From Edward Sabine   May 5. 52

Woolwich May 5. 52

My dear Sir;

Before I recd yours of the 19th April,1 I had sent your former letter of the 31[t] of March2 to Professor Miller of Cambridge,3 who is one of the Council of the R.S. and a member of the Govt. Grant Com[e], to know how far an application from you for an allotment of the grant towards the experimental researches named in that letter would be likely to receive his support;4 as I am aware that on such subjects his opinion would be much thought of. His reply, which was decidedly favourable did not reach me till the day after your letter of the 19[th] April, naming distinctly £50 as the amount you wish you to apply for. The grant committee meet tomorrow, when I will bring forward your applicati[n], &. I have little or no doubt that you may look forward with confidence to the full amount being so allotted.5 It is precisely such services to science which are most looked for.

in haste, | faithfully yours | Edward Sabine.

I am glad that your name is amongst the 15 recommended for election to the R.S. in the present year.

P.S. Professor Miller thought he might be useful to you in advising you where best to obtain apparatus: & will correspond with you with great pleasure if agreeable to you to do so. His address is. 7. Scroope Terrace, Cambridge.

Dr Tyndall.6

RI MS JT/1/S/11

1

yours of the 19th April: letter missing. Probably the letter recorded in his journal entry for 9 May 1852 (JT/2/13b/563), in which Tyndall told Sabine that he would apply for the grant if he ‘knew the form of application’.

2

your former letter of the 31[t] of March: a missing letter, in which Tyndall (in reply to letter 0613 from Sabine) told Sabine about his research plans (Journal, 9 May 1852, JT/2/13b/563). Note that throughout this letter, which Sabine writes ‘in haste’, his superscript abbreviations are little squiggles which can be read only from context.

3

Professor Miller of Cambridge: William Hallowes Miller (1801–80) had been Professor of Mineralogy at Cambridge since 1832, a fellow of the Geological Society since 1830 and a FRS since 1838. He was on the Council of the RS in 1851–2 and Foreign Secretary of the Society from 1856–73.

4

experimental researches … his support: discussed in letter 0613.

5

I have little doubt ... allotted: Tyndall was indeed awarded a grant for £50 (letter 0638 and Journal, 12–18 July, JT/2/13b/577). According to the journal entry, he had received a note from Weld (missing) informing him that the Council had voted for the grant.

6

Dr Tyndall: addressee name placed at foot of the first page.

Please cite as “Tyndall0625,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on 28 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/tyndall/letters/Tyndall0625