From Thomas Archer Hirst   May 6th 1855

Broughton | May 6^th 1855

My dear John,

You see by the above date that I commenced writing to you on Sunday but did not conclude. Anna asks me every day if I have heard from you and when I say no she says she fears you are not well. I have promised to write to-day and enquire. Almost every Saturday she prophecies you will come before evening, at first I believed her, but now I begin to think her a false prophetess. The Excursion trains¹ have commenced n’est-ce pas²? I will send you Ruhmkorff’s apparatus³ in time. My experiments are very little different to the one Faraday shewed us.

On the plate of the air pump NP a common receiver open at the top is placed, through the cap EF of which a glass tube BC is passed. Through this tube BC a wire AD passes and the rest of the tube is filled with sealing wax, so as to have the wire from B to C perfectly insulated. To secure this I closed the end C with the blow pipe and having made the tube hot I dropped in powdered sealing wax which melted as fast as I threw it in, and thus the wire from B to C was imbedded in a stick of sealing wax. This would not be necessary if a thick glass tube were used & simply closed at C with the blow pipe. Well the extremity C just dips below the surface of some mercury in a tumbler GHMK. The plate of the air pump and the knob A are connected with the two poles of Ruhmkorff’s apparatus and – you know what takes place.⁴

Another very pretty experiment is to make the electricity jump from one of the points A to another B in a tall receiver.

You will find that the coil of my Ruhmkorff has got a little displaced (by carriage) and will have to adjust it.

What is the title of your Friday evening lecture?⁵ We are just beginning to prepare our examination papers for Midsummer.

Write soon to | Yours affectionately | T. A. Hirst.

RI MS JT/1/H/217