between three and four miles off.

"Let's go an' git into it at once," suggested Hockins.

"Better wait for Ebony," said Mark. Then--to the Secretary--"Yours is a
very interesting and wonderful country!"

"It is, and I wonder not that European nations wish to get possession of
it--but that shall _never_ be."

Mark replied, "I hope not," and regarded his friend with some surprise,
for he had spoken with emphasis, and evidently strong feeling. "Have
you fear that any of the nations wish to have your country?"

"Yes, we have fear," returned the Secretary, with an unwontedly stern
look. "They have tried it before; perhaps they will try it again. But
they will fail. Has not God given us the land? Has not He moved the
hearts of Engleesh men to send to us the Bible? Has not his Holy Spirit
inclined our hearts to receive that Word? Yes--it has come. It is
planted. It _must_ grow. The European nations cannot hinder it.
Ranavalona cannot stamp it out. False friends and open foes cannot
crush it. The Word of God will civilise us. We will rise among the
nations of the earth when the love of Jesus spreads among us--for that
love cures every evil. It inclines as well as teaches us to deny self
and do good. It is not possible for man to reach a higher point than
that! Deny self! Do good! We are slow to learn, but it is _sure_ to
come at last, for is it not written that `the knowledge of the Lord
shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea'?"

"I believe you are right," said Mark, much impressed with this outburst
and the earnest enthusiasm of his friend's manner. "And," he continued,
"you have a noble country to work on--full of earth's riches."

"You say noting but the truth," answered the Secretary in a gratified
tone. "Is not our island as big--or more big--as yours--nearly the same
as France? And look around! We have thousands of cattle, tame and
wild, with which even now we send large supplies to foreign markets, and
fowls innumerable, both wild and tame. Our soil is rich and prolific.
Are not our vegetables and fruits innumerable and abundant? Do not
immense forests traverse our island in all directions, full of trees
that are of value to man--trees fit for building his houses and ships
and for making his beautiful furniture, as well as those that supply
cocoa-nuts, and figs, and fruits, and gums, and dyes? And have we not
the silkworm in plenty, and cotton-plants, and sugar-cane, and many