To Thomas Archer Hirst   Dec. 30th 1851

Queenwood Dec. 30^th 1851

My Dear Tom

Christmas has past and we have not seen each other:¹ all things remain in the same uncertainty as heretofore, nothing yet decided – I am not rigorously decided myself, for a little weight thrown in would be sufficient to turn the scale and induce me to take my chances in England, though what these chances are likely to be is utterly unrevealed to me. Your request with regard to Booth has been attended to² – the two halves of a £5 note were posted to him on two successive days from London. On a bit of paper which enclosed one of them I wrote ‘make use of this’ – that was all – I shall be very glad to go halves with you on this act, so instead of giving me credit for 5 pounds set down only 2–10–0. I would have made an advance in this direction myself when you sent me Booth’s letter³ had I not been utterly cashless at the time.

I was left utterly alone here yesterday week – Debus went to London & I remained until Christmas morning when the sun beamed out gloriously and propositioned me to take a dash out: I had many little things to settle regarding the Phil. Mag.⁴ this pointed my thoughts towards London,⁵ and Debus being there comfortably situated was an additional inducement: started in the morning, reached Dunbridge⁶ 7 minutes before train time according to my calculation but in reality 2 hours after it – the trains on x-mas day were similar to those on Sunday so I had to stroll through the country for nearly 7 hours waiting for the next train – part of the time I spent pleasantly in a church yard reading the tombstones – strange to say from my boyhood I have taken great pleasure in a stroll among graves, there is a quiet soothing sadness in the place like the falling of autumn leaves. I reached London however that night, and left it again on Sunday last. I have not got your last letter⁷ by me; I have got a chaotic batch of letters from you here and I suppose the last must have got in among them from which to rescue it would be an hour’s labour; this I feel no inclination to spend over the search – All I remember of it is certain impudent insinuations regarding the imperfections of my auricular organs,⁸ and a quotation from Montaigne⁹ the contents of which I wanted no Frenchman to tell me. Talking about letters – I have a mind to give you a specimen of a few which passed between myself and M^rs Edmondson some time ago. M^rs Edmondson is a proud woman, and I believe has been accustomed to rule in her own household; M^r Edmondson is an exceedingly active little man corporeally but weak and irresolute mentally and his lady has probably taken him as a specimen of manhood in general – This I think has spoiled the lady to some extent: she has been so long accustomed to attention that she now seems to demand it and his¹⁰ best and kindest acts are in some way vitiated by the assumption of a certain dignity of demeanour which chills most people – It is a pity for at bottom she is a noble-hearted woman and all she wants is a man strong enough¹¹ to shake this artificial nonsense away from her. But I think as I have dipped so far into the story I must tell you the whole of it. – No I wont I will copy a note which she sent to me and my reply to the said note and you may pick what you can out of both.

[…]¹²

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Thus endeth the epistle – Having thus clearly defined my relations I came to a treaty and since that time the lady and I have been firmer and surer friends than before.

Tomorrow night the cry of ‘Hail to the new year!’ will arise in the Ketzerbach¹³ – I hear it like a faint echo from the gone Eternities.¹⁴ What a dream-image this life of ours is when we look back upon it! Like the landscape after sunset from the Summit of Amöneburg¹⁵ it becomes more and more impalpable, twilight and mist e[n]velop it – but I look aloft and find that I am not alone; overhead and around me are the star-radiances of memory, of friendship, and of hope; gaily I cast my shuttle across the loom of time, and trust that when the summons comes to quit the loom I shall depart just as cheerfully – But where am I rambling to? Right forward into the Inane, as Tom would say. I’m not gone yet however, I shall make your knuckles crackle before the energy of my grasp ere I depart. Thou great Whale¹⁶ good-bye – May the Gods nurture thee O thou Leviathan! John.

Just look to a Review of Elementary Physics in the January [no.] of the Phil. Mag. Do you know the writer?¹⁷

I intended to write a long letter to Prof. Knoblauch but will defer it till next time – greet him most kindly for me – if I can get astride my Pegasus¹⁸ I will send him an epithalamium!¹⁹

RI MS JT/1/T/547

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