ment of the Catholic Church in his diocese, but never challenging public attention or mingling in public controversy. When he went to Albany, the diocese, stretching over the northern part of the State, contained fewer than forty churches, the congregations were scattered, and there was an insufficient supply of priests. When he left the diocese it contained 113 strong churches, 8 chapels, 54 minor stations, 85 missions, 3 academies for boys, 1 for girls, 6 orphan asylums, and 6 parochial schools. He introduced various religious organizations: Ladies of the Sacred Heart, Sisters of Charity, Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St. Joseph, those of the third order of St. Francis, Hospitalers, Jesuits, Oblates, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Capuchins; but the work that was most distinctively his own was the building of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and the founding of the theological seminary at Troy. In 1850, while on his way to attend a provincial council in New York, Bishop McCloskey was injured in a railway collision near Tarrytown. The boots were torn from his feet, and his right foot was badly crushed. The $5,000 that he received from the railroad company by way of damages he turned over to the building-fund of the cathedral. In 1851 he visited Rome, where he was received with favor. Archbishop Hughes, who had been advanced in ecclesiastical rank Oct. 3, 1850, died on Jan. 3, 1864, and Bishop McCloskey became Archbishop of New York, May 6, 1864. The province at that time included New England, New York, and New Jersey. Archbishop McCloskey was installed at St. Patrick's old cathedral, Aug. 21, 1864. He left Albany with the good-will of all classes, declining a banquet tendered him by the Governor and the State officers, but accepting a portrait of himself and an archiepiscopal cross and ring presented by the priests of the diocese. He took up the duties of his new office in an unostentatious but effective way, and the progress of the Catholic Church in New York was rapid. Many fine churches were built; the Foundling Asylum, the Institute for Deaf-Mutes at Fordham, Homes for Destitute Boys and Girls in connection with St. Stephen's and St. Ann's churches, Homes for Aged Men and Women, and orphan asylums without the city were established; and communities of various religious orders were introduced during his administration. Two labors he assumed special control of the establishment of the Catholic Protectory in Westchester, and the building of the new cathedral, the corner-stone of which Archbishop Hughes had laid Aug. 15, 1858. Archbishop McCloskey attended the General Council of the Vatican in 1869, and served on the Committee on Discipline; he also visited Rome in 1874.

On March 15, 1875, the Pope appointed Archbishop McCloskey a cardinal priest, with the title of Sancta Maria supra Minervam, and on April 27 the ceremony of his investiture

took place in the old cathedral, Archbishop Bayley, of Baltimore, a convert who had received instructions in Catholic doctrine from him while he was pastor of St. Joseph's, placing the cardinal's hat on his head. The pomp of such a ceremonial, the presence of an officer of the Pope's guard in full uniform, the general pride of the Catholic population, and, above all, the wild gossip of the newspapers about the affair, awakened some uneasiness among the Protestants of the country; but it passed away as it became clear that the cardinal, not less than the archbishop, remained a plain citizen, though a prince of the Church. He gave $10,000 to build the high altar and the episcopal throne in the new cathedral, which he dedicated on May 25, 1879.

In 1878 the cardinal was summoned to Rome to take part in the conclave held to elect a successor to Pope Pius IX. His last notable public appearance was at the golden jubilee of his ordination as a priest, held Jan. 12, 1884. On that occasion he received various addresses of congratulation and presents, the Pope sending a cameo engraved with his own portrait, and a golden chalice. The address presented by the clergy said: "Fifty years ago there were in this city but six churches; now there are sixty. There were then but twenty priests in the diocese; now there are 380. At that time there were in the whole United States only nine bishops; now there are 59. Then there was but one archbishop; now there are eleven, one of whom has been raised to the great senate of the universal church." The cardinal looked pallid and infirm, and had barely strength to take part in the ceremonial. During the last ten years of his life he was not in robust health, and as early as Oct. 1, 1880, Archbishop Corrigan was made his coadjutor at his request. The failure of his vital powers was gradual but constant; so that in the summer of 1885 he was unable to make a visit to Newport, whither he had gone once or twice for his health, and later he could not move without assistance. In the end he passed away quietly and without pain.

Cardinal McCloskey was tall and slender, but of erect and elastic bearing. His forehead was broad, and his features pleasant. His eyes were bright blue and deeply set, and his mouth mobile. His manner was quiet but impressive. He was a profound scholar, especially well versed in things appertaining to his calling, and was an effective preacher, making careful preparation for his sermons, and yet especially happy where no set effort was required. He had courage unaccompanied by any aggressive propensity. On one occasion, when he was pastor of St. Joseph's, there was a cry of fire, and a panic broke out in the congregation while he was administering communion; but he stopped an instant to order the organist to play, and then went on with the service calmly. When about to ascend the pulpit at

a council in Baltimore, he received a dispatch announcing the burning of his cathedral, but he delivered his sermon without an allusion to the event. He had that sort of executive ability which accomplishes results without bustle. In his high station he made a wise use of the assistance of others, and neither took to himself their glory when they succeeded nor incurred any odium from their failure. It was his lot to be the chief figure in a number of church pageants, and yet no touch of malice or envy visited him, because it was plain that the pomp was called forth by the occasion, and gave no gratification to the personal pride of the man. He had the full confidence of Catholics, and yet never excited the distrust of a Protestant community. It has been said that the history of his life is the history of the progress of the Catholic Church in New York; but it would be a mistake to say that that progress was due mainly to him, or even to him more than to any other man. It was a growth to which the labors of many men and the influence of various circumstances contributed. He was fortunate in succeeding Archbishop Hughes, for he was enabled to enter into the results of that prelate's controversies without inheriting any of the animosities they had engendered. His episcopate was like the calm after a storm. That he kept the peace so well was partly due to the fact that the era of contest was over, and partly to the character of the man. The first Bishop of New York was a foreigner, who never saw his diocese; the second and third bishops were of foreign birth and education. The first archbishop, though American by education and adoption, was of foreign nativity, and had to encounter a movement to proscribe both his birth and his religion; but the cardinal was the representative of a generation of distinctively American prelates, who seem to pursue their way by a sure-footed instinct toward conciliating the sentiment of their countrymen without compromising the interests of their church.

For four days the remains of Cardinal McCloskey lay in state in the episcopal residence and in the cathedral, and on Oct. 15, after an imposing funeral ceremonial, they were conveyed to the vault beneath the sanctuary. The cardinal left a brief and simple will, conveying all his property to his coadjutor and the Bishops of Albany and Brooklyn.

MADAGASCAR, an island in the Indian Ocean, separated from the coast of Africa by the Mozambique Channel. In 1810 the chief of the Hovas conquered the other tribes of the island. Radama I entered into relations with England, which were interrupted during the reign of the Queen Ranavalo I. She was succeeded in 1861 by her son, Radama II, with whom Lambert concluded a treaty in the name of France. Rasoherina, the widow of Radama, mounted the throne in 1863 in consequence of a revolution. In 1865 she made a treaty of amity and

commerce with England and with the United States. In 1868 her successor, Queen Ranavalo II, concluded one with France. The present ruler is Queen Rasendranoro Ranavalo III, born in 1860, who succeeded her aunt, July 13, 1883, and married the Prime Minister Rasaromino, widower of the late Queen.

The contour of the island is a remarkable series of straight coasts, excepting the northwest shore, which is broken by numerous bays and inlets that afford excellent harbors. A girdle of forests, ten to forty miles deep, extends around the entire coast. The central portion of the island is formed of mountains, rising from 3,000 to 5,000 feet above the level of the sea, and fertile table-lands.

Area and Population.—The area of Madagas car and adjacent islands is estimated at 591,964 square kilometres, about 227,600 square miles. The population is about 3,500,000, according to the estimate of Rev. J. Sibree. The official religion is Christianity, in the Independent Presbyterian form, introduced by Protestant missionaries of the London Missionary Society. The capital, Antananarivo, situated in the interior of the island, has from 70,000 to 80,000 inhabitants. Tamatave, the principal seaport, contains about 3,000 inhabitants.

Commerce. The foreign trade is carried on mainly with the English colony of Mauritius. One of the chief articles of importation is rum. The exports are cattle, hides, wax, caoutchouc, gum, tallow, oil-seeds, rice, etc. The value of the imports from Mauritius was some time ago reported to be about $700,000 a year, the exports to Mauritius $750,000. The export and import trade with all countries has recently been estimated to amount to $5,000,000, notwithstanding the lack of roads and the infrequent foreign communications. American commercial interests in Madagascar have been considerable.

Ethnology. The aboriginal population, of African origin, have been conquered or driven back into the mountains by the Hovas, who are of Malayan stock. They have the yellow skin, the long and straight hair, and the facial characteristics of the inhabitants of Malaysia. Their dominion extends over a quarter of the surface of the island. They are intelligent, energetic, and lively, and possess commercial aptitudes, but are fickle and deceitful. The primitive Malagasy race, mentally inferior, but more trustworthy, is divided into a number of tribes called the Akantars, the Betsinusarak, the Bethalemens, and the Sakalavas. The Hova immigration began during the period when the French colony was in existence. In 1821 they menaced the French establishments, and were defeated at Antongil Bay. Their political supremacy dates from the middle of the last century. In 1754 they captured the French fort at Foulepointe, and massacred all the French and the natives in the place.

The Military Situation.-During the Tonquin campaign the French undertook no aggressive