LETTER TO HIS BROTHER. 49 



were to visit two famous botanists. One was 

 Herr Steudel ; a sombre face, with long over- 

 hanging black hair, almost hiding the eyes, 

 a very Jewish face. He knows every book 

 on botany that appears, has read them all, 

 but cares little to see the plants themselves ; 

 in short, he is a true closet student. He has 

 a large herbarium, composed in great part of 

 plants purchased or received as gifts. The 

 other, Professor Hochstetter, is an odd little 

 man, stepping briskly about in his high boots, 

 and having always a half suppressed smile on 

 his lips whenever he takes the pipe from be- 

 tween his teeth. A very good man, however, 

 and extremely obliging; he offered us every 

 civility. As we desired not only to make their 

 acquaintance, but to win from these bota- 

 nists at least a few grasses, we presented our- 

 selves like true commis voyageurs, with dried 

 herbs to sell, each of us having a package 

 of plants under his arm, mine being Swiss, 

 gathered last summer, Braun's from the Pa- 

 latinate. We gave specimens to each, and 

 received in exchange from Steudel some Amer- 

 ican plants ; from Hochstetter some from Bo- 

 hemia, and others from Moravia, his native 

 country. From Esslingen we were driven to 

 Goeppingen, in the most frightful weather 



