provided fhe has formed no previous en- 
gagement. Neither is the leaf diflike 
evinced to fuch an intercourfe by her re- 
lations 5 on the contrary, the mothers of 
young females regard it as an aét of hof- 
pitality to prefent their daughters to any 
ftranger who may arrive in the ifland. 
Thefe connections are generally main- 
tained with the ftricteft fidelity on the 
part of the ‘woman until the departure of 
the franger. Itis fhe who attends to his 
intereft and direéts his affaits; and it is 
through her medium, likewile, that all his 
commercial concerns are tranfacted with 
the natives. An European would find 
extreme difficulty in the arrangement of 
his,affairs, were it not for the ‘aid of his 
faithful companion, who accompanies 
him in all his excurfions throughout the 
ifland. Tis fpecies of contraé, the only 
marriage with which they are acquainted, 
is annalled with the fame facility on the 
departure, as it had been eniered into on 
the arrival, of the firanger. 
We fhould be led info an error, ‘were 
We to attribute the prevalence of this cui- 
toin to libertinifm, or a diffolutenefs of 
manners. On the contrary, I think, it 
may be traly affirmed, that thefé women 
ate often mere rigidly obfervant of the 
rules of modefty and conjugal fidelity rhan 
thofe of ‘other countries apparently more 
advanced incivilization. 
This Species of union between the fexes 
is to be attributed not only to their tctal 
yenorsnce of Eurapean manners and euf- 
toms, but aifo to the high refpeét which 
they entertain for the Whites. To {uch a 
leneth, mdeed, do they carry this reve- 
rence, that they deem {uch a eonnedction 
the greatcft honeur that can be conferred 
on their family, which is fully evinced b 
their beflowing the title of chief and other 
privileges on a Mulatto born of a Mada- 
- gafcan woman and an European father : 
feveral inftances of this kind feil under my 
own obferyation during my ftay in the 
ifland.: 
I formed the fame opinion refpefting 
the fimilarity of manners which prevails 
in Otaheite, the Friendly, and other 
iflands of the great Pacific Ocean, I 
had an opportunity of converfirg on this 
iebjett, while at London, with many: of 
the companions of the pagers Captain 
Cock; and, amovg others, with Licute- 
naat Roberts, who was eras cuf to.me 
5 an intelligent officer, 
- 2d to aford me the information I withed 
to obtain refpecting thee difiant iflands. 
A fail-length a bung in his apart- 
went of a very beautifgl Graheitan wo- 
a ~ 
Difeription of the Tanta of Madagafrar. 
and well ealculat- 
[July ts 
man, painted by Mr. Hodges, °an artift 
who was employed in that expedition. —~ 
This portrait having given rife to a’ con- 
verfation refpecting the females of thefe 
iflands, Lieutenant Roberts obferved, that 
“* thofe have fallen into an egregious error, 
who adopted the opinion, that thefe fe- 
males abandoned themfel ves promifeuoufly 
to every firanger, and that they had nei- 
ther any ideas of decoram nor fen of 
modefty. This female whofe ‘portrait is 
before us was one of the moft beautiful ia 
the ifland ; fhe was young and ¢gréceful, 
amiable sad lively. One of our officers, 
who poffefled a very handfeme perfon, 
made love to this woman for a long time 
with the trite afiduity. She willingly 
jelted and {ported with him, and) it was 
caly to perceive he was not difagrceable to 
her ; but, as fhe bad a previous engage- 
ment, fhe never allowéd:him -to take any 
ferious freedoms; and he ‘has often de- 
clared, that he never could, by any means, 
even by the moit tempting offers, fucceed 
in his deiigns ao her? 
Such condu& on’ the part ef Receailes 
who are heither acquainted with the repu- 
lations of civil fociety ‘nor, influenced by’ 
our prejudices, fo as to affume a fa@itious 
modeliy ; of females to whem, from their’ 
earlie years, every thing that-can prove 
gt atifying is’ conidered allowable ; fuch 
condu&t, I aver; does ‘not sikicate! that 
niibridled licentiowfnefs, that profligacy 
of manners, that total want of modefty, 
which have been too geserally afirmed-to 
conftitute an eflential feature in the-eha- 
rater of thefeypeople. © Sy nae 
Befides this refemblance between the 
inhabitants of ‘Madagafcar and Otaheite, 
there is alfo a ftriking analogy between 
the languages fooken ia theteé iflands fo 
remote from éach other.‘ In both, ° ‘mot 
of the numerical terms aré abfolutely 
identical, and many of - their ‘principal’ 
nes bear a firiking tice to rpieek 
othe 
I The Madagafcan language allo’ is fireet 
and fonorous ; itis fimple in its conftrue- 
tion, ref fembling very “much that of all’ 
favage people nearly i in a fate of natute. 
It appears, alfo, that the Madagafean 
language bas incorpora‘ed with it a'eonfi- 
cerable mixture of the Moorith tongue, 
which is a diaieé&t of the Hindooffanee, 
and likewife of the Arabic. “Phis “mix- 
ture, silicles. is more efpecially difco- 
erable in thofe parts of the ifland where 
thenatives have kept up the greateft Com- 
mercial intercourfe, and more frequently 
intermarried, with thefe ftrangers." 7 
E forbear Heke tq enter into a minute 
comparilos 
