440 
1805. 
September. 
October. 
A VOYAGE TO [At Mauritius. 
the account of which is so ably written by M. de Fleurieu ; he was 
obliging enough to accompany me in several excursions, and amongst 
them in a walk of five miles to the house of M. Giblot, commandant 
of the quarter of Wilhems Plains, to whom it seemed proper to 
show myself and pay a visit of ceremony. The commandant was 
unacquainted with my residence in his district, which was so far 
gratifying that it showed I was not an object of suspicion in the eye 
of the government. 
M. Pitot came to pass a day with me at the end of a month, 
as did captain Bergeret ; and on the 9th of October, the proprietor of 
the Refuge arrived with two of her sons and three daughters, to take 
up their residence on the plantation. On the following day I received 
a proposal from Madame D’Arifat, as liberal as the terms in which it 
was couched were obliging, to partake of her table with the family, 
which after some necessary stipulations, was accepted; and in a short 
time 1 had the happiness 'to enumerate amongst my friends one of 
the most worthy families in the island. The arrival of two other pro- 
prietors from the town increased the number of our neighbours, and 
of those who sought by their hospitable kindness to make my time 
pass agreeably. To M. de Chazal I was indebted for sending out 
my baggage, and in the sequel for many acts of civility and service; 
this gentleman had passed two years in England, during the tyranny 
of Robespierre, and consequently my want of knowledge in the 
French language, at first an obstacle to communication with others, 
was none to reaping the advantage of his information. 
On the 22nd, a packet of letters brought intelligence from my 
family and friends in England, of whom I had not heard for more 
than three years; Mr. Robertson, my former companion in the 
Garden Prison, had found means to forward it to M. Pitot, by whom 
it was immediately sent to Vacouas. A letter from the president of 
the Royal Society informed me, that the misunderstanding between 
the French and British governments was so great, that no commu- 
nication existed between them ; but that the president himself, having 
