384 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
anxious to find his financial resources replenished without 
delay or trouble. 
Since the introduction of education among the people, 
the labours of the Missionaries had been retarded for want 
of a sufficient supply of books in the language, which they 
had now reduced to a regular grammatical system, but 
in the month of November, 1827, the long-cherished desire 
of the Missionaries, that their labours might be facilitated 
by a printing-press, seemed about to be realized, by the 
arrival at the capital of Mr. Hovenden, who had been pre¬ 
viously employed by the Bible Society at St. Petersburg!], 
and had now been sent out by the London Missionary 
Society, as printer, with press, types, and the requisite 
printing materials. But within two days of his arrival 
with his family at Tananarivo, they were seized with the 
Malagasy fever, and on the 15th of December, to the deep 
affliction of the members of the Mission, Mr. Hovenden 
died. 
On the 8th of February, 1828, the annual examination 
of the schools took place, as usual, at the capital. His 
majesty sent messages to the scholars by his chief secretary, 
and two other officers, being himself too much occupied to 
attend. The subject to which he was at that time giving 
his attention, was the detection and punishment of an im¬ 
postor, which he effected in the following decided and cha¬ 
racteristic manner:— 
It had been reported to Radama, that a man, at a short 
distance from the capital, professed himself to be inspired, 
and able to foretell events. The king sent for him, and 
received him with much parade, his body-guard being 
drawn up, and the female singers arranged in their cus¬ 
tomary order. On entering the gate at Mahazoarivo, the 
singers saluted him, “Tonga ny Andriamanitra,” “God is 
