99 
able to state, that through the intervention of the 
Governor of the Mauritius, these predatory expedi¬ 
tions are likely to be put a stop to, he having pre¬ 
vailed upon the Madegasse chiefs to dissolve an 
armament raised for such an undertaking, five 
years since; and a proclamation was also issued by 
Radama, the king of Madagascar, forbidding any 
such excursions in future. 
When the combatants on one side are tired of war, 
or find themselves too weak to make a successful oppo¬ 
sition, they sue for peace. Their method in such a 
case is, to send ambassadors with presents, and the 
necessary preliminaries for an accommodation. If 
the enemy are disposed to listen favourably to the 
overtures, they likewise return presents by their 
envoys, and a day is agreed on for a conference upon 
the business. These envoys are seldom idle when 
at the camp or court of their opponents, for they 
take particular notice of every circumstance relative 
to the situation and condition of the enemy. On the 
day appointed, the chiefs repair with their whole armies 
to the spot fixed on, which is usually the bank of a 
river. Each party kills a bull, and presents the other 
with a portion of the liver, which is eaten in presence 
of the envoys, with earnest protestations and solemn 
oaths, attended with imprecations that the liver they 
have eaten may prove poison or burst them, that 
God would forsake them, and withdraw his hand 
from amongst them, that they may be destroyed by 
their enemies, and their race be extinct with them- 
h 2 
