But then, on the other hand, I should not have visited Russia, and learned the notable fact that, in this much-abused despotic empire, there are many institutions more liberal in character than those of a colony of England, the country especially proud of its progress.
And yet it is so—notably as regards the passport system. If a traveler wishes to leave St. Petersburg, or any of the great towns in Russia, to start on a journey, he has to give notice of his intention a week before he departs. The traveler’s name is published three times in the newspaper, so that, if he has debts, his creditors may take the requisite steps. Here, on this vast and extensive island, a week is considered far too short a notice. Three weeks are required, or, as in Russia, a surety must be provided.
I was so little prepared to find such an old-world regulation in force in an English colony, that I did not take any trouble about my passport. A few days before my departure, however, I asked the French consul for his visa, more, as I thought, as an attention than from necessity.
By chance, I heard at dinner the same day that this was not enough, and that the permission of the police to depart was also necessary. I was dining at Mr. O——’s, a partner of Mr. Lambert; and as several gentlemen were present, I asked if any of them would have the kindness to go through what appeared to me a mere formality on my behalf, and be bail for me. To my great astonishment, the gallant, refined Frenchmen exhausted themselves in empty excuses; not one would do me the service I required. Next morning I went to Mr. Kerr, an Englishman, and in a few hours I had my passport.
To my sorrow, I must confess that at last I was treated with lack of courtesy by an Englishman, and that Englishman was the governor.
When I first arrived in the Mauritius, this gentleman had received me very courteously; he even asked me to his country house, and had, unasked, offered me a letter to the Queen of Madagascar. On my going to him, a short time before my departure, for the promised letter, he likewise put me off with an excuse. I was going to visit the Queen of Madagascar in company with Mr. Lambert, and he pronounced my companion to be politically a dangerous man. Verily great honor was mine in the Mauritius; the French took me for an English spy, and the English governor for a spy of the French government!
After all these pleasant experiences, no one will wonder when I say that I looked forward with longing expectation to the moment when I might leave this little island, with its still more little-minded inhabitants. I will try to keep no other remembrance of it than the memory of its natural beauty, and of the friendship and kindness I received from the good people whose names I have mentioned, and from some others. I have not had an opportunity of naming them all; for others, Messrs. Fernyhough, Beke, Gonnet, etc., rendered me many a good service. To one and all I return my heartiest thanks.
CHAPTER VIII.
A Geographical and Historical Account of the Island of Madagascar.
With the exception of certain strips on the coast, the island of Madagascar is almost an unknown land; only here and there has a traveler been able to penetrate into the interior, and none have had an opportunity of studying the country at their leisure. So far as I am concerned, I have unfortunately not sufficient knowledge to describe the country in a scientific way. The most I can do is to give a simple but truthful account of what I have seen; beyond this my powers do not extend. It would, perhaps, be not uninteresting to my readers, therefore, if, before I relate my own experiences in Madagascar, I give an historical and geographical summary, compiled from the various works that have appeared concerning this island.