4th Dec. 1854
My dear Dr. Coxe
The Scotsman1 shall be posted to Hector2 tomorrow and I know he will be gratified by your remembrance of him. Patterson3 if I mistake not was a personal friend of his. I had been thinking of writing to Hector and the impulse imparted by your note will convert the thought into an act. Just as the tinkle of a bell will sometimes bring down an avalanche which is already on the point of falling.
With regard to Alick4 I scarcely know whether to be sorry or glad.5 I only hope that his comely character and clear head will find fitting exercise in his future vocation. Certain it is that the East India Company has rarely such a present made to it.
Ever yours most truly | John Tyndall.6
In a letter received sometime ago from a Professor of Mathematics in a German University7 he mentions, if I mistake not, one of the Professors8 at Addiscombe9 as being an old friend of his. I set about rummaging for this letter to night but have not found it. During my search I stumbled on the enclosed documents10 which perhaps will amuse you and Mrs. Coxe for five minutes. Many of my friends were angry with me for acting as I did,11 but I have never been angry with myself. Perhaps you would kindly enclose the papers sometime when you are writing to me.
RI MS JT/1/TYP/1/267
LT Typescript Only
The Scotsman: a weekly liberal newspaper in Edinburgh, founded in 1817 and edited by William Ritchie (1781–1831) and Charles Maclaren (1782–1866) (ODNB).
Hector: Hector Tyndale.
Patterson: Robert Maskell Patterson (1787–1854), Professor of Natural Philosophy and Mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania, died on 5 September 1854.
Alick: Alick, or Alexander Cumming.
I scarcely know … sorry or glad: Coxe wrote to let Tyndall know about Cumming’s new position as a cadet with the East India Company (see letter 1014).
Tyndall: LT notes below the salutation: ‘?’, perhaps indicating that she was not certain if the following paragraph was part of this letter. The content, however, relates to the discussion of Cumming.
Professor of Mathematics in a German University: not identified.
one of the Professors: not identified.
Addiscombe: see letter 1014, n. 5.
enclosed documents: not identified.
acting as I did: incident not identified.
Please cite as “Tyndall1016,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on