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OCR Rendition - approximate
Lehrjahre and Wanderjahre 189 he is working at the brewery in London but unfortunately keeps a long way off from where I shall. The 2 Kays came up, one to be made a Freemason, the other to be passed to the 2"d degree and I was raised to the, third on the same night. Frederick Bristowe has been in Cambridge the last week to see his brother, who takes his degree next year. At the Epigram meeting last time we had the most amusing collection that as yet we have been favoured with. One short one was on Griffin, a Johnian Senior Wrangler, who has written the most stale, abstract and uninteresting books on optics it is possible to conceive and quite spoilt the beauty of the science. I ought to say the subject given was "An Epitaph." It was: "Who'll weep for Griffin? " Not I said the eye, He has made me so dry, '° I cannot weep for Griffin'." Bessy wrote to me the other day, it was principally on good advice. The Kays tell me that they are going to build a splendid street in London longer than any at present existing and closed at either end with large metal doors and archways; it is to be by Kensington Gardens. Westmacott has nearly finished his bas-reliefs for the basement of the new Royal Exchange; they are said to be splendidly executed. I do not know how the figures are grouped, but they form an allegory relating to Commerce, and the figures are in modern not ancient dress and I believe not unlike those on the old penny postage envelope. The British and Foreign Institute is going to build extensively; there are now 1250 members, the prices for dining are the same as those of the Athenaeum, which are high. A very fair library has suddenly sprung up by all the principal publishers giving very handsome presents of books to Buckingham as a return for his exertions in that part of the copyright bill by which the number of copies of each publication that must be sent to different libraries has been diminished, and these books he has made over to the Institute. Are Lucy's kinchins still with you? Give my love to them, if they are and also to Lucy. Your very affectionate son, FRANCIS GALTON. How is my mother's health? and do you still teach Adele's school-children? Your chess-board is invaluable; we lie lazily on the banks of the river in the sun playing chess after hall, which is luxurious to a degree. I didn't read the speech of Sir Robert you mentioned but should have been very glad to have been able to have cheered him for the passage in question. ' N. W. Griffin : A Treatise on Optics, Cambridge, 1842. The last information as to the Epigram Club I can find is in a letter of Nov. 10, 1844, received by Francis Galton on Dec. 16th. It is from Charles Evans who hopes Galton has not lost all interest in his old protegee, which is flourishing satisfactorily. The subjects for the next meeting were "Much cry and little wool," "Fools enter in where angels fear to tread " together with the " current epitaphs." Evans states that they miss Galton very much in the colony, for though his old rooms are occupied by a man known to both of them, he being a fellow-commoner and rather antique did not associate much with them. In the postscript comes the query, "Is the pledge still inviolate?"
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