Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1884-11-06
TTNDALL on ms OUN LIFE.
fP1ll-Mall Gazette. !

fPall-Mail Gazette
Last night, ut the Birkbeck Institution,
Professor Tyndall delivered an address
based on the experiences OF his life. He
said: THE Students %. the Birk-
beck Institution may grant me the honor
81 ranking myself among them rs fci-
low->tudcni Of former generation. Al
the invitation Of an officer 81 the Royal
Engineers, who afterward became one Of
my most esteemed and intimate friends, !
Quilted school in 1899 10 Join division OF
the Ordnance Survey. The profession OF
4 civil engineer having then great attrac-
tons for me, joined the survey, in
tending, il possible. TO make nv
self master Of an lis operations,
AZ first step toward becoming
evil engineer. Drughtsmen were The
hes; pad. and | became a driughtSmln.
But | hahi,ullly made Inclrsions into the
domains u the calculator and cOmputOr.
and thus learned all their art. The pay
upon the Ordinance survey w, very
small. but having ullcrior objects IN view
! considered the instruction | received
~ some >ct-of - the smallnc,> IL the
pay. II might prevent some young Drd
hechlans from considering their iitc
specially hard, or from beng d1untel. be-
cause from a very low level they had 10
climb very steep hlll, when tell you
that on quitting the Ordnance Survey in
1873, my salary was little under 2Qs.
week. have often wondered since al the
the amount 81 genuine happiness which Il
young fellow. OF regular habits, not caring
for either pipe or mug. may extract even
from pay like that. Then came pause,
and after it the mad lime OF the railway
mania. when was able to turn to account
the knowledge had glined upon the Ord
nance Survey. In StltlordshiTe, Che; shire.
Lancashire. Durham. and Yorkshire more
especially in the last was in the thick Of
the fray. II was time Of terrible toll
The days work in the field usually began
and ended with the days light. while
frequently in the Office, and more espe-
cially - the awful 30th Of No
yember--the latest date at which
plans and sections of projected Inns
could he deposited at the Board OF
Trade-diew near; there was little differ
ence between day and night, every hour OF
the tweuty-fOur being absorbed In the
work Of preparation. strong men were
broken down by the strain and labor Of
that arduous time. Many pushed through.
and are still among us in robust vigOr; but
some collapsed, while others retired with
large fortunes, but with intellectS so shat
tered that. instead of taking their places in
the front rank Of English statesmen, as
their abilities entitled them 10 do. they
sought resi- for their brains in the
quiet lives OF country gentlemen.
In lay own modest sphere ! well re-
member the rcfr,.shment | occasionally
derived from five minutes sleep on
a deal table, with - Babbage and
Callet's Loearilhms " hinder my head
for pillow. Or certain day, under
grave penalties. certain levels had % be
finished, and thi, particular day was one
Of agony to me. The atmosphere seemed
filed with mOcking demons, laughing at
the vanity 0f my efforts TO get the work
done. Ms lcycling slaves were snapped,
and my thcodolite was Overthrown by the
storm. When things are at their worst 4
KIND OF anger often takes the place OF fear.
II was ~ in the present instance. pushed
doggedly on, and Just at nightfall. when
barely able to read the figures on my Level
inc stafi, planted my last :" bench marx "On
atombstone in taworth churchyard. Close
al hand was the yicarage OF Mr.. Bronte.
where the genius WAS nurSed which SDoa
afterward burst forth aud astonshed the
world. Il was time Of mad unrest, OF
downright mOnomania. In private resi-
denccs aud public halls. in London re-
ceptlon-roonis, In hotels and the stables OF
hotels. among Gypsies and eestermongers,
nothing was spoken OF but the state OF the
share market, the prospects OF projected
lines. the good fortune OF the hostler or pot
boy " no by lucky stroke Of business had
cleared sl0,000. High aud low. rich and
poor, Joined in the reckless game. Dur
Ing my professional connection with rail-
ways ] endured three weeks misery. II
was not defeated ambition; Il was not
rejected suit; II was not tue hardship en-
dilrtd in either office or field but IL was
the possession Of certain shares purchased
In one OF the lines then afloat. The share
list OF the dag proved the Winding sheet OF
nv peace OF mind. | was haunted by the