Letter from Charles Snape to his uncle. He understands his brother Philip wrote...

Letter from Charles Snape to his uncle.

He understands his brother Philip wrote to him informing him of the death of their brother Tom, & to give him the facts he has copies from a long letter written by his widow to Philip, referring to some of the principal events which have occurred in his unhappy career. "What a melancholy fate was that of poor Miss Standish (a member of one of the leading and most ancient families in Lancashire) if true! Philip is disposed to believe in its accuracy from a conversation alleged to have taken place 2 or 3 years since between the widow & Pickering, (whose mother was connected with the Gerard family) but he has written to Pickering to ascertain whether it is a fact. This statement settles the doubtful question of Tom's second marriage, as it seems perfectly clear that the old lady he so impiously married, and whom he so wickedly abandoned, lived until the 4th of October 1854; consequently he has no legitimate children living, for he has left none by his widow, who has I understand, one, but it died - I believe my poor unhappy brother was addicted to gross habits of intemperance up to the very last".

He says it is a perfect delusion about there being a practice worth £600 p.a. going a begging in this district. "The physician who is practising here, and who is determined to remain, made, he believes, £400 one year, which he considered a fortunate year", so he has made arrangements to leave there in about 10 days time for Sydney. If he is not successful in hearing of some really good opening there he intends to rejoin his wife & family in England. The "excessive heat" of the climate does not suit his constitution. During the last 2 or 3 months the thermometer ranged from 94° to 108° in the shade & about 150° in the sun "with about 9 months drought". The pecuniary loss to the colony has been very large - a great quantity of live stock having died of sheer starvation and want of water.

The drought has has at last firmly given way, and some heavy floods have occurred during the last fortnight, and now all the people seem to be apprehensive of a regular deluge. "We have had all but a famine in this part of the Colony, in consequence of the difficulty of getting up supplies and the different stores having run out - the effect has been to run up the price of provisions; but all this is now mercifully changed - 2 or 3 weeks ago the country was one vast deset - today all is fresh, green and blooming." He was very pleased to meet his two brothers again, but so changed. They seem to have had a hard struggle all through life and Philip has never recovered from the very serious losses he had in consequence of the floods which occurred about 3 years since: James also lost a good deal of money about the same time - a bush life is not to be envied, but he thinks James rather likes it.

Written from Warialda, New South Wales.