HISTORY OF MAURITIUS. 
3 2 9 
was commanded by M. du Chemin; but I have never been able to obtain any 
particular account of them. 
“ The Twelve Islands were seen the 6th of June, 1732, by M. du Chemin, com¬ 
manding the ship Saint Pierre, two days after he had lost sight of the north-east 
part of Madagascar; and as he perceived on the morning of the following day, 
another small island, to which he gave the name of his ship, the position of the one 
and the other is determined by his course, and the distance he was from them to 
the north-north-west. 
The frigate Elizabeth, in its passage to Surat, after having made Madagascar, 
found itself on the 16th of August, 1744, at break of day, about a quarter of a 
league from the breakers that surround the Twelve Islands, which remained from 
north-west to north-east. At the same time there appeared from the north-west by 
north, to the north-north-west, three round islets, but little elevated above the sea; 
and to the north-east, a kind of flat island, which seemed to terminate the reef on 
that point. The winds blowing a stiff" breeze from the south-south-east, and the 
agitated state of the sea, obliged the navigators to hold as close as possible to the 
wind to double this shoal, and, on approaching it, they perceived that it was formed 
of several others, all of which were mere banks of sand, covered with shrub-wood. 
At ten A. M. they surveyed the more northern islet to the west-south-west, four or 
five leagues; and, at noon, reckoning that they were seven or eight leagues to the 
north-north-east of the northernmost isle, as, from an observation they were in 
9 0 42' latitude, it was inferred that this mass of islands was in ten degrees. 
“ It is proper to observe, that when M. Morphey discovered the shoal Saint 
Laurent , he passed at such a distance to the north of the Twelve Isles, as not to be 
in a situation to perceive them. 
“ This same navigator had passed also to the south of the bank which extends 
to the south of the small Isle de la Providence , on which the crew of the Hereuse 
frigate, Captain M. Campis, was preserved. This frigate having sailed from the 
Isle of France on the 30th of August, 1769, to go to Bengal, made the isle Jean de 
Nove on the 5th of September, at from five to six leagues to the west. The - fol¬ 
lowing night she was wrecked on the south part of the reef, and the crew saved 
themselves upon a dry bank of sand about a league within the reef, from whence 
they got to a small island at the distance of about seven leagues to the north, to 
which the reef is contiguous; and they named it the Isle de la Providence. 
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