Letter from Thomas Manning to William Manning from Canton. Manning writes about the disappointment in not receiving letters but that he had one from his father and one from his brother, Edward, with a copying machine. He has sent Mr Woodward and Mr Wilkins some onion seeds in the care of George Staunton. He has written several times and hopes they are not lost. He has an upset stomach and has ordered congee - a rice gruel. He is generally in good health. He resumes the letter the next day after the Alfred had docked and was pleased to have received post including from his father dated November 1806. He had a letter from Robert Thomson, a Scot settled in France and translator of La Fontaine's stories. He recounts an episode when in France of acting on Thomson's behalf to become an English teacher at a premier French college. He then writes that he is about to embark on a trip to Cochinchina (south Vietnam). He is going with the Company boats who will put him down at Turon (Da Nang) and if he is received favourably will stay there for a month. But if the Mandarins or the Frenchmen at the Cochinchina court would "rather have my room than my company" he will stay aboard the Company boat or return to Macao with the Portuguese expedition. He considers those of Cochinchina as half civilised vagabonds but wants to compare the language with Chinese and also to see whether he could be employed by the court as Physician in a Cochinchina Embassy to Pekin. he has other plans but will not commit them to paper. He admits he is not good at belonging to institutions otherwise he might have been employed by the Honorable Company. He has petitioned to the Mandarins that he may go to Pekin to feel the Emperor's pulse and teach him to calculate eclipses. He thinks this will not happen because the English in India's fame spreads too fast for Asiatic potentates. He then writes of his opinion of the French and English at war. Handwritten, 4 sides. Dated 12 February 1808

Letter from Thomas Manning to William Manning from Canton. He writes that he lives in a most advantageous insulated condition but is making some progress in the languages and has learnt some things only obscurely or not known at all by Europeans. He writes of his time in Macao where they go each summer and he can converse with the French and with English. He is glad he is fluent in French. There are some pleasant English women. It has been discovered that he can sing by notes and therefore has been pressed to take part in concerts. He has sent his luggage to the river ready to embark to go to Cochinchina. Handwritten, 3 sides. Dated 26 February 1808

Letter from Thomas Manning to his sister, [Susanna] from Canton. He writes of receiving letters from other family members and the length of time they have taken to reach him. He writes of his aborted plans to go to Cochinchina. He is pleased with his progress in Chinese having a Chinese scholar to teach him. He hopes when he returns to England to inspire some young men to return to China to complete what he has started. The king of Siam has arrived in Canton and he hopes to dine with him and see if he can join his retinue. He writes about the Spanish conflict and says he has written some songs which when sung at table were prodigiously applauded. Handwritten, 3 sides. Dated 29 September 1809 See TM/9/8/12 for one ballad

Two copies of a letter from Thomas Manning to William Manning from Macao. He writes that his expedition to Cochinchina was totally unsuccessful because they hadn't left enough time and also they had come across the survivors of a China Nepal wreck which they rescued (at his insistence) and put down in Turon. He had been with the fleet to the Paracel Islands and seen the wildlife. He is making progress with his study of Chinese. "I have discovered the nature of the tones. I can speak. I can read. I am sure of being able to pursue the study of Chinese books in Europe". He had received a letter from his sister Fanny and one of these copies also has a note to his sister which is subsequently crossed out. Handwritten, 2 pieces, 4 sides, 4 sides. Dated in another hand 18 August, 1808