7. 71.] TO R. W. CHURCH. 735 
written more than once to the Deanery, and we have 
had good accounts of the visit to Italy, which appears 
to have been a great enjoyment to all of you. And 
now we have the news of H.’s engagement, which 
must give you a novel sensation. How time flies and 
events develop! It seems but a little while since she 
and her sisters were little girls at Whatley. And now, 
when this reaches you, a year will have gone round 
since we said goodby in London. 
I have not much to say nor to show for this year. 
Though I have never worked more steadily, and never 
with so much concentration, there seems to be little to 
show for it. At times I am disheartened, but a hope 
as irrepressible as I suppose it is unreasonable and 
extravagant bears me up and on. There is, indeed, 
a good pile of manuscript to show, but I will not be- 
gin printing until I have gone through with the vast 
order of Compositz. That may be at Christmas, — I 
may say I expect it, — but I never yet came up to 
any such expectation. To give you some idea of what 
my task is, I hope to send you soon a copy of an ex- 
hortation which I read to the botanists at the recent 
meeting of our American Association for Advance- 
ment of Science at Montreal (in the Queen’s domin- 
ions!) This journey to Canada was my only holiday 
this past summer; though Mrs. Gray got as much 
more, with her brothers and sisters at Beverly, on the 
coast ; a bit of country and of country life we are long- 
ing to have you see. 
The gathering at Montreal was most pleasant, and 
we were happily placed as the guests of the president 
of the year, Dr. Dawson, principal of McGill College, 
at which the sessions were held. Among the foreign 
savants, we had . . . Rev. and also M. D. Professor 
