Tjehrjalire and Wanderjahre 159 



Do they ticket the houses as cabinet curiosities? It is certainly novel and decidedly 

 literary. I suppose that Lucy and James have already arrived, what with them and my 

 two uncles, the Galton family will inundate the place, and if the ordinary appetite that 

 accompanies the several branches of tlie family be present at Scarboro' it will give a 

 very satisfactory interpretation of the N.g. ticketing. Whewell is undoubtedly under 

 the guardianship of Hymen, though an oyster may be affected by love, a Whewell can't, 

 for he has (I understand) been so involved in the metaphysical line that he looks on the 

 approaching event with the most philosophical indifference. In 3 weeks Keswick is to 

 be turned topsy-turvy with amusements. Inpriniis a 4-oared race in which your humble 

 servant is to pull, as we get up a boat for the honour of Cambridge. (The names of the 

 crew are Atkinson, Strickland, Young, Galton and Cooper steersman) ,1^12 prize. We 

 really shall have a very fair chance, for though the Keswick boatmen are trained to 

 pulling from their sash and petticoat age yet they are more in the cart horse line, whilst 

 the description that I heard given of our crew was that they are "intensely plucky." 

 We have great amusement here in scrambling about. Mathison is a capital walker but 

 not a dab at climbing, consequently he occasionally sticks amongst the rocks like a saint 

 in a niche and immovable without a miracle. We get on capitally at Browtop. The 

 order of the day is — Breakfast finished as the clock strikes 9. Reading till 1 or 1|. 

 Lunch, walk till 5, dine and chat till 8, Read till 10, tea to 10^, Read to 11 or 12. 



When a long walk is taken we eschew dinner put our leathern whisky flasks in our 

 pockets, which I am convinced is the true interpretation of " seven leagued boots," and 

 walk from 1 to 8 or 9. We certainly do great things in the walking line instead of 

 " manage-ing nos forces " after the Swiss regime. We scamper up the hills and somehow 

 or other don't get tired. To-day I ascended more than |''' of the height of Skiddaw 

 (driven back by mist) in .35 minutes, about 2200 feet, this was in Sunday costume and 

 without puggyfying to any extent. 



Dear Bessy. How's the bathing ? and how are Emma's freckles ? The amount of 

 sunshine here is by no means dangerous to beauty as the sun has generally a mass of 

 mist rather thicker than Skiddaw is high to shine through. It has been miserably cold 

 so that I read with a pea-coat on and with my feet on the fire hob. In your letter in a 

 quotation from Aunt Hubert a word occurred "odm...ts." I have looked in Johnson's 

 Dictionary but can find nothing corresponding to it, so I presume that it must have 

 been coined since his time. 



Again, there was a passage in your letter ending with 4 notes of admiration 

 combined. This is an excess. 



Thirdly, I should recommend a more refined choice of phrases than such as the 

 " weather taking up " and others of a similar nature. You state " The air is delightful, 

 and a beautiful walk along the cliff." I am not aetherial enough to enter into your 

 delights — (I must bully you). How has Lucy's bazaar gone off? Please write oftener. 

 Tell me what you had for dinner if you can think of nothing else, but do write. 



Goofl-bye, 



your affect. Brother, 



Fras. Galton. 



