Blackburn,1 April. 7th /54.
My dear Tyndall,
I trust now that your lectures2 are concluded, & that the Easter recess3 is at hand that you will not disappoint me but that I shall receive one of your highly prized letters. I have looked at the syllabus of those lectures4 every week, feeling almost anxious that they were completed, for, I know how it is with you; you ‘work ever’, but ‘rest never’, however if you do not feel that anxiety, & possess that care for your health as you ought, I can assure you there are those who do remember you – ever since I received those letters5 (previous to your last visit to the continent) respecting the state of your health at that period, I have been doubly concerned regarding your safety.
I have been here nearly three weeks, but how very short the time appears, I can assure you I feel as if I was the inhabitant of another sphere – it must arise from the associations I have; & a congeniality with the disposition of my mind; can you have an idea of the refreshing feeling I experience, the true enjoyment which arises in my mind from the intercourse I have with one or two who entertain similar thoughts, and who are pursuing the same path, though alas! I have not as yet gained any great height; – however, ‘Onward’, ever being my motto I believe I shall not be disappointed – how the thoughts, and the mind fructify behind these genial and almost imperceptible influences, as in the affairs of general life, so in the highest aim which fills the heart, are we not instructed and warmed into life by kindred spirits?
Last evening I made acquaintance with your esteemed friend Dr. Hirst – As you say, how ‘how strangely matters sometimes come about – & moreover, drunk your health in true German style, in sundry glasses of good old port; you must not lay, fie! fie! – So you see I have forestalled you, I now know something of his appearance, and shall be most happy if ever I have the pleasure of meeting his acquaintance – John Charles Dickenson,6 possesses his portrait. – Oh – what a delightful ramble I had through his books, & now at last I have got the ‘Faust’7 in the original – now I am to be repaid – for what I will not say – but it is a pleasure to know that I shall be able to read it, having a little help from my dictionary – I also read in a volume of Emerson’s Essays ‘J.T. Gasthof züm Ritter, Cassel, 1851.’8 What with the conversation, and these little mementoes I could have almost imagined you were present – the wish was heartily expressed, that we might have been together in that comfortable library – Ah! Well – I hope to see you some day before very long – I am infused by a new impulse very often when I think of you, and your ever cherished Friendship – but silence on this subject will probably be more gratifying to you, for I know that you are fully aware of my thoughts concerning you without my making a full declaration. Do not send me one of those very tiny notes of yours – if you knew how much they are prized & how deeply your every sentiment sinks into my mind you would endeavour to mould your pupils thoughts after your own standard.
Believe me ever | Yours most sincerely | Gretchen9
Be sure & seal your letter if you direct to Stanley Terrace,10 in case I should not have returned –. if you find you have time to write me a few days after you receive this, address
Care of Chas. Boardman Esq.11 | King Street | Blackburn
RI MS JT/1/A/1441
Blackburn: Blackburn, Lancashire, England, a town northwest of Manchester where Allen’s father, Samuel Smith was a merchant (see letter 0896, n. 4). Allen had been having financial and marital difficulties and had mentioned that she may have to relocate to her father’s home (see letter 0896).
your lectures: presumably the lectures Tyndall had been delivering at the RI and LI (see letter 0865, n. 6).
the Easter recess: the Easter break at the RI.
the syllabus of those lectures: see letter 0865, n. 6.
letters: letters missing. Tyndall had travelled to the continent on 11 July 1853 before returning to London in September (Journal, JT/2/13b/610–1; 624–5). Allen also refers to Tyndall’s health in letter 0779.
John Charles Dickenson: John Charles Dickinson (b. 1835), a machine maker from Blackburn, Lancaster (‘Notices of Intention to Proceed Dated November 30, 1855’, The Mechanics’ Magazine 1689 [22 December 1855], pp. 577–600, on p. 598).
‘Faust’: Allen is most likely referring to the original German edition of Goethe’s Faust: Eine Tragedie (Tübingen: Cotta, 1808). She quotes a line from Faust in letter 0699, n. 5 (see also n. 9).
a volume of Emerson’s Essays ‘J.T. Gasthof züm Ritter, Cassel, 1851’: Allen is likely quoting the owner’s inscription that appears in her copy of Emerson, suggesting that it once belonged to Tyndall. Such inscriptions often denoted the location where it was first read. Tyndall would have inscribed it at a ‘gasthof’, or inn, at Cassell, Germany in 1851. Not further identified.
Gretchen: see letter 0872, n. 12.
Stanley Terrace: see letter 0699, n. 1.
Chas. Boardman Esq: possibly Charles Boardman (1823/24–56), a painter in the town of Blackburn (W. Durham, Chronological Notes of Prominent Historical Events in the Town and Parish of Blackburn: From A.D. 448 to A.D. 1860. With the Census of 1851 and 1861, and a Table of Distances [Blackburn: Charles Tiplady, 1861], p. 26).
Please cite as “Tyndall0918,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on