188 FIRST JOURNEY IN EUROPE. [1839, 
October, it suffers greatly. The first view of this 
garden is very striking, but upon a more careful ob- 
servation I see less to admire. Still I learn some 
thing from every garden I visit. 
Previously to calling on Lady Bentham I had ae- 
cepted an invitation to dine this evening with Captain 
Gordon, a retired officer of the British army residing 
here, a friend of the Bentham family, who, hearing 
from Lady Bentham and Delile that I was soon ex- 
pected here, called par hasard at the Hotel du Midi, 
to request that they would send him word when I 
arrived. On finding me he insisted on my dining with 
him this evening. I have this moment, while I was 
writing, received a note from Lady Bentham, asking 
me to call on her this morning, saying she has a col- 
lection of plants made by herself for her son George 
at some interesting locality among the mountains, a 
set of which she is to have ready for me, knowing, as 
she says, that George would surely offer them to me. 
Although I had arranged my time a little differently, 
of course I shall call immediately after breakfast. 
Lady B., who is now very aged, is evidently a very 
superior woman; she is a very good botanist also, 
therefore, as I do not know the plants of the south of 
Europe very well, I am a little afraid of her. 
Marseilles, April 25, Thursday evening. —I broke 
off my narrative on Tuesday morning, two days ago. 
I must continue my brief account, and then close my 
letters to send from this port. After breakfast, Cap- 
tain Gordon called on me, and we went together to 
Lady Bentham. We found his dinner hour so late 
that we were obliged to give up the expectation of 
returning to take tea with the ladies here. Delile 
joined us, and soon after I went with him to see the 
