| Description | "His success in the trial for the composition of the best essay. Eton news."
Eton. Wednesday, 7th
My dear Papa,
I write to you to tell you that I got second in the Essay, being bracketed with another boy, Coleridge, which was much higher than I expected. Mansfield was first. Several other boys were framed as having done good Essays, but their order was not given out.—The list is as follows.
1st. Mansfield.
2nd Coleridge given out as being equal with one
Boulton another
Anson
Birch
Cotton.
Named Johnson.
Kirwan
Tarver
Westmacott
Young.
I do not know whether I shall have any books from Dr. Hawtrey, though I believe he usually gives some to the second. The first prize is about ten pounds worth of books.—Cotton was put into the sixth form the other day, so that Mansfield is now captain of the fifth form.—Skaiting still continues here, although there have been several days in which it thawed; the best for some time was on the creeks at the side of the river, where the stream had not sufficient force to prevent it freezing, but since the thaw these have been broken up, & most of the boys go to Frogmore. The coldest night we have had was last Saturday week, when the thermometer, near the river, went down to 2º below zero.—The boys here do not skait nearly so well as I expected they would; Cotton is the only one who can do any figures, & there are not more than three or four who can do the outside edge.—There is an almanack, (called Murphy’s), which is taken in in Pop which predicted the circumstances of the frost very accurately, naming the day on which it would begin, the coldest night, & the first day of the thaw quite correctly;—it has not however been quite right for the last week.—Mrs. Coleridge has been a good deal better for the last two or three days, & has begun to carve at dinner as before. Will you tell Miss Burgess that we are ready for a supply of provisions, & shall be much obliged to her for sending one.—Pray give my love to all, & believe me to remain,
Your affectionate son,
M. P. W. Boulton
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