My dear Darwin,

So long a time has elapsed since the receipt of your last kind letter, that I fear you will think I have forfeited by my silence all claim to another— It was I think in October that your letter arrivd; & now ’tis the very end of March. The delay is quite unpardonable, but I will not aggravate the fault by attempting a shuffling apology— Cambridge has been full of bustle during the last year. Henslow has of course told you all about the meeting of the British Association, how the Philosophers talked & ate & talked again; how many of them were to be found at Pot-Fair¹ instead of the Evening Meeting at the Senate House, the disgusting conduct of the Provost of Kings in shutting the Gates of the College against an immense crowd, after having allowed the use of Kings Piece for the exhibition of Deck’s Fireworks; alleging as a cause of his so doing the mob outside, which consisted of L^d. Fitzwilliam & Party, Sir John Herschel & Party, Airy & Party &c & all the élites; how he himself (Henslow) was knocked down by the Porter, in attempting to get the Key, & afterwards put into durance vile.² It w^d. have done your heart good to have seen how Sedgwick expressed his disgust at the College & its miserable Provost. I was engaged nearly the whole of the meeting in the Commissariats Department so that I heard little of what was going on; in truth I cared little to hear it as having neglected all the little scientific knowledge which I once possessed (not mind from any disregard, but from mere idleness) I sh^d. hardly have understood two consecutive sentences that were uttered. I hear that some Geological Specimens that you sent over were considered extremely valuable as supplying some desiderated link in the chain, & that you came in for a due share of κυδος. What a nice fellow young Lowe is, I mean the Albino. he just failed in getting a double first at Oxford, getting only a second in Mathematics—³ We were together nearly the whole of the Meeting & took to each other amazingly. At the meeting of the B.A. the preceding year at Oxford, there was a discussion on the cause of the pinkness in the eyes of Albinos in his presence. After this philosophy came a series of excellent concerts, the diva Malibran & De Beriot⁴ being the chief attractions. To ensure the expenses of this they had a guarantee fund, consisting chiefly of Members of the University; unluckily most of the names were Whig: & consequently the Tory Families in the County declined supporting a Concert under their superintendence! The poor fund had to pay up £450 to cover the deficiencies— The University has since been kept alive by an attack upon them by the redoutable Beverley, who has in his turn been demolished by Sedgwick.⁵ Beverley’s charges of Gambling &c ag^st. the University led to some investigations into the “unhallowed nightly orgies” which terminated in the expulsion of Lord J. Murray & another who had played to the amount of £1200 in one night—⁶ Old Chafy⁷ the other day had an action brought ag^st him by a Fellow-Commoner of Jesus & an attorney for false imprisonment in confining them within the walls of Sidney, because they w^d. not give their names— £25 damages— At the present moment everybody is talking about & the London Papers are full of, a petition from all the good men & true at Cambridge in favor of Dissenters being admitted to the University—⁸ Toryism is evidently on its last legs, it is amusing to look upon their labored tho’ abortive efforts; they are like swine—swimming upon the buoyant wave of sophistry they are cutting their own throats by their clumsy & ill-timed maneuvres— The University of Oxford have just elected the D. of Wellington (not one of their own body) their Chancellor in the room of the accomplished L^d Grenville—thus completing the Triad of Field-Marshals—Chancellors of the three Universities —Cumberland! Glouster!! Wellington!!!⁹ (Go to 1^st page)¹⁰

L^d. Grey in presenting the Cambridge Petition made a most excellent appeal in behalf of the claims of the Dissenters; which Wellington attempted to answer— He spoke of the Dissenters as Atheists?? & designated our Articles the Articles of Christian Faith, thereby imputing Infidelity to any who declined to subscribe to them. Can you imagine any conduct more inane? They had already by their previous illiberality taught the Dissenters to look on them with suspicion, as members of a pseudo-tolerant church. Can insult or injury ever be forgiven?¹¹ Cumberland made an insignificant attempt; & Gloucester our learned Chancellor was too unwell to be in his place; Higgins c^d. not screw him up to concert pitch.

I stayed at Cambridge till the end of July, living almost entirely with that clever amusing silly fellow Cameron. I never knew a more pitiable case than his, save perhaps Matthew’s— There they live in worse than idleness; two men who with no great exertion might have cut no mean figure in the world. Cameron is a good deal sobered down, but Matthew is still I fear a most determined votary of Circe— He commenced a translation of Virgil for Poll-Men (by the way he is an excellent Poll-Tutor) & had proceeded to the end of the 2^d line, when Heaviside unluckily threw the M.S.S. into the fire, & poor Matthew has never since been able to renew the attack— I saw Watkins about six weeks back in Chester where he had gone to be examined for orders, but I have since heard that his title¹² was not good. Whitley is at Durham—a Reader in Natural Philosophy at the New College— He tried for the Mathem^l. Professorship, but was beaten by Carr,¹³ who is since dead; I hope Whitley is now almost certain of succeeding. The Election comes on in July— He is very wroth with you for never having written to him— He talks very furiously of Matrimony— I have no notion who the lady is— Your friend Marindin¹⁴ has just married Colville’s sister— He is going into the Church— Last summer I was staying three Weeks at Dolgellau, which is I think a much nicer place than Barmouth—except that there are no delightful associations about the former like those of the latter; one day I started in the Pen-Maen boat to visit old Barmouth, absolutely feasting on anticipation of the joyous welcome I sh^d. meet with from Squinney & my other old cronies— She however looked cold on me; asked me to take her lodgings. John Robert had forgotten me; the day set in to furious rain, Barnett gave me a bad dinner, the boat did not return that night to Pen-Maen so in a fit of bitter mortification I set out in the midst of the rain to walk to Dolgellau— On going down the hill from Llan— (I forget the name about two miles from Dolgellau)¹⁵ I trod on a rolling stone with my sound foot, & so grievously sprained my ancle that I was confined to my sofa for a fortnight— There is surely some fatality about my connexion with Merionethshire— Just as I was thinking of the limping way in which I walked down the hill some 5 yrs before with you & Butler, & congratulating myself on my altered condition, this unlucky accident happened, & I had again once more to crawl from thence to Dolgellau, tho’ now alone & unfriended— I am going to ffestiniog this next summer.

I have now left Chester & am settled in London— The change is a miserable one— I had formed such agreeable acquaintances in Chester— Here one is alone amidst a countless multitude. I ought to have been an Entomologist if the law of mutual Attraction hold good in all cases; for a certain species of the Cimex Genus has taken such an extreme fancy to me, that it does not leave through the whole night long— I fear the consciousness of having ill treated you has made me more than ordinarily stupid. When you get this letter over half of your pilgrimage will be completed. Go on & prosper. I look forward with pleasurable expectation to the uncut 4^to. How I shall enjoy yr bursts of honest enthusiasm— God bless you— Every body here who knows you sufficiently to appreciate your worth wishes you the happiest success but none more than your affec^ate friend | J M Herbert.

Write when you have leisure—