Twelve months in Madagascar

We had just reached the city, and were beginning to rest after our weary journey, when we were quickly followed by the Queen’s Camp, and by the two military expeditions which had been absent in the south-west. All parties were anxious to be safely housed before the rainy season set in. All had observed those premonitions of its approach, which in every country the unscientific seem to read so strangely. And all were anxious that full advantage should be taken of the earliest showers to dig and sow the rice fields. The camp arrived not a moment too soon. The tents had only just been pitched on the plain of Imáhamásina, on Tuesday, October 28th, when at sunset a violent thunderstorm broke over the city, with a perfect deluge of rain. The system of drainage in force in Antanánarivo is truly scientific, and is at the same time severely simple. The water seeks the lowest level, and is allowed to run just where it likes. All the outlets in the centre of the city on its west side converge on the Imáhamásina plain. The camp therefore not only received its fair share of the deluge from above, but became the bed of countless streams below. The entire place was speedily under water. Her Majesty the Queen was safely provided for on the top of the dining-table. But boxes, bedding, dresses, guns, cartridges, were speedily afloat, and the plight of the new arrivals was pitiable in the extreme.

On Thursday, October 30th, the Queen made her public entry into the city: and the people gave her a most hearty welcome. The Queen is exceedingly fond of her subjects, is truly interested in their welfare; and her people yield her a simple but sincere affection in return. The day was therefore a happy one on all sides: and the whole city shared in the joy. The place of reception was Andohálo, a triangular space, on the crest of the city-hill, a little north of the palace. Near the centre of the green is the sacred stone, on which the sovereign stands. The sides of the triangle slope upwards; are partially cut or worn into terraces; and are bordered and overlooked by high houses, gardens and walls. These places afford opportunity for a large number of spectators to dispose themselves conveniently for any public gathering, such as a coronation or the enactment of laws. They were therefore crowded to-day with people of all ages, especially by women and children: it is said that sixty thousand persons were present, and the coup d’œil was most effective. White predominated in the dresses worn: but blue and scarlet, mauve and purple, were present in abundance: and under a sky of brilliant blue, with a sheen in the clear, sharp air, to which our own sombre country is a stranger, the glancing of the light and the play of colour were truly beautiful.

The inner boundaries of the assembly were, as usual in other countries, kept by soldiers. The city guard were all in white and in native dress. But the troops who had accompanied the Queen to the Betsileo were in uniform. As at Fianárantsoa, there marched in not only the ordinary soldiers with Brown Bess as their weapon, but men with the red coats of the English infantry, with trousers having pink and white stripes, or with red knickerbockers; and the young men in rifle green, armed with the Snider rifle. The Armstrong gun, by many degrees the latest “infant” of the artillery community, was brought up with care: and was duly fired. The majority of the men are no doubt militia, and their weapons are ancient and rarely used. Good powder is precious in Madagascar: and the country people have immense faith in an empty gun. Nevertheless, one feels a deep regret that the Malagasy government should keep so many soldiers in arms: and should think so much of military matters.

To me the most interesting element in the military spectacle was this. There stood before us, in groups, at the upper end of the assembly, some five hundred men, wearing the uniforms of Field-Marshals, Generals, Colonels and Sergeant-Majors; in coats of cloth or green velvet, and even long-haired railway rug, covered with gold lace, with high braided collars, and in many instances with epaulets. The larger proportion of them were men in years, holding “honours” and still ranking as officers, though practically “on the retired list.” Some of the uniforms must have been imported in the days of Radáma, and some were of the pattern, both of coat and facings, which we see in Hogarth’s sketches of military life. These were “the ancient men” of the community, the cautious, conservative class, of settled habits, who are afraid of change, and whose influence acts as a powerful break upon those wiser men, who would wish to promote real improvements in the social and public life of the community. Their influence, we hear, has greatly diminished in recent years: the strength and prosperity which are manifestly springing from healthy changes have silenced their opposition; and it is quietly dying out.

The hats on the ground were something wonderful. Such a collection of specimens of the genuine British head-piece, it would be difficult to gather in London itself, except amongst the stores of its Semitic inhabitants. They were of all ages, shapes and sizes. They have been kept with extraordinary care. Not one was black: they were all brown. But not the rusty brown of London, with its dust underfoot and its gloomy skies overhead. It was a rich, glossy brown, due to the sun and the fresh breezes of Madagascar. There was the tall hat, an astonishing production; the French hat; the narrow brim; the brim curled up; and the brim sloping off into infinite space. And there were numerous, choice specimens, the original owners of which it was impossible for the initiated to mistake. As he looked with deep interest on those neat low crowns and broad brims, one of the Friends present declared that they could have come from no other place in the three kingdoms than an Essex-Quarterly-Meeting. To me all this was most suggestive. Antiquated hats, tall collars, costumes of days gone by, worn with satisfaction and believed to be perfectly proper, brass bands and the roar of guns, indicate ideas; and show the phases of opinion and of social life through which this most interesting nation is passing.

At the upper end of the Andohálo plain had been erected a platform for the Queen: and above it was the canopy which had been employed for her coronation, and which bears the inscription: “Glory to God on high: on earth peace: good will to men: may God be with us.” On the platform had been placed her gilded chair and footstool: and a small table with a crown. The English community stood in a group a little to the right and front of this platform: the Norwegian Missionaries were close by: and the members of the French Mission were a little beyond. Behind was a band of judges and magistrates, in purple and brown lambas; with a small knot of Arab merchants, who spoke Malagasy fluently. The guns were fired all the morning, both on the lower plain and on the Andohálo hill: and from nine o’clock the troops from the camp began to march steadily on to the open green. About eleven, the scarlet umbrella appeared at the western end of the little plain. Soon after the Queen alighted, stood for a few moments on the Sacred Stone: and then walked, attended by the Prime Minister, to the platform, whither the ladies of the Court had preceded her. And when she appeared in front, amid the firing of cannon and the music of the military bands, the people testified their delight with shouts of joy. “May you live long, Ruler of Madagascar,” was heard on every side.

The various ranks and classes of the people then in turn expressed their congratulations and offered the “hásina,” a dollar, in token of their loyalty to her rule. The governor of the city and his officers, the judges and magistrates, heads of thousands and heads of hundreds, the governor of Ambohimánga, the superintendent of powder works and others, briefly reported the state of their departments: the Arabs offered their homage: and then the European missions presented their congratulations. The Queen made a brief speech in reply, thanking all parties for the order observed during her absence, and for the good service they had rendered. She expressed her thanks to God and her satisfaction, that she had returned in health and safety: and briefly informed them of what she had been doing among the Betsileo. The people responded with renewed shouts: a general salute followed, both with music and guns; and when the enthusiasm had begun to cool a little, the English present took it up again, and gave a ringing English cheer, thrice repeated, which rather startled the Malagasy, and with which the Queen was greatly pleased. The Prime Minister next described the Queen’s journey and proceedings in the Betsileo. He also announced that the Queen gave the soldiers four months’ holiday after their long march: and she hoped that they would diligently employ it in cultivating their fields, that so they might have plenty of food. The assembly then broke up.

On the following Sunday the city churches were once more filled with large congregations. All the members and preachers who had been absent came to offer their thanksgivings, and to join in worship with their families and friends. The military expeditions also returned to the city. On Monday there was a crowded missionary prayer-meeting, and we had the pleasure of hearing two of the principal officers describe what they had done. The conduct of these expeditions was in many respects so remarkable, that it would be a serious omission not to refer to them.

The reason why war had been declared against the Sákalávas was, that they had refused reparation and apologies for plundering the cattle of the Hovas. Among the Sákalávas are many fugitives and outlaws from the Hova dominions; and it is to their evil conduct and bad advice that the difference has been attributed. In one army, under the command of Rainimáharávo, the chief secretary, were three thousand men. These troops marched to the westward, to a point fifty miles south of the Mania river, and three days’ march from the west coast of the island. They suffered greatly from the heat: but they found their enemies, in a town surrounded by water, and ornamented by magnificent tamarind trees. They fought them for three days, and lost a large number of men: but the enemy fled; the Hovas took possession: and then marched home again. In the second expedition there were fifteen hundred men, under the charge of Ravonináhitriniarivo: they marched on a line a hundred miles south of their friends, and had no fighting. They had daily prayers in the camp: and showed remarkable kindness to the tribes among whom they journeyed. They treated the women and children with respect; they purchased their supplies: and everywhere they left behind a name and reputation held in honour. The Ibára chief said, “If this is the fruit of the praying, it will be good for us to pray too.” Before their departure from the city, a general contribution was made by the churches, to supply their friends with quinine and other medicines, and with comforts needed in their new circumstances. The people were deeply interested in all they heard of their experiences. And when the Vonizongo levies returned home they informed their friends: “We were never treated so before: our officers were most kind: our wants were inquired into: and if we were sick, they gave us medicine.” These were fine illustrations of the influence exercised by Christian truth upon the Hova people.

A few days after her return the Queen kindly received my colleague and myself, with several members of the mission, in special audience: that we might place in her hands the Address which had been forwarded to her by the Directors of the Society; and might offer to her and to the Prime Minister valuable presents of which we were the bearers. Amongst these was a beautiful casket from Mrs. Allon and the ladies of Union Chapel. The Queen expressed herself as much gratified by the Directors’ words, and said she would send her reply when we returned to England. In reference to the younger missionaries who were presented with us, and who had just arrived in the island, the Prime Minister said that they were deeply interested to hear that two of them were about to settle in the Betsileo province: and he appealed to the elder missionaries present as to the protection and security which they had always received and in which their labours were carried on. Our interview with them was a gratifying one. There was a homeliness and a cordiality about their looks and words, and a readiness to respond to our assurances of good will, which showed that we are truly regarded as friends; and that they are themselves truly anxious for the welfare of the people. Such was the intercourse which my colleague and I continued to enjoy with them throughout the period of our stay.

We paid formal visits at this time to other principal officers of the government, men of high standing in the community. And as we came to see and know more of them as days passed by, it was a matter of great thankfulness to find that there are amongst them so many men of sincere, simple piety and consistent life, whose families also entertain a strong attachment to the gospel and to the churches of which they are members. This is true of many younger men and women as well as of their elders. At the same time, amongst some of the young men, things occur which occasion deep grief not only to their English friends, but to their own families.

What a treat it was at this time to enjoy the rest of a quiet life. For four months we had been incessantly on the move: first in sea-life, in fierce heat, rough waters and strong winds; then on land, up hill and down hill in these Malagasy districts, journeying through the most mountainous country I have ever seen. It was no wonder that we had returned to the Capital, wearied and ill: and that it took many days to recover from the exhaustion produced by our rough journeyings. But our purpose had been accomplished; and we had already completed one valuable portion of our appointed duties. The fresh air had not been without its advantages. We had both come back as brown as gipsies; and my hands were never so burned before by the sun and the air. What a treat it was to see the sky of brilliant blue, and quietly to breathe the pure, fresh breezes. The air was thin, but it was bright, clear and quickening, and we revelled in it. The light and heat were far less powerful than in India, and I enjoyed them thoroughly. The mornings in November were exquisitely fine and fair. During the day the thermometer would rise to 72°-77°. And by a strange but convenient rule the thunderstorms would come on after four or five o’clock in the afternoon. The lightning was at times intense: it would run along the sky in silver veins; or shoot to the earth like an arrow of molten gold, or throw a violet tint over the red hills; while the thunder followed instantly with the roar of artillery, and reverberated from hill to hill in long, rolling peals. When we arrived the country was brown; or vast patches of it were blackened by the grass fires that swept over them day after day. But now the hills were clothed with grass fresh and young; and the rice growing tall and strong in the flooded fields, hid the entire plain of Imerina with a mantle of brilliant green.

For six weeks at this time I resided in Análakély, as the guest of Mr. and Mrs. Thorne. And no one could have studied more than did my kind hostess, to secure for me in my isolation, the comfort of a truly pleasant home. Most gratefully do I cherish the memory of her affectionate kindness: and deeply did I share the grief of many around me, when in the month of April she was called away from her earnest labours here to the higher service of the heavenly world.

The house we lived in is English built and of English pattern. It contains six rooms of moderate size: laid out in two stories after the following fashion:

The roofs run from east to west over the two north rooms: and from north to south over the dining room. And the house presents the following appearance.

I give these particulars for two reasons. In erecting this house for the Rev. J. Pearse, Mr. Pool not only provided a modest and comfortable dwelling, thoroughly suitable for an English family; but in the form he gave it he so exactly hit Malagasy taste that the people were charmed with it. Wealthy natives began building others like it for themselves: it became the model which they were anxious as far as might be to copy; and scores of new houses like it may now be seen, not only in Antanánarivo, but dotting the more distant parts of Imerina; to the great comfort of the people and the improvement of the arrangements of their homes. The large one-roomed houses of old Madagascar will, in due time, disappear before these newer dwellings. Even the numerous Field Marshals give them their approval, though they scarcely know how to use them.

My colleague and I at this time enjoyed the opportunity of visiting the principal institutions of the city maintained by the various missions. We addressed the Theological students, for instance: visited the Friends’ Boys’ School, and Miss Gilpin’s noble Girls’ School; our own Girls’ Central School; the Normal School; and the Medical Mission Hospital, to which Dr. Davidson had just returned after his visit to Europe, and in which Dr. Mackie and he find so great a sphere of usefulness. We were present also at the half-yearly meeting of the Imerina Church Union; and were greatly struck with the interest which the members took in the public affairs of the churches and the spread of Christianity in the island.

It was a peculiar pleasure to me to renew my acquaintance with the native churches of which the Society has now so many in various parts of the world. I have worshipped with our converts in many languages and in many lands. And everywhere I have admired the gentleness of that Christian life which is being developed amongst the races of the East. Our English Christian life is of a high order, full of energy, heroic, tried in its principle, self-denying in its service, ever on the watch against undesirable complications, dealing with the deepest problems of religious, social and public life. Its loftiness of principle however renders it a piety of a somewhat hard type, trammelled with the order, the stiffness, the proprieties of many, many centuries. These Eastern converts, made in our own time, are more free. They have more of feeling in their nature, more sentiment, more of the affectionate and the emotional in their life and worship. And what gentle Christians their good women become. How these Malagasy people sing: and how they enjoy their singing. An hour’s “service of song” is the ordinary prelude to the Sunday morning’s worship. They have a fine sense of time: they appreciate harmony in the highest degree: they always take four parts; and when (as in the Capital) they are well taught, they sing with a fervour, a sweetness and a plaintive tenderness, which often brought tears into my eyes. It is very refreshing to see their simple piety, their delight in worship, their strong attachment to the Word of God. This is the good side of these churches, the encouraging element in the Mission work around us. There is alas! too much which is defective, even in Imerina. In the Betsileo the people are still more backward. There the outlying congregations get almost no teaching: good preachers and competent teachers are few: the singing is poor; the schools are poor; readers are few. We are anxious to meet these things: to spread our English Missionaries more widely among them: the Normal Schools and Theological Classes will year by year increase the number of trained instructors. There is real life on all sides. We have now to build it up: to nourish, feed and strengthen it in these children in the faith, until, under God’s blessing, they grow up into the full stature of men in Christ Jesus.

Every work on Madagascar describes the festival of the Fandróana. This year it began on the fourth of December and we had the pleasure of seeing some of its observances. Many superstitious rites were once connected with the festival: in these Christian days it has become almost entirely a season of universal fellowship and social regard. Fat bullocks occupy a conspicuous place in its arrangements: and noble specimens are brought into the city. They are slaughtered on a special day: and then everybody sends to everybody affectionate messages and presents of beef. Every family receives abundance: and the poor get a large supply. Our native friends of all ranks sent huge quantities to the Mission families; and our servants and dependents, the Mission Hospital and the Church poor, came in for a good share. Christianity has purified the festival and lifted it into a higher region of human sympathy and consideration: and long may the Fandróana last, a national Christmas in reality though not in name.

As soon as it was over Mr. Pillans and I left the city on a visit to the three Country Missions already established in Imerina. To these and similar stations the Directors of the Society attach the highest importance. They gladly attach to the City a small number of missionaries for the instruction of the Theological and Normal Schools, on which all stations in town and country depend; and for the guidance of the City Churches, whose views and example become the model which the Country Churches copy. Beyond this limited number, the Directors are anxious that every missionary available shall have pastoral charge of a large district at a distance from the Capital; and that these brethren, residing in the midst of their people, shall be to them new centres of Christian light and life and power. They hold in high honour the men and women who are willing thus to isolate themselves for the sake of the Master and of the weak yet willing children who need their help. Such men become “Bishops” indeed, during the youth of these imperfect churches: we have many such in our Society; we see similar brethren in other Societies; and great is their usefulness.

We proceeded in the first instance to the district of Vonizongo, which lies north-west from Antananarivo, at a distance of thirty miles: and we started on Friday, December 12th. We had with us thirty men, of whom fifteen had been our companions in the Betsileo journey: their wages were sixpence a-day and twopence for food, out of which one penny was clear profit! Our road lay through the City Market, across the rice fields and along the embankments of the Ikopa river for several miles. To the north we had the long ridge which bears the important town of Ambóhidratrimo: once one of the twelve cities of Imerina, and the head of a little kingdom. It contains three hundred houses, and on the crest of the hill, above a mass of giant boulders, towers a splendid Amóntana tree, which is visible over all Imerina. At a later period we visited the town, and saw Mr. Baron settled in his new quarters. Beyond this town, we passed through a great deal of swamp, the remains of the original marshes of Imerina, and still full of the papyrus reeds, which the people find so useful for roofing. Thence we skirted Ambóhimanóa, a noble hill on a broad base, one of the great landmarks of the province; rested for a while at Soávina; crossed the ridge of Ambóhimirímo; entered the broad valley of Vonizongo; and after traversing endless rice fields, on paths six inches wide, at the end of eleven hours, reached the Mission-house at Fiháonana, and received a warm welcome from Mr. and Mrs. Matthews.

Vonizongo is a broad open valley, fifteen miles wide by twenty miles long. It has the noble mountain of Lóhavóhitra for its eastern boundary: on the west is a long low ridge of the usual red clay. West of this again is a fine valley, which has for its western boundary the lofty, curving ridge of Ambóhimánga: outside of this running north-west to the sea is the river Ikopa. The centre of the province consists of the sandy clay, deeply scored by the strong streams which flow from Lóhavóhitra: along the waters everywhere the levels are cultivated with rice, and small villages are numerous. The northern part of the district is a lofty moor, which clings to the skirts of the Ambóhimánga ridge, and over which the east winds blow keen and piercing. Fiháonana, the chief town, contains only seventeen houses. But it is and has long been the residence of the chief of the local clans: and there are large villages at a short distance. The population are much scattered: and there are four or five clusters of villages, with fields and churches and a goodly number of inhabitants, within eight miles of Fiháonana; which at once point out the form which Christian labour must take among them: and there are other clusters about Fierénana and in North Vonizongo to be dealt with in the same way.

The inhabitants of Vonizongo have always been a spirited and independent people. Radáma made soldiers of them, and he found them brave, enduring and self-reliant. They used to have a multitude of chiefs, each with a long pedigree and a longer tail of dependents and clansmen. The power of the chief over his people was as great and as summary in its dealings, as that of the Highland chiefs of old days: and the clannish feeling is still very strong. The intelligence and spirit of these tribes led them to appreciate the teachings of the missionaries in the earliest days. Several lads from the district attended their schools in Antanánarivo; and both Mr. Johns and Mr. Griffiths visited them. Indeed the missionaries and the people felt an unusual regard for one another. The missionaries found their teaching appreciated. The story of the Bereans was rehearsed once more. “These were more noble than those of Thessalonica: in that they searched the Scriptures daily whether these things were so: therefore many of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas: also of the devout Greeks, and of the chief women not a few.” Can we wonder at the experiences which followed? The mother of the present chief of the clans, was the first convert: her eldest son was burned as a martyr for the Gospel: her second son was sold as a slave: two men from the first little church, in their Christian zeal, went to preach to the Sákalávas: were arrested on their return by the frontier garrison; and were speared in the market-place for their Christianity. One noble woman, Rabódománga, boldly gave testimony to her faith before the judges: “I do not pray to wood and stone and to the mountains: unto God alone do I pray.” Four of the sisters of this brave woman were martyred. Of the fourteen martyrs who were thrown over the precipices of Ampamarinana, seven were from Vonizongo.

Of Razáka, the pastor of Fiháonana, now growing grey with years, Mr. Matthews spoke to us thus: “He is one of the most remarkable men I ever met. To this man we owe not only the number, but the satisfactory state of the churches in a large part of Vonizongo. He was sent to the coast by Radáma II., while prince, before the death of his mother, in order to see what the French missionaries were doing on the west coast. He was captured by the Sakalavas, was sold to the French, and was taken to Bourbon. There they tried hard to make a priest of him, but could not; he knew his Bible too well. When they found that they could make nothing of him, and that he was likely to turn some of their people from them, by teaching the Gospel, they sent him back to Madagascar. He returned, after some time, to his own village. Since the death of the old Queen, in 1861, he has been not only the pastor of the mother church at Fiháonana, but really the head of the whole district, and the man to whom all the churches look as to their father and their guide. Although only a clansman, and neither a chief nor a freeman, such is the respect felt for the man, that he has more influence in the district than twenty chiefs.”

It was a great pleasure to Mr. Pillans and myself to see this good man: to talk with him of the hard days of trial; and to hear from his own lips the story of the sufferings endured. He told us of the meetings which the fugitive Christians held for worship and mutual help. They used to come long distances to such meetings; tracts were lent from one to the other, as a tract could often be carried, and hidden away under their garments, when a Bible or Testament could not. Parts of the New Testament were also lent about, even to single leaves; and leaves of the hymn book and Pilgrim’s Progress. He said that they often used to long for a rainy night, in order that they might be able to sing. He showed us the underground passage beneath the floor of his house, by which, when the soldiers came to search, the inmates and visitors could escape. He accompanied us to a pile of immense rocks, and showed us the little cave beneath the big boulder, three feet high, into which they used to creep for their meetings: and the hollow where their Bible was hid away. He brought vividly before us the sufferings and the persecution which his heroic brethren and himself had endured: and in him we realized something of the power of that faith by which all had been sustained. Few finer bodies of Christians have been won to Christ by modern missions than these faithful men and women in Vonizongo.

We remained ten days with Mr. Matthews, every day finding some new object of interest. We accompanied him to the principal localities of the district and made a careful survey of the whole: we ascended Lóhavóhitra and had a fine prospect of the country to the west. We were much struck with the respectability of the people: with their bright, intelligent looks: with the self-respect manifest in the demeanour of the Christian women; and with their hearty enjoyment of the religious services at which we were present. Two of the most pleasant days we spent in the island were occupied in visiting the northern groups of churches at Ambóhizánakólona and Sambáina. We were glad to take the pastors by the hand, especially Rainisóa, the pastor at Sambaina, the son and nephew of faithful martyrs, himself a devoted instructor and guide of the people committed to his care. We could not doubt the genuineness and the thoroughness of Christ’s work in Madagascar, when we visited churches like these.

We were clear also on the important point of the true position to be held by the general body of English missionaries in Madagascar. All who do not hold staff appointments in the Theological and Normal Schools, but have the care of churches, should be placed in charge of districts also. Each district should have its centre, with three or four sub-centres. Instruction should be given specially and on system to the preachers and pastors of the entire district: on system also to the people generally by Bible classes maintained at the sub-centres: and to the children in schools. An English missionary in Madagascar can rarely visit the scattered congregations of his district; but by teaching and advising all his preachers, and by systematically working on his principal people at its centre and sub-centres, in the course of a few years he will, under God’s blessing, contribute much to the enlightenment of the whole. This form of labour is thoroughly approved by the missionaries generally, and is carried out to a greater or less degree in all the country districts.

We left Fiháonana on December 23d after a most pleasant visit, with a view to spend Christmas with Mr. and Mrs. Sibree at Ambóhimánga, which lies due east from Vonizongo. We passed under the west face of Lohavóhitra, descending into deep gullies and crossing several streams; came to the river Anjomóka, with which they unite: and which about twelve miles farther to the west and south falls into the Ikopa. We were now on the northern border of Imerina and were approaching the great mountain mass of Andringitra, with its sacred, oracular caves. We passed beneath the western buttresses of Miakótsy; and then under Andringitra itself. It is a noble mountain, without any prominent peak, but presenting an enormous mass with a high curved ridge, the most conspicuous object in North Imerina. To the south are the long green ridges of Ambóhipiháinana and Ambohipoloálina. Passing these we entered a long and narrow valley under the ridge of Ambóatány, and early in the afternoon arrived at Ambóhimánga.

The town of Ambohimanga stands on the long gneiss ridge, which, under the roots of Andringitra, forms the northern boundary of the Imerina plain. The ridge has been broken through at various points; and the hill of Ambohimanga is isolated from those parts of the ridge which lie east and west of it. It is beautifully wooded on all sides. On the north side the houses appear among the trees in three large clusters; and numerous villages are scattered about the clay roots and slopes of the hill. On the south the face of the hill is precipitous: and the gneiss rock shows itself in grey masses, among the woods, in which the white, thin stems of the Amiana trees, gigantic nettles, are specially abundant.

Ambohimanga is a royal city; it holds high rank in the kingdom; and indeed is always associated with Antananárivo in public proclamations. It was one of the twelve great cities of former days; and held almost the highest position among them. It is a favourite royal residence. The great defender of the idols, Queen Ránaválona, is buried here; and it is probably far more from that fact, and from her known enmity to Europeans, supposed to subsist still, that they are not admitted into the city. The Malagasy hold far more literally than we do the idea that if English missionaries were allowed to preach on the top of the Ambohimanga hill, the old Queen would “turn in her grave!” The present Queen twice visited Ambohimanga during our stay in the island: she was there at Christmas, when we reached the place: and every day she would sit out on the level rock at the summit of the hill, while the scarlet umbrella indicated to her people that their sovereign was “eating the air.” Ambohimanga contains probably five thousand people. The ruling tribe of the place are termed Tsi-máha-fótsy, “those who do not grow white” with fear; “the bold and true, in bonnet blue, who fear and falsehood never knew.” They are bold and brave, but they are rough in manners and rude in speech. They rather pride themselves upon giving to every one, be it their sovereign or their missionary, a bit of their mind. And they have yet to learn that rudeness is no ornament to bravery, whether in Gaul, Goth or Northman; and that it is possible to wear a velvet glove over an iron hand.

There are three Christian Churches in Ambohimanga: and excellent schools both for boys and girls, conducted by Mr. and Mrs. Sibree. There are numerous other churches in populous villages in the immediate neighbourhood: churches out in the Imérina plain among the rice fields, and churches all along the roots of Andringtra: churches in a great valley to the northward, enclosed by noble granite hills, the Anátivólo; and a cluster of churches five miles to the eastward on the edge of the barren moors. As in the case of Vónizóngo, so with Ambohimanga and its district, we felt what a noble sphere of effort it constitutes: and admired the energy and devotion with which our friends in these country districts have accepted their isolated position for the usefulness which it secures. We were debarred from the pleasure of worshipping with the city congregations; because they assembled around the Queen, at the top of the hill and within the city gates, which no European, English or French may pass. But we visited one or two of the district churches a short distance away; we saw several of the Ambohimanga Christians, and among them the sturdy pastor Rainikoto, whose father was priest of the great idol, who guarded this portion of the country.

We spent some delightful days with our kind host and hostess and with two other mission families, which were rusticating at Ambohimanga during the Christmas holidays. We scoured the country, looking in upon the “lions,” and finding among them many objects of interest. The idol village of Amboatány we found embowered in trees, the Aviávy fig, the Amóntana with its broad glossy leaves, and the gigantic nettle-tree, the Amiana. Near it are the enormous boulders of Mánga-be. North of Ambohimanga are three beautiful hills, richly clothed with green, with flourishing villages at their feet. Four miles to the east on an isolated hill is the old royal city of Ambóhidrabíby; it is named from its king Rá-bíby, who is said to have discovered the excellence of beef, just as Charles Lamb’s Chinese friends found out the delicate flavour of roast-pig. He was a noted hunter too, and among the swamps filled with huge reeds and rushes, like Macaulay’s Etruscan hero, he brought to bay and slew the great wild boar, which was the terror of the country:—

From this exploit he was named Ralámbo. His tomb stands outside the old house where he lived and is a simple structure. His lineal descendant, the head of the tribe here, still occupies the house; and being of a practical turn of mind ornaments his little garden with beans, cabbages and onions, as well as dahlias and roses.

A mile from this antiquated town, we came upon a pretty chapel in Ambodi-fáhitra, built with good taste in Gothic style and having coloured glass windows. We were not expected: and were pleased to find a good school of boys and girls busily at work. The pastor of this church is a younger brother of one of the martyrs, Andriamán-anténa, who lived close by. When I took his hand, said I was glad to see him, and told him how his brother was honoured in England, he was profoundly astonished; and said how could you know anything about me and him? The martyr’s widow still lives and is one of the most hospitable ladies in all Imérina. On two occasions we visited her house and were most comfortably provided for.

On Monday, December 29th, we quitted this pleasant corner of Imerina, for another mission station, Ambátovóry, which lies to the east of the capital. As before we enjoyed the advantage of crossing the country by an unusual route and of seeing a great deal that was new. The valley of the Mámba we found full of villages and churches. Passing through the ridge which bounds it, we came opposite a remarkable village, Ambátomanóina, a mass of boulders of enormous size, but embowered in trees. Thence we passed by the town of Soávina, the chief town of the district, close to which the new mission-house has been built; and winding in and out among the hills, soon reached the hospitable abode of Mr. and Mrs. Peake, which had received us on our first arrival in Imerina.

Ambátovóry is a place of peculiar beauty, and is in many ways fitted to be the sanatorium of the Imerina Mission. It is only ten miles from the capital. Bracing air, pure water, noble hills, rich cultivated valleys, patches of forest, beds of ferns, and broad moors, contribute to its beauty. Close to it on the east is the noble mountain of Angávokély; and on the south a fine conical hill, Ambóhitsilého, covered with boulders, and looking like an enormous pine-apple. The ground is high, 4600 feet above the sea; potatoes grow readily, and the soil should produce wheat and English grain and fruit. The Cape laburnum, with its rich clusters, was in full flower: the little thorny Euphorbia brightened the hedges with scarlet or yellow flowers; and all over the hills the wild flowers were abundant.

In their religious knowledge the people of Mr. Peake’s district are far more backward than their neighbours of the Imerina plain. And he will have hard work to get them on. The population immediately around the station amounts to about 12,000: but they are conveniently distributed and three excellent sub-centres for regular visitation, can be formed at no great distance.

There is one bright exception to this state of things. Among the new arrangements of the mission, was the transfer of a group of churches from the care of Mr. Wills and his people to that of Mr. Peake. And two months after our present visit to Ambátovóry, in March 1874, we went to the station again to be present on the occasion. Ten miles to the northward, out on the great moors, is a noble ricevalley, abundantly supplied with water. Around this valley are thickly clustered several fine villages: Ambátoména, Antsámpandráno, and Ambóhitsehéno are the chief: there are many others, and they contain in all a population of more than five thousand souls. Several fountains burst from the higher parts of the moor, and soon run into streams and rivers, all of which are head waters of the Betsiboka. Two of these fine streams run together at the foot of a hill, on which stands a fine village with a church. The hill and village are called Antsámpandráno, “the meeting of the waters.” From this point the river is called the Mánanára. A mile to the north, it flows into a broad level plain, which forms the finest rice plain we saw in the province except the central portion of Imerina itself. We found the people a most amiable, spirited and intelligent people. We visited them in three congregations. Each church was crammed; and in every case there were two hundred and more listeners outside. In the three churches we had not less than three thousand people, including many children. They took a deep interest in the change of superintendence: and heartily approved of it, promising to give Mr. Peake a warm welcome among them. They received us most kindly and treated us royally. At each place they wanted us to dine after the service. We staved off their well meant hospitality the best way we could. But our bearers were less scrupulous. They confessed to having had two dinners within an hour and a half: and some of them tried a third shortly after. We found that these good people were a colony from Ilafy. And that they have themselves sent off a swarm, to people another valley of the Mánanára, forty miles to the north; where they formed the village of Anjozórobé and its neighbours.

Later on and after the visit to Ambátoména in March, we left Ambátovóry to retrace our steps along the Tamatave road and pay a visit to Angávo. After living long among the bare hills of Imerina, we were greatly struck with the richness and profusion of the Angávo forest and with the loveliness of the hills. We saw nothing to equal it in all Madagascar. Thence we passed to Andrángalóaka, also on the borders of the forest, and spent three pleasant days with Dr. Davidson. We saw also Mántasóa, the great factory of former days, in which the chief workshops were built by the Christian martyrs, who had been enslaved. We visited also the iron district, and examined the claims of three towns in that direction to be the residence of an English Missionary. Of these Ambátomanga, the usual stopping place of visitors to the capital in former times, was one. Hills, rocks and valleys, running streams, rice fields, villages, succeeded one another in rich variety and ceaseless numbers. In these country visits we added hourly to our knowledge of this strange but interesting land, and understood more clearly the way in which its people have been led and trained for their present attainments and for the part which they have yet to play in the world’s history. And we looked with deep interest upon the old idol village of Ambóhimánambóla, with its great cactus hedges and inhospitable dogs; and saw the spot, where in September 1869 the idol had been brought from his house and burned before all eyes. “Behold how great a matter a little fire kindleth.”

Settling in the Capital—My Madagascar Home—Prospect over Imerina—Family Life and Housekeeping—Our Servants, the Garden—Weather, Thunderstorms—Beauty of Imerina—The great City Market: Food, Dress and Manufactures Sold—Low Prices—Money—Settlements of the European Families—Roads—Our Dress—The Sun—The Palace—Social Life in the Capital—Lack of External Stimulus—Sources from which it may be supplied—Memorial Church at Faravohitra—The Martyrs who suffered there—Conference of Missionaries held in January—Topics discussed—Resolutions and Arrangements—Concluding Meeting—Important Re-arrangements resulting from it—Love of the Bible among the People—The Churches in the City—Opening of the Memorial Church at Ampamarinana.