Geyer, Chas. A. 

 1842, Dece,ber 22nd 

 Arensville, III. 



TRANSLATION 



Arensville, Morgan Co., Illinois 22nd Dec. l8*f2 



Dr. George Engelmann 

 Dear Doctor, 



Yesterday I received your letter of the 15th of this month and first of all 

 let me thank you for the draft enclosed therein. At the same time I received a 

 letter from Mr. Duchatel in Baltimore dated July 29th. — It had been left in St. Louis; 

 Mr. Duchatel writes me that Nicollet had spent the last winter with him and that his 

 health is very weak. Nicollett had asked him to let me know that urgent business kept 

 him from answering my letter immediately and that he would soon do so and with interest, — 

 accordingly, this letter was left for me with Dr. Pempp or somewhere in St. Louis. 

 He ends his letter: "please to express my sincere regards to our mutual friend Dr. 

 Engelmann together with my respects for Mrs. Engelmann". Had I received this letter at 

 the right time, I might have taken steps to engage in some business here, but since then 

 a letter from home kept me from following this plan and to add to all this are the 

 bad local prospects. However, in order not to mess up my life I have to think seriously 

 about earning some money here or to obtain in any way possible. Please be patient with 

 me if I am deviating from the normal course of our correspondence. I have debts in 

 St. Louis which I want and must pay and there are no prospects here to make this 

 possible, if Stuart cannot be won over for me, which I have no doubt my friends in 

 St. Louis could do if they would speak for me. Apparently one cannot count on any 

 further trips by Nicollet, his influence disappeared with Gratiot and Painscott Loos. 

 The correspondence from the Jardin des Plantes which is limited entirely to cryptogams 

 would force me to go either north or south since here we are very poor in such things, 

 one can collect a great deal, but not enough to cover the expenses and how much would 

 a 100 bring?-«- Such speculations are not worth the effort and the lost years. It is 

 an entirely different thing if one could undertake a journey which would bring honor 

 and at the same time double or triple profits. Such a thing I would consider a 

 trip with Stuart; therefore, I ask you to accept my viewpoint until I myself can come 

 to St. Louis in case Stuart arrives there before I do. Howe^gr, you write me 'what 

 to do there and how live there'? At the end of your lettel*/itiention ! I would just load my 

 wagon with my things and then go around aimlessly 1 ? I might have done just that if I 

 had an opportunity; however, the freight from Beardstown to St. Louis amounts to 

 75 cts. per 100, this comes up to quite a sum and nobody would do it for nothing 

 or for less. And furthermore one has to take into account the thawing weather, rain, 



