[[1]]*1
Hobart Town Van Dieman's[sic] Land.
H.M.S. "Erebus" November 7th 1840
My dear Sister [Maria Hooker?],
You are a very good girl to write to me so constantly, & I assure you that the "dull stupid"
letters you say you write give me very great satisfaction. How could I have possibly
forgotten to ask for Skye in my letters to you? that little beast, as part & parcel of our
household, is very often in my mind: the picture of him that my father sent out gratified me
exceedingly. I am sorry to hear from you that your Irish trip was not so agreeable as mine
was two years ago: still it is a great thing to see a place of which one hears so much & so
often. When there I lived in Sackville street, at the famed Gresham's Hotel where we shall
put up when I return & we make a tour of Ireland.
So poor Grandpapa is still alive. I never expected to hear that that would be the case: he is
constantly in my thoughts, though I scarcely know how to think of him. The good news of
Bessy's[?] [Elizabeth Hooker's] restored health is indeed gratifying: the dear girl has
written to me several times, &, if I possibly can, I must send her an
[[2]] answer. You do not say who now attends to music at home: but you doubtless have
other things to think about. I miss it more than any thing[sic] on board; &, when ashore,
never having an opportunity of going out, I am equally ill off. As to what you are all doing at
home, I have no conception; whether Kew, Ipswich, or Glasgow are your places of
residence, all are together I suppose at last wherever you may be.
We are now in a tremendous bustle on preparing to go to sea; every body[sic] busy for
himself & for the mess too. Potatoes, Hams, rice, & porter are the chief part of our stock
here, with plenty of sauces to make the salt junk go down. This is by far the most
extravagant place we have ever been in, the common luxuries of Bread, milk & butter all
being nearly double the price they are in England: all meats are the same; & you will
hardly credit it, that most of the bread eaten here is made from American flour; for the
greedy colonists in the country, not content with a moderate price which they might
demand for their corn which is produced in the utmost abundance, hoard it up, & refuse a
sum which enables the town[']s people to send to America for the
[[3]] staff of life. They expect in time to experience some bad season, when they will raise
its price enormously; but I devoutly pray that the Weevil & Locust will get into the barns
before the crops.
Will you tell my kind friend Mrs Mack that I have several times seen Miss Williamson?, who
is governess to Lady Franklin's daughter. She is a very general favorite[sic] among the
visitors at Government House; & I generally have a "yarn" with her after dinner about the
Clyde; Dunoon &c: she sends of course all affectionate remembrances to Mrs Henderson.
Was it not in the "Camden" Missionary ship that William was to have gone to the South
Seas?: had he gone, his end would have been more untimely than it was; for you have
doubtless read of the murder of the two Missionaries who accompanied the ship, & I feel
sure that he would both have been on shore at the time & probably astray from the
unfortunate party. Wherever I go, I pick up what shells I can for you; but here I have had no
opportunity among some odds & ends that I send home you will find some, those in the pill
boxes are
[[4]] caught at sea & are of great rarity. I need not recommend them to your particular
notice: the pearly nautilus is not the common one so called, but has two deep pits close to
the mouth in the axis of the shell. Mr Gunn will send you a very nice collection for which I
have given him plants in exchange, & have further promised him that you will take some
specimens from the duplicates in any mineral cabinet & put them up for him, for which he
will send you more shells many he sends now are of the greatest rarity. When we visit the
South Seas you shall be well remembered in the meantime collect all you can, & be very
particular about the place where they come from, labelling each carefully. I think that your
papa can spare you a drawer at the upper part of one of the cabinets opposite the stove in
Fitch's room, in which you can arrange them. The only books I know of that will help you
are Wood's Index Testaciologicus [Testaceologicus] & a little manual of Sowerby's on the
genus of shells, both, I believe, are cheap[.] Dr Johnstone has been here ever since our
arrival, & will sail for home soon after our departure: he is an excellent fellow, &, much as I
should have liked to have seen more of him, I
[[5]] could not devote the time to making calls: he generally dines on board on
Sunday's[sic] & is much esteemed amongst us. At present he is at the barracks, doing duty
for the Assistant Surgeon there who has gone on leave: he returns home by the "Emu"[?],
bound for London; so you may look out for him when she is announced. In the same ship
there goes a very fine young man of the name of Gregson, to whom I have given a letter of
introduction to my father[,] he is the son of one of the first gentlemaen in the Colony, was
born here, & goes home for his education at London University; his mother is a relation of
Mr Selby's[sic] of Selby hall: the family live about 5 miles from town, on the site of what
was first intended to be the settlement; it was there, I suppose, that Mr Browne lived when
he left Flinder's ship; so I often went there to Botanize, & have always received the
greatest kindness from Mr Gregson, with whom I generally staid. The son is a very steady,
clever, young fellow, & has often walked out botanizing with me. We are now, Nov[ember]
9thall ready for sea: the ship is as full as an egg: we can hardly stir in our mess. One of my
messmates, Dagman, is left behind in the observatory here; & very sorry we are
;
[[6]] to loose him; & he just as sorry to leave the ship: he will, however, be very comfortable
here: they have a nice house building for them, close to their instruments, about 1/2 a mile
from Hobart Town in what is called the government paddock, opposite where our ships
lye[sic]. Lieut[enant] Hay remains in charge with a mate of the "Terror", Scott & my old
messmate: they will have plenty to do, quite as much as if they went on with us; &, as they
are very select with regard to any Town acquaintance & determined to do their duty
thoroughly, they will doubtless do well: we shall, I suppose, pick them up on our return. We
have got 6 nice pigs for our mess: we brought them young & paid an extravagant price for
them; but they are now worth nearly £2 a piece, & we shall lay on lots of food for them. I
have begun to learn German again, but hope great assistance from you on my return. I am
dreadfully ill off for books, neither being able to muster a bible, or any translated book. My
stock consists of Donatti's grammar, Weber's Dictionary, & a lot of old newspapers, with
which I hammer away in my cabin. Most of my letter writing I put off to the last
[[7]] & now all is bustle, luckily it is a rainy day!. I have been on deck, & all is ready for 'up
anchor' tomorrow morning: some of our men have run as we call it; & I am glad of it, as we
want none but willing hands: there is not now a man on the sick, but our compliment is
made up all are hearty, well & active crew in any case of emergency; & nothing is wanted
but something to try us. When we shall return here again no one[sic], not even the
Captain, knows: it may be in 6 months, or not for 18; it will all depend on what is to be
found at the Southward and on the nature of the land, & sea, ice, wind, tides, currents, &
the progress we shall have made in a certain time. I rather hope we shall spend a winter in
the ice, as I could have plenty to do, & the & the funds of of the mess are very low, so low
that I have to lend all I do not spend to pay off the debts. All tailoring, soap, candles &
books, &c. are extravagantly dear, &, as we have each to lay in his 18 months stock, I fear
that some I.O.Us will be left behind. Thankful I am to get clear off, & also to help others as
far as I can.
From here we go to Campbell's Island, there to remain a month, & from thence to the land
the French
[[8]] discovered & after that to make our own discoveries. Next Christmas I shall drink your
health at Campbell's Island, & wish you all many happy happy returns; from the Southward
we shall come back here, where all our letters are to to be addressed, & where I know I
shall hear from you, all about yourself, Skye, Invereck &c. The seasons here being turned
topsiturvy, I often confuse myself, thinking whether you are at Kilmunor in Glasgow, & now
whether Glasgow or London holds you.
Best love to all who send the same for me. By the bye, I send a few squirrel skins from
Port Phillip: they are very highly prized here & may make cuffs.
Your most affectionate Brother | Jos. D. Hookeyr
Do you want me to bring home any live small parrots for you?, very beautiful & quiet. --
ENDNOTES
1. This letter is a copy written in a hand not that of the original author, Joseph Dalton
Hooker. The copy was probably made by Hooker's mother or sister so that a version could
be circulated amongst family and friends.
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