470 
abandon him to your juft indignation ; 
but he ts dead, never to revive. Deign to 
reftore your efteem to him who now writes 
to you. He cannot do without it, and 
will never deferve to lofe it. Asa guaran- 
tee for this he has, not his reafon, but 
his fituation, which will in future exempt 
him from violent paffion. 
Although I neither ought, nor with, 
Sir, to trouble you farther about Duchef- 
ne’s * bufinefs ; and although I defire ftill 
lefs to juftify myfelf in regard to him, I 
cannot avoid faying, that if it were true 
that he had propofed to fend me the clean 
‘fheets only, volume by volume, all my 
alarms, and the noife I have made about 
them, would then be not only the aéts of 
a madman, ‘but of a knave. 
_ I mvft alfo confefs to you, Sir, that I 
dare not writes to Madame la Maréchale. 
Not knowing to what degree flie may be 
irritated, I know not how to go about 
making my peace. 


TO M. DE MALESHERBES. 
Motiers, Odtober 26, 1762. 
PERMIT, Sir, a man fo often honoured 
with your favours ; but who never afked 
any of you that were not juft and honour- 
able, to folicit one more. Laft winter I 
wrote you four fucceffive letters concern- 
ing the difpofition, and ftate of my mind, 
the tranquillity of which, I hoped, would 
not again be difturbed. I defire exceed- 
ingly to have a copy of thofe four letters, 
and I think that the fentiments that dic- 
tated them deferves this complaifance on 
| your part. I therefore take the liberty of 
a(king for a copy; or if you prefer fend- 
ing me the originals, 1 will only requeft 
fufficient time to tranfcribe them, and 
will, if your defire it, return them in a 
few days. I fhall be the more fenfible of 
this favour, becaufe it will prove to me 
that my misfortunes have not diminifhed 
your kindnefs and efteem, and that you 
do not judge of a man by his deftiny. 
Accept, Sir, the affurance of my pro- 
found refpect. : 
My addrefs is at Motiers-T ravers, Comte 
de Neufchatel, parPontcartur. The pott- 
age of letters which are not franked muft 
be paid as far as Pontcartier. 
TO M. DE MALESHERBES. 
Paris, November 11. 
I fhould be much mortified, Sir, were 
I deprived of the pleafure you promifed 
me, of occupying myfelf in a manner 
which might prove agreeable to you, by 
* A bookfelier at Paris. 
Original Letters of F. F. Roufeau. 
preparing plants to complete your ‘* Her- 
tus Siccus.’ Being unable to live without 
the afliftance ot my labour, I never thought 
(n twithftanding the pleafure it would 
give me) of offering you my time without 
retribution. I will even confefs, that I 
fhould have been very happy to intermix — 
with the tirefome and fedentary labour of 
copying*, an occupation more te m 
tate, and more conducive to my health— 
that of collecting plants tor the number 
of cabinets of natural hiftery, which are 
forming at Paris ; and in which, accord- 
ing to me, the third kingdom, though to- 
tally unattended to, is not lefs neceflary 
than the other two. The making of feve- 
ral of thefe colle&tions together would 
have been more lucrative. to me, and 
would better have defrayed the expence, 
which diftant excurfions, and admiffion 
into curious gardens, fometimes require. 
But the Freach have, in general, fuch 
falfe ideas of botany, and fo little tafte for 
the ftudy of nature, that it is vain to hope 
that this charming part of it will ever 
tempt them to make colleétions of this. 
kind. This is therefore a refource that I 
muft not look to. As to you, Sir, whe 
join to knowledge of every kind, a perpe- 
tual defire to increafe it, I truft you will 
not deprive me of the pleafure of contri- 
buting to your amufements. Send mea 
memorandum of what you defire, I will] 
collect all I am able; and will receive 
payment, without reluctance, for what- 
ever I may turnifh. With refpe& to the 
{mall {pecimen I have already fent you, it 
is quite a different affair: it confifted of 
plants that belonged to you. Thofe I 
fubftituted in place of fuch as were {poil- 
ed were not collected for you: I had 
only the trouble of taking them out of 
my own collection; and as I did not 
offer to bear any part of the expence you 
were put to by my botanizing, when in 
your company, it feems to me, Sir, that 
you ought not to offer payment for what 
we picked up together, nor for my amuf= 
ing myfelf, by putting them in fome fort 
of order, before I fent them away. 
Notwithftanding the good accounts yott 
give me of your prefent ftate of health, £ 
am aflured that it is not yet perfectly 
re-eftablifhed ; and unfortunately the en« 
fuing feafon is not favourable for pede- 
ftrian exercife, which I think as beneficial 
to you as to myfelf. Winter, as you 
know, Sir, offers to the botanift plants of 
a peculiar kind: namely, moffes and lichens, 
There muit be in your parks very curious 
things of that kind; and I earneftly ex- 
wd dep Roufleau fupported himfelf by co- 
pying mufic. 
hort 
[July 
a 
