LANDING IN MADAGASCAR. 119 It was on the 17th of May, 1879, that they sailed from Durban for Madagascar. "We saw," writes Isaac Sharp, "with a sense of peaceful rest and thanksgiving the shores of South Africa fading in the dim distance. The May Queen had been ready for some days, and only waited the lowering of the surf on the bar to get away. I rejoice to number it among the many providences of this remarkable journey, that so soon as the bar was ready we were ready too." The Friends landed at Port Louis, Mauritius, on the 27th, and reached Tamatave, Madagascar, on the 6th of June. How like Isaac Sharp it was, to send the following lines to the captain of the vessel he had just left : "To Captain C. of the S.- H.Mauritius and Madagascar : By land or sea, In whatsoever clime, The wise are they Who watch and pray; And day by day, in remembrance of Through Christ the way Live for Eternity As well as time. Isaac Sharp." This verse was accompanied by a note : "Dear Captain C.-Soon we shall part, whether to meet again on earth we cannot tell, but there will be a solemn day of meeting. Time is short, we know not how short, and it is written, 'Prepare to meet thy God.' "Thou and I have both escaped the jaws of death, but we are both nearer death now than we were then. For great sinners, a great Saviour is provided or I had not been here to tell of His love, and to give thee a heartfelt entreaty to make the full surrender of thy all to Him who shed His blood for thee and would have thee live to His glory. In answer to prayer may the seal of pardon and peace be thine, through faith in the Son of God. "Sincerely thy friend, "ISAAC SHARP." CHAPTER X. "I could tell much, and leave much untold, of the way and work of the Lord, but time would fail." “I Letter of Isaac Sharp. "Let not faithless fears o'ertake us, Heavenly Leader, still direct us, Count Zinzendorf. AM happy in my work," wrote Isaac Sharp from Madagascar, "notwithstanding that which pertains to the service whereunto my hand is set. "Wherever the light is strong, deep shadows are sure to be, and who would have it otherwise. As in our land so here, there is too much of a superficial Christianity. Nevertheless, I believe if the time of testing came again, some would be found more ready to die than to deny their Lord." On the 28th of June, the Friends reached the capital, Antananarivo, where they had a hearty welcome from the Friends who were then in the city, and also from several of the missionaries of the London Missionary Society. In after years, a missionary of another denomination remarked that this visit to the capital was a most timely one, and from personal experience this missionary spoke of the wonderful influence and cheer brought about by Isaac Sharp's presence. In accomplishing the journey up from the coast, the Friends had an altogether new experience in palanquin travel over hill and dale. Isaac Sharp's description of this makes it easy to understand that "nerves should be in A PERILOUS JOURNEY. 121 abeyance for the enjoyment of such a journey." Steep gradients were ascended and descended over slippery clay, whilst the bearers with wonderful agility pushed onward over places that looked, at first, impassable, the palanquin meanwhile swaying to and fro. "Our travel," he writes, "lay among miles of rounded hill country. The Roofia palm and travellers' tree still graced our pathway, and the light green of the slender bamboos with their pendant terminal plumes, was in beautiful contrast with the dark foliage of the forest trees. Deep water-worn fissures, very narrow at the bottom, were just sufficient for the palanquins to pass between perpendicular sides ten to twenty feet high, tortuous in their course and steep as a house roof. Moreover, the pathway was of clay, soft and slippery from recent rains." "Once," says Isaac Sharp, "I soliloquised involuntarily as the bearers were about to descend a terrific steep, 'Is it really practicable?"" But at last Antananarivo, in the middle of Madagascar is reached, and he writes, "Peaceful, thankful, and restful, rejoicing in spirit to be here. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Helen Gilpin kindly invited us to tea, and we partook with much enjoyment of a genuine, social, home-like English meal." On the afternoon of the following day a company of about one hundred men and women, dressed in clean white lambas arrived. One spoke on behalf of the rest to welcome the Friends, and to ask their acceptance of a gift of poultry and fruit. They spoke affectionately of Joseph Sewell-the first English Friend who was a missionary in their land, and asked after him. "He loved you before he saw you," was the answer, "and much more afterwards." "We are his children," they said. One of the Friend missionaries, Samuel Clemes, acted as interpreter. His medical help was highly valued by suffering natives-men, women, and children; he seemed to possess the power of helping them by a sort of intuition. One morning the Friends had a meeting at Analakeley, with nearly 2,000 native preachers, evangelists, and teachers, a large portion of whom were representative men. In Isaac Sharp's address he reminded them of Rasalama and her martyrdom. He spoke of how Joseph Sewell's mind had been impressed, in boyhood, when his mother told him the thrilling tale. This meeting lasted for six hours, but very few left their seats. A forest of hands was upheld for a loving message to Joseph S. Sewell. Seventeen years later Joseph Sewell's beloved daughter, Lucy Johnson, her husband, and little girl—“ Blossom "have won the martyr's crown. God, in His great goodness, has given faith to their fellow-workers to trust Madagascar to Him in the midst of darkest clouds. "As I stood on the spot of the martyrdom," said one of them, Henry E. Clark, "the words arose in my heart with power, 'Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die it abideth alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.'" One evening the sun set as the travellers reached the hamlet for which they were bound, and in the gloaming a vigorous search was made from house to house to find the one the least filthy. Can we marvel at the prevailing Malagasy fever ? When their efforts were crowned by success, they were not surprised at finding a large population of fleas, as sheep, pigs, poultry, to say nothing of rats, went in and out at will. A space of seven feet square.for the night did not give much room for three stretchers. "We did our best," characteristically writes Isaac Sharp, "and the lights were soon extinguished. Then began a sort of revelry among the rats. Down came one, flop, on my bed, followed by another in too near proximity to my face to be comfortable, so a candle was lit, and then MALAGASY BEARERS. 123 ensued a general scramble. There was much loose straw in the place, so covering over my head for protection, I once more put out the light, and very soon tired nature's sweet restorer' came to the rescue." It could not have been pleasant on another occasion after asking : "Are there any rats?" to get the answer : "Yes, many; very many." If less unpleasant, more perilous were the experiences, thus described, of seeking a halting place: "The shades of the evening came on. Clouds were over and around us, and there was no moonlight to mingle with the day's decline. The darkness, to an unpractised eye, became impenetrable. How the palanquin bearers groped along was a marvel and a mystery; threading their way like cats -minus cat's eyes for the threading-too dark to see whether the next step would drop six inches or sixteen. Two of them, therefore, went in front to 'feel the way.' The climax was at hand. We came to a ridge, with a broken, uneven, and rapid descent-on one side a chasm, on the other a deep ditch-and between them our path lay, two feet in width, over which as best they could our heroes descended in the darkness, passing safely with their living freight into the valley, and thence up a steep ascent to Ambohimatra." When visiting the village of Bara, Isaac Sharp felt the darkness of heathendom-the "gross darkness ”—to be so great as to appear almost impenetrable. He wished to direct the thoughts of his hearers from earthly to heavenly possessions. "Though a man have plenty of rice to eat," he said, "and plenty of lambas to wear, and plenty of oxen, there are heavenly possessions better than these." The people laughed outright. "How can a spirit have possessions? Is the spirit you speak of flesh, or blood, or life?" "The simplest things are too hard for them," said Mr. Baron of the L.M.S. "Tell them what the Bible says, |