106 
HISTORY OF MADAGASCAR. 
opposite this spot there is an immense rock of sienite, from 
part of which, stone slabs, for most of the tombs near the 
capital are procured. The road leads from this part of the 
rock, either into the country north of the capital, or along 
the ridge of a hill covered with tombs, and joins the 
capital near the part of Andohalo which kings are forbid¬ 
den to enter. The road branching to the south, leads to 
Amparibe, i. e. the place of much sugarcane, passes by the 
depot for muskets, leads to the vale of Betsimihisatra, to 
the king’s threshing-floors, to a large marshy plantation of 
rushes, to the piece of ground allotted by the king for the 
missionaries on their arrival at Tananarivo; and to the road 
leading to the new palace of the sovereign at Soa-ierana. 
At Amparibe the burial-ground for strangers is also 
situated, the spot was selected by the government on the 
decease of Mr. Brooks, missionary artisan, the first of 
their number who was removed after the establishment of 
the mission at the capital. In the same ground, several 
members of the mission, Mr. Hastie, Rev. D. Tyerman, 
and other foreigners, have been interred. 
In the immediate vicinity of Tananarivo are two resi¬ 
dences erected by Radama; one at Mahazoarivo, being 
merely a cottage, intended to form a retreat from the 
bustle of the town, and built on a very limited plan; and 
the other at Soa-ierana, still unfinished, but forming a 
mansion or palace on a highly respectable scale. 
Mahazoarivo is a small village, distant about two miles 
south-east from the capital. The cottage was built, and the 
grounds laid out, entirely under the direction of Radama. 
The cottage itself consists of three rooms, to which are 
attached numerous out-houses. It was built in 1826 , by 
Malagasy workmen, and the interior is neatly fitted up in 
the European style. The garden contains a collection of 
