13th, March, 1857.
My dear Sir
I have long thought of writing to you but have been so busy, and at times having such a bad head, that I have put the thing off from day to day thus far. The reading of the proofs1 is progressing with due regularity. Nearly three hundred pages have already been read over. The style of writing is not quite English. Mr Walker2 probably thinks it better to adhere to your own forms of expression; in minor cases, when I can accomplish it, I make alterations in the style, which I trust will have the effect of softening it a little.
Since I last wrote to you3 I have been at work upon the glaciers, and in conjunction with Mr Huxley, my companion in Switzerland, communicated a paper4 to the Royal Society upon the subject some weeks ago. I now send you an abstract of a lecture given at the Royal Institution5—the paper will I trust appear in due time in the Philosophical Transactions6 and when you see the whole of the discussion I am not without a hope that you will think I have differed on sufficient grounds from the views of Prof Forbes.
It is my intention to visit, if possible, the Mer de Glace7 this year. I am desirous of making a complete examination of this glacier, and this will carry me to Geneva.8 Would you have the kindness, when you are at leisure, to inform me on the following points:—Would it be possible to borrow a small hydraulic press in Geneva to take with me for two or three weeks to Chamouni.9 I want to conduct my experiments on the compression of ice upon the glacier itself, and to take a press with me from London would be laborous and expensive. A small model of the press is all I should require. 2. —Would it not be possible to obtain Logwood10 or some other highly coloured infusion at Geneva for the purpose of making infiltration experiments upon the ice? 3. —Would it be possible to borrow a theodolite11 in Geneva and a surveyor’s chain?12 I am accustomed to the use of both, and would do them no injury.13 But in all these cases, supposing the instruments to be lent to me by the makers of them, I should be very glad to guarantee their safe return, and to pay for the use of them.
Mr Faraday I am happy to say is very well, and would doubtless send his greetings if he knew that I was writing to you. He gave us a lecture a few days ago on the Conservation of Force. I do not agree with his conclusions but the lecture delighted me greatly. There were united in it such a bold and courageous statement of his own views and so much toleration for the views of others.
Grove I have not seen for some time. Wheatstone has just completed a beautiful little telegraph14 which will probably be much used for domestic purposes. Sabine is well, and gave us a paper on the Colonial Observatories15 last week. Austria is about to send an expedition round the world.16 A savant17 who accompanies the expedition was here last week to obtain instruments and instruction in the use of them. I accompanied him one day to Woolwich18 to see the ship’s compasses.19 I had the pleasure of meeting a lady, a friend of yours,20 at Sir Benjamin Brodie’s21 a few days ago. M. Matteucci I find has not yet made up his mind regarding diamagnetic polarity.22 He will be convinced at last.
Ever Yours | John Tyndall
RI MS JT/1/TYP/1/347
LT Typescript Only
reading of the proofs: see letter 1293, n. 16.
Mr Walker: Charles Walker.
Since I last wrote to you: letter 1299.
communicated a paper: John Tyndall, ‘Observations on Glaciers’, Roy. Soc. Proc., 8 (1856), pp. 331–8.
a lecture given at the Royal Institution: on 23 January 1857, Tyndall lectured at the RI on ‘Observations on Glaciers’.
the paper will I trust appear in due time in the Philosophical Transactions: J. Tyndall and T. H. Huxley, ‘On the Structure and Motion of Glaciers’, Phil. Trans., 147 (1857), pp. 327–46.
Mer de Glace: see letter 1306, n. 12.
Geneva: see letter 1293, n. 3.
Chamouni: Chamonix, a town in the valley north of Mont Blanc, located in Upper Savoy, France. During the period covered by this volume, Chamonix was located within the Duchy of Savoy, a part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, precursor to the unified Italian state established in 1861. Savoy was annexed to France in 1860 through the Treaty of Turin.
Logwood: extract of logwood (an American tree) used for colouring or dyeing (OED).
theodolite: portable surveying instrument for measuring horizontal angles (OED).
surveyor’s chain: a 66 foot chain, of 100 links, used as a measuring device for land surveys; also known as a Gunter’s chain, after Edmund Gunter (1581–1626).
do them no injury: in his youth Tyndall was a surveyor. See G. Cantor and G. Dawson (eds), The Correspondence of John Tyndall, Volume 1: The Correspondence, May 1840–August 1843 (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2016); and M. Baldwin and J. Browne (eds), The Correspondence of John Tyndall, Volume 2: The Correspondence, September 1843–December 1849 (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2016).
a beautiful little telegraph: in 1858, Wheatstone patented a version of his 1840 ABC telegraph.
a paper on the Colonial Observatories: on 5 March 1857, Sabine read to the RS the following paper: ‘On what the Colonial Magnetic Observatories have accomplished’, Roy. Soc. Proc., 8 (1856), pp. 396–413.
an expedition round the world: the international Austrian expedition of 1857–9.
savant: Ferdinand von Hochstetter (1829–84), a German-Austrian geologist (ADB). Tyndall noted in his journal on 6 February 1857 that he accompanied Hochstetter to Woolwich for the day (Journal, JT/2/13c/918).
Woolwich: a military and industrial area in SE London.
ship’s compasses: the expedition’s ship was the SMS Novara.
a lady, a friend of yours: not identified.
Sir Benjamin Brodie’s: Benjamin Collins Brodie (1783–1862), 1st baronet, an English physiologist, surgeon, and manager of the RI (ODNB).
not yet made up his mind regarding diamagnetic polarity: see letter 1340.
Please cite as “Tyndall1353,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on