6 
MADAGASCAR. 
virtue according to “ Jack ’’-lore, which I fear I 
have forgotten now. 
The exciting rumour on shipboard of the exist¬ 
ence of herds of wild pigs upon the island, had 
induced several of our party to arm themselves 
with spears and death-dealing rifles; but we 
found on effecting a landing, which we did after 
considerable difficulty, that there was nothing 
more formidable to encounter than a vast flock 
of stupid-looking gannets and red-pouched and 
paddle-winged penguins. These creatures were 
so tame, or wanting in sense, that they did not 
deign to rise even when we laid ruthless hands 
upon them, to stroke and admire their handsome 
plumage, and bear them away in triumph to our 
ship, to skin and preserve at our leisure, and to 
send back to our friends in England as mementoes 
of the passage out. A small white bird, with a 
very graceful figure and plaintive cry, also shared 
the place with the gannets and penguins, and 
came and nestled upon our arms or shoulders 
with the greatest confidence. It was almost 
painful to witness, however, the mistrust and 
shyness with which the whole feathered and 
pouched population soon began to regard us, after 
the firing of the guns and the death of one or 
two members of their community ; and before 
we left the rock, they approved, by instinct, the 
unwisdom of putting trust in man, for they con- 
