VON TEMPSKY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 250, 22 April 1912, Page 7

VON TEMPSKY.

INTERESTING REMINISCENCES. ! In the issue of the Taranaki Daily i News of January 2 appeared an interesting article from the pen of Mr. W. T. Jennings relative to Von Tempsky. The paper evidently reached Glasgow, for Dr. John Dryden, of that city, has forwarded the following to the Dunedin Star.— In reading this, when I came to the sentence, "the man who carried his life in his hand in Mexico.' I was reminded of a paragraph I had cut out of the Glasgow Herald some months ago (and -which I enclose herewith). When I first read this paragraph my interest, as an old New "was aroused, not so much by its main facts regarding Voltaire as by the mention of the historic name of Von Tempsky. Knowing that the New Zealand Von Tempsky had been somewhat of a rolling stone, I thought it not improbable that he was the Von Tempsky referred to. As, however, none of my New Zealand books gave Von T.'s initials I consulted one of the principal Glasgowlibraries, but the only reference to the ' name which I could find is that contained in the enclosed letter, which I sent to the Herald. The facts, however, that G. F. Von Tempsky wrote a book of travels in Mexico, and that the New Zealand Von Tempsky had been in Mexico previous to his arrival in New Zealand, together with the dates, the book being published in 185(7 and Von Tempsky's death occurring in 1808, seemed to render it very likely that they were one and the same man. If Von Tempsky's naras was Gustavus Ferdinand, which I should think you could easily ascertain, trie matter would he settled beyond a doubt. Hoping you will not deem this too trivial a matter for notice, as I fancy it will be news to many of your older readers who remember Von Tempsky to find that he was an author, —I am, etc., JOHN DRYSDALE. Glasgow, March 4, 1912. INTERESTING FIND EST GLASGOW. At a meeting of the Glasgow Achaeological 'Society last night in the rooms at '207 (Bath street, Professor Stevenson, i of Glasgow University, gave an account j of how several interesting unpublished letters of -Voltaire had come into hii possession. The Rev. Professor Cooper presided. , Professor Stevenson stated that about 18 months ago a cousin of his, the Rev. Mr. Stevenson, of Rutherglen, died, and among his papers was found a packet, which was handed over to Professor Stevenson to inspect. This turned out to have been in 1858 in the possession of G. iF. Von Tempsky, who resided at 17 Buckingham terrace, Glasgow. Neither the Directory of 1858 nor those of several years before and after that date contained Tempsky's name, so it was assumed that he was not a householder. Perhaps he was a lodger. Professor Stevenson did not know how the papers passed from Tempsky into the hands of j his cousin, but Tempsky had written on I the outside of the packet a note to the | effect that his grandmother was a daughter of the famous German jurist Cocceji, jj and the papers had been preserved in the : Cocceji family because of their connection with Voltaire. Voltaire was in Berlin in 1751, and became involved in a lawsuit with a Jefcv named Hirschell. Cocceji was one of the judges who tried the case, and he kept the papers, which contained autograph letters of Voltaire, j The lawsuit between Voltaire and Ilirschell created a sensation in its time, and it might be interesting to readers to refer to Carlyie's "Frederick the Great," ' where the case was given at considerable length, although a good deal of additional material regarding the ease had become available since Carlyie's time, the whole documents relating to it. which i were now in the archives In Ciiarlotten- i burg, having been published recently. ' The papers in Professor 'Stevenson's possession numbered nine. Eight of them ; were directly connected with the famous 1 lawsuit, and very likely threw some fresh I light on the matter. Two of them were written to Cocceji in the course of the case, and two others were of the nature of memoirs. One, supposed to have been written by a secretary, showed corrections in Voltaire's handwriting, altering the (French. The following is a copy of one of the shorter letters contained in the packet:— Monseigneur, Voila mes pieces j elles parlent bien mieux qui moil. Je suis trop vif, mais jugez-moi suivant votro raison et noil pas suivant ma vivacite. Je suis avec respect, Monseigneur,. de votre excellence le tres humfble, tres obeissant, et tres oolere serviteur. VOLTAIRE. The documents were inspected wit's much interest by the members of the society. Professor Ferguson a forwards contributed some notes on books of receipts, mostly belonging to the .seventeenth century, and also referred to "Le Livrc des Merveilles du 'Monde;' a sixteenth century book of natural history. THE VOLTAIRE LETTERS FIND. , Sir,-—-The G. F. Von Tempsky in whose possession these letters' were in 1858, and regarding wiiose identity Professor Stevenson appears to be in doubt, is probably Gustavus Ferdinand Von Tempsky, .who in 1858 published a book entitled 'iMitla: A Narrative of hi< ideut and Personal Adventures on a J( irney in Mexico, etc.," and who dates Is dedication to the Earl of Westmoreland from "Dunoon, Argyllshire, October 12, 1857."—1 am. etc., J.D. AIR. JENNINGS INTERVIEWED.. In reference to the query of Dr. Drysdale as to whether the Von Tempsky referred to was in Mexico, it is established beyond doubt that he was identical with the G. F. Von Tempsky who wrote a book on travels in Mexico. Mr. W. T. Jennings, whom a Daily News reperesentative interviewed on the matter, knew Von Tempsky when he resided at Coromandel. Mr. Jennings' father left with him to join the Forest Rangers. Von Tempsky was not only a charming writer but lie was also an artist, and was particularly gifted in sketching. Mr. Jennings lias now in his poscssion the first numbers of "The Taranaki Punch." the frontispiece of the first number of which was a drawing by the versatile Von Tempsky. There is a number of his sketches in the Dominion. Some of them are reproduced in James Cowan's story of Kimble Bent, the pakeha-Maori who was with Titokowaru at Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu, where Von Tempsky and other prominent soldiers were killed.