Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 40.djvu/859

Rh a society in Edinburgh, founded in 1764, for obtaining seeds of useful trees and shrubs from other countries. This medal is inscribed, "To Mr. John Bartram, from a Society of Gentlemen at Edinburgh, 1772"; and on the reverse, in a wreath. The medal is figured in Darlington's Memorials, and when that book was published was in the possession of a Mrs. Jones, a descendant of the botanist. April 26, 1769, the Royal Academy of Sciences, of Stockholm, on the proposal of Prof. Bergius, elected Bartram to membership. Another honor that he received from the same country was a letter from Queen Ulrica, and with this may be mentioned the opinion passed upon him by Linnaeus, who called Bartram the greatest natural botanist in the world. Bartram was one of the original members of the American Philosophical Society, and contributed many papers to its Transactions.

The closing years of John Bartram's life were the opening years of the Revolution. He was living when independence was declared in the neighboring city of Philadelphia, but died the following year, September 22, 1777, at the age of seventy-eight. A granddaughter, who remembered him distinctly, has stated that he was exceedingly agitated by the approach of the British army after the battle of Brandywine, and that his days were probably shortened in consequence. The royal troops had been ravaging the country, and he was apprehensive lest they should lay waste his darling garden.

His son William describes him as "a man of modest and gentle manners, frank, cheerful, and of great good nature; a lover of justice, truth, and charity. . . . During the whole course of his life there was not a single instance of his engaging in a litigious contest with any of his neighbors or others. He zealously testified against slavery, and, that his philanthropic precepts on this subject might have their due weight and force, he gave liberty to a most valuable male slave, then in the prime of his life, who had been bred up in the family almost from infancy." He was of an active temperament, and often expressed the wish that he might not live to be helpless. This desire was gratified, for he died after only a short illness.

No picture of him is known to exist. In regard to his physical appearance William states: "His stature was rather above the middle size, and upright. His visage was long, and his countenance expressive of a degree of dignity with a happy mixture of animation and sensibility." Concerning Bartram's ability as a naturalist there are enthusiastic opinions extant in letters by Franklin, Collinson, Golden, and others well qualified to judge.

William Bartram, after the death of his father, continued in the pursuit of natural history. The Botanic Garden was