September 17, 1937

Dr. L. O. Brockway

c/o Dyson Perrins Laboratory

Oxford

England

Dear Lawrence:

I was glad to receive your two letters. Your keys brought a return of $2.50 and your phone bill was only a dollar and a quarter, and so at present I am $1.10 to the good. In case that there is anything that I can do for you to the extent of $1.10 let me know any time from now on.

Your paper with Levy on the bromomethanes has appeared, but the proof has not yet come for the boron paper. It may well be here in a few days, permitting the paper to appear in the October Journal. Levy has prepared some suitable notes to add in proof. The electron diffraction work is going along well. Ketelaar and Palmer have written their paper on NOCl and NOBr, both of which show halogen-nitrogen distances 0.3 Å larger than the single bond covalent distance. They have also written a page note on the aliphatic dihalides, stating that the halogen-halogen distances are too variable to show up in the photographs. Schomacher has a satisfactory structure for P₃N₃Cl₆ and Ketelaar is working on P₄N₄Cl₈. These substances he brought with him. He left for Holland two days ago, having done while here not only a large amount of electron diffraction cork but also a small theoretical problem with Jack.

I have not done anything more on acetone, but have been working with Schomacher on the heterocyclic paper, which I hope will be ready before I leave ten days from now.

I am glad that Moc [sic] have you such good advice about how to spend your time in Europe. I too think that you should remember that it may be a long time before you have another opportunity to see Europe, and that you should get as much out of your trip as possible, You should, of course, learn as much scientifically as you can, but you mustn't forget that it is important to get acquainted with people and that you will have plenty of tine to do experimental work after you return to the United States,

My wife and children are all well, although life has become rather strenuous as we get ready to leave for Cornell, the children staying behind in Pasadena. I think that my wife will stay for a month or six weeks in Cornell and then return.

I want to tell you again how much I have enjoyed having you in the laboratory during the last seven years. I don't need to say anything about how profitable your work has been.

With best regards to you and to Mrs. Brockway, I am

Sincerely yours,

Linus Pauling