222 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
head is safe, yours is. I know the king.’’ And in this the 
British agent acted on the spirit of his instructions, in 
which the governor of Mauritius had urged, that though 
Mr. Hastie should not succeed in the attempt to renew the 
treaty, yet that he should endeavour to introduce the Mis¬ 
sionary, and form a permanent settlement for him in the 
dominions of Radama. 
Both travellers had seen enough from the time of their 
reaching Tamatave, to render them anxious for the sup¬ 
pression of the slave-traffic in the island. On the very 
morning they left Tamatave for Hivondrona, they saw a 
vessel sail out of the harbour laden with slaves. The 
captain had artfully contrived to elude the suspicions of the 
British agent during the previous evening, while the living 
cargo was being conveyed to his vessel, by spending the 
time with him in a friendly and familiar conversation on 
the inviting and detaining topic-—the arts and devices by 
which the slave-traders succeeded in obtaining their prey! 
During their journey to the capital, they had also painful 
demonstrations of the prevalence of the slave-trade. At 
two places they met large companies of slaves who were 
being driven to the coast, all of them wearing iron rings 
fastened to their wrists, and having to carry packages 
on their heads, consisting of poultry, rice, &c. On one 
occasion, while passing Ampassimpotsy, an open plain 
amidst the immense forest of Alamazaotra, they met about 
one thousand of their fellow-beings in this degraded 
situation. 
On advancing towards the capital, Mr. Hastie received 
another letter, with'the warm assurances of welcome from 
the king. On the 3d of October, when within a day’s 
journey of Tananarive, the travellers were passed on the 
road by a man at full speed, bearing a silver-mounted 
