152 Transactions. 



harbour the "Buffalo" followed, to see them, as it were, 

 safely off the premises — a proceeding, says D'Urville, " which 

 did not in the least touch our susceptibility, but amused 

 us greatly." Upon his return to France, D'Urville devoted him- 

 self to the publication of his great voyage, aided by many col- 

 laborators. Its various parts — twenty-three volumes in all, 

 octavo and folio, costing nearly 1,500 fr. — were not completed 

 until 1853, but they appeared in all the splendid rendering 

 that the French Government knew so well how to bestow upon 

 them. Alas ! D'Urville was not destined to see much of his 

 magnum opus through the press. In the prime of his life and 

 vigour — for he was but fifty-two years of age — his labours were 

 abruptly terminated by a frightful catastrophe. He, his wife, 

 and only son took train for Versailles on the 2nd of May, 1842 — 

 being less than two years after his return — for a day's pleasure. 

 Shortly after starting the axle of one of the carriages broke 

 when the train was at full speed, involving a total wreckage. 

 The carriages and engine, piled together, took fire, and seventy- 

 four of the unfortunate passengers, locked in the carriages 

 and thus helpless, were incinerated. Amongst them was 

 D'Urville and his family, their remains being recognised with 

 difficultv. So perished this eminent sailor, a loss to his country 

 and to science, and who, despite the chagrin and annoyance 

 expressed in his last pages relating to New Zealand, had a warm 

 sentiment and affection for British people. 



In conclusion, and to complete this sketch, I return to the 

 " Aube," the last of our early French visitors, to which is at- 

 tached another episode in our history. The full and authentic 

 story — for it has had variations — was told by me in a former 

 paper many years ago, and again in the columns of the Argus 

 during the progress of a somewhat warm discussion. It need 

 not, therefore, be now recounted at great length. Years before 

 this colony became a bright ornament of the British Crown, its 

 shores were constantly frequented by whalers of all nationalities. 

 Amongst them was one Captain Langlois, who professed to have 

 bought from the Natives, in 1836, 30,000 acres on Banks Penin- 

 sula, including the site of the present Town of Akaroa. On his 

 return to France he induced several gentlemen — members of 

 mercantile houses in Havre, Nantes, and Bordeaux — to form 

 themselves into an association for the purpose of founding a 

 colony in New Zealand. It is said that Louis Philippe furthered 

 the project with substantial assistance. In March, 1840, ac- 

 cordingly, the whaling vessel " Comte de Paris " sailed, under 

 the command of Captain Langlois, with sixty souls on board, 

 and. after a voyage of five months, reached Akaroa on the 

 lfith of August. The day before — the 15th — the corvette 



