Six Months in Reunion: a clergyman's holiday, and how he passed it

Chapter I

The Present Condition of the Protestants — Neglected by the Protestant Churches in France — Self-taught Protestants — Their Labours among their Slaves — Their Advocacy of Emancipation — The Cemetery — The Tomb of one who laboured much and suffered much — Fate of their Children — An Hereditary Religion — Reading the Bible — A Philosophical Father — Fallacy of his System — Protestant Children without Baptism . . 1 CHAPTER H. An English Lady — Her Strange History — Shipwreck and Death of her Husband — Interview with the Abbess — Calumnies against her — The Abbess Gift — Death and Funeral of an English Professor — Celebration of the Communion — Praying for the Dead — Apparitions — A Protestant Book-keeper — His History ... CONTENTS. IV CHAPTER HI. A Deaf and Dumb Pole— Gift of a French Testament— An Accomplished Linguist and Experienced Traveller — Protestants in the French Army — English Grooms — Preference of Beer to Claret — Ignorance regarding Presbyterianism — Claims of the Protestants in Bourbon — Want of Pastoral Superintendence ..... 31

CHAPTER IV.

Introduction of Slavery — Great Mortality among the Slaves — Causes of this Mortality — -The Inhuman Slave-dealer and his Fate — Want of Labour — Appeal to Louis Philippe — Proposal of M. Thomas to introduce Coolies from India — Condition of Coolie Immigrants — Means of obtaining Immigrants — Deductions from their Wages — " Mestrys " — Disembarkation at St. Denis — Quarantine — Vaccination — Coolies Sold by Auction — Character of Indian Women — Indian Barbers — A Tuft of Hair . 41

CHAPTER V.

Failure of Coolie Immigration— Causes of this Failure — Mode of obtaining Coolies — Low Wages — Transference of Labourers — Injustice of such a System — The Gensd'Armes and the Coohes— Murder of a Coolie by his Master — Compulsory Conversions — New Treaty between France and England in reference to Coolie Immigration — Consular Agents in French Ports and French Colonies — Probable results of this Treaty .... CONTENTS. V

CHAPTER VI.

Difference between the Coolies and the Africans — Africans Introduced into Mauritius — La Conception Immaculee — Price of an African Groom — Reasons why African are Preferred to Coolie Labourers — Extension of the Traffic in Africans — The Press at Mauritius — The Regis Contract — Introduction of Africans into Martinique and Bourbon — Murders on board Ship — Landing of Africans at St. Denis — Portuguese Slave-Dealers — The Charles et Georges — The Emperor's Letter — Letter to the Governor of Bourbon — Real Character of the System of Free Emigration 86 CHAPTER VH. The Sugar-Cane Indigenous to China and India — Introduced into Europe by the Portuguese — Into Bourbon by La Bourdonnais — The Negro's Fondness for the Cane — Cane-Fields — Cutting the Canes — The Planter's Greatest Enemy — Quantity of Sugar in the Cane — An Indian Sugar-Mill — Processes of Extracting the Sugar from the Cane 112 CHAPTER VHI.

Problems connected with the Manufacture of Sugar — Mysterious Fate of a French Engineer in Bourbon — Improvement of Machinery — Substitute for Fuel — Crystalization of Sugar — The Cad Company — Quantity of Sugar produced in Bourbon — Labourers from the King's Mill Islands — Manures and Fuel — Consumption of Sugar in France — The French Consume twice as much Salt as Sugar — Difference between the Planters of Mauritius and Bourbon VI CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX.

Start for Salazie — Signs of Mourning — Morning in the Tropics — Breakfast at St. Suzanne — L'Escalier — The Cascade — Means of Conveyance — Pierre and his Mule — The Road to Salazie— The Village of Salazie— The Mayor — Victor Malvoisin's Adventure — A Hurricane among the Mountains — Establishment of the Freres de la Foi Chre'tienne — M. Cazeau, the Founder of Salazie — Pumpkin Soup 154

CHAPTER X.

The " Mare a Poules d'Eau " — M. Villiers — Scenery at the ' Source — Inn and Pavilions — Creole Ladies at the Source — Amusements — The Water of the Source — Geological Formation — Cilaos and the Piton des Neiges — Piton d' Anchaing — The Origin of its Name — Caves of Salazie — Caverne Mussard — Tradition connected with it — Landslips — Formation of a Lake — A Voracious Dame de Maurice — Return to St. Denis 178

CHAPTER XI.

The French ship "Augustine" — Danger at Embarking — A gallant Frenchman — Pleasures of sailing in a Bullock Ship — An Affecting Scene — The Captain's Portrait — First Night on Board — A Timid Passenger — An African Improvisatore— " Pompez de l'Eau" — A War of Words —Lascar Sailors — A Ludicrous Scene — Contradictory Orders— The Malegaches— The Queen of Madagascar- Murder by a Pilot — Slave-dealing on the Mozambique Coast — A Slave-Dealer's ideas on Slavery — A Night Alarm — A Word of Advice to the Reader . . CONTENTS. VII St. CHAPTER XH. ;. Helena — A Desolate Landscape — Janot's Opinion — James Town — A Voracious Shark — A Strange Accident — Public Buildings — Healthiness of the Climate — Hotels — Churches — Education — Present Condition of the In habitants — Emigration to the Cape — The Governor's Dinner — The Telescope for Plantation House — The He brew Element at St. Helena — Scarcity of Provisions — Napoleon in St. Helena — Beranger's Old Soldier — Visit to Longwood and the Tomb — A Jewish Landlord — The Guardian's Reminiscences of Napoleon — The Tomb. SIX MONTHS IN REUNION.

CHAPTER I.

The Present Condition of the Protestants — Neglected by the Protestant Churches in France — Self-taught Protestants — Their Labours among their Slaves — Their Advocacy of Emancipation — The Cemetery — The Tomb of one who laboured much and suffered much — Fate of their Children — An Hereditary Religion — Reading the Bible — -A Philosophical Father — Fallacy of his System — Protestant Children without Baptism. I felt a deep interest in the present condi tion of the Protestants of Bourbon. It appears strange that no attempt should have been made by any of the Reformed Churches in France to send out a missionary to labour among their countrymen in this island, who have at least as great claims upon their VOL. II. b CONDITION OF PROTESTANTS. assistance and sympathy as the savages of South Africa, among whom they have carried on a successful mission for many years.

Unfortunately their remoteness and isolation place them beyond the reach of that sympa thy which their spiritual condition would otherwise excite ; and the Government is too keenly alive to the advantages of uniformity of worship to take any steps to disturb the outward unity which has hitherto prevailed. Many of them are possessed of wealth, and are thus in a position to contribute to the sup port of a minister. I made the acquaintance of one very amiable family, all the members of which had been brought up as Protestants, though they had never had any intercourse with any minister, except one, who had been brought over from Mauritius to perform a marriage ceremony. Their father was a member of the Legislative Council, and one of the most distinguished men in the colony. He had groped his way to the knowledge of SELF-TAUGHT PROTESTANTS.

Divine truth without being aided in any way by others, or affected by any of those causes which, in many cases, lead to a change of religious belief. He had remained nominally attached to the Church of Rome till the period of his marriage. His wife, a native of France, seems to have shared in his masculine intellect and searching spirit of inquiry. I have seen the portraits of both, and was struck with the resemblance which the countenance of the husband, with its keen intellec tual, but somewhat ascetical expression, bore to that of John Calvin, the greatest theologian that Protestantism has ever produced ; while the lady, with her finely-chiselled features and compressed lips — the emblem of firmness of purpose and constancy of will — recalled the remembrance of those Huguenot mothers who preferred exile and poverty to the renuncia tion of what they believed to be the truth.

The solitary life which they led on a large sugar plantation which they possessed in the country seems to have been favourable to FREE INQUIRY. the indulgence of that spirit of inquiry by which they were both animated. The dogmas of the Church of Rome, when tested by their searching intellect, and com pared with the teachings of that book which they now recognized as the only standard of faith aud doctrine, were soon discarded, and they embarked in the somewhat perilous en terprise of deducing a religion for themselves from the Bible. They had no means of consulting any minister of religion, and the opinions they adopted were adhered to with all the more tenacity inasmuch as they were altogether their own. They had been led on step by step to adopt them ; they knew every link of the chain which bound them together, and were prepared to give an answer to every one that asked a reason of the hope that was in them.

A religion formed under such circumstances could scarcely fail to be marked by certain peculiarities bearing the impress of I 5 ADVOCACY OF EMANCIPATION. their individual minds; but they seem, on the whole, to have firmly adopted all those great and essential doctrines which are common to the Protestant Churches of Europe. The husband, a man of stern and unbending prin ciple, was not satisfied with a silent abnega tion of Romanism — he avowed himself pub licly to be a Protestant. Inspired by a lofty sense of duty, they both devoted themselves to the improvement of the slaves on their estate, whom they resolved to emancipate as soon as they were sufficiently instructed to make liberty a boon. Instead of spending the Sabbath in folly and dissi pation, they assembled their slaves, and tried to instil into their minds the first elements of Christian doctrine and duty.

The husband was the first who raised his voice in the Legislative Council in favour of the oppressed children of Ham ; and though his advocacy of their cause raised a storm of opposition, and exposed him at one time to considerable danger, HOSTILITY OF THE CLERGY. neither the threats nor the cajolery of his opponents could seduce him from the path of duty. His opinions were scouted as vision ary by those who believed their slaves to be little superior to their bullocks, and treated them much in the same way ; while his re fusal to allow his children to be baptized by the priests excited the bitter hostility of a class which seldom knows how to forgive. His whole life thus became a struggle against the secret intrigues of the clergy and the avowed hostility of his political op ponents. A man of less decision of character and constancy of purpose would either have succumbed or removed to some other land, where the principles of toleration would have allowed him free scope for his religious and political opinions.

But he felt, with the Prophets of old, that there was a burden on his soul which he could not shake off; and that this island, where he was born, was the battle-field where he must fight, and die. His wife was worthy of such a husband, A NOBLE EXAMPLE. 7 and seems to have acted much the same part as the noble consort of Admiral Coligny, during the troublous times of the civil war in France. They were blessed with a numerous family, who have all adhered to the principles of Protestantism, and thus shewn how much they profited by the example and teaching of their parents. Their father died before the Revolution of 1848 gave freedom to the slave through all the French colonies, and thus established the principle for which he had contended unsuccessfully during his whole life. His death presented a striking contrast to his life.

The latter had been stormy as the ocean which dashes its waves against the rock-bound shores of his native isle ; the former was full of peace and resignation to the Divine will. His last words were words of encouragement to his children, whom he exhorted to hold fast that form of doctrine which they had been taught, and which now THE CEMETERY. upheld him in his last hours. His death excited something of a remorseful feeling. A father in Israel had fallen ; and his political opponents sought to atone for the bitterness of past opposition by the honours of a public funeral. I paid a visit to the grave of this truly great and good man. The cemetery is so close to the sea, that the foam of its waves often passes the walls, and lies like snowy flakes on the last homes of the dead. It is a calm and peaceful scene ; the murmur of the ocean soothes the soul, and seems itself the reflex image of that eternity on which the spirits of those whose bodies are moul dering here have entered.

Some of the monuments are carved with pompous inscrip tions and vain expressions of regret. Not so the one which I sought ; it stated the dates of the birth and death of the deceased, and concluded with the simple but touching words : " He laboured much, and suffered much." His labours and sufferings were now A MARRIAGE CONTRACT. ended ; the angry passions he had evoked were now lulled to rest — and the ripple of the waves, as they broke in constant succession against the walls of the cemetery, seemed to speak of pardon and forgiveness to all. Three of his daughters have married Roman Catholic husbands — or, at least, husbands nominally attached to that form of religion. In one case the children have been brought up in the faith of the Church of Rome, and the poor mother has been sub jected to the painful necessity of seeing her offspring taught doctrines which she believes to be contrary to reason and revelation.

It was expressly stipulated in the marriage contract that the children should be brought up in this way; and the father, an amiable and accomplished man of the world, told me that his sole reason for insisting on the fulfilment of this condition was the desire to spare his children those " chagrins " which the profession of any other religion would have entailed. He treated me with perfect courtesy, HEREDITARY RELIGION. and allowed me full access to all the members of his family, after I had pledged myself not to interfere with the religious training of the children, or to induce his wife secretly to dis obey the terms of the marriage contract. He told me, with charming frankness, that he had only a sort of hereditary respect for Romanism, because it was "la religion de ses peres," and that he never interfered in anyway with the reli gious convictions of his wife, or the instruction she gave to her children, so long as they conformed outwardly to the established religion.

I was much gratified to find that the amiable and interesting mother was in the habit of reading and explaining the Bible to her eldest daughter, and consoled her with the assurance that if her children, through her lessons and example, were brought to a saving knowledge of the Saviour, the fact of their outward conformity to the Church of Rome would not affect their salvation, as there were many members of that church "in her, but A PHILOSOPHICAL FATHER. 11 not of her," who had been led by the Spirit to the knowledge of divine truth. I was treated with uniform kindness by all the members of this very amiable family; and I trust that God, who has endowed them with wealth, and surrounded them with every luxury, may yet bring them to know more of the exceeding riches of His grace in Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Of the husbands of the two others, one was dead, and the other an avowed follower of Voltaire. They had several children, and although some of them were pretty old, none of them had been baptized. I had an inter view with the husband, but failed to see his wife and sister-in-law, who were residing in the country. I mentioned my profession, and the object of my visit. He evidently had little sympathy with either, and told me that the baptism of his children concerned his wife alone, as he was not a believer in Christianity under any form. He was un peu philosophe, and had resolved FREEDOM OF OPINION. to allow his children to grow up without any religious instruction, till they had attained to such maturity of intellect as to be able to judge for themselves. He had judged for himself — by his own master he must stand or fall ; and he wished to extend to his children the same liberty of choice when they were old enough to decide between the opposing claims of Christianity and infidelity.

He evidently regarded this resolution as a proof of great magnanimity and liberality of sentiment, and seemed rather surprised when I hinted my disapproval, and expressed my belief that such a system of training could only end in infidelity. " Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ? " The mind of a child is never in a quiescent state ; it is liable to be affected, almost from the moment of its birth, by impressions from without ; and its religious character in after-life is, as a general rule, simply the result of the influences to which it has been exposed in its early years. A FALLACIOUS SYSTEM. If the good seed be not sown, and watched with parental care, and watered with the re freshing dews of heaven, the evil already there will spring up, and so overrun the soil as to mar every attempt at after-cul ture.

The children of an avowed infidel can never be impartial in judging of the claims of Christianity at any period of life. Their minds receive a certain bias from the example of those by whom they are sur rounded ; and the infidel, however anxious to do so, can never altogether conceal his opinions from his children. They will crop out in his daily intercourse with them ; and a word, lightly spoken and speedily for gotten, may leave an impression on the mind of a child which the lapse of time can never efface. The natural enmity of the human heart to God gives it an original bias toward infidelity, which must ever be strengthened by the neglect of early religious instruction, which alone can act as a counter poise. If the purifying influences of early CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTION. religious training be not applied as a correc tive, the germs of evil, inherent to the human mind, will spring up and produce the natural fruits of superstition, unbelief, prejudice, and falsehood.

Infidels must give up all claims to an impartiality which cannot exist. Their daily lives, their words, their actions, and their very looks are forming the minds of their children, and creating their belief, before their judgments are ma tured ; while Christian instruction makes their minds impartial, by checking their corrupt tendencies, educating their con sciences, enlightening their understandings, and thus enabling them to judge between the opposing claims of truth and error. Infidelity professes to be opposed to all shams ; but can there be a greater sham than neglecting the religious instruction of children, under the pretence of making their minds impartial and unprejudiced? Some thing of this I hinted to my philosophic UNBAPTIZED PROTESTANT CHILDREN. 15 friend, who seemed to treat my views with a sort of sublime pity, and assured me that they were the result of those prejudices from which he had escaped.

And so we parted, never to meet again. I discovered a good many Protestant children who had never been baptized, in consequence of the want of a pastor of their own church. Their parents considered it better that they should remain without bap tism than that this ordinance should be ad ministered by a priest. Owing to reasons which I need not specify, I did not con sider it my duty to baptize more than two. They were the children of a French lady, whose husband died a few months before. They had been married at the Oratoire at Paris, and during the eleven years which they had spent at Bourbon they had never had any communication with a Protestant minister. When I called upon her, and men tioned the object of my visit, she burst into tears, and said : " Oh ! if you had only ADMINISTRATION OF BAPTISM. come a few months sooner, my poor husband might have seen you before he died."

At her request I strove to prepare her son and daughter for baptism, by instructing them as to the nature and obligations of that holy ordinance ; and before I left the island they were both admitted into the Church. The administration of the ordi nance took place under somewhat peculiar circumstances. The young lady presented herself, and answered all the questions which were addressed to her, and received the water of baptism standing. It was also administered to her brother in the same way.

Chapter II

An English Lady — Her Strange History — Shipwreck and Death of her Husband — Interview with the Abbess — Calumnies against her — The Abbe's Gift — Death and Funeral of an Enghsh Professor — Celebration of the Communion — Praying for the Dead — Apparitions — A Protestant Book-keeper — His History. I MET also an English lady, the only one in Bourbon, whose life, if written, would prove that truth is stranger than fiction. Married at an early age to a young Frenchman, she was induced to accompany him to this island, where he had wealthy relations, who wished him to join them. When near the shores of Bourbon, the vessel was caught in one of those fearful hurricanes with which this part of the Indian Ocean, at certain seasons of the VOL. II. c AN ENGLISH LADY. year, is visited, and dashed to pieces on the reef near St. Denis.

Only a few of the pas sengers, among whom were this lady and her husband, contrived to reach the land with the loss of all their property. This loss, joined to a reception on the part of his relations different from that which he had been led to expect, brought on a violent attack of fever, which carried him off three months after his arrival. So many misfor tunes, following one another in such rapid succession, might have prostrated a mind less calm and resolute; but in this instance they served only to elicit her latent energies, and to brace her for the struggles that awaited her. Her husband's relations refused to give her any assistance, unless she conformed to the established religion of the colony ; and, as she could not comply with their request, she was thrown entirely upon her own resources.

Fortunately, she was the only Englishwoman in the colony ; and though the Creoles have HER STRANGE HISTORY. little taste for the acquisition of foreign lan guages, she thought that she might be able to support herself by giving lessons in English. Her case had excited much sympathy among a primitive and warm-hearted people ; a few of the principal inhabitants exerted themselves in her behalf, and soon procured for her as many pupils as she could teach. Her religion was the only obstacle to her success, and many futile attempts were made to induce her to give it up. She clung to the faith of her infancy with a tenacity which neither intimidation nor flattery could relax. Her desolate condition made her an object of compassion among the gentle Sisters of Charity; and the Mother Abbess sent for her, and told her that she would employ her as a teacher among the pupils in the convent if she would cease to be a Protestant.

" Do you not see in your sufferings," said the good Abbess, " the hand of God pointing out to you that your religion is false ? If c INTERVIEW WITH THE ABBESS. you renounce it, you will soon learn to regard your sufferings as the greatest blessing ; while, if you harden your heart against God, He may send some still greater evil upon you." " Madam," the poor lady answered, " I have indeed suffered much, but I do not infer from that that my religion is false ; I have learned that it is through much tribulation that we must enter into the kingdom of God. I have indeed suffered much ; but I believe that the blow was given in mercy, and that He who cast me down will yet raise me up." "Call upon me," said the Abbess, " at the end of two years, and let me know if you are still of the same mind. If you should change your views, the convent will always be open to receive you."

And thus they parted. The greater evil predicted by the Abbess never came. Her pupils continued to increase, till she soon found herself in a position beyond the pressure of immediate want. CALUMNIOUS REPORTS. 21 Her kind and conciliating manners secured for her the esteem and affection of her pupils ; while her consistent and irreproachable cha racter caused the difference of religion to be overlooked by all except the priests, who used every device to bring this wandering sheep within the fold, and, finding themselves un successful, shewed their disappointment by a system of petty annoyance. On one occasion they circulated the report that she had received a large consignment of Bibles and other heretical works, with which she intended to corrupt the minds of the youth committed to her charge.

This report gained such credence that a deputation of the Romish clergy waited upon her, and de manded her keys. They searched every where, but found nothing save a copy of the Bible and Prayer-book which had been saved from the wreck. They were rather ashamed, and for a time she was free from annoyance — till another charge was brought against her. She was THE ABBESS GIFT. accused of teaching an heretical catechism in a school where she gave lessons. It so happened that two spelling-books had the catechism of the Church of England attached to them, and she had used them without being aware of this fact. A deputation of the clergy visited the school, and proceeded to examine the books. The discovery of the unfortunate catechism created a feeling of pious horror in the minds of the orthodox fathers, who refused even to touch the accursed thing.

By the aid of a pair of scissors, the offend ing parts were detached from the rest of the book, and solemnly committed to the flames, in presence of the pupils, while their teacher was admonished to be more careful for the future. Soon after she received a visit from a priest, who brought her an image of the Vir gin, and told her that if at any time she felt her heart sorrowful she should address her prayers to it, as it was the special pro- AN ENGLISH PROFESSOR. 23 vince of the Holy Mother to watch over and to aid women in distress. Appreciating the Abbe's kindness, though not sharing in his faith, she accepted his gift, so as to avoid wounding his feelings ; but we need scarcely say she has not fallen into the error of attri buting to the Virgin a power which belongs only to the Virgin's Son.

On the occasion of my visit to the ceme tery, I observed a simple monument erected to the memory of an Englishman of the name of Jones, who had been a professor of languages in the Lyceum, and died at the early age of thirty-six. He was the only English man buried there, or at least the only one whose grave could be distinguished, and his funeral took place under somewhat singular circumstances. He had not conformed to the established religion, and there was no Protes tant minister in the island to read the service of the Church of England at his grave. His brother professors, by whom' he had been deeply respected, requested permission to HIS DEATH AND FUNERAL. assemble at the cathedral for the purpose of accompanying his remains to the cemetery ; but as, to borrow the local phrase, he had neither lived nor died " dans la religion," the clergy refused their permission.

He would have been buried without any religious cere mony, if his energetic countrywoman had not come forward at this juncture. She arranged everything, marched to the cemetery at the head of the funeral procession, and read the impressive service of the Church of England at the grave. The Frenchmen, always ready to appre ciate everything noble, were so much im pressed by the sight of a lady officiating at the funeral of her countryman, that they knelt reverently on the green turf which covers the neighbouring graves ; and when, at the close of the service, one of them, in accordance with the customs of the country, delivered a funeral oration, he be stowed the highest praise on the lady who, animated by the purest motives, and unde- CELEBRATION OF THE COMMUNION. 25 terred by the timidity of her sex, had come forward and officiated on the occasion.