21st Sep. [187]2.
Sir
Referring to your letter of the 5th September1 concerning a statement presumed to have been made by His Hon W. M. K. Vale relative to the ultimate disposal of the medals acquired by you I have the honor to inform you that I laid your letter before the Committee of the Industrial Museum of which body Mr Vale is a member.
I am desired to thank you for your courtesy in offering to place in the hands of the Committee the medals and decorations bestowed upon you, and to assure you that your offer was altogether accepted by the Committee who feel loth to deprive you even temporarily of the tokens of the position you hold in public esteem.
The Committee therefore—unwilling to seem to refuse a donation of so much interest—would prefer that you would reconsider your determination to deprive yourself of objects the possession of which must necessarily be a legitimate source of pride and satisfaction[.]2
I have the honor to be
Sir
Your obedient Servant
Marcus Clarke
Secretary
Baron v Müller
Botanical Gardens
Please cite as “FVM-72-09-21a,” 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