A few days after her return the Queen kindly received my colleague and myself, with several members of the mission, in special audience: that we might place in her hands the Address which had been forwarded to her by the Directors of the Society; and might offer to her and to the Prime Minister valuable presents of which we were the bearers. Amongst these was a beautiful casket from Mrs. Allon and the ladies of Union Chapel. The Queen expressed herself as much gratified by the Directors’ words, and said she would send her reply when we returned to England. In reference to the younger missionaries who were presented with us, and who had just arrived in the island, the Prime Minister said that they were deeply interested to hear that two of them were about to settle in the Betsileo province: and he appealed to the elder missionaries present as to the protection and security which they had always received and in which their labours were carried on. Our interview with them was a gratifying one. There was a homeliness and a cordiality about their looks and words, and a readiness to respond to our assurances of good will, which showed that we are truly regarded as friends; and that they are themselves truly anxious for the welfare of the people. Such was the intercourse which my colleague and I continued to enjoy with them throughout the period of our stay. We paid formal visits at this time to other principal officers of the government, men of high standing in the community. And as we came to see and know more of them as days passed by, it was a matter of great thankfulness to find that there are amongst them so many men of sincere, simple piety and consistent life, whose families also entertain a strong attachment to the gospel and to the churches of which they are members. This is true of many younger men and women as well as of their elders. At the same time, amongst some of the young men, things occur which occasion deep grief not only to their English friends, but to their own families.