repent my boldness. If the ship was bad, her captain, Mr. Benier, was a remarkably good one. Though not of high birth, for he was half Creole in color, he behaved with a courtesy and consideration which would have done honor to the most cultivated man. once gave up his cabin to me-the only place in the not monopolized by preparations for the four-footed ngers-and did all in his power to make the voyage

He at

ship

passe

as agreeable to me as possible. For the first three days our passage was rather a quick one. The wind was in our favor, blowing from the east, as it always does in these seas from April to the end of October. A quick-sailing ship would have made the voyage in three days; but not so our old war-craft, wending painfully on her way. We were still far distant from our goal, and, to our dismay, a strong contrary wind arose in the night between the third and fourth day of our voyage. Notwithstanding the consoling verdict of the captain with regard to the safety of the ship, I sat expectant every minute of some catastrophe. But the night and the following day passed away without accident, though the wind, still contrary, compelled us to cast anchor toward evening off the island of "Prunes." On the fifth day we came to Tamatavé, but could not run in there; at length, on the sixth day, we came to anchor in the harbor.

Violent falls of rain, frequently of long duration, had contributed their share in rendering the voyage irksome; I had no books with me, and the good captain's library consisted of a cookery-book and an English and French dictionary. But such minor inconveniences are easily forgotten, particularly when a long-sought goal is in view, as was now the case with me. The land I had ardently wished, during many years, to visit, now lay before my eyes.

I wished to quit the ship at once; but it appears that, in spite of her contempt for civilization and her dislike of European institutions, Queen Ranavola has adopted the two among them most obnoxious to travelers-police and cus tom-house. Just as though I had been in France or any other European country, I was compelled to wait till the inspecting officers had come on board, and looked very carefully at the ship and at me. As I had the queen's royal permission to set foot in her kingdom, no farther difficulty Iwas made, and I was free to land. Here certain customhouse employés of Madagascar at once took possession of me,

MADEMOISELLE JULIE.

141

and led me to the custom-house, where all my baggage was opened and searched. How they searched! not the smallest object escaped their eyes, not the tiniest paper packet was overlooked. The officials exhibited the keenness of bloodhounds, and could hold their own beside the sharpest douaniers in France or Germany. Fortunately, nothing was stolen from me; and I looked complacently on a scene that so whimsically reminded me of my own country.

At Tamatavé I was to meet Mr. Lambert, who intended not to return to the Mauritius after his visit to the eastern coast of Africa, which he had undertaken on behalf of the French government, but to proceed to Madagascar at once. Mr. Lambert had not yet arrived, but he had already told me in the Mauritius that, in the event of having to wait, I should put up at Mademoiselle Julie's, and he would take care to inform her of his arrival.

My lady-readers will probably expect to be introduced, in the person of Mademoiselle Julie, to an unmarried European female, cast by some strange freak of fortune on this distant island. Unfortunately, I must disenchant them: Mademoiselle Julie is a true Malagasey woman, and, moreover, a widow, and the mother of several children. In Madagascar, the strange custom prevails of calling every member of the sex feminine "Mademoiselle," even though she may have a dozen little olive-branches to show, or may have been married half a dozen times.

Mademoiselle Julie is, nevertheless, no ordinary personage, and decidedly one of the most interesting characters, not only in Tamatavé, but in the whole island. She was left a widow about eight months ago, but continued to carry on her husband's business, and with a better result, it is rumored, than the deceased himself could attain. She is the possessor of sugar plantations and a rum distillery, and engages in commercial speculations of various kinds. Her penetration and industry would render her a remarkable