E, misy và? Oh, is there any? E, misy rè! Oh yes, there’s some! E, ny vorontsiloza, zalàhy, è! Oh, the turkeys, lads, oh! E, misy rè! Oh yes, there’s some! E, ny gisy matavy, zalàhy, è! Oh, the plump-looking geese, lads, oh! E, misy ré! Oh yes, there’s some! E, ny akoho manatody, zalàhy, é! Oh, the egg-laying fowls, lads, oh! E, misy ré! Oh yes, there’s some! E, ny vazaha be vola, zalàhy, é Oh, the very rich foreigner, lads, oh! E, misy ré! Oh yes, here he is! and so on, _ad libitum_. In another song sung by men on this voyage, the chorus was, _Mandàny vàtsy, Toamasina malaza é!_—_i.e._ “Consumes provisions for the way, famous Tamatave O!”—while the recitative brought in all the different villages on the journey from Tamatave to the capital, ending with Avàra-dròva, the northern entrance to the palace yard. Our return voyage was a rough one; there was a considerable swell, for the sea breeze had set in very strongly, as is generally the case in the afternoon along the east coast; and had I not had an unusually large and good canoe, I dared not have ventured across the broad expanse of water near the mouth of the river. [Illustration: A MALAGASY ORCHID (Angræcum Superbum) The blooms are pure white, waxlike flowers] [Sidenote: MAGNIFICENT ORCHIDS] While waiting for the canoe that afternoon I was delighted to see the profusion of orchids along the shore. I had, of course, often admired these on the trunks and branches of trees on the coast; but, here, the magnificent _Angræcum superbum_ was growing by hundreds on the ground, on good-sized bushes, which occurred in scores, the large waxy-white flowers all in full bloom. It was worth a fatiguing journey to see such a wealth of floral beauty. Here I may notice that another fine orchid, the _Angræcum sesquipedale_, is also to be seen in flower in the months of June and July on this eastern coast. It is not so numerous in blooms as the other species, but its large pure white flowers shine out like stars against the dark trunks of the trees on which it grows. As its specific name signifies, its remarkable spur or nectary is nearly a foot and a half long, pointing to an insect with a very long sucking tube in order to reach the honey stored there. There are several other species of _Angræcum_ found in Madagascar, but with smaller flowers than the two just named. As Mr Baron remarks, “Whatever else may escape the notice of the traveller, the _A. superbum_ forms far too striking an ornament to be passed by unheeded.” And I think the same might almost be said of the _sesquipedale_; of this latter Mr Baron says that it generally chooses trees which overhang the rivers or lagoons as its habitat. I have, however, noticed it at some distance from water.