He left us to go to Battambong to M. Silvestre, and at the parting we experienced the deepest regret at losing the society of a friend who had so much cheered our solitude. From Battambong he was to return to Siam, and thence to Birmah, Bengal, and Europe. I wrote to him several times, both from Bangkok, from Pinhalú, and from Singapore, where my illness had induced me to go to consult an English physician; but M. Mouhot had changed his plans; he wished to explore Laos, a country whose climate is always so fatal to foreigners. There God saw fit to summon him to a better world. This I read with great sorrow in a Parisian newspaper; it was an extract from a London journal.
When I was abroad I heard of the death of my father, then of that of my mother, and I declare that these two announcements did not make more impression upon me than did the news of the death of a man whose equal I had not met with for twenty years; and the thought of his death, without any help but that of his servants during his illness and in his last moments, was more than enough to bring tears to my eyes as I remembered this good and benevolent friend. Be assured, dear Sir, that my feelings are shared by all the brothers who knew him. The natives themselves must have felt regret at his death; for all who knew him had only praises to repeat of his conduct towards them; and all acknowledged his gentleness and generosity—both qualities invaluable in the eyes of those people.
Permit me, then, dear Sir, to unite my regrets to your grief, and to present my respects to Madame Mouhot, together with my warmest sympathy with her in her affliction; also with your father and your wife. Receive my thanks for your having honoured me with your friendship; and be assured of my desire to be useful to you if ever it should lie in my power.
Marie Ch. Fontaine,
Missionary at Saigon, Cochin China.
P.S.—Twelve of us are about to set out for Indo-China, and I will not fail to express to Mgr. Miche and his companions the kind feelings which you express with regard to them. On the 20th we shall sail from Marseilles in the Hydaspe. Write to the Seminary of Foreign Missions, whence our correspondence will be forwarded to us. My family live at Laval, and you will be always welcome there.
From Mr. Samuel Stevens to M. Charles Mouhot.
Mr. Stevens has the honour to inform M. C. Mouhot that the collection made by his late brother in the mountains of Laos is very fine, particularly the insects and shells. Among the former are a great number of beautiful and new species, one of which, a splendid Carabus, has been described in the ‘Zoological Review’ at Paris, under the name of Mouhotia gloriosa, in compliment to the late lamented M. Mouhot. This name is very appropriate, as it is one of the most beautiful and remarkable beetles which has been seen for years. There is also a beautiful set of Longicorns, and other insects of the order of Coleoptera, of which a great number are new to science.
The land and fresh-water shells are also very beautiful. Among the former there are twenty-five different genera; eight or ten are quite new, and some of them very remarkable. They will shortly be described by Dr. Pfeiffer and others.
I can truly say that the insects and shells equal, if they do not surpass, the most beautiful collections I have ever received; and clearly demonstrate how rich a country for the naturalist lies between Siam and Cochin China.