ciiAr. xr. ROFIA PALMS AND WATER LILIES. 289 



for the latter. One of the officers, however, soon restored 

 order. A man belonging to the place had taken his seat 

 in one of the canoes, which the others declared was already 

 too deeply laden. The chief of the village ordered him re- 

 peatedly to come on shore, but he kept his seat, until one of 

 the soldiers walked into the water, and, taking hold of his 

 arm, requested him not to give them any trouble ; upon 

 which the man rose up, and very quietly stepped out of the 

 canoe. 



Our party and packages filled sixteen canoes. Another canoe 

 Avas subsequently provided for some of the officers, who had 

 remained a short time on the shore to see that nothing had 

 been left behind. Thus far our course had been southwards, 

 and near the coast, but shortly after leaving Andevorandro, we 

 entered a broad part of the river Iharoka, and steered in a 

 westerly direction. The morning was fine and cool, the 

 water smooth, and the scenery on both sides exhibited new 

 forms of vegetation in great luxuriance. The country on the 

 right was flat, in many parts planted with sugar cane. The 

 banks on the opposite side were high, and presented a suc- 

 cession of villages, of from twenty to fifty houses, with 

 surrounding plantations, and often enlivened by the natives 

 in their white lambas passing to and fro. Here the singu- 

 larly rich and stately rofia palm, Sagus ruffia, was so 

 abundant and conspicuous as to impart something of the 

 character of its own graceful form to the surrounding scenery. 

 "WTiile thus sailing smoothly along, we passed several patches 

 of the beautiful Nymphcea ccerulia in blossom ; and I do not 

 remember ever experiencing more deeply the feelings of 

 admiration and delight produced by new, and rich, and 

 beautiful aspects of nature, than during my passage along 

 this charming river. The feelings of my fellow passengers 

 in the same canoe harmonising with my own, our conversa- 

 tion on the wonders of creation, the evidences of divine 



u 



