Faraday to Thomas John Fuller Deacon   16 March 1852

Royal Institution | 16 Mar 1852

My dear friend

Perhaps you may have heard from Margery¹ a rumour of an apparent situation here perhaps not. I have seen Sir John Boileau² today & as far as I can remember the points are as follows. At the Royal Society of Literature there is an Honorary Secretary and a Clerk, who acts as Foreign Secretary but they want an Assistant Secretary of gentlemanly manners and good education for a comparatively small time & for a small Salary. The pay is £80 annually. The duty would be to attend fortnightly meetings of the members - also meetings of the council or committee, to keep minutes of proceedings to take charge of correspondence answer letters, examine memoirs sent in, select such as are fit for reading at the meetings, to read them at the meetings to the Members, make notes of proceedings, superintend the printing of papers &c &c. I asked Sir John Boileau about Greek & Latin he seemed to think the party should know enough to read papers in them if needful, or at least to be able to manage them in some way[.]

The connexion might be very good for a Young man of Education starting in life, but I have my fears about its offering much that would suit you. I cannot find that Sir John Boileau has the place to offer he says that Mr Hallam³ would chiefly dispose of it. I think he felt there could be no deciding about it without seeing the party, but he has promised to keep it open as far as he can whilst I wrote to you. If circumstances are such that you would wish to use or examine the opportunity, you must let me know so consult together & let me hear quickly what your thoughts are. The point I feel most anxious about is the responsibility of deciding upon the many circumstances that would be left to such a person to settle in relation to the papers, the selections, the correspondence &c &c which the Council I suppose would delegate[.] It is true that much ought not to be expected for such a Salary as £80 but now a days high qualifications & continual responsibilities are paid for by poor salaries[.]

I dare hardly say how my own feelings go. I think on the whole that a sturdy ordinary light business occupation would perhaps be better and yet I cannot but feel that for a young, vigorous determined man the present might by the connexion it would give afford an excellent opportunity of entering on the world⁴.

Here is a business like letter and I must not wait to alter it[.] So I will merely say My love to you & Caroline & Constance from

Yours affectionately | M. Faraday

Mr Thos. Deacon

Sir John Boileau⁵ thinks it might not occupy more than a couple of days a week[.] I cannot tell the employment out of time often mounts up. MF