Weber, Alb. Ree. Jan 16, 1868 Ans. Jan 27. Post. Mark Dec. 29 



Auxerre, December 19, 1867 



My dear eolleague and very honored friend, 



I really do not know if you would like to pardon my long silence. I admit that I am 

 guilty of great negligence towards you and I will have difficulties excusing myself. You 

 remember how difficult our correspondence was while I was in Mexico and in spite of 

 my good intentions I finished by despairing in not being able to establish regulär 

 Communications with you. Since my return to France, that is since last April, I stayed 

 with my family in Strasbourg, and during this time I abandoned nearly completeiy my 

 scientific occupations and delivered myself to the pleasures of rest. I have recently 

 reinitiated my duties within the military and have been placed as main physician in the 

 99th. regulär Regiment in the garrison at Auxerres.(department of Lyon). I propose to 

 utilize the free time that my duties will allow me during winter to review and place in 

 order the notes that I wrote in Mexico on several branches of the medical and natural 

 sciences. But before anything I want to give signs of life and ask you if you would still 

 provide me with your precious comments, advice and experience. 

 The last letter that you shouid have reeeived from me was from San Luis Potosi in the 

 month of October 1866. At that time I was still unsure of the subject matter of my 

 previous letters. It has not been until the last days of the year 1866, while in Mexico, 

 that I reeeived your two letters from the previous month of May, in response to the 

 envoy of documents and seeds that you made through Matamoros. It took more than 

 seven months for the letters to arrive. They came from San Luis Potosi where they must 

 have been laying in the Mexican Post Office. During that time I frquently went to ask if 

 there were any letters for me and the answer was always no. If I have not answered you 

 while I was in Mexico it is because two or three days after I reeeived them, I had to 

 leave to Mexico City with all the sick patients of the army that had remained in Mexico. 

 I was in Charge of a moving a group of patients, which I did in small stages, I had 

 occupations beyond my limits. We had to stop in Orizaba for one month, before fmally 

 descending to Veracruz where I arrived in the last days of February. 

 It was really my fault not to have answered you at least to teil you that I had reeeived 

 your 2 most interesting letters. I hope you will excuse me, taking into consideration all 

 the occupations that I had and the circumstances in which I found myself. 

 You asked in one of your letters, which the destination was of the first series of 

 documents that you sent me and in what way I planned to publish them. After my 

 return to France I have wanted to write a Monograph on the Mexican Cacti, making it 

 as complete as possible. Unfortunately my medical obligations, which for me have 

 always been more important than the botanical studies, which I cultivated as a pastime, 

 did not permit me to visit as big a portion of the Mexican territory as I had wanted and' 

 which would have been indispensable, to produce something as complete as possible. In 

 all honesty I traversed Mexico in all its length, from Veracruz to the Rio Grande del 

 Norte, but could not visit a large number of localities that therefor remained out of my 

 explorations. I thought that the year 1867 would allow me the occasion to see other 

 parts of this country, towards the Pacific, which until now seems not to have been 

 explored. The unfortunate turn of events that occurred to our expedition and our 

 premature return to France, put a stop to all new projects. To my great regret I find it 

 impossible to do what I wished and my projects will remain quite incomplete. In the 



