1 m.< ^JiiiA 'ii "■"■■■■■[ -^ J -*o^ — 38& ,, Ma Br TJOTTEB 55TAT.ES UF AMERICA. 1 A NARRATIVE OF THE PERSECUTION OF THE CHRISTIANS IN MADAGASCAR; WITH DETAILS OF THE ESCAPE OF THE SIX CHRISTIAN REFUGEES NOW IN ENGLAND. BY J. J. ££EEMAN .AND D. JOHNS, FORMERI.v MISSIONARIES IN THE ISLAND. *"* ^*» THE PROFITS OF THE WORK DEVOTED TO THE RELIEF OF THE PERSECUTED NATIVES OF MADAGASCAR. SIXTH THOUSAND- Martyrdom of Raaalama.— Set Chap. VII. LONDON:— JOHN SNOW, 35, PATERNOSTER ROW 1840. w> ■**>? EXPLANATION OF THE FRONTISPIECE. The six Refugees now in England are represented as waiting on the beach at Tamatave, where they embarked, and looking out while the vessel is beating up for the port. A principal aim has been to give good likenesses of the whole party, and it is thought the artist has succeeded well, in copying the painting which was executed for the purpose, with equal kindness and fidelity, by a lady whose heart has been long in the missionary field. To those acquainted with the features of the Malagasy refugees it is scarcely needful to say that, Rafaravavy sits calmly on the left, while Sarah is standing, dressed in blue, and meekly smiling at her side. David is pointing with his finger towards the vessel in sight, and James is eagerly listening to his remarks. Simeon, in mood grave and se- date, stands by the side of James, and Joseph sits on the ground on the right, taking his full share in the conversation. That they are supposed to have ventured out on the beach quite so boldly, and to have been dressed in colours quite so gay, at such a time, must be put to the artist's account. But the scenery is cor- rect — the dresses faithfully show the native costume and mode of wearing it — and the waiting at Tamatave to embark is now a fact in history. The Vignette, in mournful contrast with the soft and inviting scenery of the Frontispiece, exhibits the harsh and revolting cir- cumstances and manner of the martyrdom of Rasalama. She is kneeling, and just about to receive the first spear — others are being raised ready to repeat the blow ; a young man stands on the right in the foreground, with his left hand placed on his mouth, while mournfully gazing on the cruel scene, and is intended to represent Rafaralahy, the second martyr of Madagascar. The dogs are wait- ing to devour their victim. PREFACE. Few events in the history of modern mission have created so intense an interest in the hearts of British Christians of all denominations, as the persecution to which the little flock of native converts in Madagascar has been subjected during the last five years. That in- terest must be contemplated as so much gain, on the broad scale, to the cause of Christian Missions. It has awakened prayer and sympathy. It has confirmed many holy feelings and called forth many benevolent efforts. The "things which have happened " in Mada- gascar, and which for the moment obstruct the " free course" of the word of the Lord, must ultimately be overruled for the furtherance of the Gospel." :i X i weapon that is formed against Zion can prosper." The following narrative has been drawn up in com- pliance with the suggestions of many valued friends, who have wished to be in possession of a succinct and au- thentic account of the circumstances connected with the Christian church in Madagascar, and especially with the escape of the six refugees who have been now nearly a year in England. The History of Madagascar by the Rev. W. Ellis, lately published* under the sanction of the London Mis- * By Jackson and Co., Newgate Street. A 2 IV PREFACE. sionary Society, contains a narrative of the principal events which relate to the suppression of Christianity in that country in February, 1835, and of various subse- quent events during the succeeding two years. The present volume might, therefore, seem almost super- fluous ; or at any rate a brief appendix to that work might be thought to supersede the necessity of this.. There are, however, many persons in the religious com- munity, to whom the larger work is not easily accessi- ble ; yet, having their best sympathies identified with the cause of missions, may be gratified, and, it is hoped, profited by the perusal of a small and cheap volume, such as is now prepared for their use. Mr. Ellis's work is the only existing complete view of the history and state of Madagascar. The narrative con- tained in this volume relates almost exclusively to the persecution. Readers who may wish for a more ample elucidation of the character of the country and its inha- bitants and manners are referred to the copious details in Mr. Ellis's two volumes. In placing the history of the persecution contained in this volume in the hands of the Christian public, it is the earnest wish of the writers to create only such feel- ings as primitive Christians would have wished to create by a recital of the sufferings of their persecuted and afflicted brethren. They would neither indulge an acrimonious spirit, nor employ "wrathful" terms in de- scribing the conduct of the unhappy and unrelenting persecutors. The religion of the Saviour inculcates on all, the spirit of meekness and love, the heartfelt forgiveness of in- PREFACE. juries, with prayer for them that persecute and revile the disciples of the Son of God, himself the bright example of all the charities which his religion teaches. The history of the " faith and patience" of any por- tion of the suffering church, enduring, as in days of old, a " great fight of affliction," may not be without utility to those who under circumstances far less appalling, are striving for the faith of the Gospel. They will find in the meekness and constancy of modern martyrs new illustrations of the life and power of the Gospel. They will see that its principles, embraced by faith and ope- rating by love, produce the same holy results as in apo- stolic times, and that they have lost none of their vital energy by the lapse of centuries. Truth is immortal ; and its Divine Author attests its divinity, as revealed in the Gospel, by the purity it creates, the elevation of character it sustains, and the holy consolations it yields, even amidst the terrors of martyrdom itself. The results of modern missions furnish important links in the chain, the unbroken chain of evidence, by which the truth of Christianity is attested to the world from age to age. It is hoped this narrative may deepen the interest already cherished in the bosoms of British Christians on behalf of Madagascar, and may excite them to more importunate prayer in its favour, so that its wounds may be healed, and its captivity turned. Xames, dates, and places have been specified with considerable caution ; occasionally they have been con- cealed or stated ambiguously, in order to avoid the chan- ger of the narrative ever being made a clue in the hands of the native government, where it may perchance fall, to assist in the apprehension and condemnation of any VI PREFACE. parties in the island, yet exposed to the malice and fury of their rulers ; and hence, should some circumstances mentioned seem to require further elucidation, the reader will candidly excuse the seemingly incomplete or ob- scure passage, by regarding it as one of those cases where it might have been cruelly hazardous to have been more explicit. If any profits arise from the sale of this volume they will be applied to the relief of Madagascar Christians^ who are still suffering there for Christ's sake, and in part to those who have effected their escape and found an asylum either in Mauritius, or in England, a land where liberty and charity love to dwell. The first and second chapters of the narrative contain a brief account of the island, of the state of the country, of the late King Radama, and of the accession and go- vernment of the Queen. The third chapter is devoted to an exhibition of the native religion, and the fourth to an outline of the operations of the mission established there by the London Missionary Society. These chap- ters have been introduced in order to render the whole narrative the more complete, and especially for the sake of such readers as may not be in possession of the more ample sources of information already adverted to. J. J. F. D.J. Walthamstow, near London. May 22, 1840. CONTENTS, CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY Page. Commercial value of Madagascar — Population, extent, pro- ductions, trade— Origin of inhabitants — Independent pro- vinces — Semi-civilization — Capacities —The Capital — Ra- dama — British connexion with Radama — His illness and death — Accession of the Queen — Her origin and claims- Murder of Rakotobe, of Ratefy, and others— Starving to death — Treachery — Ramanetaka's ecape — Andriamihaja, his melancholy fate — Queen's dreams about him — His suc- cessors in office— Despotism 1 CHAPTER II. GENERAL STATE OF THE COUNTRY SINCE THE ACCESSION OF RAN AVAL ON A. Proportion of the country under the Queen's government — Standing army — Bourgeois — Extermination of the male population — Expeditions— Hova troops self-destroyed at Ikongona — Crucifixion — Carnage — Near escape of two boys — Sale of captive children — Native letter describing a cam- paign—American whalers — Embassy to England— Barbar- ous cruelty— Civil service to the government — Practice of district betting — Villages deserted — Modes of capital pu- nishment — Queen's amusements — Power abused — Provisions scarce — Service to the government by the women . . . 24 CHAPTER III. Native religion of the Malagasy ; ideas of God — Their idolatry — Charms — Places at which they offer worship — The soul — Death — Curious anecdote in the a Manao afana" — Divi- nation — Witchcraft— Ordeal of Tangena — Votive offerings — Moral character 51 V1U CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. Page. Outline of the Operations of the London Missionary Society in Madagascar, from their commencement in 1818, to their suspension in 1835 66 CHAPTER V. Unfavourable circumstances affecting the progress and prospects of the Mission, and indicating the spirit and intentions of the native government, prior to the Edict for the suppression of Christianity in February, 1835 87 CHAPTER VI. Detailed account of the proceedings directly connected with the suppression of Christianity in Madagascar 116* CHAPTER VII. Events occurring in the history of the Mission from the Queen's Edict, 1st March, 1835, to the martyrdom of Rasalama in 1837 150 CHAPTER VIII. From the Martyrdom of Rasalama, 1837? to that of Rafaralahy in 1838 189 CHAPTER IX. From the Martyrdom of Rafaralahy to the Escape of the Christian Refugees from the Capital, on their way to Tama- tave 215 CHAPTER X. Journey of the Refugees from Tananarivo to the Coast, where they embarked for the Mauritius ; including various providential Escapes from Discovery and Apprehension on the Road 249 CHAPTER XI. From the Embarkation of th Refugees at Tamatave to their arrival in England — Reception there, and residence to the present time — Condition of the Christians remaining in Ma- dagascar—Letter from the Refugees in England to their suffering Brethren in Madagascar — Conclusion ... • 275 NARRATIVE, &c. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. Commercial value of Madagascar — Population, extent, productions, trade — Origin of inhabitants — Independent provinces — Semi-civi- lization — Capacities — the Capital — Radama — British connexion with Radama — His illness and death — Accession of the Queen — Her origin and claims — Murder of Rakotobe, of Ratefy, and others— Starving to death — Treachery — Remanetaka's escape — Andriamihaja, his melancholy fate — Queen's dreams about him — His successors in office— Despotism. It is one of the most singular circumstances connected with the modern history of European enterprise, that Madagascar has never been subdued, and colonized, by any European state. The French have had the earliest and largest connexions with that island, but have scarcely ever exercised the sovereignty over any extensive portion of its territory. Its value has been unaccountably over- looked, and its insalubrity greatly overrated. It was justly regarded by a French writer at the close of the last century, as capable of indemnifying France for the loss of St. Domingo ; and, with equal propriety, it has been represented by an English gentleman, intimately acquainted with this subject, as having capabilities to B 2 VALUE OF MADAGASCAR. render it of more worth to Great Britain than all her possessions in the West Indies. The island is somewhat larger than Great Britain and Ireland, containing an industrious, intelligent, and semi- civilized population, amounting, there is reason to be- lieve, to between four and five millions. The extent of its natural resources has not yet been adequately ascertained. There are vast forests, rich savannahs, numerous lakes, and many valuable rivers. The land is everywhere low in the neighbourhood of the coast, and the interior is mountainous. The highest eleva- tion in the country probably does not exceed 8,000 feet. Iron, slate, and lime-stone are abundant. Coal, it is said, exists ; and silver, it has also been affirmed, has been discovered near the capital, but of which the natives are forbidden by the government to speak, lest the fact of its existence becoming known, should excite the usual cupidity of Europeans, and terminate in the subjection of the country to a foreign yoke : — not at all an im- probable supposition, with the history of Mexico and India in view. Many valuable articles suited for com- merce are already produced ; some on a large scale, and all capable of an indefinite increase, whenever intelli- gence, liberty, and capital can obtain fair play in the country. Among these articles may be specified sugar, cotton, hemp, silk, indigo, tobacco, gum-elastic, gum- copal, ebony, wax, &c. The only articles at present largely exported are cattle and rice, to Mauritius and Bourbon, besides hides, horns, prepared beef, ebony, and gum-copal, and a manufactured cloth called Rofia, from the beautiful palm-tree of that name. INHABITANTS. .3 Madagascar possesses many remarkably fine ports, harbours, and roadsteads. Most of these are on the eastern coast, such as Diego Suarez, Vohimaro, Foul Point, Tamatave, Mananzary, Mahela, and Fort Dau- phine. On the western side, the Bay of St. Augustine has been long known to all European countries having intercourse with India, and Bembatoka on the north- west. The principal trade on the east side of the island is carried on with Mauritius and Bourbon, and on the west, with the Arabs from Muscat, and the Americans. The Malagasy have no shipping whatever of their own. In marine architecture they have not advanced a step beyond the rudest and simplest canoe. They have no- thing in boat-building to compete with the New Zea- lander or South Sea Islander. The inhabitants are all of a dark complexion, some races being much more swarthy than others. They are evidently of a varied origin, and to a large extent are now so intermingled with one another, as to have lost the distinctive traces of their original condition. The language, which is the same throughout the island, with a few dialectical varieties, identifies the inhabitants with the Malayan races. Some of the natives possess Malay features, others resemble Arabs, and a few approximate to the negro race, but without the woolly hair. Madagascar does not appear ever to have formed one kingdom, or to have been held under the sovereignty of one chieftain. During the whole period that it has been intimately known to Europeans, which is about 200 years, it has been occupied by independent tribes, hold- ing possession of their respective districts, and amount- b 2 4 SEMI-CIVILIZATION. ing to about twenty or thirty, but among which, some few were always more powerful and extensive than the rest. There is no one generic name by which tribes re- cognise one another as inhabitants of the same country, nor have they any common name for the whole island itself. They distinguish themselves by the respective territories to which they belong, as Sakalavas, Betani- menas, Hovas, &c. " Madagascar" is a name given to the country, as it appears, by foreigners, either Arabs or Europeans ; and " Malagasy," which is an adjective for the inhabitants and language of the country, is but very partially used by the people themselves, and principally on the eastern coast. The natives of Madagascar are not in a state of bar- barism. They appear to have acquired, from time im- memorial, by their intercourse with Arabs and Malays, and subsequently with Europeans, many of the arts and habits of civilized life. They possess large flocks of cattle, cultivate and artificially irrigate extensive tracts of soil, are familiar with the value of property, and live in large communities, with considerable regularity of municipal government. They have no native coin. In those parts of the island where they have had little or no intercourse with foreigners, purchases are made by exchange ; in the rest the Spanish dollar is used, and for amounts smaller than the dollar it is cut into pieces, and payment made by weight. The only native metal worked is iron ; the people have long known the manu- facture of various articles in that metal, as well as in horn, wood, silk, and cotton. They excel also in the manufacture of silver chain from dollars imported in the PROTESTANT MISSION. O sale of their produce. Many of their houses are large and substantially built of wood, and their towns, which usually occupy the summits of hills, are well defended by large moats. The people are industrious in their habits and peaceable in their dispositions : they are hospitable to strangers, and respectful and courteous in their demeanour to each other. Under a government less oppressive and rapacious, the country would soon as- sume an appearance of great fertility and comfort, and by the fostering care of liberal and enlightened rulers, the people would rapidly rise in the scale of intelligence, wealth, and power. There are materials to render the Malagasy a noble and powerful nation, whose friend- ship and resources would be well worthy of commercial relations with Europe and India, and whose mind and energy would qualify them to act as benefactors on the eastern coast of Africa. Madagascar has attracted more of the notice of Great Britain during the last twenty-five years than in any former period. This has arisen, in part, from the cir- cumstance of the island of Mauritius having been finally ceded (after conquest) to the Crown of Great Britain, and from the commercial relations between that beauti- ful island and Madagascar, — and in part from the labours of the Protestant Mission, established there in 1818 by the London Missionary Society. At the period just mentioned, Radama was a power- ful and enterprising, though youthful, chieftain in that part of the island called the Hova country, situated in about the most central part of Madagascar, 200 miles from the eastern coast. He had succeeded to his father. 6 RADAMA. Andrianimpoinimerina, who, from a very limited pos- session of influence and power, had risen to extensive authority, and had formed the ambitious project of sub- jugating the whole country to his own individual con- trol. Radama inherited the ambition of his father, adopted his policy, and succeeded in enlarging the boundaries of his kingdom. In all this he was much favoured by the friendship and countenance of Sir Ro- bert Farquhar, at that time governor of Mauritius. Sir Robert had the sagacity to discern the enterprising qualities of Radama, and formed an alliance with him on behalf of the British Government. The terms of that alliance involved some points of questionable policy, for while Radama engaged to suppress the slave traffic in Madagascar, the British government engaged to supply him annually with an equivalent, consisting, besides money, of arms, military clothing, and ammunition, for the loss of revenue occasioned by the suppression of the slave trade. Radama was sagacious enough to see his own interest in the offer of the governor of Mauritius, and found in the " equivalent " of arms, clothing, and ammunition, the means of equipping a large native army, by which he might effectually destroy the independence of the tribes around him, and so become, de facto, what he always claimed to be, but never actually was, king of Madagascar. And thus Great Britain, having sup- plied a handful of men with the weapons of destruction, and taught them how to wield them most effectually by sending a few soldiers to drill the natives, lent herself ungraciously to the task of abetting the ruin of the independence, liberty, property, homes, and lives of DEATH OF RADAMA. 7 thousands and many tens of thousands of the peaceful inhabitants of the island, who had never raised a finger against the British throne, nor ag-ainst the Hovas over whom Radama reigned, but who now, furnished with British weapons, could desolate whole regions of inoffen- sive agriculturists, and glory in schemes of conquest, rapine, and blood, that have literally filled the w T hole of Madagascar with groans, and anguish, and death. It was in the spring of 1827, that Radama left the capital to visit the eastern coast of the island. He re- mained several months at Tamatave, where courting Europeans and colonial visitors, and courted by them in return, he indulged habits of intemperance and irregu- larity that would have wasted even stronger constitutions than his own. On his return home, at the close of the year, he was far from being well. An affection of the throat had seized him, his constitution was undermined, and he found a premature grave in July of 1828, at the age of thirty-six. The reports which were circulated as to his having been poisoned, were perfectly groundless. No other poison than the habitual and copious use of ardent spirits was needed to destroy the vigour of his constitution. Vices usually attendant on intoxication were superinduced ; diseases followed, and Radama perished by their natural effects. Rakotobe, the eldest son of Radama' s eldest sister, was the recognised heir apparent up to the time of Ra- dama' s death. Had Radama lived loii£ enough to have a son grown up to maturity, his ambition would, in all probability, have appointed him successor to the crown in preference to a sisters child, whatever other claims 8 ACCESSION OF THE QUEEN. the latter might, by usual custom, be supposed to sustain. The only son Radama had, died while an infant, not without strong suspicions of unfair means having been employed for his destruction, by interested parties and near relations. The death of Radama was concealed from the public for a few days. Two favourite officers had been in con- stant attendance on him, and these, it is believed, were adopting secret measures to secure the succession of Rakotobe, the legitimate claimant. They were probably aware that they would have to encounter considerable difficulty, from the state of parties, in effecting the object, and therefore, acting with extreme caution and policy, hesitated to adopt the prompt measures the case demand- ed. One of these had, a few months previously, accused to the king some of Radama s nearest relations of some offences that incurred his severe displeasure, and he was now alarmed for his own safety lest, on the death of his sovereign, these parties should find means of resentment* It was during this delay that the measures were formed to secure the accession of Ranavalona, the present queen. A young man who had been promoted a short time before by Radama to the rank of the sixth honour, as a reward for his courage on being willing to fight a duel at the king's desire, was in attendance on the two officers already mentioned, and hence had the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the fact of Radama' s decease. He seized the moment to convey the information to Rana- valona, who had been one of the wives of Radama. The father of Ranavalona had saved the life of An- drianimpoinimerina, the father of Radama 2 when his RANAVALONA. 9 uncle, Andrianjafy, had formed the design of destroying him, by pushing him over the brow of the hill at Am - bohimanofa. When Radama's father came to the crown he took Ranavalona as an adopted daughter, and be- trothed her to his son Radama, arranging also, before he died, that Radama should succeed him in the government, and that he should be succeeded by the issue he might have by Ranavalona, in preference to that by any other wife. Radama had no family by her, and certainly entertained not the remotest idea that she was to suc- ceed him. The party, however, which formed itself in her favour at his death, affirmed that it was the will of Andrianimpoinimerina that, on the decease of Radama, Ranavalona should inherit the kingdom ; and on the basis of this unwarranted, improbable, and false assertion, the measure was carried, and the present queen was placed upon the throne. Radama always treated her as his espoused wife, in virtue of his fathers arrangement, and she was recognised as holding the high rank of one of the "roambinifolovavy," — twelve wives of the sovereign ; but she was not the wife of his choice, nor the mother of his children. Some of her relations had been destroyed on the accession of Ra- dama,. and this may have occasioned no small portion of that deadly resentment which, on her accession, proved so fatal to various members of Radama's family. Immediately Ranavalona was informed of the death of the king, she sent for two military officers of the rank of colonels, who came originally from her own native vil- lage, acquainted them with the death of Radama, and promised, if they would devote themselves to her interest, so that she could obtain the throne, to advance them to b 5 10 RANAVALONA. the highest rank in the army, to reward them with wealth, and to secure to them the privilege of " Tsy maty manota," i. e. exemption from capital punishment for any offence they might hereafter commit. Heartily entering into this arrangement, they took Ranavalona and one of her attached female friends, another of the twelve wives of the sovereign, and concealed them in a private residence. They then proceeded to the judges and the keepers of the idols ; and having succeeded in attaching them to their interest, collected without delay the soldiers under their command. All this was effected so promptly and so secretly, that even Rafoze- hana, the principal officer of the army and resident at the capital, was not aware of the movements till it was too late to arrest them. Being called in to assist in making arrangements to proclaim the queen, he solicited a day's delay, that he might collect the division of troops under his more immediate direction. This was prevented ; he was summoned within the courtyard, and was forced at once to declare on whose side he was, nor was he per- mitted to leave the place till the whole business was com- pleted. His aim was unquestionably to secure the crown to Rakotobe, the legitimate successor, but on finding it impossible to secure the object, he saved him- self by becoming a zealous and eloquent partisan of the queen. Ranavalona' s party was now in the possession of the courtyard. Several of the officers, judges, and idol- keepers were there, and two important divisions of the army ( Avaradrano and Yoromahery) on their side. To all these it was then announced, that the idols had named Ranavalona as successor to Radama, and their consent DEATH OF RAKOTOBE. 1 1 was demanded. Four officers of the Tsindranolahy re- plied, that they could not, whatever might be the conse- quence, conceal the fact that the late king had named Rakotobe and Raketaka (Radama's own daughter,) as the party to succeed him. They had scarcely given this proof of their fidelity to their late sovereign, than twenty or thirty spears were plunged into them by the by- standers, and they perished on the spot. This decided the whole question. Whatever might be the wishes or designs of others, they now regarded their case as lost, and were silent, The cannons were fired, and the queen was proclaimed. Soon after these transactions a message, both verbal and written, was transmitted to the missionary families and all the Europeans resident at the capital, Tananarivo, announcing the accession of the queen, promising pro- tection to their persons and property, and encourage- ment in their labours. Rakotobe, the young prince already mentioned, and who was the first scholar placed under the care of the Society's mission in 1820, was apprehended and conveyed to a village not far from the capital, from whence, after being detained a few days, he was removed to another about twenty miles distant. He was conscious of his fate, and pleaded for his life, but in vain. His guards were his executioners ; they yielded to his request of allowing him time to pray before he was put to death ; his grave was then dug and he was speared by the soldiers and buried on the spot. He died, not without having, for sonic time previously, given encouraging evidence that he had sin- cerely embraced the religion of the Saviour, and placed his hopes on Him who had suffered, the just for the 1111- 1 2 RATEFY, just, to bring sinners unto God. His only sister survives, and resides at the capital, and was the wife of one of the members of the embassy that visited England from the court of Madagascar in 1837- At this time Ratefy, father of Rakotobe, was com- manding officer at Tamatave. This prince, of mild and amiable deportment, visited England in 18*21, and at- tended the annual meeting of the London Missionary Society that year. Deeply anxious as to the probable course of events, on hearing of the death of his brother-in-law, the king, and naturally solicitous as to the safety and welfare of his only son, he imprudently quitted his post, made arrangements for the management of business, and with his wife pro- ceeded on their journey towards the capital. They had not gone far when they were met by some troops, who were on their way to him with a message from the queen. They were ordered to return to the coast, and accordingly went back to Tamatave. From George Bennet, Esq. and the Rev. D. Griffiths, then on their way from the capital to the same place, they obtained additional intelligence as to the state of affairs in general, and learnt for the first time the afflictive information of the death of their beloved child. Filled with the keenest anguish, and alarmed for their own safety, they attempted to effect their escape to Mauritius, but the only captain at that time in the harbour refused to allow them a passage in his vessel. The de- tention proved fatal. The governor of Mauritius, as soon as he heard the circumstances, despatched a ship to the port to afford the means of escape ; but in the meantime Ratefy had been summoned to the capital to take his trial, on the charge of having abandoned his station, and pro- HIS DEATH. 13 ceeded towards the capital without permission from the sovereign. The offence was declared in a public assembly of the people called together on the occasion. He him- self was detained a prisoner at Ambatomanga, and hav- ing been declared guilty was immediately speared to death. The trial was held merely to save appearances. The resolution had been previously taken to put him to death, and, as if aware of his fate, he told the execu- tioners, on their entering the house where he had been kept a few days as prisoner, that since Radama was dead, it was impossible he could be regarded otherwise than as a guilty person. His connexion with Radama, and his just expectations as to the succession of his son to the throne, were sufficient circumstances to seal his doom on the death of the king. The queen could not have commenced her career by any two more unrighteous acts, than the murder of Rakotobe and that of his father Ratefy. Radama's eldest sister, the wife of Ra- tefy, was detained some months on the coast, where she was again expecting shortly to become a mother. Be- fore this event could occur, she was starved to death at Ambohibohazo, by order of the queen. Her mother shared a fate equally cruel soon after the king's death. She was sent to reside in a part of the country where fever prevails ; a mere pittance only of food was allowed her occasionally, as if to prolong her sufferings, but not sufficient to sustain nature, and the soldiers who guarded her were instructed to terrify her, from time to time, by pretending that her executioners were just at hand, and asking her where she preferred being killed, whether in the house or outside of it ; and thus, by cruel alarms. fever, neglect, and insufficient provisions, she was de- 14 STARVING TO DEATH. stroyed. Her remains were interred in the family grave at Antanjondroa, in the district of Marovatana. Her brother, Andrianilana, who lived in Imamo, was put to death at the same time. Her only surviving son, Rata- flkia, own brother to Radama, who was living at Ma- nanjary, on the eastern coast, was also destroyed by the inhuman method of starvation. One of his guards, since dead, has related, that for a period of four or five days his cries were most distressing, but that he survived upwards of eight days. Some hours after he had ceased to groan, the captain of the guard opened a window to ascertain if he was dead, when the wretched and ex- hausted sufferer, unable to speak, pathetically expressed his wants by an earnest motion of his hands towards his lips. His guard was touched with pity, but durst not afford relief. He was buried in the same grave with his mother and sister — all three being cut off by the queen by the inhuman plan of starvation. Possibly one reason that may be assigned for the adop- tion of this mode of putting to death, may be found in the custom which generally prevails in the island, of not shedding royal blood. The letter of the custom is thus preserved, at a far more cruel sacrifice than could attend its violation. English history, however, is not without its sad parallel. The natives of Madagascar are not more cruel than some of our own ancestors, nor their princes more despotic than some who have occupied a British throne. Twenty-two noblemen were starved to death at Corfe Castle; " a mode of destruction," says Sir James Mackintosh, " which, combining the utmost agony with the least intimidation, is worthy of a being of unmingled malignity." Richard the Second, who RAM A N A N L N A . 1 5 died by the same means, lingered fifteen days in Pom- fret Castle. At the time of his death, Radama had a cousin, Ramananolona, whom he had made governor at Fori Dauphin; and another. Ramanetaka. governor at Ma- janga, on the western coast of the island. The youngest, Ramananolona, was put to death by emissaries sent from the queen soon after her accession. As soon as they reached the place, they acquainted the officer second in command, Ramanasina, with their business ; and though he professed especial friendship for Rama- nanolona and had obtained his promotion through him. loyalty to the queen, and especially the hope of a share of the confiscated property of his victim, induced him to undertake the task of accomplishing the queen s in- structions. An opportunity was watched: the slaves and soldiers of Ramananolona were devotedly attached to him, and might perhaps have resolved to defend him in the irritation of seeing him suddenly attacked. A scheme was therefore laid. His faithful attendants were to be sent to the forest to fetch timber to build him a house ; during their absence his treacherous friend entered his chamber early one morning, having a dagg concealed under his lamba, and pretending to have some important communication to make to him. he approached him, sat down near him. and then stabbed him to death. His property, including a large number o\' slaves, whom lie had from 500 to 000. was put on board an English vessel and taken to Tamatave, from whence being conveyed to the capital, all were sold and distri- buted as the queen directed. Two uatii - had signed a declaration that the slaves put on board the 16 RAMANETAKAS ESCAPE. English vessel at Fort Dauphin were not slaves, other- wise the act would, of course, have been illegal, and severe penalties must have been inflicted. An explana- tion of the affair was required at Mauritius, and the de- claration saved the parties concerned ; but assuredly the slaves never regarded themselves in any other light than that of slaves — as such they were sold, and as such they were bought by the people, just as other slaves are. The eldest brother, Ramanetaka, appears to have acted with much greater caution on receiving intelli- gence of the death of the king. A party of 200 soldiers was ordered to proceed about half way to the coast, and then meeting him on his way up to the capital to murder him. A few soldiers were sent forward to his station to acquaint him with the death of the king, and to summon him to Tananarivo to take the customary oath of alle- giance to the new sovereign. Shortly afterwards, un- willing to trust himself where he knew nothing but treachery awaited him, he made arrangements to effect his escape. On hearing the message calling him to the capital, he pretended prompt compliance, induced the officers who were to execute the warrant for his murder, to consent to the embarkation of his property and family in a small Arab sloop, that he and they might proceed some distance along the coast to Ampananina, a given spot where they should again land, and so facilitate the journey to the capital within the twelve days allowed them by instructions from the government. Having arranged the business during the night, they em- barked next morning in the Arab sloop, in which the soldiers had seen him ship his property, delighted to think they had now so securely got their victim and FATAL ELEVATION. 17 all his wealth. By a little stratagem, he induced the soldiers who were watching him and hurrying him on to destruction, to consent to be placed in a canoe, just to avoid seasickness in the large sloop, and to be safely towed along as if in smooth water; — the rope was sud- denly cut, the Arab made sail, Ramanetaka exclaimed, " Life is sweet, I am off." The vessel was soon out of sight in the Mosambique Channel, and the officers made their way with difficulty to land, and with no little chagrin to the capital. Ramanetaka has established himself at Mohilla, one of the Comoro islands, not for- getting his just claims to the crown of Madagascar, nor ceasing to watch his opportunity for enforcing them. The principal man in all the events that conducted Ranavalona to the throne, was a young officer named Andriamihaja. He was immediately chosen on her ac- cession as her confidential adviser and prime minister, and raised to the highest rank in the army, in the stead of an English officer, Mr. Brady, who had held the rank of commander-in-chief during the latter years of the reign of Radama. His elevation soon created jealousies among his brother officers, especially among those in personal attendance on the queen. Two of the most formidable rivals and enemies he had to encounter were two brothers, who have since succeeded him in office, and who had been placed with the queen by order of the principal idol. Andriamihaja was regarded by the keep- ers of the idols also with much jealousy, partly because his political influence interfered with theirs, and partly because, as the zealous friend of instruction and civiliza- tion, he was evidently undermining their system uf jug- 18 JEALOUSY AND INTRIGUE. gling, deceit, and superstition. As the two brothers just mentioned were in constant attendance on the queen, they found opportunity to supplant him in her affections and passions ; in vain did he, by virtue of his office, endeavour to remove them from the courtyard ; their party increased, and they at length succeeded, through the assistance of the diviners, to forbid him the court. After the lapse of some months he became at- tached to a young woman, who, though never admitted to the rank of a wife of Radama, had been as nearly re- lated to that honour as circumstances admitted. The queen desired him to dissolve the connexion ; mortified, however, in being kept out of the courtyard, and con- fiding too implicitly in her promise, " that he should not be put to death whatever offence he might commit," he determined to marry this young woman. His enemies availed themselves of the circumstance, denounced him as a traitor claiming privileges and rights such as no sub- jects could possess, adding that he would frequently call himself " Buonaparte," and that he certainly intended to seize the kingdom. He, in company with all the officers in attendance on the queen, had been put to the ordeal of tangena some months previously, in accordance with the general custom of " purifying" those in attendance on the sovereign from any possibility of witchcraft. He was now charged with high treason and sorcery, and on these charges was ordered to undergo the ordeal again ; he replied, that he had taken it once by the order of the queen, and was proved innocent ; that his being required to take it a second time could not originate, he felt sure, with the queen ; that there must be some persons accus- ANDRIAMIIIAJA. 19 ing him, and therefore, according to the custom of the country, he demanded to know who were his " accusers." The officers who conveyed to him the message of the queen were not allowed to enter the courtyard. They delivered his reply to other officers who remained there, among whom were the two brothers, his inveterate ene- mies. The message that they conveyed was simply that he refused to take the ordeal. It is said, that they had al- ready, by a copious draught of ardent spirits, prepared the queen to pronounce the sentence of death on her former favourite, and they at once obtained her sanction to the deed. The party returned to the officers who were waiting at the gate, and immediately they heard the fa- tal order, four of their inferior officers, called aides-de- camp, rushed along, seized a knife from the shambles in the public market on their way, and " with feet swift to shed blood," entered the house, and the horrible tragedy was soon completed. The murder was effected in his own residence, while, with cool self-possession, Andria- mihaja directed his murderers, with his own finger, to the exact spot where to apply the steel which they were plunging into his throat. Permission was granted to inter the corpse, an unusual favour in the case of cri- minals. He was buried in the family grave at Xa- mehana. The queen gave three silk robes to w T rap the body in. His ashes were not long allowed to rest in peace; his memory haunted the queen, she was Beared by the visions of the night, and orders were given that the body should be exhumed. It was then laid in a shallow grave, the head being cut off and placed at the feet, and the head of a black dog being put in its stead at the 20 SUPERSTITION. neck of the mangled corpse ; — a superstitious custom ob- served whenever the sovereign happens to dream of a criminal after execution. Still the fearful dreams con- tinued, and the bones were then taken up, burnt, and the ashes scattered to the winds ; but even yet the midnight visions returned, and then the house of the unfortunate officer was pulled down and burnt, and, with the earth on which it stood, thrown over the rock at Ampahama- rinana, and the foundation sprinkled with holy water to guard it against all future malevolent influences. About the same time his junior wife, (for he had had two wives,) his sister, and one of his servants, w T ere subjected to the ordeal, to ascertain if they had taken any criminal part with him, in his supposed designs on the kingdom, and being convicted, they were first strangled, and then burnt to ashes. Thus the spell is said to have been dis- solved, and the dreams vanished ; but the stain of a cruel murder remains, and, " He who maketh inquisition for blood," will not permit the guilty to go unpunished. There are two or three other circumstances connected with the affecting case of this young man not unworthy of notice. When, on the death of Radama, it was con- templated by the native government to dismiss all Eu- ropeans from the country, of course including the mis- sionaries, Andriamihaja defended their continuance as identified with the progress of education and civilization — objects which he strenuously recommended and aimed to promote ; and in consequence of his efforts, arrange- ments were entered into for the manufacture of various articles by the missionary artisans. By his influence also honours were conferred on the senior teachers and super- SINGULAR CUSTOM. 21 intendents of the mission schools as a public approval of their services, and an encouragement to education. lie obtained a copy of the New Testament and frequently read it. He would have attended public Worship at the missionary chapel, but was dissuaded from it by his friends, as a step likely to give great offence to the queen. He, however, arranged that some of the officers under him should attend in turn, and urged them to cultivate improvement in religious knowledge. On his being forbidden to enter the courtyard, he regarded it as the prelude to his fate, and remarked to a pious officer, that he was persuaded he should not be suffered to live long, and repeatedly asked what he must do in order to be happy after death. He had also applied to a diviner and inquired what would be his fate. The mpisikidy, or diviner, told him he would die a violent death, blood would be shed. He asked how he might avert the doom. The diviner gave him little reason to expect that anything could avert it, but directed him to mount a bullock, carrying on his head a vessel full of blood, and as the animal moved along he was to spill the blood on his head, and then send it away into the wilderness.* This was done, but the doom was not averted. His death took place on a Sunday afternoon. He had in the morning received an order not to leave his house that day, as a " kabary," or message, was to be sent to him from the queen. In the afternoon he was alone, reclining on a mat reading the New Testament, waiting the mes- * Might not this singular direction have had its origin in some obscure tradition or fragment of the Jewish law of thr scapegoat ? See Leviticus, ch. xvi. 22 PRESENT ADVISERS. sage of the sovereign. A pious officer entering the house, he told him he expected he should be put to death, and again asked various questions respecting the way of salvation. While they were conversing on the subject, the parties entered the house, and the tragical scene occurred which has been already described. While Radama lived, the queen had not been a mother; about a year afterwards her only child was born, and though, to disguise facts, he was called " the son of Radama," little doubt was entertained, though few dared to ex- press their belief, that one reason of Andriamihaja's melancholy fate was to remove out of the way one who was generally regarded as too nearly related to the future heir to the throne. Inhuman policy might, perhaps, plead for such a measure ; but it stamps with the basest heartlessness the crime of a foul murder. Andriamihaja was succeeded in office, and in the queens regards, by two brothers — Rainiharo and Rain- imaharo, and these have retained ever since the exercise of the principal authority and influence in her govern- ment ; the first as commander-in-chief of the army, and the second as head officer of the queen s household. A third brother was made one of the principal judges, but has since died. To the despotic and cruel measures advised by these two favourites, the people attribute nearly all their present calamities, and to the same source may be attributed all the measures adopted for the suppression of Christianity and the restoration of the system of idolatry and superstition, that was gra- dually declining and becoming extinct, while knowledge and religion were permitted to spread, during the latter BETTER DAYS. 23 years of Radama, and the earlier part of the reign of Ranavalona. After the recital of these facts, it seems superfluous to add that the government of Madagascar is despotic. Not only is the divine right of the sovereign maintained, but the sovereign is thought actuallv to become divine. Accession to the throne is a kind of apotheosis. Hon- ours are paid as to a divinity. "Our visible God," is the common appellation with which the sovereign is greeted in public by a servile multitude. Occasionally, however, there is the semblance of an appeal to the public will, possibly a remnant of the customs of earlier times, when chieftains were more dependent on the voluntary adherence of their retainers, and a prelude of better days, yet to come, when the peo- ple shall be treated as rational beings, and when the welfare of subjects shall be regarded, at any rate, as one of the legitimate ends of government. © © This appearance of an appeal to the public consists in calling together the whole of the inhabitants of a district, on any important business that may occur, when both the assembly itself and the sovereign s mes- sage to the assembly are called a kabary. The sanction of the assembly to any great measure has been usually demanded, and given after the measure has been ex- plained and recommended by their respective leaders, or principal men. At present the will of the sovereign is announced, a standing army at her command is there to enforce it, the people shout " Long live the Queen," and discussion is superseded ; resistance would be death, for liberty has perished already. 24 STATE OF THE COUNTRY. CHAPTER II. GENERAL STATE OF THE COUNTRY SINCE THE ACCESSION OF RANAVALONA. Proportion of the country under the Queen's government — Standing army — Bourgeois — Extermination of the male population — Expeditions— Hova troops self-destroyed at Ikongona — Crucifix- ion — Carnage — Near escape of two boys — Sale of captive children — Native letter describing a campaign — American whalers — Embassy to England— Barbarous cruelty— Civil service to the government — Practice of district betting — Villages deserted — Modes of capital punishment — Queen's amusements — Power abused — Provisions scarce — Service to the government by the women. It is difficult to say what proportion of Madagascar is actually under the government of Ranavalona. Ha- dama's father, it is well known, commenced his career on a very limited scale, and at the time of his death, his dominions probably did not comprise above a sixth part of the island. Radama, as already intimated, en- larged his kingdom by conquest, till he obtained, it may be, more than half of the island. To secure these ad- ditions, and ultimately obtain the whole, have been the principal obj ects of the queen s reign hitherto. No claim to this universal sovereignty over the island, can be estab- lished on the ground of any former rights. The people claiming it on the behalf of the queen are called Hovas, — the race or tribe of natives inhabiting the province of Ankova. They assume to themselves the right of being MILITARY EXPEDITIONS. 25 the masters of the island, and are attempting to establish their claim by all the means they can com- mand. Hence the attention of the Hovas has been chiefly directed to annual predatory excursions, or as they themselves loftily designate them, " military ex- peditions ;" and while these have devastated and depo- pulated many distant parts of the island, they have impoverished the province itself in which the capital is situated, and out of which the troops have been drawn for this destructive system. The province of Ankova has been drained of its youth to maintain, during the past ten years, a standing army, amounting to no less than from 20,000 to 30,000 men ; and as large numbers of these have been, from various causes, annually cut off, new levies have been made, till the flower of the people has perished. These warlike excursions, for the purpose of subduing the provinces that have not submitted to the Hovas, are attended with melancholy results and cruelties ab- horrent to humanity. A division of the army, amount- ing to perhaps 2,500 or even 10,000 men, as the case may seem to require, is despatched about the close of the rainy season to some fated spot, with orders to return home by the commencement of the next rainy season, affording a campaign of about six months. Usually the army is attended by an equally large or larger number of bourgeois, that is to say, non-military persons, fol- lowing the camp to assist in obtaining plunder, which they afterwards, at the close of the campaign, share in fixed proportions with the regular troops. These expeditions are extremely fatal to all parties 26 EXTERMINATION concerned. No commissariat existing in the Malagasy army, and no regular provision being made for the troops, many of the soldiers perish on the road from fatigue, famine, and disease. Many also are cut off by the inhabitants of the districts they are attempting to subjugate. Where they are successful, they depopulate and destroy. Whole districts are stripped of their in- habitants, and large tracts of country thrown utterly out of cultivation. The policy of the queen during the last seven years has been to exterminate all the male in- habitants of the conquered provinces capable of bearing arms, and to reduce all the rest to slavery. It may be estimated that no less than the fearful amount of 100,000 men have been murdered by the queens troops since her accession. A few only of this number have been killed while actually fighting ; the rest has con- sisted of those who had laid down their arms, promised submission, and committed themselves into the power of their deceitful but remorseless enemies. More than double that number, including women and children, has been captured and shared among the troops, or sold into domestic slavery through various parts of the island. Painful as may be the recital of some of the details of this frightful subject, a complete view of the case cannot be formed without it. Among some of the earliest expeditions sent out during the queens reign, were those under the command of Rainiharo and Ramboasalama to the south, and of Ravalontsalama to the west, in 1831. Deceit and cruelty 1 were practised by both parties. The former, on their way to their destination, came to a town in the Betsileo OF MALE INHABITANTS. 27 country, and determined to sacrifice it for the sake of plunder. There were about three hundred families re- siding there, living in quiet and peaceable submission to the Hovas, regarding them as friends, and never dream- ing of attempting to escape on the approach of the army. The officers of the queens troops then invited all the men from the village to a friendly repast with them in their tents, . and the invitation was accepted. The sol- diers had private orders given them to be provided with cords, and that, as soon as they heard the drum beat, they should seize and tie up their guests. At the ap- pointed hour the unsuspecting villagers arrived, entered the tents, sat down quietly waiting for the cooked rice : the drum was heard; the soldiers seized their visitors, led them to a spot at a little distance, and then delibe- rately put them all to death by spearing. The women and children of course were taken as plunder. The second officer in command on this occasion, Ramafadra- hona, boasted that he had killed eleven of them with his own hands. One of the villagers who happened to remain at home, hearing what was taking place, effected his escape to Ikongona, about sixty or seventy miles distant, and related the dreadful tale. That village was situated on the top of a high hill, and surrounded by a strong wall. Here several chieftains were collected, and many thousands of the people. As soon as they heard the fate of the man's companions, they determined to accept no such friendly invitation from the Hovas, but to defend themselves to the utmost. The army arrived there in three days. One division of it was appointed to the attack, under the command of the officer above named, c 2 28 BESIEGERS SELF-DESTROYED. with instructions to retreat for the day at four o'clock, if the village were not taken by that time. The path that led up to it was exceedingly narrow, and was situated by the side of a tremendous precipice. Close to the entrance of the village was a spot of open level ground, and there the soldiers, after having with diffi- culty arrived, planted their cannon and fired on the village, while those within defended themselves by cast- ing stones over the walls, &c. Many of the bourgeois had ventured between the soldiers and the wall, to be ready, as soon as the village could be taken, to rush in and seize the prey. Four o'clock arrived, and the vil- lage was not taken; the commander gave orders for the troops to withdraw ; the bourgeois hearing this, and being next to the wall, were afraid that the soldiers would descend the path before them, and so leave them in the rear exposed to the enemy, who might take ad- vantage of the retreat, rush out, and fall upon them ; they therefore rushed impetuously forward in order to get possession of the path first, and this threw the whole line of soldiers into such irretrievable confusion, that they actually pushed one another by hundreds, officers, soldiers, bourgeois, pell-mell, over this tremen- dous precipice, where they were dashed to pieces. Not less than two or three thousand perished by this cir- cumstance, and among them Ramafadrahona himself, and his friend and companion Rafalimanana, as if Pro- vidence had taken vengeance on them for the innocent blood they had shed. Not one of the villagers, how- ever, came out at the time; and when they did venture out, they were astonished at the numbers that had perished, and the quantity of muskets and spears scat- CRUCIFIXION. 29 tered about, besides two or three pieces of cannon. The officer who had the chief command was alarmed, and made no other attempt to take the village till he ob- tained additional forces. Within that period all the inhabitants abandoned the village and sought refuge in the forests, and the army of the Hovas returned home extremely mortified. The other expedition went to the west, and, though more successful as to booty, had been not less cruel and unprincipled in their measures. The head man of the district was accused of having about him some concealed fire-arms. This was a mere pretence. An appeal, how- ever, was made to the ordeal of tangena, and of course it convicted the parties whom it was wished and in- tended to find guilty. All the principal men that could be found were then seized, and thrown, with their hands bound, into a deep moat or ditch, dug by the soldiers for the occasion; and after being kept there about two days without any kind of provisions, were taken out, and actually crucified at short distances from one another, forming a long line of excruciating agony round the village. Many of their wives and female relations refused to submit to their hard fate of slavery, cruelty, and insult. " This," said they, u is the land of our fathers, our husbands, and our brothers, whom you have murdered in our sight, and shall we now accompany you far away to Imerina to live and die as slaves there ? " The spear soon silenced their complaints ; they perished on the spot. Some thou- sands of the people were, however, seized as booty, and conveyed to Imerina by the soldiers. A most revolting instance of barbarous cruelty oc- 30 TREACHERY. curred again next year in the capture of Ivato, by an expedition under the command of the same officers who went to the south in 1831, Rainiharo and Ramboasa- lama, taking with them about 10,000 troops, and as many followers of the camp. They found the people in their village on a hill well prepared to defend them- selves. The village was almost inaccessible, and within it were ten or twelve powerful chieftains and their people. The officers finding it would be almost impos- sible to take the village by force, employed stratagem, and endeavoured to persuade the people to submit, pro- mising, in the strongest terms, that, if they would quietly deliver up their arms, no one should injure them. This was done for three days successively. At length a division of opinion arose among the chieftains themselves ; some were disposed to place confidence in the Hovas, and others as strongly resisted a measure so full of danger. One end of the village was connected with a large forest, and the latter party made their escape there during the night. About 20,000 persons, however, remained, and these, being again assured of the most friendly dispositions towards them, delivered up their muskets, spears, &c. They were surrounded by soldiers, and all the men found able to carry a spear were ordered to pass from one circle of soldiers to ano- ther, while the women and children remained within the first circle. They were carefully examined as they passed along, to see whether they had yet concealed any weapons about them. The soldiers then com- menced tying their hands with cords. The poor de- luded villagers now saw their fatal mistake ; death awaited them. Those that were not yet bound made a CARNAGE. 31 desperate rush through the soldiers, and some few of them got outside the circle, but were soon killed by the soldiers. Two reached the entrance of the forest, and would have effected their escape, but for some of the Hovas, who were there collecting fuel, and by whom they were seized and destroyed. Those that were bound were killed at leisure the following day. The carnage commenced early in the morning and lasted until late in the afternoon. The army then re- turned flushed with their success to the capital, bringing 13,000 captives. Multitudes of these, filled with grief and horror at the fate of their husbands and fathers, had refused to eat on the road, and suffered for it by being beaten. Those who remained inflexible, shared the fate of their friends, and were speared. Those who were un- able to follow the army from weakness or illness were also speared to death. It was unutterably distressing to wit- ness, every now and then, an enfeebled and broken-hearted mother endeavouring to carry her two or even three be- loved children, knowing that if they could not keep up with the army the spear would soon despatch them. Grief, fatigue, and famine destroyed very many, long before they reached the capital. Mothers perished with their offspring prematurely born amidst the disasters and horrors of this afflictive journey, while others after their new-born infants had been dashed to the ground, were forced onward at the point of the spear, till nature, stretched to the furthest point of endurance, could sus- tain no additional pressure, and they sunk from utter exhaustion, and found in death a welcome release. During the march to the capital, there were two little captive boys, about eight or nine years of age, who slipped 32 SALE OF CAPTIVES. out of the camp privately in the night, went to the river, on the banks of which the army was encamped, and remained there several hours, keeping their heads just above water, and concealing them among the bulrushes. The soldiers marched forward without observing them. The picquets, who followed a mile or two behind to watch for stragglers or deserters, found them, and drew them out of the water. They were severely beaten, compelled to keep up with the troops the remainder of the journey, and then sold into hopeless servitude. Inhuman beings only could witness without emotion the condition of these wretched captives, by the time they reached the capital. Often ten or fifteen mothers were tied together with one cord, an infant at the back of each, and a large bundle belonging to her captor on her head, and some two or three of her children at her side. At the place where the spoil was divided the most distressing scenes were presented. One child would be sold to one person, and another to another, and at length the mother herself would be sold without the remotest hope of ever again seeing her beloved offspring 1 Thou- sands of mothers are yearly subjected to these indigni- ties and calamities. Towards the close of this year, the people in the dis- trict of Vohilena were wrought up to such a state of des- peration by the acts of injustice done to them by some of the Vadintany, (officers employed by the Judges in civil cases,) who had seized some of their children, and were about to sell them, that they killed the Yadintany on the spot and rescued their children. Some troops were immediately despatched from the capital to punish the offenders. On the approach of the soldiers, many of INCREASE OF BRIGANDS. 33 the people made their escape to the forest, others were persuaded to cast themselves on the clemency of the sovereign. The greater part of them have remained in the forest, to the present time, obtaining only a preca- rious subsistence, and forced into the condition of bri- gands ; thus leaving it almost impracticable to take a journey from Antsianaka direct to the eastern coast, without falling into their hands and being robbed. In the following year, 1833, Ratsimanisa conducted an expedition to the south, killed many of the people, and returned home with 2000 captives. He administered the ordeal of tangena to four chieftains, pretending to ascertain whether they had any intention of rebelling against the sovereign. Three out of the four were con- victed, and of course put to death, with all the men in their respective districts ; the women and children were taken captives. Several other expeditions were sent to different parts of the country this same year, and their proceedings were of a similar character. In the year 1834, the same troops were sent again to the south, where they destroyed an immense number of the people, and returned home with about 10,000 cap- tives. In 1835, a large expedition was despatched to the neighbourhood of St. Augustine's Bay, under the com- mand of Rainiharo. Andrianisa and Ratiaray were next in command. There were about 10,000 or 11,000 troops in this expedition, accompanied by so large a num- ber of bourgeois, as to make a total of not less, it is be- lieved, than 30,000 or 40,000 men. After advancing 34 ST. ATJGUSTINES BAY. beyond Fianarantsoa, a large part of the troops and peo- ple, being without provisions, were permitted to seize and commit depredations on the property of the inha- bitants, and hence all the rice, manioc, cattle, &c, be- longing to parties who were the acknowledged peace- able subjects of the Hovas, were carried off by the army without remuneration, so that multitudes were actually left without any means of support, for the rest of the year, and perished with famine. After proceeding by slow marches for nearly two months, they reached the district which they intended to plunder. The following quotation from a letter sent by an officer, to a friend residing at the capital, will give some account of the proceedings of this expedition, and may be interesting as a native production, and among their earliest attempts at written narrative. " With regard to our expedition, when we reached Mahafaly, we began to make our arrangements for the attack, and directed our steps towards Taboara, we did not, however, reach it in time to seize the enemy ; they had fled on hearing of our approach, and there was not a single person to be found there. When we had thus failed to overtake them, we went south-west, across the river Ionilahy : we then made towards part of Iberoroha and there encamped for a short time to explore the coun- try all round. Two officers of the tenth rank of honour, Rainimarolahy and Rakodia, went with 2000 soldiers to the west ; and two others of the same rank, Andriamaro and Rasoarivo, went with 2000 also to the east ; Rama- zava with 1000 to the north, and Ramandranto with NATIVE LETTER. 35 1000 to the south. On the return of these parties we proceeded to the north of Ionilahy, and there encamped, constructing straw huts for our accommodation. Raza- kandrianaina, Ratsitohaina, and Ravelo of the eleventh rank, were sent with 6000 troops to go southward to Andriampierenana and Andriamahaka. The morning after they had set out, Rainingory of the eleventh rank was sent westward, proceeding by the stream of Ionilahy till he should reach the coast, to examine the port in Isalary. On arriving there, and beginning to examine the villages of the enemy, there were found, to their as- tonishment and dismay, no less than twenty-one ships, all three-masted, in the port. The queens officers asked them, 4 Are you white people here messengers of your respective sovereigns or merchants for trade, or are you merely seeking supplies of water and fuel ? ' They re- plied, 6 We are not messengers of our sovereign, but are merely seeking provisions and fuel/ They asked our people how many troops were here, and our people re- plied, that they did not know the exact number, but that the head officers knew, for they had the books where the account was kept. They inquired who was the principal officer in the expedition, and our people asked in reply who was the principal officer among them conducting their ships. Neither party gave any information. The white people asked, how long it was since we left Imc- rina, we replied, three months ; they asked what we ate, we replied, rice, which we brought with us. Thov then asked how many cannons we carried with us. we told them several. How many have you on the water ? they told us 250. Whose land is this, said they, in tin --part- \ This island is Ranavalotnanjaka's, we replied ; the island 36 NATIVE LETTER. does not belong to two sovereigns, but to Ranavaloman- jaka alone. If it is hers alone, said they, how is it there is no flag hoisted here ? for at Tamatave, Foul Point, Iharana, and Ifenoarivo, and all the eastern parts, there are flags ; here there is none. We replied, Ranavalo- manjaka has no dispute with foreigners, our friendship with them remains as it was in the time of Radama ; Ranavalomanjaka does not change it, so you white peo- ple retire, and do not mingle with the enemy, for we have some affairs to arrange with these rebels. The white people said, Yes, we will retire ; nevertheless they did not, but remained with the enemy. Our sol- diers then went forward to surround the town, and having got near it, the ships changed their position, so as to lie directly opposite the troops. The chief officer directed the soldiers to retreat, and withdraw them, lest they should suffer. We have never before seen so many ships, said the officers; even while Radama was living, there never were twenty-one ships together in one harbour like these ; we have never fought with the white people, let us move our encampment a little further, out of the reach of their cannon. The officers remained there five days, waiting for a message from the foreigners. They at length sent to request to have some cattle, and we sent them eleven head, in the name of the queen; eleven of the ships accepted the present. The other detachments of our troops having returned to us, we commenced our journey back to Imerina, and so ends the account of our journey," saith R. Most of these vessels were American whalers, and of course had no intention of making any attack on the AMERICAN WHALERS. 37 queen's troops. They were glad, however, that it so occurred, that they had it in their power, simply hy their appearance, to overawe the Hovas, and preserve from impending ruin the feeble and terrified inhabitants of that part of the country. If so many American whalers find it worth while to visit these seas, might it not be worth the attention also of the merchants of this country ? The English have been always courteously received by the chiefs and peo- ple of St. Augustine's ; and at the present time might form any establishments among them they wished. The natives would consent to dispose of tracts of land for fair though moderate remuneration, and a considerable trade might soon be established with Port Natal and the eastern coast of Africa. A settlement there might interpose some check also to the Portuguese slave traffic along the Mozambique country. About the time the army just mentioned left the capital, a French trader residing there, proposed to the queen to take a cargo of rice from Mananjary to St. Augustine's Bay to meet her troops by the time they should reach there. The government, being pleased with the proposal, authorised the party to engage a French vessel for the purpose. It was reported that the real object was to take a cargo of slaves from St. Augus- tine's to Mananjary, to be employed on a large sugar- plantation and arrack-manufactory there. The governor of Mauritius having become acquainted with these ar- rangements, immediately despatched a frigate or sloop of war in search of the vessel, and to afford the means of escape to any Europeans who might happen to be in the neighbourhood of St. Augustine's Bay, when the 38 ST. AUGUSTINE S. queens troops should arrive there, especially as it was announced that there were Europeans residing there as traders, and that the Hovas would treat them as their enemies. The French trader arrived the day after the sloop had left the port, and having heard of her visit, became alarmed and put to sea again ; he returned in about a month, and found that the queens troops had been there and left, and that the sloop had not been there since. He then hoisted the English flag, pre- tended to have a cargo of merchandise on sale, such as muskets, powder, cloth, &c, and invited the chieftain on board. The latter refused to go himself, but sent seven of his people, some of them his near relations, and as soon as they were safely on board, the vessel made off with them ; two jumped overboard, and were drowned. The remaining five were put on shore at Fort Dauphin, and brought up by land to the capital. Three only arrived there, and these were put to death at Antanjam- bato immediately on their arrival ; what became of the other two is unknown. The troops returned home in October with about 1000 captives, being less than half the number they had taken prisoners. The troops suf- fered much from want of provisions, and lost upwards of 1100 men. A great mortality had also happened among the bourgeois. Alarmed in some measure by the fact of there having been so many vessels at St. Augustine's Bay, and not understanding exactly how it had occurred, the queen s government determined on sending an embassy to Eng- land to assure the British government that the queens friendship towards his Britannic Majesty had undergone no change ! The embassy reached the Mauritius in EMBASSY TO ENGLAND. 39 September, 1836. They were received with many marks of attention by his excellency the governor, Sir William Nicolay, and then proceeded to England. They had several interviews with Lord Palmerston, and were in- troduced to his late Majesty, William IV. No import- ant results, either of a public or commercial character, arose out of their visit. They returned home, and were received with honour by their sovereign, but no change whatever has taken place in the policy of the native government. About the time the embassy left the capital on their way to the coast, Ratsimanisa, with 6000 troops, was despatched to the south ; Rainingitabe with 2000 to the north, and Eavalontsalama with 3000 to the west. All these returned home in September or October. Ratsi- manisa had destroyed upwards of 4000 men in one day, and carried home with him upwards of 9000 captives. On his arrival in the Betsileo country, messengers were sent out by him in every direction to invite the people to assemble, and to assure them that he was only sent by the queen to administer to them the oath of allegiance, and to take their muskets and spears, &c. to Imerina. Having thus collected all the inhabitants he could, he ordered them to divide themselves into three parties, the first consisting of the adults who were capable of carrying arms ; the second the youths who were about four feet high, and the third all the women and children. The men then were all bound, a ceremony insisted on, and too tamely submitted to, as a form in which they were to take the oath. They were then ordered to accompany the soldiers to a spot near a large morass about a mile distant. The impossibility of escape across the marshy 40 MURDER OF TEN THOUSAND. swamp was the real reason for choosing the place, — the ostensible reason would be, the contiguity of a pool of water, required for the purpose of administering the oath, one part of which consists in striking the water with their spears. On arriving at the place, and being surrounded by the troops in the rear, the fatal drum was ordered to beat, and every one of the natives was put to death on the spot ! An examination was then made of the youths, and all who were found to be even half an inch in stature above the given though arbitrary standard which the officers had carried with them by the queens instructions, were placed by themselves, and soon shared the fate of their fathers. The cries of the women and children were most distressing. These of course had no effect on their ruth- less conquerors. On his return home, the queen highly praised the commanding officer for his consummate skill and success, observing that she had no officer to be compared with him in getting captives and obtaining booty ! Rainingitabe returned from his expedition in the north with about 1000 captives, after putting to death upwards of 400 men. He had encountered a pretty sharp strug- gle with the enemy, and many had fallen on both sides. Ravalontsalama, having also killed about 400 of the enemy, returned home with 700 captives. These details are sufficient to illustrate the position advanced in the commencement of this chapter, that the military character of the queen s government is desolat- ing the whole island, and proving as ruinous in the long run to the Hovas themselves, as to the provinces they subjugate. The country is full of disaffection, and on FAN0MP0ANA. 41 the verge of anarchy, and so far may be preparing for a change favourable to its interests. Besides the severe military service exacted of the peo- ple, there is also a large amount of labour imposed on them in the civil department. All service paid to go- vernment is called " Fanompoana," which properly means the stated icork of servants. In principle, it there- fore treats all the people as the servants, and not merely as the subjects, of the government. In character, it con- siderably resembles the feudal service of former times in Europe, unaccompanied, however, by any redeeming stipulations in favour of the people. It is imposed on the whole mass of the population wherever the authority of the sovereign is completely established, that is to say, wherever the power exists to enforce the service, and it can be exercised with impunity. As already mentioned, the people not employed in military service are called bourgeois ; and these, it may be safely affirmed, are employed in the Fanompoana, by orders of their task- exacting government, not less than three weeks out of the four. In this department of civil service officers are ap- pointed, holding the same rank and titles as those in the military service, from corporals to generals. Hence, no native of Madagascar, under the Hova government, can be considered a freeman. All that are not in the military service are enrolled for civil service, and the latter is as oppressive as the former. No man is allowed even to leave his home for a single day without first ob- taining permission from his superior officer, and thefavour is frequently obtained only by bribery; or if permission be obtained to visit the coast, it maybe for a few weeks, 42 BETTING. for purposes of traffic, it is often obtained only on con- dition that half the profits realized be given to the offi- cer who grants the permission. By a similar stipulation, all the Betsimisaraka, (the people living at and near Tamatave,) who go over in charge of cattle to Mauri- tius, pay half their wages to their superior officers. The officers are called the "Mpifehy" " tiers up," " binders," signifying that they collect and keep the people in their respective classes for service. In the time of Radama, the officers called Ambonijato, (literally, over hundreds,) centurions, had under their command the full comple- ment of a hundred men each. Many of these are now reduced to ten, twelve, or fifteen each, the rest having been drawn to the army, or having died, or removed from other causes. Still the service imposed remains the same. No matter how many, or how few compose the nominal " zato," or " hundred," each division of the people so called, must perform its full share of " Fanom- poana." A great hardship is frequently imposed on them, also, by the absurd practice of Miloka, that is, of betting to a large amount by one party against an- other, to finish a certain amount of labour first. The head officers of one district make the bet, say one thousand dollars, that the people under them shall complete their task before those of another district, or pay the amount. The party failing in the task, of course pays the bet, or fine. The party receiving the fine must then help the party paying it ; but the people are the losers in both cases. They pay the money, and the officers alone share it. The peo- THE PEOPLE, THE LOSERS. 43 pie, who have laboured incessantly that their party may win, must still help the others who have, unfor- tunately, lost; and those who are helped must still continue working, though they have paid their mo- ney. The jackals find the provender, quarrel among themselves who shall bring it first, and the lion, having got it, eats all without even tossing them a bone. In other cases, the military officers and the judges persuade the mpifehy to bet, that the people under them shall finish a given task for the government within such a time, taking care to fix so short a period that it would be next to an impossibility to complete so much within so short a space. If the work be not finished, the people have to pay a large amount to the officers and judges, though these parties run no risk. They divide the spoil among themselves, generally giving a fair share of it to the mpifehy, lest they should oppose such a measure the next time it might be proposed. Many families have been reduced to slavery by being compelled to pay such heavy fines as these. They must pay their share, and if they happen not to have it ready they must borrow, and if not able to repay it, the in- terest, often at ten per cent, per month, soon amounts to so large a sum that payment in money is out of the question, and the borrower must sell himself into slavery. Some hundreds of the people have thus been sold for debts, and continue in slavery, either for life, or till their friends can and will redeem them. The betting just described is often employed when the service consists of carrying timber from the forest to the capital. 44 DRAGGING TIMBER. Besides the " Fanompoana" thus rendered to the government, the people are frequently required to per- form service for the favourites of Her Majesty by her orders. The inhabitants of a whole district, it may be, are sent, en masse, to the forest to fetch timber to build a large new residence ; the distance is, perhaps, fifty, sixty, or even a hundred miles. They must go at a given time, and deliver the timber required within a given period. The labour of dragging is almost incre- dible. Often from fifty to a hundred men are employed dragging a single piece. Neither cattle nor horses are employed in the work. The people receive no pay, nor are even provisions found them ; and those who are too poor to provide enough for themselves, perish of hunger on the road. Commands for work of this kind are published in the markets of the respective districts. The orders are not only numerous, but often contradictory, and the people are plunged into the greatest perplexity, lest, in de- ciding which orders are to be obeyed, when they clash with one another, they should do wrong, and then have to pay heavy fines, or be reduced to slavery for their error. Some thousands of the people are employed in the constant service of the government, as carpenters, builders, smiths, tanners, shoemakers, gun-makers, soap-boilers, fellers of timber, &c. These have no time whatever allowed them for themselves. They are all ranked in the class of Hovas, or Freemen, but are, in fact, the slaves of the government. Having no time allowed them, even for the cultivation of their little plats of rice- ground, their families are reduced to the utmost distress SERVICE OF THE WOMEN. 45 and wretchedness. As an instance of the sufferings of the people, in consequence of this ceaseless demand on their labours, it may be mentioned, that some time since, while the offal from the markets was being deli- vered in, at one of the government stores, where nitre is manufactured, some of the half- famished sufferers, pinched with extreme hunger, actually stole, while opportunity offered, the almost putrid ears of the cattle, and devoured them with the greatest avidity ! The women also are compelled to take their share in certain kinds of this feudal service. Various honorary distinctions are conferred on them, corresponding with the degrees of honour conferred on the other sex. They proceed from the third honour to the twelfth ; and it is said that those of the higher ranks frequently exercise their authority over their inferiors in a manner quite at variance with the usual characteristic gentleness of their sex. They are employed in spinning and weaving for the queen and her government. Once a week they also are required to carry materials, however offensive, to the government manufacture, at Analakely. Whenever government orders are issued, they are required to be promptly and perfectly obeyed. Hence, the people often suffer by being deprived of the only opportunity of securing their harvests. Just at the moment, it may be, when the rice is fit to cut, some public service is demanded of them; the crops must he left till that service is completed, even though, in the mean time, they should wholly perish, or be destroyed by showers of hail, to which the harvest season is fre- quently subject. 46 EXPENSIVENESS OF RICE. And here it may be remarked, that in consequence of these large demands made on the time of the people they are not able to cultivate so much land as formerly, and hence many have severely suffered from famine. During the past three or four years, it is believed, that many have not been able to procure more than one meal a day, for some months in each year, and that others have scarcely procured rice at all, but have subsisted on manioc, a coarse species of yam. In Radama's time, rice had been usually sold in the markets for eight or ten measures the dollar ; at pre- sent, only three or four can be obtained, and sometimes only one ! Some very ineffectual measures have been adopted to regulate and moderate the price of corn in the markets. A law was issued about four years ago, that the fixed price in the market should be seven measures to the dollar. The people preferred hoarding it up — the mar- kets were not sufficiently supplied, and many who could have purchased, nearly perished with hunger. The law was, of course, repealed, and the people were ordered to plant more manioc. Many, however, disheartened at the very limited supplies brought to market, fancied their soil was less productive than formerly, and almost attributed the difference to some spell, operating in the country, under the malign influence of the Europeans, who had, they thought, left their country in displea- sure, in consequence of the queens proceedings, and by some secret witchcraft had brought these disasters on them in retaliation. Others again interpreted their national calamities into a marked manifestation of the MILITARY EXERCISE. 47 divine disapprobation, ano 1 fancied they saw the hand of a retributive Providence in thus punishing them for the sin of rejecting the volume of revelation, and the means of grace. The first party must be quite wrong, and the second may not be quite correct ; but, " verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth." The oppressive character of the military service has been already adverted to. One or two additional illus- trations may, however, be offered. The officers, from the highest to the lowest, are the instruments of the op- pression, and every one under the hope of gain — " Auri sacra fames" The only reward the soldiers obtain is about a week's rice in a year ! And though it is pre- tended, in the theory of the service, that each soldier should have sufficient time allowed him to cultivate his own plat of ground, it amounts, practically, to nothing. All that are not absent on some expedition are required to exercise once a fortnight ; and then, instead of returning home, they are required to remain for a time, in case there should be any service to perform for the queen. And this pretence is kept up by their officers to force the soldiers, in their eagerness to get home, to procure permission to do so by some petty bribe. Those who have not a sous to offer are sometimes kept even till the next exercise day comes round. During the delay, they are often compelled to perform work for their officers, such as planting rice, &c. ; and, in the event of neglecting it, must pay a fine, or, if unable to pay, must suffer a severe floa-o-innr These poor creatures are moreover often employed when the queen is desirous of " laolao," play, or amuse- 48 IDIOTS, AND BULL-FIGHTING. ment ; and their part consists in collecting fighting- bulls for the royal game of bull-fight ; or for an amuse- ment far more pitiable and degrading to humanity itself, collecting a number of idiots, that they may dance for the gratification of Her Majesty and the court, in the royal presence. Unless they find both classes when required, they are flogged, and that severely too ! and hence fighting-bulls and idiots are frequently sought for, fifty or sixty miles distant from the capital, and immense trouble is given to the soldiers to conduct them to the assigned spot for the sport. So severe are the floggings inflicted both on the military and the bourgeois, that many have died under the blows, or in consequence of them. In other cases, by a refinement of cruelty, the soldiers have been punished by being compelled to march backward and forward through a marshy spot of ground till completely exhausted, and many have died from exhaustion. Formerly, the sol- diers were placed, for punishment, in public stocks, and kept there for months, by day and night, exposed to all changes of weather ; and in that miserable condition they have been known to perish. The people living at a distance from the capital are almost as constantly employed in some government service, as those residing under the immediate inspection of the officers at head-quarters. There may be policy in this, — kept in hard service, the people have not even time to mature a scheme of rebellion. The Betsimisaraka on the eastern coast are almost always employed in collect- ing gums, carrying ebony for sale for the queen, or building some kind of fortification along the coast, which IJEES'-WAX. 49 the natives, with no little pride, call " batteries," but which the firing even of a single salute would shake to the foundation. In 1836, a vessel arrived at Majanga with cannon to sell ; the government purchased several in exchange for gum-copal, bees'-wax, hides, &c. A sufficient quantity of gum-copal could not be found on the western coast, and hence the people on the eastern coast were ordered to collect some there, and were obliged to carry what they collected, amounting to several thousand burdens, on their shoulders, across the country to the other side of the island. At the same time, the people to the east of the capital were required to furnish the government with a certain number of cakes of bees'-wax ; they were busily employed collecting it in the forest for several weeks ; and being pressed by the government to deliver it, some of those who had not their portion ready were tempted to impose on the government, by making some refuse into the shape of the cake, and covering it with bees'-wax. On reaching the capital the trick was found out, and all who were concerned in it were sold into slavery. Amidst all these oppressions of the government, hun- dreds and thousands of the people have, in despair, de- serted their villages and all their peaceful occupations, and have fled with their families to the forests. Many villages in the Bctsimisaraka country, which formerly contained several hundred families, contain now no more than ten or fifteen families. Robbers and high- waymen have fearfully increased; and though hun- dreds of them are annually executed at the capital. D 50 CRUEL PUNISHMENTS. their number continues to increase. In fact, the execu- tions have become so frequent, that the government often direct criminals to be put to death privately at midnight, lest the people should at length be aroused by this wholesale destruction of their countrymen, and rise to avenge their cause. The most cruel methods of putting to death have also been invented. Sometimes capital punishment has been inflicted by spearing, or by cutting the throat — by throwing over a rock — putting the head into a hole dug in the earth, and then pouring boiling water on the victim — burning alive — crucifying, or tying fast to a tree or a pole, and leaving the wretched sufferer to expire there in agony, or to be eaten alive by dogs. In fact, the very dogs seem to have become more savage, from having so many more victims than formerly. It has become dangerous even to pass, after dusk, the hill Ambohipotsy, where criminals are usually executed. Three or four years ago, a female slave, with her child on her back, went there to collect some dry grass for fuel ; the child was asleep ; she laid it down, covered with a piece of rofia cloth, and went about collecting- grass ; but not proceeding, perhaps, more than fifty yards from the spot where she had left the child. On returning there, however, she found her infant had been attacked, and was already half-devoured by the dogs ! WITHOUT GOD. 51 CHAPTER III. Native religion of the Malagasy ; ideas of God — Their idolatry — Charms — Places at which they offer worship — The soul — Death — Curious anecdote in the " Manao afana" — Divination — Witch- craft—Ordeal of Tangena — Votive offerings — Moral character. " Living without hope and without God in the world," is a description of the moral state of a people, as justly applicable to the inhabitants of Madagascar, as it . was when originally employed by an inspired apostle to the Ephesians in their idolatrous condition. Scarcely any term is in more constant use among the natives of Ma- dagascar than that by which they designate " God," * and hence at first sight it might seem too severe to affirm of them, that they are " without God." Yet, perhaps, no other word in the language is employed with so much indefiniteness and irreconcileable contra- diction as this. If by the word God we properly un- derstand one infinite, eternal, intelligent, holy, and ever-blessed spirit, the Creator and Governor of the Universe, the Malagasy are in the state above de- scribed, for they attach no elevated idea of the kind to the term, however frequently found on their lips. Idolatry does not teach it; it leads far away from it. Idol worship bewilders and perplexes, deludes and de- stroys. The knowledge of the true God once lost, is * Andriamanitra, which means literally the u fragrant prince/' or "noble;" or emphatically, " the fragrant." 52 IDEAS OF GOD. never regained, but by the aid of revelation ; and till the light of revelation illuminate and raise the mind of the Malagasy, it will continue fearfully true of his posi- tion, that he is without God ; and as painfully true, that he is " without hope ;" for on what basis can the hope of a fallen creature rest, from whose mind God is excluded ? That some superior being, power, genius, or influ- ence is intended by the native expression, God, is un- questionable ; but what precise notion is affixed to it in the mind of a native, it is extremely difficult to ascer- tain. The Malagasy have no idea that the world is self-created ; they affirm that God is the creator, and that he resides somewhere far above, in heaven. But then the title is not restricted to that being. It is equally applied to all the numerous idols they worship, taken individually and collectively. This, however, would not create much difficulty, as the idols might be regarded as the representatives of God. But the term is also employed to denote the state of the dead. " He is gone to be God," is an expression commonly used of any one deceased, an idea that seems to involve some- thing of the Pantheistic theology. Then again, the same term is applied to the sovereign, not merely as an adjective, " divine," but as a noun, " our divinity ;" it is applied to the " genius" of their tangena, used in their ordeals, and frequently, to any phenomenon of nature, or curiosity in manufactures, beyond their com- prehension. The elementary notion of a God being thus vague, we are little surprised to find their whole religious system indefinite, discordant, puerile, and in- effective. ORIGIN OF NATIVE CREED. 53 The religious creed of the natives of Madagascar, if that term may be at all applied to the few and con- fused notions entertained on the subject, seems to be a compound of most heterogeneous elements, borrowed in part from the superstitious fears and practices of Africa, in part from the opinions of the ancient Egyp- tians, and in part from the prevalent systems of idolatry in India, blended with the usages of the inhabitants of the Malayan Archipelago, to some of whom a portion of the natives of Madagascar evidently owe their origin. Still, it can scarcely be said that a creed exists. Usages exist, and the religious notion of a Malagasy must be sought for rather in the practice than in the theory, and hardly ten natives could be found assigning the same reason even for those practices, except indeed the unsa- tisfactory one that " these things are done now because their ancestors did so before them." A Malagasy is the victim of puerile fears, from his infancy to his old age. He fancies himself perpetually exposed to some invisible, but malignant influences, and hence is anxious to guard himself by charms and amu- lets, and by carefully avoiding to give offence to the idols he recognises and worships, by any violation of their " fady," or prohibitory regulations. The general notion of these charms or amulets corresponds with that so extensively prevalent throughout Africa. The charms, or u ody," derive their mysterious virtue from some inexplicable link of association with the " sampy," or idols, and yet these latter possess no inherent power till they have been " constituted" by a process of cere- monies performed on them; after which, whatever the material may be of which they are made, (and it is 54 ANECDOTE. usually wood,) the object becomes God, and is wor- shipped as God, and confided in, by its deluded votary, as having power to bless and to withhold blessings. This practice, called by the natives " manangana," to raise up, nearly corresponds with the Hindoo notion of the Pran Pratisht'ha ; that is, of imparting animation to the object selected for worship. The people obtain their idols as property belonging to the family, and passing from one generation to another ; or they pur- chase them of some person supposed to be famous for the success of those who purchase their gods of him. He makes and constitutes them, and the cost is a matter of bargain between the buyer and the seller.* Every individual in the country may have as many charms as he pleases, or can afford to maintain. He * A married couple went, some few years since, to a person of this description, living about fifteen miles from the capital, and wished to purchase an idol. He had none to sell, but desired them to come next. day. They went ; he was still without any, but promised to have one by the evening. They remained till evening. The man went to a neighbouring forest, selected his tree, cut down a large bough, brought it home, and prepared his idol, leaving the smaller branches littered about near his fire-place. In the evening he in- vited our married friends to take their meal of rice with him, and they saw him put some of these self-same branches in the fire to boil the rice. They returned home, having paid about two dollars for their new god. Shortly afterwards a young man, a Christian, called at their house, and happened to read to the wife that graphic de- scription of idolatry, in the 44th chapter of Isaiah, " With part thereof he roasteth roast, maketh a fire, warmeth himself, and the residue thereof, he maketh a god," &c. She was astonished. It reminded her of what had just occurred, helped to convince her of the truth of the sacred volume, awakened deep attention, and led to the abandonment of the idol. She continued a learner; became a true disciple, and is now well known as Rafaravavy. TUTELARY GODS. 55 determines for himself also, by inclination or circum- stances, as to the idol or idols he will have in his house, and whether any or none. Most families, or clans, have their own idols respectively, and to these some- what greater honour is attached than to those belong- ing to individuals. There are some also considered as the guardian idols of the sovereign and kingdom ; these, of course, claim greater homage than the rest, and are regarded with deeper awe. Xearly all these are do- mestic divinities, and of any shape, size, and name, their makers may choose to have given them. They have seldom any resemblance to the human form ; but consist of uncouth pieces of w T ood, that might be con- veniently carried in one's pocket, and ornamented fan- tastically, just as taste directs, or means can be afforded. The general notion of them seems to correspond with the tutelary gods of the ancients, rather than with the o-reater gods of Greek and Roman mythology. They are perhaps nearly identical with the Teraphim, mentioned in the account of Laban, who seems to have been more frightened about the loss of his " images," than grieved for the departure of his daughters, and Jacob, and all the cattle the latter had obtained. There are no public temples in honour of any divinity, nor any order of men exclusively devoted to the priest- hood. The houses in which the principal idols are kept are considered in some way sacred. People are not permitted to enter them, but with the sanction and under the direction of the keeper of the idol, who usually resides in the house. He it is who receives the offerings of the people, intended as acts of worship, or sacrifices to the idol ; he it is who presents the requests 56 DESTINY. or prayers of the people, and who professes to give the responses of the idol or god, and those responses are usually said to be audible, that is, the keeper pretends that by listening with his ear close down to the divinity, he catches his meaning ; so, at any rate, he entraps the credulous worshipper into the belief of it, and receives the fee for his services. The notion of some supreme or superior being is not associated in the mind of the natives with any idea of a Supreme Rider , or of moral government. So far as their minds are exercised at all on such matters, they seem rather believers in fate than Providence ; and they consider that each one's fate is determined by the age and position in the heavens of the moon, at the moment of his birth. An evil fate, or destiny, may, however, they think, be averted, by certain ceremonies. That fate is somewhat regarded as a distinct personal divinity ; since it is believed that every individual has his own proper and personal divinity, and that his fate infallibly corresponds with the condition of that divi- nity ; if the latter be rich, » he will be rich ; if poor, he will be poor ; if renowned and powerful, so will he ; and if the reverse, obscure and feeble, he must yield to so unenviable a condition. This fate is called either his vintana, w destiny," or andriamanitra, u god/ 5 The Malagasy offer their worship usually at the grave or tombs of their ancestors, who are thought in some way to have become God, although retaining their identity sufficiently to be distinct objects of w r orship. Over a large part of Madagascar, there are ancient tombs, called vazimba, and thought to contain the ashes of some of the earliest inhabitants or aborigines of the JEWISH CUSTOMS. >/ soil. Though few of these are kept in repair, great re- spect is paid to the " manes" supposed to be in them, and much dread of incurring their displeasure by any contemptuous neglect of them, is entertained. The natives of Madagascar have scarcely any relics of Sabean worship, though a few are said to pay their de- votion to the rising sun, and always to face the sun in paying their devotions. In their astrology, the moon holds the chief place ; but receives no worship. Fire is not worshipped in any part of the island. Some Jewish or Mohammedan customs prevail in the island, probably introduced by the Arab traders ; such as circumcision, the hebdomadal division of time, and abstinence from swine's flesh (which is almost univer- sal). Their new year is ushered in with many religious ceremonies, some of which seem to have an obscure re- lation to the Jewish passover : the preparations for it extend through two or three days ; purifying and bathing are universal on the occasion, cattle are killed, an early and hasty meal is prepared ; blood is sprinkled on the pillars and door-posts of their houses, where it remains through the year, and general festivity ensues. Caste, such as belongs to the Brahminical institutes of India, does not exist in Madagascar. Clanship pre- vails, and few marriages take place excepting among those of the same clan. The rite of marriage is general. polygamy is prevalent, divorce almost as much so, and fidelity to the marriage covenant little expected, and less to be found. The belief of the Malagasy, with respect to the soul, might be given in few words. They have no appropri- D S 58 GHOSTS, ate word for soul in the language, and hence, it is ob- vious, have no just notions on the subject. There are several words in use that belong to their psychological system, such as it is, but they do not approach the true notion of an immaterial and immortal spirit ; they de- scribe rather the character of the individual as mild, generous, stern, or cruel ; or the ghost of the deceased, and the phantom, shade, or appearance of the ghost. Still, all this is as confused as their notions in theology. A Malagasy tells you, when asked on the subject, that at death there is an extinction of his being, that he has no idea of any hereafter, that his body is to become dust, and his life becomes air or wind. Still some re- presentation of him, he thinks, remains, and is in fact his ghost. The living have a great dread of being visited by the ghost, and earnestly entreat the dead not to revisit them. They pay them honours to keep them quiet, and pay their graves profound respect, so as not to irritate their occupants. The " avelo" however — the ghost — sometimes appears, and if no kind entreaties will suffice to prevent the recurrence of such a calamity, powerful means are used not only to " lay," but to de- stroy it. It is then believed to be destroyed, much to the anguish of the friends of the deceased. The process of killing the avelo, or ghost, is sufficiently simple. The boughs of certain trees are cut down for the purpose, and brought just before sunset to the grave of the restless visitant. The parties troubled with his un- welcome visits beat his grave with the boughs, exclaim- ing, " Why are you so restless ? Have you not a suffi- ciently good grave to repose in ? Why do you come to annoy us? " Then returning to the house or houses he had DESTROYING THE GHOST. ANECDOTE. 59 annoyed, they beat the walls on all sides with their boughs completely to drive him away ; then burn the boughs, collect the ashes, put them into a seven-fold plaited basket, and carefully place the basket with its contents on the grave already beaten ; and thus have for ever put out of existence the troublesome sprite. Amidst all this uncertainty and contradiction, the na- tives have an idea that there is a place somewhere in the country, called Ambondrombe, where all the deceased are assembled, and where, marvellous enough, all are again exactly what they were before they died ; kings and queens are kings and queens — nobles, nobles — freemen, freemen — and slaves, slaves ; all pursue the same favourite employments they followed while living, and possess the actual property they had previously enjoyed. # * A curious illustration of this notion took place some time since. An elderly mam anxious to make sure of the ceremony called " Manao afana," which is always made after death, being performed for him, determined on seeing it done before his death. Cattle are, on occasions of this ceremony, killed as a kind of peace offering and farewell to the departed, and they are supposed to go to the departed in Ambondrombe. The old gentleman killed about thirty head of cattle, and was much praised for his sagacity by those who shared the meat he had so liberally distributed. Another native, who had stood by, and overheard the people lavish in their praises, began to question the wisdom of the scheme after all. ft You have killed the cattle, certainly," said he, " and they are gone, you suppose, to await you in Ambondrombe ; but who will take care of them there for you ? " " Why as to that," said he " it didn't occur to me; however, I 'm on the right side still: three of my slaves died lately, and they will know them and take cha of them." " I question that," said his incredulous friend ; u did you tell them what you meant to do, so that they might expect them ? " " No," said he, " I had not made up my mind then on the business." a Then," said his friend, u see what trouble they '11 60 DIVINATION. The Malagasy are devout believers in divination, and in lucky and unlucky days. This gives rise to two classes of men among them — the Mpisikidy, or Diviners, and the Mpanandro, Astrologers. The divination is worked on almost all occasions, and is regarded as nearly infallible, — indeed quite so, if the parties do nothing themselves to counteract its decisions. They have a different method of working it, with beans, grain of rice, &c, or lines drawn on a sand-board, and in all which the materials can be so disposed by the skilful and the crafty, as to appear to dictate what the diviner himself wishes.* be in ; your cattle arrive, and as this is quite a new thing to make the afana before death, of which they never heard, they will con- clude you also have come ; they '11 go wandering about in search of you all over the place, and not finding you they will conclude you have lost your way, and to save themselves trouble, they '11 give away your cattle, and you'll never be able to get them again." The poor man was aghast, and could make no reply to the reasoning. Our friend who so puzzled him had been a believer in the Scriptures, and took out his New Testament, and read to him the resurrection of Lazarus, explained the Scripture doctrine of the future state, and left, it is hoped, a favourable impression on the minds of many who had collected around them during their conversation. * The divination seems to be in constant requisition by the queen. She could scarcely venture to take even an ordinary meal of rice without having it worked ten or a dozen times. First, the diviners must decide from what class of the people the rice is to be obtained ; then in what direction it may be fetched ; then who is to fetch it, in what kind of basket ; who is to cook it, — with what fuel ; in what dish to serve it up ; on which side it is to be served out ; what may be eaten with it, drank with it, &c. &c. And all this makes up an essential part of the serious business of life ! All this is thought needful to guard against witchcraft and sorcery. One cannot look at these things without feeling humbled at such an immense waste of mind. INFANTICIDE. — WITCHCRAFT. (jl On the calculation of lucky and unlucky days depends the fate of many a helpless infant. If, judging from the time of its birth, its destiny is concluded to be male- volent, it is put to death by suffocation.* Where the destiny may possibly be averted, one plan adopted for that purpose is to place the infant at the entrance of a cattle-fold, and then to drive in the cattle, and if the child is not destroyed, its evil fate is declared to be averted ; — if trampled on and killed, it is sufficiently manifest its fate could not be averted. Those who escape death in such a case, are thought to be destined to become exceedingly rich in after life. The most fatal among all the superstitions of the Malagasy is their belief in witchcraft and sorcery. All persons are liable to fall under a suspicion of these mys- terious agencies, and then of being put to a dreadful ordeal to ascertain whether they are guilty or not. It is believed that they may fall under such influence, even unconsciously to themselves; but as they would even then be equally dangerous to the community with those who were wilfully guilty, they are subjected to the same test. In theory it is thought that those who have no bad de- signs of their own would not be injured by the ordeal, * The usual method pursued is that of tying a cord slightly round the infant's neck, so as to render breathing difficult, though not impossible, and then holding its head down by force in a shallow pan of water, till life is extinct. Some classes of the people, those called black especially, are more liable to have their children cut off than others, perhaps as a matter of state policy. A poor woman called one day on a mis- sionary and acknowledged that four out of her five children had been destroyed in the manner described. 62 TAN GEN A ORDEAL. severe as it is. To be pronounced innocent by the or- deal removes a man above suspicion, however clear else may be the proof of his guilt ; to be condemned by it is a demonstration of guilt, however strong the proof of his innocence may be on other grounds. The ordeal con- sists in administering an emetic draught, formed of the nut of the tangena, (Cerbera Tangena,) accompanied with a portion of the juice of the banana-tree. This draught acts on a stomach previously supplied with a large meal of boiled rice ; after eating which, three pieces of the skin of a fowl, killed for the occasion, are swal- lowed. If the three pieces are returned from the stomach, innocence is demonstrated, the party is pro- nounced " Velona," " living," and in due time led up by his friends to his village with much pomp and ceremony, as " Madio," " pure;" if the skin remain, guilt has seized its victim ; a large rice pestle is used as a club, and terminates, on the spot, the sufferings and fears of the party ; or if he be a slave belonging to the people, (and not to the sovereign or the nobility,) he is sent to some distant part of the country and sold, where happily no report of his being under a malevolent influence may have reached. It is difficult to ascertain the numbers that actually perish by this fearful ordeal. It is sometimes admini- stered in a very wholesale manner, as may be illustrated in the following circumstance : About eighty men came to the capital, about six years ago, to take the oath of allegiance from a distant part of the island. They were detained, by order of the queen s government, at a vil- lage in the neighbourhood. The lightning that season SUPERSTITION AND CRUELTY. — DEATH. 63 having proved most terrific and fatal, it was charged on these strangers, that they had employed some sorcery to bring down the " varatra," thunderbolt, to destroy the queens people. Soldiers were sent to the village, and the eighty men were compelled to take the tangena. About half the number were convicted of the charge, and or- dered for death. The under-ground rice granaries or pits were taken for the purpose, the victims thrown in, boiling water poured on them, and they perished by the scalding and suffocation. The rest were afterwards, on further suspicions being entertained against them, sub- jected to the same wretched fate, and the whole number thus unjustly perished. It was, however, gravely be- lieved, that they had some powerful charms about them, which would resist death by any means that could be used, unless it were first neutralized ; and that was effected by cutting off the head of a black clog, and tossing it, reeking with blood, into the hole among the agonized victims, before the stone was finally covered on the mouth of the pit to which they were consigned. Hope in death is a privilege with which heathenism is little acquainted. A Malagasy has none. To him death terminates all his enjoyments. His shadowy notions about Ambondrombe, and his property and happiness there, which might amuse him while in health, have no consoling or cheering influence on his mind in death. True, he has not the dread of future judgment, nor any vivid, strong, practical impression of his responsibility to fill him with alarm ; but the whole scene is dark, cheerless, and dreary. He is never to see the sun again, nor the light, nor the green earth, nor his friends ; he closes his eves in anguish, and dies without hope ; yet 64 SACRIFICES. lest he should fall into utter extinction, he has prepared a tomb before he dies, that may serve as a memorial that he had been, and that thus he may continue to survive, at any rate, in the memory of his family and society. The sacrifices which the Malagasy offer have no re- ference to guilt. They are not accompanied by any con- fessions of sin, nor are they employed as means of ob- taining pardon. They are usually votive offerings, or the fulfilment of vows. They are presented to obtain blessings, such as health, safety, property, offspring, or success in trade ; or they are presented on a return from a journey, or as an acknowledgment of a vow made to offer them in the event of recovery from sickness. There are two kinds of offerings, one called a " Sorona," and the other a " Faditra ;" the former is always related to good, and the latter to evil ; the former is for obtaining favours, and the latter for averting suffering. The sacrifices are usually animal ; blood is shed, but not sprinkled ; a piece of fat is burnt at the door of the tomb, or in front of the holy stone, (Yato masina,) where the offering is made. The rest of the animal (sheep or fowl) is eaten by the party making the sacrifice. Great importance is attached by the Malagasy to the reli- gious ceremonies of the circumcision, though the rite itself has no religious idea attached to it in the native mind. The moral character of the Malagasy, taken as a whole, is, perhaps, not inferior to that of any nation not having the light and influence of Divine Revelation. They are not a people naturally savage and inhuman. The existing practices which have been already described, and which seem at variance with this assertion, have MORAL CHARACTER. G5 been generated by the importance attached to some fell superstitions among them, and still more by the demo- ralizing and brutalizing influence of the wars in which they have recently engaged. They have become dread- fully familiar with blood, and shed it with less scruple than they ever did. Falsehood, chicanery, avarice, and deceit extensively prevail. The common vices of sensu- ality, excepting intoxication, are also extremely preva- lent : but various crimes not always reprobated among some of the refined nations of antiquity are utterly un- known in Madagascar, or are followed with immediate death on discovery. They possess also not a few re- deeming qualities. Parents generally are devotedly fond of their offspring, and children are respectful to their parents to old age. There is much genuine hos- pitality in the country, and warm and steady friendships exist. They are a people prepared for improvement, and whose rapid advancement, under favourable cir- cumstances, would amply repay the anxieties, toil, and sacrifices that might be expended in their service, 66 MADAGASCAR THOUGHT OF. CHAPTER IV. Outline of the Operations of the London Missionary Society in Madagascar, from their commencement in 1818, to their suspen- sion in 1835. A memorial in favour of an attempt to commence a Christian Mission in Madagascar was presented at one of the earliest meetings of the " Fathers and Founders" of the London Missionary Society, and it is believed was read and considered at the same meeting as that in which the scheme was adopted for making the South Sea Islands the scene of the Society's first operations. The late eminent Dr. Vanderkemp, of South Africa, was extremely desirous of attempting a mission in Mad- agascar, and hoped to commence it on the western side of the island. He died, however, before his plans could be carried into execution. The late Rev. J. Campbell, of Kingsland, obtained information as to the island, while at the Cape of Good Hope in 1812-13, and which was published in the first volume of his " Travels in South Africa." The late Dr. Milne, one of the Society's missionaries to China, obtained, as justly stated in Philip's heart- stirring " Memoirs" of that missionary model,* consider- able information respecting Madagascar, while at Mau- ritius on his way to China, and transmitted it to the directors for their guidance in some future measures. * Just published by Snow, 1 vol. 12mo. MAURITIUS. MISSION COMMENCED. 07 Had Mauritius been in possession of Great Britain, it is probable that much earlier efforts would have been made in introducing a mission into Madagascar, than those at which it actually commenced. These remarks are intended to show that the importance of Madagascar as a missionary station had never been overlooked, but there "lacked opportunity ." When, during the late continental war, Mauritius capitulated to the British arms, and was subsequently annexed to the British crown, the desired opportunity presented itself and was embraced. A mission was commenced there in J 814, with a view to the formation of one in Madagascar ; and thus war itself, one of the heaviest of human calamities, became instrumental, as in the history of Providence it often has done, in affording facilities for introducing that religion of peace and love, which, in its ultimate tri- umphs, is destined to " make wars to cease to the ends of the earth." In the spring of the year 1818, two married mission- aries, Messrs. Jones and Bevan, were sent out by the Society to Mauritius, from whence they proceeded to Madagascar, and found immediately on their arrival at Tamatave, in the course of the autumn, ample encou- ragement to commence their exertions. Having deemed it prudent to visit the island in the first instance by themselves, and having obtained sufficient local infor- mation for the guidance of their future measures, they returned to the .Mauritius for their families, and again, early in 1819, reached the coast of Madagascar. Here the hand of God soon arrested them on the very com- mencement of their career. Mr, and .Mrs. Bevan, .Mrs. Jones, and their children, were removed by death within Otf CARE OF HEALTH. a very limited period, and the only surviving member of the mission, Mr. Jones, was utterly disabled by a serious illness from prosecuting the mission, and was obliged to re-embark for Mauritius, as the only probable means of recruiting health. The mission was then wholly suspended for about a year and a half. It would seem, that there must have been some want of prudence in attempting to reside on that part of the coast at the season of the year when the mission fami- lies went down in 1819, it being the rainy and most sultry part of the year, and when the fierce diseases that prevail in that part of the island assume their most viru- lent character. Correct information respecting the sea- son and the climate could have been obtained, and must have been offered, at Mauritius, and it may be reasona- bly supposed would have formed subjects of inquiry dur- ing the first visit of our zealous friends to the island. Their zeal exceeded their prudence, and therefore ceased to be that zeal on which the friends of missions can look with perfect satisfaction. No man can disregard the voice of God in his providence, with impunity. Many missionaries, it is to be feared, have sacrificed their health by an overweening conceit in its stability. They have fancied themselves capable of sustaining any amount of fatigue, even where others have made the trial and failed ; and then, improvidently neglecting timely ad- monitions, have found and confessed their mistake only when too late to correct it, and have sunk lamented into a premature grave. The early termination of the holy career of Henry Martyn is not without its solemn warning. In all new and untried ground, a medical practitioner should, if possible, be attached to a mission. TANANAIUVO. NATIVE FEARS. 69 Many anxieties might thus be superseded, the time of the missionary be saved from avocations foreign to the more legitimate objects of his office, and, beyond a doubt, many valuable lives would be spared for honour- able and extensive usefulness. Fresh missionaries en- tering on a field already occupied cannot be too strongly urged to listen, as wise men, to the cautions of experi- ence, (and it is only wise men that will profit by the lessons of experience,) given them by their brethren familiar with the duties and the dangers of the posi- tion. The recommencement of the mission at the latter end of the year 1820, by the Rev. D. Jones, was attended by several propitious circumstances. The site of it was now fixed at Tananarivo, the capital, in the district of An- kova, in the interior of the island, at once the most salu- brious and populous part of the country, under the ex- press sanction and encouragement of the chieftain of that part of the island, since more generally known by the somewhat ambitious title of Radama, king of Madagas- car ; and where it also enjoyed the warm, steady, and enlightened support of the late James Hastie, Esq., Bri- tish Resident at the court of Radama, a gentleman whose liberal and persevering efforts for the improvement of Madagascar, and on behalf of the mission there as the great instrument of effecting that improvement, are above all praise. From that period the mission continued its labours during rather more than fifteen years. It had to proceed, in its early stages, amidst many jealousies on the part of the natives, whose intercourse with Europeans, having been almost exclusively limited to the slave traf- 70 TEACHING CHILDREN. fie, had led them to regard the measures of white men generally with suspicion, as essentially involving some selfish and sinister policy. Many of the natives, whose profits had arisen from the part they had taken in the horrible traffic, opposed, as strongly as they durst, the whole proceedings of the sovereign, in forming a treaty with the British Government for the suppression of the slave trade, and for the part he took in encouraging the residence of Europeans in his country, and the instruc- tions they gave. Not a few people expressed their fears, that the schools of the missionaries were only nurseries to render their children more valuable when sold afterwards into slavery, and more acceptable, in some way, to the European palate, strangely fancying, and horribly believing, that their offspring were pur- chased by the merciless white men as articles of food ! The principal efforts of the mission were directed, as it would seem, by the very necessity of the case, in the first instance, and for a considerable time almost exclusively, to the instruction of children and the establishment of schools, under the immediate sanction of the government. This mode of proceeding has appeared to some minds altogether questionable, and as being at variance with the practice of the Apostles in their early efforts to convert idolatrous nations to the Christian faith. But the cases are by no means analogous, and cannot fairly be brought into comparison with one another. It should be remem- bered that no footing at all could be obtained in Mada- gascar, nor in any country similarly circumstanced, for labours of any kind, without the permission of its native and independent government ; and then, in affording that NATIVE VIEWS. LEARNING TIIE LANGUAGE. 71 permission, to say nothing of protection or encouragement, it could only be granted for certain denned objects that appeared to such governments deserving of the permis- sion. To ask an idolatrous government to allow you to reside among them, in order that you may teach them another and better religion, makes neither an appeal to their judgments nor their hearts; they cannot appreciate the reasoning employed, nor do they give credit to the motives by which you profess to be actuated. An unci- vilized people require that some tangible and sensible ob- jects be presented to them, in addition to the arguments in favour of a superior religion. The offer to convey to them the knowledge of letters, to improve their agriculture, to teach them the art of building better houses, or houses instead of huts, to make them acquainted with various manufactures, — these things they can more easily appre- ciate ; and hence may readily concede to the request of the missionaries to reside among them. Besides this, few, if any missionaries go out prepared to commence at once the work of an evangelist among the people they design to teach. A knowledge of the language is to be attained ; and this, which was miraculously imparted in the apos- tolic age, and qualified those devoted and inspired heralds of the cross to enter forthwith on their labours, wherever Providence guided their steps, demands laborious applica- tion on the part of the modern missionary, and long resi- dence among the people. Of course the latter would not give him permission to live among them, just to learn the language, that he might afterwards apply it in teaching them a foreign religion. The latter, as we have already intimated, would be to them no reason at all, and the 72 SCHOOLS. former a very questionable object ; for why, they would ask, should he set himself to the task of acquiring their language, if he had not some sinister end in view ? To all this may be superadded the consideration, that mission schools must ever be considered an invaluable and essen- tial appendage to a mission, amongst a people having no other means of acquiring literature. Every Protestant missionary is desirous of placing the scriptures of eternal truth in the hands of his charge, that the people may ex- amine the written testimony for themselves, and, like the Bereans, search whether the things be so. To a people without schools, or without education, of what avail is the Bible ? Where shall a missionary then begin ? his adult hearers will not in the first instance attempt to learn, and would with difficulty succeed, even if willing to make the attempt. To collect, then, a few children into a school seems the most obvious and natural method, if not indeed the only thing that can be done under such circumstances. This secures to the missionary permission to reside on the spot, assists him in acquiring a knowledge of the language, for he is learning while he is teaching ; gives him an opportunity of observing and studying the lan- guage of the people among whom he is to labour; fami- liarizes them to him, and obviates prejudices against the stranger, and secures a reading population by the time he has prepared for them the sacred volume. This line of policy, however, requires to be guarded against excess, the common danger of human nature. The missionary must not suffer himself to be the mere school- master. His early aim must be to raise up teachers qua- TEACHING ADULTS. 73 lifted to relieve him of these labours, to enlarge the sphere of similar operations, and so leave him at leisure to pro- secute the higher work of his vocation in proclaiming, by the living voice, the glad tidings of reconciliation. The Madagascar Mission has perhaps not much to re- proach itself with in these respects, though, could the events which have subsequently transpired have been foreseen, a larger amount of attention would undoubtedly have been bestowed on the adult population, even at the cost of neglecting the children in the schools. These remarks, which imply the comparative supe- riority and usefulness of direct labours among an adult population when they can be made, to those among chil- dren only, are perhaps sustained by the two following facts as they have occurred in the history of the Mada- gascar Mission. One is, that the majority of natives converted to a profession of the Gospel, so as to afford credible evidence of genuine faith and repentance, consists of adults not trained up in the mission schools, but impressed by the preaching of the gospel, or by conversation with those who through grace had believed. And the other fact is, that most of those who embraced the truth, voluntarily and immediateli/ commenced learn- ing to read, however much engaged in secular business, or however much advanced in life. These facts are not only encouraging to the missionary, as demonstrating the power, and illustrating the tendency of the Gospel, but they serve to qualify the comparative importance of schools, and urge the " teacher of babes' 1 to address himself as early, and as much as practicable, to the adult heathen around, who, as soon as they can E 74 RECAPITULATION. ANECDOTE. estimate the value of the truth he unfolds, will dili- gently labour to acquire the art of reading the holy volume for themselves.* In the commencement of a mission among a people without a written language, as was the case with the natives of Madagascar, a missionary must occupy a very large portion of his time in work strictly preliminary to his great object. He has few aids to facilitate his acquisition of the language beyond his oral communica- tions with the people, and though these are found the best means for obtaining a correct pronunciation, and ultimately an idiomatical mode of expression, it is ob- viously a work of immense labour, and of which those who follow him, and reap the aid it affords them, can scarcely appreciate the value. Other men have laboured, and these enter into their labours. It is not expedient to relate here the progress of the mission in Madagascar in detail. The general results will be sufficient for the purpose in view. During the fifteen years already mentioned, the whole * With how much avidity and perseverance this has been done in some of the West India Missions may be collected from an affecting anecdote related by the Rev. J. Scott, of Demerara, lately in England. An old man residing at a considerable dis- tance, extremely desirous of being able to read, came to him re- gularly for a lesson. He made little progress. His teacher was almost disheartened, and intimated his fears that his labours would be lost. " Had you not," said Mr. Scott, " better give it over ?" " No, Massa," said he, with great enecgy, "me never give it over till me die ;" and, pointing with his finger to John iii. 16. " God so loved the world," added, with touching em- phasis, '* it is worth all de labour to be able to read dat one single verse.' ' RECAPITULATION OF LABOURS. ,.J of the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were translated, corrected, and printed in the native lan- guage, at the capital, aided by very liberal grants from the British and Foreign Bible Society ; not fewer than 25,000 tracts, aided by the prompt and generous encou- ragement afforded by the Religious Tract Society, were printed ; Russell's Catechism was translated, and an edition of 1000 copies generously given by Mr. Cameron, a member of the mission. Nearly all these publications were put into circulation. The number of schools in- creased till they amounted to nearly 100, containing, nominally, about 4000 scholars, to whom were imparted the elements of instruction and of religious truth. Pro- bably some 10,000 to 15,000 altogether passed through the mission schools during the period under review. Elementary books were provided for the use of these, and probably as many more were distributed among those who voluntarily acquired the art of reading with- out attendance on the mission schools. Two printing-presses were established at the capital by the London Missionary Society. A dictionary of the language was prepared and printed in two volumes, the first embracing the English and Malagasy, and the other the Malagasy and English. Two large congrega- tions were formed at the capital ; nearly 200 persons, on a profession of their faith, applied for admission to church-fellowship ; and numerous week-day evening- services were established at the dwelling-houses of the natives. Adult Bible classes were formed for the regu- lar perusal and examination of portions of the sacred scriptures. Various preaching stations were visited every B 2 76 LETTER. sabbath in several towns and villages at which schools existed, more or less distant from the capital. Many of the principal scholars had their attention for a long time directed to the English language, and became familiar with the English scriptures. Innumerable opportuni- ties were embraced of conversing with the natives ; with many of them habits of intimacy and friendship were formed, and as the result of these and many other subsidiary means, the minds of multitudes, it may be affirmed, became in some degree enlightened in the truths of Christianity, and so far affected by what they knew, as to renounce many of the superstitious customs of the country. It may afford a just and comprehensive view of the state of the mission at this period of its prosperity, and indeed as it continued up to the time of its suspension, to introduce a copy of a letter drawn up by the writers of the present volume, while on the spot, and forwarded to the directors of the Society in London. It is dated Tananarivo, November 6, 1834 : — " We have been exceedingly gratified by the personal conduct of many. There is a seriousness, and steadiness, and perseverance, and diligence about them, which constrain us to hope that their hearts have been opened by Him, by whose sovereign grace, c Dry bones are raised and clothed afresh, And hearts of stone are turned to flesh.' " We look on with wonder and surprise, and are often prompted to exclaim, 4 This is the finger of God.' The difficulty still re- mains, as intimated in our last report, of ascertaining the numbers under religious impressions. But we have reason to think that several are savingly converted to God ; that many more are per- fectly convinced of the folly of idolatry and divination; and that great numbers are awakened to think and inquire. The force of MISSIONARY LETTER. 77 error is subdued, and the power of truth acknowledged. The preached word is listened to attentively, and the Scriptures are earnestly sought, and diligently examined. There are also several prayer-meetings held in the town during the week evenings. The two principal circumstances which we wish to notice in connexion with these meetings are, first, that a spirit of prayer actually exists and increases among the natives ; and, second, that these meetings are convened and conducted by natives themselves. They fre- quently request our attendance, to give an exhortation, and lead the service ; but the houses are their residences, and they consider them- selves as acting on their own convictions — at the movement of their own minds, and from a consideration of present obligation to employ the means in their power of spreading around their respective neigh- bourhoods the knowledge of the true God, and of eternal life. It is not, however, exclusively in connexion with these stations that fall immediately under our own personal observation, that a spirit of hearing and inquiry is awakened ; God appears to manifest his purposes of mercy to this people, in raising up an agency of his own from among themselves, to carry on his own work. He is forming for himself his own instruments — giving them zeal and knowledge, imbuing them with love to the truth, and compassion for their countrymen, and thus supplying the exigencies of his cause by their unexpected instrumentality, and so compensating for our lack of service. And as a specific illustration of this point, we may remark, that in a district to the west of the capital, at a village about sixty miles distant, a small chapel has been lately erected by the zeal and devotedness of the natives, chiefly excited, however, by the exer- tions of a pious woman, of whom we have already written to you. A very delightful spirit of inquiry is awakened in that district, and several of the adult natives, men of rank and importance in their station, conduct prayer-meetings, and engage themselves in those exercises with much apparent fervour, pleasure, and propriety. Another chapel is also being erected in a district to the south, per- haps 120 miles distant. Public worship, chiefly for prayer and reading the Scriptures, is held in many distant parts of the country, principally raised and conducted by those" who were formerly scho- lars or teachers in the missionary schools. Applications from all these for books, and especially for the Scriptures, are very nu- merous." 78 MISSIONARY ARTISANS. In forming an estimate, however, of the moral forces employed in producing that change in the habits and manners of the people, which ultimately awakened the jealousy of the native government, and led to the adop- tion of severe measures for the suppression of Christi- anity, it would be exceedingly unfair and partial not to introduce those instructions and labours of a secular character, with which the mission was associated during nearly the whole period of its existence. Radama^ on acceding to the terms of a treaty for the suppression of the slave traffic in his country, and granting to the agents of the Missionary Society access to his dominions, stipulated that his people should be taught various branches of the arts and sciences. Several artisans were therefore appointed to Madagascar, who remained there a length of time, and some of them till the period when the mission was dissolved by the vio- lent measures of the queen, in 1835. The instructions imparted by the missionary artisans to the natives, even when not strictly of a religious character, could not but effect a powerful movement in the native mind. Habits of thought, attention, industry, and application, were formed, new ideas were communicated, and new asso- ciations were generated ; a spirit of inquiry was fos- tered ; intelligence was conveyed from one to another, and all the materials of improvement and civilization were placed in requisition. The Government assumed to itself the control of the labours of the artisans, a measure obviously attended with both advantages and disadvantages. Many intelligent youths were placed under the tuition of the artisans, amounting probably to MISSIONARIES* WIVES. MARRIED MISSIONARIES. 79 not less than from 1000 to 2000 altogether, including smiths, carpenters, builders, tanners, curriers, saddlers, boot and shoemakers, spinners, weavers, soap-makers, &c. &c. They were thus brought under the in- fluence, example, encouragement, and instruction of men who had entered into that department of mis- sionary labour, not from the prospect of pecuniary re- ward, but from an ardent and self-denying desire to aid the cause of missions, and especially in that branch of it connected with the advancement of civilization by the introduction of the useful arts. Besides these di- rect labours, a large amount of indirect good was effected by the more strictly religious exertions of these mis- sionary artisans, who, as pious men, esteemed it at once their privilege and duty to impart, wherever oppor- tunity could be found, the knowledge of the great truths of that religion, without which the highest attain- ments in the arts and sciences of civilized life would be comparatively of little value. In specifying the agents employed in producing a favourable change in the moral and intellectual habits of the natives of Madagascar, during the fifteen years' existence of the mission, the invaluable labours of the female members of the mission must be allowed to hold an important place. To them very many of the females of Madagascar are deeply indebted, not merely for useful instruction in various branches of needle-work, &c, as adapted to their social condition, but much more for conversation and example, for direct religious instruction, and all the untold benevolent efforts by which devoted Christian females would seek to win 80 CHOICE OF A WIFE. — CHANGES. their own sex to a participation of the pure and exalted blessings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Whatever Protestant missions may be supposed to lose, in the portion of time and care bestowed by mar- ried men on domestic duties, as compared with Catholic missionaries, freed from the burden, the former are amply indemnified by the direct amount of good ef- fected, in many instances, by the wives and families of their missionaries, to say nothing of their preservation from those evils which have so often been associated with the unnatural condition of those who " forbid to marry/' and insist on the celibacy of their clergy, as though a step in violation of the order of Providence, and the design of the Creator, could ever be in harmony with the genius of Christianity. Candour, however, requires the confession, though certainly not intended to apply to Madagascar, that perhaps sufficient care has not been always taken by missionaries or their friends in the selection of those intended to be their companions in labour and in tribu- lation. They ought not only to be pious and well- informed, and imbued with the missionary spirit, but to possess a faculty for acquiring languages, and a tact for usefulness. Almost as much care should be taken in ascertaining these points in a missionary's wife, or a candidate for that honour, as in a missionary himself. All her future usefulness depends on these things, and with that is identified her own and her husband's hap- piness. It may be difficult for committees or directors to interfere in so delicate an affair, since the parties are usually too far committed to one another before any CHANGES IN THE COUNTRY. 82 interference could take place ; but the utmost caution should be urged on missionary candidates, being still single men, and before they venture on steps from which, of course, when once taken, they dare not withdraw. But to return from this digression. It is manifest that numerous causes were operating to produce an extensive change in the minds, manners, habits, and institutions of the people. In that change the members of the Mada- gascar government did not sympathise. So far from regarding it with a friendly eye, it was received from the beginning with jealousy and fear. They could not tell whereunto it might grow. The change itself became obvious to the most superficial observer. The fact of a change taking place created no surprise in the minds of the members of the mission, though its rapidity and extent did, considering the paucity of the means at their command. They saw, however, in this, a demonstration of the efficiency of those means when allowed fair play, — neither forced into unnatural exertion by visionary or despotic measures, nor impeded by brute force, such as that which was soon employed by the government to counteract the new order of tilings. The revolution taking place in the religious sentiments and moral habits of so many of the people, under the influence of a mere handful of European teachers, alarmed the rulers, who neither anticipated such a result, nor possessed the re- quisite mental or moral capacity to manage it ; and so, fearing its progress, they determined to crush it. The meaning of the queen's laws, edicts, and messages on the subject is simply this, " I am determined that the an- E 5 82 ENERGIES AWAKENED. cient and established customs and habits of the country shall remain unaltered. Arts and manufactures, if under the exclusive surveillance of my own government, and strictly limited to my advantage, I shall not object to. The inculcation of obedience to the laws I approve of. But to relinquish divination and idolatry is an offence which I will punish with death. The arts of civilized life may come to my country, but the people are not to cultivate them for themselves. I will direct who shall be taught ; none else are permitted to learn ; and the abilities which they then acquire are to be wholly employed in the service of the government/' On this narrow and mistaken policy there is too much reason to fear that Radama himself acted, though less ostensibly and avowedly than the present queen. All his measures were but too really subservient to his own personal aggrandisement and splendour ; and in accom- plishing this object, though on a very limited scale, he de- luded both himself and his people. Selfishness, however, cannot easily accomplish all its schemes. Providence has wisely ordained that our boldest efforts to aggrandise ourselves at the expense of others, shall set various agencies in motion that shall modify or counteract our selfish schemes. Lawless ambition may seem to prosper for a time, but its very prosperity is creating antagonist powers in some quarter that will check its career, and introduce a better order of things. Thus God makes the wrath and the folly of men to praise him, and re- strains the remainder. In Madagascar, the ambition of Radama and the selfishness of Ranavalona, have already introduced measures and created energies that must CAUSES OF CHANGES. 83 ultimately assist in promoting the civilization and well- being of the country. Mind has been awakened, and is struggling to be free. Knowledge has been introduced, and cannot be wholly again excluded. Light has been kindled, and cannot be extinguished. The seed of divine truth has been scattered, and it cannot utterly perish. Various causes had been silently at work in the country for many years, and were in operation at the period of the suppression of Christianity there, which had aided indirectly in producing those changes in the state of society already adverted to. Many of these still continue to operate, and cannot be arrested by any measures the queen may adopt. Among these causes may be noticed, first, the enlargement of the territories belenging to the tribes under Radama's immediate government. To maintain this extension of newly acquired country various military posts have been formed in different parts of the island ; new scenes have been visited ; new ener- gies created ; a new kind of life instituted ; new ranks and orders in society established ; and in a word, a new physical aspect given to the condition of society. Secondly. Rude and unwieldy masses have been brought under European discipline. A standing army of twenty or thirty thousand men have been instructed in European military tactics, with an active and enter- prising body of young officers, encouraged to associate with Europeans, so as to acquire all the varied informa- tion they could impart. Thirdly. An extensive intercourse has been held with foreigners, in different parts of the island, many of whom had resided sufficiently long among them to have 84 CAUSES OF CHANGES. become acquainted with their language, and therefore able to communicate intelligence to the native mind. Fourthly. The residence at the capital of mission- aries and their families, and of a British agent, during several years, and the frequent visits of merchants, traders, visitors, &c. could not exist without exercising much indirect influence on the state of society. Fifthly. The direct and indirect labours of the mis- sionaries as already specified, amidst schools, preaching, printing, and circulating books, constant conversation, visiting, travelling about from village to village, admi- nistering medicine, (though on a limited scale,) and the introduction of numerous useful arts by the missionary artisans, all helped to produce the result under review. And to these causes may be added the fact of natives visiting England for education, and then returning to their own country ; of several youths being apprenticed to different trades in Mauritius, and of others spending a few years on board British men of war, most of whom are now residing in Madagascar and diffusing intelli- gence among their countrymen. And these various circumstances, it must also be re- membered, were acting not upon a dull and sluggish, but on an enterprising, ambitious, and partially civilized people, prepared therefore to take advantage of such a fortunate concurrence of affairs, and to advance rapidly in the career of social improvement. Their natural habits of inquisitiveness and social intercourse, not to say lo- quacity and impertinent curiosity, were also favourable to the rapid development of the elements of social im- provement, when once imbibed. In such a state, each CAUSES OF CHANGES. 85 one is anxious to exhibit his superiority, and therefore communicates his newly acquired and often imperfectly formed ideas of others ; mind is thus exercised, invention is put to the stretch, and knowledge is augmented and extended. It is a deeply interesting crisis in the ad- vancement of society, when men begin to become con- scious of the superiority and dignity which knowledge bestows, and learn to look back on their own former state of credulity and ignorance with wonder and regret. Often with ardour and ingenuousness are the questions then reiterated, as if w T ith men just awakening from long slumber, " Where shall wisdom be found ? where is the place of understanding ? where are the materials for thinking ? all this is new to us, put us in the way to become wise." Such were the questions literally put again and again to the missionaries in Madagascar. It may be just added that Imerina, the principal sphere of the operations of the mission, presented from the state of its population, a highly favourable field for its exertions ; its population is dense as compared with many other parts of the island, though small as com- pared with its capabilities. Of its number of inhabit- ants some idea may be gathered from the fact that its largest kabarys or public assemblies may contain about eighty or a hundred thousand persons collected from those residing within a distance of about two or three days* journey from the capital. This presented a large body of people, therefore, of easy access, and all sta- tionary, residing in towns and villages, mostly within a few miles of the capital, while the capital itself might contain about twenty thousand of the number. 86 RESULTS. Various circumstances of encouragement and discou- ragement occurred in the history of the mission, which it has not been deemed necessary to specify. The brief sketch now presented is sufficient to prove that its la- bours were not without success ; and, were it even possible to entertain the fear that no future harvest would spring from the past culture of the soil, that which has been already reaped is more than sufficient to indemnify the cost. The Scriptures are in the lan- guage of the island — the standard of the cross has been unfurled — souls have been converted, idolatry and super- stition have received a wound, and there are not a few of the natives that believe in Jesus, and who, amidst much tribulation, are holding fast their integrity, and are pressing into the kingdom of God. queen's attachment to idolatry. 87 CHAPTER V. Unfavourable circumstances affecting the progress and prospects of the Mission, and indicating the spirit and intentions of the native government, prior to the Edict for the suppression of Christianity in February, 1835. The queen of Madagascar, although possessed of a mas- culine determination of mind, amounting often to an inflexible obstinacy, has never given any indication of superior intelligence. She is slightly acquainted with the elements of reading and writing, but never availed herself, even during Radama's life-time, of any means to become familiar with the instructions conveyed by the European teachers among the people. She was always known to be deeply attached to the superstitious customs of the country, and to have cherished a great veneration for the national idols, and their worship. Though rather intimate with the missionaries who first resided at the capital, and in the habit of visiting them and their families, she evinced no disposition to embrace the religion they taught. Her accession to the throne was carefully exhibited to the people as the act of the guardian idols. They, it was said, had placed her on the throne of her ancestors ; and of course, being taught this doctrine herself by interested parties, she came under obligations to sustain the authority of the idols, to pa- tronize their worship, and to encourage those who were regarded as the interpreters of the wishes of these divini- titt JEALOUSY OF PARTIES. ties. For the service rendered to her, the idol party naturally expected her countenance and support in re- turn. One of the hereditary guardians of the principal idol Ralielimalaza, at the time of her accession, was Rainiharo, and he was appointed, ostensibly by com- mand of the idol, to remain with the new sovereign, while his prepossessing mariners seem to have won for him a large share of her good graces. Two parties were thus soon formed at the court, consisting of Raini- haro and his friends, who were evidently anxious to maintain the system of idolatry, and Andriamihiaja and his friends, who sought to extend education, and to carry out and enlarge the measures commenced by Ra- dama. The jealous opposition of these parties lasted about two years, when the idolatrous or anti-liberal party prevailed. They proceeded at first with much caution and reserve, only giving signs of their determi- nation to oppose Christianity just in proportion to the gradual increase of their power and influence in the country. The fate of Andriamihiaja has been already described. It would be difficult to point out any one single act of the Christians which operated as the immediate cause of the fierce persecution which has been raised against them ; but the queen and her principal officers, it was soon found, were evidently unfavourable to this new religion, and therefore to the means of its extension in the country. The character of the native mind, as indeed of the human mind at large, was opposed to the purity of the doctrines and precepts of Christianity ; while the national pride was mortified, and an extreme jealousy of foreigners awakened, on finding mere strangers changing the esta- JEALOUSY OP FOREIGNERS. 89 blislied customs and usages of the country. As a despotic government, the authorities of Madagascar have always been opposed to any bond of union subsist- ing among the people : and the idolatrous party then in power took advantage of the friendship which sub- sisted between the native Christians and the mission- aries, to prejudice the mind of the queen against Chris- tianity, by representing its teachers as having some political designs ; and hence, even the mildness of dispo- sition, which they exhibited towards those placed under their instruction, and especially their liberality in sup- plying them with books, medicines, &c. gratuitously, were appealed to by their opponents, as proofs that they must have some sinister end in view. One of the first direct indications of opposition to the mission, and its objects, consisted in the order abruptly sent to the Rev. D. Griffiths to leave the country, on the alleged ground of the expiration of the period allowed him by Radama for remaining in Madagascar.* The government desired him to leave immediately, and promised him a letter of commendation to the Eng- lish government as a testimonial of the valuable services he had rendered to the country. On his requesting permission to remain, five months were allowed him to prepare his packages, and subsequently, though with * Radama's jealousy of foreigners, and some practical difficulties which he had met with, in regard to their claim of exemption from the native laws, ordeals, &c, led him to fix a period beyond which no foreigners should remain in the country without becoming bifi subjects, though under certain exceptions in their favour. The same circumstances led him to forbid foreigners acquiring any per- manent right in the soil. 90 PROHIBITIONS. much difficulty, he obtained permission to remain a year longer ; and afterwards, by dint of persevering effort, to remain for an indefinite period, with the understand- ing that he was to leave whenever the queen desired it. Soon after this, the Rev. T. Atkinson received explicit orders to leave, though he had not yet been a year in Madagascar; and then one of the artisans, Mr. Canham, whose term had about expired. In the latter end of the year 1831, the permission which had been granted about six months previously for the administration of baptism and the Lord's supper was recalled. Those connected with the army were the first prohibited from receiving either ordinance, and in a few weeks, public instructions were sent to the mission- aries not to administer them to any of the natives, and to the latter, not on any account to receive them. In the latter end of the next year, the slaves were strictly prohibited from learning to read and write. The prohibition, it is thought, arose not merely from a determination to keep the slave population, if possible, in their inferior state, but from the fact, that many free people were in the habit of purchasing slave children, to place them in the schools instead of their own. Certain towns and villages were required by law to provide a given number of children for the schools, as a part of their service, due to government ; and the parents, to avoid placing, their children where they might so soon be drawn off to the army and perish, were attempting to evade the law, by placing slam children in the schools, which would have enabled them to return the numbers required, without risking the welfare of their own families. NEW SECT. 91 A deeply interesting event occurred in the autumn of the year 1834, which, it is believed, had considerable influence in rousing the jealousy of the government, and creating in some of its myrmidons a restless desire to get the property of all the Christians confiscated, with the hope of obtaining a share of it. The circum- stance attracted much attention, both among Europeans and natives, and may be related as follows : — Rainitsiandavaka was a man in the middle age of life, and the keeper of an idol belonging to the govern- ment, called Izanaharitsimandry, meaning " the god not taking rest." He was extremely industrious in his usual agricultural occupations, had acquired some pro- perty, and was living in comfort. In the year 1832, he had experienced a succession of calamities ; his wife died, in a few months afterwards his child died, and soon after that several of his slaves ran away, and others died. These things preyed on his mind, and he became somewhat melancholy. In the following year he went a few miles from home, to unite with some members of his family, on an occasion of public rejoicing in the village where they resided. That occasion had brought also to the village Raintsiheva, an eminent native Christian, who had adopted the name of Paul. The party were to remain in the village through the night. Paul, disliking to be near the house where the music and dancing were to be kept up, went to lodge at the other extremity of the village. Rainitsiandavaka intimated his wisli to accompany him, and it was agreed they should pas- their time together. Paul, in accordance with his usual custom, introduced the subject of religion, and 92 ZEAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE. they conversed on religions subjects through the night. The conversation produced a deep impression on Rainit- siandavaka, and next day, when the former was return- ing to the capital, the latter followed him, remained with him several days, and then, for the first time, at- tended the preaching of the gospel at one of the mis- sion chapels. He and Paul called on one of the mis- sionaries, and entered into conversation with him. The new visitor appeared full of his subject, and returned home on the morrow. Without seeking further know- ledge from his teachers, he began to talk to the people in his village and neighbourhood, of the day of judg- ment, of the resurrection of the dead, and of the happy time when all men would be so far influenced by the religion of the Bible, as to live in peace with one another. His friends and neighbours laughed at him, and concluded he was deranged. He left his work, and went about among his friends and neighbours, conversing on these new themes. He was not able to make any impression on their minds for some months, but still persevered. He again visited Paul at the capital, who very properly urged him strongly to learn to read the scriptures, and to seek more knowledge, before he at- tempted to teach others. He did not seem pleased with the advice ; urged that, if he could not read, the people who were also ignorant of the art of reading, would more easily be induced to believe what he said. " Let the youths in the schools, and the Europeans," said he, " teach those who can read, and let us who cannot read, teach the people that cannot. " Paul reminded him of the great danger of his teaching what was not taught in ACTIVITY. 93 the word of God, unless he learnt to read it for himself. He replied that God was teaching him what to tell the people, independently of what was revealed in the Bible ; that God revealed his will to him by dreams, and told him by inward suggestions, what to say, and had commanded him to deliver the message to the people, under threats of heavy judgment if he neglected it. Paul again urged that God had revealed in his word all he intended to make known ; that by reading and searching the scriptures we might become ac- quainted with the will of God, but that if we neglected the means which God had appointed for our instruction we could not expect to know the things which belonged to our eternal peace. His friend warned him also of the danger of being led into serious errors by some strange delusion. Finding he could not prevail on him to seek increased knowledge of the plan of salvation, he left him, and did not freely associate with him after- wards. Rainitsiandavaka returned home, and spent his time and property in going about conversing with the people. He travelled from village to village, and visited from house to house, conversing with every one he met with, young or old, rich or poor. The points of his conversation were principally the day of judg- ment, the resurrection of the dead, the time when universal peace would be established on earth, the origin of mankind, and the descent of all from Adam and Eve. He taught that we should do to others as we would they should do to us. His moral conduct was upright and unblameable. Some of his slaves went to him one day, and said, You say we should do 94 FATAL COMPROMISE. to others as we would have others do to us ; we are sure, if you were our slave, you would wish us to set you free ; we are your slaves, and we wish you to set us free. He said that was perfectly just, and he would do so ; only as they had not been long in his service, it would be fair for them to pay him a part of their re- demption price, when able to do so ; this was agreed on, and they were all set free. In the course of about two years not less than 200 persons had joined him. For some months, however, he had now blended with the worship of God that of the idol Izanaharitsimandry, thoug hmaintaining that the idol was nothing more than a Kiady* This wretched attempt to amalgamate the worship of God and that of the idol, he probably made under the hope of conciliating the queen and her govern- ment, who being so devotedly attached to idolatry, might, he thought, be more disposed to listen to the message he had to convey, if they found the idols were not wholly discarded. By that means, he expected to augment the number of his converts among the people. Thus it seems that a sect embracing serious and fatal errors was springing up, even in this comparatively early stage of the mission, bearing considerable analogy, in spirit and principle, to some of the early sects that corrupted and divided the Christian church. The danger of these departures from the simplicity of the gospel has its roots so deeply laid in human nature, that every * i. e., a means of keeping off intruders, and intimating that the place is sacred, or that something sacred is heing performed there. It is often placed against houses and villages where there are sick persons, or where the tangena is being administered. VISIT TO THE CAPITAL. 95 Christian missionary needs to exercise the utmost Vigi- lance over his converts, and especially over his native assistants of a sanguine temperament, lest his fairest labours should be marred, and error, insidiously creep- ing in, under false and plausible disguises, lay truth prostrate in the dust. Rainitsiandavaka always maintained that, though he had received his revelation by some immediate commu- nication from heaven, yet that Ms instructions and those of the European teachers were substantially the same. In the autumn of 1834, he sent to the queen to inti- mate that he had an important message to convey to her. He had attempted this some months previously, but she had refused to attend to it. The message was now de- livered to Rainiharo, the principal officer, and he was told at the same time that the followers of Rainitsian- davaka had become very numerous. This aroused the jealousy of the government, and the whole party was summoned to the capital, to state what they had to say. They were delighted to hear this, and thought the queen herself would now become one of them. They took with them the idol Izanaharitsimandry. The queen sent messengers to meet them on the road, to say that if the message they had come to deliver were not true, they should return home at once, and abandon the notions they had entertained ; but if true, to come forward and to deliver it. They affirmed it was true, and accordingly continued their journey, amounting to nearly 200 per- sons. The judges and officers went to them in the course of the evening, and asked them their message. They said, they had a message from Andriamanitra Andriana- 96 ONE BLOOD. — CRUEL DEATH. nahary (the nearest expression in the language for the supreme God) ; that the queen Ranavalona would be sovereign of all the world ; that the dead would rise, and the living never die ; that all would then live peaceably and happily, for there would be an end put to the ordeal of tangena, the sikidy or divination, murder, wars, and contentions. u We offer," said they, "to forfeit our heads if what we say is false ; God has told us these things, and God cannot lie." The conversations and examinations continued for two or three days. Many questions were put to them by the judges and officers. One inquiry craftily put was this : " You say that all mankind have descended from the same parents, do you mean to affirm that we and the Mozambiques* (forbid that we should ever pollute the name of the queen by mentioning it at the same moment with the Mozambiques !) are from the same parents ? " The party unhesitatingly replied that the queen and all the human race descended from the same parents. This affront to the vanity of the Hovas gave great offence, and helped to seal the doom of Rainitsiandavaka and his followers. Most of the 200 remained firm to their cause to the very last; some, however, withdrew when they saw the affair becoming serious, and likely to affect life and pro- perty ; but even these were not allowed to return home. About midnight, after the conversation referred to, the queen sent to put Rainitsiandavaka and three of his principal followers to death : a piece of cloth was tied * Whom the Malagasy hold in great contempt, though glad to employ them as slaves. THE SECT CRUSHED. 97 over their months to prevent their speaking, from an apprehension that, as they continued so firm and steadfast in their doctrines, they might utter some expressions in- jurious to the government, and threaten some calamity on the kingdom for shedding innocent blood, which might alarm the people. They were then lead to the north end of the town, and cruelly destroyed by being placed, head downward, in a rice-pit, boiling water being poured on them. The earth was then thrown in upon them, and the pit filled up. Their bodies remain there to this time. Many of the people went the next day to the spot, to see, whether, according to the doctrine of the resurrec- tion they had taught, any of them would rise from the dead. Seventy of the party were compelled to take the tan- gena, and eighteen of that number died and were dragged along the road like pieces of timber, so that the very stones were stained with their blood, and the stains con- tinued visible for several weeks till the heavy rains ulti- mately washed them off. Some of those who were tried by the ordeal, and perished, had refused to drink the warm water which forms part of the process, saying that they would rather die than live, since the government had treated their friends in the manner they had done. All the rest were sold into slavery, and their property confiscated. The affair yielded a profit of several thou- sand dollars to the queen, officers, and judges, and in- creased the desire to obtain more. The sect was thus entirely crushed, but the transaction tended to bring Christianity and its followers under greater suspicion. i 98 EARLY CONVERTS. It would be easy to recapitulate numerous events that occurred about this time, all tending to produce the measures so soon afterwards adopted by the queens government, in order to suppress Christianity. It may be sufficient to insert here a few only of these, as illus- trating the state of feeling and the habits of the coun- try. Erroneous impressions were created in the minds of some of the officers and the senior people, by the some- what indiscreet zeal and injudicious addresses, occasion- ally made by the too partially informed converts. Some who were merely convinced of the folly of idolatry, and scarcely competent to expound the first elements of Christianity, took upon themselves to become teachers of others. It is natural under such circumstances that there should be distorted and exaggerated representa- tions, creating unnecessary offence and unjust prejudice. All such cases require the utmost prudence on the part of the missionaries ; to repress early zeal, is repugnant to the temper of that very religion which inspires it, and would deprive the mission of its most valuable re- source in native agency ; but to employ the latter with- out great care, examination of character and persevering instruction, is to foster pride in the native mind, to dis- gust the more intelligent portion of the community, and to endanger the success of the mission itself. Statements advanced by native converts in their ad- dresses were often misunderstood, and misrepresented, by their hearers, and this aggravated the evil that was work- ing. In the beginning of 1835, a native was addressing a small congregation at the capital, and was overheard to ANDRIANTSOA. INCORRECT REPRESENTATION. 99 say, that ere long God would punish all the workers of iniquity, and reward who had loved and served him. The expressions were reported to another, who, disliking the doctrine of future punishment, went and told one of the principal officers, by whom it was related to the queen. She desired spies might be sent next time to bring a fuller report. The next discourse was on the resurrection. " All must rise," said he, u God alone will be Judge. Every one in this country will be raised and judged then." It was reported to the queen that the preacher had said, the inhabitants of her country alone would be judged by God in that day. " It is false/' said the queen : " other sovereigns are allowed to judge their people as they please, and am I alone to be pro- hibited ? If so, God is indeed partial. Besides, how should they know that God will raise the dead ? Who- ever pretends to know that, can see the moon even be- fore cattle can (implying sorcery). I myself have never known such things as these," said the queen, " and if they were true, I must have known them." About this time offence was also created by another circumstance not intended to produce any such results. A young man named Andriantsoa, was residing at the capital, whither he had removed from his native village, where he still possessed a piece of rice-ground. He had long attended the preaching of the Gospel, and gave evi- dence of his having become a true disciple. He evinced a great desire to introduce the Gospel to his native village, and obtained a house for that purpose. In the same village was a renowned idol, called Ratsisimba (Incor- ruptible). The keepers were indignant with the young f 2 100 NO WORK ON SATURDAY. man for having spoken disrespectfully of their idol, and had had many warm disputes with him on the subject of idolatry. Saturday* was sacred to this idol. Andri- antosa wishing to be at the village on a Sabbath, to con- duct service there, went on the Saturday morning, with the intention of planting his rice-ground. On reaching it, and commencing work, the villagers desired him to desist ; it being their sacred day. He did not hear them, and so continued working. A person was then sent down from the village, with express orders to him to desist. He replied that as he was not one of the worship- pers of the idol, nor even living among those who were, he thought that he was at liberty to work on Saturday, if he wished it, as well as on any other day; but at their desire would cease, and he desisted accordingly. He was prohibited from returning to the village by the direct path, and compelled to take a circuitous road, so as not to tread on any rice-ground ; it being one of the " fady," or sacred observances of the idol, " not to tread on any rice-ground on a Saturday!' On reaching his house in the village he felt vexed at the treatment which he had received, and spoke in not very courteous terms of the idol to a friend. "lain surprised," said he, " at the stupidity of these people placing their confidence in a mere piece of wood, which were I to smear with any- thing, however offensive, could do me no harm." A female slave overheard it, and told it to some of the people, who were incensed at the expression, and determined to have him punished for his temerity. They consulted for * Some one day in the week is usually kept sacred to every prin- cipal idol in Madagascar. ACCUSATION. 101 some weeks, and at length met with Razakandrianaina, originally from the same village. On appealing to the idol, as to what should he done with the young man, it directed that he should he killed and cut in pieces, otherwise the rice-harvest that year would perish. Ahah like, the officer readily entered into the scheme to get rid of the young man, as he was anxious to obtain possession of a piece of land, which the latter was un- willing to part with, but which he hoped to secure, if the property of its present owner were confiscated. This officer had, moreover, no less than six wives, three of whom were own sisters ; and as the young man lived near his house, he prevailed on one of them to learn to read and to attend the preaching of the Gospel, which gave great offence, and for which the wife was immediately divorced. Razakandrianaina willingly car- ried the accusations of the villagers against Andriantsoa to the judges ; stating that he was changing the reli- gious customs of the country ; that he paid no regard to the idol, nor observed its fady ; that he conducted himself differently to other people ; would not swear, nor follow the licentious habits of the people ; that he would not work on the Sabbath, nor mention the name of the idol in his prayers, although he prayed four or five times a day ; and that he was collecting the people to pray after dark ; and, in a word, that owin;_ r to the disrespect he had shown to the idol, it had he- come incensed against the people, and was destroying their rice with hailstones. The chief judge listened gravely to the accusation, and replied, he did not much to condemn in the voting man, for there was no t proof that he had intentionally violated the pro- 102 TANGENA. hibitions of the idol, or that he had collected the people under any evil design, of exciting to rebellion ; and that as to praying, it was a good thing in itself, and it might be well if all prayed rather more than they did. " However," said he, " as you desire me, I shall convey the message to the queen." The message was accord- ingly sent to Her Majesty, and the case represented in the most unfavourable light : it was added that the idol had declared, unless the young man who had given the offence were put to death, the rice-harvest should be destroyed by insects. It was fully expected the young man would have fallen a victim. The queen, however, did not think proper to accede to their wishes, but directed the ordeal of tangena to be administered, to ascertain whether the party accused possessed any sorcery. The ordeal was given him at a moment's no- tice. The missionaries and the native converts were anxious as to the results, and most of them contributed something on the occasion, either in money or service. To the great mortification of his accusers, he was in a very short time pronounced innocent of the charge. Soon afterwards, having retired for a few days to a pri- vate village, in accordance with the usual customs of the country, he came up to town in a public procession, which was much more numerous than on ordinary occasions. The native Christians were so overjoyed at the result, that a large number of them, perhaps somewhat imprudently under the existing state of excitement, joined in the procession, dressed in their white lambas, or robes. The queen and some of her officers happened to see the procession from a distance, and looked on with astonishment, She inquired what queen's surprise. 103 crowd it was in sight, wearing white lambas. They told her it was the procession of Andriantsoa, coming up to town ; and that those who were wearing white dresses were native Christians. " You would be sur- prised," they added, " at the love of those people one for another; when any one of them happens to be in distress they all feel distress, and when any one is happy, they are all happy ; when any are poor and des- titute, they form a society'" to assist them." " I am in- deed surprised," said the queen, " to see such things in my country. Was it not I that ordered him to take the ordeal, and why do they now make such an exhibi- tion, as if they had overcome an enemy? All thifi fe intended for me, I suppose." These circumstances, it would appear, created so much prejudice in her mind, as to prepare her to enter- tain any further charges that might be brought against the Christians. Razakandrianaina, the officer who had taken the accusation to the judges in the first instance, was also looking at the procession from his own house, and felt greatly mortified to see so much respect paid to the young man; and having heard, in the course of the evening, that the procession had displeased the queen, he formed his resolution to brino- an accusation against the whole body of the Christians ; and was the more encouraged in this, by ascertaining that the queen and * 3Ieaning, they collect money of one another to afford relier. and to aid in defraying the expenses of funerals, &c. This seems to have been the meaning which the Government always attached to the word satiety, and which has given rise to so much jealous and mistaken apprehension. 104 JEHOVAH OR IDOLS. her favourite officers had entertained an utter antipathy to everything about Christianity. He knew that Rat- simanisa had sent some persons to listen to the preach- ing of the natives, and that what had been reported had given offence. He himself went one evening to listen. A Christian slave happened to be addressing the con- gregation from Joshua xxiv. 14, 15 : " Now, therefore, fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth ; and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt ; and serve ye the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose ye this day whom you will serve ; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell ; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The preacher urged his hearers to leave off idolatry and forsake the gods which their fa- thers had served, and to serve Jehovah and Jesus Christ. The officer returned home, and thought he had now obtained sufficient materials on which to form his accu- sation. " Jehovah," said he, whether ignorantly or intentionally is scarcely known — " Jehovah was the first king of the English ; Jesus Christ the second ; and the Andriarnanitra (gods) whom their ancestors had served on the other side of the flood, means the queen and her predecessors." Hence the slave was re- presented as raising assemblies in the night, making kabarys (speeches) to the people, that no one replied to, and all this to urge the people of Madagascar to serve the English, and renounce their allegiance to the queen. He then went to the judge who had taken his former accusation against Andriantsoa to the queen, but pro- GRAVE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST THE CHRISTIANS. 105 duced little effect on him. He next proceeded to the chief officer and told him all his grievances, and, to give his narrative a dramatic effect, wept abundantly, (for neither crocodiles nor crocodiles' tears are unknown in Madagascar) ; " Destroy me at once," said he, " unless you will carry my message to the queen ; I would ra- ther perish than see the kingdom transferred to the hands of foreigners : for that I foresee will be the end of it, if this Christianity is to be allowed." The officer advised him to carry his accusation to Ratsimanisa the next evening. He went, taking with him six other persons, including some of the keepers of the idol Rakelimalaza, and Raolombelona (a native youth educated in England, and baptized at Manches- ter). " You," said Razakandrianaina, addressing Rat- simanisa, " you are the representative of the queen : if permission may be granted to speak, without loss of liberty or life, we will tell the queen something that may be of service to the kingdom ; if the queen approves of it, she can accept it ; if not, let it be rejected ; but let not those who declare it be in danger." Ratsima- nisa conveyed the message to the queen, and imme- diately returned with her answer, encouraging him and his party to speak freely whatever they had to tell, as- suring them she was willing to adopt their suggestions if she approved of them. " There are, then," said the accuser, "in and around the capital certain people changing the customs of the twelve sovereigns of An- drianimpoinimerina, of Lehidama, and that of Ranava- lomanjaka. They despise the idols of the queen and the Sikidy, (or divination,) and all the customs of their forefathers ; they treat them as nothing, and consider v 5 106 queen's tears. themselves as under no obligation to honour and wor- ship them, though these alone obtained the kingdom for the queen and her ancestors. They enter into a league with the English that are residing here; they despise the graves of the Vazimba, though they, perhaps, contain the ashes of the ancestors of the queen. They also hold assemblies in the night # rather than in the day, and deliver speeches (i. 0., they preach) in these meetings that no one replies to, and they do these things without permission from the queen. Moreover, in these meetings they urge all present to serve Jehovah and Jesus Christ. Our ancestors never heard of these per- sons, nor have we till now ; nor do we know even now who they are. It is said, that Jehovah was the first king of the English, and that Jesus Christ was the second. Besides all this, these meetings are carried on by slaves. We cannot see the end of these things : the queen only knows : and she knows what is best to be done : but we fear that these people, who have become so friendly with the English, will attempt to transfer the kingdom of the queen to them." All this was well calculated to work on the fears of the jealous, ignorant, and super- stitious ; and it produced its effects. Ratsimanisa af- forded the accusers all the encouragement he could, and promised to be one with them in the accusation, and that he would lay it thoroughly before the queen. Next day it was laid before her ; and, having listened to the whole account, she burst into tears and cried a * This, though often charged against them, was utterly false. The meetings were held in the evening, when the people had finished their work, and usually closed bv eight, or at latest by nine o'clock. queen's taunts and threats. 107 long time. She then swore, in the name of Andrian- impoina, that she would put a stop to these things, and that with the shedding of blood. Soon afterwards, the judges received orders to summon all the people, even to a child of a cubit high, to a kabary, to be held at the capital, on Sunday, the 1st of March ; and during the interval many reports as to the probable results got into circulation, and many fears were entertained of violent measures being resorted to. On the previous Sunday the queen had ordered that all the " mpanjaitra," which signifies " sewing- wo- mem"* and who had formerly belonged to the mission schools, should assemble within the court-yard, to sew. She knew that most of them were in the habit of ob- serving that day by attending on public worship. Passing them in the court-yard, she looked at them, and said with a very contemptuous sneer, hardly be- fitting royalty, " You had better go and ask permission of the Europeans to allow you to come and sew for me on the Alahady, (or Sabbath ! ) You observe the day like the English ; 2" do not ; you had then better go and ask their permission." On the evening of the same day, she was returning home from the amusement of bull-shooting, and on passing Mr. Griffith's chapel, overheard the singing, and observed to those with her, " These people will not leave off until some of their heads are taken from their shoulders." The chapel at Ambatonakanga was crowded on that Sabbath. One of the old judges had a daughter in the habit of attending, and he had Warned her in the morn- * The female members of the mission had taught many native girls and young women the use of the needle. 108 RAINING! ABE. ing not to attend any place of worship that day ; after he had gone out, she however went to Ambatonakanga^ and on his return, not finding her in the house, he pro- ceeded at once to the chapel, and looked in at every door and window for his daughter, but did not find her. He returned and expressed much surprise at finding so large a congregation, but remarked to some of his attendants, " You will never see such a congre- gation assembling for worship in that place again ; for the queen does not approve of it." This circumstance greatly increased the suspicions of the Christians, as they knew the old judge was likely to be acquainted with the mind of the queen on the subject. Preparations were now made through the week for the great kabary. On Tuesday a private order was given to w T rite down a list of the houses where social prayer-meetings had been held, and the names of all the persons baptized. These were given in to the queen next day, and the five chief officers were ordered to meet in the court-yard. One of them was unwell, and four only met. The names of the baptized, and the list of the houses where prayer-meetings had been held, were read to the queen. She was astonished at their num- ber, and swore, in the name of Andrianimpoina, that she would put to death the owners of the houses. She appeared now extremely violent against the Christians. There were several officers about her, but no one dared to speak. At length Rainingitabe rose ; and, having made a long apology for presuming to speak, added that from the earliest times servants had had the privi- lege of telling their thoughts to their masters. " But should you, to whom I belong," said he, " think fit to APOLOGY FOR CHRISTIANS BY A PAGAN. 109 cut me off and destroy me, I still cannot refrain from saying freely what are my thoughts on this subject. Far be it from us to defend even our wives or children, our fathers or mothers, our brothers or sisters, our rela- tions or friends, from being punished according to your will, when guilty of transgressing the law. We should most willingly deliver them up that the law may take its course, and especially those who conspire against the sovereign. Take confidence, Madam ; we are here, and ready to put to death all who seek to do evil in your country and would overturn your government. Still I would entreat you to consider well what you propose to do with these people, who have learned the taratasy* and to pray. There are some of them daily about me, and I have had an opportunity for years past of observ- ing their dispositions and their conduct ; and I can as- sure you I have not seen any, whether among the sol- diers or among the bourgeois, more upright, diligent, faithful, and trustworthy than those who have learnt the taratasy and attended the prayer-meetings. If I tell them to go anywhere on business, whether by day or night, they go ; whatever I desire them to do, they do it, and scarcely ever have I cause to be angry with any of them. Besides this they certainly possess more intelli- gence and knowledge than most others in the country. Your predecessors, Madam, put a great value on wise, faithful, and intelligent subjects. (Here he mentioned the names of several intelligent persons in the time of Andrianimpoina and Radania, who died, and whose death had caused such grief to those sovereigns, that they had * A general term for paper, books, instruction from books, read- ing, &c. 110 EFFECT OF THE APOLOGY. said they would rather have lost ten thousand of their subjects, than such wise men.) Should you put to death any of these intelligent young people, who have been for years receiving instruction from the Europeans, I fear, Madam, you will be the loser, and be sorry for it. When once they are killed, you cannot purchase back their lives with money. These are my thoughts, Madam, and I cannot but tell them, whatever may be the consequence." After he had resumed his seat, a long silence ensued. At last the queen said, " I thank you for your advice : I have indeed a father and a mo- ther in you : you do not conceal from me what you think will be of service to the kingdom. We shall con- sider well what to do with them." Andrianisa then rose up, and after the usual apologies, said he very highly approved of the advice just given, and added that almost all the new things that had been lately in- troduced into the country for the good of the kingdom, had been introduced by the English ; such as European discipline in the army, the manufactures of gunpowder,* soap-making, leather-making, improvements in the work of carpenters, blacksmiths, &c. &c, and that if any of the natives who had been placed under the instruc- tions of the Europeans should be put to death for adopt- ing their customs, their teachers would be deeply grieved, and it would become an occasion of reproach to the queen s country. * This was not quite correct. The art of making powder had been long known in Madagascar. Improvements were introduced by Verkey, a native of the country sent to England by Radama, and placed by the British Government at the Powder Mills, Wal- tham Abbey, for that purpose. EDICT TO THE EUROPEANS. Ill The other officers present, whatever might be their real sentiments, seemed to approve of what had been said, and indeed could scarcely do otherwise, at the time, as the queen herself appeared inclined to listen to the suggestions. The queen had also summoned some of the head people from the other districts to attend at the capital, especially those from Avaradrano ; among these were Ramantavary and Rainilehimanga. These were not al- lowed to enter the court-yard ; but w T ere informed on their arrival that the queen was desirous of having their opinion as to the putting to death one or two of the most active among the Christians in each district. They had no hesitation in expressing their disapproval of such a measure. As so many persons of influence had now spoken in favour of the Christians, the queen it appears was some- what shaken in her determination of putting some of them to death. On the Thursday morning a letter to the Europeans, forbidding their teaching Christianity, was drawn up, and they were summoned to receive a message from the queen, at four o'clock that afternoon. A few hours before the letter was sent, other officers were summoned to the court-yard to hear it read ; and though there were many among them that could not approve of it, no one ventured to reply against it ; they saw the measure was fully decided on. At four o'clock that afternoon the usual public service was held at the chapel at Ambatonakanga, and one of the natives was requested to conduct the meeting, and to deliver an address. The chapel was quite full, and the address was excellent, founded on the very appro- 112 EDICT. priate text, " Save, Lord, we perish." It was the last public address ever delivered there. The officers then came to the residence of Mr. Griffiths, where the Europeans had met by appointment, to receive the queens message. Ratsimanisa, the most inveterate enemy to Christianity, was at their head. His appearance indicated great ex- citement and determined enmity, as if actuated by some malignant power. There being no room for the whole party in the house, they entered the chapel ; and after the usual forms of salutation, Ratsimanisa said, there was a letter from the queen to the Europeans, adding, " most of you understand the Malagasy language ; if there are any here who do not, the others can translate it for them." The following letter was then read : — u To all the Europeans, English and French. te Antananarivo, 26th February, 1835. " I inform you, my friends and relations, with regard to the disposition you have manifested towards my country, in teaching the good ^disposition and knowledge, I thank you for that ; it is highly acceptable to me, for I have observed the disposition mani- fested by you to Radama, and also to me, that you have not changed. cf And I also inform all you Europeans, that whilst you reside here in my country, you may, among yourselves, observe all the customs (religious observances,) of your ancestors and your own customs ; and do not entertain any fears, for I do not change the customs of your ancestors, or your customs, for the disposition that you have manifested to my country is good : however, though I state that, if the law of my country be violated, the party is guilty, whoever he may be ; nor is that done in this country only, but throughout the world, wherever the law of the country is violated, the party is guilty. " And further, I tell you explicitly, that if these people of mine should change the custom of their ancestors, and that which has been transmitted from the ancient line of my predecessors, and from An- drianimpoinimerina and Radama, if they should change that, I ut- ANSWER TO THE EDICT. 113 terly detest it, (laviko izany,) for that which has been established by my ancestors, I cannot permit to be changed : I am neither ashamed nor afraid to maintain the customs of my ancestors ; but if there be good disposition and knowledge that may be beneficial to my coun- try, that I assent to, but still the customs of my ancestors I cannot allow to be relinquished. fci And hence, then, with regard to religious worship, whether on the Sunday or not, and the practice of baptism, and the existence of a society, (or societies,) those things cannot be done by my sub- jects, in mj country ; but with regard to yourselves, as Europeans, do that which accords with the customs of your ancestors and your own customs. But if there be knowledge of the arts and sciences, that will be beneficial to my subjects in the country, teach that, for it is good ; therefore I tell you of this, my friends and relations, that you may hear it. " Saith Ranavalomanjaka." After receiving the message of the queen contained in her letter, the Europeans retired from the chapel to their houses, followed by many of the native Christians overwhelmed with grief and terror. To the letter from the queen the following reply was sent two days afterwards : — " Antananarivo, 28th February, 1835. " To Ranavalomanjaka : " May you attain to old age, not suffering affliction. Madam, may you equal in length of days the human race. We have re- ceived your letter, brought to us by the officers of the palace, and we are happy to find that the disposition we have manifested in your country, and in teaching the good disposition and wisdom, has been acceptable to you. " Nevertheless, we are exceedingly grieved respecting your word, which says, religious worship is not to be performed by your sub- jects. For we know and are assured, that the word of God is bene- ficial to men, and the means of making them wise, whoever they may be, and that it renders illustrious and prosperous those king- doms which obey it. And this teaching of ours, the word of God, together with teaching the good disposition, and the arts and sciences, are the purposes for which we left our native country. J 14 REPLY TO THE ANSWER. " We, therefore, most humbly and earnestly entreat of your Ma- jesty, not to suppress our teaching the word of God, but that we may still have the means of teaching it together with the useful arts and sciences. " And with regard to your word, saying that we are not allowed to purchase land ; we have heard the message, and submit to it ; and we will not purchase land — for you, Madam, are the Sovereign of the Country. " May you attain to old age ; and we pray to God to bless you. May you live long, and may your kingdom prosper, say we Euro- peans. (Signed) "Johns, Freeman", Chick, Cameron, Kitching, Baker." In reply to the letter frem the missionaries the queen rejoined as follows : — " Tananarino, 2d March, 1835. " To Messrs. Johns, Freeman, Chick, Cameron, Kitching, Baker: " Health to you. I have heard the message in your letter, and I say to you, ' Did I not expressly tell you, that with regard to the customs of your ancestors, they are not changed, that is, among your- selves, not even while you are here in my country ? u ' And while you are here in my country, if the customs of your ancestors were changed, should you not be grieved ? u c And I tell you what I have already told you, that my people are not to do these things, for that which was done by my ancestors cannot be changed,' Ci Such is the message of the sovereign, which she has directed to be sent as an answer to the message in your letter. " Say Rainimaharo, \ 11 th honour, Officers of Rainiseheno, f the Palace." The language of this letter is sufficiently evasive, for the missionaries had not hinted at any change being made in their religious customs, nor did they attempt to force any changes on the people. But it was mani- festly useless to press any explanations on the attention of the government, as their decision was now delibe- rately taken, and authoritatively announced. EXCITEMENT. 115 As yet no restriction was placed on the distribution of religious books, and the hope was entertained that at least those which had been already distributed would be allowed to remain in the possession of those who had received them, and for the same reason they were still given to those who applied for them during the two days' interval between the letter of the queen and the kabary to the people ; and as all the scholars had come up to town to hear the kabary, there were most extensive applications for books and tracts. From that time most of the Christians withdrew, and hardly ven- tured to visit the missionaries, as it was found that Rajery, one of the most inveterate enemies among the judges, had sent some of his Dekana or aides-de-camp to watch near their houses, so as to see what natives came to them. It is probable that many were at this time employed as spies, and it seems that the Christians, being aware of it, were on their guard. It 'was now a time of great excitement among all parties, friends and foes, at the capital, and it was felt that the lapse of a few days would involve a most im- portant crisis in the history of the mission, and the moral state of Madagascar. The friends of the idolatrous party were on the alert, the entire civil power of the govern- ment was being arrayed in its defence, and the little flock of Christians were on the eve of becoming " like lambs in the midst of wolves." The members of the mission knew that the cause of Christ must ultimately triumph, but rejoiced even in this with trembling, knowing how fearful might be the struggle ere victory for truth was won. 116 KABAllY ASSEMBLED CHAPTER VI. Detailed account of the proceedings directly connected with the suppression of Christianity in Madagascar. Having in the last chapter explained some of the causes and circumstances which led to the adoption of a series of vigorous measures for the suppression of Christianity in the island, it may be useful and instructive to notice in this chapter the measures themselves, as illustrative of the spirit and character of the government, and of the trials to which the native Christians were exposed. On Sunday, the 15th of February, all the " Heads of hundreds" were ordered to assemble in the spacious parade- ground at Tananarivo.* The judges met them there, and conveyed the queen s command, that they should forthwith summon all that were able to walk, men, women, children, and slaves, to attend a " kabary," t o be held that day fortnight, the 1st of March. None were to remain at home in Imerina, excepting one indi- vidual in each house, to take charge of the property. The soldiers were ordered to assemble on the 24th of February, invalids as well as those in health. On their arrival, the troops of each district had a spot assigned them for encampment ; their names were called over, and their numbers strictly examined. On the 26th and 27th, * It is called Imahamasina, and is situated on the western side of the hill, and is so extensive, that from 100,000 to 200,000 per- sons might be conveniently assembled there. AT IMAHAMASIXA. 117 the bourgeois from the distant villages began to assemble, and a large party of Vahiny, or strangers from the western coast of the country, who had come to take the oath of allegiance to the queen, and be received under her protection. On Saturday, orders were issued that all the different encampments of the troops should approach nearer to the spot where the great kabary was to be held, and that the strangers should hold themselves in readi- ness to attend the kabary on the following day. Strict orders were also issued that all the people should assem- ble at Imahamasina, on the parade-ground, early in the morning ; that all the soldiers not having military cloth- ing should assemble there at day-break, to form a line on each side of the road along which the strangers were to enter the ground. These lines extended nearly a mile. The soldiers who had military clothing were arranged on the parade. The judges proceeded in the morning to inquire of the strangers if they were prepared to take the oath of allegiance : and that business being termi- nated, the judges entered the parade, where they were met by the officers of the palace accompanied by a regi- ment of troops and the queen's band. The strangers arrived on the spot at the same time. The cannons were now kept firing along the brow of the hill that overlooks the parade, and the musketry of the lines of troops along which the strangers passed kept up an in- cessant fire at the same moment ; all intended to awaken alarm in the minds of the multitude, and to show the stern determination of the queen to carry her point by all the power she could command. The vast concourse of troops and people being now assembled and arranged, the officers who had commanded 118 MUSKETS AND POWDER. an expedition to the west, came forward, and, with the usual formalities, gave an account of their proceedings and success. The strangers who had accompanied them to the capital declared their fidelity, and presented the usual tokens of subjection. Again the drums beat, the music played, the cannon and musketry fired, the peo- ple shouted, a semi-barbarous dance was performed by a certain class of the troops, and graver affairs then commenced. The principal judge addressed the people in the name of the queen, to the effect that the kingdom of Ranava- lona was a kingdom continually advancing ; that in the time of Adrianimpoina and of Radama, they had pur- chased muskets at a very high price, paying for them as much as thirty Spanish dollars each ; that gunpowder also had been extremely dear, but now, says the queen, these articles are made in my country, and you shall see to what perfection they are brought. Several of the newly manufactured muskets were then fired off, (hap- pily, without bursting,) produced a tremendous noise, and greatly delighted the people who cared at all about the matter. One of the principal native gunsmiths, and one of the superintendents of the powder-mill, then made an oration in praise of their own ability, and assured the queen, through her officers, that they would faithfully retain and improve the knowledge of these arts, which they had received from the Europeans. The principal judge again commanded the attention of the assembly to the message they were now to hear, and for which they had been summoned, and all, whether soldiers, scholars in the schools, or bourgeois, were to ROYAL MESSAGE. 119 repeat the message in every direction, so as to make it universally known. The royal message was as follows : — 66 1 announce to you, O ye Ambaniandro, I am not a sovereign that deceives, nor are the servants deceived. I, therefore, announce to you what I purpose to do, and how I shall govern you. Who, then, is that man, a servant, too, that would change the customs o( our ancestors, and of the twelve sovereigns in this country ? To whom has the kingdom been left by inheritance, by Andrianim- poinimerina and Radama, but to me ? If, then, any would change the customs of our ancestors, and of the twelve sovereigns, I abhor that, saith Rabodo-nandrian-impoin-imerina. u Now, on the subject of reviling the idols, treating the divina- tion as a trifle, and throwing down the tombs of the Vazimba, I abhor that, saith Ranavalomanjaka. Do it not in my country. The idols (say you) are nothing. By them it is that the twelve sove- reigns have been established ; and now are they changed, and be- come nothing ? The divination, also, you treat in the same manner ; and the tombs of the Vazimba, too, though indeed, they are their own evidence. Even the sovereign counts them sacred ; and are the people to esteem them as nothing ? This is my affair, saith Ranavalomanjaka, and I hold him guilty, whoever in my country destroys them ^the tombs). u As to baptism, societies, places of worship distinct from the schools, and the observance of the sabbath — how many rulers are there in this land ? is it not I alone that rule ? These things are not to be done, they are unlawful in my country, saith Ranavalo- manjaka ; for they are not the customs of our ancestors, and I do not change their customs, excepting as to things alone which im- prove my country. "Now then, as to those who have observed baptism, entered into society, and formed separate houses for prayer, (or worship,) I grant you one month, saith Ranavalomanjaka, to confess (to make self-ac- cusation,) and if you come not within that period, but wait to be first found out, and accused by others, I denounce death against such ; for I am not a sovereign that deceives, and servants are not to be deceived. Mark then, the time, it is one month from yonder sun of this day that I give you to confess. The scholars at Ambo- dinandohalo, and those at Ambatonakanga, and not those oiilj 120 ROYAL MESSAGE. there are scholars in all these twelve principal towns, and the scholars that have not opened separate houses, but at the appointed schools alone have worshipped and learned, these are not condemned, and they are not to confess ; but those who have opened other houses, those are to accuse themselves. "And those who have been baptized, whether they have wor- shipped in other houses or not, these must also accuse themselves, and those also who have entered into society. ".And you, the bourgeois and soldiers, that have been attending the schools for worship, and especially such as have opened other houses for worship, and been baptized, and entered into society, and kept the sabbath — Come, and accuse yourselves on these accounts, for I, the sovereign, do not deceive ; but if any come first and accuse you, I denounce death against you, and I do not deceive, saith Ranavalomanjaka. "And I moreover announce this to you, saith Ranavalomanjaka, here are your slaves that you have been teaching to write, and who have gone to the separate houses of prayer, and others who have gone to the schools also, and especially that have been baptized ; all these must also come and accuse themselves. " I announce to you, scholars, my command ; so long as you are scholars, and remain under the instruction of the Europeans in their houses, observe the sabbath ; nevertheless, it is as to writing only, in which you are to observe it, but not in anything else whatever ; and further, from the moment that you go out of their houses, even on the sabbath, you are not to use or observe it, for I, the sovereign, do not observe it at all ; and it shall not be done in my country, saith Ranavalomanjaka. " And again, as to your mode of swearing, the answer you are giving, is '* True/ and when you are asked, 'Do you swear it V you reply, ' True.' I wonder at this. What, indeed, is that word < True ? ' " And then, in your worship, yours is not the custom of our an- cestors ; you change that, and you are saying, c Believe/ c Follow the customs ;' and again you say, c Submit to him,' ' Fear him/ ' Remember him/ and thus you change the customs of the ancestors, for you do not invoke all that is sacred in heaven and earth, and all that is sacred in the twelve sovereigns, and all that is sacred in the sacred idols. And is not this changing the customs of the ances- tors ? I detest that, and I tell you plainly, that such things shall not be done in my country, saith Ranavalomanjaka. " ADULATION AND SERVILITY. 121 Perhaps the officers in the queen's confidence thought that the judge who had just delivered this message had not given it all the weight and emphasis he might, in his manner of announcing it. Ratsimanisa, therefore, repeated the substance of it with all the eloquence and force he could command. In accordance with the usual custom, some of the head men of the districts then pro- ceeded to reply, or rather respond, to the sovereign's message. The head man from Ambohimalaza took pre- cedence in the expression of adulation and servility. " May you," said he, addressing his speech as to the queen, and as though she were present, " May you, Madam, attain to old age, not suffering affliction ; may you equal in length of days the human race. And first of all it is ours to express to you our thankfulness ; for that which you say and do is pleasing, acceptable, and sweet to us ; you are a sovereign not condemning too hastily, but first taking time to examine matters well. But we are astonished, Ranavalc- manjakc., to hear what you say. Who are these fellows that pre- sume to change the customs of our ancestors and of the twelve kings ? Let them be delivered up to us, and we shall put every one of them to death, if they change the customs of our ancestors, saying, c Fol- low its laws,' 4 Believe him,' ' Do not fight or be contentious/ ( Fear him,' or if they receive baptism and form societies. Take courage, Ranavalomanjaka, they shall not annoy you, we are ready to de- stroy them. And now you that are guilty of these things, see, the queen has given you one month to accuse yourselves; unless you do so within that time, it will appear that you prefer death to life, you will act as the moth that rushes wilfully into the fire, for you wil- fully resist the command of the queen." At the close of his address, two head men from Ava- radrano, viz. Ramantavary and Rainilahimanga, shrewd, intelligent, well-disposed men, possessing considerable influence, and one of them an intimate friend of the queen before her accession, addressed the assembly in c 122 people's apology. the following manner, after finishing the usual prefatory compliments : " First of all, we entreat of you, officers and judges, representa- tives here of the queen, to carry our message to the sovereign, and tell her what she says and does is pleasing, acceptable, and sweet to us, for she is, indeed, a sovereign that does not condemn the guilty too hastily ; she does not run to kill ; she does not hasten to shed blood; she announces beforehand what she is about to do, and causes her people to come and accuse themselves* of what they have done in her country contrary to her will. And with regard to your present message, Ranavalomanjaka, you say, c Come and ac- cuse yourselves, ye that have done these things.' Alas ! Ranavalo- manjaka — may you attain to old age not suffering affliction — to whom did Andrianimpoina and Radama leave the kingdom but to you alone ? Do not blame us when we tell you this, Ranavalo- manjaka. When the Europeans came to this country to teach wis- dom and knowledge to us, and when we first placed our children under their instructions to obtain wisdom and knowledge so to ad- vance the welfare of the kingdom, Radama then told the children, * You are now placed in the schools for the benefit of my kingdom ; and therefore, whatever these white people teach you, learn with all your might, and do whatever they tell you ; for this purpose you are placed under their instruction. Apply, therefore, to your learning most diligently : whatever your mind cannot comprehend, let your hands take hold of it, and whatever your hands cannot take hold of, let your minds receive ; this is the design for which you have been placed under their instructions; and whatever hardship you may experience in learning with them, bear all patiently, for we are people that seek wisdom and knowledge from them/ And now, Madam, may you attain to old age — we have learned wisdom and knowledge from them. Ourselves, our wives, our children, and our friends have all done so ; but whatever our hands, our minds and souls did in this respect, all was intended for the promotion of the * Persons accusing themselves to the government of any offence are usually treated with much greater lenity than those who are found guilty on the accusation of others. Hence to encourage the former is deemed an act of great clemency on the part of the so- vereign. PROCEEDINGS OF TIIE KABAIIY. ] 23 good of your kingdom, and to render you sacred, ' mahainasina^ * And now when the time has arrived that you, Ranavalomanjaka, do not approve of these things — May you attain to old age, not suf- fering affliction, and may whatever you do cause you to live long — we confess our guilt, and crave pardon for doing in your country that which you do not like to be done. We beg of you, Madam, to accept of a bullock and a dollar as a fine for our having done what is displeasing to you, and also as a pledge from us that nothing of the kind shall be done again." The people generally seemed to approve very highly of what these two chieftains had said, and a different turn was given to the kdbary. Rainiharo, the principal officer of the army, then expressed himself in the following terms : " Respecting those who have received baptism, who have formed ( society/ who have abstained from certain common practices, who have said, c Follow its laws, Do not fight,' who have reviled the holy idols, spoken disrespectfully of the Vazimba, kept sacred the sabbath, &c, unless those who are guilty of these crimes come for- ward by this day month to accuse themselves, we the hundred thou- sand + shall destroy them ; for what they have done is not derived from their ancestors; it is not in obedience to the order of the queen, it is not in obedience to orders from their commanders, or the judges, or any under the judges ; they have done these things of their own accord, without asking permission of the sovereign and consulting their officers. Unless, therefore, they come forward by this day month to accuse themselves, we are ready, Ranavaloman- jaka, to cut off their heads." The twelve senior teachers of the schools inquired privately whether they were allowed to speak then or not. Rainiharo replied, that as they were classed among the guilty, they were to speak in town, and not * Probably the meaning of this expression, derived from some custom now obsolete, is simply that of confirming in the possession of the kingdom. f A term often used to designate the army, and implying its vast numbers. 124 THE PEOPLE ACCUSING THEMSELVES in that public place. It was now getting late, and the assembly was dismissed. On Monday, the 2d of March, as most of the people in town and its vicinity, and also those from the dis- tant villages, were either involved themselves in these charges, or had some of their friends involved, scarcely any of them returned home, but waited to see whether the queen would accept the proposal of the two head men from Avaradrano ; namely, to receive a dollar and a bullock as a fine, and would at once forgive, on this occasion, those who had been guilty of these charges. It appears that their speech had produced some effect on the mind of the queen, for early in the morning she sent the officers of the palace to them, desiring them to repeat what they had said in the public assembly the day before. They were rather alarmed at this, and the one who had delivered the speech begged the other to go over it, that the queen might know they agreed in their sentiments. Being confused and alarmed, he de- clined doing so ; when his companion, taking courage, repeated it, and it was again carried to the queen. In the afternoon the people were summoned to as- semble at Ambatonakanga, and the officers of the palace and the judges came with an answer from the queen as follows : " The sovereign is pleased at your obedience in coming thus together at her command. If she orders you to come in the morning, you come ; if in the evening, you come; you are prompt in your obedience ; you assemble whenever she commands you, whether midday or midnight. And this I an- nounce to you, saith Ranavalomanjaka, I gave you yesterday one month to come and accuse yourselves, TO THE GOVERNMENT. 125 but you could not wait even one month — you could not return home at all, but stopped in town, and hastened with the greatest speed to me to confess your crime- and to crave my pardon. You entreated me to forgive you by receiving a bullock and a dollar without further investigation into the matter ; I will not consent to that ; but as you appear anxious on account of your crimes, I have decided to give you only a week to accuse yourselves, instead of a month : all that are guilty are to come forward by that time and accuse themselves. Against those who do not come within that period I denounce death. Take care, therefore, to send in your self-accusation to the proper person and in a proper way. The soldiers are to accuse themselves to the five head officers ; and the guilty officers also are to give in their names to these five — the bourgeois are to give in their names to the judges — and the scholars to those who rule over them. Be careful in specifying all your crimes in your self-accusation, and class your- selves who are guilty of similar offences ; namely, those who have opened separate houses for prayer-meeting are to be in one class — those who have received baptism in another class — those who have entered 'society' in another — those who have observed the sabbath in ano- ther, &c. The officers and the soldiers must not mingle together in their self-accusation, but let each class be separate. And remember that next Sunday is the last day; unless you send in your names by that time, you die wilfully." Some of the head men present replied, pronouncing benedictions on the queen for her message, and pre- mising, since she was not pleased to forgive without their 126 MESSAGE TO THE MISSIONARIES. self- accusations, that they would do so within the time specified. Ramantavary, one of the two head men that had spoken in the assembly the previous day, began again to speak in defence of the accused, saying that Radama certainly did tell the scholars to learn all the things taught them by the Europeans; but Rajery, the judge, immediately rose up and asked him, " Did Radama order them to institute a 4 society ? ' Did Radama tell them to be baptized?" &c. &c. The old gentleman took the hint, and confessed that Radama did not. He might have said that Radama was the patron of the school society, and had given full permission to his subjects to receive baptism and the Lord's supper ; but he knew that, had he gone a step further in the defence of the Christians, he would have to suffer for it. Fear imposed silence. The missionaries were summoned to meet that even- ing to receive a message from the queen, that they were exempted from teaching writing on the Sabbath, (which they never had done,) but that the children were not to be under their command on that day ; and that they were to teach nothing religious in any way in the schools at any time, nor even to impart general knowledge, as in history, &c. In a few days after, this latter part of the order was recalled, and permission was given to teach any general knowledge, provided the queen was previously con- sulted and the instruction approved by her. The re- striction was removed in consequence of Mr. Cameron being at that time engaged in teaching some young men chemistry at his establishment at Alakely. This day was remarkably stormy; the wind blew SENIOR TEACHERS. 127 down upwards of a hundred houses at Ambohimanga. Many of the people said they thought God was mani- festing his displeasure at the proceedings of the govern- ment. The twelve senior teachers now received the follow- ing message from the queen : — " And this I demand of you, twelve senior teachers, with regard to the baptism, and the holding of assem- blies in houses where schools have not been established by my sanction, and the forming of societies, &c. Has all this been done by my order, or by the order of Radama ? " They replied, " May you, Madam, attain to old age, &c. We confess our guilt, and crave your pardon for doing what is not allowed in your country. Do not blame us, Madam, while we tell you, that when Ra- dama placed us in the schools to be instructed by the Europeans, he told us, c Learn diligently all the know- ledge which these foreigners communicate to you, and do whatever they tell you/ When we heard that — may you long live, Madam — we did indeed follow what they told us. With regard to the houses opened for prayer-meetings, there were prayer -meetings held in such houses in the time of Radama ; for there was one held in Ratsimandisa's house, there was another at Rasoantsiriana's house, and, some time after, meetings were established in some other houses, and we attended them : and occasionally they were held at our houses in turn ; yet we are not the persons that commenced them, only we attended them as other people did. But after you suppressed baptism, Madam, we held no meetings in our houses, and therefore these numerous 128 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE meetings in town, although we attended them, have not been instituted by us. With regard to the baptism, some of us indeed have been baptized ; but when the baptism was suppressed by your order, we obeyed your orders ; and if any one has seen us doing it since then, let him come forward and accuse us. And with regard to the society, there was one indeed in the time of Radama ; but since you suppressed it, we have not seen any attending it in your country, nor have we received a farthing from a society since that time. May you live long, &c. Whatever you consider proper to do with us, whether it be an affair prolonged or cur- tailed, we are mere servants, and have no choice in this matter ; do as you please with us, Ranavalomanjaka." To this message the queen replied, " I have heard your reply to my questions, and if you are going to answer me in that manner, let it be so ; but, let me ask you again, did Radama tell you to establish prayer- meetings in houses where schools are not held? and did he tell you to be baptized ? If he did give you that order, do not conceal it from me." In answer to which the teachers replied : — " May you attain to old age, &c. Radama did not order us to open other houses for prayer, besides the school-houses, nor did he order us to receive baptism. But with regard to the society, Radama did establish it, and gave himself fifty dollars towards it ; and there are some officers now living who can bear testimony to this fact. But may you attain to old age, Madam — whatever we have done with our hands, minds, and souls, all was intended for the good of our sovereign and that of her kingdom, and to render her sacred. TEACHERS AND THE QUEEN. 129 And now, Madam, since you do not approve of such things being done in your country, we cease from doing them, for you are the sovereign of the land/' To this the queen again replied : iC Stop a little, if that is the way you answer me ; for I do not under- stand your cunning words and prevarications : you are young men that have learned well how to speak in your own •defence. I am not able to reply to your cunning words, but if you will venture to take the tangena, come and let us see whether what you say is true or not. If there were assemblies held in Radama s time, will you not live ? And if not in his time, but you established them in my reign for the purpose of injuring my kingdom, will you not die ? " And with regard to baptism and the other as- semblies established latterly by you, if you formed these things to raise insurrection in my country, and with a view to overturn my kingdom, and with the intention of entering into an alliance with foreigners to take the kingdom from me, will you not also die ? " To this the young men again replied in the following manner : " May you, Madam, attain to old age, &c. We dare, Madam, to take the tangena. May you long live, &c. ; do with us whatever you think proper. But we crave your pardon for all we have done contrary to your will. We have indeed been baptized, and have held meetings in houses where schools were not held, but we appeal to the tangena that we have not done these things with an intention of any evil to your coun- try ; but it becomes us to crave your pardon. Madam. for we dare not presume to give a challenge to the sun." * A sufficiently flattering, though not unusual appellation for her 5 130 LETTER. The queen sharply replied, " How is it that there is so much cunning prevarication continually in your re- plies ? Go, fellows, and write a letter to accuse your- selves to me, that I may see on paper what it is you have to say, and then I shall be better able to judge whether you have done these things in my kingdom with any bad intention or not." The young men now received a hint from a friend who was well acquainted with the proceedings within the court-yard, that if they should attempt to justify themselves in this letter from the charges laid against them, they would be involved in the greatest danger, and that their letter should contain only confession and entreaties if they wished to save their lives. Their timidity appears to have prevailed over their better judgment, and though some of them, there is reason to think, would have preferred a more honour- able course, the majority decided, and the following letter was sent in the name of them all : — ' Antananarivo, 5 Adaoro (3 March) y J 835. ee To Ranavalomanjaka : " May you attain to old age, &c. In the first place, it is our business to express our unfeigned thanks to you. We are pleased, we are delighted with what you have done, it is sweet to us ; for you are not arbitrary in your proceedings, you have not put us to death without giving us an opportunity of speaking :* you have not run to shed our blood — you have not hastened to cut off our heads, Majesty of Madagascar, and little appropriate, as many will think, to one who loves darkness rather than light. * It is difficult to find any apology for all this. It can only mean that they were thankful the queen had not at once put them all to death, compared with which, her measures may be viewed as somewhat lenient ; but still such expressions, from such men, pain- fully indicate how much the fear of man bringeth a snare. QUEENS REPLY, 131 but you came to inquire first, you came to examine thoroughly our case, you act so as to have no cause of reflection respecting us here- after. We thank you, Ranavalomanjaka, for you are a sovereign, searching thoroughly into every case, that justice may he given to every one of your subjects. And after thus expressing our gratitude we come to acknowledge our offences, we come to crave pardon for the evil we have done in your kingdom ; we are, indeed, guilty, Rabodonandrianimpoinimerina, for we have acted unauthorizedly according to our own inclination, we have done these things at random — we did not ask permission of Radama, nor did we ac- quaint you with what we were doing — we therefore confess our offences, and crave forgiveness, for you are the proper object of sup- plication, and we are the suppliants ; we again crave forgiveness for the offences we have committed— and whatever you determine to do with us, may that cause you to attain to old age, for to whom did Andrianimpoina and Radama leave the kingdom, but to you alone, Ranavalomanjaka ? •'Say the twelve teachers." To this humble or rather servile and humiliating letter, the queen replied : " And this I say to you, the twelve teachers: I have received your letter which contains your self-accusation, and the number of the scholars guilty of the same offences. And it is well that you did not dare to contend with the sun, but that you come to confess your guilt, and earnestly crave pardon. It is well that you have not now used cunning words, nor presumed to justify yourselves, nor spun out your craftiness to dispute with me, but you now can- didly confess your crimes, and entreat forgiveness. And as vou have done so, and have given me a written doeu- ment which expresses your sorrow and repentance, it remains with me now to choose what punishment t<> inflict upon you ; and I will do with you as I will do with other persona who are guilty of the same often* for I shall show no partiality among my subjects." 1 32 VINDICATION. The people were employed busily during the re- mainder of the week in sending in their self-accusations. This was a time of severe trial, when many of those who had made some profession of religion, or of regard to the ordinances of Christianity, said, like Peter, " I know him not." Various were the excuses made by the fearful and unbelieving, as, " I went from curiosity, and seeing the evil of it, I ceased to go. I observed indeed the sabbath, but was never baptized. I thought it was doing feudal service so as to confirm the queen in her government. I never believed, but went because others went." Some, of whom the missionaries had hoped better things, said : " Since God will not protect us, we may as well do as we please," and then, yielding to evil propensities, they plunged into sevenfold wicked- ness. But others, u faithful among the faithless," boldly told the persons who were appointed to receive their accusations : " We did no evil, and intended none to the queen or her kingdom in our prayers and our ob- servance of the sabbath : we prayed to the God of heaven and earth to prosper her reign." When they were asked how many times they had been praying and worshipping God, they frankly confessed that they could not tell, for whenever they were disengaged from the government service, they had neglected no opportunity of attending on the worship of God ; and as to praying, said they, " we always prayed before going to our work in the morning, and before going to sleep in the evening ; also before and after eating, and often at other moments T in the course of the day." One excellent Christian, from a distant district, a man of considerable influence, was accusing himself to the judges : being asked how many NOBLE CONFESSION. 133 times he had prayed, he replied, he could not tell : ;i but I can tell you," said he, " that for the last three or four years I have not spent a single day without offering prayer several times a-day. I asked for nothing in- jurious to any one, but entreated God to make all the people in this country and in other countries, as well as myself, good people/' The judges asked him to give them a specimen of his prayer, which he cheerfully did in the presence of multitudes. He first told them how he confessed his sins before God, and implored forgive- ness, and asked God's help to enable him to live without sinning ; to wash him from his sin ; to make him holy, and to prepare him for eternal happiness. He said that he asked the same blessings for his family and friends, and for the queen and all her subjects; and, said he, " I asked all these things in the name of Jesus Christ, for we sinners can receive nothing from God but through his Son Jesus Christ, who died for sinners." The judges confessed that his prayers were very good, but as the queen did not approve of such things, they ought not to be offered in her country. The conversation lasted a considerable time, and some of the Christians present observed that they did not think the judges had ever heard the gospel preached to them so faithfully and clearly as at that time — for this devoted Christian spoke a good deal to them of the Saviour and how he died for the guilty. This was the eminent and kind- hearted Christian who subsequently risked his life, by concealing the persecuted converts during some months, and who was then obliged to flee to the forest himself, to avoid the rage of the persecutors. The converts during this period of trial ceased not to 134 NATIVE DECISION. offer fervent prayer for divine protection. A faithful though small company of them agreed to meet together for prayer at midnight, every night during this week, at the vestry at Ambatonakanga, and many of them often afterwards said, that they had never before experienced so much pleasure and consolation in drawing near to God, as at this time. In this little band was an officer of high rank in the army, and, although he had never before declared himself one of the Christians, he now did, and has ever since remained a faithful follower of Christ. He had frequently attended the preaching of the gospel, but resolved not to accuse himself to the government. When asked by a friend why he joined the Christians at this perilous time, and neglected obedience to the command of the queen in not confessing that he had attended religious ordinances, he replied, that he perceived so much injustice in the proceedings of the kabary that he felt disgusted, and determined to join the injured party ; that, after having united with them a few times in these meetings, he had felt so much pleasure in their company, that he resolved to take their God as his God, and their people as his people ; and as to accusing himself, he had determined not to do so until convinced that he had done something wrong in attending these religious instructions. Since that time his wife, also, has been brought to acknowledge the Saviour. The refugees now in England are greatly indebted to him and his wife for having concealed them for some time in their house. One evening during this week three or four Christian women met together in a friend's house, and were con- versing on the melancholy events occurring ; it was late LUTKERS PSALM. 135 at night, their husbands had gone to town to accuse themselves, and were longer absent than they expected. Many painful conjectures crossed their minds. They thought they had been, probably, imprisoned ; their hearts melted within them, and they felt unequal to sustain these trials. u I have often," said one of them, " thought that if persecution should arise, I had no strength to bear it, and I fear all my religion is delu- sive." The others made the same complaint. In this dejected state of mind, a Christian friend, from a distant district, happened to arrive, the women were delighted to see him, and told him their anxieties. He asked them if they had read any portion of the word of God that day ; they said they had not had any opportunity of reading, on account of the confusion, and the number of strangers that had entered their houses. Have you, said he, been earnestly wrestling w T ith God in prayer ? They said they had tried to commit their cause to him, but they felt themselves OA^erpowered with fear, and had lost all power to pray with fervency. " I wonder not then," said he, " you feel so much alarm and are comfortless. You have neglected crying for strength to Him that is mighty, and who has promised to give it in every time of need to his people ; come," (he added, as if animated with the very spirit of Luther, but of whom the good man had in all probability never heard,) ;; let us read the forty-sixth Psalm." He took out his Psalter, read it, and made some appropriate remarks on it. They then knelt down and prayed most fervently that God would strengthen them and remove their fears. Sbme of these pious women declared, months after- wards, that they had scarcely felt any fear since then, 136 GROUNDLESS ALARM. and if they did, it would soon cease by reading the forty-sixth Psalm, and drawing near to God in prayer. One of these women has been since sold into slavery on account of her profession of Christianity. During the week many reports were circulated, and apprehensions entertained that some would be put to death. It was generally said the final kabary would be held at Ambatoroka, an indication that life would be taken, since no kabary is summoned to be held there except when it is intended to inflict the penalty of death. It was also reported that general permission would be given by the queen to treat with indignity the persons of the Christian females. This gave more pain and grief to the Christians of both sexes than all the other reports in circulation. One good man, who had remained firm and unmoved amidst all the other reports, was overcome when he heard this, and wept like a child. Among the persons who accused themselves, was a man from Imamo, a district about sixty miles from the capital, who, in coming to the kabary, and crossing the stream at Ivatolehivy, called out to a man that stood by a canoe on the opposite side, " Sosay," i. e. " push off;" referring to the canoe. The judge who delivered the queen s message, could not recollect, or exactly pro- nounce the foreign word " society," and so adopted a native word nearest in sound to express it, namely, " sosay ; and ordered that all persons who had used u sosay," should come and accuse themselves, under pain of death. The poor man, being afraid lest the person to whom he had called out to push over the canoe should accuse him, actually came to the judges and made a lengthened apology for having used the word, saying that he did queen's final message. *^2 not know there was any harm in it, and that he was willing to bear any punishment which the queen should see fit to inflict upon him for the offence ! On the expiration of the week, it was expected that the message from the queen would be immediately an- nounced. It was, however, put off; it being part of the policy of the government of Madagascar to keep the people in a state of anxious suspense, so that they may fear the worst. If the worst happen, then it is no more than was expected ; if less, then it proves the leniency of the government, and the equity and the mercy of the Sovereign ! On Monday, the 9th, the people were summoned, and the queen s message was announced by the officers of the palace and the judges : — " This I announce to you, O ye people, when you were charged with certain offences in my country, and of changing the customs of our ancestors, and those of the twelve sovereigns, and of An- drianimpoina and of Radama ; and when I assembled you together at Imahamasina, and at Ambatonakanga, to call you to an account for your crimes, I allowed you one month to accuse yourselves of what you had done in my country contrary to my will. You could not wait even one week, for the very following day you came to confess your offences, and to crave pardon; you could not return to your homes without soliciting my forgiveness, saying, ' Our wives are guilty, our children are guilty, our brothers and sisters are guilty, we crave pardon for them, liana valomanjaka. 1 And hence I announce to you, all ye people, and especially to you who are guilty of the charges laid against you, had it not been for the earnest supplications of all the Ambaniandro and the numberless entreaties sent to me by them, — for who are those that dare to at- tempt to change the customs of the ancestors, and the old usages de- scended from the twelve sovereigns ? I repeat it, had it not been for the vast number that united in a body to crave pardon on your be- half, I would have driven you all down that yonder river until you 138 QUEENS FINAL MESSAGE. would have been dashed over the cataract Ifarahantsana, but all Ime- rina united in craving pardon for you day and night ; and that is the only reason why I spare your lives. Do not think that the number of the guilty has had any influence on my mind to spare you — what is a thousand or two thousand, or even ten thousand men to me ? When would all the subjects that Andrianimpoina and Ra- dama left to me be exhausted ? I therefore tell you again, that you owe your lives to the solicitations and entreaties of the people ; for you have said the idols are nothing — the divination is nothing — the Vazimba are nothing — you have ceased praying to your deceased ancestors, but to Jehovah and Jesus alone you pray, and not to the idols and to your ancestors which made the twelve sovereigns sacred. You have dared to announce that these things are nothing. And you have also used such expressions as these, c Believe in him,' c Follow his laws,' c Do not war,' &c. ; and what is the purport of these expressions ? I detest them, saith Ranavalomanjaka. " I will now tell you what I have decided to do with you, for you have acted according to your own discretion, you have done things at random, without asking the permission of your sovereign. Your honours you did not obtain either by riches or by inheritance, but your good disposition and wisdom obtained these for you. They were conferred upon you at first by my predecessor ; nor did I sub- sequently change what he had bestowed upon you, but rather in- creased your honours. At present, however, I find you have mixed so much evil with the good done by you ; you have attached so many knots to your good deeds — you have made a fine basket of a beautiful grass, but its bottom you have made of bulrushes which has tarnished the whole work — you have spun out a fine cotton thread, and tied to it a piece of Rofia thread ; the honours bestowed on you, therefore, since you have so transgressed my laws as to de- serve death — and your lives are only spared through the supplica- tions of Imerina — your honours, I say, will I throw into yonder river, to be carried over yonder cataract Ifarahantsana, for you have endeavoured to change the customs of our ancestors. There the half of the honours of some of you shall be thrown, and the third part of the honours of others, and even all the honours which some possess, shall be thrown to yonder river; but the precise number shall be in proportion to their offences. All this is arranged on paper, and shall be read to you presently. "And with regard to you, twelve senior teachers, you were queen's final message. 139 young in Radama's time, but you had more knowledge and wis- dom than the people generally, and on that account Radama con- ferred honours upon you ; and when I succeeded him, I did not change what he had done to you, but you have changed, for under my reign you have not shown your wisdom in doing good for the kingdom, but you have used such expressions as ' Believe in him,' 'Follow him/ ' Do not fight,' 'Do not swear,' &c. What is the meaning of all this ? Now for all this evil which you have done in my country, I would have so treated you, that you should never have had power to do either good or evil again, had not the cries and entreaties of Imerina prevented me. As to your honours, you did not obtain them with money or by inheritance ; and since the good you have done has been mingled with so much evil, I will, in the first place, take off the half of your honours, and then take one from the half that remains, for you have been the leaders in this affair, therefore that number of your honours shall be thrown to yonder river to be carried down the cataract. f* And as to you, Ratsimihara, though you are my relative and one of my family, I know no relative, I recognise no friend when the laws of my country are violated. I would even willingly de- liver up a wise man like you to be punished with death, according to my laws, but the mouth of Imerina has, for this time, saved your life. I asked you were you baptized, you answered in the negative ; but I find that this was not true; and when I insisted upon your telling the truth, you asked for the tangena, and when I offered that to you, then you would not venture ; and therefore I tell you, that although you are my relative, you are indebted altogether for your life to the entreaties of Imerina ; but as to your honours, seven of them shall be thrown into yonder river to be carried down the cataract. You are reduced from the ninth to the second honour."* * All this representation of his case was glaringly and preposter- ously false and unjust. Ratsimihara married the youngest sister of Radama, and was among the first natives who were baptized and admitted to church-fellowship. Neither himself nor his wife ever denied these facts, though charged by the queen with doing so. She had merely attended the preaching occasionally, and by mistake confounded this with the charge of baptism, admitting the latter when she meant only the former. Her husband explained it, and this explanation is cruelly construed into prevarication. It was in 140 QUEERS FINAL MESSAGE. " And with regard to the guilty multitude who have no honours, you brought to the queen a dollar and a hullock to crave for pardon, and the whole mass of the people have entreated for you, and their entreaties have also saved your lives, and I forgive you on that ground, and order you to pay this fine, i. e., the dollar and the bul- lock, each district separately must pay it. (Here the name of each district was specified.) And in paying this I shall pardon you for this time, but if ever guilty of these things again, remember, your property and honours will not be sufficient to atone for your offences, your lives alone will suffice the next time. "And with regard to your slaves, I have warned you before of this ; but astonishing to say, you took no notice of it. Have I not told you not to teach your slaves to read and write ? but you have taught them notwithstanding ; however, I warn you once more that I may have nothing to reflect upon hereafter. Let me tell you plainly, that if I find you teaching the taratasy (or books) to your slaves, or allow them to learn, I shall treat the slaves as dogs that de- vour sheep ; their persons shall atone for their crimes, for I wilJ, first of all, behead them, and then a heavy fine shall be imposed on the own- ers, and when that fine is paid, I will choose what further punishment to inflict upon the person of the owners, saith Ranavalomanjaka. " And with regard to the mode of prayer, (meaning thereby Christianity,) there was nothing of this kind in the time of the twelve sovereigns, nor in the time of Andrianimpoina, but under my reign you have attempted to change the mode of praying. I will tell you how you are to pray. You must first of all invoke Andria- manitra Andriananahary, then all that is sacred of the twelve sove- reigns, and of the earth and heaven, of the sun and moon, and then of the twelve holy mountains, and of the sacred idols, namely, Ikelimalaza, Ifantaka, Imahavaly, Imanjakatsiroa, for they have made sacred the twelve sovereigns, and if any change this mode of praying, I will punish them with death, saith Ranavalomanjaka. " The reply of the officers reduced in rank was as follows : " May you live, Madam, to reach old age, &c. .Now, O Andria- manitra Andriananahary, O all that is sacred of Alasora, of Imeri- vain to attempt offering further explanation where a prior determina- tion was manifest to accept none. The pretended regard to stern justice in punishing even a relative, only adds hypocrisy to cruelty in the transaction. MEN, NOT MEN, BUT HOGS. 14] manjaka, of Ambohitrabiby, of Antananarivo, of Ambohimanga, of Ambohidratrimo, of Ilafy, of Inamehana, of Ambatofimanjana, of Ambohimalaza, of Ambobimanambola, and of Ialamasina ; — O all that is sacred of the earth and of the heavens, O all that is sacred of the sun, of the moon, and of the stars ; O all that is sacred of the twelve sovereigns ; O all that is sacred of Ikelimanjaka, and of Ifantaka, of Imanjakatsiroa, and of Imahavaly. We present the hasina* to you, Ranavalomanjaka, may you reach to old age. And after the hasina is presented, it remains for us to assure you of our loyal affection, that you may confide in us. Although we have been called to account by you for our offences, and are reduced in rank, yet, if we grow weary of serving you, if our hands hang down on account of this, if we serve you from mere compulsion on this ac- count — if, on account of our being reduced in rank, we do not en- deavour, to the utmost of our power, to maintain you on the throne, we thus call upon God, O Andriamanitra Andriananahary, O all that is sacred of the land which we inhabit, and of the heavens above us, O all that is sacred of the sun, of the moon, and of the stars, of the twelve sacred villages, and of the twelve sovereigns, and of all the sacred idols, we call upon you to annihilate us, and to leave us no child to succeed us. "In the next place, it is our duty to express our unfeigned gra- titude to you, Ranavalomanjaka. It is pleasing to us, it is de- lightful to us, may you reach to old age without suffering affliction, may you equal in length of days the human race, for you have not delivered up a single person to be put to death for this great viola- tion of your laws — you have not reduced to slavery our wives and chil- dren, and our property has not been confiscated. We again beg of you to take courage, Ranavalomanjaka, for our flesh is not consumed, our bones are not broken, the life is still here, and although reduced in rank, yet rank is not the boundary of service we owe, but life itself; take courage, therefore, Ranavalomanjaka, for as long as life is here, we shall not relax in your service ; for to whom did Andrianimpoina and Radama leave the kingdom but to you alone ? And if we do these things again, for which we have been now reduced in rank, kill us, Madam, for we must be hogs and not men, for men dare not venture to challenge the sun. * Which means a dollar or sum of money paid as an acknowledg- ment of the sovereignty of the party receiving it. 142 LOYALTY. Humiliating servility ! Preposterous sycophancy ! The heart sickens amidst such falsehood and flattery, the inevitable results of a despotism that destroys all that is noble and generous in human bosoms. It is difficult to give the exact number of the officers who were reduced in rank at this time, but certainly they amounted to not less than 400. At the kabary above described, one officer of the name of Ravalisoa, of the eighth rank, was promoted to the ninth, for having refused to attend religious instruc- tion while invited by some Christian friends. When urged to go, he replied, " When the queen, and his superior officers would order him to attend, he would, but not before." This loyal reply delighted her Majesty so much, that she raised him to more exalted honours. A nephew of Rainiharo, the highest officer in the army, was also promoted from the fourth to the sixth rank. He had been punctual in his attendance on the public ordinances of religion for two or three years, and had established a prayer-meeting at his house, and was therefore as guilty as any in point of law, but being- persuaded by his uncle to accuse himself to the queen before her edict was published, though, in fact, it was his uncle that did it for him, he was promoted two honours. None of the Christians felt mortified by the promotion of their young friend ; they entertained a great respect for him ; but his promotion showed that the whole affair was conducted with little regard to any principles of justice. In the course of the second week in March, orders were issued that all persons who had received any books from the Europeans, whether directly or indirectly, BOOKS COLLECTED. 143 should deliver them up, and not conceal even a single leaf on pain of death ! A house was allotted for their reception near the court-yard, and persons appointed to take charge of them. Those who had but little regard for the scriptures took care to secure for themselves all the blank leaves they could find. A number of valuable English books were thus materially injured. Many, however, entertained too much veneration for their Bibles to spoil them for the sake of a few leaves of white paper. It would be impossible to describe the sorrow and grief manifest in the countenances of some of the people when delivering up their books. Few, perhaps, actually did deliver all they had in their pos- session ; most kept a small portion, either a psalter, a gospel, a hymn-book, a tract, or a catechism. A leaf of the Xew Testament was found one morninor not very far from the house of the first officer, having Matth. xxiii. 13, scored with ink.* It was read and understood to be intended for the government, and a diligent though unsuccessful search was made to find out the parties who had dared to commit such an outrage. Orders were sent to all the outposts to collect in the books, for they had already found their way to most parts of the island, especially through the military sta- tions. Some had been carried even 300 miles' distance from the capital. There is reason to believe that, al- though the orders of the queen, when received by the respective governors of those stations, were faithfully issued, many of the people neglected to obey them, and * "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ve shut up the kingdom of heaven against men ; for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in." 144 LEARNED EXAMINATION. have ventured to retain, even to this day, some of the books that were issued from the missionary press. After it was supposed that the books were all col- lected, the queen ordered four of the officers of the palace, Ratsimanisa, Ratiarailehibe, Ratiaraikely, and Ratsarahoby to examine them, and to ascertain whether any of them were free from the obnoxious expressions. The twelve senior teachers, as the best scholars, were called on to read them to the officers. As the Bible was the largest book among the lot, it was fixed on by the officers to be read first. The beginning of the first chapter of Genesis came first in course. The officers found no fault with the first verse, but in the second, the word "darkness" occurred, and as the queen, it was argued, did not like darkness or anything being- said about it, the whole book was at once condemned as improper to be used in the schools, or circulated in the country. They next took up a hymn-book, and a hymn was read, in which the word " Jehovah" happened to occur — the whole book was therefore immediately condemned. Then several of the tracts and catechisms, &c, were read, but there were either the words " Jesus Christ," or " Jehovah," or " darkness," or " hell," or "Satan," or " resurrection," &c., in all of them, and therefore they were all condemned. After the verdict had been thus pronounced on all that had been printed in the Malagasy language, the examination of the books in other languages commenced. AHebrew Bible was taken up, of which the reader knew but little more than his hearers, but which, as no one could correct him, he managed to read off without much hesitation ; still there was something in the very sounds of this book the DISLIKE TO LOGIC. 14o officers did not comprehend, and so it was condemned. All the English and French books, with the few Latin and Greek there happened to be among them, shared the same fate. The whole of these books were some time afterwards sent back to the missionaries, and the government kept none of them ; treating them as Eu- ropean property rather than their own.'"* The twelve senior teachers, who were still learning the English language with the missionaries, were now left without books to read. An attempt was made by the Rev. D. Griffiths to teach Watts' s Logic to the youths under his instruction. The youths strongly objected to it, and applied to the queen to be released altogether from attending the instructions of the mis- sionaries. Ratsimanisa, the first officer of the palace, told them it was their duty to attend during the short time the missionaries would remain ; adding, however, that if Mr. Griffiths should attempt to give them books to read that were not deemed lawful, thev should give him a sound beating to bring him to his senses ! The members of the mission who remained continued to impart instruction and comfort to the native Chris- tians, so far as opportunities could be found, up to the period of their departure in the year 1836. The number * A very ludicrous circumstance, almost too ridiculous to mention, occurred in connexion with the care taken of these books by the government, so long as they remained in their hands. The house in which they had been collected was large, unoccupied, and over- run with rats. To avoid the property being injured by these animals, the government directed the soldiers to provide cats, and keep them on the spot, and an allowance per week was made from the royal treasury to purchase meat for these four-footed guards. B 146 LOVE TO THE SCRIPTURES. of converts had gradually increased, notwithstanding the difficulties they laboured under, and the imminent danger to which they were exposed. The forbidden ordinance of the Lord's supper was occasionally admi- nistered to them in private, and several received bap- tism. Their expectation of being shortly left without a teacher urged many of them to diligence in reading the Scriptures ; and it may be affirmed that they increased in spiritual knowledge, under their painful and disad- vantageous circumstances, even more than they had done before the publication of the edict suppressing Christianity. A bond of union was also formed among the Christians themselves during this time of trial, which continues to this day. They were supplied with a copy of the whole Bible. Some walked upwards of a hundred miles to obtain it. A poor man, in a very feeble state of health, who had not been able to quit his house for five months, on hearing that the teachers were preparing to leave, determined to make the attempt to walk to the capital in order to secure for himself a com- plete copy of the sacred volume. Though he had sixty miles to travel in this delicate state of health, he did not rest until he had reached the house of the mis- sionary and obtained this pearl of great price. It is impossible to express the joy evinced in the countenance of this devoted Christian on receiving the sacred book. He pressed it to his bosom and exclaimed, " This con- tains the words of eternal life ; it is my life, and I will take as much care of it as of my own life." He has continued faithful ever since, but has been lately com- pelled to leave his peaceful home, and seek refuge in the forests, on account of his adherence to the faith. FEAR OF DEATH. 147 The Christians at the capital were now unable to unite in singing, and yet they longed to sing one of the songs of Zion. Some of them learnt to play the tunes on the native instrument called the valiha or harp, and felt no small delight in that exercise. A wife of one of the Christians accused her husband of this to Razakandrianaina, the officer who had brought an accusation against them in the first instance. He listened gravely to her accusation, and then replied that he did not believe it ; for, said he, " they are too much afraid to transgress again the laws of the queen ; they pretend they can do great things, but when it comes to the crisis, they give up their religion to save their lives. When I used to go out after sunset before the suppres- sion of Christianity, I sometimes overheard them sing- ing, c Izaho tsy matahotra/ c I have no dread of death, For Jesus Christ is ever nigh.' I felt annoyed at them, and began to think they really did not fear death ; but as soon as the queen ordered them to come and accuse themselves, they ran from every direction, confessed their crimes, craved the queen's pardon, and promised to do so no more. I am almost convulsed with laughter to see some that I heard singing a few weeks previously, c I have no dread of death/ coming almost out of breath to accuse them- selves in order to avoid death. I said within myself, these men were singing falsehoods ; they are as much afraid of death as anybody else. I do not believe there is one real believer in this country, besides the Eu- 148 PILGRIM S PROGRESS. ropeans. I have heard indeed that many Europeans in their own country have continued obstinate and suf- fered death for it, but they have not done so here." These remarks made a deep impression on the minds of many of the Christians ; and there is reason to believe that the reproof they contained, coming from such a man, proved a blessing in arousing them to greater fortitude, decision, and consistency. Before the final departure of the missionaries from the capital, the " Pilgrim's Progress" was translated into the Malagasy language, by Mr. Johns, and eight copies were written out by some of the Christian na- tives at full length, and left in their hands, each copy being made the joint property of several individuals. They read it over frequently, and prized it next to the Bible. There is reason to hope that the perusal of it has been the means of the conversion of some, and the recovery of others, who had backslidden from the paths of truth. A copy of it was sent forward to Mr. Freeman, then in England, where a subscription was made by various friends in different parts of the country in order to have it printed. The Religious Tract Society liberally pro- moted the object, and 1000 copies were struck off, many of which are now in the hands of our suffering friends. One of the manuscript copies, into which Mr. Johns had put the plates he had taken out of his printed copy, fell into the hands of the government, on the apprehension of one of the Christians. Some of the officers read part of it, but found it remarkably myste- rious. They were not aware of its being a translation THE SHINING LIGHT. 149 from an English book, but supposed it to be some of the dreamings of these new fanatics. They came to the account of the glimmering light that Evangelist directed Christian to observe, and this completely puzzled them; " a little glimmering distant light" — what can that mean ? and they laid the book down, in absolute de- spair of comprehending it. 150 MISSIONARIES. CHAPTER VII. Events occurring in the history of the Mission from the Queen's edict, 1st March, 1835, to the martyrdom of Rasalama in 1837- The immediate effect of the queens edict was to de- prive the missionaries of all sphere of appropriate mis- sionary labour in Madagascar, and, therefore, to force upon them the inquiry what they could or ought to attempt in the prosecution of their work, either by evading the edict or acting in direct defiance of it. The duty of the Christian missionary, to yield obedience to the supreme authority of the Saviour in seeking to make known his gospel to every creature, was unhesi- tatingly admitted, and felt to remain unaltered, what- ever might be the laws and edicts of human princes — " Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge ye." But the present was a question of practicability. To do what the Malagasy government had commanded should not be done was attended not merely with difficulty and danger, but with physical impossibility; and this re- duced the question of what the missionaries ought to do within a small compass. They could not collect the natives to address them, for the natives durst not and would not be collected to be addressed ; the congrega- tions were scattered; individual converts might venture by stealth to visit the missionaries and converse with REMOVAL FROM MADAGASCAR. 151 them, unbelievers would not come, and durst not listen — they knew they were exposed to imminent danger if they did, and they had no inclination to risk the danger. Missionaries might have resolved to visit their houses, but they could not gain access to the natives ; for it was now death to a native to lend an ear to their in- struction on religious subjects. Nor could the mis- sionaries find even useful occupation in their schools. They had no liberty to communicate instruction there : everything printed was prohibited ; and to teach a few children to write on slates, and that writing to consist only of names of villages, &c, and not anything involv- ing sentiment of any kind, was the only sphere of labour allowed them in their capacity of " teachers." The only thing left for them to do was to complete the translation and printing of the Scriptures. A part of the Old Testament was as yet unfinished, namely, from Ezekiel to Malachi, and a portion of Job. To this object they successfully and unremittingly devoted their energies, resolved, if it were possible, not to quit the country till the whole of the Scriptures were complete in the Malagasy language ; and, happily, they saw their determination effected. Mr. Baker, the printer, as the sheets of the translation were put into his hand, com- posed the whole himself at the press, as the natives who had been taught the art of printing were no longer permitted to assist in furtherance of any such design. The facts of the case as they occurred were laid be- fore the directors of the Missionary Society, and their advice solicited ; still, as no communications could be received from them before June, 1836, sixteen months from the time of the queens edict, it was deemed expe- 152 MISSION NOT POLITICAL. client by the members of the mission on the spot to come to a resolution on their own responsibility for their present guidance, and it was agreed, that part of them should retire from Madagascar, and others remain another year to see if any changes took place, or were likely to take place, and to await the instructions of the Society. One circumstance that led to the decision of the withdrawment of part of the mission was the view taken by the queen's government that the mission had some political design. This was, of course, denied by its members. The government then assumed this posi- tion : " If its design is not political, it can have no object in remaining in the country after its religious efforts are made unlawful ; and we shall now see, by the conduct of the missionaries, whether they are poli- tical agents or not. If religion, as they affirm, is their only end in being here, and that can now be no longer prosecuted, because the queen forbids it, they can have no end in remaining, and will retire. If they remain, it proves they have something else in view besides reli- gion ; and as that something must be political, we de- tect them of falsehood, and hold them guilty of being political spies." Whether the government itself really believed this argument, it may be difficult to ascertain. Many of its members no doubt did. It was the ostensible view they took of the case, and it required the missionaries to act at once with caution and decision. It also weighed strongly with the missionaries, in the conclusion they came to, that their best and wisest friends among the native converts advised them to leave, at any rate for a time, and to retire as far as Mauri- TIME OF ANXIETY. 153 tius : — not to abandon Madagascar as a lost case, but not to exasperate the government by seeming to act in defiance of its determination. Any such defiance would not only be resented and bring vengeance on its authors, but defeat the object, and render the renewal of the mission less probable at the time, and far more difficult at a future time. Messrs. Freeman, Cameron, Chick, and Kitching left Madagascar in June, 1835 ; Messrs. Johns and Baker remained till July of the following year. " That year," as Mr. Baker justly remarks, in a letter to the directors, " was a year of suspense, anxiety, and pain, to the missionary families that remained, not often par- alleled even in the vicissitudes of the history of mis- sions. The servants of the missionaries who had left were subjected to the murderous ordeal of tangena, and two of them died. An infant of another was suffocated the day after its birth, by the queen's express orders, on account of the c fatal day' of its birth. The oppres- sions of the government became more and more cruel. Sunday was especially and purposely desecrated by public works and amusements. Vice, disease, and poverty increased fearfully. " In the mean time, those who had preserved their faith in the word of God became gradually known to us and to each other. Slowly and cautiously did they open their hearts, even to their most intimate friends. Sometimes a recognition took place by a reference being made to the words in Jeremiah, xxxviii. 15 : ' If I de- clare it unto thee wilt thou not surely put me to death V to which the answer would be from the follow- 154 BOOKS BURIED. ing verse :— ' So Zedekiab. sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, as the Lord liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee unto the hand of these men that seek thy life/ " After a time the natives began to hold secret meet- ings at our houses and their own, and on the summits of solitary mountains, whence, amidst the treeless hills and vales of Imerina, they could observe the approach of strangers at a very remote distance. These latter were their favourite places of assembly, since they could there freely sing to the praise of their God and Saviour without fear of being overheard ; and none so well as afflicted Christians know how soothing oftentimes to the afflicted heart is the language and music of a hymn. " At length July, 1836, arrived, when the govern- ment expected that we should leave of course. "We had as yet received no advice from the Society, and it seemed to us a solemn duty to bear, by our voluntary withdrawal, a public testimony to the simplicity and integrity of our object as Christian Missionaries, since we could no longer remain in our missionary capacity. Accordingly, after several unsuccessful efforts to obtain from the government even the most restricted permis- sion to teach and print, we decided, for a period at least, to relinquish the mission. After leaving there about seventy complete Bibles, and several boxes of Psalters, Testaments, Spelling and Hymn-books, Cate- chisms, and Tracts among the native Christians, chiefly buried underground for greater security, we sorrowfully and in great depression of mind, left, and reached Mau- ritius in September, 1836." rafaravavy's conversion. 155 Just before our friends set out from the capital, the storm of persecution burst forth afresh against the Christians, and its earliest object was Rafaravavy. She had been a convert prior to the suppression of Chris- tianity. Previous to her conversion, she was a most devoted idolater — one of the most zealous of the zealous there in sustaining the worship of idols ; and it is well known that often she and her relations in their attach- ment to idolatry had sacrificed not merely the comforts and conveniences, but even the absolute necessaries of life. At a moment when a meal of rice has been want- ing in the house, the money required to purchase it has been actually paid for the support of idol-worship. Brought under the influence of the gospel through the medium of conversation with a native believer, — the inquiry was awakened in her heart, how she might escape the broad road, walk in the narrow path, and obtain eternal life. Brought afterwards into immediate connection with the missionaries, we have reason to be- lieve that the heart of the pagan was changed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. She then became one of the most zealous converts ; she obtained one of the largest houses she could in the capital, for the purpose of insti- tuting a prayer-meeting. By her simplicity, fervour, and consistency, she induced many to attend on the regular means of grace. It will illustrate the manners of the country and the spirit of the government to detail somewhat minutely the circumstances attending the apprehension of Rafa- ravavy, and the rather, as so lively an interest has sub- sequently been created in favour of this Christian woman. On the 17th of July, 1836, which happened on a 156 ACCUSATION AND Sabbath-day, three of Rafaravavy' s servants went to the Judge Rajery to lay an accusation against her. They did not enter the house to speak to the judge himself, but stated the accusation to his dekana* outside. The charge was, that Rafaravavy and nine of her friends were observing the Sabbath, reading the book which the queen had prohibited, and continually praying to Jehovah Jesus according to the custom of the Europeans; and if, said the servants, you do not believe us, go di- rectly to her house and listen outside, opposite to where lier bed stands, t and most probably you will hear her and her friends, for they are there every Sabbath even- ing and often on other nights. Some of the dekana being favourable to Christianity, delayed to carry the accusation at once to the judge, but said they would go and listen first. One of them accordingly went imme- diately to the house. Rafaravavy was alone at the time, and had been reading just in the very place men- tioned ; but, having felt unusually reluctant to continue reading that evening, she had left the spot a few mo- ments before the officer had reached the house, and had retired to the other end of the dwelling. The man, after listening a few moments and hearing nothing, left, and mentioned the circumstance to a friend of Rafara- * A word formed from an imperfect native pronunciation of u aide-de-camp," and signifying all who are employed in writing? conveying messages, acting as secretaries, &c, either to military officers or to civil or judicial functionaries. f As all the native houses are built in a similar manner, and the internal arrangements are the same, this description was perfectly natural. The door always faces the west, and is placed at the southern extremity of the wall. The window, for there is seldom more than one, is also on the west, but at the northern extremity and the bed is in the corner facing the window. CONDUCT OF RAFARAVAVY. 157 vavy, who forthwith communicated it to her. She im- mediately ran with all her books to one of the mission- aries, hastily told her story, and returned home. She heard nothing further on the business that night. The three servants did not return home, but remained among the servants of the judge, until her father, after hearing what had transpired, fetched them and put them in irons, in which they continued till the queen had de- cided on the case of Rafaravavy. They were after- wards released by the humane and Christian-like in- terference of their accused mistress, by whom they were addressed with so much earnestness, fidelity, and affec- tion, mingled with many prayers and tears, that she found reason to hope that they who had not believed, now through her mercy obtained mercy. In the course of the evening the dekana informed Eajery of the charge, who remarked, that though it was an accusation brought by slaves,'"" such a daring offence must not be allowed to pass unnoticed. " Go," said he, " and tell her father to come here in the morning." The father accordingly went ; the judge said, " Your daughter, it is affirmed, still continues to pray, and it is said that she and her companions are ten in number : it would * The father of Radama made a law that the accusation of slaves against their masters should not be received, and that law is still acted upon when it suits the purposes of those in power; but when it is more convenient to violate it, they do so. A short time before the events above mentioned took place, a slave had accused Ratsimanisa, the youngest brother of Rajery, the judge, of having robbed the queen of money; the accusation was rejected because made by a sla\e, and the slave was punished with death fur transgressing the law in accusing his master. The accusation made by the slaves of Rafaravavy 's father against her was, however, listened to. 158 STEADFASTNESS be better for her to accuse herself before the accusation is laid before the queen. Go you and tell her to state the names of all her companions : this may extenuate her offence. This indeed is not a trifle ; it will go hard with her." She was now at home, and many fervent prayers had she offered up during the night, that she might have strength to confess Christ before men, and to lay down her life for his sake if it were his will that she should then suffer death. She remembered the ad- monitory words of the Saviour, Matt. x. 33, " Whoso- ever denieth me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." She was convinced at the time that she must either deny Christ or suffer death, and she felt that she would rather die than deny the Saviour whom she loved. She therefore resolved to retire to a village belonging to the family, about a mile or two distant from the capital, preferring, if con- demned to die, to be put to death out of the capital rather than at Ambohipotsy, the usual place of execu- tion. Before she had gone far from her house, her friends stopped her and advised her to return. At last her father came and said, " What is this that I hear, child ? It is said that you still continue to pray, is it true ?" She replied, " Yes, I do pray." The old man was exceedingly vexed and grieved : " Astonishing," said he, " you do pray and are not ashamed to own it ; I know not what to think of you ? " " But, dear father," said she, " I have done it, and how can I deny what is true ? " The father replied, " I am really astonished at you ; even the whole body of the people when unitedly craving for pardon could scarcely obtain it, and you again dare to disobey the law of the queen ! Who are OP RAFARAVAVY. 159 your companions that united with you ? " She replied, " Ask the accusers, I cannot tell you who are my com- panions." " You perhaps prefer death," said he, " since you vainly persist in this stubbornness." " Who, then," said she, " am I to name?" All," he replied, u who are in the habit of visiting you here." " If I must accuse all those that visit me," said she, " I must, then, put you and my relations among the first, for you visit me as often as any." Have we been uniting with you in the prayers ?" said he. A man from the judge came and called the father out, and said to him, " You had better go and do what you think will be the best for her, there is no use in trying to get her to accuse her companions. These praying people are so stubborn that, even if you were to kill them and cut them in pieces, they will not impeach their companions ; you had better go to the judge and do wdiat you can at once." The father took the advice, went to Rajery the judge, and said, " We come, Sir, to accuse ourselves, conscious to ourselves of what we have done, not inter- fering w4th other people's business, but aware of our own." After a little further conversation on the ob- stinacy of Rafaravavy, Rajery sent the accusation to the queen. On hearing it she became extremely angry, and said, " Is it possible that there is any one so daring as to defy me, and that one too a woman ? this is an- noying to me ; go and put her to death at once, it can- not be borne." Ramiharo and Rajery the judge and Rasendrasoa, a woman of high rank and influence, to whom the queen is particularly attached, made great interest on her behalf, specifying the important services which had been rendered to the government by Rafa- 160 CALMNESS AND PEACE. ravavy's father, as well as her brother, who had been a general in the army, which is the 10th honour, but was reduced to the 4th soon after the edict was pub- lished, on account of his attendance on public worship. Although she had returned her Bible and other books which she had had in her possession at the time, she retained a few tracts, and among them, one on the Holy Spirit ; and as she had now but little hope of her life being spared, she was very diligently employed in examining her state before God, that death might not come upon her by surprise. She derived much conso- lation from the tract named, and especially from the expressions uttered by some humble and devout Chris- tian, " I will cast myself at the feet of Jesus, and if I perish, I will perish there ;" to which some one had re- plied, " And if you perish there, you will be the first that ever did ; for sooner shall the heavens and the earth pass away than the Saviour reject any one coming to him." During this time of suspense and danger, she con- trived to reach Mr. Johns' house just before he and his family, with Mr. Baker and family, left the capital. It was about three o'clock in the morning when she came, and while as yet, so far from being certain tha she should not be put to death, was fully expecting it. The interview was affecting on both sides. Mrs. Johns, in an account she shortly afterwards transmitted to a friend, remarks, " I shall never forget the serenity and composure she displayed while she related to me the consolation she enjoyed in pleading the promises, and in drawing near to God in prayer." On bidding farewell to each other, and not expecting to meet in this life PUNISHMENT. 161 again, she desired her special salutations to all the churches of the Redeemer, and begged that they would often remember in their intercessions " The little flock in Madagascar/' On the day our friends above mentioned left the ca- pital, the queen decided that she would, at that time, spare her life. She sent by the constables and the dekana of Rajery to say to her that the valuable ser- vices of her father and brother had induced her to pardon her for that time, but that she should be " very ilana ;" an ' expression which means that she should pay a pecuniary fine, equivalent to half the amount of her estimated value as if sold into slavery ; and she was severely threatened and warned, that if ever she should be again found guilty of a similar offence, she must not hope for pardon, life alone would then make atonement for the crime. She w^as then valued at fourteen dollars, her property was also valued, and she had to pay half the total amount. Towards this sum twelve dollars were sent to her by Mr. Johns to remove any difficulty there might be in obtaining her release. She twice declined accepting it, and at length only received it on understanding that ten dollars were to be considered as given her on behalf of the Christians in England, and to express their affectionate sympathy. The servants had stated in their accusation, that there were nine of her friends in the habit of uniting with her in prayer and reading the Scriptures, but as she could not be induced to accuse them, they escaped detection at that time, and none of them suffered except Rafaravavy herself. Soon after her release, she found that she was very narrowly watched by her father and 162 MEETINGS OF THE friends, who lived near her at the capital, so that she could find no opportunity of conversing with her Chris- tian companions. To remedy this, she determined to sell her house in town and purchase one in a more retired spot, in the suburbs of the capital, and she removed accordingly to Ambatonakanga. The little band of Christians continued to meet frequently at her house, sometimes in the house of another friend, and sometimes on a mountain. Occasionally they went upwards of twenty miles, to some friends living at that distance, so as to enjoy without interruption their social meetings ; which, as they have often since remarked, were to them as showers of rain on the thirsty ground. The number of those confiding in one another as sincere Christians, and uniting together as such, rapidly in- creased, and as many of them had been previously introduced to each other's confidence by the Mission- ary last among them, and especially those coming from Vonizongo to those residing in the capital, they became still more closely united to each other in the holy bonds of Christian friendship. Those from Vonizongo made the house of Eafaravavy their home during their resi- dence in the capital, which sometimes lasted several days or even weeks. In this way she became well acquainted with the Vonizongo Christians, to whom she was subsequently indebted (under God) for the pre- servation of her life. In the early part of the year 1837 Mr. Johns wrote from Mauritius to some of the Christians at the capital, intimating his intention of visiting Tamatave in the course of that season. Rasoamaka (Joseph) and others were deputed by the Christians to go and meet him at NATIVE CHRISTIANS. 163 Tamatave. They reached the coast a fortnight before his arrival. They awaited him there, bringing with them tidings of the state of the Christians. At the time they set out from Imerina, their friends were living in peace and tranquillity. Their harmony, mutual affec- tion, zeal, and consistency were highly encouraging, and their augmented numbers proved that the cause of the Redeemer was not absolutely arrested by the harsh measures the queen had adopted. And the hope was entertained that they might be permitted to continue enjoying without molestation, their social meetings, and occasional seasons of improvement. They brought with them to Tamatave various letters from their Christian friends, some two or three of which it may be an acceptable service to insert here. The first is a joint letter from the whole little band of Christians, with their names affixed to it, addressed to Messrs. Ellis and Freeman, and of which the follow- ing is a translation : " Antananarivo, 24th Asombola (June), 1837- " Health and happiness to you, beloved friends, say the few- disciples of Jesus Christ here in Madagascar : let us unite in prais- ing God for the favours he has bestowed upon us since the time that we wrote to you last year, for he has not forsaken us, but guarded and kept us by day and night till the present time, that we might not be overcome by evil, nor conquered by the temptations of Satan, but he has enabled us to tread the narrow path till now. Some two or three of our number have ended their course, and have entered into their everlasting rest ; and two or three also have become lukewarm in their conversation and their intercourse, yet our numbers have not decreased, but have been rather augmented, and they are able to unite in conveying their thoughts in a brief letter to you. M We have heard that our friend Mr. Johns purposed to come to 164 LETTERS FROM THE Tamatave, and we have appointed four of our companions to go and meet him, and inform him of our condition, so that you may hear of it. " We do not perceive any change in the rnind of the queen with regard to Christianity. She remains the same. But we have less interruptions since the Europeans, our friends, left us, as it is per- haps thought that we shall certainly forget the word of God, now that we have no teachers here. The queen, however, does not know that the hest teacher of all is still here with us, the Holy Spirit. " When we consider our guilt and our pollution, and the evil that dwells in our hearts, then we soon faint; hut when we remem- ber and reflect upon the mercy of God, and the redemption there is in Jesus, and when we call to mind the promises, then our hearts take confidence, and we believe that Jesus can cleanse us, and can bring us to heaven, though the way be difficult ; and when we meet there we will tell you all that has befallen us by the way while yet here on earth. " By the strength of God we shall still go forward and not fear what may befall us ; but we will go in the power of the Lord, and if accused by the people, we will still go straight forward, for we know that if we deny him before men, Jesus will deny us before his Father ; but if we confess him he will also confess us, when he shall come in the clouds to judge the world, and present them that are his blameless before the Father for ever. " We desire to see you, Mr. Freeman. Would that we could see you at Ambatonakanga, and preaching to us the Bible, which we now possess. How great would then be our joy ! Let us unite in pleading with God that all the Missionaries and our friends may return to us here in Madagascar; and let us not cease to supplicate his blessing to save us, for the Lord hath already heard your cry, and ours ; for the kingdom of Jesus is advancing in this country ; as the leaven in the meal, so indeed it is with the kingdom of heaven. Jesus will not quench the smoking flax. We had some suspicions when the Missionaries left us, lest God also should forsake us, like our friends ; but we have seen that the word of promise is true, c I will never leave thee, I will never forsake thee/ He has indeed remained with us, and exceedingly great has been the joy of our hearts in prayer, and in conversing together on the things that relate to the life to come. NATIVE CHRISTIANS. 165 cc The Bibles that were left in our possession have been all circu- lated, and many are wishing to obtain complete copies. Do send us some, and let them be of a small print, so that we may easily preserve them ; and Pilgrim's Progress also, if Air. Johns has not brought it, let it be sent very soon ; but we are hoping that it is finished, and already with him. We are very desirous of it, for it rejoices our hearts. We have opportunities of meeting on the moun- tains to sing and pray on the Sabbath, and we have also three ser- vices here in the course of the week after sunset. Our meetings are like congregations, through the diligence of the disciples in convers- ing in season and cut of season ; so that when we examine the state of c Pilgrim' we wish to be like him in his progress. We are very desirous to see the Pilgrim in print, for the translation of it is excel- lent ; and as to the Bible, we much wish that it should not only be in a very small print, but that it should have the marginal refer- ences as you have it in the English. (Thus, Matt. xxiv. 31, Ch. xiii. 41, 1 Cor. xv, 52, 1 Thess. iv. 16.) Ct All the Christians here are teaching others to read. There are ten learning with one friend, six with another, four with another, and so the number is quietly augmenting. Ci Here are our beloved friends, the messengers of the church, con- veying our letter to you. Our special salutations to the congregations in England, and this is our request, Do not forget us in your suppli- cations, but let us unite in our petitions before God. We purpose to send to Tamatave every year to forward letters to you, and to receive yours to us." The following is a translation of a letter from the four native converts who conveyed the above letter to Tamatave, and who then wrote it while there, and addressed it to Mr. Freeman. " Beloved Friend, TamaUute, 1st Avgust, 1837. '<• You are not forgotten, but still remembered by us. Our saluta- tions to you, from your friends who were appointed by the dis- ciples of Jesus Christ in Madagascar to visit you by means of this letter sent. We have now reached Tamatave, and have met with our beloved father Mr. Johns ; with this we are exceedingly de- lighted, for we had been expecting to meet him beforehand ; and he told us how the good people are everywhere praying on our 166 LETTERS FROM THE behalf, and supplicating God to aid us and to bless us with all his favours. " Yes, dearly beloved friend, cease not to ask God that he would cause us to tread the narrow path, and pass through a land where there are many adversaries. We know perfectly well, that through the narrow gate is the way to the heavenly gate, and we fear not to say, however steep should be the ascent, yet we will go up, or how- ever difficult the path it shall not weary us, for we perceive that the painful will not last long, but we shall obtain the good. We know that the King of the heavenly city has himself trodden that difficult path ; much more then should Christian go there, who has yielded himself to the King of kings. " Do not forget to intercede on our behalf. We know that fer- vent prayer avails to save many. There are a few at present return- ing and uniting with the congregation again. This return of the people to us at present is matter of astonishment ; it is like the case of the prodigal mentioned by Luke. And those who received the word at first are not faint, but they are diligent in conversing together, on the favour of God towards them that believe, and the progress of Pilgrim, though he had much to annoy him. And even now we are rejoicing on account of our tribulations, for these tribu- lations, it may be, are employed by God to urge us forward, and to separate us from hypocrites, for you know that there were many at first who pretended to submit, but only those who are set apart and chosen for himself and who are willing to take up the cross and to follow Him, remain in the church. Blessed be God, who hath caused us to be likeminded in going forward together, through these light afflictions, for the tribulations which we suffer now are not worthy to be compared with the glory we shall have at the appear- ance of our Lord Jesus Christ. " How much does the compassion of the Saviour console us now ! We are filled with wonder at the work of the Holy Spirit, for it is he who persuades us to increase thus in love. " The word is indeed true that says, I will send unto you the Comforter. It is expedient for you that I go away. Precious to us now is Jesus. He is our Rock and our Shield, our Hope, and our Life. " Whither should we go in our distress but unto Jesus, for he has the words of eternal life. W r e find indeed, O friend, that many are the adversaries here on earth. Our sovereign does not love the c true NATIVE CHRISTIANS. 167 faith,' our rulers wax more oppressive, and the mass of the people love vanity. " Still we know that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of heaven. " O God, do thou enable us to make the progress that Pilgrim made, and if thy kingdom in Madagascar is to be advanced by these means,* be it so, that the people condemn us guilty — He that judg- eth us is the Lord ; though they should cause us to be ' lost,'-f- yet we prefer to be lost leaning on Jesus ; and though we should even be put to death, yet we prefer to die, in the Lord, for we know that there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus ; and it is not the mouth of man that is to judge us in the end, but God. We request of you to prepare for us some books of instruction to help us at present, especially ' Pilgrim's Progress.' It will be useful to print it, for there are many encouraged by the progress of Pilgrim, and very many here among us wish to have it. We hoped to have it by Mr. Johns, but it has to come yet. Of Bibles we have very few left; when printed again, do make it as we requested in the letter, from the church. " And we entreat of you, beloved friends, do not forget to send us some means of instruction : do what you can to help the little flock here in Madagascar to increase their faith, their hope, and their love, and to be the means of their seeing the hands of all the saints beckon- ing to them and saying, Go forward, O friends. And we assure you, friends, that your labours, as missionaries, have not been at all pro- fitless, nor have your united prayers and preaching, especially those who have shed tears for us, been lost or wasted on the ground. a God has set apart them that love him to confess him before the wicked. Our word of salutation is from us all, to you and Mr. Ellis, to acquaint you with our condition and what it is we desire you should do for us, and which we have mentioned to Mr. Johns, from whom also of course you will hear it. " All of us at the capital intend sending to Tamatave yearly, to give you an account of our condition. intend to come, and whoever maybe appointed besides, if the Lord will. " Farewell, till we meet, whether in this life or the life to come ; * Referring to the oppressions and tribulations just before men- tioned. t " Lost," a term meaning lost to freedom, reduced to slavery. J( LETTER FROM RAFARAVAVY. still we shall not forget to pray to God, that you may yet return again to us here, and if we do not meet in this life, yet, through the mercy of God, we hope we shall meet there, and then we will tell the difficulties of the path, and the tribulations we had whilst still on earth. " Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the Lord may add to us, and that we may be saved from a people foolish and wicked, ' for all men have not faith.' " To Rev. J. J. Freeman" The following letter, written by Rafaravavy to Mr. Johns, and sent to him at Tamatave, at the same time as the two former letters, contains a valuable illustration of the happy influence of Divine truth in the heart, pre- serving the mind that is stayed on God in perfect peace. " Health and happiness to you, beloved friend. May you enjoy with your family the blessing of God, and all the mission- aries who have been with us, and the congregations where you dwell. Make our salutation to the congregations in London, for, through the blessing of God, we are well, and find opportunity of visiting and telling you our condition by means of a letter. As to things here and the state of our relatives, wickedness is on the increase and opposition too. They are now continually saying, * You will be arrested by the Tsi-tia-laingia.* You are not afraid of the sove- reign ; you are doing what she has forbidden/ And they are say- ing also to terrify us, c Many of you are Latsabato, — something is being reckoned to your account.' I answered them. What is it that people are seeking after, except to be latsabato ? (to get some- thing reckoned to their account.) This they do for the sake of ad- vancement in honour, and it is good ; and lest I should not attain to it, is my grief. I rejoice that this has happened to me. It brings to my remembrance Acts xiv. 22 ; 2 Tim. iii. 12. Blessed be God, who hath given to us access through Christ Jesus. May he enable me to obey the words of Jesus to his disciples, c If any one will come after me, let him deny himself/ &c. ' None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear to myself that I may finish my course with joy.' * These terms, " Tsi-tia-laingia," and " latsabato," and the allu- sions founded on them, are explained at the end of the letter. HATING FALSEHOOD. 169 u I exhort you not to grieve, for your labour has not been in vain in the Lord. The number of converts is increasing. If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, but it is the power of God to salvation to them that are saved. Therefore I take confidence. The power of God cannot be hindered. I rejoice in the word, * Have not I commanded thee ? Be strong and of good courage — Jehovah thy God is with thee in all thy ways.' When thou passest through the water, &c. Isa. xliii. 2. Jesus says, c Fear not, 1 Luke xii. 32. c Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil.' < Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.* ' May I be found in him, not having on my own right- eousness, &c. Phil. iii. 9 — 14. ' We walk by faith not by sight/ Happy is she that hath believed — there shall be an accomplishment of what is spoken. 'My soul doth magnify the Lord,' Luke i. 46. So said Mary, (and Rafaravavy adopted the expression as her own, having assumed the name of Mary.) " Pray for us — May God open a door for his word among us, 2 Thess. iii. 1, 2." Two native terms occur in the above letter, requiring some little explanation : " Tsi-tia-laingia" means lite- rally. " not loving falsehood," i. e. hating falsehood. It is the name of a silver-headed spear belonging to the government, with the name of the queen engraven on it, and the word " Tsi-tia-laingia." It is carried by the vadintany or constables, and other officers, when delivering the messages of the government to the peo- ple. It is the sign of authority, without which, mes- sages, as from the sovereign, are not considered valid. The name is then also applied to the party carrying it, whether one person or several, and the name then im- ports, tipstaff or sheriff's officers. When the people taunted Rafaravavy that the " Tsi- tia-laingia" were coming to arrest her, and said, u Wait for them, they are on their way" — " Yes," she replied, " I am waiting — I am not running away like an evil- i 170 OBTAINING HONOURS. doer ; but still I do not exactly see those ' not loving falsehood/ — (alluding to the meaning of the name) — rfor it appears that you are the very persons that do love and make falsehoods/' pointing to the charms and amulets on their wrists, and calling them falsehoods, as in Jer. x. 14 ; " His molten image is falsehood." She added that in her opinion, the name Tsi-tia-laingia was only properly applied to the sincere worshippers of the true God. " Latsabato" means " a stone or pebble cast," as into an urn, as a means of numbering, and it is applied to denote the services any one may have rendered to the government, and for which honours are to be bestowed on him. A certain amount of service being reckoned up and acknowledged, it is called a vato or stone, and that being put to a person's account, is called latsalca, — u cast in," and the two words being compounded into latsa-bato, signify both the sum total of the service, and the person to whose account it is rendered. It may be that some ten or twelve acts of service are required to constitute one vato, and then a person may be latsa- bato, one, two, three, or more, and be honoured or raised in rank accordingly. When the people said to Rafaravavy, as mentioned in her letter to Mr. Johns, " Many of you Christians are latsa-bato, things are reckoned to your account," it was employed in a jeering and sarcastic sense ; but to which she replied with much good sense and a very appro- priate use of the figurative expression : " Is it not the very custom and aim of the people to be latsa-bato, — to get things reckoned to their account?" so as to ob- tain elevation and honour. It is that also which I am THE SAVIOUR LOVED. 171 seeking for, and most desirous of obtaining, and only fear lest, after all, I should fall short, and not obtain the reward. "Be faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." It may not be uninteresting to add here an extract from another letter, written by some other Christians in 1837, and addressed to Mr. Johns : — " Through the blessing of God we have enjoyed peace and tran- quillity beyond our expectation, since you left us, and we have been able to meet together frequently for religious purposes. We do not forget you, our beloved friends , on these occasions ; we offer up our prayers to God on your behalf, and we are persuaded you also pray for us, 2 Thess. iii. 1 ; Col. iv. 3 ; 1 Thess. v. 25. You are con- stantly in our minds, day and night. How delightful it would be to see you once more ! Give our salutations to all that love the Lord Jesus Christ, and beg of them to pray for the few sheep in Madagascar, who are in the midst of wolves ; tell them we greatly value an interest in their prayers, for we believe those words of the Apostle James, c The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.' "We have great pleasure in telling you that our number has much increased since you left. Some who had apostatized have been restored, and some new ones have united with us and commenced learning to read. We want more Bibles, Testaments, and spelling- books, which we hope you will be able to send us. We are de- lighted with the Pilgrim's Progress ; it has been the means, through the blessing of God, of awakening our zeal, and stimulating us in our Christian course. Some have written out a copy of it for them- selves. We should be exceedingly glad, if it were possible, to get some printed copies, that we might be able to put one into the hand of every new convert. " Our beloved friend Ramamonjihasina died on his way home from the expedition to the north. He was a beloved brother, and we enjoyed frequently great pleasure in his society. Yet we must not grieve for him, he is now with the Saviour whom he loved. One of our friends was with him in his tent when he died, and asked him a short time before he breathed his last, whether he had any fear of death. He replied, w Why should I fear to die, while Jesus 1 2 172 TEARS OF LOVE. is my friend ? He hath loved me with an everlasting love, and I love him because he first loved me. I am persuaded he will not leave me now ; and I am full of joy in the thought of leaving this sinful world, to be for ever with my Saviour.' " We trust his death will stimulate us to labour in the work of the Lord while it is day, for we are warned by the death of our friends that the night cometh, when no man can work. May we be ready, having our loins girded about, and our lights burning, like men that wait for their Lor J, that we too may be admitted at the end of our days, into the joy of our Lord." In confirmation of the statement contained in the foregoing letter respecting this young man, it may be added, that it had been mentioned by some of the Christians who associated with him that they never saw him mention the name of Jesus without tears in his eyes. A missionary to whom this was named took particular notice of the circumstance in subsequent con- versations with him, and can bear testimony to the fact. One of his Christian friends asked him one day how it was that his tears always gushed forth when he men- tioned the name of Jesus ? he replied, " How can I do otherwise than feel wdiile I mention the name of that beloved Saviour who suffered and died on the cross for me V Some time after the departure from Tamatave of the friends who had been deputed by the Christians to meet Mr. Johns, he heard the mournful intelligence that the persecution of the Christians had recommenced, and had been attended with violence. He heard it acci- dentally at first by some persons who had just arrived from the capital, but as their statement was discordant and unconnected, he supposed that they might refer to the accusation laid against Rafaravavy the year preceding. In a few days another party arrived from the capital, and RENEWED PERSECUTION. 1J3 among them some of the Christians who had witnessed part of the transactions before their departure ; and shortly afterwards a letter, from which the following ex- tract is taken, was received, dated the 13th of August : " Asl have the utmost confidence in you, I may venture, though at the risk of my life, to convey to you the melancholy tidings that fourteen of the Christians are in trouble, (live men and nine women ;) that they have been apprehended by the Tsitialaingia for their profession, and that all of them are reduced to slavery ; the men are sold with their wives and children, and all their pro- perty confiscated. The single women are sold, and their property confiscated. They are still in chains. It is reported that Rafa- ravavy, the sister of Razakamanana, is the head of the party. AVe have no hope of her life being spared. God alone knows what will be the end of this. I hope you will raise your fervent prayer to heaven for them and for this country." About the same time that this intelligence of the apprehension of the Christians at the capital reached Tamatave, it was also confidently stated that Rafara- vavy had been put to death. An intelligent native left the capital just after the events above mentioned had occurred, and had seen one of the Christians (Paul) in irons ; he reached Tamatave while Mr. Johns was still there, related to him the circumstances as he had learnt them before leaving home, and wrote from Tama- tave a letter to Mr. Freeman, of which the following is an extract : — " Some of the Christians were assembling secretly for worship, but have been accused ; they have been reduced to slavery, and one of them, Eafaravavy, has been put to death. Paul and his wife are among the number of those reduced to slavery." The state- ment was confirmed by the vim voce testimony of many other persons who came from the capital to the coast at the same time, and it was universally believed among 174 TEN ACCUSED. natives and Europeans that Rafaravavy had been put to death. The event, however, proved that this was not the case, but, as will subsequently appear, that a young woman named Rasalama (and sometimes also called Rafaravavy), suffered death for her profession of Christianity. It appears that while our four friends were yet at Tamatave, visiting Mr. Johns, ten of the Christians had been at once accused at the capital by Rabodotafikia and Izafy. The former, a woman, was better acquainted with the Christians than the latter, as she was nearly related to Andrianantoandro, one of the number. The accusers expected to obtain a share of confiscated pro- perty by this affair. A friend of one of them had said that they were going to ruin those friends of the Eu- ropeans, and should get a good share of the prize. They laid the accusation first before the judges Rajery and Raintiaray, to the effect that there were ten persons continually doing that which the queen had prohibited, observing the Sabbath, meeting to pray to Jehovah Jesus,* and conducting themselves in a manner alto- gether different from that of other people, and that Rafaravavy was the head of the party, for they met at her house. The judges acquainted Ratsimanisa with the charge, who remarked on hearing it, " Then by Ratsimahamaikiat they shall die, for they despise the queen s law." Rafaravavy was immediately taken up, with Razafitsara and Ratiasoa, and the next day all the * A phrase the natives had acquired themselves, but which had not been employed by the missionaries. t The name of his sister. Men swear by a mother or sisteT ; women by a father or brother. COMPANIONS NOT IMPEACHED. 175 rest of the ten accused persons, except Rasoamaka, who had not yet returned from Tamatave, and Rafaralahi- andrianisa from Vonizongo, who was saved at that time, chiefly because the accusers, though they knew him by sight, did not by name. They knew he was a Dekana of Andriantsimalia, and endeavoured to describe his person. Several of the Dekana were sent for from Vonizonofo, but care was taken that the one wanted should not make his appearance. After having failed to find him, the accusers being pressed to produce the tenth, accused one of Rafaravavy's servants, who a year before had accused her mistress. She confessed that she was a Christian, and shared the same lot with those who were sold into slavery, never to be redeemed. The ten were duly informed of the charge against them by the Tsitialaingia. All were not at first put in irons. Those who had friends to be responsible for their not running away, were allowed to remain at home till the queen should decide on their punishment. This did not take place for a fortnight. Rafaravavy during this time remained in her house at Ambatonakanga. The messengers of the queen came to her four times. At their second visit they said, " The queen is not easily tired in making inquiries ; she has sent us again to ask you, who are your companions : your accusers say that you are the head, and that it is you who convene the congregation/' She replied, " If my accusers have said so, you had better ask them ; they will no doubt tell you all that they know, why do you again ask me ( The messengers went in the same manner to every one of the Christians then in confinement, and 176 FIRMNESS. tried to extort from them the names of their com- panions. Rafaravavy, and her daughter, a child about eleven years of age, were alone in the house when the Tsitialaingia, accompanied by many of the people, the vadintany, and the Dekana of the first officers, came. She had been thinking, if such an event should occur, what answer she ought to give, and determined with herself to reply in the words of Peter, Acts iv. 19, 20 : " Whether it be right in the sight of God, to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye ; for we can- not but speak the things which we have seen and heard." But when the officers were standing before her door, she hesitated; and not knowing what they might say, thought it wrong to fix in her mind pre- viously the answer she should give. The command of the Saviour to his disciples presented itself to her, " Take no thought (or be not anxious) what ye shall answer, for it shall be given you in that hour," &c. After expecting some of her friends to come to her, the officers entered, and said, " This only we ask of you, Rafaravavy : it is said that you pray again, although prohibited by the sovereign at Imahamasina, and for which crime scarcely could the people in a body prevail with the queen to obtain forgiveness ; it is said you do it again." She replied, " It is true, I do pray to that God who made me and the world and all things therein. Whatever the queen may be pleased to do with me, I confess I have done this." They inquired what property she had, and who were her companions, that they might tell the queen. " You must have some companions," said they ; " if you prayed alone, who could see you ? Tell, therefore, the truth, and do not deceive the CONFESSION. 1 77 queen." She replied, " I have done it myself, and I confess it, but do not ask me to tell of my companions. Ask my accusers, they perhaps can tell you." " Why do you tell lies to the queen V said they ; " why do you not tell the truth ? " " I am not conscious/' she replied, " of any lie. God tells me to speak the truth, and he hates liars. I wish not to offend him. What lie do I tell ? " " You refuse to tell who are your companions." " That is not a lie," said she ; "I do not say I have no companions, but I tell you to ask my accusers who they are." " If you refuse to tell the queen," said they, " what you know, when she asks you, you are not loyal," (literally the queen is not sweet to you). " I do not know how you can charge me with that," said she, " while I confess the charge laid to me, and surrender myself to her, to do with me whatever she pleases." " Let us go," said, they; " there is no reasoning with these obstinate people." The next day they came the third time, and said they were sent again by the queen, to ask her the names of her companions, adding, u The queen knows as well as you do who they are, but she wishes to give you the opportunity of telling the whole truth." " Have not the accusers told you already?" said she; "and you say the queen knows as well as I do, why then do you ask me again?" "You are indeed," said they, "exceed- ingly obstinate, you will not say who were your com- panions, nor where you met to pray ; Razafitsara told us that you were her companion, and you pretend not to remember or know any of your companions. We shall fetch Razafitsara here to face you." On her being brought, Rafaravavy said, '.' Wc have prayed together, i 5 178 NAMES OF THE ACCUSED. and we do not deny it." " Where then did you pray?" said they. u We prayed in this house," said the two women, " and in the house of Razafitsara, and in many other places ; indeed, wherever we went we endea- voured to remember God, and prayed to him to forgive us, and to do us good." Have you not prayed on Ankatso ? " said they (the name of the mountain where they often met). " Yes," said the women, " but not there only, but, as we told you, wherever we went and remembered God, in the house or out of it, in town, in the country, or on the mountains." The messengers then went to the others who were in confinement. Rasalama, when questioned, and deceitfully told that all the rest had informed of her companions, was in- duced to believe that the others had given in the names of the Christians, and was influenced by this to mention seven who had not as yet been impeached, viz., Raintsiheva, usually called Paul, Andrianomanana, usually called Simeon, Andrianiman ana, Andrianantoandro, Ramanana, Raivo, and Raminahy. These were immediately apprehended and confined. This happened about a week after the first party had been put into confinement. The messengers of the government came the fourth time to Rafaravavy, and pressed on her the same ques- tions as before, and received similar replies. The whole was now laid before the queen. The answer that Paul had given, when the officers came to apprehend him, PRAYER OF A NATIVE. 1?9 was so just, that even the queen and her advisers were placed in difficulty how to find him guilty, with any show of justice. He said, " I have certainly prayed to that God who created me, and has supported me, and who made all things, and is himself the fountain of all good, to make me a good man. I prayed that he would bless the queen, give her real happiness in this world, and that which is to come. I asked him to bless the officers and judges, and all the people, and to make them good, so that there might be no more c jiolahy and mpandaingia,' highwaymen and liars, in the coun- try, and that God would make all the people wise and good." Some among the messengers whispered to one another, they saw no harm in all that, for it was good. It seems that what Paul said at the time had some effect on the minds of some of the principal officers, for when a consultation was afterwards held at the house of the chief officer, as to what should be done with them, one of them (Rainingitabe) brought forward this answer of Paul in defence of the Christians, and said, " Let us do nothing rashly, lest we should advise the queen to shed innocent blood. It is an affair of im- portance. Let us discuss the matter gravely, what is their guilt V The officer replied, " They pray to many gods, to Jehovah, to Jesus, to Christ, &c." The other replied, " But are not these perhaps different names for one God ? just as it is with us, we pray to Andriama- nitra, Zanahary, Andriananahary, and Tompo ny ny aina, Sec." The other officer could only answer that " The queen has forbidden any to pray to Jehovah, and they have done it, and having thus despised the com- mand of the queen, they are guilty." 180 EXPECTATION OF The government was a fortnight considering what punishment to inflict upon the accused. On the four- teenth day of their confinement, the people in the mar- ket were summoned, and received a message from the queen to go and seize the property of Bafaravavy for themselves. She herself knew nothing of the order having been given, till some of the people came rushing into her house almost out of breath, and, without cere- mony, began at once to seize and carry away whatever property they could lay their hands on. In a few moments the house was filled with people, and every- thing she possessed was carried off, and the house itself pulled to pieces, and its materials carried away. She was then ordered to follow four of the Tsiarondahy, the class employed in putting criminals to death. She asked where they were going to take her ? They re- plied, " The queen knows what to do with you. The way we go you are to follow. ,, She obeyed the order, and followed. They took her along the road in which criminals are usually conducted for execution, at Am- bohipotsy. She had then no expectation of her life being spared, but concluded they had orders to put her to death forthwith. The fear of death had however left her. Isaiah xli. 10, and xliii. 1 and 2, yielded her much support. The prayer of Stephen, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," was frequently repeated by her on the way. She now says, in the recollection of that eventful moment, that she felt as if she had done with earth, and wished her spirit to be out of the body. One young man, a beloved Christian, followed her up to town, and when her conductors were turning to the side-path at Andohalo that leads to Ambohipotsy she SUFFERING DEATH. 181 had an opportunity of saying to him, privately, " Go with me, and see my end, and hear my last words ; for if I shall find by experience the strength of Christ suf- ficient for my support, and am enabled to bear testi- mony to it, in my last moments, as I have enjoyed it hitherto, it may tend to encourage our friends who may be called to follow my steps/' He replied, " I shall not leave you, dear sister ; go on, and cleave to Him on whom you have built your hope." A near re- lative and two other Christians followed her, and gave her similar advice. One of them told her before leav- ing the house, " Fear not, beloved sister ; though there may be afflictions here, there is rest in heaven." They presently left the path, and entered the house of a De- kana of Rainiharo, where exceedingly heavy irons were put on her.* One of the men present said to the smith who was fastening them on, " Do not put them too fast, it will be difficult to take them off; nor, indeed, is it necessary, she is to be put to death to-morrow morn- ing at cock-crow/' It was afterwards found that the order had been is- sued by the queen to put her to death at the time men- tioned, before daylight the next morning ; a still and solemn hour, often chosen for putting criminals to death. It occurred, however, that that very night, during which our friend Rafaravavy, with the feelings of a martyr, was expecting death in a few hours, — that night a fire burst out in^ the capital, burnt down many houses, and created so much confusion, that the orders of the queen were left in abeyance for the time. * These irons are called "Be rano maso," signifying k many tears.'' 182 PRESERVATION. The fire caused a good deal of remark at the capital ; many who had some knowledge of the scriptures said it seemed like a judgment from heaven for acting as they had done with the people of God. The morning was dark and cloudy ; innumerable small sparks of fire came over the court-yard, which created great terror in the minds of those that saw them, and it is supposed had some influence on the mind of the queen, easily affected by superstitious alarms, in saving the life of Rafaravavy. The chief officer had given a general order to those under him, on seeing the confusion occasioned by the fire, to suspend for the present all government service. This was done without any reference to Rafaravavy. But the executioners, who had received their orders pre- viously to put her to death, could not, or would not execute the sentence now until they received fresh in- structions, and so her life was saved on that occasion. One of the natives afterwards remarked, " God is indeed the sovereign of life. Twice has the queen given orders to the executioners to put Rafaravavy to death, but God has prevented it ; at first, he caused them to delay the execution, by the fire that burnt down part of the town, and at another time, by causing her to know the design of the queen in time to effect her escape ; and yet I never knew," said the native making the observa- tion, " a single instance besides, in which execution has been delayed beyond the time fixed on by the queen, when once the executioner had received his orders." The day Rafaravavy was taken up to town, with the expectation of being put to death, the other Christian prisoners were taken to Ambatonafandrana, and divided among the officers. Eleven of them were taken to the STUBBORNNESS. 183 house of one of the Dekanas of Rainiharo. Soldiers guarded them night and day. Paul was put in a separate house, and placed in irons, and was kept so for a month, as they considered him and Rafaravavy the leaders of the little band. His life was in great danger, and he had himself little hope of being spared. The officers frequently said, "Do you see that foolish old man ? he is the leader of these young people. They would have never so daringly opposed the words of the queen, had they not been urged on by some one like this man." The chief officers and judges, and many of the peo- ple, were collected at Ambatonafandrana to hear the mes- sage of the queen, which was delivered by Raimbozaka, Rajery, and Rabehaja, and which was as follows: — " It is announced to you, people," saith the queen, " these are stubborn persons persisting in doing what is forbidden, and the punishment of their own deeds is in- flicted upon them.* This I have decided to do with them : I will reduce them to perpetual slavery, so that their friends shall never be allowed to redeem them ; they shall die in slavery ; they have paid no regard to my commands, and have attempted to disannul my established law given you at Imahamasina. I tell you this that you may all hear what they have done ; and I announce to the public that I asked them till I was tired, to tell me their leaders and their comrades, and the houses where they met to pray ; they have refused * "Stubborn," or obstinate. "Of this I had no doubt," said Pliny in his letter to the Emperor Trajan, " whatever was the na- ture of their religion, that a sullen and inflexible obstinacy called for the vengeance of the magistrate." 184 RASALAMA to tell me, for their comrades are dearer to them than I am, and therefore, though I have decided to inflict this punishment upon them for their transgression, yet if I find out at some future time that they have com- panions, and that they have assembled in private houses, I will put them to death whenever they are ac- cused. And are you not grieved, people, that they pay more regard to the white people the other side the water than to my words ? for they consider my words as nothing, though they are natives of this country." The people replied : " As to this people, it is not you, Ma- dam, but we who are grieved : may you reach to an old age, not suffering affliction. Madam, you have now decided what punishment to inflict upon them ; as for us, we would say, let them all be put to death, for what loss would it be to Imerina ? they are not so many as to be equivalent to those born in a single night ! " Rasalama was among the ten confined in the house of Ramiandravola, a Dekana of Rainiharo, a man pro- verbially savage and cruel. A relation of hers told her she was astonished that she had accused her brethren and sisters, since nothing had been previously known to the government respecting Paul, Simeon, Andrianantoandro, Andrianimanana, Ramanana, Raivo, and Raminahy, till she had disclosed their names. She was deeply grieved when she heard this, as it showed she had been most unintentionally the cause of betraying her friends. She was overheard, during the time she was under confinement, to express her astonishment that the people of God should be treated in such a manner. " Men," said she, "that have neither excited rebellion, ACCUSED. 185 nor stolen the property of any, nor spoken ill of cany, yet all their property is confiscated, and they themselves reduced to perpetual slavery : I would advise the per- secutors to think a little of what they are doing, lest they bring on themselves the wrath of God. When the Tsitialaingia came to my house," she added, with extra- ordinary warmth of feeling, " I was not afraid, but ra- ther rejoiced that I was counted worthy to suffer afflic- tion for believing in Jesus ; I had hope of the life in heaven." The wife of Ramiandravola, her master, heard the remarks and told her husband, who immediately communicated it to Rainiharo. The latter praised him for his fidelity and diligence, and ordered him to put heavy irons on Rasalama. A messenger was also sent to acquaint the judges with what she had said. On the return of the messenger, she inquired of him what message he had taken. " Only your words," said he, "that you rejoiced when you saw the Tsitialaingia come to you." " Why," rejoined Rasalama, " when I said much did you report little ? The net is spread, but the bird may escape. It was I," added she, " that gave the names of Raintsiheva and others as our asso- ciates, that it might be for their honour and happiness. No one else raised them to honour, and I did." She was now put in heavy irons and beaten, but continued sing- ing hymns. " My life," said she, " shall go for my companions. You say Rafaravavy will be put to death; but no, she will not die, I shall be killed instead of her !" Such a spirit and such remarks in Madagascar were sufficient to lead to her condemnation and death. Such was her excitement of mind amidst an enfeebled state of body produced by severe beating and excruci- 186 RASALAMAS ating pain, that she perhaps said some few things unad- visedly, and led some of her friends to think that for a day or two there was a slight degree of incoherence about her. But she was perfectly calm and tranquil before death. Ramiandravola had said to her, w T hen the heavy irons were ordered to he placed on her, " I know you are a relative of mine, and that we share the same family grave, still, if you are found doing what the queen con- demns, I renounce all acquaintance with you. I have nothing whatever to dread but Ranavalona the queen, and Rainiharo ; what they love I love, what is sweet to them is sweet to me, and although a dog should be cut to pieces over my head, # if that would please them, it would please me." " That is a strong expression to use," said Rasalama, " and ought to awaken some re- flection ; you say you would delight to submit to the greatest possible indignity, even that a dog should be cut to pieces over you, if the queen desired it — and all this out of love to the sovereign. That devotion to the queen ought to make you reflect a little" — meaning, if so much is due to an earthly sovereign, is no obedience to be paid to the authority of the Supreme Lord of all ? — should not his servants be willing to suffer in his cause and cheerfully endure all that he may impose on them? Many of the people attributed her firmness, and the remarks she continued to make, to the influence of some secret witchcraft which they believed had been employed over her by means of the missionaries. " Dreadfully * A common practice in cases of persons put to death on any charge of sorcery, and a mark of extreme contempt and abhorrence. CONDEMNATION. 18J powerful indeed," said they, "must those ( c ody') charms be, which can induce her to keep on talking in this way even to the very last ! " She was now taken from the house of Ramiandravola, and ordered for execution the next morning. She was put that afternoon into irons of a peculiar construction, not intended so much for the security of the prisoner as for cruel punishment. The irons consist of rings and bars, and are so fastened around the feet, hands, knees, and neck, as to confine the whole body in an excruciat- ingly painful position, forcing the extremities together, as if the sufferer were packed into a small case. These irons are called " ornby fohy" " the shortened bullock," from the mode in which the natives are accustomed to tie the animal by drawing the fore and hind feet together in one knot. Being led to the place of execution next morning, she expressed her joy that she had received the knowledge of the truth, and continued singing hymns on the way. Passing by Mr. Griffiths' chapel, where she had been baptized, she exclaimed, " There I heard the words of the Saviour \" On reaching the fatal spot, she requested permission to kneel down and pray ; her request was granted ; she calmly knelt down, committed her spirit into the hands of the Redeemer, and in that attitude was speared to death, the executioners, three or four in num- ber, standing behind and by the side of her, and striking her through the ribs and the heart. * The pain would be momentary, the release triumphant, and the bliss that followed immortal. Her body was left to be devoured by the wild dogs that frequent all places in Madagascar • See the vignette, title page. 188 MARTYRDOM. where criminals suffer. When Rafaravavy and a friend went some time afterwards to the exaot spot where she was killed, they could find only a few bones lying about, where they had been scattered by the dogs. The name " Rasalama" is formed of the well-known oriental word " Salama," " peace," " health," " hap- piness," and the usual Malagasy affix to proper names, " Ra." Though a sufferer and a martyr, she realized all that the name imported. She found "peace in be- lieving" She was sustained by the smiles of the Sa- viour, and enjoyed the fulfilment of his promise, "In me ye shall h^ye peace." Some said, when she was led forth to death, " Where is the God she prays to, that he does not save her now?" Others were touched with pity, and could not see for what crime these Christians were put to death. He who enrolled with honour the name of Antipas as his " faithful martyr" at Pergamos, has, in his provi- dence, now enrolled the name of " Rasalama" as the proto-martyr of Madagascar ; and long will that name continue embalmed with fragrancy in the memory of those who love the Saviour's cause. Few of the Christians, if any, except one young man named Rafaralahy, ventured to the spot while she was put to death. He did, and was deeply affected with the scene. He saw her calmness, and returned from the spectacle a martyr in spirit. " If," said he, " I might die so tranquil and happy a death, I would not be unwilling to die for the Saviour too." The event will show that he was ere long put to the awful test. SLAVERY. 189 CHAPTER VIII. From the Martyrdom of Rasalama, 1837> to that of Rafaralahy in 1838. About a week after Rasalama's death, the rest of the accused party were divided as slaves among the first officers ; Rainiharo took Andrianantoandro and his wife and child, Ramanana, Ratiasoa, Ranome, Ratsarahomba (David), Andrianimanana, and Simeon : Rainingitabe took Raminahy ; Andriantsalama had Raivo and Ra- fara ; Ratsimanisa had Razafy and Razafitsara. Paul remained still in irons, and two soldiers were guarding him ; and although Razafy, Paul's wife, had not been accused, but was reduced to slavery because she was the wife of one deemed guilty, she was treated by Ratsi- manisa as one of the party. When her master was asked why she was put in irons, since her husband only had been found guilty, " Oh," said he, with a sneer, " her very appearance tells us she is one of them/' That she really was there can be no question, but she had escaped the notice of the accuser in the first instance, and the evidence appealed to, that her dejected looks were against her, would not quite have satisfied a lover of impartial justice. Rasoamaka (Joseph) and Ramanisa reached the capi- tal on their return home from Tamatavein a few days after the above-mentioned division of the Christians among the officers had taken place. They heard of this fresh burst of persecution while on their way up from the coast, when about forty miles from home. They heard also 190 WARRANT OF that their own names had been given in amongst their friends as guilty. They hesited whether to attempt ef- fecting their escape, or to proceed home and surrender themselves to the government, and bear the persecution in common with their friends. After much deliberation and prayer, they came to the decision that it was their duty to proceed home and impeach themselves to the government, for " God," said they, " may make us use- ful to some of our fellow-slaves ; perhaps we may be instruments in bringing some of them to Jesus ; there is every probability that our lives will be spared, though we may suffer perpetual slavery ; and perhaps these afflictions are among the things which God has appointed to make us fit for heaven ! " They arrived among their friends on the 13th of August, and on the 15th were apprehended by the Vadintany and the De- kana of the first officers. There is somewhat curious in the native mode of pro- ceeding in such cases. The following is introduced as an illustration of the manner of apprehending a pri- soner and serving a warrant of distress. On entering the house of Rasoamaka (Joseph), the officer of justice, addressing him, said, " May we be excused by the ground under our feet, and the village within which we stand, and all the roofs of the houses around us. May we be excused by the father and mother, and by all the relations of the party who are not guilty ; to you all we have no message ; our business is with you alone, Rasoamaka, for it is said you still keep the book and make prayers, which ' I do not suffer to be done in my country/ says the queen, ' and which I have prohibited and made a law against/ The people, APPREHENSION. 191 moreover, paid a bullock and a dollar as a fine for what they had done, and as a pledge that such a thing should not be done again ; and now there are some so daring as to throw down the orim-bato* (fixed stone) raised up at that time. ' I detest that,' says the queen ; c and whoever is born even of parents that have done good in my kingdom, or are even nearly related to me, if they transgress my laws, I detest their deeds/ saith the queen, c for they seek that which desecrates me ; they are like those who destroy the nest of the taka- tra,i and thereby are seized with leprosy. I,' saith the queen, 'am the just balance, and will equalize Imerina : the way the hands go, shall the feet follow ; let his wife and children be sold, and everything in and out of the house belonging to Rasoamaka, even to a white bead, or a piece of black cord, let all be confis- cated, and let his relations be careful that they do not claim anything of his property. We advise you to ad- monish your son to conceal nothing from the queen. He is young and may be tempted to conceal part of his property ; be careful to keep nothing of his with you ; if discovered, all your property will be confiscated just as his/ says the queen." In a few days after the property had been confiscated, Joseph and Ramanisa, and their wives, were taken to Ambatonafandrana to be valued ; their wives were re- deemable, but they were not. The men were valued at seven dollars each, the wives at sixteen each. The dis- proportion was in consequence of the officers having to pay for the men, while the relations had to pay for the * A figurative expression to denote transgressing the established law. t A native bird. 192 CHRISTIAN SLAVES. women, if they redeemed them, which it was very pro- bable they would. A portion of the money goes to the queen, a portion to the judges, officers, vadintany, and accusers. The portion adjudged to the woman who had accused them at first, and who induced the man to unite with her in the accusation, was but six dollars in all, though she had expected much more. According to the customs of the country, there is a portion of such money usually divided among those who are eye-wit- nesses of such proceedings; and generally there are many beggars asking a trifle ; but, as was remarked by one who saw and knew this case well, though it is always difficult to supply even the tenth part of the beggars with the smallest pieces of money, none came to ask on this occasion, nor even ventured near the place where the money was divided, excepting a few of the most worthless in the community. About a fortnight after this, Paul was released from his irons, and taken by Rainiharo, the chief officer, into his service, to be employed along with those of the party whom he had already taken. There were now five Christians working together as slaves in the same field, and were at first treated with much cruelty. After working hard all day, they were put in heavy irons for the night. Paul, though extremely weak in body, completed his daily labour in the same manner as the rest, and contributed not a little to support and comfort his four brethren, companions in tribu- lation. He frequently repeated to them the forty- sixth Psalm, which he had committed to memory. Two houses were appointed between them, without other inmates, for their residence, in the village near which they worked, and this gave them an oppor- NO LENIENCY. 193 tunity of meeting at midnight for prayer and reading the Scriptures. Paul had a small copy of the Psalter with him, another had a copy of Dr. Russell's Cate- chism, and the others had a copy each of the tract on the Resurrection. The weekly portion of rice given them by their owner was small, not, indeed, more than sufficient for two days; and had it not been for the liberality of their Christian friends, they would have been nearly starved to death. These did all they could to alleviate their sorrows and to supply their wants. Joseph and Ramanisa were also given to Rainiharo, but he transferred them to Ramiandravola, the fa- vourite dekana already mentioned, and to whom he seems to have been attached for his sternness and strict- ness with those under him. This man treated them with the utmost severity. The evening they went to him he called them to his house, and told them they were now his slaves, and that he wished to know whe- ther they desired to remain with him and do the work assigned them, or whether they would prefer being sold in the market to another master. " I do not wish to deceive you," said he, " the work here with me is very hard, and I do not play with my slaves ; if flogging and cruel treatment alone will compel them to do their work, I shall not neglect these means. However, I give you your choice, whether to remain with me or to be sold in the market to-morrow. I warn you not to expect to be sold to any of your friends, by whom you may be treated kindly and not compelled to labour, as other slaves. Were you sold in the markets twenty times, it can only be to those who will promise to make K 194 NO CHOICE. you work to the utmost of your power. You have transgressed the law of the queen, and have deserved to be put to death, and would have been eaten up by the dogs before this, had the queen not been a merciful sovereign. A proclamation is, therefore, made in all the markets that you are guilty, and that you are con- demned to slavery and to hard labour as long as you live. As for any hope of running away, it is out of your power ; to what part of the island could you run where you would not be caught? You see that those who were born in the farthest parts of the island are caught and brought up here to be sold. How, then, could you entertain any hope of making your escape ? " His aim in giving them this choice was to find some occasion to give them a severe flogging at once, for had they said they preferred to be sold rather than remain with him, they would have been immediately flogged. He had no authority to sell them ; they were only given him for a time by Rainiharo, and that, because the latter knew that he was a fit instrument to render the lives of these young men as bitter as possible. The two Christians, being aware of his design, replied in the following manner: — " May the queen long live; may you, sir, advance in honour. As for any hope of running away, we can have none ; for where could we run, and the government not find us ? If we had any in- tention of running away, it is not likely we should have returned home of our own accord from the coast, and given ourselves up to the government. And as to our choosing whom we shall serve, we have no choice in hat affair ; but we are bound to serve that master to SEVERITY. 195 whom we are given by the government, and we hope you will not find us idle in your service, nor unworthy of your confidence." He then sent them to work in his rice-ground at his country village. After working there a few weeks, he found that, so far from being idle, they were completing their task even before his other servants, and accordingly he made them the overseers of all his slaves, with the hope of finding some occasion to flog them, which he seemed very anxious to do. Severity, he knew, would gratify Rainiharo and the queen, but he did not like to use it without some excuse. He now found what he wished, for when any of his slaves neglected their work, he would not punish them, but the overseers, saying, " You are the responsible party, and it is owning to your mildness and want of severity that the work is not done. Do you not know that the queen and Eaini- haro do not approve of the officers and overseers being so mild ? I will show you how to treat those placed under you. Do with them in this manner," — and with the ex- pression, he flogged them till the whip cut into the flesh. While flogging one of them, on one occasion, a severe pain suddenly seized his hand and his side, which con- tinued for some weeks. He attributed the pain to some powerful " ody," or charm, which the young man, he supposed, had obtained from the missionaries. This pain prevented his attendance on business, and he re- moved, privately and in the night, by order of the divination. Shortly after coming to his village, the rainy season commenced, attended with thunder. As the houses are frequently struck with lightning, he fan- " k 2 196 sword versus lightning. cied himself not altogether secure from danger, and ac- cordingly called for his sword and placed it before him, supposing that the thunderbolt would be afraid to ap- proach it. It so happened, however, that almost as soon as the sword was placed on the spot, the house was struck by the electric fluid, and he himself, though not seriously injured, was struck down and remained insensible for some time. The next day he called Jo- seph to him, and ordered him to go to the market to purchase some meat, as some of his friends were coming to congratulate him on the narrow escape he had had the evening before. He charged Joseph to buy the meat, but to send it home by another slave, whom he was to find in the market. Joseph went, made the purchase, and searched in vain for the slave who was to carry it home ; and at last, net finding him, took it home himself, lest his master and his guests should be disappointed, and then the vengeance should fall upon him. He therefore ran home with it with great speed, but instead of being commended by his master for his attention, was asked, with an angry tone, why he had not sent the meat by the slave, as he had been ordered ? Joseph told him the simple fact of the ease. " Now," said his master, " I plainly see that you are a sorcerer, as I suspected. You have sought to kill me. When I flogged Ramanisa the other day, I was taken ill im- mediately ; and when you failed to destroy me at that time by your sorcery, you used your charms to draw down the thunderbolt, and had I not been of ' good fate' (tsara vintana), I should then have been killed. After failing in that attempt, you now devise to put TANGENA. 197 your charms into my meat to destroy me," — and taking hold of a piece of cord, he tied him up and flogged him most severely. The officer's mother who stood by felt for the sufferer, and begged her son to cease, and at last took him by his arm ; the enraged son struck the old woman down to the ground, by which a severe wound was inflicted on her forehead. His wife then inter- fered, but was treated in the same manner as the mother, and one of her fingers was put out of joint. Their in- terference, in fact, rather increased than alleviated Jo- seph's punishment. He then asked permission of Rainiharo to administer to both the young men the ordeal of tangena, but was refused on the ground that they were still his (Raini- haro's) servants; and they were thus exempted from an ordeal which, at the instigation of such a monster, and under such circumstances, would no doubt have been so administered as to prove necessarily fatal. After David and Simeon had been working at Raini- haro's rice- ground for three months, they were removed by him and appointed to attend upon his son ; but as he could not think of placing any one with the youth unless he had been proved free from witchcraft by the tangena, they were both summoned to undergo the test. They were asked, as a matter of form, whether they would prefer being sold far away from home, or taking the tangena. They replied that if their master were in earnest in offering them an option in the case, they would far rather be sold into any part of the country than take the ordeal. The servant who had the com- mand over them said, " If that be your choice, I fear you are guilty. Why should an innocent person dread 198 TANGENA GIVEN TO SIMEON AND DAVID. the test?" Nor durst they venture to explain their real reason for wishing to be exempted from it. The mpanozondoha, or administrator, arrived at the village early in the morning. Simeon and David were now separated and placed in different houses. A quan- tity of boiled rice was given to each, then the three pieces of the skin of a fowl to be swallowed, and a fur- ther spoonful of rice. The tangena was then prepared by a little of the nut being scraped into some juice of a banana ; and the administrator commenced denouncing his curses, calling upon the tangena to kill the victim if he were guilty of witchcraft, or possessed any ody, charms, &c, and at last gave him the poisonous cup to drink. He then placed his hands upon their heads and began repeating the usual formula of curses. A very brief form was repeated over Simeon, and copious draughts of warm water having been given him and produced their effect, he was speedily pronounced inno- cent. A long time was occupied in denouncing the curses on David, after the skin had been swallowed, and before the tepid draught was given. He drank up- wards of four or five gallons of water, and was occupied above six hours in this part of the ceremony, but with- out the due effect.* His strength began to fail him, and excruciating pains came over him. He thought death was at hand, and inwardly cried to God to receive * It is affirmed by some, that if the administrator ivishes the party to be found innocent, he abbreviates the formulary of curses, so that the water may be given as soon as possible. During delay in other cases, it may be that the process of digestion commences, and the ejection of the bits of skin becomes the more difficult or im- practicable. This opens the whole process to bribery and partiality. RAFARAVAVY IN IRONS. 199 his departing spirit. Several of his friends came to bid him farewell. The man who had charge of them was about sending to Rainiharo to say that David was proved guilty, but the servant by whom he intended to send the message had already set out, and this cir- cumstance saved his life at the time. During the night some cf his friends prevailed on the person in charge of David to allow him a second trial, before sending word to his master that he was guilty. This was done two days afterwards, when the process was speedily completed, and he was pronounced innocent. His health, however, was much affected. He remained enfeebled several months, and his sight was impaired ; nor has he even yet entirely recovered from the effects of so fearful an ordeal. Rafaravavy was still in heavy irons, guarded by five soldiers night and day, and every moment expecting to hear the footsteps of the executioners. On one occasion she felt assured the hour of her departure had arrived ; one of the five soldiers, who was in the habit of fre- quently running from his post, to the great dissatisfaction of his companions, came almost out of breath to the house where she was confined, and told her that there was some person to be put to death that day, for the people were now boiling water at Ambohipotsy. She inquired who he thought it was, and he told her that though he did not know, the people said it must be herself. In the course of a few minutes it happened that four of the Tsiarondahy, already mentioned as the class employed in executing criminals, came to see that the guard were on duty. The guards themselves had now no doubt they were coming for her, and began to 200 CASE PIOPELESS. prepare to take off her irons, &c. She commended herself to the Redeemer, and thought that in a short time her sufferings would terminate, and she should be present with the Lord. The promise in Isaiah came to her mind, " Fear not, I am with thee/' &c., and she felt no fear at the time. The event proved, however, that it was another party about to be put to death ; and it was by mere accident that the four Tsiarondahy came at that moment. Her Christian friends did all they could during the whole time of her confinement to alleviate her suffer- ings, by visiting her as often as they durst, and espe- cially Joseph, Paul, Ramanisa, and Rafaralahy, who proved to be the next martyr. They took with them a Bible, or Testament, or Tract, and as the guards, per- haps, supposed them to be her relations, they would re- main outside the house for an hour or two and allow them to remain with her. Their lamba, or long native robe, was very convenient for concealing any book they happened to have, and which they managed to read in a low tone, so that strangers could scarcely discover what they were doing, but would be rather led to con- clude they were hanging their heads down with grief on account of their suffering friend. To find her sustain- ing her afflictions so cheerfully, contributed not a little to encourage them. She remained in irons upwards of five months. Her father and relations (except those of them who were Christians) seldom came near her. Her father, though extremely fond of her, and a man of great influence with the three head officers, was con- vinced he could do nothing for her, and therefore gave up the case as hopeless. It is generally believed that CONVERSATION. 201 the regard which those three officers entertained for him had hitherto saved her life. During this time she had opportunities of speaking to many of her visitors respecting the love of the Saviour. She had a long conversation on one occasion with a woman high in rank and influence, who commenced the conversation by advising her to act the part of a wise woman and not be so foolish again, since the queen had no wish to put her to death unless she persevered in this folly. Rafar- avavy replied ; " Yes, I would willingly leave all my folly ; this imprisonment and these afflictions are warn- ings to me, and if I still remain unw T ise I am wretched indeed. The Lord has been very merciful to me and not destroyed me in my sin." The conversation was sustained for some time in an obscure kind of way, for Rafaravavy by using the native word ny tompo^ which literally means lord, sovereign, master, (and by which she intended the Lord Jehovah,) her visitor supposed her to mean only the queen. She then told her in plain language, and her friend understood it, and could not object to praying to God, but thought, as the queen had forbidden it, they should do it so secretly as not to be found out. One of her guards asked her one day, " What is it you were taken up for?" "For religious worship." " What did you say when you were first taken up ? did you confess your crime or did you deny it ?" " How could I deny a thing that I had done ?" said she. " And are you not sorry now that you have brought such trouble on yourself?" " How can I be sorry for praying for the pardon of my sins," replied Rafaravavy, k 5 202 HOPEFUL CONVERSATION. " and asking God to bless me and make me for ever happy ? are not all men seeking for happiness and riches in the way in which they think they can obtain them ? so do I by praying to God : I seek them ac- cording to the word of God, for this alone teaches us how to obtain blessings." " That," said he, " is true ; I read a little of it before the queen suppressed it, and had she not suppressed it, nearly all the people would have received it by this time. I remember reading, c Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit unto God that gave it/ " Eccles. xii. 7- Ra- faravavy gave him a history of the creation of man, his happiness while innocent, his fall, and particularly his recovery through Christ. This made a deep impression on his mind. He left her, saying, " May God bless you and release you from this confinement so that I may visit you and hear more of this delightful truth." " I am delighted," said she, " to hear you say so, and to find you willing to listen to these truths, and de- sirous of an interest in them. I shall rejoice to tell you all I know concerning them. I firmly believe there is a world after this, and if I did not, I should be the most miserable of beings. It is this which enables me to bear all these afflictions with cheerfulness. My father and mother, and relations, as you know, have forsaken me, but I have a Father in heaven who can make up the loss." About the expiration of the five months during which she had now been confined, the season of the great festival on the commemoration of the new year arrived, and as she had been kept all this time in the ANOTHER MARTYRDOM. 203 residence of a dekana of Rainiharo, he petitioned to have her removed to some other house during the fes- tivities. Rainiharo told the queen, and in a few days an order was given to take her to Ambatonafandrana, and sell her into perpetual slavery, as the rest had been. She was actually taken to the market, but no one was allowed to buy her excepting Rainiharo. She was taken there merely as a mark of public disgrace. Rainiharo transferred her to his first dekana, Andri- anandraina, whose wife was a distant relation of hers, though her enemies did not think of this at the time. Her new master treated her kindly, and gave her liberty to go and come as she pleased, provided she punctually finished her work. During this time she was much in the company of her beloved husband, a colonel in the army, who, having heard of her condi- tion, had obtained permission to visit the capital for a few months from his station on the western coast. During the time she had been closely guarded, the other Christians reduced to slavery had been in the habit of meeting for prayer and religious conversation at the house of a young man named Rafaralahy, who had built a house for the purpose at a short distance from the village where he resided, and here they often forgot their afflictions in holding communion with God. Ra- faravavy, after being released, soon found out the little band, and united herself with them. She attended three meetings in Rafaralahy' s house. After this they were discovered, Rafaralahy was put to death, and all who had met in his house for religious purposes were taken up, so far as they could be found. Rafaralahy was a young man brought up in good 204 RAFARALAHY. RAFARALAIIY's BROTHER. circumstances. His parents possessed considerable property, rice-grounds, &c. His father died when he was not more than twenty-eight or thirty years of age. He lived about two miles from the capital, where, in the year 1831, religious instruction was conveyed to the inhabitants by a native who came originally from the same village. Rafaralahy opened his house for re- ligious services, learnt to read, and continued to attend the preaching and other means of instruction, till the suppression in 1835. He did not make the same rapid progress in the knowledge of the Scriptures that many of the other converts in Madagascar did. He, however, taught several to read, and induced some to attend chapel on the Sabbath. According to his own testi- mony he intended, when the queen issued her edict against Christianity, to yield submission to her com- mands; gave up his books, and commenced selling on the Sabbath day. He continued to do so for seven suc- cessive Sabbaths, at the end of which it happened that just that number of large and painful boils broke out on his body, and as the number of the boils and of the Sabbaths corresponded, his conscience led him to suspect that the former were inflicted on him for having broken the Sabbath. This created a good deal of unea- siness in his mind for some time. Towards the close of the year 1835 his only brother, who had adopted him as his own child, became very de- sirous of being admitted to the court-yard, urging his claim to the privilege as a sort of inheritance from his father. The queen intimated that she could not admit any one to her presence who had not been proved inno- cent of witchcraft by the tangena, and as he had not ANXIETY FOR A MOTHER. 205 undergone the test, it would be better for him to remain quietly where he was, serving the government in the si- tuation he then held. He, however, supposing that ad- mission to the royal presence was well worth the risk of the ordeal, sent a request to the queen that she would direct that it mioht be administered to him. This was all done against the earnest entreaties of Rafarahaly. She consented, the tangena was administered, and he was convicted by it as guilty of witchcraft. He begged the queen to give him another trial, which she refused to do, though, owing to her regard for his father's memory, she spared his life, and banished him to some part of the Sakalava country to remain till death. The whole of his property was confiscated. As Rafaralahy was much attached to him, this calamity, which he had brought upon himself, made a deep impression on his mind, convinced him more than ever of the vanity of earthly things, the uncertainty of human life, and the supreme importance of being prepared to meet God. Soon after this he visited one of the missionaries, and asked for a copy of the Psalter. A copy of the New Testament was offered him, but he was too timid at that time to accept of it, thinking he could more easily conceal a small psalter than a large book. In a few weeks, however, he applied for the Testament and some spelling-books, in order to teach others. He now gave himself up unreservedly to the Lord. He taught seve- ral of his servants to read, and instructed them in the way of salvation, and had the great delight of seeing four or five of his dearest friends become the followers of the Saviour. He was very anxious to see his be- loved mother become a Christian, and neglected no 206 CHRISTIAN KINDNESS. means to instruct her. He prayed most fervently for her, and repeatedly requested his Christian friends to remember Ms mother in their prayers. She never op- posed his embracing Christianity nor advised him to relinquish it ; neither did she prevent his associating with the poor and afflicted Christians, but frequently admonished him not to admit too many to his house at one time. She gave, however, no evidence of conver- sion to God. He told the missionary from whom he obtained the copies of the Scriptures above mentioned, that although he had been in the habit of attending religious ordinances for some years, and had associated much with professed Christians, and had felt some pleasure at times in reli- gious conversation, yet he did not think that a real change of heart had taken place, until some months after the queens edict for the suppression of Christianity, for then lie began to feel a delight in spiritual things, and to find it good to draw near to God in private devotion. Some of the Christians, however, who knew him intimately, think that he was a true convert previously to that time. Rafaralahy omitted nothing in his power to alleviate the sorrows of his persecuted brethren. He either visited them himself, or sent a trusty servant frequently to in- quire how they fared, and when he found any of them in want of food, he usually supplied them according to his ability. He had divided his rice-ground, allotting a por- tion of it for the support of himself and family, and an- other portion for his poor relatives and neighbours ; but in the spirit of the primitive disciples, he devoted the greatest portion to the relief of his afflicted brethren. He kept nothing for himself, more than was absolutely SPIRITUAL PROVISION. 207 necessary, often telling the Christians, that he felt less and less desire to accumulate riches on earth, but an in- creasing desire to secure a treasure in heaven, and would often quote such passages as the following : " We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." " If we have food and raiment, let us therewith be content." " I feel," said he, " no wish to be rich, but I am thankful to have a little more than I want for my own use, that I may assist my beloved friends, who have lost all for Christ's sake and are now in bondage." He often remarked to his Christian friends, that he could not feel satisfied with merely supplying them with the food that perish eth, unless he did all he could to supply them with spiritual food, knowing they could not be happy in their present condition, unless their souls were nourished with the heavenly manna. " If the body," said he, " is not regularly fed, it be- comes weak, feeble, and unable to bear the fatigue of hard labour. So is it with the soul, it will become weak in faith, hope, and love, if not regularly supplied with spiritual food, and as those who are called to hard labour are not satisfied with weak food, such as milk and eggs, so neither let us be satisfied with spiritual mi/i, but let us seek for stronger food, that we may be strong in the Christian graces, for we know not what hardships await us." That he might be able to afford opportunities to his Christian friends to meet together for prayer, reading the Scriptures, and religious conver- sations, he removed from the village mentioned to a private spot, where he could entertain them without its being noticed by the villagers, and his house became a home to the afflicted Christians until his death. 208 LEPERS. He was not satisfied with doing good to his Christian brethren; he extended his benevolence to all around him. He spoke of the love of Jesus to his neighbours as far as he could, and was the instrument of inducing several to believe in the Saviour. He was particularly- attentive in this respect to three lepers who had their hut a short distance from his house. Those infected with this disease are numerous in Madagascar, and as soon as it is discovered, the leper is removed from all society, and is placed at a distance from all other habi- tations, to remain there until death. Their relations supply them from time to time with provisions, placing it on the ground at a few hundred yards' distance from the hut, and calling to the sick to fetch it. Rafaralahy felt much for the three that remained near his house, and often said to his Christian friends, " How happy they might be in the prospect of death if they knew the Saviour ! How pleasantly and delightfully they might spend their time together in reading the Scriptures, and conversing on the love of Christ, and uniting together in prayer and praise ! They might read, sing, and pray without any fear of being discovered ; what a pity they had not learnt to read before they were taken ill ! " At last he determined on making an attempt to teach them to read and instruct them in the way of salvation. He went to them with a spelling-book for each, and told them the design of his visit; they accepted his kind offer most gratefully, and immediately commenced learning, and in a few weeks they were able to read the New Testament tolerably well, a copy of which he presented to each of them. One of them happening to lose his copy, the whole three went in search of it, and ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN. 209 continued searching a whole day but in vain. They returned to their humble shed and united in fervent prayer, that God, from whom nothing is hid, would discover to them the spot where their treasure was. After the prayer, they again commenced searching, and happily soon found the book. One of the three died a few months before Rafaralahy, in full assurance of hope. And there is ground to believe that the others are true believers in Christ. They were full of grief and sorrow when they heard of the death of their kind benefactor. They entreated most earnestly the first Christian they saw, after hearing of this event, to continue to them the instructions which he had imparted to them. He pro- misedto do so, but in a few hours after leaving them, found that he could but just save his life by immediate flight. This fresh burst of persecution was occasioned by the following circumstance. Rafiakarana, or, as sometimes called, Ramahazo, was a native of the same village as Rafaralahy. They were well acquainted with each other from their childhood. The former was placed in the mission-school by Radama ; he conducted himself well, and made good progress. He was chosen to be one of the printers, when the press was set up in Madagascar. When permission was given by the queen to baptize and admit the natives to the Lord's supper, he was among the first to express a desire to receive these ordinances, and was baptized. He appeared zealous in promoting the spiritual welfare of his countrymen, and fixed on his native village as the more immediate field of his labours. He obtained a house in the village, went there on the Sabbath, and sometimes on week evenings. Rafaralahy attended his religious instructions, and received some 210 A BACKSLIDER. good impressions from them. The latter learnt to read and made some progress in the knowledge of the Scrip- tures. As the love of the Saviour increased in him, he became more decided, and took a bolder part with the Christians, and for the last year or two of his life, his whole mind was turned to the relief of his brethren in tribulation, and to promote the welfare of others. Rafia- karana, on the suppression of Christianity, became one of its greatest enemies, and attempted more than once to accuse the missionaries of printing things at the press which the queen had made unlawful. He addicted himself to vices which brought on him a disease under which it is said he labours, and probably will, to the end of life. Rafaralahy, feeling himself under great obligation to Rafiakarana for the advice and religious knowledge which he had formerly communicated to him, was much concerned respecting his condition, and determined to converse with him on the subject. He put him in mind of his own former advice, and endea- voured to impress on his mind the awful situation in which he would be found if, after teaching others, he himself should be found destitute of the one thing needful. This seemed to have some effect, he confessed his errors, but complained of poverty, and urged that as a reason for acting the part he had done. " I am obliged," said he, "to be at my fanompoana from morning till evening, and receive nothing for my ser- vice ; yet I have a wife and children to support." He requested Rafaralahy to admit him into partnership with him in trade as a huckster. Rafaralahy thought him sincere, rejoiced that he had gained his brother, and received him into partnership, on condition of RENEWED CHARGE AGAINST THE CHRISTIANS. 211 not selling on the Sabbath. The new partner most willingly eonsented to this, and pretended he was as anxious to keep the Sabbath as a day of rest as Rafaralahy himself. They continued friendly for some weeks ; Rafiakarana gained the confidence of Rafaralahy, and the latter told him how the Christians were still in the habit of meeting at his house, which he had built at a distance from the village for their accom- modation. They kept respectively a portion of the goods on sale. Rafiakarana lost a part of what was under his care, or pretended he had. His companion of course was obliged to bear part of the loss : and of what was sold, Rafiakarana kept the money and spent it. He now owed fifteen dollars to Rafaralahy, and when the latter asked him for the money, he hastened to Rainiharo, and accused Rafaralahy of holding religious assemblies at his house. " It is thought," said he, " that the Europeans have gone home, but it appears their persons only are gone, their spirit and customs still remain ; there are religious assemblies still held in Imerina." " Are you sure of what you affirm ?" said Rainiharo, " so that I may tell the queen of it, for when your statement is once before her, you cannot withdraw it." The accuser replied, " Do you imagine, Sir, I would dare to mention it if I were not sure ? Are not you as the queen her- self ? Many of a certain class (Tsimiamboholahy) as- semble frequently at Rafaralahy's house, who has re- moved for that very purpose out of the village to a pri- vate spot, and erected a high wall around it, and a gate that no one might get in and take them by surprise." " If what you state is true," Rainiharo replied, " say who they are, that their names mav be taken to the 212 A MARTYRS CALMNESS. queen." He then mentioned Rafaralahy, Ratsimin- drana, Tsimosarena, Tsimanova, Tsindramina, Rava- hiny. All these were living in the family of Rafara- lahy, and in addition to these were discovered An- driamadio, Rasata, Ramahazo, Rabodomanana, Ralain- gomanga, Ratsaramiarana, and Andriantsalama. Rafaralahy was immediately seized and put in irons, and everything was done to extort the names of his com- panions from him ; but he remained inflexible, saying, " Here am I ; let the queen do what she pleases with me ; I have done it, but I will not accuse my friends." After being in irons for two or three days, he was taken to Ambohipotsy, the place of execution, where he was speared to death. The calmness and tranquillity with which he met death made a deep impression on the minds of the executioners. When they came to the door of the house where he was bound, they asked, " Which is Rafaralahy ? " He replied very calmly, " I am, Sir." They approached him and took off* the irons, and told him to go along with them ; he arose immediately, went with them, speaking to them all the way of Jesus Christ, and how happy he felt at the thought of shortly seeing Him who had loved him and died for him. On arriving at the place of execution, he requested them to allow him a few moments to com- mit his soul to the Saviour ; this being granted, he offered a most fervent prayer for his country, for his persecuted brethren, and commended his soul to his Sa- viour. He then rose from his knees, and the execu- tioners were preparing to throw him down on the ground ; he said there was no need for that, as he was now ready to die ; he laid himself down, and was im- DISAPPOINTMENT. 213 mediately put to death. His friends were allowed to bury the body in the grave of their ancestors. After Rafaralahy's death, his property was of course confiscated. Rafiakarana put in a claim, insisted that Rafaralahy owed him a sum of money, and took pos- session of the rice till the amount should be paid. This led to an investigation of the affair, and it was proved that Rafiakarana owed fifteen dollars to Rafaralahy; and had it not been for the influence he had with Raini- haro, he would have been then reduced to slavery. A great portion of his property was taken to pay the fif- teen dollars ; so that the accuser was, after all, greatly disappointed and mortified in the business. Not any of the persons above mentioned had been previously accused, and this contributed to save them from capital punishment. They were dealt with more leniently than those who had been accused six months previously. Their friends were allowed to redeem them from the nominal slavery to which they were reduced, owing probably to their being Tsintiamboholahy, the same clan as Rainiharo's, and because there were among them some of the best workmen in the government musket manufactory at Ilafy. Besides this, the num- ber of the accused was now so considerable, the govern- ment seemed unwilling to reduce any more to perpetual slavery ; and it was thought that, as several among those now accused had been accused once or twice before, it would be sufficient to punish them capitally, and that this would deter such as were accused for the first time, from a second offence. The first step taken by the government after the death of Rafaralahy was the apprehension of his wife, 214 INTIMATION OF DANGER. and another young Christian, Andriantsalama ; they were confined together, flogged and threatened with cruelty, unless they would tell the names of all who had been in the habit of visiting Rafaralahy for religious purposes. Fear at length compelled them, and though as yet none of those who had been formerly accused had been again accused, they were now. Among them were Rafaravavy, Paul, Andrianantoandro, Andrianomanana, Joseph, &c. Some of their friends at the capital, who were anxiously on the watch, heard that the names of these persons had been again given in to the queen, and as they knew there could be no hope of their lives being saved this time but by immediate flight, they imme- diately conveyed to them intelligence of the imminent danger to which they were exposed. The measures which they adopted in seeking safety by flight, and the many providential interpositions by which they were preserved, will be detailed in the fol- lowing chapter. ESCAPE FROM THE CAPITAL. 215 CHAPTER IX. From the Martyrdom of Rafaralahy to the Escape of the Christian Refugees from the Capital, on their way to Tamatave. At the time the intelligence was sent to our friends respecting the apprehension and execution of Rafaralahy, it happened that Rafaravavy was at the house of a pious friend, residing not far from the capital, and had with her two Christian female companions. The three women and the owner of the house were conversing together on religious subjects, when, on a sudden, a servant en- tered the house with a note for Rafaravavy, telling her that Rafaralahy had been put to death, that his wife and a young friend were now in irons, and had been flogged, to compel them to tell the names of all who had visited Rafaralahy ; and that her name, and the names of the two women then with her, had been disclosed. This sudden intelligence somewhat alarmed her. Her friend perceiving that there was something serious in the matter, asked to know the contents of the note. She told them all. All were alarmed, and the owner of the house himself, though his name had not been mentioned, neither had he attended any of the meetings at Rafaralahy's house. " What is to be done?" said he ; " you know that I can do nothing for you : the last time you were accused you were scarcely saved, 216 ESCAPE FROM THE CAPITAL. and you are sure to be put to death now, if the infor- mation just received be correct." " We trust," said they, " God will give us strength to be faithful even to the end." After some consultation the three women determined to go up to town, for Rafaravavy' s master lived at Am- bohitsirohitra. They set out in company, and came together until they reached the foot of Ambohipotsy, talking together of the Saviour, and of the holy delight they anticipated on seeing him for the first time in heaven. Here they had to separate. Rafaravavy in- tended to go straight to her master at Ambohitsirohitra. She preferred being apprehended there and put to death, rather than at her friend's house, which was about two miles south of the capital. Perhaps some kind Christian friend, she thought, might be at hand to cast a friendly look upon her there ; but at the other place no Christian could be expected. The other two women were going to the east side of the town, to a friend's house. Before they parted they knelt down together, and most affec- tionately and fervently commended themselves and each other to the care and protection of the Keeper of Israel ; and then parted with the full hope of shortly meeting together in heaven ; for they had not, as yet, even the most remote idea of making their escape. They felt as if they had done with earth, and said to one another, " We have to walk from hence to town, thence to Am- bohipotsy, and there we shall say farewell to all below." The two women proceeded to the east side of the town, and Rafaravavy proceeded west of Ambohijanahary to- wards Ambohitsirohitra; and during the whole of the KAFARAVAVY. 21/ way she ceased not to pray fervently that God would give her strength to lay down her life for his sake, if such were his holy will. She reached Ambohitsirohitra, and entered her master's house, and fully expected to find there the messengers of the queen already come to apprehend her. On her arrival, however, she found only one of her fellow-servants keeping the house. Her master, his wife, and all the slaves, were gone to reap in the rice-orounds. She asked her fellow- servant if any one from the queen had been inquiring for her mas- ter, and was answered in the negative. This satisfied her that the order to seize her had not been issued, for they would not apprehend her without telling her mas- ter first ; and, as her master was gone to some distance, they could not have found him without first coming to inquire at the house where he was. She felt uneasy, and left the house with the intention of going up to town to try and ascertain the state of the case. On her way, she had to pass Simeon's house, or, rather, that of his wife ; and, on coming near, she saw David, and hesitated whether to pass by or not, under an impression that her beino- seen with them at the time might lead to the discovery of more of the Christians than were yet known ; for she was not aware that David and Simeon were among the party accused. As soon as David and Simeon saw her, they beckoned to her to come : she en- tered the house, and heard a confirmation of the fact. that Rafaralahy was put to death, and that his wife and Dekana were seized, and that the names of many of the Christians had been extorted from them, and among others, their names : " and," said the young men. ** we L 218 DUTY TO ESCAPE. intended to come for you ; others of us intended to go for Paul and Andrianantoandro, and consult together, and pray for direction that God would show us his will, and give us strength to do it. You are come ; let us go in, and think well on the subject, and unite in prayer for guidance." They did so ; and, after much consideration, decided that it was their duty to save their lives if they could, by running away, rather than give themselves up to the government to be put to death. What David did when Saul sought his life, and what the Saviour said to his disciples, — " If they persecute you in one city, flee to another," — led them to this decision. Andrianimanana, one of the twelve senior teachers, was with them. It was now late, and they resolved to set out at midnight. Hafaravavy went up to town to say farewell to a be- loved friend, and there met Joseph. They had sent to Paul and Andrianantoandro, but, as they were residing at some miles' distance, the messenger did not find them, or perhaps, in fact, fear kept him from even trying to find them. The first part of the night was spent by Simeon and David in arranging the money belonging to Rainiharo, which they happened to have in their possession ; for, after they had been tried by the ordeal, Rainiharo had given Simeon nineteen dollars, and David ten, to trade with ; # and, as part of the money was still due from the people, and part of the ^est was in cloth on sale, there was some difficulty in putting their * It is customary in Madagascar for masters to employ their ser- vants, i. e. slaves, as hawkers or pedlars, the latter receiving a share of the profits arising from the sale of the goods. HONESTY. 219 master in possession of his property. They packed up the cloth, and put the money they held inside, and a written account with the names of those who had not paid, leaving the bundle under suitable charge, and stating that it belonged to Rainiharo. It laid there two or three months, and was at last fetched away. Raini- haro supposed, when they made their escape, they had taken his money with them. When the parcel was opened, and found to contain the money, and not only the capital, but the profit, and the unsold cloth, and a memorandum, with a clear account of the whole, men- tioning even a sixpence which they had taken to pur- chase provisions on the road, he was astonished at their honesty, and said, " This is not the general custom of people, and especially of slaves who run away from their masters. These would, indeed, make excellent servants if they mould but leave off their religion. Most likely they have been guilty again, and so have made their escape ! " Joseph did the same with the money which he held belonging to his master, and which he had received from him for similar purposes of trade. "When midnight arrived thev set out, after commend ing each other to God in prayer. Simeons wife was an invalid. She was an eminent Christian, but had not yet been accused to the government as belonging to the party. She felt much on seeing her husband prepare to go, arid proposed to find him a place of concealment. He also felt much on her account, and, therefore, at the risk of his life, relinquished the idea of attempting to escape by flight, and resolved to remain at the capital. The rest — Joseph, David and his wife, Andrianimanana, l2 220 DIFFICULTY OF ESCAPING RAFARAVAVY SOUGHT. and Rafaravavy — adhered to their purpose of endeavour- ing to escape. At that time of the year (the rice being nearly ripe) there were watchmen in almost all direc- tions, and this made the attempt to run away the more dangerous. Numbers of people, however, from the district whither they were fleeing, were returning home from the capital, after having been to the forest to fetch timber for the government, and the little party of Chris- tians was supposed by the watchmen to be their com- panions. Thus they were allowed to proceed on their journey without molestation ; and the next evening safely reached the district of Itanimanina, about fifty miles from the capital, where they were received with the utmost cordiality by their Christian friends, Rafa- ralahi-teasoa and Andrianilaina, and Sarah, the wife of Andrianilaina ; and, from that day to this, Sarah and Rafaravavy have continued bosom-companions. The morning after they had left home the messenger of the queen, and of the first officer, went to Ambohit- sirohitra to ask for Rafaravavy. They had an order to seize her immediately, and put her to death. Not find- ing her there, they went to her sister's house, and from thence to her husband's, and searched nearly every house where she was in the habit of visiting. Paul had heard of the affair, and thought of making his escape ; and, probably, had he known that these friends had effected their escape from the capital, he would have done so too. Their safety gave him as much anxiety as his own. This caused him to delay his escape. When the soldiers came to him, he was hesitating whether to set off alone, or to go back to try and acquaint his Chris- HANDS TIED UP — PAUL. 221 tian friends who were accused, with their danger. An- drianantoandro had heard nothing of it, and both he and Paul, his father in Christ, were apprehended. Ra- zafy, Paul's wife, was with him when he was appre- hended. She was anxious to follow her beloved hus- band, to see his end, but he advised her not, saying to her, " Go, and remain till the time for you arrives ; my time is now close at hand." Both Paul and Andrian- antoandro were put in very heavy irons, and their hands tied up in a small basket ; a sign that it is intended to inflict capital punishment. Both were now in daily expectation of being put to death. All the Christians at the capital, as well as Razafy herself, thought, for some weeks, that Paul had been put to death. Not any one of them could find out what had become of him. In about three weeks, a Chris- tian soldier, an intimate friend, found him out, under the charge of a guard of soldiers. Andrianantoandro was confined in the same manner. These two eminent Chris- tians suffered many afflictions, of which some further account may be given at some future time. It was the intention of the government to put these two to death, as well as Rafaravavy and Andrianimanana ; but, as the last two had made their escape, they were unwilling to execute the other two, lest it should induce those who had run away to conceal themselves the more care- fully. They wished also to put all four to death at the same time, so as to create greater terror in the minds of the other Christians. The other two women who parted with Rafaravavy on the w r ay to the capital, made their escape in another direction, and are in exile to this day, as far as can be known. 222 CONCEALMENT. Our five friends, already mentioned, who had set out from the capital, having reached their friend's house in Itanimanina, united in praise for safety on their jour- ney, and, though they had had but little sleep the last two nights, they had but little this also, for the greater part of it was spent in giving a history of their escape from the capital, and of the afflictions of their brethren, and especially their anxiety about Paul and Andrian- antoandro ; for as they had sent to them before leaving the capital, to proceed without delay to this district, where they fully expected to meet them, they began to fear they had been apprehended ; and which, indeed, proved to be the case. As it was impossible for their kind friends to conceal all the five, it became important to find some hiding-place for them. Some wished to go to the Sakalava country at once ; others opposed it lest they should die with famine. At last they decided on remaining there with their friends for a few days, and to let two proceed to the village of Paul, near Andringi- tra, to see whether they could meet him. Joseph and Andrianimanana did so, and, though extremely fatigued, they arrived at the village in the evening, after having walked more than thirty-five miles. They met there the adopted son of Paul, and found that his father had been taken by the soldiers that very day, and had gone with them to the capital. They could ascertain nothing more respecting him. On asking why he had not followed his father, to see what the soldiers did with him, he said he thought they were going to put him to death, and he could not bear to see it ; and suspected also, that if he followed him, he might be taken up as one of the party, and therefore he had remained at home. SWORD OR FAMINE? 223 Joseph and Andrianimanana set out in the morning on their return to Itanimanina, and arrived late in the evening. The consultation was seriously renewed as to a prohable place of concealment. Some of them pro- posed going to the Sakalava country, but they knew it was an enemy's country ; and as the Hovas had treated the Sakalavas with much cruelty, they feared lest, by way of retaliation, the Sakalavas might, perhaps, treat any Hovas that might fall into their hands in the same manner. Besides, the road to it was a desert country, and where could food be obtained in the wilderness ? " We had better die by the sword," said they, " than by famine." Joseph decided that he would return to a friend, who frequently remained in the forest, east of the capital, for weeks together. The four others deter- mined to proceed towards the Sakalava country. Jo- seph went with them a mile or two, and, after uniting in prayer, they separated, and he returned towards the capital ; but he had not gone far, wdien he met on the road the very friend to whom he w T as intending to go. " Where are you going, and why do you smile ? " said Joseph, " is all well at home ? " not without fear that his friend mio-ht be the bearer of the news that Rasoa, his wife, had also been apprehended. " Yes," said he, " all is well at home ; but I could not help smiling to think how the God whom you serve had led me in the right path to meet with you, I had very faint hopes of finding you when I set out, for I knew not the exact direction in which you had gone ; and yet we have actually met." They hastened baek to their four friends, from whom 224 ALL THINGS COMMON. Joseph had just parted, to inform them that soldiers had been sent out in search of them in every direction, and that there was a great stir about them in the capital. The friend proposed to take two of the number with him to the forest, and it was mutually agreed that those two should be Joseph and David. Soon after they had left, the wife of Paul arrived, full of grief, on account of her husband, who had been, she thought, already put to death. Those who remained were taken care of by their kind friends for about a week, when Razafy, hearing that there was no search for her at the capital, determined to return, that she might find out, if possible, what they had done with her husband. Another eminent Christian in that district, whose name must be concealed, sent for our two friends to remain with him, and said, " Let all the Christians that are compelled to run away for their lives come to me. I will take care of them — as long as I am safe, they are safe ; and as long as I have food, they shall share it." On the return of Joseph and David to the capital, on their way to the forest, they had much difficulty in finding their friend's house, who had very prudently preceded them, as it was dark and raining heavily. They now found that they were everywhere sought for, but that Raminahy, the wife of David, was not among the number sought after, nor had she been accused. She therefore determined not to run away till it might become necessary, but urged that her husband David should accompany Joseph. They set out soon after midnight, and proceeded to a friend's house, eight or ten miles from the capital, not far from the road. They RESURRECTION OF BURIED BOOKS. 225 arrived there before daybreak ; their friend did all he could to comfort them, kindled a fire, dried their lambas drenched with rain, prepared provisions for them, and gave them a Bible, a Testament, and a few tracts (for he had had a box of books buried near his house). They then proceeded on their journey, their friend giving them a little money, and sending them part of the way till they had crossed some large streams which were at that time much swollen by the torrents, and difficult to cross. Next day they reached the part of the forest they had fixed on as their place of conceal- ment. Joseph's friend then met them, and they imme- diately constructed a small temporary hut or shed, winch might answer the purpose till some ulterior measures were adopted for their escape. We now leave these two friends in the forest, and return to Itanimanina, where Rafaravavy and Andrian- imanana also remained. The former had some pious and faithful friends at the capital, watching attentively every movement that might affect her, and from whom she frequently received intelligence, and especially when a fresh party was appointed to go in search of her. She still remained with the friends who had first received her on reaching their district. She slept in their house by night, and hid herself among the craggy parts of an adjoining mountain by day. Sarah was with her the greater part of the time. They endured much hardship and suffering; frequently they were drenched with rain from morning till evening, exposed to awful thunder and lightning, and the electric fluid itself fell near them several times. But having gone to the mountain in a l5 226 RAFARAVAVY IN DANGER. morning, they could not safely return to the house be- fore night, as the road was directly opposite the village, and they were afraid of being seen. The friends with whom Rafaravavy remained, supplied them with rice ; but as they were poor, and provisions scarce, they were often in want, though their kind hosts always shared even their last morsel with them. One evening Rafaravavy resolved on attempting to return to the house before dark, but on reaching the foot of the hill, a slave girl who was fetching home the cattle saw her, went to her master, and said that she had seen a miserably-dressed woman coming along, who was probably a runaicay slave, for, on seeing her, she had turned towards the hill. The master immediately went out, hoping to get the two and a half dollars reward for catching a runaway slave, and called on Rafaralahi-teasoa, in whose house Rafaravavy remained, and told him what his slave girl had said, and begged him to go with him to the mountain in search of her, so as to get part of the money. He knew the circumstances of the case well, and of course declined going. Another young man, intimate with this Rafaralahi-teasoa, and who had conducted himself as a Christian for a long time, though of a very timid disposition, suspected by the manner of Rafaralahy* that he knew something about this reputed runaway * " Ra-fara-lahy " signifies the youngest son, as Ra-fara-vavy means the youngest daughter. Of course these names frequently occur in the same village. For the sake of distinction a further name is added, as in the above instance, Rafaralahi-teasoa. For brevity's sake, we shall in future designate him simply Ra-fara-lahy, only ob- serving that it is not the Rafaralahy described in the Eighth Chapter. RAFARAVAVY SOUGHT. 227 slave, and therefore he also refused to go further in search of her. By frequently visiting at the house, he led Rafaralahy to think that he knew one of the Chris- tians was concealed there ; so they informed him at once of the fact, and introduced him to Rafaravavv. He was highly delighted to see her, and conversed much with her on religious subjects. This new acquaintance, however, soon involved them in danger, for he named to a friend of his the whole affair. What his intention w T as in divulging the secret is not certain, but it is © © ' thought he was so pleased himself that he wished this other friend also to be introduced to the party, with the hope of doing him good. The latter in a few days went to the capital, and told Rainiharo all the circumstances of her concealment. He described the house exactly, so that the soldiers might find it without further inquiry. Eight men were immediately sent off to seize her ; tw T o of them arrived by the middle of the day, and went first to the hill, where it was said she was remaining, and not finding her there they pro- ceeded to the house. It being a cold morning, she and Sarah had ventured to remain at home; the latter, hearing more noise than usual among the crows near the house, started up, supposing they were devouring the rice which had been spread on a mat before the door, to dry in the sun, according to daily custom. The moment she left the house she saw two men with spears approaching, and gave immediate notice of it, though in a low tone. Rafaravavv instantly concealed herself under a bedstead in an adjoining room, and covered herself with a mat. Sarah lias frequently since r» i - 228 RAFARAVAVY CONCEALED. marked that there appeared to her the special hand of Providence in the occurrence ; she had often heard the crows before, but took no notice of them ; on this occa- sion, the thought crossed her mind so powerfully that they were consuming the rice, that she went out, and had she not done so, the two men would have been at the door in less than one minute, and all, Andriani- laina, Rafaravavy, and herself would have been found together. Rafaralahy and his wife had just before gone out. Sarah re-entered the house and remained with her husband near the fire. The two soldiers entered and told their business — that they came from the queen in search of Rafaravavy, who was said to be concealed there. " What Rafaravavy is it," said An- drianilaina, "you are searching for?" "Who does not know her," said they — " whose house and property have been confiscated and scattered ? " A long con- versation followed, in which Andrianilaina evaded the inquiries of the pursuers, and endeavoured to appear unacquainted with the party sought after, so far as he could without a falsehood. They remained in the house about an hour, and during all this time Rafa- ravavy overheard their conversation, as merely a thin partition of matting was between them, through which she saw them. She was alarmed at firsthand breathed so hard she thought they would hear her. Reco- vering from the surprise, she committed herself to God and placed her trust in him. A remark- ably suitable text of Scripture came to her mind and composed her ; — " Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh ; SCHEME. 229 for the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken." Pro v. iii. 25, 26. She re- membered also how the Lord preserved David in the cave, when Saul entered it in search of him. And if, said she within herself, it be the will of God to save me, I know he can and will — if not, his will be done, only may I obtain forgiveness and meetness for heaven, and strength to endure to the end. The words of the Saviour, in John x. 28, 29, " My sheep shall never perish, I give unto them eternal life," &c, sustained her faith and yielded her much consolation. Sarah left the house during the time, and felt convinced there was no probability of escape. Almost as soon as she had gone out, the brother-in-law of Simeon was approaching the house. They did not know each other ; he asked rather timidly if this was Rafaralahy's house, and if he were at home. On hearing that Andrianilaina was there he begged her to say that Simeon (Andrianomanana) wished to speak to him. It fortunately happened just at the same time that a man had come for payment of some money from Andrianilaina, and was waiting near the house till the two strangers had left. He was a Christian and a faithful friend of Rafaralahy — knew that Rafaravavy was there, and was glad to assist on the occasion to get Andrianilaina out of the house even for a moment. Sarah, with great presence of mind, took advantage of this favourable circumstance, went into the house, and said, in the hearing of the soldiers, " The man will not take this dollar, you must exchange it for another." " I have no other to give him," said her husband. The soldiers desired to see it, and asked, " Why does he refuse it? Has not the queen ordered that all the 230 SIMEON IN DANGER. dollars should be considered of the same value in her country ? Let him mind what he is about." " Go you," said Sarah to her husband, " and tell him so, lest he should not believe me." He thus got away from the immediate observation of the soldiers, and found that Simeon had arrived from the capital. He hastened to him, and told him briefly how affairs stood. Simeon, who had not run away with the others to Itanimanina, had remained at home, at the desire of his wife, during the last three months. He had been hitherto concealed by a friend at the capital ; but when the search for the Christians was now revived, he de- termined to escape to Itanimanina, hoping to obtain some rest and safety there. Having heard, however, from Andrianilaina the anxious state of affairs, he returned to the capital after dusk, and soon afterwards joined David and Joseph in the forest* The two soldiers now came out of the house, think- ing that Andrianilaina, as he was out of their sight, had perhaps gone to the mountain to warn Rafaravavy. Simeon was nearly caught by them ; in fact they saw him at a short distance, but supposed him to be the man who had come for the money. After eating some rice the soldiers went straight to the mountain, hoping to find their victim there ; and as soon as they had reached some little distance from the house Andrianil- aina returned, and told Rafaravavy to make the best of her way, and that the soldiers could not see her going out of the village. He himself went, taking his Bible with him, to a small pit not far from the house, and con- cealed himself there till evening. Sarah proceeded to her mother-in-law, who was living not far from them. ESCAPE. ANDRIAXILAIXA. 231 Rafaravavy had left the house without either Sarah or her husband knowing the direction she w T ould take. Yet they thought it likely she would go to Sarah's mother-in-law, and were much concerned when they found, in the evening, that she had not been there. They set out in search of her, and happily found her at another village. When she quitted the house she had no idea where she should go, but took care to keep as far from the hill as possible. She w T ent slowly at first, lest any suspicion should be excited, and while passing the opposite side of the hill she saw at a distance the two men. She then proceeded as fast as she could to the village where Rafaralahy had been attending on some sick friends. The road was difficult ; the grass was coarse and long, often higher than her head ; the night came on, and it was extremely dark. She thought of " Christian ' going through the valley of the shadow of death ; but remembered that, through much tribulation, we must enter into the kingdom of heaven. She met several persons, who seemed, how- ever, as much afraid of her as she was of them. Some ran from her with all possible speed, thinking she was some highwayman. She arrived late at night, and with some difficulty found Rafaralahy, and he, having obtained a lodging for her in another village with a friend of his, returned to his wife and mother-in-law at the village. After a few hours Andrianilaina and his wife arrived in anxious search of Rafaravavy, and were greatly relieved when they found she was there. Rafaralahy was anxious to induce his wife to accom- pany him in trying to effect their escape together, and to 232 NIGHT TRAVELLING. leave the children under the care of her mother. She objected to this ; saying that the children, though young, were too heavy to be carried ; neither could she separate herself from them — she yearned over them. She thought too that the queen would, at any rate, do nothing to injure her till the soldiers had found him. She promised to follow him in the course of a few weeks. On leaving the village they fetched Rafaravavy from her lodging-place, and proceeded together, not know- ing whither. Their Christian friends whom they acquainted with their departure, and who deeply sym- pathised with them, advised them not to go far at first, thinking they also might have to escape with them, as having helped to conceal Rafaravavy. Ra- faralahy felt uneasy respecting his wife, and went back to persuade her either to go with him or to remove from her mothers house, where she was at pre- sent remaining, to a friend's in a village at some distance, and where the soldiers were not very likely to find her. After travelling all night, and much fatigued, he reached the village, and she consented to remove to the friend alluded to. He then hastened after his weary companions and met them at the appointed place. They had one village more to call at before taking their departure from the district. There were several Christians in that village, and among them an eminent Christian who had sent for Simeon (Andria- nomanana) on the first arrival of the party in the dis- trict, to live with him, promising to do all he could to conceal him from his enemies, and with whom he had now lived three months. A few friends followed them FOOD IN THE DESERT. 233 to this spot, and others went to the village where Rafa- ravavy had been nearly caught by the two soldiers, to ascertain the state of things, and in what directions the soldiers were advancing in search of them. They all met and consulted at some distance from the village. Several of the most intelligent of the Christians opposed their attempting to find concealment in' the wilderness or the Sakalava country. One of their friends asked, ' Where will you go ? You cannot obtain food in the desert ; and, besides, there are many enemies there who would injure you; remain with me for the present, and do not be afraid, for as long as I am safe you are safe. If it be found out that you are here, we shall all make our escape together, for how could I think of remaining here and denying God ? If you go far away now it will be difficult to send you provisions, and unless you get supplies from here you must certainly suffer from famine. The best plan for me is to have you here with some of my trusty servants, and for me and my family to remain in my house at another village ; if I and' my family remain here, so many are continually coming to me on public business that there is every chance of discovery." The family of this friend then set out for a distant village, generously leaving their present home in the occupation of seven or eight trusty servants, for the persecuted Christians, namely, Rafaralahy, Simeon, Andrianilaina, and his wife, Sarah, Andrianomanana, and Rafaravavy. They were in hope of remaining un- molested for some time in this place of retreat, and under the protection of such a faithful friend. The rest, who had gone to see what the soldiers were doing. 234 BOX OF BOOKS FOUND. returned to them with trie report that they were seek- ing for them in every house in and about Ambohifaly, not only for Rafaravavy, but now for Rafaralahy and Andrianilaina and his wife, and that they had repeat- edly come to the house in the night and returned into the mountain ; that they pressed the servant left in the house to tell where Rafaralahy was, and had searched a trunk that was in the house, where they found a Bible, catechisms, tracts, &c, and this had condemned Rafaralahy and Andrianilaina and their families, and had excited them to make a still more diligent search. Their Christian friends sent to warn them to hide very carefully. At the same time they found, from confidential persons, they could conceal them- selves no longer with safety where they now were. This created much anxiety ; they knew not where to go : taking some provisions, they went to a village at some distance, and came to the house of a Christian friend, who kindly concealed them for a few days. Here the men and the women agreed to separate. An- drianilaina ventured to the capital to try to obtain some money from their Christian friends there, so as to procure provisions to reach the Sakalava country. Rafaralahy went to visit his wife and children. Here it may be worth while to digress a little, and turn back to observe in what manner Simeon had been concealed, during the three months mentioned, at the capital. His hiding-place, as already stated, was in the house of a friend, and usually over the hearth. There are no chimneys in the native houses. The fireplace is at some distance from the wall, and a large kind of rack is usually constructed at some eight or ten feet A WARM BERTH. 2K above it, through which the smoke passes on its way to the roof. On this rack our friend Simeon was generally concealed — and he found it a sufficiently " warm berth," especially at cooking-time. The house belonged to a servant who was working constantly in the fields ; and therefore the doors were generally shut during the day. On one occasion wdien Simeon was alone in the house, and lying down in his uncomfortable place of conceal- ment, he heard some one at the door, endeavouring to open it ; a man at length succeeded, entered, and took away some meat and other articles ; returned a second time and carried away a quantity of rice. Simeon was in danger of being caught by him, but was not detected. He knew the thief, and told his host of the theft. The latter immediately went to the thief and accused him of what he had done. He denied it at first, but when the man told him how he entered the house, and what he took off first, and how he returned a second time and took the rice, &c, and added that one who had seen him had told him the facts, the thief believed that it was God who must have told of him, for he felt sure no one could otherwise have described so minutely his proceedings, and he was equally persuaded that no mortal had been there. He ran off, alarmed, lest all his other bad deeds should be exposed and pu- nishment overtake him. At another time a person was drinkino- the " tangena" close by, and an officer of the 11 tli honour and his Dekana came into the house and remained there talking for some time exactly under the spot where Simeon was hiding himself, and among other remarks, Simeon heard the officer say to his 236 PREDICTION NOT FULFILLED. attendants, " These praying people are plainly throw- ing away their lives. It is said they have done it again and have fled : soldiers and officers are gone in pursuit of them, and where can they intend to go ? Wherever can they find a place in which they will not be found out ? And Rafaravavy, too, sister of Razaka- manana — how many times has she been found out praying, and been nearly put to death for it ! She was confined in irons for five months, and was just released from it and reduced to perpetual slavery, and now, it is said, has done it again ! How foolish ! Do they not clearly see that the queen disapproves of it ? Why do they not leave off ? And a woman, too ; how can she possibly expect to escape?" " True," replied the offi- cer's Dekana, " they have indeed been foolish. They can find no hiding-place ; they will wander about till they are caught; even men cannot escape long, and much less women." So much for prediction ; and yet these good folks are now in England; and even the " women" have escaped. To return — the two women, Rafaravavy and Sarah, went to visit a relation of the latter who lived at some distance. They arrived there late in the evening ; the relation was delighted to see her, and inquired who was the female friend with her. She simply replied that she was her " friend." They soon found soldiers had been there from the capital seeking for " some women that had run away ;" and had left orders in the village, that, should any strangers come there, they were to be apprehended. This news gave our two female friends much uneasiness. They saw they could not remain long there CONCEALMENT IN A CAVE. 237 with any safety, and agreed to leave early in the morn- ing, and return to their friends whom they had left the day before. They proceeded on their journey, and arrived late in the evening. While passing a house in the village they heard a great noise in it, as if many were talking. They passed the house quietly, and reached the residence of their female friends. She could scarcely speak to them for some time ; but at last told them that soldiers were seeking for them in every direction through the district ; were entering every village, and searching every house in the vil- lage ; and that a party of soldiers, with Eafiakarana (the native printer), the accuser of Rafaralahy, at the head of them, was in that very house wherein they heard the noise as they passed ! " And where," said this pious woman, " shall I hide you to-night and to-morrow morning V At last she thought she would put them in a pit, or hole in the earth, which was near her house, the mouth of it being covered over with thorns and briers. They entered the pit, and remained there a night and a day. Next day they came out, and entered a small plantation of manioc belonging to this good woman, and were there for a few days and nights. Some nights they slept between large stones at the river-side, and sometimes on a mountain ; sometimes on the top of a grave, the high grass growing on the top concealing them from sight. While hiding here, one day, they saw Rafiakarana and his party, eight in number, passing close by in search of them, but were not discovered. After remaining with this kind friend about ten or twelve days, amidst great danger and anxiety, they resolved on removing to 238 A NARROW ESCAPE. another friend, a few miles off, thinking it was not ad- visable to remain long in the same place. There were now but three of them in company, Rafaravavy and Sarah, and the wife of Rafaralahy, who had joined them. Rafaralahy and Andrianilaina, Sarah's husband, had gone to hide themselves in another place, and more than one hundred soldiers were searching for them, leaving instructions with all to apprehend strangers, and espe- cially Rafaralahy or Andrianilaina. In many places the people were already looking out for them. Part of the time they were hiding in a cave which was reported to be frequented by highwaymen, and where the follow- ing singular incident occurred. In the middle of the day a number of boys (watching cattle), from 12 to 15 years of age, took courage to come near the cave, and, to show their daring, shouted out, " Holla there ! you highwaymen, come out and fight." This they continued for a long time, till at length our two friends thought that some one must have seen them enter the cave and told the boys, and that perhaps while the boys were encouraged to shout as they had done, the people might be collecting to seize them. They thought it best to venture out, and did so ; they came out together and pretended to run after the boys for some distance, who were so thoroughly frightened that each one ran as for his life, and continued to run for some miles without stopping, and some of them without even looking back. The two Christians had time to make their escape from the cave and the neighbourhood. The women thought that they would try to reach the Christian friend just mentioned. All three set out CONCEALMENT IN A BOG. 239 together at cock-crow ; their way was near a market- place kept on that day, and where the concourse from all quarters was large. They took a lad to conduct them, who was directed to go before them at a short distance, and, if he should see any of the soldiers, to give them a sign, as agreed on. The lad kept before the three women, and soon after sunrise, as they were approach- ing the market, just as he had ascended a hill which was not far from a village, he saw about twenty soldiers coming to meet them, and already very near them. He immediately gave the signal, and the women turned with all possible speed out of the road. Sarah and the wife of Rafaralahy ran fast, and got to a consider- able distance, and were out of sight before the soldiers reached the top of the hill. Rafaravavy could scarcely move, and turned to a bog that was close by, where she hid herself among; the large rushes. She remained there perfectly motionless until the soldiers had passed by ; and although not wholly concealed and near the road, they did not observe her. After they had passed, she naturally icished to get out of the bog, and to find her companions. But by this time she had sunk so deep that she could not get out without assistance ; and what grieved her most was, her valued Bible, which was on her back, was being spoiled by the mud. At length her two friends came up to her assistance ; and, as soon as she was extricated, they all went as fast as they could in a different direction from that taken by the soldiers, and, after travelling till quite fatigued, reached a spot where they thought themselves Bafe ; but as they had not eaten food all day, and it was now evening, they wished to remain there for the night. 240 FATIGUED AND HUNGRY. Yet, knowing that their friends would be anxious re- specting them, and probably be searching for them all night, they determined to proceed. Exhausted as they were, they proceeded on their way in the dark : they could see no road or path by which to travel, but took the direction they thought likely to bring them to the village they wanted. Several people, at different times, met them on the road, whom they supposed to be high- waymen. On one occasion four men ran after them ; but they hid themselves in the long grass called vero ; others ran away from them as fast as they could, as much frightened at them as they were at others. On reaching the house they found a friend from another village searching for them, as Rafaralahy and Andri- anilaina wished to arrange with them about going still further away, as the soldiers in search of them were now so numerous that it was almost impossible for them to remain longer in that district without discovery. The women, tired as they were, started immediately with this friend, and reached the house where the other two friends were remaining in con- cealment. After offering afresh thanksgivings to God for his protection hitherto, and again imploring his guidance, they came to the determination of going to the wilderness, although some of their friends feared they would then not only suffer but perish from hunger. They set off before dawn, and, after travelling about ten miles, came near the residence of a long -tried and Christian friend ; but as he was a man of importance in the district, they thought it probable that some of the soldiers might be there with him, and yet they were unwilling to leave the district without seeing him. As CONCEALED IN A PLANTATION. 241 Sarah was the least known to any persons who might have come from the capital. She was sent to the village to tell him of their arrival, while the rest hid themselves among the grass. He was much pleased to see her ; asked about the others ; and, finding that they were not far off, he sent one of his confidential servants to fetch them up to the village. As soon as he saw them he burst into tears, and ex- pressed his delight on meeting them once more. He had suffered the utmost anxiety on their account the last fortnight, knowing that so many were seeking for them He made them remain with him till the following day, promising to take care that no one should find them there. The plan of going to the wilderness was again relinquished from the impossibility of procuring food there. He proposed digging a large hole at one end of his house, and partitioning the house, so that they might remain in it until the soldiers returned to the capital. The hole was commenced, but found not to answer. He then decided on making a small tent and putting it up in his plantations of manioc, in a spot where the long grass happened to be so high as to cover completely the tent. This was done without delay, and the friends were placed in it. He then fixed a "kiady" round the plantation, and being a man of influence in the district, gave strict orders that no man. woman, or child, stranger, or other person, should enter on that spot of ground, it being private property. They remained here without much fear for three months, and were well supplied by this good man, he himself sometimes carrying cooked provisions to them, and II 242 INCREASE OF NUMBERS. at other times sending it by his wife, or confidential servants. Ever since his conversion to Christianity, he had care- fully observed the Sabbath, and had not made any change in this respect even when the queen issued her edict. He had now a little band of Christians with him, and convened as many as he could of his relations in his house on the Sabbath, to unite with them and his family in divine worship. Several members of his own family became serious at this time, and all of them learned to read, besides several persons on his estate, and many of his servants. In all about twenty com- menced learning, and nearly all were able to read in the course of a few weeks. His sister and her husband, who lived some miles distant, came with part of their family every Sabbath to unite with them. After remain- ing with him about a month, his sister much wished Rafaravavy and Sarah, with her husband, to go and spend a few weeks with her, as she lived in a very retired spot, where it was not likely the soldiers would find them. Rafaralahy and his wife still remained. The three went accordingly with the sister, and taught her and her hus- band, and part of the family, the way of salvation more fully. By this time the soldiers had returned home to the capital, and had given up the pursuit as fruitless. After remaining with the sister about three weeks, they received a letter from a friend at the capital, to say that Mr. Johns had arrived at Tamatave, This was his second visit there, and made with the express object of ascertaining the state of our Christian friends in Mada- gascar. He therefore wished his arrival to become as ARRANGEMENTS FOR ESCAPING. !>43 extensively known as possible, so that the Christians on hearing of it might seize every opportunity they could of communicating with him. He thought if the people generally knew of his being there, the Christians, even though in concealment, would, by some means, come to hear of it. He therefore wrote letters to the queen, to Rainiharo, and several of the officers. Their aides-de- camp spread the information, and a friend residing at the capital, a near relative to the one who had taken so much care of them, sent immediately to the district where they were, to inform them that Mr. J. was at Tamatave, and wrote at the same time to the latter to request him to remain on the coast for a few weeks. Rafaralahy was at this time ill and unable to remove. Andrianilaina, his wife, and Rafaravavy proceeded to the capital, intending to go forward without delay to the coast. A valuable friend at Tananarivo advised the two women to remain concealed, and to let Andrianilaina and another Christian friend go down to the coast and see whether Mr. Johns was still there, and whether there was any probability of their getting away from the country. On their way to the capital, Rafaravavy was nearly caught. She was dressed in a common rofia cloth, and carried a large bundle on her head ; Sarah and Andrianilaina wore " lambas," white cloth dresses. They appeared as master and mistress, and Rafaravavy as servant. In this way they travelled for three days, and on the third day, in the afternoon, came in sight of the capital ; they advanced slowly, with the intention of entering the capital soon after dark. As they wciv advancing, two or three slaves overtook them near a m a 244 RAFARAVAVY RECOGNISED. small market held on the roacl-side. The slaves kept pace with them, and at last, one of them said, " You are the sister of Razakamanana." Rafaravavy made no reply; but Sarah asked, " What Razakamanana?" " You know what Razakamanana I mean," said she. " I never saw him," replied Sarah, with truth, for it happened that she did not know him, and never had seen him. After a few more remarks, the slaves turned off to the market, which was close at hand. The three Christians were now much alarmed, as it was evident one of the slaves, at least, knew Rafaravavy perfectly well. They suspected that they had gone to the market to tell the people there to go and seize them. They hardly knew whether to advance or return, but sat down for a few moments that they might appear not to be hurrying away, and then advanced without molestation. The shades of evening soon concealed them from sight, and they safely reached the house of a friend at the capital. In the evening the slave men- tioned above told Andrianandraina, to whom Rafaravavy had been sold, and who was also a first aide-de-camp of Rainiharo, that she had seen Rafaravavy near such a village, and that she thought she was hiding in that village, as it belonged to a relation of Rafaravavy. Her master and the people did not believe it, and merely said, " If she had seen her, why had she not taken her up ? " Here the affair terminated, but the incident showed how very narrow had been the escape. Rafaravavy remained in the house of one friend, and Sarah in that of another. As the latter was not known at the capital, there was not much difficulty in THE DOOR KEPT S1IUT. 245 concealing her : it was much more difficult to conceal Rafaravavy, since she was known to almost everybody. She was put in a part of the house thought to be quite adapted for the purpose, and remained concealed there more than a fortnight. One day, about fifteen or twenty men came to the house suddenly, on some business from the government, and had occasion to examine the whole of it ; they had no idea that Rafaravavy was there, nor had they come in search of her. The owner of the house became uneasy while they were there, and though not a person easily alarmed, he felt anxious now, not seeing how she could possibly escape. After they had looked over all the other parts of the house, they at- tempted to enter that part where she was. The door was shut, and they tried hard to push it open ; Rafara- vavy pushed on the other side. They perceived the owner of the house was remarkably uneasy, and it struck them that perhaps he kept his " ody" (charms or idols) there, and gave him a hint of the kind ; a mistake which he did not think it needful to correct. They left the house as if for the purpose of giving him an opportunity to remove his " ody ;" and as soon as they had left, he called Rafaravavy to come out without delay, and led her out of the house by a different exit ; she escaped over a wall, and reached another friend's house without bein^ seen. The men in less than a minute returned, and entered the very place where she had been concealed. This happened in the daytime, and many of the Christian friends stood not far off looking on with trembling anxiety. We left Joseph, David, and Simeon in the forest. 246 CONCEALMENT IN THE FOREST. east of Ambatomanga. The friend who led them there did all he possibly could to make them comfortable, and supplied them with rice from the capital. His work in the service of the government pre- vented him, however, from visiting them as often as he wished, and all the rice he could give them he had to carry from the capital, at a distance of 40 or 50 miles ; he was naturally timid, and would not venture to tell any, even of the Christians, where they were concealed, so that none of them visited them even once in the forest, not knowing the exact spot where they were. They suffered much during these five or nearly six months from want of sufficient food, and from the heavy rains. Having merely a sort of shed to live in, which exposed them to constant chills and damps, their health suffered, and they were more than once in great danger of being apprehended as robbers and brigands, by the people fetching timber. One advantage of being in the forest was, they had plenty of fuel ; and they found ample time for reading and prayer. After their friend had supplied them for about four months, he found his little resources almost exhausted, and told them that he must go to another part of the forest at some distance to make bowls which he might sell at the capital, and so obtain money to pur- chase rice for them, since he had none left ; David went with him, as he was less known in that part than either Joseph or Simeon. Besides which, the latter were ex- tremely feeble and could hardly stand on their feet. Their friend left with Joseph and Simeon a sufficient quantity of rice to support them for three weeks, and as ARRIVING AT A FAVOURABLE TIME. 247 he was to have David with him to assist him in making the bowls, he intended to return within the time men- tioned with a fresh supply of provisions, obtained by the fruit of their united labours in the forest. After appointing a time and a place to meet David he re- turned to the capital. David in the mean time was anxious to leave his two sick friends in as much comfort as their circumstances admitted, and contrived a better sort of shed for them ; but while arranging the wood for it, the day before he was to set out, he cut his foot with an axe which disabled him from walking. He was now obliged to remain and take a share of the rice allotted only for Joseph and Simeon, and as three per- sons were eating instead of two, they consumed it some days before the three weeks had expired. They tried to find roots or wild fruits to eat, but could not ; and it became a very serious affair with them what to do. After much fervent prayer they said to one another, " Why do we sit here till we die ? Let us try to reach our friends in the capital ; if we are pre- served from being discovered we shall live, if we are caught w T e can but die." They set out the next day, reached the capital, and were concealed by their friends. On leaving the forest it was their intention to return without delay after obtaining food, and therefore buried their bible, testaments, and other books, with their axes, &c, in the earth, and there they remain most likely to this day. On arriving at the capital they heard that Mr. Johns had reached Tamatave, that Rafaravavy ami another persecuted friend had also come to Tananarive), intending to go down to the coast, hoping to effect their 248 DIVINE PROVIDENCE. escape across the water, and that Andrianilaina and an- other friend had gone down to Tamatave to ascertain the probability of their getting off, and were expected back ere long. Thus for the space of eight months were our friends mercifully preserved amidst innumerable dangers. Every day renewed its difficulties ; but in every diffi- culty God provided for their escape, and thereby con- firmed their faith in his word, their trust in his provi- dence, and their hope that he would keep them " to the end." THE MESSENGERS AT TAMATAVE. 249 CHAPTER X. Journey of the Refugees from Tananarivo to the Coast, where they embarked for Mauritius ; including various providential Escapes from Discovery and Apprehension on the Road. It has been already mentioned that Andrianilaina, and a companion, left the capital for Tamatave with the view of meeting Mr. Johns there, and making some final ar- rangements with him for the escape of some of the per- secuted Christians to Mauritius. They reached Tama- tave safely while Mr. Johns was yet there, and entered the house he occupied about the middle of the day. As he knew the government was seeking for Andriani- laina, it may be conceived how anxious he felt on seeing him and his companion. He had no place in which to conceal them, and as his house was filled with visitors nearly the whole of the day, and they would be in con- stant danger there of apprehension, he sent for his con- fidential friend, Ramianclrahasina, and explained to him the whole affair, persuaded that, though he held a high office under government, he would not betray the Chris- tians, but rather aid them in effecting their escape. On stating the case to him, he deeply sympathised in the anxiety of Mr. Johns, and advised Andrianilaina to remain on the coast until his companions came down from the capital, and to let the friend now with him re- turn, and urge those who could effect their escape to attempt it without delay. lie immediately went to the M 5 250 PLAN OF ESCAPE. village, and, being a man of authority in that part of the country, took possession of a house not occupied ; then conducted Andrianilaina to it, with his nephew (James, now in England) and a confidential servant to remain with him, and put up a u kiady" before the door to forbid the entrance of any intruders, as though a sick person was there. It being known that Ramian- drahasina had put up the kiady, no one ventured to ap- proach the house. After remaining there part of two days he sent him to another village thirty or forty miles distant, with his confidential servant, who was to remain with him till the ship arrived. The other friend hastened back to the capital with letters to explain the plan, and to direct them to proceed to the village where Andrianilaina was concealed. All this having been settled, it was thought advisable for Mr. J. to return to Mauritius, and a final arrangement was made with a captain to bring them there from Madagascar. The amount agreed on was 400 dollars, 80/. sterling ; which sum was spontaneously and generously collected on the spot. Letters were then given the captain to the per- son on the coast who had concealed the refugees, and who was to be prepared to convey them safely on board. During the absence of Andrianilaina' s companion on his journey to the coast and back to the capital, our friends managed to avoid discovery. Rafaravavy was concealed in the house of one friend, Sarah in that of another, and the rest of the party among different friends. On the return of Andrianilaina's companion with money to our Christian friends to purchase provisions LEAVING THE CAPITAL. 251 on their journey to Tamatave, and letters and instruc- tions as already mentioned, they resolved on setting out immediately. Rafaravavy was anxious to see once more her nephew, Andrianantoandro, who had been now in irons for six months, namely, since the death of Rafaralahy. Putting on a cloth resembling that usually worn by slaves, she went to his house, long after dusk, and although soldiers were guarding him, they took no notice of her, supposing her to be a ser- vant of one of his friends who was in the habit of visit- ing him with rice. He was still in irons, and at the moment she arrived happened to be asleep. She durst not venture to speak to him, lest her voice should lead to her detection. She pressed his hand and left him. He was informed of it in the morning, and was deeply affected. She parted from him without any expecta- tion of seeing: him again in this world. Late at night our five friends, namely, Rafaravavy, Sarah, David, Simeon, and Joseph, set out by agree- ment from the capital, full of fear and joy. Many tears were shed both by the Christians remaining, and by those leaving ; and many fervent prayers were offered up for the divine blessing and protection. Two friends accompanied them as servants to the coast, and it was arranged that one should go before them at a short distance, and the other behind. If the one before saw any person likely to know them he was to call to the one behind, "Faingana ley iry" — ww Make haste ;" and should one be coming behind, then the one behind was to call on the one in advance, * ; Andraso kely — " AVait a little. " The orders were of course be obeyed inversely ; the command bo " make has 252 WISE AS SERPENTS. implied " get out of the way as soon as you can ;" and " wait a little" meant "go on as fast as possible." And at any rate the party in the middle would have time to turn out of the road, or, if caught, their two guides would not appear connected, and so not be involved in danger with them. The plan answered well when they came to the forest, where the paths are nar- row and circuitous, and where an opportunity of con- cealment occurs so frequently. By daybreak they were ten or twelve miles from the capital, and hesi- tated whether to conceal themselves during the day or proceed on their journey ; but as they could not find a convenient hiding-place they determined to advance. In the morning they met suddenly with some persons, one of whom knew Joseph perfectly well, noticed him, and looked after him some time. This induced them to turn at once out of the road, and direct their way towards the forest till they were out of sight, when they returned again to the high-road ; so that, if the men who had just passed should tell the people in the neighbouring village, they might be induced by the stratagem to direct their steps towards the forest. After a time they turned out of the road and read the 18th chapter of Luke, and took courage, especially from the 27th verse : — " The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." They walked about there and prepared provisions, as they could not venture through the village before night. After dark they proceeded, using their lamp which a friend had given them, and which they found of great service. They now remembered and conversed about God having led the children of Israel by the pillar of fire. Ex. xiii. 21. HARMLESS AS DOVES. 253 When they got near the village they recollected what Gideon did, and divided themselves into small compa- nies, lest the villagers should hear their steps on passing through, and come out from their houses to see so large a company ; and then, lest the lamp should awaken suspicion, they put it, not in their pitchers, but in their cooking utensils. This village is on the road just before coming to Ambodinangavo. Near the latter is a descent which our party found extremely difficult. The rain poured in torrents; they slipped almost every moment, and could only advance by holding each other's hands. They recollected Bunyan's description of Christian walking on all fours, and felt they were like him. When they began to ascend they found the difficulty as great as at the descent. They talked of Christian in Pilgrim's Progress, and remembered his saying, " Though the ascent is steep, I will go up ; though the road be difficult, its difficulty shall not discourage me." They took the same resolution, and felt it was for life — pressed onward and reached the top of the hill almost unawares, without being sensible of their fatigue. On descending the hill they exhorted one another to proceed w T ith the utmost caution, as a single fall might precipitate them to a great distance. " Let us learn to keep," said they, profiting by their situation, u c the narrow path,' in the strength of the Lord, and hope to continue stedfastly in it till we reach the end of our journey, and may the Lord keep us from falling." They saw a fire at some distance, and supposed it might be a light belonging to some of the queen's letter-car- riers; and as the road was narrow, and there was no 254 DREAD OF AN ENCAMPMENT. place of concealment at hand, they extinguished their candle to avoid discovery, and turned slightly out of the path in time to allow the party to pass by. It was now about midnight ; and at a little distance from the road they laid down to sleep. No sleep, how- ever, could be obtained ; the rain continued incessantly till the morning, and they were soaked through. They talked of their uncomfortable situation, having nothing to defend them from the cold and rain, but were cheered by the hope of a world " where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest." About cock-crow they proceeded on their journey, but as there were two or three hundred soldiers a little be- fore them going to Tamatave, and encamping, they were informed, about ten miles in advance of them, they felt anxious how to pass them without being seen. Many of the soldiers knew them perfectly well, and the Dekana of Rainiharo were with them. Many of the officers knew Rafaravavy, and some of them had been in search of her. They thought it safest to ad- vance. It was dangerous to remain long where they were, as other soldiers had been sent off from the capi- tal in search of highwaymen in that direction, and the woodcutters were not far from the spot. If they , should see them they would apprehend them as high- waymen or runaway slaves. They thought it safer and easier to pass the camp of the soldiers near dawn of day than afterwards, for, it being much colder at that time than any other part of the night, the men keep within their tents more closely. Committing themselves to the care of the Keeper of Israel, they went forward, and with great difficulty came to the village of DREAD OF PURSUERS. 255 Ambodinangavo. Soldiers are stationed here waiting to convey letters for the government, but there was no possibility of going by any other path than through the village. As they entered it some of the people opened their doors and looked out ; but, seeing so many per- sons passing without signs of fear, they were not suspected, and so got through unmolested. The next difficulty was how to pass the camp of the soldiers, to which they thought themselves approaching. But encouraged to hope that He who had hitherto preserved them would still protect them, they went on, and arriving at the spot where it was told them the troops were encamping that night, found to their great astonishment and delight, not one there. They said to one another, " The Lord has indeed pre- pared our way before us ; let us be thankful, take cou- rage, and advance diligently on our journey." About nine o'clock they remained some little time, partook of some refreshment, and hoped to reach the Mangoro river soon after dark. They saw presently several men coming towards them, wearing white lambas, a sign that they were some persons of consequence, and Hovas. They left the path, and found that those following them, turned in the same direction, and in an instant they saw many others coming up behind them, and that they also turned out of the path to follow their steps. They now thought, beyond a doubt, that they were persons in pursuit of them. They hurried on till they came to a hollow, and got among the bushes, where they left the two servants who were with them, and Sarah, to sit by the path until those in Bight had passed, lest, if they should come forward and not see 256 CROSSING THE RIVER. any of them, it might make them suspect that they were people running away, even if they had no sus- picion of the kind before. They hurried to the bushes ; and, though they had no time to unite in asking the protection of God, they remembered Psal. 1. 15, " Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me ;" and urged each other to be fervent in prayer. The men came forward, and took no notice of the two servants and Sarah ; and, after having passed to some little distance, our friends came out of the bushes and again proceeded. They had not gone far before the servant in advance called out, " Make haste, there !" They understood the signal, and turned into the wood ; from whence, after the party causing the alarm had passed, another signal was given, and they went on. In this manner they proceeded till they came near the Mangoro, and then loitered about till night, not knowing how to pass this large river. The number of crocodiles in it renders it impossible for any one to swim over, and the only canoe to be had is kept in one place, under the charge of men employed by the government, who inquire of every one passing over his business. There was no possibility of crossing with- out a canoe. It was dark when they came to the place where the canoe crosses, but, fortunately, they came at an excellent juncture; some soldiers had just crossed, and the boatmen, supposing them to be their companions and attendants, took them over without objection. After crossing the river they pretended to be going towards the village to rest for the night, but were, in fact, most anxious to avoid it, as the soldiers that were going down to Tamatave were lodging there. Hence THE PATH LOST. 257 they resolved to go on as fast as possible, so as to get some distance in advance of them. They lighted their lamps ; but, as the plain from Mangoro to Mora manga is very extensive, and the footpaths not easily seen in the night, they lost their way, and wandered about for a long time. There were many small footpaths, and it was difficult to find the right one. While in search of the right road they remembered in what trouble Pilgrim was when he lost his certificate. They found the path at last, " fetched strength," and proceeded till they came to a place where there was a bridge, or rather a narrow plank, at a considerable height above the water, which shook at every step, and was so narrow that two persons could not walk together. The water was wide and deep ; the women began to fear crossing, and in- quired if there was no other way to get over, but ascer- tained that there was none. They then remembered what " the shining ones" had said to Christian and Hopeful when they asked if there was no way to the Celestial City but through the river. It took them some time to get over, but they succeeded in passing this dangerous place in safety. They again lost their path, and, in searching it here and there, lost the direction of it altogether ; some of them thought the east was in this direction, and others thought it was in the opposite direction; and as they had neither sun, moon, nor stars, map nor compass, nor guide to lead them, they laid down, tired and hungry, weak and ex- hausted ; for they had had little rest since leaving the capital. But as they had waded through several bogB, and were cold, they could obtain no Bleep, though so fatigued as to be scarcely able to move their feet. At 258 TRAVELLING IN THE FOREST. last, watching for the morning, they saw day dawn; it pointed out to them the east, and they directed their ways eastward, remembering the star which di- rected the wise men to the Saviour. After travel- ling hard for several hours they came to Ampasimpotsy. As many were passing and repassing here from the coast, they durst not venture into any house, but sat down by the water-side, pretending to wash and dry their clothes, so that no one might suspect the reason why they did not enter into the houses as others. After resting for some little time, and uniting with one another in prayer and praise, they recommenced the journey ; but as the path was now through the great forest, where it would not be easy to turn aside in case of meeting any of the Hovas, it was necessary to make fresh arrangements. They still kept one of the servants before and one behind, but dressed Sarah according to the custom of the country, in the best style they could, that she might appear like a wife of an officer going to reside with her husband on the coast. Rafaravavy was dressed in common rofla cloth, as if a servant of Sarah, having a straw hat and large bundle on her head, so that a small por- tion only of her face was visible. Thus they came on the fourth day beyond Alamazaotra, the most difficult part of the forest, and as they were now much fatigued, they turned aside a little into the depths of the forest, and laid down till the morning, too wearied to obtain sleep. In the middle of the night some soldiers passed by near them, carrying torches with them. They thought they were in search of them, but found they were carrying letters for the government. ONE OF THE PARTY RECOGNISED. 259 Proceeding in the morning, several persons passed them, some of whom they knew, but who did not recog- nise them. To avoid being recognised they covered their faces as much as they could, and overheard the people as they passed along, remark to one another, — " These people are ill in the smallpox, and hence they cover themselves up in this manner." This made them think it was imprudent to cover their faces so much, as it might lead to their being apprehended ; persons having the smallpox not being allowed to associate with others or travel about, but, to avoid communicating the infection, being required to remain in sheds or huts at a distance from any village. Going up hill in the midst of the forest, Simeon, being a little in advance of the party, saw a number of native traders close by, and made a sign to his com- panions, who turned out of the path into the forest as quickly as possible ; but, as the men had already seen Simeon, he thought it safest to keep straight on towards them, remembering at the moment what Watchful said to Christian when he saw the lions in the way,-— " Fear not the lions, for they are chained." Some of them he knew perfectly well ; they also knew him, and they saluted each other. After passing them, one of the servants of the refugee party, as if having no connexion with Simeon, contrived to listen to what they were saying. " One of the traders remarked, " That is Andrianomanana (Simeon), who was lately sold to Rainiharo on account of his religion ; where can he be going now?" The other said, "Is he not a trader? Most likely Rainiharo has sent him to sell some goods on the coast;" and so suspicion was lulled, 260 JOURNEY TO BEFORONA. and the danger avoided. After these people had gone on, our party came out from the spot where they had con- cealed themselves, and went forward thanking God for this narrow escape. After advancing a little way they saw two men coming after them, by whom they were soon overtaken; they had no place to turn out of the road, and they had been seen before they saw the party coming forward. On meeting, the strangers asked them questions as if they suspected them, and followed them some time. Our friends were all anxious to get away from these persons, and at last they sat down complaining of being tired ; but as soon as they sat down, the other party sat down also. On getting up and proceeding on their way, their unwelcome companions did the same. They then bent their course to a village close by, intending to remain there for the night ; the others did the same, and actu- ally turned towards the village with them. Our friends then said to one another, in the hearing of the strangers, that, as it was so early in the afternoon, they had altered their minds and would go forward to Beforona. Thither they accordingly proceeded. After awhile they saw the two men following them, and, full of anxiety, concluded they suspected them, and intended to have taken them up as soon as they should meet with any soldiers. The refugees reached Beforona together, and then felt compelled to go to the village and sleep there, for if they advanced, it would at once convince the party suspecting them that they were runaway slaves and afraid of being seen. They thought if they went to the village it might remove suspicion. This was the fifth night since they left the capital, and the first that they SOLDIERS AVOIDED. 261 entered any house. They passed the night in much anxiety lest the two men, with some others, should en- ter the house and apprehend them. At dawn of day they left the village and reached Ampasimbe, whence, after resting awhile, they proceeded ; but here they had a narrow escape, as numbers of the soldiers met them, some of whom knew Rafaravavy. Happily the con- certed signal of the servant in advance gave them time to turn out of the road and conceal themselves. Soon after passing these soldiers, the two men they left at Beforona overtook them, and asked them where they intended lodging that night. They said they had not decided. The two men then w T ent forward, and our friends remained behind. After again advancing a short distance, the servant at their head made the usual sig- nal, and they concealed themselves. A party of soldiers, armed with spears and swords, were coming forward, but passed on without observing our friends. They now intended to go beyond Ambatoharanana, knowing that in that village w^as a dekana of one of the first officers who knew them well, and they considered that village a dangerous place for them. Before ap- proaching the village they waited for the shade of night to conceal them, and were anxious to find some other ath without going through the village, but in this they did not succeed. They were compelled to decide on going through it at all hazards. After dark they advanced, but on coming near the village, they found numbers of the inhabitants sitting in the middle of it. directly in their path, and among them the two men who had followed them on the road, and another man who knew Rafaravavy. They attempted to pass and 262 IN GREAT DANGER. proceed on their journey, but on seeing it, the people cried out, " Where are you going such a dark night as this ? Why not sleep in the village as others do ? " They replied, " We intended to go forward to the vil- lage before us." Is there no food with us ? " said they ; " stop here as others do." Our friends felt obliged to remain here, even in the midst of danger, and actually entered the very house they would most anxiously have avoided, it being next to that in which the dekana mentioned resided, though they were not aware of it at the moment. Rafaravavy laid down, and covered herself over with a lamba, as if unwell. Shortly after they had entered, the two men whom they had regarded with so much suspicion, came into the house and gave their packages into their charge and went out. They thought certainly the men were gone to fetch the soldiers residing in the village to take them up, and they said to one another, " Let us fer- vently pray, for God can shut the mouths of these men, and deliver us from the hand of the enemy." If we are caught here, we shall be put to death, apparently for running away rather than for praying, and the enemy will say, " These praying people intended to run away, but the kasina (that which is sacred) has prevented them, and they are caught." Rafaravavy and her companions then remembered Deut. xxxii. 27, " Were it not that I feared the wrath of the enemy, lest their adversaries should behave them- selves strangely, and lest they should say, Our hand is high, and the Lord hath not done all this." They offered fervent prayer, their fears subsided, and they found encouragement from Jer. i. 8 : " Be not afraid of UNDER SUSPICION OF DETECTION. 263 their faces, for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord/' The two men returned and fetched away their packages, and removed to another house. Thus they passed the sixth night on their journey. At cock-crow next morning they departed, full of gratitude to God for his protection, for they had cer- tainly been in the most imminent danger of being de- tected, as so many persons in the employment of the government were residing here. They proceeded as fast as possible until they got beyond Ranomafana. Fa- tigued and hungry, they left the path and sat down to cook some rice. The two men already mentioned again came up with them, and seeing them resting, they also rested. This increased the suspicion of the refugees. They offered the men some rice, remembering the words of the Apostle, " Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink." Romans xii. 20. But they refused, or took scarcely any. Our friends then said to each other, " These men seem like enemies — they follow us and yet refuse to eat with us. It is a bad sign, for thev must be as hungry as we are." On going forward, the two men went first, and, as our friends found, took a large leaf, and placed it on the road. . The latter could not conceive what was the de- sign of this action. They thought it might be a signal agreed on between them and some of the soldiers who were coming forward to seize them, and that they had put the leaf there as a mark of their having seen them. They therefore threw away the leaf, and one of the servants remained concealed to see whether any should come up with the intention of getting before them, and so to warn them in time. 264 A NIGHT S REST. After advancing a little, they saw the two men sit- ting down as if waiting for them. They kept on and passed them. In a little w 7 hile the men overtook them again. Our friends went on slowly, and allowed them again to get in advance. They then proceeded until they reached Maro-omby, by which time the servant overtook them. The two men went up to the village, and the fugitive party went forward on their journey. They in- tended to reach Ambohibohazo the same evening, and as it was very rainy and cold, and the earth quite wet, they intended to enter, after dark, some house where no strangers frequented. But as they were passing through a village in the way to Ambohibohazo, they saw a num- ber of houses without inhabitants, for the people had gone to do the fanompoana, or government service. They entered one of these empty houses and were much re- freshed with a night's rest. They were delighted with their lodging, for they seemed to be out of immediate danger, and every night that they had hitherto slept in a village, they had been under the constant and haras- sing apprehension of being seized. They found that sleep is sweet to the weary. As there were but few people in this village, and none in the house where they remained, they lodged without fear, and called it the " Porters Lodge," for it seemed as if it had been made for their relief and security. In the morning they en- deavoured to hire a canoe to take them the remainder of their journey, as they were not only much wearied, but it appeared to them the safer mode of proceeding. They could not obtain one for the little money they had, and hence were compelled to proceed by land. They pre- pared some rice to carry with them, so that, should PROCEEDING ALONG THE BEACH. 265 they meet with persons they suspected, they might turn out of the road and appear to be taking a meal, so as to avoid the suspicion that they had left the path in order to conceal themselves. On reaching Andevoranto, they left the road and travelled along the beach towards Tamatave. Towards evening they became hungry, but could not find fresh water to boil their rice. After a time they remem- bered they had some manioc with them, and said to one another, " Why should we remain so hungry. while w r e have with us some manioc, and a tinder-box to strike fire ? " They sat down, kindled a fire, roasted the manioc, were much refreshed, and remembered those words, " Man shall not live by bread alone," Matt. iv. 4. Towards the evening they found, near Andavamena- rana, water, though somewhat brackish, and boiled their rice. Presently again they saw the two men who had given them so much anxiety, on the road, coming behind them. They agreed to quit the path along the beach, and turn into the path in the jungle, where people usually proceed, thinking, if the men saw them keep on the beach, it might increase their suspicions. After getting out of the sight of the men, they re- mained quietly till they had passed. Night came on, but though tired, they thought it best to continue tra- velling, as the government letter-carriers were numer- ous in the neighbourhood; and as they took the path in the jungle, it seemed best for our friends to proceed along the beach, which they did, now the eighth night since they left the capital. n 266 HUNGER. They rested in the morning in a retired spot, and then advanced as rapidly as they could through the day, and after dark lay down to rest. Long before daylight they proceeded, as they knew they were sleeping near a Tillage in which soldiers resided. Our party was by this time so tired, and their feet so much swollen, they could scarcely move. Some could scarcely keep up with the rest, and then by some accident passed beyond them unawares, and so missed each other ; it was providential they met again, for, as they could not trace each other by the footsteps on the sand, it led the party in advance to suspect the others were behind. About midday they came opposite Tra- nomaro and sent one of the servants to buy rice ; a very small quantity could be obtained, and only at an enormous price. There were few people in the village, all had gone to the " fanompoana," and the village appeared forsaken. Their journey was drawing to an end, and they were aware that the risk of being disco- vered was greater as they approached nearer to Tama- tave. They resolved on sending forward the two ser- vants to the friend who had kindly promised to receive them into his house and conceal them till the vessel arrived. They remained concealed in the jungle, though without food. They continued there all next day, and durst not venture into the village. Hunger increased, and they had no prospect of relief till the servants returned. Towards evening, after being more than a night and a day without food, they recollected having some stale fat with them which they had brought to feed the lamp. In their extremity they boiled it, ate it, thanked God HOPE. 2G7 for it, and reflected on all his goodness to them in snatching them as brands out of the burning, and his care over them in supplying them while in confinement. " When we brought this supply for our lamp with us," said they, " we no more thought of using it in an ex- tremity for food than the children of Israel thought of receiving manna when they set out on their journey from Egypt." Next morning the servants returned from the friend who had promised to conceal them ; they were anxious to know what kind of reception and encouragement they had met with, for their safe escape from the country seemed to depend on that. They instantly asked : the servants smiled, and said, " All is right ; there is indeed a God, and he prepared the way before us. We delivered the letter to the friend, and he under- stood it immediately, and asked us where you were : we told him. 4 Go back,' said he, 4 take them to such a place, and leave them there ; then come and tell me and I will take my canoe and carry them across the lake after dark. This is a dangerous place, there are many soldiers here guarding every spot. Tell them to take courage, and I will do all I can for them ; and as long as I am safe they will be safe/" It was no small comfort, also, that they had brought some rice, for our friends had been now nearly three days without anv- thing to eat. About sunset they proceeded to the place where the canoe was to meet them, and sent one of the servants to say they had arrived. Here they had nearly committed themselves. A man going along in a canoe saw them, and came to see what they were n2 268 RECEPTION NEAR TAMATAVE. doing. They thought he was the person that was coming to take them across, and were so overjoyed that they nearly divulged their secret. Some of them soon found out the mistake, and tried to rectify it by offer- ing the man some food, and by so doing led him to conclude that they had turned out of the usual path into this private spot merely to eat. He refused, and rowed away. Soon after, a person, accompanied by the servant they had sent, came, and they were all taken into the canoe, and conveyed safely to the house of the friend who had promised to take them in. And none can describe, say they, the joy and gratitude they felt when they found themselves safe in the house of a friend. He received them with the greatest kindness, asked them about the dangers they had encountered, and gave them food to eat. They then read together the sixteenth chapter of John, and sang, though not in a high tone to be heard, a hymn of praise to God. After some further conversation, he told them, much to their comfort, of the plans formed for their escape. "Do not grieve," said he, " for Mr. Johns and myself have arranged all that concerns you, and I expect the vessel here in about ten days ; you will remain in my house, and though I cannot be often with you, as busi- ness calls me away, I shall leave my nephew with you to provide you food; whatever you want, tell him, and I shall do all I can to make you comfortable and to put you safely on board." Soon after their arrival, there was some suspicion that the Europeans were about to attack Tamatave : but their friend told them that he would see them on board before it took place, and cle- SAVED BY A SIIOWER. 2()D sired them to hold themselves ready at his call. He lived at some distance from the spot where they were concealed. One night he sent a confidential person to fetch some things from the place where they remained. This person misunderstood him, and thought he was to bring them ; they set out with him, and never had Pro- vidence appeared more clearly in their protection than that night. They followed their guide till they came close to the port ; at that time a very heavy shower of rain was falling, and they passed on to their friend's house. He was amazed when he saw them, and asked how it was they had come without being sent for. The mistake was soon explained. What to do with them was the question ; there was no place of concealment there, and the only alternative was to return to their former hiding-place, though it was far more dangerous to do so than they had apprehended. He set out to lead them back from whence they came, and as they were going out of the village, ten or twelve men in- stantly surrounded them and asked where they were going. Their friend had told them previously not to speak, but let him speak, should any attempt to stop them ; consequently he replied and said, " that he and his friends were going to his country place on business." He was a man of influence, and well known, and no one suspected him, so that all were allowed to puss. The men that had surrounded them were the guards, and had it not been for the heavy shower of rain which fell when they were passing by this very spot just before, which had driven the guard into their houses, they would no doubt have been caught. They safely reached 270 EMBARKATION. their resting-place. Next morning their friend returned home, and desired them to remain till he sent for them. In a few days the expected ship arrived, and after taking in her cargo and being ready to sail, their kind friend sent a confidential person to tell them, as a pre- cautionary measure, to cut their hair, and then to follow the guide to the port at Tamatave. It was getting dark when they left the house ; they hastened on, with many an anxious step, till their guide brought them to the jungle near the port, where he left them for a short time, that he might announce to their friends, the party that had engaged to take them on board, that they had now reached the spot. Their friends came, with a suit of sailor s clothes for each, as the most effectual means within their reach of evading suspicion. They put them on in the jungle. This was now a most critical moment. Within a few minutes they must, after all their escapes, either be detected, or they would be beyond the reach of detection. One of the party concerned for their escape went to the guards at the landing-place to amuse them with some tales, while the others took our friends privately on board. The ship weighed anchor early next morning, and sailed for Mauritius. Having got fairly out to sea, these Christian refugees said to one another, " Let us now, like Abraham's servant, bless the Lord, for he has prospered our journey and granted us our request. Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," said they, " who has not left us to perish by the hand of the enemy. Our souls are escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler." HISTORY OF A FRIEND. 2J1 Having thus seen our fugitive friends safely embark at Tamatave on their way to Mauritius, we may perhaps venture to linger a little while on the coast of Madagas- car, notwithstanding the anger of the queen at the escape of any of her subjects from her grasp, and present a brief notice of the history of Ramiandrahasina, who so effectually aided the concealment and escape of the re- fugees, and who is himself at present at Mauritius. The father of Ramiandrahasina was a civil officer called Yadintany, in the time of Radama. He left the capital to reside on the coast at Tamatave, taking with him his son, who was at that time of tender years. On the death of the father, the son succeeded him in office, and was ultimately constituted a judge and a colonel in the army, a combination of offices neither very common nor very desirable. He had a pious relative, wdio became extremely anx- ious on account of his spiritual welfare, and proved the means, after persevering exertions, of the conver- sion of Ramiandrahasina, some time prior to the sup- pression of Christianity in the country. When the queen issued her order that all the Bibles, &c. in the possession of the natives should be returned to the go- vernment, he resolved on retaining his at all risks. He resided in a house belonging to the government at Tamatave, and prepared a place under the floor of the house in which he might conceal them. Being required to remove suddenly from the house in consequence of some other arrangements, he was compelled to leave his books where he had secreted them, and was in daily apprehension of their discovery, which of course would lead to his condemnation. 272 RAMIANDRAHASINA. The oppressive measures adopted by the government, and which by virtue of his office he was compelled to assist in executing, created the deepest distress of mind. He was obliged to associate with the officers and judges, and to exact fines from the people, against which his whole heart burnt with honest indignation. On one occasion he was employed by his superiors to compel some people to pay a fine, simply because, in repairing a battery, they had appeared somewhat discontented and sullen, and had not, in fact, shouted the national sound of joyful gratification while performing their laborious and unwelcome task ! Was it unnatural that a man possessing any of the common feelings of humanity should long to escape from the fangs of such an in- tolerant and merciless government ? The only wonder is, that so many should so long submit to such cruelty and tyranny. Could they place confidence in one ano- ther, and rally round a leader of common sense and in- dependent mind, the galling yoke would be instantly burst from their necks. Still, Ramiandrahasina had no plan nor intention of escaping or attempting to escape from the country, till some time after he had aided in the escape of the refugees. How kindly and effectually he assisted them has been already mentioned, and need not be repeated. It was some time after the fugitives were gone that he found their escape was a subject of conversation with the traders and some of the natives of Tamatave, the latter of whom intimated to him rather broadly their thoughts on the affair. He then perceived that the only plan left to him of preserving his life and that of his nephew (James) would be to escape to Mauritius THE CHRISTIANS DESIRE TO ESCAPE. 2/0 before they might be apprehended. He accordingly engaged a passage for himself and his nephew, and reached the Mauritius in November, 1838, having paid the expenses from his own resources, as well as the pas- sage of two of his attached servants who could not be induced to separate from him. Since his arrival, he has been employed by Mr. Baker, the Society's Missionary printer at Mauritius, where his Christian character remains unblemished, and his time is usefully occupied in acquiring such know- ledge in the arts of printing and bookbinding as may be, it is hoped, of very essential service in the future stages of the mission, when an entrance into Madagas- car shall be again provided. It should perhaps be stated, that in escaping from Madagascar, the Christians were but accomplishing their own expressed and most earnest wishes. It is not that their European friends had urged them to the measure. To these belongs neither the commendation nor the censure attaching to the plan. The following is a deeply affecting and interesting extract from a joint letter, on the subject of escaping from the country, written by a considerable number of natives, and ad- dressed to the Rev. D. Johns, dated 28th July, 1838. u We visit you with a letter, for this, which we now hold in our hands, will come to your hands. We received your letter sent us by our mutual friend Joseph. You say you desire to see us, and that though our path be difficult, it is the road to eternal life. Thanks be to God for having given you strength to declare this path to us, and for giving us an ear opened to hear. We can now say as the Samaritans did : ' Now we believe, not because of thy saying, fox we have heard him ourselves and know that this is the Chris! Saviour of the world.' N s 274 THE CHRISTIANS DESIRE TO ESCAPE. u When Christian saw Apollyon coming to meet him, he began to tremble, and hesitated whether to stand his ground or return ; but considering he had no armour for his back, and that turning back might give his enemy an advantage in piercing him, he resolved to stand. This expresses our state of mind. " We have also this to say ; you have been the means of saving our souls from the second death. We cannot hesitate, then, to tell you our temporal circumstances ; for, as the Saviour said, c Who is our father, mother, sister, or brother, but those who hear the word of God and keep it ?' We therefore explain to you what our con- dition is, that, if possible, you may do something to relieve us. We say, if possible, for our Saviour himself employed that expression in his prayer to his Father : ' If it be possible, let this cup pass from me/ " That you may know our wish, read Matt. x. 23, 4 When they persecute you in this city, flee ye to another;' and 1 Sam.xxvii. 1, 2 ; David said, ' There is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines ; and Saul shall despair of me to seek me any more in any coast of Israel,' &c. We leave it with you to decide, for you know best, whether you can do anything for us in that way or not. " P.S. Please to send us some Spelling Books, and farewell till death." To such an appeal there could be but one response — a resolution to assist them in effecting their escape. The attempt was made ; and on behalf of a few it has happily proved the means of preserving a portion of the " leaven," by which a large part of Madagascar is yet, it may be hoped, to be leavened. ; T1IE BUSINESS IS OVER." 2"J~> CHAPTER XI. From the Embarkation of the Refugees at Tamatave to their Arri- val in England. — Reception there, and residence to the present time. — Condition of the Christians remaining in Madagascar. — Letter from the Refugees in England to their suffering Brethren in Madagascar. — Conclusion. No sooner were our friends safely on board the vessel destined to convey them from the shores of Madagascar to Mauritius, than the captain congratulated them on their escape in the well-known native phrase, most expressive and heart-cheering to a Malagasy, " Efa Kabary," " the business is over," — " 'tis all safe." They were now beyond the reach of their pursuers and the grasp of the queen. Filled with indescribable emotions of devout gratitude, they asked the captain if they might be permitted on board his ship to unite in offering a song of praise to God for their deliverance. Their request was immediately complied with, and the captain and crew listened with evident pleasure to this simple but sincere expression of their devout feelings. The vessel was bound in the first instance to the island of St. Mary, lying a few miles off the north-east- ern coast of Madagascar, opposite to the Bay of Anton- gil. They remained there ten or twelve days, and received great kindness from many of the French resi- dents. They reached Port Louis, Mauritius, on Sunday, 14th of October, 1038, were kindly permitted to land at 276 MALAGASY IN MAURITIUS. once, without any local or official impediments, and found themselves in the midst of those who delighted to ex- press their sympathy with them, and to show them hospitality. Joseph suffered severely from an attack of fever, which lasted about a fortnight, during which time he was promptly and gratuitously attended by Dr. Montgomery, a medical friend in Port Louis. It is believed that there are not fewer than 10,000 of the natives of Madagascar living in Mauritius, most of whom were either originally imported as slaves or brought there by ships as " prize negroes," or are the descendants of such. They now form a valuable and important class of free labourers on the island. Many of them came daily to visit our Christian refugees, and expressed the kindliest feelings towards them. Our friends embraced the opportunity of conversing with them on the great subjects of religion, and could not be otherwise than gratified and encouraged by the atten- tion w T ith which they were listened to. The expenses attending their passage from Madagas- car to Mauritius were kindly and spontaneously met by the Christian friends of the latter island, among whom it is but just to specify Colonel Jones and his Lady, Colonel Buckler, Colonel Haslewood, Captain Fitzgerald, T. S. Kelsey, Esq., Rev. L. Banks, Rev. J. Le Brun, Mr. leery, Mr. Baker, and many others; and especially Lieutenant Turner, by whom the sum of nearly 90/. sterling was collected for the above objects, and to assist in meeting the expenses of their voyage to England. After remaining some time in Mauritius, it was sug- gested and recommended by several pious and intelligent VOYAGE TO THE CAPE. 2J7 friends there, that it was desirable to take the refugees forward to England, where they might have an oppor- tunity of acquiring the Engli \h language and obtaining much general knowledge to qualify them for future a fulness in Madagascar, as native teachers, should Provi- dence open a door for their return to their native coun- try. With their moral and spiritual qualifications for such service, our friends at the Mauritius were daily more and more satisfied, by all the interviews and con- versations they had with them through the medium of the Missionaries. They saw them after being tried by the fires of persecution, and cherished the hope that they were spared for some eminent good to Madagas- car, in days yet to come. After much deliberation, it was resolved to take them forward, at any rate, as far as the Cape of Good Hope, and there to be guided by the advice of the Rev. Dr. Philip. Before finally arranging for their departure, Andrianilaina and Razafv (Sarah) came to the resolu- tion, however painful might be the execution of it, of separating for a season, in attempting to accomplish important objects on behalf of the persecuted Christians yet in Madagascar. They proposed that the husband should remain in Mauritius, and the wife go forward with the party to the Cape or England. It was faith- fully explained to them, and repeatedly too, that such a separation would prove a great additional trial to them, and a very painful one. They replied, that tiny had carefully deliberated on the whole affair; that they had earnestly prayed for Divine direction, andhadcome finally to the resolution stated, especially en the ground that it was Andrianilaina's intention not to remain long 278 ANDRIANILAINA REMAINS. at Mauritius, but to embrace an early opportunity of attempting to assist in rescuing some of his persecuted friends, by means which it would, for obvious reasons, be unadvisable to specify at present. He urged this as a reason why he thought it much better that his wife should go forward than remain with him for the time, since, in the attempt he was contemplating, she would not be able to accompany him ; and as they must then separate for an indefinite period, they preferred se- parating at once, while she could continue in the com- pany of Rafaravavy. It seemed desirable too, that in so long a voyage, Rafaravavy should not be without a female companion ; to which it was added, that these two pious women had been all along partakers of each other s trials and sufferings ; they had wandered about together in their places of concealment, and without the most imperative necessity, would be unwilling to part from one another till some favourable change should transpire in reference to their country. Andrianilaina observed also, that he thought it would be sufficient if one of them only went to England, because that one could learn the language, and on returning, might teach the other. Their wish was at length complied with, and it was arranged that six of the refugees, in company with the Rev. D. Johns, should proceed to the Cape of Good Hope, and that Andrianilaina should remain. The latter accordingly made Mauritius his home for a time, devoting himself to the instruction of his countrymen there in the way of salvation. He has since been busily employed in trying to accomplish the scheme referred to, the result of which is not yet known. HOTTENTOTS AND MALAGASY. 279 On the 2nd of December the party left Mauritius, and reached Algoa Bay on the 23rd, where they re- mained a fortnight. Here, too, they found much Christian kindness. The Rev. Mr. Robson and Mrs. Robson, of Port Elizabeth, provided accommodation for the four young men, and Mr. and Mrs. Chick, formerly of the Madagascar Mission, for the two women. Our refugee friends beo-an to feel almost at home ao\ain in company with the latter and Mr. Kitching, whom they had so intimately known in Madagascar. The Hottentot Christians at Port Elizabeth expressed a very deep and affectionate interest in our friends. They frequently paid them a visit, and having met with a native of Madagascar who had lono- lived in South Africa, and knew both the Dutch and Malagasy lan- guages, they hoped to find in him a valuable medium of communication. They tried this some time, but found it did not succeed very well : the man was igno- rant on religious subjects and cherished no interest in their conversation. They then adopted another, and in some respects more effectual, as well as novel, mode of communication. The Hottentots had their Dutch Bibles, the Malagasy had theirs in their native language, and as both wished to express their sorrow that they could not understand one another's speech, they both very naturally and very appropriately turned to the same passage in their Bibles, and read Genesis xi. 1 — 7i being the account of the " confusion of languages Babel," in which they saw at once the origin of the perplexity and trouble they were now in from a differ- ence of speech. The Hottentots, having read the passage attentively. 280 CONVERSATION BY THE SCRIPTURES. begged the interpreter to say for them, how grieved they were that they could not converse with them, but that their hearts were full of love to them. " Do not fear," said they ; " you are now among friends ! Our fathers were once cruel and savage, murdering strangers and devouring them : but God has had compassion on us, and sent us missionaries who have taught us con- cerning Jesus Christ ." They then requested their Ma- lagasy friends to read Ephesians ii. 2 — 5 : " Among whom, we all had our conversation in times past, and were by nature children of wrath ; — but God, who is rich in mercy, has raised us up ; — by grace are ye saved/' The refugees were delighted with these expressions, and then pointed their Hottentot friends to Eph. ii. 14, 15 : u For he is our peace who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition be- tween," &c. ; and to Gal. iii. 28 : " Ye are all one in Christ Jesus." On another occasion the Hottentots came and referred our friends to John xvi. 33 ; " In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." 2 Tim. iii. 12 ; " All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Acts xiv. 22 ; " Exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the king- dom of God." To these suitable texts our Madagascar c friends replied by referring them to Rom. viii. 35 — 39; " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ? Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us," &c. THE REFUGEES IN CAPE TOWN. 281 Their intercourse was continued in this manner as long as the refugees remained in Port Elizabeth, and during that short time the parties formed a remarkably strong attachment to each other ; such as will probably continue through life itself, though they may probably never see each other again. When the vessel was about sailing, the Hottentots came to the apartments of our friends and united with them in singing a hymn. Their hearts were one and the tune was the same, but the hymn and the language were different. They accompanied each other to the beach, and, while waiting for the boat, commended each other in prayer to God, and parted with warm affection and many tears. The friends here generously raised about 12/. towards their expenses, of which sum the Hottentots cheerfully contributed their portion, for there was already a willing mind, and amidst deep poverty their piety shone in the riches of their liberality. On their arrival at Cape Town they were welcomed most kindly by the friends of missions there, and espe- cially by their old friend Mr. Cameron, late of Mada- gascar. Dr. Philip was at the time on a visit in the interior of the colony, and the party remained about six weeks awaiting his return home. As many of their countrymen were living at the Cape, who had been for- merly imported as slaves from Madagascar, the refugees endeavoured to make themselves useful among them by conversation, reading the Scriptures, and public ad- dresses. On Dr. Philip's return home, he entered con amore into the subject ; and, after having heard the whole 282 ARRIVAL IN LONDON. affair, and having had much conversation with the fugitives through an interpreter, he strongly and un- hesitatingly advised their being taken forward to Eng- land. Arrangements were now made without delay for their embarkation. A few days prior to their de- parture, Dr. P. invited them to spend an afternoon with him, and that afternoon will long be remembered by the refugees. He addressed them with affection and sym- pathy, and warned, admonished, and counselled them on the spiritual dangers before them. The suggestions offered were founded on a deep and extensive knowledge of human nature, and felt to be most appropriate to their circumstances. They were conveyed with so much feeling and earnestness, that to use their own expres- sion, they went down to the very depths of their hearts. On retiring to their lodgings, they united in commit- ting to paper the advice they had received, and each one took a copy for himself, which they have often read and always value. The Christian friends at the Cape generously raised a sum of 401. and those at Graham's Town 20Z. towards the expenses incurred by the voyage of the refugees. They reached England at the end of May, 1839. Ten thousand British voices bade them welcome to England's shores, counting it an honour to show kindness to them, for the very sufferings which they had endured for the Saviour's sake. They were presented to the Directors of the London Missionary Society, at a meeting of the Board, as soon as practicable after their arrival, and found in them cordial and affectionate sympathy. A public meeting was then held at Exeter Hall, for the purpose of introducing them to the Christian comniu- EXLTER HALL. 283 nity, publicly receiving them under the protection of the society, and enlisting on their behalf the prayers of many. It was a meeting of deep and solemn interest, scarcely, if ever, exceeded, on any former occasion within those walls. In the refugees, the friends of missions present beheld some of the fruits of their labours, the triumphs of the Gospel, and the power of principle. The recital of the sufferings they had en- dured and the steadfastness they had displayed, awakened the recollection of the days of primitive Christianity, and of the struggles of the noble army of martyrs in our own land. And that very recollection served but to awaken a feeling of more ardent gratitude to God for the liberty and the privileges which Britain now en- joys, and to inspire a holy resolution of promoting throughout the world the religion of the Cross, as in- volving all the best and noblest interests of the human family. Many of the churches and congregations of our country have had an opportunity of seeing one or more of the refugees since their arrival in England, and everywhere has a lively interest been created in their favour, and through them, on behalf of the great work of Christian missions. Our friends have continued to reside at Waltham- stow, and are all united in Christian fellowship with the church under the pastoral charge of Mr. Freeman. Mrs. Johns has the immediate care and superintendence of Rafaravavy and Razafy ; and the four young men reside with the master of the British and Foreign School in the village, at which they attend as a mean* 284 STATE OF MADAGASCAR of improvement in the English language, and of ac- quiring general knowledge. They continue to entertain the hope that they may one day be permitted to return to their own country, and aid in the dissemination of Christianity among their countrymen. The success of the Gospel in their own country is the object nearest to their hearts — an object of daily prayer and solicitude. Recent tid- ings, however, afford no ground to anticipate any immediate opportunity of restoring them to their own land. The enmity of the native government against Christianity has become more virulent than ever : its professors in Madagascar are scattered, hunted, and denounced with the most determined and unrelent- ing hostility. More than a year and a half having elapsed since our friends sailed from the shores of their country, it may be proper, before closing this volume, to glance for a moment at the events which have occurred there during that period, affecting the state of the Christians still on the island. How many there actually are to whom that name applies, and where they are in the country, it would be difficult to state ; and if it were practicable, it would be highly dangerous to them to do it. An eminently pious young woman, about thirty years of age, was apprehended at the time of the mar- tyrdom of Hafaralahy, and for her profession of religion was sold into perpetual slavery. Her husband had previously divorced her, and her father had sternly and peremptorily shut his door against her, on account of her having become a Christian. Her SINCE TIIE REFUGEES LEFT IT. 28f) relations were all indignant, and felt themselves doubly disgraced, first, by her being in slavery, and secondly, by her adherence to this new religion in opposition to the queen's laws. They preferred that she should die rather than thus disgrace them, and accordingly made application to the first officer to take her into his service, requesting, however, that she might first be put to the ordeal of tangena. He assented fo the arrangement ; the tangena, strongly against her in- clination, was administered to her, and she perished. In chronological order Ravahiny may be regarded as the third martyr of Madagascar. Many of the Christians who had effected their escape to a distance from the capital, but not out of the country, have continued to suffer innumerable hardships and dif- ficulties to the present time. Some, it is thought, have perished through extreme fatigue, hunger, nakedness, disease, and anxiety. About the time our friends sailed from Tamatave, a fresh storm of persecution was breaking out, of which, however, they did not hear till after their arrival in England. Three women were accused of meeting for prayer. Two of these are wives of two of the young men now in England. A man was sent to apprehend them. It happened that two only were present at the time, namely, Hazanaka, the wife of Simeon, and Rat- saramiarana. David's wife, Raminahy, was not there. The man sent to apprehend them found them reading the Scriptures. It was dark, and Razanaka effect* o Hi a> > rj CO ^3 f Andri nd ofR ndofR nd of R ed son o IM O o £ 4'§ 3 * T3 bC o c8 rt c3 -p a> 0) o 5 cd 'Jl CO co o £ rd ^rG 03 CO H -d is d *- © d ^ d* «3 ^rv^^» T3 d e8 'bb C H .2 * I s § § I ^ 0> d ^ O M . • c3 . .3 a> Significa oungest daugh descendant . O > 1 i-a § i ^ § -a .s § ,. j S S .2 .2 c3 c3 c3 rj ^ e3c3do3e3d C 83 rt ce t« c« J. Rickerby, Printer, Sherbourn-lane»