DE CANDOLLE. 11/ 



wild plants in France, and then with the relation of 

 the plants of France to the different wants of man- 

 kind. This last part was eminently practical, and it 

 dealt with food plants, medicinal plants, dye plants, 

 and those which are used for clothing. It was a pro- 

 digious attempt, and it never came to a conclusion; 

 only fragments of it were in his possession fourteen 

 years afterwards, and he attributed much of the 

 difficulty thrown in his way, to the alterations 

 which occurred in the boundaries of France after 

 the fall of Napoleon. Moreover, he had to com- 

 plete his description of the plants of France, and 

 that was not done until 1815. 



De CandoUe was always fond of society, and, 

 after his labours of the day, was glad to go into or 

 receive company. Being a Protestant, and a man 

 of mark in his native town, he was well received 

 by most of the families of Montpellier, and his wife 

 also. Society consisted of good Protestant families 

 of old, so-called nobles, and some who thought 

 themselves nobles. It was split up like the society 

 of most small towns, into cliques, but De Candolle 

 escaped, for a long time, any discomforts or social 

 antagonisms. They came at last, however. 



De Candolle, like many active-minded men, was 

 not popular with the officials who had " places " in 

 their gift. He was intrigued against, and lost the 

 rectorship of the University, but he had the 

 pleasure of exposing the intrigue in 181 3. 



Napoleon had fought his last fight, and had gone 

 to Elba, and the Bourbons had been restored. 



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