184 Presidentship of Sir Joseph Banks 1788 



before, but this time we have a sketch of him from the pen 

 of Fanny Burney who was a shrewd judge of character 

 and had an admirable gift of expressing her judgments of 

 it. He was brought to be introduced to her, at Windsor 

 where she was in attendance on the Queen, and this is the 

 account she wrote of the interview: " M. de Lalande ad- 

 vanced to meet me I will not be quite positive it was on 

 tiptoe, but certainly with jerk and strut that could not be 

 quite flat-footed. He kissed his hand with the air of a 

 petit-maitre, and then broke forth into such a harangue 

 of eloges, so solemn with regard to its own weight and 

 importance, and so fade with respect to the little personage 

 addressed, that I could not help thinking it lucky for the 

 planets, stars and sun, they were not bound to hear his 

 comments, though obliged to undergo his calculations." 

 His " figure corresponds no better with his discourse than 

 his scientific profession, for he is an ugly, wrinkled old man, 

 with a fine showy waistcoat, rich lace rufHes and the 

 grimaces of a dentist. I believe he chose to display that a 

 French man of science could be also a man of gallantry." 

 " I suppose in going, he said, with a shrug, to the Canon, 

 * M. le Docteur, c'est bien genant, mais il faut dire des 

 jolies choses aux dames.' " 1 



The same clever but sarcastic journalist has left a slight 

 sketch of the President of the Club, who somehow found 

 himself in a fashionable company, in March of this year. 

 " In our first journey to Windsor this month the party was 

 Miss Planta, Colonel Welbred, Mr. Fairly, Sir Joseph Banks 

 and Mr. Turbulent. Sir Joseph was so exceedingly shy 

 that we made no sort of acquaintance at all. If instead of 

 going round the world he had only fallen from the moon 

 he could not appear less versed in the usual modes of a 

 tea-drinking party. But what, you will say, has a tea- 

 drinking party to do with a botanist, a man of science, a 

 President of the Royal Society " ? 2 



There were few new-comers of note from the United 



1 Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay, vol. iv. p. 243. 



2 Ibid. p. 128. 



