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#34 Ancient forest near Pedra
da Onca, an estate in the province of Sebastianopolis, the state of Rio
de Janeiro.
Latin translation
by Ben Hennelly
This etching is owed to Benjamin Mary's skill. Since he provided such
extraordinary service in the physiognomic drawing of Brazil's
plant life, it seems that it can, with perfect justice, be asked of
my extremely grateful spirit that we honor the living memory of the
man where the opportunity has been given. Born at Enghien in Belgium in 1792, he enjoyed the intimacy of his uncle Joseph Parmentier, whose
name was most highly celebrated among garden cultivators throughout Europe,
for his outstanding plantings in magnificent pleasure-gardens. And
so, the marvels of foreign plants were presented to him already as
a boy. Further, beneficent nature had given him a singular ability
to depict, very quickly and in extremely accurate drawings, various
plants and their particular natural character; from here arose his
mature desire to travel through the remote lands of the globe. Nor
did opportunity fail his wish, since he was sent by Belgium as an ambassador to Brazil. He cast off on 12 December 1833
from the port of Falmouth, and landed at Rio
de Janeiro on 10 February 1834. He negotiated the first commercial
agreement between Brazil and his fatherland, and was decorated
for this reason by Emperor Peter II with the insignia of the Southern
Cross. On 5 April 1838, he set out from the new world for Athens,
here too a guardian of public affairs in a court newly established.
After he had given his dutiful services to the two realms for eight
years, he went, to strengthen his health, to the waters of Bagneres
de Luchon in the Pyrenees, but succumbed there to a premature
death on August 2, 1846, which brought bitter grief to both his fellow
citizens and his friends.
 
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