602 TRAVEL IN EUROPE AND AMERICA. [1870, 



pose, to the extent of a sheetful, and send you our 

 hearty thanks for your most kind and -welcome Christ- 

 mas letter, — the acknowledgments for which have 

 been deferred too long already. 



For myself, I have had three or four delightful 

 weeks out of our short winter vacation, which have 

 been given whoUy to botanical work in my study. 

 But this week begins again my round of official 

 duties, to continue till July. 



I rather weary of it as I grow older ; and stiU more 

 I grudge the time. I could now, I see, make fair ar- 

 rangement for relinquishing a large part of my work 

 in the university if there were some one ready to come 

 in as a colleague or suffragan. But the person wanted 

 is not to be found, and it will take a long while to 

 hatch and raise one. We shall see. 



I keep up all my lively interest in English affairs. 

 But I do not get the items of news now as early as I 

 used to do when the " Gardener's Chronicle " had a 

 news-sheet attached. I do well enough in the scientific 

 line, however, as I see both " Nature " and the " Acad- 

 emy." The former should bear for its motto " Natura 

 non facit saltum ; " it does not jump at once to per- 

 fection ; the articles are many of them rather weak 

 and washy. The " Academy " in its way seems better. 

 The " Athenaeum" (which I hope will revive, now that 

 Dixon is out of it), the " Saturday Review," and the 

 " Pall Mall Budget " come to us in our book club, 

 after a while, in our turn. 



So Temple, having carried his point, is now mak- 

 ing his over-active opponents look a bit foolish by 

 preaching earnest orthodox sermons. And Gladstone 

 has done a (to me not unexpected) thing which grati- 

 fies his friends here, in giving to Mr. Fraser the see 



