Faraday to Isambard Kingdom Brunel   17 May 1849

Wimbledon | 17 May 1849.

My dear Brunel

I am here under Doctors orders and though recovering am not allowed to be much in town. However I shall be in town tomorrow afternoon (Friday) and also part of Saturday but as that is my lecture day I cannot see any one until after 4 oclk on that day1[.] Will any of the spare pieces of time suit your friend2. Perhaps he would like to be with us on the Friday Evening3. If so you can give him a ticket[.] I shall be most happy personally to see him & am only sorry I am of necessity thus restrained[.]

Bad memory. I cannot remember the name of your Street, or where to direct to you. Your letter does not help me so that I must send this to the Institution first & am afraid I shall lose 2 or 3 deliveries by so doing. Pray forgive me.

Ever Truly Yours | M. Faraday

1
Faraday delivered a course of eight lectures on static electricity on successive Saturdays after Easter which were due to end on 9 June 1849; however, see note 1, letter 2178. His notes are in RI MS F4 J10.
2
James Bicheno Francis (1815-1892, DAB). American civil engineer mentioned in letter 2181.
3
The Friday Evening Discourse on 18 May 1849 was delivered by Edwin Sidney (d.1872, age 74, B6), Rector of Little Cornard, 1847-1872 and lecturer at the Royal Institution and elsewhere. His topic was “On the Geographical Distribution of Corn Plants”. For an account see Athenaeum,26 May 1849, pp.546-7.

Please cite as “Faraday2182,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday2182