30 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
“ It is, in my humble opinion, very possible, that what¬ 
soever prince of Christendom is once really possessed of, 
and strongly settled in that brave, fruitful, and pleasant 
island, by computation three times as big as England, may 
with ease be emperor or sole monarch of the East Indies, 
with all the multitude of its rich and large kingdoms ; 
which, no doubt, but the eyes of many European princes 
are fixed upon, but that great disturbances in most parts 
thereof, as at present unhappily in England, hinder and 
give impediments to their wished designs, which, in zeal to 
God’s glory, my gracious sovereign’s honour, and my native 
country’s welfare and prosperity, I from the bottom of my 
heart wish that some more learned and persuasive pen 
than mine, rude and ignorant, might prevail with his gra¬ 
cious majesty, king Charles, the right honourable high 
court of parliament, and all true-heaited able persons of 
the nobility, gentry, &c. to take in hand, even in these 
obstructive times, to adventure each man some small propor¬ 
tion of means throughout this kingdom, which, though but 
small to every particular person, yet, undoubtedly, would 
amount to a very considerable sum of money, sufficient to 
undertake that action as a business of state. That I may 
give the best advice and encouragement in this affair, that 
my weak capacity will allow, I shall descend to the follow¬ 
ing particulars.” 
The writer then expatiates at considerable length upon 
“ the healthfulness of the island, Augustine’s Bay, a chief 
and excellent harbour for multitudes of ships, and the 
pleasantness and fertility of the country,” which he calls 
« a second land of Canaan, or paradise of the world.” 
Allusion has already been made, on the authority of 
Rochon, to the injudicious attempts of Father Stephen to 
