xii.] LIFE IN ST. ANDREWS. 423 



illness to its lowest ebb, and my courage finally failed 

 in the face of a long railway journey with a party of 

 ladies. Besides, the accounts I received of the changes 

 of travelling in Switzerland in the last twelve years, the 

 enormous pressure of tourists, want of lodgings, and 

 general absence of repose, seemed to me to deprive it of 

 most of the advantages which it formerly offered even 

 to a confirmed invalid. So in the middle of June with 

 reluctance we turned our faces homewards. I have no 

 reason to doubt that I acted wisely. . But it was sad : 

 the more sad because I fancy I shall never think of it 

 again, unless indeed I were to begin by passing a 

 winter in the south. Excuse so much about myself 

 and my health.' 



To PROF. WM. THOMSON. 



' ST. ANDREWS, December 2nd, 1864. 



* I hope very soon now to complete the careful reduc- 

 tion of my experiments on the conductivity of iron, and 

 to publish them. In the meantime I can state confidently 

 that the results will confirm even numerically very 

 closely the approximate results I before published. I 

 think that the diminution of conductivity with tempe- 

 rature will also approach nearly to the coefficient for iron 

 given by Mathieson for electricity. For myself I surrender 

 to public clamour any hope of present justice on the glacier 

 theory. I have no longer strength for it, and perhaps I 

 can bear disappointment better than I once could ; but I 

 feel a little of the old fire when I see an old acquaintance 

 like Ruskin take up the cudgels for me. . . . 



' I am going health permitting to hear the Duke of 

 Argyll's address on Monday ; but shall be returning here 

 almost immediately, and hope to hear from you when 

 you have time.' 



To ALFRED WILLS, ESQ. 



'EDINBURGH, December 7th, 1864. 



'. . . My interest in Mr. Reilly's map and its 

 suitable and prompt publication is not unnaturally a 

 strong one. The best, and possibly happiest, years of 

 my life were spent in work more or less connected with 



