Wife and I started Thursday, to Sierre, by rail. Friday, carriage to Visp, and horses to St. Nicolaus. Saturday, char-à-banc to Zermatt, and horses to hotel on the Riffel. Only my wife’s own pen can relate how she felt in flesh, bones, and spirit after that, nor her surprise to find next morning that she was “alive, and alive like to be,” nor her keen delight in Matterhorn, Monte Rosa, and surroundings, and the profusion of alpine flowers. Sunday and Monday on Riffel most enjoyable. Tuesday, Mrs. G., thinking _facile descensus_ inapplicable to such a steep path, insisted upon walking down to Zermatt, which she did; a long rest at Zermatt, with pleasant English friends, and a dinner enabled us to go in char to St. Nicolaus to sleep, taking a small thunder-shower in the way. Wednesday, “we still live,” and go on horses, through two showers, to Visp again, and then carriage to Sierre and rail down to Hôtel Byron, to get charming view and sleep. Thursday, all fresh comparatively, and go in a chaise to Chillon, and then back to our pleasant quarters in Hôtel de la Metropole, Geneva. Here we rest, see friends, and do botany till Tuesday last. TO R. W. CHURCH. LONDON, August 22, 1869. ... With all my endeavors I could not get off a note to you by yesterday’s (Saturday’s) post, and so shall be late in announcing to you our prosperous return to England. We left Paris on Thursday, reached Amiens in time to visit the cathedral, a most striking specimen of fullest-flowered Gothic, saw it again on Friday morning, and, after a smooth crossing, got to London before sunset. Yesterday I had to go to the banker’s, to Kew, and to see our Harvard men at Putney.[78] I must now needs be with them on their trial day; and then, tell me frankly if it would perfectly suit Mrs. Church and yourself if we came to you on Saturday (28th) for a few days. Later would serve us, if you prefer.... After that I hope we can get settled at Kew, and do some work, for which I have little enough time left. As to Exeter meeting of British Association, I am on the whole glad enough to keep away, especially from Darwinian discussions, in which I desire not to be at all “mixed up” with the prevailing and peculiarly English materialistic, positivic line of thought, with which I have no sympathy, while in natural history I am a sort of Darwinian. TO A. DE CANDOLLE. KEW, [CHARLTON HOUSE], September 20, 1869. The skies were propitious to us in Switzerland, and the only very warm day was the one which we passed, very pleasantly indeed, with Godet at Neufchâtel. Thence we went to Paris, stopping at Dijon en route.... Oliver and Baker are here steadily at work. Dr. Masters[79] drops in now and then. Dr. Hooker, after some respite, was at home. Dr. Thomson returned last week; and now Bentham is here also, fresh from the Continent.