Sorry to hear of Smith's bad cold though but glad she unwittingly provided a remedy in her last letter [mutton suet boiled in milk taken morning and night]. Her gardener recovered in last three days, he does not think he has had night sweats, shocked to see "a strong healthy person so shrunk in the space of a week" and feared terminal decline. Smith correct that the powders "certainly tend to cure those sorts of fatal sweats".

Glad the recipe she sent [mutton suet boiled in milk] has almost cured his cough. Her gardener, Grieg, is almost better; his lungs had a narrow escape. She has had a stomach complaint but did not seek medical attention, it being rare to meet with physicians with Smith's "sentiments of the imperfection of human knowledge".

Invites Smith and [Joseph von] Jacquin to visit next week; warns Jacquin not to expect her present collection of plants to be the "celebrated" one he heard of as there have been so many new plants since then that she does not think he will see anything new to him.

Looking forward to Smith and [Richard] Salisbury's visit tomorrow morning and hope they will stay for dinner or even the night.

Sent sprig of 'Myrtus tomentosa' via [William] Weddell to be drawn by [James] Sowerby, she and Grieg, her gardener, are unclear on it having previously only seen the specimen [Harvey] Spragg gave Smith last year.

Greig is in London to buy corn and would like to hear Smith's lecture; will stand behind a door if necessary. Grieg has had cough again for three weeks and though appetite strong his voice has altered and his face drawn, she believes these are constant indicators of consumption and asks Smith to examine him. Unless the 'Strelitzia' stays out in flower doubts whether she can come to see it.

Smith and his friend should visit on any day acceptable to them but warns neither her plants nor her buffaloes are looking their best; she lost two young bulls so diseased that they were not safe for dissection. Wishes Smith could have seen how Grieg, her gardener, divided 'Helicornia'. 'Ixora coccinca' coming into flower. [James] Lee says the 'Pancratium' [James] Sowerby sketched is the 'P. littorale' in [Nikolaus von] Jacquin and [Georg Dionysius] Ehret [(1708-1770)]. Pleased her 'Justicia' "comes to so much honour in its old age", never saw it flower before and did not know it was unusual.

Expecting [Harvey] Spragg tomorrow, he wanted Smith to come too but Smith prefers a Saturday. Grieg has not got rid of his cough. She has been ill; blistered her stomach and is now better. Would like to see Linnaeus' manuscript.

His sister Mrs Nicholas has died, "a sad instance of the inefficacy of Foxglove taken early & steadily". Reviews "English Botany" for November and December: wishes 'Saxifraga umbrosa' leaves were figured larger; observed 'Veronica hybrida' and believes it is the same as the 'Veronica spicata' growing near Giant's Hole on St Vincent's Rocks [near Bristol], [William] Curtis also doubted it was 'spicata'.

Has perfect specimens from [William] Hudson of 'Corrigiola'. Hudson did not introduce 'Saxifraga umbrosa' in his "Flora [Anglica]" as it was on a list of plants which Dr [Richard] Richardson [(1663-1741), physician and botanist] of Birely, [Yorkshire], had commissioned to be planted in retired places so that he could afterwards discover them.

Encloses drawings; has no female florets on his 'Eriocaulon sexangulare' , requests Smith's assistance. Sir Joseph Banks and [James] Dickson think the 'Ribes petraeum' in "English botany" is only a variety of 'R. rubrum'; argues against this, small ink sketch. Smith should expect Dickson's "Fasciculus [plantarum cryptogamicarum Britanniae]" soon as he is working on the plates. Encloses a new 'Lichen'. Asks after the 'Ulva' he previously sent

Invites Smith to come to Hillingdon, [Middlesex], tomorrow to meet a Polish Princess who would like to see her plants. Has a Jamaican plant grown from seed in flower that Grieg, her gardener, knows nothing of.

Glad Smith has returned from Norfolk in good health. The leaves of her two 'Portlandia' differ from sketch in Smith's letter, being perfectly equal at the base, and cannot be certain about 'Hedera'.

Smith mistaken about Mr Wallen's sending of 'Euphorbia' and 'Hedera'; 'E. wallenia' came living from him in 1778, but in memoranda of other Jamaican plants at the same time there is no mention of 'Hedera', although there are several without names. Dr King transcribing her opinions on it and asks Smith to postpone printing his article about the plant till next week. If Smith visits next Sunday he could see 'Lagerstroemia' and Botany Bay plant in flower, the first to do so since they came over.

Memorandum, in different hand [probably Dr King], on the introduction of 'Hedera' to England, from the recollections of gardener at Wentworth, [Yorkshire], who had been at Wimbledon on its arrival, a few years before 1780.

Apologises for any trouble Smith had with her style and titles in dedicating his book to her ["Icones pictae plantarum rariorum.."]. Dr Pictairn and [James] Lee visited yesterday. Asks if [Richard] Salisbury remembers seeing blue lily in flower on visit of five years ago and what sort of leaves and bulb it had.

Urges Smith to come early in order to see her large 'Portlandia', which now has twelve flowers in flower, and to bring [Jonas] Dryander and [Adam Afzelius].

Sent [James] Sowerby flower of 'Myrtus tomentosa', which he is painting life sized for her "in its full dignity of royal purple", it flowers "for ever" but they turn white after a few days in sun. Astonished by how much the 'Passiflora' in her hothouse has flowered, called "the Bats wing" by herself and 'P. vespertilio' by [Samuel] Goodenough, resembles the one in Smith's ["Icones pictae plantarum rariorum...", 'Passiflora lunata']; will send pressed flower, fresh flower and leaves for comparison, notes her own observations. Loddiges sent it as true 'Passiflora vespertilio' with two 'Cinnamomum', one which Loddiges insists is the true and the other the same as Mr Hastings', a mango, and white flower variety of 'Rhododendron mexicana'.

Jokes that she will soon be King's Bench Prison [debtors' prison in Southwark, London] where she "shall look for relief to some of my botanical friends".

Will let Smith decided whether her gift of ["Icones pictae plantarum rariorum.."] for [Edmund] Davall should be the large or small copy. Her 'Portlandia', in addition to the 17 flowers Smith saw on it at once, keeps flowering without signs of exhaustion and has two fruits swelling on it, though most are not, asks in what state he would like to inspect them. Asks after [James] Sowerby's drawings of 'Portlandia' and 'Myrtus tomentosa' for her.

Requests copy of lesser sized ["Icones pictae plantarum rariorum.."] for herself with both English and Latin, and Duchess of Portland [Dorothy Bentinck], Mrs [Elizabeth] Weddell, and [William Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl] Fitzwilliam [(1748-1833)] will also want copies.

Declined Mr Bromfield's drawings as Smith's information on 'Coralline' was decisive and is out of her area of interest. Much more inclined to send [Edmund] Davall the larger copy of Smith's ["Icones pictae plantarum rariorum.."].

Offers her hothouse 'Gordonia pubescens' to be drawn by [James] Sowerby; notices that Linnaeus and Kew place 'Gordonia' under different classes, hers seems 'Monogynia' but inside of flower resembles 'Camelia'. Lightning and distant thunder yesterday evening.

'Gordonia pubescens' dropped off this morning and was examined, sends principle part of flower. The new 'Geranium' in her stove which Smith pointed out is coming into flower, suggests that [James] Sowerby sketch it. Requests copies of Sowerby's "Florist" to circulate in Yorkshire.

Requests introduction to [John] Fairbairn for her gardener, Grieg, to see Chelsea [Physic Garden] plants and the 'Heleconia' coming into flower, and for him to view Smith's Linnaean collections. Hopes [Joseph von] Jacquin will stay in England this winter "for I should think the troubles at Paris must interrupt all science, as well as pleasure", and if he stays till summer will arrange for him to visit her, Bulstrode [Park, Buckinghamshire, home of Duke of Portland], and Mrs North's and [Charles Bennet, 4th Earl of] Tankerville's [(1743-1822)] collections.

'Myrtus tomentosa' about to flower, will tell Smith for his book as it has never been figured ["Icones pictae plantarum rariorum..."]. Would like to see painting of 'Aralia' before given to Jacquin for his father [Nikolaus von Jacquin]; it is very tall and flowered on three branches this year compared to last year's five.

As she knows that "Doct[o]r Smith's memory retains ever plant that he ever saw, or ever read of" asks her to identify plant in her pine hothouse in kitchen garden just now come into flower, sends specimen of flowers and leaf for [James] Sowerby to paint if rare, in similar style to the 'Catesbaea' he did for her.

"The Home Oracle" agreed with her that the 'Gordonia' is correctly placed in "Hortus Kewensis" and also concurred on its resemblance to 'Camelia' in part of flower; asks Smith to explain his separation of the two "sister 'Gordonias'. Uncertain if her new 'Geranium' will flower. Asks Sowerby to directly send the two numbers of his "Florist". Thinks Sowerby's small work mentioned by Smith "would be very pleasing" ["English Botany"] but as it would feature English plants fears it would interfere with [William] Curtis' ["Botanical magazine"] and the "great work of English plants".

Sends copy of his "Illustrationes Theophrasti". Would like to see a new edition of Theophrastus.

A title page of Volume 16: Correspondence of Sir James Edward Smith and Mariamne and Thomas Johnes and Andrew Fountaine

Engraving of Jane Johnes, second wife of Thomas Johnes. Inscription in bottom left hand corner reads "Mrs Johnes".