134 ERYTHEA. 



his scientific friends, notwithstanding his long-continued absence, he 

 remained always "our Haenke." 



But it was fated that he was never to return to Bohemia. 

 Singularly enough, he "escaped the ferocity of the Indian tribes of 

 the forest, the voracity of the wild beasts, the atrocity of the 

 reptiles, the pernicious puncturings of the insects, and the rains and 

 floods of waters," as Count Sternberg, the author of the biographical 

 sketch in the " Reliquise Haenkenae," somewhat luridly puts it, only 

 to meet death in the year 1817 by accidental poisoning within the 

 walls of the house on his own estate, his premature end being 

 brought about by a servant mistaking a toxic fluid for a medicine. 



The life of such a man possesses elements of interest for all 

 botanists, regardless of tongue or nationality, and as a member of 

 the Malaspiua Expedition to the Pacific Coast of North America, 

 the incidents of his career appeal especially to naturalists residing in 

 California. It pleases us, in good truth, that the first botanist to 

 visit our shores should have been so remarkable a botanical 

 worthy, that he should hsve been celebrated not only for his 

 scientific enthusiasm, but also for his wisdom and his humanity. 

 Therefore, happy in claiming a small share of direct interest in 

 Haenke's life-work, we join, nearly a century later, in the invoca- 

 tion of his fellow-countrymen on hearing his death: Sit illi terra 

 Icevis. 



