My dear Tom.
I wish I had time to tell you how your last letter2 pleased me and how amid a wrecked body my mind gathered up her forces as she read it. The wreck is now repaired but I cant spare the time to talk about it
I must lean upon you for a little more help. I want that translation of Wiedemann’s.3 It wont do to leave it depending upon him. I know nothing myself of the Professorships at the Royal or London Institutions but shall know something on Wednesday4 – Faraday you know is professor at the former. they are in no way connected with the London university.5
lie to tell an untruth is regular – lie to lie down is irregular – the former is present imperfect, I lie I lied, perfect future I have lied I shall lie. The latter is present imperfect I lie I lay, perfect 1st future I have lain I shall lie. 2nd fut. I shall have lain.
I am to give 4 lectures at the R.I. after Easter6 and shall probably have to run over to Paris for some instruments. This is the reason why I want you to help me – the lectures are necessary to qualify me to become a candidate for the Professorship7 – I wish you would ascertain and let me know very soon what the price of the Sirene modified by Dove8 is? – I shall either have one from Berlin or Paris – I wish I could take a run over to you.
affectionately yours | John
RI MS JT/1/T/875
RI MS JT/1/HTYP/232
[11–14 March 1853]: Hirst wrote ‘March 1853’ at the top right corner of this letter. While LT noted that the letter was probably written on March 25–29, this cannot be right as Hirst responded to this letter on 18 March (see letter 0735). Thus this letter was most likely written 11–14 March.
last letter: letter 0727.
translation of Wiedemann’s: see letter 0713, n. 15.
shall know something on Wednesday: Tyndall was due to lecture at the LI on 16 March (see letter 0731, n. 2).
London university: see letter 0727, n. 3.
Easter: see letter 0720, n. 3.
Professorship: at the RI (see letter 0717, n. 4).
Sirene modified by Dove: a siren is an acoustical instrument for producing musical tones and used in numbering the vibrations in any note (OED). In the 1840s, the eponymous, polyphonic Dove Siren was invented and it was used in the study of interference (R. T. Beyer, Sounds of Our Times: Two Hundred Years of Acoustics [New York: Springer-Verlag, 1999], p. 30). See also letter 0735.
Please cite as “Tyndall0733,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on