THE DISARM. .MENT OF THE HOVAS I 757 been now ordering,now entreating her officers to put an end to the uselessresistance.

The Hova envoy was informed that no terms could be given. It must be surrender at discretion. He replied that further defence was impossible, and Metzinger's brigade marched in and took possession of the palace and the principal points in the city, while Voyron's brigade and the artillery held the observatory hili. The disarmament of the Hova troops though during the campaign the French losses in action had been slight, the ravages of fever and dysentery had made thousands of victims.

As early as the middleof August it wasreported by the chief of the medical department that there were 3,000 men in hospital. Before the capture of Antananarivo 2,000 dead had been buried,counting only the fighting menand not including the hundreds of coolies,labourers, and porters who had also died. Seven thousand THE HOVA GOVERNOR OF TAMATAVE AND HIS STAFF.

men passed through the hospitals. The white men in the column that marched into the Hova capital looked thin and haggard; t'-.ey could not have endured much longer the labours of the campaign, for most of them had already suffered from malarial fever. It is greatly to General Duchesne's credit that, hampered as he was by a plan of campaign unsuited to the country and imposed upon him by the officials,he carried through the enterprise successfully. It was only by departing from the original plan at thelast moment that he accomplished this. France realised how costly her conquest had been when transport after transport landed its crowd of broken-down men at began immediately, rhere was perfect order in the city that night. The terrified citizens saw to their surprise that the French were paying for everything they wanted,and a proclamation in the Malagasy language posted on the wallsinformed them that General Duchesne hadcome onlyto fight against theHova Government, and that henceforth the French, the Hovas, and the other peoples of Madagascar should live in peace together.

In the three days' fighting the French had only lost seven men killed and forty-three wounded. Among the latter were four officers. Ihe Hova loss was neveraccurately ascertained. « must have amounted to some hundreds. But