From Aden the copper cable, resting on one of the Comoro Islands, would convey the message to Bombatok, which, flashing through the wires at Antananarivo and Tamatave, would through another cable pass on to Réunion and Mauritius, and thence to Ceylon, to “farthest India and Cathay,” the glad tidings that the Queen of the Indian Ocean had joined the family of civilized and Christianized man. Less than five years may see this accomplished.
CHAPTER VII.
The Vale Estate—Departure from Mauritius—Réunion—Ex-mayor of St. Denis—History of Seychelles—Equable Temperature—Magnificent Harbour of Refuge in the Centre of the Indian Ocean—Actors in the Reign of Terror—Products—Sperm Whale—Turtle—Coco de Mer—Exports.
After a stay of ten weeks at Mauritius, two steamers having arrived from Aden without any instructions not to proceed to England, as indicated in my telegram to the Foreign Office, and feeling that we were sufficiently recovered to bear the fatigue of travelling, we embarked on board the mail steamer “Granada,” chartered by the Mauritian government for the conveyance of the mail to and from Aden.
Our restoration to health was in a great measure to be attributed to the kind attentions of our friends at the “Vale Estate,” where we were guests during the last four weeks of our stay at Mauritius. Here I had an opportunity of making myself acquainted with the manufacture of sugar, the cultivation of the cane, and the general management of a sugar estate, under the tuition of my esteemed friend, Mr. Thomas Wade West.
We embarked on board the “Granada,” on the afternoon of the 11th of September, where we found a number of kind friends who had gone on board to say farewell to us; among whom was the worthy Lord Bishop, whose attention, together with that of his wife and family, had been most unremitting during our sojourn on the island.
The moorings were slipped—our friends departed—the screw revolved—and the beautiful “Granada” glided out of Port Louis. The next day we were off Réunion, where we had to call for the mails, and the aspect alone of the island, when compared to Mauritius, told at once in favour of the latter.