Christian Friedrich Schoenbein to Faraday   15 February 1858

My dear Faraday,

I am afraid you will be dissatisfied with Mr. Schoenbein and think him to be a very lukewarm friend, if not even a forgetful one, and I must allow, appearances are strongly speaking against him; but I can assure you at the same time, that coldness of feelings has nothing to do with the silence he has been keeping these many months. You know perhaps that in our commonwealth I have become a sort of political and public character i.e. a member of our little parliament and as such I have got duties to fulfill. Now, of late, a party having sprung up amongst us, that attempted to change some fundamental principles of our constitution and your friend being a staunch conservative, he conjointly with his political friends of course opposed that tendency and the consequence was that in our senate we had some battles to fight, in which I could not help taking some active part, both within and out of doors. You will no doubt smile at Mr. Schoenbein’s acting a political part and you are quite right in doing so, for I will and cannot deny myself, that he is by no means the proper man for dealing in politics and may add, that the bias of this mind does not go that way neither. You must be aware, however, that the citizens of a small republic, such as our’s is, are not always allowed indulging their private taste; they are now and then, as it were, forced to handle things, which they have not the slightest mind to touch, and such is Mr. Schoenbein’s case. Our many-headed sovereign (the people) proves in general to be more imperious and exacting than your monarchs even, so that very often little choice is left us between following and disobeying his pleasure and commands¹.

I tell you all these things, indeed very insignificant in themselves, to account for and justify my long taciturnity, for you may easily imagine, that the mind being seriously occupied with such matters, is little apt for any thing else, even not for letter-writing. Now, after having carried a most signal and decisive victory over our antagonists, we belong again to ourselves, so that nothing prevents us from reassuming our wonted peaceful work and I hasten to make use of the very first moment of the leisure-time regained to pay old debts to my friends.

First of all permit me to express you my most grateful thanks for the very numerous proofs of kindness and benevolence which you have of late been pleased to bestow upon my daughter. She was really overhappy in having been favoured so much as to enjoy the enviable privilege of passing some days at the Royal Institution and getting introduced into the amiable family of your near relations. And I need not add, that the juvenile lectures², which you kindly allowed her to attend, highly pleased and interested the girl. I do not wonder at all the great pleasure and gratifications she has derived from such favors and in reading the girl’s lively descriptions of what she saw, heard and felt on the occasion, I could not help envying Miss Schoenbein and being a little jealous of her. The girl looks on the new world of wonders, in which she has been placed, with open eyes and all the freshness of youth, and, even at the risk of being taxed with partiality, I tell you, that the young maid now and then surprises me by the justness of remarks, which she makes upon men and things.

According to her often repeated assurances my daughter feels quite happy in England and has (to me the most important point) become so exceedingly fond of her sphere of activity there, that the Idea of soon returning to Bâsle is far from being a flattering one to her. Her truly filial attachment to Miss Hornblower is daily growing stronger and deeper and every letter of her’s bears ample evidence of the feelings both of the deepest affection and highest veneration she entertains towards your excellent friend. You may easily conceive, how much gratifying such news must prove to myself as well as to Mrs. Schoenbein and as it was by your kind interference, that our beloved Child has been so happily placed, both of us feel ourselves laid under the deepest obligations to you and you may rest assured, that this great piece of friendship will never be forgotten by us. Mrs. Schoenbein charges me to offer you in her name the most heart-felt thanks for Your Kindness.

From the very same reasons, that forced me to be neglectful to my friends as a correspondent, I have for some time very little worked, though it would not be quite true if I said to have been entirely idle. Now and then I took up some little piece of work, but without doing any thing being worth while of speaking about. I entertain however the hopes, that the forthcoming spring in renewing all Nature around us, will also call forth some dormant powers of my mind and stir me up again to scientific activity. At this present moment there is some dullness, I had almost said, sleepiness about me and it is full time to get rid of that drowsy disposition of mind. I saw the other day my last letter to you in the Philosophical Magazine³; the epistolary production hardly merited the honor of being printed, be that however as it may, there is at any rate no harm in publishing such trifles and queer Ideas. I will not let pass unnoticed a little misprint, which is singular enough. Whilst from several reasons I have made it a point never to communicate any thing to the french Academy, the printer has put “Academy of Paris” instead of Munic⁴. Or have I perhaps made the mistake myself in my letter? Errare humanum est; I do not think it however worth while, that the error should be corrected. From what you told me in your last letter, it appears that you are at present engaged in researches of the highest importance, for the problem to be solved is really of a transcendent nature. You only could think of undertaking such a bold enterprize and I wish you from all my heart full success. How does Mrs. Faraday fare? I confidently hope and ardently wish, that she is going better. Pray present my best compliments and kindest regards to her. In begging you kindly to excuse the emptiness of my letter I am, my dear Faraday for ever

Yours | most faithfully | C.F. Schoenbein

Bâsle Febr. 15th 1858.

Address: Doctor Michael Faraday | &c &c &c | Royal Institution | Albemarl Street | London