Page:Voyage in search of La Perouse, volume 1 (Stockdale).djvu/137

] The dia grandiflora, one of the mot beautiful plants of the clas of orchis, grew upon the ide of the mall treams that wind themelves among thee mountains.

This excurion proved the more gratifying to me, as I made it in the company of M. Maon, who had acquired a very extenive acquaintance with botany, in the coure of his travels.

The following days were employed by me in making new reearches in the places I had already viited. Vegetation is here o varied, that I continually met with new objects of attention.

An Englih frigate, from Tellicherry, had been lying for five days at anchor at the Cape, on its return to England to give an account of an engagement that had taken place between the French frigate La Reolue, of twelve guns, Captain Calaman, and the Englih frigate Phenix, of eighteen. The Englih frigate had attempted to make prizes of ome veels under the convoy of La Reolue.

The Englih, according to their uual cutom, attempted to pread reports injurious to the character of Captain Calaman, who, according to the accounts we received from Ile de France, had conducted himelf with equal courage and generoity. The Englih Commander would have done well to have contradicted thee reports, by