Captain Frankland's object in coming to Madagascar was to open up a commercial intercourse with the people, and to advance this object he had resolved to visit the capital.  He had been supplied with several letters of introduction to facilitate this object.  This brought us in contact with a number of people.  One of our first visitors was a fine-looking man, an officer of government.  He wore a gold-lace cloth cap, a shirt with an elaborately worked collar and cuffs, and over it a lamba, the native scarf or plaid, the centre of which consisted of broad stripes of yellow, pink, scarlet, and purple, with the border of open work of yellow and scarlet lace.  He had, however, neither shoes nor stockings.  He was accompanied by two men bearing swords, the badges of his office.  One of our visitors took snuff (a usual custom), by jerking it from a richly ornamented tube of cane which his servant handed to him, on to his tongue, when he swallowed it!