SINGULAR PUNISHMENT AND CUSTOM. 
159 
commences by songs and dancing, Avhicb continue till niidgniglit, 
and then tlie guilty female is «ingied out by the mask. In- 
stantly she is seized by the company, stripped naked, tied to a 
post, and cruelly scourged by the rod ol" tiie magistrate, amidst 
the cries and shouts of all the spectators, it is remarkable, that 
on these occasions the women mobt loudly ridicule the unfortu- 
nate person who is punished. At break of day the mask makes 
himself known ; and the poor woman, who has almost sunk be-, 
neaîh the stripes, retires confused and dishonoured. Thus ter- 
minates tins indecent and barbarous farce. 
On the 8th of February, after a journey of two hours, llu* 
bault entered the kingdon) of Merine. He had set off at iive iq 
the morning, and at noon reached the village of Gambia^ which 
belongs to this sovereignty. He wrs here hifbrmed by the 
master that he w ould have to travel for two days through the de-* 
sert of Sinbani, where he would iind uo habitation; htr received 
refreshments in the village, but was obliged to pass the night in 
the wood. 
The inhabitants of Gambia informed KubauU of a very sin- 
gular custom which previiils amongst them, as well as the whole 
kingdom of Merine. I'hese Negroes are travellers; and when 
one of them is on a jrouroetj his neighbour takes possession of 
his wife : the woman is obliged to receive him, feed him, com- 
ply with his wishes, and take the greatest care of his person. This 
custom is reciprocally observed^ and the Negroes never fail to 
conform to it: hence, as it is general, it does no liariTt to any 
Rubault set off from this village in the morning, continued hi.^ 
journey till ten iiji the evening, î;iid, as v.-as predicted to him, 
passed the night m the forest. This forest appeal ed astonishing 
jtoRubault; bespoke uith surprise of the numbers, height, and 
beauty of the trees, amongst which were all those of the gum 
kind. He .did not feel the want of water ; but all his i)ro vi- 
sions being exhausted, he suffered much from hunger, and wufi 
obliged to eat the fruit of a tree cixlled i/ojuie : he compaied it 
to potatoes, with this difft^i'ence, that it was less compact ; he 
observed that it was the ordinary and favourite food of vv ildhogs, 
<of which animals lie met vvit'x great numbers, as well as with 
■wolves, apes, tigers, and licms, but received no harm from tliem, 
though they approached tolerably near to him. He even saw a 
lioness and her cubs walking at a very short way from him, while 
the lion reiiiained at the distanace of piusket-shot. Besides th.ese 
animals, which me very common in Africa, the connu y of Me- 
rine contains several others v\ hich are found no where except in 
that state and its environs. 
The most remarkable of these ifi gulamala, w hich is nearly 
