210 
MADAGASCAE. 
They usually consist of two upright posts, into 
which a number of stout cross-bars are inserted 
at night or in case of attack. The cattle are 
accommodated in the centre of the town, often 
on a higher level than the surrounding houses, 
the elevation being caused by the accumulation 
of refuse for years past. Outside the gates, 
under the shelter of the spreading tamarind 
trees, the women and girls assemble morning 
and evening for the preparation of the rice for 
the two principal meals of the day, and to talk 
over the scandal or news of the district. Here, 
too, stands the altar of the tutelar deity, who 
is supposed to protect the town from calamity, 
and upon which an image of the deity itself is 
generally placed. In the very heart of the town, 
and in the most secure position to be found, the 
king’s house is placed, surrounded generally by 
its own particular fence of prickly-pear. The 
thickness of this protecting rampart of nature’s 
own devising is an indication often of the im¬ 
portance of the king and the town. In the 
royal compound there are generally about a 
dozen houses, where the king, his wives, and 
children reside. Another altar usually occupies 
the north-east corner of the compound. 
The houses are always built with the doors 
facing west: they are four-square, with gables, 
so that the roofs are of the simplest description. 
