296 A DECADE OF WORK AT HOME. [1842, 



duty ; and offering me, of course, additional compensa- 

 tion, I suppose $200 or so. I found, however, that this 

 pay would come from the funds of the Garden, let 

 who would perform the duty. So to prevent that, I 

 offered to perform the duty, but to receive no pay for 

 it. At the same time, however, I got the corporation 

 to appropriate $100 for illustrative botanical draw- 

 ings, which otherwise would have come out of my own 

 pocket. So you see I have work enough ahead, if I 

 live, to give me both occupation and anxiety. I have 

 been driving away at the " Flora," of late, very hard, 

 hoping to come to New York to print next month ; 

 when all this matter must be laid aside, and I must 

 prepare for my lectures, etc., for next term, which com- 

 mences about the first of March. 



I am very tired, having been in Boston all day, 

 at tea at Mr. Albro's, our good pastor, where I met 

 Mr. Dana, father of " Two Years before the Mast " 

 Dana, and passed the rest of the evening at Professor 

 Peirce's. 2 To-niorrow I hope to have for study ; but 

 the next day I shall be obliged to go again to Boston, 

 and perhaps stay till evening for a soiree at Mr. Tick- 

 nor's. 



The Latimer case has greatly increased the aboli- 

 tion feeling in this State, besides showing that the 

 recent decision of the Supreme Court will in fact 

 operate in favor of the runaway slave. It is not prob- 

 able that another slave will ever be again captured in 

 Massachusetts. There is a petition to Congress in 

 circulation, designed simply to express the feelings 

 of Massachusetts, which will probably be signed by 

 almost every person in the State. 



1 Benjamin Peirce, 1809-1880 ; professor of mathematics, Harvard 

 University. 



