June 22nd
My dear Mr Tyndall
Pray do not think me very changeable when I say that I find I must give up the very great enjoyment I had anticipated in going with you to Switzerland: about the greatest which would have been offered me: but the principal reason is (what I had quite overlooked when I saw you) that my Mother3 is going over to Adare4 in the beginning of July, & will only remain a couple of months with us: I am required for some time to be a fortnight about the end of August in Kerry5 with friends who are coming from England in purpose to pay us a visit; & therefore were I to be away 3–6 weeks more I feel it would not do, in fact I should scarcely be at Adare any part of my Mothers visit. Pray excuse these details, but I wish to tell you the exact state of the case. I am very disap[pointe]d., & I cannot tell you my chum Mr Tyndall how much I feel your kindness in inviting me to be your companion—should we both be alive & well next year, & that it would be convenient by you, I would make every arrangement to accompany you, & probably be able to bring my Daughter6 with me—but Lady D7 felt that it would not do for her to be away from Adare next month. My Mother is old & perhaps may never go over again.—I certainly never before made such a sacrifice of enjoyment to duty—
Believe me to be | Yours most sincerely | Dunraven
RI MS JT/1/D/192
Edwin Wyndham-Quin: Edwin Wyndham-Quin (1812–71), 3rd Earl of Dunraven
and Mount-Earl in the Irish Peerage, and First Baron Kenry in the United Kingdom. As Viscount Adare he served as Member of Parliament for Glamorganshire (1837–51). He had a deep interest in both science and spiritualism, studied astronomy for a number of years, and was a notable archeologist and founding member of the Irish Archeological Society. Wyndham-Quin had converted to Roman Catholicism in 1855 and became an ardent advocate of safeguarding religious education in Ireland (ODNB).
[1863]: the year is suggested by Anna-Maria Hajba, consultant archivist at the Special Collections and Archives Department of Glucksman Library at the University of Limerick. The diary of Dunraven’s mother Caroline Wyndham-Quin (see n. 3), reveals that she was in Adare from 13 July to 18 September 1863, and during her stay Edwin made two solo trips to County Kerry, from 18 to 28 July and 29 August to 9 September, respectively. Another, but less likely year is 1856, when Caroline was in Adare from 5 July to 8 September and visited County Kerry with Edwin between 31 July and 9 August.
Mother: Caroline Wyndham-Quin (1790–1870), Countess of Dunraven, the daughter and heiress of Thomas Wyndham of Dunraven Castle, Glamorganshire. She inherited from her father property in Gloucestershire, as well as the Wyndham estate in Glamorganshire (O. Clarke, ‘Divine Providence and Resignation: The Role of Religion in the Management of the Emotions of the Anglo-Irish Countess of Dunraven, Caroline Wyndham-Quin (1790–1870)’, in W. Ruberg and K. Steenbergh (eds), Sexed Sentiments: Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Gender and Emotion (Amsterdam/New York: Rodopi, 2011), pp. 71–91).
Adare: a village in County Limerick, Ireland, long highly regarded for its scenic beauty. Adare Manor was also the family seat of the Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl.
Kerry: County Kerry in the southwest of Ireland.
Daughter: not identified; Wyndham-Quin had five daughters.
Lady D: Augusta Charlotte Wyndham-Quin (née Goold, 1810–66), Lady Dunraven, the third daughter of Thomas Goold of Rossbrien, Dromadda and Athea, a Master in the Irish Court of Chancery.
Please cite as “Tyndall2018,” in Ɛpsilon: The John Tyndall Collection accessed on