412 cook's VOYAGE TO JAN. 



I was attempting to go into the room. At length, it 

 clearly appeared that my suspicions were well founded ; 

 for, on our preparing to depart, the person who had 

 so often passed in and out, came from the room with 

 a paper in his hand, and gave it to me to read ; and 

 I was not a little surprised to find it a sort of certifi- 

 cate in French as follows : 



Pierre Joseph George, Eveque d'Adran, Vicaire 

 Apost. de Cochin China, &c. &c. 



Le petit Mandarin, porteur de cet ecrit, est 

 veritablement envoye de la cour a Pulo Condore, 

 pour y attendre et recevoir tout vaisseau Europeen 

 qui auroit sa destination d'approcher ici. Le capi- 

 taine, en consequence, pourroit se fier ou pour 

 conduire le vaisseau au port, ou pour faire passer 

 les nouvelles qu'il pourroit croire necessaire. 



PIERRE JOSEPH GEORGE, 

 Eveque d'Adran. 

 A Sai-Gon, 

 10 d'Aoftt, 1779. 



We returned the paper, with many protestations 

 of our being the Mandarin's good friends ; begging 

 he might be informed that we hoped he would do 

 us the favour to visit the ships, that we might con- 

 vince him of it. We now took our leave, well 

 satisfied, on the whole, with what had passed, but 

 full of conjectures about this extraordinary French 

 paper. Three of the natives offered their services 

 to accompany us back, which we readily accepted, 

 and returned by the way we came. Captain Gore 

 felt peculiar satisfaction at seeing us ; for, as we 

 had exceeded our time near an hour, he began to be 

 alarmed for our safety, and was preparing to march 

 after us. He and his party had, during our absence, 

 been profitably employed in loading the boat with 

 the cabbage-palm, which abounds in this bay. Our 

 guides were made exceedingly happy, on our pre- 



