I feel the value of remaining in England; the ‘stimulus’, as Sabine calls it,2 caused by contact with men of science – I indulge in the hope of being able by hard work to climb to an average height as a man of science, but you know yourself how often such men are neglected in England and hence I imagine that it would be unwise to let the present opportun<ity> pass. – Give me a rational hope in England and I will yield up Toronto.
As ever Dear Francis yours | John Tyndall
StBPL T&F, Authors’ letters
[early-mid October 1851]: This letter could have been written any time after 29 September when Tyndall first told Francis about the quoted letter by Sabine (letter 0535 and n. 2 below). The sentiment expressed suggests it was probably written soon after this date. ‘The value of remaining in England’ reads like a reply to a comment made by Francis but there are no extant letters from Francis until 21 October. The letter probably predates discussion of the Cork position in mid-late October. The manuscript is a fragment only. In content, it might follow from the next Francis letter (0544) in this sequence (which lacks a closing salutation), but the sheets of paper are of different sizes. All these considerations fall far short of certainty, and are merely the best guess based on available information.
as Sabine calls it: Tyndall alludes to letter 0535.
Please cite as “Tyndall0543,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on 5 May 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/tyndall/letters/Tyndall0543