Joseph Banks

“ His career, however, was now, by the course of nature, drawing to its close. Yet, he had lived seventy-eight years in this anxious and disappointing world, in opulence, in peace, and in public estimation. But his lot had been singularly fortunate. Few men are without their share of those troubles which characterize the general condition of human nature. Sir Joseph Banks had his trial, in physical suffering. ”

“ Many of Ehret's drawings came into the possession of Sir Joseph Banks, and are now in the botanical department of the British Museum at Cromwell Road; they bear ample testimony to his free yet accurate draughtsmanship. ”

“ Every time has had its eccentricities in this respect, and Mr Timbs shews us a certain Miss Banks, who died in 1818, and in plain terms looked a 'regular guy.' She was a lady of good position, being the sister of Sir Joseph Banks. Her costume consisted of a Barcelona quilted petticoat, which had a hole on each side, for the convenience of rummaging two immense pockets stuffed with books of all sizes, which did not add to the symmetry of her already large proportions. ”

“ In May 1794 Sir Joseph Banks promised, if he wished to travel, to apply on his behalf to the African Association. This corporation, which was supported by powerful and wealthy men, had been founded in 1788 for the purpose of furthering geographical discoveries in Africa. Sir Joseph was a member of the committee of the association, and he saw in Park a suitable successor to Major Houghton, who had been despatched by the association in 1790 for the purpose of discovering the true course of the Niger, but had never returned. Park willingly accepted the offer of the association. ”

“ His name was enrolled amongst the associates of almost every academy and learned society in Europe. His house and table were ever open for the reception and entertainment of all those who were eminent for their scientific attainments, with that spirit of liberality so conducive to the union of interests and co-operation of efforts, requisite for the cultivation of knowledge. During the latter part of his life Sir Joseph Banks was a great sufferer from the gout, and during the last fourteen years was almost deprived of the use of his feet and legs. ”

“ For several years he practised as a special pleader, and was therefore not called to the bar until June 1798, when he chose the Oxford circuit. In July 1796 he was introduced by Sir Joseph Banks to George III and the royal family, with whom he became a favourite. ”

“ To notice only one instance: the late Sir Joseph Banks appointed a gentleman who remained for years in that situation, although he was confessedly ignorant of every subject connected with the pursuits of the Society. I will, however, do justice to his memory, by saying that his respectability was preserved under such circumstances, by the most candid admission of the fact, accompanied by a store of other knowledge unfortunately quite foreign to the pursuits of the Society ”

“ My father wrote to Sir Joseph Banks to apply through the French Institute for leave for Lovell to travel as a literate in Germany, and I have frequently written about him to our French friends; and those passages in my letters were never answered. All their letters are now written, as Sir Joseph Banks observed, under evident constraint and fear. ”

“ By one person, who was particularly inti-mate with my brother, I was informed that he died possessed of several curious drawings of the natives of New-Zealand and other subjects, which he had taken at his leisure hours, in presence of the informant, for his own amusement and par-ticular use; having given several of them away as presents to the officers on-board, and that to the knowledge of Joseph Banks, who never pretended to have the right, he hath since been pleased to set up, to all and every the labours, in season and out of season, of his indefatigable draughtsman. ”

“ Joseph Banks [q. v.] on his voyage to Iceland, the expedition setting sail 12 July 1772. A paper by him, on a portable windgauge, was read before the Royal Society 11 May 1775, and printed with a letter from him to Colonel Roy, in which he alludes to a wind-gauge sent by him to Sir John Pringle (Phil. Trans. lxv. 353) . He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of London 18 Dec. ”

“ For the lack of such personal qualities some undoubted public benefactors have been, nevertheless, bad citizens. In this public benefactor both sets of faculties were harmoniously combined. They shone in his form and countenance. They yet dwell in the memory of a survivor or two, here and there, who were the contemporaries of his closing years.
Joseph Banks was born at Reresby Abbey, in Lincolnshire, on the thirteenth of December, 1743. He was the only son of William Banks-Hodgkenson, of Reresby Abbey, by his wife Sophia Bate. ”

“ The information I received, however, could not fail of alarming my suspicion; which I communicated to some friends, who advised me to file a bill in chancery to compel Joseph Banks to come to a just account. But, having a man of character and fortune to deal with, I was loth to take violent measures, in hopes he might be induced by fair means to do me justice. ”

“ To balance to some extent our good fortune, now become too prevalent, a misfortune happened this morning, almost the worst which our enemies could have wished. The morning was calm, and Richmond employed in searching for what should appear on the surface of the water; a shoal of Dagysæ was observed, and he, eager to take some of them, threw the casting-net, fastened only to his wrist; the string slipped from him, and the net at once sunk into the deep, nevermore to torment its inhabitants. ”

“ In about half an hour all was taken up but now Dootahah began to repent of his intended generosity; he thought I suppose that a hog would be lookd upon as no more than a dinner and consequently no present made in return, he therefore changd his mind and ordering one of the pigs into the boat sent for us who soon collected together and getting our Knives prepard to fall too, saying that it was civil of the old gentleman to bring the provisions into the boat where we could with ease keep the people at a proper distance, who in the house would have crouded us almost to death. ”

“ At the general election for 1790, Lord Eardley and John Wilmot were returned for Coventry, and the Marquis of Worcester and Lord Sheffield for Bristol. Lord Sheffield sat for Bristol from 1790 to 1802, when he was summoned to the British House of Peers.
[151] Lord Sheffield's pamphlet, Observations on the Project for Abolishing the Slave Trade, was published anonymously in 1790. The second edition (1791) bore the author's name.
[152] Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820) sailed with Captain Cook in the Endeavour in 1768. He was President of the Royal Society from 1778 to 1820. ”

“ The people were very old and gray-headed, the children young. The hair of the man was bushy about his head, and his beard long and rough: the woman's hair was cropped short round her head. They were very dark-coloured, but not black, nor was their hair woolly.
On our return to the ship we found also that our second lieutenant, who had gone out striking, had met with great success. He had observed that the large sting-rays, of which there are abundance in the bay, followed the flowing tide into very shallow water ”

“ Bankrupt, bangk′rupt, n. one who breaks or fails in business; an insolvent person.—adj. insolvent: destitute (with of) .—n. Bank′ruptcy, the state of being or act of becoming bankrupt. [Fr. banque-route, It. banca rotta.]
Banksia, bangk′sia, n. a genus of Australian shrubs, named in honour of Sir Joseph Banks (1744-1820) . ”

“ When any one fell, the whole amusement ceased for a few moments, while the old men in the house gave their applause in a few words which they repeated together in a kind of tune. This lasted about two hours, during all which time the man whom we observed at our first landing continued to beat the people who did not keep at a proper distance; we understood that he was some officer belonging to Dootahah, and was called his Tomite.
The wrestling over, the gentlemen informed me that they understood that two hogs and a large quantity of bread-fruit, etc., were cooking for our dinner ”

“ The men here are large made and stout, one we measurd was 6ft 3 high and well made; the women very Fair, more so than at Otahite tho we saw none so hansome. Both Sexes seem'd to be less timid as well as less curious, the firing of a gun frightned them but they did not fall down as our Otahite freinds at first generaly did. On one of their people being taken in the fact of stealing and seizd upon by the hair they did not run away, but coming round inquird into the cause and seemingly at least approving of the Justice recomended a beating for the offender which was immediately put in practise. ”

“ By many trials we found that good usage and fair words would not avail the least with them, nor would they be convincd by the noise of our fire arms alone that they were superior to theirs; but as soon as they had felt the smart of even a load of small shot and had had time allowd them to recollect themselves from the Effects of their artificial courage, which commonly took up a day, they were sensible of our generosity in not taking the advantage of Our superiority and became at once our good freinds and upon all occasions placd the most unbounded confidence in us. ”

“ His father, William Banks, was the son of a successful Lincolnshire doctor, who became sheriff of his county, and represented Peterborough in parliament; and Joseph was brought up as the son of a rich man. ”

“ The Captn then loaded his musquet with a ball and fird it into the Mangroves abreast of where they ran to shew them that they were not yet out of our reach, they ran on quickning their pace on hearing the Ball and we soon lost sight of them; we then returnd to the Seine where the people who were ashore had got the fire under. We now thought we were free'd from these troublesome people but we soon heard their voices returning on which, anxious for some people who were washing that way, we ran towards them ”

“ Sir Joseph has taken upon himself a vast responsibility only to be justified by a long and careful series of experiments, personally conducted by himself.
It is one thing to bring children into the world, it is another to rear them. Adam Smith remarks of the Highland women, that they frequently bear more than twenty and have not two alive! ”

“ Born, as the young redskin was, of princely stock, he might, with such an advantage, be expected to attain to honour and dignity among the people of the Long House. There was, however, one obstacle; although Joseph's father was a chief, he did not inherit rank, for it was the custom of the Six Nations to trace descent through the blood of the mother, and his mother, who had brought him over hill and water from the banks of the Ohio, was of humble origin. ”

“ Blessing came into collision with a gentleman passing him. Mutual wrath was aroused, followed by mutual apologies. "Let us turn into the other street," he said to Joseph; "really, our lives are hardly safe in this crowd; it is nearly three o'clock, and the banks will soon be closed."
"It would be prudent to allow a margin," he resumed, after their course had been changed: "the money market is very tight, and if a necessity were suspected, most capitalists are unprincipled enough to exact according to the urgency of the need. ”

“ For two hours now it had snowed almost incessantly, so that we had little hopes of seeing any of the three alive; about midnight, however, to our great joy, we heard a shouting, on which I and four more went out immediately, and found it to be the seaman, who had walked, almost starved to death, from where he lay. I sent him back to the fire and proceeded by his direction to find the other two. Richmond was upon his legs, but not able to walk; the other lay on the ground as insensible as a stone. ”

“ General Banks earned for himself the reputation of being a thorough gentleman and, although his after career in the war was not signalized by much success, no failure on his part has been sufficient to erase the respect which he earned from people of all shades of political opinion in that region. His army occupied the low grounds between the Blue Ridge and the Chesapeake and Ohio canal, as, also, Pleasant Valley, while the General's headquarters were at the house of Mr. Jacob Miller, near Sandy Hook. ”

“ This affected the young fellow much, he went to his hammock, soon after the Sargeant went to him calld him and told him to follow him upon deck. He got up and slipping the Sargeant went forward, it was dusk and the people thought he was gone to the head and were not convincd that he was gone over till half an hour after it hapned.
1769 March 26. This whole day calms succeeded by hard squalls with much rain, which weather the seamen call trolly lollys; the wind went more than once round the Compass which made us hope that we were near the trade at least. Few or no birds and no tropick birds. ”

“ Yesterday they had made a fire about a mile and a half of and this morn 2 had appeard on the beach opposite to the ship. At night the Pinnace which had been sent in search of a Passage to leward returnd, she had been unsuccessfull in her main errand. Shoals innumerable she had met with, upon one of them was lucky enough to see a turtle which was pursued and many more were seen, so many that three were taken with only the Boat hook. The promise of such plenty of good provisions made our situation appear much less dreadfull ”