SOME FRIENDS OF LATER YEARS 299 



and a botanical library in connection with it. This was 

 all a fitting result to the succession of Banks's latest dis- 

 ciple. His powers of organization, his entire mastery of 

 botanical science, and his ability to deal with mankind, 

 were universally acknowledged. More than this, his per- 

 sonality was charming. The eulogium of Asa Gray is 

 everything that one might wish for from his fellow-men : 

 " Of pleasing address, frank, cordial, and of a very genial 

 disposition. . . . None knew him but to love him, 

 none named him but to praise. ... A model Christian 

 gentleman." 1 



Hooker's house at Halesworth attracted a number of 

 cultured people, especially those with a turn for botany. 

 It was in close touch with James Edward Smith and the 

 Norwich people. 



One day, in 1816, Monsieur De Candolle appeared upon 

 the scene, and spent several days at Halesworth, which 

 were, he says, exceedingly agreeable. Young John Lindley 

 was there at the time as a pupil of Hooker. De Candolle 

 took home with him the best recollection of England and 

 her scientific men. His intercourse with Banks is best 

 described in his own words : 



" Dr. Marcet me conduisit le matin chez Sir Joseph 

 Banks. C'etait le but de mon voyage, et sa maison a ete 

 celle ou j 'ai passe presque tout mon temps. Ce respectable 



1 If Sir William Hooker rescued Kew Gardens from neglect and 

 oblivion, it remained with his distinguished son and successor to bring 

 the institution to its present position of utility and grandeur. Sir 

 Joseph Hooker was born at Halesworth, in June, 1817. After several 

 years of travel, in company with the expedition of Captain J. C. Ross 

 to Australasia and the Antarctic Islands, he spent several years in 

 India, enriching botanical science with profuse details of the Himalayan 

 and Indian floras. He joined his father at Kew, became Assistant- 

 Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, and succeeded to the Director- 

 ship in 1855. Since his retirement from the post in 1885 he has 

 always been in touch with Kew. As late as the summer of 1910, this 

 Grand Old Man of science was still to be seen at the Herbarium on 

 botanical research. This in his ninety-fourth year ! Sir Joseph was 

 President of the Royal Society 1873-8. 



