FLORIAN - The Most Traveled Man on Earth

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To my great astonishment I have found here snow and a cold which I haven’t felt in several years. Judging from this sample, you will have a frightful winter in New York. I hope you won’t suffer as much as I have despite a fire made of nine great pieces of wood arranged in piles, three in the front, three in the rear, and three on top. In spite of all this I find myself in better health with more force and energy than I have felt for a long time. It may be because I need it more than ever before. Kindly accept the assurance of the sentiments which I am, Monsieur, Your very humble servant, J.F. Jolly 48
Letter 12. New Orleans, January 23, 1809 [From Jean-Baptiste Florian to his wife and four daughters, still in England] Here I am arrived at the end of my voyage, my dear and tender friends, after a rather long road. On the rivers, we were extremely set back by bad weather and storms which many times forced our boat to remain anchored beside the banks. Despite these inconveniences, I invite you all to take the same route if you come by New York or Philadelphia. I won’t talk any more about the details of my voyage on the Mississippi. As a matter of fact, they would not be at all interesting. I wrote to Mr. [Mrs.?] Cheriot a letter which I asked to transmit to you, 16 and there is nothing for me to add relative to the navigation of the river. I will get to my reception here in the city and the outskirts right away. I disembarked on the levee yesterday afternoon about two o’clock. Last Friday I enquired about the dwelling of Emmanuel [Emmanuel Marie de Segrais, brother of the wife of Jean- Baptiste] and within a little while found myself embraced in his arms. Our joy was mutual and with those [same] sentiments he expressed the desire to have here his beloved sister and the rest of his family, and this expression added to my joy to see him [?]. I had expected him to be larger and slenderer, according to the report from Joseph [Joseph Marie de Segrais, another brother-in-law], and through such erroneous thinking I almost did not recognize him, except for his striking resemblance to our dear Marguerite (because you should no longer call her Gogo; I will tell you why further on), and with your uncle Beaugeard. 17 He is only an inch or two taller than me, and he is strongly and vigorously built. That very day he talked to me about his business at Natchitoches (and not at Ouashita, as I had thought). He told me that the business was doing very well, and that the man whom he had put in charge had many talents, but a disposition so devilish that he had become disagreeable equally to the inhabitants and to the _______. I proposed to him that if the man resigned, as he has all the appearance of doing, to put me in his place, and which we both hope will take place soon. I say “we hope,” although for me this hope involves everything I hate most in the world – the life of bookkeeping, shop and commerce. I would have liked, a million times more, to go with 2 or 3 Negroes into the depth of the forest, or on the least inhabited bayou, to build a cabin and clear a few acres of ground. I am so perfectly convinced, as I remarked in my letter from Natchez, that of all the speculations it is the most sure and the most profitable. But in the situation in which I find myself, I don’t have the choice to make. All Emmanuel’s means are tied up in 16 <strong>The</strong> letter mentioned here may well be the letter written from Natchez on 4 January 1809, which is transcribed above. 17 Marguerite is the wife of Jean-Baptiste Florian. “Uncle Beaugeard” is almost certainly Nicolas-Joseph Beaugeard, born in 1755, died in 1818. It is this uncle who was secretary to Queen Marie Antoinette, ship owner, and the person who saved the life of the King, as related elsewhere in these letters. 49
Page 1 and 2: FLORIAN Th
Page 3 and 4: Section 2: Letters from Other Famil
Page 5 and 6: France still correspond, keep track
Page 7 and 8: Published Writings of Jean Baptiste
Page 9 and 10: Estelle Sims Collection. This consi
Page 11 and 12: Note on Translation and Holdings Wo
Page 13 and 14: Note on Monetary Exchange Value In
Page 15 and 16: Letter 1. 2 [Letter translated, not
Page 17 and 18: the education, with the compensatio
Page 19 and 20: Letter 2. [Letter translated, not o
Page 21 and 22: In case you receive from Messrs. Fa
Page 23 and 24: Letter 5. Halifax [Nova Scotia], 4
Page 25 and 26: Joseph Marie Le Det de Segrais Pier
Page 27 and 28: sorrow, my tender friend, that I ca
Page 29 and 30: Letter 7. Philadelphia, October 30,
Page 31 and 32: We crossed the state of New Jersey
Page 33 and 34: Letter 8. [Lancaster, PA] November
Page 35 and 36: sobbing of the women _____ _______
Page 37 and 38: Letter 9. Pittsburg[h], Sunday, Nov
Page 39 and 40: years, one finds himself with a ret
Page 41 and 42: Mr. and Mrs. Linton, with all the r
Page 43 and 44: ecause the current was so rapid and
Page 45 and 46: Letter 11. Natchez, 4 January, 1809
Page 47: of 20 to 22 cents per pound, as it
Page 51 and 52: I have sent to Mrs. Kirkland letter
Page 53 and 54: will see all the country from there
Page 55 and 56: Letter 14. New Orleans, February 11
Page 57 and 58: Letter 15. New Orleans, February 12
Page 59 and 60: They think only of
Page 61 and 62: Letter 17. New Orleans, March 5, 18
Page 63 and 64: We have had news from England, of t
Page 65 and 66: [p 2] Madame Sain [Dai?] will entru
Page 67 and 68: Letter 19. Montesano [West Florida,
Page 69 and 70: Bring along also a few bushels of S
Page 71 and 72: Letter 20. Montesano [West Florida,
Page 73 and 74: ye-grass, clover, sainfoin, [Lucern
Page 75 and 76: Section 2 Letters From Other Family
Page 77 and 78: as much for the grandeur as for the
Page 79 and 80: Your affectionate uncle, Jolly Patr
Page 81 and 82: ignorant of the renunciation which
Page 83 and 84: Eliza talks only about her pretty f
Page 85 and 86: Elizabeth Florian Talcott, later in
Page 87 and 88: Letter 5. [Letter from Marguerite M
Page 89 and 90: I have seen the Couissin girls, the
Page 91 and 92: I took [the girls?] to a grand ball
Page 93 and 94: They should not al
Page 95 and 96: Your sisters had promised to reimbu
Page 97 and 98: Now I must scold you for not termin
Page 99 and 100:
My dear Papa, My sisters have told
Page 101 and 102:
Letter 8. [Letter from Marguerite M
Page 103 and 104:
hair, which is almost all white. Yo
Page 105 and 106:
some years this will be quite a lar
Page 107 and 108:
Letter 10. . [Undated letter from P
Page 109 and 110:
Duault is the most perfect and fine
Page 111 and 112:
sad, as did I, just a passerby on t
Page 113 and 114:
almost all the summer in the countr
Page 115 and 116:
Letter 12. [Letter from Pierre Rene
Page 117 and 118:
Adieu dear Friend! I hope that at l
Page 119 and 120:
Letter 14. [Letter in response from
Page 121 and 122:
attachments which had been planned
Page 123 and 124:
ealize only too well by what I have
Page 125 and 126:
For two months, while I have been a
Page 127 and 128:
I don’t have time on this occasio
Page 129 and 130:
not complain of anything, but his t
Page 131 and 132:
Letter 19. [Letter to Azelie Floria
Page 133 and 134:
Letter 20. Emma’s Narrative Proba
Page 135 and 136:
On Saturday the 21 st [unfortunatel
Page 137 and 138:
I told him I was not afraid, but as
Page 139:
The climate and th
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