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MEMOIR

AND

CORRESPONDENCE

OF

THE LATE

SIR JAMES EDWARD SMITH, M.D.

FELLOW OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON;
MEMBER OF THE ACADEMIES OF
STOCKHOLM, UPSAL, TURIN, LISBON, PHILADELPHIA, NEW YORK, ETC. ETC.
THE IMPERIAL ACAD. NATURE CURIOSORUM,
AND ;
THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AT PARIS;
HONORARY MEMBER OF THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF LONDON;
AND

PRESIDENT OF THE LINNZAN SOCIETY.

tp

EDITED
By LADY SMITH.

“ How delightful and how consolatory it is, among the disappointments and
anxieties of life, to observe Science, like Virtue, retaining its relish to the last!”
Sketch of a Tour on the Continent, vol. ii. p. 60.

IN TWO VOLUMES. ¢,- os
VOL. I. ES

LONDON: WILLEN
ap PRINTED FOR
LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMAN,

=
PATERNOSTER ROW.

1832,

DUPLICATA DE LA BIBLIOTULGUE *
DU CONSERVATOIRE BOTANIQUE DE GENEVE
VENDU EN 1922

RICHARD TAYLOR,
PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.

LIBRARY
NEW YORK
BOTANICAL

GARDEN

PREFACE.

IN the following pages, which contain the
principal events in the life of Sir James
Edward Smith, the writer has been tempted
to insert various domestic and familiar letters,
even from an early period, as it appeared to
her that they mark the progress of his cha-
racter, his predilection for botanical science,
and other facts, more faithfully than a nar-
rative composed of different materials would
be likely to do.

From the vast accumulation of letters,
preserved during a period of more than fifty
years, the limits of this work would admit
only of a selection; and many therefore are
omitted, equally worthy of publication.

a 2

lv PREFACE.

The letters of the Bishop of Carlisle, fol-
lowing the chapter upon Sir James’s works,
being chiefly critical, and relating to those
publications, are kept together, that the sub-
ject may not be interrupted.

The correspondence of Mr. Davall and
Sir James is kept separate from the general
current of letters, as it relates principally to
the botany of Switzerland, and their peculiar
regard for each other. That of the Marchio-
ness of Rockingham, their mutual friend, is,
for similar reasons, mingled with theirs.

The letters of Mr. Caldwell, of Dr. Wade,
&c. are inserted together, being descriptive
of Ireland chiefly.

Those of the Abbé Corréa De Serra and
a few other friends have a reference to some
political occurrences in Portugal which af-
fected the Abbé’s safety ; and among them
are a few concerning a magnificent plant,
the Cyamus Nelumbo, whose history has been
a subject of interest and speculation with
classical botanists.

The correspondence of Mr. Roscoe and

PREFACE. V

Sir James is given apart from others, for the
same reason as Mr. Davall’s.

To her friend Dr. Boott, of Gower Street,
the editor is under great obligation for his
repeated acts of kindness in the course of the
work, which she is happy thus to acknow-
ledge: and for assistance in the selection
of foreign correspondence she is indebted to
Mr. Dawson Turner’s friendship.. For every
thing else the compiler alone is answerable ;
—-conscious as she is of the imperfections of
the work, and unconscious probably of many
that may have escaped her observation, it
might seem unjust not to make this avowal.

Should it be inquired why no portrait of
an earlier age is given, in preference to that
which is prefixed to the work, the answer is
contained in the fact, that of several deline-
ations by different artists at various periods,
none have been esteemed as likenesses, and
that the bust of Sir James, by the hand of
Chantrey, in the library of the Linnean
Society, conveys the only representation of
him which retains the expression of his mind,

vi . PREFACE.

through the features; and if the copy of it at
the opening of this volume is less perfect
than could be wished, it must be ascribed to
the difficulty of fixing in a copy the expres-
sion which was often found impossible to
catch from the original. Sir James Edward
Smith’s mental lineaments are less difficult
to trace ; they will be seen in various lights,
sketched by a variety of hands, in the suc-
ceeding pages.

PLEASANCE SMITH.

Norwich, 1832.

‘om
a.

en “28,

CONTENTS.

VOL. I.

———=gja

CHAPTER T.

: z Page
Introductory notice.—Birth of Sir J. E. Smith.—Pedigree of the

Kinderley family.—Mr. Smith, the father of Sir James.—Early
education,—His domestic amusements.—Fondness for history.
—Began the study of systematic botany the day Linneus died.
—Trained by his father for merchandise.—Acquaintance with
James Crowe, Esq., Mr. Pitchford, Mr. Rose, Rev. H. Bryant,
T. J. Woodward, Esq.—Goes to Edinburgh.—Dr. John Hope.
—Lord Monboddo.—Mr. Engelhart a young student from
Sweden.—Mr. Batty.—Mr. Broussonet.—Forms a Society for
the study of natural history at Edinburgh.—Tour in the High-
lands.—Makes a collection of the native plants of Scotland.
—Presented with a gold medal by Dr. Hope.—Made first
President of the Natural History Society.—Letter of the Earl
of Buchan upon that occasion.—Letter of Mr. Kindersley from
Tinpevelly .. 32... ;

se ere eee eee we erect ees ee searres |

CHAPTER II.

Sir J. E. Smith leaves Edinburgh.—Lodges in Great Windmill-
street, London.— Dr. John Hunter.—Sir J. Banks informs him
that the library and collections of Linnzus are upon sale—
Writes to Dr. Acrel.—Correspondence with his Father.—Let-
ters of Dr. Acrel, and catalogues of the collection.—Agrees to
become the purchaser.—Letters from Mr. Pitchford, Dr. Wi-
thering, Dr. Stokes, Professor J. Sibthorp.—Rev. H. Bryant.
—Chosen Fellow of the Royal Society.—Letter from Dr. J.
_Hope.—Preparation for going abroad .........ececeeee00 89

CHAPTER III.

Sir J. E. Smith begins his travels —His correspondence with va-
rious friends.-—Publication of his “ Sketch of a Tour on the

Vill CONTENTS.

Page
Continent.”—His taste for the Fine Arts.—Tntroduced by Vis-
countess Cremorne to the late Queen Charlotte.—Instructs
Her Majesty and the Princesses in Natural History.— Loses
the Queen’s favour by some expressions in his Tour.—Rous-
seau.—Approbation of his Tour by Dr. Pulteney and Mr.
Pennant.— Origin of his acquaintance with Colonel Johnes.—
Visit to Hafod.—Miss Johnes.—Letters of Mr. Johnes.—
Letter from Mrs. Watt, the only daughter of Ellis; and other
friends.—Introductory Lecture at the Royal Institution in
1808.—List of Foreign Professors .....0...e0eeeees Soe ia dikes

CHAPTER IV.

Foundation of the Linnean Society.—Sir J. E. Smith elected
President.—List of the Fellows in 1790.—Letters of Mr. Smith.
—Letters from various Foreign Professors.—Charter.—Presi-
dent’s Address on the Twentieth Anniversary .........-.. S41

CHAPTER V.

Enumeration of the Works of Sir J. E. Smith. 1. Reflexions on
the Study of Nature.—2. Dissertation on the Sexes of Plants.
—3. Thesis de Generatione.—4. Reliquiz Rudbeckiane.—
5. Plantarum Icones.—6. Icones Pictee.—7. English Botany. —
8. Spicilegium Botanicum.—9, Flora Lapponica. —10. Botany
of New Holland.—11. Tour on the Continent—12. Syllabus.
—13. Insects of Georgia.—14. Tracts.—15. Flora Britannica.
—16. Compendium Flore Britannice.—17. Flora Greca.—
18. Prodromus Flore Grece.—19. Exotic Botany.—20. In-
troduction to Botany.—21. Articles in Rees’s Cyclopedia.—
22. Tour to Hafod.— 23. Lachesis Lapponica.— 24. Articles in
Trans. of Linn. Soc.—25. Review of the Modern State of Bo-
tany.—26. Grammar of Botany.—27. Linnean Correspond-
ence:=—-26)/ English: Bloras 0.220. oS Jak Vee cetera ee 425

CHAPTER VI.

The Bishop of Carlisle endeavours to persuade Sir James not to
remove from London.—Motives which induced him to return
into Norfolk.—Letter of Mr. Crowe.—Lectures at the Royal
Institution—Flora Graca.—Letters from Sir Joseph Banks,
Sir J. E. Smith, John Hawkins, and Thomas Platt, Esqrs.

—Bishop of Carlisle’s Correspondence 2. ee ..seee ee eeee 925

MEMOIR

AND
CORRESPON DENCE

OF

SIR JAMES EDWARD SMITH.

CHAPTER I.

Introductory notice.—Birth of Sir J. E. Smith.—Pedigree of the
Kinderley family.—Mr. Smith, the father of Sir James.—Early
education.— His domestic amusements.—Fondness for history.
—Began the study of systematic botany the day Linneus died.
—Trained by his father. for merchandise.—Acquaintance with
James Crowe, Esq., Mr. Pitchford, Mr. Rose, Rev. H. Bryant,
T. J. Woodward, Esq.—Goes to Edinburgh.—Dr. John Hope.
—Lord Monboddo.—Mr. Engelhart a young student from
Sweden.—Mr. Batty.—Mr. Broussonet.—Forms a Society for
the study of natural history at Edinburgh.—Tour in the
Highlands.—Makes a collection of the native plants of Scot-
land.—Presented mith a gold medal by Dr. Hope.—Made first
President of the Natural History Society.—Letter of the Earl
of Buchan upon that occasion.—Letter of Mr. Kindersley from
Tinnenelly.

THE Correspondence of the late President of the

Linnean Society falling under the care of her who

is the natural guardian of all the confidential as well

as scientific communications it contains, it appeared
VOL; I. ¢, B

2

to her improper and scarcely possible that any other
person should overlook, or could have leisure to
select from several thousand letters, those most fit
for the public eye. This consideration had suf-
ficient weight with her to attempt what otherwise
she would have left in abler hands; but, as the letters
form the principal and most engaging portion of
the following Memoir, she has given her attention
to put them in their proper places, and to burthen
the reader with few that are trifling, although many
will be interesting chiefly to persons who love to
trace the doubts and progress of those learned men,
who by degrees and with much mental labour, but
more mental enjoyment, have raised the botanical
department of natural science to its present high
station and importance; and why may she not
add another if not a stronger inducement to the
work ?>—the delight of renewing some shadow of
that choice society in which she has lived over
again while preparing these Letters for the press.—
Would that the ability to appreciate the virtues and
talents of the lamented subject of this Memorial
imparted equal ability to record them!

Sir James Edward Smith has been so long known
as the possessor of the Linnean Library and Her-
barium, and as the original founder of the Society
which bears the name of the illustrious Swedish
naturalist, that some account may be expected here
of his early years, and of the circumstances that led
him to the choice of a profession offering few
lucrative rewards to an aspiring and not indepen-
dent man. ‘The last infirmity of noble minds”

3

can hardly be said to have spurred him to the effort;
for an effort it surely is, to choose a path through
which we see but darkly where it leads.

Though enthusiasm and a love of fame had per-
haps some influence, a love of science and of truth
had greater still. He said to others, “ The fairest
flower in the garden of creation is a young mind,
offering and unfolding itself to the influence of divine
wisdom, as the heliotrope turns its sweet blossoms
to the sun ;” and may it not be said of him that taste
and virtue fixed his choice ?

He was born at Norwich the second of December
1759, was the eldest child of his parents, and for
almost five years continued the only one. From
infancy a delicacy of constitution marked his
bodily frame; and an extreme susceptibility was no
less obvious in his mental temperament. He was
consequently more under the immediate care and
direction of his mother than most children require
to be, and it was from her, that at a very early period
he imbibed a taste for flowers, which she had plea-
sure in cultivating. He seldom in after-life saw the
delicate blue flowers of the wild succory, without
recalling to mind, that, when, in infancy, their beauty
caught his eye and attracted his admiration above
most others, he tried in vain to pluck them from
the stalk.

Probably the charm of this quiet amusement was
greatly enhanced by a natural timidity, a diffidence
amounting to a degree often painfully embarrassing,
and which was never so obliterated from his re-
membrance, but that at times he would recur to

B2

4

events in his childhood, when for a word or almost
a thought he feared was wrong, he experienced
the pangs of a broken and a contrite spirit, and in
his later years has felt that pity for his former suf-
ferings, which he would have done for those of a
different individual.

It was impossible for a mother not to be tenderly
attached to such a disposition in her child; and ac-
cordingly a more than common affection subsisted
between them, and he at all times spoke of her as
his guardian and his friend.

The family of Kinderley, from whom Sir James
is descended on the maternal side, is an old and
opulent one in the north of England. His great-
great-grandfather, Geoffery Kinderlee of Spalding
in Lincolnshire, was the intimate friend of Daniel
de Foe, the well-known author of Robinson Crusoe;
who in one of the persecutions which he suffered,
was sheltered from its effects in the house of
Geoffery Kinderlee. He died in 1714, and is buried
in Spalding churchyard under a stone bearing this
character of him:

‘* He was a very charitable and merciful man.”

“ The pleasure which from virtuous deeds we have,
Affords the sweetest slumber in the grave.” *

Nathaniel Kinderley, Sir James’s great-grand-
father, lived at Saltmarsh, between Stockton and

* Of this ancestor many anecdotes are preserved. He was noto-
rious for having had six wives, and it was whispered that he sought
them in healthier counties, and that the change to the fens of
Lincolnshire soon gave him an opportunity of trying his fortune
again. He drove four horses in his coach, and had an appropriate

5

Durham, and inherited a considerable fortune from
his father Geoffery before mentioned. He married
Mary, grandaughter of the honourable Francis
Pierpoint, uncle to Evelyn Earl of Kingston, bywhom
he had issue John, Nathaniel, Audrey, and Mary.
He endowed a school for poor boys at Dundee, and
attempted to civilize the inhabitants of the northern
part of England near which he resided.

Being induced to speculate in a project for the
improvement of the navigation of the river Dee,
Mr. Kinderley lost a great portion of his property
in that adventure: he also engaged in the EKaubrink
drainage, and was the original projector of the mea-
sure which has within a few years been carried into
effect and completed near Lynn in Norfolk. A canal
in that district is still known by the name of the Kin-
derley Cut. But these schemes proved unsuccessful
at the time, and ruinous to Mr. Kinderley’s fortune.
He left an estate at Setch within four miles of
Lynn, which thirty years ago was valued at about
12,000/., and was the residue of the property saved
from the wreck of his unfortunate speculations.

airing for every morning in the week, in which his grandson John
was his frequent companion. In these excursions he heard many
anecdotes, which he transmitted, probably with some embellish-
ments, to his successors.

His sixth wife survived him, and is supposed to have avenged
her predecessors by her excessive care; for she made a flannel
cap to his gold-headed cane, lest the coldness of the metal should
affect his health, and this treatment he did not long survive.—
But these have the air rather of jocular tales than of serious
accusations, and we may believe “ he was a very charitable and
merciful man.”

6

His eldest son John, the grandfather of Sir James,
being obliged to turn his attention to some means
of living, beyondthe remnant of his paternal fortune,
chose the clerical profession, and was sent to St.
Andrew’s, where he graduated. The corporation of
Norwich presented him with the perpetual curacy
of St. Helen’s church in that city, and the vicarage
of South Walsham in Norfolk ; and the Countess of
Leicester appointed him her domestic chaplain at
Holkham.

The generosity of his nature was a check upon
his enriching himself or his family, although he
preserved his independence; but he seldom could
take his dues from a necessitous parishioner, and
it was his invariable custom, at the wedding of a
poor couple, to receive the fee from the husband
and slip it into the bride’s hand. He was remark-
able for the sweetness of his temper and for several
little eccentricities of character ; was a great pede-
strian, and not unfrequently walked from Norwich
to Holkham before breakfast, a distance of at least
forty miles, always beginning his journey at one or
two in the morning. His daughter on one occasion
received the severest reproof he ever gave her for
altering the clock to retard his hour of setting off.

He married Sarah, daughter of Mr. John Raining*,

* Mr. Raining gave the service of communion-plate still in use
at the Octagon Chapel in Norwich; 500/. for charitable uses to his
native town of Dumfries; 1200/. to founda school in North Britain;
1000/. among several schools and congregations about Norwich,
or, if times of persecution should arise, to their ministers; be-

sides other charitable legacies.
Mr. Raining was the intimate friend of the Rev. Robert Fle-

7

a wealthy Dutch merchant, a woman of graceful and
refined manners, and considerably more accom-
plished than ladies of her day usually were: she
survived her husband many years. The Rev. John
Kinderley died the 10th of April 1775, aged 69:
his widow lived to the great age of 91, and died in
1799. They had two children: Frances, the mo-
ther of Sir James Smith, whose exemplary conduct
through life requires no eulogium here, for her
memory is still cherished by a numerous circle of
friends and relatives ; her life was protracted to the
great extent of 88 years, when, without bodily in-

ming, V.D.M., who had been minister of the English church at
Leyden, and was patronized by the Prince of Orange. He pub-
lished a poetical essay on the death of King William; but Mr.
Fleming is more remarkable as the author of a prophecy de-
duced from the obscure and highly poetic visions of the Apo-
calypse, contained in a ‘‘ Discourse concerning the Rise and Fall of
the Papacy,” printed in 1701. The following passage was noticed
soon after the commencement of the French Revolution by the
editors of some London newspapers; and being received with
suspicion by many readers, Sir James having in his possession a
copy of Mr. Fleming’s work, which descended from his prede-
cessor Mr. Raining, he took it with him to London, for the pur-
pose of showing it to his incredulous friends.

“There is ground to hope that about the beginning of another
such century, things may alter again for the better ; for I cannot
but hope that some new mortification of the chief supporters of
antichrist will then happen; and perhaps the French monarchy
may begin to be considerably humbled about that time: that
whereas the present French King takes the sun for his emblem
and this for his motto, Nec pluribus impar, he may at length, or
rather his successors, and the monarchy itself (at least before the
year 1794), be forced to acknowledge that (in respect to neigh-
bouring potentates) he is ever singulis impar.”

8

firmity or any mental failing, she expired in February
1820 ;—and Nathaniel, lieutenant-colonel of the
honourable East India Company’s artillery service,
whose only son was the friend through life of his
cousin, the subject of this memoir.

Mr. Smith, the father of Sir James, was a man
of strong understanding and of a cultivated mind.
Having in his early youth occasion to reside some
time at Clifton hot-wells for the recovery of his
health, he was induced by the kindness of a lady
there, who conceived a partiality for him as a clever
and superior boy, to employ his leisure hours in
learning French, and with the language he acquired
a taste for reading the best authors of a country
whose history more especially engaged his attention,
and perhaps few men in his own or any station read
more, or enjoyed in a greater degree the charm of
good composition. He left remarks upon the style
and character of most of the works belonging to
the book-club of which he was a member ; and they
are indicative of the acute and sound judgement he
possessed*.

_ * The following is a specimen, though a very short one, of
Mr. Smith’s notice of the books he read :

* Some Thoughts concerning Education, 1693.

“ This little useful treatise was written by the celebrated Mr.
Locke, and is truly valuable, although the luxury and effeminacy
of the present times will not, cannot conform to the rules he de-
livers. He recommends a private education, because he says the
first, the greatest object of education is virtue and goodness. In
reading his observations, ‘tis impossible not to reflect how very
different is the mode of education in the great schools from that
he thinks proper.”—Common-place Book.

9

A habit of thinking for himself strengthened his
understanding ; and his son has often expressed
himself deeply indebted to his father’s, and it ought
also to be added his mother’s, encouragement not
to follow any received opinion blindly and impli-
citly, but dare to think for himself and stand alone.
For the free action this gave his mind, he to the
last year of his existence expressed his obligation
to both parents.

The education which Sir James received was en-
tirely domestic : he never was at a boarding-school,
and had even as a child, a dread of being sent to
one. The best masters, however, which the city of
Norwich afforded, attended him at home, and he
acquired the knowledge of grammar only through
the Latin tongue: an English grammar, he has fre-
quently observed, he never had; nor did his pro-
ficiency in Latin extend beyond the rudiments of
the language, till he had passed the usual period of
a school-boy’s age.

The French and Italian languages he acquired
correctly, and made some progress in mathematics ;
and in the society of well-informed, sensible parents,
those hours which in a public school are frequently
grievous, or unavoidably wasted, those domestic
evenings which expand the heart with the under-
standing, and “leave us leisure to be good,” were
devoted to reading, or lessons rendered pleasing by
the associations connected with them.

His timidity has just been mentioned; but it was
the timidity of a tender infant mind, fearful of doing
wrong. As he grew older, mental courage was per-

10

haps the most prominent feature of his character,
and its supporting effect was felt in his presence, and
diffused confidence. “ He feared God, and knew no
other fear.”

It seems natural to suppose that his father’s love
of historical works led his son to take an interest
in similar researches; for at the early period of
eleven or twelve he composed an imaginary history
of Scotland, very fairly and correctly written and
expressed, in which two races of kings are accu-
rately described. The writer of these pages has in
her possession the drawing-room or saloon of these
illustrious personages, and their place of interment
under the chapel floor.

If invention be the proof of genius, it inust be
accorded to him even in this youthful occupation ;
for nothing is borrowed: though the dresses, lan-
guage, and furniture strictly resembled realities he
had seen, yet the materials he used and the manner
of applying them to his minute population, show
very uncommon originality of design.

The writer is not ashamed to acknowledge, that
reading the history of this ideal court, its ladies,
servants, and dependents, and the satirical verses and
pasquinades upon some members belonging to it,
has occasionally beguiled a winter’s evening very
agreeably, when the company of some young friend
has been the occasion of introducing the “ Paper
People,” as they were called, upon the tea-table:
and at the same time his own playful recurrence
to the scenes of his youthful happiness produced
an enjoyment which will never return. “ Man was

i]

made for relaxation as truly as for labour; and by
a law of his nature, he finds perhaps no relaxation
so restorative as that in which he reverts to his
childhood; seems to forget his wisdom ; leaves the
imagination to exhilarate itself by sportive inven-
tions; talks of amusing incongruities in conduct
and events; smiles at the innocent eccentricities
and odd mistakes of those whom he most esteems;
allows himself in arch allusions or kind-hearted
satire, and transports himself into a world of ludi-
crous combinations. It may be said that on these
occasions the mind seems to put off its wisdom;
but the truth is, that ina pure mind wisdom re-
treats, if we may so say, to its centre, and there
unseen keeps guard over this transient folly, draws
delicate lines, which are never to be passed in the
freest moments, and, like a judicious parent watch-
ing the sports of childhood, preserves a stainless in-
nocence of soul in the very exuberance of gaiety.”

Whoever recollects his love of fun and drollery
may perceive that it was an original part of his
disposition ; but at all times joined to such a sweet-
ness of temper and true humanity as left no sting
behind: a quick perception of the ridiculous, and
especially the grave affectation of wisdom, was
always irresistible.

Enough, and perhaps it may be said more than
enough, has been bestowed upon this juvenile game;
yet it may be considered as the embryo appearance
of a taste, or rather passion, for historical records,
which was at all times the relaxation most salutary
to his spirits, and to which he daily looked forward

12

in the pages either of a real or fictitious representa-
tion of human life, with a zest that almost identified
himself with the characters he read of. Whether
he saw a delineation of human passions and events
in the pages of Robertson, Froissart, Brantome, or
Roscoe, or met with them in those of Lady Morgan,
Mrs. Ratcliffe, Richardson, Fielding, or Sir Walter
Scott, his sympathies were called forth, and he
would weep or rejoice as the master pen of the writer
touched his heart and charmed his imagination.

It was his knowledge of history that made his
company so delightful in travelling ; for never did
he pass a spot, marked by an event in our national
history, without reminding his companion, and thus
furnishing topics of discourse from place to place,
and peopling a desert with forms long since at rest,
and ideas that were as amusing as the prospect be-
fore them; while, to enrich the scene, and fill each
step with interest, the habitats of plants were always
noticed, and their sure recurrence gave a delight
well known to those of similar pursuits.

The writer can never forget some occurrences of
this kind, and will mention one, because it happened
in a road generally thought dull and wearisome,
except to men of the turf, and that is Newmarket
heath, .a tract he always passed with particular plea-
sure, from the exhilarating effect of the pure air.

Here it was, one “ incense-breathing morn,” he
pointed out to her notice the Carduus acaulis, whose
close and stunted growth his companion had attri-
buted to the barren soil and frequent treading upon.
Soon after a wide field covered with the rich blos-

13

soms of the red poppy and the viper’s bugloss, which
attracted their mutual admiration, reminded him
that when Mr. Kindersley’s East Indian servant first
travelled into Norfolk and passed over this heath,
he exclaimed in rapture, “‘ Yonder are flowers worthy
to adorn the gardens of the gods, and here they grow
wild !”

Nor was this a solitary instance of the pleasure
afforded to the admirer of nature in an unpromising
tract of country. Sir James’s friend the late An-
drew Caldwell, Esq. of Dublin, describing his re-
turn out of Norfolk, observes, “ It was dark before
we reached Newmarket, and the night misty; I
could only perceive this part of the road led over
vast extended heaths. The favourite Verbascum, I
could not help observing, gradually took its leave,
and disappeared entirely some time before day de-
clined. The Centaurea Cyanus, Cichorium Intybus,
and Echiwm in profusion on the road sides—whose
beautiful blue colours attracted even the notice of my
servant. 'The sun rose in the utmost splendour just
before we came to what I believe was Epping forest.
The landscape was wild and enchanting enough
for the warmest fancy of the poet and painter, yet
this pleasure was lost to every one but me. Not
a door or window in any house but was closed, and
the inhabitants asleep. How continually we give
up the most delightful hours! Yet, sensible of this
as I am, I shall persevere in error, following the
example that is always surrounding one. An op-
portunity was soon afforded of perfect contrast.
The sky became clouded before eleven, and heavy

14

showers were repeated the whole day afterwards.
What a change from the brilliant light and the
beautiful objects of the forest, to the gloom and
confinement of streets and houses !

“ The travelling observer of nature,’ Sir James
remarks, “has, as it were, the enjoyment of a new
sense in addition to those common to the rest of
mankind. He can find amusement and instruction,
where they bemoan themselves as in a wilderness ;
he can relieve his attention and refresh his spirits
when wearied by common objects of observation, or
troubled with disagreeable ones, and is stimulated
with ardour to undertakings, prolific of pleasure
in various ways, which the incurious, half-occupied
mind would not think worth the pains of attempting.
A still higher advantage is attached to the pursuit
of natural history in a journey through an en-
lightened country, as well as in the journey of life
itself. It is an unerring clue to an intercourse with
the best minds. It brings those together who are
connected by a most commendable, disinterested
and delightful tie; it brings forth the best parts of
every character.”

Happy as he was in an excellent mother, he was
no less so in another maternal character, to whom
the writer owes an infinite debt of gratitude and
love. Sir James has often reminded the person who
records the circumstance, of the pleasure it gave
him, when, in early life, and then almost a stranger,
he first paid a visit to that inestimable parent, and
found the apartment destined for himself, decorated
by her hand with wreaths of the Calluna and Erica

15

Tetralix. The appearance of these beautiful flowers
served to open an immediate communication of
minds and taste, led to harmony of ideas on other
subjects, and proved the beginning of a friendship
which was never impaired by time or a nearer afli-
nity with each other. These are the graces which
compose the poetry of life; which require neither
equipages nor liveries; which, instead of waste, create
abundance; and best of all, unlock the treasures of a
well-stored mind,

* Rich in the pure and precious pearls of splendid thought!”

Those only who have witnessed the effect which
the tranquillity of the country, the sight of gardens,
the unpacking even of dried specimens, had upon
him, can form an idea of the serenity and charm
such situations and objects produced ;—a flow of
happy spirits, never overbearing, a ready wit, an en-
joyment which communicated its happiness to all
about him, not a solitary pleasure, exclusive of so-
ciety, but which made society itself more welcome.

In his “ Biographical Memoirs of Norwich Bo-
tanists,” published in the seventh volume of the
Linnean Society’s Transactions, in 1804, Sir James
has recorded an event worthy of remembrance.

“JT became,” he says, “at the age of eighteen, de-
sirous to study botany as a science. The only book I
could then procure was Berkenhout, Hudson’s Flora
having become extremely scarce. I received Berken-
hout on the 9th of January 1778, and on the | 1th be-
gan, with infinite delight, to examine the Ulex euro-
peus (common furze), the only plant then in flower.

16

“T then first comprehended the nature of syste-
matic arrangement, and the Linnean principles; little
aware, that, a¢ that instant, the world was losing the
great genius who was to be my future guide; for Lin-
nus died on the night of January the 11th, 1778.”

In an age of astrologic faith, such a coincidence
would have excited superstitious reflections, and the
polar star of the great northern philosopher might
have been supposed to shed its dying influence on
his young disciple.

It was his father’s intention to train his son to
merchandise, with a design of his engaging in the
importation of raw silk; but the thoughts of trade
never satisfied him, and he passed some years in
doubts and wishes that kept him from repose and
enjoyment.

As an inclination for science unfolded itself, he
formed connections more congenial to him; anda
few of these, who knew his wishes, strongly urged
his father to offer him a more suitable object.

Among the friends whom a love of botany pro-
cured him, must be mentioned the late James Crowe,
Esq. of Lakenham, to whose constant attachment
and friendship Sir James was indebted for much of
the choicest social happiness he enjoyed in his sub-
sequent residence in his native town. Mr. Crowe
died in 1807, and on that occasion his friend drew
up a short memoir of him, of which the following is
apart. “He had,” says his biographer, “for nearly
thirty years past studied the botany of Britain with
indefatigable zeal, and with peculiar success. A
penetrating eye, and no less sagacious and discrimi-

17

nating mind, fitted him in an eminent degree for
the study of nature. No man ever loved that sci-
ence more, nor derived more satisfaction from the
goodness and wisdom of the Creator as displayed
in his works, to which he was constantly recurring.
To the more difficult parts of British botany he had
given peculiar attention, especially to the Mosses
and Fungi, but above all to the Willows, a tribe of
plants, which, however important in an ceconomical
point of view, may be said, before his time, to have
been almost entirely unknown to botanists, so con-
fused were their ideas concerning them.

“In public life Mr. Crowe was a warm and stre-
nuous assertor of the genuine old English Whig
principles; to which he was attached by early edu-
cation, extensive reading and experience, but espe-
cially by his uncommon acuteness of judgement and
manliness of sentiment, for

* Never Briton more disdain’d a slave.’”

Mr. John Pitchford, another of his early associates,
“ was one of a school of botanists in Norwich among
whom the writings and merits of Linnzus were per-
haps more early, or at least more philosophically,
studied and appreciated, than in any part of Britain.”

Of this school was Mr. Hugh Rose, “who to
much classical learning added a systematic and phy-
siological turn of mind.” In 1780 a gutta serena
deprived him of sight. This affliction he bore with
exemplary patience ; for though with the loss of his
external visual organs he lost his darling amusement,
“no one,” observes Sir James, “could ever derive
more consolation from looking within.”

VOL, I. c

18

To these must be added the Rev. Henry Bryant,
“aman of singular acuteness, well skilled in the ma-
thematics, and sufficiently master of his time to de-
vote a considerable portion of it to natural history.”
And, Thomas Jenkinson Woodward, Esq., of Bun-
gay in Suffolk, whom he terms “his intimate and
much-loved friend, the most candid, liberal and ho-
nourable of men.” The Fungi and Sea-weeds were
the vegetable tribes he more particularly studied.

To the late Dr. Manning, a physician of eminence,
andto Robert Alderson, Esq., the present Recorder
of Norwich, he considered himself more especially
indebted for the accomplishment of his views towards
going to Edinburgh to complete his education, and
acquire what was necessary for the practice of physic,
that being the profession towards which he at this
time directed his attention. On the 14th of October,
1781, he began his journey to Edinburgh. This
was his first separation from an affectionate family
and home, and it was not therefore with unmixed
feelings of delight that he attained the object of his
sanguine wishes. He has sometimes recurred with
emotion to his distressing sensations, when he turned
from his father and a beloved brother, who accom-
panied him part of the way, to pursue the remainder
of his journey alone.

As aman of inflexible inaoaaiie in all his mer-
cantile transactions, and of moderation blended with
generosity in his domestic regulations, Mr. Smith
had been distinguished among his townsmen; but
in the correspondence which follows, the reader may
view his character nearer still, and will sympathize

19

in the tenderest parental feelings and the deep sense
of piety and virtue which influenced and pervaded
his mind.

Mr. Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith.

My dear Son, Norwich, Oct. 27, 1781.

We received your letter with all the joy that our
concern and anxiety for your welfare had prepared
for us in the gratification of our wishes; and I can-
not refrain from giving you the pleasure of receiving
a letter from me before you may expect it. I am
afraid you had an unpleasant journey to Sheffield,
though you make the best you can of it; but ’tis over
safe, and the remembrance of it will be pleasant
hereafter. I can never regret the journey I took
with you, as it has left some of the tenderest ideas
my mind is possessed of, and although anxious and
serious were the minutes, they were precious indeed.
What would I not give for such another morning
as we passed at Wansford! It is true the separa-
tion and the rest of that day was cutting, and as
much as I could well bear; but every reflection on
the prospect that attends you is a balm to heal the
wounds that absence gives the mind. It is obvious,
that in proportion to the difficulties we encounter
in the pursuit of laudable acquirements, whether of
riches, honours, or knowledge, in adequate propor-
tion is the pleasure of overcoming them, and the
enjoyment of the rewards we have obtained.

Our return home would have been very pleasant
indeed, if our separation had not been so recent. We
ch?

20

had delightful weather, fine roads, and very capital
towns to pass. We lodged on Tuesday at Alconbury
Hill, a most excellent house, the neatest I ever saw;
on Wednesday we breakfasted at Fen Stanton, and
dined at Cambridge, where I showed John, King’s
College chapel only, the walks, and fronts of the
colleges, and the ‘streets: we had time for no more;
and came to Newmarket to sleep. It was one of the
meetings, so next day we went upon the course,
heard a deal of betting, and saw three matches run.
There was very little company, but some great men;
the Duke of Grafton, Marquis of Rockingham, Earl
of Egremont, and, above, all Mr. Charles Fox. It
“was amusing and agreeable enough to see this pic-
ture of human life. God be with you, and bless all
your undertakings !
| Your ever affectionate Father,

JAMES SMITH.

Writing home to his father on the second of No-
vember 1781, he acquaints him with the success of
his introductory letters, and informs him that the
person from whom he expects to derive most comfort
and advantage is Dr. Hope*. “He has the highest
character for abilities and real goodness of heart,
and is a man of the first consequence in this place:
his behaviour was at first (as it generally is) a little
reserved; but botanical subjects opening the way, he
became perfectly affable, and treats me with almost
paternal tenderness. Having found that I was quite a
novice in the study of medicine, he talked the whole

* Dr. John Hope, professor of botany.

21

over with me, and recommends me, above all things,
first to make myself master of Latin, for which pur-
pose he has recommended me a master, who taught
all his children, who is to come for an hour every
day: the usual terms are a guinea a month, but I
am to give after the rate of eight guineas a year,
and expect six or eight months will do. I hope you
will not disapprove of this expense, as it is quite
necessary, and you may depend on my frugality in
every case where I can save money without missing
anything of real importance. Dr. Hope thinks
that, with the utmost ceconomy, I cannot spend
less than 120/. a year; but I don’t see how it can
amount to near that.

“Tam quite pleased with my lodgings and compa-
nions. My only fellow-lodger, besides Mr. Lubbock,
is Mr. Engelhart, a most accomplished and agreeable
young gentleman, whose father is physician to the
King of Sweden. |

«At Dr. Hope’s I have seen Lord Monboddo*: he
is a plain-dressing elderly man; he had on an ordi-

* The following notes concerning this nobleman’s works are
extracted from Mr. Smith’s common-place book.

“ Ancient Metaphysics, or the Science of Universals. J. Balfour,
Edinburgh, 1783: 2 vols. 4to.—Lord Monboddo is the author of
this very extraordinary work, and some other whimsical ones. It
is amusing to see what great lengths the imaginations of some con-
templative men will carry them in fanciful hypotheses, which the
Abbé Buffier aptly calls philosophical romances. Indeed meta-
physicians are a sort of knights errant in literature, who sally
out in search of adventures in fancy’s region; and their wildness
and absurdity, like that of the knights historians, are more or less
shocking to reason and probability, as they are more or less inge-
nious and penetrating ; but they are always absurd in something,

22

nary gray coat, leather breeches, and coarse worsted
stockings; he conversed with me with great affability
about various matters, spoke of the great decline of
classical learning at Edinburgh, and mentioned the
Norfolk husbandry, which he said he had adopted.

“ T often think of you, and imagine what is pass-
ing in the scenes which my friends render so dear
tome. Pray give my most affectionate duty to my
dear mother.”

Mr. Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith.

My dear Son, Norwich, Nov. 12, 1781.

We received your letter with a pleasure equal to
transport, for the satisfaction it gave us to hear how
well you go on so far, which although I did never
doubt, yet the confirmation of the hopes I had enter-

when they affect to discover what is out of the reach of the facul-
ties of man to know, or even to comprehend.”

“ Ancient Metaphysics, containing the History and Philosophy
of Man, §c. 378 pp.—This is the 5rd volume, and it appears in
it that his lordship, Lord Monboddo, the author, proposed to
continue the work by an inquiry into the state and condition of
man to be expected after death, where I suppose his lordship will
get to his furthest.

“Tread only a part of the 1st and 2nd volumes ;—this was so
amusing I read itthrough. The wildness of the author’s imagina-
tion and his credulity go beyondall bounds. There are some acute
and sensible passages ; but when his lordship tells you he believes
there have been a race of men born with tails, another with only
one leg, others twenty or thirty feet high; that the orang outang
is really a man, and the true standard of our species in a natural
state, and a great deal more such extravagant stuff, the sober
reader must conclude his lordship’s ‘learning hath made him
mad.’ ”

23

tained is their fruition, to which I am sensible in
proportion to that fond and eager desire for your
welfare and prosperity, from which they owe their
existence. It cannot be doubted but you will recom-
mend yourself wherever you are by those amiable
qualities that gained and fixed you so many friends
in your native place; and I trust to your discretion
and knowledge of the world to distinguish and
choose such among those that present themselves to
your acquaintance, that you will be able to reap
most advantage from in point of knowledge, true po-
liteness, and sincere friendship. As for morals, you
aretoo well grounded in virtue, and sound, unaffected
piety, to make it at all necessary for me to mention
them, as I am sure you will shun the immoral and
profane, both from taste and principle.

We are happy to hear you are so satisfied with
your lodgings, and the company you find in them,
especially the young Swede, whose acquaintance
must be both entertaining and useful, and his friend-
ship may be of service when and where you don’t
expect it*; so it may be right to cultivate it, when
you have sounded the heart; you know if that be
not good, no reliance is to be had upon even warm
professions. It is agreat comfort to us that you are
received so kindly by Dr. Hope, and that you have
fallen into such hands as may supply in a great
measure the place of a father to you; and I have no

* There appears something prophetic in this observation. It
was Dr. Engelhart who recommended Sir James to Dr. Acrel,
and was mainly instrumental in the acquisition of the Linnzean
collections, as will be noticed hereafter.

24

doubt, my dear James, you will meet with many such
friends during your stay in Edinburgh.

My dear, I cannot disapprove of any expense that
is useful to your pursuit, therefore have no objection
to a Latin master. Latin and Greek are necessary
to your profession in more respects than being keys
to the doors of science, into any of which you may
enter if you have those keys ; and I would wish you
should have as good ones in your possession as any
body else has; they should have no advantage over
me in that respect, and I believe, between ourselves,
there is a great deal in the parade of it, besides the
use. The men of learning have agreed to stamp a
high value upon classical learning: it sets them out
of the reach of the vulgar, and of those who are
their superiors in every other worldly advantage;
yet Ido not think it is all sterling worth, but a great
deal of it imposition. I would not be without any
of it that will be really useful to you, nor without
enough of it to be creditable, but I would not sacri-
fice anything substantial to attain more ; the know-
ledge of ¢hings is your proper study, and an acquisi-
tion of that knowledge will be the solid and profit-
ableadvantage of your attention *; that will be your
grand aim; andas the study you have so delighted
in, not only requires a mind formed for nice observa-

* The opinions on the subject of education in the above pas-
sage very much coincide with those of Milton.

“ Though a linguist should pride himself to have all the
tongues that Babel cleft the world into, yet if he have not studied
the solid things in them, as well as the words and lexicons, he were
nothing so much to be esteemed a learned man, as any yeoman
or tradesman competently wise in his mother tongue only. Hence

25

tion, as the foundation of a genius successful in that
branch, but also a patient discriminating judgement,
joined to constant industry and close observation
to seize the varieties of nature in her productions,
I persuade myself that genius and taste, joined to
those qualities which you possess in an eminent
degree, will enable you to discern wherein the essen-
tial of medicine lies, and to discover not only as far
into the nature of diseases, and what relates to them,
as human knowledge has yet gone, but I go further,
and flatter myself you will be distinguished for a
judgement and penetration that surpasses most
others, and such as will procure you the esteem and
veneration of the world, as I am without doubt
your conduct and behaviour in your practice will
secure you the love of it.—You say I may depend
upon your frugality in every case. I know I may,
my dear; but I would not have you cramp yourself,
nor deny yourself either any advantage or enjoyment
upon that account. I am perfectly easy; satisfied
that you would not wish for what I ought to refuse.

appear the many mistakes which have made learning generally so
unpleasing and so unsuccessful : first, we do amiss to spend seven
or eight years merely in scraping together so much miserable
Latin and Greek as might be learned otherwise easily and de-
lightfully in one year.

*T shall detain you now no longer in the demonstration of what
we should not do, but strait conduct you to a hill-side, where I will
point you out the right path of a virtuous and noble education :
laborious indeed at the first ascent, but else so smooth, so green,
so full of goodly prospect and melodious sounds on every side,
that the harp of Orpheus was not more charming.”—WMilton :
Letter to Master Samuel Harthb.

26

Mr. D. showed us the Maccaroni rooms at New-
market, where the ordinary for dinner is 28s. besides
wine, and for supper 14s., where every luxury is
procured, and every vice, I am afraid, indulged. How
much happier are the innocent, who know nothing
of these excesses of the great and affluent !

I hope you have seen Dr. Hutton. Your meeting
with Lord Monboddo, and at Dr. Hope’s, pleases me
much. A superficial view of singular and great cha-
racters is entertaining, and an acquaintance with
them is honourable and useful.

I would not have you make a burthen of writing
letters to any of your friends, because you will have
enough of sedentary application without that.

Perhaps I may be your physician as long as I live,
if you prove as great as Boerhaave or any other:
but you will make allowance for a father’s tender-
ness, for indeed, James, I love you as much as any
father ever did a son, and I have the joy of suppo-
sing you will allow me to show it to the last. I will
take care it shall not be ridiculous fondness, if I can;
but fondness I must be indulged in.

Your affectionate Father,
JAMES SMITH.

The following is from Mr. James Dickson, author
of “ Four Fasciculi of Cryptogamic Plants.”

To Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Sir, October 22, 1781.
Lreceived yours. Iam very glad to hear from you,
and return my best thanks for the Brywm rigidum.

27

As such a rare plant has been found with you, I
have no doubt but more will be found if looked
after. You must not depend upon my judgement on
Fungi, it being but a new study to meas yet. I
find no author that is to be depended upon, and
none worse than Mr. H.; and Mr. Lightfoot has so
very few. Scheffer’s figures, some good and some
very bad; I know about an half of what is in Hudson
to be sure of. I mean Agarici, and many he has not
got. If you go to the Highlands of Scotland, I have
not any doubt but you will find some new plants. I
have received some from thence since Mr. Lightfoot’s
publication. I am now on the top study of Fungi;
should be glad of all you can send me, and I will
return you what I make of them. I received some
from Mr. Crowe: I am not able to make them all
out as yet. You are wrong in your doubts about the
Elymus arenarius—I have seen the Elymus philadel-
phicus at Sir Joseph Banks’s. I have a specimen
of Elatine Alsinastrum, but did not find it myself.
I shall ask Sir Joseph Banks about it: he is the
only man that can inform me of it. The Arbutus
Andrachne that sold at Dr. Fothergill’s for fifty-one
guineas was not half so large as that at Chelsea. I
found a few days ago the Boletus perennis, which
I had never seen before. Have you ever seen the
Lycoperdon pedunculatum ? 1 want it much.

I am, Sir, your very humble servant,

James Dickson.

28

Mr. Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith.

My dear Son, Norwich, Dec. 1781.

The manner in which you speak of your situation,
the pleasure you take in the objects of your studies,
the satisfaction the prospect gives you, the company
you have got acquainted with, and, above all, the
friendly manner in which Dr. Hope treats you, quite
transports us; and as we have so much confidence
in your prudence and virtue as to be quite satisfied
that neither the examples of ———— will draw you
into vice, nor the blandishments of beauty mixed
with coquetry will steal you from yourself and us,
we have no uneasy reflections on those considera-
tions: but as it will give you more enlarged know-
ledge of the world, I doubt not you will be more
confirmed in your principles of the excellence of
virtue, and will receive a polish and ease of deport-
ment from the other, which, if it does not enhance
the intrinsic value of your mind, will set off your
more valuable qualities, and altogether will recom-
mend you to the esteem of the penetrating and the
superficial, to people truly valuable and the world
in general. The one is obtained by true merit ; the
other by external show of it: and there is nothing
either vicious or base in courting the approbation
of both by the talents they are adapted to admire, and
both will be found useful if properly estimated. As
for ———, you draw an amiable picture of him, and
you may do him much good if he does you no harm ;
you also may gather knowledge, curious at least,
from him: but beware of strict friendships. I don’t

29

mean, avoid them, but be cautious how you engage;
they very frequently influence a man’s prosperity,
and oftener his happiness through life. But honey
is to be gathered from the flowers of poisonous
plants, with submission to you botanists ;—I repeat
submission, in every sense; for I delight to think
you will soon be above the reach of my feeble pen
in every branch of knowledge, ethics, and moral phi-
losophy, as well as physic and the belles lettres, and
I shall be proud of taking from, instead of giving
lessons to you; so you will not be troubled with so
much sermonizing; yet probably I may not leave it
off at once, and ever throw in an observation which
appears to me may be useful. "Tis an effect of the
imbecillity of age to hobble in their advice, as in
their gait; and they fancy people think them wise,
when they undertake to instruct others ; but nothing
is more fallacious, and nothing so common, as to
see an old prating fool, a Polonius, think himself
an overmatch for Hamlet.

I have declined the cottage; and as your absence
makes a greater impression there than any other
place, and nobody has the taste to take care of it,
it gives your mother and me too much pain to see
the spot so neglected as it is, and will be; and those
plants you used to nurse and view with delight in
their progress and perfection, those plots you used
to ornament, vacant, and no hand able to cherish
them. We cast a mournful eye upon them, and a
sigh; frequently a pang is excited: thus a gloom
hangs about us, instead of the former cheerful dis-
position when we looked with joy on what had

30

been the effects of your beloved hands, and had given
you health and amusement. So we are almost in
the mind to let it.

There is a talk of some removes in the ministry,
and change of measures ; and indeed things wear a
very serious appearance. It is time to think how to
find means to save the nation, which is crumbling
fast to pieces, and must soon be ruined if our affairs
be no better conducted than they have been ever
since Lord North has been at the helm; though I
presume people where you are entertain different
sentiments: but you are not at Edinburgh to learn
politics. I esteem the Scotch much for their zeal
for the protestant religion, yet I think two sermons
at a time rather too much. I hope their kirks are
warmer than our churches.

I am, and ever shall be,
Your most affectionate Father,
JAMES SMITH.

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Edinburgh, Dec. 31, 1781.

I was much entertained on Friday se’nnight at a
mourning concert in honour of the Earl of Kelly,
a member of the musical society here ; this compli-
ment is always paid to every member's memory soon
after his death: the music is all of the sacred kind,
and as fine as can possibly be, and the company and
performers are all in mourning. It is very dif-
ficult to get admittance to these concerts; ladies

31

have the preference, of course, and gentlemen are
balloted for by the members. I was so fortunate as
to be proposed, together with Mr. Engelhart, by his
friend Sir William Forbes, and we were both ad-
mitted; but great numbers were rejected: and above
a hundred people who had got tickets could not get
in. The room is most elegant, of an oval form.

Iam very happy in the Miss Riddels acquaintance.
I have dined there twice with some great people,
and their brother Sir James; he behaved very po-
litely to me: his lady is my aunt Kindersley’s friend,
a literary lady. Sir James knows much of Norwich;
is acquainted with Counsellor Chambers, Aldermen
Harvey, Thurlow, Ives, the Morse family, and Dr.
Manning, of whom he spoke much.

We have had twelve days vacation; on Wednesday
next the college meets again. I have been very
much taken up with invitations, as this is a time of
feasting ; though not so much so asin England. I
was much surprised to see all the shops open on
Christmas-day, which is not observed here at all,
except by the church-of-England members, who
have a most beautiful chapel here, where they per-
form cathedral service.

I do not perceive that the better sort of people
are less neat here than elsewhere. Iam sure in
many places I visit, the most exquisite neatness is
apparent.

My friend Engelhart introduced me one night as
a visiter to the Medical Society, of which he is
president.

My warmest prayers are offered up for a continil-

32

ation of your health and happiness in the approach-
ing new year, and many more after it. I am quite
well and continue very happy.
I am, honoured Sir,
Your ever dutiful Son,

J. E. Smiru.

Mr. Smuth to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear James, Norwich, Jan. 17, 1782.

We are all much pleased that you pass your time
soagreeably. You must begin to experience the ad-
vantage of travelling, of which I doubt not you will
also reap the benefit by forming your own manners
and carriage upon the best models that fall in your
way: I mean, you will choose the best from each
individual, for few are altogether perfect ; and
that after weighing well in your reflections what
strikes you in the manners and behaviour or con-
versation of any person as polite, amiable and sen-
sible, you would endeavour to trace the principle
upon which such a manner was in general approved,
and if it had its foundation in reason. If it was
alloyed with any affectation, it will not stand that
test; but if it had intrinsic beauty, and will bear ex-
amination, such a scrutiny will fix it so in your mind,
that you will have it operate upon yourself without
being too sensible of it; for when a man feels himself
really acting after a pattern, he must be stiff and
unnatural at best; ‘tis very likely he may appear
affected, which is equally disgusting and despicable

33

to people of judgement and taste. I am satisfied,
my dear, your own good sense makes this and many
other things I write, and have written, unnecessary ;
but I am satisfied too, when it happens so, I have
too great a share in your affection and esteem to
apprehend any disdain.

You were much obliged to Mr. Engelhart for the
concert. I like much youshould gain an acquaint-
ance with valuable foreigners ; tis impossible to say

how useful they may happen to be in every walk in
life.
Yours ever,

JAMES SMITH.

The Rev. Henry Bryant to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Sir, Heydon, Jan. 18, 1782.

I rejoice to hear that you are seated so much to
your satisfaction, and trust you will find your ac-
count at last in the walk of life you have chosen,
and which nature herself seems to have chosen for
you. I amin no fear but you will eagerly catch
hold of every favourable advantage you can meet
with for improvement, and which in your present
situation I know must be very many. I rejoice
also to hear that you have already begun to make
some accession to the Flora Scotica; which I am
sure must be very imperfect. Lightfoot’s situation
in life, whatever advantages he might boast of,
could never qualify him for giving a botanical ac-
count of all the plants of North Britain. To do
this, he ought to have been stationary in it for some

VOL, I. D

34

years, and to have had free communication with the
chief botanists in that country.

This has been the mildest winter in Norfolk I
ever remember, and consequently a fine season for
cryptogamic botany. Crowe and I have made good
use of our time, and have found a multitude of new
things; many of which are not described, and I
want you much to delineate some of them for me.
I have found a new species of Jungermannia. I
have found one good specimen of Phallus caninus
Scheeff., which agrees exactly with his figure, ¢. 330.
I have found many specimens of Hudson’s Helvella
planis, which as it is a creature of his own, and con-
sequently there can be no figure of it in any author,
I will beg the favour of you to delineate one for me:
and as it must be new to Dr. Hope, pray give him
two specimens, with my compliments.

Pray remember your sincere Friend,

H. Bryant.

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Edinburgh, Feb. 12, 1782.

I now sit down to give you the information you
desire concerning my studies. In the first place,
my progress in Latin satisfies myself, and my master
too, as Dr. Hope tells me: indeed I find it very
easy. Iam at present reading Dr. Home’s Princt-
pia Medicine (an excellent book), after which shall
begin Celsus. I think one quarter more with my
tutor will be sufficient; and in the summer shall
continue my application to it regularly by myself,

35

so that next winter I hope to be able to attempt a
little Greek (a very little will do; but I would
not be entirely ignorant of it.) Few physicians go
further than the works of Hippocrates, which are
very easy I am told. Indeed I am far from being sin-
gular in my deficiency in the knowledge of Latin ;
but I assure you no application shall be wanting to
complete me in it as much as possible. I am really
very fond of the language, and have got over
the worst part: I am before most students in the
knowledge of French and Italian, the former of
which is of the greatest use ; and both have assisted
me wonderfully in acquiring Latin.

I have learned to pronounce Latin like Italian ;
as it is pronounced so here, as well as by all foreign-
ers; I mean the vowels *.

I know no entertainment equal to Dr. Monro’s
physiological lectures; his remarks are so inge-
nious, satisfactory, and curious, that we could never
be tired with hearing them. He cannot forbear
throwing out remarks now and then, when he
finds either of his great rivals Haller or Hunter in a
mistake.

Your affectionate Son,
JAMES EpwaRD SMITH.

* «“ Their speech is to be fashioned to a distinct and clear pro-
nunciation, as near as may be to the Italian, especially in the
vowels, For we Englishmen, being far northerly, do not open
our mouths in the cold air wide enough to grace a southern
tongue; but are observed by all other nations to speak exceed-
ingly close and inward ; so that to smatter Latin with an English
mouth, is as ill hearmg as law French.”—Milton on Education ;
in a Letter to Master Samuel Harthb.

D2

36

Mr, Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith.

My dear Son, Norwich, Feb. 25, 1782.

We are all much pleased that you spend your
time so agreeably, and hope nothing I have said will
convey the idea that I think you too profuse in
your amusements: on the contrary, as you rightly
say, it is a part of your education de vous appri-
voiser a la grande foule; besides, I look upon diver-
sions as useful, nay necessary, to relieve your mind
and renew its vigour, to exhilarate the spirits and
give a zest to life, for which end the beneficent Au-
thor of our nature has given us the capacity of an
almost innumerable variety of enjoyments, which
are all lawful when they are expedient, when they
promote our happiness and that of our friends and
connections. I look upon the promotion or pro-
duction of genuine true happiness to be the surest
mark of virtue, if it is not virtue ztse/f. Some phi-
losophers call a mediocrity in all things, virtue :
however that be, medio tutissimus ibis is an excel-
lent maxim, and I am in no fear you should trans-
gress; on the contrary,I would rather urge you
forward to take pleasure than restrain you, for I
am not in the least afraid you should go beyond
what will do you real good. So, my dear, go to as
many diversions as you like, see everything you
can, and push forward your acquaintance with gen-
teel, valuable people; and be not under any con-
cern whether you spend a few pounds more or less
in the year. I would not have you neglect any ad-
vantages, nor deny yourself any proper gratification

37
for fear of swelling your expenses. Solomon says,
“There is a time to scatter, and a time to gather:”
do you scatter wisely, and I will endeavour to gather
carefully, and hope I shall so far succeed as to leave
a comfortable subsistence to every one that depends
upon me for support. I think you had better not
fix a time to leave off your tutor: ’tis impossible to
tell where you may be situated, or how; and scholar-
ship will recommend in all parts of the world. And
as you have the elegancies of French and Italian, the
useful Latin, with a little Greek, will be desirable.
God be with you and bless you, my ever dear child!

Your affectionate Father,
JAMES SMITH.

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Edinburgh, March 11, 1782.

I want words to answer as it deserves that part
of your letter concerning my expenses: can only
say, your kind indulgence will have a most power-
ful influence in making me as ceconomical as real
prudence will allow of. With respect to diversions
interrupting my application, I dare say you have no
apprehension of that: as you know my inclination
for the pursuit of science, you will easily believe that
to be the highest pleasure I can enjoy, as I am at pre-
sent circumstanced with every advantage for that
pursuit, and at full liberty to explore the vast stores of
knowledge that are presented to me on every side.

The diversions here will be over in a few days; as

38

the session (the courts of justice) rises then. I
have not been to Archer’s-hall again, nor to the
concert, but have been to three assemblies in the
new town, in a room opened only this season,
where there is a subscription-ball every Friday. I
have a very useful friend in Lady Gordon, with
whom I became acquainted at the Queen’s assembly,
and who always finds me a partner when I am at a
loss for one. It is a common complaint among the
students, that the Edinburgh people are very proud,
and that students are despised by them: I have not
experienced any neglect on account of my profes-
sion, nor do I believe that any one who behaves de-
cently will experience it.

The Miss Riddels are excellent acquaintances for
me; they have very good connections, and are per-
fectly conversant with genteel life: they are my
privy counsellors in all matters of etiquette, and are
quite unreserved and familiar with me.

Mr. Martineau advises me to get into the Medi-
cal Society ; but there is a law made, that no more
can be admitted this year. The Earl of Buchan was
made an honorary member last Saturday ; but that
is an extraordinary thing. I always find means to get
in as a visitor: I was there last Saturday fortnight,
and spoke twice, from which I hope you will think
Ihave got rid of some of my mawvaise honte. The
members were disputing on the analogy of the dis-
eases of brutes with those of men, and how far the
method of cure, which succeeds in theirs, might be
applied to ours. I ventured to represent the dan-
ger which might happen from trusting too much to

39

this analogy, considering that many plants are poi-
sonous to some animals and wholesome to others,
of which I gave several instances. The president
very politely thanked me for my observations. I
find they are wonderfully ignorant of natural hi-
story : and even my little knowledge of the subject
gives me an importance which I hope will be of
great advantage, and may perhaps in some measure
atone for my deficiency in classical learning.

JaMES EDWARD SMITH.

To his mother, on the following day, he expresses
himself thus :—“ My happiness, honoured madam,
in my present situation is completed by your ex-
pressing so much happiness in my prospects, as
well as my father. I cannot help considering it, as
you say, peculiarly directed by the Almighty, and
therefore I recur immediately to him when any
gloomy ideas present themselves; as I hope I have
the most perfect confidence in him, and trust he
will preserve us all to be a blessing to each other.
But if he thinks fit to separate us, I hope we could
acquiesce; and we know that not a single kind
thought can ever be lost, or lose its reward. | have
met with a number of young play-fellows, as you
said I should. The children of Dr. Duncan are very
pretty, and remarkably sensible; and here are a sweet
little boy and girl, the children of Dr. Adam, whom
I often play with. Mrs. Adam is a very beautiful
polite woman, and the children in perfect order ;
the little lass told her mamma I was ‘a bonny man.’
‘ Ay, says her brother, ‘and a good man too !’”

40

Mr. Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Son, Norwich, March 1782.

When a man really takes delight in his business,
be it what it will, it is hardly ever seen that he 1s
unsuccessful. You cannot conceive the joy it gave
your affectionate mother and me to hear you have
spoken twice at the Medical Society: you have
broke the ice, and have good ground to expect you
will be distinguished from the common herd. I
would have you proceed with firmness and due con-
fidence: one of the most certain prognostics of vic-
tory in every conflict, is a dependence upon one’s
self, so that a man does not quite miscalculate his
powers; but that includes the idea of so much vanity
or ignorance, neither of which I am sure will dupe
you, that I don’t take them into the account when I
consider your attempts.

I have seen your brother since I wrote before.
‘What gave me much pleasure was, to see that he read
the dedication to Dryden’s Virgil, and tasted the
beauties of it besides; for you know his dedications
are looked upon as the best in our language, and
masterly performances ;—and how few boys read
dedications and prefaces!

I am, dear James, with the strongest affection,
Your loving Father,
JAMES SMITH.

N.B. ‘ Loving’ is an out-of-fashion term, and has
not been in use since our grand- or great-grand-

4]

fathers ; but they were as honest, sincere, and virtuous
as the present age; and as I am not ashamed to be
related to them, though many are, I do not blush
to use their phrase. To say true, I could find no
better ; and I know, my dear boy, you will not de-
spise it.

Mr. J. Pitchford to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Sir, Norwich, April 1782.

It is now high time to answer your obliging
letter. I am very sure you have but little time to
botanize ; and am far from being jealous, as an ad-
mirer of Flora, that you should neglect her for the
more useful parts of science, which I make no
doubt at this time have taken possession of your
heart. This is as it should be; nor can I see that
the competent knowledge of botany, which you
say is considered at Edinburgh as an essential part
of medical education, can really be so very necessary;
unless no more is meant than a knowledge of the
species employed in medicine. This is so very
necessary, that Linnzeus, you know, makes one of
the obstacles to the improvement of physic to arise
from an ignorance of the species intended. Botany,
to be sure, ought to be pursued as an amusement
only (except by those who write upon it); and as
such this present letter, and I’m afraid my future
ones, will contain scarce anything else, unless you
will improve me by informing me what new disco-
veries are making in physic, and what are the prin-
cipal studies in which you are at present engaged.

42

Let us, however, take a little ride together upon our
favourite north and south British steeds, and com-
municate our discoveries to each other. In the
first place let me thank you for your discovery of
Lichen miniatus, in which you are perfectly right;
the plant brought last summer by Messrs. Crowe
and Woodward being no other, notwithstanding
Mr. Browne is confident that Sir Joseph Banks
and Dr. Solander named it deustus. Many disco-
veries have been made in Norfolk indeed, owing to
Mr. Crowe’s industry, and Mr. Dickson’s having been
down here for ten days: he left Norwich last Friday
night. They found little less than thirty new
species in the Cryptogamia; among which, two very
pretty Pezizas, a foreign Jungermannia, now named
hypnoides ; and by Mr. Bryant, a plant figured in
Dillenius under the name of Spharocephalus ter-
restris minimus &c. What think you of the finding
Hydnum inbricatum and Lycoperdon coliforme, or
Fungus pulverulentus colt instar perforatus cum
volva stellata, R. Syn. 28. 12? It is twice as large
as the common sfellatum, and the vesica at least six
times. It is an elegant Mungus, and much deserves
a place in the Flora; I counted fifteen rays, and
about ten perforations about the size of small peas;
not with their oribus acuminatis, but laceratis, as in
the Bovista. As I know you are an admirer of Ray,
I thought this information would give you plea-
sure, as it is probable the plant may not have been
found (at least known by botanists) since his time.
Hydnum imbricatum was scarce less valuable to
Mr. Dickson; he said the sight of it alone was worth

43

five guineas: but the other is in my opinion the
greater discovery, and Mr. Dickson was not a little
rich in carrying them home. They were both found
by Mr. Stone* of Bungay. For my own part, I
dreamt of Lycoperdon the night I saw it, and
thought I had found four or five; but, alas! it
was only adream. Lichen pullus I have not yet seen:
horizontalis is one of Mr. Crowe’s,—at least so
marked. Fucus palmatus I have not seen except in
Gmelin. Lichen parellus grows very common here;
I did not know the plant ’till lately, but took it for
pertusus, which I now have. The London botanists
know very little of Agaricus quercinus and betulinus,
nor do I believe writers are clear about them. We
are certain of your guercinus from Batarra’s figure,
which I’m afraid does not accord with Scheeffer’s : the
betulinus we are in the dark about. Young Linnzeus
is at London, and turns out better than they expect-
ed, showing no want of genius ; but he has put a stop
to his publication, since Sir Joseph Banks’s disco-
veries, which Mr. Crowe was told amount with the
Spe. Pl. to the number of 40,000. I will not say a
word more upon botany, except that I beg my re-
spects to Dr. Hope; and whatever is in my power
to procure for you and your friends you may com-
mand. And I know you will take pity on a poor
botanist, who must depend upon his friends for any
thing he gets new.

My wife desires her best respects to you. As I have

* Robert Stone, Esq., late of Bedingham Hall, Norfolk, died
5th January, 1829.

44

filled this letter, she is determined to fill the next
herself.

I remain your affectionate humble Servant,
J. Pircurorp.

P.S. This afternoon I saw a letter of yours to
your sister Fanny: I respect you for such a mark
of your affection to her. Messrs. Rose and Hum-
phrey desire their compliments.

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Edinburgh, 15th April, 1782.

, myself, and four or five friends, who have a
turn for natural history, have lately formed a society
for the prosecution of that study. Dr. Walker the
new professor, who is a most amiable, worthy and
ingenious man, no sooner heard of it than he offered
us his museum to meet in, with the use of his books
and specimens ; and he begged to be admitted an or-
dinary member, which he accordingly was, and about
seven young men besides. Dr. Hope was made
an honorary member, as he cannot often attend
us; but Dr. Walker, who has no business to follow
but natural history, foresees the consequence this
society may be of to him, and is resolved to support
it as much as possible. Several men of genius and
rank have petitioned to be admitted as ordinary
members, among whom are the Earls of Glasgow
and Ancram, and Lord Dacre, son to the Earl of
Selkirk,—three young noblemen of fine parts and
great fortunes We have had two public meetings:

45

at the first Dr. Walker was president, and at the
last I had that honour; and the other members are
to take it in turn: four visitors are admitted every
night. We meet every Friday evening, from six to
nine o’clock ; and two papers are to be produced
and discussed at every meeting, the members taking
it in turn to write them. I did not accept the
office of president without great anxiety; but I
_ went through it with credit, as I knew the power I
held, which is absolute for the time in all societies.
I have great hopes that this will be a most respect-
able and useful institution, and am very proud of
having been one of its first founders. As I told
Dr. Walker at his first coming I could not attend
him this year, but should the next, if his hour suited
me; he was so generous as to give me aticket for
his present course, saying I might perhaps find
some opportunities of attending him. He also told
me I had studied more of natural history than
anybody he had before met with in this country ;
but in this I doubt he was a little premature in his
decision, as I doubt not but he will find many more
learned than myself, upon examining. It is accidental
my not having mentioned Dr. Hutton; he is one of
my best and most agreeable acquaintances, a man
of the most astonishing penetration and remark-
able clearness of intellects, with the greatest good
humour and frankness; in short, I cannot discover
in what his oddity (of which I heard so much) con-
sists. He isa bachelor, and lives with three maiden
sisters ; so you may be sure the house and every
thing about it is in the nicest order. I step in when

46

i like, and drink tea with them; and the Doctor
and I sometimes walk together. He is an excellent
mineralogist, and is very communicative, very clear,
and of a candid though quick temper; in short, I am
quite charmed with him. He has a noble collection
of fossils, which he likes to show :—by the way, I do
not mean to prosecute this study any further than
is necessary and proper for me to be acquainted
with; it requires infinite attention and labour, and
there are few certain conclusions to be found. I
shall endeavour to get a general knowledge of every
branch of literature as it falls in my way ; but believe
I shall find enough to employ me in the strict line
of my profession, with the two first kingdoms of na-
ture by way of relaxation; for I am fully persuaded
that an intimate acquaintance with these is not only
peculiarly ornamental, but highly necessary, to form
an accomplished physician, as literature now stands:
and am sure the benefit I have derived, wherever
I have been, and am continually deriving, from the
little knowledge of this kind which I am possessed
of, is greater than could have been imagined,—I
mean with respect to introducing me to the lite-
rary world; for if I had been without such an in-
troduction, I might have drudged here perhaps a
couple of years before I could have done anything
to have signalized myself, or have been taken half
the notice of which I now am.

I promised to give you some account of my
young acquaintances. The name of the one I have
contracted most intimacy with is Batty; he comes
from Kirby Lonsdale in Westmoreland; is about

47

twenty, and has had an excellent education*. He is
a good Greek scholar; but what principally endears
him to me are his refined feelings and great sensi-
bility, joined with a strong judgement, and a mind
whose native simplicity and purity have been pre-
served by an education in a sequestered and virtuous
part of the world, where luxury and vice have made
very little progress indeed, compared with ours.
Mr. Batty has a fine ear for music, plays on the
German flute, and sings well; and there is some-
thing in his appearance that pleased me at first
sight. There are a few others about taking their
final leave of Edinburgh : this I consider as a very
great alloy to the happiness which a scientific man
enjoys in a seat of learning like this. I have a
numerous acquaintance, with whom I visit or walk
with occasionally. I have written Mr. Rose an ac-
count of our new society; as I thought it would
please him.

Your ever dutiful and affectionate Son,

JAMES Epwarp SMITH.

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Mother.

Honoured Madam, Edinburgh, May 16, 1782.
I have a plan in agitation to take a little tour

* Robert Batty, M.D. received his classical education under
the Rev. Mr. Wilson, a very celebrated schoolmaster of Kirby
Lonsdale. He was early patronized by the late Sir Richard Jebb,
who sent him into Italy with one of his patients. He is a mem-
ber of the Royal College of Physicians, F.L.S., and senior phy-
sician of the Brownlow-street Hospital.

48

to the Highlands on foot, at the instigation of
Dr. Hope, who is desirous his son (a fine youth of
about sixteen), and a few others, should be of the
party. Dr. Hope thinks we might be out a month
for about three pounds each; but I should be for
taking some kind of horse to carry baggage, which
would make the expense more. Perhaps my father
will allow me to lay out five or six pounds in a
scheme of this kind, as I may not have another
opportunity of seeing the country; however, there
is time enough to think of it, as we would not go
till August.

The winter classes all finished the end of last
month. I was quite melancholy at the conclusion ;
for besides being really sorry that the lectures were
over, it made me vapourish to see so many students
going away, and all the places which used to be so
cheerful and busy quite vacant and gloomy. Our Na-
tural History Society goes on gloriously. Dr. Black,
professor of chemistry, is become an honorary
member, and spoke there last Friday. Dr. Walker
is there constantly, and generally speaks.

Dr. Hope means to give a medal this year for
the best collection of the native plants of Scotland
and plants of the materia medica, and will extend
the benefits of it not only to his pupils, but to all
the members of our Society. I think it will be worth
my trying for, and have but little doubt of getting it,
if try. Such an honour is surely worth taking some
pains for, and ought not to be neglected by a young
man, as such things are generally thought more of
at a distance than on the spot. I believe I have

49

never given you an account of my friend Lady Reay,
to whom I was introduced by the Miss Riddels, and
who honours me with her particular attention :—she
is the widow of Lord Reay, and has two daughters,
the elder of whom only I have yet seen, who is a
very pleasing unaffected young lady, about sixteen.
Lady Reay never goes to public places: she has read
a good deal, and is highly polished in her manners.
I have a general invitation to go when I please to
see her.

A few weeks ago I read a paper before the Na-
tural History Society on collecting and preserving
plants, which was debated on for three hours, and
procured me much commendation from Dr. Walker
and Dr. Hope.

When I was at Sheffield, my cousin T. Smith in-
troduced me to an intimate friend of his, a son of
Dr. Younge*, a physician there, who is to come and
study here next winter. I have engaged him a room
in Mrs, Beveridge’s house.

I am, my dear Madam,

Your dutiful, affectionate Son,
| J. E. Smitu.

Mr. Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith.

My dear James, Norwich, May 2, 1782.
O my dear son! how much gratitude we think is
due to your great Creator, from us, who are so inex-
pressibly concerned for your temporal and eternal

* Afterwards his companion in a tour on the continent.
VOL. I. E

50

happiness, that your mind is so naturally formed for
virtue, that our minds are entirely at ease on that
account, which is the most important of our con-
cerns about you nevertheless, and that they are only
the subordinate cares for your health and prosperity
that give us much anxiety. Thanks to you for the
account you give us of your intimates! it delights us
that you find such congenial to your own mind. ‘The
establishment of your new society for natural hi-
story, in which you appear so conspicuously, fills us
with pleasure which need not be described; we flatter
ourselves it is a presage that you will arrive at emi-
nence in your profession, and reap a good harvest
of honour and profit. How happy will that make
both your most affectionate parents in the decline of
life! What joy is it to us to contemplate, that as
you must now be the fabricator of your own fortune,

you begin your career so happily! You are certain
you have our daily prayers for the continuance of
the protection and favour of our universal Parent
and Benefactor, whose blessing I have no doubt
you omit not to solicit yourself, with a piety which
I trust never will forsake you.

“JT would by no means oppose your journey to the
Highlands, if it would answer any good purpose, of
which you are to be the judge; and Dr. Hope’s
sending his son along with you is a pledge of its
safety: but by no means go without one baggage
horse at least; I think you had best have a galloway
to ride, and if not each one, at least one amongst
you in case of weariness or “any accident, and take
guides as often as there is a chance of wanting

51

them. I shall grudge nothing for your health and
safety.

You are much obliged to your aunt for introdu-
cing you to somany respectable friends and acquaint-
ances, in particular Lady Reay, who seems a very de-
sirable one; but as you are in the midst of so many
agreeable young ladies, take care of your heart;
be least with and think least of those you like best.
Excuse me if I repeat cautions on this subject un-
necessarily till you have a prospect of settling.

Adieu, my dear Son !
JAMES SMITH.

In the beginning of June the student made an
excursion to Kirby Lonsdale in Westmoreland, to
visit his friend Mr. Batty, and into Yorkshire to
meet his father. “I have many inducements,” he
tells him, “ to take this journey; and first, the com-
pany of an agreeable and ingenious Frenchman, Dr.
Broussonet, who has been in Edinburgh a week to
see the place, and with whom I have been very happy.
He is an eminent naturalist, and intimate with Sir
Joseph Banks.”

The following letter from Mr. Smith is written
after they had met, and his son had returned to
Edinburgh.

Mr. Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith.

My dear James, Norwich, August 5, 1782.

Your letter from Kirby Lonsdale, and that lately
from Carlisle, afforded us great pleasure, to hear you
E 2

52

were well and so far on your return to Edinburgh.
I should be very happy indeed to visit Cumberland
and Westmoreland with you, and nobody knows but
it may fall out so at some time or another: it is
easy to conceive the want of a companion must
abate a great deal of the pleasure in viewing the
beautiful and romantic scenes; there is even a degree
of horror in the grand and majestic prospects of
nature, in solitude.
I will not say what flattering hopes I form, but
I am much mistaken if kind Providence has not put
your fortune in your own power, and that you have
little to do besides pursuing the track you are travel-
ling with so much success, but to shun the most
obvious dangers and mistakes in life. The pleasure
and comfort your meeting gave me is inexpressible.
On our return home we came to Lutterworth : here
we ascended the pulpit in which the first English
reformer, Wickliffe, used to preach, and sat in the
chair, still preserved, in which that eminent man
died *.
I am, your affectionate Father,
JAMES SMITH.

* “« The Lives of John Wickliffe, and of the most eminent of his
Disciples, Lord Cobham, John Huss, Jerome of Prague, and
Zisca. ‘After the way which they call heresy, so worship we
the God of our fathers:’ Acts, chap. xxiv. ver. 14. By William
Gilpin, M.A. 1766, Svo. 372 pp.—The writer of this very enter-
taining work has shown himself a man of abilities, a gentleman, a
scholar, and a friend to truth and religious liberty ; and the very
great men he hath chosen for the subjects of his pen are worthy
to be well considered in all ages, and afford very many useful
lessons to all succeeding times, of the amazing force of truth.

53

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Edinburgh, August 6, 1782.

I left Carlisle on Tuesday night at eight o'clock,
and arrived at Moffat next morning by five. This is
a neat pleasant town, where there is a sulphureous
spring much resorted to: the town is at present full
of genteel company, and they have dancing almost
every night. Herel found Dr. Walker, as I expected:
he has a good house and noble garden here, which
he will leave in November, as he will then remove
to a place three miles only from Edinburgh, where
he has got a living in exchange for Moffat. I spent
that day and the next very happily with the Doctor:
he is a very agreeable man, the life and soul of

Wickliffe seems to have been in religion, what Lord Bacon was in
philosophy ; that is, the first light, and of the most amazing bright-
ness. Huss was a man of uncommon virtue and great parts;
Jerome,of more refined abilities and greater learning ; and Zisca,a
most extraordinary military reformer, and of talents and capacity
to war, equal to any man that we read of in history. So is his
history one of the most uncommon, and the fullest of great events
to be met with. He was the founder of the city of Tabor in
Bohemia on the river Maldaw, which was his strong retreat, and
from which his sect was called Taborites.

“It would be wrong to omit the mention of Lord Cobham, who
is a shining example of a military man in a very high station and
of eminent abilities, converted from the irregularities of such a
life and the errors of popery, by the force of the truths delivered
by Wickliffe, and most heroically maintaining his virtue and his
truth at the expense of his life. His magnanimous and pathetic
behaviour at his examination and tryal before the convocation,
afford a most interesting, noble, and moving scene.”—From
Mr. Smith's common-place book.

54

Moffat ; his loss will be equally felt by the gay, the
industrious, and the unhappy. I reached Edinburgh
on Friday evening, and have had great congratula-
tions on my return. Dr. Hope paid me the very
high compliment of saying he had wanted me to
keep him from falling into many mistakes: I supped
there on Sunday, and talked with him about the
medal, among other things ; he said he had not pub-
lished it in his class, as he saw nobody there who
was likely to try for it, except those who were
members of our Natural History Society, where it
had already been published. I think this was wrong;
he ought to have made it as public as possible: he
concluded by saying he thought I had it all in my
own hands.
I am, honoured Sir,
Your obedient and affectionate Son,

J. E. Smiru.

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, August 29, 1782.

My late tour was shorter than had been proposed,
owing to bad weather, but was very agreeable and
successful. We set off on Tuesday the 20th instant,
and got to Glasgow that night. Mr. Hope intro-
duced us to some of the professors, who were very
polite; andI called on Mr. Grant, who was very glad
to see me. Glasgow is, I think, one of the finest
towns I ever saw: the buildings in the two principal
streets (which cross each other) are very noble, in

55

the style of Queen Elizabeth’s time; these streets are
very broad, and crowded with people, like Cornhill:
in other parts of the town are a great number of su-
perb modern houses. The Green, which is between
the town and the Clyde, is very delightful; it is about
two miles long and half a mile broad, and planted
with very large trees: here the women wash their
linen in the open air, having fires in small iron
stoves. On Wednesday evening we went in the
diligence to Dumbarton, where is a castle built on
a very singular rock, from which is a view down the
river worthy of Italy; yet this is called “a barren
land without a tree”! From hence we took a chaise
to Luss, fourteen miles, through a sweet country
on the shore of Loch Lomond; rode by the pillar
in memory of Smollet. Loch Lomond is full of
beautiful islands ; but though its borders be clothed
with wood and ornamented with towns and gentle-
men’s seats, yet there is not that picturesque variety
about it which the lakes of Cumberland afford.
Mr.Stewart, minister of Luss, was the companion
of Mr. Pennant in one of his tours. 1 became ac-
quainted with him at Edinburgh, where he was
made an honorary member of our society on my
nomination: he is a first-rate naturalist, and remark-
able for his modesty and simplicity of manners. On
Friday he accompanied us to Ben Lomond: we took
a boat, and sailed across the lake, five miles ; the
weather was fine, and it was a most delightful voyage;
a fine eagle was soaring above our heads. After
landing we began to ascend the mountain, whose
top is full five miles from the shore of the lake, and

56

whose perpendicular height is 3240 feet. Two men
went out with us, who carried provisions and rum,
of which I drank, during the whole of our expedi-
tion, three wine-glasses with great advantage, for at
the top of the hill it was extremely cold, and rain
came on, so that we were, nearly all the time we were
at the top, wrapt in clouds: we ascended the highest
point, on which we stood as on an island in a sea
of clouds; from time to time, however, we had trans-
ient views of the country below us, as if by enchant-
ment; on one side Loch Lomond chequered with
islands; on the other, a sweet valley with the Forth
winding through it in the most fantastic manner ;
on the north-east side, the mountain is absolutely
perpendicular, and we looked straight down on the
river at its foot. We found a great number of very
rare plants, which amply rewarded us for our journey,
and about six o'clock began to descend again, and
got back to Luss before nine.

On our return home we saw Carron iron-works,
which are really stupendous, and the ancient town
and castle of Linlithgow: the country most of the
way is barren and dreary, consisting of fields of
starved barley, and turfy moors.

I have had a very obliging letter from Dr. Brous-
sonet: he says he has sent mea copy of a book he
has lately published on fishes. He is now at Paris.

Your affectionate,

J. E. SMITH.

Mr. James Edward Smith to T. J. Woodward, Esq.

Dear Sir, Edinburgh, Sept. 28, 1782.

Although I have at present much upon my hands,

I would not neglect answering your kind letter, as
you wish to have an account of my journey. We
were out but a week, and went no further than
Loch Lomond; we ascended Ben Lomond in com-
pany with Mr. Stewart, so often mentioned in Light-
foot’s book. The weather was cloudy, and we could
see nothing of the country, but have great reason
to be satisfied with our botanical success. The best
things we found were Sibbaldia procumbens ; Azalea
procumbens ; Alchemilla alpina; Polygonum vivipa-
rum ; Saxifraga stellaris, nivalis, oppositifolia, hyp-
noides and autumnal ; Juncus spicatus and triglu-
mis; Rubus Chamemorus, in fruit; Silene acaulis in
seed, except one specimen which had a flower, and
by which we saw it was truly a Selene; Gnaphalium
alpinum of Lightfoot, 1. e. supenum of Linneus ;
Salix herbacea; Lichen crinitus, torrefactus, poly-
phyllus, ventosus, ericetorum, ceruleo-nigricans, and
many other plants, which would have transported me
a few months ago, but I made great acquisitions in
Westmoreland. From Mr. Stewart’s garden I got
Juncus biglumis, Anthericum calyculatum, Salix
lapponum,and some others; Vaccinium Vitis- Idea in
fruit; Cornus herbacea, roots; Astragalus uralensis,
seeds, &c. From this gentleman I hope to receive
some more specimens soon, so that I shall have
nearly all the rare Scotch plants. I have lately added

58

to the Flora Scotica, Polygonum pensylvanicum,
Senecio saracenicus, Lichen pyaidatus, 8 of Huds. ;
Byssus rubra? Wuds.; Agaricus deliciosus and vi-
ridis, and Lycoperdon epiphyllum of Linnzus, not
of Lightfoot or Hudson.

I have done very poorly in Fucz, &c., having re-
peatedly gone down to the sea-shore, when the wind
has nearly blown me off my feet, without finding
scarcely a morsel of vegetable matter. This is a very
bad coast for sea plants, not comparable to ours. I
got no fossils in my tour: the Asbestos is very rare,
and perhaps, were you to see it, would disappoint
you as it didme. The 4rundo in Karsham wood
is certainly the epigejos. Ihave the true calama-
grostis. 1 am extremely obliged to you for your
excellent drawing of Lycoperdon coliforme, and for
your valuable remarks onthat genus. The L. pedun-
culatum I have seen at Dr. Hope’s; it was found in
Scotland: I have formerly observed the circum-
stance you mention in the L. fraxinum.

I found the ZL. stellatum in a young state ; it is
now in the form of a white ball, the volva being en-
tire, about the thickness of a leather glove, and co-
vering the head; the perforation in the head is as
distinct as when the fungus is ripe. I have a species
which I take to be new, and have sent Mr. Dickson
a specimen: it is very small, and grows in clusters
onmoss; I call it Lycoperdon fragile, and define it,
£. parasiticum pyriforme, Sragile, ntidum, badium,
farind fuscd : "tis not a Spheria.

Dr. Walker has found a number of plants in
Scotland which are not in Lightfoot: among them

59

are Rubus arcticus, Lysimachia thyrsiflora, and the
indubitable Edymus arenarius, which I have seen
and examined, and of which I have a specimen
brought from the Gottingen garden, and is the same
with the Doctor’s; that, therefore, brought from
London by Mr. Crowe is a new English plant, if
really found in England.

I am, dear Sir, yours, &c.

J. E. Smiru.

Mr. Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith.

My dear James, Norwich, Nov. 3, 1782.

Mr. Woodward called here last week on his way
to Narford, where he is gone to spend a few days.

Mrs. is vastly pleased with your letter, and
we are pleased with it too; you havea better knack
at la badinage than I imagined. She is a lady very
proper to correspond with, to introduce a young
man into that kind of style which has its agrémens
as well as utility. I suppose you know it is the
way in France for every young gentleman to have
such a female friend as will introduce him into the
world in every sense of the word, and I need not tell
you how far they carry it. She is not only his corre-
spondent to form him to an easy, familiar, polite
_ and gay style in letter-writing, to teach him the
graces in company and conversation, but she is his
tutor in gallantry and the knowledge of the character,
the tastes, the foibles of the fair-sex;—and it is a -
scandalous corruption, for she is too often their
betrayer, at least by giving him lessons to employ

60

to their injury. The famous Ninon de |’Enclos’
correspondence with the Marquis de Sevigné is a
very curious and well-known instance of it. He
was initiated by her into all the mysteries of intrigue
and gallantry ; whilst his mother, who was a woman
of uncommon fine understanding and virtue, was
endeavouring by her letters and instructions to form
him to good morals, virtue, and piety. I believe he
did not make the choice of Hercules, but chose
Pleasure for his deity, and consequently made no
Jigure in the world, and if Iam not mistaken was
unhappy, though born with every quality and a good
fortune to make him otherwise.

You cannot think I mean to carry the comparison
any further than that Mrs. will make you a
cheerful, sensible, pleasing correspondent, and give
scope to the style enjouée in your epistolary corre-
spondence. I trust you will acquit yourself well, and
want no advice from me to urge you to perseverance
in the difficult roads of knowledge and honour, nor,
when attained, what conduct is necessary to procure
and preserve the esteem and love of mankind, which
are among the most solid advantages of life. 1 can-
not describe the pleasure it gives me to reflect that
you have only to avoid stepping aside from your na-
tural disposition, and not to torture your character,
and you are formed to be respected, and, what is of
more value, to be loved by mankind as well as by
your most partial friends.

What you relate concerning does high credit
to you, and some to him: ’tis happy indeed when the
imprudences of young men serve so good a purpose

61
as to bring them to the love of virtue and of truth
(and he seems in earnest, pray Heaven he may!). It
was not much to be expected that his education and
company and way of life in this age should permit
him to escape the follies he speaks of; but if they
serve to showthemselves to him in their true colours,
and he loves virtue the more for it, I could almost
say they will do him honour. ’Tis noble to reform,
though not so great, so estimable as to be innocent,
nor can ever be so happy.

JAMES SMITH.

The Rev. Henry Bryant toMr.James Edward Smith.

Dear Sir, Heydon, Nov. 11, 1782.

I congratulate you on your safe return from your
little northern tour, and am sorry the weather
proved so unfavourable as to spoil much of the
pleasure of it. I have sent you a specimen of my
Lichenparellus. 1 think it differs from yours, though
perhaps yours may be right and mine wrong.

We have had a very wet, uncomfortable, sickly
summer, and I suffered much from the epidemic
influenza, consequently have done but little in the
botanical way: the chief things I have found are
these, viz. Scirpus pauciflorus, Lightfoot; Galium
erectum, Hudson; Scutellaria minor ; Peucedanum
Stlaus ; Leonurus Cardiaca ; Ricca fluitans, and, I
believe, Zargzonia.

Our turnips in Norfolk this season have suffered
greatly from a species of black caterpillar; thou-
sands of acres have been destroyed by them, and no

i,

method could be found so effectually to stop their
ravages as the employing women and children to
pick them off, either by the day, or at three halfpence
the pint. I have taken great pains to find out the
fly which produceth them, but to little purpose.

Albin has figured the caterpillar well, and says,
“ These black caterpillars, of the Ichneumon kind,
were found feeding on the turnip-leaves in the be-
ginning of September 1719, they being so numerous
at that time about London, that they destroyed
whole fields of them: about the latter end of Sep-
tember they went into the earth, and spun them-
selves up in a transparent case, and changed into a
chrysalis, and in May following came forth a small
Ichneumon fly, as in the figure annexed *.”

Now the figure of this fly is not of the Ichneumon
kind; it has only two wings, and belongs to the
genus AZusca ; but none of that genus spring from
caterpillars, but from maggots. I have offered and
given premiums to many persons to pick up and
bring me all the different sorts of flies which they
find upon the turnips, but can gain no satisfactory
knowledge about them; they have all, or most of
them, brought me a species of fly with four wings,
with black and yellow intermixed upon their bodies
and legs, which have been prodigiously numerous ;
but I know not what it is, unless it be the Zen-
thredo Rose. I have inclosed you two specimens,
and beg you would get me the best information
you can about it, and at the same time to find out,

* Albin’s History of English Insects, tab. 62.

63
if you can, what fly Albin’s black caterpillar really

produces.
Henry Bryant.

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Edinburgh, Dec. 31, 1782.

Our Natural History Society goes on increasing.
I believe we shall have four annual presidents
chosen; if so, I hope to be one of them. I have
just given in a paper on the Phenomena of Vege-
table Odours, which was well received. I have
spoken often in the Medical Society. I am to
have Dr. Hope’s medal, but ’tis not yet come from
London. There were no other collections given in
besides mine; it has been examined, and thought
worthy ; indeed Dr. Hope paid me very high com-
pliments upon it.

January 3, 1783.

I have just been at the funeral of an acquaint-
ance, whose death gives me great concern: he was
the son of Dr. Reid of Glasgow, author of a cele-
brated work on the human mind; he was a young
man of the first abilities and accomplishments, but
of the greatest modesty and diffidence. I had flat-
tered myself with the hopes of being intimate with
him; this was his first winter here, and we have
been much together. He is the last of a numerous
family, who have all died about the same age, just
entering into life. His father bears it like a phi-
losopher. I cannot help comparing him to a vene-

64
rable oak that has been bowed before many a blast,
and stripped by degrees of its leafy honours, but
that has now nothing to lose, and braves the fury
of the storm inflexible. The mother is not so tran-
quil. They are both in Edinburgh.

Many young men have had fevers, but have all
recovered except Mr. Reid; he died of a very pe-
culiar disorder, which came on at the crisis of the
fever ; it is called tympanites, and is a collection of
air on the outside of the intestines in the cavity of
the abdomen; none of the Professors ever saw it
before; the hole in the intestine through which it
passed was so small as to be found with difficulty
on dissection.

J. E. Smita.

Mr. Smith to his Son.

Dear James, Norwich, Jan. 14, 1783.

I cannot help congratulating you on your ob-
taining the botanic medal, and at the same time
lamenting the loss of your friend Reid, and we
daily return God thanks you are well: noé¢ to fear
infectious disorders Mr. Martineau says is the best
preservative. We are every where and every mo-
ment surrounded by dangers; and you and we are
taught to trust in a good Providence for our pro-
tection, always meaning that whatever we would
obtain, whatever avoid, our own endeavours and
prudence must be exerted for the purpose; those
very powers we have capable of contributing thereto

65

are part of the means, we may rationally suppose,
that our Creator and Preserver designs and uses
for those ends, the ends of his government in the
world; and not a sparrow falls to the ground without
his permission.

Yours,

JAMES SMITH.

Mr. Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith.

My dear Son, Norwich, Feb. 28, 1783.

We have had the pleasure of hearing you are
well, and are perfectly happy on the score of your
health. I need not add that we are so also upon
the further addition to your academical honours, in
being chosen first President of your Natural History
Society in so distinguished a manner as will leave
an undoubted testimony of your being its founder
and supporter. I cannot account for your having
such a preference. These distinctions I flatter
myself are prognostics of the eminent rank you
will by and by stand in, and the use you will be of
to yourself, your friends, and to mankind,—pleasing
reflections indeed to parents who have your hap-
piness so much at heart.

We begin to think how near the month of May
is; and although we cannot expect you have formed
your plan for leaving Edinburgh and coming to
Norwich, I cannot help mentioning it, and that
when you have thought ever so little upon it, you
will give us the hint.

VOL. I. F

66

Our compliments wait on your friends, and our
tender love on you.

I am, dear James,
Your affectionate Father,

JAMES SMITH.

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, March 6, 1783.

I cannot help expressing to you the dissatis-
faction which I have experienced in my inquiries
into the theory and practice of physic. I really
believe medicine, if it deserves the name of science
at all in its present state, is in the most barbarous
condition of any science, and only now emerging
from the greatest darkness and absurdity. It is
commonly declared by all practitioners, that theory
is nonsense, and that experience, that is empiricism,
is everything. Cullen’s theory is visibly. going into
the same state of contempt as Boerhaave’s has
been reduced to, and his lectures are by no means
consistent with it, though admirable as mere prac-
tical lectures. These considerations and some other
have induced me to attend Browne this winter; and
I am happy in having done it, for his system and
view of the human ceconomy are certainly the most
philosophic of any, and are gaining ground in a
wonderful manner: perhaps, however, he may have
only his day. He has many of the most respectable
pupils, and behaves very well to us. I am happy to
have procured the admission of my friend Dr. Brous-

67

sonet of Montpellier as an honorary member of the
Medical Society: he was admitted unanimously on
my recommendation, of which I am not a little vain.
~The very day of his admission I received a letter
from him expressing his desire of that honour, and
offering to procure in return my admission into
some of the French academies, of which I gladly
accepted. I also procured him an honorary seat in
the Natural History Society ; and I believe he will
be admitted to the Philosophical Society, which
is composed of the first /iterati in Scotland. Lord
Kaimes (of whose death I suppose you have heard)
was president.

I cannot help sending you a copy of a letter
which I received, as president of the Natural Hi-
story Society, from Lord Buchan, on his admission
to it.

Your affectionate and dutiful Son,

J. E. Smiru.

To J. E. Smith, Esq., President of the Society for
the investigation of Natural History.

Sir,,

The notification you have done me the honour
to transmit to me of my election as an honorary
member of your literary association for the inves-
tigation of natural history demands an early and
respectful acknowledgement. I give it with alacrity
and gratitude.

From my earliest infancy all my thoughts have

F2

68

been set on public good, and I have thought no
sacrifice too great for its promotion. I consider your
association as connected with the darling occupa-
tion of my life, and your society will find in me a
sincere and active friend. I know the merits of
your professor; he has been an object of my esteem
and literary regard for eighteen years past; andI am
persuaded that you will find in him an assiduous and
successful commentator on the subjects which your
youthful ardour may engage you to explore.

I entreat of you, Sir, to convey to your brethren
the thanks of a member of the great republic of
letters, who, at no advanced age, begins to grow old
in the service of that community which seems to
have adopted him more heartily than any other*.

I am, Sir, with regard,
Your obliged and obedient humble servant,
(Signed) Bucuan.

Edinburgh, 1783.

Mr. Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith,
Mr. Bickersteth’s, Kirby Lonsdale.

My dear Son, May 18, 1783.
Iam very certain you are able to form some judge-
ment of what we felt when we heard you had been
so very ill; indeed, my dear James, a very, very great

* This alludes to his lordship’s disappointment in not being
elected one of the sixteen peers, on the death of Lord Breadal-
bane.

69

share of the happiness that may remain to us to be
enjoyed in the rest of the years we have to continue
in this world depends upon your life, and the health
and happiness you will enjoy init. No child cer-
tainly was ever dearer to parents than you are to
us, for every reason that can affect the human soul:
you are seldom absent from our thoughts ; you are
the dear object of our fondest wishes, the never-
forgotten subject of our prayers to Heaven. °Tts
not for our own happiness in the expected enjoy-
ment of your much valued company, ’tis for your
own sake, we so earnestly pray for your life and
health: we forebode there is a noble and pleasing
career for you to run, in which your happiness and
your honour will be great; and we flatter ourselves
you will be useful to your fellow-creatures. With
these hopes, these prospects, and these tender sen-
timents, we must be, we are, inexpressibly sensible
to everything that relates to your health and safety,
and must urge with all the force in our power that
you will run no sort of risk of either on your
journey home, nor suffer any temptation to bo-
tanize, to see the lakes, mountains, or any other
natural curiosity, lead you into the least possibility
of taking cold; but come home as soon as you can
safely, and bless your dear affectionate mother and
me with a sight of you.

Mr. Windham is appointed secretary to Lord
Northington, lord lieutenant of Ireland; and he
has appointed Mr. Repton, your friend, his secre-
tary, which you will be glad to hear. Adieu, my
dear! May it please the gracious God to confirm

709

your health, and bring you safe and well to the em-
braces of your most affectionate parents, and the
bosom of your family !

I am, your ever affectionate

JAMES SMITH.

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Kirby Lonsdale, May 23, 1783.

Your most valuable letter reached me yesterday.
I cannot sufficiently express my gratitude for the
sentiments it contains, nor the feelings I experienced
on reading it. How much soever I may fall short
of the flattering height of honour and happiness
which your paternal partiality has set before me, I
hope, if I can trust my own heart, I shall never be
deficient in a return of affection and duty to those
parents in whom I am so peculiarly happy, and to
whom I am indebted for the foundation of every
good inclination which it has pleased God to help
me to cherish. You will by this time have received
letters from me, and will see I continued to mend
as fast as possible. Nothing can exceed the at-
tention and genuine hospitality which I experience
here. I shall make no visits on my return, for by
that time every mile will seem ten till I see you
at Norwich.

I am, your dutiful Son,

J. KE. Smiru.

71

The whole foregoing narrative, in familiar letters
to his parents, discovers the humility and tender-
ness of a child towards them ; while by the sole in-
fluence of personal character and conduct he at
once made his way into the best society, and
planted himself in a niche in the temple of science,
when others, with more apparent advantages, were
consuming their time in “ chinking useless keys, and
aiming feeble pushes against the inexorable doors.”

He spent about two years in that accomplished
community, in a well regulated course of useful dis-
cipline and studies, and in the agreeable and im-
proving commerce of gentlemen and scholars ; in a
society, where emulation without envy, ambition
without jealousy, contention without animosity, in-
cited industry and awakened genius; where a liberal
pursuit of knowledge, and a genuine freedom of
thought, was raised, encouraged and pushed forward
by example, by commendation, and by authority.

Of the warinth and goodness of his heart, his
early letters bear unequivocal testimony, as well as
of that peculiar tendency in his nature to form at-
tachments, which he carried with him through life :
and wherever these were placed, nothing on his part
ever changed their force, he thought no sacrifices
too great, and no expressions too strong, to attest
his regard.

In these partialities he was influenced by his love
of genuine nature, and the appearance of confidence
and dependence upon him. “My heart,” he says
in a letter written in 1783, “is formed for social
enjoyments ; but how often have its warmest affec-

72

tions been torn asunder when just most fully deve-
loped! I shall hardly ever dare to fix, for fear of a
disappointment.”

This is the language, and such are the feelings of
ingenuous youth: but such a heart, whatever re-
solves the head might make, must seek its happiness
in new affections, and his were not long condemned
to solitude, or withered by despair.

The following letter, written the next year to his
earliest friend and near relation, (of whose connec-
tion with him he was always justly proud, and whose
friendship lasted unimpaired through all the vicis-
situdes of absence, habits, and a different clime,)
may give a lively idea of that ardent temperament
which has just been described,

Mr. J. E.. Smith to N. E. Kindersley, Esq.*

Tinnevelley, 1784.
Why, dearest friend, do you think Iam changed ?

How can you blaspheme the name of reason, so as

* Author of the following work :

“« Specimens of Hindoo Literature, consisting of Translations
from the Tamoul Language of some Hindoo Works of Morality
and Imagination ; with explanatory Notes, to which are prefixed
introductory Remarks on the Mythology, Literature, §c. of the
Hindoos. By N.E. Kindersley, Esq., of the Hon. East India
Company’s civil service on the Madras establishment: 1794.
8vo. 335 pages.—This work, by a most worthy and esteemed
relation, is very curious, and appears to be extremely well exe-
cuted. It will gratify the inquirers into the Hindoo religion,
and the manners, ideas and literature of that ancient extraordi-
nary people. It is a beautiful edition, and has five curious
plates, which are not mentioned in the title-page.’—Mr. S'mith’s
common-place book.

73

to suppose she can have taken away my honesty
and openness of heart ? Thank God, this is not the
case.—How often do I think of the days of our
childhood, when we have so often by sympathy
retired from the social scene, to relieve ourselves
from that gentle restraint which the presence of our
partners or friends (though the most indulgent in
the world) laid us under, to pour out all our
thoughts on each other’s bosom, to communicate
our little discontents or our joys, our childish ob-
servations, and our innocent merriment ; but chiefly
to indulge that sympathy of soul which appeared
so early, and which may Heaven still cherish!
How often have we been forced to have recourse
to the mute expression of looks or embraces, when
our young bosoms swelled with feelings which our
artless tongues could not utter! My heart exults
with conscious dignity at the idea. I recollect with
no less pleasure the few but most happy days we
have passed together in the course of our riper
youth.

A thousand Norwich and Yarmouth scenes arise
to my mind ;—our evening walk by the sea-shore ;
our more cheerful excursion in the Yarmouth cart ;
our dancing parties, and the conversations which
passed after we had left them ; our last sad parting ;
—can we forget these? If we do not forget them,
can we ever think otherwise of each other than we
do? Let us then not suspect each other, or if we
do, let us communicate our suspicions.—Friend-
ship is an intellectual marriage, and the same turn
of mind and character which makes us lastingly

74

happy in the latter condition, can alone make us so
in the former.

I lately received yours of May the 29th, and most
heartily congratulate you on your advancement.
May you ever be happy, and escape the snares which
surround you! I do not fear it. Surely I knew
your heart once; and surely such a heart cannot be
corrupted while there is a Providence watching over
the well-disposed; and that there zs, I would not give
up to attain the literary reputation of all the inge-
nious perverters of reason that ever lived. Still you
express a fear of my becoming a literary coxcomb
or a fastidious man of the world! Read the first
part of this sheet; it was written many months ago:
I have looked it over in many different moods: I
now deliberately send it you. You may perhaps
smile at it, think it boyish, too warm to be sincere :
but I will not suppose such things ; if it gives you
half the pleasure in reading it that it did me in wri-
ting, I shall be happy indeed.

I am your,

ES:

In another letter he tells his cousin, “ What a
pleasing picture does your letter give me of your
mind! Iam fully sensible of the value of a true
friend, and will always be quite open with you. I
have been happier in my friendships than most peo-
ple : but with you, and in one instance besides, I’ve
enjoyed that true union of hearts and mind which
is the essence of friendship ; I mean in an intimacy
I have formed with a young man of my own profes-

79

sion. We became acquainted at Edinburgh. We
must soon be separated, and I shall be afraid to
form another so close connexion.”

The subjoined letter is addressed to the friend
here spoken of.

Dear Batty,

You are, perhaps, like me, too apt to regret past
pleasures, and neglect present ones. This disposi-
tion should not be too much indulged; for when
the object of our regret is really important, our di-
stress might be increased to an intolerable degree.
You, my dear friend, have in your own power an
inestimable source of happiness, in the amiable sen-
sibility which you possess in so eminent a degree ;
yet this choice gift of Heaven may occasion its pos-
sessor as much misery without the direction of rea-
son, as it would happiness with it.

It is a most discouraging thing to a young man
entering into life,—his heart, without reserve or
suspicion, overflowing with the “milk of human
kindness,”—to be told by those who have gone
before him, that his ideas of friendship, love, ho-
nour, are merely romantic, and not to be realized
in a commerce with the world; that there, self-in-
terest, ambition, avarice, and lust, reign with abso-
lute sway; that those feelings which (if he be not
a villain) have chiefly contributed to his happiness
hitherto, must now be restrained by prudence, and
be perfectly obedient to the dictates of interest and
worldly advantage. They tell him, that now

“The wild romance of life is done ;
Its real history is begun.”

76

I would fain hope this is exaggerated: not that I
would by any means reject the use of due caution
and prudence in forming friendships. I am perfectly
convinced that on this depends the existence of
those very feelings; and perhaps the persons who
compose most of the worthlessness of the world,
are those who for want of this proper care have
had their dearest hopes and expectations deceive
them. Let us therefore, when we hear these com-
plaints, carefully consider from whom they come ;
whether from such an one as I have just mentioned,
or from a person, who, having sacrificed his own
feelings to interest, wishes to reduce all mankind to
the same level; or from one of a fretful, peevish tem-
per, who expects too much from others, far more
than he will grant them in his turn ; or, lastly, from
one who has naturally no feeling at all.

I trust there is more virtue in the world than we
are generally told of. Those lovely dispositions that
glow in the youthful heart, may perhaps be gene-
rally in some degree concealed by various means
amid the busy pursuits of active life, and sometimes
may be clouded by a degree of ambition or self-in-
terest. But in the decline of life we see the social
feelings revive: then old friendships are renewed ;
children are doated on; a thousand little offices of
love are mutually performed; and I confess I do
not know an object of more respect and admiration,
instead of contempt and ridicule, than an old per-
son taking pleasure in recollecting and relating the
scenes of his past pleasures, and cherishing every
idea of his former friends. I have indulged myself
in a little prolixity on this subject; but I hope you

77

will excuse it, as I trust it is an interesting one to
both of us. Nor am I afraid you should be severe
in your criticisms on what I have said.

I attend the infirmary with much pleasure, there
is so much room for observation and reasoning, and
I have got over the disgust.

Dr. Hope honours me with his notice, attention,
and assistance. The more I see of that excellent
man, the more I adore him. I admire his botanical
lectures; his delivery is agreeable, with as many “be-
hoves” as Dr. Walker; his politeness and condescen-
sion unparalleled. How happy should I be to call
you out of bed in a morning to goto him! Tho’
I cannot do this, something unavoidably takes me
down Robinson’s Close; and I cannot help looking
at that gloomy dwelling which I have so often vi-
sited with a most cheerful step when it contained
my friend. Your fine ears would be dreadfully
shocked by the instrument used by Dr. Hope to call
us together.

I am your faithful and affectionate Friend,
J. E. Smita.

To the same.

God bless you, my dear Batty, for writing me so
early so kinda letter! You've amply repaid me for
my trouble as you call it. You must come the very
first of October and be examined a little. But why,
my delicate, scrupulous friend, do you say so much
about trouble and obligation to me, who am far
more obliged to you?

73

Nothing would, I think, be too much to serve the
friend I really loved: yet I would avoid the extreme
which some very good-natured people run into,
who are fetchers and carriers to all the world. Your
partial opinion of me shows your own good heart.
Indeed, Batty, I must confess I am capable of very
strong attachments, and sometimes perhaps of too
strong dislikes; one often takes prejudices which
time either confirms or removes. When I first was
with you, I was prejudiced in your favour: I soon
thought I saw you had feeling (the foundation of
all that’s good) ; and soon, that I saw real merit
through that amiable modesty and diffidence which
are so great an ornament to the brightest abilities.
I determined to be more acquainted with you. I
saw your friendship was better worth my cultivating
than that of the more forward or splendid; and as
I have known you better, I have bound you to my
heart as an inestimable jewel. Think not this is all
pure disinterestedness : the first prejudices we form
concerning persons and things border on weakness ;
we are therefore peculiarly happy to have them
confirmed ; for the human mind is confessedly more
tenacious of its weaknesses than of anything else
that belongs to it. I offer you, my Batty, a warm, an
honest heart: if I had more ability to be of use to
you, I should be more happy. I shall trouble you
as often as you can be of use to me next winter.
Come then, my friend, let friendship give a relish
to our studies and heighten the pleasure of our re-
lations: let us assist each other in avoiding the
snares of the profligate, and the still more dange-

79

rous solicitations of the good-natured and inconsi-
derate ; both of whom, though for opposite reasons,
wish to make all mankind like themselves. One
method of obtaining this end is to represent all
mankind as being already so, to question the ex-
istence of any virtue, and to talk of the appearance
of it as grimace. This is done, more or less openly
or artfully, by all who leave its paths. I have seen
‘many such characters ; particularly one, since I
came here, whose machinations I have carefully
observed. The Italians say Volto sciolto e pensiert
stretti: one may be as free and compliable as pos-
‘sible in unimportarit matters, and yet inflexible in
things of consequence, without incurring the charge
of formality ; whereas hypocrites are always pecu-
liarly nice about the smallest matters.

But where am I going? How do I pester you with
my scrawling! I wrote the above, in the fullness of
my heart, immediately on the receipt of your letter,
which I have read over and over with the greatest
pleasure.

Believe me yours,

J. E. Smiru.

These are specimens of his pure affections and
high moral worth, at a period of life when they
may be expected to show a vigorous growth; but
that unsuspicious simplicity and depth of feeling
which marked his early years was never obliterated;
and if it was a failing, undoubtedly it was one
- “which lean’d to virtue’s side.” Inclined by nature
or a happy mental temperament to duty and inte-

80

grity, it must be acknowledged, nevertheless, that
Sir James was indebted greatly to an education
among those who placed the standard of virtue upon
higher ground than usual; who considered errors
which too frequently, through false indulgence,
through indolence, through extreme folly, are over-
looked as pardonable or inevitable because they
are common, as evils to be carefully avoided, be-
cause they surely lead to misery.

The high principle of rectitude which appears in
the next letter, from his relative of the same age, is
worthy of record and imitation, and confers honour
on both parties.

N. E. Kindersley, Esq. to Mr. J. E. Smith.

My dearest Friend, Tinnevelley, 19th June.

I had the pleasure to write to youa few days ago,
but now resume my pen to attempt to express the
uncommon satisfaction I received two days ago in
reading a letter from you.

It gave me a more than usual pleasure, not only
to see the very great confidence you repose in me,
but more especially as I am now assured you are
not one of those innumerable multitudes of young
men who are insensible to religion and virtue; so
much greater in number (beyond all comparison)
than the good, that you will not, I hope, condemn
me as uncharitable, when I thought it highly pro-
bable even you were one of them. I congratulate
you on your happiness with the greatest pleasure,
and thank Providence that the person who had the

81

greatest share in my friendship of any man in the
world, is at the same time of my way of thinking
in matters of religion.

In my last I informed you of my present situa-
tion, and that I was much pleased with it. Iam
assistant to Mr. Kyles Irwin, whose Travels over-
land, and his Eastern Eclogues, you may have read*.
The Nabob’s countries being assigned over to the
Company in the year 1781, for five years, has
given them the absolute sovereignty of it for that
time. This district is the most southern of the
Nabob’s country, and is one of the largest and
finest. Mr. Irwin is intrusted with the entire go-
vernment of the revenue, and has with that all the
judicial authority in his hands of a country
miles in circumference. He is exceedingly worthy
of his trust, and is perhaps the brightest example of
integrity and zeal in office that ever graced India.
He might with the utmost ease, and secrecy too,
make one or two hundred thousand pounds, but he
will not make a sixpence beyond his pay ;—a mar-
ried man too, with a family. His whole time is taken
up in making the country produce such a revenue,
and establishing such a government, as may do credit
to the Company’s management. You see there are
some honest men even on the corrupt shores of
Hindostan ;—would to God there were enough to
make me charge you with uncharitableness in your
opinion of our general depravity! Under such a

* Also author of Adventures in a Voyage up the Red Sea, and
in a Journey through the Desarts of Thebais—See Annual Re-
gister for 1780, p. 40-54.

VOL. I. G

82

man you will not think I have much reason to ar-
rogate merit to myself, if I am uncorrupt. Indeed,
James, I never doated on money; and were I not
influenced by any motive of conscience, I believe
the principle of honour would prevent my being
very rapacious; though perhaps it would not of
itself make me so rigid as I now feel myself obliged
to be.

I have caught the honourable infection from my
superior, and enter into the interests of the Com-
pany in this quarter, and into the prosperity of the
provinces, with a force very uncommon. I have a
great deal to do, but I do it with pleasure, as it is
business of consequence ; and as I find that with
ordinary abilities, a degree of activity and diligence,
with good dispositions, and great power to perform
your wishes, a country like this may be made happy
in itself, and productive to its owners.

It has been the want of strict integrity that has
hurt the English name more than any one thing.
The black people, though corrupt to a man, have the
highest opinion of integrity. They consider Irwin
here as a wonder; and did they not know his abili-
ties and labours in this country, they would believe
he was crazy for not accepting the presents brought
him. The rents are now as regularly collected as
in Europe ; athing before unknown. It was always
the custom for the Nabob to let his country at a
high rent; but what with the constant elopement
of renters, and the many hands the revenue passed
through, the Nabob was happy with one half, and
often I believe a quarter, of the nominal rent. You

83
will easily apprehend that I am now im a way of
making a great deal of money; for Mr. Irwin has
an entire confidence in me, and leaves much of the
collection of the rents, as well as decision respect-
ing disputed lands, &c. m my hands: but I hope
you will as easily believe that I cannot descend to
such dirty ignoble means of enriching myself. 1
do assure you, upon my honour, that I never yet
received a bribe in any shape whatever ; though
in the six months I have been here, I may safely
say I could have made at least 1000/. sterling, were
I bent upon it. With integrity and diligence we
are almost sure of succeeding. I can lay my hand
upon my heart, and solemnly assert that what I
have, has been acquired as honestly and humanely
as that of your worthy father. The peoplehere are
surprised, that have made me offers; however, I
find the good effects of it. Mr. Irwin knows that
the great powers he has intrusted me with are ex-
erted for the public good: the people respect those
orders, and admire those decisions, which they know

‘are not dictated for private views. And the poorest

(a thing very uncommon in India) have the confi-
dence to complain of injuries from the rich, because
they know they must have justice, and need not
apprehend a wrong decision from any thing but
inability.

Your mind is too noble not to conceive with
ease, that being looked upon in this light is much
more satisfactory to my pride (if you please) than
the possession of money, bought at the expense of
a breach of my solemn engagements with my em-

Ga

84

ployers, and the reward of neglect in doing justice,
if not of absolute injustice. My pay is very hand-
some for a young man; I keep a palanquin, and I
indulge myself with a handsome horse to ride,—an
exercise I have found of great benefit.

The Tinnevelly country is a very delightful one ;
the heat for some time, till the rains set in, is great
beyond imagination. I live at a beautiful garden
on the banks of the river, which adds to a most
charming prospect. At forty miles distance are
inaccessible hills, but very apparent. The rain first
falls on these hills, which are hid under clouds for
some days, which is a sign that the river will soon
be full ; for the water runs down with such astonish-
ing rapidity, that I can assure you, from my own
frequent knowledge, that the river which in the
morning was not a foot deep, will before noon be
impassable by men, and so rapid that bullocks, &c.,
which in crossing, at first were only half below
water, have before they got over been carried away
and often drowned in the stream. This river is called
the Tummer bunny. The wateris very sacred among
the Bramins, and is the great source of the fertility
of this province. You can hardly think how inter-
ested I am in the cultivation and prosperity of this
country. I take the greatest pleasure in seeing
the river fill and spread itself into tanks, ponds, &c.
which it does in two or three hours.

Before the rains fall on these immense moun-
tains, the weather is so hot, and the earth so dry,
as to afford a wonderful phenomenon that I have
often been witness to. In this season I have seen

85

immense fires on the inaccessible mountains, which
are occasioned by the friction of the bambo trees
against one another, which always happens in high
winds ;—so dry is this country before the rain.
The knowledge I have of the people makes one
often smile at the ideas of Europeans concerning In-
dians. I assure you that the “innocent Indians” are
the most depraved people inthe world that I know of;
and there are not more impudent, debauched, arch-
villains than the “holy harmless sons of Brama :”
they are insolent and tyrannical to a degree. I
had a little adventure with them the other day.
While we have the Nabob’s country, we pay all the
church expenses, which the superstition of these
people has made very great. A great feast is now
coming on, for which they got leave to cut a certain
kind of wood. A single tree of this was in the
garden of a gentleman, which I would not suffer
them to cut. They then all shut themselves up in
the pagoda, and from the top of it held out a flag
of defiance and mutiny. They charged the people
to rebel, and all the shops to be shut up. They
were obeyed in the last instance. Mr. Irwin was
up the country about fifty miles distant. I rode
over to a place called the Cutchery (the court of
business and justice), of which I am, in Mr. Irwin’s
absence, sole president and governor. In my way I
was saluted with more exclamations of mutiny. I
sent for the Bramins, who said they would come
down and submit if I would give them this tree. I
would make no composition; but told them to go
back, and I would follow them in five minutes ;

86

when if the flag of mutiny was not taken down,
and the pagoda door opened, I would put on the
Company’s seal and starve them. They saw I was
resolved, and instantly obeyed. Under one of their
own princes they would have succeeded.

An extraordinary event requires my presence at
the fort of a polygar, where the commander-in-
chief of the army to the southward is arrived. I
am to endeavour to prevent the matter coming to
any extremities, the man being under the Company's
protection. This may be the subject of another
letter. Till then believe me, with increased fervency,

My dear Cousin, yours most affectionately,
NATHANIEL EnpwarpD KINDERLEY*.

* The Kinderley family having been mentioned in a former
page, it may not be uninteresting in this place to relate the fol-
lowing anecdote, which an old servant who had lived fifty-two
years with Mrs. Kinderley and her daughter Mrs. Smith, fre-
quently repeated as a fact with which she was well acquainted,
and in part a witness of.

The Rev. John Kinderley’s con-
nexion with Scotland had procured him the acquaintance of
several families in the North, among whom Lord D—— was
one of his most intimate friends. This nobleman had met with a
lady at Bath, both young and attractive, and who passed for the
widow of an officer. His lordship becoming attached to this
lady, he married her, and they soon after left England to reside
on the Continent. Here, after a few years, she was seized with
an alarming illness, and earnestly desired her lord, in case of her
death, that she might be conveyed to England and interred in a
particular church, which she named. Upon this event taking place,
Lord D—— accompanied the body in the same ship, and, upon
landing at Harwich, the chest in which the remains of his lady
were inclosed excited the suspicions of the Custom-house officers,
who insisted upon ascertaining its contents. Being a good deal
shocked with such a threat, Lord D

proposed that it

87

should be removed to the church, and opened in the presence of
the clergyman of the parish, who could vouch for its containing
what he assured them was within :—accordingly the proposal was
yielded to, and the body conveyed to the appointed place, when,
upon opening the chest, the attending minister recognised, in the
features of the deceased, his own nife! and communicated the un-
welcome discovery to his lordship on the spot. It appeared,
upon further conversation, that Lady D had been married
against her inclination to this person, and, determining to separate

entirely from him, had gone he knew not whither, and under an
assumed name and character had become the wife of Lord D .
The two husbands followed her remains to the grave the next
day; and on the same evening Lord D in great distress
of mind, attended by one servant, came to his friend’s house in
Norwich for consolation. It was winter, and about six o’clock
when he arrived. Mr. Kinderley was called out to speak to a
stranger, and returning to his wife, desired her to leave them
together, pretending that a stranger from Scotland was arrived
on particular business. Lord D sat up with Mr. Kin-
derley the whole night, to unbosom his affliction and extraordi-
nary fate to his friend, and at day-break, in order to avoid any
interview with his host’s family, for which his spirits were un-
equal, he departed.

The following affecting letter, given to Mr. Kinderley by the
Rev. Thomas Pyle of Lynn, although it contains nothing relative
to the family, yet being written by so celebrated a man as Dean
Swift, may be found not void of interest, and has not before ap-
peared in print.

The Rev. Dr. Jonathan Snift to the Rev. Thomas Pyle, Lynn,
Norfolk.
atts ttyl London, Dec. 26, 1711.
“That you may not be surprised with a letter from a person
utterly unknown to you, I will immediately tell you the occasion
of it. The lady who lived near two years in your neighbour-
hood, and whom you were so kind sometimes to visit, under the
name of Mrs. Smyth, was Mrs. Ann Long, sister to Sir James
Long, and niece of Colonel Strangways. She was of as good a
private family as most in England, and had every valuable qua-

88

lity of body and mind, that could make a lady loved and es-
teemed. Accordingly she was always valued here above most
of her sex, and by the most distinguish’d persons. But by the
unkindness of her friends, and the generosity of her own nature,
and depending upon the death of a very old grandmother,
which did not happen till it was too late, she contracted some
debts that made her uneasy here, and in order to clear them,
was content to retire unknown to your town, where I fear her
death has been hastened by melancholy, and perhaps the want
of such assistance as she might have found here. I have thought
fit to signifie this to you, partly to let you know how valuable a
person you have lost, but chiefly to desire, that you will please
to bury her in some part of your church, near a wall, where
a plain marble stone may be fixed, as a poor monument for one
who deserved so well; and which, if God sends me life, I hope
one day to place there, if no other of her friends will think fit
to do it. I had the honor of an intimate acquaintance with her;
and was never so sensibly touched with any one’s death as her’s.
Neither did I ever know a person of either sex, with more
virtues or fewer infirmities: the only one she had, which was
the neglect of her own affairs, arising wholly from the goodness
of her temper. I write not this to you at all as a secret, but am
content your town should know what an excellent person they
have had among them. If you visited her any short time before
her death, or knew any particulars about it, or of the state of
her mind, or the nature of her disease; I beg you will be so
obliging to inform me. For the letter we have seen from her
poor maid is so imperfect, by her grief for the death of so good

lady, that it only tells me the time of her death: and your
letter may, if you please, be directed to Dr. Swift, and put under
a cover, which cover may be directed to Erasmus Lewis, Esq.
at the Earl of Dartmouth’s Office at Whitehall.

*T hope you will forgive this trouble for the occasion of it,
and give some allowances to so great a loss, not only to me,
but to all who have any regard for every perfection that human
nature can possess; and if in any way I can serve or oblige you,
I shall be glad of the opportunity of obeying your commands.

“‘T am, Sir, Your most humble servant,

oy. Swikr.

aes
aD ee 2 , g ih q ie.
(Fie Ss eee CLAW, Lee CLA ZY
: /
Ltr Pi D8
a

Gs
wie: A ipeS-

PZ, Lp gank

chee fates

Soon CD eee OEE MO
cs

Cece neccry IV IA.

89

CHAPTER II.

Sir J. E. Smith leaves Edinburgh.—Lodges in Great Windmill-
street, London.—-Dr. John Hunter.—Sir J. Banks informs him
that the library and collections of Linneus are upon sale—
Writes to Dr. Acrel.—Correspondence with his Father.—Lelters
of Dr. Acrel, and catalogues of the collection.—Agrees to be-
come the purchaser.—Letters from Mr. Pitchford, Dr. Wither-
ing, Dr. Stokes, Professor J. Sibthorp.—Rev. H. Bryant.—
Chosen Fellow of the Royal Society.—Letter from Dr. J. Hope.

—Preparation for going abroad.

Upon leaving Edinburgh, Sir James’s next object
was to fix himself in London for the purpose of
attending the great school of anatomy of which Dr.
John Hunter was the head, and to avail himself of
the medical instruction of Dr. Pitcairn ; and on the
25th September, 1783, he took lodgings with his
fellow-student, Mr. Batty, in Great Windmill-street,
at the top of the Haymarket. “ Mr. Baillie,” he
tells his father, “ Dr. Hunter’s nephew, is very civil
to us; but we are charmed with John Hunter, he
alone is worth coming to live in London for. I
shall devote myself,” he continues, “ chiefly to dis-
section as long as I find it necessary, and afterwards,
I believe, St. Bartholomew’s hospital will be worth
my notice. I will confess that at my first seeing
the dissecting-room, which is abominable and horrid
beyond conception, I found it very easy to persuade

90

myself that I could do without being any thing
more than a spectator there*.” Nevertheless, he
appears to have settled with great comfort to him-
self, and to the satisfaction of his friends.

Of his conduct while he resided here, no better
testimony can be given than that which immediately
follows from a man of strong sense and principle,
still more anxious about the reputation of his son
than for his worldly advancement. ;

* These were the sensations which revolted him at first, although
they abated as his curiosity was awakened to the study ; and thus
has he not unfrequently contrasted them, in the vivid language
of the Seventh Promenade of Rousseau :—

“ Quel appareil affreux qu'un amphithéatre anatomique, des
cadavres puants, de baveuses et livides chairs, du sang, des in-
testines dégotitans, des squelettes affreux, des vapeurs pestilen-
tielles! Ce n’est pas la, sur ma parole, que jira chercher mes
amusemens.

“ Brillantes fleurs, émail des prés, ombrages frais, ruisseaux,
bosquets, verdure, venez purifier mon imagination salie par
tous ces hideux objets.”

In a letter written at this time to his father, he tells him, ‘‘ We
have dined with Dr. Osborn, the colleague of Dr. Denman; he
is a man of rank in the literary world. At his house we met the
famous, or rather infamous Dr. Shebbeare, a most entertaining
and lively companion; the best teller of a story I ever heard,
beyond all comparison; but a most malicious violent-tempered
man: being an Irishman, his most predominant hatred is against
the Scotch. He can counterfeit any dialect whatever ; his Scotch
is the most accurate I ever heard out of that country. It is cu-
rious to observe (as I remarked to my companion at the time)
in these gross strong-featured minds, as in a microscope, the
workings of those passions and dispositions, which in common
characters are so faintly and confusedly marked, that we can
seldom trace them to their sources, or observe their various con-
nections and dependencies upon one another.”

91
Riise Norwich, Nov. 24, 1783.

In regard to your mode of living, it is as mode-
rate as can be, and you seem to be very good ma-
nagers; you may be allowed more of course for
diversions and amusements, which I persuade my-
self will not go beyond the bounds of prudence and
moderation, still less of virtue. Nothing can be a
greater cause of joy to me than that a son, in whom
I have from his infancy had so much pleasure and
comfort, and on whom my firmest hopes of happi-
ness in my declining years are founded, gives me
no anxiety and uneasiness, though without control,
at a critical time of life; situated in the midst
of all the fascinating pleasures, and the most al-
luring temptations, that the most sumptuous, most
luxurious, and most vicious and corrupt capital
in Europe, or perhaps in the whole world, can pro-

duce.
May the Almighty God protect him in every

danger, and deliver him from the evil of every
temptation !
I am, your affectionate Father,
JAMES SMITH.

Dr. Pitcairn entertained a warm friendship for
his pupil, and considered him remarkably acute in
the detection and nature of internal diseases; and
there seems little doubt that the practice of physic
would have become the pursuit of his after life, but
for the unexpected events which put him in posses-
sion of the collections of Linnzus.

His passion for natural history continuing para-

92

mount in his mind, the house of Sir Joseph Banks
was at all times the place of resort most attractive
to him; and here he first heard that the museum
and library of the celebrated Swede were upon sale.

Upon the demise of young Linnzus, Dr. Acrel,
Professor of Medicine at Upsal, had written to D .
Engelhart, who was then in London, offering the
whole collection of books, manuscripts, and natural
history, to Sir Joseph Banks, for the sum of 1000
guineas. “It happened,” adds Sir James, “that I
breakfasted with Sir Joseph upon the day the letter
arrived, which was the 23rd of December, 1783 ;
and he told me of the offer he had, saying he should
decline it; and, handing me the letter to read, ad-
vised me strongly to make the purchase, as a thing
suitable to my taste, and which would do me ho-
nour.” Being thus encouraged by Sir Joseph, he
went immediately to Dr. Engelhart, with whom he
had been intimately acquainted at Edinburgh, and
made his desire known to him; and they both
wrote the same day to Professor Acrel, Dr. Engel-
hart to recommend his friend, and the other desiring
a catalogue of the whole collection, and telling him
if it answered his expectations he would be the
purchaser at the price fixed.

On the following day the young student of physic
made these occurrences known to his father, and
thus entreated his assistance :—

Honoured Sir, Dec. 24, 1783.
You may have heard that the young Linneus is
lately dead: his father’s collections and library and

93

his own are now to be sold; the whole consists of
an immense hortus siccus, with duplicates, insects,
shells, corals, materia medica, fossils, a very fine
library, all the unpublished manuscripts; in short,
of every thing they were possessed of relating to
natural history and physic: the whole has just
been offered to Sir Joseph Banks for 1000 guineas,
and he has declined buying it. The offer was made
to him by my friend Dr. Engelhart, at the desire of
-a Dr. Acrel of Upsal, who has the charge of the
collection.—Now, I am so ambitious as to wish to
possess this treasure, with a view to settle as a phy-
sician in London, and read lectures on natural hi-
story. Sir Joseph Banks and all my friends to
whom I have entrusted my intention approve of it
highly. I have written to Dr. Acrel, to whom Dr.
Engelhart has recommended me, for particulars and
the refusal, telling him if it was what I expected, I
would give him a very good price for it. I hope,
my dear sir, you and my good mother will look on
this scheme in as favourable a light as my friends
here do. There is no time to be lost, for the affair
is now talked of in all companies, and a number of
people wish to be purchasers. The Empress of
Russia is said to have thoughts of it.

The manuscripts, letters, &c., must be invaluable ;
and there is, no doubt, a complete collection of all
the inaugural dissertations which have been pub-
lished at Upsal, a small part of which has been re-
published under the title of Amenitates Academice ;
a very celebrated and scarce work. All these dis-
sertations were written by Linneus, and must be of

94

prodigious value. In short, the more I think of
this affair, the more sanguine I am, and earnestly
hope for your concurrence. I wish I could have
one half hour’s conversation with you; but that is
impossible.”

To this appeal there came an admirable reply,
regarding the expediency of the purchase, in every
point of view; but so much approaching to a re-
fusal as to produce great uneasiness andalarm: and .
another letter, reiterating the persuasions in the first,
had but little more effect. Repeated efforts, how-
ever, produced some change of opinion; and ina
subsequent letter, Sir James tells his father, “I
have learnt from Mr. Dryander what the collection
consists of; he has often seen it: it was kept ina
room built on purpose by itself, for fear of fire.
One side of this room was quite occupied by the
cabinets of fossils, which are very fine; in another
part was a large cabinet of corals, and some ani-
mals, as he thinks: there was also a very large
collection of insects and shells. The dried plants
of the elder Linnzeus wereabout 8000; and his son’s
collection in his travels, from Sir Joseph, and in
France, about as many more. -There were many
cabinets round the room, and also a few books for
common use ; but his principal library was kept in
another place, and this Dryander never saw: he tells
me it was considered to be a good one.”

95
Mr. Smith to his Son.

My dear Son, Norwich, 12th January, 1784.

The dutiful and affectionate light in which you
now see what has passed between us upon the sub-
ject under consideration, you may be assured makes
a very deep and feeling impression upon my heart.
Iam almost sorry for what my affection and duty to
you and my family seemed to me to force me to
write, as I knew it would give you pain; but now
that I perceive a cooler expostulation would have
wrought the same effect, I make some reproaches
to myself for having given you more uneasiness
than was necessary; and that must and does hurt
a father who loves you to excess, who wishes and
strives and prays most fervently that all your days
may be tranquil, and all your undertakings success-
ful. My soul is full of parental tenderness at this
moment, and would fain expand itself upon this
subject; but I have not time. Suffice it now to say,
that we both think and feel as we ought to do upon
the occasion, and that you have satisfied every sen-
sation of my mind that regarded the relation you
stand in to me; it shall be my care to strengthen
your confidence in my solicitude and unalterable
regard for your welfare. But the thing that strikes
me very forcibly in your last, seems to confirm an
opinion I took up at first; that is, the bulk of the
collection. Here is a room (no doubt of large di-
mensions) built on purpose to contain a great many
cabinets, and a few books; the principal library was
in another place,—no doubt a very large one too:

96

we both know a large library takes up a deal of
room. All this, and a great deal more that must be
supposed, convinces me that it will require no small
nor inelegant house to place so capital a collection
and library in a commodious manner, such as will
“answer your design in the possession. Indeed I
perceive that, however probable the possession of
this and your plan is to prove advantageous, I am
afraid it is out of the reach of our abilities to attain.

Had I but you, I had not hesitated one moment;
every shilling of mine should be at your devotion
to serve any good purpose; and your dear mother
would be as contented as I should be, to retire upon
the moderate income of our real estate, till Provi-
dence, withdrawing us from the world, should leave
you in possession of that also. That you have con-
sulted Dr. Pitcairn and other judicious friends, I
much approve; they and your own prudence will
advise you about the intrinsic merit and value of
the collection, how to have it examined, and every
thing relating to that part of the business: but none
of them can know how far the purchase would be
expedient in our circumstances and situation ;—our
own wisdom must guide us there.

I cannot but suppose that the library of such a
man as Linneus, and which is called a fine library
too, must be worth a great deal, perhaps all the
money advanced ; but upon the subject of its great
supposed value, the character and esteem of its col-
lector in his native country, who must be proud of
him and everything tha belongs to him,—TI can
hardly conceive they will suffer it to depart from

97

Sweden for so paltry a sum, considered in a national
light, and from an university whose ‘reputation he
has contributed so much to raise.

The kingdom of Denmark, and all Germany, and
Holland, France, and Switzerland, from taste and
learning; as well as Russia, from ostentation or
improvement,—will be competitors for it, as well as
England. And we cannot but suppose, if it is to be
peremptorily sold, the object being the money it
will fetch, they will make use of their whole endea-
vours to get as much for it as it is worth, if they
are so honest as not to desire more.

Without calling Dr. Acrel’s or any other person’s
honour, known or unknown, in question, ask your-
self how seldom it is the case, without great igno-
rance about the true value of the thing disposed of,
where there are many desirous of purchasing, that
it does not fetch at least its full value. So that I
am inclined to think, that after all your anxiety
about it you may not be able to obtain it; and I
hope you will not fix your mind so strongly upon
it as to create you uneasiness if you miss it, from
any cause whatever. But wait calmly the answer to
your letter to Dr. Acrel, till you see and examine
the catalogue with care, and then determine as cir-
cumstances require; and I hope it will please Heaven
to direct you for the best in a matter of so very
great importance.

I would caution you against the enthusiasm of a
lover, or the heat of an ambitious man.

T need not surely now tell you how dear you are
to me, how much I esteem you, nor what I hope

VOL... H

98

from you. If you are a stranger to these things,
Nature does not write a legible hand, or you have
not learned to read her writing; but I know you
have, and that you do my great love of you justice.
Adieu, my dear son! May Heaven direct all your

steps, and shower its choicest blessings on your

head !
For ever your affectionate Father,

JAMES SMITH.

Dr. Acrel to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Vir nobilissime, Upsaliz, d. 9 Februar. 1784.

Humanissimas tuas litteras, Londimi d. 23 De-
cemb. a. p. datas, accepi; et licet petitioni tue, in
mittendo catalogo rerum natur. p. def. Linnzi, ob
temporis angustiam hodie satisfacere non possim,
responsionem tamen differre non debui: me vero
quam proxime missurum polliceor. Permittas etiam
ut in scribendo me lingua Latina inserviam, dum
linguam tuam maternam, quam amo et intelligo,
tantummodo ad legendos libros calleam. Biblio-
thecam Linnzanam perlustravi, titulosque libro-
rum adnotavi: superet voluminum numerus 1500:
exceptis manuscriptis et litteris, quas non adhuc
in ordinem redegi. Permulti eorum sunt ligatura
Gallica; reliqui plurimi et quidem majoris momenti
libri bene custoditi. Defecti, uti vocant, fere nulli.
Omnes vero ad completam bibliothecam botanicam,
ab antiquissimis ac nunc rarissimis operibus, usque
ad recentissima eadem, pertinent: figuris nitidissimis

99

ornati. Libri medici fere nulli. Cetera catalogus
monstrabit.
In eo jam occupatus sum, ut quantum fieri po-

test, numerum ineam herbarum, in ditissimis her-

bariis Linnzanis, scilic. patris et filii, occurren-
tium. Superant vero fere numerum. Observandum,
he collectiones dividi deberent, 1. in herbarium
Linnei patris, et, 2. filit: quarum—

1. Collectio patris consistere ex circiter 14000
. plantis, in tribus thecis sub numeris 4. B. & C.
—Ut vero vir illustrissimus, dum vixit, nihil ad
ostentationem habuit, omnia vero sua in usum ac-
commodata ; ita etiam in hoc herbario, quod per xl.
annos sedulo collegit, frustra quesiveris papyri in-
‘signia ornamenta, margines inauratas, et cet. que
ostentationis gratia in omnibus fere herbariis nunc
vulgaria sunt. Et dum aliorum herbaria, recenter
collecta, similitudinem habent libri cujusdam novi
e manu bibliopege illico assumti, sic herbarium
Principis Botanicorum usu magis tritum, annota-
tionibus ubicungue refertum; minime vero blattis
tineisque corrosum, vel alio quodam modo inutile
factum.

2. Herbarium Linné filii, splendidum magis ac
nitidum prout recentius collectum. Numerus spe-
cierum adhuc incertus. Insignis etiam earum nu-
merus, quas in Anglia, sub itinere suo, nec non in
Gallia, e collectionibus Smeathmanni, Massoni,
Aubleti, Sonnerati, Dombeyi, aliorumque, depromp-
sit; plura etiam de hac collectione catalogus mon-
strabit. .

Eminet inter cetera collectio illa pulcherrima,

H 2

a —— =

100

ditissima Conchyliorum, adhuc patre vivente, inter
pretiosissimas numerata, postea a Linné filio insig-
niter aucta et ditata.

Insectorum collectio, si separatim divenderetur,
licitator quidam Suecus 170 ducatos aureos impen-
dere non hesitabit.

Corallia et cetera producta marium insignia
sunt.

Aves, circiter 50, in thecis vitro clausis servantur.

Pisces, tam in sp. vin. quamsiccatisupra chartam
glutine affixi, permulti sunt.

Cetera, ut fructus, nidus avium et insectorum,
vestimenta Indorum et incolarum Maris Pacifici, ut
taceam: Materia Medica nulla. Litter clarorum
virorum ad Linnzos scripte superant numerum
3000, que, una cum manuscriptis, et, inter ea, ova
Zoologia Fundamenta Linnei Fil, materiam da-
bunt operum posthum. Linnzeorum uberrimam, et
a bibliopolis et typographis avide expectantur.

Ea tamen est heredum in defunctos Linnzos
pia memoria, ut manuscripta et litter non nisi
ad doctum quendam et honestum virum venumda-
rentur; ne typis mandaretur quidquam, quod pub-
lico scire non interest. Eam etjam fiduciam in te
habent, vir nobilissime, si collectionum emptor
fueris. Collectio illa sub titulo Epistole claror.
Virorum ad Hallerum pecuniam certissime auctori
convexit, parum vero honoris.

In ceterum tibi sanctissime polliceor, ex omnibus
collectionibus, in quocunque genere, ne minima
quidem particula, me sciente vel volente, distrahi
vel abalienari; et quantum in me erit, omnia sarta

101

tectaque ad te venire curabo. Catalogum quam
proxime exspectas. Vale interea, atque fave
Nominis tui nobilissimi
Cultorem fidelem
Jou. Gustav. ACREL.

Dominum D". Engelhardt, amicum meum sin-
cerrimum, permultas dicas salutes.

Mr. Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith.
My dear Son, Norwich, March 1, 1784.

The frost broke up, the snow gone, and waters
run off, I mean to set out for London next week
with your brother John: we shall come on horse-
back, or I shall put the horses in a chaise, I don’t
fully resolve which. It will be proper to know
whether you can meet with a lodging for us, the
town is now so full of people attending parliament.
Again I shall want a livery stable for two horses.

I have daily expected to hear you have had an-
answer from Upsal: if all be right, ’tis as well it stavs
till we can travel more comfortably. I am glad to
hear you are prepared to meet whatever may be the
event of the Linnean collection. Things are so
uncertain in this life, we cannot tell what will be the
best; but a due exertion to improve the circum-
stances we find around us will most generally be
attended with success, and I entertain very flattering
hopes of yours.

P.S. I am told the post has come constantly from
Sweden notwithstanding the frost.

Yours,
JAMES SMITH.

102

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, London, April 10, 1784.

I was a little impatient to hear how you got home.
On Tuesday I received the wished-for catalogue
from Sweden: it is very full and exact, much better
than I expected. There are many valuable books:
such as the King of Denmark’s book of shells, like
that at Cambridge; Sloane’s Jamaica, worth ten or
twelve guineas; and many others worth from five to
ten pounds; besides a complete collection of the
most useful books in natural history, and many
medical books. The greater part are Latin, many
French, English, Italian, some Swedish, &c. There
are also a few books which from their extreme
scarcity sell for an exorbitant price; one little book
on insects, coloured, for a copy of which Sir Joseph
Banks gave books to the value of thirty pounds,
and which has long been sought for in vain for the
Royal library. The whole number of works is about
1600, of volumes above 2000. The manuscripts
also are very valuable, full as much as could be
imagined. Plants 19,000: insects, shells, &c. are
said to be very valuable and numerous, but of these
I am soon to have a further account.

There is a collection of plants called the small
herbarium of young Linneus, which was collected
before his father’s death, and contains nothing but
what is in the great herbarium: this he desired be-
fore his death might go to Baron Alstromer to sa-
tisfy a debt of 200 rix dollars (fifty-five pounds)

103

which he owed him. The executors, unwilling to
separate anything from the collection, offered the
whole to Baron Alstrémer for 1000 guineas; they
have not had his answer, nor do they expect he will
buy it, as he is quite paralytic, and can neither read
nor write at present: they therefore do not doubt
his taking the small herbarium only, and in that
case they offer me all the rest for 900 guineas, as
the very lowest price: they have had offers of an
unlimited sum from a Russian nobleman, but have
declined treating with him till they had my final
answer.

I wrote last night, remonstrating against their
having made such an offer to Baron Alstrémer, as
nothing was said of it in Dr. Acrel’s first letter to
me, and I agreed to take the whole without the
small herbarium for 900 guineas, or with that, and
pay Baron Alstrémer’s debt. I hope this will re-
ceive your approbation. |

The executors demand 500 guineas to be paid
as soon as the bargain is concluded, the rest six

months after. James Epwarp SmiTu.

Dr. Acrel to Mr. James Edward Smith.

’ Vir nobilissime, Upsalize, d. 6 Martii, 1784.

Catalogum bibliothece Linneane jam tibi
sisto, vir nobilissime, eum in finem, ut judices quid
in re herbaria valeat selecta hec librorum col-
lectio : continet enim libros permultos quos ob
raritatem alibi frustra quesiveris.

104

Herbarium illud magnum Linnei patris, in
thecis v. asservatum, consistit plantis circa 19,000 ;
nam his numeranda sunt etiam ea specimina per-
multa, que sub itinere suo in Anglia et Gallia, e her-
bariis Commersoni, Dombeyi, Sonnerati, aliorum-
que, collegit illustr. Von Linné filius, et que chartis
glutine adfigere viri illustris cita nimis mors pro-
hibuit.

Alia quedam plantarum collectio, sub nomine
herbarit parvi Linné filii, adest, continens tam in-
digenas quam exoticas, quas in juventute collegit
Linné filius, ideoque nihil aliud est quam tirocinitum
suum, sub auspiciis patris. Ita autem disposuit
Linné junior, ante obitum, ut hec collectio, que mi-
noris est momenti, nec alias plantas habens quam
que in magno herbario presto sunt, traderetur
viro nobilissimo Baroni Alstrémer, ob contractum
es alienum, inque ejus solutionem. Dispositionem
hanc pie defuncti abnuere non voluerunt heredes,
nec facile concedere, ut, quidquid sit, etiam mini-
mi momenti, e collectionibus distraheretur, ratum
duxerunt, omnes historie naturalis collectiones
cum bibliotheca et manuscriptis Baroni Alstrémer
ad emendum offerre, eodem scilicet pretio, 1000 gui-
nearum. Nescimus adhuc, si pecuniam solveret,
nec ne: ego vero valde dubito Baronem Alstrémer,
ob gravem morbum articulorum, qui eum nec scri-
bere vel legere, multo minus naturalia tractare, con-
cedit, emtorem fieril. Nobilis Moscovita, nuper
etiam ad solvendam non determinatam, pecunie
summam sese obtulit, si possessor fieret collectio-

105

num; abnui ego, antequam ultimam tuam respon-
sionem acceperim.

Catalogum insectorum, conchyliorum, et reliqu.
tibi quam proxime mittam ; etiamsi persuasus sis,
has collectiones et optimas et numerosissimas esse.

Si herbarium parvum Baroni Alstrémer traditur,
ad solvendum debitum 200 thaleror. imperialium
monete nostre, reliqua quotquot sunt, a maximis
ad minima, non infra 900 guineas divenderentur :
sed emtori id certum sit, ut, ita me Deus! nihil
eorum ab aliquo distraheretur.

Si igitur Linneana Opera et Collectiones de-
sideres, vir nobilissime, mihi id notum facies
proximo tabellarum die, et simul, legato Magne
Brittaniz, illustrissimo D°®. Wrougthon, Stock-
holmiz, vel secretario missionis, litteras mittas,
ut si forsan quis scrupulus te urgeat, (qui inter
honestos viros non facile contigit,) rem tuam apud
nos peragent, bonaque tua observent.

Emtionem festinat, preter alias rationes, etiam
ea, quod domus, ubi magne he collectiones
asservantur, professori successori traderetur, et
vereor, ne ex demigratione e domo in aliam, e col-
lectione subtilioribus speciminibus damnum infer-
reretur.*/

Si nos inter convenietur, pecunie dimidiam
summam solvere grave tibi non duxeris spero, et
alteram dein post vi. menses.

Manuscripta adhuc perplurima deterrui, quam
quz in catalogo adnotata sunt; ita etiam disser-
tationes, aliaque scripta, magno numero.

106

Vale, vir nobilissime, et amicorum amico D».
D°. Engelhardt salutes.
Nobilissimi tui nominis
Cultor observantissimus,

J. G. AcREL.

N.B. Ab Upsalia usque ad pontem navalem Lon-
dinensem, collectiones per mare transferri possunt,
adeo ut facilis et quassationi expers sit earum
transportatio. |

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, London, April 23, 1784.

Yours of the 12th made me very happy. I hope
we shall have no reason to alter our sentiments
about the step I have set. As it is now pretty gene-
rally known, I hear more of the opinion of people
on the subject than I did before, and am very much
encouraged by them. I thought it a piece of respect
due to my old botanical friends to inform them of
my purchase before they heard of it by any other
means ; I therefore wrote lately to Messrs. Wood-
ward, Bryant, and Pitchford, to tell them, and de-
sired the latter to inform Mr. Crowe and Rose. I
mentioned particularly that my medical studies were
to go on as before.

The collection comes every inch of the way from

Upsal by water.
Your dutiful Son,

J. E. Smirn.

107

Mr, Pitchford to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Sir, Norwich, May 2, 1784.

I am favoured with your letter, for which I think
myself much obliged to you, as I began to fear I
was struck out of the list of your correspondents ;
but this letter is a letter indeed! and makes ample
amends for past deficiencies. I sincerely give you
joy of your purchase as a matter which will afford
you a fund of instruction and amusement in natural
history, and I should imagine will be a means of
making you much known. Mr. Woodward was
here this week, and acquainted me with some es-
sential particulars not mentioned in your letter.
You may imagine the surprise we were all in. We
dined at Mr. Crowe’s, who I imagine will talk with
you a great deal about it. He was for desiring me
to write to you immediately, to beg you would by
no means make any agreements as to the disposal
of your purchase; but as he sets off for London on
Monday, May the 3rd, he can better make you ac-
quainted with his intentions himself. Poor Mr. Rose
(who has lost Mrs. Rose) commissioned me in par-
ticular to return you his thanks for your remem-
brance of him.

You certainly make a very proper remark in
saying that this purchase is not to interfere with
your medical pursuits, as the cultivation of natural
history cannot be pursued with vigour but by per-
sons of independent fortunes; for others it must
only be as an amusement, or relaxation from other
studies.

108

I shall now look up to you as to a second Lin-
neus, and without any compliment I think you
highly deserving of being the possessor of such re-
mains: at the same time I am afraid your other
more serious pursuits will not suffer you to make
the use of them your abilities would otherwise en-
title you to. The English botanist will now have
an opportunity of knowing what natives of his own
country are in the Sp. PI.

In hopes of hearing from you a little oftener,

I remain, dear Sir,
Yours sincerely,
J. PITCHFORD.

Dr. Withering to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Sir, Birmingham, May 27, 1784.

I thank you most sincerely for the very judicious
and liberal criticisms you have made upon the sheet”,
and am happy to inform you that the work in its
new form meets with the approbation of all who
have seen it. Your remarks upon the difficulties of
making the references are unfortunately too true ;
but as nothing is taken upon authority, I hope the
actual examination made upon this occasion will do
away more error than it will introduce.

Our friend Dr. Stokes has undertaken this part
of the business, and I think his accuracy and in-
dustry, as well as his experience, will not be readily

* Of the 2nd edition of Dr. W.’s Botanical Arrangement, the
Ist edition of which was published in 1776 in two volumes.

109

outdone. The names, both trivial and generic, are
accented through the body of the work, as most
people seemed to concur with your opinion. The
times of flowering are marked as accurately as I
knew how to mark them; those of ripening the
seeds would certainly be useful, but I know not
any source from whence they could be derived. The
same difficulty occurs too as to the opening and
shutting of the flowers. The budding of the leaves
differs so much in the southern, the midland, and
the northern parts of this island, and all these differ
again so widely in particular years, that the task of
marking them would be endless. I have seen the
gooseberry trees in Scotland naked, and in six days’
ride to the south found them in full leaf. Trees
which in this place were in full leaf on the 18th of
April last year had not a bud unfolded on the 10th
of the present May.

I apprehend that many of our plants supposed to
be Linnean may be in the same predicament with the
Solidago Virgaurea, but certainly can no otherways
be ascertained than by an actual comparison of our
dubious plants with his, and this we were in hopes
of doing had young Linné lived; but we hear the
whole collection is coming to England, though
ignorant into whose hands it has fallen. You can
probably inform me, and likewise of the probability
of procuring aid from that quarter.

[ remain, Sir, with great respect,
Your obliged
W. WITrHERING.

110

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, London, June 18th, 1784.

This day I received the long wished-for letter
from Sweden. It contains an accurate inventory of
the insects and shells, with the number of species
in every genus, by which it appears that these col-
lections are truly noble, even beyond what I could
expect. The species of insects are in all 3198; of
shells 1564, and 200 more not arranged: there is
also a fine collection of minerals ; of these there are
2424 specimens; among them are 108 silver, and
31 gold ones, &c. &c. There are 45 birds in glass
cases.

The bargain is concluded with me on these terms,
—Baron Alstrémer is to have the small herbarium,
and I am to give 900 guineas for the rest.

J. E. Smiru.

Dr. Acrel to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Vir nobilissime, Upsalia, Maij 1784.

Binas tuas accepi litteras, die 9 Aprilis et 20
ejusdem mensis datas; debui jam antea responsio-
nem dare, etiam dedi, nisi intensissimum frigus va-
riaque alia negotia me retardarunt catalogum rerr.
naturall. Linnzeorum perducere ad finem. Fateor
ingenue, me nondum omnia in ordinem et numerum
reduxisse, negotiis precipue academicis ut et aliis
obrutus: que vero hac vice tibi ob oculos pono, suf-
ficere ad judicandum pretium puto. En igitur ea,

11]

que post bibliothecam et herbaria sequuntur, de
quibus antea scripsi :-—

INSECTA

in duobus thecis conservata, pulchra et omnino
splendida: ex his continet sequentia :

Coleoptera.
Genera, Numerus Specierum.
DIGATADGSUS. «ass ccc + ane 139
Ler a 7
Dermestes..... Stas are pant
Blister ....5. Ga aact, haues 7
eae eee 11
7 SS eee eee 14
Iruchus....«. ahs acdhajavera 9
MERI 6: ou, 0 <enrxc ds s&s a. tee
BUD ool aes we nie v.citie nan, Ad
SOCCMONA S Socks ot owe cO8
Chrysomela........... 148
ee asides a 6a ot anhalt!
WOUMIMU Soe ccc cs sas « 3
Mitelabus .. 26.5% ene t a5
MEMENTOS 0. ald « ayare, ani'o.se/6 138
Etsy «sckec esse. «691
RIEU a oiss « ove 2 os ses he
Weevdalis ....... coon) WO
WeIVEIS ve ce et a ss on. 6
Canthafis ). 30066. 0. 86
MIOIETS. sG oe wisiiestekacee 6 98
REMICRIVA.. oc hints, «ished, Le
BMETRUElA’, . «cc eiars s cowie 19
RNMEE gees fers o.0 6450 anand
BMRISEUS’ y's cosa, ss 3's sini ea
SIGHED 91 cho ice vied de e686
eS Pai ditaats 26
Mordelia .. my... 0-00 8

Staphylinus...... rte rire
Forficula 5.3... < Ceca cc Ca

ny as

Cl. II.
Hemiptera.

Genus. Species.
Blattanc.wh vivaser ae 7
Mantises:i2022 ee SONG
Gryllus ...... et en cies UO
Pulvora si. ctice citi eer

Cicada sve sete. ces
We pia fsa! svalale' a vlefe achalc ¢ MRT

INOtOmMects: «were eyeus sere 2 F 4
Cimex 22 si. 6.03 aiete slercies LO4.
Coccus.... ade atsias 7
$15
Cl. III.
. Neuroptera.
Genus. Species.

Eaves vee sesadseges, Lt
FICHCrODINS Seucsces ce DO
Myrmeleon ..i 6.6. 225 OMT
Ephemera 62666 5 si¢ad is
Phrymanea so0 tas tas. kT URO
Raphidea .<.isssssswss ” 8
PANORPAs ss cevieevcee. tS

112

Cl. IV. Conops sje. iis dates
Lepidoptera. Hippobosca.. ,.+..+..«-
ae RECURS CMU RIENIG! “eof 2x. scaichalsd oiand
RAPINO’ s occ e c.rase mn @ 239 Baap rii es) elcid
PUNK. « «oie eases <0 airs Pe 5 Rap laas aepnae atic
Phaleona, © b5):'= jd )5 pore G25. Maned . 012502. amen
993 Tipula ....+e-eees
Cv. Cplex soca tag eis oige
Hymenoptera.
Gen. Spec.
EDEWECOO calc ean s ayeistnre 78 Cl. VIL
BEER cic oe ae ee Reali Sa," v Aptera
Gen.
mage ere erepen “BY Wranea teeccsdenedene:
Ee ne sieeeaaers ks? ° fe Phalanoeignr oo he auisia eet
STgSIS aie (eieie te es = oye id a .

: CONDOS te fee eiteiainte
Pynips CSE ee 108 Onicaus: Ado 02082: ‘
Resp Bares say nasee Stale is he Scolopendfa ~) ..'t. ce sls
cde AA te i BS Talus! site cetcattetn ote
uty ag ah teh 12 Monoculus ‘22 6506¢¢.10!
POMMICH e opeys yous as B GR

De Podiculis i Ase. a ee
Cl. VI. Cancer sis. as Sees
Diptera.
Gen. Spec.
BAUME a cx as @ eine es aie ie ko r
Bompylus 4.2. s eel esa Oo Summa Specierum,
CONCHYLIA

consistunt sequentibus Gener. et Speciebus

variationibus :

Gen. Spec.
ORIGOD gies ait. « ecssve oie ‘ 3
Lepas ...eeeseeeoeces 6
PROIAS 2.4 6.5.5, 0, 9), 0, 2,6), a4 ES iced
Wghiiesc s+. =(5, 2 .=,0/,0)>,",<heie 13
ET a sis bias ete 15
Wee aah ies cities sie ists eis 54

Gen.
Cardium
Donax
Venus

eereeee
eeeeeeseeereeee
esveeveeere eee eens

@hamattctta oe ee

3198

cum

113

MOMERE SS y 5 6 aos bac la wet 77
Anomia..... een Stila graze 32
OINUS 5 45545 cases 26
i ae rapes 8
PEDPOMANtS Ses 2 a esis 2
WVAGUNUB, << c< cc cc 4 oft 20
Mame eee sis ece eB 74
MPGORGA Ne a's ae ages ae he 85
aw an n'y g's axe ote 20
MOluta. . . «« das geese atl 49
A 154

eh ie ee . 89

Strombus #3..54% it 62
Marek 0 boeken 145
RrOCHUS + ics cveveeremaene
ure oe ceca ca & cers 57
Hales iys dniecd cei 84
Wemita ss se sss s eon tae 61
Patellan ss. . gee 0's aereie 94.
Pbaliatiss 234 < «aos frit 14
Dentalium ........ > ofees! THLO
Serpula ......-0.-00%5 20

Summa Testaceorum, 1564

N.B. Preter hec Testacea in theca conservata,
etiam alia eaque numerosa collectio Conchyliorum
adest ; cujus tamen numerus mihi incertus: quan-
tum vero ex sola inspectione judicare licet, eam
numer. 200 circiter diversarum specicrum continere,

facile credo.

MINERALIA,

in 2 thecis conservata; que collectio sequentia

habet

Genera, et Num. Specierum.
DUSEEI SS. 21 stale «fads oh 76
Beam 28) oat BOD 150
Cpanel ./2') .. oe )etats te! 26
Sl a aiid a Sof te 16
2) i ae cates Mee
REPUTE 24's g atehe'e'eie nie ae 59
emiancghys's <2 06 ais ra bt 45
EDs ot Heiutes dele wie o de 35
Eatin. te o'he oes 50
marr 23 ee ks 2 28
SGSe MASTS. 28S. 291189
BARS Sie le hes pad cs: 139

VOL, I.

Genera. Species.
INUEGYULIEN S25 oo ofc se Fe) eel coe Oe 103
Crystallorum figure .... 8
Natrune 2)):/3 . . Hs ee 4.4,
Borayd 3 sj2s 4 bh a 14 srecotssh » 22
WISE IAD oe ccefoots etette ane e « 8
PRNUEIEICIN 8 era's 'ay dares oe a 9
Wittiolint.: 1505 b4e 2 oS0'< 10
SUCCINUINY faiss clei dict clare cre 8
BEENE Tee ss sia ot diel Veh cece 's 740
PPVEWesee osc ae aa'e 2 he fe
Arsenicum......0sees. 28
Hydrargyrum ......... 9

114

Molybdenum....... .-. 8 Entomolithus........+: 23
SELLA.) 0's we'o'0's weoes 28 BHelmintolithus «....0-+0i's 162
Zincum ..sssccccvcses 85 Phytolithus....... well lee
Vismuthum .....+-+6-- 6 Graptolithus .......... 21
Cobaltum sc an dndv doves 14 Caleulus.cacscscas Pree 6)
Stannum .....-. edness 2006 Tartarus. sancen rns o Greig ew
Granatum ais 4 oes 6 aver sh 19 -* AGhtes ses Abas eee 30
Plumbunt seers rrtsieoe — Plime ss .ce coy ote ras
Perr <P vevcicle sie aietae at 164... Bbalactites: Secneeaare ah cs
Cuprum......seeeeeee 206 Wophus «4 Faecihajesote 76
Nickelum .........-- A GO hina ccs oc oreket neiees Ge 61
Argentum .....eee sees OS" 0. Wrena .succetccoortd ua Gee. |
PATIPAEEL ese ere esse ee Be SL) Wrgilla fo eee 86
PPAGNGM ceca 'e oss es 2 LP Ge PA ie Fa aR Wee pa) |
PDOMIEDUIS once. 5 2 6.6 9 01k 2 ee
Amphibolithus EEN Specier. mineral. summa, eal a
Ichthyolithus ......... 10
ANIMALIA.

Aves in thecis operculis vitreis..........No. 45
Rostra avium.
Pisces, siccati et chartis glutinati,.......No. 158

Quedam in spir. vin.

CORALLTIA,
magno numero, sed non adnotata.

Que restant, tam naturalia, quam eorum pro-
ducta, ut flores, spadices Palmarum, radices, fruc-
tus, necnon curiosa varia vestimenta et utensilia
incolarum Maris Pacifici, et Indorum etc., addu-
cere et nominare tempus non permittit.

MAMMATIITA nulla.
Que ad materiam medicam spectant, scilicet,
gummata, resinz, radices, etc., nulla adsunt, nec

adfuerunt. Plante vero, unde hec omnia desu-
muntur, in maximo hoc herbario sine dubio adsunt.

115

Post illum quem antea dedi calculum, insignem
herbarum siccatarum copiam inveni: sed numerum
adnotare vetuit temporis angustia.

Has collectiones, omnes et singulas, una cum reli-
quis omnibus, a maximis ad minima, que In museo
Linnzano post mortem inventa sunt, tibi jam, no-
mine hzredum offero emenda, sequenti sub condi-
tione, quod,

1°. Concedas Baroni Alstrémer herbarium par-
vum, plantas continens quas in juventute et sub
auspiciis patris collexit Linné filius; non tam ad
solvendum debitum illud 200 thal. imper., quam
ob pretium illud amicitiz et adfectionis, que L.
Bar. Alstrémer et Linneum a teneris inde interfuit.

2°. Quod summez (900 guineas) dimidiam par-
tem, sine mora, mihi mittas sub forma tessere
nummariz (bill of exchange), a mercatore quodam
Stockholmiense, more eorum, solvendam.

3°. Reliquam summez partem, (450 guineas,) post
tres menses ad minimum mihi eodem modo mittas ;
et interea chirographum tuum debitum ostenden-
tem, una cum litteris tuis responsoriis nobis relin-
quas. Si inter te et me res ageretur, ejusmodi
testimonia, ubi honor et fides suprema lex est, om-
nino supervacanea essent ; jam vero, cum jus tertii
in negotio versetur, et hac conditio ab heredibus,
matre scilicet defuncti et sororibus, postulata, non
possum non, quin yotis eorum respondeam, et eam
tibi proponam.

Ad me quod attinet, fidem summam tibi servabo,
ne hilum quidem ab eorum omnium abalicnetur

he

116

vel furtivis manibus arripietur. Si tibi placeant
postulata heredum, litteris quam primum mihi
certiorem facies sequentia.

1°. Si in Anglia tantum vectigalis solvatur pro
libris filo ligatis (sewed books) quam pro iisdem
in corio ligatis (bound ones) ? Si ita est, promiscue
in thecis consarcinari possint: si pro corio ligatis
plus solvendum, separentur, et in suis thecis diver-
sis servarl necesse est.

2°. Ab Upsalia usque ad Stockholmiam, mari-
timo itinere, transportentur collectiones, impensis
heredum. In the warehouse at Stockholm you
must pay the duty, but I don’t know how much:
credidero tamen, quod ejusmodi mercedes non
magni ibidem estimantur. Interest ne quid a pub-
licanis diffrangeretur, quod ut prohibeatur curabo.

3°. Notus mihi est nauta mercatorius, nom.
Captain Browel, natione Anglus, civis et Londi-
nensis et Stockholmensis, vir probe fidei: hic
quotannis semel vel bis inter Londinum et Stock-
holmiam iter facit propria navi; fideliori viro res
tuas committere vix habeo, quamvis etiam multi
naute mercatorie quotannis a portu Stockh.
Londinum petunt. Will you take insurance for the
sea transport ?

4°, Opuscula Bergmanni tibi mittam: queri-
tur vero, si mihi liceat ex bibliotheca Linnzi se-
quentes libros a te emere? In quarto: No. 5,
Banks’s Voyage ; No.7, Russel’s Natural History of
Aleppo; No.7, Pennant’s Voyage to the Hebrides ;
No. 126,Cursory Remarks on Scurvy; No. 223, Dal-
rymple’s Memoirs of the Coast of China. Inoctavo:

Fiz

No. 10, Miller’s Illustration of the Sexual System ;
No. 123, Letsom’s Medical Memoirs; No. 303,
Letsom’s Traveller's Companion. Queritur etiam
quanti a te estimantur? Vix proposueram, nisi
perpassus, te aut eos habere in bibliotheca tua,
aut facile obtinere. Mihi vero perquam difficiles
comparatu. Dolendum sane, quod nos inter tanta
difficultas est comparandi libros; nam libri An-
glici in Suecia perrari, sicut Suecici in Anglia.

5°. Bibliopola quidam Upsaliensis, nom. Suede-
rus, Angliam petere se dixit; et oficium suum mihi
obtulit in custodiendis omnibus, modo illi a pos-
sessore, a te scilicet, promittitur itineris impensa :
est vir bone fidei, et tibi sub itinere necessarius,
providendo, ne quid detrimenti capiant res natu-
rales: afirmare vel negare non potui: dic quid de
ejus proposito tibi videtur.

Hee sunt, que jam scribenda habeo. Tu quam-
primum litteras mittas. Omittendum non est, me
a Domino Sibthorp binas accepisse litteras : in pri-
mis tantum herbaria emere voluit, in ultimis vero
se emtorem omnium fieri scripsit, modo si illi tan-
tum concedatur temporis spatium, ut Upsaliam per-
veniet. Ita ejus verba:—“If I am not too late to
become a purchaser, I will immediately on the
receipt of your answer set off for Upsal. If you have
absolutely disposed of it, I must attribute it to the
miscarriage of my former, which I think at least
you would have done me the honour of attending to.”
Vereor ne iter suum incepit, nam duplices litteras
responsorias postulavit, Oxfordie et Bruxelle. Si
vero collectiones emeris, te rogo et obtestor, ut

118

illico eum, D™ Sibthorpium, id notum facies per
litteras, ne honestus vir frustra et quasi dolo cir-
cumducetur. Scripsi ei, quod negotium mihi est
cum alio viro, et si non placuerint proposita mea,
Sibthorp ei erit proximus in negotiatione.

Insecta sarta tectaque per itineris cursum servare
difficillima res est. Oportuit thecarum fundos
cera oblinire, ne acus decidui fient: sed huic operi
requiritur multum temporis, necnon impensorum,
nam cere necessaria quantitas non est exigua, nec
vilioris est pretii. Dic mihi, si sufficere tibi videa-
tur, insectum quodcumque probe inspicere et ejus
acus fortiter in assere ligneo impingere ? Quantum
in me est, curabo ne blattis tineisque corrodentur.
Consarcinatio (the packing) fiet impensis heredum:
sed si tibi cure est tuarum rerum, suadeo, ne ali-
quot schill. parces viro in hoc negotio occupato
solvendos: plus enim diligentize et cure adhibeat;
sed heec sunt minima.

I am, Sir,
with the most faithful esteem and respect,

Your most humble obedient servant,

J.G. ACREL.

Dr. Jonathan Stokes to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Sir, Stourbridge, June 21, 1784.

Give me leave to congratulate you on being be-
come the possessor of the cabinet and MSS. of the
great Linnzus, and of his excellent and amiable son,

119

whose loss I shall ever most sincerely regret as a
friend, as well as a lover of natural history. I con-
gratulate you on this acquisition, not merely as per-
suaded that those excellent men will find in you an
able as well as faithful editor and commentator, but
as an Englishman, who feels a degree of honour
given to himself, in finding that one of his country-
men, animated by a love of science, has had the
spirit to make the purchase, and to import into his
own country so valuable a collection. But the same
information adds that very great offers have been
‘made to you from France. L’Heritier and Brous-
sonet I much esteem, and I remember with pleasure
the civilities I received from several other naturalists
of that nation; but I must here confess myself so
far national, as to wish that the valuable treasure
which you are become the possessor of should not
go out of this kingdom. If Parliament should not
think proper to add it, with your permission, to our
national museum, I flatter myself private individuals
will be found to form a subscription, which may
enable you to resist the influence which any liberal
offers from France may have upon you.

I remain, with much esteem,
Your old fellow-student, &c.

JONATHAN STOKES.

P.S. If you meet with a letter of mine to young
Linné may I ask you to return it.

If your private fortune should not permit you to
keep the whole, and you should be induced to dis-

120

pose of any of it, I should be happy to become a
purchaser of what duplicates you may find of British
plants, at what should be considered as a fair price.
I should be equally happy to become a purchaser in
like manner of the duplicates of Hwropean plants.

Mr. James Edward Smith to Dr. Stokes.

Dear Sir, London, Sept. 23.

I ought long ago to have thanked you for your
letter, and friendly congratulations on my late ac-
quisition ; you may be assured they were extremely
acceptable to me; and the principal reason for my
not replying sooner to your favour was, that I ex-
pected every day to receive my treasures from Swe-
den, and I wished, not only to send you some more
information, but to answer that part of your letter
in which you speak of purchasing some of the du-
plicates. As yet they are not arrived; I would not,
however, be any longer silent, lest you should ac-
cuse me of inattention to your friendship. At pre-
sent I have no intention to dispose of any part of
the collection. I have had several overtures from
different quarters on this head, but have declined
entering into any treaty, as I did not purchase the
collection with that view. On my return from Edin-
burgh next year, I shall have leisure to examine the
whole, and hope then to be able to make it of use
to the scientific world, by removing as much as
possible some of the doubts and difficulties which
have always attended inquiries in natural history,
and which I need not particularize to so experi-

121

enced a naturalist as yourself. I find by the cata-
logue, there is a large number of letters from. va-
rious learned men to the two Linnei, and you say
I shall find some of yours among them, which you
wish to have returned ; but as I shall be very soli-
citous not to mutilate any part of the collection, I
hope youll permit me to keep them; especially as
returning them might expose me to endless solici-
tations of the same kind. I hope you will rest as-
sured that no improper use shall be made of any
thing of that kind which may fall into my hands.

Permit me in my turn to congratulate you on
your late acquisition, I mean of an agreeable and
accomplished partner for life. It will always give
me real pleasure to hear of your happiness, or by
any means in my power, to express the esteem and
respect with which I am

Your most obedient,
J.E. Smira.

Dr. Stokes to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Smith, Stourbridge, October 1, 1784.

It was with the truest pleasure I learnt from your
own hand, that you have no intention to dispose of
any part of the collection. My application had only
for its object the possibility of the contrary, and
the fear lest so invaluable a treasure should pass
into some foreign country, where the memories of
Linnzus and his truly excellent son would find a
less enlightened or less faithful guardian than your-

122

self. Happy that this mvaluable collection is in the
possession of one who has candour, knowledge, and
enthusiasm,
I remain, with much esteem,
Yours, &c.

JONATHAN STOKES.

Dr. Acrel to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Vir nobilissime, Upsalize, d. 13 Julij, 1784.

Humanissime tue litter, d. 25 Junij scripte ho-
die mihi ad manus pervenerunt. Ex iisdem percepi,
te pecunie dimidiam summam apud mercatorem
Wilkieson et Co. jam deposuisse, ideoque primum
postulatum non procul a nobis distare, sed forsan
proximo tabellarum die hzredibus pervenire.

In eo jam occupatus sum, ut omnia sarta tectaque
ad te perveniant; ideoque herbaria in thecis lig-
nels includere ; insecta, acubus fortiter ad thecarum
fundos adfixa, in aliis ejusmodi thecis ligneis con-
servare curavi; nec in reliquis, quantum fieri potest,
defuturus sum.

Ob libros mihi dono datos millenas accipies gra-
tias. Pretium eorum lubenter persolvere et volui et
debui, sed nunc in tui memoriam servabo. Ut ali-
quantulum par pari referam, ut pignus amicitie
recipies rogo, Opusculorum Bergmanni 2 Exem-
plaria, et Dissertationum Chemico-Physicarum
Wallerii voll. 2. Si in aliis libris tibi comparandis
usui esse possum, habebis me obstrictissimum.

A Sibthorpio iterum litteras accepi, in quibus se

123

nunc emtorem omnium fieri optat, et pecunia
summam solvere velle, scripsit. Me vero imprimis
movet, quod, dum in priori ejus epistola nos inter
sermo erat tantummodo de herbariis, que sepa-
ratim vendere abnui, nunc se in iisdem litteris pre-
tium 1000 guineas obtulisse contendit. Certus
sum te jam litteras illi dedisse; responsi ego, me
omnia vendidisse. Fidem et honestatem incolumem
servare studui erga omnes; nec mihi conscientia
imputat, quod alio quam Sibthorpio collectiones
venum dare volui.

Interea tu valeas, amicorum optime, et me ama.

J. G. ACREL.

Triste tibi nuntium mittam, celeberrimum Berg-
mannum d. 16 hujus mensis diem obiisse supre-
mum, ad fontes soterias Medevicenses, ubi salutis
ergo aliquantisper moratus fuit. Apoplexia ab
hemorrhoidibus interceptis occubuit.

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, August, 31, 1784,

I have now the pleasure to inform you, that it is
unnecessary for us to trouble our friends any furth-
er about the custom-house business, for I went
there yesterday, and was told that an order had
come from the treasury, that every thing except
the books should be admitted and delivered to me
without duty, or any charges whatever. I was at
the same time assured that every attention possible

124

should be shown me, and the greatest care taken
that nothing should be injured. I am principally
obliged to Sir John Jervis* for this indulgence,
and I understand it is almost a singular instance.
I shall write to thank him, as he is out of town.

J. E. Smiru.

Dr. Acrel to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Vir nobilissime, Upsaliz, d. 13 Augusti, 1784.

Que ad historiam naturalem spectant, omnia,
non minus quam manuscripta, plante sicce et
nondum chartis adfixe, libri, etc. etc. in thecis
ligneis (great wooden binns) probe consarcinata,
et, ubi opus fuerit, scobibus ligneis (saw-dust) in-
terspersa sunt: insuper sigillo telonii regii munita,
ne ea in telonio R. Stockholmensi aperiri necesse
sit. Numerus thecarum est 26: et jam ante 9 dies
abhinec ad Stockholmiam itinere navali feliciter
transportate, ibi secure et placide in domo publica
(warehouse) navem Londinum pandentem expecta-
ture. Cum mercatore quodam Stockholmensi
ita peregi, ut primam et securain transmittendi oc-
casionem arripiet ; sive id fiat cum navi Anglico vel
Suecico.

Inter rariora jure numerantur 97 figure ligno

* Afterwards Earl St. Vincent, and at this period one of the
representatives of the borough of Great Yarmouth.

This favour Sir James never ceased to recollect with grateful
feelings towards the distinguished nobleman, who conferred it on
a perfect stranger.

125

incise, que olim ad opus botanicum Olavi Rud-
beckii patris, Campc Elysi dictum, pertinent; et
quidem ad tomum 1™ cujus non nisi duo exem-
_plaria in rerum natura existit, ideoque inter raris-
simos libros habetur. Magnum illud incendium
Upsaliense A°® 1702 totam editionem consumsit,
et solummodo he figure supersunt. Magni heic
estimantur ob raritatem.

Plura scribere prohibet temporis ratio. Cura ut
valeas, mihique fave.

Nobil. nominis tui

Cultor humillimus,

J. G. ACREL.

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Sept. 9, 1784.

On Monday I had a most excellent letter from
Dr. Acrel, dated August 13. He says that having
now received half the sum, the heirs had consented
to forward the collection, and it was sent to Stock-
holm August the 4th under the care of a trusty
mercantile friend, to be put on board the first good
ship for England. Captain Browell would not wait
for it.

Dr. Acrel says, there is among the books a copy
of that very rare book the Ist volume of Rudbeck’s
Campi Elysiz, of which there are only two or three
copies in the world, almost the whole edition hav-
ing been consumed, with the whole town of Upsal,
in 1702. Ihave heard Mr. Dryander say, Sir J.

126

Banks would gladly give 100/. for it; he has the
2nd volume, and so shall I. I shall not remove to
Chelsea till about Monday.

J. E. Smiru.

Mr. James Edward Smith to his Father.

October 2,1784.

Upon inquiring this day about the probable time
of the arrival of the ship from Sweden, I find it
may be here in a day or two. Its name Zhe Ap-
pearance, Captain Axel Daniel Sweder. The cases
are marked J. E. S. No. 1 to 26, and must be very
large, as the books, which are near three thousand,
take up six of them only, the plants five, minerals
four, insects two, shells, fish, and corals occupy
three. The freight 80/.,and 5/. for the captain’s
fee.

Iwas at the custom-house to-day, andsaw the
letter from the treasury, which is very handsome
and full. All the expenses that Dr. Acrel has been
at on my account amount to 4/. 10s. which he de-
sires I'll repay him in medical books.

J. E. SmMiru.

The ship which was conveying this valuable cargo
had just sailed, when the king of Sweden, Gustavus
III., who had been absent in France, returned home,
and sent a vessel to the Sound, to intercept its voy-
age; but happily it was too late. At the end of
October, 1784, the packages were safely landed at
the custom-house.

127

The whole cost of the collection, including the
freight, was 1088/. 5s.

So nice does Dr. Acrel’s conduct appear in the
negotiation between himself and the purchaser, re-
jecting all offers till the first was concluded, that a
report of his being bribed with a hundred pounds
was circulated in various quarters. In a letter to
him, Sir James says, “ Dryander immediately contra-
dicted this malicious falsehood ; but it gives me much
concern that your conduct, which has been so ho-
nourable, should have made youenemies. I should be
very unhappy if you suffer on my account, and shall
always be ready to bear witness to the rectitude of
your behaviour, and can at any time produce all the
letters that have passed between us, as a proof.

“ Between ourselves, it is certainly a disgrace to
the university that they suffered such a treasure to
leave them: but if those who ought most to have
loved and protected the immortal name of Linné
failed in their duty, he shall not want a friend or an
asylum while I live or have any power, though ever
so small, to do him honour.”

Sir James’s first idea was to deposit his purchase
in some spare rooms in the British Museum; but
he found some objections to the scheme, and pre-
ferred taking a house, that it might be safer, and
more accessible to himself and his friends. He
therefore hired apartments in Paradise-row, Chel-
sea, whither it was immediately conveyed ; and often
has he recurred with great pleasure to the first win-
ter after its arrival, when, with Sir J. Banks and Mr.
Dryander, they examined the herbarium minutely,

128

and carefully unpacked and arranged the whole
collection.

With no premeditated design of relinquishing
physic as a profession, yet from this hour he de-
voted his time and all the powers of his mind to
the object for which he had hazarded so much; nor
was there ever a period, in his subsequent life, of
misgiving or regret that he had made a wrong
choice: neither was his love of botany pursued to
the exclusion of other literature or lighter plea-
sures; but it was the charm of his existence, al-
ways at hand ready to take up, always leading the
mind forward, and filling his hours with satisfac-
tion.

How well he estimated his own powers, and
came up to the expectations formed of him, may be
learnt from the opinions of his fellow-labourers in
the fields of science.

Mr. Pitchford to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Sir, Norwich, Nov. 26, 1784.

Since I wrote my last short letter, I have had
some conversation with Mr. Smith your father
about your collection. As he seemed desirous
that your friends should communicate to you every
thing they thought about the matter, I esteem it
an honour he does me, in supposing mine worth
your perusal ; and as I should be very happy in ren-
dering you any real service, so you must accept the
following as written with that intention, to be re-
jected or embraced as your own good sense and

129

prudence will point out, and offered merely as
hints which may or may not be well grounded, as
I cannot but have an imperfect knowledge of some
parts of the matter.

First then, as the human mind is limited, and
your first business is that of the study of physic,
give me leave to say, that as your thoughts must
unavoidably be much engrossed by the variety and
pleasingness of the many objects about you, I would
not suffer them to get too much possession of my
mind ; but after I had arranged everything to my
satisfaction, and taken a complete catalogue, I
would let the collection remain as it was, after I
had digested the following considerations: viz.
whether I should dispose of any part of it at all?
and if I did, whether it would be right to do it di-
rectly while the public curiosity was awake, or wait ?
—If you mean to give lectures, the minerals cannot
be disposed of, no more than the insects or plants.
I conclude therefore that you will not dispose of
these at present, as you cannot tell whether you
may lecture or not.—Secondly, as to the matter of
publishing, I am to suppose (without knowing it
to be a fact) that you have complete manuscripts
of Syst. Nat., Gen. and Sp. Pl., Fl. Suecic., and the
eighth volume of men. Acad., for an improved
edition of each. But first let me ask you, whether
your hortus siccus is named by this manuscript edi-
tion :-—If it is not, it certainly must, as many alter-
ations may have taken place. If it is, it remains
whether you mean to publish these, or not? At

present certainly not, as you have not time ; but
VOL. I. K

130

Mr. Rose thinks you should by all means offer them
to the booksellers at once, who he thinks would give
a very handsome sum (he guesses 5002.) ; whereas
you must run a hazard, with the certainty of a great
loss of time in the publication, revisal, &c., if you
are the publisher. If you cannot sell them to your
mind, they can but remain till some future occasion
brings them forth.—Thirdly, there is one work
which I am sure you have in your power to pub-
lish yourself, and: you only, provided you could
have possession of Ray’s plants, viz., a Flora Bri-
tannica, the most correct that can appear in the Lin-
nean dress ; and such English plants as are not in
the Linnean collection must have newnames, which,
if you cannot get Ray’s plants, must have that au- -
thor’s synonyms as far as it appears certain they
are his. Such a work as this I think you might
safely publish ; but I have no idea that you will have
it in your power to do it at present, as your
thoughts must be employed on other matters.
Upon the last matter on which I would venture
to write my thoughts I own I am entirely at a loss;
for, after all the conversation I had with Mr. Smith
on the subject, we both, I believe, remained in the
same uncertainty, viz., how far you can with pro-
priety show your hortus siccus? I am afraid you
must have difficulty in it, as your natural good-
nature would be put to a trial to refuse any one a
sight they are so desirous of enjoying ; and yet with
regard to the English plants, if you mean to pub-
lish yourself, you would not choose to be anticipated.
I hope you do not think me invidious in saying

131

this: I mean it only for your sake, and if you do
not publish yourself, there is nothing in it, except
the time it would cost you in the exhibition, which
I suppose you would regulate so as to make it as
little burthensome as possible. I own, for my own
particular, that I should be severely mortified if I
was in London and could not take a peep.

I have thus offered you a few crude thoughts on
subjects which I own I am not sufficient judge
of; and, as I said in the beginning, you will accept
them for the intention with which they are written,
and as induced by Mr. Smith your father ; and if
you can spare leisure to send me a few lines, I shall
receive them with pleasure.

I need not ‘say Mr. Rose and the rest of your
botanical friends here desire their best compliments.

Dear Sir,
Your ever obliged and affectionate humble servant,

J. PITCHFORD.

I have lately seen specimens of Athamanta Oreo-
sel. of Hudson, gathered by Mr. Relhan within a
mile and half of Cambridge, and named by him
Atham. Libanotis, in which we think him right.

Mr. Hudson has found plenty of Corrigiola ht-
toralis on the Devonshire coast.

Professor J. Sibthorp to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Sir, Gottingen, Jan. 1, 1785.

Give me leave to congratulate you upon your
K 2

132

late acquisition of the Linnean cabinet. The dis-
appointment I feel in not possessing it myself is in
great measure alleviated by the kind opportunity
you offer me of consulting it upon my return to
England. We were competitors from a laudable
ambition, and I trust are not worse friends for
our competition. You have left me only one wish,
that in case you should ever be disposed to part
with it, you will give me the first refusal. You
very fortunately closed with Acrel a short time be-
fore he received a letter from me offering him a
thousand guineas; and, as I was told by your banker
Wilkieson at Amsterdam, you got it for nine hun-
dred. The Swedes I hear are very angry at Acrel’s
disposing of it; and indeed Sweden must have very
little money, and very little respect for the memory
of Linneus, to suffer his collection to be so soon
expatriated.

If I can render you any service in the course of
my travels, I beg you will command me. I am now
in Gottingen, a German university of much learned
labour and sober science, with a library the richest
in modern books of any in Europe. The facility of
procuring these books, the opportunity of learning
the German language, with the civility and lite-
rary society of the professors, give me the utmost
satisfaction. Should you think of spending some
time on the continent, I know of no situation more
eligible, or that Ishould recommend to you more
strongly than Gottingen. Pray have you a printed
catalogue of Linnzus’s books? If you have, will
you do me the pleasure to send it me * or could you

133

get your manuscript transcribed for me? as I ima-
gine it is not very bulky. Do tell Dryander that
my very respectable friend Sir Joseph may procure
many of his destderata at Professor Spielman’s
auction, which will be in Strasbro’ in April next. I
dare say you will often see my worthy friend Mr.
Lightfoot. I beg you will make him my best com-
pliments, and tell him I have got specimens (almost
a complete collection) of the land and fresh-water
shells of Switzerland, which I only wait for an op-
portunity to send to the Duchess of Portland. Has
our friend Dickson published his lyncean disco-
veries? Broussonet tells me of strange wonders (a
Rosa unifolia from Ispahan) in the Paris garden;
and Timagine L’Heéritier is almost ready with his
first Decas of Plant. Rarior. Thunberg has lately
attempted to throw some light upon the Bohun
Upas, or Poison-tree, which he imagines to be a
species of Stderoxylon. Ferber will probably suc-
ceed to the chair of Bergman. Schreber is writing
a monography on the genus Aster, and a little dis-
sertation on the Boletus suaveolens.

A Flora and Fauna of Lombardy is expected
from Scopoli, and Professor Lachenal and Saussure
are collecting the materials for the complete natu-
ral history of Switzerland. I am here as a prac-
titioner, making experiments upon the Caryophyl-
lata, to chase away intermittents; and as our hos-
pital physician is a pupil of the school of Vienna,
the Cicuta, Arnica, and Pulsatilla,are in constant use
—Valeant quantum valere. . .. I look on, but with
impartial eyes. It is here somewhat colder than in

134

England; the principal amusement going in sledges,
everybody wrapped up in furs.—I shall be very
happy to hear from you.

I am, dear Sir, with much respect,
Your sincere Friend,

J. SIBTHORP.

The most devoted friend to natural science, and
one most personally attached to Sir James, was the
late Bishop of Carlisle. The following 1s a passage
from the very first letter he appears to have written
to him, and is dated January, 1785.

‘«‘ Natural history is to me an object of perpe-
tual pleasure; and whatsoever, therefore, you will
be pleased to lay by for me will not be thrown
away upon one who is insensible of the trouble
(I have propria persond collected and dried full
3000 specimens) or value of collecting specimens
of plants. Other branches also of natural history
have been my study. ;

“ Your noble purchase of the Linnean cabinet
most decidedly sets Britain above all other nations
in the Botanical Empire; and it were much to be
wished that the studies of individuals with respect
to the science at large would become so animated
and so successful, that she might be induced to fx
her seat amongst us.”

On the 21st of February 1785, Sir James informs
his father, “ I take the chair this evening in the

135

Natural History Society for the first time. We
meet in a room in Leicester Square. My certi-
ficate was given in to the Royal Soczety last Thurs-
day, signed by Drs. Garden * and Combe’, Sir John
Cullum *, and Mr. Hudson§. Sir Joseph Banks (the
President) thinks I have no fear of being rejected ;
at least, he says, I shall have 4zm on my side.”

Rev. Mr. Lightfoot to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Sir, Uxbridge, May 5, 1785.
Your magnificent collection afforded the highest
gratification to the Duchess of Portland||, and the
little presents you made her obliged her extremely.

* Dr. Alexander Garden, a memoir of whom is given in the
Linnean Correspondence, vol. i. 282.

+ Dr. Charles Combe, author of a Catalogue of the coins in
Dr. William Hunter’s collection, and other works.

{ Sir John Cullum, author of the History and Antiquities of
Hawsted and Hardwick in the county of Suffolk, and elder bro-
ther of Sir Thomas Geary Cullum, Bart.—This accomplished
writer of one of the best topographical works extant, died in
October 1785, aged 51.

§ Mr. William Hudson, one of the earliest Linnzean botanists
in England, and author of the Flora Anglica, published in 1762,
in one volume octavo.

|| Margaret Cavendish Harley, heiress of the Harley and
Holles families, married in 1734 to the second Duke of Portland,
and long celebrated as the munificent and intelligent patroness of
natural history, especially conchology.—Her Grace died the 7th
of July 1785, and her fine collection was afterwards sold by
public auction in April 1786, and occupied thirty-seven days.
The number of lots was no fewer than 4156, and the produce
amounted to 11,524/. 4s.—Linnean Correspondence, and Cata-
logue.

136

This introduction will I hope make you better ac-
quainted with her, and be productive of a visit to her
noble seat of Bulstrode, when I shall hope to have
a share of your company there and at Uxbridge.

As your election to become F.R.S. approaches,
if you think there will be the least occasion for my
presence, be pleased to write mea line, and I will
be ready to tender you my services at a day’s no-
tice ; and will at the same period beg another day
or two to go through with the doubtful plants, if
you will indulge me so far.

I am, Sir, with great regard and affection,
Your most obliged humble servant,

JoHn LIGHTFOOT.

Please to try if you can make out the M/urex am-
biguus and despectus of Linneus, as also his WZ. cor-
neus, against I see you.

On the 28th of May, Sir James acquaints his
father that “he was admitted a Fellow of the Royal
Society on Thursday, without a single black ball ;”
and adds, “I paid my money, 32/. 1ls., and took
my seat the same evening: my success was indeed
very flattering, and I believe gave my good friend
the President great pleasure.

“ T received a letter lately from Monsieur L’Héri-
tier, a counsellor at Paris, on a botanical subject; in
which he says, he will at any time give me my pur-
chase-money and any other expense that I may have
been at for my collection; but not expecting I

137

should listen to this offer, he earnestly desires to
buy the duplicates of plants, if any, at whatever
price shall be judged reasonable.

“T have lately employed a few hours in trans-
lating into English a little treatise of Linnzus’s
recommending the study of nature: it begins by
showing that this study leads to a proper know-
ledge of the Deity, then takes a comprehensive
view of the ceconomy of nature, and ends with a
number of curious and striking facts in the history
of anumber of animals.—It is the Introduction to
a large work of his, which few people here have
seen; I think this preface would be very accepta-
table to the public*.

“T inclose you a preface to it of my own, and
wish it may meet your approbation. I do not mean
to put my name to it; all my friends will know it is
mine; it is not of consequence enough to make me

known, nor is my name of importance enough to
make it sell.”

Rev. Henry Bryant to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Sir, Heydon, May 28, 1785.
Yours of the 19th came safe to hand, the con-
tents of which gave me infinite satisfaction, as they
informed me of your good state of health, and your
laudable endeavours to acquire knowledge and lite-
rary fame; and whatever may be in my power to
forward such pursuits, you may at all times com-

* Published in June 1785, under the title of ‘‘ Reflections on
the Study of Nature.”

138

mand. You are now in possession of the greatest
part of the natural wealth of almost the habitable
world; and therefore the public must look up to you
for information, which I trust you will be ready to
give, as they will at all times be thankful to receive
from you.

I make no doubt but we have been in numberless
errors, both in the Cryptogamian and other classes ;
which does not show that words are inadequate to
convey our ideas to one another, but only that the
first attempts of the Linnean method of doing it in
a certain number of words, is not always sufficient
for the purpose ; and therefore, where more are
necessary, more should be employed.—I know no-
thing of the preface of the Museum Regis Adolphi
Frederici, and shall be very glad to see it when it
comes forth. My essay on Branded Wheat was
partly intended for the same purpose you mention.

I have lately found the Bryum aureum and
flecuosum, and a new one for which I want a name.
Likewise the Azccia natans, which I suspect is not
in your collection; and many other good things,
any of which shall be at your service.

Henry Bryant.

Mr. Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Son, Norwich, June 2, 1785.

I received yours of the 19th and 23rd of May, by
Mrs. Kindersley, and on Sunday that of the 28th
with the very agreeable news of your being ad-
mitted F.R.S., of which I give you joy most cor-

139

dially, and especially on the unanimity with which
you came in, which is a great addition to the honour,
and must be to your satisfaction. I believe ‘tis
looked upon here as a very extraordinary thing,
and does you great honour in the opinion of the
world.

As for your care of, and the use to make of your
collection, ’tis at your own discretion ; I would only
wish to guard you against either the flatteries or
circumyentions of pretended friends, and men who
may be interested in misleading your conduct with
respect to it. I know the purity of your own heart,
which being incapable of any mean or base designs,
will hardly permit you to suppose others can: ex-
perience will certainly convince you of the contrary,
and there can be no harm in beginning to be on
your guard in good time in matters of importance.

I thought Mr. Pitchford’s the letter of a true
friend; and I thought your answer considerate and
manly. I will not conjecture myself into uneasi-
ness; but as you well know the interest I take
in your prosperity and happiness, which is much
dearer to me than my own, I cannot avoid com-
municating to you my most secret thoughts, and to
the best of my abilities (I wish to God they were
greater) be your watchman against any evil that
may approach you. I had rather say twenty useless
things than omit one piece of advice that may be of
the least service to you; andI have that opinion of
your affection for me, that you will not put that
down to the score of impertinence, which proceeds
from the purest sources of parental love and esteem.

140

Ihave read Le Médecin de Soi-méme once with
great pleasure, and am reading it again with more :
there are some most excellent things in it I am
certain ; and tho’ ’tis a severe satire upon interested
and dishonest practitioners, I think such upright
ones as yourself will applaud the good sense and
honest advice of the author: besides, I am mista-
ken if the wisest may not gather some more wis-
dom from it. It seems to me Linneus had read it,
and thought it worth while to mark some passages
with his pen. I will return it as soon as Francis
and I have read it, and I beg you will never part
with it.

I am reading Milton with great reverence and
pleasure: ’tis immensely sensible and often very
entertaining, tho’ the language is uncouth. “Tis
curious to observe him when he is upon a subject
that is not to be explained or supported, how he
labours and struggles, you may see without satisfy-
ing even himself; how then can he his readers?
But when he is supporting truth and liberty, he car-
ries it with a high hand indeed. I never met so ner-
vous and triumphant an opposer of temporal and
spiritual tyranny, as far as I have yet gone in the
books. They are curious and valuable for the sake
of the publisher, and his having marked with his
pen the passages that most forcibly struck him.—
This work is an invaluable gem in your library *.

* The annexed observations upon this fine edition of Milton,
are from Mr.Smith’s common-place book.

“ The Works of John Milton, Historical, Political, and Mis-
cellaneous. Nom more correctly printed from the Origimals than

141

As for the people of England, what with factions,
plundering and being plundered, and luxury, they
seem to be dead to their true interests, nay to their
safety,—and, I fear I may add, to their existence as a

in any former edition, and many passages restored, which have
been hitherto omitted. Towhich is prefixed an Account of his Life
and Writmgs. In 11 volumes, quarto, 1753.—This very fine
and beautiful edition of Milton’s prose works was published by
that very eminent friend of liberty and the rights of mankind,
Mr. Hollis, who bestowed the most part of the income of a
very large estate in promoting them to the utmost of his power.
For this end, to perpetuate the writings, and disperse the doc-
trines of the authors who have been the most conspicuous friends
to civil and religious liberty, he reprinted several of their
works in very good editions, and presented fine sets of them to
almost every university, learned society, and eminent man, in
Europe, perhaps the world. Among the rest, Milton, holding
the first rank upon many considerations, did not escape this ho-
nour, as well as Toland’s Life of Milton.

“The books I read were presented by Mr. Hollis to the late
celebrated Linnzeus, and came with his library and collection

into the possession of my son, James Edward Smith. They are
addressed to Linnzus, in the first leaf, in Mr. Hollis’s own hand,
though not signed with his name, and there are many notes
and marks in manuscript by the same hand throughout both
volumes.

“‘Milton’s prose style is very faulty ; ’tis intricate, stiff, and the
periods immensely long, formed in the manner of the Latin,
some tracts more so than others ; but the strong sense and forci-
ble expressions that abound in them, make full amends for the
pain of reading much that is uncouth and awkward. The most
liberal and free notions and principles both in church and state,
are maintained without reserve, and they will be a perpetual
monument of the vigour of the minds of our ancestors in the age
of Milton.”

Itis remarkable that Mr. Smith uses the epithet uncouth in

142

people. I know you and my good friend Mr. Clay
will smile at my grave politics; and you in the
midst of your library and kingdom of nature look
down on the miserable mortals who are busy in

speaking of Milton’s periods; yet Milton employs the same
word while speaking of himself, in the finest elegiac poem that
was ever written, for ‘the force of language can no further go.”

“ Thus sang the uncouth swain to th’ okes and rills,
While the still morn went out with sandals gray ;
He touch’d the tender stops of various quills,
With eager thought warbling his Doric lay.”

How would the excellent father of Sir James Smith have de-
lighted in the interchange of thoughts and ideas with Dr. Chan-
ning, upon Milton alone! Speaking of the intellectual qualities
of our great poet, in his ‘‘ Remarks on the Character and Writ-
ings of Milton,” Dr. C. has observed, “ that the very splendour
of his poetic fame has tended to obscure and conceal the extent
of his mind and the variety of its energies and attainments.—Of
all God’s gifts of intellect, Milton esteemed poetical genius the
most transcendent. He esteemed it in himself as a kind of in-
spiration, and wrote his great works with something of the
conscious dignity of a prophet. It seems to us the divinest of
all arts; for it is the breathing or expression of that principle or
sentiment which is deepest and sublimest in human nature,—we
mean of that thirst or aspiration to which no mind is wholly a
stranger, for something purer and lovelier, something more
powerful, lofty, and thrilling, than ordinary and real life affords.

“ But we rejoice,” continues Dr. Channing, “that the dust
is beginning to be wiped from Milton’s prose writings, and that
the public are now learning, what the initiated have long known,
that these contain passages hardly inferior to his best poetry,
and that they are throughout marked with the same vigorous
mind which gave us Paradise Lost. We recommend them to
all who can enjoy great beauties in the neighbourhood of faults,
and who would learn the compass, energy, and richness of our

143

working out their own misfortune in corruption
and injustice. I hope, my dear James, your useful,
pleasing pursuits will never be interrupted by any
thing that may happen to kingdoms and states :

language ; and still more do we recommend them to those who
desire to nourish. in their breasts magnanimity of sentiment and
an unquenchable love of freedom. ‘They bear the impress of
that seal, by which genius distinguishes its productions from
works of learning and taste. The great and decisive test of
genius is, that it calls forth power in the souls of others. It not
merely gives knowledge, but breathes energy. There are au-
thors, and among these Milton holds the highest rank, in ap-
proaching whom we are conscious of an access of intellectual
strength. <A ‘virtue goes out’ from them. We discern more
clearly, not merely because a new light is thrown over objects,
but because our own vision is strengthened. Sometimes a sin-
gle word, spoken by the voice of genius, goes far into the heart.
A hint, a suggestion, an undefined delicacy of expression, teaches
more than we gather from volumes of less gifted men.

“* His moral character was as strongly marked as his intellec-
tual, and it may be expressed in one word, magnanimity. It
was in harmony with his poetry. He had a passionate love of
the higher, more commanding, and majestic virtues, and fed
his youthful mind with meditations on the perfection of a human
being. We have this vivid picture of his aspirations after vir-
tue :—‘ What God may have determined for me I know not;
but this I know, that if he ever instilled an intense love of moral
beauty into the breast of any man, he has instilled it into mine.
Ceres in the fable pursued not her daughter with a greater keen-
ness of inquiry, than I, day and night, the idea of perfection.
Hence whenever I find a man despising the false estimates of the
vulgar, and daring to aspire in sentiment, language and conduct,
to what the highest wisdom, through every age, has taught us as
most excellent, to him I unite myself by a sort of necessary at-
tachment.’

“‘ He reverenced moral purity and elevation, not only for its
own sake, but as the inspirer of intellect, and especially of the

144

and I trust Providence will ever protect such as are
studying to do good to mankind with such upright
intentions, and so good a heart, as it is one of the
chief causes of the happiness I do enjoy to know
you possess.
We join in the tenderest love.
I remain, Dear James, ever yours,
JAMES SMITH.

Mr. Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith.

My dear Son, Norwich, Nov. 28, 1785.

I wrote to you on Wednesday last, to propose to
your consideration the delaying your journey to
Leyden till the spring, that you might have milder
weather, more favourable to your health as wellas
pleasure and comfort, which are all so dear to your
parents and family ; and I advanced as an argument,
the safety of your museum and library in the long
winter nights. To all which I shall be glad to hear
your opinion ; to which we shall I hope concede
with firmness, as we are satisfied your prudence
and good judgement will fix your resolves upon what

higher efforts of poetry—‘I was confirmed,’ he says, in his
usual noble style, ‘I was confirmed in this opinion, that he who
would not be frustrate of his hope to write well hereafter in laud-
able things, ought himself to be a true poem ; that is, a composition
and pattern of the best and honourablest things: not presuming
to sing of high praises of heroic men, or famous cities, unless he
have in himself the experience and the practice of all that which
is praiseworthy.’ ”

145

is best for you to do; as you know all circum-
stances better than ourselves : and we trust that kind
over-ruling Providence that has so distinguishedly
conducted and protected you so far on the journey
of life, will continue your friend and guide. To
God Almighty then we commend you in our daily
prayers ; and we rely on your virtue and piety that
you will not lose his favour and regard.

Mr. Martineau thinks the spring, when the waters
are set at liberty in the marshes of the Low Coun-
tries, is more unfavourable to intermittents than
the depth of winter; but I am more afraid of the
severe cold for your constitution than the fogs and
exhalations, which I think you may more easily
avoid. Indeed, my dear James, I believe my own
health and happiness depend in a very great mea-
sure upon yours.

There is no doubt but you will make the best use
of your stay at Chelsea, and I trust that your publi-
cations will bring you both honourand profit : whilst
you are thus employed, I dare say you will not neg-
lect the study of medicine, which, if not the entire
foundation, I must look to as the superstructure
of your fortune, and I forebode of your fame too.

I have finished Milton. There is so strong a
beam of good sense and profound judgement, that
I was highly pleased with his prose works, and could
read them again if I had leisure.

Pray have you read Sonnerat’s account of the
Medicine, and especially the Mythology, of the
East Indians? Perhaps you have not, though you
may the Natural History. I have got to the end of

VOL. I. i$

146

the Mythology, to which there are some curious
notes indeed, which I shall not make my observa-
tions upon till you have read that part of the work:
it entertains and informs me very much, and is writ-
ten, in my opinion, in the best manner I ever met
with any account of countries. I judge the author
to be very liberal, and a sound deep philosopher.
Your ever affectionate,

JAMES SMITH.

Dr. Hope to Mr. James Edward Smith, F RS.

Dear Sir, Edinburgh, April 24, 1786.
A few days ago I had the pleasure of receiving
your kind letter and acceptable present. I thank
you for a copy in English dress of a Dissertation I
long wished to see. I thank you for the honour you
do me in dedicating it to me*; and I thank you very
much for the many kind expressions in your letter.
The more I thought of publishing‘on a large scale
the entire plant of 4ssa fetida, the more difficul-
ties I perceived in the execution of such a design ;
till finally I saw clearly I had been mistaken, and
that Sir J. Banks had done the thing in the best way

for me, and for which | am much indebted to him.
I hear with great pleasure of your intention, upon
your return to Britain, to publish a new edition of
the Species Plantarum. I most heartily wish you
success. You have so happy a genius for botany,
and so much unremitting zeal for the improvement
of the science, that I heartily wish His Majesty, by

* Dissertation on the Sexes of Plants,

147

a good pension, would induce you to give up physic.
My son attends with great vigour every branch of
physic ;—had he leisure for it, he should make a bo-
tanical tour through Scotland this summer.

Believe me, my dear Sir, with much sincere

regard,
Your most obedient humble Servant,

JoHN Hope.

The concluding letter from his father was written
immediately before Sir James set out upon his conti-
nental tour, as will appear by the following chapter.

Mr. Smith to Mr. James Edward Smith.

Dear Son, Norwich, June 4, 1786.

Every thing has gone on as it should do in my
absence, and except the prospect of parting with
you for a time, we are as happy as we can expect
to be in this world: and as hope is the most com-
fortable food the mind can partake of, we look for-
ward with pleasing anxiety to your happy return.
In the mean time we recommend you to the Divine
protection, which can carry you safe where thickest
dangers run, to restore you to us again in the full-
ness of time.

Iam dull and weary : you must excuse my adding
more, than sincere good wishes for you on your
journey.

I am, my dear James, ever affectionately yours,

JAMES SMITH.

| a

148

CHAPTER III.

Sir J. E. Smith begins his travels.—His correspondence mith va-
rious friends.—Publication of his “ Sketch of a Tour on the
Continent.” — His taste forthe Fine Arts.——Introduced by Vis-
countess Cremorne to the late Queen Charlotte.—Instructs Her
Majesty and the Princesses in Natural History.—Loses the
Queen’s favour by some expressions in is T' our.—Rousseau.—
Approbation of his Tour by Dr. Pulteney and Mr. Pennant.—
Origin of his acquaintance with Colonel Johnes.—Visit to Ha-

fod.—Miss Johnes.—Letters of Mr. Johnes.—Letter from Mrs.

Watt, the only daughter of Ellis ; and other friends.—Introduc-
tory Lecture at the Royal Institution in 1808.—List of Foreign
Professors.

In somewhat less than two years after Sir James
became possessed of the collections of Linnzus, he
began a tour through Holland, France, Italy and
Switzerland, on the 16th of June, 1786. The im-
mediate object was to obtain a medical degree at
Leyden.

The name of Linneus, he tells us, opened every
door and cabinet to him, though he disclaims the
weakness of assuming to himself the honours which
were paid to that name.

The following letters to and from the traveller
will throw some light upon what was passing in
natural history in England during his absence, as

149

well as describe the objects and pleasures of this
delightful tour. How frequently soever these coun-
tries have been visited, descriptions of them seem
never unwelcome to the reader. A traveller, who
preceded Sir James, observed of Italy, that it is “a
fine well-known academy figure, from which all sit
down to make drawings, according as the light falls,
and their own seat affords opportunity.” So, like
the pencil or the chisel, the pen also portrays, not
merely the scene, but the character of the mind
which directs it, making either a beautiful, a grand,
or a mean representation.

The friendly letter of introduction to Professor
Allamand, which the traveller carried with him,
from Sir J. Banks, may, without seeming too arro-
gant, precede the other correspondence; and is
given as a proof of the high esteem in which, at so
early a period, Sir James was held by that eminent
man.

Letter of Introduction from Sir Joseph Banks to
Professor Allamand, Leyden.

Sir, London, June 16, 1786.

Give me leave to recommend to your notice the
bearer of this, Mr. Smith: he is an enthusiast in
natural history, and I really hope will one day be-
come one of the chief supports of that science.

He has purchased at a very liberal price the her-
barium, library and other collections of our great
master Linnzus, and has for some time had them
-in his possession. You will find him well informed

150

in every branch of natural history, but particularly
so in botany: he intends to take his degrees in
Leyden, in the physical faculty; and I trust you
will find him able to stand a good examination in
that also. Allow me, good Sir, to request that you
will introduce him to Professor Van Royen, and
claim in my name the Professor’s civilities to him :
he brings a parcel of American ferns as a present
from me to Dr. Van Royen’s collection. I am
called upon suddenly for this letter, and pressed by
business have not time to make it more particular ;
but you shall hear from me again, and I shall have
the pleasure also of answering Mr. Van Royen’s
obliging letter at my first leisure.

Believe me, Sir,

Your most obedient humble Servant,

JOSEPH Banks.

J. E. Smith to his Mother.

Honoured Madam, Leyden, June 26, 1786.

I wrote to my father from Rotterdam, and hope
he received my letter. I had a very pleasant voy-
age thence along a canal to this place. On Friday
morning I called on Professor Sandiforte, to whom
I had letters, and that afternoon was fixed for my
examination ; it lasted about forty minutes in Latin,
and gave me, and I hope the Professor, much satis-
faction. Next day I was examined by the College,
and had two aphorisms of Hippocrates given me to
write on, which I gave in this day, and am now en-

151

titled to my degree when I please: I only wait for
the printing of my thesis. I doubt not you will
rejoice with me at my having got through the trial,
about which I felt no small anxiety; although I
think scarcely so much as Idid before my election to
the Royal Society. I thought the examination very
proper and sensible; nothing but what was useful
was asked, although some questions were very mi-
nute. Mr. Vaughan, one of my companions, passed
his examination at the same time as myself. The
students here are treated like gentlemen by every-
body; indeed the people are extremely polite, ra-
ther troublesomely so. Whenone goes along the
street every well-dressed person pulls off his hat
in so slow and formal a manner, that one had
need have nothing else to do but to return their
compliments ; andall the students bow to each other
in the same way.

Yesterday I was at a party at Professor Alla-
mand’s, the oldest professor in the university, to
whom I was particularly recommended by Sir Jo-
seph Banks : there was a large party, and very po-
lite one ; their manners quite French, and nothing
but French was talked: there were four or five
card-tables, although it was Sunday; and before I
was aware of it, a whist party was made on my
account, being an Englishman; soI could not avoid
playing, although it was a desperate undertaking
for me, who do not pretend to be a whist player,
nor ever played at cards in French before: how-
ever, I was successful, and was at least as good a
player as the rest; for ’tis not a game any people

152

shine in but the English. Nothing could exceed
the politeness of the company, and of Monsieur
and Madame Allamand: today he carried me to
the Botanical Professor, who walked with me two
hours in the garden this evening. I found my
friend Van Meurs at Leyden; he is gone to Am-
sterdam, where I am to meet him on Thursday nex
to see that town. My two companions are very
good kind of young men, and a great comfort to
me; we have taken lodgings together ;—one very
large and good dining-room,and two chambers, for
about two guineas per month, which divided be-
tween three makes it come cheap tous. All the
people here speak French; every thing is contrived
in the best manner to provide for the convenience
of students, as they are the chief support of the
town. The principal street in which we live is
truly noble, full of very handsome houses and fine
public buildings ; the houses have platforms of grey
marble before them, which are washed clean every
day; the middles of the streets are paved with
stones like the London pavement (not flag stones),
and the sides with bricks; no gutters in the streets;
and the whole is so clean that you might safely sit
down in any part. The insides of the houses are
neat in proportion, and superbly ornamented with
marble; the rooms very lofty and large; every
part so wonderfully cleaned and polished that you
would be charmed with it: *tis the same with our
beds, and every thing we have to use. The houses
on the outside resemble some good old houses in
Yarmouth more than any others that I have seen ;

153

but every house in the town looks as if it had been
cleaned and painted within this fortnight.

Adieu, my dear Madam ;
Iam your dutiful Son,
J. E. Smitru.

Rev. Dr. Goodenough to J. E. Smith, Leyden.

My dear Sir, Ealing, July 3, 1786.

I give you much joy upon your succeeding with
such éclat at Leyden, and am much obliged to you
for your kind remembrance of me; you cannot re-
peat it too often: there are very few people with
whom I correspond for pleasure, because I can find
nobody, scarcely, who loves to live with his eyes
open, and has philosophy enough to talk of any
thing but common occurrences. I pity your sea-
sickness, which horrid consideration curbs my roving
spirit, and bids me think that I am very well off in
staying athome. How delightful must your hours
pass with Allamand and Van Royen! Your account
of the Chamarops humilis*, planted by Clusius, is
truly wonderful. Is it likely still to live; or does it
bear marks of weakness and decay? The age of
vegetables is a curious and useful subject ;—you talk
of getting specimens from Van Royen—.(Just at
this moment, which is ten o'clock at night, I have
caught the Cimexv personatus, which settled on my
paper.—N.B. This is the second of this species
which I have taken this year, both of them at night,

* See Tour, i. p. 11.

154

whilst I was writing.)—I say, you talk of getting
specimens: Pray think of my poor list if you have
it with you, or if not, pack up for me any thing cu-
rious (particularly English) which may offer.

I never saw so many of the Musca bombylans,
mystacea and pellucens, as this year. I observe that
some years particular insects are excessively com-
mon; and in others are very rarely to be met with. —
I remember about eight years ago the Phalena
Geometra sambucaria passed over my garden night
after night, like flakes of snow almost: perhaps I
speak a little too hyperbolically, but I am confident
I have taken fifty on a night ; but since that time I
have never seen twenty, that I know of. If you
pass by any places where the Stwm or Phellandrium
is in plenty, do look for the Curculto paraplecticus,
and take as many of them as youcan. I am told
it is not uncommon abroad. The Ptinus elytris
striatis is probably the Pzinus mollis of Linné. Is
it reddish brown ?

Iam glad to hear that you had your talk out
with Sir Joseph. I wrote to Marsham last night,
and told him what you said. See how our minds
move! Marsham was at that instant writing to
me upon the same subject. He says he has had a
conversation with Forsythe, and that we may have
him if we please. But Forsythe thinks that we
might form a party in this Society, which he says
wants weeding very much. But Marsham adds,
“he told me many things which serve to convince
me that that is impossible.” I think of going to
the next meeting of our Society, July 11th, and

155

then shall see Marsham, and you shall hear what is
likely to be done. I shall long for your return, as
by that time I reckon that I shall have ten thou-
sand questions to ask you. You will therefore be
apprized of some little troublesomeness on my part.
In the mean time, believe that you have the very
best wishes of your very sincere friend,

SAMUEL GOODENOUGH.

J. E. Smith to T. J. Woodward, Esq.

Dear Sir, Leyden, July 14, 1786.

I heard of your having received my last with
the Portland Catalogue; and now write to let
you know whereabouts I am, in hopes of being
favoured with a line at your leisure.

I have gone through my examinations, and shall
take my degree tomorrow. I am very well pleased
with this place, and with the Professors. Van
Royen and Allamand are as friendly and communi-
cative as possible. The garden is by far inferior
to many in England; but there are some things in
it which we have not; some of which I am pro-
mised.

The garden at Amsterdam is rather neater, and
has perhaps more plants in it, than the Leyden one;
but Burman shelters his ignorance under his pro-
fessional dignity, and is very difficult of access. I
could not get a sight of his herbarium; nor did he
seem to be acquainted with some very well known
botanical facts. How different is Van Royen! I

156

spend almost every morning with him in looking
over original herbariums of Herman! Boccone,
and Rauwolf, as wellas his ownand his uncle’s col-
lections.

Conium Royent proves to be nothing else than
Caucalis daucordes.

This gentleman has just resigned the botanical
chair, having reserved to himself the use of the gar-
den: and a young man, of small skill, is appointed,
against the approbation of Van Royen, who wished
to have had Thunberg to succeed him ; but this is
not publicly known. I have seen no wild plant
worth gathering except Eryngium campestre, which
was not in flower, and Menyanthes nymphaoides,
which was out of my reach. The former is very
plentiful on the sides of the road from Helvoet to
Rotterdam and elsewhere.

My inaugural dissertation is printed; ‘tis very
trifling, but all my own or nearly so. You shall
have it as soon as I can sendit; but you must con-
sider it merely as an exercise and a sketch.

Amsterdam is a fine town, and so is Leyden; the
former is all bustle, the latter stately and silent.
The streets wonderfully neat, and the houses very
elegant. The Dutch exceed us much in expense in
fitting up their houses. Every hall and kitchen al-
most is paved with blue and white Italian marble.

I cannot meet with a single copy of Leers’s Flora.
I have many commissions for it. Charity begins
at home, but you are next in my list.

Yours &c.
J. E. Smira.

157
J. E. Smith to Mrs. Howorth.

Dear Madam, Leyden, July 15, 1786.

I hope I need not make any apology for not
having sooner availed myself of the permission you
gave me at parting; for you will do me the justice
to believe that I should not easily neglect an op-
portunity of enjoying your conversation, or even
the shadow of it: in fact, I have of late been very
busy indeed, nor have I had a moment at my com-
mand, till this day, for some time past. This morn-
ing finished my academical business, to my great
joy. Well has Miss Lane imagined that the great
wigs must have a formidable appearance; there
were near twenty of them assembled ; some to bait
me, and others to watch my behaviour. However,
thank God! I came safe out of their hands, and
have now nothing to receive from them but congra-
tulations. I go hence on Monday for the Hague,
and thence to Antwerp, Brussels, &c. nor will I
forget to pay my devotions at the tomb of the good
Archbishop of Cambray, as I have already done at
that of Boerhaave.

I feel some reluctance at leaving Holland, and
particularly Leyden. I like the people better and
better, and have made some agreeable acquaintances
here. There is something very delightful in the re-
collection of being in a country of universal tolera-
tion and unbounded liberty ;—the first country that
afforded an asylum for the Protestant reformers
who were driven from their native soil, and long

158

without a resting-place, till Amsterdam wisely re-
ceived and protected them. You may perhaps have
read of the memorable siege of Leyden, which hap-
pened at the time when this country was about to
shake off the Spanish yoke. The people were re-
duced to eat the leaves of trees, as well as horses,
dogs, every morsel of leather, and other animal
substances in the town; which at length were all
exhausted. A pestilence came on which carried off
more than half the inhabitants; and in this dreadful
exigency the besiegers demanding the townsmen to
surrender, the latter appeared on the walls, and
vowed that they would first each cut off his left arm
for food, and fight with his right. The governor
wrote to the Prince of Orange, that without help
from him, or from Heaven, they could not resist
two days longer.

At this crisis, providentially surely, the wind
changed, and blew in such a manner that the Spa-
nish army, fearing a flood, made a precipitate re-
treat. They were no sooner gone, than the wind
returned to the same point as before, the waters
retired, and there was an easy access to the town
for the people with provisions, who flocked in on
every side. The churches were crowded with the
famished wretches, who, just saved from the jaws of
death, one moment greedily devoured the welcome
food, and another, with sobs and inarticulate excla-
mations, returned Heaven thanks for their deliver-
ance; insomuch that no regular or methodical
service could be performed (surely never was said
a more sincere or a more acceptable grace !). And

159

7

here a new distress occurred; the poor creatures,
who were too eager and incautious in gratifying
their craving appetites, many of them fell down dead
on the spot, from having fasted so long ; so that the
magistrates were obliged to regulate the quantity
of provision for each person. The day after this
signal deliverance, the Prince of Orange went to
Leyden to express his admiration of the inhabitants’
behaviour, and gave them their choice, whether to
be for a time exempt from certain taxes, or to have
an University founded in their town: they wisely
chose the latter, and have derived much profit from
it.—May not one be proud to belong to such an
University ? I look with reverence at the houses,
which are of an earlier date than the period I have
described; and I contemplate with pleasure the
portraits of the great founder of the College, and
his no less illustrious son, Prince Maurice, which
are in the Public Library. I could tell you some
very interesting anecdotes of persons who have
lived in this town; but at present must omit them.
I assure you, I am, &c.

J. E. Smiru.
J. E. Smith to his Mother.

Honoured Madam, Rotterdam, July 20, 1786.
This day I came through Delft and saw the mag-
nificent monument of William I., the great Prince
of Orange, not without great veneration. I put my
fingers into two holes in the wall of the house
where he was murdered, which were made by the

pistol balls after they had passed through his body.

: 160

He had just dined and was coming down stairs,
when near the bottom the assassin pretending to
have some business with him, shot him almost in-
stantly dead. There is an inscription on the wall to
commemorate it.

What a great man was Maurice Prince of Sax-
ony; to whom Germany owed its liberty, and whose
daughter married the great Prince of Orange, by
whom she had Prince Maurice! What a constel-
lation !

I am sure you would be charmed with the Dutch
neatness,as Iam. Their beds here are made in the
form of those in the pictures to our History of the
Bible. I should have liked very well, if I had had
nothing else to do, to have stayed longer at Leyden,
for I began to form some very agreeable acquain-
tances there. It is the custom in this country for
strangers coming to a place to make the first visit :
if I had known that at first, I should have made
acquaintances sooner. I was very often at Professor
Allamand’s, and learnt many little particulars of
etiquette, which it is not amiss to know. There are
many very delightful walks about Leyden, but all
flat. The Hague is the pleasantest place I have
seen: on one side of it is a delightful wood, which
extends three miles, in which is the Prince of
Orange’s summer palace; on the other side is a
fine avenue two miles long, which leads to the sea,
and at the end is a village: here are even some
little elevations of ground, with woods and thickets

of birch.

Your affectionate and obedient Son,

J. E. Smiru.

161

Mr. Woodward to J. E.. Smith, Paris.

Dear Sir, Bungay, August 13, 1786.

I was very much flattered by your early attention
to my request of letting me hear from you. It
seems very strange that our Caucalis daucozdes
should be inserted a second time under the name
of Conium Royeni: Linneus certainly did not see
the specimen, and named it after the description, or
possibly merely on the authority of Van Royen,
without any description. Did not Burman put you
in mind of Hudson? I do not mean any reflexion
on the latter, whose abilities, when unclouded by
arrogance and self-sufficiency, I admire: but that
difficulty of access to his herbarium and professo-
rial dignity which you complain of, seem strongly
to mark a similitude of character between the Am-
sterdam professor and our author. I must con-
gratulate you on finishing the business of the degree,
and the being now completely Dr. Smith; though
I do not apprehend the business had anything very
- terrificin it. I shall be much flattered with the sight
of your inaugural dissertation : you speak of it in
very modest terms; nevertheless I am sure I shall
find something to admire in the style and manner
of the composition. This and the other primztie*
of your pen will be laid by as choice memorials of
our early friendship; and should it please God to

* These were, Reflexions on the Study of Nature; and A Dis~

sertation on the Sexes of Plants; published in 1785 and 1786.

They will be enumerated among Sir James's works in a subse-
quent chapter.

VOL. FI. M

162

give us a length of years, how delightful will it be to
read them over together some years hence, when
the business and hurry of your profession, and works
of greater consequence, in both the lines of physic
and natural history, may have almost made you
forget your juvenile performances! There is how-
ever a freedom of style and spiritedness of compo-
sition which appears in both the translations, that
I would wish you to cultivate : they have been much
admired by everybody who has seen the transla-
tions, and they give to them an appearance of ori-
ginality which makes me very desirous that you
should cultivate the same style in original compo-

sitions.
Believe me, dear Sir,

Yours most affectionately and sincerely,
THos. WoopwaRD.

J. EL. Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Paris, August 21st, 1786.

On Sunday, August 6th, I went with my friend
Broussonet to Versailles, which I need not describe
to you at present: I shall only say it is more su-
perb than I had an idea of; but it is tiresome, and
not pleasing (I mean the garden). Saw the King
and most of the family, but the Queen was in bed.
The daubing of the ladies’ cheeks is beyond concep-
tion; nature is quite out of the question : old hags,
ugly beyond what you can conceive, (for we have
very inadequate ideas of what an ugly woman is in
England,) are dressed like girls, in the most tawdry
colours, and have on each cheek a broad dab of the

163

highest pink crayon, or something like it. The
King is a pretty good person, rather fat, his coun-
tenance agreeable : he had some prodigiously fine
diamonds. In the evening, after making two or
three visits, seeing the menagerie, &c., we went to
St. Germain-en-laye, and slept at the country-house
of the Marechal de Nouailles, a fine old gentleman
who was a great favourite of the late King, as he is
of the present; he contributed chiefly to give the
late King a taste for gardening and botany, and was
a correspondent of Linnzus ; he received us very
politely, but had a large party of his family with
him, so we had little conversation. With him lives
Mr. Le Breton, a young man of genius whom he
patronizes, and who was in England with Brous-
sonet this spring. It is he who is translating my
two pamphlets into French. When the preface
to the last one was read to the marechal, it drew
tears from his eyes, and he expressed the highest
approbation of it. You have heard of the Chateau
de St. Germain, built by Francis I.: its situation is
very fine, but Louis XIV. did not like it, because
from it the spires of St. Denis (where he was to be
buried) appear in view; so he built Versailles, in a
situation by no means comparable to it.

After an early dinner, hearing that the King was
coming to St. Germain to shoot, the marechal sent
Broussonet and myself in his chariot, and himself
and Le Breton rode on horseback to the place.
The game had been all driven together into some
fields and thickets, around which the people were
kept at a distance by soldiers. The King came

M 2

164

about three o’clock, alighted from his coach, stripped
off his coat, ribbands, &c., and appeared in a linen
jacket and breeches, with leather spatterdashes. He
was attended by eight pages in almost the same
kind of dress, each of whom carried a gun, and one
of these guns was always ready charged for the
King ; as soon as that was discharged, another, and
sO on: next to these were ten or twelve Swiss guards,
all (as well as the King) on foot ; about were some
of his Majesty’s principal officers, whose business
it was to attend, with a physician, surgeon, &c. on
horseback, and a few persons of distinction, as the
Marechal de Nouailles, and their friends, of which
number were Broussonet and I, for it was a great
favour to be allowed to follow the King. His Ma-
jesty went several times up and down the fields,
killing almost every thing he aimedat. Hearing
there were some Englishmen in his train, (there
were one or two beside me,) he desired the Mare-
chal de Nouailles to ask us if we had heard any
thing of the attempt on our King’s life, and bade
him tell us that he himself had had a full account
of the affair, and that the King was safe. This was
a very polite piece of condescension. Since that I
have seen the whole story, for all the English papers
are at Paris. In the evening Broussonet and I
returned to Paris. You will easily imagine here are
things innumerable to be seen, and I must postpone
particulars to future conversations. Some are fine,
and some paltry. Traces of Henry IV. and Louis
XIV. appear everywhere. Here are many fine
buildings, but mostly left unfinished, or now in the

165

act of finishing. In a little shabby apartment in
the Benedictins Anglois, lies poor James II., under
a rusty black pall and tattered escutcheons, waiting
to be carried back to England! So very deplorable
a spectacle softened my contempt into pity. Iam
quite well, and in constant entertainment.

Your ever dutiful son,

J. E. Smitu.
Mr. Dryander* to J. E.. Smith, Paris.

Dear Sir, London, Sept. 5, 1786.

I am very much obliged to you for both your
letters. All the parcels which came with the letter
from Leyden were sent as directed.

Far be it from us to encumber the library with

* « Mr. Jonas Dryander, a Swedish naturalist of eminent talents,
and a distinguished pupil of the great Linneus, was born in 1748.
He was domesticated under the roof of Sir Joseph Banks as his
librarian in 1782, and continued in that situation as long as he
lived. Mr. Dryander also held the offices of librarian to the
Royal and Linnzan Societies. He was one of the first founders
of the latter in 1788, and took a principal interest in all its con-
cerns, especially in drawing up its Jaws and regulations, when
this Society was incorporated by charter in 1802. He moreover
fulfilled the duties of a very active vice-president till the time
of his decease in October 1810, in the 63rd year of his age.

** The study in which this most acute and correct man found
ample scope for the exercise of his talents, was bibliography.
His Catalogus Bibliotheca Historico-Naturalis Josephi Banks is
a model for all future writers in this line; but a model rather
calculated to check than to excite imitation. A work so inge-
nious in design and so perfect in execution can scarcely be pro-

duced in any science.” J. E. S.— Supplement to the Encyclopedia
Britannica.

166

such an enormous quantity of nonsense as the col-
lection of the works of Albertus Magnus, which you
mention. Of all dull books, the most dull are those
of scholastic writers; and only the desire of having
all books on natural history, good, bad, and indif-
ferent, could induce me to take up Albertus Mag-
nus’s book on animals, among the wants. If the
edition of Rome 1478, or Mantua 1479, should ever
occur for a couple of guineas, I suppose we must buy
it, though it is throwing away money on trash.

We have at last received Hedwig’s answer to the
prize question at Petersburg, with 37 coloured plates,
and also the two first fasciculi of his Sterpes Crypto-
gamice. Thave had his account of the fructification
of Filices and Alga, and have no objection to his
account of them, except as far as relates to Lguz-
setum, which does not seem convincing to me.
Lycopodium he acknowledges not to have been able
to find the male parts of. I have not yet had time
to read what he says about Fungz.

I am, dear Sir,
Your very faithful friend and servant,
J. DRYANDER.

J. EF. Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Paris, Sept. 13, 1786.

Paris is wonderfully like Edinburgh im many re-
spects ; nor should I at all like to live here. Some
places here are very fine and beautiful, as the Tuil-
leries, to which we have nothing comparable. The

167

statues, which are in such profusion in all the gar-
dens and squares hereabouts, are extremely noble ;
and such is the management of the Government that
nothing is injured by the populace: there are marble
statues in the gardens of Versailles and the Tuille-
ries exposed to all kinds of people, and yet unhurt,
which deserve to be kept in glass cases. I have seen
no really beautiful and perfectly pleasing morsel of
architecture except the portico of St. Genevieve now
building, and the celebrated colonnade du Louvre.
The paintings are al] removed from the gallery of
the Louvre, and packed up; but I hope to see the
Luxembourg gallery soon. I have visited with great
veneration the bedchamber of Henry IV. which is
now one of the apartments of the Académie des
Sciences, who meet in the Louvre: it is a small
ill-lighted room, wonderfully richly carved and gilt ;
his bust stands in the place of the bed. Here I sup-
pose he was brought bleeding, and left for the peo-
ple to look at. |

The monument of the Valois family, and those
of Francis I. and Louis XII., all at St. Denis, are
exquisite indeed; but the design of them is odd,
for the kings and queens are represented almost
naked, in the agonies of death, or just dead; their
limbs, features, and hair,in ghastly disorder; and the
bodies as if having been opened and sewn up again,
for the stitches are as curiously done as any part.
All the church and every monument are kept most
scrupulously neat, which is a great advantage.

The Duke of Orleans has a fine collection of
pictures, which I have seen: among them is one ex-

168

actly like your picture of nymphs and satyrs, which
hangs on the stairs, if I mistake not; but’tis lighter
and in better preservation than yours: the master’s
name on the frame is C. Polembergh,—tis not a
good picture.

I hope you are not displeased with the criticism
of my work in the Critical Review for June. Iam
much flattered by it. Should be more proud of the
critic’s praise if he would but allow poor Linneus

any judgement.
Your dutiful son,

J. E. Smiru.

Mr. Smith to his Son, Paris.

My dear Son, Norwich, Sept. 20, 1786.

I received your most pleasing acceptable letters
dated August 21st and September 13th. The news
of your health and safety give us all great joy; but
the pleasure is much increased by the entertaining
account of what you see and do. You are laying
up a treasure of knowledge that will serve for a
high entertainment through your whole life. I
would not have you be discouraged by my last let-
ter from pursuing your travels from an idea that it
will be disagreeable to me, or that I may repine at
the expense. I am too well acquainted with your
prudence and your virtue to entertain any appre-
hensions that you will waste your time, your health,
or your money, in such pursuits as are pernicious
or reprehensible, because you are beyond the reach
of the observations of your friends and neighbours

169

whom you respect, and whose opinion you esteem,
as is too often the case with young people at a di-
stance from home. I know your objects and incli-
nations are of the most noble kind, that as your
mind is possessed with the purest principles of truth
and virtue, so your genius and understanding, ex-
cellent as they are from nature, are, the one alming
at, and the other acquiring, the most valuable trea-
sures of human knowledge, upon which to establish
a character and reputation that will be of advantage
to yourself and all your connexions, as well as an
honour to your family and country. I would not,
then, check you in your progress. I hope it will
please God to enable me to provide for your ex-
penses without injuring the rest of you. For the
risk of life and health I trust in Providence and your
prudence for your preservation, to which I hope my
unworthy prayers may contribute something.

I cannot object to your visit to the Marquis
Durazzo anything but so long a journey in short
days, in which the passage of the Alps, if you go
that way, may be disagreeable, if not dangerous.
But I should think there may be a way along the
coast from Provence to avoid the Alps. If you go
to Turin, you will call on my correspondents, who
no doubt will show you every civility.

As for the election, we never had one upon which
there is so much to say: it is so difficult to do it
justice, that I would not have you expect it from
me, who am neither practised in descriptive writing,

nor have abilities for it. The canvass for the Ho-
nourable Henry Hobart began two months ago, and

170

the day of election was last Friday, the 10th instant.
The intermediate time was filled up with carousings
of each party three times a week in various quarters
of the town, when there was drunkenness and noise
more than enough. The committees met very fre-
quently ; Hobart’s at the King’s Head and Johnson’s
Coffee-house ; Beevor’s at Tuck’s and the Angel.
As the dispute was not upon the ground of politi-
cal principles, for both candidates professed the
same, that is Whiggism and an attachment to the
present ministry, I wondered to see them so eager;
but as it was for power and interest, and which of
the two factions should rule, I ought to have known
that the corruption of the present age would be as
zealous as the principles of the last. Those who
could use a pen and tag verses * were set to work:

* From the herd of mere verse-taggers one exception must
be made,-—the author of the following eclogue, an intimate and
highly esteemed friend both of Mr. Smith and his son. Who-
ever recollects the late Mr. John Taylor of Norwich will recog-
nize in these lines the good temper, the pleasantry, and wit, which
at all times enlivened his conversation, and were the emanations
of a good heart as alive to mirth and enjoyment as it was void
of malice and detraction. The Mr. Hampp who figures in the
eclogue was a cordial friend of the author, a German by birth,
and whose broken English is happily imitated.

CITY ECLOGUES. Ectoceve tue First.
Scene—A Club. Time—Evening.

The clock struck seven,—the cheerful sun retires,
And only gilds our castle and our spires.

The market walk now fills from every street ;
There jarring parties, various interests meet ;

171

the press teemed daily with poems, songs, epigrams,
on both sides, vilifying the characters and ridiculing
the persons of each party who were at all conspi-
cuous. The day that was to terminate the dispute
proved good weather, and every room in the market

Each candidate resumes his wonted ground,

And all his friends and followers throng around.
Now hope inspires, now gloomy fears succeed,
And show what thorny paths to honour lead :
Now still and silent is the vacant loom,

And hot and noisy is the ale-house room ;

For hither, thirsting after news and nog",

And loving, if not Hobart’s cause, his prog,
Freemen and freemen’s wives and friends repair,
And pay due reverence to the leathern chair ;
For there presides, with face of Belgic stamp,
That son of Liberty—Bavarian Hampp.

He, at the sheriff’s uncontroul’d command,
Amongst the friends of Hobart takes his stand :
He knows each wise contrivance to a hair,

Which brought his master Thurlow to the chair ;
And boasts to know, however you may doubt,
The gibes and jolts o’ th’ day which threw him out ;
And therefore, as a manager right able,

He claims attention at the council table.

Now, rising from his chair, his cane he waves,

As who should say, “ Be silent, English knaves! ”
Silence ensues ; our hero strives to speak,

And tortures English ears with German Greek :
Tired with his eloquence, the clamorous rabble
Drown his oration with their deafening gabble ;
Till hearing something said about the Diet,

They thought the supper coming, and were quiet :—
* Te Diet, sers, I mean te Parlament

To vich dis Mr. Hobart sall be sent ;

* A kind of ale.

172

was filled with well-dressed ladies, fluttering their
white handkerchiefs out of the windows with a fa-
vour at the corner, of the colours of the candidate
whose interest they espoused,—Hobart’s deep blue
and orange, Beevor’s pale blue and white ; they made
a pretty show. The area of the square was crowded
with stavesmen and spectators: the candidates rode
as usual.* The contest was very strong, but all was
carried on with very little violence; so little that
the Countess of Buckinghamshire with her two

Dere must he take te care of all te laws,

And make more to dem if he find te cause ;

And if te king of money sall fall short,

Why, he must to hem come, and ask hem for ’t ;

For he vill have te string of all your purses,

And must look sharp to vat te king disburses.

Vell, sers, all dis can Mr. Hobart do,

For he can read and write as well as you;

He knows quite vell de Engelsch constitution,

And is so great as me at elocution:

I know myselve te interest of dis city,

And Hobart is te man, I know, to fit ye.

As for dat Beevor, which some people talk of,

Let me alone, J’// make dat fellow walk off:

Who dares to speak fon wort of Beevor here,

Te schondrel sall be scalp’d from ear to ear ;

Forth from dese club my friends sall kick him out,

And I will eat his share of beef and krout.

Are fagabons to say who sall be chos’d,

And gentlemen of blood to be oppos’d ?

Donder and blixem ! ’tis a thought so vile,

As makes te hairs upon myn head recoil ;

Sooner den have te lot on Beevor fall,

Got! ye sall have no Parlament at all.”

* “ At the elections for the county of Norfolk, for Norwich,

Yarmouth, &c., this custom is invariably observed. In the city
ust named, the candidate, standing erect on a platform, is car-

173

daughters and three other ladies, who were in Mr.
Schuldham’s small room when Mr. Hobart in one
of his chairings was coming his third round, issued
out to meet him, near the Hall, and then proceeded
with him to the King’s Head, his quarters.

Perhaps you don’t know what a fine person Lady
B. is,—tall, handsome, and extremely elegant: most
of the ladies besides were handsome, and all young.
To see such in the centre of a throng of stavesmen,
rending the air with their shouts, was a novel sight,
and struck everybody with surprise and pleasure,
except some who might envy what they had no op-
portunity of rivalling. It pleased the people so
much, that they requested her ladyship to gratify
them once more with the pleasing honour, to which
she condescended, and the ladies took a tour round
Mr. Hobart’s ground.

I beg your pardon for the suspicion I entertained
too hastily ; tis the foible natural to age. Iam very
glad to hear I am mistaken, and rejoice at every in-
stance of the integrity of human nature.

I remain, dear James, ever yours,

JAMES SMITH.

ried on men’s shoulders three times round the place of election,
and is frequently tost by them into the air. Those who have
seen this ceremony will not fail to be struck with the words,
already referred to, of a Roman historian, (Tacit. Hist. iv. 15.)
‘impositus scuto et sustinentium humeris vibratus ;’ the exact
agreement of which with the yet remaining practice will scarcely
allow us to doubt that the elevation of kings, here, as well as in
the other countries above mentioned, was the original mode of
their inauguration.” —Taylor’s Glory of Regality, p. 29.

Mr. WV. Jones* to J. E. Smith, Paris.

Dear Sir, London, Sept. 20, 1786.

I have not felt my mind for a long time under
such pleasing sensations as this day, from your at-
tentive favour. I therefore take pen.immediately
in hand, lest every day deferred I might grow more
indifferent to thank you for it, and to assure you
that you possess a place in my memory and esteem
as frequent and favourable as I can have m yours ;
and to tell you sz tantus amor casus cognoscere nos-
tros. read your letter with great patience until I
came to the Prince of Orange’s cabinet of insects,
when I found anunaccountable fidgetting about me,
very restless in my seat, until I had taken two or
three turns across the room to compose myself;
and just as I was recovered, the double Tuberoses
occasioned a relapse, that *twas some time before |
was able to proceed. “Tis a flower I have a great
partiality for, but their culture in England is difth-
cult without a hot-house,—quo fata ferant ubi sis-
tere detur. May health attend you, and every plea-
sure your journey can give! Iam sensible that
cannot be little, when you have access to every
thing that is rare and beautiful, and more especially
in those things particularly adapted to your taste.

* An excellent entomologist, well known in the scientific
world, though, like other men of superior genius, modest and
retiring from the observation he so well deserved.

175

Mr. M——., as you say, I find very anxious about
the success of the new society.

I am persuaded from that open, honest simplicity
that prevails in every part of your conduct, that
you have no views but what are disinterested ; but
that may not be the case with every one that joins
you. I have been united in societies of various
kinds, and have been heartily vexed and dissatisfied.
Omit it a few years: at the end of the first weigh
every objection, and demur a little, and I think
that afterwards the spirit of procrastination will in-
crease; yet I would not have the thought wholly
laid aside. We may enjoy every satisfaction from
each other’s information and company, as we might
have done in society, and this by a breakfast to our
select friends, once a quarter, either by you, or al-
ternately as agreed. By this will be discoverable
the probable success of such a society; and if it
ever matures, let it come forth. Even the idea of
associating should be foreign to our first purposes,
and only meet as select friends. Under this view
we raise no envious spirit against us from the pre-
sent existing society; and prevent in future that
acrimony which, I am sorry to say, exists too much
amongst ingenious people. In short, I am horri-
bly afraid of a wasp’s nest. St. Paul’s advice to Ti-
mothy was a good one, even in common life : “ Lay
hands suddenly on no man.”

If, amidst the various avocations that surround
you, one hour can be spared, employ it by scrib-
bling a few lines to, dear Sir,

Your very sincere friend,

W. JONES.

176

NT. E.. Smith to Mrs. Howorth.

My dear Madam, Paris, Sept. 24, 1786.

I abhor the thought of staying any part of the
winter at Paris: the streets are so dirty, and the
houses so cold, with nothing but brick floors and
marble tables, that the idea chills one.

I have lately had a most agreeable jaunt, in which
I wished for nothing more than your company, to
visit the tomb of Rousseau. My companion was
an Englishman of great taste and sensibility, who
enjoyed the expedition no less than I did. We
went first to Chantilly, about twenty miles from
Paris, where the Prince of Condé has a noble seat,
with very fine gardens, perpetual fountains, and
every decoration that art can furnish, but all in the
old style; *tis however worth seeing, as being one
of the finest things in its way, and we have nothing
like it in England. Here we slept, and next day
had a very romantic ride of eight miles through the
forest to Ermenonville ; we arrived about dusk, and
put up at a little inn, where the present Emperor,
and the King of Sweden had been accommodated
before us. The landlord knew Rousseau, and spoke
of him with the greatest esteem. The day of his
death this man saw him about seven o’clock bo-
-tanizing; he complained of having had a sleepless
night, from the headach. Before ten he was dead.
Water was found collected in his head. Our land-
lord preserves his snuff-box, and the shoes in which

177
he died ; they have wooden soles and straw tops.
One of his admirers has written something on the
box ; and another has written on the shoes, that
he was proud to inscribe his name “ sur la simple
chaussure dun homme qui ne marchott jamais que
dans le sentier de la vertu.”

The next morning being very fine we rose at six,
and had a most enchanting ramble through the
gardens of Monsieur le Marquis de Girardin, which
form a striking contrast with those of Chantilly,
being laid out in the most romantic style, what the
French call a lAngloise. They consist of about
eight hundred acres, a great part of which are wild
woods, and rocky hills and dales as wild as the
highlands of Scotland. We first passed a beautiful
cascade, and went along a winding path through a
wood by the side of the lake, from time to time
meeting with inscriptions disposed with great judge-
ment. We took a boat to go to the Island of Pop-
lars, honoured with the ashes of Rousseau. His
tomb is elegantly simple, of white stone; on one
side is a piece of sculpture representing a mother
of a family reading Emilius, with other emblems ;
on the other is inscribed, “ Z’homme de la Nature
et de la Veérité.”. He desired to be buried in the
garden, and the Marquis chose this spot. I shall
not attempt to describe to you what I felt on seeing
and touching this tomb. I brought away some
moss from its top for you.

In another island near it is a lesser monument,
over a German who taught the Marquis’s children
drawing ; and being a Protestant could not be buried

VOL. I. N

178

in consecrated ground. Hence we passed by some
inscriptions in honour of Virgil, Thomson, Shen-
stone, and some others, to the Temple of Modern
Philosophy, an unfinished building ; on each of the
pillars already erected is inscribed the name of
some great man, with a word expressive of what '
he excelled in: thus to Voltaire is given, rzdicule ;
to Rousseau, ature; to Priestley, ar; to Franklin,
thunder, &c.,&c. Onan unfinished column is written
in Latin, “ Who will complete this?” This temple
overlooks the lake ; near it is an hermitage embo-
somed in awood. From this spot we went to some
simple wooden buildings, where every Sunday the
Marquis and his lady amuse themselves with hay-
ing the neighbouring peasants dance, &c., on the
plan described in the Nouvelle Heloise. The woods
around them are very fine; and after passing
through them we came to a solitary elm-tree, on
which the Marquis has written, “ Le vozct cet orme
heureux ou ma Louise a recu ma foi.” From hence
is an immense prospect, finely varied with fields,
woods, and water. Descending the hill among
heath and juniper, we cameto two charming Italian
inscriptions by the Marquis, which lead to a rock
on which Rousseau has engraven with his own
knife, “ Julie.” I have some moss for you from
this very rock. Ascending another hill we came to
the House of Rousseau, a little hut so called, in
which he wrote several verses; for he often used to
visit it during the short time of his residing here,
which was only six weeks before his death, although
he often used to come to Ermenonville with the

179

Marquis’s family before. Of his dwelling-house I
shall speak hereafter. Within this hut is written,
« Jean Jacques est immortel.” From it is another
fine view ; it stands among craggy rocks.
Descending into another valley, we went by the
water side through groves and across a meadow to
the tower of la belle Gabrielle d’ Estrées, who was
mistress to Henry IV. Tradition says this garden
was their first place of rendezvous, which occa-
sioned the Marquis to build this tower; it is in
the Gothic style, and ornamented with trophies and
verses. Among the rest is the very armour which
belonged to a faithful follower of Henry IV., whose
name I forget, and who passing through the street
where that prince was murdered, a few days after
that event, fell down in an agony of grief, and died
the next day.
_ Passing by a pretty grotto by the side of a bub-
bling fountain of the finest water I ever saw, we at
length arrived at Rousseau’s garden, one of the
sweetest spots I ever beheld, quite sequestered, and
planted in the most romantic style; it chiefly con-
sists of an irregular lawn surrounded with a variety
of trees and shrubs, and ornamented with flowers,
but apparently all in a state of nature; nor is the
hand of art to be traced at all, except in the beauti-
ful velvet of the turf. On a tree is an inscription,
signifying that there Jean Jacques used often to re-
tire, to admire the works of nature, to feed his
favourite birds, and play with the Marquis’s children.
Near this spot is a house intended for his dwelling, —
but he died before it was finished; ’tis a comforta-
N 2

180

ble cottage, with a little garden of flowers before it,
and is embosomed in apple-trees, vines, &c. In a
small arched building near it, the Marquis at first
intended to have buried Rousseau, but changed his
mind. From this place we soon reached the front
of the house opposite to that whence we set out,
and our delightful tour was at an end.

I think you will not be displeased at my giving
you so particular an account of it, so I make no
apology for the length of my letter; but I have
more to tell you.

Hearing that the widow of Rousseau was living
ata place not far out of our road to Paris, and
that many strangers visited her, we felt a strong de-
sire to do the same; but had some fears lest we
should discover something in her which might ex-
cite disagreeable sensations, and even perhaps lessen
our veneration for her husband; for we heard that
she had been his servant, and after having lived
with him in that capacity ten years, he said to her,
“© Ma bonne amie, I am satisfied with your fidelity,
and wish I could make you an adequate return. I
have nothing to give you but my hand. If you think
that worth having, it is yours.” They were mar-
ried; and lived together sixteen years afterwards
very comfortably. She was several years younger
than her husband.—At last curiosity prevailed, and
we went to see her. She received us with the
greatest politeness, and appeared much pleased with
our visit; spoke in the most becoming manner of
her husband, and readily answered every question

1 put to her. What I principally learned from her

i8l

was as follows :—The character of Julia was drawn
from Madame Bois dela Tour of Lyons, a lady still
living, with whom Mr. and Mrs. Rousseau often
spent a great deal of time: she has a large family,
and is the admiration of all who know her. The
story of Julia has not however any connection with
hers. How far that is founded in truth, Mrs. Rous-
seau said was only known to its author. The idea
that Ermenonville was the scene of it, or that the
real father of Julia lived there, is without founda-

tion. She assured me that the Confessions of
Rousseau were really all of his own writing. She
confided the manuscript to the Marquis de Girardin,
who expunged several names and anecdotes rela-
ting to people still living, but against her consent ;
for she thought the whole ought to have been pub-
lished as the author left it. I think more ought to
have been expunged, at least the name of Madame
de Warens ought to have been kept secret.

We asked her which was the best portrait of
Rousseau. She showed us a plaster bust, which
was cast from his face a few hours after death, and
which she said resembled him exactly. The expres-
sion of the face, as well as its form, is vastly supe-
rior to that of any likeness of him I ever saw. There
is great serenity in the countenance, and much sen-
sibility. The mouth is uncommonly beautiful.

I saw at Chantilly a wax bust, which was cast
from the face of Henry IV. four hours after his
death; it has the same features which appear in
the portraits of him; but such a melancholy gloom
is diffused over the countenance, that it is quite a

182

pitiable object. I account for this difference from
the death of Rousseau being less violent, and his
mind more serene at the time, than the King’s could
have been, considering all circumstances, besides
the mechanical cause of the great loss of blood in
the latter.

We returned to Paris extremely well pleased with
our jaunt, and particularly so with having seen
Madame Rousseau. I learned at Ermenonville that
the King of England allows her fifty pounds a year,
which I never knew before, but which ought to be
known. Le grand Monarque allows her nothing.

IT am acquainted with a gentleman at Paris, who
knew Rousseau intimately, and often used to bota-
nize with him (you see how I delight to put youin
mind that he was a botanist). He describes him
as the most unaffected and unassuming of men,
free from all airs or petulancy in conversation, and
even very sociable latterly, at least since he knew
him, which was many years before his death. He
was always warmly attached to those who loved
natural history, especially to the pupils of the Lin-
neean school, and he adored Linneus. What would
I have given to have seen him!

Adieu, my dear Madam.
Believe me faithfully yours,

J. E. SMITH.

183

tev. Dr. Goodenough to J. E. Smith, Paris.

Dear Sir, Ealing, Sept. 25, 1786.

Your letter dated Paris, Sept. 8th, has just reached
me, and given me prodigious pleasure, not only
from the very favourable expressions towards me
with which it abounds, but from my having such
an actual proof that you are alive and well. To
speak in modern political terms, with respect to
the regard which you are pleased to testify towards
me, “ the reciprocity is not all on one side.”

I had a very pleasant excursion with Curtis to
Maldon, then along the Essex coast to Mersey
Island, and thence to Harwich. At this last place
I was laid up with a terrible boil, which threw me
quite into a fever for a week, and imbittered the
latter part of my time. However, before this un-
fortunate circumstance, we worked well from seven
in the morning till eleven at night, with only the
interruptions of. breakfast and dinner, and those,
short repasts. I had no conception we should have
found so many insects. But we happened to find
a pond overrun with Zypha major and Festuca
Jluitans. It was incredible what a number of curious
things we found; Sphex fissipes, and your little
Cantharis miniata. But as if fortune designed us
to be niggardly, she would not let us take more
than two of each; so there was one for each of us,
and not one for a friend. I looked over every stalk
and blade for two days together, five or six hours at
a time, to find more, but in vain! A great variety

184

of Coccinellas, of Musce also, particularly of the
spotted-wing sort, Cardui and Cerasi, &c. Ich-
neumons a great many, particularly J. sarcetorws.
Bees, several new ones, one very specious indeed,
with ared thorax and blue abdomen, fasciated with
white. Spheres not a few. A new Chrysis or two.
Some new Carabi, besides some of the Linnzan
beauties. All the new ones which we took I de-
scribed, or rather as many as time would permit,—
between fifty and a hundred. Some were drawn
on the spot by Curtis’s draughtsman.

Of plants, we found in many places Lepidium ru-
derale, and particularly all along the Essex coast,
on the sea marshes, Hudson’s Dactylis cynosurot-
des. Wudson’s Poa loliacea, his Lolium bromoides,
Salsola fruticosa, Brassica campestris, Atriplex la-
cimiata and serrata, Chara flexilis, Ruppia maritima,
Agilopsincurva, Bunias Cakile ;—cum multis alis.
I have not been able to see Sir Joseph Banks yet,
although I have called several times. I think of
our New Society with pleasure, and long for your
return on that account, as well as others; but, as
you say, the longer you stay the more you will be
worth at your return. A thousand thanks for your
Agrostis minima. I shall be much obliged to you
to get me any of my deszderata. Gnaphalium luteo-
album is inter mea desideratissima. Pray look sharp
after the Oryganums, and if you can see either
O. egyptiacum or syriacum, do be so good as to
have very correct drawings made of both or either

of.them for me.
J am preparing a complete list of the Linnean

185

nomenclature, through all the classes from Mam-
malia to Lapides, which will be ready for the press
by your return. I should have liked to have given it
to the public “ By a Fellow of the Linnzan Society.”
Whatever you do, take care of your health, and use
your time with courage and activity. Above all,
believe me ever your most sincere friend,
SAMUEL GOODENOUGH.

I depend upon hearing of your motions to the
southward, and your successes. When you come
towards the Mediterranean, perhaps you may find
it worth your while to think of conchology. At
Leghorn there may be an A%gyptian correspon-
dence carried on; a step towards getting Origanum
egyptiacum.

Rev. Dr. Goodenough to J. E. Smith, at the Mar-
quis Hippolito Durazzo's, Genoa.

My dear Sir, Ealing, Nov. 3, 1786.

Iam so far glad at finding that the prodigious
loss which we have lately sustained has made its
way to you, as it saves me from the pain of men-
tioning it to you. A better child, I verily believe,
never lived: my very heart doated upon her, not from
any weak or irrational motive, but from her good-
ness, her love of improvement, her duty to us, and
her actual attainments in every thing which we
wished her to apply to. Our grief was highly en-
riched by observing the whole neighbourhood in

186

tears for her. It was hard parting with her at her
time of life.

I thank you most sincerely for your very enter-
taining letter of the 21st of October. Your account
of the morals of Paris is just what every one who
lives with his eyes open and w// see, has given me ;
so that that does not tempt me to cross the water.

But I could give one of my eyes almost to be
with you, and join you in turning over Tournefort’s
rich herbarium. Iam sorry to find that you leave
any behind to examine at your return: I am always
fearful of something or other happening or inter-
vening which will draw off the attention from pur-
suing a labour, once deserted, to the end; and here
I would say, that I hope you will find time to go
regularly through Vaillant’s herbarium. What if
it should detain you a week or two longer; it will
be better to seize the opportunity which now offers,
and perhaps will never return, than after you have
returned to England, to sit down all your life re-
gretting that you had not completed your view.
On this account also I hope you will describe every
thing in Tournefort’s herbarium that appears new ;
it can be easily thrown away if you should find
yourself in a mistake: and for this purpose I
should again wish you not to be impatient of any
loss of time; or rather I should say of a longer
employment of time. In Italy, if you can make it
convenient, you would certainly be repaid in ex-
amining Allioni’s collections. Do you mean to come
through Switzerland: If you do, try for a view of
Haller’s cabinet.

187

The Earl of Northampton and his son Lord Comp-
ton (a pupil of mine formerly) reside somewhere
near Lausanne in the Canton de Berne. Show
Lord Compton my handwriting, and I am sure he
would do any thing for you that you could wish.
He is a collector, as is his sister. Before I call you
back to England, where we wish you, once more
let me say, do not mind the trespassing upon a
little time or money, in securing any intellectual
attainment. You can easily make up every thing
afterwards. And now for matters at home. Your
letter of the 21st instant did not reach me till after
the anniversary meeting of our Society. It appears
from the business of the day, that you might have
saved yourself your shudderings. I could not at-
tend; but from Marsham’s account, every thing
was settled by the party before the business was
proceeded upon. A most curious committee (in-
stead of that farrago of committees of last year) was
chosen. J. Hunter, Home, Curtis, Swainson, Lee,
Marsham, Mitchel, and Drury. What can they do
in the publishing way, or indeed in any thing great? .
It is a joke to think of it. You may easily then
conceive how much I wish for yourreturn. A due
share of activity and firmness in a few intelligent
working people will do more than our present un-
wieldy body, with all their members, and all their
wealth (for they have voted the nurchase of 1007.
stock in the 3 per cent. consols.) This might seem
to cut a dash, could knowledge and credit be bought.

Your translation of the Linnzan treatise on the
Sexes of Plants is very well spoken of in the

188

Monthly Review,—the only Review which I see.
Pray write to me as often as you have leisure. Do
not for this one grand excursion (as you must ever
look upon it) grudge either ¢eme or money to sa-
tisfy your mind in all scientific matters. Commit
every thing of science to writing, etzam tritissima
as says Linné. It is scarcely worth while to bur-
then the mind with remembrances of houses and
churches ; all books are full of them, and will call
every thing to your remembrance. When Howard
set out upon his prison-visitation, he refused seeing
one of these lesser spectacula, alleging that one
pursuit was sufficient at a time. I pray God to
bless you ; and am ever yours,

S. GooDENOUGH.

Pray take one thing into consideration. Zem-
bers and wealth are so far real necessaries to a so-
ciety, as it enables them to carry matters into effect ;
—to purchase, reward, publish. A society at Brux-
elles is stopped at present for want of money to
enable a publication going forward. I say this only
to remind you, that along with diligence, the prz-
mum mobile, we may think of increasing the num-
ber of the society as far as may be safe. This oc-
curs to me at the moment upon thinking of the
society at Bruxelles.—Adieu.

J. E. Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Montpellier, Nov. 18, 1786.
At Lyons, a letter from Broussonet to his cousin
Monsieur Lajard procured us the greatest civility

189

from him, as well as from Dr. Brun, Dr. Frossard
the Protestant minister, and several others. We
were charmed with the hospitality we experienced
here, and with the manners of the people: I could
have spent a month with them gladly. The ladies
too begin to improve on us in every respect, as we
go south. After seeing the hospital (which is more
praised than it deserves), the public library, &c., &c.,
which took us four days, on the 10th we took a
voiture to carry usto Montpellier. We are now in
a fine temperate climate ; like a fine English Sep-
tember. The most striking objects we saw in our
way were the Pont St. Lsprit, an old stone bridge of
twenty-two arches, over the stately Rhone; the
Pont du Gard near Nismes, a most noble Roman
aqueduct; and the Amphitheatre at Nismes ; the
country for the last three days covered with laven-
der, thyme, box, evergreen oaks, and many fine
plants still in flower; olive-trees laden with fruit in
greater abundance than has been known these hun-
dred years ; fig-, and white mulberry-trees. Ripe
olives are purple like a damson, but of the most
abominable bitter taste. At Montpellier we have
met with the kindest reception from Professor
Broussonet, father of my Paris friend; we dined
with him today: he has introduced us to several
interesting acquaintances. We could gladly stay
here a month or two had we not greater objects
in view.

This town is situated on a hill very pleasantly:
its streets are narrow, crooked, and paved like those
of Norwich; so is Lyons. But of all that I have

190

yet seen, the Place de Perou is the finest thing by
far ; it is a vast platform, out of one of the gates of
the town, surrounded with a stone balustrade. From
it you have the command of a most beautiful coun-
try, covered with olives, studded with villas, and
bounded by blue mountains; the Mediterranean
Sea to the south, and beyond it in fine weather
may be seen the Pyrenees, and on the other side
the Alps ; no finer situation can be conceived.

The Place is disposed in grass plats ; in the cen-
tre is a fine equestrian statue of Louis XIV., in
bronze, and at the side opposite the entrance an
open temple (over a basin of water), which with the
flights of steps leading to it are in so fine a taste,
and so striking, that it is like a design in an opera,
a fairy palace, or a dream of some great genius
rarely seen on paper, and scarcely ever in reality.
To this temple water is brought by a vast aqueduct,
worthy of the Romans; and hence it is distributed
into various fine marble fountains in the town.
This Place I had often heard of, but had no con-
ception of it till I saw it.

We shall stay here about a week longer; then
go to Avignon, Marseilles, &c., to Genoa.

I am extremely obliged to you for your liberal
provision of money.

Believe me, honoured Sir,
Your ever affectionate and obedient Son,

J. E. Smiru.

191

J. E. Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Marseilles, Dec. 5, 1786.

My last was from Montpellier, Nov. 18th. We
were so well pleased with that place and its inhabit-
ants, that we stayed there till the 27th, and then
left it with regret, and went in a coach with an in-
telligent and liberal-minded superior of Cordeliers,
to Nismes: next day a violent rain prevented our
seeing much of the celebrated antiquities of this
place. We saw, however, the Maison Carrée,a fine
Roman temple, very entire (see Thicknesse’s Tra-
vels). The Amphitheatre we had seen in our way
to Montpellier. Mr. Granier, a friend of Brous-
sonet, showed us the library and collection of the
Academy, left them by Mr.Seguier, a celebrated na-
turalist and antiquary. After dinner we pursued
our journey, and next day reached Avignon, where
the most striking objects are the vast walls of the
city, and the great old palace of the Popes. The
town is lifeless and unpleasant. Next day we went
in a chaise to the fountain of Vaucluse, so cele-
brated in the history of Petrarch; but in my opi-
nion far more interesting in itself than for all that
has been said or sung about it. It is a river at
least as large as ours at Norwich, and ten times as
rapid, which rises at once from an unfathomable
rocky basin at the foot of a rock many hundred
yards high, which hangs over it. The water, which
is as clear as crystal is swpposed to be, but looks
sea-green as it runs, falls from the edge of the basin

192

over fragments of rock, forming cascades, com-
pared with which all the paltry squirts of Versailles
are mere baubles ; and then winds along a most ro-
mantic valley, overhung with rocks of every varied
form, which are here and there clothed with fine
evergreen shrubs, and sometimes stuck with cot-
tages, which seem equally in danger from the small-
ness of their foundations, and the vast crags above
them.

Every Frenchman that comes here thinks it in-
cumbent on him to set his brains a-jingling, and
scribble something about love and Petrarch and
Laura. We were tired to death with a man who
travelled with us to Montpellier, who repeated to
us some verses of his own and others of his friends,
all about Vaucluse: they excited my indignation
so much, that I thought it almost profanation of
nature and feeling to indulge any similar ideas at
so prostituted a spot ; and indeed even the passion
of Petrarch for Laura has always seemed to me too
artificial and affected to be touching. Notwith-
standing all this, I could spend a solitary month at
this charming spot, in the most delightful medita-
tions; but I should rarely think of Petrarch. We
slept at a comfortable inn, at a town not far distant,
and returned next day to Avignon. The following
morning set out for Marseilles, where we arrived in
two days. Passed through Aix, a pleasant town, in
a most delightful country, covered with olive-trees
with vines between them, and here and there a
towering cypress. Aix is the only place I have
seen (except Marseilles perhaps) to which I should

193

ever think of sending a consumptive patient, consi-
dering situation, climate, country, &c., and more es-
pecially as there is a fine walk which passes through
the middle of the town, in which are three noble
fountains constantly running,—the middie one of
warm water, like that at Bristol. This is the coun-
try for fine water: every village in the South of
France has its perpetual fountains.

The approach to Marseilles the night before last
struck us with great admiration. From a high hill
in the way we had a complete view of the town, its
harbour, and a very rich extensive valley studded
with villas, and clothed with olives. This is by
far the finest town I have seen in France, Paris
in general not excepted. The streets are broad,
straight, and finely built, the pavement good and
clean, and the people more so than in any other
place we have been at. It is as busy a place as
London or Amsterdam, crowded with people of all
nations, and with every kind of merchandise. The
markets loaded with vast variety of fish unknown
to us, and with pomegranates, melons, dates, flowers
of every season, and the finest grapes at one penny
per pound. Here we seem at length to have over-
taken summer. The sky yesterday was as bright
as possible ; today we have had rain, but the air is
so warm that a fire is only necessary in the even-
ings. We meet with great civilities here,as we have
done everywhere. I think the inhabitants of the
South of France the most engaging people I ever
saw ; there is little grimace, and much real urbanity
and hospitality. The women are pretty, and very

VOL. I. Oo

194

interesting; they do not in general use paint: at
Montpellier that custom is as infamous as with us.
The lower kind of people are much more civil here
than in England ; but they speak patozs, the ancient
language of the Troubadours, which we find it dif-
ficult to understand, except by the help of Italian,
which it much resembles.

The Abbé Raynal resides here, but we have not
yet been fortunate enough to see him: he is safe
here, as this place is endowed with many privi-
leges.

Believe me, dear Sir,
Your dutiful Son,

J. E. Smiru.

J. KE. Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Genoa, Dec. 30, 1786.

November 7th, we left Marseilles in an excellent
voiture, which we hired by the day to convey us to
Nice; travelled through a most romantic country
(like Switzerland, as I conceive), andin two days
reached Toulon. Foreigners are not permitted to
see the arsenal ; but we saw a very decent hospital
and little botanic garden.

November 9th, got to Hyeres to dinner. Here
we first saw gardens or rather woods of orange-
trees, loaded with fruit; myrtle and aloes in the
fields, and had much botanical entertainment. Hy-
eres is a shabby little town, but in one of the finest
situations possible: the Isles d’Hyeres are much

195

celebrated for their beauty, but we could not visit
them. Next day avery bad road led us to Bri-
gancienes, most beautifully situated in a valley ;
and after dinner we rode through one of the most
picturesque countries I ever saw: woods of pines,
thickets of myrtle, aloes, cistus, rosemary, noble
cascades of every varied form, all combined to de-
light and surprise us. The following day dined at
Brignolle, famous for the Prunes de Brignolle,
which we have corrupted into Prunellas; and the
same night arrived at Cottignac, where we went on
purpose to see Monsieur Gerard, one of the most
famous European botanists of the Linnzan school,
author of the Flora Gallo-Provincialis. He re-
ceived us in the most polite manner, and devoted
the next day entirely to us; gave me copies of two
letters of Linnzus to him, with leave to publish
them, as well as his to Linneus. I learnt a great
many things from him, and we settled a plan of
future correspondence. November 13th, slept at
Draguinan, and next day at Frejus, where are re-
mains of a Roman amphitheatre, and of a very no-
ble aqueduct. 15th, our road lay over a very high
mountain, from the top of which we had the finest
and most extensive prospect I ever beheld. Frejus,
at our feet, was almost imperceptible; on one side
was the beautiful Mediterranean quite calm; on the
other, hills rising o’er hills, clothed with myrtle,
juniper, and pines, (not nasty black Scotch pines) ;
and beyond all, the Alps of Piedmont covered with
snow, and glittering in the sun. Towards evening
oO 2

196

we descended to Cannes, a little sea-port close to
the water’s edge.

16th. A fine bright and rather frosty morning.
Our road lay by the sea-side, through the most
beautiful shrubberies of myrtle, with its blue berries
and some flowers; fine heaths, which with us are
kept in greenhouses; most stupendous clusters of
the great aloes (improperly called American), and
other fine plants. We passed by Antibes, had a
fine view of Nice and its bay, and after fording the
Var (a very unpleasant business), with the Duchess
dowager of Leinster and her train, we arrived at
Nice. This town is finely built, and well secured
from the cold winds. It is full of our country peo-
ple, and indeed exactly in the style of an English
watering-place. The natives fawn upon, laugh at,
and cheat the strangers, who come here from all
parts of England, Scotland, and Ireland, to get rid
of their consumptions and their money. Here I
first learned with great concern the death of Dr.
Hope. I rejoice, however, in having paid him the
compliment I did, and particularly in having writ-
ten a letter, which I sent with the dedication copy
of my book, and which seemed to give him parti-
cular pleasure.

The road from Nice to Genoa is bad beyond de-
scription, being for the most part along a path on
the brink of precipices hanging over the sea, and
so rocky and steep that every comparison of flights
of broken steps, Norwich pavement, &c., &c., is very
insufficient to give an idea of it: but the mules

197

never make a false step, though they have often all
their four feet together on a loose slippery stone,
and sometimes climb up places so steep that ’tis
difficult to keep from sliding off their rumps. The
weather was cold and windy; for though we rode
through myrtle thickets, and among trees which
even at Montpellier are kept in greenhouses, and
had groves of orange-, lemon-, and palm-trees about
us, yet there was ice an inch thick in the road, and
snow on the hills at no great distance. The weather
is, however, now very fine, rather cold but bright.
On my arrival at Genoa, I called on my friend
the Marquis Durazzo, and was a little struck at the
magnificence of the house (notwithstanding what
I had heard of the Genoese nobility), the ranks of
servants, &c.; so that I began to dread some for-
mality and reserve. I was, however, most agreeably
relieved from all such ideas the moment I saw him;
and I found him the same cheerful, easy, unassu-
ming man as when I knew him in London. He
made me most heartily welcome; insists upon all
ceremony being laid aside; that he will make us
acquainted with all his friends, and procure us ac-
cess to every thing worthy our notice. Last night
he introduced me to a family party; everybody
received me in the same agreeable manner, and
talked English or French (both equally well), out
of politeness to me; while I blundered out some
Italian. His family are persons of the first conse-
quence here; their palaces far beyond what we
have, except perhaps Chatsworth; and their collec-
tions of pictures celebrated in books of travels. A

198

marble staircase in the Marquis’s house is just
finished, at the expense of about 5000/. sterling.

We shall not stop at Rome for more than a day
or two in our way to Naples. We have letters to
Mr. Walsby, secretary to the Duke of Gloucester,
now at Rome.

Your affectionate Son,

J. E. Smiru.

Mr. Smith to J. E. Smith, Genoa.

My dear Son, Norwich, Jan. 4, 1787.

Pray make no apology for writing a small cha-
racter that your letters may contain more; they are
so entertaining, independent of the interest we take
in every thing you do, and in all that takes your
attention, that we are never tired, but read them
over and over again.—I have looked into Thick-
nesse for the JZaison Carrée, mto Le Voyage de
France for Aix, Nismes, the Pont du Gard, Mar-
seilles, &c.; and much the more enjoyed your and
their descriptions. For the climate, the fruits, the
good cheer, the frugality, and though last, not
least, the fountains of Aix, I amuse myself with the
delights of living there. Could we but find civil and
religious liberty, besides the above blessings, I could
wish myself and my family resident there.

I was not sorry you were not bit with. poetic
phrensy at your visit to Vaucluse. "Tis by no means
a vein to be wished. No muse rewards her votaries
so ill: to say how many she has ruined would be

199

endless. Whether Garth, Akenside, and others in
your line reaped any advantages in glory or fortune
from courting her, I know not. I would lay they
did not come near a Sloane, a Lee, a Heberden, a
Jebb, in one or the other ; but dare say if we looked
about, we might find many such ingenious men
as Goldsmith, who would have lived happier and
obtained more renown, as well as riches, in being
more ardently fond of their own sciences than of a
rhyming muse.

Your judgement of Petrarch and Laura is just
what I formed when I read Petrarch’s life; yet I
confess there was a sort of fascinating pleasure at-
tended the perusal. One might style it a sentimental
romance, as Bufhier would. Too many delusions
are pleasing.

I am sorry to tell you — , so lately married
in an extraordinary manner, very soon fell into
bad health, and this week she died,—a very serious
lesson to those who set a step of the utmost im-
portance against prudence and against duty. Tis
most likely she is a sacrifice to disappointment and
repentance. Alas! too amiable, too valuable a

victim !

We join in wishing you the continuance of health,
pleasure and safety ; which, whilst you take care of
yourselves, we trust you will be blessed with by
Heaven. |

I am, dear James, ever yours,

JAMES SMITH.

200

J. E. Smith to his Mother.

Honoured Madam, Pisa, Jan. 22, 1787.

We staid at Genoa till the 18th instant, being
very highly entertained with the fine buildings, pic-
tures, &c. of that superb city, and extremely pleased
with the perfect ease and familiarity with which we
were received by the Durazzo family, who all seemed
to strive to amuse and make us welcome. We found
their attention of great use to us in procuring us
that of everybody else; for the Genoese are rather
stately: but this family having undertaken to in-
troduce science into the country, and particularly
natural history, found some amusement themselves
in our company. I must postpone my descriptions
of Genoa to our future conversations, which I often
think of. I rejoice that I have been there on many
accounts, independent of the pleasure I received at
the time. |

The road towards Pisa being very mountainous,
my companion preferred the sea; so he had a very
pleasant voyage to Sestri, thirty miles, where he
landed to sleep the first night, and where I met him
the same evening after a rather perilous ride on
horseback; however, I dared not ride down the hills,
but got off to walk whenever I saw danger. The
road beyond Sestri being so extremely mountainous
and bad, that everybody told me I could not go
without great danger, I was induced (notwithstand-
ing my promise, which I hope you and my father
will pardon) to go by sea. We could not leave

201

Sestri next morning, as it rained; but the day after
being very fine, not a breath of wind, and the sea
smooth as possible without a wave, we were rowed
thirty miles to Lerici, all the way within a few yards
of the shore, which is most sublimely beautiful ;
nothing could be finer than this voyage, nor was it
worth sixpence to be insured. From Lerici we came
yesterday post to Pisa. This day we have been
highly entertained with the fine old cathedral, the
hanging tower, &c. of this place; the town is very
pleasant, streets wide, clean and airy, the river very
fine, but the inhabitants too few for so large a place.
We have determined to go straight to Florence to-
morrow.
Your ever dutiful Son,

J. E. Smita.

We are abundantly furnished with letters to every
place we go to, from the Durazzos, Dr. Batt, Brous-
sonet, &c.; so that we shall see the principal literary
people in Italy.

The Marquis Durazzo (who knows Spallanzani
well) assures me that he is now in prison at Vienna,
under a charge of embezzling some things intrusted
to his care by the Emperor. His friends hope he is
innocent; so do I, for the honour of philosophers.

J. E. Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Rome, Feb. 12, 1787.
My last was addressed to my dear mother, from
Pisa, Jan. 22nd; and I now sit down to continue my

202

narrative of our journey thus far. We met with a
very good voiture with two mules, which conveyed
us to Florence, and the same afterwards brought us
to Rome, and had a very safe and pleasant journey ;
except that the country inns were very bad, and
some of the country little better than the borders
of Scotland. We had a very sharp wind all the way
to Florence, so that we had but little enjoyment of
the famous vale of the Arno, through which we
passed. It is highly cultivated; the fields bordered
with elms or mulberry-trees, each of which supports
one or more fine vines, which hang in festoons from
one tree to the other; but at present they are quite
without leaves, except here and there in a warm
corner, where the old leaves remain. We were quite
in raptures with Florence, where we spent eight
days, the greatest part of which was passed in the
gallery. Nothing can be more handsomely con-
trived than this place is for the convenience of
strangers. The Grand Duke (a worthy brother of
the Emperor) gives the most positive orders that
no money should be taken on any pretence for
showing the gallery, the library, museum or any
thing, except only one of his palaces. The civility
and extreme attention of the guides deserves no
less praise than their sovereign’s liberality. The
gallery is open every day, except Sundays, from 9
till 1, and from 4 till 5. Here we contemplated at
leisure the Venus de Medicis (of which I had a very
inadequate idea before), the Venus of Titian, the
Wrestlers, the Slave whetting his Knife, the Apollo
Venator, with many other master-pieces of sculp-

203

ture and painting, all in one room ; among the rest
St. John in the Wilderness, by Raphael, I could never
cease to admire. We studied the countenances of
the Roman Emperors, and various great men of an-
tiquity, in their original busts. I would give one of
my ears for the bust of Marcus Aurelius. The por-
traits of the painters interested me much. I was
sorry to see Sir Joshua Reynolds cut so very poor
a figure among them as he does. His picture is
one of the worst of his works I ever saw,—a bad
likeness, and faded all away ; it hangs too in so low
a situation that it appears a mere mass of daubing.
Some of the best portraits in this collection are by
painters of whom we know little or nothing. The
inlaid tables are above all praise. You have read so
many descriptions of thisjustly celebrated collection,
that I need not attempt to describe it at present. I
shall only say that it more than answered my ex-
pectations.

The collection of the portraits of illustrious men
I think unworthy of the rest; most of them are
only bad copies, not originals.

The chapel built for the sepulchre of the Medici
family, but never finished, is very large, and entirely
lined with the most precious jaspers, agates, lapis-
lazuli and various gems, in the finest taste possible :
stones of which we generally see only small bits in
snuff-boxes or rings, are here used for panels or cor-
nices. There are innumerable fine statues and pic-
tures to be seen about the town, to mention which
would take several sheets. Ourafternoons were gene-
rally spent with the celebrated Abbé Fontana, whose

204

civility to us was very particular, and we learned
much from him. Our inn was the most comfortable
and elegant one I ever was at, so that on the whole
we had no alloy to our happiness at Florence. We
stopped a day at Sienna (a fine old town in a very
fine high situation) on purpose to see Dr. Mascagni,
a very ingenious anatomist, whose discoveries in the
lymphatic system have gone far beyond those of
Monro or Hunter, and who is going to publish a
fine work on the subject. He is one of the most
modest and unaffected of men. We arrived at Rome
full of expectation and admiration at every step
when we came within its walls, and were much
struck with the entrance, which you have, figured
in one of Piranesi’s plates, and which gives a very
just idea of it, notwithstanding what we have been
told to the contrary. We got here Wednesday
the 7th instant, and are lodged extremely well in
part of a house hired by the Duke of Gloucester
(who is now at Naples). A Portuguese abbé*,
whom I knew at Paris, is extremely useful to us; and
as we have several letters, we shall I hope see every
thing worth seeing, as well as several distinguished
persons. Thursday was almost entirely spent in
St. Peter’s, which, although with respect to archi-
tecture perhaps scarcely superior to St. Paul’s, and
even in some parts inferior, is so infinitely beyond
it in internal decorations, as well as in cleanliness
both within and without, that a comparison excites
one’s pity. We have seen several antiquities like-
wise ; Trajan’s and Anthony’s pillars, the Coliseum,

* M. Correa de Serra.

205

the arches of Titus, Severus, and Constantine, the
castle of St. Angelo, as well as many churches.
Tomorrow we go to the Vatican. Saturday carni-
val began, and I need not say we were highly di-
verted. After it is over (in about ten days) we go
to Naples, stay there two or three weeks, and then
return here for three more; thus we shall be here
in the holy-week, the best time possible.

I have now learned all the particulars about Spal-
lanzani. Scopoli*, who is a man of the first cha-

_ * Ina letter to his father in 1791, Sir James tells him, in speak-
ing of his publications: ‘I hope you have seen the Critical Re-
view for January, in which the second fasciculus of my Jcones
(uncoloured) is so very handsomely reviewed. I believe I never
translated to you what I have said of poor Scopoli, which the re-
viewer quotes with approbation. It is nearly as follows:—‘T. A.
Scopoli, universally celebrated for his /lora and Entomologia Car-
niolica, after various !abours in metallurgy, zoology, and botany,
at length, by favour of the Emperor, became the public botanical
and chymical professor at Pavia. This indefatigable man devoted
his leisure hours to the collecting all such new or ill understood
natural productions as fell in his way; whence arose that splendid
work, Delicie Flore Fauneque Insubrice, his last production,
and brought forth in trouble. Although devoted to the most
inoffensive pursuits, although dear to all good men, and esteemed
by all Europe, how much, alas! did he suffer from the arts and
malice of the malevolent! When he would have exculpated him-
self from censures unjustly cast upon him, his excellent sovereign,
seduced by the arts of the same men (for sovereigns are generally
obliged to judge but superficially), absolutely commanded him to
be silent. He submitted to his fate, but his indignant soul sought
for liberty and justice at a higher and more impartial tribunal,
May 8, 1788.’”

In speaking of Professor Scopoli in his Tour on the Continent,
Sir James adds : “ It is needless here to enter into the particulars:

206

racter, and beloved by everybody, has found out
how he has been used, and is dispersing the true
story all over Europe. My idea of the rivalship
between these two men proves exactly true ; indeed
I knew it could not be otherwise. Spallanzani is
in but little credit among real philosophers, who
examine for themselves; for many of his experi-
ments are found false, and he is considered as a
mere random theorist.
I am, dear Sir, yours,

J. E. Smit.

of the celebrated fracas which happened at Pavia not long since,
relative to some articles missing in the public museum. Nothing
is more painful than to find blemishes in a distinguished charac-
ter; nor should I mention the matter at all, but for the purpose
of justifying the innocent. All the above-mentioned professors
were unanimous in their account. The government was also well
informed of the truth, and the emperor Joseph II. took care to
have his sentiments known. But, unwilling to lose a person
whose scientific abilities were of importance to the university, the
accusers were somewhat harshly condemned to silence. Poor
Scopoli, one of the most concerned in the business, died of grief
the following year; and his only justification was a printed circu-
lar letter, sent to the principal literati of Europe, in which the
real cause of his death was mentioned, and which authority itself
did not suppress. May my honest though feeble endeavours help
to revive his blasted laurels, and protect a name which ought to
be dear to every good man, and doubly so to every naturalist !
It is the privilege of an Englishman, thank Heaven! safely to
assert the cause of justice whether in his own case or that of
another; a privilege which, under even a mild and beneficent
sovereign, cannot, we find, be always obtained in an unlimited go-
vernment. May happy Britain long most jealously watch and
preserve this inestimable blessing! May she be cautious, too, of

207
Stir Joseph Banks to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Revesly Abbey, Sept. 24, 1786.

Enclosed you will receive two letters for Naples,
one to Sir W. Hamilton*, the other to Greater the
gardener, whom I sent over to the Queen of Naples ;
you will find hima knowing man, and I expect you
will receive much real assistance from him. I shall
have great pleasure in hearing that your journey is
pleasant and successful. I know of no news to send
you from this country. Dryander writes me word
that Swartz, the Danish botanist, who has been all
about the West Indies, arrived in London a few days
ago, and stays till spring.

Believe me, most faithfully and truly,
Your humble Servant,

JOSEPH Banks.

hazarding it in pursuit of other advantages, however flattering,
remembering how much she has to lose, and how little to gain. ”»—
Vol. iii. p. 72.

* Sir Joseph Banks to Sir William Hamilton.
My dear Sir William, Revesly Abbey, Sept. 24, 1786.

As the bearer of this, Dr. Smith, is one of my most intimate
friends, I take the liberty to request as particular an indulgence
in his favour as your occupations will allow. As his wishes are
merely on the subject of science, he will repay, I am sure, any
civilities you are pleased to show him.

Botany is his chief pursuit, and in that he has made very
great progress.

Believe me,
Most faithfully and affectionately yours,
JoserH Banks.

208

J. E. Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Naples, March 5, 1787.

I was much disappointed at not finding a letter
from you at any of the post-offices (for there are
several) at Rome, nor any here.

We staid at Rome till Feb. 25th, and spent our
time very happily indeed. We saw all the Carnival,
a description of which (as you have seen so many
descriptions of it) I must defer to those future op-
portunities so often referred to, and thought of by
me with great pleasure.

We saw the Pretender every day: he is a heavy
sickly-looking man, very much like what Mr. Ba-
con of Earlham was latterly. He drinks very hard.
The principal things which we have seen at Rome
are the Coliseum, the arches of Severus, Titus, and
Constantine, columns of Trajan and Antoninus,
the Pantheon, the Museum Clementinum (where
are the most celebrated statues, as the divine Apollo
Belvidere, the Antinous, Laocoon, and a thousand
other inestimable things), the paintings by Raphael
in the Vatican, the Moses of Michael Angelo, which
is the first modern statue, as the Transfiguration of
Raphael, is the finest picture, in the world. We have
also seen the Palace Farnese, and several other pa-
laces and villas, with churches innumerable ; yet we
shall have enough to employ us very closely for the
three weeks which we have allowed ourselves to
stay on our return, and shall then leave Rome with
more regret than ever I left any place. I think it

209

best to see the principal things well, and leave the
rest slightly seen, or unseen altogether; but I think
nothing of the kind will ever interest me after I leave
Rome. We were three days and a half in coming
to Naples in a voiture; the inns were bad, but the
road equal to any in England; the weather very
fine. Another voiture with excellent company was
with us, and we liked our journey very well, espe-
cially as the country through which we passed was
so very interesting. We visited the villa of Cicero,
where he was killed, and also his tomb. We arrived
at Naples February 28th. Sir W. Hamilton is most
particularly civil, and his acquaintance will be of
great use to us. Mr. Walsby, who is here with the
Duke of Gloucester and family, is also very polite.
On Saturday evening we were presented to the Duke
and Duchess, who received us very courteously, es-
pecially the latter, who talked with me for near half
an hour with the greatest affability, and so did the
young prince and princess. The Duke was engaged
almost all the evening in playing on the bass-viol
with the celebrated Giardini, who is in his train ;
there were only two gentlemen and ourselves be-
sides the family, so that it was quite like a private
visit. Lady Almeria Carpenter is always with them,
and we had some conversation with her. She is
the most angelic creature that I have seen since I
left England,—I might almost say the only really
handsome woman. ‘The Duchess too is a very fine
woman. We are now at liberty to go any evening
we please, as they are generally at home; we shall
see them again at Rome.
Vols t, P

210

This morning, in consequence of an invitation
from the French ambassador, we went to hear mass
performed for the Abbé de Bourbon, natural son of
the late King of France, who died here of the small-
pox, aged 24, the day we arrived. It was the most
superb thing of the kind I ever saw. The church
was hung with black, and an astonishing profusion
of cloth of gold and ermine, and lighted with about
four thousand large wax tapers. In the centre was a
most magnificent Ionic temple of wood, painted like
gray marble and gilt, in which was a sarcophagus of
purple velvet embroidered with gold, at each of the
corners of which stood a skeleton holding a great
torch.

The body was buried on Saturday. Mass was
performed by the Pope’s nuncio; the music was
quite heavenly ; there were a hundred instrumental
and fifty vocal performers, and two organs. The
company consisted of the first people of both sexes,
all in mourning. The abbé is much regretted, par-
ticularly by the English; and the French say he
was an Englishman in his heart.

Naples is a very long and extensive town, ama-
zingly populous; the people very dirty,and the most
barefaced villains that ever I met with.

Here are some rich churches, and many tolerable
pictures ; but none very fine. The architecture in
general, as well as the taste of the ornaments of the
town are very bad; some of them like the taste of
our James the First’s time ; others like the flounc-
ing, fluttering, scrawling style of the Dutch burgo-
masters, or London and Norwich aldermen. How

211

different from Rome, Florence, and even Genoa!
Mount Vesuvius is in full view of our window, and
tuis evening has thrown out flame several times.

March 6th. This morning I have seen the Char-
treux, a very rich monastery, where is a capital Na-
tivity by Guido, which has been engraved, and some
other good pictures by Lanfranc, Spagnoletto, &c.

The treasury is amazingly rich. From a castle
above this convent is one of the most celebrated
views in Europe, and the day being very fine we
saw it to great advantage.

I forgot to tell you, that we got into the Pope’s
chapel on Ash Wednesday, and saw him put ashes
on the heads of all the clergy. He is a very hand-
some man; and although said to be ashamed of this
ceremony, yet he went through it with great dig-
nity. :

We find Italy much dearer than France; but I
hope to finish my tour without being immoderately
extravagant.

Your affectionate and obedient Son,

J. E. Smita.

Rev. Dr. Goodenough to J. E. Smith, Milan.

Dear Sir, March 11, 1787.

Your last letter from Genoa, dated January 13,
reached me the beginning of last month, but not
before it had been anxiously wished for. The ac-
count you give me of your travels through groves
of oranges and beds of myrtle, puts me in mind of

P2

212

the enchanting scenes of the Arabian Nights En-
tertainments, or Milton’s

Spicy gales
From Araby the blest.

I do not know what I would not give to be with
you. When you return home I think I shall never
have done asking questions about something or
other. As it now seems determined that we shall
have a commercial treaty with France, and restore
the golden age, which I foolishly imagined was
only in Utopia, I hope a few exports and imports
in natural history may be both allowed and obtained,
while a lasts; for lown myself one quz temeo Da-
naos et dona ferentes, and cannot bring myself to
think that there is much sincerity on either side in
this business. Perhaps if mutual interest can be
made to take place, it may exist a while. Yet be-
tween two rival nations, I do not see how there can
be a mutual interest. If the gain be equal on both
sides, then they are as they were before relatevely
considered, and there is no bond of union. If one
side have the greater gain, the other will appear
foolish, and in the end try to break the bargain.
In this train of thinking, I am not at all sanguine
about this measure, which I fear I ought to call the
bantling of mercantile interest, favoured in preju-
dice to the true offspring of Britain, national valour
and sound policy. Now I am upon politics, just
let me tell you the exact state of things at present.
The Houses of Lords and Commons have both
pledged themselves to adopt the treaty generally ;

213

that is, reserving a right of modifying particular
matters of inferior moment. Mr. Pitt carried it in
both houses by a majority of two to one. The
whole body of traders are full of ideas of present
profit; and as yet, though a slight grumbling is be-
ginning in some quarters, not a single petition has
been presented against it. Lord Lansdown says
that the scheme was his, and therefore, though a
secret enemy to Pitt, is for it. Four charges have
been urged against Mr. Hastings (for maladmini-
stration) in the House of Commons. He has been
adjudged liable to an impeachment upon three of
them, to the no small displeasure of a certain great
personage. Some people go so far as to say, that
Mr. Pitt, who voted for Hastings’s impeachment,
will lose his situation for his behaviour. Lord
Mansfield, angry that ministry will appoint Sir
Lloyd Kenyon to succeed him, refuses to resign.
He wishes Buller to succeed him. <A pamphlet,
entitled, “ A short Review of the Political State of
Great Britain,” affecting a great impartiality and
knowledge of present affairs, has lately made much
noise, and run through several editions. It by no
means deserves the character which has been given
it (it has been translated into all foreign languages),
for itis evidently partial to the court side, and is not
a true prophet. Witness the case of Hastings, whom
this writer trumpets to the skies. I look upon this
pamphlet as little more than a jumble of the best
sort of coffee-house conversation. Though you
are not a zealot in politics, nor I myself, yet I
thought, at your distance from England, you might

214

not dislike to hear so much of our affairs. Portu-
gal is to be considered as of very inferior moment :
but ministry are very much perplexed about Irish
affairs ; for the treaty says, the French are to be
the most favoured nation; so the blood of St. Patrick
thinks that very strange.

As to natural history, which I busy myself about
every day, more or less, I am in the first place
amusing myself with the idea of our New Society,
which must take place of our present gvoss body,
the instant it starts. The present society goes on
in the usual way, of having a fossil or a plant go
round the table: nothing is or can be said upon it.
It is referred to a committee to consider of it; the
committee call it by some name, and send it back to
the society. The society desire the committee to
reconsider it: the committee desire the society to
reconsider it. In the mean time nothing is done ;
indeed it does not appear to me that any of them
can do any thing. I have had ashort conversation
with Sir Joseph, who repeated to me what he said
to you. Were he not President of the Royal So-
ciety, I am sure he would join us.

My Systema Accentuatums ready for the press:
but I shall not take that step till you return.

I am much obliged to you for your letters, and
beg that you would continue to write to me, where-
ver you are. Your letters are my first-rate amuse-
ment. In the mean time believe me,

Your very affectionate friend,
SAMUEL GOODENOUGH.

215

Marsham is here with me, and has just showed
me your letter to him, which was wonderfully en-
tertaining, particularly your account of the famous
gallery, and your laying down your heart at the foot
of the Venus de Medicis.

I hope you will contrive to see Allioni: I look
upon him as one of the few who search into nature,
and see with their own eyes. Besides, where can
you see the Alpine plants in such plenty, or such
perfection as with them ?

Do keep in your mind Curculto paraplecticus,
—my desiderata in general. I should be glad of a
little more 4grostis minima. Above all, write to
me often, again and again.

Ever yours, with best wishes, 5S. G.

Thomas Jenkinson Woodward, Esq. to J. E. Smith,
Milan.

Dear Sir, Bungay, March 16, 1787.

I have now before me your two very friendly and
highly entertaining letters, the first from Paris,
October 2nd, the other from Rome, February 12th.
It gives me great pleasure to find that in such distant
journeys, and amongst the literati of all countries,
and such interesting objects, your old Norwich
friends claim a share in your recollection and re-
gard; and I do assure you the distinction flatters
me highly. I am very much obliged to you for
Bullard, which, with your Parisian letter, I received
very safe about Christmas. I shall certainly thank
you for the promised copy of Leers, at the eighteen

216

livres. You will also be so kind as to procure for
me on your return to Paris, such other Fungi as
Bulliard may have published since you bought them,
together with the Mistozre des Champignons, and
such other letter-press as may relate to that subject. .

Your thesis I shall hope to receive on your re-
turn. Retzius is, I take it, a Swedish professor, who
has published three fasciculi of observations in bo-
tany, in 1779, 1781, and 1783. The second is de-
dicated to Sir Joseph Banks. There are a few
plates, particularly the real Astragalus arenarius,
and another called Hippuris lanceolata, which I
apprehend to be the ¢etraphylla ; some good ob-
servations, and I apprehend some error. I think I
saw the book in your library. I thank you for
Gnaphalium luteo-album, and Agrostis minima, both
of which are treasures.

I need not say how often I have wished myself
with you, for it has happened every step you record
of your tour, and every library and herbarium you
have examined. The names of the old botanists
seem to carry one into enchanted ground; and the
travelling through the herbaria of Tournefort and
Vaillant, &c. is like taking a journey to Jupiter or
Saturn, to verify the number of their satellites, and
periods of their revolutions.

Your Senecio acanthifolius must be a magnifi-
cent plant, and the rest I long much to see. Ifyou
return through Switzerland as you propose, pos-
sibly you may have an opportunity of inspecting
Haller’s herbarium, which would, I should think,
be of great adyantageto an accurate Flora Anglia,

217

as so very many of the Swiss plants are also natives
of England. I have travelled with you in your
second letter, from Paris to Rome, and enjoyed the
beautiful and sublime scenery you describe, and the
sight of so many plants growing wild, which we
either immure in greenhouses, or look upon as
valuable ornaments to the shrubbery or flower-gar-
den. I hope you drank out of the fountain of
Vaucluse, to the memory of Petrarch and his beau-
tiful Laura.

The two days you spent with Gerard must have
been delightful, and particularly advantageous to
your proposed reform of the Syst. Veget. Your
time at Genoa must have passed delightfully with
your friend the Marquess and his family. And the
time spent in examining the gallery at Florence was
charmingly employed. The veterts vestigia lamme
however, always breaking forth, makes me regret
the impossibility of examining to purpose the col-
lection of Micheli, as it might have been of conse-
quence in ascertaining the synonyms of many En-
glish Cryptogamia. I was ill-natured enough to
be highly pleased with your account of Spallan-
zani’s disgrace, and that principally on account of
the strictures it pleased the reviewers to pass on
your second tract, because they judged it improper
to attack so great a personage. To people any
way qualified to judge of the subject, there could
be no doubt of the propriety of your strictures on
Spallanzani ; but there are so many readers of the
Reviews, who pin their faith upon them, and though
entirely ignorant of the subject of natural history,

218

choosing to retail their opinions on that as well as
other subjects, that it gave me great pleasure to
have, what one might call, a practical defence of
your assertions. In consequence I have mentioned
to some friends the anecdote.

You expect an account of some discoveries ; but
whilst you are daily treading new ground, how am
I to supply you with any thing new? I have not
met with any thing new in the Cryptogamia this
winter, and in the other classes one has nothing
to expect. Dickson’s journey to Scotland has how-
ever produced enough, at least according to Crowe’s
account, to surprise you on your return. He says
that he believes he goes not more than half way,
when he declares that Dickson has discovered one
hundred and fifty new species of Mosses, Junger-
mannie, &c., and Lichens, and some of them so
completely unlike any thing discovered before in
those genera, as to be wonderful; but whether they
will excite your wonder as much as ours is rather
doubtful. For my own part, not having been at
London this winter, I have seen none of them ;
and Crowe’s portmanteau, in which were many of
these treasures, was stolen on its way to the coach,
by which they, as well as his wardrobe, were irrepa-
rably lost. Iwas at Norwich last Saturday, when I
saw Mrs. Smith, your father being out of town;
and she was so kind as to communicate to me great
part of aletter from you of the same date as mine ;
but they were so different, that each of us received
much pleasure from the exchange of intelligence.
Pitchford and his wife desire their affectionate com-

219

pliments. I showed them your letter, with which
they were charmed.

Norwich has just been in another uproar. Yes-
terday se’nnight the committee of the House of
Commons, after a long sitting on Sir Thomas Bee-
vor’s petition, declared the last election void, from
bribery proved on both sides; and on Saturday a
writ came down. Yesterday was the election, when,
after a hard struggle, Hobart succeeded by a majo-
rity of eighty and upwards, as I have heard; but a
scrutiny is talked of.

We have experienced a severe loss in the death
of my worthy and much respected father-in-law and
friend Mr, Manning, which happened on January
15th. His kindness to me was such that I can never
cease to regret his loss, and must ever highly re-
spect his memory.

I am, dear Sir,

T. Woopwarp.

J. E. Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Rome, March 26, 1787.

Your letter of February the 12th, which I found
here, March 23rd, on my return from Naples, was
as grateful to me as “ cold water toa thirsty soul;”
and [ take the first opportunity of thanking you
for it.

I now proceed with my own history.—The 9th
instant we were most delightfully occupied in see-
ing the antiquities on the west side of Naples; the
grotto of Pausilippo, Puzzuola, Baic, the Elysian

220

Fields, temple of Venus, (from which I brought
some sprigs of myrtle, as I did of bay from Virgil’s
tomb,) baths of Nero, grotto of the Sibyl, lake
of Avernus ; in short all that you will find in books,
and which I need not describe. They are highly
interesting, and I could have spent a month about
them instead of a day. I had them all, however, al-
ready so well in my mind, that a slight view was
sufficient to stamp a lasting impression.

Two days after, we visited the palace of Capo di
Monte, where are some good pictures, but bad ones
innumerable ; the best thing there is an onyx cup,
found in Adrian’s tomb.

The catacombs are wonderful for their extent,
and worth seeing. We afterwards visited the Grotto
del Cane, Virgil’s tomb, and some other things
thereabouts.

Next day was devoted to Vesuvius. We left
Naples at six in the morning, and in an hour anda
half got to Portici, where we took mules, and as-
cended as far as we could in that manner, but were
obliged to walk about a mile over the loose ashes
to the top, which is very fatiguing; but by going
very slow we accomplished it well. We walked
round the inside of the old crater, in the centre of
which is arisen a new mountain within these twelve
months, to the top of which we ascended and looked
into the present crater; but it was less striking
than I expected, as its inside is not perpendicular,
and the smoke, although very moderate, prevented
us from seeing far. I can give you no idea of the
grotesque appearance of iron cinders, encrusted

221

with salts of the most vivid green, red, and yellow
colours ; the chasms from which issue smoke and
heated vapours, with snow at three feet distance
from them. All this I had no conception of, much
less of the lava, of which we saw a fine stream,
about a yard in breadth, issuing from one side of
the hill: we dipped our sticks into it, and it imme-
diately cooled into a cinder around them ;—the
melted iron running froma furnace gives the best
idea of it. We descended much faster than we
came up, after having gratified our curiosity, and
enjoyed the view, which is beautiful and extensive
beyond description. As to the hazard we ran, I
believe it to have been none, however formidable
in the description; for there was no rumbling in
the mountain, as there always is before any change,
and all the top is an iron crust firmer than any
other rock in the world, and very safe to wall on.
We descended into the theatre of Herculaneum,
which is all that is left open, the rest having been
filled again for security, as Portici stands upon it.
Next day went to Pompeii, many of the houses of
which are quite laid open, with their beautiful stuc-
cos and mosaics in full view ; the streets, gardens,
&c. are quite perfect: nothing can be more interest-
ing, and they daily discover more. The museum at
Portici contains most of the things that have been
found: vases, bronzes, statues, paintings, imple-
ments, even dates, figs and bread, with many other
such things, in their perfect form, although disco-
loured. At the porcelain manufactory at Naples
we saw a superb set of china, intended as a present

222

to our king. I received great civility from the Da-
nish ambassador, who is a botanist, and who was
earnest with me to correspond with him. Saturday
last, March 17th, we left Naples for Caserta, where
the court resides. We spent that day and the next
with Sir William Hamilton and the queen’s gar-
dener, who was sent over by Sir Joseph Banks; and
on Monday a very bad road brought us to Monte
Cassino, the chief of the Benedictine convents, to
which we were well recommended, and where we
were most hospitably and elegantly received: ’tis
well worth seeing, but I must postpone a descrip-
tion of it for the present. We spent Tuesday there;
and in three days more a very bad road, through a
most beautiful country, brought us to Rome. We
passed through Frescati (Tusculum), and saw the
ruins of Cicero’s Villa, and the Villa Aldobrandini,
with some other gardens. Yesterday and today we
have seen the antiquities of the Capitol, and today
ascended to the top of Trajan’s noble column. We
stay here a month.
I am, honoured Sir, your dutiful Son,
J. E. Smiru.

Mr. Smith to J. E. Smith, Milan.

My dear Son, Norwich, March 29, 1787.
Your letters, my dear James, give us the most
exquisite pleasure: but although the narrations are
so pleasing, and the reception you meet with makes
your parents’ hearts exult with joy; though we con-
template the advantages you may derive from your

223

journey in regard to information and connections,
with a pleasing prospect of future happiness and in-
terest ;—all these agreeable subjects for reflection
do not interest us near so much as what concerns
your health and safety, the confirmation of which in
every letter carries my soul, loaded with gratitude,
up to the throne of our gracious God, displaying
your letter as the testimony of his great goodness in
preserving and protecting you, who are the joy and
comfort of those to whom you owe your birth, and
who are never ceasing to offer up vows for your
happy return, when you have completed your pur-
posed tour. Excuse, my beloved son! these sallies
of the passions,—my heart is full.

Your brother Francis is pursuing astronomy now
with the earnestness he undertakes every thing, and
he is making astronomers of the girls andme. We
are ever popping out to peep at the stars, and are
intimate with Orion, the Ursz, the Lion, and Bull,
&c. Sir J. Banks told me he had received a letter
from you. I shall write to you to Turin, and hope
you will let us hear from you as soon as you arrive
at Venice, at Milan and Turin, if you have only
time to say you are well.

Yours for ever,

JAMES SMITH.

I am told the road from Milan to Turin is in dan-
ger of banditti. I beg of you omit no precautions,
nor spare expense, for your safety. I write now
for the caution I give you, which I don’t let your
mother see.

224

Mr. William Jones to J. E. Smith, Milan.

Dear Sir, London, April 9, 1787.

I thank you for your favour from Rome, and
particularly for your apology for not writing sooner ;
because it justified my jealousy, when you wrote
to Mr. Marsham, that you had either forgot me, or
was Offended that I did not embrace your scheme
with the same ardour yourself and some others pos-
sessed for it. I own, not one tittle of the plan ex-
pressed in your favour can be objected to by such
as are qualified for it; but am certain ’tis your par-
tiality only can rank me in that number, for I feel
in myself too much ignorance when with the in-
genious and scientific, to conceive myself entitled
to it. This, and an indolence of mind that fre-
quently accompanies me, seem to throw obstruc-
tions where otherwise my ambition might tempt
me. ‘To cultivate your esteem, I shall be always
proud of communicating the little I know, and I
am afraid so little, though all, that I shall hardly
merit it; nevertheless, 1 may venture to assure you
it shall not be charged to my account, if our friend-
ship ceases sooner than our lives.

Rome, more than any city upon earth, would
please me to visit; I conceive it an inexhaustible
source of delight to a curious mind. “Iwas the
sentiment of an ingenious traveller, that of all the
places he had seen or should see, it was by far the
most delightful ;—that a voyage to Italy might pro-
perly enough be compared to the common stages
and journeys of life. At our first setting out through

225

France, the pleasures that we find, like those of our
youth, are of the gay fluttering kind, which grow
by degrees as we advance towards Italy, more solid,
manly, and rational, but attain not their full per-
fection till we reach Rome ; from which paimt we
no sooner turn homewards, than they begin again
gradually to decline; and though sustained for a
while in some degree of vigour through the other
stages and cities of Italy, yet dwindle at last into
weariness and fatigue, and a desire to be at home,
where the traveller finishes his course, as the old
man does his days, with the usual privilege of being
tiresome to his friends by a perpetual repetition of
past adventures. This last is only to finish the
climax, and by no means applicable to you. You
have a fair opportunity of adding your suffrage to
the above, or giving your dissent; and as this re-
mark was made more than fifty years since, you
will observe how far manners may have changed
with time. I must give you another quotation.
Brydone, in his Travels through Sicily, speaks of
large aloes making a magnificent appearance, and I
believe thought them indigenous, and enumerated
sundry plants, which, when I read him, struck me
with surprise ; but you assign a very probable rea-
son why more southern plants should flourish in
that country. In the west of England, near the sea,
tis no unusual sight to observe myrtles in the open
air bear the winter well; and I have noticed some
springs, when near London the severity of weather
has destroyed the blossom of the wall-fruits, near
the sea in Sussex they have not perished.
VOL. I. a

226

Mr. Latham will be much obliged to you if you
can procure a good description, &c. of a bird called
Courier, described by several, but only seen by
Aldrovandus, from whom the others took their
account. The description given is too short and
imperfect to give a just idea of it.

I saw Dr. Goodenough and Mr. Marsham this
day. They and theirs are well, and are anxious to
see you; but not more than, dear Sir,

Yours most sincerely,

W. Jones.

J. Eb. Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Rome, April 11, 1787.

Yesterday I received from Genoa yours of Ja-
nuary 4th, inclosed in one from M. Durazzo, which
informed me of the death of his father, a fine old
man of eighty-five, whom every body loved, and I
was very much pleased with. Iam not partial to
the bread of Italy, ’tis all made with leaven, and
so sour that nothing but custom can reconcile one
to it, nor can I ever eat it without something to
conceal the taste. Since our return from Naples
we have been very busy in seeing houses, pictures,
and statues, and with the ceremonies of the Holy
Week. The palace Borghese contains I think the
finest collection of pictures I ever saw; there are
above seventeen hundred originals, scarcely any of
which are not good, and some exquisitely fine.
You will find accounts of them in books. There is

227

a Venus of Titian, one of the two which contends
with that at Florence for originality ; several things
by Leonardo da Vinci, a charming painter, of
whose works I have seen but few; many by Ra-
phael, Julio Romano, Titian, Guido, Paul Vero-
nese (especially Cupid caressing Adonis), St. Ceci-
lia by Domenichino, a most divine performance,
&c., &c. I have learned one thing, which I hope
will be agreeable intelligence for you, which is,
that your Virgin with the Infant Jesus and St. John,
which now hangs disgracefully on the staircase, is
by no other hand than Raphael, in his second man-
ner,—you know he had three very different ones.
The first, in which he imitated his master, was a bad
and stiff one. In the second, he improved very
much in drawing and colouring, and finished very
highly (as yours is), so that some of his pictures
in this manner are very highly valued, especially
as they are rare. His third manner is quite origi-
nal, although various in itself, and of various merit ;
of this are all his most celebrated pieces, and no
one has yet equalled him in design and drawing,
although his. colouring has been excelled. I sus-
pected your picture to be by his hand when I was
ta Genoa, from one which I saw there; and since, I
have made so many observations on the pictures
painted by him and his scholars as well as others,
that I am without a doubt on the subject. What
settled my opinion was a very much admired picture
at the palace Borghese, which is extremely like
yours in the thought and execution.

I have seen some of Andrea del Sarto’s, which in

a 2

228

some measure resemble it, but still are sufficiently
different. Leonardo da Vinci and his scholars are
not in the least like it, and I wonder Worlidge
thought it was one of theirs; but perhaps he was
never in Italy, where, only, Raphael’s pictures can
be seen in any number. What is characteristic in
your picture is a certain sublime tranquillity in the
’ countenances, especially I think in St. John’s ; the
little gold wiry hair of the children; the Virgin’s
very thin veil; the colours of her drapery; the
colour and design of the back-ground; and the
softness of the finishing, with some errors in the
outline of the faces here and there, but no defect
in grace or delicacy. Ihave so often contemplated
the picture, that I know it perfectly, and havetaken
no small pains to make observations on the sub-
ject; but I’ll tell you better when I see it again.
The villa Borghese, which is without the city, is the
finest about Rome, and as rich in sculptures as the
palace is in paintings; besides that the house is
extremely elegant and neat, abounding with the
most precious porphyry and marbles. Of all the
splendid sights that can be seen, I think the Holy
Week exceeds them ; indeed no prince who pre-
tends only to temporal authority can assume the
dignity that the Pope does, nor can any other have
such a place as St. Peter’s to exhibit in. The pre-
sent Pope conducts himself with admirable grace
and dignity. Nothing can be finer than his blessing
the people from the middle window of the great
front of St. Peter’s, the great bell ringing, guns of
St. Angelo firing, and the soldiers, who are drawn

229

up in the area, trumpeting at the same time. Im-
mediately after he has pronounced the blessing,
with his arms extended, all the people kneel to re-
ceive it. His washing the pilgrims’ feet, and serv-
ing them at dinner, are sights altogether novel ; but
the finest thing of all is his saying mass on Easter
Sunday. The altar of St. Peter’s was set out with
candlesticks and statues of pure gold, each about
four feet high. Behind it, at some distance, was a
most magnificent throne for the Pope, who came in
a chair on men’s shoulders, blessing the people as
he advanced. Behind him were carried two im-
mense fans of white peacocks’ feathers, and before
him about eight different mitres and tiaras, for the
most part covered with the finest pearls and gems,
besides one which he wore on his head. The cere-
monies of the preceding days were chiefly in the
Sixtine chapel; there we heard such music, all
vocal, as I never heard elsewhere, especially the
Miserere, which is so very famous. I could have
no idea before of such sounds, yet I can conceive
that music might be carried further. We dressed
in black, full dress, as is the fashion, and were
easily admitted everywhere, as the Romans make a
point of showing attention to strangers. There
were a great many foreigners of the first distinction;
the Duke of Gloucester and family (whom we have
visited here since they came from Naples), the Duke
and Duchess of Buccleugh, Lord and Lady Gower,
&c. The fireworks at St. Angelo are inferior to
what I have seen, except the vast fountain of fire,
which Wright has painted. Two evenings in the

230

week the inside of St. Peter’s was lighted only by a
huge cross of copper, studded on both sides with
lamps, and hung in the middle of the church, which
was quite a promenade, like Ranelagh. We leave
Rome in twelve days for Loretto, Bologna, Venice,
and Milan.

Your dutiful Son,

J. E. Smiru.

J. E. Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Rome, April 24, 1787.

We could not get off this morning, but shall
leave Rome this afternoon or tomorrow. I have
got a letter from Broussonet of Paris, informing
me that | am chosen a member of their Royal Agri-
cultural Society. We have been busily employed
in seeing all we could, but must still leave some
things undone. The church of St. Paul without-
the-walls pleased me very much, on account of its
great number of noble antique pillars of marble,
forty of which came from Adrian’s tomb, and are
most of them of a single block of Parian marble
near twenty-five feet high. A few days ago a very
elegant new monument was opened in the church
of the Twelve Apostles, for the late Pope Ganganelli;
tis one of the finest I ever saw: ’tis of the usual
form ; a large base, on which is a sarcophagus,
at one end of which is a figure of Humility, andat
the other Temperance, both quite in the antique
style, and far superior to Bernini’s heavy works.

231

Above is a figure of the Pope giving his benedic-
tion. The artist is to be paid about 30002. He is
a Venetian. There is a perpetual crowd about
this monument, and nobody talks of anything else.
The people have begun to kiss a part of the dra-
pery of one of the figures, which hangs low; for
the late Pope is adored by all kinds of people ex-
cept those who helped to take him off. The people
likewise kiss the monument of Innocent XI. at St.
Peter's. I have not met with the “Voyage de
Y Abbé Richard,” but with that of ‘De la Lande,”
which is an excellent one. I have also just been
reading Addison’s Travels, and a poor book it is.
Smollet’s gives a very just account of the manners
of the people, but he always gives the dark side.

I wish I had Lady Miller’s Letters; from what I
remember of them they are very just, and have af-
forded me many useful hints.

Your dutiful Son,
J. EB. Smira.

J. E. Smith to his Mother.

Honoured Madam, Bologna, May 7, 1787.

Although I wrote to my father so lately as April
24th, yet having made a long step since, I think you
will have no objection to hear we are got thus
much nearer home. On the 25th after dinner we
left Rome, casting many a longing lingering look
at the fine things we passed by. I have left no
place with half so much regret. The last object

232

we lost sight of was the dome of St. Peter’s, from a
hill about six miles off. We engaged with the
same voiturin who had brought us from Florence
to Rome,—a man of character, and with whom we
were well pleased,—to carry us to Bologna by Lo-
retto (366 miles) for 10 sequins (that is about 5/.
each), and provisions and every thing included. We
arrived here quite safe and well May 5th at noon;
and had a very agreeable journey, except that the
weather was part of the way very cold, and we had
much rain. One half day we were obliged to lie by
on account ofa storm of rain and wind in our faces
as we went by the sea side from Savignano toward
Rimini. Friday, April 27th, we visited the famous
cascade of Terni, said to be one of the finest in the
world. It is avery considerable river, which falls
above 460 feet perpendicular, as it is said, but I can
scarcely conceive it to be quite so much: it is al-
most all changed into foam in its fall, and is dashed
up an amazing height from the rocks below; it
fills the neighbouring valleys, which are very ro-
mantic, with a perpetual mist, and when the sun
shines there is always a rainbow. We slept at
Spoleto, where there is a fine old aqueduct. Next
day our road lay through one of the finest and rich-
est countries I ever saw; it was along a very ex-
tensive valley, cultivated in the highest degree with
corn and vines, and bounded by hills clad with olive-
trees, and stuck with towns, white convents, villas
and cottages, to their very tops. The hedges were
full of what we call Italian May, in flower, and
Venus’s Looking-glass grew on the banks. At

233

Foligno we saw a very fine statue of massy silver,
as big as life, representing St. Felix, one of their
bishops; it is in a chair of silver, and is carried
about the town once a year. After dinner we be-
gan to ascend the Apennines, and slept at a poor
little place called Serravalle, in a very deep rocky
valley, high among the mountains, where every-
thing wore the appearance of February; the trees
just budding, and the spring flowers now in bloom.
This is one of the lowest passes of these mountains ;
there are others which are now covered with snow.
The road is commodious enough. Next day we
descended into a milder climate, and I found seve-
ral fine plants. Passed through a rich and beautiful
country (which continued all the way to Bologna)
to Macerate, a very fine situation, and next day
dined at Loretto, where we spent the rest of the day
in seeing the celebrated curiosities of that holy
place. They are very civil to strangers here, and
delight to show them every thing ; no kneeling or
any ceremony of that kind is required. The place
swarms with poor labouring people, who come on
pilgrimages here from every part of the world:
they go round the holy house on their knees, sing-
ing or saying their prayers. The holy house is
converted into a chapel; the outside is cased with
marble ; it stands under the dome of a very large
church: the inside is divided into two parts by an
altar and grate, all of massy silver ; the part behind
the altar is lined entirely with silver, and here in a
niche of gold stands the holy image of the Virgin,
ina robe covered with above six thousand diamonds,

234

some of them of immense value. About the niche
hang great numbers of offerings made by the great-
est princes in the world ; among others, a figure of
a child in gold, weighing twenty-four pounds, given
by Louis XIII. of France, on the birth of his son
Louis XIV., and many others equally valuable.
Here are kept what they call the Virgin’s gown,
dishes which she used, the cup out of which
our Saviour took pap, &c., all in massy silver cup-
boards. But the most stupendous thing of all is
the treasury, a large room where most of the of-
ferings that have been made are disposed in glass
eases all around; that is, all the choicest of gold
and jewels, for silver can scarcely find a place.
There are some most beautiful as well as precious
things, and many interesting in an historical light ;
as the fine crown and sceptre of Christina queen of
Sweden; a gold heartset with diamonds, given by our
James the Second’s queen, and many others equally
curious. There are garments forthe priests, covered
with millions perhaps of pearls and precious stones,
in embroidery and other forms. Every thing is
kept in the most exquisite order, and shown freely
to the public twice a day. One thing which struck
me extremely was a huge mass of emeralds, each as
big as the handle of a table-knife, sticking in their
natural bed; the whole must weigh one hundred
and fifty pounds; it was given by Philip IV. of
Spain. Here is a Virgin and Child by Raphael, for
which they say Lord Spencer offered about 37002. :
but this church 1s not in want of money, as you will
easily believe ; their revenues are in proportion to

235

their other riches. We laid in a stock of rosaries
and crucifixes of various kinds, which are made at
Loretto, and which we had touched with the holy
house and porringer, to make them (as Lady Miller
says) as efficacious as possible, to present as curi-
osities to our friendsin England. Their cheapness
is as remarkable as any thing, and some of them
are really very pretty things; as you shall see, I
hope, one day. We were obliged to buy a little
silver Madonna, and some flaring artificial flowers
to stick in the front of our voiturin’s hat; that was
indispensably necessary, and if it had been neg-
lected, nobody knows what ills might have befallen
us. Next day we proceeded amid troops of pil-
grims to Ancona, a pretty sea-port, and thence to
Sinigaglia. We saw nothing very remarkable all
the way to Bologna, but passed through some very
pretty neat little cities, viz. Rimini (which last
week felt another shock of an earthquake), Forlt,
Faenza, Imola, and Cesene. Most of the towns in
this country are built like Bologna, of brick; the
houses stand on stone pillars, and form a clean
broad covered way for foot-passengers on each side
of most of the streets, which is very convenient.
We have been busy since our arrival here, in seeing
churches and pictures, with which this place abounds ;
some of the latter prodigiously fine: butnochurches
will do after seeing Rome. Tomorrow evening we
set off ina barge, to go by canals and rivers to
Venice, where we are to arrive in thirty-six hours,
and where we expect to meet several of our friends.
We shall probably stay ten days, or at most a fort-

236

night, to see the place, and the celebrated cere-
monies at the Ascension. Direct to me as before,
at Genoa: the letters go post free to M. Durazzo’s ;
and he can send them after me to Paris, where I
shall likewise get them post free. I may perhaps
call again at Genoa, as it is very little out of my
way, and I am warmly invited.
Your ever dutiful Son,

J. E. Smiru.

Sir J. Banks to J. E. Smith, Milan.

Dear Doctor, Soho Square, May 11, 1787.

Many thanks for your letter, and the news it
contains. I am very glad to find your travels pro-
duce so much amusement to you.

I have nearly finished Swartz’s herbarium,—a
most valuable one it is; he is certainly the best
botanist I have seen since poor Solander’s death, so
that the addition I have received from him is im-
mense. I am in hopes to procure his being sent
out by the East India Company next year to Ben-
gal. The Royal Society flourishes much. Herschel
sent an account there the other day of three volca--
nos* which he saw burning in the unenlightened
part of the moon, the largest of which appears
twice as large as Jupiter’s third satellite, and he

* Ina letter from Dr. Younge, dated Milan, June 22nd, he
tells his friend Smith, “ Oriani thinks he has found out what
* Herschel calls voleanos; he is at present in doubt whether
they be really so.”

237

conceived to be three miles in diameter. We ex-
pect from him a dissertation on the subject, which
is not new; as Hevelius saw a similar phenomenon,
though he was not able to account for it. Herschel
had before discovered two new satellites to his
Georgian planet.

Mr. Walker, apothecary to the Infirmary at Ox-
ford, has produced a frigorific mixture with salts
and acids only, by which he has frozen mercury
last week when the thermometer was at forty-five.
His cheap process, which produces forty-six degrees
of cold, may be useful to cool your wine, &c. It is
oil of vitriol mixed with an equal quantity of water,
cooled by putting into it Glauber salts finely pow-
dered. These I think are our three things, the new-
est this season, for the Philosophical Transactions.
We begin to look out for your return, which I
suppose will be in autumn; and have a long list of
queries for comparison with your herbarium. Sib-
thorp is expected here shortly.

Yours most faithfully,

Jos. BANnKs.

Marquis Ippolito Durazzo to J. E. Smith, Milan.

Dear Sir, Genoa, June 8, 1787.
Your letter of the 23rd of May came safe to my
hands, and afforded me some notices of you, which
I wanted of. I thank you for the part you take
on the loss of my father, which has been very much
felt by all our family. It seems, by the history of
the Capuchin, you were astonished to hear I was

238

no more a bachelor. I cannot tell you how this
changement of thinking took place in my mind so
suddenly. In few days every thing was proposed
and concluded.

The box shall remain with the other till you
come, and I shall pay what is necessary,—I say, till
you come, as I hope you will do it. Why, sir, do
you take the liberty to ask me if your coming to
Genoa is convenient or not to me, after so many
petitions and prayers which I made to you for this
object? I expect you consequently without any
doubt, and will prepare some interesting things for
you. You must, therefore, write to me some lines,
that I can know the time of your coming; and shall
be very happy to meet you again, and present you
to my wife before that I can see you again in Eng-
land. |

I wrote to Mr. Broussonet in the month of April,
and received no answer at all from him, according
to his custom. Believe he will be always the same
for me, and consequently I shall be obliged to look
for another correspondent in Paris, in the scien-
tifical line.

Present my compliments to Mr. Younge. I
send you those of Mr. Cattaneo and my sister; and
am with the greatest regard and consideration,

Your most humble and obedient servant,

IprpoLiro Durazzo.

239

J. E. Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Milan, June 8, 1787.

Nothing could exceed my joy and satisfaction on
finding here your very affectionate letter of March
29th, together with ten others from various friends.

I always feel (thanks to your good instructions)
so exactly the same sentiments towards Heaven on
receiving your letters that you express on receiving
mine, that I need not repeat them even if I could
express them better ; and whenever I approach the
place where I expect news from home, I endeavour
to prepare my mind in such a manner, that if it
were unfavourable I hope I could bear it, and if fa-
vourable, as thank God it always has been, such a
disposition of mind doubles my pleasure.

My last was to my mother, from Bologna, May
7th. I believe we shall fly down to Genoa fora
few days, to congratulate my friend the marquis on
his marriage, which is now in hand, and to strength-
en still more my connection with his family, and
especially with his elder brother, who is now the
chief of the family, and who was beginning to be
much attached to me: his son will soon come to
England. From Genoa we go by the dow road to
Turin, in which there is nothing to fear. Our jour-
ney from Bologna here has been very prosperous
and agreeable, and I now proceed to give youa
sketch of it. To Venice we went by the Courier
by water, pretty much as in Holland, in two days
and two nights; the country we passed through
was execrable, like the worst fens of Holland or

240

Lincolnshire. We dined excellently at Ferrara, a
vast lifeless town, or to use Ganganelli’s words,
“une belle et vaste solitude, presqu aussi silentieuse
que le tombeau de lV Arioste qui y repose.” We had
not time to visit Ariosto’s tomb. I regretted more
that we did not pass through Cento, where are
some celebrated paintings of Guercino’s, one of my
favourites. I have made ample notes on the pic-
tures of Bologna, which I hope will amuse you at
my return, so I say nothing about them now. I
shall tire even you with what I have to say about
pictures and statues. The approach to Venice
struck me, but the place on the whole disappointed
me; it has formerly been one of the finest towns
in Europe, but others have so far surpassed it, that
it is now only the most singular one. We spent
seventeen days there busily enough ; saw with due
attention most of the pictures of Paul Veronese,
Titian, and Tintoret, which abound in Venice ; and
I think I understand these painters’ works tolera-
bly ; their principal: merit you know is in their
colouring. I was amazed to find every thing in
Venice prodigiously dirty. St. Mark’s church, one
of the richest in the world in oriental marbles, por-
phyries, jaspers, &c., as well as mosaics, is so blacked
and dirtied in every possible manner, that one thing
can hardly be distinguished from another; the taste
of it is very bad Gothic; pillars intrinsically worth
some hundred pounds each, even to cut in pieces,
are piled on one another in all parts without any
judgement. We saw Venice in all its glory, it being
Ascension time, when everybody resorts there ; and

241

we paid for it pretty well, although not so much as
I expected, for the price of every thing is nearly
doubled at that time. The Doge’s marriage with
the Sea is a most noble and singular sight; we went
ina gondola among thousands perhaps of other
vessels accompanying the Bucentaur, which is a
splendid ugly thing, not much better than our Lord
Mayor's barge, and heard mass with the Doge, &c.
at an island about two miles from St. Mark’s-place,
called Lido. We returned in the Bucentaur itself,
as all genteel foreigners were permitted to do, with
the Doge, who sat inathrone at the upper end,
with the Pope’s Nuncio (a shrewd-looking fellow)
at his right hand, and the nobles, in crimson gowns
and great wigs, about him. St. Mark’s fair began
on Ascension-day ; it lasts three weeks, and is held
in an elegant temporary building in the back part
of the Place of St. Mark (not the part that appears
from the sea) ; there were all kinds of shops, coffee-
houses, &c. under a circular colonnade, and all the
world walk there, many in dominos and masks,
especially in the evening and all night till day-break;
there is atedious sameness in the amusement, and I
never had patience to stay very late. We picked up
much curious Waterza Medica here ; and, in search-
ing for the various articles, were amazed at the state
of superstition, ignorance and folly in which physic
seems to be at Venice. Indeed all science is at a
low ebb there; we found nothing like a man of lite-
rature, except those apes of them collectors of old

useless books. We saw at Venice (what I had long’
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242

wished for) the making a nun, or the profession as
it is called, of a young lady of noble family : there
was a great deal of company, and more diamonds
on the ladies’ heads than ever I saw at one time,
except at Loretto; the music was very fine: the Ita-
lians always treat you with good music on every
occasion. ‘The young lady seemed in high spirits,
but I should fear a flatness might follow when all
the splendour and pomp were over. At the end of
a year she is to come out of the monastery for
three days, and may then, if she pleases, recant ;
but if she persists in taking the veil, as is most pro-
bable, it is irrevocable. “ Voila (said a Venetian
near me) encore une victime des préjugés.”

We left Venice May 28th, and went in the barge
(as in Holland) to Padua, which is like a vast ram-
bling village more than a city. The church of St.
Anthony is very rich; the church of St. Justinian
by Palladio is very fine, and contains a good pic-
ture by Paul Veronese. Here is Mr. Ardouino, a ce-
lebrated naturalist, with whom I was much pleased.

May 30th got to Vicenza by one o'clock, and saw
most of the fine buildings of Palladio’s, for which
this town is famous, especially the theatre, built
after the style of the ancients, and reckoned one of
the best pieces of modern architecture.

Next day travelled through a most sweet country
to Verona; the road was flat, but Mount Baldus,
with its innumerable snow-capped summits, was al-
ways on our right hand. Verona is a large hand-
some town; the amphitheatre is one of the most

243

entire which remain ; there are many other curious
pieces of architecture, some antiquities, and a few
pictures in Verona. |

June 2nd we went through Mantua (chiefly re-
markable for being the birth-place of Virgil) to
Guastalla, where we slept, and next day (Sunday)
dined in Parma, which is an extremely handsome
well-built town and very neat; it abounds in officers
and abbés. The Duke, cousin to the King of Spain,
always resides here: we saw the Duchess, a fine
stately woman. Correggio’s paintings (which are
only to be seen here in perfection), although few,
are well worth going a great way to see ; one or
two of them, I think, are among the best pictures
of Italy: he excels in grace and in colouring. Here
is a noble public library, established by the Duke ;
the first librarian is father Affo,a capuchin, known by
many biographical and historical works. We hada
letter to him from the elder Mr. Durazzo, and he has
been very civil. The royal printing-office is one of
the greatest curiosities in Parma, as that art is here
carried infinitely beyond what has ever been done
before, or perhaps ever will again; for the genius,
the taste, and the application of the director are
immense: he gave us some specimens of his work,
the most exquisitely elegant things I ever saw.
This printing-press is now only beginning to be
known in England. The famous theatre, built by
the Farnese family when sovereigns here, is the
largest in the world ; the pit used to be filled with
water to represent sea-fights : it is now disused on
account of its size and the great expense of light-

R 2

244

ing it up; the architecture is the most noble that
can be.

June 5th we dined at Firenzuola and slept at
Piacenza, a little fortified town, not badly built, but
paved like Norwich. The dome of the cathedral,
painted by Guercino, was our principal object, and
nothing can be finer.

Next day ferried over the Po, which is here about
as broad as the Thames at London, and soon after
entered the Emperor’s dominions; slept at Lodi,
and next morning got to Milan. We have seen
little yet. Pray tell Mr. Gunn, with my best com-
pliments, that I inquired for Baron de Cronthall ;
he is well, but lives now twenty miles from Milan.

The hospital here is one of the most noble and
the best regulated I have seen. The celebrated ca-
thedral, which is Gothic, but unfinished, is perhaps
larger than that of York, but not near so beautiful,
especially the west end; having five aisles it seems
crowded, and is too high. We have letters innu-
merable for Turin, but shall stay there no longer
than is necessary; as we both long to be at home.

My warmest love and duty to my dear mother.

I am yours, &c.,

J. E. SmMitu.
J. E. Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Genoa, July 2, 1787.
I spent four days at Pavia, a pretty little town,
devoted to the sciences. We first visited Scopoli,
who received us with open arms, and whose civility

245

to me could not be exceeded: hearing I proposed
to publish some works of Linnzus, he voluntarily
offered all his notes, which will be a great acqui-
sition. 7

Mr. Ippolito Durazzo is married since I was here,
to a very agreeable woman. His father left him
and his three brothers above 7000/. sterling a-year
each, in clear cash, besides the estates to his eldest
son.

I have now spent a month at Genoa in cultiva-
ting the friendship of many worthy people, and
especially the Durazzos. Mr. Ippolito wants me to
spend a whole summer here, and takes delight in
showing me an apartment in his new house, which
he calls mine, and tells me how it shall be fitted
up for me; but I assure him this cannot be. He
means in a year or two to revisit England with his
wife; but she is to learn English first. His nephew
Mr. Marcellino, who will be the chief of the family,
is also to come to England one day; he is a most
charming young man. I really meant this day to
have left Genoa, but am now obliged to stay an-
other week, which I hope you will pardon when you
hear the reasons. First, Signor Jacomo, Mr. Ippo-
lito’s eldest brother, is just returned from a long
journey, and I could not with any propriety leave
him so soon after. Next, he has brought home
great numbers of natural curiosities from France
and Switzerland, which he wants me to see. But
the chief reason of my stay is, that there being a
vacation of public business next week, he and Mrs.
Theresina his wife, with Mr. Marcellino and Mr.

246

Ippolito, go for four or five days to Cornegliano,
their country-seat, a magnificent and delightful pa-
lace by the sea-side, four miles from Genoa, where
their museum is; and they all so earnestly entreated
me to go there with them to assist in arranging
and naming the various things, that I could not re-
fuse it without being rude and ungrateful. Indeed
they merit every attention from me; their friend-
ship is valuable and sincere ; their acquaintance is
in the highest degree agreeable to me ; and people
of more elegant, cultivated minds are nowhere to be
found.
I remain, dear Sir, &c.,

J. E. Smiru.

Dr. Younge being on many accounts in a hurry
to get home, we agreed to part at Pavia; and he
joined a friend who was going through Switzer-
land.

Dr. Younge to J. E. Smith.

My dear Sir, Geneva, July 6, 1787.

You will probably be much surprised to learn
that I have already passed the Alps, and find my-
self much at my ease on the borders of the Lake of
Geneva.

On the 25th ult. I left Milan, without having
had the pleasure of seeing Locatelli. The 26th
was entirely employed upon the Lago Maggiore,
which I confess did not answer my expectations.
We entered from the great lake into the smaller
one of Margozza: on the banks of this last I found

247

a plant of the class Gynandria, a Lobelia? for I
have no botanical guide as heretofore ; and the
(O my treacherous memory!) Ros solis, heretofore
called, growing in a micaceous soil; not that this
last plant is rare at all, but I was very glad to find
it in a particular state, which secures to it a rank
among the irritable, if not the sensible plants. I
have got three specimens, all of which have small
flies inclosed within the leaf as it were, and hurt.
We slept at the inn on the banks of the lake;
and the next day, being informed that there was a
pass that way, by which the post always went, by
Milan to Geneva, we set out on horseback to en-
counter all the difficulties which might present
themselves. Our journey during the first day lay
along the plain betwixt the mountains, under trel-
lises covered with vines, whose flowers had strongly
the smell of mignonette: slept at Domo D’ossola
in the Sardinian dominions. Leaving this early on
the second day, we soon began to ascend the hills,
rising on each side to a very considerable height
above us, and a rapid stream roaring among the
fragments of rocks in the valley beneath. The
common accidents in mountainous countries was
our lot; for a heavy shower coming on about noon
almost wetted us through. It cleared up soon, and
as we proceeded we found the road almost dry.
We entered into the country of the Valais, where
we heard no language but a sort of German, to me
utterly unintelligible. The higher we ascended,
the more difficult we found the passage, which I
compared to the passage along the rocks from Nice

248

to Genoa, with this difference, that instead of a sea
below, we had a rapid river. The scenes of rude
grandeur, and the beauty of the natural cascades
tumbling sometimes among woods of pines, and
then bursting into day, over the rugged and bare |
rocks, were inexpressibly pleasing. One cascade
in particular, about a league before we arrived at
Simpelen, is as fine, I had almost -said, as Terni;
but the stream is not above half as large, though
the fall is higher. We were now at such a height,
that the Alpine plants began to present themselves.
I found Alchemilla alpina in abundance, a Pingzi-
cula (an alpina?), a Pedicularis, and Geranium, I
think pyrenaicum. At Simpelen we supped on
excellent milk; and after a breakfast of the same
we again set out to mount still higher. Mount
Simpelen takes its name I believe from the village
at which we slept. The ascent is not sudden, but
long. Found a Gnaphalium, two Gentians, Pri-
mula, Pinguicula in abundance, &c., &c. But what
I looked for most was the Ahododendron, which at
length I found in great profusion : I think it is the
ferrugineum, if I may judge from the under surface
of the leaves.

At the top we found a sort of swampy plain,
about a mile and a half over; this being passed,
we began to descend rapidly among forests of pine,
and by some of the most dangerous passes which
we met with, for they were not only narrow, but a
shower of rain, which continued for two hours, and
wetted us through, had rendered them very slip-
pery. About three o’clock in the afternoon of the

249

third day we arrived at Bryg, situated in the valley
at the foot of the mountains, and near the banks of
the Rhone. We were taught to expect that car-
riages might be had here, but we were again ob-
liged to set out on horseback. This day produced
nothing in addition to my collection, except a few
insects. The road lay chiefly along the banks of
the Rhone, whose waters were considerably swelled
with the rains; so that we wenta little out of our
way through the fields, and did not cross the river
till near eleven o'clock at night, bya wooden bridge
just by the city of Syon, where we slept, and were
well accommodated. Quis tumidum guttur miratur
in Alpibus ? is an old exclamation; yet notwith-
standing, I could not but wonder at the immensity
of the size, and the frequency of the complaint,
of the goztres in this country: scarcely a woman
above twenty years of age in the streets who had
not more or less of this deformity, I would call it,
though habit may probably have rendered it a beau-
tiful protuberance. The men are by no means ex-
empted from it, though in them it is not so com-
mon; but they are subject to what may acknow-
ledge probably a similar origin, viz. swellings of
the parotid and submaxillary glands : those I par-
ticularly noticed were on the right side. Solamen
miseris socios habuisse doloris ; so common is it,
that no one looks upon the people thus deformed
with any sort of idle curiosity, nor are they anxious
to prevent or diminish its growth when once it

begins to make its appearance. What is the re-
mote cause :

250

We proceeded from Syon to Martigny, from
thence to Villeneuve on the banks of the Lake of
Geneva.

The next morning, 3rd of July, took a barque
from thence to Vevay, where we breakfasted. Ve-
vay is almost directly opposite to Meillerie ;—see
Rousseau. We found some difficulty in proceeding
by water to Lausanne, all the boats. being engaged
by the market-people of Vevay. To lose no time
we took a voiture, and after a very warm ride
among the vineyards, which almost cover the hill
sides in the Pays de Vaud, we arrived at Lausanne
about dinner-time. Here there is nothing to see ex-
cept the prospects; and Mr. Tissot, whom I visited
on the 4th in the morning, introducing myself asa
stranger and a physician: he returned my visit at
the inn, the Lzon d’Or. I have promised for you,
who will I think be pleased with him, though he
seems to be affected with the complaints of seden-
tary people.

If you are not displeased with me for writing so
long a letter, write as much in return.

Tam, &c.,

W. YOuUNGE.

J. E. Smith to Mrs. Howorth.

My dear Madam, Genoa, July 7, 1787.
You desire me to write to you, and I am sure I
neither ought, nor do I wish, to withhold from you
that satisfaction. Of poor Mary I never had great

251

hopes: her friends should consider her as one more
treasure laid up for them in heaven; a beloved ob-
ject secured from all possibility of trouble, doubt,
or fear; possibly a guardian angel, blest with the
means of directing their steps, and smoothing their
path to that abode where minds like theirs shall be
fully gratified with unembittered love and joy.

You do me the honour to consult me about
mental as well as bodily ailments (in gratitude for
which I only wish you a better adviser). I shall ven-
ture to encourage you about my dear young friend
Douglas. Believe me, you have little to fear about
him ; I say /¢t/e, because a good mother can never
be without fear, but I know him perhaps as well as
you do. His feeling affectionate heart, and his
piety to you, so different from a blind fondness,
are the best things you could wish in him: firm-
ness and resolution will come in due time. “ Filial
piety is of more value than all the incense which
Persia offers to the sun ;” it is intended by Provi-
dence to prepare the mind for religion, which is
only the same feeling ripened, and directed to an
higher object, which a good parent ought carefully
and very judiciously to point out. And here I can-
not but observe, what I believe you do not want
to have pointed out, that you are in your children
one of the happiest people I know: and what
troubles will not such comforts alleviate ?

I know not what to say to you about Italian
poetry: without doubt there is plenty of it, but I
feel myself unequal to recommend any. You guess
rightly, that I have learned to like Italian music,

252

which I could not relish till I had heard. As to
pictures and statues, I shall tire you to death about
them; and with Rome I am quite enchanted.
Would I could live two or three years there! Iam
sorry to say I must disappoint you about views in
Switzerland: ’tis too cruel of you to require of me
what I cannot do, because I wish never to decline
anything which may give you pleasure; but I find
myself quite unequal to sketch views myself, or to
admire what other people draw, now I have seen so
much of nature.

Your reflections on Rousseau and Socrates are
excellent, and perfectly just. I think, and so thought
Dr. Johnson (who was certainly a good man, al-
though he had his foibles), that a partial conceal-
ment is less hurtful than open profligacy, or an un-
necessary avowal of weaknesses and transient faults.
We have delicious weather, although rather hot,
with terrible tempests. A few days ago a steeple
was knocked down; but no people are killed here,
because they cross themselves at every flash.

I am, dear Madam, &c.

J. E. SMItTu.

J EF. Smith to Mr. William Jones.

Dear Sir, Genoa, July 7, 1787.
Perhaps you may wonder at my not having
sooner answered your last favour; perhaps too you
may have done me the honour to be a little dis-
pleased, or jealous if you please,—an honour I value

253

more than you think. Iam proud to find myself
capable of exciting your jealousy, and my reason
for saying so is, that Iam no stranger to that feel-
ing myself; but there are very few people that I
honour with it. Indeed I rather wish never to feel
it again, for it is in me connected with such a degree
of esteem and affection as scarcely any human be-
ing can merit or return; yet the sufferings it oc-
casions are those of a martyr, and bring with them
in a great measure their own reward. This is far
different from that jealousy which is founded in
pride, accompanied (however paradoxical it may
seem) with a sense of meanness, which is so com-
mon among foolish people, and so general with
married persons, who feel themselves unworthy of
their partners. I admire above all things your
comparison of the tour of Italy to a journey through
life-—'tis just what I have felt. I long to know
whence you took it, as you seem to say tis not
your own.

Leaving Rome we came to Loretto by Bologna,
which we saw without any diminution of our en-
joyment. But Venice disappointed us; its singu-
larity will always be striking, but nothing there is
in a good taste, riches are squandered injudiciously,
and dirt deforms every thing. The ceremony of
the Doge’s marriage with the Sea pleased us by its
novelty rather than by its pomp. We had scarcely
any relish for the fair of St. Mark, which is held in
a temporary building in the square, and lasts three
weeks ; it is lifeless and uniformly tedious. There
is a good library at Venice, and indeed all through

254

Italy we have met with very fine ones. Padua,
Verona, Parma, and Milan, although we found
ourselves gowng down the hill, were not quite desti-
tute of amusement for us, even with respect to
works of art. The theatre of Parma is the finest
in the world, so large and magnificent is it as to be
useless; it costs too much to light it up, and it is
only studied by architects and admired by travellers.
I have seen no collections of natural history
worth mentioning, compared to what we have in
England. At Bologna are some things, and at
Pavia more; but the latter has been so plundered
by Spallanzani as to be diminished one-third of its
value. We spent four days at Pavia with Scopoli,
whose civility was very great. We heard Spallan-
zani lecture; the composition was admirable, but
his manner supercilious and affected. Here my
friend Younge, in whose company I had been per-
fectly happy all through my tour, left me; and I,
wishing to enjoy all the summer abroad, continued
my journey alone to Genoa, to spend a little time
with my friends here, for whom I have a great re-
gard. These are pleasures which never cloy: and I
hope to enjoy them in their full extent at the end
of this journey, as I rely on them to make old age
comfortable at the conclusion of the journey of life.
I am always, with sincerest regard,

Dear Sir, most faithfully yours,
; J. E. Suirn.

255

Dr. Younge to J. E. Smith, Turin.

My dear Sir, Basle, July 17, 1787.

The truth is, that I have been so long used to a
participation of the pleasures of travelling with you,
that even in my present situation I meet with no-
thing new or pleasing which I do not wish you to
see as well as myself; and though you may proba-
bly get information similar to my own from other
persons, yet with regard to the particulars of which
I shall speak, you will find none more authentic.

After travelling during the whole night along a
road rendered very rough with repeated rains, I
arrived at Basle on the 15th instant in the morning.
The situation of the city, upon the banks of the
Rhine, which is about as large and rapid as the
Rhone at Lyons, is charming. The inn where I
now am, the 77ozs Rows, is built upon the very
edge of it; so that the river runs directly under the
window. I recommend this inn to you for good
bed and good dinner ; but bad tea and coffee. As
Basle was the residence of the justly celebrated
Erasmus (whose writings I have always esteemed
from the days that his innocent jokes alleviated my
tasks at school), and of Holbein the painter, whom
he patronized, my first business was to inquire after
them. I knew that there existed in the library
some paintings by Holbein, and some manuscripts
by Erasmus ;—but how to see the library? It was
necessary either to signify my desire in writing or
in person to Professor Falkner : I chose the latter,

256

and introducing myself as a stranger of curiosity,
the professor politely appointed the hour at which
I should come, and met me at the library. This is
a very good one, having been founded upwards of
three hundred years ago; but I slightly regarded
every thing except what related to my two favourite
objects. There is a room full of paintings and
sketches, chiefly by Holbein, who here appears in
a much higher line as a painter than I had be-
fore placed him (for I never saw his picture of Sir
Thomas More’s family). The Passion of our Savi-
our in eight separate histories appears to have been
painted for the doors of a small organ, but are
nevertheless in as fine preservation as if they had
been painted yesterday. The countenances have
not that great stiffness observable in most paintings
of the year 1520, about which time this work was
executed, and the colouring is fine. But I most
admire the Last Supper, in which the figures are
nearly as large as life, the characters well expressed,
and the colouring inferior only to Raphael’s.

There is a capital miniature of Erasmus by Hol-
bein, and another picture of him writing, (a profile,)
which still seems to think and write: I question
whether as true representations of nature as these
two last portraits could be outdone. In another
room are preserved manuscript letters of Erasmus.
The Elogium Stultitia, with the drawings made by
Holbein in the margins. Erasmus’s will in his
own hand-writing. Manuscripts of the Council of
Basle for the suspension of the Pope’s authority, &c.
Can you read of these things and not wish to see

257

see them? I forgot a copy of Columna’s Phyto-
basanos, in the same room with the manuscripts of
Erasmus. I inquired at the library from Professor
Falkner about the family of the Bauhins, and the
herbarium, which he told me had been purchased by
Doctor de la Chenal, who is director of the bota-
nical garden here. I paid my next visit to him, and
was received by him with great courtesy. He pur-
chased for a very trifle Bauhin’s herbarium, which
had lain neglected in the lumber-room of the house,
and from which some parts had been taken; and
he has since incorporated the remains of it with
his own. He is extremely fond of botany, and gave
considerable assistance to Haller in his great bota-
nical work. His library is one of the best private
ones I ever saw: witness Dillenii Hist. Muscor. 4to;
Columne Ecphrasis and Phytobasanos ; Raii Sy-
nopsis Plant. 1724. Sloane’s Jamaica. Gerard ;
Jacquin; Linneus (Flor. Lapp., Crit. Botan., &c.)

Jacquin has called a plant Lachenalia tricolor
after this gentleman. He has given mea coloured
plate of it. I talked to him about you, and en-
gaged to inform you of his existence, that you
might become acquainted with him. He offered to
give you all assistance in his power with respect to
Bauhin’s plants, about several of which Linneus
has mistaken him.

I must not forget one thing. When I talked of
Columna’s Phytobasanos as rare, he said that he
had a duplicate of it. I did not urge the matter
further ; but I think it rather odd that he should have
two copies, and the successor of Linnzus not one,

VOL. I. s

258

Could not one be procured by honest means with-
out seeming to beg it? You may see a fine col-
lection of prints, English, French, German, &c., in
the house of Mr. Mechel, a very celebrated engraver
here ;—paintings likewise. The Dance of Death in
the churchyard here is much in the style of Hol-
bein, and will bear examination. No _ botanical
books to be got im the shops here. One old crusty
fellow wondered I should come to ask for old books
at Basil; they had no such things!

I leave this place tomorrow, and expect to sleep
at Strasburg. I shall be impatient until I hear
from you.

Yours ever,

W. YOunNGE.

J. E. Smith to Dr. Younge, Paris.

My dear Sir, Genoa, July 21, 1787.

I thank you for your long and entertaining letter
of July 6th; and to show my apprehension of not
writing an answer sufficiently long to satisfy you,
I begin as near the top of my sheet as possible ; but
Iam not in the way of writing so eventful an epi-
stle as yours. I have often wanted to see Drosera

_in the state you describe. Your Lobelia is probably
L. Dortmanna, and your Rhododendron certainly
ferrugineum. Iwill not fail to visit Tissot. Here
are many people with goitres in the mountainous
country of Genoa. I have been with Dr. Pratolon-
go, with whom J am much pleased, to a little coun-

259

try-house of his in the mountains, about eight miles
off. We staid there two days to botanize ; found
EMeracium cymosum and Auricula, Linum viscosum,
and many other good things, at your service, except
the Linum, of which I have not a duplicate ; Lin-
neus had it not. We travelled in sedan chairs.
Dined in our way with the Senator Durazzo (mas-
ter of the great house in Strada Balbi*) at his villa
of Pino; he is a very courteous, affable old man,
and his brother the abbé quite charmed me. I have

* “The palace ofthe Durazzo family was erected by the cele-
brated Fontana ; the length and elevation of its immense front
astonish the spectator, who perhaps can scarce find in his me-
mory a similar edifice of equal magnitude. Besides the rustic
ground-floor, it has two grand stories, with mezzanini, and over
the middle part, consisting of eleven windows, an attic. The
portal, of four massive Doric pillars with its entablature, rises
as high as the balcony of the second story. The mezzanini win-
dows, with the continuation of the rustic work up to the cornice,
break this magnificent front into too many petty parts, and not
a little diminish the effect of a double line of two-and-twenty
noble windows. The portico, which is wide and spacious, con-
ducts to a staircase, each step of which is formed of a single block
of Carrara marble. A large antechamber then leads to ten
saloons, either opening into one another, or communicating by
spacious galleries. These saloons are all on a grand scale in all
their proportions, adorned with pictures and busts, and fitted up
with prodigious richness, both in decorations and furniture. One
of them surpasses in the splendour of its gildings anything of the
kind I believe in Europe. ‘These apartments open on a terrace,
which commands an extensive view of the bay, with its moles
and light-house, and the rough coast that borders it on one side.
In this palace the Emperor Joseph was lodged during his short
visit to Genoa, and is reported to have acknowledged that it far
surpassed any that he was master of. The merit of this compli-
ment is, that it is strictly true.’—Eustace’s Classical Tour, vol, i,

s 2

260

now completed my allotted month, and really con-
scientiously meant to have gone away this day ; but
Signor Jacomo returned only on Tuesday last, and
he has brought so many shells, corals, &c., that I
cannot go without looking them over a little; be-
sides, I did not choose to leave Genoa so soon after
his arrival. But this is not all. Next week there is
a vacation of five or six days in the public business,
and these are to be spent by the family at their
country-house; they pressed me so much to pass
this interval with them in studying shells, insects,
&c. in the museum, and especially the request of
Mrs. Theresina had such an effect, that I could not
resist. We go to Cornigliano on Monday after-
noon, to stay till Saturday, after which I shall set
off for Turin. Indeed I am more and more charmed
with this amiable family. Signor Jacomo is the
most good-natured cheerful man that can be. Itis
a constant joke against him that he cannot speak
my name, but calls me Smt, or Smzsh; though his
wife takes great pains to tutor him. I spent Satur-
day and Sunday last at Castagna, a country lodging
of Mr. Caffarena, whose wife is an English woman,
worthy of her country: his sons are very amiable
young men; I am quite at home with them. These
are all my acquaintances. Mr. Ippolito Durazzo
wants me to spend a whole summer here for bota-
nical purposes; to come in February, and stay till
October. He takes delight in showing me a room
in his new house, which he calls mine, and tells me
how it shall be fitted up to receive me; but this
scheme is next to impracticable. Pratolongo is

261

very industrious about botany, and knows a great
deal of the matter; we are often together. Batt
is coming back to Genoa. We have made a cata-
logue of the plants at the villetta, which amount
to about 500; but I hope to increase them much.
Yesterday afternoon I spent there very agreeably
with only Mr. Cattaneo; he is a most amiable man.
Mrs. Lomellina, the senator’s wife, has a pretty villa
just out of town, by the Lanthorn ; I was there the
other evening, and never saw the succulent plants
so fine, they are really stupendous. From it is the
best view of Genoa I know; I mean for a picture of
the town; for the view from Mr. Durazzo’s villetta
is on the whole vastly superior.

Count Durazzo has promised me a copy of his
catalogue of prints, with remarks, lately superbly
printed by the man at Parma *; I have not yet seen
it. Cattaneo promises to reprint his poems, &c., in
one volume.

Adieu, my dear Friend,

J. E. Smiru.

Mr. Wm. Jones to J. EF. Smith, Paris.

Dear Sir, London, August, 1787.
From some circumstances that attended your fa-
vour from Genoa, I have been puzzled to determine
whether you have thereby more gratified my feel-
ings, or flattered my pride. I cannot assert that I
am insensible to the latter, nor will I believe any
one who affects the reverse: the only misfortune

* Bodoni,

262

that can attend that quality in the mind, is a defi-
ciency in the understanding, to direct it toa proper
end. I read more of your heart in your last, to
engage my esteem, than you ever yet discovered ;
nevertheless, I had seen sufficient to claim a parti-
ality before. There are many that talk well, that
write well, that fill an amiable character in life, and
yet destitute of those tender sensations that vibrate
through kindred souls, awake to every touch. There
is a pride, which I account a folly, that prostitutes
itself, and spreads its sails for every breath of ap-
plause ; so that it can but catch the gale, it cares
not from what quarter the breeze springs, favour-
able or unfavourable, it never examines, and thereby
misses the point, its intended goal. I conceive that,
like myself, you have been searching through life
for a friend,—tis a word much hackney’d, I mean
in its strictest import,—and sometimes thought
myself successful; but soon deceived, wearied and
tired, I gave over the pursuit, determined to give no
one more admittance to my heart, but with indiffe-
rence view the world, and pass along. I have since
found myself more at my ease, but still there re-
mains an aching void that wants a filling, yet
better and easier to be borne than the excruciating
pangs of ingratitude and disappointment.

Iam particularly sensible of your early attention.
Mr. Marsham wonders why you should write to
me, who did not press you for another letter, and
omit him and Dr. Goodenough, who solicited it
most anxiously.

The extract I gave you relative to the compari-

263

son of the tour of Italy to a journey through life,
was from Dr. Conyers Middleton’s Letters from
Rome. I will lend you the volume ; twill merit
your attention. I travel with you, though with less
fatigue, as my elbow-chair is the more easy vehicle;
yet shall be happy to hear of those things which
you will be able to give a better account of by
having seen. You say you hope to enjoy your
friends at the end of this journey, and rely on them
to make old age comfortable at the conclusion of
the journey of life. Now as I reckon myself among
the number of your friends, how am I and some
others, who may be twenty years older than you,
to make your old age comfortable -—many a one
would here cry out, a Bull, an Inicism. They know
nothing of the matter; you are perfectly in order;
for, having I suppose in Italy picked up, by way of
novelty, a certain heretical book, you have noticed
that length of days do not consist of a number of
years, but that “ Wisdom is the gray hair unto
men, and an wnspotted life, old age.” But I fear
I am here encroaching upon Dr. Goodenough’s
province, writing a sermon;—be it so, ’tis in the sin-
cerity of my heart. I am sorry to add, Dr. Good-
enough (though I love and honour him) has agreed
with Mr. Marsham, if I will not unite in their
Society, to banish me to Coventry,—a species of
severity I know you would not be guilty of; never-
theless I hope to get through this affair with a
little address. I have been collecting some Lepi-
doptera this summer, which I design as a free-will
offering to that gentleman. Free-will offerings are

264

what the clergy are fond of, and by that means
hope to make my peace with him. Mr. Marsham
I will fight in another manner. He has a book in
hand*; andI have matter in my head. At Coventry
there is no conversation, you know, consequently
no communication: I shall therefore soon settle
matters with him.

Fabricius is in London, and much wishes to see
you, but will certainly leave us before your return;
he is goingthrough my drawings, to correct, amend,
and add to a Mantissa that he has now in hand; yet
I have more than he will be able to accomplish in
the time he has limited to stay. Iam sorry you
are from home for your own sake; he is a man |
that must please ;—open, free, easy, candid, unaf-
fected ; in short J like him, and think yow must.
Marsham has been at Dunmow in Essex this fort-
night, consequently I have heard nothing of Younge.

With every tender of affectionate esteem,

Iam most sincerely yours,

W. Jones.

Dr. Younge to J. E.. Smith, Geneva.

My dear Sir, Paris, August 5, 1787.
Broussonet has been extremely obliging to ine
since my return; he has introduced me at the Aca-
demy, and at the Society of Agriculture. I suspect
the distribution of medals has ceased in the latter,
* Entomologia Britannica, of which the first volume, including

the Coleoptera, was published in 1502; but no more ever ap-
peared.

265

for I saw no such thing. The societies of this
country are exactly what you describe; there is a
president it is true, and members as in our societies
in England; but in the French societies the mem-
bers seem to have no regard to order, and the
power of the president seems to extend no further
than to the enforcing a momentary silence by mak-
ing a more distinct noise than the members by means
of a little mwszca/ instrument. But the great excel-
lence of our societies in England consists in the
exact limits drawn and observed between private and
public business. How am [I interested as a visitor
about the votes of Mr. Fourcroy or Mr. Thouin,
about this or that committee ? yet half the time of
sitting is thus spent in demanding opinions and
appointing committees on private affairs. There
was a communication from Gerard of Cottignac
upon Lathyrus amphicarpos, read by Desfontaines
at the Academy ; but the noise and confusion was
so great, that I could not understand whether it
contained any thing more than the simple relation
of its extraordinary fructification.

I am glad to hear of your botanical success, and
of your ardour in the pursuit of natural history,
which the Durazzo family still support.

I propose to leave this place in two weeks more.
What I regret, after you, is that I must bid a last
adieu to my very good friends, the amiable family
of Mr. De Lessert at Passy. With them I am as
happy as if at home. You mus¢ know them. I have
often spoke to them concerning you. Your own
name and mine will I trust be sufficient introduc-

266

tion to Mr. De Lessert and to Mr. Guyot. Any-
body will show you their house at Passy ; and on
Wednesdays they dine at their town-house, No. 58
Rue Coghéron a Paris.

Adieu! All happiness attend you !

W. Younce.

I almost envy you the happiness you will expe-
rience in this family ; and were I not your friend I
should be downright envious.

Rev. Dr. Goodenough to J. Eb. Smith, Paris.

Dear Sir, August 13, 1787.

Your silence made us very apprehensive that you
were not well; the fact it appears was so. However,
we were not a little gratified by reading in your
letter that you had been ill but were recovered.
The we here spoken of, means myself and Mar-
sham, who is at present my chief communicant.—
Well, when do you come home; you will find
yourself much wanted. Our Natural History So-
ciety, under the auspices of our illustrious presi-
dents Fordyce and Pitcairn, drones on in its usual
course. I attended one night, and heard Dr. For-
dyce read an extempore lecture upon a new arrange-
ment of shells. Such humming, such hawing,
mumbling, snuffimg, such interruptions in looking
for his shells to illustrate as he went on, that not a
soul could tell what he would be at. After he had
done, I hinted to him that I did not understand

267

what was his aim; he began a second harangue to
convince me he was right. The harangue was worse
than the lecture,—I was glad of the first opportu-
nity to turn my back. I got acquainted that night
with Mr. Wilson of Snow-hill ; he agreed with me
the lecture upon shells could have been spared.
Sticks and stones were exhibited as usual. Old
Da Costa sat enjoying every thing said against Lin-
neus*, having before him some old yellow paper,
written very close, which I afterwards understood
was a lecture upon the fossil and live Asteria. He
would not deliver it in to the society, for he meant
to publish it himself. Dr. Fordyce’s dilatory
snorting took up the whole time, an hour (I think
I could have said twice as much in ten minutes), so
that Da Costa waited for another day. I have
taken a capital rarity this year, Czeada aurita, said
to be a German insect. St/pha germanica has also
been taken. We have had the luck of taking a
great variety of nondescripts, and describing many.
We should have done much more, but I have been
assaulted five times with blind attacks of the gout.
I set out on Saturday for Hastings in Sussex, where
I hope to meet with some new insects. With
Marsham’s assistance and my own assiduity, my

* Da Costa “ appears to have taken great offence at not being
chosen a member of the Upsal Academy, and conceived an
antipathy to Linnzeus, which the writer of this has often heard
him express, but could never before account for.

“ That Academy was always very select in itschoice of foreign
members, and subsequent events too amply justified its conduct

in the present instance.” —J. E. S.—See Selections of the Corre-
spondence of Linneus, §c., vol. ii. 495.

268

cabinet begins to fill. Jones is at work for me;
and before the end of the season hopes, he says, to
get me two hundred of the Lepidoptera; so that I
shall begin to be somebody. I have lately made a
purchase of Allioni’s St:rpes Pedemontane, at a
venture; also I have set my writing-master to copy
the defect in the second volume of De Geer. (How
I like that work !)

Now one has you so near as France, one is apt
to think that it is no distance at all. Do pray let
us know when you mean to be in England; how-
ever, eager as I am to see you, study Tournefort’s
herbarium well, and my wish is that you would go
through the whole a second time. Second thoughts
are best. You need not attempt to smuggle any
French wine home. It is a cominodity which hangs
terribly on hand,—so say the wine-merchants ; and
no one calls for it ;—a true picture of John Bull!
Tell him he must not have any thing :—Blood and
thunder ! but he will. Give way to him,—fastidit et
odit. We are all here upon the tiptoe of expecta-
tion about the issue of affairs in Holland. Some
positively assert that there will be war: we have no
preparations for it. Mr. Pitt is said now to be for
it, and a Great Personage against it. A few months
ago they were of directly contrary opinions: Zem-
pora mutantur nos et mutamurinills. I hope only
to hear that you are alive and well.

And am, ever yours,
S. GOoDENOUGH.

I approve entirely all that you say on sights and

269
saints; I envy you the former. Oh for Orchis
abortiva and coriophora ! Tam glad you leave Pavia

before your tract on the Sexes of Plants comes out:
Spallanzani would assassinate you I fear.

Sir Joseph Banks to J. E. Smith, Paris.

Dear Doctor, Soho Square, August 15, 1787.

Botany flourishes here most abundantly. The
Queen studies diligently under Aiton, and to much
purpose. The ship which we are sending to Ota-
heite to bring home the bread-fruit to the West
Indies, will bring many plants from thence. The
garden at St. Vincent's flourishes ; a new one is
established at Bengal, and an intercourse prepared
between the two, by the medium of England; and
probably another will soon be established at Madras.

Swartz is the best botanist I have seen since So-
lander. I have hopes of getting him out to supply
Keenig’s place inIndia. In short, botany may raise
its head, and I think it wd.

Believe me, dear Sir,

Most faithfully yours,

JosEPH Banks.

J. EF. Smith to his Father.

Honoured Sir, Geneva, August 27, 1787.

Mr. Malanot was so excessively hospitable as to
make me uneasy: he would let me pay for nothing,

270

not even postage of letters, nor, what was more,
coach-hire. I was obliged several times to have a
coach, it being impossible (according to the exe-
crable etiquette of Turin) to make any visit what-
ever but in full dress ; indeed I had many great
people to visit. Mr. de Sousa the Portuguese
ambassador invited me to meet all the corps di-
plomatique, and the French ambassador was very
civil to me, and invited me to dinner; but I was
engaged to see La Superga and La Veneria (a
hunting-seat of the King’s).

I left my servant at Turin ; but I have met with
a Milanese lad, whom I esteem such a treasure that
I shall bring him to England. He has good friends,
and was recommended to me very particularly *.

Geneva swarms with English people; but I have
met with no acquaintances except a Professor
Zimmerman, who travels with Mr. Harbord, Lord

* The name of the Milanese lad here mentioned was Fran-
cesco Borone. Notwithstanding his humble birth and educa-
tion, and the situation of domestic servant, which he retained for
several years, yet his manners and subsequent acquirements
elevated him above the menial condition he originally held; and
he accompanied Dr. Afzelius to Sierra Leone, and also, at his
master’s recommendation, after his return thence, attended Dr.
J. Sibthorp to Greece ; in both instances as botanical assistant
and companion. While thus engaged, his existence was unhap-
pily terminated by an accidental fall at Athens, at the early age
of twenty-five, in October 1794. To commemorate this faithful
and attached dependant, Sir James named a beautiful New Hol-
land genus of plants after his name; and the letters of Dr. J.
Sibthorp, which appear in a subsequent chapter, sufficiently at-
test the estimation in which this young votary of science was

held by him.

271

Suffield’s son: they are going to Italy, and I shall
give them some letters.

I cannot see this country as it deserves for want
of time.

Yours, &c.,
J. E. Smiru.

P.S. I have a letter from my Swedish corre-
spondent Dr. Acrel, which informs me that I was
very near losing my Linnzan treasures by a plot
of Baron Alstroemer, who wanted to have them, and
who procured authority to confiscate the whole
after it was sold. How his scheme failed I know
not. I had heard some rumour of this in Italy.

The Marquis Ippolto Durazzo to J. E.. Smith,
Paris.

Monsieur, Genes, ce 10 7bre, 1787.

J'ai récu avec le plus grand plaisir la lettre dont
vous navez honoré; j’y trouve des détails qui me
prouvent que vous étes content de votre voyage, et
je ne doute point quil ne vous doive arriver de
méme pendant le reste de votre tour de Suisse.
C’est un pays de liberté et de situations roman-
tiques, ou les beautés de la nature triomphent, et
vous ne pouvez ne pas laimer. J’envie le plaisir
que vous avez eu sur le Mont Cenis, et je vous suis
bien obligé des graines que vous m’avez envoices.
A’ propos, ne m’oubliez pas 4 present que vous étes

272

a Parispourme procurer des graines de M. Thouin,
et de quelques autres amateurs, et ne laissez pas
la commission 4a M. Broussonet, mais tachez
d’avoir le tout pendant votre sejour ici, et de con-
signer le paquet a M. le Marquis de Spinola, qui
me l’enverra : Broussonet sait ouildemeure. Je
vois que, malgré vos extases pour la botanique, vous
n oubliez pas ni vos amis, ni la pauvre Villetta qui
vous a mis au rang de ses plus grands benefacteurs.
Madame Teresina et ma femme vous remercient
infiniment de votre souvenir, et me chargent de
mille compliments de leur part.

Mr. Cattaneo et le Docteur Caneferi en font de
méme, et souhaiteroient de vous voir bientot ici de
retour. Mais vous vous eloignez au contraire, et
voila le mal. Voila sur tout mes regrets quand je
me rapelle les momens, sur tout que nous avons
passés ensemble a la Villetta dans une société aima-
ble, et 2 la bonté que vous aviez pour moi. J’es-
pére que vous voudrez bien me la continuer pendant
le sejour que vous allez faire en Angleterre. Vous
me marquerez, ] espere, tout de suite votre addresse a
fin que je puisse entreprendre une correspondence
regulicre en bon Anglois. En attendant je verrai
Mr. Zimmerman et Mr. Harbord, et je vous re-
mercie d’avance du livre qwils m’apporteront.

Phaseolus Caracalla is now flourishing in an
amazing glorious manner, covering the stair-wall
at this Villetta. I shall in a few days pick up a fine
specimen for you, and conserve it in dry paper till
the time of sending to you the apples. Pray send

273

me some commands that I can have my part in
your commissions from Italy. I am with the great-
est respect and consideration,
Your faithful Friend and obliged Servant,
IppoLiro Durazzo.

Thomas J. Woodward, Esq.to J. E. Smith, Paris.

Dear Sir, Bungay, Oct. 11, 1787.

I received your very friendly and highly enter-
taining letter on my return from a short tour, in the
course of which I had seen your father at Norwich;
and from him I heard of your arrival at Paris, and
some hints of your agreeable tour to Mont Cenis,
which must have been most delightful. 1 should
have highly rejoiced at spending that time with
you, and still more at visiting the glaciers. I have
lately viewed Saussure’s second tome of his Voy-
age dans les Alpes, which is extremely interesting ;
and I can fancy myself following your steps in the
delightful valley of Chamonny, and up Montanvert
to the Glacier du Bois, which I suppose was the one
you visited, as your father said you made no very
near approach to Mont Blanc, on the summit of
which it would be my ambition to set my foot if I
visited that country. Saussure must be a very enter-
taining companion in that tour, of which he seems
to have examined every inch. He is a botanist, as
appears from his mentioning the scarce plants in
several parts of the Alps; but according to him, a
part of Mount Jura is the best botanizing ground

VOL. 1. T

274

in the environs of Geneva. I am highly obliged
by your promise of some Alpine specimens towards
completing the English series, and the very friendly
manner in which you mention me will highly en-
hance their value. We seem to think quite in con-
sonance on this subject; for I do assure you that
when I have happened to turn to one of your Scotch
specimens during this journey you have been en-
gaged in, the recollection of the donor, and the
considering the plant as a prisca pignus amicitie,
has given me greater pleasure than it would have
done to have recurred to the gathering it myself.
I pass over Rome and Naples as ground mentioned
by every traveller, but your séjour at Genoa with
your noble friend must have been delicious ; and I
will indulge you when we meet in talking of Genoa
as much as you can desire, provided one of those
enchanting and accomplished sisters I have heard
of, has not such a share in it as to divert your
thoughts from your native country; for that same
native country must now employ your thoughts
and attention, unless you can find time for another
trip.

When I go to Norwich I shall show Pitchford
your letter and account of Melampyrum sylvaticum
(which I much doubt if it has ever been found in
England); but he will not now require your oath,
either on the Cross or Bible, as he is at length con-
vinced of the other being the pratense. The grand
difficulty was to persuade him that, though Hudson
had quoted Ray, it did not necessarily follow that
Hudson and Ray meant the same plant; for you

275
know he looks upon Ray’s infallibility as only
second to that of the Pope; and you and I, with-
out thinking Ray so absolutely infallible as he does,
may set him still higher than His Holiness in that
point of view.

I have little botanical news to tell you; but you
will be glad to hear that Crowe found three speci-
mens of Ophrys Loeselii on St. Faith’s Bogs this
summer: they were far distant from the spot on
which Pitchford found his, and Crowe left them
untouched ; they were growing on the very wettest
part of the bog, and actually in the water. Mr. Sole
of Bath has found several on Hinton Moor near
Cambridge, where Ray mentions their growing.
Roots have been sent to Curtis and to Dickson,
and are grown in Curtis’s and the Museum garden.

I understand the full force of your expression
“yveally new” in regard to Dickson’s Scotch disco-
veries. I do not look upon it as very clear that all
are so; but as he has the game entirely in his own
hands, he must play it as he likes. I understand
he has said he almost wishes he had never found
them, as he finds such great difficulty in making
them out to his satisfaction. I wish the discoveries
do not more confuse than elucidate these difficult
tribes of plants. I wish much to gaina knowledge
of the Fuct, &c. which are at present very little
known, and on which few authors have written; for,
except Gmelin and Lightfoot, I know none from
whom much information is to be gotten. In my
late tour I stayed a day at Cromer for low water,
but I found little there. The Ulva plumosa of

T 2

276

Hudson was growing on the stones, and makes a
beautiful appearance in the small puddles left by
the recess of the tide, representing a miniature
cypress-tree, of about two or three inches high,
growing in the water. It is improperly described
as pinnated, as the penne grow all on the stem like
a tree ; cypressiformis would be a much more pro-
per name for it. The Ulva fistulosa of Hudson, the
Fucus verrucosus of Gmelin (which seems to be the
albidus of Hudson), andsome other common ones
were growing. Do you know any authors who
have written much on these subjects, besides those
I mentioned? I hope if you do not procure Leers
before you return, that you will contrive a corre-
spondence with the Paris bookseller, that you may
receive it when he can procure it. I shall be ob-
liged to you for the 4th Fasciculus of Retz. ‘The
most useful matter I found in him was the clearing
up Astragalus arenarius ; though I am by no means
clear that our plant is his danicus, as Withering
gives it; it certainly is not arenarius, Linn. My
commissions give you a great deal of trouble, but
I know your friendship will excuse it.
Believe me most sincerely yours,

T. WoopwarRD.

J. EK. Smith to Dr. Younge.

Dear Doctor, Paris, October 13, 1787.

I left Turin August 12th, with Mr. de Sousa, the
Portuguese minister, Dr. Bellardi, &c. for Mont

277
Cenis, where I stayed six days, lodged at the hos-
pital most comfortably ;—the rest of the party in
a tent with the Chevalier St. Real, intendant of
Morienne, who with an officer had been six weeks
in that place making philosophical observations
of various kinds. The hospital stands 996 toises
above the sea. One day we ascended little Mont
Cenis, 558 toises higher, but I did not go to the
top. Nothing could be more charming than the
plain of Mont Cenis; it was all flowery with the
choicest alpine plants; and I rambled about every
day among the neighbouring hills and thickets,
loading myself with treasures for myself and my
friends, among whom you need not fear being prin-
cipally remembered. The weather was delightfully
cool after the suffocating heats of Turin. The fine
air, good milk, and trout, pleased me extremely.
The abbé, who governs the hospital like a patriarch
of old, was as hospitable as possible, and my com-
panions extremely agreeable. After our long walks
we reposed on a turf of Dryas octopetala, and Mr.
de Sousa never failed to keep us in perpetual cheer-
fulness with his good-humoured sallies. I stayed
two days longer than the Turin party; my Milan-
ese lad overtook me here, and I left Mont Cenis
in company with the Chevalier de St. Real and his
companion. We passed slowly through Savoy, visit-
ing many of his acquaintances by the way, and were
very hospitably received. At one place we met with
amagnetizer, at whose whimsies, when not too con-
temptible, we laughed among ourselves. At length
we arrived at St. Jean de Morienne, the little capi-

278

tal of the country, where I stayed two days at the
house of the Chevalier, and then left him with
regret ; he is a very intelligent friendly man.

The manners of this country reminded me of old
English hospitality, which we know only by report;
but cleanliness is not here considered as a first-rate
virtue. At Geneva I saw Messrs. Bonnet, De Saus-
sure, Senebier, De Luc, &c. &c. I scarcely ever met
with so many scientific people together. Bonnet is
a most interesting man, all complaisance and en-
thusiasm,and very communicative ; but, alas, almost
deaf and blind! He is not like the vulgar tra-
ducers of Linneus, but allows him all his merit,
and has his portrait in his own chamber, with a few
other first-rate naturalists. De Saussure is a rough
man, and at sword points with De Luc. Dr. Butini
senior is one of the most pleasing and apparently
ingenious physicians I ever saw; and his son, to
whom Batt gave me a letter, is a very clever man,
in whose company I was very happy during the
week I spent at Geneva. .

I visited the glaciers about Mont Blanc, had very
fine weather, and another rich botanical harvest. .
Passed by Martigny, Bex, &c. over the lake to Lau-
sanne, which I need not describe, as it is the road
you took. Tissot received me very civilly, and gave
me his little publication on the Vapours. I was
much pleased with Berne, and the Bears, to whom
IT hope you paid your compliments. I visited the
unmarked grave of Haller, and got acquainted with
his son; but nobody at Berne pleased me so much
as Wyttenbach the clergyman, whose acquaintance

279

I shall earnestly cultivate. He is a good naturalist,
has a very pretty museum, and is a most pleasing
companion. He gave me a letter to Mr. la Chenal
at Basle, with whom I was pleased, no less for his
knowledge and manners, than for his politeness in
presenting me with my grand desideratum, the Phy-
tobasanos, for which I ought indeed to thank you,
as I suspect he had put it by for me in consequence
of what you said; at least he took an early oppor-
tunity to show me his own copy, and when I said I
had long sought that book in vain, he immediately
produced the duplicate. He promised to help me all
in his power with the Syst. Veget., and will inform
Schreber and Jacquin that I mean to publish it.

I saw all the venerable relics of Holbein and
Erasmus which you mentioned to me, and was
much pleased with the three days I spent at Basle.
At Strasburg I passed two days entirely with Pro-
fessor Herman, one of the best and most zealous
naturalists I have met with.

At Nancy I saw Mr. Willement, a good botanist,
from whom, as well as from most of the other peo-
ple I have mentioned, I expect assistance for the
Linnean Society. In the greenhouse at Nancy is
the bust of Stanislaus the banished king of Poland,
to whom Louis XV. gave this province for a refuge.
Under it are the two lines which I have heard you
quote as written for Louis XIV., and I wish to
know whether they were so, or really original at
Nancy.

“Inter - - - - - - - succosque salubres,
Quam bené stat populi vita salusque sua.”

280

Pray send me them complete at your leisure, as I
have no copy of them.

I got to Paris, September 19th, and am employing
myself at the Cabinet du Roi, where my work is
nearly finished. Icannot too highly thank you for
procuring me the acquaintance of the De Lessert
family, of which however I have hitherto only seen
the female part, the gentlemen being all at Lyons
at present, but they are expected home soon. Parr,
who knew the young men at Edinburgh, took me
one morning in his whiskey to Passy; Mrs. De Les-
sert invited us to dinner a few days after, and I never
spent a more agreeable day. I looked over the her-
barium of Rousseau with great pleasure. I find his
letters on botany wereaddressed to Mrs. De Lessert.

Tam very much pleased with my servant in every
respect ; he is a remarkably clever lad, and at pre-

sent very good. He is beginning to learn drawing,
and succeeds in everything he attempts. Brous-
sonet is gone into the country this morning on
some agricultural business.

Here are great reforms going on. L’Ecole Mi-
litaire is to be abolished, and the house made an
hospital. We have been at Versailles and saw the
King and Queen, but the waters have ceased play-
ing for the winter,—a great disappointment.

Adieu, my good friend; believe me I shall ever
‘think with pleasure on the time we have spent to-
gether. I could scarcely have hoped that so long
a connection of the same kind with any one would
have left me so many pleasing ideas.

J. E. Smiru.

281

Dr. Younge to J. E. Smith, Chelsea.

My dear Doctor, Liverpool, Nov. 7, 1787.

Your good fortune in meeting with the most
intelligent men in the different towns of France
through which you passed, I rejoice at. I did not
see any gentleman at Nancy, nor the greenhouse
which you mention, though I spent nearly a whole
morning in visiting the different parts of that charm-
ing town. Iam glad to be particularly informed
respecting an inscription, which I remember only
as related by my father, and, as it was always my
idea, applied by an English gentleman, then ona
tour in France, to Louis XIV., on an inscription
being publicly requested for his statue.

This supposed statue I never saw, and therefore
suspect the inscription might be originally intended
for the place where you saw it. It is thus:

“Inter vitales herbas, succosque salubres,
Quam bené stat populi vita salusque sui.”

The wit of this couplet consists, it may be truly
said, in a verbal pun; but there is a smartness and
elegance in the conceit, which after ten years ac-
quaintance with I still continue to admire. I am
happy to beable to furnish you with what may be
a correct copy of this couplet.

Your affectionate friend,
W. YOUNGE.

282

In November 1787, Sir James returned to his na-
tive country ; andin 1793 he published his “Sketch
of a Tour on the Continent,” in three volumes,
octavo*.

His enthusiastic admiration of whatever he saw
beautiful in nature and excellent in art, for which
he appears to have possessed an intuitive discrimi-
nation, renders his “Sketch of a Tour on the Con-
tinent ” one of the most engaging narratives of the
kind which has come from the press. It attracted
the approbation of every one who took it up; yet
by a fatality often attending what is excellent, it
appears to be less known than it deserves. There
is something very romantic in the description of
his approach to Genoa. .

“Traversing,” he says, “majestic cliffs among
groves of olive- and carob-trees, and thickets of
oleander and myrtle,

‘*T felt as free as nature first made man,
When wild in woods the noble savage ran.’ ”
His entrance by the gate of St. Thomas, walking
alone into the Strada Balbi, to the palace of the
father of his friend the Marquis Ippolito Durazzo,
—his kind, yet magnificent reception, the state in

* The author's father left the following observation upon this
work, in his common-place book.

“A Sketch ofa Tour on the Continent in the Years 1786 and
1787, by James Edward Smith, M.D., F.R.S., Member of the
Royal Academies of Turin, Upsal, Stockholm, Lisbon, &c. &c.
President of the Linnzean Society.” In 3 volumes.

“JT must leave the world to judge of the merits of this work
of my most dearly beloved son ; it is for me to contemplate them
with a tender father’s partiality in silence.”

283

which they lived, give an impression which reminds
the reader of some characters in the novels of
Richardson.

Under the protection of this family Sir James
had the opportunity of seeing the great council and
the final election of a Doge, the only occasion
on which strangers can be admitted at all to that
august assembly.

While wandering among the classic scenes of
Italy, his admiration for the works of art, whether
of painting or sculpture, was frequently called forth,
and here his enthusiasm breaks out in language which
inspires a similar enthusiasm in the reader. The
strength of a first impression will be shown in his
sensations when in the chapel of the Albergo : “ My
attention,” he observes, ‘‘ was entirely withdrawn
from a fine piece of sculpture I had been looking
at, by an accidental glance to the left, where an-
other sculpture over a small altar riveted my eyes
and every faculty of my mind, in a transport of
admiration and tender compassion as fervent as
ever Mrs. Siddons herself excited. This was no
other than the bas-relief by Michael Angelo Buo-
narotti. The subject consists of two heads, about
the natural size, of a dead Christ, and his mother
bending over him. Words cannot do justice to
the expression of grief in the Virgin. Itis not
merely natural in the highest degree, ’tis the grief
of a character refined and softened above humanity.
The contemplation of it recalls every affecting scene,
every pathetic incident of one’s whole life. Those
who have watched all the agonizing turns of coun-

284

tenance of the great actress above mentioned, in
the parts of Isabella and Belvidere, can alone form
a conception of the wonderful effect of this marble.
In contemplating it, every exquisite variety of that
expression seems to pass in turn over its breathing
features. The reader must pardon my enthusiasm.
This was the first truly fine piece of sculpture I
ever saw. I had not before any conception of the
powers of art. I shall have few occasions of re-
lapsing into such rapture.”

The following, though but a translation, yet
only a mind inspired with the impression could
have done justice to it. “Conscious,” the writer tells
us, “of my own inability to furnishadequate concep-
tions upon the subject, I beg leave to offer Winkel-
man’s LZymn, as De la Lande has well denominated
it, in honour of the famed Apollo. It is a curiosity
which has not appeared in English; and while it
exemplifies the genius of its author, will afford a
conclusive proof that the study of antiquities is not
always a dry one.”

WINKELMAN’S HyMn To THE APOLLO BELVIDERE.

“ Of all the productions of art which the ravages
of time have spared us, the statue of Apollo is in-
disputably the most sublime. The artist has con-
ceived this performance from ideal being, and has
made so much use of matter only as was necessary
to execute and give a body to his thought. As far
as the description of Apollo in Homer surpasses
those descriptions which other poets have made after

285

him, so far does this figure exceed all other figures
of the.same divinity. His stature is more than
human, and his attitude expresses majesty. An
eternal spring, like that of Elysium, diffuses the
beauty of youth over the manly perfection of his
frame, and gracefully displays itself in the noble
configuration of his limbs. We must endeavour to
penetrate into the empire of incorporeate beauty ;
seek to become creators of a celestial nature, in
order to elevate the soul to the contemplation of
such supernatural perfection ; for here is nothing
mortal, nothing subject to the wants of humanity.
This body is neither warmed by veins, nor agitated
by nerves. A celestial spirit, diffused like a gentle
stream, circulates, if I may so express myself, over
the contour of this figure. He has pursued Python,
against whom he has bent, for the first time, his
tremendous bow; in his rapid course he has over-
taken him, and given the mortal stroke. In the
fullness of sublime satisfaction, his august aspect,
penetrating into infinity, extends far beyond his
present victory. Disdain is impressed on his lips ;
the indignation he breathes inflates his nostrils, and
mounts even to his brow. But unalterable peace
is seated on his forehead, and his eye is all sweet-
ness, as if he were now surrounded by the Muses,
eager to offer him their caressing homage. Among
all the representations of Jupiter that have reached
us, there are none in which the father of gods seems
so nearly to approach that dignity, in which he
once manifested himself to the intelligence of the
poet, as in this portrait of his son. The individual

286

beauties of all other deities are assembled in this
figure, as in the divine Pandora. This brow is the
brow of Jupiter pregnant with the goddess of Wis-
dom, and its movement announces its will. These
eyes, in their fine-turned orbits, are the eyes of
Juno; and this mouth is the same that inspired the
beautiful Branchus with voluptuousness. Like the
pliant branches of a tender vine, his lovely hair
waves around his divine head, as if lightly agitated
by the breath of Zephyr; his locks seem perfumed
with ethereal essence, and negligently attached at
the summit by the Graces themselves. When I
behold this prodigy of art, I forget all the universe,
I assume a more dignified attitude, to be worthy to
contemplate it. From admiration I pass into ec-
stasy. Penetrated with respect, I feel my bosom
heave and dilate itself, as in those filled with the
spirit of prophecy. I am transported to Delos,
and the sacred groves of Lycia once honoured by
the presence of the god; for the beauty before me
seems to acquire motion, like that produced of old
by the chisel of Pygmalion. How is it possible to
describe thee, thou inimitable masterpiece, unless I
had the help of ancient science itself to inspire me,
and guide my pen! I lay at thy feet the sketch I
have rudely attempted ; as those who cannot reach
the brows of the divinity they adore, offer at its
footstool the garlands with which they would fain
have crowned its head.”

The reader who has not before seen this ani-
mated description will not consider it obtrusive

287

here; and the writer feels she shall be treated with
indulgence if she speaks with enthusiasm of the
volumes which first disclosed to her knowledge
the taste and character of their author: a poetic
spirit breathes through these, and through all his
writings, and gives a charm which is felt even in
the strict language of scientific description.
“Poetry,” says a fine modern writer, “has a
natural alliance with our best affections. It de-
lights in the beauty and sublimity of the outward
creation, and of the soul. Its great tendency and
purpose is to carry the mind beyond and above the
beaten, dusty, weary walks of ordinary life; to lift
it into a purer element, and to breathe into it more
profound and generous emotions. It reveals to us
the loveliness of nature, brings back the freshness
of youthful feelings, revives the relish of simple
pleasures, keeps unquenched the enthusiasm which
warmed the spring-time of our being, refines youth-
ful love, strengthens our interest in human nature
by vivid delineations of its loftiest feelings, spreads
our sympathies over all classes of society, knits us
by new ties to universal being; and through the
brightness of its prophetic visions, helps faith to
lay hold on the future life. It is objected to po-
etry, that it gives wrong views, and excites false
expectations of life, peoples the mind with shadows
and illusions, and builds up imagination on the
ruins of wisdom. ‘That there is a wisdom against
which poetry wars,—the wisdom of the senses,
which makes physical comfort and gratification the
supreme good, and wealth the chief interest of life,-—

288

cannot be denied; nor is it the least service which
poetry renders to mankind, that it redeems them
from the thraldom of this earthborn prudence. It
is good to feel that life is not wholly usurped by
_cares for subsistence and physical gratifications, but
admits, in measures which may be indefinitely en-
larged, sentiments and delights worthy of a higher
being.” This refinement pervaded his whole cha-
racter, gave a charm to his domestic habits and
social pleasures, which stood in place of the lux-
uries of fortune, and surpassed them.

“There is one subject,” Sir James observes in
the preface to his Tour, “ which commonly makes
a conspicuous figure in all travels to Italy,—the
absurdities and abuses of the Catholic religion.
On this head many a Protestant writer seems to
think himself privileged to let loose every species
of sarcasm, censure, and calumny, without any
qualification or distinction. He censures a pre-
tended infallible church, as if he himself and his
own mode or fashion of belief alone were really
infallible: he condemns a persecuting religion,
while he himself persecutes it more uncharitably
and unrelentingly with his pen or his tongue, than
any churchman ever did heretic with fire and fag-
got; and he execrates those who keep no faith with
unbelievers, while he betrays the confidence of
friendship and hospitality, and perverts the kind-
ness of human nature, (which gets the better even
of religious antipathies,) into a tool of ridicule
against those who have exercised it in favour of
himself. These errors, by far more disgraceful and

289

blameable than errors of faith, he has earnestly
wished to avoid.”

After such a declaration, which is justified by the
forbearance, or rather disinclination, to make any
offensive remarks on the religion of a country
among whose members he had met with acknow-
ledged hospitality and great kindness, he never-
theless was so unlucky as to incur very serious
reprehension, from an unknown hand, upon this
very subject and some others; all contained in a
long letter sent him two or three years after the
publication of his Tour.

This letter, however amusing it occasionally proved
to the person to whom it was addressed, might be
considered too long to insert, and as Sir James never
knew who was the writer of it, it cannot be said
that he lost a friend; but he was so unfortunate as
to wound the feelings, very undesignedly, of our late
Queen Charlotte, by an expression in speaking of
the Queen of France, which seems never to have
been obliterated from Her Majesty’s remembrance,
and occasioned the withdrawing of her favour, al-
though the offending epithet was expunged in the
second edition of his Tour.

It happened some time in the year 1791, that Sir
James’s friend, Dr. Goodenough bishop of Carlisle,
being about to write a botanical paper on the Bri-
tish species of Carex, had occasion to consult the
herbarium of Mr. Lightfoot. This had been bought
by His Majesty George III. on the death of its ori-
ginal possessor, and presented to the Queen. Dr.

Goodenough obtained permission to examine it:
VOL. I. U

290

the Queen, being present when he went to Frog-
more, conversed with Dr. G. on the subject of his
studies. He found the herbarium very much da-
maged, and recommended Her Majesty to have it
looked over by some intelligent person, mentioning
Mr. Dryander and Sir James Smith, as either of
them capable of advising some method of preserv-
ing what remained. The name of the latter was
not unknown to the Queen; he had some time be-
fore presented her, through the kindness of the
Hon. Mrs, Barrington, with a copy of his Colour-
ed Figures of Rare Plants, which both Their Majes-
ties were pleased enough with to desire to become
purchasers of three copies besides; and in one of
Her Majesty’s familiar visits to the late Viscountess
Cremorne, the Queen carried her a copy as a pre-
sent.

Lady Cremorne, perceiving with agreeable sur-
prise that the author of this new work was a person
she had honoured with her friendship so far as to
have fixed on him as an acquaintance and compa-
nion for an only and beloved son, the consequence
of the rencontre was, that when Dr. Goodenough
gave the above-mentioned hint to Her Majesty,
she instantly fixed upon him, for the purpose not
merely of arranging Lightfoot’s herbarium, but of
conversing with herself and the Princesses on the
elements of botany and zoology. These visits were
at all times remembered by him with considerable
pleasure; and he never spoke without veneration of
the character of the Queen, her care to afford her
daughters every opportunity of acquiring informa-

291

tion, and to furnish them with the means of filling
their time with worthy objects of pursuit.

Sir James sincerely esteemed his royal patroness,
and was flattered to find his services acceptable to
her. In every conversation the benignity and cul-
tivated understanding of the principal personages
removed every sensation of awe, and royalty itself
lost none of its dignity in the polite and accom-
plished companions.

With these impressions he took leave of his il-
lustrious pupils, suspecting no ill, and.designing
nothing disloyal, nor was it likely that any passages
in his Tour should have given offence at any other
time. But the events of the French revolution had
filled the minds of many with suspicion and alarm:
what he had said was representedto him “ as injuri-
ous in these times to crowned heads ;” anda passage
wherein he is accused of eulogizing Rousseau, was
regarded as “hostile to religion, virtue, and loyalty.”

There can be no doubt that Her Majesty’s mind

was prejudiced against him by one who had been a
mutual friend, but whose personal contests with
Rousseau had warped his judgement.
_ That Sir James regretted this alienation cannot
be matter of surprise to those who have felt what
it is to be misunderstood, and who recollect that
his sentiments of regard for those who had shown
him kindness were no less warm than sincere. He
had no other reason to regret the circumstance, for
it was a disinterested connection entirely.

To the friend above alluded to, he replied, “If
you consider calmly what I have said of Rousseau,

u 2

292

you will find it rather an apology than an eulogium,
and cannot be understood to palliate any of his
faults or mistakes. What I have said of the un-
happy Queen of France in vol. i1. p. 217 and 218,
is the most favourable apology that can be made
consistent with truth and the sacred interests of
virtue. The other expression* I regret, and will
correct it.”

Those who have not seen these passages may
have a curiosity to peruse what at the present day
would scarcely be considered hostile to religion
and virtue, likely to produce alarm, or to be con-
strued into disaffection.

Extract from the Tour, vol. iti. p. 217.

“Of her political faults during her prosperity, I
presume not to form an idea; for who could dive
into the intricacies of one of the most intriguing of
all courts? Her subsequent conduct, her plots as
they are called, her ¢reason against her oppressors,
none that can put themselves into her situation will
wonder at or blame. Her private faults I will not
palliate. They were but too well known, when she
was in a situation that might be supposed out of
the reach of all justice, except the divine ; but they
will not fail now to be blackened, no doubt, where
that can be done. Let it however be remembered,
that the state prisons revealed no secrets to the
dishonour of this unfortunate Queen, no victims of
her jealousy or resentment, though they were often
filled with those of the worthless mistresses of for-

* The epithet of Messalina applied to the Queen of France.

293

mer kings. The canting Madame Maintenon spared
no pains to entrap and to confine for life a Dutch
bookseller, who had exposed her character: but
Marie Antoinette took not the least vengeance of
the most abusive things, written and published by
persons within her own power.”

Vol.i.p. 110. ‘“ With respect to the character
of Rousseau, about which the opinion of the world
is so much divided, I have found it improve ona
near examination. Every one who knew him speaks
of him with the most affectionate esteem, as the
most friendly, unaffected and modest of men, and
the most unassuming in conversation. Enthusias-
tically fond of the study of Nature, and of Linneus
as the best interpreter of her works, he was always
warmly attached to those who agreed with him in
this taste. The amiable and accomplished lady* to
whom his Letters on Botany were addressed, con-
curs in this account, and holds his memory in the
highest veneration. I have ventured to ask her:opi-
nion upon some unaccountable actions in his life,
and especially about those misanthropic horrors and
suspicions which embittered his latter days. She
seemed to think the last not entirely groundless; but
still, for the most part to be attributed to a some-
thing not quite right in his mind, for which he was
to be pitied, not censured. Her charming daughter
showed me a collection of dried plants, made and
presented to her by Rousseau, neatly pasted on
small writing-paper, and accompanied with their
Linnean names and other particulars.

* Madame de Lessert.

294

“ Botany seems to have been his most favourite
amusement in the latter part of life; and his feel-
ings with respect to this pursuit are expressed with
that energy and grace so peculiarly his own, in
his letter to Linneus*, the original of which I
preserve as an inestimable relic. I need offer no
apology to the candid and well-informed reader for
this minuteness of anecdote concerning so cele-
brated a character. Those who have only partial
notions of Rousseau, may perhaps wonder to hear
that his memory is cherished by any well-disposed
minds. To such I beg leave to observe, that I hold
in a very subordinate light that beauty of style and
language, those golden passages, which will immor-
talize his writings; and a faint resemblance of which
is the only merit of some of his enemies. I respect
him as a writer eminently favourable on the whole
to the interests of humanity, reason, and religion. |
Wherever he goes counter to any of these, I as
freely dissent from him; but do not on that account
throw all his works into the fire. As the best and
most religious persons of my acquaintance are
among his warmest admirers, I may perhaps be
biassed in my judgement ; but it is certainly more
amiable to be misled by the fair parts of a charac-
ter, than to make its imperfections a pretence for
not admiring or profiting by its beauties. Nor can
any defects or inconsistencies in the private charac-
ter of Rousseau depreciate the refined moral and
religious principles with which his works abound.

* Published in the “Selection of the Correspondence of Lin-
nus.”

295

Truth is truth wherever it comes from. No imper-
fections of humanity can discredit a noble cause ;
and it would be madness to reject Christianity, for
instance, either because Peter denied Christ, or
Judas betrayed him.

“It will be hard to meet with a more edifying or
more consolatory lecture on religion than the death-
bed of Julia. Her character is evidently intended
as a model in this respect. By that then we should
judge of its author, and not by fretful doubts and
petulant expressions, the sad fruits of unjust perse-
cution, and of good intentions misconstrued.

“Nor would it be difficult to produce, from the
works of Rousseau, a vast majority of passages di-
rectly in support of Christianity itself, compared
with what are supposed hostile to it. It is noto-
rious that he incurred the ridicule of Voltaire, for
exalting the character and death of Jesus above
that of Socrates. ‘But he was insidious, and he
disbelieved miracles, say his opponents. If he
believed Christianity without the assistance of mi-
racles to support his faith, is it a proof of his infi-
delity? If he was insidious, that is his own concern.
I have nothing to do with hidden meanings or
mystical explanations of any book, certainly not of
the writings of so ingenuous and perspicuous an
author as Rousseau. Unfortunately for him, the
whole tenour of those writings has been too hostile
to the prevailing opinions, or at least to the darling
interests of those in authority among whom he
lived; for Scribes and Pharisees are never wanting
to depress every attempt at improving or instruct-

296

ing the world, and the greatest heresy and most
unpardonable offence is always that of being in the
right. For this cause, having had the honour of
feeling the vengeance of all ranks of tyrants and
bigots, from a king or bishop of France, to a pal-
try magistrate of Berne or a Swiss pastor, he was
obliged to take refuge in England. Here he was
received with open arms, being justly considered as
the martyr of that spirit of investigation and liberty
which is the basis of our constitution, and on which
alone our reformed religion depends. He was ca-
ressed and entertained by the best and most ac-
complished people, and experienced in a particular
manner the bounty of our present amiable sove-
reign.

<*Qne cannot but lament, that one of the most
eminent, and I believe virtuous, public characters
of that day, should of late have vainly enough at-
tempted to compliment the same sovereign, by
telling him he came to the crown in contempt of
his people, should have held up a Messalina for
public veneration, and become the calumniator of
Rousseau !

“Tt is, indeed, true that a certain morbid degree
of sensibility and delicacy, added to the inequalities
of a temper broken down by persecution and ill
health, made Rousseau often receive apparently
well-meant attentions with a very bad grace. Yet,
from most of the complaints of this kind, which I
have heard from the parties immediately concerned,
I very much suspect he was not unfrequently in the
right. But supposing him to have been to blame

297

in all these instances, they occurred posterior to
his most celebrated publications. Was it not very
unjust, therefore, for those who had patronized and
extolled him for those publications, to vent their
animosity against ¢hem for any thing in zs conduct
afterwards °

“Far be it from me, however, to attempt a full
justification of his writings. I only contend for
the generally good intention of their author. The
works themselves must be judged by impartial pos-
terity. I merely offer my own sentiments; but I
offer them freely, scorning to disguise my opinion,
either because infidels have pressed Rousseau into
their service, or because the uncandid and the dis-
honest have traduced him falsely, not daring to
declare the real cause of their aversion,—his vir-
tuous sincerity.”

When compassion for the sufferings of another
mingles with similitude of feelings, especially on
some favourite point, it never fails to produce a
strong partiality. The same love of Nature, the
same passion for her works, the same rapture in
beholding the sublime scenery of the Alps, charac-
terized both these men; and in reading, as Sir
James sometimes did, the 7th Promenade of the
celebrated author of “-Judze,” he saw, as it were in
a mirror, his own sensations reflected.

“Toutes mes courses de botanique, les diverses
impressions du local, des objets qui m’ont frappé,
les idées qu'il m’a fait naitre ; les incidens qui sont
mélés, tout cela m’a laissé des impressions qui se

298

renouyellent par l’aspect des plantes herborisées
dans ces mémes lieux. Je ne reverrai plus ces beaux
paysages, ces foréts, ces lacs, ces bosquets, ces ro-
chers, ces montagnes dont l’aspect a toujours touché
mon cceur; mals maintenant que je ne peux plus
courir ces heureuses contrées, je n’ai qu’a ouvrir mon
herbier, et bientdt il m’y transporte. Les fragmens
des plantes que j’y ai cueillies suffisent pour me rap-
peller tout ce magnifique spectacle. Cet herbier est
pour moi un journal @herborizations, qui me les
fait recommencer avec un nouveau charme, et pro-
duit l’effect d'un optique qui les peindroit derechef
a mes yeux.”

“Clarens! by heavenly feet thy paths are trod,
Undying Love’s, who here ascends a throne
To which the steps are mountains ; where the God
Is a pervading life and light—so shown
Not on those summits solely, nor alone’
In the still cave and forest: o’er the Flowers
His eyes are sparkling, and his breath hath blown.”

There were, however, others who saw the senti-
ments put forth in these volumes in their genuine
light, in the sense intended by their author: Dr.
Pulteney will not be accused of disloyalty, nor of ©
any latitude of opinion beyond what has been the
distinguishing mark of a British subject, true to
every part of the institutions of his country; though
he could not exceed the writer of these travels in
his patriotic spirit.

299

Dr. Pulteney to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Blandford, January 30, 1794.

Mr. White sent me down, about a month ago,
your Tour on the Continent, and I take an oppor-
tunity, by means of a frank to my friend Dr. Garth-
shore, to send you these few lines, to thank you for
the entertainment I have received in the perusal of
it. This work will, I hope, exalt your fame, and
contribute to your emolument. Indeed I cannot
doubt it, as you have so judiciously proportioned
your information to such a variety of readers. You
will not wonder that Z should have wished to have
seen more of natural history ; but I am well aware
how proper it was not to introduce too much of
any particular branch of knowledge, since the ge-
neral taste was to be consulted, to make a work
popular.

Your mode, however, of introducing what you
have done on our favourite subject, is so judiciously
managed, that I hope it will much tend to recom-
mend it. This is not all I wish to applaud. Be
assured, my dear Sir, that I am delighted with that
spirit of freedom, and zeal for the cause of liberty,
which so eminently appears throughout these vo-
lumes: your sentiments are so congenial to my
own, that I honour you for the expression of them,
and for the spirit you have shown on this occasion,
as well as for the prudent discrimination you have
made every where betweeen Liberty and Licentious-
ness, at a time when our neighbours are discredit-
ing their principles, and injuring the best of causes,

300

by their savage proceedings. I ever thought they
had neither virtue nor religion enough to deserve,
at present, or to attain, the noble object. they
aimed at.
T am, dear Sir, with true esteem,
Your faithful humble Servant,

R. Putteney.

Thomas Pennant Esq.to J. E.. Smith.

Dear Sir, Downing, March 9, 1791.

Your travels were continued to Holyhead, and
are but just returned, otherwise I should have sooner
made my best acknowledgements.

From the part I have read I have little doubt of the
satisfaction I shall have in the perusal to the last
page. I opened accidentally on your account of the
French, which suits my sentiments most exactly.
I detest the savages ; but think every virtuous man
must be struck with horror at the abandoned man-
ners of Louis XV. and his court. Could reformers
tell where the proud waves of correction should
stop, it would be happy: but the cruel inundation
has made havoc indiscriminate. But Providence
for wise ends often suffers its judgements to pass
over the just and unjust. When we weep when we
hear of the axe falling on the merciful Louis XVI.,
how do we exult when we see under it Brissot and
a number of the other regicides.

I thank you for the fine drawings. Adieu.

Yours most faithfully,
THOMAS PENNANT.

301

Among the friends whom the publication of his
Tour procured him must be mentioned Colonel
Johnes, of Hafod. To his secluded residence in
the Alpine wilds of Cardiganshire, Sir James had
the happiness of making several visits, and enjoy-
ing the society of the master of that elegant man-
sion, whose historical researches, whose residence in
many of the European courts, whose acquaintance
with general literature, and whose knowledge of the
world, made his companionship delightful. Here
too Sir James directed the taste and encouraged the
pursuit of natural history among the other acquire-
ments of his amiable daughter, a child in years, but
mature in mind ata very early period. Miss Johnes’s
genius for music was extraordinary at the age of ten
years: but admirer as he was of Handel and of Ita-
lian airs, in both of which she excelled in no com-
mon degree, the greatest charm was to hear her
fine voice among those mountain paths, singing the
native songs of the country, as they botanized to-
gether on the hills; and of these the solemn music
of Morfa Rhyddlan was the favourite of both:

** Wild on old Havren’s banks the modest violet blooms,
And wide the scented air its fragrant breath perfumes ;
Bright shines the glorious sun amid the heaven,

When from its cheering orb the clouds are driven ;
A form more beauteous still adorn’d the flood,
Gwendolen’s fatal form, Llewellyn’s blood!”

This charming villa, containing within itself all
that could gratify the taste,—inaccessible to intru-
sion, yet replenished with sufficient society to dis-
pel any feelings like solitude or desolation,—Mr.

302

Johnes, by way of expressing his own satisfaction
with the spot where all his domestic comfort cen-
tered,—had called, after the idealabode of Johnson’s
Rasselas, The Happy Valley. And surely never was a
more appropriate name bestowed ; “ All Nature and —
all Art” conspired to make it enchanting ; and like a
scene of enchantment, it has vanished away! The
accomplished owner and his only child have long
been numbered with the dead; and of those who
formed the social party, how many are gone since
the days alluded to! But his name will live as
long as the works of Froissart and Monstrelet and
Joinville and Brocquiére, which all issued from the
Hafod press, continue to occupy the shelves of our
libraries.

The following letter to Sir James, from Mr. Sym-
mons, a mutual friend, will give the reader some.
idea of the place and its inhabitants.

Dear Sir, Paddington, Sept. 30, 1794.

On my return home yesterday from a fortnight’s
excursion into Kent and Surrey, I found your very
obliging letter on my table, for which, as well as
every other mark of your kind and friendly atten-
tion, my best acknowledgements are due. When you
come finally from Norfolk, and I learn you are
settled in Marlborough-street, I shall certainly take
the earliest opportunity of thanking you in person,
and of further cultivating, so far as your numerous
avocations will permit without inconvenience to
you, an acquaintance from which I promise myself
so much advantage of every kind. It must be a

303

subject of great disappointment to Mr. Johnes, that
your plans did not admit of a call upon him at Ha-
fod; where, besides a very handsome place, situated
amidst wilds of a character the most romantic and
picturesque imaginable, and some curiosities in the
botanic line, which might perhaps not have fallen
within your observation elsewhere, you might have
assured yourself of a most hearty and hospitable
reception from people naturally kind, benevolent,
and generous in their dispositions, and who would
have felt a very particular satisfaction in contribu-
ting to yours by every means in their power. I have
seen Sir George Staunton, but not so much of him
as I could have wished, enough however to know
that he has not visited the capital of China without
making such observations as cannot but prove
highly interesting in the detail, and from which I
flatter myself with the hope of much delight and
information at some future time, when both of
us are less occupied than at present. His little
boy comes with his tutor to my garden every day,
and goes over the collection of plants in a regular
course, with a Linneus and a Hortus Kewensis
in his hand. His memory is great, and his appre-
hension quick and lively, so that there can be little
doubt of his progress in that, or any other study to
which he applies his mind. But I have fears for his
health, which seems but ill established, and cannot,
in my judgement, be benefited by those continued
attentions to all that diversity of languages and
sciences which the baronet is perpetually- pouring
into him. The vessel is certainly of fine but of de-

304

licate materials, and may be prematurely broken by
too frequent use. I have insensibly scribbled to
the end of my paper, with a bare reservation for
what may be necessary for assuring you, that I am,
dear Sir, with much kindly regard,

Your Friend and Servant,

JOHN SYMMONS.

Sir James’s first visit to Mr. Johnes was made
in August 1795; and in a letter to Mr. Woodward
he decribes his journey and reception at Hafod in
these words :

Dear Sir,

I left Norwich last Monday se’nnight; and on the
following Saturday went to Worcester,—continued
my journey to Ludlow (32 miles) in the mail, by a
very hilly and rough road. Observed Inula Hele-
nium in moist places by the road side ; the country
rich, and beautifully varied with woods and fields.
Ludlow is on a hill, very pleasantly situated; the
castle, where Comus was first acted, is in ruins.
On Monday morning at five I set out ina day coach
for Aberystwith (80 miles), too great an undertaking
by far in such a country for one day. As we pro-
ceeded, the country grew more hilly, but not craggy.
"Tis like Westmoreland or the north of Yorkshire,
but without lakes. We breakfasted at Bishop's
Castle, a shabby town, built of stone as in the North
of England. A little way past it we ascended a
hill called the Bishop’s moat, from whence is one
of the most extensive views I ever saw, it only

305

wants water. The hills are lofty and swelling, not
abrupt; green to the top, and cultivated half way
up; not abundant in wood. We soon after en-
tered Wales, and had another more beautiful view
to the right, over an immense extent of hills and
valleys to Montgomery, and far beyond, command-
ing a fine reach of the Severn between woody
rocks like Matlock, looking as if one might take
them up like a toy. We dined at Newtown, and
were to have met the Aberystwith coach, but it was
overturned (a common case) six miles from New-
town, and we were delayed in waiting for it all that
evening, but spent our time pleasantly enough in
walking about the beautiful country around, which
much resembles the environs of Matlock, (not the
valley itself,) and next morning I proceeded towards
Aberystwith (45 miles), but the road was so very
hilly we did not get there till six in the evening.
The latter part of the way was very beautiful, com-
manding the river, and arich vale through which it
runs, with openings to the sea. The town 1s ugly,
but abounds with company, and I met Sir George
and Lady Caley there. Mr. Johnes’s man and
horses were waiting for me, but I did not set off
till next morning, when I had a most charming
ride to Hafod over the hills sixteen miles ;
** And here I rest, as, after much turmoil,
A blessed soul doth in Elysium.”
Here is a most sumptuous modern house, in a vale,
among rocks, woods, and cascades of the wildest
kind, and on the most magnificent scale. I know
nothing like it, except some parts of the north of
VOL. I. %

306

Yorkshire. The house looks small on the outside,
and yet the gallery is 200 feet long. The drawing-
room is one of the most elegant anywhere to be
seen, with Gobelin tapestry made on purpose, and
chairs of the same. French glasses throughout
the house. Every thing in the highest style of
decoration. The library an octagon of 30 feet.

Miss Johnes, though not above ten years of age,
has taken a wonderful turn for botany and ento-
mology. She has made out almost every* plant
within her reach that is in Flora Londinensis, or
English Botany, and has the latter almost by heart.
She longs to botanize in a chalk country. She is
almost equally fond of insects, and her whole de-
light is to walk with me about the woods, searching
for mosses and insects, patiently attending to every
thing I say, and telling me all her observations,
doubts, queries, &c. This is the more extraordi-
nary, as she has had no companion till now. Her
mother indeed is fond of a garden and greenhouse,
and her father encourages her by all the means in
his power; but it is a remarkable instance of early
ardour. Miss Johnes is also a capital musician.

I have been rather disappointed hitherto as to
botany in Wales. What I have observed are the
common plants of hilly, not alpine countries, and
not a great variety of them. Mosses and Lichens
are plentiful, but they are chiefly of the tree kind,
yet no filamentost. L. late-virens, glomuliferus,
scrobiculatus, sylvaticus, resupinatus, plumbeus, are
common. I have found one specimen of perlatus
in fructification. Hypericum dubium of Leers,

307

lately observed near Worcester, is one of the most
common things here, and I dare say has been over-
looked for H. perforatum,—pray see to it. The
leaves are not punctated, except a line of purple
dots on the margin.

I have been this morning a walk of five miles in
the grounds, among rocks, cascades, woods, every
thing that is romantic, and quite natural. This
family are the guardian angels of the country. Mr.
Johnes has lately imported a ship-load of wheat
from Bristol, to sell at cent per cent loss.

The harvest here is fine, and so it seemed all the
way I came. The hop-grounds of Shropshire are
beautiful.

I send you a bit of Hypericum dubium, and also
a Gnaphalium, which I took at first for the true
sylvaticum, but it must surely be only rectum of
Engl. Bot.; pray give me your opinion. My fair
pupil has promised mea tune, and I must go down.

August 31,

We are to go tomorrow to the Devil’s Bridge,
where I hope to find some Mosses at least. I
must leave this charming spot in seven or eight
days, and mean to go to Llandillo, where a friend
of mine, Dr. Parr, lives, and thence to Bath to see
my aunt Kindersley and her grandchildren.

There is no limestone, chalk, or gravel here, and
consequently the Flora is poor. Soiidago virgau-
rea, Serratula tinctoria, Hypericum dubium are pro-
digiously abundant; but scarcely any thing else

x 2

308
that is at all uncommon; few Ferns ; many Mosses
and Alge. I have also found few insects.

Mr. Caldwell is disappointed of his Guernsey
expedition, and regrets disappointing you of Fuci.
I wanted him to accompany me to Wales, but he
could not.

I have just been looking over a book of twenty-
six drawings of shells, &c., done for M. Paris, at
ten louis each. Mr. Johnes bought it for about 1301.
His copies and manuscripts of Froissart are ex-
tremely valuable; he is at work on an elaborate
translation of that work, with notes.

Your ever affectionate friend,

J. E. Smiru.

In the summer of 1796, the writer accompanied
her husband to this romantic spot. In addition to
the native beauty of the scene, a flock of peacocks
from the neighbouring woods came frequently at
early dawn, and placing themselves

* Right against the eastern gate,
Where the great sun begins his state,”

displayed their gorgeous plumage between the bat-

tlements of the mansion, and with their singular

cry of Pavo! Pavo! enlivened and animated the

otherwise silent solitude of the “ morning spread

upon the mountains ;” nor can she ever hear the

note unaccompanied with that peculiar sensation
“Which out of things familiar, undesign’d,

When least we deem of such, calls up to view
The spectres whom no exorcism can bind ;

309

The cold, the changed,—perchance the dead, anew,
The mourn’d, the loved, the lost—too many! yet how few!

How agreeable Mr. Johnes was in conversation,
his letters give some idea of, for they greatly re-
semble his colloquial manner. Abounding in infor-
mation, he was rapid, allusive, and obscure to those
who had more limited knowledge than he possessed.

The letters which remain of this lively and amia-
ble correspondent are very numerous, beginning
in 1794, and ending in February 1816, only two
months before his death.

The following, written after the loss of the be-
loved object of his affection, is remarkable for the
altered style, subdued by grief, yet full of resigna-
tion to the stroke which severed the last branch
from the parent tree.

My dear Friend, Hafod, August 17, 1811.

We are very much obliged by all your attentions,
and wish you could have sent us better accounts of
your own health. We came here this day se’nnight,
and hope we may be able to endure it, although
deprived of its brightest charm. It is here we can
do most good, and that must now be our only en-
deavour, to show some gratitude for mercies al-
ready received, and they have been manifold, and
to indulge a hope that we may all meet again here-
after. By placing our dependence on the sole
Source of happiness and comfort, we have been
wonderfully strengthened, not only to bear our loss
with resignation, but with thankfulness.

My wife is still very low, though calm. She

310

cannot see any company; but if you could favour
me with a visit, I think it would do us both good.

I never saw this place in such beauty, and I
trust that we shall enjoy it as we ought, within a
short time, for we daily regain strength.

Tomorrow will, I fear, unhinge us again, for we
must go to church.

Our thoughts now will be attached to all that
loved her, and to every thing that may remind us
of her excellencies.

I do not think I shall ever again bear music!

Adieu, my good Friend, I am always yours,

T. JOHNES.

A very flattering tribute of approbation to Sir
James’s Tour comes from the pen of the amiable
and accomplished Mrs. Watt, the only child of the
celebrated Ellis, whose discoveries concerning the
formation and nature of Corallines give him a high
rank among those whose genius enriched the science
of natural history in the eighteenth century.

My dear Sir, Northaw Place, June 23, 1793.

Amidst the various avocations of a large family,
a mother anxious to discharge her duty, cannot be
supposed to have much leisure for the pursuit of
those amusements which, in the earlier period of
her life, constituted her greatest pleasures ; unless
from the affluence of her fortune she can transfer
all the cares, and retain only the enjoyments of it.
This not falling to my lot, I have been necessi-
tated to postpone thanking you for your most

311

obliging present of a “Sketch of a Tour on the
Continent,” which I received some months since.
What little acquaintance I had before the pleasure
of having with you, I must confess interested me
very sincerely in your success through life; as you
appeared to merit in the highest degree the encou-
ragement of every one who was anxious to promote
that noblest of all studies, the study of natural hi-
story. But since the perusal of your work, methinks
I discern in your character some traits which, for
the sake of my much-loved country, I most fer-
vently wish were the leading ones in the character
of every Englishman. You unite religious and moral
with natural philosophy ; you permit it to conduct
you, as it was ever intended it should, to the great
Origin of all; and while it enlightens your mind to
contemplate the most sublime subjects, it heightens
your enjoyment of that infinite variety of pleasures
which the society of those of a similar turn for im-
provement must afford. While you have contracted
no mean prejudice against those who may differ from
you in opinion, your benevolence inclines you to
think every individual of every persuasion entitled
to your charity and good-will. Allow me therefore
to assure you that, for the benefit of the world ia
general, as well as those particularly of your own
circle of friends, both Mr. Watt and myself most
unfeignedly wish you health and long life! since
we are both fully persuaded, if by an All-gracious
Being you are blessed with the one, your ardent
and indefatigable pursuit after useful knowledge
will render the other a blessing to mankind.

312

I return you the Linnean and Philosophical
Transactions, with my very best acknowledgements ;
and have,I assure you, much pleasure in subscribing
myself, my dear Sir,

Your much obliged Friend,

Martua Watt.

To this lady Sir James was indebted for the
whole correspondence of her admirable father, with
various other papers, for the purpose of turning
them to any public use he might think proper. He
thus became possessed of the letters on both sides
between Ellis and Linnzus, which were published
in 1821, in “A Selection of the Correspondence of
Linneus and other Naturalists.”

This excellent woman was the second wife of
Alexander Watt, Esq., of Northaw, Herts. In the
memoir of Ellis, in Rees’s Cyclopedia, Sir James
tells us, “She inherited her father’s taste and cha-
racter, more especially his piety and sensibility of
mind, with a considerable likeness to his person.
She died in childbed at Northaw, in the spring of
1795. Her will, written entirely in her own hand,
and a letter to her husband, found after her decease,
are worthy of the pen of a Richardson, and the
character of a Clarissa.”

From Mr. Davall, of Orbe, in Switzerland, an
enthusiastic botanist, whose correspondence will
appear hereafter, Sir James received the following
notice of his travels.

313

Orbe, Canton de Berne, July 22, 1794.
My dearest Friend, |

I have at last received your inestimable present,
your Tour, which I have hitherto devoured, not yet
having been able to read soberly; it has given me
such delight as I cannot express. No doubt from
my attachment I cannot be perfectly impartial; yet
I can solemnly declare, that were I ignorant of its
author, I should say he is the favoured child of
Nature, and displays more solid sense than almost
any other I have ever read. I have been delighted
with subjects on which I understand little or no-
thing, such as painting, from the nature of the
remarks, ev. gr. vol. iii. p. 35. I had, just before I
read this, seen the very attitude between my boy
and his nurse. You know me well enough, my dear
friend, to be assured that I am incapable of flatter-
ing any one, from any motive whatever: believe me
then when I say, that I have no words to express
the delight your Tour has given, and continues to
give me; you give throughout the whole, in my
opinion, the best proofs of sound and solid sense,
freedom from prejudice, and all the qualities that
become a being worthy of the name of man. You
desire particularly to have my opinion of what you
say on Rousseau. I must frankly tell you the truth;
I have never yet read any one of his works! Hav-
ing rather too early in life had reason to be dis-
gusted with general society, not having within my
reach here any one congenial soul, I have long lived
in a very recluse manner, visiting Mature / as well

314

as very indifferent health and delicate eyes could
permit. “Anim causa ad lenienda vite fastidia.”
Scopoli Entom. Carniol. Pref. I cannot refrain in
one single instance, my dear friend, lamenting a
very great error of the press 1 hope,—viz. vol. iil.
p. 170, in styling Van Bercherm an ingenious bo-
tanist! For Jotanist let us read, if you will, zoolo-
gist. I knew him well,—a good young man; the
only solid knowledge he had then in natural history
was relative to Quadrupeds, not Mammalia. But as
for botany! I should,—as I love you, and as I wish
you ever from my heart as free from error and in-
justice as possible,—I should, I say, have hardly
been less grieved had you spoke of your cordial
friend Davall as an ingenious astronomer !

Another testimony must still be added, though
last, not least welcome to the author of the Tour;
and it is memorable as being contained in almost
the first letter he ever received from the historian
of the Medici.

“T will not trouble you with enumerating the par-
ticulars which your parcel contained, all of which I
highly value, but none more than the three volumes
of your Tour, which display so much of your own
observations and opinions. To say that these are
almost invariably in unison with my own is perhaps
but a very doubtful kind of commendation; and I
will therefore add, that these volumes exhibit that
well-tempered zeal for rational liberty, that love of
science and predilection for works of art, which will
always render them highly interesting to all those

315
who can feel for the true dignity and happiness of
mankind.

“ Your affectionate friend,
“W. Roscoe.”

Mr. Woodward in some observations upon the
Tour, selects the description of his journey up
Mount Cenis, as the part he preferred. “This
charming chapter,” he tells his friend, “I can never
sufficiently admire. Fora botanist the scene has, as
you observe, peculiar charms: in reading this the
second time, I frequently laid down the book for a
few minutes to prolong the pleasure, dreading to
get to the end of the chapter. The journey to
Chamouny has nearly equal charms, but the sub-
ject was not so novel as Mount Cenis.”

After this excess of approbation, which the mind
is not always in tune to accord with, it is a bold
resolve to give the reader the passage, which his
partial friend so much approved.

“ Aug. 11. About eleven at night I set out from
Turin along with Mr. de Sousa, Dr. Bellardi, Dr.
Buonvicino a mineralogist, and the Abbé Vasco a
natural philosopher.

“ dug. 12. Early in the morning we found our-
selves among the narrow passes about the foot of
the Alps, with majestic scenery intermixed with -
cultivation, and here and there a not very flourish-
ing village. Passed through Suze, the key of Pied-
mont, which of course is very strongly fortified; its
bastions are cut out of the live rock. The country

316

grew more hilly and romantic at every step. At
the miserable village of la Novalaise we were obliged
to quit our carriages for mules; and after a tedious
ascent by a zigzag stony road, no way dangerous
however, we reached the top, that is, the plain of
Mount Cenis, towards noon. Within about a mile
of the summit I found Juncus filiformis in a wet
place on the left of the road, and Lichen polyrhizos
on a rock near it. Not far from hence, on a small
plain before we arrived at the great one, grew Bart-
sia alpina, in seed, Trifolum agrartum of Linn.
(Dickson’s Dried Plants, No. 80.), widely different
from that of English writers, and many other rare
plants. On our right a magnificent cascade fell
close to the road. All along a great part of the
way I had observed various alpine species of dne-
mone and Pedicularis, mostly in seed, with a novelty
of appearance in the herbage highly encouraging,
and a luxuriance at which (having no idea of alpine
pastures) I was surprised. I lamented only the ad-
vanced state of these plants, and feared we were too
late for the season ; but when I found the plain of
Mount Cenis all flowery with the rarest alpine pro-
ductions, such as we delight to see even dragging
ona miserable existence in our gardens, and the
greatest part of which, disdainful of our care and
favour, scorn to breathe any other air than that of
their native rocks, none but an admirer of nature
can enter into my feelings. Even the most com-
mon grass here was Phleum alpinum, and the heathy
plain glowed with /thododendrum ferrugineum and
Arnica montana. Well might Clusius so beauti-

317

fully say—‘ Von carent altissimt montes preruptique
scopult suis etiam deliciis’*; nor need one have the
science of a Clusius to feel pleasure in such scenes.
Scarcely any traveller passes the Alps in summer
without either lamenting the ‘neglect of his bota-
nical studies, or more honestly regretting that he
had never attended to this source of pleasure at all.
I have long ago perhaps tired the reader with my
admiration of the works of art. If he had had in-
dulgence enough for me to get thus far, he must
now lay in a fresh stock of patience while I expa-
tiate on the productions of nature; unless he should
chance to be a botanist, and then all I can say will
not satisfy his curiosity. Dr. Bellardi and myself
were accommodated at the hospital, built for the
reception of travellers in bad weather, which is now
under the direction of an abbé, named Tua; the
good father Nicholas, so much celebrated by Lady
Miller, being dead long since. This is a good rus-
tic sort of inn; so far from being intolerable, that
the English ambassador, Mr. Trevor, and his lady,
had. lately resided some weeks here on a party of
pleasure. Mr. de Sousa and the rest of our com-
pany took refuge in a tent not far distant, belong-
ing to the chevalier de St. Real, then intendant of
the province of Maurienne, and now of the valley
dAost, who with an ingenious young officer of
Chambery, Mr. Martinel, had spent several weeks
here, and as many in the preceding summer, in
order to investigate thoroughly the geography and

*< «The most lofty mountains and most rugged precipices are
not without their own peculiar charms.’ ” (Clus. Panon. 316.)

318

natural history of the environs. In society like
this, no less pleasant than instructive, and amid
such scenery, the time passed but too quickly ;
and I could not but regret the impossibility of my
spending the three followmg summers here with
the worthy intendant, who had allotted five years
in all for the accomplishment of his undertaking.
His observations must be inestimable; but it was
thought the whole would hardly be given to the pub-
lic, as the Sardinian court very justly objected to
making their French neighbours too well acquainted
with all the secrets of their natural bulwark.

“This hospital stands by the high-road side half
way over the plain, which is at least two miles in
length; and about the middle, which is its broadest
part, it may be a mile across. It is entered at each
extremity by a narrow pass, and surrounded on
both sides with very lofty mountains capped with
eternal snow. The plain itself is full of inequalities.
Towards the northern extremity are two or three
beautiful lakes, with an island in the principal one,
clothed with shrubs and rich pasturage. This lake
empties itself to the south by a small river, whose
rocky channel often forms considerable cascades of
great beauty, and is overhung with luxuriant herb-
age, and shrubberies of Rosa alpina, Mespilus (or
rather Crategus) Chamemespilus, &c. &e. This
part of Mount Cenis is seldom visited by travellers;
but, being within a moderate walk from the post-
house or the hospital, richly deserves attention.
On the other side of the rivulet, about the bottom
of the hills, are some alders, which, being sheltered

319

by the craggy rocks, attain a considerable height ;
otherwise no tree in general, not even the fir, grows
to any size so high on the Alps. A little further up
are most delicious pastures, intersected with alder
thickets, and bordered with Cacalia alpina, Aqui-
legia alpina, Ranunculus aconitifolius, Sisymbrium
tanacetifolium, Pyrola minor, Juncus spicatus, and
other rarities. This beautiful quilegia, which far
exceeds our garden kind, was very sparingly in
flower, and I am obliged for its detection to my
faithful attendant Francesco Borone, who here im-
bibed that taste for botany which afterwards led
him to Sierra Leone ; and by whose acuteness and
activity I have often profited. Some little hillocks
on the left of the front of the hospital are covered
with Rhododendrum ferrugineum,among which grew
Pyrola rotundifolia, and in the clefts of rocks the
very rare Saponaria lutea. (Spicileg. Bot. t. 5.)
Here I first found Lichen cucullatus, Trans. of Linn.
Soc. vol. i. 84, t. 4, f. 7, which I am astonished any
body can confound with Z. nivalis: the latter too
grows here, as does L. ochroleucus, Dickson Fasc.
Crypt. ii. 19. Descending towards the river I came .
to a most delightful little valley, like the vale of
Tempe in miniature, with a meandering rivulet,
scarcely three or four feet broad, running through
it, and bordered with abrupt precipices not much
more in height, in which were several fairy caves
and grottos, their entrances clothed with a tapestry
of mantling bushes of Salix reticulata and retusa.
These dwarf willows grow close pressed to the
rocks, whether horizontal or perpendicular, almost

320

like ivy, and may be stripped off in large woody
portions. By the rivulet, which issued in several
streams from these caves, was a profusion of 4n-
thericum calyculatum* and Leontodon aureum, with
many other things equally uncommon, and in full
bloom.

“ dug. 14. Weall sallied forth on foot about five
in the morning to ascend little Mount Cenis, one
of the most considerable hills that front the hospi-
tal on the other side of the lake. Pursuing a wind-
ing path through the thickets, we came to a few
cottages, in surely one of the most retired habitable
spots in Europe, and which probably are seldom
four months in the year uncovered with snow. Yet
at this season who would not have envied their si-
tuation? No lowland scenes can give an idea of
the rich entangled foliage, the truly enamelled turf
of the Alps. Here we were charmed with the pur-
ple glow of Scutellaria alpina ; there the grass was
studded with the vivid blue of innumerable Gentians,
mixed with glowing Crowfoots, and the less osten-
tatious Astrantia major and Savifraga rotundifolia,
whose blossoms require a microscope to discover
all their beauties; while the alpine rose, Rosa al-
pina, bloomed on the bushes, and, as a choice gra-
tification for the more curious botanist, under its
shadow, by the pebbly margin of the lake, Carew
capillaris presented itself. The riches of nature,
both as to colour and form, which expand so lux-
uriantly in tropical climates, seem here not dimi-
nished but condensed. The further we ascended,

* Tofiedia pallustris Fl. Brit., and Engl. Bot. vol. viii. t. 536.

321

the more every production lessened. By the sandy
bed of a torrent, which runs from the glaciers above,
the very elegant Sarifraga cesia seemed to emu-
late the glistening of the hoar-frost around it.

“At length, about eleven o’clock, we reached a
small plain full two-thirds of the way to the top.
Here we divided. Some of our party were adven-
turous enough to climb the very summit; but
being already got to the utmost limits of vegeta-
tion, and near those of perpetual snow, I had no
business higher. Indeed this plain appeared to be
clothed with a short barren turf that promised
little; nor was it till I examined it on my hands
and knees, that I discovered this turf to be a rich
assemblage of Cherleria sedoides, Alchemilla penta-
phyllea, Chrysanthemum atratum, Gentiana nivalis,
and other diminutive inhabitants of the highest
Alps, among which one of the most beautiful is a
dwarf variety of the common Eye-bright, Ewphra-
sta officinalis, with large purple flowers.

“This plain was here and there sunk, on the mar-
gin of the declivity, into little hollows, watered by
very small trickling rills, and in such parts vegeta-
tion appeared extremely luxuriant. Bartsia alpina
was here but in flower, along with Satyrium nigrum ;
the latter smelling like Vanilla. I observed a pair of
Papilio Apollos in this exalted region, fluttering
about and celebrating their innocent nuptials. After
enjoying from hence the view of the plain of Mount
Cenis, with the lake and woods about it, we de-
scended on the side fronting the hospital, and ar-

rived there by six o’clock, not a little fatigued,
VOL. I. Y

322

having been all day on our legs, without any re-
freshment except what a servant had carried with
us; but I believe our satisfaction much exceeded
our fatigue.

“Aug. 15. This day Dr. Bellardi and myself as-
cended the hill called Ronche, immediately behind
the hospital, where Professor Allioni first disco-
vered Viola Cenisia and Campanula Cenisia. Dr.
Bellardi found them this day, though I was not so
fortunate ; nor did [ meet with any thing very de-
sirable except Suncus Sacquini; and in the boggy
sides of a little rivulet, in the very highest part of
the mountain, a little Carev of great rarity, the
juncifolia of Allioni’s Flora Pedemontana. This is
surely the same species as Lightfoot’s C. encurva,
though on the Alps its stem is seldom curved. I
have it also from Iceland. Juncus triglumis grew
along with it, and in other parts of the hill Carex
fetida of Allioni, and C. atrata, with Anterrhinum
multicaule.

“Before the post-house are some remarkable
white limestone rocks, on which grow Dianthus
virgineus, and the real Festuca spadicea (see Trans.
of Linn. Soc. vol. i. p.111). Below these rocks, by
the lake, I gathered the most beautiful Gentzana
asclepiadea, and in the surrounding pastures 4gro-
stema Flos Jovis, Senecio Doronicum, Aster alpi-
nus, Centaurea uniflora, Arnica montana, and the
Rumew arifolius of Linneus’s Supplement, which
last is, I presume, more certainly a native of the
Alps than of Abyssinia. Immediately before the
hospital is great plenty of Rwmex alpinus, and a

323

little further on I joyfully waded up to my knees in
a swamp to gather Swertza perennis. All the plain
abounds with the beautiful Dianthus alpinus, the
leaves of which differ so much in narrowness and
sharpness from the Austrian one, that I have some-
times suspected them to be distinct species. No-
thing however is more common on Mount Cenis
than Dryas octopetala, forming thick tufts many
feet in breadth, covered with its elegant flowers and
feathery heads of seeds. On this elastic alpine
couch we reposed when tired with walking, and the
delicious temperature of the air made any shelter
perfectly indifferent.

“Such are a part of the botanical riches of this
interesting mountain, not to mention numerous
species of Arenaria, Silene, Achillea, Astragalus,
Juncus, and grasses of various kinds. Of all these
treasures I laid in as large a stock as I could well
bring away, multiplying my own enjoyments in the
anticipation of the pleasure I should have in supply-
ing my friends at home. The selfish dealer in mys-
teries and secrets, the hoarder of unique specimens,
knows nothing of the best pleasures of science.”

In an introductory lecture at the Royal Institu-
tion Albemarle-street, in 1808, the author of the
Tour observes, that “ Of all studies, perhaps natu-
ral history is the most practical. Its very charm
consists in the interest it gives to objects always
before our eyes, but which it furnishes us with a
new sense to admire, to enjoy, and to understand.

“From the earliest period of my recollection,

y 2

324

when I can just remember tugging ineffectually
with all my infant strength at the tough stalks of
the Wild Succory on the chalky hillocks about
Norwich, I have found the study of Nature an in-
creasing source of unalloyed pleasure, and a conso-
lation and refuge under every pain. Long destined
to other pursuits and directed to other studies
thought more advantageous or necessary, I could
often snatch but a few moments for this favourite
object. Unassisted by advice, unacquainted with
books, I wandered long in the dark; till some of
the principal elementary works, the publications of
Lee, Rose, Stillingfleet, and a few others, came in
my way, and were devoured over and over again.
This kind of botanical education has the advan-
tages of the necessary drudgery of a grammar-
school; it trains the mind to labour, it fixes princi-
ples and facts and terms and names, never to be
forgotten. At length, however, I found I wanted
something more, to apply to practice what had
thus been acquired. I was then furnished with sy-
stematic books, and introduced to Mr. Rose, whose
writings had long been my guide. I was shown
the works of Linneus; nor shall I ever forget the
feelings of wonder excited by finding his whole
system of animals, vegetables and minerals, com-
prised in three octavo volumes. I had seen a fine
quarto volume of Buffon, on the Horse alone. I
expected to find the systematical works of Linnzus
constituting a whole library; but they proved al-
most capable of being put, like the Iliad, into a
nutshell. Hence a new world was opened to me.

325

I found myself moreover in the centre of a school
of botanists. Ever since the Spanish tyranny and
folly had driven commerce and ingenuity from
Flanders, to take refuge in Britain, a taste for
flowers had subsisted in my native county along
with them. Our weavers, like those of Spitalfields,
have from time immemorial been florists, and many
of them most excellent cultivators; their neces-
sary occupations and these amusements were pecu-
liarly compatible. And it is well worthy of remark
that those elegant and virtuous dispositions which
can relish the beauties of nature, are no less strictly
in unison with that purity of moral and religious
taste which drove the founders of our Worsted
manufactory from foul and debasing tyranny to the
abode of light and peace and liberty.

“Our circle of naturalists at Norwich, far from
being confined to florists, had long contained some —
systematic botanists. They were students of Ge-
rard, and Parkinson, and even of the learned works
of Ray. In my young time this circle was pecu-
liarly enriched by the possession of Mr. Rose, Mr.
Bryant, and Mr. Pitchford, three names well known
to all who are conversant with the botany of Bri-
tain. They were often favoured with the society
of the learned and amiable Stillingfleet, and the
correspondence of Hudson; and they may all to-
gether be considered as the founders of Linnean
Botany in England, to the promulgation of which,
the publications of Rose, Stillingfleet, and Hudson,
have contributed more than any others whatever ;
while the indefatigable practical labours of Mr.

326
Bryant and Mr. Pitchford were daily enriching the
science with new discoveries. Thus the botany of
Norfolk has become celebrated, and its Flora has
proved richer, I believe, than that of any other county,
because it has been more closely investigated.

“ Fired by these examples, and ambitious of con-
tributing to the common stock of knowledge, I
took advantage of a journey to Yorkshire, Derby-
shire, and Lancashire, to inquire what those coun-
ties afforded. I had visited them several times
before, but now I wondered how any of my former
journeys had afforded me pleasure. I felt like aman
born blind, who first walked abroad to look about
him. The wild moors, the mossy rocks, the moun-
tainous woods, to me were ‘ opening Paradise’.

«< Some time afterwards the country about Edin-
burgh, and the mountains of Scotland, afforded me
a fresh harvest; and at length the classical scenes
of Italy derived for me a new charm from the oc-
casional pursuits of botany. But above all, the
alpine scenery and treasures of Savoy and Swit-
zerland have left the most pleasing impression.
In those countries all the riches of Flora burst
upon us at once, during their short spring and
hasty summer. From the first melting of the snow,
when the Jura and its brother Alps are absolutely
covered with Crocuses, as with a purple robe, to the
bright days of autumn, when the Raspberry and
Bilberry glow on their dewy bushes, such a profu-
sion of foliage and flowers and fruits, so much
more abundant and varied than we have any expe-
rience of, is crowded into a few weeks, that the

327

whole face of the country is like a flower-garden,
as rich and brilliant as the finest collection of Cape
plants about London.

‘“‘T know not how it is that alpine scenery is so
enchanting to the lovers of nature, under which
denomination I mean to comprehend the poet, the
painter, and the naturalist, as well as those who
alone have minds to taste and appreciate their per-
formances. The purity of the air, the grandeur of
the scenery, the beauty of the face of nature alto-
gether, affect the spirits and senses in a manner
that is scarcely experienced elsewhere. -If we quit
the hot-bed of the metropolis and its neighbour-
hood, to welcome the rising spring among the
Derbyshire hills, we taste something of this en-
chantment; but infinitely more when we quit the
scorching plains of Italy for the Alps, which rise
above them like an immense purple rampart of
clouds.”

It may not be unentertaining to give at one view
a general enumeration of the men of science Sir
James met with in his travels, and the ideas their
different characters impressed upon him. These are
extracted from his Tour. The names of several have
appeared already, and others will occur hereafter.

Leyden.

Vaw Roven.—“I had an introduction to the cele-
brated Mr. David Van Royen, whose politencss
and attention could not be exceeded. He had
been professor here thirty-two years, and has
lately resigned, having still permission to use

328

the garden for his amusement. His fondness
for botany continues as strong as ever.”

ALLAMAND.— The chair of natural philosophy was

~ at this time filled by Mr. Allamand, well known

by his edition of the Natural History of Buf-
fon. A fine old man of the most agreeable
manners, and with that happy mixture of po-
liteness and cheerfulness almost peculiar to
Frenchmen in the decline of life.”

Sanpirorr.— Dr. Sandifort’s private library is one
of the finest things in Leyden.”

PesteL.—“One of the chief ornaments of this uni-
versity is Mr. Pestel, professor of jurispru-
dence. His Fundamenta Jurisprudentia Na-
turalis is a book every inhabitant of a free
state ought to study. His pure system of
elevated piety, his union of christianity with
morality, and of manly principles of liberty
with virtuous order, are not at all in the style
of philosophers who insinuate atheism, or of
fools who ayow it,”

Lyons.

Vittars.— A very able entomologist, whose cabi-
net was said to contain five thousand European
species of insects. We found Mr. Villars
modest, communicative, and unassuming, like
most people of real knowledge and genuine
taste for science.”

Versailles.

Le Monnier.—“ First physician to Louis XV.,

329

after whom Adonniera was named. I found him
in his garden with Messrs. Thouin, Dombey,
and other botanists. His herbarium is said to
be uncommonly valuable.”

St. Germain-en-laye.

MareEcHAL DE NoaiLies.—“ From Versailles we
passed by Marli to St. Germain-en-laye, and
slept at the house of the venerable Marechal de
Noailles, the old friend and correspondent of
Linneus. Since my being there, the Marechal
has decorated it with a monument to Linneus,
and has celebrated a jubilee in his honour.”

Paris.

D’AuBenton.—* With Mr. D’Aubenton [had often
an opportunity of conversing, and always with
pleasure and advantage.”

Dre ta CepeDE, who has published an able work
on Reptiles, was also very frequently at the
cabinet during my visits there.”

“ ApANSsON, whose knowledge of botany would
procure him great reputation, were he less a
slave to paradox and pedantry. He generally
accosted me with some attack on Linnezus,
sometimes calling him grossly zgnorant and
literate ; and then when I have ventured to
quote Philosophia Botanica, as a proof of the
contrary, abusing him as scholastic, I was con-
tented with smiling, to think how one accu-
sation destroyed the other.”

A.L. DE Jussteu.—* M. Antoine Laurent de Jussieu

330

takes the lead among those who with respect
to system may be called Anti-Linneans. He
inherits his taste for the science from his
uncles Bernard and Joseph de Jussieu; the
former of whom was Professor at Paris, and
the latter made a fine collection of plants in
Peru. Their books and collections descended
to their nephew, who has not turned his atten-
tion to botany till within these few years ; but
with what very great success he has in that
time studied natural orders, is manifested in
his Genera Plantarum, published in 1789,—a
work which will immortalize its author, and
* probably go down to posterity with the Genera
Plantarum of Linnzus, to which it is an ex-
cellent companion. Those who can read and
judge of this work need not be told that he is
a true philosopher, profound in science, ardent
in the pursuit of truth, open to conyiction
himself, and candid in his correction of others;
nor will they be surprised to hear his manners
are gentle and pleasing, his conversation easy,
cheerful, and polite. Although we differed on
many points, as on the laws of nomenclature,
and the merits of the Linnean system, yet as
truth was our common object, repeated and
free discussions increased our esteem for each
other, and to me at least were productive of
instruction as well as pleasure.”
“ Dre Lamarck is equally devoted to botany, but
his character is less pleasing than that of Mr.
de Jussieu. I freely acknowledge that I

331

shrunk from the society of a man who always
took occasion to attack with violence what he
knew to be my most favourite sentiments.”

L’Heririer.—‘ Among the Linnean botanists, Mr.
L’Héritier is eminently distinguished by his
most superb and scientific publications, the
plates of which are executed with a degree of
accuracy rarely to be met with, nor are the
descriptions less complete.”

“ ButiiarD is well known by his Herbier de la
France.”

“ DEsFONTAINES, Professor of Botany at the Royal
Garden, was in 1786 lately returned from Bar-
bary with a rich harvest of plants and insects,
all of which he allowed me to examine and
partake of.”

THourn.—*< Mr. Thouin, who has the superinten-
dence of the Botanic Garden, deserves my
warmest acknowledgements for the very liberal
manner in which he at all times allowed me
access to that rich collection, as well as to his
own private herbarium, which I looked over
entirely with great advantage.”

BroussoneT,—* with whose friendship a stranger
could want nothing in Paris, and whose bene-
volence I had not now to seek for the first
time. Few-naturalists equal him for zeal and
abilities.”

Montpellier.

Dorturs.—* A very ingenious entomologist.”
Govan.— The old correspondent of Linnzus, well

332

known by his botanical and ichthyological
works.”

Cusson.— Demonstrator of botany. His death is
no loss to the science, as he kept entirely from
the world his father’s celebrated manuscripts,
and a collection of umbelliferous plants. They
are now fallen into the hands of Mr. Dorthes,
who is amply qualified to digest and publish

them.”

Cottignac.

GERARD.—“ We came to this place purely to visit
Mr. Gerard, author of the Flora Gallo-Provin-
cialis, one of the best European botanists of
the golden age of Linneus. Nothing could
exceed his politeness and hospitality to us.
We had much conversation together about the
purchase of the Linnean collection, a never-
failing topic with all the botanists I met with
in my journey. Almost all I had to tell was
news to him; and I felt as if paying a visit in
the Elysian fields, so little did his “ tales of
other times ” seem connected with what is now
going on in the world. He spoke very highly
of Linneus and Ray; and permitted me to
copy two very interesting letters from the
former to himself.”

Florence.

Fontrana.— We were fortunate enough to enjoy
much of the society of the Abbé Fontana, who
did us the very flattering honour of spending

333

at our lodgings most of the evenings we were
at Florence ; how much to our profit and en-
tertainment, those who know his physiologi-
cal enthusiasm and penetration need not be
told.”

Fasroni.— Secretary to the Agricultural Society.”

Tarcioni-Tozzetti.——“ One great object, in our
way, was the museum of the celebrated Micheli.
His collection was bought after his death by
his friend Dr. Targioni, who afterwards took
the name of Tozzetti for an estate. His son,
who now possesses these relics, is a man of
the most engaging simplicity, modesty, and
benevolence of manners, and worthy to be the
heir of the amiable Micheli.”

Rome.

Correa.—“I was so fortunate as to meet with the
Abbé Corréa de Serra, Secretary to the Aca-
demy of Sciences at Lisbon. With this gen-
tleman I first became acquainted at Mr. de
Jussieu’s at Paris. He had resided twelve
years at Rome formerly, and was attached to
the place by all the enthusiasm which a man
of so much fine taste and extensive literature
must feel in such a residence, though he had
since lived many years in Portugal, his native
country.”

FarHer JacauviEr.—*< One of the most interesting
of the literati whom it was our fortune to meet
with, was the illustrious mathematician father
Jacquier, general of the French minims at the

334

Trinita de Monti,the Roman editor of Newton,
who, if I remember right, was obliged to make
an apology in his preface for publishing sucha
dreadful heresy as that the earth moved round
the sun, and to disclaim his belief of it. What
more bitter sarcasm could have been offered to
the very authority which required this apology!

“This good and venerable old man, who is
since removed to a state where he will find
truth needs no apology, was confined to his
bed with a broken limb from a fall. Never-
theless he admitted visitors every evening,
conversing with his natural cheerfulness and
urbanity, and discussing scientific subjects
with as much ardour as if he were just enter-
ing on his literary career. How delightful
and how consolatory it is, among the disap-
pointments and anxieties of life, to observe
science, like virtue, retaining its relish to the
last; smoothing the bed of age and infirmity,
preserving the mind young and vigorous, alive
to all its enjoyments, amid the wreck of its
frail cottage; while, in communicating its own
ardour and its own light to others, it tastes
the happiness of a good father, who feels him-
self living over again in his children!”

Milan.

Oriant.—“ The Abbé Oriani, Astronomer Royal.
He treated us as if he were paying a debt of
gratitude, instead of humanity. I have ever
since been proud to cultivate his friendship.”

335

Pavia.

Scopo.i.— This is at present the most celebrated
university in Italy. The loss of one bright
ornament we have now indeed to regret; the
accomplished Scopoli, who was at this time
Professor of Botany here. We found hima
man verging towards the decline of life, of a
plain but animated countenance, not at all re-
sembling his portrait in the Flora Carniolica,
and entirely devoid of that stupid gravity so re-
markable in that print. Breakfasting with him
next morning, I took an opportunity of offer-
ing him any assistance the Linnean herbarium
could afford, by which he first understood
it was in my possession, having but slightly
read over our French introductory letters. He
was quite overjoyed; gave me a most cordial
embrace, and from that moment we scarcely
separated during my abode in Pavia.

“One morning, at 7 o’clock, we attended a
botanical lecture of Professor Scopoli’s, in a
room ata garden. It was in Italian, chiefly on
grasses. He observed that there are really no
limits between Bromus and Festuca; but that,
nevertheless, Linnzus’s arrangement of the ge-
nera and species in general was the best, as well
as the first, ever seen.”

* GreGoRIO Fontana, brother of the Abbé Fon-
tana at Florence. Little could I imagine, when
I enjoyed the pleasure of his conversation and
admired the acuteness and versatility of his

336

genius, that he should ever condescend, as he
has since done, to become the translator and
commentator of any production of mine*.”

Scarpa.‘ We were no less happy in the acquain-
tance of Professor Scarpa, the excellent teacher
of Anatomy.”

SPALLANZANI.—“The Abbé’s countenance is austere
and proud, in form inclining to the African.

“We anxiously wished to heara lecture from

this famous Professor of Natural History, not
choosing to be presented to him; and it fortu-
‘nately fell out that our curiosity was gratified.
His delivery is exceedingly deliberate, drawling
and monotonous; it could scarcely be heard
with a grave face; but the composition of his
lecture so admirable as to make us forget the
rest. The subject was the different lengths of
time which butterflies remain in the chrysals,
and how far their exit may be hastened by
heat; with Reaumur’s experiments of putting
the insects in that state under a hen, and so
producing the first butterflies perhaps, as the
professor said, that were ever hatched by a
bird.”

Turin.
“A LLIONI, the father of natural history in this place,
is still ardent in its pursuit.”
Be.iarpi.—“A most excellent botanist. He has
much enriched the Flora Pedemontana of his
master Allioni.”

* “T)iscorso preliminaire.—1792.”

337

Ciena.— Professor of Anatomy.”

PENCHIENATI.—* Professor of Surgery.”

Macracarna.—* Whose unaffected plainness and
native genius were very strongly marked in the
little conversation I had with him.”

Dana.— “The Cabinet of Natural History promises
well under the auspices of this very able Pro-
fessor.”

De Sousa Coutitnuo.—“The Mecenas of Botany,
and indeed of general science, at this period,
the chevaliere de Sousa Coutinho, Portuguese
ambassador. At his table was a weekly as-
sembly of literary men, in whose conversation
and pursuits he bore a very intelligent part,
always making himself completely one of the
company by his knowledge and enthusiasm,
no less than by his winning affability.”

Giorna.—“ With respect to literary and accom-
plished characters, I cannot but esteem myself
peculiarly fortunate at Turin. The only ento-
mologist I met there, besides Professor Allioni,
was Mr. Giorna, to whose liberal communica-
tions my collection is much obliged, and who
has all the candour and modesty of real merit.”

Padua.
ArbuIno.—* Formerly Professor of Botany, but
now of Agriculture. From him the drduina

was named,and he sent Linnzus those rare Bra-
zil plants, chiefly described in the Mantissa.”

Geneva.

De Luc.—< The brother of our amiable natural
VOL. I. Z

338

philosopher at Windsor. He has a superb
cabinet of shells and extraneous fossils.”

“ SENEBIER, the historian of Geneva, is distin-
guished for his experiments relating to the
physiology of vegetables.”

Bonnet.—‘ The most illustrious philosopher of
Geneva is Mr. Bonnet. Though almost deprived
of sight and hearing, he conversed long and
most instructively on our favourite subjects,
affording a fresh proof of the truth of what
I observed in speaking of Father Jacquier.”

De SaussureE.—*I had an interview only of a few
minutes with Mr. de Saussure, who had just
then descended from the summit of Mont
Blanc.”

ZIMMERMAN.—“ I fortunately met at Geneva Pro-
fessor Zimmerman, the celebrated zoologist.”

Basle.

“ LacHENAL was a great friend of Haller. His bo-
tanical library is one of the best I ever saw.”

Socin.— Professor of Natural Philosophy, a very
ingenious well-informed man.”

BerNOvILLI.—“ An excellent chymist and minera-
logist.”

Berne.

Ha wer, Jun.—“ He resembled his father in fond-
ness for botany, versatility and even strength
of genius; but not altogether in application.”

WyttrensacH.—“‘A most estimable character, who
has cultivated natural history, especially mi-
neralogy, with great success.”

339

Strasburg.

Hererman.—* Professor of Botany. I have seldom
conversed with a man of a more acute or more
enlarged mind.”

ScHurRER.—“ Nor was I less obliged to Professor
Schurer, teacher of Philosophy.”

Lawtru.—* Professor of Anatomy, a man of ability.”

Naples.
N. Pacirico.—*“ A zealous botanist and able ma-
thematician. His library possesses four vo-

lumes of the botanical plates of Cupani, an un-
published work of the most extreme scarcity.”

Dr. Cyrititi1.—<His garden contains some rare
plants, and his library and old herbarium were
made by Jmperato.”

“Don Firrerpo Cavo.ini is the most ingenious
and indefatigable naturalist in this part of the
world; whose observations on corals and other
marine animals rival those of our illustrious
Ellis for extent and fidelity.”

Genoa.

Durazzo.— Science is a plant of slow growth, nor
is it yet a fashionable pursuit among the Ge-
noese. The Durazzo family stand almost sin-
gle as its encouragers. The Senator Marcellino
Durazzo, owner of the great palace in Strada
Balbi, has a romantic country-seat at Pino,
where he very kindly received us, and gave an
entertaining narrative of his going to France
in the year 1747, to solicit the assistance of

Z2

340

Louis XV. against the Germans. All the Ge-
noese coast being occupied by the enemy, he
was obliged to return by sea to Marseilles; and
that harbour being blocked up by the English
fleet, he escaped in the disguise of a fisherman,
with a million of French livres. For this ser-
vice, and his good conduct when Doge, he has
had the almost unprecedented honour of a sta-
tue in the council chamber, erected in his life-
time.”

Lorin Teapot,
Far, O17 SF nl args

aoe
Mldcras
oe

<# Mt rOCH eyce 5 C7V72e

———

SS

ime Oriane

Cys “ul Ge OPI
ee a faye “ZO

34]

CHAPTER IV.

Foundation of the Linnean Society.—Sir J. E. Smith elected Pre-
sident.—List of the Fellows in 1790.—Letters of Mr. Smith.—
Letters from various Foreign Professors.— Charter —Presi-
dent’s Address on the Twentieth Anniversary.

FouNDATION OF THE LINN2ZAN SOCIETY.

In looking round upon the literary institutions and
learned academies of Europe, it will be seen that
they have generally owed their origin and success
either to large endowments, to royal favour, or to
the commanding influence of persons already known
by their scientific attainments, or their station. This
Society is almost a solitary example of an institu-
tion deriving its origin from an individual, young
and unknown to fame, without rank, without wealth,
without support, whose ardour for the pursuit of
science led him to risk the expectation of a mode-
rate independence, by bringing into his native coun-
try, at the expense of his patrimony, those rich
materials for which princes had contended, and upon
which he was to establish a new Society, and give
to it its name, its character and direction. At the
commencement of a lucrative professional life, Sir
James cheerfully abandoned the promises it held
forth, to become the leader of a band of naturalists,
who should follow in the steps of the immortal Lin

342

neus, and among whom, by the influence of a can-
did and benevolent mind, he preserved the peace
and harmony of the community he had framed, and
the esteem and good-will of its members.

He had said long before, “ My heart is formed for
friendship, and cannot exist without it :” so his soul
was formed for high intellectual pursuits, and could
not exist without a fairer field than the opening ofa
young physician’s course presented. In the present
object both his tastes were gratified; and he found
it in England, as he had done on the Continent, a
passport to the best society.

Early in the month of February 1788, Sir James,
in a letter to his father, acquaints him that he has
engaged a house in Great Marlborough-street, be-
longing to Mr. Bendish, a Cambridgeshire gentle-
man; and to this he removed a few weeks after.

His leaving Chelsea was with an expectation of
beginning his medical career in London; yet in the
same letter, wherein he expresses a desire to per-
form his duty as a physician, he adds, “ In that rank
in science to which I may say J have raised myself,
with every prospect of taking a lead in the studies
to which I am peculiarly attached, with so many
fortunate circumstances about me, and especially
when I consider that all I enjoy is owing to this
study, you can hardly expect I should give up that
and all my hopes. You may depend upon it Natu-
ral History will always be the main object of my life ;
and I doubt not you will be thankful that I have so
noble a one. I rely on this to give me real lasting
honour, and to make me useful to mankind through

343

ages when I am no more, as well as while I live to
afford me relaxation from less pleasant cares. Do
not think I mean to oppose it to my medical views ;
I have always meant them to co-operate.”

Mr. Smith to his Son.

My dear Son,

The pursuit of science you say shall co-operate
with practice—that is the idea I wish to entertain,
to answer all your views ; and I hope they will unite
to raise you to a very high degree of eminence.

I am proud of the light you stand in; and every
advance you make to fame lifts my heart with trans-
port, and I want only to give you an independent
fortune to make me perfectly happy: but as I can-
not do that, nor any thing like it, I must repeat, my
dear James, that a determination to depend upon
yourself and to be your own master is so consonant
to my own disposition, that it gives me great plea-
sure. I believe it springs from a better principle
than pride in both of us, the love of dear Liberty,
which is the birth-right of every individual of man-
kind, and has my strongest affection. I wish to see
her universally enjoyed, and therefore must most
earnestly desire it may be the portion of each of
my dear children. Would to God I may be able to
leave every one of them in a condition to possess
it in a rational, virtuous degree!

J. SMITH.

It is probable his father saw more clearly than

4

344

he himself perceived, that physic would be a very
secondary object: his first undoubtedly was to com-
plete the design which he and several of his friends
had long kept in view, the establishment of a new
Society, and thus to render his possession of the
cabinets and library of Linnzus subservient to the
general use of natural science, and especially of
botany.

With the assistance of Sir Joseph Banks, Dr.
Goodenough, Mr. Marsham, and a few others, this
object was carried into effect; and the first meeting
of its members was held at his own house in Great
Marlborough-street, on the 8th of April 1788, on
which occasion Sir James delivered “4 Discourse
on the Rise and Progress of Natural History ;’—an
animated and most instructive address, auspicious
of the prosperity of the new-formed Institution,
and which affords a convincing proof that the study
of nature is not a tasteless and insipid one. He
was at the same time appointed President of the
community, which was designated by the appro-
priate name of “'The Linnean Society.”

“T consider myself,” he observed, “as a trustee
of the public, and hold these treasures only for the
purpose of making them useful to the world and
Natural History in general, and particularly to this
Society, of which I glory in having contributed to
lay the foundation, and to the service of which I
shall joyfully consecrate my labours, so long as it
continues to answer the purposes for which it is
designed.”

This Institution, venerable now by its duration,

345

approaching to half a century, has enrolled among
its members from the beginning names illustrious
as well by high birth, as by high claims to scientific
distinction, in France, and Holland, and Germany ;
in Switzerland, in Italy, and Spain, as well as in
England; and in its later days the catalogue is
swelled with names from America and India.

An original list of the 36 Fellows and 16 Associ-
ates may not be unacceptable here. A few names
yet survive, and are enrolled in the present year
with full 500 additional ones. The Foreign Mem-
bers, originally about 50, are still limited to that
number.

With most of the Fellows and Foreign Members
here enumerated, a correspondence, founded on the
President’s personal acquaintance on the continent,
had begun, or continued from the time of the esta-
blishment of the Linnzan Society, increasing year
by year, as the boundaries of science extended; and
their letters bear testimony to the liberality of the
possessor of the treasures of the great master of
natural science.

The List of the Linnean Society, 1790.
Honorary MemBers.
Sir JOSEPH BANKS, Bart. President of the Royal Society.
HENRY, Earl of GAINSBOROUGH.
The Marechal Duc de NOAILLES.
FeLLows.
James Epwarp Smiru, M.D. Presipent, F.R.S. Acad. Reg. Sc.
Taurin. Ulissip. Agron. Paris. Botanoph. Andegav. Corresp.
Mr. George Adams, Fleet-street.
Robert Barclay, Esq., Clapham.
Mr. John Beckwith, Spitalfields.

346

James Crowe, Esq. Norwich.

Sir Thomas Gery Cullum, Bart. F.R.S. Bury.

Mr. William Curtis, St. George’s Crescent.

Edmund Davall, Esq. Orbe, in Switzerland.

Mr. James Dickson, Covent Garden.

Jonas Dryanper, M.A. Liprarian, Lib. to the Roy. Soc. Acad.
Reg. Sc. Stockholm. Soc. Dean-street.

Samuel Ewer, Esq. Lincoln’s-Inn-Fields.

Mr. John Fairbairn, Chelsea Garden.

John Ford, M.D. Bond-street.

The Rey. Samuet Gooprnoven, LL.D. Treasurer, F.R.S.
Ealing.

William Hanbury, Esq. Kilmarsh, Northamptonshire.

Mr. Thomas Hoy, Sion House.

Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq. Salisbury.

Mr. John Latham, F.R.S. Dartford.

John Latham, M.D. Old Jewry.

The Rev. John Lyon, Dover.

Tuomas Marsuam, Esq. Secretary, Upper Berkley-street, Port-
man-square.

The Rev. Thomas Martyn, B.D. F.R.S. Prof. Bot. Cambridge,
Westminster.

Mr. Archibald Menzies, Broad-street, Soho.

Richard Pulteney, M.D. F.R.S. Blandford, Dorset.

The Rev. Richard Relhan, M.A. F.R.S. Cambridge.

John Rotheram, M.D.

Richard Anthony Salisbury, Esq. F.R.S. Chapel Allerton, near
Leeds.

George Shaw, M.D. F.R.S. Frith-street.

John Sibthorp, M.D. F.R.S. Prof. Bot. Oxford. Soc. Reg. Monsp.
et Gotting. Correspond. Oxford.

John Sims, M.D. Paternoster-row.

Sir George Leonard Staunton, Bart. F.R.S. Berner’s-street.

Mr. John Timothy Swainson, Dover-place.

Mr. Robert Teesdale, Ranelagh.

William Thomson, M.D. F.R.S. Lect. in Anat. Oxford, Oxford.

Thomas Jenkinson Woodward, Esq. Bungay.

William Younge, M.D. Sheffield.

Mr. John Zier, Pimlico.

347

Foreign MemBers.

D. Adam Afzelius, M.4. Botan. Demonstr. Upsal.

D. Carolus Allioni, 17.D. Soc. Reg. Lond. Soc. Bot. Prof. Emer.
et Acad. R. Scient. Taurin. Soc.

D. Petrus Arduino, Oecon. Prof. Patav.

D. Antonius Bannal, Hort. Reg. Monsp. Custos.

D. Ludovicus Bellardi, M.D. Coll. Med. Taurin. Soc.

D. J. P. Berthout Van Berchem, Soc. Phys. Lausann. Soc.

D. P. M. Augustus Broussonet, M.D. Soc. Reg. Lond. Ac. Reg.
Sc. Paris. et Monsp. Socius, Soc. Reg. Oecon. Par. a Secretis.

D. Cesar Caneferi, M.D. Genuze.

D. Antonius Josephus Cavanilles, Madriti.

D. Philippus Cavolini, dead. Reg. Sc. Neap. Soc.

D. Cels, Parisiis.

D. Josephus Correa de Serra, J.U.D. Acad. Reg. Sc. Ulyss. a
Secretis.

D. Rodrigus de Sousa Coutinho, Legatus Regin. Lusit. ad Reg.
Sardin.

D. Dominicus Cyrilli, Prof. Therap. in Lyceo Neap.

D. Johannes Pet. M. Dana, Hist. Nat. Prof. et Ac. R. Sc. Tau-
rin. Soc.

D. D’Antic, Parisiis.

D. Renatus Louiche Desfontaines, /.D. Bot. Prof. Ac. Reg. Se.

Paris. Soc.

. Jacobus Anselmus Dorthes, M.D. Soc. Reg. Sc. Monsp. Soc.

. Hippolitus Durazzo, Patricius Genoensis.

Felix Fontana, Director Mus. Phys. Reg. Florent.

. Ludovicus Gerard, M.D.

. Esprit Giorna, Taurine.

. Antonius Gouan, M.D. Med. Prof. Soc. Reg. Sc. Monsp. Soc.

. Millin de Grandmaison, Parisiis.

. Johannes Theoph. Groschke, M.D. Hist. Nat. Prof. Mitav.

. Carolus Ludovicus L’Heritier, Dom. de Brutelle, in Auld Ju-
vam. Paris. Reg. Consil.

D. Johannes Herman, M.D. Med. Chem. et Mat. Med. Prof.
Argentor.

D. Antonius Ludovicus de Jussieu, Acad. Reg. Sc. Paris, Soc:

D. Josephus Franciscus a Jacquin,

Per rreoes

348
D. Nicolaus Josephus a Jacquin, Soc. Reg. Lond. Soc. Bot. et
Chem. Prof. Vindob.
Wernerus de Lachenal, Prof. Bot. Basil.
. Lambertus Lucas Van Meurs, Anat. Prelect. Amstelod.
. Gulielmus Antonius Olivier, M.D. Parisiis.
. Nicolaus Pacifico, Acad. Reg. Sc. Neap. Soc.
. Johannes Baptista Pratolongo fil. M.D. Genue.
. De Reynier, Soc. Phys. Lausann. Soc.
. David Van Royen, Soc. Reg. Lond. Soc. Bot. Prof. in Acad.
Lugd. Bat.
D. Scarpa, Anat. Prof. Ticin.
D. J. G. Schlanbusch, Legatus Regis Dan. ad Reg. utriusq. Si-
cilia.
D. Christianus Frid. Schumacher, 4cad. Reg. Chirurg. Hafn.
Adjunctus.
. Andreas Sparrman, M.D. Acad. Reg. Sc. Stockholm. Soc.
Olaus Swartz, M.D. Acad. Reg. Sc. Stockholm. Soc.
Nicolaus Sam. Swederus, Regi Suec. a Sacris.
Thibaud, M.D. Monsp.
. Thouin, dead. Reg. Sc. Paris. Soc.
. Carolus Petrus Thunberg, M.D. Equ. Ord. Wasiaci, Soc.
Reg. Lond. Soc. Med. et Bot. Prof. Upsal.
Tingry, Chem. Prelect. Genev.
Octavian Targioni Tozzetti, M.D. Florent.
Ericus Viborg, Artis Veterin. Lector Hafn.
. Villars, M.D. Gratianop.
. Philippus Werner, Chirurg. Algir.
. Willemet, Bot. Prof. Nane.
. Jacob. Samuel Wyttenbach, §.7'.P. Bern.

Seu ee ae

Py oeS

So Sore eae

ASSOCIATES.

Mr. William Boys, F.A.S. Sandwich.

Francis Buchannan, M.D. East-Indies.

William Coyte, M.D. Ipswich.

Edward Whitaker Gray, M.D. F.R.S. British Museum.
John Heysham, M.D. Carlisle.

Thomas Hope, M.D. Professor of Chemistry, Glasgow.
Mr. James Hoy, Gordon Castle, Scotland.

349
Mr. George Humphrey, Long-Acre.
Mr. Edward Hunter, Caen- Wood.
Mr. Thomas Lamb, Reading.
William Markwick, Esq. Catsfield, near Battle.
Mr. John Pitchford, Norwich.
Mr. William Sole, Bath.
Mr. James Sowerby, Mead-place, St. George’s Fields.
Jonathan Stokes, M.D. Kidderminster.
Mr. Lilly Wigg, Great- Yarmouth.

“T understand,” says Mr. Woodward in a letter
dated the 20th of April, 1788, “that the Society has
met at your house, and that your ‘ Introductory
Discourse’ met with great approbation. I do not
doubt of this happening: but do you remember a
promise that I should see this same discourse ; and
do you suppose that my curiosity is quite laid
asleep? I want to hear also somewhat about the
Institution. Who are the resident members? What
papers have you read there? If there have been
more than the first meeting ; and where? Do you
likewise recollect that you promised me some ob-
servations, which you had collected upon Lycoper-
dons /—the want of which puts me to a stop as to my
promised paper on that genus. Upon mature con-
sideration, however, I have determined to confine
my observations on the species to those of Great
Britain, as being more able to speak with precision
upon them; and when a person writes on a single
subject, as little as possible should be left doubtful,
the very design of a Monograph being to clear up
all difficulties on the subject. Now it is evident
that in the Cryptogamia, the moment you take the

350

whole globe into your system, doubts and difficul-
ties innumerable must arise; and in this class it is
quite enough to know and understand the plants
even of one’s own vicinity.

““T hope you received my last, with my thanks for
your invaluable parcel, which made me rich beyond
my warmest hopes as a botanist. ‘You hope the
specimens will prove acceptable ! What a modest
way of speaking of treasures above all price! Iknow
not how sufficiently to thank you for such; the pos-
session of which has always been beyond my hopes
and expectations. I know however that your libe-
rality, and, I am proud to add, your friendship, is
such,that you truly gratify yourself when you confer
a favour on your friend. The three Orchidee are
inestimable, and the rest of the specimens highly
valuable. I sent the parcel to Pitchford directly,
attending to your request of not mentioning what
I had received myself, that I might not take off his
surprise at the sight of Ophrys Loeseliz. You have
doubtless heard from him, with his acknowledge-
ments. I got, however, rather found fault with for
not informing him what I had got; and had some-
thing of a lecture for wickedly telling him that I lost
no time in forwarding the parcel, as Lent was just
approaching: and I did not know, if I delayed it till
that period, whether he might not incur a penance
for indulging in a mental feast at the time that he
was restricted from corporeal indulgencies. I could
not have helped this sally, if I had died for it! I
have kept him in the dark yet, but shall send him

351

an account directly. Mrs. Woodward thanks you
for the holy chaplet*.”

The exertions of the spring, or perhaps nothing
more than might have happened without any such
excitement, produced one of those inflammatory
disorders to which Sir James had always been liable,
* and which in some shape or degree appeared every
spring during his life. For these attacks, the cli-
mate and waters of Matlock always proved a speci-
fic remedy. This happy effect, combining with the
natural beauty of the place, realized a fairy-land,
where health and pleasure took place of weakness
and fear: the cure was so agreeable, that instead of
reflecting with aversion upon these periods of debi-
lity and alarm, he frequently recurred to such times,
as parts of his life that were attended with the hap-
plest sensations,—as a holiday from mental exer-
tion, and during which his mind was refreshed, as
well as his bodily strength renovated. Thither he
went in the autumn of 1788.

The following letters from his father are addressed
to him while at this place.

* In another letter, dated the 15th of November the same me-
morable year, Mr. Woodward concludes with telling him: ‘ Imust
leave the caves of Neptune and bowers of Flora for a while, to
inform you I was at Mr. Coke’s magnificent féte at Holkham, on
November the 5th. Descriptions of it you have seen in the news-
papers, without doubt; it suffices therefore to tell you, that they
were not at all exaggerated; the entertainment being magnifi-
cence itself, and the splendid mansion having quite the air of an
enchanted castle, when illuminated for the reception of the com-
pany. Adieu, most truly and affectionately yours,

Tuomas Woopwarb.”

352

Mr. Smith to his Son, Matlock Bath.

Dear Son, Norwich, August 12, 1788.

I rejoice to hear that you bore travelling so well,
and had begun to bathe, and found yourself so well
after it. To these assistances to your health it is to
be hoped, relaxation from application, the charms
and amusements of the place you are in, and the
company of the most amiable and affectionate of
mothers, will make you so happy as to contribute
no small share for you to lay in a good store of
cheerfulness and joy. Would to God it may make
you robust and strong! It is what I have seen the
Bristol and Matlock waters do to many people.

You will get more good I doubt not at Matlock;
but if you kad not gone thither, I think you would
have been both pleased and benefited at Setch* in
such a season as this, with plenty of fine fruit, fine
fish, a nice dairy, and beautiful fields. Perhaps the
spa affords a water which would be beneficial; at
least I think it would, and would try it if I should
want any assistance of the kind.

It is said the benefit of the waters is most fre-
quently found after people leave them; but I found
benefit upon the spot, and every spot I trod a long
time after. May it please Heaven you may both
do so likewise! I hope you have or will take a
walk towards Cromford, and turn to the right when
you come at the stream; pursue it some way, it will
afford you some very picturesque views. If you

* A farm of Mr. Smith’s, near Lynn in Norfolk.

353

turn towards the left, towards Cromford, you will
find a cold room, where the water that runs over it
to the cotton-mill issues through the wall. It was
there I saw the flies that alighted upon the sides
so congealed with cold they could not get away,
and afterwards petrified with it. I think I gave
you one that I brought away with me.

Sir Richard Arkwright was clearing the ground
for his house when I was there.

Dr. Johnson wanted very much to see Matlock
by moonlight; you must have had that pleasure.
I have been reading his Letters, published by Mrs.
Piozzi. They are full of beautiful passages, and
some of hers cut a very good figure.

I have not read the book you sent, and shall hear
the opinion of others before I resolve to bestow
my time upon it, in preference to many, many
other works which I wish to read, but which I
certainly shall not have time to read in this world ;
unless, upon the Pythagorean system of the me-
tempsychosis, I should reappear in some other
body; and then I may be thrown into a different
country, where there may not be the reading I want,
or no reading at all.

I admire Jebb’s* works, and more the man; so

* The following note, from Mr. Smith’s common-place book,
illustrates his sentiments more at length on this subject :—

“ The Works, theological, medical, political, and miscellancous,
of Joun Jess, M.D. F.R.S.; with Memoirs of the Life of the
Author, by John Disney, D.D. F.A.S., in three volumes 8vo,
1787. The excellent author of these volumes was a pattern of
integrity, patriotism, and zeal for the civil and religious liberties

VOL. I. 2A

354

does your mother ; very little of physic, more of
politics ; but most of all, the principles upon which
Protestants cannot consistently subscribe to the
Thirty-nine Articles, nor enforce them upon others.
Next to Dr. Franklin’s, I like Jebb’s style; ’tis
simple, plain, and persuasive; and the heart that
dictated, the reader feels was an honest one.

Your brother Francis has made a most ingenious
instrument or machine, to show the position of
the planets, and aspect of the heavens. It is the
most simple imaginable, yet the most comprehen-
sive ; it meets the admiration and approbation of the
few scientific he has shown it to.

I am ever yours,
JAMES SMITH.

of mankind. He, like Mr. Lindsey and Dr. Disney, resigned
preferments in the Established Church, as incompatible to hold
with the principles they had espoused; and was one of the most
active and able amongst the committee at the Feathers Tavern,
to conduct the petition to Parliament for the abolition of sub-
scription to the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England ;
which was unsuccessful. He was the foremost in promoting the
attempts to reform the Commons House of Parliament, and to
shorten its duration to one year, agreeable to the ancient usage
of the Constitution. Upon these occasions he made the most
respectable figure by his speeches and his publications, which
are now given complete in these volumes. They contain, in
regard to religion, the truest and clearest principles of Protest-
antism, independent of any particular sect or opinions; and in
regard to the English Constitution, the most enlightened and
soundest maxims upon which its liberties depend. His thoughts
upon religion and parliaments are admirable ; his style clear and
nervous in a high degree. I think it very much resembles the
great, the excellent Dr. Franklin’s ; and like such comprehensive
and upright minds, their principles were very much the same.

355

Mr. Smith to his Son.

My dear Son, Norwich, Sept. 20, 1788.

I congratulate you most heartily upon your re-
turn to London in such good health. You will
hear from your other correspondents how much
Norwich has been amused and pleased with Mrs.
Siddons, performing nine nights to audiences so
crowded, so heated, that I could get in only once,
and that was to the upper gallery, to see her in
Belvidera, in Venice Preserved. I never was so
charmed with acting, no not by Garrick; and had
I not consulted my health, ease, and pocket, should
have attended at every different part she performed,
which is saying a great deal for me, who am not, nor
ever was, fond of the theatre, nor play-reading.

We are to be very full next week at the music

Dr. Jebb was deserted by many who appeared for some time to
coincide in his sentiments, and he met with very unkind treat-
ment; but he was firm to his integrity tothe last. When he
left the Church, he studied physic, in which his biographer
says he acquired much skill and considerable practice. He
was born Feb. 16, 1736; married Miss Torkington of Little
Stukeley near Huntingdon, Dec. 29, 1764; and died in Parlia-
ment-street, Westminster, March 2, 1786, in the fifty-first year
of his age; eminently esteemed by the truly great and the
virtuous in all the British dominions, and the United States of
America ; and extremely beloved by those who were so happy
as to be acquainted with him ; for he had the character of being
a very amiable man.

“The definitions in the third volume, beginning at page 253,
and ending page 258, of an Atheist, a Deist, a Jew, a Mahome-
tan, a Christian, a Papist, a Dissenter, and a Church-of-England-
man, are admirable.”

PAs

356

meeting,—a very novel scene to Norwich. A consi-
derate person must marvel to see, on the one hand
such extravagance and dissipation, on the other so
much distress and complaint, from the decay of trade,
and the increased load of taxes: but I believe it
has been observed as the characteristic of a luxu-
rious sinking empire, and is often that of a sinking
individual.

Perhaps you will smile when I tell you I read
Rousseau’s works a second time. In reading his
Heloise, I became very much interested in his cha-
racter, and pleased with his genius. I read the
volume you lent me with more attention the second
time; the first I hurried it over, and found I had
missed a thousand beautiful passages: now, I stu-
died him, and found in his Heloise a store of the
finest thoughts, and most profound observations of
any book I almost ever read. I cannot alter my
opinion of the man. I think hima heterogeneous
composition of great vices, and fewer virtues, but
of a sublime genius, and a penetrating faculty into
the human heart, that no writer has developed with
so much perspicuity and ingenuity. He carries
you to the bottom of it, and will not leave you till
he has made you thoroughly persuaded you under-
stand it yourself. His descriptions are amazingly
strong. Sterne had him certainly in view, but he is
so minute as to leave nothing to the reader’s ima-
gination, and puts one in mind of the laboured ex-
actness of the Flemish painters. Rousseau’s pic-
tures have infinitely more force, by not making
each trait so very distinct. Moore says, “ All dress

357

was meant for fancy’s aid.” Rousseau’s own reli-
gion is somewhat equivocal. It is Julia’s pleases
me. Her character is inimitable, and her last mo-
ments are the most pious, the most rational, and
the most touching surely ever drawn by pen. Ido
not know whether I shall read all Heloise again,
but I certainly shall the last volume. I shall study
it attentively, and I shall like to mark all the beau-
tiful thoughts in it, and make them very familiar
to my memory. There are many sentences infi-
nitely surpass Rochefoucault’s, or any proverbialist
but the sacred. It is a pity the work is not quite
fit for young persons, females especially. He has
said so in the preface, and warned them against it ;
but there are parts I could select, which every per-
son, young and old, might be much edified by. I
was most wonderfully attached to the latter part of
Heloise, so as I never was to any book before ; and
in the mood in which I then was, from the solitude
of my family, it made a deeper impression, I sup-
pose, than it would at another time.
Adieu! God bless and prosper you!

JAMES SMITH.

From this period, Sir James gave lectures on
botany and zoology at his house in Great Marl-
borough-street, where he was honoured with the
attendance of the Duchess of Portland, Viscountess
Cremorne, Lady Amelia Hume, and the Honour-
able Mrs. Barrington, besides professional men. He
also delivered a course of lectures on botany at
Guy's Hospital, for several successive years.

358

At this time a flow of letters from foreign mem-
bers and professors greatly enriched his correspon-
dence, and ceased not till his death. The few
which immediately follow are from men highly
distinguished for scientific attainments, and as pro-
ficients in the pursuit which engaged so much of
the attention of him to whom they are addressed.

A. L.de Jussieu to J. E. Smith, P.L.S.

Monsieur, Paris, ce 19 Mars, 1788.

Je vous dois des remercimens bien sincéres pour
le zéle et la promptitude avec lesquels vous avez
bien voulu m/’obliger en faisant des recherches dans
votre herbier 4 mon intention: les notions que vous
me communiquez sur plusieurs genres me sont
trés utiles ; et je mets beaucoup de prix aux échan-
tillons que vous m’avez envoyés, quoique la plus
part soient tres incomplets comme vous l’observez
vous-méme: ils m’aideront 4 reconnoitre les mémes
plantes dans mon herbier, si je les ai, ou du moins
i me faire une idée plus juste de leur caracteére.

Mr. Tournier, auteur de la Collection des Por-
traits d Hommes illustres vivans, compte donner le
mois prochain la figure de M. Sparrmann: il est
venu me demander un échantillon ou un dessin du
Sparrmannia qwil veut joindre a la gravure : je n’ai
pu le satisfaire, n’ayant point cette plante qui n'est
dailleurs figurée nulle part; mais je lui ai promis
de vous écrire pour obtenir cette communication,
et je suis porté a croire que vous voudrez bien nous
obliger tous deux en ce point. Dans le cas, ou

359

vous ne le pourriez pas, je vous prierai d’avoir re-
cours 4 Mr. Banks qui se feroit probablement un
plaisir de fournir l’encadrement du portrait de M.
Sparrmann : je vous cbserve qu’on voudrait le pub-
lier 4 la fin d’ Avril prochain.

Mon travail avance beaucoup, quoique j'ai été
beaucoup détourné par diverses occupations: je
viens de perdre mon beau-pére aprés une longue
maladie pendant laquelle je lui ai donné tous mes
soins: cest méme en partie cette circonstance qui
a retardé ma reponse a votre lettre. Vous savez
que chez moi les sentimens du cceur ne sont point
etouffés par l’'ambition de lesprit: on prétend que
les sciences desséchent lame; je crois que cest
selon la maniére dont elles sont traitées. Ceux qui
font de la science un métier, négligent pour elle
tout le reste: ils la regardent simplement comme
un moyen de parvenir, et sacrifient souvent d'autres
intéréts 4 celui-ci. De la vient que tous les savans
ne sont pas aimables, que peu sont communicatifs,
que la rivalité entr’eux se change souvent en inimi-
tié. J'ai cru m’apercevoir que vous ne traitez pas
ainsi la science par ce que vous dites de l’aimer
pour elle-méme, pour lagrément qu'elle peut vous
procurer, pour l’occasion qu'elle vous offre de vous
rendre utile 4 vos concitoyens en leur offrant le tri-
but de vos connoissances. Ne vous écartez jamais
de ce plan, et vous vous en trouverez bien: je vous
avoue que cest le mien: mon temps se partage
entre l’étude et d'autres devoirs domestiques que je
ne regarde pas comme étranger pour moi. J’aime

‘

a cultiver Pamitié; je consens volontiers a inter-

360

rompre mes affaires pour m’occuper de celles des
autres lorsqu il en résulte une utilité pour eux; et
dans cette disposition les occasions se présentent
souvent; le travail particulier en souffre a la vérité ;
mais il va toujours, quoique plus lentement. De-
puis que je ne yous ai vu, j'ai encore fait 4 mon
travail des additions et des changements utiles ; et
yen ferois encore plus si j’avais vu votre collection
et celle de M. Banks; mais il m’est impossible
pour ce moment de m/absenter. Je crois, que
pour satisfaire les éléves du Jardin de Paris, je pub-
lierai cette année mon genera, a le corriger dans
une seconde édition, si elle a lieu. Croyez que
lorsque je pourrai aller vous voir, je le ferai bien
volontiers : je serai aussi charmé de voir M. Banks,
que jestime depuis long-tems a cause de sa ma-
niere de traiter les sciences. Rappellez-moi, je vous
prie, a son souvenir, et recevez les assurances du
sincere attachement et de la considération trés dis-
tinguée avec lesquels j'ai Phonneur @étre,
Sccz; Bic.seSce!
A. L. De Jussizu.

D. Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho to J. £. Smith.

Monsieur, Turin, ce 13 Aoit, 1788.
J'ai eu 'honneur de recevoir votre aimable et in-
téressante lettre,en date du 21 Juillet; et, en vous
témoignant toute ma sensibilité pour votre souvenir
et pour vos gracieuses expressions, permettez que
je vous assure qu il faut toute la connoissance que

361

jai de mes faibles talens pour ne point me mécon-
noitre d’aprés ce que vous daignez m’écrire. Je ne
sais point trouver des expressions pour vous remer-
cier de l'amitié avec laquelle vous avez voulu agré-
ger mon nom a celui des plus grands hommes
d'Europe, ot il ne peut figurer a aucun autre titre
qua celui du vrai zéle qui m’anime pour la perfec-
tion et encouragement des sciences naturelles qui
seules font le vrai bonheur de ’homme, et qui ont
méme dans le moral contribué beaucoup 4 la recon-
noissance des droits dont ignorance et la supersti-
tion avoient partout depouillé les hommes. Per-
mettez que jajoute ici loffre ingénu et entier de
mes faibles services pour votre socicté dont vous
étes si dignement le Président, et qui, j’espere, por-
tera la plus grande lumiére dans la science qu'elle
cultive de préférence, et qui surement en a bien
besoin. Je prendrai la liberté de vous adresser
incessamment le genre 4renaria, tel qwil est décrit
dans la Flora dAllioni, et je vous enverrai deux
exemplaires de chaque espéce: je vous préviens
cependant que ces espéces que M. Allioni a mar-
quées sont encore sujettes a bien des difficultés ; sa
vue et ses infirmités ne lui ayant point permis d’y
porter son exaction connue. Sur votre lichen que
jai confié au Dr. Bellardi, je suis parfaitement de
votre avis; et je le crois trés distinct quoique trés
approché du zwvals. J'ai communiqué votre lettre
au Dr. Bellardi qui a été trés sensible 4 vos expres-
sions sur la réponse au Dr. de Chambery, qui est

un vrai charlatan, et qui par des phrases couvre ses
mauvaises raisons.

362

Excusez si je vous prie de faire mes complimens
i MM. Harbord et Zimmermann, surtout a ce der-
nier, dont les connoissances statistiques me le ren-
dent trés estimable.

Jambitionne le bonheur de lire vos ceuvres que
vous m’annoncez; mais malheureusement je ne
connois que la tardive voie de mer pour les recevoir,
la méme dont je me servirai pour vous adresser
les plantes ci-dessus mentionnées, et que je vous
expédirai ou par la voie de votre consul a Génes ou
par celle du notre. Le souvenir que vous gardez
de ma bibliothéque m’oblige 4 vous répeter que je
dois 4 vos tuteurs Anglais que j’ai toujours estimé
de préférence le peu de lumiéres que j'ai dans les
sciences naturelles, et dans celle de mon métier en
particulier; et vous sentez bien avec quelle justice
et avec quel plaisir je devois vous montrer ceux
que je considére a si juste titre comme mes maitres.

J’oubliois qu'une longue lettre va vous distraire
de vos savantes occupations, qui vous assurent
tous les jours d’avantage la haute estime dont vous
jouissez déja, et qui m’inspire les sentimens du
respect et attachement avec lesquels j’ai Thonneur
d’étre,

Monsieur Smith,
&C., 0 &e

D. Roprico DE Sousa CouTINHoO.

oe

363

Esprit Giorna to J. E. Smith, PLS.

Monsieur, Turin, ce 29 Aout, 1788.

J'ai recu sur la fin de Juin passé votre obligeante
lettre; et vous m’aurez déja, 4 lheure qu'il est,
-accusé avec raison de négligence et dimpolitesse
de n’y avoir pas encore répondu. Je serais au dés-
éspoir, Monsieur, que vous m’accusiez de manquer
aux sentimens d’amitié et de respect que je vous
dois: quant au reste, jespere que vous trouverez
bonnes les excuses que je vais vous faire ci-aprés.

Je vous dois une infinité de remercimens de
Yhonneur que vous avez bien voulu me faire en
m/associant a votre Académie Linnéenne, honneur
que je ne dois certainement pas 4 mes meérites,
mais tout a votre bonté, car mon amour propre
n’arrive pas a me flatter Jusqu’a ce point.

Les collegues qu'il vous a plu me donner atten-
dront assurément des grandes choses de moi aprés
les assurances que votre bon cceur leur en aura
données, et ils se verront trompés: en effet, com-
ment répondrai-je a leur attente, moi, que mon état
occupe aux mathématiques, et qui n’étudie l’histoire
naturelle que par amusement? Dans ce cas, Mon-
sieur, je ne vois qu'un partia prendre, c’est de lais-
ser 4 votre bonté méme, qui m’a engagé dans cet
embarras, le soin de faire mes excuses. ;

Je ne prétends pourtant pas avec cela de me refu-
ser 4 donner A votre Société ce que mes faibles ta-
lens pourront découvrir de nouveau dans la vaste
science qui fait son objet: au contraire, Phonneur

364

que jen recois me servira d’aiguillon qui m’engagera
a me donner avec plus d’interet a histoire naturelle,
et a faire tout mon possible, st Dzz tzbz otta dabunt,
pour contribuer en quelque sorte aux progres de
cette science: en attendant, pour vous marquer la
sincérité de mes intentions, je tacherai de faire pein-
dre d’aprés nature quelques insectes que j'ai seul,
et que jecrois inconnus jusqu’a présent, comme
aussi quelques oiseaux qu’on a pris en Piémont,
et qui ont échappé aux ornithologistes ; et, sil
m’est possible de les avoir 4 tems, je vous ferai
passer ces dessins avec leurs descriptions dans une
caisse d’oiseaux arrangés a ma facon, que je dois
envoyer 4 Londres vers la fin d’Octobre prochain.

Dans lédition que vous vous proposez de faire
des ouvrages du célébre Linnée, je ne sais pas si
vous contez de donner les figures de tous les in-
sectes, Ou au moins de ceux qui n’existent pas
encore dans les autres auteurs; en ce cas, je pour-
rais vous procurer nombre de ceux inconnus de
Linnée, et nommés par Fabricius, et par Miiller,
qui les ont tirés du Piémont.

Nous avons ici M. le Baron Daviso, amateur
et collecteur de minéralogie, qui, entendant que je
devois vous écrire, m’avoit chargé de vous prier s'il
était possible de faire quelques échanges avec vous,
ou avec quelqu’autre de votre connaissance en mi-
néraux. Il offre de vous envoyer le premier une
collection de métaux et minéraux du Piémont, dé-
sirant en obtenir de ceux des isles Brittaniques. Il
m’avoit promis une liste de tous ceux qu'il possede,
et de ceux quil désire pour vous lui transmettre.

365

I] est parti pour un voyage dans les Alpes: je le
croyais de retour a la fin de Juillet: je l’ai attendu ;
et je attends encore 4 présent. Voila, Monsieur,
la cause du retard a vous répondre, et voila excuse
que j’avais a vous faire.

Faites agréer, Monsieur, mes trés humbles re-
spects aux membres de votre trés louable Société,
et particulicrement 4 M. Marsham, que vous me
dites occupé 4 l’Entomologia Brittannica, et qui
feroit pour plusieurs raisons trés bien, (comme
vous le remarquez) de commencer par donner les
Coleopteéres, et ensuite les autres classes successive-
ment. L’auteur ainsi n’est pas surchargé douvrage :
il ne risque pas d’étre des fois prévenu par un autre.
Le public achéte plus facilement un volume que
deux ou trois ; et, dés quil a pris le premier, il est
engagé de prendre les autres.

En attendant, disposez de moi, Monsieur, en tout
ce dont vous me jugerez capable de vous rendre
services de ces cétes ici; et vous me trouverez tou-
jours tel que je me proteste avec les sentimens les

plus sincéres.
Esprir GIORNA.

Professor Scarpa to J. E. Smith.

Monsieur, Pavie, 12 Septembre, 1788.
Toujours en attente de vos ouvrages, que vous
m/avez fait Phonneur de m’envoyer, je n’ai pas en-
core rien recu: je suis dans la plus grande inquic-
tude a cause qu'il mest retardé le plaisir de les lire,
et parceque je ne puis rien savoir le précis sur ce

366

que Fabricius a écrit au sujet de lotiie des insectes ;
car malheureusement nous n’avons pas encore ici
les Actes de Copenhagen de l’an 1783, et quand
méme ils y seroient, iln’y a personne ici qui connoit
la langue Danoise. Comment faire donc? I] faut
nouvellement avoir recours 4 vétre amitié en vous
priant de me traduire en Anglais le précis du mé-
moire, ou de le traduire tout-a-fait, sil n’est pas
bien long, et de me lenvoyer par la poste. Sur-
tout, s'il y a quelque planche, comme il y en aura
certainement, d’en dter les en les placant contre un
vitre, ce qui se fait aisément, et de me l’envoyer
aussi. Cet incident est la cause du retard de mon
ouvrage, qui seroit déja sous presse; et si vous,
Monsieur, ne daignez pas d’y prendre part, il tar-
dera peut-étre encore des années. Je ne vous fais
pas des excuses sur ma franchise de vous incommo-
der, parceque, ayant vécu parmi les Anglais, je con-
nois parfaitement bien leur aimable libéralité.

Je vous fais plut6t mes congratulations sur votre
nouveau établissement pour les progres de histoire
naturelle ; et je suis trés sensible 4 lhonneur que
vous me faites de vouloir bien m’agréger 4 cette
illustre compagnie.

Pour faire connoitre d’avantage les fautes de
Youvrage de Spallanzani sur la Digestion, j’ai trouvé
bon de traduire le mémoire de M. Hunter sur le
méme sujet. Spallanzani a fait dabord une ré-
ponse qui repousse M. Hunter un peu vilainement.
Je vois cependant, qu'il seroit necessaire que M.
Hunter donne une plus grande étendue 4 ses idées
sur la digestion, qui, dans le mémoire, sont trop

367

serrées et concises, et qui donnent lieu 4 des inter-
prétations arbitraires. Il] faut démontrer evidente-
ment que l’ouvrage de Spallanzani n’a en rien fait
avancer la science sur la digestion, et ce travail ne
me paroit pas difficil pour un physiologiste, sur
tout pour M. Hunter.

Le professeur Fontana me charge de vous saluer
trés distinctement.

&o.,.é¢.,,&e:,
SCARPA.

P.S. La chimie et la botanique n’est pas encore
remplacé chez nous aprés la mort de Scopoli. On
s'est flatté d’avoir ici M. Murray de Gottinge.

A. LL de Jussieu to J. FE. Smith.

Monsieur, Paris, ce 20 Mars, 1789.

Je profite du départ de M. Olivier, naturaliste
tres recommandable et fort versé dans la connois-
sance des insectes, pour me rappeller 4 votre sou-
venir. Comme il part dans deux heures, je mai
qu'un moment pour m’entretenir avec vous, et pour
vous remercier de l'envoi que vous m’avez fait du
Sparmannia Yannée derniére. Votre petit échan-
tillon me l’a fait retrouver sur-le-champ dans mon
herbier, et maintenant je le connois bien: ce genre
vient dans ma famille des Z2dleuls entre le Trium-
fetta et le Sloanea. Je vous avois annoncé que
jallais imprimer un Genera disposé par familles : ce
travail, commencé en Mai dernier est maintenant
achevé et imprimé presque enti¢rement: il ne me
reste plus que lintroduction élémentaire 4 termi-

368

ner; et yespere pouvoir offrir !ouvrage au public
et 4 vous au mois de Mai prochain. Vous y verrez
que j'ai profité des connoissances que vous m/’avez
communiquées ; et je serai également disposé dans
la suite de faire le méme usage de vos avis. Mes
genres passeront le nombre de 1800, parceque j’y
joins ceux d’Aublet, de Forskal, de Forster, de Com-
merson, et les nouveaux de mon herbier.

Vous m’annoncez dans votre derniére, que vous
avez formé une Société Linnéene, c’est a dire, pure-
ment botanique, et que vous voulez bien m’y adop-
ter: je serai stirement flatté de tenir a une société
qui s’occupe des progres de la science, et je ferai
mon possible pour mériter son suffrage et son
estime. Jespere quelle voudra bien me pardonner
si je ne suis pas tout-a-fait Linnéen: je m’écarte
de ce grand homme dans sa partie systématique,
qui me paroit éloigner la science de son vrai but;
mais je fais grand cas de sa nomenclature, de ses
genres, de ses espéces; et je crois qu'il a rendu en
ce point un vrai service a la botanique, quoique
souvent dans ses genres il omette les caractéres es-
sentiels tirés des insertions.

Si votre herbier de Linné fils est maintenant en
ordre, je me recommanderai encore a vous pour
avoir connoissance de ses genres. Je suis, comme
vous savez, peu exigeant: les plus petits échantil-
lons me suffisent: pourvu que je puisse reconnoitre
les caractéres, je suis content; et javoue que j'ai
grand besoin de cette communication pour mieux
connoitre les plantes du supplement, dont la de-
scription n’est pas toujours assez claire.

369

Je finirai ici ma lettre pour la faire tenir sur le
champ a M. Olivier. Recevez, je vous prie, les assu-
rances du sincére attachement et de la considération
trés distinguée, avec lesquels j'ai Phonneur détre,

&e. &c. &e.

A. L. De Jussieu.

The Abbé Cavanilles to J. E. Smith, P.L.S.

Monsieur, Paris, ce 29 Juillet, 1789.

Agréez, je vous prie, mes remerciments pour la
complaisance que vous avez montrée dans votre
lettre que je viens de recevoir; elle porte l’em-
preinte de la franchise et de lhonnéteté qui vous
caractérisent. Nous pourrons fort bien penser chac-
un de sa facon, et travailler cependant a l’ouvrage
de la science cherie, avec la seule différence que
mes Ouvrages seront toujours inférieurs en mérite
aux votres. Cette raison, Monsieur, doit vous enga-
ger 4 corriger mes fautes, et a donner des planches,
qui mettront le public en état de s’assurer de la
perfection et de la vérité. Mes Zourreas ont été
gravées d’aprés les échantillons trouvés chez M. de
Jussieu (Herb. Comm.), et j'ai cru rapporter a ce
genre le Z. lanceolata, malgré que ses anthéres
soient placées un peu plus haut que dans les autres
espéces: vous aurez remarqué que Je nomme fuyaue,
tubus, ce que vous appellez nectaire d’aprés notre
maitre, Linnée. J’ai rapporté dans mes ouvrages
les raisons qui m’ont obligé a répeter une expres-
sion trop vague et par conséquent obscure.

J’ai lu avec autant d’attention que de plaisir, ce que
VOL. I. 2B

370

vous m’écrivez sur les Passiflores: wnusquisque suo
sensu abundet, c’est une loi que le filosofe doit suivre.
Mais puisque vous avez la bonté de parler avec
franchise, je m’en vais faire autant, et soumettre a
votre tribunal mes raisons. Nous trouvons dans les
ouvrages de Linnée ces principes: 1°. Genus dabit
characterem, non character genus. 2°. Genus est
characteris causa, non character generis. 3°. Omnia
genera sunt naturaha. Fixons dabord la véri-
table notion de ce mot genre; selon la bonne lo-
gique genre représente une idée commune a plu-
sieurs espéces: il est par conséquent louvrage de
notre ame, quelle a fait d’apres examen et la com-
paraison des caractéres trouvés dans les individus: il
n’existe donc dans la nature, ou tout est individuel;
et tout son étre est renfermé dans notre esprit; en
sorte que sil n’existoit aucun esprit, il n’existeroit
non plus aucun genre. D’aprés cet exposé, je trouve
que cette proposition, omnia genera sunt naturala,
est absolument fausse. i pour la soutenir on dit
que c’est la nature qui a fait les individus, et par
conséquent les caractéres que notre esprit choisit
pour former lidée générale, genre, on peut répondre
que Vidée générale représentée par ce mot genre,
n’embrassant tous les caracteres des individus, doit
étre tout-a-fait différente de ce que la nature a fait.
- Et en vérité pour former un genre qui embrasse
toutes les Passiflores, nous serons obligés de mettre
de cété comme inutile et génant: 1°. le calice (énvo-
lucrum Linnzi); 2°. les folioles ou divisions de
celuy-ci; 3°. les franges ou couronnes tantdt sim-
ples, tantét nulles, et quelquefois triplées; 4°. les

371

rangs des semences, variant de trois a quatre ; Be al

envelope partiel de chaque semence, qui est nul dans
certaines espéces. Et nous serons en fin obligés
de nous renfermer dans les étamines, germe, stig-
mats, et fruit. C’est A dire, nous serons obligés de
séparer par notre imagination ce que la nature a ré-
uni, et par conséquent nous donnerons un ouvrage
different de celui de la nature.

D’aprés ce que je viens de dire je ne sais pas
comment peut on avancer que le genre est la cause
de caractéres, puisque ce sont les caractéres qui
forcent notre esprit 4 former les genres ; puisque ce
sont les caractéres qui ont une existence réelle dans
la nature, et que les genres n’existent hors de nous
mémes. Vous convenez, Monsieur, que Linnée n’a
pas observé souvent les lois botaniques qu il établit
dans ses ouvrages : vous dites aussi que son traité
sur les Malvacées n’est pas la meilleure chose quil
afait. Je crois qu’il ne devoit pas avancer comme il
a fait dans son Genera, p.306: Nos genera distingut-
mus a calice, qui magni moment est, et limites abso-
lutos ponit: mais je crois avoir démontré contre M.
L’H¢éritier, que si on neglige le calice dans les Mal-
vacées pour former les genres de cette famille, on
ne fera que confondre les plantes que le port et les
caractéres séparent tout a fait.

Si j'osois vous dire que genitalia et fructus sunt
idem dans une grande quantité des genres reconnus
différents par tous les botanistes, les Malvacées, les
Ombelliféres, les Cruciformes, les Azédaracs, les Li-
serons, &c.; et si de plus j'avois le bonheur de vous
le prouver, je crois, Monsieur, qualors mon idée sur

2B 2

372

les Passiflores ne seroit pas si mauvaise. J'ai dit
dans ma réponse a M. Medicus, que la nature n’a pu
faire aucun genre, que tous sont l’ouvrage des bota-
nistes, et que ceux-ci les ont construit pour mettre
de lordre dans ses recherches, et pour trouver des
points @appuy; dou ils partent pour découvrir les
richesses de la nature. Je vois que notre maniére
de penser est différente, mais je ne puis pas imagi-
ner que ca soit un obstacle, qui nous doit aussi
séparer. Mon respect, Monsieur, pour vous, et
mon attachement sera sans bornes, et soyez en sur
que je n’aurai jamais 4 me plaindre de vous, ni vous
de moi.

J'ai déja terminé ma 9me dissertation, dont le
fond principal sont les Banisteres. J'ai un doute
sur la détermination du Banisterta fulgens, Linn.,
que vous pouvez dissiper, comme possesseur de son
herbier. Je vous prie de me dire si la fenille que
je vous envoye appartient a cette espéce.

Vous souhaitez, Monsieur, posséder la partie bo-
tanique de lEncyclopédie. Rien de plus facile :
M. Pankouk a ouvert une nouvelle souscription
pour chaque dictionnaire, au prix de 12 francs le
volume, sije ne me trompe pas. M. de Lamarck
ajoute a la fin de chaque volume un index Latin des
genres y compris ; par ce moyen vous aurez le plai-
sir de savoir dans un instant tout ce qu'il contient.

Permettez, Monsieur, de vous renouveller tous
mes remerciments, et de vous assurer de mon pro-
fond respect, avec lequel j’ai 'honneur d’étre,

Monsieur, vous tres humble, &c.

D. ANTOINE JOSEPH CAVANILLES.

Sir C. P. Thunberg to J. E. Smith.

Upsaliz, d. 21 Dec. 1789.

Permittas velim, Vir illustris, ut hisce gratam tibi
meam significem mentem, ob honorem et amicitiam
mihi prestitam, ea occasione, qua membrum Soci-
etatis vestre honorifice et utilissime electus sum.
Hacce quoque utor occasione, ad te mittendi quas-
dem meas Dissertationes academicas, inque his duo
ex meis generibus Japonicis, quibus forsan non
possides in herbario, scilicet, Houtuyntam et Cley-
eram, quam ultimam nescio sane an sit vere diversa
a Ternstroemia. Nihil mihi magis gratum erit,
quam si ullo modo tibi et Societati, ad quam non-
nullas meas quoque mitto Dissertationes, utilis esse
possim; cumque credibile sit, ex Capensibus et aliis
Indicis plantis, preesertim novis inque Supplemento
descriptis meis plantis, multas in tuo herbario Lin-
neeano desiderari, vellem lubenter tot tibi, Vir amicis-
sime, suppeditare, quot mihi in duplo esse possunt.
Sique ex tuis duplicatis nonnullas mihi deficientes
mecum communicare velles, gratissimum hoc mihi
foret munus. Rogo itaque ut deficientium catalo-
gum mihi mittas; sique hoc non renuis, ego tibi
meum catalogum deficientium reddam. Interim
tuo favori et amicitie memet commendatum, tibi
addictissimum, habeas.

The following letter, and the only one from the
celebrated naturalist, Gerard, author of the Flora
Gallo-Provincialis, “one of the best European bo-
tanists of the golden age of Linneus,” will not be

374

considered long or wearisome by those who recol-
lect Sir James’s visit to the good old man at Co-
tignac, situated in a beautiful part of the South of
France, where he went on purpose to see him, and
felt, as he tells us,as if “paying a visit to the Elysian
Fields ; so little did his tales of other times seem
connected with what is now going on in the world.”

Monsieur,

A la satisfaction dont vous me procurates la jou-
issance pendant le trés court séjour que vous fites a
Cotignac, se joignit bientét le regret causé par votre
départ, qui ne me permit pas de cultiver votre ami-—
tié comme je laurois desiré, ni de vous procurer
les renseignements que ma position particuliére
me permettoit de vous présenter rélativement aux
plantes de cette contrée, qui ne sont point carac-
térisées comme elles devroient l’étre dans la derniére
édition du Systema Vegetabilium.

Mais, 4 la réception de votre lettre et des ou-
vrages dont vous avez la bonté de me faire part, que
je recois avec toute la reconnoissance dont je suis
susceptible, ce regret a fait place 4 un souvenir qui
me sera toujours infiniment précieux par le cas que
je fais de votre amitié, et par le désir que jai de la
cimenter autant qu il dépendra de moi.

C’est pour vous en donner une preuve que je
vous communiquerai les observations critiques dont
le systeme de Murray me fournira le sujet, relative-
ment a plusieurs plantes de Provence, et que des
nouvelles observations faites depuis trés peu de
temps pourront rendre plus importantes. Occupé

375

essentiellement depuis plus d’une année a perfec-
tionner l’ouvrage que j’avois publié autrefois sur les
plantes de Provence, j'ai, pour ainsi dire, entrepris
un nouveau travail plus pénible que le premier qui
fourmille de négligences. J’ai passé en revué toutes
les espéces: j’y en ai ajouté plus de 300, et comme
il n’est presque aucune plante sur laquelle je n’aye
quelque chose a dire, je pense que cet ouvrage sera
au moins une fois aussi volumineux que celui qui
fut imprimé en 1761. Je nose me flatter pourtant
qu il se publie, quoiqu un libraire d Aix me témoigne
quil en auroit envie; mais comme mon boeaetil est
assez avancé, je le poursuis avec autant d’empresse-
ment que sij’étois bien assuré qu'il ne se présentera
aucune difficulté.

Je vous offrirai donc les prémices de ce travail,
relativement a l'édition du Systema Vegetabilium, de
laquelle vous vous occupez; et ce sera avec dau-
tant plus de plaisir qwil ne sera pas enti¢rement
perdu si mon projet ne s’exécute pas.

J’apprends avec plaisir que vous avez fait un long
séjour en Italie; et je ne doute point que vous
n’ayiez mis 4 contribution les productions végétales
de cette riche contrée ; je n’ai pas eu moins de sa-
tisfaction en sachant que vous vous proposiez de
faire connoitre par des figures les plantes de lher-
bier de Linné, qui ne l'étoient nullement. C’étoit
presque un engagement que vous aviez contracté
en acquérant cette magnifique collection, et un
hommage que vous seul étes capable de rendre au
célébre naturaliste quia en partie dissipé les ténébres
dont la botanique etoit environnée. Vous aviez en

376

_méme temps formé le dessein de publier sa corre-
spondance littéraire avec quelques rétranchements.
Je pense et je souhaite en méme temps que ce pro-
jet s’exécute, et qu'un commerce épistolaire qui doit
avoir été fort étendu, et dont le sujet doit avoir
roulé principalement sur des objets scientifiques, ne
soit pas perdu pour le public naturaliste, surtout
dans un temps ou lhistoire naturelle prend toujours
plus de faveur, et o& la réputation du naturaliste
Suddois s’est singuli¢rement accrue depuis surtout
quil n’existe plus.

Vous rendez justice 4 mes intentions bien plus
qu’a mes talents en voulant m’agréger a la Société
Linnéenne, dont vous m/’aviez sans doute parlé.
J’ai lieu de croire que le centre de cette institution
doit étre 4 Londres. Je recevrai avec beaucoup de
plaisir tout ce qui aura trait 4 cet établissement,
parceque je suis curieux d’apprendre quelles sont
les personnes qui s’adonnent a la botanique dans un
pays ot les sciences sont cultivées avec tant de
succes.

Je ne distingue point le Daphne que vous m’avez
envoyé du D. alpina. Ce petit arbuste que vous
avez trouvé a Naples vient aussi en Provence sur
les plus hautes montagnes, et en Languedoc a sept a
huit lieux de Montpellier: c’est certainement le Zhy-
melea saxatilis Olee folio Tourn.: il est assez bien
représenté dans les ouvrages posthumes de Gesner :
je dois pourtant observer que le ndtre a ses feuilles
plus lisses et presque aussi blanchatres en dessus
quen dessous: au premier abord on le prendroit
pour une autre espéce, mais, vues a la loupe, les

377

feuilles présentent les mémes bossettes. Le tube
extérieur du calyce dans lune comme dans l'autre
espeéce est velu, mais encore plus dans celle d'Italie,
qui a ses feuilles plus roides, plus dures, dont les
bords sont réfléchis, ce que j’attribuerois 4 un climat
plus sec et plus chaud.

Javois adressé, il y a plus d'un an, un manuscrit
qui contenoit des observations Critiques sur une
traduction de Pline, au médecin du Marcgrave @
Anspach, appelé Schmidel, qui, comme vous savez,
a publié quelques ouvrages de botanique: d’apres la
promesse qu'il m’avoit faite qu'il seroit l’éditeur de
cet ouvrage dont il m’avoit accusé la reception, je
me flattois quil me donneroit de ses nouvelles.
Jai attendu inutilement jusqu’aujourd’hui, sans
avoir pu étre informé s'il est méme encore en vie:
si vous aviez appris quelque chose sur son compte,
je vous serois tres obligé de m’en faire part.

Conformement a vos intentions j’ai Thonneur de
vous adresser quelques remarques au sujet de la
nouvelle édition du Systema Vegetabilium, dont
vous vous occupez. J’ai fait ces remarques 4 la
hate, afin de vous les faire parvenir plutdt. Par la
méme raison je ne les ai point achevées ; mais je
vous promets que je ne perdrai pas de vue les ob-
jets restants. I] y aura toujours des corrections 4
faire dans un ouvrage de cette nature; et pour
quelles soyent faites avec connoissance de cause, il
faut necessairement étre a portée des plantes de tel
et tel pays. Si Linneus avoit pi toujours voir par
lui méme, et s'ilne s’en étoit pas souvent tenu a
des relations infidelles, on trouveroit moins a redire

378

dans son Species Plantarum. II est certains genres,
tels que ceux des Crstus, des Tithymales, qui exigent
une refonte générale a l'égard méme des espéces
Européennes: il y auroit encore une réforme bien
essentielle a faire dans ce systéme sexuel ; qui seroit
de supprimer la Polygamie (puisque la plipart des
plantes hermaphrodites qui sont surchargées de
fleurs sont en partie stériles et en partie fertiles), et
de réduire la Monecie aux genres dont les fleurs
males sont en chaton et dune structure différente
des fleurs femelles ; car la ot la disposition des
fleurs avortantes est la méme que celles des fleurs
fertiles, je n’admettrois point de différence essen-
tielle, parceqwil est naturel que lorsque la nombre
des fleurs excéde la force naturelle de la plante, la
plapart de ces fleurs doivent couler, soit que le
germe ne noue pas, ou qu'il avorte dans son prin-
cipe.

Je vous prie, Monsieur, d’excuser cette longue
lettre en faveur du plaisir que j’aieu de m’entre-
tenir avec vous. Cette occasion étoit trop précieuse
pour ne pas en profiter autant qu'il dépendoit de
moi. J’espere quelle me procurera l’avantage de
recevoir des nouvelles de votre santé a laquelle je
ne saurois trop minteresser: je me flatte aussi que
vous voudrez bien employer quelques moments
libres pour me faire part de tout ce quia trait chez
vous 4 histoire naturelle, et particuli¢rement a la
botanique: quoique vous n’ayiez pas besoin d’exciter
ma reconnoissance, je vous la manifesterai bien vo-
lontiers dans toutes les occasions qui pourroient me
rapprocher de vous ; et je serai toujours trés em-

379

pressé de vous réitérer les témoignages des senti-
ments que vous m’avez inspiré, et avec lesquels j'ai
VYhonneur (@étre, Monsieur,

Votre trés humble et trés obeissant Serviteur,

GERARD.

M. Desfontaines to J. E. Smith.

Monsieur, Paris, le 20 Juillet, 1790.

Un grand nombre d’amateurs @histoire naturelle
de notre capitale se sont réunis et cotisés pour faire
exécuter 4 leurs frais le buste de Linné en marbre :
ce buste sera vraisemblablement placé au Jardin des
Plantes, soit au pied du cédre de Liban que vous
connoissez, soit dans Vécole méme de botanique.
Vous devez bien penser que je n’ai pas été un des
derniers 4 souscrire. Ce monument honorera plus
les naturalistes Frangais que Linné; parceque ses
ouvrages suffisent 4 sa gloire; mais je vois avec
plaisir, que nous rendons enfin justice au pére. de
Phistoire naturelle, et a lun des plus rares et des
plus beaux génies de notre siécle: nous espérons
que cet hommage public fera enfin taire en France
les ennemis de cet homme si célébre, et qu’ils n’ose-
ront plus que murmurer sourdement. La basse
jalousie qui regne en ce pays contre les hommes
célébres, est réellement un fléau: je vous crois
bien plus philosophes que nous a cet égard. Les
Anglais savent honorer le mérite indépendamment
de temps et de lieux: je ne vous dis point cela par
flatterie, je le pense aussi; et vous en donnez sans
cesse de preuves. Quelqu’uns de nos détracteurs

380
de Linné voudroient se mettre de niveau ou méme
au dessus de lui; mais ils n’en approcheront cer-
tainement jamais. Je voudrois bien, que vous don-
nassiez une €dition complette de ses ouvrages sur
la botanique, a laquelle vous ajouteriez des notes
critiques, et des corrections que vous jugeriez conve-
nables: je suis persuadé quelle auroit le plus grand
succes. Vous seul pouvez remplir dignement cette
tache ; vous possédez les manuscrits et herbier de
Linné: le public en est instruit, ce qui donneroit
encore un prix infini a cette entreprise : je ne doute
point quelle ne fit tomber absolument toutes les
autres éditions que l’on donne, et que l’on se pro-
pose de donner. Ce projet est certainement utile ;
et je suis persuadé qu'il seroit parfaitement rempli.
Vous pourriez ajouter un supplément qui renfer-
meroit les genres et les espéces inconnues a Linné.
Un pareil livre deviendroit le manuel des natura-
listes: je crois que cela mérite attention de votre
part : vous rendriez un service important a l’histoire
naturelle ; et vous en retireriez beaucoup de gloire.
Mais, voici, Monsieur, ot je voulois en venir parti-
culi¢rement: les personnes qui se sont réunies pour
faire exécuter le buste de Linné m’ont chargé de
leur fournir une liste exacte, sil est possible, de
tous les ouvrages du naturaliste Suédois: je n’en
connois quun petit nombre. J’ai cru ne pouvoir
mieux faire que de m’adresser a vous pour vous
prier de m’aider @ remplir cette tache. Envoyez
moi donc, sil vous plait, le titre, ainsi que les di-
verses éditions, des ceuvres de Linné que vous con-
noissez: je vous aurai beaucoup dobligation. Je

381

sais qu'il en existe en langue Suédoise, qu'il en a
fait sur des sujets étrangers: je voudrois les con-
noitre tous: je présume que vous les possédez, ou
qwils se trouvent dans la bibliotheque de M. Banks:
jattends donc cette grace de vous, Monsieur; et je
vous prie de vouloir me la rendre le plutdét que faire
se pourra. Je me rappelle aussi que vous avez
bien voulu me promettre quelques plantes de l’Inde:
toutes celles que vous m’enverrez seront déposées
chez moi; et personne au monde ne les publiera:
je vous en donne ma parole.

Je désire bien avoir quelque jour le plaisir de
vous aller voir dans votre patrie, et renouveler la
connoissance que jai eu le bonheur de faire avec
vous pendant votre séjour a Paris.

Voulez vous bien présenter mes hommages a
M. Banks, et agréer les sentimens de l’estime et de
la considération parfaite avec lesquels j’ai Phonneur
d’étre,

Monsieur, &c., &c., &c.,
DESFONTAINES.

P.S. Les sciences languissent beaucoup ici:
tous les esprits sont tournés vers les affaires pub-
liques: je désire ardemment qu'elles puissent s’ar-
ranger convenablement le plutét possible: j’ose
Yespérer. Il est bien difficile de cultiver les sci-
ences quand on n’est pas tranquille.

Je vous prie de m/honorer dune réponse le plu-
tot que vous pourrez: vous me ferez grand plaisir.
J'ai vu votre dernier ouvrage chez M. l’Héritier.
Cimex Pantilius nest pas trés content: vous lui

382

donnez rudement sur les oreilles: j’espere que cela
lui apprendra a vivre: nous en avons ri de bon ceeur.
J'ai eu Phonneur de vous écrire pour vous prier
de faire mes sincéres remercimens a la Société Lin-
néene, et pour lui témoigner combien je me trou-
vois honoré d’étre admis au nombre de ses membres.
Voulez vous bien leur réitérer les assurances de
mon respect, et de mon attachement inviolable.

Str George Staunton to J. E, Smith.

Dear Sir, Buxton, Sept. 1, 1790.

Not only have I to thank you for your kind let-
ter, but also to request you will present my ac-
knowledgements to your friend for his very obli-
ging invitation to his house; and though a variety
of engagements will prevent me from availing my-
self of it this year, I shall, if I go to Scotland, as I
am inclined to do next year, pay my respects then,
when my little fellow will be perhaps somewhat
better able than at present to distinguish the value
of such a botanical collection.

Since you left us he has had the opportunity only
of seeing Mr. Eyre of Hassop’s collection, where
he saw and ate of the fruit of the A/wsa, of that
kind which is called the /¥g-Banana in the West
Indies: this was a great curiosity to him, who,
though he saw the plant at Kew, never saw the fruit
before. We saw at Bakewell impressions of several
plants in argillaceous earth and iron-stone, which
were found in working the mines of this country.

The Arundo Bambos, one of the exotic Luphor-

383

bie, were distinguishable enough, and ascertained
by former visitors to the collection of Mr. White
Watson, a zealous naturalist ; andmy boy thought
he could distinguish another impression to be that
of the Dodecatheon Meadia. There are a great
many other impressions of plants, not settled, and
which I wish you would see: many of them appear
to be of Ferns.

The same gentleman has a very curious collec-
tion of what are called petrified shells, which appear
to be formed by water charged with calcareous
earth, as is the water which forms stalactites,
entering into the shells, and depositing its earth,
which takes, as it loses its water and hardens, the
form of the containing shell, in some instances
covering the petrifaction. My little fellow is too
great a novice in conchology to ascertain the spe-
cies of the shells.

The neighbourhood of Buxton promises very
little in any part of Botany ; and your young friend
is yet too much of a tyro to make much progress
without a guide. We all, on every account, wish
for your presence. When you return to London
we may trouble you to settle the names of a few
specimens for us.

I am, dear Sir, very much yours,

GEORGE STAUNTON.

Str C. P. Thunberg to J. E. Smith.

Dum non eque facile scribere scio, ac quidem
intelligo linguam Anglicam, spero fore, ut tu, vir

384

illustrissime, permittas, ut hac utar lingua antiqua,
atque tibi significem gratias meas maximas, tam ob
litteras tuas humanissimas ad me datas, quam ob
amica illa mutui commercii promissa: quantum
in me est, conabor, ut cum acceperim desiderata
tua botanica, nonnulle, tam Capenses, quam Indice
plante a me mittantur, que in vasto et pretioso
tuo herbario adhuc desiderari possunt. Hacce oc-
casione, catalogum meum mitto desideratarum plan-
tarum ; atque significo, summopere mihi gratas fore
omnes illas accessiones, quas pro me sensim parare
tibi, vir estumatissime, placebit. Nec dubito, quin
plures erunt, qui mecum gaudent, quod in tuis
manibus venerint collectiones Linneane, atque
quod utiles reddantur erudito orbi, ac dudum cee-
pisti modo adeo honorifico illas reddere. Editione
nova Systematis Vegetabilium infinite tibi omnes
botanicos devincies, que ultima adeo vitiosa evasit,
ut cito emendari mereatur et debeat. Opto sane,
ut aliquo modo, tibi, vir illustris, in hisce terris uti-
lis esse possim, atque vel tantillum tuam in me
amicitiam atque faventem animum demereri vale-
am. Occupatus sum in elaboranda fora Capensi,
cujus quatuor priores classes absolvi, paratas pro
prelo. Doleo vero, quod adeo pretiose, adeo digne
hoc opus edere non valeam ac quidem Capensis
Flora mereri posset, cum Upsalize occasiones ille
deficiant, quibus edi alibi posset, nitidissima charta
et iconibus. Forsan Berolinitomus primus figuris
minus bonis impressus erit. Pro Actis Societatis
Linneane descriptionem generis, Dellenia, cum satis
nitidis figuris tribus paravi; sed ad te, vir celeber-

385

rime, mittere nolui, antequam sciam si hecce per
tabellarium mittere possim, sique accepte sint.
Genus hoc sex constat speciebus, quarum tres om-
nino ignotas habeo, quarumque figuras conficere
feci: una exstat in Systemate Linnai, scilicet Indica,
quam non vidi, nisi e figura, et duz species depin-
guntura Rumphio. Nuperrime accepi Ordines Na-
turales D™ Jussieu, de quibus adhuc judicium ferre
nec audeo, nec debeo: videtur tamen mihi genera
nimis multiplicasse. Ego semper allaboro, ut ge-
nera naturalia non separentur: ex. gr. Mahernia et
Hermannia, Diosma et Hartogia, Galium et Va-
lantia, et cetera.

Upsalize, d. 3 Sept. 1790.

J. P. M. Dana to J. EF. Smith.

Monsieur, De Turin, ce 23 9bre, 1790.

Mes amis ne mont point manqué ce 21me 9bre
dans l’'assemblée de notre Académie Royale; et apres
un combat dune heure employée en votations pour
le choix d'un academicien étranger a la place qui se
trouvoit vacante, vous avez été élu pour associé
étranger, de préférence a M. Pallas et autres savans
du premier ordre ; et en cela je dus me servir de
votre lettre derniére, ou vous aviez offert denvoyer
un mémoire sur les fougéres, qu’on a eu la bonté
de considérer comme s'il ett été expédié, puisque
son retard dépendit uniquement de vous avoir écrit

que le volume 8me était pour sortir (comme il est
VOL. I. 2c

386

a présent sorti) de sous presse. D/ailleurs vos mé-
rites et votre célébrité auroient suffi a vous préférer
(comme elle a fait) 4 ses anciens correspondents et
4 tant d'autres concurrens, qui, dans un nombre si
borné des places d’académiciens, marquerent égale-
ment lempressement d’étre nommés, si toute I
académie fit composée de botanistes ; mais comme
les académiciens de cette assemblée étoient 19, et
quil n’y avoit que moi et M. Allioni botaniste,
de cette académie, pendant qu il y faut au moins
les quatrequints des voix pour étre nommé, vous
maintenant y avez été admis a la pluralité de 17
contre 2 voix. Ceci ayant été fait en bonne forme,
je vous en donne avis; et vous en sera expédié le
diplome par le sécrétaire en peu de jours.

Je vous prie, Monsieur, a étre assuré des senti-
mens de la véritable estime, et de la sincére amitié,
avec laquelle je serail toujours avec le plus parfait
attachement, et je suis, Monsieur,

KC.p Ceres,
MeEpEcIN Dana.

Louis Bose to J. E. Smith.

Paris, ce 15 Jany. 1791, an 3me de la Liberté.

Broussonet ou autres vous ont sans doute appris
quapres avoir élevé dans le Jardin des Plantes un
buste Ala mémoire de Linnzus, les anciens membres
de la Société Linnéenne s’étoient de nouveau réunis,
et s'étoient constitués sous le titre de Société d’ His-
toire Naturelle de Paris. Cette société a aussitdt sa

387

naissance développé une grande ardeur pour l’avance-
ment de la science qui fait Yobjet de ses travaux ;
et nous sommes préts a faire imprimer un fascicule
qui contiendra beaucoup de choses intéressantes.
Je ne vous parlerai pas de nos projets; vous en
verrez les détails dans la préface de notre fascicule:
mon but aujourdhui’est simplement de vous faire
passer les diplomes qui intéressent votre personne
et celles de trois de vos amis. C’est Broussonet
qui vous a fait inscrire sur la liste des associés; c’est
lui qui auroit di vous envoyer ces diplomes ; mais
il est si occupé daffaires politiques qu’a peine pour-
rons nous le voir. Nous espérons que vous voudrez
bien concourir 4 l’amélioration de nos fascicules,
en nous fournissant des mémoires, et 4 notre in-
struction, en correspondant avec nous d'une mani¢re
active.

Je profite de cette occasion pour vous envoyer
quelques descriptions @insectes nouveaux ou mal
connus, pour la Société Linnéenne. Je vous prie de
les corriger avant de les communiquer ; car je suis
fort peu assuré de ma maniére d’écrire en Latin.

On vous remettra aussi un ouvrage d’entomolo-
gie nouveau, du débit de quelques exemplaires du-
quel jai été chargé par auteur. J’ai pensé que vous
et M. Banks seroient bien aises d’en avoir chacun
un exemplaire. [1 coidte 30 livres chaque. Si vous
n’en voulez pas, tachez de le faire vendre A quelque
personne de votre connoissance.

Ne doutez pas de mes dispositions a faire tout
ce qui vous sera agréable dans ce pays.

Je vous salue. Louts Bosc.

2¢2

388

Professor Zimmerman to J. EF. Smith.

Dear Sir, Brunswick, July 16, 1791.

I feel myself under the greatest obligation for the
undeserved honour of having been chosen a mem-
ber of the Linnean Society. As I am mainly in-
debted for it to your favour and friendship, I
will not miss any opportunity to prove to you my
acknowledgement and gratitude.

1 take the liberty to direct to you a few copies
of the beginning of an excellent work of my learned
friend Mr. Lichtenstein of Hamburgh. In a few
days the translation of Smellie’s Philosophy of Na-
tural History, which was undertaken under my care,
will be finished. I made many additions to that
anti-Linnean work, part of which are refutations.
I shall have the honour of sending a copy to the
Linnean Society, as perhaps some among her mem-
bers understand our language. I cannot conceive
how Mr. Smellie could undertake a work without
being master of more modern languages, for a great
part of the new discoveries were lost to him.

My son pays his respectful compliments to you,
and acknowledges his great obligations for the
kindness and care you bestowed on him last year.
He is going to Gottingen, where he will study law,
but properly statistics and technology.

I am, with the greatest regard, Sir,

Your humble Servant,
E. A. ZIMMERMAN.

389

D. H. Stoever to J. E. Smith.

Vir doctissime, celeberrime, plurimum colende,

Inclyta, qua gaudes fama, animusque benevolens
atque amicus viris qui inesse solet ingenio et doc-
trina excellentibus, commovent, ut equidem hisce
te litteris adeam, subsidia imploraturus, tali viro
saltem non indigna. |

Triennium et quod excurrit jam elapsum est, ex
quo vitam viri immortalis longeque de studiis et
doctrina meritissimi, terree Europe septentrionalis
quem unguam tulerint, Linnzi nimirum patris, ela-
borare et conscribere operam dedi. Fama quidem
omnibus notus, parum erat et mancum quod de
fatis ipsius memorabilibus, de indole, moribus, meri-
tisque in universum expositum fuit. Quare studui,
memoriam viri pro magnitudine rerum gestarum
amplius tradere ; in quo labore ita adjutus fui a viris
Sueciz eruditis et a discipulis Linnei, qui in Ger-
mania supersunt, ut sperem, operam me non pror-
sus incassum insumsisse, orbique erudito aliquo
modo satisfacturum esse. Ut autem recte atque
vere, quantum unquam fieri posset, omnia tradan-
tur, opus adhuc est benevola tua ope, quam te non
denegaturum esse manibus Linnei, tam insigni stu-
dio jam a te condecoratis, a tua humanitate spero.

Tu enim, vir inclytissime, felix ille Croesus es,
cui jure emtionis contigerunt thesauri Linneani
omnes. Quum autem plurima dubia et falsa de ce-
lebri hac emtione circumferantur, queso ut me edo-
cere velis de sequentibus :

I. Quonam anno, quove pretio emisti?—Cum pe-

390

regrinatore Germano colloquutus, qui eodem tem-
pore Upsalise fuit ac in tua societate versatus est,
plura de hac re audivi, que autem incertiora viden-
tur quam ut memorize mandare possem. Etenim
nomen tuum celeberrimum, cujus szepius in hac
vita Linnzi incidit mentio, commemorando, nollem
me falsi aliquid perscribere. Ceterum dicunt thesau-
ros istos pretio 1000 pound sterl. a te coemtos esse.
Num stricte veritati respondet? Injunctum fuit a
Sueco quodam divite, Mauhle, quitune temporis in
India orientali morabatur, viro nob. Andr. Dahl, ut,
pondere pecuniz in hunc finem jam erogato, pro se
coemeret thesauros Linnei relictos, quod consilium
autem successu carebat. Quomodo hoc factum ?
Num tu prior, vel majus pretium obtulisti? Si vis
et potes, me de hac re certiorem facias, queeso.

IT. Quenam omnia emisti? quibusnam ex rebus
singulis composita est hzereditas illa lhtteraria >
Bibliothecze quantus est circiter numerus librorum ?
Herbarii quantus circiter numerus plantarum? col-
lectionibus ejus naturalibus quenam est prestan-
tissima? Quot et quenam possides manuscripta ?
Illud de Perlarum vel Margaritarum ortu mihi
notum. Ad hee scio, Linnei exemplar JZaterte
Medice e regno vegetabili, multis auctum et orna-
tum esse propriis observationibus, quum dudum
constituisset eam denuo edere. Ejusmodi observa-
tiones et scholia num et in pluribus aliis ipsius libris
reperiuntur? Num tu possides Diarium, quod sub
titulo emesis Divine composuerat? Quum de
hisce parum aut nihil publice sit notum, gratissi-
mum faceres mihi orbique litterato, si certo aliquid

391

tradere velles, non intermissurus, operam animum-
que tuum generosum dignis laudibus celebrare.

III. In versione of the General View of the Wri-
tings of Linneus, by R. Pulteney, ante biennium a
cl. M. de Grandmaison, gallice edita, relatum est,
te curare novam editionem Specierum Plantarum et
Systematis Nature. Num hoc verum? Maxime
vellem hoc compertum habere, quippe vite adjungo
catalogum scriptorum Linnei, eorum commenta-
riorum, versionum, &c., locupletissimum, in quo
tuum addere possem. Forsan Systema Regni Ve-
getabilis intelligendum erit. Porro ex te queram
num tu preter egregios illos Fasciculos Plantarum
(quorum huc usque duo publici juris facti, quosque
excerptos reperis im Magazin fiir die Botantkh, edi-
tum Turici a cl. Rémer et Usteri) aliaque bota-
nica, digne celebrata, alia scripta ex collectionibus
Linnzanis, vel ad systema ejus facientia, nobis for-
san ignota, edideris. Annotationes tuas una cum
cl. Broussoneti ad Linnei Diss. de Sexu Plantarum
recusas esse in tom x. Amenitat. Acad. ab IIl.
Schrebero Erlange 1790 editum, te jam non fugiet.
Ceterum doleo, quod cl. de Grandmaison uti non
licuerit subsidiis in nostra Germania passim im-
pressis, quibus versionem suam egregie augere
potuisset.

IV. Una cum vita quum a me curatur collectio
epistolarum ad viros eruditos a Linneo datarum
(congessi enim non adeo paucas) me tibi maxime
devinctum redderes, si e collectione tua epistolarum
ad Linnzeum scriptarum unam vel alteram memo-
rabilem, e. gr. Halleri (quum anno 1739 illi offerret

392

munus Professoris Goettingensis) vel Marchionis
clementissime Baadensis, vel quum vocaretur in
Hispaniam, mecum communicare velles. Sed ve-
reor, ne his quidem precibus tibi molestus sim:
veniam dabis. Fortasse autem non dedignaberis
mihi indicare, quot literee Marchionis Baadensis
existant.

V. Compertum habeo, Londini in honorem Lin-
nei institutam esse societatem, que te preesidem
veneratur. Sed quo auctore instituta est (certe te)
et quo anno? Queso, paulo amplius me de his
edoceas, quum mentio hujus instituti preeclari in-
jicienda. Ceterum addo, ad hoc vestrum exemplar
preterito anno et Lipsiz auspiciis cl. Ludwig ejus-
modi societatem coalitam esse.

Sed temperandum calamo, temperandum preci-
bus, ne te fatigem et quasiobruam. Ignosces ardori
et studio veritatis, quo trahor. Per Deos, per manes
Linnzi, yuos colis, quos per sacrificia adeo splen-
dida adhuc venerabiliores et honoratiores reddidisti,
nunc te precor, vir humanissime, ne prorsus deesse
velis votis meis. Facias me compotem corum eo
modo quo tibi placebit. Rescribas quanta et qualia
tibi ex re videbuntur ; omnia enim gratissima erunt,
nec me publice ingratum senties. Sed responsione
tua, rogo, quam primum. tibi per otium licuerit, me
letitia affice ; vita enim jam imprimitur, at non
adeo festinanter, ut non in usum vocare possim
que intra binos et quod excurrit menses perscribere
dignaberis. Releges tunc verba tua; jucundum
enim erit officium, librum tibi transmittere quam
primum impressus fuerit. In responsione autem

393

mihi annotes, queso, plateam in qua habites. Ce-
terum rescribas vel latine, vel, si placet, anglice.
For although I am not exercised so much as to speak
or write this noble language, I understand it pretty
well,

Secundum litteras, quas mense preterito ex Up-
salia habui, vidua Linnzi adhuc in vivis est, vitam
degens in predio Hammarby. Filia natu minor
nupsit nob. vir. Duse, litium curatori Upsalie.
Relique duz sorores vitam agunt celebem. In
fronte novi horti academici sumptu regio erigitur
monumentum Linnei. Amicus meus, Professor
Gieseke, Hamburgensis, ejus quondam discipulus,
anno proximo ejus Prelectiones in Ordines Natu-
rales Plantarum edet. Plura ejusmodi nova tibi
scribere possem, nisi vererer nimis leviora et mi-
noris momenti esse.

Quod si in Germania uno vel altero modo in-
servire et operam tibi commodare possem, moneas,
jubeas, queso. Enixe ceterum repetens preces
supra memoratas, humanitati tue iterum atque ite-
rum mecommendo. Vale! meque quam primum
fieri~possit litteris tuis letitia affice !

Nominis tui inclytissimi cultor observantissimus,
D. H. Sroever, Doct.
Dab. Altonz (prope Hamburgum), die Octobr. viii. 1791.

394

Rev. Wm. Kirby * to J. EF. Smith, PLS.

Dear Sir, Barham, Dec. 5, 1791.

I received your letter and obliging present, which
I shall keep as a precious relic, not only on account
of their great original possessor, but also for the
sake of the worthy donor, whose name I prophesy
will not be forgotten while that of Linnzus is re-
membered, and the study of the works of an all-
wise Creator continues to be a favourite pursuit
with enlightened Europe. Pray give my compli-
ments to Mr. Marsham, and tell him I am prepa-
ring another box of insects for him. I was much
gratified lately by having an opportunity of calling
upon Mr. Woodward, who very obligingly showed
me his herbarium and collection of fossils. I men-
tioned to him a plan upon which we had some con-
versation when you were at Ipswich,—I mean the
establishment of a provincial society for the pro-
motion of the knowledge of the natural history of
this county. He approved much of the design,
and desired to be a member, in case such an insti-
tution should take place. I have a friend in an
adjoining parish, who is a very ingenious naturalist,
(Rev. Charles Davy}, of Caius Coll.,) with whom I
have had some conversation upon the subject; and
he tells me that he has had the same idea long in

* Author of a very delightful Introduction to Entomology, in
union with Mr. Spence.

} Translator of Bourrit’s Letters upon the Glaciers, and son

of the Rev. C. Davy, of Onehouse, in Suffolk, the very learned
author of Letters on Literature.

395

his mind, and that such a society, if it could be esta-
blished, and the plan be generally adopted through-
out the counties, would contribute more to the elu-
cidation of the natural history of this country, than
any other plan whatsoever. I should be particu-
larly obliged to Dr. Smith for any hints he could
furnish me with; and the outlines of such an insti-
tution I should esteem a great favour, if it would
not engross too much time. It is the design, if a
proper situation could be fixed upon, to collect
specimens in every department, and to impose it as
alaw upon every member, to contribute a certain
proportion every year, which I should hope would
keep out of our society all non-effectives. I am
much flattered by your obliging invitation: when-
ever I go to town, one of-my principal pleasures
will be to wait upon you.
Your sincere friend,

WILLIAM Kirby.

Professor Scarpa to J. E. Smith.

Monsieur, Pavie, Q Mars, 1792,

Je viens de recevoir votre obligeante lettre du 18
Aoit de l'année passée, avec le Discours préliminaire
et les Articles qui concernent la Société Linnéenne.
Parmi la liste des Associés étrangers ayant trouvé
mon nom, jen ai été trés flatté; et comme c’est
principalement 4 vous que je dois cet honneur, aussi
je vous fais mille remerciments.

Des que j'ai commencé a lire les premitres lignes

396

de votre Discours, il ne me fut plus possible de quit-
ter le livre jusqu’a la fin. Lrexcellent tableau que
vous avez entrepris est dessiné avec une netteté,
précision, et vérité surprenante: il y a bien long
temps que je n’ai eu le plaisir de lire un morceau
si bien achevé. Les époques principales de Vhis-
toire naturelle et les hommes illustres qui l’ont
cultivé y sont marqués avec une intelligence et une
critique trés fine; ce qui fait voir que vous avez
approfondi cette science.

Ou vous parlez des établissemens, je m’attendois
que vous auriez parlé du Général Comte de Mar-
sigli de Bologne ; mais pett-étre ceci n’entroit pas
dans votre plan. Cependant ce grand militaire,
victime de lintrigue, etoit un assez bon naturaliste
de son temps, et qui s'est dépouillé de presque tout
son bien pour établir Académie ou Institut de Bo-
logne, dont le but principal est l’histoire naturelle.
Son ouvrage sur le Danube, et quelques autres sur
les productions naturelles de la Méditerranée ne
sont pas absolument sans quelque prix. Quelque
trait de votre excellent pinceau sur les circonstances,
l'état, et les talens de cet homme singulier, il me
semble quauroit fait un tres bon effet. Donnez
un coup d’ceuil sur l’éloge quena fait M. de Fon-
tainelle.

Je vous remercie des politesses que vous avez bien
voulu pratiquer 4 M. Scassi: je crois qu'il sera bien-
tot de retour a Londres pour se rendre tout de suite
ici. Je lai chargé de m’apporter tout ce qu il trou-
vera chez vous de nouveau, en chirurgie principale-
ment: je vous prie de l’aider dans le choix.

397

Je travaille actuellement a quelques planches de
nécrologie fine ; mais tout chez nous va lentement ;
moi encore plus que tout autre étant beaucoup dis-
trait par un double emploi a luniversité, et par la
pratique.

Je désire vivement et sincérement de vous étre
utile ici en quelque chose.

Je suis, avec la plus perfecte estime,

Monsieur,
Votre trés humble et trés obeissant Serviteur,
SCARPA.

The subjoined letter from Father Fontana will
discover to the reader the impression made upon
him by the person to whom it is addressed. In the
third volume of his Your on the Continent, Sir
James acquaints his readers, that “ Professor Sco-
poli introduced him to the celebrated Father Gre-
gorio Fontana, Professor of Mathematics.” “ Lit-
tle,” he continues, “could I imagine, when I en-
joyed the pleasure of his conversation, and admired
the acuteness and versatility of his genius, that he
should ever condescend, as he has since done, to
become the translator and commentator of any
production of mine.”

Father Fontana to J. E. Smith.

Monsieur, Pavie, 5 Mai, 1792.
Je sais, Monsieur, que mon collégue et amiScarpa
vous a donné avis de la traduction Italienne que
jai faite de votre beau Discours Préliminaire aux
Actes de votre Société Linnéenne, qui dans ce mo-

398

ment vient de sortir delapresse. Le jeune homme
qui vous remettra cette lettre, vous rendra aussi
un exemplaire de cette version, que je vous prie
d'agréer comme un hommage que je me fais gloire
doffrir 4 votre éminent savoir, et plus encore aux
vertus aimables de votre belle ame. Ce jeune
homme est M. le Dr. Valli de Toscane, qui, par
son excellent caractére moral, universellement re-
connu, par son amabilité, et par son savoir peu
commun, mérite la considération et l’amitié de tout
homme vertueux et sensible. Il est auteur de
quelques petits ouvrages médicals assez estimés, et
il en a publié trois 4 Pavie dans le peu de séjour
quwil y a fait; parmi lesquels il y a deux lettres sur
Pétonnante découverte de M. le Dr. Galvani de
Bologne relative 4 lelectricité animale, découverte
qui ne fait que parditre. M. Valli a vérifié les
faits principaux, et les expériences fondamentales
de M. Galvani, et est méme allé un peu plus Join ;
car au talent décrire il joint le génie d’expérimen-
ter. Agréez, Monsieur, les offres de mes services
pour ce pays que jhabite.

En attendant, je suis, avec le plus entier dévoue-
ment et la plus haute estime, Monsieur,

Votre trés humble et trés obéissant Serviteur,

GREGOIRE FONTANA.

Professor Scarpa to J. E. Smith.

Monsieur, Pavie, ce 30 Mai, 1792.
Votre lettre du 8 de ce mois m’est parvenue
quelques jours apres la publication de la traduction

399

Italienne de votre excellent Discours: ainsi le Pére
Fontana n’a plus été en état de faire les additions
que vous veniez de me marquer dans votre lettre :
il me charge de vous renouveller ses sentimens
destime et damitié. J’attends de Génes occasion
de vous faire passer une douzaine d’exemplaires de
la traduction. Vousne tarderez pas cependant d’
en recevoir un, qui vous sera remis par M. Valli,
docteur en médecine. Ce jeune homme, rempli de
talent, mais tout-a-fait sans fortune, et qui depuis
quelques années voyage 4 la maniére de nos Capu-
cins, c’est-a-dire 4 pied et en mendiant, s’est pro-
posé de se rendre 4 Londres, comme en effet il
est parti il y a un mois. Comme il marche bien,
je crois quil ne tardera pas beaucoup a paroitre
devant vous, et s’acquitter de sa commission.

Il vous informera d'un nouveau fait de physique
animale, que le docteur Galvani de Bologne vient
de découvrir concernant l’électricité animale. Je
tacherai de vous en donner quelque idée. Si on
prend la moitié dune grenouille dont on a été la
peau, et en prépare les nerfs cruraux de maniére
que lorigine de ces nerfs reste adhérente a l’épine,
et en 6te toute autre substance intermédiaire entre
lépine et les jambes, et que aprés avoir isolé ce
morceau d animal on place lextrémité d'un arc con-
ducteur sur les nerfs, et autre partie de l’arc sur la
jambe, les muscles se contractent vivement a plu-
sieurs reprises et pendant long tems. Ce phéno-
méne est encore plus frappant si on entoure lori-
. gine des nerfs et une partie de la jambe avec une
feuille métallique. Chez nous il y a qui tirent

400

plusieurs conséquences de ce phénomene, jusqu’a
croire que par ceci l’existence des esprits animaux
soit demontrée. Quanta moi, je ne cesse de méditer
sur ce fait singulier, et qui pour linstant donne de
quoi travailler aux électricistes; mais je n’y vois
pas encore claire sur les conséquences physiolo-
giques qu’on se hate de déduire.

M. Scassi me fait savoir quil se trouve actu-
ellement 4 Paris. J’espére qu’avant son départ de
Londres il se sera informé des meilleurs ouvrages
qui ont paru derniérement chez vous en médecine
pour me les procurer, comme je l’avois chargé.
Dheure en avant je compte sur votre amitié pour
étre au fait de ce qui se passera de plus intéressant
en Angleterre par rapport a la chirurgie et ana-
tomie, qui forment ma principale occupation.

Les ames honnétes ont beaucoup apprécié votre
“passage sur la vie de Scopoli, et se réjouissent de
voir qu'un juge si savant dans histoire naturelle, et
impartial, comme vous étes, ait pris avec franchise
a dévoiler Pintrigue et la malignité d’un petit nom-
bre dignorans, qui ont employé tous leurs efforts
pour fiétrir jusqu’a la mémoire de cet homme re-
spectable.

Je suis, avec respect et attachement sincere,

Monsieur,
Votre trés humble et trés obeissant Serviteur,
SCARPA.

40]
Dr. Darwin to J. E-. Smith.

Dear Sir, Derby, Sept. 12, 1792.

I should sooner have written to thank you for
the books you were so kind as to send me. I
mentioned your Society to Sir Brooke Boothby of
Ashbourne, and to Dr. Johnson of this town, two
ingenious men, who wish to become Fellows of
the Linnean Society. Sir Brooke Boothby has a
great collection of plants, which you probably saw
when you were in this country. Sir Brooke is now
at Ashbourne, so that I can acquaint him if it be
agreeable to you to admit him to your Society. I
received much pleasure from your Thesis De Ge-
neratione, though our theories will not agree.

With true esteem, I am, yours,
E. Darwin.

Dr. Pulteney to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Blandford, Oct. 14, 1792.

I am tempted to make a request to you, which I
confess to be not very reasonable:—Can you do me
the favour of the loan of your copy of the folio
EMstoria Muscorum of Hedwig? I am engaged to
give Mr. Nichols a compendious catalogue of the
rare plants of Leicestershire, for his history of that
county now in the press; and I wish to make my
— references to Hedwig, in the Musci frondosi, taking
it for granted that his book will become classical
in that way.

VOL. I. 2D

402

[ had lately, in my attendance upon one of the
family, an opportunity of spending a few hours in
the botanical library of the late Earl of Bute. It is
indeed very rich in books and dried specimens, as
well as in volumes of paintings of plants; and it
appears that the earl preserved his taste to the last,
as I observed all the latest expensive works. There
are (thick and thin) more than 300 folios, strzctly
botanical, and quartos and octavos in proportion ;
very many of the old authors, and some very scarce
ones; a conservatory almost 300 feet long, full of
fine plants, growing and flourishing in the soil (not
in pots), like an Indian grove. To this add a gar-
den of four acres, walled round, and full of hardy
plants ; and all this within 150 yards of the sea.

if you honour me with a plant, I must leave the
choice of it to yourself, amidst the great variety of
new subjects that are now pouring in upon you*.

I wish to ask whether the Fungus, called in Ray’s
Synopsis Oak leather,in the timber of houses, is well
known in London, and its history investigated, and
whether a specimen of it would be likely to be ac-
ceptable to the Linnzean Society ?

I am, &c.
R. PuLreney.

* In his work entitled Botany of New Holland, Sir James
has named a plant of that country after Dr. Richard Pulteney,
F.R. and L.S., well known by his Sketches of the Progress of
Botany in England, and more especially by his Biography of
Linneus.

403

Rev. Henry Muhlenberg, D.D. to J. E.. Smith.

Lancaster, State of Pennsylvania,
Dec. 1, 3792.
Honoured and dear Sir,

Pardon a stranger that intrudes upon your stu-
dies: an enthusiastical love of botany, and irresis-
tible desire to know the plants of my native country,
stimulate me to do it. Since a number of years I
have endeavoured to explore the Regnum vegetabile
America Septentrionalis, in particular of Pennsyl-
vania Media. PartlyI have been successful, and have
gathered pretty near all the plants of my neigh-
bourhood, being upwards of 1200 in less than ten
square miles. Of these I sent in 1786 a specimen,
and in 1790 an Index Flore Lancastriensis, to our
Philosophical Society at Philadelphia, which will be
published in the third volume of their Transactions ;
and am now making a full description at least of
the indigenous plants, after Withering, Lightfoot, or
Thunberg’s method. But I met so many adversa-
ria, nova genera et novas species, which I am not able
to class according to the present editions of Lin-
neus, that I long ago and earnestly looked fora
friend, who would kindly assist me to find out
which plants are already described by Linnzus, and
which are nondescripts. Some of my doubts have
been cleared up by my worthy friend, Dr. Schreber,
the editor of the eighth edition of the Genera Plan-
tarum ; but very many remain.

Dr. Stokes, in Withering’s Arrangements, men-
tions the gentleman to whom I could address myself

2D 2

404

with the greatest prospect of success; “The learned,
candid and ingenious possessor of the herbarium,
library and manuscripts of the two Linnzi” could be
my oracle, if his time and the multiplicity of his la-
bours would permit him to assist me. I would send
all the plantas adversarias et nondescriptas in good
order, numbered, and beg of him to favour me with
his judgement, which of the plants are already de-
scribed, and by what name, and which are not de-
scribed. Perhaps it would not be disagreeable to
him to have even some of the described plants in his
noble herbarium: new species certainly would be
pleasing; so every doubt would be cleared up, and
the adversaria Americana be lessened. This, Sir, is
the reason of my troubling you ; and may I hope to
receive a favourable answer? If my offer is not
disagreeable to you, pray do me the honour to let
me know to what place I should send the dried spe-
cimens and my future letters ; and be pleased to
inform me whether you want any particular Penn-
sylvanian plant or seed. Any commands that way
will punctually and with pleasure be obeyed. But,
should your time and various labours not permit
you to grant me the desired favour, may I, by your
recommendation, find any candid and ingenious
gentleman in England or Scotland to whom I could
address myself ?

Any letter to me can be addressed to my brother,
Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, Esq., Member of
Congress, at Philadelphia, who will forward it safe
to Lancaster, where I live.

In expectation of an agreeable answer, and re-

405

commending myself to your kindness, I have the
honour to remain, with great esteem,
Honoured Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant,
Henry Munensere, D.D.

Minister of Trinity Church at Lancaster ; Fellow of
the Philos. Society at Philad., and of Academ.
Imper. Nat. Cur.

J. E. Smith to the Rev. Henry Muhlenberg, D.D.,
Pennsylvania.
Dear Sir, March 6, 1793.

Ihave seldom received more pleasure from a let-
ter than yours of Dec. lst afforded me: never did
I receive one so gratifying, I will not say to my
vanity, but to better feelings. You cannot be more
enthusiastically fond of botany than I am; and your
letter promises me a fresh instance, in addition to
many already experienced, that this study, charming
in itself, is still more valuable as a key to the inter-
course of the most amiable minds. To botany I
owe friendships and connections I else could have
had no chance of forming; and your letter, over-
flowing with the milk of human kindness, and with
the amiable modesty of real merit, promises me one
which it will be my most anxious care and ambition
to deserve. One part only of your letter gives me
pain, my dear Sir,—that, where you express a doubt
(however slight) lest I should not attend to it as it
deserves. Allow me to say, I am too covetous of
your correspondence to turn it over to anybody
else. I am extremely concerned that my ignorance

406

of the American post-day occasioned me to miss
the last; yet if you have doubted my politeness and
sensibility to your worth, (of which I want no other
proof than your letter,) I hope and trust such unfa-
vourable impressions will now be effaced.

I flatter myself you will soon execute your inten-
tion, and make me as useful as you can :—you may
depend on my utmost care and accuracy, and I'll
honestly tell you my doubts ; neither hurrying over
the business, nor by any means pretending to know
more than I do. I have all Kalm’s original speci-
mens; I also know by marks all Linnzus’s orzgz-
nally described specimens, so there can be no fallacy.
I have several similar correspondences, and with joy
add yours to the number. Send your specimens
numbered. How can I send you any little parcel
of one or two works of my own?

Rely on my zeal and fidelity.

J. E. Smiru.

Professor Martyn to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Park Prospect, March 15, 1793.
My letter was just gone to the penny-post when
yours arrived, containing acknowledgements far
above the merit of the compliment which I was
happy in paying you*, and which I do most sin-
cerely assure you came from the heart. I ought to
apologize for not having asked your consent, but I
* The dedication to the President of the Linnzan Society of

his work on the Language of Botany, being a dictionary of the
terms made use of in that science.

407

was fearful that your modesty might have declined
receiving that tribute, which, in my opinion at least,
you have every right to receive. I beg the favour
of you, when you have occasion to look into the
glossary, to note in the margin any errors or doubts
that you observe, in order that a second edition
may be more correct. If you wish for any copies
to give away, they are at your service. You see by
my letter that I have no scruple in asking your as-
sistance. One-ranked does not strike me as a good
term for secundus: at least Iam afraid it is too bold
to venture on. I am still for the periphrasis.

Iam satisfied with what you say about g/ader and
levis. But what English term shall we adopt for
the latter: ven or level are the only terms I can
think of; and, if I forget not, you proposed the
former of these, but they express nothing of free-
dom from hairiness; for which reason I put smooth
for glaber, and smooth and even for levis.

Certainly most adjectives in osws have an unfa-
vourable meaning. eljgzosus, however, has very
frequently a good meaning in Cicero. ‘‘ Homines
integri, innocentes, religiosi.” Iz Verrem. “ Huic
ego testi gratias agam, quod et in reum misericor-
dem se prebuit, et in testimonio religiosum.” Lz
Cecinam. I do not know that Cicero or his con-
temporaries use famosus in a good sense; but Pliny
and Tacitus certainly do.

Cicero generally uses g/oriosus in a good sense :
as, “ Magnificum etiam illud, Romanisque homini-
bus gloriosum.” De Divin. “ Illustria et gloriosa
facta.” De Fin.

408

Milton therefore is sufficiently justified in his use
of gloriosissimus, however superlatives may be ap-
plied; on which subject I can say nothing.

Ido not find antmosus ever used in a good sense.
But we want an index of terminations to assist us
in such inquiries. I suspect that in the Latin lan-
guage, as in ours, and I suppose all others, many
words which had originally a good sense have
changed gradually into a bad one,—‘a good man’,
‘an honest fellow’, ‘an innocent girl’, ‘a good sort
of a woman’, ‘a good-natured man’, are examples.

But a remarkable instance is the word wench,
which originally signified a young unmarried lady.
In Piers Plowman the Virgin Mary is so called.

I am, dear Sir, with great esteem,
Your very faithful Friend and Servant,

Tuo. Martyn.

Dr. Roxburgh to J. £. Smith.

Dear Sir, Samulcotah, March 20, 1793.

Your polite and acceptable letter reached me on
the 4th of August. The diandrous tree you intend
to give my name to, you will find described and
drawn amongst those sent to the court of Directors.
I thank you for the honour you intend doing me
in your next fasciculus. M/ucada is one of our
most valuable and finest timber trees ; some of the
wood I sent to Mr. Alexander Dalrymple last year,
to try if it would answer for scales to mathematical

— 409

instruments; for it is close-grained and less subject
to crack or warp than any other wood in India.
Weavers’ beams are always made of it on this coast.

I have taken the liberty of sending you some of
my newly discovered Fever Bark: it is from a new
species of Swietenta, a most beautiful and most va-
luable tree as any in India. I have hitherto found
this bark infallible in the cure of intermitting and
remitting fevers, even after the Peruvian bark had
failed.

My Lythrum orixensis is now in flower in my gar-
den for the first time. It is a very beautiful, large,
ramous shrub, of quick growth: the flowers are on
small racemes of a bright vivid red, and seem to me
to partake of the character of Gris/ea as well as Ly-
thrum. I find my former description and drawing
faulty: your observing to me that it will belong to
the genus Grvs/lea, first induced me to compare it
with the description of that family.

I inclose you a specimen of an Indigofera, the
leaves of which yield the most beautiful indigo I
ever saw, and ina very large proportion. I have
sent home to the Directors a drawing and descrip-
tion under the name of Jndigofera cerulea.

I am, dear Sir, with much regard, yours,

W. Roxsurcu.

Dr. Roxburgh to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Calcutta, August 20, 1794.
Since my return to Bengal I have found several
plants unknown to me before: amongst them there

410

will be, I think, three or four new genera and more
new species. Amongst the former is the beautiful
Asjogam of the Hortus Malabaricus, vol. v. tab. 59,
which I think will make a very distinet new genus,
and have called it after the late Sir William Jones,
whose botanical knowledge well entitles his me-
mory to this mark of regard*: amongst his MSS.
was found a paper (70—80 pages in fol.), entitled
Botanical Observations on select Indian Plants,
which will be published in our next volume (the
Ath) of Asiatic Researches. Amongst them I found
a description of this lovely small tree: a copy of it
I send you along with my own description and
drawing, with the hopes of your giving one of them
an early place in one of your valuable publications.
I hope it will prove deserving of being so placed.
The drawings are very exact, though not elegant.
And may I further request of you to insert a better
panegyric on so great a character? He was a most
surprising man, and the complete gentleman.

You will have learned that the bark of Corchorus
olitorius and capsularts is equal to the best flax, a
fortunate discovery for India, and for our manufac-
turers at home. Do you find that it was ever used
by the ancients, or any other people, as a substitute
for flax? Rumphius just mentions this quality.
From time immemorial the Bengalese have known

* Of this genus, which was established by Dr. Roxburgh in
the Asiatic Researches, iv. p. 853, a singularly beautiful species,
the Jonesia Asoca, has lately been introduced into our gardens,
and was figured in a recent Number of the Botanical Magazine,

plate 3018.

41]

its value; yet they only employ it for cordage, twine,
and other such uses, holding the bark of Crotala-
ria juncea in higher repute, it being stronger and
more durable.

Your humble Servant,

W. RoxpurReGuH.

Professor Willdenow to J. E. Smith.

Condona, illustrissime vir, audaciam meam, quod
nomine tuo celeberrimo librum a me sub titulo
Phytographié editum inscripserim. Accipe hic li-
brum tenuem grato animo ; sed rigoroso haud sub-
jicias rogo scrutinio: sunt hec vegetabilia descripta
e collectione mea herbarum, que non tam dives
quam tua et aliorum botanicorum Anglie. $i ita-
que in descriptionibus meis hinc inde erraverim,
indicatio errorum a tua manu facta mihi erit grata.
Flagranti amore florum vegetabilia prosequor ; sed
Germania nostra paucas, tam in agro, quam in
hortis, alit plantas: hine commercium litterarium
et communicatio siccarum herbarum cum viro tam
illustri mihi accepta erit. Vale, itaque, vir cele-
berrime; meque favore tuo haud indignum habeas
oro rogoque.

Dabam Berolini, d. 27 Septembris, 1794.

Dr. Roxburgh to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Calcutta, Dec. 27, 1794.

I have this instant got a few seeds of my Jpomaa
grandiflora: it is Munda-valli of the Hort. Mala-

412

bar.; but certainly not Bona-noxr, or Gertner is
wrong. His plantis my Z. Bona-nox. You will find
both, drawn and described, in my sixth hundred ;
viz. No. 567. and 568.

With a good deal of address, and the help of
friends, I have been so fortunate as to procure living
plants of Sir William Jones’s Jatawansi, the real
Spikenard, which he concluded to be a Valerzan
from the imperfect description of it he received
from a friend; for he never saw the living plant.
I have had them a month: they as yet show only
a small lanced leaf or two. The names they were
sent under by the Deb Rajah of Bootan, are Jata-
wansit and Nampé or Nanpé. Garcias ab Horto’s
figure of the drug is excellent. In short, every cir-
cumstance corroborates Sir W. Jones’s plant to be
the real Spikenard of the ancients. You will soon
see, in the 4th volume of the Asiatic Researches,
what he further said on this subject, when he saw
Dr. Blane’s account of an Andropogon which Dr.
B. took for it. I am promised the living plants of
this dndropogon. It grows far north, on the skirts
of the mountains. It is a medicine of repute
amongst the people of these countries *.

But let me stop my pen.

W. RoxBureu.

* Subsequently to the very excellent paper upon this plant,
given by Sir William Jones in the Asiatic Researches, the plant
here referred to by Dr. Roxburgh flowered ; and, satisfied that
it was really a Valerian, he published it as such with a descrip-
tion and figure. Sir William Jones’s own paper, and that of
Dr. Roxburgh, have both been reprinted in Sir W. Jones’s Works,
ii. p. 9. Further and very curious observations on the Spike-

413

Major Velley to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Bath, Jan. 25, 1795.

I received yours, and am highly flattered by the
very favourable, and I fear partial, opinion which
you express of the work*; especially when you
condescend to say that you have read it with great
pleasure and advantage. Whatever difference of
opinion may subsist upon the meaning of the word
seeds, and which perhaps should be confined to
those plants only in which a sexual influence pre-
vails ; yet the term seems to have been appropri-
ated to the propagation of plants from the most
remote antiquity, and long before the discovery of
any sexual distinction in the vegetable world. Thus
in the Scriptural account :—

“Kat e€nveyKev n yn Borayny XOprov, O7TrELpov oTépua
Kata yévoc [Kat Kal? oporornra | .”—Lib. Gen. cap. ih
ver. 12. (The word ozeipov, by the by, is hardly
reducible to grammatical construction.)

The ancients, who formed their ideas from natu-
ral objects, probably borrowed the term from the
mode of propagation observable in plants; and by
analogy applied it to sexual generation in animals,
without knowing at the time, that the same princi-
ple existed in the former.

Although I had my scruples with respect to the
application of the term seeds, and for the same rea-

nard of the ancients, is given in the very learned Hierobotanicon
of Olaus Celsius, ii. p. 1., where the plant is, as by Sir G. Blane,
referred to the Grasses.

* Coloured Figures of Marine Plants of England, folio. 1795.

414

sons which you have assigned, yet I found myself
unavoidably compelled to make use of it; as both
Gmelin and Gertner (but more particularly the
last) have endeavoured to establish a material diffe-
rence in the propagation of marine plants. You
will readily perceive the force of my remark, from
the following passage in Gertner, p. 19 :—“ quod
non alia in Ceramiis, quam per solas gemmas locum
habeat propagationis ratio: dum contra in omni
genuino Fuco vera reperiantur semina utero car-
noso, a matris cortice ac medulla distinctissimo,
conclusa.”

And yet the same author maintains that these
very seeds are produced by a simple unassisted
power :—“ quod in Fucis genuiis....... Ipse
PERS icy. officia genitalium wtriusgue sexts,
prestet solus.”—Vide p. 33.

One of the great points which Geertner endea-
vours to establish, is, that the less perfect Fuci,
(1. e. complanatt), as well as the Conferve, have a
different and more simple mode of propagation than
the former; and that it is effected only by gemme.
He makes this distinction between the origin of
semen and gemma :—“‘Quod gemme medulla sit
pars zdentica medulla maternee, dum contra semznis
medulla... .. a matris sue distinctissima.”

I think I have evidently proved that the grains
in the Confervz are as much entitled to the appella-
tion of seeds, as those in the perfect Fuci: nay, more
so, because the medullary substance of the Conferva
corallinoides is a liquid, while the grains contained
in clusters at the joints are solid and opaque.

415

Gertner seems to have been a very superficial
observer of the Conferve, taking upon trust the
opinion of Adanson. If I had adopted the term
gemma, I should have perplexed the subject, and
at the same time seemed to accede to Gertner’s
theory. In short, as the expression had been used
by Linnzus, and in general by subsequent writers,
I thought it better to continue the same.

Whenever you may find the same objections
raised against the term seeds, I hope, for the reasons
assigned, that you will become my apologist.

I remain, dear Sir,
with sincere regard, &c.,
T. VELLEY.

Dh. Siachhoase.toc!.k- Staith

Dear Sir, Pendarves, Sept. 16, 1795.

I was much flattered by a letter from Mr. Wood-
ward, who informed me you approved of my work*.

As I described every plant from nature, and
bestowed every attention in my power, I had some
reason to hope it might be favourably received.
The little amicable controversy between the Major{
and myself has spurred me on to take a further
peep into the arcana of marine plants; and it is
with pleasure I can assure you that my pains have
already been amply rewarded.

I brought down with me a compound microscope

* Nereis Britannica, 2 fasc. folio 1795—1797.
+ Major Velley.

416

with ‘six different magnifying powers, and have
begun a course of observations on the fructification
of every species which has offered itself in fruit.
Instead of the semple process of Gertner, I find
nature more elaborate in her processes in proportion
to the minuteness of the operation. In the larger
Fuci (the £. vesiculosus, spiralis, nodosus, &c.) the
mucus, as I called it, in which the seeds are lodged,
appeared through high magnifiers to be a collection
of pellucid tubes, in some places seemingly divided
by septa. These tubes are curiously reticulated ;
and each species seems to have the form of the net-
work different. The seeds at first adhere to the
inside of the fruit in orbicular masses, but after-
wards are dispersed through the tubes. Though it
is asserted by Velley, in / veszculosus and F. ca-
naliculatus, that the seeds issue out of holes in the
tubercles of the fruit, yet I have reason to think
that is by no means general to all the species. In
some there are tubercles permanent on the surface :
in others the surface is smooth; and though the
thinnest slice of the outside has been taken off with
a fine instrument, yet no aperture has been discover-
able. The air-bladders likewise in F. veszculosus
and #. nodosus are by no means simple inflated ves-
sels. Lightfoot calls them hairy within ; but they
have a curious process: it consists of pellucid
strings stretched across, swelling at intervals into
oval beads; these strings are ramified, and dis-
tended in various irregular directions. All this is
discoverable by cutting out a slice from each side,
and looking through the cavity. Whether this

417

- process is to prepare any impregnating vapour, or,
more probably, to rarefy air for the purpose of in-
flation, I have not been able to discover. In the
old bladders little traces remain of it, when the
skin (as is the case in #. nodosus) acquires the thick-
ness of sole-leather. I find likewise the inside of
the pod of F. szlzquosus to consist of a curious
branched process, extending in all directions, and
not simple threads stretched across, as I had de-
scribed it, p. 9. I have likewise discovered the
fructification of /. digitatus and Polyschides to be
an imbedded oval bladder, and not asuperficial one,
as I had described it; covered with a tender pellicle.
I have not yet seen it in maturity. A fragment. of
F’. palmatus in fructification was thick set with
conical protuberances, perforated at the summits,
with the seeds imbedded in the internal substance.
This mode is very similar to that of F. vesiculosus,
&c., excepting that in the latter, nature has set
apart a fruit. The powers of my glasses go as far
as to discover the internal structure of Ulva umbz-
licalis, the thinnest and most membranaceous of
sea plants; and I have discovered small dark per-
forated granules, which are undoubtedly the seeds.
I shall take the liberty of inclosing two or three
new species or varieties of sea plants to add to your
collection ; and having drawn up a paper on the
Herniaria glabra, in which you will discover many
errors of the early writers rectified, and a descrip-
tion more at large than I have met with, I shall beg
the favour of you to present it to the Society.
I beg leave to subscribe myself, Yours, &c.

J. STACKHOUSE.
VOL. I. 2

418

Professor Blumenbach to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Goettingen, Dec. 25, 1795.

I return you my best thanks for the interesting
acquaintance of Dr. Duncan you were so kind to
procure me by your introductory letter. He spent
some months with us, and, as I hope, to his satis-
faction. I wish you would be tempted, dear Sir, to
a second tour on the continent, and particularly to
a trip to Goettingen, where I should think myself
very happy to return you, in any way, the civilities
you showed me during my abode in London.

You will receive here a letter of a friend of mine,
Mr. Persoon, from the Cape, a very estimable ac-
curate naturalist ; and I request your acceptance of
a pamphlet of mine I published lately.

A propos, you were kind enough to present me
with a curious enigmatical sea-animal of the class
of Vermes, out of your Linnean museum, which I
keep as a relic of a saint, as well as a token of your
kindness to me: a figure of it is given ina rather
indifferent book, Schréder’s Eznleztung in die Con-
chyhen-kenniniss, T. 11. tab. 6. fig. 21, and de-
scribed under the name of a magnified Sadella (?),
under which genus it is likewise put in the new edi-
tion ofthe 8S. VV. T. 1. p. vi. p. 3751.

I shall be happy to be of any use to you; and am,
with much regard,

Dear Sir, &c.

J. FREDERICK BLUMENBACH.

* * * *§ *

419

In 1802, His Majesty King George LII. granted
to the Linnean Society a Charter of Incorporation;
and in 1811 the late King, then Prince Regent, ho-
noured the Society in becoming its Patron.

It has been the custom from the time of its first
institution to celebrate the birth-day of Linnzus by
an annual dinner, when a large proportion of the
English members assemble on the 24th of May to
commemorate the event.

On the twentieth anniversary the President ad-
dressed the Society at their annual feast, in the
following words, which are here transcribed from a
MS. found among his papers. They have not be-
fore appeared in print.

“JT cannot take this chair for the twentieth time
of my being in so unanimous and flattering a man-
ner chosen to fill it, without saying a few words,
not merely to express my gratitude and attachment
to the Society, which I trust would be superfluous,
but to congratulate all its members, and particularly
those who with me have watched over its infant
growth, on the eminence it has now attained. I
have another motive for choosing the present oc-
casion for this purpose.

“This is the hundredth anniversary of the birth
of Linnzus ; and as we have chosen to commemo-
rate his birth-day by our general annual meeting,
the centenary revolution of it should certainly not
be passed over in silence.

“I cannot but compare the obscurity of his birth,
and the struggles of his youth, with those of our
infant Institution ; and the sanction and protection

2E2

420

which he received from his countrymen and rulers,
with what we have obtained from ours. Happy
will it be, if the utility of our labours should prove
to correspond with the benefits which he conferred
on the scientific world.

“ Our beginnings have been propitious; and I be-
lieve it will be found on comparison, that no lite-
rary institution ever produced more solid matter of
information within the same limits of time; and
this entirely by our own pecuniary, as well as scien-
tific efforts.

“Celebrated academies have generally been as-
sisted by royal stipends and ample funds; and their
members have often had collateral views of worldly
profit and promotion. We have been prompted by
a disinterested zeal for science alone.

“Tt is extremely pleasing to my recollection to
recall the day when the first idea of this Institution
presented itself to my mind,—which I immediately
communicated to my worthy friend, who was then
my near neighbour at Chelsea. The result of our
consultation was a conference with our much valued
friend, now Dean of Rochester. We soon laid the
plan of the rising Institution ; and with the assis-
tance of Sir Joseph Banks, and Mr. Dryander more
especially, modelled it in such a manner that scarcely
any alteration has since been found necessary.

“Tn my subsequent tour through Europe, I made
it my business to associate with us the most learned
foreigners ; and after my return, in the spring of
1788, the Linnean Society was founded.

“The honourable sanction we have received from

42]

Government five years since, is fresh in your me-
mory; and our publications are a better testimony
of our deserts than any that I could lay before you.
I trust we shall go on with equal zeal and increas-
ing honour and success.

“In whatever way I can be most useful to you,
Iam at your disposal, as are the treasures of our
great leader and instructor, which I hold only for
the use of my fellow-labourers in science.

“I regret my personal absence from you for
many reasons, but it is unavoidable; and I am an-
nually reminded that a permanent residence in town
would still less agree with my constitution than it
did formerly. Nevertheless I enjoy by that means
more leisure for my favourite pursuits, to which my
whole time is devoted; and my mind is always with
you. Allow me to conclude with my most ardent
wishes for the prosperity of the Linnean Society,
and that we may all long witness and promote it.”

At a period when the illustrious individual, in
whose honour the Linnean Society was founded, is
assailed on all sides, it will be interesting to know,
that, unmoved by the almost general defection, he,
who may be considered as his principal representa-
tive, still continued to advocate the principles of the
immortal Swedish naturalist ; and this unaltered ad-
herence Sir James expressed in his last introductory
lecture at the London Institution in 1825, as well as
in the concluding pages of his latest printed work, the
English Flora, where the author alludes to “prin-
ciples too little studied by the pursuers of super-

422

abundant discrimination, instead of philosophical
combinations.” “This,” he asserts, “is the bane of
natural science at the present day. Hence the filum
Ariadneum is lost, or wilfully thrown away, and a
bandage darkens the sight of the teacher no less
than that of the student.”

Yet Sir James cannot be said to stand alone and
unsupported in his opinion. “The question,” he
remarks, “of the natural or artificial character of
Jussieu’s system has been ably discussed by the
celebrated Mr. Roscoe in the Transactions of the
Linnean Society, vol. xi.p.50; who, in showing that
this method involves severalas unnaturalassemblages
as the professedly artificial system of Linnzus,
contends that little is to be gained by its adoption
with respect to a conformity to nature.” And in
the fifteenth volume of the Society’s Transactions,
Mr. Bicheno, in a paper on Systems and Methods
in Natural History, observes, “that the two great
masters of botanical science (Linnzus and Jussieu)
propose different ends, and ought not to be regarded
as rivals. Division and separation are the ends of
the artificial system ; to establish agreements, is the
end of the natural.”

Following the same idea, the Rev. E. B. Ramsay,
in a biographical notice of his lamented friend,
printed in the Edinburgh Journal of Science, ob-
serves, that “there is no point on which young
botanists are more mistaken than in their ideas of
natural classification. They often imagine they have
only to commence the study of natural arrangements,
and become at once profound philosophical bota-

423

nists. This is one of the signs of the times ; a de-
sire to grasp at general results and conclusions
without a previous study in detail. The error in
this case is putting the natural and artificial me-
thods in opposition to each other; whereas it ap-
pears to be the object of the artificial system to
collect materials to form a natural one. But it has
been of late spoken of rather as something quite
superseded, as something to give way to a new and
a nobler structure, built upon a foundation entirely
different.”

Sir James moreover informs us, that “the illus-
trious Frenchman, Bernard de Jussieu, the early and
confidential friend of Linnzeus, conceived a philoso-
phical idea of natural orders of plants, and conferred
on the subject with the on/y man whom he found
capable of appreciating or understanding them.” In
his letters to Linnzus* he even gives him the ho-
nour of having fist formed a scheme of natural
orders of plants; but it seems as if the science of
botany were no sooner destined to emerge from
obscurity and confusion by a just perception on

* Bernard de Jussieu writes to Linnzeus, 15th Feb. 1742: “I
learn with the sincerest pleasure of your being appointed Pro-
fessor of Botany at Upsal. You may now devote yourself entirely
to the service of Flora, and lay open more completely the path you
have pointed out, so as at length to bring to perfection a natural
method of classification, which is what all lovers of botany wish
and expect.”

“In the face of this testimony,” observes Sir James Smith, “ we
trust it will hardly be asserted in future, that Linnzeus owed his
ideas of natural orders to the excellent writer of the above letter.”
—WNelection of the Correspondence of Linneus, vol. ii. p. 212.

424

these various subjects, than it becomes in danger of
plunging again into darkness by a neglect of them.
The natural principles of arrangement for a scien-
tific knowledge of plants and a permanent discrimi-
nation of their families and species, have been no
sooner distinguished (at the suggestion of Linnzus)
from an artificial scheme for their convenient inves-
tigation, than those different objects are confounded.
“ Linneus read lectures on the natural orders of
plants to his mest assiduous and accomplished
pupils only. To begin to teach botany by these
orders would be like putting Harris’s Hermes into
the hand of an infant, instead of his horn-book.”

At De “(eh
a

yy abet ‘
sn sl

—T,

<< 4 >
D4 foTain o

a Sewer? G, See

roe ee oaks |

hy ties

tes

Pn a

Ae ‘

Ps MN Klass ory,

425

CHAPTER V.

Enumeration of the Works of Sir J. E. Smith. 1. Reflexions on
the Study of Nature.—2. Dissertation on the Sexes of Plants.—
3. Thesis de Generatione.—4. Reliquie Rudbeckiane.—5. Plan-
tarum Icones.—6. Icones Picte.—7. English Botany.—8. Spi-
cilegium Botanicum.—9. Flora Lapponica.—10. Botany of
New Holland.—11. Tour on the Continent.—12. Syllabus.—
13. Insects of Georgia.—14. Tracts.—15. Flora Britannica.—
16. Compendium Flore Britannice.—17. Flora Greca.—
18. Prodromus Flore Grece.—19,. Exotic Botany.—20. In-
troduction to Botany.—21. Articles in Rees’s Cyclopedia.—
22. Tour to Hafod.—23. Lachesis Lapponica.—24. Articles in
Trans. of Linn. Soc.—25. Review of Modern State of Botany.—
26. Grammar of Botany.—27. Linnean Correspondence.—
28. English Flora.

1. In the year 1785, previously to his tour on
the Continent, Sir James Smith made his first ap-
pearance as an author in publishing Reflexions on
the Study of Nature, which he translated from the
Latin. Itis the Preface to the Museum Regis Adol-
phi Frederict of Linneus ; a work containing de-
scriptions of the various natural productions of the
museum of the King of Sweden, printed in 1754 at
His Majesty’s expense.

In speaking of this most superb and expensive
of all Linnzus’s works, “one fact,” he observes,
“may be learnt from it,—that the study of nature
does not necessarily tend to make a man irreligious,
‘as some weak people have been led to believe. A

426

number of illustrious examples might be produced
to the contrary; none more eminent than the ex-
cellent author of this work.” |

2. In the following year Sir James published
A Dissertation on the Sexes of Plants, translated
also from the Latin of Linneus; which he inscribed
as a token of respect to Dr. John Hope, Professor
of Botany in the University of Edinburgh.

Of both these works an edition was printed at
Dublin in 1786.

3. Disputatio Inauguralis quedam de Genera-
tione complectens.—The Thesis which entitled him
to the degree of M.D. at Leyden, 1786.

It is dedicated to Robert Batty, M.D.

4. Reliquie Rudbeckiane.—The President’s next
literary work was the republication of the wooden
blocks of Rudbeck, in 1789.

In his introductory discourse, Sir James informs
us, that “at Upsal, under the auspices of the great
Rudbeck, was laid the foundation of what Mr. Stil-
lingfleet has justly called an unrivalled school of
natural history, and which was destined afterwards
to give laws to the rest of the world. Rarely has
such a variety of profound and extensive learning
been united as in Rudbeck. In antiquities, espe-
cially those of the northern nations, and in the
learned languages, his knowledge was unbounded.
In botany he had erected to himself what might
reasonably have been thought a ‘monumentum ere
perennius’, in one of the greatest undertakings of
the kind, a collection of fine wooden cuts of all the
plants then known. They were to have been ar-

427

ranged and named according to Bauhin’s Pinaz, in
twelve large volumes folio. But two volumes were
scarcely printed, when in 1702 a dreadful fire re-
duced almost all Upsal to ashes, and with it the
work of Rudbeck, and many thousand wooden
blocks, already cut, besides almost all the materials
of a history of Lapland composed by his son.”

All that remains of this work are a few copies of
the second volume, and three only of the first, one
of which is in the Sherardian library at Oxford.
Linnzus was possessed of about 120 of the wooden
blocks of this first volume, as well as eight or ten
unpublished blocks belonging to some intended
one, all which with. his collections came into Sir
James’s hands.

The republication of this fragment of Rudbeck’s
great work was atribute of respect to his profound
and varied learning.

It is dedicated to Johannes Gustavus Acrel, Pro-
fessor of Medicine at Upsal.

5. Plantarum Icones hactenus Inedite, preci-
pue ex Herbario Linneano.—The first fasciculus,
folio, was published in 1789. It extended but to
three numbers. The first was dedicated to Sir Jo-
seph Banks, Bart. The second to M. P. Auguste
Broussonet, M.D. The third to the Marquis Ippo-
lito Durazzo.

6. Icones Picte Plantarum Rariorum; or Co-
loured Figures of Rare Plants.—(This also reached
but to three numbers,)—1790. It was dedicated to
the Marchioness of Rockingham, which produced
the following obliging letter from that lady.

428

Lhe Marchioness of Rockingham to J. E. Smith.

August 28, 1790.

I must interrupt your agreeable studies for one
moment, just to thank you for the letter you wrote
me before you set out for Yorkshire. I ought not,
even ina dream, to have had the faintest apprehen-
sion of Dr. Smith’s ever writing a satire. His ele-
gant and concise Dedication has relieved my foolish
fancies; but if a certain Lady's name, and the
word botany, had appeared in the same page, he
will allow that it would have been a complete one.
I dare not dispute with a Dr. Goodenough, other-
wise, as it is in the form of the address of a letter,
I should have supposed that Most Honourable was
dignified enough; and that the Moble Duchesses
might think his decision rather an infringement of
their rights: if so, I hope my neighbour Duchess *
will make him stoop, if that is possible, to ask pardon.

I ought to be ashamed that I have noi before
acknowledged your being so good as to add to my
library the engravings of Rudbeck.

Mr. Lee brought me a plant he calls the Red
Palm,—dquite a new thing, and, to my taste, remark-
ably elegant. I shall long to hear what beautiful
plants are flourishing and flowering where you are.
My largest Portlandia is beginning again ; four flow-
ers in a cluster upon almost every branch, and there
is also a fine fruit upon it; at the same time it is
in such health, that one grieves to unload it of any

* Duchess of Portland.

429

of its buds, though some people reckon that right.
I cannot but hope you will take a look at Went-
worth as you pass by; and if so, do observe what
Amaryllises there are there ; and Henderson will
tell you about the arrival of the Luphorbia Walle-
nia, and all about it. I also wish vastly to know
whether a prodigious large Palm is there, which
came from Gordon’s, and was called the true Sago
Palm ; and pray tell Henderson that I should rejoice
if he could find time to be spared to make me a
visit. But I am quite‘ashamed to be so trouble-
some to you with all my little nonsenses.

I will only add my compliments ; and conclude,

Dear Sir,
Your very sincere
M. RockineHam.

7. English Botany.—It was in 1790 that Sir
James undertook to write a Flora of his native
country, under the title of English Botany, to which
his name did not appear as the author, till he pub-
licly acknowledged it in a Preface to the fourth
volume, in 1795 ; wherein he observes, “ I have to
answer for every word in this publication, except
the letter-press toplates 16, 17 &18, which were fur-
nished by another friend of the editor. No pains
were taken to conceal the real author; nor was I
aware that the truth, after a little time, was not ge-
nerally known, till a criticism appeared in the Gen-
_ tleman’s Magazine for February 1793 ; in answer to
which, in that for April following, it became neces-
sary to own the work as entirely mine.”

430

The public has from its commencement ac-
knowledged the excellence of the figures which
illustrate this work, by the pencil of the late Mr.
Sowerby.

The plates amount to 2592. “ And it is but just,”
observes its author, “to the memory of the worthy
and lamented artist, to say that they are, on the
whole, the most expressive and accurate of their
kind. In the account of each species, besides cor-
rected characters, synonyms, and descriptions, I
have frequently introduced whatever might recom-
mend the study of plants, diffuse a charm over the
more dry and technical parts of the subject, improve
our scientific language, or direct the contemplative
mind to more important and exalted views of its
Creator's Works.”

The English Botany, from which the Pungi*
only are excluded, “has the singular merit of being
the only national Flora which has given a figure
and description of every species native to the coun-
try whose productions it professes to investigate.”

It was brought to a termination in 1814, and
consists of thirty-six octavo volumes.

For the motto to the first three volumes, Sir
James chose the following quotation from Virgil :

** Quos ipsa volentia rura
Sponte tulere sua.”

The remainder of the work, with the exception
of the last volume, has this :
“‘ Viresque acquirit eundo.”

* These having been published by Mr. Sowerby in a separate
work, in three vols. folio.

431

The concluding volume has this line:
“ Longarum hee meta viarum.”

Throughout the whole progress of this work, its
author had not merely the ablest, he had the most
friendly assistance ; and it was one of the happy
circumstances attached to a labour which was itself
a pleasure, that it brought him the acquaintance of
many amiable and accomplished characters whom
he might otherwise never have known.

The subjoined letters will convey an idea of the
zeal and delight with which persons of similar pur-
suits assist each other, and accord together; and
as Sir James observes in the Preface to his Tour,
long before he had much experience of the fact,
“It brings those together who are connected by a
most commendable, disinterested, and delightful
tie,’—if indeed that may be termed “ disinterested ”
which affords one of the purest, most engaging
occupations in which a person possessing leisure
and opportunity can fill up his vacant hours.

The amiable correspondent whose communica-
tion first appears, bequeathed to Sir James in 1805
his whole collection of dried plants. His executor
Prof. Dugald Stewart, in a letter to Sir James, says
that “ Mr. Bruce died in the 80th year of his age,
respected and beloved by all who knew him. His
life was singularly blameless and tranquil. I avail
myself,” he adds, “with much pleasure, of this op-
portunity to express iy high ree for your cha-
racter and learning.”

432

Mr. Arthur Bruce to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Edinburgh, Dec. 2, 1792.

Convallaria verticillata*, I beg leave to men-
tion, is a true native from the den Rechip, a deep,
wooded gully from the hills in the Stormont, Perth-
shire, about four miles north-east from Dunkeld.
On the 7th of July the flowers were beginning to
fade. Except the Convallaria verticillata, I cannot
inform you of any acquisitions entirely new, not-
withstanding in the course of last summer there
have been discovered, not far from this city, some of
our very rare Scots plants, hitherto unnoticed, par-
ticularly, Astragalus uralensis, North-ferry hills ;
Orobus sylvaticus, Bread-hill, near Edinburgh ;
Anagallis tenella, Hunter's bog, Arthur's seat ; and
about two years since, I found 7rientahs europea
only six miles north from the ferry. All these
things taken together strongly justify your ex-
pectation of the Linnea borealis being hereafter
found a native also in N. Britain f.

I am happy to inform you that the Natural Hi-
story Society still continues to flourish. At pre-
sent, and for some time past, chemical pursuits

* Narrow-leaved Solomon’s Seal—Fngl. Bot. fig. 128.

+ This beautiful plant was discovered in 1795 by Professor
James Beattie, jun., of Aberdeen, in an old fir wood, at Englis-
maldie. ‘ Linnzeus,” Sir James Smith tells us in the seventh vo-
lume of Eng]. Bot., “has traced a pretty fanciful analogy between
his own early fate, and this ‘little northern plant, long over-
looked, depressed, abject, flowering early, —and we may now
add, more honoured in its name than any other.”

433
have very much engrossed the attention of medical
gentlemen at this University.
I am, with the highest respect,
| Sir, your most obliged, &c.
ARTHUR BRUCE.

The Rev. H. Davies to J. E.. Smith.

Aber, near Bangor, N. Wales,
Dear Sir, March 4, 1793.

Be pleased to accept my many thanks for your
kind attention to my letter and packets. I am truly
sorry I cannot supply you with a specimen of 4n-
thericum serotinum: I have not a perfect one myself.
I shall be much gratified to see your genera of
ferns: there are certainly some British species
likewise of that family that want ascertaining.

I was observing to a friend very lately, that I
discovered traits of a very masterly hand in Sow-
erby’s English Botany ; but I confess I did not know
where to look for the author: I thank you for that
information. I wish to know the plan more parti-
cularly. Is itto comprehend all English plants, or
only the rarer ones, or such as are not already well
figured? Is it intended to take in Cryptogamous
plants? I have certainly several new ones of that
class, and much at your service. Mr. Sowerby’s
excellence in figuring these genera, among others,
is conspicuous in Dickson’s Fasezculz.

To your query, whether plants could be sent to
London fresh so as to be drawn, I answer, I suppose

VOL. I. 2F

434

they might: when I get among them, the experi-
ment will not be expensive. I wish to know what
species you are most desirous of, besides that one
already mentioned. The latter expedient which
you mention, I should prefer; I mean, having them
sketched on the spot, and sent with dried speci-
mens ; but that, I fear, is impracticable, as Mr. Pen-
nant’s draughtsman lives between fifty and sixty
miles from the scene of action.

I beg, Sir, you will be assured, that I shall think
no commission of yours a trouble, but shall be
happy to promote so elegant and desirable a work
as the English Botany, or any other that you in-
terest yourself in.

I lately left Mr. Pennant in good health. I am
much affected at your account of Mr. Hudson and
Mr. Zier.

Iam, dear Sir, with great esteem and regard,

Your much obliged,
Hueu Davies.

Marquis of Blandford to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Bill Hill, Aug. 9, 1798.

I have been spending the last fortnight at Ly-
mington, and did not lose the opportunity of
searching for some of the rarer English maritime
plants, as well as those that prefer a boggy soil.
The principal plants I collected were, Lnula crith-
moides, salt marshes near Lymington ; Chironia
pulchella (vide Engl. Bot.), on a dry sea-beach near

435

Milford ; Chironia Centaurium floribus candidissi-
mis, On a dry pasture near the sea; Anthemis
maritima, salt marshes, plenty ; Beta maritima,
Santolina maritima, -Cheiranthus sinuatus, Salsola
Kali, on Brownsea Island, belonging to Mr. Sturt,
near Poole; Pinguicula Lusitanica (villosa), bogs
in the New Forest. I likewise found a Schenus,
which I take to be dongus.—lI have just had notice
of between 200 and 300 plants having left Jamaica
from Dr. Dancer; a great many new genera. I shall
be very happy to show them to you, as well as all
my others, when I am settled at White Knights. I
believe the Pulmonaria maritima and Convolvulus
Soldanella grow on your coast: I should be very
thankful if you could procure me some strong
living plants of them, and be so good as to order
them to be sent to Marlborough House.

I remain, dear Sir,
Your faithful, humble Servant,
BLANDFORD.

Rev. Thomas Buti to J. E. Smith.

My dear Sir, Upper Areley, Jan. 22, 1799.

I feel much obliged by the notice you have taken
of my request concerning the dnchusa officinalis,
and the trouble you have given yourself respecting
it. In conformity to your wishes I immediately
rode to the spot where I had found it, that by a
second examination I might with more certainty

determine its claim as an indigenous plant. I am
2F2

436

now perfectly satisfied that it is no garden outcast.
It is insulated in the sands of Hartley Links; nor
have I found any specimen near the village. The
kitchen-garden of Lord Delaval is at no great
distance. He is no collector of plants; and this
flower is rarely met with (at least by me), except
in collections: there are no traces of garden rub-
bish about. It has been observed to me, that it
might have been brought in the ballast of ships;
as Hartley now and then sends vessels to Copen-
hagen, though nearly the whole of its trade is in
coals to London. I took a person with me who
was well acquainted with the port; and, when I
pointed out the spot, he assured me that ships mever
emptied their ballast there, but always on the artifi-
cial mound, which has been in this manner raised
close to the harbour. I examined this mound in
the summer with some accuracy, and found several
plants on it which I had not elsewhere observed in
Northumberland,— Pastinaca sativa, Anethum fe-
niculum, &c., but not one plant of dnuchusa. The
spot where the latter grows lies two hundred yards
north of this mound. It is not of great extent ; but
the plant flourishes there very well. I have not
observed it inany other place ; but I have not closely
examined that part of the coast. I will not take
upon me to decide this question ; but I thought it
proper to state the objection to you. My opinion
might perhaps be construed into a wish of acquir-
ing the honour of discovering an indigenous plant
not before observed: I will only remark that, as
Northumberland and Denmark lie under the same

437

parallel of latitude, there is nothing extraordinary
if the same plant proves indigenous in both coun-
tries.

My Lord Valentia desires me to present his best
compliments. He hopes soon to meet you in
London.

Believe me, my dear Sir,

Most sincerely yours,
Tuomas Burr.

Rev. Thomas Butt to J. E. Smith.

My dear Sir, Upper Areley, Dec. 17, 1799.

I feel myself highly honoured by the mention
made of me in a late number of English Botany,
and am particularly pleased that my name should
appear in a work, which, without any pretensions to
inspiration, I may venture to predict will always
retain its present celebrity. I am not, however,
without some uneasiness, unsupported as I am by
any botanist of established fame, lest I should erro-
neously have judged Anchusa officinalis indigenous.

‘With the same diffidence I shall now accurately
describe to you the situation of another plant,
which I met with this summer in my wanderings
through Wyre Forest. I have little doubt of its
being Gnaphalium margaritaceum*, of which Wi-
thering gives no hadetat since the time of Ray.

* This conjecture on the part of Mr. Butt proved quite cor-
rect; and the plant was figured in English Botany ten years after,
from specimens sent from the spot here described.

438

In the heart of .the forest is a spot of cleared
ground, which constitutes a small farm: a cottage
is erected on it. About a quarter of a mile (two
fields breadth) distant from it I met with the plant,
growing by the side of a running ditch, and cover-
ing several square yards of ground. The spot did
not lie below the cottage ; nor could I find an ap-
pearance of any habitation having ever existed near
the course of the little stream. I traced it to its
source in the bogs of the adjoining forest, and
downwards to its union with Dowles’ Brook, but.
could find no more specimens of the plant. Ifyou
agree with me in believing it really wild, it will be
easy for me to send you fresh plants next summer,
though I cannot discover that they differ from the
garden ones. If ever you have leisure in any fu-
ture visit to Oxford, I much wish you would visit
Elsfield Wood, and ascertain what probabilities
there are for considering Lonicera Caprifolium as
wild there: I think they rest on as firm founda-
tion as any other plant with a single Aabetat. Dr.
Randolf, the present Bishop of Oxford, showed
_ great botanical ignorance, in affirming that it was
only a variety of the common Honeysuckle, since
no two plants have their distinct characters more
strongly marked.

Iwill, as usual, subjoin a list of what rarer
plants I have found this year. Osmunda lunaria, on
a hill above Cheadle, Staffordshire. Vaceinium Vitis
Idea, very abundant in Cotten Woods, near Chea-
dle. A very small specimen of a fern, in the ca-
vity of a rock below Renard’s Cave in Dovedale,

439

which I believe to be Adiantum Capillus Veneris.
I was assured by a botanical gentleman of Cheadle,
whose name I have forgot, that it did grow there.
Cynoglossum omphalodes grows on a rock planted
with trees on the left hand of the road from Blore
to Ilam, close to Ilam grounds: I suppose it to be
naturalized. The gardener, who has lived there
many years, assured me that in his remembrance
no flowers had ever been planted there. This visit
to Cheadle I made in the month of May. Unfortu-
nately the weather was bad, and the season back-
ward; otherwise I might have been more success-
ful in botany, as the country appeared promising.
Erodium maritimum is by no means unfrequent
about Areley: the Morfe in particular, at Bridg-
north, produces it abundantly. Carex curta grows
in a pit near the High Trees, a farm-house between
Areley and Enville. tropa Belladonna, by a road-
side near Mr. Child’s of Kinlet. Iéeris nudicaulis,
frequent on the Morfe and Hartlebury Common.
Polypodium Oreopteris, on Hartlebury Common
and the N. W. side of Aberley Hill. Carex strigosa,
in Clifton Woods on the river Team. JLnula Hele-
nium,about half a mile from Areley, but near a farm-
house. Serapias ensifolia, a single plant, under-
neath the Pyrus domestica. This famous tree is in
a very unhealthy state, in part owing to a large oak
which overshadows it. I am almost inclined to adopt
an opinion which I have heard respecting it,—that
there once was a garden on the spot; for though
there are no certain vestiges of it, I am much puz-
zled by finding Ligustrum vulgare growing there,

440

which as yet I have not found in any other part
of the forest, nor indeed anywhere near Areley. A
Pyrola grows in the forest, which differs from
Pyrola minor in having a longer bent pistillum.
Qu. P. rotundifolia ? Scirpus fluitans, ma ditch on
Hartlebury Common near Stourport. Campanula
hederacea and Viola palustris, on Hartlebury Com-
mon, found by J. M. Butt. Genteana campestris,
in Wyre Forest.

Mr. Moseley of Glasshampton, the gentleman
who sent you Serapias ensifola, is a skilful and
most assiduous botanist. He has been fortunate
in discovering rare plants in his neighbourhood,
and would, I am sure, feel happy in communicating
them to you. He showedme Sv/ene Anghca, Typha
angustifolia, Stellaria Nemorum, Campanula lati-
folia, and a species of Mentha, in a short walk
which I took with him near his house. We have
at Areley a common Galium, which differs from
Mollugo, in having the serratures of the leaves di-
rected towards the point, and from erectum in havy-
ing a smooth and shining stem; but in a walk to
Whitley, which lies in a limestone country, I found
that the same Galium (to all appearance) had a hairy
stem. I found also a variety of Galwm verum,
with flowers of a paler yellow and a loftier stem.
When I first saw it growing with G. verum, its
habit appeared so distinct, that I set it down for a
different species; but, on examination, I could not
find a specific difference.

You will, I am sure, excuse me for being thus par-
ticular about trifles, because you know that my sole

441

intention is to be useful to you in the great work
in which you are now engaged*. If any part of
this detail answers that end, it will afford me the
highest gratification.
Believe me, dear Sir,
Most sincerely yours,
Tuomas Butr.

Professor James Beattie} to J. EL. Smith.

Dear Sir, Aberdeen, June 12, 1800.

Accept of my warmest acknowledgements for
your attention to my last communications and con-
descension in answering my impertinent queries.
Iam happy that the packet was found to contain
some new plants, and that they came so seasonably.
—The Carices, which you have pronounced new,
were long thorns in my path. Often did I give
them up; but when they again occurred, a new in-
vestigation was the consequence, and as fruitless as
the former. My doubts and difficulties are now
dispelled; and the genus Carex, from being the
most obscure in the system, is now that with which
I am best acquainted. I only hesitate a little as to
the proper character of C. Micheliana. The cir-
cumstance of the female spikes being crowned with
males is a striking one; but I question its con-
stancy. I have many specimens gathered on the
same spot, and (as I suppose) of the same species,

* Flora Britannica,
+ Author of The Minstrel and The Hermit.

442

in which this characteristic is wanting. When that
is the case, I am at a loss for a distinction between
it and C. recurva. Hence I was led formerly to
consider them as varieties, which will account for
their being huddled together in my packet. Iam
carefully watching the progress of this and the other
plants of which you wish for specimens, and in a
very little time shall send them as directed. I lately
found Mercurialis perennis with male and female
flowers (moneecious). I have this season found
the Carex incurva in a new situation, in the Links *
of Aberdeen, in a wet spongy soil, half a mile from
the sea. I have traced its progress :—first it puts
forth a simple spike; some time after, this spike
unfolds itself, and the spicule become distinct.
These terminate always in male flowers. As the
capsules swell, the compound spike, from being
oval, becomes conical, which is a necessary conse-
quence of the upper florets being barren. The epi-
thet zzcurva is in general very applicable, insomuch
that the spike is often buried in the grass. Some
specimens are more upright ; but the curvature is
always observable immediately below the spike. I
shall send you specimens in all the stages of
growth. I may here subjoin the places of growth
of the other Carices. C. Michelhiana, low marshy
ground in Mearns or Kincardineshire, also in wet
gullies in the Heughs (cliffs of St. Cyrus, ditto).
C. binervis, moorish ground, frequently in Aber-
deenshire. C. /evigata, frequent in shady wet situ-

* A common below the town.

443

ations in Mearns and Aberdeenshire. C. Davalli-
ana, on a moor two miles west of Aberdeen, along
with C. denervis, C.fulva, one of the most com-
mon species of the genus, in upland pastures in
Mearns and Aberdeenshire. I do not recollect if I
took notice in my last of a mistake respecting the
place of Linnea borealis (Engl. Bot.); for “at
Mearns,” it should have been “old fir woods at
Englismaldie (seat of Lord Kintore), on the borders
of Mearns or Kincardineshire.” Have you decided
on the Polypodium which I had called rhetecum ?
It grows in the Den of Fullerton, Angus or Forfar-
shire, two miles from Montrose.

I have lately received the very agreeable infor-
mation, from Colonel Brodie, that part of the Mora
Britannica is published. Wishing it success,

I remain, Sir,
Your much obliged, &c.

Jas. BEATTIE.

8. Spicilegium Botanicum,or Gleanings of Botany.
2 fasc., folio: 1791. Dedicated to Lady Amelia
Hume.

To Dr. W. Wade of Dublin the author was in-
debted for the following commendation of these
early efforts :

“ Sir,—Though I have not the honour and satis-
faction of being personally acquainted with you, per-
mit me to introduce myself by correspondence.

“Your different valuable publications I have taken
in, and peruse with much pleasure and admiration,

444

particularly your Jcones Picte and Spicilegium.
They are certainly without flattery the most superb
botanical publications I ever saw.

“ Your introductory paper, or rather admirable
epitome of the history of natural science, in the
Linnean Transactions, charms me.

“T am delighted with all your various publications,
‘from the hyssop on the wall to the cedar of Le-
banon: i.e. from your Dissertation on the Sexes
of Plants to your Icones Picte.”

9. Caroli Linnai Flora Lapponica, Editio altera
studio et curd Jacobi Edvardi Smith. Illustrissime
Soctetati Regie Scientiarum Upsaliensi, olim Suecia
appellate, novam hance Editionem obsequio quo par
est DDD J. E. Smith.

In a letter addressed to Mr. Woodward in 1791,
Sir James informs him that “ Flora Lapponica is at
last gone to the press;” and adds “ Do not think me
too vain if I say it will be the most correct edition
that ever appeared of any of Linneus’s works, his
own Stockholm ones not excepted. The list of au-
thors quoted will be infinitely more complete and cor-
rect; and as tosynonyms,I have examined every one,
judged of it as well as I was capable, and corrected
the typographical errors, which are, innumerable in
the first edition. I add fifty-five new species to the
Flora.”

10. 4 Specimen of the Botany of New Holland.
Dedicated to Thomas Wilson, Esq., F.L.S. 1793.
This work was published in numbers, of a quarto

445

size, corresponding with Dr. Shaw’s Zoology of
New Holland; the works were intended to accom-
pany each other :—no more than sixteen plates of
either ever appeared.

11. Sketch of a Tour on the Continent in the
Years 1786 and 1787. Dedicated to his fellow-tra-
veller, William Younge, M.D. F.L.S., 3 vols. 8vo,
published in 1793.

A second edition appeared in 1807. This Tour
was translated into the French, Italian, and German
languages. :

From his friends Dr. Goodenough and James Al-
derson, M.D., of Norwich, the author received the
following commendations :

My dear Sir,—By your inquiry after my opinion
of your Travels, I conclude my letter to you, which
I got franked from Bulstrode the first week in
January, has miscarried. I said a great deal upon
the subject, to thank you for the great entertain-
ment I have had in reading them: you show such
multifarious reading that you quite surprise me.
In one part, I thought I saw a passage, or rather
a page or two, which I took to be in Dr. Kippis’s
style. I like to read on both sides of a question.
No good cause is hurt by discussion.—Believe me
your most affectionate and sincere friend,

SAMUEL GOODENOUGH.

Dear Sir,—I have this moment finished your

Travels, and am extremely obliged to you for the
pleasure you have afforded me. At the same time

4416

I cannot help saying that the simile of the Pope,
when alarmed, going to the Castle of St. Angelo,
equals, in my opinion, any thing to be found in my
favourite Hudibras.—J. A.

12. Syllabus of a Course of Lectures on Botany.
1795.

13. Natural Mistory of the rarer Lepidopterous
Insects of Georgia, from the Observations of John
Abbot. Two vols. folio, published in 1797, and
dedicated to Miss Johnes of Hafod.

The following letter from Mr. Jones relates to
this work :

Mr. W. Jones to J. EF. Smith.

Dear Sir, Chelsea, 9th Sept. 1797.

Had you ere this pronounced the sentence of in-
gratitude upon me, the world in general would have
justified you, appearances are so very greatly against
me, for not giving you thanks for your magnificent
present before; but the truth is I was not in pos-
session of it till this morning. I went to the book-
seller’s no less than three times before I could get
it; and even today I believe I should have been sent
off without it, if I had not showed myself greatly
dissatisfied. I took it under my arm, but soon found
it sufficiently weighty. Did you ever see a carica-
ture of a three-pounder going up Hampstead Hill
to dinner ?>—a man oppressed with his own weight,
yet surmounting all difficulties that he might enjoy
the pleasures of the table. So I laboured abundantly

447

with my load, in expectation of high gratification
from the contents when I should; get home,—and
truly I was not disappointed; but I disclaim all
merit, unless you maintain that such is due to every
one that stands sponsor to a child, if such child
should turn out a worthy member of society. No,
Sir, the merit is yours ; the demerit attaches to the
engraver and colourer, for there are some faults ;
but upon the whole it has the three great requisites
to a modern publication,—good letter, good paper,
and showy plates.

I find myself very much gratified, as well for the
present, as for the genteel manner you notice me
therein, and for which I return you my most grate-
ful acknowledgements.

I am in possession of a pair of Papilio Lathonia.
Until the last time I examined your cabinet at
Hammersmith I was unable to distinguish between
Phalena, Padellaand Euonymella: I there saw evi-
dently the distinctions, and concluded, from the ex-
perience I then had, that Kwonymella was not Eng-
lish ; but this year Mr. Haworth has taken it, and
another person has taken one also. Ray described
it. You are certainly wrong in naming the fly 4r-
giolus, Tab. 15. I have both male and female
among my drawings without a name. -drgiolus is
certainly different.

Dear Sir,

Your most obliged,

WILLIAM JONES.

14.—Tracts relating to Natural History.—In

448

1798 Sir James republished Reflexions on the
Study of Nature, which was then out of print, to-
gether with the following essays, reviews, and de-
scriptions, collected together in one octavo volume,
which he dedicated to his valued friend, James
Crowe, Esq., of Lakenham, under the above title.

Discourse on the Rise and Progress of Natural
History.

Observations on the Irritability of Vegetables.

Review of Mr. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine.

Review of Berkenhout’s Synopsis.

Review of An Easy Introduction to Drawing.

Review of a Dutch edition of Systema Nature.

An Essay on the Genus of Dorsiferous Ferns.

Description of a new Genus of Plants called
Sprengelia.

Description of a new Genus of Plants called
Westringia.

Description of a new Genus of Plants called
Boronia.

Mr. Pennant to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Downing, Sept. 6, 1798.

I waited only for a frank, that you might receive
gratuitously my thanks for your acceptable present
of Tracts relating to Natural History: they giveme
great pleasure, especially your account of my favour-
iteGesner. Did you know that he died of theplague?
When he was attacked, he collected his papers or
works, fell to correcting, and died in the employ.
I—but how dare I put my name in level with so

449

great a man !—am doing the same, with my anasarca
hanging upon me; but let me not alarm you. After
being much weakened by the rough medicines ne-
cessary to expel the foe, I am much better, but left
very weak,—the effects of fox-glove, a medicine not
to be depreciated, for I may praise its efficacy. I
have much reason to be content, at the age of 73.
Why should I repine? a painless invalid in posses-
sion of my mental faculties! Every good wish at-
tend you! May you live long a useful member of
society, is the sincere wish of,

Dear Sir,
Your affectionate Friend,
Tuomas PENNANT.

Have you any friend who could give you an ac-
count of the colours used in the Hindostan paint-
ings, if any are chemical ?

15. Flora Britannica.—The acquisition of the
Linnean Herbarium soon discovered to the bota-
nists of England, that many of our native plants had
been mistaken, and that the nomenclature of our
whole Flora stood in need of revision. Hence Sir
James was led in 1794 to undertake a Latin Flora
Britannica, which was completed in three volumes
in 1804. This work the author dedicated to Sir
Joseph Banks, Bart.

It was reprinted word for word by Dr. Rémer at
Zurich. “It is remarkable,” says the writer of Sir
James’s obituary in the Philosophical Magazine,
‘like all his other labours, for accuracy in observing,
accuracy in recording, and unusual accuracy in print-

VOL. I. 2G

450

ing: being written in the Latin language, the infor-
mation is condensed into a small compass, while it
has therare advantage of having had every synonym
compared with the original author.”

Davies Giddy, Esq. to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, June, 18, 1799.
Iam extremely happy to learn that you are about
to finish the work of my late friend Doctor Sib-
thorp. One need not hesitate in declaring the
materials worthy of your attention. Some ancient
Greek, unacquainted with the sexual system, has
long since observed, ra avOn ravta Epwroc epya’ ta
uta tavta Tovrov Tompara. It gives me little less
satisfaction to find that your flora Britannica is
in such forwardness ; since, in addition to the learn-
ing and research every one expects, I understand
the descriptions are to be derived from your own
observations. I can’t help wishing that Cornwall
had been previously favoured with a visit.
Believe me, dear Sir,
Your much obliged and very humble Servant,
Davies Grppy.

Str Thomas Frankland, Bart.* to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Wimpole Street, April 29, 1800.

I write a few lines to say how much I am grati-
fied by the Flora Britannica, and flattered by your
* Of Thirkleby, near York; many years M.P. for Thirsk.

This able botanist died early inthe month of January, 1831, in
the 84th year of his age.

451

notice of me in it. The descriptions which you
have so judiciously added to every plant lessen the
botanist’s labour tenfold, and every little amplifica-
tion of generic characters (e.g. in the Umbelliferous
plants) is valuable. The new specific descriptions,
also,are most important: e.g. I used to find Gen-
tiana amarella near Netherby, “corolla 4-fida”; and
what ground had I to doubt its being campestris,
as it had been described in Hudson? I could ob-
serve no other difference, and from not knowing
the real campestris, disbelieved there being such a
plant as a distinct species.
Tuomas FRANKLAND.

“Hudson, Lightfoot, and Withering,” says the
Rev. E. B. Ramsay, “wrote Moras on the system
of Linneus; but there can be no doubt that Sir
James Edward Smith was the most accomplished
disciple of this school, and the best expounder of
its principles. The Flora Britannica is perhaps the
most perfect specimen existing; a work of which
it has been said by no mean authority, that it is
worth studying, as well for its logical precision, as
for its botanical information.”

J. E. Smith to the Editor of the Monthly Review.

Sir, Norwich, March 2, 1801.

The very favourable, and perhaps partial account
of the Flora Britannica, given in your Review for
January, is too intelligent in itself, not to deserve

262

452

assistance from those capable of adding to its accu-
racy ; and too flattering to its author, not to excite
in him a wish of exculpating himself from any cen-
sures it may seem to contain against him. Yet these
two objects would hardly have occasioned my trou-
bling you with the present letter, had I not thought
it justice to the public to avow some mistakes into
which I have fallen, and at the same time to account
for a longer delay of the remaining volumes than I
once intended; for both which communications I
have judged your Review the most proper vehicle.
The reason assigned in the Preface, for publish-
ing the work in an incomplete state, is really and
truly the only one that operated with me at the
time: it was suggested by my publisher, and had
the sanction of my most enlightened friends. I
had then continued my manuscript far into the last
class among the Mosses and Lichens; and had
thought of nothing less than postponing that part,
being determined to finish the work as completely
as was then in my power. Since the publication,
however, of the first two volumes, several new mo-
tives have presented themselves, which oblige me
to defer the sequel longer than I intended. Ist, I
wish to see Mr. Dickson’s fourth Fasciculus of
Cryptogamia, which is on the point of publication :
2ndly, The Prodromus Lichenographie Suecice of
Dr. Acharius takes the lead so much in that de-
partment, it is absolutely essential to my purpose
to compare specimens with that author; and this
cannot be done either in the winter season, or in
the present miserable state of Northern politics.

453

3rdly, A general work by Mr. Persoon, on Fungy,
some sheets of which he has sent me, promises to
be so important, that I wish to see it complete be-
fore I digest the British Fungi into order. Whatever
reasons therefore might occasion the first delay,
these, which are analogous to what you supposed,
make me hope the public will in the end have no
reason to complain of it. A still further advantage
will accrue from my having the benefit of two sea-
sons more (the spring of 1800 and 1801) to inves-
tigate the difficult genus Salix, which I have already
written twice over, and in which the work will be
more likely to merit the praise of labour and ori-
ginality, than perhaps in any other part, though it
will still contain only an imperfect sketch of the
subject. . ,

I proceed to notice some of your remarks. The
order of Syngenesia Monogymia appears not to be
founded in nature, nor useful in practice, because
some Gentiane, Viole and Lobelieé have the an-
thers perfectly united, others not at all. I have
more to say on this subject than can be admitted
here.

The genus of Potamogeton I am aware is but
imperfectly treated. I have more than one new
British species.

As to changing names,—Fadiola millegrana is no
“arbitrary alteration,” or novelty, but the old ge-
neric name of Ray, retained as a specific one, and
surely preferable to /inmozdes, which I have proved
to be false. My Stlene inflata would certainly have
been called S. Behen, had there not been another
already so called in Linneus. In the specific

454

names of the genus G/auctum, I confess I have been
tempted to follow Gertner, in preferring precision,
elegance, and truth, to barbarism, confusion, and
error. The name of the common Wall-flower is not
changed by me, but it is so called by Linnzus. On
this subject, however, I entirely agree with you in
principle ; otherwise I might have changed half the
names in the book.

I differed from M. de Lamarck in his ideas of
Juncus acutus and maritimus, because analogy led
me to judge the panicle must be terminal in one if
in the other; but perhaps I may be mistaken, and
have been led to think the two species more akin
than they are, because of other authors having con-
founded them. I am sorry to say I fear I have
added to the confusion concerning the Dover Cam-
pion, for Miller’s pretendedly authentic specimen
deceived me. Original ones in the British Mu-
seum, gathered at Dover, are a plant I do not
know, and which is now said not to be found at
Dover. We must wait in hopes of its being one
day recovered, as was the case with Ligusticum
Cornubiense.

I should claim no seoriate even if I had corrected
myself by the help of a much less able botanist
than Mr. Curtis, on the subject of Cerastium te-
trandrum. I have already found out my error in
confounding two species under Z7rifolium filiforme,
and shall correct that, and such further errors as
may be detected, in an appendix to the last volume.

I am, Sir,
Your obliged and very humble Servant,

J. E. Smira.

455

Liberté. Egalité.
Muséum National d Histoire Naturelle.
Paris, le 12 Fiimaire, an 9 de Ja République, (3 Dec. 1801).

Les Professeurs administrateurs du Muséum d’ His-
toire Naturelle a Monsieur James Edward Smith,
a Londres.

Monsieur,

Nous avons recu par la voie de Monsieur Delau-
nay, que vous avez accueilli 4 Londres, divers ou-
vrages de votre composition destinés par vous a en-
richir la bibliothéque de notre Muséum d’Histoire
Naturelle; savoir la Flora Britannica, 2 vol. 8vo;
le Compendium Flore Britannice, 1 vol. 8vo; un
recueil de Mémoires sur divers sujéts d'histoire na-
turelle, 8vo.

Ces ouvrages, dignes de la reputation de leur au-
teur, en contribuant aux progrés de la science, lui
ont déja acquis la reconnaissance de tous les natu-
ralistes. Recevez, Monsieur, le témoignage de la
notre, pour un présent dont nous sentons tout le prix,
et agréez assurance de notre sincére attachement.

Salut et estime.

Jussteu. Fausas. DeEsFONTAINEs.
THouin. Lamarck.

16. Compendium Flore Britannice, dedicated
to Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq. V.P.L.S., has
gone through four editions, and, to borrow the
observation of an able friend on the subject, is “ be-
come the general text-book of English botanists,

456

and is perhaps the most complete manual furnished
on any subject.” It was published in 1800.

Mr. Woodward, to whom the author presented
this volume, says :

“J return you my most sincere thanks for your
inestimable present ; inestimable, guia pignus amt-
citi@. I have been highly pleased with the Preface :
the language is good, the style appropriate; but
what I most admire is that unassuming display of
knowledge which always informs so much more
than it promises, and is the true characteristic of
all my esteemed friend’s writings, unlike the gene-
rality of modern authors, who promise mountains,
and very often produce not even mole-hills.”

17. Flora Greca.—A sketch of the origin of
this classic Flora seems necessary in this place, to
acquaint the reader with the occasion of its falling
into the hands of the President of the Linnzan So-
ciety, to arrange into shape and give to the world.

The following is taken, in a very concise form,
from the biographical memoir of Dr. J. Sibthorp,
by Sir J. E. Smith, in Rees’s Cyclopedia :—

“Dr. John Sibthorp, an eminent botanist, the
youngersonof Dr. Humphrey Sibthorp, Professor of
Botany at Oxford, was born there in 1758, and was
educated and took his degree at the same University.

“He passed a portion of the year 1784 at Gét-
tingen, where he projected his first tour to Greece,
and thence he proceeded to Vienna, where he stu-
died with peculiar care the celebrated manuscript
of Dioscorides, which has so long been preserved

457

in the Imperial library, and procured an excellent
draughtsman, Mr. Ferdinand Bauer, to be the com-
panion of his expedition. The illustration of the
writings of Dioscorides was Dr. Sibthorp’s chief
object. The names and reputed virtues of several
plants recorded by that ancient writer, and still
traditionally retained by the Athenian shepherds,
he hoped would serve occasionally to elucidate or
confirm the synonymy.

“In March 1786 Dr. Sibthorp and Mr. Bauer
set out together from Vienna, and in May pro-
ceeded to Crete. Here, in the month of June, our
botanical adventurers were welcomed by Flora in
her gayest attire. The snowy covering of the
Sphaciote mountains was withdrawing, and a tribe
of lovely little blossoms were just peeping through
the veil.

“The first sketch of the Flora Greca comprises
about 850 plants. ‘This,’ says Dr, Sibthorp,
‘may be considered as containing only the plants
observed by me in the environs of Athens, on the
snowy heights of the Grecian Alp, Parnassus, on
the steep precipices of Delphi, the empurpled
mountain of Hymettus, the Pentele, the lower hills
about the Pireus, the olive-grounds about Beeions,
and the fertile plains of Boeotia.’

“In December 1787, Dr. Sibthorp returned to
England, and was enrolled among the first members
of the Linnean Society in the following spring.

“In March 1794 he set out on a second tour to
Greece, attended by Francesco Borone” (the Mila-
nese servant of Sir James before mentioned,) “as

498

a botanical assistant. At Constantinople he was
joined by his friend Mr. Hawkins. They made an
excursion into Bithynia, and climbed to the summit
of Olympus. Taygetus, the highest mountain of
the Morea, and almost rivalling Parnassus, was as-
cended by these adventurous travellers. But Dr.
Sibthorp’s impaired health made it essential to him
to return to his native country in the autumn of
1795. His few succeeding months were marked
by the progress of an unconquerable disease ; and
he died at Bath, February the 8th 1796, in the
38th year of his age.

“The only work which Professor John Sibthorp
published in his lifetime is a Alora Oxoniensis, in
one volume octavo, printed in 1794.

“We have now to record the posthumous benefits
which Dr. Sibthorp has rendered to his beloved
science, and which are sufficient torank himamongst
its most illustrious patrons.

“ By his will, dated January the 12th, 1796, he
gives a freehold estate in Oxfordshire to the Uni-
versity of Oxford, for the purpose of first publish-
ing his Flora Greca, in ten folio volumes, with a
hundred coloured plates in each ; and a Prodromus
of the same work, in octavo, without plates.

‘His executors, the Honourable Thomas Wen-
man, John Hawkins, and Thomas Platt, Esquires,
were to appoint a sufficiently competent Editor of
these works, to whom the manuscripts, drawings,
and specimens were to be confided. They fixed
upon the writer of the present article. The plan
of the Prodromus was drawn out by Dr. Sibthorp ;

459

but nothing of the Flora, except the figures, was
prepared, nor any botanical characters or descrip-
tions whatever. The final determination of the
species, the distinctions of such as were new, and
all critical remarks, have fallen to the lot of the
Editor, who has also revised the references to Dio-
scorides, and, with Mr. Hawkins’s help, corrected
the modern Greek names.”

Sir James lived to complete six of these volumes,
and half the seventh, which has been published
since his death by his distinguished friend Mr. Ro-
bert Brown.

The Flora Greca was a work, in the compilation
of which Sir James had peculiar pleasure. Those
who have seen the thousand beautiful delineations
of the flowers of that country, by the hand of Mr.
Ferdinand Bauer, may conceive it was no dull em-
ployment: it was a work of relaxation, to which he
returned with impatience after any pause in its pro-
gress. It was agreeable to him to observe that
many of the plants of that beautiful and classic land
were the same as the most admired offspring of
Flora in our own. The white lily was at all times
his admiration; and he was charmed with disco-
vering that its native bed and choice habitation
is in the vale of Tempe. “The violet and prim-
rose, Sir James tells us, “enamel the plains of
Arcadia, and the (arcissus Tazetta, which Dr.
Sibthorp was disposed to think the true poetic
Narcissus, decorated in profusion the banks of the
Alpheus. The barbarian horde under whose escort
they were obliged to travel, had taste enough to
collect nosegays of these flowers. The oaks of the

460

Arcadian mountains presented them with the true
ancient misselto, Loranthus europeus, which still
serves to make birdlime ; whilst our misseltoe, Vzs-
cum album, in Greece grows only on the silver fir.
May not this circumstance,” he continues, “‘ account
for the old preference of such misseltoe as grows
on the oak, among the ancient Britons, and conse-
quently help us to trace the origin of their super-
stition to Greece r”

In illustration of the foregoing narrative, the fol-
lowing letters from Dr. Sibthorp and Mr. Hawkins
will not be found uninteresting to the reader.

Professor Sibthorp to J. E.. Smith.

Dear Sir, Pera, Aug. 9th, 1794.

I am glad you have safely received the Flora
Oxoniensis: it was hastily drawn up; and, pressed
for time, I had no leisure to give it what I could
much have wished, for I fear it much wants a cor-
recter form. I can only say this, that it contains
only such plants as I have seen: I could have added
more from the catalogue of Camden and others ;
but I was scrupulous, and wished to bear testimony
only of those things I had seen. I recollect jocosely
having proposed to you a botanical conversation,
in which it should be debated in a council of bota-
nists, what should be admitted and what rejected.

I think the latter classes of the Linnean system
are advantageously melted down amongst the others ;
but they have gone such. lengths lately in Germany,
in mixing and compounding the Linnean system,
as almost to have spoilt its shape and form. I dis-

461

like particularly the mixture by Ginelin of the Zcos-
andria and Polyandria; the attachment of the sta-
mina to the calyx or the receptacle furnishing a
striking mark of distinction. Francesco would
inform you that I arrived very ill, with a bilious
fever and colic, at Constantinople :as soon as my
health permitted me I visited the shores of the
Bosphorus, the woods of Belgrade, and the sands
of Domusderi on the Black Sea. I have noticed
near eight hundred plants about Byzantium, and
have got seeds of Daphne pontica and Convolvulus
persicus, two good plants for our garden. I know
not why Lpimedium is termed alpinum; it is one
of the most common plants in the woods of Bel-
grade, which are scarcely mountainous, much less
alpine. The custom of setting fire to the woods in
this country, to burn the brush-wood to give the
grass room to grow, and furnish it with a manure
from the ashes, is very unfriendly to the researches
of the Cryptogamist. Boletus lucidus was almost
the only Fungus I noticed; this is Forskal’s B.
marginals ; his Salvia, now in full flower, is a most
ornamental plant. Rosa centifolia grows wild
there ; and the flowers of the vine, which mixes with
the Smz/ar and twines round the chesnut, have a
fragrant delicate odour beyond any flower I recol-
lect. The shores of the Bosphorus are very poor
in Fuci, nor are they rich in Zestacea. I have col-
lected about fifty sorts of fish, with their modern
Greek names. The genus Ladrus is rich in spe-
cles, varying with many colours. Julus (omnium
Jormosissimus) is often brought to market ; its fla-
vour inferior to most of the fish brought to table.

462

I go often upon the Bosphorus, while dolphins
play around me. Gulls here are so tame that they sit
upon the roofs of houses like pigeons. The Pro-
cellaria Puffinus is constantly flying up and down
the canal: they call them here by the emphatical
name of “souls of the damned.” While I was read-
ing in the palace garden the other day, a vulture,
Percnopterus, perched in the tree hanging over my
head ; and I could not resist, not having the fear of
the Egyptians before my eyes, to shoot it.

The summer has been very dry and hot. Fahren-
heit’s thermometer varied in my chamber last week
from 84 to 86 degrees. There are few insects at
present, except scorpions, mosquitoes, bugs, and
Conops calcitrans, the happy accompaniments of this
happy climate. The chase of the entomologist was
almost over about a month since. [had fine sport.
I write to you in good health and spirits; for
yesterday my friend arrived, and today my baggage,
having run “ per varios casus, et tot discrimina re-
rum.” Tell Shaw, that Hawkins is in “ high preser-
vation,” that he differs only in appearance from hay-
ing the /abia barbata—huge mustaches, which he
is nursing for a Syrian and Egyptian tour. We are
going together into Thessaly, Attica and the Pelo-
ponnesus, and shall winter at Zante. My health is
much better. Remember me kindly to Sir J. Banks,
Dryander, Lambert, &c

Yours sincerely,
J. SIBTHORP.

Borone is in good health, in action quite a Le

Fleur.

463

Professor Sibthorp to J. E. Smith.

My dear Sir, Athens, Nov. 1, 1794.

I should have been happy to have sent youa
pleasant letter from Athens; but from Athens I
must this time write you a very mournful one.
Poor Borone is no more! He was quite recovered
from an intermittent fever that had attacked him a
little before his departure from Constantinople, and
on the evening of his unhappy fate was unusually
gay, singing to a tune that Arakiel, Mr. Hawkins’s
servant, played upon the guitar. A little after mid-
night, we were waked out of our sleep by the cries
of Francesco, who had fallen into the street, out of
the window of the chamber where he slept with
Arakiel. On the servants’ going down to him, he
languishingly groaned to Arakiel, who was the first
that came up to him, “ Ah! povero Francesco e
morto !” James, the other servant of Mr. Hawkins,
then coming up, he said, “ Ah! James, James !” and
expired.

As soon as Mr. Hawkins and myself heard that
Francesco was hurt by his fall, we immediately got
up, and went down to him. On taking him by the
hand, I found the pulse gone, and no signs of life.
We directly got him into the house, and attempted
to bleed him, but without effect. His loins and
back, on which he appeared to have fallen, were
very much bruised ; but there was not the least ap-
pearance of blood, nor could I find that any bones
were broken. It had rained very hard on the pre-

464

ceding day, so that the street was dirty: the night
was dark, with frequent flashes of lightning. The
opening of the window out of which he fell was
extremely narrow, and appears not above eighteen
feet from the ground. Te get out of it, he must
previously have mounted on a box that stood near
it, and then squeezed himself through. We have
every reason to think all this was done in his sleep.
On the opposite side of the room to this window
was another, that opened upon a terrace, on which
he was accustomed to walk. Perhaps, if awake,
which I can scarcely conceive, he had forgotten
which of the two windows led to the terrace.

You may imagine that after this we passed the
remainder of the night dismally enough. The next
day nothing remained but to perform the last offices
to poor Francesco. He was buried in the evening
at the Church of the Madonna, under the shade of
a mulberry-tree. The obsequies were performed in
a very decent manner by four Greek priests, who
chanted over him the burial service. Mr. Hawkins
and myself, the British Consul, and some Sclavo-
nians who were here, with the servants, attended
the corpse. The Archbishop, who a few days be-
fore had expressed the strongest obligations to the
English nation, pitifully sent a Papas to demand
fifty piastres (about twelve pounds) for his permis-
sion to bury him. The Consul remonstrated with
him on the impropriety and exorbitancy of the de-
mand; when he sent a second message to say he
would take half that sum. This produced another
remonstrance from the Consul, when he repented,

465

and refused to take anything. He has since senta
hint that he would be glad of a present. We mean
to send him a Greek Testament, that a metropo-
litan who has four suffragans may read a lesson
of piety.

I regret with you most sincerely the cruel end of
this unfortunate youth. He had escaped from the
thieves of Italy, and from the inhospitable climate
of Sierra Leone. He had been with me blocked
up eight days by pirates at Mount Athos. Poor
fellow! he was then very anxious to hide my money,
that we might have something, he said, to return
home with. I shall set off in two or three days for
Zante, where I shall winter. In January I propose
to visit, with Hawkins, the Morea; and in the spring,
or early in the summer, to return to England. I
have made considerable additions to my collection of
Greek plants and animals, having visited the Bithy-
nian Olympus, Troy, Lemnos, Mount Athos, and
Negropont. During my stay at Athens, I have
procured a pretty exact knowledge of the agricul-
ture and natural history of Attica. Tell our friends
in Soho Square, that I have all the labour, if not all
the sweets, of an Attic bee.

J. SIBTHORP.

Professor Sibthorp to J. E. Smith,

Dear Sir, Oxford, Oct. 8, 1795.

I regret extremely not being in Oxford when you
favoured me with a call. In my way through Town
VOL. I. 2H

466

I made my inquiries in Marlborough Street, but
was informed you were at Norwich. Since my re-
turn I have felt myself very much indisposed, and
in a very infirm state of health,—a nasty low fever,
with a cough that alarms me, from some affection
of the lungs. I have been down to Brighton, but
bathed only in the tepid bath. I am now nursing
myself at Oxford with asses milk, and gentle exer-
cise on horseback ;—have some thoughts of trying
what Bristol will do.

I left Hawkins at Zante, from whence I had a
very long and uncomfortable passage of twenty-
four days to Otranto, in which I date the origin of
my complaints, having in an excursion to Nicopolis,
near Actium, caught a most severe cold,—the air of
Prevesa is even by the Greeks deemed infamous:
I travelled post from Ancona through the Tyrol, a
beautiful Alpine country, very inviting to the bo-
tanist. At Erlang I paid a visit to Schreber, who
received me with great politeness. He has got
a Monograph ready on the genus Carex, and told
me he would adopt Dr. Goodenough’s names if he
would favour him with a list of them. He is also
ready with a Fasciculus of your Gramina. I pro-
mised to send him Carew strigosa, and, if I could
get it, Carex indica.

I spent an hour with Hoffmann at Gottingen ;
he has much improved the Gottingen garden; he
was compiling a Synopsis of the German Crypto-
gamia under the form of a Zaschen-buch, or what
we call Pocket-book. I should like to see it ina
more dignified form.

467

Your situation is a very enviable one for a bota-
nist; out of the smoke of London, and close to one
of the best gardens in Europe*.

I left all my treasures behind me at Zante; but
by a letter from our Consul I hope soon to receive
them. I am quite a stranger to what has been
going on in the botanical world for this twelve-
month past. Lambert informs me of great trea-
sures brought by Masson, White and Menzies,—
that the botanic world will grow too big for us.

You renew my grief in mentioning poor Borone.
I was so affected that I could do nothing for some
days after his death, not even continue my journal.
If I recollect right, it was on the 20th of October
that this melancholy event took place. He certainly
had no watch, but as he was fond of wearing one,
I lent him mine when we were at Constantinople.
It was indeed a cruel fate, and we all lament his
death. Hawkins, when I last heard, was gone into
Thessaly to visit Ali Pashaw, in good health, but
under alarms from robbers.

- Yours most sincerely,
J. SrpTHorpe.

The following letters, it will be perceived, were
written after Dr. Sibthorp’s death, and when the care
of his posthumous work was confided to Sir James
Smith.

* Mr. James Lee’s at Hammersmith.
2H?

468

J. Hawkins, Esq. to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, London, June 25, 1799.

I conceive that you must have had some trouble
in packing up so large and miscellaneous a collec-
tion, but I hope you have received every part of it,
particularly a large collection of seeds made in his
last tour, and named by him on the spot, as far as
the plants could be ascertained from whence they
were taken.

I hope you will be able to decipher Dr. Sibthorp’s
hand-writing, which is not the best.

As to the want of names, I well recollect that he
never affixed any to the specimens, but seemed to
have a perfect knowledge of them, and therefore
thought it perhaps superfluous.

You, of course, will find little difficulty in ascer-
taining them, after which you may refer to the
Journals for their respective habitats, and all that
relates to them.

You will find that Dr. Sibthorp subdivided the
Flora Greca in his last tour into a number of pro-
vincial Floras, which has its use. There is a Flora
Zacynthia, which was prepared for him by Consul
Foresti before his arrival, with the vulgar names
underwritten. Likewise a small collection of plants
from Maina, procured by Consul Foresti from a
Mainote.

In the collection made during the last tour you
will find a few sub-alpine plants, collected by me in
Crete.

469

I have specimens of three or four rock plants
from the mountains of the Morea, and I left about
two hundred behind me at Patras.

Flaxman is now executing a monument to the
memory of our late friend ; but the best, by far, will
be that which you have in hand.

I remain, my dear Sir,
Most truly yours,
J, Hawkins.

J. Hawkins, Esq. to J. EF. Smith.

Dear Sir, Sunbury, Feb. 13, 1800.

I have before me your two letters, and hasten to
give you that information which lays in my power.
In our first tour a regular journal was kept by Dr.
Sibthorp of our daily peregrinations, and of every
object of natural history discovered. Thus for in-
stance you will find a list of the plants which we
found in the middle of March on the shores of the
Hellespont, and a few days after on the coast of
Caria; but when we came to Cyprus, the form of
the journal was so far changed, that only the vulgar
names and uses, and the remarkable plants or birds
were noted therein which daily occurred; and the
whole Flora and Fauna Cypria were drawn up in
systematical arrangement at the end.

Every allowance must be made for the hurry and
precipitation with which this Journal was written.
The season for botanizing is so short in these
southern latitudes, and such a profusion of new or

470

rare plants present themselves at once, that it is
hardly possible for the most practical botanist (and
such was Dr. 8.) to determine all with sufficient
accuracy at the moment. Hence it is that many
of these supposed new species prove perhaps on
further investigation to be old, and some of the
supposed old new, while the old too are mistaken
one for the other. Add to this, that the necessity
of moving quickly from one spot to another, and
the time consumed on horseback or on shipboard,
further contributed to limit the time which could
be employed in the real scientifical examination of
species of plants.

It is certainly a pity that Dr. Sibthorp did not
mark all his specimens, or the drawings; but he
trusted to his memory, and dreamed not of dying.

In our second tour a daily journal was kept as in
the former, and the same attention was paid to the
determination of the vulgar names and uses of
plants and of animals, and particular species as they
occurred were noted down; but now a more par-
ticular geographical arrangement was adopted, and
the Flora and Fauna of every province was thrown
together, as you will find in the journal-book in re-
spect to the Flora Byzantina, Bithynica, Montis
Athos, Attica and Beeotica, Zacynthia, Achaica,
Eliensis,Messeniaca, Arcadia, Argolica,Corinthiaca,
and Laconia.

The Dacian plants which you mention were col-
lected on his journey to Constantinople by land,
and probably include those plants which he observed
on Mount Hemus.

471

Those of Olympus were collected in the course
of our expedition to the summit of that mountain,
soon after our junction; and the Cretan plants are
what I brought with me from Crete, and presented
to Dr. Sibthorp at Constantinople.

1 should think that all the plants collected in our
last tour are still unmixed with those of the former ;
for the collection arrived after the final removal of
Dr. 8. from Oxford, and shortly before his death.
They were consigned to the care of Dr. Werman,
who found them in good preservation ; but whether
Dr. W. arranged them in any systematical order, or
amalgamated them with the rest, I know not, but
hope he did not; in which case you will find, besides
the abovementioned parcels, a very curious and
finely preserved collection of the plants of Zante,
made for him by a Zantiote apothecary; a small
collection of the plants of Maina, made by a Mai-
note ; and those plants which Dr. 8. collected in his
voyage from Zante to Venice, besides all the insects,
fishes, birds, shells, quadrupeds and seeds which he
preserved in the whole course of his tour.

It appears, then, that you either have or ought
to have two large and distinct collections of Greek
plants, the result of the two tours.

Next summer, or the following, I will contrive to
visit Norwich, and shall be happy to overlook your
literary labours.

I am impatient to get your Mora Britannica.

I remain, my dear Sir,
Most sincerely yours,
J. Hawks.

472

18. Prodromus Flore Grece.—Of this work, the
first volume was published in 1806, a thick octavo ;
and in 1813 a second volume of the same size.

“JT have just received,” says Dr. Goodenough,
“ your kind present of the first part of the Prodro-
mus of Flora Greca. What a beautiful book—
what good paper—what a distinct and elegant type!
How much information, without a letter of osten-
tation or frippery. Indeed it is a sterling work.”

19. Lzotic Botany.—This work, published in
numbers, was terminated in two volumes quarto, and
also an octavo edition of the same was published
in 1804. It is dedicated to William Roscoe, Esq.

For want of public patronage it did not go on,
notwithstanding it contained figures of many new
and beautiful plants, communicated from the Indian
Alps, from Africa, and New Holland.

20. Zhe Introduction to Physiological and Sy-
stematic Botany, published in 1807, has passed
through six editions. Sir James dedicated this work
to the Honourable and Right Reverend, Shute Lord
Bishop of Durham. The death of Mrs. Barrington
defeated the author’s original design of dedicating
the work to her.

Dear Sir, Auckland Castle, Sept. 26, 1807.

Every thing which reflects credit on the memory
of a woman most justly dear to me, is in the high-
est degree gratifying to my feelings. In this view
I beg to offer my earliest thanks for the very hand-

473

some manner in which you have expressed yourself
in the Dedication respecting her and me. Allow
me to assure you that I shall at all times be happy
in seeing you when in London, or here, or at
Mongewell.
I am, dear Sir, with much regard,
Your faithful Servant,
S. DuNELM.

In returning thanks to the author for a copy of
this work, the Bishop of Carlisle proceeds to tell
him: “I have read the Preface, Introduction, and
part of the work. Really you write with great spi-
rit and propriety, and let me add with great dignity,
worthy your superior station in the botanical world.
All natural history should be turned to the mental
improvement of mankind, to make them think pro-
perly,and with precision and truth ; arguments from
this source are literally innumerable. Have you
seen a publication of Mr. Vince’s, four sermons
against Atheism, where he makes astronomy speak
in this high strain. I shall read your book through
with great minuteness.

Yours ever,
S. CaRLIsLe.

Mr. Roscoe, writing to Sir James on the subject
of the Introduction to Botany, says, “I am impatient
to tell you how much I like what I have yet seen
of it, particularly your Preface, with the concluding
part of which I was not only delighted but really
much affected.”

“To those,” observes the Author, “ whose minds

474

and understandings are already formed, the study of
nature may be recommended, independently of all
other considerations, as a rich source of innocent
pleasure. Some people are ever inquiring, What is
the use of any particular plant? by which they
mean, What food or physic, or what materials for
the painter or dyer does it afford? They look ona
beautiful flowery meadow with admiration, only in
proportion as it affords nauseous drugs or salves.
Others consider a botanist with respect only as he
may be able to teach them some profitable improve-
ment in tanning, or dyeing, by which they may
quickly grow rich, and be then perhaps no longer
of any use to mankind or themselves. These views
are not blameable, but they are not the sole end of
human existence. Is it not desirable to call the
soul from the feverish agitation of worldly pursuits,
to the contemplation of Divine Wisdom in the
beautiful economy of Nature ? Is it not a privilege to
walk with God in the garden of creation, and hold
converse with his providence? If such elevated
feelings do not lead to the study of Nature, it can-
not be far pursued without rewarding the student
by exciting them.

““ Rousseau, a great judge of the human heart and
observer of human manners, has remarked, that
‘when science is transplanted from the mountains
and woods into cities and worldly society, it loses
its genuine charms and becomes a source of envy,
jealousy, and rivalship.’ This is still more true, if
it be cultivated as a mere source of emolument.

** But the man who loves botany for its own sake,

475

knows no such feelings, nor is he dependent for
happiness on situations or scenes that favour their
growth. He would find himself neither solitary nor
desolate had he no other companion than a ‘ moun-
tain daisy, that ‘modest crimson-tipped flower, so
sweetly sung by one of Nature’s own poets. The
humblest weed or moss will ever afford him some-
thing to examine or to illustrate, and a great deal
to admire. Introduce him to the magnificence of a
tropical forest, the enamelled meadows of the Alps,
or the wonders of New Holland, and his thoughts
will not dwell much upon riches or literary honours ;
things that

‘Play round the head, but come not near the heart.’

“In botany all is elegance and delight. No pain-
ful, disgusting, unhealthy experiments or inquiries
are to be made. Its pleasures spring up under our
feet, and, as we pursue them, reward us with health
and serene satisfaction. None but the most foolish
or depraved could derive anything from it but what
is beautiful, or pollute its lovely scenery with un-
amiable or unhallowed images. Those who do so,
either from corrupt taste or malicious design, can
be compared only to the fiend entering into the
garden of Eden.” —Preface to Introduction.

The letter which follows is from the late Professor
of Natural History at Cambridge in Massachusetts
(North America), a very amiable man, and who, like
many of his countrymen, filled with enthusiasm for
England, came to it with the feelings of those who
from this island visit the classic realins of Greece
and Rome.

476

Very dear Sir, - London, Feb. 8, 1808.

Your favour of the 11th October gave me the
more pleasure as it was unexpected, for you were so
much occupied that I did not venture to ask such
an indulgence. The letter which contains the kind
expression of your good-will must be always a
treasure to me.

On coming home one evening, I found your
Introduction to Botany. This too was unexpected.
I thank you very heartily, and may say Vous me
comblez without an hyberbole. The Preface is ex-
cellent; the reflections are perfectly just, and place
this delightful science in its proper light. Some
paragraphs affected me in a manner which I cannot
well describe, and which I have frequently expe-
rienced in reading Linné and Pliny. The termina-
ting one, p. 338, is one of these. Did you ever ob-
serve in reading anything which affected the mind
by its energy or sublimity, that the blood flowed
more copiously to the heart, leaving a chill on the
surface of the body? I cannot explain it, but I
never read Linné’ss Introduction to the Systema
Nature without this sensation.

I feel all that you say of botany as an introduc-
tion to amiable characters, for the little I know of it
has brought me acquainted with some of the best and
most worthy persons in every country that I have
visited, and those whom I shall always love. The
converse of such persons cherishes the flame of phi-
lanthropy within me. The study of Natural History,
if pursued on right principles, thus serves to keep

477
the heart warm, and to preserve in vigour its best
affections ; while in most other pursuits, the heart is
hardened by the collision of sordid interest, and its
affections smothered by emulation. The study of
man has often given me pain; but since I have seen
more of him, I feel a more glowing love of my
species, and my heart stretched, as it were, with
gratitude and affection. God keep it so! fora cold
heart can never be happy.

I went to the Abbey to read the excellent epi-
taph of Lord A. Beauclerc, and was very well dis-
posed to appreciate its beauties and receive its
impressions, but I was disappointed. In a state of
mind perfectly calm, I entered the church, and was
proceeding to the spot, when I was stopped by one
of those persons who get their bread by strangers
and visitors, who demanded a shilling,—which in-
deed I intended to give him before I left the church ;
but the demand at that instant was _ revolting,—
my tranquillity was thus disturbed, and almost as
soon as I began to read, the organ was struck, and
its solemn peals, accompanied with some charming
voices of singing boys completely frustrated the ob-
ject of my visit,—which was, to read in silence. So
I transcribed the epitaph to read at home; but the
first impression was ruined for ever. The four last
lines are excellent, but “ bid” in the penultimate

one should be dade.

** Dying he bade Britannia’s thunder roar,
And Spain still felt him when he breathed no more.”
I have since received through the kindness of
Mr. Lambert a packet of New Holland plants, and

478

am truly sensible of your goodness in this particular,
and very much gratified to find so many among
them called after botanists, some of whom I know.
These are precious objects, and will always bring
you to my mind, as the communications of your
friend Davall bring him present to you.

I often go with you to visit the Salicetum of your
late friend Mr. Crowe*, see with pleasure the stream
which flows by it, adorned with Mymphea ; visit in
my way Verbascum pulverulentum, and collect the
Scabious in passing through the churchyard. I
live over again the happy days I passed at Norwich,
and enjoy anew the pleasure I felt in witnessing the
domestic felicity of my friends there. That it may
long continue is my anxious and ardent wish.

I pray you to make my respects acceptable to
your mother and your lady. I ardently wish the
continuance of your health ; all other wishes are su-
perfluous, as they cannot add to your enjoyments :
yet minds like yours may receive some satisfaction
that even I rejoice in your prosperity. I do not
forget any of my friends in Norwich, where every
day of my sejour was albo lapde notari dignus.

I salute you with affectionate respect, and am,

My dear Sir,
Your truly obliged,

Wo. D. Peck.

* James Crowe, Esq. of Lakenham House.

479

Dr. Swartz to J. EF. Smith.

Dear Sir, Stockholm, Oct. 16, 1808.

Two years anda half are elapsed since our cor-
respondence ceased. In order to remind you of your
Scandinavian friend, I write a few lines in company
with the Sequel of the Memoirs of the Academy of
Science, until the last published.

Though I have not had any immediate informa-
tion from you, I have several times inquired about
your welfare, and from the news I not long since
obtained, I think my wishes for you not entirely
frustrated. If I am so happy as to hear it from
yourself, so much the better.

We have long been exiled from foreign literature,
except from that of your country, of which however
we have had but sparing communications. Of your
Exotic Botany I have got two volumes, and seen
some fasciculiof the wonderfully well executed Flora
Greca, with one part of its Prodromus from your
hands. Lately I have also enjoyed a particular sa-
tisfaction from the sight of the beautiful Astoria
Fucorum of Mr. Turner.

It can hardly be expected that anything remark-
able should appear from this corner, during a period
the most cruel that can be imagined ; so much more
desolating, as in and outward causes seem to pre-
pare completely the ruin. Under all this, for my
part engaged to continue two current works, the
Swedish Botany and Zoology, two volumes have ap-
peared by my care during the two years past. They

480

are merely calculated for home consumption, but
have not escaped to be noticed abroad, as well: as
Westring’s Economical History of the Lichens.

The interrupted communication with our neigh-
bours has made us in a melancholy manner sepa-
rated from our friends, with whom we are in behalf
of literature connected. This has been the case
with me in regard to the intended Synopsis or
Ehstoria Muscorum, in connection with my excel-
lent and ever-lamented friend Mohr, at Kiel, who
has eclipsed from this sublunary world during the
gloomy interval, and left me alone! Much is done
but more is remaining to do. Even Acharius has
proved the adversity of the times on account of his |
work the Lichenographia Universalis, which was to
be printed at Gottingen, under the inspection of
Professor Schrader (because the enterprise was too
great for any home dealer in typography). The
manuscript was above two thirds past sent 7m locum
last year, and some time after the printing began
we were shut up, that in the course of nineteen
months no account could be had. As for present
appearances, there are but little or no hopes yet to
get out of the cage, if not quite perished before—
Dum delirant.

Thunberg and Afzelius are, as before, living at
Upsala, and, as much as I know, both well. From
the latter, some dissertations have appeared con-
cerning the Swedish species of Rosa, on which he
bestows rather more pains than some think deser-
ving. But it must be something like the 772/olium.
Pity that he has Jaid all his African treasures aside.

481

He is @ da téte for a kind of institution called the
Linnean, but I do not know how far it has pro-
ceeded.

An excellent Eulogy on Linneus has been printed
by one of his former pupils, Dr. Hedin, first physi-
cian to the king. This was a panegyric held in the
school at Weixio, which Linneus first visited. On
the same day a grand féte was given at the Academy
of Upsala; a secular celebration of the birthday of
the great man;—the only instance to this day, in
Sweden, of public honours given to an individual of
subjects. The museum and auditory were at the
same time consecrated. Many thousands assisted
at the solemnity, and most part of the Linnean old
disciples also; which gave the whole a most vene-
rable appearance.

Mr. Turner has informed me that a new volume
was soon to appear of the Linnean Society’s Trans-
actions. He mentioned also that you had described
a new genus of Mosses. I am most impatiently
desirous to know what this may be, as well as the
other contents of this first-rate work, so far above
common praise.

Do not forget me, who remain with the sincerest
esteem and affection,

Dear Sir,

Your faithful Servant,

OLor Swartz.

i)

VOL. I.

482

Sir T. G. Cullum to Sir* J. E, Smith.
Bury St. Edmunds,
My dear Sir James, Sept. 27, 1814.

I returned home from my journey to Wakefield,
Harrowgate, &c. on Saturday last ; and I cannot any |
longer delay returning you my thanks for your kind
present of the Introduction to Physiological and
Systematic Botany, the perusal of which has many
years ago given me much pleasure, and will continue
so to do whenever I take it up either for instruc-
tion or amusement: but I must forbear (as Dr.
Thornton says) “expressing all the sentiments of
respect and esteem entertained by me towards one
so truly estimable.”

I wished you had been with me at the Dropping
Well (or rather rock) at Knaresborough, I think you
would have found some Jungermannie, Lichens or
Mosses ; but I am so totally ignorant in the Class
Cryptogamia, that I do not pretend to know and
distinguish the common Lichen or Moss. Travel-
ling along the road a fine plant or two of the Znula
Felenium caught my eye, and the Sedum Telephium
in a hedge-bank for a quarter of a mile. The
churchyard of Aberford near Ferrybridge, and the
hedges near the town, are full of the Atropa Bella-
donna, and the Colchicum autumnale in the meadows
about Knaresborough, &c.

I called upon an old acquaintance of mine near
Wakefield, the Rev. Dr. Zouch, a Prebendary of
Durham, and a Fellow of the Linnzan Society. He
printed (but I believe never published) A Memoir

* Tt was in July this year, that Sir James had the honour of
being knighted by His late Majesty George IV.

483

of the Life of Dr. John Sudbury; who was Dean
of Durham in 1661.

Dean Sudbury was born at Bury St. Edmunds,
and left a considerable estate in Suffolk towards
putting out boys as apprentices, and the residue to
the Grammar-school at Bury. But an anecdote Dr.
Zouch relates of Dean Sudbury’s “recovering many
books that had been embezzled and taken away by
Mr. Isaac Gilpin, who also lent Gerard’s Herbal,
which cost 10/., to Colonel Robert Lilburn, who is
now in the Tower, and still detains that book from
the church’s library,” I think is somewhat curious,
in showing the estimation in which Gerard’s Herbal
was held at that time. The Doctor should have told
us (if he knew) whether it was Gerard’s own edition,
or the amended one by Johnson.

But the best part of my letter is to acquaint you
and Lady Smith the time when Bury Fair will be in
all its splendour and gaiety: but this I shall leave to
Lady Cullum; andshall therefore bid you farewell,
and am, with great regard,

T. G. CuLium.

Baron Humboldt to Sir J. FE. Smith.

Monsieur le Président, Paris, ce 12 Juillet, 1816.

Je prends la liberté de vous adresser ces lignes
par un de mes intimes amis, M. Kunth, Professeur
Royal de Botanique a l'Université de Berlin. C’est
le botaniste qui a publié les ova Genera et Species
Plantarum que vous avez recu avec tant d'indul-
gence. M. Kunth étoit l'éléve le plus chéri de
Willdenow; et je suis sir que vous serez content

212

484

de son instruction et de sa modestie. Que n’ai-je
été assez heureux d’avoir pu le suivre; mais je suis
enfoncé dans mes Cartes des Cordilléres que je des-
sine moi-méme. Vous savez par votre propre ex-
périence que les graveurs ne sont pas des gens quil
faut perdre de vue.

J'ai lu et méme étudié avec le plus vif plaisir votre
Introduction philosophique. C'est un petit ouvrage
plein de vues ingénieuses et écrit avec une rare élé-
gance de style. J’ai aussi fait avec bien de l’interét
la connoissance de l'aimable M. Sparshall, que nos
entomologistes ont trouvé trés habile. Malheu-
reusement que mon indisposition m’a empéché de
lui étre aussi utile que jaurois désiré l’étre a une
personne qui vous est chere. Je serai tres flatté
détre un jour membre de Villustre Soci¢té Linné-
enne ; mais je ne voudrois pas que vous poussiez
la bienveillance jusqu’a changer vos loix constitu-
tionelles.

Excusez, je vous supplie, le petit mot que j’avais
laché dans ma derniére lettre sur ces grandes ba-
tailles qu’on me livre de trois en trois mois dans le
Quarterly Review. Jai été loué avec trop dexa-
gération a Edinbourg, il faut bien qu’on me blame
ailleurs: c’est le systeme de compensation. Je pro-
fite des critiques: je cultive les sciences parceque
je les aime, et parceque ma position me permet
une heureuse indépendance: je n’ai de ’amertume
contre personne; mais comme je tiens beaucoup a
mes projets pour les montagnes de I’Inde, j’aimerois
assez étre en paix avecles trois Royaumes Brittan-
niques. Je n’ai dailleurs qu’a me louer des offres
du Prince Régent, auquel le Roi de Prusse m/a re-

485

commandé personellement, et des procédés de Lord
Castlereagh et @autres membres du Gouvernement
avec lesquels mon frére a eu des rapports si multi-
pliés. Quand on a passé six ans dans les Colonies
Espagnoles entre des Inquisiteurs qui restent et des
Ministres qui tombent, couche par couche, comme
des feuilles mortes, on ne craint pas, aver un coeur
droit et un véritable amour des sciences, le séjour
parmi un peuple noble, éclairé, et juste, comme le
votre.

Je vous supplie, Monsieur le Chevalier, dagréer
Yhommage de mon admiration et de mon respec-

tueux attachement.
ALEx. HUMBOLDT.

Dr. Boott to Sir J. E. Smith.

Derby, March 3, 1817.

You have no doubt, my dear Sir, often expe-
rienced the delightful satisfaction which results
from having contributed to the knowledge or plea-
sures of any one to whom you have long owed

great obligations ; and I need not therefore say with
what feelings I read your letter of the 27th ult., in
which you give me to understand that my little
present of plants was valuable to you.

Authors, of course, seldom look for personal ac-
knowledgments from those who read their works;
but I see no reason why such should not be made,
when a reader and the author happen accidentally
to be thrown in each other’s way. Take, therefore,
my dear Sir, my grateful thanks for the pleasure

486

and instruction I have derived from your Intro-
duction to Botany, the Flora, and Lachesis Lap-
ponica, &c. &c. And when next you think of re-
paying any favour I can confer, remember that I
owe my knowledge of botany to you, and that I
shall always consider it a duty (a pleasant one) to
return those obligations you first conferred on me.
Let me, wherever fate wills it, if possible do some-
thing to contribute to your herbarium every year ;
and the consciousness of having afforded you gra-
tification will be ample recompense for my exertions.

My sincere thanks are due to you for your sym-
pathy in my late bereavement. Had you known
my father you could better have appretiated the loss
I have sustained. Many men pass away, and leave
behind the reputation of a good name; _ but his vir-
tues were not like those of ordinary men. I cannot
tell you what he was: but when you are next in
Liverpool, ask Mr. Martin, with whom I have the
pleasure to be acquainted,—ask of him, of those
who knew him, and you will find the contemplation
of such a character will exalt your idea of human
nature, to find it capable of such purity and bene-
volence. Excuse this passing tribute to his worth.
Do you remember Horace’s

“. ...Cui pudor, et justitiee soror

Incorrupta fides, nudaque veritas,
Quando ullum invenient parem ?
Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit ! ”

It is so applicable !
With great respect, Yours ever,
¥. Boorr.

487

Professor Schultes to Sir J. E. Smith.

Dear and noble Sir, Landshut, 1821.

I considered it as a duty to science, as well as to
mankind in general, and especially to you, to give
a translation of your Introduction ; because, with all
my respect for the Phzlosophia Botanica, I do not
know better elements of botanythan yours. I am,
though being a Christian, of the heathen opinion?
that “ Maxima debetur puero reverentia.”

Your idea of a grammar of botany is no less
worthy of the classic solidity you fixed with the
principles of science; it might perhaps also be con-
sidered as a true British sneer on those foreign
botanists who, being totally ignorant of both the
grammar of their science and of Greek and Latin,
intrude themselves as authors, or rather as poets in
botany. In our old time, grammar was studied
before poetry, but now we see poets in botany who
can scarce spell the terms of art; and thus we
might say now of the amabilis scientia what Shak-
speare once said of poetry,—botany “ has bubbles
as water has.’ Whata patchwork did not become
the glossology of some modern botanists! Happy
that they are kind enough to provide a particular
dictionary to every botanical pamphlet they send to
the press. A complete dictionary of all the terms
now used by different modern botanists would give
a greater volume almost than any Polyglotten since
the steeple of Babel, to which we should unavoid-

488

ably recur if there is not any Hermes like you, that
puts an end to that confusion. I always did, ac-
cording to your view, defend the necessity of an ar-
tificial system, and especially that of Linnzus, for
analytical examination; anatural one, even that of
Jussieu, being of no use at all for that purpose.

I explain and contend for Linnzus’s system in
my Lectures. The plants in my garden are ranged
according to Jussieu’s.

A. ScHULTES.

21. Cyclopedia—When Dr. Rees first under-
took the arrangements of this great work, he re-
quested Sir James to furnish the botanical articles,
but other occupations deterred him from the under-
taking : and upon his declining it, the Rev. William
Wood of Leeds supplied that department of litera-
ture, till illness deprived him of the power of pro-
ceeding ; when Sir James being again solicited on
the subject, he no longer hesitated: and after the
death of that excellent man in 1808, he continued
his assistance till the close of this voluminous
work.

In a letter dated 1807, Sir James tells Mr. Ros-
coe, that “he had undertaken to write the physio-
logy, terminology, and biography of the botanical
part of Dr. Rees’s Cyclopedia, which he was re-
quested to do when Mr. Wood of Leeds was ill.
Indeed,” he adds, “the whole of the botany fell
upon me, but now he is well enough to resume the
descriptive parts. I have just done Clusius and
Peter Collinson.”

489

In another letter of the same year, he says, “I
have written much of late in Rees’s Cyclopedia ; it
is a very pleasant employment to me, and has led
me to launch out into subjects I might otherwise
not have touched upon,—I mean only in botany and
botanical biography.” . .

In 1808 Mr. Wood died suddenly, in the midst of
writing the article Cyperus. “Dr. Rees,” adds Sir
James, “ then threw himself on me. As five thousand
copies sell, it is of importance for the progress of
science, and therefore I would not let it go out of
my hands. I now write all the botanical part, and
biography of botanists. I put an S. to the articles
for which I wish to be responsible.”

Thus beginning towards the conclusion of the
letter C, Sir James continued his communications
through the remainder of the alphabet ; and, with
the exception of a few articles by his friend the
Rev. W. F. Drake, the botanical information con-
tained in this work is exclusively Sir James’s from
the time of Mr. Wood’s decease.

The communications he sent, without including
the biography of botanists, amount to 3348 articles.
The lives of botanists are 57, of which the follow-
ing is a list :—

Michael Adanson. John Ellis.

Charles Clusius. Louis Feuillée.
Peter Collinson. Leonard Fuchs.
William Curtis. Joseph Geertner.
James Dalechamp. Alexander Garden.
John James Dillenius. John Gerarde.
Rembertus Dodonzus. Conrad Gesner.

Joseph Dombey. John Gesner,

490

Nehemiah Grew. Philip Miller.

John Frederick Gronovius. Robert Morison.
Laurence Theodore Gronovius. José Celestini Mutis.
Stephen Hales. John Parkinson.

M. du Hamel. Leonard Plukenet.
Frederick Hasselquist. Charles Plumier.
John Hedwig. Richard Pulteney.
Laurence Heister. John Ray.

William Hudson. A. D. Rivinus.
Engelbert Keempfer. Olof Rudbeck.
George Joseph Kamel. Olof Rudbeck, jun.
John Lightfoot. William Sherard.
Charles Linnzus. John Sibthorp.
Charles Linnzeus, jun. Sir Hans Sloane.
Matthias de Lobel. Joseph Pitten de Tournefort.
Christian Theophilus Ludwig. John Tradescant.
Peter Magnol. William Turner.
Marcello Malpighi. Martin Vahl.

John Martyn. Sebastian Vaillant.
Francis Masson. Anthony Vallisneri.

Peter Anthony Micheli.

22. dA Tour to Hafod.—A large folio, contain-
ing fifteen coloured engravings of views in that pic-
turesque domain, was published in 1810, and dedi-
cated to his friend Colonel Johnes.

23. Lachesis Lapponica.—In 1811 Sir James
published Lachesis Lapponica, or A Tour in Lap-
land, in two volumes, translated from the original
manuscript journal of Linnzus in Swedish.

In dedicating these travels to his valued friend
Thomas Furly Forster, Esq., he observes, “ Happy
are those who, like you, can equally sympathize
in his pious and benevolent affections, his disdain
of hypocrisy and oppression, and his never-ceasing

491

desire to turn his scientific acquisitions to practical
utility.”

“ How have I been delighted,” says the Bishop
of Carlisle, “ at reading Lachesis Lapponica. What
a genius did Linnzeus inherit as it were from Na-
ture !”

“ Aayeowc.—Lachesis Lapponica means, I pre-
sume, the Fate or Lot of Lapland.”

24. The titles of the following fifty-two papers
from the hand of the President are taken from
the Transactions of the Linnean Society.

Vol. I. 1. Introductory Discourse on the Rise
and Progress of Natural History. It was immedi-
ately translated into Italian by Father Fontana, under
the title “ Sul!’ Origine e Progresso della Storia
Naturale.” —2. Descriptions of Ten Species of Li-
chen, collected in the South of Europe.—3. On the
Festuca spadicea and Anthoxanthum paniculatum
of Linneus.—4. Remarks on the Genus Veronica.

Vol. II. 5. Remarks on the Abbé Wulfen’s
Descriptions of Lichens, published among his rare
Plants of Carinthia, in Professor Jacquin’s Col-
lectanea, vol. ii. 112.—6. Additional Observations
relating to Festuca spadicea, and Anthoxanthum
paniculatum.—7. Remarks on Centaurea solstitia-
lis and C. melitensis—8. Remarks on the Genus
Dianthus.—9. Additional Remarks by James Ed-
ward Smith.—10. Description of Saginacerastoides,
a new British plant, discovered in Scotland by Mr.
James Dickson, F.L.S.

Vol. III. 11. The Botanical History of Mentha

492

exigua. It was translated into German in Schra-
der’s Journal.—12. Botanical Characters of some
Plants of the Natural Order of Myrti.—13. Charac-
ters of a new Genus of Plants named Salisburia.

Vol. IV. 14. Remarks on some Foreign Spe-
cies of Orobanche.—15. The Characters of Twenty
New Genera of Plants.—16. Observations on the
British Species of Bromus ; with Introductory Re-
marks on the Composition of a Flora Britannica.

Vol. V. 17. Description of Sowerbza juncea, a
Plant of New South Wales.—18. Observations on
the British Species of Mentha.—19. Descriptions
of five new British Species of Carex.—20. Addi-
tional Note to the Observations on the British
Species of Mentha.

Vol. VI. 21. Remarks on the Genera of Px-
derota, Wulfenia, and Hemimeris.—22. Remarks
on some British Species of Salix.—23. Botanical
Characters of four New-Holland Plants of the
Natural Order of Myrtii—24. Description of the
Fruit of Cycas revoluta.

Vol. VII. 25. An Illustration of the Grass
called by Linnzeus Cornucopie Alopecuroides.—
26. Remarks on the Generic Characters of Mosses,
and particularly of the Genus Mnium.—27. Bio-
graphical Memoirs of several Norwich Botanists,
in a Letter to Alexander MacLeay, Esq., Sec. L.S.

Vol. VIII. 28. Account of the Bromus triflorus
of Linnzus, in a Letter to. Alexander MacLeay,
Esq.—29. Characters of Three New Species of
Boronia.

Vol. IX. 30. A Botanical Sketch of the Genus

493

Conchium.—31. An Inquiry into the Genus of the
Tree called by Pona Abilicea cretica—32. An In-
quiry into the real Daucus Gingidium of Linneus.
—33. An Inquiry into the Structure of Seeds, and
especially into the true Nature of that Part called
by Gertner the Vitellus—34. Observations re-
specting several British Species of Hieracium.—
35. Specific Characters of the Decandrous Papi-
lionaceous Plants of New-Holland.—36. Charac-
ters of Hookeria, a new Genus of Mosses ; with
Descriptions of Ten Species.—37. Characters of
Platylobium Bossiza, and of a new Genus named
Poiretia.

Vol. X. 38. Characters of a Liliaceous Genus
called Brodiza.—39. Remarks on the Sedum ochro-
leucum, or AeZwov tro puxpov of Dioscorides.—
40. On a remarkable Variety of Pedicularis sylva-
tica.—41. Some Remarks on the Synonyms and
Native Country of Hypericum calycinum.—42. An
Account of several Plants recently discovered in
Scotland by Mr. G. Don, A.L.S., not mentioned
in the Flora Britannica nor English Botany.—
43. An Account of a new Genus of New-Holland
Plants named Brunonia.—44. A Description of
Duchesnea fragiformis, constituting a new Genus
of the Natural Order of Senticose of Linnzus,
Rosacee of Jussieu.

Vol. XI. 45. Some Observations on Iris susi-
ana of Linneeus, and on the Natural Order of Aqui-
laria.—46. Observations on the Genus Teesdalia.
47. Remarks on the Bryum marginatum and
Bryum lineare of Dickson.

494

Vol. XII. 48. Some Information respecting the
Lignum Rhodium of Pococke’s Travels.—49. A
Botanical History of the Genus Tofieldia.—50. Cha-
racters of two Species of Tordylium.—51. An Ac-
count of Rhizomorpha medullaris, a new British
Fungus.

Vol. XIII. 52. Remarks on Hypnum recogni-
tum, and on several Species of Roscoea.

25. d Review of the Modern State of Botany,
with a particular Reference to the Natural Systems
of Linneus and Jussieu.—Printed in the second
volume of the Supplement to the Encyclopedia
Britannica.

After the publication of his Review of the
Modern State of Botany, its author was gratified
by the following letters.

Mr. Roscoe to Sir J. E. Smith.

My dear Friend, Liverpool, June 9, 1817.

I have read your dissertation on the present
systems and state of botany with the greatest plea-
sure, and am quite gratified to find how fully
I coincide in all your opinions; as it leads me to
think that however short the progress I have made
may be, I have at least had the good fortune not to
wander far astray.

Your account of the botany of different countries,
and of their different professors, is as novel as it is
interesting ; and the candid spirit of discrimination
in which it is written will not only confer honour

495

on the writer, but on the work of which it forms a
part. You will not however be surprised that Iam
still more interested in the discussion respecting
natural and artificial systems, which I conceive you
have completely set at rest; and that too, without
giving the advocates for either any just ground of
complaint. I only regret that this excellent tract
doesnot form a part of the Transactions of the Lin-
nean Society, where you would have appeared in
your proper character, as defending the system of
the great man whose name adorns the institution
over which you have with such universal approba-
tion so long presided, and over which I hope you
will yet preside for many many years to come.

WILLIAM Roscoe.

Dr. Swartz to Sir J. E. Smith.

My dear Friend, Stockholm, Noy. 19, 1817.

I return you my most hearty thanks for your
kind letter of June the 19th, which I had the plea-
sure to receive not very long ago through the hands
of a travelling friend of mine just returned home
from your country. I acknowledge also with equal
pleasure your very agreeable present of the article
intended for the Supplement to the Edinburgh En-
cyclopedia, which article I have perused with the
greatest satisfaction; and of the Compendium Flore
Britannice, new edition, which I had already sent
for and just received. The copy offered to the
Academy of Sciences I have delivered in your name,

496

and am ordered to return you her best thanks. I
am also very contented to have seen this very neat
publication, as Iam upon the point of publishing
something of the same kind, comprehending the
Scandinavian vegetables; as we want entirely a
synopsis of our Flora, the contents of which 1s
known but to exceedingly few. The cryptogamous
parts having been greatly augmented of late, some
summary is looked for earnestly.

The botanical part of Rees’s Cyclopedia I long to
see, and must have it at any price or rate, if it be
had separately in the manner of the entomological
part, written I suppose by Leach. The Cyclopedia
itself will not so easily find its way to the North.

The delay you have proved by the continuation
of your Mora Britannica cannot but be very disa-
greeable. You will, however, probably find means
to carry your most excellent enterprise to an end
wished for by all cultivators of our amiable science.

It gives me great pain to hear the valetudinarian
state of my highly respected fautor Sir Joseph
Banks. But it is our lot, poor beings ! to leave the
stage some way or other. He does it however not
without leaving the brightest marks behind.

I hope you have received the last volume of our
Academy’s Handlingar, which I sent both for your
account and for the Linnean Society, together with
those for Sir Joseph, to whom the parcel was ad-
dressed.

From our mutual friend Mr. Hooker I have re-
ceived news at times that have interested me ex-
ceedingly. I can hardly say what I admire more

497

in his works, his pencil or his pen. His talents
are inimitable indeed. Mr. Robert Brown has also
favoured me some months ago. It is with great
impatience that I wait the sequel of his admirable
Prodromus. F

My friend Acharius, whom I had not seen since
fifteen years past, having just these very days paid
me a visit in the capital, and hearing that I intend-
ed to write to you, desired to add a line to thank
you for your affectionate greetings ; and you will
receive it on the opposite side.

I remain, respectfully and cordially,
My dear Sir,
Your affectionate and very obedient Servant,

OLor Swartz.
Amicissime,

Diu, et proh! nimis diu expectavi, nec a te lit-
teras ullas accepi. Jam apud amicum Swartz per
quasdam dies vitam jucundam degens ab eo audivi,
quod ante horam ad te litteras mitteret : itaque non
potui quin etiam verbis quibusdam ego te saluta-
rem.

Ante aliquot annos cum Dno. Magist. Ekenstem
Londinum proficiscente species aliquot Lichenum
rariores includentem adte misi. Exemplar Synop-
seos mee Lichenum ante annum et quod excurrit,
tuta ut opinabar via, ad te ablegavi. Per amicissi-
mum Swartz, monographiam duorum Lichenum
( Glyphis et’ Chiodecton) cum figuris, Actis Societatis
Linnzane ut inserantur etiam tue cure tradidi. An

hee omnia ad te advenerunt, nec ne, adhuc inscius
VOL. I..* 2K

498

sum. Fac itaque ut brevi certior fiam, et de tua
perennante amicitia, et de harum rerum felici ad-
ventu.

Plura jam scribere vetat et temporis angustia et
loci. Interim abs te exflagito, ut quam primum
Lichenographia Britannica prodierit, exemplar hu-
jus libri ad me perveniat. Philosophiam Licheno-
logicam cum Terminologia critica edere jam nunc
meditor; sed antea opus laudabile Turneri et Borreri
studere vellem atque inde erudiri.

Vale,
Die 18 Nov. 1817. EK. ACHARIUS.

Str Joseph Banks to Sir J. £. Smith.

My dear Sir James, Soho Square, Dec. 25, 1817.

My chief reason for troubling you with this is
to tell you I have paid obedience to your mandate,
by reading your article on botany in the Scotch
Encyclopedia, which, conceiving it to be an ele-
mentary performance, I had neglected till now to
peruse. Iwas highly gratified by the distinguished
situation in which you have placed me, more so I
fear than I ought to have been. We are all too
fond of hearing ourselves well spoken of by persons
whom we hold in high regard. But, my dear Sir
James, do not you think it probable that the reader
who takes the book in hand for the purpose of
seeking botanical knowledge, will skip all that is
said of me, as not at all tending to enlarge his ideas
on the subject?

499

I admire. your defence of Linneus’s Natural
Classes: it is ingenious and entertaining, and it
evinces a deep skill in the mysteries of classifica-
tion, which must, I fear, continue to wear a myste-
rious shape till a larger portion of the vegetables
of the whole earth shall have been discovered and
described. .

I fear you will differ from me in opinion when I
fancy Jussieu’s Natural Orders to be superior to
those of Linneus. I do not however mean to allege
that he has even an equal degree of merit in having
compiled them,—he has taken all Linneus had
done as his own; and having thus possessed him-
self of an elegant and substantial fabric, has done
much towards increasing its beauty, but far less
towards any improvement in its stability.

How immense has been the improvement of
botany since I attached myself to the study, and
what immense facilities are now offered to students,
that had not an existence till lately! Your de-
scriptions and Sowerby’s drawings of British Plants,
would have saved me years of labour, had they
then existed. I well remember the publication of
Hudson, which was the first effort at well-directed
science, and the eagerness with which I adopted
its use.

Believe me, Yours,

J. Banks.

26. 4 Grammar of Botany.—The Grammar of
Botany appeared in 1821. This volume its author
inscribed, as a memorial of his esteem, to Mrs.

2K 2

500

Corrie of Woodville near Birmingham ; and of this
work Sir Thomas Frankland tells the writer, “I
must not omit to notice your Dedication, as equal
in elegance to any extant.”

Mrs. Corrie to Sir J. EF. Smith.

My dear Sir James, Woodville, Jan. 29, 1821.

On our return hither two days ago, we found
your elegant present waiting our arrival. The book
is a treasure in itself, and doubly valuable as a proof
of your friendly remembrance. But what can I say
in acknowledgement of the gratifying and unex-
pected distinction with which you have honoured
me? I can conceive nothing so flattering to va-
nity, if vanity were not lost in the far stronger feel-
ing of affectionate gratitude. The privilege of an
introduction to you has been one of my first wishes
for many years past, and I feel myself fortunate in
no common degree in its accomplishment.

Iam, my dear Sir James, with the greatest re-
spect, your truly obliged,—may I add,

Your affectionate Friend,
Susan Corrie.

An American edition of The Grammar of Botany
(by Henry Muhlenberg, D.D.) was published in1822
at New York: and a translation of it into German
was made the same year.

50]

The Bishop of Carlisle to Sir J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir James, Berners Street, Jan. 19, 1821.

I beg to thank you for your remembrance of me
in sending me your Botanical Grammar. When I
first heard of its being announced, I thought it was
a mere repetition of what had been before published,
which possibly was now getting out of print. But
upon opening it I really perceived it to be a grammar
of prime excellence. ‘“Dzsce docendus adhuc,” said
an ancient philosopher. So might you have fronted
your Grammar with those humiliating words; for
who is there who will not receive instruction? The
endeavouring to unfold and explain the intricacies
of Natural Orders requires a masterly hand such
as yours. You, Correa, and Brown, are the only
ones of my knowledge who could touch a subject
of this kind; so that I look upon you as facile
principem, and holding the Chair of the Linnean
Society, if I might say so, ¢wo jure. It is, in my
judgement, admirably well done.

Yours,
S. CaRLISLE.

Professor Martyn to Sir J. £. Smith.

My dear Sir, Pertenhall, March 9, 1821.
I received your book, which gave me great plea-
sure. Your Grammar plainly speaks the hand of

502

a master ; concise, yet full ; remarkable for clearness
and neatness. Small as it is in size, it must have
cost you some time and attention. I smile some-
times when I meet with the miserable, incorrect
compilations and imitations of your former work
(Introduction to Physiological and Systematic Bo-
tany). When your intended Flora makes its ap-
pearance, the British botanist will find everything
that he wants in these three works of yours.

I am not such a bigot as to think lightly of the
Natural Orders, imperfect as our present knowledge
of them is. Had I been younger, that very circum-
stance would have incited me to pursue so delect-
able a subject; and I hope you will continue to do
it. I am only sometimes vexed when they would
fain persuade me that the natural system may su-
persede the artificial. My health is still good, but
I grow sensibly weaker in body, and memory and ~
recollection are decaying. With all this lam thank-
ful that my eyes are yet efficient, that my spirits are
good, and that I can still enjoy conversation with .
those who will condescend a little to my deafness.
This is much for almost eighty-six.

With my hearty good wishes for your health and
happiness,

I am, dear Sir, yours,

Tuos. Martyn.

Professor Schultes to Sir J. £. Smith.

Landshut, July 15, 1821.
“My noble and very dear Sir,

It was no sooner than yesterday evening when I
was happy to receive your very kind letter, dated
April 23rd, together with the splendid presents you
favoured me with. I shall immediately try to make
my countrymen acquainted with it by a translation
made by my son Jules, under my directionand by my
side. The young man cannot begin his botanical
career better than with the study of this work every
science: should be commenced with,—that of gram-
mar; and I hope you will be content with his per-
formance. He seems not to live but for botany ;
and if Heaven yields him health and strength, as he
was till now graciously favoured with, he will not
fail in zeal and ardour for the amabzlis scientia,and
return once from the Himallaya with a new world
of plants. He might perhaps in a few years be fa-
voured by our Government to gather plants on the
source of the Ganges, as our Martius on the Rio
Grandes.

The fellow was yet, when scarce ten years old,
applauded by some of our best herborists for his
botanical eye, when he climbed with them on our
Alps, and brought them the rarest and smallest
Alpine plants he had never seen alive, but only in
my herbal.

I hope you had received since, my translation of
your Introduction; I could not send it sooner than

504

I had got a copy of, and I did it in the very moment
I received it. I am happy to find myself think as
you do, and to have never mingled my elbows inthe
rather metaphysical than physical quarrel against
the sexualists, though I was summoned. I answered
almost in your own terms; even if the Linnean
theory on this subject were false, the Linnean sy-
stem would not be at all the worse.

I shall, according to your direction, look as soon
as possible to complete our Rees’s Cyclopedia.

How should it be possible, noble Sir, that any
thing coming out of your hands should cost more
than it is worth. The most trifling plant given by _
you becomes a jewel for any herbal in the world ;
and jewels never cost more than they are worth.

Sieber has collected three interesting herbals—
Herb. Palestinum, Creticum, and AXgyptiacum. I
bought them, and am very content with ; he has yet
doubles enough if you wish. He did send now a
young man to the Cape, to gather there for his col-
lection. Another was sent by him to Domingo ; and
_ he wrote me today that a very ample load of dried
plants, almost two waggons, arrived safely at Mar-
seilles from Domingo. Command with him; he is
a clever fellow.

I rejoice to learn no greater grief but what nature
imposes on everybody has fallen upon your noble
heart. It gives me the purest joy to hear your dear
mother touched even the 88th; for we have by it
the most reasonable hope to see you to us at the
same term: “Fortes creantur fortibus et bonis ; inest
parentum virtus !”

505

Agree the homage of the sincerest and deep-felt
‘respect, esteem, and even awe. I have the honour
to continue for ever faithfully,

Noble Sir,
Your most obedient Servant and Friend,
J. A. ScHULTES.

Landshut in Bayaria, 1822.
My very dear and noble Sir,

Your plain English Flora will, become a benefit,
a blessing to your countrymen and countrywomen,
and to their children in their furthest generations.
You will become by it the very British botanical So-
crates,who, as Tully said, “scientiam e celo deduait,”
&c. ; and, as Socrates did in philosophy, thus banish
the sophisms of botanophilt ephebi, &c. (to use some
sneer of holy father Linnzeus) out of the realm of
the amabilis scientia. Your country, as well as
Germany and France, needs highly to receive the
impressions of a new die, cut and hardened by the
master-hand of a first-rate botanist, if botany should
not relapse in the old chaos before the times of
Bauhin, and cease to be of any use to mankind.
All our modern botanists pretend to the possession
of the key of Nature’s mysterious temple ; and what
they open is nothing else (thus it seems to me)
but the gloomy dwelling of Minotaurus.

“ Multiplicique domo, caecisque includere tectis,

Ponit opus, turbatque notas et lumina flexum
Ducit in errorem variarum ambage viarum.”

Youll forward more the wealth of science and of

506

your country by your English Flora, by settling
the due and true relations between terms and ideas,
than all those who being only jealous of the glitter
of novelties afford new confusion in the science to
the old one.

Your Grammar, noble friend, is now already
translated by my son, and shall I hope become the
botanical common prayer-book of our Bavarian
students. Pardon me for the expression of common
prayer-book ; ’twas only to have the honour to show
you, that I am not of those fools who “ have said
in their heart, there is no God;” and that I know
well the use of acommon prayer-book. It was the
very awe for religion that brought the note, page 8,
in the translation of your Lntroduction. You can-
not imagine to yourself in what a terrible abyss of
paganism, polytheism, or rather pantheism (in the
ill sense of the word, for in the good one Deo plena
sunt omnia), of mysticism and Torquemadism my
poor High-German countrymen are now fallen in,
by mixing natural philosophy with theology; not

‘in your manner, and in that of every sound philo-
sopher, but doing it in their own way.

ScHULTES.

27. Selection of the Correspondence of Linnaeus
and other Naturalists—Two volumes 8vo, pub-
lished in 1821. These are dedicated to the Linnean
Society.

is

507 ‘

Professor Martyn to Sir J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Pertenhall, Nov. 16, 1821.

_ [have been reading your Selection of the Corre-
spondence of Linneus &c., and have been perhaps
more interested in the work than most others; for
though the chief part of the correspondence is an-
tecedent to my botanical life, yet most of the par-
ties were familiar to me in my early days, though
I had personal acquaintance with few of them.
These letters show how dead botany was in Eng-
land in the middle of the last century, when Col-
linson and Ellis, two men not professionally scien-
tific, but engaged in commerce, were Linnzus’s
principal English correspondents! His system can
hardly be said to have been publicly known among
us till about the year 1762, when Hope taught it
at Edinburgh, and I at Cambridge, and Hudson
published his fora.

Go on and prosper, my dear friend, in your Flora
Greca, and your other most useful works, in pro- +
moting the most delightful of all sciences ; and be-
lieve me, &c.

Tuos. Martyn.

28. The English Flora.—Of the English Flora,
dedicated to perpetuate his regard for one of his
earliest as well as latest friends, Sir Thomas Geary
Cullum, Bart., the first and second volumes were
published in 1824, the third in 1825, and the fourth
in March 1828.

508

The partial author of the obituary before men-
tioned, declares the English Flora to be “the last
best work of the distinguished President of the Lin-
nean Society, consisting of four volumes octavo,
and describing the Phenogamous plants and Ferns
of Great Britain, though its title might imply a more
limited range: “ Finis coronat opus.” There is no
Flora of any nation so complete in flowering spe-
cies, and none of any country in which more accu-
racy and judgement are displayed. If any person
should in future contemplate a work of this kind,
whatever the originality of his information, what-
ever the novelty of his subject, let him imitate this
illustrious author in careful remark, in taking no-
thing upon trust, in tracing every synonym to its
source, and lastly in arranging his matter in such
a manner, by the aid of different types, as shall
render it easy of reference, and point out at a
glance the nature of it. However mechanical some
of this may appear, it is absolutely essential to
be attended to in natural history, where the sub-
jects are infinite in number, and where aid must be
derived from every mode of generalizing particu-
lars.”

The part of this work which it may be said the
author himself considered the most original, and af-
forded him most satisfaction, was the natural order
of Umbellate. “‘Bya full investigation,” he observes,
“ of all the organs of fructification, and by distin-
guishing the tumid bases of the styles from the
floral receptacle, things hitherto confounded, I have
characterized the Umbelliferous plants like the rest

509

by the parts of the flower and fruit alone. In doing
this, I have kept the exotic species in view, of which
the Linnean collection and those of many botanists
of Switzerland, with the Greek herbarium of my
lamented friend Sibthorp, have furnished me with
almost all that are known. The principles I have
adopted prove amply sufficient, being no other than
those by which Linnzus was, on the whole, so suc-
cessful, though he deserted them in the arrangement
of the tribe in question. But what affords me most
satisfaction is, that I am thus enabled to keep en-
tire almost all his own genera.”

In a letter addressed to Mr. D. Turner in January
1823, Sir James tells him that “the Umbelliferz
occupy me so that I have hardly time to write a let-
ter; but I have the satisfaction of thinking I am
doing some good, and that they will all be found
capable of being arranged in good natural genera
by their fructification alone. In reply to an objec-
tion of yours, please to observe these plants are
(without exception perhaps) to be found in flower
and seed at the same time.

“T have better opportunities of specimens in every
state than most people who have laboured at this
subject, having the herbaria of Linnzus, Davall,
Reynier, Favrod, with my own. I have also Cus-
son’s numerous letters explaining his ideas.

“JT am happy that you think of our late conversa-
tion with the pleasure that I do, for indeed I have
seldom been more pleased with any. We must have
more such. I am often in the way of so many
whom it is hopeless or worthless to converse with,

510

that good sense and just feeling added to religious
consolation are like grains of gold in the mud of
a torrent.”

The following flattering notice of this work the
author received from a young and ardent admirer of
his favourite pursuit, an acquaintance as unexpected
as it was pleasing, and which he regretted haying
no opportunity of cultivating more closely.

My dear Sir James, — Edinburgh, Sept. 6, 1824.

I have been purposing for some time past to
write to you, as I shouid be sorry to let you forget
me. The sincere pleasure, I will say delight, I ex-
perienced in cultivating your acquaintance during
the short time you were with us at Cowes, I often
think of, and regret that the distance now between
us is likely to be a great obstacle to our meeting.
My present excuse for writing to you is to thank
you most cordially for the present you have lately
made the British botanist. It may appear pre-
sumption in me to praise the two volumes of the
English Flora lately published; but as an: ardent
admirer of the science, more especially as relating
to these kingdoms, I consider it a great happiness
and honour to address you, and to express my great
admiration of the élegance, the neatness, the per-
spicuity of the language, the exquisite clearness of
the scientific descriptions, and the consummate skill
of the generic arrangements. The Umbellate plants
are surely now perfect. Iam sure, my dear Sir
James, you will excuse my thus expressing my feel-
ings; but, indeed, although you have many older

511

and abler friends, you have none who admires and
esteems you more for your scientific and also for
your amiable qualifications.

A very clever man, Mr. P. Duncan of New Col-
lege, Oxon (a great admirer of you), said of the
Flora Britannica, “that it was a sort of logic,—so
clear, so perspicuous and so convincing.” I thought
of this in the examination I have made of the Flora.
Hoping soon to see the remainder, and wishing you
all health and strength to go on with that and your
other works, and with many years of happiness,

I am, my dear Sir James,
Your faithful Friend,
KE. B. Ramsay.

P.S. As an ardent lover of British botany, permit
me (though Iam a mere novice) to take this oppor-
tunity of expressing my unfeigned admiration of the
Flora Britannica. I offer rather my thanks than
my approbation; for approbation insignificant as
mine is can never increase your reputation.

Le Sécrétaire perpétuel de ? Académie a Monsieur
le Chevalier J. E. Smith, Corréspondant, &c.

Institut de France, Académie Royale des Sciences,

Paris, le 10 Mai, 1824.
L’Académie, Monsieur, a recu l’ouvrage que vous
avez bien voulu lui addresser, et qui est intitulé
Flore Anglaise, 2 vols. 8vo, 1824. J'ai Vhonneur
de vous remercier au nom de l’Académie de l’envoi
de cet ouvrage, et de vous temoigner tout le prix

512

qu'elle attache 4 cette publication. Il a été dépose
honorablement dans la Bibliotheque de l'Institut, et
M. Desfontaines a été chargé par ’Académie de lui
en rendre un compte verbal.
Agréez, Monsieur, l'assurance de ma considéra-
tion distinguée.
B. Cuvier.

P.S. Oserais-je vous prier de profiter de quelque
occasion pour m’addresser le diploma de membre
de la Société Linnéenne: m’honorant d’appartenir
depuis long tems 4 cette association distinguée, je
desirerais posséder le document qui en est la preuve.

Sir Thomas G. Cullum to Sir J. E. Smith.

My dear Sir James, Bury, March 19, 1824.

I received your kind present of the two volumes
of English Flora, and shall wait with some impa-
tience for the continuation of it; but should almost
despair of seeing it, if you had not told us in page
21 that you would proceed immediately with the
remainder.

It is true, as you say, that I have a love of natu-
ral science, and it has amused me a great many of
the years of my long life; yet I am conscious how
deficient I am in the real knowledge of natural
history, as many amateurs, as they are called, are of
the fine paintings they possess. I will not however
conceal the pleasure I feel in your address to me,
which tells the world far and near, that I have the

513

esteem and affection of the author of the English
- Flora.

Our friend Professor Martyn told me that in the
compilation of Miller's Gardener’s Dictionary he
wrote 20,000 sheets of paper. I know not how
many sheets of paper the English Flora has occa-
sioned you to write, neither can I calculate how
many volumes of books you must have examined.
Glad as I should be to live to see the remaining vo-
lumes of the Flora, yet I live in fear that you should
hurt your health by the confinement and labour
it must occasion you; I will allow in some cases
“ Labor ipse voluptas,’ but I cannot think the con-
finement and labour of sending forth a finished
Flora of five volumes is anything less than an ar-
duous undertaking.

I have been looking into a few leaves of the Rev.
T.M. Harris’s, D.D. book on the Natural History of
the Bible. He takes notice ofthe lilies of the field,
and quotes you for their being the 4maryllis lutea.

Yours most gratefully and affectionately,
T. G. CuLium.

Sir J. E. Smith to Mrs. Corrie.

My dear Mrs. Corrie, Norwich, March 21, 1824.
I have, for a long time past, had so much employ-
ment for my pen, that except afew urgent letters of
mere necessity or business, I have scarcely written
one. I am still as busy at the sequel of my Flora,
of which I hope you have received the first and se-
VOL. I. 21

514

cond volumes, which I ordered to be sent for your
kind acceptance. Nevertheless, it seems. hard if I
may not write a letter for mere pleasure,—and I feel
but too sensibly that Iam deep in your debt. Iam
in full as good health as when I left your hospitable
and delightful abode, and hope to give a course of
ten lectures at the London Institution in May and
part of June. . The Institution has claims upon me
as an honorary member, and it is extremely well
attended. I have many things to say in these lec-
tures, as well as at the anniversary of the Linnean
Society, about the present state, progress, and cor-
ruptions of botany. I know not that I can stem
the barbarous and muddy torrent, but will try.—
Have you seen the Systema of my friend DeCan-
dolle? It is a rich store of knowledge, the greatest
assemblage of botanical information, as to species,
characters and synonyms, in the world, but the
nomenclature and its principles most corrupt! He
has also published one volume of Prodromus of the
whole work. His only rule for names is priority
of date; as to bad or good, classical or barbarous,
he has no taste. All Linnzan rules are disregarded.
He condescends indeed to retain all Linnean names;
but all the classical names of Solander, Swartz,
Schreber, &c. are abolished, to restore the vile bar-
barous appellations of Aublet and other illiterate
French travellers. I know not how the world will
bear this. Iam no Hercules, to attempt to cleanse
the stable, but I shall go on in my own way, and
trust to the good sense of those who may come
after me. DeCandolle is a most worthy man, and

515

I wish neither to hurt nor quarrel with him. Bo-
tanists are more sore on the subject of nomencla-
ture than any other, especially when they are in
the wrong. Linneus was aware of this when he
wrote his Critica Botanica. I shall be happy to
hear your opinion, with any advice or corrections,
on these two volumes of the English Flora. I
think there must be five in all, if I have health and
eyes to finish them. I am now in Didynamia, and
hope to get through it before I go to Town. De-
Candolle is most injudicious in Ze¢radynamia, with
an immensity of genera and subdivisions.

We had an agreeable visit at Holkham in Octo-
ber last, with Mr. and Miss Roscoe, the Duke of
Sussex, &c. I introduced there Mr. Hunter, a na-
tive American, brought up among the Indians, and
now going back with the noble design of improving
them on the wisest and best principles. If you and
Mr. Corrie have not read his Memoirs of his
Captivity, pray do. The Duke of Sussex and Mr.
Coke were delighted with him. He came to Europe
with every possible recommendation from people
whom I know.

I am, dear Madam,
Your ever obliged,
J. E. Smiru.

Nathaniel John Winch, Esq. to Sir J. E. Smith.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, April 26, 1824.
My dear Sir,

Permit me to return you my best thanks for the
2L2

516

notice you have been pleased to take of my North-
umberland and Durham Catalogue and pamphlet in
your excellent English Flora, which has afforded
me infinite information, especially on the difficult
subject of the synonymy of the older authors,—a
topic far beyond the reach of ordinary compilers.
Had I been aware that no localities of rare species
would have been admitted into your work without
you possessed specimens, I would have sent you the
last I have of Pyrola secunda, from the only well
authenticated English habitat at present known:—
I mean Ashness Gill, above Barrow Force, near the
Derwent-water Lake in Cumberland, where it was
gathered in 1807 by your friends Turner, Hooker,
and myself. As for Pyrola rotundifolia, it is abun-
dant in the romantic Dene at Castle Eden in Dur-
ham. In vol. ii. p. 369, Gibside Woods, in the same
county, is mentioned as a locality of Spiraea salici-
Jolia, but it is merely naturalized there, in the same
way as in the Duke of Athol’s woods at Dunkeld,
and by Roadley Lake on the wild moors of North-
umberland beyond Cambo (the birth-place of Ca-
pability Brown); but there, very old and stunted
lilac-trees pointed out the exotics. While on the
subject of naturalized plants, it may not be amiss
to mention that I once met with a considerable
quantity of Sazfraga umbrosa in the woods of
Blair Athol, associated with Pyrola secunda, Arbu-
tus Uva-Ursi and Habenaria bifola, and close to
Pellidea venosa. Here I thought the London-Pride
might be considered truly wild, especially as the
general habit of the plant was much altered; but,

517

to my disappointment, the gardener informed me
he had introduced the plant in various parts of the
wood several years before. Ina small lake, high
on the Wallingford moors, Nuphar minima is found
in plenty; and about twelve years ago, Mr. Treve-
lyan had plants removed to the ponds in his gar-
dens, where it flourishes with Bautomus umbellatus,
and Menyanthes nympheoides of the South of En-
gland, and Nymphea alba, and Nymphea lutea of
the North, but still retains its diminutive size.—
This, allow me to remark, is all the difference I can
find between it and JV. /utea; for the teeth of the
stigma (I mean their protrusion) depends upon the
age of the seed-vessel, and the approximation or
separation of the lobes of the leaves also, is owing
to age. Erythrea littoral, I think, must be consi-
dered a good species; it is scattered over several
hundred acres in Holy Island; and though I met
with many gigantic specimens, still the peculiar
shape of the leaf and mode of growth were retained,
while Erythrea Centaurium grows on the sandy sea-
beach near Tynemouth, without being altered by
situation. Here also Selene inflata may be seen, as
in inland fields, without being changed into Silene
maritima:—see Hooker's Flora Scotica. Thomas, of
Bex, has sent me German specimens of the Pheasant-
eye Pink, as Dianthus plumarius. Is he correct? or
what is D. plumarius ?—D. arenarius I have from
Swartz. Should any plant not as yet published in
English Botany fall in my way, fresh specimens
shall be sent to Sowerby for the Appendix.—Losa
dumetorum ? and a few mosses he received from me

518

inthe autumn. The Scotch botanists have detected
six new species. Did Harriman transmit Juncus
castaneus to you from Teesdale? I was not aware
we possessed this rare plant. Adieu, &c.

N. J. WincH.

Robert Brown, Esq. to Sir J. EL. Smith.

My dear Sir, Dean Street, February 2, 1825.

It is very gratifying to me, to find that you are
likely to adopt the greater part of the genera I have
proposed in Crucifere. As to M. DeCandolle’s
labours in this difficult family, I think he has made
several improvements in his divisions of genera, and
I remember Ithought,—but I confess I have not suf-
ficiently studied it,—that his Dzp/otazts would pro-
bably be adopted. I have no hesitation however in
saying, that he has pushed his divisions from modi-
fications of form and direction of cotyledons much
beyond their value, and, in giving nearly equal im-
portance to all these modifications in every part of
the order, has proposed subdivisions or tribes which,
though more natural than Linnzeus’s Stculosa and
Siliquosa, are still in some degree artificial; one
curious proof of this is,—and several others might
be mentioned,—that not having thought it necessary
to examine the most common plant of the family,
namely Bursa Pastoris, he has placed it where it
really ought to be, but where it cannot remain ac-
cording to his own system.

Believe me, my dear Friend, most faithfully yours,

kh. Brown.

519

A peculiarity in Sir James’s literary compositions

may be mentioned; it is, that he seldom wrote any
hing more than once, and his manuscript was

sent to the press as it came from his hand, without
any material correction or interlineation, in a dis-
tinct legible character, that appeared more like a
corrected copy than arough draught. This was the
case not only in scientific description, but with other
compositions, such as his biographical memoirs of
botanists printed in Rees’s Cyclopedia.

The person who records this was first struck with
the circumstance when he wrote the Life of Dom-
bey*, which came

“Warm from the heart, and faithful to its fires,”

with scarcely an erasure of the pen, and perfect in
the minutest particulars of orthography and punc-
tuation.

Another peculiarity, as it appears, was this, that
when pressed for time, he frequently wrote most to
his own satisfaction. Such was the case with his
prefaces and dedications ; always delayed till the
volume was near its completion, and then hurried
by his printer, he generally sat down after tea, and

* “The collections of seeds and botanical collections of this
unfortunate and injured man, through the mismanagement of the
Spanish court, have been lost to the gardens of Europe.—Among
a few of his botanical discoveries which are preserved, are the
magnificent Datura arborea, the beautiful Salvia formosa, and the
fragrant Verbena triphylla, or, as it ought to have been called,
citrea’; this last will be a monumentum ere perennius with
those who shall ever know his history.”—J. E. 8.

' V. triphylla, now Lippia citriodora. Kunth

520

would fairly write what was wanted, without pre-
meditation or doubt about its plan, as he would have
_ written a letter.

These are proofs of the correct and energetic
mind he was endued with;—he loved repose, his
bodily constitution required it; but his mental vi-
gour, when occasion called forth exertion, disco-
vered a power beyond what he appeared to possess.
It may not become the present writer to speak of
Sir James’s style as she is inclined to do, but the
Prefaces to his works always seemed to her happily
expressed, and the Dedications appropriate. That
to his Exotic Botany is one of the best among
the latter, and shows the truth of the poet’s obser-
vation,

“« Affection lights a brighter flame
Than ever blaz’d by art.”

She is even tempted to apply to him the eulogy he
bestowed on Sir William Jones, “who honoured the
science of botany with its cultivation, and like every
thing else he touched, refined, elevated and eluci-
dated it. No man was ever more truly sensible of
the charms of this innocent and elegant pursuit;
and whenever he adverted to it, all the luminous
illustrations of learning, and Bes the magic graces
of poetry flowed from his pen.”

The following passage from a letter of Mr. Ros-
coe’s, dated the 6th of January 1805, by no means
falls shortin expression of those sentiments of esteem
which are found in the Dedication of this work to
that accomplished and learned historian, naturalist,
and poet.

521

“ My dear Sir,—It was not till late last night that
I had the pleasure of receiving through the hands
of my booksellers the first number of Exotic
Botany, and of perusing the affectionate, and to me,
highly gratifying address which you have done
me the great honour to prefix to it. To such
parts of it as are commendatory, I can only say,
that although it be an arduous task, I will do the
best I can to justify you to the world for the
favourable opinion which you have ventured to ex-
press; and in this respect I feel as if I had been
paid beforehand for a work which I have yet to
perform: but in your kind and friendly expres-
sions of attachment and esteem I experience the
most unalloyed and perfect satisfaction, because I
know that affection can only be repaid zz kind, and
that I am rich enough to make you a return. May
this public seal of our friendship not only confirm
it whilst we live, but long continue to unite our
names in future times, as associates in our studies
and pursuits, in our dispositions and our hearts.”

The Prefaces to the Reflections on the Study of
Nature, his Tour on the Continent, his Introduction
to Botany, and to the English Flora, (which last is
indeed a brief history of the progress of botanical
science in this country,) are well worthy of being
read for the information and sentiments which they
contain.

In all Sir James’s literary compositions his only
aim was to express his thoughts with clearness and
brevity, in the most common words. “ Hard words,”

522.

he observed, “ never taught wisdom, nor does truth
require them.”

He never sacrificed the accuracy of his meaning
to a well-sounding sentence, considering it a fre-
quent cause of obscurity in writers, and one form of
affectation ; and affectation he defined in the words
of Lavater, as “ the vain and ridiculous attempt of
poverty to appear rich.”

The facility with which he wrote had its origin
in a habit of thinking much on the subject previ-
ously to his committing it to paper. Long before
he began his English Flora, he occasionally said,
“TI have it in my mind, and only want time to write
it down.” This must be understood with some
latitude :—as soonas he did begin, it grew beneath
his hand, and a thousand ideas, dormant till then,
crowded for admission, and new arrangements took
place as occasion required ; but still, the foundation
had been laid, and to its stability the superstruc-
ture owed its strength and beauty.

When we consider the variety and number of
works that came from his hand, the frequent bodily
indispositions that retarded his progress, together
with the interruptions occasioned by an extensive
correspondence, by the delivery of lectures, by oc-
casional journeys, and the indulgence of social in-
tercourse,—it is remarkable that heaccomplished so
much; but he had two hands to his work, which
experience proves to be effectual in surmounting
difficulties ;—an unconquerable inclination, and
great order and method, without which, however
dull and technical it may be esteemed, nothing can

523

be well done. They comprise the secret of much
perfection in human operations, and the best ceco-
nomy of our most precious and evanescent property,
time and temper.

In the common occurrences of life, a promptness
of decision was one of the characteristics of Sir
James’s mind; it implies, indeed, an experienced
judgement: but he considered the habit of indeci-
sion more wearisome and unprofitable than even a
wrong determination ; and having chosen for the
best, he would not permit himself in vain regrets if
he failed in his designs. Upon more important
occasions, he usually quoted a rule of his friend the
Bishop of Carlisle, “ Let us do the right thing,”
and then whatever the result may be, we shall want
no consolation. This was a principle upon which
he invariably acted ; and to those who have felt the
peace of mind which accompanies such a motive, it
will not require any other recommendation.

The letters of Sir James’s inestimable and long-
tried friend, who has been just alluded to, will best
illustrate the works above enumerated. As a classical
scholar Dr. Goodenough’s criticism is full of instruc-
tion, as a systematic naturalist he was not behind
any in precision, nor was it his disposition to com-
pliment at the expense of sincerity ; his remarks
are therefore valuable, and were continued at pretty
regular intervals during an unbroken friendship of
more than forty years. The Bishop died in the ~
autumn of 1827, a few months only before his at-
tached friend. His last letter, in the month of May
that year, was written to express his regret at being

524

unable to attend the anniversary dinner of the Lin-
nan Society onthe 24th. A similar reason pre-
vented Sir James himself from being present. After
repeated attempts to reach the metropolis, increas-
ing infirmity put a stop to an annual visit, which
for many returning seasons had been the period of
much enjoyment, connected with the celebration of
the birth of Linnzus.

5
Bd G4 Jae

erie) Cig te
Bea ee a
I vh ete
Dot V7 gw
Searr.0s-Phatbis,

ee

LMiphlt)

] . ee
hon aaa
oa ies

rae eel

or a0 rr pees Ope Prpresereac

‘ a ae v , a ,
rs 1 A egie ¥F er 19e iy

525

CHAPTER VI.

The Bishop of Carlisle endeavours to persuade Sir James not to
remove from London.—Motives which induced him to return
into Norfolk.—Letter of Mr. Crowe.—Lectures at the Royal
Institution.— Flora Greca;—Letters from Sir Joseph Banks ;—
Sir J. E. Smith;— Thomas Hankins and Thomas Platt, Esqrs.
— Bishop of Carlisle’s Correspondence.

Tue following correspondence of the Bishop of
Carlisle, chiefly critical, and relating to Sir James’s
literary pursuits, comprises a period of thirty years.
With it are mingled a few letters from other learn-
ed men, and they are thus kept apart for more easy
reference to the foregoing Chapter.

The Rev. Samuel Goodenough, D.D.,to JE. Smith.

Dear Sir, Ealing, Sept. 16, 1793.

I have the pleasure of telling you that I am ar-
rived at Ealing from Hastings, where I have been
for a month, safe and sound. Our eyes were blest
with the sight of the India, Jamaica, and Oporto
fleets, and variety of shipping of all descriptions,
beyond what I ever saw before. I was well all the
time, met with very agreeable company, and in short
unbent thoroughly. Having been at Hastings fre-
quently before, there was not so much remaining
to be found. However I improved myself some-

526

what in marine plants. Among other things, the
fishermen brought one day to shore the Blue Shark,
Squalus glaucus. As I observed that Pennant has
spoken of this species very slightly, having never
seen one, I have taken a very particular description
of it, and a young lad of the place has given me a
very correct outline drawing of it. I should be glad
to know if it would be worth while to make up a
paper upon the subject for the Society. Has any
one given in to our Herbarium Asplenium marinum?
because I have a very good specimen to spare. I
found two new Ulve at Hastings, but only single
specimens of each. And now give me leave to ask
how my paper on the Carices goes on: is it all
printed yet? I could wish to let Sibthorp see a copy
of it before he finishes his Flora Owoniensis.

The Baroness Itzenplitz is brought to bed of a
son at Kew. The Baron favoured me with a note
announcing the happy tidings.

Pray favour me with a few words upon the Blue
Shark, my paper on Carices, and the Asplenium
marinum.

I am, dear Sir, ever yours,

S. GoODENOUGH.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Ealing, March 21, 1796.
The retirement of my situation and the neglect
of the newspaper which we read, kept concealed
from me till the latter end of last week, that you
had completed your happiness. You must now be

527

doubly valuable to me. I most sincerely give you
joy, and shall be glad to know when I may tell you
so in person. If there be in this world a state in
which all is not vanity, it is that where two mect
and unite on rational ideas, and on the sacred prin-
ciple of making each other happy.

Pray hold me still among your friends, and re-
commend me to Mrs. Smith’s good opinion.

I remain ever your most sincere Friend and
Servant,

S. GooDENOUGH.

I forgot to say how sincerely Mrs. Goodenough
joins me in all I say, and all the girls too.

From the same.

Dear Sir, August 25, 1796.

The same channel of information which informed
me of your return from Norfolk, mentioned your
intention of quitting Middlesex. I rode over to
Portland Place the next day, when lo! (see what it
is to live out of the world!) I found you had re-
turned some time, and set out again for Hafod the
day before. I found from the ticket at the corner,
and from your servant likewise, that all was too
true, and that your house was to be let immediately.
Directly I began grieving for you and for the Lin-
nan Society. At the distance of Norwich you will
be quite buried alive. I wished to talk over with
you once more, how necessary it is, that he who
would reign over many must be perpetually contend-

528

ing with many. How many matters do we ascertain,
not merely from positive and laborious study, but
accidental conversations with persons but meanly
informed upon the subjects discoursed of! You will
have nobody to question your authority at Nor-
wich; the consequence of this will be, that if you:
once settle in any error, such is our infirmity, you
will continue in it. Then how will you from time
to time be aware of the new discoveries which may
be made?

If you are not here upon the spot, you will in
this respect be greatly behind others. But all these
things will keep you out of sight. You ought to
be always in the centre, and the ruling and anima-
ting power. I hear you propose being three months
in town; that is not sufficient ;—reverse it ;—be
nine months here, andthree at Norwich. Then
again the concerns of the Linnean Society will
require more attendance than three months. The
scheme of vice-presidents is proper enough, but a
substitute (for such after all is a vice-president) can- °
not give life like the principal. And yet much do
we want life; when recourse has been had to several
persons in the room, and scarcely one has been
prevailed on to take the chair, many have been
disgusted and their ardour cooled.

Do think upon all these things before it be too
late.

The more the Society flourishes, the more credit
to the President: if the Society dwindles away, the
President has an empty name.

What credit has the potentate of a barren land,

529

uninhabited? Better therefore to be much in the
busy world, and little out of it; and therefore, as I
said before, you had better reverse the matter; be
nine months here, and three there.

I want you very much to give me specimens of
Hypericum dubium and quadrangulum, and indeed
any other choice specimens which Hafod may afford.

My very particular thanks are due to you for in-
troducing me to Sir Thomas Frankland; I wish this
had taken place before we had finished our paper
on Fuci. I think his correspondence will make it
necessary to make an addendum to our paper.

I have long since gone through your Flora, &c.
—I am interrupted.—Always yours affectionately,

S. GOODENOUGH.

These affectionate letters want but little explana-
tion; and it must have been a powerful impulse
which made the friend to whom they were addressed
resist the strong persuasions of so sincere, so warm
and judicious a counsellor.

Sir James had not long before removed from his
house in Great Marlborough-street, and taken one
near Mr. Lee’s nursery-garden at Hammersmith,
which was a primary inducement with him to make
the change. Domestic convenience, however, influ-
enced him to leave London altogether, and he re-
turned to his native place for a permanent residence
in the autumn of 1796. In the city of Norwich he
found himself among those who knew and esteemed
him; and there, as his medical skill was not unfre-
quently put in requisition among his intimate ac-

VOL. I. 2M

530

quaintance, Mr. Crowe of Lakenham, one of his
earliest and at all times most cordial well-wishers,
who had great confidence in his judgement, endea-
voured to persuade him to the practice of his pro-
fession, and told him he should repeat the advice
annually, convinced that he would rise to great emi-
nence in it.

There certainly were moments when Sir James
took this advice into consideration, and reflected
with some satisfaction upon the friends and confi-
dence which his professional pursuits might procure
him. His own experience of the value of a medi-
cal friend made him look with complacency upon
being useful in a similar way to others: but these
were transient thoughts, for he knew that his fa-
vourite occupation must frequently be interrupted
if he once seriously engaged in practice as a physi-
cian, and some apprehension as to his health endu-
ring the requisite fatigue was a bar against a prompt
decision to try the experiment.—The writer reflects
with as much self-satisfaction as upon almost any
determination in her life, that she never encouraged
her husband to relinquish his proper pursuit for a
new object :—not that she made any sacrifice in this ;
a comparison of the possible advantages attending
such a change weighed but little against the plea-
sure of seeing him in a much happier situation ; in
his peaceful library, amidst the /Voras of Greece and
India, of the Alps and England.

To keep up as much as possible a connection
with the Linnean Society and his friends in Lon-
don, Sir James spent at least two months every

5351

spring in town, and for full twenty years he deli-
vered an annual course of lectures on botany at the
Royal Institution in Albemarle-street, when his as-
sociates there were men of the first talent in their
respective departments of science and taste *.

Sir James also gave at different periods botanical
lectures at the institutions of Liverpool, Birming-
ham, Bristol, and London.

* Among these were Sir Humphry Davy, Campbell, Opie,
Sidney Smith, and other men of eminent attainments.

The following letters from Sir H. Davy relate to arrangements
for these courses of lectures.

Dear Sir, Royal Institution, 1804.

It is in the contemplation of the Royal Institution to extend
considerably the subjects of the lectures of the establishment, and
amongst other courses for the ensuing season, a short one on bo-
tany is proposed. I presume to inquire of you, at the request of
one of the most active and enlightened members of the board,
whether they may entertain any hopes that you will be disposed
to undertake such an object. I trust your goodness will pardon
the liberty I am taking. I am sure the committee will be dis-
posed to concede to any terms that you may propose. By your
assistance the Institution would be materially benefited, and a
new impulse would be given in the metropolis to that science in
which you have so long taken the lead, and which you have so
much extended by your labours.

I am, dear Sir, with the greatest respect,
Your obedient humble Servant,
H. Davy.

Dear Sir, March 22, 1805.
Iam requested by the managers of the Royal Institution to
inquire whether it will be agreeable to you to deliver a third
course of botany in1806. I hope and trust you will reply in the
affirmative, because I know that your last course gave universal

pleasure and satisfaction. I am, dear Sir, yours,
H. Davy.

2M 2

532

When his health was good, the occupation was
one he enjoyed. He arranged previously the heads
of his lecture; but for words he always trusted to
the ideas which arose in his mind while he was de-
livering it, and in general he exceeded the allotted
time, and had more to say than could be compressed
into the space of an hour. A printed abstract of
the subject he intended to discourse upon was not
omitted, for the convenience of himself and his
auditors; and of these sketches he composed a great
variety, as the succession of his courses required.
Of one of these Dr. Goodenough, in the year 1795,
tells him, “Iam quite charmed with your Syllabus.
I would advise you, while you are a lecturer (do not
defer it till you have given up, it will not be half so
well done), to draw out all that matter at full length,
and publish it as suits you; it would be another
Philosophia Botanica in a fashionable dress.”

Perhaps there is not to be found in the records of
any scientific association a more gratifying exam-
ple of the existence and the expression of kindly
feelings, of the absence of all jealousy, and of the
most active exertions in the support of science,
than has been displayed by the members of the
Linnean Society, not only with a view to maintain
the spirit and utility of their institution by indivi-
dual efforts, unfettered by rivalry or intrigue, but
by a mutual feeling of friendship and esteem exist-
ing between themselves and him who was so long
chosen to preside over them.

The honour which the Society conferred upon its

5933

President, in electing him to that office year after
year, was reflected back upon itself by the constant
attention which he paid to its interests and by the
unwearied devotion to scientific pursuits, which his
more retired situation enabled him to exhibit with
fewer interruptions than could have been expected
had he continued to reside in London: and that
his situation at Norwich did not injure him in the
estimation of learned men, or hide from him the
progress which science was making, the works he
composed subsequently to his retreat are acknow-

ledged proofs.

The Rev. Dr. Goodenough to J. E. Smith.

My dear Sir, February 21, 1797.

I rejoice to hear of the comfortable arrangement
of your family, and shall never cease regretting that
that comfort could not be accomplished in the neigh-
bourhood of London ;—you must allow your friends
to regret in silence. I have not been at the Society
since you went, except once at a meeting of the
Fellows. I have introduced a most respectable
member, Sir Thomas Frankland.

Salisbury’s nomenclature is I think extremely im-
proper, not to say ridiculous. I am sorry that he
has persisted in his errors even to printing them.
I was present at a very warm dispute between him
and Dryander, who in his blunt rough manner
finished his argument with “If this is to be the case
with every body, what the devil is to become of
botany”? I did not interfere then at all, but took

204

a private opportunity of persuading him (but I la-
boured in vain) to invert the order; and instead of
giving new names, and quoting the Linnean ones
under them, to retain the old names, and remark
under each how much better any name he thought
of would accord.

Mr. Salisbury has a happy firmness, which some
people will call obstinacy, which makes him rise
superior to every opponent.

You are quite right about Agrostis littorals. Dr.
Withering and I corresponded about the arista of
the corolla. He had either prepared that page for
the press, or actually printed it before this took
place. But, as I told him, my specimens which he
saw could have convinced him, that both calyx and
corolla occasionally are with an arista. I do not
scruple to abominate, without the least qualification,
the undermining the Linnean fabric. But Thunberg
is answerable for this envious superficial daubing.
It would be worthy of you to set the world right in
this particular.

Sowerby has failed very much in his figure of
Fucus kaliformis. My idea when I saw it, was like
the story of old churches in briefs,—that it must
be wholly taken down and rebuilt. I find we are to
have a visit from the French. They will send our
specimens flying after Gigot d’Orcey’s butterflies,
and purchasers after both. If they take it into their
heads to come, it will be too serious a matter to
joke upon.

Yours most sincerely,

S. GOODENOUGH.

535

J. E. Smith to the Rev. Dr, Goodenough.

My dear Sir, Hafod, Nov. 9, 1797.

You have perhaps heard of the reason of my
coming to Wales,—which is to see my young pa-
tient Miss Johnes.

I am very glad you like what I have done about
Orobanches. I have also sent a paper to our So-
ciety upon some foreign ones. The characters I
use hold goodin them. By looking over Buddle’s
herbarium, and that of Sherard in my way hither, I
have got much light about Menthe and Brom. I
have made ample notes, and think I now under-
stand the former genus. The genus Bromus is as
ill done in all our British authors (and perhaps in
Linnezus) as any one in the system. By this time
you have got English Botany for November, and my
preface. Iam very glad xow Curtis did not accept
my offer, though I would then have steadily kept to
it. I will always do justice to his botanical abili-
ties on every occasion. I hope our Society will go
on very well.

Your ever faithful Friend and Servant,
J. E. Smiru.

James Crowe, Esq. to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Lakenham, Nov. 21, 1797.

Iam most exceedingly rejoiced indeed to hearfrom
you that Miss Johnes is so much recovered as to be

536

pronounced so decidedly out of all danger from the
most formidable attack that could perhaps be made
upon her by nature without depriving her of life.
My dear Sir, after your experiencing the pleasure of
restoring to her friends and the world so amiable
an object, one so likely to diffuse blessings around
her, and be in every respect a shining ornament in
society, as I have often been informed by your ho-
nest and intelligent mind,—I say, after having expe-
rienced this pleasure, how can you hesitate to be-
nefit the world with a more extensive practice than
the limits of your favoured friends call for! To
them I know you can refuse nothing, and I have
vanity enough to hope I shall always be on that
list; so that it is not from a selfish motive I thus
renew a subject I have taken the liberty so often to
mention. I feel in the most sensible manner for
Mr. Johnes. What aloss would he have had! An
only child,—and such a child! His only danger now
will be excess of happiness ; but you say he has a
great mind, and in truth he has had occasion to put
it to the test.

I am sorry Mr. Johnes did not receive the white
poplars ; they were sent according to the direc-
tions, and also a bundle of the large sort of white
willow. These last should be cut into lengths of
twelve or fourteen inches ; and both of them put
into nursery beds, placed one foot distant from
plant to plant. They will soon become great trees,
to be removed to such places where they may re-
main, and add another ornament, I hope, to that
now astonishingly ornamented country by art and

537

nature. The white poplar increases rapidly by
layers and also by suckers, which are plentifully
thrown out by plants a few years old. The willows
are propagated by cuttings ; and this plant not only
will make very large trees, but if used as osiers and
so cut every year, are as good a kind as any the
basket-makers employ. <A moist soil, but not too
wet, is the most proper for both; but they do not
like a gravel under any circumstances.—I cannot
help returning again to the subject of Miss Johnes.
I hope she will be prevailed on to come to London,
and so_be within your reach ; for I dread physical
ignorance, but much more physical knavery. The
first is almost a constant resident in the country,
and the latter in London. But in London you
could attend her at any time within a few hours
notice. If she travels, you might be during the
whole journey at her elbow; and for her benefit the
enthusiasts in natural history would give up the
information to be derived from your intended re-
view of the treasures at Oxford. Indeed I am in-
clined to believe you have already been too diligent
to leave behind much to glean.
Menthe and Bromi will now be traced through all
their dark recesses.
From your faithful Friend,
JAMES CROWE.

The Rev. Dr. Goodenough to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, : Windsor, Nov. 18, 1799.
Your packet came here just as I was setting off

538

tor dear Bulstrode. Upon my return last Tuesday,
I set to it, as Shakespear says, incontinently. I
have not been able to run through your synonyms —
of Carices.

Your dimervis is a good species. I believe it
grows near Hastings in Sussex. It always struck
me as different from distans, but I did not think of
your excellent mark of difference. C. Micheliana
is a good species, and entitles you to all praise.
Pray give your vesicaria a new name. The one I
have so called is so named (confounded with yours)
in the herbarium. It has always been received
abroad as vesicaria. I have somewhere among
my papers some very cogent remarks upon the pro-
priety of so naming it. Yours is not a vesicarious
plant ; most probably it is Linneus’s #, or rather
what he thought a variety of it. Its fructification
is more allied to our sylvatica, which I take for
granted was Linnzus’s vesicaria B. Pray do as I
say; you will find it will be received as hypercri-
ticism if you do not.

If the world may be suffered after all its bloody
struggles, I trust science, and that most natural one,
botany in particular, will flourish more and more,
and, under your correct auspices, stride on to per-
fection. |

I have used deficit with an accusative case. There
are good and elegant authorities.

I hope you see in all I say and do, a mind truly
attached to you.

S. GOODENOUGH.

539

From the same.

My dear Sir, Windsor, Feb. 13, 1800.

You must know that riding the other day through
water that I had passed a hundred times, all at once
my horse plunged into a cavity over head and ears.
I fortunately kept my seat. The water, however,
at fair standing came over his back. All filled with
water, by good luck we scrambled out. My ser-
vant could not help me; it was over his head. I
then found a little unnoticed bridge had been car-
ried away by the floods just before. All this hap-
pened at Old Windsor, in the main road to London.
Who could have expected such a thing? I had
three miles to ride home dripping wet and chilly.
It ended in gout, as I feared.

You are so deep in willows that I cannot come
near you. My idea has always been that they
should be described in two states,—fructification,
and leaf. They are full as distinct in the one as the
other. I am glad to agree with you both in amyg-
dalina and triandra being the same. I have met
with it at Bath with an almond leaf as like as
ovum ovo, and in Battersea fields quite otherwise,
but bearing the sign corticem abjiciens most re-
markably. The rubra fissa, Hoffman, I found ina
holt, close (on the north side) to the town of Ely,
not on Prickwillow Bank, which is six miles from it
nearly. I longed to add a habitat of what I always
thought S. arenaria, but I am not sure of your
plant. The one I mean is that on the sandy downs

540

about Walmer Castle and Deal, where, when the
wind blows fresh, the under side of the leaves turn-
ing up gives the whole a silvery appearance. Iam
glad you throw out hermaphroditica.

Again in Polypodiums 1 cannot follow you. I
always thought we found P. Thelypteris near Bury ;
but by your list that is Oreopteris: it grew only
in one marshy place, about six or seven miles from
the town. Have you sufficiently attended to acu-
leatum and lobatum? As they grew in Sole’s gar-
den together, they seemed very different ; lobatum
as smooth again as aculeatum: then its pinne were
adscendent, &c., &c.

I am heartily glad at seeing that so much pro-
gress is made. I am getting better every day; so
send when you please.

S. G.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Windsor, Oct. 17, 1801.

I wish to say that I am alive, and am disappointed
at not hearing from you: I always look up to you
for consolations in natural history,—a bit of some-
thing new: then especially those new Carzces which
have been discovered since I wrote. Any thing
to a poor wretch who has no field for exploration,
no companion, but still knows the value and the
comforts of the charming science, would be accept-
able.

You all seem to be mistaken, I fear, about my

541

Carex fulva. 1 left veritable specimens with the
Linnean Society of all stages of its growth. Iwas
the first who ascertained Lightfoot’s C. tomentosa
to be the fliformis of Linneus, which I suppose
you did not recollect. I begged the Queen to let
me examine her herbarium for this purpose.

I augur from the arrival of peace at last, (Oh
that it may last!) that natural history in particu-
lar will raise its head. We shall meet folks whom
we have not seen for years, and of course shall have
much to tell, and so much to ask that we shall
never have done. I hope we shall keep the lead in
science, as we have undoubtedly in naval glory. I
dread, however, the introduction of revolutionary
principles ; as you have often heard me say, “my
nerves will not shake till the peace comes.”

Senda body alittle natural history news. I have
little food here, but I love it as much as ever.

Yours ever,
S. GOODENOUGH.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Deanery, Rochester, Nov. 3, 1802.

I was very sorry to hear, when I was appointed
to the Deanery of Rochester, under what a severe
affliction you were labouring. To that I attributed
my not hearing from you, and to that you must
attribute my not writing to you aletter which I was
assured you could not read. It would gratify me
very much to have a proof that you have shaken
off your holy adversary St. Anthony.

542

I have some time since quitted Windsor, and am
most comfortably lodged at the Deanery at Roches-
ter, whither you will in future directto me. I have
a charming house, with a very neat and convenient
garden, and a little orchard adjoining, and com-
pletely secluded from the town of Rochester. All
this on the fair side. On the other hand, the neigh-
bourhood for the most part is naval, military, and
suited to the various business of a Dock-yard. Un-
fortunately I have all my life long been accustomed
to the conversation of clergymen, men of letters, and
liberal pursuits. Our minor canons are very re-
spectable indeed,—beyond most situations of the
kind; but I cannot hear of a person who has the
least turn for any branch of natural history, so that
I seem to stand quite alone, a solitary being.

If ever you should come into Kent, I hope you
will take your quarters at the Deanery in your way.
I will promise you a warm room and warm wel-
come ; and once for all let me say, that I hope you
will not think that any elevation of rank in life will
make me different from what you saw me at Ealing.
I flatter myself I have a mind above such nonsense.
I admire the gradual progress of your English Bo-
tany. Iam told that I am well situated for bo-
tany; that must be ascertained as next year (if I
live so long) opens. The whole country around
me seems chalk, and very thickly clothed with
wood. But without a companion one has no heart
to move, especially as you everywhere hereabouts
see loose fellows from the navy and Dock-yard, with
their doxies.

543

Your Carex divisa is a good figure; but had I
known of your publishing it, I should have desired
you to have noted that strange variation of the
culm, from sharp angles in moist rich situations,
to almost round in stiff half-moist clay. I found
it in great plenty in all its varieties in the Isle of
Sheppy. Ihave a great notion that Hudson, in
his first edition, took your L. chrysophthalmus for
Suniperinus, Linn.

Yours,

S. GooDENOUGH.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Bulstrode, April 1, 1804.

I waited till I came to this place, that I might
write under the Duke’s cover before I thanked you
for your very kind attention to me in sending me
two copies of the third volume of your most excel-
lent Flora Britannica. I see every thing you do
with most partial eyes. I thought that I had long
since done growing, but really I fancy myself some
inches taller from the deference you have paid to
my humble attempts at the genus Carex. I have
just heard that there is a lady botanist at Roches-
ter. I shall endeavour to find her out, and hope
that she isa proficient. Ii is really hardthat during
my whole residence at Windsor, as well as Roches-
ter, I have not had a naturalist within my reach.
The moment I can find one I shall run over my
stores with him, and communicate with pleasure.

544

But this horrid war turns all men’s minds to drums,
trumpets, and arms.

You may depend upon my noting down any er-
rors which I may perceive ; but from what I have
read, I should think there are none, for all seems
quite correct.

How admirably well you support English Bo-
tany. The numbers improve as they go, I think.
I wish to recommend the variety 6 of Hedypnovs
autumnale to your notice, as I have found it seve-
ral times just as Petiver’s figure represents it. I
cannot but think it a distinct species: the outer-
most lobe of the lower leaves always large.

There is a plant of which I have not a correct
notion; viz. the Prcris heracioides. LT always took
a dwarfish plant, about one foot high, of a hard
roughish tendency, to be that; but the Eton bota-
nists assured me, that a smooth plant which grew
just over the ferry lane at Datchet, about three feet
high, was P. hieraciordes. I do not find my dwarf
plant in English Botany. How will you contrive
about the Fungi ?

An acquaintance of mine, whom you formerly
saw at my house, a good entomologist, and a friend
of Dr. Sibthorp’s, Miss Hill, has lately turned
her very acute mind to the study of marine plants.
I have encouraged her to proceed, and I think she
will produce some valuable observations. Time
will show. An old friend of yours at Leyden and
Edinburgh, Dr. Vaughan, is stationed as a physician,
and he has good practice, at Rochester. He threat-
ens that he will take to botany this summer. I

545

know if while you are in town you would take a
run down to us that he would be very glad to renew
his acquaintance with you. I have a good large
house, and you will always find a bed for you at

your leisure.
Your faithful

S. G.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Deanery, Rochester, Nov. 21, 1804.

You cannot think how glad I am to receive any
letter from you, particularly when it calls me to
literary investigation. Having always been a stu-
dent in Divinity, as my first duty, that bore a very
principal part in my pursuits even when at Ealing,
when interest ought to have kept me entirely to
Classics. Notwithstanding, however, that I was so
wholly engrossed by those two profound studies,
Natural History, as you always saw, was a study
quite congenial to my feelings, and continually
sweetened the toils of the other two. Happily re-
leased from Classical interest, Divinity now remains
the great object of my life. You may judge then
how delightfully a little botanical, or rather I should
say Natural History literature, relieves a long and
laborious application to that ponderous employ-
ment. I need not say more to persuade you to think
how gladly I always turn aside to your call,—never
leading me into any thing uninteresting or cold or
trifling, but into rich and most gratifying concep-
tions.—Verbum sat.

VOL. I. 2N

546

My reason for preferring archetypus in my for-
mer letter, was because the noun in Greek is ruzoc¢
(typus), not ru7ov (typum). It is true that Aristotle
himself uses adjectively apyeruov (archetypum); but
I think he uses it in the abstract sense, to apyxe-
cuvov, a thing that represents the original form,
meaning something rather conceived than real.
But you apply it to a thing at hand, the original
itself present. I did not recollect that you used
archetypum in the nominative case in Flora Bri-
tannica. If you did use it in the accusative, the
argument will not apply. I still think archetypus
better than archetypum, for ‘specimen,’ especially
where specimen is contrasted with icon, figura ; for
I think apyeruvoc means forma originals presens.
I do not think your generic name notion right.
When a vox hiulca occurred, I observe the Greeks
often inserted a consonant to please the ear, e-
phonie causd: but in this word they could not, for
by inserting the » (7), they introduced a new word of
different meaning. notion, written in Greek will
stand either avoriov or avwriov. The first word signi-
fying non humidus, without moisture—if any thing ;
the second, zon dorsalis, without a back. Now it
happens that Athenzus has an expression, cepayiov
awrov, vas non aures habens, in which he makes
awroc, Which is naturally a noun, declined (as I ob-
served on apyerumoc) like an adjective. This was
no uncommon thing with the Greeks themselves,
when they wanted to express a new idea. We
have the same in our own language. We say s¢ar-
light, making star an adjective for starry, &c. Now

547

the original word is awroc, and when declined ad-
jectively has only two terminations (like ¢rvséis,
triste), 0 Kat} awroGg Kat To awrov. But as in botany
the word Bora or roa (planta) is usually under-
stood, the generic name therefore should be 4otus,
and all the specific names should be of the femi-
nine gender: and this observation will account to
you why Linneus was advised to apply feminine
specific names to so many generic nouns appa-~
rently not feminine: the feminine word zoa or
Boravn was understood. You are very happy in
Eriocalia: the name is after the true Greek ety-
mology, and applies with great exactness. I have
some doubts about styldiwm; not but that it is
framed after the Greek analogy: the termination
ror (2dzwm) being used by the Greeks to express a
diminutive. But it happens that the original word
orvroc (stylus, columna) has its diminutive already
formed by the Greeks themselves. They called it
oturre (stylis) and orvAickoc (styliscus), both signify-
ing columella, not orvAdwv. I am of opinion,
therefore, that you had better use either columella,
the Latin word, or stylis, which makes stylidis in
the genitive; which last remark I mention in case
you should wish to use the word in any of its ob-
lique cases. Linguiforme is undoubtedly after the
true analogy of Latin words.

When you come to town, you and Mrs. Smith
both must come and stay with us at the Deanery.
You may work here in my study below; I have a
few good books and specimens: and she may work
above with my females; and I promise her she

2N 2

548

shall be taken care of. Whoever comes here, uses
the privilege wtz possidetis,—there is no restraint.

I remember very well making a hasty sketch of
the Air-plant. I remember also my ideas of the
physiology of the plant, which I gathered from
Kempfer, and the directions which I gave to the
duchess’s gardener, under whose management the
plant flowered for the only time, I believe, in this
kingdom. I wish you are not running into too
many species of Lichens of the Crustacez,and Liprost
divisions. Have they been watched from year to
year in their changes ?

I am encouraging a beautiful charming young
student in botany in general, particularly in cz,
&c., Lady Mary Thynne. I intend, as soon as I
have a little leisure, to write to Mr. Turner for the
favour of a few specimens both for myself and her.

Your faithful and affectionate

S. GOODENOUGH.

Sir J. Banks to J. E. Smith.

My dear Doctor, Soho Square, Feb. 22, 1805.

After maturely considering the question of the
title-page to Sibthorp’s book, submitted to me by
you at the desire of the trustees, and consulting with
your friends about it, I am clearly of opinion that
it is much too long, and that it will be better to di-
vide the matters intended to be expressed in it into
two parts: the one, that is the tribute to Sibthorp’s
memory, will be a very proper subject for the title

549

of a book of such extreme cost at his expense; the
other, the justice which ought strictly to be done to
your talents and judgement by separating your part
of the work distinctly from Sibthorp’s part, is, I
think, a much fitter subject for an introduction ;
because everything may there be specially stated
and the reasons given, which surely ought not to be
omitted, why Sibthorp neglected to do the things
which you are now employed in. Thus will due jus-
tice be done to both his and your claims in a plain
and intelligent manner. I therefore submit to your
censure the following title, for which we are obliged
to your friend Dryander, a man whose correct ideas
of justice, as well in matters of property as of Jite-
rature, I have not yet seen excelled by those of any
other of my friends.

“Johannis Sibthorp M.D.S.S. Reg. et Linn. Lond.
Socii Bot. Prof. Reg. in Academia Oxoniensi
Flora Greca Edidit Jacobus Smith” (Here enter
all your literary titles).

Sibthorp’s intentions of making the descriptions
he had at first omitted in Greece, and his journey
there the second time for that purpose; the ill health
which prevented him from executing his most lau-
dable intentions; his death immediately after his
return home; his will, with an eulogium on the sa-
crifices he made to science, not only by submitting
to personal privations, hazards, difficulties, &c., but
also by his magnificent pecuniary provision for this
work,—will make excellent themes for your Intro-
duction. You may in it do full justice to the me-
mory of your friend, which a title-page can never

550

do, and at the same time be a perfect and complete
declaration of the share of the work you have had,
which will come admirably well in that place, under
the plea of an honourable care that no fault com-
mitted by you should by any misconception be laid
to the charge of your friend.

If this plan meets your ideas, the business will
be settled I think to the perfect satisfaction of the
trustees, and I have no doubt of yours also. If you
see any objections to it, do me the favour of stating
them, and I will take them into immediate consi-
deration. Being, my dear Sir, with real esteem and
regard, very faithfully yours,

JosEPH Banks.

J. E. Smith to Sir J. Pinks!

My dear Sir, Norwich, Feb. 26, 1805.

I take the earliest opportunity in my power to
thank you for the kind attention you have given to
the subject of my last, and for your excellent letter
received on Sunday afternoon. It has always been
my intention to prefix a preface to the Flora Greca
upon the plan you so ably suggest. In that every-
thing will be fully explained. The exact nature of
the materials Sibthorp left, the great pains and ex-
pense he bestowed, and his zeal and knowledge,
shall have as full justice done them as possible. His
manuscripts, when deposited at Oxford, will vouch
for all this. I shall also as simply and plainly as
possible state what part I have had in the work, and
the assistance I have received from you or other

551

friends. On these heads we are perfectly agreed.
I only thought it necessary, for the honour of the
work and its original author, to express in the title,
that it was not strictly confined to Greek plants, lest
some carping critic, finding a plate of Saccharum
Tenerife from Sicily, a new tulip from Florence,
and a few other such extraneous matters, should
object to the plan or to the title. I also thought
as we are all agreed that it should somewhere be
fully explained what part I have in the work, that
such information ought to appear in the title.

I think, however, yours and Mr. Dryander’s sim-
plification of the title a great improvement, except
that Iam in doubt about the word edidit; for though
I am aware of its true Latin meaning being nearly
what I wish, yet an English, or superficial reader
will, by casting his eye on it, suppose me to be
little more than the publisher of a book written by
Dr. Sibthorp. For this reason I strongly objected
to saying in the title, that it was “ composed from
his manuscripts.” I also doubt the propriety of
the title standing as it does, without an accusative
_ case connected with edidit. I shall, however, think
about it; and as the title will not be wanted yet for
some time, we can finally decide upon it when I go
to town in April; and perhaps you or I may hit on
some other word, which does not now suggest itself.
I would by all means keep on the modest side in my
part of the title; and I know I may trust my fame
implicitly in the hands of you and my friend Dry-
ander, who will both be ready enough to assert my
claim, in case I should be underrated. I know also

552

that my advantages would be tenfold, on the score
of my ambition, by such a procedure; but about this
I am really very easy, for I love the science chiefly
for its own sake: I would only not put an expres-
sion into the title that should give a false idea, whe-
ther for or against me.

I am now hard at work on the Prodromus Flore
Grece (having got the great work sufficiently for-
ward), which would be easy enough if Sibthorp had
referred from his MS. habitats and catalogues to
either specimens or drawings; but as he has not, it
is a series of laborious criticism and investigation.

Believe me, dear Sir,
Your ever obliged and faithful Servant,
J. E. Suir.

The Rev. Dr. Goodenough to J. £. Smith.

My dear Sir, Deanery, Rochester, May 7, 1805.

Iam quite rejoiced to hear that you are in town,
and that you are disposed to pay me, what in my
idea you have long long owed me, a visit at Roches-
ter. I have a charming retirement here, a good
house, delightful garden, quite out of the tumult of
the town, and what I call a very respectable library;
so that my wants are very few. I really feel but
one at present, and that is the want of literary so-
ciety. Had I a naturalist within my reach, ora
good classical scholar, I should feel myself in de-
lights. But we cannot have everything. I have
lately exchanged my Oxfordshire preferment for a

- 553

living in Kent; Boxley, about seven miles from this
place, which makes a very convenient arrondisse-
ment of my worldly possessions.

If I live, I shall attend you on the anniversary the
24th, from which these few last years I have been
necessarily absent.

Nil mihi rescribas, attamen ipse veni.

More of the title when we meet. Katdit in that
form of words does not necessarily require an ac-
cusative after it, the word opus or some such thing
being always understood.

You certainly are more than an editor; I would
not put myself so low as that, though there are some
would have you considered in no other light.

The sooner you come and the longer you stay
the happier you will make me and Mrs. G., and
perhaps ultimately the better it may be for you.

Ever yours most faithfully,
S. GOODENOUGH.

The Rev. Dr. Goodenough to J. E£. Smith.

My dear Sir, April 4, 1806.

To speak en masse, I cannot object to one of your
proposed alterations. All is right in point of Lati-
nity, and seems to express what was wanted more
minutely than what was written before. I under-
stood from your copy that modern Greece and igno-
rance were nearly synonymous terms. When I added
“8c.” after Homero, Aristoteli, Theophrasto, I did it
to save the trouble of enumerating every author of

554 ~

authority who might be classed with them. You
see that Pliny refers to multitudes who wrote before
him. Every one will be aware that there are many
who have touched upon the plants of Greece, though
they are not commonly mentioned. Their memory
is almost defaced, as Horace observes, Quza carent
vate sacro.

Your title, as you send it now, will stand very
well: only I would suggest, that perhaps znvenit
would be better than éxvenerat—“‘which he found,”
not “had found.” Perhaps you wrote znvenerat for
énvenerit*, which possibly may be best of all, as it
implies something indefinite, “which he found occa-
sionally.” |

In the title of Prodromus the word “ omnium”
seems necessary: for the Vora Greca contains Sib-
thorp’s thousand plants, which he wished to be en-
graved, &c.; the Prodromus gives an account of all
which he found in his course of travel— Flora Greca
Sibthorpiana cannot be improper.

I wish you were settled at or near London again.

Yours ever,

S. GooDENOUGH.

J. E. Smith to the Rev. Dr. Goodenough.

My dear Sir, Lowestoft, Sept. 2, 1806.
My long stay in London this year made me so
far behindhand with my periodical publications,
that I have been occupied with them ever since my

* Invenerit is the word used in the title-page.

555

return. We are now here for a while with my wife’s
family, unbending; yet I long to be at work again.
I take advantage of my present leisure to chat a
little with you, my good friend; as I could not enjoy
your conversation in person, on account of our se-
veral engagements.

If you see Exotic Botany, you will observe in the
Number for August what I have done about Globba
marantina and other Scitaminee. I flatter myself
I have done some good in this Order, and shall do
more. Mr. Roscoe, in a most excellent paper to
the Linnean Society, first led the way to a true
knowledge of the genera of these difficult plants,
founded on the form of the filament.

I have lately had a most bountiful present from
my old friend Dr. Buchanan, long resident in India,
of his whole.herbarium of Nepal and Mysore plants;
about 1500 species, with all his MS. descriptions,
and near 200 fine drawings. He has given me them
entirely, for publication in Exotic Botany.

I mean to go home the beginning of next week,
and, except one or two little excursions, I shall be
stationary here through all the winter. My work
laid out for the season is to finish Flora Britannica;
to write a popular Introduction to Botany; to finish
and publish Linneus’s Lapland Tour, besides going
on with Mora Greca, and my two periodical works.
I like a variety of employment; and we lead a quiet
domestic life that allows me to be very much mas-
ter of my time.

The first fasciculus of Vora Greca is printed, but
waits, I believe, for the coloured frontispiece.

556

The first fasciculus of the Prodromus Flore
Grace is not yet done. J shall beg your acceptance
of the only copy I can give away to anybody. I
hope it will be ready by the time the fora is. It
will contain the first five Classes. The Umbellate
have given me much trouble, but I think I have
learned to know them tolerably. The tribe of S¢-
lene, Dianthus, &c.is also a very numerous and dif-
ficult one in this work.

How glad I should be if anything could tempt
you to visit this coast! My wife begs to join me
in best respects to all your family; she would beas
happy as myself in entertaining them here or at
Norwich. Do you know our new bishop? I once
thought nothing but your coming to the see of Nor-
wich could console us for the departure of the late
bishop; but really the present is a very amiable
benignant character, and not without taste for bo-
tany, at least he esteems it much. Pardon me for
intruding on you with this long scrawl; and believe
me, dear Sir, with the warmest affection and respect,
ever yours,

J. E. Smita.

Dr. Goodenough to J. EF. Smith.

Boxley, near Maidstone, Sept. 9, 1806.
My dear Sir, .
Your letter of the 2nd instant followed me to
this my new charming retirement. The house it-
self is the only spot in the parish which can be
called dull; add to this, in very wet weather it is

557

rather damp. You now know all the worst: but
the whole country round is beautiful in the extreme,
—such hills, such rich valleys, such extensive views,
such rides, such roads, as are not to be met with
scarcely anywhere. An excellent neighbourhood,
and within a mile and a half of the market town,
Maidstone, where we get tolerably well supplied
with everything. I shall long for you to see it.
But this must, I fear, be a distant pleasure.

I should have been glad to have had a quiet talk
by ourselves concerning Salisbury’s strange conduct.
I neveradmired him; and from a warm conversation
I once had with him about changing of the nomen-
clature of the genus L7vica, I thought him too wild
to take a lead. In that same conversation Dryan-
der took part with me, and dressed him in his rough-
est manner. When you have to consider that you
and Sir Joseph Banks divide the empire of the
botanical world, you have a clue to all the awkward
oddities to which such a circumstance necessarily
exposes you. Well managed, these whimsicalities
are mere ephemera: in angry hands the posses-
sion of a butterfly might disturb the universe :
nothing is so prolific as strife.

I have seen here Mieracium umbellatum, Chrysos-
plenium oppositifolium, Hedypnois hieracioides, Cre-
pis brennis, with many others fond of a chalky soil.
I have looked in vain through the neighbourhood
of Rochester for Viola hirta. Orchis militaris B
is surely no variety.

S. GOODENOUGH.

Dr. Goodenough to J. E. Smith.

My dear Sir, Rochester, Dec. 11, 1806.

I have just received your kind present of the first
part of the Prodromus of Flora Greca. I like the
idea of one good figure to every plant. As this first
volume reaches only to Pentandria, 1 should ap-
prehend that there will be two or three volumes
more. How superb must Flora Greca itself be!
I see a new work cut out for you: you only can
execute it. To some species is added zcon nulla.
Then there should be a figure given, and you may
count upon the number of purchasers beforehand
by the sale of the Prodromus. No purchaser of
the Prodromus will be without the figures of these
new and rare plants. Indeed I shall look upon this
work as one of the prides of my library. Would
the times were more tranquil, that the work might
make its way upon the continent, where it must be
very interesting; but Bonaparte’s rage against us
increases hourly with his wonderful success. He
seems to say, as Achilles did over the body of Hec-
tor, “ I wish I could eat you raw.” I protest now,
I do not see how peace can take place, for nothing
can satisfy his ambition. He has already all the
land, and now he talks how hard it is that he cannot
be upon equality with us by sea :—the English of
which is, that he must have free access to us, 2. é.
imvade us, and then—the whole world is at his feet.

It will be a pleasure to me to meet you in town

559

in the spring, and talk over all our pleasurable con-
versations ; and a greater to see you here.

Yours,

8. G.

J. E. Smith to Thomas Platt, Esq.

Dear Sir, Jan. 1, 1807.

In reply to your favour of Dec. 29, it is impossi-
ble not to see the justice and candour of what you
say on the subject of my engagement with you; and
I feel and acknowledge that you have shown confi-
dence in me, and that our dealings together have
been more like old friends than persons hitherto
unknown to each other. But I wish you and all
the world to know that the protracted publication
of the work (except what arose from my being al-
most blind for some months, and therefore unable
‘to work at it) has been owing to the confused na-
ture of the state in which our deceased friend left
the materials, and which no one could have sus-
pected beforehand. For instance, there being no
names to either specimens or drawings, except a
few ; which has occasioned me infinite trouble, and
(if I may say so) required eminent botanical know-
ledge in order to combine the materials together.
This you will readily perceive would not have been
the case if the same names which are in Dr. Sib-
thorp’s journals and catalogues, my only guides to
the places of growth, had been written on either
specimens or drawings; because then a person of

560

moderate knowledge might have turned at once
from one to the other. Now it has cost me many
weary months, and will cost many more, to sur-
mount this unexpected and unnecessary difficulty.
For this reason I conceive you must be justified in
paying me that additional compliment of presenting
me with the works, even in the eyes of the most
rigid judges. But you well know you are amena-
ble to nobody, and that it is left to your discretion
how to use the funds in the best manner for the
publication of the work. Nevertheless, I would
have the whole transacted as if the world saw it,
and so I am sure would you. I therefore accept
the books on this ground from you and Mr. Haw-
kins, as Dr. Sibthorp’s executors, but with even
more satisfaction as a pledge of your favour and
friendship for me, and of your approbation of my
labours. The work is my pleasure, and I always
long to be at it.

Wishing you and Mrs. Platt, and all dear to you,
many happy years,

I remain, dear Sir,
Your faithful and obliged Servant,
J. E. Smiru.

Dr. Goodenough to J. E. Smith.

Boxley, near Maidstone, Sept. 21, 1807.
My dear Sir,
Iam always so glad to see your handwriting,
ever touching upon matters of usefulness and enter-

561
tainment, that I could wish you to be beset with
difficulties every day, if those difficulties would
induce you to apply to me. My search after truth
is so strong, that I like the discussion. of difficul-
ties; for I have always found that if I have not
been able to solve the difficulty itself, I have always
gained knowledge of matters connected with it
more than suflicient to repay my labour. In the
beginning of my study of botany, I remember being
employed for three days in the investigation of Hy-
pericum procumbens. (You will say, how stupid I
was!) But I believe I learned more from ascer-
taining what tt was not, than from any other dis-
covery which I ever made.

From all this preface, one would think that you
had now thrown down some arduous matter in my
way. That is not the case; but it is a pleasure to
talk with you.

I am of the same opinion nowwith respect to your
Syllabus as I ever was, and have still no doubt but
that in your plain illustration and management it
would become a very popular Phzlosophia Botanica.
I ama great advocate for throwing out criticisms
andhints of improvement upon the Linnean system,
as it is the surest mode of strengthening and esta-
blishing it. What a great advantage would it have
been to the world, had Aristotle begun where Lin-
neus did! All the subjects of natural history would
have been so well known, that we should now have
been advanced to the philosophical parts of the
study,—the gradations of nature in structure and »
ceconomy ; and, by having the whole before us to

VOL. I. 20

562

compare together, perhaps been enabled to find out
the true uses of everything. As yet, we are not
got beyond the elements; but it appears to me that
we,—that is, you who are the enlightened professors
of natural history,—build surely as you go, and that
you have laid a foundation for solid and progressive
improvement.

How I admire your English Botany !—the first
thing of the kind. You must not talk of a close
yet, when so many things remain to be figured.

I long for acompletion of Flora Britannica. I
shall look over all English plants again. Shall you
be able to maintain all your new Cryptogamics ? Do
set somebody upon Ulve and Conferve. Oh that
I may see them illustrated before I die!

Ever yours,
S. GOODENOUGH.

Dr. Goodenough to J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, Rochester, Dec. 20, 1807.

Many thanks for your kind letter; but I am
grieved to think by the expressions of it, that a
letter from me to you the moment I received intel-
ligence of my advancement, has not reached you.
You know me very well,—what I have been, that I
hope to continue; neither will one old friend have
ever to say that I have forgotten him.

Rose Castle is distant, but it opens out a new
country. The labours of my mind will be relieved
there, as elsewhere, by the delights of natural hi-

563

story. I anticipate the great pleasure I shall have
in seeing you and Mrs. Smith there.

My friends are too partial to me: I can never
hope to answer their expectations; but it is flat-
tering to find the King taking the lead in bearing
testimony to me, and all the friends of my intimacy
joining in the same strain.

Adieu, dear friend ; and always be assured that I
am, and shall be, as truly yours as ever.

I have not time to go on with your book yet.
When I can frank, you shall hear from me.

Yours ever,
_S. GoopENouGH.

J. E. Smith to the Bishop of Carlisle.

My dear Lord, Norwich, March 28, 1808.

I have waited, and hoped, and despaired, and
hoped again (but now I despair), that you would
perform your very kind promise, “as soon as you
could frank,” of letting me hear from you.

In despair then of the speedy performance of this
promise, I venture to take up my pen, trusting that
this will find your Lordship somewhere or somehow,
and that I may express how ardently I wish to pay
my congratulations in person. How happy should
I be to see Rose Castle and Carlisle, where I have
been so many years since! I hope to visit my sister
Martyn at Liverpool this summer. I must quote
a passage in one of her letters: “If the new Bishop
of Carlisle or any of his family should pass this
way, I should be happy to spread my cloak in their

202

564

path, as Sir Walter Raleigh did for Queen Eliza-
beth,”

My dear Lord, I presume to hope you will make
my congratulations acceptable to Mrs. Goodenough
and all your amiable family. Long may you be ho-
nours and blessings to each other !—so sincerely

prays your ever devoted
J. EK. Smiru.

From the same.

My dear Lord, Norwich, April 3, 1808.

My friend Dawson Turner has at length informed
me how I may direct a letter to you. If I could be
jealous of so good a friend, I should grudge Turner
this letter, as I have so long languished and hoped
for, and been promised one, “as soon as I can frank.”
But I will not indulge mean passions; so I do most
heartily rejoice that the above-mentioned excellent
and amiable friend has found favour in the sight of
one among the very few whom I have known and
loved more and longer. Lambert too writes that
“our friend the Bishop of Carlisle is to dine with
him on Monday, and is to be at the meeting of the
Linnean Society on Tuesday.” This last piece of in-
telligence, my good Lord, is what makes me trouble
you now. You would by law, as the oldest member
amongst the Vice Presidents, be in the Chair. If this
be your intention, and I hope and trust there is no
objection to it, it would give me peculiar pleasure;
because a paper of mine on a new genus of mosses
is to be read, and the Latin characters and descrip-

565

tions would certainly not come so well from any
other mouth. Another reason is, that I call this
genus [ookeria, after a friend here, F.L.S.*, who is
one of the best of our cryptogamic botanists, anda
very promising young man,—who devotes an inde-
pendent fortune to literary and other commendable
objects.
Your Lordship’s most faithful
J. E. Smiru.

The Bishop of Carlisle to J. E. Smith.

My dear Sir, April 5, 1808.

I have begun my career in the House of Lords.
You cannot think how my timeis cut up byit. Fifty-
eight hours confinement there (as my predecessor's
fate was) in one week is rather too much. We
have to thank All the Talents, or, as they are hu-
morously styled, all the papers. I do not think it
possible that I can be at the Linnean Society to-
morrow, for I was told today that there will be a
late debate.

We had a very agreeable day at Lambert’s. Sir
A. Hume was there, Admiral and Mrs. Essington,
General and Mrs. Grose, MacLeay and Marsham,
and Lord Seaforth! He contrived with all his deaf-
ness to hold conversations and to play at cards.

Your Piquoté (I never knew before how to spell
that word, neither do I know its etymology now)
pink is acurious plant. I never saw a yellow one

* Dr. W. J. Hooker, now Regius Professor of Botany in the
University of Glasgow.

566

before. Your yellow carnation surely is something
extraordinary. I wish you would dispatch one to
me in a letter; the sight of the flower will be very
gratifying.

I long for your coming up. You will find me
at No. 14 Berners Street, just as you found me at
Ealing of old, unchanged in all but in name.

Yours, most truly and faithfully,
SAMUEL CaRLISLE.

J. £. Smith to the Bishop of Carlisle.

Norwich, April 7, 1808.

How very unfortunate am I, my dear Lord, about
your letters! and those the most interesting to my
vanity and improvement: as to my heart, I had ra-
ther read that “ you are unchanged to me in all but
in name”, much rather, than even your instructive
remarks ; yet never did I suspect the contrary. I
remember a long and critical letter about my Tour,
franked by the Duke of Portland, never came to my
hands; neither most assuredly did this about my
Introduction! But I shall hear your remarks to
double advantage in conversation, and I shall bring
my MSS. and Prodromus with me. I fear my let-
ters and MSS. will prove as great a dore as “all the
papers”; but I must be allowed to vent my chit-chat
to my long valued correspondent, about botany or
the Linnean Society, or some such old favourite
subject, now I feel that I can do it without taxing
him further than for a few moments’ patience to
read (for I will not be so unreasonable as to expect

rn

567

him always to answer) what I may chance to scrib-
ble. Sir Thomas Frankland, when in parliament,
used to write to me every now and then the most
delightful epistolia of the moment; perhaps four
or five lines, about some plant found, or some bird
seen or heard, &c. &c. Ido not despair of having
some such produced by the beauties or rarities
about Rose Castle. The very name of the spot
enchants me. May all its present occupiers ever
find it (as I am confident I shall when I visit it)
“rosa sine spinis!”

I recollect a most charming day spent in the
woods of Corby Castle near Carlisle, with Yeates
and Broussonet, where I caught Later cupreus, and
a new Scarabeus, which I gave Marsham, I won-
der he has not mentioned me for the former; he
is very deficient in habitats for that genus. The lat-
ter is his Sc. arvicola, but Corby Castle is not in
“Yorkshire.”

I found Later, pectinicornis on Cromford Moor,
near Matlock.

As I am on the subject of beetles, I beg leave to
observe, that one of the commentators in Johnson’s
Shakespeare explains the “shard-born beetle”* of

* Macbeth, Act iii. se. 2. [Shakespeare also uses the word in
the following passages which elucidate hismeaning. They have
however been overlooked by entomologists: See Kirby and
Spence, i. 392,—R. T.

...+ Often, to our comfort shall we find
The sharded beetle in a safer hold,
Than is the full-wing’d eagle. Cymbeline, Act iii. sc. 2.
They are his shards and he their beetle.
Ant. and Cleop. Act iti. se. 2. |

568

the poet, as born or produced among broken stones
or pots, shards. Surely it means dJorne or flying
about on shards or shells (teste)? I stumbled on
- this the other day, and was surprised at it much*.
Yours,

J. E. Smiru.

J. Hawkins, Esq. to J. E. Smith.

Bignor Park near Petworth,
Dear Sir, April 16, 1808.

Your letter reached me by avery circuitous route
and after much delay, or it would have been an-
swered sooner. I take for granted that you are now
in town, so I shall address this to you at Sir Jo-
seph’s, and shall beg you to recollect in future that
I am settled here, where I shall not only be happy
to receive your letters, but yourself too, whenever
business or inclination prompts you to visit this
part of the kingdom. My present residence has
some claims to your notice, having been that of
Charlotte Smith, whose numerous little poems on
subjects of natural history must have engaged your
attention, and from whose sister Mrs. Dorset, who
is equally eminent in the same line, I purchased it
three years ago.

I took for granted you would apply to me when-
ever you found it expedient in the progress of the
work ; and] am happy to learn that a second part of

* In reply the Bishop says, “I think that you must be right
about shard-born : quandoque bonus dormitat Homerus.—We

have in Scripture born of four ; i, e. carried by four people ;—so
it must mean here.”

569

the Prodromus is nearly ready for publication. I
have received the second part of the first volume of _
the Flora Greca, and am much pleased with every
part of it;.as I was with the other, a few trifling
errors excepted, which I ventured to point out, and
from which this latter part seems to be free. It had
escaped my memory that I communicated anything
on the subject of Briza elatior.

Sommavera will be of great use, provided you
follow him with caution, in explaining the fanciful
modern Greek names.

Both he and my friend the apothecary of Zante
have given a number of the ancient names of plants,
which in reality are not in vulgar use. In fact, the
modern Greek names of plants are generally so
barbarous, that people of any education among the
natives are ashamed to make use of them, and
gladly avail themselves of those which they have
culled from Matthiolus and other popular authors,
which they do not hesitate often to put off upon
travellers as the real vulgar names of the plants.
Many therefore of Sommavera’s names of plants
must be rejected as not strictly neo-grecian, and for
the same reason many of the Zantiote names.

Mr. Platt spoke with much satisfaction of his
tour to Norwich.

I remain, dear Sir,
Your faithful and obedient Servant,

J. HawkIns.

Afoyepa Argol.—AZayepac Zacynth.— Anagyris fe-

570

tida. It will be proper to retain both names, as
the etymology is uncertain.

KovrZomid pouxAta,—Cercis Siliquastrum ; perfectly
barbarous and unintelligible, and therefore I
would recommend its being omitted. I suspect
it to be Albanian.

Kouxaxn Zacynth.—hetter covkaxi; means dwarf bean,
if anything.

Aypwosagyda Zacynth. should be Aypiosadica, from
its resemblance to the currant grape.

Bexa Aovvyca Zacynth. Lythr. hyss.——A lame at-
tempt of the apothecary to give a scientifical
name toa plant. The right way of spelling
Beccabunga in modern Greek is prexxaprourya.

MeosadpovAa, Reseda undata, should be pecadpovAa. |
Etymology uncertain.

Ayyiorpa, ‘Oxntpa, Reseda alba.—Ayyeiorpa is I be-
lieve correcter orthography, but its meaning I
cannot explain. ”Oyevrpa is ‘ serpent’.

Kovxovropana Lacon.—Luphorbia spinosa; right
accent. Etymology inexplicable.

AyovAvapia Lemnos,—Luphorbia Gerardiana; either
co or a seems to be wanting between A and ».

Etymology too difficult.

The Bishop of Carlisle to J. E. Smith.

My dear Sir, Rose Castle, Oct. 1, 1808.
First let me say that I have forwarded your letter
to Mr. Don. I did not know that Limosella was
not to be found in Scotland. It grows on Houns-

571

low Heath. I cultivated it for years in my garden
at Ealing.

I am vastly disappointed at not finding a single
Naturalist in this part of the'world. One clergyman
formerly gave himself up to the study, but he seems
to have neglected it totally of late years.

As I ride out I always keep my eyes upon the
watch. I have found here upon very elevated moist
situations, that variety of Plantago maritima which
Hudson took to be Leflingii: it seems to me dif-
ferent from P. maritima in many respects. It is
much smaller, and its leaves have not the smallest
tendency to be toothed. Next year, if I live, I hope
to be able to find it in proper state for examination
in its several stages of growth. Are you aware of
its being found so far from the sea, and in such
situations?

We have in all our moist hedges, Salix pentan-
dra. Having been accustomed to see it in its tame
state in Kew Garden, I protest I did not know it in
this large free luxuriance of growth.

Just by Rose Castle I observe Campanula latifo-
fia. I have seen it also in several shady lanes.

You mention Fumaria capreolata as a plant of the
South. I have found it here in several of the corn-
fields, particularly among the turnips.

Senecio saracenicus is here, but I fear that it has
escaped from some garden. I find a favourite Ox-
fordshire plant, Sanguisorba officinalis. I have
found also Serapias latifolia, Saliv repens, and a
tree which they call here Bird-cherry or Heckberry.
By the description of the flower (it was out of flower

572

before I came into the North, neither can I disco-
ver any fruit) I should suppose it to be Prunus Pa-
dus; Rubus corylifolius, if I discriminate the plant
rightly, is by no means uncommon. Many of our
hills and wastes seem to be in the same wild state
in which they were left in Noah’s time: I have tra-
versed several of them without finding any thing at
all uncommon. Lrica vulgaris, Juncus SQUQTTOSUS,
Tormentilla reptans, Lichen rangiferinus, and such
things, cover the whole.

I am glad to hear Dryander.is so profitably em-
ployed, and particularly yourself, who I know are
never idle. Ihave nothing ready to offer upon your
Introduction ; indeed you are too deep for me to
presume to inform.

I was quite surprised the other day to find in the
grass by the road side one single and large specimen
of Gentiana Amarella; I could not by any research
discover a second.

I long to see the fourth volume of Flora Britan-
nica ; and in that, nothing whatever will more move
my curiosity than what you will give us upon Con-
Jferve. Do figure them away in English Botany,
that I may have some chance of knowing a little of
them before I die.

Rose Castle is very prettily situated, and the air
seems remarkably salubrious and vivifying. The
wind being north, we have already cold weather: the
thermometer in the house, half way between Tempe-
rate and Freezing point.

As yet we are not got into the way of supplying
ourselves with necessaries readily, being six miles

ava

from the market-town, which is at best but sorrily
supplied.

Your philosophical mind would not dislike the
spot.

We are all of one mind about Sir Hew and Sir
Harry and the Portugal Convention,—shocking!

Yours ever,
SAMUEL CaRLISLE.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Rose Castle, Oct. 24, 1808.

If Hypericum be not already named, I would beg
to submit whether cezatum or crinitum be not the
proper specific name.

Don seems to me one of your most valuable cor-
respondents. What a number of new things has he
occasionally discovered! * * * * * should not dis-
gust him; most particularly he should avoid putting
such a man to needless expense. . The old Duchess
of Portland used to say, talking of her assistants,
“I do not mind what their bodies suffer, for they do
not mind it themselves ; but I always take care that
their pockets shall not.”

I am not sorry to see all ranks of people eager
for an investigation of the Portugal business : Mi-
nisters are as desirous as they. How can they con-
trol the blunders of officers at such a distance?
You will find that Ministers could have nothing to
do with it.

I am all anxiety for the poor patriots of Spain.
What shadow of right has Buonaparte to interfere,

574

invade, and call them rebels? Are they not true to
their country? Never was there in the history of
man a more barefaced invasion of natural right and
justice.

I shall be glad to hear from you, if it be but the
chit-chat of a moment. In what state of forward-
ness is the fourth volume of Flora Britannica? How
I long for it!

S. CaRLIsLe.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Rose Castle, Nov. 12, 1808.

Natural History totters as it were under its own
weight ; every one publishing, quite to the nausea
of purchasers, the commonest things. When Shaw
published the Cock Sparrow and the Common Snail,
I thought it high time to discontinue the Natura-
list’s Miscellany. I thought Don’s discoveries very
valuable; the Hypericum and Lquisetum were quite
new to me. How is it that such large plants have
lain hid from ages? I fear much that roguish tricks
have been played by more persons than your hum-
ble servant, who often attempted to naturalize fo-
reigners. Witness the Stsymbrium polyceratium in
the streets of Bury, which poor Laurents and I
sowed there. I cannot help thinking his Lamium
to bea distinct species. If the leaves are constantly
petiolated, surely it ought to be so named. The
corolla appears also to me to be different from
amplexicaule.

Hugh Davies sent me, while at ‘oRotioese his

575

three species of articulated Juncus; but one of
them had no leaves to it, so that I could judge of
its distinction. I remember Sempervivum sediforme
at Kew many years ago: I always contended with
old Aiton that it was a Sedum; but I think Solan-
der had laid down the law to him that it was a
Sempervivum. Yam speaking of a plant so named;
perhaps it might be that which you now mention.

Iam glad to see you write and quote Greek so
fluently, and talk so big of Dioscorides. I would
advise you to get another contemporary of his,
Theophrastus: they would mutually explain each
other; and Bodzus’s notes are very copious and
very explanatory.

I am sorry to see that envious creature Salisbury
again barking at you;—I should rather say, hear, for
I never see any thing of his. I shun all fellows who
have a twist in their head. Never mind him; you
are confessedly the king of natural history:—I beg
your pardon, I should rather say, as Buonaparte,
villain ! does, emperor. All kings and emperors are
abused by one party or the other, but it is beneath
them to notice such nibbling.

The great Philip of Macedon used to say that he
rejoiced at being abused; “For,” said he, “I mend
myself if this abuse be well-founded, and thus they
are mortified at doing me good :—as to falsehoods,
they prevail only for the moment.”

This place, quite calculated for philosophical re-
tirement, with its pure air, free from all nauseous ef-
fluvias, the very opposite to the perfume of crowded
towns, continues to agree with us exceedingly. I

576

shall be truly glad whenever you and Mrs. Smith
will direct your steps to see us here.

Iam glad to find Prodromus Flore Grece is in
such progress. How I long to see Mora Britan-
nica complete!

Your very affectionate

S. CARLISLE.

J. EE. Smith to the Bishop of Carlisle.

My dear Lord, Norwich, Nov. 17, 1808.

If youare so kind as to write me often such amu-
sing and instructive letters, I shall be a troublesome
correspondent. ,

I have Theophrastus by Bodzeus a Stapel, and
often consult it; but as Sibthorp’s professed object
was to illustrate Dioscorides, it is not my business
to go further, at least in the Flora Greca or Pro-
dromus. Now I want your Lordship’s kind advice,
both critical and botanical.—Mr. Salisbury (whom
I wish in this case to consider as an indifferent per-
son) makes ymphea alba a distinct genus from
lutea, and I think rightly: I have said so in my
Introduction, page 385. He calls it Castaha, from
casta (chaste), because the petals “chastely fold over
and cover the organs of impregnation”;—such is his
idea. I should like it better if it could allude to the
Castalian fountain. Now I am about to insert these
plants in my Prodromus Flore Grece. If you will
be so good as to turn to Dioscorides, you will find
NV. alba is his true Nupdaa, which therefore ought
to have been retained as Wymphea, especially as

577
there are many species of it, some of them known
in our gardens,—as JV. ce@rulea, rubra, odorata, &c.
I wish therefore to keep this name as it is; and as
-Dioscorides says that the flower of his Nuuwdata adn,
which is our JV. lutea, is called BAcdapa, I think
this will be an excellent generic name, expressive of
the closed position of the calyx, which shuts up over
the petals entirely, and partly over the internal or-
gans. Blephara I presume is feminine, is it not?
The generic characters will be something like these.

Nympu2a. Cal. 4—5-phyllus. Petada plurima,
germini inserta. Stigma radiatum, sessile, medio
nectariferum. acca supera, multilocularis, poly-
sperma.

Buiepuara. Cal. 5—6-phyllus. Petala plurima,
receptaculo inserta, dorso nectarifera. Stgma ra-
diato-sulcatum, sessile. Bacca &c.

The main point on which I wish for your Lord-
ship’s opinion is the generic name, and whether I
shall follow Salisbury. or not.

The characters are all my own, except what re-
gard the nectaria (which are his, and excellent), and
are pointed out in English Botany, t. 159, 160.
It is curious that the JV. adda is strictly gynandrous,
according to the more correct character of Gynan-
dria. think I have quoted Dr. Hull oftener than
I have commended him ;—he is a mere compiler.

I hope I shall never forget Philip of Macedon:
but I think in the above case he would have pro-
fited by his enemy ;—if so, I am right.

The Bishop of Norwich is always gratified to
hear of your Lordship’s remembrance, anid charges

VOL. I. 2P

578

me with his best compliments. He is quite reco-
vered; though he had a fall lately at Holkham, open-
ing a door by mistake, which led down a flight of
cellar steps. He told me “it would have made a
better story, if he had been a jolly wine-bibbing
bishop ;” but he drinks scarcely more than I do.

Lady Amelia Hume’s yellow Chrysanthemum in-
dicum is now in flower, 7ight glorious at my elbow:
it looks by candle-light of a rose-colour.

I will send a bit of my Sedum ochroleucum in a
frank. It will grow. Your devoted

J. E. Smiru.

The Bishop of Carlisle to J. £. Smith.

My dear Sir, Rose Castle, Nov. 23, 1808.

I had the pleasure of receiving yours of the 17th
instant yesterday. I am glad now, as I have been
at all times heretofore, to receive communications
of your literary difficulties. To begin, then—in
Greek, for I must talk to you as a Grecian, this
would be Kai 87 Aeyw oor. Much as I wish for
peace and forbearance and condescension to men of
low estate, (and in point of scholarship thus must I
style Salisbury,—of very low estate,) I must hold
up both my hands against allowing Salisbury to
desecrate the name Castalia. To make the name
of the nymph of the fountain where Apollo and all
the Muses drank the purest lymph, serve for the
denomination of a plant inhabiting foul, stagnating,
foetid water, and that too in a Flora Greca, which
is to preserve the memorial of all Grecian excel-

579

lence in the natural world, will.be an offence of the
grossest sort: Religio vetuit. A bad name, Linneus
says, had better be retained, than that a change
should be made. But really there is reason in
roasting of eggs. You cannot be bound down to
a name that is execrable, and which must excite in
all minds ideas of execration. Besides, how con-
trary is it to all rules of analogy, to make a noun
Castalia, from Castus -a-um? Is there any other
word of the form in all Latin? Would /atus make
latala ? or bonus, bonalia? Really if such things,
so very gross, are to be allowed, natural history
Latin must soon come to be a language fit for bar-
barians. Dryander himself cannot plead for such
coarse liberties. Still further, Castalia is a Greek
word, and has nothing to do with Latin etymology
or meaning. In point of priority of language, Cas-
tus might have been formed (but who can say that
it was?) from Castalia, the chaste Greek virgin (it
would have been castalus, not castus) ; but it was
impossible that Castalia could be formed from cas-
tus :—so much for that absolutely inadmissible word.
Philip of Macedon would not have attempted to
profit from such conceit and folly : he would have
placed such a correction amongst his contemnenda,
Kkatadpovnvea, to speak as a Grecian.

Biedapa is the plural of the neuter noun Brcpa-
pov. I suppose Dioscorides meant that the petals,
particularly the outward ones, or our calyx, closed
curvingly, if I may so say, as the eyelids do: and
if you observe, he calls the flower BrAchapa, not the
plant itself; so that it would be false unity to make

2P2

580

BXedapa a generic name. If you look into your
Dioscorides, you will see a marginal reading taken
from another copy, Nov@ap, Nuphar. That would
come nearer to a true generic name. If you wish
to examine more deeply into this name, turn to
your Theophrastus and read the explanation. This
is amply detailed by Bodeus, p. 1103, and continues
to half of the second column on p. 1104. See
particularly the bottom of p. 1103, where he tells
you that voupap is a Mauritanic, or modern Greek
word. Novdap makes a medicine, voudapov. So that
that very circumstance favours the idea of making
Nuphar a generic name. But go back to Theo-
phrastus himself, and you will see that he brings
forward another name for it, wadwua. Perhaps such
a termination of a word may seem suitable to the
purpose; see p. 1093 (last line but two), where he
says it is a Boeotian name. As you profess to be
bound to Dioscorides, I declare I should prefer u-
phar, and should suppose it a feminine noun, and
make the species ranged under it, /utea, &c., &c.
Madonia is formed from padwv, calvus, bald, having
no hairs upon it. Observe towards the end of
p. 1103, how it is said, nadwy roa kat Aewov, a glabritie
caulium et foliorum, &c.—dewe is levis. Either
of these names Wuphar or Madonza is highly clas-
sical. I scarcely know which is best: perhaps
Madonia is; but Nuphar is Dioscorides’s. You
must, and you do reject Salisbury’s Castalia here
upon irrefragable grounds. In your Introduction,
you have pledged yourself, not to the name Casta-
fia, but merely to the separation from Mymphea.

581

In your generic description of Blephara, should
it not run, “ Stigma radiato-sulcatum, sessile, z7-
mune?” immune opposed to medio nectariferum of
Nymphea.

As soon as Christmas is over, we shall begin to
pack up for London for the winter. How I dread
the angry countenances, tedious speeches, and late
nights of this next session of parliament !

I am always, my dear Sir,
Most sincerely yours,
SAMUEL CaRLISLE.

Pray always say kind things for me to my good
Brother of Norwich.

From the same.

My dear Sir, December 14, 1808.

Flora Greca surely may raise its voice occasion-
ally on classical grounds. On this idea I propose
the three following emendations of your note of
observation at the end.

a. ex fructu antidotum vovdapoy parabant veteres.

B. ascitis insuper nectariis.

y. at minus bene Nymphzam antiquorum veram,
nomine Castalia, ad novam et plane abnormem
etymologiam formato, distinxit.

Nomen Castaliz virginis illius preenobilis Greece,
unde Castalius fons ex quo Apollo atque omnes
Muse lymphas hauriebant purissimas, ad plantam
in palustribus spe foetidis nascentem dignandam,
desecrare, religio vetuit.

As nothing could be more ignorant than Salis-

582

bury’s derivation and use of the word Castalia, I
‘think you are fully entitled to check him, and give
a classical reason.— Would it not be better to say
Nupcaca addy, 8. Novdap Diosc. ?

I did not remember estwr used in classical wri-
ting. But if it have obtained in medicinal Latin
you are free to use it.

Sedum ochroleucum thrives bonnily.

If the Spaniards are foolish enough to fancy
themselves warriors and to fight pitched battles,
there will be a quick end put to all their hopes.

Yours ever,
S. CARLISLE.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Rose Castle, Aug. 25, 1809.

I wish I could give you any information about
Ethulia. As Linnzus was no scholar, he adopted
“names, and formed names which are passing all
powers of accounting for. Had he written it Hs-
thulia, I should, from combining it with Vaillant’s
name Sparganophorus, have supposed it derived
from eoOnc, zxdumentum, and ovAoc, mollis ; alluding
to its contributing somehow to soft clothing or
swaddling. I do not know the plant. Can it be
supposed to be derived from aw, wro, and ovAoc,
perniciosus ? Is there anything hot or poisonous
in it?

I know of no analogy or authority which will
justify your elegant reference to Thule in Seneca:
Linneus never had such a classical thought in his

583

head. When no one offers an etymology, all I can
say is, that every one is at liberty to guess at it.
If you choose to refer to Thule, who has a right to
condemn you, unless he will give you a true origin?
Where have we in compounded words, e for extra
in the local sense of beyond?

Euclea was once a name for Diana. (See Con-
stantini Lexicon in vocem EvxAea.) Was her name
derived from her celebrity or her chastity? In either
case it is derived from the idea of celebrity. For
kAew, to shut up, would never form a derivative
kAea; it is against rule.

If Linnzus did really form it from kAew, claudo,
he acted, as he often has done, from not knowing
better. The manifold coverings evidently justify
the idea that he did so: but it is contrary to rule;
nouns are usually formed from the Aoristus, or
Perfectum of verbs.

I am quite sorry that you do not come here this
year, as well as next. So many things happen enter
poculum et labra, that I always dread delays. How-
ever, if you will keep your word, and come next
year with Mrs. Smith, we will endeavour to put up
with the disappointment.—I fear that the death of
Lady Amelia Hume will take Sir Abraham off from
natural history.

If you should find any clue to Ewclea and Ethu-
fia, let me know, and I will hunt again. I remem-
ber of old that I could not do anything with
Ethulia.

S. CARLISLE.

584

From the same.

My dear Sir, Rose Castle, Oct. 30, 1809.

You need not fear burthening me or the Carlisle
post with your correspondence. To me, I may
say, Labor ipse voluptas. The postboys must
travel the road whether you or your friends write
or not; and as for the poor horses, the only ani-
mals to be considered compassionately, they love
the contents of your correspondence so well, they
would eat them if they could.

Que regio in terris nostri non plena laboris ?

I was sorry to see our Carlisle choristers’ impu-
dence blazoned forth in the public papers: it is
making such chz¢s of wonderful consequence. But
this is the age of servants and children.

You once gave me a foreign specimen of Ophrys
Corallorhiza. As this is now found so near Edin-
burgh, I wish you would bring with you next
spring a good native specimen or two. How I
dread the being in London! Independent of eter-
nal noise, smoke and dirt, what a fiery session have
we to expect! God guard our dear King’s life yet
awhile. When a change comes, Buonaparte will
not be inert. I wish our troops were all well at
home from Spain and Walcheren. These expedi-
tions and the Catholic question will produce such
a flame within a fortnight after the meeting of
parliament, that I fear nothing will be able to ex-
tinguish. Just so Carthage fell,—the enemy at
the gates, and the leading citizens immersed in

585

party-animosities. Just so, you say, the French
revolution began. The danger of these things may
perhaps awaken us to a sense of union and mode-
ration: but I fear that nothing but sufferings will

correct us.
Yours ever,

S. CaRLIsLeE.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Rose Castle, Nov. 12,1809.

I write you this amidst the hurry of packing for
town, for which noisy, smoky, foggy place we are
tomorrow morning to exchange the pure serenity
of the unparalleled air of Rose Castle. My com-
forts also there will be sorely abridged by the death
of my most steady friend and counsellor and patron
the Duke of Portland. His excellence was but
imperfectly known: never was a sounder under-
standing. Iam sure that old as he was, and dis-
tracted by his sufferings, this Administration must
miss him. I could write volumes in his praise.

How we are to be extricated from our difficulties
I know not. I hope for good, and pray to God to

grant it.
In great haste,

Yours ever,
S. CARLISLE.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Nov. 24, 1809.
I was delighted upon my return to town, with a

586

sight of the second volume of the Prodromus of
Flora Greca. I prize that work and its authors
so much, that I could not refrain from writing ex-
pressly to assure you, with what sincerity I thank
you for this choice present. My friendship for
you sets me always a nibbling. Upon opening the
book, I found repeatedly this expression, (Hab‘*.)
an Delphi, Atho et Olympo Bithyno montibus.
Now the word Delphi is plural only. The Greeks
called it AcAdor, and from them the Latins called it
Delphi, and declined it plurally only, Delphi, Del-
phorum, Delphis, Delphos, &c. :

Schoolboys have been often taught, but very
improperly, to say in English, the Oracle at Del-
phos: it should be the Oracle at Delphz ; and thus
in your work it should stand inall such descriptions
as above. Jn Delphis, Atho et Olympo Bithyno
montibus. All this is upon the supposition that
you mean the place where the Oracle at Delphi is
situated. Perhaps something else may be designed
by coupling the above with the expression, Jz Del-
phi monte Eubee, which occurs several times. Is
Delphi here a modern name? or is it the ancient
one? Ifso,I should apprehend that still it ought to
follow the original declination, De/phi-orum &c.

Sir J. Banks having a slight touch of the gout,
I had the honour of sitting in the Chair at the coun-
cil, and at the meeting of the Royal Society in the
evening. <A paper of Davy’s was read, full of acute
remarks, observations, and experiments upon hy-
drogen and oxygen gas, and to which unfortunately
I have had no opportunity of turning my mind.

587

It is said that Lord Wellesley joins the Ministry.
People seem confident that a great naval victory
has been gained ;—time will show.

Yours,

S. CARLISLE.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Dec. 26, 1809.

Fucus discors and abrotanifolius are certainly one
and the same. Miss Hill and Mrs. Griffiths can
give you the details of proof more minutely than I
can. If youchoose to consult them, send their let-
ters to me, and I will forward them. Unlike as F/.
discors and abrotanifolius may seem, the difference
is only in the breadth of the lower leaves, which
are rather rudiments of new branches: this dif-
ference is occasioned by the season of the year,
depth of water, &c. ; as those scientific ladies, who
have watched them thoroughly, can demonstrate to
you. I duly forwarded your letters to Mrs. Grif-
fiths, a most intelligent investigator.

I took your Chair at the Linnean Society at the
last meeting. How shocked was I to see Salisbury’s
surreptitious anticipation of Brown’s paper on the
New-Holland plants, under the name and disguise of
Mr. Hibbert’s gardener! Oh, it is too bad! I
think Salisbury is got just where Catiline was when
Cicero attacked him: viz. to that point of shame-
ful doing when no good man could be found to de-
fend him. I would not speak to him at the anni-

588

versary of the Royal Society ; I often caught his
eye upon “ the Bishop’s wig.”
Yours,
SAMUEL CaRLISLE.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Rose Castle, June 20, 1810.

I had a brother who formerly lived at Hurley,
close by Sir William East’s. I have been hospi-
tably received there, as I believe everybody is. I
have the pleasure to tell you that the young folks
after whom you make inquiry (I mean the Carna-
tions) are alive and merry: I managed them myself,
keeping them in their original ball of earth wrapped
up In newspapers, and keeping the whole constantly
moistened with water. I remember once keeping
roots of Ligusticum cornubiense in the same man-
ner for a month before I could get home and plant
them: they lived for years ; and perhaps they may
be in existence now at Bulstrode, where I left them
in the poor Duchess’s time, and saw them after-
wards growing year after year. How the name of
Bulstrode agitates my mind !

Monotropa hypopithys certainly used to grow in
Bisham woods. The Rev. Sir Henry Parker sent
it to me from thence many years ago, when I was
a young botanist. I was down in Cumberland time
enough this year to see Primula farinosa in great
abundance, lining our road-sides, and in our mea-
dows. I have brought some roots into my garden.

589
I shall long to show you Rose Castle. Whether
it be a paradise or not, every one’s Own mind must
determine ;—Satan could not find a paradise in the

garden of Eden.

Yours most sincerely,
S. CaRLisieE.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Rose Castle, Sept. 14, 1810.

I am always glad to havea little botanical nib-
bling with you. All I give you is my opinion,
whether right or wrong, and you always take it in
good part.- This encourages me to speak with
greater freedom. Your German botanist Tliggé
is I think quite right about Paspalus (Gr. Tao-
maXoc) instead of Paspalum. There can be no de-
pendence in general upon Linnzus for learned cri-
ticism. I believe he took all upon trust, accord-
ingly as he consulted books or men. I could easily
believe that he met with the word paspalum as the
accusative of paspalus, and supposed it to be the
nominative of the right name: or he might have
seen the accusative in Greek, zasraXov, and have
thought it anominative: or he might have thought
that, like many words ending in oc, waomadoc was
read also wao7aAov in the nominative. Many have
done it before Linneus. The old Latins observing
in Greek xacoda the accusative of cacaic, ‘a helmet’,
taking it for a nominative, made their noun casszs,
or cassida. Monstrous! So also xcparnp, ‘a bowl’,
made xparnpa in the accusative. The Latins igno-

590

rantly adopted them both indifferently as nomina-
tives. The Greeks themselves dealt with Hebrew
words in the same way, of which the Greek Sep-
tuagint will give you hundreds of instances. Pas-
palus is undoubtedly the true reading. I once
before let off a squib upon this very word ; I thought
it had been to you.

I went upon a botanical expedition the other day
to our high mountains ;—a great undertaking for
me,—ten or twelve miles out. No sooner had I
reached the spot, than clouds began to gather, and
tremendous rain ensued. My girls were of the
party: they must needs climb the highest pinnacle,
their brother Samuel being with them, and got back
without one dry thread: providentially no one
took cold. I got back to the carriage without
being wet through. I had just time to find three
species of Lycopodium,—Selago, clavatum, and alpi-
num; Empetrum nigrum, Pteris crispa, Aspidium
thelypteris ; I believe Parnassia palustris, and a
few Lichens ; when I was fairly driven off the field
by wind and rain. We set out immediately after
breakfast, and could not get back till six o’clock in
the evening. There’s fer you! Should there be
fine weather I shall be for trying again.

S. CARLISLE.

This place gains upon me most exceedingly. I
view it with daily delight.
mens expleri nequit, ardescitque tuendo.

591

From the same.

My dear Sir, Rose Castle, Nov. 9, 1810.

I had a great deal to do in the former edition of
Hortus Kewensis, and cannot but think the work
highly useful and most highly honourable to Great
Britain.

What a dreadful loss will the death of poor Dry-
ander be! I do not think that he is to be replaced,
in all his bearings. Possibly he was a dull plod-
ding genius as to brilliant and classical effusions:
but that said genius fitted him for every other si-
tuation which he filled. Plodding is the first qua-
lity of a librarian. None but he could have worked
up the Bibliotheca Banksiana. Who so fit to in-
vestigate dried plants, and trace out synonyms in
the musty journals of foreign Academies. Then he
was a walking Dictionary, or rather Repertory, for
all inquiries into natural history. Then also his
usefulness as a patient drudge in all matters which
were proposed to him, was an excellent quality.
His bluntness had its great effect with innovators,
impertinents, and popinjays. He had a conscious-
ness of his real worth also, which made him a very
independent character. [really am quite sorry that
we have lost him. What will Sir Joseph do?

As soon as I come to town I shall have a long
arrears of English Botany to run over, for I take
in that work in town.

Ever yours,
SAMUEL CaRLISLE.

592
J. £. Smith to the Bishop of Carlisle.

My dear Lord, Norwich, Dec. 3, 1810.
As to poor Dryander’s loss, and his character, I
can only mournfully assent to what you have so well
expressed! The immediate object of my present
writing is to consult with your Lordship about sup-
plying his place, as far as we can, in our own scien-
tific circle. I find it not easy, independent of his
vast attainments and peculiar usefulness, to find any
one to put into his place of Vice President.

We are lamenting the state of poor Lady East,
and soon expect to hear of her death. She is one of
the best and most amiable of human beings; a most
delightful companion, as to taste, sense, cheerful-
ness, and everything that makes society charming.

I have seen much of our excellent Bishop lately,
and cannot but profit by his society in many re-
spects. He is much pleased by your Lordship’s men-
tion of him.

I find Mr. Brown is in Dryander’s place at Soho
Square ;—his manner will be more swaviter, but not
less fortiter with coxcombs and blockheads.

I hope Hortus Kewensis will go on.

Your Lordship’s ever faithful
. J. E. Smiru.

The Bishop of Carlisle to J. E. Smith.

My dear Sir, Dec. 5, 1810.
I received your obliging favour of December 3rd,

593

and answer it without delay. Dryander’s place in
the natural history department is not to be filled up.
The man is not to be found in the whole world;—
Brown will fill admirably well the Botanical line at
Sir Joseph’s; a Librarian for the Royal Society may
be found ;—a Vice President for the Linnzean ;—a
Medallist for Mrs. Banks. But his biblical know-
ledge, his local acquaintance with Sir Joseph’s pro-
digious collections, is not to be had elsewhere. I
attended at the Linnean Society last night, and took
the Chair, when I announced his death and the va-.
cancy of the V. P., and enlarged upon what I have
said above.

I gave alittle sketch of the origin of the Society ;
how anxious we were to get scientific men, and them
only, wherever they could be found. That no man’s
rank in life should exclude, knowledge being the
only object in electing members. Immorality alone
(and ignorance at first) was to be a bar to our choice.
That our Society owed its stability to our never ad-
mitting Society-hunters, but only practical men who
would have an interest in its welfare,—“cum multis
alis hujuscemodi”. Observing as I spoke that I
made great impression, I went no further for fear of
disturbance.

S. CARLISLE.

From the same.

My dear Sir, London, May 25, 1812.
Everything has gone off today beyond my ut-
most expectations. In the morning I first took
VOL. I. 2a

594

the precaution of consulting every leading man in
the room respecting the choice of the Bishop of
Durham for our honorary member, and at length
proposed him. He was elected unanimously. I im-
mediately wrote him word of it, dating it from the
Society's rooms. He returned me an immediate an-
swer expressive of his thanks for the honour done
him, but sent it to my house in Berners Street ;—the
consequence was, that I did not receive it till my
return home; so that I could not deliver his thanks.
There were nearly thirty members present. We sat
down to dinner about fifty-three: among others
were present the Bishop of Winchester, Lord Stan-
ley, Sir Nash Grose, Sir George Staunton, Sir
Thomas Frankland, Mr. Poulter, Mr. Woodward,
D. Turner, Davies of Trinity College, &c. &c. I was
sorry to see a falling-off of some of our old mem-
bers,—Dicksonand Fairbairn and Francillon,—none
of whom were present in the morning or at dinner.
Hoy was there. We drank the usual toasts,—yours
of course; when I took an opportunity of repeating
what I had before said in the morning respecting
your utter inability to attend, your great regret at
this hindrance, which now occurred for the first tame
since the formation of the Society.

TheVice Presidents were drank of course.—After
I had returned thanks in a short speech, Sir Nash
Grose would give my health individually, as Presi-
dent for the day. It was rather hard to return thanks
twice; however, I somehow contrived it. I returned
Sir Nash’s compliment by giving, ‘The Laws of Old
England, and our very able Ministers of those Laws.”

595
This induced Sir Nash to make a speech of thanks.
As it happened, all these little things (together with
Marsham’s, MacLeay’s, and Brown’s thanks) enli-
vened the day not a little, and sent every one home
expressing what a pleasant day we had had.

I must say that I never knew a day go off more
harmoniously.

Marsham and MacLeay will give you all the de-
tail of the finance matters and other particulars
more immediately within their provinces. Dillwyn
was with us; Mr. Forster, who has lately, he told
me, lost his father ; Dr. Maton, Mr. Lambert, Mr.
Symmons, Mr. Rackett. Dr. Rees was at the rooms
in the morning. I pressed him to dine with us, that
I might have an opportunity of improving my ac-
quaintance with him. He excused himself from
dining with us, pleading that he was not well.

Mr. Hodgson, Mr. Knight, Mr. Davies Giddy,
were with us in the morning, but were engaged to
dine at other places.

Sir A. Hume and Lord Valentia, the Bishop of
Salisbury and others, had promised to dine with us,
but did not come. However, “All’s well that ends
well.” We must not expect at any time to have
everything our own way.

This will relieve Mrs.Smith from no small anxiety,
and your many other friends.

It will be a great pleasure to me to hear you are

better. :
I am, dear Sir,

Your very faithful humble Servant,
S. CARLISLE.
2a2

596

From the same.

My dear Sir, London, Feb. 25, 1813.

You are very good in turning your thoughts to-
wards us and our distresses. Indeed we have sus-
tained a great loss: in one sense, perhaps, I the
greatest ; for my poor daughter was possessed of a
mind and understanding all usefulness and resource:
I had depended upon her to arrange many matters
in case of my death, having no idea but that she
would have survived me. Nothing was too difficult
for her comprehension; nothing happened cross
and untoward but for which the resources of her
mind could find some remedy or alleviation. But
so was the will of God; and we have nothing to do
but to accept his pleasure, and be thankful that no
worse thing befell us. In all distress it is fruitless
to look back and regret; we should only still press
forward, and look to the comforts which still re-
main. It is both our duty and our happiness so to
do. What a gap is made in our little domestic so-
ciety! What a permanent loss in every respect!

Tam sorry to tell you that Sir J. Banks is very
ill. Icalled there today, when the servant, with
most mournful countenance, said he had been better
yesterday, but was worse today. Sir Everard Home
said this morning that he was rather alarmed about
him. He is one that cannot be well replaced. I
shall still hope that his strong constitution, as of
iron, will carry him through. His servant described
him to me as being in great pain. If this proceeds
from gout, it is surely no bad symptom. Moderate

597

quantities of /eau medicinale failed in relieving him
this time: he took an immoderate quantity, which
produced immoderate effects; -hence malady and
weakness ensued. *

Mrs. Goodenough is much affected, but bears all
with Christian patience.

I am, dear Sir,
Your most truly affectionate
S. CARLISLE.

From the same.

My dear Sir, Rose Castle, Oct. 25, 1814.

I received your very agreeable letter of the 18th.
Both you and the Bishop of Norwich must have
had a rich treat in the library at Holkham. You
took your lines very appropriately; you the History
of Italy, and he the MSS. of the Greek Testament.

If you can remember to answer such a trifle, I
wish you would in your next tell me if the spirits
(asper ‘ and lenis”) were marked in those MSS.

That missal so full of miniatures must be a great
curiosity. Do the Roman Catholics attach any re-
higious worth to the possession of such costly mis-
sals? Is the possession of them deemed doing God
service, or a proof of piety? I have heard these
points argued, but I own never satisfactorily.

T never see the Monthly Review now. When
old Griffiths died, the managers of that work took
such liberties with our church establishment, and
the doctrines of our church, (not in argument, for

598

that would not be unfair, but in invective and sar-
casm,) that I left off taking it in. When I return
to town, I will endeavour to get a sight of it.

Yours,

S. CARLISLE.

From the same.

My dear Sir James, _—_Rose Castle, July 26, 1816.

I am always happy when I receive a letter from
you: it is amusing to compare the different accounts
of things from different persons in different situa-
tions; they usually vary very much in those ac-
counts. But there is one particular now in which
all accounts from all quarters agree, viz. about the
weather: we have had scarcely a day without rain
since we came into the North.

I admire some of those agricultural meetings,
particularly when they are purely agricultural, like
Mr. Coke’s, and not as they have been in this coun-
ty, mixed up with politics.

I am glad to hear that the House of Buckingham
has so fair a promise in Lord Nugent. The world ne-
ver will move better and in more natural order than
when the greatest men in it are the wisest and the
best. A novus homo has a deal to struggle through
before he can get into a commanding situation. A
man of rank, and of real knowledge at the same
time, comes into it without an effort, and thus a
great deal of time and contention is saved.

599

I do not like this Indian nor this Algerine war.
Wars are prolific monsters, and soon people the
world with those of their own kind. Would that
war was completely banished from mankind!

My son Edmund has been at Malvern. He was
puzzled there with that variety of Ervum tetrasper-
mum which has footstalks with one flower only. I
do not recollect ever to have seen your variety of
I. Xiphium.

S. CARLISLE.

From the same.

Dear Sir James, Rose Castle, Sept. 15, 1819.

I will begin answering the last matter which you
mention,—your new edition of the Flora: I hope
that you will not abandon that idea. Had you not
so very lately given a new edition of your Com-
pendium complete, I should have advised an edi-
tion of it, and also have wished that you had an-
nounced your intentions of publishing your edition
for the ladies, and stating what you had got already
for the Flora.

As that edition of the Compendium cannot be
nearly taken off yet, I fear you must risk your edi-
tion at once. It must be a most respectable work,
far beyond what has been produced in any country
under the sun. I cannot say anything to the En-
glish Flora, not knowing your plan. The old plan
of your Flora Britannica was, I always thought,
extremely good, and such as needed no mending.

600

I have never seen Fonthill, but at a great di-
stance en passant. What an amazing inclosure !
fourteen miles of wall !

Yours most sincerely,
SAMUEL CaRLISLE.

From the same.

Dear Sir, Berners Street, Nov. 29, 1819.

The famous American serpent is at length ascer-
tained to be no fiction. It seems that there has
always been a rumour of this animal: Aldrovan-
dus mentions it among others. However it has
never been caught and described. It has now been
seen by three hundred people at once, and hopes
are entertained that ere long this will be taken. It
is of immense size and length.

This feverish anxiety cannot last long, as things
must come to acrisis soon. And Cobbett’s landing
with Tom Paine’s bones will be adding oil to the
flame. All this is frightful. .

I am, dear Sir James, yours,
S. CARLISLE.

From the same.

Dear Sir James, Rose Castle, Sept. 28, 1821.

I had been expecting a letter from you according
to annual custom, I own; but that did not stop me
from writing to you, but an uncommon variety of

601

business, and a greater variety of domestic troubles
than usually falls to one’s lot at one time.

We were hindered coming down hither at first
by the two servants whom we leave here in our ab-
sence being seized with typhus fever: they could
not join us for a considerable time after our arrival.
This confused the regularity of our house, and
gave us no small trouble, and some expense. As
soon as we were all set to rights in this respect, my
housekeeper’s husband, a healthy young active man,
was suddenly seized with a swelling in his thigh and
leg, so that his clothes were obliged to be cut away
to free him from them: this makes her very un-
easy, and paralyses her services. My coachman’s
wife, who keeps our house in Berners Street, and
has been expecting to be confined all this month; a
person has come down from London and told him
she is very ill, so that this keeps him upon the fret.
Then the other night, Mrs. Goodenough’s maid, a
nice delicate young woman, fell down suddenly in
a fit, and has not been thoroughly herself or useful
since. One of my labourers has just lost his cow,
and he has a sonin arapid decline. To add to all,
our letter-carrier is taken suddenly ill; so that I
have nothing to hear but complaints, and nothing
to see but moping figures. A pretty picture this
of domestic inconveniences ! ;

Lady Melville the other day gave me a very fine
pot of Gloxinia speciosa. How like the flower was
to Digitalis, at first sight. The cold begins to
pinch it. Iam very much afraid that when I go
away, it will go the way of all flesh, z. ¢. die. It is

602

beautiful in flower and health just now, and has a
great many flowers.

Yours always,
SAMUEL CARLISLE

Str J. EL. Smith to the Bishop of Carlisle.

My dear Lord, Norwich, March 3, 1822.

I am steadily at work at my English Flora, and
hope to get it into the press when I go to town,
which I cannot spare time to do before the begin-
ning of May. I find so much to do in this work
that it will be quite an original Flora, the whole
subject being revised after so many years expe-
rience ; and nothing, or worse than nothing, done
by most writers since I began. To try to fix the
language, revise all generic and specific characters,
enrich and correct synonyms, add remarks on natu-
ral affinities, clear away the mischief done by com-
pilers,—all this is an Herculean labour. The
object of the book is botanical determination.

I am now finally disposing of the grasses, and
hope I have done some good, as also in the Z77-
andria Monogynia. Brown is very great in these.

My present employment makes mea very bad
correspondent.

I remain
Your Lordship’s devoted and most faithful
J. EK. SmMiru.

603

The Bishop of Cartsle to Sir J. EB. Smith.

Dear Sir James, _Berners Street, March 8, 1822.

You are entered indeed upon a Herculean task,
if your English Flora be intended to embrace what
you propose; to fix the language, revise generic
and specific characters, enrich and correct syno-
nyms, add remarks on natural affinities, and clear
away the mischief done by compilers,—and to cor-
rect habitats. One would think that this is suffi-
cient for a first edition. As the object of your
work is botanical determination, it certainly might
fairly include the accenting of the generic and spe-
cific names throughout. But have you time for
all this before the beginning of May? I shall very
gladly lend you all the assistance which I can give.
When I turned my thoughts to this subject, I
adopted two characters to mark the quantity of the
penultimate and antepenultimate syllables. Where
the syllable was pronounced long, as in purus, edu-
lis, Polypodium, I put one straight stroke (| ); where
it was pronounced short, as magnus, palustris,
Chrysanthemum, I put two straight strokes (il). Z
preferred this to the more learned characters of
“and “, because we accent aliving language according
to the wse, not the nature of the syllable. Thus
there are some refined critics who would pro-
nounce polypodium polypodium, the o in podium
being an omicron, and thus by nature short. But
this in the present state of things would be per-
plexing, because great tenderness and attention

604

should, I think, be paid to practical men, and ladies
and gardeners, who have been accustomed to pro-
nounce so. I give you my opinion and my reasons ;
and therefore, if you enter upon this part of your
work, you will judge for yourself.

I do not see that you are called upon to give the
etymology of the generic and specific names: it
would open into dispute, and take off the mind
from your main object, botanical determination.
These things must, I think, be left generally to
scholars.

Yours,
SAMUEL CaRLISLE.

Sir J. E. Smith to the Bishop of Carlisle.

My dear Lord, Norwich, March 13, 1822.

I derive, as usual, great assistance and encou-
ragement from your Lordship’s instructive letter.
I think I may be spared explanations of generic
names, except such as are new to British readers.

As toaccents, your Lordship’s plan is excellent:
I well remember your telling me about it,—but per-
haps it is more than I want. Common English
readers, not wanting to make Latin verses, would
never understand magnus, and palustris, &c. It
will be enough, I apprehend, to put a’ over the
syllable on which the accent is to be laid. This I
can do easily in most instances ; and when I am
puzzled, I know whom to consult.

DeCandolle has introduced a new term for the

605

single grains or parts of compound fruits, as in
Uvaria :—carpella (plural ?); but should it not be
carpiola’? as the original word is Greek. I do
not however admit it at all, any more than his
sepala for segments or leaves of a calyx. I must
adopt Schreber’s genus Spartina, for Dactylis
stricta: it is very distinct. Is not Spartina a good
name, alluding to the broom-like, or cord-like stems
and leaves? ‘The French have subsequently called
it Limnetis,—a good name; but it ought not surely
to supersede the older one.

Mr. Coke is too good and too prosperous to
escape envy. I regret that party should make such
menas himenemies. As to the bulk of each party,
it matters little. I esteem him one of the best of
human beings. I allude not to politics, which I
often regret should disturb so fine and happy a
mind as his.

Mr. Roscoe is preparing for our Society a very
excellent distribution of the species of Canna, now
very numerous.

I am ever, most respectfully,
Your Lordship’s,

J. E. SMitH.

The Bishop of Carlisle to Sir J. E. Smith.

Dear Sir, March 14, 1822.
When I put my two strokes over MUgnUs, &e.,
it was more to show you my plan, than any wish
that you should mark words, dissyllables or others,

606

which the common genius of our own language
would so readily point out. Whether the single
stroke will sufficiently teach the pronunciation of
words of three or more syllables, a little use and
experience will convince you. If, for instance, the
word ftzcznus occur, will the same mark ’ indicate
that the 2 be pronounced short, as if two consonants
followed it? I only throw out this for your consi-
deration.

DeCandolle was quite mistaken about his term
carpella: it is evidently taken from the Greek word
kap7oc, and is a diminutive of it, and so far is of clas-
sical analogy. But capzoc¢ is a masculine noun, and
so must its diminutives be; and therefore the word
should be carpelli not carpella. But why is not
Linnzus’s word satisfactory? Thus in Rubus, he
says, “Bacca composita acimis monospermis.” Who
is at a loss?

I can make neither head nor tail of Sepala. I
should think with you that the term is not called
for.

As Dactylis stricta is so distinct a genus, I cer-
tainly should prefer the older appellation of Spar-
tina (although it does not quite suit my ear and
taste) to the more modern one Limnetis. I call
Limnetis no name at all; it is derived from the
Greek word Awwn, palus—i. q. palustris. But there
may be others found perhaps growing in marshes
also ;—in this case, as in many of the Linnzan ge-
nera, the term palustris does not assist us.

I am, dear Sir James, yours,
SAMUEL CaRLISLE.

607

From the same.

My dear Sir James, Rose Castle, Sept. 6, 1822.

I observe one odd thing this year. Although last
year we had such a multitude of wasps that they
ate up all our fruit, this year not one has been seen
yet. Another odd thing took place:—the swift
left us in the beginning of August; and during last
week, when there were violent rains, storm and
tempest, there was not a swallow or martin to be
seen; but this week they have appeared again.
- Was it that the wind and storms destroyed their
food? and now the serenity of the atmosphere has
brought them all back again,—I cannot say in such
numbers as before. Indeed this year they came
some weeks later, and were by far less numerous
than usual.

I envy you at the sea side.

Yours,
SAMUEL CaRLISLE.

The Bishop of Carlisle to Sir J. E. Smith.

My dear Sir James, Berners Street, Jan. 25, 1828.

I am not at all surprised at Cobbett’s manceuvres ;
I only wonder that such things have not taken
place before. For when parties meet, such a mul-
titude of inflammatory speeches are made, that the
passions of the ignorant must be set to work. The
principal people concerned, think that the rabble
are too far off to presume to take a lead; but that
distinction is set aside, more or less, at. every meet-

608

ing, and the consequence is to be dreaded. Now
at the York meeting, it was fine talking to say that
our Constitution is made up of three distinct 4-
mited powers. But what is to keep them limited ?
Mr. Wortley could not be heard, so that here zz
“imine there was one unlimited power that over-
ruled. 'They are three limited powers, I grant you ;
but the argument is too fine drawn for the lower
classes to be held by it. There is nothing new in
all this ; it is thoroughly well understood, and has
practically been observed as far as circumstances
will permit: but occasionally one part or other
has outrun its limits, and evil has inevitably ensued.
I own I dread seeing things pushed to these nice
extremities : I say this as a true Whig.

I am glad to see that you have taken the Um-
bellate in hand. I have been more puzzled in that
class than in any other. The Jnvolucra and Invo-
lucella are by far too unstable to form decisive
distinctions. If the fruit will furnish distinctions
broad enough, you will have done a great work.
Will your system hold good through all the foreign
genera f—I can write no more than to assure you
and Lady Smith how truly I am

Yours,
S. CaRLISLe.

From the same.

Berners Street, Dec. 11, 1823.
My dear Sir James,
What a winter summer we have had! The wea-

609

ther at Rose Castle was all the time as cold as at
Christmas: we had fires in all our rooms from
morning till night, just as we have in the depth of
winter.

Your accurate distinction between Geum and
Dryas is very satisfactory. How many times I
have looked at both those genera, without having
an idea or a suspicion of your nice distinction !—but
I have often observed that old men go on in the
errors which they imbibed inadvertently in their
early age. It would be well if they could begin
again according to the old adage—Dzisce docendus
adhec.

The singular generic character of Jcosandria is

so very striking, that I believe it gives one a care-

less way of examining its plants. Hence our er-
rors and our difficulties-so late to be discovered.
The produce of our gardens was sadly damaged
this year. We had no apples: our pears did not
ripen: strawberries and raspberries were in plenty,
but they had not by any means their usual flavour.
Yet, what was remarkable, we had mulberries, of
which we have had none but twice since I have been
at Rose Castle. Our corn was very late. When
I left Cumberland, the 3rd of November, there were
multitudes of acres not reaped, all of them almost
as green as grass. We have one peach-tree from
which we gathered ripe and well-flavoured fruit the
last week in October.
Sincerely yours,
SAMUEL CARLISLE.

VOL. I. DR

We

‘

610

The correspondence between these friends con-
tinued to the end of 1826 with its original spirit ;
but from that time the declining health of the
Bishop became visible in his handwriting, and his
subsequent letters were chiefly upon the progress
of infirmity. Like most admirers of Nature, he
possessed warm domestic and social affections, and
great love for the enjoyments of home. Speaking
in one of his earlier letters of a family possessing
the same qualities, who had been bereaved of a
tender parent, “The description,” he says, “ of such
an harmonious family, is as delightful as it is ser-
viceable. When one wants nothing from without,
how sure and constant our comforts are ! and that
is the case with a family at unity in itself. Oh, how
good and joyful a thing is it to dwell together in
unity! Itisa Bisasnie even for strangers to look
upon.

«Parting is a hard task. I do not wish for stoi-
cism enough to set me above such fine feelings. In
the end they are a happiness for us, ever recalling
the connexion while it subsisted, teaching us the
value of everything of the kind, and inviting us to
look forward to other modes of it.”

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

PRINTED BY RICHARD TAYLOR,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET,

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