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: