CHINA. 175*. 241 



LETTER VI. 



AS I have acquired fome knowledge of bo- 

 tany by your kind affiftauce, and have 

 heard and read of the merits of Baron Rbeede in 

 this branch of learning, I fhould have been in- 

 excufeably negligent if I had paffed over his 

 epitaph in filence. As it was inconvenient for 

 me to keep pions, I experienced on this, as on 

 many other occafiions, the difficulty of waiting 

 till I could get company : but even thefe 

 would not always flop, when I met with any- 

 thing which according to my judgement ap- 

 peared remarkable. When I came the fs- 

 cond time to Baron Rheede's grave, I found 

 the mutters fattened. Therefore I could not 

 copy the whole epitaph y, but only the prmci~ 

 pal things, which I mould have communicated 

 long ago, had I thought they were not known, 



I hope I mall be able to fay openly in Szlt* 

 den what they make no great fecret of in that 

 country, namely that he had been poifoned : 

 nor is it unlikely ; for (o great power in the 

 hands of an honefl man mud be very dreadful 



y The translator does not think the epitaph intereii- 

 ing to an Englijb reader. 



Vol. II. K to 



