THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 457 



whether he did not know, that thefe two nations were now 1780. 



• 1 /->- January. 



at war with one another. He made anfwer in the anirma- • „ » 



tive; but, at the fame time, fignified to us, that it was indif- 

 ferent to him to what nation the mips he was inftrufted to 

 wait for belonged, provided their object was to trade with 

 the people or Cochin China. He here produced another 

 paper, which he defired us to read. This was a letter fealed, 

 and directed " To the Captains of any European vefTels that 

 may touch at Condore." Although we apprehended that 

 this letter was defigncd for French mips in particular, yet 

 as the direction included all European Captains, and as 

 Luco was defirous of our perufing it, we broke the feal, 

 and found it to be written by the Bifhop who wrote the cer- 

 tificate. Its contents were as follows ; " That having rea- 

 fon to expect, by fome late intelligence from Europe, that a 

 veflcl would foon come to Cochin China, he had, in confe- 

 quence of this news, got the Court to fend a Mandarin (the 

 bearer) to Pulo Condore, to wait its arrival ; that if the vefTel 

 mould put in there, the Commander might either fend by 

 the bearer an account to him of his arrival, or trufl himfelf 

 to the Mandarin, who would pilot him into a well-flickered 

 port in Cochin China, not more than a day's- fail from Con- 

 dore ; that fhould he choofe to remain in Condore, till the 

 return of the mefTenger, proper interpreters would be fent 

 back, and any other afliftance, which a letter mould point 

 out, be furnifhed ; that it was unneceflary to be more par- 

 ticular, of which the Captain himfelf mufl be fenfible." 

 This letter had the fame date as the certificate, and was re- 

 turned to Luco again, without any copy being taken. 



From this letter, and the whole of Luco's converfation, 

 there remained little doubt, that it was a French fhip he 

 was to expect ; at the fame time we found he would be glad 



Vol. III. 3 N not 



