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Lehrjahre and Wanderjahre   107

Sunday Oct. 16th 1839.

17 NEW SPRING GARDENS, LONDON.

MY DEAR FATHER,

Thanks for your letter. I have been thinking over about another year's Londonizing, and, having crammed up " Whewell's University Education," I certainly think that it would be better to give it and the Laboratory up altogether. As the Dissecting season is over about June (I forget exactly when) my hands will not be full for three months or so before going up to Cambridge, in which time I shall hope to get up my first part of Mathematics well, and a fair proportion of the Classics that Mr Blakesley has mentioned. I think it would be as well at that time not to touch either Mechanics or Conic Sections, but to exhaust Merridew's shop in scribbling paper for working equations etc. I am as well as possible, getting thorough exercising twice a week at Angelo's either at Carte and Tierce, or else in pitching into a huge Life Guardsman, six feet and a half high in his slippers, or rather in his pitching into me with single stick. I have no headaches or anything of the sort and dissecting increases the appetite wonderfully. I don't send any accounts as there is nothing particular to put down. As for those I sent last time, I only sent the General not being very fond of Double Entry, though I have the particulars safe in my account book. For instance I did not write 2 ounces of Epsom Salts-2d., having included that in the Washing Bill, since it was most undoubtedly for a cleaning out that I bought them, and so for the rest'.

Pemmy, you are a most dutiful sister. Pictures splendid, the framemaker nearly broke his windows when he started back in admiration ; they are hung up with my little Ariadne between them. Are they real scenes I However, don't ask me whether I admired the perspective. And now in return I will show you what a deal of attention I bestow on them ; I will just make a calculation. I am, on an average, 5 minutes dawdling in getting up, 10 minutes ditto in going to bed. During this time I must necessarily look at one side of the room or the other, and as the room is bare on the other side that can be no attraction in looking there. Therefore at least -23 or 10 minutes will be daily spent in looking at your pictures, besides this I am always awake about J of an hour before getting up, when I cannot help seeing them as they are just before my nose, that makes 25 minutes a day, or 12 hours nearly a month or 156 hours or 191 days of 8 hours each yearly !

Dear Bessy, I did not receive your missal ; of course it was an accident. I didn't ask for it by letter, as I knew you would draw it intuitively ; it will look so pretty, especially as it will be about the size of Emma's pictures, rather larger perhaps but same shape. Paws vastly improved, . but horrors ! about a week ago a huge crimson boil appeared a little to the left of my nose; it was as large as a fourpenny piece and seemed


1 Samuel Tertius Galton was most particular as to his son's accounts, and we find specimen accounts with various methods of keeping them sent to his son Francis. He endeavoured to inculcate thorough business habits in his children, while at the same time he was most liberal in his remittances and preserved to his death the most intimate confidence and friendly familiarity of his son Francis.

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