HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
101 
twenty thousand dollars to be given to the officers of the 
ship for distribution; thus demonstrating the possession of 
sympathy with suffering, and a disinterestedness in relieving 
it, that many a ruler of more civilized nations would have 
failed to imitate. The money was accordingly deposited 
in an open space in the place where they had been assem¬ 
bled; but before any division could be made, the soldiers 
and sailors began to seize as much as they could take away. 
The officers had doubts as to the appropriation of this 
money; and considering themselves as acting on behalf of 
the Company, they felt called upon to make an effort to 
reserve it with that view; but the irregular seizure left no 
doubt as to the course proper, in the first instance, to be 
taken, and an application was immediately made to the king 
for his assistance. The king observed, with much propriety, 
that he considered the money to be his, and not the Com¬ 
pany’s, as it had been recovered by his people after the 
complete destruction of the wreck, and that what he gave 
was a free gift from himself. As, however, it was his in¬ 
tention that the gentlemen should have a larger share than 
the people, he immediately sent a party of his soldiers to 
resume possession: this, however, was not effected without 
considerable difficulty. On the following day the king 
invited all who were not incapacitated by illness to attend 
before him, and a regular systematic distribution then took 
place, a division of the whole being made into classes, and 
so many bags of dollars given to each class; which, to the 
soldiers, proved equal to about eighty dollars each, and to 
the sailors about one hundred. The gentlemen passengers 
did not receive more than about fifty each, but to the ladies 
was given a larger proportion; and to the officers who were 
considered as chief in command, at the rate of nine hun¬ 
dred each. 
