23 Duke St.
Saturday Nov. 7, 1868
My Dear Mamma,
I need scarcely say that I do not agree with Papa in preferring a short letter; tho’ my own notes have been so short that I scarcely deserve a long one.
I have been sending papers once during this week with
the Professors’ speeches.[2] I thought Candlish’s rather remarkable. If McGregor’s opening lecture (of
yesterday) is in the D. R. [Daily Review]
I will send it today — I did not hear McGregor, being detained by Tait.
I suppose I had better go on to business. I have got the Hamilton — to my own surprise with an average of 183 marks per paper (Full val. 200). Lilley’s average was 169 — of course he really gets the Hamilton & I get £40.[3] I saw one or two details of the marking. In Heb. I had 195 & was a good way before Lilley which is satisfactory. In Nat. Hist. I was also below[4] Lilley (of course) & so too in the Canon paper. I think I really did not badly in the latter paper; but I gave rather a German view.
The Professors were afraid I had undertaken too much work & promised to do anything they could for me in the way of arranging about attendance. So I asked leave to divide Smeaton’s class[5] over two yrs. if I found I cd. not attend regularly.
The Laboratory in Tait’s class is put off for another week; & I shall not know my hours till then. Meantime I am preparing work for the Students &c. so as to have less to do when the time comes.
The Theological was opened last night. I continue Secretary but am to give up the Reading Room to Falconer.
I believe this letter should have been to Nellie — The next must be so.
Elmslie[6] has got the first year Hamilton[7] — I have been at no class but Rainy’s this week. I feel pretty sure I shall like him. Moreover I incline to think that McGregor’s bark is worse than his bite & that his conceited manner & language are in great measure merely manner.
I am very comfortable in my lodging & get very good cookery &c — everything clean & nice.
Did I mention that only two or three of my eggs were broken?
Another thing I forgot to say was that Thomson[8] stood 2nd in Math. at the Civil Service. His other subjects were failures & it was Math. that pulled him in. This fact is rather gratifying. I heard about Prof. Thomson fr. Trail. It is feared he has softening of the brain.[9]
I was very sorry to hear that Papa was not very well. I hope he feels better by this time. I suppose you have rather trying weather. Here we have very sharp frost.
Tait published a small book on heat this week & gave me a copy — a rather nice thing.[10]
This I fancy exhausts my budget of news for the present — Oh! I shd. add that I have called on the Rogers[11] who were very cordial. I have not seen Mr Blackadder since Sabbath last; when I of course saw him in Church.
I add that I am keeping well & that tho’ I have lots of work it is not brain work so not very hard.
With love to all
Your affectionate Son
Wm Robertson Smith
[1] CUL ADD 7449 C150 MS
[2] I.e. their introductory lectures for the session which were traditionally reported in the press.
[3] PFCA (1869) records that W. R. Smith was first in the competition but was technically disqualified in view of already possessing another scholarship (the Ferguson).
[4] WRS writes “also below” but may perhaps have intended “also before”.
[5] The New Testament class.
[6] Elmslie, William Gray: entered New College two years later than WRS. [cf. Bruce (1929) p.56] being ordained to St Paul’s Free Church, Edinburgh in 1876 [AFC] and later appointed to the chair of Hebrew at the English Presbyterian College, London.
[7] Hamilton Scholarships, founded in 1865, were annually awarded to the leading student in first and third years at New College. They are to be distinguished from Edinburgh University’s more prestigious Hamilton Fellowships, founded in 1868 in memory of the philosopher, Sir William Hamilton.
[8] Unidentified: possibly a son of Professor David Thomson.
[9] It seems likely that WRS has here accepted literally some disparaging comment offered by Trail (probably William Trail, a former fellow-student of WRS at Aberdeen). Professor David Thomson: see 1868-02-13, note 6.
[10] This was Tait’s book entitled Thermodynamics, first published in 1868.
[11] The firm of T Rodger & Son were in business as “photographers and portrait painters” at 97 George Street (EPOD 1868/9) and may have become known to the Smith family through the artist George Reid.