September, 1933. The Queensland Naturalist 
85 
and prepared some of their old collections for sale. When 
on a visit to Hamburg her fortune changed. In that city 
lived a remarkable man. Caesar Godeffroy, a merchant 
prince locally known as "the King of the South Seas.” 
Ilis hobby was the Godeffroy Museum, for which he was 
sending collectors to the South Seas. Would he send a 
woman? Amalie resolved to try, but on her first visit 
she was sent back with a curt refusal. Not daunted, she 
determined to try again, and for this collected some testi- 
monials. The following is one of them: — "For a number 
of years I have known Frau Amalie Dietrich as a gifted 
botanist. A pupil of her husband, Wilhelm Dietrich, who 
, belongs to the well-known family of botanists, she has had 
an excellent training. The collections that were put on 
the market by Wilhelm and Amalie Dietrich were always 
to be recommended. They were carefully prepared, and 
arranged with taste and judgment. Frau Dietrich has ex- 
ceptional talent for her profession, a keen well-tried eve 
for all that Nature presents, and great certainty in the 
classification of the collected material. On her long and. 
as a rule, remarkable journeys she has invariably shown 
remarkable perseverance and fortitude. T only hope she 
may find some occupation in which her great gifts can be 
used to the best advantage.” Professor Dr. Mortiz Will- 
komm. Forestry School, Tharand, 1862. 
This time she obtained an audience. Her services 
were accepted. "We must have no half measures,” said 
Godeffroy in the drawing up of the contract. There was 
only one difficulty, her daughter. Fortunately her kind 
Hamburg friends undertook to see to Charitas’ education, 
for which Amalie now had the means. She went to bid 
Dietrich farewell. After all, to him she owed her scientific 
education. Various things essential to her work had still 
to be learnt. She was taught how to handle fire-arms, how 
to skin birds and mammals, how to preserve reptiles and 
fish. An ample outfit was provided her. Reban’s Natural 
History. Meuller \s Vegetable Kingdom, Dennis’s P>otanv in 
four volumes. Wildenow’s Botanv. Willkomm ’s Plant 
Atlas, David Dietrich’s Plant Lexicon. Williams’ English 
Dictionary. Three English Lesson Books, one pocket lens. 
One microscope, twenty, five retorts, six insect cases, ton 
r^ams of paper, rags for packing, six tins of spirits, twenty 
pounds of plaster of Paris, twenty pounds of tow. ento- 
mological pins, three ouires of tissue paper, five quires of 
brown paper, four flasks of small shot, ten pounds of gun- 
powder, one box of percussion caps, two boxes of poison, 
four boxes for live snakes and lizards, three casks of salt, 
one hundred glass iars with large stoppers. I daresay 
some of us would like to go out to some new country so 
