Cambridge Days. 85 



a prosperous manufacturer in Carlisle, and 

 it might have been anticipated that the son 

 would have embarked upon the same busi- 

 ness. He was, however, the second son, 

 and so far back as 1837, when he was only 

 fifteen years old, his father had called upon 

 him to designate the profession which he 

 would prefer to follow. The subjoined 

 answer, which is above the ordinary mark 

 of a boy of his age, shows that at that time 

 his desire was to become a Barrister : — 



" Skelton, 

 "November 10, 1837. 

 "My Dear Father, — As Mr. Dayman [his 

 schoolmaster at that time] has very unex- 

 pectedly determined to visit you on Monday, 

 and you specially desired to receive my 

 answer, I must ask you to excuse a much 

 more hurried letter than I would otherwise 

 have written. The question propounded to 

 me in your letter of the 3rd inst., is one of 

 the extreme importance of which I am fully 

 convinced, and I will endeavour to speak as 

 explicitly as the somewhat limited considera- 

 tion which I have hitherto given to the 

 subject will warrant. With respect to the 



