Compared with such fields as New Guinea and the Congo, Madagascar has in some respects been the ‘Paradise’ of modern missions; but even in Madagascar large demands are made on the patience and perseverance and on the hopefulness of Christian missionaries; they cannot afford to grow weary and fearful, or faint-hearted as to results. They must be content to use the means and leave the results with God. It is a great thing if they are allowed to dig out the foundations for the temple of the Lord, or even merely to prepare the soil for the seed, or sow the seed from which others shall reap. There is a danger of almost all missions of our day leaning a little too much on the past, and forgetting the many discouragements which preceded the missionary achievements which are now recorded on the pages of history. A wilderness had to be crossed before the promised land was reached. The Madagascar Mission might be, and perhaps is, in more danger of drawing on its past history than most missions, and might be excused a little if it did; but, if the spirit of its past history lives, it will continue to inspire fresh effort on the part of its missionaries of to-day, and on the part of those who have sent them there. With such a past as Madagascar presents there ought to be little danger of a ‘rest and be thankful’ policy being followed. Conquest alone has made foreign missions what they are, and _only_ conquest--i. e. _conversions_--can sustain them. The Malagasy, even the Hovas, have been raised by the Gospel from the depths of depravity to live lives of purity and peace, and from darkness and superstition to the light of the knowledge of the glory of God made visible in the face of Jesus Christ. They can hardly be called a demonstrative people in matters of affection or of religion, and yet, or perhaps because of that, their feelings with regard to both are often far deeper and stronger than many, who looking at them on the surface, would give them credit for. CHAPTER XI PROGRESS ALL ALONG THE LINE ‘The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.’--ISAIAH xi. 9.