162 THE AYRTON EPISODE 



Secretary of the Department chose to think that ' Mr. Galton's 

 appointment and the purposes for which he was appointed 

 were so well known ' that any special notification to Hooker 

 was needless ; and later, when a report on some proposals for 

 works at Kew were endorsed by Ayrton with a note ' that such 

 works should be carried out on the responsibility of the Director 

 of Works in future,' he neglected to see that this was conveyed 

 in the subsequent letter sent to Hooker. Accordingly, the 

 Director of Kew, whose appointment made him responsible 

 only to the First Commissioner, suddenly found himself in 

 certain particulars responsible to his own subordinate as well. 



As an isolated act, this was bad enough, but taken in con- 

 junction with others equally unreasonable, it had every appear- 

 ance of being part of a design to render Hooker's personal 

 position intolerable. 



Thus in 1870, when the plan of adding a part of Hyde 

 Park to Kensington Gardens was under consideration, Mr. 

 Ayrton directed that Mr. Smith, the Curator of the Royal 

 Gardens, Kew, under the control of the Director, should 

 undertake the superintendence of the proposed works. Dr. 

 Hooker was ' to be informed accordingly, and to arrange for 

 Mr. Smith attending at the Park as often as required.' In 

 effect the Director, without consultation, was to be deprived 

 of his most useful subordinate. He replied that he could not 

 spare his Curator, and naturally complained that he had not 

 been consulted. Answer, a curt Minute, stating that ' it is 

 apparent Dr. Hooker is not aware that the exigencies of 

 H.M. Service required the immediate assistance of Mr. Smith, 

 in the manner directed by the First Commissioner.' Again 

 Hooker explained in detail his inability to spare his Curator, 

 and received for answer a still curter Minute, simply saying 

 that his letter ' appears to have been written under a miscon- 

 ception,' and directing him to convey the First Commissioner's 

 orders to Mr. Smith. In the end, Mr. Smith declared he could 

 not combine the two duties, and the proposal dropped. 



Nor was this all. Ayrton had first come down to Kew, 

 and unknown to Hooker, had a private interview with Smith, 

 discussing the possibility of appointing him to the superior 



