236 
MADAGASCAR. 
sewing up a torn wound, and the public scrutiny, 
the barbarous jargon, and the cries of some 
hundreds of excited men and women and children, 
might have unnerved even a skilled alumnus of 
St Thomas's or Guy’s. But at length the delicate 
and troublesome task was satisfactorily accom¬ 
plished, and when the Antimora rose up from 
the floor, where I had kept him during the 
sewing process, with his mouth the usual size, 
and in its proper place again, there were cries of 
delight and admiration, which fairly carried me 
away with conceit of my rapidly developing 
surgical powers. My Antimora friend in due 
course was able to dispense with bandages, and 
the cheek healed; but I was much chagrined to 
find that some of the stitches had slipped, and 
that the proportion of the mouth had been 
spoiled, as one side remained, and will for ever 
remain, considerably longer than the other. 
There can be no doubt whatever as to the 
incalculable advantage of even a slight medical 
training to any one who goes to foreign parts, 
either as a missionary, explorer, or naturalist. 
Apart from the protection which such knowledge 
affords to the fortunate possessor, it is useful at 
every turn in helping to alleviate the painful 
sufferings of the native population; and a cure 
effected, or a pain relieved, is a certain passport 
to the affections of even the most hostile tribes 
