No glory shone on the dim paths of thy deceived sons; thy
reproachful phantom walked ever beside them, as part of their own
shadow! The glittering eye of the enemy lured them to the steep slopes
of ice, down into the abyss of eternal snow, and at every step into the
frozen depths, their tears fell fast for thee! They waited until their
hearts withered in the misery of hope long deferred; until their hands
sank in utter weariness; until they could no longer move their emaciated
limbs in the fetters of their invisible chain; still conscious of life,
they moved as living corpses with frozen hearts--alone amidst a hating
People--alone even in the sanctuary of their own homes--alone forever on
the face of the earth!
My Mother! When thou shalt again live in thy olden glory, shed a tear
over their wretched fate, over the agony of agonies, and whisper upon
their dark and silent graves, the sublime word: PARDON!
MADAGASCAR
The 'Last Travels' of Ida Pfeiffer, published in London in 1861, called
the public attention to an island which had been excluded from
civilization for more than a quarter of a century. The great Island of
Madagascar, situated in the path of all the commerce of Europe with the
East, for reasons we are about to explain, has again attracted the
notice of diplomatists, and threatens to become a second Eastern
question. We propose to sketch the history of the island and to explain
the cause of its sudden importance.
Pages:
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168