Old Bank | Preston Dec 15th 1843
My dear Tyndall
I am afraid you will think I have quite forgotten you but I will assure you it is not the case, we have been so very busy at the Bank preparing for our Christmas balance, that I have not had time to write to anyone. I received your letter of Saturday night1 Sunday morning and was glad to hear of your safe arrival in London. I am afraid from your being now in Ireland that you have been unfortunate with the Master General of the Ordnance;2 – had you stayed in London I had flattered myself that I should have had the pleasure of seeing you shortly shaking you by the hand, but I hope it will all be for the best. Mr Evans left here this day week to Liverpool on his way to Ireland, probably you may have seen him ere this. Mr Latimer3 also left here for Birmingham last Monday. Mrs Mulhall4 is quite desolate since you all left, for Mr Parker is leaving here and going down into Bow Lane to Mr Marquis. We have had Mr Carter the Lionking5 here for the last fortnight, he seems to have given universal satisfaction. I was there last Friday and Saturday night + was very much pleased, I saw your friends Mr and Miss Banister there, I think Mr B. is a constant attendant. Mr Bonwell6 preached his farewell sermon on Sunday last to a very crowded audience I think I never heard a more affecting sermon in my life. Miss Braithwaite7 is quite well and begs to be remembered to you. I think I have no more news at present but must conclude with my kind love to you and best wishes for your welfare.
I remain dear Sir | your most faithful and ever | attached friend | John H. Hebdon8
P.S. Shall be glad to hear from you as early as convenient.
RI MS JT/1/TYP/11/3727
LT Transcript Only
your letter of Saturday night: letter missing.
the Master General of the Ordnance: George Murray.
Mr Latimer: probably George Latimer.
Mrs Mulhall: possibly Margaret Mulhall; see letter 0279.
Mr Carter the Lionking: Carter was a circus performer who worked with lions and other large cats. ‘Mr. Carter and His Animals’, Illustrated London News, 17 September 1842, p. 293.
Mr Bonwell: probably the Reverend James Bonwell, a curate in Preston who was the subject of a critical 1843 pamphlet. See A. Clissold, A Letter to the Rev. James Bonwell, Priest of the Church of England, and Curate of the Church of the Holy Trinity, Preston, Lancashire: Upon the Subject of His Sermon on the Perishing in the Gainsaying of Core (London: Hayward and Company, 1843).
Miss Braithwaite: not identified.
John Hebdon: not identified. The contents of this letter show that Hebdon was a friend of Tyndall’s who lived in Preston and worked at the Bank there. Possibly John Henry Hebdon (1822-?) who appeared on the 1851 census of Preston along with his wife Alice Hebdon (1824-83); his occupation was listed as ‘Banker’s clerk’.
Please cite as “Tyndall0279,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on 29 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/tyndall/letters/Tyndall0279