Martins, on the Life and Labors of De Candolle. 223 



similar views, such as the geometrician Lacroix, Biot, Cuvier, and 

 the elder Brongniart. About this time he received the visit of 

 two of the most distinguished citizens of the department of the 

 Leman, who requested him to join them, in order to represent 

 the interests of the department in a union of its Notables, which 

 the First Consul had summoned. He accompanied them to the 

 Tuilleries. Bonaparte inquired for the representative from Ge- 

 neva, and turning to De Candolle endeavored to obtain from him 

 the declaration that Geneva found herself happy in her union 

 with the French republic. But courtesy could not bring the son 

 of the Genevan magistrate, an upright friend to his country, to 

 make an obsequious reply. 



In the year 1802, De Candolle married Mademoiselle Torras, 

 the daughter of a Genevan then resident in Paris. This marriage, 

 founded on mutual affection, and made happy by love and har- 

 mony, gave him three children ; of whom only one son survived 

 the father. In the same year he was called to be professor hono- 

 rarius in the Academy at Geneva, but did not yet engage in its 

 duties. He remained in Paris instead, and gave at the College 

 de France, in Cuvier's place, his first course on botany. 



Benjamin De Lessert had purchased, in the year 1801, the rich 

 and very interesting herbarium of the Burmann family. The 

 duplicates he presented to his friend De Candolle; and the latter 

 afterwards acquired the equally rich collection of plants made by 

 L'Heritier, who had fallen a victim to assassination. These 

 were the foundation of the immense herbarium which De Can- 

 dolle increased, during his active life, to the number of from sev- 

 enty to eighty thousand kinds, and which may be regarded not 

 less for its copiousness, than on account of its exemplary order, 

 and the rich variety of original specimens communicated by all 

 the distinguished botanists of our times, as one of the greatest 

 treasures in natural science of all Europe. 



At the same time De Candolle began the preparation of his 

 Flore Frangaise ; which, although announced as a second edition 

 of the synonymous work by Lamarck, should be regarded as ex- 

 clusively the production of De Candolle ; since Lamarck gave to 

 it only his name, and the use of his collections. Many years 

 were employed in the collection of materials for this work in all 

 the provinces of France. The author had opened a correspond- 

 ence with all the botanists of the country, especially with Nestler, 



