| ||||||
OCR Rendition - approximate
Lehrjahre and Wanderjahre 93 his spectacles with joy having at last found me, and fairly out of breath resented himself. We went on to Rugby, where we were turned out into coaches, which were very bad ones, and so got to Denbigh Hall, where we got into the train again and reached London. Cabbed to the Old Hummums-went to Bowman and arranged plans for the next day. Next day there were passports' to be got and viseed. Francis went to Barclay's for his letter of credit. Then he went down to dine with Barclay at Leyton and to stay the night, there being sixteen persons to dinner, all Barclays or Gurneys but three. Among other details of his two day's in London Galton reports "I was magnetised to-day; it had not so much effect on ine as last time; the Baron' said that he was quite exhausted. We set off tomorrow. Bowman will press on to the top of the perch, I cannot displace him, Russel and I are fighting for the next place." We can picture the three young men, Bowman 22 years old, Russell 20, and Galton much as we have him in his portrait, all ready and fit for their frolic ; Galton somewhat shy, and probably more boylike and sensitive to appearances than his comrades (see Plate XLVIII). He was still in the stage, when to be unusual, e.g. carry a parcel through the streets-or look singular-was really painful to him. This was a matter in which travel would aid him and did, for while no man was more careful of social convention than Galton, even in his later years, he did not allow it to become a tyrant and overrule comfort or convenience. I have heard him almost directly tell a caller to be gone, if he wanted to talk business, and the following anecdote communicated by his niece Mrs Lethbridge, witnesses how far in later years he had advanced from the boy of 16, who felt shy when his name was bawled through Coventry station "I have an amusing recollection of a little trip to Auvergne which he and I took together in the summer df 1904 The heat was terrific, and I felt utterly exhausted, but seeing him perfectly brisk and full of energy in spite of his 82 years, dared not for very shame, confess to my miserable condition. - I recollect one terrible train-journey, when, smothered with dust and panting with heat, I had to bear his reproachful looks for drawing a curtain forward to ward off a little of the blazing sun in which be was revelling. He drew out a small thermometer which registered 94', observing, 'Yes, I Galton's passport dated July 24, 1838, and viseed by police and consuls and burgomasters in almost every place he came to is now before me, a curious relic of this journey. 2 Query : Was this 0° animal magnetism" and the "Baron, Baron von Reichenbach
|