HISTORY OF MAURITIUS. 
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he learned, after his arrival in France, that one, being almost a wreck, had taken 
refuge in the Bay of All Saints, where she was condemned, and that the other returned 
to the Isle of France. 
W hile M. de la Bourdonnais was at Angola, he was informed of the appearance 
of two English ships; he accordingly dispatched one of his officers in a canoe, to 
discover if they were merchant vessels, or ships of war: they were found to be the 
latter, and another soon joined them. M. de la Bourdonnais, therefore, was convinced 
that the information he had received from Europe was too true, which stated, that a 
great number of English vessels were waiting for his squadron on all sides, having, 
received notice of his return. 
Determined as he was to defend himself, with his four ships, to the last extremity,, 
he did not feel a sufficient degree of courage, or rather of insensibility, to expose 
his wife and four children to the dangers with which he was menaced; he therefore 
put them on board a small Portuguese vessel at Angola, to transport them to the 
coast of Brasil, from whence they were conducted to Lisbon on board a ship in the 
service of the King of Portugal; and from thence they proceeded to France. As 
for him, he set sail for Martinico, according to the orders which he had received. 
In the persuasion that he should meet with the enemy’s squadrons, which would 
be very superior to his, he had conceived a manoeuvre that no seaman had ever 
employed, to have saved the best of his ships, and, in general, all the crews; but 
he was so fortunate as to avoid the English throughout his course, so that he arrived 
at Martinico without any interruption. 
His ships being in safety in the port of that island, his next object was to take 
such measures as would secure their return to Europe. He had received orders 
to remain at Martinico till the latter end of October, 1747, in order to be con¬ 
voyed by the King’s ships; and to dispatch an officer, in the mean time, properly 
instructed, to give an account to the Court and the Company, of the situation 
of the East India colonies. On the other hand, his squadron was not in a con¬ 
dition to put to sea, without an augmentation of stores and men, which Martinico 
was not in a condition to furnish. At length, he conceived a project which 
promised to indemnify the nation for all its losses; and M. de Caylus, Command¬ 
ant of Martinico, considered the success of it as so certain, that he had. associated 
himself in it. It became necessary, therefore, to inform the ministers of this pro¬ 
ject, as appears by the letter of M. de Caylus, and M. de Ranche the Intendant,. 
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