Childhood and Boyhood   77

~~ YON see it is now tit for tat, the birds are not more afraid of you than the fish are of me. Hope Delly' is well, give my love to all. Good bye.

F. GALTON'."

After the home was transferred to Leamin on, Francis was sent to school at the Rev. Mr Atwood's, who was Vicar of Kenilworth. This was a small private school with about half a dozen boys. Atwood was a relative of the inventor of Atwood's machine, a man who, to quote Galton's own words, " without any pretence of learning, showed so much sympathy with boyish tastes and aspirations that I began to develop freely'."

At this school Galton came in touch with the two Boulton boys, Mathew P. Watt and Hugh William, grandson of Boulton of the Lunar Society and the close friend of Samuel Galton, Wedgwood and Erasmus Darwin. Mathew Boulton became an intimate friend of Francis Galton, and one of the inspiring influences of his life'. At Atwood's school carpentry and turning appealed to Francis' special and boyish instincts. Bird trapping, slings, archery, cricket helped to fill ,up-the time. But be had got even beyond this, the summer holidays bad been spent at Aberystwith and he had shot with a gun for the first time.

Half a dozen Kenilworth letters have survived. The first shows us that Mr Atwood did not fail to mingle a spice of theology with his other teachings

December 30, 1832.

MY DEAREST PAPA,

It is now my pleasure to disclose the most ardent wishes of my heart which are-to extract out of my boundless wealth in compound', money sufficient to make this addition to my unequalled Library

All books much approved of.

' Adele.   2 Letter to Darwin Galton, Sept. 8, 1835.

' Memories, p. 19.   4 I.e., p. 20.

6 This and the reference in the Will, p. 68, suggest that Tertius Galton had put by certain monies for Francis at compound interest.