Ferdinand von Mueller

24/1/91.

On my return-voyage from New Zealand, dear Madam, where I had by the rules of the Austral. Association for Advancement of Science to instal Sir James Hector as my successor in the Presidency, I avail myself of spare-hours for correspondence, and as the genial Professor Goodale, to whom I mentioned two remarkable passages from letters of your lamented Consort, desired me to communicate them to you, I feel it a particular but sad privilege to do so, — altho' I write only from memory.

The one passage constituted the whole of a letter, written to me at the time of the dreadful fratricidal civil war,

1

The U.S. Civil War, 1861-5. Letter not found.

when the arms of the Southern States were in the ascendence. Thus he wrote "My dear Dr. Mueller. I am distracted, but do not forget you, and now send you a parcel of plants from Texas" Yours Asa Gray. The other letter, to which I refer,

2

Letter not found.

was also of laconic but significant briefness: "My dear Baron. This is the Centennial day, and in the streets it is noisy joyous, but I get a quiet day for my work." This shows with what close application your renowened husband devoted himself to science-considerations.

Prof. Goodale's presence at the N.Z. meeting of the Australian Association

3

Third meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, Christchurch, NZ, January 1891.

shed a great lustre on it. In my short opening speech, referring to the American president, I paid him homage for having crossed two oceans to bring us a greeting from antipodal distance of your great Science-Union, and added, that the highest praise, we could bestow on him, was to recognize in him the Successor of Asa Gray!

4

These comments were not included in the published version of the speech; see B91.13.08, pp. xxvii-xxviii.

Ever, dear Mrs. Gray, yours with profound regard

It was so kindly thoughtful of Prof Asa Gray to invite me specially to the American Assoc. meeting, when he was President,

5

American Association for the Advancement of Science. Gray was president in 1872. Invitation not found.

but in the administrative Departments in Victoria never vacation-time arises, and as I was then extra-taxed also with unusually heavy work, I could not make the needful time free, and thus one of my greatest worldly wishes, to meet Asa Gray, remained unfulfilled. When I think of him, I like to express myself in slightly altered words of Caroline Pichler, written at the time of the death of Koerner,

6

The poet Karl Theodor Körner (1791-1813) was killed while fighting against the French in the Mecklenburg-based Lützow Corps.

a companion under arms in 1813 of my father, "Also stand er hoch vor Wissen's Söhnen, Weckte mächtig mit des Wortes Tönen, Die Begeisterung die ihn durchglüht"!

7

'Thus he stood high before the sons of knowledge, mightily with resounding words awakening the enthusiasm which burns in him.'