ge prison; and your
thoughts can only shape themselves into conjectures, as to who they were
that had wandered into this out-of-the-way corner of the world; how they
got into, and how out of it; and, finally, whether they ever succeeded
in getting out at all. Your conjectures will come to an end, when you
have read the history of the _Cliff-climbers_.

CHAPTER THREE.

THE PLANT-HUNTER AND HIS COMPANIONS.

Karl Linden, a young German student, who had taken part in the
revolutionary struggles of 1848, had by the act of banishment sought an
asylum in London. Like most refugees, he was without means; but,
instead of giving himself up to idle habits, he had sought and obtained
employment in one of those magnificent "nurseries" which are to be met
with in the suburbs of the world's metropolis. His botanical knowledge
soon attracted the attention of his employer, the proprietor of the
nursery--one of those enterprising and spirited men who, instead of
contenting themselves with merely cultivating the trees and
flowering-plants already introduced into our gardens and greenhouses,
expend large sums of money in sending emissaries to all parts of the
earth, to discover and bring home other rare and beautiful kinds.

These emissaries--botanical collectors, or "plant-hunters," as they may
be called--in the pursuit of their calling, have explored, and are still
engaged in exploring, the wildest and most remote countries of the
globe--such as the deep, dark forests upon the Amazon, the Orinoco, and
the Oregon in America; the hot equatorial regions of Africa; the
tropical jungles of India; the rich woods of the Oriental islands; and,
in short, wherever there is a prospect of discovering and obtaining new
floral or sylvan beauties.

The exploration of the Sikhim Himalaya by the accomplished botanist,
Hooker--recorded in a book of travels not inferior to that of the great
Humboldt--had drawn attention to the rich and varied _flora_ of these
mountains; and in consequence of this, the enterprising "seedsman" who
had given Karl Linden temporary employment in his garden, promoted him
to a higher and more agreeable field of labour, by sending him as a
"plant-hunter" to the Thibetan Himalayas.

Accompanied by his brother, Caspar, the young botanist proceeded to
Calcutta; and, after a short residence there, he set out for the
Himalayas--taking a direction almost due north from the city of the
Ganges.

He had provided himself wit