-rr- 
 
 I 
 
 i Maryville College. 
 
 &tf 
 
 r-#
 
 RADAMA II. AND HIS QUEEN.
 
 MISSIONS AND MABTYES 
 
 MADAGASCAR. 
 
 And I saw under the altar the souflfoPtftem that were slain for the word 
 of God, and for the testimony which they held, and white robes were 
 given unto every one of them. REV. vi. 9-11. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE 
 
 AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 
 28 COKXHILL, BOSTON.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1864, by 
 
 THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts.
 
 Stack 
 Annex 
 
 BV 
 
 7 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 fli 
 
 \ FOR one-third of a century Madagascar has been, 
 to the civilized world, the sealed land of tragic interest.- 
 That the Gospel had obtained a footing there, that the 
 
 " > late cruel monarch was exerting all her power to destroy 
 it, and that scenes of sublime faith and fortitude were 
 being exhibited by the martyrs, was known ; but beyond 
 this all was concealed beneath the impenetrable vail of 
 secrecy and non-intercourse with the rest of the world 
 within which the island was shrouded. 
 
 But the vail has at length been lifted. The tyrant 
 is dead, and we are permitted to visit again that remark- 
 able country, and learn from the survivors of her cru- 
 elty the thrilling tale of their sufferings. It is a new 
 chapter of the triumphs of Christianity over its persecu- 
 tors, and can not fail to be welcome to those who love 
 to trace the evidences of its divine origin, and the sure 
 protection afforded it by God's gracious Providence.
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 The authorities which have been consulted in the 
 preparation of the work have been chiefly the writings 
 of the missionaries, Rev. Messrs. Ellis, Freeman, and 
 Johns, and especially a volume from the Mission House 
 of the London Missionary Society, by Mr. Prout, 
 entitled, " Madagascar, its Mission and Martyrs." 
 
 ED.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Situation of Madagascar Dimensions Central Mountains For- 
 ests Vegetation The Lowlands The Hovas Sakalavas 
 Betsileos lletanimenas Wood-cutters Charcoal-burners 
 Slav 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FROM THE COAST TO THE CAPITAL. 
 
 Tamatave Domestic Habits of the People Slave-Traders Jour- 
 ney to the Capital King's Permission required The Sikidy 
 Palanquins Beauty of the Country The Traveler's Tree 
 Palm Trees Weeping-place of the Hovas Villages Grana- 
 ries Tananarive The King Reception at the Palace No 
 Sabbath No Worship Malagasy Gods 18 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FIRST INTERCOURSE WITH EUROPEANS. 
 
 Radamal. His character Attempts to convert him to Roman- 
 ism His Talents and Energy The Isle of Mauritius Embassy 
 from Gov. Farquhar to Radama Mr. Hastie Efforts to abolish 
 the Slave Trade Treaty with the English Slave-Traders' Depu- 
 tation from Mauritius They announce the Abrogation of this 
 Treaty Re establish the slave-trade Radainajs Indignation 
 Arrival of English missionaries Settle at Tamatave Their 
 murder Return of Gov. Farquhar to Mauritius Mr. Hastie 
 sent again to Radama Joy of the latter . . . .31 
 
 v
 
 VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 DAWN OF CIVILIZATION. 
 
 The Renewal of the Treaty urged Distrust of the English Op- 
 position by the Chiefs and People Kadama's Consent The 
 Conditions Mr. Hastie carries the Treaty to Mauritius Ratifi- 
 cation by the British Government Radama's Joy Missionary 
 Labors begun at the Capital The First School The new 
 School-house Arrival of Artisans and additional Missionaries 
 Improvements Cutting of the King's Hair Schools in the Dis- 
 trictsInfluence of Mr. Hastie Subjugation of the whole 
 Island to Radama . . . 47 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PROGRESS AND REFORMS. 
 
 Success of the Missionary Work The Idols discredited The Va- 
 zimba dishonored Complaints against the innovations At- 
 tendance of the King at the Schools His ridicule of the Idols 
 Still, however, rejects the Gospel Laws against Intemper- 
 ance and Infanticide Restriction of the Ordeal by Poison 
 Death of Mr. Hastie Radama's Grief Building of New Pal- 
 aces Radama's Dissipation His Sickness and Death Procla- 
 mation of Queen Ranavalona The National Mourning The 
 Funeral and Tomb of Radama His Character . . .63 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 QUEEN RANAVALONA PERSECUTION BEGUN. 
 
 Suspension of Missionary Work Murder of Prince Rataffe and his 
 Family Breaking the English Treaty Expulsion of Mr. Lyall 
 Pupils of Schools drafted into the Army Coronation of the 
 Queen Her personal appearance General Purification by the 
 Tangena Fear of Hie French Baptism of Native Christians 
 Ra-poor-negro Arrival of New Missionaries Prosperity of the 
 Schools The Converted Idol-keeper Circulation of the Scrip- 
 tures The Queen's Illness Complaint against the Christians 
 Convocation of the Nation Decrees against Christianity De- 
 parture of the Missionaries Revival of Pagan Rites Rafara- 
 vuvy 7U
 
 CONTENTS. VJI 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MARTYRDOMS. 
 
 Brief respite of the Persecution Death of a young Christian 
 The Cruelties Renewed Rafaravavy Rasalama, the first Mar- 
 tyrCourage of Rafaralahy His Arrest and Execution 
 Flight of Ral'aravavy and her Companions Itanimanlna Sec- 
 ond Flight Her Letter Reaches Tamatave Hardships and 
 Dangers Escape to Mauritius The Queen incensed Arrest 
 of suspected Persons Scourging Martyrdom of Ravahiny 
 Of nine Christians Efforts of Mr. Johns to mitigate the Perse- 
 cution Great Numbers reduced to Slavery Continued Execu- 
 tions ... Ill 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PRINCE RAKOTO FRESH PERSECUTIONS. 
 
 A Contrast RAKOTO-RADAM A, Son of the Queen, the Friend of 
 the Christians His Education and Character His Mother's Af- 
 fection for Him An Admirer of Europeans Mr. Laborde 
 Kindness to shipwrecked Sailors Hated by the Heathen Party 
 Plots to kill Him Renewed Persecutions Accusations against 
 the Christians Trial and Condemnation Fourteen thrown 
 down a Precipice Burning of the Nobles Memory of the Mar- 
 tyrs Cherished Numbers fined and enslaved Letter of a Na- 
 tive Christian " The Blood of the Martyrs the Seed of the 
 Church" . . 132 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 VISIT OF REV. MR. ELLIS. 
 
 News from Madagascar Arrival of the Missionaries at Tamatave 
 in 1853 Eagerly Welcomed The Fragment of the Psalms 
 Refused Permission to go to the Capital Permission granted 
 in 185G Reception there Audience with the Queen Wel- 
 comed by Prince Rakoto Mr. Lambert Designs of the Catho- 
 lics The Prince's Conversations with Mr. Ellis Excursions 
 The Queen's Dinner Exhibition of Philosophical Instruments 
 Thirst for Knowledge Influence of Mr. Ellis's Visit His 
 Dismissal by the Queen, and Departure 158
 
 VIII CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE QUEEN. 
 
 Return of Mr. Lambert, with Madame Pfeiffer Their Reception 
 Dinner of the Queen Military Review Madame Pfeiffer's Piano- 
 forte Concert Plotting of a Conspiracy at the House of Mr. L.-i- 
 borde Madame Pfeiffer implicated The Plot disclosed The 
 Prince detained in the Palace Odium of the Conspiracy thrown 
 upon the Christians Fresh Persecutions Flight of the Accused 
 Illness of Mr. Laborde Cruelties inflicted on the People Do- 
 cree of Banishment against the Europeans Their Escort to the 
 Coast Terrible Sufferings Escape to Mauritius Four Years of 
 Persecution Letter of a native Pastor 179 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ACCESSION OF RADAMA II. 
 
 Death of Queen Ranavalona Joy of the People Abolition of all 
 the persecuting Laws Reappearance of the Christians Mis- 
 sionaries sent for Messrs. LeBrun and Johns arrive Rev. Mr. 
 Ellis and Missionaries from England Reopening of Schools 
 Embassies from the British and French Governments Radama's 
 Coronation Rejoicings Building of new Churches . . 200. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 KADAMA'S DISSIPATION AND DEATH. 
 
 Disappointment of Hopes The King's Love of Reveling and Intem- 
 perance Influenced by evil Companions Jealousy of a Divine 
 Rival Superstitions The Mena-Maso Message from his An- 
 cestors to stop the praying The Heathen Plot to secure the As- 
 sassination of the Christians Radama's proposed Law of im- 
 munity to Murderers His Ministers alarmed Troops sum- 
 moned to resist the King's purpose He is put to death in his 
 Palace by the Nobles Ruined by his Vices Accession of Queen 
 Rabodo to the Throne . . 215
 
 MISSIONS AND MAETYES 
 
 TS 
 
 MADAGASCAR. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE COUNTEY AND THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Situation of Madagascar Dimensions Central Mountains For- 
 ests Vegetation The Lowlands The Novas Salcalavas 
 Betsileos Eetanimenas Wood-cutters Charcoal-burners 
 Slaves. 
 
 FAR away in the Indian Ocean, opposite Mo- 
 zambique on the African coast, lies a long is- 
 land, larger than England and Ireland together. 
 It began to attract the world's notice in the time 
 of Columbus. 
 
 Stand upon its central hights, and see what this 
 island of Madagascar is like. Here is its greatest 
 width, three hundred miles. Far to the north 
 and south, a stretch of nine hundred miles alto- 
 gether, you see long mountain-ranges, which end in 
 precipitous cliffs at the extremities of the island. 
 Arms or spurs are thrown out toward the coast on
 
 10 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 either side, some of them fairly reaching into the 
 ocean, others abruptly cut off, or sinking into gen- 
 tle slopes long before they get to the sea. 
 
 Although you already stand six thousand feet 
 above the ocean, on these hights of Ankovy, you 
 may look away on either hand and see mountains 
 rolling beyond and above, mountains in long, blue 
 ridges, till, in the distance, you descry the peak of 
 Ankaratra with its head in the clouds, six thou- 
 sand feet above you, wearing sometimes an icy 
 crown. And this in the latitude of Central Afri- 
 ca! But, on these lower ranges whence you look, 
 the climate is like the soft summer air at home, 
 and the granite rocks that start out from the green 
 herbage, help the illusion. Here, in Ankovy, the 
 mountains are spread out into broad table-lands 
 and rolling hills, affording little else than stunted 
 fig-trees ; but the vales below give growth to ex- 
 tensive forests of ebony and mango-trees. Upon 
 the very edges of cliffs that jut into the valley, or 
 upon the crown of precipitous hills which rise, sol- 
 itary, out of it, are perched villages that defy the 
 approach of an enemy. 
 
 Lower down than this, imagine the island encir- 
 cled by a forest nearly forty miles wide, running 
 riot over mountains and valleys, plains and ravines 
 alike, and hiding within itself such a chaos of rock
 
 THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE. 11 
 
 and wilderness that one might readily believe it a 
 vast barricade, thrown up by besieged mountain 
 giants. Tree ferns, tall bamboos, and huge old 
 trees that have seemingly grown and grown since 
 the world began, make up this magnificent girdle. 
 
 Still farther down, imagine continuous terraces, 
 lower ranges of hills, and valleys covered with the 
 vegetation of everlasting summer ; vines that 
 grow and twist till no one can find out where they 
 begin or end ; gorgeous flowers, each large enough 
 and beautiful enough for a royal baby's bonnet ; 
 trees that shoot far up towards the clouds, and 
 then burst into a cluster of nodding plumes, or 
 spread themselves out like a gigantic fan. The 
 whole is a covert for chattering monkeys and par- 
 oquets, and a home for birds, so brightly colored 
 that you might think the flowers had taken wings. 
 Caves are hidden in the thickets, and cataracts 
 dash over rocks, unseen till you stand on their 
 banks ; and, in the sluggish reaches of the rivers, 
 crocodiles wait in the shaded nooks for prey. 
 
 Looking still farther down at the foot of these 
 magnificently clad hills, we see them nearly girt 
 with a plain, alternately broad and narrow, as it 
 meets the outlying mountain spurs. On one side 
 of the ranges it is dotted with a long chain of 
 lakes, and on the other, ribboned with rivers which
 
 12 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 wind, some of them, a hundred miles across the 
 plain into the sea. 
 
 These wet and hot lowlands are loaded with 
 luxuriant vegetation. Even the fallen logs give 
 abounding life to a crowd of blooming parasites. 
 Orchids, with large cream-colored flowers, sit tri- 
 umphant on the topmost branches of bare, dead 
 trees. Ferns cluster about prostrate trunks, hiding 
 decay with their long drooping wings of green. 
 Creepers are every where, swinging from one tall 
 plant to another, and tying every thing together as 
 if in a spirit of mischief. Out of all the matted 
 mass rises the massive foliage of the mango-tree, 
 the towering cocoa-palm, or the shining magnolia, 
 tempting you with shade and rest. But sleep is 
 not safe in this poisoned atmosphere; a deadly 
 miasma rises from the rank vegetation. 
 
 Parts of the coast-lands lie below the level of 
 the ocean, but are protected from the overflow of 
 the surf by a belt of sand-hills. You need not 
 strain your sight across that wide stretch of ocean, 
 thinking to catch a glimpse of Africa, for it is 
 three hundred miles away, at the nearest point. 
 Thus lapped in the ocean, skirted with burning 
 sand, its lower hills glorying in tropical luxuriance, 
 and its crowning mountains of granite and iron
 
 THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE. 13 
 
 rising into the regions of sleet and ice, lies the 
 land of the RADAMAS. 
 
 Now let us stand on these same hights of An- 
 kovy, and see who and what are the people. 
 This central province is the most important one 
 of the island, although the most sterile. Here is 
 the capital and here the king. Civilization has 
 begun to flourish, aided by law and by example, 
 European residents choosing the place because 
 of the salubrity of its climate. The people are 
 called Hovas. They are enterprising, industrious, 
 and shrewd. "When not affected by mixture with 
 other tribes, they are more like the Caucasian race 
 than any other inhabitants of Madagascar. They 
 are rather below medium stature, but are lithe and 
 graceful, with soft curling hair, thin lips, and light 
 olive complexions, being fairer often than the in- 
 habitants of southern Europe. But other races 
 have intermarried or become residents, and give 
 a mixed population to the province of Ankovy. 
 They all, however, bear the name of Hovas. They 
 are not a numerous nor a warlike people, but, by 
 the shrewd generalship of their king, and the use 
 of English fire-arms, to which they held exclu- 
 sive right, they conquered the principal of the 
 twenty-two provinces which originally composed
 
 14 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 Madagascar, and united them in one kingdom, 
 subject to Radaraa. 
 
 Look away now to the west and the north, over 
 a wide country reaching from Ankovy to the sea, 
 so fertile that its people have only to pluck and 
 eat. These are the SaJcalavas, indolent in peace, 
 but energetic and bold in war. Although dark as 
 night, and having the crisped hair of the negro, 
 their features are regular. Tall, straight, muscu- 
 lar, with a firm, bold step and unembarrassed man- 
 ner, a keen eye, and open manly countenance, 
 they constitute the finest race in Madagascar. 
 They have given proof of the best mental powers; 
 and when civilization shall develop them, and 
 when the gospel enables them to rise to their true 
 superiority, they will doubtless become the masters 
 of the island. 
 
 Now, turn to the south ; beyond the blue moun- 
 tains of Ankaratra, and at their base, nestles the 
 province of the Betsileos. Separated by these 
 natural barriers from Ankovy, and isolated from 
 the people of the coast by a wide desert, they 
 see little of the busy throngs between the seaports 
 and the capital. The chance sight of a European 
 fills them with simple wonder. They peacefully 
 cultivate their lands, care for their cattle, and 
 weave the long silk scarfs worn by the Hovas.
 
 THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE. 15 
 
 Leading a quiet patriarchal life, they make no prog- 
 ress beyond their ancestors, living and dying ex- 
 actly as their fathers did, centuries ago. In per- 
 son, they are copper- colored, heavy featured, and 
 slight in stature. 
 
 Down on the eastern coast is the pi-ovince of 
 JBetanimena, including a district of thicket and 
 forest, of sand and marshes, of lowlands and 
 mountains. The people are next the Hovas in 
 complexion and feature, and, though stronger, are 
 more indolent. They are, however, more cleanly 
 in their habits. From this province, the coolies or 
 burden-bearers are obtained to cany merchandise 
 or other burdens from the coast to the capital. 
 
 These, then, are the four distinct classes in Mad- 
 agascar, the Hovas, the Sakalavas, the Betsileos, 
 and the Betanimenas, with every shade of color 
 between black and light olive, but each, as tribes, 
 retaining distinct peculiarities. Unitedly, they 
 are called the Malagasy. 
 
 But we have not yet noted all the people of this 
 strange island. Further south, and on the coast, 
 is the province of Matitanana, chiefly settled by 
 Arabs who for centuries have traded with the 
 Malagasy. Divinations, charms, fortune-telling, 
 and similar superstitions have, from time immemo- 
 rial, prevailed among them to such an extent, that
 
 16 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 every act of a Malagasy, from his birth to his 
 death, is regulated by these rites. 
 
 Cast your eye back again to the boundaries of 
 Ankovy, and look into the great forests that sur- 
 round it. There live the wood-cutters, whose oc- 
 cupation never changes. Generation after genera- 
 tion they follow the same pursuits, live in the same 
 huts, and learn just as much as their progenitors, 
 hundreds of years ago. Their possessions can not 
 increase, for, though they are reckoned freemen, 
 they receive no pay for their labor. They hew 
 for the king, and if they attempt escape, are pur- 
 sued by soldiers and shot as criminals. The name 
 of "The seven hundred" is given them. In the 
 same forests are also the charcoal-burners, who, 
 like the wood-cutters, follow the same occupation 
 through life, and are forced to give their services 
 to the government. Among the mountains, or 
 scattered through the towns, or sometimes com- 
 posing a village by themselves, are miners, iron- 
 workers, and carpenters, who are also required to 
 serve the king, without pay, and to bequeath their 
 employment to their children. No one can obtain 
 their services without the king's orders, nor indeed 
 dream of requiring them to work, for every man, 
 with his own hands or by his slaves, forges his own
 
 THE COUNTRY AND THE PEOPLE. 17 
 
 tools, builds his house, or his ship, and hunts and 
 weaves for himself. 
 
 Below this class are the slaves. You may cast 
 your eyes over the length and breadth of Mada- 
 gascar, and find no spot free from the blight of 
 domestic slavery. The bondmen are not a distinct 
 race. The Hovas, the Betsileos, and the Sakalavas 
 alike share in this lowly condition, each in turn, 
 made captives in war, and reduced to slavery as 
 the penalty of becoming prisoners. Crimes are 
 also punished by depriving the criminal of all his 
 possessions, and making him and his descendants 
 slaves forever. Sometimes, also, the Malagasy sell 
 themselves and families for debt. Their condition, 
 however, is less hard than that of the American 
 slave. 
 
 This, then, is the nation which for hundreds of 
 years has bowed to idols and put its trust in 
 charms, but which, during the last half-century, 
 has caught the spirit of the world's progress, and 
 is now advancing toward a decent civilization. 
 Above all, it has been honored by the presence 
 of the Gospel, and consecrated by the blessing of 
 the Holy Spirit. 
 2
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FROM THE COAST TO THE CAPITAL. 
 
 Tamatave Domestic Habits of the People Slave-Traders Jour- 
 ney to the Capital King's Permission required The Sikidy 
 Palanquins Beauty of the Country The Traveler's Tree 
 Palm Trees Weeping-place of the Hovas Villages Grana- 
 ries Tananarive The King Keception at the Palace No 
 Sabbath No Worship Malagasy Gods. 
 
 THE most convenient entrance to Madagascar 
 is by the seaport of Tamatave, on the eastern 
 coast. Landing there in 1808, the first year of 
 the first king Radama's reign, you would have 
 found a village composed of huts built of bamboo, 
 the roofs made of the leaves of the traveler's tree, 
 and the floors of strips of bark from the same tree. 
 These houses have neither chimneys nor windows, 
 so that you must endure smoke with patience, and 
 depend upon the crowing of the cock in the cor- 
 ner to know when it is daylight. You will get no 
 breakfast, for no one eats breakfast in Madagascar ; 
 but, judging by the sun when it is noon, the family 
 then gather and seat themselves upon mats on the 
 floor, on the west and north side of the fireplace. 
 Bad luck would attend them the rest of the day 
 
 18
 
 FROM THE COAST TO THE CAPITAL. 19 
 
 if they sat elsewhere, so they think. Then a slave 
 goes around pouring water from a horn upon the 
 hands of each person. In the midst of the group 
 on the floor, is a stool about a foot high, sup- 
 porting a dish on which is placed the dinner, con- 
 sisting of rice. An invitation to dine means an 
 invitation to eat rice with your host. If there 
 happens to be a piece of meat, it* is laid on the 
 top of the rice; or if locusts, crocodile's eggs, silk- 
 worms or fruit, all the same, they are laid on the 
 rice. Earthenware basins, of native make, may 
 possibly be placed on the floor for plates, but much 
 more likely abroad fresh leaf answers the purpose. 
 There is just one knife in the house to cut the 
 meat, but no forks at all; the fingers being made 
 to do the service of both. When every one has 
 finished, water is poured into the pan in which the 
 rice was cooked, and is boiled until discolored by 
 the burnt rice. This, to them, delicious beverage, 
 is passed to each person in the same basin. Then 
 occm's the final ceremony of rinsing the mouth by 
 pouring water from a horn into it, no one being 
 allowed to touch the horn with his lips. 
 
 Precisely the same ceremonies accompany the 
 evening meal, and the evenings are pent in dan- 
 cing, or smoking hemp, or sucking snuff, which is 
 deposited under the tongue. The poorer people
 
 20 MISSIONS AND MAETYES. 
 
 suspend their snuff-box from the neck or girdle. 
 Persons of rank have a bearer or slave who car- 
 ries the box, which consists of a short piece of 
 bamboo, beautifully polished, and sometimes orna- 
 mented with silver rings, and a gay silk tassel fast- 
 ened to the neatly-fitting lid. The slave removes 
 the lid and gives the cylinder to his master, who 
 tosses a small quantity of the snnff into his mouth. 
 Some of the villagers play at the game of "kick- 
 ing backwards," and others throw bamboos at a 
 target. The children sport with tops and jack- 
 stones, and teach beetles to fight. 
 
 But you have not yet seen all of Tamatave. 
 There are some better houses belonging to the 
 traders, who supply French and English ships with 
 cargoes of slaves. These are obtained from all 
 the provinces of Madagascar, but principally from 
 Ankovy, in exchange for goods or money. Besides 
 this, the traders employ robbers, who live in the 
 caves up in the forests and mountains, and who 
 seize all the people they can waylay, and convey 
 them to Tamatave. The traders sometimes lend 
 a small sum of money to a salable looking man, 
 ask twice its amount in interest, and, if he can not 
 immediately pay it, take his body in payment, 
 handcuff him, and stow him away, with hundreds 
 of others in those warehouses yonder, till ready
 
 FROM THE COAST TO THE CAPITAL. 21 
 
 to put him into some ship's hold. Another mode 
 is to invite a company of innocent ones, with gen- 
 erous hospitality, and, in the midst of the enter- 
 tainment, drop a trap-door and let them fall into a 
 pit, where they are safely secured till they can be 
 sent to a ship. These were the representatives of 
 the civilized world in Madagascar, in 1808 ! 
 
 If one wishes to leave this wretched village and 
 go to Tananarive, the capital of Ankovy and the 
 only large town in Madagascar, it is necessary 
 to send to the king for permission to enter his 
 domains. Keceiving this, natives are hired to car- 
 ry the burdens, and four carry the traveler in a 
 palanquin, or chair, supported on their shoulders. 
 They have no carriages, never saw a horse, and if 
 they had either, would find it difficult to get them 
 over the swamps and lakes and steep mountains 
 which are to be traversed. 
 
 ' Before they start on the long journey, they must 
 consult the " sikidy," a kind of divination that 
 reveals to them upon what day they should set 
 out ; and they must also wear an " ody " or charm 
 upon the person, in which they trust for preserva- 
 tion from sickness or calamity by the way. 
 
 When at last all are ready, the cavalcade files 
 out of Tamatave, toils through a swamp and for- 
 est filled with gorgeous flowers, then down rivers,
 
 22 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 across lakes, rice-fields, and through villages on the 
 banks, till one is wearied with the jolting move- 
 ment of the bearers and continual changing from 
 boat to palanquin, and is glad to accept the hospi- 
 tality of any native. This must be given with a 
 good grace, for the king requires it. Sometimes 
 he journeys in disguise, to ascertain how travelers 
 are received, and punishes the inhospitable. But 
 you must wait for the hour of the meals to come 
 about, be you never so hungry. While you wait, 
 you can watch the slave-girls drawing water. One 
 well serves for many families. For a bucket, a 
 bullock's horn is used ; and a string made of bnrk 
 is the handle. It is lowered by hand, and when 
 the horn comes up, trickling with its contents, you 
 wonder where are the water-jars. Those bamboo 
 canes, six or eight feet long, closed at one end, 
 answer the purpose. No matter if it takes time to 
 fill them, for nobody hurries in Madagascar. Each 
 girl, after she fills her two elongated buckets, 
 shoulders them and marches off with horn, rope, 
 and all. If, in the evening, yon choose to visit 
 the chief of the village, you will be escorted home 
 by slave-boys bearing a rude lantern, who make 
 your way merry with the music of a native Jew's- 
 harp and little drum. Guests are always thus 
 honored.
 
 FROM THE COAST TO THE CAPITAL. 23 
 
 The next day's journey is through a country 
 that grows more magnificent at every step. Even 
 the ditches in the villages are overgrown with rare 
 plants and flowers, such as grace the conservato- 
 ries of English lords ; and the trees offer fruits 
 that make one loiter to taste. In passing the 
 streams, you wonder at patches of delicate green 
 lace, just beneath the surface. Lifting one, you 
 find it to be a cluster of broad leaves, forming a 
 circle of two or three feet, each leaf being an airy 
 skeleton of thread-like fibers, " woven after a most 
 regular pattern so as to resemble a piece of bright 
 green lace or open needle-work." Their color is 
 of every shade from pale to dark olive-green, deep- 
 ening to brown and black. 
 
 If you are overcome with heat and thirst, you 
 have only to rest under the shade of the traveler's 
 tree ; one of those straight trees that crown all the 
 hills about you, rising thirty feet without a branch 
 and spreading out like a fan at the top. Each 
 tree has only twenty-four leaves, but each leaf is 
 six feet from base to tip, and the stem of equal 
 length. This stem forms a canal which conducts 
 the rain from the leaf to a cavity near its union 
 with the trunk, thus making twenty-four cisterns, 
 each holding nearly a quart of pur# water. The 
 native has only to pierce it with a spear and a
 
 24 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 fountain gushes forth. How wise and good is 
 the Creator who thus provides for the wants of 
 his creatures ! But the Malagasy only thank their 
 " ody " for it. This is not all its use. These same 
 leaves make an excellent water-proof covering for 
 the goods carried, and if one needs an impromptu 
 house, the stems can be quickly made into walls, 
 the leaves answer for the roof, and the bark for 
 the floor. The leaves are large enough, too, to 
 serve for a table-cloth, strong enough for dishes, 
 and are often folded into shape for spoons and 
 cups. 
 
 Rest beneath these trees is doubly grateful, be- 
 cause you are dizzy and weary and sore, with being 
 tipped about in the palanquin as the bearers climb 
 the slippery hills, and trot down into the muddy 
 dales, which follow each other in so close a succes- 
 sion that, but for the wonders of the road-side, you 
 would be reminded of the sea and a plunging 
 ship. These large palm-trees disappear after two 
 or three days' journey, and you will see them far 
 below and behind you as you climb loftier hills. 
 How happy now, if one had only to enjoy the 
 beauty of the flowers, the gracefulness of the 
 feathery bamboo, the richness of cultivated spots, 
 the sublime sight of the blue mountains rising into 
 the clouds in the distant west, the luxuriant slopes
 
 FROM THE COAST TO THE CAPITAL. 25 
 
 bending down to the east, and, at their feet, the 
 rolling sea stretching away into the far line of the 
 horizon. Happy, indeed ! but for these toiling 
 creatures bearing the palanquin, as dark in soul as 
 in body, and that host coming down from the 
 mountains, chained together and bearing heavy 
 burdens upon their heads, two thousand of 
 them ! What an army, to go at once into the suf- 
 fering to which they are destined ! This spot, 
 where they first catch sight of the sea, may well 
 be called the "Weeping-place of the Hovas," for 
 that sea will soon lie between them and their 
 native land. And so all along the way, in compa- 
 nies of from fifty to two thousand, you meet these 
 wretched captives ! How they came through that 
 terrible belt of forest, is a mystery, for your bear- 
 ers, if you can trust them, must climb the face of 
 steeps by clinging to roots and branches of trees, 
 and must toil over rocks and along paths that lead 
 through holes filled with water, or down into wet 
 and slippery ravines which, every moment, threat- 
 en your fall. 
 
 It is just here, when most needed, that the king's 
 messengers begin to welcome you and bring fresh 
 provisions. At last this dreary forest is left be- 
 hind, the cooler hights are reached, lovely vales 
 bend between the green hills, vast fields of rice
 
 26 MISSJOXS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 wave by the way-side, groves of great beauty oc- 
 cur here and there, and villages multiply every 
 where, perched on the cliffs, with paths winding 
 across the ditches, up the steeps, and through the 
 gateway in the wall which invariably surrounds 
 the villages in Ankovy. They are fortresses, ev- 
 ery one of them, and by this you may know you 
 are among the Hovas. The houses are crowded 
 together and there is hardly room for the palan- 
 quin to be carried between them. They are bet- 
 ter than those in the provinces below, in having 
 windows and in being built of clay or stone. 
 There are two apartments also. 
 
 Do not be alarmed because the reception-room 
 is already occupied. There, in one corner, is a 
 pen for lambs, in another a pen for calves, and in 
 a third are the ducks and chickens. Pass to the 
 inner room where the husband is cooking the 
 rice, and the wife sitting at a loom, weaving a silk 
 lamba, which will be exceedingly pretty when it 
 gets out of that queer fixture of sticks driven into 
 the ground. The wife welcomes the guest by un- 
 tying the loom, pulling up the sticks, rolling up 
 the lamba and placing it in her rush basket, thus 
 putting out of sight her occupation, and devoting 
 herself to the service of the comer. Who could 
 desire her to be more politely hospitable ?
 
 FROM THE COAST TO THE CAPITAL. 27 
 
 The chief of the village, and some of the peo- 
 ple, will bring presents of fowl or rice or fruit, 
 which must not be refused ; and before night 
 a crowd of persons, much fairer than those in the 
 province below, come to talk about the countries 
 and people across the ocean, and to ask intelligent 
 questions concerning all in your possession that is 
 novel. 
 
 Another day's journey takes you through a 
 country of low hills and wide valleys covered 
 with long grass or waving with rice-plants. Huge 
 blocks of granite crop out here and there. Houses 
 are frequent, and sometimes there is one of two 
 stories, and the occupants come out upon a sort 
 of parapet to see the strangers passing. Near the 
 houses are frequently tall granaries, looking quite 
 like old-fashioned bee-hives that had taken a fancy 
 to grow to a gigantic size, because the trees did 
 so. A round hole at the top is the entrance, and 
 a ladder outside affords access to it. When rice 
 is wanted from it, a young slave-boy is let down 
 into it, fills a basket, and is drawn up again. Other 
 granaries are deep holes in the ground, with a 
 mound of clay for the opening. If some timid 
 mother takes you for a slave-dealer, she will hide 
 her children here till the " cannibal " has passed ;
 
 28 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 for she believes, in her heart, that the children are 
 stolen to be eaten. 
 
 Yonder is the village of Ambatomanga, upon 
 the summit of a cliff rising precipitously, four 
 hundred feet from the valley. Like all the villages, 
 wide ditches and a mud wall enclose it. Clusters 
 of trees adorn it, and the houses, with their steep, 
 naiTow roofs, thatched with grass, and rafters pro- 
 jecting like horns at the gables, give it a strange 
 aspect. On one side of the village, a mass of 
 granite rises two hundred feet, and upon its very 
 top is a solitary stone house. Passing it, you 
 wind along a rolling plain somewhat resembling a 
 prairie. Trees seem to have vanished altogether. 
 
 At last, out of the valley rises an oval hill, a 
 mile and a half long, and five hundred feet above 
 the plain. Upon its rocky sides and summit is 
 Tananarive, " city of a thousand towns." Two 
 irregular and difficult paths wind from the north 
 and the east up the hill and through the place. 
 On " the crown of the town " stands the palace 
 of Radama, surmounted by a golden eagle with 
 outspread wings, and in a line on either side 
 stand the houses of the royal family, of the many 
 wives of the king, and of the officers of the court. 
 Below these, on narrow terraces, are the houses of 
 the people, built chiefly of wood, thatched with
 
 FROM THE COAST TO THE CAPITAL. 29 
 
 grass, and indicating, by the length of the rafters, 
 the rank of the occupant. The doors always face 
 the west. 
 
 Long before you reached the city, messengers, 
 with a palanquin from the king, had been sent to 
 bear you ; and now, at the foot of the hill, the 
 stranger is met by officers of the court and an es- 
 cort of dancing soldiers, and conducted up to the 
 court-yard of the palace, which is crowded with 
 singers and shell-blowers to honor the arrival. 
 
 Radama I. stands upon the balcony, dressed in 
 a costume half native, half Arab. He is not over 
 five feet in hight, is slender in figure, has small 
 hands and feet, light olive complexion, black curl- 
 ing hair, an oval, smiling face and full under-lip. 
 In his reception, you are astonished to find him a 
 gentleman. Easy and unembarrassed in manner, 
 cordial and agreeable in conversation, which is 
 carried on through an interpreter, you feel that he 
 is not a savage. 
 
 Radama leads the way to a room lined with 
 muskets, and himself seated on a kind of throne, 
 offers you a stool covered with a white linen 
 cloth. His ministers occupy mats upon the floor. 
 You are puzzled to know the rank of the persons 
 about you, and find that honor is bestowed by 
 number ; so that if you are presented to a major in
 
 30 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 the army, you salute "Honor the 7th;" or a 
 Field-Marshal, "Honor the 13th," which is the 
 highest. Civil officers receive the same numbers 
 in the same order. The Malagasy word for honor 
 signifies, "flower of the grass; " so that they must 
 be perpetually reminded of its fleeting nature. 
 
 The king assures his visitor again and again of 
 his delight at receiving him, and, to prove it, sends 
 immediately to have a house yes, two or three 
 houses prepared for his immediate occupation. 
 Do not imagine that, because a house is so easily 
 built in the lower provinces, it can be spirited into 
 existence so quickly here, for your comfort. There 
 are no trees for the purpose, within forty miles, 
 and every plank or uusplit tree must be dragged 
 by men the whole distance. And these men are 
 not the "seven hundred" that live in that great 
 belt of forest, but the people of a district, or even 
 whole village, who are commanded to go forth 
 and draw timber for the king, for which service 
 they neither expect nor receive pay. So be mer- 
 ciful, and accept what is offered. One house is for 
 your drawing and sleeping-room, a second for 
 stores, and the third serves for the kitchen. 
 
 When fairly established, you are the recipient 
 of as many gifts as ever bewildered a clergyman 
 at a donation-party. Everybody is ready to oblige
 
 FROM THE COAST TO THE CAPITAL. 31 
 
 you; but your offer of money is received with 
 doubt and shyness, lest you may prove, after all, 
 a kidnapper. But, whoever comes, a black slave 
 or a high officer of the court, a woman from the 
 market-place, or a princess from the palace, 
 every one wears the same style of robe called the 
 lamba. It is generally three or four yards long 
 and two or three wide, is thrown gracefully over 
 the shoulders, and hangs in loose folds nearly to 
 the feet. A man throws it chiefly over the left, 
 and a woman over the right shoulder. Its ma- 
 terial and dimensions differ according to the rank 
 of the wearer ; those of the nobles being made of 
 pure silk and of brilliant colors, while the poorer 
 people made them of white cotton, or of coarse 
 cloth manufactured from the banana or rofia tree. 
 Thus you know precisely the grade of your 
 visitor. 
 
 As the days go by, and no Sabbaths come, you 
 wonder where is the people's God. Is there 
 never any rest from labor and never any wor- 
 ship ? Not an act of worship, even to an idol, did 
 you see in the whole journey. To be sure, the 
 bearers consulted the divinei-s, and exhausted 
 your patience in counting and dividing beans, or 
 sticks, or stones, to find out the lucky day for 
 starting. They were careful to make #n address
 
 32 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 to the crocodiles before crossing a lake or river, 
 assuring them of having never done them harm; 
 and they took pains to sit and sleep according to 
 certain points of the compass. If commencing a 
 house, the builder did not fail to begin it on a 
 lucky day, and at the sacred northeast corner ; in 
 all this, there was only superstition, no act of 
 true worship. 
 
 If you could be admitted to one of the sacred 
 villages, where the idol of the district is kept, you 
 might see the house and speak to the keeper, but 
 neither you nor the people would be allowed to 
 look upon the idol, which is always covered by a 
 scarlet cloth, even when carried in public. Any 
 one who desires a favor of the idol, leaves an offer- 
 ing with the keeper. If you ask those simple 
 slaves, carrying burdens, who made all things, they 
 will tell you God. Or if you converse with .one 
 of the king's ministers, you will find that he ap- 
 peals to God, and blesses in the name of God. At 
 the same time, you will discover that he calls his 
 king the " visible God, " and the book in your 
 hand he will regard as God, because of its wonder- 
 ful ability to speak to you without being heard. 
 Rice and silk are indispensable to the comfort and 
 enjoyment the Malagasy, therefore they are gods. 
 Whatever fills them with awe or admiration, is a
 
 FROM THE COAST TO THE CAPITAL. 33 
 
 god. Even the velvet you have brought as a 
 present to the king excites wonder and admira- 
 tion, and is styled the " son of god." 
 
 " Oh that they knew the one living God and 
 his son Jesus Christ, that they might not perish, 
 but have everlasting life ! " is your earnest wish 
 as they cluster around you. You long to bring 
 the gospel quickly, that this great darkness may 
 be dispelled from the minds of the people, and the 
 chains of the oppressed be broken. God does not 
 now work miraculously, but by means of his own 
 people ; and, we shall see how he will lead men 
 to prepare the way and make the paths straight, 
 that Christ may come in his glory; and see how 
 he will use Radama, as an ax, to hew down the 
 trees of iniquity that overshadow the nation.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FIRST INTERCOURSE WITH EUROPEANS. 
 
 Radama I. His character Attempts to convert him to Roman- 
 ' ism His Talents and Energy The Isle of Mauritius Embassy 
 from Gov. Farquhar to Radama Mr. Hastie Efforts to abolish 
 the Slave Trade Treaty with the English Slave-Traders' Dep- 
 utation from Mauritius They announce the Abrogation of this 
 Treaty Re establish the slave-trade Radama's Indignation- 
 Arrival of English missionaries Settle at Tamatave Their 
 murder Return of Gov. Farquhar to Mauritius Mr. Hastie 
 sent again to Radama Joy of the latter. 
 
 RADAMA the First, as you have just seen him in 
 the beginning of his reign, was but sixteen years 
 old; only a "beardless youth," as the chieftain of 
 another province scornfully termed him. His 
 morals were so pure that his father deemed it a 
 sign of feeble character, and persons were em- 
 ployed to entice him into vice, as a necessary prep- 
 aration to govern a people who were very licen- 
 tious and deceitful. Thirst for glory and renown 
 actuated him from the moment he became the 
 chief of Ankovy. His father's last charge to him 
 was to possess himself of the whole island of 
 Madagascar, and reign supreme over it ; and the 
 frequent accounts he received from the French
 
 FIRST INTERCOURSE WITS EUROPEANS. 35 
 
 traders of Napoleon's brilliant career, fired this 
 ambition so early planted. 
 
 The only communication Radama had with the 
 civilized world, during the first eight years of his 
 reign, was through the English and French slave- 
 traders. The latter, at an early date, occupied 
 the southeast province of Anosy, where they now 
 have important settlements. Catholic priests, 
 through this channel, attempted to convert Rada- 
 ma and his people, but the ofler of the crucifix 
 was to them but an " ody " in a new shape ; and 
 the conduct of the traders did nothing towards 
 recommending a new religion to the respect of 
 the high-minded chief. 
 
 Radama possessed sound judgment and shrewd 
 foresight, and was quick to perceive what it was 
 desirable to copy, and what to obtain from his for- 
 eign visitors. He learned to write his own lan- 
 guage in the Arabic character, and to write 
 French in Roman letters. Fire-arms were among 
 his first purchases, and, with these he soon proved 
 that he was not to be challenged as a mere "beard- 
 less youth." His bold courage, his talents as a 
 ruling chief, and his rapid advance in civilized 
 habits, quickly gained him a reputation ; and he 
 was soon known to Europeans who touched at
 
 36 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 the coast, as the prince whose friendship and alli- 
 ance it was most important to secure. 
 
 It is delightful to note the timeliness of Provi- 
 dence. There is no haste to cause one event to 
 meet another. Out of what seems to us a scene 
 of confusion, comes a series of events, joining 
 hands and marching steadily onward to results 
 which are certain to promote the final establish- 
 ment of Christ's kingdom. Thus, while Radama 
 is preparing to reach forth his hand out of dark 
 Madagascar to clasp that of a Christian nation, 
 there is a side event occurring in the last war be- 
 tween England and France, unnoticed by men but 
 not by God, and destined to meet the needs of 
 Radama and his people. 
 
 About as far to the east of Madagascar as Africa 
 is to the west, lies the island of Mauritius, or Isle 
 of France, which, during that war, passed from 
 the possession of the French into that of the Eng- 
 lish. By the good providence of God, a governor 
 was placed there who was a man of Christian in- 
 tegrity and enlightened benevolence. This was 
 Sir Robert Farquhar. Soon after his arrival in 
 Mauritius, he witnessed the miseries of the slave- 
 trade, and resolved to use his power to suppress it. 
 With this in view, he sent, in 1816, Captain Le 
 Sage with a company of soldiers and artisans to
 
 FIRST INTERCOURSE WITH EUROPEANS. 37 
 
 visit the Chief of the Hovas, and form a treaty of 
 friendship. Le Sage and his men were nearly 
 driven to despair by the hardships of his journey, 
 but were comforted and encouraged, in the latter 
 part of their progress, by messengers bearing pres- 
 ents of provisions and letters of welcome from 
 Radama. He received them at the capital with 
 all the honors he was able to bestow, treated them 
 with the most cordial politeness and generosity, 
 and gladly sealed the promise of friendship with 
 the governor of Mauritius, by taking the " oath 
 of blood " with Le Sage. This was done by 
 drinking each other's blood, a solemn and invio- 
 lable pledge on the part of Radama. 
 
 Such of the soldiers as had survived the terrible 
 sufferings of the journey were left to drill the 
 army of the Hovas into some kind of discipline; 
 it being at this time but a confused assemblage of 
 forty thousand men, whose chief effectiveness lay 
 in fear of, and devotion to, their king and com- 
 mander, Radama. In return, Radama sent two 
 of his younger brothers to Mauritius for educa- 
 tion. This opened the way to Madagascar. 
 
 A man of firm Christian principle, possessing 
 ability to negotiate a difficult mission, and able to 
 endure hardness as a good soldier, was now need- 
 ed to propose and complete the abolition of the
 
 38 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 slave-trade. God had been preparing just such a 
 man, and had already guided him to Mauritius. 
 Mr. Hastie was born in Cork, of Quaker par- 
 ents. He entered the army at an early age and 
 served for years in India. This, with a supe- 
 rior character, in which faithfulness and energy 
 were prominent, fitted him for the work await- 
 ing him. Led providentially to Mauritius, and 
 brought by a courageous action to the notice of 
 Governor Farquhar, he was employed to teach the 
 two brothers of Radama. Finding all the neces- 
 sary qualities in him, and finding him also so 
 "faithful in little," the governor placed in his 
 hands the " much," which has proved his monu- 
 ment in history. He was made the bearer of a 
 treaty to Radama with full power to negotiate it. 
 Accompanied by the two princes, Mr. Hastie 
 reached Tananarive amidst enthusiastic rejoicings. 
 He found Radama dressed in a British military 
 suit, waiting to receive him with all the cordiality 
 and politeness of a French host. Among the 
 presents he had brought was a fine horse, which 
 was a marvel to all Madagascar, and at first, an 
 object of fear. Even Radama placed a charm in 
 his mouth before mounting, but once familiar 
 with the novelty, he took the greatest pleasure in 
 riding. A clock and pocket-compass were also
 
 FIRST INTERCOURSE WITH EUROPEANS. 39 
 
 among the gifts. The striking of the clock was a 
 curious fact to him ; he sat before it a whole hour 
 to witness its fidelity, and, when it struck, forgot 
 his royal dignity, and fairly danced with delight. 
 He appreciated the value of the compass, and 
 amused himself with a map of the world upon 
 which he enjoyed tracing out his own kingdom. 
 
 In entering upon the business which had 
 brought him to Radama, Mr. Hastie found that 
 he had not to deal with a savage chief, but with 
 a man a century in advance of his people ; having 
 excellent common sense, great shrewdness, and an 
 abounding desire for glory in the advancement of 
 his country. He did not wish to govern barbari- 
 ans. It was an easy thing, therefore, to convince 
 him of the desirableness of abolishing the slave- 
 trade. But his ministers, to whom every word 
 of the conversations was interpreted, could not 
 appreciate either the benefits or the need of thus 
 cutting off the only source of wealth in the 
 country. They violently opposed the measure. 
 Happily, Radama possessed courage and decision 
 of character, and took the step on his own respon- 
 sibility, on condition that the English should sup- 
 ply him with fire-arms, which he had hitherto ob- 
 tained from the slave-dealers. An estimate was 
 also taken of the yearly loss by the cessation of
 
 40 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 sales, which was to be made good by an annual 
 payment from the English. Radama took pains 
 to impress Mr. Hastie with the fact that bis prom- 
 ise was not binding till the stipulated conditions 
 were fulfilled. This jealousy of his own honor, 
 and his quickness to detect the slightest falsehood, 
 were among his most striking traits. 
 
 While negotiating the treaty, Mr. Hastie assured 
 the king that no English subjects could hold slaves 
 in Mauritius. 
 
 "Where, then, are the ten slaves I gave to Cap- 
 tain Le Sage ? " asked Radama. 
 
 " Four of them," said Mr. Hastie, " are returned 
 to this country, as you have seen, and the remain- 
 der never reached Mauritius." 
 
 Radama, however, questioned the returned 
 slaves, and found that the others had been sold in 
 Mauritius by Le Sage's interpreter, a fact which 
 was entirely unknown to Mr. Hastie. Radama 
 immediately charged him with having told a 
 lie, and would accept of no explanation nor have 
 anything to do with him for a whole week. Even 
 then he would only say that he was not angry, 
 and, afterward, in the course of a warm argument, 
 met his statements with the reminder that he had 
 once told a lie. It was only after repeated proof
 
 FIRST INTERCOURSE WITH EUROPEANS. 41 
 
 of Mr. Hastie's strict integrity that his confidence 
 was restored. 
 
 The treaty was completed in October, 1817, 
 and Radama issued a proclamation enforcing its 
 strict observance on pain of death. It was violat- 
 ed in several instances, but, in each case, the pen- 
 alty was inflicted, even though upon some mem- 
 bers of the royal family. The slave-traders at 
 Tamatave, finding Radama immovable in his fidel- 
 ity, broke up their establishments, sold off their 
 possessions, and prepared to leave Madagascar. 
 
 Mr. Hastie had remained at the capital, and, at 
 the expiration of the time appointed for the fulfill- 
 ment of the treaty, went down to Tamatave to 
 receive the stipulated goods, which consisted of 
 fire-arms, over two thousand articles for soldiers' 
 wear, and two thousand dollars in gold and silver, 
 besides other items. 
 
 Instead of receiving the goods, Mr. Hastie was 
 waited upon at Tamatave by a deputation of 
 slave-dealers, just arrived from Mauritius, bearing 
 a letter from Governor Hall, who occupied the 
 position of Sir Robert Farquhar during the 
 absence of the latter in England. This letter 
 recalled Mr. Hastie from Madagascar, refused to 
 fulfill the treaty, and relinquished all intercourse 
 with Radama. Mr. Hastie was unable to believe
 
 42 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 it, and hastened to Mauritius only to find full 
 confirmation of these orders. Six youths who 
 had been sent to Mauritius to be educated were 
 returned. Radama refused to believe the slave- 
 traders, and continued to adhere to the conditions 
 of the treaty until convinced by this last act. 
 His indignation against the English was intense. 
 His generous trust in the promise of an enlight- 
 ened people had been deeply outraged. He felt 
 remorse at the sacrifice of his own relatives, and 
 humiliated, in the extreme, at being obliged to 
 acknowledge to the people that he had done 
 wrong in persisting in his own judgment against 
 theirs, in forming such a treaty. His pride was 
 touched, too, in the return of the Malagasy boys. 
 He afterwards asked of Mr. Hastie, " Why would 
 not your government at Mauritius permit those 
 boys to be instructed, whom I sent for that pur- 
 pose? Although your government violated the 
 treaty and discontinued intercourse with me, I 
 would gladly have paid for the education of the 
 boys." So eager was he to raise his people to an 
 equality with other nations! 
 
 Thus, by the act of one man, Madagascar was 
 given up to evil influences for two years and a 
 half longer. The slave-traders hastened back 
 to Tamatave. The town grew with rapidity.
 
 FIRST INTERCOURSE WITH EUROPEANS. 43 
 
 The slave-market never was so prosperous. The 
 French also engaged in the trade more exten- 
 sively than before, and incited the natives to 
 promote it, by providing them with all the arti- 
 cles of luxury they required. They furnished 
 the house of Radama in superior style, and as- 
 sisted him to copy the manners of other courts. 
 Tables and chairs were provided, and servants 
 taught to stand behind each guest at table. A 
 portrait of the French king was presented, and 
 fire-arms abundantly supplied. The people paid 
 an increased tax to Radarna on the sale of slaves, 
 thus enabling him to improve the capital. A 
 good carriage-road leading out of the city was his 
 first improvement. 
 
 The traders took excellent care to gratify 
 Radama's desire for civilization, and equal care 
 to keep out of his way any persons who would be 
 likely to appeal to bis higher nature, or otherwise 
 attempt to interfere with their traffic. Mission- 
 aries had been sent from England in the year of 
 the treaty, but, upon reaching Mauritius, found 
 that intercourse with the island had ceased, and 
 were prevented from going further except as 
 private individuals. This they attempted. Al- 
 though received with the utmost politeness by the 
 French authorities, they were told of the extreme
 
 44 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 wickedness and stupidity of the natives, the for- 
 bidding character of the king, and the horrors to 
 be endured, and finally were nearly bowed out of 
 the island. Happily they had courage to remain, 
 but, not daring to go to the capital, commenced 
 their work in a small village. The inhabitants 
 shouted Tsara be ! tsara be ! " Very good ! very 
 good ! " at their arrival, and when a school was 
 opened more children came than they were able 
 to receive in this early experiment. These chil- 
 dren were docile and bright. During a short 
 absence of the teachers, and a temporary suspen- 
 sion of the school, they taught others, and were 
 eager for the school to be reopened. 
 
 News of their work reached the king in spite of 
 the slave-dealers, and he sent the missionaries 
 an invitation to visit him. The message was never 
 delivered. He was told that they were dead! 
 Shortly after, and w T ithin a few weeks of each oth- 
 er, one of the two missionaries and the wives and 
 children of both died, evidently from the effects of 
 poison. The remaining missionary, Mr. Jones, re- 
 ceived from the traders such inhuman treatment 
 during his sickness that there is little doubt as to 
 the instigators of the deadly work. 
 
 " Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for him : 
 fret not thyself because of him Avho prospereth in
 
 FIRST INTERCOURSE WITH EUROPEANS. 45 
 
 his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked 
 devices to pass," was an injunction which Mr. 
 Hastie had reason to remember, while awaiting a 
 change of rulers in Mauritius. The wicked had 
 it all their own way in Madagascar for two-years 
 and a half, perhaps preparing the people more 
 effectually, by contrast, to recognize and welcome 
 the future messengers of God. At last, Governor 
 Farquhar returned to his post. He had obtained 
 the sanction of the king of England to the renewal 
 of the treaty, and immediately sent Mr. Hastie 
 and -Mr. Jones, the missionary who had survived, 
 to open communication with Radarna, and renew 
 the broken treaty. 
 
 The traders at Tamatave attempted to prevent 
 their journey to the capital, assuring them that 
 the king had no intention of ever receiving them, 
 and would behead them if they went. But Mr. 
 Hastie knew Radama, and he knew the traders. 
 He first sent a letter, then followed it, and was 
 soon relieved of all doubts by a cordial answer 
 from Radama, 
 
 They were received at Tananarive,. by soldiers 
 two lines deep, extending from the lower part of 
 the hill to the palace, whither they were conducted 
 by two field officers. Here they were met by Ra- 
 dama, who clasped Mr. Hastie in his arms and
 
 46 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 laughed for joy, repeating his name and taking 
 hold of him again and again to make sure of his 
 presence. They were conducted to an apartment 
 so elegant and superior to that occupied by the 
 king, three years before, that Mr. Hastie could not 
 but express his surprise. The next evening they 
 were invited to an excellent dinner, which was 
 served on the plate they had brought as a present 
 to Radama, and on home-made ware. They were 
 also seated at table, and each guest was attended 
 by a servant. This was certainly progress in 
 Madagascar, where even the nobles formerly sat 
 on mats, with their one dish of rice on the floor, 
 and their guests supplied with leaves for plates.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 DAWN OF CIVILIZATION. 
 
 The Renewal of the Treaty urged Distrust of the English Op- 
 position by the Chiefs and People Radama's Consent The 
 Conditions Mr. Ilastie carries the Treaty to Mauritius Ratifi- 
 cation by the British Government Radama's Joy Missionary 
 Labors begun at the Capital The First School The new 
 School-house Arrival of Artisans and additional Missionaries 
 Improvements Cutting of the King's Hair Schools in the Dis- 
 trictsInfluence of Mr. Hastie Subjugation of the whole 
 Island to Ifedama. 
 
 RADAMA took an early opportunity to express to 
 Mr. Hastie his views of the conduct of the Eng- 
 lish in regard to the treaty. " False as the Eng- 
 lish," was already a proverb among the people. 
 He could not understand how so solemn a pledge 
 between himself and one of England's representa- 
 tives could be broken without dishonor to their 
 sovereign, nor why such a breach of faith should 
 go unpunished. He thought English laws were 
 bad if they allowed it,, and the king weak to per- 
 mit it. Mr. Hastie's explanation, that his sover- 
 eign had not yet sanctioned the treaty, did not 
 satisfy Radama's idea of justice. 
 
 "I signed that treaty," said he, "contrary to the 
 
 47
 
 48 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 advice of my nobles and counselors, even those 
 who instructed me from childhood ; I then waited 
 with confidence, in the expectation of the arrival 
 of the equivalent proposed, and engaged to be 
 paid to me by that treaty; I fulfilled my part with 
 the most scrupulous exactness, and, with heart-felt 
 regret, was obliged to abandon it." 
 
 Mr. Hastie assured him that it could not occur 
 again, as now the king had sanctioned the meas- 
 ure. He pressed upon him the humanity and 
 wisdom of the step, and the benefits which would 
 result to his country by the renewal of the treaty. 
 But Radarna was unmoved. His people and his 
 counselors were wholly and strongly against an 
 alliance on the former terms. An aged chieftain 
 expressed the feeling of the entire people, when 
 he said, 
 
 " Where do we get all we have, but from those 
 to whom we sell slaves ? We do not make pow- 
 der or arms ; we are not possessed of mines ; we 
 have only very bad mechanics, and little cloth, and 
 are by constitution an indolent people. By the 
 sale of slaves, all our wants are supplied through 
 the persons to whom we sell them. What do we 
 derive from the English ? Nothing ! They keep 
 up no intercourse with us. They promised and 
 have not performed ! "
 
 DAWN OF CIVILIZATION. 49 
 
 Public meetings were held, without any advance 
 toward the object desired. The people remained 
 obstinate. 
 
 " It is with you alone that England seeks alli- 
 ance ; it is you alone who continue the inhuman 
 traffic. It is for you to become the deliverer of 
 your people and the founder of their freedom." 
 
 It was in language like this that Mr. Hastie 
 addressed Radama before he presented himself to 
 the assembly awaiting him in front of his palace. 
 Thus appealed to, and clearly seeing the advan- 
 tages of an alliance with a powerful nation, and 
 actuated by the desire of attaining a glorious 
 name, yet restrained by the angry opposition of 
 his ministers and people, what could he do ? Re- 
 peating his reproaches for the past, he exclaimed, 
 placing his hand on his heart, 
 
 "Put your hand here, and say what am I to 
 do?" 
 
 Mr. Hastie entreated him to regard the future 
 rather than the past ; to care for the welfare of his 
 people, and to remember that he had to choose 
 between a few vile slave-dealers and a powerful 
 monarch in this alliance. With much similar 
 persuasion Radama was nearly won over to the 
 cause; but still his people were against him. Af- 
 ter hearing all that Mr. Hastie could say to the
 
 50 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 assembly in favor of tne treaty, the most influen- 
 tial of the ministers arose, in reply. He carefully 
 repeated its whole history, till he came to the vio- 
 lation of it. Here, with an eloquence worthy of 
 a finished orator, he paused as if he had no words 
 to express the wrong. For a moment, intense 
 silence reigned, and then a confusion of voices 
 arose such as might have intimidated any king. 
 
 " You see," said Radama to Mr. Hastie, " I am 
 well inclined, but my people are not. I recollect 
 hearing of the conduct of the French nation to a 
 late king ! " 
 
 But when silence was restored, Mr. Hastie skill- 
 fully added a new inducement to all that lie had 
 hitherto offered. He told them that Governor 
 Farquhar would receive persons for instruction, 
 and that the London Missionary Society would 
 send artisans as well as missionaries, to instruct 
 the people of Madagascar in the various trades. 
 This was twice repeated and twice received in 
 silence. The assembly broke up to meet again 
 the next day in front of the palace. The king 
 remained all night with his counselors, and was 
 weak and fatigued when he appeared before the 
 vast multitude representing every district under 
 his control. lie was ready to comply with the 
 terms on one condition that England should
 
 DAWN OF CIVILIZATION. 51 
 
 instruct his people ; adding that nothing but in- 
 struction could alleviate their present misery. 
 
 Think of this from the king of a half-civilized 
 nation ! He did not ask money nor lands as an 
 equivalent for the sacrifice of the only source of 
 wealth his people yet possessed. As Solomon 
 asked wisdom from God, so this king asked wis- 
 dom at the hands of a great nation. 
 
 He stipulated that twenty persons should be 
 sent to England and Mauritius for instruction, and 
 that artificers should come to reside in Madagascar. 
 Mr. Hastie had no authority to send any to Eng- 
 land, but, after some deliberation, replied that he 
 would take six. Radama was too shrewd to allow 
 any new arrangements to be made without "sanc- 
 tion," and demanded how he happened to con- 
 sent. Happily, Mr. Hastie was an honest man 
 and a Christian. He frankly told the king that 
 he intended to make a personal sacrifice, and him- 
 self pay the expenses incurred, if his government 
 should not indorse his promise. This was ex- 
 plained to the assembled people, but still received 
 with disapprobation and murmurings. The king 
 retired with his counselors, and again conferred 
 with them till daybreak. The fate of thousands, 
 both for time and eternity, hung upon the decis- 
 ion. Mr. Jones, the missionary, had been present
 
 MISSION'S AN> MARTYRS. 
 
 ~t nearly every interview, and had sustained Mr. 
 Hastie in his generous and untiring efforts to lift 
 up this nation from their darkness. Truly, it was 
 an idolatrous nation, but the two embassadors 
 could plead with God that night as Moses often 
 did for the Israelites. 
 
 In the morning Radaraa sent his final answer. 
 He promised that the treaty should be immedi- 
 ately ratified, and the slave traffic ended at once, if 
 Mr. Hastie would promise the education of twenty 
 of his subjects, as he had proposed the previous 
 day. " I agreed," writes Mr. Hastie; " and I trust 
 that Divine Power, which guides all hearts, will 
 induce the government to sanction the act." 
 
 The same day Radama ordered the immediate 
 return of all slaves sent down to the coast, and 
 not then sold, of whom there were large num- 
 bers. He also forbade any one to pay debts to 
 the traders, in slaves, directing money to be 
 substituted in such cases, on pain of death. 
 
 When the king went in state to ratify the trea- 
 ty, he concluded the business by presenting to Mr. 
 Hastie a receipt for the money and horses due him 
 for the twelve months in which he had strictly 
 observed the treaty, saying that it would " help 
 to defray the expenses of instructing the persons " 
 who were to be sent to England. It is not to be
 
 DAWN OF CIVILIZATION. 53 
 
 forgotten, either, that Radama took pains to claim 
 the smallest possible indemnity, when the treaty 
 was first drawn up. He was also exceedingly 
 anxious to have it understood that some provinces 
 in Madagascar, over which he then had no control, 
 would still continue to export slaves. He feared 
 he should be blamed for the acts of others. 
 
 " I would not, for all I could possibly gain," said 
 he to Mr. Hastie, "that the English at any future 
 period should charge me with deception." 
 
 When every thing was completed, Mr. Hastie 
 returned to Mauritius to secure the ratification of 
 the treaty by the British government. On his 
 journey down to Tamatave, he met people going 
 up to the king to carry tribute, in gratitude for 
 his proclamation that they should no more be sold 
 away from their country. They insisted upon 
 turning about and carrying Mr. Hastie as far as 
 he would permit, in token of their gratitude to 
 him, also. Many burden-bearers were on their 
 way to the capital ; and three slave-dealers, with 
 two hundred packages of goods, had already ar- 
 rived there, but were obliged to sell at half-price, 
 and leave without obtaining a single slave. Truly 
 the triumphing of the wicked is short. 
 
 During Mr. Hastie's absence, Radama was con- 
 stantly assured by the "sikidy" that the English
 
 54 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 would again deceive him. A French officer and 
 his suite also arrived with the same assurances, 
 and, in addition, endeavored to convince Radarna 
 that there is no God. Encouraged by the argu- 
 ments of Mr. Jones, who had remained at the cap- 
 ital, the king and his ministers adhered to the 
 right, Radama exclaiming, loudly, " There must 
 be a God ! " When, at length, letters arrived from 
 the governor and from Rataffe, a Hovah prince, 
 who had accompanied Mr. Hastie, informing him 
 that the treaty was confirmed, he shed tears of 
 joy. Upon the return of the latter with the stip- 
 ulated articles, he denounced the falsehood of the 
 divinations. This was the first shaking of his 
 faith in the sikidy. 
 
 By request of the king, the missionaries now 
 commenced their labors at the capital. The first 
 school was opened in December, 1820. It con- 
 sisted of the children of the royal family and of 
 the nobles. In April they had made sufficient 
 progress to read in the Bible, and did themselves 
 credit in other branches. A second school was 
 opened, in October, for the children of the people, 
 under the care of Rev. David Griffiths, sent by 
 the London Missionary Society. The children 
 were eager to adopt the European dress, and 
 brought cloth to the wives of the missionaries to
 
 DAWN OF CIVILIZATION. 55 
 
 be made into jackets and dresses. The house in 
 which they were taught was soon too small for 
 the rapidly increasing numbers. It was the prop- 
 erty of the king's mother, and was a storehouse 
 for rice, mats, cooking utensils, and dishes. It 
 was infested with rats and mice ; and the roof, be- 
 ing immensely high and steep, was swayed to and 
 fro by the wind. Notwithstanding all these dis- 
 comforts, the little Malagasy children sewed, sung, 
 and spelled, with a diligence that would do credit 
 to the youth of far more favored lands. To ob- 
 tain a new school-house was a serious matter ; but 
 Mr. Griffiths made known his embarrassment to 
 the king, and received the following reply : 
 
 " Saith Radama, 
 
 " Live long, my friend ; be not troubled. I will 
 build you such a house as you wish, if my people 
 can build it ; but if you wish to have a house 
 built on the same plan or similar to those at Mau- 
 ritius, who can build it ? If you can find a man 
 to build it, I will furnish the wood. 
 
 " Saith your good friend, 
 
 " RADAMA MANJAKA." 
 
 Accordingly, orders were given to drag trees 
 from the forest. The people of a whole district 
 were thus employed, and five journeys of forty
 
 56 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 miles to the forest were made before a sufficient 
 quantity was obtained. A piece of ground was 
 chosen and given for the house; the carpenters 
 went to work with hatchets and wedges, chopping 
 and splitting, till the trees assumed the desired 
 dimensions. To build a house without saw, nails, 
 or hammer would seem an impossibility, and yet 
 this, like all the other houses, went up without 
 those conveniences. The framework was joined 
 together by mortise and tenon, notches and pins, 
 and bound in place with fibrous roots or tough 
 plants. The windows and doors were made to 
 slide in grooves at the top and bottom. When 
 finished, its size astonished the people, it being 
 the largest house yet erected in the capital, though 
 probably not the highest, for no one was allowed 
 to build a house higher than that of the king. 
 
 At this time, the missionaries found obstacles 
 to the growth of their schools in the fears of those 
 parents who resided near the capital. The boys 
 who had been sent with Prince Rntaffe to England 
 for education not returning with him, caused a 
 report that they had been sold to the cannibals. 
 Mothers, suspecting the missionaries to be in league 
 with the slave-traders, became alarmed for the 
 safety of their children, and concealed them in 
 rice-holes under ground, causing death in several
 
 DAWX OF CIVILIZATION. 57 
 
 instances. Radama was absent upon an expedi- 
 tion against the Sakalavas, but his mother imme- 
 diately issued commands calculated to restore 
 confidence. " Cease from all such practices," said 
 she, " for it is the instruction of your children 
 here, and not sending them to another country, 
 that is the wish and intention of Radama your 
 king." 
 
 A number of artisans and mechanics, as well 
 as additional missionaries and their families, were 
 sent by the London Society in 1821 and 1822. 
 Radama welcomed them all gladly, giving them 
 houses and lands, and natives to assist them ; 
 requiring, however, that apprentices should be 
 taught the various trades. The slave-traders had 
 only brought the luxuries of civilization, and that 
 from interested motives. The Bible messengers 
 introduced the useful arts, and taught the ignorant 
 natives how to rise out of their degradation. The 
 resources of the country were explored, and 
 brought to the notice of the king. The people 
 were taught to make bricks and mortar, to use the 
 saw, to make hinges, screws, and locks. Grains, 
 such as wheat and oats, were introduced, and the 
 plough and harrow brought to help the improve- 
 ment in agriculture. The manufacture of leather 
 was also taught. Hitherto the people had neither
 
 58 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 shoes nor stockings, the nobles only wearing san- 
 dals. Caps and hats began to be worn ; and the 
 king went so far as to imitate the European mode 
 of wearing the hair. It had required two or three 
 days to dress his own in layers of plaits and curls, 
 according to the Hovah fashion. He tried it upon 
 his brother fii'st, and then had his own parted and 
 cut, to the great indignation of many of his con- 
 servative people, who still religiously clung to the 
 ancient ways. A few Hovah women found fault 
 with this forsaking of the customs of their ances- 
 tors. "Behold, how great a matter a little fire 
 kindleth ! " They raved about it until at last four 
 or five thousand gathered near the capital, and 
 sent complaint to Radama of the undue influence 
 of the Europeans. In return, he told them he 
 should cut his hair as he pleased without consult- 
 ing women, ordered the five ringleaders to be put 
 to death, and kept the remainder in their place 
 of meeting, under a guard of soldiers, three days 
 without food or shelter. 
 
 This summary mode of proceeding was charac- 
 teristic of Radama. His will was law, and he 
 would never tolerate the slightest opposition to it. 
 He had determined that he would not rule barbari- 
 ans, but that civilized they should be. A boy who 
 had refused to go to England to be educated was
 
 DAWN OF CIVILIZATION. 59 
 
 punished with fifty stripes, and tied to a flag-pole, 
 that all the people might see and fear. To those 
 who still withheld their children from the schools 
 he said, " If you wish to become wise and happy 
 and please me, send your children to the schools, 
 and let them be taught ; for the good, the indus- 
 trious, and the wise shall be honored by me." 
 They knew very well the alternative, and sub- 
 mitted quietly. 
 
 Others in the districts rejoiced at the opening 
 of schools. On the occasion of a journey, one old 
 man welcomed the missionaries by running after 
 them when they had passed his dwelling, and 
 entreating them, like a patriarch of old, to turn 
 back and eat bread with him. He was so delighted 
 at their consent that he even broke up his bedstead 
 to provide fuel for the cooking, remarking that he 
 loved to honor those whom Radama honored. 
 
 The schools at the capital for children were not 
 the only ones, lladama opened one in the court- 
 yard of his palace, which consisted of the officers 
 of the army and their wives. These were placed . 
 under the tuition of a Frenchman. Radama him- 
 self was a pupil to Mr. Hastie. The missionaries 
 had reduced to writing the Malagasy language, 
 which he 'was learning. He was also acquiring the 
 English language ; but, during a short absence
 
 60 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 of Mr. Hastie, went for assistance to the French 
 master, who pronounced the letters so differently 
 that the vexed king immediately made a law that 
 " throughout his kingdom, each letter should have 
 but one sound ! " Mr. Hastie was also actively 
 engaged in opening schools in all the districts un- 
 der the king's control, and encouraged the people 
 to engage in agriculture, or to be instructed by the 
 artisans who were placed in the villages. For the 
 most part, these efforts were met with enthusiasm. 
 Mr. Hastie stood as a mentor at the side of 
 Radama. His quick eye perceived every thing; 
 but he never detected a defect without propos- 
 ing a remedy, nor proposed a remedy without 
 throwing all his energy into its accomplishment. 
 At his suggestion, the capital was transformed 
 from a place of filth to a pattern of neatness for 
 the rest of the kingdom. The roads were im- 
 proved, laws were made more liberal, and, above 
 all, humanity was encouraged. Radama went 
 upon warlike expeditions against neighboring 
 provinces, and, in these, was taught how to spare 
 and to benefit his enemies, to subjugate them by 
 true superiority, and to offer in return for their 
 allegiance the same gifts of civilization that he 
 himself had received. In all this he submitted to 
 the wisdom of his adviser; but there were times
 
 DAWS' OF CIVILIZATION. 61 
 
 when he felt that he understood the safety of 
 measui-es better than Mr. Hastie, and then he was 
 immovable. On one occasion, when Mr. Hastie 
 was urging him strongly to do what was against 
 his judgment, he checked him by saying he 
 " should have a very poor opinion of him if he 
 pressed him on the subject." 
 
 During one of Radama's expeditions to stop the 
 export of slaves in one of the coast provinces in- 
 habited by Moors, he offered a reward for the head 
 of the chief, and threatened to lay the province 
 waste if they did not immediately give him their 
 allegiance. Mr. Hastie urged him to offer rather 
 the promise of security in case of submission, and 
 undertook the difficult mission of seeking the rude 
 chief in his rocky retreat. When he found him, 
 he procured his consent to the terms of peace by 
 the same course of honesty and truth which had 
 won Radama. In order that his uncouth manner 
 might not offend the king, Mr. Hastie taught 
 him how to bow his head Avhen presented ; but 
 the savage awkwardly pei'sisted in bending his 
 head backward. Radama had once caused the 
 whole front of the house of judges to be taken 
 down, and obliged the judges to hold court in the 
 open air, because they had failed, in passing, to 
 salute him on pretense of not seeing him. It was
 
 62 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 safer for the chieftain's head, therefore, to learn to 
 bend to his conqueror. In return for his submis- 
 sion he was allowed to choose his own lands, and 
 the whole army was kept in waiting till a house 
 was built upon it. The proud chief had chosen 
 a rocky bight that overlooked extensive rice- 
 grounds, saying he wished his feet to be above 
 the heads of his people. 
 
 Radama also secured the submission of the Sa- 
 kalavas, the most powerful of the people of Mada- 
 gascar; and his well-furnished and well-disciplin- 
 ed army was not to be opposed by any. In four 
 years after the completion of the treaty with 
 England he was able to announce to his people 
 that he was King of Madagascar. 
 
 " The whole island," said he, " is now mine. It 
 is governed by one king, ruled by the same laws, 
 and must perform the same service. There are 
 no more wars. Guns and spears may sleep. I am 
 the father of the orphan ; the protector of the 
 widow and the oppressed ; the avenger of evils 
 and wrongs; and the rewarder of the good and 
 just. With regard to yourselves, you must now 
 work. Cultivate the waste lands. Rushes grow 
 from the earth, and gold and silver will not be 
 poured down upon you from the skies."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PROGRESS AND REFORMS. 
 
 Success of the Missionary Work The Idols discredited The Va- 
 zimba dishonored Complaints against the innovations At- 
 tendance of the King at the Schools His ridicule of the Idols 
 Still, however, rejects the Gospel Laws against Intemper- 
 ance and Infanticide Restriction of the Ordeal by Poison 
 Death of Mr. Hastic Radama's Grief Building of New Pal- 
 aces Radama's Dissipation His sickness and Death Procla- 
 mation of Queen Ranavalona The National Mourning The 
 Funeral and Tomb of Radama His Character. 
 
 WHILE Radama was thus engaged in bringing 
 the whole island under his own control, the mis- 
 sionaries were quietly but steadily making prog- 
 ress in their work. The number of schools and 
 scholars rapidly increased. A building was erected 
 for a library, and funds appropriated to furnish 
 reading for the many who were already able to 
 read. A series of lectures on the being and per- 
 fections of God was addressed to the youth and 
 native teachers, and they were encouraged to take 
 notes of the lectures, or to repeat afterward the 
 leading ideas. The Bible was in process of trans- 
 lation into the Malagasy language, and the mis- 
 sionaries themselves superintended the printing 
 of such portions as were finished, besides hymn-
 
 64 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 books, spelling-books, reading-books, and cate- 
 chisms ; in all over five thousand. A church con- 
 sisting of the missionaries and artisans was organ- 
 ized as early as 1822. It included persons of 
 several denominations ; so that without disturbing 
 the minds of the natives concerning the various 
 creeds, it simply placed before them Christ crucified. 
 The Lord's Supper was administered first on this 
 occasion in the court-yard of the palace, the 
 house and chapel which Mr. Griffiths had asked of 
 the king not being yet completed. When at last 
 it was finished, over a thousand persons attended 
 the Sabbath services, crowding even the doors and 
 windows. It was true of them as of the land of 
 Zebulon, " The people which sat in darkness saw 
 great light ; and to them Avhich sat in the region 
 and shadow of death, light is sprung up." 
 
 The children did not fail to see very soon that 
 the idols were as dust and ashes before the great 
 Being whom they were taught to seek. The Mal- 
 agasy were willing enough that their children 
 should be educated ; but this questioning of the 
 power of their idols was a serious offense to them, 
 and an insult to their ancestors. 
 
 " Unless you abide by our wishes and our cus- 
 toms, we shall complain of you to the king," the 
 parents threatened.
 
 PROGRESS AND REFORMS. 65 
 
 " We can not prevent your complaining to the 
 king," returned the children ; "but we have been 
 taught to tell the truth, and though to please you 
 we should say with our lips that we believe in the 
 idols, yet in our hearts we can not." 
 
 Accordingly, when the people repaired to the 
 capital to pay their taxes they took the opportu- 
 nity to present their complaints. 
 
 "Our children," said they, "are forsaking the 
 customs of our ancestors, and rejecting our 
 gods." 
 
 " Do you mind your work," was the determined 
 answer of the king, " and let the children mind 
 their instructions." They were obliged to go 
 home and submit to the new order of tilings. 
 
 Schools were opened even in the sacred vil- 
 lages, where strangers had hitherto never been 
 allowed to dwell. In one of these the son of 
 the idol-keeper became convinced that an object 
 which had to be taken care of was not God. He 
 read the words " Hear, O Israel ! the Lord our 
 God is one Lord ; " and knowing this to be con- 
 trary to his father's instructions, he went to him 
 and asked to be released from the school. 
 
 " Why should I continue to learn what you do 
 not believe ? " he urged. 
 
 " What do I not believe ? " asked his father. 
 
 5
 
 66 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 "That of which I have told you before," an- 
 swered the boy, "and which will not only do me 
 good, but you also. There are new heavens and 
 a new earth for those who believe in God, with 
 everlasting life, and garments shining like the sun, 
 that never wax old." 
 
 This was new truth, for the Malagasy either be- 
 lieve the soul to be a breath of wind, a mist, or a 
 ghost wandering after death over the earth, or 
 pass the subject by as a mystery too deep to be 
 understood. The idol-keeper was so impressed 
 by his son's words, that he abandoned his occupa- 
 tion of taking care of a god that could not take 
 care of him. 
 
 The graves of the Vazimba, a name given to 
 the ancient dead, were objects of dread and ven- 
 eration to the Malagasy. Their spirits were sup- 
 posed to be able to inflict evil or bestow good, 
 and their anger to be excited if a stone or the 
 twig of a tree upon their places of rest should be 
 removed. To assure the scholars that none but 
 the true God possessed power to reward or pun- 
 ish, the missionaries went with them to one of 
 these graves, cut off the branch of a tree, took a 
 stone from the tomb, and persuaded two of the 
 scholars to carry them to the village. 
 
 "Do not touch them," some exclaimed; "the
 
 PROGRESS AND REFORMS. 67 
 
 Vazimba will certainly be enraged, and you will 
 become ill and die." 
 
 "The Vazimba will come in the night, and carry 
 you away to the region of ghosts ! " said others. 
 
 But the two boys were firm; and it was 
 not without some anxiety that the missionaries 
 watched them for days, lest fear alone should pro- 
 duce illness. Had this occurred, the anger of the 
 inhabitants would have been excited, and their 
 superstitions confirmed. But the Lord preserved 
 them, and the lesson was salutary. 
 
 " What do your parents say to this?" asked the 
 teachers. 
 
 " They say that you white people have some 
 charms which the Vazimba are not able to resist." 
 
 Older persons could not be induced to touch 
 the graves of the Vazimba, and were deeply of- 
 fended at this shaking of the faith of the children 
 in these, and in their idols. When the king re- 
 turned from one of his expeditions, complaints of 
 this kind were so generally made that he sent for 
 Mr. Jones, to caution the missionaries. 
 
 " They are too active," said he. "If they con- 
 tinue to instruct the people with the snme speed, 
 they will turn the world upside down." At an- 
 other time he said, " I am anxious that my people 
 should improve in knowledge. Let me not go too
 
 68 MISSIONS AND MAKTYXS. 
 
 slowly lest I miss my aim; nor too fast lest I 
 stumble: for while a man is endeavoring to ran 
 with all the speed he can, if another should give 
 him a push, the chance is that he will fall." 
 
 The schools were encouraged, however, by the 
 attendance of the king at the examinations, and 
 also by frequent visits, both to listen and com- 
 mend. His personal example tended to break 
 the superstitions of the people. Pie would not 
 allow them to wait for " lucky days," when the 
 missionaries were to be served. On the occasion 
 of his return from a visit to the coast, the diviners 
 at the capital fixed upon a certain day for his en- 
 trance according to the revelations of the sikidy. 
 Formerly, he had awaited in the valley the com- 
 ing of the right day, but now he marched into 
 the city in defiance of the mortified diviners, and 
 his frightened ministers, assuring them that 
 Radama would enter his capital whenever he 
 pleased. 
 
 He began also to show the same contempt for 
 the idols. These were always covered with a piece 
 of scarlet cloth ; and this covering of one of the 
 principal idols having become old, the people of 
 the village, where it was kept, asked the gift of a 
 new one from Radama. 
 
 " Why, surely," answered the king, " he must
 
 PROGRESS AND REFORMS. 69 
 
 be very poor, if he can not get a piece of cloth 
 for himself. If he be a god, he can provide his 
 own garments." 
 
 At another time, when the king was surround- 
 ed by many of his officers, an idol-keeper rushed 
 into his presence, bearing a pole upon the end of 
 which was an idol beneath a piece of red velvet. 
 The man ran about wildly, saying the idol caused 
 him to do thus. 
 
 " Let me try if it will be the same with me," 
 said Radama, taking it and walking about with 
 quiet dignity. " Perhaps I am too heavy for the 
 god to move," he added, sarcastically ; " do you 
 try, you are light enough," and he gave it to one 
 of his ministers. He also bore it about with 
 gravity, and gave it back to the abashed keeper. 
 A deep impression was made upon the whole 
 company. 
 
 Their superstitions were again subjected to 
 Radama's ridicule, in the exposure of a divinity 
 said to dwell in a cave in the mountains, and to 
 be able to give audible responses. He visited 
 the cave and, entering it, saluted the invisible 
 god. A solemn response carne from the dark 
 recesses. 
 
 As a gift of money is always offered to the 
 king by visitors, so Radama offered homage to the
 
 70 MISSIONS AXD MARTYRS. 
 
 unseen. A hand was gently reached forth to 
 accept the gift. Radama seized it. 
 
 " This is no god, this is a human being ! " he 
 exclaimed, and the mysterious divinity was drag- 
 ged forth to the light of day, and to the ridicule 
 of the assembled people. Other impostures and 
 delusions were exposed, and the deceivers severely 
 punished; so that the people could not but feel the 
 influence of the king as well as that of their chil- 
 dren. Still Radama did not place his trust in Je- 
 hovah. He loved and respected the messengers of 
 God because they met the demands of his moral 
 nature, and still more because they contributed to 
 his own glory in elevating his people. Further 
 than this, the truth of the gospel seemed hidden 
 from him, the wise and prudent king, while it 
 was revealed to babes. The poor, the humble, the 
 little children, were already looking at the shining 
 face of Jesus. For himself, Radama was- yet suffi- 
 cient. 
 
 When Mr. Jones first came to the capital he 
 found the king one day firing a cannon during a 
 thunder-storm, and inquired the cause. Radama 
 replied that God was talking, and he was answer- 
 ing. Mr. Jones explained the audacious irrever- 
 ence, and was listened to with respect. The gift 
 of a Bible was also accepted gratefully by the king,
 
 PROGRESS AND REFORMS. 71 
 
 with the remark that if it contained what was 
 " straight, and not crooked," he should be glad to 
 have it. He could admire its sublime wisdom ; 
 but he was not able to sit as n child at the foot of 
 the cross. Yet this bold and prudent king, so 
 eager for glory, so strong in himself, and so tena- 
 cious of homage, was in the hands of the Al- 
 mighty as clay in the hands of the potter. His 
 will was molded into subjection to the great pur- 
 pose of the salvation of that people, and though 
 Radama might have seemed to himself the pro- 
 moter only of his own interests, he was in reality 
 an ax in the hand of God laid at the root of 
 every tree that bore evil fruit. 
 
 Idolatry had already received its death-blow. 
 Temperance was enforced by a law against the 
 sale of liquor, though the law-maker himself in- 
 dulged freely, and permitted its use in the palace. 
 Infanticide was prohibited. It had been the cus- 
 tom of the Malagasy to destroy all children who 
 were born on days pronounced unlucky by the as- 
 trologers ; but Radama declared that " all the in- 
 fants doomed to death by the astrologers became 
 his, and that whoever destroyed them destroyed 
 his children, and should suffer death for their 
 murder." Radama restricted the use, and had the 
 intention of abolishing wholly the " tangena," or
 
 72 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 trial by poison, which was supposed to inflict death 
 on the guilty, and spare the innocent. Many had 
 been yearly subjected to this terrible ordeal, and 
 many perished. 
 
 Through all these reformations, Mr. Hastie 
 stood by the king, counseling and urging him to 
 take each step firmly. Mr. Hastie's death, in 
 1826, was an irreparable loss to Madagascar, and 
 was felt most deeply by Radama. " I have lost 
 many of my people, many of my soldiers, most of 
 rny officers, and several of the highest nobles ; but 
 this is nothing in comparison with the loss of 
 Adrian-asy (nobleman Hastie). Pie has been a 
 faithful friend, a husband to Madagascar. The 
 good he has done can not be too highly spoken of 
 by me." Thus, too, all the people mourned and 
 honored him. 
 
 While engaged in exalting his people, Radama 
 did not forget to increase his own royal dignity by 
 the building of palaces for himself. His city resi- 
 dence was within the palisades which inclose all 
 the buildings called the palace. It is still dis- 
 tinguished by the name of the "silver house," so 
 called because the gable-ends, ceilings, windows, 
 and door-posts. are ornamented with silver studs and 
 nails, though one traveler says these ornaments are 
 tiny silver bells. This house is quite insignificant
 
 PROGRESS AND REFORMS. 73 
 
 beside the larger palace, standing next and tower- 
 ing above- it. Its chief peculiarities are its roof 
 and the columns by which the two galleries sur- 
 rounding it are supported. Each column consists 
 of the trunk of a tree rising to the hight of eighty 
 feet ; the central one which supports the roof be- 
 ing one hundred and twenty feet high, according 
 to Madame Pfeiffer. She further states that "in 
 bringing home the chief pillar alone five thousand 
 persons were employed, and twelve days were 
 occupied in its erection." The steep roof gives 
 a singular aspect to the building. It is forty feet 
 in hight, has three tiers of windows, and is sur- 
 mounted by a golden bird with outstretched 
 wings. This palace is only used for public pur- 
 poses, and on state occasions, and is connected 
 by galleries with the adjoining residences. 
 
 In 1824, Radama began to build a palace in the 
 vicinity of Tananarivo, under the direction of a 
 French architect of ability. Monsieur Le Gros 
 was obliged to conform somewhat to Malagasy 
 notions of architecture which forced the building 
 out of the fine proportions it might otherwise 
 have assumed. Like the palace in town, it is sur- 
 rounded with a wide balcony, supported by arches 
 resting on columns. The chief room is one hun- 
 dred feet in length and the floor paved in mosaic,
 
 74 MISSIONS A\D 
 
 composed of blocks of wood of every shade from 
 ebony to maple, and beautifully polished. An in- 
 credible amount of labor was required to convey 
 the timber from the distant forest over almost im- 
 passable roads ; and, when upon the ground, sixty 
 carpenters were employed four years in complet- 
 ing the structure. But Radama's favorite resort 
 was a small cottage, a short distance from the 
 city, built for his especial use. Its approach was 
 through an avenue of bananas and grape-vines. 
 A small sheet of water, stocked with fish, turtles, 
 and water-fowl, ornamented the grounds; and a 
 garden containing many foreign plants and a col- 
 lection of nearly every species of native growth, 
 was its chief attraction to Radama. He amused 
 himself with superintending it. It is said also 
 that he formed two letters "R. R." (Radama 
 Rex ), with green tnrf, on each side of the path 
 to the cottage. In the heat of summer, this was 
 his resting-place from the cares of royalty, or 
 from the fatigues and dangers of hunting the wild 
 boar in the great belt of forest beyond the plain. 
 
 Life must have seemed desirable to this ambi- 
 tious king, especially when looking back over the 
 last ten years, and noting the strides by which he 
 had advanced from the position of an uneducated 
 " beardless youth " and chief of a single province,
 
 PROGRESS AND REFORMS. 75 
 
 to that of an enlightened monarch of " the Great 
 Britian of Africa." Doubtless, he counted at 
 least upon ten more years in which to win re- 
 nown ; but already the handwriting of Death was 
 upon the walls of his palaces. He did not see it, 
 but his friends did. Dissipation had latterly 
 wrought serious inroads upon a constitution weak- 
 ened by exposure to the sickness of the coast dis- 
 tricts, during his expeditions there. Little by lit- 
 tle he withdrew from public duties, and abstained 
 from fatigues which he was no longer able to bear. 
 Medical aid was not obtained early enough to be 
 of service, and, after months of gradual decline, 
 he was laid upon his death-bed. Mr. Jones saw 
 him two days before his death, but could scarcely 
 recognize his countenance or understand the few 
 sentences he attempted to utter. He died on the 
 afternoon of July 27th, 1828. A just and wise 
 king was added to those who brighten the pages 
 of history. We should be glad to believe that his 
 earthly crown gave place to a heavenly one; but 
 we have read with fear* that at one time he stated 
 explicitly that he did not believe in the God of 
 the Europeans. 
 
 *Radama, king of Madagascar, was a few years ago offered the 
 knighthood of the order of St. Patrick, which he declined, assign- 
 ing as his reason, that he could not take the oath which required 
 him to say tliat he believed in God, or that he feared God, meaning 
 the God of the Europeans. Elite's Madagascar.
 
 76 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 Neither the missionaries nor the people knew 
 of the death of Radama till seven days after the 
 event. It had been studiously kept secret to 
 give time for political plottings ; and the better 
 to disguise it, a band continued to play as usual 
 every afternoon in front of the palace. Radama's 
 nephew, the son of Prince Ratataffe, was always 
 regarded as the successor to the crown, but either 
 had not been formally designated by the king 
 before his death or the fact was concealed. A 
 "kabary," or great assemblage of the people, was 
 called to hear the king's choice named, as though 
 he were still living. On the first of August, it 
 was announced that Queen Ranavalona, the senior 
 of Radama's twelve wives ( though he had but 
 one wife Rasalimo who was recognized as 
 queen;) was appointed to the throne. On the 
 3d it was officially proclaimed that the king had 
 "retired," "had gone to his fathers." 
 
 According to the customs of Madagascar, no 
 one was allowed to work during the season of 
 mourning, which sometimes continued a year. 
 All were required to shave the head, were for- 
 bidden to sing, dance, or sit in a chair, to ride, or 
 wear a hat, or enter into conversation. An im- 
 mense crowd assembled from all the surrounding 
 districts, and erected tents and sheds for shelter
 
 PROGRESS AND REFORMS. 77 
 
 on the plain at the foot of Tananarive. A gentle- 
 man from India said that he could "only compare 
 it to the multitudes collected at the festivals of 
 Juggernaut." 
 
 The remains of the king were deposited in a 
 silver coffin, made by the beating of fourteen 
 thousand silver dollars into plates, which were 
 fastened with silver rivets. This was placed in state 
 upon a platform covered with scarlet cloth (scar- 
 let being the royal color) and gold lace. A bal- 
 ustrade, covered with white cloth (the Malagasy 
 sign of mourning) surrounded the platform; and 
 the pillars at the four corners were draped in 
 scarlet. Lamps and lusters were suspended by 
 purple cords between the pillars. The outer walls 
 of the palace were covered with white cloth, and 
 within were draperies of crimson and purple silk, 
 as were also over the gateways. The court-yard 
 was carpeted with blue cloth. All the officers of 
 the court wore white lambas over their uniforms. 
 
 Radarna's tomb was, like those of former sover- 
 eigns, in the court-yard. A vast amount of prop- 
 erty was buried with him. Golden vases and 
 spears, Bibles, a quantity of silver plate, and other 
 costly gifts from the kings of England and France, 
 besides over ten thousand Spanish dollars were 
 placed in his grave, as if to sustain his rank in
 
 78 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 the invisible world of the Vazimbas, to which the 
 people believed his soul had gone. A small house 
 has since been built over the tomb in which a 
 table, a bottle of wine, two glasses, and two chairs 
 are placed for the use of the spirits of Radama and 
 his father. "The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, 
 to stain the pride of all glory." This house re- 
 mains a sad, though unintentional monument of 
 the two chief defects in the otherwise admirable 
 character of Radama, his adherence to the 
 belief of his ancestors, and the intemperate 
 habits of the last years of his life. Resolute in 
 every other respect, he yielded himself to this 
 vice. Just, humane, generous toward his sub- 
 jects ; ambitious as a king ; firm, prompt and wise 
 as a ruler; faithful and honorable as a friend, 
 even though tried as by fire ; a valuable and 
 refined companion in the midst of a barbarous 
 people ; he deserves the inscription engraved 
 upon his tomb, "Unequaled among the Princes." 
 Would that there could be added with truth, 
 the epitaph of some of the ancient, good kings; 
 " His heart was perfect with the Lord his God ; " 
 but he claimed himself to be a "visible god," and 
 truth forbids this crowning encomium, without 
 which even the glory of kings is "as the flower of 
 the grass."
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 QUEEN RANAVALONA PERSECUTION BEGUN. 
 
 Suspension of Missionary Work Murder of Prince Rataffe and his 
 Family Breaking the English Treaty Expulsion of Mr. Lyall 
 Pupils of Schools drafted into the Array Coronation of the 
 Queen Her personal appearance General Purification by the 
 Tangena Fear of the French Baptism of Native Christians 
 Ra-poor-ne<?ro Arrival of New Missionaries Prosperity of the 
 Schools The Converted Idol-keeper Circulation of the Scrip- 
 tures The Queen's Illness Complaint against the Christians 
 Convocation of the Nation Decrees against Christianity De- 
 parture of the Missionaries Revival of Pagan Rites Rafara- 
 vavy. 
 
 THE missionaries waited with profound anxiety 
 to know the intentions of the new sovereign to- 
 ward themselves and their work. They had be- 
 come too important to the government to be 
 wholly discarded, and yet it was very soon evident 
 that they were to be restricted and hampered in all 
 ways, if not absolutely banished. The prohibition 
 of labor among all classes of people during the 
 year of mourning extended to the missionary 
 work. The schools were closed. Nothing re- 
 mained for them but to busy themselves with the 
 completion of the translation and printing of both 
 the Old and the New Testament, and other books 
 and tracts for the future benefit of the scholars. 
 
 79
 
 80 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 They did this, as all their work, with an energy that 
 seemed to foresee the future. They were inspired 
 from the beginning to do quickly what their hands 
 found to do. 
 
 Mr. Bennet, a gentleman sent by the Missionary 
 Society to visit Madagascar, arrived at the time of 
 Radama's death, and finding that he could neither 
 have any communicatian with the queen, nor as- 
 certain the state of the schools for months to 
 come, desired to return to England, and sent a 
 request to the government for permission to leave 
 the island, as was customary. The only answer 
 he received from the queen was that " she was 
 the sovereign of the time of his departure;" and 
 he was obliged to wait with humble patience till 
 she chose to let him go. 
 
 The murder of Prince Rataffe, his wife, and son, 
 because of near relationship to Radama, and conse- 
 quent right to the throne, was the first step of the 
 new government. The breaking of the English 
 treaty was the next. A message was sent to Mr. 
 Lyall, successor to Mr. Hastie, that the annual 
 equivalent for the abolition of the slave-trade 
 would no longer be received, and that he was dis- 
 missed from the capital. The season was unfavor- 
 able for going to the coast. Mr. Lyall was obliged 
 to wait two or three months, and then signified
 
 QUEEN RANAVALOXA. 81 
 
 his wish to proceed. "He is to go, and his family 
 with him," was the reply. But while making prep- 
 arations his house was surrounded by a multitude 
 of people bearing an idol, whose displeasure they 
 said was excited. Bags filled with serpents were 
 emptied in the court-yard, and fifty strong natives, 
 each holding a serpent by the tail, took Mr. Lyall 
 and his son prisoners, and marched them off on 
 foot to a village six miles distant. The serpents 
 were flourished in the air, and held up writhing 
 before the eyes of the people that they might see 
 for themselves the displeasure of the god who it 
 was pretended had by his anger and power drawn 
 them thither. Mr. Lyall and his family reached 
 the coast in safety, but not without great suffer- 
 ing. The only reasons given for the insulting 
 expulsion were, that he allowed his horse to ap- 
 proach a sacred village, and sent his servants to 
 catch butterflies and serpents, which he was col- 
 lecting as a naturalist. The queen and her minis- 
 ters laid all the blame upon the idol, who they said 
 had commanded it to be done ; but they secretly 
 exulted in ridding themselves of the restraint of 
 the presence of English officers. 
 
 Radama had allowed foreigners to reside ten 
 years in his dominions, after which they were re- 
 quired either to leave the island or become subject
 
 82 MISSIONS AXD MARTY ItS. 
 
 to the laws of Madagascar. Mr. Griffith's ten 
 years had expired, and he requested to know the 
 queen's wishes in regard to his further stay. Her 
 reply was, "Tie up your luggage, and return to 
 your native country !" After much negotiation, 
 however, she was induced to allow him a re- 
 spite. 
 
 One can readily imagine the dislike entertained 
 by a queen and court wholly committed to idol- 
 atry toward the men who distinctly taught the 
 people, both in the school-rooms and in the chap- 
 els, " Thou shalt have no other gods before me." 
 In the bitter malice of their hearts, they would 
 have escorted the whole of them out of Mada- 
 gascar with a procession of serpent-bearers, and 
 joined in the hissing, had not self-interest re- 
 strained them. It is wonderful how the Ruler of 
 all hearts held these emissaries of Satan in check 
 till his work was done, and sustained the faith 
 and courage of the missionaries till they accom- 
 plished the certain planting of God's Word in that 
 kingdom. 
 
 When it was announced, in six months after 
 the king's death, that the schools might be again 
 opened, the missionaries were taken by surprise 
 at the singular favor. Before the suspension the 
 schools had numbered one hundred, and the schol-
 
 QUEEX KAXA V A LOS A. 83 
 
 ars between four and live thousand. The reopen- 
 ing of them was forbidden in the sacred villages, 
 and the pupils had hardly assembled in those re- 
 maining, when the motive was apparent. Seven 
 hundred of the teachers and older youth were 
 drafted into the army, to be sent immediately to 
 secure the submission of the southern provinces. 
 The queen and her advisers cared not a whit for 
 the instruction of the people, but an efficient army 
 was necessary to her power. Schools she knew 
 made good officers and soldiers, and this was a 
 convenient mode of obtaining recruits. When 
 the youth attended school they were considered 
 in the service of the government, and the queen 
 claimed that she only transferred them from one 
 branch of service to another, when she required 
 them for the army. Radama's mode of obtaining 
 troops had been to assemble the people en masse, 
 to fire them by his own warlike address, and re- 
 quest them to volunteer, requiring those who 
 remained at home to pay ten dollars each. An 
 army of fifteen thousand was "once raised for his 
 immediate service in this way. The new mode of 
 drafting from the schools alarmed the people, and 
 many refused to permit their sons to attend, 
 This occasioned a decline in the prosperity of 
 the schools.
 
 Si MISSIONS AXD MARTYRS. 
 
 After ten months of the appointed mourning, 
 an edict was issued that it should cease, and the 
 people return to their ordinary labors. The coro- 
 nation of the queen was appointed for the follo\v- 
 ing month, June, 1829. The day was ushered in 
 by the firing of cannon. The queen was received 
 by her ministers, army officers, and a detachment 
 of soldiers dressed in the uniform of British gren- 
 adiers, and escorted to the tomb of the kings, 
 where she offered a prayer to the father of Rada- 
 ma. She was then conveyed by a difficult, circuit- 
 ous route in a procession of the royal family, civil 
 officers, troops, and singing-women to a plain 
 without the city. Here, in the midst of a great 
 concourse of people, she alighted upon a sacred 
 stone ; then, with her face to the east, exclaimed, 
 in her own language, 
 
 "Am I consecrated, consecrated, consecrated?" 
 
 " You are consecrated, consecrated, consecrat- 
 ed ! " returned the five generals who stood by 
 her. 
 
 " Long live Ranavalona, queen ! " shouted the 
 crowd. 
 
 She then descended from the stone and ap- 
 proached the two chief idols, consisting of silver 
 rings, carnelians, and blocks of wood, fastened to- 
 gether and covered with scarlet velvet. Taking
 
 QUEEN RANAVALOKA. 85 
 
 * 
 
 the poles upon which they were carried in her 
 hands, she addressed them : 
 
 " My predecessors have given you to me. I put 
 my trust in you ; therefore, support me." 
 
 Alas ! that in the face of a great multitude, and 
 in the daylight of the gospel, she should deliber- 
 ately choose to confide the guidance of her life to 
 senseless bits of wood and stone. " Woe unto him 
 that saith to the wood, Awake ; to the dumb 
 stone, Arise, it shall teach ! Behold it is laid over 
 with gold~ and silver, and there is no breath at all 
 in the midst of it." But there were already those 
 among the throng who could cry out, both with 
 joy and bitterness, " The Lord is my rock and my 
 fortress and my deliverer, my God, my strength, 
 in whom I will trust." For these there was sor- 
 row in store, and they might well watch with 
 keen interest all the significant acts and words of 
 the queen on this coronation-day. 
 
 When she had returned the idols to their keep- 
 ers, she was borne in her palanquin to a platform, 
 upon which was placed the royal chair or throne, 
 covered with scarlet cloth and ornamented with 
 gold lace. When seated here, a major of the 
 body-guard held over her head a scarlet umbrella. 
 The royal family sat upon her right and left.
 
 80 unssioys AXD MARTYRS. 
 
 'Among them was Raketaka, the only daughter of 
 Radama, and Rasalimo, his recognized wife. 
 
 The attire of Queen Ranavalona was of native 
 fashion, and rich in material. Her upper dress 
 was of purple silk, fastened with gold buttons ; 
 the lower dress of white silk, and her mantle of 
 fine scarlet cloth. She wore stockings of white 
 silk, and yellow morocco shoes. Her crown con- 
 sisted of a mother-of-pearl shell, out of which 
 sprang five branches resembling coral, having at 
 the end of each a red stone and golden bell. A 
 fine gold chain of native manufacture encircled 
 her head and held the crown in place. Necklaces 
 of coral and carnelian, bracelets of pearl, gold, and 
 coral, anklets and finger-rings, completed her orna- 
 ments. 
 
 In figure she was somewhat stout. Her face was 
 pleasant in expression, though indicating great 
 firmness; her features small and well-propor- 
 tioned, and her manner not ungracious. She 
 seemed a harmless woman ; but she was a sleep- 
 ing tigress, waiting only a fit time for springing 
 upon her victims. 
 
 While she remained seated, the band, taught at 
 Mauritius, played the national air. Afterward she 
 arose, and, after having saluted the various clans
 
 QUEEN RANAVALONA. 87 
 
 represented in the assemblage, addressed them' 
 thus : 
 
 " If you have never known me before, I am 
 Ranavalona who now appears before you." 
 
 " Hoo, hoo ! " the people shouted. 
 
 " God gave the kingdom to my ancestors, they 
 transferred it to Andriampoinimerina (father of 
 Radama), and he again to Radama, on condition 
 that I should be his successor. Is it not so my 
 subjects ? " 
 
 " It is so," all replied, without a thought of cen- 
 suring the bold untruth of the usurper. 
 
 "I will not change what Radama and my ances- 
 tors have done," she continued ; " but I will add 
 to what they did. Do not think because I am a 
 woman that I can not govern the kingdom. Never 
 say she is a woman, weak and ignorant ; she is un- 
 able to rule over us ! My greatest solicitude and 
 study will always be to promote your welfare, and 
 to make you happy. Do you hear that, my sub- 
 jects?" 
 
 " Yes," was the general reply. 
 
 After an address from her chief minister, the 
 different clans arose in the order of superiority, 
 and the chief of each advanced to offer assurances 
 of their fidelity in her service, and to present their 
 hasina, a gift of money, in token of homage.
 
 88 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 The officers of the army came last. Thus the cer- 
 emonies were ended, and the procession bore back 
 the new-made queen, and dispersed quietly. 
 
 It was not many months after the plausible ad- 
 dress at her coronation that Ranavalona ordered a 
 general purification of the country by means of 
 the tangena, or trial by poison. A number of 
 civil and military officers at the capital were 
 among those subjected to the ordeal ; and " many 
 hundreds, if not thousands, of the Malagasy are 
 supposed to have been sacrificed." This, though 
 done at the pretended command of the idols, was 
 undoubtedly occasioned by the conversion of some 
 of the royal family and officers of the court to 
 Christianity. Idolatry was restored, and the acts 
 of the government were wholly regulated by the 
 directions of the sikidy. 
 
 The missionaries might have been banished at 
 this juncture, and their work ended, had not one 
 of those timely providences, which the Almighty 
 so gloriously brings forward to check the foe, 
 startled every heart in Madagascar. A fleet of 
 six French ships arrived on the coast to lay claim 
 to one of the eastern provinces where they had 
 long had settlements. Two or three of the coast 
 towns were attacked and pillaged. An embassy 
 from the queen assured them that they should not
 
 QUEEN ItANAVALONA. 89 
 
 have one inch of the island, and the people were 
 equally spirited in their determination to resist the 
 claim. France was jealous of the English monop- 
 oly of influence. Ranavanola intended to get rid 
 of both, and accordingly took every measure to 
 resist the demands of the former. In the mean 
 time she was lenient toward the missionaries, prob- 
 ably in order to secure the favor of England until 
 the French were disposed of. They were permitted 
 to erect a new chapel, to preach, teach, and print. 
 During a whole year the French continued to har- 
 ass and alarm the people, and the missionaries to 
 labor with their might, scattering the printed 
 Gospels and tracts, by means of the old pupils 
 and native teachers, all over Madagascar. The 
 members of the little churches were taught to tell 
 the joyful tidings of Jesus wherever they went. 
 Prayer-meetings were encouraged, and youth 
 taught to pray in their own language, which they 
 did with a fervor that indicated a true change of 
 heart. The Sabbath services were well attended, 
 and the people were inclined to converse much to- 
 gether concerning the Word of God. They came 
 in numbers to the houses of the missionaries, that 
 they might be taught the way to Christ. 
 
 For six months after the French had left the 
 coast the government continued its military prep-
 
 90 MISSION'S AND MARTYRS. 
 
 arations in expectation of a renewal of hostilities, 
 and likewise continued to tolerate Christianity. 
 The queen even permitted natives to be admitted 
 to the church, and receive the ordinance of bap- 
 tism. A message from her was read in the Mis- 
 sion Chapel that "all who wish are at liberty to 
 be baptized, commemorate the death of Christ, 
 or marry according to the manners of Europeans." 
 Among those who were to receive baptism on the 
 Sabbath following this message, were six or eight 
 persons nearly related to the royal family. On 
 the day previous the displeasure of the queen was 
 signified to them, and they were obliged to with- 
 draw their names. The light was shining too near 
 the throne, and the hand of the queen began to 
 reach forth against it, as if it was in the power of 
 mortals to put out the burning glory of the Lord. 
 Twenty of the natives received baptism on the 
 29th of May, 1831, when Mr. Griffiths, who still 
 remained, officiated. A large and deeply-affected 
 assembly witnessed the solemn ceremony. Eight 
 others united with the new church in the sub- 
 urbs of the city, of which Mr. Johns was pastor. 
 Among these were a diviner and his wife, who had 
 long given striking evidence of piety. The man 
 had spent his life in jugglery and divinations ; but 
 to prove his sincerity he destroyed his charms, and
 
 Q UEEN RA XA \'A L ON A . 9 1 
 
 to.-k his place among the children as a pupil, that 
 he might read for himself the wonderful story of 
 the sacrifice of Jesus, who had become infinitely 
 precious to him. Pie received the Christian name 
 of Paul, and with his wife, set a blameless exam- 
 ple ; and labored with a zeal an I faithfulness that 
 brought many to the knowledge of Christ. These 
 all partook of the Lord's Supper, and it was per- 
 ceived by the government party that wine was em- 
 ployed. There was a law prohibiting the use of 
 liquor, not at all observed in the palace, and fre- 
 quently disregarded by the natives. But its use 
 by the church gave an opportunity for persecution, 
 and a message was sent from the queen that "it 
 was contrary to the law to drink wine." The 
 Christians were obliged either to conform, or to 
 dispense with the sacrament. After prayer and 
 deliberation, their pastors decided to use water in- 
 stead of wine. By the end of the year there were 
 seventy members in one church, and many had 
 been added to the others. 
 
 Soon after this, a portion of the army was sent 
 to subdue a southern province. Before leaving, 
 one of the chief idols was carried between lines 
 of the soldiers, and water was sprinkled upon 
 them in token of the protection of the idol in 
 battle. There were a number of Christians in this
 
 92 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 army, and they requested permission to be absent 
 from the ceremony, as they placed their trust only 
 in the living God. Their request was granted ; 
 but in revenge they were put in the front ranks, 
 and in the most exposed situations. Although a 
 portion of the army was defeated, and many slain, 
 it is said that not one of these faithful ones was 
 harmed. During their absence they held meet- 
 ings in their tents on the Sabbath and in the even- 
 ings, and by their influence and example induced 
 in:my of their comrades to believe in God and 
 Jesus Christ the Saviour. When they returned 
 to Tananarive, these accompanied them to the 
 missionaries, and begged to be recognized as 
 disciples. 
 
 This, together with the knowledge that num- 
 bers were daily forsaking their idols and flocking 
 to the missionaries, alarmed the queen and her 
 ministers. To check the growing faith, an order 
 was issued debarring the soldiers and the schol- 
 ars belonging to the government schools from 
 being baptized or uniting with the church ; and 
 those who had already done so, were .forbidden to 
 partake of the Lord's Supper. This order was 
 soon extended to all natives. They sat in silence, 
 and in great distress of mind, with the Europeans 
 who were allowed to unite in it. Nothing probably
 
 QUEEN RANAVALONA. 93 
 
 could have so deepened and strengthened their 
 love for the Saviour as this arbitrary prohibition ; 
 and the petty persecutions which followed when- 
 ever they appeared in public, only served to plant 
 their feet more firmly on the rock Christ Jesus. 
 
 Among these people was a young slave, of dull 
 mind and indolent habits, who, in attending his 
 master's son to school, had himself learned to 
 read the Bible. " He received the gospel like 
 a little child." With the renewal of his heart, 
 his mind received light, and his character a sur- 
 prising degree of vigor. He felt the lowliness of 
 his degree, but exclaimed, in his humility, " I am 
 only a poor slave, but nevertheless I trust I love 
 the Lord Jesus." 
 
 So prayerful, and so active was he in teaching 
 others to read, that he was appointed a teacher in 
 a school seventy miles distant from the capital. 
 He was admitted to the church on the last Sab- 
 bath when the sacrament was allowed to be given 
 to the natives. It was their habit to assume a 
 baptismal name, which was frequently not made 
 known to the pastor till the moment of baptism. 
 When he came forward, he pronounced the singu- 
 lar name, 
 
 " Ra-poor-negro," meaning simply, "The poor 
 negro."
 
 94 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS, 
 
 " Ra-poor-ncgro, do you say ?" asked Mr. Grif- 
 fiths, with surprise. 
 
 "Yes," said he; "that is the name I wish to 
 take," and thus he was baptized. He was after- 
 ward asked why he chose so singular a name. 
 
 "Oh," said lie, "I had seen in your printing- 
 office the tract of The Poor Negro, with a picture 
 representing him with his knees bended and his 
 eyes lifted up to heaven ; and I thought, being a 
 slave like him, there is nothing I so much desired 
 as to become like him in disposition, and there- 
 fore I took his name." 
 
 Ra-poor-negro returned to his school and con- 
 tinued to teach with remarkable activity. But, 
 after a short time, the news of his death follow- 
 ed the tidings of his good work. A Malagasy 
 dreads death, and it is thought extremely unkind 
 to speak of the subject to a sick friend. Even 
 a strong man, manly in all else, will cry out in 
 tearful distress on his death-bed, " I die, I die ; 
 O mother ! O father ! I die." The triumph and 
 victory over death and the grave was therefore 
 the more brightly manifest in the parting words 
 of Ra-poor-negro, "I am going to Jehovah-Jesus; 
 Jesus is fetching me; I do not fear! " 
 
 This first Christian death, so peaceful and so 
 tiiumph.'iiit, \vns a fulfillment in the eyes of all the
 
 QUEEN RANAVALONA. 95 
 
 native disciples of the promise, " He will swallow 
 up death in victory," and enabled them to bear 
 with renewed patience and sweetness the epithets 
 of derision that met them every where. 
 
 The increased labors of the missionaries in- 
 duced them to urge the coming of new helpers. 
 By permission of the queen, Mr. and Mrs. Atkin- 
 son, from a station in South Africa, arrived in the 
 autumn of 1831. They were permitted to remain 
 only one year, as the government found they 
 could not teach any new art, but only reading 
 and writing. Some six hundred youths were 
 under the instructions of Mr. Cameron, who 
 taught them various mechanic arts. He had also 
 superintended the construction of a canal be- 
 tween a river and a lake in the neighborhood 
 of the capital. To these labors he united the 
 influence of a Christian. Mr. Chick had a number 
 of natives employed as smiths, and Mr. Canham 
 had also apprentices in the useful arts, while both 
 acted as missionaries of the gospel also. Mr. 
 Baker had charge of the printing-press with 
 a number of native workers. These occupations 
 made the Europeans valuable to the Malagasy 
 government, and caused them to tolerate Chris- 
 tianity to a certain extent, though it was daily 
 becoming more evident that the schools were
 
 96 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 obnoxious. Mr. Freeman, Mr. Griffiths, and Mr. 
 Johns had the chief charge of these and of the 
 churches. Mr. Jones had left Madagascar the 
 previous year. 
 
 A public examination of the schools was held 
 at the request of the government in the autumn 
 of 1832, not so much to ascertain the progress as 
 the numbers of the scholars. Rumors of a new 
 invasion of the French had reached the capital, 
 and, immediately after the examination, every 
 one in the schools, over thirteen years of age, 
 both pupils and teachers, was drafted into the 
 army. Orders were then issued to the people to 
 fill up the schools anew! They acquiesced by 
 sending their slaves in place of their sons. To 
 meet this, the queen forbade a slave to be taught 
 to read or write, on penalty of the owner himself 
 being reduced to slavery. Although these events 
 were very discouraging, there was much still to 
 induce the stay of the missionaries. Many who 
 did not attend the schools, showed an eagerness 
 to learn, that they might read the Bible for them- 
 selves. With such a motive, knowledge was 
 easily and rapidly gained, and communicated from 
 one to another. The natives were enough in 
 earnest to build rude chapels for themselves, in 
 the distant villages, to establish and sustain meet-
 
 QUEEX KANAVALONA. 97 
 
 ings of prayer, and to gather not only from the 
 highways and hedges all who would come in, but 
 often those closely connected with the royal fam- 
 ily or men in power. 
 
 The converts proved their sincerity by throw- 
 ing away their charms and idols. About six 
 miles from the capital, lived a chief who owned 
 an idol that had been kept in his family for many 
 generations. It consisted of silver rings, brass 
 ornaments, and blocks of wood, together with 
 six crocodile teeth, made of silver and hollow. 
 These were filled with bits of wood which par- 
 took of the sacredness of the idol. Similar 
 pieces of wood were hung upon it by a cord. 
 The sale of these enabled the family to live in 
 comfort. The chief had two sons, officers in the 
 army, and to one of them was entrusted the sale 
 of the relics, which were said to protect the 
 wearer from the perils of battle, or from pesti- 
 lence. The price of a single piece was two 
 bullocks, two sheep, two goats, two fowls, and two 
 dollars, beside other articles of less value. 
 
 The officer who carried on the traffic received 
 a present of a Testament from Mr. Johns. The 
 reading of this resulted in his conversion. To 
 the dismay and grief of his parents, he would no 
 longer sell the charms, and the family became 
 7
 
 98 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 poor. Through his optiring exertions a few of his 
 relatives espoused Christianity, but the rest re- 
 proached and persecuted him. His example, in- 
 fluence, and success in leading others to renounce 
 idolatry, were such as to enrage the people, and 
 he was accused of witchcraft to the queen, and 
 condemned to trial by the tangena. 
 
 The tangena is a nut similar to the horse-chest- 
 nut. A small quantity of this is scrnped off, and 
 administered in water to the accused person. It 
 will act either as an emetic or as poison, according 
 to a slight variation in the quantity given ; so that 
 the life of the victim is in the hands of the person 
 officiating. If he chances to escape death, he is 
 considered innocent, and is expected to pay a 
 certain sum ; if he dies, he is pronounced guilty ; 
 one twenty-fourth of his property belongs to his 
 executioner, and the rest to his accusers. "It is 
 given," say the diviners, "by God to men to be a 
 test of actions. It is infallible in its decisions, 
 and just in its effects. It is a cordial to" the inno- 
 cent, but death to the guilty." 
 
 The friends of the young officer entreated him 
 to secure the services of the diviners in his behalf, 
 or to avert dangerby bribing them ; but he would 
 do neither one nor the other, and committed him- 
 self to God. To the astonishment and delight of
 
 Q UEEN RAN A VALONA. 99 
 
 his friends, he passed through the ordeal unharmed. 
 They began to lose faith in the tangena. His 
 father and mother received him with joy, listened 
 to his appeals, which they had before violently op- 
 posed, and finally gave up the idol so long regai'ded 
 with veneration. The son stripped it of its orna- 
 ments and buried it, but afterward recovered and 
 gave it to Mr. Johns, who sent it to England. 
 
 Such events encouraged the missionaries, and 
 they continued to provide and circulate the New- 
 Testament, with portions of the Old, and other 
 books, as fast as they could be translated into the 
 Malagasy language. In 1833, fifteen thousand 
 copies were printed, and six thousand immediately 
 distributed. So general was the interest, and so 
 rapidly was instruction communicated from one to 
 another, that at this time, says one of the members 
 of the mission, " few families were to be found, 
 from the immediate connections of the sovereign 
 to the humblest slaves, who could not number 
 among their near relatives some who were the dis- 
 ciples of the Saviour." There were persons near 
 the queen who perceived the state of things, and 
 felt that the time had come when either idolatry 
 or Christianity must fall. There were three broth- 
 ers, one commander-in-chief of the army, an- 
 other first officer of the police, the third a' judge;
 
 100 AflSSJOA'S AX1> MARTYRS. 
 
 these held supreme power, swaying the will of the 
 queen to their own purposes, though with Jesu- 
 itical cunning and assumed humility. It was 
 through their efforts that the queen issued an or- 
 der in 1834, that no natives should learn to read or 
 write, except the children in the schools. This it 
 was thought would check the further spread of 
 the gospel. In addition, Mr. Canham, whose ten 
 years had expired, was dismissed from the island, 
 and no entreaties could prolong his stay. 
 
 The long expected storm was gathering closer 
 and darker. All Madagascar began to feel the 
 gloom of the overcast sky. But God was able to 
 stay the tempest till his own work was accom- 
 plished. The full time had not yet come. Mean- 
 while the three emmissaries of Satan in the palace 
 were plotting and lying in wait for opportunity to 
 afflict the Christians. As a test, an idol was sent to 
 one of their nephews, a sincere convert, with direc- 
 tions that he should take charge of it, and on a 
 coming festival day should sacrifice a bullock and 
 eat of it in honor of the idol. He utterly refused 
 to do this, which fact was reported to the govern- 
 ment. Another Christian was heard to say to his 
 relatives that the idols could do neither good nor 
 harm, and was seen to work on a sacred day 
 This was also announced to the queen by her
 
 QUEEN RANAVALONA. 101 
 
 advisers, who were watching like wild beasts for 
 their prey. The queen was taken very ill, and 
 messengers were sent to a distant village to obtain 
 a powerful charm for her recovery. They were 
 told by a Christian that " the true God was the 
 only restorer of health and preserver of life," and 
 that " multitudes in the country held the same 
 opinion." This again was repeated to Ranavalona, 
 and she was assured that the foreigners were thus 
 alienating her people, and causing them to despise 
 the gods of the land. The anger of the queen 
 was excited ; but still she did not undertake severe 
 measures. To stimulate her to this, one of her 
 ministers took the occasion of a complaint made 
 against a Christian to bring an accusation before 
 the judges against him and all " believers," as they 
 were called in derision, and requested the govern- 
 ment to interfere. The substance of the charges 
 was as follows : 
 
 They despise the idols of the land. 
 
 They are always praying. 
 
 They will not swear by the opposite sex. 
 
 Their women are chaste. 
 
 They are all of one mind respecting their re- 
 ligion. 
 
 They observe the Sabbath as a sacred day. 
 
 They scruple to tell lies.
 
 102 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 What a testimony to the faithful purity of those 
 Christians! Even the chief judge before whom 
 the young man was brought could find no suffi- 
 cient cause of punishment, and dismissed him. 
 But the officers who had assisted in the accusations 
 did not mean to be thwarted thus, and brought 
 the acquitted "to the notice of the queen, who im- 
 mediately condemned him to the tangena. He 
 was mercifully preserved from death, and declared 
 innocent. Thus the enemies of truth and purity 
 once more were foiled. 
 
 Soon after, the queen was riding out in her pa- 
 lanquin accompanied by nobles, officers, and sing- 
 ing-women. It was the Sabbath, and as she passed 
 the chapel the hymns of praise sung by the con- 
 gregation within reached her ear. " They will 
 not stop till some of them lose their heads," was 
 the threat with which she greeted the unwelcome 
 sound. That any one should presume to oppose 
 her will was sufficient of itself to excite her an- 
 ger ; and the daily proofs that met her of the con- 
 tinued growth of the new religion, in spite of her 
 various efforts to check it, created an intense 
 desire to. strike the whole people a blow which 
 should inspire them with terror, and teach them 
 not to presume to choose any but those gods whom 
 she worshiped. Her power and pride were in
 
 PERSECUTION BEQUN. 103 
 
 the balance, and her advisers knew well how to 
 make them weigh heavily on the side of persecu- 
 tion. 
 
 At this time of suspense among the Christians, a 
 chief of high rank came to the palace, and asked 
 an audience of the queen. When brought to her 
 presence he vsaid, " I am come to ask your majesty 
 for a spear ; a bright and sharp spear. Grant my 
 request." 
 
 When asked the reason of the demand, he enu- 
 merated the offenses of the Christians ; said that 
 the hearts of the people were already more devot- 
 ed to their new religion than to their queen, and 
 declared it to be the intention of the missionaries 
 to deliver Madagascar into the hands of foreign- 
 ers, when the people arid their slaves were suffi- 
 ciently turned away from the customs of then- 
 ancestors. 
 
 " Such will be the issue of the teaching by the 
 foreigners," he continued ; " and I do not wish to 
 live to see that calamity come upon our country, 
 to see our own slaves employed against us; 
 therefore I ask a spear to pierce my heart, that I 
 may die before that evil day comes." 
 
 The queen was moved with grief and rage. 
 She wept, and was "silent for a cooking of rice! " 
 (half an hour) ? The music was ordered to cease,
 
 104 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 and profound stillness reigned. Amusements were 
 forbidden, and during a fortnight the appearance 
 of the palace was that of mourning. Edict after 
 edict was sent out from the queen with the inten- 
 tion to " put an end to Christianity, if it cost the 
 life of every Christian in the island." The people 
 were forbidden to observe the Sabbath, to read 
 the Bible, to pray, to use the name of Jehovah, 
 Christ, or to speak of the devil. Disobedience to 
 these requirements was punished with death, con- 
 fiscation of property, and the slavery of the sur- 
 viving family. They were forbidden even to think 
 of what they had been taught, and were required 
 to forget it entirely. 
 
 A great " kabary " of the nation was convened 
 to hear the will of the queen. The hearts of the 
 people stood still with fear. The day came at 
 last, ushered in by the firing of cannon. One 
 hundred and fifty thousand persons stood before 
 the chief officers and judges, who were to make 
 known the edict of the queen. Their authority 
 was supported by the presence of fifteen thousand 
 troops under arms. The edict condemned every 
 believer to death who did not come forward and 
 accuse himself within a month. Many were the 
 offenses it enumerated. "As to your mode of 
 swearing," said the indignant queen, " the answer
 
 PERSECUTION BEGUN. 105 
 
 you are giving is ' True ', and when you are asked, 
 ' Do you swear it ? ' you reply ' True.' I won- 
 der at this. What, indeed, is that word ' True ' ? " 
 In this manner the Christians were censured and 
 denounced. 
 
 A chief ventured to intercede, saying that all 
 they had done had been sanctioned both by Ra- 
 daina and by herself and proposed a peace-offer- 
 ing. The only answer was, "Accuse yourselves or 
 die, and that within a week instead of a month !" 
 This was done. Those of rank or occupying po- 
 sitions of honor were degraded, and the humble 
 were fined according to the extent of their observ- 
 ance of Christian duties. And now came the trial 
 of those who remained faithful. Many were 
 forced to deliver up all the Bibles and other books 
 in their possession ; but they refused to worship 
 idols even at the risk of their lives. Neither were 
 they willing to forsake prayer and praise ; but con- 
 tinued to meet in secret, comforting each other 
 and declaring that "neither death, nor life, nor 
 angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things 
 present, nor things to come, nor bight, nor depth, 
 nor any other creature shall be able to sepa- 
 rate us from the love of God which is in Christ 
 Jesus our Lord." Those who had become dis- 
 ciples from interested motives returned to idola-
 
 106 MISSJOXS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 try, not being able to bear scorn and reproach, 
 poverty and death. Even now the chaff was being 
 divided from the wheat. 
 
 The storm that had so long been anticipated by 
 the missionaries had burst at last. The whole 
 Bible was immediately completed in the Malagasy 
 language ; printed and bound in large numbers, 
 and partly distributed. The natives were not 
 allowed to assist ; but two of the missiona- 
 ries devoted themselves to the labor and had the 
 happiness to complete it. Testaments, hymn-books, 
 spelling-books, catechisms, and tracts had already 
 been scattered all over the island, and in such 
 numbers that the most rigorous search could not 
 find them. More than this, God had touched the 
 souls of thousands with his Spirit. They were 
 Christ's, and no mortal was able to take them from 
 him. Though the queen commanded her subjects 
 to forget their instructions, it was neither in her 
 power to enforce obedience, nor in theirs to obey, 
 for the Holy Spirit quickened every heart and 
 memory till each precious promise glowed with 
 sacred fire as if written there by the finger of 
 God. This the missionaries knew, and praised the 
 Lord for it. 
 
 The queen gave permission to the Europeans to 
 continue their own customs, and to teach the arts,
 
 PERSECUTION BEGUN. 107 
 
 on condition that not another word of Christianity 
 should be uttered to a native. To this of course 
 they could not consent, and as their presence in- 
 creased the danger of their former pupils, and as 
 they could no longer afford help or consolation to 
 the persecuted, they signified their intention of 
 leaving Madagascar, with the exception of Mr. 
 Johns and Mr. Baker, who decided to remain a 
 short time longer in order to complete an Eng- 
 lish and Malagasy dictionary. It was surprising 
 that the government permitted this, or the finish- 
 ing of the Scriptures, especially the latter. Con- 
 fusion must have been in their councils, and their 
 understandings must have been blinded by an 
 Almighty power so that they knew not where to 
 strike the decisive blow, else they would long 
 ago have put an end to the printing of words that 
 were like wedges driven into the very foundation 
 of the unrighteous throne. 
 
 On the eighteenth of June, 1835, Mr. and Mrs. 
 Freeman, Mr. and Mrs. Cameron, and Mr. and 
 Mrs. Chick left Tananarive, leaving their precious 
 charge, not to the cruel mercies of the wicked^ 
 but in the keeping of that powerful Redeemer 
 who hears the cry of his suffering people, and is 
 able to sustain them triumphantly through .tho 
 sharpest afflictions. The queen cherished no per-
 
 108 Mrssioxrs AND MARTYRS. 
 
 sonal dislike to the missionaries ; but they hud 
 been warned of her severest displeasure at the 
 slightest evasion of her commands. They had 
 been strictly watched since the issuing of the edict, 
 probably with the desire to discover some excuse 
 for violence ; but their conduct in all matters was 
 blameless. " The righteousness of the upright 
 shall deliver him." These men of God went safe- 
 ly out of the lion's den rejoicing that they had 
 been protected till their work was done. 
 
 Immediately after their departure, the native 
 servants who had been in their employment were 
 seized, imprisoned, and condemned to trial by the 
 tangena. Two of them being pronounced guilty 
 were barbarously murdered. 
 
 Infanticide was revived, new idols were brought 
 to the capital, the road to the sea-coast was de- 
 stroyed, and a new and more difficult route com- 
 manded to be used in order to render access to the 
 capital difficult both to foreigners and rebellious 
 subjects. Heavy taxes were imposed upon the 
 people in addition to the burden of support!] ig the 
 army, both by unrequited labor and by the gift of 
 their sons. This reduced many to the most abject 
 poverty ; forced them to become banditti, and ob- 
 tain by robbery what they were not permitted to 
 earn. The mountains and highways had come to
 
 PERSECUTION SEGUN. 109 
 
 be dangerous on account of these roving bands. 
 Although two hundred men were taken and 
 speared, burnt or poisoned, as an example to in- 
 spire fear, the number increased yet more rapidly. 
 In alarm and rage, some of the government officers 
 asked Mr. Johns what could be done to remedy 
 the evil. 
 
 " By ceasing to oppress the people, allowing 
 them to reap the fruits of their own industry, and 
 to be taught to read the Bible," was the unwel- 
 come reply. Provoked at this advice, they only 
 increased in their cruelty, and sent divisions of the 
 army in various directions to subdue the disobe- 
 dient. In some of the provinces allegiance to the 
 queen had been refused. In the south, submission 
 was offered on the approach of the army ; but 
 after disarming the captives, ten thousand were 
 treacherously drawn into a place from which they 
 could not escape ; the whole were assassinated in 
 cold blood, and their wives and children reduced 
 to slavery. 
 
 In the midst of such atrocities Mr. Johns and 
 Mr. Baker continued their labors unmolested. 
 They finished the dictionary, and had printed a 
 portion of the Pilgrim's Progress, when an event 
 occurred which hastened their departure. The 
 Christians had not given up all their Bibles.
 
 110 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 Some hid them under the floor beneath their 
 beds and read them secretly after midnight. The 
 slaves of a pious woman named Rafaravavy, be- 
 trnyed her in this, and also accused her of ob- 
 serving the Sabbath and conversing upon religion. 
 She was imprisoned, fined, and in daily expec- 
 tation of death, till released with the threat of 
 severer measures in case of a second offense. She 
 cherished no resentment against her accusers, 
 though of her own household ; but forgave and 
 affectionately prayed for them. This, with the 
 fact that British vessels on the coast had given 
 refuge to many fugitives from cruelty, caused the 
 order for the missionaries remaining to leave, 
 which they did, with great sorrow at parting with 
 the people, in July, 1836. They had dwelt safely 
 under the shadow of the wings of the Almighty 
 till their part in his great work was done. The 
 people had been taught to read ; the Bible was 
 wholly completed and left in their hands, to be the 
 sole preacher during twenty-five years of extreme 
 suffering.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 MARTYRDOMS. 
 
 Brief respite of the Persecution Death of a young Christian 
 The Cruelties Renewed Rafaravavy Rasalama, the first Mar- 
 tyr Courage of Rafaralahy His Arrest and Execution 
 Flight of Rafaravavy and her Companions Itanimanina Sec- 
 ond Flight Her Letter Reaches Tamatave Hardships and 
 Dangers Escape to Mauritius The Queen incensed Arrest 
 of suspected Persons Scourging Martyrdom of Ravahiny 
 Of nine Christians Efforts of Mr. Johns to mitigate the Perse- 
 cution Great Numbers reduced to Slavery Continued Execu- 
 tions. 
 
 FROM 1836 to 1861, twenty-five years, the 
 missionaries, full of strong love and sympathy, 
 were compelled to stand afar off and watch the 
 dark cloud that hung over Madagascar. Sometimes 
 the gloomy vail was lifted enough to give them 
 glimpses of the Christians bowing under the weight 
 of suffering ; but still praying and praising. It was 
 enough to assure them that the Word of God was 
 proving itself "quick and powerful, and sharper 
 than any two-edged sword." At every lifting of 
 the black mists from the mountain-tops, they could 
 behold, as in a vision, Christ sitting as a refiner 
 and purifier, and catch the shining glory of the 
 presence of the Lord in that afflicted land. There 
 was enough to exalt their hearts with joy even
 
 while they shed tears of pity. Traders were per- 
 mitted for a few years to touch at the coast, and 
 although the natives were forbidden to write, 
 tidings were obtained by this means, at distant in- 
 tervals, of their welfare. For some months after 
 the departure of the missionaries, the queen's gov- 
 ernment did little to molest the Christians. A 
 merciful God granted them a respite in which they 
 might gather strength for the wjeary years of per- 
 secution that were to follow through the greater 
 part of a generation. During these few months 
 of intermitted trial, they met frequently, though in 
 secret, in lonely places, for reading the Scriptures, 
 for worship, and for mutual comfort and strength- 
 ening against the impending sorrow. 
 
 During this time, the fear hanging over them 
 might have been expected to separate from them 
 so many of the timid and half-hearted as much to 
 diminish their numbers. On the contrary, their 
 numbers increased. One young man, however, 
 peculiarly honored and loved by them, died at 
 this time. So deep was his love for the Saviour 
 during health, that the name of Jesus always 
 brought tears to his eyes. When asked why was 
 this, he simply answered, " How can it be otherwise 
 when I recall his love unto death for me ? " On 
 his death-bed he was asked if he was afraid.
 
 MARTYRDOMS. 113 
 
 "Why should I fear to die," he answered, "when 
 Jesus is my friend ? He hath loved me with an 
 everlasting love, and I love him because he hath 
 first loved me. I am persuaded that he will not 
 leave me now, for I am full of joy at the thought 
 of leaving this sinful world to be for ever with 
 him." And so he fell asleep, and was taken away 
 from the evil to come. 
 
 When the queen and her counselors saw the 
 failure of their hopes of the speedy decrease of the 
 Christians, which they had reckoned on as certain 
 to follow the banishment of the missionaries and 
 the measures of repression already adopted, and 
 found that the hated people were increasing in- 
 stead of diminishing, they resolved upon harsher 
 means. One Sabbath day, when a band of disci- 
 ples had met upon a mountain to read, sing, and 
 pray, they were discovered and reported to the 
 queen. Among them was Rafaravavy. Her house 
 was searched, and near it was found, buried, a box 
 of Bibles, and other books given her by the mis- 
 sionaries. In revenge, her house was given up to 
 plunder, and she was loaded with heavy irons and 
 imprisoned. Threats were employed to extort 
 from her any information concerning her compan- 
 ions ; but she remained silent, firm, and looked 
 with cheerful composure for the death certainly in
 
 114 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 store. A fire, however, breaking out in the capi- 
 tal, alarmed the superstition of the queen, and 
 saved her life. She was reserved for much suffer- 
 ing, but not for martyrdom. 
 
 The first martyr of the Malagasy church was a 
 young woman named Rasalama. She had been 
 condemned to perpetual slavery; but an expres- 
 sion of her joy that she was counted worthy to 
 suffer for Jesus brought upon her the sentence of . 
 death. Before suffering it, she was loaded with 
 irons and severely beaten. But so long as she had 
 strength she comforted herself by singing her 
 favorite hymns. Her fortitude confounded her 
 enemies, who could only attribute it to some 
 charm. They did not see the One with her, whose 
 form was as the Son of God. 
 
 The afternoon before her execution, the ordi- 
 nary chains she wore were exchanged for others, 
 consisting of rings and bars fastened around her 
 neck, arms, feet, and knees, forcing her into a po- 
 sition of great agony. In this torture she passed 
 the night. But the morning brought her an 
 everlasting rest. As she was led away to the 
 place of execution she continued to sing. Passing 
 the chapel, she said, " There I heard the words of 
 the Saviour!" Her Christian friends, deeply ns 
 they sympathized with her, were deterred, by k\.r
 
 MARTYRDOMS. 115 
 
 of the certain consequences, from openly express- 
 ing their sympathy. One young man, however, 
 namel Rafaralahy, breaking through all timidity, 
 came and walked by her side, saying, " My sister, 
 I will not leave you till the end." Thus the 
 gloomy procession reached the place of execution. 
 The name of this is Ambohipotsy. It forms the 
 southern extremity of the crest of the hill upon 
 which the city stands. 
 
 The victims were made to kneel on the ground, 
 when two spears were thrust into their bodies 
 from behind, one on each side of the back-bone. 
 They were then beheaded, and their bodies often 
 left lying on the ground. Such a fate Rasa-lama 
 was about to undergo. But the sight of the 
 place of death did not shake the peace of 
 God which she enjoyed. Her only request to 
 the executioners was that she might be allowed a 
 brief season of prayer ; and whilst thus engaged in 
 communion with her Saviour the thrust of the 
 spears ended her sufferings, and brought her face to 
 face with him for whose sake she "loved not her 
 life unto the death." 
 
 Thus died the first martyr of Madagascar. One 
 of the missionaries writes of her : " Never in the 
 annals of the church did a martyr suffer from, mo- 
 tives more pure, simple, and unmixed with earthly
 
 116 M7SSIOXS AXD MARTYRS. 
 
 alloy. She had never heard of any after-glory of 
 martyrdom on earth. No external splendor had 
 been cast around the subject in her mind by read- 
 ing any lives of martyrs. All was to her oblo- 
 quy and contempt." No wonder that her calm 
 nobility of aspect so impressed the rude execu- 
 tioners that they were constrained to say, " There 
 is some charm in the religion of the white people 
 that takes away the dread of death ; " while the 
 young man who had braved the danger of accom- 
 panying her, exclaimed, as he turned away from 
 the spot where the martyr had rendered up her 
 soul, " Could I but die so tranquil and happy a 
 death, I should be willing to die for the Saviour, 
 too ! " 
 
 In time he had an opportunity of making good 
 his declarations. Several of the companions of 
 Rasalama, who had been condemned to perpetual 
 slavery, were sold to masters living near his house, 
 which was about ten miles out of Tananarive, and 
 among them was Rafaravavy. This pious woman 
 had by the special kindness of Providence been 
 sold to a humane master, whose wife, moreover, 
 proved to be a relative of her own. She was 
 therefore allowed some liberty, which she gladly 
 improved by visits to the houses of her fellow- 
 Christians. The central point of these gatherings
 
 MAltTYKDOMS. 117 
 
 v 
 
 w;ih the house of Rafaralahy, the young man who 
 had comforted Rasalama at the last. He devoted 
 his time and his property to doing good, built a 
 house for the secret worship of the Christians, and 
 endeavored, not unsuccessfully, to bring others 
 into the way of the Lord. There were three poor 
 lepers whom their loathsome malady made out- 
 casts and abhorred of all. But Rafaralahy fed 
 them, sheltered them, and taught them to read 
 the Book of life. There is reason to hope that all 
 three are now with their benefactor in that land 
 where " the inhabitants shall not say, I am sick, 
 and the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven 
 their iniquity." 
 
 At length a debtor of Rafaralahy's, and one 
 whom it appears he had treated with much kind- 
 ness, thought to rid himself of his obligations by 
 denouncing his benefactor to the government. He 
 accused him of being a Christian, and of holding 
 meetings in his house. Rafaralahy was seized, 
 loaded with chains, and cast into prison. But 
 the God of Rasalama showed himself to be his 
 God. They were anxious to get from him the 
 names of his friends, but his constant answer was, 
 " Here am I ; let the queen do what she pleases 
 with me. I have done it ; but I will not accuse
 
 118 MISSIOA T S AXD MARTYRS. 
 
 <* 
 
 my friends." Accordingly he was condemned 
 to death. 
 
 When the executioner entered the prison and 
 asked, "Which is Rafarnlahy ? " the brave man 
 promptly answered, " I am." As he walked to the 
 place of execution, not now as the comforter, but 
 as the doomed, he did not, like Rasalama, sin^r, 
 but he testified to the spectators his joy in the 
 near prospect of beholding the Saviour. Like 
 Rasalatna, he requested a brief space for prayer; 
 and kneeling on the ground " consecrated by her 
 blood and strewed with her unburied bones," he 
 committed his spirit to his Divine Redeemer. 
 Then rising, he said, "I am ready;" and request- 
 ing them not to bind him, as it would not be nec- 
 essary, he lay down on the ground and received 
 the fatal thrust. 
 
 After Rafaralahy's death, his wife and another 
 woman were seized and tortured, to force a dis- 
 closure of his associates. In the weakness of pain 
 and fear they gave up their names. But Rafnra- 
 vavy was apprised of the danger in time to flee, 
 and with her, four other Christians, two men anc 1 
 two women. 
 
 A place called Itanimanina, fifty miles from the 
 capital, was the residence of a Christian family. 
 Hither the fugitives fled, assisted on their way by
 
 MARTYRDOMS. 119 
 
 those of like faith, who for the sake of Christ 
 dared incur the risk of the queen's anger. Most 
 of the night after their arrival at Itanimanina was 
 spent by them, notwithstanding the fatigue of their 
 journey, in prayer and praise. Three of them, 
 named Joseph, Simeon, and David, went on fur- 
 ther and sought a hiding-place in the forest. Here 
 they were cared for by a noble-hearted man, a 
 servant of the government, who alone knew their 
 secret abode. Often did this devoted friend and 
 fellow-Christian traverse the rugged roads and tan- 
 gled forest for a distance of fifty or sixty miles with 
 a heavy burden of rice. Thus by self-sacrificing 
 love and labor they were sustained nearly six 
 months, when it became necessary for them to seek 
 another refuge. 
 
 But it was against Rafaravavy that the anger of 
 the queen was pai'ticularly directed. She still re- 
 mained at Itanimanina. To avoid the messengers 
 of death, who were hunting her, she every morn- 
 ing left the house, and concealed herself among 
 the rocks. Her hiding-place was discovered, and 
 one day soldiers hastened to it, expecting to find 
 her there. But, through a good Providence, Raf- 
 aravavy, owing to the rain, had that day not left 
 the house. The soldiers then hastened thither, now 
 ssuiv of their prey. But He who sent the ravens
 
 to feed Elijah now sent the crows to save his hand- 
 maiden. Some of these birds, being alarmed by 
 the coming of the soldiers, made a noise which 
 drew the attention of Rafaravavy's companion, Sa- 
 rah, who running out to see what was the matter 
 was able to give Rafaravavy notice in time for her 
 to hide under a bedstead and cover herself with 
 mats. The soldiers, not seeing Rafaravavy, sup- 
 posed she was not there. They remained in the 
 house long enough, however, for her to hear the 
 bloody purposes of the cruel Ranavalona towards 
 her. But there was fulfilled to her the promise, 
 "Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the des- 
 olation of the wicked when it cometh. For the 
 Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall withhold 
 thy foot from being taken." 
 
 Rafaravavy, Sarah, and their kind protectors, 
 were now obliged to seek an asylum still further 
 away from the capital where Satan's seat was. 
 About a hundred soldiers were searching for them. 
 Their flight, therefore, was one of imminent peril 
 and many hair-breadth escapes. At one time 
 they lay hid all night in a pit. Once, as they 
 were seci'eting themselves, they saw the soldiers 
 pass by in their search for them. Again, as they 
 reached the crest of a hill, they saw a party of 
 soldiers coming right towards them. The rest
 
 MARTYRUO.VS. 121 
 
 took to flight, but Rnfa:avavy, who could not run, 
 plunged into a bog, where she lay half buried in 
 the mire, and covered with rushes, and so was 
 saved. 
 
 Thus through much weariness and many dan- 
 gers, they at last reached the house of the friend 
 with whom they hoped for a refuge. As he saw 
 them, he burst into tears of joy and sympathy. 
 For three months he entertained them, conceal- 
 ing the tent which he pitched for them in the 
 midst of the high grass of a plantation which he 
 owned, and from which he warned off all trespass- 
 ers. This retreat of theirs was spent in those ex- 
 ercises of Christian devotion and those studies of 
 God's Word which were the more precious because 
 the enjoyment must be thus stealthily snatched. 
 Nor were these hours of holy communion fruitful 
 only to themselves. Other Christians who had not 
 yet drawn the eye of the persecuting queen upon 
 themselves, joined with them, and even some un- 
 believers were admitted. Nearly twenty in this 
 way learned to read. Nor was the kindness of their 
 host unrewarded. Several members of his family 
 were at this time brought to the Lord. 
 
 " Blessed be God," wrote Rafaravavy, " who 
 hath given us access by Jesus Christ. My earnest 
 prayer to God is, that he would enable me to obey
 
 122 M/SSIOXS AND MARTYItS. 
 
 the words of Jesus to liis disciples. Matt. xvi. 24. 
 Hence, none of these things move me, neither 
 count I my life dear to myself that I may finish 
 my course in the service I have received of the 
 Lord Jesus. Do not you, missionaries, grieve un- 
 der an idea that your labor here has been in vain 
 in the Lord ; through the blessing of God, it suc- 
 ceeds. ' If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them 
 that are lost; but it is the power of God to them 
 that believe.' Here is my ground of confidence ; 
 the power of God can not be effectually resisted. 
 I will go in the strength of the Lord. Though I 
 walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 
 I will fear no evil, for God is with me." 
 
 At last the soldiers, wearied with their fruit- 
 less search, returned to the capital. The hunted 
 Christians now began to breathe more freely. At 
 this time, however, a letter from a friend informed 
 them that Mr. Johns had come to Tamatave to 
 assist their escape. They were at once glad and 
 perplexed to hear this. Their perplexity arose 
 from the fact that Tamatave is on the eastern 
 coast, while their present place of refuge was west 
 of the capital, and so situated that they must pass 
 through it to reach Tamatave. However, they 
 adventured themselves once more into the lion's 
 den, and the Lord sent his angel and stopped the
 
 MARTYRDOMS. 123 
 
 mouths of the lions. Rafaravavy was even recog- 
 nized as she passed through Tananarive by a 
 slave, who reported her to her former master. lie, 
 however, perhaps in the kindness of his heart, took 
 no notice of the information. The little party 
 thus passed unhurt under the very shadow of the 
 palace, where the cruel queen sat plotting their 
 destruction, and after many perils and hardships 
 reached the coast. They were obliged to cross a 
 river full of crocodiles, with no other means of 
 transit than the government boat. Happily, how- 
 ever, the government ferryman did not know them, 
 and set them over without inquiry. At length 
 they beheld the sea, that dreaded sea, which to 
 many a captive Malagasy has awakened terrors 
 like the terrors of death, when he first beheld it 
 from the weeping-place of the inner hights, and 
 knew that it would soon separate him for ever from 
 all that he had known and loved. But to the 
 hunted Christians, the broad waters spread them- 
 selves out with a face of welcome. Dear as their 
 native land was, the ruthless queen had made it 
 full of terror to them ; while beyond the sea they 
 knew that whatever else was strange, they should 
 find the one thing most precious, the commun- 
 ion of saints. 
 
 Disguised as sailors, they at last, in company
 
 124 .VISSIOXS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 with Mr. Johns, made their escape to Mauritius. 
 They afterwards visited England, and every where 
 were received as it became Christ's people to treat 
 those who for his sake had suffered the loss of all 
 things. 
 
 Themselves in safety, their hearts turned with 
 anxious interest to their brethren and sisters who 
 were yet in the tyrant's power. Their solicitude 
 was increased by the contents of a letter which 
 they received from some of them, announcing that 
 orders had been given by the government, that 
 wherever Christians were found a pit should be 
 dug on the spot, and that, having been thrust 
 into it head-foremost, boiling water should be 
 poured upon them till they were dead. It does 
 not appear that any actually suffered under this 
 cruel order; but the apprehension of it may well 
 have filled their minds, and those of their escaped 
 friends, with cruel anxiety. The writers of the 
 letter add, "We have heard of the orders of the 
 queen respecting us, and in what manner we are 
 to be put to death. We still confide in the com- 
 passion of the Saviour ; but we ask, ' Can you do 
 any thing to rescue us?' We think of the death 
 awaiting us. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is 
 weak." 
 
 The fury of the queen had indeed burst forth
 
 MA R TYRD OMS. 125 
 
 with redoubled fierceness, when she learned the 
 escape of the victims she had set her heart on 
 having. Disappointed of them, she was deter- 
 mined to find others. Hitherto, persecution had 
 only touched those who were positively known 
 to be Christians. But now a mere suspicion was 
 sufficient. A woman living in the capital, who 
 was thus suspected, was seized and beaten to 
 extort a confession. During the scourging, a Bible 
 fell from her dress. No other proof was needed. 
 She was scourged again, even to fainting, to extort 
 from her the names of her companions. But no 
 torture could shake her faithful constancy, and so 
 they escaped, while she was sentenced to perpet- 
 ual slavery. 
 
 A second martyrdom now ushered in many 
 more. This one was an illustration of our 
 Saviour's saying : " A man's foes shall be they of 
 his own household." The martyr was a young 
 woman named Ravahiny, whose eminent piety pe- 
 culiarly endeared her to her Christian associates, 
 and in the same measure provoked the bitter vex- 
 ation and hatred of her heathen relatives. Her 
 husband repudiated her; her father's house was 
 closed against her, and her whole circle of rela- 
 tives participated in the aversion of her nearest 
 connections. Not content with this, they pro-
 
 126 MISSIONS AND MARTYIiS. 
 
 cured against her a sentence of perpetual slavery. 
 Finding even this not enough to satisfy their 
 hatred, they plotted against her till at last they 
 obtained a decree that she should drink the tan- 
 gena, or ordeal cup. As they expected, and per- 
 haps contrived, the ordeal proved fatal, and Rava- 
 hiny joined Rasalama in glory. 
 
 But these isolated martyrdoms were far from 
 satisfying the rage of the heathen. Early in 1840, 
 fourteen Christians who had set out towards the 
 sea-coast in the hope of escaping like Rafaravavy 
 and her companions, were apprehended and 
 brought back. Mr. Johns had at this time ven- 
 tured to revisit Madagascar, and to come to Tan- 
 anarivo, hoping to do something to mitigate the 
 sufferings of the Christians. The melancholy in- 
 telligence met him on his arrival. He learned 
 that sixteen had started for Tarnatave, and after 
 long wanderings reached a village called Beforona, 
 not very far distant from the coast. Here they 
 were arrested on suspicion of being malefactors. 
 An examination of several days had elicited noth- 
 ing of importance, when they resolved to de- 
 clare boldly who they were. Accordingly, one 
 speaking for the rest, said, " Since you ask us 
 again and again who we are, we will tell you. We 
 are not robbers nor murderers; we are praying
 
 MARTYRDOMS. 127 
 
 people. If that makes us guilty in the dominions 
 of the queen, we are ready to suffer." " Is this, 
 then," inquired the officer, "your final answer, 
 whether for life or death?" "It is our final an- 
 swer, whether for life or death," they replied. 
 
 They were bound and carried to the capital. 
 There each was subjected to a separate examina- 
 tion, but all remained firm and witnessed a good con- 
 fession. Mr. Johns was greatly distressed, know- 
 ing that appeals to the mercy or to the justice of 
 the inexorable queen would be alike vain. All 
 that he and the Christians who met with him in 
 secret could do, was to commend their imprisoned 
 brethren to the grace of God, that they might not 
 faint or fall away in the prospect of death. And 
 their prayer- was abundantly answered. 
 
 Not long after his arrival, Mr. Johns heard one 
 morning the booming of cannon. This unusual 
 sound he knew portended something extraordi- 
 nary. 
 
 He soon learned the melancholy tidings it was 
 meant to communicate. Nine of the imprisoned 
 Christians were to die that day. They were all 
 well-known and dear to the missionary. One of 
 them, who bore the Christian name of Josiah, had 
 been a faithful preacher of the gospel before the 
 persecution, and afterwards an eminent helper and
 
 128 MISSION'S AND MARTYRS. 
 
 strengthener of his afflicted brethren. With ago- 
 nizing anxiety, the missionary and his fellow- 
 Christians waited to hear that all was over; and 
 soon after raid-day the echo of a gun which burst 
 in the discharge, announced that these nine souls 
 had been added to " the noble army of the mar- 
 tyrs." 
 
 At this same time there were some two hundi-ed 
 Christians, "destitute, afflicted, tormented, who 
 wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and 
 caves of the earth," and whose condition called 
 forth the strong sympathy and solicitude of many 
 British Christians. The Directors of the London 
 Missionary Society instructed their devoted mis- 
 sionary, Mr. Johns, to spare neither labor nor 
 expense to rescue their persecuted brethren from 
 death. But all devices to effect the escape of 
 any from the island proved ineffectual. The 
 queen's government used redoubled diligence and 
 severity. A letter to Mr. Johns from some of the 
 Christians held as government slaves says, "The 
 sufferings of the people are unutterable. Do res- 
 cue us, beloved father, if possible. ... If 
 
 God help us not we are dead men 
 
 Our government service continues very severe. 
 When the children of Israel labored under Pha- 
 roah perhaps they obtained some little respite, at
 
 MARTYRDOMS. 129 
 
 any rate by night ; but ours is incessant labor ! 
 We must work both clay and night." 
 
 Indeed, so determined was the government, not 
 only to afflict the Christians, but to wear them 
 out, that in order to accomplish this result, two of 
 the conditions on which they were sold were, first, 
 that under no circumstances should they be sold 
 to friends ; and secondly, that those who bought 
 them should engage to keep them continually at 
 heavy work. The decree against them set forth 
 that it was the queen's determination that they 
 should be as weeds of the waste, bowing down 
 their heads till they died." 
 
 In 1842, five more were added to the honor- 
 ed roll of Madagascar martyrs. Like many pre- 
 vious sufferers, they were put to the torture to ex- 
 tract from them the names of their companions ; 
 but their faithfulness could not be shaken. Just 
 before their deaths, a messenger from their fellow- 
 Christians found his way to them, to whom they 
 whispered, "Let them. not fear that we shall dis- 
 close their names. Bid them for us farewell, in 
 hope of a meeting hereafter." They were execu- 
 ted in the market-place of Vonizongo, and their 
 heads fixed on poles for a terror to others. 
 
 In an affecting letter written about this time, 
 one of the native Christians says : " Our trials are
 
 130 Mf SSI OX'S AND MARTYRS. 
 
 greater than ever, and the number of the persecut- 
 ed is increasing daily. The officers of the queen 
 are searching for them every where, to put them to 
 death. We do not know what to do, as the road, 
 in almost all directions, is impassable, and our hid- 
 ing-places are nearly all known to our enemies." 
 
 Writes another : " These trials are heavy to flesh 
 and blood, but are even light to be borne by the 
 mind and soul that lean upon the Lord. ... I 
 told you in a former letter that the queen ordered 
 tangena to be given me, but by the blessing of 
 God I got over it. Join me, O my beloved friend ! 
 in praising the Lord, who hath blessed me and 
 presei-ved me alive. Five of our friends are hid- 
 ing themselves with me, and I shall take partic- 
 ular care of them ; but othei'S go from place to 
 place to seek for something to support nature. 
 
 Three more in October suffered for their Sav- 
 iour. One, Raharo, perished under the ordeal ; an- 
 other, Ratsimilary, being detected in endeavoring 
 to save his friend from its effects, was condemned 
 to death ; while a third, Imamonjy, was sentenced 
 with him to be cut into small pieces and then 
 burnt. 
 
 The great comfort of the Christians in all their 
 wanderings and sufferings was, next to the pres- 
 ence of the Saviour, through His Spirit and the
 
 MARTYRDOMS. 131 
 
 Word of God. But by constant use, and frequent 
 burials in the ground, for better concealment, many 
 of their Bibles had become almost worn out. 
 What they longed for above all was a new sup- 
 ply of this precious treasure. " Exceedingly af- 
 flicted are we," they write, "on account of the 
 fewness of the Bibles here with us, and we ex- 
 ceedingly desire to have more. We are thirsting 
 for them ; for the Bible is our companion and friend, 
 to instruct and search in thoroughly when in se- 
 crecy and silence, and to comfort us in our grief 
 and tribulation. Send us many, for even then 
 they will not be enough ; and let them be of small 
 print, so as to be easily hidden." They also give 
 intelligence that on the Sabbaths the men would 
 walk long distances to have a secure retreat so as 
 to worship God in safety. But the women could 
 not walk so far, which grieved them much.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PRINCE RAKOTO FRESH PERSECUTIONS. 
 
 A Contrast RAKOTO-RADAMA, Son of the Queen, the Friend of 
 the Christians His Education and Character His Mother's Af- 
 fection for Him An Admirer of Europeans Mr. Laborde 
 Kindness to shipwrecked Sailors Hated by the Heathen Party 
 Plots to km Him Renewed Persecutions Accusations against 
 the Christians Trial and Condemnation Fourteen thrown 
 down a Precipice Burning of the Nobles Memory of the Mar- 
 tyrs Cherished Numbers fined and enslaved Letter of a Na- 
 tive Christian "The Blood of the Martyrs the Seed of the 
 Church." 
 
 THE reign of the cruel queen, Ranavalona, ranges 
 side by side with that of Victoria of England ; 
 and the Princess Royal, whose bridal was graced 
 with one of the gorgeous flowers of Madagas- 
 car, could have turned her eyes, that happy 
 day, toward the hills where they blossomed, arid 
 have seen the martyrs ascending from their 
 clouded tops in chariots of fire. 
 
 The severest persecution occurred in 1849. The 
 presumed reason for redoubled cruelty was that 
 the only son of the queen was associated with the 
 Christians, who were believed to have employed a 
 powerful charm or witchcraft to convert him. 
 This son was born a year after the death of Rada-
 
 PRINCE RAKOTO. 133 
 
 ma. According to the custom of that preeminently 
 licentious country, he was called the son of Rada- 
 ma, and was the appointed successor to the 
 throne. He was but six years old when the last 
 English resident was expelled from the capital, 
 and had received no instructions whatever, either 
 before or after the departure of the missionaries. 
 Beloved and petted as an only child ; guarded 
 from contact with the hated Christians ; taught 
 by example to trust in idols ; to revere the Vazim- 
 bas; to regulate his conduct by divinations of 
 stones, and beans or sticks ; a daily witness of 
 open immorality, and of hourly executions of the 
 most brutal character, it was natural that his 
 twentieth year should find him as accomplished in 
 wickedness as his mother. Add to this an impul- 
 sive temperament, a character not strong to resist 
 the influence of those around him, and an almost 
 chivalrous devotion to his mother, and what could 
 be expected but the development of a prince fit to 
 be the heir of a Jezebel? 
 
 And yet this was not true of him. There was 
 not, in all that palace of iniquity, so gentle, so hu- 
 mane, so amiable a person as Rakoto-Radama. In 
 person, he is described by those who have seen 
 him as " short in stature, but well-proportioned, 
 with broad shoulders and ample chest. His head
 
 134 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 small, his hair jet-black and somewhat curling ; 
 his forehead slightly retreating and round ; his 
 eyes small, but clear and penetrating ; his features 
 somewhat European in form ; his lips full ; his 
 nose aquiline, and his chin slightly projecting." 
 Another says, " His features wear an expression of 
 such childlike goodness that one feels drawn to- 
 ward him from the first moment of seeing him." 
 A frank truthfulness of character, a strong love of 
 justice, and a remarkable sense of the sacredness 
 of human life, were traits as appai'ent as wonder- 
 ful. 
 
 Having a mind ready to appreciate what is just 
 and lovely, it is not surprising that he was strongly 
 drawn to the proscribed Christians when their 
 faith was unfolded to him. When he was seven- 
 teen, a young man who occasionally obtained ad- 
 mittance to the palace with his uncle, contrived to 
 bring his faith to the notice and interest of Rako- 
 to, and induced him to accompany him to hear 
 one Rainaka, who boldly preached the gospel, not- 
 withstanding threats and decrees. "From this 
 time," writes one of the natives, " lie was very dil- 
 igent in conversing with us on the subject of 
 Christianity, and at length he invited some of us 
 into his house in the palace-yard, to talk with him
 
 PRINCE RAKOTO. 135 
 
 in secret ; and we were thus frequently invited to 
 his house." 
 
 It was not long before the fact of his having 
 joined the Christians was made known to the 
 queen. One of the ministers, their most bitter 
 persecutor, thinking to increase her hatred, said 
 to her, 
 
 " Your son, madam, is a Christian. He prays 
 with the Christians, and encourages them in this 
 new doctrine. We are lost if your majesty does 
 not stop the prince in this strange way." 
 
 "But," replied the queen, "he is my son, my 
 only, my beloved son ! Let him do what he 
 pleases. If he wishes to become a Christian, let 
 him. He is my beloved son ! " 
 
 From this time, Rakoto was at his mother's 
 side, uniting most filial devotion to entreaties to 
 spare the lives of her subjects. It made no differ- 
 ence whether the sufferers were slaves or nobles, 
 friends or enemies ; they shared his sympathy 
 alike. It seems surprising that such a prince 
 could have been the son of such a mother, and 
 that qualities like his could have been nourished 
 amid such iniquitous surroundings. Just as the 
 beautiful orchids clustered and blossomed upon 
 the bared and knotted arms of the old decaying 
 giants of his native forests, he throve upon the
 
 136 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 topmost branch of royalty, drawing unconsciously 
 all eyes upon so much apparent goodness blossom- 
 ing in the midst of miasma and death. 
 
 It is no wonder that the Christians grateful as 
 they were for this powerful friend, raised up to 
 them from the very seat of cruelty could hard- 
 ly say too much in praise of the young prince. 
 They confidently believed that God had touched 
 his heart with his own love. And, indeed, during 
 all the time of persecution, Rakoto's character ap- 
 peared in its best light. Thus Christendom came 
 to regard him as personally a Christian, awaiting 
 only the termination of his mother's reign to avow 
 himself openly such, and to prove a second Constan- 
 tine. It was not known, what his short reign 
 afterwards too plainly showed, that he was at 
 bottom conceited, frivolous, and licentious. But 
 whatever he was, he was an instrument in the 
 hands of God to lighten somewhat the heavy bur- 
 dens of his people, lest they should be wholly 
 overborne, and the church be blotted out of 
 Madagascar. 
 
 He never concealed his acts from his mother. 
 It is said she and others knew perfectly what he 
 did. Although the knowledge that her only son 
 and heir was a friend of the people whom she 
 hated with all the strength of her savage and idol-
 
 PRINCE RAKOTO. 137 
 
 atrous heart, must have increased the rage of the 
 queen against them, yet parental affection is a 
 feature so peculiarly strong in the Malagasy char- 
 acter, that even this bloody woman could not 
 resist its power. 
 
 Prince Rakoto had heard much of the people 
 and governments of Europe, and possibly had 
 some boyish impressions of the English during the 
 latter part of their stay. His admiration for them 
 was unbounded, and doubtless was the occasion of 
 as much vexation to the queen as his forsaking the 
 customs of his ancestors in their idolatry and 
 superstition. His earliest, and for a long time 
 only acquaintance with Europeans was in the per- 
 son of Mr. Laborde, the son of a French saddler, 
 who in the accidents of a roving life was ship- 
 wrecked on the island of Madagascar, bi'ought to 
 Tananarivo, and sold as a slave. He was exceed- 
 ingly ingenious, and the story of some of his 
 achievements soon reached the ear of the queen. 
 She immediately offered him his freedom if he 
 would labor for her during five years. He estab- 
 lished a workshop, and commenced the manufac- 
 ture of arras, succeeding so admirably that, like 
 Laban, the queen doubled the time of his service. 
 Though this removed the sweetness of freedom 
 five years longer, he applied himself to other
 
 138 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 branches of industry, opening works for glass- 
 blowing, indigo-dyeing, soap and tallow-boiling, 
 and a distilleiy for rum. With French facility, he 
 added to all these vegetable-growing ; and the 
 numerous lightning-rods conspicuous all over the 
 capital give further proof of his activity and his 
 humane efforts to save life. Thunder-storms are 
 so frequent and severe there, that it is said " about 
 three hundred persons are killed by lightning 
 annually" in the capital alone. So useful a person 
 soon became a favorite of the government, and 
 obtained much influence with the queen. She 
 gave him houses, lands, slaves ; and he married a 
 native wife, thus fixing his residence, and appar- 
 ently satisfied with his prosperity. He lived as 
 the nobles, and was able to entertain his guests at 
 a table furnished with china and silver plate. Al- 
 though a Catholic, he evidently favored the Chris- 
 tians, interceded with the queen in their behalf, 
 and relieved their distress whenever it was pos- 
 sible. This was sufficient to attract the devoted 
 friendship of Prince Rakoto. It was probably 
 through him that the prince obtained much of his 
 knowledge of Europe. 
 
 European sailors were occasionally brought to 
 Tananarive to be sold as slaves ; it being one of 
 the queen's barbarous laws to enslave all the peo-
 
 PRINCE RAKOTO. 139 
 
 pie who were shipwrecked on her coasts. It ex- 
 pressed her hatred'of foreigners. But the prince 
 was as full of love and mercy toward them as she 
 was of hatred. He was not independent of his 
 mother's purse, being provided by her with a resi- 
 dence and the few luxuries that a Malagasy prince 
 needs, and therefore, if his heart suggested it, he 
 would not have been able to become the master of 
 the unfortunate sailors. On one occasion, when 
 riding in the neighborhood of the capital, he met 
 five sailors, who were being driven to the city. 
 One of them, weary and footsore, limped after the 
 rest, unable to keep pace with them. The prince 
 took off his own shoes or sandals and put them 
 upon the feet of the captive. He provided them 
 all with food, and notified Mr. Laborde of their 
 approach. He bought them all upon their arrival, 
 gave them money and letters of recommendation, 
 and sent them back to their own country. At 
 another time, when Rakoto beheld a captive 
 driven and beaten, and dragging himself painfully 
 along the dreadful road, he alighted from his pa- 
 lanquin, and gave the sufferer his own place. 
 
 In the same manner he clothed the naked, gave 
 food to the hungry, and opened the prison-doors 
 to many a one condemned to die. He would un- 
 hesitatingly give his last dollar, when needed ;
 
 140 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 distribute rice and provisions to the half-starved 
 creatures who labored for the government unpaid ; 
 and when any one was in danger of death, a mes- 
 sage to the prince soon brought him to unbind the 
 cords, and bid the victim, fly. He made it known 
 that he would receive petitions at all hours, and 
 forbade a slave ever to turn away an applicant, 
 even at midnight. If he pleaded in vain with his 
 mother for the pardon of prisoners, he assumed 
 the risk himself, and found means for their escape. 
 "Was ever a mother so teased with a good son ? 
 In order to elude his watchful mercy, she often 
 hastened the sentence of death, or took the oppor- 
 tunity of his absence to quickly execute a waiting 
 criminal. 
 
 Although the champion of the Christians, Ra- 
 koto's kind acts were not by any means confined 
 to them. Wherever he beheld suffering he was 
 ready to relieve it, and whenever ho detected an 
 act of injustice, he fearlessly condemned it, even 
 in his royal mother. lie was therefore universally 
 beloved by the people. They regarded him as 
 Peter did the angel who opened his prison-doors. 
 
 The diviners, the idol-keepers, and all their sup- 
 porters in the government, hated him as heartily 
 as the people loved him, and there were not want- 
 ing ambitious plotters who desired a very differ-
 
 PRINCE KAKOTO. 141 
 
 ent successor to their incomparable queen. He 
 Lad a rival in the person of a cousin, who, before 
 his birth, had been adopted by the queen and re- 
 garded as her heir. He was not as humane as 
 Rakoto, nor as cruel as Ranavalona. Having an 
 influential position in the government, it would 
 not be a difficult matter to take a step higher, 
 when the queen was obliged to yield her honors. 
 The heathen party would gladly have called him 
 their future king. 
 
 Rakoto's daily interference in their blood-thirsty 
 rule did not suit the temper of this party. They 
 detested his reproachful eyes; loving darkness, 
 they desired not only to put out the lamp that 
 guided his feet, and exposed their evil deeds ; but 
 longed for the opportunity to destroy him. To 
 guard against such treachery, a number of friends 
 banded together for his protection, and bound 
 themselves by an oath. These all lived near him, 
 and a few were in constant attendance. When he 
 consented to this plan, he said to them, "Our 
 great object must be to lessen the sufferings of the 
 people, to prevent unjust accusations, and unde- 
 served and excessive punishment; to restore, if 
 possible, those sentenced to death, and to do all we 
 can to save the lives of the people. God will help 
 us, for it is right to do it, and God will protect us.
 
 142 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 We must study the customs, the feelings, and the 
 habits of the people, -that, while we try to do 
 good, we may not be entrapped and put to death. 
 We must not make any boast or stir about what 
 we are doing. Let the people find out what our 
 motives are by our doings. We must always do 
 good all kinds of good." With this body-guard, 
 the prince went by night - or day, in storm and 
 darkness, to rescue the condemned. Nothing, 
 whatever, deterred him. 
 
 Notwithstanding all precautions for his safety, 
 he was once nearly sacrificed. An idol-keeper and 
 some adherents concealed themselves in the way 
 by which the prince was to pass in making a visit 
 to one of the chief officers who was ill. As the 
 spear was raised for a deadly thrust, the prince 
 caught it and saved himself the blow. His attend- 
 ants would have destroyed the waylayers on the 
 spot but for his interference, and the officer, whose 
 illness had given the opportunity, ordered the as- 
 sassin to be put to death that night. But the 
 prince would not permit it. 
 
 " God is the sovereign of life," said lie. " He 
 has preserved my life, and it is not necessary for 
 its continued preservation that I should destroy 
 the life of this man. Let him live, but be sent to
 
 FKESH PERSECUTIONS. 143 
 
 a distant part of the country, and there so secured 
 as to prevent further mischief to me or others." 
 
 Finding the prince too well protected both by 
 the queen and by the people, and fearing the dis- 
 pleasure too of the doting mother, Rakoto's ene- 
 mies could only vent their ill-will upon the Chris- 
 tians. It was impossible to bring against them any 
 accusation except for their religion. Their conduct 
 was irreproachable. On account of oppression the 
 starving people were often driven to stealing food, 
 but in no case was one of the Christians in fault. 
 They were so trustworthy in the care of property, 
 so truthful, so humble, and obedient to the hard- 
 est requirements, that the most exacting were 
 constrained to say of them, " These people would 
 be good servants, indeed, but for their praying." 
 When brought before the judges for this, they ac- 
 knowledged that " they prayed for their sovereign, 
 her officers, for the good of the kingdom, and the 
 prosperity and happiness of the people." One of 
 the judges declared they had done no harm, and 
 convicted them only because it was against the 
 law of the queen to pray and read. 
 
 Sometimes their accusers were spies employed 
 to track them out by the government, and some- 
 times members of their own families, to whom 
 they had spoken in the fullness of their yearnings
 
 144 ATISSIOXS AXD MARTYRS. 
 
 for the souls of those dear to them. The first an- 
 nouncement to them of accusation was the plant- 
 ing of a broad-headed silver spear before the door, 
 after which none dared to leave the house till or- 
 dered to do so. When brought before the officers 
 appointed to examine them, they were questioned, 
 and, often without either witnesses or accusers, 
 pleaded guilty and met death rather than yield 
 one jot of their faith. Neither could any favor of 
 the queen buy their allegiance from the Saviour. 
 "Fear God and honor the king," was their reply 
 to such proposals, and their past conduct offered 
 proofs that they could serve their earthly sover- 
 eign all the more faithfully because of their obe- 
 dience to the Eternal King. 
 
 To one such, when condemned to die, the queen 
 sent a messenger offering not only life, but high 
 favor and reward if he would renounce his relig- 
 ion and serve her. He " thanked her, but declared 
 he could not forsake Christ," and added, " Yet I 
 can serve the queen." 
 
 An account, written by survivors, is given of 
 one group of condemned Christians in the fierce 
 persecution of 1849. Eight were brought one 
 day before the officers. 
 
 " Do you pray to the sun or the moon or the 
 earth ? " they asked.
 
 FliESH PERSECUTIONS. 145 
 
 " I do not pray to these, for the hand of God 
 made them," answered one for the rest. 
 
 "Do you pray to the twelve mountains that are 
 sacred ? " 
 
 " I do not pray to them, for they are moun- 
 tains." 
 
 " Do you pray to the idols that render sacred 
 the kings ? " 
 
 "I do not pray to them, for the hand of man 
 made them." 
 
 " Do you pray to the ancestors of the sover- 
 eigns ? " 
 
 "Kings and rulers are given by God that we 
 should serve and obey them and render them 
 homage. Nevertheless, they are only men like 
 ourselves ; when we pray, we pray to God alone." 
 
 "You make distinct and observe the Sabbath 
 day," continued the officers. 
 
 " That is the day of the great God," replied the 
 Christian ; " for in six days the Lord made all 
 his works. But God rested on the seventh, and 
 he caused it to be holy; and I rest, or keep sacred 
 that day." 
 
 All testified to holding the same opinions ; and 
 one, who had kept aloof, seeing their steadfastness 
 came forward also, lest he should by silence deny 
 his God. Another, whose wife was among the ac-
 
 146 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 cased and who had heard her confession, came and 
 said to her, " Be not afraid, for it is well if for that 
 you die." 
 
 " He was a soldier from a distance, and not of 
 the number accused. Then he was examined, and, 
 as he made the same avowal, they bound him also. 
 And they removed these ten brethren and sisters 
 and made their bands hard or tight, and confined 
 them each in a separate house." 
 
 According to the journal, others were added to 
 those in prison till they numbered nineteen. 
 One had said, " ' Jehovah is God alone, and above 
 every name that is named, and Jesus Christ is also 
 God.' Hearing this the people cried, out, mock- 
 ing." 
 
 " ' Rabodampoimerina (the sacred name of the 
 queen) is our God but not your God,' " said an of- 
 ficer to another. 
 
 " ' The God who made me is my God,' answered 
 the Christian, ' but Rabodo is my queen or sover- 
 eign.' And when he refused other answer they 
 said, 'Perhaps he is an idiot or a lunatic.' He an- 
 swered, ' I am not an idiot and have not lost my 
 understanding.' Then there was a commotion and 
 buzz among the people, saying, ' Take him away.' 
 And they took him to prison." 
 
 So these nineteen, having remained faithful in
 
 FRESH PERSECUTIONS. 147 
 
 
 
 their testimony, were condemned by Ranavalona 
 to the martyrs death. Of the nineteen, four were 
 nobles, two of them husband and wife. As it is 
 counted unlawful to shed the blood of nobles, 
 these were sentenced to be burned alive. They 
 endeavored to have this cruel sentence com- ' 
 muted into one of strangling before their bodies 
 should be burnt ; but Ranavalona was inexorable. 
 Their terrible privilege of nobility she was deter- 
 mined to accord. The other fifteen were sen- 
 tenced to be thrown from the summit of a rock. 
 
 On the day appointed, multitudes thronged to 
 each of the two places of martyrdom. Those con- 
 demned to be thrown from the rock were first 
 wrapped in mats; mats were forced into their 
 mouths to prevent their speaking, and they were 
 then tied by the hands and put to poles, and in 
 this painful and ignominious attitude were carried 
 to execution. Notwithstanding the gags, howev- 
 er, they persisted in exhorting the people as they 
 were carried along ; and some who saw them said 
 that " their faces were as the faces of angels." 
 
 Thus they reached Arapimarinana. This is the 
 place of execution ; a rock one hundred and fifty 
 feet high, in the midst of the city, the Tarpeian 
 rock of Tananarive. A rope was then tied around 
 the body of each, and one by one they were
 
 148 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 * 
 
 lowered a little way over the precipice. Then, 
 while the executioner was standing with his knife 
 in his hand ready to sever the strands that kept 
 them from eternity, the officer in charge, for the 
 last time asked, " Will you obey the queen's com- 
 mand ? " One answer came from all ; an emphat- 
 ic " No." The executioner then cut the ropes, and 
 one after another the martyrs' bodies lay crushed 
 and bleeding on the rocks below. 
 
 One of the fifteen was saved. She was a young 
 woman, very beautiful and accomplished, and very 
 much liked by the queen, who wished if possible 
 to save her. Hoping that the sight of her com- 
 panions' deaths would terrify her out of her obsti- 
 nacy, they had reserved her to the last. They 
 then asked her if she would not think better of 
 her folly. " No," she answered ; " let me go with 
 my friends." Whereupon, the executioner roughly 
 said, " She is an idiot ; she has lost her wits. Take 
 her away." She was sent to a distant part of the 
 country where she married a Christian man, and 
 a few years after died, doubtless in the faith. 
 
 But let us now turn to the spot where the four 
 Christian nobles are about to undergo the cruel 
 deaths to which their rank condemned them. 
 
 A village called Faravohitra, situated on the 
 same hill with Tananarive, and in full view from
 
 MARTYRDOM OF THE CHRISTIANS.
 
 FRESH PERSECUTIONS. 149 
 
 a great part of the city. Here four stakes were 
 firmly fixed in the earth, and a crowd gathered 
 around, eagerly watching the preparations for the 
 execution, and awaiting the arrival of the con- 
 demned. As the rank of these forbade subjecting 
 them to the same indignities which the others had 
 suffered, they were permitted to walk to the place 
 of execution. The same faith which supported 
 their humbler brethren, sustained them. Even 
 the Christian lady, who had peculiar reasons for 
 dreading the trial, beheld it with unfaltering forti- 
 tude. As they went along they comforted them- 
 selves by singing a hymn which begins with, 
 
 " When our hearts are troubled," 
 and each verse of which ends with, 
 
 " Then remember me." 
 
 They reached the place, gazed calmly upon the 
 preparations for their death, and were fastened to 
 the stakes. Just then a bright rainbow arched the 
 heavens, one end of which appeared to rest almost 
 upon the spot where they were to suffer. The 
 pile was kindled ; and then, from amidst the crack- 
 ling and roaring of the fire, came forth not the 
 sounds of pain, but those of praise. That scene, 
 and the hymn which the martyrs sung as they rose 
 in their fiery chariot to heaven, will never be for-
 
 150 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 gotten in Madagascar. To the sounds of praise 
 succeeded those of prayer. " O Lord," they were 
 heard to pray, " receive our spirits ; for thy love to 
 us has caused this to come to us, and lay not this 
 sin to their charge." 
 
 " Thus," writes a witness of that wonderful and 
 memorable scene, " they prayed, as long as they 
 had any life. Then they died ; but softly, gently. 
 Indeed, gentle was the going forth of their life, 
 and astonished were all the people around that 
 beheld them there." 
 
 After all was over, the dead bodies of those who 
 had been hurled from the rock of Arapimarinana 
 were, by order of the queen, dragged with ropes 
 to the place where the four nobles had suffered. 
 Fresh fuel was heaped on, till their bodies, too, 
 were consumed. Thus though the martyrs were 
 divided in their deaths, according to the difference 
 of worldly rank* their ashes were commingled, 
 even as their sou!s alike ascended, stripped of 
 the petty distinctions of earth, to their common 
 Saviour, who had made them all alike, " kings and 
 priests to God and his Father." 
 
 Mr. Ellis, who visited the scenes of martyrdom 
 a number of years after, thus speaks: "When I 
 visited the place in company with the bishop of 
 Mauritius, we stood and gazed on the prisons in
 
 FRESH PERSECUTIONS. 151 
 
 the distance in which the sufferers had been con- 
 fined, on the place where their sentences were read 
 over to them, and where, as they sat together on 
 the ground, bound with chains, and encircled by 
 soldiers, they sang their hymn of praise to Christ. 
 We passed up the road along which, surrounded 
 by an excited crowd, they raised their voices in 
 prayer that God would remember them. We 
 stood by the side of the spot; the place itself we 
 felt to be holy ground, on which, when fastened 
 to the stake, they sang, 
 
 ' There is a blessed land, 
 Making most happy; 
 Never thence shall rest depart, 
 Nor cause of sorrow come.' 
 
 "Our companions, most of whom had been 
 spectators on that eventful day, and one, the 
 mother of a martyr, pointed out where the 
 soldiers and the heathens stood around and 
 cried, ' Where is your Jehovah now ? Why 
 does he not come and take you away?' To 
 which, from the midst of the flames, the martyrs 
 answered, ' Jehovah is here ; he is taking us to a 
 better place.' Our companions also showed us 
 the part of the road, a little distant, on which the 
 relatives and associates of the Christians stood, 
 waving their last adieus to their rejoicing friends,
 
 152 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 who smiled, and lifted up as far as they could 
 their scorched hands, or burning fragments of 
 dress, to return the salutations. In perfect accord- 
 ance with this account are the spirit and feeling 
 manifested by survivors when recounting their 
 sufferings. I have sometimes sat as if enchained 
 to the lips of the venerable widow or sister of a 
 martyr, as she has recounted with simple pathos 
 the sufferings she has endured, and been over- 
 come with admiration at the marvelous power of 
 ' the love of Christ shed abroad in their hearts by 
 the Holy Ghost given unto them.' The Christians 
 especially rejoice in the proposal to raise, as a per- 
 petual memorial of these events, a church conse- 
 crated to the worship of the martyrs' God and 
 Saviour." 
 
 In another letter, Mr. Ellis adds, "The deep 
 emotion with which the pastors and others spoke 
 on this topic was most affecting. Some they said 
 had lost fathers, others children, some wives, others 
 husbands, or brothers, or sisters, whom they now 
 rejoiced to think of as with the spirits of just men 
 made perfect in heaven ; but whom they and their 
 fellow-Christians would never forget. If churches, 
 they said, were built upon the spots on which they 
 had suffered and died for the love of Christ, it 
 would not only comfort surviving friends, but do
 
 FRESH PERSECUTIONS. 153 
 
 much to perpetuate the impressions which their 
 constancy had produced on the minds both of 
 Christians and heathens." 
 
 These eighteen alone suffered death ; but during 
 this last great outbreak of persecuting rage, many 
 more underwent punishments of various degrees 
 on account of their faith. Mr. Ellis says, " Of the 
 numbers implicated, some idea may be formed 
 from the fact that at one time and place thirty- 
 seven who had explained or preached the Word 
 were reduced to slavery, with their wives and 
 children ; forty-two who had possessed books were 
 made slaves, and their property seized ; twenty- 
 seven who had possessed books, and who had 
 preached or explained, were made slaves, with 
 their wives and children ; six, with whom it was 
 a second offense, were imprisoned, and eighteen 
 were put to death." Besides these, two thousand 
 and fifty-five were fined one dollar each, more as a 
 mark of disgrace, probably, than as a punishment. 
 Officers in the army, and even nobles, were de- 
 graded from their rank, loaded with heavy chains, 
 and set to sweep the streets of the capital, or toil 
 in the unaccustomed labor of felling trees in the 
 forests, or dragging stone from the quarries. The 
 following letter from one of them is addressed to
 
 154 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 the widow of Mr. Johns. It is dated Tananarive, 
 November 6th, 1861 : 
 
 " Beloved Mother : When I lay hold on this 
 paper, pen, and ink, to write to you, my heart and 
 all within me is moved. I have much to say to 
 you. I wish to tell you of the sorrows that have 
 befallen us. Very great was the persecution 
 which drove us into the wilderness. They sought 
 to put me to death. I was accused of praying to 
 the ancestors of the English, and also of teaching 
 the people to do so. They sent officers, and many 
 besides, to take me up, and they took all the peo- 
 ple they found in my house, and my wife Rabodo 
 also. My children, servants, and every thing I 
 had, they took away as a forfeit to the queen. 
 They bound my wife, Rabodo, and flogged her 
 from morning to night to make her tell who were 
 her companions. She fainted, and they left her to 
 recover a little, and then flogged her again. But 
 she refused to give up the names of any, so that 
 they were astonished, and said, ' She is a Chris- 
 tian^ indeed? Failing to get her to tell who were 
 her associates, they put a heavy iron ring round 
 her neck and round each ankle. They also fast- 
 ened these rings together by heavy iron chains 
 from the neck to the ankles, and then bound her 
 to four more Christians. Five others were also
 
 FRESH PERSECUTIONS. 155 
 
 bound together, and there was a third party 
 of sixteen also bound together. Every Sabbath 
 day for seven months, they placed these three 
 parties before the people, that they might see how 
 they were punished for keeping holy the Lord's 
 day. At the end of the seven months they sepa- 
 rated them, and sent five to the east. Of these 
 two died, and three still remain. The other party 
 of five they sent to the north. Of these, four 
 died, and only one remains ; and the sixteen they 
 sent to the west. Of these five died and eleven 
 remain. My wife Rabodo was among those they 
 sent to the west. She was left in bonds, and died 
 on the 4th of March, 1859. Yes; she died in her 
 chains.* Her works follow her. They pursued me 
 for four years and three months, seeking to put 
 me to death. They issued a proclamation to 
 search for me in every village for six months, and 
 they sent papers in all directions, and a paper 
 called a Gazette, ordering the seai'ch for me. But 
 the Lord watched over the afflicted, and will not 
 give the enemy to rejoice over them. My children 
 they have sold into slavery, and my property they 
 have taken, so that I now have no house to dwell 
 in, or land to live upon. What has befallen me is too 
 hard for nature ; but precious are the riches in
 
 156 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 Christ, and in him light are the sorrows of the 
 earth. 2 Cor. iv. 17 ; v. 6-8." 
 
 This simple record, giving the naked facts of 
 suffering, by one evidently unskilled to describe 
 the feelings awakened by them, is merely a speci- 
 men of what very many more could have told. 
 
 Yet here, as of old, " the blood of the martyrs 
 was the seed of the church." It was impossible 
 even for hardened natures to witness the courage 
 of such sufferers, without being convinced of 
 the forgiving spirit and the unwavering faith, 
 the truth and power of their religion. Their own 
 gods could not sustain them in death. Every one 
 knew that in his own heart. The thoughtful saw 
 clearly that his neighbor's foot was planted on a 
 rock, and his own wandered in an uncertain way 
 that made him shudder. The Holy Spirit was 
 shedding his sweet influence amid the frightful 
 scenes, and drawing many a one to embrace the 
 faith that is in Jesus, even when they knew the 
 narrow way was walled with terrors. Like those 
 who had died, they obtained leaves of the Scrip- 
 tures when they dared not carry a volume, and 
 thus sought the truth for themselves. Admitted 
 to the secret midnight gatherings, they could re- 
 ceive baptism and partake of the sacrament, praise
 
 FRESH PERSECUTIONS. 157 
 
 and pray and read, taking for their model the 
 church of the New Testament. Although hunted 
 and persecuted, the church grew in numbers 
 rather than diminished, and the more its enemies 
 strove to crush it, the brighter its light shone. It 
 was already in the sight of all Madagascar as " a 
 city set upon a hill that could not be hid."
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 VISIT OF EEV. ME. ELLIS. 
 
 News from Madagascar Arrival of the Missionaries at Tamatave 
 in 1853 Eagerly Welcomed The Fragment of the Psalms 
 Refused Permission to go to the Capital Permission granted 
 in 1856 Reception there Audience with the Queen Wel- 
 comed by Prince Rakoto Mr. Lambert Designs of the Catho- 
 licsThe Prince's Conversations with Mr. Ellis Excursions 
 The Queen's Dinner Exhibition of Philosophical Instruments 
 Thirst for Knowledge Influence of Mr. Ellis's Visit His 
 Dismissal by the Queen, and Departure. 
 
 IN 1852, rumors reached England of a willing- 
 ness on the part of the queen of Madagascar to 
 reopen intercourse with other nations. The Rev. 
 Mr. Ellis was sent to ascertain the fact. In com- 
 pany with Mr. Cameron, who had been one of the 
 missionary band at Tananarive, he reached the 
 port of Tamatave in the following year, and 
 awaited there the result of a letter to the queen, 
 requesting her permission to proceed to the capi- 
 tal. Sixteen years had passed since such an em- 
 bassy had touched at the island. The news spread 
 quickly, and as many as dared pressed to welcome 
 the world in the persons of these venturesome vis- 
 itors. Some came from curiosity, some to talk of 
 the hope of reopening trade, others to ask for
 
 VISIT OF REV. MR. ELLIS. 159 
 
 books, secretly longing for copies of the Bible, while 
 they confessed that "books with the words arranged 
 in lines were prohibited ; but that books with the 
 words arranged in columns " spelling-books 
 were allowed to be received. Their disappoint- 
 ment was so great at not being able to obtain 
 either that some even shed tears. It seemed a re- 
 lief to unburden their hearts, to receive sympathy 
 and advice, and to send messages of what God 
 had wrought for them, to the Christians of other 
 lands. A native chief announced himself a 
 scholar of the missionaries, made many inquiries 
 about them, and not daring in the presence of 
 others to express himself more freely, signified his 
 steadfast love for Christ by pressing the hand of 
 the Christian stranger, and fervently asking God's 
 blessing upon him. Of another, Mr. Ellis says, 
 " After looking earnestly a few moments, and al- 
 most mechanically giving us his hand, there came 
 over his whole countenance such an expression 
 as I had never before witnessed in any human be- 
 ing. It was not ecstasy, it was not terror, and 
 yet an apparent blending of both, marked by an 
 intensity of feeling but rarely seen. During the 
 whole interview, which was long, there was a 
 strange uneasiness mingled with evident satis- 
 faction, difficult to describe."
 
 160 MJSS10XS AND MARTYKS. 
 
 Two men, who had traveled one hundred miles 
 out of their way to find Mr. Ellis, came one even- 
 ing to ask for a copy of the Bible. They ac- 
 knowledged that they already possessed " some of 
 the words of David," and when Requested to pro- 
 duce them, looked at each other in alarm. After 
 some persuasion, one drew forth a parcel from 
 the folds of his lamba. He carefully unrolled 
 one piece of cloth after another, and finally dis- 
 closed a few worn, dingy leaves of the Book of 
 Psalms. These sacred fragments had been read 
 by many, and passed from one to another with the 
 greatest care and caution. Anxious to secure the 
 relic, Mr. Ellis offered him a new and entire copy 
 of the Scriptures in exchange. After ascertaining 
 that the same " words of David " were in the new 
 book in addition to the words of Jesus, of Paul, 
 Peter, and John, the man joyfully gave up his 
 worn treasure, and concealing his new one, went 
 hastily from the house. The two men could not 
 be found the next morning, having departed im- 
 mediately on their journey, lest some misfortune 
 should rob them of their great riches. 
 
 After fifteen days of hazardous interchange of 
 friendship, letters arrived from the queen excusing 
 herself from receiving the visitors on account of 
 pressing business, and politely recommending
 
 VISIT OF REV. MR. ELLIS. 161 
 
 them "to return across the water." Greater se- 
 verity than this had been expected, and the gov- 
 ernor of Tamatave told them to take courage, and 
 intimated the probable reason of their dismissal 
 to be the non-payment of a certain sum, which 
 was required on condition of opening the ports. 
 The gentlemen returned to Mauritius, where the 
 amount fifteen thousand dollars was immedi- 
 ately raised among the merchants, and committed 
 to Mr. Cameron, who returned to Madagascar. 
 His mission was successful. Trade was opened, 
 and once more it was possible to obtain access to 
 the capital. Mr. Ellis applied for permission to 
 visit it, but was denied because his second applica- 
 tion was not made, like his first, in company with 
 Mr. Cameron. 
 
 It was not till 1856 that his admission to the 
 island was finally negotiated. He was then em- 
 ployed by the London Missionary Society to as- 
 certain, as far as possible, the state of the Chris- 
 tians, and with this intention reached Tamatave 
 in May of that year. The influence of trade was 
 already visible in the prosperity of the town. A 
 number of new houses had been built, others were 
 going up, and a new hotel, the first in the island, 
 had been opened. 
 
 Mr, Ellis received a cordial welcome. As be- 
 11
 
 162 MISSIONS A\D MAltTYRS. 
 
 fore, many applicants pressed him for books. Let- 
 ters of welcome reached him from the prince, and 
 a guide was sent to conduct him to Tananarive. 
 During all the journey, he was met by natives, 
 who came forward to greet him and to tell him of 
 their sufferings for Christ's sake. They often sat 
 together till midnight recounting the terrible 
 scenes through which they or their friends had 
 passed, but always with a humble spirit, accepting 
 the chastenings of Providence. " They seemed," 
 says Mr. Ellis, " to regard their sufferings as per- 
 mitted by God, and spoke of it as a cause for ex- 
 ercising confidence in the Most High." Neither 
 did they cherish the slightest feeling of revenge 
 toward their persecutors. Their comments were 
 touchingly childlike and submissive, and frequently 
 all wept together at the recital of what each had 
 endured. 
 
 Letters from the queen also reached the guest 
 on his journey, and when within a few miles of 
 the capital, he was requested to wait her further 
 pleasure, Avhich was of course the pleasure of the 
 sikidy, as to the day and hour of reception. He was 
 at length escorted into the city by appointed officers 
 and in a palanquin courteously sent by the prince. 
 The house provided for him was of two stones, the 
 lower containing two rooms neatly carpeted with
 
 VISIT OF REV. MR. ELLIS. 163 
 
 mats, the walls lined with mats, and the window 
 of one screened by a white muslin curtain or blind. 
 A bedstead spread with mats and curtained with 
 white, added to the aspect of neatness, and a table 
 with a water-jug and wine-glasses arranged upon 
 it, a looking-glass above it, and both rooms fur- 
 nished with chairs, altogether afforded proof that 
 the missionaries had not labored in vain to civilize 
 as well as to instruct this people. 
 
 A few days after his arrival, Mr. Ellis was in- 
 formed that the queen had appointed an audience. 
 The officer who was to conduct him to her pres- 
 ence was anxious concerning the court-dress in 
 which the new-comer was to appear, and perceiv- 
 ing in his wardrobe a purple and green dressing- 
 gown lined with scarlet, assured him it was a most 
 imposing garment, and requested him to arrange 
 the wearing of it so as to display the brilliant lin- 
 ing, Avhich happened to be the royal color. Thus 
 equipped, Mr. Ellis arrived before the palace gate 
 in his palanquin. The white balcony of the high- 
 roofed palace was already occupied by the court. 
 In the midst, upon a raised throne of green, sat 
 queen Ranavolonn, with the ever-present umbrel- 
 la, embroidered with gold, over her head, not to 
 screen her from the sun, but as an emblem of roy-
 
 164 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 alty. Although nearly seventy, she seemed in 
 vigorous health. A golden crown and a white 
 satin lainba with sprigs of gold, distinguished, if 
 it did not become her. Prince Rakoto stood at 
 her left, wearing a star and a coronet of green vel- 
 vet bordered with a band and leaves of silver, and 
 near him his cousin in a cap of black and gold. 
 The princess Rabodo, wife of Rakoto, sat on the 
 right of the queen, with a small, plain, scarlet 
 umbrella over her head. 
 
 The court-yard below was occupied by soldiers 
 and officers, leaving an open central space for the 
 stranger who was to be presented to the queen, 
 and for the interpreters. Into this space, Mr. Ellis 
 advanced, and, after presenting the usual offering 
 of homage in the shape of a silver dollar to one 
 of the officers, bowed and shouted his acknowl- 
 edgments to the sovereign in the balcony above. 
 No nearer than this was the profane foot of a for- 
 eigner ever allowed to approach. Neither did her 
 majesty utter a word. An orator near her re- 
 turned the compliments of the visitor, and assured 
 him of the desire of the queen for friendly inter- 
 course with all foreign nations. When the inter- 
 view was finished, he was required to bow to the 
 east and to the tomb of Radama, and was remind-
 
 VISIT OF REV. MR. ELLIS. 165 
 
 'ed not on any account to place the left foot first 
 over the threshold on retiring from the palace 
 gate. 
 
 Prince Rakoto, in his love for the English, 
 had hastened to see Mr. Ellis on the first day of 
 his arrival. He spoke with much interest and 
 warmth of the visit of a Mr. Lambert, a French 
 gentleman, the previous year. The cruelties of 
 the queen had awakened in him a desire for inter- 
 ference in behalf of her subjects, by either the 
 English or French nation. Prince Rakoto had 
 assured him that " he cared not who ruled over 
 the nation, so long as the government was good 
 and just," and had entered into a private treaty 
 with Mr. Lambert, which enabled the latter to 
 confer with foreign governments for the relief of 
 Madagascar. In all this, the prince meditated no 
 disrespect to his mother, except the placing it out 
 of her power to inflict continued horrors upon her 
 people. He repeatedly said that he would risk 
 his own life to save hers, and that he would be 
 the first to resent any attempt upon her life oi- 
 lier dignity. But both England and France had 
 declined interference, and Mr. Lambert's proposal 
 remained a profound secret in Madagascar. 
 
 Prince Rakoto had become strongly attached 
 to this Mr. Lambert, during his short stay, and, in
 
 166 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 proof of it, gave him his only son, a boy of six years. 
 Mr. Lambert adopted the child, to gratify the 
 prince, but did not assume any of the responsibil- 
 ities of adoption, leaving him with his mother, a 
 favorite slave of the prince. This is one of the 
 complimentary customs of Madagascar. That 
 Prince Rakoto did not wholly understand the 
 Christian religion is evident from the fact that, 
 like his countrymen, he was not faithful to one 
 wife. The boy was the son of a slave named 
 Mary, to whom the prince was deeply attached, 
 and who was presented to strangers in company 
 with the Princess Rabodo, with the same re- 
 spect that would be paid to one of twelve wives. 
 She is described as exceedingly plain. 
 
 Through the influence of a Catholic priest, re- 
 siding at the house of Mr. Laborde, the princess 
 wore a crucifix, and the prince a medal, on one 
 side of which was the letter M., with the cross in- 
 terwoven, and surrounded by stars ; on the other 
 side was a figure of the virgin in relief, standing 
 with outstretched arms; and around the figure was 
 an appeal to her prayers in their behalf for an 
 heir. This priest attempted to make good Roman . 
 Catholics of the future sovereigns; but by the 
 pi-ince's own confession, he succeeded no better 
 than his brethren in the Isle of Bourbon who en-
 
 VISIT OF EEV. MR. ELLIS. 167 
 
 deavored to convert some refugees. These stated 
 in a letter to friends that, "It seemed as if the 
 Pope stood (in authority) in the place of God, and 
 that the priest forgave sins. And as to the images, 
 etc., before which they prostrated themselves, it 
 was like the sampy, or idols of our own country." 
 And yet it is possible, if prince Rakoto's desire 
 for an heir had been fulfilled, he might have 
 learned to put his trust in the intercessions of the 
 virgin. He was certainly influenced strongly by 
 those who once gained his confidence; whether 
 it was a French priest, a French philanthropist, or 
 an English missionary. 
 
 In his conversations with Mr. Ellis, the prince 
 often expressed his admiration and esteem for the 
 English. " The character of their laws, especially 
 in I'elation to human life," he said, impressed him 
 strongly, and he desired to imitate them when it 
 was in his power to control the government. 
 From all that he had heard, he believed them to 
 be " such as in his own heart he should like to be, 
 true, just, humane, and watchful over human 
 life." In speaking of the Crimean War, which had 
 just closed, he remarked that, when opposition 
 ceased, slaughter ceased ; and compared it with 
 the bloody history of the wars of his own country, 
 which never ceased till the offenders Avere massa-
 
 168 JlfrSSIOXS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 cred ; even though they yielded all the conquorer 
 required. Both himself and the princess Rabodo, 
 who came with him to converse with Mr. Ellis, 
 lamented the afflicted condition of his country. 
 
 " What can we do to promote the prosperity 
 and stability of the nation, that Madagascar may 
 become like other nations ? " asked the prince. 
 
 " Prosperity can not be provided for you by 
 others ; it must be your own achievement, if you 
 possess it," replied Mr. Ellis. 
 
 " How can we attain it ? " persisted Rakoto. 
 
 " With the blessing of God, you may attain it 
 by intelligence, integrity, and justice, energy, and 
 self-reliance," was the answer. 
 
 The prince lamented his own ignorance. He 
 could not read. His adviser urged him to apply 
 himself at once to the overcoming of this difficul- 
 ty. " Seek to enlighten the people ; promote ed- 
 ucation to the utmost; promote industry. Let 
 your laws be just." 
 
 " But suppose we try to do this and the nation 
 does not prosper, will they not say the gov- 
 ernment is to blame ?" asked the prince. 
 
 "There are people who are always ready to 
 blame the government when they do not prosper," 
 was the answer. " But if your laws are just and 
 wise, and those who administer them honest, the
 
 VISIT Of REV. MR. ELLIS. 169 
 
 enlightened and upright will be ready to support 
 you even in adversity. The loyalty of the peo- 
 ple depends much upon the officers who adminis- 
 ter as well as the sovereign who makes laws ; and 
 one of the wisest of kings has said, ' A wicked per- 
 son shall not stand before me.' " 
 
 "I know that; I am quite convinced of that," 
 was the earnest reply. " How does Queen Victoria 
 secure the best welfare of her people ? How can 
 I make my subjects happy and upright ? How 
 can I expel evil from my kingdom and put good 
 in its place ? " Such were the longing appeals from 
 this prince, who already felt the burden of his 
 wicked nation upon his heart. He reached out his 
 entreating hands to his civilized brothers to help 
 him bear the weight. Oh that he could have gone 
 to the Fountain of all knowledge, and learned how 
 to govern his people, and that he could have asked 
 strength and guidance and wisdom from the only 
 source which could avail in his utmost need ! 
 Here was Rakoto's fault. The impulses of his 
 own heart often bore him powerfully toward good, 
 but, unsupported by divine grace, they were fitful 
 and transient; no more to be depended on than 
 the streams in the desert. 
 
 Both the prince and princess endeavored to 
 show their friendship for their English visitor, by
 
 170 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 arranging excursions Avhich enabled him both to 
 see points of interest in the neighborhood, and to 
 confer with Christians whom he might not other- 
 wise meet. They came one day to convey him to 
 the cottage which had been the favorite country 
 resort of Radama. The princess was in an open 
 palanquin of scarlet cloth lined with pink satin, 
 and an attendant held a pink silk umbrella over 
 her head. Her dress was European on the occa- 
 sion, though spoiled by a heathenish mixture of 
 colors. The dress was blue, trimmed with scarlet 
 velvet and gilt buttons, and her bonnet of pink 
 satin. The accompanying ladies were equally gay 
 in their toilets, and the officers appeared in blue 
 and scarlet, with white lambas bordered with 
 brilliant stripes. 
 
 The inhabitants of the villages through which 
 they passed, brought gifts of sugar-cane, manioc 
 roots, or sweet potatoes, all freshly gathered from 
 their gardens, and offered as first-fruits in token 
 of homage. Their love for their future king was 
 manifest at every step, and the procession was ac- 
 companied by so great a crowd that it was difficult 
 to move along. At the cottage, Mr. Ellis was en- 
 tertained with native music and dancing, and a 
 collation of fruits and sweetmeats served on silver 
 plates. On their return, they visited two or three
 
 VISIT OF REV. MR. ELLIS. 171 
 
 encampments of soldiers outside the city, and the 
 prince took pains to point out the graves of the 
 missionaries who had died in Tananarive, and the 
 houses in which they lived. The rock from which 
 so many Christians had been thrown, and where 
 others were still to perish, was also in plain sight 
 as they wound through the plain and up the hill. 
 
 The queen was not to be outdone in hospitality 
 by her son. Accordingly, Mr. Ellis was invited to 
 dine ; not in the palace, for this was an unknown 
 honor, nor with the queen, for this also would in- 
 fringe upon her dignity, but in the house of the wid- 
 ow of one of the wealthiest of the Malagasy nobles. 
 As the services of the people belonged to the queen 
 when she chose to demand them, so also did the 
 property, the plate, and the viands of those who 
 surrounded her in the palace. Mr. Ellis was there- 
 fore invited by the queen to dine at the house of 
 " Lady Rasoaray." The house was spacious, the 
 walls papered, and the floors covered with pretty 
 mats. The guests, among whom was Mr. Laborde 
 and the priest, were seated at a table spread with 
 an elegance that one could hardly look for in Mad- 
 agascar. The covered dishes, spoons, and forks 
 were all of silver, with the crest of the Hovahs, a 
 crown and a bird engraved upon them. Silver 
 vases also ornamented the table. They were of
 
 172 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 handsome pattern, and, like the plate, were of na- 
 tive manufacture. The dinner consisted of thirty 
 or more courses, and offered, a variety and excel- 
 lence that would have done credit to Paris. A 
 limited quantity of wine, some speech -making 
 I and a few toasts, ending with the usual one to the 
 queen, followed the dessert, and the party broke 
 up. 
 
 In the court-yard of the palace the queen also 
 gave an entertainment, which she seemed to ac- 
 cord always to strangers whom she wished to 
 honor. It was a kind of moving tableau, consist- 
 ing of a variety of Moorish and native dances, ex- 
 ecuted by ladies and nobles in fancy costumes of 
 silk, satin, velvet, and ostrich feathers, as profuse 
 as in the fancy-balls of wealthier courts. The 
 queen, royal family, and attendants, who occupied 
 the balcony, appeared in Arab costume. The sin- 
 gular dresses, the swarthy faces, the silence of the 
 dancers, the lofty palace, so peculiar in its struc- 
 ture, the proud and savage queen, sitting in gaudy 
 state in the long, white veranda, far above the 
 heads of the people, as if ever to remind them 
 that her feet were upon their necks, and over it 
 all the shining of the noon-day sun, oflered a 
 strange picture to European eyes, even if the 
 actors were unknown. But stranger yet was the
 
 VISIT OF REV. MA. ELLIS. 173 
 
 grouping of characters ; for to the mind's eye the 
 queen's robes were dyed in the blood of martyrs, 
 and she sat as a crouching tigress, with her loved 
 and loving son at her side, mournfully conscious 
 of her cruel faults, and yearning for something 
 higher and truer than he was able to grasp. There 
 was the amiable Rabodo, and the intriguing min- 
 isters, also, glancing among the people for victims 
 before whom they could plant the silver spear ; 
 and mingling with them, the noble Prince Ramon- 
 ja, the mentor of Rakoto, but who openly avowed 
 himself a champion of the cross, and who, for 
 Christ's sake, had suffered the spoiling of his goods 
 and the loss of his honors. And there, in the 
 court-yard below, was the wily priest, planning 
 convents and cathedrals for the descendants of 
 those who glided to and fro before him ; the gen- 
 erous Mr. Laborde in Turkish robes, in turban and 
 pointed slippers, looking with pride upon the lux- 
 urious display ; and the bewildered English mis- 
 sionary, ti-ansfixed by the weird scene, yet feeling 
 keenly that though costly silks floated lightly 
 about the dancers now, at the queen's pleasure the 
 same invincible will might any day bind them with 
 chains, and leave them to drag the heavy weight 
 " till they bowed the head as wasting weeds." 
 If the queen was quick to adopt the luxuries
 
 174 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 and amusements of civilization, she was not so 
 easily persuaded to accept the novel arts. It had 
 been proposed to her by Mr. Laborde to establish 
 a telegraph between the capital and coast ; but 
 she replied that " messengers by relays of runners 
 were quite quick enough for her." Some of the 
 chiefs were, however, greatly interested in the 
 instrument brought by Mr. Ellis. It excited not 
 curiosity merely, but intelligent inquiry. He 
 says, " They seemed to comprehend and rejoice in 
 the perception of the simple mode of representing 
 letters by motions of the needles ; but what the 
 power was which traveled so instantaneously and 
 imperceptibly along the wire, they could neither 
 comprehend nor imagine. It was not the blank 
 unquestioning wonder of stolid ignorance, satis- 
 fied that the facts were beyond immediate com- 
 prehension and therefore supernatural, which they 
 manifested ; but the intense interest of thinking 
 men, who seemed to feel that they had acquired 
 a new mental treasure, though they yet only half 
 understood the wonders before them." 
 > Photography excited equal delight and aston- 
 ishment among all classes of the people. The 
 fidelity and quickness with which every defect, as 
 well as every good feature was transferred, afford- 
 ed amusing comment to some, and the wonderful
 
 VISIT OF EEV. ^MR. ELLIS. 175 
 
 part which the sun took in the picture-making was 
 to others a matter of sober questioning and deep 
 thought. A few regarded it with superstitious 
 feeling, calling it zaiwliary, meaning supernat- 
 ural. Vanity was amusingly displayed by some. 
 A chief, when he learned that his picture might 
 be taken, secretly withdrew, and presently re- 
 turned in breathless haste, accompanied by a slave 
 bearing a bundle. From this he selected a scarlet 
 lamba and other gay apparel, and adjusting it sat- 
 isfactorily upon his person, sat for his portrait. He 
 was severely disappointed at not finding the color 
 of his favorite lamba represented. No amateur 
 photographer was ever so besieged with sitters as 
 was Mr. Ellis ; but it enabled him to secure pic- 
 tures of all classes of the people, from the prince, 
 nobles, and chiefs, to the poor Hovah slave with 
 her infant bound upon her back. 
 
 Among those who came to his house were many 
 young men, who seemed drawn, not by mere curi- 
 osity, but by a strong desire to acquire knowledge. 
 The most of them knew how to read and write, 
 for many parents had taken pains to teach their 
 children the little they had learned. At the time 
 the missionaries left, four thousand persons who 
 could write were employed by the government 
 alone ; so that although there were no longer any
 
 176 MISSIONS 'AND MARTYRS. 
 
 schools, it was necessary as well as possible for 
 these acquirements to be transmitted in some de- 
 gree to the children. This slight taste of knowl- 
 edge, and the new intercourse with Europeans, 
 seemed to awaken the minds of the youth for fur- 
 ther attainments. In illustration, Mr. Ellis says, 
 "On my first arrival, I had suspended a thermom- 
 eter in my sitting-room ; but so many young 
 chiefs had noticed it when they came, and not sat- 
 isfied with being told that it exhibited the temper- 
 ature of the atmosphere, asked so many questions 
 about the properties of the mercury, the causes of 
 the variations in the temperature of the atmos- 
 phere, and the manner in which one affected the 
 other, that I began to fear that I should be obliged 
 to remove it for want of time to answer all the 
 questions it suggested to their minds." 
 
 Mr. Ellis's intercourse with the people was full 
 of interest. Though he remained but a few weeks 
 at the capital, it must have served to awaken new 
 thoughts in the minds of many, to inspire the 
 hearts of those who held their country dear with 
 new hopes, and to give a degree of comfort and 
 support to the Christians who conferred with him 
 far into the still night, that can hardly be under- 
 stood, unless we remember at what risks it was 
 obtained. He would gladly have remained longer ;
 
 VISIT OF REV. J//i. ELLIS. 177 
 
 but the inexorable sovereign fixed the day of his 
 departure, and no entreaties could change it. Pos- 
 sibly the sikidy discovered to her the solace he 
 was affording to the hunted and broken-hearted 
 people. 
 
 Prince Rakoto and the princess Rabodo spent 
 the last evening with Mr. Ellis. The prince spoke 
 of the cruelties still practiced against the Chris- 
 tians, and said it was like tearing out his heart to 
 witness them. He evidently suffered much dis- 
 tress of mind on that account, and acknowledged 
 that his friends cautioned him of his own danger, 
 and desired him to be accompanied by a larger 
 number of attendants. " But," said he, " I put my 
 trust in God. If it be his will that I should live, 
 he will protect me." 
 
 Mr. Ellis assured him that God requires us to 
 use means for self-protection. 
 
 " I do not think," was the reply, " I should in 
 reality be more safe with a larger number of at- 
 tendants. My chief trust is in God. He is the 
 Sovereign of life." . 
 
 The next day he accompanied Mr. Ellis a few 
 miles on his journey. A little way from the cap- 
 ital they passed a poor native, who was playing 
 upon an instrument, and begging food of the 
 passers-by. He wore a heavy iron ring about his 
 12
 
 178 AflSSJONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 neck, and another around his leg. The* other leg 
 was bruised and torn as if a similar ring had in- 
 jured it. His crime, the prince said, was slight. 
 "Don't look that way. I am ashamed. It is bar- 
 barous ! " he exclaimed, in passing. 
 
 At a little village five miles from the capital, he 
 commended his guest to the protection of God, 
 and left him. He was pained at parting with 
 his new found friend ; and no wonder, since with 
 him went his pi-esent hope of a speedy relief 
 from such proofs of his mother's barbarous rule. 
 He must have returned to the capital with a 
 heavy burdened heart, to wait and long for the 
 coming either of enlightened helpers from another 
 land, or for death to take the scepter from the 
 hard grasp of the cruel queen. Alas, that with 
 so much amiableness there should have been so 
 little of sound wisdom or steady purpose ! 

 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE QUEEN. 
 
 Return of Mr. Lambert, with Madame Pfeiffer Their Reception 
 Dinner of the Queen Military Review Madame Pfeiffer' s Piano- 
 forte Concert Plotting of a Conspiracy at the House of Mr. La- 
 borde Madame Pfeiffer implicated The Plot disclosed The 
 Prince detained in the Palace Odium of the Conspiracy thrown 
 upon the Christians Fresh Persecutions Flight of the Accused 
 llluess of Mr. Luborde Cruelties inflicted on the People De- 
 cree of Banishment against the Europeans Their Escort to the 
 Coast Terrible Sufferings Escape to Mauritius Four Years of 
 Persecution Letter of a native Pastor. 
 
 PRICNE Rakoto had not long to wait to welcome 
 the return of a much beloved friend. In less than 
 a year after he had bidden farewell to Mr. Ellis, 
 and all present hope of relief for his enslaved coun- 
 try, he was once more cheered by the coming of 
 Mr. Lambert. In company with the latter was a 
 distinguished lady traveler, who flings the vail 
 from Madagascar with a free hand, and gives us a 
 clearer picture of the Christians than we could 
 catch from its cautious uplifting by Mr. Ellis. 
 Having traversed lonely deserts fearless of Arab 
 robbers ; faced Fiji cannibals in their own islands ; 
 having shared the crust with the lowly of all na- 
 tions, as well as feasted in the palaces of the high-
 
 180 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 born in all the continents of the earth, MADAME 
 PFEIFFER, although in her sixtieth year, was 
 well able to venture on the hardships of Mada- 
 gascar swamps and forests, and to risk the dangers 
 of a visit to a queen whom her experience pro- 
 nounced the most cruel and cunning woman on 
 the face of the earth. Coming alone to Tamatave, 
 in a ship which had only accommodations for cat- 
 tle, and being extremely plain in person, manner, 
 and dress, she was received by the Malagasy with 
 that indifference which any community feels tow- 
 ard an unknown and unprepossessing traveler. 
 This absence of official attention gave her the 
 opportunity of seeing the people in an e very-day 
 character, and learning the prevalence of intem- 
 perance, dishonesty, and licentiousness among 
 them. At the same time, we have her uninten- 
 tional testimony to the purity and faithfulness of 
 the Christians, in beautiful contrast with the surg- 
 ing mass of wickedness, a record the more val- 
 uable because of the difference of her own creed, 
 and her bitter enmity toward all missionaries. 
 
 She remained several weeks at Tamatave, where 
 she had occasion to test, and find wanting, the 
 hospitality which the more honored visitor so fre- 
 quently receives. But when Mr. Lambert joined 
 her, she had no reason to lament a want of kind-
 
 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE QUEEN. 181 
 
 ness, and thenceforward every thing was at her 
 service. Mr. Lambert had a large number of cost- 
 ly presents for the queen and her household ; so 
 that a great cavalcade of bearers and attendants 
 wound among the lakes, through the lowlands, up 
 the hills, over the valleys and plains to the moun- 
 tain bights, and to the vale at the foot of the " city 
 of a thousand towns." Rakoto was detained by 
 the illness of the queen ; but sent forward his 
 " adherents," or body-guard, and his son, to wel- 
 come his friend, and as he believed, his deliverer. 
 The sikidy did jiot detain the travelers, though 
 the merry little madam suspected that the curios- 
 ity of the queen to see the presents had strong in- 
 fluence with the oracle. She was greatly amused, 
 too, at being obliged to stand half an hour before 
 the city gate, guarded by soldiers with crossed 
 muskets, who politely refused to let them pass till 
 the queen had been informed of their arrival, al- 
 though their approach had been announced three 
 times before. The hospitable Mr. Laborde re- 
 ceived the tired travelers in his own house. His 
 son, a young man of twenty, lately from Paris, and 
 two Catholic priests, who were known in Tanan- 
 arive only as tutor and physician, composed a 
 household quite European, and was home-like in 
 its surroundings.
 
 182 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 They had hardly dined when a slave announced 
 the approach of Prince Rakoto, who immediately 
 appeared. In his joy he threw his arms around Mr. 
 Lambert, and held him in affectionate embrace. 
 The queen also complimented them by a remark- 
 ably early invitation to dine ; strangers usually be- 
 ing permitted to wait a week or ten days before 
 her haughty eyes would recognize them. The sec- 
 ond day after their arrival, they were invited by 
 her to a feast at the house of " Lady Rasoaray," 
 and on the third were granted an audience at the 
 palace, which was in all respects like that given 
 Mr. Ellis; yet seen through a pair of vivacious 
 eyes, and described by a somewhat sarcastic pen, 
 it appears differently. They were ordered to 
 stand in a row in the court-yard, below the bal- 
 cony where the queen sat in state, and wait till 
 the soldiers Went through with various military 
 evolutions, "ending with a very comic point of 
 drill, which consisted in suddenly poking up the 
 right foot as if stung by a tarantula." The queen 
 dispensed with an orator on this occasion, and 
 herself conversed over the balcony. She is de- 
 scribed at this time as " of rather dark complex- 
 ion, strong and sturdily built, and although already 
 seventy-five years of age, is, to the misfortune of 
 her poor country, still hale and of active mind." 

 
 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE QUEEN. 183 
 
 Madame Pfeiffer was, with Mr. Lambert, enter- 
 tained by a review of the city division of troops. 
 The officers, she writes, " were mostly clothed in 
 European garb, and looked ridiculous and comical 
 enough. One wore a dress-coat, the tails of which 
 readied almost to his heels ; another had a coat 
 of flowered chintz; a third, a faded red jacket, 
 which had once done duty as part of a marine's 
 uniform. Their hats were just as diverse in char- 
 acter. There were straw hats and felt hats of all 
 sizes and shapes, caps and head-coverings of fear- 
 ful and wonderful forms. The generals wore the 
 regulation cocked hat of Europe, and were mount- 
 ed." In this description, we understand the allu- 
 sion of others to the fact that the Malagasy were 
 too ready to adopt the showy superfluities of civil- 
 ization, rather than that which was simply useful 
 or in good taste. It is easy to ridicule this still 
 barbarous people, but hardly just to forget that for 
 twenty years they were pushed into civilized hab- 
 its by an ambitious king, and then for twenty more 
 years were pressed into degradation and ignorance 
 by the iron hand of the queen. 
 
 The same fancy-ball which had astonished Mr. 
 Ellis passed before Madame Pfeiffer's humorous 
 criticism, and in her turn she gave a musical 
 entertainment to the queen. Mr. Lambert had
 
 184 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 brought a piano as a present the year of his previ- 
 ous visit, and, as the queen had never seen any one 
 perform upon it, she requested Madame to give 
 a private concert. This was acceded to with all 
 the grace that the little Austrian traveler could 
 command ; for she hoped to be able thus to see the 
 interior of the palace. For thirty years, she had 
 not touched the piano; but, "forcing her stiff old 
 fingers through a few scales and exercises, she con- 
 trived to remember a few easy, melodious waltzes 
 and dance-tunes ; and, thus prepared, ventured to 
 risk the criticism of the royal connoisseur of Mad- 
 agascar." Upon being introduced to the place of 
 performance, she found it to be the court-yard, 
 while the queen was perched in " the eternal bal- 
 cony," and, after all her condescension, she was 
 not to pass the sacred threshold of the palace. 
 Submitting however to what could not be helped, 
 she seated herself at the instrument. " What was 
 my horror," she says, " on finding it so wofully out 
 of tune that not a single note produced any thing 
 like harmony with the rest ; many of the keys, 
 moreover, were so obstinate as to refuse to emit 
 any sound whatever. I had to loosen them, lift 
 them, press them down, and resort to all sorts of 
 expedients to bring them into working order ; and 
 upon such an instrument as this I was to give my
 
 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE QUEEN. 185 
 
 grand concert! But true artistic greatness rises 
 superior to all adverse circumstances ; and inspired 
 by the thought of exhibiting my talents to such 
 an appreciating audience, I pei-petrated the most 
 wonderful runs over the whole key-board, thumped 
 with all my might on the stubborn keys, and with- 
 out any attempt at selection or sequence, played 
 the first part of a waltz and the second of a march, 
 in short any thing and every thing that came into 
 my head." One hardly knows which is the most 
 humorous, the daring performance of this intrepid 
 woman, or the sober propriety with which the 
 matchless medley was received by the court. 
 
 While Madame Pfeiffer and Queen Ranavalona 
 were entertaining each other so quizzically, serious 
 events were preparing in the house of Mr. Laborde. 
 He frequently gave what seemed to be social en- 
 tertainments in honor of his guests, at his own 
 residence, and at the " garden-house " of his son, 
 a little out of town; and these little parties inva- 
 riably broke up with music, and the guests were 
 accompanied through the streets to their homes, 
 with drums, and other noisy instruments, in proof 
 of gayety and enjoyment. Almost before she was 
 aware of it, Madame Pfeiffer found herself involved 
 in a conspiracy to remove Queen Ranavalona from 
 the throne. All the Europeans, Prince Rakoto,
 
 186 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 the commander-in-chief of the army, and many of 
 the nobility and soldiers, were committed to the 
 plan of effecting a sudden and bloodless revolu- 
 tion on a fixed night near at hand. The prince 
 caused it to be expressly understood that hia moth- 
 er " was not to be deprived of her freedom, her 
 wealth, or the honors which were her due ; " and 
 the change was to be undertaken solely for the re- 
 lief of the nation, and not for his own ambition, 
 as he cared little who reigned, if only the happi- 
 ness of the people was secured. " For himself, he 
 wished neither for the throne nor the regal title, 
 and would at any time be ready to execute a 
 written abdication of his claims, and retire and live 
 as a private citizen, if he could by such a course 
 insure the prosperity of the people." 
 
 On the occasion of a dinner-party at Mr. La- 
 borde's, in honor of the prince, the whole plan was 
 revealed to Madame Pfeiffer.. A complete little 
 arsenal was shown her, of sabers, daggers, pistols, 
 and guns, and leather shirts of mail, for the use of 
 the conspirators. The chief actors were to dine 
 at Mr. Laborde's garden-house, on the eventful 
 evening, in order to know that all was complete, 
 and were to return to their homes as from a feast ; 
 then, at two o'clock, repair to the palace, when the 
 gates were to be opened by the chief of the army,
 
 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE QUEEN. 187 
 
 and the assembled princes and nobles were at a 
 given signal loudly to proclaim Prince Rakoto 
 king. Cannon were to be fired to announce to the 
 people the change in the government, and the 
 queen was to be informed that it was the will of 
 the nobles and the people. 
 
 Madame Pfeiffer was a brave woman ; and though 
 she knew that in case of failure her own life would 
 be forfeited, and that no door of escape remained 
 for her, she waited with xinflinching courage for 
 the coup d'etat. Mr. Laborde proposed to send 
 her thirty miles into the country in company with 
 the two priests, who were to go on the day pre- 
 vious to the event ; but she preferred to remain in 
 Tananarive ; for, said she, " it would not be difficult 
 to find my head, even if I were a hundred miles 
 from the capital." 
 
 There were already so many in the secret that 
 the little news-birds began to drop bits of gossip 
 all over the town, concerning something mys- 
 terious soon to come to pass. Dark hints of it 
 reached the queen, and, upon Mr. Lambert be- . 
 coming very ill, she consulted the sikidy as to 
 whether he had any designs against her, and the 
 reply was, " If Mr. Lambert had any such evil 
 design the fever would assuredly carry him off."
 
 188 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 He recovered, and for a few days her fears wei - e 
 quieted. 
 
 The twentieth of June, the designated day, 
 arrived, with the plot still unexposed. The dinner- 
 party at Mr. Laborde's awaited the news of 
 complete arrangements in anxious suspense. The 
 chief minister, who was to have secui'ed the open- 
 ing of the palace-gates, sent a message that he had 
 failed to obtain the appointment of loyal officers 
 to fill the posts at the palace that night, and in- 
 sisted upon deferring the attempt. To defer it 
 was to be betrayed, and to be betrayed was almost 
 certain death to all concerned. The prince sent 
 messenger after messenger, commanding and en- 
 treating him to risk every thing, and open the 
 gates. He refused. Rakoto and his friends were 
 pained and dismayed. They felt that all was lost. 
 The timidity and self-interest, if not the treachery 
 of the chief, was about to ruin them. Perhaps, 
 after all, he preferred the rule of the queen ; for she 
 granted him the services of eight hundred of her 
 subjects, without pay from herself or from him, 
 and these were already dragging stones and trees 
 to build him a house. Rakoto, he knew, had the 
 intention to deal justly with his subjects, and 
 abate, if not put an end to every form of slavery 
 and oppression.
 
 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE QUEEN. J89 
 
 However this may be, he had effectually de- 
 stroyed the hopes and plans of Rakoto and his 
 friends, and they could only wait for what the day 
 might bring forth. It had been difficult to over- 
 come the irresolution and delays of the prince 
 himself, who had some filial hesitation about usurp- 
 ing his mother's power, though feeling so bitterly 
 her misuse of it. Added to this, they were sur- 
 rounded by enemies, who were committed to the 
 interests of the cousin and rival of the prince. 
 Certainly God did not intend to deliver his people 
 in this way. 
 
 Instead of being summoned to the vengeance 
 of the queen the next day, as was expected, a 
 message came from her, requesting Madame 
 PfeifFer and Mr. Lambert to come to the palace 
 and entertain her Majesty with some new fancy 
 dances ! But madame felt herself too aged and 
 too ill "to turn ballet-dancer," and Mr. Lambert 
 was again suffering from fever. Both declined. 
 The day following, they were told that the whole 
 plot was known to the queen ; and, though the 
 actors were not yet fully implicated, the Europeans 
 were treated as state prisoners, and remained for 
 days shut up in Mr. Laborde's house, not daring to 
 venture into the presence of the people. The 
 queen issued a command forbidding any person to
 
 190 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 accuse her son, on pain of death. Her love for 
 Prince Rakoto rose above every other considera- 
 tion, and she probably regarded him as spell-bound 
 by some secret charm of the Europeans. How to 
 screen him and punish the rest, was the question 
 of moment that lulled the palace into a seeming 
 quiet which was only the precursor of coming 
 vengeance. 
 
 To add to the terror of suspense, a traitor who 
 had united himself long enough with the Chris- 
 tians to know their condition, their secret meet- 
 ings, their numbers, and even to obtain a list of 
 their names, carried this information to one of the 
 queen's ministers, who was providentially one of 
 Prince Rakoto's best friends. He immediately 
 gave the list to the prince, who tore it in pieces, 
 and announced that any one who should repeat 
 the offense should be put to death. This afforded 
 opportunity for the escape of thousand's to the 
 forests and caves, and of some from the island. 
 The occurrence determined the queen in what 
 way to wreak her anger upon a people who dared 
 to wish to remove her from the throne. Upon 
 them fell all the odium of the conspiracy. 
 
 On the morning of the third of July, the people 
 were summoned to assemble to hear the will of 
 the queen. The calling of a "kabary" was in
 
 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE QUEEN. 191 
 
 the people's eyes a call to death. "There was 
 a general howling and wailing," says Madame 
 Pfeiffer, " a rushing and running through the 
 streets, as if the town had been attacked by a 
 hostile army ; and, as if to strengthen that belief, 
 all entrances to the town were occupied by troops, 
 and the poor people were torn forcibly from their 
 houses and driven to the market-place." 
 
 Mr. Laborde ventured to go and hear the proc- 
 lamation, which proved to be all that the people 
 expected. The queen announced that she had 
 heard with horror that thousands of Christians 
 dwelt in the capital and vicinity. Fifteen days 
 were allowed them, in which to accuse themselves. 
 If accused by others, they should be put to death 
 in a horrible manner. They knew very well if 
 they accused themselves, the "tender mercies" of 
 the tyrant would punish them with nothing lighter 
 than perpetual slavery and chains. Unhappily, 
 the names of some were known through the dis- 
 covery of letters from a missionary, lately re- 
 ceived, and these were consigned to torture, in 
 order to make them accuse others. More than 
 two hundred were discovered or accused dui-ing 
 thi'ee days, but when the soldiers proceeded to the 
 villages in quest of others, they found that the
 
 192 inssioxs AXU XARTY&S. 
 
 inhabitants had fled. One village, nine miles from 
 the capital, was wholly deserted. 
 
 Mr. Lambert continued extremely ill of fever, 
 and the queen sent daily to inquire as to his health, 
 not by any means as a compliment, but because 
 the sikidy had declared that his death would be 
 positive proof of guilt, and, in that case, his com- 
 panions must suffer the consequences. The mes- 
 sengers were required to see him with their own 
 eyes, lest deception like that she had practiced 
 at Radama's death might cover the misfortune. 
 Prince Rakoto was not allowed to visit the house, 
 being kept a prisoner at his mother's side, on pre- 
 tence of guarding her from danger, and also to 
 hide his participation in the conspiracy as if every 
 body did not know it already ! But Ranavalona 
 determined not to know it, and meant to cover 
 him with her motherly wings from the vengeance 
 of the heathen party. He kept his friends in- 
 formed by secret messengers of all that transpired 
 at the palace. A treble guard secured the palace; 
 no one was allowed to pass near it, and none but 
 known friends to the government were allowed to 
 enter it. The people were forbidden on pain of 
 death to enter Mr. Laborde's house, and he no 
 longer dared venture beyond his own threshold. 
 
 As the blood-thirsty queen could not secure as
 
 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE QUEEN, 193 
 
 many victims as she wished, another "kabary" 
 was ordered, and the people were told that who- 
 ever helped Christians in their flight, or concealed 
 them, should receive punishment. A reward was 
 offered for the delivery of any. Fifteen hundred 
 soldiers were sent to distant provinces to arrest 
 the fugitives, and to secure several Catholic mis- 
 sionaries who had lately established themselves on 
 the coast. Prince Rakoto sent a faithful courier 
 to warn them of their danger. He also informed 
 the Europeans at Mr. Laborde's, by secret mes- 
 sages, that their papers were to be searched, and 
 that the queen and her ministers were consulting 
 daily in what manner to punish them, so as to 
 gratify their fury, and yet not expose themselves 
 to the retaliation of England and France. 
 
 While suffering extreme anxiety as to their fate, 
 a party of officers arrived, as was supposed for 
 their arrest. What was their astonishment to find 
 that it was a deputation sent for the presents 
 which Mr. Lambert had brought for the queen ! 
 Accordingly the elegant dresses, elaborate uni- 
 forms, all manner of costly apparel, a rich saddle- 
 cloth, saddle and bridle for Prince Rakoto, and 
 other articles, all gifts from Mr. Lambert himself, 
 were delivered to the delighted party. Yet the 
 strictness of their imprisonment was not one whit 
 
 13
 
 194 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 abated. Their sight was shocked by barbarities, 
 and their ears horrified with the cruelties boui'ly 
 taking place. A poor woman had her backbone 
 sawed asunder in the market-place, and in a village 
 where six Christians had concealed themselves, 
 with the knowledge of the people, " the whole 
 population men, women, and children were 
 bound and dragged to the capital." The queen 
 had declared " that the bowels of the earth must 
 be searched, and the rivers and the lakes dragged 
 with nets," till every Christian in her dominions 
 had been destroyed. And, through it all, Prince 
 Rakoto, and those of the ministers and nobles who 
 were Christians in secret, dared to unbind the cap- 
 tives and bid them fly, so that thousands by their 
 vigilance were able to escape to the mountains and 
 forests. What misery lay before them in their 
 wretched concealment ! And yet, for Christ's 
 sake, it was borne with a magnanimity which 
 proves that pure religion is able to bring the most 
 degraded up to a noble manhood. And those who 
 in spite of all efforts were borne to an awful death, 
 who on the way to execution were continually 
 thrust with spears and stoned these " behaved 
 with great fortitude, and sung hymns till they 
 died." Think of this as occurring in 1857 ! 
 
 After thirteen days of terrible suspense, the
 
 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE QUEEN. 195 
 
 Europeans were summoned to the court-yard of 
 the palace, to hear the will of the queen in regard 
 to them. Upon arriving, they found the judges 
 and officers gloomily wrapped in their wide lam- 
 bas, sitting in a semi-circle, and behind them were 
 soldiers standing. 
 
 "I think our last hour is come," whispered 
 Madame Pfeiffer to Mr. Laborde. 
 
 " I am prepared for every thing," was his reply. 
 
 They were seated opposite the judges. One 
 arose, enumerated their offenses, and delivered the 
 sentence. They were charged with "intending to 
 overturn the throne of their beloved ruler, to give 
 the people equal rights with the nobility, and to 
 abolish slavery ; " also, with having had interviews 
 with the Christians, and exhorting them " to hold 
 fast to their faith, and to expect speedy succor." 
 It was stated that " the whole population of Tana- 
 narive was clamoring for their death," but that 
 the queen, " in her magnanimity and mercy, had 
 limited their punishment to perpetual banishment 
 from her territories." This was indeed mercy, but 
 not the queen's. She would long ago have con- 
 signed them to a barbarous death, but for the in- 
 terference of her beloved son. He had daily de- 
 fended them with the greatest energy and warmth, 
 and alarmed her fears by the threat that the
 
 196 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 " European powers would not allow the execution 
 of six important persons to pass unpunished^ ! " 
 
 They were to be allowed an escort of fifty sol- 
 diers, and as many bearers as were needed ; the 
 presents were to be returned, and one hour was 
 granted, in which to prepare and set out. Mr. 
 Laborde was to have a similar escort, and was to 
 keep a day's journey in the rear. In consideration 
 of the services he had rendered to Madagascar, he 
 was permitted to take his personal property with 
 him, the remainder reverting to the queen. Many 
 of the presents were returned to Mr. Lambert, but 
 the rest were retained by the officers, probably 
 without the knowledge of the queen. There was 
 slowness on the part of the officials in setting out, 
 and this enabled Mr. Lambert to secure the most 
 valuable of his effects. When at last the train 
 was in motion, they went with blithe hearts, 
 though both Mr. Lambert and Madame PfeifFer 
 were suffering from the debilitating fever peculiar 
 to Madagascar. They were too happy to be per- 
 mitted to take their heads out of Tananarive. It 
 was just eight weeks since they had entered the 
 place. 
 
 Their journey proved that, after all, they had 
 overrated the clemency of the cunning sovereign. 
 Fifty soldiers were not sent as an escort of honor,
 
 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE QUEEX. 197 
 
 neither was Mr. Laborde kept in the distance 
 without reason. The first Radama had often said 
 in his lifetime, that he had two generals to whose 
 skill he was willing to commit his enemies, without 
 doubt of victory General Hazo, forest, and 
 General Tazo, fever. It was to see that the of- 
 fenders were helplessly exposed to these that they 
 were so generously attended. Queen Ranavalona 
 had no idea of permitting them to escape so easily 
 from her vengeance, and the commanding officer 
 had accordingly received orders to detain them as 
 long as possible in the unhealthy districts, to give 
 them no aid, and to guard them so strictly that 
 they should not communicate with or receive as- 
 sistance from any native, or even a European. 
 This programme was strictly carried out. Eight 
 days had latterly been the limit of a journey from 
 the capital to the coast ; but, by careful manage- 
 ment, by waiting in fever districts, and by slow 
 marches, the time was extended to fifty-three 
 days. Madame Pfeiffer was so prostrated by fever 
 that she remained for days in a kind of stupor, 
 from which she had no desire to arouse herself, 
 an apathy and indifference felt by the strongest 
 when subject to the Madagascar malady. 
 
 Mr. Lambert suffered almost eqiially. Some-
 
 198 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 times they were left for days in mud huts, the 
 whole party crowded into one miserable room ; 
 and, again, were dragged forth and forced to con- 
 tinue their journey through rain or heat, as it hap- 
 pened. At one time they were left eighteen days 
 in a village surrounded by swamps, and no offers 
 of money from Mr. Lambert could induce their 
 tormentors to proceed. A French physician, 
 lately arrived, was at one of the villages through 
 which they passed, but, notwithstanding all en- 
 treaties, they were not permitted to communicate 
 with him or receive medical assistance. Thus 
 they reached Tamatave, and, still under strict 
 guai'd, waited for a ship to convey them to Mauri- 
 tius. Happily, one was ready the third day. 
 They embarked with joy at their wonderful deliv- 
 erance from death, and from the horrible meshes 
 of the net in which the wily queen knew so well 
 how to entangle her victims. And while they sail 
 joyfully away, we too must lose sight of Mada- 
 gascar as it drops away in the mist of the boun- 
 dary of sea and sky, and leave, for four years 
 longer, the Christians to drink that cup of bitter- 
 ness, and receive that baptism of blood, of 
 which Jesus warned his disciples when he was 
 with them; and we must wait till the queen's
 
 CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE QUEEN. 199 
 
 measure of wickedness is full to the brim, and be 
 content to leave her to the King of kings, who 
 can hear the cry of his own people, and who has 
 said, " Vengeance is mine, I will repay."
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 ACCESSION OF RADAMA II. 
 
 Death of Queen Ranavalona Joy of the People Abolition of all 
 the persecuting Laws Reappearance of the Christians Mis- 
 sionaries sent for Messrs. LeBrun and Johns arrive Rev. Mr. 
 Ellis and Missionaries from England Reopening of Schools 
 Embassies from the British and French Governments Radama's 
 Coronation Rejoicings Building of new Churches. 
 
 JOY ! joy to poor, chained Madagascar ! God has 
 at last sent his messenger, death, to call Queen 
 Ranavalona to judgment. Her will, which could 
 never bear opposition, yields to the awful sum- 
 mons. Her spirit is led away in a captivity as help- 
 less as the poorest slave she has crushed. The 
 crown and scepter are removed from the fallen 
 queen, and her dust is laid away powerless in the 
 sepulcher. 
 
 Rakoto-Radamais proclaimed king. The sound 
 echoes through the land ! The people among the 
 mountains take up the happy tidings, and ring it 
 forth to the hills, till it reaches into the depths of 
 the forests and caves as though Jesus had called, 
 " Arise and come forth ! " The fugitives emerge 
 from their living graves, the prison-doors are
 
 ACCESSION Of HADAMA II. 201 
 
 opened as if by shining angels, and the laborers, 
 bowed down in the highways, lift their hands and 
 shake their falling chains, and cry out in joy at 
 the deliverance. The sound goes echoing and re- 
 ecnoing down the steeps and over the plains. The 
 people send forth songs of deliverance that are 
 heard far away over the seas by listeners in other 
 lands. These take up the hymn of thanksgiving, 
 and Christians of every nation unite in a joyful 
 Te Deum of praise. 
 
 Queen Ranavalona had reigned thirty-three 
 years. She was proclaimed sovereign August 1, 
 1828, and died 'August 23, 1861. According to 
 custom, the time of mourning was one year, and 
 the coronation of the new king and queen could 
 not take place till this respect had been paid to the 
 memory of the former ruler. An unsuccessful at- 
 tempt to usurp the rights of Rakoto was made, 
 immediately upon the death of the queen, by his 
 cousin, Prince Ramboasalama, who had a strong 
 party in his interest. He was, however, seized, 
 forced to take the oath of allegiance, and, without 
 further molestation, RADAMA II. appointed his 
 ministers, and announced the policy of the new 
 government. All restrictions upon commerce 
 were abolished, and foreigners were allowed free 
 access to the capital. All state prisoners were re-
 
 20:2 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 called from banishment ; prisoners of war were set 
 free, and sent home with presents ; liberty of con- 
 science was allowed to all; cruel laws were re- 
 pealed ; the trial by the tangena abolished ; in a 
 word, the old code of laws was entirely swept 
 away at a stroke. The land reveled in joyous free- 
 dom, and the only fear now in the hearts of those 
 who regarded the best welfare of Madagascar, was, 
 lest anarchy might take the place of oppression, 
 and prove ruinous to its prosperity. Whether the 
 king had sufficient decision of character and clear- 
 ness of judgment to secure the correct balance 
 between lawless liberty and unjust restraint, re- 
 mained to be proved. In the mean time, his 
 friends hoped for the best, and rejoiced in the 
 deliverance from bondage. 
 
 The Christians, who were supposed by their 
 persecutors to be almost rooted out, sprang up 
 every where like countless blades of grass after a 
 spring shower. " We that were in concealment 
 appeared," writes a native pastor, a short time af- 
 ter the queen's death. " Then all the people were 
 astonished when they saw we were alive and not 
 yet buried nor eaten by dogs, and there were a 
 great many of the people desiring to see us, for 
 they considered us as dead, and this is what as- 
 tonished them. Ten days later, those that were
 
 ACCESSION OF RADAMA II. 203 
 
 in fetters came to Tananarive, but they could not 
 walk on account of the weight of their heavy fet- 
 ters, and their weak and feeble bodies." 
 
 Bibles and books were also brought out from 
 their hiding-places, but were almost useless from 
 having been so long buried. One man had suc- 
 ceeded in concealing his Bible upon his person 
 during eighteen years. He had frequently been in 
 danger of his life, but had trusted with undis- 
 turbed peace in the promises of God, which he had 
 committed to memory. " Be not afraid of the 
 king of Babylon of whom ye are afraid ; be not 
 afraid of him, saith the Lord : for I am with you, 
 to save you, and to deliver you from his hand." 
 Such words as these gave him strength to endure 
 and wait. 
 
 Radama encouraged the Christians by walking 
 with them in procession all the way from his coun- 
 try palace to the city, causing them to sing hymns 
 as they went. His chief minister gave them a 
 house next his own for a chapel, but this soon 
 became too small for the number of worshipers, 
 which daily increased. The king advised them to 
 write for missionaries to instruct them ; according- 
 ly, a month after his accession, four native pastors 
 addressed a letter to Rev. Mr. LeBrun, who had 
 for four or more years been waiting at Mauritius
 
 204 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 for an opportunity to devote himself to this very 
 work. It is thus that the Heavenly Father pre- 
 pares blessings for his people, and is ready to pour 
 out upon them more than they know how to re- 
 ceive. 
 
 ""We have begun," say they, "to meet for pub- 
 lic worship at Tananarive since Lord's Day, 29th 
 of September last. As one house was not large 
 enough to contain us all, we had to meet in eleven 
 separate houses, and they were all crowded to ex- 
 cess. The king, Radama II., tells us to write and 
 persuade the missionaries to come and settle at 
 Tananarive, as well as all our friends and coun- 
 trymen who are at Mauritius. There is now no 
 obstacle in the way; the road is open to everybody. 
 Every one can pray in all security; the Word 
 of God has free course in our midst. Bring, there- 
 fore, with you, all sorts of Malagasy books, the 
 Bible, the New Testament, tracts and alphabets, 
 yea, every thing printed in the Malagasy language; 
 for everybody here scrambles as it were for the 
 "Word of God ; so ardent is the desire expressed 
 for it that they throw themselves upon any por- 
 tions they find! 
 
 "French Roman Catholic priests have already 
 reached Tananarivo, and use every means to in- 
 struct the people in their own religion. Pray ar-
 
 ACCESSION OF RADAMA II. 205 
 
 dcntly to the Lord that he may prevent any of us 
 who are Protestants at heart, from being tempted 
 to listen to their teachings. Everybody, young 
 and old, is learning to read. All the Christians 
 who were in bonds have received their liberty, and 
 are living at the capital. Such is a brief state- 
 ment of our present position. Salutations. Adieu. 
 May God bless us all, and you as well as us, say 
 " RATSILAINGA, 
 " RANDRIANTSOA, 
 " KAINIKETAKA, 
 
 " ANDRIAMELO, 
 And the Brethren and Sisters in Christ." 
 
 In -reply to this appeal, Rev. Mr. LeBrun and 
 David Johns, who had been driven from the capi- 
 tal twenty-five years before, came to Tananarivo, 
 not to take up the work where it had then been 
 left, but to find themselves in charge of a vast 
 church gathered by the power of the Holy Spirit 
 in those long dark years, and pervaded with a 
 fervor and holy devotion that astonished them and 
 all who came afterward, impressing them with a . 
 sense of God's presence that was almost over- 
 whelming. 
 
 As soon as the happy news reached England, 
 Rev. Mr. Ellis was sent by the London Society to 
 take charge of the mission, and he was soon fol-
 
 206 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 lowed by a party of six missionaries, including a 
 physician and experienced teachers, who brought 
 with them a gift of over ten thousand copies of 
 the New Testament, and portions of the Old ; 
 over twenty thousand other volumes in the Mala- 
 gasy language, and a printing press, types, and 
 paper. These friends were received with honor 
 by the king's officers, at some distance from the 
 capital, and Christians busied themselves in pre- 
 paring houses, and bringing generous supplies of 
 provisions, in token of the happy good-will and the 
 affection they had for those who were one with 
 them in Christ. The Christian alone can under- 
 stand the hearty sympathy and interest which 
 moved these people, and bound them to strangers 
 whose faces they had not yet seen. 
 
 By direction of Radama, schools were opened 
 in all the villages where they had formerly been, 
 and also at the capital. He went, himself, daily to 
 see the progress of a large school-house which was 
 being built in the city. The young men who sur- 
 rounded him were instructed by Mr. Ellis ; one of 
 them, who was among the highest officers of the 
 army, learned his alphabet in a single lesson. It 
 was evidently the king's desire to see his people 
 educated rapidly. 
 
 A number of Europeans had by this time arrived
 
 ACCESSION OF RAD AM A II. 207 
 
 in Madagascar. The Bishop of Mauritius came to 
 see for himself whether the rumors of the state of 
 the Christians were exaggerated. The sight of the 
 martyrs' bones still bleaching upon the rocks; the 
 heavy chains and rings that had been worn by some 
 who still survived and bore the marks of the galling 
 weight; the devotion of many who sometimes, 
 in their joy at obtaining the use of his Bible, 
 prayed and read all night; and the multitudes 
 which " pressed him upon all sides " when he at- 
 tempted to address them, as well as the humble 
 desire of the king to promote all that was good, 
 filled him with glowing enthusiasm, and sent him 
 away praising God for what he had wrought. 
 
 Embassies from France and England also came 
 to congratulate and encourage Radama in his lib- 
 eral policy, and an autograph letter from Queen 
 Victoria aided to sustain and strengthen his efforts. 
 All these were received with .a very different air 
 from that which marked the receptions of Queen 
 Ranavalona. Instead of appearing in haughty 
 reserve on the lofty balcony, King Radama wel- 
 comed his guests in the palace, surrounded by his 
 ministers and ladies of the court, listened with 
 interest to their addresses, and often shook them 
 cordially by the hand. The offering of the hasina 
 was still received in token of amity and respect,
 
 208 MISSIONS AND MAJITYRS 
 
 according to the former customs, though it does 
 not seem to have been so absolutely exacted as in 
 the reign of the queen. Neither did Radama 
 keep his friends in waiting for days, before grant- 
 ing an audience. 
 
 The day following the arrival of the missiona- 
 ries, being the Sabbath, the king and queen met 
 them in the chapel. "May God bless you, and 
 preserve you in comfort here," was the cordial sal- 
 utation of the king. He repeatedly expressed his 
 gratification at their arrival, and the benefits which 
 would ensue to the people. In a conversation 
 held with the missionaries and members of the 
 embassy, the compassion of Queen Victoria toward 
 the poor and afflicted, and Radama's conduct to- 
 ward the persecuted, were compared. In reply, 
 he said, looking for approval to his friend, "Mr. 
 Ellis knows what is in my heart ; he knows that I 
 desire to know and serve God. I pray to God to 
 enlighten my mind and teach me what is right, 
 and what I ought to know and do." 
 
 Radama appeared to place unlimited confidence 
 in Mr. Ellis. When the English embassy was on 
 the way to the capital, it was told him that Gen- 
 eral Johnstone was coming to crown him. "The 
 French say they are to put the crown on my 
 head," said he ; " now the English say they are
 
 ACCESSION OF RADAMA II. 209 
 
 coming for that purpose. They can't both do it, 
 for I have not got two heads for each of them to 
 crown. Go and ask my fathei, Mr. Ellis, what I 
 am to do." Although it was early in the morning 
 Mr. Ellis hastened to answer the summons, and 
 found him, as was usual in the early part of the 
 day, busily engaged with his ministers. He ex- 
 plained to him that the respective parties merely 
 desired to honor the event of his coronation, and 
 that the act of crowning should be performed by 
 those of his own nation. 
 
 The joyful day of the coronation arrived. It 
 was the twenty-third of September, little more 
 than a year since the death of the queen. At an 
 early hour a crowd of people, on foot and in palan- 
 quins, pressed along the road that led to the plain 
 below the city. "Banners inscribed with 'R. R. 
 II.' were fixed on both sides of the road, at in- 
 tervals of about every hundred yards; and tall 
 green plantain-trees had, during the previous day, 
 been brought from the adjacent gardens, and 
 planted in groups of five or six together by the 
 side of the way." The rocky hills that rose precip- 
 itously from the plain in various directions, were 
 alive with people who were creeping up their sides, 
 to obtain a view of the coronation; and the steep 
 side of the long granite hill of Tananarive, that 
 
 14
 
 210 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 overlooked the scene, was gay with men and 
 women in their long white or brilliant colored 
 lambas, eagerly watching for the coming of their 
 beloved king. Below them extended a platform, 
 upon which was fixed the throne. The royal fam- 
 ily and foreign guests sat upon the right and left. 
 Among the former was Rasalimo, the wife of the 
 former Radama, whose marriage with him had 
 sealed his peace with the Sakalavas, and who was 
 the only wife then recognized by the missionaries. 
 The handsome young Ramonja and the princely 
 son of Rambosalama were conspicuous, among the 
 noblemen. All were in rich uniforms of scarlet or 
 green velvet and gold lace. 
 
 In front of the platform, upon one side, was ar- 
 rayed a great body of Christians. Mr. Ellis and 
 the young nobles, his pupils, together with the 
 missionaries and native pastors, were in front of 
 this army of disciples, which so far exceeded the 
 space allotted them that more than half their num- 
 ber were necessarily excluded. On the other side, 
 facing the throne, was a group of Catholic priests, 
 with the few people who had listened to their in- 
 structions. They had labored at the capital ever 
 since the accession of Radama, but found it diffi- 
 cult to attach the people to their faith. As the 
 natives had said long before, they were too strongly
 
 ACCESSION OF RAD A MA II. 211 
 
 reminded of the idols just thrown away, and now 
 after a year's fiathful labor, one of the priests was 
 constrained to acknowledge "one might just as 
 well attempt to cut a rock with a razor as attempt 
 'to make Roman Catholics of the Malagasy!" 
 Yet they did not despair of influencing the chil- 
 dren, and, in proof of it, several Sisters of Charity, 
 with about forty children and elder girls, were 
 grouped behind the priests. 
 
 Between these representatives of the Romish 
 Church and the platform was another group, tol- 
 erated by the liberality of the king. Thirteen 
 idol-keepers and a few adherents stood there, 
 holding aloft, and in a place of equal honor with 
 the ministers of Christ, thirteen idols! It seems 
 impossible to believe it, and yet it is quietly re- 
 corded by an eye-witness. How could Radama's 
 friends have permitted the scarlet symbols of idol- 
 atry to float in the very face of Christianity, with- 
 out protesting against.it, and reminding the king 
 of God's command, " Thou shalt have no other 
 gods before me ? " 
 
 But the vast multitude turn their faces now 
 toward the cloud that rises out of the city, and 
 signifies the moving of the royal cavalcade. The 
 cannon booms, and the long train winds down the 
 hill, still enveloped in a cloud of dust. A crowd
 
 212 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 comes before, shouting their joy ; the people join 
 in the applause, as they catch sight of the royal 
 pair ; and the Christians unite their voices in the 
 national anthem, which peals a hearty welcome 
 across the plain. There, out of the cloud of 
 dust, gleams the scarlet palanquin of the queen. 
 She sits within it, robed in white satin, and beside 
 her is a little girl, an adopted daughter. By the 
 side of the palanquin rides King Radama, in the 
 uniform of a field-marshal, mounted upon a fine 
 Arab horse. Guards clothed in green, and bearing 
 silver halberts attend them, and closely following 
 are the ministers and officers of the court in gor- 
 geous dresses, and the officers of the English and 
 French embassies in court dress. 
 
 As the sovereigns approach, the royal family 
 near the throne turn their faces toward them, clap 
 their hands, and sing native songs ; and now the 
 queen alights, and advances to the throne, erected 
 beneath a canopy and over the sacred stone, where 
 Queen Ranavalona so many years before announced 
 her trust in idols. The king follows. The officers 
 in rich uniforms, and among them the minister of 
 justice in a robe of green velvet and gold lace, 
 with two train-bearers, leisurely take their respec- 
 tive positions. The shouting and clapping and 
 singing cease ; every eye is fixed upon the king as
 
 ACCESSION OF E AD AM A II. 213 
 
 he rises, takes the crown, places it upon his head, 
 and advances to the sight of the multitude, the 
 crowned king, Radama II. As he stands there, 
 cannons roar out the tidings to the people gathered 
 on the hills ; the band peal forth the national 
 hymn, and the great multitude shout the Malagasy 
 salutation, "May you live a thousand years!" 
 
 Now Radama turns to the queen, standing at 
 his side, and places an open-work golden crown 
 upon her head. The shoutings still reverberate ; 
 the officers come forward to offer their congratu- 
 lations, and the queen resumes her seat. The ac- 
 clamations are hushed. Radama again advances 
 and addresses the people, "assuring them that his 
 confidence in and toward them, that his purpose 
 for the welfare of his country and the prosperity 
 of all classes, were the same as when he was 
 raised to the throne." There is genuine happiness 
 in the upturned faces of the listening people, for 
 they know these are. not the smooth words of de- 
 ceit, such as were uttered by the last crowned 
 sovereign, and they can not shout their joy loud 
 enough to satisfy their hearts, as the king resumes 
 his seat. The ceremony of the Hasina finishes 
 the formalities of the coronation, and the crowd 
 rushes to and fro, to get nearer the royal pair, as 
 they descend from the canopied throne and pre-
 
 214 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 .pare to return to the palace. All the way back the 
 surging multitude shout and sing and gaze at 
 royalty, till the pageant disappears in the court- 
 yard of the palace. Within the palace is a banquet 
 waiting, and there the day is finished in festivities. 
 When the reign of Radama was thus established, 
 the Christians began to consult upon measures for 
 organizing their forces, and building churches large 
 enough for convenient worship. They were now 
 holding services in houses scattered over the city, 
 and these poorly accommodated their numbers. 
 As the most of these people had been robbed of 
 their property during many years of persecution, 
 it was impossible to meet the expense themselves ; 
 an appeal was therefore made by the missionaries 
 to the British public, for the means to erect four 
 churches " on the several sites where the martyrs 
 nobly died for the faith of Christ." These memorial 
 churches are probably now in the course of erec- 
 tion, if not already completed.
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 RADAMA'S DISSIPATION AND DEATH. 
 
 Disappointment of Hopes The King's Love of Beveling and Intem- 
 peranceInfluenced by evil Companions Jealousy of a Divine 
 Rival Superstitions The Mena-Maso Message from his An- 
 cestors to stop the praying The Heathen Plot to secure the As- 
 sassination of the Christians Radama's proposed Law of im- 
 munity to Murderers His Ministers alarmed Troops sum- 
 moned to resist the King's purpose He is put to death in his 
 Palace by the Nobles Ruined by his Vices Accession of Queen 
 Rabodo to the Throne. 
 
 IT is with great pain that we are compelled to 
 record the blighting of the hopes which the ami- 
 able disposition of Prince Rakoto, and his friendly 
 offices toward the Christians during the long night 
 of persecution had awakened respecting him. 
 Gladly would we record that his reign so aus- 
 piciously begun, proved worthy of a Christian 
 prince. But alas, Rakoto, now Radama II., was 
 not a Christian. We have already stated that 
 even while winning so many hearts by his natural 
 amiability, he was still a heathen, licentious, and 
 in many respects, weak. To this was now added 
 intemperance. Being frequently in conference 
 with him, and familiar with all his habits, it could 
 not have escaped the notice of Mr. Ellis that Ra-
 
 216 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 dama indulged in midnight banquetings with the 
 young nobles who surrounded him. Nightly 
 revels were so common among the Malagasy, 
 whether rich or poor, and wine had always flowed 
 so freely in the palace, though prohibited else- 
 where, that its present use was perhaps not so 
 readily remarked. The customs of courtly society 
 in requiring the wine-cup, might also have prevent- 
 ed any one from presuming to warn the king of 
 the danger of indulging in that which had ruined 
 the former Radama; or perhaps the fact that he 
 had never distinctly declared himself a disciple of 
 Christ, may have hindered his Christian friends 
 from enjoining the duty of temperance on that 
 ground. Of a lively and generous temperament, 
 he sought the advice and companionship of inex- 
 perienced and dissipated young men. He was 
 easy and amiable to a fault; readily influenced by 
 those who once gained his good-will and confi- 
 dence. This pliability of character, and his ex- 
 treme tenderness of heart, made him too free and 
 lenient to be strictly just. He forbade the punish- 
 ment of persons convicted even of crime ; and 
 this extreme course threatened to overturn all law 
 and order. The older councilors of the govern- 
 ment shook their heads ominously. But as it was 
 an amiable and not a vicious fault, and was the re-
 
 SADAMA'S DISSIPA TION AND DEA TH. 217 
 
 suit of a sickened weariness of cruelty, his friends 
 hoped for the best. 
 
 The full extent of his faults was not known at 
 tms time. It was not known that after attending 
 divine worship with apparent seriousness, he would 
 excite the mirth of his frivolous youngj companions 
 by mimicking the peculiarities of the preacher, and 
 that after giving audience to foreigners with the 
 utmost courtesy, he would permit them to be ridi- 
 culed in his presence, and would join in the merri- 
 ment prevailing at their expense. His mobile char- 
 acter, quick to catch every impression seemed in- 
 capable of giving such a lodgment to good impi'es- 
 sions as should allow them to fructify. He be- 
 lieved in God, but troubled himself little to as- 
 certain what relations the Saviour bears to God. 
 Whoever Christ might be, he seemed convinced 
 that he was below himself, whom he reckoned the 
 second being in the universe. But with these 
 blasphemously exaggerated conceptions of his own 
 dignity, it is not strange that he, when on the 
 throne, soon began to be jealous of having even a 
 Divine rival in the hearts of his people. He was 
 heard to complain that when any one became a 
 Christian, his heart was at once turned away from 
 him. But for awhile these things remained un- 
 known, or privately suspected. The Christians
 
 218 MISSIONS AXD MARTYRS. 
 
 were content with their king, and happy in the 
 freedom and encouragement he granted them. 
 
 It soon became apparent that superstition was 
 gaining the ascendency over the mind of Radarna. 
 Dreams and supernatural wonders influenced him 
 more than ay argument that could be presented, 
 and he confirmed his own opinions of right by the 
 invariable announcement, " God told me so." Of 
 this weakness the heathen party took advantage. 
 
 Radama employed thirty or forty persons as 
 spies, and these constantly surrounded him, bring- 
 ing intelligence of all that was transpiring among 
 friends or enemies. The inquisitors who sat in 
 judgment upon this secret intelligence were 
 called mena maso, i. e. "because their eyes were 
 supposed to be red with the strain or continuance 
 of difficult investigation." Many of these were 
 easily secured to the interests of the idol-keepei-s, 
 and such information was given them for the secret 
 ear of the king, as served to increase his awe for 
 the supernatural. 
 
 A mental epidemic began to appear in the capi- 
 tal and the adjoining provinces. Persons affected 
 by it pretended to be unable to avoid leaping, run- 
 ing, and dancing, as did the idol-keeper who once 
 appeared in the presence of Radama. Had Ra- 
 koto-Radama exposed these impostors with the
 
 RADAMAS DISSIPATION AND DEATH. 219 
 
 same boldness and sarcasm with which Radama I. 
 shamed them, the unhappy consequences might 
 even now have been averted. So far from this, 
 the king listened to the accounts brought by the 
 mena maso, and was filled with wonder. Visions 
 and strange dreams were related to him. Voices 
 announced the coming of his ancestors to tell him 
 what he was to do for the good of his country. 
 When his imagination was thus sufficiently worked 
 upon for the idolaters to venture on bolder pro- 
 ceedings, a message was sent as from his ancestors, 
 that if he did not stop " the praying " he might 
 expect a great calamity. Here was a blow aimed 
 at the Christians ! They saw plainly whither it 
 tended. Could it be possible that God would again 
 permit them to be cast into the dust ? 
 
 The king was deeply moved. The frantic actors 
 in the strange drama thronged daily to the palace, 
 delivered messages from the spirit-world, sounding 
 continually in his ears the command, " Stop the 
 praying." Persons under the same influence, insti- 
 gated by idol-keepers, poured in from the country, 
 and added to the cry, " Stop the praying." Ra-- 
 dama was alarmed, and to conciliate the spirits, 
 issued an order that all persons meeting these " so- 
 called sick," should take off their hats ; thus offer- 
 ing them the same token of respect as was formerly
 
 220 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 paid to idols. Here was another blow against the 
 Christians ! 
 
 And now the plotters grew bolder. The king's 
 ministers and the chief nobles had firmly opposed 
 him in so weakly yielding to the demands of these 
 creatures, who seemed possessed by the Evil One. 
 Their assassination was proposed to Radama ; and 
 he consented ! To shield the intended murderers 
 " he announced his intention to issue an order, or 
 law, that any person or persons wishing to fight 
 with fire-arms, swords, or spears, should not be pre- 
 vented, and that if any one was killed, the mur- 
 derer should not be punished." This occasioned 
 intense excitement and alarm through the city. 
 No one was certain of his life. All lost confidence 
 in the king, in whom they had so firmly reposed 
 their trust for liberty, happiness, and the rising 
 glory of Madagascar. 
 
 On the 7th of May (1863)," says Mr. Ellis, 
 " Radama repeated before his ministers and others 
 his determination to issue the order (of murder), 
 and among all the mena maso present, only three 
 opposed the issuing of that order; many were 
 silent ; the rest expressed their approval. The 
 nobles and heads of the people spent the day in 
 deliberating on the course they should pursue; 
 and the next morning the prime minister, with
 
 RADAMA'S DISSIPATION AND DEATH. 221 
 
 about one hundred of the nobles and heads of the 
 people, including the commander-in-chief, the 
 king's treasurer, and the first officer of the palace, 
 went to the king, and remonstrated against legal- 
 izing murder, and besought him most earnestly 
 not to make such an order. It is said that the 
 prime minister went on his knees before him, and 
 begged him not to issue this obnoxious law ; but he 
 remained unmoved. The minister then arose and 
 said to the king, 
 
 " ' Do you say, before all these witnesses, that if 
 any man is going to fight with fire-arras, sword, or 
 spear, that you will not prevent him, and that, if 
 he kill any one, he shall not be punished ? ' The 
 king replied, * I agree to that.' 
 
 " Then said the minister, ' It is enough ; we must 
 arm ; ' and turning to his followers, said, ' Let us 
 return.' 
 
 " I saw the long procession as they passed my 
 house, grave and silent, on their way to the min* 
 ister's dwelling." 
 
 All day, while they sat in deliberation, the people 
 waited in trying suspense, and when their inten- 
 tion to oppose the king with violence was made 
 known, and when troops began to pour into the 
 city at nightfall, women, children, and slaves has- 
 tily gathered their valuables and fled from the
 
 222 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 town. By daybreak, Tananarive and every avenue 
 leading to it, was in possession of the army ; and 
 the few soldiers who remained with the king, re- 
 fused to fire upon those surrounding the palace. 
 ^Even among the people, none were found willing 
 to defend Radama in his strange measures. The 
 mena maso alone supported him. All but twelve 
 had been already arrested and killed, or had fled, 
 and the surrender of these was now demanded. 
 At first, the king refused ; but finding himself help- 
 less, he consented, on condition that their lives 
 should be spared. "On Monday, the llth, they 
 were marched by Andohalo, on their way to the 
 spot where the irons were to be fixed to their 
 limbs." Thus was the Scripture verified, " They 
 shall fall into their own pit." 
 
 Radama had declared to his ministers that " he 
 alone was sovereign ; his word alone was law ; his 
 person was sacred; he was supernaturally pro- 
 tected ; and would severely punish the opposers 
 of his will." This decided his fate. The morning 
 after his adherents had been secured, he was put 
 to death in his own palace by the nobles, and in 
 presence of IJabodo, the queen, who vainly endeav- 
 ored to save him. 
 
 Thus perished Rakoto-Radama, who, as a prince, 
 had shown many admirable traits and evil propen-
 
 RADAMA'S DISSIPATION AND DEATH. 223 
 
 sities so evenly balanced that it was a matter of 
 anxiety whether the evil or good should triumph. 
 " No man can serve two masters ; " and, as he 
 failed to choose Christ, the foundation of all good- 
 ness, he soon committed himself to the interests 
 of Satan, and became the easy tool of wicked de- 
 signers. While we stand in awe of the judgments 
 of an offended God, we can not but feel painful 
 regret that the lot of this amiable prince should 
 have fallen in evil places. Possibly his intense 
 abhorrence of cruelty, and the forced witnessing 
 of it through many years, may have unsettled his 
 reason ; and the pressure of the cares of state, and 
 the peculiar influence of the mena maso, together 
 with intemperance, may have increased the un- 
 happy state of mind. The gospel could have 
 saved him from false steps, had its instructions 
 taken root in his heart. But Radama, when " al- 
 most a Christian," dallied with vices till they took 
 possession of him, tolerated idols whose votaries 
 accomplished his fall, and at last chose the faith of 
 his ancestors, which, instead of granting the peace- 
 ful death promised to the upright, occasioned him 
 an ignominious end. "Woe unto them that call 
 evil good, .... that are wise in their own eyes, 
 .... that are mighty to drink wine .... that 
 justify the wicked, and take away the righteous-
 
 224 MISSIONS AND MARTYRS. 
 
 ness of the righteous : Therefore as the fire de- 
 voureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the 
 chaff, so their root shall be as rottenness, and their 
 blossom shall go up as dust." Isaiah v. 20-24. 
 
 The sovereignty of Madagascar was offered to 
 the queen, on condition of her signing a constitu- 
 tion which secures the rights of the nobles and 
 heads of the people, protects foreigners, tolerates 
 Christianity, secures the commercial interests of 
 the people, and establishes trial by jury. It was 
 also stipulated "that the queen shall not drink 
 strong liquors ; " thus showing unmistakably what 
 is presumed to have destroyed Radama. To all 
 this, she gave her full consent, and now reigns, 
 Queen of Madagascar. Her people present the 
 remarkable spectacle of being as far in advance of 
 their sovereign in Christian civilization, as their 
 king was in advance of them, thirty-five years be- 
 fore. They now dictate measures of progress. 
 Much is hoped for the nation, in this advance to- 
 ward a constitutional government. May the Gos- 
 pel, which has been so illustriously exhibited there, 
 soon reach every benighted spot in that beautiful 
 island, cause every idol to be cast into the sea, 
 and so renovate the nation that they shall stand 
 before the world as a chosen, blessed, and sancti- 
 fied people of God !
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 A 000 001 636 o