CHAP. X. 
MALAGASY LOYALTY AND ETIQUETTE. 
269 
remarking to him that it was from no want of respect to my 
host, or to the parties whose health was proposed, he said he 
understood it was on account of religious scruples, and that 
he had been told that the Christian law prohibited the use of 
wine. I was glad of the opportunity thus afforded of correct¬ 
ing his mistake, and told him the Bible did not prohibit the 
drinking of wine, but condemned drunkenness, which was a 
.great sin and a great calamity; that although I never had 
any inclination to excess, I had for many years discontinued 
the use of wine as an ordinary beverage, and that with 
apparent advantage to my health. I added, that numbers of 
people in my own country adopted l^re same course, and that 
the drinking of wine and all sorts of spirituous liquors was, 
of late years, very much diminished among the respectable 
classes of society. 
I could not help noticing on this, as well as on a former 
occasion, the apparent ardour of loyalty with which the 
health of the prince was received and drunk by the company 
standing, immediately before that of the queen, which, 
according to Malagasy etiquette, is always the last toast pro¬ 
posed, and is the signal for the departure of the governor and 
the chief officers. When this is proposed the company all 
rise, the hand in the courtyard plays what may he called the 
Malagasy national anthem, and, when the glasses are emptied, 
all exclaim, “ Long live the queen! ” or “ May the sovereign 
live for ever! ” About nine o’clock the governor and the 
officers retired, and I proceeded to my own house, where I 
found a number of friends assembled, and had the satisfaction 
of receiving pleasant tidings from the capital. 
The feasting and dissipation connected with the obsequies 
of the late M. Delastelle having terminated, the preparations 
for my journey were soon completed. The son of the 
governor of the adjacent province to the northward, and one 
or two other friendly chiefs, had arrived at Tamatave for the 
