Pages 1-2 of John Damper Parks' journal and notes: Copy of a letter from John Damper Parks [to Joseph Sabine, secretary of the Horticultural Society of London]

Title

Pages 1-2 of John Damper Parks' journal and notes: Copy of a letter from John Damper Parks [to Joseph Sabine, secretary of the Horticultural Society of London]

Record type

Archive

Original Reference

RHS/Col/4/1/2

Date

1 Aug 1823

Scope & content

Pages 1-2: Copy of a letter written from Anger Point [Anyer, Indonesia]

This item is bound in the volume comprising journal and notes of John Damper Parks

He writes with reluctance about a situation 'that has been the cause of so much unpleasantness respecting my mission'; as his accommodation on board the ship Lowther Castle [HCS Lowther Castle] depends 'on the civility and generosity of others, who might not feel any interest for my welfare', he is anxious for Sabine to 'form a determined stipulation respecting my accommodation', to prevent him being taken advantage of by the carpenter [McPherson, carpenter on HCS Lowther Castle], who had promised he would not evict Parks from their shared cabin in case of disagreement; within a month, however, the carpenter blamed Parks for 'finding his clothes kicked and knocked about the cabin, and my things placed where his ought to be' and told Parks to leave the cabin; Parks feels 'mortified' by the situation; if Sabine had agreed to pay for his accommodation, he would have had more independence and authority to claim his space: 'I never was particular whether I had a cabin to myself or part of one, so [long] as proper arrangement was made for it, for me not to be depending on other people as I am'; Mr Turner [John Turner, assistant secretary of the Horticultural Society of London] had promised to arrange a cabin for Parks, but Captain Baker [Thomas Baker, captain of HCS Lowther Castle] had said cabins must be paid for, as they were 'his property and privilege'; Baker said that 'he considered you had behaved very unhandsome, and if he had been in my place he would not have gone under such circumstances', but Parks was reluctant to cancel the journey, having made all the preparations and paid for them; for the three weeks that he was employed [before his departure], he received £1 per week and incurred costs of nearly £2; he told Turner that the captain had received him 'coolly', and his 'messmates' all seemed surprised and disappointed he had not been appointed accommodation: 'I don't mean to find fault of the manner I am generally treated, only under the present circumstances as specified; neither do I mean to say the carpenter generally treats me ill, but the circumstances alluded to was very unpleasant'; he does not wish to offend, but thinks he needs to inform Sabine of his circumstances, and assures Sabine that he will do everything he can in his employment; Sabine should refer to Mr Barnard [Edward Barnard, vice-secretary of the Horticultural Society of London], 'if he ever found me an unreasonable, or a troublesome person, living between six and seven years with him'; he hopes his journey will be advantageous to the Horticultural Society

Extent

2 pages

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)