TALBOT1046

Stamford. ¹
Jan. 22. 1823.

Dear Talbot,

I send you the Tripos of this year –

Dr Airy Trin. 2	Sen. Op. 3	Jun. Op.
– Jeffreys, 4 Joh.	Cory Emm. 5	Wilson Cath. 6
– Mason. Joh. 7	Munns Joh.	Hoddart, Chr.
Drinkwater. Trin 8	Howarth Joh. 9	Cane Joh 10
Myers. Trin 11	Lutwidge Joh. 12	Blake, Pemb 13
Foley Emm. 14	Birkett. Joh. 15	Backhouse, Clare 16
Fisher Pet. 17	Crick Joh. 18	Daniel, Clare 19
Hamilton Joh. 20	Kerrick Chr. 21	Rothman Trin 22
Buckle Trin. 23	Miller Chr. 24	Menteath. Trin 25
Field Trin. 26	Cubit Chr. 27	Milner. Joh. 28
Hodgson, Pet. 29	Childers Trin. 30	Hine. Sidney 31
Hevenson. Joh.	Ayre, Caius 32	Birch, Joh. 33
Punnet, Clare 34	Hildyard. Cath 35	Leapingwell! C. C. C. 36
Sutcliff, Trin 37	Russell. Cath.	Barber, Joh.. 38
Clowes, Qu. 39	Bainbridge, Joh. 40	May Joh. 41
Winning, Trin. 42	Paynter Trin. 43	Boultbee. Joh. 44
Rusby, Cath. 45	Wilson Joh.	Boileau!!!!!!!!!! Trin. 46
Sandys. Qu 47	Herring, Caius. 48
Carrie, Pem.	Green. Cath 49
Brett, C.C.C. 50	Taylor Cath 51
Cooper, Joh. 52	Carlyon, Pemb. 53
Kempson Trin. 54	Place Trin. 55
Waring, Mag. 56	Welsby Joh. 57
Beauclerk, Caius 58	Bryan. Joh. 59
Marshall, Qu. 60 Wharton, Joh. 61	Pettit, Trin 62 Sergeant, Joh. 63

To this list the S^t James’s Chronicle adds, “It is thought that Dr Airy is the greatest Mathematician that Cambridge has had since the immortal Newton, ⁶⁴ and he is expected to extend the boundaries of science. He has already published articles in the Phil. Trans. and improved the Telescope.⁶⁵ He is said to be 700 marks before D^r Jeffreys, and no discredit to the latter either”

Drinkwater has been playing the fool all the last year, and has now received his reward. Mason married a wife in the last term, and on his wedding-day took a tour round by Madingley and How-House.

You will probably have heard of poor William’s ⁶⁶ death before this reaches you; he was carried off by a fever on the third of November, a few weeks after he had commenced his medical studies in London. I heard of his illness on a Monday, and continued to receive very favourable [sic] accounts till the next Sunday, when my mother’s letter said that he was not quite so well, but that his medical attendants attributed this to his agitation at parting with my father, who went down to Stamford on Thursday Evening thinking him almost out of danger. Though this account alarmed me a little, still I was far from apprehending that his disease would terminate fatally. However I went up to town, where I arrived at 11 o’clock on Monday night, hurried off to his lodgings in the Borough, and was told by the maid-servant (to whom I of course was a stranger) that he was dead. I attended his funeral on the Thursday, and on that day week returned again to Liverpool, to toil through 5 more weeks as I might. What a change to me since January last, when I was with him at Cambridge during the Senate-House week! To add to my misery I am obliged to return to Liverpool till Easter, as I have not been able to find a substitute – I am going off in a few hours.

After this accounts of my prospects and misfortunes you cannot expect me to answer your amusing letters as they deserve. I will extract some passages from two letters which I have just received from Key ⁶⁷ and Matthews. ⁶⁸ Key says “The Fellowship prospect is much the same; Bird ⁶⁹ is every day deferring his marriage, ⁷⁰ but Lambert ⁷¹ is very ill, so much so that his friends have been to Cambridge to remove his private papers. Amos ⁷² of course vacates his Fellowship, and most probably, or rather certainly, Hustler. ⁷³ You are aware how the latter has this last term destroyed the little character he ever had” He has been trying to revive an old statute, by which he, as being a B.D, could claim a living before the Masters of Arts. The living in dispute was Enfield, which was given to Cresswell, who got the degree of D.D by royal mandamus. Hustler was sent to Coventry, and the Master will not a[llow] ⁷⁴ any more men to be entered on his side. Matthews is still delighted with his situation, though his raptures have been rather lowered by a three weeks vacation spent at Cambridge. He has been beating D^r Wollaston ⁷⁵ at Chess. Also he talks about sitting for a fellowship “that he may enjoy in his retirement the honos ET dulce lucellum; if he you see his fellowship reading by his quotations.⁷⁶ You do me injustice as to Botany; I took it up strenously [sic] after I saw you at Normanton, ⁷⁷ and putting aside the Grasses & Crypts, ⁷⁸ consider myself to shine among the natives. I have also taken up German & read Bürger’s ⁷⁹ Ballads with tolerable ease. Worsley ⁸⁰ passed through here a few weeks since. Cobbet ⁸¹ & Sir C Wolseley ⁸² are going to oppose Scarlett at Peterborough. ⁸³ Copley ⁸⁴ did not get a vote at Trin. Musgrave ⁸⁵ said “Sir John Copley I am still a Whig.”

Field⁸⁶ & Crick Joh. will be the Medallists I suppose, unless Pettit can come it. Write to me at L’pool [5 Cornwallis Street].

I am etc Your very sincere Friend
T. K. Arnold

W. H. F. Talbot, Esq
Palazzo Ceva,
a Roma
Napoli ⁸⁷