I have been particularly glad to get your splendid eloge of Lindley. His
name had been lately passing through my head, and I had hoped that Miers
would have proposed him for the Royal medal. I most entirely agree that
the Copley (44/1. The late Professor Lindley never attained the honour of
the Copley medal. The Royal medal was awarded to him in 1857.) is more
appropriate, and I daresay he would not have valued the Royal. From
skimming through many botanical books, and from often consulting the
"Vegetable Kingdom," I had (ignorant as I am) formed the highest opinion of
his claims as a botanist. If Sharpey will stick up strong for him, we
should have some chance; but the natural sciences are but feebly
represented in the Council. Sir P. Egerton, I daresay, would be strong for
him. You know Bell is out. Now, my only doubt is, and I hope that you
will consider this, that the natural sciences being weak on the Council,
and (I fancy) the most powerful man in the Council, Col. S[abine], being
strong against Lindley, whether we should have any chance of succeeding.
It would be so easy to name some eminent man whose name would be well-known
to all the physicists. Would Lindley hear of and dislike being proposed
for the Copley and not succeeding? Would it not be better on this view to
propose him for the Royal? Do think of this. Moreover, if Lindley is not
proposed for the Royal, I fear both Royal medals would go [to] physicists;
for I, for one, should not like to propose another zoologist, though
Hancock would be a very good man, and I fancy there would be a feeling
against medals to two botanists. But for whatever Lindley is proposed, I
will do my best. We will talk this over here.


LETTER 45. TO J.D. HOOKER.
Down, May 9th [1856].