in March, 1801, and lay there for the leisurely
space of forty days. Two-thirds of a year had elapsed before they came
upon the Australian coast. But Baudin did not even then set to work where
there was discovery to be achieved. Winter was approaching, and sailing
in these southern seas would be uncomfortable in the months of storm and
cold; so he dawdled up the west coast of Australia, in warm, pleasant
waters, and made for Timor, where he arrived in August. He remained in
the Dutch port of Kupang till the middle of November--three whole months
wasted, nearly eleven months consumed since he had sailed from France. In
the meantime, the alert and vigorous captain of the Investigator was
speeding south as fast as the winds would take him, too eager to lose a
day, flying straight to his work like an arrow to its mark, and doing it
with the thoroughness and accuracy that were part of his nature.

The French on board Le Geographe and Le Naturaliste were as unhappy as
their commander was slow. Scurvy broke out, and spread among the crew
with virulence. Baudin appeared to have little or no conception of the
importance of the sanitary measures which Cook was one of the earliest
navigators to enjoin, and by which those who emulated his methods were
able to keep in check the ravages of this scourge of seafaring men. He
neglected common precautions, and paid no heed to the counsel of the
ship's surgeons. As a consequence, the sufferings of his men were such
that it is pitiful to read about them in the official history of the
voyage.

From Timor Baudin sailed for southern Tasmania, arriving there in
January, 1802, and remaining in the neighbourhood till March. There was
no European settlement upon the island at that time, and Baudin described
it as a country "which ought not to be neglected, and which a nation that
does not love us does not look upon with indifference."* (* Baudin to the
Minister of Marine, manuscripts, Archives Nationales BB4 995 Marine.) A
severe storm separated Le Geographe from her escort on March 7 and 8, in
the neighbourhood of the eastern entrance of Bass Strait. Le Naturaliste
spent some time in Westernport, making a survey of it, and discovering
the second island, which Bass had missed on his whaleboat cruise. Her
commander, Captain Hamelin, then took her round to Port Jackson, to
solicit aid from the Governor of the English colony there. Meanwhile
Baudin sailed through the Strait from east to west. He cal