CHAP. VI. CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PEOPLE. 153 



him again that if he found any of the plants I was anxious to 

 obtain, I would reward him for his trouble. 



Most of the parties who came with articles for sale re- 

 mained only a short time; others, however, made much longer 

 visits, and as my object was to learn as much as possible of 

 their opinions and circumstances in reference to subjects 

 which were to me most interesting, they were encouraged 

 to come as often and to stay as long as they chose. My 

 knowledge of the language was still extremely limited, and 

 when we advanced beyond the mere common-place terms of 

 civility on meeting and parting, I generally proposed to them 

 to write down what they had to say. In this manner they 

 often proposed deeply interesting and important inquiries. I 

 then wrote down my replies, or such questions as I wished 

 them to answer ; and though this process was somewhat te- 

 dious, it had, as I was circumstanced, some great advantages, 

 for by this means I was able to preserve much valuable in- 

 formation which might other-svdse have been forgotten; and 

 although in the expression of my own sentiments or wishes I 

 might not have been quite correct, yet, by the help of the 

 Malagasy dictionary and the Scriptures translated into that 

 language, I could always be sure of the right words for the 

 things I wished to state, though I might still be at fault with 

 the prefixes or affixes of different words, which, like the hooks 

 and chains which link the carriages of a railway train together, 

 unite in their proper order the chief words of a sentence. 



On several subjects of interest I had written to intelligent 

 natives in other parts of the island, and received from them 

 very ample communications, which often furnished matter 

 for much pleasing, and to me instructive conversation. The 

 books I had with me, some of them illustrated, also suggested 

 topics of earnest and repeated inquiry on the part of my 

 visitors, whose interest never tired, while the feeling seemed 

 deep and powerful in reference to the subjects which thus 



