HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
185 
Hastie, are returned to this country, as you have already 
seen, and the remaining number never reached Mauritius. 
In this assertion the speaker had no doubt but he was 
borne out by facts; but on Radama’s questioning the slaves 
themselves, it was proved that their companions were held 
in slavery in Mauritius, having been sold by Hector, an 
unprincipled man, who accompanied Captain Le Sage as 
interpreter. Radama, who had no milder word than “ lie” 
even for an unintentional mistatement, could not be pre¬ 
vailed upon, for a whole week after this time, either to 
allow that the falsehood was unintentional, or to admit 
Mr. Hastie again into his favour. At the expiration of 
this week he was so far reconciled to his friend, as to state 
upon paper that he was not angry with him; but even 
then he remembered the circumstance against him, and 
made use of it, as before stated, to invalidate the statements 
of Mr. Hastie. 
It was this natural quickness in the detection of error, 
operating under the watchfulness of a jealous temper, and 
combined with partial and limited conceptions of a half- 
enlightened mind, that rendered it so extremely desirable 
to strengthen what was good in the mind of the king, by 
the strictest integrity in all intercourse with him; and 
which invested the after-negociations of Mr. Hastie with a 
degree of difficulty which no individual possessed of less tact 
and less perseverance than himself could have overcome. 
Almost immediately after Mr. Hastie’s second arrival at 
the capital, the king sent to him to say that he could do 
without selling slaves himself, but that his people, who 
supported him, would never be satisfied if deprived of this 
means of increasing their wealth. He wished to know of 
Mr. Hastie, if the governor would allow of their proceeding 
personally to the Isle of France, for the purpose of selling 
