ieee ia eae es ate 
MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 109 
especially fond of French literature, and his library is quite 
rich in the standard authors as well as lighter works. Un- 
doubtedly, he was introduced at Mill Hill to other modern 
languages: German, Italian and Spanish—all of which 
(except perhaps German) he followed up more or less un- 
til the last years of his life; as well-thumbed grammars 
and dictionaries, and a good selection of Italian and Span- 
ish books, abundantly prove. 
With this preliminary equipment the boy took his place 
in the ranks of men by assisting his father at the home 
establishment for a year, and then—in 1818—came with 
him to Canada. His manly qualities must have shown them- 
selves unmistakably by that time, for the same year his 
father sent him to New Orleans; mainly, it is understood, 
with the object of learning the mysteries of cotton-raising, 
though other business of no great consequence required his 
presence there. But his stay in Louisiana was short; he 
did not like the climate, nor were there any present or 
prospective financial inducements to remain. He was now 
his own master, and decided to exchange the South for the 
North and try his fortune in the then small and remote 
French trading post called St. Louis. Embarking on the 
‘“‘Maid of New Orleans,’’ after a long and tedious voyage 
the youthful adventurer arrived at his destination May 3, 
1819. A venerable citizen—Mr. Frederick L. Billon— 
saw the steamer come to anchor at the foot of what is now 
Market Street, and was among the first to welcome the 
stranger. He says: ‘‘Mr. Shaw had come from England 
with a small stock of cutlery, to make his fortune in the 
New World. With little means he began business on the 
second floor of a building which he found for rent, and for a 
time lived, cooked, and sold his goods in this one room. I 
have sat with him there many a time, playing chess during 
the long evenings. He cared little for society, and while he 
went out to parties and balls occasionally, he seemed to 
avoid making acquaintances among the girls of that period. 
The reason of this was [so thinks Mr. Billon] that he had 
come to make money solely, with the expressed intention 
of some day returning to his native heath to enjoy the result 
of his early years of labor. He intended marrying some 
