Letter from Richard Chandler Alexander, Hammersmith, London, to John Hutton Balfour dated 18 December 1851.
Alexander apologises for not writing sooner since his return from America, he was hoping that Balfour would come down to the Exhibition at the Crystal Palace. In Philadelphia Alexander met Balfour's 'queer fellow' Gavin Watson but states that with all his oddity he was a good fellow and a great help to him. After nine months in the USA Alexander went to Jamaica and then to Canada for two months before coming home. Alexander expects Balfour is probably acquainted with Maclaglan’s brother Philip with whom Alexander spent a day in St Johns. page missing Alexander goes on to mention Oxford perhaps being the most permanent institution although natural history does not seem to be taken up in ernest there. Alexander would be glad to see Balfour in town. He is four miles from London and two from Kew and for the first time since 1841 he has all his plants and books around him. Let me hear from you.. My address is 8 St. Peters Square, Hammersmith, Middlesex.
Letter from Richard Chandler Alexander, Hammersmith, London, to John Hutton Balfour, undated.
Alexander writes from Hammersmith. He is sorry to have missed Balfour last summer. We met any visiting botanists at either the Linnean Soc. or Sir William Hooker’s. I presume you only stayed a short time. I would have been glad to have shown you what I have got together since the time when your presents were the largest part of my collection. We didn’t se MacNab as he was engaged on the Flora of Jamaica. His resources are very limited. There was an excellent large library in Kingston when I arrived but the Society got into debt [like others there] and the books were distributed. His own is small and poor Macfadyen hadn’t a large collection to leave. As to plants MacNab is better off, he has a great number of Purdie’s beside his own but without fresh specimens, which he can’t [confined as he is by his practice in Kingston] he won’t be able to do a lot. Shall not be able to visit Edinburgh this winter to meet old friends and see all the additions and improvements to the museum. Congratulations on the addition to your family and regards to Mrs. Balfour.
R.G. Alexander writes: Dear Professor Balfour I have just taken my B.A. at Cambridge. My final exam was Botany, knowledge of which I am indebted to your book. Dr. Babington told you when you were last here, that it was not so much used as in the past. I think he must be mistaken. It was used by nearly all the men. However it has placed me in First Class a thing which has never occurred in Botany before. 14 candidates and 6 passed. I feel it my duty to say how indebted I am to the thorough teaching which your lectures gave me and to the careful perusal of your valuable works. I am still the only Physican in Bradford while there are 50 G.P.s and am [satisfactory as it may appear on account of my youth] head of the honorary staff at the general hospital in virtue of my title. I trust you are well and that the duties at this time of the year are not too arduous. I hope that the time is far distant when Edinburgh will be deprived of your valuable lectures upon a subject which is of such essential reading in training the mind to form exact opinions and accurate diagnoses. With renewed thanks, believe me , dear sir yours gratefully R.G.A. p.s. added by D.Alexander “I am pleased to see that you still have time for original communications”