XV 
Norwich and Halesworth , 1785-1820. 
a letter of marque, chartered by a London firm, Messrs. Phelps 
& Co., for the purpose of obtaining a cargo of tallow. The 
venture was a risky one, for Denmark, to which country 
Iceland belonged, was at war with England, and the firm 
were enticed to undertake it by a Danish prisoner of war, 
Jorgen Jorgensen by name, who was now for the second time 
about to break his parole and accompany the ship in the 
interests of the firm. The Margaret and Anne sailed 
June 2, and on arriving June 21 at Reikevik Jorgensen, 
finding that commerce with England was prohibited, effected 
a revolution in the island, proclaimed its independence of the 
Danish crown and himself its ‘ Protector,’ imprisoned the 
governor, Count Tramp, erected a fort armed with six guns, 
equipped troops, remodelled the laws, established representa- 
tive government and trial by jury, reduced the taxes, and 
raised the salaries of the clergy ; all without shedding a drop of 
blood, or an attempt at resistance on the part of the people 1 ! 
On his arrival at Reikevik my father received a hearty 
welcome from the Stiftsamptman (Icelandic governor of the 
island), to whom he had brought from Sir Joseph Banks 
a letter of introduction, together with a handsome present of 
books, engravings, &c. The delight of the old man on re- 
ceiving these was affecting; he spoke of Sir Joseph with 
veneration, describing his philanthropic efforts to avert the 
1 An account of the career of this extraordinary man is given in his Auto- 
biography, published anonymously in Ross’s Hobart Town Almanack for 1835 ; and 
is retold in a little work entitled ‘ The Convict King, being the Life and Adventures 
of Jorgen Jorgensen, Monarch of Iceland, Naval Captain, Revolutionist, British 
Diplomatic Agent, Author, Dramatist, Preacher, Political Prisoner, Gambler, 
Hospital Dispenser, Continental Traveller, Explorer, Editor, Expatriated Exile, 
and Colonial Constable, retold by James Francis Hogan’: i2mo, London, Ward 
and Downey, 1891. What most concerns botany in Jorgensen’s career are the 
facts that he served as a seaman under Capt. Flinders, R.N., in his voyage to Terra 
Australis (1802-5), with Robert Brown as botanist, and J. Franklin (afterwards 
Sir John, the Arctic traveller) as midshipman ; and that it was through the exertions 
of Mrs. Fry, Sir Joseph Banks, and my father, that the sentence of death passed on 
Jorgensen in 1825 was commuted into penal servitude for life in Tasmania, where 
I saw him in 1840. He died there in that or the following year, his fellow 
voyager, Sir John Franklin, being governor of the colony at the time ! See 
‘Tour in Iceland,’ by W. J. H., for details of Jorgensen’s acts, &c. 
