I very much regretted having to <lb xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" />leave <placeName xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" ref="https://edition-humboldt.de/H0005653 https://www.geonames.org/6269131">England</placeName> without answering your long <lb xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" />most excellent & kind letter: full of valuable <lb xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" />information & in every respect of the greatest <lb xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" />service to me. My <persName xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" ref="https://edition-humboldt.de/H0011993 http://d-nb.info/gnd/11698094X">Father</persName> laid it before the <lb xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" /><orgName xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" ref="https://edition-humboldt.de/H0020402 http://d-nb.info/gnd/817272-9">Commissioners of Woods & Forests</orgName> & the <orgName xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" ref="https://edition-humboldt.de/H0020395 http://d-nb.info/gnd/125636-1">Admiralty</orgName>, <lb xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" />both of whom attached great importance to it. <lb xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" />At that time I had the offer of going out to <lb xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" /><placeName xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" ref="https://edition-humboldt.de/H0006686 https://www.geonames.org/1269750">India</placeName> with <persName xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" ref="https://edition-humboldt.de/H0012119 http://d-nb.info/gnd/119053586">Lord Dalhousie</persName> the excellent<choice xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0"> <orig>.</orig> <reg>,</reg> </choice> <lb xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" />newly appointed Governor General, & the <lb xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" />time of my departure being thus antici<g xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" ref="#typoHyphen" /><lb xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" break="no" />pated, I was obliged to make my preparations <lb xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" />with great activity: this prevented my <lb xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" />writing to you from <placeName xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0" ref="https://edition-humboldt.de/H0005653 https://www.geonames.org/6269131">England</placeName>.