Marine Villa South Terrace Littlehampton
May 10/[18]98
My dear Prain
I have yours of 8 & 29th April to thank you for, & also to announce the arrival of the completion of Vol. viii of the Annals, for which I am indeed very much obliged. You ask of my opinion of King´s*1 present state of health. I have not seen him yet for I could not get to London during his short stay there; but I heard from Collett*2 & others who went to see him, that he was really not in a dangerous condition at all, & that his worst symptoms, the

blood spitting especially had completely disappeared. I wrote to him begging him to come to us, and he answered quite cheerfully. That friends had arranged to carry him off to the sea[?] coast[?] at once; & I had a letter from him, a few days ago from Southsea, in which he says that he is "decidedly improving." That he had no return of Indian fever "&" none whatever of haemoptysis, "that he is very careful not to go out during the E[ast] winds and that his friends were thinking of taking him on to Bournemouth - to which place I had originally suggested his going. I am writing to make further enquiry from himself, & if I hear

anything of consequence I will let you know at once – Collett & others who saw him very[?] shortly after his arrival, were impressed to find him so little altered, & that he bore up so well after the terrible shock of his poor wife's disease*1. I am delighted to hear of the improved medallion portraits of King & Cunningham, towards which I enclose a double subscription, that is, if, as I hope, the enclosed cheque = R. 50 -- if not please let me know. One of the R 25. would appear is my subscription, the other as that of a friend, in whatever way you think best. I shall be greatly interested, in the receipe[?] of the medallions. They could be replicated in Wedgewood Ware at a very moderate cost. By the way has the Garden got the little Wedgewood Medallion of my father? (blue and white) which I had executed[?] in wood[?]

many years ago -- if not let me know. Lady Hooker desires[?] her very kind regards, & thanks for the admirable photograph which you have sent to her. We have not heard where Mrs Prain has taken up her abode, but I am asking King. Dyer is driving the two African floras ahead fast[?]. I am printing Orchids of Trimen´s*3 Flora & am well on ahead, having completed Eriocaulon (a twister) & Cyperaceae for Ceylon [Sri Lanka] Gramineae I am terribly in want of habitat & local information. My impression of the Flora is that it is very imperfectly known as yet. The death of Kirk*4 who was printing his N[ew] Zeald[Zealand] Flora, is a great loss to Botany -- I hear to day from Hector*5, that he had got as far as Compositae, & that the remainder of the MS[manuscript] is in form of notes only! We are all well, but my deafness is alarmingly increased of late! Just at present I cannot converse) [stet] Ever sincerely yours | Jos. D. Hooker [signature]