well fitted for the hardships foreseen

https://johnirving.carrd.co ✏️ Posting some finds (or at least collating my own's worth) of resident cold boy John Irving (1815); however exciting or small! Some may take time, as I‘m doing this for fun (and just a little hint of research masochism).

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Masterlist (so far)

Letters to Malcolm, (containing the parts omitted from Bell’s rather romanticised and edited publication — though only 12 in total found in archives so far):

John’s letter to Malcolm 16th May 1834

John’s letter to Malcolm 24th September 1834

John’s letter to Malcolm 8th December 1834/5

John’s letter to Malcolm 25th July 1836

John’s letter to Malcolm 29th September 1836

John’s letter to Malcolm 4th November 1836

John’s letter to Malcolm 17th January 1837

John’s letter to Malcolm 2nd March 1837

John’s letter to Malcolm 17th April 1837

John’s letter to Malcolm 3rd July 1843

John’s letter to Malcolm 4th August 1843

John’s letter to Malcolm 27th January 1844

Miscellaneous:

Belvidera Muster Book 1830-1833

John's Royal Naval College exam results

John’s time aboard "Favourite"

Chronometer receipt from HMS "Terror"

John and Kingston’s letters to Malcolm preview

Letter snippets from John’s family

Northwest Passage 'map' 1830-1832

Interior photos of 1 North Charlotte Street

Kingston's letters to Malcolm (about John):

Snippets from letters dated 23rd June 1834 and n.d. August 1834

Kingston’s letter to Malcolm 29th December 1834

Kingston’s letter to Malcolm 12th December 1836

Letter clippings dated 27th April 1838 (inc. mention of Fitzjames)

Kingston’s letter to Malcolm 9th March 1840

Malcolm’s letters to his father (whilst aboard HMS Belvidera):

Malcolm to Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm 1st December 1831

Malcolm to Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm 17th February 1832 (including photos of Malcolm)

Family:

Sister: Mary Irving (1811-1886)

Brother: Archibald Stirling Irving (1816-1851)

Brother: David Williamson Irving (1818/1819-1892)

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(ii) William Elphinstone Malcolm’s letter to his father whilst aboard HMS Belvidera* — 17th February 1832; with a mention of John in Malcolm’s obituary (inc. photos)

*although Malcolm wrote this letter whilst visiting the St. Vincent — the ship Fitzjames was on, technically he was still stationed on the Belvidera.

Source: Acc.6684/11 NLS

TRANSCRIPTION BELOW:

Now, is the matter of Malcolm’s obit, which I will include since we’re here for John. To make it even more poignant than it already is, is the context of Irving missing the meaningful religious conversations he used to have with his favoured friends (also on watch):

This letter that John sends then, questioning whether Malcolm still even remembered John and his time in the navy a decade later…:

…has an answer. For Elphie never forgot him…:

Source: Acc.11800/0 NLS

(The above are from (one version of) Malcolm’s obituary, including a photograph of him. Although it looks like someone has drawn on top of his eyes? Also central is a clearer photo of him found here. The last photo is regarding those who attended "Irving’s reinterment" in Edinburgh, 7th January 1881 — when Malcolm would have been in his mid-sixties.)

Ah. Although I made it very dramatic, John is technically not explicitly mentioned by name in that first anecdote, but…it seems very likely, no? Even down to getting used to the ‚evil language and behaviour‘ of their messmates; or their ‚obscene and bawdy‘ nature as John calls it in an 1836 letter. Or even reminiscent of Kingston’s:

Shortly after some during a conversation with Irving, one 1st watch, I was struck with the immensity of eternity.

In this regard, it may also have been Kingston Malcolm was vaguely referring to, but to think of it as John amidst the uncertainty seals the tragedy. Their early friendship was something special to both of them, which we have only truly seen from Irving’s perspective. Now we are allowed glimpses into another: how Malcolm reciprocated such affections, even in death.

(The screenshots (aside from the transcription) are all from John’s letters, and are from Arctonauts.com. The above pair of photos show Irving’s quote mentioned in Malcolm’s obituary, with the latter again being from Acc.11800/0 NLS.)

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(i) William Elphinstone Malcolm’s letter to his father whilst aboard HMS Belvidera — 1st December 1831

The only letters I could find today by Malcolm around the time he knew John were written to his father, which there are only a couple; and some to his brother, George. He seemed to have been lovingly close to his mother, father, and brother, with the correspondence written back being very sweet! (And happy that he was enjoying himself aboard Belvidera)!

Anyway, Malcolm doesn’t mention John or Kingston by name in this specific letter, but he does mention exploring Athens with other crewmates — which of course we can’t say for certain John was there, but it’s possible he was part of this party.

The next day I went with a party to Athens. We saw all the temples and ruins & visited the Acropolis. We dined in the town and I went to see your house. […] The garden is quite beautiful filled with all [kinds] of fruit trees, vegetables & flowers. I got some oranges off the trees. They were very good.

🍊 Regardless, Malcolm gives such valuable insight into life on the Belvidera whilst actually aboard the ship (and on shore) as a teenager! John’s letters compiled by Bell begin chronologically in 1834 — after Malcolm left the navy, and any reference to their time spent together on the ship is reminiscent.

(Also… doesn’t he just have such pretty handwriting?! Don’t mind his lack of punctuation ^.^)

Source: Acc.6684/11 NLS

TRANSCRIPTION BELOW:

I did skim through John and Kingston’s own letters to see if there was any reference to what Malcolm says here, but I couldn’t find anything. My memory is a bit rusty as I haven’t read John’s letters in a while, so if you think of anything then let me know!

Edit! From Irving’s letter 1837:

— I’ll be transcribing and posting Malcolm’s next letter soon, as well as an obituary of his which seems to allude quite emotionally to his and John keeping watch and having conversation aboard the ship together, so keep an eye out :)

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1 North Charlotte Street, Edinburgh

Finally posting after feeling inspired by the love everyone gave Amundsen’s house at Terror Camp!

Moving from John’s childhood home at 106 Princes Street, this address (only about five minutes away and still in the city centre) was John’s father’s house - whether the whole house or a section of it I’m not sure - at the time of writing a letter to Malcolm in 1843 after returning from Australia. I do include a little bit about North Charlotte Street in this post, with both of John’s found letters from 1843 addressed here: July, August.

If the address and building have remained the same since the 1840s, which seems likely given the age of the building itself (c.1790) and location near Charlotte Square, then here are some very 1999 photos of the building’s interior, displaying it’s Georgian and classical features, which I just find so interesting! A little glimpse into John’s life outside of the navy:

Source: Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinburgh, Scotland

Find all of the images here: https://www.trove.scot/place/115053#images

And more about the listed building itself: https://portal.historicenvironment.scot/apex/f?p=1505:300:::::VIEWTYPE,VIEWREF:designation,LB28508

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❄️ Poster: “What Rank is that Dog?”

A Tribute to Erebus’ Four-Legged Friends

by Anna Carson

Whether livestock, entertainers, stowaways, or rat-catchers, the significance of shoreanimals has often been neglected in the narratives of polar voyages. From finding joy in their individual quirks to acknowledging the cultural injustices animals often embody, each life and story holds value.

❄️ Read this poster

See this poster presentation (and all posters for Terror Camp V) on our website NOW! 🤩

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“Belvidera” Muster Book 1830-1833

With John once again eluding each of his ship’s physical description books….😠

Anyway, here are the registered names of Irving as an officer/midshipman (highlighted in yellow to hopefully see better), alongside his well-known and well-treasured friends from his letters, George T. Kingston (highlighted in orange) also as an officer/midshipman, and William (Elphie) Malcolm (highlighted in red) as a first-class [supernumeracy?] volunteer officer/midshipman:

[I believe the duplicate names may just be updates from the last written crew list or change of rank rather than multiple people of the same name, but feel free to comment otherwise if you know the specifics]

Below is some more detailed information about the trio in the same muster book, such as their previous ships (or naval colleges), dates of joining the ship, and their wages. On one page it also lists Kingston as a volunteer, and mentions Malcolm being lent from H.M.S. Britannia (a ship under his father’s command):

^^ Both Kingston and Irving were also tutored by a chaplain for seemingly their whole time aboard, as it’s mentioned in their 1833 records too.

And lastly, here are more pages of the same sort of information, although Malcolm isn’t mentioned again after leaving the ship:

Source for all = ADM 32/293 (The National Archives, London)

As always, do let me know if you needed transcriptions for anything!

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Exam results (Royal Naval College)

For this, I am not 100% sure if it is our John. Only because some dates don’t line up exactly: with Bell's book (1881) saying that John entered the naval college in Portsmouth on the 25th June 1828. If John graduated in 685 days as written below, then that would have made his enrolment date the 6th August 1828. However, I realise this excludes weekends, holidays, and perhaps some time to settle etc. So it’s a little messy to establish concrete confirmation with the given dates! But the timeframe is reliable, the high results — especially in maths — are consistent with what we know about his academic career (high midshipman’s scores and gained full numbers in maths!), the college title and location is consistent, and as far as I know there was not another John Irving who was the same age and in the same school. So it could simply be a date mix up due to the lack of detail.

Here’s my transcription regardless, because if it is him it’s so cool! And if solid information is found I will be sure to provide updates.

Source: RUSI/NM/243 Greenwich National Maritime Museum (& much appreciation to @cdr-edwardlittle for finding the entry 🫶!!)

"Royal Naval College, 22nd June 1830.

Mr. John Irving

Finished his Mathematical Education at the Royal Naval College in 685 days; being 45 days less than the Two Years; and made the following Progress,—730 being the full numbers.

[Days at College; or, Numbers expected in that Time], [Numbers gained], [Remarks = N/A for all].

- Mathematics = 685; 730

- English and Classics = 685; 690

- History and Geography = 685; 600

- French = 685; 600

- Drawing = 685; 630

Gained the following numbers at the Midshipmen‘s Examination.

[Value of full Answer a], [Value given a], [Remarks], [Value of full Answer b], [Value given b].

1. 10. 10 —- Geometry. 40. 35

2. 10. 10 Course & Distance. —-

3. 10. 10 Parallel Sailing. Arithmetic, & [S] —-

4. 10. 10 Current. —-

5. 30. 28 Days Work. Algebra. 50. 47 1/2

6. 10. 10 Time of *s on Merid: —-

7. 10. 10 O's Merid: Alt. Trigonometry. 50. 46

8. 10. 10 [symbol]‘s Merid: Alt. —-

9. 10. 10 *'s Merid: Alt. Astronomy. 50. 40 1/2

10. 10. 10 * under Pole. —-

11. 10. 10 Pole *. Navigation. 280. 278

12. 40. 40 Double Alt: —-

13. 30. 30 Chronometer. Instruments, —-

14. 40. 40 Lunar. —-

15. 10. 10 Amplitude. Mercator‘s Chart, —-

16. 20. 20 Azimuth —-

17. 10. 10 Tide. & Surveying. 40. 34 1/2

18-21. —- Gunnery & Fortification. 50. 35

Total = 280 / Total = 278

Total = 560 / Total = 516 1/2

Examined on the 22nd June 1830, and allowed Two Years Time of Service at Sea, being found Qualified to be Discharged into His Majesty‘s Navy.

Thomas Foley - Admiral and Commander in Chief.

[Michael Seymour?] - Commissioner.

Wentworth Loring - Lieut. Gov. Royal Naval College."

Context =

Source: Lieut. John Irving, R.N. of H.M.S. “Terror,” in Sir John Franklin’s Last Expedition to the Arctic Regions: A Memorial Sketch with Letters. Edited by Benjamin Bell, F.R.C.S.E. (1881): https://ia801404.us.archive.org/31/items/cihm_29830/cihm_29830.pdf

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Update!! They are his!

Yesterday at the London archives I sifted through a box of Royal Navy College papers from 1830 and found these confirming letters — the dates, life events, and officers match up completely:

Transcription:

Royal Naval College

June 22d 1830

Sir, The Students hereunder named have finished their Education at the Establishment, and I request you will be pleased to report it to the Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty. […] John Irving [in] 45 days less [than the time allowed].

In the bunch of correspondence were also extra progress scores (which he was sick for in one of them) and rankings amongst other students in maths particularly, and also an official letter about his maths award (which Kingston makes an appearance in with a prize of his own!) I highlighted the 'John-specific-parts' in yellow, Kingston’s in orange, and have included a transcription below;

Transcription:

The Students named in the margin have been minutely examined in all the branches of education, including Gunnery and Fortification and have been adjudged to be sufficiently advanced in their education to be discharged into His Majestys Naval Service.

The first Medal has been awarded to Mr William Moorson and the Second Medal to Mr John Irving

There has no Student been brought before me who is recommended for the Gunnery Medal.

The Students named in the margin have merited prizes for their superior progress in different branches of their edication, and which have been delivered to them in the presence of the Committee.

Dated the 22d June 1830

(signed) Tho[mas] Foley Admiral

E. J. Dickson Captain

M[ichael] Seymour Commissioner

[A copy of the original letter]

(And a transcription for the brief handwritten reference in the following image below = Mr Irving [wishes to go to sea] in HMSloop Cordelia)

Bonus curriculum that makes me tired just reading it:

Source: ADM 1/3518 TNA

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Kingston to Malcolm — December 29th 1834 (H.M.S. Tyne, Malta)

“How painful it is at times to be seperated from those we love most. The expressions contained in Irving’s letters produce in me a kind of pleasing melancholy. At present I see no prospect of our ships meeting again for months which is particularly trying as though not destitute of Companions there are none I feel so endearing as my old Friend.”

This letter, (written by George Kingston who befriended Irving and Malcolm in the navy), is third-party dated on the front as 1835, so when scanning through my photos I didn’t include it alongside John’s September 1834 letter despite the kind of overlap. So, here is Kingston’s whole letter (primarily regarding his relationship with his own faith and missionary-type work) as its own post!

(My transcription is just below the original letter, highlighting the parts in bold where Kingston references Irving or something related to him in particular, if you’re only here for that!)

Source: Acc.6684/15-17 NLS

- When Kingston talks about John’s letter (the one where he mentions attempting to befriend some other Christian friends on H.M.S. Edinburgh aka The Holy Ghost Boys), he spells one of the midshipman’s names as Moyle, whereas Irving spells it as Moil, so since it’s more of John’s domain I thought to add a little note to connect them as the same person.

FULL TRANSCRIPTION to the best of my abilities!;

(If you’d like, do share any thoughts or specific insights into these letters that someone like me may not pick up on! Especially regarding historical context and evangelicalism. It’s personally really fascinating and quite necessary to learn more about these things, especially when comparing Irving and Kingston’s own views, and the contents of what they each write to Malcolm in particular.)

Some further reading for those who want it (if you can’t access, feel free to dm for the pdf 🤫):

An evangelical Christian on Franklin's last expedition: Lieutenant John Irving of HMS Terror | Polar Record | Cambridge Core

An evangelical Christian on Franklin's last expedition: Lieutenant John Irving of HMS Terror - Volume 33 Issue 187

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Map of the uncharted Northwest Passage c.1830-1832

'History and Topography of the United States'; Hinton, J. H. (ed.) London: 1830-1832. Gladstone’s Library, Wales: WEG/W 82/HIN.

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Misc. letter snippets simply for the handwriting/old doodle lovers like me c.1829-1882, written by John’s family & friends

[All directed towards Henry Cadell, apart from Malcolm’s who was for Miss Elphinstone]

Catherine (Cadell) Irving, aka John's sister-in-law Katie;

Catherine's letters to her brother affirm John's thinking of her as a caring person, (and also show that they both called Lewis the same nickname!) Speaking of…

Lewis Hay Irving, aka John's brother Lewie;

Not even going to attempt to transcribe this right now. This is as best as his handwriting gets! (Ft. reciprocated nicknames, doodles, and some random maths)

[A young William Elphinstone Malcolm?], aka John's friend I am sure you are all familiar with, Elphie (1829);

Baby drawings!!! 🐴 I took these photos a few months back specifically for these drawings and didn’t realise that they seem to be Malcolm’s himself until @parhelios pointed it out! Progress with writing, school, holiday songs (,wine, and cake), that line at the end: "your letter smells beautiful" — adorable.

Alexander Irving, aka John's other brother, regarding his funeral;

55 Great King Street

Edinburgh. 5 January 1881.

My dear Sir [Henry Cadell],

The reinterment of the remains of my brother Lieut. John Irving, R.N. will take place at the Dean Cemetery on Friday first. The funeral, which will be with naval honours, will leave 55 Great King Street at 1 p.m. but I shall be glad if you can be present at a short service in the house there at 12:30.

Yours very truly

[Alexander Irving]*

* = though this one may be a bit of a cheat, since the handwriting seems different than signature, meaning another person probably wrote numerous invitations like this and only his signature is in his own handwriting? Regardless, it deserves a place here for the content alone.

John Irving, aka (our) John's nephew;

(Ft. some machinery plans and his dad's inherited sloppy handwriting.)

Sources; NLS Acc.5381/55, Acc.6990/9

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John's older sister, Mary Irving

Do these look like they could be the same person to you? I’m not 100% sure (a running theme of this blog), but I may have accidentally stumbled upon Mary’s photographs whilst searching in the Scottish Falkirk archives:

These photos [1/2] are listed in the archives as 'Miss Irving, sister of Rev. Lewis Irving - c.1890'. This would place her around 70 years old, being born in 1811 and dying in 1886, which aligns with how the lady appears in the photographs. Despite not being completely sure of her identity — albeit her features are quite similar to John’s and Lewis’ own, as well as between photos!, and listed in the archives as the same person, but still remaining a little bit skeptical, I couldn’t find another Reverend Lewis Irving of the same name in the same area at the same time, even other family members, despite the lack of ‘Hay’ as a middle/surname. So, being such a prominent minister in the area, I can’t see why there would be a mix up in labelling his sister’s photographs!

I am sure, too, that someone out there well-versed in Victorian fashion history can do a much better analysis than I of the dress in the photographs, and what this may provide in terms of placing context; and with the descriptions in general, whether the dark dress and title of ‘Miss’ is related to her being a later widow and the implications of her cenotaphs (below) being engraved with her maiden name…

Regardless, here’s some context for this spiel:

Since Lewis (Lewie) died in 1877, yet the physical photos are located where he ended up living in Falkirk, perhaps they were sent to other surviving family there. From the little extra comment about Mary in John’s 2nd March 1837 letter, it did seem like her and Lewis were somewhat close, as she looked after his baby whilst he was mourning his wife’s passing away, and seemed still quite involved with the Irving family life — and John, of course, mentioned her affectionately in correspondence like the one below. Though it is a shame, as with most historical women, that not much is said about her character.

And, an unrelated segue that may be of interest to anyone visiting Edinburgh, after reading the above material from John’s letter and finding in this newspaper article that he wrote to Mary herself (the same content of his September 1834 letter - just worded a little differently - as he wrote to both Malcolm and Kingston),

I found out (annoyingly on the bloody train home) that one of her grave/cenotaphs is actually right beside 'John’s':

(The first photo is mine, but the latter are both attributed to GariochGraver on the website findagrave. Also, the last photo above is located in a different Edinburgh cemetery, where John’s other family members are memorialised.)

I did not mean to turn this into a semi-biographical post — I only wanted to share the portraits (whoops)! So, there are some other things of mention about Mary Irving, (and Lewis, and Catherine etc.), but those will be part of another post.

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An Irving and Fitzjames mention in Kingston’s letter to Malcolm — 27th April 1838 (Yarmouth)

Although this letter (below) doesn’t explicitly confirm that John met Fitzjames when the Belvidera was stationed in the Mediterranean, it does seem that both of his close friends, Malcolm and Kingston, were present in the picture sometime before or when Fitzjames was 'keeping it up' with the Belvidera lads in May 1833 (right before Malcolm was to leave the Navy on account of his health, returning, as seen in Fitzjames’ record, when the Belvidera left for England). But, stationed where they were and with Kingston’s confirmation of their knowing each other in some passing manner during this time, it seems reasonable to assume that Irving and Fitzjames did meet, or at least know of each other, during this time as teenage midshipmen.

Regardless, based on the wonderful @jamesfitzjamesdotcom’s research, Kingston nevertheless contributes to the lack of letters concerning Fitzjames during his time aboard the Excellent;

Source: Acc.6684/27 NLS

TRANSCRIPTION, with the bold parts being the relevant parts here (thankfully way easier to decode than Kingston’s other letters!):

I find Irving and Fitzjames’ relationship quite interesting, particularly after reading Woodman’s Inuit Testimony. We know that Fitzjames was theoretically responsible for choosing the officers of the Franklin expedition, with Irving being selected as third lieutenant for the Terror’s 1845 crew. Consequently, both men are mentioned on the only surviving literary record attesting to the crew’s abandonment of the ships in 1848 (Irving’s retrieval of the famous Victory Point note, which he delivered to Fitzjames to amend):

So, I find that if they did meet as teenagers, then another layer of intrigue and tragedy surfaces. But, of course, until there is concrete proof then this narrative unfortunately remains fragmentary!

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John’s letter to Malcolm — 17th April 1837 (106 Princes Street, Edinburgh) 🌨️❄️

You may or may not be thankful to learn (depending on how much you enjoyed this spam) that this is the last published letter of John’s I found in Edinburgh so far. I'll be searching for the rest, and especially the replies from his friends and family, if they survive; but in the meantime I do have some posts drafted and a few new finds and/or interesting tidbits to share! And for everyone who supported these posts or left comments or messaged me personally, I want to formally pass on all my gratitude, it truly means a lot <3

So, here is probably the most relevant letter to conclude on, since everyone I know has been complaining about the weather recently! (and being somewhat stressy about the holidays).

“My stay on shore is quite uncertain, but I can hear of no prospects of promotion, or any thing to be gained by going to sea. I find visiting very unfavourable to reading and have read but little this last three weeks.”

Source: Acc.6990/9 NLS

Of course, this letter follows with a transcription below (the thermometer temperature reads in Fahrenheit which…did catch me off guard the first time I read the letters! So that being said, 25°F is about -4°C):

(^ The Compulsory Church Rate Abolition Act did actually come to pass in 1868… so I guess their petitions didn’t work!)

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John’s letter to Malcolm — 3rd July 1843 (Edinburgh)

The penultimate letter I found in the archives, (which includes it’s own Rorschach Test!) To be fair, there’s not much change with what Bell has already published, so I’ll post this one plainly just for his handwriting.

In regards to his experience on the ship "Favourite" after leaving Australia, I did make a short post about it here, if you wanted to check it out.

Source: Acc.6990/9 NLS

TRANSCRIPTION:

…Adding to a wonderfully insightful and verbose comment from Kingston to Malcolm in 1842:

("I have not heard from Irving for more than a year.")

And lastly, in regards to John's:

"I left my brother in Australia. He had married well, and was so connected with his wife’s relations that I saw but little of him."

Here’s a little clipping of what followed said brother, David, in Australia, as a seemingly respected police magistrate. For any Aussies following this blog, you can visit his grave in Tamworth General Cemetery in New South Wales, buried in the same cemetery as his wife, Jane, and children, John and Mary; having apparently died in old age of epilepsy. More information about him, and full transcriptions of the newspaper articles below, can be found on wikitree, who did all of this heavy-lifting for me. And also, he is mentioned — John’s critical comments having been redacted by Bell — in a few of John’s other letters already posted on this blog!

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John’s letter to Malcolm— 24th September 1834 (H.M.S. Edinburgh, Vourla)

With some bonus Kingston letters to provide some extra bit of context and also an alternative perspective!

"I have seen a good deal of old Kingston and have taken some walks with him, he is just the same, and as I walked along, looking at his large shoes, swinging arms — and though it was a hot day, an immense stiff black neckcloth. I could not help laughing, and thinking how you would have been amused."

(What is also amusing, is that the design of one of the wax seals appears to depict a squirrel, and also the way in which it was opened coincidentally forms a squirrel itself!! Look at this little guy!:)

An alternative name would be the Holy Ghost Boys letter, unfortunately for John.

Source: Acc.6684/15 NLS

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned before, but I find it rather ingenious how John structured his letter to write around where the wax would rip the paper when opened (perhaps not the best post to reference this on though haha). No one else I have found around the time does that!

Anyway, here is the TRANSCRIPTION BELOW!:

Additionally, a great quote from Bell 1881 in relation to his “pride and bad temper”:

“It would appear that while in the “Belvidera” he was not very popular on account of a hot temper and a rather domineering manner. He was better informed than the majority of his compeers, had decided opinions, and was prone to become dictatorial. We can readily imagine, from personal knowledge, that in early life such may have been his tendency.”

And here’s what Kingston has to say about the matter! All in the same source as aforementioned.

1) This first letter is dated 23rd June 1834, and is also transcribed below (only the parts which mention John - one day I will get around to transcribing all of Kingston’s own letters. He just writes so much, more religious talk than anything, and also his giant letters are often criss-crossed so they’re bloody hard to read sometimes!). In this extract then, Kingston writes about meeting John’s older brother, comparing their appearance and voice and manner which makes me insane a little crazy, and also his hopes about meeting John soon:

2) And this second letter from Kingston is dated sometime in August 1834, a month earlier than John’s, but I believe details the same events (blame the tardy post!). Kingston shares his own view of their meetings and observations, being on different ships, which makes me even crazier:

For this one in particular, I couldn’t figure out some important words, (and the ones I have can also be contended), so if anyone would like to suggest the unintelligible words that would be an incredible help! And I will update the transcription accordingly.

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John’s letter to Malcolm — 25th July 1836 (H.M.S. Edinburgh, Zante) 🏔️ ❄️

This one describes John’s trek up Etna, to which Bell states that his lip got permanently scarred by frostbite, although John never mentions it. This is personally one of my favourites; I adore how sensory John’s descriptions are when detailing the exhausting yet rewarding climb up the mountain, dangling their feet over the edge of the crater, and wading through waist-high snow — and then his transient happiness aboard the ship, mention of burning letters (how dare), and fond talk of Malcolm and Kingston. It’s so perfect and familiar to me, little glimpses like this:

"We had some hours very hard work toiling up to Our middles in snow, but we were amply repaid for our trouble on arriving at the top by the magnificent prospect of the whole coast-line of Sicily and the southern shore of Italy laid out at our feet like a map. (…) We could sit with one leg hanging into the crater and the other down the steep slope of the cone (…) We all got new skins to our faces, from the great change in the temperature in going up and coming down. Being so early in the year, the snow was low down. We had to walk 6 miles above our knees in it."

Source: Acc.6990/9 NLS

Unfortunately, there were only twelve of John’s published letters in the NLS archives (and none unpublished, or the ones to Kate). I've yet to find the rest to Malcolm in particular, if they still exist, and the Edinburgh archives I haven’t yet checked are closed now until 2026. I do hope they have survived somewhere out there! And not just the ones directed to Malcolm. I love to see which parts of John’s letters Bell changed or scrapped from publication altogether; I can’t help but imagine what else we're missing because of it.

TRANSCRIPTION BELOW containing all said parts omitted by Bell's 1881 publication (he didn’t even attempt to decipher the handwritten Mediterranean names which I think is funny). As always, let me know if you needed the text version!

(And a little extra something from the book I keep forgetting to post:)

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John’s letter to Malcolm— 4th August 1843 (1 North Charlotte Street, Edinburgh)

This one is quite short and not much has been edited for publication!

“I am enjoying myself very much after my long absence from home. I look forward to meeting you with great pleasure. But I find myself getting as I get older, more selfish and colder of heart. I had once a good deal of romantic sort of notions, once [now] that sort of thing is quite evaporated, and you will find me a much more matter-of-fact person than you formerly knew me.”

Source: Acc.6990/9 NLS

TRANSCRIPTION BELOW containing all parts omitted by Bell's 1881 publication. As always, let me know if you needed the text version!