146 FIRST JOURNEY IN EUROPE. [1839, 



vast and splendid cathedral. But I must bid you 

 good-night, purposing to rise early and have an hour 

 or so before the pressing business of the day is com- 

 menced to write another sheet to you and our good 

 Dr. Torrey, to whom I have so much to say, if I could 

 ever find time for it. 



Friday. I have been to-day at the British Mu- 

 seum, studying from the specimens of Plukenet, 

 Catesby, Miller, etc., etc., the authority for old Lin- 

 nsean species in Ilex, Prinos, Eupatorium, etc. It is 

 slow and tedious work, and I shall not have time to do 

 so much of it as I could wish. Brown told me to-day 

 about Petalanthera. It is Cevallis, Lagasca, Hortus 

 Matritensis, and very probably his species, even C. 

 sinuata. It came from New Spain. You will see Lind- 

 ley is all astray about the genus, and no one knows its 

 affinities even, but Brown. Lagasca himself refers it 

 to Boragineae. It is true Loasea3. I was this even- 

 ing at Bentham's, and found he had a specimen of C. 

 sinuata from Hooker, collected by Brydges in Mexico, 

 I think. I have asked Brown to give us some notes 

 on the subject, a generic character, etc., that we may 

 publish a little from his own pen. I am to spend a 

 day with him next week, and I will try to get some- 

 thing out of him. He hinted to me some days ago 

 that he knew something about Cyrilla, but I could 

 not get it out of him. I '11 try again. He tells me 

 he has a character to distinguish true Rhexia, which 

 has escaped Don, De Candolle, etc. We must find it 

 out. Bentham has given me his " Scrophulariae Indi- 

 ca3," and the three last parts of his " Labiatae ; " I 

 have bought the rest (1 2s. 6d.), and last evening we 

 looked over his North American specimens, and the 

 notes in his copy. He gave me also, the other day, the 



