"
Callender, however, has omitted to translate the remainder of Des
Brosses' account, in which, among other facts, the important statement is
made that the priest Paulmier had become personally known to M. Flaconet,
who met him for the first time at the residence of the Lord Bishops of
Heliopolis and Beryte, where he often met him in company with M. de
Flacourt, who had commanded in Madagascar, and AI. Fernamel, father of
the Superior of the Foreign Missions. The good abbe was doing all in his
power to persuade these gentlemen to assist in sending a mission to these
Australians, and it also appears that he had communicated his views on
the subject to St. Vincent de Paul, who would have presented his memorial
to the Pope had he not been prevented by death.
Before attempting to fix the position of the country visited by De
Gonneville, it is necessary to refute here the various opinions expressed
on the subject which refer to countries other than the Australian
Continent. The most ancient is that brought forward by tile geographers,
Duval and Nolin, and the navigator, Bouvet, who place those lands almost
immediately to the south of the Cape of Good Hope.
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