56 PETER GUTHRIE TAIT 



8. Beautiful Round ! to thee is due 



All the work I am fit to do: 

 Therefore in fancy stand thou crowned 

 Queen of the morning, Beautiful Round. 



9. Beautiful Round ! I think of thee 



Through months of labour and misery : 

 Round thee the strings of my heart are wound, 

 Round of the morning, Beautiful Round. 



Among those who were his companions on his rounds early or late 

 were Mr Tom Hodge and the Bethunes, Lord Borthwick, Lord Rutherford 

 Clark, and Mr James Balfour; Professor John Chiene and Lord Kingsburgh 

 were also at times his opponents ; and as partners in foursome play he had 

 Old Tom and Young Tom, and the Straths. He always stoutly maintained 

 that given similar conditions Young Tom's play was equal to that of the 

 best of the modern professionals. From the beginning of his golf the 

 Professor used very upright clubs and played with the largest ball he 

 could get " a thirty " as compared with the more common " twenty 

 sevens " and " twenty eights." 



In 1871 the meeting of the British Association was held in Edinburgh, 

 the Professor being President of Section A. After the proceedings were 

 finished some of the most distinguished members of this assembly 

 accompanied him to St Andrews. Among these were Huxley, Helmholtz, 

 Andrews, and Sylvester. Helmholtz took no interest in golf and "could 

 see no fun in the leetle hole " ; but Huxley played a round every afternoon 

 during his stay of two months. He lived in the house known as Castle- 

 mount, hard by the Castle gate : the house is now occupied by Dr Hunter 

 Paton, whose family was at that time intimate with the Huxleys. In the 

 afternoon round the Professor's eldest son Jack was in the habit of partnering 

 Robertson Smith against Huxley and various people. Jack was only a 

 small boy and no doubt too young to appreciate the excellence of the 

 company in which he found himself; and indeed seems to have taken 

 rather a high-handed position as regards these matters. At St Andrews 

 there used to be an idea that the weaker player should make the easy 

 drive at the first hole and Jack on one occasion was asked to perform this 

 trivial task, but refused, declaring that he was " not the biggest duffer of 

 the party " ; this greatly amused Huxley, who willingly accepted the 

 chastisement and topped his ball gently towards the road. 



