FLORIAN - The Most Traveled Man on Earth
FLORIAN - The Most Traveled Man on Earth
FLORIAN - The Most Traveled Man on Earth
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Letter 16.<br />
[Letter from Pierre Rene Le Det de Segrais to his sister, Marguerite Marie Le Det de<br />
Segrais.]<br />
[from] Paris, 6 March 1816<br />
[<str<strong>on</strong>g>The</str<strong>on</strong>g> date <strong>on</strong> this letter could be 1810 or 1816. Since Peter refers to “s<strong>on</strong>s-in-law” below<br />
it appears to be 1816, since Marguerite’s daughters were married after 1810. Thus this<br />
letter discussed an apparent sec<strong>on</strong>d trip that Peter plans to take to Calcutta.]<br />
Care of Messieurs Simps<strong>on</strong> and Daws<strong>on</strong>, Merchants, L<strong>on</strong>d<strong>on</strong><br />
[To?] New Orleans<br />
[Written at the top, upside down:]<br />
I have had no news for a l<strong>on</strong>g time from Jos[eph] nor from Em[manuel]. I know <strong>on</strong>ly that<br />
they are very well. Write me in care of Mssrs. Palmer at Calcutta.<br />
[Main body of the letter:]<br />
My dear sister:<br />
I have just now received your fine letter of December 10 [1815?]. I am replying by<br />
means of Mr. Petry, the French c<strong>on</strong>sul at New Orleans, whom I recommend to you<br />
highly, having in turn recommended you to his former friendship. He is a very fine man,<br />
most willing to oblige, and I am delighted that you have him as your c<strong>on</strong>sul in New<br />
Orleans. I hope he can be helpful to my nephews if they have any dealings with France,<br />
and I have told him of the whole family, and I urge you to introduce them to him.<br />
All the good things you told me about New Orleans would have made me go there to get<br />
established, if I could have d<strong>on</strong>e it in the proper way. I had seriously planned to do so,<br />
and the pleasure of finding you there and of finally being re-united was a major reas<strong>on</strong><br />
behind the plan. But I was forced to yield to another, more advantageous plan. I have<br />
made a big decisi<strong>on</strong>, as you may have seen by a letter which I addressed to you in<br />
February, and which I put in the envelope which I addressed to your s<strong>on</strong>s-in-law. In<br />
eight days I leave for Calcutta, which I shall establish myself with several French firms,<br />
who will send me ships there. I am leaving by the first boat from Ostende, the sec<strong>on</strong>d<br />
will leave from France, and the third will follow. In short, I hope that I will <strong>on</strong>ce again<br />
find myself in a good situati<strong>on</strong>, although the end of the trip may be rather distant from<br />
here and especially from you, dear sister, whom I would have been so happy to see again,<br />
and make happy.<br />
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