98 THE JOURJs^AL OF BOTAXT 



"Drawn and coloured from Natui'e " appears on the titlepage of each 

 book, and the scientific descriptions in both are from the pen of the 

 Eev. W. L. P. Garnons (tl863), then "of Sidney College, Cam- 

 bridge," though the " local information " in the former was written 

 by Mrs. Penfold. 



The plates in both books are well drawn, although, as might 

 be expected, botanical details are wanting ; all were lithographed 

 by the same hand (" R. E. B."). From a literary standpoint, 

 Mrs. Penfold's quarto volume is the more ambitious production : it 

 contains 20 plates, of which no lisb is given — Mrs. Robley's work 

 is also deficient in this respect. "We learn from the preface (dated 

 February, 1845) at her request wrote for the volume, two years 

 before its publication, some verses (to which his autograph in facsimile 

 is appended). These appear in Knight's edition of the Poetical 

 Works of William Wordsworth (viii, 156) vaih. the following 

 heading : 



" To A Lady 

 " in answer to a request that I would write her a poem upon some 

 drawings that she had made of flowers in the island of Madeira." 

 I can find no reference to Mrs. Penfold in any Wordsworth 

 biography, nor does it appear from her preface that she was acquainted 

 with him. She remarks in her preface that " the flowers he names 

 do not all correspond with those subsequently selected, and this 

 indeed is the case, as they alluded to common British plants — heart's- 

 ease, speedwell. star-of-Bethlehem and forget-me-not. It is fair to 

 say that the Laureate confesses his unfitness for the task imposed on 

 him : the poem begins :— 



" Fair Lad}^ ! can I sing of flowers 

 That in Madeii'a bloom and fade, 

 I, who ne'er sate within their bowers, 

 Nor through their sunny lawns have straj^ed ? " 



" Much valuable assistance " is acknowledged from the Rev. R. T. 



Lowe (1802-74), who was at that time English chaplain in Madeira; 

 for " the arrangement and description " of the ferns Mr, Henry 

 "Webb — entered as "of Clapham " in the subscription list headed by 

 two duchesses which is prefixed to the volume — was responsible. 

 Mr. Garnons's descriptions are in Latin and English. Amaryllis 

 Belladonna, the subject of the first plate, is also represented in a 

 " vignette " preceding the titlepage, showing its habit of growth in 

 October, '" completely covering the hills and valleys with [its] bright 

 blossoms." Notliochlcena Marantce (t. iv.) which had been thought 

 to be confined to one locality, was " found b}^ the writer among the 

 mountains of the Alegria district, at the Arco de Calheta, and in the 

 neighbourhood of the pretty village of Madelina : " Mrs. Penfold had 

 property "at the Alegria" (see text to t. xv.). 



The only note of interest is that on Salvia splendens (t. x.), 

 which " was introduced into Madeira by Mrs. Penfold of the 

 Achada, and, from a small plant from England, it has been pro- 

 pagated all over the island, so that it now forms the principal 

 ornamental shrub in most cottage gardens. In some places hedges 

 are made of this beautiful plant, which blossoms nearly through- 



