Queenwood Mar 1/48.
Dear Tom
We are in want of a young fellow here1 to assist in the Junior Classes and as I was thinking the matter over between 4 and 5 oC this morning I remembered Booth2 of the Bird Cage – I should like to push the lad forward if I could – do you think he would be willing to join us, and if so would he be eligible? – Is he a good arithmetician? does he spell and read well and has he any Knowledge of mathematics. What religion is he and what is his general character, do you think he could render himself engaging among lads? Could he procure a testimonial from some respectable person in Halifax. In short I want as full an account of him as possible and I think you are the most likely person to furnish such an account. Should he come he will have opportunities of
<Handwritten pages missing; LT Transcript only henceforth>
advancing himself which would be difficult to attain elsewhere – he will attend our chemical lectures and have access to a valuable philosophical apparatus – What is he able to earn now and what salary do you think he would expect if he came here (x) Now if you can manage to furnish me with this information, without exciting any hopes in Booth that might not be realized, we might be able to open a way for his abilities if he have any. His demand as to salary must be low as Mr. Edmondson has already had an offer of this kind from a party in Lancaster.
Thank Jemmy3 for me for his punctuality with regard to the Tracings.4 I wish I could get a diagram of the gradients of the Manchester and Leeds5 and the West Riding Union.6
With good wishes | I am dear Tom | J. Tyndall
(x) he will be boarded in the house.
RI MS JT/1/HTYP/6
RI MS JT/1/T/513
Portions of letter are LT Transcript Only
We are in want of a young fellow here: i.e., at Queenwood College, the school where Tyndall taught from 1847-1848. See Introduction.
Booth: Francis Booth, a friend of Hirst’s in Halifax.
Jemmy: James Craven.
with regard to the Tracings: Craven was a surveyor, so this probably refers to some survey work he had undertaken.
the Manchester and Leeds: The Manchester and Leeds Railway was founded in 1839.
West Riding Union: a railway line that became part of the Manchester and Leeds Railway in 1846. Sir F. Pollock, R. Campbell, O. A. Saunders, A. B. Cane, J. G. Pease, W. Bowstead, and E. Potton (eds), The Revised Reports: Being a Republication of Such Cases in the English Courts of Common Law and Equity (Boston: Sweet & Maxwell, Limited, 1908), p. 385.
Please cite as “Tyndall0345,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on