366 
VISITS TO MADAGASCAR. 
CHAP. XIII. 
or ribbon of red and green across his breast beneath his vest* 
with the gold-fringed ends hanging down by his side. The 
princess wore a blue dress made in the European style* 
trimmed with scarlet velvet* and ornamented with rows 
of small gilt buttons* a pink satin bonnet with artificial 
flowers* a veil* and lace tippet. One of the ladies wore a cu¬ 
rious native or Arabic head-dress; the others were in Euro¬ 
pean costume: all were decorated with a profusion of gold 
chains and jewellery; and all rode in open palanquins. A 
few of the officers were in blue uniform; a number wore 
scarlet trowsers* with the white flowing lamba bordered 
with the akotso or five broad stripes, while the attendants* 
and the crowds who followed or scattered themselves by 
the side of the procession* seemed all to wear their holiday 
dress. 
The day was fine, the scene bright* with a light cool breeze. 
The union of the different modes of travel characteristic of 
different countries* the officers on horseback as in Europe, the 
princes in palanquins as in Asia; the light* loose, flowing, and 
gaily coloured drapery of the East* intermingled with the stiff 
quiet-toned apparel of the West; the music of Europe, and 
the language of Madagascar, with the lively and jocund air 
of the throng: and then the moving along amidst objects 
new and attractive; the massive rocky base of the capital* the 
houses and their inhabitants* on one side; and the wide culti¬ 
vated plain* diversified by hills surmounted with villages* on 
the other : all these combined to afford new sources of pleasure 
and excitement. 
Having proceeded by a somewhat circuitous route from the 
north to the east side of the capital* the road led to within a 
few hundred yards of the palace* where a large scarlet umbrella 
and a number of figures were seen on the terrace in front of 
the palace. The procession halted, all hats were taken off* 
and the band played the Malagasy “ Gfod save the queen,” a 
