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52 VISITS TO MADAGASCAR. CHAP. III. of their language, been invited by the merchants to proceed with Mr. Mangeot, one of their own number, to Tamatave, to pay this money, and to arrange with the native authorities for the renewal of the trade, sailed from Port Louis in the “Nimble” on the 10th of October; and thus afforded an op portunity, of which advantage was readily taken, to commu nicate farther with our friends in Madagascar. The harbour of Port Louis is capacious and secure. The town is situated at the head of the bay, and is enclosed on the east, the north, and the south, by mountains at no great distance from the shore. The highest of these is the Pouce, a mass of ancient volcanic rock, which rises immediately behind the town to an elevation of 2800 feet, and from this a range of volcanic mountain extends towards the sea in a south- . west direction, terminating in a high steep point, on which the signal station, announcing the approach of vessels to the port, is fixed. A sort of spur of the Pouce stretches in a line towards the head of the bay, and is surmounted, at its western extremity, by the citadel which overlooks the harbour and town. Another mountain range, behind which the summit of the Peterboth is seen, extends to the north-west, and thus includes, as in a semicircle, Port Louis and its picturesque environs. The government house is situated at the upper end of a broad open space called the Place d’Armes, planted on each side with trees, and extending about 500 yards from the landing-place towards the mountains. Viewed from the harbour, the warehouses near the shore and the buildings in the centre of the town, look stately and imposing. The camp or town of coolies, with here and there the cupola or minaret of a mosque, stretches to the left, and the camp or town of Creoles extends to the right, and exhibits the painted wooden cottages of the former slaves and others in the midst of small cultivated gardens, enclosed with walls of loose stones, and extending to some distance upwards from the base of the