- Owen of Alabama
- M
rsOwen
Sleepless Night— Heard Willard’s Clock in the entry successively strike
11. 12. 1. 2, 3. 4. Up twice in the Night and then rose wearied and
disheartened for the occupations of the day— The fruit of the night was
eight doggrel lines for the Album left here by Mr Beale of
a young Lady which has been lying a fortnight upon my table— Mr Owen of
Montgomery Alabama, and his wife a handsome
Georgian, paid us an afternoon visit— He is a native of
the State of Maine, and they are on their way to visit his father who lives at Wayne in that
State— Mr Owen emigrated Southward 20 years
ago, and has been 16. years settled in Alabama— Mrs Owen on parting requested an Autograph which I gave her. I
rode over Milton Bridge to Dorchester with Mrs Charles Adams—the
only excursion of the day.— Charles and Walter
Hellen went into Boston this morning and did not return
till 11. at Night. They attended a Meeting at the Tremont Temple of the
Young Men’s whig Club, of which Charles is the President, and before
whom a splendid speech was delivered by the Senator Rufus Choate— I read yesterday the sixth and this
morning the seventh century of Bacon’s Sylva Sylvarum. They chiefly consist of
experiments upon plants and trees—roots, leaves, flowers fruits, trunk
and boughs, germination, growth and decay.— The experiments record many
of the wonderful phenomena of vegetation— I ought to derive great store
of knowledge from these experiments, many of which form part of the
history of my seedling trees— But I have lost much of my memory,
especially, relating to philosophical enquiry, and the multitude of
experiments disables for the intimate remembrance of any.— I fasten only
upon the passages where he explains his own systems; as in closing his
enquiries concerning plants. Experiment 676. he says— [“]We leave the
description of plants, and their virtues to herbalists, and other like
books of natural history; wherein men’s diligence hath been great, even
to curiosity; for our experiments are only such, as do ever ascend a
degree to the deriving of causes, and extracting of axioms, which we are
not ignorant, but that some both of the ancient and modern writers have
also laboured; but their causes and axioms are so full of imagination,
and so infected with the old received theories, as they are mere
inquisitions of experience, and concoct it not.” Now as to his
investigation of causes, he explains all the arcana of vegetation, by a
movement of Spirits; which he attributes to all vegetable as well as to
all animal nature—and the properties of all trees and plants are under
the dominion of Spirits, not less than Men and women— But what are these
Spirits of plants Towards the close of the 7th. century, he starts off upon experiments on yawning—on the
hiccough—sneezing—tenderness of teeth, the tongue, the taste,
pestilential seasons—simples for medicines—and Venus.