HOME LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE. 233 



Munronia Neilglierica, but that plant was collected by Captain 

 Munro very far to the west side of the hills. 



When you write to Mr. J — , I hope you will tell him how 

 highly his donation is prized, and assure him that his plants 

 are placed in a herbarium which is daily becoming more 

 worthy of support as it enlarges. Since I saw you I have had 

 a promise of Arctic plants from Captain Austen's late voyage. 



Ever yours, 



W. H. H. 



To Mrs. Gray. 



Trinity College, January 28, 1852. 

 H. has given me her letter to seal and forward, and bids 

 me write " a L'Envoi " with it, which I should be glad to do 

 if I had the wherewithal. Some sixteen years ago at the Cape, 

 when seated at dinner by an interesting young Dutchess (I 

 mean Dutch fraulein), the old one from the top of the table 

 called out to her in Dutch (thinking I did not understand) " to 

 talk to that bashful young man ;" whereupon she answered — 

 and the words have stuck in my throat ever since — " Was soil 

 sagen," which being rendered into Christian language, means, 

 " What shall I, what can I say to him ?" But why rake up 

 such an old story for you ? I don't know, except that old age 

 is garrulous ; and you know the 5th of February is close at 

 hand, and that I expect to hear news on that day which I can't 

 shut my ears to if I would. I have no news to send you, or 

 yarn in my brain to spin out, or if there be, the spider is lazy 

 and will not spin, or the thread has caught on a hook and will 

 not pull. 



I have been durch-schnitting New Zealand Algae for the last 

 fortnight, and have to-day finished. There were 1541 speci- 

 mens in all, but only some 200 species ; no new genus, but 

 several fine new species. What about Graynelia f it would be 

 a much better word than Nowodworshya, the name of another 

 American plant, just gone into Herbarium T. C. D. And now, 

 my dear madam, I think I have sufficiently proved the poverty 

 of my thoughts by the nonsense I have written. Love to Asa. 



Ever yours affectionately, 



W. H. H. 



