9 Athol Crescent | Tuesday 9th October
My dear Dr Tyndall
I was so glad to see your well known hand writing2 once more—and to be assured, that though we have unfortunately not met this year, our interest in each other has suffered no diminution.
I cant tell you how disappointed I was to find you at Queenwood3 as we went to the Continent; on our return we tried again, but with the ill success we almost <1 word missing> counted on.
Yes, James4 told me of his meeting you, and that ‘out of goodness’ he had told you not to call. (we left no address because the man said you would be absent a longer time than we were to be in London) our stay was very short, and the chances were many—against our being in, unless an appointment were made, and that with a man of your much occupation would have been unfair—(and we were a long way off—Cambridge Terrace5) This last time we were in Old Quebec Street6 and I should have so enjoyed a ‘craze’7 with you!
I wanted to go back again to you, when I heard of your return, but James threw cold water upon me8 too, declaring it would only bore you—and so I very unwillingly relinquished the idea then, expecting that by the time we were to return, you would also. But we had to return a month sooner than we had intended, (the middle of September) and you were still absent. We often wondered where you were, and if we had any chance to meet—(Wherever I fell in with a ‘Book’ I hunted over the names with you in my mind’s eye.
And yet we might have foregathered, for we must have been, indeed were in many of the same places. Paris and all over Switzerland with a great deal of Germany. We found the heat intolerable—(seldom under 80. in the night) at Geneva9 we spent nearly ½ an hour every morning and evening in the Rhone,10 and this toned us down for the rest of the day and night.
And now how shall I thank you for having thought of me in your travels.11 I assure you I feel it no small compliment, and to prove it in a way that I know to be so troublesome—for I well know that it is—therefore can thoroughly appreciate the kindness. I do hope you say truly that the ‘little trinket of a box’ is ‘worthless intrinsically’12—I dont know how it is, but I really never enjoy the receiving of a costly present; where as some small thing that bears on its face that it was got for one individual, and therefore a proof of kindly remembrance, gives me unmixed pleasure—and such I do hope will be the case now—but how is it that I have got the letter and not it. I hope it is merely stupidity on the part of the Post office gentry, but cant help fearing it may be their honesty is at fault.
Tomorrow morning will I trust make all right.
Here I am interrupted.
We were at Frankfort13 during the ‘Fair’,14 and of course for luck, brought away some ‘fairings’15—here was yours—
‘The gift is small | But give to all’!16
I am writing against time—and have only moments to say that I am always dear Dr Tyndall
Yours very much | & most sincerely | Mary Anne Coxe
RI MS JT/1/TYP/1/276
LT Typescript Only
[19] October [1858]: the year is given by the reference to Queenwood (see n. 3) and the day by relation to letter 1568. While LT’s typescript shows 9 October as the day, this was a Saturday. However, 19 October was a Tuesday and closer to Coxe’s next letter to Tyndall (1566), and thus LT probably transcribed the date incorrectly.
to see your well known hand writing: letter missing.
Queenwood: Tyndall travelled to Queenwood College (see letter 1298, n. 13) in mid-October 1858 to work on the manuscript of his Glaciers of the Alps.
James: James Coxe.
Cambridge Terrace: Cambridge Terrace is a row of mansions overlooking Regent’s Park in London, some two miles from the RI.
Old Quebec Street: a street in Westminster, London.
‘craze’: not identified but presumably dialect or slang for eager conversation.
threw cold water upon me: to heap discouragement on, disparage, ‘damp’ (OED).
Geneva: see letter 1355, n. 3.
Rhone: see letter 1355, n. 6.
And now how shall I thank you for having thought of me in your travels: possibly in Tyndall’s letter that this replies to (which is missing), he shared that he toasted her while atop Monte Rosa in August, like he did when atop Mont Blanc in August 1857 (see letter 1445).
I do hope you say truly that the ‘little trinket of a box’ is ‘worthless intrinsically’: from a letter from Tyndall to Coxe, which is missing.
Frankfort: alternative spelling of Frankfurt, a large city in Germany that serves as a significant transportation hub.
‘Fair’: probably the Dippemess, a traditional fair held annually in Frankfurt that dates back to the 14th century. Pottery goods were usually for sale.
‘fairings’: a present, souvenir, or other item given at or brought back from a fair (OED).
‘The gift is small | But give to all’: not identified. Most likely a line of poetry from a book Coxe obtained at the fair.
Please cite as “Tyndall1567,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on