Rare love letters to French aristocrat shed light on Louis XVI maritime mystery
<p>âMiracleâ cache of letters written by French scientist who died in ill-fated La PĂ©rouse mission give personal account of 1785 voyage</p><p>As he prepared to climb the scaffolding to be publicly executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793, Louis XVI is reported to have asked: âIs there news of Monsieur de la PĂ©rouse?â</p><p>He was referring to <a href="https