THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 



455 



though, for reafons bed known to himfelf, he did not J 78°- 

 choofe to appear; and I was confirmed in this opinion, by 

 being flopped as I was attempting to go into the room. At 

 length, it clearly appeared that my fufpicions were well 

 founded ; for, on our preparing to depart, the perfon who 

 had fo often patted 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 furprized to find it a fort of a certificate in French, as 

 follows : 



Pierre Joseph George, Eveque d'Adran, Vicaire Apoft. 

 de Cochin China, &c. &c. 



Le petit Mandarin, porteur de cet e'crit, eft ve'ritablement 



Envoye de la cour a Pulo Condore, pour y attendre et recevoir 



tout vaiffeau European qui auroit fa deflination d'ap- 



procher ici. Le Capitaine, en confequence, pourroit fe fier 



ou pour conduire le vaifleau au port, ou pour faire pafTer 



les nouvelles qu'il pourroit croire ne'cefTaire. 



A Sai-Gon, PIERRE JOSEPH GEORGE, 



iod'Aouti779. A . 



Eveque d Adran. 



We returned the paper, with many proteftations of our 

 being the Mandarin's good friends, begging he might be 

 informed that we hoped he would do us the favour to 

 vifit the mips, that we might convince him of it. We now 

 took our leave, well fatisfied, on the whole, with what had 

 paffed, but full of conjectures about this extraordinary 

 French paper. Three of the natives offered their fervices 

 to accompany us back, which we readily accepted, and 

 returned by the way we came. Captain Gore felt peculiar 

 fatisfaction at feeing us ; for, as we had exceeded our time 

 near an hour, he began to be alarmed for our fafety, and 



was 



