WCP640

Letter (WCP640.812)

[1]1

Sam Joaquim [São Joaquim]2

7 de Junho de 1853

Ill[ustrissi]mo Sen[ho]r Ricardo Spruce3

Recebi o Ceu estimadiçimo fabor datado de 26 de Abril proçimo pasado q[u]e m[ui]to estimei por saber q[u]e Vmcer [Vossa mercê] gozava saude e fiquei certo em tudo q[uan]to me relata, e sau [sou] a responder-lhe, q[u]e fico bastante pinalizado pela infelis sorte q[u]e teve o noso bom am[ig]o Alfred! Ora pois Sr. Spruce os travalhos fizeron-se p[ar]a os [h]Omens, eu cinto inteiram[en]te, os projuizos [sic] q[u]e elle teve, perder todos os ceus travalhos q[u]e teve durante, 4 Annos, mais Con tudo isso salvou a Vida q[u]e hé o preçiozo do homem;4 queira fazer o favor quando escrever p[ar]a Alfred. recomendar-me muito a elle e dar-lhe os pezares por mim; A mai dos meus filhos5 pede a Vmcer [Vossa mercê] p[ar]a q[u]e lhe dé muitas recomendacoens della p[ar]a Alfred. e se elle rezolver a vir outra ves por Cá que Conte Comigo p[ar]a o que lhe prestar em qualquer parte q[ue]'eu estiver, que ei de ser p[ar]a elle o mesmo Lima Como de antes, e no mais Lembranças de nós, e este Coraçao q[u]e se lhe ofrece Como, q[ue]m he de Vmcer [Vossa mercê]

M[ui]tto [sic] At[en]to vosso e obrig[a]do | João Ant[óni]o de Lima6 [signature]

N.B. O Jeronimo Velho7 pede-lhe q[u]e Vmcer [Vossa mercê] O recomende a Alfred. e q[u]e ainda o tem in lembrança e q[u]e a Camiza q[u]e Alfredo lhe deu q[u]e ainda exziste [sic] á pobre viajante e meu am[ig]o.

Lima [signature]

ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE ABOVE TEXT

[1]

San Joaquim

7 June 1853

Most worthy Mr Richard Spruce

I received your most esteemed favour dated the 26th April last, and was very glad to know that you enjoyed [good] health and I was sure of everything you said and I am replying to you, that I am much grieved at the misfortune that our good friend Alfred suffered! Well now, Mr Spruce, the works were made to the men, I entirely understand the troubles he had, in losing all his work of four years; but for all that, his life is saved, and that is the most precious thing for a man. Would you kindly do me the favour, when you write to Alfred, of remembering me to him and give him my sympathy. The mother of my children asks you to remember her to Alfred, and if he decides to come here again that he can count on me to assist him wherever I should be, that I shall be to him the same Lima as before, moreover Regards from us and this heart which offers itself as if it were yours

Yours, very sincerely and much obliged,

João Antonio de Lima [signature]

N.B. — Old Jeronimo asks you to remember him to Alfred, and that he still remembers him and that the poor wanderer and my friend still has the shirt that Alfred gave him.

Lima [signature]

1
The letter is written in Portuguese, with some idiosyncratic, perhaps partly phonetic, spelling.
2
"Sam Joaquim", São Joaquim, a settlement at the mouth of the Uaupés [Vaupés] River, Amazonas State, Brazil (Wallace, A. R. 1853. A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro, With an Account of the Native Tribes, and Observations on the Climate, Geology, and Natural History of the Amazon Valley. London, UK: Reeve & Co. [p. 274]).
3
Spruce, Richard (1817-1893). British botanist, explorer and collector in the Amazon; lifelong friend of ARW.
4
In a letter to Richard Spruce dated 19 September 1852, ARW describes the loss of his work and collections when returning from Brazil on board the Brig Helen, which caught fire and then sank, although ARW, the captain and crew all managed to escape with their lives (WCP349_L349 and Wallace, A. R. 1905. My Life: A Record of Events and Opinions, 2 vols. London, UK: Chapman & Hall, Ltd. [pp.303-305]).
5
The second partner of João Antonio de Lima, introduced to ARW as the "mother of his younger children" (Wallace, A. R. 1853. A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro, With an Account of the Native Tribes, and Observations on the Climate, Geology, and Natural History of the Amazon Valley. London, UK: Reeve & Co. [p. 209]).
6
Lima, João Antonio de ( — ). Portuguese trader, living on the upper Rio Negro, identified as "Senhor L." in Wallace, A. R. 1853. A Narrative of Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro, With an Account of the Native Tribes, and Observations on the Climate, Geology, and Natural History of the Amazon Valley. London, UK: Reeve & Co.
7
As yet unidentified.

Editorial information

Status: Edited (but not proofed) transcription [Letter (WCP640.812)]

For more information about the transcriptions and metadata, see https://wallaceletters.myspecies.info/content/epsilon

Revision history

Transcribed by Salvador, Andreia [2011-12-21] Transcription checked by Catchpole, Caroline [2013-01-15] Transcription checked by Watt, Helen [2018-11-02] Transcription checked by Da Silva, Victor [2020-06-16]

Please cite as “WCP640,” in Beccaloni, G. W. (ed.), Ɛpsilon: The Alfred Russel Wallace Collection accessed on 30 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/wallace/letters/WCP640