From Thomas Archer Hirst   Feb. 5th 1854

Queenwood College | Feb. 5^th 1854

My dear John,

The Electro-magnet arrived yesterday evening for which I am obliged. The explanation of the ‘little Dog’ business¹ although not quite satisfactory, makes matters a little better. Either Bence Jones or Williamson,² however, have been guilty of considerable narrow-mindedness and as you say the best way is to leave the matter entirely to them. From your letter to Debus³ I see you have given your first lecture at the London Institution⁴ and that at the time of writing it you were not in very cheerful spirits. Such fluctuations are to be expected in you for the next six months. Being kept away from your legitimate work and taken continually off your feet in this whirlpool of popular lecturing would make anyone’s spirits fluctuate. But you cannot help it at present and you must have recourse to efficient antidotes. I hope an occasional letter from me will have such an effect, as I am sure your occasionally sitting down to write to me must have.

Queenwood is filling splendidly It is now certain that we shall have 85 boys almost 80 have arrived. We commence full work to-morrow, i.e. with properly arranged classes. I have already given two lectures as well as two lessons per day. I fully agree with what you say about Mummery⁵ and if necessary I shall make use of your letter.⁶ I have my eye upon him and I am afraid I shall astonish him before the close of the half year. I am exceedingly sorry to be on such terms with any man, to feel no personal enmity and yet to be watching all his motions, to be plotting against him and to be ready at the moment he commits himself to pounce upon him; this is a miserable state to be in, but my interest in Queenwood demands it. It would be far more comfortable for me to shut my eyes to it all in indifference and contempt, I would gladly do so if we had not a Principal at Queenwood⁷ who was not only blind to his own interests but to his own duties. Everybody at Queenwood is indifferent about the matter, as long as he does not require them to recognise it at Queenwood they think it of no importance. I have spoken to Edmondson in very plain terms about it and elicited from him his entire approval (which as you know is not worth an entire straw). He was afraid it would end in a rupture: to which I answered that he must be afraid of no no such thing for it must and will end in one. A day or two after came a letter addressed D^r Mummery many more have come since. ‘There’s the first symptom’ said I. ‘Boys will see these letters They will inquire about the matter, address him thus in short ‘Murder’ will out’⁸ and you must make up your mind to act very promptly’. Armer Teufel,⁹ he crouched immediately and stammered a cowardly ‘I’m afraid we must let it take its course’. I felt inclined to reply ‘I’m damned if it shall’ but I modified it to ‘I’m just as certain that we must not let it take its course’. I see my course perfectly well. I have made up my mind what to do if he goes on vacillating (I see well enough that if he was let alone he would not only wink at it all but in a months time from now he would himself give Mummery his title) As a last resource I shall put him in a terrible fix. I have no fear about the upshot of it but when I use the threat I shall do so perfectly prepared to abide by the decision whatever it may be. It will be simply this. ‘M^r Edmondson either you give M^r Mummery notice to leave or I shall give you notice to look out for another mathematical master.’ The other evening we had a consultation about new classes and promotions; it was very instructive as a total refutation of Edmondson & Co’s notions about statistics and consistency to rule. The question was whether a boy or two in the 2^nd class whose abilities I knew should go up into the first. They were not first in the list of examinations and Edmondson considered it would be a great injustice not to abide by these numbers! He deemed numbers an infallible test without ever dreaming that the hand that wrote them was perhaps guided by very fallible opinions. Having studied the subject a little before-hand I analyzed the whole system and proved that these same numbers were deceptive in the highest degree, that they were even inconsistent towards their own numerical standards of ability, not to speak of the imperfections of the latter in themselves. Yesterday evening I invited all the masters to a teetotal¹⁰ meeting (!) at the Lodge¹¹ and tried to infuse as much good will and energy into them as circumstances will admit.

Yours affectionately, | T. A. Hirst

P.S. Send me Atkinson’s letter.¹²

RI MS JT/1/H/191

RI MS JT/1/HTYP/309–310