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[Page 4]
S.S. [Soho Square] Augt 30
Dear Sir
it would give me infinite Pleasure if I Could on the Present occasion obey your commands & do service to a man of Dr Wickhams merit & Promise, perh at Present however I chose not undertake it. Dr Wickham is under an Error when he Supposes that Mr Forbes was liberated because he was a man of Science - it was not in that Capacity only but on account of his being a Fellow R.S. [Royal Society] that I ventured to Recommend his Case to the french institut who had before on my account of Procured the liberation of Mr John Osborne a F.R.S. who is not particularly attachd to the Prescient of Science besides this I must Confess that I have not so high an opinion of Bonapartes Love for science or of my influence with the institut & to think that the Fact of both these gentlemen being more than 60 years of age tho it was not sufficient to work their [indecipherable] without some additional sallutation had its influence in the decision that finaly gave them their Liberty.
You will easily suppose that after having been successful in my applications as I have been I am cautious in the extreme not to make any in which I have not reason to expect success. in the case of Dr. Wickham whose [indecipherable] can only rest upon his superior knowledge in the medical views, I have many doubts of the Possibility of my being attended to as the Royal Society on the Credit of which on the opinion of the institut I can only expect attention does not extend to this Branch.
besides I have only a few days ago made a new request to the institut in Favor of Capt Flinders; bot a discoverer & a man of well known geographic & hydrographical presence who has been detaind in his return from a voyage of discovery. I am therefore at present very unwilling to take any step that might endanger the success of this application in favor of a Friend & a Country man & any application likely to meet with a Repeal could Certainly put in [it] on Record.
I beg you Sir however to be assured that if any opening shall present itself in Correspondence or otherwise which or other Circumstance which shall induce me to believe that an application from me in Favor of Mr. Wickham will be acceptable I will not lose a moment in taking the proper steps as the Liberation of a Country man from Prison would give me a heartfelt Pleasure even if not brought about by my means.
fr. Haygarth
Augt 30 --04