The Thetis and the Espérance quitted the roadstead of Pondicherry on the 30th July, crossed the Sea of Bengal, sighted the islands of Nicobar and Pulo-Penang, with its free port capable of holding 300 ships at a time. They then entered the Straits of Malacca, and remained in the Dutch port of that name from the 24th to the 26th July, to repair damages sustained by the Espérance, so that she might hold out as far as Manilla. The intercourse of the explorers with the Resident and the inhabitants generally were all the more pleasant that it was confirmed by banquets given on land and on board the Thetis in honour of the kings of France and the Netherlands. The Dutch were expecting soon to cede this station to the English, and this cession took place shortly afterwards. It must be added, with regard to Malacca, that in point of fertility of soil, pleasantness of situation and facilities for obtaining all really necessary supplies, it was superior to its rivals.

Bougainville set out again on August 26th, and was tossed about by head-winds, and troubled alike by calms and storms during the remainder of his passage through the straits. As these latitudes were more frequented than any others by Malay pirates, the commandant placed sentries on the watch and took all precautions against surprise, although his force was strong enough to be above fearing any enemy. It was no uncommon thing to see fly-boats manned by a hundred seamen, and more than one merchant-ship had recently fallen a prey to these unmolested and incorrigible corsairs. The squadron, however, saw nothing to awake any suspicions, and continued its course to Singapore.

The population of this town is a curious mixture of races, and our travellers met with Europeans engaged in the chief branches of commerce; Armenian and Arabian merchants, and Chinese; some planters, others following the various trades demanded by the requirements of the population. The Malays, who seemed out of place in an advancing civilization, either led a life of servitude, or slept away their time in indolence and misery whilst the Hindus, expelled from their country for crime, practised the indescribable trades which in all great cities alone save the scum from dying of starvation. It was only in 1819 that the English procured from the Malayan sultan of Johore the right to settle in the town of Singapore; and the little village in which they established themselves then numbered but 150 inhabitants, although, thanks to Sir Stamford Raffles, a town soon rose on the site of the unpretending cabins of the natives. By a wise stroke of policy all customs-duties were abolished; and the natural advantages of the new city, with its extensive and secure port, were supplemented and perfected by the hand of man.

The garrison numbered only 300 sepoys and thirty gunners; there were as yet no fortifications, and the artillery equipment consisted merely of one battery of twenty cannons, and as many bronze field-pieces. Indeed, Singapore was simply one large warehouse, to which Madras sent cotton cloth; Calcutta, opium; Sumatra, pepper; Java, arrack and spices; Manilla, sugar and arrack; all forthwith despatched to Europe, China, Siam, &c. Of public buildings there appeared to be none. There were no stores, no careening-wharves, no building-yards, no barracks, and the visitors noticed but one small church for native converts.

The squadron resumed its voyage on the 2nd September, and reached the harbour of Cavité without any mishap. Meanwhile, M. du Camper, commander of the Espérance who had, during a residence of some years, become acquainted with the principal inhabitants, was ordered to go to Manilla, that he might inform the Governor-General of the Philippines of the arrival of the frigates, the reasons of their visit, &c., and at the same time gauge his feelings towards them, and form some idea of the reception the French might expect. The recent intervention of France in the affairs of Spain placed them indeed in a very delicate position with the then governor, Don Juan Antonio Martinez, who had been nominated to his post by the very Cortés which had just been overthrown by their government. The fears of the commandant, however, were not confirmed, for he met with the warmest kindness and most cordial co-operation from the Spanish authorities.

Cavité Bay, where the vessels cast anchor, was constantly encumbered with mud, but it was the chief port in the Philippine Islands, and there the Spaniards owned a very well supplied arsenal in which worked Indians from the surrounding districts, who though skilful and intelligent were excessively lazy. Whilst the Thetis was being sheathed, and the extensive repairs necessary to the Espérance were being carried out, the clerks and officers were at Manilla, seeing about the supply of provisions and cordage. The latter, which was made of "abaca," the fibre of a banana, vulgarly called "Manilla hemp," although recommended on account of its great elasticity, was not of much use on board ship. The delay at Manilla was rendered very disagreeable by earthquakes and typhoons, which are always of constant occurrence there. On October 24th there was an earthquake of such violence that the governor, troops, and a portion of the people were compelled hastily to leave the town, and the loss was estimated at 120,000l. Many houses were thrown down, eight people were buried in the ruins, and many others injured. Scarcely had the inhabitants begun to breathe freely again, when a frightful typhoon came to complete the panic. It lasted only part of the night of the 31st October, and the next day, when the sun rose, it might have been looked upon as a mere nightmare had not the melancholy sight of fields laid waste, and of the harbour with six ships lying on their sides, and all the others at anchor, almost entirely disabled, testified to the reality of the disaster. All around the town the country was devastated, the crops were ruined, the trees—even the largest of them—violently shaken, the village destroyed. It was a heart-rending spectacle! The Espérance had its main-mast and mizen-mast lifted several feet above deck, and its barricadings were carried off; the Thetis, more fortunate than its companion, escaped almost uninjured in the dreadful tempest.

The laziness of the workpeople, and the great number of holidays in which they indulge, early decided Bougainville to part for a time from his convoy, and on December 12th he set sail for Cochin-China. Before following the French to the little-frequented shores of that country, however, we must survey with them Manilla and its environs. The Bay of Manilla is one of the most extensive and beautiful in the world; numerous fleets might find anchorage in it; and its two channels were not yet closed to foreign vessels, and in 1798 two English frigates had been allowed to pass through them and carry off numerous vessels under the very guns of the town. The horizon is shut in by a barrier of mountains, ending on the south of the Taal, a volcano now almost extinct, but the eruptions of which have often caused frightful calamities. In the plains, framed in rice plantations, several hamlets and solitary houses give animation to the scene. Opposite to the mouth of the bay rises the town, containing 60,000 inhabitants, with its lighthouse and far-extending suburbs. It is watered by the Passig, a river issuing from Bay Lake, and its exceptionally good situation secures to it advantages which more than one capital might envy. The garrison, without including the militia, consisted at that time of 2200 soldiers; and, in addition to the military navy, always represented by some vessel at anchor, a marine service had been organized for the exclusive use of the colony, to which the name of "sutil" had been given, either on account of the small size, or the fleetness of the vessels employed. This service, all appointments in which are in the gift of the governor-general, is composed of schooners and gun-sloops, intended to protect the coasts and the trading-vessels against the pirates of Sulu. But it cannot be said that the organization, imposing as it is, has achieved any great results. Of this Bougainville gives the following curious illustration:—In 1828 the Suluans seized 3000 of the inhabitants upon the coast of Luzon, and an expedition sent against them cost 140,000 piastres, and resulted in the killing of six men!

Near the Bay of Manilla.
(Fac-simile of early engraving.)

Great uneasiness prevailed in the Philippines at the time of the visit of the Thetis and the Espérance, and a political reaction which had steeped the metropolis in blood had thrown a gloom over every one. On December 20th, 1820, a massacre of the whites by the Indians; in 1824, the mutiny of a regiment, and the assassination of an ex-governor, Senor de Folgueras, had been the first horrors which had endangered the supremacy of the Spanish.