ry slothful; and
when not compelled to exert themselves in husbandry or war, they
pass their time in sleep. They have little thought for the morrow;
and, in fact, seem to be a thoroughly contented happy race; and so
they ought to be, in one sense, for they are surrounded by every
comfort, and even luxury, which the hand of nature can produce.
Their characteristic feature is simplicity; and they regard the
example of their forefathers as authority for every action."

DORA. "They are Christians, I believe?"

MRS. WILTON. "I wish I could say they are, my dear Dora. Some
Christians there certainly are in Madagascar; but the majority are
ruled by superstition. They acknowledge one only true God, the
Creator of heaven and earth, and the Supreme Ruler of the universe,
and they call him 'Ungharry,' or 'Zanhare,' which signify the
'Highest God,' or 'God above.' They believe him to possess infinite
power; but they consider him too great a being to condescend to
attend to the concerns of mortals: they therefore suppose that four
inferior spirits are appointed, to whom are delegated the affairs of
the world. These are denominated the Lords of the North, South,
East, and West. The East is supposed to be the dispenser of plagues
and miseries to mankind, by the command of the Great God. The other
three are employed in the dispensation of benefits. Besides this,
they have faith in a _world_ of spirits, and believe that every
family has its guardian angel, which is generally supposed to be
the soul of a particular ancestor; and, strangely enough, although
they believe in the immortality of the soul, they deny that there
can be a future punishment, or that the soul can suffer evil after
its separation from the body; but they assert that bad men will be
punished in this world by a complication of misfortunes, and that
the good will be rewarded by health, constancy of friends, increase
of fortune, and obedience of children."

GRANDY. "There was at one period great hopes concerning Madagascar.
Missionaries went out, and were cordially welcomed by the
authorities, although the people, from ignorance, were hostile. But,
poor creatures! white men had never visited their shores but to
carry away their children and friends to sell them for slaves in
different parts of the world; and, of course, they were very
suspicious; so much so, that when the missionaries first endeavored
to establish schools in Madagascar, the parents refused to allow