Lehrjahre and Wanderjahre 119 



None enjoyed the frolic of a holiday more than Francis, although 

 no one could work harder at the proper time. The tour went by way 

 of Paris to Nancy, Strasburg, Baden-Baden, Stuttgart, Heilbron, 

 Heidelberg, Frankfurt, Schlangenbad, Coblentz, Bonn and Antwerp, 

 Mr Galton and his daughter reaching England on June 4th. A 

 sketch of the tour seems to have been made out by Francis at some 

 Rhenish town on April 30th, and accords fairly closely with the route 

 ultimately described by Emma Galton in her diary. But Francis was 

 back at King's College on May 7th, and there is no record of how far 

 he accompanied the party. On his way home he appears to have 

 called in at Jersey and seen his old adversary, Dr Jeune of the Free 

 School, now Dean of Jersey. His great news on arrival home is 

 conveyed to his sister Delly' : 



17 New St., Spring Gardens, 



London, May llh [1840]. 

 Dear Delly, 



Hurrah ! Hurrah ! ! I am 2nd Prizeman in Anatomy and Chemistry. I 

 had only expected a certificate of honour. Hurrah ! Go it, ye cripples. 



An undated letter of a few days later to his sister Bessy puts the 

 circumstances of the prize in more detail : 



17 New Street, 



Spring Gardens, London. 

 My DEAR Betsy, 



Thank you for your letter, and thanks innumerable for your congratulations. 

 I am excessively glad that I have gained this prize, as it is such a good introduction ; 

 it was the only prize open to rae, else I hoped that ray name would have appeared 

 in another place as well ; however look again, about the first week in August in the 

 papers and in the meantime wish me success in Botany and Forensic Medicine. 



Had I gained the fir.st prize instead of the second it would have been an im- 

 provement, but if you consider that the class consists of between 70 and 80, and 

 that Anatomy and Chemistry are the Sciences which students principally follow, and 

 again that of these 70 or 80 students, about 30 were 2nd year men, that is had 

 dissected for two years, whilst I had only dissected for one, you will see that it was 

 plenty for me to do ; however I was within a very few marks of being first, but a miss 

 is as good as a mile. 



' This letter has upon it the first postage .stamp on any of Francis Galton's letters, 

 and an endorsement on it states that it is the first the home circle had seen. Francis 

 stuck the stamp in the top left-hand corner at an angle of 45°, head downwards. Ten 

 days later he has adopted the now usual method. 



