| RefNo | HSF/1/2/57 |
| Previous numbers | 600/31/18, 600/31/18A, 600/31/18B, and 600/31/17 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Letter from W H [William Hallowes] Miller, 7 Scroope Terrace, Cambridge, to Sir John [Frederick William] Herschel |
| Creator | Miller; William Hallowes (1801-1880); British mineralogist |
| Date | 24 February 1868 |
| Description | He has pleasure in sending Herschel lines from Homer, following line 30. He found them in an old duodecimo work in two volumes, the first lacking a title page. He transcribes the preface and the title page of the second volume but cannot find the editor's name. He relays remarks from [Christian Gottlob] Heyne's annotations on Homer. [Wilhelm] Haidinger has given a conjectural answer to Herschel's question of why verses were omitted. [Ernst] Chladni says somewhere that meteorites in museums were thrown away if the curators believed that such objects fell from the sky. He comments on the probability of finding the Narni meteorite and thinks that the Aegosotami meteorite is still in existence.He gives examples from Brazil and Orgueil, France, of meteorites deteriorating once fallen. He sends by separate copy Haidinger's discussion of the Homeric passage and asks for its return. He unwisely purchased [Johann Heinrich Robert] Göppert's paper on diamond and substances within it. One less absurd comment is on inclusions of quartz splinters which may explain the action of some diamonds in polarized light. Similar effects have been observed in boracite, supposed by [Alfred] Des Cloizeaux to be caused by thin scales of strassfurtite.
With two separate sheets, containing verse lines following line 30 of Book 15 of 'The Iliad'. |
| Extent | 10p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA7152 | Miller; William Hallowes (1801 - 1880) | 1801 - 1880 |