To William Baxter 12 February 1830

Cambridge

12 February 1830

Dear Sir,

I have requested by Banker here to place the sum of one Guinea & a half to your account At Messrs Walker, Lock & Co. Oxford – so that whenever you choose to send for It there, you will find it – this I believe is all that I am indebted to you, but if I have made any mistake I beg you will be so good as to let me know, I will immediately rectify it– I feel exceedingly obliged by the kindness you have shewn in forwarding the only copy you had left & have lodged it in the hands of a person who will properly appreciate it I feel still more obliged for the good part in which you have taken my remarks upon what I conceive to be the duties of our peculiar vocation– for though I could have no right whatever to offer them to you, yet as my pen had once begun I found I could not stop myself until it had finished. I sincerely hope that God will soon restore you again to the best interests of society that of promoting the knowledge & happiness of all around us – As our means are the greater & our opportunities increase, so too our temptations also to lose sight of them – & the carnal nature is perpetually enticing us to take disgust at something or other which we see in contradiction to our views and wishes, but by perpetually denying our own [illeg.] for the General good, & daily begging of God to allow us not be influenced either by good report or by evil report, we can (by patience & the knowledge of our redeemed [hole in paper] learn gradually to live a life of [hole in paper] from such silly motives as continue to influence those who take the word for their model, or men like themselves for their guide. We can even at length feel no disgust at whatever malice, or ill nature may continue against us & become as really delighted at being able to serve an enemy as a friend– at least I mean in spirit & peace of conscience, for of course the carnal friendships we may form are above our control, & it w d be equally sinful to be without such natural affections as to abuse the blessing of enjoying them to the prejudice of one above another

Y rs truly | J. S. Henslow

Post Paid | Mr Baxter | Botanic Garden | Oxford

Please cite as “HENSLOW-112,” in Ɛpsilon: The Correspondence of John Stevens Henslow accessed on 29 March 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/henslow/letters/letters_112