“At length I sit down to write you a letter—literally, but not, I fear, metaphorically, with the pen of a Roscoe—that very pen which has just been correcting his manuscript ‘Life of Leo X.’
“I am here at his charming villa, six miles from Liverpool, looking over Cheshire and the Mersey to the Welsh hills.
“My lectures are numerously and brilliantly attended, and seem to stir up a great ardour and taste for botany. The Botanic Garden promises well, though in its infancy, except the Stove, which is well filled and in the first order. The curator, Mr. Shepherd, is the properest man I ever saw for the purpose. I hope to procure him some useful correspondents, one of which shall be our friend Watts of Ashill.
“You are acquainted with Mr. Roscoe’s taste and genius,—his manners, temper, and character are equal to them. I am surprised to find him so good a practical botanist. His library is rich in botany, and especially in Italian history
* Life of Sir J. E. Smith, vol. ii. p. 302. |
| 264 | LIFE OF WILLIAM ROSCOE. |
