Thomas Beddoes to Thomas Wedgwood, 22 February [1796]
My dear Sir
I believe when politics came so thick upon us, I had to answer a letter of yours. – I had mentioned to you a plan for a publication on tangible geometry & you wished you could see it. I wish so too, as the invention has in my eyes extraordinary merit & deserves to be rescued from oblivion – It will have two excellent effects – 1. prevent the liberally educated from conceiving a disgust to the exact sciences & 2. put any students of geometry far on their way with little trouble & great satisfaction to themselves. It will furnish the demonstration of the principal propns in plane & solid geometry – a child who has any power of apprehension may be convinced in a minute that the square of the hypteneuse of a r. angled triangle = to the sq. of the other sides. – If you wish for answers to particular questions, I will give you them with great pleasure – I will generally pledge my judgement that the invention will be of great service to all who desire to educate their children with clear ideas, & that it will obtain the approbation of all who wish well to useful knowledge – I am sorry that the box with the book will amount to 2 guineas, as that sum will deprive the work of many purchasers. I wish to secure the poor old author an indemnity & for profit he may take the change of a general sale. He finds 40 subscribers necessary. I have procured near 30 – & hope to fill up his number – If you can assist us, I should be glad. I wd not even wish you to engage above five, if by any exertions you could do much more –
I have just published a 3rd edition of Parts I & II of Considerations – The additions are not many – One correspondent gives good reasons for supposing tubercles to be hydatids – Another has sent me a curious letter on diluted variolous matter, I believe this will prove a highly useful idea. His experience goes to 2000 patients & upwards – I believe Mr Watts apps is getting into the hands of many practitioners. Mr Watt’s expected publication & the problems proposed by Darwin in Zoonomia – Vol. II will procure us many new observations. A mad Doctor of my acquaintance is going to try airs largely. In Germany they have been [MS torn] this plan. Girtanner has published some recent cases, & at Vienna they are attentive to the project, but I think want a good apparatus –
You flattered me in supposing my lines to be written by Darwin or Bilsberrow –
I am informed from a Spaniard who lately traversed France that agriculture is thriving wonderfully. Lefebure who was on mission in Belgium states that there was grown there last year corn enough to feed 1/3 of France over & above the demands of the country – The schools are said to be all established & going on with great activity – I am
Dr Sir
Yours with great regard
Thomas Beddoes
Feby 22
Address: Thomas Wedgwood Esq / Etruria / Staffordshire [readdressed in another hand:] Devonshire Place / London
Endorsement: Dr Beddoes
MS: WE/WM/1/1/1/WM35.4