Faraday to Julius Plücker   12 June 1848

Royal Institution, London | 12 June 1848

My dear Sir

I received your letter of the 6 Feby¹ and was glad to find by it that the heavy glass had arrived safe[.] I have no doubt that in your hands it will be more useful than it could be in any others. I also received yesterday another kind letter from you² full of beautiful facts and I was so struck with its contents that I instantly sent it to Mr. Taylor to insert (if he was of my mind) in the next number of the Philosophical Magazine³. I hope I have not in this done anything you would wish undone but I desired greatly that the facts should be made known to the world[.] To day I have received the printed copy of the two papers⁴ you mentioned to me in your letter[.] I had heard of them before in Poggendorf[f] Annalen[.] It is most tantalizing to me to see your rich results & yet see them as it were without understanding;- enclosed in a sealed book[.] For I cannot read German & I cannot learn it. From day to day my memory grows weaker and if I make an attempt to recover even the little knowledge I had of German words in former times my head grows giddy all things swim around me & I do not recover for some weeks. But it is a shame for me to complain I ought to be content: - and indeed I speak of this matter only that you may not be surprized that I do not rejoice with you in every word that you write as I really should do if I could read them[.]

When your last letter comes back to me from Mr Taylor I shall compare it with the German papers & get some friend to help me and I hope repeat some of the experiments: - but at present I am in my giddy tottering condition and dare hardly think of the common place experiments which belong to a couple of lectures I still have to give⁵. After these are over however I trust that a little country air & rest will in part set me up again. At the same time I do not forget that I am nearly 57 years of age - have worked long hours in my life time and as to natural strength am somewhat worn. In such cases a man may be patched but he cannot be remade. Wishing you many years of health & such prosperity in science as you have already abundantly tasted

I am my dear Sir | Most truly Yours | M. Faraday

Profr. Plücker | &c &c &c

Address: Professor Plücker | &c &c &c | University | Bonn | on the Rhine