Sunday 19th Dec.
My dear Francis.
I return you the papers of Adie2 and Phillips.3 I do not at all think that the former has successfully met the case, nevertheless I should be reluctant to advise the suppression of his paper. I at first intended to propose a short reply in the answers to correspondents but on reconsideration it is, I am inclined to think, better to print it as it is. If you thought well of it I would write to Adie and point out where his reasoning fails; I shall [either] do this [or] reserve my remarks for the next no. of the magazine,4 which ever you like.
Reuben’s paper gives here and there evidence of singular [acuteness] and here and there also to my mind evidence of a rather extravagant tendency to theorize – I dont think you can do better than print it as it stands.5
I cannot obtain any distinct information regarding the supernumerary bow6 – Mr [Pratt’s] paper7 I think may be printed.
I agree with your decision regarding Purslo – as the review is written it may be printed.8 But I am inclined to think that it is a misapplication of criticism to bestow it on such books – When a man in high places says anything absurd let us have a shot at him but the legion of unknown speculators it would be better to pass in silence.
I am rejoiced to hear of Mr Taylor’s improvement and wish him and you a happy christmas.
I may possibly take a run to Manchester at the end of the [week] and return to London a few days afterwards.
I send you a short tit-bit to make up weight. It is [pretty] and will be read with interest. It is cut off from an article in No. 5 of Poggendorff.9
I shall be glad to look over De la Rive10 and trust he will give me an opportunity of praising him for I am almost tired finding fault.
ever yours sincerely | John Tyndall
StBPL T&F, Authors’ letters
[1852]: the year is confirmed by allusions to papers by Adie and Purslo.
the papers of Adie: R. Adie, ‘On the Temperatures of Conductors of Electrical Currents,’ Phil. Mag., 5:29 (January, 1853), pp. 46–9.
and Phillips: cited letter 0684, n. 7.
next no. of the magazine: Tyndall replied with one derogatory paragraph in ‘On the Temperature of Conductors of Electrical Currents’, Phil. Mag., 5:30 (February 1853), p. 147. This was part of an ongoing exchange between Adie and Tyndall (see letters 0670, n. 1 and 0685).
Reuben’s paper … as it stands: Tyndall had previously been more disparaging of Phillips.
supernumerary bows: extra bands, usually pale pink or green in color, that are often seen on the inside of the primary rainbow.
[Pratt’s] paper: Tyndall probably alludes to J. H. Pratt, ‘The supernumerary bows in the rainbow arise from interference’, Phil. Mag., 5:30 (February 1853), pp. 78–86 (a letter to the editor sent from India and dated 18 September 1852).
regarding Purslo … printed: see letters 0676, n. 6, and 0692. It seems that Francis changed his mind and did not publish the review.
tit-bit … No. 5 of Poggendorff: probably W. Haidinger ‘On the Direction of the Vibrations of the Luminiferous Æther in Plane-polarized Light’, Phil. Mag., 5:29 (January 1853), pp. 49–51, which was extracted and translated from ‘Ueber die Richtung der Schwingungen des Lichtäthers im geradlinig polarisirten Lichte’, Poggend. Annal., 86:5 (1852), pp. 131–44.
look over De la Rive: not identified. No translation, summary, or review of a paper or volume by de la Rive appeared in the forthcoming numbers of the Phil. Mag.
Please cite as “Tyndall0693,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on