35 
more matter of wonder the island has not been 
entirely depopulated. 
The character of the Madegasses has been so 
variously described by different authors, that it 
is no easy task to discriminate between truth and 
falsehood. Some have assured us that they are 
the worst of savages, committing the most horrid 
barbarities on those who unfortunately fall into their 
power; that they are treacherous, false, libidinous, 
and quarrelsome; that no faith can be kept with 
them, or any confidence placed in them; their word 
or their oath being equally invalid, whenever their 
interest or-passions render it inconvenient to adhere 
to them. 
Others, on the contrary, have asserted, that they 
possess all the amiable qualities of the most civilized 
people, and at the same time are destitute of their vices; 
that they are honest in their dealings, humane in their 
dispositions, temperate in their habits, constant in 
their friendship, generous to their enemies, and on no 
account violating the sanctity of an oath. However, 
in the history of their transactions with the French, 
the mystery is unravelled. Upon the first attempts 
of that people to colonize Madagascar, they found its 
inhabitants in many respects similar in character to 
other uncivilized tribes. Free, open, and unsuspect¬ 
ing, they received the strangers as brothers; and 
entertaining a high opinion of their superiority, they 
thought themselves greatly honoured in being per¬ 
mitted to assist them in forming their establishments 
d c 2 
