1 4 Biographical Sketch 



exquisite delight. The streets, the traffic, the 

 magnificent buildings of Modern Athens were 

 entirely novel, of course ; and yet not these, 

 nor the stately Castle, nor the noble hills 

 were in his thoughts so much as the woods. 



" Oh, just to get to the plants on Arthur 

 Seat," he said. 



In writing to his father at that time he said : 

 " The chief thing I have to tell you is that I 

 am acknowledged the discoverer of the Are- 

 naria norvegica " (as a British plant, I sup- 

 pose he means) " and Lathyrus maritimus. I 

 drank tea last night with Dr Graham, and 

 took some of my specimens with me. Dr 

 Hooker has published a new edition of his 

 ' Flora/ and therein mentions these two plants 

 as found by me." 



This was a fine feather in the cap of our 

 fifteen-year-old laddie, and remains to his 

 credit, although up-to-date botanists affirm 

 that his A. norvegica is only a variety of 

 another plant. 



His father's friend, Professor MacGillivray, 

 was specially interested in the boy, who 

 writes : " I have been very busy all this day. I 

 dined at MacGillivray's yesterday. He showed 

 me all his most beautiful collections, and 



