| RefNo | HSF/2/3/23 |
| Previous numbers | 600/31/100 and 600/31/100A |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from John Herschel, [station] XXX, to [Mary Cornwallis Herschel] |
| Creator | Herschel; John (1837-1921); British army officer and astronomer |
| Date | 14 February 1872 |
| Description | He will finish his current group of observations in minimum time and will leave the last station on the night of the 18th. He is cutting connection with Narrainpett [Narayanpet] gradually but still has no information on postal communication. He has thought himself prejudiced in favour of the North-West of India, but thinks there is something alien about Madras and the South, giving details of his reasoning. He does not have the devotion of those about him in this part of his Indian experience which he has had on previous occasions; he has no trustworthy Indian lieutenant, but rather new hands in a country foreign to them. Before, he succeeded to take charge of an organised establishment, one of the oldest and largest in the department. It is easy to command when one is obeyed, but harder to create discipline where there is no conception of it. Herschel believes himself to be justified 'in taking into my own hands that law wh. I should have been breaking in British territory'. He discusses the use of power not depending upon the purse or higher knowledge, and his distaste for the work. The jackals remind him of days when he used to hunt them, keeping dogs and a stable of horses, but now that would be wasteful. He asks if Mary thinks his memories of the mess and dinner table, and his friends, are unhealthy and betoken the loss of youth. He notes his abrupt severance from that life, and trading one kind of pleasure in life for another. |
| Extent | 8p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA7955 | Herschel; John (1837 - 1921); Colonel; military engineer, surveyor and astronomer | 1837 - 1921 |