TALBOT6138

Dear Sir,

D^r Dance's blunders are most provoking; but such blunders and mis-representations of our views will some time or other be exposed and corrected. – I have been so often exposed to such misrepresentations that I do not feel them. A Paper by Melloni ¹in y^e last No of the Phil. Mag. contains a most ignorant criticism on my results regarding the spectrum. I can scarcely take the trouble of counteracting ² them.

I have spent 2 or 3 months in a most troublesome investigation of the subject of circular crystals I have examined nearly 300 substances in search of this property, and have obtained many curious results, & beautiful examples of various kinds of circular crystallisation; and now that my labour is over I can scarcely be at the trouble of committing the results to paper. The pleasure of success is over, and the reputation of having succeeded seems not worth the trouble of [seeking?] it . – I have studied your circular crystals from their infancy till their death, which when they are not protected ³ means a life of about 3 months. In their morbid anatomy their structure is apparent, & phenomena which utterly puzzled me exhibited their cause clearly on disintegration of the crystals.

The Editor of the North British Review ⁴ is the Rev^d D^r Hanna ⁵ Morningside Editor. ⁶ The 17^th N^o, which I hope will contain the Review of your work, ⁷ is on the Eve of publication.

I see by the Post mark that your letter ⁸ is written in London; but not knowing your Address I send this to Lacock Abbey.

Believe me to be Ever most Truly y^rs
D Brewster

S^t Leonards College
S^t Andrews
April 25^th 1848

H.F. Talbot Esq^r
&c &c &c