52 
VISITS TO MADAGASCAR. 
CHAP. III. 
of their language, been invited by the merchants to proceed 
with Mr. Mangeot, one of their own number, to Tamatave, to 
pay this money, and to arrange with the native authorities for 
the renewal of the trade, sailed from Port Louis in the 
“ Nimble” on the 10th of October; and thus afforded an op¬ 
portunity, of which advantage was readily taken, to commu¬ 
nicate farther with our friends in Madagascar. 
The harbour of Port Louis is capacious and secure. The 
town is situated at the head of the bay, and is enclosed on the 
east, the north, and the south, by mountains at no great 
distance from the shore. The highest of these is the Pouce, 
a mass of ancient volcanic rock, which rises immediately 
behind the town to an elevation of 2800 feet, and from this a 
range of volcanic mountain extends towards the sea in a south¬ 
west direction, terminating in a high steep point, on which 
the signal station, announcing the approach of vessels to the 
port, is fixed. A sort of spur of the Pouce stretches in a line 
towards the head of the bay, and is surmounted, at its western 
extremity, by the citadel, which overlooks the harbour and 
town. Another mountain range, behind which the summit 
of the Peterboth is seen, extends to the north-west, and thus 
includes, as in a semicircle. Port Louis and its picturesque 
environs. The government house is situated at the upper 
end of a broad open space called the Place d’Armes, planted 
on each side with trees, and extending about 500 yards from 
the landing-place towards the mountains. Viewed from the 
harbour, the warehouses near the shore and the buildings in 
the centre of the town look stately and imposing. The camp 
or town of Coolies, with here and there the cupola or minaret 
of a mosque, stretches to the left, and the camp or town of 
Creoles extends to the right, and exhibits the painted 
wooden cottages of the former slaves and others in the midst 
of small cultivated gardens, enclosed with walls of loose stones, 
and extending to some distance upwards from the base of the 
