We proceeded to the house of Mr. Laborde, a very warm friend of Mr. Lambert’s, and who is also a great protector of every European that arrives at Tananariva.
CHAPTER XII.
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.
Our host, 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 with powder 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.