From William Ginty   Sunday, 29th May 1842.

Sunday, 29th May 1842.

My dear Tyndall

When you proceed a few lines further you will not be surprised at my delay in writing. We sailed from Cork on the 20th as appointed – the passage was a short one (28 hours) and so calm that there was none (among the masculine gender) sick but Tom Mathews and Freeborne¹ – as for Tom I think he would get sick on an artificial lake or pond. I will say nothing concerning the scene from Cork to Cove but this – you have still to behold the most beautiful prospect that ever eyes dwelt with extacy on (barring the great places abroad intirely); again, if when coming you are lucky enough to have fine weather – the Welsh Alps will excite and draw forth no small quantum of your admiration from the picturesque and romantic – again, if the weather is calm you will not mistake the direction in which Liverpool lies ere you are within 30 leagues of it. Over it a dark cloud of smoke eternally hangs whose density will lead you at first to imagine that it is one of ‘Scotia’s lofty mountains’² mingling with the clouds in the far perspective – Again, when you approach it nearer – I tremble for you! poor nervous young man! I would advise you to open your eyes by degrees, stooping under the bulwark of the steamer so as to prevent the entire prospect from bursting before your eyes instantaneously. So sure as you act otherwise (recollect I warn you!), as sure will you lose the little wit you have and become altogether teetootally non compos mentis.³ A thought has just struck me that, by giving you some idea of what you may expect, it perhaps might diminish the impending calamity in some degree – Prepare yourself – brace your nerves, ahem! Now just imagine every cabbage stalk from where you stand (query – sit?), into Carlow and 6 miles round you transubstantiated into masts for ships – every kettle (with or without a pipe) in the Barony into a steamer – the shank of every old Dhudeen⁴ in the Province into the chimney of a factory – every hole in my face into a dock – all the sparrows that you have seen for the last 7 years into Policemen, Excisemen, &c., &c., &c. and every corn-creak in Whyte’s toy shop in Cork into a windmill. – these, with the assistance of a fertile imagination and a naggin of Tomkin’s best, may enable you to form a distant idea of ‘Liverpool’ alias confusion ad infinitum.

‘But let that pass – the doom’s prepared

‘Tyndall the sight awaits thee and then thy fright’s reward’.

After landing we went and got a good dinner and then back again to the dock to wait for further orders. Then Jim⁵ and I left Holmes, Tid,⁶ Hunter, W. Latimer and Mathews there to receive orders ‘for them, for us, and for the whole’ – crew – while we went in quest of a place to lay our weary heads and more wearied bones. Jim and I being sole dictators with power absolute, were not long ‘closing the bargain’ – 6d per head per night – excellent beds and the best of accomodation at Pace’s, 84 Porter Street⁷ (see enclosed sketch)⁸ whereunto thou doest well to attend shouldst thou be coming this way, ‘thigum’.⁹ To make a long story a short one, Capt. Tucker didn’t come near us until noon on Monday. After selecting and arranging for about an hour, he commenced thus: – ‘Freeborne, Ginty, Hunter, Latimer, Tidmarsh, you will stop in Liverpool and report yourselves to Lt. Hamly 75 Great Georges St. (his office) – Squad the 2nd. Evans – Malone – and 3 or 4 more of Wilkinson’s¹⁰ surveyors – to proceed to Preston next morning, and all the rest to Manchester’. We went up to George’s Street immediately and to our unutterable dismay soon learned that we were to go to the Field! Hunter, Tid and Freeborne to Prescot,¹¹ about 8 miles from here; Latimer and I to remain here. May be this cruel separation didn’t make us hang our lips like so many motherless foals. David Bates and his brother George¹² (to you a Saxon) came to meet us from St. Helens¹³ on Saturday evening and remained with us until Sunday evening, very kind of them I must say. I intend going to see Dick¹⁴ and Tid next Saturday evening. Here we are then, chaining¹⁵ away like blacks. I will commence to survey Tuesday or Wednesday. It set very severe on me the first two days, but now I care nothing for it. We were up at 4 o’c. the first morning and away before breakfast, 6 miles, to survey the strand at low water (Lancashire), where we got up to our knees in mud – a good introduction! I have not heard from any of the lads yet. After I finish this I have four more to write, so you will excuse its many blunders. Until further orders my address is – at Mrs Clarkson, 120 Front Portland St. (off Vauxhall Road) Liverpool. This is my lodgings. Now concerning the things which are to come I know little and care less – one thing I know that this is a queerish place. Oh! if you saw the c.a.s.¹⁶ that are surveyors here. Picture to yourself the most rugged mountaineers that the wilds of Connemara¹⁷ could produce possessed of all the ferocity of hyenas – square this, and you may form an imperfect idea of these nondescripts. One of them has but the left hand and they say he keeps the best book in the lot. I hope Murray is getting better – he was lucky enough not to come here for it would kill an ass – I have my eye on a half dozen of nice coffins for ourselves. We saw the Great Western¹⁸ just sailing for New York as we came in to port – 4 masts and awful big paddle boxes. They are building another here longer.¹⁹ I must now reluctantly conclude

Adios, mon cher ami²⁰ | Yours ever faithfully | William Ginty

Write soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You will find a great many sharks tendering their services to conduct you to nice lodgings – beware oh beware, Jim and I were soft enough to go with one of them, but we soon found out our mistake. There are two houses close by together in Porter Street, dont forget the name or No., or you will go to the wrong one. However it is very likely that Capt. Tucker, ahem! and I will be at the Dock to receive you. You can fare well and cheap in Paces if you go the right way about it and it is a most respectable House – mind, when you order dinner dont order dinner for so many – or you will be salted,²¹ order what you think will do.

RI MS JT 1/11/3579

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