. 45.] TO W. J. HOOKER. 423 



" Filices ; ' for a fire in Philadelphia has consumed 

 all of the poor fellow's edition of the volume except 

 ten copies which had been sold mostly in Europe. A 

 sad and a heavy loss to B., who had no insurance, 

 and something to me who had advanced to him the 

 paper for printing it on, which now the poor fellow 

 is in no condition to pay for. I have not even a copy 

 of the atlas myself, but I shall get one from the gov- 

 ernment plates, which are preserved. Brackenridge 

 utterly despairs of reprinting it. But possibly the 

 government will set up the type for him again, as 

 they have also lost a part of their small impression. 

 Otherwise the book will have the value of excessive 

 rarity, if it has no other. . . 



May 25, 1857. 



I hear with delight that you are meditating a trip 

 to America, and I write forthwith to express my own 

 and Mrs. Gray's and my good father-in-law's earnest 

 hope that you will come over, even if it be for a few 

 weeks only. The rest of the voyage cannot but be 

 useful to so busy a person as you constantly are, and 

 a run through the country, and a sight of the Yankee 

 world, would interest you. At the Montreal scientific 

 meeting you would see several old friends and many 

 new ones. Torrey, Greene, Darlington, 1 James, 2 etc., 

 would be half frantic with pleasure at the thought of 

 seeing you ; so it will not do to hint at such a thing, 

 until you give me authority ; and as for my wife and 



1 William Darlington, M. D., 17S2-1S63, of West Chester, Penn. ; 

 author of Flora Cestrica, u one of the best of local Floras," and 

 Memorials of Bartram and Marshall, etc. " A most faithful botanist. 

 His forte was the clear and accurate description of plants " [A. G.]. 



2 Thomas Potts James, 1804-1882. Born in Radnor, Penn. A 

 proficient and authority in bryology. 



