Address:
M^rs Anne [sic] Flinders
      Partney near Spilsby
            Lincolnshire

Annotation: N^o 40         June 7^th 1810

                            Wilhems Plains in the Isle of France
                                          Jan. 13. 1810

      The cartel by which I hoped my letter to thee, my dearest friend, of Aug.
3. last would have been conveyed to the Cape of Good Hope, is not sailed even yet. The
officers, instead of being restored to liberty on Aug. 8 as they had been promised,
were closely shut up in prison, and so remain to this day; but it is now again said,
that they are to go away; and I take the occasion to inform thee of the continuation of
my health, and of the circumstances that have occurred since the date of my last.
      At the time I had given up all hopes of receiving from this government any
answer to the letter I wrote, relative to a safe-conduct for thee, I unexpectedly received
one which said, that the captain-general had no objection to thy joining me here;
but that for a safe-conduct, thou must apply to our government which would
make the request to that of France. This let me know, that the general had received
no fresh orders to set me at liberty; and indeed it appeared, that he had received
nothing official from his government for near a year. — A cartel arrived about
a month since with French prisoners from India, and she still remains here. The
Commissary, M^r Hope, let me know in a flattering letter he wrote me, that he should
not fail to use his utmost efforts to obtain my liberty, either by exchange or otherwise,
and as he had been extraordinarily well received by general De Caen, he had hopes
of succeeding; but I, who knew the captain-general better than he could do, had
but little prospect of liberty by his means, unless a ship should, in the mean time
arrive from France and bring him some fresh and positive orders. A ship has, in
reality, arrived, and for some days I was in the a state of the most anxious expec-
tation. A week is now passed and I am utterly a stranger to what the general may
have received by this vessel, nor have I heard any thing since from M^r Hope;
but as we learn, that on Oct. 1 when she sailed from Bourdeaux, [sic] Bonaparte had
not returned to Paris from Germany, I entertain almost no hope of a fresh order
for my liberty being brought by this occasion. There is, however, a possibility of it, as
also that something may be obtained by M^r Hope; though I do not promise myself