theſe were remains of the ſhipwreck ſuffered by M. de la Pérouſe, whom he had often ſeen at Botany Bay.
"I conceived that the communication of theſe reports muſt intereſt you; and they appeared to me of ſo important a nature, that I reſolved to tranſmit them directly to you by a frigate, which I have diſpatched to the Cape for that expreſs purpoſe. Captain Bolle, who commands the veſſel, will leave the papers in the hands of our Chargé d'Affaires, in caſe he ſhould not meet you there; in order that they may be delivered to you immediately upon your arrival. Though I have received no official directions relative to your expedition, that authorize me to ſend this frigate upon its preſent deſtination, yet I have no doubt that the ſtep I have taken will meet with the approbation of his Majeſty, both when I conſider the intereſt of the public and the ſentiments of my own heart. It was reſerved for you to acquire a claim upon the gratitude of the whole French nation, by accepting the command of an expedition which confers equal honour upon the Sovereign who has ordered it, and the Commander to whom its execution is intruſted. In every part of the globe that you may viſit, you ſhall ever be attended by my fervent
wiſhes
