classes, without considering their intermixtures. three classes are easily distinguished from each other.

*

These

"The first is that of the Whites, who inhabit the provinces of Anossi and Matatane, and who assert that they are descended from Imina, the mother of Mahomet, and they are in consequence called Zafe Rahimini. The second, inhabiting the Isle of St. Mary, and the country round Foule Point, and the Bay of Antongil, are called Zafe Hibrahim, or descendants of Abraham, who also are Whites. The third race comprises the Indigenous Blacks, who are to be considered as the Aborigines." [p. 49.]

Many of the arts of civil life have advanced among these people to a degree which fully proves their ingenuity, considering the isolated state in which they have so long remained. This, with the hostility which has generally prevailed among the different tribes, and, above all, the slave trade, has always hung like a dense cloud over their industry and the resources of the country, and concealed them even from themselves. Nor did their connection with the French in any material degree tend to remove it. In many points, this connection only served to render the cloud more dense and dark; for the ravages of their arms, and their promotion of the slave trade, perpetually increased the horrors and desolation of the island. We therefore agree with Mr. Copland, that

"Under any other circumstances than those which have existed, they would long ago have attracted the attention of the commercial nations of Europe. With a superior geographical situation, a climate congenial to the growth of vegetables, plants, and trees common in both hemispheres, and every country; mountains replete with various metals and minerals; navigable rivers running in every direction; and excellent gulfs, bays, and harbours distributed around the coast at short distances from each other, she can boast unparalleled advantages; and were she in the hands of a civilized people, she could command a trade with the four quarters of the globe." [p. 108.]

After describing the present state of the commerce of this great island, and alluding to the comparative infancy of its agriculture and arts, as well as to the desire of both the king and people for their improvement, and the recent connec

Those whites who live at Matatane are all magicians, and are called Ombiasses. They have public schools for the purpose of teaching necromancy-they are also the writers and historians of Madagascar. They make use of the Arabic character, and teach both reading and writing in that language.

tion with Britain, formed expressly with that view, Mr. C. remarks,

"We may therefore expect to hear more of this long forgotten place before many years are elapsed; for unless we have entirely mistaken the genius and disposition of her people, civilization will make a rapid progress amongst them: we are not speaking of a nation who are not alive to the advantages of such a state, or who are indifferent about them; but of one possessing a mind capacious enough to view them in their fullest extent;-which feels, and is impatient of, the want of them, and which has the power and the resolution to supply that want. After having seen and heard what is going forward amongst the civilized nations of Europe, the Madegasses cannot, like the people in the frozen regions of the north, sit down in their smoaky huts, contented with the superstition and ignorance entailed upon them by their forefathers; nor will they, with the enervated inhabitants of the east, and the aborigines of the west, meekly bow down their necks for the oppressor to tread on. We see in her a 'lion apprised of the pursuit,'-past experience having taught her that her welfare, though promoted, encouraged, and strengthened by an intercourse with foreign nations, must find its basis within her own shores,-must emanate from, and be supported by, her own exertions." [pp. 109, 110.]

In the history of the French colony, or rather of their transactions with the natives, the reader will find little but a series of oppressions and cruelties, except during the government of the celebrated Count de Benyowsky, who has been denominated "the first European friend the Madegasses ever saw." That part of the history which relates to this extraordinary man, will be read with pleasure; but as the period of French influence in the island is now passed away (and perhaps for ever) we must refer the reader to the work itself for the particulars.-When the Mauritius fell into the hands of the British, in 1810, the French settlements in the island of Madagascar were also taken possession of, as dependencies of the former government; and from that period a new era begins to dawn upon the island. After the general peace of 1814, by which the Isle of Bourbon was restored to France, but the Isle of France, or Mauritius, still retained by the English, governor Farquhar issued a proclamation, retaining Madagascar, in the name of his Britannic Majesty, as a dependency of the latter island. By this time, too, the intercourse which had taken place between the British and the Madegasses had enabled them to compare the conduct of those who sought to oppress and enslave, with that of their new friends, whose object was to

enlighten and civilize. Nor were they destitute either of acuteness of mind to perceive, or decision of character to embrace, the advantages which recent events had procured them. This was particularly the case with Radama, the king of Ova, who cultivated a closer and closer alliance with the governor of the Mauritius, until, in 1816, two of his brothers were sent to that island for the purpose of receiving an English education. This event naturally led to a further development of the British character, as far at least as related to their knowledge of it; and that monarch, who is a man of superior understanding and talents, conceived the idea of civilizing the Madegasses. So strong did his desires on this subject soon become, that he was resolved to make any sacrifice to accomplish it. Governor Farquhar soon perceived, that the two great impediments to this object were, the practice of predatory excursions, and the existence of the slave trade, and therefore exerted all his influence for their abolition. After various ineffectual attempts to accomplish the latter object, Mr. Hastie was sent in 1820, as commissioner, with a fresh proposal for a treaty on this subject, and was received with great satisfaction by the king, whose mind appears to have been still more determined than ever upon the amelioration of his people. After several conferences with the British commissioner on the subject, the king's mind seemed more and more fixed upon the price at which this abolition should be purchased; and the spirit of all his subsequent communications may be easily conveyed in one brief sentence-Instruct my people, and slavery shall cease. Nothing short of that, he asserted, would ensure his subjects the full benefits of the abolition; and we hesitate not to say, that this was the noblest price ever demanded by monarch for the abolition of this inhuman traffic!

The critical moment now arrived, which was to decide the welfare of millions; but this required the British agent to go beyond his instructions. A momentary struggle took place in his mind, but magnanimity soon triumphed, and he agreed that twenty of the Madegasse youths should be educated at the expense of the British; ten in England, and ten in the Mauritius. Mr. Hastie was also accompanied by Mr. Jones, a missionary belonging to the London Missionary Society, who, as well as those who have since repaired thither to instruct the natives in the principles of the Christian religion, were received with the greatest cordiality by the king, from whom they have since experienced

the most marked protection, confidence, and friendship. Artificers were also to be instructed in the Mauritius, and Englishmen were promised to teach the people the useful arts of life. What had taken place in the palace was soon communicated to the people; and it is scarcely possible to conceive a more exhilarating scene than that which this intelligence produced upon their sensible minds. Their gratitude for this double boon-an immense evil removed, and a vast positive good bestowed-which they thus found conferred upon them at once, by the philanthropy of Britain, in the abolition of slavery, and the bestowment of knowledge, were demonstrated by the most spontaneous bursts of transport. The struggle which took place among the principal men in the nation for the privilege of participating in the instruction that was to be enjoyed, must also be considered as the most indisputable evidence of the value they attached to the boon that had been granted them. On both these subjects, we shall extract Mr. Copland's account, and with it we must conclude our remarks, cordially recommending the work to all who wish to become better acquainted with this interesting island; and this still more interesting people. They will find it a perspicuous narrative, not only conveying much information, but generally breathing a spirit of true philanthropy. On the points above referred to, Mr. Copland says,

"It is impossible to give an adequate idea of the effect the signing of the agreement produced: thousands of natives were assembled around the palace, waiting with the most anxious suspense, the determination of an affair which involved consequences of such vast importance to their future welfare. But, as soon as the happy result was announced, and the British flag hoisted in union with that of Madagascar, a burst of transport, the spontaneous tribute of a grateful and feeling people to their monarch for the gift of liberty, shook the palace, and overpowered the thunder of the cannon which were firing on the hill. Every eye, every countenance, beamed with delight; every heart swelled with grateful emotion; and in the midst of the exhilarating scene, the British agents in this work of benevolence and humanity, were beheld with almost as much veneration, as if they had descended from heaven to confer the blessing of freedom upon man;-enviable indeed must have been their feelings on that occasion. If one situation in life is better calculated than all others, to raise an human being above every selfish consideration, and to pour into the heart a flood of overwhelming sensations of delight, it is such an one as that in which these good men found themselves, when, with tears of joy in their eyes, they beheld the happiness of the people around them,

and reflected on the immense consequences that must result from the transaction of the last few moments that had so quickly glided into eternity.

"Immediately after the signing of the agreement, his majesty ordered the necessary preparations to be made for the fulfilment of its conditions; and a few days after, the selection took place of the young persons to be sent to England and the Mauritius for education. A great competition ensued as to whose children should have the king's permission to go, being considered a very high honour. Such was the eagerness manifested, that one person said he would give three thousand dollars for permission to send his child: 'Well,' said the king, 'give me fifteen hundred, and he shall go.' After a little hesitation, the man answered he would give that sum. 'Well,' rejoined the king, 'as you are in earnest, and sincere in your request, he shall go for nothing. The selec tion was made from amongst the children of the richest and most respectable people in the capital. Princes Rataffe, and Endrian Semisate, brothers-in-law to Radama, were deputed to conduct these youths to their destination; the former to England, and the latter to the Mauritius." [pp. 278, 279.]

The Hopes of Matrimony. By John Holland.

London, Westley. 1822.

pp. 68.

GENIUS hath not fixed the bounds of her habitation,she hath not said, hitherto shalt thou come and no further. The peer and the peasant, the civilized and the barbarian, the uncultured and the most exalted intellect, are alike subject to her influence, and the passive instruments of her power. Like the wind that bloweth where it listeth-upon the evil and upon the good-the inspiration comes uncalled, and departs unapprehended, and none can tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth. The influence itself, the directive impulse by which she operates, may perhaps possess a more individual and uniform character than is generally imagined. Endless, and apparently infinite, as are the diversities of her appearance, and the modifications which she every where assumes,-this Proteusean disposition,this symbol of omnipotent and omnipresent Power, arises from the different subjects, the various and distinct media by which her agency is rendered visible, and her operations become tangible and cognizant to the sense. Like the invisible and subtle agent which pervades the material world, never seen but in connection with grosser matter,— subject to its limits, controlled by its capacities, and assuming, under every new alliance, a fresh aspect, a new