26 
VISITS TO MADAGASCAR. 
CHAP. II. 
myself more at home in answering his questions, and those of 
others who spoke in French, respecting the missionaries who 
had formerly been in Madagascar. In the meantime, they 
freely answered the questions asked by Mr. Cameron in the 
native language respecting the officers and others he had 
formerly known, and the general state of affairs at the capital. 
After remaining here some time, the harbour master in¬ 
vited us to his own dwelling, a short distance further from the 
shore. On arriving, we entered a large enclosure formed with 
sticks, or small poles, about an inch and a half in diameter, 
and eight or nine feet high, fixed upright in the ground and 
fastened together with a tough and fibrous species of creeper. 
Part of this large enclosure was fenced off as a cattle fold; 
other parts were occupied by the dwellings of some of his 
assistants and the huts of his slaves; while the rest was under 
cultivation. In this garden a few plants of tobacco, some pine¬ 
apples, and a large quantity of sweet potatoes were growing, 
and looked remarkably well. Besides some very tall and grace¬ 
ful cocoa palms and one or two species of pandanus, there were 
some fine trees in the enclosure covered with fresh and shining 
leaves, which added greatly to the charm of the place, not only 
by their beautiful appearance, but by the depth and extent of 
shade they afforded. One of these, apparently a Zizyjphus 
jujuba, bearing a small edible fruit, was remarkably fine, as 
was also a species of betonica, and an indigenous citron, of 
which there are two kinds peculiar to Madagascar, with rich 
glossy foliage. 
The house of the harbour master was a well constructed 
native dwelling, about forty feet long and between twenty and 
thirty feet high, with a door in the centre and a window on 
each side, the whole front shaded by a broad verandah, and 
the house thatched with the leaves of the traveller’s tree. 
The floor of the verandah, as well as the house, was formed of 
thick planks neatly joined, and raised a foot and a half 
