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The Flinders papersletters and documents about the explorer Matthew Flinders (1774-1814)
 
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Loose pages from Flinders' private letterbook (5 of 6). To Sir Joseph Banks 1801; to Flinders' father 1801; to his wife 1801. (FLI04) Page 3


from any obligation subsisting between us. I know that mine
to you are such that I can never sufficiently repay them, to
you; but surely, your liberality is too great to expect that my
mind is to be in a state of slavery on this account. The
course of nature points out, that the great load of obligation
for patern the endleƒs cares and troubles which a father takes
usually takes about his children, can only be repaid in toto
by those children performing the same kind offices to their
children ^ offspring in turn; and should it ever be my case, I trust
there will be no deficiency in this respect; but in the mean
time, my dear father, be aƒsured that whatever or whenever
it is in my power to contribute to your happineƒs ^ in any way I shall do
it, not as repaying a debt, but as the means whereby I shall
add to my own happineƒs by gratifying my filial affections,
for, oh my father, if there is a heart that warms with the
idea of affording aƒsi useful aƒsistance to his ^ parents father or fami
-ly, there is one in my bosom. If you think me selfish, as I
fear is somewhat the case, or devoid of gratitude, you do indeed
wrong me. [That I have not soothed you with the idea of
receiving pecuniary aƒsistance from me, should not I think
my dear father have caused the uneasineƒs ^ sensations at this time which it appears
to have done. I have, till lately, been in the habit of receiving
such aƒsistance from you; and it is but very lately that I
have not stood in need of it; and at this time my means
and (which indeed are temporary ones) are very little more than
^ are only adequate to my wants. Putting myself into your
situation, the opinion I should ^ form of offers of aƒsistance from a
sons whose power of affording it was so distant and precarious,
would be, that he had a design of lulling my caution asleep
in order to get something from me. This I think would be the
apparent motive for such offers, and I therefore withold them;
for I would much rather perform without promising, than promise
without being able to perform. I might however refer you to a
letter dated Nov. 28. 1800 "and I beg of you to believe, as my sincere
"sentiments, that I would much rather increase your income, and
"thus ease your labours, than add one day to them by receiving
"five shillings from you; and I hope the time will come, and
"before many years are over, that you will have better proof of
"the sincerity of what I say than words can be." Surely, my dear
father there is some meaning ^ expreƒsed in the above ^ sentence circumstance; and as
far as circumstances have gone, I think you have no reason to doubt my I have adhered strictly
intention of fulfilling it to it.. Marriage is a period at which men usually look for paren-
tal aƒsistance; but have I either by word or deed insinuated even a


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Related people
Nepean, Evan
Banks, Sir Joseph
Flinders, Matthew
Troughton, Edward
Flinders, Elizabeth
Chappelle (Flinders), Ann
Whidbey (Whidby), Joseph
Hippins family
Flinders family
Tyler, (Reverend) William

Places
Port Jackson
Sheerness

Vessels
Lady Nelson
Investigator

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