[Mr. Haines opened the proceedings of the evening by stating that he had received a note from Dr. Mueller, who regretted that he was unable to attend through ill health1].
M was not ill, he was out of town, having left two days earlier on a three-week expedition to the Victorian Alps (M to R. Heales, 2 March 1861). Presumably he wrote his apology for the dinner before he left, and the item is dated to the last likely date it could have been written.
Letter not found. The text given here is from 'Complimentary dinner to Mr Edward Wilson', Herald (Melbourne), 5 March 1861, p. 5, a report of a dinner held at the Criterion Hotel on 4 March.
Please cite as “FVM-61-03-02b,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on