TALBOT474

20 Dec^r

My dear Henry

I was astonished to find where you were – I should have been less so had your letter been dated from le Pic du Midi – It is lucky I did not enclose you some seeds as I was near doing. The East winds must be bitter in George Street ¹ just now.

However as you are where you are I will tell you what you may do. You can go to the Botanic garden & make acquaintance with M^r M^cNab ² the Director a very intelligent travelled botanist – who collected himself many of the fine North American ferns & other plants there – it is a pretty spot in summer – & you may do well to visit Cunningham’s garden Comely bank ³ or some such Arcadian name as Scots delight in.

Do you know D^r Christison MD. ⁴ Prof^r Forbes ⁵ of Glacier celebrity; Sir J. M^cNeill GCB. ⁶ all these I could give you letters to you [sic] if you like & mean to stay long in Edin^bh

Have you read of the design to photographize the Codex Vaticanus? I shall be glad of the Euphorbia Spinosa – & believe I can give you cuttings struck for the first time, of its congener ceratocarpa

I wish you could see Emilys ⁷ copious American herbarium. It fills a large chest & I hope to amuse Jane ⁸ with it when she comes Your Arum is I hope the scarce Green Dragon of America which they ought to have taken for their standard it would be terrific in War.

I have just planted some Crocuses from the Crimea. The finest things at Abb^{ry 9} now are the Euonymus – all in a blaze –

Yr aff
W F S