370 
A VOYAGE TO 
[At Mauritius. 
1803. 
December. 
Wednes. 21. 
I took a small schooner of twenty-nine tons, a mere boat, in order to reach 
England by a nearer passage, and thus gain two or three months of time in 
the outfit of my future expected ship ; making my own ease and safety to 
stand in no competition with the great object of forwarding my voyage. 
Necessity, and not inclination, obliged me to put in at the Isle of France in 
my route. 
Now, Sir, I would beg to ask you whether it becomes the French 
nation, independently of all passport, to stop the progress of such a voyage, 
and of which the whole maritime world are to receive the benefit ? How 
contrary to this was her conduct some years since towards captain Cook! But 
the world highly applauded her conduct then ; and possibly we may some- 
time see what the general sentiment will be in the present case. 
I sought protection and assistance in your port, and 1 have found a 
prison ! Judge for me as a man. Sir, — judge for me as a British officer em- 
ployed in a neutral occupation, — judge for me as a zealous philanthropist, 
what I must feel at being thus treated. 
At present I quit the subject with the following requests : that I may 
be permitted to have my printed books on shore ; and that my servant may 
be allowed to attend me in my apartment. 
With all the respect due from my situation to the captain -general, 
I am 
From my confinement. Your Excellency’s obedient servant, 
Dec. 21, 1803. Matthew Flinders. 
The lapse of several years has enabled me to consider the 
transactions of this period under different views, to regard them with 
almost the coolness of an uninterested observer ; and I see the pos- 
sibility that a dispassionate reader may accuse me of taking too 
high a position, and using too warm a style, — in rather giving way 
to the dictates of feeling than dwelling upon the proofs of my inno- 
cence; perhaps also, he may accuse me of vanity, in seeking to 
enhance my own zeal and claims. Without attempting to controvert 
these censures, I beg him to consider all the circumstances of my 
