The letters of Thomas William Webb to Arthur Cowper Ranyard volume I

I sent the Photographs & pamphlets by bookpost, & enclose Prof. Mayer’s¹ letter to myself, which you may like to see – please return this as soon as convenient, as I must reply to it soon.-

My Spottiswoode speculations came to an untimely end. G.A.S was out of town – W, [?] I did not see how I could very well attack, as he was not my printer & I had no kind of business with him – however I determined - though rather against my judgement to make the attempt, & called at his office (near the others) but he was not in – and as matters stood I could hardly regret it – for with him as almost a stranger to myself – there would have been more appearance of officious meddling - & I had no handle whatever to pull the business in with. –

I found at Som: Ho: that Liais² was in – a heavy clumsy fellow something after the fashion of Lockyer’s Guillemin³ – with painful French type & nice illustrations.

This being Saturday, I feel rather “Mondayish” & oppressed with heaps of letters & papers – but the silence & the climate & the garden of this place are delicious. Thank God for such a home – A double amount of best wishes from your very affectionate old friend. T.W.Webb
Pdfs. 102/103

Letter 121 One month later
Hardwick Vicarage, 26 Aug.1872
My dearest Arthur,
I have heard nothing from you for a long time – and I, or more properly we, want to know very much how matters have been going on – whether you went to the British Ass[ociation], whether anything further has turned up - &c.&c.

I found afterwards that I had taken the trouble of carrying that curious book of Zőllner’s¹ all the way to London to deliver it to you – and brought it all the way back again without knowing anything about it! If you don’t tell me to send it by post, I shall now keep it till you fetch it – you will not forget your promise. –

We have been pretty full of business – as you might expect – since our return – but no great progress made. Somehow the days are never long enough. I am still fagging at that plaguey 3^rd Edit:[of Celestial Objects] - but I hope it is gradually getting into train. I am also doing a little bit by bit towards remounting the Telescope, which I had entirely dismantled. The stand wanted - & has had- considerable repair - & With, in whose care I left the speculum, pronounces that it requires a different mode of suspension – I am glad he has found this out, for I have been latterly not so well pleased with it, & thought the fault might be decay in my own eye. It will now be supported on flannel instead of a zinc ring.

I dare say you will give me leave to ask you two legal questions – provided always the answer may not be inconvenient. – The one is this. I have been threatened by the turnpike keeper at Hay with a summons for going through M^rs Penoyre’s ground [The Moor Estate] to the Station – that is, along her private drive – she having given her consent, & I having been, a good while ago, informed by 3 magistrates that I had a perfect right to do so – as it was my direct way to the Station – nay, that if my principle business was at the Station I might even go on to Hay without evasion of toll, tho’ I could not legally do so if my principal business was in Hay. The gate-keeper is very confident that the J.Ps are wrong. I have since asked another magistrate of much experience; & he thinks the matter doubtful. What say you? -

The other point is this. You know I hold the meadow opposite the house from M^rs Penoyre at a nominal rent of 1^s. Her gamekeeper comes & nets fish there & brings any acquaintance he likes, “breaking my close” – damaging my hedge, &c. – (The brook is in my ^the^ meadow I rent, on both sides) I am told this is wrong – that supposing the fish are hers, as I presume they are, no person, not even the keeper, may come to fish without my permission. In fact that, if so disposed, I could maintain action of trespass against anybody. Is such the case? –

Pray forgive my bothering you with these enquiries.

I shall bring up the old Puritan officer¹ with me. My wife sends her kind love to your good Mother, with best thanks for her letter – she feels highly complimented by her asking for drawings to copy from, but she is very sorry to say she has no oil painting - & her water-colour drawings are all mounted in large books.

With best love to you from both, dearest Arthur, I give send with my new Motto, that of the Bardic Chair at Raglan Castle,

Deffro! Mae Dydd²

And then – the next thing is, as usual, a selfish one. – Our stupid Hay bookseller ordered Lowe’s British ferns for us - & we had an imperfect copy ending with p.348 instead of 472! And then he or his London agents who may be denser than himself, pretended no more was to be had. This I found out was all wrong: but stupidly again – adding forgetfulness to blundering, I omitted to see about it till the other day, when I went to Groombridge’s about it. I did not see the principals – but this young shopman was not sure that it might not be out of print by this time. However, he’s made a memorandum & promised to enquire about it and I said I would call again if possible. I could not however manage it. And now my petition is – that some time when you may be passing that way – there not being the slightest cause for a hasty on purpose journey – you would kindly look in at 5 (or 6) P N Row², and ask, whether the said termination of Lowe’s British ferns (including Index) is yet to be had.

The wonders we saw together at Tulse Hill³ have continued to run in my head more or less ever since - & I took the first of the very scarce opportunities of open sky to look for the 3 neb^ae & I found them quite as well shewn as ⅓ the light would shew them. That is certainly a glorious glass of Huggins’s – but I should like to have seen a big star through it in default of actual trial. I have a suspicion that there is a slight degree of flexure in the O.G. from some inadequacy of support. ‘Twas a presumptuous thing even to think – but you know I am now an “old salt”, and not remarkable for diffidence in my own opinions – I certainly felt it matter of thankfulness to be experimentally convinced of the unchanged state at present of my own eye – but the change will come – in God’s good time.

This letter was broken off here by the relation of a marvellous well attested ghost story – not to be told again – but of the most strangely convincing character. What have Mess^rs Tyndall, Huxley, et hoc genus omne, to say to these things?

If you happen to come across a book by a man called Sanford – work ^Studies^ & Illustrations of the Great Rebellion⁴ – or some similar title, will you kindly give me some notion about it as to size, price &c. I have a notion an idea of ordering it for our Book Club, if it should be the right kind of thing.

I have a strong impression that I wanted to tell you or hear from you something else, but it seems to have gone from me. – I have a little scheme of trying to adapt my miniature spectroscope to the reflector, and I cannot but think I could make the great Neb. in Orion give me a reply. I suppose our Annular friend would hardly be bright enough.

Will you let me know whether you have got Brewster’s Optics? My wife says yes – I think no. Cel.Obj. crawls on – but I must not crawl- there is not much time ahead. I have crawled too much this many a year.
With my verié hashé comendacons [medieval?]

Deffro! Mae dydd!