CORRESPONDENCE, 1856-66. 321 



considering that no one had told me the etymology of calculation, 1863. 

 showed a kind of natural philological acumen. 



Yours very truly, 



A. DE MORGAN. 



To the Master of Trinity. 



91 Adelaide Road, October 21, 1863. 



MY DEAR SIR, .... If you read Notes and Queries, look 

 out for a few notes I have given on Robert Robinson. I shall 

 send down a cutting to paste into his * History of Baptism,' or 

 any work the library of Trinity may chance to have. 



I have been in communication with Mr. Wright about a book 

 he used out of that library. He was the most remarkable Cam- 

 bridge (town) man of the last century, I suppose ; at least he 

 comes next after Maps and Jemmy Gordon. 



I do not know whether you know Crabb Robinson (no rela- 

 tion), to whom I am indebted for anecdotes. He is eighty-six, 

 and pours out anecdotes about everything and everybody, espe- 

 cially his especial friends Goethe, Wordsworth, Southey, Cole- 

 ridge, Charles Lamb, et id genus omne. He tells me that 

 Wordsworth agreed with Samuel Parr that Dyer's ' Life of 

 Robert Robinson ' is one of the best biographies in the language. 



Yours very truly, 



A. DE MORGAN. 



To Sir J. Herschel 



91 Adelaide Road, November 19, 1863. 



MY DEAR SIR JOHN, Thanks for the paper on the standard. 

 Hurrah for anything which preserves our great units ! On that 

 condition I will accept the earth's axis or anything else. But I 

 stipulate for the foot, as for common usage. A yard is too long 

 to start from ; a foot I hold too long ; I should like better -fa of 

 2 yards. 



Many years ago I demanded of my bootmakers the lengths 

 of foot of 100 adult men, taken as they came in his books. The 

 result was 10-26 inches as the average foot of man, English, 

 measured in Bedford Street, Bedford Place. This is rather 

 surprising, seeing that a bootmaker gives a little additional 

 rather than otherwise. 



I hope the metrical people will continue to agitate. I do not 



T 



