lying wretch, tossed against the wall of sticks, had
broken it down. But the dust veiled them like a curtain. Gasping, on hands
and knees, Roebelin sought the doorway. Again and again, even thus, he
fell upon his side. And all the while that thundering din resounded. He
understood now. It was a great earthquake! At length the doorway was
found; holding on cautiously, Roebelin felt for the ladder. It was
gone--broken in the rush.

Of the time that followed I do not speak. There were no more shocks.
Slowly the sky whitened. He turned over the wreck--not a creature was
there, dead or living. Great gaps showed in the floor and in the roof.
Through one of these, against the rosy clouds, he saw a wreath of giant
flowers, lilac and cinnamon, clinging to the tree above. It was Vanda
Sanderiana!

* * * * *

But that plant and the others collected at the same time never reached
Europe. Upon returning to Surigao with his treasures, Roebelin found
little beyond heaps of rubbish on the site. Earthquakes have a home in
Mindanao. But that of 1880 was the most awful on record as yet. Two years
later he returned and brought home the prize.

STORY OF PHALAENOPSIS SANDERIANA

The discovery of Phalaenopsis Sanderiana was an interesting event; nor for
botanists alone. Some thoughtful persons always incline to credit a legend
or an assertion current among savages, so long as it deals with facts
within the limits of their knowledge. Human beings are truthful by
instinct; and if we can assure ourselves that no motive tempts them to
falsehood, it is more likely than not that even an improbable story will
prove correct. The rule applies in all matters of natural history.
Numberless are the reports concerning beasts and birds and reptiles
accepted now which were a mock for generations; numberless, also, one must
add, are the reports too grotesque for discussion. For imagination asserts
itself in the case of animals, and gives a motive, though unconscious, for
the wildest inventions. But it is rarely excited by plants. When a savage
describes some flower he has seen, the statement may be trusted, 'barring
errors'; and they will probably be slight, for his power of observation,
and his memory in matters of this sort, are alike wonderful. A collector
of plants who knows his business encourages the natives to talk; often
enough they give him valuable information. The first hint of Calla
Pentlandii, the yell