JACK'S LETTERS TO WALLICH, 1819-1821. 241 



The loss, I have to regret, beyond all, is my papers and draw- 

 ings, — all my notes and observations, with memoirs and collec- 

 tions, sufficient for a full and ample history, not only of Sumatra, 

 but of Borneo and almost every other island of note in these seas ; — 

 my intended account of the establishment of Singapore, the history 

 of my own administration; eastern grammars, dictionaries and 

 vocabularies; — and last, not least, a grand map of Sumatra, on 



which I had been employed since my arrival here 



This however was not all; all my collections in natural history — 

 all my splendid collection of drawings, upwards of two thousand 

 in number, with all the valuable papers and notes of my friends, 

 Arnold and Jack ; and to conclude I will merely notice, that there 

 was scarce an unknown animal, bird, beast, or fish, or an interest- 

 ing plant, which we had not on board : a living tapir, a new species 

 of tiger, splendid pheasants, etc., domesticated for the voyage; we 

 were in short, in this respect, a perfect Xoah's Ark. All, all has 

 perished; but thank God, our lives have been spared 



The fire had its origin in the store room, and 



was occasioned by the shameful carelessness of the steward going 

 with a naked lio-ht to draw off brandy from a cask which took lire." 



JACK'S HERBARIUM, 

 as far as recorded in various places. 



Sources of information : — 



i. the above letters to Wallich ; 



ii. Descriptions of Malayan plants, in the Malayan Mis- 

 cellanies, Vol. 1 (1820), number, 1, pp. 1-26,* re- 

 printed in the Companion to the Botanical Magazine, 

 1 (1835),* and again with rearrangement by Griffith 

 in the Calcutta Journal of Xatural History, Vol. IV 

 pp. 1-62, 159-231, 305-374, and without rearrangement 

 in the Miscellaneous Papers relating to Indo-China 

 and the Indian Archipelago, Second series, Vol. 2 

 (1887) pp. 269-222. See letters dated 27th Feb., 

 1820 (p. 195) and 19th Aug., 1820 (p. 211). 



iii. Descriptions of Malayan Plants, in the Malayan Mis- 

 cellanies, Vol. 1 (1820) Xo. 5 pp. 1-48: reprinted in 

 the Companion to the Botanical Magazine and the 

 Calcutta Journal of Xatural History: and also with- 

 out rearrangement in the Miscellaneous Papers relat- 

 ing to Indo-China and the Indian Archipelago, pp. 

 223-228. See letters dated 19th Sept, 1820 and 1st 

 May, 1821 (pp. 220 and 227). 



* Not available for consultation in Singapore. 



R. A. Soc, No. 73, 1916. 



