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330 IN MEMORY OF MARIANNE NORTH.
followed a trip round the world, with stoppages for work in California,
Japan, Borneo, Java, Singapore, and Ceylon, and thence
homeward again. The same year she retm-ned to India, visiting
the forests of the Himalayas, the chief places of note on the Ganges,
and Bombay ; and during her absence some five hundred of her
paintings were exhibited at South Kensington.
It Avas after her return from India that she first broached the
idea of presenting her collection to the nation, and arrangements
were made for the erection of a suitable building in Kew Gardens
at her expense. In order to render the collection more nearly
representative of the Flora of the world, Miss North next proceeded
to Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, and the fruits of this
long journey are perhaps the finest of the collection, very fully
illustrating the most striking features of the marvellous Australasian
Mora.
In 1881 the gallery was so far advanced that the hanging of the
but this was a long and toilsome
paintings could be taken in hand ;
task. The paintings were so numerous that it was necessary to
hang them close together, and cover the walls from the cornice to
the dado, involving months of labour in adjusting, reducing,
painting odd bits here and there, putting in little accessories,
touching up, and finishing up generally. A catalogue had to be
prepared before openuig the gallery to the public. Miss North had
intended to do this herself, but she foresaw that the interest and
use of the collection might be considerably enhanced by a more
detailed catalogue than she could compile unaided. With this view
she applied to Sir Joseph Hooker, who introduced me to her for
the purpose. I was at once struck by her stately presence and
gentle sympathetic manner, and I soon learnt what a noble generous
nature she possessed. But even at that period travel and incessant
work, and the very trying task of hanging the pictures, fi'om which
she would allow herself no rest, had made serious inroads on her
constitution, and one was too often painfully conscious, especially
in the after part of the day, of an expression of weariness she could
not conceal.
I spent more than three mouths in preparing the first edition of
the catalogue, and duriug the whole of this time Miss North was
there almost daily, supermtending alterations, painting the doors,
the panels ni the upper gallery, or giving me all the information
she could to aid in identifying the plants. Between us at Kew we
succeeded in naming almost every plant, so faithfully were they
painted. The principal difficulty was, while admitting interesting
facts concerning tlicir history, uses, and homes, &c., to keep the
catalogue within reasonable dimensions. However, by dint of
hard work up to the very day, this unique present to the nation
was thrown open to the public on July Olh, 1882. By the end of
July the first edition of the catalogue, an impression of 2U00, was
sold out, and in leifs than a year another edition of 5000 was sold,
— the best evidence that could be had of the popularity of the gift.
This, as I have reason to know, was highly graLitying to Miss
North, for, niuch as she disliked ceremony and empty fiattery, she