AND LOWER EGYPT. 185 



Adanson, still more unfortunate perhaps, his feet 

 mangled and exquisitely painful, almost entirely 

 deprived of the power of walking, survived his 

 execrahle chastisement, and the affront offered to 

 France, which her government left unpunished as 

 well as that of the assassination of her consul at 

 Alexandria. 



A catastrophe so terrible would have been alone 

 sufficient to awaken the liveliest interest in favour 

 of M. Adanson, had he not been, in other respects, 

 highly estimable, for his talents and extensive illu- 

 mination. But the rewarding of modest and distant 

 merit did not enter into the detail of ministerial ar- 

 rangements. Their gilded folding-doors scarcely 

 ever opened, except to gaudy embroidery or im- 

 portunate insignificance. The man who possessed 

 talents only lived, for the most part, isolated, un- 

 noticed, unrewarded, if, however, this state of se- 

 questration were not a retinue more brilliant and 

 more honourable than that of unjust and undistin- 

 guishing power. Adanson vegetated at Alexandria, 

 and there partook of the functions of interpreter 

 with M. Augustus, whose wit and amenity of dis- 

 position werealmost a phenomenon in that country, 

 and which would have raised him to honourable 

 distinction in every country in the world. Had I 

 pnly to express my satisfaction in having received 



certain 



