| ||||||
OCR Rendition - approximate
Childhood and Boyhood 71 the earliest portrait of Francis Galton. Before her also she doubtless had two of the three little packets which lie on my table as I write this: the first is entitled, "Baby's Hair," a fine golden shade, the second " Baby's Hair, Fras. Galton " was preserved by his sister Emma Sophia, and is of a paler shade and probably earlier, and the last " Francis' Hair, 1829 (?)," a bright light brown, must represent him much as he was in Boulogne. At the school he was placed in a high class, although the boys' ages ranged to fifteen. A collection of eight letters written from Boulogne were copied into a notebook by his sister Adele, and the originals of five of them have also been preserved. These letters are boyish letters, referring to the animals at home, his garden patch, the doings of his sisters and brothers, and of his grandfather at Duddeston. The letters are probably not quite characteristic, for I shrewdly suspect they were supervised by the master, who occasionally adds a footnote of his own, and in one case cross-writes a good deal of the note. Most of the letters begin with a statement that Francis' is very happy at the school, but in later life Galton always spoke of his unhappiness there, and the reiterated statements of happiness and the kindness of the other boys do not seem spontaneous. Here are samples of these boyish letters BOULOGNE SUR MER, Saturday, 30th Oct., 1830. MY DEAR ADhLE, I am very happy at School. The Boys are all pretty kind to me. I am growing very tall, and in better proportion, for I am just able to clasp my wrist. I am invited out every Sunday which I like very much. I was put in the third class a little while ago, because I was not able to keep up with them in lessons. I am reading a French book called Robinson, for I have just got out of the Grammar. I do Florilegium which I think is very hard in some places for they are taken out of the end of the Delectus, but some are very easy. I have not begun to learn either fencing or dancingbut I think I soon shall begin. Tell Emma to take great care of my garden, .and to see that none of the sisters take any of my Hollyocks up, else I shall be in a most terrible rage, when I come home. I like Cowper's Poems very much for there is at the end a very entertaining account of some Hares. I hope that the Pigs, Dogs, Horses and Cows are quite well. Please don't feed Ringwood so much if you think it will make him a bad Dog. Give my best love to Papa and Mama, Sisters, and to Grandpapa and Aunt Sophia, And believe me always, Your most affectionate Brother, FRANCIS GALTON.
|