To Thomas Archer Hirst   28th Nov. 1852

Queenwood 28^th Nov. 1852

My dear Tom.

This is sloppy weather; cold wet, gray, and miserable – no cessation for the last 6 weeks so that the wet is beginning to ooze in upon us at all corners. I suppose moles and bats dont mind dirty weather and if men were moles and bats and not men they would by equally unaffected by it. But I wont complain, there is sunshine still aloft and it will reach us again in the natural rotation of things –

I see no better way of meeting the case of the thermo-säule than by telling Bang to draw on me at 3 months for [100] Thalers – I shall probably want you to send me some more things – Bang will I doubt not send you the money at once – With the thermo-säule I wish you would tell [Kleiner] to send me a dozen pairs of bars antimony and Bismuth¹ soldered together thus with about an inch and a half of

copper wire soldered to the free end of each bar. I want them in separate pairs. Between these two bars a bit of pasteboard or of wood must be introduced to keep them firm. They must be very slight, an inch, or an inch and a quarter in length and tapered down at the soldered junction to a small square end.

I wish you would further procure for me for love or money a complete crystal of carbonate of iron – you know it is [isomorphous] with carbonate of lime. A single crystal as large as possible is what I want –

I wrote to Booth before your last letter² reached me and received a reply from him³ this morning – He ought to have accepted my offer – I will write to him no further about it, but can only say that I shall be perfectly glad to contribute any proportion whatever of the funds necessary for his sustenance.

That was certainly a strange thought of yours – very nearly indeed an absurd one – looking out for a situation! – nevertheless it is well to summon up the darkest possibilities at times & to make one’s mind familiar with the worst. It has been my own habit all through – But you are in Berlin and must remain there – you must see Paris too, but that is [far] in the perspective. And if need be I will act the part of that old Greek whom we read of in Plutarch and give up every thing for the sake of making money for a time⁴ – I think I could make money if I were to set my wits about it.

I send you a letter⁵ received this morning from him who I told you had taken me away to Salisbury⁶ – He is one of the choice ones of the world as you will see, He and I were sitting together at a fireside some weeks ago – ‘Tyndall’ he said ‘how long do you remain at Queenwood? Can I do any thing for you? One way only is open to me – I have money and I offer you it if you want it either as a loan or as this gift of a brother’, very pleasant, is it not, Tom – But one such brother is enough for me at present.

thine affectionately | John.

Remember me to Dickinson. I hope to be able to let you have 20 or 30 pounds before the end of January.

RI MS JT/1/T/556