CHAPTER VIII. 
FINAL JOURNEYS AND WORK. 
1880-1888. 
Dr. Gray sailed for Europe with Mrs. Gray early 
in September, 1880. He went especially to study 
herbaria for his new volume of the ‘ Synoptical 
Flora,” and saw almost every collection of importance, 
giving especial attention to the subject of asters. 
The autumn was spent in western France and Spain, 
and in Madrid he looked over the herbarium there. 
He declared nobody had ever had so many asters pass 
through his hands as he had had! 
The winter was spent in hard work in the Kew 
herbarium. He enjoyed heartily in spring a journey 
through Italy with his friends Sir Joseph and Lady 
Hooker, returning to Kew to spend the summer, at 
work in the herbarium, and he sailed again for home 
in October, 1881, landing early in November. 
TO JOHN H. REDFIELD. 
H6rex ContinentAat, Paris, October 3, 1880. 
My pear REDFIELD, — Many thanks for letter of 
17th September, which reached me at Kew, where we 
passed a busy and happy fortnight with the Hookers, 
and did some botanical work. We left Friday morn- 
ing, reached Paris pleasantly that evening, where we 
make only two days more stay at present, but leave 
