Life of Francis Galton by Karl Pearson Vol 1 : image 0223

Lehrjahre and Wanderjahre 149

health and so got an honour aegrotat. I was very much vexed about my lamp, but am now trying other things. I have I think a neat plan of making any balance weigh (by double weighing) to the greatest accuracy. I do it by fixing the balance near its centre to a bar of steel (magnetic) perpendicularly. The upper end of this carries a steel point which works against an iron plate, which plate can be screwed up against one of the poles of a fixed magnet, downwards, through a small space

Galton's ska~itches show more clearly what he means-the main idea was a pivot or knife edge with very little friction because gravity was largely balanced by magnetic pull. Any very rough balance might be used as he proposed double weighing, and a fairly crude bearing, " a steel point against an iron plate, as there was a minimum of pressure. He probably did not intend to deal with any but very light weights and balances, otherwise the magnet would need to be very powerful.

...I think that in this way a very accurate balance might be constructed for 10 shillings, which would be a desideration. I will make one.

I am having a Bramah picklock made. I smoke my Turkish or German pipe nightly with somebody else, and give Theodore eau sucree to drink with it-bless his innocence-it comes uncommon cheap-no man can drink more than three tumblers full, or it would make him sick.

O'Brien begins on Thursday.

The fourth page of the letter has a rough sketch of Galton's room" recent improvements "-"sofa drawn out before the fire." Above the fireplace is a long low glass, and above this hang two pistols-clearly those purchased in Smyrna (p. 138),-crossed foils,-those purchased for practice at Angelo's (p. 109)-and what has the appearance of a lance, which might well have been used in the famous wild boar hunt at Sydnope in 1837-when the last boar was killed, Darwin Galton despatching it': see Plate LI.

Francis Galton's rooms were on the right-hand side of the ground
floor of staircase B of New Court, that is the staircase to the left of the
archway leading to the Avenue. The sitting-room looks east into the
' Sir Francis S. Darwin led the chase riding " a coal black steed, of mettle high and
noble breed," others present were Miss Emma Darwin his daughter, his nephew Darwin

Galton and Frank Jessopp, who celebrated the hunt in a poem (see Derby Mercury, April 8, 1874)

" Then yelped the dogs, halloed the men, Till Sydnope's echoes rang again. The beast is roused with wrathful eye Surveys his foes, yet scorns to fly."

etc. etc. etc.

FRAS. GALTON.

OCR Rendition - approximate