336 CHAPTER 51. 
dom departed without it. In his epiftolary 
correfpondence he was copious and precife- 
and fuch as enjoyed the privilege and plea- 
fure of it, experienced in his punduality 
another qualification which greatly en- 
hanced its value. 
Some of the firft of Sir William Wat- 
son's papers in the Philofophical H ranf ac- 
tions ^ evince his early proficiency in the 
fcience of Botany, and efpecially his ac- 
quaintance with the Englifrj fpecies : nor 
was he lefs {killed in exotics in his riper 
years. That he was very foon confidered 
on the continent as highly refpedable in this 
light, is manifeft from his having been one 
of the few in England^ whom Mr . Clifford 
gratified with a copy of the Hortus Clif- 
fortianusy a work, at its firft publication, 
only attainable by thofe whofe ftudies and 
acquirements in the fubjecl of it, entitled 
them to receive it from the munificence of 
Mr. Clifford himfelf. In fad:, all learn- 
ed foreigners, of the fame bias in th-eir ftu- 
dies, br ought letters of recommendation to 
him i and, on their return, failed not, both 
in their correfpondence and in their wri- 
tings^ 
I 
X 
