332 
MADAGASCAR. 
your notice by a speech. But with these people 
it is not merely 44 Talkee, talkee.” They have a 
clever way of expressing their ideas in an im¬ 
personal sense, which is very amusing. For 
instance, if they wish for anything you possess, 
not by any means an uncommon circumstance, 
they come to you and begin by expressing a 
feeling of anxiety as to whether there is another 
hat, or coat, or book, or watch, in the world so 
nice, or exactly like the one you have. And so 
on, till there can no longer be any doubt as to 
the occasion of the visit and the drift of the 
remarks. 
The Malagasy orator never approaches his sub¬ 
ject directly. He sweeps round and about the 
main topic of his discourse for some time before 
he approaches it directly. This is a little tanta¬ 
lising at first; but by degrees it gets somehow to 
appear more in harmony with the climate and the 
surroundings, with the leisurely manner of life of 
these most affable and courteous people. Elo¬ 
quence is a great power amongst the Malagasy; 
and one often feels, in reviewing the marvellous 
career of the present prime minister, that he owes 
much of his extraordinary success as a politician 
and a statesman to his grand command of stirring 
language, and his graceful attractiveness as a 
public speaker. Those who have the honour of 
his acquaintance will, I think, readily agree with 
