PREFACE 
My love for the flora of Australia, at once so unique 
and so fascinating, together with my desire to complete 
my collection of floral paintings, has carried me into 
other colonies, Queensland, and some of the remotest 
parts of the great Continent of Australia. The excite- 
ment of seeking and the delight of finding rare or 
even unknown specimens 1 abundantly compensated me 
for all difficulties, fatigue, and hardships. The pursuit 
has made me acquainted with many strange phases 
of colonial life; it has carried me into the depths of 
jungles, to distant islands, to wild mountain districts, 
and has brought me in contact with the aboriginal 
races, often in peculiar circumstances. 
The experiences gained in this pursuit form the 
subject of my letters, written to my friends from the 
places they describe, and transcribing impressions while 
they were still in all their freshness. The letters con- 
tained in the first part of this volume were written to 
my husband in 1890-1892, at a time when the state 
of my health compelled me to pass the winter months 
in the tropical climate of North Queensland. To him, 
who encouraged me in my work of collecting and 
1 Those specimens hitherto unknown were named by the late Sir 
Frederick Muller. 
