418 
VISITS TO MADAGASCAR. 
ciiap. xv. 
at my departure. The prince said, Grod would preserve me 
from the fever, and take me in safety to my home; and the 
princess added, that my family would be glad I had not 
remained longer away. They asked to look at some portraits 
of members of my own family which I had with me, and at the 
engraving of my residence, which the prince told them he had 
seen, and said it looked like a pleasant home; the princess 
adding, that if I had had duplicates of some, she would have 
liked to retain a cop} T , but did not desire it, as I had only one. 
She asked much about English society, about Queen Victoria, 
— whether she travelled much from one part of the kingdom 
to another, or had many visitors in her palace; and what 
made the people of England so fond of her, as she had heard 
they were. 
I said the people of England looked upon their own 
gracious sovereign as the most illustrious example of all that 
was excellent and good in the relationships of life, as well as 
in the high position which she occupied as queen, and it was 
thus that she secured their loyalty and love. But the conver¬ 
sation soon turned again upon the present and the future of 
their own country. They said that whatever reports might 
reach England, they hoped the English would never believe 
they were unfriendly, for they should never change — never 
forget that the king of England and the people of England 
had been their first and constant friends. They spoke of 
many things which they regretted in the existing state of 
their country; and expressed their earnest desires that the 
burdens of the people should be lightened, their condition 
improved, and the nation united and prosperous. I said it 
would be of great importance to all parties if the Sakalavas 
and others could, by just and equitable means, be brought to 
view the Hovas as their friends; and to consider union and 
identity with them, and participation in their advantages, as 
best for all; and thus cement their union as one great people 
