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[JUNE, 



BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIRS OF EMINENT PERSONS. 



TITE DUCHESS OF DURAS. 



The Duchess of Duras, distinguished as 

 the friend of Madame de Steel, and no less 

 by her own literary talents, died lately at 

 Nice, after a long and painful illness. This 

 lady was the daughter of the Count de 

 Kersaint, who voted against the decapita- 

 tion of Louis XVI. He, in consequence, 

 resigned his office of deputy on the 20th of 

 January, 1793 ; and, on the same day, he 

 inserted in the Moniteur a letter, which is 

 considered to have cost him his life. " If," 

 said the writer, " I have had the misfortune 

 to be the colleague of the panegyrists and 

 instigators of the 2d of September, I would 

 defend my memory from the reproach of 

 having been their accomplice ; for this, a 

 moment only remains to me : to-morrow 

 [21st of January], perhaps it will be no 

 longer time." 



In her two very popular novels, " Ourika," 

 and " Edouard," the Duchess of Duras is 

 considered, by the French critics, to have 

 successfully emulated the Tenains, La- 

 fayettes, &c. An exile almost from her 

 birth, she died, as we have already stated, 

 in a foreign land. In her last moments, 

 however, she had the consolation of being 

 attended by her two daughters, the Duchess 

 of Rauzan and Madame de la Rochejaque- 

 lin. 



SIR JAMES EDWARD SMITH, M.D. F.R.S. 



Sir James Edward Smith, one of the 

 founders, and first President, of the Lin- 

 nasan Society, was a native of Norwich. He 

 was bred to the medical profession, but never 

 practised in London. He studied for some 

 time at Leyden ; and, having a taste for 

 natural history, especially botany, he, on his 

 return from the Continent, was introduced 

 to the royal family, and engaged by her Ma- 

 jesty, Queen Charlotte, to instruct the Prin- 

 cesses, who were then young, in his own 

 favourite pursuit. He was thus employed 

 for two years, and, according to report, was 

 not adequately compensated for his exertions. 

 We know not whether any soreness were 

 induced in the mind of Dr. Smith by what 

 he might deem a want of liberali ty ; but, in 

 his " Sketch of a Tour to the Continent," 

 a work in three volumes, published in the 

 year 1793, he made some statements 

 respecting a distinguished personage in 

 France, which were understood to give great 

 offence at Buckingham House, where he 



was never afterwards in favour. His present 

 majesty, however, when Regent, was pleased 

 to confer upon him the honour of knight- 

 hood. 



On taking his degree of M.D. at Ley- 

 den, Dr. Smith's thesis was " Demonstra- 

 tio qucedam de Generatione Complectens." 

 Early in life, he purchased the collection, or 

 a part of the collection, of Linnaeus ; and, 

 in conjunction with Dr. Goodenough, late 

 Bishop of Carlisle, and others, he established 

 the Linnaean Society, of which, for many 

 years, he was annually elected President. 

 His residence was at Norwich, where he 

 practised as a physician ; but he was accus- 

 tomed to visit London every year, to pre- 

 side at the anniversary of the Linnaean So- 

 ciety ; and, generally, at the same time, he 

 delivered Botanical Lectures at the Royal 

 Institution. Some years since, he propo- 

 sed to deliver a course of lectures on botany 

 at Cambridge, but was interdicted, unless 

 he would subscribe to the thirty-nine articles 

 of the church of England. This he refused, 

 and, in consequence, a sharp controversy en- 

 sued. 



Besides tracts, and contributions to the 

 Transactions of the Linnaean Society, the 

 Philosophical Transactions, Nicholson's 

 Journal, and other scientific works, the lite- 

 rary productions of Sir James Smith, du- 

 ring an extended period of forty-two years, 

 filled numerous volumes. Amongst them 

 we find; English Botany, 8vo., 1790; 

 Plantarum Icones hacteneus ineditae, 1791 ; 

 C. Linnaei Flora Lapponica, 1 792 ; Spiri- 

 legium Botanicum, folio, 1792 ; Disserta- 

 tion on the Sexes of Plants, from Linnasus ; 

 Syllabus of a Course of Lectures on Botany, 

 1795 ; Natural History of the Lepidopte- 

 rous Insects of Georgia, 2 vols. folio, 1797; 

 Tracts relative to Natural History, 1798; 

 Flora Graeca, in conjunction with Dr. Sib- 

 thorpe ; Flora Britannica, 3 vols. 1803-4 ; 

 Lachesi's Lapponica, or a Tour in Lapland, 

 by Linnaeus, 2 vols. 8vo. 1811 ; the Eng- 

 lish Flora, Vol. IV. 1828, published the 

 day before his death. 



Sir James Smith died at Norwich, on 

 Monday, the 17th of March. On Wednes- 

 day following, at the meeting of the Linnaean 

 Society, the intelligence of his decease was 

 communicated ; when the members, as a 

 tribute of respect to their friend and Presi- 

 dent, immediately retired. 



MONTHLY AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



THE favourable change of the wind, towards the latter end of last month, did not con- 

 tinue many days, but was succeeded, either by winds in a constant easterly direction, or by 

 repeated vicissitudes of temperature, not very favourable to the recovery of the corn crops 

 from that discoloured aud sickly appearance which they had so long worn. However, they 

 have universally assumed a deeper and more healthy green, and upon good dry soils they 



