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all done against the earnest entreaties of Rafaralahy. She consented, the tangena was administered, and he was convicted by it as guilty of witchcraft. He begged the queen to give him another trial, which she refused to do, though, owing to her regard for his father's memory, she spared his life, and banished him to some part of the Sakalava country to remain till death. The whole of his property was confiscated. As Rafaralahy was much attached to him, this calamity, which he had brought upon himself, made a deep impression on his mind, convinced him more than ever of the vanity of earthly things, the uncertainty of life, and the supreme importance of being prepared to meet God.

Soon after this he visited one of the missionaries, and asked for a copy of the Psalter. A copy of the New Testament was offered him, but he was too timid at that time to accept of it, thinking he could more easily conceal a small psalter than a large book. In a few weeks, however, he applied for the Testament and some spelling books, in order to teach others. He now gave himself up unreservedly to the Lord. He taught several of his servants to read, and instructed them in the way of salvation, and had the great delight of seeing four or five of his dearest friends become the followers of the Saviour. He was very anxious to see his beloved mother become a Christian, and neglected no means to instruct her. He prayed most fervently for her, and repeatedly requested his Christian friends to remember his mother in their prayers. She never opposed his embracing Christianity nor advised him to relinquish it; neither did she prevent his associating with the poor and afflicted Christians,

206

CHRISTIAN KINDNESS.

but frequently admonished him not to admit too many to

his house at one time.

of conversion to God.

She gave, however, no evidence

He told the missionary from whom he obtained the copies of the Scriptures above mentioned, that although he had been in the habit of attending religious ordinances for some years, and had associated much with professed Christians, and had felt some pleasure at times in religious conversation, yet he did not think that a real change of heart had taken place, until some months after the queen's edict for the suppression of Christianity, for then he began to feel a delight in spiritual things, and to find it good to draw near to God in private devotion. Some of the Christians, however, who knew him intimately, think that he was a true convert previously to that time.

Rafaralahy omitted nothing in his power to alleviate the sorrows of his persecuted brethren. He either visited them himself, or sent a trusty servant frequently to inquire how they fared, and when he found any of them in want of food, he usually supplied them according to his ability. He had divided his rice ground, allotting a portion of it for the support of himself and family, and another portion for his poor relatives and neighbours; but in the spirit of the primitive disciples, he devoted the greatest portion to the relief of his afflicted brethren. He kept nothing for himself, more than was absolutely necessary, often telling the Christians, that he felt less and less desire to accumulate riches on earth, but an increasing desire to secure a treasure in heaven, and would often quote such passages as the following: "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry

SPIRITUAL PROVISION.

207

nothing out." "If we have food and raiment, let us therewith be content." "I feel," said he, "no wish to be rich, but I am thankful to have a little more than I want for my own use, that I may assist my beloved friends, who have lost all for Christ's sake and are now in bondage." He often remarked to his Christian friends, that he could not feel satisfied with merely supplying them with the food that perisheth, unless he did all he could to supply them with spiritual food, knowing they could not be happy in their present condition, unless their souls were nourished with the heavenly manna.

"If the body," said he, "is not regularly fed, it becomes weak, feeble, and unable to bear the fatigue of hard labour. So is it with the soul, it will become weak in faith, hope, and love, if not regularly supplied with spiritual food, and as those who are called to hard labour are not satisfied with weak food, such as milk and eggs, so neither let us be satisfied with spiritual milk, but let us seek for stronger food, that we may be strong in the Christian graces, for we know not what hardships await us." That he might be able to afford opportunities to his Christian friends to meet together for prayer, reading the scriptures and religious conversations, he removed from the village mentioned to a private spot, where he could entertain them without its being noticed by the villagers, and his house became a home to the afflicted Christians until his death.

He was not satisfied with doing good to his Christian brethren; he extended his benevolence to all around him. He spoke of the love of Jesus to his neighbours as far as he could, and was the instrument of inducing several to

believe in the Saviour. He was particularly attentive in this respect to three lepers who had their hut a short distance from his house. Those infected with this disease are numerous in Madagascar, and as soon as it is discovered, the leper is removed from all society, and is placed at a distance from all other habitations, to remain there until death. Their relations supply them from time to time with provisions, placing it on the ground at a few hundred yards distance from the hut, and calling to the sick to fetch it. Rafaralahy felt much for the three that remained near his house, and often said to his Christian friends, "How happy they might be in the prospect of death if they knew the Saviour. How pleasantly and delightfully they might spend their time together in reading the Scriptures, and conversing on the love of Christ, and uniting together in prayer and praise! They might read, sing, and pray without any fear of being discovered; what a pity they had not learnt to read before they were taken ill!" At last he determined on making an attempt to teach them to read and instruct them in the way of salvation. He went to them with a spelling book for each, and told them the design of his visit; they accepted his kind offer most gratefully, and immediately commenced learning, and in a few weeks they were able to read the New Testament tolerably well, a copy of which he presented to each of them. One of them happening to lose his copy, the whole three went in search of it, and continued searching a whole day but in vain. They returned to their humble shed and united in fervent prayer, that God, from whom nothing is hid, would discover to them the spot where their treasure was. After the prayer, they

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209

again commenced searching, and happily soon found the book. One of the three died a few months before Rafaralahy, in full assurance of hope. And there is ground to believe that the others are true believers in Christ. They were full of grief and sorrow when they heard of the death of their kind benefactor. They entreated most earnestly the first Christian they saw, after hearing of this event, to continue to them the instructions which he had imparted to them. He promised to do so, but in a few hours after leaving them, found that he could but just save his life by immediate flight.

This fresh burst of persecution was occasioned by the following circumstance. Rafiakarana, or, as sometimes called, Ramahazo, was a native of the same village as Rafaralahy. They were well acquainted with each other. from their childhood. The former was placed in the mission school by Radama, he conducted himself well, and made good progress. He was chosen to be one of the printers, when the press was set up in Madagascar. When permission was given by the queen to baptize and admit the natives to the Lord's Supper, he was among the first to express a desire to receive these ordinances, and was baptized. He appeared zealous in promoting the spiritual welfare of his countrymen, and fixed on his native village as the more immediate field of his labours. He obtained a house in the village, went there on the Sabbath, and sometimes on week evenings. Rafaralahy attended his religious instructions, and received some good impressions from them. The latter learnt to read and made some progress in the knowledge of the Scriptures. As the love of the Saviour increased in him, he