FLORIAN - The Most Traveled Man on Earth

Letter 7.
Philadelphia, October 30, 1808
[From Jean-Baptiste Florian to Laura Eugenie Florian, later Bowers (1791-1857), the first
daughter of Jean-Baptiste; she is apparently in England]
Just on leaving New York, I received through Mr. Hope a letter from your uncle, dated
September 23, who informed me that your mother and sisters were well and that she had
received just recently a letter from you, my dear little one, in which you expressed a
desire to return to her. I would think badly of you, dear child, if you preferred the society
of strangers, however pleasant they might be, to that of your mother and sisters.
But alas, my dear Laura, we are not in a position which permits us to obey the impulses
of our hearts. I have already told you in the preceding letters and I repeat it again: the
future is too uncertain for us to be able to flatter ourselves that we will be in the state of
never having to work, one and all. If I could undertake something, which is extremely
doubtful, and even if I could succeed, which is even more doubtful, it would yet be many
years of assiduous work on my part before my mother, your sisters, and I should begin to
gather the fruit of such work. Until such time, you should not count on anyone except
yourself to live and maintain yourself. Virginia [the second daughter of Jean-Baptiste, 15
years old at this time] is barely able to earn her bread. Your two young sisters won’t be
able to for a long time. So it is up to you, my dear little one, to help your mother and
share with her the cares and expenses of rearing them. Your mother and I have always
devoted all that we have been able and sacrificed all that we possessed to give you an
education which would ensure you a decent existence for the rest of your life. You
should, my children, return to us what we have done for you, if such becomes necessary.
Reflect very seriously, my Laura, that it is time that you begin to earn sufficient so as not
______________, and from time to time you can, you should take upon yourself the
upkeep of one of your sisters until [ p 2] they are no longer in a state of _________ and to
work not only for them, but that they should join with you and contribute all together to
solace your mother and to spare her work which becomes more and more painful for her.
If I have the good luck to succeed, then we may find it possible to be all reunited one day
in such a way that it will no longer be necessary for you to work in order to live. You
will enjoy your leisure more than if you had not been obliged to work. So, my child, let
the idea sink in well that at this time you occupy yourself with diligence and energy. You
are preparing yourself for a most happy future. If fortune smiles on us, or on the
contrary, you are putting yourself in a shelter against misfortune. Have joy in your work
(which for a heart like yours should not be difficult) and contribute to the good fortune
and the ________ of a mother who loves you tenderly and to whom you owe everything.
I pointed out in my last letter that I was going to leave New York for New Orleans.
Friday morning I embarked on a fairly big two-masted ship, __________, and we crossed
the North River, or rather, from the port, to catch the coach from Philadelphia on the
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