Maury’s son Richard secured 640 acres of land in this colony; and by the first of the year 1866 about thirty families had been located there. Other colonies had been established by that time in Chihuahua by Bryant of Arkansas, on Rio Verde in San Luis Potosi by Mitchell of Missouri, and in Jalisco by Terrell of Texas. Furthermore, the last of February, 1866, two ship loads of immigrants, who had been refused permission by General Sheridan to embark from New Orleans, arrived at Vera Cruz by way of Havana. This was the condition of immigration when Maury left Mexico for a visit with his family in England.
Tentative permission for such a visit had been granted in September of the preceding year, and early in the following year Maximilian graciously made good his promise in the following letter: “My dear Counselor Maury,—I have the pleasure of answering your kind letter of the 22nd of January in which you express your just desire to see your family again. If on the one hand I behold with regret your absence for some time from the Capital where you are so effectively helping us with your intelligence; on the other hand, I realize that it is quite necessary to fulfill one’s most sacred duties toward one’s family, and in consideration of this I cannot oppose your voyage, and my only wish is that you carry it out successfully and that you return with your family. I hope furthermore on returning from my journey to Cuernavaca to see you in Mexico (City) before you undertake yours, in order to take leave of you in person. Your most affectionate, Maximilian”.
This letter was accompanied by one from the Empress, as follows:
“My dear Sir,—I have spoken to the Emperor respecting our conversation of Friday last, and he wishes me to tell you first, that he grants you a complete leave of absence to arrange your affairs in England and allows you to set off by the next French packet, but that if he returns to Mexico in the meantime, he hopes yet to have the pleasure of seeing you; secondly, that he quite agrees with your purchasing the instruments for studying the rainy season; and thirdly, that he approves of any effort you may make to introduce the cinchona tree, and authorizes you to have sent from Kew a few specimens of this valuable plant. Hoping to have fulfilled my errand to your satisfaction, I only want to renew my best wishes for your voyage and successful exertions in England, whilst I remain, Yours sincerely, Charlotte”.
Here it should be said that, in the matter of cinchona cultivation, Maury left a lasting blessing to Mexico. Before leaving England in 1865, he had discussed the possibility of the introduction of this febrifuge-yielding tree into certain mountainous districts of Mexico, with Mr. Clements Markham, who had established the cinchona plantations in India and was then in charge of all matters relating to them in the India Office. The feasibility of such an introduction of the plant having been agreed to, Maury on his return to England secured three packets of seeds from Markham, which were sent to Mexico, and from them successful plantations were established near Cordoba and in other sections of the country. Thus Maury left a living monument to himself in the country of his adoption and short residence.
Though the letters of both the Emperor and the Empress indicate an expectation of Maury’s return to Mexico, yet in a letter to his wife, written before his departure, he leaves the impression that conditions in that country might not render this advisable. It was also understood by some of his friends in the United States that he was going to England to assist in the laying of a telegraph cable from England to the West Indies and Mexico, and his son Richard thought his father would not return if the cable succeeded. Though Maury did not become connected with this enterprise, yet there developed in Mexico very soon after his departure conditions which made his return inadvisable. In fact, events in that unhappy country were fast moving toward Maximilian’s tragic end; and Maury was destined never to see that country nor its unfortunate rulers again.
CHAPTER XIV
Reunited with His Family in England
Maury arrived in England from Mexico, on March 29, 1866, and was once more united with his wife and younger children in London, at No. 30 Harley Street. His appearance had been so completely changed by the sorrows, hardships, and anxieties of the long years of separation that none of his children knew him. Indeed, his youngest daughter, on seeing him for the first time after his arrival, exclaimed, “This is not my papa! This is an old man with a white beard!”
As soon as Maury had departed from Mexico, those who were jealous of him and hostile to the Empire and Maximilian brought pressure to bear which resulted in the abolishing of the immigration scheme. This was made known to Maury through the following letter from the Emperor: “My dear M. F. Maury,—Impelled by motives of economy and convenience to abolish the Imperial Commission of Colonization which in the month of September of last year I confided to your loyalty and superior knowledge, I must on informing you of this measure express the pleasure and satisfaction I feel for the exertions you have so successfully made in the Empire to augment its population, without which the various sources of wealth contained in its fruitful soil cannot be made productive. If your talents cannot for the present be made available in that way, I am convinced that they will be eminently useful in the direction of the Observatory which situation I formerly conferred on you, and in which I trust you will continue, that our beautiful firmament examined by your intelligent eye may procure us the means of profiting by the knowledge which science has already acquired, and of making even new discoveries to increase the fame which you have already so justly attained. Whenever circumstances will permit a new development of colonization, I intend making appeal to your advice and activity and I will now direct the necessary localities to be prepared in the Palace for the Observatory in order to be able to have you always near me. Believe me, Your affectionate, Maximilian”.