There are now thirty-one churches in the Sihánaka province; and in a few years, judging from the villages we saw, the number will be increased. Of the strength of their principle and the vitality of their piety we saw abundant proofs. Left to themselves they keep holy the Sabbath; they maintain public worship; they have chosen pastors for their instruction; they pay teachers for educating their children. From small beginnings they have grown numerous and strong. The grace of God which has helped their brethren, which has helped converts in other lands, has strengthened and upheld them. Their family life has grown purer, the great vice of drinking has vastly diminished: the soiled clothes are replaced by clean dress. Order, peace, fellowship and good will prevail among them. And the root of all this regeneration and revival is the simple Gospel of Christ. They will gain greatly by the proposed residence among them of their friend Mr. Pearse and a younger colleague. The Christian women too will greatly benefit by the advice and example of one or two English ladies in their midst. The work of a wise Englishman in these young communities, is to shorten processes of growth, to remove difficulties, to warn against errors, to expound the Scriptures more fully, to organise efficient agencies, especially schools; to stimulate by his example and his higher knowledge; and in other ways to bring the power, the experience, and the resources of a higher Christian civilisation to bear upon the elevation and improvement of these children in the faith. The willingness of these converts, the earnestness with which they have kept their faith, and their longing for more light and higher life, indicate that our friends have before them a noble prospect of usefulness. Judging from our survey and the map resulting from it, the Sihánaka province, within its bordering ranges, covers a space of about two thousand square miles. It is a vast basin in the midst of these hills, having a clear lake and a great reedy swamp in the centre. The levels, redeemed for rice culture and pasturage, and the dry ridges above them, form but a limited portion of the whole. The Alaotra lake lies nearer to the eastern than the western shore: it is hammer-headed in shape, and has a length of thirty-two miles, with a breadth of four or five. The reed swamps, with their numerous arms cover a space of over six hundred square miles. The population of the province we estimated at forty thousand people. We counted some sixty villages and small towns in the district, of which only three have more than six hundred inhabitants.