Copy letter from Joseph Sabine [secretary of the Horticultural Society of London], London to Rev John Ramsay [minister in Providence Chapel, Dukinfield]

Title

Copy letter from Joseph Sabine [secretary of the Horticultural Society of London], London to Rev John Ramsay [minister in Providence Chapel, Dukinfield]

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/3/5/50

Date

16 Mar 1824

Scope & content

Written from Horticultural Society, Regent Street [London]

'Understanding that Mr Forbes [John Forbes] of Duckinfield [Dukinfield] is one of your congregation, I make no apology for the trouble of this letter, since you are the person most fitted to communicate the afflicting intelligence I have to announce'; he has received a letter from Captain Owen [William FitzWilliam Owen, captain of HMS Leven] from Mozambique, dated 10 Oct 1823, from which he quotes: 'It grieves me exceedingly to have to inform you that poor Forbes is no more, he died on his voyage up the Zambezi [Zambezi River, Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique] to Senna [Sena, Mozambique], just as he was entering on a most interesting part of his researches. It is also lamentable that his death appears (so far as it can be accounted for physically) to have happened in consequence of retention from an ill-judged delicacy whilst voyaging in a canoe'; the intelligence must be very painful to Forbes' parents; he regards Forbes very highly and thinks he would have gone far; before Forbes travelled, he was advised to 'abandon any object where his health and consequent safety was exposed'; the expedition to Zambezi River was not part of the original journey plan: 'he engaged in it voluntarily and without communication with me'; although Sabine approved of the 'spirit which induced him to undertake it', he would not have sanctioned the voyage; as seen from Owen's letter, the death could have occurred in a 'temperate and healthy climate'; it is a consolation that Forbes' brother James [James Forbes] has been employed by the Society, and Sabine will do everything to assist him; James is much liked by everybody, and is 'very steady, very good and very desirous to improve'; they will probably not receive further details from Owen until May: before that, 'we shall not do any thing respecting Forbes' concerns or papers'; Sabine has Forbes' will, leaving any remaining balance of his salary to his father, and directing his property to be sold, with the proceeds to go to his father; Sabine will pay Forbes' father £25 by prior arrangement; he encloses half of that sum, and promises to send the other half on receiving a reply; he has just received a letter addressed to John Forbes, presuming it to be from his father, and asks whether he should give it to James or return it; he was about to dispatch a packet he had hoped would reach Forbes at Christmas at Cape of Good Hope [South Africa]

Extent

4 page letter (1 sheet)

Is part of

RHS archive: plant collector papers

Repository

Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library

Copyright

Royal Horticultural Society

Credit Line

RHS Lindley Collections

Usage terms

Non-commercial use with attribution permitted (CC BY-NC 4.0)