96 A RUTHLESS MOB. 



successively endeavoured to induce him to settle 

 within their realms. To all these flattering over- 

 tures he remained indifferent. His love for " La 

 Belle France" was carried, according to his French 

 biographer, "jusqu' a 1'exaltation," and he would 

 serve no other country but his own. 



The Kevolution at length arrived, and Adanson 

 saw himself stripped of all he possessed. The loss 

 which he took most to heart was that of his garden, 

 in which, for many years, he had delighted to 

 carry on his experiments in the cultivation of 

 plants and vegetables. He had especially devoted 

 his care to the production of a great number of 

 varieties in the mulberry, and he mourned as he 

 beheld these treasures cut down by the hands of 

 the mob. In spite of the destitution to which he 

 was reduced, he retained his composure and con- 

 tinued his labours ; on a reduced scale indeed, for 

 he had only a small, inconvenient, and unwhole- 

 some abode, and a little plot of ground for a 

 garden, which was of such narrow dimensions that 

 the amiable enthusiast was obliged to satisfy him- 

 self with the representatives, so to speak, of each 

 of his families. 



He would probably have remained long for- 

 gotten, had not the Institute, at the time of its 

 formation, invited him to join its ranks. He re- 

 plied that it was not in his power to comply with 



