390 MEMOIR OF AUGUSTUS DE MORGAN. 



1869. word was sconced the old word for fined. If you can recall at 

 this rate, you will rival H. C. B. 



Your letter suggests much, because it gives possibility of 

 answer. The branches of algebra of course mainly refer to the 

 second part of Wood, now called the theory of equations. 



Waring was his guide. Turner whom you must remember 

 as head of Pembroke, senior wrangler of 1767 told a young 

 man in the hearing of my informant to be sure and attend to 

 quadratic equations. ' It was a quadratic,' said he, * made me 

 senior wrangler.' It seems to me that the Cambridge revivers 

 were Waring, Paley, Yince, Milner. 



You had Dealtry's MSS. He afterwards published a very 

 good book on fluxions. He merged his mathematical fame in 

 that of a Claphamite Christian. It is something to know that 

 the tutor's MS. was in vogue in 1800-1806. 



Now how did you get your conic sections ? 



How much of Newton did you read ? 



From Newton direct, or from tutor's manuscript ? 



Surely Fiott was our old friend Dr. Lee. 1 



I missed being a pupil of Hustler by a few weeks. He 

 retired just before I went up in February 1823. 



The echo of Hornbuckle's answer to you about the challenge 

 has lighted on Whewell, who, it is said, wanted to challenge 

 Jacob, and was answered that he could not beat if he were to 

 write the whole day and the other wrote nothing. 



I do not believe that Whewell would have listened to any 

 such dissuasion. 



I doubt your being the last fluxional senior wrangler. So 

 far as I know, Gipps, Langdale, Alderson, Dicey, Neale, may 

 contest this point with you. 



I go on fairly. With kind regards all round, 



Yours sincerely, 



A. DE MORGAN. 



From Sir F. Pollock 



Hatton, Hounslow, August 7, 1869. 



MY DEAR DE MORGAN, You seem not to know the story of 

 Gunning's book (the Bedell you allude to). He really kept a sort 

 1 Much of this is not perfectly clear to me ; but I insert the letter 

 as it stands, as it may have interest for old Cambridge men. For the 

 same reason I have departed from my general rule, in inserting Sir 

 F. Pollock's letter in reply. S. E. DE M. 



