(THUR PROBSTHAIN 
 
 riental Bookseller
 
 MADAGASCAR REVISITED 
 
 DESCRIBING 
 
 THE EVENTS OF A NEW REIGN AND L THE 
 REVOLUTION WHICH FOLLOWED; 
 
 SETTING FORTH ALSO 
 
 THE PERSECUTIONS ENDURED BY THE CHRISTIANS, AND THEIR 
 
 HEROIC SUFFERINGS, WITH NOTICES OF THE PRESENT 
 
 STATE AND PROSPECTS OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 BY REV. WILLIAM 
 
 AUTHOR OF "POLYNESIAN RESEARCHES," "THREE VISITS TO MADAGASCAR," ETC. 
 
 ' Her Majesty the Queen of Madagascar, from her friendship for Her Britannic Majesty, 
 promises to grant full religious liberty to all her subjects." 
 
 Treaty btticteii England and Mailugascar, June 27, 1865. 
 
 U'lTll ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 LONDON : 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 
 
 1807.
 
 DT
 
 TO 
 
 THE QUEEN, 
 
 ftbts Volume, 
 
 DESCRIBING A PEOPLE WHO REGARD HER MAJESTY 
 WITH GRATEFUL ESTEEM, 
 
 IS, 
 
 BY SPECIAL PERMISSION, 
 
 RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 
 
 BY 
 
 HER MAJESTY'S MOST DUTIFUL AND DEVOTED SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 PKEFACE. 
 
 MY former visits to Madagascar were visits of observation and 
 inquiry, which the government of that day restricted to the 
 narrowest possible limits, and over which they exercised the 
 strictest surveillance. I could hold no intercourse with the 
 Christians without danger of inconvenience to myself, and more 
 imminent peril to them ; and I had few opportunities for 
 observing much beyond the aspects of nature, the productions 
 of the country, or the more common usages of the people. My 
 last visit, which was also my longest residence, was one of action, 
 my business was with the people, and left me no time or 
 opportunity for anything besides ; but though I added little to 
 my knowledge of the botanical or other treasures of the coun- 
 try, I became much better acquainted with its inhabitants, 
 especially with the numbers, character, rank, and influence of 
 the Christians, as well as with the progress of the Gospel in 
 Madagascar. My mission was to explain to the sovereign, and 
 the heads of the people, the object of the London Missionaiy 
 Society in sending out missionaries to resume the work which 
 had been so long interrupted, and to make the requisite pre- 
 parations for the expected teachers.
 
 viii PREFACE. 
 
 The prosecution of this important, and, to me, delightful 
 work, brought me into communication with all classes of the 
 people, and afforded many opportunities for observing the ope- 
 ration of those agencies which produced the great changes that 
 followed the dawn of Christian liberty in the land. The contact, 
 and often conflict between the antagonistic elements of native 
 society during that period between truth and error, virtue 
 and vice, Christianity and heathenism the one based solely on 
 the true and lasting foundation, the "Word of God, and attested 
 by the faith in life and the hope in death of successive gene- 
 rations of men ; the other resting on the puerile traditions of 
 a bygone age, accredited by visions, dreams, and imagined 
 voices from the invisible world, were to me profoundly inte- 
 resting, and often stirred my spirit to its utmost depths. 
 
 In the following pages I have endeavoured to narrate, in the 
 plainest manner, the course of events in Madagascar during 
 my residence there, and any interest the narrative may inspire 
 will be a human interest, such as can only arise from con- 
 templating the movements of an infant nation during those 
 periods which can occur but once in its existence, when the 
 Divine light of Christian truth first breaks upon the under- 
 standings of the people, and the germs of liberty are first 
 lodged in their hearts. 
 
 I have described the recent events which I have witnessed 
 in Madagascar in the order in which they occurred, simul- 
 taneously with the narrative of my own proceedings as affected 
 by them, rather than in the form of an abstract account, as
 
 PEEFACE. 
 
 more likely to render them clear and acceptable, and shall be 
 gratified if the testimony I am able to bear should become the 
 means of exciting deeper concern for the welfare of Mada- 
 gascar, and more fervent prayer for the progress of Christianity 
 among its numerous inhabitants. 
 
 EOSE HILL, HODDESDON, 
 January, 1867.
 
 CONTENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Arrival of tidings of the death of the Queen of Madagascar Voyage to 
 Mauritius Official communication from the King to the Governor 
 of Mauritius Mission of congratulation to the King Sites for the 
 Memorial Churches promised Malagasy and English vocabulary 
 compiled by native officers Arrival at Tamatave Reception by the 
 authorities and the Christians Accident to the Commandant Visit 
 to the battery Departure for the capital Beautiful scenery 
 Meetings with Christian travellers Droves of oxen in the forest 
 Aspect of the country of Imerina Meeting of friends and returning 
 exiles Welcome on the road by Christians from the capital Recep- 
 tion at Ambatomanga Sunday services and arrival of officers from 
 the capital Arrival at Betafo Entrance to Antananarivo Hospi- 
 tality of the Christians . . . . . . .1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Welcome from the Christians Visit to the King and Queen Letters 
 from Earl Russell and the Governor of Mauritius Pleasure afforded 
 by the continued friendship of England Announcement of presents 
 Portrait of the King Homage and offering from the returned 
 exiles Affecting interview with the widows and orphans of recent 
 Martyrs Satisfactory interview with the Prime Minister Origin 
 and import of Malagasy names Visit to the site of the first Martyr- 
 dom First Sunday in Antananarivo Funerals on Sundays School 
 for young nobles Reading with the King Dinner and evening 
 with a Christian noble Visit to the Commander-in-Chief Dinner 
 with the Chief Secretary of State and Chief of the Keepers of the Idols 
 The Burial-ground of foreigners Notice of the Tarpeian Rock, and 
 the Christians executed there , 32
 
 xii CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Visit of M. Lambert and Madame Pfieffer to Madagascar Failure of pro- 
 ject to change the government Departure of the French from Mada- 
 gascar Last Persecution Flight and pursuit of the Christians 
 Kindness of the heathen towards the fugitives Stoning to death, 
 of the condemned The field of slaughter The night after the ex- 
 ecution Search for their remains Means of identification Im- 
 portance attached to funeral obsequies Banishment in fetters 
 Barbarous severity of the punishment Autobiography of one of the 
 martyrs He makes violins, assists in building the palace, makes a 
 fire-engine, is loaded with irons, seeks and distributes medicine to the 
 sick The last impeachment of the Christians fatal to their accuser 
 Recall of the exiles, and removal of their fetters . . .57 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Required confession of crimes Cruel reward of confidence Ideas of a 
 strong government Rival aspirants to the throne of Madagascar 
 Portents of coming change Malagasy account of the sickness and 
 death of the Queen Accession of her son to the throne Radama's 
 address to the people Homage of the royal family and the nobles 
 Administration of the oath of allegiance Rejoicing among the people 
 Funeral of the late Queen Public mourning, cutting off the hair 
 Clemency of the King towards his rival Recall of the exiles Procla- 
 mation of religious freedom Restoration of confiscated property 
 Abolition of custom-house duties and freedom of trade Liberation 
 and restoration of all slaves and captives taken in war The bones 
 of the dead sent to their own lands for interment Happy results 
 of these proceedings First communion in Antananarivo Preaching 
 at the King's house No evidence that the King is a Christian His 
 inquiry why the martyrs were obliged to die Increase of intem- 
 perance Wild honey ....... 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Native and European dress in Madagascar Revised code of laws Aboli- 
 tion of capital punishment Law in favour of religious liberty 
 Laws affecting foreigners Fondness of the natives for music 
 Evening singing and music Watchmen of Antananarivo Public roads 
 Revelations of the microscope Pursuits of Radama and his friends 
 King dancing for joy Terror inspired by a live owl Presentation 
 of the French embassy to the King and Queen of Madagascar Satis-
 
 CONTENTS. xiii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 factory character of the interview Decision of the King- about his 
 coronation Arrival of the English embassy Conversation with^the 
 Bishop of Mauritius respecting the country to be occupied by the 
 agents of the London and Church Missionary Societies State of 
 Christianity at the capital Presentation of the English embassy 
 Effect produced by the reception of Her Majesty's letter Present 
 and address from the Christians to the English embassy Visit of the 
 Bishop and Captain Anson to sites of the martyrs' death . . 108 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Celebration of the fete of the Emperor Arrival of the British Consul 
 Dinner to the British embassy Reported state of morals among the 
 people Conversation respecting intoxication Visit of the Bishop of 
 Mauritius to the Christian congregations Presents from Queen Vic- 
 toria to the King and Queen Other presents Presentation of the 
 British Consul Conference with the leaders of the Christians respect- 
 ing the distribution of the Scriptures Conversation of the King with 
 the priest Visit of the general to the King Position of Antananarivo 
 Aspect of the country eastward of the capital Arrival and welcome 
 of the missionaries Introduction of the missionaries to the King and 
 Queen Reading in the new Bible Visit to the Prime Minister 
 United communion of the churches and the missionaries Public 
 worship at the King's house Letter from the Pope Dinner to the 
 King and the English embassy at my house Adventures of the King 
 Public signing of the treaty with France Conversation respecting 
 the concession to M. Lambert ... . 136 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The new order of Radama Visit to the sites of the martyrs' sufferings 
 Relics of a cross Numbers drawn to the capital Interesting groups 
 of strangers in the streets The Pope's present to the King A general 
 amnesty proclaimed Portrait of the King A coronation sermon 
 The commandant from Tamatave Beautiful illuminations of the 
 country Fire in the city Visit of congratulation to the King and 
 Queen The coronation morning Arrival at my tent Aspect and 
 arrangements on the plain Representatives of the Protestants, the 
 Catholics, and the Pagans The pavilion and platform Members 
 of three generations of the royal family The aristocracy of Mada- 
 gascar Arrival and reception of their majesties The crowning of 
 the King and Queen The royal speech Homage and offerings 
 Return of the procession Scene of the multitudes leaving the plain 
 The banquet in the great palace The priests crowning the King 
 Departure of the English embassy Beneficial effects of their visit . 163
 
 xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Visitors from the west coast Breakfast with the King and Queen 
 Sunday religious services Departure of M. Lambert Character of my 
 intercourse with the King State of morals connected with polygamy 
 The King's relation with Mary Her influence over the King 
 Invitation to his Majesty to visit Tamatave Specimens of minerals 
 Mr. Parrett's journey to Tamatave for goods and books Death of 
 the Chief Judge Visit to the house of mourning Malagasy customs 
 on occurrence of death The funeral procession The ancient city of 
 Ambohimanga Application of the Christians to the King for a 
 house for worship Invitation to visit them Welcome and friendly 
 reception by the officers at Ambohimanga Interesting Sunday services 
 with the Christians Presents from the officers, and friendly parting 
 Subsequent mistake of the officers in interrupting the worship 
 Death and funeral of Rahaniraka Robbery of graves . . .188 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Afflicting tidings from England Kindness and sympathy from the people 
 Treaty between England and Madagascar Disturbance created 
 by a thunder-storm Opening school for young nobles Letter from 
 the King of Johanna Letter from Dr. Livingstone Reported impor- 
 tation of slaves to Madagascar News from. Europe and America 
 Destructive effects of lightning Damages by storm and flood King 
 and Queen attend the churches on Christmas-day Origin of the 
 native ministry in Madagascar Plan of church organisation Efforts 
 to extend the Gospel in the city Disappointment on account of the 
 proceedings of the King Atrocious heathen murder . . .216 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Damage by the floods Description of the buildings of the capital Signs 
 of the progress of Christianity Uneasiness among the heathen 
 Report of a new kind of sickness Rumours of visions and voices 
 from the unseen world King's inquiries about a future state The 
 Queen's visit to Ambohimanga Homage paid on the road to anything 
 belonging to the sovereign Grant of title deeds for the memorial 
 churches Meetings with the sick dancers Opening of a new place 
 of worship The Queen's reception and banquet on returning from 
 Ambohimanga The banquet of welcome Renewed rumours of mes- 
 sages from the spirit world against praying The idol carried in 
 procession Menaced death from the idol keeper Death warnings 
 laid at my door .......
 
 CONTENTS. xv 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Causes of the hostility of the heathen State of parties at the capital- 
 Plots and rumours Proposal of the King to permit duelling and 
 fighting for the settlement of quarrels Final and unsuccessful appeal 
 of the nobles and heads of the people to the King My last interview 
 with Radama Friendly warning and counsel from the Prime Minister 
 Commencement of the revolution in Antananarivo Seizure and 
 death of the menamaso Negotiations between the King and nobles 
 Efforts of the King to save the lives of his councillors Notices of 
 some of the men who suffered death Proceedings on the Sunday 
 Compromise between the King and the nobles Surrender and exe- 
 cution of the menamaso Seizure and violent death of the King 
 Removal and interment of his remains Brief notice of Radarna II., 
 and the chief events of his reign ...... 273 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Public announcement of the death of the King Plan of government pro- 
 posed to the Queen with the offer of the crown Her Majesty's accep- 
 tance of the crown Our first interview with the Queen after the 
 revolution The dispensary, and Dr. Davidson's attention and services 
 Objects of interest amidst scenes of commotion Remarkable order 
 and good behaviour of the people Germs of representative govern- 
 ment introduced Demonstrated deception in reference to the dancing 
 sickness Difficulty of obtaining reliable testimony Summoning the 
 people to receive the laws of the Queen Description of the laws 
 Native orators and oratory Reception of the laws by the people 
 Statement of the objects of the mission to the Queen and the govern- 
 ment Protection and liberty promised Influence of the change on 
 the Christians Encouraging progress of the Gospel . . . 302 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Arrival of representatives of the provinces to take the oath of allegiance 
 Speech of lovana, female ruler among the Betsileo Speeches of 
 the Betsimasaraka and Sakalavas Pantomimic dances of the Saka- 
 lavas Interview with Christians from a distance Christian ruler 
 among the Betsileo Representatives from the Southern provinces 
 Raloba, chief of the Vangaindrano A dancing speaker War-games 
 of the Southern tribes Fear and flight of Raloba, lest his portrait 
 should be taken Imposing appearance of the Mainty Fear of in- 
 cendiariesReport that Radama was living Cattle-stealing, and
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 threats of the Sakalavas Hova force sent against the Sakalavas 
 return with captives and booty Punishment of the reporters of 
 Radama's being alive Coronation and speech of Rasoherina Appeal 
 to her Majesty's clemency Public recognition of the Christians The 
 fulfilment of Radama's treaty claimed by the French and refused by 
 the Malagasy Indemnity paid by the Queen of Madagascar Liberty 
 for worship by the Christians at Ambohimanga at the Queen's visit 
 Return of the court to the capital ..... 332 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Departure of the Malagasy embassy for England and France Visit to the 
 Queen's cottage and gardens at Mahazoarivo Pic-nic in the garden 
 Rifle shooting Christmas Day in Madagascar Gathering of the 
 Christians Procession and address to the Queen Missionary retrospect 
 of the year Arrival of helpers in the work Foundation of the hos- 
 pital Difficulty about deposits in the foundation-stone of the memo- 
 rial church Foundation-stone of the church at Ambatonakanga laid 
 by the Prime Minister Difficulties attending the erection of such 
 buildings Illness and death of Mr. Stagg Sorrow of the children 
 Kindness of the Queen Madagascar an important and inviting field 
 to the Christian teacher- Illness and death of Mrs. Pearse Kindness 
 of the Sisters of Charity Cruel law of selling by auction the wives 
 and children of criminals Opening of the first place of worship 
 within the city Commendable conduct of the Christians towards 
 their slaves Influence of the Gospel on the conscience in reference to 
 the relationships of social life Character of the Christians in Voni- 
 zongo Statistical notices of the Christians at Ilafy Attempts to 
 charm away sickness from the capital Preparations for the feast of 
 the New Year The Queen's bathing, and the feast of concord 
 Family customs . . . . . . . .358 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Early religious services on New Year's morning The city one vast 
 slaughter-house Family visiting and New Year's rejoicing The 
 monthly meeting at Ambohipotsy Appearance of smoke on the way 
 home Proximity of the fire to my own dwelling Agitation and 
 alarm among the inhabitants Methods adopted to drive off the falling 
 flakes of fire Removal and preservation of the goods Fierceness 
 and rapid extension of the burning Destruction of a new place of 
 worship Absence of the owners of the houses Extreme want of 
 water Confused and comparatively useless efforts of the spectators
 
 CONTENTS. xvii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 to arrest the fire Extensive and terrific aspect of the fire Extent 
 and nature of the ground Nximbers and excitement of the spec- 
 tators Appearance of fires by night Acknowledgment of Divine 
 protection Soldiers and watchmen Aspect of the scene in the 
 morning Visits of congratulation and condolence Inutility and 
 danger of prohibiting the erection of any but buildings of wood in 
 the city Aid towards the erection of a new chapel The Queen's 
 visit to Ambohimanga Rumours of Radama's being alive Arrest of 
 officers and soldiers Enquiries respecting the communicants Mar- 
 riage ceremonies in Madagascar among the heathen Introduction of 
 Christian marriage First public Christian marriage in Antananarivo 388 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Consulting the idols Increased frequency of public amusements Patience 
 of the Christians Rumours of the unpopularity of the Prime 
 Minister Quarrel among the nobles Flight of the Prime Minister 
 from Ambohimanga Seeming reconciliation Sentence of the persons 
 accused of circulating false reports Assembly at Ambatoroko 
 Revolting barbarity of the executioners before inflicting the sentence 
 Dissuasion from a reckless waste of human life Favours granted 
 by the Ministers to the Mission The timber of the palace bought for 
 the roof of a church Rumours of plots against the government- 
 Arrests and punishments Message of the Queen to the people The 
 Prime Minister sentenced to banishment Disposition of his pro- 
 perty, and departure Visit to Ambohimanga Appointment of Pastors 
 and Deacons Rainikioto Hospitable reception at Antsarotrafohy 
 Notice of the Martyrs Intercourse with the Christians Visits to 
 places of concealment Meeting of the Christians at Ambohipanja . 414 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Opening of the new chapel on the Martyrs' Rock Tombs and objects of 
 interest along the road to Ambohimanga A plunge in the canal 
 Friendly reception at the royal village Wayside music Interior of 
 a native dwelling Appearance and position of Ambohimanga 
 Journey to Imerinamandrosa Description of the village The place 
 to which the Christians had been banished A kabary by moonlight 
 Village Sunday services The residence of the idol Ramahavaly 
 The wearing of hats prohibited Notice of Razafy, a captive slave 
 
 Marriage of the Commandant's daughter Visits to Lazaina 
 
 Description of the village and its suburbs Harmony and good feeling
 
 ii CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 between the Christian and heathen Notice of Ranivo Terrific 
 storm on the road from Ilafy Distribution of toys, as rewards to the 
 children at Christmas The chapel on the east side of the city and 
 the gateway, Ankadibevava, its structure and antiquity . . 442 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Journey in search of limestone The remarkable tomb of Rainiharo 
 Fertile and extensive valley of Betsimitatatra Reapers in the' har- 
 vest-field The bridge at Ambaniala Hill of observation Valley of 
 the silkworm trees Our lodging-house Its interior arrangement and 
 inmates Park-like scenery and beauty of the valley Extensive 
 mountain scenery The valley of Madera Abundance of limestone 
 Proposal for its transport to the capital The bridge over the An- 
 dromba Agreement with the government and the people for the 
 limestone Raising the first pillar of the Queen's new palace 
 Curious reasons for specific measurements Dragging of timber, &c. 
 Progress of the work Treaty concluded with England Official 
 declaration of the government respecting the churches Price of 
 provisions, &c. Grateful feelings of the Christians Last services 
 with the Christians Farewell interview with the Queen Meeting 
 with Mr. Pool and others State of the Church Departure from the 
 capital Halting at Ambatomanga Departure from Mauritius 
 Return to England Review of events in Madagascar Present state 
 and prospects of the people ...... 
 
 4(57 
 
 Page 
 
 EEEATA. 
 
 ) 20, line 2 from the bottom,/or " meal " 
 
 read " meat." 
 
 41, 10 
 
 top, " northern " 
 
 " southern." 
 
 43 & 147, 14&20 
 
 "Nosi" 
 
 " Mahazo." 
 
 93, 19 
 
 " Sacalavas " 
 
 "Sakalavas v 
 
 
 
 (always). 
 
 181, 8 
 
 "right" 
 
 " left." 
 
 238, 13 
 
 " them " 
 
 "their." 
 
 243, 7 
 
 "to" 
 
 " from." 
 
 373, 14 
 
 bottom, " lead " 
 
 " led. " 
 
 415, 
 
 top, " able to answer " "renowned.'
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 VIEW OF THE CITY FROM THE BATTERY AT AMBODINANDOHALO . Frontispiece. 
 PLACE WHERE THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MARTYRS WERE PUT TO DEATH . 41 
 
 PORTRAITS OF NATIVE CHRISTIANS C3 
 
 CONSOLATION TO A CHRISTIAN IN CHAINS 65 
 
 PORTRAIT OF RAINITSONTSORAKA 74 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE MALAGASY GOVERNMENT . . . . . . . 220 
 
 THE ROYAL PALACE, AND HOUSES OF THE NOBLES, ANTANANARIVO . 249 
 PROMULGATION OF THE LAWS OF THE KINGDOM AT ANDOHALO . . 319 
 SLAVE MARKET IN THE PUBLIC ROAD, ANTANANARIVO .... 373 
 
 ISAROTRAFOHY, THE MARTYR'S HOME 436 
 
 ANKADIBEVAVA ANCIENT GATEWAY 465 
 
 BRIDGE OVER THE ANDROMBA, BUILT BY RADAMA II 470 
 
 MEMORIAL CHURCH AT AMBATONAKANGA 491 
 
 PLAN OF ANTANANARIVO At the did of Ihc Volume.
 
 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Arrival of tidings of the death of the Queen of Madagascar Voyage to Mau- 
 ritius Official communication from the King to the Governor of Mau- 
 ritius Mission of congratulation to the King Sites for the Memorial 
 Churches promised Malagasy and English vocabulary compiled by native 
 officers Arrival at Tamatave Eeception by the authorities and the 
 Christians Accident to the Commandant Visit to the battery Depar- 
 ture for the Capital Beautiful scenery Meetings with Christian travellers 
 Droves of oxen in the forest Aspect of the country of Imerina Meeting 
 of friends and returning exiles Welcomed on the road by Christians from 
 the Capital Reception at Ambatomanga Sunday services and officers 
 from the Capital Arrival atBetafo Entrance to Antananarivo Welcome 
 from the Christians. 
 
 IN the autumn of 1861, letters from Mauritius and Mada- 
 gascar brought to England tidings of the death of Ranavalo, 
 queen of Madagascar, and of the accession of her son to the 
 throne. The former of these events had been contemplated 
 by all who were interested in the welfare of that country as 
 one which, whenever in the ordinary course of nature it should 
 occur, would diminish, if not terminate, the oppression, cruelty, 
 and fearful destruction of human life which had long afflicted 
 that unhappy land, and had excited the profound commise- 
 ration of all civilized communities. 
 
 The humane disposition of the young prince who had now 
 succeeded to the throne, his innate abhorrence of cruelty and 
 bloodshed, his liberal views in relation to intercourse with other 
 
 B
 
 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. I. 
 
 nations, his strong and deeply-seated patriotism, his compas- 
 sionate conduct towards the Christians in their severe and 
 protracted sufferings, his bold and fearless condemnation of 
 bigotry and persecution, whether heathen or Christian, had 
 caused his elevation to the throne to be regarded, not merely 
 by the Hovas, but by the other races in the country, as the 
 dawn of a brighter day for Madagascar. By foreigners, also, 
 it was hailed as opening the way for future intercourse which it 
 was hoped would prove beneficial to Madagascar, and favourable 
 to the extension of Christianity and civilization in the world. 
 
 Simultaneously with the arrival of the above intelligence, 
 communications from the Christians at the capital announced 
 the cessation of persecution and the perfect freedom of reli- 
 gious worship, with a request from the young king that I would 
 proceed to Madagascar, and their own earnest desire for the 
 return of the missionaries. 
 
 The London Missionary Society could not hesitate a moment 
 as to the response it should give to this call. It was not a new 
 field which favourable circumstances now for the first time 
 invited its missionaries to enter, but one on which more than 
 forty years before they had commenced their labours, and in 
 which the most difficult parts of the preparation had been 
 accomplished. The spoken language of the people had been 
 acquired by the missionaries, and in return, that language in 
 a written form had been given to the people, thousands had 
 been taught to read in their own tongue the sacred Scriptures 
 which the missionaries had translated for them. The most 
 useful arts of civilized life had been, at great expense and on 
 a large scale, taught to the people. The Gospel had been 
 preached, and the first-fruits of Madagascar unto Christ were 
 being gathered in, when the cruel and vindictive paganism of 
 the country, alarmed for its prestige and its power, declared 
 that no other faith should ever live in Madagascar. The mis- 
 sionaries were obliged to leave, the schools were closed, the 
 profession of Christian faith and the practice of Christian
 
 CHAP. I. FELLOW PASSENGERS ON THE VOYAGE. 3 
 
 worship were forbidden, and persistence in either was punished 
 with death. 
 
 For five and twenty years the Christians, still increasing, 
 had endured the fiercest persecution. Thousands had suffered 
 bonds, torture, and slavery,, and numbers of the best men in 
 the country had been put to death, while others had survived 
 in exile or concealment. The London Missionary Society had 
 not forsaken them during this long night of sorrow and of 
 trial Twice I had been sent to express sympathy and to 
 convey encouragement to the suffering Christians in Mada- 
 gascar; and now, when the hand of persecution had become 
 powerless in death, when liberty of worship was proclaimed, 
 and in God's wise Providence free course given to the Gospel, 
 the Society hastened to obey the call, and renew their long- 
 interrupted labours. 
 
 The London Missionary Society, under these considerations, 
 applied to me to go out again to Madagascar to prepare for 
 resuming their mission in that island, and I embarked at 
 Southampton on the 20th of November, 1861. The Pera, in 
 which I sailed, was a splendid vessel, and as I found several 
 friends on board, and others joined us at Malta, the voyage to 
 Alexandria was unusually pleasant. 
 
 From Suez our party in the Norna was increased by passengers 
 from Marseilles, among whom were a number of French resi- 
 dents at Mauritius and six French priests, with several 
 assistants some of them said to be on their way to Mada- 
 gascar. A French officer, M. Le Baron de Brossard Corbe'ny, 
 charged with presents from the Emperor of the French to the 
 King of Madagascar, was also a fellow-passenger with us. We 
 occasionally chatted together, and the Abbe's were sometimes 
 within hearing when we held our Sunday service on the deck. 
 On the other hand, when their service was held in the cabin on 
 Sunday morning, the table which the priests used for an altar 
 stood so near the door of my cabin that I was sometimes a 
 prisoner during the whole time of their worship, 
 
 B 2
 
 4 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. I. 
 
 The attentions of Captain Bain contributed much to the 
 pleasure of the voyage, and when, on the 27th of December, 
 we reached Port Louis, the welcome I received soon convinced 
 me that Mauritius had lost none of its generous hospitality. 
 
 The vague but strange rumours- about Madagascar which I 
 had heard before leaving England, or in the ports at which we 
 had touched on our way, proved as most of the same kind 
 have subsequently done entirely unfounded. There was no 
 civil war in Madagascar. The king had not become a Roman 
 Catholic. M. Lambert was not Prime Minister of the kingdom, 
 and the Christians had not placed themselves under the teaching 
 and guidance 01 the priests. 
 
 When the king, a short time previously, had officially informed 
 the Governor of Mauritius of his accession to the throne and 
 of his wish to maintain friendly relations with foreign coun- 
 tries, Sir William Stevenson, with that promptitude and judg- 
 ment which characterized his administration, despatched a 
 special mission to the new sovereign with a letter of congra- 
 tulation and friendship, and sent also a number of valuable 
 presents, including two riding horses for the king. This timely 
 communication from the governor, together with the honour- 
 able deportment and judicious counsel of Colonel Middleton 
 and his companions who were the bearers of the message, 
 proved most welcome and assuring to the king and to his 
 people ; and the report of the mission on its return encouraged 
 the hope of more intimate and mutually beneficial intercourse 
 between Mauritius and Madagascar.* 
 
 * The members of this mission, after speaking, in the official report pre- 
 sented to the governor on their return, of the gratification which the visit of 
 the English appeared to afford to the people in the country, and at the capital, 
 observe "We need not seek far for an explanation of this feeling. The 
 missionary work, initiated thirty years ago, will sufficiently account for it. 
 Nearly all the arts with which the people are acquainted were taught them by 
 the missionaries, and your Excellency would see with astonishment with what 
 patience their workmen carry out any given task, and often with implements 
 ill-fitted for it. Their iron work deserves the highest praise." Report of the 
 Mission to the Capital of Madagascar Mauritius, Nov. 1861.
 
 CHAP. i. CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GOVERNMENT. 5 
 
 On my arrival at Mauritius, I had found letters from the 
 king and the chief officers of the Government of Madagascar, 
 as well as from the Christians, expressing their earnest desire 
 to see me again amongst them. The Rev. Mr. Le Brun, who 
 returned soon afterwards from a visit to the capital, also 
 informed me that the Christians were waiting for my arrival 
 in order that I might advise them in respect to their own 
 proceedings, and the best means of extending the Gospel 
 under their altered and encouraging circumstances ; but the 
 fever then rife in the region between the coast and the high 
 lands of the interior, rendered it unsafe for me to proceed at 
 the time to the capital. I therefore entered into correspond- 
 ence with the Christians, and considering that one great want 
 of their growing numbers would be places of worship, if sub- 
 stantial buildings for this purpose could be erected on the 
 spots on which the Christians had died for their faith, that 
 buildings for Christian worship would thus be provided, and 
 that lasting memorials of the power of the Gospel and the 
 constancy of the martyrs would be raised which would prove 
 a means of strengthening the faith and quickening the love and 
 zeal of future generations. In order to prevent the appro- 
 priation of the ground to other purposes, I wrote and sent a 
 Christian messenger to the king with my letters, asking him 
 to reserve the places in which the Christians had suffered 
 for their religion to be used as sites for Christian Churches 
 and memorials of the martyrs who had died there. In due 
 time the messengers returned with letters from the king and 
 the Government, expressing their pleasure at the prospect of 
 my arrival, and assuring me that the spots of ground which I 
 had specified should be preserved for the sacred purpose I had 
 mentioned. 
 
 On this occasion I also received welcome evidence that, 
 although during the late reign all Christian teaching had been 
 sternly repressed, additional means had now been provided for 
 its extension under existing and more favourable auspices.
 
 6 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP, r. 
 
 The Government, when it had closed the missionary schools, 
 had been fully sensible of the benefits of education ; they con- 
 sidered it as belonging to Christianity, and never attempted to 
 use it in furtherance of their superstition or idolatry ; but for 
 the purposes of government it was justly classed amongst 
 the most valuable acquisitions derived from the white man. 
 Hence the Government, then wholly heathen, had been willing 
 to encourage education if it could only be separated from 
 every particle of Christianity, and its advantages confined to 
 themselves.* 
 
 During the reign of Ranavalo, the prince, her son, and a 
 number of young nobles, officers of rank, had been taught 
 English by Rahaniraka, the queen's secretary, who had him- 
 self been educated in England. Three of these officers had 
 compiled a Malagasy and English Vocabulary of nearly 300 
 small octavo pages, comprising words and illustrative sentences 
 in both languages ; and now that the king had, even before the 
 arrival of Col. Middleton's mission, opened a school for teaching 
 Malagasy and English, and desired that all classes should 
 partake of the benefits of education, these young officers sent 
 their manuscript vocabulary to me at Mauritius to have it 
 printed. It was neatly and correctly written; and, gladly 
 receiving it as one of the first germs of a native literature, I 
 sent it to the London Missionary Society to be printed and 
 returned to Madagascar. 
 
 By the conveyance which brought my letters, two young 
 Hova officers arrived at Mauritius to seek for a relative who 
 had been brought there as a young slave many years ago. They 
 were also anxious to acquire, if possible, some knowledge of 
 
 * With this object in view, orders had been given to the Custom House 
 officers at Tamatave, if not elsewhere, to search all packages for books, and if 
 they found books with reading or lines running across the page, to refuse or 
 destroy them ; but if the reading or words were ranged in columns from the 
 top to the bottom of the page then to admit them, as they supposed all such 
 were spelling-books, and might be used without fear of their disseminating. 
 Christianity.
 
 CHAP. I. VOYAGE TO MADAGASCAR. 7 
 
 the English language. Both were Christians, and were most 
 cordially welcomed by their Christian countrymen in Mauritius. 
 While detained here the English armed ship Orestes arrived, 
 and Captain Allan Gardner, who had invited us on board, took 
 these young Malagasy officers, much to their delight, over the 
 ship. They had never seen a steamer before, only one had 
 ever been to Madagascar, and the engine-room of the Orestes 
 seemed to fill them with wonder. But the greatest marvel 
 was the breech-loading Armstrong gun. They examined its 
 several parts, its arrangements for loading, sighting, and firing, 
 and exchanged looks of mysterious awe, a 'feeling not diminished 
 when they attempted to lift one of the flat-ended lOOlb. shot 
 from the deck. This visit to the ship was the great event of 
 their voyage to Mauritius, and the wonder of the report which 
 they carried home to their countrymen. 
 
 At length the season having become favourable for passing 
 through the fever district of Madagascar, I embarked on the 
 17th of May, 1862, in the Jessie Byrne, in which, through the 
 kindness of G. Ireland, Esq., of the firm of Ireland, Frazer, and 
 Co., for whose hospitality and kindness I must ever feel indebted, 
 the owners had generously given me a passage. The two young 
 officers, a number of traders, a German naturalist, and several 
 Malagasy exiles returning to their native land, were my 
 companions. 
 
 With the morning of the 22nd of May, the lofty interior 
 mountains of Madagascar, stretching to the north and extending 
 far to the west, their summits irradiated by the beams of the 
 rising sun, appeared above the long line of white mist and 
 cloud which seemed to rest upon the horizon ; and soon after 
 noon on the same day we entered the small harbour of Tama- 
 tave, where RADAMA II., in bright scarlet letters on the white 
 flag floating over the battery at the north end of the bay, was 
 the welcome confirmation of the tidings which had brought me 
 again to Madagascar. 
 
 In the first boat from the shore, several Christians came on
 
 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. i. 
 
 board to bid me welcome, to inform me that messengers from 
 the king were on shore waiting to conduct me to the capital, 
 and to propose that on landing we should proceed to the house 
 of prayer to render thanks to God for the joyfully altered cir- 
 cumstances under which we met. They then hastened back to 
 tell their friends that I had really come. 
 
 Towards evening I left the ship. A crowd had already ga- 
 thered on the landing place, and as I stepped on the beach 
 two officers came forward to meet me, one an A.D.C. of the 
 king, and an officer of the palace, the other sent by the local 
 authorities to bid me welcome. After mutual salutations, for 
 we were not strangers, the officer presented a letter from the 
 secretary of the king stating that he wished me to proceed 
 without delay to the capital, and had sent the bearer to 
 accompany me. 
 
 While I was reading the letter, the officer from the fort bade 
 me welcome in the name of the local authorities of the place, 
 adding that the governor had ordered accommodations to be 
 provided for me. The elder of the two young Hovas acknow- 
 ledged their welcome with the customary expressions of loyalty 
 to the sovereign, and then he introduced me to his sister, who 
 had been waiting for our landing. The multitude, in the mean- 
 time had closed around us, and after many cordial greetings 
 from the Christians which seemed strange to me, as on my 
 former visits we had never ventured publicly to recognize each 
 other, I walked through the village to the residence provided 
 for me, and as the preparations for my reception were not quite 
 completed, I accompanied the friend who had been the first to 
 welcome me on board the ship to his own house. 
 
 As we drew near I saw his young wife with a child in her 
 arms, and another by her side, standing at the gate of a neat 
 little garden, through which a path, bordered with flowers led 
 to their dwelling. Here I was soon joined by the other 
 Christian friends who filled my heart with gladness by their 
 accounts of the state of the Christians in the country. At
 
 CHAP. i. FIRST MEETING WITH THE CHRISTIANS. 9 
 
 length we sat down to a hospitable supper including fresh 
 sweet bread made in the village, good Irish potatoes, from the 
 neighbourhood of Antanauarivo, and a refreshing cup of tea. 
 At a late hour I retired to a comfortable bed. Next day I was 
 accommodated in a pavilion, or small building, connected with 
 the residence of the chief magistrate, to whose table I was 
 hospitably invited. Presents of poultry, eggs, and rice were 
 brought to me in the course of the day, and in the evening a 
 fine fat ox was sent by the commandant. 
 
 In the afternoon I met the Christians in a house given them 
 by the king for a chapel. There were sixty persons present, 
 including the exiles, who had returned with us, some of whom 
 had fled, on account of persecution. After singing and prayer, 
 a Hova officer read the tenth chapter of Romans, offered a few 
 remarks on the verses from the tenth to the fifteenth, and 
 acknowledged in prayer, with much feeling, the goodness of 
 God in thus allowing us^to meet in security and peace. 
 
 I assured them that the sympathy of the Christians in 
 England was as sincere in their present joy as it had been in 
 their past affliction ; and then, after I had also offered a few 
 words of prayer, an aged Hova, from a distant village, spoke 
 of the welcome evidence which my presence afforded of the 
 affection of the Christians in England as a great source of en- 
 couragement ; after which, he prayed most fervently for Queen 
 Victoria and the English people, especially the Christians whose 
 sympathy had cheered their night of darkness, and now en- 
 couraged them in the new day which had dawned upon them. 
 At the close, they sang with an amount of feeling which they 
 do not often manifest, a kind of Jubilee native hymn, which 
 spoke of the exile's and the captive's return. The whole com- 
 pany appeared reluctant to separate. For my own part, when 
 I reflected that on no former occasion had we ventured to meet 
 for reading the Scriptures or prayer, except in the innermost 
 room of my house, and with doors fastened, or at the late hours 
 of night with some of our number watching at the gates, I was
 
 10 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. I. 
 
 deeply impressed with the importance of this great change, and 
 not surprised at their strongly excited feelings. 
 
 At seven that evening I sat down to dinner at the house of 
 the Chief Judge, and as a specimen of a Malagasy chieftain's 
 table, I may mention that our repast comprised soup, fish 
 (excellent mullet), roast meat, with curry and rice, followed by 
 good coffee.* 
 
 We had scarcely finished dinner, when an officer hurried into 
 the room exclaiming that the commandant had been frightfully 
 burned by gunpowder, and was being brought to the house in 
 order that I might dress his wounds. In a few minutes four 
 stalwart slaves brought his palanquin into my pavilion and 
 placed it on the floor. The chief, a tall, handsome, middle-aged 
 man, was evidently in great pain. His eyebrows, hair, and beard 
 were singed, his ancles, hands and face burned and blackened 
 by the explosion. A large tin cylinder, containing gunpowder, 
 had been, unknown to him or his servants, left by his predecessor 
 under his bed, and in searching in the place with a candle the 
 powder had exploded and produced the mischief. As I soon 
 saw that but few if any of the wounds were dangerous, I com- 
 municated this to his family, requesting all but the wife and 
 two or three attendants to leave the room. Having then 
 fastened the door to keep out the crowd, I took off my coat, 
 turned up my sleeves, put on my spectacles, and washed and 
 dressed the wounds, applying a cooling fluid and wrapping the 
 parts in cotton-wool, pulled out of my mattrass and pillows. On 
 the patient assuring me that the burning pain was alleviated, 
 he was carried back to his own house where he gradually re- 
 covered without any scars on his face, but on those parts of his 
 hands, where the skin had been destroyed, the newly-formed 
 
 * I have been so frequently asked, since my return to England, what we had 
 to eat in Madagascar, that I hope I may be excused if, for the satisfaction of 
 such enquirers, I describe the details of a repast not otherwise of importance, 
 except as indicating the degree of civilization which different classes of society 
 in Madagascar have attained.
 
 CHAP. i. PUBLIC WORSHIP AT TAMATAVE. 11 
 
 skin was white. Many weeks after, when I saw him at the- 
 capital, I noticed that he always wore gloves. Asking his- 
 reason for this he pointed to his hands ; and when I recollected 
 that similar marks are signs of leprosy, of which the Malagasy 
 are exceedingly afraid, I was not surprised at his desire to 
 conceal the white marks on his hands. 
 
 At eight o'clock on the Sunday morning after my arrival, I 
 attended worship at the native church ; about one hundred 
 persons were present. At noon I preached in English to the 
 traders understanding that language. At four there was a second 
 native service which closed the public engagements of the day. 
 A generation had nearly passed away since the cessation of 
 religious worship, at which any missionaries had presided, and 
 many now among the Christians, during the long dreary years 
 of repression and persecution had only met on the Lord's day 
 in small numbers, in lonely and concealed places, or at night. 
 As I wished to see how they had lately, under their altered 
 circumstances, initiated the observance of public worship, I had 
 requested them to proceed according to their present usual 
 course. It appeared that two or three men, not the highest in 
 rank amongst them, but men of reputed intelligence and moral 
 worth, were recognised as leaders of their public worship. The 
 people sat in native fashion on mats on the floor, the men on 
 one side and the women on the other, while the leaders of the 
 congregation sat on chairs at one end of the building having- 
 a small table before them. The leaders and some of the people 
 stood up to sing, but most of them remained sitting. The 
 leaders stood up to read the Scriptures, but sat down to expound 
 or enforce their teaching. All knelt in prayer, many bowing 
 their heads to the ground where space allowed them to do so ; 
 otherwise they continued sitting, bending down their heads and 
 covering their eyes with their hands. After the evening service 
 the Christians asked me to explain to them the proper order of 
 proceeding in public worship. I told them it should be per- 
 formed with reverence, attention, and sincerity, as unto God
 
 12 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. i. 
 
 who knows the heart. That it would be well, if space admitted, 
 that all should stand up to sing, and kneel to pray, that the 
 people should sit to hear, and the minister stand to read, preach, 
 and pray. 
 
 Signs of the changes which had taken place in Madagascar 
 presented themselves every day. In 1854 I had nearly got 
 into trouble from having, unconscious of any prohibition, 
 turned my camera towards a house standing in the direction 
 of the Battery, which no white man was allowed to approach, 
 and round which, a year before, Mr. Cameron and I had seen, 
 fixed on poles, the blanched skulls of our countrymen and 
 those of the French killed in the latest attack upon the town. 
 These skulls had been placed there to. deter foreigners from 
 approaching the place.* Now, two days after our Sunday service, 
 a guard of honour, attended by their band, came to escort my 
 host and myself to a dinner to which I had been invited by the 
 governor in the same battery. I looked as I passed at the 
 place where the poles had been fixed, but all was grassy and 
 level, except where a few flowering acacias, or bright-leaved 
 shrubs were growing. 
 
 At the governor's entertainment, which was hospitable and 
 liberal, he said in the course of conversation, " The last order 
 from Radama was, ' send Mr. Ellis as soon as he arrives ;' and," 
 he added, " whenever you wish to depart the required assistance 
 will be ready." I accordingly prepared for my journey without 
 loss of time. 
 
 I have noticed some of the favourable changes which had 
 taken place since my last visit. Others of a different character 
 forced themselves on my attention. A vague idea of the loose 
 kind of life commonly spent in such a country as Madagascar, 
 the ease with which wealth was supposed to be acquired, the 
 conduct of the king who had not only invited foreigners to 
 
 * Col. Middleton and his companions, sent by the Governor of Mauritius to 
 congratulate the king on his accession, were, I believe, the first Englishmen 
 admitted within the Battery.
 
 CHAP. i. CHANGES FOR THE WORSE. 13 
 
 settle in the island for trade or other purposes, but had 
 abolished all duty on exports and imports had caused quite a 
 rush to the country from almost all parts of the world, and 
 something like an inundation of merchandise. Many houses had 
 been built at Tamatave, and others were in course of erection ; 
 traders from Europe and from America had increased ; Moors- 
 and Arabs I had seen there before, but now I noticed a sort of 
 chandler's shop kept by a Chinaman, the first of his race that I 
 had ever seen in the country. As signs of progress, there was- 
 a hotel, one or two bakers, who supplied good bread every day, 
 and there was a billiard-table, though, as I was informed, not 
 much frequented by the natives. But there were other sights 
 of a more saddening nature. The unwise and injurious pro- 
 ceeding of the king in abolishing all custom-house duties had 
 stimulated the cupidity of the dealers in spirituous liquors to a 
 fearful extent. Large quantities had, since the change, been 
 brought into the country ; no less than 60,000 gallons, accord- 
 ing to the statements in the papers having been sent from 
 Mauritius alone during one week before my departure. Drunk- 
 enness, violence, theft, and other evil consequences had pro- 
 portionately increased. Every fourth house in the village was 
 a rum-shop in which, night and day, a number of persons of 
 both sexes might be seen squatting down, or stretched on the 
 floor around a rum-barrel with a tap in the end of it, whence it 
 was retailed to the people. Licentiousness, especially in con- 
 nection with the shipping, was as unabated, unrestrained, and as 
 sickening and revolting as it had ever been, and increased with 
 the larger amount of shipping in the ports. 
 
 The severe and perilous ordeal through which all rude nations 
 have to pass when brought into contact with races of superior 
 civilization appeared to have commenced with unusual violence 
 among the Malagasy; and acting through the destructive 
 influence of the vices I have named, threatened at no distant 
 period to sweep the population of the country from the face of 
 the earth, unless the remedial and healing influence of Chris-
 
 14 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. i. 
 
 tianity should intervene for their preservation. I felt, indeed, 
 no misgiving as to the sufficiency of the Gospel to save from 
 destruction those who might receive it ; but though the kindly 
 feeling manifested towards myself was abundantly encouraging, 
 I was at the same time deeply conscious that notwithstanding 
 all the gratification which kindness and attention towards 
 myself and other missionaries personally might afford, any 
 merely human effort to raise the mass of the people from 
 existing debasement and miseiy must be hopeless ; and I felt 
 that the moral and spiritual culture of the field, to which a way 
 was now opened, would be no easy task, and that only after 
 much toil and trial, and many disappointments, could we expect 
 that the kingdom of Christ would be established in Madagascar. 
 
 On the 31st of May I took leave of my kind host and friends 
 at Tamatave, called at the Battery, where the officers and 
 "bearers with the packages for the king were waiting, and as 
 the governor still said it was his wish to send an escort and a 
 band with me for the first stage of the journey, I exchanged 
 salutations with him and entered my palanquin. This officer 
 then gave the order to march, the band struck up, and we 
 proceeded to Ivondro, a straggling village nine or ten miles 
 from Tamatave, and the first stage on the road, where we halted 
 for the night. 
 
 The next day was Sunday, the 1st of June. The Christians 
 of our company joined in our worship in the forenoon. In the 
 afternoon, finding that six among them were communicants, we 
 united in celebrating the ordinance of the Lord's Supper under 
 novel and interesting circumstances, and with deep and peculiar 
 feelings to myself. It was my first communion with members 
 of the Malagasy church. 
 
 As soon as the rain ceased on the following morning we passed, 
 in large canoes,* the south-west angle of the Lake Nosive, and 
 continued our journey between the lakes and the sea to Ande- 
 
 These canoes are, some of them, forty feet long, hollowed out of a single 
 tree, sometimes a sort of calophyllum, imperishable in water.
 
 CHAP. i. AGED EXILES RETURNING. 15 
 
 voranto, an important village in Betanimena, eighty miles or 
 more from Tamatave. We then travelled by water along the 
 beautiful Iharoka, passing Marovato (much rock or stones), a 
 village built upon the first rocks we had seen, and continued 
 our course up the river Alanenana to Maro-omby (many oxen), 
 the farthest point inland to which we could proceed by water. 
 
 I have already mentioned the exiles in our company who 
 were returning to their homes. Besides these we often met small 
 parties, generally persons advanced in years, sometimes with their 
 grown-up children, but more frequently aged persons, and such 
 as had been sold into slavery in early life, or had fled from per- 
 secution. After the emancipation of slaves in Mauritius, per- 
 sons of that class who were natives of Madagascar had been 
 afraid to return for fear of being punished for leaving the 
 country ; but since the accession of Radama, numbers had 
 come back to visit the scenes of their early life, and to die in 
 the land of their fathers. We met a company of five in the 
 village of Maro-omby. They were respectably dressed, intelli- 
 gent persons, somewhat advanced in years. They appeared 
 glad to see us, and said they were going farther to the south- 
 west to their own village. They gave me the impression of 
 being very happy, because, as they said, they were in their own 
 country again the country, they said, was the same, although 
 the people were different. We afterwards met with other 
 similar parties, thus seeking to realise a long-cherished hope of 
 spending the evening of life amidst scenes of youth. 
 
 At Maro-omby we left the level country, and soon afterwards 
 ascended the first hill we had met with on our route. The 
 road for the rest of the journey was over a succession of valleys 
 and hills of gradually increasing elevation. 
 
 At the village of Manambonitra, where I sate for a long 
 time in the bright evening moonlight talking with the 
 people, I was disturbed after I had retired to rest by the 
 drumming and singing of a number of natives in the neigh- 
 bourhood, who seemed to have been drinking, and who kept
 
 16 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. i. 
 
 me awake the greater part of the night. I had noticed with 
 extreme regret that in almost all the villages the number of 
 houses in which spirituous liquors were sold Twnwneries, as 
 they were called in Tamatave had greatly increased since 
 my former visits, and had produced a proportional increase of 
 intoxication amongst the people. Sometimes a large portion 
 of the inhabitants of a village at which we halted in the 
 middle of the day, would be found drumming and singing, or 
 lying about in a drunken stupor ; but this wild and senseless 
 revelry occurred most frequently in the evening, and was often 
 continued long after midnight. The admission of foreign rum, 
 and the large quantity introduced into the country since the 
 abolition of import duties, had caused this increase of drunken- 
 ness amongst the people. 
 
 Our second Sunday was passed at Ampasimbe. Two parties 
 of Christians from the capital, on their way to the coast, entered 
 the village in the forenoon, and brought gratifying accounts of 
 those whom they had left. They cheerfully united with us in 
 our religious worship, in which I was assisted by one of their 
 leaders, a pupil of the former missionaries, and a man held in 
 high esteem at the capital. The day so spent was peculiarly 
 refreshing, and the season of rest most welcome to the whole 
 of our party. One of the chiefs from the capital begged so 
 importunately for a copy of the New Testament, that I gave 
 him the only spare copy I had. 
 
 At the village of Marozefa I found Ramboasolo, a Christian 
 chief, with whom I had been intimate during former visits, 
 who with his wife and family was on his way to Tamatave. 
 He confirmed the account I had received of the state of the 
 Christians. While we were resting at this place, two other 
 young Christian men from the capital entered the house. 
 They expressed themselves truly rejoiced at our meeting, as 
 they had only heard that I was expected soon. After con- 
 versing a short time, they said their business did not admit of 
 delay, but proposed that we should unite in thanksgiving and
 
 CHAP. i. JOURNEY THROUGH BEAUTIFUL SCENERY. 17 
 
 prayer to God before we separated, and when I had read a few 
 verses in the New Testament, one of them took a small book 
 out of the pocket of his inner garment, read a hymn, and 
 then, at my request, prayed with great propriety and fervour. 
 
 While at our next halting-place, a musical band from 
 the capital, on their way to the coast, arrived, and after I 
 had retired to rest, came and played several tunes outside my 
 door. While dressing, the next morning, the same band came 
 and played again. As I came out of my house the officer 
 expressed his pleasure at meeting me ; the musicians then struck 
 up our English " God Save the Queen " as I entered my palan- 
 quin to set out for the forest. 
 
 Every day I spent in Madagascar added to the evidences of 
 the great change which had taken place among the people, and 
 the difference between my present and my former duties in 
 this country. It was not now a visit of observation in which 
 I was engaged an experiment as to whether anything could 
 be done for the Christians, but a mission to examine and 
 arrange so that, as far as possible, Christianity might be most 
 suitably commended to the people, and most advantageously 
 established in the country. The commencement and prose- 
 cution of a work so important and blessed, and for which many 
 had so long waited and prayed, naturally occupied many of my 
 thoughts, while it inspired the most cheering anticipations, 
 heightened by my slight intercourse with the successive parties 
 of Christians whom I had met on the road. 
 
 The pleasure of my journey was also increased by the exhila- 
 rating effect of the charming scenery through which I occa- 
 sionally passed. The season was pleasant. It was spring-time 
 in Madagascar; the days were fine, and the tropical breeze 
 fresh and cool. Many of the splendid flowers were just coming 
 into bloom, and all vegetation looked fresh and green, as yet 
 uninjured by drought or sun. Many of the trees and shrubs, 
 gay with their own blossoms, were wreathed together by creeping 
 plants also in flower ; while the palms and the ferns and other
 
 18 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. r. 
 
 tropical plants gave the whole scene a splendid and luxuriant 
 aspect. 
 
 The country after leaving Maromby was singularly delightful > 
 Of all the beautiful forms which the vegetation of tropical 
 regions presents, the bamboo often combines the most perfect 
 symmetry and grace ; and a species of this plant was so abun- 
 dant in this neighbourhood as to give a peculiar character to the 
 whole scenery. Each plant growing like an elastic cane, an inch 
 or more in diameter at the root, and tapering to a point at a 
 height of forty feet or more, with feathery branches three or 
 four feet in length at the base, also diminishing 'gradually to 
 a point at the end, bending with a graceful curve before the 
 gentlest wind, its myriad leaflets quivering with every breath 
 of air, was in itself an object of unspeakable interest and 
 pleasure. But the bamboo growing singly or in clusters often 
 appeared covering the entire valley with its bright yellowish- 
 green leaves, or rising in a tuft and waving like a plume 
 on the summit of a hill Occasionally, a few rofia palms or a 
 clump of traveller's trees might be seen rising among the ferns 
 near the water. Altogether, I do not recollect ever having 
 beheld more charming scenery. 
 
 The road to the forest, over which I was now travelling, was 
 one continuous and difficult ascent, varied only by slight 
 hollows. Each of my former journeys through this region had 
 been made in rainy w r eather, but the fineness of the day 
 enabled me now to observe the peculiarities of this part of 
 the route much better than I had done before. I had not 
 previously noticed the great height and the smallness of the 
 trunks of most of the trees, of which but few are deciduous. 
 In the less crowded parts I occasionally saw truly gigantic and 
 venerable patriarchs of the forest ; sometimes also I met with 
 a few bamboos shorter, thicker, and less flexible than those 
 which I had seen in the lower districts, and I could not fail to 
 observe the" number of plants of the palm, the Pandanus, the 
 ia, and the Draccena species, the two former generally
 
 CHAP. i. EXPORT TRADE OF MADAGASCAR. 19 
 
 most abounding near the shore, but the latter most frequent 
 near the interior. There were also a number of rattan-like 
 canes, and sometimes creepers covered with blossom, as well as 
 others of amazing size and apparently of interminable length, 
 twining like cables up the trunks of the largest trees, and 
 stretching away until lost in the interlacing canopy of leaves 
 and branches high above. 
 
 The chief exports from Madagascar are horned cattle for 
 the markets of Mauritius and Re'union. More than 10,000 are 
 annually shipped for the former place. A large portion of these 
 come from the interior provinces and even from beyond the 
 capital, where it is said there is more level land, and better 
 pasturage. They travel by slow journeys to the ports on the 
 coast, chiefly Tamatave, and Foule Pointe. I had repeatedly 
 met large numbers nearer the coast, but in one of the most 
 intricate and difficult parts of our journey to-day, we met a drove 
 consisting of more than a hundred animals, some of them very 
 large. Whether we advanced or halted it was in the narrowest 
 possible line, and the men who went before raised such a tumul- 
 tuous noise, and plied their sticks so freely, that the frightened 
 animals seemed as anxious to get out of our way as we were to 
 let them pass. One of the oxen stood still either from stupor or 
 fear, blocking up the only passage by which it was possible to 
 proceed, when one of the bearers, a nimble little fellow, sprang 
 forward, seized the animal by one of its large horns, hung upon 
 it like a bull-dog, and swung its head round, while the other 
 men forced it out of the narrow path. The manner in which 
 the heavy bullocks climbed up the steep banks, passed along 
 the narrow edge of earth or rock at the top, or forced their way 
 through the trees and seemingly impenetrable entanglement of 
 bush and enormous creepers along the outskirts of the forest, 
 was truly astonishing, and it seemed almost impossible but that 
 some of them must come rolling down upon us. At length, 
 after a great deal of shouting, pulling and pushing, and by 
 repeatedly driving some of the animals back, or allowing only 
 
 c 2
 
 20 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. i. 
 
 a few to pass at a time, \ve were able to pursue our way in 
 safety. 
 
 It was near sunset on the 10th of June when we reached the 
 Government station at Alamazaotra, tired and sore with the 
 fatigues of this difficult part of the journey, with the straining of 
 wrists and other joints required to keep my balance in the 
 palanquin. Here several Christians who had been six days from 
 the capital came in. Some of them I had seen before, and all 
 expressed their pleasure at our meeting. One intelligent young 
 chief said " I am glad to meet you again. Since you were 
 here last, I have been an exile in chains for four years and six 
 months. I have done nothing wrong. It was for no crime, 
 only for praying, that I was made to surfer." He then men- 
 tioned the place to which during the last persecution he had 
 been banished, and the companions of his sufferings. These 
 travellers brought communications from the Christians at 
 the capital, one very affecting letter from the widow of a 
 martyr written by her son. I had been in habits of frequent 
 intercourse with the family, and they wished to make me ac- 
 quainted with their great affliction. We formed a large party 
 at evening worship, and it was late before they left, but I heard 
 them siflging in their own house long after I had retired to rest. 
 I find entered in my journal for the evening " My servants are 
 already asleep on the floor, but the Christians are singing most 
 heartily in a house opposite. Strange land this ! Heathen 
 drumming, shouting and drunkenness all one night ; a band of 
 military music playing great part of the second ; and now 
 the third night made vocal with Christian songs of thankful 
 rejoicing." 
 
 Although the day had scarcely broken, and the wide plain to 
 the east of Moramanga was covered with white mist when we 
 set out, on the 13th day since our journey commenced, we 
 saw numbers of people carrying baskets of rofia leaf, cotton, 
 cloth, manioc, rice, poultry, and meal to the weekly market held 
 at a short distance from the village ; and we afterwards met
 
 CHAP. i. SOLITARY FUNERAL PROCESSION. 21 
 
 numbers of people during several miles of the road, proceeding 
 to the same place. 
 
 It was noon when we crossed the clear flowing river Mongoro, 
 and proceeded to Ibodinifody. Early on the following day we 
 reached the extensive, beautiful and fertile valley of Ankay, and 
 crossed the small streams running into the Valala river, the 
 wanderings of which, as it flowed far away to the north reminded 
 me of the Lune, near Lancaster. Leaving Mangabe, Prince 
 Rarnonja's village to the north, we halted at Mandrakody, the 
 highest village on the eastern side of Angavo. 
 
 Here, in consequence of receiving a communication from 
 the capital, I wrote to inform the king and the Christians of 
 my arrival at Ambodinangavo (the base of the lofty Angavo), 
 sometimes reckoned amongst the highest mountains of the 
 island. 
 
 Amongst the many objects which attracted my attention, we 
 passed this day a singularly simple funeral procession. The 
 corpse, wrapped and corded up in white cloth, was borne slowly 
 along by two men, as I was told, to the distant village to which 
 the family belonged. One woman, past middle-age, probably 
 the widow, followed alone, to render at the side of the grave 
 the last offices of affection to the remains of the departed. 
 
 We took the cool time of early morning on the following day 
 to ascend the steep and rocky path up the side of the lofty 
 mountain, on reaching the summit of which we entered the 
 province of Imerina. 
 
 This broad based, compact mountain, 5000 feet above the 
 sea, constituted a valuable frontier defence to the Bezanozano 
 against the incursions of the Hovas, and its wide flattened dome- 
 like summit, surrounded by deep ditches, occasionally intersect- 
 ing each other, rendered it, before the introduction of fire-arms, 
 an impregnable natural fortress. It was said that the first 
 Radama tried in vain for two years to dislodge its occupants, 
 and only succeeded at last by the aid of artillery. 
 
 A ran<;e of inferior mountains extends to the south of Anjravo
 
 22 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. i. 
 
 and another, stretching a considerable distance to the north, 
 formed the western boundary of the verdant and beautiful 
 valley of Ankay, and had divided the province of the Bezanozano 
 from that of the Hovas. I had noticed in crossing the eastern 
 valley a number of deep dark lines like cuttings on the summits 
 and upper parts of the spurs of several of these mountains, 
 and my companions informed me they were ditches and em- 
 bankments for defence in times of war, and that in former 
 times there had been frequently fighting there, especially near 
 two of the passes which they pointed out. The extent to which 
 most of the villages, and the summits of the hills were protected 
 by embankments and ditches seemed to indicate the extreme 
 insecurity of society in former times. To this source is pro- 
 bably to be traced the almost universal practice of every one 
 above the condition of a slave travelling armed. We often met 
 a man and woman travelling together, and if the man's burden 
 was heavy, the woman, who usually walked behind the man, 
 whether husband or brother, carried the spear. 
 
 Among the travellers whom we met a little farther on, was 
 a single family. The man walked first with a load in a basket 
 at the front end of a stick over his shoulder, and at the other 
 end was suspended a large open-worked basket made of split 
 bamboo, in which sat a little child two or three years old, 
 apparently enjoying the ride, while a woman, whom I supposed 
 to be the mother, with a bundle on her back, and a spear in 
 her hand, walked behind. 
 
 Shortly after leaving the ridge of Angavo, while descending 
 a beautifully wooded valley, we were detained some time by two 
 successive herds of cattle, some of which seemed mischievously 
 disposed, but were ultimately turned aside, while we passed on 
 quietly. At Ankaramadinika, a village on the border of the 
 forest east of Angavo, we halted for breakfast. Here we over- 
 took the two officers who had come with their relative from 
 Mauritius. 
 
 The aspect of the first village in Imerina did not compare
 
 CHAP. I. WELCOME TO RETURNING EXILES. 23 
 
 very favourably with several that we had passed, but notwith- 
 standing this, all our company seemed to feel comparatively at 
 home in being once more within their native province, while 
 the ascent of the mountain and the sharp air of the high lands 
 to which it led, rendered our repast welcome. 
 
 Resuming our journey, we travelled over a country different 
 in appearance from that we had left. Long rounded hills were 
 intersected by shallower and broader valleys, with less land 
 that admitted of irrigation. Trees were few. The mountains 
 were not piled up in long and lofty ranges, but were rather 
 single clusters of granite mountains with broad bases, and often 
 fortress-like summits, or a naked mass of rock rising above the 
 grassy surface of the ground. 
 
 After travelling about an hour, we reached the cultivated 
 valley of Nosi-arivo (a thousand islands) extending on the north 
 of our road. On the western side of this valley a number of 
 respectably-dressed men and women coming out of a cluster of 
 houses, called to us as we passed. They proved to be a party 
 from the capital who, having heard that the long lost relations 
 were returning, had come out a distance of twenty miles to meet 
 them. Only one of them had ever seen the chief person they 
 came to meet, the aunt of the two young officers to whom I 
 have frequently adverted. She had been captured in war when 
 quite a child, had been sold to the slave-dealers, taken to Mau- 
 ritius and made a slave there, but at the period of emancipa- 
 tion had obtained her liberty, had been sought out by the officers, 
 her nephews, and had returned with them to see their mother, 
 her only sister still living. 
 
 There was also the Christian mother of the youth whom I 
 had met in chains on a former visit, but who had afterwards 
 escaped to Mauritius, and was now, in answer to many prayers, 
 returning to gladden the fond and afflicted mother's heart. 
 
 An soon as we were informed of the errand of those who had 
 called to us, we told them their friends were following, and left 
 them to the undisturbed mingling of emotions which a stranger
 
 24 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. i. 
 
 could not share, and which can scarcely occur more than once 
 in a lifetime. 
 
 The country around us was now entirely destitute of wood. 
 Not a single tree was to be seen in any direction, and the 
 view over the green undulating surface around us was broken 
 by but few though often striking objects sometimes bare 
 piles of blue rock with pyramidal or rounded summits, or, 
 nearer the road, single monumental stones, tall, square, unhewn, 
 and often overgrown with moss, of which there are a number 
 in this neighbourhood, as well as in other parts of Ankova.* 
 
 About an hour after leaving ISTosi-arivo, we saw at some dis- 
 tance before us a considerable number of persons sitting on the 
 grass by the roadside on the slope of a hill. As we approached 
 they rose, commenced singing, in a long familiar tune, a Christian 
 hymn, and advanced to meet us. The king's officer informed 
 me that they were a party of the native Christians. I alighted 
 as we met, and received their cordial greetings. They said 
 they had been sent by their brethren and sisters to bid me 
 welcome. [They handed me letters from the king, the Prime 
 Minister, and the leaders of the Christians, and then entering 
 our palanquins, we resumed our journey. As soon as we 
 moved onward the party began again to sing, and thus we pro- 
 ceeded, the bold, massive piles of rock and the rude monumental 
 stones of their ancestors reared on the sides of the road along 
 which we passed echoing the song of the rejoicing Christians. 
 
 Ambatomanga (blue rock), the most important village or 
 town between Ankay and Antananarivo, had long been in 
 sight. The tall two-storeyed and verandahed house of the chief 
 stood conspicuous above all the straw-thatched dwellings of the 
 people, which extend to a mass of blue granite about 200 
 
 * These single stones are often 10 or 18 feet high, and are fixed by the road 
 sides or in other conspicuous places. We have seldom found any name or 
 event associated with them by the natives. In answer to our inquiries they 
 generally said they were stones of their ancestors, but whether commemorative 
 of victories or monumental we were not able to ascertain. Probably they 
 were both.
 
 CHAP. i. GREETING FROM THE CAPITAL. 25 
 
 yards long and 100 feet high, that gives its name to the village. 
 The remains of the ancient walls, the deep treble fosse or 
 ditch, the well-built and recently-erected tomb of Ravalo in the 
 centre of the upper surface of the rock, with the house or 
 temple of Raodibato, the tutelar idol at one end, and the house 
 of the keeper or guardian at the other, all combined to render 
 Ambatomanga an interesting object, even more so than when 
 I first beheld it five years before. 
 
 Crossing the stream at the foot of the rocky pile called 
 Talata, where a weekly market is held on Tuesdays, we entered 
 the southern gate, and proceeded through the narrow and intri- 
 cate windings of the village paths, until a little before four in 
 the afternoon we entered the court-yard of the chiefs resi- 
 dence, where I was welcomed by two young girls in silk dresses, 
 the daughters of the owner of the place. 
 
 A little before sunset an officer arrived from the capital, and 
 brought, in the name of the owners of the house, a present 01 
 a sheep, pigs, poultry, and a quantity of rice and manioc, which 
 proved a seasonable supply for my bearers and companions as 
 well as myself. 
 
 There the mother of Rasoamanana, the youth I had seen in 
 chains, a middle-aged woman, clothed in a plain white dress, 
 came with several members of his family to thank me for the 
 kindness I had shown him when in bondage. Her heart 
 seemed to overflow with gladness at beholding him again. I 
 was much pleased with her gentleness of spirit. She seemed 
 just such a mother as it might be expected would have written 
 the anxious and affectionate letters which he used to receive 
 from her in Mauritius. Our large room was crowded at evening 
 worship, and we found so much to tell and to hear that it was 
 late indeed before we retired to rest. 
 
 The fatigue and excitement of the past day, delightful as it 
 had been, rendered the rest of the morrow which was Sunday 
 most welcome and refreshing. At ten o'clock in the fore- 
 noon the Christians of our party and those from the capital,
 
 26 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. i. 
 
 assembled, to the number of about a hundred, in my house. 
 After singing, reading, and prayers, Andriambelo, one of the 
 most esteemed and effective of native preachers, and with whom 
 I had been frequently associated when he was suffering under 
 persecution and an exile in a distant part of the country, set 
 forth, in a discourse from Gal. iii. 28, with much plainness and 
 feeling, the spiritual union of all true believers in Christ. One 
 of the other preachers afterwards delivered a short discourse, 
 full of inducements to thankfulness and joy, from Isa. ix. 2. 
 I was somewhat affected when, on looking over a hymn-book 
 of one of the preachers while we were singing, I perceived it 
 to be interlined in several places with words in English in my 
 own handwriting, and afterwards learned that I had given it, 
 on a former visit, during the time of persecution and suffering, 
 to a persecuted Christian. I had forgotten the gift which he 
 had so carefully preserved. 
 
 The utmost attention was manifested during the whole time 
 by the people inside the house. All sate, as did the preachers, 
 except when they prayed. The heathen gathered outside in 
 front, and a long line of heads appeared in perspective from 
 the door. Those nearest knelt down, so as just to look over the 
 heads of the Christians sitting inside ; the next line stood 
 behind these, the rank behind appearing higher still, while 
 those at a greater distance were raised on logs of wood or 
 seated on the opposite wall. All were exceedingly well behaved 
 and attentive. 
 
 At four in the afternoon, when we again assembled, the house 
 was more crowded than before. After the introductory part of 
 the service, I addressed the people from Acts xxviii. 15. A 
 native preacher subsequently delivered a second discourse, and 
 concluded with prayer. Before the people had dispersed, a 
 messenger came to announce the arrival of some officers from 
 the capital, and shortly afterwards the king's private secretary 
 and six others entered, and informed me that they were sent 
 by the king and queen to conduct me to the capital. Three
 
 CHAP. i. SUNDAY AT AMBATOMANGA. 27 
 
 of them were officers who had been sent to welcome me in 1857, 
 and are the authors of the vocabulary which I had sent to 
 England to be printed. After we had exchanged congratula- 
 tions, the officers and their attendants sat down, and, at the 
 suggestion of the preachers, our worship was resumed by candle- 
 light, for no one seemed to wish to leave. Another simple but 
 earnest discourse followed, and after closing with the Lord's 
 Prayer and the benediction, the assembly dispersed. 
 
 As they were leaving, one of the preachers asked if they 
 might come again to converse with me at eight o'clock. I was 
 already somewhat faint and tired, but could not refuse their 
 request, and after I had taken a little rest and refreshment, the 
 officers, the preachers, and a number of the leading Christians, 
 came to converse with me until nearly ten o'clock, when we 
 prayed together and they then left me, filled with wonder and 
 admiration at the blessed change which appeared to be taking 
 place in the minds of many of the people. 
 
 About eight o'clock the next morning, July 16th, the officers 
 of the palace delivered a letter from the king, stating that he 
 had sent one of his relatives, a councillor, and six officers 
 of rank to express his pleasure at my approach, and to accom- 
 pany me to Antananarivo. The officers, with all of whom 
 except one I had been previously acquainted, and with most 
 of whom I had held pleasant intercourse, expressed their satis- 
 faction in the duty to which they had been appointed. They 
 were all, I had reason to believe, Christian men. 
 
 As soon as we had breakfasted, we set out from Ambato- 
 manga, which is about fifteen miles from the capital. Our 
 party, including the king's messengers, the officers and their 
 friends from Mauritius, occupied eighteen palanquins, and there 
 were about one hundred persons on foot. We had not pro- 
 ceeded far before we were met by other officers, with letters of 
 welcome from the heads of the Christians and others. These 
 were not merely bearers of letters, but their object in coming 
 was also to ask a favour, viz., that if I had brought any Bibles
 
 28 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. I. 
 
 I would reserve one for each of the parties by whom they had 
 been sent. I knew the applicants were Christians who occupied 
 positions of influence and trust, and I promised to give one to 
 each of them. 
 
 The day was fine and the journey pleasant. With the chief 
 officer, one of the councillors, I had much conversation by the 
 way, chiefly relating to the king, his utter disbelief in the 
 idols, and his desire for the welfare of the people ; also his 
 clemency and humanity, and his generous treatment of his 
 cousin Rambosalama, his rival, who had prepared to contend 
 with him for the throne, but whom he would not allow to be 
 put to death nor suffer any part of his vast possessions to be 
 confiscated, thorgh all, according to Malagasy law and usage, 
 were considered to be forfeited. 
 
 He told me also that about two months ago an idol -keeper 
 had informed the king that the idol required an ox to be 
 presented to him. The king replied, " Very well ; let the idol 
 come himself and ask me, and then perhaps I may give him 
 one." 
 
 Antananarivo, the inland mountain " city of a thousand 
 towns," as the natives fondly call it, stretching for at least two 
 miles along the crest of the highest mountain range in the 
 centre of Imerina, had been for some time visible, when, about 
 noon, we reached the small and mean-looking suburban village 
 of Ambohipo, four or five miles from the entrance to the 
 capital, and where we halted to make a brief toilette in the 
 open air before entering the city. Some of the party dressed 
 behind a rock, others in the bend of a watercourse ; while in 
 a grassy spot a little way from the road I performed rny ablu- 
 tions, and tried to make myself presentable. 
 
 We then resumed our journey, and soon after passing through 
 the village of Faliarivo (a thousand joys), situated at the foot 
 of the hill, began our ascent. As we passed through Ankadi- 
 bevava, the ancient eastern gate of the city, and ascended to 
 the tomb of the renowned judge, Andriamahitsy, on the ridge
 
 CHAP. I. THE SECRETARY AND HIS FAMILY. 29 
 
 of the mountain, I was cheered by the welcome recognition of 
 many friends, who either came out to meet me or offered their 
 salutations from within the enclosures round their houses, 
 where they were assembled. 
 
 Descending on the western side of the hill, we soon reached 
 the south-eastern angle of Antsahatsiroa (the valley that has 
 not a second), my appointed place of residence. Here the 
 officers alighted, ushered me into a neatly-papered room with 
 matted floor, and then led on to a room with curtained windows, 
 and furnished with chairs, tables, and a bed with muslin cur- 
 tains. The cooking-house was as usual in the yard ; but there 
 was also an upper room, with a fire-place in it, which was 
 pointed out to me for use as a kitchen in the rainy season. 
 After expressing my grateful sense of the provision made for 
 my comfort and accommodation, the officers left to report my 
 arrival to the king. 
 
 The Christians now continued for some hours coming to bid 
 me welcome, until, with all the excitement I had experienced, 
 and the fatigues of a journey of some hours without rest, and 
 having taken no food since the morning, I felt thoroughly 
 exhausted. About four o'clock, however, two Christian friends, 
 who had not been to see me, sent me a tureen of soup, a roast 
 duck, and some nicely-cooked rice, which, with a cup of tea, 
 completely revived me. 
 
 Rahaniraka whom I had known when he was in England, 
 where he was educated, and who was the chief secretary of the 
 government came in while I was at tea, and took some with 
 me. Indeed, for a long time after my arrival, I generally had 
 some uninvited, though not unwelcome, guest at my breakfast 
 and tea. Rahaniraka said the king and queen were pleased 
 that I had arrived so soon, and that the king, although not a 
 Christian himself, had always been friendly to those who were ; 
 that he was ever ready to aid them, and desired that his people 
 should be educated. 
 
 The secretary's wife, his son's wife, and all his children
 
 80 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. i. 
 
 three sons, four daughters came soon after, bringing, according 
 to Malagasy custom, a present of food for the newly-arrived 
 visitor. He said they were all Christians, and their conver- 
 sation and demeanour accorded with this declaration. He then 
 introduced his son-in-law, Ramaka, an apparently energetic 
 man, about forty years of age, who had been subjected to the 
 ordeal of poison, and had, I was told, on account of his faith, 
 been some years in prison, sometimes bound so tightly that his 
 flesh was lacerated by the cords. 
 
 In the course of our conversation the secretary said, pointing- 
 to his good-looking and interesting family, " I wish I was as 
 good a Christian as they are." I replied, "You may become 
 so if you will. God made you acquainted with His gracious 
 word when you were in England. He has preserved you 
 through the intervening years. If you sincerely desire and 
 seek Him, He is both able and willing to make you a Christian 
 in heart, and then you will be one in your life." He said the 
 general attention to religion, especially in his own family, had 
 occupied many of his thoughts, and he added that the king's 
 mind was changing in favour of the Bible. He then said, that 
 as soon as I had rested from the fatigue of the journey the 
 king would be glad to see me. 
 
 Soon after the secretary and his family had left, a number 
 of the native ministers and Christians came, and said it was 
 their wish that we should acknowledge together the Divine 
 goodness in allowing us to meet under circumstances so favour- 
 able. The proposal was welcome, and we united with grateful, 
 hopeful feelings in thanksgiving and praise to God. We then 
 entered into deeply interesting conversation on the trials- 
 through which the Christians had passed since my former visit, 
 their probable number and present circumstances ; I also endea- 
 voured to answer their inquiries respecting the baptism of 
 infants and admission to communion, about which they said they 
 had been waiting for my coming to ask for directions. 
 
 The result of this interview was to me encouraging ; for
 
 CHAP. i. FIRST NIGHT IN ANTANANARIVO. 31 
 
 though the Christian character of some who were classed with 
 the believers was defective, these were comparatively but few ; 
 while the earnestness and activity of the truly sincere among 
 them was peculiarly cheering. 
 
 At a late hour my friends retired, and as they did so, an 
 officer came to say that the king would see me at the palace 
 at two o'clock on the following dav.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Welcome from the. Christians Visit to the King and Queen Letters from 
 Earl Russell and the Governor of Mauritius Pleasure afforded by the 
 continued friendship of England Announcement of presents Portrait 
 of the King Homage and offering from the returned exiles Affecting 
 interview with the widows and orphans of recent Martyrs Satisfactory 
 interview with the Prime Minister Origin and import of Malagasy 
 names Visit io the site of the first Martyrdom First Sunday in Anta- 
 nanarivo Funerals on Sundays School for young nobles Reading with 
 the King Dinner and evening with a Christian noble Visit to the 
 Commander-in-Chief Dinner with the Chief Secretary of State and Chief 
 of the Keepers of the Idols The Burial-ground of Foreigners Notice of 
 the Tarpeian Rock, and the Christians executed there. 
 
 THE Malagasy, like the inhabitants of almost all tropical 
 climates, are early risers, and soon after sunrise on the day 
 following my arrival I found my bearers waiting for their pay- 
 ment, which, in consequence of the number of my packages, 
 including the presents, amounted to about 200 dollars. Num- 
 bers of people soon came to bid me welcome, and to bring 
 offerings of provisions. The king and queen, and most of the 
 nobles, especially those whom I had been acquainted with dur- 
 ing my former visit, as well as many of the Christians, sent me 
 presents, according to the custom of the country, consisting of 
 oxen, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry, eggs, rice and other vegetables 
 in considerable quantity. The animals I gave to the Christians 
 to take care of until I should need them, and was glad to dis- 
 tribute amongst the poor of their number the superabundance 
 that had been so generously presented. 
 
 Soon after noon, the officers * came to conduct me to the 
 
 * Officers among the Malagasy are called Manamboninahifcra (men), having
 
 CHAP. ir. WELCOME FROM THE KIXG AND QUEEX. 83 
 
 king. We passed along the western side of Miadanamanjaka, 
 the large palace, which had not been opened since the death of 
 the late queen, to a small royal building at the south called 
 Miadimafana, which had been built for the present queen while 
 princess royal, and was then her Majesty's residence. We 
 entered by the northern gateway, and passed along between 
 lines of soldiers to the west, where the front court is raised six 
 or eight feet above the road beneath, and surrounded by a stone 
 balustrade. From this court we were ushered into a lofty and 
 splendidly furnished room about forty feet by thirty. The 
 king and queen, who were seated on a richly carved ebony 
 sofa, cushioned with damask, both looked remarkably well. 
 After receiving a very cordial welcome, I thanked them for the 
 accommodation with which I had been so generously furnished, 
 and assured them that the officers, both at Tamatave and on the 
 road, had faithfully obeyed their orders, and had afforded me 
 every possible assistance. To which the king replied that the 
 officers had only done their duty. He said they were pleased 
 to see me at Antananarivo again, asked if I had been attacked 
 with fever, and hoped I should find the accommodation all 
 that I desired. He also asked what news I had brought from 
 England. 
 
 I said that our queen and the royal family, as well as the- 
 nation at large, had been deeply afflicted by the death of the 
 Prince Consort, that much interest was felt by the English in 
 the condition and prosperity of Madagascar, that the friendship 
 of England was unchanged, and that many hopes were inspired 
 by the auspicious commencement of the present reign. That 
 the London Missionary Society had sent me to arrange for their 
 
 rank and belong to the army. A large proportion of the officers are, in addition 
 to their rank in the army, nominally attached to superior officers, and called 
 Deka, a derivation from A.D.C. The troops now are called out once a fortnight, 
 but a number of the Deka are required to be in daily attendance on the higher 
 officers, to carry their messages or execute their orders. The individuals 
 attending are changed every fortnight. They do not wear any uniform, and, 
 ordinarily, have no badge of distinction. 
 
 D
 
 34 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. ir. 
 
 missionaries resuming their endeavours in Madagascar, which 
 had been interrupted for so many years. I added that as the 
 letter I had received at Mauritius clearly expressed his Ma- 
 jesty's wish for the return of the missionaries, I had transmitted 
 it to the Society, who had appointed six missionaries to Mada- 
 gascar, and I hoped these were now on their way. 
 
 The king said he prized very highly the friendship of Eng- 
 land, and was glad that his proceedings were approved ; adding 
 that he was gratified to hear of missionaries coming to his 
 country, and would be ready to afford them protection, and aid 
 in their efforts to enlighten the people. 
 
 I then stated that, previous to my departure from England, 
 Earl Russell, he v Majesty's principal Secretary of State for 
 Foreign Affairs, hearing that I was about to proceed to Mada- 
 gascar, had expressed to me personally the continuance of the 
 good wishes and friendly feelings of the English Government 
 towards Madagascar, and had directed the Under Secretary of 
 State to address to me a letter to that effect, with liberty to 
 communicate the same to his Majesty, which I begged to do. 
 I also assured their Majesties of the sincere friendship of Sir 
 William Stevenson, Governor of Mauritius. I then delivered 
 the letters which his Excellency had confided to my care, one of 
 them being a copy of a letter from Queen Victoria. 
 
 I added that in making the above communication, and deli- 
 vering the letters, I wished his Majesty, the officers, and the 
 people of Madagascar to know that I had received no appoint- 
 ment of any kind from the English Government, and had no 
 political duties to perform; that I came solely as a Christian 
 missionary, and as a friend to their country, and was simply the 
 bearer of the communications from England to Madagascar. 
 
 The king and queen stood up while the copy of the letter 
 from Queen Victoria and that from Earl Russell were being 
 translated and read by the Secretary. The former they re- 
 garded, as did the officers of the court, with profound attention. 
 In reference to the letter from Earl Russell, the king said the
 
 CHAP. ii. PRESENTATION OF THE KING'S PICTURE. 35 
 
 assurance of the continued friendship of England was exceed- 
 ingly welcome and encouraging. 
 
 I then informed their Majesties that I had in charge several 
 presents from friends in England, one of which I begged to 
 offer. It was a likeness of the king painted in oil from a 
 photograph of large size which I had taken during my former 
 visit to the capital. When I had taken the picture out of the 
 case, the king and queen came to look at it, and I watched 
 with interest the effect it produced. The king appeared at 
 first bewildered with surprise. He smiled and looked again 
 and again, and then came to the place where I was standing, 
 and pressed my hand very warmly, saying, " I remember all 
 this," pointing to the different parts of the picture. He then 
 gazed again and smiled with great satisfaction. The queen 
 stood motionless looking at it in silence for some time, and then 
 exclaimed " Izy hiany." It is himself. The officers and at- 
 tendants who now came to look expressed their pleasure, and 
 inquired how it could have been made so like. M. Laborde, 
 the French consul, who was present during the whole interview, 
 said the likeness was remarkable, and the execution exceedingly 
 good. Two pictures were ordered to be removed from the wall 
 above the seat occupied by the king and queen, and the king's 
 portrait was suspended in their place, apparently much to the 
 satisfaction of all present. The queen . asked if I would take 
 her portrait and send it to England to be painted in the same 
 manner. I readily answered that I would, but this was never 
 done. The king asked if the picture could be enlarged to the 
 size of life. I told him it could in England, but not in Mada- 
 gascar, and shortly afterwards I took my leave. 
 
 The older of the two officers who had accompanied me from 
 Mauritius, also the exiles who had returned to their native 
 countiy, together with their friends, were on this occasion ad- 
 mitted to the palace. They also addressed the king and queen, 
 and presented a sovereign as hasina, or expression of loyalty, 
 when we retired. 
 
 D a
 
 3G MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. n. 
 
 My house was literally thronged with visitors during the 
 remainder of the day, and towards evening, among others in 
 affliction, four of the widows of those who had suffered martyr- 
 dom since my former visit came, some of them accompanied by 
 their children, to see me. The husbands of some of them had 
 been stoned to death, others had died in the heavy fetters in 
 which they had been bound and banished to different parts of 
 the country. They said that from forty to sixty had suffered 
 this punishment. With some of these men and their families I 
 had had frequent intercourse in 1856. Other jsurvivors of that 
 last cruel persecution also came. The details these women gave 
 of the capture, condemnation, torture, and suffering of the de- 
 parted, was most harrowing, as they described the rude manner 
 in which they were stoned to death, or in which the massive 
 irons were riveted on their persons, and the hunger and sick- 
 ness and suffering they endured before death released them. 
 There was an indescribable appearance of shrinking from the 
 contemplation of such suffering, and an irrepressible sense of its 
 intensity in the expression of their countenances, which seemed 
 in an astonishing manner to change, and to indicate calmness if 
 not joy so soon as they spoke of the steadfastness of the sufferers, 
 or when any allusion was made to their present condition. 
 Even these afflicted visitors did not come empty-handed, and, 
 apart from other considerations, I had too much regard for their 
 feelings to manifest anything but pleasure in receiving their 
 little presents. Afterwards the widow of another noble-hearted 
 man who had suffered death in the same persecution came, at- 
 tended by an interesting young woman whom she called her 
 daughter, and a Christian slave, who had shared in their suffer- 
 ings, and was regarded almost as a child : companionship in 
 suffering for Christ as well as fidelity in the hour of trial hav- 
 ing, as in more than one instance I had occasion to observe, 
 supplanted the tie between owner and slave by closer and holier 
 bonds superior to any merely social or earthly relationship. Many 
 were the instances they recited of the perils and sufferings of
 
 CHAP. n. THE MARTYR'S WIDOW. 37 
 
 the departed before the death which the protomartyr Stephen 
 died brought relief. I had received a number of most valuable 
 communications from the deceased, and they were deeply affected 
 when I showed them his signature to the last letter I had re- 
 ceived from him, and written not long before he suffered. They 
 remained with us to family worship, and I have seldom noticed 
 more softness and feeling in singing than they evinced on that oc- 
 casion. My own deep interest in this aged widow was not dimi- 
 nished when I afterwards heard that she had desired to secure 
 the mangled body of her martyred husband for burial, and had, 
 through the efforts of friends, obtained the head, which had 
 been carefully preserved in a box in her own room till it could 
 be safely buried among the graves of his family. We almost 
 shudder at a state of society in which such a ghastly object 
 could alleviate distress, or be cherished as a treasure, and yet I 
 met with few more sensible, benevolent, useful, and considerate 
 Christians than this honoured martyr's widow. 
 
 Having been informed that Prince Ramonja, the friend of the 
 Christians during their season of persecution, and a partaker of 
 their sufferings, was seriously ill, and wished to see me, I visited 
 him on the following day. He appeared feeble and suffering, 
 but expressed his gratitude for the altered circumstances of the 
 Christians. He seemed glad to hear that a doctor was coming 
 with the expected missionaries. His son returned with me to 
 join the Christians, a number of whom began to meet for worship 
 at my house every evening, where also four of them slept every 
 night in the outer room to ensure my safety. 
 
 On the following morning before eight o'clock a message 
 came from the Prime Minister, Rainivoninahitraniony,* in con- 
 
 * He was commander-in-chief during the reign of the late queen, and was 
 the chief instrument in placing the present king upon the throne. 
 
 The name of this noble, like that of many others of his order, is almost as 
 intolerably long as those of some of the North American Indians, and, like 
 them, is also a sentence and not a single word. The Malagasy are fond of 
 hyperbole, especially in names of persons and of placas, and the easy combination 
 of sounds in their language renders their pronunciation less difficult than might
 
 MADAGASCAR, REVISITED. CHAP. n. 
 
 sequence of which I set out to his residence at the north end of 
 the higher portion of the city. A long flight of broad stone 
 steps led from the road to the gate of his court-yard. As soon 
 as it was opened we entered, and passing between rows of sen- 
 tries proceeded to the door of the house, where we were met by 
 the minister, who informed me that my arrival had afforded 
 much pleasure to the king and the nobles, and that the tidings 
 of the continued friendship of England were peculiarly welcome. 
 He asked how many missionaries were coming and when they 
 would arrive, and expressed his desire that the doctor who I 
 had informed him was among them should reside near him. 
 
 In reply to his inquiries about the objects for which the mis- 
 sionaries were coming, I said it was not to teach the people to 
 Avork in iron or wood, as they had already been taught such 
 arts ; but that schoolmasters and printers as well as preachers 
 would come ; that their objects were religious and educational ; 
 that the missionaries would not be allowed to engage in trade, 
 but to teach the people to fear God and honour the king, to 
 obey the laws; and to promote the welfare of all classes, both for 
 this life and the life to come. He said he knew that that was 
 the chief object of the missionaries ; that true Christians were 
 always to be trusted ; that he esteemed them highly, and had 
 protected many in his own house in times of persecution ; I had 
 been previously informed that he had done so, that he knew 
 
 be supposed. Their names are always significant, sometimes strikingly so. 
 They illustrate also the almost universal custom of the father assuming the 
 name given to his son. The minister's name was, until recently, Haro, or 
 Raharo, and from the time of his birth his father was known as Raini- 
 haro, father of Haro. On the birth of a grandson, who was called Vouinahi- 
 traniony, the minister adopted the name as his own, and has since been desig- 
 nated Rai-ni-vo-ni-na-hi-tra-ni-ony, the father of the flower of the grass of the 
 river or lake ; or, figuratively, the father of the glory of the river. The 
 names are not always so long. That of one of the sisters of the minister is 
 Rasoaray, the good one. One of his slaves, a good Christian man, who lately 
 had a son born to him, called him Kaleba, after the Caleb of the Bible, and has 
 ever since rejoiced in the euphonious name of Rainikaleba. There are few 
 more interesting subjects of inquiry than the origin and import of names 
 among the Malagasy.
 
 CHAP. II. VISIT TO THE PRIME MINISTER. 39 
 
 them all personally, and would continue to afford them all the 
 protection in his power. 
 
 I was glad of the opportunity these remarks afforded to state 
 that Christianity consisted in love, obedience, and trust in 
 God ; that the laws by which the Christians as such regulated 
 their conduct were those of the Bible, enforced by the autho- 
 rity of Christ ; that the Bible taught the duty of obedience 
 to the laws of the country ; that the Christians would render 
 such obedience, and would, I trusted, prove worthy of the good 
 opinion he had expressed. I said that Christianity was adapted 
 to make men good subjects and good members of society in all 
 the relations of life. It was only when the laws of the land 
 were contrary to what the Lord Jesus Christ had commanded 
 them to do, that the Christians would feel any hesitation, and 
 then, as he knew, they would rather suffer than disobey the 
 Lord. 
 
 The minister said he had strongly advised the king against 
 allowing anything like persecution of any one, and would him- 
 self never agree to it, adding that on this subject the king's 
 opinion exactly coincided with his own. I told him I had 
 heard with satisfaction his testimony in favour of the Christians, 
 and felt assured that the spread of Christianity would be the 
 most effectual means of improvement and prosperity throughout 
 all classes of the community. 
 
 In person the minister is rather above the middle stature, his 
 figure well proportioned. His head is small and compact, with 
 good and regular features. He appears self-possessed and calm, 
 bears himself with dignity, and manifests considerable force of 
 character. Though so uniformly just arid friendly, he is not 
 regarded as a Christian, but his wife and several members of 
 his family are such, and he is not unacquainted with the books 
 of the Christians. He often, during the period of severe perse- 
 cution, interfered publicly in favour of the Christians, and has 
 shown them kindness and afforded them protection whenever it 
 was in his power to do so. In the letter which I received from
 
 40 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. n. 
 
 him at Ambotomanga he spoke of them as " our friends." I left 
 the minister, grateful to Him by whom all hearts are influenced 
 for good for the additional evidence now afforded of the good 
 will towards the Christians cherished by the chief authorities of 
 the country. 
 
 Among my visitors on the afternoon of the same day was a 
 Mahomedan priest from Johanna, one of the Comoro Islands, 
 and two Arabs, who I supposed to be traders from Bombay. 
 The former spoke a little English, and said he had come to the 
 capital to visit the king on his accession to the throne. Two 
 other Arabs from Bombay afterwards called. They said they 
 were agents of an American trader residing at Mojanga, one of 
 the chief ports on the western side of Madagascar, and had 
 brought cotton and other goods for sale. In the course of con- 
 versation they told me there were 1,000 Arabs or Mahomedans 
 on the west coast. They said they had been two months on the 
 journey, and that some part of the road was very difficult. 
 
 On the following day the king sent for me to ask if I could 
 give him any information about the laws of England or of 
 France respecting foreigners residing or occupying land or 
 buildings in those countries. I said that I believed gene- 
 rally all foreigners obeyed the laws of the country in which 
 they dwelt when the laws were those of civilised communities, 
 and that in some countries the extent to which foreigners were 
 amenable to the laws was regulated by treaty. He asked if 
 I had any copies of the laws of the above countries respecting 
 the residence of foreigners, as he wished to have such as 
 foreigners would be required to obey in Madagascar written, 
 and, if possible, printed, that there might be no disturbance or 
 trouble in consequence of their ignorance of the laAvs. I told 
 him the missionaries would bring a printing press, and would be 
 glad to print anything of the kind, and I promised to send to 
 his secretary, who could read English, any books I might have 
 that would be likely to assist him. I then accompanied him to 
 the stone house which he was building for a school, and found,

 
 CHAP. ii. SCENE OF THE FIRST MARTYRDOM. 41 
 
 in a room already finished, about forty boys learning Malagasy 
 and English nnder a native master, who had formerly been 
 assistant master in one of the schools of the early missionaries.* 
 
 During my former visit to the capital the votaries of the idols 
 had been so fearful of my manifesting any sympathy with the 
 Christians, that the least inquisitiveness on my part respecting 
 the scenes or the circumstances of their sufferings would have 
 given offence, and might perhaps have deprived me of the oppor- 
 tunities I enjoyed of intercourse with them. I had consequently 
 never attempted to visit any of the spots where Christians had 
 been put to death, and had only seen them from a distance. 
 Being now in the neighbourhood, after leaving the king I went 
 to Am-bo-hi-po-tsy (white village), so called on account of the 
 colour of the rock and the soil of the place. It is the spot 
 where the first martyrs were put to death, situated on the 
 northern declivity of the hill on which the capital is built, a 
 rugged and dreary region which had long been used as a place 
 for public executions. Part of the rude earthworks or fortifica- 
 tions by which this end of the city was defended still remain 
 near the path leading past some stone quarries to the cultivated 
 plain below. The most perfect of these is part of the ditch, 
 about four or more feet in width, and somewhat less in depth. 
 A little beyond an ancient unhewn rude stone pillar, and where 
 the path crosses the ditch, the first martyrs suffered deatli in 
 1836 and '7. A number of human bones lying near the spot 
 were pointed out to me as marking the place where the Chris- 
 tian martyrs were killed. I was told it was some time since 
 any but Christians had been put to deatli there, and these were 
 possibly the bones of the martyrs. 
 
 The first martyr for Christ suffered here in 183G ; Rasalama, 
 
 * The opening of a school had been one of the kind's earliest acts on suc- 
 ceeding to the throne, and the mission sent by Sir AVilliam Stevenson found 
 about thirty boys under daily instruction. Rahaniraka, who had been educated 
 i:i England, had also sent me a prospectus for a sort of high school, which it 
 was proposed to establish at the capital.
 
 42 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. n. 
 
 a Christian woman between twenty and thirty years of age, 
 bearing no common name, for Rasalama signifies peace, happiness. 
 She was imprisoned at Ambatonakanga, the site of the first 
 house built exclusively for Christian worship in this country,* 
 which, when the 'persecution ai-ose, was turned into a prison. 
 She was after condemnation put in irons, so fastened as to pro- 
 duce great pain. The day fixed for her to be put to death was 
 Sunday ; and on that day she was taken from the prison to the 
 place of execution. When brought to the spot, she had knelt 
 down, and asked for a few minutes to pray. This was granted, 
 and then her body fell pierced with the spears of her execu- 
 tioners. It was said that, though the body fell, the spirit had 
 fled while she was in the act of prayer."f 
 
 The second martyr, Rafaralahy, a young man, suffered on the 
 same place about a year after. A\t the request of Rasalama, 
 when she was taken forth to death, he had walked by her side 
 to the place of execution, and offered words of encouragement 
 to her to the last. When brought to the place himself, the 
 executioners seized him, arid were about, as was their custom, 
 forcibly to throw him down ; he said to them calmly, " There is 
 no need for you to do that. I will not cause you any trouble." 
 He also asked to be allowed to pray, and then gently laid him- 
 self down and received the executioners' spears. 
 
 I was repeatedly visited by the surviving relatives and 
 descendants of these two forerunners of that goodly company 
 whose spirits have since joined the noble army of martyrs. 
 Others followed these two, and on this now hallowed ground 
 sealed their testimony with their blood.^ My companions, some 
 
 * One of the memorial churches is erected on this spot. 
 
 f I offer no opinion as to the correctness or otherwise of this statement, but 
 simply repeat what has been voluntarily stated to me ; and when I have ques- 
 tioned the speaker, I have been told that such was the declaration of witnesses 
 of the execution. It does riot affect the courage and constancy of the sufferer 
 either way. Possibly this fact may have existed only in the imagination of 
 some of the spectators, who might have been expecting some extraordinary 
 interposition on behalf of the sufferer. 
 
 J I visited the same spot a short time afterwards, with Mr. Toy, the mis-
 
 CHAP. II. VIEW OF THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY. 43 
 
 of whom had witnessed the executions, here said that fifty or 
 more Christians had been put to death in this ditch. A few 
 rude, low mounds, marking the spots where by special indulg- 
 ence the friends of a criminal had been allowed to bury the 
 body, were visible. The lower end of a cross, on which a re- 
 nowned Sacalava warrior taken in battle had been crucified, was 
 still standing a little to the north, amongst other fragments of 
 the wood of the broken cross. 
 
 Altogether the place was dreary and desolate, a veritable 
 Golgotha ; but the view of the country around, one of the most 
 extensive, perhaps, in Imerira, glowing with rich red soil, smiling 
 in verdure, brightened by the gleaming surface of the lakes and 
 water-courses, and studded with villages, conspicuous amongst 
 which appeared Nosi-arivo (a thousand islands), the country 
 seat of the sovereign, on the banks of the river Ikiopa. The 
 cattle were grazing on the plains, the people in their white 
 lambas passing along the roads, and the slaves working in the 
 fields, presenting altogether a scene of serenity, harmony, and 
 peace ; while in the distance the long line of hills and remoter 
 mountain peaks reflected the gorgeous rays of the declining sun, 
 as they had possibly done to meet the last living .gaze of those 
 whose spiritual vision was so soon to behold the paradise of God. 
 
 I had looked forward to my first Sunday in Antanarivo with 
 anticipations of more than ordinary pleasure, but owing to a 
 slight attack of fever, I was not able to rise so early as I had 
 intended. About seven o'clock, however, a messenger came to 
 say that the chapel at Analakely had been full ever since day- 
 break, and that in about an hour the first congregation would 
 leave the place and another would assemble. 
 
 A little before nine the son of Prince Ramonja, having heard 
 of my indisposition, brought a palanquin for my use, saying the 
 
 sionary, who has gathered a congregation that will meet for worship in the 
 memorial church erected on the high ground, a little to the north of the ditch. 
 Mrs. Toy accompanied us, and I was glad to obtain a photograph of this deeply 
 interesting and hallowed scene.
 
 44 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. n. 
 
 distance to the chapel was about a mile, and I must not walk so 
 far. The son of Ramonja, with a number of young chiefs, 
 accompanied me, and as we approached the long, low-roofed 
 building, open on the side towards us in which the Christians 
 were assembled, we perceived they were at prayer, and halted. 
 The young chiefs took off their hats and remained standing 
 until the prayer was concluded, when we entered. 
 
 On the side opposite the entrance there was a raised space 
 covered with matting, on which was a small table and chair. 
 The latter I was requested to occupy, and I received a most cor- 
 dial and deeply affecting welcome. The officiating minister then 
 asked me to preside at the service. I directed them to sing 
 a hymn, which they did with very evident feeling. On my 
 right hand the house was filled to the farthest extremity with 
 Christian women, some grey with years, others young persons 
 and children, many of them well dressed, and all decent and 
 becoming both in appearance and demeanour. Around me 
 were the preachers and a number of officers, and on my 
 left was one densely-packed crowd of men ; while along the 
 open front were half as many outside as there were within. 
 The females shaded themselves with purple, green, or other 
 coloured umbrellas, while the men stood bareheaded in the 
 sun. 
 
 When I looked round on that large assembly as they stood 
 up and poured forth their loud and joyous hymn of praise, and 
 recalled the time when we could only meet, a few together, 
 under the darkness of night, and even then with closed doors 
 and persons to watch the gates, and could only sing in an under 
 tone or sort of whisper ; when I further contrasted the air of 
 joyous freedom and conscious security beaming almost in every 
 countenance, with the sorrow occasioned by some mournful loss, 
 or the trembling anxiety and keenly sensitive apprehension of 
 those who were themselves at that former time proscribed, and 
 had their lives given them for a prey, I was filled with wonder 
 and delight; and was not surprised that in the letters I had
 
 CHAP. II. FIRST SUNDAY IX THE CAPITAL. 45 
 
 received from some of them, when describing their present state 
 they had said, " We are like them that dream." 
 
 When the hymn was concluded I offered our thanksgivings 
 to the Most High, and after singing again and reading the 91st 
 Psalm, I addressed the company for a short time, alluding to the 
 past and the present, and the prospect for the future as evi- 
 dence of our Heavenly Father's care and blessing. I spoke also 
 of His mercy to those who had departed, and to those who 
 could now call upon His name without fear or trouble. One of 
 the native preachers then read, prayed, and delivered a short 
 and encouraging discourse, and the service closed. Joy seemed 
 beaming on every countenance, and amid many Christian greet- 
 ings the people separated. There did not appear to me less 
 than a thousand persons present, probably more. 
 
 The places of worship at Ambatonakanga and Amparibe, in 
 the same neighbourhood, were, when I visited them, equally 
 crowded ; and the assemblies gathered appeared to experience 
 the same hallowed and joyful feelings. 
 
 While I was conversing with some of the preachers, a man 
 whose child had recently died came to say he wished to have it 
 buried on that day. The preachers asked me what they should 
 do. I said it was not wrong to bury the dead on Sunday, if 
 there was necessity for it, but it was not right to select the Lord's 
 day for funerals, and to delay interments until that day if it could 
 be avoided. 
 
 The engagements of my first Sabbath at the capital of 
 Madagascar had deeply affected my own mind, confirming my 
 belief that the work of the Divine Spirit was manifest in the 
 gladdening sights which I had witnessed, and justifying my 
 confidence that the accounts which the Christians had given of 
 the changes amongst the people were not without foundation ; 
 while I felt also that prayer for Madagascar had not been 
 offered in vain. There were many who, from what I knew of 
 their past sufferings and blameless Christian lives, and from 
 what I now saw of their humble, joyful feelings, I could not but
 
 4G MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. n. 
 
 regard as sincere disciples of Christ, but who still needed kind, 
 gentle guidance, and watchful care to nurture and strengthen 
 within them the principles of Christian life ; while perhaps the 
 greater portion of them had still but faint glimpses of Christian 
 truth and imperfect views of Christian duty. 
 
 On the following day, the king's secretary and two or three 
 other young officers came to read with me, in order to improve 
 their knowledge and pronunciation of English. Applications 
 came also from several officers and nobles of the highest rank 
 asking me to teach their sons English, in consequence of which 
 I consented to appropriate two hours daily to this duty. The 
 sister of the prime minister directed her messenger to ask what 
 she was to pay for the instruction of her sons. I replied that 
 I was glad she wished to have them taught ; that I did not come 
 to Madagascar to obtain money, but to help them to become 
 intelligent and prosperous in this life, and to seek for happiness 
 in the life to come. 
 
 Before the week was over, I had a class of twelve young men 
 and boys, who, so far as earnestness and attention were concerned, 
 made a good beginning. To this number the queen added a 
 motherless little boy, son of the daughter of the first Radama's 
 sister, whom she had adopted, and two other children of whom 
 she was the guardian. 
 
 Intercourse with foreigners had long convinced the most in- 
 telligent among the people of the great value of a knowledge of 
 reading and writing, which the efforts of the earlier English 
 missionaries had clearly demonstrated their ability to attain ; 
 while the manner in which the new sovereign had opened the 
 country to people of other nations, made them feel that a know- 
 ledge of other languages besides their own would now be more 
 frequently required. They regretted that the unreasoning 
 hostility to Christianity which marked the last reign had, by 
 shutting up the schools, driving away the teachers, and pro- 
 hibiting the admission of books into the country, deprived them 
 of all means of improvement ; and they eagerly availed them-
 
 CHAP. ii. MALAGASY HOSPITALITY. 47 
 
 selves of my arrival to seek for their sons, some of them already 
 young men, that knowledge of which they themselves felt so 
 much need. More than one of the highest officers in the 
 government told me, that during the greater part of the reign 
 of the late queen they had never seen a book, and they expressed 
 their earnest desire that they also could become my pupils. The 
 king also, when he heard that I was teaching the sons of the 
 nobles, expressed his wish that I would visit him as often as I 
 could for an hour, to converse with him and hear him read 
 English, which he had been for some time attempting to learn. 
 On the same day I visited him after I had dismissed my class, 
 spent an hour in conversation and hearing him read, and then 
 accompanied him to his school, where a number of workmen 
 were still employed finishing some parts of the interior. 
 
 The nobles at the capital had kindly welcomed me by presents 
 and friendly messages, and Rainandriantsilavo, the father of the 
 unconquered chief, a noble of the highest class, little more than 
 five- or six-and-twenty years of age, and at that time the only 
 Christian noble connected with the government, was among the 
 first to invite me to his table. On the day appointed for my 
 visit, he sent Ratsimibara, A.D.C. to the chief minister, and an 
 officer who speaks English, to conduct me to his residence, which 
 stands within an enclosure on the western side of the road just 
 outside the palace gate. My host, accompanied by two young 
 chiefs whom I had also previously known, received me kindly 
 as I entered, and I soon found myself amongst a pleasant com- 
 pany of former friends, who had many inquiries to make, and 
 much to tell respecting the changes which had occurred since 
 we had last seen each other. 
 
 The dinner was good and well served. Wine was provided, 
 but only water, the general beverage of the Malagasy, was used, 
 and the dessert included some of the best oranges I had ever 
 tasted. Tea and coffee were brought in the course of the evening. 
 The company was Christian, or was considered to be such, and 
 nothing had before exhibited to me, more hopefully for the
 
 48 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. n. 
 
 future, the extent of the change which had taken place since 
 my former visit, than the perfect absence of all reserve or hesi- 
 tation among those around me in conversation on religious 
 subjects. The goodness of God was regarded as manifested in 
 the accession of Radamato the throne, by which, it was observed, 
 that God had opened Madagascar to admit the light of the 
 Bible, and was, as remarked by more than one, opening the 
 minds of the people to receive the light. Our host said the late 
 queen had made him keeper of one of the principal national 
 idols, because the office had belonged to his family, and the idol's 
 house was within the same enclosure as his own residence ; that 
 he had nominally held the office, but had not been required 
 personally to render any service, and had not volunteered any, 
 as he had ceased to believe in the idols before he believed in 
 the Bible. Many remarks were made about the satisfaction of 
 the people generally, in the capital and its vicinity, on being- 
 allowed to rear swine, which they had formerly been forbidden 
 to do, because these animals, as well as garlic and some other 
 common things, were offensive to the idols, and supposed to be 
 polluting to the city. Some amusement seemed to be produced 
 among the younger portion of the company by reported instances 
 of the zest with which some of the former opponents to the 
 admission of pigs seemed now to enjoy a dinner of roast 
 pork. 
 
 I was much gratified by the intelligence and desire after 
 knowledge manifested by our host. He expressed himself 
 pleased that his son was one of my pupils. His modesty, gen- 
 tleness, and self-possession, his address and bearing altogether, 
 with the accounts I had heard of his personal religion, led me 
 to regard him as a valuable member of the Christian com- 
 munity, and much of our conversation related to the influence 
 of Christianity on the future of Madagascar. 
 
 One of the native preachers present told me that our host 
 had often shown kindness to the Christians when in concealment 
 and exile, and had sometimes aided in preserving their lives ;
 
 CHAP. ii. VISIT TO THE COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. 4!) 
 
 that when, on the king's accession, they returned from banish- 
 ment, he gave them clothing, and even mourning, in order that 
 they might not appear singular at that season, and had in all 
 times of trouble proved a sincere friend to them. 
 
 Two books, an English and a Malagasy New Testament lay 
 on the table during the evening, and about nine o'clock we held 
 evening family worship in the dining room, soon after which I 
 retired. As I passed through the court-yard I could not but 
 reflect on the contrast which that evening presented to the 
 many gatherings which had probably taken place within the 
 same walls when the house was an idol-keeper's dwelling. 
 
 After dismissing my school, on the following day, I went by 
 appointment to visit the commander- in-chief. At the top of a 
 flight of stone steps, an arched gateway led across a wide court- 
 yard to his dwelling, where I found him in a well and tastefully 
 furnished room, with four of my pupils, his sons and nephews. 
 He inquired about the opinion in England respecting the late 
 changes in Madagascar, and hoped they would encourage more 
 frequent intercourse, as well as confidence and friendship, ex- 
 pressing his hopes that Madagascar would be admitted to friendly 
 relations with other civilised countries. He asked what were the 
 objects of English Christians in again sending missionaries 
 to this country. I said their object was neither political nor 
 commercial, for the missionaries were not allowed to trade, and 
 the English did not want the country ; that we came to assist 
 in the enlightenment of the people by education, and the 
 extension of Christianity amongst them ; that we only sought 
 permission to occupy so much land as was needful for our 
 dwellings, so long as we might remain, and then for the land to 
 revert to its original owners ; that we did not ask that the 
 schools and buildings which might be erected for religious 
 worship should belong to ourselves or the Christians in England, 
 who had sent us, but be secured in perpetuity, or as long as 
 needed, to the Malagasy Christians, who might be associated 
 with us in fellowship and worship. I added, that though religious
 
 50 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. II. 
 
 teaching was the chief work of the missionaries, they also con- 
 ferred other benefits on the countries in which they resided, as 
 he himself knew by what had been done by the former mis- 
 sionaries in Madagascar. But I added that a physician and a 
 printer were among those coming out. He said there was 
 abundant evidence of the benefits the country had received in 
 the useful arts the missionaries had taught. He then expressed 
 his regret at the increase of intemperance among the people, 
 and his desire that means might be used to check its progress. 
 Before I left he thanked me for the instruction I was giving to 
 his sons, and on this occasion it was that he remarked that 
 during the whole time he held office under the late queen, he 
 had never had the opportunity of looking into a book, and 
 wished it were possible for him to learn now. 
 
 A few days after this interview, I dined and spent the evening 
 with Rainimaharavo (the father of causing delight). He is one 
 of the high nobles, the first officer of the palace, and is now 
 chief secretary of state, as well as chief or head of the guardians 
 of the idols, though he sometimes says his connection with them 
 is official rather than personal. I had met him frequently 
 during my former visit, as he was one of the partizans of the 
 prince. He is a man of middle age, active habits, strong- 
 impulses, and considerable force of character. He does not 
 manifest much enthusiasm in the cause of the idols, and, 
 though not a Christian, is friendly to those who are, and has 
 occasionally rendered aid in furtherance of their objects. Two 
 of the preachers were on this occasion amongst the com- 
 pany at his house. His sons were among my first pupils, one 
 of them bidding fair to excel. He talked a good deal about the 
 approaching coronation of Radama and the Queen, which at 
 present occupies the thoughts of the people of Antananarivo, 
 and made many inquiries about the pageant and general pro- 
 ceedings of a coronation in England. 
 
 I left about eight o'clock, gratified by the frank and friendly 
 bearing of my host, who, amongst other encouraging assurances,
 
 CHAP. II. THE BURIAL-GROUND OF FOREIGNERS. 51 
 
 declared that he was desirous of promoting education, and what- 
 ever might tend to the welfare of the people. 
 
 As the king, in compliance with my application, had given the 
 places provided by the first Radatna to the earlier missionaries 
 for the residence and use of those now expected, I went, in com- 
 pany with two of the leaders of the Christians, to inspect them. 
 The first place, which had included the dwelling-house, school- 
 room, and chapel of Mr. Griffiths, I found, though contracted in 
 dimensions, admirably situated in the principal thoroughfare, in 
 a healthy populous part of the city. The site of the printing- 
 office and the school repository was in every respect a still more 
 valuable place. The house and premises occupied by Mr. Johns, 
 another of the missionaries, were small but healthy, and the 
 house and grounds of Mr. Freeman larger than any missionary 
 family could require or conveniently occupy. All were at the 
 northern end and suburb of the capital, and had been sufficient 
 when the labours of the mission were confined to that end of 
 Antananarivo, but inadequate to the wants of the present time, 
 when the whole city is inviting missionary effort. 
 
 The king and the owners sent two officers, with an official 
 appraiser, to determine the value of the buildings and fences 
 which the present occupants had put up on the premises, and 
 which, as soon as it was presented, I paid for, and took charge 
 of the buildings, &c., until the missionaries should arrive. 
 
 Before returning, I visited the burial-ground of foreigners, 
 situated not far from the place I had last left. The iron fence 
 had fallen out of repair : the whole place was overgrown with 
 weeds and brushwood. The stones over some of the graves 
 were broken, others had been removed. This, it was reported, 
 had been done by the late queen after the last attack of the 
 English and French on Tamatave. The fence has since been 
 repaired and the ground put in order. This spot is the last 
 resting-place of a French trader, of Mr. Hastie, the first British 
 resident at the court of Radama, of Rev. D. Tyreman, the 
 Deputy of the London Missionary Society, who here closed a long 
 
 E 2
 
 52 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. n. 
 
 visit of inspection to the Society's stations in the South Seas 
 and India, in the year 1828, and of Messrs. Hovenden, Brooks, 
 and Rolands, missionaries, as well as of several of the mis- 
 sionary children, and, now more recently, of Mr. Stagg, a mem- 
 ber of the present mission. 
 
 There were other places and scenes of deep interest which 
 engaged my attention, and which, for reasons already stated, 
 I had no opportunity of closely inspecting during the time of 
 my first visit to the capital. In the early part of one 
 memorable day I had visited the upper portion of the rock at 
 Am-pa-ma-ri-na-na, the place of public execution, on the western 
 side of the city, where, in 1849, fourteen Christian men and 
 women had been hurled over the edge of the precipice on account 
 of their faith. This Tarpeian rock of Antananarivo * is a preci- 
 pitous part of the western side of the massive hill of granite 
 on which the city is built. The uneven ground stretching 
 eastward of this pile of rock is covered with houses. A narrow 
 path runs north and south along the western edge,f which for 
 above two yards from the outer extremity of the path is bevelled 
 or rounded off, forming a sort of projecting curve. From this 
 the rock bends inwards for a depth of about fifty feet, where 
 it rests upon a lower stratum. This, which projects still further 
 out, is then bevelled or rounded off, curving slightly inwards 
 for a second depth of about fifty feet. Below this, broken 
 masses of rock are heaped up for about the same depth ; so 
 that, viewed in profile, the precipice exhibits two successive 
 rounded ledges of rock, with a mass of broken fragments of 
 stone at the base, the whole at least a hundred and fifty or 
 
 * It was a place appropriated specially to the punishment of sorcerers. 
 
 f Immediately opposite the spot from which the martyrs were thrown, and 
 at a short distance to the eastward of this path, a temporary building has been 
 erected, where a respectable body of Christians, in great part residents in the 
 neighbourhood, meet regularly for worship, under the care of Mr. Briggs. 
 They have their schools also ; are exerting a good influence on the surrounding 
 population, and will occupy the memorial church which it is proposed to raise 
 on the spot.
 
 CHAP. ii. THE TARPEIAN ROCK OF ANTANANARIVO. 53 
 
 sixty feet below the upper edge. The upper part of the rocky 
 ledge is now overgrown with vegetation, principally with the 
 prickly pear Opuntia Ficus indica which grows most luxu- 
 riantly in the neighbourhood ; but at the time when the preci- 
 pice was used as a place of execution, the rock was said to have 
 been destitute of all vegetation. 
 
 When I left the king in the afternoon, I had intimated my 
 wish to see the lower portion of the rock, and as the path was 
 difficult, he kindly sent his palanquin and bearers with me. I 
 was, however, soon obliged to alight, on account of the steepness 
 of the descent and the slippery nature of the face of the rock 
 over which we had to pass. On reaching the ground below, I 
 was struck with the appalling aspect of the place. Large 
 blocks and rugged fragments of granite of different sizes lay con- 
 fusedly heaped up at the base of the precipice, and must have 
 fearfully broken and mangled the bodies falling from the upper 
 edge. A cluster of peach trees, about twenty feet high, were 
 growing a few yards further to the west, and my companions 
 remarked that when the victims came straight down from the 
 second ledge they fell among the broken stones, but that if 
 they bounded from the ledge they struck the trees and fell 
 amongst them, adding that they were generally killed by the fall. 
 
 An involuntary shudder passed over me as I looked up from 
 ledge to ledge, or gazed on the jagged and pointed fragments 
 of granite lying at the foot of the precipice, but it appeared to 
 me more fearfully appalling to look down from the upper edge 
 than from the rocks below. The victims, it is true, could not 
 see any part of the rock beyond the slanting edge on which 
 they stood; but they knew the projections against which they 
 must strike, and the bed on which they would fall. And this 
 was the place at which, on the 23rd of March, 1849, fourteen 
 men and women were hurled clown the rock of death, their 
 only crime being their refusal to abjure the name of Christ, 
 and to swear by the idols of the country. 
 
 On that deeply blood-stained day, when the people were
 
 64 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. n. 
 
 gathering to witness the revolting spectacle, one of the high 
 officers of the palace, as he told me in conversation afterwards, 
 said to his companions, " Let us go and see how these Christians 
 behave. They are said not to be afraid to die." And when I 
 asked what effect the executions produced on his mind, he said 
 he could not describe it. " We were near," he said, " and saw 
 all that took place. But the Christians were not afraid, and 
 did not recant." 
 
 Few, if any, of the strange and deeply-moving spectacles 
 which Antananarivo has exhibited would be likely to produce 
 a more profound impression upon all classes than those which 
 that day presented. Fourteen men and women of mature in- 
 tellect, of different rank, and varying in age from twenty years to 
 sixty, including brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, parents 
 and children, had been seized and brought from different parts 
 of the country, had been condemned, and were now led one by 
 one to the narrow edge of this rock of death or life, as they 
 should prove true or false. As they stood on that perilous 
 height, they were promised life if they would by an oath 
 acknowledge the false gods of Madagascar ; but to refuse was 
 to be hurled over that fearful verge, and dashed on the rocks 
 below. To this dread proposal no tongue faltered in its answer. 
 It was not that life was not sweet ; that the world was not a 
 grand, and beautiful world ; that the grain waving in their fields 
 and the cattle grazing on their plains were not treasures to be 
 prized. It was not that the home affections were unknown in 
 their dwellings, for they belonged not to the impoverished or 
 the low-animalised portions of the community, but to the intel- 
 ligent, and most of them to the class who are well-to-do in 
 the world. The Bible taught them that "the earth is the 
 Lord's, and the fulness thereof," and had inculcated peace and 
 love within their dwellings. It was to yield up all that was 
 dear in this world, rather than deny Christ. 
 
 Silently the sacred procession approached, one after another, 
 the last standing-place in this world for them, and with quiet,
 
 CHAP. ii. THE MARTYRS' TRIUMPH IN DEATH. 55 
 
 humble, divinely-sustained love and trust, they yielded up their 
 lives to Christ their Saviour. The conduct of two of these 
 devoted Christians appears to have left in the minds of the 
 survivors an indelible impression. One, a young, and, according 
 to all testimony, a beautiful woman, whose nearest earthly 
 relative was often my fellow-traveller, and with other members 
 of whose family I had often much Christian intercourse, was so 
 placed as to see the destruction of all her companions, in the 
 hope of terrifying her, so as to induce her to recant. To this 
 she was earnestly persuaded then and there by the officer above 
 alluded to, as he himself informed me, and by her own father. In 
 that trying moment she recommended with affectionate earnest- 
 ness to her father the Lord Jesus Christ her Saviour. But still 
 remaining constant in her faith, she was then struck on the 
 face by one of the executioners, and sent away as an idiot. 
 
 The other, an intelligent and respected man, about fifty years 
 of age, a man loved, honoured, and trusted by the Christians 
 as a chosen leader and faithful friend, esteemed also by the 
 heathen government for his ability and general character, was 
 brought to the fatal edge of the precipice blindfold, as the 
 others had been until they reached the spot. He had refused to 
 take the oath on which present life and earthly honour depended, 
 but asked that the matting bandaged round his head and face 
 might for a few moments be removed. When this was done, 
 he looked down and around, and with clear and steady gaze 
 surveyed the scene below and before him. Perhaps he saw the 
 rainbow which at that hour spanned the arch of heaven. He 
 then paused, as if in prayer, and afterwards turning to the execu- 
 tioner, said, " It is done." Then, as they again bound on the 
 matting, he commenced singing a Christian hymn, the strains 
 of which were heard by the surrounding throng as he was 
 forced over the precipice to be broken on the rocks below. 
 We do not wonder that, according to their own description, 
 astonishment and awe filled the minds of many of the spectators. 
 
 But these were only part of the fearful transactions of that
 
 56 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. 11. 
 
 memorable day. The martyrs' rock is near the centre of the 
 west side of Antananarivo. At the north end of the city, a 
 mile and a-half or two miles distant, is Fa-ra-vo-hi-tra (last 
 village), occupying the summit of the hill which rises above 
 An-ala-ke-ly (the little wood). Here, on that same day of 
 cruelty and death, four Christian nobles were burned alive for 
 their fidelity to Christ. The circumstances attending their 
 aer'Y.have been already narrated, but it may now be stated 
 that the J.ad and mangled bodies A' the other fourteen 
 Christians killed at the precipice were dragged along the 
 ground to Faravohitra, where the ^our living and the fourteen 
 dead were consumed in one vast pile, which extended over a 
 large space of ground along the western side of the extreme 
 crest of the hill. 
 
 The soldiers, under arms, surrounded the place of execution. 
 The excited and exulting heathen rejoiced in the death of the 
 Christians. Reflecting and wondering spectators queried why 
 such suffering was inflicted, and whence the patience it was 
 borne with came. The faithful Christian few who ventured to 
 approach the place, sought unperceived or unrecognised to 
 witness the last moments v ' their departing friends, and to 
 give, if possible, some token of sympathy and love, while the 
 broad column of flame and smoke from the burning pile, 
 ascending up to heaven, announced to Antananarivo and its 
 suburbs, as well as to the " thousand towns " which, according 
 to the language of hyberbole so pleasant to the Hovas, sur- 
 round their central mountain city, that the fearful work of 
 violence and death was completed.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Visit of M. Lambert and Madame Pfieffer to Madagascar Failure of ^"ojilt to 
 change the Government Departure of the French from Madagascar 
 Last Persecution Flight and pursuit of the Chris ,ns Kindness of the 
 heathen towards the fugitives ^srsing to death of the condemned The 
 field of slaughter The niglr^ after the execution Search for their re- 
 mains Means of identification Importance attached to funeral obsequies 
 Banishment in fetters Barbarous severity of the punishment Auto- 
 biography of one of the martyrs He makes violins, assists in building 
 the palace, makes a fire-engine, is loaded with irons, seeks and distributes 
 medicine to the sick The last impeachment of the Christians fatal to their 
 accuser Recall of the exiles, and removal of their fetters. 
 
 WITHIN a year after my departure from the country in 1856, 
 a storm of persecution as fierce and sanguinary as any which 
 they had suffered burst upon the Christians at Madagascar. A 
 plan devised by some foreigners, then at the capital, to set 
 aside the queen, and place the p. Jice upon the throne, coming 
 to the knowledge of the government about the time when this 
 persecution commenced, naturally irritated the queen and in- 
 creased her hostility against the Christians. 
 
 Twelve months before my visit in 1856, M. Lambert, a 
 French trader, or planter, from Mauritius, visited Antananarivo, 
 expressed much sympathy with the Christians, and gave them 
 some relief. He also, with M. Laborde, a Frenchman long 
 resident in the country, entered into a kind of agreement with 
 the prince, to attempt the change above adverted to. In 
 furtherance of this object, M. Lambert had visited France and 
 England, proposing to their respective governments to send out 
 troops to effect this change in the sovereignty of Madagascar. 
 His proposal, however, had been refused, and he had been 
 recommended to seek the improvement of the country by
 
 58 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. in. 
 
 extending commercial intercourse, rather than by attempting a 
 revolution. 
 
 Early in 1857, M. Lambert returned to Antananarivo, accom- 
 panied by Madame Ida Pfieffer, whom he had met at the Cape 
 of Good Hope. They were received in a most friendly manner 
 by the government, and although the attempt to obtain force 
 from France or England had failed, Messrs. Laborde and Lam- 
 bert, in association with the prince, and relying on some of the 
 officers and troops said to be favourable to their object, deter- 
 mined to attempt its accomplishment. It was proposed to 
 seize the palace by a sort of coup d'etat, arouse the city by the 
 firing of cannon, proclaim the prince king, and force the queen 
 to retire, retaining her titles, her liberty, and the undisturbed 
 possession of all her property. 
 
 Before any opportunity occurred for executing this plan, the 
 prince withdrew, and endeavoured to persuade the Frenchmen 
 to relinquish the attempt. But they appear to have thought 
 they might still succeed. At length, a month or so after their 
 first movement in this business, the queen having heard of the 
 proceedings of the French, returned all the presents which M. 
 Lambert had brought out, and sent officers with her orders, 
 declaring that in consequence of their treasonable attempts to 
 change the government, and their having encouraged the 
 Christians, &c., M. Lambert, M. Laborde, and other French 
 gentlemen, the priests, and Madame Pfieffer, were to leave the 
 capital forthwith, under an escort to Tamatave, and were to 
 depart from the country by the first ship. They set out the 
 next morning, but were more than fifty days on the journey, 
 and suffered from the fever, which was probably intended to be 
 part of their punishment. 
 
 More than a month before the sentence of expulsion was 
 pronounced against the French, a traitor among the Christians 
 accused a number of them of being Christians, and practising 
 Christian worship.* His name, which he has since changed, was 
 
 * The coincidence in point of time between the commencement of the
 
 CHAP. in. THE LAST PERSECUTION OF THE CHRISTIANS. 59 
 
 then Ratsimandisa. He had been educated by the former 
 missionaries, and had associated with the Christians, though I 
 never heard that he had suffered in any of their persecutions. 
 He wrote out a list of the names of the principal Christians in 
 the capital, and gave it to one of the officers to deliver to the 
 queen. The officer, before delivering the paper to the queen, 
 took it to the prince, who instantly destroyed it. The queen 
 was nevertheless soon informed that there were a number of 
 Christians in the capital, and on the 3rd of July, 1857, a 
 kabary was delivered, requiring all who had been guilty of any 
 act of Christian worship to come and accuse themselves, as in 
 such case the punishment might be diminished. Few, if any, 
 did so ; a number fled, and the soldiers and others were sent to 
 scour the country in all directions in search of the Christians, 
 whom they were ordered to seize and bring bound to Antananarivo. 
 All parties testify to the unremitted endeavours of the prince 
 and the commander-in-chief to intercept accusations against the 
 Christians, and prevent the capture of the fugitives. They said 
 that the Christians, if neai', fled to the house of the prince, and 
 that when, breathless and palpitating with fear, and ready 
 to sink with exhaustion, they reached his door, he welcomed 
 and encouraged them, saying, " Don't be afraid ; take courage ; 
 God will protect you ; conceal yourselves as well as you can ; " 
 and that if he could not give them shelter, he would tell them 
 where they perhaps might find it, endeavouring, if opportunity 
 
 movement for dethroning the queen, and the accusation of the Christians, as 
 well as the charge against the French of having held intercourse with the 
 Christians, and encouraged them to adhere to their faith, led me to inquire, 
 not so much among the Christians as among others, some who had themselves 
 not been unacquainted with the proceedings, whether the Christians had been 
 implicated, or had taken any part in the movement ; and the result of my 
 inquiries was, that some might have heard or known something about it, but 
 that none took any part, and that the great body of them knew nothing at all 
 about it. It is not mentioned in any accounts I have seen or heard of, as the 
 charge on which they were apprehended, or the offence for which they suf- 
 fered : it was for engaging in Christian worship contrary to the express pro- 
 hibition of the queen.
 
 60 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. in. 
 
 offered, to send their pursuers in the contrary direction, that 
 the Christians might escape. 
 
 A large number, notwithstanding, were apprehended, some in 
 the capital, but the greater part among the villages, at their 
 own residences, or in other places where they had sought con- 
 cealment. They were charged with being Christians, and with 
 offering Christian prayer. In an affecting account furnished to 
 me by the brother of one of them an active, intelligent, and 
 enterprising man, in good worldly circumstances it is stated, 
 that when the officer found his retreat, a cavern in the side of 
 a rocky mountain, not far from his dwelling, and told him he 
 must take him as a prisoner, this Christian said, " What have I 
 done ? I am not a murderer, nor a traitor ; I have wronged no 
 one." The officer replied, " No ; it is not for that, but for pray- 
 ing that I must take you." To this the Christian replied, " If 
 that is the impeachment, it is true : I have done that. I do 
 not refuse to go with you." 
 
 Similar charges were preferred against all who were de- 
 nounced to the government, and no one, so far as I heard, when 
 so accused, denied the charge. I was not able to learn the 
 exact number arrested and condemned to different penalties, 
 but they exceeded two hundred, and most of the punishments 
 were extreme. Fourteen were stoned to death at one place, 
 and others afterwards. Fifty-seven were banished in fetters, of 
 whom more than half died. The Tangena, or poison, was adminis- 
 tered to about fifty, of whom eight died. Sixteen amongst the 
 large number reduced to slavery were redeemed at high prices; 
 and six devoted leading men among the Christians who were 
 condemned to death, and had effected their escape, remained in 
 concealment until the accession of Kadama, a period of four 
 years and six months.* 
 
 * The inhabitants of the places to which the Christians fled sometimes con- 
 nived at their presence, and ministered to their wants, though at great peril 
 to themselves. In 18,")G, I visited by night one of these men and his family, 
 then in concealment on account of his faith, in a village about eighteen miles 
 from the capital. It was dilapidated, and almost deserted, difficult of access,
 
 CHAP. in. THE STONING OF THE MARTYRS. 61 
 
 This persecution was the most severe and fatal which had 
 yet fallen on the infant Church in Madagascar. Those who 
 were stoned to death suffered at a rocky place called Fiadana, 
 to the west of the south end of the city, and about a mile and a 
 half from the martyrs' precipice and from Ambohipotsy. When 
 the fourteen were taken in broad noonday to the place of 
 execution, Andriamanantena, the honoured Christian leader, 
 whose arrest in the cavetn I have already mentioned, offered 
 unto God in those last moments, and before the assembled 
 multitude, a brief but solemn prayer, imploring mercy for their 
 queen and their country, and committing their spirits in love 
 and trust to the hands of their Almighty Saviour. The victims 
 were then bound to the stakes, and the crowds who had been 
 summoned to the scene gathered round to witness or take part 
 in the stoning, the most revolting, barbarous, and brutalising 
 of all the modes of taking away life. Most of the sufferers soon 
 obtained relief in death, but some, after being apparently dead, 
 revived, and were again battered with stones, or mercifully 
 decapitated ; the heads being afterwards fixed on poles. 
 
 My heart sickens even now at the remembrance of the 
 hardening and demoralising exhibition presented to the people 
 on the sanguinary day of the stoning to death, as related to me 
 by some of my own servants and others who were spectators, 
 though not Christians then. There were, however, among the 
 crowd some whom affection and sympathy had drawn into 
 fearful proximity with the penalty to which their faith exposed 
 
 and the paths within were so intricate and narrow, that it was scarcely pos- 
 sible to pass from one part to another. I was pleased with the uncomplaining 
 trust in the care of their Heavenly Father which these Christians expressed. 
 They said they sometimes wanted food, but not often. They did not beg of 
 me, though there was evidence enough that they were not strangers to want. 
 They did, however, ask for my New Testament, which I cheerfully left with 
 them ; and while I was gratified by their apparent cheerful reliance on Divine 
 care, what I heard of the dangers of some, and the sufferings of others, to- 
 gether with the evidence I had of the privation, and constant liability to 
 surprise, with the consequent apprehension of torture or death, did not allow 
 me to doubt the strength of their convictions, or tho sincerity of their faith.
 
 G2 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. in. 
 
 them. These men marked the exact spots were friends and 
 loved ones were bound, battered, and fell ; and when night and 
 darkness covered the scene, and while hungry dogs held carnival 
 there, they stole in silence, equipped with heavy clubs, or 
 poles, and carrying large matting sacks, to the bloody field, 
 groped among the slain for the bodies, but especially the heads, 
 of their friends. Driving away the dogs from their prey, they 
 put the bodies into the sacks which, they had brought, bore 
 them away to the nearest Christian dwelling, and then hastened 
 back to recover more of the mortal remains of those who had 
 that day fallen, in love, and trust, and loyalty to Christ. 
 
 Towards the eastern end of that same plain was a lowly 
 Christian dwelling. It stood in a garden overgrown with shel- 
 tering trees, surrounded by a wall within a small and narrow 
 ditch or fosse, over which on~ the east side was a single plank, 
 leading to the one narrow stone-built gateway. Within this 
 only entrance was a thin circular granite slab, which, when 
 rolled against the aperture, and fixed by upright stones within, 
 formed a door which could not be forced from without, but 
 which, when pushed aside within admitted free passage either 
 way. The crowds drawn to Fiadana to witness, as a holiday 
 spectacle, the executions, had returned to their homes. The 
 excitement of the scene had somewhat subsided, but there were 
 deep ponderings in many hearts. The thousand lights which 
 illuminate the evening meal of the Tananarivoan households had 
 gleamed along the sides of the city-covered hill, and the booming 
 of the evening gun had afterwards collected the inhabitants 
 within their respective dwellings, and closed all doors and extin- 
 guished all lights in that city of a thousand towns. But in 
 that lowly hidden Christian dwelling a dim lamp still glim- 
 mered, and two Christian females sate in silent sorrow or in 
 voiceless prayer on its matted floor. One in middle life, the 
 wife of a strong-built man who had gone forth to battle for the 
 bodies of his friends, the other no common woman, approaching 
 now the evening of her days that morning the wife, now the
 
 PORTRAITS OF NATIVE CHRISTIANS. 
 
 Martyr-* Widow, who identified the remains. Christians who .caix-hrd for tl-.e IMK!K- S of the Martv,
 
 CHAP. in. THE NIGHT AFTER THE EXECUTIONS. 63 
 
 widow of the heroic man who, when accused of worshipping 
 the Saviour, admitted the act without equivocation, accepting 
 the consequences, and who spent his last breath in praying for 
 those who had decreed his destruction. 
 
 No soothing voice of human sympathy broke the solitude of 
 that lonely hour as these two women sate listening for the sounds 
 of coming footsteps, and for the concerted signal to roll the 
 stone from the door, and admit the welcome burden which 
 husband and friend had gone forth to seek the bruised and 
 mangled bodies of those by whom the rod of the oppressor would 
 be felt no more, and who had that day sealed their testimony 
 for Christ with their blood. The precious remains when found 
 were brought and laid on the matted floor, and the bearers hur- 
 ried back to seek for more, while darkness favoured their work 
 of love. The heroic women received with reverence the man- 
 gled body, or the severed head, washed the marred visage, and 
 then carefully placed the mutilated remains on clean matting, 
 covering them over with rush or leaf-woven cloth, until they 
 could be taken by their friends, and at last find a resting-place 
 among the graves of their ancestors.* 
 
 The remains of others dear to survivors were also likewise 
 sought, obtained, and decently buried. f Most of the sufferers 
 
 * The accompanying- plate contains the portraits of the widow of Andria- 
 manantena, and the husband of the female friend associated with her in identi- 
 fying the heads or bodies of the slain, and one of the Christians who brought 
 away the remains in matting sacks. 
 
 t Great importance is attached to funeral obsequies by all classes in Mada- 
 gascar, not only on account of that instinct common to all mankind, which 
 extends affection beyond the grave, and finds satisfaction in prolonging its 
 exercise to the latest possible period ; but in consequence also of their own 
 peculiar superstitions, which lead them to believe, as more ancient nations 
 have done, that their performance of the rites of sepulture in this world affects 
 the condition of the departed in the next ; that the spirits of those who have 
 died are in a state of unrest until funeral dues are discharged, and that the 
 departed spirits will visit and distress the survivors by whom these rites are 
 neglected. Thus, the dread of penal death is increased by the law forbidding 
 the rites of sepulture to all on whom death is inflicted as a punishment. In 
 general, the bodies of such are, in Madagascar, left on the ground to be de-
 
 C4 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. m. 
 
 were men above the ordinary class of their countrymen, not in 
 rank, possessions, and authority, but in character, ability, and 
 influence. Their wives, with scarcely an exception, were 
 involved in the same condemnation, though their punishment 
 was different. Some were sentenced to drink the tangena, 
 an ordeal of poison, but the greater number to be loaded with 
 fetters. Sixteen were so bound on the day after the executions 
 at Fiadana. Fifty more, at least, were so punished. 
 
 I brought home with me some of the fetters fixed on the 
 bodies of the Christians at this time. The ring round the neck 
 is composed of a rugged piece of iron, six inches in diameter, 
 passed through an aperture at the end of a heavy bar of iron, 
 nearly three feet long. The ring was bent round the neck of 
 the Christian, and fastened by a large rivet. Two other rings, 
 somewhat less ponderous, were fixed in the same way, one on 
 each ankle, the weight of the whole being more than fifty-six 
 pounds.* 
 
 Loaded with these fetters, the Christians were sent away to 
 
 voured by dogs and birds of prey. The interment 6f the body of a criminal is 
 exceptional, and it is regarded as an act of clemency on the part of the go- 
 vernment towards the survivors to allow them to remove and to inter the 
 corpse of a malefactor. 
 
 * These irons are fixed by the government smiths, who lay the prisoner on 
 the ground, take the bar of iron, bent into the shape of a ring so far as to 
 allow the neck to be slipped in between the ends of the ring, or they pass the 
 unclosed ring over the head, then bend the ends together on a low anvil placed 
 on the ground, until the ends overlap each other, and can be fixed by the rivet. 
 The process is often tedious work with their tools, and must be attended with 
 great pain. Judgment in this case is certainly not tempered with mercy, or 
 instead of bending a heavy bar of iron, by hammering it together on an anvil, 
 with a man's neck inside the ring they are forming, they would forge an iron 
 collar with a hinge on one side, even if they had a rivet instead of a lock on 
 the other. I never saw any irons fastened on, though many were sentenced 
 to wear them while I was at the capital: and I recollect distinctly hearing, for 
 two successive days, the ring and the clang of the hammers on the anvils 
 where, I was told, irons were being put on prisoners ; and one chief from the 
 west, I was told, when all he was_to wear had been fixed, earnestly begged the 
 officer on duty to grant that he might be put to death, so impossible did it 
 seem to him to endure the torture they occasioned.
 
 Drawn by Mrs. Ellis. 
 
 CONSOLATION TO A CHRISTIAN IN CHAINS. 
 
 Fetters Drawn from those in Mr. Ellis's possession.
 
 CHAP. in. THE FAMILY OF MARTYRS IN FETTERS. 65 
 
 distant parts of the country where the fever prevailed, in 
 order that the pains of the fever might be added to the torture 
 of their fetters, and that the gradual approach of death might 
 be rendered more physically agonising to themselves, and more 
 appallingly terrible to others. One party of them went to 
 Ambohibohazo, a hundred miles distant to the east ; another 
 party were sent to the north-east, to Ambatondrazaka, in the 
 country of the Antsianaka ; another to the west, on the borders 
 of the Sacalava country ; and some were sent to the south. 
 The irons were not put separately on each individual, but the 
 Christians were fettered together, like felon gangs of five, or 
 seven, or. more, and thus chained they were sent to distant 
 parts to die. The irons were never to be removed. When 
 death released a victim and many of them died before the 
 first twelve months were passed the soldiers in charge of them 
 ruthlessly cut off the head, and slipped the ring over the 
 neck of the corpse, and then cut off the feet, and slipped off 
 the ring from the ancles, leaving the corpse either to be 
 devoured by dogs and birds of * prey, or buried by some atten- 
 dant or friend. But this cutting off the head and feet was a 
 kindness, for sometimes, when one of them died, there was no 
 one to separate the dead from the living. 
 
 The ring which I brought home had been worn round the 
 neck of an eminent Christian. His father was a Christian, and 
 died in chains. Two of his sisters also were Christians, and 
 they died in a similar manner. His brother also wore such 
 fetters for four years, and through the mercy of God survived, 
 the only one out of a whole family of martyrs who lived through 
 the ordeal. I have seen some of these surviving sufferers, help- 
 less, emaciated, bedridden, with scars and wounds in their flesh, 
 but with peace, hope, joy, glory in their souls. I never heard 
 from them a single expression of vindictive feeling, or of any 
 wish for evil to come to those who had inflicted all this torture 
 upon them. They might have averted all this suffering in the 
 beginning, if they would have renounced the name of Jesus
 
 66 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. nr. 
 
 Christ, and they would have been clothed with honour, enriched 
 with gifts, and raised to distinction. At any period of their 
 sufferings, at any hour, they might, on these conditions, have 
 been instantly relieved ; but they refused relief at such a 
 price. They suffered on and on, month after month, and year 
 after year, until death brought them deliverance, " endur- 
 ing as seeing Him who is invisible," and "not accepting de- 
 liverance," that they might obtain a better and more glorious 
 resurrection. 
 
 I have many deeply interesting accounts of those who suffered 
 in this and in the earlier persecutions in Madagascar ; among 
 them an autobiography of one who was my daily and most 
 pleasant companion during my first visit to Antananarivo, and 
 who was one of the distinguished witnesses for Christ who 
 suffered in this last and severest ordeal. It was written, and 
 sent to me a very short time only two months before the 
 writer was arrested, condemned, and executed for his faith, and 
 before I received the record he left of the path along which he 
 travelled to his life's early close. I prized the record when it 
 came to hand, but its value was increased when I saw his. 
 name among those who had suffered at Fiadana ; and my 
 estimate of his exemplary character has not been diminished 
 by what I have heard of him during my last residence in 
 Madagascar. 
 
 The use of my camera was not only an occasional relief 
 to me amidst severer duties, but, as I had hoped, was the 
 means of enabling me to afford gratification to others in con- 
 nection with the progress of Christianity in Madagascar ; 
 and not the least valued treasure among my Malagasy photo- 
 graphs is the likeness of this amiable and beloved man, 
 whose portrait I was able to secure, as early as daylight per- 
 mitted, on the morning of the last day I spent at the capital, 
 in the year 1856. 
 
 My more intimate acquaintance with Rainitsontsoraka com- 
 menced at the above-mentioned period with the application for
 
 CHAP. m. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A CHRISTIAN MARTYR. 67 
 
 medical aid on behalf of an afflicted Christian chief,* who was 
 brought to my house every morning in his palanquin to receive 
 such attention as I could give. He was accompanied by two 
 intelligent men, one Ratsimihara, an officer, who spoke English 
 tolerably well, and was connected with the chief, the other the 
 subject of this account. Both had obtained some little know- 
 ledge of the use of medicine from medical gentlemen who had 
 for a short time sojourned at the capital. These two Malagasy 
 attendants washed and dressed the wounds of the chief with 
 much gentleness and kindness, and the latter was inquisitive 
 and anxious to increase the little knowledge he had picked up 
 relative to the properties and use of the more common English 
 medicines. 
 
 Besides meeting with Rainitsontsoraka on these occasions at 
 my house in the daytime, he was frequently among the little 
 band who gathered in my inner room in the concealment of 
 night, and I could not but notice that he was treated with much 
 affection and esteem by his fellow Christians. I left with him 
 and his companion all the medicine I had, and at his own 
 earnest request I left also a medical book Thomas's Practice of 
 Phvsic. 
 
 */ 
 
 The subjoined reminiscences of Christian life in Madagascar 
 for the space of nearly forty years, which I have translated 
 almost verbatim, is evidently genuine, and is to me extremely 
 valuable, as showing the class of men among whom Christianity 
 has very largely prevailed. They are for the most part intelli- 
 gent, reflecting, ingenious, enterprising men. Their skill and 
 cleverness has often made the government anxious to spare them 
 in times of severe persecution. This record is valuable also as 
 showing the spirit and the manner in which suffering for Christ 
 has been endured. 
 
 The account was addressed to David Johns Andrianado, a 
 Malagasy Evangelist, employed by the London Missionary 
 
 * This chief, though a relation of one of the queen's ministers, was also 
 stoned to death at Fiadana. 
 
 F 2
 
 C8 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. m. 
 
 Society among his countrymen at Mauritius, and by him it 
 was forwarded to me. It is dated Antananarivo (about) 21st of 
 May, 1857.* 
 
 " These are the circumstances of us (two) brothers in the 
 country of Madagascar, in the work and service to which we 
 have been appointed, and the portion or lot we have borne in 
 the affliction (persecution) here. 
 
 " While we were children, we were left fatherless, and had to 
 work at making spades to obtain our food and clothing. In the 
 year 1834, we were cultivators of the soil (non-military) with 
 Ravelonarivo, and we became dekans (a sort of attendants or 
 dependants, but not slaves) of Rainimaharo, one of the minis- 
 ters of Ranavalo, in 1836. This was the first work we did for 
 the noble or chief, to tell to the queen we, the two brothers, 
 thought that we would make a foreign violin ; complete it in the 
 country ; and we made one. And when it was done, we showed 
 it to Rainimaharo, and he told the queen ; and there was a law 
 that (such a thing) was not to be made in the kingdom. And 
 when the queen saw that the violin had been completed, she 
 collected the officers, all above the eleventh honour, to tell them 
 that a violin made in their houses had been given to her ; and 
 she fined the servants that had made it. Each had to pay the 
 queen three dollars and a half (about fourteen shillings). And 
 the knowledge how to make them was counted part of our 
 service ;*f* and whatever work was required of us by the queen, 
 
 * It is difficult to reduce Malagasy to English time with precision, as the 
 Malagasy year consists of twelve months of twenty-eight days each, twenty- 
 eight additional days being divided among the twelve, and the calendar being 
 adjusted every year, so that the festival of the new year occurs at the time of 
 the new moon. 
 
 f This part of the narrative illustrates the theory, and the application of the 
 theory, of the Malagasy government that the sovereign is the absolute owner 
 of everything in the country. Thus the persons, property, time, labour, ac- 
 quirements and skill, of every one belongs to the sovereign, is to be employed 
 as the sovereign wills, and for his benefit, so -that whatever a man is, and has, 
 is government property, and its use fanompoana, or government service. 
 Every invention is government property, and subjects the inventor to a fine 
 if made contrary to law, and he would not be allowed to use it for his own
 
 CHAP. in. THE BUILDING OF THE QUEEN'S PALACE. 69 
 
 by the officers, or their friends, or for the kingdom, we did, and 
 sent our work to them. And we collected tools, and we two 
 brothers determined in our hearts to do with the utmost of our 
 ability and diligence whatever service or work might come to 
 us, and we prayed to God that such work might be accomplished 
 by us. 
 
 " In the year 1839, in the tenth month, Alakarabo, the queen 
 commenced building a house, and ordered Raniharo, commander- 
 in-chief (father of the late and present holder of that office), to 
 send the people to fetch branches of trees from the forest ; and 
 because there were not sufficient, to fetch in (branches) of the 
 trees planted in the gardens, and hedges, or fences, to make a 
 high pile (or stack) to raise up the head of the comer timbers 
 from the first to the last. And on the Tuesday, after one week, 
 when we were raising the post at the north-east corner, we 
 fastened the crane, and had raised the timber about two feet 
 above the ground, but the branches of the trees, tied up in 
 bundles, were pressed down, and the faggots did not bear it up,* 
 
 benefit without the government permission. Thus all skilled labourers, 
 smiths, carpenters, masons, even writers and others, are government servants, 
 and can only engage in their kind of work for themselves or others when the 
 government has nothing of the kind for them to do, and allows them to do 
 it. In this instance, the queen was not averse to music, nor displeased that 
 a violin had been made, but because there was a law that none should be made, 
 perhaps to secure the use of violins to the palace, the makers were first fined 
 for doing so, and then ordered to make them for the officers and members of 
 the royal family, as part of their service to the government. The royal pre- 
 rogative was sometimes exercised with a degree of caprice that was most 
 strange and cruel. On one occasion the silversmiths were ordered to make a 
 silver vase after an European pattern. When finished, the queen not being 
 pleased with it, ordered them to make another, and the workmen, profiting 
 by experience, produced a better vase, but, instead of being rewarded, they 
 were punished, because they had not made the first so well as she now saw 
 they could have done. 
 
 * It was the great palace, standing in the centre and highest part of the 
 capital, and visible twenty miles on every side, that the queen now began to 
 build. It would justly be considered a noble and wonderful building in any 
 country. As I shall have occasion to speak of it more at length hereafter, ifc 
 may be sufficient to remark, that the customs of their ancestors require the 
 Hovas to commence the building of a house by fixing, with many ceremonies,
 
 70 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. in. 
 
 and the crane and the lever did not act, and the handle slipped 
 or broke, and of those that raised it up eight men were wounded 
 and two were killed. 
 
 " And when the queen and the officers saw the dead, they were 
 (very hevitra) lost their thought or senses, on account of the 
 weight of the timber. Then we, by the favour of God, saw or 
 perceived an idea by which to accomplish this work of the 
 queen. First I made a model or pattern in wood of a crane, 
 with teeth to it, like the pointed iron teeth of a saw, to hold it 
 well, so that the lever should not slip, or give way. And at 
 four o'clock in the afternoon of Tuesday, I exhibited the model 
 to Rainimiharo, and he showed it to the queen. And when she 
 saw that what was raised could not slip back, because of the 
 teeth of the crane to hold it, the queen told the officers to give 
 iron to the smiths to make it. Fifty old worn-out spades, and 
 a hundred lumps of new iron, were sent to them at Amparibe, 
 the place of the government smitheries. And when it was 
 finished, the whole people (were summoned) to set the pillar up 
 the farmers, and all the non-military class, and the soldiers. 
 The relations of the sovereign were the overseers of the work. 
 
 " These are the numbers of the troops that were brought for 
 the work : 8,000 from Avaradrano, division north of Antanana- 
 rivo ; 6,000 from Isisaony, south of Antananarivo ; 2,500 from 
 Imarovatana, west of Antananarivo ; 2,500 from Ambodirano, 
 south-west of Antananarivo ; 7,000 from Vonezongo, west and 
 north beyond Marovatana ; 8,000 from Vakinankaratra, south- 
 west beyond Isisaony, eighty or ninety miles from the capital. 
 
 " And the non-military inhabitants of the six divisions of 
 Imerina, with all the members of the royal family, came to take 
 part in this work. It was Tuesday when this pillar was raised, 
 
 the post at the north-east corner. The corner pillars of this palace are round, 
 and their height from the surface of the ground to the wall-plate or spring of 
 the verandah, is fifty-four feet ; the diameter at the base is above three feet ; 
 but they are cased. Whether the pillar is in one spar, or joined, I do not know, 
 but it could be no small weight which they were attempting to raise.
 
 CHAP. in. INGENUITY AND SKILL OF THE CHRISTIANS. 71 
 
 for it took one week to set it up. When this pillar was fixed 
 upright, the people were then all dismissed. 
 
 "The smiths then worked a whole month in making two 
 cranes, and when they were done, all the people were called 
 together again to raise the remaining three corner pillars, and 
 the upright timbers all round. The three corner pillars were 
 raised in one day with two cranes. And when the queen saw 
 that the people had hastened the work, and that the four 
 corners were fixed, she dismissed them to their homes, except- 
 ing the smiths and the carpenters, and by these five or six side 
 timbers or divisions were sometimes raised in one day. On the 
 twenty-fifth of the month Alohotsy, the sides, and the rooms 
 above, as well as the partitions, were finished, and then the four 
 sides were united. And the people that were occupied on the 
 remaining parts continued their work until it was finished. 
 
 " And in the year 1839, Rainiharo bargained for a pump or 
 engine to put out fire (a fire-engine), with M. Laborde, for the 
 queen. M. Laborde wanted a thousand dollars for it, but 
 Rainiharo would not give more than five hundred dollars, and 
 the owner of the engine would not take that ; then he (Rainiharo) 
 fetched us two brothers to look (peep at) or examine the fire- 
 engine, and when we had looked at it he said, ' Can you make 
 one like that? for if you can do that, you will promote the 
 good of the kingdom ; and if you cannot do it, no blame shall 
 attach to you.' Then we asked him to give us smiths and 
 carpenters, and he gave us six smiths and four carpenters. We 
 then prepared tools and materials, and made it; and in 1840, 
 when the engine was finished, we took it to the queen. She 
 examined it at Anteza, near Andohalo, with delight, saying that 
 the finishing of it had been progress made in the kingdom. 
 
 " In 1845 there was examination made into our state and 
 proceedings, as Christians, and then came persecution. The 
 beginning of that persecution was thus. There was a gathering 
 of Christians at Ramanankoraisinas (home), and his slave saw 
 it, and told his father and mother, and great intimidation was
 
 72 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. in. 
 
 used by the officers to ascertain who were present, and the 
 names of all who entered were written down and told to the 
 queen. Then Ramanandray Andriamanantena, my brother 
 Rainimanga and myself, and Andriantsanelo, with Andrihamiaja> 
 were arrested by Tsitialangia,* and they bound us, and an at- 
 tendant had charge of each one of us. At that time eight 
 Christians were subjected to the ordeal of the Tangena, but one 
 only, viz., Andriamahandry, died. 
 
 "And in the year 1849, on the ninth day of the month, 
 which was Sunday, the sentence on us six men was pronounced. 
 Our wives and children were to be valued and sold.f Our 
 property, even to the needles, was taken : nothing was left. 
 And when it was thus with us two brothers, Rakotond Radama 
 (the young Radama) said (to Rainiharo), 'It is enough. Let 
 them be mine, for you have had some already.' But Rainiharo 
 said, ' I redeem the children. Let them be with me.' And 
 there was a dispute between them that day; and when the 
 appraisement was made it was decided that we two brothers 
 should belong to my former master, and the rest of us to other 
 high officers. They fetched the money at which we had been 
 valued from Prince Rakotond Radama and Prince Ramonja 
 to pay our masters, in order that we might be transferred to 
 them ; and then a law was made that we should never be 
 redeemed, and our masters by law possessed us,| and we were 
 not transferred to any other. Through the blessing of God 
 that was secured. 
 
 * Literally, the hater of lies. This is a large silver spear, the shaft and head 
 being both of silver. It is carried by the officer of justice, or rather of the 
 judges sent to arrest any persons accused of crimes ; and to offer any resist- 
 ance to the parties bearing the spear would be regarded as a defiance of su- 
 preme and even divine authority. The officer, on arriving at a house, some- 
 times fixes the spear in the doorway, and no one would dare to enter or leave 
 till it was removed. 
 
 f "When the Christians were sentenced to slavery, they were generally divided 
 among the high officers of government. 
 
 J The prince and Ramonja having paid for them, they were legally their 
 slaves, and that was the best protection they could have, for both these princes 
 were friends to the Christians.
 
 CHAP. in. BENEVOLENCE OF A CHKISTIAN IN CHAINS. IS 
 
 " Six months later in the same year, persecution arose again, 
 and the Christians were seized by the bearer of the hater of 
 lies. Those that were surprised in the house were bound, and 
 all the people quaked and trembled with fear. Those that 
 concealed themselves were saved, the rest escaped, but were 
 ordered to accuse themselves. There was a spy, a brother of 
 Rainiharo, called Rafiringagoay, who saw into the house where 
 they were assembled, and told the names of all that he knew, 
 sixty-four, and many accused themselves. Because of the 
 weakness of the flesh they did that, and we eight brethren who 
 had been now twice enslaved, were loaded with many fetters 
 and imprisoned. But after two years our confinement ceased, 
 and we brothers went home. 
 
 " After this, false reports about the Christians were brought 
 to the queen again, and those who had been bound together 
 with us in prison were loaded with additional chains, and four 
 were sent to Tsifalahy, a place among the Sacalavas, but we 
 four brethren were kept in chains. 
 
 " On account of the numerous ways or kinds of occupation 
 in the land of the queen, I considered, and I asked God what I 
 should do that I might learn to dispense medicines, and I 
 translated a book about administering medicine, which Dr. 
 Tavel left for those whom the queen sent to learn at Ambodi- 
 nandohalo. It was in 1852 that I was learning about medicine. 
 
 o 
 
 When, by the help of God, I was able, I bought some medicine, 
 and took it to heal those that were sick. By the blessing of 
 God, many of the sick who came were healed, and also many of 
 the poor, who had nothing to pay, to whom I took the medicine 
 in pity. Many were thankful for the medicine of the Euro- 
 peans, and from my desire, and through the blessing of God, I 
 had strength to visit the sick, such as I found every day, and 
 those I met at noon in the streets of Antananarivo. 
 
 " The severity (against the Christians) was relaxed in 1855, 
 and on the ninth of the month Adaoro of that year, at the cere- 
 mony of the circumcision, the heavy chains were taken off us
 
 71 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. m. 
 
 two brothers,* and we were able to visit many more who were 
 sick. When Mr. Ellis came in the next year, he brought medi- 
 cine, and gave some to Ratsimihara and me, and we two agreed 
 to use the medicine ; and when there was more than ordinarily 
 strong disease which I did not understand, I looked in the 
 books of medicine which Mr. Ellis left with us, and five hun- 
 dred and thirty-six people among the Christians were healed, 
 and the number of the others (who were healed) we sent to you. 
 And when, by the blessing of God, that medicine was increased, 
 great was the joy of the Prince Rakotond Radama on account 
 of the healing of the people, and he gave me some little boys, 
 slaves, to assist me in that work of compassion. 
 
 " This is the state of the work of the Lord with me, which I 
 make known unto you, beloved brother ; and all the friends 
 here visit you. May you live, and have happiness, saith 
 RAINITSONTSORAKA and his brother." 
 
 Such were some of the indications of the gentleness and 
 benevolence of spirit, and such are a few of the incidents in the 
 life, of one among the exemplary and remarkable men who 
 suffered in the last fearful persecution in Madagascar. Only 
 one public execution in connexion with religion has since taken 
 place, and it was in favour of the Christians. 
 
 In June, 1860, the governor of Mananjara, a port on the 
 south-east coast, accused and bound two officers of rank, Andri 
 ambanda, tenth honour, deputy commandant, and Ratefe, the 
 present governor of that port, together with thirty-three 
 soldiers, for violating the law of the queen by acts of Christian 
 worship. The accused and accusers were summoned to the 
 capital. The queen decreed that the guilt or innocence of the 
 
 * Criminals are not always confined in prison, but are often allowed to go 
 out, sometimes to beg", sometimes to work with, their chains on, returning at 
 appointed hours to the prison to sleep. They are frequently met with in 
 the streets in the middle of the day, and it was thus that, until this time, 
 Rainitsontsoraka went about visiting the sick, and giving medicine to those 
 he met in the street or visited in their huts.
 
 Photographed by Ucv. W. Ellis 
 
 11A I JUTSONTSORA K A . 
 
 Christian Martyr.
 
 CHAP. in. DEATH OF THE ACCUSER OF THE CHRISTIANS. 73 
 
 accused should be decided by the ordeal of the Tangena, which, 
 according to a custom sometimes followed, was judicially and 
 officially administered in the following manner. Three female 
 slaves of the queen vicariously represented the accused. The 
 slaves were pronounced innocent by the ordeal. The queen 
 then ordered the Tangena to be administered to a dog. The dog 
 also survived ; the accused were consequently pronounced inno- 
 cent. By a rude kind of justice existing sometimes in such states 
 of society, the governor of the port was sentenced to the punish- 
 ment which would have been inflicted upon those whom he had 
 accused had they been proved guilty, and he was put to death. 
 This was the last impeachment against the Christians in Mada- 
 gascar. 
 
 Before closing my notice of this persecution, I may perhaps 
 be allowed to advert to the circumstances of the survivors of 
 the slaughter at Fiadana. The widow and children of Rain- 
 itsontsoraka were among the earliest of those who came to tell 
 me of the constancy of the departed, as well as of their own sad 
 bereavement. They were always welcome for his sake, as well 
 as for their own need of sympathy and encouragement. A 
 number of the survivors of that fearful period are widows and 
 fatherless, or orphans. The king restored, wherever he could, 
 the confiscated plots of rice ground which had supported their 
 former occupants, but multitudes still remained, not only 
 bereaved, but very poor. An unusual proportion of men 
 who possessed small properties, and were in comparatively 
 comfortable circumstances, were then cut off, and their wives 
 either put in chains or sold into slavery, while their pos- 
 sessions were seized and divided among the officers. If those 
 sentenced to slavery were redeemed, it was generally with 
 borrowed money, which is still a heavy debt upon some of the 
 Christians. 
 
 Kind friends in England had confided to my care articles of 
 useful clothing, which were truly serviceable ; but after confer- 
 ring with the preachers and others best acquainted with the
 
 7G MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. in. 
 
 actual condition of the people, I felt it right, as an expression 
 of sympathy on the part of English friends with their suffer- 
 ings, to give a small sum of money for their benefit. Two 
 preachers whom I consulted supplied me with a list of the 
 most necessitous cases, and distributed the money, about 30, 
 with care and judgment, chiefly amongst the widows and 
 children of the martyrs, but not excluding other necessitous 
 Christians. They did not give more than a dollar to any 
 individual, and in the majority of cases a smaller sum, bringing 
 me a carefully prepared list of the names of the recipients, a 
 hundred and ninety in number, by whom the trifling sum was 
 gratefully received as much because it came from their friends 
 as for the relief it might afford. 
 
 Selfishness, no doubt, exists among these as among other 
 communities. It is, however, concealed, and not commended. 
 The claims of family and neighbourhood are very generally 
 recognised. The Malagasy are a hospitable people. I often 
 noticed a kindness of feeling, and a readiness to assist and 
 relieve each other among the Christians, which was very grati- 
 fying. Yet the number of sick and aged persons, unable to 
 work, and wholly dependent upon friends, often poor themselves, 
 necessarily causes their poverty to be keenly felt. 
 
 I have already mentioned the early recall, by the king, of the 
 survivors of those who had been banished for undiscovered 
 crimes of the past, which had been acknowledged in obedience 
 to the order, and in reliance on the clemency of the queen. 
 The restoration of those Christians who, after having been 
 sentenced to death on account of their faith, had escaped, and 
 had remained for years exiles and wanderers, was not much 
 longer delayed. For such fugitives, the houses of the prince 
 and the commander-in-chief had at times furnished shelter and 
 safety, and on the present occasion, very soon after the acces- 
 sion of the king, an aide-de-camp of the commander-in-chief 
 was sent to fetch six who had long been hiding in different 
 places, four of whom were esteemed preachers. They were
 
 CHAP. in. RETURN OF THE CHRISTIANS FROM EXILE. 77 
 
 brought first into the house of the commander-in-chief ; he 
 spoke kindly and encouragingly to them told them not to be 
 afraid, for Kadama was king and directed them to go to their 
 homes and their relatives, for now no injury would come to 
 them. One of them was said to have been so blanched as to 
 be almost as white as an European. 
 
 As they passed through the streets, their countrymen crowded 
 to look at them. The report of their return created quite a 
 sensation, and greatly astonished the people then assembled in 
 great numbers in the capital to attend the funeral of the queen. 
 Most of the Christians knew that they were living, but other 
 portions of the people supposed them long since dead. And 
 numbers came to see them, some saying, " We thought you had 
 long ago been buried, or eaten by the dogs, and when we heard 
 we could hardly believe it was you. It is like coming again 
 from the dead." And some added, "Great is the power of 
 God!" 
 
 Messengers were also sent to the survivors of those Christians 
 who had been bound in heavy fetters, and on the 1st of Sep- 
 tember, two days after the funeral of the queen, a number of 
 these sufferers were brought to the capital, and their fetters 
 were taken off. Others followed as they were able ; they were 
 too weak to walk, and were borne up or carried by their friends. 
 
 On my arrival, ten months after this, I found some of them 
 feeble, wasted, bedridden sufferers ; yet to them and to their 
 friends this return was indeed a jubilee, but a jubilee kept with 
 tears and with touching memories of the absent. To some it 
 was like coming to their Christian home and friends to die : to 
 others it was to live, and to rejoice in the free course of the 
 Gospel in their country. Some few of them have never regained 
 any amount of robust health, but remain sickly and feeble. 
 
 Anxious to take advantage of the existing state of feeling to 
 draw the attention of the people to the Gospel, six of the 
 native preachers, including four who had just returned from 
 exile, applied to the king for places in which to gather the
 
 78 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. in. 
 
 people for public worship. He gave them a large carpenters' 
 shop belonging to the government, at Analakely, and the houses 
 at Ambatonakanga, the site of one of their former chapels, and 
 also a place at Amparibe ; but as Ramboasalama's house was 
 near, and some of the places belonged to him, the king directed 
 them to ask him. They therefore applied to Rasoaray, his wife, 
 who promptly gave them the place. 
 
 These places were soon fitted up by the Christians, and before 
 the end of the month were used for purposes of worship. The 
 first public assemblies thus gathered were objects of interest to 
 many of the people ; while to the Christians these seasons pro- 
 duced deep and indescribable feelings, when, to use the expres- 
 sion of one of them, they could in open day " sing together the 
 praises of the God of the Christians."
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Required confession of crimes Cruel reward of confidence Ideas of a strong- 
 government Rival aspirants to the throne of Madagascar Portents of 
 coming change Malagasy account of the sickness and death of the queen 
 Accession of her son to the throne Radama's address to the people 
 Homage of the royal family and the nobles Administration of the oath of 
 allegiance Rejoicing among the people Funeral of the late queen Putelic 
 mourning, cutting off the hair Clemency of the king towards his rival 
 Recall of the exiles Proclamation of raligious freedom Restoration of 
 confiscated property Abolition of custom-house duties and freedom of 
 trade Liberation and restoration of all slaves and captives taken in war 
 The bones of the dead sent to their own lands for interment Happy 
 results of these proceedings First communion in Antananarivo Preach- 
 ing at the king's house No evidence that the king is a Christian His 
 inquiry why the martyrs were obliged to die Increase of intemperance 
 Wild honey. 
 
 THE sufferings of the Christians were not the only calamities 
 which afflicted the people of Madagascar. Declining years had 
 not softened the heart of the queen, nor had sickness and the 
 feebleness of age rendered her less disposed to harass and 
 destroy her subjects. 
 
 I was informed that not very long before her last illness she 
 had sent a kabary to the people, stating, that if any of them 
 had committed any crime and it was found out they should be 
 put to death ; but that if they came and acknowledged it within 
 a specified time, their lives should be spared ; and so strong was 
 their opinion that the queen had means of discovering crime, 
 that a considerable number came, and acknowledged to having 
 committed some offence, perhaps a theft, or some other viola- 
 tion of the law, committed in many cases two or three years 
 before. When the time for this opportunity of voluntary con- 
 fession expired, the queen sent another kabary, stating that, 
 according to her promise, the people's lives should be spared,
 
 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. iv. 
 
 but that all who had been guilty of any beyond trivial offences, 
 should have an iron collar fastened on their necks, and be 
 banished to insalubrious parts of the country, often only to a 
 more slow and painful death than by the spear, the precipice, 
 or the stake. 
 
 This requiring voluntary confession of undiscovered crimes 
 was called a purging, or cleansing of the community, and was 
 often made the occasion of very cruel oppression. The prince, 
 I was told, wept when he saw how many were entrapped by 
 this device ; and when, as it was stated, on the day of his 
 accession, the young king ordered their recall, scarcely half the 
 number were living or able to return. 
 
 So long as the queen lived the people were under constant 
 apprehension of the infliction of some cruelty or wrong ; and 
 In the opinion of the authorities of that day, this was considered 
 evidence of true greatness the proof of a strong government. 
 "To be able to reduce the people to such a state of abject fear, 
 that they should tremble at the bare thought of in any way 
 displeasing the sovereign, however unreasonable such displeasure 
 might be, was deemed by the ruling powers a high and envied 
 attribute. This was the state of the people then, and the only 
 prospect of any relief arose from the hope that, on the death of 
 the queen, her son might succeed to the throne. Until this 
 actually occurred, however ardently it might be desired, no one 
 felt certain that it would take place. But although it was the 
 event to which natives and foreigners interested in Madagascar 
 looked forward as that which would go far to decide the future 
 of the country, its occurrence was doubtful. There was a rival 
 claimant of the throne, a cousin of the queen's son, the head and 
 favourite of the party who sought to perpetuate things as they 
 were. 
 
 The adherents of each aspirant were sanguine of success. 
 Many considerations favoured the Prince Ramboasalama, the 
 rival of Rakotond Radama. He was the next in rank, being the 
 son of the queen's sister. He had been appointed successor to
 
 CHAP. iv. RIVAL CLAIMANTS TO THE THRONE. 81 
 
 the throne before the queen herself became a mother. He was 
 the head of the party who adhered to the customs of their 
 ancestors, who deemed the existing system incapable of improve- 
 ment, opposed all innovations, and supported the idols and the 
 priests. He was an active, unscrupulous, and determined man ; 
 and moreover he was rich, and could hire or bribe adherents to 
 any extent, and was said to have used his money freely. 
 
 The prince, on the contrary, was poor, never having had much 
 money allowed him by his mother, and being, besides, no miser. 
 He had been too young to take much part in the government, 
 and had only filled subordinate offices. He had made no secret 
 of his disapproval of its policy, and of his opinion that change 
 in some respects might be made with advantage. He had 
 neither belief in the idols, nor confidence in the priests. He 
 was friendly to education, hospitable to foreigners, and favour- 
 able to all that promised improvement ; while he pictured to 
 himself a future in which his country should attain a higher 
 position, and be recognized by civilized nations. These circum- 
 stances would array against him the power of the then existing 
 government. On the other hand, in his favour was the queen's 
 own formal public appointment of her son to be her successor. 
 According to Malagasy rule, which traces pedigree through 
 the mother, his title was unimpeachable and supreme, and 
 whatever influence she could exert was used to secure the throne 
 for him. Whenever her ministers complained of his disregard 
 of her orders, she used to say : " He is only a youth ; and he 
 is my son." The only genuine feelings of humanity which the 
 queen ever manifested were exercised towards him, and what- 
 ever spark of affection warmed her heart was kindled by 
 him. He was unselfish, generous to a fault, instinctively ab- 
 horrent of cruelty and bloodshed, the advocate, the friend, the 
 helper of the poor. To the latter, and to the great body of the 
 people, the existing regime had been strong, oppressive, and 
 hopeless, the most destructive of human life which had perhaps 
 ever existed in the country. The interests involved, the 
 
 a
 
 82 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. iv. 
 
 extreme contrast which the accession of one or the other of 
 these claimants to the throne would produce, together with the 
 appearance of two comets, and certain other portents, which 
 they deemed supernatural and intimating the approach of some 
 imusual event, created anxiety and restlessness among all 
 classes, as the failing health of the queen indicated the approach 
 of the inevitable change. 
 
 I received a number of accounts, written and verbal, of the 
 occurrences connected with the queen's death and her son's 
 accession. The subjoined statement, written by a partially 
 educated young man, the son of a man of office in the city, 
 which was sent to rae at Mauritius, is perhaps the most authentic 
 and complete. It is as follows : 
 
 " On the 12th of April, 1861, there was an appearance of fire 
 from Ankemiheny extending to above Ranofotsy, and unto all 
 the mountains. When the people in the country round saw the 
 fire, they kindled fires near their dwellings, for they said, 
 * Perhaps the queen has bathed again,'* for to those in the 
 country this light appeared as if it was in the capital, and to 
 those in the capital it appeared as if in the country. There 
 were also sounds or voices like music coming up from Isotry 
 (the site of the tomb of the late prime minister) to Andohalo (the 
 daily market, distant a mile and a half) ; and when the people 
 heard the sound, they came to look, but nothing was seen, only 
 sound was heard ; and it was a pleasant sound, though making 
 sad, for it was the end of the year. 
 
 " It was in fararano, or Autumn, and about seven o'clock in 
 the evening, when this fire was seen, and it lasted for an hour. 
 Next morning, the queen inquiring, said, ' What fire was that 
 last night ? Do you kindle fires again before the feast of the 
 
 * At the annual bathing festival at the commencement of the year, it is 
 customary, in connection with the bathing of the sovereign, for a fire to be 
 lighted to announce this fact to the people, who then light fires : thus following 
 the sovereign in observing the customs of the feast ; and on this occasion, the 
 people in the country around, seeing the light or fire, supposed it was connected 
 with the bathing of the queen.
 
 CHAP. iv. THE FORESHADOWING OF COMING DEATH. 83 
 
 new year ? ' And the attendants answered, ' We kindled no fires.' 
 The people were all astonished and afraid, and kindled fires for 
 they thought the queen had been bathing. And when the 
 queen heard that she said to the heads of the people, ' What 
 fire is this ? ' And they answered, ' This is not the fire of man, 
 but of God.' And some said, ' It is to increase the kingdom of 
 the sovereign.' Then the queen inquired again of the judges and 
 heads of the people, saying, ' What is it thought this fire is ? ' 
 Then said those whom she questioned, ' From Adrianampoini- 
 merina, (ancestor of the present dynasty,) and Prince Ramahatra, 
 like a foreshadowing of coming death. Like that, for it is 
 small, yet not like that, for it was over the water, and the rice, 
 and valleys and hills, although it was not high nor low.'* 
 
 " And from that day forward the queen prayed earnestly to 
 the idols, the objects of her trust, for she was afraid. And 
 there was an officer who said to the prince, ' This fire is a jubilee, 
 to gather together the dispersed, and to redeem the lost.' And 
 the hearts of those who heard that, were deeply affected. And 
 the queen soon after became ill, and a month later took a 
 journey, for change of air, to a reputed healthy place. But 
 when she returned the people were grieved because she was 
 thin, and wasted ; and she went out again for a charm, or 
 medicine to prevent a relapse, but the disease increased. Then 
 the people counselled the prince not to go from the palace, and 
 he said, ' I have had like whisperings of God, saying, " You are 
 king."' 
 
 " On the 20th of July, the princess, wife of Rakotond 
 Radama, the members of the royal family, the heads of the 
 people, and the judges, all came to reside within the court of 
 the palace. Then the judges fixed a kadi, or prohibition of 
 entrance. And at noon, the 15th of August, the high military 
 
 * The exact import of this oracular response is not very apparent. Andrian- 
 ampoinimerina was the founder of the present reigning family, and his spirit 
 is supposed to maintain a kind of oversight of the affairs of Imcrina, and to 
 give intimations of coming events. The import which the queen understood it 
 to convey would seem to be indicated by the course which she pursued. 
 
 G 2
 
 84 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. iv. 
 
 officers assembled at the house of the commander-in-chief; 
 and the people were startled, for it was said that the queen was 
 dying. And the women collected their things, and the men 
 sharpened their weapons ; the traders went home from the 
 market, one and another saying, ' I would rather they should 
 crush me to pieces, than that Radama should not be king ! ' 
 
 "Then the judges called a kabary, in the name of the queen, 
 and ordered the people not to circulate false rumours in the 
 city. And the commander-in-chief augmented the guards ' in 
 Antananarivo to 500, and commanded to search those entering 
 the court of the palace, or coming into the city from the country. 
 The roads round the capital were secured, and about 4,500 
 troops under their respective officers were placed in different- 
 parts of the capital. And no man slept in his house at night, 
 for they desired that Radama should be king. 
 
 " After five days Ramboasalama went and said to Radama, ' I 
 submit to you, sir, or lord ;' and the latter replied, 'I will do- 
 nothing to you, for I have long ago vowed I would do nothing 
 to you, when you were afraid. Go to Rainivoninatraniony, the* 
 commander-in-chief, and the people, and if you say that to 
 them, perhaps there will be no destruction of life.' Then 
 Ramboasalama came to the commander-in-chief, and to the- 
 people. He did not speak himself, but by a representative, 
 whom he ordered to say, 'I obey Prince Rakotond Radama.' 
 The commander answered, ' It is well that you do that, for it is 
 the word of the sovereign to all beneath the sky.' And they 
 separated. 
 
 "The prince did not leave the palace, for the illness of his 
 mother had become severe. On the night of the 14th of the 
 month there was small rain, and the firing of musketry was 
 heard in the sky, and the astonished people exclaimed, 'What 
 is that ? ' and in the morning about half-past seven o'clock the 
 queen retired. Then Radriaka, officer of the palace, went out to 
 fetch the commander-in-chief, (his uncle,) for Radriaka had 
 agreed that when he should come running, the queen would be
 
 CHAP. iv. THE TAKING OF THE OATH OF ALLEGIANCE. 85 
 
 dead. Then the commander-in-chief went with the multitude 
 of people, with muskets, swords, spears, and shields. The 
 soldiers were arranged in their divisions, for the people were 
 startled, and were running together. 
 
 " When the queen's departure drew near, Rakotond Radama 
 had been led out by Rainadriantsilavo, and two other officers 
 of the household, to the large central palace, Manjaka, miadana 
 (reign of peace), and when the commander-in-chief reached the 
 large court, he went to the prince in the great palace. The 
 road from the large daily market to the palace (a quarter of a 
 mile) was filled with troops, and they were also arranged so 
 near together around the enclosure of the palace, that there 
 was not the smallest opening anywhere to be seen. The people 
 also all decorated themselves like' the soldiers, because of their 
 love for Prince Rakotond Radama. Then word came out to 
 Rainilambo (husband of the queen's sister) to take 200 men, 
 and bring Ramboasalama. And the commander-in-chief said to 
 the officer that was going, ' Take care of the royal child,' (the 
 rival of Radama,) ' lest he be wounded.' Then came forward 
 Rainitavy, thirteenth honour, and cried out, saying, 'Behold, Ram- 
 boasalama is come out ! He will take the oath of allegiance, and 
 offer tribute to Rakotond Radama, the son of Rabodonandriam- 
 poinimerina, (the regal name of Radama's mother,) for he is 
 lord of the kingdom.' Then went two high officers with 200 
 men to fetch Prince Ramonja to take the oath. (He is the 
 second prince in the land, descendant of the sovereigns of the 
 Benzanozano). 
 
 " When the people at Andohalo, the market-place, where the 
 oath is administered, first saw Ramboasalama they raised a great 
 .shout, for they thought he was to be killed ; but Ramboasalama 
 and Ramonja, and the princess, wife of Radama, and all the 
 members of the royal family, took the oath by striking the 
 water and piercing the calf with a spear.* Then came 
 
 * Part of the observances followed in taking the oath of allegiance consists 
 in striking with a spear the water provided for the ceremony in a canoe ; a
 
 86 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. iv. 
 
 Rainizaka, thirteenth honour, to proclaim that the title of 
 the king was Radama the Second, for his was the kingdom. 
 And when the assembled crowds heard that, they shouted, and 
 cheered with Hi-6-be,* (the Malagasy hurrah, which, though 
 vocally less energetic than the English cheer, is heartstirring to 
 them, and cannot be heard without deep feeling by a European,) 
 for the sovereign they desired, they said, was king ; and the 
 cheering spread from the city to the country. The day was 
 Friday, the great market day, and all buying and selling was 
 abandoned, and the cheering came from the market nearly a mile 
 to the north, when the people there heard that Radama was 
 king. And soon from the country the cheers came back to the 
 city, and all the roads were filled with people because Radama 
 was king. 
 
 " Then Raharolahy (one of the first embassy to England, and 
 present governor of Tamatave) went to the great roads with his- 
 friends, proclaiming that Radama II. was king, and the people 
 shouted Hi-o-be again ; and joy was on the countenances of all 
 the people, the great and the small, the women and the chil- 
 dren. This continued until four o'clock in the afternoon, when 
 the officers with the troops, the judges, the heads of the people, 
 entered the palace yard. And when the people had entered the 
 northern court of the large palace, a door in the upper part 
 opened, and King Radama came out on the verandah, wearing 
 the crown and the royal scarlet robe. The people then rejoiced 
 with Hi-6-be on seeing the person of the king ; and the com- 
 mander-in-chief, addressing the troops said, ' King Radama is, 
 lord of the kingdom,' and gave the word (present arms). Then 
 the soldiers presented arms, and all the people shouted ' Tra- 
 ran-ti-tra/ (May you live to be old). Radama acknowledged 
 
 part of the water is then drunk. Another portion of the ceremony consists in 
 the parties taking the oath thrusting a spear into the body of a calf brought 
 for the occasion. I have frequently passed close by the spot when the officers 
 of government were administering the oath, and have seen several spears at 
 one time fixed in the body of the calf. 
 * The 6 is pronounced ou.
 
 CHAP. iv. FUNERAL OF THE LATE QUEEN. 87 
 
 their salutations, and the people were greatly affected when 
 they saw him, because he had been weeping for his mother, for 
 ended were her days. 
 
 "When he looked upon the multitudes before him, the young 
 king spoke thus : 'This is what I say to you all beneath the 
 day. I have succeeded the twelve kings. I am the successor 
 of Andrianampoinimerina, Radarna, and Ranavalo. I have given 
 you my confidence, all you people.' Then the queen, the com- 
 mander-in-chief, and the great officers did obeisance, kneeling 
 at the king's feet. And Radama said to all the people, ' By the 
 favour of God I have become king. I succeed to my ancestors. 
 Be not afraid. I am with you (devoted to your welfare) ; put 
 confidence in me. I will protect you, and your wives, and your 
 children ; work, traffic, and prosper.' 
 
 " And when the body of the queen had remained twelve days 
 in Antananarivo for the performance of the required rites, it 
 was taken northward amidst the firing of cannon, and musketry, 
 and great pomp to Ambohimanga, for interment, and two days 
 afterwards it was buried in the night. The next day the bul- 
 locks were killed, and the feast closing the ceremonies was ob- 
 served. Radama afterwards bathed in a place to the west of 
 Tanimena (red earth), and then returned. The 16th of August, 
 1861, was the day on which the queen departed, and on the 
 30th of the same month she was buried."* 
 
 According to accounts which I afterwards received from 
 other sources, the members of the government of the late 
 queen seem to have constituted two distinct parties, and there 
 appear to have been several attempts to set aside Radama that 
 Ramboasalama might succeed to the throne. There were rumours 
 of attempts to poison the young prince, though that does not 
 seem to have been a practice to which the Malagasy were 
 accustomed to resort in order to remove an obstacle out of their 
 
 * This account might perhaps have been abridged with advantage, but I 
 thought a specimen of the manner in which the people record passages of their 
 own history might give additional interest to the information conveyed.
 
 98 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. iv. 
 
 way. That Ramboasalama expended large sums of money in 
 hiring or engaging adherents and in bribing others to aid him, by 
 force if necessary, to seize the throne, is generally believed ; but 
 the late prime minister of Radama, then commander-in-chief, 
 and his brother, the present minister and commander, and 
 another leading family, being favourable to the prince, and the 
 consequent adherence of the great bulk of the army to his 
 interests, secured his accession. The prime minister of the late 
 queen and the chief judge of the kingdom, favoured his rival, 
 but the forethought and activity of the commander of the army 
 made them only too glad to secure their own lives instead of 
 attempting the throne. On the day before the death of the 
 queen, the commander of the force counselled the king to 
 remain within the silver palace, around which he placed 300 men. 
 He then surrounded the large palace with men, and brought 
 up all the troops within reach as near the palace as possible. 
 At the same time he sent out messengers to the chiefs in the 
 surrounding country who. favoured Radama, to come armed to 
 the capital the next day. In the evening before the queen's 
 death he directed the prince to appear in the royal robe on the 
 balcony of the palace, and ordered the troops in and around the 
 courtyard to salute him. In the night he moved his troops 
 still nearer the palace, and arranged signals that he might know 
 when the queen ceased to breathe. As soon as he knew 
 this, he instantly surrounded the palaces of her prime minister 
 and of the Prince Ramboasalama, with orders to let no one 
 leave either place. He then filled the court of the palace with 
 troops, and proceeded to place his own soldiers within the court- 
 yards of these rivals, so that when the queen's death was 
 announced, instead of hasting to seize the throne, Prince Ram- 
 boasalama and his friends found, to their utter dismay, that 
 while the troops and the populace were shouting for Radama, 
 and the officers throwing up their caps in the air for joy, they 
 themselves were in fact prisoners, and consequently hastened 
 to render their allegiance.
 
 CHAP. iv. MOURNING CUSTOMS IN MADAGASCAR. 89 
 
 The adherents of Ramboasalama, some of whom it was said 
 were found in arms prepared for resistance, were banished to 
 their places in the country, and forbidden to return to the 
 capital. A number of the friends of the young king counselled 
 the death of Ramboasalama as essential to the peace of the 
 country, and the king's own safety. But Radama, whose opinion 
 of the sacredness of human life had been rendered extreme by 
 the wholesale slaughter he had witnessed, would not consent, 
 and only agreed to his being banished to Ambohimirimo, one of 
 his own villages, sixteen or twenty miles west of the capital, 
 where he died on the 9th of April, 1862. 
 
 The king's treatment of his unsuccessful rival was most 
 honourable. He not only preserved his life, but refused to 
 allow any of his possessions to be confiscated, which the laws 
 and customs of the country would have justified ; and he even 
 paid debts in money which were found to be owing to his rival 
 by his deceased mother, so that the entire property of Ramboa- 
 salama descended undiminished to his widow and children. 
 
 Funeral observances had an important place among the insti- 
 tutions of Madagascar. Only the criminals who were deemed 
 unfit to live, were denied the shelter of a grave after death. 
 Even the poorest slave felt assured that some equally poor 
 relative or friendly slave would dig his lowly grave ; and the 
 obsequies of the monarch were the nation's duty. These cere- 
 monies were in all, except the lowest class, numerous, formal, 
 and proportionally costly ; while the manner and the duration 
 of the season of mourning varied with the position of the 
 deceased. The customs which followed the death of a sovereign 
 were observed sometimes for a whole year, and affected the 
 entire community. On the present occasion but few alterations 
 were made, and these consisted chiefly in the discontinuance of 
 music and dancing and other amusements, the laying aside of 
 all gay clothing and personal ornaments, but chiefly it consisted 
 in all classes shaving their heads.* The prime minister of the 
 
 * In a letter from Rahaniraka, the secretary of the new government, dated
 
 00 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. IV. 
 
 late queen was left at Ambohimanga as guardian of her tomb. 
 The king and high officers remained for a time in comparative 
 retirement, and, except that the large palace was kept closed 
 until the coronation, the time of public mourning was but short. 
 The king's humane and generous disposition, his opinions of 
 freedom and justice, as well as his conduct towards both natives 
 and foreigners, led all parties to expect great, and it was hoped 
 favourable, changes. In some respects these anticipations were 
 well founded ; in others they were, as events subsequently 
 proved, utterly groundless. Among the earliest of the king's 
 proclamations at Antananarivo, was that which gave perfect 
 religious freedom to both natives and foreigners residing in the 
 country. Every man, the proclamation stated, was at liberty to 
 engage in such religious worship as he judged best, whether 
 heathen, Mohamedan, or Christian, whether Protestant or 
 Catholic,* and was also free to preach or teach his own religion. 
 Every man, of whatever religion, or of no religion, was amenable 
 to the laws of Madagascar ; and if a native or foreigner obeyed 
 the laws of the country, he should neither be tried nor punished 
 on account of his religion. No adherent of one religion should 
 
 the 3rd of September, 1861, informing me of the death of the queen, and 
 inviting my return to the country, he observes on this subject : " The people, 
 according to the customs of former times when a sovereign died, have shaved 
 off their hair. They were not commanded to do so by Radaina II., but did it 
 of their own free will." The fact that the heads were all shaved, and probably 
 that the king did not order it, was correct, for some of the party sent by the 
 governor of Mauritius spoke of the strange appearance of the people with their 
 hair all cut off. But if the accounts that I afterwards heard of the hiding, the 
 protest, and the resistance among the female part of the population before 
 the application of the inexorable razor or scissors, and of the tears that were 
 shed afterwards, be true, my correspondent must have been mistaken when he 
 said, " They did it of their own free will." Indeed, I heard that when, in 
 the afternoon of the day on which the queen died, the chief judge announced 
 her death, he ordered the shaving of the heads of every individual, and that, 
 though some refused at first, it was not thought that any head would be secure 
 that remained unshorn the next day, and that the effect of the shorn heads 
 was startling, even to the members of the same family. 
 
 * Roman Catholic priests were there in other characters when I visited the 
 country in 185G, and others have joined them since the accession of the king.
 
 CHAP. IV. RELIGIOUS LIBERTY AND FREEDOM OF TRADE. 91 
 
 be allowed to molest or injure the members of another religion, 
 but all must obey the laws. 
 
 Radama also favoured education, and commenced the erection 
 of a school for instruction in Malagasy and English. He was 
 also anxious to secure for Madagascar every advantage which 
 the most unrestricted commerce affords. The aim of the pre- 
 vious sovereign had been to exclude foreigners from the country,, 
 allowing residence and intercourse with the inhabitants only at 
 a few ports. The king found pleasure in intercourse with 
 foreigners, and was ready to open the country to their enter- 
 prise and industry. He also ordered invitations to be sent to 
 all the Malagasy residing at Mauritius, or elsewhere, to return to- 
 their native land, promising security to their persons and pro- 
 perty. One of his earliest acts was to write to the governors of 
 Mauritius, and also of Reunion, to invite traders and settlers to 
 Madagascar, assuring them of protection, and perfect freedom 
 to trade in all articles except arms and ammunition. 
 
 The native government had heretofore appointed salesmen, 
 and fixed the prices at which all articles of export should be 
 sold. The king authorised every man to become his own sales- 
 man, to dispose of his goods on his own terms ; and, in order to 
 imitate free trade in its widest possible extent, he abolished all 
 export and import duties. These orders were sent down by 
 the officers charged with the duty of hoisting the flag of the 
 new sovereign at the ports, and as the income of the authorities 
 at these ports was derived from the custom-house duties, the 
 latter part of the orders could scarcely fail to diminish the joy 
 which the inauguration of the new reign would otherwise have 
 occasioned. i 
 
 The abolition of these duties was one of the king's great 
 errors, and naturally displeased a number of public officers. He 
 next set himself to restore to their former owners such lands 
 and other property as had been confiscated in consequence of 
 the profession of Christianity, or other offences in which the 
 punishment had been excessive. He allowed the people to
 
 92 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. iv. 
 
 rear swine in the capital and its vicinity, from whence they had 
 been banished because the heathen priests declared their pre- 
 sence offensive to the idols. The effect of this permission was, 
 that when the idol keepers saw that pigs were admitted to the 
 city, they removed the idols to the sacred villages to which 
 they belonged. The late queen had, until towards the termina- 
 tion of her reign, made intoxication punishable with death : 
 the king abolished the penalty, and made the use of spirituous 
 liquors free. 
 
 The first Radama had, by the aid of European weapons and 
 tactics, secured to himself the nominal subjection of the island 
 at great waste of life. His successor, the late queen, had 
 nearly depopulated vast tracts of the fairest parts of Mada- 
 gascar, quite as much to enrich her officers by plunder, as to 
 strengthen her own authority.* The government also thought 
 their forces would be as efficient against foreigners as they had 
 proved against their own countrymen ; and the army, which 
 comprised a large portion of the manhood of Ankova, was in- 
 creased. The duty of this service was severe. The troops were 
 required to find their own rations, and to support their families. 
 They received neither pay nor clothes, and were forced to meet 
 every fortnight for drill. These men, who were also required to 
 perform other government service, felt the fortnightly drill, 
 which sometimes took them from home two or three days, a 
 
 * It was stated, in 1 840, that the province of Ankova had been drained of its 
 youth to maintain the army of from 20,000 to 30,000 men ; that in their expe- 
 ditions these forces were attended by a more than equal number of camp 
 followers, and that from some expeditions scarcely more than half the number 
 returned. But this admitted of no comparison with the numbers that perished 
 by the treachery and carnage of these troops. It is stated that at the above 
 time 100,000 human beings had been killed in the queen's wars, and double 
 that number, including women and children, sold into slavery, or divided as 
 booty among the officers. It is stated that sometimes, among the spoil follow- 
 ing the returning army to the capital, might be seen ten or fifteen mothers 
 bound together by one cord, each with an infant at her back, and a large bundle 
 belonging to her captor on her head, and, in some cases, two or three children 
 by her side. It is chiefly when thinking of these things that I have had mis- 
 givings about the future of the Malagasy.
 
 CHAP. iv. NOBLE TKEATMENT OF THE SACALAVAS. 93 
 
 great hardship; but the king's proclamation, requiring them 
 to muster only once every two months, was received as a 
 great relief by all the soldiers. Radama also diminished the 
 amount of fanompoana (unrequited governmen tservice) re- 
 quired from the non-military classes, and set an excellent 
 example himself by paying in money the chief part of those 
 whom he employed in building and other works. 
 
 The vast predatory expeditions sent by the late government 
 to the western and southern parts of the country, had issued in 
 the acquisition of a large amount of booty, and a large number 
 of captives, some of them of high rank and position. Of the 
 captives, some had been put to death, the rest reduced to 
 slavery, and a number of these had died of hunger and fatigue 
 on the road. Some of these captives remained in bondage 
 when Radama came to the throne. He called them to the 
 capital, and made them all free, declaring that he regarded ali 
 the Malagasy people as his friends, and wished the different 
 tribes to be united as one nation and family. He then sent the 
 chiefs, and every Sacalava he could find, to their homes, with 
 valuable presents for their chiefs and friends, and with messages 
 of peace and goodwill. He also sent what they would esteem 
 more than any gift, the bones of the captive chiefs of the 
 Sacalavas, who had been brought to the capital and put to 
 death, or had died in captivity, that they might be buried in 
 the land of their fathers. 
 
 The border lands between the Hovas and the Sacalavas at 
 that time were desolate. Long tracts of country, twenty or more 
 miles in width, were destitute of inhabitants, and the Hova 
 villages, as well as those of their allies, were, even with that width 
 of open neutral territory, never safe from night surprises, and 
 assaults, in which the cattle were driven off, the men killed, the 
 women and children hurried into slavery, and the village left a 
 heap of blackened stones and ashes. 
 
 Not very long before the late queen's death, the Sacalavas 
 had attacked in the night a village in Vouezongo, situated to
 
 D4: MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. iv. 
 
 the west of Imerina. They had reduced the place to ashes, 
 and having killed some of the inhabitants, they carried off, as 
 spoil, every living soul to their own country. It was to the 
 burned homesteads, the sacked villages, in the country from 
 which these marauding avengers of blood and rapine issued 
 forth, that Radama' s captives of former wars, now transformed 
 into ambassadors of peace, were sent. Their arrival was as 
 utterly unexpected, as it was inconceivably startling and wel- 
 come. Their message was suspected ; but when by means of 
 the presents they bore, and other proofs, the fact was actually 
 realized, the people were overcome with astonishment. 
 
 The first act of the Sacalavas who had plundered Vonezongo 
 was to take every single captive they had brought away, and to 
 reinstate them in the village they had destroyed, as well as to 
 restore the property they had plundered. Embassies under 
 selected chiefs of the Sacalavas were sent to Antananarivo to 
 accept the welcome friendship, and to offer allegiance to the 
 king and government, the tribes along the whole line of country, 
 with scarcely an exception, following this example. Radama 
 received them with that frank good nature which needed no 
 voucher for its sincerity, and entertained them at his court with 
 right royal hospitality. He delighted them with the music of 
 his band, and with the singing and dancing of the Hovas ; and 
 witnessed, with his companions, the pantomimic, but startling 
 and exciting war dances of the Sacalavas in return. He pledged 
 to them his friendship, and, when the festivities were over, dis- 
 missed them, with clothes and other presents, to their homes. 
 They offered to surrender their arms, but he said, " Take them 
 back with you, and if I should want your help, you will have 
 them ready." 
 
 The result of this treatment, so unlike anything that had 
 ever occurred in Madagascar, surpassed all expectations, and 
 excited universal admiration. The Sacalavas to the west and 
 the south reciprocated the confidence of Radama, and re- 
 turned his kindness, tendered their allegiance, agreed to
 
 CHAP. iv. FIEST COMMUNION IN ANTANANARIVO. 95 
 
 furnish recruits for the Hovas, and Imerina probably did 
 not contain firmer supporters nor more sincere friends than 
 the Sacalavas afterwards proved. The unpeopled intervening 
 waste between the respective territories began to fill up, or was 
 made the highway of friendly travellers. Hovas in Vonezongo 
 in the south began to stretch to the west, and the Sacalavas 
 moved up to the east ; or the inhabitants of one border went 
 and dwelt in the villages of the other, and cultivated adjacent 
 plantations ; and peace prevailed in the land. All saw and 
 acknowledged the wisdom and policy of the king, and nothing 
 made him more popular, or is remembered with greater satis- 
 faction, than his treatment of these deeply injured tribes, and 
 the invaluable results it produced. 
 
 Such was the state of things in the capital, in the district of 
 Imerina, and in the Sacalava provinces, when I arrived and 
 experienced the welcome, the hospitality, and the expressions of 
 goodwill, which I have in part already noticed. The easy, 
 cheerful, often joyous bearing of the people, and the exhilarating 
 effects of hope, that the present was only the beginning of a 
 good time to come, which seemed to be so generally felt, con- 
 trasting as it never ceased to do, in my own mind, with the 
 restraint, fear, and the sense of espionage everywhere present 
 which marked my former intercourse with this people, rendered 
 the present to me a period of deep interest as well as one of 
 cheering promise. 
 
 I had already found that the accounts which the Christians 
 had formerly given of the king, as well as the estimate which 
 I had myself formed respecting him, were too favourable, and 
 that he was not a Christian in heart or life. But ho was 
 willing to learn ; and my trust in the Holy Spirit's grace and 
 power encouraged me to hope that he might become a wiser 
 and a better man. Amongst the Christians, although I found 
 much that was immature and defective, there was so much that 
 was unmistakeable and genuine, that I could not doubt the 
 sincerity of very many.
 
 96 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CB^AP. iv. 
 
 On the 6th July, my first Communion Sunday in Antana- 
 narivo, I went as soon as it was daylight to Ambatonakanga. 
 The Christians had been accustomed to commence that service 
 at daybreak. The morning was misty and cold as I went from 
 my residence to the place of worship, but I found the building 
 more than one-third full. There were nearly a hundred com- 
 municants present ; the rest were spectators. The bread and 
 wine were on the table. A hymn was sung. I read the Scrip- 
 tures, and prayed, and then asked one of the native preachers to 
 proceed as they were accustomed to do among themselves. 
 Andriambelo then broke the rice cakes, speaking the while to 
 the people, and another Christian distributed it, first to the 
 men on the left, and then to the women on the right. The 
 wine was then poured out, and taken in the same way to every 
 communicant. Short, but affectionate addresses on the love of 
 Christ were given : the utmost seriousness and attention pre- 
 vailed. When the bread and wine had been dispensed, a hymn 
 was sung, a short prayer followed, and the celebration of the 
 Communion closed. 
 
 Such, so far as material observance was concerned, had been 
 the showing forth of the Lord's death among the Christians of 
 Antananarivo, on the first Communion Sunday which I spent 
 with them. In the simple eating of the bread, and drinking of 
 the wine, with the giving of thanks, there was little to attract 
 attention, or gratify the senses ; but in the spiritual communion 
 with the Lord, and with the spiritual members of his Church 
 in every part of the world, which this signified, how much to 
 call forth deep and hallowed feeling. In connection too with 
 those with whom I was now for the first time united in thus 
 commemorating that love which passeth knowledge, and in the 
 foreshadowing, by what I then beheld, of mercies yet to bless 
 other nations, how much to inspire gratitude and hope. What 
 had been the past of these dear brethren and sisters ? Once 
 they had been wholly given to idolatry, aliens from God, strangers 
 to the covenant of promise, far off by wicked works. What
 
 CHAP. iv. READING THE BIBLE WITH THE KING. 97 
 
 were they now ? Children of God, members of the household 
 of faith, brought nigh by the blood of Christ. They had 
 suffered much for his name's sake, but in their darkest day had 
 found their spiritual life invigorated by thus showing forth his 
 death, it might at the midnight hour, in the depths of the 
 forest, or the cave of the mountain ; but now they sate in peace 
 and joy around this feast of love, as beneath their own vine and 
 fig-tree, none daring to make them afraid, cheered too with the 
 inconceivably blessed hope of sitting down at the marriage 
 supper of the Lamb. What an earnest did such a scene present 
 of blessings yet to come to other nations ; what a reality of 
 import is given by such a spectacle to the words of our Lord 
 " Other sheep I have them I must also bring. And I, if I be 
 lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." 
 
 The members and the general congregation now began to 
 enter in order to attend the ordinary service, which commenced 
 between nine and ten o'clock, and at ten I left to visit some 
 sick people. 
 
 On going to read with the king in English, I had proposed that 
 we should read in the Bible, and as I had only a small pocket 
 copy with me, he sent to the palace, and his messenger soon, 
 returned with a handsomely bound English quarto Bible, on the 
 outside of which I noticed in gold letters : " Presented to Radama,, 
 King of Madagascar, by the London Missionary Society, 1827." 
 The first portion of Scripture that we read together was the 
 103rd Psalm. The king read the English better than I expected,, 
 and gave the sense of the verses in Malagasy, to ascertain 
 whether he had understood it correctly. In the conversation 
 which followed, the officers sitting around occasionally joined. 
 While we were so engaged, the French consul entered, and, as I 
 supposed he had business with the king, I did not remain. 
 
 A few evenings before the Sunday here adverted to, the king 
 had sent his private secretary to say that he wished me to go 
 and read with him every day for half an hour, and also to inform 
 me that he wished me to go at three o'clock every Sunday
 
 98 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. iv. 
 
 afternoon to his house, to have singing, reading the Scriptures, 
 and prayer, in the same way as we had at the places of worship. 
 With these welcome requests I expressed my readiness to comply. 
 Several Christians who were with me at the time were so asto- 
 nished and overcome with feelings of gladness, that as soon as 
 the messenger had left they proposed that we should unitedly 
 thank God in prayer for this, to them, remarkable occurrence. 
 
 On Sunday, the 6th of July, I went at three o'clock, ac- 
 companied by Rahaniraka, to the king's house. Though the 
 place was tolerably full, seats were provided for my pupils, who 
 accompanied me. Rahaniraka, who understood English well, 
 took his seat, at the king's request, close beside me. The 
 singing was in Malagasy, and was good, for there were a number 
 of singers amongst the king's attendants. I read the Scrip- 
 tures first in English, and then in Malagasy, and prayed in the 
 same way. I then read the closing verses of the sixth chapter 
 of St. Matthew's Gospel, offering a short exposition on the 
 same, and on another passage which I read. These Rahaniraka 
 interpreted, and after singing, the service closed with the 
 benediction. Shortly afterwards I took leave of the king and 
 returned, purposely avoiding conversation with him after the 
 service, as I wished that whenever we met for religious worship 
 it might be for that alone. 
 
 I had been told that the king intended to object to anything 
 I might say that he did not approve ; but he was remarkably 
 attentive, as were the young nobles, my pupils, while the 
 Christian officers remarked that it was a sight they never had 
 expected to see. They considered that the very fact of the 
 king's attending religious service on the Sunday would prevent 
 some, at least, from opposing the Christian observance of that 
 day. The religious observance of the day w r as at this time 
 considered a most important part of personal religion. 
 
 From this time I attended the king daily, and read with him 
 at leas!: one chapter in the Bible. No one interrupted the 
 reading, but the officers and those present often took part in
 
 CHAP. iv. EADAMA'S PEAK OF THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. 99 
 
 the conversations which followed. These were at times 
 peculiarly interesting, and were not confined to religious sub- 
 jects. The king was extremely anxious to increase his know- 
 ledge, and possessed a singularly retentive memory. He was, 
 I think, observant of the grand outlines of creation, as shown 
 in the stupendous mountain piles which often pierced the 
 clouds, or stretched away in long successive ridges to the dim 
 horizon. He was also greatly excited by the sudden and violent 
 atmospheric changes which occur in mountainous countries. 
 Nothing terrified him but a thunder-storm. In every residence 
 in which he dwelt, he had a subterranean chamber prepared, 
 and to this he resorted whenever the thunder and lightning were 
 near and violent.* Notwithstanding his dread of lightning, the 
 king used often to speak as if he thought he held a charmed 
 life. He used to say he had no fear, God would protect him ; 
 that he had been in great dangers, but had remained unhurt. He 
 had been in danger from evil men, who had planned his death ; 
 he had been bitten by a mad dog, from whose bite two men had 
 died. He had once smoked some powerful narcotic till he 
 became insensible, but recovered. How far the peril had been 
 actual, I had no means of knowing ; yet I always thought he 
 had a vague idea that his person was secure under a sort 
 of supernatural protection exercised over him by the spirits of 
 his ancestors. 
 
 I never saw the king more profoundly moved than one day 
 when we read together the 104-th Psalm. The description 
 there given of the majesty and greatness of God seemed to 
 strike his spirit with reverence and awe, and at the same time 
 to inspire a kind of satisfaction and delight with the new 
 
 * Thunder and lightning, at certain seasons of the year, are peculiarly 
 grand in Madagascar, and not unfrequently dangerous. The houses of the 
 upper classes, and many of the lower, are provided with lightning conductors, 
 down which, during a storm, the dazzling light is sometimes seen to pass, 
 while the bursting of the thunder seems as if the granite mountains around 
 were being shivered. Few years pass in which death from lightning does not 
 occur in the capital or its neighbourhood. 
 
 II 2
 
 100 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. iv. 
 
 thoughts and ideas imparted to his soul. Most attentively did 
 he listen to the few remarks which I offered explanatory of 
 some of those, to us, more generally understood phenomena of 
 nature, such as the formation of the crust of the earth, the 
 changes which have taken place in its surface, and the motions 
 of the heavenly bodies. 
 
 In reference to the latter, some of those present thought the 
 sun did not keep in the same place, for there was a man living 
 in the time of whose grandfather, more than sixty years ago, 
 rice used to be planted every year when the sun set behind a 
 certain part of a conspicuous mountain, the northern extremity 
 of which was visible in the horizon. He taught his children to 
 do the same ; but it was stated that gradually the sun when 
 setting did not reach the specified part of the mountain ; and 
 that, ultimately, the furthest limit reached by the sun when 
 setting did not extend to the mountain at all. The king men- 
 tioned another man still living, who used to mark on the face 
 of a rock the place over which the sun set at the time of 
 planting rice, and that the place of sunset when they planted 
 rice now had changed. He added that, while his mother lived, 
 the man never related what he had done, for fear of being 
 punished, but that he had seen the rock many times. The 
 officers present confirmed his statement, and when I said I should 
 like to see the rock and the man, he said, "You shall see both." 
 
 In reference to my remark that the surface of the earth was 
 changing, that in some places the sea was rising over the land, 
 and in others the land rising out of the sea, Radama said that was 
 taking place now in some parts of the coast of Madagascar. He 
 had recently, he said, received a letter from a distant part inform- 
 ing him that the sea had been going down a good deal, and the 
 sand had been washed away ; and a cannon almost destroyed by 
 rust had been discovered, though there had never been any port, 
 or any Europeans there. I suggested that it might have belonged 
 to some ship wrecked off the coast, and brought on shore by the 
 natives. On the same occasion the king asked if I could give
 
 CHAP. IV. HIS REASONS FOR ABOLISHING CUSTOMS DUTIES. 101 
 
 him any information about the comets, two having been seen 
 during the previous year before his mothei-'s death, and that 
 their appearance had greatly alarmed the people. This pheno- 
 menon I also endeavoured to explain to him. 
 
 When in company with the king and a number of officers at 
 another place, I was drawn to take part in conversation on sub- 
 jects-relating to government, on which I had purposed always 
 to remain silent, unless specially appealed to. Some remarks 
 were made upon the loss to the government which the abolition 
 of custom-house duties entailed ; also on the great increase of 
 drunkenness among the people. I was appealed to, and said no 
 government could be carried on without a revenue, and that 
 foreign commerce was a legitimate source of revenue, especially 
 to a people of limited resources like themselves ; that I did not 
 think the friends of Madagascar would think the government 
 had acted wisely in abolishing all duties. Some of the officers 
 said they did not think things Avere cheaper than before. In 
 reference to drunkenness, I said I had noticed with sorrow a 
 great increase, which must tend to impoverish and demoralise 
 the people. The king said the prohibition of spirituous liquors 
 by severe penalty did not prevent their use ; that there was in- 
 toxication in his mother's time, when its punishment was death. 
 
 In relation to imposing duties the king said he could not do 
 it. He did not think it was needed. There was no war, and 
 it would be his great object to perpetuate peace. They might 
 hope that, with the prospect of peace and increased commerce, 
 they could do without the customs duties, which would make 
 things dearer to everbody. He wanted money, he said, for him- 
 self, for his wife, his family, to build his house ; but could not 
 cause the people to pay more for the things they wanted than 
 they did now, when there were no duties. And then, he said, 
 he had given his word that there should be none. If he now 
 imposed them, his own people and foreigners would say he was 
 unstable, and did not abide by his word, and they would neither 
 respect nor put confidence in him.
 
 102 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. IV. 
 
 Radama on this occasion exhibited more decision and firmness 
 than I gave him credit for. He spoke with much animation, 
 but with perfect self-command and courtesy. He said his heart 
 had not told him it was wrong to abolish the duties, and it did 
 not tell him so now, but he would think about it ; and though 
 he did not prohibit the use of spirituous liquors, he would 
 issue orders prohibiting drunkenness, and would punish the 
 drunkard. He then added, " I am sorry, very sorry indeed, 
 that my giving up the duties should not be thought well of by 
 my friends abroad, but if the country prospers, they will perhaps 
 change their opinions." 
 
 I was accustomed to go to each of the three city congrega- 
 tions in rotation. Wishing to see the early service at Amparibe, 
 I arrived on the 20th of July, about half-past seven o'clock, 
 and found at least five hundred persons assembled. They 
 appeared to be engaged in a preparatory service, singing, prayer, 
 and the reading of the Scriptures alternated, the singing being 
 led by a martyr's son. By nine o'clock there were more than 
 a thousand persons present. All were neatly and becomingly 
 attired, some in rofia cloth, but a greater number in clean, 
 decent cotton lambas, a few wearing European dresses. It was 
 a gladdening sight to behold, and truly encouraging to know 
 that within little more than a few hundred yards double that 
 number were assembled in two other congregations. Rainima- 
 rosaiidy, a Christian officer, commenced the regular service by 
 singing and prayer. Others followed ; Andriambelo, a returned 
 exile, preached an excellent and impressive sermon, and I closed 
 the service with singing and prayer. Among the audience 
 were a number of intelligent young officers connected with 
 some of the highest families in the place, and I could not 
 but hope there was an honourable and useful future before 
 them. 
 
 In the afternoon I went to the king's house, which I found 
 well filled. Rahaniraka interpreted my discourse very correctly, 
 and during the service the king rose up more than once to
 
 CHAP. iv. WHY THE MARTYRS DID NOT DENY CHRIST. 103 
 
 illustrate or enforce what I had said. As I was leaving, 
 Radama said that if in former times I had spoken to the 
 people as I had done then, they would have" said some one 
 had been telling me about them. 
 
 On another Sunday afternoon when I had been preaching at 
 the king's place, from John iii. 16, on the love of God and of 
 Christ, the king made afterwards many remarks, and said, 
 " If Jesus Christ loves the Christian so much as you say, why 
 does he not let them deny Him, and so not die ? Why are they 
 obliged to die ? He knows they believe and love Him without 
 their dying." I said it was not Jesus Christ who would not let 
 them deny Him to save their lives, but the power of truth in their 
 own consciences, and the trust and love of Jesus Christ in their 
 own hearts, that made them rather die than be false to Him and 
 their own consciences. This caused them to die to enjoy his 
 love, rather than live as hypocrites, unfit for it, and without 
 hope of it. Christ had loved them, and given Himself to save 
 them. They had avowed their love to Him, and could not show 
 to Him and to the world that such avowal had been false by 
 denying Him in the day of trial. I said there was no love in 
 falsehood, no love or goodness without truth, and that nothing 
 was stronger than love and truth, especially in religion. But, I 
 added, that I would talk to him further on these subjects some 
 other day. 
 
 Little as I then knew of Radama, I never lost sight of the 
 inconceivably powerful influences for evil under which his 
 childhood had been passed ; and I found his moral principles, 
 though in some respects true and highly commendable, yet in 
 others so false that I deemed it quite as desirable, if not more 
 so, to urge upon his consideration the great unchangeable prin- 
 ciples of God's moral law, as to present the peculiar doctrines of 
 the Gospel, believing as I did, that should the Divine Spirit 
 renew his heart, it would be by the instrumentality of both, and 
 of neither alone. 
 
 During the former reign it was only on extraordinary occa-
 
 104 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. IV. 
 
 sions, and by privileged persons, that the sovereign could be 
 seen. All communication to and from the people was by the 
 ministers. Radama from the first declared himself accessible, 
 at specified times, to all classes of his subjects. The peeple 
 prized this privilege highly. In conversation with me, persons 
 at this time have often said, " We have no fear now. Radama 
 is king. If anything evil comes to us, or if anything is wrong, 
 we can go to him," as if in their opinion nothing more was to 
 be desired. Many, I believe, went at times chiefly for the 
 pleasure of seeing him and presenting their salutations. His 
 habits were desultory, but not without a measure of order. The 
 early morning was devoted to public business with his ministers 
 or others, and to the reception of formal visits from the members 
 of his own family, and any time that might remain, to learning 
 English. 
 
 Some of those who appeared to cherish for Radama a sincere 
 personal affection repeated their visits almost daily. One morn- 
 ing while I was present, his mother's sister, the mother of the 
 present queen, said to be in person very much like the late 
 queen, came with her husband, who was splendidly dressed in 
 a blue silk damask coat, or loose dressing-gown, and followed 
 by their retinue and servants, to present their morning saluta- 
 tions to the king. He rose as soon as they entered, and returned 
 their salutations, taking the hand of his aunt with much grace 
 and kissing it. The greetings seemed to be more the manifes- 
 tation of affectionate interest in each other than mere formal 
 ceremony. As they turned to visit the queen, the royal lady's 
 husband perceiving me standing by the king, for we had been 
 reading together, tendered his veloma (may you live) very 
 cordially. 
 
 The king at this time generally spent the middle of the day 
 at his school-house, or in a dwelling near the workshops of 
 several clever workmen in iron and brass which stood within 
 the same enclosure. Two sentries kept the entrance gate, and 
 when any persons sought admittance, the king, on being in-
 
 CHAP. IV. THE KING'S BENEVOLENT DECISIONS. 105 
 
 formed, sent a messenger to bring them to his presence. These 
 visits often occurred while I was with him. If we were reading, 
 he required the visitors to wait ; if conversing, they were either 
 admitted to the room, or he went outside the door. 
 
 Parties occasionally came from other and distant provinces ; 
 more than once several persons came from Mojanga, a port on 
 the western coast, and 200 miles distant ; and I found gra- 
 tification in observing the features, dress, ornaments, and 
 bearing of the several parties. The language in remote parts 
 differed from that of the Hovas, but still they understood each 
 other. 
 
 These interviews between the king and his people were to 
 me exceedingly . interesting. Youthful, light-hearted, and fond 
 of fun as Radama naturally was, he never forgot himself on 
 these occasions. If it was a calamity that brought a sufferer, 
 he was gentle and kind, and promised to see what assistance 
 could be given. If it was a wrong, he sent to the magistrate to 
 have it redressed. If it was any one seeking, as he thought, to 
 impose upon him, he was very severe. But he was particularly 
 courteous and assuring to such as came from a distance. He 
 listened with patience to the statements of each party when 
 opponents preferred their rival claims, made inquiries on any 
 point which he did not understand, and then decided without 
 hesitation, as one who felt no doubt, and knew that his decision 
 would be final. 
 
 A Christian widow who had survived the torture of fetters in 
 the last persecution, whose husband had been stoned to death, 
 and whose property had been divided as spoil amongst the 
 officers by whom the Christians had been condemned, came one 
 day to complain that her plot of land, her only means of sup- 
 port, had been appropriated by a rich and powerful chief, who 
 refused to restore it. The king listened patiently, inquired of 
 his officers if it was so, and when the widow's statement was 
 confirmed, told her not to grieve, and said her land should be 
 restored to her. He then sent to the chief to ask why the
 
 10G MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. iv. 
 
 widow's land had not been restored, and directed the officer 
 to say that it was no crime to pray to God, but a thing 
 to be rewarded rather than punished ; that it was suffering 
 enough to the woman that her husband had been killed ; and 
 at the same time he ordered the chief to restore the land, or to 
 give another piece equally valuable. The widow came to me 
 about a fortnight afterwards to tell me that God had caused her 
 to obtain a good piece of land, adding, that she " blessed God 
 that Radama was king." 
 
 One day a party in homely attire, but with almost enthusi- 
 astic expressions of gladness, arrived from a distance with a 
 present, or it might be tribute, of honey, the mellifluous name of 
 which is tantely. The honey-jars, as they might be called, pre- 
 sented a singular appearance, being wooden cylinders formed by 
 hollowing out a piece of the branch or trunk of a tree, and 
 secured by closely-fitting wooden lids, and the whole covered 
 over with leaves, bound on with strips of green bark. The 
 visitors placed these rustic vessels on the ground, took off the 
 lids, and when the king tasted the honey and pronounced it 
 good, they looked at each other with satisfaction, and then sat 
 for some time gazing at him without speaking, but with evident 
 delight. Presents of fruit, fish, game, or of anything rare or 
 choice, were almost daily brought to both the king and the 
 queen ; not from the rich, nor as tribute, but from the joy which 
 it seemed to give the peasantry to bring anything that would 
 afford pleasure to the sovereigns. 
 
 These are but a few of the signs of satisfaction and confidence 
 very generally existing in the minds of the people immediately 
 after the accession of Radama to the throne of Madagascar. 
 Hopes, ardently cherished, had not been disappointed. The 
 burdens of the people had been lightened, clemency had suc- 
 ceeded cruelty, the laws had been rendered more lenient, trial 
 by poison and capital punishment had been abolished, every 
 species of persecution had ceased, while the country had been 
 opened to the friendship, enterprize, commerce, and religion
 
 CHAP. iv. COMING DANGERS FEARED. 107 
 
 of foreign nations. The few wrong steps taken might yet 
 be retraced, and there was nothing apparent to forbid the 
 ardently cherished expectation of a long period of progressive 
 improvement. 
 
 So far as the people were concerned, I shared then the 
 general expectation. In reference to the king, I knew of 
 nothing that, should it please the Divine Spirit to change 
 his moral nature, need prevent his attaining that enlightenment 
 of mind, soundness of principle, and general improvement of 
 character, which would enable him to lead the nation onward in 
 its upward and brightening course. I was however fully con- 
 scious that the seasons of temptation and trial which the ex- 
 pected influx of foreigners, and the rejoicings and festivities 
 connected with the approaching coronation, would bring to a 
 nature constituted like his, and marked by the distinguishing 
 traits of character which he exhibited his gaiety of heart, his 
 frank and genial spirit, his delight in society and in the exercise 
 of hospitality, with his tendency to surrender himself to the 
 impulses of the moment might make shipwreck of all. Never- 
 theless, so far as my knowledge at that time extended, the pro- 
 spect appeared to me more cheered by hope, than darkened by 
 discouragement.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Native and European dress in Madagascar Revised code of laws Abolition of 
 capital punishment Law in favour of religious liberty Laws affecting 
 foreigners Fondness of the natives for music Evening singing and music 
 Watchmen of Antananarivo Public roads Eevelations of the microscope 
 Pursuits of iladama and his friends King dancing for joy Terror 
 inspired by a live owl Presentation of the French embassy to the King 
 and Queen of Madagascar Satisfactory character of the interview Deci- 
 sion of the King about his coronation Arrival of the English embassy 
 Conversation with the Bishop of Mauritius respecting the country to be 
 occupied by the agents of the London and Church Missionary Societies 
 State of Christianity at the capital Presentation of the English embassy 
 Effect produced by the reception of Her Majesty's letter Present and 
 address from the Christians to the English embassy Visit of the Bishop 
 and Captain Anson to sites of the martyrs' death. 
 
 THE dress among the middle and higher classes of the Mala- 
 gasy, like that of most of the natives of warm climates, and of a 
 corresponding grade of civilisation, was worn in loose and flow- 
 ing folds of light material, such as silk, hemp, or cotton ; the 
 lambas or broad long clothes of the men reaching from the 
 shoulders to the knees, those of the women extending to the 
 feet, which were also frequently covered. The military and the 
 male slaves in Imerina wore their hair short ; by the other 
 classes it was braided in a variety of forms, some of those in use 
 among the females being neat and tasteful. Altogether the 
 native costume was light, agreeable, and becoming, and probably 
 favoured the freedom and ease of their movements. 
 
 Iladama had always shown great partiality for European 
 dress. During my former visit I had never seen him in any 
 other. It was also adopted by the young nobles who were at 
 that time his companions. He now not only always wore it
 
 CHAP. v. THE FIRST YEAR OF RADAMA'S REIGN. 109 
 
 himself, but recommended its use by those whose means en- 
 abled them to obtain it, and required that the officers about his 
 person, and all who visited him, should appear in European 
 costume. It thus became general amongst the upper classes, 
 and the king was gratified thereby, regarding it as one means of 
 promoting civilisation, by leading the people to adopt also in 
 other respects the habits of the more advanced communities. 
 The wealthy classes found no difficulty in obtaining the more 
 expensive clothing, and had no objection to wearing it, perhaps 
 were pleased to appear in French or English dress ; but I re- 
 gretted its coming into fashion, as it tempted many to incur 
 expenses beyond their means, without improving their appear- 
 ance, or adding to their comfort. 
 
 The first year of Radama's reign was now drawing to a close. 
 The discontinuance of the customs duties, and the diminution 
 of unpaid government service, though condemned by the parties 
 most nearly concerned, were welcomed by the great body of the 
 people, who appeared generally satisfied with the new order of 
 things. The laws of the kingdom had been revised, and cor- 
 dially accepted by the whole community. With the exception 
 of abolition of the duties, every change was regarded as an im- 
 provement, rendering their code more accordant with the views 
 of the sacredness of human life held by the king, as well as 
 more liberal and humane. 
 
 These laws, of which the king gave me a copy soon after my 
 arrival, had been already promulgated. In Madagascar the 
 king is the fountain of all law as well as all honour, and accord- 
 ing to the customs of the country, one of the early acts of a new 
 sovereign on ascending the throne is to announce publicly to 
 the people any changes he may make in the laws of his ances- 
 tors, and any commands of his own which he may add to them. 
 The newly proclaimed king thus introduced the code of his 
 reign : " These are the laws of the kingdom given by the 
 founders of the dynasty and his successors " (enumerating their 
 names), "which I do not change, except in abolishing the punish-
 
 110 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. v. 
 
 merit of death, and ordeal by tangena, Saith Kadama the 
 Second, King of Madagascar." 
 
 The separate enactments of this code, which extend to sixty- 
 four in number, include crimes against the person, or property, 
 or rights of individuals, and offences against the government or 
 the public by the several classes of the community, freemen or 
 slaves. The laws are in substance the enactments of preceding 
 sovereigns, differing chiefly in the change of punishment for the 
 highest crimes, with a few additional orders introduced by the 
 king. 
 
 The first law declares that for murder, rebellion, attempted 
 assassination, robbery in the palace, unauthorised administra- 
 tion of the oath of allegiance, and other crimes formerly pu- 
 nished by death, the penalty shall be loss of wife and children to 
 be sold into slavery ; that those guilty of murder, treason, or 
 attempted assassination shall be branded on the forehead,* and 
 be loaded with fetters ; and that traitors and rebels shall be 
 sent away so bound in fetters to such distant part as the people 
 shall determine. The descendants of Radama's great grand- 
 father, a privileged class in the community, were to be punished 
 by fines or confiscation of part of their estates. The sums are 
 also specified at which persons sentenced to slavery may be 
 redeemed, and the proportions of fines or confiscated property 
 which shall belong to the sovereign and to other parties. 
 
 The law guaranteeing perfect religious freedom to all resi- 
 dents in Madagascar, native or foreign, to practise, preach, and 
 teach their' religion without the least interruption or hindrance, 
 
 * Criminals were sometimes branded on the forehead with a heated musket- 
 barrel, and the circular marks thus burned into the skin were permanent. At 
 other times the nature of their crime was marked on their foreheads by piercing 
 and raising the skin with an awl, or other sharp instrument, and inserting a 
 coloured liquid into the puncture, so as by this means to declare their crime. 
 Thus a traitor would be sent to the place of banishment, not only in irons, but 
 with the word Mpkiomy tattooed on his forehead. The latter was not perma- 
 nent. The culprits managed either to get the colouring matter removed, or the 
 lines obliterated, and in those that I have seen the skin has been slightly 
 seamed or corrugated, and the marks in course of time obliterated.
 
 CHAP. v. REVISED LAWS OF MADAGASCAR. Ill 
 
 occurs among the earliest of those which Radama now incorpo- 
 rated in the Malagasy code. 
 
 The 57th law enacts, that if any native or foreigner should 
 discover any land or place in Madagascar in which there is gold 
 or silver, precious stones, or copper, lead, or coal, such discovery 
 shall be reported to the sovereign, who shall appoint persons to 
 arrange what reward shall be given to the discoverer ; but that 
 the digging or working for such metals and precious stones, 
 &c., shall belong to the sovereign alone.* 
 
 The next law requires the sovereign's approval of any engage- 
 ments made by the natives with foreigners for bees-wax, india- 
 rubber, gum-benzoin, or other native products, to render such 
 engagement valid. All such native productions as are obtained 
 without cultivation had been considered as belonging ^to the 
 sovereign, and hitherto contracts for these had been made with 
 the sovereign alone, who had ordered the people to collect the 
 articles as part of the government service. This was therefore 
 an improvement in allowing the collector to make the contract, 
 requiring the sanction of the sovereign, to whom probably a 
 portion of the price of the gums, &c., would be paid. 
 
 In this code it is also stated that foreigners are permitted to 
 build houses or cultivate ground, with the permission of the 
 authorities, but that such land cannot become the property of 
 those who thus occupy it, but must belong to the sovereign. 
 
 These laws are proclaimed by the judges to the people, and 
 laws or orders are also proclaimed to strangers from the country 
 on the day of the great market, and, though only signed by the 
 king, must be regarded as the code in which the members of the 
 government agree. The penalty substituted for crimes gene- 
 rally considered capital was heavy, and in such a state of society 
 
 * Some dissatisfaction was expressed by the friends of M. Lambert when this 
 law was promulgated, and it was said that the king had agreed with that gen- 
 tleman that the discoverers of any mines of precious metals, &c., should have 
 the exclusive privilege of working them. The king said if he had done so, he 
 had done what he ought not to have done, and that the above must be the law.
 
 112 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. v. 
 
 would certainly deter from crime as effectually as any, short of 
 taking life, which they could inflict. The abolition of the 
 poison ordeal,* so fearful an engine of cruelty and death under 
 cover of judicial proceedings, and the legal recognition and gua- 
 rantee of religious freedom, are blessings of incalculable value 
 to Madagascar. These laws were promulgated in the other pro- 
 vinces as well as in Imerina ; and I was somewhat surprised to 
 see that for some offences the penalties were in several instances 
 made lighter to the people at a distance than to those in the 
 central part of the kingdom. 
 
 The increasing number of foreigners at Tamatave, and the 
 expectation of others at the capital, made the king, and also his 
 chief minister, anxious that some regulations should be framed 
 to prevent any misunderstandings or disputes between the 
 natives and the strangers. Both spoke to me on the subject, 
 and I said it would be well to print such regulations as they 
 expected foreigners to observe, as many quarrels between the 
 natives and foreigners arose from the ignorance of the latter of 
 the customs of the people, and suggested that the British consul 
 would be able to assist them in any measures they might adopt 
 for maintaining a good understanding between the different 
 parties; and I only advert to the subject here to show how 
 anxious the king and the government were not to give any just 
 cause of offence to foreigners. 
 
 The Malagasy, especially the Hovas, are passionately fond of 
 music. Besides the military band, one more or less efficient is 
 always included in the personal establishment of the sovereign, 
 and of some of the higher nobles or members of the royal family. 
 A house is in such cases appropriated to the band near the resi- 
 dence of the proprietor. Ramboasalama had one near the large 
 palace he was building to the west of the courtyard ; and I fre- 
 quently found when I went in the afternoon to read with the 
 
 * It seems strange that many of the heathen were averse to the abolition of 
 this ordeal, and would not object to its re-enactment, notwithstanding its un- 
 certainty and frequent cruelty.
 
 CHAP. v. MALAGASY MUSICIANS AND MUSIC. 113 
 
 king that his band were practising somewhere on the premises, 
 and when our reading was over, he occasionally asked me to 
 accompany him to hear their music. I was always gratified 
 when I did so, and I afterwards heard both English and French 
 visitors say that they played remarkably well. Their instru- 
 ments were mostly of native manufacture ; some of them of silver, 
 were such as to astonish their visitors. The ear of the king was 
 perhaps as correct as that of any in Madagascar, and his taste 
 as good. His own delight in music attracted to him the best 
 musicians in the country, and encouraged several of the young 
 officers who were daily with him, to seek amusement in music 
 and singing. They played by notes, the first Malagasy band 
 having been two years under training by one of the band- 
 masters at Mauritius, and some of them were soon able to read 
 off or play any new and easy foreign tunes. They had a few 
 pieces composed by themselves which, I have been told since 
 my return, are creditable to their taste and skill. I have re- 
 peatedly heard the observation made by foreign visitors and 
 residents, that the king's ear was as perfect as, without musical 
 education, could be expected. I believe music was to him a 
 source of pure enjoyment, and his band spared no pains in their 
 endeavours to excel. I recollect saying, when they had been 
 playing some European music which they thought might be 
 used when their visitors came, that if they played as well as 
 they had done then, they need not be ashamed to play before 
 anybody, when one of them looked up and said, " We are never 
 ashamed when we do the best we can." I think it was on the 
 same occasion that the king took one of the instruments, ad- 
 justed it, and played through the tune with remarkable preci- 
 sion, and as he laid it down when he had done, playfully 
 exclaimed, " I was a soldier before I was a king, and I love the 
 soldiers as much as ever." 
 
 The first missionaries had prepared a small collection of 
 hymns in the native language in easy metres, about one hun- 
 dred and seventy in number, which, next to the Scriptures,
 
 114 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. v. 
 
 was one of their choicest treasures. Being small in size, it was 
 easily carried concealed in some part of their dress, and often 
 beguiled a dark and sorrowful hour in prison, or in exile. Many 
 who had never possessed a book, had committed all the most 
 cheering of these simple, unpretending hymns to memory. The 
 Christians had also learned from the first missionaries a number 
 of tunes used in religious worship; and though during the 
 long period of repression and suffering they had but few oppor- 
 tunities for singing publicly together, they had, since all re- 
 straint had been removed, and freedom of worship established, 
 given vent to th^ir long-pent-up feelings, and made Antana- 
 narivo vocal with their songs. 
 
 Singing was not confined to seasons of worship, either in the 
 sanctuary or the family home. The children sang at their play, 
 or as they went along the streets. The slaves sang at their 
 work. And in the cool of the evening, that pleasant time 
 in all warm climates, when the wind was hushed, the moon 
 walking in brightness, or the stars glittering as they only glitter 
 in a tropical sky, sometimes bands of young men, or at other 
 times companies of young women, perhaps ten or twelve to- 
 gether, would walk through the main streets of the city singing, 
 not as their predecessors had sung, in the days of persecution, 
 in under-tones or whispers, for fear of prison and chains, but in 
 conscious, joyous liberty, with clear and cheerful voice, pouring 
 forth their strains of sacred Christian melody. 
 
 And often, too, not only at this early period of my residence 
 there, but during a large portion of my stay in Antananarivo, 
 there were several places on the opposite side of the hollow 
 plain, on the edge of which my dwelling stood, or in other 
 directions within hearing distance, where a number of Chris- 
 tians, perhaps once a week, when the evening meal was over, 
 used to meet together out of doors in the courtyard of one of 
 their houses, and sing and talk, and talk and sing, for a long 
 delicious hour, or until the evening gun on the high southern 
 rock sent the singers and the listeners home, to close the doors,
 
 CHAP. v. PUBLIC SERENADES IN THE CITY. 115 
 
 extinguish the lamps, and leave the city to the lights of 
 heaven. 
 
 The Malagasy guardians or watchmen, before the report of 
 the evening gun had died away, then started on their rounds, 
 beginning their loud and harsh call, which I should think no 
 European ever heard for the first time without starting, and, per- 
 haps, concluding that there was fire, or thieves, or murder, or 
 that the sound was the ciy of some unhappy wretch in his last 
 agony. The sleepers, however, were not always left under the 
 sole influence of the watchman's discordant cry, which is nothing 
 but the loudest noise they can make. Sometimes, an hour or 
 more after the gun had fired and the watchmen had gone their 
 first round, a small select company of musicians, perhaps 
 violinists, or players on the clarionet, or flute (there was never 
 a mixture of instruments), would walk once or twice along the 
 main street from the palace to the market, and charm the 
 night with music. 
 
 It had been the policy of past governments in Madagascar to 
 confine their intercourse with foreigners to the ports on the 
 coast as a means of preserving their own possession of the 
 country. It had, therefore, been their object to render the 
 roads into the interior as difficult as possible to an invading 
 enemy. But I had been gratified by signs of the commence- 
 ment of a change in this respect on my last journey. A cir- 
 cuitous and more easy route had in some instances been taken, 
 planks or logs of wood had been laid across swampy places, and 
 bridges, seldom more than three or four poles, or trunks of 
 small trees, laid side by side across the rivers, were now being 
 repaired in order to facilitate th 3 journey to the capital of the 
 visitors expected in the course of the year. 
 
 The floods in Antananarivo during the rainy season are often 
 very destructive to the roads. I have seen, in places where 
 there were no rocks, gullies six or more feet deep formed in the 
 middle of the roar], or taking a winding course from side to side, 
 by the flood which a single continuous fall of rain has produced.
 
 116 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. v. 
 
 At other times the soil has been washed away from large blocks 
 of stone and then carried lower down, leaving fearful chasms, 
 rendering the roads nearly impassable. Considerable repairs 
 are consequently required after each rainy season, and as such 
 repairs are of the most temporary kind, consisting of little more 
 than filling up the holes with sods of grass, they only last for a 
 short time, or at most until the succeeding rains. These repairs 
 appeared to have been omitted after the last floods, and as 
 intelligence of the arrival at Tamatave of some of the visitors 
 expected to attend the coronation had been received, a number 
 of soldiers and ethers were employed in putting the chief 
 thoroughfares of the city in order before their arrival. 
 
 I continued my daily visits to the king, who in his efforts to 
 attain a little English manifested quite as much perseverance as 
 I had expected. Our conversation afterwards depended upon 
 his leisure or otherwise. I took with me one day a stereoscope 
 and transparent slides, exhibiting the residences of our queen at 
 Windsor and Buckingham Palace, together with interior views 
 of several of the apartments in each. The king and queen 
 were both greatly pleased with these views, and the queen 
 especially looked at them repeatedly, and called some of her 
 friends who were present to see them.* 
 
 A Protestant gentleman in Paris had sent the king a very 
 excellent solar microscope, with a number of slides, which, at 
 his request, when I presented it, I promised to exhibit to him 
 on the first favourable day. When I did so, the king and the 
 whole Malagasy then present were astonished and gratified. 
 The greatest wonder appeared to be excited by the beautiful 
 
 * A short time before my departure I presented the stereoscope and these 
 slides to the queen, from whom I had received many favours. Her majesty 
 was at that time finishing a new palace. The next time Mr. Cameron, who 
 superintended the building, was there ; she showed him the representation of 
 Queen Victoria's palace, asking him if any such ornaments could be introduced 
 into her own apartments ; and I believe Mr. Cameron was obliged to say he was 
 afraid the Malagasy workmen were not yet sufficiently advanced to be able to 
 gratify her majesty's wishes.
 
 CHAP. v. THE REVELATIONS OF THE MICROSCOPE. 117 
 
 structure of an insect's wing, the gigantic proportions of the 
 common flea, and specimens of differently coloured human 
 hair. A kind of reverence and silent admiration seemed to be 
 produced by the first. About the flea they were incredulous, 
 until I actually showed them the insect between the glasses in 
 the slides; and for the third specimen they were obliged to take 
 my word. They said the hair was hollow like a bamboo, and 
 some added, as large as a spear handle. I promised on a future 
 opportunity to insert some of their own hair in the slide, which 
 would remove their scepticism ; and I took advantage of the 
 occasion to tell them that there was a world of creative wisdom 
 and skill concealed within all natural objects around us, even in 
 a drop of water, as varied and wonderful as those which we 
 every day behold, and with which by means of the microscope 
 we might become acquainted. 
 
 On one of my visits to the king about this time, I found a 
 number of his officers and friends sitting with him, and after 
 our reading together, I had an interesting conversation with 
 them. They said the king, while prince, had met with much 
 opposition and many difficulties in his endeavours to save life 
 and to confer benefits on the community, but that he was en- 
 couraged because his heart told him that what he was doing 
 was right and good. That when he began to take notice of the 
 condition of the people, he found^that there was much suffering 
 amongst them caused by extortion, unjust awards, or exces- 
 sive and unlawful punishments ; that he sought to obtain right 
 by appealing to his mother and the high officers, and by helping 
 those who suffered to the utmost extent of his means. That 
 when he saw the roads commenced by lladama the First 
 neglected, he proposed to them to unite with him to finish 
 them thoroughly ; that they procured men to labour, and he.- 
 and his companions finished all the roads in the capital. That 
 the wooden bridges over the rivers were frequently broken 
 down, and that numbers of people perished in attempting to 
 pass during the floods in canoes, or by swimming. That the
 
 118 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. v. 
 
 prince proposed, and they agreed to unite with him, to build 
 stone bridges, and that all the bridges to the west and the east, 
 as far as Ambatomauga, and to the north, were built by them, 
 whereby the lives of many people had been saved. That they 
 pursued these works without pay or honorary reward for years ; 
 that when there were floods, and their work was in danger, 
 they often worked until late at night, and the prince was 
 always with them, sometimes wrapped in his cloak in rain and 
 storm, in daylight or dark ; and that, when the roads and 
 bridges were finished, the queen, his mother, the authorities, 
 and the people wore all pleased. 
 
 I knew there had been bridges finished in the time of the 
 first Radama, by constructing piers of massive stone in the 
 waters, and laying flat stones or timber on the top, but I did 
 not recollect the erecting of any arched bridges, and I asked 
 them who had helped them, or directed them how to proceed 
 in the turning of the arches. They said no one had assisted 
 them; that they had books about building bridges, with pictures 
 and instructions how to make the arches, and these afforded 
 the only assistance they received. I have since passed over a 
 number of these bridges, of from one to seventeen arches in 
 length, and whenever I have asked the people who built them, 
 their answer has always been, " Radama and the Menamaso." 
 Some of the bridges are out of order now, but they are the only 
 structures of the kind in the country. 
 
 In the course of the same conversation the speakers alluded 
 to the stone house near to which we were then sitting, and said 
 Radama did not build a battery, but a school, as he wished the 
 people to be educated. They added that when they commenced 
 the efforts in which they had been so long engaged, he said to 
 them, " We must not seek for honour, nor for money, but to do 
 all the good we can ; to diminish the miseries of the people by 
 seeking help for those in distress, applying to the rich for assist- 
 ance, but especially, we must try to save the lives of those con- 
 demned to death, by pleading with the high officers, or with the
 
 CHAP. v. REHEAESAL OF THE ACTS OF THE KING. 119 
 
 keepers of the victims to let them escape, by promising them 
 protection against any evil to themselves." It was not, they said, 
 the Christians more than others that he sought to save, except- 
 ing that he thought the putting them to death to be destitute 
 of any justification whatever, and thus he had saved the lives of 
 very many. 
 
 These officers referred especially to the efforts of Radama to 
 liberate as many as he could of those who, soon after my last visit, 
 had been sentenced to die in chains for crimes which they had, 
 as he considered, been decoyed to confess on the promise of only 
 a slight penalty. They referred also to his saving Ramboasalama's 
 life, and to his treatment of the Sacalavas, especially to his 
 sending home, in order that they might be buried in the 
 sepulchres of their fathers, the bodies, or rather the bones of 
 the Sacalava rulers who had died in captivity, or had been put 
 to death when brought to the capital. This was, in fact, one of 
 the most genuine evidences which the king could give of the 
 sincerity of his friendship, and would be fully appreciated by 
 the Sacalavas ; the loss by death in battle being less severely 
 felt if the bones of the fallen could be preserved by his friends, 
 and brought home for interment. 
 
 I told them I was glad to meet so many who had been asso- 
 ciated with the king in these good works. That difficulties, 
 often arising from misapprehension, attended the commencement 
 of the best of works, and I adverted, as an example, to the 
 earliest attempts at education in Antananarivo, where, when 
 the missionaries opened their first school, the parents, in 
 order to prevent their children going, -lest they should be sold 
 for slaves, hid them in rice pits, where some were suffocated ; 
 and then I directed them to look at the sons of the nobles 
 who were sitting in the room, as evidence of the estimation 
 in which learning was now held in the same city. 
 
 In regard to the efforts of the prince to save life, his treat- 
 ment of his rival, when in his power, and his conduct towards 
 the Sacalavas, I said, that when the conquests of his ancestors
 
 120 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. v. 
 
 were forgotten, these acts of clemency and justice would do 
 more to secure firm and lasting peace in Madagascar than all 
 the forces they could send against the Sacalavas, or the military 
 posts they could establish in the country. I added, that every- 
 thing good in this world came from God, to whom ackncMledg- 
 ment was due, while greater opportunities brought increased 
 obligations. In regai'd to the king, I said friends in England 
 watched his course with great anxiety, and offered many prayers 
 that he might share personally in the religious blessings which 
 he had been so instrumental in extending amongst the people. 
 Other instances of effort and of danger in which the prince was 
 concerned were then mentioned, especially occasions of peril 
 and escape when his life had been in danger. 
 
 The conversation then became very animated, and, as was 
 not unusual with the king, he appeared to be carried away by 
 the excitement of the moment. At last he rose, and said, " I 
 must dance for joy."* And calling to one of the company, said 
 
 " R , will you dance with me ? I must dance ! " The officer 
 
 replied he had almost forgotten how, it was so long since they 
 had had any dancing ; but the king's light shoes and dress-coat 
 were brought, and he soon after led the way to a larger room, 
 where, on a space being cleared, he called to his friend, named 
 a tune, then sprang forward and danced an English country 
 dance, to the delight of his companions, and especially of the 
 young nobles, my pupils. After sitting clown for a short time 
 the king went into the band-room, pJayed one or two tunes 
 with the band, before I took leave and returned to my own 
 dwelling. 
 
 "When I went to the king on the 30th of July, I found the 
 leader of the singing at one of our places of worship with a 
 number of Christians singing at his house. He appeared much 
 
 * This was not the first occasion on which dancing had demonstrated the 
 joy of the sovereign. When the first Radama heard that Mr. Hastie, the British 
 agent, had recovered from an illness, he ordered cannon and musketry to be 
 fired, the band to play, and began himself to dance.
 
 CHAP. v. TERROR INSPIRED BY AN OWL. 121 
 
 pleased with some of the pieces sung, which I was informed 
 were native compositions. The same teacher attended after- 
 wards to teach some of the young officers and others who went 
 there to learn singing. The only tunes they practised at the 
 time were such as the Christians used in their assemblies for 
 worship. 
 
 A friend of mine at Mauritius had, when in Madagascar, 
 included amongst his collection of birds, specimens of the 
 Malagasy Owl, common about the rocks to the west of the 
 palace. Ornithologists in England, to whom the specimens had 
 been sent, were led to conclude that the species was the same as 
 the common English Barn Owl ; and my friend having requested 
 me to obtain additional specimens for him, I asked the king to 
 have a few procured, and I afterwards sent a dozen skins as 
 requested. In Madagascar, owls were considered birds of evil 
 omen, the familiars of sorcerers, and their appearance the pre- 
 monition of death. When the king's servant brought me the 
 first live owl, and took it from under his lamba or cloth, to give 
 into my hand, my cook, a great fat fellow, cried out with fear, 
 and with a look of unmistakable horror rushed out of the 
 house, to the great amusement of the bearer of the bird and 
 the other servants. The cook, however, soon recovered so far as 
 to take off the skin of the owl and dry it. 
 
 The great event of the coronation had been fixed for the 
 month of August, but to enable the representatives from dis- 
 tant provinces to be present, it was postponed to the following 
 month. The change, however, was made too late to inform the 
 foreign visitors who were expected, and the Commission or 
 Embassy appointed by the Emperor of the French to attend on 
 the occasion reached Antananarivo on the 28th of July, accom- 
 panied by the widow of M. de Lastelle, now a noble of Imerina, 
 though a princess of the Betsimasaka, the most numerous race 
 on the eastern coast. Father Jouen, Prefet Apostoliquc de 
 Madagascar, arrived at the same time. 
 
 In the evening the king sent a messenger to inquire if I was
 
 122 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. v. 
 
 ill, as I had not been to him all the day. The next time I 
 saw him he said he had heard that the Bishop of Mauritius was 
 coming up with the English General, and asked if I wished the 
 bishop to reside near me during his stay. I replied that I 
 regarded the bishop and clergy of Mauritius as my friends, and 
 should be glad for the bishop to reside where most agreeable to 
 his majesty. He said perhaps it would be most agreeable to 
 the bishop not to be separated from his companions. The king 
 then informed me that the French Commission would be pre- 
 sented on the 31st, and asked if I wished to be present. I said 
 I had no official business there, and should be out of my place, 
 but that, if he wished it, I would go. He said he did wish it, 
 and added that he desired I should go to his house to preach 
 every Sunday as usual, and that he had directed Rahaniraka to 
 tell me that he wished me to consider myself as his chaplain, 
 not only to preach on Sunday, but to give religious instruction 
 to any members of his family who might desire it; and the 
 same day I received a document to that effect from the king. 
 
 While occupied with my pupils the following day ; a mes- 
 senger came from the king to inform me that tidings had been 
 received from Tamatave announcing the arrival of the English 
 appointed to attend the coronation, and on going to him in 
 the afternoon, I found that a letter had been received from the 
 Governor of Tamatave stating that General Johnstone and the 
 English had arrived, had started for the capital, and that 
 among them was a missionary, who commanded the artillery. 
 I said that either the governor or the interpreter must have 
 made a mistake, and it must be the Bishop of Mauritius. The 
 king again expressed his wish for me to be at the palace during 
 the presentation on the following day. 
 
 Rahaniraka, the foreign secretary, and his son, breakfasted 
 with me the next morning, and about eleven, the king's private 
 secretary came to request me to accompany him to the palace. 
 Some time after our arrival the king sent for me to his dressing- 
 room, where his officers were completing the arrangement of
 
 CHAP. V. PRESENTATION OF THE FRENCH EMBASSY. 123 
 
 his attire. He then proceeded to the queen's house, and shortly 
 afterwards returned with her majesty, the court ladies, the wives 
 and daughters of the nobles, and officers of the palace. 
 
 His majesty wore a French general's uniform, with broad 
 gold sash. The queen's dress, which was also European, con- 
 sisted of a white satin body, and white muslin skirt ornamented 
 with pink flowers, and her hair, enclosed in a silver net, was 
 surmounted by a gold ornament. She was a queenly looking 
 woman ; and both looked remarkably well, certainly not darker 
 in complexion than many of the inhabitants of southern 
 Europe. 
 
 As soon as their majesties and the ladies of the court were 
 seated, I was shown to my seat, and at half-past twelve the 
 French embassy arrived. The captain of the frigate, M. Dupre, 
 a tall good-looking officer, apparently between forty and fifty 
 years of age, conducted by the Malagasy foreign secretary, was 
 followed by the French consul and the rest of the embassy, and 
 presented to their majesties. The captain delivered an excel- 
 lent address in French to the king and queen, expressive of 
 the great affection of the emperor and empress for their persons, 
 and joy at the auspicious commencement of their reign, with 
 assurances of his own deeply-felt emotions on this joyous occa- 
 sion. This he said was the first mission of peace which France 
 had sent to Madagascar, and it was an honour to convey it. 
 
 The French consul presented a Malagasy translation of the 
 address which Rahaniraka read, and their majesties suitably 
 acknowledged. Some general conversation then followed 
 between the king and the head of the embassy, in the course 
 of which the former asked if they had suffered from fatigue 
 on the road, to which the latter replied that Mr. Ellis had pre- 
 pared them to expect a difficult road, especially in the forest, 
 and they had found it so, but had all got through well. The 
 Malagasy officer sitting beside me said, " What ! Did you 
 know each other before ? " I said no, but he meant that a book 
 which I wrote had prepared him to expect a difficult road.
 
 124 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. v. 
 
 After the toasts usual on such occasions had been drunk, 
 cake, wine, and a basket of oranges were handed round, when 
 the chief of the embassy rose to depart. The king sent a 
 messenger requesting me to remain, and the queen brought her 
 little adopted boy, the son of her adopted daughter, to shake 
 hands with me. She also called for the remainder of the 
 oranges, which . she presented to me, and one of the officers 
 standing by gave them to his attendant to carry to my house. 
 I then followed their majesties to the terrace on the west side 
 of the palace, where they received the salute of the soldiers on 
 duty in the front court, while the band played the national air. 
 When they re-entered the palace, the chief part of the officers 
 took leave, and I returned home accompanied by the bearer of 
 the oranges. 
 
 Everything connected with this interview was conducted with 
 the utmost propriety. I was glad to renew my acquaintance 
 Avith some of the ladies of the court whom I had met on my 
 former visit, and to be introduced to Commodore Dupre, and 
 the naturalist of the embassy, who said they had become familiar 
 with iny book, especially during the journey. I was especially 
 pleased with the open friendly bearing of the commodore, and 
 with the sentiments he had expressed, and never found occasion 
 to cherish any other feelings than those of respect towards 
 him. 
 
 My scholars came at 'three o'clock in the afternoon, and a 
 number of Christians from Amparibe in the evening, to bring 
 me one of the tunes of native composition, which I had heard 
 them sing the day before. Also, to ask me to explain to them 
 the account of Melchisedek, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, as 
 well as the meaning of our Lord, when he said the least in 
 the kingdom of heaven was greater than John the Baptist. 
 While they were with me a messenger came from the king to 
 ask me to go and spend the evening with him ; but I under- 
 stood there was a dinner party, and therefore sent an apology, 
 declining the invitation.
 
 CHAP. v. WHO WAS TO CROWN THE KING. 125 
 
 Very early the next morning, messengers came from the 
 prime minister saying that he was very ill and wished for some 
 medicine. I went with the messengers and found him suffering 
 from an attack of gout, with both his knees much swollen and 
 very painful. I afterwards sent him some medicine and a 
 lotion ; but a messenger soon came to ask me to go and apply 
 the lotion for the first time, which I did without delay, as he 
 seemed to be in great suffering. 
 
 On the following morning I was summoned early by the king, 
 and found that he had received a letter from Tamatave, stating 
 that General Johnstone was on his way to the capital, having 
 been sent to crown the king. He said, " What am I to do ? 
 The French say Commodore Dupre' is to put the crown on my 
 head. I have not two heads ! " I said there must be some 
 mistake ; that probably it had been said the French and English 
 missions were coming to assist at the coronation, which meant 
 to assist officially on the occasion ; that the king of course would 
 adopt such course as he deemed best ; that, as it was a great 
 national act of the Malagasy nation, it should be performed 
 by themselves alone. The king said that was his opinion ; 
 that, as the throne descended to him by inheritance, he should 
 receive the symbol of his sovereignty neither from France nor 
 England, but should place the crown on his head himself. In 
 this the ministers and nobles present entirely agreed. 
 
 At an early hour on the morning of the 5th of August, the 
 secretary came to inform me that letters had arrived from 
 Major-General Johnstone announcing the approach of the 
 mission towards Antananarivo ; also from Mr. Caldwell, who 
 had been sent in charge of the presents from the Queen of 
 England. On visiting the king the same afternoon, I found him 
 surrounded by a number of Frenchmen dancing with Malagasy 
 women, a performance with which he appeared much pleased. 
 
 My school was but small on the 8th of August, several of my 
 pupils having been appointed to accompany the officers sent to 
 meet General Johnstone and the English Mission. About one
 
 126 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. v. 
 
 o'clock the latter entered the capital. At their quarters I 
 exchanged a cordial greeting with the bishop and. Major Anson, 
 and was afterwards introduced to the general and to Dr. Mellor, 
 who had recently left my friend Dr. Livingstone, and was 
 travelling for his health. 
 
 The bishop, who took an early opportunity of explaining to 
 me the object of his visit, expressed his gratification with what 
 he had seen of Christianity amongst the people at Tamatave 
 and along the route, and inquired very particularly into the 
 state of the Christians and the progress of the Gospel in the 
 capital. We conferred together on the best manner of extend- 
 ing Christianity in Madagascar. The governor, he said, had 
 appointed him, and he had come very cheerfully, that he might 
 see for himself the state of the people, the openings for useful- 
 ness that existed, and in what part of the country he could 
 co-operate with us in forwarding the evangelization of the 
 island. His lordship added that he did not wish to interfere 
 with our line of operations ; but, supposing we considered 
 ourselves equal to the Christian culture of the capital and 
 central provinces, was there not some part of the coast which 
 they could occupy ? 
 
 I said it had been suggested to me at Mauritius, that mis- 
 sionaries of the Church Missionary Society should occupy 
 Madagascar, and I had always replied, that I did not think that 
 Society would send any missionaries without first conferring 
 with the London Missionary Society. That the understanding 
 between the two Societies not to interfere with each other's 
 spheres of labour had hitherto been so advantageous, that I did 
 not think it likely it would be disregarded in relation to Ma- 
 dagascar. That I had written to England suggesting that the 
 Church Missionary Society should send the Gospel to some 
 part of Madagascar ; and that I had thought of both the east 
 and the west coasts, but scarcely saw clearly which should be 
 occupied first. 
 
 The bishop then said, " Do you consider yourselves able to
 
 CHAP. V. CONFERENCE WITH THE BISHOP OF MAURITIUS. 127 
 
 occupy the capital and the central parts of the island ? " I 
 replied, " Certainly ; with the number of native assistants 
 already available, and the missionaries on their way from 
 home." I then explained the positions proposed to be occupied 
 by the brethren coming out. His lordship said, "I think I should 
 prefer our occupying stations on the north and the east coast." 
 I said, "I should rejoice in your doing so. Had you proposed 
 to come here I might have felt differently. The labours of our 
 Society were commenced here in 1820 ; we have ever since been 
 connected with this mission field. No other society has, until now, 
 shown any coDcern or made any efforts for the spiritual benefit 
 of these people ; we are hoping to reap the fruits of past years 
 of labour, and should be sorry to be diverted from our work 
 ourselves, to explain to the people the reasons of tire difference 
 between us, or to have their minds disturbed and occupied about 
 the religious differences in our own country." The bishop ob- 
 served, " It must come sometime. They will know that there 
 are differences." I said, " Most likely it will be so, but I hope 
 not now. I can conceive of nothing more likely to unsettle the 
 minds of the people about Christianity itself in their present 
 partially informed state, than the introduction of another form 
 of Protestantism, and there is no need for it. There is room 
 enough for us to show an undivided front without disturbing 
 the minds of the people, or interfering with each other's 
 labours." I added, " In the north you will find the best climate, 
 in the south the most people." 
 
 His lordship replied, "I should deem another missionary 
 establishment here undesirable, and injurious rather than other- 
 wise," and then said, " my mind is greatly relieved by this com- 
 munication. I see my way clearly. I shall most likely go to 
 England to propose to the Church Missionary Society, and other 
 friends, to send out a good mission to the north and the east 
 coast, and we shall thus take part in the great work opened 
 before the Church in the providence of God." He said they 
 might work from the coast until they met us working from the
 
 128 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. V. 
 
 centre, or we might extend our labours to the south. I replied 
 that we already had churches connected with our mission, 
 perhaps two hundred miles to the south, from whence I had 
 received a letter only a few days before. I also adverted to our 
 station at Tamatave on the east coast, with which and with the 
 native minister his lordship was acquainted, and I said that in 
 the event of any missionaries under his direction being sent 
 there, I \vould recommend the native Christians to receive 
 them with all kindness ; and I should also advise them, if they 
 saw no objection, to unite with the missionaries who might 
 come. I could not answer that they would do so, but I should 
 do nothing to prevent it. After this conversation I went with 
 Captain Anson to my own dwelling. 
 
 It was the day of the great market to the north of the capital 
 when the English entered the city, and the news soon circulated 
 amongst the numbers congregated there from the surrounding 
 country ; and, regarded in connection with the object of their 
 visit, the arrival of the embassy created a feeling of general 
 satisfaction. I heard from many who were in the market that 
 day, that it was considered quite a gratification to be able to 
 tell those who had not already heard the news, that the English 
 were really come to be present at the coronation of Radama. 
 
 Several officers of the palace breakfasted with me the next 
 morning, and said the government were much pleased with the 
 assurances of friendship conveyed in the letters from England, 
 but amused at the reports of rebellion and fighting which 
 seemed to have found their way into the English newspapers. 
 During the forenoon the English flag was hoisted at the general's 
 quarters, and, so far as I heard, was viewed with pleasure by the 
 people as the symbol of existing friendship between the two 
 countries. 
 
 In the afternoon the general and the bishop called to ask if 
 I thought it would not be possible to arrange for an earlier 
 celebration of the coronation ? I said, I feared not ; that the 
 French had already proposed it, but that the king deemed it
 
 CHAP. v. STATE OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE CITY. 129 
 
 right to wait until the representatives from the distant pro- 
 vinces could arrive. 
 
 The next day was Sunday. I was sorry to find when I called 
 that the bishop was not well. General Johnston e and Lieut. 
 Oliver accompanied me to the morning service at Analakely. 
 The house was full, and the people attentive during the period 
 of worship. At the close, the general, in compliance with my 
 suggestion, kindly assured them of the pleasure it afforded him 
 to unite with them in waiting upon God, and added welcome 
 words of encouragement. The son of Ramboasalama, and the 
 queen's adopted children, with their father, were present at the 
 service at the king's palace in the afternoon. 
 
 The widow of Rainitsontsoraka, whose autobiography has 
 been given, was brought to my house in the afternoon very ill. 
 After preparing something that I hoped would relieve her, she 
 was borne away again in her palanquin ; and the same evening 
 some of the preachers and other Christians came to spend a 
 short time with me, and to unite in worship as was our frequent 
 practice on the Sunday evening. In the course of our conver- 
 sation on this occasion we adverted to the several congregations, 
 and the state of personal religion amongst them. They said 
 that the number of Christians was gradually increasing, and 
 friendly feelings were also frequently manifested by the 
 non-christian portion of the community. They thought there 
 might be between four and five thousand Christians in the 
 capital, though they were never all at public worship at one 
 time ; and that there were two thousand more in the suburbs 
 and neighbourhood. They said that the knowledge of the 
 Gospel possessed by some was slight, and their experience of 
 its operation in the heart but limited ; that religious feeling 
 was in many produced as much by social influence, as by per- 
 sonal conviction. The great doctrine of salvation by faith in 
 Christ was, they thought, well understood, that the conduct of 
 life was regulated quite as much by the practice and example 
 of Christians, as by teaching and preaching. The Christians, 
 
 K
 
 130 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. v. 
 
 they said, were still under the influence of their first impres- 
 sions, and defections in moral conduct, so far as they knew, were 
 of rare occurrence ; that notwithstanding the great deficiency of 
 books, their being, not only many families, but some congrega- 
 tions without even a New Testament, yet among the Christians 
 family worship was general, and that in some families where 
 the children went to rest early, the parents prayed with them 
 by themselves. Such, I believe, was the general state of the 
 Christians at that time a deeply interesting time, but only a 
 transition state. 
 
 Two additional pupils, children of the deceased brother of 
 of Ramboasalama, were admitted to my school on the following 
 morning. They were under the guardianship of the queen, 
 who is their aunt, and who sent word that she wished me to 
 treat them as my own children in every respect. The father of 
 the queen's adopted child was also present, and appeared pleased 
 with the attention shown by his sons to the lessons. 
 
 As this was the day appointed for the presentation of the 
 English embassy, I went to the palace ahout noon, and was 
 cordially welcomed by the king and queen. Radama wore the 
 English uniform. The embassy soon afterwards arrived. The 
 general was presented to their majesties by the foreign secretary, 
 and addressing them in a short and appropriate speech, he 
 delivered the letter of the Queen of England, announced the 
 coming of the British consul, and introduced the Bishop of Mauri- 
 tius, Captain Anson, and the other members of the mission. 
 The bishop then, with a suitable speech, presented the English 
 Bible, the address in which was written by her majesty's hand. 
 Captain Anson, who had charge of the presents, then turning to 
 the queen, informed her majesty that she had not been forgotten 
 by Queen Victoria, who had sent a mantle or robe for her majesty, 
 an announcement which appeared to give much pleasure. 
 
 In compliance with the wish of the king I stood near him 
 while he read Queen Victoria's letter. When it was opened, 
 the appearance of the broad black border seemed to affect both
 
 CHAP. V. PRESENTATION OF THE ENGLISH EMBASSY. 131 
 
 the king and queen ; they looked at it with an expression 
 approaching to reverent sadness ; and when the king had read 
 it he pressed the general's hand very cordially. Rahaniraka 
 then translated the letter into Malagasy, and although no 
 remark was made, it was evidently received by the whole court 
 with much satisfaction. The king made several inquiries res- 
 pecting England, and the general afterwards proposing their 
 majesties' health, Radama proposed that of our queen, the band 
 at the same time playing our national anthem, while the native 
 salutation, Tranantitra, was pronounced very emphatically.* 
 
 Their majesties and all present seemed much gratified when 
 Captain Anson proposed as a toast : " Perpetual friendship 
 between England and Madagascar," and also informed them it 
 was probable that representatives from other nations would visit 
 them on embassies of friendship and peace. The dignified 
 bearing and expressions of friendship on the part of the general, 
 the bishop, and Captain Anson, appeared to be well-received 
 and appreciated by the king and queen and by the high officers 
 who were present. 
 
 After the general and his friends had left, the king asked me 
 to look over the Bible with him, and it was brought to the table, 
 where the inscription in her majesty's writing on the sheet of 
 vellum was the chief object of attention. The excellent photo- 
 graph of a celebrated picture of the birth of Christ, in the fron- 
 tispiece, was also greatly admired by all present. 
 
 Among the officers in attendance at the presentation were, 
 the son of Ramboasalama the rival of the king, the son of 
 Prince Ramonja the friend of the Christians, both handsome 
 young men, and scarcely less so the son of Rainjohary, who was 
 chief minister of the late queen. Other celebrities were also 
 on duty in the palace, and the satisfaction of the public outside 
 
 * This salutation is said sometimes to signify, " May you live a thousand 
 years ;" because that expression sometimes signifies an indefinitely long period, 
 but is always used to express a wish for long life to those on whose behalf it is 
 employed. 
 
 K 2
 
 132 ' MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. v. 
 
 the courtyard was evident, not in boisterous shouts, but in 
 strong expressions of deep and heartfelt pleasure. 
 
 During the afternoon I received a visit from the widow of 
 the late M. De Lastelle, who had come from Tamatave with the 
 French embassy to attend the approaching ceremonial. I have 
 ever since my first visit to Madagascar received great kindness 
 from this descendant of the rulers of the eastern coast, and I 
 was glad to renew my acquaintance with her here, having 
 always considered her entitled to esteem. 
 
 The bishop had asked for a private interview with the king, 
 who had appointed twelve o'clock the following day for receiving 
 him. Shortly before that hour the king sent an officer to 
 request my attendance, and I consequently dismissed my school 
 and accompanied the officer. The conversation between his 
 majesty and the bishop and Captain Anson was of an interest- 
 ing nature, relating chiefly to the progress of Christianity in 
 the country. His lordship presented to the king a handsomely 
 bound prayer-book, manuscript copies of the prayers used at 
 the coronation of Queen Victoria, and a copy of his own address 
 on the presentation of the Bible. All were graciously received 
 by the king and handed to the secretary. 
 
 The conversation was much more animated and agreeable 
 than during the former interview. Amongst other subjects 
 some remarks were made respecting the benevolence and com- 
 passion of Queen Victoria towards her suffering people, and these 
 acts were coupled with the kindness of King Radama towards 
 the Christians in time of persecution. The king looked at me 
 as if wishing me to say something. I said he had done much 
 for the suffering classes in Madagascar, and the people Avere 
 grateful. That in some respects he was all that the people 
 could desire, but there was one great thing wanting the one 
 thing needful. He had not yet become Christian. He looked 
 very gravely towards me, and said, with some emphasis : " He," 
 viz. Mr. Ellis, " knows what is in my heart. He knows that I 
 desire to understand and serve God. I desire I pray to God
 
 CHAP. v. THE BISHOP'S VISIT TO THE KING. 133 
 
 to enlighten my mind to teach me what I ought to know and 
 to do." The visitors, as well as some of the officers present, 
 appeared to be impressed by these remarks. I have no doubt 
 that the king was sincere when he spoke, and meant what he 
 said, but would forget it when under new and different im- 
 pulses. The abhorrence of bloodshed and cruelty seemed in him 
 to be innate, and ever present, but in regard to many other 
 things he obeyed the promptings of the moment, and appeared 
 oblivious of all beyond the immediate present. 
 
 Two beautiful royal and imperial atlases lying on the table 
 next attracted attention, and looking over these led to some 
 very interesting and suggestive conversation relative to the 
 connection of Madagascar with Africa. After this, the bishop 
 and Captain Anson having expressed a wish to see the king's 
 school, he conducted them to the house, and from that to his 
 occasional singing -school, where the pupils sung a number of 
 tunes, English and Malagasy. 
 
 After the company had left, the king mentioned that the 
 French consul had informed him that the loth of August was 
 the birthday of the Emperor of the French, and had invited 
 himself and the queen to dinner on that day. He had also 
 said there would be service in the Catholic church before the 
 dinner, and as that was part of the celebration, it would be 
 suitable for them to attend. He asked if I would go with him ? 
 I said I had no objection to show every possible respect towards 
 the emperor, who was acting so friendly a part towards Mad- 
 agascar, but I thought, that though by others they might be 
 regarded as very good things, I should be out of my place either 
 at the worship in the church, or the conviviality bf the 
 dinner. 
 
 In the evening the Christians came to ask me to go with 
 them to the general's quarters. On reaching the court in front 
 of the house I found a number of them assembled, and a fine 
 fat ox standing near the door, which they intended as a present. 
 I explained their object to the general, and when, accompanied
 
 134 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. v. 
 
 by the bishop and Captain Anson, he reached the verandah, 
 Rainimarosandy, a portly Christian officer, advanced a little in 
 front of his companions, and in a brief and sensible speech 
 expressed, on behalf of the Christians of the capital, the great 
 satisfaction which the visit of the general and his companions 
 from England, the country of their earliest friends, had afforded. 
 That they felt, after the kindness shown them, that they were 
 regarded as friends, and were bound by new ties to their friends 
 in England ; and that, following the custom of their own 
 country, they had brought a present of an ox, to which he 
 pointed, of which they begged his acceptance as an expression 
 of their gladness on seeing the friends of the Christians, and 
 the friends of Radama amongst them. 
 
 The general returned, with much kindly feeling, an appro- 
 priate acknowledgment, to which the bishop added the expres- 
 sion of his satisfaction at meeting with them as Christian 
 friends. I interpreted their addresses, and the parties separated 
 with much apparent pleasure. 
 
 There were many excellent men of mark in their own com- 
 munity amongst the Christians ; men who had worn the rugged 
 iron chain in prison and in exile, who had drunk the poison 
 draught but survived, who had been themselves sentenced to 
 death, or who had lost, for their faith in Christ, their dearest 
 earthly relatives and friends ; and there was on this, as I have 
 often noticed on other occasions, a reality, a genuineness in all 
 their words, and in their whole demeanour, which appeared to 
 make a deep impression on the minds of those who listened. 
 
 At noon on the following day, the bishop and Captain 
 Anson 'came by appointment, and, accompanied by a number of 
 Christians, we went to see Ambohipotsy, at the south end of 
 the capital, where the first Christian martyrs suffered death, 
 and where their heads were fixed on poles ; where also were 
 the fragments of a cross on which I believe a Sacalava captive 
 had been crucified at that place of common execution. 
 
 We then looked at the rocky ground of Fiadana, about a
 
 CHAP. v. VISIT OF THE ENGLISH TO FAEAVOHITRA. 135 
 
 mile to the north- west, where the thirteen Christians were 
 stoned to death in July, 1857, after which we proceeded to the 
 rocky precipice from whence a number were thrown in 1849. 
 Captain Anson's estimate of the depth of the fall was greater 
 than mine. He thought it nearer two hundred feet than one 
 hundred and fifty. We then called at the large place of 
 worship at Amparibe, where the people were beginning to 
 assemble for their week-day service, and proceeded to Fara- 
 vohitra, the place where the four nobles were burned alive, and 
 the bodies of thirteen or fourteen who had previously been 
 thrown from the precipice were all consumed at one time. 
 
 In our visit to the spot where the martyrs perished in the 
 flames, we were accompanied by some of the relatives of the 
 sufferers in that cruel tragedy, as well as by others who had 
 narrowly escaped the same fate. Some were deeply affected ; 
 others pointed out the line along which the soldiers were 
 arranged, some of whom cried out, " Where is Jehovah, that he 
 does not come to keep you now, and prevent your being burned ? " 
 and beyond the line of soldiers were the friends, trembling for 
 themselves while receiving the last recognition of the sufferers. 
 
 In sight of this mountain ridge was the spot where their 
 sentence was passed upon them, and where, as they sate on the 
 ground, they saw the fires kindled in which they were to be 
 consumed ; the building in which they had been accustomed 
 to meet and worship God ; the prison in which they had been 
 confined, and the villages, gardens, and rice grounds, with the 
 path along which they had travelled their last earthly journey, 
 all mapped out before them. 
 
 The bishop considered these places not only important on 
 account of the associations which would be connected with 
 them in future generations, perhaps more strongly than at 
 present, but also excellent as sites for Christian churches. 
 More than one of my companions exclaimed, while gazing over 
 the wide-spread plain, " Well may this be called the ' city of a 
 thousand towns !' "
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Celebration of the fete of the Emperor Arrival of the British consul Dinner 
 to the British embassy Eeported state of morals among the people Con- 
 versation respecting intoxication Visit of the Bishop of Mauritius to the 
 Christian congregations Presents from Queen Victoria to the King and 
 Queen Other presents Presentation of the British consul Conference 
 with the leaders of the Christians respecting the distribution of the Scrip- 
 tures Conversation of the King with the priest Visit of the General to 
 the King Position of Antananarivo Aspect of the country eastward of 
 the capital Arrival and welcome of the missionaries Introduction of the 
 missionaries to the King and Queen Reading in the new Bible Visit to the 
 prime minister United communion of the churches and the missionaries 
 Public worship at the King's house Letter from the Pope Dinner to 
 the King and the English embassy at my house Adventures of the King 
 Public signing of the treaty with France Conversation respecting the 
 concession to Mr. Lambert. 
 
 EVENTS stirring and unusual in this remote inland mountain 
 city seemed to be crowding in close succession upon the usually 
 undisturbed quietude of its inhabitants. 
 
 On the morning of the fifteenth of August, the birthday of 
 the Emperor of the French was, in this comparatively un- 
 known and supposed barbarian region of the world, made 
 known to the people by the waving of the silken folds of the 
 flag of France at the residence of the consul. Mass was cele- 
 brated at the French church, and a dinner was given in honour 
 of the day at the French consul's country house, at which the 
 king and queen of Madagascar, and the members of the English 
 embassy were welcomed as guests, and where the fete was 
 celebrated with great hospitality and much friendly feeling. 
 
 The firing of cannon at intervals during the forenoon of the 
 next day announced the arrival of T. C. Pakenham, Esq., Her
 
 CHAP. VI. DINNER TO THE BRITISH EMBASSY. 137 
 
 Britannic Majesty's consul for Madagascar. At three o'clock 
 on the afternoon of that day a dinner was given to General 
 Johnstone and other members of the English mission at the 
 house of the commander-in-chief, to which, as the only other 
 English resident in the place, I was invited. The house, which 
 stands on the eastern side of an extensive courtyard, elevated 
 twenty feet above the road to the palace, from which it is 
 reached by a flight of stone steps leading to an arched stone 
 gateway, is one of the best built dwellings in the capital. The 
 room in which the dinner was served was spacious, lofty, suit- 
 ably furnished, and well lighted. The dinner was good, and 
 well served. The king's band occupied the courtyard in front. 
 The host appeared to find pleasure in dispensing the hospitality 
 of his sovereign, and hilarity and mutual goodwill characterized 
 the companionship of the Malagasy and the English. Before 
 seven o'clock the Bishop of Mauritius and myself took leave, 
 followed, I believe, soon after by the general. 
 
 My own pleasure in these proceedings was diminished by 
 hearing of the state of morals found to exist among the people, 
 which the bishop had previously informed me had been reported 
 to him by some of the officers. I remarked, when it was men- 
 tioned, that, grievous as it most certainly was, and knowing, as 
 I did, that intemperance had recently increased in the country, 
 and was often exhibited in a most humiliating and offensive 
 manner, I had never seen any want of decency in the conduct 
 of the people ; that although the state of morals was far below 
 that outwardly exhibited in more civilized and Christian com- 
 munities, the Malagasy had in this respect always appeared to 
 me superior to the heathen portion of the South Sea islanders, 
 among whom, in earlier life, I had resided. Increased inter- 
 course with foreigners was not likely to diminish these evils, 
 which I believed Christianity alone could cure. 
 
 My own fears that the existing state of the capital might 
 present temptations productive of occasions for deep regret, had 
 been greatly increased when, two days before, on going to the
 
 138 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vi. 
 
 king, I found that he had had a number of French and English 
 officers to dine with him on the preceding evening, and had 
 become intoxicated, which his own officers said was very 
 easily effected. He was inert and dull, and not like himself, 
 when I paid my usual visit ; and I spoke to him of the danger 
 and disgrace of so forgetting himself. He said he was sorry, 
 and would guai'd against a repetition ; that his best friend, was 
 very angry with him for associating with drunken men. I said 
 it was very right in her to be angry, and added, " You should 
 not forget what is due to your own character and your position. 
 Nobody can respect a drunken man." 
 
 Later in the same day, and after I had returned home, the 
 general and the bishop called at my house, and I accompanied 
 them to the king. Before they left him some native airs were 
 sung, also the Malagasy national anthem, and on the general 
 intimating his approval of it, the king ordered a copy of the 
 music to be made for him. 
 
 The next day was Sunday. Between nine and ten o'clock 
 the bishop and the general accompanied me to Amparibe, the 
 most westerly place of worship in the capital. More than a 
 thousand persons were listening with serious attention to a 
 native preacher, who was closing his sermon when we entered. 
 So closely were the people sitting to each other that we found 
 it difficult to reach the place where the preacher was standing. 
 As soon as we were seated they sung a hymn, and closed the 
 service with prayer. The congregation remained seated, and 
 increasing numbers gathered round the doors and windows of 
 the large but rustic-looking building. After the introductory 
 portions of a fresh service were finished, I informed the people 
 of the joyful fact that the missionaries from England had arrived 
 at Tamatave, of which I had that morning received the intelli- 
 gence. I then introduced the Bishop of Mauritius, who deli- 
 vered a brief, instructive, and excellent address from Rom. xv. 
 29, which I had the pleasure of interpreting to the people. 
 We then took leave of that congregation, and proceeded to the
 
 CHAP. vi. THE PEESENTS FROM QUEEN VICTORIA. 139 
 
 chapel at Ambatonakanga, whence, after the bishop had spoken 
 to the people, we returned to our homes. There was a large 
 number of persons at Ambohimitsimbina, the king's place, in 
 the afternoon, and in consequence of their attention, I felt more 
 hopeful of some good being effected among them than I had 
 ever done before. 
 
 The bishop visited me in the evening, and we spent an 
 hour very pleasantly together talking of the future of Christi- 
 anity in the country. He said that what he had heard that 
 day was worth doming to Madagascar for. The next morning 
 his lordship took leave of a number of Christians at my house. 
 We both prayed with them, he in English, I in Malagasy. He 
 then departed, kindly taking letters for me for Mauritius and 
 England. 
 
 At noon I was sent for to the palace, where the king showed 
 me the presents from Queen Victoria, and right royal presents 
 they were, comprising a portrait of her Majesty of full-length 
 size an excellent painting, and good likeness, taken ten or more 
 years ago. There was also a valuable rifle ; a rich velvet robe, 
 embroidered with gold, for the queen ; a field-marshal's uniform 
 complete, for the king ; a large silver-gilt tankard and goblets ; 
 and an excellent reed band of twenty-five instruments. The 
 first and last-mentioned articles, together with the uniform, 
 greatly delighted the king, who called for some of the band- 
 masters to try the instruments. Nothing could have been 
 selected that would have been more acceptable, or more highly 
 prized than her majesty's picture, respecting which both the 
 king and queen asked several questions. 
 
 We had scarcely finished our inspection of the presents when 
 an officer announced the approach of Mr. Pakenham, the newly- 
 arrived British consul, whom I had met at Mauritius on my 
 former visit to Madagascar. He was accompanied by Mrs. 
 Pakenham, and a French medical gentleman. On being intro- 
 duced to the king he presented his credentials and, addressing 
 his majesty in French, stated that his duties would be per-
 
 140 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vi. 
 
 formed in perfect harmony and good will with his friend the 
 French consul. M. Laborde interpreted his address to the 
 king, who expressed his high appreciation of the friendship of 
 England, and his hope that it would be perpetual. 
 
 About the same time as the valuable articles already noticed 
 arrived, the king received a present from Mr. Silver of London, 
 with which he was very much pleased. It consisted of a most 
 complete and valuable canteen, with elegant plated fittings, 
 ornamented with the royal crest and initials. It was accom- 
 panied by a complete cooking apparatus, all arranged in a 
 manner exceedingly convenient for travelling. The gift was 
 a 1 30 peculiarly acceptable, from having been presented by an 
 English merchant, and the king expressed his hope, that the 
 intercourse between the class to which the gentleman belonged 
 and the Malagasy would become more frequent. Some French 
 officers who came in while the king was inspecting the present 
 expressed their admiration of the excellence and completeness 
 of the whole. 
 
 Besides my ordinary missionary engagements with the people, 
 I found it highly advantageous to call the leaders among the 
 Christians together occassionally to confer with them, and to 
 offer such explanations as might be required ; and for this 
 purpose I had requested them to meet me that afternoon, when 
 I informed them that six missionaries, of whose landing I had 
 previously informed them, might soon be expected. They pro- 
 mised to clean, and prepare for their temporary accommodation, 
 the houses which had been provided ; and asked if there were 
 any Bibles. When I informed them there were portions of the 
 Scriptures, and a printing press to furnish other books, they 
 were highly gratified, and wished me to write down their names 
 and the number of books they each wished to have for them- 
 selves and their friends. I said, that excepting the copies of 
 parts of the Old Testament bound together, there would be 
 enough to supply the wants of all ; and deeming it wisest to 
 begin as I thought it would be best to proceed, rather than
 
 CHAP. vi. MODE OF SCRIPTURE DISTRIBUTION. Hi 
 
 have to change afterwards, I told them that the books would be 
 given to those who were able to read though too poor to pay for 
 them, but that other persons would be required to pay a small 
 sum towards the cost of production and transport of the books, 
 about fourpence or sixpence for a bound copy of the New 
 Testament, and double that sum for parts of the Old Testament 
 bound together, which money would be sent to England to those 
 who had provided the books. 
 
 Some of those present observed that in former times both the 
 rich and the poor had received these books gratis. This led 
 me to repeat what I had before stated that the help of their 
 friends in England was now given under somewhat different 
 circumstances than those under which it had been afforded when 
 the missionaries first came to Madagascar. The missionaries 
 found them heathen then : they were Christians now. They 
 came then to persuade them to become Christians, but now to 
 help them to act like Christians by providing for the nurture of 
 their own spiritual life, and for making the Gospel known to 
 their heathen countrymen. That their faith would only become 
 living and strong as Christianity was prized and sustained 
 among themselves, and not left to depend upon foreign sup- 
 port. 
 
 Two or three rich men in the company recommended me to 
 follow the conduct of the Catholic priests, who gave books to the 
 people. I said it was generous of the priests to do so ; but as I 
 did not think it was right, or that the books could be so highly 
 prized, or so carefully preserved, as by those who were able 
 paying a small sum for them, I could not adopt their advice. The 
 same parties then urged that the people would deem it as a 
 sort of sacrilege to sell the Bible for money, because the people 
 regarded it with reverence as something sacred. I replied that 
 there was danger of our mixing superstitious feelings with our 
 estimate of the Bible. That in regard to its origin and its 
 design, it was the most sacred and precious treasure the 
 Christian could possess. It was the means whereby God in-
 
 142 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vi. 
 
 structed us concerning himself, his love, his power, and his 
 willingness to save mankind ; and that the knowledge of these 
 things was a benefit and a privilege which no gold could pur- 
 chase, and which was given freely. That the wisdom and love 
 of God taught in the Bible were divine and sacred ; but the 
 paper and other material parts of the Bible were' common, the 
 same as those used in making other books, and had all been 
 purchased with money. Therefore, while it would be unkind 
 and wrong to withhold the Scriptures from the poor because 
 they were unable to pay for them, it was right that those who 
 had money should return a small portion of the cost to those 
 who had paid for making and sending the books across the sea. 
 
 Other Christians said they were thankful that their friends 
 in England had bought the paper, had the Bibles printed and 
 sent out, and they would very cheerfully repay what was re- 
 quired to help their friends to prepare more books for them- 
 selves and others, and proposed themselves to pay a larger sum 
 than I had mentioned. I was glad of this encouragement, for I 
 was convinced by past experience that the books themselves 
 would be more carefully preserved, and the teaching, not only 
 of the Bible, but of other books, more highly valued, by a small 
 sum being required for them, than by an indiscriminate gratui- 
 tous distribution.* 
 
 When the discussion respecting the books was finished, I 
 mentioned to the people that the king had informed me that 
 the Catholic priests had expressed a wish to offer prayer on the 
 platform on the occasion of the approaching coronation, and 
 that when the king objected they had proposed to pray among 
 the people around the platform, to which he had agreed, and 
 
 * Our discussion about the books was reported to the prime minister the 
 same evening, and such was the desire of his people for them, that early in 
 the morning one of his aides-de-camp came to say the minister would send 
 his own slaves to Tamatave for one box of books and another of school 
 materials for the use of his own people, and would pay for them when they 
 arrived, if I would write to the person in whose charge they were to deliver 
 them, which I did while the messenger waited.
 
 CHAP. vi. PRAYING AT THE CORONATIONS 143 
 
 that he then asked what I thought the Protestants would do. I 
 said that if he wished to acknowledge the true God, and to ask 
 his blessing on the great national transaction, a Malagasy 
 Christian would most appropriately officiate on the occasion. 
 He said the crown came to him by hereditary right, and he took 
 it by the will of the heads of the nation who had tendered their 
 allegiance to him, and did not desire that any priest, heathen 
 or Christian, Protestant or Catholic, should take part in his 
 public assumption of the symbol of sovereignty. He said the 
 Christians if they chose might stand together among the other 
 divisions of the people, and pray if they thought it right, but 
 that it would be offensive to the heathen who constituted the 
 great majority of the nation, if in the act of his assuming the 
 crown there should be any Christian praying, as there would be 
 no heathen ceremonies on the occasion. 
 
 My companions said they thought it would be well for them 
 to gather in one place, and for one of their number to pray, as 
 they were part of the nation. I said the great transaction was 
 one which the Christians could not regard with indifference, 
 and on which they must all earnestly desire, and could not fail 
 to implore, the Divine blessing, whether they prayed for it 
 publicly or not. 
 
 When I saw the king the next day he mentioned that 
 the Abbe" Webber, when introducing to him that morning two 
 recently arrived priests, had urged upon him the duty of build- 
 ing a religious house for them, and assisting in their work ; say- 
 ing that he himself ought to confess his sins, be baptized, and 
 become a Catholic, and then he would have prosperity and hap- 
 happiness in this life, and Heaven in the next : that he, the 
 speaker, was the priest of God, had the key of heaven, and 
 could open to him ; that prayer should be offered in Latin; that 
 unless he was baptized and became a Catholic, he would not go 
 to heaven. 
 
 I remarked that if the priest himself believed these things, it 
 was right in him to declare them ; that he, the king, heard
 
 144 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. VI. 
 
 what the priest said, and he knew what the Bible taught. The 
 king said he had told the pi'iest he was pleased with his giving 
 medicine to the people ; that as to himself he knew that he was 
 not a good man, but that he should confess his sins to God only, 
 should pray to him to enlighten his mind, and should do what 
 his heart told him was right, and he did not think being bap- 
 tized would make him sure of heaven without something else. 
 
 The priest also complained, the king said, of so many people 
 going to the English teachers, and so few to the French. That 
 he had come out to teach the people, and wished them to come 
 to be taught, but only a few came. To which the king replied 
 that there was perfect religious freedom, and the people went to 
 that teaching which they preferred. He neither sent them, nor 
 prevented them going to one or the other.* I availed myself 
 of the opportunity this conversation afforded, to explain as 
 simply and plainly as I could what was the nature of that great 
 change which was wrought by the Holy Spirit in the heart, and 
 manifested in the life of true Christians, and of which baptism 
 was the outward sign. 
 
 Two days afterwards, when I had been reading with the king, 
 he informed me that some of the high nobles were displeased 
 with his proceedings : with the advisers he had selected, and 
 with his intimacy with foreigners, whose influence they said 
 would ruin the kingdom. I told him I felt sure the English 
 were his friends, and desired most sincerely the prosperity of 
 Madagascar. 
 
 * For some of the Catholic priests I had a great respect. In their activity, 
 self-denial, and patience under privations, they sometimes offered examples 
 which we might advantageously follow. The Abbe Webber or Father Joseph 
 as he was called by the people was one of this class. He had laboured long 
 among the Sacalavas on the west coast, had acquired the language of the 
 people, and had suffered much, without being cheered by encouraging success. 
 He came to the capital before the accession of Radama, and appeared quiet 
 and active in his duties. We did not often meet, and he was not very com- 
 municative when we did. I know nothing of his inner life, and how much 
 soever I might deplore the errors of his creed, I could not but admire his 
 industry, endurance, and devotedness to his work. He died while I was at the 
 capital.
 
 CHAP. vi. CONVERSATION WITH RADAMA. 145 
 
 On the following day, while I was reading with the king, 
 General Johnstone paid him a visit, when the king commenced 
 a deeply interesting conversation respecting the difficulties of his 
 position, arising from the wish of some of the nobles to return 
 to the policy of the former reign. The general offered him 
 excellent advice, counselled him to avoid companionship with bad 
 men in his public duties, and at other times not to allow such 
 indiscriminate access to his person, but to associate only with 
 the best men, to set a good example himself, endeavouring to 
 do what was right, and trusting to God for protection. I recom- 
 mended him to try, even at the cost of some sacrifice of his own 
 views and feelings, to seek the co-operation of the high nobles 
 and great men of the nation, and give them influence as well as 
 the younger men who had been his companions from his youth, 
 expressing my opinion that the influence of the more experi- 
 enced men would give stability to his government. He said he 
 had tried, but that his soul revolted from some of the proposals 
 respecting the taking of life which had been made to him. 
 
 Allusion was made on this occasion to the removal of the 
 adopted children of the queen from my instruction to that of 
 the Catholic priests. I said I was sorry they had been taken 
 from me, but could understand the force of the reason assigned 
 by her majesty for making the change, which was, to prevent 
 any apparent cause of dissatisfaction arid complaint from other 
 parties of undue partiality shown to the English. 
 
 On the morning of the 30th of August, the king having 
 heard that the missionaries had reach Ambatomanga, sent four 
 officers of the palace to bid them welcome, and conduct them to 
 the capital. By the side of the main road from the palace to 
 the north, at its junction with the road leading to the east, there 
 is a level space on the top of the hill occupied on its southern 
 side by a signal gun, and by the tomb of a renowned judge, who, 
 in former days, under the appropriate name of the Upright 
 Lord, dispensed justice to the Malagasy. On the northern 
 side of the road, to the east, are some large water-troughs, used
 
 146 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vi. 
 
 in administering the oath of allegiance, and two cannons for 
 firing signals or salutes. This place is not only a court of jus- 
 tice, but a frequent rendezvous for officers and others by whom 
 the public questions of the day are discussed. About mid-day I 
 ascended to this spot, which was immediately above my dwell- 
 ing, to look out for the expected missionaries. 
 
 Antananarivo is a city of splendid prospects. Not of land- 
 scapes enlivened or adorned \)y the costly structures of human 
 energy and genius, or clothed with the soft luxurious verdure 
 of a summer garden in the cultivated land of the olive and the 
 vine, but of sceres where Nature, exhibiting the solid massive 
 vastness of her colossal forms, moulded in lines of grandeur and 
 eternal beauty, strikes the soul with wonder, reverence, and 
 awe. 
 
 Built on a long oval mountain, which attains a greater alti- 
 tude than any in that region, the city commands a view of the 
 adjacent country in every direction. Less extensive and varied 
 than the grand panorama which surrounds the southern extre- 
 mity of the mountain, the distinctive features of the country 
 east of the capital have seldom appeared to me more clearly 
 marked and beautifully varied than they did on this occasion. 
 The dry season was drawing to its close, but the rains had not 
 begun to fall. The aspect of the mountains was arid and brown, 
 and verdure was only seen where there was irrigation or a 
 natural supply of water. The glare of the sun was moderated 
 by clusters of white clouds passing slowly over the face of the 
 heavens, and the alternation of sunshine and shadow softened 
 and enlivened the landscape, as I stood looking for the approach 
 of the mission party. On my right, and less than two hundred 
 yards distant, the great palace rose one hundred and twenty or 
 thirty feet above the highest ground in the city, protected at each 
 end of the roof by the tall lightning conductors, and surmounted 
 in the centre by the figure of the voro mahery bird of strength, 
 the crest of the Hovas.* Still nearer, on the same side of the 
 
 * The voro mahery is a compactly-formed, crested bird, of a light brown
 
 CHAP. vi. VIEW TO THE EAST OF THE CAPITAL. 147 
 
 main road, was the house of the sister of the late, and the 
 mother of the present, queen, which, next to the palace, is the 
 loftiest house in the capital. Equally near on my left was the 
 house of the second highest officer in the army, and that of the 
 present prime minister, shaded on the eastern side by trees. 
 Immediately in front was the rocky and precipitous road leading 
 down to the stone-built gateway in the ancient eastern rampart 
 of the city. 
 
 The sides of the hill, to a depth of 150 yards, were covered 
 with houses built on terraces, and often shaded by trees wher- 
 ever ground enough could be levelled to admit a building. At 
 the bottom of the road, 200 yards or more below the place 
 where I stood, was the village of Fa-li-a-ri-vo a thousand joys ; 
 on the left, cultivated ground and rice terraces covered the 
 hollows between the hills ; and on the right, at some distance, 
 was the piece of water in which pet crocodiles were said to be 
 formerly kept. A little to the east, a pleasantly-situated sort of 
 fartn-house, and gardens, water, and umbrageous trees, which 
 had belonged to the late Prince Rambosalama, stood near the 
 road leading to Nosiarivo a thousand islands where there is 
 a villa-kind of house with beautifully-cultivated grounds, a de- 
 lightful retreat belonging to the royal family, where also the 
 vine has been cultivated, and many exotic fruits might be 
 acclimatised. 
 
 Scarcely more than a mile from the village, at the bottom of 
 the hill, was Ambatoroka, a place of public assemblies, also the 
 rock of judgment, from which sentence of death was pronounced 
 on criminals guilty of capital crimes ; and about half-a-mile 
 farther on was the place where they were forthwith executed. 
 Between Faliarivo and Ambatoroka were a number of tombs, 
 some rude and ancient, others modern and of greater pre- 
 
 colour, a Malagasy species of falcon or hawk. It is the heraldic symbol and 
 designation of the district in which the capital stands, and also of the people 
 of that district, and on this account is sometimes spoken of as the symbol of 
 the Ilovas, or dominant race in the island. 
 
 L 2
 
 148 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vi. 
 
 tensions. The ground nearer the city was partially enclosed, 
 and cultivated with manioc, sweet potatoes, French beans, pine- 
 apple, sugar-cane, maize, and bananas ; the low undulating 
 grassy plains were dotted over with native dwellings, or farm- 
 steads of three or four houses, and a cattle pen, sheltered by 
 a few trees, and all enclosed within a circular wall ; while 
 the higher grounds, or summits of the hills, were not unfre- 
 quently crowned with a native village or clump of umbrageous 
 trees. Beyond this, the sometimes broken and rocky but more 
 frequently massive rounded mountain-tops rose one above an- 
 other, occasionally in range after range, until the dim outline 
 of their summits seemed to be lost in the clouds resting on the 
 distant horizon. 
 
 The Goakia, or large black and white crow of Madagascar, 
 was cawing in the adjacent trees, or on the roofs of the houses, 
 where they often build their nests. The Papango, or kite, was 
 wheeling and hovering over the fields, while numberless bright- 
 coloured yellow and purple butterflies flitted to and fro in the 
 sunshine among the flowers and shrubs near the dwellings. 
 
 Standing around the enclosure of the judge's tomb, or seated 
 on fragments of rock beside one of the guns, citizens and stran- 
 gers were gazing listlessly on the scene, or discussing the news 
 of the day, occasionally enlivening their discourse by the circu- 
 lation of their favourite bamboo cylinder of pulverized tobacco, 
 while the slaves might be seen toiling and straining under their 
 burdens up the steep and rugged way. Nobles and officers in 
 their European dresses, or more graceful native lambas, artisans 
 or servants, were passing incessantly along the main road of 
 the city ; and the buyers and sellers were eagerly bargaining in 
 the little market at the foot of the hill. The season for plant- 
 ing rice was at hand, and the slaves, men and women, were 
 busy in the fields, above their ancles in soft mud, repairing and 
 clearing out the water-courses, and saturating and flooding the 
 soil to receive the young rice plants which were to produce the 
 food for another year. The washer men and women were either
 
 CHAP. vi. ARRIVAL OF MISSIONARIES FROM ENGLAND. 149 
 
 sitting in the water beating the linen on a stone, or watching it 
 while spread out to dry on the grass near the stream ; while in 
 every direction the villagers in their loose flowing lambas were 
 passing along the narrow paths winding over the grassy plain. 
 
 At length the mission party, and the long train of bearers 
 with their luggage, were seen crossing over the distant hill, and 
 sweeping down the broad road towards the capital. I descended 
 and met them just below the village at the bottom of the hill, 
 where I had the pleasure of welcoming to Madagascar Mr. and 
 Mrs. Toy, Dr. and Mrs. Davidson, and Mr. Stagg : the rest 
 of the party were detained for want of bearers. Lieutenant 
 Oliver, who had kindly gone out to meet them, was now in 
 their company. Finding they had travelled almost twenty 
 miles without breakfast, I left them to hasten back and see after 
 some refreshment. Captain Anson kindly invited them to a 
 breakfast at the quarters of the embassy, but we found the 
 refreshment provided by the Christians was ample and already 
 prepared. General Johnstone bade them welcome as they 
 reached the summit of the hill, and when, soon after they 
 halted at the houses provided for them, they were joyfully 
 received by the Christians, who saw in their arrival the answer 
 to many ardent longings and often-repeated prayers. 
 
 Four days afterwards, the other missionaries having arrived 
 in the interval, I accompanied them to the palace, where they 
 were introduced to the king and queen, who, surrounded by the 
 chief officers of the government, bade them welcome, expressing 
 themselves pleased with their arrival, and especially with that 
 of the wives of the missionaries, as that seemed to mean a resi- 
 dence in the country, and not simply a visit. More than once 
 their majesties said " May God bless you, and preserve your 
 health here ! " The general and other English officers, who also 
 had been invited to the palace, congratulated the mission party 
 on their arrival. 
 
 I then presented the English Bible, sent by the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society, to the king ; and Rahaniraka, the foreign
 
 150 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vi. 
 
 secretary, translated the address from the Society, adding, as 
 evidence of the estimation in which the Bible was held in Eng- 
 land, that Lord Shaftesbury, the president of the society by 
 whom the address was signed, was related to Lord Palmerston, 
 and that Queen Victoria was patron of the institution. 
 
 After some general conversation relating chiefly to the pro- 
 gress of education in England, refreshments were handed round, 
 and the missionaries withdrew. The king then examined the 
 Bible, admiring its large bold letters and clear printing, ob- 
 serving that it was the largest he had ever seen. "We will read 
 in this book to-day," he remarked, as he left to conduct the 
 queen to her apartments. When he returned, we sate down at 
 the table and read the Fourteenth Chapter of Exodus, the de- 
 liverance of Israel out of Egypt, which came in the usual course 
 of our Old Testament reading. On visiting the missionaries 
 afterwards, I was sorry to find Mr. Stagg, who had not been 
 able to accompany us to the palace, prostrate with fever. 
 
 The next day I accompanied the missionaries to the prime 
 minister, who also gave them a very cordial welcome, and after 
 inquiring what they would teach, and how they would promote 
 the improvement of the people, as well as expressing his ear- 
 nest desire to see the education of the people resumed, he asked 
 Dr. Davidson and myself to accompany him and Ratsimihara, an 
 A.D.C., to an adjacent room, where he spoke to the doctor about 
 his own recent illness. In answer to my inquiry whether he 
 wished the medical missionary to reside near him, and would, 
 as he had promised me, build a house for him, he replied that 
 he still wished the doctor to be near him, and would send his 
 attendant to show us the place on which he would build a house 
 for Dr. Davidson, adding that he would send a servant to cook 
 for him, as well as find a store-room for his medicine. W"e 
 thanked him for his generous proposal, and when we left, an 
 officer accompanied us to Ambohimanoro, at the north-east 
 corner of Andohalo, where he led us over an enclosure then 
 occupied by the houses of the minister's dependents. The
 
 CHAP. vi. THE KING'S INQUIRIES ABOUT EDUCATION. 151 
 
 officei* said the existing houses would be cleared away and a 
 new dwelling-house erected. The doctor signified through the 
 officer his acceptance of the offer, and I returned, grateful for 
 this evidence of favour towards the newly-arrived mission. 
 
 On the following day I waited on the king in company with 
 Mr. Toy, and when we had finished reading, my companion ex- 
 hibited to the king his music-books, and the modulator or key 
 used in teaching singing, and explained the new musical nota- 
 tion. The king sent for his best singers, who were delighted 
 with the simplicity of the new mode of teaching singing. On his 
 majesty expressing a wish that Mr. Toy should come and live 
 near him, and be minister in the Memorial Church which it 
 was proposed to erect at Ambohipotsy, the latter said he should 
 be happy to do so, and would confer with the other missionaries 
 on the subject. 
 
 Before the week was over, Mr. Stagg, who had been sent out 
 to take charge of the central training school and to superintend 
 the general education among the people, was so far recovered 
 as to pay me a visit to confer about his own proceedings. He 
 emained while I was engaged with my pupils, after which we 
 went to the king, who received Mr. Stagg kindly, and made 
 many inquiries about the progress of education in England, and 
 said he hoped that he would not find the Malagasy youth un- 
 teachable scholars. The king showed Mr. Stagg over the stone 
 school-house, where, in one of the rooms, we found his band 
 practising on the instruments from England, in the possession 
 of which the king expressed extreme pleasure. 
 
 In conversation with the king afterwards he said he had 
 given directions for a space to be set apart for the Christians in 
 the marking out of the ground to be occupied by the several 
 divisions of the people at the approaching coronation. He also 
 expressed a wish that I would, if practicable, take a photograph 
 of the ceremony, which I promised to attempt if the weather 
 should be favourable. 
 
 On the first Sunday in September the missionaries accompa-
 
 152 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vi. 
 
 nied me to Amparibe. We found the house filled, and the offi- 
 ciating minister concluding his service when we entered. The 
 non-communicants, about two-thirds of the assembly, then re- 
 tired,* and the communicants from the other two churches in 
 the capital entered and nearly filled the place. The men sat 
 on one side and the women on the other, to the number of 700 
 or 800 altogether. 
 
 The Christians had arranged this united communion in which 
 to meet the newly-arrived missionaries, thus to manifest their 
 sense of the Divine goodness ; and in celebrating with them 
 the dying love of Christ, by partaking together of the 
 symbols of the one great sacrifice on the Cross, to unite in 
 renewing their solemn self-consecration to God. After singing 
 and prayer, and the reading of appropriate portions of Scrip- 
 ture, the bread and the wine were dispensed by the native 
 pastor of the church in which we were assembled, and myself. 
 An address was then given by one of the native ministers of 
 Analakely, and a native minister of another church closed the 
 service with prayer. 
 
 The greater part of the assembly were neatly, some of them 
 tastefully attired, in clean native or European clothing ; and 
 when I looked at the calm, quiet, cheerful countenances of the 
 many in that assembly seated on the ground before me, and 
 remembered the deeply interesting events in the Christian his- 
 tory of a number with whom I was intimately acquainted, and 
 reflected further that less than forty years before there was not 
 
 * We afterwards noticed that the non-communicants usually retired during 
 the celebration of the communion, or were requested by the officers of the 
 church to do so, and found it was considered too sacred for any but recipients 
 to be present at its celebration. We told them there was no sacredness im- 
 parted to the bread and the wine by its being used in that ordinance ; it was 
 still simple bread and wine ; that the sacredness of the ordinance consisted in 
 the unfolding of the Divine love and grace which it signified, by the Holy 
 Ghost to their own spirits, and the experience of that love and grace in their 
 own hearts ; that the presence of non-communicants could not interfere with 
 their spiritual benefit, while it might excite inquiry among them, and lead to 
 their seeking the same blessed privileges.
 
 CHAP. vi. UNITED COMMUNION IN ANTANANARIVO. 153 
 
 a single believer in Christ in Madagascar, I could not but 
 wonder at the goodness of God and the power of his Gospel. 
 
 The missionaries appeared gratified with the spectacle before 
 them, and observed that they had never witnessed such a 
 numerously attended communion in England. It was indeed, 
 after making every necessary abatement, to a Christian mis- 
 sionary, a soul-moving spectacle. These communicants had all 
 been admitted to Christian fellowship by the native pastors ; 
 and though many had but recently emerged from the super- 
 stition and moral defilement of heathenism, and many had 
 only a limited acquaintance with the teachings of the Scrip- 
 tures and the rules of Christian life, and could not be compared 
 with the better taught and trained communicants in older 
 Christian countries ; yet they knew of the love and mercy of 
 God to sinful men, and of the great salvation by Jesus Christ. 
 They accepted with all their hearts these precious truths, and 
 were sincere in following, so far as they understood it, God's 
 holy word. And notwithstanding all acknowledged deficiencies, 
 such a company as were there assembled could not but encou- 
 rage the hopes of the abler European teachers who were now 
 associated with them, that they might find among them effi- 
 cient fellow- workers in bearing the blessings of the Gospel into 
 the wide regions of heathenism around. 
 
 In the afternoon we went together to the religious service at 
 the king's house. The general and the English officers, as well 
 as a number of the natives, had already arrived. The king was 
 not present, but sent a messenger to say that he could not 
 attend, as the French commodore and consul had come to dis- 
 cuss the terms of the treaty with France. We proceeded with 
 the service, and after an address in Malagasy, I preached in 
 English. The king, with some of his officers, entered towards 
 the close of the worship, and after its termination he expressed 
 his regret that he had not been with us. I was told afterwards 
 by an officer who was present, that it had been proposed for the 
 band which accompanied the French to play in the court-yard
 
 154 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vi. 
 
 during the conference, but that the king had refused to allow it 
 because the English were engaged in religious worship, and 
 would be disturbed. On leaving, the missionaries accompanied 
 me to my house, and we spent this the evening of our first 
 Sunday in Madagascar together, in reading the Scriptures and 
 in social prayer. 
 
 Three days after this a messenger from the palace informed 
 me that the king wished to see me. On my arrival, he told me 
 with some excitement that he had received through the French 
 a letter from the Pope, which he wished me to read. It was 
 dated in the preceding month of May, and written in Latin, 
 with a Malagasy translation. It acknowledged the receipt of a 
 letter written by Radama in 1861 ; congratulated him on his 
 accession to the throne ; on the enlightened and humane policy 
 with which he had inaugurated his reign ; and expressed his 
 satisfaction at his esteem for the Holy Catholic Church which 
 extended over every part of the world ; also his pleasure at the 
 king's application for Roman Catholic missionaries to inculcate 
 the true faith among the Malagasy. The letter commended 
 to his protection and encouragement the Catholic missionaries 
 sent to Madagascar, added flattering compliments to his Serene 
 Majesty, and closed with the Pope's signature. 
 
 The king said he had not written to the Pope for missionaries, 
 and had only said to the Catholics that there was perfect liberty 
 for all foreigners to come to Madagascar and practise and pro- 
 pagate their religion, if they wished to do so. Whether he had 
 done more it was not my business to inquire. In every instance 
 in which I heard of his having expressed an opinion it was 
 adverse to the Romanists' faith, on account chiefly of that reli- 
 gious party having persecuted and put to death those of a 
 different faith from their own. As I closed my reading with the 
 king two priests came in, and I left soon afterwards. 
 
 The king had repeatedly observed that he had never been to 
 see me in my own house, and it was intimated to me that, as he 
 went sometimes to visit the French consul, it might be well for
 
 CHAP. n. VISIT OF THE KING AND HIS OFFICERS. 155 
 
 me to ask him. I therefore invited both the king and queen to 
 dine with me on an early day. They promised to do so, but 
 when the day arrived the queen sent word that illness prevented 
 her accompanying his majesty, but she would come on a future 
 day. 
 
 My largest room was cleared for the occasion. My English 
 and Malagasy friends furnished me with tables and chairs, a 
 handsome dinner-service, glass, and plate, with some wine and 
 biscuits. Two female friends, the wives of officers living near 
 me, arranged the curtains for my windows of pink muslin with 
 white fringe, and before the recess in which stood my bed, 
 arranged very tastefully Avhite muslin curtains, bringing also a 
 richly-coloured figured silk coverlid for the bed. These friends, 
 with their servants and my own, laid out the table. My friends 
 also, according to Malagasy usage, helped in providing the 
 dinner. When the room was finished, and the table spread, 
 with the exception of a bunch of roses and other flowers which 
 I was just placing in a vase for the centre, the king's private 
 secretary came to look at my clock, the royal watches not being 
 very exact. It was then ten minutes past three ; the dinner 
 had been fixed for four, in order that the queen might be able 
 to return early. 
 
 As soon as the secretary left I proceeded with my toilette, 
 for the completion of which I had to seek such accommodation 
 as the general overthrow of my domestic arrangements per- 
 mitted. In a few minutes the sound of music was heard, and 
 my fat servant Mahatana came running in a state of great 
 excitement to tell me the king was coming. The men and 
 women hurried out of the house in all directions. One female 
 slave rushed in with a basket of pancakes, which she placed on 
 the middle of the table ; another brought in a basket of tum- 
 blers, which she had been washing, and put them down in the 
 same way ; but by a little more vehemence than usual, I got 
 them to take the things away, and then, looking out of the 
 window, I saw, over the wall around the yard of my house, the
 
 15<> MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vi. 
 
 bayonets 'of the king's guard moving along the path outside 
 towards the steps leading up to my gate. 
 
 I hurried on my dress, and met the king at the door. It was 
 not yet half-past three, though his majesty's watch indicated 
 four o'clock. He altered his watch, and then we chatted toge- 
 ther with his officers until the general with the members of the 
 English embassy and Dr. and Mrs. Davidson arrived, when the 
 soup was placed on the table, and we took our seats. The 
 general and Captain Anson were accompanied by their own 
 servants, and with my two house-servants, under the superin- 
 tendence of a friend, they managed very well. The fish, which 
 was better than usual, and tolerably well cooked, followed the 
 soup, and when that was removed, a hind-quarter of small roast 
 mutton was placed at one end of the table, and a couple of roast 
 fowls at the other, with good English ham, and a number of 
 other dishes, including one which is a great favourite in Mada- 
 gascar. This consists of the skin of a fowl stuffed with a kind 
 of sausage meat and roasted. These were followed by rice boiled 
 in a mould placed in a dish and covered with white sauce or 
 custard, pine-apple tart, stewed pine-apple, fried bananas, rice- 
 flour pancakes, and fritters of wheateri flour. The dessert con- 
 sisted of pine-apples, oranges, bananas, marmalade, and biscuits. 
 The oranges, the marmalade, and the biscuits, seemed to find 
 great favour, but the pine-apples and bananas were not touched. 
 
 Though wine was on the table it was scarcely tasted during 
 the dinner. But it now devolved on me as a matter of courtesy 
 to propose the health of the king our guest ; and while the 
 servants were filling the glasses with champagne (the general's 
 present), the king's band, stationed in the court-yard outside, 
 were ordered to play the Malagasy national anthem, and all 
 wished, as Malagasy etiquette requires, that his majesty might 
 live to be old, even to 1000 years. The king soon afterwards 
 asked me to propose in his name the health of Queen Victoria, 
 and the band was then ordered to play our " God save the 
 Queen."
 
 CHAP. vi. CONVERSATION AFTER DINNER. 157 
 
 The king was generally an agreeable companion, and conver- 
 sation continued free and pleasant. The king was in excellent 
 spirits, and the commander-in-chief appeared quite at his ease. 
 Very little wine was drunk, and it occurred to me that probably 
 such an English company had never before been so associated 
 with the Malagasy. When the health of General Johnstone 
 and the English embassy was proposed, the general briefly 
 acknowledged the toast, and proposed the health of the com- 
 mander-in-chief and the Malagasy army. Coffee was now 
 served, and as the shadows of evening fell, a large lamp, fur- 
 nished by my home friends Messrs. Warners, which all admired, 
 filled the room with bright clear light. Tea was brought soon 
 after eight o'clock, and as the doctor had to see the prime 
 minister, he left with Mrs. Davidson soon afterwards. 
 
 The king was particularly cheerful and communicative, and 
 in the course of the evening related a number of singular 
 escapes which he had had once, when he was returning home, 
 seven men were lying in ambush by the side of the road, armed 
 with knives and spears to attack him ; but as he spurred his 
 horse right in among them, they fled in all directions, though 
 his aide-de-camp called after them to stop. At another time, 
 a mad drunken man violently broke open the door of the room 
 in which he was, and was about to attack him, when a friend 
 who was with him seized a glass bottle or decanter, to throw at 
 the man's head, which deterred him until the sentries on duty 
 came and took him away. He related also, how he had once 
 nearly killed himself by smoking hemp, which rendered him for 
 a while insensible, during which time he had some extraordi- 
 nary dreams, of which he still retained the most distinct arid 
 vivid recollection. He related also many of his hazardous 
 endeavours to deliver the condemned Christians from prison, or 
 to aid in their concealment and escape. His officers, who had 
 been associated with him in some of these adventures, joinin^ 
 freely in the conversation, the time passed pleasantly until 
 yun-fire, when all inhabitants of the city are expected to be
 
 Io8 MADAGASCAR REVISITED, CHAP. vi. 
 
 in-doors. The king then ordered the lanterns to be prepared, 
 and soon after ten o'clock, accompanied by his officers, as well 
 as by Captain Anson and Lieutenant Oliver, and attended by 
 his guard, and the band playing before him, he proceeded to 
 the palace. Every one present spoke afterwards of having spent 
 a pleasant evening. 
 
 About noon the next day a messenger from the king required 
 my attendance at the palace, where, on arriving, I found that the 
 members of the French embassy and their countrymen, together 
 with General Johnstone and his aide-de-camp, were assembled 
 at the signing of the treaty between the Emperor of the French 
 and the King of Madagascar. The king's foreign secretary read 
 the Malagasy text, after which M. Dupre', the chief of the 
 French embassy, read the French document, and both were 
 duly signed. The treaty was not unfriendly to the Malagasy, 
 but I thought, on some points, k it did not seem unlikely that 
 difficulties might arise between the subjects of the contracting 
 parties. The people were generally and justly gratified by the 
 conclusion of a solemn treaty engagement of amity and peace 
 between France and Madagascar. 
 
 The concession to M. Lambert, or the engagement between 
 the king and that gentleman, which had likewise been read, 
 signed, and also attested by the French consul, and the chief of 
 the French mission, was exceedingly objectionable. It author- 
 ised M. Lambert to form a company to develop the natural 
 resources of Madagascar, to take possession of such unoccupied 
 lands as might suit their purposes, to work mines, fell timber, 
 cultivate the soil, construct roads, canals, building-yards, and 
 other works of public utility. In furtherance of this object the 
 king ceded to this company, of which M. Lambert was to be the 
 chief, the exclusive privilege of working any mines that might 
 be already known, or might be hereafter discovered in Mada- 
 gascar, to select any unoccupied territory on the coast or in 
 the interior that the company might desire to cultivate, and 
 declared that they should become proprietors of such unoc-
 
 CHAP. vi. THE CONCESSION TO M. LAMBERT. 159 
 
 cupied lands as they might choose, or as they might wish to 
 occupy, or of which they might already have taken possession. 
 
 The king further conceded to the company the privilege of 
 coining money for circulation in the country, and stamping 
 upon it the likeness of the king. It was also stipulated that 
 the company should pay no duty on the metal they might raise, 
 or the articles they might produce, and should have the privi- 
 lege of exporting the produce of the mines, plantations, &c., free 
 of all duty, and of importing all articles required for the use of 
 the company, duty free. A manufactory at some distance from 
 the capital, together with its workmen, was ceded to the com- 
 pany, and one of the palaces near the capital was given to 
 become its central establishment. The king engaged to favour 
 the said company, especially in obtaining labourers, and the 
 company was to help him in promoting the amelioration of the 
 condition of the people, and in promoting the civilisation of the 
 people, and the prosperity of his reign. Such was the purport of 
 the document which, on the 3rd of November, 1861, was first 
 signed by the king. To the document signed that day, an addi- 
 tional paragraph was added, stating that M. Lambert would 
 give to the king and his successors ten per cent, upon all the 
 clear net profits which the company might receive. 
 
 I was astonished when I heard this document read, and 
 grieved when I saw it was signed, as I felt sure it would bring 
 trouble, for I did not think the nobles or the people would ever 
 agree to its being carried out. A document appointing a M. 
 Soumagne, acting French consul at Tamatave, fournissier, or 
 provider of silk, linen, and upholstery for the king, was also 
 signed, and when the usual toasts had been given, the French 
 and English retired. 
 
 The king and the officers asked me to remain, and they then 
 proceeded to read over the documents which had been signed, 
 on some parts of which they asked my opinion. The only 
 answer which I gave to their question respecting the treaty 
 with the Emperor was, that it was not customary for foreigners
 
 160 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vi. 
 
 to import arms and military stores into the countries in which 
 they might reside. They said there was a law to prevent any 
 one except the sovereign doing that. But I said I thought the 
 treaty would supersede the law, and that might occasion trouble. 
 They said that, as the treaty would not come into operation for 
 twelve months, they could make a change should it appear 
 desirable. To which I replied that I thought, as the treaty was 
 signed on their part, they could not now make any change. 
 
 When my opinion respecting the concession to M. Lambert 
 was asked, I said I had nothing to add to what I had already 
 said viz., that it was very likely to cause great trouble. That 
 I had supposed his majesty had intended to make the conces- 
 sion much less than had originally been proposed, as it was 
 contrary to the king's own laws respecting precious metals, and 
 I added that there were very few sovereigns or governments 
 that would allow the coinage of their country, impressed with 
 the image of the sovereign, to be in any other hands than their 
 own. The king said he intended to establish a mint and 
 provide the money for the country himself, and he thought the 
 people would prefer the money he might coin to that which 
 M. Lambert might supply. 
 
 The completion of this concession on the present occasion 
 was the conclusion of a series of movements directed to the 
 same end ; and it revealed more clearly than I had before seen 
 or known the ill-considered and sinister counsels by which the 
 king had been led. All the parties to this concession knew 
 that the traditions, Tisages, and laws of the country, as well as 
 the opinions of the most powerful and influential persons, were 
 averse to the transfer of any portion of the territory to 
 foreigners, much more to the gift of what might prove to be 
 the greatest treasure of the kingdom, without any equivalent 
 whatever excepting a royalty of ten per cent, upon the clear 
 net profits to be realised at some altogether uncertain and 
 exceedingly remote period. 
 
 M. Lambert first visited Antananarivo in 1855, and while
 
 CHAP. vr. CAUTIONS GIVEN TO THE CHRISTIANS. 161 
 
 there persuaded Radama, then prince royal, and heir to the 
 throne, to give or promise to him certain portions of land for 
 plantations, and also to give him the exclusive privilege of 
 working any mines for the precious metals which he might 
 discover. M. Lambert also expressed great commiseration for 
 the suffering Christians, gave them money, and spoke to them 
 of the great advantages they would derive from the establish- 
 ment of the prince on the throne. The Frenchmen at the 
 capital also persuaded the prince to authorise an application by 
 M. Lambert, who proposed to proceed to Europe, to the French 
 and English governments to assist to remove the queen by 
 force, and to place the prince on the throne. The parties were 
 applied to, but declined to send troops to Madagascar, and 
 recommended M. Lambert rather to seek to develope the 
 resources of the country by commerce, than to attempt a 
 revolution. 
 
 I was informed of these proceedings during my visit to the 
 capital in 1856, and told the Christians I did not think England 
 would attempt to change the government of Madagascar by 
 force ; and I earnestly cautioned them against being tempted 
 into complicity with any such movement if attempted on M. 
 Lambert's return, but rather to retire from the capital alto- 
 gether for a time if they heard of any such project, in order 
 that they might be out of the way of danger. 
 
 On conversing with the prince and Rahaniraka during that 
 visit, in reference to the gift or promises which I had heard the 
 former had made to M. Lambert, I said it was probably well for 
 him that he was only heir to the throne, so that any gift or 
 promise of his could only be evidence of his intention, as he 
 had at the time the gift was made no power to give anything 
 away ; but that if he had been king at that time he might, by 
 such an act, have lost the throne, if not his head ; * for the law, 
 as he knew, did not allow any foreigner to be the owner of 
 
 * In one of my letters to England at the time, I stated that I had expressed 
 this opinion to the prince. 
 
 M
 
 162 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vi. 
 
 land ; and the precious metals discovered in a country were 
 always, in the first instance, considered to belong to the 
 sovereign or government of such country. 
 
 Whenever, since my last arrival in Madagascar, the king had 
 referred to the subject, he had expressed his intention not to 
 repeat the gift, and he appeared also at times to be fully 
 sensible that the nobles and the people were exceedingly averse 
 to it. Since M. Lambert's arrival, the king had maintained 
 towards me entire silence on the subject ; and had I not heard 
 it reported among the officers, that, in a kind of private arrange- 
 ment at his country seat, he had agreed to fulfil as king the 
 promise which he had first made when prince, I should have 
 concluded that he would abide by the decisions of his better 
 judgment. Much as I regretted the act of the king, I did not 
 at that time think the attempt to form extensive plantations on 
 a basis so opposed to the laws, and to the feelings of the whole 
 people, would succeed ; and I recorded my opinion at the time, 
 that to establish a company at home, and dispose of the shares,, 
 would probably be the first, if not the chief, object of the 
 promoters of the scheme, who would be satisfied with the 
 money they might secure. I had heard that there had been, 
 in 1861, some renewal of the engagement between the king 
 and M. Lambert, but did not know until this occasion that the 
 concession had been at that time so formally completed.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The new order of Radama Visit to the sites of the martyrs' sufferings 
 Relics of a cross Xumbers drawn to the capital Interesting groups of 
 strangers in the streets The Pope's present to the King A general am- 
 nesty proclaimed Portrait of the King A coronation sermon The com- 
 mandant from Tamatave Beautiful illuminations of the country Fire 
 in the city Visit of congratulation to the King and Queen The coro- 
 nation morning Arrival at my tent Aspect and arrangements on the 
 plain Representatives of the Protestants, the Catholics, and the Pagans 
 The pavilion and platf orm Members of three generations of the royal 
 family The aristocracy of Madagascar Arrival and reception of their 
 majesties The crowning of the King and Queen The royal speech 
 Homage and offerings -Return of the procession Scene of the multi- 
 tudes leaving the plain The banquet in the great palace The priests 
 crowning the King Departure of the English embassy Beneficial effects 
 of their visit. 
 
 THE king, intending to signalize his accession to the throne 
 by the institution of an Order of Merit, or favour, to be called 
 the Order of Radama II., which was to be conferred on persons 
 who had rendered good service to the country, had obtained, by 
 means of M. Lambert's visit to France, a number of medals 
 from Paris, resembling in form and appearance the decoration 
 of the French Legion of Honour. His majesty had been dis- 
 tributing these among his officers and others preparatory to the 
 ceremony of the coronation, and on the 15th of September, 
 Rahaniraka, the foreign secretary, brought me a medal, which 
 he said he was directed to affix to my dress. When I remarked 
 that I did riot know on what ground I could be considered 
 as entitled to such a distinction, I was told that it was on 
 account of the information 1 had given to the people of
 
 1G4 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. VII. 
 
 England about Madagascar, in the book which I had published 
 since my last visit. 
 
 Being out more than usual this day I found the afternoon 
 sun very hot, and suffered more in my head from the fierceness 
 of the sun's rays than I had ever done before. On the following 
 day, after visiting the king, whom I found engaged with a 
 number of foreigners, I accompanied General Johnstone and 
 the missionaries on a visit to the scenes of the martyrs' death, 
 and sites of the proposed memorial churches. My companions 
 appeared to be deeply affected, and seemed to regard the places 
 not only as admnable for the sites of large public buildings, 
 but well situated for the erection of places of Christian worship 
 for the people. The general urged my obtaining, as early as 
 possible, a document from the king designating the object to 
 which the ground was to be appropriated, in order to prevent 
 disputes afterwards. I told him the king was perfectly willing 
 to give such a document, and would perhaps confirm it in his 
 treaty with England. 
 
 At Ambohipotsy I had found a piece of timber which I was 
 told had been the foot of a cross on which a Christian had been 
 crucified ; and another piece of timber, five or six feet long, 
 lying near among the grass, was said to have been part of the 
 same cross. I sent this latter by a special bearer to my house, 
 intending to have it built into some conspicuous part of the 
 church which we proposed to erect on the spot. The messenger 
 delivered the piece of wood to my servants ; but- great was my 
 mortification to find on my return in the evening, that they, 
 not conceiving that such a bleached and unsightly piece of 
 wood could possibly be of use for anything but fuel, had 
 chopped it up to prepare my dinner with. I had all the pieces 
 that remained tied up in a bundle and carried into the house, 
 and receiving afterwards two or three applications for pieces of 
 the wood that was supposed to have formed part of a Christian's 
 cross, I felt in danger of becoming a relic monger, when, on 
 further inquiry, I found that the cross had not been the instru-
 
 CUAP. vii. ARRIVAL OF STRANGERS IN THE CAPITAL. 1G5 
 
 ment of death to a Christian, but to a Sakalava chief or 
 warrior who had been captured by the Hovas, in one of their 
 wars, and crucified there. After this discovery, the remaining 
 fragments were consigned to the use to which my boys had 
 considered them best fitted. 
 
 The recently arrived mission from the London Society 
 included among its members a medical gentleman, and such 
 was the estimation in which the healing art was held among 
 the people, that the commander-in-chief brought his son to 
 my house to ask if I thought Dr. Davidson would receive him 
 as a medical pupil. I said it would be necessary that he should 
 go on trial for a season, and then engage to continue for a 
 specified period. The doctor entered at the time, and when 
 consulted, said he could receive no pupil until he obtained a 
 house for a dispensary. On which subject the applicant 
 promised to speak with his brother, the prime minister, to 
 whom most of the property in the neighbourhood belongs. 
 
 Antananarivo had for some time past been filling with visitors, 
 and temporary encampments sprung up in the suburbs in 
 various directions. The city was in some parts crowded, and 
 as excited and busy as it was thronged with people. Strangers 
 from remote provinces and distant coasts, both east and west, 
 from Vonizongo on the west and Imamo and the Betsileo to 
 the south, were amongst the visitors to my dwelling, and many 
 shy and curious observers gathered round the doors and windows 
 of our places of worship on the Sunday. 
 
 Whenever I went out in the city I met new and strange 
 faces, and singular and often antiquated costumes and personal 
 ornaments. Sometimes I met, borne along the road in his 
 palanquin, surrounded by his relatives, and followed by his 
 slaves, an aged chief who, with small sunken eyes, and time- 
 furrowed brow, surmounted by a strange sort of cap or curiously 
 knotted hair, was arrayed in an Arab dress, or it might be a 
 coat of such antique shape and ornamentation as almost to 
 have belonged to the age of Drury or Benyowsky. Sometimes,
 
 1G6 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. VII. 
 
 again, I met an aged female chief, with fairer complexion, and 
 silver hair, in ancient dress, with little or no ornament besides 
 her own venerable countenance, and beautifully shining snow- 
 white hair. Occasionally might be seen a young, sprightly, 
 wondering child, sitting in the same palanquin, as it was borne 
 along amidst surrounding female attendants and slaves. Some- 
 times I passed a Sakalava chief arrayed in dark-coloured 
 lamba, walking with a brightly polished staff, surrounded by 
 his friends, and followed by his attendants, their hair braided 
 or loose, but ornamented by a band of land or ri^r shells, or 
 by a broad white shell over one or both temples, and sometimes 
 carrying by way of ornament a long barrelled, brass-studded 
 musket on their shoulders. The attendants of others, like the 
 Betsimasaraks, had their hair braided and knotted so as to 
 hang on each side of their heads, in a manner resembling short 
 ears of Indian corn, while the hair of some other tribes was 
 airanged in long oval bunches so as to spread out like rays 
 from a centre, or like the spokes of a wheel, or perhaps in 
 imitation of the fruit of the banana surrounding its central 
 stalk. The dress of the slaves from all parts of the country 
 was very much the same ; but it appeared to me that the 
 chiefs and their attendants who came from the eastern parts of 
 the island, were more frequently clothed in European manu- 
 factures ; while those who came, from the west, and affected 
 foreign dress, wore such as were of Arabic or Indian fabric. 
 
 The king had repeatedly asked me to take his portrait in 
 profile, from which a die could be prepared for the mint which 
 he proposed to establish, and when I saw him on the 19th, he 
 said he would come to me on the following morning for this 
 purpose. I told him I should be glad to comply with his 
 wishes, and that the light would be suitable about seven or 
 eight o'clock. While I was with him, one of the Catholic 
 priests presented to the king a small packet, and the secretary, 
 to whom he handed it, said it was a medal or decoration from 
 the pope. On looking at it afterwards, I saw it was a beautiful
 
 CHAP. vii. A GENERAL AMNESTY PROCLAIMED. 167 
 
 mosaic medallion, representing the pope's band in the position 
 in which it is used when bestowing bis blessing. Beneath the 
 band was the form of a Greek Cross, also in beautiful mosaic. 
 
 That no one might be without cause to welcome his approach- 
 ing coronation, the king had ordered twenty-one guns to be 
 fired, and a general amnesty to be proclaimed to the people, 
 for all offenders against the state. A succession of visitors 
 continued to arrive while I was with him, not a few to ex- 
 press their thanks for the amnesty. There were some from 
 whose limbs the fetters had been struck off, to whom he had 
 given liberty, as well as restored them to their homes, their 
 families, and their inheritance. Among these were the widow 
 and family of the late Prince Ramboasalama, who fell down 
 weeping before the king, clasping and kissing his feet, and 
 thanking and praising him for his clemency and bounty to the 
 family, for he had restored their property and their forfeited 
 inheritance to the uttermost farthing. Their tears were as 
 much tears of grateful joy for his generous treatment of the 
 survivors, as of grief for the absence of the prince who was 
 dead. The king himself was so exhausted by the excitement 
 of the numbers who came, and so affected by the visit of the 
 family of the late competitor for the throne, that the general 
 who was present invited him to go and dine with him. He 
 went, but though he ate and drank very little he continued in 
 a state of great excitement during the evening. 
 
 A little before eight the next morning the king according to 
 appointment came, accompanied by his chief officers, to my 
 house. He appeared quite exhausted when he entered, threw 
 himself almost breathless into an easy chair, and apologizing 
 for being so late, asked for a glass of water. After sitting 
 quietly for some time, he said he was quite ready, and I 
 obtained a good profile likeness of him. As soon as I had 
 finished developing the picture we sat down to breakfast, the 
 king's private secretary, and the treasurer of the government, 
 as well as Lieutenant Oliver and Mr. Parrctt, who had kindly
 
 1C8 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vn. 
 
 assisted me in my photographic operations, joining us. I had 
 sent to the general to beg a little biscuit, and Lieutenant Oliver 
 sent for a couple of bottles of claret to add to our repast. 
 
 The king's cheerfulness revived with the breakfast, and when 
 it was finished, after conversing for some time, he proposed 
 that he should read in the Bible, which he did with much 
 self-possession and seeming attention. As he was in no haste 
 to leave, and appeared to prefer the quietude with me to the 
 throng he expected at his own house, we conversed on a number 
 of important subjects connected with the great transaction 
 which, was about to take place. I spoke very plainly and 
 affectionately to him, addressing him as my son, a liberty which 
 he sanctioned by always designating me as his father when 
 sending for me. He spoke on this occasion with much explicit- 
 ness and earnestness of his desire to do right, to put his trust 
 in God, and to make Madagascar the happiest of countries.* 
 It was noon before he left me, and returned to his own residence 
 accompanied by his officers. I met the leaders of the Christians 
 in the afternoon to arrange about our proceedings at the 
 coronation. 
 
 The next day was Sunday. The native congregations were 
 large, as there were a number of strangers, and all appeared 
 attentive. Captain Anson and the missionaries called and 
 accompanied me to the service in the large school-room at the 
 king's place in the afternoon. The congregation had assembled 
 when we arrived. My text on this occasion was Numbers vi. 
 24, 25, and 26, which, after directing attention to Him by whom 
 kings reign and princes decree judgment, I recommended the 
 young sovereign to adopt it as the foundation of his own desire 
 and trust, and the burden of his own prayers ; assuring him 
 that it was the desire, the hope, and the prayer of his true 
 
 * He frequently expressed to me a similar desire, and had remarked that he 
 wished the people to say, when they remembered his reign, that it was the 
 period of greatest happiness that they had ever known. I have no reason 
 to think this patriotic wish was not sincere, little as he ever understood what 
 was indispensable on his part to its fulfilment.
 
 CHAP. vir. EXTENSIVE ILLUMINATION OF THE COUNTRY. 169 
 
 friends for him, and for his people. My sermon was in English, 
 with a summary at the close in Malagasy. It was remarked 
 afterwards by the English who were present that the king was 
 remarkably attentive, and once or twice when I felt doubtful as 
 to whether he understood correctly the English words I used, 
 and paused to repeat the sentence in Malagasy, he prevented 
 me by repeating before I had time to utter them, the native 
 words, showing, as was afterwards observed, that he had under- 
 stood what I said. 
 
 I also used the words of the text as a parting salutation to 
 my English friends who expected to leave, on their return home, 
 before the next Sunday. We walked home together, the 
 missionary brethren intending to remain with me for the rest 
 of the evening, but a message came soon afterwards from the 
 prime minister who wished to see me. On reaching his house, 
 I was delighted to see my old patient, the commandant, who 
 had been burned by the explosion of gunpowder at Tamatave. 
 He appeared much pleased to see me, and showed me his hands, 
 over which the new skin was becoming firm and healthy, while 
 he could bend all his fingers without difficulty. My friend 
 llainitavy, with a Creole acquainted with both French and 
 English, had been appointed postmaster at Tamatave, and had 
 brought up a well-filled letter-bag from Mauritius. 
 
 I proceeded to the residence of the missionaries, who were 
 delighted by the arrival of the letters, and prepared to return 
 in the dark to my own residence, when, to my agreeable 
 surprise, I found rny servants waiting with my palanquin, which 
 kind forethought had provided on finding I had been so long 
 detained. 
 
 Soon after reaching home I sat down to dinner, tea, and 
 supper in one, but was soon afterwards called to look out upon 
 the surrounding landscape, which was illuminated by a thousand 
 brightly blazing fires, caused by simultaneously kindling small 
 bundles of dried grass which had been collected for that purpose. 
 The night was dark, but cloudless, the wind slight, and the
 
 170 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vn. 
 
 spectacle produced by this novel, and to me unexpected lighting 
 up of the country for several miles around, extending as it did 
 up the sides of the hills, was at once a striking, simple, and 
 appropriate expression of the universal gladness. 
 
 But, while gazing at these joyfully enkindled fires, a cloud of 
 smoke, and a sudden blaze arose a little to the south of my 
 house, and the cry " Tranomai''' "house on fire," startled 
 every one. Mothers flew to remove their children ; others 
 began packing up their property. The drums beat, and the 
 alarm-bell rang. The men were summoned to assist in 
 carrying water, or tearing down surrounding buildings. My 
 friends advised me to keep in the house, to kindle lights, and 
 fasten gates and doors, as the general commotion attending a 
 fire was sometimes made an occasion for plunder. Our alarm 
 was soon quieted by the return of one of my servants with the 
 news that the fire was extinguished. 
 
 Before I retired to rest an officer came to inform me that it 
 was customary for the heads of the nation to wait on the king 
 early on the morning before a coronation took place, and that it 
 would be gratifying if foreigners paid this mark of respect, 
 adding that the French had arranged to do so, and he did not 
 think we should like to neglect it. I therefore wrote notes to 
 the general and the missionaries, inviting them to meet me for 
 this object at seven o'clock, in order that we might go together 
 to the palace. Soon after that hour we set out from my house, 
 and were graciously welcomed by the king, who expressed his 
 pleasure on receiving our congratulations among the earliest 
 which had been presented. He then went for the queen, who 
 appeared equally pleased with the attention. After a short 
 time her majesty retired, accepting the general's arm to her 
 apartments, and we returned home. 
 
 I next arranged with the Christians for the proceedings of 
 the following day, and afterwards prepared my chemicals for 
 taking a photographic view of the ceremony. About five in 
 the afternoon I went to the ground, nearly two miles distant,
 
 CHAP. vii. THE MORNING OF THE CORONATION. 171 
 
 but, to my great mortification, found that the officer in charge 
 of the entrance, a perfect stranger, would not admit me without 
 an order. A friend who was with me, himself an aide-de-camp 
 of the commander-in-chief, expostulated, but in vain. He then 
 sent a messenger to his superior, but I had to wait an hour in 
 the dark before we were admitted. We then kindled a light, 
 put up a tent, and left the camera and chemicals in charge of 
 one of my own servants and three other men, who were to 
 remain all night within the rush fence which had been erected 
 round the place to keep off the crowd. It was late when I 
 reached home, and arranged finally with the missionaries for 
 the following day. Twenty-one cannons had then been fired, 
 and the whole country illuminated in the same manner as on 
 the previous evening. 
 
 The tread of feet and the sound of voices ceased but for a 
 short time, if at all, during the whole night. On the morning 
 of the 23rd I rose and dressed before day-break, when the firing 
 of cannon along the sides of the hill announced the dawn of the 
 long-desired day. It was but little after six o'clock when, much 
 to my surprise, a captain and twenty men in uniform entered 
 my front yard, and drew up before the door. The officer 
 informed me that they had been sent to conduct me to Imaha- 
 masina (" the making sacred "), the plain on which the coronation 
 was to take place, to attend me through the day, and to see 
 that I was not incommoded. Shortly afterwards I took my seat 
 in my palanquin, and with four soldiers before me, the same 
 number behind, and six on each side, I proceeded through the 
 city. 
 
 In the latter portion of the way I was immediately behind 
 the idols arid their keepers, or guardians ; and at one time, for 
 some distance, I was quite surrounded by them, when I made 
 the best use I could of the opportunity to see what they were 
 like. As we approached the plain, the broad road, even at that 
 early hour, was crowded, for hundreds of people in palanquins 
 or on foot, were thronging towards the entrance to the ground.
 
 172 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vn. 
 
 No triumphal arches had been erected at any part along which 
 the procession was to pass. No flags were hung out from any 
 of the houses, but the broad banner of the sovereign waved 
 from the summit of the palace, and the flags of England and 
 France floated over the consulates of the respective nations. 
 Banners inscribed with R. R. II. were suspended from tall poles 
 on each side of the road, at intervals of about a hundred yards, 
 and at still longer intervals along the road, clusters of five or six 
 fresh, tall, green plantain trees had been planted during the 
 preceding day. On the ground, the positions of the respective 
 divisions of the people in front, or on the west of the royal 
 pavilion, were also indicated by banners bearing their heraldic 
 names. Banners were also raised over the pavilions, and along 
 the whole line of the platform, which was more than three hun- 
 dred feet in length from north to south. In the centre of this 
 platform was the sacred stone a granite boulder on which 
 the king was to stand when assuming the crown. Over this 
 stone, which is now surrounded by a wall, an elegant pavilion 
 had been erected, beneath which seats were placed for the king 
 and queen. 
 
 The white mists of morning still rested on the plains when I 
 arrived at the enclosure, and found all my photographic mate- 
 rials safe. The men in charge said the night had been cold, 
 but that no one had disturbed them. I then set up my tent, 
 fixed my camera, and prepared my chemicals, and as soon as 
 the light was sufficiently clear, took a small picture of the 
 pavilion to test my chemicals, which proved to be in good order. 
 I then took some refreshment, and was about to proceed to the 
 place where the Christians were assembling, when, to my 
 astonishment, the captain of my guard said he had no orders 
 to let me leave the place, and could not allow me to do so with- 
 out word from his superior. I laughed, and told him I had no 
 expectation that, on receiving his protection, I should become 
 his captive, and that my tent would be turned into a prison. He 
 laughed, too, and said, " Wait a little," and darting off into the
 
 CHAP. vil. DESCRIPTION OF THE MALAGASY IDOLS. 173 
 
 crowd, an order soon came that I was to go out and in as I 
 pleased. 
 
 I then joined the native pastors at the head of the Christians, 
 on the south side of the steps leading up to the pavilion, the 
 Christians occupying the space along the front of the platform 
 on the same side, though I was afterwards informed that more 
 than half their number could not gain admittance to the 
 ground. On the opposite, or north side of the steps to the 
 pavilion, were the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity and their 
 pupils, about forty in number, and five Catholic priests, with 
 the adherents to their faith. To the west of these Chris- 
 tians were the idol keepers with the idols, and their votaries. 
 These idols, or objects of worship, thirteen in number, were 
 carried on tall slender rods or poles, from eight to ten feet high. 
 There was not much in any of them to inspire respect, much 
 less veneration or worship. Dirty pieces of silver chain, silver 
 balls varying in size from a pistol bullet to a hen's egg, pieces 
 of coral, and what seemed like bone and silver ornaments in- 
 tended to repi'esent crocodiles' teeth, and with these narrow 
 strips of scarlet cloth, from a foot to a yard or more in length, 
 some of them underneath what looked like a red woollen cap, 
 resembling a cap of liberty ; others invisible, consisting of some- 
 thing tied up in a small bag of native cloth or rush basket ; 
 whether some of them were only charms or emblems of the 
 idols I had no means of knowing ; but such were the objects of 
 worship, or the representatives of such, on which the safety and 
 welfare of the nation was supposed to depend, and for refusing 
 to worship which, many "of the most intelligent and worthy 
 among the people had been subjected to banishment, slavery, 
 torture, and death. 
 
 To the north of the pavilion, the floor of which covered the 
 sacred stone, and was raised six or seven feet above the ground, 
 a platform, fifty yards long, was appropriated to the French and 
 English missions, with other foreign visitors, and native officers. 
 On the opposite side of the pavilion another platform, of equal
 
 174 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vn. 
 
 length and elevation, was appropriated to the members of the 
 royal family, who were all arrayed in scarlet, a colour which 
 extended in some instances to parasols and shoes. 
 
 Nearest to the throne sat Rasalimo, the Sakalava princess, 
 whose marriage with the first Radama, in 1821, was the seal of 
 the peace then concluded between her father, Ramitraha, chief 
 of the Sakalavas, and the Hova sovereign. Next to her sat one 
 who, in her day, must have been one of the brightest belles of 
 Madagascar, for traces of beauty still lingered in the regular 
 features, beautifully formed eyebrows, and oval contour of her 
 face. She had Leen one of the wives of the first Radama' s 
 father, Ampoininierina, who died in 1808. 
 
 Representatives of three generations of the highest families 
 in Madagascar were there assembled, and it was interesting to 
 observe their varied figures, forms, and countenances, the resem- 
 blance to, and the deviations from the Hova type, the Hovas 
 being in all instances fairer than the others. Some of the men 
 were extremely handsome, among whom was the young Prince 
 Ramonja, and Ramboasalama's princely son. All were gor- 
 geously attired. Scarlet, the regal colour, predominated, though 
 some wore green and purple coloured velvet. Gold lace, though 
 not wanting, was less lavishly spread over the new than the 
 old uniforms, which were occasionally mingled with them in 
 striking contrast. 
 
 Next to the contemplation of the members of the royal and 
 noble families of the country, my eye wandered over the figures, 
 countenances, ornaments, and dresses of the representatives of 
 the various divisions of the people, and the strangers from the 
 remote provinces gathered before me in one vast and still- 
 increasing multitude ; and many were the noble forms and the 
 intelligent countenances which met my gaze, all animated, 
 cheerful, and excited by eager expectation. 
 
 In the city, troops under arms had, since the morning, lined 
 the sides of the road from the palace to the plain, a distance of 
 nearly two miles, and between nine and ten o'clock the firing
 
 CHAP. viz. ARRIVAL OF THE KING AND QUEKN T . 175 
 
 of cannon, and the shouting of the multitude, announced to the 
 expectant thousands that the king and queen had left the 
 palace. Preceded by the band, and attended by the embassies 
 from England and from France, with the French and English 
 consuls, and surrounded by their guard, they had proceeded to 
 the place of public assembly in the city, where the king, after 
 alighting for a few minutes on the smaller sacred stone of 
 Andohalo, remounted, and pursued his way. Towards eleven 
 o'clock the clouds of dust, and the denser throng along the 
 winding and descending road by Amparibe, together with the 
 firing of the nearer cannon on the mountain side, announced 
 their majesties' approach. I noticed at this time that as soon 
 as the royal cortdge appeared, the dowager queens and prin- 
 cesses occupying the front seats on the platform within a few 
 yards of which I was standing, turned their faces in the direc- 
 tion from which the king was approaching, clapped and lifted 
 up their hands as in the act of homage or of blessing, and com- 
 menced singing their ancient song, as had been the custom 
 in former times on welcoming the public approach of the 
 sovereign. 
 
 The queen, splendidly attired in a white satin dress, and 
 wearing a tasteful ornament of gold on her head, rode first, in a 
 richly gilt and scarlet-and-gold embroidered palanquin, accom- 
 panied by her little adopted favourite, the infant child of prince 
 Ramonja's oldest daughter. The king followed, riding a beau- 
 tiful little Egyptian horse, and was greeted by the plaudits of 
 the joyous multitude, who crowded every available spot along 
 which the pageant had to pass. As they approached the 
 pavilion the native Christians sang most heartily their national 
 anthem, or "God save the King." A guard of honour Tsi- 
 mandoa clothed in green, with scarlet cuffs and collars, and 
 bearing halberts or spears of polished silver, shaft and head, 
 attended the royal pair. The officers of the embassies from 
 England and France, as well as other foreigners, and high 
 officers of government followed. The queen left her palanquin
 
 176 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vn. 
 
 at the foot of the steps, and ascended to the pavilion erected 
 above the sacred stone, Imahamasina ; the king followed, wear- 
 ing the British field-marshal's uniform, presented by Queen 
 Victoria, and over this a splendid light-coloured robe or mantle. 
 The dresses of the officers of state who accompanied their 
 majesties were most of .them new, and some of them gorgeous. 
 The long robe of the minister of justice was of green velvet, 
 trimmed with broad bands of gold lace, the train being borne 
 by two youthful pages wearing a livery of the same. 
 
 When their majesties had been seated a few minutes, the 
 king rose, and taking from an elegant stand on his right the 
 new handsome crown, a present from the emperor of the 
 French, he placed it on his head. The firing of cannon an- 
 nounced the fact. The band began to play the Malagasy 
 national anthem, w r hile the vast multitude saluted the newly- 
 crowned and youthful monarch with the Malagasy salutation, 
 Tra-ran-ti-tra, " May you live to attain a good old age ! " 
 
 The king, still wearing the crown, then turned to the queen, 
 who stood by his side, and taking the small open crown of gold 
 from the page who bore it, placed it on her majesty's head, 
 who, as she stood by the side of Radama, and before the silent 
 but almost enraptured multitude, looked a truly royal and noble 
 queen. 
 
 After standing for a minute or two to receive the greetings of 
 the high officers and their friends, the queen sat down. The 
 king then carefully removed the crown from his head, advanced 
 to the front of the pavilion, and, drawing his sword, stood for a 
 moment or two, pale but perfectly self-possessed, before the 
 intensely silent multitude, and then said : 
 
 " Nobles, and noble ladies, by the blessing of God to me and 
 to you, we meet, exempt from calamity, living and seeing each 
 other. The day of separation is past, the appointed time for 
 our seeing each other has come, and I salute you all, nobles, and 
 noble ladies. I salute you, all the people. God has given to
 
 CHAP. vii. RADAMA'S SPEECH TO THE PEOPLE. 17T 
 
 us his goodness, not to have died, but to have life, and to see 
 each other living. Arahaba ! (salutations to you all.) 
 
 " This is what I say unto you all under heaven (the whole 
 people). I did not choose you (for subjects), but you chose me 
 (to be king), not that I hoped to reign, but God appointed the 
 kingdom to me ; and you know my past life, and my thoughts 
 (or purposes), for by me nothing has been concealed. My 
 thought and purpose is not changed ; and there is nothing 
 above me but only God, and justice or truth. Not of myself 
 have I come down to Imahamasina (the sacred stone on which 
 he stood), but you besought me, therefore have I come hither. 
 And this is my counsel to you, all beneath the sky. Do that 
 which is right and true. Do not deceive, that you, your wives, 
 and your children may be happy. For when it is so, my reign 
 will repose in quiet, that I may truly put far away from me 
 falsehood. Is not that right ? all beneath the sky ? " " That 
 (is)"* exclaimed the multitude, and cried, " Hi-6-be ! Hi-o-be!" 
 " Let the workman pursue his labour, the trader his barter, 
 without fear ; for the long-expected time is come. I will 
 protect all the people, whether the poor or the rich, that all 
 may prosper, for your desire is accomplished. " Trust in me, 
 all under the sky, for my word unto all is, Salutation of Pro- 
 sperity ! Salutation of Happiness ! " 
 
 This speech was delivered with great ease and distinctness, 
 and with considerable animation. It was followed by the deep- 
 toned, far-extending Hi-o-be of the multitudes gathered before 
 the youthful monarch a man who was endowed with many 
 elements of character often associated with true greatness, as 
 well as with sentiments of humanity and benevolence a man 
 who would, had he been favoured with early sound education 
 and better moral training, examples, and advisers, have risen 
 
 * It is customary for a public speaker to interrogate his audience " Is it 
 not so ? " &.c. -, and the quick, sharp, loud, simultaneous response, " izany," or 
 " izay," the accent being on the last syllable, is, to a stranger, somewhat start- 
 ling, and, I have often thought, peculiarly inspiriting to the speaker. 
 
 N
 
 178 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vn. 
 
 to a more distinguished place than he ever attained, and might 
 have been classed among the benevolent and patriotic rulers of 
 the present age. 
 
 On the conclusion of his speech, the king resumed his seat, 
 the high officers with some of the foreign visitors standing 
 round behind. M. Lambert now approached, and tendered his 
 hasina, or acknowledgment of sovereignty, consisting of a gold 
 coin. I ascended the steps, and presented a sovereign on behalf 
 of the missionaries and myself ; and seeing an officer in uniform 
 of blue velvet and gold, and thinking that would help to make 
 way for me through the crowd, I asked him to show me the way 
 to my tent. He took me by the hand and led me through the 
 multitude without difficulty, and returned to the platform. 
 I hastily slipped on my blouse, prepared and placed the plate 
 in the camera, and, as I waved my handkerchief the king 
 and queen stood still for a minute in front of the pavilion, when 
 I uncovered the lens a minute, and then waved my cap to 
 signify that it was finished. The king waved his plumed hat in 
 reply, and their majesties resumed their seats. 
 
 The nobles, and representatives from the different provinces 
 and remote parts of the island, continued to ascend to the front 
 of the pavilion, there to offer their affectionate salutations, 
 and to tender their hasina or acknowledgment ; while I pro- 
 ceeded to develop my picture, which so far as the chief objects, 
 the king and queen, the occupants of the pavilion and platform, 
 and the sides of the city in the background were concerned, 
 was clear arid distinct ; but the incessant moving of heads and 
 umbrellas immediately in front of me, and forming the fore- 
 ground, made nearly one undistinguishable mass. 
 
 About one o'clock the royal party left the pavilion, and slowly 
 made their way through the crowd towards the road. The king 
 returned my salute as he passed near my tent on his way from 
 the ground ; and I was surprised at the gentleness of his horse* 
 
 * I afterwards heard that, on reaching Andohalo, an oval plain, encircled
 
 CHAP. vii. SCENE AFTER THE CORONATION. 179 
 
 among the floating of banners, the rattle of the drums, the 
 shouting of the multitude, and the roar of the artillery, to 
 say nothing of the screaming, shouting, and running hither and 
 thither in search of palanquins, or bearers, as the noisy throng 
 moved on like a surging torrent towards the exit from the plain 
 into the road leading back to the palace. 
 
 And now the scene which, favoured by the aspect of the 
 surrounding scenery, by a cloudless sky, and a . brilliant tropical 
 sun, together with the varied and gorgeous accompaniments of 
 the occasion, had been one of the most imposing I had ever 
 witnessed, began to change simultaneously on every side. The 
 lower portion of the mountain on which the city stands, con- 
 sisting of irregular ledges of granite, and which, rising two 
 hundred feet above the plain, stretched from north to south 
 behind the platform at a distance of two or three hundred yards, 
 had been thronged with spectators, visible in some parts on 
 ledge above ledge even to the summit. Greater numbers still 
 had spread themselves over the sides and the summits of the 
 hills to the north and the west ; while lines of people were seen 
 extending in beautiful perspective from the base to the very 
 summit of Ambohizanahary (village of God) a massive circular 
 hill nearly as high as the capital, and forming the south-west 
 boundary of the plain. These several throngs of spectators, 
 the majority of them females arrayed in the long flowing white 
 or coloured larnba of the Hovas, and who had, except when 
 clapping their hands or singing in chorus, been quiet gazers 
 on the scene, were now seen moving in every direction, until 
 they mingled with the crowd passing along one or other of the 
 
 by steep banks, surmounted by houses, and about a mile on the way to the 
 palace, the king's horse becoming alarmed, reared, and dislodged his majesty 
 from his seat. He was caught by Lieut. Eardlcy Wilmott, who was walking 
 immediately behind, and thus escaped all injury. Mentioning the incident 
 some time afterwards, the king asked if a medal could be struck representing 
 a rider who was falling from a rearing horse being caught by a person walking 
 by his side, and when I said it could be done, he said he should like to have 
 such a medal struck. 
 
 N 2
 
 180 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vil. 
 
 roads from the plain on which had been transacted one of the 
 great events of a nation's history. 
 
 I now secured my camera, took down my tent, and made the' 
 best of my way home. The heat had been so great, especially 
 within the tent, and I had been so many hours on the ground, 
 that as soon as I reached my house I was glad to exchange my 
 dress for lighter material, and was enjoying my usual refresh- 
 ment a cup of tea, when an officer from the palace came 
 to say that the company was assembled, and the dinner 
 waiting. 
 
 On reaching the front court-yard I found the large palace 
 Manjakamiadana, which had been closed since the death of 
 the late queen, now open, and I was ushered into the lower 
 room of this remarkable and magnificent building. In this 
 spacious room or hall of the palace, which is upwards of eighty 
 feet long, forty-six feet wide, and twenty-four feet high, the 
 walls painted by native artists, I found a long table set, with 
 cross tables at each end, on which was spread the coronation 
 banquet. 
 
 So far as choice, variety, and abundance were concerned, it 
 was indeed a royal banquet. The silver gilt tankard and 
 goblets presented by Queen Victoria, with golden vases of 
 native manufacture after European models, very appropriately 
 graced the cross table at the north, which is generally con- 
 sidered the sacred end. Two lofty vases of native workmanship 
 stood upon one of the sideboards, while various vessels of silver, 
 also of native manufacture, were placed along the centre of the 
 long table alternately with porcelain or other vases containing 
 bright and gaily- coloured artificial flowers, interspersed with 
 dishes of preserved European fruits, biscuits, and freshly 
 gathered ripe oranges, pine apples, and other fruits of native 
 growth. The table, however, was furnished with more sub- 
 stantial viands. A calf roasted whole, and garnished, graced 
 the upper end ; and dishes of a large size, corresponding with 
 the greatness of the occasion, which were taken off to be
 
 CHAP. vii. GUESTS AT THE ROYAL BANQUET. 181 
 
 carved and served, appeared along the entire length of the 
 table. A fish nearly three feet long was near my appointed 
 place when I first sat down ; while different joints, poultry, 
 game, and pastry, were collected in abundance on the side- 
 boards. 
 
 Covers were laid for upwards of a hundred, and fully that 
 number sat down to the royal feast. The king occupied the 
 centre of the northern cross table. The queen sat on his right, 
 and next to her majesty General Johnstone, the chief of the 
 English mission, next to whom sat the mother of the queen, 
 and aunt of the late Prince Rambosalama. The French consul 
 sat next, and on his left the Sakalava princess, dowager-queen 
 of Radama the First, after whom Captain Anson filled up the 
 left side of the cross table. 
 
 On the king's right Mrs. Davidson sat between his majesty 
 and Commodore Dupre', the plenipotentiary of his imperial 
 majesty the Emperor of the French, Mrs. Pakenham sat next, 
 on whose right was the commander-in -chief, and one of the 
 royal princesses, next to whom was the British consul, then 
 Rasoaray, and opposite to Captain Anson, M. Lambert filled 
 up the right of the cross table. I found my place three seats 
 below Captain Anson, and directly opposite to me sat the Abbd 
 Jouen, the Catholic vicar-apostolic of Madagascar. 
 
 The viands were good, and the attendants careful and 
 obliging, the drinking very moderate ; and all parties appeared 
 gratified, when, after toasts to the sovereigns of England, 
 France, and Madagascar had been given, the king rose, drew 
 his sword, and delivered a somewhat energetic speech indicating 
 the principles on which his government would be conducted, 
 and the things which he considered beneficial or injurious to 
 the country. The queen soon after sunset rose from the table 
 arid proceeded to her apartments, when, in company with the 
 missionaries, I retired. Shortly afterwards the hall was cleared 
 for dancing, which continued for some hours, but the king 
 retired to his apartments about half-past ten, and, as I was
 
 182 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vn. 
 
 afterwards informed, read a lesson in English with comparative 
 ease and correctness before retiring to rest. 
 
 There is a slight but extremely characteristic episode con- 
 nected with the coronation which, as it has been to some extent 
 made public, it is perhaps right to mention here. Immediately 
 after the coronation it was reported in the capital that the king 
 had been crowned by the Catholic priests in the palace before 
 they went to the public coronation. I took an early oppor- 
 tunity of asking the king if it was so. He said that in the 
 evening before the coronation two priests came to ask if they 
 might come in the morning to see the crown which had been 
 presented by the emperor, and to sprinkle it with holy water, 
 to which he had consented ; and that early in the morning 
 Father Jouen and Pere Finaz came to the palace, looked at the 
 crowns, sprinkled water upon them, and then took his crown 
 and came, unexpectedly to him, and put it on his head, as he 
 supposed, to see how it would fit ; that both himself and the 
 queen were in their ordinary morning dress, unprepared for any 
 proceeding of the kind, and were surprised at what the priest 
 did ; but that he attached no importance whatever to the act. 
 The crowning was, in his estimation, the public act before the 
 people. 
 
 The following is the account given by the chief actor in this 
 transaction, as published in some of the French and Mauritian 
 papers : 
 
 " Et en effet, les premiers rayons du soleil eclairaient a peine 
 le faite du Palais, que nous nous sommes pre'sente's, le R. P. 
 Finas et moi : a 1'iristant toutes les portes se sont ouvertes et 
 nous nous sommes mis en mesure d'installer 1'autel du sacrifice. 
 Assure'ment, le Rev. chapelain de sa majestd, ne se doutait 
 guere, en ce moment, de ce qui allait se passer. Qu'eut-il 
 pense', surtout s'il eut pu apercevoir une couronne royale de'pose'e 
 sur 1'autel, et attendant la be'nediction que devait appeler sur 
 elle le pretre Catholique Romain. Done, toutes choses dtant
 
 CHAP. vii. CHRISTIAN VISITORS FROM A DISTANCE. 183 
 
 pr^parees, j'ai commence la messe, en presence du roi, de la 
 reine et de quelques personnes de confiance. Un pere de la 
 mission me la servait. La messe termine'e, j'ai re'cite' sur la 
 couronne royale toutes les prieres indique'es par 1'Eglise ; puis, 
 apres 1'avoir aspergee de 1'eau sainte, et invoque' sur elle toutes 
 les benedictions d'en haut, je 1'ai prise entre mes mains, et, 
 m'approchant de Radama, je la lui ai posde solennellement sur 
 la tete, en prononcant ces paroles : ' Sire, c'est au nom de Dieu 
 que je vous couronne. Regnez long temps pour la gloire de 
 votre nom et pour le bonheur de votre peuple.' 
 
 "II dtait pres de 8 heures quand cette ce're'monie s'est ter- 
 mine'e, n'ayant eu guere pour t^mom que Dieu et ses anges," 
 &c., &c. Relation d'un Voyage A Tananarive, a I'epoque du 
 couronnement de Radama II., par Le T. R. P. JOUEN, Prefet 
 apostolique de Madagascar. 
 
 The long-wished-for day which had drawn from near and 
 distant parts representatives of the varied tribes of Madagascar 
 had now passed. All had been propitious. No single casualty 
 or calamitous event had sent regret or sorrow into any family or 
 any heart ; and early on the morrow, some who had been long 
 away from their homes began to prepare for their return. 
 
 On the following day several Christians came to take leave of 
 me, among them parties from Vonizongo, to the west, including 
 in their number the children and relatives of some who had 
 nobly confessed the name of Christ, and had suffered and died 
 rather than renounce their faith. These earnestly inquired for 
 copies of the Scriptures, and hymn-books, with which I supplied 
 them before their departure. 
 
 Some of my scholars also came unexpectedly to me to resume 
 their lessons, and, unwilling even under such circumstances to 
 treat as a light tiling their desire to learn, I was glad to transfer 
 them to the kind attentions of Mr. Toy, at least for the 
 remainder of the week. 
 
 On the same day I also received a letter brought by parties
 
 184 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vn. 
 
 who had come to the coronation from the small band of 
 Christians at Fia-na-ran-tsoa, a large and very populous village 
 in Betsileo, eight days' journey from Antananarivo. The writers 
 of the letter expressed their pleasure on hearing I was at the 
 capital, with their hope that I should visit them, and asked for 
 copies of the Scriptures, hymns, and spelling-books. They 
 informed me that fifteen of their number were united in 
 Christian fellowship ; and also that, thinly scattered over the 
 Betsileo country, there were other Christians besides those in 
 Fia-na-ran-tsoa. To hear of this little church among the 
 Gentiles was indeed to receive glad tidings, not lessened by 
 learning that the military post of the Hovas at Fia-na-ran-tsoa 
 had been the Pharos of Betsileo, and military officers and 
 soldiers from Antananarivo, the Corneliuses and devout soldiers 
 who had established and maintained the worship of the true 
 God an this land of heathenism, and had diffused the knowledge 
 of salvation amongst the people. 
 
 In compliance with an invitation from the king, I went to 
 the large palace, the banqueting-hall of the previous day, where 
 various articles, chiefly specimens of native industry and skill, 
 were presented to the distinguished visitors who were about to 
 depart. Refreshments were then served, and the company 
 afterwards ascended to the upper verandah of the palace, and 
 from this elevated position we witnessed a brilliant exhibition 
 of fireworks, discharged from the causeway and borders of a 
 piece of water to the north-east of the capital, originally a 
 reservoir of water for the adjacent mills erected under the 
 direction of Mr. Cameron, an ingenious and intelligent machinist 
 and builder connected with the early English mission, who also 
 superintended the construction of a causeway to an island in 
 this water on which a kind of tasteful summer cottage was 
 erected for the late queen. 
 
 It was nearly eight o'clock when I left, and as the general 
 and his party were to depart on the following day, and I had 
 been unable previously to partake of their hospitality, I went
 
 CHAP. vii. DEPARTURE OF THE ENGLISH EMBASSY. 185 
 
 home with Captain Anson to dine with them. We were after- 
 wards joined by Lieutenant Oliver and Rainilaiarivony, the. 
 commander-in-chief. I was glad of the opportunity thus 
 afforded to spend with my countrymen the last evening they 
 would pass in the capital. I took leave of the general at seven 
 the next morning, when he set out on his way to Tamatave ; 
 and at noon Captain Anson called to bid me farewell as he 
 passed towards the eastern gate. 
 
 On the following day Mr. Caldwell and his companions also 
 left, expecting to reach Tamatave in time to sail with the 
 embassy in H.M.S. Gorgon to Mauritius. The presents from 
 England to the king and queen had been sent to the capital 
 in charge of Mr. Caldwell, who had accompanied Colonel 
 Middleton, in 1861. My intercourse with him and his 
 companions had not been frequent, but I had always received 
 from them kindness and respect, as well as assistance in my 
 work. 
 
 To the members of the British embassy, their detention in 
 Antananarivo occasioned by the postponement of the coronation 
 had not unnaturally appeared long. To me it appeared ex- 
 tremely short ; and by all classes of the community, from the 
 sovereign downwards, their departure was, I believe, sincerely 
 regretted. Though inconvenient to themselves, their detention 
 was not without its advantages. The previously short visit of 
 Colonel Middleton and his companions had left, so far as moral 
 influence was concerned, all that could be desired, and the pro- 
 tracted stay of General Johnstone and Captain (now Lieut.-Col.) 
 Anson, and their companions, had deepened the impression 
 already made, and added to its value. It had enlarged the 
 acquaintance of the Malagasy with the principles and the 
 conduct which constitute so large a portion of the character of 
 a British officer, and a Christian gentleman. I have often 
 thought that the prestige of the English in Madagascar is in a 
 large measure due to the disinterested, upright, and honourable 
 deportment of many of the Englishmen who have been
 
 186 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vn. 
 
 amongst the people, and when it has been otherwise the natives 
 are not unobservant of the difference. 
 
 After the departure of the bishop of Mauritius, I was more 
 frequently associated with the general and Captain Anson than 
 with any other members of the embassy ; and I have conse- 
 quently less hesitation in speaking of their influence while in 
 Madagascar, and the impression which it left. Their opinion, 
 whenever asked, was given readily, judiciously, and kindly, and 
 it produced on the minds of all classes the impression that the 
 English were sincere, disinterested friends, anxious to promote 
 the improvement and happiness of the people. 
 
 To myself, the visit of the embassy was a source of unspeak- 
 able satisfaction. With Captain Anson I had been previously 
 acquainted in Mauritius. General Johnstone I saw for the first 
 time when he alighted from his palanquin in Antananarivo. 
 On neither of these gentlemen had I the slightest claim for 
 anything beyond the ordinary courtesy which one Englishman 
 shows towards another, when meeting under such circumstances, 
 but more ready and generous kindness could scarcely have 
 been shown had their friendship towards me been of life-long 
 growth. Their interest also manifested in my work was as 
 great, and the encouragement afforded by that interest was as 
 valuable, as their friendship was constant and true. Whether 
 I was connected with the sections of Christian society in Eng- 
 land to which these gentlemen belonged or not, did not seem 
 to make any difference. They saw the difference which Chris- 
 tianity had made between the Christian and heathen portions 
 of society. They heard the reports even from natives who were 
 not Christians themselves, of the improved character and altered 
 lives of the Christians of Madagascar. They visited the sites on 
 which had been manifested the heroic constancy and fortitude 
 of the Christians. They saw their order, and becoming 
 observance of the Lord's day. They encouraged them by their 
 example, and by attending their rude and simple places of 
 worship, even though they understood not the language in
 
 CHAP. vii. ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE VISITORS. 187 
 
 which their prayers were offered. They showed solicitude 
 respecting their education, and in return were regarded 
 with affection and esteem as the friends of the Christians. 
 
 While I myself regretted the departure of the embassy, I 
 could not but feel grateful for the frequent pleasure I had 
 found in their society. They saw the kind of work in which I 
 was engaged, and were not ignorant of the difficulties of my 
 position, of the many interests combined against me, and how 
 likely I was to be misunderstood and misrepresented, and they 
 not only gave me their sympathy, but they nobly helped for- 
 ward my work. The general promised and gave me 100 
 towards the memorial churches the first direct encouragement 
 which I received. He also generously gave me 5 for the poor 
 and necessitous Christians, of whom there are many. Captain 
 Anson with readiness helped in the same work. He applied 
 and wrote to his friends in Mauritius and England, and sent 
 me nearly 60 towards the erection of the churches. These, 
 however, were not the only advantages derived from their 
 visit. They have ever since taken a deep interest in the 
 prosperity of the Malagasy, and it is still my privilege, to 
 number them amongst my sincere and valued friends.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Visitors from the west coast Breakfast with the King and Queen Sunday 
 religious services Departure of M. Lambert Character of my intercourse 
 with the King State of morals connected with polygamy The King's 
 relation with Mary Her influence over the King Invitation to his 
 Majesty to visit Tamatave Specimens of minerals Mr. Parrett's journey 
 to Tamatave for goods and books Death of the Chief Judge Visit to the 
 house of mourning - Malagasy customs on occurrence of death The fune- 
 ral procession The ancient city of Ambohimanga Application of the 
 Christians to the King for a house for worship Invitation to visit them 
 Welcome and friendly reception by the officers at Ambohimanga Inte- 
 resting Sunday services with the Christians Presents from the officers, 
 and friendly parting Subsequent mistake of the officers in interrupting 
 the worship Death and funeral of Rahaniraka Robbery of graves. 
 
 AMONGST other visitors attracted to the capital by the great 
 event of the coronation, I heard that a woman who spoke 
 English, and was reported to be a Vazaha, or foreigner, had, in 
 company with several men, come from Mojanga, the chief port 
 on the west of the island, their object having reference also to 
 a disputed claim for land. On going to see the woman, who 
 was in a house near Andohalo, I found her sitting in a room in 
 company with three or four of her companions, who, from their 
 dress and features, I supposed to be Arabs. She was apparently 
 between forty and fifty years of age, and wore large silver rings 
 on her wrists and ancles. Her dress was Arabic, and profusely 
 ornamented. She wore a long necklace thickly strung with 
 Indian or Arabic gold coins about the size of a sovereign. 
 She spoke English well, and said her parents were Dutch, 
 that she was born and educated at the Cape of Good Hope, 
 could read and write, had left the Cape eight years ago, was a
 
 CHAP. vin. TAKING THE KING'S PORTRAIT. 189 
 
 Christian, had been shipwrecked on one of the Comoro Islands, 
 had married a Mohamedan who had died, that a foreigner had 
 seized her house, and that she had come to complain to the 
 king. I asked about the people at Mojanga, and her journey 
 to the capital. She said the road was mountainous and difficult, 
 that she had been a month on the way, that her bearers 
 becoming weak and tired, had prevented her arriving in time 
 for the coronation. She said there were many Arabs and other 
 Mohamedans living at the port, and numbers of Sakalaves near. 
 Such was the woman's tale. She said she would call on me the 
 next day, but I told her I should be engaged. I saw her after- 
 wards one day at the king's with a dancing party, and heard 
 that her character was not the most reputable, but the king 
 sent to the governor of the port to inquire respecting her 
 complaint. 
 
 On the last day of September, the queen sent a message to 
 say that she would pay me a visit on the following Thursday, 
 at two o'clock. I sent to say that I should feel honoured by her 
 majesty's visit, and would provide some refreshment. I was 
 the more pleased with the proposal, because it was the day on 
 which the king had promised to come, in order that I might 
 take his likeness. My rooms were arranged accordingly on the 
 Wednesday, and on Thursday morning at eight o'clock I 
 expected the king, but some time before that hour a young 
 officer came running to say that his majesty was coming. The 
 servants, who were arranging the table, instantly fled in all 
 directions. Immediately after, the king and two or three 
 officers entered, laughing heartily at the consternation which 
 his unexpected arrival had occasioned. I welcomed him 
 heartily, while he apologised for coming before the time fixed, 
 saying he had preferred to come by a less public way, quietly 
 in his ordinary clothes, and would dress for his portrait in my 
 room. His attendants then laid out the different portions of 
 regal attire, while my servants provided a cup of tea and some 
 biscuits, which I offered him, and then went to arrange my
 
 190 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vin. 
 
 camera, &c. His attendants had also brought the casket 
 containing the new crown which he had worn at the coronation, 
 as he wished the picture to resemble his appearance on that 
 occasion. When he came to take his position, he directed one 
 of his officers to place his plumed hat on the ground near his 
 feet, and to tell him when his position was correct. I then 
 adjusted the focus, and found on developing the picture that I 
 had 'obtained a tolerably good likeness. As the king was 
 anxious to see the picture I exhibited it to him, and to two of 
 his favourite officers, who appeared gratified with its appear- 
 ance. Mr. and Mrs. Toy, who had promised me their company, 
 now arrived. 
 
 It was past ten o'clock, and the king proposed to send for 
 the queen, that we might breakfast together. I said if it woiild 
 not inconvenience her majesty, it would be very agreeable to 
 me. The king and his officers amused themselves with some 
 volumes of the pictorial Bible, while I finished my photograph 
 and arranged my own dress. Between eleven and twelve o'clock, 
 a messenger came to say that the queen had left the palace, 
 and music soon afterwards announced her approach. The 
 soldiers and the band then entered the court-yard in front of 
 my house, and the royal palanquin was set down at my door. 
 
 The king, as usual, received her majesty with the most 
 graceful cordiality, and on reaching the inner room, I intro- 
 duced two of the missionaries, Mr. and Mrs. Toy. The queen, 
 on this occasion, wore a white satin dress, ornamented with 
 crimson velvet border in a pattern of leaves. Their majesties 
 were each accompanied by three companions the king by 
 three gentlemen, the queen by two ladies and a gentleman, 
 but as one of the gentlemen stood behind the queen's chair we 
 all found seats, and her majesty assured me there was no need 
 for apology on account of the limited size of the room. 
 
 The viands on this occasion were much the same as when I 
 had previously entertained the king, except that we had some 
 excellent curry and rice, and two or three made dishes of
 
 CHAP. VIII. THE KING AND QUEEN'S BREAKFAST. 191 
 
 native cookery, all very good, with one of which the queen 
 appeared much pleased. My friend, the commandant, who had 
 been so sadly burned at Tamatave, had sent me the night 
 before a couple of bottles of wine, and a nice canister of 
 preserved veal from Europe, with a note stating that as he had 
 heard that the king was coming to breakfast with me, he 
 thought a little wine and preserved meat might be acceptable, 
 as it really was. I had given the canister to my servants in 
 the morning to open, and to heat the contents for breakfast, 
 ' To my great dismay, when the company had been nearly all 
 served, my chief servant, a good-natured and rather corpulent 
 man entered, with the tin case wrapped round with a dinner 
 napkin in his hand, and placed it on the table before me. I 
 had quite forgotten it, and as soon as I saw what it was, I 
 directed him to take it off and place the meat in a dish. As I 
 looked across the table I saw the queen quietly smiling, and 
 apologising to my guests, I said I was ashamed of the mis- 
 management of my servants. But the queen said kindly, 
 " Oh no. They do very well." 
 
 In a few minutes the dish came back in proper form. I 
 helped her majesty and the king. The queen asked what it 
 was, and though I answered " zanak omby " " child of a 
 cow," she did not seem satisfied, and looked inquiringly at the 
 king, who assured her it was the same kind of meat as they 
 had had at the French consuls' dinner, and was very good. 
 With the company in general it appeared to find great favour. 
 
 The guests appeared all very much at ease. My friend's 
 claret I believe was good, and seemed to be acceptable. The 
 king was in excellent spirits, unusually jocose, determined to be 
 pleased, and to please others. The more substantial viands 
 were followed by pastry and other dishes. Mrs. Toy, unknown 
 to me, had sent to my servants a plumpudding, with directions 
 how to cook it. This was brought in with the rest of the 
 dishes, and was, I believe, generally approved. The queen 
 observed in relation to the fritters, which quickly disappeared,
 
 192 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vin. 
 
 that they brought to her recollection visits to my house in 
 former times. Tea and coffee were next brought in, and I 
 observed that the former was generally preferred. It was 
 handed round in very handsome cups and saucers which had 
 been lent me by a friend. 
 
 In discussing with the ladies the comparative merits of tea 
 and some stronger kinds of beverage, the king laughingly 
 asked "Which is best?" I said, "Tea., certainly, for it tends 
 to produce lively and pleasant thoughts, making you cheerful 
 and reasonable ; while those who drink spirits are sometimes 
 feverish and thirsty, and for the time being not always very 
 wise." He laughed heartily, as did the queen and the rest of 
 the guests. The king then said, " If drinking spirits makes 
 you foolish, what does smoking hemp* do ?" I said, " That is 
 death, if continued." He then gave a description of the effect 
 of smoking hemp which he had once tried, and said his friends 
 all thought him dead. I said God had given us the grain that . 
 yields alcohol, the hemp that produces strong excitement, and 
 the tangena which causes death. All had their use, and very 
 powerful diseases might sometimes be cured even by poisons 
 properly used. I said it was the taking them for the purpose 
 of excitement or pleasure that caused us to take them in 
 excess, and rendered them so injurious. The king then men- 
 tioned the valuable medicinal properties of many herbs and 
 plants in Madagascar, to which I replied that I hoped the time 
 would come when Madagascar would add to those means of 
 curing and mitigating disease which the world already 
 possessed. 
 
 During the time of the breakfast the band had been 
 stationed in the court-yard of the house, and when before 
 the introduction of tea and coffee, different toasts were pro- 
 posed, appropriate airs were played. When the king proposed 
 the health of Queen Victoria, we had as usual the English 
 
 * In some provinces hemp is smoked when more than ordinary excitement 
 is desired, or in time of war when going into battle.
 
 CHAP. vni. SUNDAY SERVICES IN THE CAPITAL. 193 
 
 national anthem. When the table was cleared, I brought out 
 some copies of the London "Illustrated News," one of which 
 contained a portrait of the Princess Alice, with which the 
 Queen seemed much pleased, as well as with the Prince, her 
 husband, and accepted with expressions of pleasure the paper 
 containing them. My guests also asked to see the negative 
 of the photograph taken of the king that morning, and of the 
 coronation, with both of which they seemed pleased. The 
 queen then arranged that I should go to the palace to take her 
 portrait the following Monday morning. I also exhibited in 
 the stereoscope transparent views of some of our royal and 
 other English residences, to the great satisfaction of my guests. 
 Soon after three o'clock the queen rose to depart, the king, as 
 usual, attending her to the door, where her majesty entered her 
 palanquin ; and then, preceded by the band, and followed by 
 her ladies, and the king with his suite, they took a friendly 
 leave, and wound their way, attended by a large number of 
 officers and soldiers, and followed by crowds of people, up the 
 hill side to the road leading to the palace. 
 
 On the following Sunday, I went to Amparibe, where, after 
 the service, six persons were baptised, five of whom had been 
 attendants on the martyrs, and those who had been imprisoned 
 for Christ's sake. This occurrence relieved to some extent the 
 depression which I felt throughout the day, on account of what I 
 had heard respecting the king, who had been intoxicated with the 
 French on the previous day. In this frame of mind I went to 
 his house in the afternoon. The company was numerous, and 
 the king respectful and attentive several of the people un- 
 usually attentive, which revived my hopes that some good fruit 
 might eventually appear. Notwithstanding all my discourage- 
 ments here, I could not but think it was better for those who 
 attended, as well as for the immediate neighbourhood, to have 
 quiet public religious service on the Sunday, instead of the 
 singing arid music and dancing, which used formerly to charac- 
 terise Sunday, as well as other days of the week.
 
 194 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vm. 
 
 I found afterwards that there was still some little ground for 
 hope respecting the king, notwithstanding his weakness in 
 yielding to the temptation to drink, for I was subsequently 
 informed by parties who had been with him at the time, that 
 on the day alluded to, and also on the following Sunday, 
 the Frenchmen had gone to him in the afternoon, and had 
 proposed dancing ; and that two of the priests had gone and 
 urgently remonstrated with him against his going himself so 
 constantly, and leading the people to the Protestants, but never 
 attending the Catholic place of worship, and even denounced 
 against him the displeasure of God, declaring that he would soon 
 lose his kingdom. I was told that the king persisted in refusing 
 to have any dancing, and that he told the priests he did not 
 send any of the people to the Protestants, but left each one 
 to go to that worship which he preferred, as he did himself. He 
 then invited the Frenchmen to go with him, which, of course, 
 they declined. 
 
 On both these occasions I had noticed that the king and the 
 greater part of the people were remarkably attentive during 
 the time of worship. I knew that " faith cometh by hearing," 
 and I could not help hoping, as well as praying, that some state- 
 ment of God's word or some germ of God's truth might, by the 
 Holy Spirit's influence on his heart, produce that divine change 
 in the king which would make him a wiser and a better man. 
 I did not blame the priests for going on the Sunday to the king 
 to endeavour to dissuade him from attending his accustomed 
 place of worship, if they considered it seemly to do so ; nor did 
 I complain of their trying to induce him to attend their religious 
 services and to persuade others to do so. I refer to this merely 
 to show some of the difficulties of my own position. 
 
 The day after the last of the Sundays to which I have referred, 
 I found M. Lambert and several other Frenchmen with the 
 king, and a number of natives dressed for dancing. The king 
 said M. Lambert was to set out for Tamatave the following day, 
 and had come to take leave of him. Seeing that there was prepa-
 
 CHAP. vin. INTERCOURSE WITH THE FRENCH. 195 
 
 ration for drinking as well as dancing, I left the place, and was 
 greatly distressed when, late in the evening, I heard that the 
 king and his guests were all intoxicated together. I did not 
 see M. Lambert again, and suppose he left the capital soon 
 afterwards. 
 
 The English embassy had departed from the capital immedi- 
 ately after the coronation. M. Duprd having been two months 
 in Antananarivo, had now been gone nearly a fortnight, and 
 M. Lambert and other foreigners having also left, the city and 
 neighbourhood were resuming their former quietude. The visits 
 of my own countrymen had been to me peculiarly encouraging. 
 With the French my intercourse had been less frequent ; but 
 from some of them I had uniformly received the courtesies 
 which intelligent Europeans are accustomed to exchange with 
 each other, when they meet in foreign countries. Towards M. 
 Dupre', the chief of the French embassy, I had from the first 
 cherished only feelings of respect. I was pleased with his frank 
 and manly bearing, as well as with his generous and friendly 
 sentiments towards the sovereign and government of Madagascar, 
 and I scarcely expected that the unfounded reports of others 
 would have prejudiced his mind against me, as I afterwai'ds 
 heard with regret had been the case. I was not surprised that 
 the unfriendly statements circulated by other parties, and 
 reported to me by my countrymen as well as by the Malagasy, 
 should have found their way into the newspapers of Reunion and 
 Mauritius, and ultimately France and England. One report 
 respecting my intercourse with the king, published by the chief 
 of the catholic priesthood in Madagascar, and which exhibited 
 chiefly the impurity of the writer's own mind, was met by the 
 party more immediately concerned, in a way which has pre- 
 vented any subsequent attempt of the same kind. 
 
 With regard to M. Lambert's transactions with the prince, 
 I heard too much about these from the people, and at times 
 from the king himself, to make any secret of the unfavourable 
 light in which they appeared to my own mind; and consequently 
 
 o 2
 
 196 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vm. 
 
 I was not surprised when I heard that he had denounced me 
 as the worst man in Madagascar, and the source of all the 
 mischief there, adding that there would be no good done, so long 
 as I remained. Although I had expressed to the king himself, 
 as well as to others, my deep regret that he generally re- 
 turned from his breakfasts and dinners with the French in a 
 state of intoxication, I did not suppose that his hosts or com- 
 panions had exhibited the same excess. They had naturally 
 exercised no restraint as to the beverages supplied, while he 
 had yielded to the conviviality of the hour ; and a very little 
 wine or spirits affeoted him injuriously. I have seen him greatly 
 excited by a small quantity of wine, and have been told by his 
 officers that he would become quite intoxicated, while his com- 
 panions remained unaffected and perfectly sober. 
 
 Hearing, as I frequently did, that the French priests looked 
 upon me as the chief obstacle to their success, it appeared to 
 me only natural that they should regard me with feelings of 
 no very friendly nature. And yet I had always endeavoured 
 to show them personally all suitable respect. I had honestly 
 commended their industry, perseverance, and self-denial, and 
 had most carefully avoided all controversy with them ; but I 
 could not in any way deviate from my duty out of deference 
 towards them. One great charge preferred by their countrymen 
 against me was that, but for me, the Catholic priests would have 
 had a very prosperous mission at Antananarivo. I could not 
 take to myself blame on that account, especially as we had 
 laboured there so many years, with great expenditure of life 
 and means, and under many discouragements, and had at length 
 achieved, by God's blessing, so much, before any French priest 
 ever came among the people. 
 
 But the accusations most strenuously urged against me were 
 that I was too frequently at the palace ; too often with the 
 king, filling his mind continually with my own opinions, and not 
 confining myself as I ought to my own missionary duties. These 
 reports reached home, and these lines may perhaps fall under
 
 CHAP. vin. INTERCOURSE WITH THE KING. 197 
 
 the notice of some who have read or heard such reports. I 
 therefore repeat that, whatever influence I may have possessed 
 with the king had been honourably acquired, and was used 
 solely for the advancement of the great objects of the mission 
 with which I was connected the improvement and religious 
 benefit of the people. I never sought a single favour for myself 
 personally. I was less with the king than he desii-ed that I should 
 be. -With the exception of the day of the coronation, I had 
 declined every invitation to dine with him, though messengers 
 had not unfrequently been specially sent for me ; and I had 
 sedulously endeavoured to render my intercourse with him sub- 
 servient to his own instruction and benefit, as well as to the good 
 of the people. To the king, or those in power, I never offered an 
 opinion on any but religious subjects, except when my opinion 
 was asked ; and excepting my daily visits to the king to read 
 and converse with him, I never went to the palace without 
 having been sent for, and then I invariably accompanied the 
 officer, and entered the palace with him, in order that the other 
 officers on duty within and without the palace, many of whom 
 were heathen, and did not regard with favour the privileges of 
 the Christians, might see that I had been sent for. 
 
 I did not consider that the friendship of the king arose from 
 anything personal connected with myself, but that I was 
 indebted for it mainly to the fact of my being an Englishman, 
 and an English missionary. The use of writing, by which they 
 transacted most of the business of the government, the numbers 
 amongst the people who had been taught useful kinds of skilled 
 labour, prevented their forgetting the self-denial and disin- 
 terested labours of the first missionaries. Until the arrival of 
 the embassy and the missionaries, I was the only Englishman 
 the only English missionary in the country ; and to this 
 circumstance I ascribed much of the friendship and the kind 
 attention which I received. This I considered rendered it 
 increasingly incumbent on me to use such influence in further- 
 ance of the great objects which had brought me to Madagascar.
 
 198 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vm. 
 
 The longer my intercourse with the king continued, the less 
 sanguine J became of any very speedy religious success with 
 him personally. Nevertheless, depending upon God's promised 
 blessing, I felt that no amount of disappointment would justify 
 my relinquishing any efforts I could make for his benefit ; and 
 that the very difficulties which appeared to increase, ought 
 rather to stimulate greater efforts to save him if possible from 
 the disastrous end to which his course seemed inevitably 
 leading. 
 
 Thus influenced, I continued to go nearly every day for an 
 hour, to read and converse with the king, and never saw the 
 slightest evidence that my visits were unwelcome, but the 
 reverse ; and from the readiness with which he generally came 
 when I arrived, and the pleasure he seemed to find in reading 
 -and conversing, I used to think sometimes that it was a relief to 
 him to retire, and for a while to employ himself in this way ; and 
 I was not always sure that he did not think such occupation 
 somewhat meritorious, and perhaps likely to recommend him 
 to the favour of God. I always felt that, so long as he desired 
 it, and made way for spending the time with me in this manner, 
 it was my duty to go, .and make the best use I could of the 
 opportunity. I never concealed from him the pain which his irre- 
 gularities, so far as I was acquainted with them, caused me, nor 
 hesitated to declare the displeasure of God against all kinds of 
 sin, and to unfold its proper conseqiiences, either in explaining 
 the Scriptures, or in more direct conversation with him. In all 
 this, he never received my remarks with levity, nor with any 
 manifestation of displeasure ; generally in silence, sometimes 
 with the remark that he intended to change, and should perhaps 
 become a Christian. 
 
 Whether the people called Vazirnba, the supposed earliest 
 inhabitants of the central parts of Madagascar, were monogamists 
 or not, we have no means of knowing. The Hovas, who first 
 settled on the eastern borders of the country occupied by the 
 Vazimbas, and ultimately expelled them, and have ever since
 
 CHAP. viii. STATE OF MOBALS IN MADAGASCAR. 199 
 
 been masters of the country, appear to have been t polygamists ; 
 for, according to their earliest traditions, a number of wives would 
 seem to have been recognised amongst them, though there 
 was only one legal wife : and, during six successive reigns, a 
 period extending back to the time of Benyowsky, or perhaps 
 one hundred years, twelve has been the lawful number of the 
 sovereign's wives ; and in the proclamations, and other public 
 announcements, until lately, " the twelve wives " are mentioned 
 as amongst the recognised and important bodies in the govern- 
 ment. The sovereign alone was allowed this number. With 
 others the number was regulated by the husband's means, or by 
 other circumstances. Chastity amongst such a people might be 
 said to be contrary to law, and seldom, if ever, existed, or was 
 expected before marriage. 
 
 Of the state of morals in a condition of society of which the 
 above law or usage indicates the tendencies, the members of a 
 civilised and Christian community like our own cannot easily 
 form an opinion, even approximating to the truth. And yet, so 
 far as I have heard, this moral condition amongst the Malagasy 
 was less repulsive than that which had prevailed in Tahiti, and 
 in the Sandwich Islands, where, when I was there, the king, 
 Tamehameha was married to his own half-sister, and a similar 
 union was proposed between own brother and sister, both in 
 themselves very amiable young people. When I expressed my 
 abhorrence of such an engagement, those with whom I was 
 conversing, said there were no others of equal ranlc with whom 
 either could so associate, and that such an arrangement would 
 secure homage from men, and favour from the gods. I have 
 however only referred to this subject as it relates to what it is 
 right that I should state in connection with the king of 
 Madagascar. 
 
 On my first visit to the island in 18o3, I heard that the 
 prince royal was married to a princess of the royal family, the 
 daughter of one of his mother's sisters, and of a distinguished 
 officer of the first Radama, and that the nation approved of the
 
 200 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vm. 
 
 union. Subsequently I heard that the prince was living with 
 another woman as his wife, whose name was Rasoamezy, or 
 Mary, one who had been an attendant on his mother, the queen, 
 and that she had become the mother of two children. During 
 my visit to the capital, in 1856, Mary came in the suite of the 
 prince to my house. She was young, agreeable, well-behaved, 
 and seemed intelligent. I was told she was the vady kely, 
 or little wife, of the prince, but nominally, and only so, the 
 wife of his most trusted aide-de-camp, to whose special guardian- 
 ship she was confided by the prince. 
 
 On my arrival in 1862, Mary was amongst the earliest of 
 those who, after my introduction to the king and queen, 
 brought me presents of welcome. I heard her well spoken 
 of by the people, and observed that she was ahvays treated 
 with respect. Once or twice I have been at her house with the 
 king, a mark of attention which it was customary with other 
 visitors to pay, and I was at the king's house once or twice when 
 she was there. The king sent his son, of whom Mary was the 
 mother, to me for instruction, and he associated with my other 
 pupils so long as they remained with me. I heard that 
 Mary had zealously seconded the efforts of the king to save life 
 among the people, to mitigate the suffering, and to aid in 
 effecting the escape or security of the Christians in time of 
 persecution ; and that she had also generously succoured those 
 who had returned from exile ; amongst other acts of kindness, 
 giving them money to buy articles of mourning during the 
 general mourning for the late queen. 
 
 At the time when this relation of Mary's with the prince 
 commenced, there was nothing in it contrary to law, for such 
 engagements were provided for and regulated by law or general 
 custom amongst that class of society. She was a free woman, 
 consequently there was nothing to violate or offend' public 
 sentiment on the subject. She was considered lawfully and 
 innocently the inferior wife of the prince, and was probably 
 more envied than blamed by many of the Malagasy. She was
 
 CHAP. viir. PUBLIC DEPORTMENT OF THE KING AND QUEEN. 201 
 
 treated with respect by her countrymen, and was visited by any 
 distinguished foreigners who came to the capital. 
 
 At the same time the people, without exception, rejoiced in 
 the official marriage of the prince and princess. The one 
 great hope of the nation was that, by this marriage, the suc- 
 cession to the throne might be secured, so as to admit of no 
 dispute ; for as rank descends only in the female line, Mary's 
 children, whatever distinction they might personally obtain, 
 could only inherit the status of their mother. 
 
 From my earliest intercourse with the royal pair, I had 
 noticed with admiration the natural, easy, delicate, and respect- 
 ful attentions of the prince to the princess, which was in no 
 way whatever diminished after they became king and queen ; 
 and the refined manifestation of this same kind of esteem and 
 friendly feeling, approaching sometimes to a kind of reverence, 
 was never wanting on the part of the queen towards Radama. 
 I never witnessed it without pleasure. They had been brought 
 up together as cousins on their mother's side, and the people 
 sometimes said they were like brother and sister, and that the 
 marriage was for the sake of the kingdom. 
 
 However that might have been, the king's attachment to 
 Mary seemed to be one of strong affection, though it did not 
 prove of lasting constancy ; and yet in the early manifestations 
 of it, remembering as I did that in their apprehension there 
 was no sense of wrong or guilt attached to the relation between 
 them, there was not apparent anything contrary to the utmost 
 propriety of behaviour ; though I sometimes smiled at the 
 eulogiums the king would pronounce on his vady kely, as when 
 he once said to me " I don't think there is a wiser woman in 
 the whole world than Mary." Of that, however, I had at this 
 time no means of judging, for I never spoke to her except in 
 the slightest manner in the presence of the king or some of 
 his officers, unless it might be occasionally when we exchanged 
 salutations while passing in our palanquins on the road. Mary 
 was not then a Christian herself, though she had shown
 
 202 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vm. 
 
 kindness to many who were such, and I always, when we did 
 meet, treated her with respect, as I could not but cherish 
 towards her sentiments of favourable regard for her good 
 influence over the king. 
 
 What the behaviour of the princess was towards Mary at the 
 commencement of the relation of the latter with the prince, 
 I neither inquired nor heard ; but after Mary, with the king's 
 consent, had become the wife of another, the queen's treatment 
 of her was certainly not unfriendly. When, in the month of 
 March, 1863, the queen paid a visit to Ambohimanga, Mary 
 went as one of her selected attendants, and at the banquet in 
 the hall of the large palace, on the queen's return, Mary sate 
 at the cross table at the upper end, by the side of the wife of 
 one of the ministers, and not many seats from that occupied by 
 the queen herself. 
 
 I have adverted to my remonstrating with the king on the 
 subject of his intemperance. When he replied that his best 
 friend was angry with him for associating with drunken men, 
 that friend was Mary. Another instance of her good influence 
 occurred soon after the departure of the French and English 
 embassies, and which came to my knowledge at this period ; for 
 during my visit to the king on the 9th of October, he informed 
 me that before Commodore Dupre left the capital he had asked 
 him to make a journey to Tamatave, and go on board and see 
 his ship. That he wished to go, for he had never been on 
 board a ship, nor had ever seen the sea, but that Mary had 
 most decidedly objected to it, saying that he could not go 
 without a large retinue of soldiers and others ; that the rains 
 would soon commence, the roads become bad, and fever appear, 
 when many of the people would suffer much, and numbers of 
 them probably die, and he would be the sole cause of their 
 deaths. That he professed to be very careful of the lives of 
 the people, and yet would needlessly cause the death of many 
 to gratify a wish that could be better gratified at another time, 
 when a friendly ship might be there in the good season. He
 
 CHAP. vni. RADAMA INVITED TO VISIT TAMATAVE. .203 
 
 said, she added, that if he did go, and if any of the people 
 died, she could write to the newspapers andafy rano masina 
 on the other side of the salt water, that Radaraa had caused all 
 the deaths which had taken place. The king then asked my 
 opinion about his own wish, and the objection urged against it. 
 I said Mary was quite right in her objections. The season was 
 too far advanced ; the ravages of fever would soon commence 
 that he was safer and better at home, to say nothing about the 
 people. I said it was very natural and commendable in him 
 to wish to see the sea aiid the ships, but he would do well to 
 select a better time. I told him I remembered the accounts of 
 the first Radama's visit to Tamatave. He went in good health, 
 remained on the coast five or six months, spent much of his 
 time in feasting and drinking, came home at the end of the 
 year the subject of hopeless disease, brought on by his own 
 dissipation, and died during the next year at the early age of 
 thirty-six years, only three years older than he was himself. I 
 said, wait until some friendly commander comes at the good 
 season, and then go down, and return without delay. It is very 
 desirable that you should see more of your own country, and 
 have intercourse with the people who come in the large ships. 
 You will by that means understand much better than you 
 possibly can do now, your friends from beyond the water, when 
 you have seen the wonderful ocean, and the ships of war or 
 commerce of those who come across that wide water to Mada- 
 gascar. The king then said " I have given up the thought of 
 going now on account of what Mary said." He then added 
 with much feeling " If I know my heart, I would be as careful 
 of my people's lives as of my own." I said, self-denial on the 
 part of a sovereign for the good of his people was the sort of 
 thing which his people would remember with pleasure, when 
 many other things very pleasant at the time would be forgotten. 
 I added a king's life like that of other men is soon over, but 
 his good deeds live after him a king's name, like that of other 
 men, would be loved or hated by those who follow him,
 
 204 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vin. 
 
 according as his conduct had been good or bad, and it was my 
 sincere wish that his might be good ; but it would be what he 
 made it. He pressed my hand affectionately when I left him, 
 and I asked him to present my regards to Mary, and to thank 
 her from me for her good advice to him. 
 
 The king, who was much interested in the natural productions 
 of his country, sent me, a short time after this interview* 
 three men, with some specimens of minerals which they had 
 brought from a distant part of the island, to ask me what they 
 were. Some of them were lead, others copper, but as these had 
 been melted, and contained few, if any, extraneous substances, 
 I was not certain that they were not specimens of foreign 
 metal. There was, however, one piece of green copper ore ; 
 others were crystallisations with which I was not acquainted. 
 I told the king, the next time I saw him, that one of the 
 specimens he had sent was copper, but that I did not feel 
 certain the pieces of lead and copper had been found in the 
 country. He said he thought they had, and he wished me to 
 send them to England, as he should be willing to arrange with 
 any Englishman to come and dig for them, if they were not 
 afraid. But the country was swampy, and fever so prevalent, 
 that few people lived -there. I thought this account did not 
 promise much encouragement for speculation in mining 
 operations. 
 
 The large number of bearers required by visitors to the 
 capital at the time of the coronation, had obliged the mission- 
 aries to leave the printing press and other goods on the coast ; 
 but as soon as the embassies returned, Mr. Parrett proceeded 
 to Tamatave, in order to reduce the size of the packages, and 
 arrange for their transport. The unhealthy season had, how- 
 ever, commenced. A number of persons at the port had already 
 been struck down by the fever; Mr. Parrett himself became ill ; 
 and after sending off part of the press, and arranging for the 
 conveyance of the rest, he was obliged to hasten back. Before 
 he had proceeded a third part of the way, he was seized with
 
 CHAP. vin. DEATH OF THE LATE CHIEF JUDGE. 205 
 
 fever at Andevoranto, where M. Lambert, and two Catholic 
 priests very kindly ministered to him in his illness, so that he 
 was able to set forward again, and was gladly welcomed at the 
 capital on the 18th of October, followed at no very long period 
 afterwards by the printing press, the Scriptures, and other 
 valuable goods. 
 
 About the close of the month, one or two murders were com- 
 mitted in or near Antananarivo. The murderers, according to 
 the new code, were sentenced to chains for life, a mode of 
 punishment which some of the people thought was too mild. 
 This was the first time that I heard any dissatisfaction ex- 
 pressed with regard to Badama's policy, but by the greater 
 number it was deemed preferable to the frequent destruction of 
 life which had marked the late reign. 
 
 On the 29th we went, as custom required, to express our con- 
 dolence with the family of Andriantsirangy, who had died during 
 the previous night. He was a noble of high rank, and had 
 been for many years chief judge of the nation during the late 
 reign, his last official act having been to announce the death of 
 his royal mistress, and to order national mourning for her loss. 
 Adjacent to his dwelling we saw, as we approached, the queen. 
 She was sitting in the house of one of the nobles, with un- 
 braided hair, and wrapped in a black mourning dress, in the 
 midst of her attendants, all exhibiting the same demonstrations 
 of sorrow, while the room was filled with others uttering their 
 wail for the dead. 
 
 On reaching the yard of the house in which the deceased was 
 lying, we found a crowd of aged and other female slaves mourn- 
 ing in melancholy strains the departure of their master. A 
 band was also outside, playing anything but funeral airs, while 
 the firing of musketry and cannon continued at intervals. In a 
 yard close by we saw nearly a hundred oxen herded for slaughter, 
 and were told that many hundreds would bo slain before the 
 ceremonies were ended. Three thousand head of cattle, we 
 were told, were among the possessions left by the deceased. On
 
 206 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. VIII. 
 
 approaching the house, we were conducted into a room where 
 wine, spirits, and beer were offered but declined ; we were then 
 led to the large room, where the few articles of furniture visible 
 betokened the wealth of the owner, and where, concealed within 
 the silk and gold-fringed curtains of a bed, the corpse was 
 lying. 
 
 The widow, surrounded by female members of the family, who 
 were gathered round her, sat on the ground immediately in 
 front of the bed, weeping and silent, except when occasionally 
 uttering an exclamation of distress. Ten or twelve men sat 
 around, holding, at the end of slender elastic handles, about six 
 feet long, fans of varied and singular shapes, Avhich they waved 
 incessantly about the bed to drive away the flies, and guard 
 the atmosphere above the dead. These fans were covered with 
 scarlet cloth, and imparted a novel and singular aspect to the 
 scene. 
 
 Outside the circle formed by the family, the floor of the room 
 was crowded by women with dishevelled hair and sombre coarse 
 clothing, wailing for the dead. We entered, and addressed a 
 few words of sympathy and condolence to the widow and family 
 on their bereavement, offered as our token of compassion a 
 couple of silver coins, and retired. 
 
 The queen and the family each gave us an ox from those 
 collected for slaughter, which, according to custom, was killed 
 and distributed on the spot. In another yard we saw a number 
 of workmen, probably slaves of the deceased, some making 
 nails, others planing wood, and others putting together the 
 frame of what might be termed a hearse. As we left, we saw 
 men and boys running in every direction from the place of 
 slaughter with large pieces of beef, portions of what had been 
 distributed on the occasion. 
 
 The drumming and inharmonious music continued almost 
 without cessation throughout the night ; next morning we were 
 startled by the regular firing of musketry, gradually coming 
 nearer, and, on looking out, I saw the funeral procession in the
 
 CHAP. vili. A MALAGASY FUNERAL PROCESSION. 207 
 
 public road approaching my house. A number of men with 
 muskets led the way, firing at irregular and short intervals, in 
 the most random manner. Not one that I saw placed the butt 
 of the musket against his shoulder, but they generally held it 
 before them, with one hand grasping the barrel and the other 
 the stock, holding it when they fired at any elevation, or in any 
 direction that might happen. 
 
 The government officers led the procession. The body, con- 
 tained in a kind of hearse, covered with scarlet and gold lace, 
 was borne by the slaves of the deceased. Two military hats 
 were placed outside the hearse ; six men walked on each side, 
 waving the scarlet fans as they passed along. The widow, 
 clothed in black, sate alone in her palanquin, followed by 
 the other members of the family, borne in the same way, the 
 relations, friends, and slaves, clothed in black, all walking 
 behind. The funeral was to take place in the neighbourhood 
 of the extensive and beautiful lake of Itasy, about seventy miles 
 distant, where the body of the late judge was to be placed in a 
 tomb among the graves of his ancestors. 
 
 The extent of the missionary field at Antananarios and its 
 environs, the peculiarity and urgency of its claims upon their 
 attention, had impressed so strongly and appropriately the 
 minds of the newly arrived missionaries, that immediately after 
 their arrival they commenced earnestly and indefatigably the 
 study of the native language, which they prosecuted with such 
 success, that in less than two months they were able to begin 
 intelligibly, and acceptably to the people, their great work of 
 preaching the gospel to the Malagasy. The want of the Scrip- 
 tures had been deeply and widely felt. Many individuals and 
 families were without a copy even of the New Testament. 
 This was the condition also of sonio preachers, and even in a 
 whole congregation or village no copy of the Scriptures in some 
 places existed. The joy which the arrival of the sacred books 
 occasioned was proportionately great. 
 
 The liberal supply which the Bible Society had sent, not only
 
 208 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vin. 
 
 relieved this great want, but revived attention to public worship 
 in the village congregations. Some of our native preachers, as 
 well as the missionaries, now began to visit the villages, and 
 every week brought us intelligence of Christian communities, 
 and applications for help. Among these was Ambohimanga, a 
 singularly beautiful and romantic-looking mountain city or vil- 
 lage, twelve miles from the capital. The hill of granite on which 
 it stands, rises abruptly four or five hundred feet from the undu- 
 lating plain at the east end, and gradually slopes to the west, 
 until it unites with the lower hills that spread to the north 
 and west. The sides of the mountain, both north and south, are 
 covered with luxuriantly-foliaged trees. A number of ancient 
 buildings crown the loftiest summit ; others appear at intervals 
 on its sides, and cover the sloping ground at its base. 
 
 Next to Antananarivo, this had been for some generations 
 past the most renowned and important place in Imerina. It 
 was the capital, and the birthplace of the founder of the present 
 dynasty, the birthplace of the first Radama, and the burial place 
 of his successor, the site of the house of Rafantaka one of 
 their native idols and distinguished for its exclusiveness, pre- 
 tended sanctity, and hostility to Christianity. No foreigner 
 was allowed to enter its gates, nor even a native who was not 
 a resident, without a pass from the authorities. But even here 
 there were Christians. They held worship in the house of a 
 Christian family, and in the month of November they sought 
 my assistance to obtain for them a piece of ground on which to 
 build a chapel and erect a school. This the king cheerfully 
 gave them. They then asked me to go and preach to them, 
 which, having obtained the king's approval, I consented to do. 
 
 In the mean time the king sent instructions to the prime 
 minister to inform the authorities of the place that he had 
 granted the ground specified to the Christians, to request the 
 authorities to deliver it to them, and to state that in about ten 
 days I should go there to preach to the Christians with his 
 entire approbation. On the day before I went, the king sent
 
 CHAP. VIII. PREACHING AT AMBOHIMANGA. 209 
 
 a judge, one of the high officers of the government, to tell the 
 authorities that I should be there on the following day ; that as 
 I came with his full approbation, he had no doubt they would 
 receive me courteously, as his friend. 
 
 About five o'clock on Sunday morning, the 16th of Novem*- 
 ber, I set out, accompanied by a friend, A.D.C. of the com- 
 mander-in-chief, a native preacher, and some Christians. On 
 the outskirts of the city we overtook the chief officer of the 
 palace, himself a Christian, by eight o'clock reached Ambo- 
 hiinanga, and halted outside the gate. The inhabitants had 
 observed our progress across the plain from the summit of the 
 mountain, and we found the officer in command with a few 
 soldiers drawn up also outside the gate, where the judge sent by 
 the king was waiting for us. The officer of the palace then stated 
 that a friend of the king's, a foreigner, and some Christians, had 
 come to visit them and the Christians in the city, and that by 
 his majesty's wish he had accompanied me. To this the chief 
 replied, that what pleased the king was pleasing to them ; that 
 they were glad to see any one who was his friend, and they then 
 expressed their loyalty and attachment to the king and the 
 prime minister. After the usual salutations between my com- 
 panions and the officers, the latter bade me welcome, and then 
 giving the order to march, the drum beat, the officers and 
 soldiers advanced, and we passed through the gate, the guard of 
 honour with their music leading the way, I following next with 
 the messengers from the king, and the Christians bringing up 
 the rear. 
 
 As soon as we had all passed through the gate, the Chris- 
 tians began to sing, and thus we proceeded along the well- 
 paved and gradually ascending road up the side of the hill, 
 until we reached the open space, some considerable distance 
 below the higher parts, where the buildings belonging to the 
 sovereign are situated. Here we halted beneath the shade 
 of a large spreading tree, apparently pandanus or dracajna, 
 and left our friends with the authorities, who held a kabary,
 
 210 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vin. 
 
 while a Christian officer led the native preacher and myself 
 to the house in which the Christians of the place and 
 friends from adjacent villages, to the number of about 
 two hundred, were already assembled. They occupied a 
 newly-matted room, where a few chairs and a table stood 
 near a window, outside of which a number of heathen were 
 gathered. 
 
 After praise and prayer to the true God, Andriambelo the 
 native preacher delivered a short but exceedingly appropriate 
 address to the Christians within, and the heathen without, from 
 1 Peter ii. 17 : " Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. 
 Fear God. Honour the king." From these words, in a few 
 brief, clear, and pointed sentences, he exhibited the fear of God 
 in the heart as the foundation of all that is true in religion ; 
 their love towards each other as the tie that binds Christians 
 together ; the respect due to their fellow men, and showed that 
 loyalty to their sovereign was inculcated by the Christian law, 
 as well as the fear of God. 
 
 After again singing, and praying with and for the people, we 
 informed them that we would meet them again in an hour's 
 time. We were then conducted through crowds of children and 
 wondering heathen to the house of a Christian officer, where 
 the officers from the capital took breakfast with us. On 
 returning again to the house of worship, we found it so crowded 
 that they had to request some of the company to come out 
 before we could enter. After the singing and prayer, a native 
 minister born in the place gave a short address. I then read 
 and briefly expounded the parable of the " Prodigal Son," as 
 illustrating the condition to which man, by departing from God, 
 reduces himself, with the loving character of God the Father of 
 all mankind, and the welcome of affection and joy which awaits 
 every returning child. At the close of the service we sang 
 the national anthem, which is a prayer for the king, and I 
 told the company that, as we wished to visit another village 
 on our return, \ve could not remain longer with them.
 
 CHAP. vin. PRESENTS AND FRIENDLY PARTING SALUTATIONS. 211 
 
 On leaving the house, we thanked the chief officers for a 
 present of rice and poultry which they offered in token of their 
 hospitality, and asked them to give it to the Christians, as we 
 could not remain. We then walked together under the grateful 
 shade of umbrageous trees, down the western or opposite 
 side of the hill to that by which we had entered the city, and 
 on reaching the plain below, the officers took friendly leave of 
 us.* We then proceeded southward to Namehana and Feno- 
 arivo, at the latter of which we found a congregation equal to 
 that at the place we had left, assembled in a new village chapel. 
 To these my native companion delivered an excellent address. 
 Soon after three o'clock we resumed our journey homewards, 
 and in less than two hours reached the suburbs of Antananarivo, 
 the palace of which had been distinctly visible ever since our 
 departure from Ambohimanga. 
 
 On entering the city, the officer of the palace hastened to 
 inform his brother, the prime minister, of the favourable recep- 
 tion we had experienced. Mr. Cousins had, on the same day, 
 opened, under encouraging circumstances, a new place of wor- 
 ship at the important village of Imerinamandroso, four or five 
 miles to the west of Ambohimanga. 
 
 * Such having been the actual course pursued on this visit to Ambohi- 
 manga, I was somewhat surprised on receiving, nearly nine months afterwards, 
 from high quarters at home, a copy of an official report from Madagascar, 
 which was sent to me for " explanation." In this accusation it was stated 
 that, before making the above visit, I had obtained from the king " armed 
 followers," and had gone to " preach there by force," and that I had afterwards 
 induced the king to degrade " all the officers who, in the first instance, re- 
 sisted," &c., &c. The facts above stated afforded ample explanation, and I 
 only advert to the circumstance in connection with my visit, to caution my 
 readers against giving too ready credence to reports from such an out-of-the- 
 way place as the capital of Madagascar. There were two or three other 
 versions of the same account. I heard it was stated that I had preached at 
 the point of the bayonet on the tomb of the late queen ; and I read in a news- 
 paper, that I had gone with the late king to Ambohimanga to pray at the 
 tomb of his mother for the repose of her soul. All these reports were about 
 equally true ; as was also another report, sent to the Acting Governor at Mau- 
 ritius, that I had prevented the signing of the treaty, as first presented, be- 
 cause I had stated, in answer to the king's inquiry, that the English and 
 Malagasy versions were not alike. 
 
 P 2
 
 212 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vni. 
 
 This good beginning, however, so far as related to the ancient 
 and sacred city, did not last long without interruption. One 
 of the native preachers went from Antananarivo for two suc- 
 cessive Sundays after my visit ; but in the course of a fortnight 
 there was a great stir in the city. A number of Christians 
 from Ambohimanga came to complain to the king that the 
 officers of the place, on the preceding Sunday, had refused 
 admission to the native preacher, had torn down the matting, 
 removed the table and chairs out of the house where the 
 Christians worshipped, placed sentries at the door, and for- 
 bidden the people to meet for worship. The king sent for the 
 authorities and reprimanded them for disobeying his orders, 
 which they said they understood as applying only to my visit, 
 and not to worship by the natives only. The king reminded 
 them that his proclamation on coming to the throne made no 
 exception against freedom of worship in Ambohimanga ; .that 
 he had ordered them to give the house to the Christians for 
 worship some time before I went. He then removed the officers 
 who had been guilty of this outrage from their posts,* and 
 appointed others in their stead. All this was done before I 
 saw the king, but as I was going to him at the usual hour, I 
 met the parties returning, and learned that one reason assigned 
 for stopping the worship was that the usual rain had not come, 
 and that the crops would fail, and the people would be starved, 
 on account of the displeasure of the idols at the worship of the 
 Christians. 
 
 Rahaniraka, the foreign secretary, had been ill for about a 
 week, and early in the morning after my return, hearing that 
 he was dying, I hastened to his house. I found him uncon- 
 scious and sinking. I had visited him daily during his illness, 
 
 * I regretted that, as this was the first offence, the king had not, after con- 
 demning their conduct, and warning them of the consequences of any repetition 
 of the same, given them another opportunity of obeying ; but many of the 
 people said the order was so explicit, and the authority by which it was 
 delivered so high, that the king had done right.
 
 CHAP. vin. DEATH AND FUNERAL OF RAHANIRAKA. 213 
 
 and had spoken to him, and prayed with him when I had reason 
 to suppose that he was conscious of what I said, which indeed 
 was but very seldom. The scene in his sick room was often 
 deeply affecting. The members of his family were untiring in 
 their kind attentions. In the room with him I often found one 
 of the Catholic priests, while in the room adjoining, his sister, 
 the wife of a judge, but not a Christian, would be employing 
 the sikidy or divination for his recovery. On this occasion I 
 endeavoured to speak consolingly to his wife and family, some 
 of whom are sincere Christians. I had prayed with them before 
 I left, and about one o'clock in the day I received a message 
 to say that the spirit had departed. The king and the two 
 ministers, who were present when I went later in the day, 
 appeared deeply affected by the unexpected suddenness of his 
 removal. The king hinted his suspicions of foul play on the 
 part of some enemy. I said I thought it was rather to be 
 ascribed to ignorance on the part of those from whom he had 
 sought the means of recovery, and to the loss of all stamina or 
 power to resist disease. I took occasion to speak of the danger 
 of delaying preparation for the great change common to us all, 
 as the deceased had said the last time I conversed with him, 
 while he was sensible, that he hoped to become a Christian 
 before he died. 
 
 The next day, when I paid a visit of condolence to the family 
 of Rahaniraka, I found them exhausted with fatigue. The 
 king's band was playing in the yard, the house was crowded 
 with mourners. The wife of the commander-in-chief, the sister 
 of the prime minister, Mary and others, were employed in 
 decorating the bier and hearse, and numbers of cattle were 
 being slaughtered. At seven o'clock next morning the funeral 
 procession, which resembled that of Andriantsirangy, passed my 
 house on its way to his village, Inosy, in the north, where the 
 interment took place. 
 
 I had first known Rahaniraka when he was a school-boy in 
 England, at which time he appeared to be under religious
 
 214 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. vin. 
 
 impressions, and I always felt grateful for the many acts of 
 kindness which I had received from him in Madagascar. 
 
 On the evening of the day before the funeral, the commander- 
 in-chief came to ask if I could inform him what was the course 
 pursued in England in reference to medals or decorations on 
 the death of officers on whom the sovereign conferred such dis- 
 tinctions. Were they buried in the tomb with the deceased as 
 was the custom in Madagascar ? or did they descend, like other 
 possessions, to the children ? I said that in England I never 
 heard of any being buried with the wearer. Some I knew were 
 returned to the sovereign by whom they had been bestowed, 
 others might be kept as memorials, or even heirlooms in the 
 family, but I believed would riot confer on the descendant the 
 distinction enjoyed by the original recipient. Rahaniraka had 
 received two decorations, one from the late queen, the other 
 from the present king, and the inquiry made in reference to the 
 mode of disposing of them, issued, I believe, in their being left 
 with the oldest son, who succeeds to his father's position as head 
 of the family, and also in association with his cousin as one of 
 the English foreign secretaries. 
 
 In the course of a week the funeral ceremonies were over, 
 and the family returned. I was glad to see them more 
 composed and tranquil since the first paroxysm of grief had 
 subsided. 
 
 The following occurrence may illustrate the condition of the 
 non-Christian portion of the rural population. A tomb had 
 been prepared in the centre of the village of the deceased chief, 
 Rahaniraka, not more than a yard or two from the houses. In 
 this tomb, together with the body, many valuable articles of 
 dress, &c., had been deposited, as it would be considered highly 
 improper for any of the survivors to use or wear what had per- 
 sonally belonged to the deceased. A stone had been placed 
 against the door of the tomb, and a large quantity of earth had 
 been heaped up on the outside as a temporary protection until 
 the tomb could be regularly finished and permanently secured.
 
 CHAP. vill. ROBBERY OF THE DEAD. 215 
 
 A night or two afterwards the family had been startled by the 
 firing of muskets in the yard, and, on going out, they found 
 that ten men had been discovered by the watch, who had h'red 
 upon them, attempting to violate the tomb ; the robbers had 
 fled, pursued by the watchmen and others, but without being 
 overtaken. They had dug away the greater part of the earth 
 from the door, but the stone had not been removed when they 
 were disturbed by the firing of the watchmen. The young 
 chief told me he had sent five men, armed with muskets, and 
 provided with ball, to strengthen the guard left in the village 
 until the tomb could be made secure by masonry. 
 
 Thieving among the Malagasy is extremely daring, and never 
 more so than in the robbing of tombs. It is customary among 
 the non-Christian part of the community, when they have little 
 if any property to deposit in the grave, to place a few small 
 pieces of money in the mouth of the corpse, and unless well 
 secured, the grave, even in this case, will perhaps be opened 
 for the purpose of taking these few pieces of silver from 
 between the jaws of the dead.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Afflicting tidings from England Kindness and sympathy from the people 
 Treaty between England and Madagascar Disturbance created by a 
 thunder-storm Opening school for young nobles Letter from the King 
 of Johanna Letter from Dr. Livingstone Reported importation of slaves 
 to Madagascar News from Europe and America Destructive effects of 
 lightning Damages by storm and flood King and Queen attend the 
 churches on Christmas-day Origin of the native ministry in Madagascar 
 Plan of church organisation Efforts to extend the Gospel in the city 
 Disappointment on account of the proceedings of the King Atrocious 
 heathen murder. 
 
 TIDINGS from England of the death of my only remaining 
 daughter arrived about this time, and though it had occurred 
 beneath my own roof, with every alleviation which affection 
 and kindness could supply, and was unaccompanied by any 
 doubt as to the blessed change which had been experienced, 
 yet, coming as it did, when my own health was suffering some- 
 what severely from the first experience of the worst season of 
 the year in Madagascar, it added much to my depression of 
 spirit. But I mention this chiefly to show how the blessed 
 Gospel softens and humanises our common nature, and brings 
 out some of the most gentle, pure, and kindly influences which 
 one spirit can diffuse over another. 
 
 I was content to bear alone in that distant land the stroke 
 which had fallen upon me, comforted by the sympathy of those 
 kind brethren and sisters who, like myself, were, so far as home 
 affections were concerned, strangers in a foreign land. But 
 though illness confined me to my house and to my room, there 
 was, I believe, scarcely a Christian family connected with my
 
 CHAP. ix. SYMPATHY FROM THE NATIVE CHRISTIANS. 217 
 
 own congregation some of whose members did not come to visit 
 me when they heard of my illness and affliction. Some who 
 came, after a few words of sympathy, seated themselves in 
 silence on the floor beside my couch ; others took their station 
 outside the door of my room to prevent my being needlessly 
 disturbed ; while others .brought as a present, perhaps a little 
 white clean rice, or a few ripe fruits. The king sent two of his 
 officers, the prime minister's wife sent a messenger with kind 
 inquiries. The commander-in-chief, who lived near, and one 
 or two other nobles, came to express their sorrow, and listened 
 with deep interest while I tried to speak of the grounds of a 
 Christian's consolation and support under the bereavement of 
 death, so strikingly different from anything conceived of or expe- 
 rienced under similar circumstances amongst themselves.* 
 
 Most of my visitors wore some token of mourning, and when 
 I was so far recovered as to attend public worship again, and saw 
 most of the congregation, several even of the slaves, wearing 
 some slight sign of mourning, I felt afresh that Christianity 
 made men feel, amid all the diversities of climate, colour, lan- 
 guage, or grade in what we call civilisation, that they belong 
 to one family ; raid that the Gospel never seems more univer- 
 sally applicable than in those seasons of human sorrow which, 
 sooner or later, come to all mankind. 
 
 Thirty years had now passed away since the late Queen Rana- 
 
 * Whatever ideas the Malagasy may entertain of the condition of the spirits 
 of those who have died, they afford no alleviation of the anguish which death 
 occasions. The loss is felt to be irreparable, the grief beyond control ; only 
 relieved or obliterated by other sources of excitement. Hence the demoniacal 
 practices which characterised certain tribes of the Polynesians on such occa- 
 sions, and the firing of musketry and beating of drums, with other music, which 
 accompany the impassioned wailing of Madagascar. Their desire to avoid the 
 revival of ideas connected with the dead was strikingly impressed upon me 
 soon after my last arrival at the capital. I hud taken the portrait of a lady of 
 rank, who died during my absence, leaving two children, one was among my 
 pupils. I was one day exhibiting the portrait to an oflicer who knew the lady, 
 and mentioned my intention to show or give it to the children. He dissuaded 
 me from doing so. I said, " Why not ? " He answered, " Because it will revive 
 remembrance of their mother, and renew their sorrow."
 
 218 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. IX. 
 
 valona had withdrawn from the treaty of amity and commerce 
 with England, into which, eleven years before, the first Radama 
 had entered. The British agent had then been ignominiously 
 expelled from the country ; and although the ports, excepting for 
 a short period, were open to traders, no other relations between 
 England and Madagascar were allowed. 
 
 Radama II., on ascending the throne, had made known his 
 desire to enter into relations of friendship and commerce with 
 other nations, and the occasion of his coronation had been 
 deemed suitable by England and France for accomplishing this 
 object. The first treaty of friendship and commerce between 
 France and Madagascar had been arranged by the chief of the 
 French embassy, and that with England remained to be nego- 
 tiated by the British consul. 
 
 Towards the close of November, several officers came one 
 morning early to ask me to look over with them, and to correct 
 if necessary, the translation into Malagasy of the treaty which 
 the consul had presented to them. Later in the day the king 
 sent for me to the palace, where the treaty was considered, 
 article by article, by the king and his ministers, and the secre- 
 taries were directed to include the alterations in a fair copy, 
 and return it to the consul. 
 
 Since the death of the late foreign secretary, the king 
 had asked me to assist his present servants, the son 
 and nephew of the deceased officer, in the translation of 
 the correspondence in English. This I had cheerfully done ; 
 but when, during the absence of the young chief while attend- 
 ing the funeral ceremonies of his deceased father, the king 
 asked me to sign the documents I had translated, I informed 
 him that it would not be suitable for me to do so, and recom- 
 mended that his majesty, until the return of the officers, should 
 affix his own signature to the documents which it was necessary 
 to send away. 
 
 On the 4th of December, when I went to the king with some 
 letters I had translated, he informed me that the next day was
 
 CHAP. ix. VISIT TO THE KING'S KITCHEN. 219 
 
 fixed for the signing of the treaty, and that he wished the 
 English missionaries to be present, and to dine with him after- 
 wards. Looking at the kitchens as I crossed the yard home- 
 wards, I felt inclined to glance at the preparations for a royal 
 dinner. The king accompanied me, and I was certainly some- 
 what surprised at the abundance of the provision, and at the 
 whole scene before me. Six or seven large earthen boilers were 
 ranged in a line along the wall opposite the door in the first 
 room. Fires of wood were burning brightly under each boiler, 
 in which viands of different kinds were already cooking. The 
 smaller cooking utensils were of wrought iron of native work- 
 manship, and were fixed on iron trivets, or over open fire-places. 
 With the exception of soup, the dinner, like the coronation ban- 
 quet, was to be cold. I then proceeded to the next and much 
 larger room, where I was amazed at the quantities of poultry, 
 game, fish, sheep, pigs, and beef collected together. The vege- 
 tables, I was told, were in another place. The game and 
 poultry were arranged each kind separately, but all in one 
 lot on a bench, or with matting and fresh plantain leaves spread 
 on the floor. The fish, most of which seemed alive, were ar- 
 ranged in a similar way in large earthen pans in a separate 
 place, and so was the meat. When I expressed my surprise at 
 the largeness of the preparation, I was told that the feast was 
 not for the guests only, but also for all the officers in attend- 
 ance, and for the whole establishment. Two superintendents, 
 respectable looking men, appeared to have the direction of the 
 whole ; and the cooks, all men, were cleanly in their persons 
 and dress, and all very busy. 
 
 The next morning the aspect of the sky was threatening, and 
 as the rainy season had commenced it was no merely passing 
 shower that was feared. The king sent word that he wished us 
 to attend at ten o'clock instead of four. There was a kabary 
 or public meeting of the king and the officers of the govern- 
 ment at Andohalo in the morning, as I understood, in relation to 
 the treaty. It was nearly the time fixed, when the king, riding
 
 220 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. -CHAP. IX. 
 
 on horseback, followed by the rest of the procession, passed my 
 house towards the palace. I wentto Arnbohimitsimbina, accom- 
 panied by Mr. Toy, and we entered the gate to the yard around 
 the king's house immediately after the last of the royal guards. 
 
 The prime minister and other officers of state, were all in 
 full dress. The king wore a richly silver-embroidered frock- 
 coat of pink or scarlet velvet, lined with white satin. He was 
 easy, affable, and cheerful ; and, in my estimation, never ap- 
 peared to greater advantage as a young and hopeful ruler, than 
 on this occasion. The French consul and his friends were also 
 present. 
 
 When the British consul had read the English copy of the 
 treaty, Ramaniraka, the king's secretary, read the same i\\ 
 Malagasy, and the high officers who, in consequence of a diffe- 
 rence between the English and the Malagasy version of the 
 document previously presented, were somewhat anxious on the 
 subject, being now satisfied that the latter was correct, the king 
 attached his signature. Two of the ministers and the secre- 
 taries then signed. The national airs of England and Mada- 
 gascar were p]ayed ; the cannon on the hill side announced the 
 completion of the welcome engagement; and success to the 
 treaty was drunk amidst mutual and very hearty congratula- 
 tions. The company, to the number of about thirty, soon after- 
 wards sat down to a sumptuous breakfast, which was to have 
 been a dinner had the morning promised more auspiciously. 
 The prime minister sat opposite the king. The widow of prince 
 Ramboasalama and Mary sat next to the king, one on either 
 hand, the English and French consuls next to them. A lady of 
 the court in the same way sat on each hand of the chief minister 
 and the principal guests. 
 
 After the soup and one or two dishes had been served, the 
 storm which had long been threatening, burst in thunder and 
 lightning over us, followed by heavy rain. The building in 
 which we were assembled was a new one, thatched with a long 
 and durable kind of grass which had been freshly cut, and as
 
 CHAP. ix. THE BEGINNING OF THE EAINY SEASON. 221 
 
 this was the beginning of the rainy season it was not yet well 
 matted together. The sudden heavy rain consequently soon 
 began to penetrate the roof, and drops fell through the floor of 
 the room above upon the table and the guests. The ladies rose 
 and retired to another apartment at the northern end of the 
 building, where the water did not penetrate. The rain con- 
 tinued, and we were obliged soon after to leave the table and 
 the room, and to seek shelter with the ladies, where a native 
 musician from a distant province gave us some exceedingly 
 simple but pleasant music on the valia, a native instrument. 
 Notwithstanding the continuance of the rain and the wetness 
 of the floor, two successive companies of thirty each had sur- 
 rounded the well-replenished table after we had left the room. 
 About two o'clock, as the rain had slightly diminished, I took 
 leave of the king, and after searching for my hat, which I found 
 half full of water, made the best of my way home. 
 
 Four days afterwards I went with Mr. Stagg, the superin- 
 tendent of education, and some of the other missionaries, to 
 open, in the stone house, the school for the sons of the nobles 
 and others, Mr. Toy, whose residence was near, having, since 
 the coronation, kindly taken them under his instruction. The 
 king's workmen had finished some excellent forms and desks, 
 as well as other fittings. There were twenty pupils present, 
 twelve of whom had been formerly under my instruction. After 
 singing a hymn, the Scriptures were read by Mr. Cousins. I 
 then addressed the young men and boys assembled, and Rabera- 
 zana, who had been appointed by the king to assist Mr. Toy, 
 offered prayer to God to bless the instruction given to the young 
 men and others, whose character and career will probably greatly 
 influence their country hereafter. 
 
 On the 9th of December, the day on which we opened the 
 school, the king received a letter in English from Sultan 
 Abdalla, king of Johanna, one of the Comoro Islands, which he 
 asked me to read to him. The letter, which was dated the 2Gth 
 of September, and had been sent up to the capital, from the
 
 222 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. IX. 
 
 port of Mojanga on the west coast, expressed the condolence of 
 the Sultan with Radama, on the death of his mother, the late 
 queen, whom he highly eulogised ; congratulated the king on 
 his accession to the throne without difficulty or bloodshed, and 
 spoke of the advantages of his liberal policy, which had ex- 
 tended to Johanna. Abdalla then referred to the friendship 
 which had subsisted between his own father and the late 
 queen of Madagascar, the mother of Radama, expressing his 
 hope that the same would exist between themselves, and 
 concluded with assurances of the pleasure it would give him 
 to be able in any way to serve the king of Madagascar. 
 The king was much pleased with the letter, and asked if I 
 would translate or prepare a letter in reply, which I promised 
 to do. 
 
 Some time afterwards, I received another letter from the 
 Comoro Islands, written by my old and valued friend, Dr. 
 Livingstone. I brought its contents under the notice of the 
 king, the first opportunity ; and they were so honourable to the 
 writer, and so characteristic of his manly and noble spirit, that I 
 scarcely feel it necessary to offer any apology for inserting the 
 whole letter here, especially as it relates chiefly to circumstances 
 intimately connected with the moral progress and general 
 prosperity of countries like Madagascar. 
 
 "MOHILLA ISLAND, 2Ztk of August, 18G2. 
 
 'Mr DEAR MR. ELLIS, 
 
 "THOUGH there is not much probability of a letter reaching 
 you from this out-of-the-way spot, yet the promise of the 
 queen, who is a relative of Radama II., to forward it to Bam- 
 batouk by the first dhow going thither, and the value I myself 
 put upon a letter when in somewhat similar circumstances, 
 induce me to make the attempt at a word of salutation. In 
 coming hither we ran close along a part of your western shore ; 
 and you in your most important and interesting work were 
 brought vividly to my recollection. I need not say how
 
 CHAP. IX. LETTER FROM DR. LIVINGSTONE. 223 
 
 earnestly I wished you health and prosperity, and God's 
 abundant blessing. 
 
 " The queen here is said to be a cousin of Radama II., and 
 she is under French protection was made much of in view of 
 probably being one day made use of as a claimant to the throne 
 of Madagascar. We met Pere Finasse here last year you 
 write the name Finez ; but I suspect their hopes are now 
 dimmed. She is married to an old stick of an Arab of Zanzi- 
 bar, and has become a Mahomedan, which may be an improve- 
 ment on the old ways of the Malagasee. Two of her subjects 
 were opposed to the Arab husband's protective policy, and the 
 French removed them to Mayotta, as prisoners of state. She 
 is a nice little body, and as she admired the portrait of our queen 
 the last time I was here, I took your book to show the pictures 
 of the prince and princess. But in presence of the old husband 
 she had to be a good Mahomedan, and not look at the image 
 of any living being. I think that your people may thank the 
 Supreme Ruler, who has guided the feet of the messengers of 
 the Gospel of Christ to their shores, instead of the emissaries 
 of soul-cramping superstitions. 
 
 " A great deal of slave-trading goes on from the coast of 
 Africa to Majama Bay, near Cape St. Andrew. The people 
 here name the principal slave-port Menabay. It is earned 
 on chiefly by Arab dhows ; and if Radama II. knew half the 
 miseries inflicted on Africa by those who carry on the traffic, 
 he would not hesitate to imitate Radama I. in stopping 
 the export of slaves, by at once forbidding their import into 
 his dominions. This one great act of Radama I. is always 
 mentioned as the glory of his reign, and it will be quoted to 
 his fame in all future generations. I would not dictate this 
 measure, l>ut I have no doubt, that should his attention be 
 drawn to the subject, and information be obtained, his own 
 sense of what is right will lead him to legislation such as will 
 bless both Madagascar and Africa. Apart from all considera- 
 tions of justice and mercy, it is impolitic to allow a traffic which
 
 224 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. ix. 
 
 tends to render labour unpopular: The Malagasee will rise in 
 the scale of nations only by hard work. You may tell him, if 
 you think it proper, that while labouring to put a stop to this 
 horrid traffic by pacific means, it will be a joy to my heart 
 in Africa if he will co-operate in the same noble work in 
 Madagascar. 
 
 " I got out a steamer at the beginning of this year for Lake 
 Nyassa, whence there is an export annually of 19,000 slaves to 
 Zanzibar alone. She is in pieces, and when we get up to the 
 cataracts of the Shire we shall unscrew her, and carry her past ; 
 but we had to put her together first in the low Zambesi delta, 
 and had great sickness in consequence. My dear wife, whom 
 I never intended for that exposure, was the only victim of the 
 fever, and I now feel lonelier in the world than before. Much 
 reduced by sickness ; and having a Johanna crew who wished 
 to return home, we came away in the Pioneer, and found her 
 a good little ship on the ocean. She rose on the huge waves 
 from the south like a little duck. Need I say that I felt a little 
 proud when, by the sole guidance of a land lubber like your 
 servant, we lay to at three A. M. of 23rd, deeming ourselves seven 
 or eight miles off Mohilla, and as day dawned, found ourselves 
 in sight of this, the first land we had seen since we left the 
 Zambesi. You must excuse this little bit of boasting egotism. 
 We go on to Johanna, and thence to E-ovuma, being still very 
 anxious to get an outlet for Lake Nyassa, away from our 
 inveterate slave-dealing friends the Portuguese. 
 
 " Possibly you have later intelligence from Europe than we, 
 but in case you have not, I may say that the war in America 
 still goes on ; that the slave question is coming at last pro- 
 minently forward. The president offers to ensure pecuniary 
 compensation to any state that may abolish slavery. This may 
 be only in order to secure the border states, which have but 
 few slaves, to the Union. But the question has forced itself 
 upon the government, and more must be done than these 
 worthies imagine. An engagement between two iron-plated
 
 CHAP. ix. NEWS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES. 225 
 
 vessels South and North, after pounding at each other for five 
 hours, ended so differently from the fight of the Kilkenny cats, 
 that the Times declares that the whole British navy consists of 
 only six ships, viz., our iron-plated ones. Several wooden ships 
 were destroyed by the southern iron-plated one, with the greatest 
 ease, and we are now all activity in iron-plating men-of-war. 
 In France religious questions excite the greatest interest of 
 any. Thanks to the Pope for his obstinacy, the Italians made a 
 demonstration against the poor old man's temporal sovereignty, 
 and this causes many to search for light in spiritual matters. 
 The Bible is recognised more and, more widely as the cause of 
 England's prosperity, and one pious Italian named Perfetti, 
 says, that having asked many true disciples what had led them 
 to Jesus and to peace, he always received this answer, " the 
 Bible," " the writings of the Fathers," or " the Cross is the way 
 of light/' or pointing silently to heaven ; " but none ever 
 referred to the priests, or the high dignitaries of the Church 
 of Rome." Very considerable changes are made for the better 
 in education in Austria. Rev. Dr. Reed, of London, and Rev. 
 Professor Cuningham, of the Free Church, are dead. Our 
 good little queen bears up bravely against her heavy bereave- 
 ment: and I cannot wish better for Radama and his queen 
 than that they may be as much beloved for their virtues, as is 
 our own beloved sovereign by us all. With good wishes, I am, 
 
 " Affectionately yours, 
 
 " DAVID LIVINGSTONE." 
 
 " Can you get any of those famous big eggs ? (Dinornis) I got 
 a small bit." 
 
 The king was interested, and deeply affected by Dr. Living- 
 stone's statement of the frightful number of slaves exported vid 
 Zanzibar. In reference to Madagascar, he said it was contrary 
 to his wishes and orders that any should be imported to the 
 country, and he did not think there could be many brought 
 in. He had sent orders to the authorities to prevent slaves 
 
 Q
 
 22G MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. ix. 
 
 from another country being landed, or sold, for if it was wrong 
 for them to export slaves themselves, it was wrong to encourage 
 others to do so. Subsequently, I received a letter from an 
 officer who had been on the west coast in one of our own 
 cruisers, stating that slaves in considerable numbers were landed 
 in Madagascar. I mentioned the circumstance to one of the 
 high officers of the government, and stated my opinion that 
 any indirect participation in the trade, or connivance on the 
 part of the Malagasy authorities would weaken the confidence 
 of England in their integrity, and might lessen the feeling of 
 friendship towards them. The officer replied that he did not 
 think a Malagasy functionary would dare to aid, or encourage the 
 traffic, and that any slaves brought in must have been landed 
 clandestinely, and that the government would be glad if British 
 ships would seize as prizes any Arab, or other vessels having 
 slaves on board. They had, he observed, no ships of their own, 
 and could not prevent ships with slaves on board coming, but 
 they afforded them no protection. 
 
 To myself Dr. Livingstone's letter was welcome and refreshing. 
 It was just the kind of letter which one Christian labourer 
 might be expected to write to another so circumstanced. I had 
 been near him abroad, some years before in Mauritius : we 
 had been long acquainted, and I had last met him in London, 
 and when I found that he had sailed along the west coast 
 of Madagascar, it did not seem to me that we were so far 
 apart as before. I had always honoured his noble self- 
 devotion, and stedfastness of purpose in pursuit of the great 
 objects at which he aimed. I had always believed that " the 
 end of the geographical was to be, in his aim, the beginning of 
 the missionary enterprise, and that in whatever direction his 
 steps might tend, he would carry with him a true missionary 
 heart. I believed also that he was, to his own apprehension, 
 furthering the great missionary work by opening up new fields 
 to Christian effort, and by endeavouring to substitute, for the 
 misery, and the murderous barbarism of the slave trade,
 
 CHAP. ix. STORMS WITH THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. 227 
 
 honourable and lawful commerce as a means of preparing the 
 way for the entrance of the Gospel of freedom and of peace. 
 I have sympathised deeply with him in the heroic patience he 
 manifested under the suffering and disappointment recorded in 
 his last volume, and most earnestly desire for him an easier 
 path, and happier results, in the arduous enterprise in which he 
 is now engaged. 
 
 The thunderstorm which had so inopportunely driven away 
 the king's guests from the table at which they were assembled, 
 after the signing of the Treaty, was not the first of the season. 
 The rains had commenced with a storm as violent, but of 
 shorter duration, about a foi'tnight earlier. Rain now fell more 
 frequently, and continuously, and thunderstorms, sometimes 
 with hail and wind generally from the south-west or north-west, 
 were exceedingly violent. Storms come on so suddenly, that 
 I have known the people who had walked to church comfort- 
 ably on the Sunday afternoon, find parts of the road, which 
 is often the water-course, after the lapse of two hours, so 
 flooded by a storm, that they had to walk nearly up to their 
 knees in water, and the water still rising so rapidly that delay 
 would endanger their reaching home at all. 
 
 The storms of hail are sometimes most terrific and dangerous. 
 
 O 
 
 A friend of mine, who had been cutting timber in a forest, told 
 me that four slaves had been killed in the same forest during 
 a storm that season. The king said he had received intel- 
 ligence that two of his slaves were killed in the same storm- 
 The hailstones were described as being nearly as large as an egg. 
 Some said there were pieces of ice still larger. The king and 
 others also related, that five years before, a hundred and fifty 
 oxen were killed by lightning during a storm near tire Ankaratra 
 mountains, situated about seventy miles to the south-east of the 
 capital. Few seasons pass without some lives being destroyed 
 by lightning or hail in the city or neighbourhood, though all 
 the best houses are protected by lightning conductors. It was 
 reported this season that a female slave was killed by lightning 
 
 Q -'
 
 228 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. ix. 
 
 in a house not far from my residence. I was repeatedly 
 cautioned against sitting near the wall, or sleeping in the corner 
 of a room, as it is supposed that the electric fluid more 
 frequently strikes one of the angles, than any other part of a 
 building. I once received about nine o'clock at night the 
 following warning note from a neighbour " Don't sit near the 
 wall of your house, but fix your seat in the middle of the room, 
 for the lightning is very dangerous to-night." 
 
 At the commencement of the rainy season the people were 
 extremely busy in the rice-fields. As the season advances, the 
 rain falls almost daily, with only an interval of fine weather for 
 a short time in the morning, during which time we found it 
 necessary to hold some of our week-day services in the morning, 
 as an afternoon without rain seldom occurred. Sometimes the 
 rain continues without ceasing for two or three days, when 
 many of the inhabitants are prisoners, and excepting by the 
 slaves, there is little communication between the different parts 
 of the city. During this time the weather was so wet, that we 
 seemed to be living in an atmosphere of steam. 
 
 A month or six weeks after the commencement of the rains, 
 the country around Antananarivo appeared like a different 
 region from that on which we had looked out during the 
 preceding part of the year. The sides and summits of the hills 
 were clothed with verdure, the leaves were thickening on the 
 trees, the native fig, and other trees were in full fruit, and 
 abundance of green peaches were seen in the daily market. 
 The rice plantations which extend towards the banks of the 
 Ikiopa on the west, and stretch away for many miles over the 
 richly cultivated valley of Betsimitatatra to the north, were of 
 the brightest, freshest green where the soil is high. The fallow 
 lands were well covered with water, while the river was rolling 
 along with impetuous and augmented force, and all the water 
 courses gurgling and frothing with repletion as they hurried 
 along. 
 
 The water guardians at this time are increased in number,
 
 CHAP. ix. DAMAGE CAUSED BY THE FLOODS. 229 
 
 and sometimes when, after long and heavy rain, the flood is too 
 large to be restrained within the banks, and rolls over into the 
 cultured fields, or when the banks, which are generally well 
 built with earthen sods, give way, the sovereign, or chief 
 minister, summons the entire male population to hasten to the 
 spot, and repair the breach. Sometimes this summons has 
 come on the Sunday morning, and the aged women and children 
 alone have constituted our congregations. 
 
 It was a strange spectacle, and were it not for the damage to 
 be dreaded, would have been a grand and beautiful sight, to see 
 one sheet of water spreading from the granite hill on which the 
 city stands, to the foot of the village-crowned mountain of the 
 giant Rapeto, a distance of about three miles to the west, and 
 stretching to the north as far as the eye could reach ; spotted 
 near the city with little artificially raised, verdant, and wall- 
 encircled islands, and farther off winding among clumps of hills 
 that seemed to rise like peopled islands from the waters. 
 
 I was myself a sufferer from a subsequent flood during the 
 first wet season I spent at the capital. My house stood on a 
 terrace about eighteen feet below the high road leading from 
 the palace to the north. On the western side a wall of clay 
 and stone, five or six feet high, formed the boundary between 
 my enclosure and the road. After three days' continuous rain, 
 and the wind blowing in strong fitful gales, with hurricane from 
 first W. then from N.W., the thermometer ranging between 
 55 and 00, ten or fifteen degrees lower than usual at this time 
 of the year; the foundations of the wall above. my house 
 were loosened, and at length six or eight yards of the wall gave 
 way under the accumulated pressure of the wind, and the water 
 rushing down the road. The wall, with part of the stones 
 and earth on which it stood, came down in the night with a 
 fearful crash, forcing in the end, and part of the roof of a small 
 house, which I had built close to my residence for photographic 
 purposes. The east end of the house was soon filled with the 
 ddbris, and what was worse, a new channel was opened for part
 
 230 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. IX. 
 
 of the flood from the road which forced itself through the 
 house, across the yard, and out by the western gate to the 
 hollow below. 
 
 Daylight showed a scene of terrible disaster ; the boxes inside 
 crushed by the weight of earth and stone, most of the glass and 
 bottles broken, and such of the chemicals as were soluble dissolved 
 by the water, or mixed with the mud and stones. An end was 
 put to my photographic operations until I could repair the loss 
 from England. Not more than one or two negatives which I 
 had removed into my dwelling-house were saved. I was thank- 
 ful that my dwelling-house was uninjured. My neighbours 
 promptly brought their labourers to help. The commander-in- 
 chief sent some soldiers, but mid-day was past before the place 
 was cleared, and the water led into another channel, when I 
 sent and purchased a quantity of cooked manioc for the labourers 
 and soldiers. The rain continued to fall, and my friends advised 
 me to remove my bed to the western side of my house, lest 
 another part of the wall should be washed down in the course of 
 the following night. Many houses were blown down during the 
 storm, two persons killed in one near my own, and another house 
 at a short distance, and part of the wall of one of the chapels, 
 was blown down, and much growing rice injured by the flood. 
 
 The Christians had been for some time accustomed to meet for 
 worship on Christmas day, and, as far as practicable, to assemble 
 on that day at each other's dwellings or places of resort. As the 
 season approached this year, they proposed, after their worship, 
 to go together to pay their respects to the king ; but hearing 
 that the priests had invited his majesty to attend their Roman 
 Catholic mass in the morning of that day, they decided to ask 
 him to attend worship at one of their churches, in another part 
 of the same day. He very readily promised to come to them 
 after he left the Catholic church, and afterwards sent them word 
 that the queen would accompany him ; but they naturally found 
 some difficulty in believing that such an event would really 
 take place. The church to which they had invited the king,
 
 CHAP. IX. THE KING AND QUEEN ATTEND CHRISTIAN WORSHIP. 231 
 
 though the first place erected exclusively for Christian worship, 
 had been for twenty years used as a prison, where Christians 
 and other criminals had been confined, often in chains ; whence 
 the former had been led forth to execution ; and it had been, as 
 the heathen considered, otherwise defiled. Although now 
 enlarged and appropriated to its original purpose, they could 
 scarcely persuade themselves that the son and the niece of the 
 late queen, and the actual rulers of the country would publicly 
 come to sanction by their presence Christian worship there. 
 They said it would be the greatest wonder which had ever 
 occurred in the capital, and that no one afterwards would be 
 able to say that the king and queen disapproved of the people 
 becoming Christians. 
 
 Finding that the king really meant to come, the men set 
 about to repair the broad path from the high road to the 
 building. The women and their slaves lined the inside walls 
 with new matting, and covered the floor with a kind suitable 
 for that purpose. A sort of dais, or slightly raised portion of 
 the floor was prepared on which chairs, furnished by some of the 
 nobles, were placed for their majesties, and others for their 
 suite. 
 
 Soon after eight o'clock on the morning of the 25th of 
 December, 1862, the king and queen passed my door in state 
 on their way to the Catholic church. I set out immediately 
 after on my way to Ambatonakanga, nearly half a mile beyond. 
 We had just concluded our own worship there, and a large 
 number from the other two congregations had joined us, when 
 about half-past nine the king and queen, attended by the 
 officers of state, and the British consul, were seen coming along 
 the main road, the sides of which were crowded with spectators 
 who were either gratified with the pageant, or wondering at 
 the event. 
 
 The heads of the Christians saluted their sovereigns as they 
 entered the yard around the rudely thatched church ; and, 
 followed by their suite, they were conducted to the seats pro-
 
 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. ix. 
 
 vided for them. There were more than two thousand persons 
 within and around the building. The royal party appeared sur- 
 prised at the numbers assembled, and both the king and queen 
 were remarkably attentive. After the service had closed and 
 they had left the place, her majesty expressed herself as im- 
 pressed with the order of the service, the attention of the 
 people, and as also pleased with the singing. 
 
 I could not but hope that good might result to the sovereigns 
 themselves from witnessing the proceedings, and the demeanour 
 of the Christians in their worship ; and I felt persuaded that 
 the influence of the royal visit would be favourable in at least 
 preventing our opponents from declaring that their majesties 
 were opposed to our public services, and to the attendance of 
 the people on our instruction. A week afterwards when the 
 king and the queen breakfasted with me on New Year's day, the 
 queen, in referring to the service, said she approved of any of 
 the members of her own household who were Christians attending 
 their own public worship. 
 
 I have already spoken of the wide dispersion of the Christians 
 during the long period of persecution which often scattered to 
 remote provinces members of the same Christian family. I 
 have also stated that on my arrival, after the termination of 
 more than twenty-five years of repression and interdict, the 
 Christians, like the ancient Israelites in Egypt, not only still 
 survived, but had multiplied, thus confounding and showing 
 the impotency of the powers combined for their destruction. 
 
 I have further stated that I found comparatively organised 
 and distinct Christian societies gathering in public assemblies 
 at stated times for public worship, and possessing acknowledged 
 leaders and teachers, whose authority and teaching in things 
 spiritual was cheerfully recognised and followed. In the capital 
 I found three such organised communities, besides smaller ones 
 existing in the surrounding villages. I found also that they 
 had advanced beyond this point, and had introduced the Scrip- 
 turally appointed ordinances of Baptism, and the Lord's Supper,
 
 CHAP. IX. STATE OF THE CHRISTIANS UNDER NATIVE PASTORS. 233 
 
 on a foundation apparently so firm and true, and in a form. so 
 simple and Scriptural as to render, excepting in matters of 
 detail or further development, any change unnecessary and 
 undesirable. 
 
 The successive steps by which the native Christians had, under 
 their peculiar circumstances, attained their present position, had 
 been to me a subject of deeply interesting inquiry. From a 
 number of narratives written at my request by intelligent men 
 during the several phases of Christian development among 
 them, most of whom fell in the last persecution, and from conver- 
 sation with others still living, I have learned that their progress 
 was not according to any previously arranged plan, but that 
 step by step, as their circumstances changed, and new exigencies 
 arose, they had changed their course of proceeding, and had 
 thus reached their present position. 
 
 Amongst the many wise and kind directions which the former 
 missionaries before being forced away had given to the Malagasy 
 Christians, there were two which seem to have been the cardinal 
 points by which, through the long night of darkness which 
 succeeded, their course had been directed. By the first they 
 had charged them to keep, in their faith and practice, close to 
 the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, that for life or for death, 
 in joy or in sorrow they would be safe there to fill their minds, 
 and feed their hearts with that and neither to receive, nor 
 trust, nor follow anything however specious or plausible, which 
 they did not find there. The second charge was not to isolate 
 themselves, except when violence or danger forced them 
 asunder ; to remember that in all the great interests of their 
 Christian life they were identical individually to walk witli 
 God to keep close to Christ ; but for the nourishing of their 
 Christian life, and the extending of their faith, to meet together 
 as often as possible, even if but few in number. 
 
 One of the first effects of these counsels upon the minds of 
 the Malagasy Christians when they found themselves left with- 
 out human help, was to invest with a priceless value in their
 
 234 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. IX. 
 
 estimation the Holy Scriptures. Few were the copies or por- 
 tions of these which they possessed, and nothing perhaps, except 
 life itself, was more sedulously guarded. Under these circum-' 
 stances it is refreshing to the mind to observe the effect of the 
 second lesson not to isolate themselves, even in their posses- 
 sion and enjoyment of the richest Christian treasures, but to 
 share with others their spiritual aliment as they would divide 
 their daily bread. This led to the subdivision of the Scriptures 
 into separate parts, which we found had been practised, and to 
 the written copies of portions of Scripture, which those who 
 were able to write had made for others, and to the persevering 
 efforts of many to commit large portions of the inspired volume 
 to memory. 
 
 It was in seeking to carry out the instructions above stated 
 that their Christian organisation had been produced. From the 
 time when the missionaries left, they endeavoured to meet for 
 worship on the Lord's day, and at other seasons, generally in 
 numbers of from four or five to twelve or more. With prayer 
 they associated the reading of the Scriptures. Where they had 
 more than one copy, each individual read a verse, two or three 
 reading out of one book, when copies were few. Then they 
 endeavoured to ascertain the meaning of what they read ; and 
 at first, each gave his opinion in rotation on the verse or para- 
 graph which had been read. In the course of time it became 
 evident to all that some among them either discerned more 
 readily, and by greater attention and thought were able to 
 exhibit more clearly, or impress more strongly on the minds 
 of their companions the meaning of what they read, than 
 others ; and before long, though they might continue to read 
 in turn their separate verses, these individuals were requested 
 to expound the passages of Scripture which they had read. 
 After a time these men, generally men of intelligence and 
 of irreproachable Christian character, especially if they had 
 been distinguished by any extremity of trial, or stedfastness and 
 constancy in suffering, came to be treated with respect, and to
 
 CHAP. ix. THE FIRST NATIVE AGENCY IN MADAGASCAR. 235 
 
 be regarded as the leaders of the little companies with which 
 they were associated. Some of these men had themselves been 
 baptized, and afterwards admitted to the fellowship of the first 
 churches organised by the early missionaries, comprising first 
 the mission families, and receiving native converts. All felt 
 that the command of their Divine Lord, and the practice of the 
 Apostles enjoined their observance of the ordinances of Baptism 
 and the Lord's Supper ; and the men who had been selected by 
 their companions to preside at their meetings for reading and 
 worship, were requested to undertake their administration. 
 There does not appear to have been any special requisition from 
 the society or congregation to these men, nor any special setting 
 apart, or other public recognition of their undertaking these 
 duties, excepting prayer referring to the arrangement. It seems 
 to have been done by a sort of general understanding amongst 
 themselves. This leadership soon came to include special visit- 
 ing of the sick, and attending at funerals. These latter, when it 
 was safe for them to be present, afforded seasons for usefulness, 
 as in the large gatherings, heathens related to the family of the 
 deceased, had thus an opportunity of hearing the Gospel, and 
 witnessing the demeanour and practice of the Christians. The 
 men thus selected were called Loha-fiangonama heads of the 
 congregation, and they discharged the duties of pastors. 
 
 Such was the native agency which we found in Madagascar, 
 and which the great Head of the Church had used in association 
 with Divine influence in sustaining the newly-implanted faith, 
 as well as achieving its triumphs in Madagascar. We recognised 
 the high mission of this native agency, thanked God on its 
 behalf, and regarded it as our duty to give whatever advantage 
 it could derive from our more ample information, and acquain- 
 tance with the Christian Churches in our own land, in refe- 
 rence to the promotion of the stability and extension of the 
 kingdom of Christ in the world. We assumed no superiority 
 over these Christian ministers, and regarded ourselves as pos- 
 sessing only such advantage above them as might arise from our
 
 236 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. IX. 
 
 more enlarged acquaintance with the subject, and experience 
 derived from connection with older communities. We did not 
 suppose that we could add anything to the credentials which the 
 Lord himself had given to these ministers, in the living epistles 
 known and read of all men Christian and heathen gathered 
 in such numbers around them. 
 
 Those with whom we associated were men of holy lives, well 
 acquainted with those parts of Scripture which they possessed, 
 especially with the teachings of the New Testament. We 
 regarded them as already in fact pastors of the several churches 
 with which thev were connected. We did not propose to ordain 
 them to the work of the ministry and the oversight of the 
 churches, but were ready to associate ourselves with them in 
 taking heed to the flock over which the Holy Ghost had made 
 them overseers.* That we should take part in this work ap- 
 peared desirable to the best men amongst the Christians, who 
 most urgently besought us to do so. 
 
 The state of Christianity in the capital, and the connection 
 of Ankova with the surrounding provinces, appeared to indicate 
 to us, that, for the present at least, we should concentrate our 
 energies on the capital, endeavour to raise the Christian insti- 
 tutions there to such a state of solidity and efficiency, as would 
 admit of their being left to native care alone, and then seek 
 other fields. The increase of adherents to the Christians, which 
 the cessation of persecution at that time favoured, and the 
 new and seductive influences to which it exposed the Christians, 
 rendered necessary some more compact and efficient organisa- 
 tion than that which already existed ; and, after repeated 
 conversation with the most intelligent men among the Chris- 
 tians, a concise statement of the leading principles on which 
 their ecclesiastical organisation should be framed, and the 
 regulations by which their proceedings should be directed, was 
 prepared. 
 
 The plan which we submitted to them was concise, simple, 
 
 * Acts xx. 28.
 
 CHAP. ix. FIRST PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN ORGANISATION. 237 
 
 Scriptural. We aimed at little beyond the setting forth of 
 the first principles of Church organisation, as contained in the 
 New Testament. It represented the promotion of the glory of 
 Christ, and the salvation of souls as the chief objects of all 
 purely Christian organisations. The former to be sought by 
 the extension of the kingdom of Christ among men, the latter 
 by progressive holiness, and growing conformity to Christ among 
 his followers. It declared the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ 
 to be the supreme power in the Christian Church, all other 
 power properly belonging to this world, and terminating with 
 the present life. It stated the will of Christ as revealed in the 
 Holy Scriptures to be the law of the Church of Christ in every 
 place. It enumerated the chief duties and responsibilities 
 which the law of Christ enjoins on all who avow their allegiance 
 to him. Among these it specified the meeting together for 
 worship and instruction ;; the observing Christian ordinances. 
 The education and Christian training of the young, and endea- 
 vouring to make their families nurseries for the church, cherishing 
 loyalty to the sovereign and the government, and promoting 
 peace and good-will among all classes of the people ; the 
 watching over each other in love to prevent any root of bitterness 
 springing up, and the promoting of the holiness and uprightness 
 of the church, before Christian and heathen ; the providing 
 for the support of the ministry, and other means of advancing 
 their own spiritual improvement, as well as the extension of 
 the kingdom of Christ among the heathen around them. 
 Besides setting forth these duties, the plan enumerated the 
 offices appointed by the authority of Christ in the church, and 
 the ordinances instituted by him. 
 
 Towards the end of November, we called a meeting of thirty 
 or forty of the chief men connected with the churches, and 
 read the document to them, explaining such parts as they 
 wished to have more fully stated, gave them the document, and 
 desired them to communicate its contents to their respective 
 churches, to ask the guiding influence of the Holy Spirit to
 
 238 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. ix. 
 
 enable them to consider well its contents amongst themselves, 
 and then to make us acquainted with the result. 
 
 After repeated conversations with different individuals, for 
 the space of two months, they came to us on the 26th of 
 January, 1863, and presented us with a written statement of 
 their deliberate and cordial adoption of the plan we had given 
 them, as the basis on which their churches should be formed, 
 and their proceedings regulated. On only one of the regula- 
 tions did they offer any remark, viz., on the obligation of the 
 people to provide the means of temporal support for their 
 ministers. They acknowledged that the principle was Scrip- 
 tural and right, but doubted whether their means were such as 
 to justify them undertaking the responsibility. Nevertheless, 
 they were willing to do what they could. 
 
 In presenting this plan we claimed no authority from our 
 fellow Christians in England, nor from a higher source, for any 
 of its recommendations, than their accordance, in our opinion, 
 with the teaching of the New Testament, and the usage of the 
 churches from which we had been sent forth. And we wished 
 them, if the regulations appeared to them not to accord with 
 Scripture, nor to be suited to their circumstances, to state such 
 opinions, that they might be reconsidered now, rather than left 
 till some future period. In the course of the long time they 
 had taken to consider the regulations, only two objections, and 
 one addition, were offered, none of them feasible, though, con- 
 sidering the state of the people, very natural. The first was 
 from some individuals of wealth, rank, and influence in one of 
 the congregations. These persons did not see either the 
 necessity or advantage of any regulations. Whatever instruc- 
 tion there was in the New Testament was accessible to them, 
 and they could apply it, if occasion should require them to do 
 so, and they thought it better to continue the existing course of 
 procedure without any rules at all. These men went so far as 
 to ask' the king and the chief minister if they did not think it 
 was undesirable to have any separate laws for the Christians.
 
 CHAP. ix. PROPOSED AMENDMENTS OF THE PLAN. 239 
 
 Both these high authorities, without, I believe, any exchange of 
 ideas on the subject, told them that if among the Christians 
 every one went his own way, some would be very likely to go 
 wrong; and that the missionaries knew best what was right and 
 suitable for the Christians. The great body of the Christians 
 connected with the congregation to which the men belonged, 
 were of the same opinion as the king and the minister had 
 been, so that the very proposal was beneficial rather than 
 otherwise. 
 
 The other objection was mentioned by some of the preachers. 
 They too did not see the necessity for any change in the mode 
 of admitting to the communion, the appointing of preachers, 
 or any other of their proceedings as ministers. These duties 
 had been discharged according to the decisions of their own 
 judgments, and they thought the affairs of each Christian society 
 or congregation should be left in the hands of the preachers- or 
 overseers, or at most with them and the deacons ; without any 
 reference to the other members of their fellowship. The 
 direction of their attention to the practice of the Apostles, and 
 the means by which they had attained their own position, viz., 
 the suffrages of their companions, seemed to satisfy them on 
 this point. 
 
 The addition proposed came from a very timid party. It was 
 that some of the high officers of the government should be 
 associated with the overseers and preachers in directing the 
 affairs of the Christians. This, it was said, would convince the 
 government of the loyalty of the Christians, and secure its 
 influence in the furtherance of their objects. A question or 
 two as to the actual past, and the possible future, iu reference 
 to the government and the Christians, caused the proposers of 
 this addition to regret that they had not remained silent. 
 
 The plan was afterwards submitted to the communicants in 
 each of the three large congregations, and adopted as the rule by 
 which their action as separate churches should be regulated. 
 It was first used in the selection and appointment of church
 
 240 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. ix. 
 
 officers, pastors, and deacons. We attended, not as officially 
 connected with them, but as communicants from churches in 
 England, appointed, and sent forth to preach the Gospel, gather 
 churches, and discharge the duties of pastors in such churches, 
 or in others previously gathered. We, therefore, stated that we 
 were prepared to attempt to gather congregations in parts of the 
 city in which there were none at present ; and to preside over 
 the churches which might be organised in these places ; or, if 
 they wished it, and it appeared in other respects preferable, to 
 associate w r ith the brethren whom they might invite to take the 
 oversight of the existing Christian societies. The Divine 
 blessing on the proceedings was then invoked, passages of 
 Scripture were read, especially from the Epistles to Timothy 
 and Titus ; and two brethren from among the native preachers, 
 and one of ourselves, were proposed to be the ministers of each 
 of -the existing churches. As some objection on the ground of 
 unfitness was raised in reference to one of those proposed, the 
 election for that church was postponed until a future meeting. 
 Pastors, or, as they are termed in the Malagasy New Testament, 
 Mpitandrina (overseers) were chosen to appoint and regulate 
 the time and order of their worship, to preach the Gospel, to 
 administer the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper, 
 to preside at their meetings, and to discharge other pastoral 
 duties.* 
 
 The peculiar state of the people, the exigencies of the time, 
 and the order of public worship as then existing, appeared to 
 require additional agency, and three or four men of irreproach- 
 able character, and of ability to preach, were appointed as 
 preachers or evangelists, to co-operate with the overseers in the 
 
 * "We considered that these men were filling the office, and discharging the 
 duties of overseers, when we came among them ; and this service was regarded 
 rather as a formal public recognition of the relationship into which they now 
 entered, and a specifying of its duties, than an appointment to the office. In the 
 event of appointing any of the young men, who had not previously discharged 
 the duties of the overseer, to that office, a public ordination service would be 
 held on the occasion.
 
 CHAP. ix. CHUECH OFFICERS APPOINTED. 2il 
 
 Sunday services,* the visiting of the sick, and the preaching of 
 the Gospel in the villages. Deacons, or persons to attend to 
 the secular affairs of the congregation, who might also be 
 preachers or not, were also selected and appointed, the number 
 in each church being regulated by the size of the congregation 
 and other circumstances. They, as well as the preachers," were to 
 assist the overseers in promoting the welfare of the congrega- 
 tion, and be subject to their direction in the discharge of their 
 several duties. The churches were then declared to be fully 
 organised Christian churches. 
 
 Such were the chief outlines of the plan on; which these first 
 native churches in Madagascar were formed,' and in its chief 
 features it has been, so far as I am aware, adopted by all that 
 have been subsequently gathered from the surrounding heathen 
 population. Hitherto the provision it supplies has been 
 found adequate to the requirements of the several Christian 
 societies ; and if faithfully and carefully administered, it promises 
 to be equally suited to the requirements of other churches in 
 the existing state of society ; while it will admit of any changes 
 or additional regulations which the progress of native society 
 may indicate. The course of events will in time to come pro- 
 bably require changes, but these may be made without violating 
 the principles or rendering the plan so extended less suitable 
 or efficient for the objects for which all ecclesiastical organisa- 
 tions are appropriately used.f 
 
 * Many circumstances concurred to render their public religious services 011 
 Sunday, and at other times, different from our own. The training and mental 
 habits of the native preachers qualified them better to offer a few explanatory 
 remarks, with a pointed application, than to deliver a long set discourse on a text 
 or passage of Scripture. The mental training and habits of the people also 
 rendered such preaching better understood, and more easily remembered by 
 them. The habits of both preachers and hearers had been formed during a time 
 of persecution, when they were never certain at the beginning of a meeting that 
 they might not have to flee suddenly for safety before its close. Hence, at this 
 time, three, and sometimes even four preachers, delivered in succession short 
 expository discussions, or exhortations, with prayer and singing in the inter- 
 vals, and this neccasitated the appointment of more preachers than overseers. 
 
 f In reference to pastors or overseers, and preachers, the necessities of the 
 
 11
 
 242 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. ix. 
 
 While the leaders of the Christians were arranging with us 
 the rules for the regulation of the churches, I continued my 
 usual services, sometimes encouraged in my visits to the king's 
 house by the large numbers assembled, occasionally including the 
 prime minister and other chief officers of the government, with 
 members of their families, who, though not themselves Christians, 
 expressed their approval of what they heard ; at other times 
 I was depressed in spirit by the absence of the results which 
 I so ardently desired to see. 
 
 The king continued occasionally to attend our services, having 
 gone on one Sunday to both the Protestant and Catholic 
 churches, and so far he encouraged our efforts. In the month 
 of January, he invited about sixty of the ministers and leading 
 Christians to a breakfast at his house, after which he expressed 
 his pleasure at the increase of the Christians, and assured his 
 guests of his readiness to promote their great work. Some 
 remarks were offered respecting the undesirableness of the 
 Christians confining their efforts to the northern end of the 
 capital, while the central and southern parts were destitute of 
 Christian teaching, and those present were recommended to 
 obtain sites, and erect places of worship in these populous parts 
 which, excepting so far as the labours of one of the missionaries 
 were concerned, were entirely destitute of the knowledge of 
 Christianity. 
 
 The king had encouraged this proposal. Several of those 
 present at the breakfast lent their assistance, and before long, 
 two chapels, and subsequently a third, were erected, and congre- 
 gations gathered. 
 
 About this time the king appeared to be increasingly interested 
 in subjects connected with religion ; he had also recently kept 
 himself free from intoxication ; but my hope in reference to him 
 
 churches in the capital and the surrounding villages impressed on our minds 
 the desirableness of training a better qualified native ministry, and some of 
 the brethren had already commenced classes for young men, in view of this 
 object.
 
 CHAP. ix. CONVERSATIONS ON RELIGION WITH RADAMA. 243 
 
 was often against hope. I find this statement in my journal 
 under the date of January 15th, 1863. After noticing his 
 attention, and his inquiries about what we had been reading, I 
 remark " The knowledge of the truth which he has acquired 
 I hope will be applied by the Divine Spirit to change his 
 heart ; but the habits of sin in which he lives, though not much 
 different to many around him, are fetters so strong and so firmly 
 fixed that no inferior influence can effect his deliverance. I look 
 upon him with affection and pity ; for, except by the means of 
 a deep, thorough, religious change of heart, I see no help for 
 him. But nothing is impossible with God." 
 
 I also find similar expressions of the feelings of my own 
 mind recorded after listening to the declarations made by the 
 king of the pleasure he had experienced in attending public 
 worship at some of the native churches. On the 5th of 
 February a new temporary chapel was opened at Ambohipotsy, 
 the southern end of the city, for the accommodation of the con- 
 gregation which had been gathered by Mr. Toy's indefatigable 
 efforts. The king was present, and when he afterwards told me 
 that the widow of Ramboasalama and Mary, as well as others 
 who were present wished to go again, I said I hoped he would 
 encourage them to do so, for it might be the means of their 
 becoming sincere Christians ; and when he said that he was 
 himself gratified, I observed that perhaps his pleasure arose 
 from the expressions of loyalty which he received, the sight of 
 the numbers assembled, and the general order of the worship, 
 especially the singing, which was always gratifying to him. 
 
 At times when the king has said he thought he should become 
 a Christian, I have replied, you know from the Bible that you 
 must leave off many things before that can be the case, and 
 I am afraid that you are not willing in your heart to do that. 
 To remarks of this kind he seldom replied, but would remain 
 silent, and I used to think he knew that I spoke to him from 
 pain, not anger. Deep as was my disappointment that lie 
 seemed so little disposed to follow what the Bible taught, yet
 
 244 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. ix. 
 
 when I considered the profligacy and vice by which his child- 
 hood and youth had been surrounded, the principles and 
 examples by which his character had been moulded and formed, 
 my feeling of pity for him was strong, for I could not help 
 imagining, that, under other circumstances, with associates who 
 would have implanted in his mind better principles, and sur- 
 rounded his youth with less vicious examples, how different the 
 result might have been; andl had sometimes thought thatforhim, 
 without the experience of the influence of Christianity upon his 
 moral nature, to have been better than he was, could scarcely have 
 been expected.* His exalted position rendered everything con- 
 nected with him more conspicuous than in others. His devia- 
 tions from rectitude of life which we so much deplored were 
 v.ery leniently regarded by the great mass of heathen society. 
 In apologising for him sometimes they said " He is young 
 yet ;" while others, associated with him, were reported to 
 b_e addicted to vices of which at that time I never heard him 
 accused. On the other hand, his disinterested benevolence, 
 his sense of justice, and his regard for human life never seemed 
 to fail. 
 
 An instance in which this was shown, and which manifested 
 also the insensate hate which idolatry fosters, occurred about 
 this time, January, 1863. The daughter of a priest, or idol- 
 keeper, at a village near Ambohimanambola, to the east of the 
 capital, became a Christian, and as she would not refrain from 
 praying to the true God, her father killed her with his own hand. 
 Her husband, fearing for his own life if he travelled alone, per- 
 
 * It was stated that though well behaved during public worship, Radama 
 sometimes ridiculed among his companions the language, manner, or state- 
 ments of the preacher. Considering his company it was not surprising that 
 amidst the banter and jest of their conviviality, it should sometimes be so. 
 The attention he had paid, the earnestness with which he had afterwards 
 urged his inquiries on the subjects presented, and the declarations of some who 
 were his frequent, if not constant companions, did not allow me to think it 
 was always so, or to constitute a reason why I should discontinue my efforts 
 for his religious advantage.
 
 CHAP. ix. ATROCIOUS PAGAN MURDER. 245 
 
 suaded some of the people to come with him to complain to the 
 king, who, when he heard the man's account, was deeply affected. 
 He instantly sent orders for the murderer to be brought to the 
 capital for trial, that if found guilty he might be put in irons 
 for life, and a fine imposed on the village for having allowed the 
 crime to be perpetrated there. I have seldom seen the king more 
 excited than when he told me of this barbarous murder ; and 
 though I considered it a great blessing for the people that he 
 neither countenanced nor connived at the cruelties to which 
 heathenism might urge its votaries, I was somewhat uneasy at 
 the manner in which one of the protectors of the idols had 
 wreaked vengeance upon his own child for forsaking them. 
 There had not been wanting instances of idol-keepers becoming 
 Christians. Some of the early martyrs had been such, and the 
 respected leader of the Christians at Ambohimanga was the son 
 of the keeper of the idol in that renowned place, and he had on 
 account of his faith refused the office when his father died ; 
 but he dwelt there in safety. I could not be surprised to hear 
 that the guardians and votaries of the idols were irritated at 
 the increase of the Christians, but this was the first symptom 
 of danger to the community, from their blind and vindictive 
 fanaticism.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Damage by the floods Description of the buildings of the capital Signs of 
 the progress of Christianity Uneasiness among the heathen Report of a 
 new kind of sickness Rumours of visions and voices from the unseen 
 world King's inquiries about a future state The queen's visit to Ambo- 
 himanga Homage paid on the road to anything belonging to the sove- 
 reignGrant of title deeds for the memorial churches -Meetings with the 
 sick dancers Opening of a new place of worship The queen's reception 
 and banquet on returning from Ambohimanga The banquet of welcome 
 Renewed rumours of messages from the spirit world against praying 
 The idol carried in procession Menaced death from the idol keeper 
 Death warnings laid at my door. 
 
 THE rainy season which commenced in November did not 
 terminate until March, and was characterised this year by a 
 succession of storms, which inflicted great loss, and threatened 
 much misery to many families. The overflowing of the 
 stream on the west of the plain, and the breaking of the banks 
 of the canal which supplied water for irrigation to a large part 
 of the cultivated ground, not only inundated the fields, but in 
 consequence of the violence of the flood swept away and 
 destroyed large quantities of unripe grain. The poorer families 
 who were only able to cultivate rice enough for food from one 
 season to another, looked forward to much suffering before 
 another crop could repair the loss they had sustained. There 
 was also much present distress from houses unroofed and 
 demolished, the walls being undermined and fallen, and having 
 in many instances carried down large portions of the declivities 
 on the edges of which they had been built. 
 
 Sometimes, on going out after having been a prisoner for 
 three or four days together, I was struck by evidence of the
 
 CHAP. x. ROADS AND PATHS IN ANTANANARIVO. 247 
 
 violence of the storms, and the absence of all means of security 
 against the injuries they produced. Drainage there was none- 
 The only attempt at anything of the kind was a little to the 
 north of Andohalo, where there was a broad gutter for a yard 
 or two, and then a drain covered with flat stones which ex- 
 tended across the road, and discharged a large body of water 
 down the western side of the mountain. The highways, and 
 narrow, intricate, angular, or crooked byways, were the surface 
 drains for the city. If the owners of the enclosures round the 
 houses could make an outlet for the water, into the narrow 
 path, or broader way, that was all they ever thought of doing. 
 
 The sides of the mountain on which Antananarivo stands are 
 comparatively steep, and there is but very little level land in the 
 whole city. The crest of the hill immediately above my own 
 house is not more than six or seven yards across. The palace 
 and the houses of a number of the chief nobles range along 
 the highest part of the mountain, and the courts, or yards 
 around them, are in part artificially constructed. The houses 
 below these, are generally built on terraces, often made b}~ 
 digging down the mountain on one side of the terrace, and 
 building up on the other. The lower sides of these terraces are 
 built up with the granite of the mountain, and if there is soil 
 at the back, it is necessary to build that up some feet high, 
 in order to prevent its slipping down when loosened by the rain. 
 
 Some part of the main road which is a gradual descent from 
 the palace to Andohalo, runs along below the houses of several 
 of the nobles, and chief officers. From the eastern side of the 
 road a succession of narrow terraces walled up in front rise to 
 the height of twenty or thirty feet. The sites on which the 
 houses stand on the descent on both sides of the mountain 
 are terraces walled up on the side towards the road and the 
 lower ground, which gives to the whole of this part of the city 
 a remarkable appearance, somewhat resembling a fortified place. 
 More than one English officer has remarked that certain parts 
 of Antananarivo reminded him of Malta, and at a first glance
 
 2*8 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. X. 
 
 there is some resemblance, but with this great difference, that 
 the walls of Malta are constructed on scientific principles, and 
 the carefully worked stones are laid in durable cement ; while 
 the terrace walls of Antananarivo are only chipped with a 
 hammer so as to approximate to a joint, and cemented with 
 common earth and clay, or they are mere dry walls. The 
 consequence is that the great body of water washing down the 
 main road like a flood, not only undermines the walls on either 
 side, but also penetrates the earth of the court yards, and oozes 
 through the walls of the terraces, which bulge out, and give 
 way, often filling up the road with earth and stone, stopping 
 traffic, and damming up the water, which, in finding or making 
 a new channel, not unfrequently causes great loss and danger. 
 
 Some portion of the main road between the palace and 
 Andohalo is paved with undressed stones of irregular sizes, and 
 I have often been astonished to see the large stones, and the 
 quantity of earth carried away by one flood ; sometimes where a 
 stone had been dislodged, a precipitous descent of three or four 
 feet in depth has been left, often reaching nearly across the 
 road. In some parts of the road from Analakely and Am- 
 paribe, where the soil appears to be a kind of red earth, mixed 
 with soft gritty sand, I have seen a chasm washed in one single 
 season out of the middle of the road four or five feet in width, 
 narrowing like a wedge to the bottom which has been six or 
 eight feet below the surface. 
 
 If it is possible to pass along the road it is seldom mended 
 until the end of the. rainy season, when the owners of houses 
 repair the part immediately in front of their own premises, and 
 a number of soldiers are sent to fill up the holes, and replace 
 any stones that may have been washed away ; but as this is 
 government service, followed by no pay, it is done in the most 
 superficial manner. The hollows even in the paved parts of the 
 road are often filled up with green sods, which last only a very 
 short time, and make the road as full of holes as ever after the 
 next heavy rain. Scavengers are unknown, and ashes, and
 
 CHAP. x. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS. 249 
 
 earth, and rubbish of every kind are thrown out on the high 
 road, and left until blown or washed away, or trodden down by 
 the feet of those who pass along. 
 
 Besides the palace and dwellings of the chief officers of the 
 government which stretch along the highest ground from north 
 to south, the houses in the upper part of the centre of the city 
 are on the whole superior to those of other parts. The walls, 
 which consist of upright planks, are many of them eighteen feet 
 high, with steep roof, and flat gable ends, having the door 
 always on the western side. Oval houses, with flatter roofs, 
 and sometimes a verandah, have been recently introduced. The 
 palaces, and some of the dwellings of the nobles, are roofed 
 with painted wooden or earthern tiles, all of native manufacture ; 
 but the houses in general are covered with a durable rush 
 thatching. In all the large steep-roofed houses, two long rafters 
 tapering to a point are fixed outside the thatch at each end, 
 and crossing each other at the top extend at the upper ends 
 five or six feet beyond the ridge. At the upper end of each 
 rafter a small bird, neatly carved in wood, is . fixed by a short 
 wire. These singular projections above the ridge of the roof 
 are called horns, and are peculiar to the Hovas, if not to the 
 division in which the capital stands : and the birds are heraldic, 
 as they represent the crest of at least that clan of the Hovas. 
 Any house belonging to the government in a distant part of the 
 island is also thus distinguished. 
 
 The walls of some of the inferior houses are composed of 
 bamboo canes, or a large species of rush. None are allowed to 
 be built of brick, stone, or clay. The houses are generally 
 enclosed within as much space as can be secured, by wooden 
 palisades, or walls of clay or stone ; a small piece of clear 
 ground being very valuable for drying rice arid other purposes. 
 A few bananas, or roots of sugar-cane, arc sometimes planted 
 Avithin these enclosures, and trees are highly prized for the 
 shade they afford.* 
 
 * In a scries of sketches made by Lieut. Oliver, R.A., who accompanied the
 
 250 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. X. 
 
 The interior arrangements of the houses vary with the cir- 
 cumstances of their owners. The small dwellings of the poor 
 have little more than roof, and walls, and a few stones fixed in 
 the ground for a fire-place, with a piece of matting on the 
 sleeping place. In the houses of the class above these, the walls 
 are plastered, or lined with matting. The sleeping place is either 
 screened off from the large space, or a separate room is pro- 
 vided. A good bedstead, with bedding, trunks, or boxes, and a 
 chair or two, with a table, will also be found in many rooms of 
 this class. 
 
 The houses of the officers, and others well to do, are all better 
 furnished ; and though their meals may be sometimes taken on 
 the floor, plates and dishes, glasses and superior cooking uten- 
 sils will be found. Bedsteads, chairs, tables, looking-glasses, 
 crockery-ware, and sometimes a clock will be comprised in 
 the furniture, and muslin curtains will be seen at some of the 
 windows. The kitchen is generally in a separate building, 
 though sometimes in the upper story. 
 
 The large palace is not ordinarily a residence, but is used on 
 all great state occasions. It is lighted at night by large glass 
 chandeliers, and ornamented with rather coarse native painting. 
 The Silver Palace, the residence of Radama when prince, and 
 the palace of the queen when princess, are well finished, and 
 beautifully furnished. The walls are covered with landscape- 
 figured paper. The floors are of differently coloured inlaid 
 wood. The furniture consists of carved tables, sofas and chairs 
 with damask seats, well made by native workmen, who were 
 taught to work in wood by M. Le Gros and Mr. Cameron. The 
 walls are hung with pictures, Swiss and German ; while jars 
 and vases of porcelain or glass, of foreign workmanship, and 
 
 English Embassy to Antananarivo on the occasion of the coronation of Radama 
 II., there is a very good view of this, as well as several other parts of the 
 capital, and of some of the scenes and places on the route. These sketches 
 were lithographed and published by Messrs. Day and Son, Lincoln's Inn 
 Fields.
 
 CHAP. x. DIFFERENCE IN THE MARKETS ON SUNDAY. 251 
 
 stands of artificial flowers, and very elegant vessels, vases, and 
 cups in solid silver, or filagree work in silver, of native work- 
 manship, ornament the tables and different parts of the room, 
 all creditable to the taste of the owners, and to the skill of the 
 workmen. 
 
 The gradual cessation of the rains enabled me to resume my 
 former duties at Ambohimitsimbina, where I read daily with 
 the king, who also constantly attended public worship on the 
 Sundays ; and though my labours there seemed less productive 
 of good than at some other places, yet, notwithstanding that 
 some of my auditors were heathen, and others made no preten- 
 sion to being Christians, the improved attention of some, and 
 the inquiries afterwards made by others at my own house, did 
 not allow me to remain altogether destitute of encouragement 
 even there. In other parts, although there was cause for 
 anxiety, there was much to exhilarate and cheer. My com- 
 panions were becoming increasingly earnest and efficient in 
 their work. The new congregation gathered by Mr. Toy in the 
 south, was prospering. The large church near the eastern 
 gate of the city, was nearly finished, the older congregations 
 were improving, and the influence of the Christians becoming 
 visible among the people. 
 
 Every Sunday I passed two of the daily markets in different 
 directions on my way to morning and afternoon worship. At 
 first no difference was perceptible between Sundays and other 
 days. The same bustle and hum of noise prevailed on all alike. 
 But in 18C3 the change became every month more marked. 
 First, fewer buyers resorted to the market, and those consisted 
 of servants or strangers. Then, some kinds of articles, such as 
 cloths and garments, were not brought on Sunday, and, finally, 
 there was little done in the market besides the purchase of a 
 smaller supply of meat, poultry, fish, fruit, and vegetables, or 
 other perishable articles. 
 
 But notwithstanding this evidence of the influence which 
 Christianity was exercising over those without, there appeared
 
 252 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. X. 
 
 about this time less religious earnestness, and more readiness to 
 be satisfied with things as they were, than we desired. It was 
 rather as if the perfect liberty enjoyed by the Christians dimi- 
 nished their earnestness to bring others into the Christian fold. 
 On the other hand, the fact that the king afforded no encou- 
 ragement to the idols or their keepers, but rather, as it was 
 thought, encouraged the Christians, whose places of worship 
 were rising in different directions, and who continued to 
 increase these facts made the votaries of the idols restless and 
 irritated at the continued diminution of their influence amongst 
 the people. They had expected that the desertion of the idols 
 which had attended the eclat of Radama's accession would be 
 but temporary, and that as that subsided, the former votaries of 
 Ramahavaly and the others would return. But they found that 
 whether they joined the Christians or not, the people still kept 
 aloof from the idols, and they were consequently disappointed 
 and enraged. Some threatened the people with the ven- 
 geance of the idols, and even asserted that the destruction of 
 the rice by the floods was caused by their displeasure. This 
 state of feeling neither surprised nor alarmed us, but it made 
 us feel the need of the utmost circumspection in our pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 It was also somewhere about this time that the prime 
 minister, in a conversation which I had with him about some 
 land for a church, expressed his disapprobation of the king's 
 associating so much with young men, and spending his time in 
 amusement, to the neglect of graver duties. I told him I 
 thought Radama's habits were improving, and that, excepting on 
 one occasion, when a foreigner from Tamatave had dined with 
 him, he had for a long time past, avoided intoxication. He then 
 expressed his disapproval of one of the appointments to 
 office which the king had made, and I said the king had 
 never mentioned the subject to me, but that I had understood 
 the appointment was only nominal. The prime minister 
 said, " So much the better." When I heard of this appoint-
 
 CHAP. x. STRANGE VISIONS AND VOICES REPORTED. 253 
 
 ment, I said to the officer who told me, that the king must 
 have taken leave of his senses. I heard also that Mary had 
 been weeping all day on account of the appointment by the 
 king. 
 
 When I went to the king I found him greatly excited by 
 some reports of a new kind of sickness which had made its 
 appearance in some of the villages at a distance from the capital. 
 These reports had been coming in from different parts for two 
 or three days past. The people, he said, had seen strange sights 
 in the air, and heard unearthly sounds. The spirits of his 
 ancestors had been seen in the heavens, and were coming to 
 Antananarivo, and some great events were about to occur, but 
 what, he did not know. He did not believe, he said, in ghosts ; 
 but as the reports came from such a number of persons nearly 
 forty and continued for three days, he did not know what to 
 think of it. " Was it a sign," he asked, " of the end of the 
 world ? " I said I did not think it was, for the Gospel was to 
 be preached to all nations before the end should come, and 
 there were many nations to whom it was not preached yet. I 
 added, that considering the great ignorance and the super- 
 stitious ideas of many of the people, he must not be surprised 
 at reports of such visions, which only existed in the imaginations 
 of those who reported them ; that if his ancestors were coming 
 we should soon see them, and if they did not come, we should 
 know it was only delusion. The king then said that those 
 who saw these visions were afflicted with some intermittent 
 sort of disease. It seemed to me a sort of hysteria, and I 
 said, perhaps the disease caused the people to imagine the 
 things which they thought they saw, and that if the sickness 
 came to Antananarivo, Doctor Davidson would tell us all 
 about it. 
 
 Our conversation continued until after sunset, when the kin"- 
 
 O 
 
 ordered lights to be brought, and seemed unwilling that I 
 should leave him. When at last I rose to depart, he asked me 
 to stay and dine with him, but this I declined. Two of the
 
 254 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. X. 
 
 men who had brought the strange reports were present during 
 the whole time. I questioned them about the sickness. They 
 said it was not continuous, but intermittent. It came on 
 towards evening. Those affected by it were then feverish, and 
 it was only while they were ill that they saw the visions. I 
 asked what the things they saw were like. They said like men. 
 How did the sick persons know they were the kings ancestors ? 
 This they could not tell. These men expressed their own firm 
 belief in the reality of the visions, and seemed to regard them 
 as the cause rather than the effect of the disease. When I left 
 I advised the king to be careful of his own health, that he 
 might be the better prepared to resist its effects should the 
 disease make its appearance in the capital. 
 
 In the course of our conversation after reading on the 
 following day, the king inquired with an interest which seemed 
 to show that he had been thinking on the subject, what was the 
 difference between the ability to reason, calculate, invent, and 
 imagine in man, and the instinct of animals, who did not seem 
 to think or reason ? I answered his inquiry as well and as 
 briefly as I could. He then asked whether we should have the 
 same thoughts and powers of mind in a future state, as in this. 
 I said we should probably have memories of the present life, 
 and mental associations in connection therewith, adducing the 
 parable of the rich man and Lazarus as evidence of this, but 
 that all there would be spiritual, and that the bodies, with 
 which whatever mental faculties we might possess, would be 
 associated, would have in them nothing material like our present 
 bodies, for they would be spiritual bodies. 
 
 At this time two Catholic priests came in, and as they had 
 business with Radama, I took my leave. 
 
 Three days after this, the king commenced a very earnest 
 conversation respecting the evil spirit troubling Saul after the 
 Lord had forsaken him. I could only say that God was some- 
 times represented as actually doing what he allowed to result 
 from natural causes, and that Saul's proceedings might arise
 
 CHAP. x. THE POWER TO CAST OUT DEVILS. 255 
 
 from jealousy or madness or other disease of mind, or might be 
 of Divine ordering as was Saul's selection and endowment for 
 the kingly office. 
 
 The earnestness of these inquiries was no doubt occasioned 
 in part by the continued appearance, as it was supposed, of 
 strange sights to those who were affected by the sickness already 
 mentioned ; for in the minds of most of the people superstition 
 more or less still lingers, and the heathen surrender themselves 
 wholly to it.* In the course of the same conversation the king 
 said that the Romanist priests had lately told him that God 
 would before long make manifest to all the people which was 
 the true religion the Catholic or the Protestant, by the exercise 
 of his power in casting out devils by the hands of the priests, 
 for he had given them power to do that. I replied that God 
 alone could expel evil spirits ; and I referred to the attempt of 
 the seven sons of Sceva, as recorded in the nineteenth chapter of 
 the Acts, to show that it had sometimes been dangerous even to 
 attempt it. The j king's officers who were present appeared to 
 be much impressed by the narrative. The king had at times 
 manifested more superstitious feeling, especially in connection 
 Avith his ancestors, than I had expected, and he was now more 
 excited than I liked to see. 
 
 The time for holding the annual bathing festival of the new 
 year had now arrived, but no orders were issued for its cele- 
 bration, and I supposed that the king did not intend to observe 
 it, perhaps on account of the superstitious ceremonies con- 
 nected with some parts of it. At this season also persons were 
 accustomed to visit, in mourning attire, the graves of their 
 relations, as well as to send presents to their friends, and in a 
 letter from the commandant and other friends at Tamatave, 
 I received a few pieces of silver, with the salutation Jaka 
 
 * Besides seeing visions and bearing voices, those affected could not, it was 
 said, be kept quiet, or retained in the house, but stretched out their limbs in- 
 voluntarily, ran, or jumped, or danced, wherever they went.
 
 256 . MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. X. 
 
 diajaka tokoa, as an expression of their remembrance and 
 goodwill at the season which they designated Asaramanitra, the 
 name of the annual festival. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 17th of March the queen, 
 accompanied by several of the high officers, and a number of 
 female attendants of rank, set out for Ambohimanga, the burial- 
 place of the late queen, to visit the tombs of her ancestors. 
 The queen did not proceed along the main road, but by a route 
 more to the eastward ; the time of the journey, as well as the 
 precise route, even in the minutest particulars, were said to 
 have been arranged by the diviners. 
 
 Amongst the articles required during the queen's sojourn at 
 this sacred place was a small box containing an idol, probably 
 one belonging to her family. A herald preceded the bearers, 
 shouting to the people in the road to turn aside and leave the 
 way clear, or, if they remained in sight to take off their hats 
 while the box was passing. The same custom, so far as 
 turning out of the way, and standing by the side of the road is 
 concerned, is observed when the sovereign, or anything belonging 
 to the sovereign, passes. Whether this custom arises from the 
 opinion that the sacredness belonging to the idols attaches to 
 the person of the sovereign and extends to whatever is con- 
 nected with them, or from the rule that everything must give 
 place to the king, I am not able to say ; perhaps it is from a union 
 of both. The custom itself proves at times rather inconvenient 
 to foreigners, whatever it may be to the Malagasy themselves. 
 Game, fish, fruit, rice, vegetables, even a small basket of salad, 
 or barrels suspended on a pole and carried along by the 
 water-carriers, and all packages designed for the sovereign, 
 are preceded by men who with a particular call, require every 
 person to remove out of the way, and stand on one side until 
 the bearers have passed. A number of cows with their calves, 
 some of them very fine animals, are driven along the main road 
 to the suburbs in the north every morning, and return to the 
 yard of the palace in the evening. A man walks before them
 
 CHAP. x. HOMAGE TO THE KING'S GOODS AND CHATTELS. 257 
 
 with a stick requiring every one to turn aside and stop until 
 the cattle have passed, and as they move along very slowly, it 
 is sometimes rather trying to parties in a hurry. There was at 
 one time an order, when many visitors were at the capital, that 
 foreigners were not to be stopped, and if at any time I chose 
 to alight and walk, I might go on, but my bearers never 
 passed either the king's cattle, or any articles belonging to 
 him, except where we could make a slight deviation from the 
 road. 
 
 The king had one or two favourite horses, and they were 
 the only exceptions to this homage, though it was paid to 
 earthen pans and water jars when carried along the streets. 
 Perhaps the custom was introduced, and its observance enjoined, 
 before the fh'st horses were sent by the English as a present to 
 the king, and therefore, being a modern introduction, this noble 
 animal is not included in the ancient customs. I used some- 
 times to joke with the drivers, or talk with them about 
 their cattle, and tell them, that though I wanted to get on, 
 it was right to obey orders ; and we were always good friends, 
 although the mornings and evenings being the times when I 
 was generally out, we met sometimes more than once in the 
 day. 
 
 Having learned by letters from home that the friends in 
 England had responded generously to the appeal for aid to build 
 the memorial churches, that the directors of the London Mis- 
 sionary Society had reason to expect the sum required for their 
 erection would be furnished, I applied for written titles to the 
 sites on which it was proposed to build them. The king, with 
 the consent of his ministers, having duly executed these in the 
 required form, I lost no time in fixing, in company with some 
 of the missionaries, the boundaries of the land with the govern- 
 ment officers, and arranging with the occupants for payment of 
 the value of any buildings or fences they might have con- 
 structed on the ground. I also engaged men experienced in 
 the construction of stone buildings to collect stones for the
 
 258 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. x. 
 
 foundation and commencement of the walls of at least one of 
 the churches. 
 
 The Christians engaged to help, and undertook to level the 
 ground. This was accomplished at Ambohipotsy towards the 
 end of March ; and as we proposed to begin at Ambatonakanga, 
 where a church seemed to be most needed, I was delighted, on 
 going down to the place early one morning in the first week in 
 April, to find almost the entire congregation employed ; the 
 masters, with their slaves, digging down the hillocks and 
 making the ground level, and the women and children carrying 
 away the earth, stones, and rubbish in baskets on their heads. 
 The preachers were superintending, and encouraging them, and 
 some were singing for joy. I gave them a piece of silver to 
 send to the market and buy cooked manioc for the workmen 
 when they should rest towards the middle of the day. We 
 rejoiced to see them all so willing to assist, but we felt that the 
 work must be accomplished by men engaged and paid for their 
 labour. The obtaining of lime appeared to be the chief diffi- 
 culty in accomplishing this work, and many specimens of stone 
 were brought to me from different parts of the country, but 
 none that were suitable. 
 
 It was while I w T as engaged with one of the missionaries, the 
 builders, the government officer, and the occupants of the land 
 on the high ground of Faravohitra, early in the morning, that a 
 young girl, apparently about eighteen or twenty years of age, 
 and very decently dressed, came dancing along the road up the 
 hill, attended by one or two companions. My friends said that 
 she was one of those afflicted with the dancing sickness, and 
 did not know what she did. As she danced along, first on one 
 side, and then, crossing over, danced a short distance on the 
 other, and our measuring line was near the path, I met her as 
 she approached the ground, and, pointing to the path, said she 
 had better proceed along that, as there were loose stones on the 
 side where I was standing. She made no answer, and appeared 
 to take no notice, but I did not see anything in her eyes or her
 
 CHAP. X. MEETINGS WITH THE SICK DANCERS. 259 
 
 countenance indicating disease. As I was going to another part 
 of the ground, I observed that this dancing girl was about to 
 pull up one of the sticks which we had fixed as marks or 
 boundaries. I therefore stopped and looked steadily at her, 
 and when I set off as if about to run towards the place, 
 she turned round and ran back with her companions. I 
 observed to the men who were with me that I did not think 
 the girl was ill, and that she certainly knew what she was 
 about. 
 
 On the following Sunday afternoon, when the public worship 
 was over, and I was leaving the courtyard of the king's house, 
 a wild-looking girl was dancing before the sentries who stood 
 with crossed bayonets outside the open gateway. She ap- 
 proached as I came near, and when the sentries drew back 
 their muskets to let me pass out, she suddenly stepped forward, 
 seized my arm, passed close to me until she got within the 
 bayonets, and then sprang down the steps into the courtyard ; 
 and when I turned round I saw her dancing towards the house 
 where I had just left the king and his officers. The soldiers 
 were afraid they should get into trouble, for they had received 
 orders not to admit any of the dancers. 
 
 This girl was the first I had seen about the precincts of the 
 king's house. On two other occasions I was somewhat troubled 
 with them, first when I was taking a photograph of the site 
 of the martyrs' death at Ambohipotsy. I had fixed my camera, 
 and was engaged in the tent, when my servant, whom I had left 
 to watch, called out that a sick dancer was coming. She was a 
 decently-dressed young woman, her hair not at all dishevelled. 
 She wore a light-blue scarf over her shoulders, the ends of 
 which she waved sometimes gracefully as she danced, not hur- 
 riedly, but lightly, and deliberately along, more like a damsel 
 dancing for pleasure, than the unconscious subject of disease. 
 I stood by my tent, and told my servant to hold the camera- 
 stand. She danced once or twice round the camera, coming 
 nearer each time, and as she put out her hand as if to take
 
 260 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. X. 
 
 hold of it, I hastened towards it, when she danced away on the 
 other side, and went dancing down the hill. 
 
 On another occasion, when I was taking a view of Ambato- 
 nakanga, the site of the first Christian church in Madagascar, 
 with my camera on one side of the main road, a crowd soon 
 gathered round me, and one of the dancing women came along 
 attended and followed by a number of persons. She looked 
 fatigued and excited ; and when she reached the place, made as 
 if she would have seized the camera as I stood before it. I 
 took hold of her arm, and leading her gently to the middle ot 
 the road, I said to the crowd, " Has this poor woman no friends?" 
 A woman said, "I am her mother," and a man called out, "I 
 am her brother." I expostulated with them for letting her go 
 about in that manner, and urged them to take her home, to 
 supply her with food and drink, and make her comfortable, in 
 some place where she could lie down and be quiet ; adding that 
 if they would go with me I would give them some medicine 
 that would perhaps help her to obtain rest ; or I would give 
 them a paper to take to Dr. Davidson, whose house was nearer 
 than mine. They made no reply to either of my proposals, but 
 led the poor woman away from the crowd, and I hoped to their 
 home. 
 
 I still continued to read with the king daily, and sometimes 
 found him a good deal excited about the running, or dancing 
 sickness, as it was called ; but at other times he was very atten- 
 tive to what I said, and conversed with earnestness on other 
 subjects. I had not yet seen any of the afflicted persons in his 
 house, though they appeared to be coming into the city daily, 
 in increasing numbers. None of the people resident in the 
 capital had yet been affected in this extraordinary manner, 
 though it was said that the disease continued to make its 
 appearance in fresh places amongst the villages. 
 
 Towards the middle of April the Christians on the eastern 
 side of the city had finished their large chapel, situated outside 
 the eastern gate, and though one hundred feet long and pro-
 
 CHAP. x. OPENING OF A NEW PLACE OF WORSHIP. 2G1 
 
 portionally wide, it was well filled on the day of opening. The 
 king and a large number of officers attended on this occasion, the 
 chapel being near the residence of many of them, and surrounded 
 by a large population far from any place of worship. The king, 
 several of his officers, and some of the missionaries dined with 
 me after the opening service, and we felt much encouraged by 
 the increased means of usefulness thus secured. It was greatly 
 needed, and is the only place of the kind on the eastern side of 
 the capital. The ground, which is in a suitable locality near 
 the great eastern road, was given by one of the people, and 
 with a little assistance from the missionaries, a few of the 
 nobles, and their fellow Christians, it had been built by the 
 people themselves. One of the ministers, one of the deacons, 
 and about thirty of the people came from Ambatonakanga to 
 help to form the nucleus of a church and congregation, and on 
 the first communion Sunday fifty-eight persons united in par- 
 taking of the Lord's Supper in the newly-erected house of 
 worship, in which, on the same occasion, ten adults were bap- 
 tized. A school was subsequently opened for the children in 
 the neighbourhood. A stronger church has recently been 
 erected on the same spot, and altogether the progress of the 
 Gospel here is peculiarly encouraging. 
 
 Soon after the opening of the new church, the queen and her 
 suite returned in state from her visit to Ambohimanga. The 
 day was remarkably fine, and the pageant more native, and less 
 foreign, than any I had witnessed. The king had invited us to 
 the reception of her majesty, and to the banquet which was 
 provided for her welcome. About noon I went to the palace, 
 where 1 read with the king. Afterwards, when the firing of 
 the cannon, the music of the bands, and the shouting of the 
 people announced the approach of the queen, we followed the 
 king into the large front court, to await the arrival of" the 
 cortege. 
 
 The queen rode with a little child, her adopted daughter, in 
 a cool and roomy Indian palanquin with painted panels, the
 
 2G2 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. X. 
 
 ladies of her court and the officers and judges in open native 
 palanquins, the ladies with parasols or umbrellas of scarlet, 
 purple, pink, and other attractive colours. When the queen's 
 bearers halted the king advanced, and with graceful ease greeted 
 her majesty, and assisted her to leave her palanquin. After 
 advancing a few steps the queen stopped, her ladies in attendance 
 gathered on each side, while the" judges and other high officers, 
 some in long scarlet coats, stood behind. 
 
 Her majesty wore a yellow silk dress, a light scarf, and a gold 
 ornament on her head, around which was a light wreath of a 
 beautiful bright-leaved plant, with a few yellow flowers. All 
 the ladies-in-waiting also wore light and tastefully-woven 
 wreaths of foliage and flowers. The officers and nobles had 
 either bouquets of flowers or wreaths around their hats. All 
 the attendants, and even the bearers who thronged the court 
 behind, had also either large wreaths of the same kind, or 
 heaths, creepers, or other green and flowering plants, around 
 their heads or their necks. The effect was novel and pleasing, 
 although some of the flowers and buds were drooping in the 
 sun. It seemed as if the entire company were returning from 
 some sylvan fete. 
 
 The king, splendidly dressed, stood surrounded by his officers 
 and his guests two or three yards in front of the queen. After 
 remaining silent a few seconds, her majesty commenced, in a 
 gentle and agreeable voice, and with much dignity and ease, an 
 address to Radama, designating him her lord, her sovereign, 
 and, I thought, using a still higher appellation, tendering to 
 him her duty, homage, and affection, reciting his ancestry, 
 his position by hereditary descent, and tendering her hasina, a 
 silver dollar, with the salutation or wish that he might live 
 many years. 
 
 The king in return very gracefully himself took the hasina 
 from her majesty's hand, bowed his acknowledgment of the 
 homage rendered, most cordially greeted her return, called her 
 his sovereign or royal lady, recited her descent, and reciprocated
 
 CHAP. x. THE BANQUET OF WELCOME TO THE QUEEN. 263 
 
 the salutation or wish for her happiness and length of days. 
 The scene was new and most interesting to me. I was very 
 near them both. There was no acting, nothing forced or unna- 
 tural on either side. The queen, who habitually spoke with 
 ease and with self-command, invariably acquitted herself well 
 and never more so than on this occasion, and the king was 
 cheerful, easy, and yet dignified. As soon as he had ceased 
 speaking the band began to play the national air, the queen, 
 accompanied by her ladies, entered the palace, and the king and 
 his officers retired. 
 
 At three o'clock the guests assembled to participate in the 
 banquet of welcome to the queen, which was held in the large 
 hall of the great palace. It was arranged in a style of 'nearly 
 equal magnificence with that of the coronation, though for a 
 smaller number. The king presided, the queen sat next him 
 on one hand, and the highest lady of the royal family on the 
 other. The commander-in-chief, the chief judge, and the 
 English and French consuls, with the ladies who had attended 
 the queen, including Mary, were all seated at the cross table at 
 the upper end of the hall. 
 
 The banquet itself was sumptuous, and the conversation 
 agreeable, although, in consequence of the absence of foreign 
 visitors, and also of those causes of excitement and hilarity 
 which were connected with the great event of the coronation, 
 there was less vivacity amongst the guests than on that 
 occasion. The king and queen conversed together, I thought, 
 more than usual, and with much cheerfulness, as if glad to meet 
 after the weeks during which her majesty had been absent. 
 
 Most of the ladies still wore some of the flowers with which 
 they were decorated on their arrival. These were objects of 
 interest to me, and I was anxious to learn from my companions 
 on either hand the names, habits, and localities of some of the 
 flowers which they themselves or others wore. There were 
 some nice small-flowered Bauhinias, one or two creepers, but 
 most of them seemed to be from shrubby, hard- wooded plants.
 
 2G4 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. x. 
 
 One or two kinds were pleasantly fragrant, but the greater 
 number appeared to have been selected for the colour of the 
 flowers. More than one of the ladies gave me, before we sepa- 
 rated, the flowers which they wore ; I obtained others from 
 some of the attendants, and hoped, before I left Madagascar, to 
 obtain either seeds or plants of the same, as Ambohimanga is 
 celebrated by the native bards for its wood-covered sides, and I 
 had seen many flowers in the adjacent country. 
 
 Though there was no lack of wine on this occasion, I noticed 
 with pleasure that there was not much drunk. After the usual 
 loyal toasts had been honoured, coffee was served, and a little 
 before sunset we left the palace. There was no dancing in the 
 evening, many perhaps having had sufficient exercise during the 
 morning's journey. 
 
 Two or three days after this I told the king that the Chris- 
 tians had been clearing and levelling the ground so that we 
 might determine the exact position in which two of the churches 
 should be placed. I told him also that I wished to prepare 
 stone, and gather other materials in readiness for beginning as 
 soon as I should hear whether Mr. Cameron, to whom I had 
 written, would come to help us, and I asked if he could supply 
 me with some gunpowder for blasting the rock with, until I 
 could obtain it from Tamatave, or Mauritius, when I would return 
 it in kind. He said he w r ould send word to the prime minister 
 to let me have some, as the magazine was near his dwelling, 
 and in charge of some of his people. He afterwards informed 
 me that fresh tidings had been brought from some of the villages 
 to the north, stating that his ancestors were coming to tell him 
 what was to be done for the good of the country, that they 
 were coming in great numbers with pomp and power, with 
 cannons, muskets, and swords, &c. 
 
 I observed, " Do they say so ? " " Yes," said the king, " they 
 are certainly coming so." I then said, " How do you think 
 they got the cannon ? there arc none where they are, and you 
 know Andrianampoinimerina and your most renowned an-
 
 CHAP. x. RENEWED RUMOURS OF VISIONS AND VOICES. 265 
 
 cestors were all dead before any cannons were brought here, so 
 they could not have taken them with them." 
 
 I watched the king's countenance, and saw his lip curl with 
 that former smile which he used to wear when anything like 
 delusion presented itself, but he turned away in silence, and 
 then began to talk about something else. 
 
 In my earlier conversations with the king about this not 
 altogether new but strange sickness, which, so far as the reports 
 might be credited, seemed to be a kind of intermittent disorder 
 with periods of delirium, or a species of hysteria readily in- 
 fectious, I had told him that the time of the year being the 
 end of the rainy season, it was not at all remarkable that it 
 should occur in Madagascar, and that, like other epidemics, it 
 would cease ; and certainly after two or three weeks we saw 
 very few cases, and heard it less talked about, as it had nearly 
 ceased. But some time in the month of April reports came of 
 its reappearance in other parts, and with increased violence. 
 Numbers, said to be paid to come, began to find their way into 
 the city, singly or in small parties of three or four persons, and 
 not always young as at first. These, running or dancing, and 
 sometimes singing, were accompanied by friends or relatives, 
 some carrying bottles of water, as those who were afflicted 
 generally complained of thirst, others clapping their hands and 
 singing or drumming, or making rough music by beating two 
 hollow pieces of wood against each other. 
 
 Reports of visions seen and voices heard were again brought, 
 and evidently obtained a sort of credence from the king, though 
 still regarded as originating to some extent in fanaticism, or in 
 the cunning of those who worked upon the ignorance and 
 .superstition of the people. 
 
 The rumours of the voices and visions now found their way 
 to the king, and seemed to be gaining increasing influence over 
 him. It was stated that his mother, the late queen, had 
 appeared to some of these persons, and had said that she was 
 disturbed and offended by the increase of the praying in
 
 266 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. X. 
 
 Imerina, which she did not allow, .and also at the swine being 
 permitted to pollute the city. The bearers of the reports also 
 carried presents to the king, which they said they had been 
 directed by the spirits of his ancestors to bring. I sometimes 
 found these people in his courtyard, but never saw them dancing 
 there. When he spoke to me on the subject, I replied more 
 seriously than I had done at first. I said the sickness, so far as 
 it was real, presented nothing unaccountable, and the pretended 
 revelations were, I thought, the effects of disease, or the in- 
 ventions of those who reported them. I said it was strange, if 
 the sickness was sent on account of praying, and was to increase 
 until the praying should be stopped, that it was sent only to 
 those who never prayed, and that as those who prayed had 
 entirely escaped, it was rather an encouragement to pray than 
 otherwise. It was not likely that those who had not grieved 
 the spirits of his ancestors should be made to suffer for those 
 who had, and I did not think there was any foundation for the 
 reports that were brought. I asked him particularly one day 
 how he thought it happened, that though there were Christians 
 where the sickness appeared, no Christian had been affected 
 with the disease, that every one who suffered was a heathen ? 
 He said he did not know, but the persons who came to him 
 certainly believed that they had seen the visions, and heard the 
 words they delivered. He sometimes said he could not under- 
 stand it, at other times he said he thought some of it must be 
 true. Still he would read the Bible with me, and listen 
 attentively to my remarks on what we read, often to the great 
 questions affecting the soul and its salvation. 
 
 The afflicted, as they were called, now began to manifest 
 great aversion to pigs, and their companions drove them away. 
 Then they seemed to be troubled at the sight of any covering 
 on the heads of persons in the street as they passed along, and 
 they or their friends motioned to those whom they met to take 
 their hats off, and if they did not, the diseased appeared to be 
 greatly agitated, and would themselves proceed to take the
 
 CHAP. X. SUFFERINGS OF THE DELUDED NATIVES. 2G7 
 
 hat off the head of the wearer, so that disturbances in the 
 streets became imminent. An appeal by the party promoting 
 the movement was then made to the king, who issued an order 
 that all persons meeting any of the afflicted should take off 
 their hats, if required, under penalty of a fine on refusal. 
 
 On hearing of this order I went to the king, in company with 
 another missionary, to ask if it was true, and if it applied to 
 foreigners. He said every one was at liberty to take their hats 
 off if they chose, but the order did not apply to us. I begged 
 that he would kindly cause that to be made known, or we might 
 get into trouble. We never took off our hats, and were never 
 molested ; but the order was exceedingly annoying to the 
 Christian officers, and I have more than once been with them 
 when they have turned into a side path, or a courtyard, rather 
 than meet one of these vagrant dancers. 
 
 I have no doubt that some of the poor creatures whom 1 
 occasionally saw lying on the rocks in the sun, or on a plot of 
 grass by the roadside, or met toiling and perspiring along the 
 road, evidently ready to sink from exhaustion, were really ill ; 
 and I always spoke kindly to them, offering them water to 
 drink if I could get it, or some medicine ; but I always remon- 
 strated with their relatives or friends for not keeping them at 
 home and attending to their wants, or seeking remedies for 
 their sickness. I looked upon them chiefly as the deluded 
 victims of evil men. These poor creatures used to beg ripe 
 sugar-canes, and carry them every day and lay them on the 
 sacred stone in Imahamasina, the great parade ground, as 
 offerings to the spirits, or the idols, and used to add to the 
 offerings small pieces of money. I have often seen them as 
 I passed along the road under the trees at the end of the row 
 of cannons,* dancing round the stone after they had laid their 
 offerings upon it. One or more of the keepers of the idols was 
 always there to see that no one appropriated these offerings, 
 
 * Sec Frontispiece.
 
 268 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. x. 
 
 and when the votaries had departed, two or three of these 
 guardians of the idols came every evening to the sacred stone, 
 gathered the offerings of sugar-cane and money which had 
 been deposited during the day, and divided it amongst them- 
 selves. 
 
 Finding that the numbers who came into the capital, and the 
 reports of the probable increase of the malady, were producing 
 some effect upon the king's mind, the keepers of the idols had 
 one of the large national idols carried in procession through the 
 city as a means, they said, of averting the threatened visitation ; 
 they also laid charmed medicine along the boundaries of the 
 city, to keep away the sickness. Meanwhile the mind of the 
 king appeared to succumb to the devices of the idol-keepers. 
 By some means or other his son, a boy about ten years of age, 
 was wrought upon so as to lie in bed with supposed fever, then 
 to get up and run to the southern end of the mountain and 
 back, and afterwards to declare that he had heard voices from 
 the spirit-world, and that the spirit of the renowned ancestor 
 of the king had, through his son, sent his veloma or salutation 
 to him, arid I understood that the king was at the time ex- 
 tremely gratified by this direct recognition from his ancestors. 
 I had not many opportunities of talking with him after this 
 had occurred ; but I saw that the movement which had been 
 made to regain for the patrons of the idols some influence over 
 his superstitious feelings, had been, at least for the present, to a 
 great extent successful. 
 
 Before this last pretended revelation through the king's son, 
 I had been myself in as great peril, apparently, as ever in my 
 life. In the beginning of May I went, at the usual time, to 
 the king's house to read and write with him, but found, on my 
 arrival, the king, and the French consul, and several others, 
 looking at a number of sick persons dancing in the large room 
 in the stone house. When the king saw me enter, he imme- 
 diately came towards me, and, taking me by the hand, led me to 
 the room where we usually sat to read or write and converse.
 
 CHAP. x. PERSONAL DANGER FROM THE HEATHEN. 269 
 
 The French consul, and two or three of the king's attendants or 
 friends, followed ; and there were one or two persons in the room. 
 I remarked that if he was occupied we had better not read ; but 
 he said he wished to do so, and ordered the attendants to close 
 the door. We then sat down, and I opened the book and 
 began to read, but as the noise in the next room rather inter- 
 rupted us, the king ordered them to make their music less loud. 
 We had not, however, been reading long, before, amid shrieks 
 and cries, there was a rush towards the door, and a battering with 
 stones which appeared to break it, and then a number of 
 dancers, drummers, and idol-keepers rushed with frantic noise 
 into the room. The king, waving his hand to the door, ordered 
 them out, and the door was fastened. 
 
 Almost immediately after, another party of dancers, with a 
 number of most frantic and repulsive-looking men, came round 
 the outside of the house to the door leading into the courtyard. 
 The king ordered them away, but as they did not leave, the 
 attendants proceeded to shut the thick wooden door inside. The 
 men who were without then rushed forward to prevent the closing 
 of these doors, and there was for some moments a struggle be- 
 tween them. At length the door, and the window-shutters also, 
 were closed, and we were in perfect darkness. In a few minutes 
 shrieks and cries were again heard in the inner room. The 
 door was opened, I suppose, by the attendants who knew the 
 voices, and one or two women with a child, shrieking, " I shall 
 be killed ! I shall be killed ! " forced their way into the room, 
 and the door was again fastened. I felt a woman's dress, as she 
 passed me and crouched down against the wall opposite the 
 table at which the king and I were standing. She continued 
 sobbing, and the child crying out in fright. I asked, " Who is 
 that ? What child is that crying in fear ? " But no one 
 answered. As we stood in the dark, noise and wrestling were 
 heard near the door in the inner room. The king drew closer, 
 leaned his shoulder against mine, and took rny hand in his, 
 which I felt was trembling exceedingly, and in this manner we
 
 270 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. x. 
 
 stood together in the darkness for some time. At length, as 
 the noise ceased outside, the wooden door was opened, and a 
 half-glass door was closed instead. By the light thus admitted, 
 I saw that it was Mary sitting on the floor against the wall, 
 with the king's son in her arms, still crying in terror. I called 
 him by name, spoke kindly to him, wiped away the tears 
 from his face with my handkerchief; and on my telling him that 
 no one would hurt him, he looked up and appeared somewhat 
 soothed. 
 
 The dancers again came to the outer door, and one or two of 
 them entered, but the king authoritatively waved them off, and 
 the door was bolted. Some of the idol-keepers, one especially, 
 a most repulsive-looking man, with a large stone in each hand, 
 came and shook the door, raising a stone with a menacing look, 
 but seeing the king standing close, and holding my hand, he 
 retired without forcing an entrance ; and all having again 
 become quiet, the king proposed that we should read. I at first 
 declined ; but thinking it might help to calm his own spirit, I 
 sat down with him, and though at times he could scarcely 
 articulate, we finished our chapter. 
 
 At sunset the king ordered lights to be brought, and as he 
 appeared unwilling that I should leave, I remained with him 
 until long after dark. I observed that he seemed depressed 
 under the idea that there was a kind of fatality about this 
 visitation of the spirits. He seemed bewildered at the irresistible 
 power which took possession of the sick, and, fearing it would 
 increase, said he did not know what would be the end. I 
 satisfied myself by replying that I had seen nothing which did 
 not admit of explanation by natural causes ; that what we had 
 witnessed I believed had been produced by the superstitious 
 feelings of the poor ignorant people, who were to be pitied, and 
 whose minds had been worked up to a state bordering on frenzy 
 by the fanaticism and falsehood of the idol-keepers. " As to 
 the end," I said, " we none of us knew what that would be," but 
 I added, " One thing I do know, that there is a God above all,
 
 CHAP. x. DEATH TOKENS LAID AT MY DOOE. 271 
 
 who controls all things, and can say to any increasing calamity 
 or evil, ' Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther.' Put your trust 
 in Him, do right, and all will be well" 
 
 Mary, who was still sitting on the ground, and had scarcely 
 spoken, signified her assent to these remarks ; but I could see 
 that the threatenings of the idol-keepers were taking effect 
 upon the king's mind, and that he was beginning to fear them. 
 
 Several of my friends afterwards told me they had learned 
 subsequently that the visit of the dancers to the king's house 
 had been arranged by the supporters of the idols as the occa- 
 sion when my life should be taken while paying my usual visit 
 to the king. Though sensible myself of what the appearance 
 and the proceedings of the most violent of these infatuated men 
 threatened, I was not afraid. I felt that I was discharging my 
 duty, and might rely on the Divine protection. It appeared to 
 me that if any such purpose had been formed, the presence of 
 the French consul, and of one or two persons known to be my 
 friends, together with the manner in which the king came close 
 to me, and held my hand in his, thus seeming to make my 
 personal safety identical with his own, might have been the 
 means by which I was preserved from injury. 
 
 About a week before this occurrence, my servants had been 
 greatly alarmed by a charm or medicine of sorcery or divina- 
 tion,* betokening evil, having been laid at my door or window 
 for more than a week, generally while we were at prayer. 
 Amongst the heathen such a thing is looked upon as fore- 
 shadowing death. Of course I had no fear of any charms, but 
 I thought it probable some of the heathen party might attempt 
 to set fire to my house, and in the confusion produced might 
 use the opportunity for the injury of myself or my property. I 
 
 * This charm consisted of a small basket, three or four inches in diameter 
 and depth, in which were two pieces of granite stone, called " death stones." 
 A hole was burned in the basket, which indicated calamity by fire. Amongst 
 the contents were hedgehog's bristles, parts of scorpions or centipedes, hair 
 earth said to be from a grave, and other strange ingredients.
 
 272 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. X. 
 
 therefore took one of the packets to the king, who said it was 
 the work of adala foana, an empty fool, adding that I should 
 have guards to protect me from fire. I also spoke to the 
 commander-in-chief and the prime minister, who sent two 
 soldiers to watch in my yard eveiy night.
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Causes of the hostility of the heathen State of parties at the capital Plots 
 and rumours Proposal of the King to permit duelling and fighting for 
 the settlement of quarrels Final and unsuccessful appeal of the nobles 
 and heads of the people to the King My last interview with Radama 
 Friendly warning and counsel from the Prime Minister Commencement 
 of the revolution in Antananarivo Seizure and death of the menamaso 
 Negotiations between the King and nobles Efforts of the King to save 
 the lives of his councillors Notices of some of the men who suffered death 
 Proceedings on the Sunday Compromise between the King and the 
 nobles Surrender and execution of the menamaso Seizure and violent 
 death of the King Removal and interment of his remains Brief notice 
 of Radama II., and the chief events of his reign. 
 
 THE hostility of the supporters of the idols against me arose, 
 as I was informed, from the antagonism of my teaching and 
 efforts to their authority, and to the reception of their pretended 
 revelations by the people, as well as from my influence with the 
 king, whom they despaired of gaining over to their interests so 
 long as I was daily with him, and retained his confidence. I 
 was also obnoxious to them because I had refused to turn aside 
 out of the road, or to take .off my hat when I met with any of 
 the sick people in the streets, but had rather remonstrated with 
 their friends for not showing more kindness, and taking better 
 care of them ; for which interference I often received the com- 
 mendations of the bystanders, and the approval of the great 
 body of the people. 
 
 That the adherents of the idols, alarmed by the increase 
 of the Christians, were making a desperate effort to arrest the 
 decline of their influence, and to check the progress of Chris- 
 tianity was evident to all ; and there were reports of their
 
 274 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XI. 
 
 intention to have recourse to more violent measures, such as 
 attacking the Christians on a Sunday, or other public occasion, 
 when numbers would be gathered together ; but, so far as I 
 heard, though some of the Christians were alarmed, I think the 
 idolators were too well aware of what the consequences would 
 be, and of the difficulty of bringing any great number of their 
 adherents together at any given time and place, without the 
 authorities having full knowledge of their movements, and of 
 the immediately available force which the Government always 
 had at its disposal, to venture on so perilous a course. 
 
 The party TV ho wielded the power of the state were, at that 
 time, not more favourable to the restoration of the supremacy of 
 the idols than were the Christians. Besides these two parties, 
 the Christians, and the votaries of the idols, of the Tangena and 
 of divination, there were two others, distinct from both, though 
 connected with them, who were affected by the movements 
 which this sickness, and these pretended revelations^from the 
 spirit world, brought prominently upon the scene. One of these 
 was the menamaso, which might be called the ministry of the new 
 reign ; the other was the survivors of the council or ministry of 
 the reign which had passed away, and their respective adherents. 
 
 Chief among the latter were the commander-in-chief of the 
 late queen, and his younger brother, with two or three others, 
 all more or less united by intermarriage or other ties, and who, 
 though not all Christians, were neither all heathen, nor favour- 
 able to the claims of the idols. Several of these nobles were 
 members of the existing government, which was chiefly com- 
 posed of persons who were called the menamaso, or red eyes, 
 the exact import of which is not very clear. The mena- 
 maso were comparatively young men, some of them members 
 of the royal family, of good ancestry, though not connected 
 with the families which had held the chief offices of govern- 
 ment under the late reign. There was also, as the French 
 Consul observed, the antagonism of clan or race between 
 them. The menamaso had been the companions of the king
 
 CHAP. xi. DIFFERENT PARTIES IN THE STATE. 275 
 
 from his youth up, and on his accession to the throne some of 
 them became, not only the official members of the present 
 government, but also the king's personal confidential agents 
 and advisers ; others retained little more than a nominal rela- 
 tion to the king and his service. Some of them were generally 
 esteemed as intelligent, upright, and patriotic men respectable 
 according to the standard of respectability among the non- 
 Christian portion of the community. Others were neither 
 better nor worse than those in the same grade of native society, 
 and some were men of bad principles, and notoriously vicious 
 lives, despised by all the respectable classes of the community. 
 
 It was reported that the prime minister had disapproved of 
 the proceedings of the menamaso connected with the govern- 
 ment, in the exercise of patronage or the selling of offices, 
 and had interposed to prevent the carrying out of their plans, 
 very much to their discomfiture, which led to .a rumour that 
 they had threatened his life, as well as that of some of his 
 adherents. It was also reported that they were associated with 
 the supporters of the idols in sending the pretended sick people 
 from the country with messages to the king. Probably it was 
 so to some extent ; but the idol-keepers could expect little aid 
 from the menamaso beyond their influence with the king ; and 
 if the latter sought the aid of the idol-keepers, it could only 
 have been with a view to the furtherance of their own political 
 intrigues, for there was not an earnest friend to the idols 
 amongst them. 
 
 But the rumour affecting the minister's life, whatever might 
 be its effects in rallying his friends around him, never seemed 
 to me entitled to much credit. The party could scarcely have 
 expected to succeed with so wary a veteran as Rainivoninani- 
 traniony, and the attempt must have been death to its authors ; 
 for they knew that the whole military force of the country was 
 in the hands of the minister and his brother, and that, though 
 the king was popular with the army, in consequence of his 
 having so greatly diminished the time of their absence from 
 
 T 2
 
 276 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xi. 
 
 home, not a soldier would have moved in favour of a menamaso, 
 without a positive order from their old leader, or the commander- 
 in-chief. 
 
 Both the evil-disposed among the menamaso, and the sup- 
 porters of the idols, now sought to accomplish their own objects 
 through the king, whose agitated mind was at this time easily 
 affected by appeals to his newly enkindled or revived supersti- 
 tion the hereditary reverence with which he regarded the 
 spirits of his ancestors. A day or two after the attack of the 
 frenzied dancers, during our reading at Ambohimitsimbina, 
 this state of things was brought to a crisis, by the king's 
 proposal to issue an order that individuals or parties, even 
 villages, were, on giving notice before witnesses, to be permitted 
 to settle any dispute by an appeal to arms, and that, if any 
 were killed in such combats, the persons by whom they had 
 been killed should not be punished. 
 
 On the 7th of May, the king intimated to the nobles and 
 high officers who went to him on the subject, his intention to 
 issue such an order. His friends, even some of the menamaso, 
 tried again to dissuade him from it, and the great body of the 
 nobles and heads of the people remonstrated and protested 
 against such an order, which would be tantamount to a pro- 
 clamation authorising civil war. 
 
 Radama on this occasion appeared dull and bewildered, but 
 obstinate. Some of his truest friends came to my house after 
 the interview in equal amazement and sorrow. Much was not 
 said. The subject altogether appeared too alarming to talk 
 about. Every one seemed silent and thoughtful; but I still 
 hoped the king might pause before committing himself to so 
 fatal a step. Very few of the dancing-people were seen during 
 these days, and those who did appear, were now utterly 
 disregarded. 
 
 The cold grey misty morning dawned slowly on the capital 
 on the 8th of May. It was the day of the great weekly 
 market, when the nobles and peasants, agriculturists and manu-
 
 CHAP. xi. FAILURE OF THE LAST APPEAL TO THE KING. 277 
 
 facturers, thronged the roads from the country, with their 
 produce or their money, to sell and buy on the broad open space 
 at Zoina, a northern suburb of the city where the market is 
 held. It was on account of the large gathering of the people 
 from the surrounding country at the market that the place and 
 the day had been mentioned for delivering the kabary, or order 
 of the sovereign, to the people, and where the judges, or herald 
 from the king, by beat of drum, or by firing a musket, called 
 the attention of the people to a royal message, and then 
 delivered the order or proclamation. On this day it was the 
 general expectation of those in the city, that the reported order 
 of the king to allow disputes to be settled by fighting, would be 
 published at the market ; and it was on this morning that the 
 nobles and the heads of the people made another effort to 
 induce Radama to renounce the purpose which he had informed 
 them he intended to cany out. 
 
 Soon after seven o'clock, I saw the long procession of nobles, 
 officers, and heads of the people, seventy or eighty in number, 
 approaching along the road, which led past my house to the 
 palace. All wore native broad-brimmed straw hats, and large 
 thick plain white lambas, reaching to their ancles, and drawn up 
 over their mouths to protect them from the cold foggy morning 
 air. Two or three abreast, they walked slowly and silently along. 
 The prime minister and his brother, each attended by an aide- 
 de-camp, led the way. The householders or others standing at 
 their doors, or leaning over the walls of their enclosures, saluted 
 the leaders as they passed. Two or three hours later, I saw 
 them return ; and afterwards understood that part of the day 
 was spent in deliberation at the prime minister's house, and in 
 proceedings which, in their opinion, the result of the morning's 
 interview with the king now required. 
 
 I received during the day several slightly varied accounts of 
 what had taken place at the meeting of the nobles with the 
 king, but all concurring in the same unsatisfactory issue, by 
 his refusal to relinquish his purpose respecting the obnoxious
 
 278 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xi. 
 
 order. It is said that after vainly endeavouring to change the 
 king's mind, and even beseeching him on his knees not to pro- 
 ceed, the prime minister deliberately said, " Do you mean to say 
 that if two or more persons quarrel and fight, and if one kills 
 the other, the murderer shall not be punished ? " To which the 
 king replied, " I agree to that." The prime minister then said, 
 " Aokary " " enough then," or " so let it be," and then, fol- 
 lowed by his companions, he left the place, and returned to his 
 own citadel-like dwelling, on the high ground at the south end 
 of Andohalo.* 
 
 So far as the proposal to issue the obnoxious law was the real 
 cause of the appeal to force by the nobles, the last favourable 
 opportunity for retracing a fearfully wrong step had been cast 
 away. The last hour of intercourse in which peaceable arrange- 
 ment was possible had now passed. All saw that some 
 change would forthwith be attempted by force ; but the nature 
 and extent of that change, few, in all probability of those 
 who were now instrumental in producing it, at that time 
 foresaw. 
 
 Having reason to believe that the order had not been pro- 
 claimed, I scarcely expected any immediate disturbance. My 
 friends, however, informed me that there would probably be 
 some confusion, and kindly came to assist in adding to the 
 fastenings of my house and premises, as in the event of any 
 
 * It seems strange that there should be any uncertainty as to whether or not 
 this order was ever issued, and proclaimed in the market or elsewhere, but I 
 heard once or twice that it was proclaimed in the afternoon. I heard, however, 
 more frequently, and from a larger number of witnesses, that notwithstanding 
 the king's declaration in the morning, it was never published. I was told by 
 some friends residing in the north end of the city, who sent a messenger to the 
 market with orders to bring them word as soon as it was actually delivered, 
 that after waiting until long past noon, the time when the kabary or orders are 
 issued, the messengers returned and said there was an order from the king 
 about attending to their plantations, but no orders about people fighting to 
 settle their quarrels. My opinion is, that the order was not promulgated ; but 
 the king's declaration, in the morning of the day, that he would not withhold 
 it, caused the party who appealed to him to decide upon the course which they 
 afterwards pursued.
 
 CHAP. xi. MY LAST INTERVIEW WITH RADAMA. 279 
 
 commotion among the people, my house might be set on fire for 
 the sake of plunder, under cover of the general confusion. 
 
 Thinking it right to go to the king again that day, in the hope 
 that some opportunity might occur of speaking a word in favour 
 of peace, yet not wishing to be out so late as usual, I went at 
 two o'clock instead of three, in the afternoon. I found the king 
 sitting in a room with two Catholic priests, and among others 
 who were present was the man who, as I was afterwards told, 
 was the leader of the party who had laid the death tokens 
 at my door, and intended to do what those tokens indicated, 
 though I was ignorant of anything of the kind at the time. 
 
 I asked Radama if he wished to read, and as he answered in 
 the affirmative and rose to go out, I followed him into the 
 room in which we usually read together. There I delivered 
 to him a roll of specimen lithographs of places and scenes 
 in Madagascar which I had that morning received for him from 
 Lieutenant Oliver. As I sat down beside him, and opened the 
 book, the two priests came in and sate down, and as we were 
 about to begin, Pere Finaz said, " I have a little business." On 
 which I proposed to retire. The priest remarked that it was 
 only a very short paper which he wished to read. I said to the 
 king, " If it is very short, I will stay, otherwise I must go." The 
 priest then drew a pamphlet from under his dress, and began 
 to speak in a veiy inarticulate and confused manner about some- 
 thing I had said on a former occasion in reference to Father 
 Jouen, pointing to the pamphlet. Interrupting him, I said, 
 " Not now. I have not time to hear or say anything about that 
 now another day ;" and turning to the king, I said, " If your 
 majesty pleases, I will retire ; I have business at home." The 
 priest still urging that it would not be long, the king exclaimed, 
 " He says another time." I then hastily shook hands with the 
 king, bowed to the priests, and left the room, apparently much 
 to their surprise. 
 
 On reaching home, I found two friendly officers waiting with 
 a message from the prime minister, informing rne that there
 
 280 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xi. 
 
 might be some disturbance, and recommending me not to remain 
 in my house that night, "but to remove as near to his residence 
 as I could. I begged them to thank the minister for his atten- 
 tion, and then removed what money and other valuables I had 
 by me to a place of greater safety north of the city. Soon after 
 sunset I left the house in charge of my servants, with injunc- 
 tions to watch against incendiaries, and .proceeded to the house 
 of Dr. Davidson, near to that of the prime minister. 
 
 Antananarivo at this time was all in motion. Slaves with 
 bundles of bedding, chests of apparel, and other packages, were 
 leaving the central parts of the city in every direction, yet there 
 was little or no noise, save that produced by human footsteps. 
 Two gentlemen who had arrived from Tamatave that morning, 
 and whom I had asked to dine with me, followed me, according 
 to the directions I had left with my servants, and we passed the 
 evening quietly together with Mr. and Mrs. Davidson. The 
 prime minister sent a message to say he was glad I had left my 
 house, and to add that if there was likely to be any danger, he 
 would send us word, and remove us to his own residence. One or 
 two of the Christians who came were glad I was there, as my own 
 house would probably be in the midst of the commotion if any 
 should take place ; but we only knew that the nobles and heads 
 of the people intended to resist the proposed law or order ; and 
 though there was evidently much moving about in the city, 
 there was still no noise. 
 
 Andohalo, at the north-east corner of which Dr. Davidson's 
 house is situated, is a large open hollow in the city where a 
 daily market is held, and where public assemblies are convened. 
 On looking out at daylight the next morning, instead of the 
 slaughtering and cutting-up of oxen, the arrangement of stalls, 
 the bringing in of poultry, of rice, and other produce for sale 
 in the market, we saw some thousand troops assembled under 
 arms in the plain, and the large elevated court in front of the 
 prime minister's house crowded with armed men. We were 
 soon afterwards informed that the troops had been called in
 
 CHAP. XI. THE FIRST DAY OF THE REVOLUTION". 281 
 
 from the neighbourhood by the prime minister and the nobles, 
 who had determined to seize and put'to death at least thirty 
 of the menamaso and others, whom they actased of advising 
 the king to issue the law authorising fighting, and of all the 
 other evils of which the people complained. Some of them, we 
 were told, had been already seized and killed, and soldiers were 
 searching for the rest. The paths leading from the plain were 
 in the hands of the soldiers, and we were told that guards were 
 stationed at all the outlets from the city, so that none might 
 escape. 
 
 Fresh troops continued to arrive during great part of the 
 day, and detachments of those already assembled were con- 
 tinually being sent off to different positions. At unequal 
 intervals, a frantic yell of almost fiendish exultation was raised 
 at the south end of the plain, as a body of soldiers rushed from 
 one of the roads down into the plain, hurrying along between 
 the lines of troops a captive almost naked, whom they were 
 taking to the north to be imprisoned or put to death. The 
 proceedings of this first day of the outbreak seemed to have been 
 devoted by the nobles to the collecting of their forces, and the 
 seizure of the king's advisers, and of those particularly devoted 
 to him. 
 
 Amongst those who suffered on this day of surprisal and 
 slaughter, and of whom I had some knowledge, were 
 
 R o. He had been an officer of the palace under Rana- 
 
 valo, the king's mother, and had been continued in the office 
 by her son. He was also employed as a clerk in preparing 
 government despatches, and other services of the kind. I 
 heard of no specific charge against him. He was conversing 
 with a friend while the menamaso were being sought for ; and 
 when it was suggested that his connection with the king might 
 expose him to danger, he replied that he had done nothing 
 wrong. The two friends then retired to pray together, for they 
 were Christian men, and they had scarcely left their retreat 
 when he was seized, hurried away without accusation or trial,
 
 282 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xi. 
 
 and after proceeding a short distance, was, without word or 
 warning, speared to death on the road -side. His house, 
 which was very near the premises within which we were 
 standing for safety, was rushed upon by a number of 
 men, who clambered over the fence as the widow fled out 
 for safety ; and then commenced their work of plunder, 
 quarrelling for the spoil, rending the articles of apparel in 
 pieces, just as I could imagine a number of hungry crocodiles 
 would scramble for their prey by tearing it from each other's 
 jaws. In a few minutes the house was razed to the ground, 
 and after almost fighting for the materials, the timber of the 
 sides, the doors and windows, and whatever else was worth 
 taking, was carried away, and a heap of loose thatch, torn mats, 
 and broken water-jars, was all that remained of what had, until 
 that morning, been a peaceful Christian dwelling. When night 
 spread darkness over the city, the body of the murdered man 
 was taken to a distant place for interment. 
 
 A a, an aide-de-camp of the king, about thirty years 
 
 of age, was also a Christian, had resided in a house not far 
 from that to which we had resorted for security, and without 
 impeachment, though it was supposed because he had been 
 aide-de-camp to the king, was seized in the minister's court- 
 yard at Andohalo, hurried off to Faravohitra, and there put to 
 death. Neither of these men were menamaso, or counsellors of 
 the king ; nor was Luitsiriry. He was a heathen ; had been 
 aide-de-camp to the late prince Ramboasalama, but was friendly 
 to the king. He was also seized and put to death to the south 
 of the palace. 
 
 Faralahidimy was not a menamaso. He had been a servant 
 in the establishment of the king's mother, with whom he was 
 reported to have been a great favourite, and continued as a 
 servant in the king's establishment. He was a man of vicious 
 life, and had used his position to commit almost every species 
 of wrong and wickedness. He was seized in the minister's yard, 
 hurried to Analakely, and put to death.
 
 CHAP. xi. DESTRUCTION OF THE MENAMASO. 283 
 
 Isirahonena was a slave of Ravelo, a relative of the king's, 
 whom I often met at his house. This slave lived near, and 
 was one of Radama's servants. He was seized close to the 
 minister's gate, and dragged and forced along amidst the most 
 frantic movements and hideous yells, across the plain, not far 
 from the spot where I stood. He stumbled in ascending the low 
 bank on the western edge of the plain ; but rising again on 
 receiving a stroke from a spear, was hurried on until he reached 
 the French consul's gate, just beyond which he was pierced by 
 the spears of those who dragged him along, and fell and died. 
 A crowd gathered round, but left the corpse lying there all day 
 in the sun. In the evening it was taken away and buried. 
 
 Ralambobe was a heathen and a menamaso. He lived near the 
 place of worship of which I was one of the ministers, but I knew 
 little of him. His wife was an unpretending, and apparently 
 sincere Christian. When he heard that his life was sought, 
 he concealed himself in his house, where his wife remained to 
 prevent suspicion. Having failed to discover his retreat, those 
 sent to put him to death met one of his slaves coming from 
 market with provisions, and demanded of him where his 
 master was. When the slave replied that he did not know, 
 they stripped him and flogged him so severely, that at last he 
 pointed to the place. The men then left the slave, seized the 
 master, and instantly put him to death in the presence of his 
 wife, who was unable to help him or avoid the spectacle of 
 cruelty and blood. As soon as possible she left the neighbour- 
 hood, and the place has ever since remained desolate. 
 
 Isoamanana, also called Paolomity (politician), was a mena- 
 maso, a young man of very vicious life, and bad repute amongst 
 the people generally. He was one of those three or four persons 
 against whom I was repeatedly warned by my friends, not only 
 as a dangerous man, but as one who had been heard to threaten 
 my life, because my supposed influence with the king prevented 
 the carrying out of their nefarious designs. Several of this 
 depraved young man's relatives were Christians, and some of
 
 284 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xr. 
 
 them had suffered death during the persecutions of the pre- 
 ceding reign. Tahaka was a civil officer amongst the Borizano 
 or non-military portion of the community. His wife was a 
 Christian. These and three others were put to death on this 
 day, but I was not acquainted with the circumstances under 
 which they died. 
 
 The sun rose the next day upon a scene very different from 
 those which Sunday mornings inj Antananarivo had for some 
 time past presented. A few women met together early in one 
 or two of the chapels in the suburbs for prayer, but the men 
 were in the city. To have been absent would have excited 
 suspicion, and rendered such absence perilous. 
 
 A number of the menamaso had sought shelter with the king ; 
 and the nobles and the heads of the people sent to demand 
 that these should be delivered up and put to death. The king's 
 messengers, with the royal banner in charge of four men, soon 
 afterwards came to the residence of the prime minister, where 
 the leaders of the movement were assembled, with the king's 
 answer, refusing to give them up. Another demand was then 
 sent to the king, backed by the augmentation of the troops in 
 the neighbourhood of the palace, which was now surrounded, 
 and every entrance guarded, by the troops and their adherents. 
 
 We did not deem it prudent to go out, but met together in 
 the house, to call upon God in prayer. More than once the 
 royal banner was seen by us being carried towards the enclosed 
 court-yard of the minister which overlooked the plain, now 
 filled with armed men, and this could have presented no hopeful 
 spectacle to the messengers of the king. Parties of officers and 
 men were repeatedly seen to leave the place and proceed 
 towards the palace. The keepers of the idols also went, and 
 offered to bring out the idols before the people, but the 
 minister told them to keep the idols at home that they did 
 not want them. Messages were brought to us from time to 
 time throughout the day. At length, after repeated demands 
 for the menamaso on the one part, and refusal to deliver them
 
 CHAP. xi. THE SURRENDER OF THE KING'S FRIENDS. 285 
 
 up on the other, with threats of forcibly entering the palace 
 gates, and preparations for assault and resistance, we heard 
 that the king had agreed to deliver up the menamaso on con- 
 dition that their lives should be spared ; and that the nobles 
 required that they should be deprived of all honours and emolu- 
 ments, and be banished in chains for life. 
 
 This was a compromise with which it did not seem likely 
 that either party would be satisfied ; but there was not much 
 cause for fear of conflict now. A little patience appeared to be 
 all that the nobles required to secure their object. The king 
 and his companions, though holding the palace, were now in 
 reality prisoners. There were not more than five hundred of 
 the king's guard, if so many, and their resistance to the 
 thousands of their comrades was very doubtful. There was but 
 little ammunition in the palace, while the minister and his 
 brother, the commander of the forces, had charge of the 
 magazines. The disposition of the citizens, though some were 
 loyal to the king, was not to be relied upon, under the existing 
 state of feeling, to support any movement which Radama 
 might now attempt to resist the force arrayed against him. 
 Since the troops had been drawn in greater numbers towards 
 the palace, the minister had removed his head-quarters to the 
 house of one of his associates, near the gate of the palace, by 
 which means messages could be more easily interchanged. 
 
 At the English Consul's invitation we had gone over to the 
 consulate for the previous night, but returned to our former 
 position the next morning, as it was equally safe, and nearer 
 the prime minister's residence. We heard during Monday fore- 
 noon, that after every effort to save his friends, the king had 
 agreed to their degradation, the deprivation of all their pro- 
 perty, and banishment in chains for life, with this only condition 
 in their favour, that their lives should be spared. It was also added 
 that they were to be delivered up that day. The numbers of 
 slaves passing across the plain, with rafters, posts, timbers, 
 floors, doors, windows of houses, bedsteads, tables, and other
 
 28G MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XI. 
 
 articles of furniture, were evidences of the demolition and 
 plunder of their dwellings. Soon after noon, we heard that 
 the menamaso, who had been surrendered to the nobles by the 
 king, were about to be led to Zoma, the large market-place to 
 the north, to have the irons fixed on their persons, and in a 
 short time, a few soldiers preceding them, entered the broad 
 path on the western side of Andohalo. 
 
 The prisoners, who were nearly stripped of their clothing, 
 walked two abreast, dejected and silent, between the soldiers. 
 Their eyes were bent on the ground, and they scarcely appeared 
 to notice any object, or the crowd of spectators by the sides 
 of the road along which they passed. The day had become 
 overcast with clouds, and it rained at the time. The water 
 running off their bare heads and unclothed persons, added to 
 the sadness of the spectacle. I was too far off to observe their 
 countenances, but I saw the tall figure of Rainiketaka in the 
 front of the doomed company, and as I looked, memoiy invo- 
 luntarily pictured him as, but a few months before, I had seen 
 him, on the morning of the coronation of Radama, ascend the 
 place where I stood within a few feet of the stairs to the plat- 
 form, in the suite of the king, wearing as minister of justice, a 
 long green robe, richly ornamented with gold lace, the train 
 borne by two young pages, in liveries of the same colour, 
 looking forward at that time in all probability to a long season 
 of increasing honour ; now stripped, abject, bound, as he walked 
 in the drizzling rain at the head of that mournful band, to 
 anticipate fetters and banishment, but actually to speedy 
 execution. He was a Christian, and had uniformly encouraged 
 the missionaries in their work. 
 
 There were reports during the season of the king's mental 
 aberration, that this man had renounced his faith, but the reports 
 did not seem to rest on any sufficient foundation. He kept his 
 New Testament to the end of his life, and one of the last 
 messages which he sent to his family was a quotation from the 
 Gospel of St. John. I heard that he acknowledged having
 
 CHAP. xi. STRANGE REVIVALS AFTER EXECUTION. 287 
 
 sometimes taken money from suitors (the judges in Madagascar 
 have no salaries), but denied having participated in any other 
 of the crimes laid to the charge of the menamaso. 
 
 Instead of being put in irons, these men all fell under the 
 spear of the executioner that same evening. Connected with 
 their deaths the following somewhat remarkable occurrences 
 took place. 
 
 Rainitavy, a menamaso, and related to the king, was also a 
 Christian, and, so far as he knew, was consistent, as such, in 
 his conduct. He had scarcely attained to middle age, and lived 
 on intimate terms with the king, less perhaps latterly than in 
 earlier years. He was one of the officers of the palace sent to 
 meet me at Ambatomanga, in 1862, and as he resided near the 
 king's ordinary residence, we frequently met. He fell under 
 the executioner's spear, and lay among the dead, until, in the 
 darkness of night, his servants came to search for his body, in 
 order to its interment. As they were carrying him past the 
 broad hill, to the west of the capital, they were startled by his 
 reviving, and asking them where they were. They told him at 
 the foot of Ambohidzanahary. " And where," he asked, " is my 
 wife ? " They replied, at his house. The wound in his side 
 then bled profusely, and he fainted, but again revived, and they 
 carried him to Tonjombato, a village on the western side of the 
 river, and about two miles farther, where again, on the following 
 day, he appeared to revive. His wife was the daughter of 
 Rainjohary, minister of Ranavalo, and a member of the then 
 scarcely formed government. Her family seemed to fear trouble 
 should it become known that he was living, and sheltered by 
 them. 
 
 Rajamasa, also a menamaso, and about sixty years of age, had 
 been aide-de-camp to Rambosalama. He was one of the most 
 clever and ingenious men I met with in Madagascar ; but one of 
 the most unprincipled, profligate, and corrupting. He was 
 neither Christian nor heathen, but a gross materialist, who
 
 288 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xi. 
 
 ridiculed alike the superstitions of heathenism and the truths 
 of Christianity, and disregarded equally the voice of natural 
 conscience and of public opinion. He was fond of all kinds of 
 machinery, and was both industrious and skilful in working in 
 iron and brass. He made a large clock, which was put up in 
 the palace, and had the care of the clocks belonging to the 
 government. He was generally employed in constructing some- 
 thing for the king, and passed among his countrymen for an 
 educated man, as he could read and write, and understood a 
 little English, and, I think, French. I spent many hours in a 
 room adjacent to his workshop, reading or conversing with the 
 king and his officers. He usually had something to ask about, 
 whenever I met him, especially relating to electricity, what it 
 was, and how it was applied to the purposes of which he had 
 heard. Yet he was not an agreeable man, but generally sullen 
 and repulsive, and was reported to be vindictive, treacherous, 
 and bloody-minded. He was one against whom I was repeatedly 
 warned, and was supposed to have been the chief instigator of 
 those who placed the death-signals at my door not that he 
 believed in their efficacy, but as a means of alarming persons 
 whom he wished to injure. He, like Rainitavy, had fallen under 
 the soldiers' spears, and had not been killed, though left for dead. 
 His pleasant-looking, white-walled house, which stood in a nice 
 garden, on the lower edge of the hill to the west of the capital, 
 was demolished, and everything portable was carried off on the 
 same day. In the night his servants came and carried away his 
 body for interment. On the way he recovered, and they reached 
 a spot near Antongana, a singular double-peaked mountain, 
 eighteen or twenty miles from the capital. Here he survived for 
 a fortnight, when he was put to death by his own relations, lest 
 they should suffer, if it became known to the government that 
 he was living and sheltered by them. I did not hear of a single 
 expression of regret at his death. His industry, shrewdness, 
 ingenuity, and skill were well known, and his works often ad- 
 mired ; but all these left his heart unimproved, and he was
 
 CHAP. XI. FLIGHT OF A MENAMASO ON HOKSEBACK. 289 
 
 regarded as a gross, hardened, cruel, and treacherous man ; in 
 ability above the ordinary position of his countrymen ; in cha- 
 racter as low as the most abandoned and dangerous among them. 
 
 Betsimasa was a Mainty,* and hearing that the menamaso, 
 of which he was one, were proscribed, he caught a horse which 
 he saw grazing, sprung upon its back, and with nothing but 
 a cord for bridle, fled as fast as the steed could cai-ry him to the 
 south-west, crossed the broad Ambaniala south of the bridge, 
 urged on his way to the second stream Ampitatafikia, which he 
 also forded or swam, and subsequently reached the Andromba, 
 crossed by a bridge of five stone arches. Thence he forced his 
 steed onward to the Risaona, a broader and deeper stream than 
 any he had passed, and about fifteen miles from the capital. 
 Here he left his horse, swam the river, pursued his way, and 
 had his life given him for a prey. 
 
 Thirty-one of the menamaso, and officers of Radama were 
 sentenced to die, ten were killed on the first day, fifteen on the 
 day they were given up by the king, two were afterwards cap- 
 tured in the south, two subsequently cast themselves on the 
 sovereign's clemency, and four escaped. 
 
 But although the swift rider and four or five others had 
 escaped, the greater part of those proscribed had ceased to exist 
 before the sun had set on that day of blood. The object for 
 which the nobles and their associates had appealed to force had 
 been accomplished. The evil advisers of the king, the authors 
 of all the bad counsel which had led him astray, and as it was 
 said, was fast conducting the country to ruin, had been removed 
 never to return. The great body of the people thought that 
 blood enough had been shed, and that no more lives would be 
 sacrificed ; and concluding that as the purpose of removing 
 the evil advisers of the king was now accomplished, they sup- 
 
 * This name, which signifies black, is given to persons who have been ser- 
 vants in the household of the royal family, and at a certain age, or in reward 
 for special services, instead of being pensioned for life, receive a grant of land. 
 These often gather together in distinct villages; they are generally loyal sub- 
 jects, and are regarded with favour by the sovereign. 
 
 U
 
 290 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XI. 
 
 posed that the business to which the king and the nobles would 
 now apply themselves, would be to arrange such principles, and 
 employ such agency of government, as should be more satis- 
 factory to the several bodies of the people, and more beneficial 
 to the country at large. 
 
 Force had been appealed to in the first instance to resist a 
 most dangerous law, which, however, had never been really 
 issued or proclaimed ; and even that was ascribed, as indeed 
 were all the errors of the king, to the evil counsels and malign 
 influence of the menamaso. But however distinctly this re- 
 moval of the obnoxious counsellors might have been deemed 
 sufficient at the commencement of the movement, viewed from 
 the different positions which the parties relatively occupied now, 
 it did not appear so. 
 
 Some short time after sunset on the same eventful day, two 
 high officers from amongst the nobles went to the king, within 
 the precincts of the palace, and desired an interview. His 
 majesty sent word that it was too late, and that he would see 
 them in the morning. About midnight they repeated their 
 visit, and their request, when the king sent word that he was in 
 bed, and could not see them until the morning. Soon after 
 cock-crow in the morning, the 12th of May, 1863, these two 
 officers went, as it was reported, with a number of soldiers and 
 four or five other men, to the house in which the king had 
 passed the 'night, where one of them, a carpenter, forced an 
 entrance, and they then proceeded to take the king. 
 
 The queen, who was in the room, endeavoured to protect Hadama 
 by placing herself between him and the intruders, earnestly 
 imploring them to depose him if they wished to do so, but not 
 to take his life. All parties who were at all likely to know, 
 whether Radama's enemies or friends, and how much soever in 
 other respects their accounts might differ, concurred in testifying 
 to the great and unremitted endeavours of the queen to pro- 
 tect the person and save the life of the king, until at length she 
 was forcibly removed. When they then proceeded to seize the
 
 CHAP. xi. ASSASSINATION OF THE KING. 291 
 
 king, he is reported to have said, " Do not injure me, my 
 person is sacred. God will call you to account." To which 
 those who were about to take him replied, " We do not know 
 that ; but we know that you have injured the kingdom." I 
 also heard that when they seized him, before the mantle was 
 cast over his head, and the girdle passed around his neck, he 
 exclaimed, " I have never shed blood ! " No answer was re- 
 turned, and the herculean arms purposely engaged for the 
 deed tightened the twisted band, which stifled for ever all 
 utterance; and, after a few struggles, a lifeless corpse was all 
 that remained of the humane young ruler, whose accession to 
 the throne had been hailed as the light of morning by the 
 different races of his own country to whom the sovereigns of 
 England and France had despatched letters of congratulation 
 and presents, and had sent their representatives to his recent 
 coronation. So perished, within the precincts of his own 
 palace, and chiefly by those who had been instrumental in 
 placing him on the throne, the second Radama, king of 
 Madagascar. 
 
 At an early hour that same morning, I was sitting alone in a 
 room in Dr. Davidson's house, when an officer who was a fre- 
 quent visitor, entered and sat down ; and when, after I had 
 inquired about the state of the capital, and the fate of the 
 menamaso, I said, " And where is Radama ? " he bent his head 
 forward, and in a suppressed voice said, " Radama is dead ! " 
 We both remained for some time silent. I then said, "When?" 
 He replied, " This morning, but it is not known yet." I made 
 no answer, and shortly after he left the house ; I found the 
 other missionaries had received the same intelligence. 
 
 To what a mournful close had many anxious hours of thought 
 .and effort now been brought, and what a world of bright and 
 pleasing hopes in my own mind had been destroyed for ever 
 by that brief sentence " Radama is dead ! " How differently 
 to myself personally did many of the aspects of Madagascar 
 appear, from what they had done on my arrival, less than twelve 
 
 u 2
 
 292 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XI. 
 
 months before. Not that I doubted for one moment that the 
 divinely appointed missionary work in which we were engaged 
 would still advance ; but on account of the different circum- 
 stances, under which it Avould have to be carried on, I could not 
 help feeling that the future was fraught with causes for deep 
 anxiety. 
 
 The body of the king remained in the house in which he had 
 been put to death until night, when, about eleven o'clock, it 
 was carried forth in darkness and silence, along that same broad 
 road over which, attended by representatives of the sovereigns 
 of civilised Europe, and surrounded by gazing and exultant 
 thousands, under the clear and brilliant light of noon, he had 
 passed to receive the homage and the fealty of the nation, on 
 assuming the crown of Madagascar. Now the melancholy pro- 
 cession pursued its way silently, and, as it were, clandestinely,* 
 to the royal village of Ilafy, about six miles to the north of the 
 capital, where the body was interred within the court of the 
 Government house, and a small thatched building was erected 
 over the tomb. 
 
 The interest excited by the accession of Radama to the throne 
 of Madagascar, the great changes by which that event was 
 attended, and the extent to which his brief reign may continue 
 to affect his country, render a slight extension of this obituary 
 notice not inappropriate. 
 
 This prince, although born about twelve months after the death 
 of the previous sovereign, received from his mother the name of 
 Radama. Subject as that mother was to passions as fierce and 
 ungoverned as ever agitated any human being, and possessing, 
 as she did, a heart as relentless and cruel as ever lodged in 
 any human breast, it was often a marvel to me that the son of 
 such a mother should have possessed any of the kindlier feel- 
 ings of our common nature. It is not easv to form an idea of a 
 
 '** " 
 
 more terribly appalling state of society than that in which such 
 
 * The only time and mode of interment allowed when a felon is carried to 
 his grave.
 
 CHAP. xr. MATERNAL PARENTAGE AND BIRTH OF RADAMA. 293 
 
 an individual occupied the highest position. Not only was 
 the innocent blood of the best in the land shed, to open for her 
 the way to the throne ; but all the near relations of her hus- 
 band were sentenced to the most cruel deaths that could be 
 devised, in order to secure to her its undisturbed possession. 
 The own brother, the sister, the mother of the first Radama 
 were starved to death. The brother endured sufferings which 
 even the sentries placed to guard him could not bear to look 
 upon. Other near relatives fell beneath the executioner's spear. 
 The father of her unborn child, accused of treason and witchcraft, 
 was sentenced by her to die ; and when afterwards her sleep 
 was disturbed by dreams and visions in the night, the body 
 was exhumed and decapitated, the severed head, according to 
 the direction of the diviners, being placed at the feet, and the 
 head of a black dog fixed in its place. But as the frightful 
 dreams continued, the bones were taken up and burned, and 
 the ashes scattered to the winds. The house in which this 
 officer had lived was then pulled down, and the very earth on 
 which it stood thrown over the Tarpeian rock, the foundations 
 being sprinkled with sacred water. -A sister and other members 
 of the same family were subjected to the tangena, then strangled, 
 and their bodies burned to ashes.* Such were the condition s 
 under which, as an infant, Radama entered upon life. 
 
 The child of this mother was also cradled in all the super- 
 stitions of the country ; and initiated as he was in the far- 
 reaching delusions of that superstition, it was more surprising 
 to me that his mind should be so generally free from their taint, 
 than that their influence should, towards the close of his life, 
 have to some extent assumed mastery over his then shattered 
 reason. 
 
 The circumstances and associations under which childhood 
 and youth arc passed generally influence the future character 
 of individuals, as much as the dispositions and tendencies 
 derived from parentage ; and the moral atmosphere which sur- 
 
 * " Persecutions in Madagascar," by Messrs. Freeman and Johns, pp. 14-20.
 
 294 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xi. 
 
 rounded Radama from his earliest years, was such as it is 
 scarcely possible for members of a state of society like our own 
 to form any adequate conception of. Naturally gay and light- 
 hearted, he was fond of pleasure. Music and dancing entered 
 largely into the amusements of the court at Antananarivo. At 
 some seasons night-dancing and revelry formed part of their 
 pastimes, in which vast multitudes engaged. Every source of 
 pleasure was lavishly provided for the only son of the sovereign 
 the heir to the throne. Associated with him in these amuse- 
 ments were a number of youths of his own age, children of 
 other branches of the royal race, or of the highest nobles of the 
 land ; and under such circumstances, it was scarcely possible 
 that his youth and early manhood should have been morally 
 purer than those of his associates, and there is no evidence that 
 it was less so. 
 
 But these were not the only perils of Radama' s youth. There 
 were officers of the government capable of teaching him to read 
 and write, and supplying him with books, and to their instruc- 
 tion and training his youth was confided. Until the members 
 of the mission sent by Sir William Stevenson, Governor of 
 Mauritius, returned from Madagascar, we had never heard that 
 there were books unfavourable to Christianity in the country ; 
 but these officers found that one of the teachers of the prince 
 was reading "Paine's Age of Reason." While waiting at 
 Mauritius, I myself received from this instructor of the prince 
 a "brief account of Radama," with a request from the author 
 to have it published, and this account stated that the king was 
 a deist ; that he believed there was one Supreme God, but 
 did not believe the Bible ; that he was neither Protestant nor 
 Catholic, Mahomedan nor Pagan, but respected all who loved 
 peace, and obeyed the laws, whatever their religion might be. 
 I did not publish this account, for I did not believe it to be 
 true ; but I sent home with other documents a copy of this, to 
 me, painful and ominous sign of danger. I could not doubt 
 that the king's religious opinions and feelings had been tampered
 
 CHAP. xi. HIS KINDNESS TO THE CHRISTIANS. 295 
 
 with, though not perhaps to the extent stated, especially as the 
 Christians still spoke of his friendship, encouragement, and aid. 
 
 When we consider the relative positions of the prince and the 
 Christians he brought up by the side of the queen, and as heir 
 to the throne, flattered by all those whose loyalty or self-interest 
 prompted them to seek the favour of the present ruling powers, 
 and a favourable recollection when he himself should be sovereign, 
 it appears but little likely that he should have become in any 
 way interested about the Christians. But when we consider, 
 further, that the prince must from his childhood have heard the 
 Christians denounced; if not execrated, both as apostates and 
 traitors, bewitched by the sorcery of the foreigners, and enemies 
 to all that was ancient, established, and honourable in the coun- 
 try, whom it was necessary to sweep away, root and branch, 
 from the face of the earth ; who were to be seized wherever 
 seen, imprisoned, enslaved, tortured, burned, speared, or storied to 
 death, it would have been only natural had the prince regarded 
 them with abhorrence, and shunned them with fear. But that 
 he should have shown kindness towards them, and finally 
 have become their advocate, friend, and protector to the utmost 
 of his power, was as remarkable as any event which dis- 
 tinguished the long and severe persecution in Madagascar. 
 
 That the young prince became all this to the Christians, every 
 heathen or Christian, native or foreigner, acquainted with the 
 events of the time, freely testifies. When Radama pitied and 
 succoured the Christians, inquired about their books and their 
 worship, expressed his approval of their faith and their practice, 
 as far as he could then understand them, vye cannot wonder 
 that they should think he was himself inclined to become a 
 Christian. And when, further, he sought occasion to warn them 
 of coming danger, and endeavoured to avert it, alleviating to 
 the utmost of his power its severity, pleading with the judges, 
 favouring the escape of the accused, assisting in their conceal- 
 ment, sometimes in his own house, redeeming them, whori sold 
 into slavery, witli his own money, and encouraging them to
 
 296 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XI. 
 
 trust in God, we cannot wonder if the Christians were led to 
 think that the Spirit of God had moved the heart of the prince 
 thus to favour them out of his own regard for the faith which 
 they professed. 
 
 And when, for the sake of saving their lives, the prince said, 
 as he is reported to have done, in the council of the government, 
 " Why should the Christians be put to death ? They have 
 done nothing but good in the country. If, because they are 
 Christians they are to suffer, I am a Christian. If people are 
 to be put to death because they read the sacred Book and pray, 
 I have done this. I must be put to death ;" if the prince 
 made this open declaration, as it is not unlikely that he did 
 under the impulse of his own generous emotions, it was very 
 natural that they should think he had become a Christian, and 
 should write of him as such ; although at the time the prince 
 himself may have meant no more than to show the injustice of 
 putting men to death who were good subjects, of whose religion 
 he approved, whose books he had looked into, and at whose 
 worship he had been present. 
 
 I can easily conceive of the Christians, under these circum- 
 stances, writing to their countrymen in Mauritius, or their 
 Christian friends in England, that the prince was a Christian^ 
 without intending either to deceive or exaggerate ; and that 
 he also should have spoken in this manner without having 
 become a Christian in heart, or having entered personally upon 
 a Christian course of life. 
 
 I can also easily conceive, without attaching blame to any 
 one, how, on the arrival of those statements in England, persons 
 deeply interested in the subject, and not able to understand the 
 difference between the states of society in England and Mada- 
 gascar, would think that the prince was almost a Christian, or 
 not far from the Kingdom of Heaven. I had heard from the 
 native Christians, before I left England, that he was a Christian ; 
 but the warning I received at Mauritius, in the document above 
 noticed, and also statements from the Rev. Mr. Le Brun, con-
 
 CHAP. XI. PROBABLE ORIGIN OF THAT KINDNESS. 297 
 
 firmed my conviction that his conversion was a blessing still to 
 be desired and prayed for. Nevertheless when I remembered 
 the many Christian lives which he had been the instrument of 
 saving, the vast amount of suffering and misery which he had 
 prevented or alleviated, and the cordial manner in which he 
 encouraged every effort to extend the Gospel in the country, I 
 could not but hope that he would himself become personally a 
 partaker of its blessings. 
 
 It was under this impression, and also from the intimation I 
 had received of his deistical tendencies, that I devoted so large 
 a portion of the time which I spent with the king in reading 
 the Bible, in endeavouring to set before him its manifestations 
 of the Fatherhood of God ; of the divine love and mercy shown in 
 the great work of human redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ ; 
 with its ample provision for satisfying the yearnings and neces- 
 sities of man's higher nature, which he to some extent seemed 
 to understand and feel, although such impressions were tran- 
 sient as the morning cloud, and passed away as the early 
 dew. 
 
 I have but little doubt that Radama' s interest in the Chris- 
 tians was first excited by their severe and unjustly inflicted 
 .sufferings. The earliest instance of this which I can recollect, 
 was when prince Ramonja, the descendant of a long line of 
 chiefs of a conquered race, the early friend and protector of the 
 Christians, was reduced from his high position on account of 
 his Christianity, and sentenced to serve in the ranks of the 
 army. Radama went to see him, and wept when he beheld the 
 scanty clothing which his friend wore, and the coarse rice on 
 which he fed, and when he heard of his suffering from the cold 
 while on duty during the night. Nor did his compassion 
 end in tears. He sent him food from his own kitchen ; but this 
 was mixed with the common rations of his mess, and prince 
 Ramonja shared in every respect the lot of his comrades in the 
 ranks, to whose grade he had been reduced. 
 
 Benevolence and kiudheartedncss distinguished Radama
 
 298 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xi. 
 
 through life, and presented one of the most striking contrasts 
 that could be imagined between the mother and her son. The 
 benevolence and kindness of the prince appeared innate, and 
 was exercised irrespective of colour, rank, or nation. A number 
 of French sailors who had cut down a flagstaff at Fort Dauphin, 
 in the south, were seized, and sent for trial to the capital. As 
 they approached Antananarivo, the prince and some of his 
 attendants met them, shoeless and with bleeding feet, 'slowly 
 travelling to the city. Taking off his own shoes, he gave them 
 to one of the sore-footed sailors, and sent one of his attendants 
 to fetch shoes for the others. These men were foreigners, be- 
 longing to a nation not thought at that time to be very friendly 
 to the Hovas, and they were also prisoners, coming to be tried 
 for offences against Malagasy law ; but notwithstanding this, as 
 soon as the prince saw they were sufferers he hastened to give 
 them relief. 
 
 Radama's sense of the sacredness of human life, and his 
 unconquerable aversion to its destruction, were the most remark- 
 able traits in his character, and I have often thought that if not 
 originated, they were matured and confirmed by the shock and 
 revulsion of feeling produced by the waste of life, and the 
 spectacles of bloodshed which must have been made familiar to 
 him during his mother's reign. I believe it was his firm pur- 
 pose that no human life should be taken by his authority, and 
 that his reign, whatever might be its duration, should be desig- 
 nated by succeeding generations as " the bloodless reign." At 
 least, so he once said to me. 
 
 Radama's fondness for company, and his pleasui'e in society, 
 rendered him an easier victim to intemperance than he might 
 otherwise have been ; and owing to some peculiarity of constitu- 
 tion, he was affected by a quantity of wine so small as not to 
 produce the slightest difference with his companions. But if 
 the accounts of his drinking-habits before the time of my 
 arrival were true, there was certainly an encouraging change for 
 the better in this respect for many months before his death.
 
 CHAP. XI. THE CLAIMS OF THE IDOLS TESTED. 299 
 
 From the time when Radama ascended the throne and pro- 
 claimed religious freedom to all classes in the country, he 
 allowed no interference with the idols, their keepers, or their 
 worshippers ; but he had long before this ridiculed the preten- 
 sions of the priests, and openly tested the power of the idols. 
 Their priests or guardians had boasted of the power of Rama- 
 havaly, one of the chief national idols, as being itself inde- 
 structible and irresistible. The prince employed some men to 
 go and set fire to the house in which this idol was kept, as a 
 means of satisfying his own mind. The men at length accom- 
 plished their object, and when the flames of the burning idol's 
 house blazed up through the darkness of the night, the prince, 
 standing outside the palace, called his companions to gaze at 
 the startling, and to him important, conflagration. He never 
 afterwards believed the idols to be in any respect different 
 from the materials of which they were composed in their or- 
 dinary and natural state. The pretended communications from 
 the spirits of his ancestors was the only form of superstition by 
 which his mind was ever afterwards affected. 
 
 The king abolished the ordeal by tangena, or poison, and 
 never employed or encouraged divination. He only listened to 
 the pretended supernatural communications of the idol-keepers 
 during the prevalence of the sickness, when they professed to 
 bring messages from his ancestors, and thus appealed to a weak 
 and credulous part of his character. This first excited my 
 fears that his reason had lost its balance, and that his mind was 
 seriously disordered. 
 
 The strange and unaccountable proposal to issue a proclama- 
 tion which would encourage the indiscriminate shedding of 
 blood, and would apparently legalise murder, was so entirely 
 opposed to that abhorrence of the taking of human life, under 
 any circumstances, which had until the last few weeks been the 
 most decided feature of Radama's character throughout the 
 whole of his life, that to me it seemed to admit of no other 
 explanation than that his rniud at the time was not sane. This
 
 300 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xi. 
 
 natural and hitherto consistent aversion to bloodshed, appeared 
 towards the last to be obliterated by superstitious influence, but 
 to be revived in the last moments of his consciousness. 
 
 I have never said that Radama was an able ruler, or a man 
 of large views, for these he was not ; but a more humane ruler 
 never wore a crown. He never assented to the secret destruc- 
 tion of an enemy, nor signed the death warrant of a criminal ; 
 and amidst all the agitation and intimidation of a successful re- 
 volt against himself, he risked his throne and his life rather than 
 consent to the death of his friends ; and the catastrophe which 
 followed was probably in a large measure owing to his persistent 
 endeavours to save them. Even those who strangled him are 
 said to have made no answer to his last appeal for mercy to 
 himself, when, before the twisted girdle round his throat deprived 
 him of utterance, he is reported to have exclaimed " I have 
 never shed blood ! " In those solemn moments, when the pomp 
 and pageantry, the greatness and the power of royalty are 
 vanishing for ever from those whom they have heretofore sur- 
 rounded, and the realities connected with them alone remain, 
 also for ever ; when the throne has been vacated, and the mouth 
 of the grave apparently entered, how seldom have royal lips 
 closed with the utterance of Radama "I have never shed 
 blood ! " 
 
 The proposal to issue the obnoxious and fatal law was the 
 immediate occasion of the revolution : its causes were of deeper 
 and earlier origin. To remove the menamaso, as the king's 
 agents and confidential advisers were called, to replace the 
 power and patronage of the government in the hands of the 
 party in the state which originally held it, to re-enact in part 
 the laws which had been abrogated, to increase if possible 
 the army, to retain the advantages of commerce with foreign 
 countries, but restore the former system of internal government 
 as far as possible, with the toleration of Christianity, and the 
 permission of education, were probably the chief objects sought 
 by the change which had taken place. Whether the substitu-
 
 CHAP. xi. BENEFITS SECURED BY RADAMA'S REIGN. 301 
 
 ting of other men for the menamaso, and allowing the king to 
 retain a nominal sovereignty, while the new ministers should 
 actually govern the country ; or whether the course which things 
 actually took was intended from the first, cannot perhaps now be 
 ascertained. The authors of the king's death would have stood 
 higher in the opinion of other nations had they allowed him to 
 live, even though deprived of real power ; but the peace of the 
 country might not have been secure so long as he remained 
 alive amongst the people. 
 
 The opening of the country to the industry, enterprise, and 
 skill of foreigners, the entering into treaties of friendship and 
 commerce with England and France, and the establishment of 
 perfect religious liberty and equality for natives and foreigners, 
 placed the relations of Madagascar with other countries on a 
 better foundation than had ever before existed. The forbidding 
 of all persecution on account of religion in the country, and 
 the granting of sites for the memorial churches, the abolition 
 of the tangena, and the punishment of death ; the diminishing 
 the attendance required of the soldiers, and reducing the 
 amount of unrequited service demanded by the government ; 
 the introduction of the payment of wages for work done by the 
 natives, together with the substitution of friendship and con- 
 fidence amongst the different tribes, instead of distrust and 
 hostility; thus seeking by justice, generosity, and peaceable 
 measures, to bind the different races to their rulers, and to each 
 other, rather than to hold them in subjection by force ; these 
 are among the benefits of Radama's brief reign, which Avill 
 perhaps be remembered with advantage to his country, when 
 his failings, his errors, and his vices shall have been forgotten.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Public announcement of the death of the king Plan of government proposed 
 to the queen with the offer of the crown Her majesty's acceptance of the 
 crown Cur fir.-t interview with the queen after the revolution The 
 dispensary, and Dr. Davidson's attention and services Objects of interest 
 amidst scenes of commotion Remarkable order and good behaviour of the 
 people Germs of representative government introduced Demonstrated 
 deception in reference to the dancing sickness Difficulty of obtaining 
 reliable testimony Summoning the people to receive the laws of the 
 queen Description of the laws Native orators and oratory Reception of 
 the laws by the people Statement of the objects of the mission to the 
 queen and the government Protection and liberty promised Influence of 
 the change on the Christians Encouraging progress of the Gospel. 
 
 THE late king and those who acted under him having been 
 thus entirely removed, those by whom his reign and his life 
 had been terminated addressed themselves to the reconstruction 
 of the government on a better foundation. This was a work 
 which they knew could not be delayed, for there was, on ' the 
 morning of the loth of May, an evident uneasiness and anxiety 
 in the countenances of the men who met in the different 
 parts of the city. And when, about noon, the firing of cannon 
 announced to the people that some great event had taken place, 
 and a number of officers were soon afterwards seen entering 
 Andohalo, there was an instantaneous movement towards the 
 place where public kabarys or messages are delivered. 
 
 On reaching this spot, the chief officer announced that Radama, 
 inconsolable for the loss of his friends, whom he had surrendered 
 to the nobles, had, during the night, put an end to his own life. 
 That Rabodo, under the title of Rasoherina, was now queen. 
 That for the future the word of the sovereign alone was not to
 
 CHAP. ai. OUTLINES OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT. 303 
 
 be law ; but that the sovereign, the nobles, and the heads of 
 the people were to unite in making the laws ; that the friend- 
 ship with foreigners was to be maintained ; that no one was 
 to be put to death on the word of the sovereign alone, but that 
 the nobles and heads of the people must concur in the sentence 
 before it could be inflicted; that religion and worship was to 
 be equally free to all to natives and foreigners Christians 
 and non-Christians, excepting in Ambohimanga, where there 
 should be no public worship, though the Christians might 
 continue to reside and worship in their houses in that ancient 
 city or village, and build a house for public worship outside 
 the gates. It was further stated that the ordeal of tangena 
 was not to be used, but that death was to be inflicted for great 
 crimes. 
 
 A party of officers carne to us, with the copy of the articles 
 of agreement, which had been that morning concluded between 
 the nobles and the queen. This document we read while the 
 multitude on the plain were listening to the message from the 
 authorities. I was somewhat surprised when I looked at the 
 first article, viz., " The sovereign shall not drink spirituous 
 liquors." 
 
 Besides the articles of agreement above specified, the docu- 
 ment declared : 
 
 " There shall be freedom of intercourse and trade with 
 subjects of other countries, and liberty and protection are 
 guaranteed to all foreigners who obey the laws." 
 
 " Duties are to be levied on exports and imports, and commerce 
 and civilization are to be encouraged." 
 
 " Domestic slavery is not abolished, but masters may give 
 freedom to their slaves, or sell them to others in the country." 
 
 " The military force of the country shall be kept up." 
 
 In the paper it was stated that no person was to be put to 
 death unless twelve men declared such person guilty of some 
 crime punishable according to law by death. 
 
 We thanked the officers for their kindness in relieving our
 
 304 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xu. 
 
 anxiety as to the course which affairs might take, and expressed 
 our satisfaction that the regulations were such as, in our es- 
 timation, appeared well-adapted to secure the prosperity of the 
 kingdom. 
 
 The officers stated that in the course of the morning the 
 nobles and heads of the people had drawn up the conditions 
 specified in the paper, as the basis on which the government 
 should be conducted, and that when they had agreed among 
 themselves, four of the chief nobles had submitted the document 
 to the queen, as expressing their views in reference to the 
 future exercise of the sovereignty in the country ; stating also 
 that if she was willing to adopt them as the foundation of her 
 rule, it was their wish that she should be their queen. They 
 told us that Rabodo, after reading the statements very carefully, 
 and asking for explanations on some of them, had expressed her 
 perfect willingness to receive the crown on the conditions which 
 they had specified ; and that Rasoherina,* the queen, had attached 
 her signature to the document, which had also been signed by 
 the prime minister on the part of the nobles. As soon as this 
 important transaction had been thus accomplished, the camions 
 which the people had heard were fired to announce the inaugu- 
 ration of a new reign. 
 
 As I looked with something like surprise at the first article, 
 knowing that the framers of the document were not themselves 
 all members of the Temperance Society, the officer said the 
 nobles considered that the worst things Radama had done in 
 the course of his reigri were done when he had been drinking, 
 and therefore they wished to prevent his successor falling into 
 the same danger. I replied that what they said was certainly 
 true, and I thought it was wise in them to endeavour to prevent 
 the recurrence of results so disastrous. 
 
 In connection with this subject I feel it due to the queen to 
 state that the introduction of a condition which seemed so 
 
 * This was the name of one of the queen's ancestors.
 
 CHAP. xii. OUE FIKST INTERVIEW WITH THE QUEEN. 305 
 
 strange to me, was, as the officer said, a means of prevention, 
 not of cure ; for I never saw, on any occasion, the least tendency 
 to indulgence of this kind, and had never heard a remark which 
 might seem to indicate the need of such a precaution. 
 
 In the course of the afternoon an officer came to say that 
 it would be suitable and agreeable if we were to proceed to the 
 palace to pay our respects to Rasoherina, the queen. On 
 reaching the palace we found the prime minister and his 
 brother, with other nobles, in attendance, and on being intro- 
 duced to her majesty, it devolved on me to speak, on behalf of 
 my brethren, on this unusual occasion. 
 
 I thanked the queen for allowing us the opportunity of ex- 
 pressing our wishes for her own personal welfare, and for the 
 prosperity of her kingdom, our confidence that the friendship 
 between Madagascar and England would be maintained by her 
 majesty, our reliance on her continued protection and encourage- 
 ment in our work, as well as in the undiminished liberty enjoyed 
 by the Christians. We then presented our hasina of a dollar 
 from each individual. 
 
 The queen replied that our visit was welcome ; that she was 
 most anxious for the continuance of the existing friendly 
 relations with England and other countries, and would protect 
 all foreigners in Madagascar ; and that there would be no inter- 
 ruption of our work in teaching the people ; that perfect liberty 
 would be continued to the Christians ; and that she hoped peace 
 and good will would prevail among the people. The queen then 
 retired, and after conversing a few minutes with the ministers 
 we left the palace. 
 
 This was the first audience given to foreigners, which we 
 should not have thought of seeking but for the intimation from 
 the palace ; and it was perhaps given to us in order that the 
 people might see that, so far as we were concerned, the changes 
 in the government had made no difference in respect to the 
 English and the Christians. 
 
 I had not seen the queen since the public reception and
 
 806 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XII. 
 
 banquet, which in that same court and palace had, about a 
 month before, welcomed her return with her ladies in attend- 
 ance, all joyous and bright, and wreathed with garlands of flowers 
 from Ambohimanga. I was deeply affected, almost startled, 
 when introduced into the presence of her majesty, whose 
 person was enveloped in the ample folds of the royal scarlet 
 mantle, and when I saw that she wore the identical crown which 
 I had so recently seen Radama place on his own head at Ima- 
 hamasina, while she was standing by his side, in the presence 
 of assembled thousands ; and when I observed that beneath 
 that golden crowi there now hung down the unbraided hair, 
 emblematical of death and mourning, the traces of anxiety, 
 exhaustion, and sorrow on the queen's countenance affected 
 me with the deepest sympathy, a feeling not diminished when 
 I heard afterwards that she was frequently in tears. 
 
 I called on some friends, met a* number of persons, and 
 in the evening I returned to my own house, thankful not 
 only that I lived to return, but that I found my premises 
 safe and my servants all well. No near neighbour had been 
 included in the fatal list of the proscribed, on whom such 
 fearful destruction had so swiftly fallen. No dwelling had been 
 demolished ; no families had been broken up and scattered ; no 
 husbands or fathers were dead, leaving widows and children to 
 be seized and sold into slavery. 
 
 I had but few visitors, and we were none of us communi- 
 cative ; we appeared unable to realise that the spectacles which 
 had flitted in such fearful rapidity before us, had been actual 
 occurrences. We seemed as if just awakening from some 
 ghastly and teirific dream, the images of which still haunted 
 us, rather than to be remembering things which were now 
 finished and unalterable. The evening was indeed quiet ; but 
 the occurrences of the past few days had been too numerous 
 and strange, and some of them too tragical in their issue, not 
 to force upon me deep feeling with regard to the vast changes 
 which had taken place in those with whom my intercourse had
 
 CHAP. xii. SCENES DURING THE REVOLUTION. 307 
 
 been frequent and intimate ; on some of whom the stroke of 
 death had fallen so sudden and unexpectedly, and on others 
 who, though still living, were desolate and afflicted. 
 
 Some things that I heard deeply affected me. I had been 
 told that on the evening of the previous day, the last 
 evening of his life, Radama had sent a message or a 
 note to the French and English consuls and to myself, but 
 that the officers had not allowed his messenger to bring 
 them. ' I saw the messenger afterwards, and asked if what 
 I heard was true. He said he had a message for me, but 
 was not allowed to bring it. He did not say what the message 
 was, nor did I think it prudent to ask. But had I received 
 a message to go, I should certainly, if the authorities would 
 have allowed it, have gone to visit the king, and would have 
 endeavoured to direct his thoughts then, while he was virtually 
 in prison and under sentence of death, as I had done when he 
 was a sovereign on his throne, to Him who is able to save to 
 the uttermost, and will cast out none who come unto Him. 
 But it was not to be. 
 
 Notwithstanding so much that was distressing, there had been 
 also some few aspects of the scene unexpectedly suggestive 
 of reflections not altogether painful. The garden in which we 
 passed much of the time of this great change commands a view 
 of the plain below, including the several roads, as well as 
 the houses and yards in the immediate neighbourhood. It was 
 not far from the house in which Dr. Davidson received 
 <laily numbers of sick and diseased, not only from the several 
 parts of the capital, but from places many miles distant. It 
 was also close to the spot on which, immediately afterwards, 
 an excellent dispensary was erected. Dr. Davidson's presence 
 amongst us has not only been a great blessing to the several 
 members of the mission, but his skill, attention, kindness, and 
 industry, have been useful to multitudes of the people. The 
 direct and often certain and beneficial effect of his remedies 
 contrasting so favourably witli the nostrums and divina- 
 
 x 2
 
 308 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xil. 
 
 tions of the native medicine men has produced a good effect 
 upon the people generally, as well as upon his patients, 
 showing that there is a reality of result in what the Christians 
 do, and that the benevolent application of knowledge and skill 
 is sometimes life as well as power. Amid all the din and ex- 
 citement of surrounding events, I noticed that several of the sick 
 came, or were brought by their friends, for medical aid while 
 we remained there. In the position we occupied we witnessed 
 some .of the wild acts of demolition and plunder which took 
 place at only a few yards' distance. I was interested also 
 in observing the different kinds of weapons with which 
 the non-military portion of the crowd armed themselves. 
 They were chiefly spears, some of them singularly shaped. 
 Occasionally a man was seen armed with a knife, a hatchet, 
 or an axe. But whatever might be thought of the bar- 
 barism of some of their proceedings, such as their frightful 
 yells when a prisoner appeared in sight, or the thrusting 
 a spear into a captive because he stumbled, or did not run 
 fast enough when they were hurrying him along to the 
 place of execution, I could not avoid remarking the easy, 
 confident manner in which the water-carriers and other women 
 passed to and fro, without the slightest hesitation or fear, along 
 the roads and thickly-crowded places ; while in the different 
 enclosures around the dwellings on the borders of the plain 
 the slave girls spread the mats, brought out the rice as usual 
 to dry in the sun, and then sat down to their work on the edge 
 of the mats, without fear, to pick the straw from the grain, as 
 if perfect tranquillity had reigned around. 
 
 The only public notice given was issued soon after sunset on 
 the evening before the troops entered Andohalo, when a crier 
 went round, warning the people to extinguish their fires, and 
 to guard against conflagration. And yet, though no other 
 public order was delivered, the strictest discipline prevailed 
 amongst the soldiers ; and such was the restraint upon all, that 
 no theft was committed ; no fence or enclosure was broken ; no
 
 CHAP. xii. COMMENDABLE BEHAVIOUR OF THE PEOPLE. 309 
 
 building was demolished or fired ; and, excepting in those 
 instances in which, according to Malagasy usage, the houses of 
 those sentenced to death were torn down and their property 
 seized, not by a lawless mob, but by the men appointed to 
 execute the sentence of the Government, the buildings, en- 
 closures, and gardens throughout Antananarivo remained, at 
 the close of the revolution, as uninjured and entire as before 
 its commencement, although the city had been for four days 
 filled with the military and a partially armed population, at 
 times adhering to opposite parties. I did not hear that a shot 
 was fired, nor, beyond the hurried seizure and execution of the 
 proscribed individuals, that a blow was struck during the whole 
 time. 
 
 This spoke much in favour of the arrangements of the 
 leaders of the movement, as well as of the discipline of the troops, 
 of whom eight thousand entered the city on the night after 
 the last meeting between the nobles and the king, and to 
 whom others were said to have been afterwards added. It 
 also reflected great credit on the non-military portion of the 
 people for their watchfulness and self-control, as well as for the 
 good behaviour of the general population, in their regard for 
 order and for the preservation of property ; while it furnished 
 satisfactory evidence that we were among a people who clearly 
 understood the movement in which they were involved, and 
 not in the midst of a horde of untamed savages. 
 
 Whether the chief leaders of the revolution had previously 
 determined on a change, and while waiting for a favourable 
 occasion to accomplish it, had decided in their own minds 
 on the chief outlines of a plan of future government, or 
 whether the programme presented to the queen, with the 
 offer of the crown, had been, as was stated, drawn up in the 
 interval of the few hours between the death of Radama and the 
 proposal to his successor, it is not material now to inquire. 
 But it occurred to me at the time, and has done so since, that 
 those brief statements of the changes to be made indicate the
 
 310 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XII. 
 
 steps by which communities mould their institutions during 
 the periods of their early history. 
 
 In the short document presented by the nobles to the queen, 
 there were two or three remarkable items. In every former 
 reign among the Hovas the title to the throne had been by con- 
 quest or by bequest. Radama had derived it by both ; and 
 although there are instances among the traditions of the people 
 in which the claim by descent has been set aside by bequest, 
 the sovereignty had, so far as I have heard, never been derived 
 from any other source than that, or conquest. 
 
 In this instance a new source of power appeared to have been 
 introduced. It was now assumed that the power to dispose of 
 the sovereignty, and therefore the possession of it, was in the 
 hands of the nobles, and of the heads of the people ; and they 
 tendered it on certain conditions, to the selected individual, 
 without any reference to descent or bequest, and with the in- 
 tention, it was stated, of looking elsewhere if the conditions 
 should be declined. The very proposal seemed to be breaking 
 the chain of succession by right, and creating an additional 
 source of supreme power, to rest in the choice of the nobles, 
 and the heads of the people ; and they were careful to set forth 
 in their early kabarys, or proclamations, that the present queen 
 was the people's choice. On her mother's side she was of royal 
 descent ; but this was not the ground on which the crown was 
 offered. 
 
 The next important change was that of uniting, with the 
 sovereign and the nobles, the heads of the people in the exer- 
 cise of power over the lives of the community, by requiring the 
 consent of their representatives, before any one should be put to 
 death. The frightful destruction of life during the late queen's 
 reign, and the threatening aspect of the project of Hadama 
 after his mind had become disordered, naturally induced a 
 desire to provide a safeguard of life. It does not appear to 
 have been intended to apply to the slaves, as they are not 
 mentioned ; and although law, or custom, is understood to give
 
 CHAP. xil. CHANGES IN THE PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNMENT. 311 
 
 the master power over the life of his slave, this power is rarely 
 exercised. 
 
 The third great change initiated by this document was the 
 share secured to the nobles and heads of the people in the 
 making of the laws for the nation. Practically, it had occasion- 
 ally, and to some extent been so, even before the days of the 
 first Radama ; but though the sovereign generally took counsel 
 with his selected advisers and chief officers, it was optional on 
 his part to do so ; and, as in the case which caused Radama' s fall, 
 he might issue his orders, if he chose to risk the consequences, 
 in opposition to their advice. The condition therefore that the 
 word of the sovereign alone shotild not be law, but that the 
 heads of the people should take part in the making of the laws, 
 was intended to secure most important advantages to the entire 
 community. And even should these stipulations not be strictly 
 adhered to by those who had been parties to the engagement, 
 the very fact that one party should have selected, and urged 
 them as the conditions according to which the supreme 
 authority should be exercised, seemed an indication of progress 
 in a right direction, and towards a better condition which must 
 be gradual, and can only be reached by advances concurrent with 
 their own intellectual, moral, and social improvement. 
 
 On the day after the revolution I heard that the queen had 
 sent letters to the Emperor of the French and the Queen of 
 England, expressive of her wishes to maintain friendly relations 
 with those countries, and of assurances of protection to foreigners 
 in Madagascar. The minister had likewise sent orders to the 
 governors of several of the ports, to show all friendly attention 
 to foreign vessels visiting their coasts. 
 
 After the new government had been proclaimed, a large 
 portion of the troops returned to their homes, and as the 
 excitement and agitation of the startling and fearful events 
 of the past six days subsided, men began to see more clearly the 
 actual position of affairs. The relatives and the adherents of 
 those who had been chiefly instrumental in effecting the revo-
 
 312 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xn. 
 
 lution, were some of them naturally jubilant on the occasion. 
 The friends of the late king were of course silent. Those 
 otherwise disposed had no longer any cause to be so ; and 
 whether the regicide had been predetermined or not, it was 
 now a fact ; and whatever tended to darken the character of 
 the victim was supposed to render less culpable, if it did not 
 justify, the deed. The worst vices that were reported of the 
 king I never heard of till the very eve of his death, or after- 
 wards ; nor had I heard him charged with any but the immo- 
 ralities common among a large portion of the non-Christian 
 part of the community, until a short time before that 
 event took place. In general the people at this time were 
 thoughtful and reserved. Many who did speak appeared to think 
 it would have been better to have allowed the king to live, even 
 if others had ruled. It was said that, in the highest quarters, a 
 very partial mourning for him was initiated. And although but 
 few ventured to show regret for his loss, there were affecting oc- 
 currences, arising out of the tidings of his death, which indicated 
 a degree of feeling which at that time it might have been 
 dangerous to express. 
 
 Rainitavy, a relative and friend of Radama's, as well as one 
 of the menamaso, has been mentioned as having revived while 
 being carried away from the spot on which he, as well as the 
 others, had been speared, and left for dead. On the second day 
 after his revival, he inquired where Radama was, and when told 
 that he was dead, he is reported to have said that he did not 
 wish to live, and to have caused his wounds to bleed afresh 
 until he died. 
 
 The effect of Radama's conduct towards the Sakalavas on his 
 accession has also been mentioned. A day or two after his death a 
 Sakalava chief and his attendants arrived at Antananarivo on a 
 visit to the king, and when informed that he was dead, it is re- 
 ported that the chief fell on his face and wept, and returned 
 immediately to his own land. 
 
 I was struck with the fact that neither immediately after the
 
 CHAP. xii. REFLECTIONS ON THE REVOLUTION. 313 
 
 death of Radama, nor at a later period, did the authorities, nor 
 any of the people, ever speak of him in terms of disrespect or 
 with ill-feeling. One of the chief indications of the light in 
 which his end was regarded was, their not employing, when 
 referring to it, the term generally used to express the decease 
 of a sovereign, or a person of the highest distinction, which 
 term signifies to turn back, or retire ; while when speaking of 
 his death they employed a term signifying gone, or having left ; 
 and, in reference to the revolution it was only said that the 
 government was changed, or had changed. 
 
 It has been stated that the king was carried to his tomb 
 secretly and by night, as criminals are taken to the grave. 
 The Malagasy customs were nevertheless so far observed, as that 
 some of the articles which had belonged to the deceased, and 
 which were said to have been selected by the queen, were 
 placed with his body within the tomb. Amongst those which 
 I heard specified was one of the large English Bibles which had 
 been presented to him. There was not however much difference 
 between the treatment of the king, and that of his friends, in 
 the circumstances attending their death and burial. 
 
 During the king's life, his faults and his evil doings had been 
 ascribed to the menamaso, though others besides these were 
 members of his government, and all who were put to death 
 were not menamaso. Even among these there was a difference, 
 for though some were capable of counselling the king to his 
 injury, and towards the close of his reign of wickedly leading 
 him into most vicious practices, all were not such, and some were 
 innocent of the evil conduct which, after their destruction, was 
 laid to the charge of the menamaso. 
 
 Another remarkable circumstance connected with the events 
 of the past week was the effect produced on the pretended sick 
 persons. When the differences between the king and his nobles 
 became serious, the pretended sick dancers were but rarely 
 seen, and after the last interview of the nobles with Radama, 
 no dancer or jumper appeared in the city, no more visions were
 
 314 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xil. 
 
 seen, and no further messages came from the spirit-world. 
 Indeed it had previously been shown to be pure deception. 
 One chief, among whose slaves this disease appeared, had 
 instantly ordered them to be flogged all round every day to cure 
 those who were affected, and to prevent its spreading, and it 
 did not trouble that establishment any longer. Some few of 
 the soldiers brought it with them. I saw on the first or second 
 day after their arrival, one or two soldiers spring out .from 
 different parts of the ranks, and, holding their muskets in one 
 hand, start off leaping and running down the road. Three or 
 four men set off after them, and soon brought them back. An 
 order was issued that whoever was taken with the sickness, 
 and left the ranks, or neglected duty, should be arrested, bound, 
 and imprisoned, until it should be decided what punishment 
 they were to suffer. The order was sufficient, and nothing of 
 the kind was seen or heard of afterwards. There was little 
 doubt that the persons who appeared in the city had been sent 
 in to keep up and increase the injurious influence produced 
 upon the king's mind, and when that had accomplished its 
 object it ceased altogether. 
 
 In noticing the causes which led to the revolution, and the 
 steps by which it was brought to such a sanguinary close, I have 
 confined myself chiefly to what passed under my own obser- 
 vation, or was related on what appeared reliable testimony, 
 which however is certainly one of the most difficult things to 
 obtain in the country. Untruthfulness was formerly inculcated, 
 and commanded when it could be used in the furtherance of 
 interest or policy ; and even amongst the Christians, although 
 condemned, it is one of their most easily besetting sins. Many 
 of them still seem to think that if they repeat what they have 
 heard, the correctness or otherwise of the facts stated rests alto- 
 gether with those who first reported them. Hence I seldom re- 
 ceived a statement about which there could be any doubt, 
 without inquiring whence it came, and forming my own opinion 
 accordingly.
 
 CHAP. xii. DIFFICULTY OF ASCERTAINING THE TRUTH. 315 
 
 It is scarcely possible for a stranger from a country where 
 truthfulness of statement is the rule to avoid falling into errors 
 of judgment and belief, until experience has enforced the neces- 
 sity of most carefully examining testimony before adopting it, 
 however plausible, and even consonant with the views of the 
 individual it may be. In my own case I found occasion, in 
 consequence of subsequent information, to modify the opinions 
 I formed at the time of the events which I have described, and 
 the account now given is, I believe, in its main facts correct, so 
 far as evidence has been available to make it so. 
 
 Although the people in and around the capital returned after 
 a time to their accustomed occupations, considerable stir 
 was observable amongst the officers, numbers attending daily 
 at the gates of the chief ministers. Small parties of men also 
 continued to arrive to inquire into the truth of the rumours 
 which had startled the inhabitants of their remote, and compa- 
 ratively unfrequented, villages ; and when they found that 
 Radama was indeed dead, and the queen now supreme ruler, 
 little more was said. It was not safe to make inquiries, or to 
 express concern about the late king, scarcely to make use of his 
 name, for sympathy for him was supposed to imply disaffection 
 towards the government of his successor ; and to avoid this, 
 and justify his removal, perhaps prevented the reports from 
 being always carefully accurate. 
 
 One great object of the government now appeared to be to 
 make themselves popular with the army. To the men on duty 
 at the palace they gave pay, a new thing in Madagascar, which 
 did not last long. They also distributed a large number of 
 lambas, or cotton dresses, amongst the men in the ranks ; while 
 the officers and others Avere liberally rewarded for their loyalty 
 and zeal in effecting -the change. The people generally seemed 
 to trust in the ability, and just administration, of the prime 
 minister, especially in his known aversion to the transfer 
 of any portion of the territory to foreigners ; and the majority 
 were hopeful for the future. There were, however, some who were
 
 31G MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHA.P. xn. 
 
 not without apprehension that other movements less favourable 
 might follow that which had now been completed. 
 
 Notwithstanding the programme of the new government, 
 some of the Christians, as well as others, were timid and fearful, 
 and for one or two Sundays after the revolution the attendance 
 was but small at the several places of worship, and a month 
 passed before our congregations had resumed their former 
 appearance. 
 
 I was deeply impressed with the aspect of my own congre- 
 gation on the first Sunday morning after the king's death. I 
 never saw the people more grave, thoughtful, and serious, than 
 on that occasion. The native pastor usually commenced the wor- 
 ship, and I requested him to do so on that morning. He read 
 the Sci-iptures and prayed, without singing. I had neither 
 said nor heard anything about such omission ; but I saw 
 that it harmonised with the feelings of the people, and I con- 
 tinued the morning service in the usual manner to its close, 
 omitting only the singing. This part of worship is with the 
 Christians generally an expression of joy and praise, and the 
 omission seemed a silent indication that they experienced at 
 that time other emotions. 
 
 Madagascar is a region remarkably prolific in rumours, and 
 the present was a state of things calculated to produce them in 
 unusual abundance. Almost every day revealed some change 
 that was to mark the future, thus bringing to the surface the 
 opinions and fancies which occupied the minds of the people, 
 and perpetuating a state of uncertainty and excitement that 
 was anything but salutary. The government were fully aware 
 of this state of unsettlement, and sent out orders to the sur- 
 rounding districts in the name of the queen summoning a 
 kabary,* or public meeting, to be held at Andohalo, when the 
 laws of the sovereign would be officially promulgated. This 
 
 * This word, which is pronounced as if written Kabar, the final vowel being 
 seldom heard, signifies a message, order, or proclamation from the sovereign, 
 as well as the assembly gathered to receive it.
 
 CHAP. xil. MEETING IN THE PLAIN AT ANDOHALO. 317 
 
 meeting was summoned for the 25th of May, less than a fort- 
 night after the death of Kadama. 
 
 The importance which all attached to the occasion was mani- 
 fested by the numbers who attended. Noon is the hour at 
 which messages from the sovereign are usually delivered ; but 
 as I passed through the open space early in the morning, small 
 groups had already gathered near the spot which the speakers 
 would occupy, and before the time appointed arrived it was 
 estimated that there were not less than 15,000 men on the 
 plain. I had spoken to the minister who had been appointed 
 to deliver the sovereign's message, and had agreed to take a 
 photograph of the scene as I had done of the coronation, if the 
 day should prove favourable ; and a little before noon I went 
 to the place. Here, having secured a suitable position within 
 the enclosure around the house of my former friend "The father 
 of great thought," I made the requisite arrangements, and con- 
 versed with the people until the firing of the cannon and the 
 sound of the music announced the approach of the messengers 
 of the queen. 
 
 My position was at the north end of the road leading to 
 Faravohitra. At a short distance to the east along the edge of 
 the plain, was the site of the temporary church of which 
 Mr. Hartley is the minister; and beyond this to the south- 
 east the site of tlfe dispensary ; officers' dwellings extend along 
 the edge of the plain to the south, where the road from 
 the eastern gateway unites with the main road from the 
 palace, to the north. On the eastern side of this junction 
 of the roads, the residence of the prime minister occupies 
 the northern extremity of the high land which extends 
 through the centre of Antananarivo. The face of the high 
 ground on which the building stands is walled with stone 
 to the height of twenty feet ; the fortress-like gateway is 
 reached by a flight of broad massive stone steps, and the posi- 
 tion commands the plain below, as well as the main roads. 
 Beyond the road which crosses the centre of the plain, a paved
 
 318 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xn. 
 
 road extends along the western border, and on the high ground 
 above this are the houses of nobles, and members of the 
 government, as well as the occasional residence of the British 
 consul. A few yards further, at the northern end of the plain, 
 the French Consulate is situated, and beyond this is the prin- 
 cipal establishment of the Eoman Catholic missionaries. Along 
 the same road, leading from Andohalo to Ambatonakanga, the 
 central training school, and the printing establishment of the 
 London Missionary Society are also situated. 
 
 Soon after twelve o'clock the procession from the palace ap- 
 proached, headed by Ravahatra, the chief judge, and Raharo- 
 lahy, fifteenth honour, and officer of the palace, accompanied 
 by a number of judges and other officers. 
 
 Raharolahy is one of the most intelligent, sensible, and 
 accomplished of the Malagasy officers. He was educated in 
 the school of the early missionaries, and reads English and 
 French. He was a member of the embassy sent to England 
 and France by Queen Ranavalona in 1837, and is at present 
 governor of Tamatave, the chief port of the country. He is 
 not a Christian, but is respected as an officer, while his intel- 
 ligence, and gentlemanly bearing, render him a general 
 favourite. 
 
 The people made way as the escort descended the southern 
 nd of the plain, and advanced to the eastern side, where there 
 is also a sacred stone, at which the sovereign halts when enter- 
 ing the city on all important occasions. The scene was at this 
 time one of much interest. At the northern extremity of the 
 plain, spectators occupied the elevated enclosure around the 
 prime minister's dwelling, and also those of the nobles and 
 others on both sides of the plain, as well as the banks by which 
 it is bounded. A space immediately in front of the judges and 
 officers who stood at the east end of the plain was left vacant, 
 including the site of the sacred stone. In the inner rank 
 around this space the judges and other civil officers were seated. 
 The judges seemed to be all arrayed in their reddish-brown silk
 
 CHAP. XII. THE ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE PEOPLE. 319 
 
 lambas, in which they appear on all public occasions. The 
 upper dress of the officers was almost universally a silk lamba, 
 the discontinuance of European clothing, and the return to the 
 native dress of former times, being one of the regulations of 
 the present government. There was, except in the case of one 
 or two of the highest officers, scarcely a European dress to be 
 seen in the vast assembly. 
 
 There was also a considerable gathering to the north of the 
 sacred stone, and immediately on my right were a number of 
 men with poultry, eggs, and fruit in baskets, which they had 
 brought to sell at the daily market held at the other end of the 
 plain. Unable to reach their usual places, these men were 
 sitting on the ground, gazing at the crowds before them. 
 
 As soon as the bustle occasioned by the arrival of officers 
 had somewhat subsided, a herald stood up. He was a compact, 
 well-built man, little above the middle stature, but past the 
 middle age. He wore no painted tabard, emblazoned with 
 quaint device, but, clothed only in the light loose folds of a 
 native cotton dress, and speaking with a voice which, for 
 strength and tone, a public speaker of any country might have 
 coveted, he commanded silence and attention in the name of 
 the sovereign, and then announced that the kabary had been 
 summoned to receive a message from the queen. 
 
 Raharolahy, wearing a blue uniform coat, light, pantaloons, 
 and the broad tricolourcd ribbon of his office, then stood for- 
 ward, and delivered the message from Rasoherina, announcing, 
 as I was told, that she had become sovereign of the country, 
 and having, with her ministers, considered what laws were 
 required for the protection of life and property, as well as for 
 the prosperity of all the community, she had called them 
 together that they might know them ; and that she relied on 
 their attachment to the government, and their desire for the 
 prosperity of the country, to receive the laws, and ensure their 
 observance. 
 
 While Raharolahy was speaking, I succeeded in obtaining a
 
 320 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xn. 
 
 view of the assembly, and when it was finished, I proceeded to 
 the garden already mentioned, for the purpose of observing the 
 proceedings. 
 
 When the officer had finished his address, and the people 
 had shouted their loyalty to the queen, the herald again called 
 for attention, and Ravahatra, attended by several of the 
 assistant judges, advanced a little in front of the lines of 
 officers, with a copy of the laws, which he prefaced by a few 
 remarks as to the necessity of the people being made acquainted 
 with the laws by which they were to be governed, in order that 
 they might render and encourage obedience, and not be deceived 
 by false reports about the will of the sovereign. He then 
 referred to the existing laws which were to continue in force to 
 those that were amended or changed and to those now intro- 
 duced. The laws retained without alteration were simply 
 enumerated. The laws changed, and those introduced were 
 then read over, and afterwards presented, each separately, to 
 the whole assembly. 
 
 The maintenance of friendly relations with foreign nations 
 was the first thing clearly and explicitly stated ; and a corre- 
 sponding conduct was required from all classes, especially at 
 the ports. 
 
 The encouraging of commerce or trading with other countries 
 was the next. Duties on both exports and imports were to be 
 levied at the rate of ten per cent, each way. This was less 
 mistaken policy than that of the late king, who had abolished 
 all duties, but it was not perhaps the best way to draw commerce 
 to their shores, or to increase the use of foreign goods amongst 
 the people ; while it could not but tend to encourage smuggling, 
 of which some rather staxtling instances afterwards occurred. 
 
 Perfect religious freedom, or liberty to teach and worship 
 according to their faith, was guaranteed to all Christians, and 
 non-Christians natives and foreigners, throughout Madagascar. 
 There was only one exception, viz., Ambohimanga, said to be 
 much of it the queen's private property. But even here
 
 CHAP. XII. EXPLANATION OF THE LAWS TO THE PEOPLE. 321 
 
 Christians were secured from molestation, only their place of 
 worship must be outside the gates. This was the only altera- 
 tion. The officers of the place who had been dismissed for 
 prohibiting Christian worship were not restored to their posts, 
 but those appointed by Radama to succeed them were con- 
 tinued in office by the present government. 
 
 The important changes embodied in the brief but pregnant 
 conditions on which the crown had been offered and accepted, 
 were embodied in the separate enactments now publicly and 
 authoritatively published. They were somewhat enlarged, but 
 in their import were the same. The enactments that were 
 new, such as the associating the nobles and the heads of the 
 people with the sovereign, in the forming and authorising 
 laws ; in inflicting the sentence of death ; in maintaining the 
 efficiency of the army ; in the continuance of slavery in the 
 country, with the liberty of the master to give freedom to his 
 slaves ; the prohibition of the use of the ordeal by Tangena or 
 poison ; and the forbidding of the circulation of false reports, 
 were most of them explained by the judges as means of 
 preventing evils which they had deplored, of securing the 
 confidence and satisfaction of the people, and increasing the 
 prosperity of the country. 
 
 Any persons were at liberty to offer remarks on the com- 
 munications made by the judges, but it was only after some 
 conference among themselves that any opinion was expressed, 
 and then only by those recognised as representatives of the 
 parties with whom they were associated. At one of these 
 meetings I saw a countryman, apparently an idol-keeper, stand 
 forward and call out aloud, proposing that the pigs should all 
 be driven out of the city, that the drinking of spirituous liquors 
 should be prohibited ; and that the praying of the Christians 
 should no longer be allowed.* 
 
 * The combination of things here prohibited is somewhat remarkable, and 
 yet they evince, if traced to their source, a desire to gratify the idols, and to 
 secure their favour. Most of the idols are distinguished by the things they 
 
 Y
 
 322 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xn. . 
 
 On the present occasion there was a good deal of speaking. 
 It would not have been satisfactory if such a communica- 
 tion had been received in silence; but no objections were 
 started, nor did I hear that any amendments were proposed. 
 The encouragement and protection of the Christians was, per- 
 haps, more objectionable in the opinion of many present than 
 any other article ; but the signal defeat and loss which the 
 idol party had sustained in the death of the king, when he 
 appeared to have acknowledged their claims, and acted under 
 their guidance ; the summary manner in which the prime 
 minister had rejected the proffered aid of the idols ; and the 
 explicit manner in which liberty and protection had been 
 guaranteed to the Christians, prevented any one objecting very 
 strongly to the enactment. 
 
 The vesting of the power to make laws and to inflict capital 
 punishment in the hands of the sovereign, associated with the 
 heads of the people and the nobles, was probably welcome 
 rather than otherwise to the most intelligent part of the com- 
 munity ; and although there was with some a kind of reserve, 
 as if they had not seen the end of the changes which had 
 been begun, the approval of these was unhesitating and clear. 
 
 The Malagasy in general are good speakers, and judge very 
 correctly of oratory by its effects, which, from what I have seen, 
 I should think at times, and on more exciting occasions, must 
 
 have an aversion to, rather than by those with which they are supposed to be 
 pleased ; and one of the idols worshipped in the capital is said to have a great 
 aversion to the proximity of pigs, and that aversion, it was supposed, would be 
 continued so long as pigs were allowed to be kept in the capital. Hence the 
 wish that they might be banished. 
 
 The city of Antananarivo was compared to a honey-jar without a lid, on 
 account of the ease with which it could be captured. It was taken by the first 
 Radama's father while the king and his forces were carousing after a victory ; 
 and when they were most of them intoxicated. To prevent a like calamity, 
 the conqueror threatened with death any man found in a state of intoxication. 
 Regard for this interdict prompted the wish that all spirituous or intoxicating 
 liquors might be expelled from the country. The source of the wish, on the 
 part of an idol-keeper, to stop Christian prayer, requires no explanation.
 
 CHAP. xii. ACTION OF THE ORATORS WHEN SPEAKING. 323 
 
 be great. They use a good deal of action, which, though not 
 violent, appears effective. When the judges spoke on this 
 day they advanced one or two paces in front of the line of their 
 companions, then remained stationary, and used less action than 
 the others. When any one from the people came forward to 
 speak, he stepped out in front of his party, with the lamba over 
 his shoulders gathered together in front by his left hand on his 
 breast, while he used his right arm by stretching it forward 
 when he began to speak, with the folds of his lamba depending 
 from it. 
 
 The speaker usually began in a quiet clear voice, and in a 
 short time moved gently backwards and forwards in front of his 
 companions while speaking, his language being correct, and his 
 utterance easy and free. As he went on his voice became 
 louder, his speech more rapid, his step quicker, both his arms 
 moving as he spoke ; and then as he still walked to and fro, he 
 took off his lamba from his shoulders, wound it round his waist, 
 fastened it with a bow or knot on his hip, allowing the ends to 
 hang down like the ends of a sash reaching to his ancles, and 
 then, both his arms being at liberty, he would continue his 
 speech with increased action until it ended in a climax. This 
 would generally elicit applause from his friends, into the midst 
 of whom he would rush, untie his lamba, and cover up his person. 
 
 All the speakers appeared to be stimulated by the brief, 
 sharp, applauding shouts of their adherents, and some made 
 use of very excited and expressive action. I have seen a 
 speaker, towards the close of his harangue, borrow a large 
 bamboo cane from a bystander, and as he closed his speech, 
 dash it against the floor and break it, then stamp on it, and 
 leaving it broken on the floor, rush into the midst of his party 
 standing behind. 
 
 The question of slavery had been introduced both in the 
 conditions on which the crown had been offered, and in the 
 laws. There had been complaints of the importation of slaves 
 to the north-west coast of Madagascar, and the government 
 
 Y 2
 
 82-t MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xn. 
 
 knew that it was offensive to the English. Some of the people 
 had supposed there might be a proposal to abolish slavery, and 
 the buying and selling of slaves amongst themselves. The law 
 now promulgated must have set their minds at rest on that 
 question. I had frequently spoken to the authorities about the 
 reports of the trade in slaves on the coast ; and when we talked 
 about slavery I had said, that when they came to understand that 
 their improvement depended upon individual industry and enter- 
 prize, they would make their slaves free, as a means of increas- 
 ing the wealth and resources of the country ; but that they must 
 make long strides in improvement and intelligence before they 
 would do that. Yet I always inculcated that the good treat- 
 ment of their slaves would prove amply remunerative to them 
 even now.* They readily admitted that such was the case ; and 
 in general, though the slaves in the neighbourhood of the 
 capital may occasionally be ill-treated, this does but very 
 seldom occur. 
 
 Soon after three o'clock, the heads of the people having 
 thanked the queen for the communication she had sent, and 
 expressed their customary congratulations and good wishes, the 
 kabary was dismissed, and the officers and judges returned to 
 the palace with the same state as that which had attended 
 their arrival. 
 
 Some of the more intelligent and reflecting of the people 
 seemed to ponder over the great change which had taken place, 
 especially the associating of other classes with the sovereign in the 
 framing of laws and in inflicting the death punishment. But they 
 seemed to doubt whether it would be permanent, and I did not 
 think any of them comprehended the fact that their govern- 
 ment had, in some of its most important functions, ceased to be 
 
 * Although such had invariably been the tenour of my remarks, whenever I 
 had spoken on the subject of slavery, I was represented in the public journals 
 at Mauritius as having brought on the revolution which ended in the death of 
 the king, by my marked disregard of the ancient superstitions of the Mala- 
 gasy, and by my crude, ill-judged advice, especially by urging upon the king 
 the abolition of slavery.
 
 CHAP. xii. GENERAL APPROVAL OF THE LAWS. 325 
 
 an absolute monarchy, and had provided safeguards for human 
 life which never existed before. The reckless waste of life by 
 the late queen had, in all probability, determined the authors of 
 the revolution to avoid again lodging the power of human life 
 in the hands of any sovereign alone; and the infatuation, or 
 whatever it was, that impelled Radama to propose to issue on 
 his own authority a law so dangerous to the peace and safety 
 of the community as his last proposed order, had induced them 
 to determine that for the future the sovereign alone should not 
 be the framer of the laws that were to be binding upon the 
 people. 
 
 For the time at least the end proposed by calling the meeting 
 had been answered. The people in general appeared satisfied, 
 and gave their confidence to their new ruler, and if any felt other- 
 wise they remained silent. The queen was supposed to be favour- 
 able to the idols, and her elevation to the throne was in some 
 degree encouraging to their supporters. One idol at least was 
 taken to the palace, and the priests and diviners were frequently 
 there. But the heathen party knew well that the authors of the 
 change which had taken place, and the persons who wielded the 
 power of the government, regarded their pretensions with very 
 little favour ; while without any reason to suppose that they 
 were themselves personally much concerned for the interests of 
 Christianity, we believe that they considered its influence on 
 the people to be beneficial ; and the fact that many of their 
 families were Christians, also induced them to countenance 
 rather than oppose its progress. 
 
 It was under these circumstances that I deemed it due to the 
 sovereign and to the newly-formed government, as well as a 
 means of preventing any injury which might ensue from 
 misrepresentation, to seek an audience of the queen, in 
 order to state clearly what were our aims and proceedings as 
 Christian missionaries. This being readily granted, I had an 
 opportunity in the month of June of thanking her majesty 
 before the officers of the government, who were most of them
 
 326 MADAGASCAR, REVISITED. CHAP. xn. 
 
 present, for the entire freedom and protection which we con- 
 tinued to enjoy in the prosecution of our work. 
 
 I also stated that we had opened schools in connection with 
 the chief places of worship for the education of children, and had 
 nearly completed the large central training-school for instruct- 
 ing teachers to become schoolmasters, being as anxious to 
 promote the education of the people in other parts as in the 
 neighbourhood of the chapels. That we had printed lessons, 
 and were preparing other books for the use of the scholars. 
 That the friends of Madagascar in England had voluntarily 
 contributed a large sum of money to purchase material, and pay 
 for labour to be performed by her majesty's subjects in building- 
 four stone churches in the places where Christians had died on 
 account of their faith, to remain as memorials to future gene- 
 rations of the fortitude and constancy of the Christians who had 
 died there. 
 
 The queen said that the work I had mentioned was good ; 
 but that for any arrangements or aid respecting the churches, 
 I could speak to the officers, pointing to the prime minister. I 
 expressed my obligation to her majesty for this reference to the 
 ministers, and said they were already acquainted with our pre- 
 paration for the work ; and I added that it was chiefly from 
 regard for what was due to her majesty that I felt it right to 
 state to herself directly what we were doing, and purposing to 
 do in her country, that there might not be any mistake on the 
 subject. I added, further, that we sought nothing from the 
 Malagasy but their goodwill and encouragement in our endea- 
 vours to aid their improvement as a nation and as individuals ; 
 that we had no other purpose in coming to their country than 
 to teach the people the religion of the Bible, and educate them 
 so far as lay in our power for this life and the life to come ; 
 that we had no secret aim, but wished all our proceedings to 
 be open, and therefore wished her majesty and the nobles to 
 be made acqiiainted with what we proposed to do, as well as 
 with what we had already done.
 
 CHAP. xii. PUBLIC APPROVAL OF MISSIONARY PROCEEDINGS. 327 
 
 The queen said she was glad of the information, that she 
 had perfect confidence in the missionaries, and that there would 
 be no hindrance to our work. I observed also, that I had 
 invited Mr. Cameron, who had done so much good in the 
 country formerly, and who had accompanied me on my first 
 visit to Madagascar, to come and assist in building the memo- 
 rial churches and in other work ; that he had agreed to come, 
 with the approval of our friends in England, and would pro- 
 bably arrive in about two months. All who were present 
 expressed their pleasure at this intelligence. 
 
 I then stated that we were but few, while the people needing 
 instruction were many, and that in order to promote the more 
 effectual instruction of such of the people as were willing to 
 receive it, the Society were preparing to send out four addi- 
 tional missionaries and their wives. I felt assured, I said, that 
 on their arrival her majesty and the government would accord 
 to them the same liberty, protection, and encouragement as had 
 been given to those already in the country. The queen said 
 she was glad they were coming ; that they would receive 
 the same protection in their persons and property, and the 
 same liberty in the prosecution of their work as those now in 
 the country ; for there was no change in regard to the teaching 
 and worship of the Christians in the country. I stated that I 
 had written to inform the friends in England of the declaration 
 of perfect religious freedom which her majesty had made in 
 the first public kabary delivered to her people ; and that after 
 what she had been pleased to say, I would write and tell them 
 that the expected missionaries would be received with the same 
 kindness and goodwill as had been shown to ourselves. The 
 queen said it would be quite right to do so, for they would 
 find no difference. I retired soon afterwards, with assurances 
 that my communication had been acceptable. 
 
 The great political change which had swept over the country, 
 more especially over Imerina, had, like one of the fearful 
 hurricanes which so often sweep over the adjacent ocean, been too
 
 328 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XII. 
 
 sudden and violent to be at once felt in all its force, and per- 
 ceived in all its immediate and far-reaching consequences. 
 People seemed almost stunned by the shock, and too bewildered 
 to realise the actual change which had occurred. Many were 
 startled from their wonted security in things as they were, and 
 became uneasy and apprehensive about what might still be to 
 come. 
 
 From the first this change operated favourably on the 
 religious state of the Christians. It caused many to feel 
 that this was not their rest; and it induced a spirituality 
 of mind, and an increased earnestness of attention to the 
 requirements of the Gospel. All were more watchful in their 
 words, more circumspect in their walk, and apparently more 
 anxious to keep their hearts right with God, than they might 
 have been before so much that was deemed firm and lasting 
 had been shaken and swept away. Although for a Sunday 
 or two after the change but few attended our congregations, 
 the renewed proclamation of liberty of worship at the kabary, 
 and the declaration of the sovereign in presence of the members 
 of the government, that, in reference to the Christians, there 
 would be no change, seemed to reassure them. Those who 
 were willing to defer their personal acceptance of the great 
 salvation, kept away from our assemblies ; but those who were 
 sincere in their desires after the blessings made known by the 
 Gospel, decided to cast in their lot with the people of God 
 without farther hesitation or delay. 
 
 Our places of worship were soon well attended, our houses 
 seldom free from persons who were anxious to know what they 
 must do to be saved, and many, during the immediately 
 succeeding months, were admitted to Christian fellowship. In 
 my own church, from sixteen to twenty were sometimes re- 
 ceived at one time, and in other churches the numbers were 
 still larger. 
 
 The quiet orderly conduct of the Christians during the 
 time of the greatest excitement, had secured for them the
 
 CHAP. XII. THE FIRST MISSIONARY PRAYER-MEETING. 329 
 
 confidence of the most important portions of the community, 
 as a party that might be relied upon in an emergency ; and 
 while they were perhaps grateful for this, they appeared to be 
 themselves more impressed with the conviction that religion 
 was a matter of personal concern a business between man's 
 own spirit and God ; and that the uncertainties connected with 
 everything here should make them more earnest to have their 
 own loins girded, and their own lamps burning, and to be more 
 zealous in their efforts to bring others to Christ, seeing they 
 knew not how soon a change might come. 
 
 It was soon necessary to enlarge or rebuild two of the existing 
 places of worship ; while intelligence from the smaller churches 
 and congregations in the villages were also encouraging. We 
 were truly thankful to see, amidst the sources of present 
 trouble, and causes for apprehension for the future, this earnest- 
 ness amongst the Christians to bring others to the knowledge of 
 Christ, and encourage them to seek his favour and blessing. 
 With a view to give suitable and practical expression to 
 this feeling, we proposed to hold a united missionary prayer- 
 meeting on the first Monday in every month, at which the 
 Christians of the several congregations in the city should 
 unitedly pray for the extension of the Kingdom of Christ in the 
 heathen portions of their own country. 
 
 We commenced this meeting on the first Monday of August, 
 1863, and long before the appointed time many more had 
 arrived than could gain admittance within the building, so that 
 we removed the pulpit to the large doorway in order that both 
 those within and those without might unite in the service. 
 There were at least three thousand persons present. All seemed 
 gratified, and many expressed their regret when they dispersed, 
 as the sun was approaching the horizon, that they had not met 
 at an earlier hour. 
 
 But it was not at Antananarivo alone that these encouraging 
 tokens of the Divine blessing were manifested. The change 
 in the government brought many persons from distant parts of
 
 830 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xn. 
 
 the country to the capital, and amongst those from the west, 
 and from Fort Dauphin, the extreme south, Christian men came 
 whose conversation, spirit, and conduct gave satisfactory evidence 
 of the reality of their faith. They encouraged us also by the 
 accounts they brought of other Christians in these remote parts. 
 One individual, received into communion, had, as an officer, 
 been most active in arresting some who had died for Christ ; 
 but more remarkable still was the case of the inhabitants of a 
 village to the north, Amparafaravato, the whole inhabitants of 
 which had been votaries of the idol or idols kept in the village ; 
 but the Gospel had penetrated even there. A number of these 
 villagers had become Christians, had appropriated one of their 
 houses to Christian worship, had abandoned the idols, and met 
 together in the house they had themselves set apart for the 
 worship of the true God ; some of these now applied for admis- 
 sion to fellowship with us. Those who knew them testified 
 to their Christian character. They were baptized, and after- 
 wards received to the church. Fears were entertained that 
 their proceedings might displease the queen, but when her 
 majesty was informed of what had taken place, she said, " If 
 any of the people of the villages are Christians and wish to 
 leave, they may do so. It is nothing " (there is no blame), " let 
 those who wish go, and those who wish stay, for there is no 
 impediment to the following of the idols or to uniting with the 
 Christians," and on this word of the queen some of these Chris- 
 tians had come and united themselves with our Church and 
 congregation. This speech of the queen had been delivered 
 .publicly ; it was now repeated before the officers of the govern- 
 ment and others who were present, and inspired confidence 
 while it gave great encouragement. 
 
 In the minds of the people this encouragement was applied 
 to the actually existing state of things. In my own mind it 
 was associated with far more extended considerations. In com- 
 mon with every Christian in Madagascar, and in other coun- 
 tries, who thought upon the subject, I had regarded Radama as
 
 CHAP. xir. REFLECTIONS ON THE DEATH OF RAD AM A. 331 
 
 the instrument by whose position and favour Christianity was 
 was to be liberated and extended in the country. The death of 
 this young ruler was to me personally a great affliction, and I 
 cannot describe what it was when viewed in connection with 
 himself. Seldom had a future more full of promise, in relation 
 even to the present world, opened before an expectant prince, 
 whose avowed desire it was to cause his reign to be remembered 
 as the happiest his country had ever known ; and seldom has a 
 morning so bright and hopeful been so soon followed by a night 
 so dark and fearful. That Radama should have sympathised so 
 strongly with the Christians in their sufferings, have saved so 
 many of their lives, have encouraged so effectually the propaga- 
 tion of the Gospel, have made himself acquainted with its hea- 
 venly teachings, without personally experiencing its power to 
 deliver from the love and the practice of sin, and that he should 
 have been cut off without leaving the least evidence that the Gos- 
 pel had been attended with any spiritual benefit to his own soul, 
 is among the mysterious events which to us are past finding out. 
 In the preservation and extension of His Church in Madagascar, 
 the Most High appears to have used the late king as an instru- 
 ment in His own hand to perform a certain service at this 
 particular period of that Church's history, and then to have 
 selected other instruments to carry forward His designs of mercy 
 according to the counsel of His own Divine will.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Arrival of representatives of the provinces to take the oath of allegiance 
 Speech of lovana. female ruler among the Betsileo Speeches of the Be- 
 tsimasaraka and Sakalavas Pantomimic dances of the Sakalavas Inter- 
 view with Christians from a distance Christian ruler among the Betsileo 
 Representatives from the Southern provinces Raloba, chief of the Van- 
 gaindrano A dancing speaker War-games of the Southern tribes Fear 
 and flight of Raloba, lest his portrait should be taken Imposing ap- 
 pearance of the Mainty Fear of incendiaries Report that Radama was 
 living Cattle-stealing, and threats of the Sakalavas Hova force sent 
 against the Sakalavas return with captives and booty Punishment of the 
 reporters of Radama's being alive Coronation and speech of Rasoherina 
 Appeal to her Majesty's clemency Public recognition of the Christians 
 The fulfilment of Radama's treaty claimed by the French and refused by 
 the Malagasy Indemnity paid by the Queen of Madagascar Liberty for 
 worship by the Christians at Arnbohimanga at the Queen's visit Return 
 of the court to the capital. 
 
 IMMEDIATELY after the revolution, messengers had been sent 
 to the distant military posts, and to the heads of the inter- 
 mediate provinces that acknowledged the supremacy of the 
 Hova government, to inform them of the change, and require 
 them to tender their fealty to the local representatives of the 
 Hovas, or repair to the capital for that purpose. 
 
 The Betsileo, inhabiting the province of that name imme- 
 diately to the south of Imerina, were amongst the earliest of 
 those who reached Antananarivo for the purpose of taking the 
 oath of allegiance to Rasoherina. Representatives from other 
 tribes both east and west came up also about the same time. 
 After the judges and other officers had administered the oath 
 by reciting its fearful imprecations on traitor or rebel, and the
 
 CHAP. xiii. REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE PROVINCES. 333 
 
 representatives had struck the water, or speared the calf, and 
 their attendants had swallowed the nauseous draught water in 
 which the wadding of a gun, a musket-ball, and a portion of 
 earth had been mixed, with other repulsive ingredients, the 
 loyal subjects went, on a day appointed, to the palace to tender 
 their fealty, and present their hasina or offering to the newly- 
 enthroned sovereign. 
 
 On the 23rd of June the first parties were received by the 
 queen, and we were invited to be present on the occasion. The 
 firing of cannon announced the time of arrival, and I found 
 some of the parties already in the court-yard as I passed 
 through. The queen, richly dressed, was seated beneath a 
 large scarlet umbrella on a chair placed on a small platform 
 raised about two feet above the floor of the wide verandah at 
 the north end of the palace. The prime minister stood on her 
 right, and the commander-in-chief on her left. The female 
 relatives of her majesty, and the ladies of the court, were 
 ranged along the verandah to the right, the ministers and offi- 
 cers to the left, and in the space behind. The spectacle alto- 
 gether was adapted and intended to make a strong impression 
 on the minds of the strangers. 
 
 The representatives and their attendants entered the large 
 court-yard by the northern gate, led by their respective chiefs, 
 and walked about four abreast to their appointed places. The 
 representatives of three important races appeared on this occa- 
 sion, the Sakalavas, the Betsileo, and the Betsimasaraka, with 
 some from smaller districts. The Be-tsi-leo occupied the centre 
 of the court-yard below, and immediately before the queen ; the 
 others one on either hand. The music Avas playing at intervals 
 while they were assembling, and when all had arrived the music 
 ceased. Two representatives of one of the smaller divisions 
 then advanced two or three paces in front of their friends, and 
 
 * 
 
 looking at the queen, offered their salutations as to their sove- 
 reign, enumerated the virtues of former sovereigns, avowed the 
 loyalty of their ancestors and tribe, expressed their thanks for
 
 334 MADAGASCAK REVISITED. CHAP. xm. 
 
 having been allowed to testify their fidelity, promised their 
 fealty, presented their hasinas, a silver dollar, which an officer 
 received, and wished her majesty life and prosperity. 
 
 The queen, still sitting, addressed a few kind words to them, 
 assuring them that she relied on their fidelity, arid inviting their 
 confidence, closed by wishing them life and the blessing of God. 
 
 There was now a slight stir visible in the central body of the 
 people, amongst whom, as with the other races, there were a 
 number of women, and from a small party of chiefs in the front 
 a tall, stately-looking woman, scarcely arrived at middle life, 
 advanced a short distance in front of her followers. Her com- 
 plexion was a mellow brown, her features regular, her counte- 
 nance open, her dark glossy hair braided after the manner of 
 her country, her person clothed in a bright clear blue figured 
 dress, while over one shoulder a light red scarf hung loosely 
 across her back and upon her other arm. Her name was 
 lovana daughter and successor to the king or chief of the 
 Betsileontanala, or south-east portion of the Betsileo, about ten 
 days' journey from Antananarivo. 
 
 I was perhaps a little surprised when I saw her advance, but 
 I observed there was some excitement among the officers near 
 me, and whispers and turning round amongst the court ladies 
 on the other side of the platform, with evident pleasure on the 
 countenance of the queen. My curiosity was excited by hearing 
 that she was not less brave in war, than wise in counsel, and 
 eloquent in speech. She stood a moment or two directly in 
 front of the queen, and after a slight bending of her figure, 
 began in a clear and by no means a coarse voice her address, 
 " May you live long, sovereign lady, know no affliction, and be 
 happy with your friends beneath the sky. We come to salute 
 you, sovereign lady, with our loyalty, confidence, and affection." 
 And then followed the recital of the usual genealogical and 
 historical relations of their respective ancestors and their gods, 
 the friendships of the past, the relations of the present, and the 
 hopes and prospects of the future, pledging her fealty, and that
 
 CHAP. xiii. SPEECH OF IOVANA TO THE QUEEN. 335 
 
 of her people. And then turning her head slightly to the 
 Betsileo, she said, interrogatively, "Is it not so?" When the 
 quick, sharp, strong responding, " Izany," (that is it,) coming 
 from the crowd as from one voice, quite startled the assembly. 
 
 Keeping her scarf over her left shoulder, and fastening it 
 loosely under her arm on the opposite side, lovana walked 
 backwards and forwards in front of the people, turning occasion- 
 ally to them as she spoke, while raising her right arm and using 
 moderate but not ungraceful action, this descendant of the 
 rulers of the Betsileo continued her oration. At length, addressing 
 the queen in language of personal encouragement, she said : 
 "Your rule will be just and wise, and you have true friends. 
 Do not think that the kingdom cannot prosper becaitse a queen 
 governs. Let the people see that a queen can govern well. Do 
 not be afraid because you are a woman." And then pointing 
 to a group of females amongst the Betsileo, she exclaimed, "We 
 are women : we will be true to you. All the women in the 
 land are your friends, and we will all try that the people shall 
 be happy when a queen is on the throne." 
 
 The loud unanimous confirmatory " Izany " of her people, 
 spontaneously and unitedly uttered when something pointed 
 and stirring had been said, added greatly to the effect of 
 the speech, conveying the impression that the voice of 
 the speaker expressed the sentiments of those around ; and 
 never more so than when lovana thus closed her address, 
 shortly after having tendered her hasina to the officer, when she 
 again looked up to the queen and said : " May you live, sove- 
 reign lady, and may the blessing of God be with you ; " and 
 then bowing slightly but gracefully, she retired within the ranks 
 of her own people. No loud plaudits, nor fluttering of hand- 
 kerchiefs greeted the distinguished speaker ; but there were 
 beaming countenances, and slightly waving hands amongst the 
 ladies of the court, and expressions of esteem and satisfaction 
 amongst the officers and the nobles in the verandah, while the 
 queen silently smiled with evident pleasure.
 
 336 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xin. 
 
 The half-brother of lovana, who is associated with his sister 
 in the government, then briefly addressed the queen, referring 
 to the length of the friendship between the Hovas and the 
 Betsileo, assuring her majesty of their loyalty and devotedness, 
 and their desire for the prosperity of her reign. His speech, 
 though less animated than that of his sister, was listened to 
 with attention, and frequently cheered by their people. 
 
 The queen then in a short speech addressing lovana and her 
 brother by name, assured them of the pleasure it afforded her to 
 see them, that if they had not come she should have had no doubt 
 of their fidelity and attachment ; but that she was encouraged 
 in the charge of the kingdom by their declarations. She then 
 invited them to repose confidence in her rule, saying it should 
 not be misplaced, that she would protect them, their families, 
 children, and property, and promote, so far as she was able, 
 their safety and prosperity, as well as that of other portions of 
 the kingdom, closing with her salutation, and her wish that the 
 blessing of God might be with them. The Betsileo are in closer 
 alliance with the Hovas than any other tribes in the island, and 
 are the only tribe beyond Imerina incorporated in the Hova 
 army. 
 
 The Be-tsi-ma-sa-ra-ka now moved to the centre of the 
 assembly. They are a numerous and important race in Mada- 
 gascar, inhabiting the country within the eastern coast from the 
 province of Anteva, in the same latitude as the Betsileo in the 
 south to Fenoarivo, near the Isle of St. Mary's in the north, 
 including Tamatave, Foule Pointe, and the chief trading ports 
 on the eastern coast. Physically the Betsimasaraka are a finer 
 race of men than the Hovas, or even the Betsileo. They are 
 generally above the middle stature, their colour a darkish 
 brown, the head rather large, compact, and well-proportioned, 
 their features less sharply defined than those of the Hovas, 
 their eyes good, their hair not woolly nor matted like some of 
 the African tribes, but naturally crisped or curling, bushy and 
 abundant, and braided, arranged and ornamented in a manner
 
 CHAP. xin. DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENT RACES. 337 
 
 peculiar to themselves. Their limbs are muscular, and they are 
 capable of enduring great fatigue. They furnish the greater 
 part of the bearers employed in the transit of goods from the 
 coast to the interior. Their speakers on this occasion were 
 men of middle age. They spoke with ease, and one with 
 rather more violent action than the Betsileo orators had used. 
 After the customary salutations they thanked the queen for 
 inviting them to the capital, that she might know their con- 
 fidence in her rule, and their unfeigned loyalty to the govern- 
 ment, as well as their earnest desires for the prosperity of the 
 kingdom ; they wished long life and happiness to her majesty, 
 her family, and the nobles, as well as prosperity to the kingdom. 
 They then tendered their hasina, and retired with the saluta- 
 tion of the queen in reply. 
 
 The Sa-ka-la-vas (pronounced Sakalav) now came forward. The 
 inhabitants of the whole of the west coast are thus designated. 
 They are separated into two large divisions, north and south 
 Sakalavas, with a number of minor sub-divisions. Those 
 present on this occasion were called Heariana, and they occupy 
 a part of the country west of the Betsileo, and south-west of 
 the capital. They were taller than the Betsileo, and less robust 
 and muscular than the Betsimasaraka, their features smaller, 
 their colour darker, their hair crisp, but not woolly, matted, nor 
 abundant ; the limbs of the men appeared sinewy, and their 
 movements were free and agile. 
 
 The initial formula of the speeches to the queen was nearly 
 the same in all, as was also the substance of the addresses. 
 The Sakalavas spoke with a good deal of animation, as well as 
 ease, using more action than the people from the eastern coast. 
 They successively tendered their hasina, avowed their fidelity, 
 and then returned to their companions. 
 
 The queen expressed her satisfaction at receiving their 
 homage and fealty, and asked their confidence ; declaring that 
 she would protect them, their wives, their children, and their 
 property. She then cautioned them against evil-disposed meu, 
 
 z
 
 838 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xin. 
 
 -who might circulate false rumours to disturb the peace of the 
 land ; directing them to go home and tell their countrymen 
 that it was peace at the capital and in the east, and that it 
 should be the effort of the government to preserve peace in 
 every part, and to promote good throughout the land. 
 
 Refreshments were then brought by the servants of the royal 
 household, and given to the leaders of the respective tribes, by 
 whom it was distributed in certainly very small quantities 
 amongst their adherents ; and they then sat chatting together, 
 while the band was playing. In a short time they rose, and there 
 was a little more speaking something like responses to the 
 addresses of the queen, and thanks for the audience which had 
 been granted to them. Two couples of the Betsimasaraka then 
 began to dance to a sort of tune or song before the queen, viz., 
 two women together, and two men. The women held each other 
 by the hand, the men danced separately. The men danced in a 
 kind of figure, passing and repassing each other ; the women 
 seemed to move to the tune more by the action of their arms 
 than of their feet ; and their movements, if not very attractive, 
 exhibited no deviation from propriety and order. 
 
 When the first dance ceased, three couples of Sakalavas, all 
 men, came forward, and danced in a lively and spirited manner. 
 No strangers are allowed to bring weapons into the presence 
 of the sovereign without special licence ; but though they had 
 no spears, they held staves or wands in their hands. With 
 these they advanced into the open space in front of the queen, 
 two at a time, two or three yards apart. Their exhibition was 
 rather a sort of pantomimic acting than dancing ; something 
 like a dumb show of the process of watching in ambush, 
 springing forward, striking the enemy, and stamping as if on 
 his body, or retreating, if resisted. Two others emerged from 
 the crowd before the first had finished, and seemed to carry on 
 a kind of silent, secret creeping towards an enemy, and then the 
 skirmish, the capture, and the dragging away of the captive. 
 While this was going on, the third couple advanced, and then
 
 CHAP. xiii. ARRIVAL OF CHRISTIANS FROM A DISTANCE. 339 
 
 there was attack and retreat, with the aspect of resulting tri- 
 umph, all accompanied by certainly very startling and affecting 
 representations of the changes of countenance and limbs in 
 simulating death. But, after a few minutes, the dancers or 
 actors all resumed their natural positions, and bowed to the 
 queen, who rose amidst their salutations, and retired within 
 the palace towards the close of the afternoon. Two days after- 
 wards, the representatives from the provinces and tribes were 
 invited to a feast provided for them at the palace, and were 
 afterwards sent away with presents to their respective 
 homes. 
 
 Amongst the numbers of those who came from different 
 parts of the country to take the oath of allegiance, we believed 
 that not a few had taken advantage of the requisition to come 
 and confer with the Christians, and to obtain Christian books, 
 as well as to tender their fealty to the queen, which they might 
 perhaps have done at some military post in their own neigh- 
 bourhood. We were frequently surprised and rejoiced at this 
 time by receiving visits from Christians residing at very remote 
 places, where we had not previously been aware that Christianity 
 was even known. 
 
 At this time I received a letter from a chief living several 
 days' journey farther south than those I had seen at the palace, 
 giving an interesting account of a number of Christians in that 
 neighbourhood, and asking for books. It was quite inspiriting 
 to observe the evident pleasure with which the bearer of the 
 letter received the parcel of books, a somewhat heavy one to 
 carry probably three hundred miles to his fellow Christians 
 in that distant region. We had heard frequently from the 
 Christians at Fianarantsoa ; and great was my pleasure when, a 
 few days after the appearance of the people from the provinces 
 before the queen, two esteemed Christian friends in Antananarivo 
 paid me a visit, accompanied by the brother of lovana, whom 
 I had seen and heard on the occasion of their visit to the 
 queen. My friends spoke of their companion, whose name was 
 
 z 2
 
 340 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xin. 
 
 Rafinana, as a sincere Christian, and I welcomed him with real 
 pleasure. One or two of his attendants were also Christians, 
 and he told me there were a number at the place where they 
 lived, as well as in some of the adjacent villages. My friends 
 visited me frequently afterwards, and informed me that their 
 residence was more than two days' journey south-east from 
 Fianarantsoa, and that a forest intervened. 
 
 I succeeded in obtaining a good likeness of Rafinana, and 
 asked him to speak to his sister, as I wished to obtain her 
 portrait, and would, if she wished it, attend at her encampment. 
 I also spoke, with the same view, to one of the ministers ; but 
 her brother told me she could not be persuaded, that she was 
 a firm believer in the idols and the divinations, and was told 
 that some evil would befal her if she allowed the spirit to be 
 drawn out of her by the charms and medicine of the foreigner. 
 My friend was a man of gentle manners, and quiet, amiable 
 disposition. He spent much time with me on subsequent 
 visits to the capital, and was one of the last of whom I took 
 leave on my final departure. 
 
 Less than a fortnight afterwards, other parties arrived from 
 still more remote parts of the country, on the same errand, 
 and a message from the queen invited us all to the palace on the 
 occasion of their presentation. I found, on reaching the palace, 
 a large company already gathered, and others afterwards ar- 
 rived. They comprised parties from the neighbourhood of Fort 
 Dauphin, more than six degrees of latitude, or nearly four 
 hundred English miles south, from the capital ; and also parties 
 from other provinces. The principal company were from the 
 provinces of Vangiandrano, and Anosy, as well as from the Saka- 
 lavas, and the tribes to the east. The attendance of the Court 
 and the regular proceedings, were very much the same as on 
 the previous occasion. The greater portion of the Sakalavas 
 appeared to be shorter than those then present, but remarkably 
 tough and agile men. A large number of the eastern tribes 
 wore European clothing. The representatives of the province
 
 CHAP. xin. THE CHIEF OF THE VANGIANDRANO. 341 
 
 of Vangiandrano were the most striking. The men were orna- 
 mented with bands round their foreheads, to which round 
 pieces of polished shells were attached, just over one of the 
 temples. 
 
 The most remarkable person among those present on this 
 occasion was Raloba, the chief of Vangiandrano, who was 
 extraordinary both in dress and figure. He moved about 
 among the crowds in the large court like Saul among the 
 Israelites a head and shoulders above his fellows. His figure 
 was thin, his head broad and rather large, his features were 
 slightly prominent, his eyes small, his hair slightly grey, and 
 his limbs bony but not muscular. He wore an open-breasted 
 shirt, and above this a large native lamba. His head was 
 covered with a singular cap, of a kind which I had heard de- 
 scribed by the early missionaries, as well as by the natives, but 
 had never seen before. It was of scarlet cloth, fitting close round 
 the forehead, but drawn together, in a line about a foot across, 
 above the crown. From this line the upper end of the cap, 
 which tapered gradually to a point, was doubled down behind 
 the extreme end, reaching below the waist. The cap itself 
 was ornamented by a large solid oval piece of light green glass 
 in front, instead of a precious stone. The edges were covered 
 with some kind of bright yellow bordering, extending along 
 the part which hung down, and terminating in a large yellow 
 tassel, like the tassel of a bell-rope. His people were the first 
 to tender their homage and their hasina. His speech was 
 not so impressive as that of some of his subordinates, but it 
 was acknowledged by the queen. 
 
 The addresses of the people from the neighbourhood of 
 Fort Dauphin Faradofay, as the natives call it and from 
 the Sakalavas, were animated and well delivered. One of the 
 orators of the northern Betsimasaraka accompanied his speech 
 by dancing along in front of his party, while expressing his 
 and their loyalty to the queen, a variation in the proceedings 
 which, being meant well, only caused a little amusement.
 
 342 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xm. 
 
 After the speaking of these somewhat numerous parties had 
 been acknowledged by the queen with much propriety, there was 
 a dance among the Vangiandrano, when some of the queen's 
 officers brought, to the evident delight of the strangers, a 
 number of spears, and native shields, the latter made of light 
 tough wood covered with bullocks' skins. The weapons were 
 given to the chiefs of one of the native tribes, who selected the 
 men to whom he delivered them. These men then advanced to 
 the open space before the queen, exhibited their manner of 
 fighting, after which they returned the weapons to the officers, 
 who gave them to the heads of another race ; and thus the 
 natives of the extreme southern provinces exhibited their 
 weapons, and their manner of using them. 
 
 The inhabitants of the southern provinces are famed, if not 
 feared, as spearmen throughout the island, and if any of them 
 happen to be in the capital during any season of apprehended 
 disturbance, and at times even when the queen and court are 
 absent at Ambohimanga, they are not allowed to sleep in the 
 city. Men from these provinces are said to be mahay that is, 
 to know what to do with the spear. In the war game now 
 exhibited, no spear was hurled, the fighting was at close 
 quarters, and was an exhibition of personal encounter. No 
 shouts or yells were uttered, it was silent, earnest business. 
 When there was a little distance between the combatants, they 
 held the spears near the middle of the shaft, but in hand-to- 
 hand encounters close to the head of the weapon. The small 
 sized men were selected, and seemed to be the best spearmen. 
 Steadiness of eye and agility appeared to be of more importance 
 than great stature or strength. One little tough-looking nimble 
 fellow elicited immense applause, for his skill in fence and 
 thrust. A thrust that it was supposed would have told on the 
 person of the antagonist, had the spear not been purposely 
 lowered, was followed by throwing up the shield in the air, and 
 catching it, by the handle, with the left hand, as it fell. This 
 was several times very cleverly done. The shields are cir-
 
 CHAP. xiii. ATTEMPT TO TAKE RALOBA'S PORTRAIT. 343 
 
 cular, not large, nor fixed on the arm, but held in the hand by 
 a handle left in the wood inside the shield. The excitement 
 was great, both among the members of the court, and the 
 visitors, and actors. The latter showed no inclination to leave 
 off, until, at a signal from the officer, the weapons were re- 
 signed, when, after a short address, the queen retired, and the 
 visitors returned to their quarters. 
 
 A person so important in position and remarkable in appear- 
 ance as Raloba, did not escape my attention, and 1 asked one 
 of my friends to tell him I should be glad if he would pay me 
 a visit, when I would show him some pictures, take his own 
 portrait, and also give him a present. Much to my surprise he 
 agreed to come ; and between seven and eight o'clock in the 
 morning of the day fixed, he arrived, just as the light was 
 becoming favourable for my purpose. He was accompanied by 
 two or three of his own attendants, and by Razafinkarefa, chief 
 commissioner of the police, under whose charge my friend at 
 the palace had placed him. I did not venture to offer him 
 coffee, for fear of exciting his suspicions ;* but when the party 
 had entered my house, showed him the portraits of the prime 
 minister and others, including the chief who had persuaded 
 him to come. The camera was already standing on the ground, 
 and he had looked at that before entering the house. We 
 then went to the place, by the side of a small house, where I 
 wished him to stand. But when he stood upright, his cap 
 was thrust in among the edges of the thatched roof, and I was 
 obliged to fix a couple of poles, with a board across the top, 
 to form a head-rest, as he was above seven feet high. When 
 
 * A number of natives from that part of the country were at my house one 
 day when I was removing some jars, and as we were talking very freely, I 
 offered one of them a piece of sugar. lie smiled, but pressed his lips together, 
 and shook his head, saying, " Take it your.self first." I asked a friend present 
 what the stranger meant. lie replied, " He is afraid of being poisoned, or be- 
 witched, by what you offer, and the proposal to you to eat it is that he may see 
 whether there is any danger or not." I took the piece of sugar I had offered, 
 and ate part of it myself. He then took another piece readily, and manifested 
 no objection to a repetition of the gift.
 
 344 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xin. 
 
 I just touched his head so as to obtain a good view of his 
 face, he seemed very much alarmed ; but his companions 
 laughed and told him I was only placing him so that he might 
 look his best, and said how pleased his friends at home would 
 be when they saw his picture. That, however, did not seem to 
 comfort him much. I then told him to sit down quietly, while 
 I went to fetch something, and then it would be finished in a 
 very short time. 
 
 The commissioner of police had locked the gate as soon as 
 he entered, to prevent other persons coming in. I told him I was 
 going. to prepare the glass, and wished him to amuse Raloba 
 until I returned. I accordingly closed the door of my dark- 
 room, and heard some voices calling out while I was within, 
 but thought the noise arose from persons who wanted to enter. 
 When all was ready, I came out with the slide in a black bag, 
 and found, to my great surprise, that my subject was gone. The 
 servants and the commissioner said they were telling him that 
 it would be over in a minute, and that his neighbour from the 
 Betsileo country had had his likeness taken, when he replied 
 that he came to do homage to the queen, not to have the 
 spirit drawn out of him by the white man ; and afterwards 
 while walking about the yard, he managed to reach the north- 
 west angle, where, before they could see what he was doing, he 
 scrambled over the walls, dropped down on the path outside, 
 and hastened as fast as he could up to the main road, and then 
 home to his encampment.* I was sorry that I had failed in 
 my object, and also that I had caused my visitor so much fear. 
 His companions who had remained, and went out by the gate, 
 said he did not seem alarmed when he talked 'about coming, 
 and the friend whom I had asked to speak to him was the head 
 of the idol-keepers, so that I expected he would have no fear from 
 that source. I heard that he was rather bantered about the affair 
 when he reached home, and not altogether pleased with himself. 
 
 * The wall was more than five feet above the ground on the inside of the 
 yard, and the descent outside full nine feet or more to the path below.
 
 CHAP. xin. ORIGIN AND APPEARANCE OP THE MAINTY. 345 
 
 There was another gathering of representatives from one of 
 the great Sakalava settlements on the west coast, near Mojanga, 
 from the inhabitants near Diego Saurez, the northern extremity 
 of the; island, and from some inland villages. I only mention 
 it on account of the last. Their party was composed of indi- 
 viduals, and the descendants of individuals, who had been slaves, 
 but personal or household servants of successive reigning 
 families, and who, according to the custom of the country, 
 either on certain occasions, or after a certain period of service, 
 had been made free, had received portions of land and occa- 
 sionally cattle, and had also been formed into communities 
 occupying villages in different parts of the adjacent country. 
 They are called mainty, literally black, but that is a frequent 
 name for slave. When these men, the third party who came in 
 on the same day, passed through the gate, and walked across 
 the court attended by a number of their wives and daughters, I 
 thought I had never seen a finer body of men. They were 
 about seven hundred in number, and, as they marched in, 
 their stature and bearing made them appear, in comparison 
 with all the other companies, like a fine regiment of grenadiers. 
 The addresses of their leaders were not long, but evidently 
 very hearty, and were well received. The queen replied with 
 evident pleasure, calling them repeatedly by name, and expres- 
 sing the pleasure which their company afforded. The prime 
 minister also addressed them, the only company to which any 
 one, excepting the queen, had spoken ; and their appearance 
 and bearing produced a good impression. 
 
 While queen Rasoherina and her ministers were receiving 
 the formal and public expressions of loyalty from the represen- 
 tatives of some of the important provinces of the country, and 
 were strengthening themselves in the good-will and attachment 
 of these tribes by their hospitality, presents, and expressions of 
 encouragement, causes for anxiety and apprehension were soon 
 forced on their notice, nearer home, in the capital itself and its 
 immediate neighbourhood.
 
 346 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XIII. 
 
 As soon as the troops, and before the non-military portion of 
 the people, had been dismissed to their homes, all classes of the 
 inhabitants were filled with dismay by reports that a num- 
 ber of dissolute and reckless men intended, under pretence of 
 revenging the murder of Radama, to set fire to the city ; a course 
 which, for purposes of plunder and personal revenge, had been 
 pursued in times of public commotion during former periods of 
 their history, and had reduced to ruin a large part of the build- 
 ings. The utmost precautions were taken, and the most 
 stringent regulations enforced. The city watch was increased 
 from 500 to 1500 men. The evening gun was fired soon after 
 sunset, and no fire or lamp was allowed after that hour, and no 
 individual was permitted to be out after dark. Many families 
 removed their valuables, and left the city in the evening; 
 sleeping in the suburbs, and returning in the morning. My 
 house being in a central and exposed position, at the very 
 earnest representation of a number of Christian friends I 
 removed the money under my charge, and for two nights 
 sought a lodging in one of the dwellings of the missionaries at 
 Amparibe. 
 
 These apprehensions, however, subsided, and twelve days 
 after the death of Radama a public kabary from the queen had 
 dismissed the farmers, and others who had come from the 
 country, to their respective homes. But the next morning 
 Antananarivo was startled by a rumour, no one knew exactly 
 whence originating, but affirming most positively, arid enforcing 
 the affirmation by many plausible accompaniments, that 
 Radama was still alive ; that his death had been only ap- 
 parent; that some persons to whom had been consigned 
 the care of his body were conscious of the fact, and had con- 
 cealed it until after he had been carried out of the city to- 
 wards midnight ; that on arriving at the place of interment, 
 his friends had contrived to deposit some other substance with 
 the grave-clothes, and had conveyed the king to some secret 
 place in the neighbourhood ; and that in consequence of great
 
 CHAP. XIII. RADAMA REPORTED TO BE ALIVE. 347 
 
 care and attention on the part of his friends, he was still 
 living, and though weak and suffering, was in a fair way of 
 recovery. 
 
 N- The effect of this report on the minds of the great body of the 
 people was almost electrical. The government immediately 
 denied the possibility of its being true ; but this did not pre- 
 vent its extension, and the belief in it continued to prevail 
 amongst a large body of the people. Efforts to find the authors 
 of the report were useless, and a public kabary was sent by the 
 queen, and delivered with all due formality in the public mar- 
 ket at Zoma, on the 5th of June, censuring the people for their 
 perversity in persisting in declaring that Radama was living, 
 when they knew that he was dead, and forbidding, under severe 
 penalties, the utterance of the rumour. The people acknow- 
 ledged the message, but no individual changed his opinion in 
 consequence of it. 
 
 During this state of things, a man who came from Vonizongo 
 to Ambohimanga, declared that Radama was alive, and in that 
 country. The man was apprehended, and was tattoed on one 
 cheek with the words " False speaker," on the other with " Con- 
 spirator," and on the forehead with "Ratsy fanahy" literally "bad 
 spirited," generally designating a wicked person. He was then 
 sent in chains to labour on government works in his own coun- 
 try ; but though his punishment made the people more circum- 
 spect in their utterances, it scarcely produced any change in 
 their belief. 
 
 Causes of uneasiness more urgent and more alarming soon 
 further disturbed the public mind. The Sakalavas to the west 
 and south of Vonizongo heard witli strong and equal indignation 
 and grief of the death of Radama, their loved and trusted friend. 
 In the paroxysm of their rage they fell upon the herds of the 
 Hova nobles grazing in the wide and fertile border plains skirt- 
 ing their respective territories, killed sonic of the herdsmen, 
 and drove off their cattle. Eight hundred oxen belonging to 
 the prime minister of the new government weie among the first
 
 348 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xni. 
 
 that were seized.* They remembered the ravages they had suf- 
 fered during the late queen's reign, and expected their renewal 
 under that of the present. They had therefore collected their 
 forces, and invited other tribes of their race to join them, to 
 march upon the capital, to avenge Radama's death, and destroy 
 his murderers. 
 
 The Sakalavas withdrew to the west, and the people of Voni- 
 zongo removed with their families and their cattle eastward, 
 nearer to Imerina ; and the country between the respective ter- 
 ritories became unoccupied and untraversed, except by armed 
 bands. In the mean time false accounts were sent from Imerina 
 to the people to the south and the west, stating that Radama 
 was living, and waiting the assistance of his friends to recover 
 the throne. This increased their ardour in his cause, and as 
 other tribes agreed to join them, they were preparing to ad- 
 vance eastward towards Imerina. 
 
 No message of peace, or friendly explanation of the cause 
 which had produced the change, was sent by the Hovas to these 
 tribes, but a force, accompanied by some pieces of artillery, was 
 despatched against them, under the command of two officers who 
 had been conspicuous actors in the recent events, and the hands 
 of one at least were considered not to be free from regicidal 
 blood. The Hovas came upon them quickly, before their allies 
 had arrived, and after proposing negociations, in order, as they 
 said, to draw them together, attacked them, and with their 
 superior arms and discipline, especially their artillery, which 
 was said to have been masked until their opponents were wholly 
 within reach, suddenly opened upon them, not only cutting off 
 numbers of the men, but creating confusion, which produced 
 & panic, with speedy defeat and flight. 
 
 The Hovas reported 2,000 of the enemy killed, and the 
 cannons of the capital announced the victory. The troops 
 
 * It is reported that when the minister complained to one of the officers of 
 his heavy loss in having so many cattle driven away, the officer replied, 
 " Never mir.d that. Think how many Job lost."
 
 CHAP. xiii. FEMALE CAPTIVES RESTORED BY THE QUEEX. 349 
 
 returned soon afterwards, followed by a long line of captive 
 women and children, and also large herds of cattle. The cattle 
 and slaves were retained, but the women and children were 
 sent back by the queen, who gave money to the officers in lieu 
 of the captives they would otherwise have divided amongst 
 themselves. It was good policy to do so, for the Hovas stood in 
 need of friends at home, when the French were at that time 
 threatening hostilities on the eastern coast, in order to enforce 
 the fulfilment of the treaty and the concessions of Radama. 
 
 This act of clemency on the part of the queen, although a 
 precious boon to the helpless captives, produced no favourable 
 effect upon the tribes in the region from which they came, in 
 consequence of the carnage and what they deemed the treachery 
 by which it had been preceded. The Sakalavas of this region 
 declared that they would make no peace with the murderers of 
 Radama. The country around continued to be invested by 
 robbers, and it was only in fortified villages that the inhabitants 
 of the western parts of Vonizongo were secure from plunder, 
 slavery, or death. 
 
 Preparations to invade Imerina from another quarter were 
 at the same time threatened. The An-tsi-a-na-ka and the Saka- 
 lavas of the north armed, and assembled on the southern border 
 of their province. Orders were sent to the governor of Ambohi- 
 manga to collect all the forces in that quarter, on the northern 
 portion of Imerina. The governor took his position near the 
 last Hova village to the north, where he received a reinforce- 
 ment of 500 men from the capital. The northern tribes col- 
 lected their forces near the first village in the Antsianaka, leav- 
 ing an unoccupied space of a day's journey between them and 
 the Hovas. After remaining in this position for a week, during 
 which messages were exchanged, the Sakalavas and the Antsia- 
 naka, on the north, and Hova forces, on the south, were withdrawn 
 without bloodshed or plunder, and peace lias been unbroken since. 
 
 The punishment so summarily inflicted upon the man who 
 had openly declared that Radama was living though it made
 
 350 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xni. 
 
 the parties who believed it more cautious for a time soon lost 
 its effect. Kaharys on the subject were utterly disregarded, 
 even though fifteen men were sentenced to wear heavy fetters on 
 their neck and legs, and to labour in government work for life, 
 whose chief crime had been reporting that Radama was alive. 
 
 In the month of July, while this state of things continued 
 at the capital, the most circumstantial account of the king's 
 revival after his supposed death, the neighbourhood where he 
 then was, and his wish to obtain protection on board a British 
 ship, should one visit the coast, appeared in the public journals 
 of Mauritius, said to have been reported by a soldier who had 
 assisted in conveying the body of the king to the country for 
 interment, and had escaped to Mauritius. The name of the sol- 
 dier, as given in these accounts, was more like that of an Indian 
 Cooley than a Malagasy ; a circumstance which showed that the 
 account did not rest on native authority. 
 
 Although the queen had been crowned by Radama at Ima- 
 hamasina less than twelve months before, it had only been as 
 his queen-consort. Her majesty had then taken no part in 
 the government, except in its public ceremonials. She was now 
 sole ruler, and the government deemed it desirable that there 
 should be a public recognition of her regal position, such as 
 they term Mi-se-ho-an-a, literally, " showing" to the people, 
 answering, so far as recognition by the people is concerned, the 
 purpose of a coronation among more civilised nations. 
 
 The 30th of August was fixed for this national transaction. 
 We all regretted that Sunday should have been the day 
 appointed, but were told that it was declared by the diviners 
 to be the most favourable day for any transaction affecting 
 her majesty or her family. It was also arranged to take place 
 at Andohalo, where the laws had already been promulgated, 
 because the large parade-ground was declared to be an unpro- 
 pitious place. A stage of wood was erected over the sacred 
 stone, and the floor of the stage covered with carpet, and fur- 
 nished with a superbly-carved chair.
 
 CHAP. xiil. CORONATION OF QUEEN KASOHERINA. 351 
 
 At the appointed time the firing of cannon announced the 
 departure of the queen from the palace the road from which to 
 Andohalo was lined with troops ; and about eleven o'clock, the 
 queen, attended by her ministers and officers, as well as by seve- 
 ral female members of the royal family, approached the ground. 
 
 We had held our forenoon service early, in order to allow 
 those who were required to be present to appear in their places ; 
 and, as we had been all invited, some of our number attended, 
 and were provided with convenient seats near the platform. 
 
 Her majesty, who was superbly dressed, and wore a light 
 gold crown, and was attended by the Princess Kasalimo, and 
 one or two other members of the royal family, with a sort of 
 yeomanry guard Tsimando, bearing silver spears ascended 
 the platform amidst the greetings of the multitude, and took 
 her seat under a large scarlet umbrella. Two of the idol- 
 keepers followed with the queen's idol, which was fixed on the 
 right hand of her chair. 
 
 When the crowd had adjusted itself, her majesty rose, and 
 in a clear voice delivered to the people a carefully-prepared 
 speech, setting forth her pleasure in meeting her friends, the 
 " all beneath the sky " (the people) that God had given to her, 
 with the land, and the government derived from the twelve 
 kings, that they had set her apart that she might receive 
 homage and blessing. After expressing their mutual wish to 
 follow without change the customs of their ancestors, asking 
 their confidence, and declaring her trust in them, her majesty 
 then promised to protect them, their wives, and their children ; 
 the possessions of the great and the small, that all under the 
 sky might rest in peace ; that she would dwell with them ; 
 that the country left to her was large, and they were mutually 
 responsible for its good condition. She stated that she had 
 made known to them her laws which they had heard, and she 
 exhorted them to observe them, for she was not careless of 
 human life, nor of that which they possessed ; and she was not 
 a sovereign that deceived.
 
 352 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xm. 
 
 The speech was received with expressions of approval, and 
 the representatives of the several classes then approached the 
 platform, and presented their hasina or offering, with salutation 
 and benediction. At this part of the ceremony we presented ours. 
 
 Towards the close of this procedure, two men advanced from 
 one side of the front of the platform, within two or three yards 
 of where I was sitting, and one of them, with great trepidation 
 and faltering voice, looked up and addressed the queen, appeal- 
 ing to her compassion, and, acknowledging his privilege to stand 
 before her, he then implored his life from her clemency, and 
 was about to offer his hasina, when an officer standing near 
 ordered him awav. and motioned him to the opposite side, where 
 he was taken in charge by another officer. I had observed the 
 queen's countenance, and saw that she was a little moved when 
 she seemed to comprehend the import of his address ; but 
 she made no sign of granting or refusing his request. 
 
 I learned that this man was one of the menamaso who had 
 escaped when the rest were taken, and had kept in concealment 
 until this day in order to ask his life. I understood it was a 
 custom, that if a criminal could make his way to the sovereign's 
 presence on such an occasion, his life was spared. Another of 
 the menamaso had watched unnoticed at a certain turn in the 
 road where the queen would probably be detained a minute or 
 two, and had forced his way to the side of the royal palanquin 
 and preferred a similar petition. 
 
 After this appeal to the queen, some of the officers and minis- 
 ters expressed their loyalty, and presented their hasina ; soon 
 after which the queen descended, and returned to the palace in 
 the same state as that which attended her arrival. I learned 
 subsequently that the two menamaso had their lives spared, but 
 were sentenced to labour in chains at government work for life. 
 
 The queen's aged and respected mother had died on the 
 22nd of the previous month, July, but as the funeral ceremonies 
 and mourning would have interfered with the preparations for 
 other events then in progress, no public notice was taken, and
 
 CHAP. xin. FUNERAL CEREMONIES FOR THE QUEEN'S MOTHER. 353 
 
 the corpse was deposited in a temporary resting-place until after 
 the coronation. The decease of the queen's mother was accor- 
 dingly soon afterwards announced, the funeral ceremonies per- 
 formed, and the body removed to the ancestral graves. 
 
 Among the public ceremonies observed on this occasion was 
 the slaughter of a large number of cattle by order of the 
 queen. This took place early in the morning at a spot near 
 Fiadana. We were invited to attend, as were also the heads of 
 the Christians. We found the prime minister and other mem- 
 bers of the government superintending the distribution of the 
 animals, which lay slaughtered, two, three, five, or more to- 
 gether, on the plain below, having been killed earlier in the 
 morning. The distribution was directed by th6 minister on 
 behalf of the queen, and commenced with the highest classes, 
 and then the several divisions of the people. The heads of the 
 Christians were called about the seventh in the order of dis- 
 tribution. The representatives of the congregations came 
 forward, and seven of the animals lying together were pointed 
 out to them as the gift of the queen on the occasion of her 
 mother's funeral. They acknowledged the present, and, attended 
 by their ^ervants, and others, proceeded to the spot where the 
 cattle were lying. The officers then went on with the distribu- 
 tion of the rest. There were upwards of seventy animals 
 altogether. 
 
 Our friends attached much importance to this proceeding on 
 the part of the queen and the ministry, not only on account of 
 the acceptableness of the gift to the poor families, but as a 
 public recognition of the Christians, as a distinct body in the 
 community ; and its influence was favourable in diminishing 
 the feai's of the timid, and increasing the confidence of the 
 Christians generally, whose numbers steadily increased. 
 
 In the mean time events of serious character and import 
 pressed upon the attention of the government and the whole 
 population. During the previous month M. Lambert and 
 Commodore Dupre had arrived. The Commodore had written 
 
 A A
 
 354 MADAGASCAK REVISITED.' CHAP. xm. 
 
 iu the most friendly manner to the queen proposing to proceed 
 to the capital to make a new treaty with the existing govern- 
 ment with the same conditions as the former, or to receive their 
 engagement to fulfil the conditions of the treaty already con- 
 cluded. 
 
 The government replied that they wished to make certain 
 alterations in the treaty entered into by Radama, and invited 
 the commodore to the capital to arrange such alterations. 
 Commodore Dupre* then wrote that he could make no altera- 
 tions, and that unless they acceded to the existing treaty, and 
 to M. Lambert's claims, he could hold no friendly intercourse 
 with them, and they must be responsible for the consequences. 
 The Hova authorities sent up word from Tamatave that the 
 French refused all intercourse, and returned all presents of fresh 
 provisions, and other manifestations of hospitality which they 
 had been accustomed to receive. Under these circumstances 
 the government invited the French Consul, and one of the 
 officers of the government who was considered a great favourite 
 with the French, to go as their representatives to the commo- 
 dore, to persuade him to refrain from hostile proceedings, and 
 to come to the capital and confer with them on the changes 
 they wished to make. But the messengers returned without 
 having obtained any more favourable terms. 
 
 The associating of the claims of M. Lambert with the condi- 
 tions of the treaty with the Emperor, rendered it impossible 
 for the government to comply with the Commodore's require- 
 ments without exposing the country to a civil war. M. Dupre 
 wrote soon afterwards intimating that he might be obliged to 
 commence hostile proceedings ; and the British Consul informed 
 us of the probability of difficulties arising between the Malagasy 
 and the French which might endanger our safety, and suggest- 
 ing the desirableness of our removing from the capital. We 
 waited on the French Consul with the intimation received from 
 Tamatave, and he assured us that in the event of hostile ope- 
 rations occurring, it was not likely that they would extend
 
 CHAP. xin. AMOUNT OF INDEMNITY PAID TO THE FRENCH. 355 
 
 beyond the port, but that under any circumstances we, as British 
 subjects, would on no account be molested ; and as it did not 
 appear to us likely that the capital would be affected, we 
 remained at our post. 
 
 The Malagasy government wrote to that of France, expressing 
 their desire to remain on friendly terms with the French, their 
 inability, without risking the peace of the country, to carry out 
 the engagements of Radama with M. Lambert, but their wil- 
 lingness to make reasonable compensation for any loss occa- 
 sioned to M. Lambert and the company. They also wrote to 
 the English government, asking their good offices in securing a 
 just and peaceable termination of the business. 
 
 The French subsequently retired. Several communications 
 passed between the two governments on the subject, and since 
 my departure from the island the French have claimed an in- 
 demnity of 240,000 dollars, (48,000), towards the payment of 
 which the queen furnished 140,000 dollars, and borrowed of the 
 nobles and the people the remaining 100,000. An outbreak of 
 officers and people in consequence of this demand appeared at 
 one time imminent. The precautions of the government pre- 
 vented this, but could not remove the deep sense of the wrong 
 which they were called to bear. 
 
 The whole of this money was sent off in September, 1865, with 
 the condition that the original document should be returned, 
 when the payment was made. The French officer was unable to 
 comply with this condition, and the money was deposited in the 
 battery at Tamatave, under the care of the governor, until the 
 document applied for should be produced. This being at length 
 delivered to the authorities at Tamatave, the money was paid, 
 the officers sent with it returned, and there was a feeling of 
 relief throughout the whole community, when even at this 
 heavy cost this cause of disturbance was removed. 
 
 On the 24th of September, the queen, accompanied by the 
 members of the government and the court, went to Ambohi- 
 manga. Whether the object of the journey was religious, poli- 
 
 A A 2
 
 356 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xin. 
 
 tical, or personal, was not stated, but everything was most 
 scrupulously arranged, and the path, which in many places 
 deviated considerably from the public road, was indicated by 
 the diviners. 
 
 There were many Christians amongst the officers and others 
 who accompanied the queen, and we were not without fear, 
 that they might get into trouble, by not abstaining from their 
 accustomed Christian observances, in this idol-devoted place. 
 Our relief and thankfulness were therefore proportionally great, 
 when, early in the following week, tidings from our friends in- 
 formed us that, on the morning of the first Sunday, the queen 
 said to the servants who attended her "Arrange among your- 
 selves, vou who are Christians, for half your number to be at 
 home during the forenoon, the rest may go to the worship of 
 the Christians ; and let those who remain at home in the 
 morning go in the afternoon, for it is right you should attend 
 your own worship on your sacred day." 
 
 The Christian officers and servants in the queen's household 
 did gladly as they were told. They also informed us that there 
 were large congregations gathered outside the gates of the city, 
 on both parts of the day, and that some of the officers in 
 attendance on the queen were among the preachers. Her 
 majesty has ever since, except on special occasions, pursued the 
 same honourable course, in arranging for her servants to attend 
 public worship on the Sunday in the capital, or elsewhere. 
 
 This occurrence at Ambohimanga, trivial as it may appear, 
 was at that time of great importance, showing to the Christians 
 that their confidence in the queen's word was not misplaced 
 may it never be so ; and also showing to the votaries of the 
 idols that, even there, there should be no interference with the 
 privileges of the Christians. During the same week we had 
 opened our large central model and training school under 
 encouraging circumstances, -and we felt hopeful for the progress 
 of our work. 
 
 The government, fully aware of the extent and strength of the
 
 CHAP. xin. THE QUEEN'S RETURN FROM AMBOHIMANGA. 357 
 
 opinion among the people that Radania was living, had taken 
 extra precautions to secure the city against the designs of in- 
 cendiaries or others during the absence of the Court, by leaving a 
 greater number than usual both of military, and of watchmen 
 with ladders, and other appliances for extinguishing fire should 
 it appear. I was repeatedly and specially warned by friends 
 not to go out of my house, even into my courtyard, after dark. 
 The watchmen mustered in a hollow in front of my house at 
 sunset every evening ; and the junction of the north, south, and 
 eastern roads immediately above my residence, was covered 
 with tents ; the barriers of the city were all guarded, and no one 
 was allowed to enter after dusk. The rumour about Radama at 
 this time was that he had left the north, and was seeking shelter 
 in the east, or making his way to the coast. 
 
 The Court, after remaining a short time at Ainbohimanga, 
 returned, and found everything secure in the capital. I hap- 
 pened to be at the central school as the procession passed 
 along the road in front. Three or four officers on horseback led 
 the way, and immediately after the band were a number of 
 keepers and adherents of the idols walking and dancing with 
 somewhat loud singing or shouting, and much gesticulation. 
 The queen's idol, a slender rod with two long strips of scarlet 
 cloth like pennons hanging from the top, was fixed in her 
 majesty's palanquin. A number of singing women followed. 
 The prime minister and the commander-in-chief, in richly em- 
 broidered uniforms, rode next on horseback. The members of 
 the government, of the court, and their attendants, followed, the 
 whole procession reaching from Andohalo to the palace.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Departure of the Malagasy embassy for England and France Visit to the 
 Queen's cottage and gardens at Mahazoarivo Pic-nic in the garden 
 Rifle shooting Christmas Day in Madagascar Gathering of the Christians 
 Procession and address to the Queen Missionary retrospect of the year 
 Arrival of helpers in the work Foundation of the hospital Difficulty 
 about deposits in the foundation-stone of the memorial church Foun- 
 dation-stone of the church'at Ambatonakanga laid by the prime minister 
 Difficulties attending the erection of such buildings Illness and death 
 of Mr. Stagg Sorrow of the children Kindness of the Queen Mada- 
 gascar an important and inviting field to the Christian teacher Illness 
 and death of Mrs. Pearse Kindness of the Sisters of Charity Cruel law 
 of selling by auction the wives and children of criminals Opening of 
 the first place of worship within the city Commendable conduct of the 
 Christians towards their slaves Influence of the Gospel on the conscience 
 in reference to the relationships of social life Character of the Christians 
 in Vonizongo Statistical notices of the Christians at Ilafy Attempts to 
 charm away sickness from the capital Preparations for the feast of the 
 New Year The Queen's bathing, and the feast of concord Family 
 customs. 
 
 THE government of Madagascar, anxious to preserve their 
 friendly relations with England and France, and, if possible, 
 to adjust amicably the differences with the French government 
 respecting the claims of M. Lambert, sent, early in November, 
 two officers as ambassadors to Europe, in hopes of forwarding 
 thereby the desired arrangement. These officers were cordially 
 received by the English government, were introduced to the 
 queen, and noticed by many of the nobility. They visited Alder- 
 shot, Woolwich, and other places of note, including Manchester, 
 and received from Earl Russell the draft of a treaty which it 
 was hoped would cement the friendship between England and
 
 CHAP. xiv. EXCURSION TO MAHAZOARIVO. 359 
 
 Madagascar, and with which they returned in the following 
 year. It was evident that they had been gratified by the 
 kindness and attention which they had received from Lord 
 Palmerston and the members of the British government. They 
 also received much kindness from Sir John Anson, Bart., the Hon. 
 A. Kinnaird, and the Directors of the London Missionary Society. 
 
 A few days after the departure of the embassy, we were 
 invited to accompany Queen Rasoherina and her friends to 
 a pleasant retreat on the margin of a small lake, situated 
 about two miles from Antananarivo. Here the first Radama 
 built a somewhat elegant cottage, near the edge of the water. 
 Here, also, he formed a very pleasant garden, in which he 
 collected all the trees which had been introduced by foreigners 
 into Madagascar, and also many of the remarkable trees of the 
 country. On the margin of the lake he planted rofia trees, 
 and stocked its waters with turtle and various kinds of fish. 
 When the cares of sovereignty allowed him leisure, Radama 
 had often sought recreation and pleasure in his garden, and it 
 is still a favourite place for a sort of pic-nic, or transient visit 
 of the royal family and their friends. On joining the party 
 on this occasion, I was exceedingly pleased with Mahazoarivo, 
 as the pleasant retreat is called, and which I had previously 
 visited in 1856. There were a number of peach and other 
 trees which appeared to want pruning, but the loquat, orange, 
 and citron were thriving remarkably well, and the number of 
 vines under culture had greatly increased since my former 
 visit. One of the feeders of the river Ikiopa nearly encircles 
 the spot, and, with the lake, adds much to its attractions. 
 
 On returning from a tour of part of the ground, I found the 
 prime minister and his brother superintending the distribution 
 of a couple of fat oxen which had been killed to furnish the 
 more substantial part of the pic-nic. Then after visiting a stone 
 building, the flat roof of which commands a fine view of the 
 surrounding cultivated fields, and lakes, and streams, and wall- 
 encircled villages, I found the company gathered together in
 
 300 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 groups under the very pleasant shade of trees, where breakfast 
 was being served when I returned. Her majesty and the 
 ministers were within the cottage. My place was with the 
 family of the second military officer. The grassy turf was our 
 seat, and freshly-plucked green banana leaves served for table- 
 cloths. Dtjedner & la fourchette our repast was not ; but a 
 pocket-knife and a spoon did good service, and the company 
 were all very merry at the extemporised fdte champetre. 
 
 We afterwards walked to the lake, where some of our young 
 companions pointed out the shooting-ground. Rifle corps were 
 becoming very popular in England, and the young chiefs had 
 probably seen some account of them in the papers, especially 
 the illustrated ones, and some of the officers and others who 
 were amateurs were forming a sort of company for rifle- 
 shooting. In their practice here they fired across the lake, 
 where it was about two hundred yards wide. I asked the 
 young men who were with me what the target was. They 
 said it was a sheep or a goat tied to a tree ; and on my 
 remarking that they must not expect the enemy to let them 
 catch him and tie him to a tree before shooting him, they said 
 no, but if they hit the animal when it stood still, they could 
 afterwards kill it when in motion. They said they were 
 only learning to shoot. It was here that I met the French 
 consul, for the first time since the revolution. Happening to 
 refer to Radama, I told him I had read his letter published in 
 the London " Times," on the subject of the late king's death, 
 with much approbation, as it seemed to me a correct account. 
 He said he had endeavoured to make it so. 
 
 During the season of persecution, the Christians had been 
 accustomed, if practicable, to observe Christmas Day as a 
 season of rejoicing ; and since the accession of Kadama it had 
 been a season in which tokens of remembrance were exchanged, 
 and social and religious gatherings were arranged. For the 
 former of these purposes it was even observed by some who 
 were not Christians. As Christmas Day approached this year,
 
 CHAP. xiv. VISIT OF THE CHRISTIANS TO THE QUEEN. 3d 
 
 the heads of the Christians expressed a wish to pay their 
 respects to the queen, and her majesty signified ,her pleasure 
 to receive them. 
 
 Early in the morning of that day the congregations assembled 
 in their respective chapels. The places were all crowded, 
 though the services were finished soon after eight o'clock. 
 (I heard that some of the people had slept in the chapel all 
 night, to be sure of a place in the morning.) As soon as the 
 services were over, the people proceeded, some of them singing 
 as they went, to Andohalo, the place of public assemblies. I 
 had gone home for some refreshment, when, before nine o'clock, 
 a messenger brought word that the Christians were assembled, 
 and, in company with some of the missionaries, I proceeded 
 to the place of gathering. On our way we met the prime 
 minister and some of the nobles going to the palace ; but the 
 road was so thronged with Christians that their bearers could 
 with difficulty press through the crowd. 
 
 On reaching Andohalo, an animating spectacle presented 
 itself. On the slightly elevated sides, and in the northern part 
 of the centre of this natural amphitheatre situated in the 
 heart of the city, not fewer, certainly, than seven thousand 
 Christians were assembled. Some were standing or leisurely 
 walking to and fro, others sitting under umbrageous and fruit- 
 bearing fig-trees. Fathers and mothers, with their children, 
 were there ; young men and maidens, pastors and their spi- 
 ritual flocks, all in their holiday attire. All seemed perfectly 
 at ease and conscious of security, while the grateful joy of the 
 heart seemed to beam in every countenance, and find utterance 
 in every greeting. 
 
 While the leaders of the Christians were arranging the 
 several companies, we proceeded through the crowded way to 
 the neighbourhood of the large palace, and were soon followed 
 by the Christians, walking four abreast. Among their front 
 ranks were civil and military officers of 13th and 1-tth Honours, 
 officers of the palace wearing their broad pink ribbons, as
 
 362 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 well as others of lower rank, mingled with pastors, preachers, 
 and deacons, followed by the whole body of the Christians, 
 the men walking first and the women afterwards. Joining 
 with them, we led the way to the palace, the general residence 
 of the queen. Here the Christians filled every available spot 
 of ground in front of the balustrade, within which the royal 
 seat was placed. The members of the royal family and officers 
 were ranged on the left ; the ladies in waiting, the ministers 
 and members of the government, on the right. 
 
 When the queen, who looked remarkably well, came out of 
 the palace, she was welcomed with hearty greetings by the 
 vast assembly. As these subsided, several parties of singers 
 sang what may be termed the Malagasy National Anthem, a 
 hymn imploring the Divine blessing on the queen. An officer 
 then advanced a little in front of the rest, tendered the salu- 
 tations of the Christians to her majesty, and presented the 
 customary hasina, which the queen very cheerfully acknowledged- 
 
 The choirs belonging to the several city congregations after- 
 wards sang with good effect several hymns and anthems. Rai- 
 nimamonjisoa, an intelligent, gifted, and influential officer, also 
 an aide-de-camp to the prime minister, then stood forward 
 and, in the name of his fellow Christians, addressed the queen 
 with much readiness and force, assuring her majesty of their 
 gratitude for their privileges, of their devotedness to the 
 government, and earnest desire to promote the welfare of all 
 classes. The queen made a short and approving reply, and by 
 gestures as well as words assured the vast assembly of the 
 satisfaction which their presence and the declaration of their 
 attachment had afforded. The high officers and other members 
 of the court appeared surprised and pleased with the singing 
 of the Christians ; and after the latter had again sang the 
 national anthem, her majesty rose, and re-entered the palace 
 about twelve o'clock, amidst the cordial greetings of the mul- 
 titude, who then returned to their respective homes. 
 
 I learned afterwards that the queen and the members of the
 
 CHAP. xiv. ARRIVAL OF HELPERS IN THE WORK. 3G3 
 
 court were surprised at the numbers, rank, and general appear- 
 aiice of the Christians, and that the interview had left a good 
 impression on the minds of the government and the spectators 
 in the city. 
 
 Other grounds of hope for the future were not wanting as 
 this most eventful year approached its close. One of our earliest 
 places of worship had been recently rebuilt on a larger scale ; 
 and sixty communicants had been added to the church wor- 
 shipping within its walls on the day on which it was opened. 
 Our central model school was becoming increasingly attractive. 
 The children of the ministers of the queen were among its 
 pupils, and it contained from 150 to 180 scholars, while day 
 and Sunday schools had been opened in connection with some 
 of the chapels. During the year the labours of the press had 
 been resumed ; and besides school and other books, we had 
 published an almanack for the ensuing year, the first periodical 
 ever issued in Madagascar. 
 
 Our numbers had also been increased, first by the arrival in 
 September of Mr. Cameron, who had formerly laboured many 
 years in connection with the earlier mission, in teaching the 
 youth of Madagascar, about 200 of whom had been placed by 
 the government under his care to work in wood, in building, 
 and in other branches of skilled labour. When the former 
 queen prohibited Christianity in the country, the government 
 sought to retain Mr. Cameron, and a lay member of the 
 mission, who taught the natives to work in iron, and would 
 have paid them to stay ; but they replied that they taught 
 the" people their respective crafts as a means of promoting their 
 civilisation, and inclining them to receive the more important 
 teaching of Christianity ; and as that was forbidden they could 
 not remain. They accordingly removed to the Cape of Good 
 Hope, seeking by their own efforts the support of their 
 families there. At the latter place, Mr. Cameron had been 
 appointed surveyor of Cape Town, had erected public and 
 other buildings, and in compliance with the wishes of tho
 
 3G4 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 directors and my own invitation, had come again to Madagascar 
 to undertake the building of the memorial churches, for which 
 work, excepting in drawing the plans, his practical experience 
 and his knowledge of the country, of the language, and the 
 people, well qualified him. 
 
 Two missionaries, out of the four appointed by the directors, 
 had arrived with Dr. Davidson, who had gone to Tamatave to 
 meet them, and to assist them on the journey. These, 
 together with Mr. Sibree, Avho had been subsequently ap- 
 pointed as an architect to prepare plans, and superintend or 
 direct the erection of the churches, had all reached Antanana- 
 rivo. 
 
 Dr. Davidson had completed a new dispensary which the 
 nobles had generously assisted to build, and which proved a 
 great addition to our means of influence for good among the 
 people; tending to disarm their prejudices, and secure their 
 confidence and gratitude. It also helped to bring the gospel to 
 a large class who would not have been reached by any other 
 agency. Above three thousand patients had already been pre- 
 scribed for, out of the number who had applied. 
 
 Dr. Davidson, anxious to extend his medical labours as widely 
 as possible, and having obtained promises of assistance in 
 materials, &c., from the government and the nobles, prepared 
 to commence the erection of an hospital for the receiving of 
 patients, &c., hoping that the institution might in time become 
 in part self-supporting. The foundation stone was laid by the 
 prime minister on the 6th of January, 1864 : on that occasion 
 refreshment was provided in a tent on the ground, in which the 
 thermometer stood at 110. 
 
 The prospects of peace in the country, and the promise of 
 the government to give us valid titles to the sites, encouraged 
 us to commence the erection of one of the memorial churches, 
 that at Ambatonakanga ; and as it appeared desirable to place 
 within the foundation stone a statement of the objects of the 
 building, &c., I prepared a brief account ; but, as some very
 
 CHAP. xiv. FOUNDATION OF THE MEMORIAL CHURCH LAID. 3G5 
 
 peculiar ideas are current amongst the people about burying 
 written or printed paper in the ground, I submitted it to the 
 brother of the minister ; and I also proposed to enclose among 
 the deposits the Report of the London Missionary Society. I 
 saw that the minister was alarmed at the bulk of the book, 
 and observed that it was not necessary to enclose anything else 
 besides the statement. He then said, " Is it necessary to put 
 any paper at all in the stone ? " I said, " Not by any means. 
 The building will neither be more sacred nor more secure for 
 anything we can put in the stone ; "it will stand quite as well, 
 and quite as long without it, only it is a custom with us to do 
 so, to tell some future generation, if that stone should be dis- 
 turbed, by whom, and for what object the building was raised. 
 He appeared quite relieved, and we finally agreed that nothing 
 should be deposited in the foundation stone.* 
 
 As we had found the heat so oppressive at the hospital, we 
 fixed nine o'clock in the morning for the ceremony at the church. 
 A large crowd had gathered early, and I succeeded in obtaining 
 a photograph of the scene before the great man who was to lay 
 the stone arrived. When all was ready, I descended into the 
 trench with the prime minister, and spread a little mortar to 
 show him how it was to be done. The stone was then lowered, 
 and I told the minister how to proceed. As soon as he had 
 followed my directions, the stone was declared to be laid, and 
 we ascended. I then delivered a short address to the people, 
 and when a hymn had been sung, Mr. Cousins closed the pro- 
 ceedings with prayer. We then proceeded to the large house 
 
 * Every injury experienced is supposed to have been caused by the malign 
 influence of some superior invisible power. Witchcraft also is the imagined 
 Hource of many calamities ; and it is supposed that the depositing of paper 
 with writing or printing upon it in the earth is offensive to the invisible 
 beings on whom the abundance and quality of their crops are supposed to 
 depend. Hence the uneasiness manifested by the minister in prospect of the 
 public depositing of any document or pamphlet in the foundation of the 
 church. Not that I supposed he believed in anything of the kind ; but he 
 did not want to give the heathen party what they would deem a cause of 
 complaint, should the ensuing crops prove less favourable than usual.
 
 366 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 of a member of the congregation, which I had borrowed for the 
 occasion, to partake of breakfast. All the officers, except the 
 prime minister, who was detained by illness, were present, as 
 well as the missionaries. 
 
 The owners of the house and the servants had prepared an 
 excellent breakfast, to which the company did justice. The 
 commander-in-chief, in acknowledging a toast, said it gave them 
 much pleasure to be associated with us, as they were assured 
 our aim in all our endeavours was the good of the country. 
 The conversation was unusually free and animated. Our guests 
 appeared quite frank and unrestrained in the expression of 
 their opinions. "We discussed points of their own history and 
 traditions, and they asked about our country, where the 
 English got all their money, and whether they gave what 
 they gave for missionary purposes of their own accord, or were 
 commanded to do so by Queen Victoria ? And they could 
 scarcely understand why the English Christians should do so of 
 their own free will. 
 
 It was some time past noon before the company left. I was 
 gratified to have secured the public sanction to our erection of 
 the church, which their presence and the actual public com- 
 mencement of the building by the prime minister had given, as 
 well as to have had their company afterwards. It encouraged my 
 hope that if they did not help, they were less likely to hinder, 'our 
 work. As most of the workmen were Christians, and felt an 
 interest in the building beyond that of their mere employment 
 in its erection, I was glad to make it a day of rejoicing to them, 
 and to give them a bullock, which they killed, divided, and 
 took home to make a supper for their families. 
 
 The building of an hospital for from twenty to forty patients, 
 with the requisite offices and appurtenances in a country where 
 such a structure was unknown, and little more than the raw 
 material in the crudest state existed, was a different affair from 
 what the erection of such a building would be in a country of 
 more advanced civilisation ; but Mr. Cameron's experience
 
 CHAP. xiv. DIFFICULTIES IN BUILDING THE CHURCHES. 367 
 
 acquired in former years, his influence with the workmen, his 
 practical acquaintance with the work required, both as to its 
 quality and cost, greatly diminished the difficulties. The 
 hospital, and the doctor's house, which Mr. Cameron undertook 
 to build, were to be of unburnt brick, floored with tiles, and 
 protected by a verandah. 
 
 The erection of one of the churches was a still more difficult 
 work. It was to be of stone, well-built, so as to be lasting, 
 not a fancy structure overspread with ornament, but solid, 
 chaste, and simple in its style, so as to be suitable for the pur- 
 pose for which it was built, and creditable to the Christians in 
 England who were presenting it as a token of their apprecia- 
 tion of the heroic constancy of the martyrs, and a means of 
 perpetuating the remembrance of their stedfastness and faith 
 by future generations who in happier days should become 
 followers of Christ. 
 
 In England the execution of such a work would require 
 knowledge, experience, and judgment ; and much more so in 
 Madagascar. No contract could be made here for delivering 
 stones from the quarry, rough or prepared. There were no 
 timber-yards where the wood required could be selected and 
 purchased ; no lime-burners from whom that indispensable ma- 
 terial could be obtained. Lime existed, but in small quantities, 
 and was a government monopoly. This was the first work of 
 the kind ever undertaken in Madagascar. Tombs and gate- 
 ways of stone had been erected, but no church had been 
 attempted, so that the workmen had to be directed and trained 
 to the work ; when they worked for the nobles they were 
 constantly under inspection ; and the difficulties of erecting the 
 first church were greater, and required closer attention than any 
 that might be afterwards undertaken, when the masons should 
 have become accustomed to the work. 
 
 I had been too much connected with the commencement and 
 progress of the effort to provide these memorial churches, not to 
 be desirous that they should be suitable and well-built structures.
 
 3C8 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 However well qualified professionally Mr. Sibree,the architect sent 
 out by the directors, might be, he was necessarily unacquainted 
 with the language, and the usages of the people. I therefore 
 cheerfully devoted as much time as possible to the interpreting 
 and explaining of his wishes to the workmen, to the making 
 agreements for the quarrying and preparing of the stone, 
 purchasing the timber, and obtaining the lime, as well as paying 
 the workmen, and keeping the accounts. 
 
 The Malagasy are early risers, and always get their work 
 well on in the morning, and feel the day comparatively broken 
 unless they begin soon after sunrise. The government bell 
 rings veiy early every morning, to call the slaves and others 
 to their work. I was at first often on the ground soon 
 after sunrise, and was always there once, but oftener twice in 
 the day, glad to render every assistance in my power to obtain 
 materials, or to prevent imposition as to charges, &c., until Mr. 
 Sibree's acquaintance with the language rendered my assistance 
 no longer necessary. It thus devolved upon me to purchase 
 most of the materials for building the church ; and sometimes 
 we had specimens of limestone brought from a distance of many 
 miles ; while my own journeys in search of this necessary 
 material were somewhat extended. 
 
 Besides these and many other occupations, I acted as trea- 
 surer for the directors, in paying for labour as well as materials, 
 both for the church and the hospital. 
 
 Gratifying as it was to resume the work connected with the 
 churches, the preparations for which had been interrupted since 
 the revolution, and encouraging as were many aspects of the 
 mission, we were not without causes of affliction and sorrow. 
 The health of Mrs. Pearse, who had arrived with her husband 
 scarcely four months before this time, had already become such 
 as to afford but little hope of her being able to remain. Mr. 
 Stagg, also, whose health had not been good during the voyage 
 out, had suffered from fever soon after his arrival, as well as 
 subsequently. In January, 1864, his illness assumed a more
 
 CHAP. xiv. ILLNESS AND DEATH OF MR. STAGG. 3G9 
 
 serious character, the attacks of fever becoming more violent, 
 until the 5th of February, when he found rest and peace in 
 death. 
 
 The parents of the children who had been his pupils, and 
 many of the Christians, manifested much sympathy with Mr. 
 Stagg during his illness. The children, they said, were filled 
 with sorrow, fearing his loss. The commander-in-chief came to 
 visit him while living, and after his death sent cloth for a pall 
 at his funeral. The queen, having heard of his illness through 
 reports of the weeping and lamentation of the children, sent 
 two officers to visit him with a present of three dollars, as an 
 expression of her sympathy with him in his affliction ; and 
 when I placed the pieces of money in his hand, and he had 
 been made to understand it was from the queen, he seemed 
 surprised and pleased, endeavouring to give some expression to 
 his feelings by their own graceful word " Veloma." The pre- 
 sent was in accordance with one of the good and commendable 
 customs which prevail amongst the Malagasy. It is usual with 
 them when a friend or neighbour is ill, to visit or send to them, 
 and to give or send small presents of money to assist in pro- 
 viding anything that may be needed for the sick. 
 
 In the case of Mr. Stagg all the alleviations that sympathy 
 and the most constant medical attention could supply had 
 been given, but without avail. During the latter part of his 
 illness he was seldom sensible for any long period together, and 
 sometimes the violence of delirium was truly distressing to 
 those who, night and clay, were watching at his bedside. But 
 though the intervals during which his mind was calm were 
 few, yet they sufficed to show that his soul was stayed on 
 his Redeemer, and his mind supported and comforted by the 
 cheering words of Christ. An evening or two before his depar- 
 ture, he asked Mr. Pearse, who was sitting with him, to read a 
 portion of Scripture. On being asked what portion he would 
 like, he said the fourteenth of St. John's Gospel. He then 
 asked Mr. Pearse to pray with him. In the prayer he appeared
 
 370 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 fully to join, as in the Amen at the close. He scarcely spoke 
 afterwards. 
 
 Our brother was removed to his last resting-place in the 
 burial-ground for foreigners, where his remains were laid by the 
 side of those of the first missionaries who had died in the field. 
 We felt deeply this first breach made by death in our ranks, so 
 soon after the resuming of the mission, especially in connec- 
 tion with so important a charge as the care of the Central 
 Training School. Our departed brother had acquired great 
 influence over the young, but his health seemed from the first 
 scarcely equal to a department of missionary labour which 
 makes such large demands on the physical as well as mental 
 energies of the teacher. 
 
 The missionary brethren attended daily, as long as they were 
 able, at the central school ; but the post which the death of Mr. 
 Stagg left vacant still remains so, although I have recently 
 heard that an efficient teacher has been appointed to fill it. 
 May he be richly endowed with every qualification which the 
 important post requires. It is not a teacher of languages that 
 is so much needed, as an ability to acquire thoroughly the native 
 language, and use it to nourish and strengthen the minds of 
 the scholars. My own opinion of its claims and requirements are 
 certainly not less than they were when informing the directors 
 of the London Missionary Society of the death of Mr. Stagg. I 
 expressed my views to them in the following terms : 
 
 " Few more important and encouraging spheres of labour can 
 be presented before any one anxious to devote life, and all the 
 endowments with which it may be associated, to the service of 
 Him from whom every good gift is received, than that which 
 Madagascar offers to the Christian teacher. The mind of the 
 youth of Imerina seems at present plastic, and ready to receive 
 the form and impress which the labour, affection, and piety of 
 the Christian teacher may impart, and which, it is to be hoped, 
 future generations will mature and perpetuate. Germs of 
 truth and wisdom planted now in a mental soil by no means
 
 CHAP. xiv. ILLNESS AND DEATH OF MRS. PEARSE. 371 
 
 ungenial or sterile, may be expected, with God's blessing, to 
 yield precious and blessed results for generations yet to come. 
 Our earnest hope, our fervent prayer is, that our Divine Lord 
 may enable those with whom rests the decision, to send forth a 
 labourer of a sound constitution and a warm loving heart, as 
 well as one possessing a correct and clear view of the nature 
 and extent of his work ; not only as a teacher of children, but as 
 a trainer in mind, character, and labours of those who are to be, 
 so far as he is able to qualify them, the schoolmasters of the 
 nation. 
 
 " Our departed brother's expectations, I believe, were not 
 disappointed as to the ability and acquirements of those under 
 his training. One has already the charge of an important 
 school. Stations are ready for others so soon as they shall be 
 qualified to fill them. We also feel the need of a thoroughly 
 efficient schoolmistress, almost as much as a master for the 
 training school. 
 
 Mrs. Pearse, whose whole heart seemed to be in missionary 
 work, who acquired the language with great facility, and who 
 appeared to possess many endowments for efficient service in 
 the mission, reluctantly left us about two months after Mr. 
 Stagg's decease. With the intention of returning to England, 
 she and her husband had succeeded in accomplishing the 
 journey from the capital to Tamatave, when a sudden acces- 
 sion of illness arrested their progress, and terminated her 
 sufferings and her life. At Tamatave, where no medical 
 assistance could be had, eveiy alleviation which female 
 skill and kindness could afford, was promptly and cheerfully 
 given by the sisters of charity connected with the Roman 
 Catholic mission at Tamatave. They were he only European 
 females there, and their kindness was gratefully regarded by 
 the bereaved husband, who returned to his labours at the 
 capital. 
 
 According to both law and custom in Madagascar, when the 
 head of a family is found guilty of any crime which involves
 
 373 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 banishment and confiscation of property, the members of the 
 family, wife, children, and slaves, are frequently involved, as 
 well as the cattle. The crimes of the menamaso were said to 
 be such as to involve not only the destruction of their own 
 lives, the plunder of their effects, and the demolition of their 
 houses, but the seizure of whatever property they might be 
 possessed of, and the public sale of their wives, children, and 
 slaves. 
 
 Soon after the revolution, I had some conversation on this 
 subject with one of the high officers, a member of the govern- 
 ment, and an enlightened and humane man, who had been in 
 England, and professed great admiration for European usages. 
 I said I wondered at their retaining such an unreasonable and 
 unjust custom, which inflicted penalty for all future life on 
 a perfectly innocent child for its father's crime, and that in 
 the case of the Christians the wife was sometimes sentenced 
 to slavery for the husband's offence, though she might not 
 have been a Christian. He said it was not a custom that 
 could be justified, but it was their mode of inflicting a pecu- 
 niary fine. They knew that the relatives would redeem the 
 parties sentenced to slavery. I said that could not justify the 
 risk of sentencing the innocent to suffer, supposing there should 
 be no relatives, or none willing to redeem those who were inno- 
 cently sentenced ; and that so long as such a law or custom 
 continued, civilised nations would regard their code as unjust, 
 and their habits cruel. 
 
 Slaves are usually sold by private contract, or at Zoma, the 
 large weekly market. But since the revolution there had been 
 several sales of slaves by auction by the side of the public 
 road, within twenty or thirty yards of my house. The auc- 
 tioneer and a number of persons with him, and others attending 
 the sale, occupied the courts in front of the houses on the 
 upper or eastern side of the road, where the ground was five 
 or six feet higher than the road. A stone wall was built 011 
 that side of the road three or four feet above the yard inside ;
 
 CHAP. xiv. WIDOW AND CHILDREN SOLD AS SLAVES. 373 
 
 and close up against this wall the slave to be sold stood upon 
 a stone immediately beneath the place where the auctioneer 
 stood within the yard. The other persons attending the sale 
 stood in the road. 
 
 When the sale began, the slave stood up, and the biddings 
 were called out loudly, amidst a good deal of clamour and noise. 
 When a slave was purchased, he or she was bid to step down 
 from the stone, and given into the hands of the purchaser, and 
 then another was called up. The slaves waiting to be sold 
 were generally huddled together on some steps at the north 
 end of the wall. The slaves of the menamaso were sold soon 
 after the revolution ; but for four days in the middle of Fe- 
 bruary, nine months after the destruction of their fathers and 
 husbands, numbers of chiefs were employed in selling the wives 
 and children of the menamaso ; and on the 13th of the month, the 
 Christian widow and two t children of Rainiketaka, the minister 
 of justice, were publicly sold by auction within twenty yards 
 of my house, in one lot, for twenty-four dollars. I recollected 
 how I had seen the husband and father of those slaves standing 
 by the side of the sovereigns on the day of the coronation, 
 and how, two or three days before, I had walked in company 
 with Captain Anson, when he had \ed, one by each hand, those 
 two little girls to Mrs. Toy's school, on their admission as 
 pupils. 
 
 The widows and children of the menamaso were all purchased 
 by their friends, and restored to liberty, so that the sale was 
 only the means of exposing the innocent individuals to public 
 shame, and extorting their price from their friends, to be added 
 to the spoil divided amongst those who had been engaged in 
 the destruction of the dead. 
 
 The strange and extreme vicissitudes of human life here, 
 were it not for what had passed under my own observation, 
 would seem scarcely credible, and the spectacles of the last 
 few days had been to me deeply afflictive. I did not venture 
 near the place of sale, lest I should be tempted to ask the
 
 374 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 officers if they had no wives and children of their own, or to 
 say something that might have offended them, and perhaps 
 have injured the innocent and helpless victims of their heart- 
 less rapacity and insulting cruelty. I did not, therefore, inter- 
 fere. Before the sales ceased, I succeeded in taking a view 
 of the scene, while they were engaged in their heartless 
 traffic, without their perceiving what I was doing, or I think 
 they would have removed from the place ; for it is not a 
 transaction which they attempt to justify to us, and generally 
 avoid any reference to it. 
 
 We still continued to hear occasionally rumours that Radama 
 was still alive, and efforts were made to discover their authors, 
 and to prevent such rumours being repeated. Others did not 
 see any harm in people saying that he was alive if they had 
 heard so, and that they ought not to be put to death for that. 
 The survivors of the menamaso, and any friends of the king 
 remaining in the capital, avoided as much as possible appearing 
 in public, and seemed to desire to be forgotten ; while amongst 
 other classes the opinion appeared to be increasing, that other 
 motives besides patriotism had contributed to bring about the 
 revolution. 
 
 Although we had obtained two new and spacious chapels in 
 the northern and eastern borders of Antananarivo, we had 
 still no place of worship within the city, where the population 
 is most dense and least Christian; and we had no means of 
 securing any until the government requiring a building which 
 the late king had given to a number of Christians at Antsa- 
 habe, a village to the east of Faravohitra, the leaders of the 
 congregation then proposed to erect a place of worship in a 
 most eligible position, near the north-east angle of Andohalo, 
 and only a few yards distant from the prime minister's premises. 
 One of the leaders of the congregation possessed a piece of 
 ground on the spot, and the prime minister allowing them to 
 occupy an additional piece belonging to himself, we considered 
 the situation so desirable that we helped them to complete the
 
 CHAP. xiv. ERECTION OF NEW PLACES OF WORSHIP. 375 
 
 building ; and in less than a fortnight after the sale of the 
 widows and children of the menamaso above referred to, the 
 chapel was opened for public worship. Mr. Toy and I preached 
 in the morning and evening of the Lord's Day to congregations 
 of not fewer than six hundred on each occasion, though there 
 were but very few from any of the other congregations. Some 
 members of the prime minister's family were present, and he 
 himself was afterwards occasionally seen there. 
 
 This chapel being situated in the midst of a dense popu- 
 lation, and at some distance from any other place of worship, 
 has been the means of extending Christian influence amongst 
 the people, and leading many to unite themselves with the 
 Christians. One of our number always administered the Lord's 
 Supper, and we took part in the services on Sunday as often 
 as we could, until the arrival of Mr. Hartley, when, at the 
 request of the people, he became their mpitandrina, or over- 
 seer. 
 
 I had also assisted the Christians residing in the neighbour- 
 hood of the rocky precipice, down which the martyrs were 
 hurled, to build a temporary place of worship near the edge 
 of the rock, that they might gather the nucleus of a Christian 
 congregation there, to worship ultimately in the memorial 
 church which we proposed to erect on the spot. This building, 
 which was also within the city and near the palace on the 
 western side, was nearly completed, and we were proportionally 
 cheered by these additional means of prosecuting our great 
 work in the most important parts of the capital. 
 
 Notwithstanding these additional places of worship, increasing 
 numbers continued to attend those previously existing. Few 
 months passed in which members, varying from five or six to 
 thirty or more, were not admitted to the ranks of the Christians 
 by baptism, and in somewhat smaller numbers to the com- 
 munion of the several churches. Many were officers, some of 
 high rank ; others belonged to the non-military class ; but 
 from both classes the chief part of the additions consisted of
 
 376 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 young persons, either such as had recently entered upon the 
 responsibility of social and married life, or were about to do so. 
 
 It was not, however, from the upper classes alone that acces- 
 sions to the Christian ranks were received. Many in connection 
 with the congregation with which I was associated, as well as 
 with others, were slaves ; and I had often occasion to note the 
 wise and generous care of the Christian owners for the spiritiial 
 welfare of their slaves, in encouraging and arranging the duties 
 in the family, so that they might attend public worship, and in 
 assisting them in their inquiries after truth. Not unfrequently 
 a Christian master has come with his slave to bespeak my 
 considerate attention when he wanted to make inquiries in 
 reference to his desire to be baptised or admitted to the com- 
 munion. I have also seen the kind-hearted mistress on these 
 occasions sitting by the side of her female slave, perhaps putting 
 her hand on her shoulder, or speaking kind encouraging words 
 when they have been received into the fellowship of the 
 Church ; and although the slaves usually select a place for 
 themselves in the church, I have seen a recently-admitted slave 
 sitting at her mistress's side or at her feet at her first com- 
 munion, the mistress evidently pleased to see her there. And 
 when that slave has come with another slave and their friends 
 to enter into the married state in the house of God, I have seen 
 that same mistress sitting by her side, looking, if not expressing, 
 her benediction on the union. By the non-Christian part of the 
 people slaves are kept at a great distance, but where I have be- 
 held sights such as these they have enhanced my estimate of the 
 blessed influence of the Gospel on the different relations of life, 
 and the effect it produces in drawing close together the children 
 of God's great family. Such little kindly attentions are amply 
 repaid by attachment and fidelity. Many of the slaves who 
 attended the martyrs or other Christians in their sufferings 
 during the seasons of persecution have been treated as attached 
 and inseparable friends by the relatives or survivors for the 
 remainder of their lives.
 
 CHAP. XIV. INFLUENCE OF CHKISTIANITY ON SOCIAL LIFE. 377 
 
 It was thus, without much to attract public notice, that new 
 buildings for religious worship arose, and that the number of 
 the Christians continued to increase in the capital ; while at 
 the same time letters and visitors from other parts of the 
 country informed us of corresponding progress in regions far 
 beyond the range of our personal efforts. 
 
 The tidings from the remote stations were sometimes as 
 remarkable for the evidence they supplied of the power of 
 the Gospel on the conscience, and its influence over the 
 conduct, as for its continued extension. An illustration of 
 this occurred in connection with an officer of distinction at 
 Fianarantsoa. This individual lived, before his knowledge of 
 the Gospel, as other heathens lived. A number of wives, or of 
 those who scarcely stood in the rank of wives, prevailed amongst 
 all classes, and was regulated by law. This individual had 
 several vady kely, as such individuals living in the state 
 adverted to are called. The relation had been entered into 
 when all were heathen, and it was neither esteemed unlawful 
 nor in any way disreputable. Most of these persons, including 
 this officer, became Christians ; and although no European 
 missionary had ever been there, and no correspondence had 
 taken place between them and any of the missionaries on 
 the subject, they became convinced that, for Christians, their 
 manner of life was wrong. The chief, influenced, so far as we 
 could ascertain, solely by the requirements of the Gospel, stated 
 that it was not right for them to live together as they had done ; 
 and it was arranged that one of them should continue to livo 
 with him as his wife, and the rest return to their respective 
 homes, with the provision which he made for their suitable 
 maintenance.* 
 
 Such was the decision at which these Christians at Fiana- 
 rantsoa arrived among themselves from what they deemed to be 
 
 * No stain rested on the characters of those who, while in a state of 
 heathenism, had entered into this relation ; and when, under the Christian 
 law, it was discontinued, they were received with affection and esteem by 
 the Christian families to which they belonged, rather than repelled or avoided.
 
 378 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 the teaching of the New Testament on this sometimes difficult 
 question. Some of these females were connected with families 
 in Antananarivo who had become Christians, and were members 
 of the congregation with which I was connected. They were 
 sent home honourably, under the care of a trustworthy subordi- 
 nate Christian officer and his attendants. These men frequently 
 visited me during their stay in the capital, and they also stated 
 that the cause above mentioned was the only reason for the 
 separation which had occurred. I do not recollect having met 
 with a more striking instance of the power of the Gospel on the 
 consciences of those who had received it than this occurrence 
 afforded. 
 
 This subject occasionally required our attention in the govern- 
 ment or discipline of the churches, but it proved less difficult 
 than we had apprehended. Some living in the state described 
 were found who had been admitted to Christian communion 
 before our arrival, and we did not deem it necessary to recom- 
 mend their exclusion on that account. We inculcated that no 
 Christian man could marry more than one woman, and that no 
 Christian woman could become the wife of a man who was 
 already married. In reference to those who had entered into 
 that state while both were heathen, we recommended them to 
 live according to the word of God one man and one woman, 
 as man and wife ; that the man who had more than one should 
 live with one only as his wife, and should set the others free, 
 making provision for their support ; but we did not require on 
 the authority of Scripture that they should separate, especially 
 if one of the parties continued heathen and did not consent. 
 We also stated further that, although the relation might have 
 been entered upon when they were heathen, it did not appear 
 seemly to us that they should come to the Lord's table while 
 living in a state which was not according to the original institu- 
 tion of God, and we generally found that, after a season, this 
 recommendation was sufficient. Instances in which this habit 
 of life was voluntarily discontinued from regard to considerations
 
 CHAP. xiv. THE GOSPEL AMONG THE DISTANT VILLAGES. 379 
 
 arising out of the requirements of Christianity produced con- 
 siderable effect upon the heathen, as evidence of its power 
 over those who received it. This was the result of the pro- 
 ceedings at Fianarantsoa, one of our remote stations, and nearly 
 two hundred miles distant from the capital. 
 
 Mr. Toy, besides his stated labours in teaching and preaching 
 at Ambohipotsy, had, in compliance with earnest invitations, 
 been to a number of important villages in the southern part of 
 Imerina, and had initiated among them regular Sunday services, 
 sending native preachers, whom he had trained for the work, to 
 minister in their congregations, and visiting them himself as 
 often as possible ; and though fatigued by the long distances 
 which he had to travel, he was abundantly compensated by the 
 progress of the people. Mr. W. E. Cousins had also visited in 
 the same manner some of the Christian villages in Vonizongo, 
 distant a day's journey and a half to the east. 
 
 The early missionaries appear to have attended well to the 
 instruction of the people of the western district of the province, 
 and Mr. Cousins was delighted with the earnestness and in- 
 telligence of the Christians, as well as with their simple and 
 devoted piety. They are not numerous perhaps about six 
 hundred, many of them respectable men, and distinguished in 
 general by their knowledge of Scripture, and the gravity and 
 integrity of their Christian character. They suffered severely, 
 nobly, and steadfastly for their faith during the seasons of 
 persecution, and a number of them were amongst the most 
 distinguished martyrs. I had much intercourse with them 
 afterwards ; and though many, especially the children and sur- 
 vivors of those who had suffered for their faith, seemed to 
 be not unacquainted with poverty, they were patient and 
 unrepining under their privations and sufferings, and anxious 
 to communicate the knowledge of the Gospel to those dwelling 
 in the regions beyond them. Their country was greatly ex- 
 posed during the agitation and disturbance that arose after the 
 death of Radama, and they now only feel safe from the incur-
 
 380 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 sions of the Sakalavas in their fortified villages. The accounts 
 of the nights of peril and fear from marauders which they 
 sometimes passed were peculiarly affecting ; but the continuance 
 of peace will, it is hoped, prepare the way for the communica- 
 tion of the Gospel to the Sakalavas in the west, especially as 
 some of the Hova officers and soldiers in that quarter are 
 Christians. 
 
 From the villages near to us in the north we had also much 
 encouragement. Some of the missionaries had visited Ilafy, a 
 beautifully situated royal village, built on the summit of a 
 broad-based hill, and sheltered by gigantic and umbrageous 
 trees. This village belonged to the late king, and in former 
 times was long the residence of the chiefs who ruled over a 
 wide tract of the surrounding country. The visits of the mis- 
 sionaries had cheered the people there, and revived their 
 Christian zeal. One of their early efforts was to provide for 
 their spiritual improvement by erecting a new and enlarged 
 place of worship. Having decided to attempt this work, and 
 having sought the Divine blessing on their endeavours, they 
 then considered what they could do themselves. They next 
 drew up a statement of their numbers and their means, and 
 sought assistance from the Christians connected with the several 
 congregations in the capital and the neighbourhood. 
 
 I was much pleased with their appeal, originating, I believe, 
 amongst themselves. In the brief statement preceding the 
 list of contributions was the following historical and statistical 
 summary, which was sufficient to set forth the truthfulness of 
 their appeal. The translation is as follows : 
 
 What the Christians in Ilafy endured during the time of darkness 
 (persecution). 
 
 4 Christians were hunted, seized, and put to death. 
 
 3 died in fetters. 
 
 2 died from the tangena, or poison. 
 
 4 - took the poison, but survived. 
 
 25 continued steadfast to the end of the persecution. 
 
 <J8 Christians at Ilafy during that time.
 
 CHAP. xiv. THE PAST AND PRESENT OF CHRISTIANITY. 381 
 
 260 added to the Christians since the light (liberty) of teaching and wor- 
 shipping came to the land. 
 
 298 Total nnmber at the time the appeal was issued. Of these 
 
 87 are communicants. 
 
 51 have been baptised, but are not yet communicants. 
 160 have not yet been baptised. 
 
 298 
 
 This appeal was successful. Mr. Pearse, the excellent mis- 
 sionary at Analakely, now exercises a friendly oversight of their 
 church and congregation, and visits them frequently. They 
 have completed one of the best furnished village chapels in the 
 country, which, when I had the pleasure of preaching at the 
 opening service there, was well filled with the residents and 
 their visitors. 
 
 The above statement of this people is interesting and instruc- 
 tive as showing probably the average number of Christians in 
 the villages around the capital during the season of persecution, 
 and the proportion of those who actually suffered during the 
 time of darkness, as they designate it. More than one third of 
 the whole were tried for their lives on account of their faith, 
 and very nearly one fourth were put to death because they 
 were Christians. If the experience of the Christians of Ilafy 
 be regarded as setting forth that of other Christian villages, it 
 will assist us in understanding the severe ordeal through which, 
 in the very commencement of their religious life, the Christian 
 villages of Ankova had to pass. The addition to their number 
 after the proclamation of religious freedom, which they speak 
 of as the coming of the light, will serve to show the blessed 
 results of that change within three years after it had occurred. 
 
 The frequent additions to the places of public worship, and 
 the steadily increasing number of the Christians in the capital, 
 could not but be regarded with disfavour by the heathen, and 
 every two or three months there were active, but transient, 
 efforts to attract notice and revive attention to the idols. 
 
 The present season had been unusually wet, and there had
 
 382 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 been much sickness amongst the people. The heathen party 
 pretended that the idols were displeased, and unless propitiated 
 the sickness would increase. One of the idols was carried in pro- 
 cession through the principal thoroughfares of the city ; and, on 
 returning from Ambatonakanga, one Sunday after the morning 
 service, about this time, I perceived a number of idol-keepers 
 with a few attendants passing to the east from Imarivolanitra, 
 along the path which marks the boundary of the city ; and I 
 observed that they deposited something along the sides of the 
 path while muttering what might be incantations as they went 
 along. My companions, the Christians returning from the 
 morning service, told me they were depositing medicine or 
 charms along the boundaries of the city, to protect the inhabi- 
 tants against the sickness. They took no notice of us, and we 
 passed on in silence; but I sometimes thought when I saw 
 them on the road, that the spectacle of the streaming throngs 
 returning into the city after the morning services at the large 
 chapels in the northern suburbs, could be to them no hopeful 
 sign for the revival of the power of the idols in the land. 
 
 Notwithstanding the perfect liberty enjoyed by the idol- 
 worshippers, and the outward respect shown to them, as well as 
 the sanction afforded by the queen's personal recognition of 
 their claims, and by the restoration of idolatrous observances in 
 high places, there was a perceptible decline amongst the votaries 
 of the idols, although they occasionally appeared in somewhat 
 imposing processions. The Christians wished that so many of 
 the public ceremonies and engagements were not fixed by the 
 diviners to take place on the Sunday. They, perhaps, thought 
 that the diviners selected that day in order to prevent their 
 attendance on public worship, as on most of these occasions the 
 officers and others connected with the government are required 
 to attend at the palace, or take part in the ceremonials. 
 
 There was evidence of such feeling at this time in connection 
 with the approaching annual festival of the new year. This 
 ancient observance Radama had discontinued, excepting so
 
 CHAP. xrv. ANNUAL VISIT TO THE QUEEN. 383 
 
 much of it as related to the sending of presents and greetings of 
 affection and friendship, and the meeting of families together, 
 as on the occasion of Christmas Day. The observances con- 
 nected with the feast of the new year extend over a number of 
 days, or even a longer period, but especially three days the 
 day before the close of the year, the evening of the last day of 
 the year, and the first day of the new year, which is the great 
 day of the feast. 
 
 It was fixed by the diviners that the coming year should 
 begin on the first Sunday in March, consequently the observ- 
 ances commenced on the Friday. On the day before the last 
 of the year, crowds were seen entering the city early in the 
 morning, followed by their slaves bringing bundles of firewood 
 of two kinds, very different from that sold in the market all the 
 year round. One kind consisted of bundles of short spreading 
 branches of trees, seldom thicker than a man's thumb, having 
 all the bark carefully removed ; the other, of a large kind of 
 heath or of birch, unpeeled. They were brought from persons 
 residing in the country, and presented to the sovereign. Others 
 of a similar kind were brought for the nobles by their tenants, 
 or the occupiers of their lands. ' Large quantities of poultry 
 were also brought in the same way as presents to the sovereign 
 and nobles. The respectable people in the capital present 
 themselves in the palace during the day to pay their respects 
 and their hasina to the sovereign. 
 
 Having been informed that it was customary for foreigners 
 who might be in the capital to show this mark of respect, we 
 went at the time specified. Her majesty, who on this occasion 
 wore the native costume, consisting chiefly of a splendid purple- 
 coloured lamba, received us graciously ; and having been 
 requested to express the congratulations of my brethren, I 
 said, after the usual salutation and allusions to the cause for 
 rejoicing, that we thanked God for favourable seasons, fruitful 
 fields, and for general peace, health, and life, which were all 
 gifts from Him. That we thanked her majesty for allowing us
 
 384 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 perfect freedom in our work, for guarding the liberty of the 
 Christians ; and assured her majesty that we implored on her- 
 self the blessing of the living God, and had no other wish for 
 her or her country, than the prosperity of her reign and the 
 happiness of the people. We then presented our hasina, and 
 receiving in return the queen's gentle veloma may you live 
 we retired, accompanied by several of the officers. 
 
 Numbers of persons from the different parts of the capital, 
 and some from the adjacent villages, were seen throughout the 
 day going with their presents and congratulations to the queen. 
 The commander-in-chief paid me a visit in the afternoon, and 
 said that the prime minister and himself wished me to be 
 present at the ceremony of the bathing which takes place at 
 the palace on the close of the year. 
 
 The next day was appropriated to the distribution of presents, 
 and during the forenoon two officers came to say that the queen 
 had sent an ox as a present for the missionaries on the feast of 
 the new year ; and on looking out I beheld a fine large animal 
 from the royal herd. After returning our acknowledgments, I 
 sent the animal to the custody of a friend at a short distance in 
 the country until after the' Sunday, when it was killed and 
 distributed. 
 
 Idolatrous ceremonies were formerly connected with this 
 festival, such as the sacrificing of a cock at the close of the year, 
 to signify that the last blood had been shed, the last sacrifice 
 for the year offered, and that the guilt or defilement of the year 
 was removed. Whether this had been offered or not I did not 
 hear. I had been invited to what might be called the feast of 
 concord, the eating of the sweet rice and jaka after the bathing 
 of the sovereign. I went about sunset ; and when at length we 
 entered the great hall or room in the large palace, this lofty 
 and spacious hall, dimly lighted by glass chandeliers, was filled 
 with apparently two or three thousand men. It was altogether 
 a native feast. The men all appeared in native costume, gene- 
 rally in the brightly bordered red or brown silk lambas. Mr.
 
 QHAP. xiv. CEREMONIES AT THE NEW YEAR'S FEAST. 365 
 
 Cameron and myself, with two or three French gentlemen from 
 the consulate, were the only individuals in European dress, 
 
 Near the north or eastern end of the hall, which is the sacred 
 part in every house, there was a sort of temporary raised hearth, 
 four or six feet square, in which was a brightly burning fire, of 
 what seemed to me fragrant wood. In a short time the queen 
 entered from the north door, wearing the royal scarlet mantle, 
 and on her head an ornament apparently composed of a number 
 of silver balls. Her majesty saluted the people, and having 
 received their acclamations in return, sat down on a rich scarlet 
 carpet or cloth against the north wall of the room. The vast 
 assembly then sat down on the floor, Mr. Cameron and myself 
 together in the places assigned to us. A little to the left of the 
 queen her female relatives and ladies of the palace, members of 
 the royal family, took their places, the ministers and other 
 members of the government on the right. No one sat near her 
 majesty, either in front or by her side. 
 
 Representatives of the several orders in the state, the members 
 of the royal family, nobles, judges,*military officers, landed pro- 
 prietors, and heads of the people then, one of each class sepa- 
 rately, advanced to the place near which the fire was burning, 
 and presented the congratulations of the season and their 
 hasina to the queen ; and at the time specified by the officer 
 who directed the proceedings, we, as well as the French, did the 
 same. 
 
 While the queen was thus engaged, two large round earthen 
 jars containing water, and a rude kind of ladle, formed by a gourd 
 or cocoa nut shell with a stick fixed in it for a handle, were 
 brought in with great ceremony, an officer walking in front of 
 the bearers by whom these vessels of antiquity were carried to 
 the north-east corner, the most sacred place in the hall. These 
 vessels, I was informed, had belonged to the father of the first 
 Radama, the founder of the present dynasty. Other vessels of 
 water were afterwards brought in the same stately and formal 
 manner. These appeared to be preparatory to the bathing. 
 
 c c
 
 386 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xiv. 
 
 Another officer then entered with two or more deep earthen 
 pots or pans, which were placed on stone trivets over the fire. 
 Water was poured into these vessels, to which rice was then 
 added. The queen now rose, with her female attendants, and 
 followed by the officers of the palace, walked to the north-east 
 corner of the room, where two tall officers held, with their arms 
 stretched out, a large scarlet cloth, so as to screen that corner of 
 the hall. Behind the screen thus formed her majesty bathed. 
 
 In a few minutes the queen emerged from behind the screen, 
 her head and face wet, as if just as she had risen from the bath. 
 The whole assembly instantly greeted the sovereign with their 
 benediction or wish that she might attain old age. A signal was 
 then made to an officer at the door, and the booming of the cannon 
 along the sides of the hill, announcing to the inhabitants of Anta- 
 nanarivo that the queen had bathed, authorised them to do the 
 same. While the cannons were firing without, the queen walked 
 through the crowd within the palace, holding a small, nicely curved, 
 and beautifully polished black horn filled with water in her left 
 hand, from which with her right she gracefully sprinkled water 
 on the people on both sides as she passed slowly along, and also 
 when she reached the door upon those who stood outside. In. 
 answer to my inquiries I was told that this part of the ceremony 
 had no reference in its signification to purity, but was intended 
 as a promise or sign of rain throughout the ensuing year. 
 
 By this time the rice was cooked.* And now an extremely 
 rude kind of iron ladle, said to have belonged to the founder 
 of the dynasty, was brought in the same ceremonious manner. 
 The rice was then taken out, and after being mixed with honey 
 was first put into a gilt dish and placed before the queen. 
 To the company it was then served in large oval dishes of 
 silver, and when these were all in use, in porcelain dishes, and 
 
 * In these earthen vessels, made by the natives, the rice is cooked in about 
 twenty minutes, and, before the introduction of clocks and watches, it was 
 customary to describe the distance of one place from another by saying it 
 would take one or more cookings of rice, as the case might be, to walk there ; 
 and so in relation to the notation of other short periods of time.
 
 CHAP. xiv. GUESTS AT THE FEAST OF CONCORD. 387 
 
 these not being sufficient it was served on broad freshly 
 gathered plantain leaves. 
 
 There was on this occasion no jaka, or beef preserved from 
 the last year's feast, as none had been made in Radama's reign. 
 I did not notice whether any of her own family partook of the 
 sweetened rice out of the same dish with the queen ; but the 
 company gathered, three or four or more round each dish, par- 
 taking of the rice, exclaiming " Samba ! samba ! " happy, or 
 favoured, and then transferring it to their neighbours, until all 
 had partaken. I did not observe any of the company putting 
 the rice on their heads, which is sometimes done. This eating 
 together is designed to express the perfect goodwill and concord 
 of the parties thus associated. The act of eating jaka with 
 any one is regarded as a pledge of amity, a sacred bond of 
 mutual friendship. When the company had partaken of the rice, 
 the guns were again fired to inform the people that the queen 
 had eaten of the rice, and that they might cook and eat their 
 own. Soon after this the company rose, saluted the queen, and 
 retired. It was raining heavily when we left, and I noticed 
 several of the officers and others taking off their gaily bordered 
 silken larnbas as they approached the door, and folding them 
 up, then rushing out, and exposing themselves in their under 
 garments to the rain, in order to preserve what might be called 
 their state dress. 
 
 After the bathing in the families, which followed that cere- 
 mony in the palace, it was formerly customary for each family 
 to call to mind and weep for the friends and relations who had 
 died during the year then brought to a close, so that lamenta- 
 tion and mourning might be heard in almost every house. 
 Heads of families also, on these occasions, recounted to their 
 households the deeds of former days, the exploits arid honours 
 of their ancestors, and thus by tradition preserved from oblivion 
 the memory and renown of the generations before them. 
 
 c c 2
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Early religious services on New Year's morning The city one vast slaughter- 
 house Family visiting and New Year's rejoicing The monthly meeting 
 at Ambohipotsy Appearance of smoke on the way home Proximity of 
 the fire to my own dwelling Agitation and alarm among the inhabitants 
 Methods adopted to drive off the falling flakes of fire Removal and 
 preservation of the goods Fierceness and rapid extension of the burning 1 
 Destruction of a new place of worship Absence of the owners of the 
 houses Extreme want of water Confused and comparatively useless 
 efforts of the spectators to arrest the fire Extensive and terrific aspect of 
 the fire Extent and nature of the ground Numbers and excitement of 
 the spectators Appearance of the fires by night Acknowledgment of 
 Divine protection Soldiers and watchmen Aspect of the scene in the 
 morning Visits of congratulation and condolence Inutility and danger 
 of prohibiting the erection of any but buildings of wood in the city Aid 
 towards the erection of a new chapel The Queen's visit to Ambohimanga 
 Rumours of Radama's being alive Arrest of officers and soldiers En- 
 quiries respecting the communicants Marriage ceremony in Madagascar 
 among the heathen Introduction of Christian marriage First public 
 Christian marriage in Antananarivo. 
 
 THE rain which had been falling so heavily as we returned 
 home on the Saturday evening was followed by a bright clear 
 Sunday morning, the first day of the Malagasy New Year. Ac- 
 cording to notices previously given, our congregations assembled 
 early, in order to avoid the difficulty, not to say danger, to the 
 women and children, from the oxen that would be driven through 
 the streets later in the day. 
 
 I went to Ambatonakanga about sunrise, and found the con- 
 gregation already assembled, welcoming the Sabbath and the 
 New Year's morning with songs of praise. The usual morning 
 services were performed by the native overseer and myself. The 
 congregation were attentive and devout, and it appeared to me 
 that the circumstances under which the new year opened upon
 
 CHAP. xv. SLAUGHTER AND FEASTING ON NEW YEAR'S DAY. 389 
 
 the people produced an exhilarating effect, for there was an air 
 of joyousness throughout the congregation which it was pleasing 
 to behold. Several of the slaves wore new dresses, presents 
 from their relatives or friends. 
 
 Being the first Sunday in the month, it was the season for 
 celebrating the Lord's Supper, and at the close of the service, a 
 little before nine o'clock, notice was given that the ordinance 
 would be administered at three o'clock in the afternoon, as by 
 that time there would be no cattle in the streets, nor other cause 
 of inconvenience. 
 
 As I returned home I saw fine cattle standing in several of 
 the court-yards, while in others they were being killed ; but 
 there were still a number in the roads, being driven to the 
 several places of slaughter. I was thankful for a few hours' rest 
 in my own house, in such quiet as the shouting and noise of the 
 slaves still employed in driving and slaughtering the animals 
 would allow. 
 
 At the palace, and in connection with the dwellings of the 
 chief nobles, separate places near their residences existed for 
 the slaughter of cattle ; but in general the animals are killed in 
 the court-yard, or near the house of their owner. Within half- 
 an-hour afterwards, however, so completely is everything cleared 
 away, that except where there may have been a small space of 
 ground stained with blood, and newly raked over, there was 
 nothing to indicate that a bullock had been slaughtered there. 
 But though such was the appearance of the place, that when- 
 ever an ox had been killed in the compound in which my own 
 house stood, and in others which I was accustomed to see, the 
 circumstance that it was a mark of the good standing and re- 
 spectability of a family to have its own bullock killed at home 
 for the feast, and that sometimes two or more families united in 
 providing a bullock, and also that the climate required the 
 animal to be killed on the day on which the meat was to 
 be eaten, seemed to convert the city for the time being, from 
 the palace downwards to a certain level, into one vast slaughter-
 
 890 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP xv. 
 
 house ; and although the people had means, by extra or re- 
 peated cooking, of preserving the meat beyond the first day, 
 the atmosphere, before the week was over, was not in some 
 places the most fragrant. 
 
 Throughout the Sunday there was not much quiet in the city, 
 but our place of worship being in the northern suburb, we were 
 not disturbed in our afternoon worship, and communion service, 
 nor when a neighbouring Christian family united in our house- 
 hold worship in the evening. The whole population was cele- 
 brating the feast of the New Year, the Christians in grateful 
 acknowledgments to God, that notwithstanding the changes 
 they had witnessed, the new year opened upon them in peace ; 
 the heathen rejoicing in the season set apart by their ancestors 
 for feasting and gladness. 
 
 The next day was spent by the people generally in putting 
 on their best apparel, in making visits to their friends, and in 
 giving small presents as expressions of goodwill, or mementoes 
 of affection. Many of the nobles and others sent me presents 
 of jaka, or beef, which enabled me to add to the comfort of 
 some of the poor Christians, as well as to allow my servants to 
 make merry with their friends. 
 
 Large companies of people who had come in from the country 
 to visit their friends in the capital, fathers, mothers, and chil- 
 dren, the overseers, and slaves living on the plantations, came 
 to visit their landlords, or masters, and were all welcomed at 
 this season of general rejoicing. Some of my friends brought 
 the members of their establishments in the country with them, 
 when they came to pay me their New Year's visit. Others 
 brought Christians from the villages ; and sometimes relatives 
 who were heathen, as well as Christians, united in paying these 
 visits. The feasting and the family gatherings continued two 
 or three days. 
 
 The visitors in due time returned to the country, and as the 
 rainy season was drawing to a close, the people were generally 
 busied in their plantations or rice grounds. The government
 
 CHAP. xv. ALARM OF FIRE NEAR THE PALACE. 391 
 
 were frequently occupied in the inspection of troops, in re-dis- 
 tributing them in the country, and in reviving strictness of 
 discipline ; and except for the extent to which we still felt the 
 loss of Mr. Stagg's services, and the mournful affliction of Mr. 
 Pearse, nothing occurred to interrupt the progress of our work. 
 
 On the second day of May we held our united monthly meet- 
 ing for prayer and for the spread of the Gospel. The day had 
 been unusually hot. The place in which we assembled at three 
 o'clock was oppressively close. The temporaiy building erected 
 here during the previous year had become too small for the 
 numbers now attending, and they had for some time past been 
 employed in constructing the walls of another building about 
 two feet outside of the existing walls ; and as the new structure 
 was of earth and stone, and at that time about five feet high, it 
 interrupted the draught, and made the place almost intolerably 
 close, there being perhaps eight or nine hundred persons inside, 
 besides numbers crowding round the doors and windows. 
 
 Mr. Toy, Mr. Cousins and myself, had, with native ministers, 
 taken part in the services, which were closed a little before five 
 o'clock. I had proceeded about twenty yards on my way 
 home, when I saw a cloud of smoke rise up* a little to the west 
 of the large palace, and near Ampamarinana, the Tarpean Rock. 
 A cry of fire was raised on both sides of me, and a number 
 of youths rolled up their lambas and sped away, over fences 
 and enclosures, towards the edge of the mountain, to ascertain 
 whereabouts it was. To me the volume of smoke appeared 
 too small, and the colour too light, to come from a dwelling- 
 house, and I thought it was only a heap of rubbish or straw. 
 None of the young people returned, for they could not see the 
 house. My bearer thought the fire was near our dwelling, and 
 we hastened on until we reached a turn in the road near the 
 house of Prince Ramonja, a little to the south of the palace, 
 when I saw an immense column of black smoke shoot up in the 
 air straight as a line immediately before me, a short distance 
 to the west of the large palace.
 
 392 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XV. 
 
 Before we reached the walls of the palace yard, the large fire- 
 bell was ringing, the alarm drums beating, two of which I had 
 passed on my way. Officers were gathering on the steps of the 
 palace, and soldiers were running thither, and forming a line 
 round the palace wall outside, while the road was already 
 crowded with people hurrying towards the spot where the fire 
 was furiously burning. My bearers had been for some time 
 running at the top of their speed, exclaiming, " It is our house." 
 I had thought it was too high up the mountain side for that, 
 but I now saw it was fearfully near. The crowd readily made 
 way for us, and on entering the premises, I found I was the 
 first of the resid3nts within our compound to witness the im- 
 minence of the danger. I instantly ordered the servants to shut 
 the gates and admit no one but members of the family, until 
 the master and mistress should arrive. They, with many others 
 from the neighbourhood, had been attending a meeting nearly a 
 mile distant. 
 
 My dwelling was situated on the western declivity of the 
 mountain, and on the side of a hollow or valley, from fifty to a 
 hundred yards across, and widening down from the crest of the 
 mountain towards the large parade ground below. This hollow 
 is called Antsahatsiroa (the valley of which there is not a 
 second). Across this, and a little nearer the top of the hill 
 on which the palace stands, two large, high-roofed, two-storeyed 
 houses of wood, covered with thick thatch, in one of which the 
 fire had originated, were already crackling and blazing most 
 furiously. Flakes of burning thatch, rising up to a considerable 
 height in the air, then spreading in different directions, and 
 falling while still ignited in the yards, or on the dry rush-thatched 
 roofs of other houses, seemed to paralyse the inhabitants of 
 the neighbourhood with alarm and terror. The former house 
 which I had occupied for eighteen months after my arrival was 
 only separated from the burning pile by a path a few feet wide. 
 The inmates removed the cooking house which stood next the 
 wall, and then scrambling on to the steep roof, spread wet mat-
 
 CHAP. xv. MODE OF PROTECTING THE ROOF FROM FIRE. 393 
 
 ting over the thatch on the side next the burning houses, only 
 a few feet lower down the declivity. The wind, which was light 
 and variable, blew at this time from the house, or it could not 
 have been saved. The burning flakes of thatch had by this 
 time ignited the nearest of two large houses which stood oppo- 
 site my own dwelling, and some of the large buildings to the 
 south and the west were already on fire. 
 
 As soon as I realised the actual danger, I commenced gathering 
 into boxes or baskets the loose papers, books, and other articles 
 spread about in the rooms which I occupied, which were at the 
 end of the house nearest the fire, and I felt the heat increasing 
 perceptibly from the burning pile opposite. The owner of our 
 premises, his brother, and other members of the family, soon 
 arrived, naturally in a state of great agitation. His first act 
 was to place two trusty servants at the outer gate, and one at 
 the inner and smaller gate, with strict orders to admit no one 
 but members of the family and known friends. A number of 
 his servants from one of his estates in the country happened to 
 be in the city on that day. These, under the direction of some 
 Christian friends, he sent out upon the roof of the house, to 
 remain on the parts nearest the fire ; and in the meantime he 
 ordered the female servants to bring all the matting they could 
 find on the premises. This was wetted and spread on the 
 thatch ; while another party of men servants fetched water 
 from the nearest pond, which was earned in a barrel up the 
 staircase to the highest window in the roof, so as to keep the 
 part next the burning houses saturated with water. There were 
 thirty or forty young plantain trees growing round the border 
 of the compound in which the house stood. They were cut 
 down, and handed to the men spread over the roof. These 
 held the young trees in their hands by the stalk or stem, and 
 with the broad green leaves whisked away the flakes of fire 
 which might otherwise have fallen on the crisp, dry thatch. 
 Other men stood at the angles and centre of the roof, each with 
 a light bamboo cane, about eighteen feet long, with a bunch of
 
 394 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xv. 
 
 green boughs, or long rushes, or grass tied to the end of it, to 
 intercept the fall of any burning matters higher up on the roof 
 than could be reached by the young plantain trees. My host 
 generously gave some of these trees to the owners of the neigh- 
 bouring houses, one of which had more than once taken fire, but 
 had been stamped or torn out by the men on the roof. 
 
 In the meantime the mistress of the house also, with some 
 female relations and servants who had that day come from the 
 country, had directed the different articles standing or spread 
 about in rooms to be put into empty boxes, bags, or baskets, 
 and removed with the bedding into a large lower apartment in 
 the centre of the building. My own bearers and other servants 
 assisted in bundling together my things ; and a number of 
 Christian men from our congregation came and carried all the 
 packages and loose articles, tables, chairs, boxes, camera, &c., 
 outside to the open space to the west, where friends took charge 
 of particular articles, such as my writing-desk, &c. ; while a 
 number of kind Christian women stood in a circle round my pile 
 of goods, holding each other's hands, as they said was their 
 custom, to prevent any evil disposed person, such as generally 
 contrive to find or make an entrance on such occasions, from 
 carrying off any of my property. By these means every article 
 of any value was carefully watched ; the greater number being 
 piled up at the western extremity of the compound, ten or 
 twelve yards from the house. Mr. Parrett and others of our 
 party were active in their endeavours to guard and save the 
 property from the burning houses on the opposite side of the 
 valley. 
 
 Meanwhile the fire had been extending with a rapidity and 
 fierceness that w T as truly appalling. Occasionally while employed 
 in collecting and removing my things from the house, when the 
 crash of a burning roof sinking in, or a blazing wall of massive 
 upright timbers, falling with flaming sweep like the breaking of 
 a billow of fire, had sent, with almost explosive report, a large 
 number of sparkling brands or torches into the air, I had turned
 
 CHAP. xv. DESTRUCTION OF THE CHAPEL ON THE ROCK. 395 
 
 to gaze for a moment on the fearfully grand but terrific confla- 
 gration ; I was more than once startled by the celerity with 
 which a house, after becoming ignited, was first one pyramid of 
 flame, and changing like a dissolving view into a large kind of 
 flaming bird-cage, then sank into a heap of red burning logs 
 and charcoal. 
 
 I happened to be looking with great anxiety at our recently 
 completed chapel at Ampamarinana, on the edge of the Tarpean 
 Rock, when I saw a small flame issue from one corner of the 
 roof of a newly erected dwelling-house close to it. I hastened 
 into my house for another load of things, and on coming out 
 again, certainly in not more than five minutes, the roof of that 
 house was one mass of flame, and in another almost equally 
 short space of time the upright posts which formed the sides 
 and ends of the house stood blazing like a stockade around the 
 fallen burning roof within. The next time I looked two or 
 three posts were still standing, and a burning heap was all that 
 remained. 
 
 Close to this house was our nice new chapel. It was a tem- 
 porary building which had been erected to gather the nucleus 
 of a congregation to occupy the memorial church which we 
 expected to erect near the edge of the rock over which the 
 martyrs had been thrown. Our new chapel was to have been 
 opened for public worship on the following week ; but standing 
 next to the burning house just fallen, it caught fire and was 
 soon a heap of charred and smoking ruins. The Christians, 
 many of whom had lost their own dwellings, saw in the destruc- 
 tion of the chapel an additional cause of sorrow. 
 
 The house to the west of the two large buildings immediately 
 opposite mine was occupied by some Arab traders recently from 
 the west coast of Madagascar. Their house was said to contain 
 a quantity of spirituous liquor and bags of money, as well as a 
 large quantity of cloth and other merchandise ; and an unusual 
 noise, with suddenly increased height and force and brightness 
 of the ascending flames during the burning of that building,
 
 39G MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xv. 
 
 excited the greatest fears for all the houses in the vicinity still 
 unburnt, but they did not take fire. The wind was exceedingly 
 light, and blowing in part towards the plain ; or, so close are the 
 houses in that quarter, and so inflammable and dry are the mate- 
 rials of which they are built, that if there had been much wind, 
 or in a southern direction, a large portion of the city must have 
 been reduced to ashes. 
 
 Owing to the number of persons on the top of our house, and 
 the large supply of water, no part of our roof took fire, though 
 pieces of burning thatch and sparks fell more than once upon 
 those in the same line, and only a few yards distant ; and the 
 fire kindled and blazed out on the roof of a house at the end of 
 ours, and farther than our house was from the fire, on the oppo- 
 site side of the hollow. 
 
 The owners of the demolished houses were few of them at 
 home at the time. Some were in the rice grounds, superintending 
 the gathering in of the grain, for the season was mid-harvest. 
 Others were on duty as military officers at a distant post ; and 
 reached the spot only to see heaps of ashes and timber, where, 
 in the morning, they had left their comfortable dwellings, and a 
 great part of their earthly possessions. The houses had most of 
 them been left in charge of slaves, aged persons, or others too 
 young to be of service in the field. The immense crowds who 
 gathered around from all parts of the city appeared content to 
 gaze with excitement and awe at the appalling spectacle ; and 
 the comparatively few who made any attempt to stop the flames, 
 satisfied themselves with running to and fro, tearing away doors 
 and windows, partitions and floors, rather than cutting the 
 bands which held on the roofs of the houses, and pulling down 
 adjacent buildings, so as to confine the fire within the limits 
 already occupied. 
 
 It appeared to me that if they had but removed the thatch 
 from one large house to the eastward, in the roof of which the 
 fire smouldered for nearly half-an-hour, a large proportion, if not 
 all the buildings to the west might have been saved. But there
 
 GHAP. xv. WANT OP MEANS TO ARREST THE FIRE. 397 
 
 were none self-possessed enough to see what required to be 
 done, or with sufficient influence over others to engage their 
 co-operation. No fire brigade has yet been organised in Antan- 
 anarivo. No Beard has yet been born in that city, where the 
 long droughts, the materials of which the houses are built, and 
 the closeness with which they are packed together, as well as 
 the destitution of water in all the higher parts of the place, 
 render the ravages of fire as fearful as they can be in any part 
 of the world. 
 
 On this occasion some called out for mats, others for water, to 
 convey which I saw nothing made use of larger than an earthen 
 jar, or a hollow bamboo, and in their confusion some carried water 
 in still smaller vessels. Some called for axes and hatchets to cut 
 away the doors and windows ; others for ladders to ascend the 
 roof, but few of these were forthcoming. Some few, however, 
 did set their servants or friends to cut the bands which fastened 
 the thatch to the rafters. This could be easily done on the 
 inside, and then the whole side or end of a roof slid down in an 
 unbroken mass, and could be easily removed. All the houses 
 treated in this way were preserved, the rafters only of a few 
 being charred. The houses stood on terraces on the southern 
 side of the hollow. The chairs, tables, doors, windows, cup- 
 boards, and floors torn away from the burning houses, were 
 thrown promiscuously over the terrace wall, in some places 
 heaped up so high, and so near the ignited houses, that I feared 
 they would ignite, and spread the fire still further. None of the 
 soldiers were present, or even near. They were all drawn up 
 around the palace yard and adjacent buildings belonging to the 
 government, the latter of which were probably too near to have 
 escaped, had the wind increased, or changed ever so little to the 
 west. 
 
 So long as my own house and property were in danger, I had 
 been scarcely sensible of anything but the burning masses before 
 me, certainly not of the crowd drawn together by the exciting 
 spectacle. But as the sun descended towards the distant
 
 398 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xv. 
 
 horizon, happening to look up towards the north, I beheld one of 
 the most novel and remarkable spectacles which I ever witnessed. 
 On the top of the nearly perpendicular rock which forms the 
 boundary of the enclosure in which my house stands, is a sort 
 of low parapet wall, which runs along the side of the road. 
 The top of this wall was covered with broken lines of human 
 heads and faces, in some places two or three deep. The rock 
 beyond the road presents a rugged or inclined ascent to the 
 premises of the commander-in-chief. The whole face of this 
 rock was crowded with spectators. Then another line of faces 
 surmounted the wall of the minister's inclosure, and heads and 
 faces filled up the parapet and standing place over the arched 
 gateway. The high road and the court-yards to the west and 
 the south were equally thronged ; while within the commander- 
 in-chief's premises, the windows in the roofs of some of the 
 buildings, and even the ridges of the roofs, displayed excited gazers. 
 It was a vastly different but almost as novel a sight as the 
 burning buildings below on the opposite side. 
 
 The shadows of evening now began to descend, but the still 
 burning buildings spread their red and lurid glare over the sur- 
 rounding objects. The scene of the fire extended to a distance 
 of three or four hundred yards in length, and over five or six 
 successive terraces or platforms of different elevations to the 
 high ground on the south. 
 
 The extent and uneven surface of the ground over which the 
 fire spread ; the sun-dried and readily igniting materials of which 
 the houses were built ; the solid massive quality of some of the 
 large timbers ; the form of the houses singularly narrow and lofty ; 
 the free passage for the air from the ground to the roof, notwith- 
 standing the intervening floor of the upper storey ; the total want 
 of water as well as of all means of applying it, rendered the burn- 
 ing piles before me, one of the most fierce, rapidly spreading, and 
 terribly appalling conflagrations I had ever witnessed. Till fresh 
 roofs ceased to become ignited, no one could tell which direction 
 the flames might take, or where they would end. While danger
 
 CHAP. xv. APPEARANCE OF THE SCENE AT NIGHT. 399 
 
 was at a distance the owners of buildings did not hasten to unroof 
 them, and when the danger approached it was too late. I saw 
 flames burst out in some of the roofs while men were beginning 
 to break open or chop away the doors below, and every slight 
 breath of passing air seemed to increase the panic of the in- 
 habitants of the neighbourhood, and the wild excitement of the 
 spectators. Even in those great centres of civilisation, where 
 experience, science, skill, and courage combine to diminish the 
 destructive ravages of fire, we often have to feel the impotency 
 of man in presence of the elements of nature, but among 
 communities like the Malagasy, such conflagrations come sud- 
 den, swift, resistless, like the touch of a destroying angel, leaving 
 desolation and ashes behind. 
 
 Darkness succeeded day without any intervening twilight, and 
 by the light of lanthorns we brought our goods from the grass plot 
 into the house, none Joeing more than slightly damaged ; and 
 when we were all again beneath the cover of our unconsumed 
 roof, we knelt down together, and one of the native preachers 
 who had been with us throughout the evening, offered appropri- 
 ately and fervently our united thanksgiving to God for our 
 deliverance, and then after many congratulations and acknow- 
 ledgments on our parts to our friends, they returned to their 
 several homes. 
 
 There was no moon. The night was still and cloudy, and as 
 1 repeatedly looked out upon the scene of desolation, the sites 
 of the consumed dwellings seemed like a succession of hearths 
 covered with still burning embers, over which lines of red and 
 brilliant light appeared to pass whenever a gentle breath of air 
 swept fluttering over them. The tall stout central pillars of 
 the bouses, some of them forty feet high, which continued erect 
 after the other parts had fallen, were, during every puff of wind, 
 illuminated to their summits by differently coloured tongues of 
 flame, or they showered down sparks of fire like those of a 
 rocket, as they were struck with the axes of the men who were 
 cutting them down. Soldiers and watchmen were appointed to
 
 400 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xv. 
 
 guard the goods which had escaped the flames, or to save any 
 spars or wood that might be worth preserving, and their shouting 
 and noise were continued through the night. Slaves kept 
 watch within an outhouse on our premises, and on others in the 
 neighbourhood, lest a wind springing up during the night should 
 fan the smouldering charcoal into flame, and produce a wider 
 desolation. There was however no wind, and a slight shower 
 towards morning rendered the danger less imminent. 
 
 On looking out across the valley the next morning, one dreary 
 scene of blackened walls and fences, and steep naked precipices, 
 with heaps of still smoking charcoal, and here and there a tall, 
 black pillar of wood, marked the position of what had on the 
 previous day been comfortable human habitations. The owners 
 of the different houses were gathered round the respective sites, 
 searching for property lost in the fire. Many valuable articles, 
 and a considerable amount of money were said to have been 
 stolen, either during the night or in the grey dawn, for such 
 occurrences as that of a great fire are harvests for thieves, of 
 whom there are no lack in the city, and of whose depredations 
 the inhabitants appear to be as much afraid as of the flames. 
 
 The whole city appeared to be early in motion on the morn- 
 ing after the fire, and the chief part of the Christian families 
 came to visit us, with their congratulations on our merciful pre- 
 servation. They then crossed over to express their sympathy 
 and condolence with the sufferers on the opposite side, many 
 of whom were Christians, but few, if any of them, were very 
 poor. 
 
 Slaves were busy during the greater part of the day piling 
 up the charred timbers, shovelling the charcoal into heaps, 
 and carrying it away in baskets for fuel. Tents were pitched on 
 several of the sites in the course of the day for the slaves of the 
 families who had been burned out, and sometimes for the owners 
 themselves ; but in general the latter found shelter in the 
 houses of their relatives or friends, where they received a frank 
 and cordial welcome. I heard several statements of the number
 
 CHAP. xv. DREAD OF FIRES IN ANTANANARIVO. 401 
 
 of houses consumed. It was certainly not fewer than fifty, and 
 I am not certain that that estimate included the cooking houses, 
 and dwellings for the slaves, which are generally separate 
 buildings. Three other fires of small extent occurred while I 
 was at the capital. 
 
 In the morning, while the owners of the houses were looking 
 about amongst the ruins I noticed a couple of goakia, or large 
 black and white crows, which had had a nest on the ridge of 
 one of the highest houses, wheeling in long slow circles over the 
 blackened ruins, as if in search of their home ; and lower down 
 a number of pigeons, probably also burnt out, that seemed to be 
 looking about for their former domicile. So that, to say nothing 
 of more domesticated animals, the fire had proved a calamity to 
 others besides the owners and residents of the houses. 
 
 The inhabitants of Antananarivo are exceedingly terrified about 
 fire, and after what I had now seen I could not wonder at their 
 alarm.* It is said that large portions of the entire city have some- 
 times been consumed. The only marvel is that, sensible as all 
 must be of their exposure to such calamities, and terrible as they 
 find their ravages to be, they should still, out of regard to 
 the word or the conduct of their ancestors, not be allowed to erect 
 any other than wooden buildings in the capital. It is said that 
 the father of the first Radama, the conqueror of Antananarivo, 
 would not permit any but wooden houses to be built, assigning 
 
 * How fearful the people really are I had an opportunity of observing in one 
 of the large houses now burned down, and not very long before this same fire 
 occurred. A young Christian officer, whose father was educated in England, 
 who himself reads English, and has, besides what he inherited from his father, 
 received as presents a number of really valuable English books, had a nice 
 book-case with doors made for them ; and one day, when I was looking over 
 them, I saw, ranged along under the book-case, which stood about three feet 
 from the floor, a number of large native baskets, each larger than a bushel 
 measure. I said, " What are these for ? " " They are to be at hand in case of 
 fire, to put the books in, and take them away, for if I had to look for baskets 
 or boxes after a fire had broken out, they would be burnt d before I should 
 get them away." The bouse of this officer, and of his cousin, were both 
 destroyed, and when I asked him after his books, lie said only the covers of one 
 or two were burnt, but that many of his papers were consumed. 
 
 D D
 
 402 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xv. 
 
 as his reason, that if he allowed houses with clay or stone walls, 
 the city would become a collection of huts ; and consequently 
 his successors will not allow any building with clay or stone 
 walls to be erected within the ancient boundaries of the city. 
 While the scene of destmction was spread out in all its desola- 
 tion, so near the palace, I felt very much inclined to write u 
 letter to the queen, recommending her, out of pity to her 
 people, to allow those who were disposed to build stone houses 
 in the place of those destroyed ; but recollecting that Radama, 
 though he wished it, had not felt himself strong enough to 
 deviate from this law or custom, I remained silent on the sub- 
 ject, though I spoke of it frequently to the ministers, who said 
 perhaps they should build stone houses by-and-by. Many went 
 to the palace to congratulate the queen on the royal buildings 
 having escaped. 
 
 As the Christians and heathens were nearly equal sufferers by 
 the fire, I did not hear the circumstance adduced in favour or 
 against either the one or the other. The votaries of the idols 
 seemed, if anything, more active than they had bten before; 
 and if they associated the calamity in any way with the idols, it 
 would be as a retribution for some offence given to them, or 
 some duty neglected. When talking with the people about the 
 supposed influence of the idols in their affairs, I have sometimes 
 said, " Suppose a man returning to his home, should find it 
 plundered or burnt, or visited by any similar calamity, what 
 would he think or say ? " And the answer has frequently been, 
 " He would think his household gods were offended, and would 
 say, ' What have I done or omitted that this calamity has come 
 upon me ? ' and he would charge himself to be more careful in 
 future. He would at the same time, if there was any reason to 
 suppose that it was the work of a thief or incendiary, spare no 
 pains to discover and punish the offender." On these occasions 
 I never failed to express my scepticism as to the ugly, dirty 
 bits of wood which they regarded as household gods being in 
 any way associated with invisible beings on whose will the sue-
 
 CHAP. xv. PROPOSAL TO BUILD A NEW CHAPEL. 403 
 
 cess of the thief, or the destructive action of the fire, was at all 
 dependent ; not omitting to state that one of our objects in 
 coming to their country was to tell them of the one true living 
 God, by whom the world was really governed, and all things in it 
 controlled: adding, also, that although everything good came from 
 God, we did not know that God was displeased with any man 
 whose house was burned down any more than He was with 
 another man whose house had escaped, arid therefore we must 
 not think that the man whose house had escaped was thereby 
 shown to be a better man than his neighbour. 
 
 To all the Christians this fire was a calamity, but their means 
 enabled them to repair the loss, and the few who were poor 
 were assisted by their friends, though it was a long time before 
 the vacant spaces were filled up. The great affliction felt by 
 all was the destruction of their new, though unopened place of 
 worship ; and this sense of loss extended beyond those who had 
 suffered by the fire. Two high officers of the government who lived 
 near expressed their regret, as several members of their families 
 had proposed to attend. The heads of the Christians residing in 
 the, neighbourhood came to me soon after the fire, expressing their 
 earnest desh-e that another chapel might be erected, but at the 
 same time stating, that after the cost of the building destroyed, 
 and the loss some of them had suffered in the destruction of 
 their own dwellings, they were not able to build another them- 
 selves, though they would help. I encouraged them to confer 
 with their friends, to ascertain what a new place would cost, 
 how much they could raise themselves, and then come to me 
 again. I was myself most anxious that this loss should be 
 repaired. I considered that, supposing the city itself did not 
 contain more than 30,000 inhabitants, it was now all open to our 
 efforts, and that as yet we had only one place of worship in 
 its central and most thickly populated parts ; and I was un- 
 willing that the whole of the western side of Antananarivo 
 should remain through another rainy se;ison without a place of 
 worship, more especially as a missionary to occupy the post was 
 
 D n 2
 
 404 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. OHAP. xv. 
 
 daily expected. The present was also the most favourable time 
 of the year for purchasing timber. 
 
 The people were not long before they repeated their visit, 
 and informed me that, after all they could do, about forty pounds 
 would be required to complete such a building as that which 
 had been burned down. I told them I most heartily concurred 
 in their wish; and as there was no time to lose before the 
 rainy season would set in, I would venture to advance for them 
 money to that amount, and would write to friends in England 
 and ask them to contribute towards the object. 
 
 I have already stated that it is customary for families after 
 the feast of the New Year to visit the tombs of their ancestors, 
 to repeat their prayers and present their offerings, chiefly the 
 fat of bullocks, to the spirits of their departed relatives ; also to 
 keep the tombs in repair, and see that they are not injured by 
 neglect. About a fortnight after the New Year's festival, the 
 queen, accompanied by the court and the officers of government, 
 made a visit to the tomb of her aunt, the late Queen Rana- 
 valo, at Ambohimanga.* The diviners, as usual, fixed on Sunday 
 for the journey. Besides those who had already gone to make 
 preparation, numbers had been passing along the road since the 
 early dawn of that day ; and about eight o'clock, when I was 
 about to set out to the chapel at Ambatonakanga, the sound of 
 music intimated the approach of the royal party, and I waited 
 until they had passed. The prime minister of the late queen, 
 and guardian of her tomb, the commander-in-chief, and a number 
 of high officers, led the way. The band preceded the queen's 
 
 * The idol of the late queen was kept at Ambohimanga, and as an evidence 
 of her sense of the value of its intervention in her favour, it was reported that 
 when the queen heard of the combined attack of the French and English on 
 Tamatave, she took all her jewels, and other valuables, hastened to Ambo- 
 himanga, and offered them to the idol to secure its protection of the country. 
 After the armed vessels had retired these treasures would most likely be 
 taken back to the palace. But the retreat of the invaders, and the thirteen 
 skulls of their comrades, which we saw in 1853 fixed on poles around the 
 battery, were evidence to the queen and her companions of the acceptableness 
 of the offering and the efficacy of the intervention.
 
 CHAP. xv. THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO THE ANCESTRAL TOMBS. 405 
 
 escort, and her majesty rode in an Indian palanquin with closed 
 doors. The family idol, Manjakatsiroa (not two sovereigns), was 
 borne immediately before the palanquin of the queen, sur- 
 rounded by the guardians and servants of the idols, whose 
 shoutings with the loud beating of the Malagasy drum produced 
 a most discordant noise. A large number of officers, attendants, 
 and others followed the escort of her majesty. 
 
 Having waited until I supposed the procession would have 
 passed beyond our place of worship, I proceeded on my way, 
 and found the congregation considerably diminished by so many 
 officers and others having been required to attend upon the queen. 
 The quiet which now prevailed seemed to be welcome to the 
 Christians, who felt, that although interruptions to their Sun- 
 day services were not agreeable, they had too many religious 
 advantages to be at any loss for grounds of thankfulness and 
 praise to God, particularly as, notwithstanding all the endea- 
 vours to revive the influence of the idols, we had no reason to 
 believe that their influence was increasing among the people, 
 while few, if any, months passed without additions to the num- 
 bers of the Christians. 
 
 We were thankful that the queen's visit took away but few of 
 our workmen engaged on the church, but grieved that Mr. 
 Aitkin, a skilled carpenter and Christian man, who had come 
 from the Cape of Good Hope to assist us in the work, was 
 obliged about this time, on account of illness, to leave the 
 country. We were, however, shortly afterwards encouraged by 
 the arrival of Messrs. Hartley and Briggs, who had been sent 
 out during the previous year, but had remained at Mauritius on 
 account of the reports they received there of the unsettled state 
 of Madagascar at that time. 
 
 The queen and court had not been long at Ambohimauga 
 before a report was in circulation at Antananarivo that Radama 
 was not only living, but in the neighbourhood of the capital ; 
 and a few nights after the queen's departure, towards midnight; 
 there was a great commotion amongst the officers and soldiers.
 
 406 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xv. 
 
 The next morning I saw a number of men under arms in the 
 hollow beneath my house, and heard that during the night, the 
 officers had discovered that two subordinate officers and a con- 
 siderable number of soldiers were at least acquainted with the 
 report, and that between sixty and seventy of them had been 
 arrested. There were reports that there had been fighting in 
 some parts of the city; and though only reports, they served to 
 show the state of agitation among the people. Soldiers were 
 placed at all the avenues leading to the city, and the most 
 strict examination was made of every one coming from, or going 
 to, the country ; while additional men were stationed at the 
 different posts occupied by the soldiers. 
 
 The men who had been arrested were sent off as prisoners to 
 Ambohimanga, and although there was evidently considerable 
 uneasiness in the city, no further disturbance occurred by night or 
 day, and we were glad to pursue our work in peace. The masons 
 were making good progress with the lower walls of the church ; 
 and although the lime furnished by the government was not 
 equal to the wants of the masons, we had succeeded in engaging 
 the family of Prince E-amonja to have a considerable quantity of 
 stone brought from a distance to the west, which we had reason 
 to believe would make good lime. For more immediate use, 
 some of the high officers agreed to supply us, on receiving pay- 
 ment in articles which they desired to possess, and for which, in 
 furtherance of this object, I felt no objection to send, as the 
 money in use Spanish dollars or French five-franc pieces cost 
 us a great deal more than their current value in Europe or 
 Mauritius, before they reached Antananarivo, besides the risks of 
 transport, &c. 
 
 In order to help forward the work at the church, I visited the 
 ground daily, that I might assist Mr. Sibree in directing or 
 explaining his wishes to the workmen ; and we generally settled 
 the accounts with the overseers of the masons and quarrymen 
 when Mr. Sibree had measured and was satisfied with their 
 work. This and other engagements in connection with the
 
 CHAP. xv. QUESTIONS OF CHURCH BUSINESS AND DISCIPLINE. 407 
 
 early stage of the building occupied a considerable portion of my 
 time. Besides which I was frequently visited by Christians and 
 others at my own residence in the capital, or from the villages ; 
 some for the sake of conversing, some for help in sickness or 
 other need, and I never declined attending to any, if it 
 was in my power to do so. It was also necessary to converse 
 frequently with the officers of the congregation with which I 
 was associated, in order to arrange subjects connected with 
 our public services, or the more restricted religious meetings of 
 the church. The following selected from my notices of one of 
 these meetings held in May, 186-4, will convey some information 
 as to the subjects which sometimes claim the attention of our 
 churches or Christian communicants. 
 
 Before any meetings, my associate in the pastorate and some 
 of the deacons usually came to inquire respecting the course it 
 would be best to pursue in reference to persons proposed for 
 fellowship, and other matters. We were accustomed to send 
 one or two native preachers to some of the village churches on 
 the Sunday. These brethren were welcomed by the congrega- 
 tions, who maintained a kind of fraternal connection with us. 
 But it appeared that some young men belonging to our congre- 
 gation had, without saying anything to us, gone to some of these 
 villages, and said they had come to preach there ; showing a 
 document which simply attested their being communicants. 
 Their preaching had not been very efficient or good, and some 
 of the parties had written to inquire whether we had sent them. 
 I said any Christian was free to go and preach to those who 
 were willing to hear him, and their only mistake had been in 
 announcing their intention to preach without saying we had 
 not sent them ; and we thought it would be best that the over- 
 seers of the church should give to each of the approved 
 preachers a paper to that effect, or inform the congregations in 
 the villages of the names of those who were accredited preachers. 
 The conduct of the young men was certainly irregular; but, 
 perhaps, they were not the only preachers who formed a different
 
 408 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xv. 
 
 opinion of their own preaching from that which was cherished 
 by their hearers. 
 
 The next case was that of a man of unimpeachable Christian 
 character, a member of the church, whose wife was a heathen, 
 and who, a fortnight before had left him, saying she would 
 live with him no longer, and I think it was added that she had 
 gone away with some other man. They said it caused some 
 talk among the Christians, and some thought the man, under 
 these circumstances, should not come to the Lord's Table. I 
 asked if he had treated his wife ill, or had been unfaithful to 
 her, or if there was anything at all wrong in the man's conduct. 
 They said he had done no wrong in these ways, and they had 
 never heard of any inconsistency in his conduct ; I then replied, 
 I did not think the man should be excluded from the com- 
 munion for his wife's fault. 
 
 The next was the case of a Christian woman with a heathen 
 husband. The man had left her some time ago, and had gone 
 to live with another woman, who had one child, but he had 
 afterwards discarded the woman, and within the last month had 
 sought his former wife, who had agreed to live with him again. 
 Under these circumstances, they also doubted whether this 
 woman should be admitted to the Communion, but wished to 
 know my opinion. I asked what had been the woman's conduct 
 during the period of separation. They said in every respect 
 unexceptionable ; that she had always expressed her attachment 
 to the man who had forsaken her ; had regarded him as her 
 husband, had associated herself with no other man, and had 
 been esteemed by all the church as a quiet, industrious Avoman ; 
 but some thought she should not have gone back to her hea- 
 then partner. I said as the woman had always regarded the 
 man as her husband, that perhaps she had become his wife 
 while both were heathens, and as she had pursued so ex- 
 emplary a course while she was a forsaken wife, and had now 
 complied with his wish for her return, I did not think she 
 should on that account be excluded from the Lord's Supper.
 
 CHAP. xv. MARRIAGE CEREMONIES IN MADAGASCAR. 409 
 
 The next was the case of a young man, a communicant, who 
 had lately taken a woman to live with him without any mar- 
 riage ceremony, either Christian or heathen, expressing his 
 intention to be publicly married, but that they had since sepa- 
 rated. I said that was clearly wrong, and he should be informed 
 that he must not come to the Lord's Table, but the cause of 
 his exclusion must be stated to the church. 
 
 I generally met my colleague, the native pastor, and the 
 deacons, to converse on the circumstances necessary to be men- 
 tioned before the meeting of the church, which took place once 
 a month, before the celebration of the ordinance of the Lord's 
 Supper. I have said the instances were few in which we felt it 
 necessary to exclude any from the Communion, so that occa- 
 sions for inquiry in reference to the subject seldom occurred, 
 and I have adduced these, chiefly to show the kind of difficulties 
 which occur in such Christian communities as those of Mada- 
 gascar. 
 
 The marriage institution is an important part of the civil 
 polity of Madagascar. As a rule marriages take place early, 
 sometimes proceeding from the mutual attachment of parties, 
 but more frequently from arrangements made by their parents. 
 Betrothmeut, or the engagement between the parents of both 
 parties, or their representatives, and the parties themselves, often 
 take place during the early age of the latter. They are 
 entered into in the presence of the immediate relatives 
 before witnesses, and are considered binding. The mamage 
 ceremonies are few and simple. The bridegroom, accompanied 
 by his friends, repairs to the house of the bride ; his friends ask 
 for the intended wife, and on the consent being given, he 
 receives or pays the dowry previously agreed upon between the 
 parties. Presents are then given, a dish of rice is prepared, of 
 which both the bride and bridegroom partake, sitting side by 
 side ; and the act of thus publicly eating together seems to be 
 the most important part of the ceremony. Prayer is offered, 
 and a benediction " May the blessing of God be with you ! "
 
 410 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xv. 
 
 pronounced, and the parties then proceed to the house of the 
 bridegroom, where the ceremonies are repeated, prayers being 
 again offered, and the benediction again pronounced. 
 
 Among the heathen there are many observances which are 
 symbolical or representative. I remember at one of the mar- 
 riages which I attended, the oldest female connected with the 
 family sat with her back leaning against the main pillar at the 
 north end of the house during the whole ceremony, and hearing 
 some allusion to her sitting there, I was told, in answer to my 
 inquiry, that it was to show that after the marriage, the place of 
 the wife was in the house of her husband, meaning that she was 
 not to be too frequently abroad. 
 
 The native observances are still followed among many of the 
 Christians, excepting the. offering of any prayers to the gods of 
 their ancestors ; and where both the parties are Christians, the 
 Christian minister or pastor is usually invited, a hymn is sung, a 
 portion of Scripture is read, and prayer, having special refer- 
 ence to the occasion, is offered. They often inquired about our 
 modes of proceeding in entering upon the marriage engage- 
 ment ; and after repeatedly conversing on the subject, deeming 
 the institution of marriage of divine appointment, as well as 
 dependent on the divine blessing for its highest benefits, we 
 proposed to introduce among the people public Christian mar- 
 riage in the house of God, and in the presence of the immediate 
 relatives of the contracting parties, who should then enter into 
 the marriage covenant before their Heavenly Father, and im- 
 plore His blessing on their holy union. 
 
 We proposed also to enter such marriages, attested by wit- 
 nesses, in a register to be preserved among the records of the 
 church and congregation for future reference, in case of neces- 
 sity, respecting property by descent or bequest, or other pur- 
 poses. We also recommended that for the present, whatever 
 part of the marriage ceremony it was necessary to have per- 
 formed before the officer of government, such as tendering the 
 hasina to the representative of the sovereign, which rendered
 
 CHAP. xv. THE FIRST PUBLIC CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE. 411 
 
 the marriage legal for all purposes for which it might be referred 
 to before any legal tribunal, should be attended to either before 
 or after the service in the place of worship. 
 
 The best amongst the Christians cordially welcomed the 
 introduction of public marriages with religious services, though 
 some of the young people appeared to prefer confining the 
 engagement to the family circle. But independently of the 
 propriety of acknowledging God, and seeking his blessing on a 
 transaction so important, we considered that in a country where 
 such innumerable evils resulted from the looseness, or brittle- 
 ne>s of the marriage tie, evei-y thing tending to enhance the 
 sense of its sanctity, and its binding obligation, could not but 
 be beneficial. 
 
 At length, at the last weekly meeting of the church in the 
 month of June, 1864, it was stated that on the following 
 Thursday, two young persons, members of the church, would be 
 publicly married, and the heads of families especially were in- 
 vited to attend. The bridegroom elect was an aide-de-camp of 
 the prime minister, and on the day before that appointed for 
 his marriage he had been sent on duty to Ambatomanga, a sta- 
 tion fifteen or twenty miles away, and it was a week before 
 he returned, when the marriage took place. 
 
 I had translated so much of our marriage service as appeared 
 suitable to the circumstances of the Malagasy, and on reaching 
 the place of worship at the appointed time, two o'clock, I found 
 the bride with her father and mother sitting one on each side 
 of her on the same seat. The bridegroom soon after entered, 
 attended by his friends. After a hymn had been sung I went 
 to the front of the table which in our temporary building served 
 as a pulpit, the bride and bridegroom then standing side by 
 side. One or two of the friends of the young man stood by 
 him, and the father and mother of the bride stood close by 
 their daughter. 
 
 I had previously read the terms of the contract to the father of 
 the bride, and also to her future husband, and had requested him
 
 412 MADAGASCAR .REVISITED. CHAP. xv. 
 
 to provide himself with a ring such as would frt his wife's finger. 
 I then read the service, especially the terms of the contract, as dis- 
 tinctly and deliberately as I could, amidst the most eager atten- 
 tion from every individual in the place. When I said, " Who 
 givetli this woman in marriage ? " the father came close to his 
 daughter, and said in a very clear voice, " I do." And then, 
 when the audience heard that the obligations of the engage- 
 ment were equal, that the husband promised to take his bride 
 and her only to be his wife, to cleave to her in prosperity, and 
 in a'dversity, in health and in sickness, and to be true to her 
 even until death should part them, there was an appearance of 
 much satisfaction amongst those who were spectators of the 
 ceremony. When I had pronounced that they had become man 
 and wife before God and the congregation, and had offered 
 prayer, the service closed, and the newly married couple and 
 their friends gathered at the table, where . I presented the 
 register in which I had previously written the form of record, 
 which both the bride and bridegroom signed, as did also their 
 witnesses ; the father witnessing for his daughter. We had no 
 Malagasy Bibles, but I presented to each of the newly-married 
 pair a New Testament which Mr. Parrett had bound rather 
 handsomely, as a memorial of theirs being the first Christian 
 marriage celebrated at Ambatonakanga. 
 
 The parties united by this first wedding were respectably 
 connected. The bride came in her palanquin attended by half- 
 a-dozen or more of young female friends about her own age, all 
 dressed in white. She herself carried a nice white parasol with 
 deep fringe ; and altogether, when the party left, they formed 
 quite a bridal pageant. 
 
 We heard afterwards that the women were exceedingly 
 pleased with the reciprocal obligations which the marriage con- 
 tract imposed. The men were the same, though some said it 
 was rather hard upon them. Public Christian marriages have 
 been celebrated in other places, where some among the highest 
 classes have given the observance the benefit of their example ;
 
 CHAP. xv. CUSTOMS AMONG MARRIED WOMEX. 413 
 
 but at Ambatonakanga we have also celebrated more than one 
 Christian marriage between slaves, in the presence and with the 
 approval of those to whom they were in bonds. 
 
 We introduced the giving and receiving of the ring in the 
 marriage ceremony as a perpetual sign and memorial of the 
 sacred engagement, and a suitable mark of distinction between 
 the married and unmarried woman in general society. Gold- 
 smiths and silversmiths are not wanting in Madagascar, and 
 wedding-rings may be readily obtained of gold or silver, as 
 most suitable to the means of the purchaser. Though there 
 is nothing among the Malagasy to distinguish the married 
 woman, there are customs connected with special circumstances 
 which are both interesting and appropriate. When the hus- 
 band goes to the war, the wife, during his absence, wears a 
 narrow black ribbon, or a braided necklace of black hair, fas- 
 tened with gold clasps round her neck, as a sign that she is 
 married, that her husband is absent, and her person sacred. 
 When the husband goes on a distant errand, as when the 
 envoys were sent to England, the wife wears round her neck a 
 silver chain or a necklace of a peculiar kind of beads, for the 
 same purpose, until his return.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Consulting the idols Increased frequency of public amusements Patience of 
 the Christians Rumours of the unpopularity of the Prime Minister 
 Quarrel among the Nobles Flight of the Prime Minister from Ambohi- 
 manga Seeming reconciliation Sentence of the persons accused of circu- 
 lating false reports Assembly at Ambatoroko- Revolting barbarity of the 
 executioners before inflictiug the sentence Dis-suasion from a reckless 
 waste of human life Favours granted by the Ministers to the Mission 
 The timber of the palace bought for the roof of a church Rumours of 
 plots against the Government Arrests and punishments Message of the 
 Queen to the people The Prime Minister sentenced to banishment Dis- 
 position of his property, and departure Visit to Ambohimanga Appoint- 
 ment of Pastors and Deacons Rainikioto Hospitable reception at An- 
 tsarotrafohy Notice of the Martyrs Intercourse with the Christians 
 Visits to places of concealment Meeting of the Christians at Ambohi- 
 panja. 
 
 TOWARDS the close of March, the queen and her court returned 
 from the north ; but their return did not promise any great 
 advantages to the quiet and orderly part of the community. 
 Dissipation and revelry had marked the conduct of a consider- 
 able portion of the court followers. The idols, too, appeared to 
 be more frequently brought before the public, and bearers were 
 sometimes seen carrying to some of the idols offerings, con- 
 sisting of quantities of freshly-killed beef, preceded by men 
 dressed as idol-keepers, who ordered all persons in the high- 
 way to turn aside, and halt until the bearers of the offerings 
 had passed by. 
 
 The idols were also said to be more frequently appealed to 
 in reference to some parts of the public proceedings, to justify 
 or sanction any course which it was intended to pursue. I one
 
 CHAP. xvi. MANNER OF CONSULTING THE IDOL. 415 
 
 day, about this time, asked a very intelligent man how the 
 keeper or guardian inquired of the idol and received its 
 response. He said that one of their renowned idols, Kelima- 
 laza (literally small, but able to answer), was kept in a small 
 box, hollowed out of a solid piece of wood, with a covering that 
 fitted very tightly, like a large wooden stopper; that before 
 inquiring the keeper took the box out of its covering, set it in. 
 the appointed place, offered a prayer with a small present or 
 gift, and then proposed his inquiry. After a time, the keeper 
 took the box containing the idol, and attempted to open the 
 box by drawing out the wooden cover or stopper. If the lid 
 came out easily, the idol did not object, and the thing inquired 
 about, whatever it might be, would be easily accomplished ; but 
 if the Hd required time and was difficult to remove, the enter- 
 prise would be protracted and difficult ; or, if the lid could not 
 be removed, whatever efforts the keeper might use, the attempt 
 must be relinquished the thing could not be done. Either 
 the idol did not approve, or there were difficulties that could 
 not be removed. 
 
 1 expressed my doubts whether so childish a pretence could 
 really impose on such people as the Malagasy ; but my informant 
 confidently affirmed that that was how the priest knesv what 
 answer the idol returned to the inquiries he was employed to 
 make. He paid whatever process the people might suppose 
 was adopted by the keeper to obtain the desired information, 
 this was all he ever did ; that sometimes he told them the 
 day was unlucky, or the offering not acceptable ; and that, occa- 
 sionally, when the first answer had been unfavourable, a second 
 appeal was afterwards made, with better results. Equally 
 puerile are a large part of their proceedings in connection with 
 their superstitions. This idol, so important in its influence, is 
 usually kept at the poor, dirty village of Ambohirnanarnbola, 
 about seven miles to the east of the capital, which, in conse- 
 quence of containing the house of the idol, is called a sacred 
 village.
 
 416 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvi. 
 
 The visit to the north seemed to have produced a desire for 
 public amusements. Public dances at the palace were revived 
 soon after the return of the court, and most of the respectable 
 portions of society men and women, Christian and heathen 
 were required to go, at first, once a month, and, after a time, 
 once a fortnight, to dance in the court-yard for the amusement 
 of the queen and the members of the court. They were not 
 invited as to a court ball, but ordered to go, as to a kind of 
 government service, to furnish amusement to others, and the 
 fear of the consequences of disobedience made it something 
 like being sentenced to the treadmill. We had been invited 
 to witness the dances, but had declined, and sympathised very 
 sincerely with the Christians, who said they felt ashamed to be 
 dancing in that public way. Sometimes these dances were 
 fixed for the Sunday, and Christian men, who would otherwise 
 have been preaching in the house of worship, were at times 
 ordered to join the dancers in the public court-yard. This was 
 peculiarly trying to the Christians, who, accustomed only to 
 the dances of heathenism, discontinued the practice altogether 
 amongst themselves on becoming Christians. 
 
 But the Christians were patient and quiet, hoping after a 
 time to obtain exemption from personal attendance, more espe- 
 cially on the Sunday ; and, before long, graver matters requiring 
 the attention of the government, the public dances in the 
 court-yard were discontinued. I have mentioned this to show 
 the peculiar condition of Malagasy society in its transition 
 state, and the blending of the old system, which made the lives, 
 persons, property, and time of the subject available for the 
 interest or the pleasure of the sovereign, with the religious 
 liberty so recently accorded to the Christians. Proceedings of 
 this kind made the latter feel that their Christian freedom, 
 precious as it was, was not unmixed with other and incongruous 
 elements. 
 
 Ever since the report that Radama was still alive, there had 
 been more or less uneasiness and restlessness among the people.
 
 CHAP. xvi. RUMOUES AGAINST THE PRIME MINISTER. 417 
 
 This was associated with feelings of unfriendliness towards the 
 prime minister, who, it was said, had become arbitrary and 
 overbearing in his proceedings, coercing the queen to sanction 
 his own views, and even ordering men to be put to death 
 without the sanction or knowledge of the queen, or of 
 his colleagues, and the heads of the people. Persons were 
 said to be sent to a distance, and there put to death with 
 cruelty. Some said that he had encouraged the report of 
 Radama's being alive, as a means of discovering who were dis- 
 affected towards his own government ; and that the late king 
 had been put aside to open the way for his own personal 
 advancement. The fact of his having also become less tem- 
 perate in his habits, greatly diminished the confidence of the 
 people in his government. 
 
 On this point I believe there was no doubt. Respecting the 
 other reports, I offer no opinion, but repeat them to show the 
 state of mind amongst the 'people before the queen and court 
 went to Ambohimanga. This event was the occasion of bringing 
 matters to a crisis. I have already stated that, within a week 
 after the queen's departure, two inferior officers and a, number 
 of men were arrested and sent prisoners to Ambohimanga, for 
 confessing to a knowledge of the report that Radama was 
 living, was near, and would perhaps make himself known to 
 the people. It was said that they were entrapped into acknow- 
 ledging that they knew of this report. The number first 
 arrested amounted to sixteen or eighteen, but others were 
 afterwards seized, and about seventy were accused of reporting 
 that the late king was living, and some added that it had been 
 intended to attempt the prime minister's life. 
 
 When these prisoners reached Ambohimanga, the queen and 
 the greater part of the officers, including the commander-in-chief, 
 were disposed to treat thorn leniently, but the prime minister 
 urged that the greater part of them should be put to death. 
 This was opposed by almost every person of consequence who 
 was present, but still insisted on by the prime minister, who, it
 
 418 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvi. 
 
 was said, was at that time often inebriated, and then unguarded 
 in speech and violent in conduct. 
 
 On one occasion, when the minister of the late queen had 
 spoken against the men being put to death, the prime minister 
 is reported to have replied, "As you are so anxious to spare 
 these traitors, perhaps they belong to you ; " that at the same 
 time he struck him, and also threatened his own brother. 
 Great commotion ensued, and, during the night, the .prime 
 minister fled, returned to his own house at Antananarivo, and 
 prepared to fortify himself there. Twice the queen sent to him 
 to return, but he still remained, when a high officer, a personal 
 friend, came and urged him to return, or he would imperil his 
 own life for there was a law, that any subject who should 
 deliberately disobey the direct order of the queen, should be 
 put to death. On the third night, therefore, the minister 
 returned with his friend to the court at Ainbohimanga, where 
 he and a number of others were required to take the oath of 
 allegiance, a sort of bond to keep the peace. 
 
 But differences still prevailed amongst the members of the 
 government about the disposal of the men, who had, in answer 
 to interrogations, confessed to a knowledge that Radama was 
 said to be alive, and expected to appear. The minister still 
 urged their being put to death. The others opposed this whole- 
 sale destruction, alluding to the wishes of the queen, when the 
 minister replied, " I know what is right as well as the queen. 
 But for me she would never have been queen." And is 
 said to have added, that he should not regard her word, with 
 other treasonable expressions. On hearing this, the queen is 
 reported to have said, " He wants to be king ; but I am sove- 
 reign, and sovereign of the lives of the people, and no one shall 
 be put to death without my consent." 
 
 Such was the state of things when the court returned to the 
 capital. The prime minister was regarded as in disgrace, and 
 remained chiefly at his own house. Afterwards, one or two 
 seeming reconciliations between the opposite parties took place,
 
 CHAP. xvi. THE DISCUSSION EESPECTING THE ACCUSED. 419 
 
 and the minister was again admitted to the palace. The 
 government then considered the course to be pursued in refe- 
 rence to the prisoners, and I was anxious to see how they 
 would apply practically the new principles of their embryo 
 constitution. 
 
 The nobles and the heads of the people considered the 
 charges brought against the whole number arrested, and they 
 agreed that sixteen should be put to death, ten put in chains, 
 and the rest liberated. They carried their decision to the 
 queen, who added two to the number to be put to death, one 
 being a female servant of her majesty's who had been guilty of 
 stealing money in the palace. The nobles and heads of the 
 people agreed to this addition, and the decision was left to be 
 carried out. 
 
 On the following Friday, the day of the large weekly market 
 at Zoma, the firing of cannon in the morning, in order to 
 strike terror into the minds of the inhabitants of Antananarivo, 
 announced that the execution of the criminals was to take 
 place that day. The sentence was to be pronounced at Amba- 
 toroko rugged or craggy rocks a sloping piece of ground 
 about a mile or more on the east side of the capital. Early in 
 the forenoon crowds collected around the place, and I saw 
 spectators gathering on the eastern side of the crest of the 
 hill above my house ; but I did not go. I had no desire to 
 witness the revolting scene. A friend who was near and 
 saw the whole, as well as some others who were officially 
 engaged, gave me a truly affecting account of the pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 The pile of rocks which give their name to the place, is 
 situated on the upper side of a sloping plain. In front of these 
 rocks a wide space was kept clear by the soldiers, who were 
 early on the ground. The crowd accumulated outside the 
 troops ; the whole of the prisoners, with the officers who had 
 them in charge, and the executioners, entered the area ; those 
 who were to suffer death were stationed in one place ; those 
 
 E E 2
 
 420 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XVI. 
 
 who were to be put in chains in another place ; and those who 
 were to be liberated in a third place. 
 
 The Malagasy are not yet so enlightened and humanised as to 
 think that the judicial taking of life after the public pro- 
 nouncing of the sentence is sufficient to vindicate the supremacy 
 and authority of the law, and by the punishment of the offender 
 to appal and deter others from committing similar crimes. It is 
 their object to make the infliction of death as terrible to the 
 culprit and as appalling to the witnesses as possible, and thus, 
 like beasts of prey, to torture the victim before depriving of 
 life and of all capability of feeling or suffering. Hence, while 
 the unhappy prisoners Avere standing bound in that open space, 
 the executioners leaped along before them, baring their knives 
 and brandishing their spears, with wild gesticulations, as if 
 in the act of stabbing them or piercing them through. It was 
 said that until the sentences were pronounced, they did not 
 know which were to suffer, and which were to be set free. 
 This practice was to make those who died feel the awful shock 
 more than once, and to make those who escaped know some- 
 thing of the shuddering horror of approaching and violent 
 death. It was also intended to impress the spectators with the 
 fearful consequences of disobedience to the law. 
 
 At length the judges and the high officers arrived, and when 
 they had taken their places on the east side of the open space, 
 the chief judge, standing on a long flat stone called the rock of 
 judgment, and lying a little in front of the rest, delivered the 
 kabary, or message from the sovereign to the people, stating, 
 that efforts had been made to preserve the peace of the land 
 in order that the people might dwell in quietness, and reap the 
 fruits of their labour ; alluding to the laws the queen had pro- 
 mulgated, and the warning she had given against disturbing the 
 peace of the country by false reports, and making them traitors 
 to the government of the country ; that as these laws and warn- 
 ings had been disregarded, the penalty must be inflicted by sen- 
 tencing the eighteen who had been guiJty to be put to death,
 
 CHAP. xvi. INFLICTION OF THE SENTENCES. 421 
 
 the ten who had been less guilty to be put in chains for life, 
 and the remainder, who had not been guilty of the crimes laid 
 to their charge, to be set at liberty, with a warning to avoid 
 exposing themselves to accusation for the future. The latter 
 were then set at liberty, and returned with their friends to 
 their homes. Those sentenced to fetters were conducted back 
 to prison ; and those sentenced to die were taken to a place a 
 mile further to the south, where they were speared to death, 
 and their heads afterwards cut off and left on the ground. 
 Their friends were at liberty to take away the bodies for inter- 
 ment, and such as were left were buried on the spot by govern- 
 ment slaves, under the direction of appointed officers. 
 
 I saw several persons afterwards who had been spectators of 
 these proceedings. They said the excitement was great, but 
 seemed to produce a feeling of sadness. I was asked if I had 
 been present ; but I said it was heart-sickening to think of 
 what must it be to see ? I told one of the officers I was glad 
 they had not left the bodies of the ill-fated men to be torn 
 to pieces by the dogs, which was a practice scarcely human, 
 and so revolting, that the inhabitants of civilised countries 
 would find it difficult to believe that it could be practised by 
 people possessing any nobleness of character, or goodness of 
 heart, as such conduct was only pursued by the most barbarous 
 of savages. 
 
 This wholesale destruction of human life neither disabused 
 the minds of the people, nor brought peace to the government. 
 The prime minister became neither more temperate, nor less 
 violent. His brother, the commander-in-chief, had occasion 
 soon after this occurrence, to send an aide-de-camp to him witli 
 a message on government business, when he placed the 
 messenger under arrest, and excited fears of intended mischief 
 towards his brother. Meetings for deliberation were con- 
 sequently held by the nobles, the heads of the people, and the 
 queen ; and on the 14th of July, exactly a fortnight after 
 the sixteen men had been put to death, an order was sent from
 
 422 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvi. 
 
 the queen dismissing the minister from his office, depriving 
 him of his rank, reducing him to the condition of a private 
 subject, and requiring him, with his aides-de-camp and depen- 
 dants, to take the oath of allegiance to the queen and her 
 government, his brother being raised to the chief position as 
 prime minister, and retaining also his former control of the 
 army as commander-in-chief. 
 
 Rainivoninahitraniony and his adherents took the oath, with 
 all its particular observances, at the usual place near the palace. 
 The officers and others officially connected with the ex-minister, 
 were transferred to his successor, and he returned to his house 
 a Borizano, or non-military, non-official, private individual. 
 Those who were personally connected with the parties most 
 immediately concerned could not remain unaffected; but the 
 most perfect quiet and order prevailed throughout the city 
 during the progress of these events ; no commotion or inter- 
 ruption of the ordinary course of proceedings being anywhere 
 visible. 
 
 My regard for the late minister, and my remembrance of his 
 many acts of kindness towards the Christians, as well as my 
 obligations to him personally, induced me to call on him shortly 
 afterwards, when I found him with his wife, his two sons-in-law, 
 and a few servants. He said he was now a low common man, 
 had not a single honour, and no position of rank. I said that 
 in that respect we were upon a level, but that I had, notwith- 
 standing, much to be thankful for, and I hoped he would not 
 find himself destitute. In the course of our conversation, I 
 observed that all conditions in this life were liable to change, 
 and often to our advantage in reference to the life to come, 
 upon which we must all soon enter; and that God regarded 
 the state of a man's heart towards himself more than his out- 
 ward condition. He thanked me for my visit when I left, and 
 said he should be glad to see me again. 
 
 With Rai-ni-lai-a-ri-vo-ny, the new prime minister, I had 
 been more than merely acquainted, as we had been much
 
 CHAP. xvi. INTERCOURSE WITH THE NEW MINISTER. 423 
 
 together ever since my arrival, and had often united in giving 
 what we thought good advice to the king. The morning after 
 my interview with his predecessor, he sent his son to ask if I 
 had any accounts of the envoys of the queen then in England, 
 there having been rumours at Tamatave that one of them was 
 dead ; also that their mission had failed, and they would be home 
 in a month. I said they were safe in London and in good 
 health, when my latest tidings were sent away ; that they had 
 been well received in England by the government ; but that the 
 Danish conferences, which were being held in London, probably 
 delayed their business. 
 
 In personal conferences with the minister I received very 
 deliberate and gratifying assurances that there was no alteration 
 in the views of the government in respect to the liberty and 
 security of the Christians, nor any wish to interfere with our 
 work, or allow any interruption to teaching and preaching, and 
 that there was no occasion for the people to be in the least 
 fear of any intention on the part of the queen or the govern- 
 ment to interrupt their efforts to promote education or extend 
 Christianity. In the course of our conversation at different 
 times, he frequently alluded to the best mode of inflicting 
 punishments. I always urged him, for the sake of his country, 
 to use his best efforts to prevent the needless sacrifice of life. 
 He once said to me, that the cause of the late minister's 
 removal was his wish to put so many people to death, and the 
 fear of the people that, under the influence of drink, he might 
 do great mischief. I said the needless taking of life was a 
 great crime, and that there was no more melancholy subject 
 of reflection with me than the extent to which the country, 
 and even the province of Ankova, had been depopulated by 
 the recent wars and other evils which bad prevailed ; aud it 
 was a glorious position which now gave him the opportunity of 
 arresting the depopulation and ruin of his country, of promoting 
 its prosperity, and of being remembered as its benefactor. He 
 repeatedly told me that was his great desire. I always en-
 
 424: MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XVI. 
 
 couraged that desire, believing that he meant then what he 
 said, though sensible at the same time that his ideas and 
 
 * O 
 
 mine of what would constitute the prosperity of the country 
 were probably very different, but something was gained when 
 he meant well. 
 
 One thing pleased me in relation to the new minister. I 
 always found his eldest son with him, a young man, perhaps 
 just past twenty years of age, who was very attentive to all 
 that passed, and seemed anxious to render his father every 
 possible assistance a young man, too, of whom I always 
 cherished good hopes. So far, also, as I had the opportunity of 
 observing, the people appeared to think the change would be 
 better for the country, unless the disposition of the minister 
 should change. He had more industry and power of appli- 
 cation than his brother, though, perhaps, less force of character, 
 and less heart ; he also possessed the peculiarly valuable re- 
 commendation of being a temperate man ; for I had reason to 
 believe he was right when he told me that one great cause of 
 the change of ministry had been the fear on the part of the 
 people of the consequence of his brother's intemperance. 
 
 As missionaries, we had no reason to complain of the treat- 
 ment we had received from either the late or the present 
 chief minister of the government. On the contrary, important 
 favours, received from them demand our lasting gratitude. 
 When duties were levied on imports, I represented to the 
 present minister that all articles introduced for purposes of 
 traffic, on which profit would be realised, were very properly 
 subject to duty, but that, considering we were forbidden to 
 trade, and made no profit by the supplies which were sent for 
 our personal use, such as food or clothing, or other means of 
 assisting us to carry on our work, which was for the advantage 
 of the nation, not ourselves personally, I thought such articles 
 and materials for schools, printing, building, and other public 
 missionary work should be admitted free of duty, as the friends 
 who sent them paid all cost of purchase and transport. The
 
 CHAP. xvi. PUKCHASE OF THE TIMBER OF A PALACE. 425 
 
 minister conferred with his colleagues, and the queen concurred 
 in their views, that articles introduced for our own use or for 
 our work should be free, and this privilege has been continued 
 to the mission. 
 
 Close to the palace-yard was the frame and partly-finished 
 walls of a building of considerable size, which the late prince 
 Ramboasalama was erecting when Queen Ranavalo died. After 
 the death of Ramboasalama, the building, as it stood, was pur- 
 chased by Mary, and at the time of the revolution it became 
 the property of the late prime minister, and as it contained a 
 large quantity of sound and large well-seasoned timber, which 
 thousands of men and soldiers had been employed in felling 
 and transporting from the distant forests, and was greatly 
 superior to any that we could expect to obtain elsewhere, I had 
 proposed to purchase it to use in building the churches, and the 
 minister had expressed his willingness to dispose of what he did 
 not want for his own use. The morning after my interview with 
 him, he sent a friend to say that he should not build any more 
 houses, and should not want the timber ; if, therefore, I wished 
 to purchase it, he should be glad to dispose of it. The friend 
 went with me to point out the several lots, and when Mr. 
 Sibree had measured and pronounced it more than sufficient 
 for the roof of one of the churches, we offered what we deemed 
 a reasonable sum, which was at once accepted, and our anxiety 
 diminished with regard to procuring timber for the roof of the 
 church at Ambatonakanga. 
 
 The late minister now seldom appeared in public, but spent 
 his time either with his family in the city, or at one of his 
 houses a few miles in the country, and the capital remained com- 
 paratively quiet during the remainder of the year. But on the 
 commencement of the following year the government appeared 
 to be uneasy, and there were rumours amongst the people of 
 suspicions of conspiracy and plots against the present holders 
 of office and power. Some men were seized and sent to a 
 distant part of the country, without an hour's notice, and, on
 
 42G MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvi. 
 
 the 7th of February, three men were apprehended, and charged 
 with having received a bribe from the late prime minister to 
 compass the death of the present holder of the office. 
 
 There was great commotion in the city. Orders were issued, 
 that any individual seen out after gun-fire would be appre- 
 hended, and the inmates of any house arrested in which the 
 lights were not all at the same time extinguished. The poor 
 men who had been seized were severely flogged to extort a 
 confession of their accomplices. The sufferers denied having 
 received any bribe, or any proposal to act disloyally towards 
 the government ; declared that they had ever been faithful to 
 it and the queen, and that their lives were in the queen's hand. 
 They did not complain of the queen, but asked to be allowed 
 to send for witnesses who would establish their innocence, and 
 show that the transfer of a small piece of land which their 
 family had received from the late prime minister, was publicly 
 known to have been an exchange made for more convenient 
 distribution of the land amongst themselves after the recent 
 death of the head of the family. But this explanation was 
 disallowed, and their witnesses were not permitted to appear. 
 They still declared that, if the queen chose to put them to 
 death, they could say no more. 
 
 In the evening the gun was fired an hour earlier than usual, 
 though no public announcement had been made that such 
 would be the case, and during the evening ten men were appre- 
 hended and lodged in prison ; early the next morning, a woman, 
 who resided just opposite my house, was also seized in the 
 same manner, for having been out after gun-fire. There was 
 great murmuring about what was deemed the injustice of 
 ordering the gun to fire earlier than usual, without giving 
 the people notice, so that they might reach home. At this 
 time an order was issued for all officers to come to the capital 
 for the readjustment of their rank; and it was said that all pro- 
 motions during the late king's reign were to be invalidated, and 
 that only those honours conferred by the present government were
 
 CHAP. xvi. RENEWED TREASONABLE RUMOURS. 427 
 
 to be retained. An opinion prevailed that this was not the 
 real object, but that some of the officers were suspected of 
 treasonable designs. An order was also issued that no person, 
 not a regular inhabitant of the city, should sleep therein at night, 
 and that no inhabitant should remain out all night. 
 
 TJie ten men apprehended on the previous night were libe- 
 rated, as they were able to prove that they were occupied about 
 their own personal affairs, and had no means of knowing that 
 the gun would be fired earlier than usual. But as it was 
 reported that a number of spears and other weapons had been 
 found, the vigilance of the authorities was increased, additional 
 troops were called into the city, the avenues were more care- 
 fully guarded, and all the military posts strengthened. 
 
 All the endeavours to obtain evidence to substantiate the 
 charges against the men who had been apprehended on suspicion 
 of having received a bribe to take the life of the present 
 minister having failed, they were liberated. But rumours still 
 circulated of treasonable intentions on the part of the former 
 minister, and some of the members of his family, who were 
 said to be plotting to remove the present minister, as a means 
 of his own return to power, if not to the assumption of the 
 sovereignty. This was enough to make the government uneasy, 
 as well as prompt in the measures they adopted. An officer 
 and fifty men were therefore sent to demand from him all 
 the spears and other arms, with the ammunition, in his pos- 
 session ; and the former being fewer in number than was 
 expected, it was surmised that he had concealed a part, or had 
 placed them in the keeping of his adherents. His own account 
 of their disposal was, that he had given them out to the men 
 who came into the capital without arms at the time of the 
 revolution, and that they had not been returned; but this 
 explanation was not deemed satisfactory. 
 
 Orders were then issued to remove all the ammunition, every 
 weapon, and everything of the kind from his premises. It 
 was even thought to be unsafe for the deposed minister to
 
 428 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvi. 
 
 remain in the capital, so easily accessible to the chiefs and 
 others ; and for two successive days his destiny was subject to 
 grave deliberation at the palace between the queen, and the 
 nobles, high officers, and heads of the people. The wife of the 
 minister, and his sister, went to the queen, and with tears 
 besought her majesty not to take his life. Some, however, 
 counselled his death. Others strongly opposed this, but 
 recommended his banishment under circumstances that should 
 prevent his causing any further trouble, and this counsel 
 prevailed. 
 
 A large number of landed proprietors, and heads of villages, 
 were at this time in Antananarivo, having come with their 
 annual tribute of rice, as well as to pay their respects to the 
 queen, on the approaching festival of the new year, and on 
 the day of the above decision in the palace, a crier was sent 
 round the city to summon the people to receive a kabary or 
 message from the queen at Antsahatsiroa, the hollow in front of 
 my dwelling. 
 
 Early in the afternoon a large and influential assembly 
 gathered at the appointed place, and officers from the palace 
 delivered the message from the queen. This was that her 
 majesty was deeply distressed, that the peace of the community 
 should be endangered by evil and treasonable reports of inten- 
 tions on the part of the late prime minister, that she had sent 
 to let them know how much she was distressed, and to ask their 
 advice as to what she should do. 
 
 The leaders of the assembly, after several opinions had been 
 expressed, recommended the queen to banish the late minister, 
 and those employed by him in the attempt to accomplish his 
 objects ; and after the usual salutations of loyalty towards the 
 queen the assembly was dismissed, the officers returned to the 
 palace, and the recommendation of the people was declared 
 to be adopted, although probably the meeting was convened 
 to give public sanction and force to the decision previously 
 agreed upon. The rumour of conspiracy was evidence of
 
 CHAP. XVI. BANISHMENT OF THE EX-MINISTER. 429 
 
 the opinions supposed to exist. So far as I could judge from 
 the remarks I heard, all classes seemed to think that the course 
 pursued manifested a tendency towards a more reasonable and 
 lenient mode of dealing with persons suspected of high crimes, 
 and was a great improvement upon the swift, sanguinary, and 
 summary punishment formerly inflicted, with scarcely any in- 
 quiry or examination. The decision of the government respect- 
 ing the ex-minister was known through the city the same night. 
 It relieved many minds of great anxiety, and was almost univer- 
 sally received as more agreeable than a severer sentence would 
 have been. 
 
 Armed with the decision of the public meeting, the govern- 
 ment issued their sentence that the late minister be banished 
 to Manazary, a small out-of-the-way place belonging to his 
 family, to the east of Antsirabe, near the southern borders of 
 Imerina, and about three days' journey from the capital. He 
 was to be accompanied by his vady kely, attended by twenty- 
 eight or thirty slaves, some of whom were Christians, especially 
 one exemplary and trustworthy man whom we were sorry to lose, 
 but who was likely to make an excellent missionary in that 
 part of the country. This good man called to take leave before 
 setting out, informing me that he was appointed to attend his 
 master in exile. I gave him some books, and encouraged him 
 to do all the good in his power in his new place of abode. 
 
 The ex-minister was, moreover, allowed to take with him 
 five hundred dollars, and to appropriate to his use three hun- 
 dred and fifty cattle belonging to his late father, which were at 
 the place. He was allowed to go to the distance of one day's 
 journey from his residence of exile ; but was afterwards 
 restricted to much narrower limits, and all intercourse with 
 strangers was forbidden. Sentence, when passed, is swiftly exe- 
 cuted, and he was ordered to be sent off on the following day. 
 
 As soon as the banished minister became aware of his 
 sentence he made a will, or distribution of his property. His 
 wife, according to the tenour of the sentence, was to remain at
 
 430 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvi. 
 
 his house in the capital, and take the general charge of the 
 establishment ; and the other property left for her use during 
 life, was to be distributed at her death, according to the direc- 
 tion of her husband; his landed and other property to be 
 divided between his two daughters and their children. The 
 houses which he built for, and other property which he gave to, 
 his vady kely, who accompanied him, were to be hers during 
 her life, and afterwards to be divided between her two children. 
 This appropriation of his property was submitted to the queen, 
 and being approved by the sovereign, was considered as legally 
 confirmed, and could not be altered, even by himself, without 
 the queen's consent. 
 
 The day after the sentence had been passed was Sunday, and 
 as I passed by in the morning on my way to the place of 
 worship, I saw a number of officers on the steps, and at the 
 gate of the minister's yard, with persons moving about inside, 
 and I understood that no one beyond the members of his own 
 family would be permitted to see him. Our congregation 
 was somewhat diminished in consequence of the events of the 
 past few days, and also from a number of officers being in 
 attendance at the palace and on other duties. I had heard 
 that the sentence of the minister was to be carried out on this 
 day, and about six o'clock in the evening, the hurried passing 
 by of a number of officers to the south, along the highway, 
 just above my house, announced his departure. It had been 
 expected that he would leave by one of the high roads ; but 
 this was no pageant of greatness and power to gratify a 
 wondering and admiring crowd, as had been many in which I 
 had seen him pass ; and it was also not deemed desirable to 
 awaken commiseration or to call forth sympathy by a mournful 
 exhibition of fallen greatness. 
 
 And thus Rainivoninahitraniony, the first man in the king- 
 dom, the high noble whose power had placed Radama on 
 the throne, and so soon afterwards had consigned him to 
 an unhonoured grave, was himself now stripped of all honour,
 
 CHAP. xvi. ORGANISATION OF VILLAGE CHURCHES. 431 
 
 power, and wealth, and earned silently and, as it were, clan- 
 destinely out of his own courtyard by a back door, along a 
 comparatively unfrequented way past the palace, the scene of 
 his exploits and his glory, now the source of his disgrace, to his 
 own living tomb. He was borne to the small village of Tan- 
 jombato, on the opposite bank of the stream, to the west of the 
 capital. Here he was to pass the night, and to proceed on the 
 morrow to his home of exile on the southern border of Imerina. 
 I afterwards paid a visit to his wife, who has long been a 
 Christian, and who, though mourning her husband's fall, ex- 
 pressed her desire that it might be the means of his spiritual 
 good. I left with her a Bible, in the hope that it might lead her 
 mind away from the deep thought of her own sorrow, to the sure 
 and blessed sources of strength and comfort which it unfolds. 
 
 The comparative quiet which prevailed, both in the capital 
 and the surrounding country, after these events, enabled us to 
 leave the city more frequently, and pay several visits, which 
 had been for some time delayed, to the Christian congregations 
 in the neighbourhood. 
 
 In the last week of July I went, in compliance with the 
 earnest wish of the people, to Ambohimanga, to assist them in 
 the recognition of their pastors, and the appointment of deacons 
 to their church. The day was fine, and the ride of ten or 
 eleven miles pleasant. On arriving, I received a cordial 
 welcome from the people, most of whom were assembled near 
 the neat little clay-walled building, which they had erected for 
 their worship, at a short distance to the north, outside the gate 
 of this sacred city or village. When we entered, although 
 there were very few strangers, the house was crowded ; there 
 might be sixty, or more. After a hymn had been sung, I read 
 the Scriptures, and prayed. I then told them that I did not 
 come with any authority to enjoin laws, but as a friend, and the 
 minister of the Church with which some of them had been con- 
 nected, from which the Gospel had been brought to them, and 
 with whicli they desired to be associated; also to explain to
 
 432 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvi. 
 
 them the teaching of the Holy Scriptures, and the proceedings 
 of other churches. I then explained to them the law of the 
 New Testament on the subject of preachers and overseers. I 
 asked the communicants if they wished any of those who 
 had been accustomed from the time of the persecution to 
 be recognised as their teachers and mpitandrina or overseers, 
 still to retain that office. They were perfectly unanimous 
 in naming two men of middle age, belonging to the place, 
 and the congregation. I then explained to them as familiarly 
 and simply as possible, the nature and duties of the office, and 
 having done this, I asked the two individuals above mentioned, 
 if they were willing, in dependence upon the Holy Spirit's 
 assistance, to undertake the office and duties of mpitandrina. 
 Each having answered separately, declaring that, trusting in 
 God's word of promise, they were willing, I implored the Divine 
 sanction and blessing upon the sacred engagement which had 
 been entered into. 
 
 I next explained the teachings of the New Testament in 
 relation to the office of deacons, and the qualifications requisite 
 for the suitable sustaining of that office, and asked how many 
 persons it was desirable to appoint to assist the mpitandrina in 
 promoting the spiritual and temporal welfare of the people. 
 They said the people were thinly scattered over a wide surface 
 of country, and that one of the preachers sometimes went a 
 long way to preach. They thought they might ask four to 
 become assistants to the ministers ; and when they had named 
 the individuals, I asked each separately if he was willing to 
 undertake the office. Each answered in the affirmative, and 
 I again prayed for the Divine blessing on the engagement. 
 After this, I delivered a short address of instruction and encou- 
 ragement to the newly selected officers *and to the 'congrega- 
 tion, assuring them of the interest the churches in the capital 
 felt in their welfare, and of their readiness to help whenever it 
 might be needed, expressing a hope that our intercourse might 
 be frequent and pleasant.
 
 CHAP. xvi. PARENTAGE OF A NATIVE MINISTER. 433 
 
 I was much pleased with the spirit and deportment of these 
 people altogether. There was great simplicity of character 
 manifested, and evident feeling in connection with the state- 
 ments of Scripture, and the sentiments of the hymns which 
 they sung. Their singing did not seem to be the mere repe- 
 tition of words ; and yet there was no pretence nothing to 
 attract attention. The oldest pastor, though the youngest man 
 amongst them, Rainikioto, is a very interesting Christian. He 
 is a native of Ambohimanga, scarcely thirty years of age, an 
 amiable man, and a good preacher. His mother was sister to 
 one of the ministers of the late queen. His father was guardian 
 of Rafantaka, the tutelar idol of Ambohimanga. On his father's 
 death, the office descended to him, but being a Christian he 
 could not hold it, and it was given to his sister, who continues 
 to be keeper of the idol. Strange contrast of office held by 
 brother and sister, children of one father, in the same place. 
 
 When we had partaken of the refreshment provided for us, 
 we took our leave, and journeyed eastward. My kind friend, 
 the prime minister, had, unknown to me, sent to the authorities 
 of the city informing them that I was coming with the entire 
 approval of the government, and that they were not to allow 
 any of my proceedings to be interrupted. The authorities of 
 this heathen city had, as I afterwards learned, prepared a 
 present of poultry, &c., for me on my departure ; but as I left 
 by a different road, I had not an opportunity of thanking them 
 for their attentions. 
 
 Leaving Ambohimanga I arrived in less than two hours at 
 Isarotrafohi, one of the dwelling-places of Andriamanantena, a 
 distinguished martyr, who suffered in 1857. He was esteemed 
 among the Christians as a man of intelligence and judgment, as 
 Avell as of great activity and benevolence ; and was generally 
 sought by the Christians in seasons of difficulty and peril. 
 He possessed great influence in his own neighbourhood, even 
 among the heathen. Arid in the last fatal persecution, when 
 so many of the leaders of the Christians fell, he was the honoured 
 
 v v
 
 434 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvi. 
 
 individual selected, during the last few moments before they 
 died under the stones of the executioners at Fiadana, to implore 
 the Lord Jesus to receive their spirits. 
 
 The house in which he lived is still occupied by the widow 
 and daughter of this distinguished man, whose memory is fra- 
 grant throughout this neighbourhood. The widow is a kind- 
 hearted and exemplary Christian. The slaves of the family are 
 more like children than servants, and her house is the resort 
 of the poor and the afflicted. She gave me a cordial welcome* 
 leading me into a spacious and airy room. To the left was 
 my sleeping-room, in which I was glad to divest myself of 
 my dusty coat and get a good wash. Soon afterwards I sat 
 down at the table, with the family and guests, to an ex- 
 cellent supper, comprising soup, poultry, pork, and mutton, 
 with French beans and potatoes, followed by a dessert of 
 pine-apples and bananas. The tea-things were then brought : 
 some nice cups and saucers, a silver tea-pot, a silver milk-jug, 
 both of good pattern, and silver spoons all of native work- 
 manship, from European patterns.* There was also some good 
 fresh milk, and I quite enjoyed the cup of tea. The kind 
 attention of the servants to their mistress was also very plea- 
 sant to see. There are several congregations in the neigh- 
 bourhood, the ministers of which, with the relations of the 
 family, were present, and our conversation during the evening 
 was deeply interesting and affecting. They narrated the perils 
 of many of the Christians in that region who had been put to 
 death ; they described the concealment of the master of the 
 house and his companions in the neighbouring caverns, or 
 amongst the tall reeds of the swamps and the canes near the 
 river, as well as his marvellous escapes from those who were 
 dogging his steps for weeks together, during a long series 
 of years, until the last severe persecution in which he died. 
 
 * These articles had belonged to my hostess \vhen in early life she had been 
 the wife of a governor of Finnarantsoa.
 
 CHAP. xvi. DESCRIPTION OF A MARTYR'S HOME. 435 
 
 We had quite a congregation at family worship ; and, at a late 
 hour, after the company had left, a nice clean bed secured for 
 me, -after the long, tiring day, a good night's rest. 
 
 I had always heard Andriamanantena spoken of as a superior 
 man, and, looking around me in the morning, I thought his 
 judgment, taste, and industry were manifest in the choice and 
 arrangement of this, his last earthly home. Isarotrafohi (short 
 difficulty) is situated in front of the high granite mountain, 
 Ambohitrabiby, so celebrated in the traditional history of Mada- 
 gascar as the place where it was discovered that beef was good 
 to eat. The summit of this mountain, which is visible from 
 Ambohimanga and the country round for many miles, if not 
 also from Antananarivo, is crowned by a village and a number 
 of large and ancient trees. The house is situated near the 
 base of this mountain, on a levelled terrace, thirty or forty feet 
 wide, and about the same number of yards above the perpe- 
 tually running stream, Imahavory, below. The boundary of 
 the grounds towards the mountain and the side of the path 
 along the end were bordered by a thick hedge or fence of the 
 strong thorny Acacia indica, a plant that bears large upright 
 bunches of bright yellow flowers, and makes so formidable a 
 fence that the natives call it Tsi-afaka-omby impenetrable 
 by oxen. On the side towards the west, and two or three 
 yards above the river, the ground is bordered by the same kind 
 of formidable but beautiful fence. The house occupies the 
 middle of the terrace ; the kitchen and the houses of the 
 servants standing at each end. The yard or court in front of 
 the house, about twelve yards wide, is protected on one side by 
 a wall four or five feet high. Within this wall, grape-vines 
 were planted in pits sunk about eighteen inches deep, to prevent 
 the roots being burnt up in the long, hot season of drought. 
 The good widow occasionally sent me a present of grapes, 
 which were well-flavoured, though not always fully ripe. Out- 
 side the wall was a bank about a yard wide, sloping down for 
 at least twenty feet towards the hedge above the river. This 
 
 v P 2
 
 436 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvi. 
 
 bank, and the level ground at the bottom, was planted with 
 fruit-trees ; loquat, peach, orange, citron, lemon, and limes, 
 imported and indigenous, with a number of coffee-bushes in 
 shady places, were all growing, most of them luxuriantly, some 
 with fruit, others in flower. 
 
 A small gate led from the front yard into the orchard, where 
 a flight of steps made the descent easy to the level ground 
 below. Beyond this the flat, fallow rice-grounds stretched along 
 the western side of the river and to the north of the orchard. To 
 the south, canes and rushes bordered a long, narrow swamp. 
 The higher ground was cultivated with manioc, and above that 
 several acres ot pine-apples, regularly planted on the ordinary 
 gritty soil, were growing well, with scarcely any more care than 
 was required to keep the weeds under. Here and there, half- 
 an-acre or more of ground was filled with a dwarf, woody sort 
 of plant, with yellow pea-shaped flowers, which is one of the 
 kinds of food grown for the silk -worms. I sometimes saw the 
 same shrub planted along the borders of fields and plantations 
 for the same purpose. 
 
 The grounds at the back of the house, up towards the 
 mountain, were cultivated with manioc, sweet potatoes, which 
 are generally good, French beans, mostly used dry, and, in 
 some parts, Irish potatoes. The latter are generally cultivated 
 in the country more to the west, and are often extremely good. 
 The fruits, especially the pine-apples, are sent to market. 
 Other productions are chiefly for home consumption. 
 
 The countiy, with the exception of spots here and there, 
 chiefly within the enclosures around the dwellings, being alto- 
 gether destitute of trees, the surface of the hills, covered only 
 with coarse, rush-like grass, and broken in places by projecting 
 masses of bare granite, and the extensive rice-grounds in the 
 low lands lying at this time fallow, caused the orchard and 
 umbrageous grove of orange and lemon trees, and the luxu- 
 riantly-foliaged loquat trees, to look beautifully verdant and 
 attractive. I took out my camera to a little rising ground on
 
 Photographed by Kov. W. Ellis. 
 
 Page 
 
 JSAROTRAFOHY. 
 
 Thr MnrtriV Homo
 
 CHAP. xvi. HIDING-PLACES IN FORMER TIMES. 437 
 
 the opposite side of the small river, and though the bank of 
 the rice-field made a tame foreground and concealed the water 
 in the stream, I obtained a tolerably good, though not very 
 near, view of the house, the orchard and grounds, with the 
 acres of pine-apples, here so easily cultivated. 
 
 The circular enclosure of high wall, half-a-mile higher up 
 the mountain, with a couple of palm-like trees, is Tsarahome- 
 nana. It is a kind of homestead very common in Madagascar, 
 and was Andriamanantena's residence before the house with the 
 orchard was built ; to the left, the walls and houses of the village 
 of Ambohifahitra, two or more miles distant, are visible. 
 
 When my hostess and her numerous visitors from the capital 
 and the neighbouring villages saw what I was engaged in doing, 
 they assembled upon the bank in the orchard and behind the 
 wall in front of the court-yard, anxious to be included in the 
 picture, though too far off to be distinguishable. But I subse- 
 quently obtained portraits of the widow and daughter of the 
 martyr, as well as of his two brothers, the eldest of whom is 
 minister of the congregation in the adjacent village. 
 
 I afterwards walked out with a number of the Christians 
 towards the sugar plantation by the side of the stream, where, 
 in 1846, the owner of the place and Andriamandry and Ratsi- 
 mavandy, another distinguished Christian, who was stoned to 
 death eleven years after at Fiadana, were concealed for more 
 than a week, while spies and persons sent to seize and take 
 them bound to prison were watching and passing to and fro in 
 search of them. Two of these escaped at that time, but the 
 second, above mentioned, was taken, and died under the tan- 
 gena, or trial by poison. 
 
 There was, a little beyond the buildings at the south end of 
 the house, a fahitra a kind of stall in which oxen are fat- 
 tened. Such places are frequently dug out of the ground in 
 the yard of the house. This was like a stall excavated out of 
 the side of the rising ground, the food being let down into a small 
 manger from above. Great part of the sides were of earth ;
 
 438 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvi. 
 
 but at the bottom, on one side, there were masses of granite, 
 as if the rock had been cut away. Into a part of this granite 
 a kind of small round boulder was fixed, as if belonging to the 
 original rock. The animal that was feeding, and whose fore 
 feet stood just in front of the stone, seemed rather uneasy 
 when I approached ; but the man who fed it went in, and by 
 removing the stone showed a dark hollow, which I was told 
 had been excavated to an extent sufficient to conceal a man ; 
 and in that the master of the place had more than once found 
 safety by concealment, when parties had been sent to arrest 
 him. 
 
 As we then walked along up the broad path between the 
 plantation of pine apples, and manioc, and food for the silk 
 worms, the hostess told one of the servants to break off some 
 ripe pine apples for our dessert. On reaching the high-walled 
 circular enclosure we entered by the only gateway, over which, 
 on the inner side, there was a kind of platform or stage on 
 which three or four men might stand, and hold parley with 
 others outside. The principal house was at the side opposite 
 the gate, with two or three other buildings near it. On either 
 side were the rice granaries, each a kind of cellar excavated in 
 the shape of a bell to a considerable depth, the circular aperture 
 of not more than two feet in diameter, being covered with a 
 stone, and the hollow filled up with straw, and then earth to 
 the level of the yard. There were one or two fahitra or sunken 
 cattle folds here, with carefully prepared descending paths for 
 the cattle, places in which rice straw was collected in abund- 
 ance ; and a few plants completed the contents of this enclosed 
 homestead. 
 
 In 1849, when the martyrs were thrown over the precipice, 
 and burned at Faravohitra, Andriamanantena, the owner also of 
 this homestead, was accused of having held Christian worship 
 in his house by the orchard, and the persons sent to apprehend 
 him demanded admittance here in the queen's name. Though 
 detained some time by the men on the platform inside, they at
 
 CHAP. xvi. FORMER PERILS AMONG THE HEATHEX. 439 
 
 length entered, searched the place, and after remaining a long 
 time, finally departed without discovering the object of their 
 search, who was concealed among some of the straw in a spot 
 which was pointed out to me not far from the gate. 
 
 I also went about a mile and a half further up the side of 
 the mountain, to a small piece of ground which had been 
 levelled for a garden near the house of Andriamanantena's 
 brother. In one corner of this garden where the rocky ground 
 was perpendicular, there was at the bottom a small aperture 
 overgrown with ferns and bushes. This opening was scarcely a 
 foot and a half in diameter, but the natural cavern to which it 
 led was more extensive than I could see or measure, and within 
 this, I was told, three of the Christians at one time found safety 
 in concealment. The brother of Andriamanantena appeared a 
 good deal affected as he stood beside the entrance of this cave, 
 and spoke of the extreme peril of the time when that was their 
 place of concealment. 
 
 I then descended to the village of Ambohifahitra, where I 
 had promised to meet the people. Their place of worship was 
 very soon filled. There was a place like the door of a cupboard 
 near one of the doors, and as we sate waiting until the people 
 all came in, I asked what that was. They lifted the board 
 away and showed me a passage for escape, by which a person 
 could leave without being seen by others outside, in time of 
 danger. When the company were all assembled the place was 
 crowded. A hymn was sung, and I was much pleased with the 
 simple soft kind of singing. . I asked the native minister to 
 read and pray, which he did, offering short explanatory remarks 
 on the verses which he read. I then addressed them for a 
 short time on the mercy and faithfulness of God, as their 
 presence testified after the perils to which they had been 
 exposed ; and I encouraged thorn to endeavour to bring all 
 around them under the influence of the faith and love of the 
 Saviour ; after which I closed the service with prayer on their 
 behalf.
 
 440 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvi. 
 
 We had quite a large gathering at the house of my hostess 
 in the evening. I found much to encourage in the simple, 
 earnest piety of many of the Christians, but heard of some 
 things which required to be rectified. I gave them the best 
 advice I could, invited them to call on me, which they did not 
 forget when they came to the capital, promised to visit them 
 again. This I did, and assisted them in appointing church 
 officers, and adopting means for nourishing their own spiritual 
 life, and extending the Gospel in that part of the country. 
 
 On the following morning, after an early cup of coffee, I took 
 leave of my kind friends, cheered by the evidence of the hold 
 which the blessed truths of the Gospel had taken of the hearts of 
 the people, who certainly had but few means of spiritual improve- 
 ment. On leaving, I proceeded in a south-westerly direction 
 across the country to a village about seven miles distant ; where 
 I had promised to meet the church and congregation at ten 
 o'clock. A little before that time we reached Ambohipanja, at 
 the entrance to which a number of the Christians met me, and 
 conducted me to their place of worship, which was well rilled. 
 
 From the written account which these people gave me, I 
 found that there were forty-two communicants connected with 
 the church ; but a hundred and forty-seven belonging to eight 
 or nine other villages united with them. They seemed most of 
 them poor, but some very earnest. I had heard that they were 
 not agreed as to the most suitable persons to be pastors or 
 overseers amongst them. I was glad, however, to find them 
 now united. Proceeding in a similar way to that which I had 
 followed at Ambohimanga, I assisted them in appointing 
 overseers and deacons ; and in setting apart, in consequence of 
 the number of villages connected with them, three of their 
 number to itinerate as evangelists among those villages. 
 
 I had visited and assisted these Christian communities, not 
 only in compliance with their earnest requests, but as a means 
 of instructing them how to proceed in relation to associations 
 of Christians now united with them, who might hereafter wish
 
 CHAP. xvi. NATIVE CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE. 441 
 
 to introduce a similar organization among themselves ; but 
 chiefly because some of the Christians in these infant commu- 
 nities had been associated, and nominally were so still, with the 
 church and congregation of which I was one of the ministers, 
 and who wished to regard Ambatonakanga as their parent, and 
 to be regarded as the spiritual children of that church. The 
 same considerations influenced my brethren in their endeavours 
 to cherish and assist the village churches under their care. 
 
 As I had appointed another meeting in my own chapel at 
 Ambatonakanga at two o'clock, I set out soon after twelve, 
 halted for refreshment at the house of a member of the con- 
 gregation, and reached the chapel before the arrival of a party 
 whose marriage was to be celebrated that day. When that 
 ceremony was concluded and the friends had retired, I repaired 
 to the adjoining ground to see what progress had been made in 
 the memorial church, and reached home towards evening some- 
 what fatigued.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Opening of the new chapel on the Martyrs' Rock Tonibs and objects of 
 interest along the road to Ambohimanga A plunge in the canal Friendly 
 reception at the royal village Wayside music Interior of a native 
 dwelling Appearance and position of Ambohimanga Journey to Ime- 
 rinamandrosa - Description of the village The place to which the Christians 
 had been banished A kabary by moonlight Village Sunday services 
 The residence of the idol Ramahavaly The wearing of hats prohibited 
 Notice of Razafy, a captive slave Marriage of the Commandant's 
 daughter Visits to Lazaina Description of the village and its suburbs 
 Harmony and good feeling between the Christian and heathen Notice of 
 Ranivo Terrific storm on the road from llafy Distribution of toys, as 
 rewards to the children at Christmas The chapel on the east side of the 
 city and the gateway, Ankadibevava, its structure and antiquity. 
 
 THE loss sustained by the burning of the chapel on the edge 
 of the Martyr's precipice in the great fire of the 2nd of May was 
 repaired by the zeal and industry of the Christians in the neigh- 
 bourhood, who, with a little help, erected in less than four months 
 a new and excellent building, to which a road was made by Raini- 
 maharavo, the chief secretary of state, whose residence is near. 
 
 In and around this building, when it was opened for Christian 
 worship on the loth of August, 1804, about seven hundred per- 
 sons were assembled, including several officers of the palace, 
 and members of the families of others. On the following Sun- 
 day, when I again preached there, I was glad to see, besides the 
 Christians residing in. the neighbourhood, a number of persons 
 whom I had not been accustomed to meet in any of our congre- 
 gations. Mr. Briggs became their minister. He opened a 
 school for boys. Mrs. Briggs gave great attention to the educa- 
 tion of girls ; and the number of the Christians in this important 
 part of the city has continued steadily to increase.
 
 CHAP. xvii. JOURNEY ALONG THE NORTHERN ROAD. 443 
 
 My own missionary labours, my intercourse with the people, 
 and my opportunities of becoming acquainted with the state of 
 the country, were not confined to the capital ; and a few slight 
 references to some of the most interesting places which I visited 
 may render more complete my account of these parts of Mada- 
 gascar at the time of my visit. 
 
 The Christian villages north of the capital being most closely 
 connected with the Christians with whom I was associated, my 
 journeys were most frequently in that direction, particularly to 
 Ambohimanga ; and when the weather was favourable these 
 journeys were always pleasant. The country is open, the road 
 lying along high level land in the centre of the island, varied at 
 intervals by hollows and raised ways over swampy rice grounds, 
 or running streams, and gentle ascents, is generally good. The 
 air in the early morning, the time selected for travelling, is cool 
 and invigorating ; and the road is enlivened by travellers. The 
 herd-boys driving forth the cattle from their homesteads, the 
 labourers going to work in their fields, the slaves, male and 
 female, carrying burdens along the road, the chief and his 
 attendants, all may be met, as the rising sun spreads the pure 
 light of morning over the scene ; and if, as has sometimes been 
 the case, three or four young nobles have trotted smartly by on 
 horseback, I have returned their salutations with pleasure at 
 the evidence of the change in their customs which our meeting 
 afforded ; and which might, I thought, at some future day be 
 followed by a good carriage road from the capital to Ambohi- 
 manga. Along such a road, which could with comparatively 
 little trouble be constructed, the queen herself might roll along 
 in her carriage to her favourite mountain village and back in a 
 day, without inconvenience or fatigue. 
 
 As it is, the road is not destitute of interest even to the 
 stranger, far less so to the Malagasy. The graves, which are 
 numerous about and beyond Faravohitra arc interesting from 
 their age, and from the successive generations of one family or 
 kin wliich sometimes find within them their last resting-place.
 
 444 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvu. 
 
 Two hundred and forty bodies were required to be removed from 
 one of these into an adjacent tomb, when the space originally 
 occupied was needed for another purpose. Crossing the first 
 hollow we pass tombs which are more attractive and striking. 
 There is a low ruole tomb of a Vazimba, one of the aborigines 
 of the country, guarded with most scrup'ulous veneration by the 
 people. Near this is a modern pile erected over a warrior's grave, 
 on the upright shaft or obelisk rising from the centre of which is 
 very neatly carved in clear relief a warrior's shield and spear- 
 On the opposite side, at a little distance, is a still more modern 
 tomb, about twenty feet high, in a somewhat Grecian style, 
 over the remains of one of the first Radama's distinguished 
 followers. 
 
 Lines of tombs appear to mark the last resting-places of the 
 inhabitants of the adjacent villages along the road, sometimes 
 in considerable numbers, as at Antsarahaba, where there are 
 twenty on one side of the road and eleven on the other, within 
 a few yards of the road. Of course only modern tombs have 
 any inscriptions, but a flat upright stone, always at the east 
 end marks the direction in which the head has been laid. 
 These roadside tombs generally resemble each other, being 
 mostly of stone and oblong in form, surrounded by one or more 
 lines of stone steps, and many of them rising from four or five 
 to twelve or fifteen feet high. Occasionally there is only a 
 mound of earth surrounded by large flat stones fixed upright in 
 the ground. 
 
 The rice grounds in this direction are extensive and well- 
 cultivated. The swampy ground is also planted with rushes, 
 which make excellent thatch, that is sold in large quantities in 
 the market. The fences, which resemble walls built of thick 
 sods, are planted along the top with the dwarf, branching 
 prickly Euphorbia splendens, and Bojerii, or another variety 
 which bears bunches of yellow flowers at the ends of the 
 branches. During a long season, these border a large part of 
 the road with intensely brilliant scarlet or yellow flowers.
 
 CHAP. xvil. OBJECTS AND OCCURRENCES ON THE ROAD. 445 
 
 A number of remarkable and beautiful trees, especially the 
 fano, sacred to the idols, and the seeds of which are used in 
 divining, grow near the road ; while at one place, where the 
 village is surrounded by a ditch, the peach-trees within are so 
 numerous that the village is called Ankadikely-be-peshe (Little 
 ditch of many peaches).* 
 
 The shallow water at Andraiio-be-vava (The wide-mouthed 
 water), formerly spanned by a bridge, fragments of the broken 
 arches of which now lie scattered at the bottom, varies the 
 scene ; and the Mamba (Crocodile river), nearly midway between 
 the once celebrated villages of Ilafy and Namehana, which was 
 formerly crossed by a stone bridge of two arches, must now be 
 forded before the traveller can reach Asabotsy, on the opposite 
 bank, where there is a small market for sugar cane and fruit, 
 with which the bearers of travellers or goods generally like to 
 refresh themselves when they halt. 
 
 But the Crocodile river is not the last water to be crossed, as 1 
 found to my grief on one of my journeys. Near Lazaina, the water 
 for irrigating the rice grounds which lie along the road flows 
 through a large canal five or more feet wide, and half as deep, 
 with a bottom of soft mud. As we approached I saw a pole 
 or branch of a tree, five or six inches in diameter, forming 
 the only bridge across. I called to the bearers to go round, 
 but they 'kept on, and the second step of the man in front 
 slipped, and down he fell into the water, shooting me from 
 my seat* head foremost into the canal, my hat floating in 
 the water, my hands and arms sticking in the soft mud at the 
 bottom. 
 
 The first thing I did after scrambling up the opposite bank, 
 was to call and signal to my servants, who were on before me, 
 but still in sight, and then to proceed to a little pool of fresh 
 clean spring water, where, when my servants reached me, with 
 
 * What served the purpose of a palanquin in mo?t of these journeys was 
 a couple of poles kept apart by iron bars, with a canvas seat stretched from 
 one to the other, and a narrow foot-board suspended from the bearing poles.
 
 44G MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvii. 
 
 their assistance, I managed to scrape off the mud from my face 
 and hair as well as my clothes. But though I began at length 
 to feel somewhat cleaner, the sharp keen wind blowing along 
 the valley on the wet clothes next my skin, made me suffer 
 extremely from the cold. I had brought a thick great coat in 
 case of a storm, and this, being in charge of the boys, was dry. 
 Buttoning my wet waistcoat tightly over my wet linen, I put 
 on the dry coat, according to hydropathic principles, and bind- 
 ing a towel round my head, I mounted my seat and resumed 
 my journey, wringing out my wet jacket and hanging it on the 
 front bar of my palanquin to dry, and holding my hat in my 
 hand for the same purpose. 
 
 On reaching Ambohimanga about two o'clock, I found the 
 guard drawn up outside the gate, and the officers exchanged 
 salutations as I passed to my quarters, where I soon obtained 
 a warm cup of coffee and some refreshment, as the best means 
 of counteracting the cold which had followed my bath. When 
 I returned towards evening, two officers asked me to halt at 
 the gate where the troops were drawn up. The governor whom 
 I had known at Antananarivo during the late reign shook 
 hands with me very cordially when I alighted, and said he was 
 glad to meet me again. The son of the Christian minister, and 
 several Christians were there. An old man bending with years, 
 and leaning on a polished ebony staff, then stood forward, and 
 said they were representatives of the queen there, that my visit 
 was regarded as a visit to her majesty ; that they wished to 
 receive me as she would have done, and had brought a little 
 poultry and fruit. In thanking them, I said I prized and reci- 
 procated their good will : we then took leave and proceeded on 
 our way. 
 
 In my subsequent visits to Ambohimanga I very naturally 
 avoided the canal ; but a little beyond this place I saw on 
 one of my journeys an aged minstrel sitting under a sunny 
 bank accompanying a Malagasy song with one of the best- 
 toned Lokangas I had heard. He was a remarkably good-
 
 CHAP. xvn. INTERIOR OF A NATIVE DWELLING. 447 
 
 looking and venerable man, and had time allowed I should 
 have been pleased to listen longer to his ballad and his 
 music. 
 
 On one occasion, when I was accommodated with shelter 
 and rest in the house of a native Christian, I was struck 
 with the arrangements of the interior of the dwelling. The 
 door was at one end of the west side of the house. On the 
 side opposite to the door was a pen containing several sheep, 
 and next to them another pen with a number of geese. Beyond 
 that, nearly in the middle of the floor, was a rude and simple 
 sugar mill, consisting of two cylinders of hard wood placed hori- 
 zontally between two strong posts planted in the floor. The 
 mill was turned by a wooden handle, in shape like the handle of 
 a grindstone, with a slanting trough underneath to receive the 
 juice from the bruised cane. The natives make a good deal of 
 coarse sugar, which being but imperfectly crystallised and 
 drained, is not palatable to a European, but is sold to some- 
 extent in the markets for native use. Immediately be}'ond 
 the sugar-mill was the fire-place, a hearth sunk about four 
 inches below the floor, and protected by upright stones round 
 the edge, while three upright stones were fixed in the centre of 
 the hearth to serve as a trivet. At the further end of the room, 
 on the same side as the door, was a small window ; and on the 
 opposite side, considered as the sacred part of the house, was the 
 sleeping place of the occupants. Over one end of the house 
 was a sort of loft where mats, baskets, and other articles were 
 placed. The walls of the house were of hard, close red clay, 
 the roof of a stiff rushy sort of grass. Besides the animals 
 already mentioned, a hen with a large brood of small chickens 
 had to be evicted before I could enter, and from the persistence 
 with which she returned, it was evident she felt that her 
 rightful domain had been unjustly invaded. 
 
 This was one of the ordinary houses of a small village some 
 distance to the north of Ambohimanga, and I found it in its 
 ordinary state, for I had not been expected there ; but it was
 
 448 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvn. 
 
 near the chapel, and I did not intend to spend the night with 
 so numerous a household. I have described it minutely as 
 showing the kind of dwelling in which the greater part of the 
 poorer villagers reside. 
 
 I had a good opportunity of noticing this ancient, sacred, and 
 historically celebrated place. The great charm of Ambohi- 
 manga is its position, standing out like a bold promontory, over- 
 looking a wide range of undulating hill and plain, the hollows 
 of which are most ingeniously and carefully irrigated, as well 
 as industriously cultivated with rice and other indigenous 
 productions ; while the whole plain to the south is studded 
 with large, and formerly populous villages, in which large 
 umbrageous trees add to the charm of the landscape. On the 
 eastern summit of the hill on which Ambohimanga stands, 
 tombs and other important buildings are erected, while houses 
 of a respectable class stretch along the upper part to the 
 west. The sides of the rocky hill are clothed with tall and 
 slender trees, and thick undergrowth of flowering shrubs ; while 
 the houses are almost crowded over the broad spreading base, 
 on the northern and western sides, of the mass of granite on 
 which this ancient village stands. Lower down, and in different 
 directions, two or three houses may be seen grouped together, 
 with gardens and a few trees forming a rural homestead, with 
 orchards and other picturesque accompaniments ; or a cottage 
 or two standing under a clump of trees of richest foliage, with 
 deep perpendicular precipices on one side, and the level land of 
 the elevated plain stretching far away on the other, altogether 
 presenting bits of landscape scenery that would make perfect 
 gems of pictures. During one of my visits I obtained a good 
 photograph of this ancient village, showing the north-western 
 side of the mountain, the elaborate net-work of water-courses, 
 and some of the detached objects of interest. 
 
 On the occasion of my visit to the cottage already described, 
 the people were, many of them, at work in their fields, but my 
 congregation amounted to about fifty I never had fewer.
 
 CHAP. xvn. VISIT TO IMERINAMANDROSA. 449 
 
 When the service was over and I returned to the cottage, my 
 kind friends presented a fowl which they had cooked, and this, 
 with some coffee which I had brought with me, furnished all 
 the refreshment I required. 
 
 Soon after four o'clock I resumed my journey across the 
 country in a direction due west. Our road led for a consider- 
 able distance along the edge of a range of high granite moun- 
 tains, and afterwards along the margin of a stream running 
 through a carefully cultivated level country, with here and 
 there a homestead and a few cottages. The hills were barren, 
 except where a village or the ruins of one crowned the summit, 
 in which case there was frequently a number of ancient trees 
 which the inhabitants had planted. After travelling about five 
 miles in the same direction, we turned southward and wound 
 our way for about a mile through some extensive walled enclo- 
 sures, then crossing a fosse or ditch by a narrow pathway, 
 entered, through stone pillars about six feet high, the ancient 
 gateway of Imerinamandrosa. This village, which stands in 
 an extensive plain, had been conspicuous from the road, 
 owing to a number of tall, venerable trees wjhich mark the resi- 
 dence of an ancient chieftain, to whom at one time Ambohi- 
 manga rendered homage and tribute. 
 
 Christians met us at the gate, and conducted us to a nice, 
 clean, newly-furnished house, where a cordial friendly greeting 
 awaited us from the Christians, some of whom I had met at 
 Tamatave, in 1854, and others during my more recent visit to 
 the country. In the lower room of the house, my servants, 
 who came direct from the capital, had prepared my bed, and 
 the Christian friend who accompanied me occupied the room 
 above. Most of the Christians in the place came to visit us 
 during the evening. Some of them had suffered much during the 
 late persecution ; some had lost beloved relatives ; two of them 
 had survived after wearing the heavy iron fetters for four years 
 and a half, and now exercised great influence for good amongst 
 the people of the place. 
 
 o o
 
 450 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvii. 
 
 We had much to tell, and much to hear. I was pleased with 
 the account I received of the progress of the Gospel in the 
 place, and especially with the account of two young men who 
 had, from the prompting of their own minds, taught a school 
 of thirty boys in the village, and were quite rejoiced when I 
 promised them a few school books and materials. I found 
 there were a hundred and fifty Christians in the village, of 
 whom twenty-six were united in Christian fellowship. As we 
 were somewhat tired, and intended to remain two days longer 
 with our friends, they did not stay late, and we were glad, after 
 uniting with them in evening worship, to seek refreshment and 
 retire to rest. 
 
 By the light of the next morning, I found myself in the 
 midst of scenes novel and interesting. I walked round the 
 high banks which encircle the village, and looked into the place 
 of worship, formerly a government building used for the pre- 
 paration of materials for manufacturing gunpowder ; but given 
 to the Christians by the late king. I then visited the ancient 
 gateways, now partly in ruins, and crossed the village in several 
 directions. It appeared to have been more than once enlarged, 
 but was still nearly circular, and two or three hundred yards in 
 diameter. One deep ditch or fosse, eighteen feet deep and eight 
 feet wide, with steep perpendicular sides, and a bank of earth 
 six or more feet high, on the inner side of the ditch, had been 
 in former times its chief protection. I visited three gateways, 
 which were built with large massive stones, and defended on the 
 inside by a circular granite slab, as at the ancient gates of the 
 capital, and elsewhere. All were more or less dilapidated, though 
 still used for passing in and out of the village. Within the 
 outer fosse, there were in some places two others, narrower, but 
 deep, the second being about eight yards within the outer 
 one. A deep ditch also divided the village in two parts, so 
 that if one part was entered by an enemy, the other might be 
 still secure. 
 
 I was struck with the number of excavations for cattle pens ;
 
 CHAP. xvii. TRACES OF ANCIENT BUILDINGS. 451 
 
 and passing along among the ruins of former dwellings, the 
 whole of the ground seemed to be honeycombed with bell- 
 shaped excavations, formerly rice granaries ; evidently showing 
 that in former times, neither the herds nor the grain were con- 
 sidered safe outside the fortifications. The platforms on which 
 several of the houses were built, and some of the walls, as 
 well as those lining the most ancient of the cattle folds, ex- 
 hibited a manner of building which is seen in some of the 
 oldest gateways of the capital, and the most ancient of the 
 stone-built tombs. The stones, a gneiss or granite in small 
 pieces, seldom more than one or two inches thick, and less than 
 a foot long, are built up without cement, and with extreme 
 regularity and evenness, very different from all modern gate- 
 ways or tombs. The natives say it was the manner of building 
 in the time of their ancestors. 
 
 An extensive raised pavement of large flat stones beneath 
 some magnificent ancient trees was pointed out as the fore- 
 court of the former sovereign. I asked several of the men by 
 whom were the embankments, gates, &c., made, and they said 
 Andriamasinavelona, a chief who is supposed to have lived 
 about a hundred years ago. There appeared to be about a 
 hundred houses in the place, and there could not be more than 
 five hundred people. 
 
 I was interested in seeing a number of the inhabitants of tho 
 place sitting on the eastern side of the high bank which sur- 
 rounds the village, in the early morning when the water 
 carriers were coming home with the jars of water on their 
 heads, when the slave boys and girls were driving the few lean 
 cows and the better conditioned sheep out of tho gates, as they 
 do every morning, to the borders and fallow rice fields, where 
 they watch them through the day to prevent them from injuring 
 the crops, and at sunset bring them home to the fold near the 
 house for the night. Flocks of ducks and geese were driven out 
 to the shallow, swampy places, and water-courses, where they 
 were tended and then brought home in the same way. The 
 
 a o 2
 
 452 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvn. 
 
 grounds cultivated with sweet potatoes, French beans, manioc, 
 and other edible vegetables, and a few fruit trees, were seen 
 stretching for a considerable distance on the outside of the 
 deep fosse to the west and south of the village. 
 
 In the middle of the day I went, in company with a num- 
 ber of the people, to see the house at Ambohimanjaka, two 
 miles distant, where nine of the Christians were confined in 
 fetters during the last persecution. One who survived was. with 
 us, and it was gratifying to see the kindly recognition which 
 took place between this Christian woman and a slave woman 
 who had charge of the place, and who had shown the Christians 
 every possible kindness during their imprisonment. I also saw 
 the village of Alatsinaina, half a mile distant, round the market 
 place of which the Christians in fetters were dragged every 
 market day. While we were there, a number of Christians, 
 sisters, and other relatives of one who was stoned at Fiadana, 
 came from Manankasana, a village about four miles due north, 
 where there is a small Christian congregation. The owner of 
 the place we visited on this occasion is a heathen priest ; but 
 he exchanged salutations as we passed his door where he and 
 his wife were standing. 
 
 In going and returning we passed along the foot of a barren 
 granite mountain, among the large blocks at the summit of 
 which is a small house, sacred to Ramahavaly, the serpent 
 idol. To this place the idol is taken, once at least every 
 year, to be anointed with fat ; and when the votaries of the 
 idol find any snakes, they are taken there alive as to their 
 home. This rocky summit is a barren, dreary place, said to 
 abound with snakes, some of them of large size. 
 
 It was a bright moonlight evening after we returned to our 
 quarters, and we heard, while sitting in the house, the public 
 crier going round the village, and summoning the people to 
 assemble and receive a kabary. I thought it must be some- 
 thing urgent and alarming that called the people together at 
 that hour, but was informed that it was only an order about
 
 CHAP. xvii. SUNDAY AT D1ERINAMANDROSA. 453 
 
 some government work, and that kabarys were often delivered 
 by moonlight. 
 
 I had agreed to spend the next day, which was Sunday, with 
 the people. They held a prayer meeting early in the morning, 
 and on going at nine o'clock to the chapel, I found a number of 
 persons around the door and windows, unable to find room 
 inside, for some of the Christians from Ambohimanga and 
 Manankasana had walked five or six miles that morning to 
 spend part of the day with us. There were upwards of two 
 hundred present, and the assembly wore an aspect of cheerful 
 gladness which it was refreshing to behold. Rainikioto, one of 
 the pastors from Ambohimanga, prayed, read the Scriptures, and 
 preached an excellent discourse. His affectionate earnestness of 
 manner as well as the valuable instruction which his sermon 
 conveyed, enhanced my estimate of this amiable and devoted 
 young minister of Christ. After singing, Randrara, the Christian 
 minister from Manankasana, read the Scriptures and prayed, 
 and I preached to the people. 
 
 When the services were over, the ministers and Christians 
 from the villages already mentioned took affectionate leave of 
 us, and departed in order to reach home in time for afternoon 
 worship with their respective congregations. At three o'clock I 
 went again to the chapel, where the congregation, though not so 
 numerous as in the morning, was remarkably attentive, and the 
 singing, as I have noticed in several of the village congregations, 
 was simple and somewhat plaintive. 
 
 Later in the day, the ministers of the place and a number 
 of Christians joined our evening conversation and worship ; 
 and I was gratified by the evidence w-hich the events of the 
 day and the statements of the people afforded of their love for 
 the word and the ordinances of the Saviour. I was also cheered 
 by the hope inspired by the accounts I received, that, as soon 
 as increased agency could be provided, the Gospel would spread 
 more widely among the adjacent villages, the scene of the 
 martyrs' sufferings, and also the neighbourhood of the venerated
 
 454 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvn. 
 
 and ancient home of one of their most renowned national idols. 
 The sacred mountain, by the village of Ambohitany, the chief 
 residence of the idol Ramahavaly (able to answer), and inha- 
 bited only by his guardians and servants, is situated midway 
 between the village at which I was staying and Ambohimanga. 
 
 Early on Monday morning we took leave of our kind friends 
 at Imerinamandrosa, and, passing between the still standing 
 stone pillars of the eastern gateway and over the deep -fosse 
 outside, commenced our journey home. The weather was 
 cloudy and drizzling, the wind from the south-east sharp and 
 cold. During the first part of the way we met numbers of 
 people carrying rofia fibre from Moramanga, forty miles east of 
 the capital ; also cotton, rolls of tobacco, and other articles of sale, 
 to the Monday market, near which the Christians had been 
 confined. After travelling about a mile, we began the gradual 
 ascent of the range of hills, of which Ambohimanga forms the 
 abrupt eastern termination, and, descending on the opposite side, 
 passed soon after the village of Ambohitany, situated at the 
 foot of a hill, on the summit of which the great idol is kept. 
 
 Passing on our way between two villages named Sahafa, and 
 leaving other extensive villages to the north, we came near 
 Ilazaina, where there are a number of Christians whom I had 
 not been able to visit, we travelled along the broad level road 
 by Asabotsy, and reached home during the forenoon, having 
 suffered as much from the cold wind and driving rain as at any 
 time during my stay in Madagascar. I went down in the after- 
 noon of the same day to Ambatonakanga, to see some of the 
 Christians and the workmen of the church ; also called on some 
 of the missionaries, and was glad to find all going on well. 
 
 A number of Christians residing in the city, but hitherto 
 worshipping at Analakely, had obtained an extremely eligible 
 piece of ground near the edge of Andohalo, adjacent to the 
 road leading to Faravohitra, and having erected there a neat 
 place of worship for their temporary accommodation, it ^Yas 
 opened for worship on the 22nd of October. Most of the mis-
 
 CHAP. XVIL A CHKISTIAN SLAVE'S RETURN TO HER HOME. 455 
 
 sionaries were present, and the new place promises to become an 
 important centre of usefulness under the care of Mr. Hartley, 
 whose congregation includes a number of intelligent and devoted 
 Christians. 
 
 Passing through Andohalo, about a fortnight afterwards, to 
 attend my Bible class, I found a kabary gathered to receive a 
 message from the queen. This message required all the non- 
 military men, and also the slaves, to braid and tie up their 
 hair in small knots, and to discontinue the wearing of hats. 
 Avowedly, this was ordered that they might be distinguished 
 from the military, who wore their hair straight and cut. 
 
 They were also ordered to report themselves to their respective 
 chiefs, that they might be forthcoming when required to fetch 
 timber from the forests, or to engage in any other of the 
 government works. The prohibition against wearing hats was 
 felt to be a great and needless inconvenience to many who had 
 long been accustomed to wear them, and no one could see the 
 least advantage to be derived from such prohibition. 
 
 Our Bible class that evening was rendered interesting by an 
 announcement from Razafy, one of our congregation whom I 
 had baptized a few months before, that she was about to visit 
 her native place in the Sakalava country, a month's journey to 
 the north-west from Antananarivo. Razafy, with two brothers, 
 had, when all were quite young, been seized and brought away 
 as booty by the troops of the expedition sent against that part 
 of the country by the late Queen Ranavalona, in 1849. On 
 reaching the capital, all had been sold as slaves, and she, since 
 the death of the queen, had become a Christian, had been 
 married to a Christian husband, and had two children one an 
 infant in arms. Her brothers, both Christians, had returned 
 some months before to their native place, where they had 
 found their parents still living, and who, they sent word, were 
 longing to see her and her children. She added that her 
 master, who is a Christian, agreed to her going, accompanied 
 or followed by her husband. Her brothers had sent the intel-
 
 45C MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvn. 
 
 ligcnce that there were several persons in that part of the 
 country learning to read, and also inquiring about the Gospel ; 
 and she wished to take with her a few spelling-books and 
 copies of the Scriptures. 
 
 The Christians present were all deeply interested in Razafy's 
 projected journey, and in our closing prayers she was specially 
 commended to the guidance and blessing of the Most High ; 
 while earnest desires were expressed that the visit of the 
 brothers and sister might be the means of communicating the 
 knowledge of Christ to their parents, and of introducing the 
 blessed Gospel of salvation to that part of the country. I saw 
 her master two days afterwards, and he gave her an excellent 
 character. When she called to take leave, before setting out 
 on her journey, I gave her some books, with a few words of 
 encouragement ; and I mention the incident to show the mar- 
 vellous ways by which God is spreading the knowledge of the 
 Gospel among the inhabitants of this land. Andakabe is the 
 name of the place where the parents of this Christian woman 
 reside, and her master also comes from the same neighbourhood. 
 
 A short time after this, my friend Rainitavy, the Christian 
 commandant at Tamatave, informed me that his daughter, who 
 was about to be married, wished her marriage to be celebrated 
 in our chapel, on the 3rd of December. I was surprised to see, 
 at the appointed time, a bridal party of between fifty and 
 sixty persons enter the place. The father and mother, on this 
 occasion, seated themselves one on each side of the bride, an 
 interesting, good-looking young woman, under twenty years of 
 age the bridegroom two or three years older. Both acquitted 
 themselves with the greatest propriety. The father and mother 
 were much affected during some parts of the ceremony, and 
 there was more feeling than I expected shown by several 
 members of the family. After the ceremony, the bride signed 
 the register without much trepidation, arid when the witnesses 
 had signed, the bride's eldest sister, the first-born of the family, 
 added, in a clear hand, her signature to that of the witnesses.
 
 CHAP. xvn. ASPECT AND INHABITANTS OF LAZAINA. 457 
 
 It was pleasing to see the interest taken by the family in the 
 proceeding, showing how Christianity hallows the ties of family 
 and blood. 
 
 On the 17th of the same month, I paid my long-promised 
 visit to Lazaina, an extensive and important village a few miles 
 south of Ambohimanga, and situated in the centre of a number 
 of villages connected with the latter place. Formerly it was 
 a populous and flourishing place ; but when the father of the 
 first Radama conquered Antananarivo and made it his capital, 
 the chief families of Lazaiua and the adjacent villages removed 
 thither, drawing supplies and wealth from the places of their 
 former residence. Still there are a number of good-sized 
 houses, in excellent condition, in the place, several newly-built. 
 The remains of the ancient defences are inferior to those of 
 Imerinamandrosa ; but the character of the interior was much 
 the same, except that the excavated cattle-folds were larger in 
 size and fewer in number. 
 
 The rice grounds around were extensive and well-cultivated, 
 and in many of the enclosures, plantains, peach trees, figs, 
 pomegranates, cape-mulberry, the Chinese loquat, and guava, 
 with some kinds of acacias, were frequently seen. The ancient 
 ditch was in many places nearly filled up, and planted with 
 sweet potatoes and bananas. Manioc was extensively grown 
 outside the ditch, where there were also a number of home- 
 steads, and sometimes plantations of edible vegetables, enclosed 
 within high walls, generally in good repair. 
 
 Ravoninahitrarivo, the present treasurer of the government, 
 is the noble of greatest influence in this place ; and a number 
 of the head people of Lazaina are connected with the church 
 and congregation at Arnbatonakanga. Nothing in this place 
 struck me so much as the vast number of children. I counted 
 about a hundred and sixty gathered in front of my window 
 before I had been an hour in the house, and most of an ago 
 suitable for school. I found about two hundred Christians 
 belonging to Lazaina, and a nice new chapel at Vavahady, in
 
 458 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvn. 
 
 the centre of the village, was in course of erection. I asked 
 how they obtained such an excellent site. They" said it was 
 the site of an ancient gateway, and belonged to the village ; 
 and the heads of the people, Christian and heathen, had readily 
 consented to their occupying it, for all in the village were very 
 friendly to one another. I was delighted to receive such a 
 testimony, and thought it augured well for the progress of the 
 Gospel. There was a small school, but the master was not 
 efficient, and I asked them if they could not select a young 
 man to be trained as a schoolmaster for the village, in our 
 school at the capital. This was one of the villages in which, 
 during the time of the former missionaries, a school had been 
 established by order of the government, and in which the 
 progress of the children was encouraging; but the wholesale 
 manner in which the scholars were afterwards drafted direct 
 from the school to the army, in which so many of them perished 
 in the wars of depredation and annexation of that period, had 
 prevented the parents being very anxious for the opening of 
 public schools. 
 
 After walking through the village and some of the planta- 
 tions outside, I returned to the nice clean house which had 
 been provided for our accommodation, and during the evening 
 the greater part of the Christians who were at home paid me 
 a visit, some of them uniting in our evening worship, and 
 remaining afterwards until a late hour. I did not attend the 
 early prayer-meeting the next morning, which was Sunday, 
 but went between eight and nine o'clock to their place of 
 worship, a large respectable house with verandahs to the lower 
 and upper stories ; it belonged to one of the Christians, and 
 was used for public worship while their new chapel was build- 
 ing. There were about a hundred persons present, all belonging 
 to the village. I was pleased with their seriousness and atten- 
 tion, as well as with their natural and simple kind of singing. 
 Besides the usual prayers, two short discourses were preached, 
 one by the village pastor, the other by myself. It was very
 
 CHAP. xvii. SUNDAY SERVICES AT LAZAINA. 459 
 
 pleasing to see the rural congregation as they left the door 
 exchange their simple greetings, and then parents and children 
 walk cheerfully away towards their different homes. 
 
 In the afternoon I went to Ambohimanga, about three or 
 four miles distant, where I found the congregation assembled. 
 The chapel used at the time was half a mile beyond the village. 
 The chief pastor had gone to preach at a distant village, and a 
 number of the people living in that direction had gone to their 
 worship, but about sixty assembled, and their simple earnest- 
 ness and attention, together with the conversation I had with 
 them afterwards, rendered the service to me particularly in- 
 teresting. They had been gratified by an increase of their 
 numbers since my last visit, though at times greatly distressed 
 by the enmity and bigotry of the heathen, and the wickedness 
 of the place. I endeavoured to encourage them, telling them, 
 before I left, that, situated as they were, they must not be 
 surprised at the trials of the position which they occupied, 
 nor refrain from communicating to the people the light of the 
 Gospel, which could dispel the darkness, and was the balm 
 which could heal the moral maladies so pestilent around 
 them. 
 
 A number of Christians came to my house at Lazaina in the 
 evening, arid our conversation was unusually interesting. I 
 learned that immediately opposite my lodgings, and only a few 
 yards across the street, was the house in which Ranivo was born, 
 and next to which several members of her family still resided. 
 Ranivo was the gentle, but heroic young Christian woman, who 
 was sentenced in 1849 to be cast over the fatal precipice, 
 because she prayed to God, and who was forced to see thirteen 
 of her Christian companions destroyed, to induce her to recant 
 and take a heathen oath. Refusing to do this, she was pro- 
 nounced by the executioner to be an idiot, and delivered to her 
 relatives. 
 
 Some of those who were connected with this youthful con- 
 fessor had been among my earlier visitors, and had formed part
 
 4CO MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvn. 
 
 of the congregation 'in the morning of the day. The simple 
 fact that I had worshipped in the same congregation, and con- 
 versed in the same room with some so nearly related, so like 
 in appearance and spirit to one, the fragrance of whose memory 
 can never now be tainted, and which time will only strengthen 
 and refine, produced an agreeable effect upon my own mind, 
 and I did not marvel at finding a simple, natural garden of the 
 Lord, in a soil which had so early produced such fruits- unto 
 Christ. 
 
 On the following day I went to a place beyond Ambohimanga, 
 where I was overtaken by a sudden and violent thunderstorm, 
 and was exposed on the bleak rocky mountain side to the 
 drenching rain, except where we found temporary shelter under 
 the beetling rocks. The natives, with two or three exceptions, 
 were perfectly useless, crouching down under the rocks insensible 
 and indifferent to everything except immediate shelter. It 
 rained as we passed the gate of Ambohimanga on our return, 
 but some of the authorities met us with a present, which I said 
 ought to be doubly prized when given under such circumstances. 
 As we passed along the road from the higher parts of the moun- 
 tain the red and muddy flood rushed down in a torrent more 
 than ancle deep ; but the rain ceased before we had proceeded 
 far, and on entering Lazaina, little more than three miles 
 distant, we found the village comparatively dry, there having 
 been only a slight rain in that locality. 
 
 My house was again thronged with Christians in the evening, 
 when I urged them to finish their chapel, and promised them 
 some assistance. It was accordingly completed in a few months, 
 and neatly fitted up ; and, in company with Mr. Cousins and 
 some of the preachers from the capital, I had the pleasure of 
 taking part in the religious services at the opening, and also of 
 assisting them on the same day in selecting and appointing 
 their church officers, only a few months before my departure 
 from Madagascar. 
 
 I also urged them to send a young man to Antananarivo, to
 
 CHAP. xvn. VIOLENT THUNDERSTORM AND RAIN. 461 
 
 be trained as a schoolmaster ; and early the following morning 
 took leave of my friends at Lazaina, proceeding across the 
 country in a south-easterly direction to the woody, and at one 
 time, royal village of Ilafy, Avhere the native Christians have 
 recently erected an excellent place of worship, capable of hold- 
 ing five hundred people. 
 
 My intercourse with the inhabitants was on this occasion inter- 
 rupted by the threatening aspect of the weather, which became 
 so dark and lowering, that I hastily took leave ; Rainivelo, a friend 
 who had accompanied me from the capital, and myself, with 
 two boys carrying a leather bag containing a change of clothing, 
 set out to return. We had scarcely proceeded more than a 
 mile, when the storm burst upon us with fearful violence. The 
 thunder and lightning was as fearfully appalling as that of any 
 tropical storm I had ever witnessed, and the rain seemed to 
 come down in streams. I certainly never was out in so furious 
 a tempest, the lightning dazzling almost to blindness, the 
 thunder nearly deafening, and the concussion of the air terrific. 
 
 It made no difference that my heavy great coat had been 
 previously sent home. No thickness of covering could have 
 kept any part of me dry. The water came through my hat, 
 and I could feel it passing down my back until it filled my 
 boots, and streamed over them ; and from my legs, which hung 
 down from my seat, it poured into the flood below, for every 
 part of the surface of the ground was covered with water. 
 The road was often quite an eddying stream, and in de- 
 scending the clayey, slippery sides of the hollows, my bearers 
 were in great danger of being washed from their foot-hold 
 down into the boiling, frothing stream. We often had to 
 leave the beaten road, and make a considerable circuit to cross 
 some hollow at a broader and shallower part. For more than 
 an hour we staggered on our difficult course, without the least 
 prospect of any place of shelter, the bearers sometimes utterly 
 unable to force their way against the fury of the driving storm, 
 and literally standing still for some minutes on a solid level
 
 4C2 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvn. 
 
 part of the flooded road. It was towards sunset when we reached 
 the city, having been more than two hours travelling about five 
 miles, or, with slight deviations from the road, perhaps some- 
 what more. On reaching home I found that the rain had been 
 less in the capital than at Ilafy, or the intervening space ; and 
 after immediately taking advantage of dry clothing and com- 
 fortable refreshment, I did not suffer more than temporary 
 inconvenience from the storm. 
 
 A kind friend to the Malagasy, and especially to the young, 
 had, with the assistance of friends in London, purchased a very 
 handsome present of good toys for the children in the schools 
 at Antananarivo, and had confided them to my care for distri- 
 bution. They had arrived most opportunely, for Christmas 
 was at hand, and, assisted by the missionaries, I divided them 
 into lots, according to the number of the schools. There was 
 an examination of the scholars at Christmas, and when we had 
 any presents, it was our custom to give them as rewards to the 
 best behaved and most industrious scholars. 
 
 Early in the morning of the day before Christmas, and 
 two days after my return from Ilafy, I went down to Amba- 
 tonakanga to assist in distributing the prizes to our children. 
 I found the children all there, and some of the fathers and 
 mothers with them. There were ninety-eight scholars in 
 that school. The master and mistress had prepared a list 
 of the most deserving, in the order of their merits. Their 
 names were read over, and they were told that some kind 
 friends in England, in the hope of encouraging them in atten- 
 tion and good behaviour, had sent out some presents for their 
 amusement, such as the boys and girls in England were very 
 much pleased with. 
 
 The toys and rewards for the boys, and those for the 
 girls, were laid out in separate places. The presents for 
 the girls consisted of a number of very nice wax and other 
 dolls, boxes of dolls' furniture, or of tea-things, a Noah's ark, 
 a kaleidoscope, scissors, thimbles, needles, haberdashery, with
 
 CHAP. xvii. THE CHILDREN'S DELIGHT WITH ENGLISH TOYS. 43 
 
 dresses, or pieces of cloth to make them. The most deserving 
 Sfirl was first called, and so in succession. This favoured little 
 
 O * 
 
 girl, who happened to be the daughter of one of the preachers, 
 was told to look over the presents ranged on the table, and 
 choose that which she liked best. They had none of them seen 
 any of the articles before, perhaps nothing in the shape of toys 
 of the kinds here displayed. The little girl cast one glance 
 down the table, and without a moment's hesitation took up the 
 largest doll, and holding it in her arms, with her head hung 
 down over it, walked back to where her mother was sitting. 
 The other girls followed in the order of their merit, and each 
 one with equal promptness chose a doll, until they were all ap- 
 propriated. The prize that was next chosen was the Noah's 
 ark, then the kaleidoscope, and afterwards the other articles. 
 
 The schoolmaster then called up the boys in the same way. 
 I was curious to see what they would prefer. The first boy 
 chose a Noah's ai~k, the next the model of a railway train, the 
 next a small spy-glass, and the next a kaleidoscope. After 
 these, every boy that came up chose a pocket knife, then traps 
 and balls, humming-tops, pipes and whistles, and other play- 
 things. When all those who had been recommended by the 
 master and mistress had been rewarded, we gave some toy or 
 present to each of the other scholars who were there, as a stimu- 
 lant for the ensuing year.* 
 
 Glancing round occasionally, I could not but notice that each 
 possessor of a doll, which was already enveloped in a part of its 
 owner's lamba, or scarf, was the centre of an excited and eagerly 
 
 * We were all thankful to the kind friend who had sent out these English 
 toys for the children in the schools. Some of them not only afforded them 
 amusement, but conveyed new ideas of things of which they had only heard; 
 and a friend of mine, Lieut.-Col. Anson, who took great interest in the 
 children when he was in Madagascar, has recently conferred a greater favour 
 on the scholars by sending over, in addition to a supply of picture-books, a 
 number of metal models of engines, and different kinds of machines, which 
 will instruct and stimulate, as well as tend to make their pursuit of knowledge 
 pleasant.
 
 464 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvn. 
 
 gazing crowd of girls, and that the doll was perpetually held up 
 and turned round, that its face and arms might be seen, and 
 then again pressed closely to the side of its happy and envied 
 possessor. I observed that when they walked about, the doll 
 was still folded in the lamba, laid on the arm, and pressed with 
 something like maternal instinct to the side, though none had 
 ever seen a doll before. No one appeared satisfied until they had 
 looked at and examined what the others had obtained ; and it 
 seemed for the moment as if the pocket knives were, with the 
 boys, considered the greatest treasures. The parents who were 
 present were scarcely less astonished and pleased than the 
 children, and I was gratified when, as we were dismissing the 
 latter, several of the parents stood up, and thanked us and their 
 friends in England for sending such rare and nice things to 
 encourage their children to learn what was good. The same 
 excitement and pleasure was experienced when the distribution 
 of the toys took place at other schools. The boys soon learned 
 how to play at trap-ball, humming-top, &c., and there was quite 
 a commotion in some of the neighbourhoods when the boys 
 began their games with the new playthings. I suppose older 
 people must have caught the happy infection, for the same 
 afternoon I found myself playing with my landlord at battledore 
 and shuttlecock, and with his boys at trap-ball. The slaves in 
 the whole establishment came round, first to look, and then, 
 under the excitement of the novel scene, to take part in the 
 game. 
 
 Besides my journeys to the villages in the north, I frequently 
 visited our large and excellently situated place of worship 
 and school on the east side of the capital. I also travelled 
 to the east, and on these occasions, crossing over the great 
 northern road, just above my dwelling, and descending the 
 hill somewhat abruptly for about three hundred yards on the 
 opposite side, I reached a space of comparatively level ground, 
 where a large stone gateway stands, through which the main 
 road passes leading to our large chapel, and forward through
 
 rhotnpraphcd by Rev. \V. Ellis. 
 
 ANKADIBEVAVA. 
 
 Ancient Gate way , closed by a Rollins Stone. Inner Side. 
 
 ANKADIBEVAVA. 
 
 City G:ite. Eastern or Outer Side. 
 
 Pajre 465.
 
 CHAP. xvn. NOTICE OF AN ANCIENT GATEWAY. 465 
 
 Imerina, and the intervening provinces, to Tamatave and other 
 parts of the eastern coast. This gate, which the natives call 
 An-ka-di-be-va-va (the large mouth or entrance by the fosse) 
 and Am-ba-va-ha-di-mi-ta-fo (the gate with a cover), is one of 
 the largest I have seen in Imerina, and is also in the best state 
 of preservation. The natives do not seem to have any definite 
 idea of the time when this gateway was built. The earliest 
 notice of it occurs in the tradition of the seizure of the city 
 by . Andriamasinavalona, Chief of Alasora to the S.E. It is 
 stated that when, during the absence of his brother, the law- 
 ful chief, who had gone to a distant part, the Chief of Alasora 
 approached Ankadibevava, the people, who had been persuaded 
 to receive him, met him Avith drums and shouting, conducted 
 him to the palace, and tendered him their fealty. He extended 
 his power over other villages and clans, and is regarded as the 
 first King of Imerina. He reigned in Antananarivo, originally 
 called lalamanga, about 150 years ago. Antananarivo had only 
 become the residence of the chief of a tribe four generations, 
 probably about 100 years, before the first Hova king entered 
 by this passage. As the ancient walls, to which the gateway 
 seems to have belonged, must have been built during the latter 
 period, there is great probability that this gateway has been 
 erected 200 years. The Vazimba, the earliest inhabitants of 
 Imerina, constructed stone houses, and stone platforms, with 
 exactly the same material, a thin laminated gniess or granite, 
 built up in small pieces, and very exactly joined, specimens of 
 which are seen in some of the tombs, and in ruins of ancient 
 structures in different parts of the country. 
 
 The opening or gateway is five feet wide, and the wall is 
 six feet in thickness. The height inside the passage through 
 the wall is eight or more feet ; and the angles in which the 
 Avail and the side of the passage unite, are formed by upright 
 blocks of granite firmly planted in the ground, and reaching 
 nearly to the top, which is formed by three or four flat, 
 stones laid horizontally on the top of the side Avails. Upon 
 
 H ! 1
 
 46C MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvn. 
 
 these the wall is continued, and over the gateway it is covered 
 with thatch, which presents an incongruous association of 
 perishable, decayed, and durable materials. 
 
 The gateway on the outer side is approached by a number of 
 large loose stones, at one time probably forming a pavement 
 and steps up the paved floor of the passage, but displaced by 
 the water flowing through in the rainy season. The entrance 
 to the gateway on the inner side is a step lower than the rocky 
 level around it, the width and height being the same as on the 
 opposite side. On each side of this opening, square upright 
 stones are firmly fixed in the ground, and about six inches out- 
 side the corners of the passage, along the rock at the bottom, 
 between the upright stones and the wall, a groove is cut. When 
 the passage through is open, a circular, granite slab, about 
 six feet in diameter, stands against the wall on the right 
 hand side. When the passage is to be closed, this slab, which 
 resembles a grindstone in form, is rolled along the groove 
 between the stones outside and the wall, until it covers the 
 entrance to the passage. It was kept close against the wall by 
 the upright stones on the inner side, thus effectually barring 
 all entrance to the capital from without. 
 
 In the photograph of this simple and rude structure, the 
 figures in front of the circular stone are school-boys ; those on 
 the opposite side are men and boys together, and furnish the 
 means of estimating the dimensions of the gateway. Ankadi- 
 bevava is one of the most remarkable and best preserved relics 
 of past generations which I have met with in the country. 
 The gates among the Bazanozano were all constructed upon the 
 same plan, and the entrance closed by rolling a similar stone 
 before it. It is to be hoped that the present government, who 
 preserve so carefully the customs of their ancestors, will not 
 allow this interesting monument of the dawning of intellect 
 and skill in past generations, to become a ruin, and pass away 
 through indifference and neglect.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Journey in search of limestone The remarkable tomb of Eainiharo Fertile 
 and extensive valley of Betsimitatatra Reapers in the harvest-field The 
 bridge at Ambaniala Hill of observation Valley of the silkworm trees 
 Our lodging-house Its interior arrangement and inmates Parklike 
 scenery and beauty of the valley Extensive mountain scenery The valley 
 of Madera Abundance of limestone Proposal for its transport to the 
 Capital The bridge over the Andromba Agreement with the govern- 
 ment and the people for the limestone Raising the first pillar of the 
 Queen's new palace Curious reasons for specific measurements Dragging 
 of timber, &c. Progress of the work Treaty concluded with England 
 Official declaration of the government respecting the churches Price of 
 Provisions, &c. Grateful feelings of the Christians Last services with 
 the Christians Farewell interview with the Queen Meeting with Mr. 
 Pool and others State of the Church Departure from the Capital 
 Halting at Ambatomanga Departure from Mauritius Return to England 
 Review of events in Madagascar Present state and prospects of the 
 people. 
 
 THE customs of the Malagasy seem to require that each 
 successive sovereign, instead of occupying the residence left by 
 the departed ruler, should build a palace for his or her especial 
 accommodation ; and a few days after the return from the north, 
 and less than two years after the revolution, it was proposed to 
 commence a palace for Rasoherina. Application was made to 
 Mr. Cameron, who had constructed some important buildings for 
 the government, to furnish a plan, and to superintend the 
 building. When he informed me of the application, and stated 
 that whatever time was taken from his engagement with the 
 Missionary Society should be made up from what he should 
 receive for his services, I expressed my entire approval of his 
 undertaking the work, and suggested that instead of receiving 
 
 H H 2
 
 468 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XVIII- 
 
 money, he should stipulate for permission for us to quarry 
 limestone sufficient for the construction of the memorial 
 churches ; for lime being at that time a government monopoly, 
 it was only to be obtained in small quantities, of inferior quality, 
 and at exorbitant cost. We had procured a quantity of satin 
 spar (arragonite) but had failed to make lime with it. 
 
 Mr. Cameron acted on my suggestion, and in return for his 
 service as architect, in furnishing the plan and superintending 
 the building of the palace, we were to employ as many men as 
 we chose, to blast and quarry as much limestone as we could 
 separate from the rock in one month, at any of the places 
 where limestone was found, sending to fetch it away afterwards. 
 He was also to receive a small sum to pay for bearers, 
 &c. I felt grateful for this arrangement, as the building of 
 the church then in progress had been more impeded by want 
 of lime than by any other cause, and the impediments from this 
 cause were not likely to be less in the future. 
 
 The principal quarry, Antsirabe, is forty miles to the south 
 of the capital, and there is no water carriage ; but it was re- 
 ported that limestone existed much nearer, and in a direction 
 admitting of transport by water over the chief part of the 
 distance. On the 3rd of May I set out, therefore, in company 
 with Mr. Cameron, two officers, and Rasalama, a Christian 
 native acquainted with the localities where the limestone was 
 said to exist, in order to ascertain the quality, quantity, &c., of 
 the stone. 
 
 Our way led past the tomb of Rainiharo, the father of 
 the late and the present prime minister. This tomb, which 
 occupied four years in the building, though the work at 
 intervals extended over nine years, is one of the largest and 
 most remarkable structures of the kind in the country. The 
 lower storey, and actual tomb, which is nearly sixty feet 
 square, and about thirteen feet high, is surrounded by a 
 piazza, or colonnade, supported on arches springing from mas- 
 sive stone pillars, and is surmounted by a balustrade of stone
 
 CHAP. XVIII. FERTILE VALLEY OF BETSIMITATATEA. 469 
 
 work, two or three feet high. Within the balustrade, a smaller 
 and open square of pillars, united by arches, and about ten 
 feet high, is raised at the east end, above the part where 
 the body lies. A massive pedestal, bearing a sort of obelisk 
 surmounted by a pillar, terminated by a lightning conductor, rises 
 to the height of upwards of twenty feet at each angle of the 
 piazza on the east or front side of the tomb. The entrance is 
 on the top, and is reached by a flight of steps from the west. 
 This last resting-place was built by its present occupant, who is 
 reported to have asked his sons, while it was still in course of 
 erection, to " open the door sometimes, and allow the sun to 
 shine in upon him." 
 
 Soon after leaving Isotry, the site of the tomb, we passed the 
 market for fuel, and crossing the bridge Andrefanisotry, travelled 
 along the broad causeway built across the once reed-covered 
 swamp, but now fertile, level, and carefully-cultivated plain of 
 Betsimitatatra, the unfailing granary of Antananarivo, at this 
 time stretching north and south over hundreds of acres of 
 freshly reaped or yellow ripening grain, God's bountiful gift 
 to the seventy thousand inhabitants of the city and its suburbs. 
 The fields of rice, separated from each other by narrow 
 borders of earth, were some of them already reaped, and the 
 water drawn off ; in others the reapers were cutting the grain 
 with a short stout sickle, or serrated-edged knife slightly curved 
 inward towards the point. Here the water, nearly up to the 
 reapers' ancles, was spread over the field, and the handfulls of 
 freshly-reaped grain, when the grass and creepers were struck 
 off the bottom of the straw, were laid in rows on the top of the 
 stubble, which was higher than the water. Women followed 
 the reapers, and with the grass and weeds tied up the grain in 
 sheaves, which they laid on the stubble, covering the ears of 
 the first sheaf with the root end of the next, so that the sheaves 
 lay in lines across the field instead of standing up in shocks. 
 In other places women were carrying bundles of dried sheaves 
 on their heads to the threshing floor ; and further on, we passed
 
 470 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvm. 
 
 others beating out the grain on the threshing stone, or 
 winnowing it in the gentle breeze. It was quite refreshing, 
 after leaving the barren, stony, dusty streets of the city, to find 
 oneself in the midst of such delightful rural scenery and occu- 
 pations, more especially as it seemed very pleasant work to all 
 engaged ; while the liveliness of the scene was enhanced by the 
 gay-coloured aquatic flowers in the water courses, especially one 
 large, bright, yellow-flowered, slender creeper, called by the 
 natives Volondrano (hair of the water), which was at this time 
 abundant, and pleasantly fringed the borders of the streams. 
 
 On reaching the western end of the causeway, where there 
 was a small fruit market on the bank, we turned to the south, 
 and travelling along a broad high embankment between the 
 plain and a wide canal for a couple of miles, enjoying all the 
 way an excellent view of the capital, we reached the long, 
 irregular bridge of thirteen arches, which crosses the river at 
 Ambaniala. This bridge, which was built by Radama, was 
 entire when I visited it in company with him in 1856 ; but on 
 this occasion I found it partly broken, though it could still be 
 crossed. Leaving Antanjombato on the western bank, we pro- 
 ceeded to the next river, crossed by a bridge of seventeen 
 arches going to decay ; and after travelling in a south-westerly 
 course for some miles, often through fields of fine, strong, large- 
 eared rice, apparently ripe, we reached the river Andromba, 
 which we crossed by a well-built bridge of five arches, slightly 
 broken at the western end. Nearly a mile further on we came 
 to Ambatomborona, a regularly-formed conical hill, apparently 
 basalt, about five hundred feet above the plain, and very con- 
 spicuous from the western side of the city. 
 
 Mr. Cameron and I ascended this hill to take the bearings 
 and distances of the palace, about twelve miles off, and other 
 remarkable places, both mountains and villages. The country 
 in the neighbourhood of Madera was visible to the west, and to 
 the south of Andromba we saw very distinctly Antsahandinta 
 (valley of leeches), once a missionary station occupied by Mr.
 
 Photographed by Ucv. AV. Ellis 
 
 I'njtr 470. 
 
 BKinr.E OVER THE ANDROMBA, BUILT BY RADAMA II.
 
 CHAP, xviii. VISIT TO SILKWORM-TREE VALLEY. 471 
 
 Rowlands. Mr. Cameron had a good compass, with which I 
 found mine agree tolerably well, though there was considerable 
 disturbance occasioned by the iron in the hill. 
 
 We now proceeded over a comparatively level country, with 
 good soil, Fenoarivo being about seven miles to the north, and 
 Antongana, where Mr. Toy has an out-station, seemed to be 
 about the same distance. I made a sketch of the latter, a high 
 and singularly double-peaked mountain. After halting for 
 refreshment, we forded the broad and somewhat deep river 
 Katsaoka, and continuing our way through many villages and 
 cultivated grounds, entered, a little before sunset, the basin or 
 broad valley of Ankazondandy (the valley of the silk-worm 
 tree), so called from the number of trees, the leaves of which 
 furnish the food of the kind of silk-worm found in that neigh- 
 bourhood. 
 
 We saw chalk, on or near the surface of the ground, in con- 
 siderable masses, in two different places ; but the very short 
 twilight obliged us to seek lodgings for the night, which we 
 found in the village of Ambohimanjaka, where we were con- 
 ducted by the officers to the best-looking house it contained^ 
 On approaching, we crossed the ditch, entered by the threshing- 
 floor within, and, passing through the cattle-fold, which the 
 occupants had just entered, we were led to the house. Stepping 
 within the door, we saw two or three good-sized pigs, grumbling 
 for their supper, as they were being forced away to that part 
 of the house just opposite to the door, which was appropriated 
 to their accommodation. Women were catching and bringing 
 in cocks and hens, and then poking them through a hole in the 
 matting to their roost above the pigs. The screaming of the 
 fowls as they were successively squeezed through the hole, pre- 
 vented for some time the exchange of salutations between us 
 and our hosts. Besides the sty for the pigs, the inside of the 
 house was divided by a line of short rails fixed across the 
 centre. At the further end we observed a bedstead and hearth, 
 and, as this was appropriated to our accommodation, we entered
 
 472 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvm. 
 
 through a narrow gate, glad to rest while our boys kindled a 
 fire and prepared us some supper. Above the part of the house 
 occupied by animals and poultry, was a kind of loft, at one end 
 of which stood a stout pole, with three or four deep notches cut 
 on one side, which served as a staircase. The loft was spread 
 with dried grass or rice straw, covered with mats, and appeared 
 to be the sleeping-place of our host and his wives, for the 
 household had betaken themselves up-stairs, arid, from their 
 elevated position, were intently watching our motions. When 
 Mr. Cameron asked our host why he did not come down, he 
 said he was afrpid of the foreigners. He was at length per- 
 suaded to descend, for a very short time, when he hurried up 
 to the loft again ; but we ascertained, by conversation with 
 him, that there would be 110 objection to our taking any lime- 
 stone or chalk that we might find. There had not been much 
 search made for it, nor any large quantity found, and the means 
 of transport, we heard, would be comparatively easy. 
 
 The fatigue of the journey made us soon ready to rest. Mr. 
 Cameron lay down in his clothes, but, as soon as the light was 
 extinguished, I undressed and lay down on my bedding on the 
 floor, where I slept through a good part of the night, and we 
 were all stirring early in the morning. But we did not find 
 material for lime sufficient to justify commencing our labours 
 here, and therefore prepared to depart. I had met with two 
 or three apparently new and very nice plants, and was charmed 
 with the extreme beauty of the valley. A small stream runs 
 through part of it, and the banks and high ground above the 
 stream were for some miles clothed with verdure and orna- 
 mented with a comparatively formal-growing tree, which, ap- 
 pearing singly or in clumps of four or five together, gave quite a 
 park-like appearance to the whole of the northern and western 
 sides of the valley, reminding me of some of the scenery of New 
 South Wales, and of Africa, more so than any other parts I re- 
 member to have seen in Madagascar. 
 
 Taking leave of our friends, about nine o'clock we passed
 
 CHAP. xvin. MOUNTAIN SCENERY NEAR MADERA. 473 
 
 out at the south end of the valley and up the side of a 
 thinly-wooded hill to the village of Mahajanga, and soon after 
 crossed a narrow stream flowing rapidly down a rocky bed to 
 the north. The eastern peak of Ankaratra was visible the 
 greater part of the day, but the higher and central peaks of 
 this grand, massive cluster of broad-based mountains, along 
 the northern base of which we were travelling, and whence 
 arise so many of the rivers of this part of the country, were 
 concealed by clouds throughout the day. 
 
 Charmed with the width of the valley and the vast range 
 of country over which our view extended, as well as the gran- 
 deur of the lofty single mountains and the distant chains, 
 which were visible both to the west and the south, we greatly 
 enjoyed this part of our journey. Ambohimiangary, situated 
 near the south-east end of the lake Itasy, said to be between 
 twenty and thirty miles distant, was often conspicuous among 
 the mountains to the west ; while Lohavohitra, in the north, 
 seemed to be a grand and towering landmark for that part of 
 the country. 
 
 About noon we reached Madera. The superintendents of 
 the men employed here in digging limestone and other 
 materials for the government, welcomed us, and promised 
 every assistance. We halted at the village of Faliandro 
 (happy day), and afterwards went out to see the limestone- 
 diggings on the opposite side of the valley. Here Mr. 
 Cameron found a large quantity of unburnt siliceous lime- 
 stone, with annelicle tubes, which had been rejected by 
 the workmen, but which, on being tested, proved to be 
 excellent stone. We inquired what we should pay these 
 people for bringing it to the capital, and they said they would 
 tell us in the morning. Mr. Cameron was glad to meet with 
 some who had been his friends during his former residence in 
 Madagascar, and all appeared willing to assist in forwarding 
 the object of our visit. A large, clean-looking house was pro- 
 vided for us, untenanted by pigs or fowls, but the lower part
 
 474 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvin. 
 
 of which was literally alive with fleas. I slept on some fresh 
 rushes on the floor, and my companion on a bedstead ; but we 
 found ourselves both getting up silently and simultaneously to 
 try how we could either protect ourselves or escape, but could 
 do neither. 
 
 In the morning, the chiefs of the place said they would come 
 to the capital in the following week, speak to the minister, and 
 then give an answer to our proposal. This was the most satis- 
 factory course they could adopt, and showed that they were 
 willing to bring in the lime if there were no objections on the 
 part of the government. 
 
 We set out on our return soon after eight o'clock, taking a 
 more direct and northerly route, and promising the bearers 
 extra pay to get home that night. As we approached An- 
 dromba, I told my bearers I had left my compass on the 
 summit when we stopped there on our way out, and, offering 
 to pay any one who would go for it, two or three set off, and 
 very soon a young man, who had been with me on the summit, 
 brought the compass down safely, and received his reward. We 
 crossed the Andromba about three o'clock, and continued our 
 course through a fertile and well-cultivated district. In many 
 places the men were reaping and the women carrying the sheaves 
 home. I took a sketch of some of their threshing-floors, where 
 the stones on which they beat out the grain appeared like the 
 joints of columnar basalt formation, such as those I had seen 
 at the Giant's Causeway. 
 
 It was quite dark before we reached the broken bridge at 
 Ambaniala, but we crossed in safety, and between nine and ten 
 o'clock I reached home, pleased with the aspect of the country 
 over which I had travelled, and grateful for the extent to which 
 our object had been attained. 
 
 At the time appointed, the officers from Madera came and 
 reported to the government the quantity of stone already 
 quarried, and the government agreed to our having as much 
 as was thought needful for the completion of the work in hand.
 
 CHAP. xvni. MATERIALS FOR THE QUEEN'S HOUSE. 475 
 
 The officers engaged to have it prepared and sent to within a 
 short distance of the capital ; we have had no further difficulty, 
 and, as it is only burnt and slaked as wanted for use, the 
 masonry is in every respect better than it was before. 
 
 In the meantime, the queen was proceeding with preparations 
 for the new building, and a brief notice of the course pursued 
 will illustrate the manner in which government work is accom- 
 plished in Madagascar. 
 
 All Voromahery, viz., the men of the central division of the 
 province, were ordered to undertake the work, which was 
 apportioned by the minister and his assistants. Every officer 
 was, in the first instance, required to bring a measure of lime, 
 less than a bushel, towards building the stone platform, &c. 
 Some had lime, others sent their slaves for limestone to parts 
 of the country where it was to be found, and then sent the 
 quantity required by the queen, and sold the rest. Those who 
 had neither lime nor servants to send for stone, bought it ; for 
 to have failed to send the required quantity might, they feared, 
 be remembered another day. Such was the effect of this 
 sudden and unexpected demand, that the measure of lime, 
 which we thought dear at a shilling, was now sold for five or 
 six shillings, which price some of the officers paid. The nobles 
 and others were then required to furnish stones and to build 
 the platform. Some ancient stones, considered sacred, were 
 brought from Ilafy to be built into the foundation. The nobles 
 or officers were likewise required to furnish a specific quantity 
 of timber, of given sizes. One of my own friends was absent 
 more than a month in the forests, with forty men, felling, pre- 
 paring, and bringing his portion of the timber, and others were 
 absent for an equal or longer period. 
 
 As the site which the queen had selected was not large 
 enough, it was extended and enclosed by a wall, said to be 
 eight feet in height and the same in thickness. The centre 
 was filled up with earth rammed down. The earth for the 
 centre was brought from a distance by slaves, chiefly females,
 
 470 
 
 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. 
 
 CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 in baskets on their heads ; and from fifty to a hundred of the 
 queen's female slaves fetched water, for the mortar and other 
 purposes, from a pond in the hollow below my dwelling. About 
 once every hour, for two or three days, I saw them pass in 
 unbroken single line, each woman with a jar of water on her 
 head. In the courtyard, the masons built up the massive wall, 
 the highest nobles and officers superintending each his own 
 dependents, while the newly-made premier sate by the side of 
 the queen in the verandah of the great palace, watching the 
 progress of the work. 
 
 While this was going on, Mr. Cameron had prepared and 
 presented a plan for a building in our Elizabethan style ; but 
 as this required too great a deviation from the orthodox prin- 
 ciples of Malagasy architecture, both in walls and roof, another 
 plan was prepared, in accordance with her majesty's wishes, and 
 approved by her advisers. The ground-plan of this building, 
 according to the plan given me by Mr. Cameron, resembles a 
 cross, of which the longest part is 61| ft. in length, and 29 ^ ft. 
 in width ; but to each end of the longest part of the cross a 
 verandah is to be added, which will give to the plan the form 
 of a parallelogram, 72| feet by 40. A gallery surrounds the 
 upper part of the state room. 
 
 
 
 
 _ ! 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 It 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 STATS: 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 \ 
 
 J 
 
 The whole of the upper storey is appropriated to her majesty's 
 private use. The roof is steep, and contains four good rooms,
 
 CHAP. xvni. THE STANDARD OF MEASUREMENT. 477 
 
 lighted by windows in the four gables, which are surmounted by 
 lightning conductors. The glazed sash-windows are furnished 
 with panelled shutters within, and Venetian shutters without. 
 Such are the chief features of the plan. 
 
 The house, according to the injunction of the royal ancestor, 
 is to be entirely of wood, and the queen requested that the 
 planks, forming the outside walls, might all be fixed upright, as 
 are the walls of the other houses in the city. These planks are 
 five inches in thickness, beaded at the edges, and grooved and 
 tongued in the joints. The roof is covered with shingles or 
 tiles of wood, for which the forests supply excellent material. 
 The dimensions of the principal parts were arranged according 
 to the queen's own measurement, and, in the above statement, 
 they are reduced to our English standard. The refy, or fathom, 
 is the standard of all the measurements, and the fathom, as 
 measured by the queen herself, is five feet three inches English. 
 The smaller measurements are portions of the fathom, as the 
 length from the end of the queen's fingers to her shoulder, 
 also the length of her span. The adoption of this mode of 
 determining the proportions of the building causes so many 
 single inches and half inches in the plan. 
 
 The obtaining of the timber was the most laborious work 
 connected with the building. Chiefs went away with their men, 
 in numbers from ten to fifty or more, to the forests north, east, 
 or south, to a distance of twenty, thirty, or more miles, and 
 when they had felled the trees, and obtained the required 
 amount and kind of timber, the bringing or dragging it over 
 hill and valley, up steep, rugged, and precipitous places, where 
 the ascent is difficult, often appeared to me the severest work 
 the slaves ever had to perform. The largest trees, stripped of 
 all their branches, are dragged by ropes. Sometimes rollers 
 are used, but not always. The heavier kinds of planks, made 
 out of a tree split by wedges down the centre, and reduced by 
 the hatchet, are carried by two or four men on their shoulders. 
 Lighter planks are carried by a single individual. If there is a
 
 4713 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvni. 
 
 large number of planks to be conveyed, the noble or chief goes 
 with his men to show his own loyalty, and also to encourage 
 them, I believe, much to the satisfaction of the labourers. I 
 have seen the people thus employed in their encampments in 
 the forest, or in hamlets where they have been halting on the 
 road ; I have gone along with them when they were going out, 
 and have met or passed them on their return ; but never saw 
 them either dragging or carrying their timber without great 
 commiseration, as I noticed some of them lame, footsore, and 
 often stretched on the roadside quite exhausted. Two things, 
 however, always afforded some alleviation. The men were 
 often accompanied by their wives, who carried the simple 
 cooking utensils, and the sleeping mats, and perhaps a change 
 of dress, and sometimes helped to drag the load. Another thing 
 I have often seen with pleasure among the baggage a 
 Malagasy lokanga, a kind of native guitar ; and at night, some- 
 times when, travelling near their halting places, I have seen 
 the light from their encampment, and heard the sounds of their 
 simple music, I have rejoiced that they possessed such a solace 
 amidst their toils. 
 
 To the large trees the people attach ropes, or strongly twisted 
 creepers, to both ends, and proceed in one or two rows, pulling 
 with all their might, and singing or shouting as they pull. I 
 have sometimes seen more than a hundred men dragging a 
 single tree past my house, keeping time with the lokanga 
 played on the way before them ; while a young chief has every 
 now and then jumped upon the log, and by shouts and gesticu- 
 lations urged them on. Sometimes the chief walks first, but 
 more frequently he brings up the rear. In the same way I 
 have seen tribute or first fruits of the land brought to the 
 sovereign, 
 
 I once saw a noble, whom I knew very well, carried past my 
 house in his palanquin on his way to the palace, with a youth, 
 playing on the lokanga, walking immediately behind him, and 
 then about a hundred female slaves following singly, in Indian
 
 CHAP. xvni. PHILOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES. 479 
 
 file ; those in the front being well dressed in short cotton 
 jackets, with lambas round their waists ; those in the rear with 
 the hempen lamba or coarse rofia cloth ; while each one carried 
 on her head a basket holding about half a bushel of rice, the 
 tribute or first-fruit of the harvest to the queen. It was an 
 interesting sight to the people, and the music on this occasion, 
 as well as when they were dragging timber generally, drew out 
 a number to gaze at the passers by. The chief, who brought 
 the rice in this picturesque manner, was one of the old school, 
 and averse to all innovations on the customs of their ancestors ; 
 and persons of this class were all gratified by the extent to 
 which the queen, in the erection of her new palace, followed 
 the ancestral customs. 
 
 This supreme regard to the opinions of the past, extends 
 sometimes, not only to very minute particulars, as in their 
 measurements, in which they manifest an aversion to all even 
 numbers, but also to the grounds of these aversions, which are 
 sometimes singularly fanciful. Hence they not only avoid even 
 numbers, but numbers designated by words the sound of which 
 resembles other words that have an unfavourable meaning. 
 Thus they object to the number six, because enina, the word 
 denoting it, resembles in sound manenina, to repent. The 
 number eight in any measurement is not allowed, as Mr. 
 Cameron informed me, because the word valo denoting that 
 number, resembles, or rather rhymes with, the word for enemy 
 fahavalo. No measurement of six or eight has been permitted 
 in the structure of the present palace. The attaching quality 
 to words on account of their sound, not because of euphonic 
 or other property in the sounds of those words, but because of 
 the same sounds in other and different words conveying an 
 unfavourable meaning, seemed to me a feature in philology 
 peculiar to Madagascar. 
 
 The masons engaged in building the memorial church were 
 required to work at the preparation of the massive platform for 
 the palace, and afterwards on the stones for the pillars, the
 
 480 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvm. 
 
 steps, and other parts. We regretted the hindrance thus 
 occasioned, but could not ask exemption. Every mason was 
 ordered to attend, and it would have been considered just cause 
 for complaint against our masons, had they been allowed to 
 continue working for good wages, while others were employed 
 in government service, which all are equally bound to render 
 without pay. We, therefore, only asked that they might return 
 as soon as the work for the queen's house would allow. 
 
 When the platform was finished, and a considerable supply of 
 timber brought in, the carpenters of the same division were 
 required to repair to the palace. The chief pillars of the house 
 were prepared, and all was in readiness by the Saturday ; but 
 the diviners declared Sunday and Monday to be unlucky days,* 
 and directed that the building of the house should begin on 
 Tuesday, the 25th of April, on which day the first pillar was 
 raised. The north-east corner of a house is considered the 
 most sacred place, and the pillar at that angle is always the 
 first that is set up. The queen had sent to borrow from our 
 works at the church the crab, a sort of windlass or crane, to 
 raise the pillars with. They were each to be placed, in a 
 shallow socket on a flat stone, and when the first was" hoisted 
 up to be fixed in its position, some of the old me a objected to 
 the use of the machine, which, instead of raising the post up 
 in its place, lowered it down on the stone. These objections 
 were, however, overruled by the officers, and the pillar was soon 
 fixed in its position. Some of the diviners attached four kinds 
 of plants to its base. One old man climbed up the post, and 
 fastened near the top a piece of massive silver chain. As soon 
 as the pillar was duly fixed, the queen, taking a small horn, 
 filled with what might in their estimation be holy water, 
 
 * The requirements of the diviners were sometimes rather inconvenient. 
 On one occasion, when there had been a long season of heat and drought, and 
 there was some apprehension of fire, the diviners said that for one whole day 
 there must be no fire lighted in the capital ; and orders to that effect were 
 issued. We were obliged to have the fire then burning in a kiln- of lime, ex- 
 tinguished until the time of the interdict was past.
 
 CHAP. xvi. THE RAISING OF THE FIRST PILLAR. 481 
 
 sprinkled it on the post, and pronounced a formulary of words 
 separating, or rendering it sacred. 
 
 This kind of holy water is brought from a spring considered 
 sacred, and sometimes a piece of silver or gold is immersed in 
 it, and a prayer or incantation pronounced over it. When the 
 queen had finished her part of the ceremony, a number of her 
 relatives, members of the royal family, came, and receiving 
 water from the queen, sprinkled it on the pillar, using the same 
 words. The queen then took her seat in a chair placed a short 
 distance to the north of the pillar, where she received the con- 
 gratulations and the hasina of the members of the government 
 and the officers, and afterwards of most of the heads of the 
 people in the apital. 
 
 Intimation having been brought by two officers from the 
 court that a visit from us would be acceptable, several members 
 of the mission accompanied Mr. Cameron through the great 
 palace-yard, which was filled with timber, and where not fewer 
 than a hundred busy carpenters were at work. On reaching 
 the site of the new house towards the eastern edge of the 
 courtyard, we found her majesty seated beside a pomegranate 
 tree, and beneath the shade of a spreading vine, attended by 
 two or three of her female friends, and several officers. We 
 offered our congratulations on the successful commencement of 
 the building ; and expressed our wishes that her majesty might 
 have much happiness in the new residence. The queen 
 acknowledged our good wishes, and thanked us for the use of 
 the machine and appliances by which the pillar had been raised 
 with such rapidity and ease. We then surveyed the platform, 
 pillar, &c., and retired. One of the plants at the foot of the 
 pillar appeared to me to be a species of papyrus, another was a 
 branching fleshy-leaved plant called sampyvato (idol of the 
 stone) ; the other two I did not know. The large silver chain, 
 I was told, indicated that the owner of the house would always 
 have money .in his dwelling. 
 
 As in the building of the platform, the wood-work of the 
 
 i i
 
 482 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvm. 
 
 palace was also apportioned among the nobles and high officers, 
 and each superintended his own workmen. I sometimes saw 
 from fifty to a hundred men employed in the yard preparing 
 and fixing different parts of the work. Before I left the country 
 the walls were completed, and the frame of the roof finished. 
 Since that time the attention of the government has been 
 directed to the payment of the Lambert compensation, and other 
 public matters, and the palace is not yet finished, although the 
 government were preparing to complete the structure when the 
 last accounts were sent away. 
 
 The change in the government resulting from the revolution 
 had rendered an alteration in the treaty between the Malagasy 
 and the English governments necessary; and before the close of 
 the year two Malagasy envoys had been sent to England, to 
 make known the changes which the native government and 
 people desired. After an absence of nearly twelve months, the 
 envoys, as already stated, returned with a draft of the treaty 
 which Earl Russell proposed to substitute for that previously 
 arranged with the late king. In the month of June following 
 this treaty was received by the British consul at the capital, 
 and officially presented to the Malagasy government ; and 
 when the several conditions had been rendered agreeable to 
 the respective parties, it was signed in the presence of the 
 queen, the principal officers, and a number of foreigners, at the 
 large palace. The following are the parts of the treaty which 
 chiefly affect the English mission in Madagascar : 
 
 " Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Commerce between 
 Her Majesty and the Queen of Madagascar. 
 
 " Signed in the English and Malagasy lan- 
 guages at Antananarivo, June 27, 1865. 
 
 "ARTICLE II. The subjects of Her Britannic Majesty shall 
 have full liberty to enter into, rent, or lease houses or lands in, 
 trade with, and pass with their merchandise through, all parts
 
 CHAP, xvill. TREATY BETWEEN ENGLAND AND MADAGASCAR. . 483 
 
 of the dominions of her Majesty the Queen of Madagascar which 
 are under the control of a governor duly appointed by the 
 Malagasy authorities, except Ambohimanga, Ambohimanambola 
 and Amparafavato ; and they shall enjoy therein all the privi- 
 leges and advantages with regard to commerce, or with regard 
 to any other matter whatsoever, which are now or may here- 
 after be granted to or allowed to be enjoyed by the subjects or 
 citizens of the most favoured nation, &c 
 
 "ARTICLE in. British subjects in the dominions of her 
 Majesty the Queen of Madagascar shall be allowed freely to 
 exercise and teach the Christian religion, and to erect and 
 maintain suitable places of worship. Such places of worship, 
 with their lands and appurtenances, shall, however, be recog- 
 nised as the property of the Queen of Madagascar, who shall 
 permit them to be applied for ever to the special purposes for 
 which they shall have been built. They shall in the profession, 
 exercise, and teaching of their religion receive the protection of 
 the Queen and her officers, and shall not be persecuted or inter- 
 fered with. 
 
 " Her Majesty the Queen of Madagascar, from her friendship 
 for b,er Britannic Majesty, promises to grant full religious 
 liberty to all her subjects, and not to persecute or molest any 
 subjects or natives of Madagascar on account of their embracing 
 or exercising the Christian religion. But should any of her 
 subjects professing Christianity be found guilty of any criminal 
 offence, the action of the law of the land shall not be interfered 
 with. 
 
 " ARTICLE v. British subjects shall be permitted, as freely 
 as the subjects or citizens of the most favoured nation, in 
 any lawful manner to purchase, rent, or lease land, houses, 
 warehouses, and all other kinds of property within all parts of 
 the dominions of her Majesty the Queen of Madagascar which 
 are under the control of a governor duly appointed by the 
 Malagasy authorities. They shall be at liberty to build 011 
 land purchased, rented, or leased by them, houses of any matc- 
 
 i i 2
 
 484 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvm. 
 
 rial they please, except of stone or clay at the capital of 
 Madagascar, and other towns where such buildings are forbidden 
 by the laws of the country ; and her Majesty the Queen of 
 Madagascar engages that British subjects shall, as far as lies 
 in her power, equally with her own subjects, enjoy within her 
 dominions, full and complete protection and security for them- 
 selves, and for any property which they may so acquire in 
 future, or which they may have acquired already before the 
 date of the proposed Treaty 
 
 " No domiciliary visits shall be made to the establishments, 
 houses, or properties possessed or occupied by British subjects, 
 unless by the consent of the occupants, or in concert with the 
 British consul. 
 
 " ARTICLE x. If any vessels under the British flag should be 
 wrecked on the coast of the dominions of the Queen of Mada- 
 gascar, which are under the control of a governor duly appointed 
 by the Malagasy authorities, her Majesty engages to give them 
 all the assistance in her power, and to secure them from plunder, 
 as well as to recover for, and to deliver over to, the owners thereof 
 all the property which can be saved from such vessels. Her 
 Majesty further engages to do all in her power to extend to the 
 officers and crew, and to all other persons on board such wrecked 
 vessels, full protection both as to their persons and as to their 
 property. 
 
 " ARTICLE xvn. Her Britannic Majesty and her Majesty the 
 Queen of Madagascar, being equally desirous of effecting the 
 total abolition of the trade in slaves, her Majesty the Queen of 
 Madagascar engages to do all in her power to prevent all such 
 traffic on the part of her subjects, and to prohibit all persons 
 residing within her dominions, or subject to her, from counte- 
 nancing or taking any share in such trade. No persons from 
 beyond sea shall be landed, purchased, or sold as slaves in any 
 part of Madagascar. And her Majesty the Queen of Mada- 
 gascar consents that British cruisers shall have the right of 
 searching any Malagasy or Arab vessels suspected of being
 
 CHAP. xvni. THE HONOURABLE TERMS OF THE TREATY. 485 
 
 engaged in the slave trade, whether under sail or at anchor in 
 the waters of Madagascar. Her Majesty the Queen of Mada- 
 gascar further consents that if any such vessels prove to be 
 engaged in the slave trade, such vessels and their crews shall be 
 dealt with by the cruisers of her Britannic Majesty, as if such 
 persons and their vessels had been engaged in a piratical under- 
 taking. 
 
 "ARTICLE xviu. Her Majesty the Queen of Madagascar 
 engages to abolish trial by the ordeal of poison. 
 
 " If there should be war between Great Britain and Mada- 
 gascar (which God forbid !), any prisoners who may be taken by 
 either party shall be kindly treated, and shall be set free, either 
 by exchange during the war, or without exchange when peace is 
 made ; and such prisoners shall not on any account be made 
 slaves or put to death." 
 
 When I first became acquainted with the contents of this 
 treaty, I felt grateful to the Most High for the security which it 
 provided for the progress of the Gospel, and the unimpeded 
 exercise of the Christian religion in the country. I felt that it 
 was honourable on the part of the government of my own 
 country thus to recognise the efforts of the teachers of the reli- 
 gion of the Bible, the source of so much that is prized in 
 England, and to make the protection of the English missionary, 
 and the unimpeded prosecution of his benevolent endeavours, as 
 well as the encouragement of commerce and other efforts to 
 promote civilisation, a condition in the treaty of friendship 
 between the English and Malagasy. I knew that there were 
 those who would, as far as practicable, exclude the intelligence, 
 civilisation, and religion of other countries from Madagascar, 
 and allow commerce only so far as it might become a source of 
 gain ; and I did not feel sure that the proposals from England 
 would be accepted until the treaty was actually signed. 
 
 The use of the poison ordeal had been abolished by the late 
 king, and forbidden by the present government at the revolu-
 
 486 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP, xvin 
 
 tion ; and its prohibition by treaty engagement with England 
 would prevent any party from attempting its revival, whatever 
 changes might occur. The interests of humanity, as well as 
 those of the English, would be promoted by the stipulation of 
 the treaty for the just and lenient treatment of prisoners of 
 war, and an end would be put to the barbarous cruelties which 
 the Malagasy had been accustomed to inflict on the unhappy 
 men who fell into their hands. 
 
 The letter which accompanied the treaty stated that Queen 
 Victoria asked, as an expression of friendship towards herself, 
 or words to that effect, that Queen Rasoherina would not allow 
 the Malagasy Christians to be persecuted on account of their 
 religion ; and when I read in the third article of the treaty, 
 as given above, the answer returned to that humane and kind 
 request, I thanked God who had put it into the heart of our 
 Queen, and who had disposed the Queen of Madagascar to give 
 a reply so full of hope and blessing for her people. This event 
 could not but increase our loyalty and affection towards our own 
 beloved Sovereign, as well as the interest we felt in the Queen of 
 Madagascar, of whom it is only just to say, that thus far her 
 Majesty has faithfully kept her treaty engagement in this respect. 
 
 The guarantee of liberty of worship and teaching, as well as 
 of security from persecution thus provided for by the treaty, 
 produced a deep, grateful, and lasting impression on the minds 
 of the Christians of all classes, and made them deeply anxious 
 for the preservation of peace and friendship between Great 
 Britain and Madagascar. Often on the Sunday I have heard, 
 after prayer for their own sovereign and government, the 
 prayers of the Christians offered up for Queen Victoria. 
 
 A few remarks in reference to one or two statements in the 
 portions of the treaty above quoted are perhaps necessary to 
 explain their meaning. The three places mentioned in Article II. 
 to which foreigners are not admitted, are villages considered 
 sacred, because one of the principal national idols is kept in each 
 of them, and the presence of foreigners is said by their guardians
 
 CHAP, xviii. THE USE OF THE CHURCHES GUARANTEED. 487 
 
 to be offensive to the idols ; and as the life, health, and means 
 of subsistence of the people are supposed to depend on their 
 not offending the idols, the government are willing to tran- 
 quillize the minds of their votaries by excluding foreigners from 
 these so-called sacred villages. 
 
 The second sentence in Article III. appears to have been 
 thrust in between the first and third, as the beginning of the 
 third sentence must refer to the British subjects, and not to the 
 places of worship, and their appurtenances. This sentence was 
 most likely introduced by the Malagasy to sustain a fiction 
 cherished among them that all property in the country belongs 
 to the sovereign. Its apparent operation in reference to the 
 Memorial Churches, was removed by the following official decla- 
 ration from the government, given a day or two after, signed by 
 appointment by the high officers who had signed the treaty, 
 and sealed also with the government seal. It was sent to me 
 through the medium of the British consul, who attested the 
 signatures to the document, and affixed to it the consular 
 seal This Document is as follows : 
 
 " In accordance with the meaning of Article III. of the Eng- 
 lish treaty (with the Malagasy), the churches to be built by the 
 missionaries of the London Missionary Society at Faravohitra, 
 Ambatonakanga, Ampamarinana, Ambohipotsy, and Fiadana, 
 shall be put aside by the sovereign of Madagascar, for the 
 teaching and worship of those missionaries, and for the Mala- 
 gasy who unite in the same worship with them, and for their 
 successors for ever. And the sovereign shall set apart and 
 pi'otect (those churchesj, and not permit them to be used for 
 worship by persons who do not unite with them, and whose 
 worship is not the same as the worship of those who built 
 them. 
 
 " Nevertheless (in reference to) those churches, it shall be 
 agreed to be said that they belong to the Sovereign of Mada- 
 gascar, and the London Missionary Society shall have no claim
 
 488 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvm. 
 
 for repayment of the money spent, little or much, in the building 
 of those churches, for they belong to the sovereigns in the 
 manner above stated for ever." 
 
 RAINIMAHARAVO, 
 
 Chief Secretary of State, 16th V tr:! - 
 
 ANDRIANTSITOHAINA, 16th V tn> - 
 
 I hereby certify that the above signatures are those of Raini- 
 maharavo, 16th Honor Chief Secretary of State, and of Andrian- 
 tsitohaina, 1 6 Honor, both members of the Hova Government. 
 T. C. PAKENHAM, 
 
 H. M. Consul for Madagascar. 
 
 H. B. M. CONSULATE IN MADAGASCAR 
 Tananarive, July 3rd, 1865. 
 
 No title in Madagascar is more valid than that by which the 
 Memorial Churches will be held. Written titles do not exist, 
 and the highest noble does not hold his own dwelling, or any of 
 his possessions, by a title equally good. Few have any other 
 title than the word of the sovereign, and that is understood to 
 convey in reality only authority to occupy during the sovereign's 
 pleasure ; and even during such occupancy the sovereign is 
 theoretically regarded as the owner of all land. There is there- 
 fore no probability that, even should the heathen party attempt 
 to oppress the Christians, they would take from them, or injure 
 these churches ; for the heathen party appear to be sensible that
 
 CHAP. xvin. MARKETS AND PRICES IN MADAGASCAR. 489 
 
 there must be no interference with the churches guaranteed by 
 the treaty. The satisfactory conclusion of the treaty was a 
 great relief to my own mind, and set me at liberty to prepare 
 for my return to England. The arranging for the security of 
 those buildings was my last public act with the government. 
 
 As I had now entered the latest mouth to which I could pro- 
 tract my stay in Antananarivo, so as to reach England before 
 the winter, I commenced my arrangements for leaving the 
 country. Mr. Toy, the senior missionary, who would undertake 
 the financial business of the mission after my departure, kindly 
 assisted me in making out the accounts for the last half year. In 
 looking at my own personal expenditure, I noticed that although 
 there had been no perceptible diminution of supply in the 
 weekly or daily markets, the prices of some of the articles had 
 slightly increased since my arrival, which, considering the influx 
 of foreigners at times in the capital, was not surprising. 
 
 The staple meat in the Malagasy market is beef, and it is 
 generally good. The enormously fat oxen at the market before 
 annual feasts bring to mind the English prize-cattle shows at 
 Christmas. The fat animals which have sometimes been fed in 
 one stall two or more years, stand or lie in different parts of 
 the Malagasy market, and in order to indicate to buyers where 
 they are, a bamboo cane twelve or fifteen feet high is fixed in 
 the ground at the place. On the top of this cane a bunch of 
 small palm or other leaves is tied, with a ripe pine-apple fixed 
 upright in the centre, or two or three narrow strips of silk or 
 cloth flutter like streamers from the top of the slender cane. The 
 price of an ox at the ports, for exportation, ranges from fifteen 
 to eighteen dollars, but some of these oxen are sold for seventy 
 dollars or more. 
 
 Good beef was at the time I left about 2d. per lb., mutton l^d., 
 a lamb could be bought, (not indeed one like an English fed lamb,) 
 for a shilling, and a sheep for a dollar, or 4.9. Turkeys were Is. 6d. 
 or 2s. each ; geese, Is. ; fowls, and ducks generally 6d. each ; 
 eggs, 2d. or 3d. a dozen. Irish potatoes 1*. or Is. Gd. per peck, and
 
 490 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. XVIII. 
 
 rice 4s. or 5s. a bushel. Fish was neither plentiful nor very 
 good, with the exception of eels, which were frequently brought 
 to market in the rainy season, and were sometimes very large. 
 Milk could be obtained at about 2d. a pint, and occasionally a 
 small quantity of sweet fresh butter at about 2s. per Ib. Some- 
 times also excellent honey could be bought. Fuel for cooking 
 cost about 2s. a week, and lamp oil not quite half that sum. 
 Manioc, garlick of a mild kind, and sometimes onions were seen 
 in the daily market, as well as sweet potatoes, French beans 
 used dry, maize, pumpkins, occasionally cabbage, and a few 
 green peas. Native grown coffee is good, and sugar capable of 
 great improvement in the making. Among the fruits are 
 bananas, pine apples, oranges, limes, lemons, occasionally grapes, 
 mangoes, pomegranates, peaches rather woody in quality, but 
 abundant and cheap (from January to April), loquat and pistache 
 nuts, as well as occasionally smaller fruits. 
 
 Servants are hired by the month at about os. per month, with 
 their rice, usually costing the same sum. The most expensive 
 articles in housekeeping are groceries and flour, which must 
 be imported, and the cost of which is greatly enhanced by 
 the expenses of transport. A single bearer's load is 40 Ibs. or 
 50 Ibs., and the cost is about 12s. from the coast to the capital. 
 Skilled labour, such as that of carpenters or masons, costs 6d. a 
 day, ordinary labour, 4>d. Palanquin bearers for the day usually 
 receive 6d. As a rule perhaps the natives ask more from a 
 foreigner than from their own countrymen ; but to those who 
 understand their language, and have any knowledge of the 
 value of what they are buying, they are neither difficult nor 
 unpleasant to deal with. 
 
 In my last visit to Ambohipotsy, I was again impressed with 
 the excellent site it afforded for the Memorial Church to be 
 erected. The situation is one of the finest I have seen in Mada- 
 gascar. It commands the most varied and extensive prospect on 
 three sides of the city, and the Memorial Church, besides being 
 the first object in the capital that will meet the eye of the tra-
 
 Photographed by J. Cameron. 
 
 Temporary Carpenters' Shed. Tape 491. 
 
 MEMORIAL CHURCH AT AMBATONAKANGA. 
 
 First Stone Chureh in Madagascar. .1. Sibreo, Jun., architect.
 
 CHAP, xviil. FAREWELL VISIT TO THE QUEEN. 491 
 
 veller from the coast, will be visible from a great distance in 
 every direction. 
 
 On the first Sunday in July I administered the ordinance of 
 the Lord's Supper for the last time at Ambatonakanga, and at a 
 subsequent meeting took leave of the church and congregation 
 with mutual prayers and much kindly feeling. Mr. George 
 Cousins had been for some time closely associated with Ratsi- 
 taingia and myself in the Christian oversight of the people there, 
 and I felt grateful for the favourable circumstances under 
 which, at my departure, the Christians would be placed. The 
 communicants on my arrival amounted to seventy-six ; and 
 notwithstanding the numbers who had gone from us to help 
 to form other city churches, they had increased to 279 ; and this 
 increase was less than had taken place in some of the other 
 churches. 
 
 The Christians at Ambatonakanga sent me an affectionate 
 letter before my departure, as did some of the village churches, 
 and many of the Christian families. The queen and some of 
 the nobles sent rne valuable presents of lambas, and other 
 Malagasy fabrics, as tokens of their good will ; nor did the 
 Christians forget small articles of tasteful jewellery, and other 
 productions of their own skill, as remembrances in days to 
 come of the intercourse that was now about to close. 
 
 On the loth of July, I went to the palace in compliance with 
 the wishes of the queen, to take leave, and received, in presence 
 of the court, the expression of her majesty's regret at my depar- 
 ture, and of her good wishes for myself and family. The prime 
 minister also, of whom I had taken leave, sent me a letter ex- 
 pressive of the queen's satisfaction with my conduct in all my 
 transactions with the government. On that same day, which 
 was Saturday, I applied for my passport, which I received on 
 the Monday, on which day Mr. Poole, who had been sent to 
 assist in building the Memorial Churches, having just arrived, 
 rnet Mr. Cameron, Mr. Sibree, and myself, to consult upon the 
 best way of carrying forward that work, when it appeared
 
 492 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xnn. 
 
 that it would be most advantageous for Mr. Cameron to assist 
 Mr. Sibree in finishing the church then in hand at Ambatona- 
 kanga, for Mr. Poole to commence one at the south part of the 
 capital, and for Mr. Cameron to build the children's church at 
 Faravohitra at the north. The accompanying view of the 
 church at Ambatonakanga was taken some months after my 
 departure, before the roof was on or the spire finished ; both 
 have since been completed and the carpenter's shed removed. 
 
 My packages were all sent off during the forenoon of the next 
 day, and about two o'clock, on the 18th of July, I left Antana- 
 narivo. The Christians had arranged to meet me at the first 
 village on the road, and just beyond Faliarivo, at the foot of 
 the hill, I found a large number assembled awaiting my arrival. 
 I addressed a few words of encouragement to them, and ex- 
 horted them to live near to Christ. We then sang a hymn. 
 After which my native co- pastor very affectionately took leave 
 of me in the name of the Church and people, and we united in 
 prayer, when, in very appropriate and feeling terms, he com- 
 mended me and those whom I left to the care and blessing of 
 our Heavenly Father. There were a number of the widows 
 and orphans of the martyrs present in that Christian company, 
 from all of whom I had received sincere and invariable kindness. 
 Ratsitaingia then asked me to accept from the Church a silk 
 lamba for Mrs. Ellis as an expression of their interest in her 
 welfare, and something by which she might remember them. 
 I gratefully accepted their present, and taking leave of them, 
 and the missionary brethren who were with them, pursued my 
 way. 
 
 About a mile further on the road, I found the rest of the 
 missionaries, from whom I parted with fervent desires that the 
 blessing of the Most High might be with them. One of Mr 
 Toy's pupils, the son of the first Radama's sister, here took the 
 ring off his hand and begged my acceptance of it, and then 
 leaving me they returned to the city. Rainivelo, my landlord, 
 accompanied me to Ambatomanga, sixteen or eighteen miles on
 
 CHAP. xvin. JOURNEY AND VOYAGE HOME. 493 
 
 the road, where I proposed to halt for the night, and whither I 
 found that his wife and three of his children had gone on before 
 us, so that lodgings and refreshment were already provided. 
 
 Early on the morning after my arrival at Ambatomanga, two 
 Christian women came from the small congregation at Betafo, 
 several miles to the north, to take leave of me, and to offer a 
 couple of neat little baskets for Mrs. Ellis. The mist was dense 
 and cold when we set out, but the morning gradually became 
 clearer, and we journeyed through the day to Ambodinangavo, 
 where we halted for the night. My friends, who owned several 
 villages between our last resting place and Moramanga, which 
 they proposed to visit with their children, accompanied me to 
 the furthest of these, when I took leave of them, and pursued 
 my way, reaching Tamatave on the tenth day after leaving the 
 capital. 
 
 On the Sunday I preached to the Hova congregation in the 
 village, and was pleased with what I saw of the progress of the 
 Church of England Missionaries there. Embarking in the 
 Jessie Byrne, I bade farewell to Madagascar on the 3rd of 
 August, and after an unpleasant and tedious passage of twenty- 
 one days reached Mauritius, where I received many kind atten- 
 tions, and much hospitality from Sir Henry and Lady Barkly, 
 Messrs. Ireland, Frazer and Co., and many former friends. On 
 the 8th of September I went on board the English packet 
 Sultan, Captain Curling, landed at Suez, passed through Egypt, 
 embarked at Alexandria, and reached Southampton safely on 
 the 14th of October, whence I hastened home, grateful for the 
 watchful protection and care which had brought me safely to 
 my native land, arid allowed me to find all at home peaceful 
 and well.
 
 494 MADAGASCAE REVISITED. CHAP. xvm. 
 
 STATE AND PROSPECTS OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 THE events which occurred in Madagascar during my last 
 sojourn in that island, and the changes which followed, have 
 been as unprecedented as they were remarkable ; and they 
 seem to suggest the desirableness of a brief notice of the condi- 
 tion of the people at the close of that period, as compared with 
 its commencement, more particularly as affecting their relations 
 with other nations, and their own political, social, and religious 
 condition. 
 
 Notwithstanding some appearances to the contrary, the posi- 
 tion of the people is, in my opinion, on the whole, in advance of 
 that which they occupied at the time of my last arrival amongst 
 them. I then found entrance to the country, acquisition of 
 land, residence and exploration unimpeded ; trade was exempt 
 from all imposts, and the whole question of foreign relations 
 was subject only to such rules and limitations as the new- 
 comers imposed upon themselves. And this was what the 
 king's instructors and advisers had most erroneously inculcated 
 as free trade the source of individual prosperity, and the bond 
 of brotherhood among nations. 
 
 Such a state of things could not last. The abolition of all 
 duties deprived the government of its revenue, and the officers 
 of their pay ; encouraged a larger importation of goods than the 
 community could receive, or pay for; and by inundating the 
 country with rum, was forcing on the utter demoralization and 
 ruin of all classes. This made the heavy duties imposed on the 
 latter article, after the revolution, a great blessing to the 
 people. 
 
 The present law in respect to the holding of land operates 
 against the settlement of foreigners in the country, and it is a 
 retrograde movement ; but, considering the fears of the people, 
 and their present repugnance to foreigners 'becoming owners of 
 the land, which has always been associated in their minds with
 
 CHAP, xviii. THE VARIATIONS OF COMMERCE. 495 
 
 the establishment of authority independent of their own ; and, 
 considering also, the penalty they have had to pay in the case 
 of M. Lambert, intercourse is now as free as, under existing 
 circumstances, is perhaps compatible with the security of the 
 present government, and the peace of the country. 
 
 The recently concluded treaty with England, although it does 
 not provide for foreigners becoming proprietors of the land, 
 guarantees the protection and encouragement of legitimate 
 commerce, which may be expected to increase, though accord- 
 ing to the annexed statement the exports from Mauritius to 
 Madagascar appear to have decreased since the year of my last 
 arrival. 
 
 s. d. 
 
 The Exports from Mauritius to Madagascar, in 1862, amounted to 57,714 19 10 
 
 in 1864 32,731 15 3 
 
 The Imports to Mauritius from Madagascar, in 18G2 70,707 G 9 
 
 in 1864 72,677 9 
 The number of Oxen from Madagascar in 1862, 10,891, of the 
 
 value of 56,124 9 
 
 The number of Oxen from Madagascar in 1864, 10,176, of the 
 
 value of 50,661 9 
 
 The quantity of Rice imported from Madagascar in 1862, 
 
 20,675 cwt. 25 Ibs., of the value of 8,868 9 5 
 
 The quantity of Rice imported from Madagascar in 1864, 
 
 20,633 cwt. \H bags, of the value of 12,51 1 17 
 
 The commerce with Reunion has probably experienced a 
 similar variation, and besides trade with .these ports, ships have 
 occasionally come from the Cape, and in a few instances from 
 Europe. Though the use of European clothing is discouraged 
 by the present government, the people arc advancing in civili- 
 sation, and this, so far as their means allow, will increase the 
 commerce of the country, and commerce and civilisation acting 
 and reacting on each other, will promote the welfare of the 
 people. 
 
 In the present state of the country this improvement must 
 for several reasons be comparatively slow. Slavery, even in 
 its mildest forms, by depriving a large portion of the community
 
 496 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvni. 
 
 of ail care for anything beyond the supply of their own daily 
 wants, and also by affixing a stigma on all personal labour, is 
 unfriendly to industry and commerce, as is also the large 
 amount of unproductive attendance of the officers, and of 
 labour required from the non-military portions of the com- 
 munity who are free. The members of the government appear 
 anxious to obtain for themselves the profits of trade, to which 
 there can be no objection ; but they have perhaps yet to learn 
 that they may increase their own personal wealth without 
 benefiting the nation thereby that a government is in reality 
 only popular, and strong, so far as the people are prosperous ; 
 and that a community is only prosperous where individual 
 industry and enterprise are free, and their legitimate fruits 
 enjoyed by those by whom they have been produced. Nor have 
 they yet perceived, that only so far as such prosperity prevails 
 in the country can its foreign trade advantageously increase. 
 
 The changes in the government of Madagascar have been 
 great, and, with the exception of the increase of the army, to 
 which it is reported that 17,000 men were added last year, and 
 for which the government may have good reasons, these changes 
 appear to have been beneficial. The continued prohibition of 
 the ordeal of the Tangena,* which was abolished by the late 
 king, is a decision favourable to the interests of justice and 
 humanity. The associating even in theory, if it be not fully 
 carried out, of other members of the community with the sove- 
 
 * Persons accused or suspected of crimes were often required to drink this 
 poison, as a means of showing their guilt or innocence. If the sign of inno- 
 cence did not appear, they were put to death on the spot with great barbarity. 
 If they died under the poison no unfrequent occurrence that was considered 
 proof of their guilt. Nothing could be more utterly fallacious as a means of 
 proving innocence or guilt, nor afford a more convenient mode of destroying 
 life by poisoning an enemy. Yet it was part of their system of belief, as well 
 as of their machinery of government, and, when heathenism was supreme, 
 this trial was sometimes demanded by accused or suspected persons as a means 
 of demonstrating innocence. As part of the system which the heathens now 
 endeavour to maintain, it is still desired, and I have heard the government 
 publicly asked to re-establish it in the land.
 
 CHAP. xvin. THE WANT OF THE NATIVE GOVERNMENT. 497 
 
 reign in the framing of laws, and the inflicting of death and 
 other severe punishments, and perhaps a slight diminution of the 
 unpaid government work, are all steps in advance, although they 
 may not have been firmly taken, nor steadily maintained. 
 
 Incipient signs of public opinion are appearing amongst the 
 people; and the growth of intelligence, and commercial, and 
 other relations with enlightened countries, will increase its in- 
 fluence. The one great want of the Malagasy government ever 
 since I have known it has been that of an intelligent, able, 
 upright, honest adviser not the agent of a foreign govern- 
 ment, though a gentleman holding such an appointment might 
 be true to his own government and yet render most important 
 service to the Malagasy, as in the case of Mr. Hastie, the British 
 agent at the court of Radama the First. The agent of one 
 government ould not, however, now act as counsellor to the 
 Malagasy without exciting the fears of the subjects of other 
 governments respecting his impartiality, and the native govern- 
 ment would be too likely to associate the reception of his advice 
 with the favour of his government, and their rejection of his 
 counsel with its displeasure. The friend they most need is a 
 gentleman who would give them the benefit of his intelligence 
 and experience in wise, sound, and disinterested advice, and 
 identify himself with them with a view to helping them forward 
 in their difficult way a man whose uprightness and worth of 
 character would inspire their confidence and esteem, and who 
 would be to them, in relation to their national and political 
 interests, what the Christian missionary is in relation to their 
 religious progress. 
 
 How darkening to the mind, and destructive to all humane 
 feeling, the native superstitions were which underlaid and per- 
 vaded the public and individual life of the nation, may be 
 inferred from the opinions and feelings still cherished in refe- 
 rence to the Tangena as above described. The heathenism of 
 Madagascar is antagonistic to all that is foreign, and conse- 
 quently incapable of enlightenment from commerce. It has
 
 498 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP, xvill. 
 
 opposed all ideas excepting such as germinated within its own 
 obscure and confined circle of thought a dreary region of night 
 which admitted of no dawn. Education is co-extensive with 
 Christianity, but is excluded from heathenism : to be able to 
 read is regarded as a mark of sincerity in the Christian, but of 
 incipient apostacy in the heathen. 
 
 This idolatry existed at the time of my arrival unaltered in 
 itself, but unable any longer to persecute, its high prestige was 
 lowered, its power was a thing of the past, and it stood alone in 
 its own weakness, unable to inspire reverence or trust. In refe- 
 rence to idolatry, I witnessed a great change. It had been 
 again obtruded upon public notice, its symbols carried forth to 
 places of public resort, and its servants encouraged and patro- 
 nised in high places. Restored in some respects outwardly to 
 ijbs high position, it had been admitted to the palace, and pub- 
 licly honoured by the sovereign. But even that change I did 
 not, and do not, deem unfavourable to the highest interests of 
 this infant nation, so long as heathenism can only repeat voices 
 heard from the spirit world, and is not allowed to enforce its 
 claims by the secular arm, and can employ no other force than 
 its own influence over the minds of its votaries. It appeared 
 to me better for both Christian and heathen that heathenism 
 should have perfect freedom of action, and continue to be recog- 
 nised as the religious system of a portion of the people, so long 
 as it was able to maintain its hold on their minds, than that it 
 should have been suppressed by royal edict, or even discon- 
 tinued by public kabary. 
 
 The Christianity of Madagascar will be of a higher order, 
 and a sounder quality, from its adherents having to win their 
 way, and hold every inch they gain in contact, or even in con- 
 flict with all the objections which idolatry can urge against its 
 claims, than if it had been received in obedience to a sovereign's 
 word, or established by government orders. I never desired for 
 the Malagasy Church conversions that did not spring from con- 
 victions, nor professions of Christianity that were not based on
 
 CHAP, xviii. INFLUENCES OF CHKISTIANITY AND HEATHENISM. 499 
 
 experience of its truth. Among a people circumstanced as the 
 Malagasy are, where all have equal liberty and protection, I do 
 not fear any injury which heathenism can inflict on Christianity 
 so long as no other means are employed than the zeal and 
 devotedness which its own principles inspire and sustain in the 
 hearts of its votaries. 
 
 This opinion is justified by the state of things in Mada- 
 gascar at the present time, where, notwithstanding the public 
 recognition and encouragement which heathenism receives, 
 there is no reason to believe that its adherents have increased, 
 or that it has gained any firmer hold on the attachment and 
 confidence of the people than before the revolution. To me it 
 appears rather that the restlessness of the votaries of the idols, 
 the spasmodic attempts which they make ever and anon to 
 attract notice, and the rumours of projects in favour of heath enism, 
 are indications of a consciousness on the part of its adherents 
 that its power is departing, and that it has no influence over 
 those who constitute the hope of the country. The manifest 
 intelligence, character, and energy of the Christians, as well as 
 the teachings of the Gospel, are drawing into union with them 
 the youth of the middle and upper classes, at least in the 
 central and ruling province. Christianity is doing this by the 
 knowledge it conveys, the convictions which it lodges in the 
 understanding, and the truth and directness with which it 
 speaks to the conscience and the inner life. There is also a 
 neutral party in Madagascar, men on whose minds heathenism 
 lias lost its hold, but who have not accepted Christianity. 
 These, as well as many of the heathen, admit that Christians 
 are better members of society and more trustworthy than the 
 heathen ; hence so many of the former are selected in spite of 
 their creed, but in virtue of their character, to fill important 
 offices of trust. 
 
 It is doubtless trying to the Christians to be confronted by 
 heathenism at every turn, to meet and mingle with it in every 
 walk of life, as well as to have to maintain a ceaseless strife
 
 500 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvm. 
 
 against the evil of their own hearts ; but. I believe that the 
 Christianity of Madagascar will be more intelligent, pure, and 
 strong, better developed, and more prolific in all that is good 
 and true, by having to test, and try, in contact with idolatry, 
 the strength of its principles, and the vitality of its faith, than 
 it would have been had there been what is called a national 
 conversion, and a general acceptance of Christianity. 
 
 The missionaries feel that on the issue of this conflict the 
 future of Madagascar depends. Hence their aim to make the 
 grand lineaments of Christianity as presented in the Holy 
 Scriptures, the one chief subject of their teaching, employing 
 education, with all other auxiliaries in furtherance of this, and 
 allowing nothing to diminish or weaken the influence of this 
 teaching on the minds of the people. The present is perhaps 
 the most critical period that has ever occurred in the existence 
 of this- people ; and grateful as the missionaries feel for the 
 liberty and privileges which the present government affords, 
 they cannot forget that changes are not unknown in Mada- 
 gascar. Though Christians are now included in the families of 
 all the members of the government, but few of those in whose 
 hands the ruling power actually rests are Christians ; and even 
 in relation to the population of the capital, but especially to 
 that of the provinces, the Christians are only a small minority, 
 and could not physically maintain their position should persecu- 
 tion again arise. 
 
 Should Christianity still extend, and ultimately bring under 
 its influence the leading classes in the country, the Malagasy 
 race may yet be preserved, and obtain a name and a place 
 among the nations ; but should the religion of the Bible be 
 again proscribed, and driven to the caverns, or the desert, and 
 the Malagasy become subject to the influences for evil, which, 
 in their present condition, would then be brought to bear upon 
 them ; and should ignorance, and vice, and the lolly and weakness 
 which are their natural fruits prevail, the people will gradually, 
 and surely melt away, and their final subjection and extinction
 
 CHAP. xvin. THE PRESENT STATE OF CHRISTIANITY. 501 
 
 will become only a question of time. My own opinion is, that 
 nothing, humanly speaking, but the moral energy and vital 
 stamina of Christianity can, in their present contact with more 
 advanced races, preserve them from destruction. The Supreme 
 Ruler appears, by sending His Gospel among them, to be giving 
 them another trial, a fresh opportunity of entering upon -that 
 course of intelligence, activity, and virtue, which is the path of 
 natural life to communities, 'as the way of holiness, love, and 
 faith is the path of spiritual life to individuals. To point out 
 that blessed way, to induce them to enter it, to lead them along 
 step by step in it until they become strong in that faith which, 
 working by love, purifies the heart, overcomes the world, and saves 
 the soul, is the great aim of all rightly directed missionary effort. 
 
 But while seeking, and with God's blessing accomplishing 
 this, the gospel which the missionary teaches enhances the 
 enjoyment of every earthly blessing, and saves for the. present 
 life, as well as for that which is to come. 
 
 No one who has felt the least interest in the deeply affecting 
 changes among the Malagasy, which are attempted to be set 
 forth in these pages, can feel unconcerned about the prospects 
 of that interesting people. No event in their past existence 
 has been so remarkable as the recent progress of Christianity 
 amongst them. The number of its adherents at the time of 
 my arrival has been already stated.* They amounted to about 
 7000 in the capital, and the villages, with 400 communicants. 
 The latest statistics show their total number to be about 18,000, 
 with 4374 communicants, more than half of whom are con- 
 nected with the churches in the capital. These numbers repre- 
 sent the Christians united in seventy-nine churches, within a 
 radius of about twenty miles from the capital, and they are under 
 the spiritual care of seven English missionaries, and ninety-five 
 native pastors and teachers. 
 
 Thus it appears that in four years the number of Christians 
 has been more than doubled, and that the proportion of com- 
 
 ' l'a.!,'(j I:.". i.
 
 502 MADAGASCAR REVISITED. CHAP. xvm. 
 
 municants has increased more than tenfold. Only a small 
 proportion of those united to the Christians in the capital are 
 either aged or very young persons. Most of them are verging 
 towards manhood or middle age. These remarkable and grati- 
 fying results are some of the answers to the many fervent 
 prayers that have been offered for the people, the fruits of 
 Christian philanthropy, and constitute the best foundations of 
 hope for Madagascar. 
 
 Besides the efforts above specified, others have been put 
 forth ; and although we have yet only twenty schools in 
 Madagascar, this department of our work is about to be ably 
 reinforced. Additional books in the native language have been 
 prepared, and printed at the mission press, whence we expect a 
 supply for the increasing demands which extended education 
 will create ; and already ten thousand copies of the New Testa- 
 ment, and a generous supply of Malagasy Bibles, together with 
 separate portions of the Scriptures from the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society, have proved an incalculable benefit to the 
 Christians in that country. 
 
 Such are some of the means by which this interesting people 
 have, with God's blessing, attained their present position, and it 
 is on the vigorous and persevering use of these and other instru- 
 mentalities employed without interruption on their behalf, that 
 we build our hopes of their preservation, and their happiness 
 in this life, and in that which is to come. 
 
 A distinguished French envoy is now at the capital nego- 
 tiating a treaty on behalf of France. The Malagasy government 
 are reported to be willing to enter into the same arrangements 
 with France as they have done with England ; and it is to be 
 hoped that these will be approved, and the country remain at 
 rest. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 BRADBURY, EVANS, AND CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS.
 
 PLAN OF 
 
 AflTAWAWAKl 
 
 THIS CAPITAL OF 
 
 MADAGASCAR 
 
 from Artud Survey 
 HY ,/nniet (\internn Esq. 
 
 R i r
 
 Ambatoraka 
 
 REFERENCE 
 
 l.Zarae Palace 
 
 2. Silver Palate 
 
 3. Queen's New Palacr 
 
 4. Palace of the Queen when Princess Raj'al 
 S.Jtesidence ot'MTToy 
 
 6. Mission J)ispensary 
 
 7. CentraLTrammg School 
 
 8. Printing Office & residence 
 
 9. Residences of Mess 'Cousins 
 V).MwsionHosjrital&Doctor's residence 
 
 Sites of Chapels now fault shewn thus * 
 Sites of Memorial Churches, thus *
 
 DATE DUE 
 
 INTED IN U A
 
 uiiniiiiiii 
 
 A 001 456 568 ?