[[1]]
(Copy) *1
James Town St Helena
H.M.S. Erebus. May 13. 1843.
(received July 6th)
To Miss Hooker
My dear Maria,
When I was in Simon's Bay*2, the other day, my time was so much occupied, that,
much as I desired it, I could not secure what would serve me to thank you for the
many kind letters in your handwriting that I had received. Several of these were old,
but nevertheless very good, & the "Samarang" brought others of quite recent date.
Had I begun properly, by addressing first those friends who most deserved to hear
from me, then you would have come in very soon; but, as it was, I wrote to many
persons, who, before I quitted England, had expressed a kind desire to hear from
me, but to whom I had not written. I also sent letters to my cousins & aunts, (the one
to aunt Ellen is yet unfinished). These were old scores, which I much desired to
wipe off & I did so, but at the expence[sic] of sacrificing my mother, Elizabeth &
yourself.
I often think of the visit you paid to Dr Richardson's house at Haslar & am glad you
enjoyed it so well. How it has come to pass that my letters to Mrs Richardson are
gone astray, is quite a mystery to me, for others sent at the same time, have been
received. I feel sure she is offended, because you say nothing about it, & she is so
very good & kind a friend to me, that I do not like the thought of it at all:-- not that my
epistles were worth anything, except to assure her of my grateful recollection. If
possible, I shall write to her again from hence.
At Cape Town I saw no one who knew anything of our family, but old Baron Ludwig,
who was very glad to see me & made many
[[2]] many enquiries about you all. He has given to me for you (& another for my
mother) a beautiful box, made by the Natives, whose lids in opening, go nowhere,
vanishing altogether in a very mysterious manner: they are quite pretty, beautifully
polished & finished, & have excited great marvel on board here. He rummaged
everywhere to find something for Elizabeth too, but could not; he, however, bade me
tell her that he would try & procure some of the embroidery work of the Hottentots, to
send home to her, on a future opportunity. I think this was omitted to be mentioned
in my letter to her.
I could not procure any shells at the Cape of Good Hope, though I tried hard to beg
some out of a Brig, lately arrived from the Eastern coast of Africa & had the promise
of receiving some specimens of Harp shells, which were to have come on board the
very day we sailed. As the species, however, is identical with that which my father
received from Mr Telfair of the Mauritius, the loss is not great. At St Helena I can
hardly expect any, though if I see Mrs Helps she may give me some. Mr Helps is the
Chaplain, & a very kind friend of mine; but I am sorry to hear that his daughter was
drowned, when going home in the "Reliance", to finish her education, & that her body
is the only one not yet found. This was told me at Simon's Bay: here, as we have not
yet anchored I have had no information. I mean to leave a card for Mr Helps, for I
wish to give him a few things. Mr Wylde, Harvey's friend, is still here & Mrs W. has
also a Cabinet of Shells. I do not like to ask for any; but, if offered, I shall not scruple
to accept a few for you.
I feel truly obliged to you for learning to sing, for you do so very much on my
account. You may be quite sure I shall like to hear
[[3]] you; for I enjoy music of all sorts & especially duetts[sic]. You possess a most
excellent voice, & in time, ear & taste will follow, together with fondness for the
pursuit. I long exceedingly to see some of your drawings, especially those in
Watercolors[sic]. There will not be an artist in the house but yourself & you have an
exceedingly good talent for drawing; if I possessed half so much I would cultivate it
more than I do; but I have neither freedom of touch, imagination or an eye for
coloring[sic]. Few & bad as are the sketches I have made, on board ship, I value
them highly; & if you ever come to go abroad, you will feel it a great advantage to
have learned to draw. I am sure aunt Elizabeth would will help you much, for hers is
a most graceful pencil, & if I only were better versed in History, there is nothing
would delight me more than going over her little Sketchbooks. I suppose you have
read Uncle Palgrave's Handbook of Italy*3, which is very handsomely reviewed in the
Athaeneum[sic] (generally a harsh critic), & copious extracts given,-- the surest sign
that a work is approved. All my knowlege[sic] of what goes on in the world is picked
up now from that inestimable Athaeneum & I am always sorry when I get to the end
of a Number; after which I send it to Davis or Smith, the only persons who care to
peruse it, for Sailors are not very literary characters. The Literary Gazette, which I
do not like half so well, takes much more notice of our Expedition than the
Athaeneum.
I have lately been reading a most interesting number of the Quarterly Review, which
my father sent me. It contains an account of Joan of Arc, with many particulars, not
in Hume (my only reference) -- also a paper on the Tribune Rienzin, another on the
Duke of Sutherland's improvements, & a most curious article on Agricultural
[[4]] Chemistry, which would not probably interest you much, though it did me
extremely. Also a Number of the Edinburgh Review, whiggish as ever, the first
article of which is on the relations between France, America & England, very
temperate & fair,-- accurate, too, I suppose, but have not means of knowing; the
details about the Slave Trade are striking,-- a clever account of the Theory of
Glaciers, written by some one who appears to have a consummate knowlege[sic] of
the subject. I should much like who, for I have lived so long among the Ice that it
possesses peculiar attractions for me -- then come a stupid yarn on Education, & a
sorry review of Moore's Works. this last I had expected to find full of anecdote &
interest, with references to those varied political subjects on which the poet had
exercised his sarcastic pen, & allusions to the many distant travels in those countries
where the scenes of his most beautiful Poems are laid. But there is nothing of the
sort, only German Philosophy & a concluding dissertation on of the difference
between Fancy & Imagination, which had better been omitted, since it is plain the
Reviewer possessed neither & could not speak from experience. The perusal of
these books & writing down in[?] quotes have afforded me employment since leaving
the Cape.
You are aware, I believe, that our Mess is diminished to 2 members instead of the 5
there used to be. We get on vastly well together & have not quarrelled yet: when we
do, we mean to get a bulkhead or screen put up & divide the berth in halves;
whereby but as we shall still be enabled to fight about our respective shares of the
Bull's eyes on deck, it may be better to stay friends, after all. The chief disadvantage
of so small a mess is that we cannot keep such a good table without great
expence[sic], nor invite more than one person
[[5]] to dine, without getting silver, which is always inconvenient & sometimes
impossible. Still I prefer being Monarch of a whole half of our berth than of one fifth,
(it is big enough for 8 or 10), & in the Tropics the coolness is an advantage.
We have but few dumb shipmates now; only sheep & goats; one of the latter has
been [on] all our Voyages to the South, & belongs, of course, to Capt[ain]. Ross. It is
a great rawboned ugly old beast & has several children only one of which survives. I
had a very pretty little kitten on board the "Terror" destined for Elizabeth; but the poor
thing was accidentally killed in the hold. Two Rabbits from the Falkl[an] d Islands are
my only pets & I kept them during the whole cruize[sic] in my cabin. they were the
most merry little creatures, always happy & quite tame, they never knew or cared
where the Ship was, & used to divert me highly with their exquisite antics; but one of
them was seized with fits & I was obliged to have it killed; the other is still alive &
well, I keep her on deck now, the weather being warm & she comes when I call her
to be fed. I hope to bring her alive to England for Liz. instead of the cat. The poor
thing got into a bucket of sand the other day, in the vain idea that it was again among
the sandhills of the Falklands where I caught it, & began digging & burrowing &
would not give up the attempt to make a hole. I am afraid my mother will think it very
bad of me not to have sent her a letter before now: I have nearly finished it & as I
have truly much to do, & always mean to include all of you in the letters I address to
anyone, I have delayed longer than I had intended. She writes to me so fully & at
such length, that she does not merit an ungracious return.
[[6]] You must give my best love to grandpapa & my particular regards to all our
friends who are interested in the fate of this Expedition. Before long I shall be at
home, to give you viva voce an account of how little I have seen & done, during 4
years. that South is such a howling wilderness, nothing is to be got, but cold fingers.
I can hardly conceive another Expedition being sent out there.
Do not forget my regards to the Christy & Booth family & others who know &
remember me. Your most aff[ectiona]te Brother | Joseph D. Hooker
ENDNOTES
1. This letter is a 19th Century manuscript 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.
2. The settlement formerly known as Simon's Bay is now called Simon's Town,
South Africa.
3. Palgrave, Francis, 'Handbook for Travellers in Northern Italy' (1st ed., 1842).
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