
          altho' [although] not so well posted up Gale was a harder
 working & more practical man & a greater loss to the Office.
 He is a man for whom I have a great affection.
 Peale still remains in office the tenure I believe
 rather slight. You will not see me at Baltimore
 as I have nothing to give to that family party & I
 cannot leave here at present. We like Washington
 well, pleasant society but I do not like my occupation
 very well. I want to get into a College of some
 standing but have met with so many disappointments
 that I have almost despaired. Once or twice the idea
 of going back to Ireland crossed my mind but the wife
 & children forbade it. An offer was made to me last
 fall to go to Mexico (Sonora) & make a mineral survey
 with a good salary attached. I accepted, revolution came
 on & when I was to have started in Nov. things there & since
 have looked so squally that I of course held on here in
 preference. In the meantime a vacancy occurs here in the office
 & they declined to promote me as I was uncertain to stay and
 worse still an offer of the Chemical Chair of Col. Coll. [Columbia College] in this district
 was made me which I was compelled to decline for same reason
 & now I am without either. The little laboratory which is here
 attached to the office is not very well fitted up but I manage
 to do a little work. I have been going over Hatchetts experiments
 on artifical Tannin. Cannot verify all his results but I find
 that boiling SO3HO acts on powdered resin so as to wholly to decompose it
        