KECOLLECTIONS, 1855-61. 37 



the play with that "Scoundrel III, Third," had to 

 intimate to the French army in Mexico to evacuate that 

 country, that the soil the spot was too hot for their 

 comfort, and that the sooner they would leave the better. 

 He (our uncle) was not obliged to re-intimate the hint; 

 it was readily understood, as by intuition and complied 

 with double quick alacrity 



My commentaries on the resolutions of the "fifth 



element " and on the war, have distracted me 



from my subject the Exhibition. I do not remember 

 well, but I think it was inferior to previous ones. The 

 most attractive, strikingly so, was a lot of Coleus Ver- 

 schaffettii, exhibited for the first time, by Mr. I do 

 not know the initials Townsend of Brooklyn. The 

 plants were well grown ! and their brilliancy was daz- 

 zling, at least they produced that effect on me. As 

 I drew near them I took off my hat out of admiration 

 and sighed deeply with eager desire to get some of them, 

 or at least some cuttings. I did not know the owner or 

 else I would have introduced myself to him as a "pro- 

 fessor of cutting " and ready to give him a demonstra- 

 tion of my skill in vegetable anatomy, but he was not 

 in the Hall and I never saw him. And yet I got the 

 cuttings on the same day ! How ? you will know soon. 

 Having seen all I wanted to see I left the Exhibition 



room, I mean the Academy of Music, that I had seen 

 4 



