22 A NATURALIST IN TASMANIA ch. 



vivacious, and he does not appear to have been 

 at all indifferent to the charms of some of the 

 younger women, one of whom he describes as 

 having ' spirituel eyes ', while in another he praises 

 ' the softness of her looks, their affectionate and 

 sparkling expression, her lively air and perfect 

 innocence '.^ It is a little difficult to reconcile 

 these features with what one would expect from 

 the most primitive of all known races, and with 

 the descriptions of the later English, but we must 

 remember that the Frenchmen opened negotia- 

 tions in a bland spirit, calculated to bring out the 

 best side of the savages. They exchanged presents, 

 sang the Marseillaise and some comic songs 'ac- 

 companied by lively gestures ', and submitted to 

 having their faces smeared over with grease and 

 ochre, to the huge delight of the natives. When 

 Peron sang the Marseillaise one of the young men 

 ' tore his hair, scratched his head with both hands, 

 agitated himself in a hundred different ways and 

 repeatedly iterated his approving clamour '. 



The French expedition, after spending a long 

 time at the Derwent, were attacked with scurvy 

 and forced to find refuge in Sydney, where they 

 were hospitably received by the English. But the 

 suspicions of Governor King were thoroughly 

 aroused, and after a good deal of correspondence 

 with Lord Hobart at home it was finally decided 

 that Van Diemen's Land should be settled as a 

 safeguard against further French designs. Con- 

 ^ Ling Roth's Aborigines of Tasmania. 



