| RefNo | HSF/1/3/37 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Incomplete letter from C [Charles] Pritchard, Hurst Hill, Freshwater, I W [Isle of Wight] to [Sir John Frederick William Herschel] |
| Creator | Pritchard; Charles (1808-1893); British astronomer |
| Date | 19 October 1863 |
| Description | He thinks that Herschel does not read the High Church paper 'The Guardian', referring to an article on the Sun's parallax, which he discusses. If Alick [Alexander Stewart Herschel] wishes, Pritchard would welcome a week of his company, noting his home as a healthy and lovely spot. He would be interested to hear what Alexander is doing. Pritchard will soon lecture on the solar eclipse from town to town in order to collect money for a new church nearby: 'the poeple are in gross darkness & a town threatens to spring up'. Pritchard refers to Herschel's translation of 'The Iliad', 'a very refreshing work', for which he praises Herschel, but thinks that the English language is not adapted to hexameter verse, since 'we don't think in dactyls and spondees'. He likes [William] Cowper's translation best, as did Christopher North [John Wilson], whose work he recommends.
Headed 'Postscript'. The date appears as a later pencil note. If correct, this is a postscript to a letter of the same date, held at HS/14/83. |
| Extent | 4p. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| PhysicalDescription | Ink on paper |
| AccessStatus | Open |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA5459 | Pritchard; Charles (1808 - 1893) | 1808 - 1893 |