32 EAKLY DAYS 



When I went to bed at a late hour last night I left him 

 writing an answer to you, and indeed he may, with a clear 

 conscience, give a good account of himself for the last three 

 or four weeks, especially as relates to his botanical pursuits. 

 He has worked at plants with a degree of steadiness and 

 ardour that has been most gratifying, and it appears that 

 his industry is likely to meet with its reward . . . [i.e. in 

 selection for the Antarctic Expedition]. 



Three letters of August and September 1838, from the 

 young Hooker to his father, tell how he went with Dr. Graham 

 on a botanising trip in Ireland (August 2-18) ; to the British 

 Association Meeting at Newcastle (21-30) ; and then proceeded 

 to visit Dr. Eichardson 1 at Haslar (September 1-4), when the 

 latter was to take stock of him, so to say, before recommending 

 him for the Antarctic Expedition. 



Details of travelling in those days have a curious interest 

 in comparison with to-day. Thus, leaving Dublin 



at 4 P.M., started in a track-boat for Ballinasloe, where we 

 were met by a Biancini car, which took us to Galway by 

 8 P.M. on Friday night ; the car and track-boat were of 

 the same company, and we went the whole excursion, 140 

 miles, for 18s. each, including a dinner and a breakfast ; 

 this, however, was the only cheap travelling experienced. 



To get from Newcastle to Portsmouth he was advised 



to take the coach from Newcastle to London at 9 A.M. on 

 Thursday, which I did for 2. I went the whole distance, 

 including coachmen and eating, for 3. I travelled all 

 night, and arrived in London on Friday night, at 8 P.M. 

 A coach was then starting for Portsmouth, in which I took 

 a place, 14s., and arrived here on Saturday at 8 A.M. 



1 Sir John Richardson (1787-1865, and knighted 1846) saw much active 

 service as naval surgeon, 1807-15, then returned to Edinburgh and took his 

 M.D., at the same time studying botany and mineralogy. He was Naturalist 

 to Sir John Franklin on two Arctic expeditions, 1819-22 and 1825-27. 

 For ten years he was head of the Melville Hospital at Chatham, and from 

 1838 was physician to the Royal Hospital at Haslar, where young naval 

 surgeons awaiting their gazetting to ships were under him. Again, in 1848-9 he 

 led the expedition in search of Franklin. His second wife, m. 1833, d. 1845, 

 was a niece of Franklin's. In addition to his works on Polar Zoology and 

 Travel, his special subject was Fishes, 



