A sensible diminution in geographical discovery marks the close of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth centuries. We have already noticed the organization of the Expedition sent in search of La Perouse by the French Republic, and also Captain Baudin's important cruise along the Australian coasts. These are the only instances in which the unrestrained passions and fratricidal struggles of the French nation allowed the government to exhibit interest in geography, a science which is especially favoured by the French."