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The interior of the town was in appearance exactly like one of the suburbs, except that the houses were built of planks or of bamboo. At the time of Madame Pfeiffer's visit, the sovereign of Madagascar was Queen Ranavala, memorable for her sanguinary propensities, her hatred of Europeans, and her persecution of the Christian converts.
See "Nineveh the Buried City of the East," one of the volumes of the "National Illustrated Library," for the rectification of this and other errors in Madame Pfeiffer's account. The manuscripts of the journey through Hindostan as far as Mosul miscarried for more than a year and a half. I gave them up as lost. This was the cause of the delay in the publication of my "Journey round the world."
This fact raised a new problem far me to work upon, and I could but ask when these lines were written before or after Mr. Pfeiffer's death and whether he had ever succeeded in solving the riddle he had suggested, or whether it was still a baffling mystery to him.
They have thick jet-black hair and fine dark eyes. The colour of their skin is a copper-brown. Both sexes, at the time of Ida Pfeiffer's visit, preserved the custom of tattooing, the devices being often very fanciful in design, and always artistically executed.
Throughout their idle existence, the swine are reverentially cherished and liberally fed; nor is the cruel knife permitted to cut short the thread of their destiny. At the time of Ida Pfeiffer's visit, only one pair were living in this otiose state, and the number seldom exceeds three pairs.
Durbin only tried to look wise and strut about, but it was of no use; he deceived nobody. Veronica Moore's real connection with Mr. Pfeiffer's death, a death which in some inscrutable way had in so short a time led to her own, was an overwhelming surprise to every one of us. The superintendent, as was natural, recovered first. "This throws quite a new light upon the matter," said he.
It was, of course, in a very rudimentary condition, the mere embryo of a town; but the country around it was very picturesque. Madame Pfeiffer's second excursion was into the interior; and it opened up to her a variety of interesting scenes, as, for instance, a manioc- fazenda, or plantation.
She started with the caravan on the 8th of July, and next day crossed the hills that intervene between Mesopotamia and Kurdistan. The latter country has never enjoyed a good reputation among travellers; and Madame Pfeiffer's experience was not calculated to retrieve its character.
They parried their adversary's blows as long as they could with their parasols, but these did not long avail; Madame Pfeiffer's broke in the struggle, leaving only a fragment of the handle in her hand.
Shortly afterwards, when she wished for some refreshment, nothing could be procured but lukewarm water, bread so hard that it could not be eaten until thoroughly soaked, and a cucumber without salt or vinegar. At a village near Kerka the caravan tarried for two days. On the first day Madame Pfeiffer's patience was sorely tried. All the women of the place flocked to examine the stranger.
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