Stamford Hill2 | the 2nd of January 1855.
Dear Sir,
I feel very much obliged to you for the kind interest you take in my plans and the assistance you offer me in my pursuits in this country; it gives me encouragement and confidence to know that I have such kind friends here. It seems to me that you are not fully acquainted with the nature of my engagement with Miss Hornblower.3 I undertook this situation with no other end in view but to acquire the knowledge of the English language and to have time and opportunity to improve in those branches of knowledge which then I did not feel competent to teach. Miss H. has given me every possible opportunity of carrying out this purpose and I have great reason to be thankful for it. Though I feel that I am far from knowing enough for the responsible career I have chosen and though I am convinced that another year under Miss H’s kind instruction would do me much good, still there are other duties which it would be wrong of me to lose sight of – I am therefore determined not to prolong my stay at Miss H’s under the present circumstances longer than a year. As Miss H. is satisfied with my small services and knows how gladly I would remain with her she is trying to find out means to make this possible to me by procuring me German lessons in the neighbourhood. But I am afraid it is not likely that this plan will succeed, but at all events Miss H’s house will remain my home till I find another situation and I know that she will assist me in my endeavours to find a suitable one. However I feel that I must do my best myself and I have therefore asked Mrs. Frankland some months ago to write to me as soon as she heard of a situation4 in her large circle of friends and acquaintances, but I am afraid it will be difficult for my friends to serve me as my not knowing music will always prove a great drawback in this country. But I will hope and trust that all will be well; it is a good thing that I am so very fond of teaching and that it is not a trouble to me as it is to many who like me are obliged to choose this career. I am very sorry not to be able to attend the lecture to-day;5 Miss H. could not have given me a greater holiday pleasure than taking me to those interesting lectures.
Very truly yours | Hermine Ballin
RI MS JT/1/B/11
Hermine Ballin: For earlier correspondence re: Hermine Ballin (b. c. 1831), see volume 4, letters 0879, 0884 and 1025. It would appear that Tyndall, who had known her in Marburg, was attracted to her and that Frankland hinted at their possible liaison: ‘I understand that this […] pretty little girl is an importation of yours, ostensibly to make a Governess of her, but in reality I know not what!’ (volume 4, letter 0884). She had arrived in England about 20 February 1854 (Tyndall, Journal: RI MS JT/3/13b/660).
Stamford Hill: in the parish of Hackney, Middlesex, 4 miles north of St Paul’s Cathedral. Owing its airy elevation, Stamford Hill attracted a number of successful Victorian businessmen who purchased large and spacious houses.
Miss Hornblower: Jemima Hanbury Hornblower (1800–61) was a deaconess in the Sandemanian sect and conducted an independent school for girls in Stamford Hill. Tyndall would have known her through Faraday, who was also a Sandemanian.
Mrs. Frankland … heard of a situation: see letter 1031.
the lecture to-day: On 2 January 2 Faraday delivered the third of his six RI Christmas lectures for juveniles on ‘the Chemistry of Combustion’.
Please cite as “Tyndall1026,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on