Item 79a - Letter from William Whewell to John Stevens Henslow

Camborne, Cornwall - WW would have loved to have added his voice to JSH's in the forthcoming election, but is too busy in Cornwall: 'I am in great hopes that the committee will excuse my visiting Cambridge at present and that Lord Palmerston will be kind enough to believe the extreme mortification with which I deny myself the pleasure of giving him my vote'. It all hinges on whether WW can finish off his experiment with George Airy [See their 'Account of Experiments Made at Dolcoath Mine in Cornwall', 1828]: 'It has turned out to be attended with much difficulty and unavoidable delay and will require every day that we can command from this time till July'. WW has to spend some twelve hours below '1200 feet of granite and clay slate...sitting in one cavern in the rock and looking through two telescopes in a wooden partition into another cavern. When I have done this for some hours I shall have to climb up to the surface on which you live by about 60 vertical ladders. This must go on for some weeks before we can be certain of the quantities which we have to determine. You must conceive also that in all our ascents and descents we have to carry 3 box and 4 pocket chronometers and you will have some idea of our employments'.