3rd Sep. 1858.
My dear Mrs Steuart,
The thought of you crossed my mind a few days ago upon the glaciers—I know not how it came, but I asked myself at the time ‘how is it that I never receive a letter from my old friend!’ I laid the blame upon myself, and formed on the spot the laudable resolution to write to you as soon as I should find a peaceful resting place. Chamouni2 has furnished me with such a pause and from Chamouni I write to you.
For the last three years I have devoted a portion of my time to the investigation of glaciers, and hence I have been brought to the Alps every year. Last year I lived for six weeks in a little hut beside the Mer de Glace.3 Every day I was upon the ice observing its motion, which is exactly like that of a river, and examining its properties. On the 13th of August I walked in company with a friend4 and a single guide5 to the summit of Mont Blanc.6
This year my ramble among the glaciers has been very extensive. I have visited most of the glaciers on the Bernese Alps;7 and ascended to the summit of the Finsteraarhorn,8 which is the highest mountain in the Oberland.9 Thence to the district about Monte Rosa10 where I spent a fortnight, and learned a great deal concerning its magnificent glaciers. I ascended the mountain twice during my stay in the neighbourhood. Such ascents are not without peril and in my case a little more perilous than usual for I do not take with me the retinue of guides which generally accompany tourists who make such excursions.
When I came here I hoped to be able to climb to the summit of Mont Blanc to sink some thermometers in the ice at the top. But so much fresh snow has fallen, and the weather is so unsettled, that I almost fear I shall not be able to accomplish the ascent this year. I will wait here for a week or so and then act as circumstances dictate.
When I return I shall try to get into some quiet nook, throw my observations together and publish them in the form of a book.11 If this intention should ever be fulfilled I shall take care to send you a copy, and from it you will be able to judge of the nature of my work and the labour which it has rendered necessary.
I had the pleasure of seeing Mr Duckett12 in London some weeks before I came away, and I think I must ask you to apologise to him for the shortness of the time which I was able to devote to him when he had the kindness to call upon me last. It is always a delight to me to see him, but I am sometimes in the midst of experiments which demand incessant attention and hence may appear neglectful to my friends on such occasions. I hoped to see Mr Duckett afterwards and to explain this to him myself, but unfortunately I had not the opportunity. Will you kindly remember me to him?
Some military examinations,13 in which I take a part, commence on the 21st of this month, so I hope to be in London by the 20th. I should be very glad to hear from you once more if you have a minute’s time to write to me. The Royal Institution | Albemarle Street | London | is my permanent address.
And now I wish you goodbye and believe me | Ever yours sincerely | John Tyndall
Would you kindly have the enclosed14 forwarded to my mother?15
RI MS JT/1/TYP/10/3338–9
LT Typescript Only
Mrs. Steuart: Elizabeth Dawson Steuart (née Duckett, 1802–93), was, like her husband, born into a wealthy family. She married William Richard Steuart on 18 August 1820, and they lived at Steuart’s Lodge, Leighlinbridge in County Carlow, Ireland. She took a keen interest in Tyndall’s career and was probably his most consistent and long-lived patron. She continued to support Tyndall after her husband died in 1852. See G. Cantor and G. Dawson (eds), The Correspondence of John Tyndall, Volume 2: The Correspondence, May 1840–August 1843 (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2016), p. 444.
Chamouni: see letter 1353, n. 9.
Mer de Glace: see letter 1306, n. 12.
a friend: Thomas Hirst.
a single guide: Edouard Simond.
Mont Blanc: see letter 1320, n. 6. They left Chamonix on 12 August and reached the summit on 13 August.
Bernese Alps: see letter 1539, n. 14.
Finsteraarhorn: see letter 1536, n. 27.
Oberland: see letter 1527, n. 13.
Monte Rosa: see letter 1478, n. 22.
a book: Glaciers of the Alps.
Mr Duckett: probably one of Elizabeth Steuart’s brothers, John Dawson Duckett (1791–1866), William Duckett (1796–1868), or Joseph Fade Duckett (1796–1875). Most likely Joseph, since in her reply she mentioned that he would be making a visit to London and ‘no doubt will call upon you while there’ (see letter 1561). Elizabeth’s father, William Duckett, was born in 1761.
military examinations: beginning on 21 September 1858, Tyndall conducted exams in the Experimental Sciences. See Examination Papers used at the Examinations for Direct Commissions, in September, 1858. (London: Harrison, 1858), pp. 13–16.
the enclosed: letter 1552.
my mother: Sarah Tyndall.
Please cite as “Tyndall1555,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on