138 VISITS TO MADAGASCAR chap. v. 



Sometimes the women brought their slaves to arrange their 

 hair immediately before sitting down. At other times the 

 men brought looking-glass and comb, and, borrowing a bowl 

 of water to moisten their hair, arranged their toilette by 

 one holding the glass for another. The Hova women wear 

 their hair plaited in extremely fine braids, and tied in a 

 number of small knots or bunches all over the head, as seen 

 in the accompanying portrait. The Betsimasaraka women 

 wear their hair braided for two or three inches, and then 

 arranged in a sort of circular mass or ball, two or three 

 hanging down on each side. The men usually cut their hair 

 short, after the European fashion. 



I was, for some time, surprised to see so few people with 

 grey hair, either among the straight or woolly haired classes ; 

 and on remarking, on one occasion, how few either of chiefs 

 or people, masters or slaves, were greyheaded, I ^as told 

 that all classes were scrupulously careful to remove their grey 

 hairs, and that this accounted for the thinness of hair with 

 many, and the rarity of any mixture of grey amongst the 

 black. It appeared to be a matter of some importance with all 

 to avoid, as much as possible, any symptom of age, and an 

 object of great desire to appear or to be thought young. I 

 was also struck with the taste of the men in adjusting their 

 hair. They did not comb it up from the forehead to show 

 the development of their intellectual organs, and certainly 

 rather drew it over the side of the temples than forced it 

 back. I presumed, however, that they followed the mode 

 most esteemed among their countrymen ; and I was struck 

 with the remarkably European cast of many of their counte- 

 nances. Phrenologically they are a fine people, having fre- 

 quently high foreheads with a considerable amount of those 

 developments which are supposed to indicate intellectual 

 capacity, as well as moral excellence. 



The portrait of a Hova chief, on the following page, exhibits 



