OF JOHN BARTRAM. 45 



tlenian, a native of Normandy ; that at the age of sixteen years 

 he emigrated, first to England, and from thence to the North 

 American colonies, where he resided nearly twenty-seven years 

 (from 1754 to 1781), chiefly in the provinces of New York and 

 Pennsylvania. It is understood that he died in 1813, aged about 

 82 years. 



The annexed letter purports to be from a "Russian gentleman," 

 named Iwan Alexiowitz, and to be descriptive of a visit to the 

 Pennsylvania botanist, in the year 1769. Of the writer of the 

 letter, the editor has not been able to obtain any authentic infor- 

 mation ; but, by whomsoever written, the fidelity of the portraiture 

 therein sketched, will not be questioned by any one having the 

 slightest knowledge of the history, character, and pursuits of John 

 Bartram. 



Letter from Mr. Iw n Al tz, a Russian gentleman; 



DESCRIBING THE VISIT HE PAID AT MY REQUEST TO Mr. JOHN 

 BeRTRAM,* THE CELEBRATED PENNSYLVANIA BOTANIST. 



Examine this flourishing province, in whatever light you will, 

 the eyes as well as the mind of a European traveller are equally 



" That gentleman took me, another day, to dine with Mons. De Beaumenoir, at 

 his apartments in the Hotel des Invalides, of which he was governor, and who 

 had a daughter about to embark for New York, in the same packet that Mr. De 

 Ckeveccsur and I had taken passage. She was coming out to America, under 

 St. John's protection, to marry M. De la Forest, who was then French consul 

 at New York, and afterwards became a man of some note, as a diplomatist under 

 Napoleon, who raised him to the dignity of a baron of his empire. St. John 

 himself had been made consul-general by King Louis. 



"That kind friend took me, one morning, to visit Brissot de Warville, who 

 served Philippe d'Egalite (father of King Louis Philippe) in some capacity, 

 and had apartments at his residence, the Palais Royale. There we were received 

 by Brissot. The Marquis de Valady, son-in-law of the Marquis de Vaudreuil, 

 presented me with a copy of St. John's letters, which I still possess. St. John 

 was by nature, by education, and by his writings, a philanthropist ; a man of 

 serene temper, and pure benevolence. The milk of human kindness circulated in 

 every vein. Of manners unassuming ; prompt to serve, slow to censure ; intel- 

 ligent, beloved, and highly worthy of the esteem and respect he everywhere 

 received. His society on shipboard was a treasure. 



"He had a daughter, whose early history was marked by some passages suffi- 

 ciently curious and eventful, to make her the heroine of a novel. She married 

 Mr. Otto, a French gentleman, who was an attache, I think, to the consular 

 office ; and who rose under the revolutionary government of France to considerable 

 diplomatic rank, even to the embassy of England, for a short time." 



* This is the orthography in the original ; and it is that which prevails in 



