4=08 
The "David Luckie" Brings Me Home. 
being that the sailors Avhen carvying- them to the ship let them twice fall 
My brother succeeded in liringing one of the biggest specimens as far 
as Southampton w hen, as the result of a shock, the tub Avhen being taken 
out of the ship Avas dro]iped by the sailors and the rish met w itli its death 
Although I had brought numbers of earth-woi'ms foi* their food, and a 
quantity of fresh water for a daily change, 1 did not manage to get my 
keen wish fulfilled: my two last living specimens died in the Cliannel. 
'As I found soon after putting out to sea, that owing to the lurching of 
the ship, the belly of one of the specimens was galled by the wooden 
bottom, OAving to which wound it probably died, I lined the remaining 
tubs with soft flannel: damage was thus guarded against, but death was 
not prevente{l. The leaves of the Cahtdiiitii (irborcsvoix; must be a non 
conductor of its electrical energy, for whicli reason the mulattoes 
generally use them when they want to catch the flsh. 
1.031. The go(td ship ''David Liickie" that would he leaving at the 
beginning of June was to bring me and my collections back to Europe. 
With the greatest care, I ei-ected a frame in her "long-boat" for my palm 
and orchid collection which was enclosed and covered with a large oiled 
awning to protect them from the salt water. For the delicate orchids 
I got two ''Ward'' cases made: my means could not aftord a larger 
number. 
1.032. On the 4th June we left the mouth of the Demerara River. 
We had hardly lost sight of land Avhen I was again attacked with tliat 
Judy terroT'. sea-sickness, which kept me to my l»unk for five days. The 
first stroll I took outside my cabin was to my nurselings: although these 
had not encountered a drop of sea water, a large numl>er had already been 
destroyed by the pungeut sea-air and many of my palms which a few davs 
before weie so healthy, hung down their fronds as slackly as if boiling 
water had been p<^>ured over them. To save those yet preserved from 
entire destruction I had all the boxes immediately brought down into 
the cabin whei'e they could indeed be piotected from the damaging 
influence of the sea-air but not from the teeth of the numbers of rats and 
mice. However welcome these fellowfpassengers mfight be for my 
menagerie, T could have wished them at Jericho so far as my living plants 
were concerned. Out of 200 palms T unfortunately succeeded in 
bringing only some 00 to Berlin, but out of my grand orchid collection T 
luckily managed to save some 300 si>ecimens covering 00 species. A 
reallv successful transport of palms can only be effected Avith the help 
of n Ward case: but where was T to get the money fiom. tol have them 
made in TieorgetoAvn? 
1.033. After an eight-Aveeks someAvhat tiresome journey, for I was 
the only passenger on the ship on which, towards the end, I had to bewail 
almost daily the deatli of one of my menagerie. Avith the carcass of 
which I sustained the others, Ave landed in England, and I stood again 
on the shore of the big Ocean, and looked back upon the Past just as more 
than three years before I had stood on the opposite strand and Avith a 
heart full of hope liad gazed into the Future, ^NFany of these hopes had 
