ployed finding out all those who had
attended his meetings or received him.

"At the end of the thirtieth day we were led forth, as we thought, to
death. In a large, empty piece of ground, near the palace, about twenty
men were huddled. They were quite naked, and many of them cruelly
maimed. These were the Christians, and they were surrounded by
soldiers. We were placed on a height near where we could see what
passed. Armed with sticks and knives, the soldiers were loosed upon the
prisoners. The scene was a heart-rending one. Driven gradually towards
the brink of the precipice, the screams of the terrified victims became
fearful, as goaded on by the sharp knives, and the cruel thongs, one
after another took the fatal leap, and the next moment lay mangled,
shapeless masses on the sharp rocks below."

"Santa Maria, how terrible!" exclaimed Isabel. "I wish we were away
from this horrible but beautiful island; and you, how did you escape?"

"You shall hear. The massacre finished, we thought our turn come; but
no, we were led back to our hut, and the next day the scene was enacted
again, and this continued for eight days, until some five hundred
corpses lay festering on the rocks.

"The mode of punishment was however varied; for the eighth day, some of
the head men were reserved for death, and these men were pinioned and
placed in narrow graves, where boiling water was slowly poured over
them; many were poisoned, and every day the list of the condemned was
read over and approved by the queen.

"The morning of the ninth day came, and we were brought forth, and
conducted before the cabare or council to be judged. We were English,
had come for a purpose; but we had disobeyed the queen's command, and
merited death. Satiated for the time with blood, the queen pardoned us,
ordering us to leave the land. Mischief enough had been done, but it
did not end here, for Maurice could not be kept quiet. Rising, he
addressed the council, and he spoke the language fluently. He pointed
out their errors, he exposed the fallacy of their doctrine; he grew
eloquent and excited, and ended by denouncing the queen, and calling
upon her head the just retribution her crimes merited. He was sentenced
to death. We never saw him more; for that night we were marched towards
the coast. It was the month of January, and that is the hottest month
of the year in Madagascar; the deadly fever of the country ravaged the
plains through which