Two or three chapters of this book cover, to some extent, the same ground as those treated of in another book on Madagascar by the author, published some years ago by Mr Fisher Unwin. The author here acknowledges, with many thanks, Mr Fisher Unwin’s kindness in giving full permission to produce these, which are, however, rewritten and largely added to. J. S. _NOTE._—Throughout this book Malagasy words are accented on the syllables which should be emphasised, and if it is borne in mind that the vowels _a_, _e_ and _i_ have as nearly as possible the same sound as in French or Italian, and that _o_ is exactly like our English _o_ in _do_, _to_ and _move_, and that the consonants do not differ much in sound from those in English, except that _g_ is always hard, _s_ always a sibilant and not like _z_, and _j_ is like _dj_ there will be no difficulty in pronouncing Malagasy words with a fair amount of accuracy. CONTENTS CHAPTER I PAGE INTRODUCTORY 17 Natural History of the Island—Still Little Known—Roads and Railway—We travel by Old-Fashioned Modes—Great Size and Extent of Madagascar CHAPTER II TAMATAVE AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE COUNTRY 20 “The Bullocker”—Landing at Tamatave—Meet with New Friends—Landing our Luggage—Bullocks and Bullock Ships—Native Houses—Strange Articles of Food—A Bed on a Counter—First Ride in a _Filanjàna_—At the Fort—The Governor and his “Get-Up”—A Rough-and-Ready Canteen CHAPTER III FROM COAST TO CAPITAL: ALONG THE SEASHORE 27 Travelling in Madagascar—Absence of Roads—“General Forest and General Fever”—Pleasures and Penalties of Travel—Start for the Interior—My Private Carriage—Night at Hivòndrona—Native Canoes—Gigantic Arums—Crows and Egrets—Malagasy Cattle—Curious Crabs—Shells of the Shore—Coast Lagoons—Lovely Scenery—Pandanus and Tangèna Trees—Pumice from Krakatoa—Sea and River Fishes—Prawns and Sharks—Hospitable Natives—Trees, Fruits and Flowers—“The Churchyard of Foreigners”—Unpleasant Style of Cemetery—“The Hole of Serpents”—Killing a Boa-constrictor—The White-fronted Lemur—Andòvorànto—How the Aye-Aye was caught—What he is like—And where he lives—A Damp Journey CHAPTER IV FROM COAST TO CAPITAL: ANDÒVORÀNTO TO MID-FOREST 48