376 SECOND JOURNEY IN EUROPE. [1850, 



He returned to England, going down the Neckar 

 by steamboat to Heidelberg, then down the Rhine, 

 and through Holland, where he saw Miquel l in Am- 

 sterdam, rambling with him on a fete-day through 

 the streets at evening, enjoying the queer sights ; 

 went to Leyden, meeting De Vriese, 2 with whom was 

 R. Brown (then staying in Leyden for a few days), 

 and seeing the Botanic Garden, one of the oldest 

 in Europe, and well known to Linnaeus. Blume 3 he 

 missed, but he saw Siebold's 4 collection of Japanese 

 curios, then most rare. He took steamer from Rot- 

 terdam to London, and after a few days went down to 

 Mr. Bentham's, in Herefordshire. 



Here were spent two months of very hard work 

 with Mr. Bentham, who most kindly went over with 

 him the plants of the United States Exploring Expe- 

 dition, which had been brought over the Atlantic for 

 the purpose. 



Pontrilas is in a pretty, hilly country on the border 

 of Wales, with many old churches, almost of Saxon 

 time, in the neighborhood, to give interest to walks, 

 and very interesting, agreeable neighbors for a day or 

 two's visiting, among them the authoress, Mrs. Archer 

 Clive, who was very kind. 



He left Pontrilas early in December to make a visit, 

 at Dublin, to his friend Professor Harvey, to stay in 



1 F. A. W. Miquel, 1812-1871 ; director of the Amsterdam herba- 

 rium and professor of botany, Utrecht. 



2 William H. De Vriese, 1806-1862 ; professor in the University of 

 Leyden ; author of many important works and memoirs. 



3 Charles Louis Blume, 1796-1866 ; in charge of the Colonial Bo- 

 tanic Gardens at Java ; later curator of the herbarium of the Royal 

 Museum at Leyden. 



4 Philip Franz Siebold, 1796-1866. Wrote Flora Japonica. He 

 brought from Japan a large collection of curios when the country was 

 rarely opened to a foreigner, and at the risk of his life. 



