Dinner at Mr. Laborde’s.--Foot-boxing.--Ladies of Madagascar and
Parisian Fashions.--The Conspiracy.--A Dream.--A Fancy-dress
Ball.--An unquiet Night.--Concert at Court.--The Silver Palace.--An
Excursion of the Queen.
On the 3d, 4th, and 5th of June I was very unwell, with premonitory
symptoms announcing a coming attack of the malignant fever of
Madagascar. It luckily happened that, during these days, nothing of any
interest occurred.
On the 6th of June Mr. Laborde gave a grand dinner in honor of Prince
Rakoto, in his garden-house, situate at the foot of the hill.
Although the dinner was announced for six o’clock, we were carried to
the house as early as three o’clock. On the way we passed a place in the
upper town on which nineteen heavy guns (eighteen-pounders) were
planted, the muzzles pointing toward the lower town, the suburbs, and
the valley. They were placed there by King Radama, who had received them
as a present from the English. They were not landed at Tamatavé, but at
Bombetok, on the eastern coast. The distance from this place to the
capital is greater than from Tamatavé, but the roads are better, and
river conveyance can be made available for several days’ journey.
On our arrival at Mr. Laborde’s garden-house, all kinds of efforts were
made to shorten the interval before dinner: several native sports were
exhibited, the most popular of which was a kind of “foot-boxing.” The
combatants kicked each other all over, and with such hearty good-will
that I expected every moment broken legs or ribs would be the result.
This delicate sport is in particular favor among the people in winter,
as it effectually warms those engaged in it. The coldest season here is
between the month of May till the end of July, when the thermometer
often falls to four, three, or even to one degree (Réaumur).
Nevertheless, every thing remains green; the trees do not lose their
leaves, and the landscape looks as pretty and blooming as in Europe in
the middle of spring. The inhabitants of Tananariva are fond of the
summer heat, and as they have no means of procuring wood, and of thus
artificially supplying the want of animal heat, they resort to the
aforesaid pastime of foot-boxing.
The rich make their slaves bring wood from the distant forests to kindle
fires. In Mr. Laborde’s house, a coal fire was kept up in a great
brazier from early in the morning till late at night, but, of course,
the door or the windows remained always open. This piece of luxury costs
a dollar per day--a very high price compared with the cheapness of all
other necessaries.
The foot-boxing was followed by dancing and gymnastic exercises; nor was
music wanting, for a band had been provided, which executed some pieces
skillfully enough. I was not so well pleased with the songs of a number
of native girls, who had been taught by a missionary residing with Mr.
Laborde. They knew a number of songs by heart, and did not scream in
such shrill fashion as those whom we had before heard; on the contrary,
their performance was tolerably correct; but it was a dreary
entertainment, and I was devoutly thankful when they came to the last
bar.
A little before six o’clock came the prince, accompanied by his little
son, his beloved Mary, and a female friend of hers. Mary made even a
less favorable impression upon me than when I first saw her. The fault
was in her dress, for she was attired completely in the European style.
Whatever other people may say, the stiff, exaggerated fashions diffused
by Paris over the world do not charm me, even when worn by our own
countrywomen, and only look well on those whom nothing can disfigure;
but where there is a complete lack of natural beauty and grace, they
become whimsical and ridiculous, and particularly so in conjunction with
clumsy figures and monkey faces. Madame Mary may be a very good
creature, and I should not like to offend her in any way; but that did
not prevent me from being obliged to bite my lips till the blood almost
came in the effort to avoid laughing aloud at her appearance. Over half
a dozen stiff-hooped petticoats she wore a woolen dress with a number of
great flounces, and great bows of ribbon, the latter fastened, not in
front, but at the back. She had thrown a French shawl over her
shoulders, and could never arrange it to her satisfaction; and on the
top of her head, woolly as a curled poodle’s, was perched a quizzical
little bonnet of reeds.
Her friend wore a muslin dress, and a cap of such antiquated form that,
sexagenarian as I am, I could never remember having seen one of similar
fashion; but afterward I remembered having seen a similar one on a
portrait of my grandmother, who lived about the middle of the last
century. This woman, who was of a more clumsy figure and had uglier
features than Mary, positively frightened me every time I looked at her;
she always gave me the idea of a cannibal chief in disguise.
The dinner-party was very cheerful. I had never seen Mr. Lambert in such
excellent spirits; as for the prince, he seems always in good-humor.
After dinner, Mr. Lambert and Mr. Laborde held a short political
discussion with the prince in another room. I was admitted to take part
in this conversation, and shall have to recur to it. The evening was
unfortunately somewhat spoiled for me by the singing chorus. The
plentiful repast seemed to have inspired the ladies with peculiar
powers, for they screamed much worse than before dinner, and, to
increase the noise, clapped their hands as an accompaniment. A few also
performed the dreary dance of Madagascar to the sound of the
_marovane_, the only instrument yet invented by Malagasey musical
genius. It consists of a bamboo, as thick as a man’s arm, and four feet
long. Shreds of the bark are fastened all around it, supported by little
bridges of wood. The tone is very like that of a bad, worn-out cithern.
As a conclusion, the guests themselves danced, and between the dances
Mr. Lambert gave us some very pretty songs.
About ten o’clock Mr. Laborde whispered to me that I should allege the
weakness that still remained from my late indisposition as a pretext for
breaking up the party. I replied that this was not my province, but that
of Prince Rakoto; but he urged me to do it, adding that he had a
particular reason for his request, which he would explain to me later;
and, accordingly, I broke up the party.
Favored by the brightest of moonlight, we marched up the hill toward our
dwellings to the sound of merry music.
Prince Rakoto and Mr. Lambert then called me into a side-chamber, and
the prince declared to me once more that the private contract between
himself and Mr. Lambert had been drawn up with his full concurrence, and
that he, the prince, had been grossly calumniated when he was
represented as intoxicated at the time of his signing it. He told me
farther that Mr. Lambert had come to Madagascar by his wish, and with
the intention, in conjunction with himself and a portion of the nobility
and soldiers, to remove Queen Ranavola from the throne, but without
depriving her of her freedom, her wealth, or the honors which were her
due.
Mr. Lambert, on his part, informed me that we had dined in Mr. Laborde’s
garden-house because every thing could be more quietly discussed there,
and that I had been requested to break up the party that the little
feast might seem to have been given in my honor; finally, that we had
gone through the town with the noisy music as a sign that the object of
our meeting had been social amusement.
He then showed me in the house a complete little arsenal of sabres,
daggers, pistols, and guns, wherewith to arm the conspirators, and
leather shirts of mail for resisting lance-thrusts; and told me, in
conclusion, that all preparations had been made, and the time for action
had almost come--in fact, I might expect it every hour.
I confess that a strange feeling came over me when I found myself thus
suddenly involved in a political movement of grave importance, and at
the first moment a crowd of conflicting thoughts rushed through my
brain. I could not conceal from myself the fact that if the affair
failed, my life would be in the same danger as Mr. Lambert’s; for, in a
country like Madagascar, where every thing depends on the despotic will
of the ruler, no trouble is taken to determine the question of guilty or
not guilty. I had come to Tananariva in the company of one of the chief
conspirators; I had also been present at several meetings; more was not
required to make me an accomplice in the plot, and therefore just as
worthy of punishment as the active members themselves.
My friends in the Mauritius had certainly warned me previously against
undertaking the journey in Mr. Lambert’s company, and, from what had
been reported there, and likewise from some scattered words which Mr.
Lambert had let fall from time to time, I was able to form an idea of
what was going on; but my wish to obtain a knowledge of Madagascar was
so great that it stifled all fear. Now, indeed, there was no drawing
back; and the best I could do was to put a good face upon a bad matter,
and trust in that Providence which had already helped me in many and
great dangers.
I gave Prince Rakoto and Mr. Lambert my most heartfelt wishes for the
success of their undertaking, and then retired to my room. It was
already past midnight. I went to bed, and, exhausted as I was, soon fell
asleep; but all night long I had disturbed dreams, and, among others,
the following very singular one: I dreamed that the plot had been
discovered, and that the queen had summoned Mr. Lambert and myself to
the palace. We were brought into a large room, and had to wait there a
long, long time. At length the queen appeared with all her court; Prince
Rakoto was there too, but he stood aside in a window, and dared not look
at us.
One of the ministers--the same who had taken us to court on our first
reception--made a long speech, the purport of which I understood, in
spite of my ignorance of the Malagasey languages, and in which he
reproached Mr. Lambert for his ingratitude and treachery. Another
minister then took up the harangue, and announced that we were condemned
to the tanguin.
Hereupon we were led into another room, and a tall negro, wrapped in a
full white garment, came toward us with the little skins of poison. Mr.
Lambert was obliged to take them first; but, at the moment when I was
about to follow his example, there arose suddenly a loud din of music
and rejoicing shouts, and--I awoke, and really heard music and shouting
in the streets. It was broad day; I hastily wrapped myself in my
clothes, and hurried to the gate to see what was going on; and lo! two
men who had been condemned to the tanguin had fortunately got rid of the
poison and the three little pieces of skin, and were being led home in
triumph by their friends.
If I were of a superstitious nature, who knows what importance I might
have attached to this dream, which was partly verified by subsequent
events; but, fortunately, my temperament is not of that kind, and dreams
never trouble me but during my sleeping hours.
June 8th. To-day the prince held a grand kabar in our house, at which
many nobles and officers were present. From this period not a day passed
in which greater or smaller kabars were not held at our house, which
was, in fact, the head-quarters of the conspiracy.
June 9th. A great fancy-ball has been given at court to-day in honor of
Mr. Lambert.
What strange contrasts! On one side a conspiracy hatching--on the other,
festivals are the order of the day!
Does the queen really doubt the existence of the treaty between Prince
Rakoto and Mr. Lambert, and has she no suspicion of its intended
accomplishment? or does she wish to let the conspirators commit some
overt act, that she may afterward satiate her revenge with apparent
justice? Events will show.
Although both Mr. Lambert and myself were still very unwell, we made up
our minds to be present at this feast.
The ball began soon after one o’clock in the day, and was not held in
the apartments of the palace, but in front of the building, in the great
fore-court in which we had been admitted to our audience. As on that
former occasion, the queen sat on the balcony under the shade of her
great parasol, and we were obliged to make the usual obeisances to her
and to the tomb of King Radama. This time, however, we were not made to
stand; comfortable arm-chairs were assigned to us. Gradually the ball
company began to assemble; the guests comprised nobles of both sexes,
officers and their wives, and the queen’s female singers and dancers.
The nobles wore various costumes, and the officers appeared in European
dress; all were obliged to make numerous obeisances. Those who appeared
in costume had seats like ours given them; the rest squatted about as
they liked, in groups on the ground.
The queen’s female dancers opened the ball with the dreary Malagasey
dance. These charming creatures were wrapped from top to toe in white
simbus, and wore on their heads artificial, or, I should say, very
inartificial flowers, standing up stiffly like little flagstaffs; they
crowded into a group in such a way that they seemed all tied together.
As often as they staggered past the queen’s balcony or the monument of
King Radama, they repeated their salutes, and likewise at the end of
every separate dance. After the female dancers had retired, the officers
executed a very similar dance, only that they kept somewhat quicker
time, and their gestures were more animated--that is to say, they lifted
their feet rather higher than the performers of the other sex. Those who
had hats and caps waved them in the air from time to time, and set up a
sharp howling, intended to represent cries of joy.
After the officers followed six couples of children in fancy dresses.
The boys wore the old Spanish costume, or were attired as pages, and
looked tolerably well; but the girls were perfect scarecrows. They wore
old-fashioned French costumes--large, stiff petticoats, with short
bodices--and their heads were quite loaded with ostrich feathers,
flowers, and ribbons. After this little monkey community had performed
certain Polonaises, Schottisches, and contre-danses, acquitting
themselves, contrary to my expectation, with considerable skill, they
bowed low and retired, making way for a larger company, the males
likewise clad in the old Spanish, the females in the old French garb.
All these various costumes are commanded by the queen, who generally
gets her ideas from pictures or engravings that come in her way. The
ladies add to the costume prescribed by royalty whatever their own taste
and invention may suggest, generally showing great boldness and
originality in the combination of colors. I will give my readers an idea
of what these costumes are like by describing one of them.
The dress was of blue satin, with a border of orange color, above which
ran a broad stripe of bright cherry-colored satin. The body, also of
satin, with long skirt, shone with a brimstone hue, and a light
sea-green silk shawl was draped above it. The head was covered in such
style with stiff, clumsily-made artificial flowers, with ostrich
feathers, silk ribbons, glass beads, and all kinds of millinery, that
the hair was entirely hidden; not that the fair one lost much thereby,
but that I pitied her for the burden she had to carry.
The costumes of the other ladies showed similar contrasts in color, and
some of these tasteful dresses had been improved by a farther stroke of
ingenuity, being surmounted by high conical hats, very like those worn
by the Tyrolese peasants.
The company, consisting exclusively of the higher aristocracy, executed
various European dances, and also performed the Sega, which the
Malagaseys assert to be a native dance, though it is really derived from
the Moors. The figures, steps, and music of the Sega are all so pleasing
that, if it were once introduced in Europe, it could not fail to become
universally fashionable.
This beautiful dance was far from concluding the ball. After a short
pause, during which no refreshments were offered, the _élite_ of the
company, consisting of six couples, stepped into the court-yards. The
gentlemen were Prince Rakoto, the two Labordes, father and son, two
ministers, and a general--all the ladies were princesses or countesses.
The gentlemen were dressed in old Spanish costume except Prince Rakoto,
who wore a fancy dress so tastefully chosen that he might have appeared
with distinction in any European court ball. He wore trowsers of dark
blue cloth, with a stripe down the side, a kind of loose jerkin of
maroon-colored velvet, ornamented with gold stripes and the most
delicate embroidery, and a velvet cap of the same color, with two
ostrich feathers, fastened by a golden brooch. The whole dress fitted so
well, and the embroidery was so good, that I thought Mr. Lambert must
have taken the prince’s measure with him to Paris, and that the clothes
had been made there; but this was not the case. Every thing, with the
exception of the material, had been prepared at Tananariva--a proof
that, if the people of Madagascar are deficient in invention, they are
exceedingly clever in imitating models set before them.
This group of dancers appeared with much more effect than their
predecessors, for all the ladies and gentlemen were much more tastefully
attired than the rest of the company. They only performed European
dances.
The ball was concluded, as it had been begun, by the female court
dancers.
The whole of these festivities, which occupied three hours, had not put
the queen to the slightest expense. The court-yard was the
dancing-floor, the sun provided the illumination, and every guest was at
liberty to take what refreshment he chose--_when he got home_. Happy
queen! how sincerely many of our European ball-givers might envy her!
June 10. Again there was noise and singing in the streets. I hurried to
the gate, and saw long files of men carrying earth and stones in
baskets. The labor of these people, eight hundred in number, had been
granted by the queen to the commander-in-chief of the army to build him
a house. They received neither wages nor food, and were obliged to sing
and shout, to prove to the queen that they were happy, and contented
with their lot.
A few days before I had seen similar processions still more numerous,
consisting of fifteen hundred men; they were carrying fuel to the royal
forge, in which a thousand workmen are employed in manufacturing all
kinds of weapons, under the superintendence of Mr. Laborde. Like the
coal-bearers, the smiths receive nothing at all for their labor; and not
only does the queen require all kinds of work from her subjects without
paying them, but when there is any government expense to be incurred
they have to find the money. Thus, in the year 1845, when the queen
imported 30,000 muskets from France at a cost of 145,000 dollars, the
whole sum was raised among the people. A few of the richest had to give
as much as 500 dollars each; but even the poorest had to contribute, and
not even the slaves were excepted.
June 11. Last night I heard a slight noise and muffled footsteps in our
house. I knew that the conspirators were to go from here during the
night to the palace. I listened for many hours--all was silent as the
grave; but suddenly there resounded a loud barking of dogs, followed by
quick footsteps of men. I started involuntarily. I thought that the
attempt must have failed, and that the hurrying steps were those of
fugitives, and I felt how much more trying it is to be obliged to remain
in passive suspense amid threatened danger than boldly to oppose and
combat the peril.
I would not leave my room, lest I should betray my weakness if it proved
to be a false alarm; so I avoided waking my companions, and awaited
patiently what Heaven should send. But nothing farther occurred; the
remainder of the night passed quietly, and next morning I learned that
nothing had been undertaken, and that the favorable moment was not yet
come.
I begin to fear that every thing will be spoiled by this long delay; the
more so, as the meetings are not very cautiously conducted, and a
traitor might easily be found among the nobles and officers apparently
devoted to the prince. A good deal of the fault may lie with the prince
himself. He is, as I have observed, a man of many good and noble
qualities, but he wants decision and firmness of purpose; and his
affection for the queen is, moreover, so great, that he might lack
courage at the decisive moment to undertake any thing against her. It
behooves him, however, to consider that there is no intention of robbing
the queen of her titles, her freedom, or her wealth; the sole object of
the movement being to take from her the power of perpetrating the
cruelties and deeds of blood which have brought her subjects to misery
and despair. The prince, who loves his mother above every thing, and
only seeks to prevent her from being the scourge of a whole country, can
not certainly be considered guilty of a crime. God strengthen him, and
give him courage to be the deliverer of his people!
June 12. Mr. Lambert had so severe an attack of fever that for several
days his life was in the greatest danger. But he terribly neglected all
dietary precautions. As soon as he felt himself at all better, he ate
all kind of things one after another, just as the whim took him--cold
Strasburg pie, meat, and fruit, and drank Champagne and other wines. The
other Europeans do just the same thing, so that I should not at all
wonder if all who caught the fever fell victims to it. While I was in
the Mauritius in the month of March, a stout gentleman from Tamatavé
arrived there, and remained a few days in Mr. Lambert’s house, waiting
for an opportunity to get to Bourbon. This gentleman asserted that he
had the Madagascar fever, and when he appeared at breakfast complained
that he had been suffering from it all night. Accordingly, some strong
meat broth was prepared for him, which he enjoyed exceedingly; but it
did not nearly satisfy him, for he ate in addition a mighty slice of
sweet melon, partook of the other dishes to an extent which would have
served me for a week, and finished his repast with a mango. He did equal
justice to the various beverages; and at the evening meal he returned to
the attack with renewed vigor, eating as if he had fasted the whole day.
In Tananariva I had frequent opportunities of noticing similar
imprudences in diet; and when I made any remark, I was met with the
profound reply, “What would you have? It is the custom of the country;
the people say that the fever is very weakening, and that one must try
to get up one’s strength by taking nourishing things.”
This belief really prevails among the people; the worse a man is, the
more he is urged to eat. When a Malagasey is at the last gasp, they
stuff rice into his mouth; and when he dies, they cry out in
astonishment, “How wonderful! only just now he was eating!”
And because the stupid, uncultivated natives do this, the sensible and
educated Europeans think it right to do likewise!
June 18. To-day I had the great honor of displaying my skill, or rather
my want of skill, on the piano in the presence of the queen. Mr. Lambert
had made her a present of a piano from the manufactory of Mr. Debain, in
Paris, on his first visit to Tananariva. These pianos are not only made
for playing upon with the hands, but can also be played in the manner of
a barrel-organ by turning a handle or “manivelle.”
Mr. Lambert had told me of this when we were in the Mauritius, and added
that the queen had never seen any one play the piano with their hands,
and that it would be a great surprise to her. In my youth I had been a
tolerably accomplished pianist, but that is a long time ago; for more
than thirty years I had given up music, and had nearly forgotten all I
once knew. Who would ever have thought that I should have to give a
concert, under royal patronage, in my sixtieth year, when I strummed
worse than many children at home who have only learned for a few months!
But so it is when people go out in quest of adventure, and roam through
the wide world; one never knows what may happen, and must be prepared
for every thing.
With great difficulty I forced my stiff old fingers through a few scales
and exercises, and contrived to remember a few easy, melodious waltzes
and dance tunes; and, thus prepared, I ventured to risk the criticism of
the strict royal connoisseur of Madagascar.
The invitation, however, was very welcome to me; for I hoped to be
introduced into the inner apartments of the palace, and to have the high
felicity of obtaining a near view of her majesty.
As Mr. Lambert was ill of the fever, the two clerical gentlemen
accompanied me to the palace. When we got to the court-yard--oh, sad
disenchantment!--there sat the queen on the eternal balcony, and away
fled all my hopes of seeing the interior of the palace. Besides, what a
shock to my artistic pride! It seemed that I was to be treated like a
street musician, and made to play here in the court-yard.
But it was not quite so bad as that, though enough was done to make me
duly sensible of the enormous difference between my insignificant person
and the mighty queen. This overbearing, puffed-up woman seems really to
believe herself a sacred being, raised above all the rest of the human
race, and appears to think it would derogate from her dignity to permit
a stranger to come close to her. It was only with Mr. Lambert, when he
first came to Tananariva, three years ago, that she made an exception,
admitting him not merely into the interior of the palace, but even
allowing him the honor of accompanying her on a short excursion.
We were conducted to the gallery on the ground floor of the Silver
Palace, where chairs had been already placed for us. The broad door
leading to the court-yard was thrown quite open, the piano brought
forward, and placed just in the doorway, in such a manner that the queen
could look down from her balcony upon the key-board.
While these preparations were being made, I had an opportunity of
examining the reception-room of the Silver Palace, which, as my readers
will remember, belongs to Prince Rakoto. It is spacious and lofty, and
furnished quite in European style. The furniture seemed rich, but not
overladen with ornament, and had been arranged with taste. True to the
custom of Madagascar, there stood a bed in the room--a right royal bed,
certainly, with no lack of gold ornament or of silken hangings, and in
which I was assured no mortal had ever slept; but still it was a bed,
and that particular piece of furniture in a reception-room always
disturbs the idea of fitness in the eyes of a European.
Far more, however, was my taste offended by the drawings and paintings
that decorated the walls of the hall--productions of native
genius--representing officers in red uniforms, and female figures in
European costumes. I hardly knew which to admire most in these sketches,
the coloring or the drawing. The latter was more wooden and stiff in
character than the worst Chinese work of the kind, and the coloring was
a wonderful chaos of the most glaring hues daubed together without any
attempt at light and shade. I had never in my life seen such works of
Art. The landscape backgrounds had the most comical effect of all. The
figures stood with little trees on each side of them. They were only
half-length portraits; but as the genial artist wished, nevertheless, to
indicate the fact that the trees grew out of the earth, he had drawn a
green stripe from the girdle of each person to that of his neighbor,
intending thereby to represent the earth, thus unintentionally giving
his heroes the unusual appearance of being buried up to the waist; out
of the green stripe rose a brown line, the stem of the tree, straight as
an arrow, as high as the shoulders of the figures, and a few green
patches were added to represent the leafy crown.
I was still absorbed in the contemplation of these masterpieces when one
of the missionaries came to inform me that the piano was ready, and that
I could begin my performance. Before doing this I had to present the
usual “monosina” to the queen, and deliver it into the hands of an
officer; this tribute is demanded of every stranger, not only at his
first introduction at court, but every time he sets foot in a building
belonging to royalty. This was my case in the Silver Palace; but I
considered it unnecessary to give a fifty-franc piece, as Mr. Lambert
had done, and therefore confined my liberality to the offer of a dollar.
I took my seat at the piano, and played a few preliminary chords to test
the qualities of the instrument; but what was my horror on finding it so
woefully out of tune that not a single note produced any thing like
harmony with the rest; many of the keys, moreover, were so obstinate as
to refuse to emit any sound whatever. I had to loosen them, lift them,
press them down, and resort to all sorts of expedients to bring them
into working order; and upon such an instrument as this I was to give my
grand concert! But true artistic greatness rises superior to all adverse
circumstances; and, inspired by the thought of exhibiting my talents to
such an appreciating audience, I perpetrated the most wonderful runs
over the whole key-board, thumped with all my might on the stubborn
keys, and, without any attempt at selection or sequence, played the
first part of a waltz and the second of a march, in short, any thing and
every thing that came into my head. But I had the great satisfaction to
find that my talents were fully appreciated by the whole audience, and I
was rewarded with her majesty’s especial thanks. Prince Rakoto even gave
me the flattering assurance that every thing I had done had met with the
queen’s approbation, especially the waltzes, and that in a short time
she would do me the honor of letting me play before her in the interior
of the palace. Who knows, if the unhappy conspiracy had not occurred, if
I might not have enjoyed the distinction of becoming pianiste to her
majesty the Queen of Madagascar!
On the same day she sent me, as a proof of favor and condescension, a
large quantity of fat poultry and a great basket of eggs.
On the 17th of June the exalted lady made an excursion to one of her
pleasure palaces, situate at the foot of the hill on an island in the
middle of a large pond. Whenever the queen makes such excursions, all
the officers and nobles, and the European residents in Tananariva, have
to accompany her. I would gladly have taken part in this expedition, but
as the queen knew that Mr. Lambert was still lying very ill, and did not
wish to deprive him of any of his nurses, none of us were invited. The
procession passed close by our house, and we were all, with the
exception of Mr. Lambert, made to stand at the gate to salute her
majesty as she passed.
Every festival in this country bears on its face a peculiar stamp of
whim and folly: in these excursions, for instance, the notables who
accompany the queen are ordered to appear in Turkish or Arab costume,
with turbans on their heads. These dresses, however, suit the natives
much better than the Spanish costume, although here, too, their peculiar
taste is brought into play, to spoil the effect of what would be
handsome enough if left alone.
Women seldom take part in these expeditions, and when they do they are
wrapped in simbus. The queen herself wore a large simbu of silk, but had
her great crown on her head. Without this regal ornament she never shows
herself to her subjects; and I should really not be surprised to hear
that she usually wears a small crown when she goes to sleep at night.
She remained all day in her little palace, and did not return to the
city till just before sunset. The people take part in these excursions
to some extent, being obliged to crowd into the streets through which
the procession passes, and many who wish to show peculiar loyalty join
the train.