h, and theirs the mournful glory of a martyr's crown.
Defrauded, as it were, of the honours which would have rewarded
them had they lived to receive the congratulations they had earned,
it becomes the melancholy duty of their fellow-citizens to
perpetuate the memory of Burke and Wills by a monument which shall
testify to their worth and our munificence.

. . .

FROM DR. MUELLER.

Melbourne, December 21st, 1861.

MY VERY DEAR DOCTOR,

I need not assure you that I shall be but too happy to render
you any services within my power, and especially such as are
connected with doing justice to your poor and great son.

Having been duly authorized by you to secure the pistol of your
late son, I will take an early opportunity to claim it for you and
bring it to your son Thomas. I will also very gladly do what I can
in restoring to you any other property I may hear of as belonging
to your lamented son William. As soon as Professor Neumayer
returns, we can learn with exactness what instruments were your
son's. I will also inquire about the telescope. I believe I forgot
mentioning to you, that it would be a source of the highest
gratification to me to call some new plant by the name of the
family, who claim as their own, one of now imperishable fame. But I
will not be unmindful that, in offering an additional tribute,
humble as it is, to your son's memory, it will be necessary to
select, for the Willsia, a plant as noble in the Australian flora
as the young savant himself who sacrificed his life in accomplishing
a great national and never-to-be-forgotten enterprise.

Trusting, my dear and highly valued friend, that the greatness of
the deed will, to a certain extent, alleviate your grief and sorrow
for an irreparable loss, and that Providence may spare you long in
health and happiness, for your family.

I remain,

Your faithfully attached,

FERD. MUELLER.

W. Wills, Esquire, M.D.

. . .

Melbourne Botanical Gardens, January 5th, 1862.

MY DEAR DR. WILLS,

It affords me a melancholy satisfaction that the humble
tribute which I wish to pay to the memory of your lamented son, in
attaching his name to the enclosed plant, elicited such kind
recognition from yourself. I need not assure you that I shall
continue to maintain, as I have done on all previous occasions,
that only by the skilful guidance and scientific talents of your
unfortunate son, the great geographic success is achieved, which he
sealed with his her