My dear Friend.
After my departure today I read that little note and walked afterwards mechanically forward; half unconscious of the world around me. The rain fell and I thought of an omnibus,2 but one left its station before my eyes and I had not presence of mind to hail it. Thus I marched to <1 word missing> whence I had shelter home.
What put that strange request3 in your head? Was it the idle talk of Sunday evening? Well, be it as thou wilt: You shall assuredly know it in the manner you desire when the time comes. I almost smile at the thought; the contingency in my case is so remote. Indeed I often look forward with tranquil eye to a ripe old bachelorhood, much opposed as this appears to be to my constitution. I shall always love children, and I have no doubt that there will always be two or three upon the face of the earth that will love me. Hence my condition can never be like that of those forlorn singlemen whose want… years of intercourse,4 I do not fear one of the changes will be a lowering of your esteem.
RI MS JT/2/7/396–8
RI MS JT/2/13c/918–19
unidentified: no recipient is given for this letter within the typescript journal. Possibly Maria Drummond or one of her daughters, as around this time Tyndall was enamoured with either Mary or Emily Drummond (see letters 1404, n. 5, and 1406).
omnibus: a large, horse-drawn public vehicle carrying passengers by road, running on a fixed route and typically requiring the payment of a fare (OED).
strange request: not identified.
gentlemen whose want… years of intercourse: LT noted in the typescript journal that a page had been torn out.
Please cite as “Tyndall1354,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on