278 
It is impossible to give an adequate idea of the 
effect the signing of the agreement produced : thou¬ 
sands of natives were assembled around the palace, 
waiting, with the most anxious suspense, the deter¬ 
mination of an affair, which involved consequences of 
such vast importance to their future welfare. But, as 
soon as the happy result was announced, and the 
British flag hoisted in union with that of Madagascar, 
a burst of transport, the spontaneous tribute of a 
grateful and feeling people to their monarch for the 
gift of liberty, shook the palace, and overpowered the 
thunder of the cannon which were firing on the hill. 
Every eye, every countenance beamed with delight; 
every heart swelled with grateful emotion; and in the 
midst of the exhilarating scene, the British agents in 
this work of benevolence and humanity, were beheld 
with almost as much veneration as if they had de¬ 
scended from heaven to confer the blessing of freedom 
upon man;—enviable indeed must have been their 
feelings on that occasion. If one situation in life is 
better calculated than all others, to raise an human 
being above every selfish consideration, and to pour 
into the heart a flood of overwhelming sensations of 
delight, it is such an one as that in which these good 
men found themselves, when, with tears of joy in their 
eyes, they beheld the happiness of the people around 
them, and reflected on the immense consequences that 
must result from the transaction of the last few mo¬ 
ments that had so quickly glided into eternity. # 
* * We recollect but one instance in modern history that can 
be compared with it,—but one man whose public acts could 
