PREFACE. vii 



singularly beautiful aspects of the country through 

 which I passed, and the chief incidents of my visits, as 

 they occurred, leaving my readers to form their own 

 opinions of the character of the people, their resources, 

 and present civilisation ; which would advance much 

 more rapidly, and develope itself far more satisfac- 

 torily, were the people not so frequently harassed by 

 threatening rumours of invasion from a foreign power 

 The accounts comprised in the following pages of my 

 intercourse with the people, especially with the young 

 prince, the queen's son, and the heir to the throne, 

 for the preservation of whose valuable life the affec- 

 tionate anxieties of the people are at times intensely 

 excited, will, I most sincerely trust, increase the in- 

 terest felt in the people of Madagascar, and particu- 

 larly in the young prince personally, by the English 

 generally, and more especially by the religious por- 

 tions of the community. 



The language and physical character of the people 

 frequently suggested attractive ethnological inquiries, 

 and the new and beautiful plants which I met with 

 in the forests or plains not only afforded much grati- 

 fication at the time, but have enabled me to add a few 

 specimens of some that are highly esteemed as rare 

 and curious, to those already cultivated in England. 

 Besides those which are described, I have, since the 

 following sheets were printed, been informed by Sir 



A i 



