126 
VISITS TO MADAGASCAR 
CHAP. V. 
was generally a tap in the end of the barrel, and one or 
two men were constantly inviting customers. No law of 
Kadama’s was more salutary than that which prohibited the 
making or selling of ardent spirits. Many of the people 
whom I saw appeared to be under the influence of this 
liquor. 
On my way home I called on Filiberg, the son of the late 
chief judge of the district. The house in which he lives is 
quite a mansion. It seems as if it might belong to the 
native aristocracy, and speaks well for the rank maintained 
by the former chiefs of the place. This house, which has two 
stories and a number of rooms tolerably well furnished, 
stands in a compound or enclosure fifty or a hundred yards 
square, formed with posts from six to nine inches in diameter, 
and about fifteen feet high, planted in the ground close 
together. A lodge stands at the gate of the enclosure, and a 
broad path, bordered with tall mango-trees, leads to the 
house. Around the house, and within the enclosure, are a 
number of small huts or houses well and neatly built, which 
are the dwellings of the chief’s attendants and servants, 
forming a sort of embryo village round his mansion. The 
servant or porter whom we saw at the lodge, a smart young 
man, with an enormous pair of gold earrings, having informed 
the chief that I was waiting, came back to lead us to the 
house. On entering I was cordially welcomed by the young 
chief and his half brother, who were surrounded by their 
attendants; while on the opposite side of the large room 
about twenty females were sitting on mats spread upon the 
boarded floor, as if expecting company. After a short con¬ 
versation respecting England and Mauritius, I took my leave, 
as other guests had arrived. 
The 24th June was the last day of the Malagasy year, 
and on that day the observances connected with the great 
annual festival in commemoration of the New Year com- 
