. . . Sir William
Pointed Out To Us All That Was Very Rare Or Curious, Which Added
Much To My Pleasure.
.
. . He showed us a drawing of the largest
FLOWER ever known on earth, which Sir Stamford Raffles discovered in
Sumatra. It was a parasite without leaves or stem, and the flower
weighed fifteen pounds. Lady Raffles furnished him the materials
for the drawing. I dined in company with her not long ago, and
regret now that I did not make her tell me about the wonders of that
region. At the same dinner you may meet so many people, each having
their peculiar gift, that one cannot avail oneself of the
opportunity of extracting from each what is precious. I always wish
I could sit by everybody at the same time, and I could often employ
a dozen heads, if I had them, instead of my poor, miserable one.
From Sir William Hooker I learned as much about the VEGETABLE world,
as Mr. Bancroft did from the Dean of Ely on ARCHITECTURE, when he
expounded to him the cathedral of Ely; pointing out the successive
styles of the Gothic, and the different periods in which the
different parts were built. Books are dull teachers compared with
these gifted men giving you a lecture upon subjects before your
eyes.
On Sunday we dined with out own party; on Monday some diplomatic
people, the Lisboas and one of Mr. Bates's partners, and on Tuesday
we came home. I must not omit a visit while we were there from Mr.
Taylor (Van Artevelde), who is son-in-law of Lord Monteagle, and
lives in the neighborhood.
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