i854 SURVEY WORK AT TENBY 



123 



Tenbv, South Wales, Sept. 3, 1854. 



I have been here since the middle of August, getting rid of 

 my yellow face and putting on a brown one, banishing dys- 

 pepsias and hypochondrias and all such other town afflictions to 

 the four winds, and rejoicing exceedingly that I am out of the 

 way of that pest, the cholera, which is raging just at present 

 in London. 



After I had arranged to come here to do a lot of work of my 

 own which can only be done by the seaside, our Director, Sir 

 Henry de la Beche, gave me a special mission of his own 

 whereby I have the comfort of having my expenses paid, but 

 at the same time get it taken out of me in additional labour, so 

 ray recreation is anything but leisure. 



Oct. 14. 



I left this place for a week's trip to Liverpool in the end 

 of September. The meeting of the British Association was held 

 there, but I went not so much to be present as to meet Forbes, 

 with whom I wanted to talk over many matters concerning us 

 both. Forbes had a proposition that I should go to Edinburgh 

 to take part of the duties of the Professor of Physiology there, 

 who is in bad health, with the ultimate aim of succeeding to the 

 chair. It was a tempting offer made in a flattering manner, 

 and presenting a prospect of considerably better emolument 

 than my special post, but it had the disadvantage of being but 

 an uncertain position. Had I accepted, I should have been at 

 the mercy of the actual Professor — and that is a position I don't 

 like standing in, even with the best of men, and had he died 

 or resigned at any time the Scotch chairs are so disposed of 

 that there would have been nothing like a certainty of my get- 

 ting the post, so I definitely declined — I hope wisely. 



After some talk, Forbes agreed with my view of the case, so 

 he is off to Edinburgh, and I shall go off to London. I hope 

 to remain there for my life long. 



He had long felt that London gave the best oppor- 

 tunities for a scientific career, and it was on his advice that 

 Tyndall had left Queenwood College for the Royal Institu- 

 tion, where he was elected Professor of Natural Philosophy 

 in 1853 :— 



6 Upper York Place, St. John's Wood, 

 Feb. 25, 1853. 

 My dear Tyndall — Having rushed into more responsibility 

 than I wotted of, I have been ruminating and taking counsel 



