760 FINAL JOURNEYS AND WORK. [1885, 



needed for the establishment of the fact. De Morgan 

 was not a man to leave his work half done, especially 

 as against Hamilton. 



I only regret that the length to which these most 

 interesting matters extended stood in the way of your 

 giving a more detailed account of Bentham's botani- 

 cal work, on which another article would be timely. 



I must now, before long, attempt something of this, 

 for the American Academy's ^loge. And I pray you, 

 if you are not doing it yourself, to send me hints and 

 suggestions. Sheet full, and I will not begin another 

 to-day, but add only my wife's love to j'^ou and Lady 

 Hooker. 



January 9, 1885. 



The souvenir of dear Bentham has come to hand, 

 is in its place on my table, and the first use I make 

 of it, now in position, is to write to you this letter of 

 thanks, — to you for awarding it to me, and to dear 

 Lady Hooker for so promptly forwarding it. The 

 stand is a beautiful piece of marble, bearing its two 

 inkstands.^ Was there ever anything to occupy the 

 sunken area between them ? . . . 



Of myself I have not rauch to write. The pros- 

 pect of getting off for the latter part of winter has 

 just prevented my settling down to the " Flora," and 

 I have found plenty else to keep me actively em- 

 ployed, mainly with a reAdsion of some boragina- 

 ceous genera, now in printer's hands, which I hope, 

 while it unsettles old work, will settle it better and 

 permanently, as far as anything we do can be said to 

 be lasting. 



1 The inkstand is now placed in the library of the herbarium with 

 Sir William J. Hooker's hand-glass, so much used by Dr. Gray. 



