TALBOT922

Cambridge ¹
April 8^th 1821

My Dear M^r F.

I find a vast number of things to do, on leaving Cambridge. I certainly quit it without much regret, considering the time I have been here. I think of setting off the day after tomorrow, so you may expect me in a few days after my letter. I am sorry you should think my failure owing to not getting up early and working hard. On the contrary I never passed a better examination. ² If you ask then how Ollivant ³ beat me, I tell you honestly I don’t know. I think I did the best; I thought so partly last year, but I had less reason then. The examiners did not give the grounds of their decision; they never do. The examination has two parts. In construing hard Greek & Latin I certainly believe Ollivant is my superior, but what they gave us this time was very easy, & I did it all right. Here there could have been no essential difference between us; – the other part consists of verses & composition: this must be decided by the taste of the examiners, there can be no rule for it. His style & mine are very different; they prefer his, & if they do so once, they will twenty times, for the examiners are always the same, or nearly so. I prefer my own, as is natural. I don’t quarrel with the examiners, they are very fair & honorable, they decide as they think right; – If I thought Ollivant superior to myself, I would be the first to say so, and I would do all in my power to beat him at the fellowship examination, but as it is, I will never try again, & I have no doubt you will think it best. I have now told you honestly what I think about it; I expected the result, & felt much more indifferent about it, than I should once have done. I have only to add that the examiners thought proper to pay us both a handsome compliment, & that our declamation went off with éclat. ⁴ –

I like my servant very much, I only wish he spoke better French. I cannot pity the Neapol[itans:]⁵ they seem to deserve their fate. The news fro[m] Turkey ⁶ is strange & shapeless, it appears to me a bad time to go to Constantinople. I don’t think W. ⁷ is gone yet I told you in my last letter, I had been solacing myself with my Astronomy. There is nothing like having two or three different pursuits for se délasser ⁸ when anything goes wrong: – The other day I thought I would try if I could see the new planet Vesta: ⁹ having no instrument but your Telescope & Mayer’s catalogue of the Stars, ¹⁰ there was some difficulty: at last I found the spot mentioned in the Ephemeris where the Planet was to have been, when lo! there was nothing to be seen. A day or two after I found out there was a blunder of one a whole degree in the Ephemeris (which was too bad) and having corrected this I looked again on the 5^th and saw the Planet in its place. It was much smaller than I expected, being fainter than one of Jupiter’s Satellites. On the 7^th I found it had changed its place considerably, which proved it to be the planet, & not an accidental star. I was highly delighted at having found it, as I believe very few Astronomers have seen it except those who have regular Observatories – I should like to shew it you when I am at Paris, but I am afraid it cannot be seen through a common telescope: it is very faint thro’ your large one, tho’ to be sure there are many stars about it much fainter still – My love to All –

Yours ever Affectionately
W. H. F. Talbot –

P.S. I am in great hopes I shall be able to get away on Tuesday, as I have said before –

Cap^t Feilding R.N.
2 Sackville S^t
London
17 Rue de Clichy
Paris