CHAP. viii. LOSS OF DRIED PLANTS. 151 



niaiy motives. My answer to those who put the 

 question invariably was, and still is, / cannot tell. I 

 never knew of any external circumstance that had 

 anything to do with engendering, in my mind, the 

 never-ceasing love which I entertained for the uni- 

 versal works of the Almighty ; so that the real cause 

 must be looked for elsewhere." 



In preparing for the exhibition of his Collection, 

 Edward brushed up his specimens, and cleaned his 

 cases, before removing them to the Trades' Hall. But 

 in looking over his Collection, he found that he had 

 sustained another serious loss. He regarded it 

 at the time as a heartrending catastrophe. Some 

 time before, he had put nearly 2000 dried and pre- 

 served plants into a box, which he had placed at the 

 top of the stair, in order to be out of harm's way. 

 The plants were all dried and preserved. They were 

 the result of eight years' labour employed in col- 

 lecting them. But when he went to overhaul the 

 box, he found that the lid had been shoved to one 

 side, and that numerous cats had entered it and made 

 it their lair. The plants were completely soaked, 

 and rendered utterly worthless. The box smelt so 

 abominably, that he was under the necessity of 

 making a bonfire of it in the back-yard. 



All this was exceedingly disheartening. Never- 

 theless he removed his remaining collection to the 

 place appointed for exhibiting it. He had no allure- 

 ments, no music, no drums nor trumpets, as the 



