His Excellency himself delivered the prizes. In addition to the rewards
assigned by the mission, the Queen presented every holder of a prize
with a new hymn-book and Testament. The Prime Minister also (who had
loaded his pockets with money) gave them dollars, half-dollars, and
broken money, according to merit: and finally the Queen presented every
scholar before her with a new dress. Nearly two thousand were given
away, which it took his Excellency two hours to place in the scholars’
hands. But the gift produced a deep impression, and showed the people
that their Sovereign was really anxious that they should learn. Before
them all, the Queen heartily thanked Mr. Shaw and the members of the
mission, for what they had done for the instruction of her Betsileo
people.
The following day, a public kabáry was summoned, attended with the usual
ceremonies, that the Queen might specially address her people on this
subject of education. The soldiers of the line were brought up in force
to keep the ground. The three regiments of guards immediately surrounded
the platform. One of these regiments is dressed in red knickerbockers:
another has trousers, striped pink and white: the third, consisting of
young officers, has a uniform of rifle green and is armed with the
Snider rifle. The Queen wore a dress of light green watered silk: above
it was her scarlet velvet mantle; and she wore a large gold coronet. Her
chair was of scarlet and gold; and her footstool was one that had been
worked by one of Mrs. Shaw’s girls, and had been presented to her on the
previous day. The assembly was very large; there must have been fifteen
thousand people present.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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