OF LA PEROUSE. I77 



On the approach of night we discovered 

 that we were on the banks of the fmall lake, at 

 its mod inland extremity. The woods pre- 

 vented us from following arl its margin with- 

 out wetting our feet. The water which we were 

 obliged to crofs, was fortunately not deep. The 

 obfcurity of the night did not prevent me from 

 gathering a new fpecies of rejiio, which I met 

 with for the firft time.' 



This lake, although it communicates with the 

 fea, contains no fifh ; the Efperance's people had 

 come here and hauled the feine, but had caught 

 nothing. 



Having reached the fea-fide, we had ftill a 

 great way to go, and forrie thick clouds redoubled 

 the darknefs. We had often to climb over large 

 blocks of ftone, againft which the waves broke 

 with violence. We went groping on in the 

 dark, at the rifk of falling headlong into the fea, 

 and we had infinite difficulty to keep our feet 

 on ftones wafhed by the waters, and covered 

 with facus and other marine productions, which 

 rendered them extremely flippery. 



A great number of phofphoric molecules, of 

 different lizes, brought by the waters of the fea, 

 afforded the only light that guided our fteps. 



At length we arrived at the fpot which had 

 been chofen for making aftronomical obferva* 

 tions. There was no longer any one here ; the 



vol. i.- n aftrono- 



