A DINNER WITH THE GOVERNOR 191 



On getting back to Amparafaravdla, we found that the 

 Governor wished us to dine with him and his officers in a small 

 house which then served as the lopa. In the courtyard was a 

 little shed, much out of repair, in which was a small cannon 

 mounted on a very large carriage, one of those made by 

 M. Laborde for the old queen. At some of the places we subse- 

 quently visited, after the usual loyal inquiries for the queen, 

 great officers, and for the governor and lieutenant-governor of the 

 Sihanaka, inquiry was also made as to the welfare of this little 

 two-pounder gun ! We might have replied, but did not, that a 

 cleaning now and then, and a little more thatch on the roof 

 of its shed, would probably tend to prolong its existence and 

 conduce to its general well-being. Our dinner was served in 

 thoroughly native style, being cooked in the same place where 

 we ate it, and with about a score of people helping to serve us 

 guests, three in number. They gave us rice and some excel- 

 lently cooked beef and turkey, and milk to drink. The chief 

 cook would not allow us to make any permanent impression on 

 the heaped-up piles of rice on our plates, for every few minutes 

 they were replenished by fresh supplies of rice and gravy, so we 

 were obliged at last to relinquish the unequal contest. Before 

 dinner they came to ask us if the band should play during the 

 entertainment (as is customary when the great people in Imerina 

 give feasts) ; but as I felt doubtful as to the character of the 

 tunes that the bandmaster might have available for the occa- 

 sion, I said that, being Sunday, it might be well to omit the 

 compliment ; but I very readily agreed to their suggestion that 

 the singers should sing a hymn tune instead, which they did 

 outside the house. After doing justice to the fare, we returned 

 to our chapel lodgings, greatly pleased with much we had seen 

 during the day. 



1 Subsequently, my friends, the late Rev. J. Pearse and his 

 wife, lived and did a great work, both medical and religious, 

 among the Sihanaka for several years ; and after them, the late 

 Rev. E. H. Stribling and other missionaries continued that 

 work until 1895. For some years past Christian teaching has 

 been carried on by Malagasy sent by the native missionary 

 society. 



2 It may be remarked here how ubiquitous are the disused 

 tins in which various provisions made by English manufacturers 



