PREFACE 



f ^HE title of this book may perhaps be considered by 

 some as too ambitious, and may provoke comparison 



-*- with others somewhat similar in name, but with whose 

 distinguished authors I have no claim at all to compete. 



I have no tales to tell of hair-breadth escapes from savage 

 beasts, no shooting of " big game," no stalking of elephant or 

 rhinoceros, of " hippo " or giraffe. We have indeed no big 

 game in Madagascar. The most dangerous sport in its woods 

 is hunting the wild boar ; the largest carnivore to be met with 

 is the fierce little fdsa, and the crocodile is the most dangerous 

 reptile. 



But I ask the courteous reader to wander with me into the 

 wonderful and mysterious forests, and to observe the gentle 

 lemurs in their home, as they leap from tree to tree, or take 

 refuge in the thickets of bamboo ; to come out in the dusk and 

 watch the aye-aye as he stealthily glides along the branches, 

 obtaining his insect food under the bark of the trees ; to listen 

 to the song of numerous birds, and to note their habits and 

 curious ways ; to hear the legends and folk-tales in which the 

 Malagasy have preserved the wisdom of their ancestors with 

 regard to the feathered denizens of the woods and plains, and 

 to admire the luxuriant vegetation of the forests, and the trees 

 and plants, the ferns and flowers, and even the grasses, which 

 are to be found in every part of the island. 



I invite those who may read these pages to look with me at 

 the little rodents and insect-eaters which abound in and near 

 the woods ; to mark the changing chameleons which are found 

 here in such variety ; to watch the insects which gambol in the 

 sunshine, or hide in the long grass, or sport on the streams. If 

 such unexciting pleasures as these can interest my readers, I 

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