302 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



the subtle perspicacity which he brought to bear at a glance upon 

 plants, often wholly new to him, taught me much of the art of ob- 

 serving, and especially of combining observations in botany. To 

 such talents he joined a lofty soul and a heart devoted to friendship. 

 It was a great grief to me when, at over sixty years of age, he quitted 

 Europe to rejoin in Brazil the king who had persecuted him ; but 

 he forgot all his wrongs when his sovereign became unfortunate. 

 Correa died when ambassador to the United States." 



The following, of a somewhat later period, is abridged from 

 De Candolle's account of the Societe d'Arcueil : — 



" Its founder was the excellent and illustrious Berthollet, who, then 

 living in his country residence at Arcueil, . . . invited thither, once 

 a month, a few young savans, by way of encouraging their efforts. 

 His colleagues MM. de la Place and Chaptal, also senators and 

 members of the Institute, were, so to say, vice-presidents of this 

 little reunion. Humboldt also had a place, and the parterre was 

 composed of Biot, Thenard, Gay-Lussac, Descotils, Malus, Amedee 

 Berthollet, and myself. Later, Berard and Francois de la Roche 

 were admitted. [And finally Arago, Poisson, and Dulong, adds the 

 editor, who notes that the last volume of the " Memoires d'Arcueil " 

 was published in 1817.] The association was devoted to the physical 

 and chemical sciences. I was admitted in view of the applications 

 of vegetable physiology to chemistry ; and I contributed some arti- 

 cles upon this subject to the ' Memoires d'Arcueil,' namely, my 

 Note on the cause of the direction of stems towards the light, my 

 Memoir on the influence of absolute height upon vegetation, and 

 upon the geographical or topographical distribution of plants, and, 

 later, one upon double flowers, especially of the Ranunculacece. 

 The first of these writings was a simple and clear solution [although 

 an incorrect one, as it proves. — Eds.] of a problem which was 

 deemed insoluble ; the second reduced to just proportions the ex- 

 aggerations of Humboldt upon the influence of elevation ; the third 

 was an essay connected with the observations of the degenerescence 

 of organs, to which my ' Theorie Elementaire ' was devoted. . . . 



•' We commonly made our rendezvous at Thenard's, and went 

 together to Arcueil, as happy with this run into the country as 

 schoolboys out for a holiday. We walked about in this pleasant 

 villa, and relished the society of our leaders. Nothing can fully 

 describe the good-nature and simplicity of M. Berthollet and even 

 of Madame. They were with us as parents with their children, and 



