806 FINAL JOURNEYS AND WORK. [1887, 



Blachf ord with his friends Lord and Lady Blachf ord ; 

 most interesting excursions followed over the downs, 

 a day up the Tamar to Cothele ; and he made other 

 visits on the way back, one to his old Cambridge 

 friend, Mrs. James, near Exeter, where he had an 

 afternoon call at Killerton, Sir Thomas Acland's, and 

 saw the fine beeches, etc. ; returned to London, where 

 there was much visiting before he went to Edinburgh 

 for another degree. On the way to the north he 

 visited the grounds of Welbeck, and saw the fine trees 

 of Sherwood (Robin Hood's) forest, beeches, and 

 grand, hoar old oaks. 



From Edinburgh Dr. Gray went through England 

 to Normandy, meeting Sir Joseph Hooker and his party 

 at Rouen ; then came a delightful trip given to 

 churches and cathedrals. 



He wrote : " Bayeux and Coutances surprised us, 

 they are so very good ; only Amiens and St. Ouen can 

 compare with them in beauty, especially interior views. 



" No two of all these Normandy churches are alike ; 

 even those of essentially similar style differ both 

 within and without so much that you would not wish 

 to miss any one. Those old church builders were 

 geniuses, and worked by inspiration." 



He gave a day to Mont St. Michel, and then sepa- 

 rating from the Hookers he went to Chartres, to see it 

 again after thirty years, and by Rouen and Amiens 

 returned to England ; when came an interesting- 

 visit to Harpenden to Dr. and Mrs. Gilbert, viewing 

 the famous experiments in agriculture at Rothamp- 

 stead. And the seeing of cathedrals was closed by a 

 most delightful and busy day at Canterbury with 

 Canon and Mrs. Fremantle. 



At the end of August he went to Manchester to 



