HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
415 
Deprived of all public means of usefulness, the Mission¬ 
aries directed their united efforts, during the remainder of 
the year, to the preparation of elementary and other useful 
books, and the translation of portions of the Holy Scrip¬ 
tures into the native language, more particularly the New 
Testament, a work in which they had long been anxious to 
engage, and to which, ever since the year 1828, consider¬ 
able attention had already been given. While the Mission¬ 
aries were thus employed, Mr. Baker kept the press in 
active and efficient operation, and a larger supply of books 
was thereby provided than the Mission ever before pos¬ 
sessed. 
These labours occupied the Missionaries during the 
remainder of the year, being the only engagements con¬ 
nected with their object, which the superstitions of the people 
allowed them to pursue. Twelve months was the usual 
duration of public mourning on the death of a sovereign, 
but towards the end of December, six months only after 
the death of Radama, the government deemed it expedient 
so far to dispense with the customary observances, as to 
allow, or rather order, the schools to be opened, and the 
work of education to be resumed, though on a scale less 
extensive than formerly, when nearly one hundred schools 
had been established, and between four and five thousand 
scholars instructed. Even this proceeding, favourable as 
it may appear, seems to have been adopted with a view of 
meeting existing, and providing for the future exigencies of 
the government, rather than from any regard to the im¬ 
provement of the people: for scarcely had the schools 
been assembled, than an augmentation of the military 
forces of the government was resolved upon, and about 
700 of the native teachers and senior scholars were drawn 
from the schools to serve as recruits for the army. This 
