loaded her without delay, and consigned her to Mr. Boursiquot, a brother of your mother, and to Peter Robin, a distant cousin of mine. You may guess their astonishment at receiving such a consignment from their relation, whom they had pronounced to be a madman, to abandon his country, forfeit his property and go to a foreign land, as they predicted to die of hunger. They would scarcely have lent him five sous, and in less than five weeks after his departure from home, he sends to them a vessel laden with corn of the value of 6 or 7000 livres. It appeared absolutely incredible.
The profit would have been very great if it could have been sold instantly, but the king had sent for corn from foreign countries, which arrived about the same time mine did, and that which belonged to the Royal speculator was ordered to be all sold before the cargoes of private individuals could be touched. Nevertheless, the profit was considerable, and the return cargo, nine tons and three hogsheads of Bourdeaux wine, some chestnuts, and salt also sold to advantage.
Mr. Downe prepared to make a second shipment, and he was persuaded by some friends that the first cargo would have done better had it been consigned to a regular merchant—the English seldom know when they are well off—and I, from a foolish diffidence. did not stand up for my cousin as I ought to have done. The vessel was therefore, much to my sorrow and to our great loss, sent to a merchant at Marennes, who understood merchandise rather too well for us. He swallowed all the profits in his enormous charges, and then instead of returning, as we had instructed him to do, the best Bourdeaux wines, he shipped the "Vin du Pays" which he had received in the way of trade from the
