My dear Father,

Grove’s letter is satisfactory in one way that it settles that I go to a Solicitor sometime; but his opinion about the when is so diametrically opposite to that of Bristowe & Godfrey Lushington that I do’nt at all know what to do.—¹ M^r. Hamilton wrote to me to propose that I shd come & be introduced to M^r. Hollams sometime, & so I have proposed to come up this week,—or if not to see him just before I start for Paris next month.² It is wonderfully kind of M^r. H. to take so much bother about me.

Crolls letter interested me. The thing wh. you do’nt understand about gravitation & heat, I believe is as follows— If the Solar system were gaseous & then were to begin to condense towards a nucleus (the Sun) owing to the mutual attractions of its particles, (i.e gravitation) an immense quantity of heat wd be given out & thus wd suffice to keep the Sun hot for 20,000000 yrs. (—I forget the exact number).— This I think is called the heat due to gravitation.³

I must begin to settle my plans about Paris soon; my general idea is to go to a Pension for some time & then perhaps go to a family for a while. I know a man here who was in a family & found it appallingly dull. I have covered 35 sheets of paper the size of this when open (on one side) with French exercises written in a small hand— there’s business for you. My law & mathematics are getting on too—but the quaternions are so hard they take a deal of reading.

Frank spends all his time on cutting up toads with Pryor—⁴ I think he ought to have a chance of the scholarship, but I’m afraid he does’nt do himself justice in an exam.

We are going to meet Boyd Dawkins at Newton’s tonight⁵   I do’nt know who he is, but I suppose you do; however I shall have to pretend I do. Clifford, I believe, is going to be one of the ladies’ lecturers at S. Kensington along with Milman &.c.—⁶

Fitzmaurice⁷ has been here for yesterday & today, he breakfasted with me this m^g. He says he is coming to Paris at Easter, but I don’t suppose I shall see much of him as I fancy he has got relations there. I have not got Croll’s letters with me, but I will send them in a day or two.⁸

I dined in Kings the other night with a man called Leigh—who is the tutor & I was introduced to the University Librarian & he said to me—I believe I met you out walking at Xmas & there were two dogs that fought—& I found that we had met in a turnip field near Reeve’s cottage—& Bob & his dog had fought.⁹ I did’nt remember him a bit— but I was awfully surprized.—

I wonder whether you are in town.—¹⁰

Your affectionate Son | G H Darwin