My dear Tom
The following has just reached me.
[…]2
Thus this effort has exploded; immediately after the intelligence of my failure came your letter.3 It seemed to me worth half a dozen such professorships. Poor Booth, he must not want. It would be a sad thing if two or three hearty fellows like you Roby and myself are not able to keep such a brave little fellow aloft. I will write to Booth myself, and would have extended my hand to him long ago were it not held back by the feeling that I ought first to clear off my own scores. However I shall be able to do both by God’s help. Friendship and community of feeling would be all vapid hypocrisy and worthless winds if it could not step in in a case like the present.
A gentleman4 has just dropped in from London and wants me to go to Salisbury with him – this smashes my arrangements for the day, for I will go with him. I met him but once before and was so pleased with him that he is now able to draw me from my writing table and convert me into a tourist. I am glad to hear your account of Dickinson and will undoubtedly write to him as you desire. Your account of Dirichlet5 pleased me mightily – I met him once at Riess’s – Riess is also a good and kindly fellow as you will find. I must now stop for I have two or three letters6 to write before starting.
as ever | John
RI MS JT/1/T/555
[30–31 October 1852]: based on the date of letter 0679 from Wynne (n. 2), Hirst’s letter (n. 3) and Tyndall’s trip to Salisbury (n. 4), this was probably begun on the 30th and finished on the 31st.
[...]: Tyndall copied letter 0679 in full here.
your letter: letter 0678.
A gentleman: James Bevington. Tyndall described his trip to Salisbury (on Sunday, 31 October), and his affection for Bevington in his journal entry for 19 November (his first entry since 24 October) (JT/2/13b/589).
account of Dickinson … Dirichlet: see letter 0678.
two or three letters: one of these is probably letter 0682 to Francis.
Please cite as “Tyndall0681,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on