1691.] .A TERUESTKIAL PARADISE. 41 



Island, which Monsieur clu Quesne made publick before our 

 departure from Holland. 'Tis true, this Relation may be 

 suspected by those who think 'twas his Interest to pre- 

 possess the World with an advantageous Opinion of the new 

 World which he was going to Inhabit : But to this I shall 

 first reply that INIonsieur du. Quesne was so very far from 

 adding to the truth, that he wou'd not sun'er any thing to be 

 inserted in the Book he order'd to be Publish'd, which had 

 the least air of Exaggeration : And in the next place I add 

 that at Maurice Island, Batavia and the Gape, I can my self 

 Witness, every Body allow'd there was nothing in that Eela- 

 tion, which was not exactly conformable to Truth. 



" This Island was at first calPd Mascarenas, by the Portu- 

 guese, who took Possession of it in the Reign of their Kin"- 

 John IV/ in the Year 1545. M. dc Flacour set up the 

 Standard of France there, one hundred and eight Years 

 afterwards, in the Name of Lewis XIV. now reigning, and 

 gave it the Illustrious Name of Bourbon. What he wrote 

 concerning it is to be seen. . He put the Arms of France on 

 the very Monument where he found those of Portugal, having 

 done the same at Madagascar. 



"I believe i\\Q French have as good as abandon'd this little 

 Island. Others that have since landed there, have found it 

 to be so excellent and so beautiful, that they look'd upon it 

 as a Terrestrial Paradise, and gave it the fine Name of Eden ; 

 that is. The Country of Delight.'"^ 



The Ptelation out of which I have taken this Abstract 



abridgment of some book which Leguat had before him. If Leguat had 

 had only the tract which M. Sauzier found he would never have inserted 

 so many particulars which it does not contain." — N. 



1 This is aa error of du Quesne; it should be John III. In 1661 

 M. de Flacourt described Bourbon, and gave a map showing the rivers 

 and the volcano. The rivers are named and the habitation of the 

 French settlers is shown at St. Paul. M. du Quesne evidently drew 

 upon M. Flacourt's account for his description of Mascaregne. 



2 De Flacourt wrote : " Ce seroit auec juste raison que Ton pourroit 

 appeller cette isle un Paradis terrestre." 



