362 



a great budget of Linnaean correspondence to 

 " Master John Nichols " to print, — very curious 

 and interesting. Have you seen the letters he has 

 printed of Dr. Richardson, Sloane, Lord Petre, and 

 the great Sherard ? The originals are now in my 

 hands, with many others ; — a mine of botanical 

 anecdote. 



Your ever affectionate 



J. E. Smith. 



Mr. Roscoe to Sir J. E. Smith. 



My ever dear Friend, April 15, 1820. 



I need not say how truly I sympathize with Lady 

 Smith and yourself in the grief and anxiety you 

 have lately had to sustain, from the loss of your 

 very near and dear relatives. 



The crown of a happy life is a peaceful death ; 

 and if we could take our departure with the com- 

 posure of your late excellent mother, it would seem 

 almost desirable for us to escape from this " sea of 

 troubles." But though we may have sufficient 

 causes to induce us to wish to lay down our bur- 

 then, yet something still occurs to provide us either 

 with a reason or a pretext for wishing to remain 

 a little longer ; and I fear, if put to the test, we 

 should be like our poor friend Fraser, who, after 

 having been seventeen times across the Atlantic, 

 and brought more plants into this kingdom than 

 any other person, complained to my son, when he 

 called on him in his last illness, that " Providence 



