ar. 39.] TO JOHN TORREY. 371 
On Monday I made another visit to Kew Gardens, 
(a grand affair) to show the lions of the place to four 
or five young Americans I knew, one of them young 
Brace,! J.’s cousin, who is making with two friends a 
pleasant and profitable pedestrian excursion in Eng- 
land.2. I cannot begin to tell you the half we have 
done and seen in England, but we were most busy: 
Saturday, conversazione of Royal Botanical Society in 
Regent’s Park. Wednesday, excursion with Linnean 
Club to Hertford ; saw a great Pinetum, 600 species 
of Conifers, etc., and the Panshanger Oak. (1 wrote 
Carey a few words of this.) Thursday, a most pleasant 
day with Hooker. Miss Hooker looks quite well ; all 
send their love to you, all most kind and sweet to us. 
Hooker has altered little, but looks older. Brown 
looks older perhaps, but decidedly stronger, is as 
healthy as possible and very lively. In talking with 
him and showing him about it he gave up about Kra- 
meria, and said I must be right. He formerly une- 
quivocally referred it to Polygalacee. Bennett is 
large and fat. I fear he does not work hard enough. 
Yesterday we came down to Dover early in the 
afternoon (a striking place), and embarked late in the 
evening on steamer for Ostend, which we reached 
early this morning ; came right on to Bruges, which 
listless and very curious old-world town, and its curi- 
osities, we have all day been exploring, till six o’clock, 
when we came on twenty-eight miles further by rail- 
way to the famous and more lively town of Ghent, — 
where I have been running about till the dusk arrived, 
1 Charles Loring Brace, son of J. s bea Eminent as founder 
of the Children’s Aid Society, New Y 
2 The result was published in Sig ail Talks of an American 
Farmer in England, written by his companion, Frederic Law Olmsted. 
