172 VISITS TO MADAGASCAE. cuap. vii. 



and eagerly asked my friend how much longer the men would 

 remain before recommencing their journey. As he said an 

 hour or so, I induced one of them to accompany me with the 

 camera to the wood, and having selected a couple of trees, 

 partly covered with creepers, and bearing on different parts 

 of their trunks or branches beautiful plants of Angrcecum 

 superbum in bloom, and surrounded by ferns, Alpinia 

 Qiutans, and other species of tropical vegetation, I fixed the 

 camera before first one and then another, using waxed paper 

 which I had excited in the morning before setting out, and 

 hoping by this means to secure a memorial of the beautiful 

 natural objects grouped before me. While the light was 

 transferring the forms of the trees and the flowers to the 

 paper in the camera, I set off in another direction, pene- 

 trating still farther into the wood, in search of other and 

 rarer plants ; and found so many that, though it was but the 

 commencement of the journey, I could not refrain from 

 gathering a bundle to carry on to the place where we ex- 

 pected to halt for the night. On returning, I found the men 

 who were my bearers gathered round the camera ready to 

 proceed ; and was perfectly relieved from any apprehension 

 about their having been overtasked, either with the length of 

 their journey or the weight of their load, by perceiving one 

 or two of them, tall athletic, swarthy fellows, standing on 

 their heads and amusing themselves and their companions 

 by kicking their heels up in the air. 



After stopping altogether about two hours, we resumed our 

 journey. Our road, or rather narrow winding footpath, for 

 no vehicles ever travelled along it, now turned towards the 

 mountains, and passed over a slightly undulated verdant 

 country generally covered with masses of shrubs, or small 

 trees. The bearers seemed invigorated with their rest and 

 refreshment, and trotted along apparently in cheerful spirits. 

 I noticed that whenever any one of the bearers wished to ease 



