From Joseph George Cumming   24 August 1854

My dear Sir

Many thanks for your great kindness. I am not very sanguine of Success as one of the Professors at Cork, & the Secretary (M ^c Adam) at Belfast got the start of me; my hope is a friend at Court who will personally bring my qualifications before the Lord Lieu ^t who has the appointment. I find I must take a party of our young men out & break up the rocks in this neighbourhood for I am under promise to several parties to furnish them with Carboniferous fossils. If I can get a box full worth the carriage I will send some to you but I fear my constant engagements will hardly allow of my labelling them. Your Museum is I believe chiefly local otherwise I could furnish from the moulds I have by me a dozen of the finest of our Runic monuments out of the 25 I have at an average cost of £1.0.0 each.

Believe me, Dear Sir | very faithfully yrs |Jos ^h Ge. ^g Cumming