162 DOWN. [Ch. VIII. 



loathsome disease and ulcerated limbs, and utter moral degra- 

 dation. If you think strongly on this subject, do make some 

 enquiries ; add to your many good works, this other one, and 

 try to stir up the magistrates. . . . 



The following letter refers to the Eoyal Medal, which was 

 awarded to him in November, 1853 : 



C. D. to J. D. Hooker. Down [November 1853]. 



My dear Hooker — Amongst my letters received this morn- 

 ing, I opened first one from Colonel Sabine ; the contents cer- 

 tainly surprised me very much, but, though the letter was a 

 very kind one, somehow, I cared very little indeed for the 

 announcement it contained. I then opened yours, and such is 

 the effect of warmth, friendship, and kindness from one that is 

 loved, that the very same fact, told as you told it, made me 

 glow with pleasure till my very heart throbbed. Believe me, I 

 shall not soon forget the pleasure of your letter. Such hearty, 

 affectionate sympathy is worth more than all the medals that 

 ever were or will be coined. Again, my dear Hooker, I thank 

 you. I hope Lindley* will never hear that he was a com- 

 petitor against me ; for really it is almost ridiculous (of course 

 you would never repeat that I said this, for it would be thought 

 by others, though not, I believe by you, to be affectation) his 

 not having the medal long before me ; I must feel sure that 

 you did quite right to propose him ; and what a good, dear, 

 kind fellow you are, nevertheless, to rejoice in this honour 

 being bestowed on me. 



What pleasure I have felt on the occasion, I owe almost 

 entirely to you.f 



Farewell, my dear Hooker, yours affectionately. 



The following series of extracts, must, for want of space, 



* John Lindley (b. 1799, d. 1865) was the son of a nurseryman near 

 Norwich, through whose failure in business he was thrown at the age of 

 twenty on his own resources. He was befriended by Sir W. Hooker, and 

 employed as assistant librarian by Sir J. Backs. He seems to have had 

 enormous capacity for work, and is said to have translated Richard's 

 Analyse du Fruit at one sittiug of two days and three nights. He became 

 Assistant-Secretary to the Horticultural Society, and in 1829 was 

 appointed Professor of Botany at University College, a post which he 

 held for upwards of thirty years. His writings are numerous ; the best 

 known being perhaps his Vegetable Kingdom, published in 1846. 



t Shortly afterwards he received a fresh mark of esteem from his 

 warm-hearted friend: "Hooker's book (Himalayan Journal) is out, and 

 most beautifully got up. He has honoured me beyond measure by 

 dedicating it to me ! * 



