252 
MADAGASCAR. 
special duty to bury kings and queens. The bier was 
soon dismantled, and the royal corpse laid in its last 
resting-place; and after this had been accomplished, a 
message was sent from the Queen to the Europeans, 
saying she had relations and friends indeed in them, 
who were ready to sympathise with her in her sorrow, 
&c., to which we made a suitable acknowledgment, and 
then retired home. 
“ After we had left there were other ceremonies to be 
performed, and the cannon did not cease firing until 
past midnight. Amongst other things, some one had to 
go to the door of the tomb after it was closed, and call 
out to Rasoherina’s spirit, asking her not to send disease 
or enemies. Eor some days after the funeral all the 
people were much excited over the distribution of 
bullocks, about three thousand of which were, according 
to the national custom, divided amongst them.”—(Rev. 
G. Cousins.) 
With an attempted revolt in the north of one 
of the most powerful of the Sakalava tribes, 
fostered and encouraged by the French, who are 
seeking to obtain possession of a district near 
Amorontsangana, which would be valuable to them 
on account of a rich coal-field which it contains, 
and with a foreign occupation of their chief trad¬ 
ing harbours, the native Government were in a 
position of great perplexity at the time of the 
death of the late Queen in 1883. They wisely 
determined, therefore, to devote as little time as 
possible to a public mourning, especially as the 
entire male population was under arms for the 
