
          Royal Gardens, Kew. Nov. 1 1847.

My dear & kind friend. Many thanks for your
much welcome letter. I had not heard from you for
some time, but of you I had, & of the sad intelligence
of your Brother's pecuniary difficulties. But never
could I for a moment suppose you were otherwise
than most kind & hospitable (as much as circumstances
would allow,) to our dear child & to her Husband.
I do trust affairs are going better with your Brother
now. Commercial matters cannot be worse in
the new World than they are here. Friends, but
no immediate connections, have suffered severely.
For yourself I am glad you retain the appointment
which is most congenial to you, & delighted I am
to find you are working on Oregon plants again.
I am too old to visit the new World. You should
come & see my position here. The vast garden
under my charge, my extensive Library & Herbarium.
The latter I should think increased fourfold
since your were in Scotland. Joseph's (Dr. Hooker) collections
have proved no slight additional value to it, &
now that dear fellow is going to another glorious field
for a Botanist. In little more [added: than] a week he embarks with
the new Governor-general, Lord Dalhousie, for Calcutta
(overland), & after spending the first 3 mos. [months] in the plains
he goes north to the Himalayan mountains & probably
with Chinese Tartary. He returns to Calcutta, thence
to Singapore, & then to Borneo for 12 mos. [months]. He will
be away 3 years & reckons on marrying the eldest daughter
of Professor Henslow on his return. He has so
distinguished himself in his former voyage & by his
Flora Antarctica (now complete, i.e. the Antarctic portion
of it) that there was no difficulty in Lord John Russell's
making a grant of £800 towards his expenses in India
& at Borneo he is attached to the Admirals ship, with

        