BOYHOOD. 27 



To the Same. 



Edinburgh, Sept. 11, 1832. 

 Here I am alone. W. P. not yet arrived, and I am dwelling 

 among strangers. 



How I shall get through to-morrow I know not, as I am going 

 (by Dr. Hooker's desire) to visit Gr. W. Arnott, whom I do not 

 know even as a correspondent. I leave this in the morning 

 for his country-seat, some twenty-five miles off. Woe is me ! 

 I am in a " quandary." Well may I sympathize with Betty 

 Foy! 



I like Dr. Greville much. He has given me many things, 

 chiefly Alpine plants — some extremely rare. I found Dr. 

 Hooker at the seaside, away from books and plants, &c. I 

 spent two days with him agreeably, and hope I shall not be the 

 worse of this personal interview. He is just beginning to print 

 his " Algse." I like his family much. His youngest son is a 

 botanist and entomologist, his elder an ornithologist. My sym- 

 pathies of course lie with the younger. Dr. H.'s father is a 

 delightful old man. 



I have as yet seen little of the country. This city is certainly 

 magnificent and wonderful, in every sense of said words. The 

 people not unlike the Irish — plenty of them gaping in the 

 streets, and children playing. I return to Glasgow the day 

 after to-morrow, where I hope to meet W. P. 



A part of a letter, written to Dr. Hooker immediately on 

 reaching Edinburgh, is too characteristic to be omitted. 



Edinburgh, Sept. 10, 1832. 



My dear Friend. 



Thou may well be surprised to receive a letter from me so 

 shortly after parting, and in expectation of so soon seeing thee 

 again, but I am anxious to express my sense of thy kind atten- 

 tions during my stay with thee ; and I know from experience 

 that I should find it impossible to do so ' ; viva voce." Thou 

 must have remarked my extreme and even childish mauvaise 

 honte, which is one of the most prominent features of my cha- 

 racter. It is excessively painful to myself, and must appear 

 contemptible to others. With Cowper, I can often say, that 

 u the dread of being silent keeps me mute ;" and even when I 

 do get fairly launched, my voice often grows provokingly thick 



