LETTERS ADDRESSED TO THE FAMILY OF THE LATE M. MOUHOT.
From Dr. Campbell to Madame Mouhot.
Bangkok, April 7th, 1862.
My dear Madame Mouhot,
About three weeks ago I had the pleasure of forwarding a letter from your husband, and I mentioned the probability of a second one, written before the one sent, reaching me in time for this mail. This has been realized, and I enclose the letter referred to. News from Luang Prabang, up to the middle of November, have also reached Bangkok, and oh! my dear madam, what a sad duty devolves upon me in narrating certainties that have transpired since my last communication. Would that I had some relation in London to whom I could write and request him to call upon you, to divulge the painful truth that your husband—my valued friend—is, alas! now no more. It may perhaps in a measure tend to soothe your sorrow under this severe trial, to say that I never knew a person who was so universally esteemed as he was by the foreign community of this city; and that all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance deeply regret his sudden and premature loss. The last letter he wrote me was dated from Louang Prabang, on the 30th August; in it he was satisfied with his success, and altogether buoyant in spirits. He continued in the neighbourhood of the above-named city, which is the capital of north-east Laos, till the middle of October, when he returned to the city. On the 19th he has written in his journal, “Attacked with fever;” but his servant and the Laos official account of his illness make it the 18th. On the 29th he made an entry, but nothing subsequently, and departed this life on Sunday the 10th November, at 7 P.M., being twenty-eight days subsequent to the attack. His servants, after seeing him interred, commenced their journey hither, taking with them his baggage and everything he had collected. M. D’Istria, the present French Consul, has to officiate as administrator to the late M. Mouhot’s estate, but has assigned to me the care of all your late husband’s manuscripts and collections. These I thought of forwarding forthwith for Singapore, and thence, by the kindness of Mr. Pady, to Europe; but as I expect to leave for England on a short leave of absence by the middle of next month, I think it better to retain them till then, and convey them home myself.
On your late husband arriving here, he brought me a small parcel from Dr. Norton Shaw, Secretary to the Royal Geographical Society, Whitehall-place; and as it is only proper that the Society should be made aware of this martyr to science, I enclose two letters—the last he wrote me—for your perusal, and that they may be handed to the above-named gentleman for his information, forwarding, at the same time, the announcement of M. Mouhot’s untimely death. On looking over the charts he has left behind him, I find Louang Prabang placed 3° to the north and about 1° to the east of that denoted in the map given by Bishop Pallegoix; but as it would be improper to write about his discoveries till you have received the documents, and given them to some person for publication, I shall not dilate further on that topic.
And now, my dear madam, I beg to tender you my sincere condolence under the heavy bereavement which it has pleased the Almighty to inflict upon you,
And remain yours very sincerely,
James Campbell.
From M. Ch. Fontaine, Missionary at Cochin China, to M. Charles Mouhot.
Foreign Missions, Paris, 128, Rue du Bac,
15th August, 1862.
Dear Friend,
Permit me to give you this title; all the sentiments expressed in your letter authorise it. What a worthy brother you weep for! and I, what an honoured friend!
I had the pleasure of knowing M. H. Mouhot. I saw him first at Bangkok, and six or eight months after at Pinhalú, in Cambodia, where he remained with us ten days, sharing with us our house and our table, which is always open to any worthy fellow-countryman whom chance may lead to those parts. In both places all our brotherhood were charmed to make the acquaintance of so devoted a scion of learning, so polished a Frenchman, and so exemplary a Christian. All these qualities rendered him dear to the whole of the missionaries who had the pleasure of his acquaintance; and it was a real happiness to us to render him any little service possible in the performance of the troublesome task which he had imposed upon himself, of exploring countries so wild and destitute of comfort.
On his return from among the Stiêns, where he met MM. Guilloux and Arnoux, this dear friend lavished on me the greatest care, and expended for me all his medical science; for I had then been several months suffering from the malady which afterwards obliged me to return to France to recruit.
He left us to go to Battambong to M. Silvestre, and at the parting we experienced the deepest regret at losing the society of a friend who had so much cheered our solitude. From Battambong he was to return to Siam, and thence to Birmah, Bengal, and Europe. I wrote to him several times, both from Bangkok, from Pinhalú, and from Singapore, where my illness had induced me to go to consult an English physician; but M. Mouhot had changed his plans; he wished to explore Laos, a country whose climate is always so fatal to foreigners. There God saw fit to summon him to a better world. This I read with great sorrow in a Parisian newspaper; it was an extract from a London journal.
When I was abroad I heard of the death of my father, then of that of my mother, and I declare that these two announcements did not make more impression upon me than did the news of the death of a man whose equal I had not met with for twenty years; and the thought of his death, without any help but that of his servants during his illness and in his last moments, was more than enough to bring tears to my eyes as I remembered this good and benevolent friend. Be assured, dear Sir, that my feelings are shared by all the brothers who knew him. The natives themselves must have felt regret at his death; for all who knew him had only praises to repeat of his conduct towards them; and all acknowledged his gentleness and generosity—both qualities invaluable in the eyes of those people.
Permit me, then, dear Sir, to unite my regrets to your grief, and to present my respects to Madame Mouhot, together with my warmest sympathy with her in her affliction; also with your father and your wife. Receive my thanks for your having honoured me with your friendship; and be assured of my desire to be useful to you if ever it should lie in my power.
Marie Ch. Fontaine,
Missionary at Saigon, Cochin China.
P.S.—Twelve of us are about to set out for Indo-China, and I will not fail to express to Mgr. Miche and his companions the kind feelings which you express with regard to them. On the 20th we shall sail from Marseilles in the Hydaspe. Write to the Seminary of Foreign Missions, whence our correspondence will be forwarded to us. My family live at Laval, and you will be always welcome there.
From Mr. Samuel Stevens to M. Charles Mouhot.
Mr. Stevens has the honour to inform M. C. Mouhot that the collection made by his late brother in the mountains of Laos is very fine, particularly the insects and shells. Among the former are a great number of beautiful and new species, one of which, a splendid Carabus, has been described in the ‘Zoological Review’ at Paris, under the name of Mouhotia gloriosa, in compliment to the late lamented M. Mouhot. This name is very appropriate, as it is one of the most beautiful and remarkable beetles which has been seen for years. There is also a beautiful set of Longicorns, and other insects of the order of Coleoptera, of which a great number are new to science.
The land and fresh-water shells are also very beautiful. Among the former there are twenty-five different genera; eight or ten are quite new, and some of them very remarkable. They will shortly be described by Dr. Pfeiffer and others.
I can truly say that the insects and shells equal, if they do not surpass, the most beautiful collections I have ever received; and clearly demonstrate how rich a country for the naturalist lies between Siam and Cochin China.
There is also a small collection of birds and some monkeys, small animals, reptiles, and serpents in spirits, of which some are quite new.
The collection of insects and shells made in Cambodia was also very beautiful, and contained the large and fine Helix Cambojiensis, one of the best and most beautiful specimens known; also, the Bulimus Cambojiensis, and a splendid Buprestida, new and unique, besides a great number of others, new to science.[13]
From M. Malherbe to M. Charles Mouhot.
Bangkok, Nov. 1862.
Dear Sir,
On my return from Java a few days ago, I found waiting for me your kind letter, for which I thank you, although I should have wished to make your acquaintance under happier circumstances. All consolation from me, I know, would be ineffectual. The friendship I felt for your brother was not that of a stranger, but rather as though he were a member of my family; and I felt most painfully the news which met me on my return, of his death so far away: for I had been pleasing myself with the idea of his return, and long before my arrival here had given orders for his reception, and that he should be welcomed as though I were present.
One great consolation to the survivors is the feeling of how much he is regretted; here he had not a single enemy, but every one spoke of him as the best of men. I vainly tried to dissuade him from undertaking this dangerous expedition, for I had already lost a dear friend in that country. He was treacherously assassinated there by his boatmen.
I am much pleased with the frank manner in which you offer me your friendship. I thank you, and accept it with all my heart.