Perils and Captivity. Charlotte-Adelaïde Dard
them into quite a different quarter of the world—to the shores of the mighty River of the Amazons in South America, and to the boundless forests and deserts by which it is bordered. We shall not anticipate the narrative of what befel Madame Godin in her voyage down this river; but it will not probably be denied to present as extraordinary a series of perils, adventures, and escapes, as are anywhere to be found on record. It is drawn from the account of the Mission of M. de la Condamine, sent, in 1743, by the French Government, along with M. Bouguer and other Academicians, to measure an arc of the meridian, under the latitude of Quito, and thus ascertain the figure of the earth. This forms a well known and respectable source; but the Mission being directed almost exclusively to scientific objects, the narrative may not perhaps have often met the eye of the general reader.
Edinburgh, August 1827.
I.
HISTORY OF THE SUFFERINGS AND MISFORTUNES OF THE PICARD FAMILY,
AFTER THE SHIPWRECK OF THE MEDUSA, ON THE WESTERN COAST OF AFRICA,
IN THE YEAR 1816.
FROM THE FRENCH OF MADAME DARD, ONE OF THE SUFFERERS.
BY P. MAXWELL, Esq.
THIS TRANSLATION
OF MADAME DARD'S NARRATIVE
OF HER
SHIPWRECK AND MISFORTUNES,
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED
TO
MISS AGNES MALCOLM,
BY HER AFFECTIONATE AND GRATEFUL COUSIN,
THE TRANSLATOR.
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
The following pages are translated from the "African Cottage," of Mad. Dard.1 They contain no romance, but a well authenticated story, corroborated by the previous Narrative of MM. Corréard and Savigny. Those gentlemen have detailed their sufferings on the fatal raft, after the disastrous shipwreck of the Medusa frigate; but the account concerning those who escaped, by aid of their boats, to the shores of Sahara, deficient in their recital, is supplied by Madame Dard, who was present at all the scenes she relates. Interwoven with the Narrative, is an interesting account of the Picard Family, whose wrongs cannot fail to excite pity, and to engage those feeling hearts in her favour, to whom the fair authoress has addressed the story of her misfortunes.
1 "La Chaumière Africaine; ou, Histoire d'une Famille Française jetée sur la côté occidentale de l'Afrique, à la suite du naufrage de la Frégate la Meduse. Par Mme. Dard, née Charlotte Adelaide Picard, aînée de cette famille, et l'une des naufragés de la Meduse." Dijon. 1824, 12mo.
There is not, on the records of misery, an instance of more severe and protracted suffering; and I trust there is not, nor ever will be any, where human nature was more foully outraged and disgraced. There are, nevertheless, some pleasing traits of character in the story, and, I am proud to say, some of the brightest of them belong to our own nation. These present a beautiful relief to the selfishness and brutality which so much abound in the dark picture; and are, to our minds, the green spots of the Desert—the fountain and the fruit-tree—as they were in very truth, to the poor wretches they assisted with such genuine singleness of heart.
To the end of the Narrative I have subjoined an Appendix, translated and abridged from the work of MM. Corréard and Savigny, detailing at greater length the sufferings of those who were exposed upon the Raft. I have also added some Notes, extracted from several Authors, illustrative of various matters mentioned in the course of the Narrative.
It may be satisfactory for some readers to know, that, in 1824, Madame Dard was living with her husband in comfort at Bligny-sous-Beaune, a short distance from Dijon. I have lately seen in a French Catalogue, a Dictionary and Grammar of the Woloff and Bambara languages, by M. J. Dard, Bachelier des Sciences, Ancien Instituteur de l'Ecole du Sénégal, brought out under the auspices of the French Government.
Patrick Maxwell.
Edinburgh, July 1827.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
Those who have read the Account of the Shipwreck of the Medusa, by MM. Savigny and Corréard, are already acquainted with the Picard family.
Attracted to Senegal by a faint prospect of advantage, my father, head of that unfortunate family, could not, in spite of a good constitution and the strength of his spirits, resist that destiny, from the mortal influence of which none of us save three escaped out of a family of nine. On his deathbed, he expressed to me the desire that our misfortunes should not remain unknown. This then became my duty, and a duty sacred to the public. I feel a pleasure in fulfilling it, and consolation in the thought, that no feeling mind will read the story of our misfortunes without being affected; and that those who persecuted us will at least experience some regret.
The recital of the shipwreck of the Medusa was necessary, as much to explain the origin of our misfortunes, as the cause of the connexion between that disastrous event, and the terrible journey in the Desert of Sahara, by which we at last reached Senegal. It will furnish me, also, with an opportunity of adverting to some errors in the work of Messrs Savigny and Corréard.
It only now remains for me to crave the indulgence of the reader for my style. I trust such will not be refused to one who has dared to take the pen, only in compliance with a father's dying request.
SHIPWRECK OF THE MEDUSA.
CHAPTER I.
M. PICARD MAKES HIS FIRST VOYAGE TO AFRICA, LEAVING AT PARIS HIS WIFE AND TWO YOUNG DAUGHTERS—DEATH OF MADAME PICARD—THE CHILDREN TAKEN HOME TO THE HOUSE OF THEIR GRANDFATHER—RETURN OF M. PICARD AFTER NINE YEARS ABSENCE—HE MARRIES AGAIN, AND DEPARTS A SHORT WHILE AFTER, WITH ALL HIS FAMILY, FOR SENEGAL—DESCRIPTION OF THE JOURNEY BETWEEN PARIS AND ROCHEFORT.
About the beginning of 1800, my father solicited and obtained the situation of resident attorney at Senegal, on the west coast of Africa. My mother was then nursing my youngest sister, and could not be persuaded to expose us, at so tender an age, to the fatigue and danger of so long a voyage. At this period I was not quite two years old.
It was then resolved that my father should go alone, and that we should join him on the following year; but my mother's hopes were disappointed, war having rendered