[[1]]
Royal Gardens Kew
April 24/[18]74
My dear [Asa] Gray
I am awfully in your debt with letters -- but what with the Linnean, Royal, & family
affairs, I have been worked to tension point since Xmas. Now I have had a bad
cough & sort of spasms in the throat for 3 weeks *1 turns out to be whooping cough!:
& my wife, who is also much worn -- goes with me to the Riviera & Florence
tomorrow Bentham accompanying us. We go by Nimes & Arles & shall be away for
a month: We were on the eve of starting
[[2]] to Paris to spend Easter -- when Harriette & the 2 youngest took whooping
cough at Hastings, & Brian the measles at school -- which knocked that arrangement
up. Just now we are selecting the 15 candidates for R[oyal] S[ociety] out of a list of
52 of whom upward of 30 would be real acquisitions to the Society. Last night was
my Presidential Soiree -- a tremendous affair. I suppose the fullest known for many
years *2 P.S. Twice as many as ever known -- but very fatiguing for me -- how I did
fig[?] the President of the U[nited] States! -- Then too I have been worried with more
[[3]] offers of Knighthood which I have staved off -- L[or]d Cameron most
handsomely offered me K.C.M.G. *3 in consideration of my services to the Colonies,
saying that it had been too long omitted, & that he wished it to be the final act of his
official career & so forth -- I declined on several grounds, but chiefly because it I was
recommended for it 5 years ago, when the Gladstonian Gov[ernmen]t would not give
it me, though there were several vacancies (it is limited to 60) -- & if I took it now, it
would be regarded as given to P[resident of the]. R[oyal.] S[ociety]. & not to JDH. for
Colonial services: & I felt sure (as I found afterwards
[[4]] was the case) that the R[oyal] S[ociety] would not have approved of my taking
any--thing less than the Bath which had been given to both my predecessors in the
chair after their accession thereto with far less service claims than I have have. Of course my
impression -- that there is no chance prospect of their offering me so limited an
honor[sic] as K.C.B. *4 -- & so I am safe from Knighthood for some time to come. On
the other hand if offered I must take it -- & as if it it is a case of must, the later the
better for me. As pointing to my Colonial services I should have preferred K.C.M.G.
which would link Kew to the Colonies emphatically. & were I unsaddled with R.S. I
should
[[5]] I think have accepted: as it is "noblesse oblige" -- to refuse.
The Paris Lambertii[sic] & Abies Alba arrived in capital condition.
You have received the Thistles I hope ere this -- please do not make the loan
publicly known.
I am so glad that you like Miss Kingsley. There is something very engaging about
her to such gynaeophobists [gynophobists] as we seem to be! My poor sister Bessy
is I fear falling into a condition of melancholia. I saw Eliott several times -- had him
to dinner at our club, & invited him twice to
[[6]] Kew -- he is a very very nice fellow.
What have you to do as a member of Smithsonian Board? What duties does it
entail?
We have upheld Bentham & get a splendid Round robin assoilzing *5 him, signed &
presented by all the best men in the Society.
[George] Allman will be our new President [of the Linnean Society]. It is most
unfortunate & indeed wrong, the way poor B[entham]. throws off the Linnean
So[ciet]y & all its affairs in [1 word crossed out, illeg.] a huff -- he will not come near it
nor help us out of the
[[7]] great difficulties we are still in. He was emphatically "the Society". Everything is
adrift now he is gone & the feebleness of the Secretaries V[ice]. P[resident]'s. &
Council comes out strongly & sadly. I cannot do much with the R[oyal] S[ociety]
meeting on same Council--days & same meeting evenings -- E.G. to day I have to be
at L[innean] S[ociety] at 1. to arrange business with Officers for Council at 3. We
shall sit till 6 or 6 1/2, then run to Athenaeum (I ought to go to R.S. Club) for a snatch
dinner, back to chair at 8 1/4 & sit till 10 -- -- leave at 10 1/2 -- 11 & home at mid
night:
[Sir Richard] Strachey & [Sir Andrew Crombie] Ramsay will take the Chair whilst I am
away.
[[8]] Many thanks for P.O. order -- for £12.0.0. which comes in very very handy at this
moment.
I am awfully sorry about not thanking young Ross for the apples.
I am very sorry to hear about Mrs Gray's fall, but am glad to find by Miss James[']
letter that she is right again. Does she ride on horse--back?
The Nation comes quite apropos. -- Tyndale wishes me to take Pres Presidency of D
at Br[itish]. Ass[ociatio]n. at Belfast in August, & I was going to make Nepenthes my
inaugural address. I have been working as to the effect of Carb[onate] of Ammonia
on the glands in the pitcher, & your paper will
[[9]] be an enormous help in time of need. Only think of Darwin coming to the Soireé
last night! & looking remarkably well too. I felt very proud of it.
I will send the Wedgwood medallion at once to you. The Linnaeus portrait referred
to by Miss James is not by Flaxman who never saw L[innaeus]. & indeed did very
little indeed for Wedgwood who would not pay more than a journeyman [']s wage to
an artist. He was an old hoax[?].
E[ver] y[our] aff[ectionate] J.D. Hooker [signature]
ENDNOTES
1. The text from here to "cough!" is written vertically down the left margin of page 1
and a cross in the original text indicates this is where it should be inserted.
2. The text from here to "known" is written vertically down the left margin of page 2
and a cross in the original text indicates this is where it should be inserted.
3. Knight Commander of The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint
George. Awarded for extraordinary or important non--military service in a foreign
country. It can also be conferred for important or loyal service in relation to foreign
and Commonwealth affairs.
4. Knight Commander of The Most Honourable Order of the Bath. Awarded to those
who have achieved Royal favour through personal service to the Crown or by the
performance of public duties.
5. Scottish alternative spelling of "assoil": meaning to release from blame.
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