My dear Francis.
I thought I had exercised my [limit] of caution regarding the memoirs.2 I mentioned a paper of Senarmont3 several weeks ago as worthy of translation and you said you would look to it. I know that it together with the two I have already sent you4 and Wiedemann5 would be more than sufficient for the forthcoming number.6 That I have not neglected Wiedemann the enclosed scraps of letters7 – one of which reached me this morning8 will prove, and notwithstanding the delay occasioned by the fellow himself I have full reliance that Hirst will send me the paper9 in time for publication. If you will allot me my portion of the Scien. Mem.10 I will engage to have my translation11 in your hands at least half a month previous to publication – I think some arrangements ought to be made so that we may all pay for translations which our own engagements prevent us from executing. I should be very glad indeed if even the expenses of publication could be equally distributed over all our shoulders.
Bunsen’s paper12 I have never seen but I would take the man as a guarantee that anything he writes will be good. I have been reading many things from him lately and they are all first rate. Senarmont appears in the Annalen de chimie S. III. I. XXXIII.13
ever yours sincerely | John Tyndall
RDS 27/9
[14 April 1853]: there is an annotation from RDS that reads ‘July ? 1852’ in the upper right corner of the letter; however, due to its contents related to the Scientif. Mem. and issues regarding getting the translation from Wiedemann, it is clearly from early 1853. On 16 February (letter 0713, n. 15), Tyndall requested that Hirst aid Wiedemann in his translations so as to not hold them up. As of 6 March (letter 0727), Wiedemann had not yet begun the translation, but by late March (letter 0735, n. 3) Hirst made mention that the Wiedemann paper was nearly complete. On 14 April (letter 0746), Tyndall wrote to Hirst, responding to comments he had made in his last letter; he also mentions that he had just written earlier that day to enquire about the status of the Scientif. Mem. As such, it is likely that this is that letter.
the memoirs: see letter 0698, n. 8.
a paper of Senarmont: see letter 0734, n. 7.
two I have already sent you: as papers by Clausius, Magnus, Wiedemann, and de Senarmont were published in Part III of the Scientif. Mem., Tyndall likely means the papers of Clausius and Magnus (see letter 0713, nn. 14, 17–18). He mentioned sending Magnus’s manuscript to Francis in letter 0750.
Wiedemann: see letter 0698, n. 18.
the forthcoming number: see n. 2
enclosed scraps of letters: Tyndall had been working with Hirst in order to get the Wiedemann article translated (see letters 0733; 0735; 0743; 0746; and 0752). It is presumed that Tyndall enclosed portions of letters regarding this correspondence in order to bring Francis up to speed, including the missing portion of letter 0742 (see also letters 0713; 0733; and 0735, n. 3).
Reached me this morning: likely letter 0742.
the paper: see n. 5.
my portion of the Scien. Mem.: it is presumed that Tyndall was referring to the papers that he was responsible for translating for the publication.
my translation: it seems that Tyndall was trying to work out a system or schedule for completing their respective work required to produce the Scientif. Mem.
Bunsen’s paper: presumably Bunsen’s (1851) paper ‘On the Processes which have taken place during the formation of the Volcanic Rocks of Iceland’, which was translated and included in Tyndall and Francis (eds.), Scientif. Mem., pp. 33–98.
Annalen de chimie S. III. I. XXXIII: The Annales de Chimie et de Physique was a French scientific periodical founded in 1815 and based in Paris (see n. 3).
Please cite as “Tyndall0745,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on