Second and Third Visits to England, 187 



LONDON, June 7, 



DEAR BROTHER : We continue in our place still, but 

 with no immediate prospect of change. The weather is 

 exceedingly cool and refreshing. We went to the Borough 

 Road Training School this morning directly after break- 

 fast, which occurs at 9 A. M. It is almost three miles. The 

 omnibus took us from door to door. Staying there two or 

 three hours, we came back to the Jermyn Street School of 

 Mines and heard Tyndall's lecture on Spectrum Analysis, 

 which closed at half-past three. Having had tickets pre- 

 sented us to the gardens of the Royal Botanical Society, 

 in Regent's Park, we took a cab from the lecture directly 

 to that place. . . . 



We made an excursion to Kew three or four days ago. 

 Kew is about eight miles by rail from Charing Cross. It is 

 an old royal park converted into extensive gardens, and is 

 the great botanical establishment of Europe. We left 

 home at ten and a half, accompanied by Mr. Spencer, took 

 a cab for the Hungerford Bridge over the Thames, and a 

 boat from there to Chelsea for "tuppence." (Tuppence and 

 tuppence ha'penny are great institutions here.) At Chelsea 

 we changed boats and navigated the crooked river up to 

 Kew. The boats are abominable little black things with 

 no covers, close crowded, and most disagreeable. We 

 lunched at Kew, under a shed, on cold ham, cold beef, 

 bread and butter, with salad. Eliza had to travel slowly 

 over the extensive grounds, but there were frequent seats. 

 The immense park is filled with venerable and magnificent 

 trees, and is traversed by broad gravelly walks, straight, 

 crossed, and curving around. Numberless plants and shrubs 

 and countless groups, beds, banks, and borders of flowers 

 are everywhere. And then through the grounds are dis- 

 tributed plant houses, heated for the reception of tropical 

 plants, aquatics, and various collections too numerous to 

 mention and far too numerous to see. We returned by 



