CHAP. XI. 
ROFIA PALMS AND WATER LILIES. 
289 
for the latter. One of the officers, however, soon restored 
order. A man belonging to the place had taken his seat 
in one of the canoes, which the others declared was already 
too deeply laden. The chief of the village ordered him re¬ 
peatedly to come on shore, but he kept his seat, until one of 
the soldiers walked into the water, and, taking hold of his 
arm, requested him not to give them any trouble; upon 
which the man rose up, and very quietly stepped out of the 
canoe. 
Our party and packages filled sixteen canoes. Anoth er canoe 
was subsequently provided for some of the officers, who had 
remained a short time on the shore to see that nothing had 
been left behind. Thus far our course had been southwards, 
and near the coast, but shortly after leaving Andevorandro, we 
entered a broad part of the river Iharoka, and steered in a 
westerly direction. The morning was fine and cool, the 
water smooth, and the scenery on both sides exhibited new 
forms of vegetation in great luxuriance. The country on the 
right was flat, in many parts planted with sugar cane. The 
banks on the opposite side were high, and presented a suc¬ 
cession of villages, of from twenty to fifty houses, with 
surrounding plantations, and often enlivened by the natives 
in their white lambas passing to and fro. Here the singu¬ 
larly rich and stately rofia palm, Sagus ruffia, was so 
abundant and conspicuous as to impart something of the 
character of its own graceful form to the surrounding scenery. 
While thus sailing smoothly along, we passed several patches 
of the beautiful Nymjphcea ccerulea in blossom; and I do not 
remember ever experiencing more deeply the feelings of 
admiration and delight produced by new, and rich, and 
beautiful aspects of nature, than during my passage along, 
this charming river. The feelings of my fellow-passengers 
in the same canoe harmonising with my own, our conversa¬ 
tion on the wonders of creation, the evidences of divine 
u 
