too hard for the Lord ?" Our Missionary, Mr. Le Brun, who has been here fourteen years, has laboured not altogether in vain, either as a preacher of the gospel or an instructor of children; but present circumstances are discouraging.

Slavery exists in this island to such an extent that its miserable victims are met in droves, or singly, everywhere, performing all kinds of base, penal, and brute labour. In Port Louis the domestic servants are almost entirely bondmen and bondwomen. Government possesses much of this questiouable kind of property, and not only employs slaves upon its own necessary works, but lets out individuals for hire to private persons having temporary occasion for them; a practice common also with other holders of human live-stock. In the streets they are seen dragging carts and drays, like beasts of burthen. But it is on the sugar-plantations that these helots swarm and blacken the face of the country.

Such estates are rather numerous than large, and are tilled by bodies of field-drudges, from one to three, four, and even five hundred. The negro family here, as in the West Indies, is the nursery for this monstrous injustice. From the east coast of Africa the supplies were principally obtained while the trade was permitted; and now, though prohibited, there is reason to believe that it is still managed in the usual evasive manner: no preventive service being sufficient to suppress the contraband of blood, in a slave-colony so distant from the mother country, any more than of foreign spirits nearer home. The personal appearance of the slaves varies much, according to the nature of their employment and the severity or leniency with which they are treated. Some are well-looking, but in general they are ill-favoured. A few seem to feel the ignominy of their condition, and deeply resent it, though impotent to help themselves. One poor wretch lately died at this place, heartbroken, continually exclaiming, till voice and breath failed, " Why am I a slave?" On experiencing hard usage, the slaves sometimes commit acts of the most savage desperation; and, "if oppression maketh a wise man mad," can this be wondered at? About four years ago a woman had been cruelly flogged by her owner; her husband, unable to brook the indignity, cut her throat and the throats of their young children; then, making a common funeral-pile of their bodies, he set it on fire. and leaping into the flames perished with them.

On the estates of Mr. Telfair (whom we frequently visited, and received much hospitality from him) the negroes appeared in good personal condition, and as contented with their lot as the circumstances of it would permit them to be.

The children are sent to schools provided for them. Every family has its little thatched cottage; the women are allowed leisure to manage their domestic affairs; and when they have borne six children are entirely exempted from field-labour. The aged, of both sexes, are employed in light jobs, such as weeding, cleansing the walks, and gardening.

At Reduit, the governor's country residence,

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much benevolent care is bestowed upon the offspring of the slaves belonging to the establishment. They are taught to read, write, and cipher, and religious instruction is administered to them, under the immediate superintendence of Lady Frances Cole. The adults also seemed to us in good condition, and cheerful at their toil. M. Perille, a French planter, is also distinguished for his humanity towards his slaves; and it was mentioned, as a special proof of this, that he does not require them to work on Sundays. A short time ago, however, when the holes had been made for the young plants in a large plot of ground, and there had been a long drought, a shower happening to fall on the Sabbath, M. Perille was unable to resist the temptation to avail himself of the opportunity of setting the canes, and directed his slaves to perform the work, as one of necessity, promising them a special remuneration at night. It was done; but, in the evening, when he called them to receive their wages, to a man they refused to accept of anything, saying, "We are your servants, and bound to do what you bid us at any time ;-besides, you use us so well that we cannot take any pay for this day's work." Being a Roman Catholic, he has made his slaves (as far, probably, as he knew how) of the same faith with himself. We saw three hundred of them assembled one evening, for divine worship, in the open air, before his house, and under the shade of mango-trees. Two women repeated the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed, in Latin, and were followed by their fellow-negroes, who afterwards sang several hymns in the same language, sweetly and in good tune. The scene

was affecting, and the group very picturesque ; a few lamps, which had been hung in the trees, brightening over their heads as the shadows of night rapidly followed the flush of a tropical sunset. When they had concluded these devotions (!) they all crossed themselves; and afterwards came, one by one, to receive their ordinary allowance of provisions, when two bags of rice were given out to them, at the rate of a pound and a half for each adult, man or woman, and half as much for each boy or girl. They then retired quietly to their huts. M. Perille is an amiable and well-meaning man. He lives with his mother, who is advanced some years beyond threescore and ten. Neither of them had ever seen a Bible or New Testament, nor had they any desire after such a sight, being utterly unconscious of the value of God's holy word; though, according to what they had been taught, they seemed zealous for the faith of their fathers. Surely the teachers, who thus withhold from their Christian congregations Christ's own words, have much to answer for if the people come short of salvation from ig

norance.

The slaves sometimes maroon, as it is called, that is, they run away from their bondage. Of these fugitives, it is said, there are considerable numbers among the mountains and forests, who live principally by sallying out for plunder, and hunting the wild deer, which abound in some remote situations. When a slave escapes

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from his master, the latter is required to report him to the police, upon which a party of soldiers are sent out in pursuit of him. If he is traced, and nearly overtaken, they are ordered to call upon him to stop, three times; and if, at the third challenge, he still attempts to flee, it is lawful to fire and shoot him dead.

An amusing specimen of the ignorance and knavery of these degraded creatures has been communicated to us.-A negro was sent by his owner to fetch home a quantity of wine from the merchant's. Of course a note was delivered to him, stating the number of bottles committed to his charge. On the road, however, he chose to empty one of these for his own gratification; but before he did this he placed the note under a stone, and kept it fast down while he was drinking the liquor. When he got home his master inquired how many bottles he had brought. He answered-so many. "Nay," said the master, "there should be one more." The slave stood stoutly to it that he had delivered all the bottles that he had received. is false," rejoined the master, "you have drunk one by the way; for this piece of paper tells me that there was another bottle, which is not here now." "That note is a great liar!" exclaimed the astonished negro; "how could he see me drink the wine, when I held him under a stone till I had done? How could he see me drink it, and tell you that I did?"

"It

Among other instances of barbarous treatment, by persons unfit to be trusted with absolute power over beings at least as good as themselves, the following has been mentioned to us as having happened several years since. A wretched woman killed three of her slaves, who had displeased her, with a knife. She afterwards left the island, and is still residing in France.Some time ago, a negro, in a fit of melancholy, hanged himself. He was discovered, and cut down, apparently dead. His master (determined to show the malignancy as well as the impotency of his displeasure) ordered the body to be flogged, as though it were alive and could feel his vengeance. After fifty strokes had been inflicted, signs of life actually appeared. The brutal punishment was suspended, and, by the use of proper means, the unfortunate sufferer was brought back to life and thraldom. He survived several years, and his owner, it is said, is still alive, and unashamed of what he did.

We shall close these examples of the effects of slavery by a fact which shows that there is something good in fallen human nature, which even slavery cannot extinguish, and something bad, which nothing, surely, but slavery could infuse. A poor negress, who is a slave in this colony, with great labour and long parsimony had saved as much money as would buy a human being. She had a daughter, a slave like herself. What did she? She purchased that daughter of their common owner, and set her at liberty; being content to remain in bondage for the pleasure of seeing her child walking at large, with shoes on her feet, which are here the badge of freedom among people of colour, no slave being permitted to wear them. Soon

after the bargain had been completed, the affectionate mother happening to come into a room where this daughter was sitting, very naturally and unconsciously sat down beside her, as she had been wont to do. A moment or two afterwards the daughter turned round in a rage, and rebuked her, exclaiming, "How dare you sit down in my presence? Do you not know that I am a free woman, and you are a slave? Rise instantly, and leave the room."

On the 5th of March, 1828, a coup de vent, or hurricane, passed over this island, which, more frequently and grievously than any other inhabited spot of land, is supposed to be subjected to such visitations. The heat on the foregoing day had been excessive, the thermometer standing for some time at 91o, with great closeness and stagnation of the air. The evening was pleasant, a fresh breeze having sprung up; but this gradually increased to a storm, accompanied by distant thunder through the night. Two hours after sunrise the wind blew with considerable violence, and heavy rain came down. Presently it began to vary from a regularly increasing gale to sudden and impetuous gusts, with intervals of two or three minutes. The sky grew exceedingly black, and the clouds continued to thicken and discharge torrents of water. At five p. m. the real hurricane began; the foliage was torn from the trees, and the atmosphere was presently in commotion with leaves and light materials, such as thatch and shingles, flying in all directions. Every quarter of an hour the squalls came on louder and longer, and at length the whole force of the tempest, in successive bursts, like waves of the sea, drove over the town; every house in which shook to its foundations, and many were damaged and dismantled. On the following morning, when we looked out, the streets were like rivers, and cataracts of foam were rolling down the mountains. The trees were all stripped, and multitudes of branches scattered on every hand; several of the largest were torn up by their roots, and lay in heaps upon the roads. The fences, as far as we could distinguish, were all leveled. Several dwellings and storehouses had been laid flat in the town and neighbourhood. The vessels in the port wore an aspect of distress, which plainly showed that they had barely weathered the devastation. One, a schooner, had foundered, and the tops of her masts could just be seen above water. Others had been driven ashore, and their chain-cables snapped asunder like threads. An East India merchantship, the George Canning, just arrived from Calcutta, which had dropped anchor in the harbour on the preceding day, was driven out to sea, and wrecked on the coast, several miles to the westward, when, of thirty-three persons on board, sixteen were drowned, including the captain and his wife, the ship's surgeon, and several passengers. She had struck upon a reef, and been assailed by an irresistible force of breakers. The captain and the rest of those that perished took their station on the poop; the seventeen who escaped took theirs upon the forecastle. The forepart of the vessel being

aground, but not the aft, she soon parted at midships, when all on the poop were precipitated into the abyss; but those forward, in the sequel, reached the shore in safety.-Two large new houses, built of wood, in a valley, were dashed to pieces; one of these was removed bodily from its foundations to a distance of ninety feet, and then hurled into ruins. A few minutes previously twenty-one persons had been under its roof, but happily had left it before the catastrophe. The cottage of a woman, who was expecting every hour to become a mother, which stood near a river in the vicinity of Port Louis, was taken up, and let down in its proper position in the middle of the stream. The inmate remained uninjured. On the plantations in the country the cabins of the poor negroes were almost all prostrated or laid open. Twenty-five mules and a horse were killed by the destruction of the stabling on an estate near Mr. Telfair's. A wooden mansion, of great strength, thirty feet long by twenty wide, belonging to Mr. White, a friend of ours, at Grand River, was pushed more than three yards from its original basis. An immense tamarind-tree adjacent was fairly plucked up and overthrown, though some of its roots, as they came out of the ground, measured from twenty to thirty feet in length. We heard of no lives having been lost, during this hurricane, on land.-The seventeen persons rescued from the wreck were accommodated with board and lodgings at the hospital here, till they could conveniently provide for themselves. We visited them there, and found them in good health and spirits, none having suffered any serious personal injury. When Mr. Bennet, after congratulating them on their extraordinary escape, expressed a hope that they would ever bear in grateful remembrance the goodness of God in preserving them, when so many of their comrades were taken away at a stroke, the boatswain, with characteristic indifference, replied, "Why, if we were always to be thinking in that way, we should never venture to sea again. For my part, I have got a new berth; I go on board to-morrow; and I intend to do my duty."

Within sixteen days after the desolations of this hurricane, the whole face of the country appeared to have been renewed, the trees were covered with foliage, and the ground with grass and flowers.

During our long detention here we have been making inquiries, whenever opportunity offered, respecting the circumstances and state of society in Madagascar, whither we are bound. It is generally known that Radama, the king (who, though originally a provincial chief, has now subjugated to himself four-fifths of the island, which he governs with great wisdom and energy), some time ago concluded a treaty with the British government for the abolition of the slavetrade throughout his dominions, which, we understand, he has faithfully endeavoured to carry into complete effect, notwithstanding all temptations and facilities to evade it. He has also encouraged our countrymen to settle in his territories, to instruct his subjects in commerce,

agriculture, and useful arts. With a view to the introduction of other branches of knowledgethough still adhering to the superstitions of his country himself-he protects, in the most decided manner, our Missionaries in their labours of teaching the common elements of education, in connexion with religious instructions, to such as will hearken to the latter and apply themselves to the former. In furtherance also of his enlarged and enlightened plans for elevating Madagascar above its state of semi-barbarism, he likewise sent a number of youths, including a prince of the blood royal, to England, to acquire a superior education to any that could be obtained at home.

The Malagasse are known to be exceedingly vindictive; they will not forget an injury till it has been fully avenged. They therefore very rarely strike one another, and never submit to a blow without pursuing, if it be possible, the offender to death, if they cannot kill him instantly. Several Englishmen were sent from hence to Madagascar for the execution of some public work, on which a great number of natives were employed. The superintendent was a remarkably quiet and patient man; but being one day greatly harassed and wearied out with the laziness of the Malagasse labourers, he imprudently gave one of them a blow. The same evening, while he was sitting in his house among his friends, a shot was fired at him through an opening in the wall, by which not he but another person present was killed. The man who discharged the musket was known to be the same whom he had chastised; but the fellow immediately made his escape. Next morning the overseer, and the party who had been with him when the assassination was perpetrated, went in a body to complain to the local magistrates; but, not having taken the precaution to arm themselves, they were waylaid by a gang of natives and all murdered on the spot. The original culprit was afterwards apprehended, hanged, and gibbeted, under the laws of the island.

A female rebellion took place a little while ago in consequence of the following extraordinary grievance. It was the privilege of persons of that sex to dress the king's hair; and in the beauty of their long black locks both men and women take great pride. When Prince Rataffe returned to Madagascar from England, his head had been shorn of its barbarous honours, and converted into a curly crop. Radama was so pleased with this foreign fashion that he deter mined to adopt it,—to rid himself, probably, of the periodical plague of hair-dressing, which, according to the costume of his country, was a work of no little labour on the part of his female barbers, and of suffering patience on his part. Accordingly he took an opportunity, when he happened to be at some distance from his capital, to have his head polled nearly to the scalp. His first appearance in public, so disfigured, threw the women, whose business was thus cut up, into equal consternation and frenzy. They rose in mass, and their clamours threatened no little public commotion. But Radama was not

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a man to be intimidated or diverted from his purpose by such means. His measures were severe and decisive. He surrounded the whole insurgent mob with a body of well-disciplined soldiers, and demanded the immediate surrender of four of their ringleaders. These being given up, he turned to his guards and said, "Will nobody rid me of these troublesome women?" when those present rushed upon the poor creatures and slaughtered them at once. Radama then commanded the dead bodies to be thrown into the midst of their companions, who were kept three days without food in the armed circle of military, while the dogs, before their eyes, devoured the putrid corpses of their friends. The consequences did not stop here; infection broke out, some died, and the rest fled and returned to their homes.

The laws of Madagascar are very sanguinary, and capital punishment is inflicted for very small offences. Some years ago, we are told, it was death to take snuff, smoke tobacco, or for a man to keep a dog or a cat in his house. Trial by ordeal was frequent, and it was with the utmost difficulty that a practice so iniquitous and absurd could be abolished even by a royal despot. Radama, the king, being ill, the English agent (Mr. Hastie) gave him calomel; in consequence of which his Majesty's mouth became, as was to be expected, affected, and his breath fœtid. The courtiers insisted that he had been poisoned by some of his household, and required that they should all be subjected to the tangina. Both the king and the English agent assured them that they were mistaken, and stated the simple fact, the reason of the symptoms, and the probable cure that would ensue. They would not believe; and Radama himself was compelled to yield to their demands. The tangina is the poisonous kernel of an indigenous nut; a little of which being scraped off upon the tongue of the suspected person, with certain ceremonies, it is presumed that if guiltless it will not hurt, but if guilty it will destroy him. On this occasion thirty innocent people were tried by this test, when twenty-eight of them died.

A yet more hideous mockery of justice was sometimes employed. The queen was ill, and she was supposed to have been poisoned by some of her female attendants. A number of these were brought to the ordeal of (each) having first one joint of one finger, then another of the same, and so on from finger to finger, and from the fingers to the hands, and from the hands to the wrists, the wrists to the elbows, and the elbows up to the shoulders,-chopped off in succession (even to the mutilation of the whole body in case of contumacy), so long as the sufferer could endure the torture,-that is, till she confessed the crime of which she was only suspected, whether guilty or not; when she was of course put to death at once. Thus there was no alternative between being murdered by inches, or by one merciful blow, the mercy not being shown till the wretch was thus proved to be a criminal, and deserving of none.

One of our Missionaries once witnessed a

most tragical spectacle, the burning alive of three soldiers, who had been found guilty of cowardice, a misdemeanor which Radama punishes with inexorable rigour. The culprits

were brought forth heavily loaded with chains. One of them, however, by a desperate effort, got away and rushed down a neighbouring precipice; but he was pursued, overtaken, and hurried back to the place of execution. There the three living bodies were laid like fagots, one upon another, when, wood being heaped around them, fire was set to the pile, and the whole were consumed together.

One day, when the late British resident was dining at the palace, one of the wives of Radama had in some manner offended him, when, so impetuous and unappeasable was his wrath, that he called to an officer at table, and commanded him to go out instantly and spear the woman. The officer obeyed; and, soon after returning, the king inquired whether his order had been obeyed. "Yes, she's spear'd," was the reply, and the company proceeded with their dinners as though a mere every-day circumstance had happened. He knows, notwithstanding, when and how, in a politic way, to exercise clemency. Some of his conquered enemies and forced subjects have taken the oath of allegiance three or four times, and again rebelted, before he has finally passed sentence of death upon them. How powerfully does the recital of scenes such as these confirm the declaration of Scripture, "that the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty!" And how strongly should it excite every Christian heart to plead with God speedily to fulfil his "covenant," which declares it to be his purpose "that the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the depths of the sea!"

CHAPTER L.

Further Information respecting Madagascar-The late Mr. Hastie, British Agent at Tananarivo-Customs in Madagascar on the Death of a Native-Tribute to the King-Royal Exhortation in favour of Husbandry— Punishment of Offenders-Sumptuary Laws-Cleanliness-Burying Valuables with the Dead-Child-murder -Singular Release of Prisoners-Rataffe-Charms, or Amulets-Barbarous Ordeal-Expedition of King Ra dama-King's Army-Peculiar Burial-service-Spirituous Liquor-Band of Robbers attacked-Moderation of Radama-Northern part of Madagascar-Preserved Sculls-Favour shown to British Ships-Characteristic Dialogue-Mode of catching Fish-Alligators-Monkeys-The word Vahing -Large Bamboos - Wild Bulls-Prayer of an aged Chieftain for Success in an Enterprise-Vampire-Bats-Wild Boars-Native Greetings-Domestic Animals-Grain cultivated-Malagasse Women-Notices of the Country-Conduct of the King during an Expedition.

AMONG those of our countrymen who have from time to time resided a while in Madagascar, none, probably, ever enjoyed so much of the confidence of Radama, or exercised so much influence over him, as the late Mr. Hastie. He had been in the ranks of the army in this island (Mauritius), but having distinguished himself by various public services, and by some means or other having obtained sufficient acquaintance with the Malagasse language, he was employed by Go

vernor Farquhar in the negociation for abolishing the slave-trade in that quarter. This being successfully accomplished, Mr. Hastie remained at the court of Radama as representative of the British interests there. Subsequently he accompanied the king in various campaigns and journeys in different parts of Madagascar, and became, in a great measure, his Majesty's leading adviser, in both military and civil matters. In this situation he befriended our Missionaries, and the cause in which they were engaged, in various ways. He died not long ago. From some of his papers, which have been put into our hands by a member of the Mauritius government, we have collected the following intelligence respecting Madagascar and its affairs.

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for themselves, or even a member of their family, on the event of such individuals having transgressed the laws.-But this custom being attended by various evils has been abolished by the king, who decreed that rewards should be given to the brave and deserving.-He confirmed the existing laws which declare that a theft of any property amounting in value to more than a fowl, or the twenty-fourth part of a dollar, should subject the perpetrator to a kabare (trial); and enacted that all minor thefts should subject the offenders to work such a number of days on the public roads as the police-officers of the district where such thefts were committed should adjudge.-He also positively commanded that the police of every district should furnish rations to every person voluntarily offering his services on the public

1822, to April 22, 1823.

It is a custom of the natives of Madagascar to fire small arms repeatedly near the houses where the bodies of their deceased relations are laid out; also, on every occasion of removing a corpse; and the mortality in the camp, at times, has been such, that the observance of this formality towards the dead bodies brought to the capital for interment caused an almost constant discharge of musketry. Yet it is deserving of notice, that the custom of bringing the bones of persons who have died in distant districts to the neighbourhood of the residences of their families is now practised to a very limited extent in comparison with former times; three bodies only having been brought from the Sacalave district whilst any appearance of hostility existed there, though thousands have been removed since the termination of the war.

On the conclusion of the addresses made by the King Radama and the chiefs, in kabare, or public assembly, the usual formality of presenting manassin (tribute) to the king commenced, and several hundred dollars, cut in small pieces, besides a greater quantity uncut, were speedily collected.

The chieftains were assembled to-day (Jan. 24, 1823). The king (Radama) again addressed them, representing an immediate necessity for their application to husbandry and manufactures, as the only means by which their situation may be improved, and their wants satisfied. He spoke largely on the subject, and concluded by saying "Surely you will exert yourselves to raise your progeny from a level with the Caffres. We must no longer be classed with the Mozambiques. Our friends declare that we were not born to be slaves." He then distributed a quantity of wheat and other grain, to be sown, among the chiefs, &c. At the close of the meeting, agreeably to the custom of the country, those who had received the seed entered into wagers with each other on the success of their particular modes of cultivating it.

It was a custom of the chieftains of the district of Ovah to allow persons, or the descendants of such, who had rendered particular services to the state, or more immediately to their ancestors, the privilege of demanding pardon

sity of any person committing a theft to satisfy the wants of nature, as his labour would thus secure him subsistence.

When advice has been given to the natives of Ovah tending to excite them to industry, they have been frequently heard to state that they did not labour under any particular wants, as they were not permitted to wear jewellery and clothes, except of a certain description, which latter, and subsistence, they obtained without much exertion. It being also ascertained that the prohibition of the use of pork had not originated in the observance of any religious formalities, but was a command of the king's ancestors-and as it was the general opinion that an abolition of such restrictions would be of advantage in promoting industry and economy-a representation was made to Radama to that effect, which was ultimately successful.-As some mark of distinction, however, was deemed necessary to be preserved, it was finally enacted, "that no person, not of noble blood, should wear either gold or coral in their hair."-The king again took occasion, when he granted this favour, to recommend agriculture, manufactures, and commerce; and made a law by which any person found to pass two or more successive days in idleness should be subjected to work a similar number of days on the roads!

The tumult of joy on the publishing of the kabare, taking off the restrictions, (named above) exceeded any that I have witnessed in Ovah since the abolition of the slave-trade for exportation. The shouts of exultation and thanks were so violent and continued, that the ministers could not obtain silence to publish some other orders about building bridges, for upwards of two hours. And on the dispersing of the assembly, the buzz of joyful expressions, thanking Radama, was continued in every direction.

The want of cleanliness at the capital, in the public streets and passages, could not fail to attract the attention of every stranger. Indeed, to it may in a great measure be attributed the sufferings of a part of the population, many of whom are afflicted with filthy diseases.-An order was issued for keeping the metropolis