A. - 
376 ' Some Particulars of the Life of » 
voyage of two years and four months, and the loss’ of only seven 
men out of more than 200. 
This exvedition justly placed Bougainville in the rank of the 
greatest seamen of his day, and yet it was ia some measure his 
apprenticeship only. The account which he gave of it was read 
with avidity, and afterwards translated by Mr. Foster; for in a se- 
cond edition, which he published in 1772, he answers some re- 
marks of his. translator. His style is simple and natural: he 
there exhibits his character, his intrepidity, his contempt for 
danger, and his penchant for pleasantry ; his goodness of heart, 
and the gaiety with which he contrived always to enforce subor- 
dination, and yet to provide for the enjoyments of his crew as 
much as for their health. 
It has been truly observed, that the geographical charts and 
determinations, with the exception of the latitudes, are the weakest 
parts of the work. But it is fair also to remark that he made a 
voyage of discovery, and not one of mere reconnoissance ; that 
dreadful weather rendered all his astronomical attempts useless ; 
that the science of the longitude was in its infancy; that the 
tables of the moon were not yet brought to the point of perfec- 
tion at which they now are; that navigators then had none of 
the assistance which is lavished upon them at present ; that they 
were still unacquainted with calculations; and that Bougainville 
was the first Frenchman who took an astronomer with ‘him to 
profit by his observations. 
Upon his return, France was at peace. A wandering and 
agitated life had blunted his taste for the mathematics, and he 
gave himself up to enjoyments which the bustle of his early life 
had not permitted him to share. His celebrity and his elegant 
manner procured him admission into the-higher circles ; but his 
active mind was again employed in the service of his country 
when France declared for America. Under Admirals Lamothe 
Piquet, D’Estaing, and De Grasse, he successively commarided 
the French ships Bien-aimé, Languedoc, Guerrier, and Auguste. 
At the request of D’Estaing he was appointed chef d’escadre, 
and the same year he received the rank of field marshal. He 
commanded the van at the memorable battle of the Chesapeake 
in 1781, and beat off the English van, obtaining the honourable 
testimony of Count de Grasse to his having contributed more 
than any other person to the victory. On the disastrous 12th 
of April, when the commander in chief was reproached with 
being more occupied with the safety of his own ship than with 
the squadron, and the squadron with not supporting their com- 
mander in chief, Bougainville, who commanded the rear guard, 
did all that could be expected of him: by a bold manceuvre he 
saved 
