Weber Alb.F. 



Ouverrezl9Feb. 1867 



letter to Dr. Engelmarm in St. Louis (Missouri) 

 My dear colleague and very honorable friend, 



I really do not know if you wouid like to pardon my long silence. I confess that I am guilty of great 

 negligence toward you and will make every effort to excuse myself. You how how difficult our 

 correspondence was while I was in Mexico and in spite of my good will I was not abie to estabiish 

 contact with you. 



Since my return to France, that is to say since last April, I remained on vacation with my family in 

 Strasbourg and during this time I nearly completely put aside my scientific occupations to deiiver myself 

 to the pleasures of repose. 



I have just returned to my active service in the army and have been placed as principal physician in the 

 garrison at Ouverrez ( department of Yonne). 



I am going to use the spare time that I will have during the winter, to review and arrange the notes that I 

 wrote in Mexico on various branches of medical and natural sciences. But before anything I want to give 

 you signs that I am alive and to ask you if you would again give me your valued support and 

 experienced advice. 



The last letter that you must have received from me was written in San Luis Potosi in the month of 

 October 1866. At that time I was still uncertain as to the fate of my previous letters. It is not until the 

 last days of year 1866, while in Mexico that I received your 2 letters in response to the documents and 

 seeds that I sent you from Matamoros. It took more that 6 months for these letters to arrive. When I 

 received them, they came from San Luis Potosi, where they had been misplaced in the Mexican post 

 office. In the meantime I had gone several times to the post office asking if there was any 

 correspondence for me, but always received a negative answer. If I did not answer you while I was in 

 Mexico, it is because after receiving your letters, I had to travel to Veracruz with all the sick of the 

 army, that remained in Mexico. I was in Charge of transporting 400 patients, with whom I walked for 

 short distances. I had more to do than I could handle. 



I arrived in Orizaba where I stopped for about one month, with my patients, before descending to 

 Veracruz where I arrived in the last days of February. I certainly was guilty, not being abie to write to 

 you lengthily. I at least could have acknowledged your 2 letters. They where for me so interesting. I 

 hope you will excuse me, because under the circumstances I was overwhelmed with all sorts of 

 occupations. 



You asked me in one of your letters what the destination would be of the documents of which I 

 sent you the first series and if you plan to publish them ( I would like to publish them). After my 

 return to France I would like to write a Monograph of the Mexican Cacti, trying ot make it as 

 complete as possible. Regretfully my medical functions have always been placed above my 

 botanical studies.These I have never cultivated, but have undertaken them as a recreation while 



