5 o8 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



want to know the amount of slavery that will, under the contract, be inflicted 

 on me. 



I take it for granted that I should occupy no other position than that habitu- 

 ally accepted by such men as Emerson, Sumner, Wendell Phillips, Wendell 

 Holmes. I should not, of course, dream of becoming a traveling lecturer in 

 England, and I should as little dream of doing so in America if the constitution 

 of society were not such as to render the work of lecturing not unworthy of your 

 own best men. 



The best men in England, be it remembered, would engage in nothing of the 

 kind. 



Between the time of his first visit to Europe, in 1862, and the 

 time, ten years later, of Prof. Tyndall's coming to this country, 

 my brother had made several visits abroad, and his acquaintance 

 with Tyndall had ripened into friendship. In 1871, when he was 

 in England establishing the International Scientific Series (of 

 which the first volume was prepared by Tyndall), he received 

 from him much friendly counsel and important aid, and, in 

 fact, in a letter of June 23, 1871, from my brother, I find it 

 stated that 



Tyndall is arranging to come over next year. Two illustrated lectures on the 

 glaciers, two or three on heat, others on light and electricity. " I want you to 

 take entire charge of me so far as the public is concerned ; my assistant will take 

 charge of experiments. I will not enslave myself. I will take it just as easy as 

 I have a mind to. I don't want your money, nor will I bring away one dollar of 

 it. I will help your scientific institutions with it; but it shall not be said that I 

 went to America to line my pockets. I have no reflections to cast upon those 

 Englishmen who have chosen to do this. It may have been right for them, but 

 it won't do for me." 



The next letter bearing upon the subject shows that plans for 

 his lectures here were on foot, and that he had asked Prof. Henry 

 to arrange the times and places for him. This is quite in keep- 

 ing with English reverence for institutions, and Prof. Henry stood 

 for the Smithsonian Institution. 



May 28, 1872. 



MY DEAR YOUMANS : You will have your kindness toward me tested by Prof. 

 Henry in regard to the coming lectures. I wrote to him saving that I knew you 

 would help me, and he has written to me to say he would call upon you. 



He proposes five cities (and perhaps others) in which to lecture I have ex- 

 pressed my willingness to give a course of six lectures in each at the rate of three 

 a week. Two things render it desirable that the number should not exceed three 

 a week. Firstly, I must keep up my physical vigor, and the night subsequent to a 

 lecture is only too likely to be a sleepless one. Secondly, it is above all things 

 desirable to make sure of the experimental arrangements the day before the 

 lecture. . . . Yours ever, JOHN TYNDALL. 



The revelation given in the next letter of Prof. Tyndall's men- 

 tal state concerning the commercial resources of Boston is too 

 characteristically English to be omitted : 



