Revolution had not destroyed Louis XVI and blown his
exploration and colonisation schemes into thin air, is quite another
question; but "ifs" are not history. You can entirely reconstruct the
history of the human race by using enough "ifs," but with that
sort of thing, which an ironist has termed "Iftory," and is often more
amusing than enlightening, more speculative than sound, we have at
present nothing to do. Here is the version of the visit given by
Laperouse himself:--

"We made the land on the 23rd January. It has little elevation, and is
scarcely possible to be seen at a greater distance than twelve leagues.
The wind then became very variable; and, like Captain Cook, we met with
currents, which carried us every day fifteen minutes south of our
reckoning; so that we spent the whole of the 24th in plying in sight of
Botany Bay, without being able to double Point Solander, which bore
from us a league north. The wind blew strong from that quarter, and our
ships were too heavy sailers to surmount the force of the wind and the
currents combined; but that day we had a spectacle to which we had been
altogether unaccustomed since our departure from Manilla. This was a
British squadron, at anchor in Botany Bay, the pennants and ensigns of
which we could plainly distinguish. All Europeans are countrymen at
such a distance from home, and we had the most eager impatience to
fetch the anchorage; but the next day the weather was so foggy that it
was impossible to discern the land, and we did not get in till the
26th, at nine in the morning, when we let go our anchor a mile from the
north shore, in seven fathoms of water, on a good bottom of grey sand,
abreast of the second bay.

"The moment I made my appearance in the entrance of the Bay, a
lieutenant and midshipman were sent aboard my vessel by Captain Hunter,
commanding the British frigate SIRIUS. They offered from him all the
services in his power; adding, however, that, as he was just getting
under way to proceed to the northward, circumstances would not allow
him to furnish us with provision, ammunition or sails; so that his
offers of service were reduced to good wishes for the future success of
our voyage.

"I despatched an officer to return my thanks to Captain Hunter, who by
this time had his anchor a-peak, and his topsails hoisted; telling him
that my wants were confined to wood and water, of which we could not
fail in this Bay; and I was sensible that vessels inten