The Correspondence of Charles Hope Warrington
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This letter was found in a box of unsorted documents in the archive of the Royal Society of London for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge. The ‘Joseph’ to whom it is addressed may be Sir Joseph Banks, who was President of the Society at the time.
3 July, 1813
My Dear Joseph,
I arrived Safe from my sea-voyage in Saint Germaine three weeks ago and am now well Established on the northern island. My sincere Thanks again to the Society for all its Assistance in obtaining suitable Lodgings and Facilities from which to conduct a Detailed study of the Flora, Fauna & Inhabitants of these Islands.
Although I have not been here Long, I have already reached an Understanding with certain of the local Inhabitants, who I believe will be a great Asset to my Researches. The natives People are most eager to be Helpful and appear to find any interest in their customs and history especially Gratifying. They have an apparently endless Supply of fabulous Tales, most of which are vague and obscure Accounts of conflict between fantastic creatures that they believe dwell below the Earth and above the Clouds. As we have discussed, such stories are Far from unusual among the tribal societies in this Hemisphere, and I confess to finding their transcription most Tiresome. However, since none of the natives have sufficient Letters to set the stories to paper themselves, I shall have to Persist in my labours if a Compendium is to be created.
I have had rather greater Success in the collection of Artifacts of the native culture, especially with the Assistance of one Individual who has proved willing to exchange a variety of articles, both ceremonial and mundane in Purpose, for a nominal Sum. This man, who calls himself only Juan, providing no Other name, is clearly of a great Age, although he is ignorant of the date of his birth. Juan knows many details of the early History of the islands, although he frequently confuses these with the Fabulous stories I mentioned. I am much more enthusiastic about the Relics I have been able to obtain from him. The items I have purchased from Juan have been of great Interest and Quality, and I shall send a first consignment of these along with this Letter.
However, I confess that one aspect of this arrangement is most Perplexing. On several occasions, Juan has brought me artifacts which are clearly not of the local Culture, although he claims that Everything he has provided ‘came from the islands’, to use his Exact words. These include several coins of Roman origins, a bowl of apparently Chinese workmanship, a medallion from the reign of Amenemhat III, and a Variety of other items of little Value but curious workmanship, such as a large metal box with the cryptic label ‘200 762mm MXD LNK’.
All these items are in quite excellent Condition, and my first concern was that Juan had stolen them from another Scholar, although I have inquired and there is no collector of Antiquities presently in Saint-Germaine. It is possible, I suppose, that Juan may have traded for or purchased the artifacts himself, although I cannot imagine how they could be had for a price that would make the sum I pay him Profitable. In short I do not know what his damned game may be, but as the articles all appear quite Genuine, I acquired them on behalf of the Society and will include them in my shipment.
In short I believe my Expedition here to be off to a most promising Beginning, although something about the Climate or atmosphere here does not agree with my Constitution at present; I find my digestion much affected and am frequently disturbed with nightmares. I am confident that I shall shortly adjust to my Surroundings and look forward to your Evaluation of my consignment.
Yr. Most Obedient Servant,
Charles Hope Warrington
F.R.S.
No further correspondence from Dr. Charles Hope Warrington has yet been uncovered, although he is listed as ‘Retired’ from the Society in 1816. It is possible that a ‘C.H. Wherrington’ who was placed in the care of Bethel Hospital in 1817 may be the same man. If so, he remained in the hospital until his death in 1853. The artifacts he reports sending cannot be found, either at the Royal Society or the British Museum, although it is possible that the collection was not kept together.
