CAPTAIN FLINDERS AND ROBERT BROWN 233 



The garden has been put on board some days ago. . . . 

 The two French ships on discovery are now in the harbour. 

 The Geographe, which we met with on the south coast, 

 came in here a few weeks ago in distress ; almost the 

 whole crew sick, and in great want of provisions and 

 water. ..." 



The appearance in these seas of the Geographe should 

 here be accounted for. Flinders's fate was ultimately 

 affected by the circumstance that a French voyage of 

 discovery was in hand, under the command of Captain 

 Baudin. Flinders had met the French ship in Bass's 

 Straits. There was friendly communication between the 

 two parties ; but reasons existed for suspecting that the 

 French meant, if possible, to forestall the Englishmen 

 in the possession of some part of New Holland. In later 

 years this proved to be the case. Baudin 's Decouvertes, 

 as published after his return home, included hundreds 

 of leagues of coast-line, already named by Flinders and 

 Bass, now appearing with French titles. 



The Investigator now proceeded on a cruise, and sur- 

 veyed the great and terrible Barrier Reef, and the Gulf 

 of Carpentaria. Then they stayed at Timor. From this 

 island dispatches were sent homeward, the purport of 

 which included the rotten condition of the ship, and 

 slackness in the Natural History department. Peter 

 Good suffered from dysentery on the return voyage, 

 and died two days after reaching Botany Bay. This 

 was a serious loss to the Expedition. Mr. Brown testifies 

 to the value of his indefatigable exertions in his depart- 

 ment. The garden on board ship now contained up- 

 wards of a hundred growing plants, and these must needs 

 suffer from the loss of Good's care and zeal. Moreover, 

 it had to be transferred to the Porpoise, the vessel secured 

 by Flinders for the homeward voyage. 



Scientific observations were now resumed at Port 

 Jackson. Beside the Botany and Zoology, a record was 



