OF LA PEKOUSE. 309 



windward as rapidly as we : at feven o'clock in 

 the morning of the 6th, fhe was flill a myriame- 

 ter to the fouth-weft, when we were already at 

 no great diftance from the principal fcttleraent 

 on the ifland. 



I again faw the fucus which I had before met 

 with quite clofe to New Guinea ; it refembles 

 very fine oakum cut in fmall fhreds, about three 

 decimeters long, and confifts of filaments as fine 

 as hair. Thcfe were frequently feen collected in 

 bundles, and fo numerous that they coloured 

 the water in the road. 



Admiral D'Entrecafteaux fent his fecond Lieu- 

 tenant to wait on the Governor of Amboyna, in 

 order to afk permiffion to put in to the ifland. 

 The Governor immediately aflfembled his coun- 

 cil, and granted us leave to anchor ; but as the 

 act which the fecond Lieutenant of our fhip 

 prefented to them, in the name of the Admiral, 

 had not yet been addrefled to them by the re- 

 gency of Batavia, they wifhed to annex to oux 

 fiay, conditions to which it was improper for us 

 to fubferibe. However, it was not difficult to 

 make them fenfible that we had anticipated, by 

 feveral months, the arrival of the accounts from 

 Europe, which feldom reach them till eighteen 

 months after their date. It appeared to us that 

 they took fo many precautions only to fcreen 

 themfelves from all cenfure on the part of the 



x 3 regency 



