Youghal | May 27th, 1840.
My dear Father
The receipt of your letter1 has been a source of much gratification to me I was daily expecting to hear from you The reason you gave for not writing before ’tis my opinion is quite unfounded, for the intelligence which your letter conveyed respecting the defeat of the Radicals was quite new to me, and sounded melodious to my ear. You spoke of their political death and it is my sincere wish that they may never enjoy the benefit of a resurrection. I heard some vague rumours respecting the triumph of Conservatism2 but nothing decisive until I received your letter.
My mode of living has been altered since I last wrote to you. I have changed my lodgings3 and am at present boarding myself. Evans and a lad from Cork4 stop here along with me. We pay 5/- a week for two rooms.5 The place is greatly detached – no bustle or noise about it, it being a good distance off the main street, it is much more comfortable than my formal lodgings. I think I will content myself and stop here during my stay in Youghal.
I am just after returning from the field after my day’s work, I have been employed there these few days back. The Survey of this town has just commenced, I will be engaged on it. The practice which I will have both at chain and instrument6 will be of great service to me. I was obliged to buy a straw hat last night being quite sun-burnt for the last three days. I have written to Mr Conwill I posted the letter for him7 the evening before I received yours. I told him in a P.S.8 to desire you to write to me but the receipt of yours has rendered that needless.
I am extremely glad to hear that my mother and Emma are well My mother will be glad to hear that I bought the straw hat as she told me to do so more than once before my departure. Send me word in your next how Emma Tyndall9 got over the small pox and whether she will be marked – as bad as I like her I would be very sorry for such an occurrence.
Tell John Mooney that if he was with me here I could give him a fine view of the moon or north star thro’ the telescope of the instrument10
Farewell | Yours &c. | John Tyndall
Send me word how John M’Gee’s affairs11 stand. I had almost forgot to mention Corporal Davey I am sorry to state that his health is still very precarious.
RI MS JT/1/10/3185
LT Transcript Only
your letter: letter missing.
the defeat of the Radicals … triumph of Conservatism: The ‘defeat of the Radicals’ probably refers to the rejection by the Commons on 20 May of a motion for committee of Lord Stanley’s Irish Registration Bill, which would have restricted the franchise in Ireland. This increased the likelihood of the Bill becoming law and thus represented a defeat for Melbourne’s Whig administration. It might also refer to the Conservative candidate wresting the Ludlow seat from a Radical on 22 May.
my lodgings: Tyndall now lodged at the house of Mr McGrath, Cork Lane, Youghal.
a lad from Cork: John Tidmarsh, who would have been 16 or 17 years old.
5/- a week for two rooms: Both Tyndall and Evans were earning 15s. a week and Tidmarsh’s pay was probably 14s. per week, but possibly less.
chain and instrument: Previously Tyndall had worked mainly as a draughtsman in the Survey office and therefore had limited experience at fieldwork. The chain used for measuring distance is 66 feet in length and the instrument was probably a theodolite – comprising a small telescope on a tripod and used for measuring angles.
the letter for him: letter missing.
a P.S.: a postscript.
Emma Tyndall: Emma, the daughter of Caleb Tyndall, later Emma Young.
the telescope of the instrument: The telescope that formed part of the theodolite (or possibly the level) used in surveying.
John M’Gee’s affairs: Like other maltsters in County Carlow – ‘one of the largest malting districts in Ireland’ (Parliamentary Papers, 31 (1833), pp. 98–9) – M‘Gee had suffered financially under the excessive excise duty imposed on malt by Parliament. He was rendered bankrupt in July 1840 (Freeman’s Journal, 28 November 1839, p. [3] and 23 July 1840, p. [3]).
Please cite as “Tyndall0004,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on 27 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/tyndall/letters/Tyndall0004