more of his slaves the legacy of their- freedom, which the
Governor and Council are compelled to confirm, on the application
of the slave for letters of manumission, for which,
however, he is obliged to pay the sum of twenty-five dollars,
or remain in servitude till he has earned by his labour what'
may be deemed an equivalent to that amount.. CHA P . IX.
• COCHINCHINA.
Geographical Outline— Bays and Rivers— Suspicious Conduct of the Natives,
and Cause of it— Historical Sketch relating to Cochinchina— A Rebellion, and
the Murder of the King— Conquest of Tung-fuin— Conduct of a Chinese
General— Safety o f the young Prince of Cochinchina— His Adventures—
Bishop cPAdran carries the King’s Son to Paris— Treaty between him and
Lewis XVI.— Preparations fo r carrying the Treaty into Effect— Defeated
by Madame de Vienne— Return o f the legitimate King to Cochinchina— His
various Successes over the Usurpers— His Character— His Attachment to
the Bishop d’Adran— Extraordinary Energy of his bodily and mental
Faculties— His land and marine Forces.
H a v i n g remained a much longer time in the neighbour-,
hood of the equator than we had intended, or indeed than
was advisable for the health of the crews, if it could have
been avoided, we quitted with pleasure the low swampy
coast of Sumatra, and at the same time the strait of Banca;
and after a fruitless attempt to stand into a bay on the island
of Pulo Lingin, situated immediately under the equinoctial,
we were not sorry to leave it behind, few of us .caring to
encounter that extraordinary degree of heat which, on. this
island, the learned Bayer says, but on whose authority I
forget, is quite , sufficient for the propagation of the human
species, without the usual intercourse of the sexes; under
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