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Lot Essay
'November 1818 - the length and difficulties of our voyage during the last month our so, together with the number of sick crewmen and the fact that we had not been able to take on enough supplies at Kupang, all combined to persuade the Commander to call at Dili. The way we were received was a source of great amusement to me.
We anchored four days ago. Our salute was returned. Louis was also saluted by one special salvo when he landed from the boat which took him ashore. The Portugese Governor, Don Jose Pinto Alcoforado d'Azevedo e Souza, welcomed the dear Commander and his crew with truly remarkable courtesy, and as soon as he learnt that I was on board, he sent me fruit and fresh bread together with an invitation to dine with him the next day. To this end, he announced to my husband that all the notable women of the colony would be gathered at his home to receive me. I did not possess suitable attire for such formal occasions; a light muslin dress alone, together with a hat decorated with a few feathers, was all the finery I had. The minute our boat landed, from a fortress nearby there was such a loud salute from so many guns, and such a large crowd had scattered on the beach that I needed Louis' arm to reach the end of the gangway without stumbling. The Governor was present with all his staff. When I stepped ashore, he gave me his hand and invited me to share with him the shade of a huge parasol carried by a Timorese slave dressed in strange clothes. A similar parasol was held over Louis's head.' (M. S. Rivière (ed.), A Woman of Courage, The Journal of Rose de Freycinet on her Voyage around the World 1817-1820, Canberra, 1996, p.59.)
We anchored four days ago. Our salute was returned. Louis was also saluted by one special salvo when he landed from the boat which took him ashore. The Portugese Governor, Don Jose Pinto Alcoforado d'Azevedo e Souza, welcomed the dear Commander and his crew with truly remarkable courtesy, and as soon as he learnt that I was on board, he sent me fruit and fresh bread together with an invitation to dine with him the next day. To this end, he announced to my husband that all the notable women of the colony would be gathered at his home to receive me. I did not possess suitable attire for such formal occasions; a light muslin dress alone, together with a hat decorated with a few feathers, was all the finery I had. The minute our boat landed, from a fortress nearby there was such a loud salute from so many guns, and such a large crowd had scattered on the beach that I needed Louis' arm to reach the end of the gangway without stumbling. The Governor was present with all his staff. When I stepped ashore, he gave me his hand and invited me to share with him the shade of a huge parasol carried by a Timorese slave dressed in strange clothes. A similar parasol was held over Louis's head.' (M. S. Rivière (ed.), A Woman of Courage, The Journal of Rose de Freycinet on her Voyage around the World 1817-1820, Canberra, 1996, p.59.)