DOCTOR BREEZY PRESCRIBES FOR THE QUEEN, AND ATTAINS TO TEMPORARY AND
"PERFIK F'LICITY."
While these events were taking place in the forest, Queen Ranavalona was
keeping her Court Physician and his comrades in a state of considerable
uneasiness, not only with reference to the safety of their own heads,
but because of her violent edicts regarding her Christian subjects.
She renewed her commands as to the necessity of every one coming
forward, on pain of instant death in the event of disobedience, and
accusing themselves, with the reiterated assurance that if they failed
to comply and they were afterwards accused by others they should be
subjected to the ordeal of the Tangena, and slain or reduced to
perpetual slavery if found guilty.
The whole city was in a panic. No one felt safe. Under the influence
of fear some accused themselves, expecting, no doubt, that their
punishment would be lightened. Others remained quiet, hoping that they
might escape detection, while many were accused by false friends as well
as by enemies, and fell victims under the poison ordeal. Others, again,
stood firm, and boldly proclaimed their faith in the Lord Jesus and
their readiness to die if need be for His cause.
After the accusations, trials, and investigations, sentences were read
which deprived four hundred officers and nobles of their honours, and
levied fines on the remainder to the number of about two thousand. One
would have thought that the mere necessity for such widespread
punishment would have shown the Queen how deeply the new religion had
taken root, and how hopeless it was to attempt its suppression, but she
did not see it in that light. On the contrary, she issued a mandate
requiring all books to be delivered up to her officers, and threatening
death against any who should keep back or hide even a single leaf. She
also commanded her subjects never again even to "think of the Christian
lessons they had learned, but to blot them from their memories for
ever!"
Among those who boldly held to their opinions was the Queen's own son
Rakota, who, however, as we have seen, did not run quite so much risk as
others, owing to his mother's affection for him. The Prime Minister's
son, also, and Prince Ramonja, made no effort to conceal their opinions,
though they were wise enough to refrain from exasperating the angry
Queen by asserting them openly.
One morning the Prime Minister sent a message to the Court Physician,
requiring his immediate attendance at the palace. Mark was seated in
his own room at the time, talking with Hockins and Ebony about the
gloomy state of affairs. A slight feeling of dismay fluttered the heart
of each when the message came, for death-warrants were much in the air
at that time.
"Oh, massa, p'r'aps dey're a-goin' to kill you!" was the negro's
comforting suggestion.
"More likely they want him to cure the Queen," said Hockins.
"Couldn't you, massa," whispered Ebony, with a terribly solemn
countenance, "mix a spoonful--a bery small spoonful--ob prussic acid, or
creosote, or suffin ob dat sort, wid 'er physic?"
Mark laughed, and shook his head as he went out.
He found Rainiharo, with a tremendous frown on his face and deep lines
of care on his brow, seated in front of our friend the Secretary, who
had an open book on his knee. Three other officers of the palace sat
beside them. These constituted a court of inquiry into the contents of
the suspected books, and the Secretary, being the only literary
character among them, was the appointed reader.
"Come here. Sit down," said Rainiharo, sternly pointing to a seat; "we
want you to explain your books. The Queen commands us to examine them,
and, if we find anything contrary to her wishes in them, to condemn them
to the flames. But it seems to us that there is nothing in them but
rubbish which we cannot understand."
Strange, is it not, that in barbaric as well as in civilised lands,
people are apt to regard as rubbish that which they do not understand?
So thought the Court Physician, but he wisely held his tongue and sat
down.
"This book," said the Prime Minister, pointing with a look of mingled
contempt and exasperation to the volume on the Secretary's knee, "is
worse than the last. The one we condemned yesterday was what you call
your Bible. We began with it because it was the biggest book. Being
practical men we began at the beginning, intending to go straight
through and give it a fair hearing. We began at Gen--Gen--what was it?"
"Genesis," answered the Secretary.
"Genzis--yes. Well, we found nothing to object to in the first verse,
but in the second--the very second--we found the word `darkness.' This
was sufficient! Queen Ranavalona does not like darkness, so we
condemned it at once--unanimously--for we could not for a moment
tolerate anything with _darkness_ in it."
Mark felt an almost irresistible desire to laugh outright, but as the
gratification of that desire might have cost him his head he did resist
it successfully.
"Now," continued the Prime Minister, with a darker frown, "we have got
to the Pil--Pil--what is it?"
"_Pilgrim's Progress_," answered the Secretary. "Just so--the _Pilgim's
Progress_. Well, we agreed that we would give the _Pil--Pilgim's
Progress_ a better chance, so we opened it, as it were, anyhow, and what
do we come on--the very first thing--but a man named Obstinate! Now, if
there is one thing that the Queen hates more than another it is an
obstinate man. She cannot abide obstinate men. In fact, she has none
such about her, for the few men of that sort that have turned up now and
then have invariably lost their heads. But we wanted to be fair, so we
read on, and what do we find as one of the first things that Obstinate
says? He says, `Tush! away with your book!' Now, if the man himself
condemns the book, is our Queen likely to spare it? But there are some
things in the book which we cannot understand, so we have sent for you
to explain it. Now," added Rainiharo, turning to the Secretary,
"translate all that to the maker of physic and tell me what he has to
answer."
It was a strange and difficult duty that our young student was thus
unexpectedly and suddenly called to perform, and never before had he
felt so deeply the difference between knowing a subject and expounding
it. There was no escape, however, from the situation. He was not only
bound by fear of his life, but by Scripture itself, "to give a reason of
the hope that was in him," and he rose to the occasion with vigour,
praying, mentally, for guidance, and also blessing his mother for having
subjected him in childhood--much against his will!--to a pretty stiff
and systematic training in the truths of Scripture as well as in the
story of the _Pilgrim's Progress_.
But no exposition that he could give sufficed to affect the foregone
conclusion that both the Bible and the Pilgrim, containing as they did
matter that was offensive to the Queen, were worthy of condemnation,
and, therefore, doomed to the flames.
Having settled this knotty point in a statesmanlike manner, Rainiharo
bade Mark and the Secretary remain with him, and dismissed his three
colleagues.
"You see," he said, after some moments of anxious thought, "although I
agree with the Queen in her desire to stamp out the Christian religion,
I have no desire that my son and my nephew should be stamped out along
with it; therefore I wish to have your assistance, doctor, in turning
the mind of Ranavalona away from persecution to some extent for in her
present mood she is dangerous alike to friend and foe. Indeed I would
not give much for your own life if she becomes more violent. How is
this to be done, think you?"