From William Marshall to Horace Darwin [8 February 1873]

Dear Bounder

I got y^r. letter at Dresden it is useless to attempt to appologise for leaving it unanswered so long. In the first place you ought to have congratulated me for being bracketed 8^th. in the tripos instead of consoling for being last  I sh^d. like to know w^h. of my answers the examiners contrived to give me any marks for.

We had a good time of it at Dresden  both Gurney & A. Sidgwick were g^t. sport we got very little skating but I enjoyed the pictures more than I had dared to hope, I think I had a slight overdose of operas, but the beer houses suited me down to the ground  you smoke y^r. pipe & drink y^r. beer & here captial instrumental music & go as soon as you like.

F & I went to Berlin on the way & we returned via Prague, Nuremburg, & Cologne spending a day at each

I went & spent last Sunday at Cambridge chiefly with Mug who was very nice & Harding Verall & Bltler, dear Buller says he is sure he wont get through but is callous about it. I have now got home & found the house full of people chiefly Butlers, M^rs. Butler has come here to agitate d: J. Stuart.

We have been running paper chases w^h. is exhausting work, but the female part of the community keep the pace down; some of them went & rode all morning ran for 1 $\frac{1}{2}$ hours accross country this afternoon & are just going to a ball poor things—

I went & breakfasted at my uncles this morning & had a chat with Victor he was rather damaged from trying the ordinary clown trick on my brother Stephen last night, their candles went out as they were coming up from smoking & Victor getting on ahead lay down across a dark passage & let S walk over him, S fell on his head & the fought in the dark. Also Victor had been bitten again by his dog, but then as he said he was biting it in the ear w^h. is a way of extracting a peculiar sort of howl from it last time it bit him he cauterised it with his cigar & it made a bad place for 5 or 6 weeks  he is wiser now.

I hope you had F. M. Balfour with you, it w^d. be good for him let me know when y^r. plans are settled, I can't say I shall be very sorry if you don't go back to Cam.

I go to Cheltenham ab^t. Tuesday next my address will be N^o. 8 Spa Buildings.

I like the lodgings w^h. I have chosen also my teacher t^t. is to be Middleton seems a very jolly old boy. My sister has put too much tea in the ink but I trust you will be able to read as much of it as you care to read.

Is y^r. father going to give us any more books? I hope he is well enough to go on with his work, I have read most of the Expressions one sentance t^t. knocked me rather was. "There is said to be gnashing of teeth in Hel & I have plainly heard the grinding of the molar teeth of a cow suffering from acute inflamation of the bowels"

y^rs. aff^tly. | B.