114 VISITS TO MADAGASCAR. chap. iv. 



--less violent indeed in the town, but more fatal in the 

 country. 



By the medical men, whose labours were unremitted, the 

 disease appeared to be generally regarded as infectious, but 

 not contagious ; yet they failed to discover its immediate 

 cause, and had no specific remedy. Emetics and castor-oil were 

 most successful in some places ; essence of camphor, or dilute 

 sulphuric acid, in others ; and cold water applications, practised 

 by a medical gentleman recently from India, promised at one 

 time to prove effectual in arresting the disease ; but this also 

 subsequently failed. 



Opinions formed a priori as to the classes most likely to be 

 affected by such a visitation were not confirmed. The In- 

 dians, whose abodes are small, ill-ventilated, crowded, and 

 not remarkable for cleanliness, and whose food is perhaps 

 less nutritive than that of most others, suffered but little. 

 The Chinese, of whom there are great numbers, and whose 

 mode of life is in some respects similar, were scarcely affected, 

 and I did not hear of more than one death amongst them. 

 The classes who were the greatest sufferers were the more 

 respectable inhabitants, English, and French, and the Creoles. 

 The greatest mortality was amongst the latter, and quite as 

 much in the country as the town. 



Throughout this anxious period my own health had been 

 mercifully preserved ; and as the time which I had fixed 

 for proceeding to Madagascar had arrived,-and as ]\Ir. Wiehe 

 had kindly given me a passage on board one of his vessels, 

 I left my bereaved and anxious friends, and embarked on 

 board the " Nimble " on the 8th of June. The vessel had been 

 detained a day longer than was fixed for want of labourers 

 to take off water, and otherwise to fit the vessel for sea. The 

 last person I took leave off was my kind friend Mr. Kelsey, 

 to whom I committed the care of my letters, with many other 



