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PAKIS BOTANISTS 183 



me to make up a parcel for England, to go without me, to 

 the land of my Fathers. . . . (All thanks to my father's name, 

 for I have done nothing to please the French ; but his name 

 carries me everywhere.) 



My great alhes here are Montague and Decaisne, both 

 of whom are extremely kind to me, and very remarkable 

 persons in their way ; they have both fairly gammoned me 

 into hking them, by force of good words and good offices, 

 and the latter particularly I find to be an exceedingly good 

 fellow, of whom I had formed a very wrong notion. My 

 Hotel being close by Montague, I see him every day for 

 an hour ; he is a clever, active, little old man, who took up 

 Cryptog. Bot. when nearly 50 years old, and has continued 

 it ever since ; his knowledge of species is very great, and 

 his collections kept in beautiful order ; of structural Botany 

 he knows nothing, and is much too old to learn at 61 (as 

 he calls himself). I have had sad work with the Antarctic 

 Algae ; you never saw such specimens. Montague very fairly 

 says that he does not hope that his work is at all to be 

 depended upon ! 



You know well how apt I am to form uncharitable 

 opinions of people ; I hope I may prove as ready to make 

 the amende honorable as I know them better, for now I 

 must confess Decaisne to be the most remarkable Botanist 

 for his age I have ever seen. In structural, anatomical, and 

 physiological Botany, better judges than I say he is deep, 

 nay profound, and his descriptive knowledge is very great, 

 as is that of the Nat. Ords., and that of both live and dead 

 plants specifically. His drawings are also very talented, 

 and every one Hkes him but Montague. The latter I have 

 always found a most excellent and warm friend, truly 

 anxious and willing to go to any trouble to serve me, never 

 tired of showing me his beautifully kept and named speci- 

 mens and atrociously vile drawings ; he is always pleasant 

 and agreeable, but has the character of a tricky temper, 

 with £100 a year as retired army surgeon, in which capacity 

 he served with Napoleon in Egypt ; he keeps both house, 

 library, and collection up, and subscribes to sundry concerts, 

 the dehght of his old age, for he is passionately fond of 

 music ; he is also very generous and kind, a warm friend 

 and generous. 



