Joseph Dalton Hooker to Faraday   10 November 18581

Kew Gdns. 10 / 58

Dear Mr Faraday

Many thanks for your kind contribution to the Ralfs2 annuity. I am getting on very well & have myself raised already upwards of £100 - This morning a bountiful individual sent me £30! toward it3, & many have offered to double their subscriptions if required. If there is a lot of money in this county there is surely a lot of charity too thank God. The only refusal I have met with is from a man who is both well to do, & had just received an unexpected legacy of nearly £3000! What a world it is to present such [word illegible].

With united regard | [word illegible] Sincerely & obliged | Jos D. Hooker

My wife4 desires sincere regards to Mrs F. Miss Barnard & yourself

1
Dated on the basis of the reference to the Annuity which Hooker was organising. See Huxley, L. (1918), 1: 414.
2
John Ralfs (1807-1890, ODNB). Botanist who lived in Penzance.
3
This was the Sussex botanist William Borrer (1781-1862, ODNB). See Hooker to Darwin, 12 November 1858, Burkhardt et al.(1985-94), 7: 188.
4
Frances Harriet Hooker, née Henslow (1825-1874, ODNB under J.D. Hooker). Married J.D. Hooker in 1851.

Bibliography

HUXLEY, Leonard (1918): Life and Letters of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, 2 Volumes, London.

Please cite as “Faraday3527,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday3527