PEEEACE. 
Vii 
singularly beautiful aspects of the country through 
which I passed, and the chief incidents of my visits, as 
they occurred, leaving my readers to form their own 
opinions of the character of the people, their resources, 
and present civilisation; which would advance much 
more rapidly, and develope itself far more satisfac¬ 
torily, were the people not so frequently harassed by 
threatening rumours of invasion from a foreign power. 
The accounts comprised in the following pages of my 
intercourse with the people, especially with the young 
prince, the queen’s son, and the heir to the throne, 
for the preservation of whose valuable life the affec¬ 
tionate anxieties of the people are at times intensely 
excited, will, I most sincerely trust, increase the in¬ 
terest felt in the people of Madagascar, and particu¬ 
larly in the young prince personally, by the English 
generally, and more especially by the religious por¬ 
tions of the community. 
The language and physical character of the people 
frequently suggested attractive ethnological inquiries, 
and the new and beautiful plants which I met with 
in the forests or plains not only afforded much grati¬ 
fication at the time, but have enabled me to add a few 
specimens of some that are highly esteemed as rare 
and curious, to those already cultivated in England. 
Besides those which are described, I have, since the 
following sheets were printed, been informed by Sir 
