FLORIAN - The Most Traveled Man on Earth

Letter 2.
[Letter translated, not original, in English, handwritten, in the Edward Ladd collection,
Mobile, AL; from Jean Baptiste to his wife]
Exeter [England], Tuesday 4 p.m., September 8, 1808
To Mrs. Florian, Assembly House Boarding School, Laytonstone, Essex
If you have not, my Gogo, yet received the letter for me from Mssrs. Farrer, or if you find
on reading that which is here enclosed for Mr. Falkner, that it responds well to what he
says, send it by post, together with copies of the first two letters from Carson. Do not
send yet the originals because they are addressed to “Florian Jolly,” and I do not wish
these Gentlemen to know yet the last name. Besides, it is always so much of delay, and
you can send the originals some days after, when they are demanded.
I leave the date of my letter to Mr. Faulkner blank. Fill in the date on which you send it,
or the preceding day. If my letter does not respond to some questions in the one you get
from Farrar, you can send it as if it had left before I had received the letter from them.
And then you can reply two or three days after: “Mr. F[lorian]’s compliments to Mssrs.
Farrer and Co., [he] begs leave to refer them to a letter he wrote a few days ago to Mr.
Faulkner and also to Mr. Carson for any elucidation of this business.”
<strong>The</strong> essential thing is to gain time. <strong>The</strong> wind is from the west and I fear being detained
some time in the port. I burn to be on the vessel. Each actual minute is so much out of
the space of time which must separate us. I count each day that slides by, as one day the
less to be far from one another, and one more toward the time of our reunion.
Adieu my Gogo. I embrace you and the children as I love you – that’s all I can say. I
will not leave here until tomorrow in the night for Falmouth. I will arrive Thursday.
J.B. Florian Jolly
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