LIFE OF JOHN C. LOUDON. 



the literary part of the work, and continued writing, with me as his amanuensis, 

 till two or three o'clock in the morning. His constitution was naturally very 

 strong, but it was impossible for any human powers to bear, for any lengthened 

 period, the fatigue he underwent. In 1838, he began the Snhurhan Gardener, 

 which was also published in monthly numbers, so that he had five monthly works 

 going on at the same time. He soon found, however, that three monthly works, 

 besides the Arboretum, were as much as his health would permit him to undertake 

 the management of, and he disposed of the Magazine of Natural History to Mr. 

 Charlesworth. In 1838, he also gave up the Architectural 3Iagazine, and at mid- 

 summer, in that year, he finished the Arboretum Britannicum. He was now in 

 circumstances that would have discouraged almost any person but himself. His 

 health was very seriously injured, partly by what was supposed to be a liver com- 

 plaint, and partly by an enormous swelling in his right knee, which some of the 

 most eminent medical men in London supposed to be produced by a disease in 

 the bone. In addition to the large sums in ready money he had paid to the 

 artists and other persons employed, during the progress of the Arboretum, he 

 found, at its conclusion, that he owed ten thousand pounds to the printer, the 

 stationer, and the wood engraver, who had been employed on that work. His 

 creditors, however, did not press him for their money, but gave him a chance of 

 reaping the benefit of his labors at some future time, by consenting to wait till 

 they were paid by the sale of the Arboretum and the Cottage Architecture, upon 

 condition that he placed these works in the hands of Messrs. Longman, to hold 

 for the creditors till the debt was paid. 



Notwithstanding the state of his knee, which was now such that he was unable 

 to walk without assistance, immediately on the completion of the Arboretum he 

 arranged and published his Hortus Lignosus Londinerisis ; and in the last number 

 of the Suburban Gardener, which was finished about this time, he informed the 

 public that he intended to resume his profession of landscape-gardener, and that 

 he would not only go out, but give advice at home, on any plans that might be 

 sent to him. To us, who saw the state of his health, this intimation gave the 

 greatest pain, and we determined to do everything in our power to prevent the 

 necessity of his exerting himself. Two of his sisters learned wood engraving, 

 and I, having acquired some knowledge of plants and gardens during the eight 

 years I had acted as his amanuensis, began to write books on those subjects my- 

 self. In the mean time, he grew so much worse, that we had very little hope of 

 his recovery, till he placed himself under the care of William Lawrence, Esq., 

 when that eminent surgeon took a different view of the case from what had been 

 before entertained, and, by his mode of treatment, rapidly restored my husband 

 to health. 



In 1839, Mr. Loudon began to layout W\q Arboretum so nobly presented by the 

 late Joseph Strutt, Esq., to the town of Derby. In the same year, he published 

 his edition of Rppton, and his Second Additional Supplement to the Hortxis Britan- 

 nicus. In 1840, he accepted the editorship of i\\Q~Gardener^s Gazette, which, 

 however, he only retained about twelve months. 



In 1840, Mr. Loudon, having a great desire to examine some of the trees in the 

 Jardin des Plantes, in order to identify the species of Crataegus, went to Paris ; 

 and as his health was beginning again to decline, I went with him, taking with 

 me our little daughter Agnes, who was then about seven years of age, and who, 

 from this time, was always the companion of our journeys. We went by way of 

 Brighton, Dieppe, and Rouen, to Paris, ascending the Seine, and we remained in 

 France about two months. 



'hen Mr. Loudon left Scotland so abruptly in 1831, he promised his fr 



