8/1/95.
Let me thank you, dear Dr Bornet, for sending me your touching memoire on the lamented Duchartre.1 You have splendidly sketched his life and worth! We all will miss him greatly indeed. But we must also be cognisant, that the pain and suffering of a protracted illness was by the mercy of divine providence spared to our departed friend. When we as Physicians watch the long illness of any one at advanced life particularly, we can wish for ourselves and our friends only a passing away in briefness. If a monument is to be erected by his scientific friends, I will readily contribute to the fund.
I hope to receive again Algs from Mr J. Bracebridge Wilson as the result of this summers boating, and you shall have a set of his spare-specimens. If you desire any particular species I will send it to you from my normal typical collection, in which the geographic distribution is also well represented. My "herbier", commenced in 1839, comprises now about a million sheets!
Let me hope, that the new annual space of time, on which we have now entered, will be replete with joy to you and to those dear to you!
Ferd von Mueller
I understand the beautiful french language well, but cannot write it as well as the english.
Please cite as “FVM-95-01-08,” 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 23 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/95-01-08