To William Branwhite Clarke   19 September 1871

Melbourne bot Garden,

19/9/71

I was sadly grieved, reverend and dear friend, when I heard of the sufferings, which you had to endure. I can well imagine the distress, which at your venerable age the paroxysms of the cough must cause you.¹ Let me hope that it will gradually in its legitimate course assume a milder form. I am sure your kind Lady takes care of you and comforts you, so that with providence's will we — all your numerous friends — must hope to see you once more return to that health, which you so long and so firmly enjoyed.

I am charmed with the bright spirit, which breathes trough your writing, and with the youthful ardour of your thoughts, though your valedictory adress lately delivered must have been touching to all.²

To me it is a great source of pride, that one so illustrious as yourself should have continued so generous and so encouraging in his sentiments towards me.

I pity poor Mrs Cobham. Pray give her my kind regards and the expression of Sympathy. What a sad affliction to an aged Lady like her, the accident she met with.

The Bishop of Armidale³ the Right Rev Dr Turner, commenced about a year ago his correspondence⁴ with me on some ferns and I declared myself in everyway ready to aid any phytologic enquiries of his Lordship and regarded it a noble effort, made by a Prelate so high, to devote to the elucidation of the plants around him some occasional leisure moments. The investigation has all the more charm, as many places within his ecclesiastic jurisdiction, for instance the higher park of the Bellinger's Ranges, are quite unexplored as far as vegetation is concerned, so that not only the geographic range of many species would be better ascertained by the Bishops exertions, but likely also some novelties be discovered.

Practical and decisive as I always liked to be I venture to offer for the Bishops consideration some advise. There is in Tenterfield⁵ an aged man, C. Stuart, a gardener, who is too old for hard work, but quite enthusiastic in collecting plants. He had a fair share of botanic Knowledge, when first I met him in 1847 at Adelaide and as I remained in communications with him during these 24 years he got largely acquainted with the plants of the localities of his abode. This Mr Stuarts services could be obtained most cheaply, and if his Lordship located him for a season at Clouds Creek, now as the summer is coming on, many important discoveries would be made, for which Dr Turner would have the credit. I think I sent the Right Reverend Gentleman my "fragmenta" so far as they were still available, but the Australian "Flora" of Bentham & myself⁶ is not purchasable here and must be ordered from London, unless copies are in Sydney Bookshops for sale.

Mr Stuarts adress is: care of Mr Whereat, Tenterfield. It would be a Gods send to the poor old man, if the Bishop could engage him as a collector. I am too poor both privately & in the Department to do so, otherwise my periodical support would have continued.

I am pleased you think so well of the palaeontologic writing & plates, the 2 new ones⁷ will go to you within the next days, also a complete print of my forest lecture.⁸ Bowerbank's work⁹ I luckily secured at last in London; so I gratefully returned your copy, to which you might have occasion some day or the other to refer.

To Dr Woolls I explained some weeks ago the many reasons, why the story of the man Hume rests on impossibilities.¹⁰ I am now endeavouring to start a geographic Society for Australia, to keep by its support a light exploring party constantly afloat. May Heaven grant you all earthly blessing while here, that is the sincere wish of your attached

Ferd von Mueller

Should among your fossils be well developed fruits of any kind, may I have the loan?

If the geographic Society can be formed, I shall propose that its first emissary is to strike out next cool season from somewhere near the middle of the telegraph line westward.¹¹

Let me express my best thanks for your kind gratulation to my new rank.¹²