To Christian Gerling   10th Dec. 1858

10^th Dec. 1858

My dear Friend.

Your letter,¹ and your two memoirs² reached me this day and I hasten to thank you for both and to assure you that it gave me great pleasure to hear from you. It is a long time since I received any intelligence from dear old Marburg.³ It gives me sincere satisfaction to learn that you and your family are well and happy; with regard to your being no longer young you are only about 2 years older than Faraday, and I sometimes say to him that he is the young man and I the old one.⁴ I saw M^r Biot last year in Paris, and when I mentioned Faraday’s age to him he exclaimed ‘Il est un jeune homme moi, J’ai quatre vingt trois!’⁵

I hoped at one time to be able to go to Carlsruhe⁶ this year, but I found myself unable to spare the time. I spent the summer among the Alps, and one day while sitting in the hotel at the Montenvert⁷ Professor v. Ettingshausen⁸ and his daughter⁹ came in—It gave me great pleasure to see them. Another day as I was ascending towards the Mer de Glace¹⁰ a gentleman and three ladies were riding on before me. As he turned a corner I caught sight of the gentleman’s face—it was my friend Prof. Magnus who was travelling with his wife and two daughters.¹¹ I was extremely pleased to see him, though at first he did not at all remember me on account of the huge beard which I had permitted to grow among the mountains.

My attention was drawn three years ago towards the glaciers, and until this year I was not able to finish the subject. I spent a glorious time in Switzerland and became an expert mountaineer—I ascended the Finsteraarhorn¹² this year with a single guide¹³ and placed a minimum thermometer on the summit—I ascended Monte Rosa¹⁴ twice—once with a single guide,¹⁵ and once alone. Afterwards I came to Chamouni¹⁶ and waited there for some time for good weather so that I might reach the top of Mont Blanc¹⁷ & plant thermometers there. I did reach the summit but we were attacked by a kind of tourmente,¹⁸ and it was so terribly cold, that my guide,¹⁹ the best man in Chamouni, very nearly lost his two hands. They were quite géleés,²⁰ and it was only by the greatest efforts that sensation was restored to them.

Our friend Hirst is now in Rome—I had the happiness of meeting him in the valley of Saas,²¹ as he was about crossing the Monte Moro.²² We spent two delightful sunny days upon the glaciers together—I hope he will return to England in the Spring.

I have not yet had time to read your memoir, but shall do so in my first moments of leisure—you shew a good example of activity to younger men, and I hope you will long continue to do so—I wish you many happy Christmasses I offer Miss Gerling²³ my felicitations on the approaching happy occasion, and with best and kindest wishes to you all

Believe me ever | Most sincerely yours | John Tyndall

UB Mbg 319:740