has here from time immemorial been carried on. This, no less than slavery, still hinders social improvement; but it would be difficult to make any but gradual changes in either. Many good laws have been promulgated, but sufficient motive power to make them effective is as yet largely wanting. During the last few years drinking habits have certainly greatly increased, and the laws forbidding the manufacture or sale of spirits in Imerina have been gradually relaxed, so that they are becoming a dead letter. But here again, much blame is due to the greed of foreigners, who evade the native laws and flood the coasts with bad rum, and bring wine and spirits into the interior to tempt the people; and also to European powers, who have not effectually helped the Malagasy Government to keep these evils out of the country. Crimes of violence have also increased in number and boldness during the last decade; and within the last two or three years large bands of armed robbers have almost depopulated some districts, carrying scores of the inhabitants away into slavery, and bringing untold misery on the people.

These are some of the shadows in the picture of the "quartercentury of progress" which I have here tried to paint, and they are sufficiently saddening and discouraging. But let it be again remembered how little, after all, is the amount of Christian effort which has yet been brought to bear upon the heathenism of this great island, when compared with its needs; and how short also is the time, compared with that of the life of a nation, during which these influences have been in operation. For it is really only about eighteen years ago since systematic work was begun in order to guide and enlighten the great mass of heathen people who, at the burning of the idols, put themselves under instruction. When we look at the state of our own and other European countries after centuries of Christian influence, we need not be astonished that Madagascar is not yet all we wish it to be; and when we remember the condition of some churches even in the Apostolic age, we need not wonder that much impurity and evil still exists in many Malagasy churches.

If we keep these facts in view, and if we remember also how much has already been accomplished within this quarter of a century, all who are interested in the enlightenment and true progress of Madagascar need not be disheartened, but may rather thankfully exclaim, "What hath God wrought!" Let us be encouraged by the success of the past to labour with still greater zeal in the future, until this country takes its place among the enlightened nations of the world, and rejoices in the fulness of the blessings which civilisation and Christianity bring to every people.

JAMES SIBREE, JUN. (ED.)

C

THE TRIAL BY CAIMAN:

A STORY OF THE TANGEM-BOAY OR CROCODILE ORDEAL
OF THE TAIMORO.*

ERTAIN philosophers of the last century discovered that savage life was preferable to civilisation, and regretted in pathetic tones the unhappy condition of those nations which have made any progress in the arts of life. These admirers of what is very absurdly called "a state of nature" could never have visited Madagascar, or even have wandered thither in imagination, wafted on the magic chariot of the pen. Had they done so, I doubt if they would have deplored the demoralising effects of civilisation upon a primitive people. The Madagascarites-whether Malagasy, or Antankára, or Bètsimisaraka, or of the numerous other tribes-are in truth primitive. They allow a plurality of wives, they believe in charms, they delight in war, they venerate certain birds and animals, they kill children born in an unlucky hour, they bury a large quantity of ready money with every rich man, and and never dig it up, suffering severe inconvenience in a short currency thereby; while, worst of all, their criminal justice consists in giving the tangèna. The tangena (Tanghinia venenifera) is a subtle vegetable poison, which is administered to persons accused of sorcery. Any individual can accuse another of this crime and demand the application of the tangena, or the lèla-by, i.e. 'tongue and iron' ordeal. The accuser goes before' a judge and states his case; the judge sends him to the ampànangèna, who is half priest half executioner. Having learned the motives of the accusation, this person first experiments on young fowls. He gives them tangena in water, and says, "If thou art come forth from a bull, die !" If it dies, the presumption against the accused is strong. He then tries again: "If thou comest from the shell of an egg, die; if thou hast for father a bull, live !" If the fowl dies, the evidence is startling.

This trial takes place seven times, and if there be three results in favour of the prosecution, the ampanangena gives the heads and claws of the fowls to the informer, who goes before the judge and gets an order for a sahaly or trial. A tràno fády, or 'tabooed house,' is built, in which the judge, witnesses, accused, ampanangena, and all who are to be present at the trial, pass the night. Next morning, the accused, stripped of all clothing, is placed on the green sward and surrounded by the crowd. The judge makes a speech, and the ampanangena gives the tangena mixed with water on a ràvinàlat leaf, after which the culprit swallows a draught of rice water. Frightful convulsions soon ensue, and the wretched being dies in ninety cases out of a hundred, confessing all he is asked to confess. The lela-by consists in passing a hot iron over the victim's tongue three times, when, if a blister rises, the spears of the bystanders immediately

This romantic story appeared many years ago in an English magazine; and as it is veritably founded on fact, it is here reproduced for the readers of the ANNUAL.-EDS.

The Traveller's tree (Ravenala madagascariensis, Sonn.), the leaves of which are long and broad and almost exactly like those of the banana and plantain.-EDS.

terminate his life. This barbarous and savage legislation is observably effectual in checking the increase of population. Scarcely a day passes but some head of a family perishes. But the most abominable feature in the affair is, that the goods of the victim are divided into three partsone for the chief, one for his officers, and the third for the informer. Radama, the celebrated king of Madagascar, when shown the absurdity and wickedness of the practice, replied, "Find me another tax which will as easily fill my treasury.'

But these primitive habits are not all. The people of this great island have others, which will be explained by my narrative.

In the village of Màtitána, on the river of the same name, lived Rakára, a young girl of sixteen, of gentle mien and modest countenance, belonging to the aristocratic caste of the Zanakandriana. The village is situated on an island at some distance from the banks of the river, and containing 300 houses, is not of small importance in the land, being, moreover, fortified. Rakara was a beauty and rich, her father having left her much property at his death, and she owned numerous slaves. She had many suitors as a matter of course; but she was more fastidious than the generality of her people, and none seemed to touch her heart until young René, a native born, but whose father was a Frenchman, appeared in the village on a trading expedition. Rakara saw and loved. The semi-white was handsome, tall, and striking in appearance, and, it was said, generous and frank in character. But René scarcely saw Rakara, or, if he did, he distinguished her not from the multitude of dark women who flitted around him. He was present at the dances of the village; he admired the elegant forms of the girls who demonstrated their talent before him; but his eye seemed to favour no one in particular. Rakara was stricken with despair, and went to an old woman, learned in the science of futurity, for counsel. The old woman took her fee, performed incantations without number, and promised to turn the heart of the cold youth towards her; but more dollars went than results were produced, and Rakara almost regretted having used any other charms than those she had been endowed with by nature.

Still, love is a passion which, in this primitive state of society, is not easily to be conquered by reflection, or even by its apparent futility. In civilisation the feeling would have been concealed by the girl, unless called forth by the addresses of the man. Rakara attempted not to convey to René the least suspicion of her emotions, the more that she had heard him declaim against the idea of settling in a wild, out-of-theworld place like Matitana. But she put faith in the protective genius of the Malagasy, and early one morning she crossed over to the mainland in a canoe to pray for his intercession. The vegetable productions of Madagascar are varied and rich, and the wooded shore was composed of a tangled mass of trees and parasites, whose appearance was charming, each vying with the other in the beauty of leaf and flower. Amidst a dense thicket of this verdure Rakara concealed herself, neither listening to the songs of the choristers of the woods, nor dreading the snakes, or centipedes, or wild boars and cats, which people the virgin forests of this

For further particulars of these Taimòro ordeals, common to other Malagasy tribes as well, see ANNUAL II., pp. 92-101; Reprint, pp. 219-227.-EDS.

island. She knew a shady spot, yet open to the light, where the ravintsàra* sent forth its perfume from nut and leaf, and where also grew the plants she made use of for her incantation.

The place selected was a hollow where the grass grew to a great height, rank and strong, and here Rakara halted, after collecting a quantity of the herbs she needed. These were piled in a heap in an open space, which she cleared with her hands, and several odorous leaves and nuts of the ravintsara being added, the young girl set fire to the whole, and sitting down, began to chant a monotonous ballad beginning, "He he he! izala he!" the moon looks down ;

"The moon in the blue sky, he! he!"

such as is widely sung throughout the district.

The dry grass and twigs crackled, flamed and smoked, while the young girl gazed eagerly on, as if expecting an instant manifestation of the will of the divinity. But as nothing greeted her eager eyes she still hoped that the guardian spirit of her race would act invisibly, and was about to rise and return, when a step was heard, and Ratsimy, one of her suitors, stood before her.

"Rakara is burning incense to the Angatsa" (evil spirit), said the young man coldly.

"And why not to Zànahàry?" asked the girl, trembling, and mentioning the good angel of her faith.

"You do not answer?" continued Ratsimy.

"I own no right in you to ask me," said Řakara, moving as if to go. "Rakara knows well that Ratsimy loves her; that he has told her so two moons ago; and that, like Rahàfo-who dared the enemy of man in the Mount Tangòry for love of Fihàly-Ratsimy would brave any danger for Rakara.'

"I have spoken once," replied the young girl coldly; "the daughter of the great chief of the mountains will not be even the first wife of Ratsimy, much less one of his wives."

"Rakara," cried the lover impetuously, "do not anger me. Recollect I have caught you exercising sorcery."

"Give me up to the ampanangena then!" said the girl indignantly; "your threats have less value than your protestations ;" and Rakara ran lightly through the wood, leaving Ratsimy in great anger, meditating vengeance.

Rakara was not without alarm. She knew Ratsimy to be a young man of violent passions, sometimes uncontrollable; but she still doubted his descending to denounce her because she could not return his love. She paddled quickly across the river to the village, and met René smoking his pipe before breakfast on the strand. René complimented the girl, without looking at her, on her address and activity in paddling. "A Malagasy girl is not always lying from a lover," replied Rakara, as she was about to pass.

"What mean you? 'Flying from a lover.' That's not like your age and race," said René curiously.

"Rakara is different from her race, and runs to avoid the anger of Ratsimy, who is heated with passion because I said I loved him not."

A tree which grows to a large size (Ravensara madagascariensis) and produces a valuable spice. Its leaves are used for scenting oil and other substances.-EDS.

"And who, pretty one, is the favoured brave?" asked René, gazing on her with admiration.

"Rakara never accepted love from any one," she cried and darted away. René filled his pipe and puffed away for some time in silence, thinking the damsel a strange girl, and then he went to breakfast and forgot the subject.

That evening there was solemn council held in the camp of Matitana. It chanced to be the night of full moon, but the pale and cold luminary had not yet risen over the lofty trees, though its light already pervaded the sky. A marshy space near the river's bank was the spot chosen for the deliberation, which never took place but on the night of the full moon. The chief of the village sat on a raised pile of boughs; around were the men and women of the place in a vast circle. René leant against a tree behind Laihóva, the old head-man of Matitana. The river ran dark beside them, its swift current glancing by in the gloom; and about two hundred yards distant was a low bank covered with reeds, often infested by crocodiles, as are most of the rivers in Madagascar. Presently the moon rose in the sky, the water sparkled in the light, the trees showed clearly their dark outlines, and the whole tribe could be distinguished. It was eight o'clock, and the business of the night commenced.

Rakara stood before the chief, accused by Ratsimy of sorcery. As soon as the moon had risen, Laihova stood up, and, like most of his countrymen, fond of speaking, addressed the assembly at length on the atrocious crime of sorcery. He pointed out its fatal consequences, visible in the ailments which it produced, and the many deaths yearly in the district, all to be attributed to the wickedness of male and female sorcerers. He was sorry that a girl so excellent should be there on so terrible a charge, but he must see justice done.

Ratsimy then declared his belief that Rakara was a witch, and related what he had seen that morning, leaving out his declaration of love and his threat. He expressed profound grief at having to accuse one so lovely, and hoped she might clear herself.

A judge then arose and implored Rakara to tell the truth and confess her crime-an act that would have been giving herself to certain death on the instant, and which the girl declined performing, it may be presumed, for that very reason.

"Ratsimy is a false coward;

"I am innocent!" she cried aloud. the caïmans will decide between us!" "As you will; so be it," said the judge. "What are they about to do ?" whispered René to a Malagasy near him.

"Rakara will swim out to yonder island. If guilty, the caïmans will devour her; if innocent, she will come back in safety."

"But the river swarms with these savage monsters.

innocent I swear it, I know it!"

The girl is

"She must stand the trial," said the superstitious native. "If innocent, there is no danger."

"This is mere savage stupidity; I will speak!"

"And die," said his friend solemnly. "The people will spear you if you dare to interfere."