PREFACE 7 



bearing on the above-mentioned subjects. But as this maga- 

 zine was not known to the general public, and was confined to 

 a very limited circle of readers, I have not hesitated to draw 

 freely on the contents of its twenty-four numbers, as I am 

 confident that a great deal of the information there contained 

 is worthy of a much wider circulation than it had in the pages 

 of the Annual. 



Finally, as preachers say, although this book is written by 

 a missionary, it is not " a missionary book " ; not, certainly, 

 because I undervalue missionary work, in which, after nearly 

 fifty years' acquaintance with it, and taking an active part in it, 

 I believe with all my heart and soul, but because that aspect 

 of Madagascar has already been so fully treated. Books 

 written by the Revs. W. Ellis, Dr Mullens, Mr Prout, Dr 

 Matthews, Mr Houlder, myself and others, give all that is neces- 

 sary to understand the wonderful history of Christianity in this 

 island. Despite what globe-trotting critics may say, as well as 

 colonists who seem to consider that all coloured peoples may 

 be exploited for their own benefit, mission work, apart from its 

 simply obeying the last commands of our Lord, is the great 

 civilising, educational and benevolent influence in the world, 

 deny it who can ! But in this book I want to show that 

 Madagascar is full of interest in other directions, and that the 

 wonderful things that live and grow here are hardly less worthy 

 of study than those events which have attracted the attention of 

 Christian and benevolent people for nearly a hundred years past. 



The author thanks very sincerely his friends, Mr John 

 Parrett, Monsieur Henri Noyer, and Razaka, for their freely 

 accorded permission to reproduce many photographs taken by 

 them and used to illustrate this book. And his grateful thanks 

 are also due to his old friend, the Rev. J. Peill, for the care 

 he has taken in going through the proof sheets, especially in 

 seeing that all Madagascar words are correctly given. 



Two or three chapters of this book cover, to some extent, 

 the same ground as those treated of in another book on 



