THE BOTANISTS OF PHILADELPHIA. 59 



and finished in 1731, a house of hewn stone, of quaint, old- 

 fasliioned style of architecture, whicli, solid and enduring 

 in its material, has stood against the dilapidating fingers of 

 time for over a century and a half. It has been said that 

 Bartram built this house with his own hands. Upon a 

 stone built in the south wall, above the second story, is this 

 inscription :* 



^>'0'0!^ 6802 M^^'O'O'^^O'^ 2i2Zi2 ^'OIOI^ )i'OI< 

 JOHN ♦ ANN : BARTRAM : 1731. 



The wood-work over the porch and stone and brick 

 addition on the south were added in this century. The 

 western doorway was the original entrance, and through it 

 one steps down into the house. The rooms are, with one 

 exception, small, and are floored with the original heavy 

 oak boards. In one of the rooms a cupboard in the wall 

 beside the chimney is shown as the place where Bartram 

 kept his seeds. This is doubtful, when the great quantity 

 he kept on hand is considered, and, in spite of the thick- 

 ness of the wall, this cupboard must have been a rather 

 warm place. 



Iwan Alexiowitz quoted by St. John, f speaking of 

 Bartram's house and garden, says : " His house is small, 

 but decent ; there was something peculiar in its first 

 appearance, which seemed to distinguish it from those 

 of his neighbors ; a small tower X in the middle of it 

 not only helped to strengthen it, but afforded convenient 

 room for a staircase. Every disposition of the fields, 



* The inscription in Greek reads translated " [I] God save," possibly intended 



for imperative ©£02 [2£] 2fiZ£ God [thee] save. Bartram used the character f: for E. 



t 1895. Westcott— The Historic Mansions and Buildings of Philadelph ia, 183. 



X See frontispiece of Darlington— J/emoria/5 of Bartram and Marshall, 

 pp. 44-4G. 



