him contented with being obscurely useful, the public voice did him honour for the happy efforts which he made to rescue the French navy from the decline into which it had fallen, through a long neglect, and the subsequent consequences of an unfortunate war. That consideration which mankind are never unjust enough to withhold from him, who, without exposing any sort of ambition, labours only to be useful, was to M. de Fleurieu the most delightful recompence and return for the continual sacrifices which he made of his time and his inclination. If he was debarred from attempting new discoveries, or from throwing light upon the chaos of former ones, he could direct those whose zeal and the confidence of their sovereign obtained for them honourable missions. Nobody is now ignorant that M. de Fleurieu was the author of the instructions given to the unfortunate Peyrouse, and to the equally unfortunate navigator who was employed in search of him, and in completing his discoveries. The general confidence which he had so well deserved, called him, at length, to the ministry, in those times of ferment, when the public wished to see, in the highest places, those whom the old system had kept in the secondary ranks; but those very troubles which drew them from peaceable obscurity, rendered the tardy justice they received extremely dangerous to them. It required an ardent sense of duty to ac sept of places, where the insubordiation of the inferiors prevented the superiors from effecting any good, while it even exposed the latter to the chance of Compromising their reputation, or throwing discredit on plans and operations which, in calmer times, might have been attended with the most important suc CESS. Being appointed minister of the marine, M. de Fleurieu dared not decline that mark of esteem; but, actuated by too scrupulous a rectitude to consent to take upon himself duties which he could not have any hope of executing according to his wishes, he insisted that the business of the colonies should form a separate branch of the administration. His remonstrances were at first unattended to; but he repeated them with such firmness, that the government was forced to confide to another a part of the business of that department which a recent law had ordained not to be divided. All those who held appointments under him, and even the officers of the navy, with M. D'Estaing at their head, waited on him in a body, to testify their regret at the causes which obliged him to resign. This testimony, while it formed an eulogium on his administration, was a victorious refutation of the calumnies which had been poured against him during his official career, and against which he had been more than once defended by a member of the Constituent Assembly, to whom he was personally unknown, but who afterwards became one of his colleagues, at the Institute and the Council of State, of which they were the presidents, one for the home department, and the other for the navy. The firmuess with which he had solicited permission to retire, did not prevent him from being soon after honoured with a new mark of confidence, which clearly showed the esteem in which his character and principles were held. He was chosen governor of the Prince Royal; but he had scarcely time to make a trial of his new duties, so different from those to which he afterwards devoted himself. The overthrow of the constitution deprived him of this new post; and, merely from having held it, he was placed on the list of the suspicious per sons, who at that time were sent to fill all the prisons in France. Thus confined, for the space of fourteen months, he had leisure to reflect on the fragile nature of those honours which he had never wished for, and to confirm the opinion he had always entertained of the dangers that attend every great political commotion. Madame de Fleurieu, from whom he was not separated, afforded him the tender, est consolations; and, at length, more fortunate than thousands of others, this fond couple regained their liberty; but it was to find their patrimony dissipated, their goods carried off, and their resources annihilated. The first consolation which M. de Fleurieu received was, being appointed to the Institute; but this, in his circum stances, was a poor resource; he had not been comprised in the first formation of the Board of Longitude; but a generous friend (who does not wish his name to be exposed) brought him in by resigning, in his favour, the place of Geo, grapher, to which he had just been appointed by the new code of laws. This company, formed of learned men, who all esteemed M. de Fleurieu, and wished to have him amongst thein, nevertheless hesitated to admit him on such such grounds. One of the members appointed by the law, a celebrated navigator, whom the Institute has lately lost, could not comply with that part of the law which required personal residence. Thus the Members of the Board of Longitude, being obliged to accept the resignation of M. de Bougainville, had the consolation of seeing in his stead, him whom they had wished to be amongst them. From this time M. de Fleurieu became at liberty to resume his suspended labours; nor was he much deterred from them by his appointment to the Council of Elders, amongst whom he did not sit long. He had undertaken the editing of Marchand's Voyage, from which he had previously read extracts to the Class of Moral and Political Sciences at the Institute. This voyage, which is not generally known, was not one of those brilliant expeditions which have handed down the names of Anson and Bougainville, whose object was to make discoveries; yet, like those celebrated navigators, Marchand had sailed round the world. He had discovered unknown islands, and had contributed to the advancement of geography. The object of this voyage was at first only to trade in skins; but those who had been at the expense of it, (Messrs. John and David Baux, of Marseilles,) while setting an example which might be advantageous to French commerce, were at the same time capable of appreciating the information which such a voyage might afford: they met with two captains of real merit, Messrs. Marchand and Chanal: the ship which was built under their direction, on purpose for this expedition, was named the Solide, because nothing had been spared to make her capable of resisting the dangers of the voyage, while serving the double purpose of commerce and nautical science. These navigators had no naval timekeepers; but they were both well versed in nautical astronomy. They were provided with correct reflecting sextants; and, whenever the sky was clear, they measured the distance of the moon from the sun and the stars: they made separate calculations, and afterwards compared their results as to the ship's longitude. Captain Chanal wrote them in the Journal, from which M. de Fieurieu drew up the work; for M. Mar. ehand had died in a foreign land, and it 1 was never known what had become of his manuscripts. From the time when M. de Fleurieu devoted himself to proving the timekeepers of Berthoud, delighted with that fine mechanical discovery, he did not fail to employ also methods purely astronomical, in order to obtain more nu❤ merous tests; yet he never spoke on this subject without declaring, that he would not offer any opinion of his own, whate ever it might be. It was nevertheless easy to perceive, that his opinion went entirely in favour of those chronometers. This was afterwards apparent, by the severe manner in which he treated a distinguished astronomer, whom he accused of partiality for Harrison: he might therefore be considered as identified with Berthoud, and to have shared his prejudices. The respectable astronomer, who was his colleague, might be supposed not to be himself entirely free from prejudice against the method of distances, which was then just beginning to triumph over the method of horary angles, about which he had spent so much time. It is so extremely difficult, even for the most enlightened minds, to maintain a perfect impartiality between two different modes of proceeding, particularly when the two methods, being in their infancy, disclose evident imperfections, and when there is nothing to indicate that means for correcting the errors may at a future time be hit upon. We may therefore suppose, without being liable to the charge of injustice, that M. de Fleurieu, was not yet aware of all the effects that might be drawn from astronomical discoveries. He had however, leisure to observe these effects, while editing a voyage in which they had been so constantly employed; and then it was that he had reason to congratulate himself on not having given an opinion which he might afterwards have been obliged to retract, or which he could not support without a degree of injustice, which was not in his nature. He was now, however, able to offer his opinion at once; and he freely gave to the method of distances all the praise which it deserved; while he pointed out, with great justice, the occasions where it certainly had the advantage of safety, from those on the contrary, wherein the chronometers join to the merit of facility that of a greater accuracy; which is in contestable, when the differences of lon gitude gitude which are to be ascertained, scarcely at all exceed the errors which cannot be avoided by the lunar method. The labours of M. de Fleurieu, were not confined to the putting in order the observations of Captains Marchand and Chanal, and inserting in the charts the isles which they had discovered, and the places whose positions they had cor. rected. The introduction with which he prefaced the work, is an interesting history of the voyages undertaken by all the navigators who have successively visited the North-west coast of America, from Cortes down to Marchand: it is also a profound discussion and comparison between the different accounts, which confirms or refutes the assertions of the different writers, while it throws light upon the whole. The history of the voyage itself is also intermixed with similar discussions, by which the author clears up doubtful points, and gives to each person his due. But the most useful and curious article, is that in which he puts an end to all the doubts of navigators, as to the preference to be given to one of the two passes of the strait between Banca and Billiton. Although several captains had gone through both these passes, known by the names of Gaspard's and St. Cle ment's Straits, their charts were little known. Marchand had with hun only Gaspard's chart, against which, what had been said by D'Après, was enough to inspire him with the deepest prejudice. Marchand, however. did not hesitate in his choice; he entered Gaspard's Strait, which was described as being so daugerous; but his navigation of it was a master-piece of prudence, and of the attention which every seaman ought to pay, when passing an unknown or perilous route. While he was occupied in the preservation of the ship, Chanal was continually making observations to determine the situations of all the isles, capes, and mountains, which he could see. It was from these exact observations that M. de Fleurieu constructed his chart of Gaspard's Strait, and traced the passage of the Solide, in such a way, that navigators could no more be misled; but Chanal had not been able to see the other strait, from which he was separated by the isle that has been called the Middle Isle, (du Milieu.) Hence a chart prepared from his Journals, could not but be incomplete. M. de Fleurieu, however, added the courses of all those who had gone through either of the straits; he carefully examined their accounts, and formed from the whole a description of the double strait, which, though he did not offer it as per fect, has received the sanction of navi gators who have made either of those passages, and who have expressed their astonishment that a learned man, with out stirring from his closet, could trace so accurate a description, and one which is more safe than any of those drawn up by the different captains who had made the passage. After this chapter, which is worthy of being taken as a model in researches of the same kind, we read, with a different sort of interest, the chapter which con. cludes the work. In this, the author gives his reflections on the time taken up by voyages round the world, and on the means of shortening them by ne thods the most useful to navigation. He terminates it by an appeal to all Eu rope, in which, departing from the tone of tranquil discussion, he gives vent to the indignation which is excited by the experience of great injustice. He invites the different people of the Continent to combine their efforts and their ships, in order that the ocean, which ought to be the property of all, may be no longer under the dominion of one nation, but that each may participate, according to the extent of its territory and population, in a free and general commerce with the two worlds. Here, although the task of M. de Fleu rieu might have been finished, the desire of being still farther useful to navigators, induced him to add to it another volume. Captain Chanal had carefully noticed in his Journal the distances at which he first observed certain birds and fish: such remarks inform the navigator that he is in the vicinity of some main land; but, to derive a proper advantage from these observations, it is necessary to be acquainted, to a certain extent, with nas tural history; and M. de Fleurieu in serted snch outlines of his study, as might be useful to the seainan. Perhaps he thus derived some recreation from his more abstruse studies; or probably he was influenced by the attraction of de scriptive writing, which gave lightness and variety to his style. But, though M. de Fleurieu deviated from his subject, he soon returned to it in a happy manner, by his inquiries re lative to Drake's Land, and a critical analysis of Roggewen's Voyage round the world; in this part of the work he announced ས announced in positive terms, his project of revising all the voyages of anterior times, in order to put their useful facts, as well as those of modern works, at the command of our navigators; and to insert the result of each particular discussion in the general chart of modern dis coveries; he likewise intended to distinguish the discoveries of later times, from those places which were possessed by the ancients, and which had been newly reconnoitred; so that we might have a de. scription of the great ocean, between America and Asia, as exact as could be given from the present state of navigation, aided by the numerous materials of earlier times, which could be collected and analysed. In all his subsequent researches, the same spirit of impartial criticism and judgment was evident, as had been applauded in an Essay which he published anonymously during his ministry, under the title of "Discoveries by the French, in 1768 and 1769." His object was at that time to expose a kind of arrogance too much in vogue, which induced navigators to give their own names, or those of their countries, to lands already discovered, and named by previous voyagers, which embarrassed history and practical navigation with trouble and uncertainty. But in this very work, which he wrote to ensure the rights of Messrs. Bougainville and Surville, against the pretensions or false remarks of several English voyagers, one could not observe without pleasure, the impartial manner in which he spoke of Dalrymple, who had neither committed the errors nor the injustice of his countrymen, as well as the deserved praise which he gave to the celebrated Cook, on whom, however, he might have bestowed much more without exceeding the line of discretion. The success of this work could not be doubtful in France; nor was it less successful in England, where M. de Fleurieu met with a translator as impartial as himself, who undertook to diffuse this book amongst his countrymen," to make (as he declared) a voluntary sacrifice to truth"; and who, in his notes, as well as in his preface, always does justice to the minute and profound researches of the French geographers, and particularly to those of the learned and ingenious author before him. The voyage of M. Marchand procured for M. de Fleurieu a testimony not less fattering, because it was disinterested, from a Spaniard, who complained that his nation was treated, by M. de Fleurieu, with a severity that it had ceased to deserve. The learned Spaniard, however, did not hesitate to adopt the new nomenclature of lands and seas, proposed in the Appendix to this work. To give an accurate nomenclature to a science, it is at least necessary that the principles of that science be well-founded, and its great divisions perfectly established: now, all nomenclatures have been gradually introduced, in proportion as the sciences were formed, and when ideas of them were still incomplete, if not entirely inaccurate. In this respect, no one science ought to reproach another, as they stood nearly all alike. Astronomy, the most ancient and perhaps the most advanced branch of human knowledge, affords continual examples of denominations which have been several times changed, without even yet meeting with just substitutes. Chemistry, has almost solely yielded to the necessity of an entirely new nomenclature; M. de Fleurieu wished to render a similar service to hydrography. The reform was more easy. The globe is now sufficiently known, if not in all its details, at least as a whole: we were tolerably well acquainted with the limits and the shape of countries and seas, which have not yet been traversed; it was time to dispel those denominations which had been vaguely and by chance imposed upon seas, only the smallest portion of which had been visited. By showing the inaccuracy of such appellations as he wished to abolish, and the reasons for those intended to be substituted, he proposed a nomenclature which must please all nations, whose rights it specified, while it would give to all the isles and lands the names imposed on them by the navigators who first discovered them. This nomenclature has already been adopted by several learned men of dif ferent nations, and it has been generally approved; nevertheless, this species of revolution in science, though begun, can only be completed by the entire renova tion of all nautical charts; but the success of this subject, though slow, may be only the more certain. The work just mentioned was the last which M, de Fleurieu published. If the changes which had so long convulsed France proved so fatal to this gentleman's fortune, as well as to his labours and his tranquillity, the epoch of the general regeneration brought to him a new A new degree of consideration. He had been successively appointed counsellor of state, president of the naval depart ment, and intendant-general of the emperor's household. When the infirmities of age came upon him, and diminished the activity so necessary for those various functions; yet new honours, a place in the senate, and the appointment of go vernor of the Thuilleries, attested the high satisfaction of the monarch at his services. As soon as he found himself more at Leisure, M. de Fleurieu resumed his faourite occupations, for which he is principally indebted for his reputation, and the name which he has left behind him. What he had done to illustrate some particular voyages, and the clearuess with which be had treated some obscure points, to which he had devoted much attention, induced the public to expect from him a general history of navigation, and there were proofs that it was his intention to compose such a work. It was even believed that the introduction to it was nearly ready for the press. The first book was to treat of ancient voyages. A person of correct judgment, to whom be had read some extracts, was struck with a very curious article, "On the nature of the voyages undertaken by the ancients, and on the form and size of their ships." Another work was reported to be on the point of completion, and its publication was fully expected, it was called, "The Neptune of the North Seas; or an Atlas of the Cattegat and the Baltic." This grand and magnificent atlas was commenced more than twenty years ago. Out of seventy-one plates, of which it was to consist, seventy were nearly fi nished. They only waited for a few triAng corrections, which he wished to give them himself, for he had spared neither pains nor expense on this work, but had superintended its execution throughout. By long experience he had found out, that the drawing-paper usually employed for such works was not fit to receive and display the various figures and delineations; he therefore traced the scales and divisions of his charts on the copper itself. Such scrupulous attention required so long a time, that he often expected to see himself anticipated in this work by the northern navigators, who, by continually visiting those coasts, might be tempted to imitate the fine examples he had set them so many years before. It is certain that they had every facility for composing, in less time, a description which, though less splendid in several respects, might deserve the preference of seamen, in consequence of the numerous details, which it was not possible for him to insert in his own, that had been so long in hand. we can only attribute the slowness with which he proceeded in this work to the extraordinary events that have succeeded each other in France during the last twenty years; let us, however, hope that the subject which caused bim so much anxiety will not be lost to posterity, but that we may see" the Neptune of the North Seas" speedily published. Yet Though the declining health of M. de Fleurieu had prevented him for some time from attending the sittings of the Institute, or the Board of Longitude, we yet hoped that his life would be protracted; and, to judge from the vast undertaking he had planned, he doubtlessly was of the same opinion; but one morning, while solacing himself with the caresses and infantile sports of his two daughters, he was suddenly struck with a paralytic affection, which almost instantly deprived him of strength, sensation, and life. He was married in 1792 to Mademoiselle Deslacs d'Arcambal, with whom he constantly enjoyed all the happiness which could arise from an union with virtue and good sense. After losing his slender fortune by the storms of the revolution, he did not long enough enjoy the brilliant change that he owed to the generosity of the Emperor, to leave his children any thing more than his name, an example of every virtue, and the re spect which the memory of such a man So justly receives. M. de Fleurieu died on the 18th of August, 1810. His successor at the Institute is M. Beautems-Beaupré, and, at the Board of Longitude, M. Rossel, of the Institute, both of whom are known by their labours in the voyage in search of La Peyrouse. EXTRACTS |