Faraday to Julius Plücker   19 September 1854

Royal Institution | 19 September 1854

My dear Sir

At the very time that I had sat down to write to you in sincere acknowledgement of your last kind letter¹ I received one of the 21st August² and the papers³. The latter I immediately distributed giving the one copy to Dr. Tyndall and sending the others to the houses of Mr. Barlow and Mr. Grove. You go on working earnestly and well a great pleasure to yourself an[d] an honor to your friends and country and it is quite cheering to an old man like me to see it in your letters and your labours. Though cut off from the German language yet by dint of perseverance amongst some of my friends I get hold of the thoughts in your papers as well as of those in the papers of other worthies of your country but then my memory is weak and soon holds them but indistinctly and then I mourn a little for the labour of recovering all I want to know and of doing that again & again is more than health can bear[.] I well know that if the time is come for me to cease running in the race I should be most ungrateful to murmer much. I ought rather to rejoice that I can enjoy the pleasure of looking on at the fine exertions of others[.]

I have not been at the British Associations for some years so tomorrow I go off to Liverpool to be present for 2 or 3 days at the one now approaching. I hope you will be successful & happy at Vienna. You must need a holiday for when you talk of your labours three lectures a day & successful research you quite frighten me[.]

I am Your Very true friend | M. Faraday

Professor Plücker | &c &c &c &c

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