VISIT TO THE COURT OF THE HOVAS. 125 
guinary mosquito,—so that the sensitive and 
rather nervous alien suffers from frequent sen¬ 
sations of utter discomfort and disquiet, which 
do not appear to afflict the prosaic and uncom¬ 
plaining Malagasy. 
The great forest of Alamazaotra has to be 
traversed, and it generally takes three days to 
pass through it and to reach the edge of the 
interior elevated plateau which comprises the 
great central province of Imerina. In the forest 
of Alamazaotra gigantic trees abound, and orchids 
of rare beauty and delicacy occasionally attract 
the eye ; whilst such novelties as large trees in 
flower and lofty ferns of many feet in height, 
add freshness and grace to the somewhat sombre 
colouring of the dense woods and thickets through 
which the passage winds often for considerable 
distances. The fauna of the country is limited, 
and almost altogether unimportant, if we except 
the lemurs. There are no large quadrupeds or 
huge reptiles, as in most tropical lands ; and there 
is a strange silence in the woods, broken only by 
the occasional note of a bird, or the melancholy 
cry of a solitary lemur; and there is even an 
absence of the hum of insects to break the death¬ 
like silence. 
At Beforona, on the edge of this forest, an im¬ 
portant stage of the journey is reached. This is 
supposed to be one of the most unhealthy towns 
