The town and its people were not in their normal condition during our visit; and whether in relation to their ordinary life or to the religious state of the three churches, we were unable to see for ourselves what they generally are and do. The visit of the Queen and her court had disarranged all their ordinary concerns; and that with good reason; for it was a great event in their history; and it was being carried out in a spirit which would render the visit a blessing to the Betsileo people for many days to come. Radáma the first had entered the province with his armies fifty years ago to extend his conquests and consolidate them. At an earlier date his English drill-sergeant had covered himself with infamy by the severity of his treatment of the Betsileo people, and of the Antanósis beyond them. But though the Betsileos had remained subject, even Radáma could not master the rock-fortress of Ikongo. For more than forty years the Betsileos had had a hard time under Hova rule. They had been fleeced by excessive exactions and they had been left in complete ignorance by their task-masters. With Christianity came justice, light, and peace. The Hova Christians, to their honour be it said, began to gather the Betsileo around them for worship; they became ashamed of their hard dealings, and their rule grew much more gentle. The presence and instruction of English Missionaries had greatly strengthened these improvements; many churches had been established; hundreds of children were being taught in the schools; the Betsileo were as welcome to these services as the Hovas. And now the Queen had come to see her people; to call them around her; to make acquaintance with them personally, to meet them in their tribes; and to speak to them with authority on questions in which their welfare was deeply concerned. At the time of our visit this intercourse of the Queen, the Prime Minister, and the chief officers, with the people was already producing good fruit. The people were loud in praise of the Queen’s friendliness, of her kind speeches, her royal gifts. She had paid special attention to the governor of the Tanala, the princess Hiovana, a great favourite with every one. And the camp and its kabárys were the resort of thousands of visitors every day. Sublunary considerations had entered no doubt into the question of the visit. The herds of fat cattle offered as presents meant something; and the officers and their dependents lived on Betsileo rice. Nevertheless such things both the rich and the poor of the province could for once afford to pay; and under the security of property prevailing as the result of good government and of Christian feeling, material products like these will speedily be multiplied to them a hundred-fold.