RECOLLECTIONS, 1847-54:. 31 



moment. It is that I am sketching my life ! ? I 

 hope it will be considered so ! But I can not refrain 

 from making digressions right or wrong. 



"Well, I can not stop here, I must continue my 

 wandering reflections. I think we are about the year 

 1850 or 1852 ; really I forget, but one year more or 

 less will not make me one day older, even if I commit 

 some anachronism, as long as what I relate is correct, 

 and I earnestly mean to do so, or my quotation about 

 straight and " short line " would be a fiction, a blunder, 

 a falsehood. On second thought I think that what I 

 am to tell happened in 1852 (but I am not certain and 

 I have no documents to confirm my doubts), an attempt 

 to revive the New York Horticultural Society, which 

 had been founded several years before, (from what I 

 had learned from Dr. Torrey, who certainly told me 

 the year, but after more than half a century I forget) 

 by having an exhibition. Messrs. Hogg, florists at 

 Yorkville, hinted to me something about it and said, 

 " when we have it we expect your presence, you can 

 be represented. We understand you have materials 

 for." I replied jocosely, " I shall not do such things. 

 1 would be afraid of distancing you in the contest and 

 that might check the growth of our friendship." Time 

 passed away and I had forgotten the incident, when 

 one day I received a formal invitation to attend the 



