TO
THE KING.
Sire ,
C ompelled to leave the Cape of Good Hope, lest I should lose,
in an expected invasion, the Collection of living Plants that I had
made, during ten years residence there, I returned to England;
and was indulged, on my return, with your Majesty's gracious
permission to remain a year at home. Unwilling to waste so much
time in idleness, I resolved to render this vacation somewhat profitable
to the science of Botany, by publishing observations made
m that subject, in the interior deserts of Africa.
Twenty four years I have enjoyed the honour of being, by your
Majesty’s commayid, attached to the Royal Gardens at Kew, as a
collector of exotic plants. I have had the satisfaction of seeing
several hundreds of those, collected by me in various climates, flourishing
there, more beautifully, in some instances, than in their
native soils. And I have observed, with the exultation I hope of
honest pride, my name frequently repeated in the Hortus Kewensis,,
published by my deceased patron and friend William Aiton.
Let these circumstances, G racious Sire , plead some excuse fo r
the ambition that induced me to solicit the honour of laying my little
work at your Majesty’s feet.
Penetrated with gratitude fo r the uniform protection I have unceasingly
received from your Majesty’s bounty—anxious to recom