J 755 Comte d'Estaing ; L. A. de Bougainville 57 



an old and distinguished one in France. If, as is probable, 

 the representative of it who dined with the Club was Charles 

 Hector who was born in 1724, his career was strenuous 

 but troubled. He served at first in the French army in 

 India, was wounded and taken prisoner at the siege of 

 Madras. Subsequently he entered the French navy and 

 carried out some successful attacks on the forts in British 

 India. On his way home he fell into the hands of an Eng- 

 lish cruiser. Accused of having broken his parole at Madras 

 he was brought to England, where he had no difficulty in 

 disproving the accusation. Subsequently he took an active 

 part in helping the naval plans of the infant United States. 

 When the French Revolution came he was brought before 

 the revolutionary tribunal, where he boldly confined himself 

 to recounting his services to his country, concluding with 

 the words : " When you shall have made rny head fall at 

 the guillotine send it to the English ; they will pay you well 

 for it." Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1814) had also 

 a varied history both on land and sea. He came to England 

 in 1754 as Secretary of the French Embassy in London. 

 On the outbreak of war with France in North America 

 during the summer of 1755 he was recalled and was sent 

 as a Captain of Dragoons to join the French forces in Canada, 

 where he was appointed aide-de-camp to Mont calm. His 

 valour in the fighting was remarkable, but when peace came 

 he resolved to quit the army and take to a sailor's life. 

 He became a famous navigator and explorer, being the 

 first French captain who circumnavigated the globe. Besides 

 his peaceful voyages of discovery in arctic latitudes and on 

 the vast Pacific Ocean, he was engaged in naval encounters 

 with the British fleets in the West Indies. His scientific 

 merit was recognised by the Royal Society which elected 

 him into its membership in 1756, and it is averred that the 

 British Arctic expedition of Captain Phipps in 1773 was 

 based on plans which M. de Bougainville had submitted to 

 the Society. 



The English guests this year included a few who may be 

 mentioned here. The Earl of Morton, who was to play an 



