To Samuel Davenport1    January 1888

The honorable Sir Samuel Davenport K.C.M.G.,

President of the South Australian Branch of the R.G.S.A.2

 

At a meeting of the Victorian Council of the R.G.S.A., dear Sir Samuel, a resolution was passed unanimously that our sympathy should be expressed to Sir Thomas Elder in his severe illness and indeed our gladness also, that the honorable Gentleman is convalescent, and that therewith we all can hope and feel assured, that he will be restored ere long to full health, so as to resume his leading position among relatives and friends, and to continue his vast influence on all that is noble and good, and particularly as a champion of Geography may promote further exploration also. Will you kindly as President of the S.A. branch of the R.G.S.A., in which Sir Thomas took also such an enlightened and vivid interest, convey these sentiments to him.

[...]3

1
Date deduced from position of MS in sequence of letters, and from date of Davenport’s reply (S. Davenport to M, 12 February 1888). There was a Council meeting of the Victorian Branch of the RGSA on 10 January 1888 (see Australasian, 14 January 1888, p. 36), which was probably when the resolution referred to in the letter was adopted. The MS is not in M’s hand but Davenport’s reply makes it clear that the letter was signed by him.
2
Royal Geographical Society of Australasia.
3
An unknown amount of text missing. Text ends at the bottom of the page, and Davenport in his reply refers to the Victorian Branch’s congratulations to Sir Edwin Smith that were also evidently conveyed in the letter.

Please cite as “FVM-88-01-00,” 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 25 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/88-01-00