the love of the Lord, and your tender love and care over us, and desire we may never forget, and for the time to come we may live in the Truth, as we ought to do. And we desire to lie under judgment for the things that are passed; for truly our trouble hath been very great, and we hope it will be a warning to us how ever we enter into the like temptation again. So, with dear love to you all, we remain, "ELIZABETH WOOD and SARAH WARREN.' 1681, Tenth Month.-"Susan Dover, of Amersham, having often walked disorderly, and been often admonished and reproved therefor, and having lately, in a more remarkable manner, abused herself with drink, to the great scandal and reproach of Truth, of which an account was given to this meeting It was agreed that Friends of Amersham Meeting should go to her, and lay the weight of her wickedness upon her." At the meeting in the Eleventh Month it was reported that "Divers friends of Amersham Meeting had been with Susan Dover, and laid her evil doings before her," and that she was willing "to give forth a paper of condemnation for clearing of truth," which paper follows. 1683, Fourth Month.-"Timothy Child's business was again mentioned, and very tenderly considered of, and some Friends having observed some tenderness in the man at a public meeting, this meeting thereupon was willing yet a little longer to defer giving forth a public testimony against him, and to wait yet awhile, if perhaps the Lord might give him repentance unto the acknowledgment of his fault." 1683, Fourth Month. "Timothy Child's business was again considered, and Friends understanding that being lately taken among Friends at a meeting, he is likely to go to prison, were willing to respite the proceeding in his business for a while, to see what effect imprisonment (if he do go) may have upon him." The perusal of the foregoing Minutes will show that the business of the Monthly Meeting was not conducted in a dry or formal manner, but with earnest endeavours to maintain a true Christian discipline, and to promote the spiritual well-being of the flock. It would indeed be a matter for sincere rejoicing if the many closed meeting-houses in this district should be again brought into use. Great obstacles lie in the way of any effort to bring about such a change. Friends are very thinly scattered in the surrounding districts, and are generally members of small meetings, where their presence on the first day of the week seems on many accounts desirable. It is a subject, however, which should not be lost sight of, and the writer would rejoice if this little insight into the practice and discipline of our early Friends should lead to a prayerful committal of the whole subject to One who, in His own time, can prepare the way for the renewed spreading, in this and other similar districts, of the simple and Scriptural views of Truth as held by the Society of Friends. RICHARD LITTLEBOY. HARRIET MARTINEAU. H. MARTINEAU relates in her Autobiography that, from a singular perversion of sight, when a child, she was unable to see the Ocean when it lay at her feet, or the great Comet of 1811, when pointed out to her in the sky. "The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." Strange blindness thine! whose young eyes failed to see Strange the bright Comet shone in vain for thee,- Type of the inward blindness that was thine- Type of faith's day-star that in vain might shine— Alas! the sense but typified the soul ! Thine own acuteness might have taught thee this. But one step more, the moral had been gained— ETA. HOME AGAIN-OUR JOURNEY TO THE COAST. DURING the latter part of 1876, and the early months of 1877, a not very easy matter to decide for those who wished to leave Madagascar, was the best way of accomplishing this. The eastern or Tamatave and Mauritius route was practically almost closed, owing to the lengthened quarantine imposed at Mauritius on all from Madagascar; this was on account of the outbreak of small-pox which had recently taken place on the eastern side of the island. In consequence of this most of those from Antananarivo intending to leave the island in 1877, looked towards Mojangà, on the north-western coast, as a likely point of departure, especially as there was from this place a monthly steam communication with Zanzibar, and consequently with Suez and Capetown, from either of which places England may be readily reached. Mojangà or as it is spelt in English books Majunga, is situate at the mouth of the large river Ikopa, which, rising in the high lands of central Madagascar, and in its early course making a partial circuit of the city of Antananarivo, and receiving the drainage of large tracts of country, after a long north-westerly course enters the Mozambique channel, its mouth forming a large bay in which there is good anchorage ground for ships. The traveller from Antananarivo to Mojangà has three distinct modes of journeying to look forward to :— (1) The palanquin; (2) The canoe down the Ikopa; (3) The Arab dhow, when the increasing width of the river, the tidal changes, and approach to the sea make it no longer safe to travel in open canoes. In a T large part of the land journey, as well as that by river, there is no accommodation for the traveller by night, so that tents have to form part of the equipment in addition to our usual travelling baggage, which includes everything likely to be wanted en route, from a bedstead to a salt-box, and from a chair to a fryingpan. Imagine then all these necessary preparations made, and on the evening of Thursday, July 19th, everything was ready for a start on the morrow, when, by the help of our kind friend S. C., the loads of our eighty bearers were all adjusted, and a start was made about 1 p.m., July 20th. We had, however, but a short half-day's journey before us, and after a three hours' ride arrived at Ambohidratrìmo, the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Baron, of the London Missionary Society's Mission, who had but a few days previously arrived at their station from England; they gave us a very warm welcome, and spared no pains to make us comfortable. The next day, after a long ride of seven hours, we came to Fihaònana, another mission station of the London Missionary Society. Here reside Mr. and Mrs. Matthews; in consequence of sickness in the family we could not stay with them as had been arranged. They, however, provided for us very comfortable quarters in a house in close proximity to their own, and we shall not soon forget their hospitality shown to our party of travellers. It was Saturday afternoon when we arrived at Fihaonana, and here we quietly spent the Sunday, and on the following morning we started once more on our north-westerly journey to the sea. And here let me say what I have to say about the roads. Except in some places, where they are rather hard to the men's feet, they are exceedingly good, and for long distances could easily be travelled on horseback. The gradients are almost invariably easy-a few steep ascents and descents indeed there are, but these are easily overcome, |