202 
VISITS TO MADAGASCAR. 
CHAP. VIII. 
tangled brushwood and along the stony bottom of the valley 
for several miles; and having crossed the river more than 
forty times during the journey to and from the cavern, we 
reached a more open country, and a better road. Beviewing, 
in thought, the rare and wonderful objects I had so recently 
left, and gazing on the bold mountain, the wood, and the 
deep rocky ravine, with its choked-up torrent overgrown with 
wild brushwood and trees,—a wild untamed wilderness, differ¬ 
ing perhaps little from what it was three-quarters of a century 
ago, when the boer Van Zil in his hunting excursion dis¬ 
covered the cavern,—I found myself involuntarily musing on 
its probable aspect, in future ages, under the influence of an 
augmented population, and a higher order of civilisation. 
After riding along for some time, we “ off-saddled,” to use 
the expression of the country, in order to allow our horses to 
graze and rest for half-an-hour. Tired with the excitement 
and exercise of the day, I lay down at the foot of a moun¬ 
tain, resting my head upon a piece of rock, and soon fell fast 
asleep; but was awakened by an aged negro woman, who 
lived in a hut near at hand, and had brought us half-a-dozen 
ripe juicy pears, as welcome to us as the fresh green grass 
was to our horses. When Mr. Anderson tendered our thanks, 
the poor woman simply replied, “ I thank Grod : He gives us 
all.” I afterwards found that she occasionally went to Mat- 
zie’s Riviere, ten miles distant, when Mr. Anderson visited the 
station to preach to the people. 
When rested and refreshed we mounted our horses, and 
just as the sun was setting reached Matzie’s Riviere, a fertile 
plain at the foot of the lofty range of Zwartzberg mountains. 
The good people, who had sent horses half the way to meet 
us, gave us a simple but cordial welcome, bringing us refresh¬ 
ment to the large old house of the former proprietor; and 
then, after assembling for religious worship, retired to their 
different homes. 
