240 
MADAGASCAR. 
inhabitants, and which is generally towards even¬ 
ing filled with the bearers of entana, or baggage, 
who halt and rest there for the night, as it is one of 
the regular stages on the main road. As evening 
drew on, the village became very full, in con¬ 
sequence of the unexpected arrival of a large 
contingent of native Government bearers from the 
far south, many of whom had never seen a white 
face before, perhaps, in their lives. My friend, 
being of a fine robust figure, and adorned with a 
flowing beard, and otherwise distinguished, natu¬ 
rally attracted the admiration and provoked the 
amazement of some of these guileless “ sons of the 
south.” They peered in at the door of his tem¬ 
porary quarters ; they peeped through the chinks 
in the frail leaf and bamboo walls; they passed 
to and fro in endless procession to catch a glimpse 
of the vazaha be, or “ great stranger.” He at 
first felt flattered, then amused, and as these 
attentions became indefinitely prolonged, wearied, 
and at length a little annoyed. Free comments 
in the vernacular, which he understood perfectly, 
as to the faulty shape of a nose, or want of sym¬ 
metry about the shoulders or legs, carried on in 
an audible tone before his very face, did not 
improve matters; and as the night grew on and 
the crowd increased, and my friend wanted to 
retire, he closed the door of his hut as a gentle 
hint that the levee was over. But the Malagasy 
