CHAP. XIV. 
PRESENTATION TO THE QUEEN. 
377 
approaches the sovereign. The interpreters charged me to 
speak sufficiently loud for all to hear my speech as well as 
their interpretation. I first thanked the queen for having 
invited me to her presence, and hoped that she and her 
relations were well. When this was interpreted, her majesty 
spoke to a tall, grey-headed chief, the queen’s speaker or 
orator, who stood between her and Bainjohary, the chief 
minister; and the orator replied that the queen was well, 
and all her relations were well, and asked how I was after the 
journey, and whether I had been ill with the fever. I thanked 
the queen, saying I had been slightly indisposed, but was 
now well; adding, that I had heard much of Madagascar and 
of her majesty in my own country, where I had had the 
honour of being presented to my own gracious sovereign 
Queen Victoria, of kneeling before her, and kissing her ma¬ 
jesty’s hand, the mode by which her subjects on some occa¬ 
sions personally render their homage; that I had wished to 
visit Madagascar, and, now I had the honour of being pre¬ 
sented to her majesty, I begged to repeat my thanks for that 
honour, and to present my hasina in token of acknowledg¬ 
ment. Taking a sovereign out of my pocket, and throwing 
open my long loose robe in doing so, I handed the sovereign 
to one of the officers. The hasina was acknowledged on the 
part of the queen by a slight inclination of the head. I then 
said that the English had long cherished sentiments of friend¬ 
ship towards the Malagasy; that forty years ago Greorge IV., 
King of England, wished to be a friend to King Badama, and 
sent some of his officers to make a treaty of friendship with 
him, and to engage with him not to export slaves from his 
country; that Badama kept that treaty faithfully; and that 
her majesty had not deviated from what Badama had engaged 
to do, and did not allow slaves to be exported from her 
country. That England did not change in its friendship 
towards Madagascar; that after the death of Greorge IV., 
