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Directorship cherished the hope that he too might accomplish 

 the task, and I suppose that in each case the same causes defeated 

 the intention. As with many other Government posts, the 

 who would control all the various activities of Kew must ' scorn 

 delights,' even those under his immediate eye, ' and live laborious 

 days ' ; he must be content, however imperfectly, to do what he 

 can, not what he would ; and must swallow, with what philosophy 

 he may, continual discontent that the day's work cannot be 

 crammed into the day's hours. No assistance can aid him beyond 

 a certain point, and no one can share his responsibility. 



" For some years past Mr. Olivier and Mr. Wallis — the one with 

 the brash, the other with the camera — had devoted themselves to 

 the illustration of Kew in its varying aspects with delightful skill. 

 The publishers were willing to give a selection of their admirable 



work to the public if only the long projected book could be 

 produced which it would "serve to illustrate. The opportunity 

 was not to be lost ; it might not, and probably would not, ever 

 recur. That the thing must be done at Kew was obvious ; history 

 may be evolved from consciousness, but it cannot be written with 

 circumstantial accuracy without data and documents. It was a 

 happy inspiration w liich led me to induce the publishers to entrust 

 the work to the Assistant Curator. He has devoted his life to 

 Kew, is penetrated with sympathy with its charms, and much 

 that has enhanced them has been accomplished under his capable 

 hand. And having read his proofs I find nothing to criticise, and 

 can but admire the ability with which he has marshalled a vast 

 mass of information never before brought together, and told a 

 story with words of befitting gravity and simplicity which is to 

 me of the deepest interest, and, I am persuaded, can be scarcely 

 less so to its other readers. 



" These few words would be sufficient to introduce those who 

 have worthily taken part in the production of the book. But 

 looking back upon Kew in a long retrospect, I may summarise 

 some of the salient impressions which emerge from the mass 

 °f detail. Amongst our scientific institutions, Kew stands out 

 with a history which is almost august. And it is characteristic of 

 English tradition that its present constitution is the outcome of an 

 almost inevi i ;ibl e evolution. Circumstance has made it, and this 

 has given it a stability which it would not have possessed if it 

 had been the creation of the moment, however logical. 



"Outside the metropolis there is probably no spot which has 

 seen so much history as the piece of ground included within the 

 bend of the Thames whir-h liPa between Kew and Richmond 



in its 



bri dges. Successive dynasties made it their residence, firs* i 

 southern and then in its northern portion. Henry TO. built 

 the palace at Richmond, in which his successor entertained the 

 Emperor Charles V. Queen Mary lived there, and in it Elizabeth 

 ««ned the death warrant of Mary Queen of Scots and died 

 Wlf. Her court, on their way to London by Brentford Fenj 

 gust have passed along Love Lane, which traversed the Gardens 

 ^re was th original hamlet of Kew, which in Hanoverian times 

 was moved eastwards round Kew Green. The etymology of the 

 J me ^ obscure, but the earliest form, Kay-hough, was ' P^haps 

 derived from the landing-place of the ferry. Midway, at Ormonde 



