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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 />

124

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