| Description | They had an interesting day yesterday at Owen's College under Professor [Henry Enfield] Roscoe's guidance. Emily Hardcastle is fond of physics and posed the most pertinent questions. William describes the visit, in which Roscoe gave them an hour of demonstrations of spectroscopy and of 'the chemical properties of light'. He describes the burning of magnesium wire near a glass vessel of gases, which react to light, but interposing coloured glasses can make the gases quiescent, exploding if no glass, or blue glass, is used. 'It is startling to see the power that blackens photographic paper shew itself as an explosive agent'. Roscoe is laying out a new laboratory in the Owen's College buildings, and William praises [Alfred] Waterhouses's architecture. Roscoe told him that the South Kensington building [Natural History Museum?] had £10,000 for decorations and student appliances were starved. The same was true all over the continent and he thinks that his laboratory will be superior to any yet designed, as far as his funds will go. The Hardcastles have a son of Lord Lawrence staying with them, who is in an agency house for the East India line at Liverpool. Lord Lawrence will not allow any of his sons to go into service in India. He describes an ecclesiastical party held last night with the Bishop Fraser and the Dean of Manchester and he decsribes both. He gives greetings to members of the family. |