

Memoir of Charles Alexander Lesaeur. 199 



which they stood so greatly in need of, could readily be procured. 

 He was chiefly urged to this measure by his own condition, as 

 he had been, for some time, afflicted with an obstinate spitting of 

 blood. On the 7th of August the Geographe reached the Isle of 

 France, to the great joy of all on board, harrassed by unceasing 

 difficulties, and broken down by sickness and want. 



It was now ascertained that the commander's disease admitted 

 of no cure; and on the 16th of September, J 803, Nicholas Bau- 

 din ended his days, and was buried with all the honors which 

 were due to the rank which he had held in the French navy. 



In the composition of the Etat-major, or officers of this expe- 

 dition, there was one capital defect, and that was in the choice of 

 the commander-in-chief. Who Nicholas Baudin was, and what 

 were his claims to that distinction which the government con- 

 ferred upon him, in appointing him to conduct a voyage of dis- 

 covery, I have not the means of ascertaining ; but judging from 

 the whole tenor of his conduct, as exhibited in the narrative of 

 the expedition, and concurrent testimony, it may be said that a 

 more injudicious selection could hardly have been made. Want- 

 ing in that sympathy which is an incentive to the sailors virtues, 

 he was characterized by fickleness, selfishness, arrogance and ma- 

 lignity. To these repulsive qualities may be added that un- 

 bounded self-confidence which is so frequently the concomitant 

 of ignorance. Never, it is probable, having made a passage to 

 the seas of India, and not having profited by consulting the nu- 

 merous histories of voyages to the eastern hemisphere, he natu- 

 rally concluded, by the inspection of his chart, that the shortest 

 course to the Cape of Good Hope was the most eligible ; conse- 

 quently, after departing from Teneriffe, he stretched along the 

 coast of Africa, instead "of standing to the westward, toward the 

 coast of Brazil, thereby to profit by the trade winds, which pre- 

 vail in those latitudes. The usual obstacles to the direct route — 

 calms, currents, and baffling winds, at length forced him to change 

 his course. The result of this mistake was the loss of much 

 valuable time, which materially affected the whole plan of the 

 expedition, as, including a stay of eleven days at Teneriffe, the 

 ships were one hundred and forty-five days in their passage from 

 Havre to the Isle of France. 



The want of nautical skill in the commander being now mani- 

 fest, disgust and dissatisfaction were every where apparent. Forty 

 of their best seamen deserted. Several of the officers, midship- 

 men, and scientific men, resolved to remain in the colony. The 

 Principal part of them had the excuse of indisposition ; but the 

 true cause was their sense of insecurity with one whose incapacity 

 had already been productive of much evil* 



* Of the scientific corps there remained in the island, Bissy. astronomer— Miehniix 

 and Delis*,, botanists— Bory de Saint Vincent, zoologist— and Milbert, Lebran, Gar- 

 mer, painters. 



