Faraday to William Reynolds   15 July 18541

Royal Institution | 15 July 1854

My dear Sir

Your letter is doubly kind - kind on your part and kind on the part of Mr. Rathbone2. I hasten to express my very earnest thanks to both for the unexpected proof of such good will towards me. I regret to say that I shall not be able to take advantage of the hospitality offered me but the uncertainty of my visit to Liverpool3 is very great and if as I desire I do get there it will only be for two or three days and it will be necessary for me to be in the town. My fear is that I shall not be there at all: for my dear wifes health must be my first care and there are some other influential points besides that which are against it. If there I hope that Mr & Mrs Rathbone4 will allow me to express my thanks personally for their very unexpected & great kindness[.]

Present my respects to Mrs. Reynolds5 & tell her I am greatly delighted to find that the dumpling nuts have turned up again[.]

I am My dear Sir | Your Very Obliged Servant | M. Faraday

W. Reynolds Esq | &c &c &c

1
William Reynolds (1803-1877, Greg (1905), 204). Liverpool merchant.
2
Richard Rathbone (1788-1860, Marriner (1961), 231). Liverpool merchant.
3
For the meeting of the British Association.
4
Hannah Mary Rathbone, née Reynolds (1798-1878, DNB). Writer and historian. Married 1817.
5
Hannah Mary Reynolds, née Rathbone (1791-1865, Greg (1905), 205). Married William Reynolds in 1831.

Bibliography

GREG, Emily, (1905): Reynolds-Rathbone Diaries and Letters 1753-1839, [Edinburgh].

MARRINER, Sheila (1961): Rathbones of Liverpool 1845-73, Liverpool.

Please cite as “Faraday2867,” in Ɛpsilon: The Michael Faraday Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/faraday/letters/Faraday2867