,,autobiography ,,of ,,sir ,,george ,,biddell ,,airy1 ,k4,c4,b41 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41 ,d4,c4,l41 ,f4,r4,s41 ,f4,r4,a4,s41 ,,honorary ,,fellow ,,of ,,trinity ,,college1 ,,cambridge1 ,,astronomer ,,royal ,,from #ahcf ,,to #ahha4 ,,edited ,,by ,,wilfrid ,,airy1 ,b4,a41 ,m4,inst4,c4,e4 #ahif ,,preface4 ,the life of ,airy was essentially that of a hard-working1 business man1 and differed from that of other hard-working people only in the quality and variety of his work4 ,it was not an exciting life1 but it was full of interest1 and his work brought him into close relations with many scientific men1 and with many men high in the ,state4 ,his real business life commenced after he became ,astronomer ,royal1 and from that time forward1 during the #df years that he remained in office1 he was so entirely wrapped up in the duties of his post that the history of the ,observatory is the history of his life4 ,for writing his business life there is abundant material1 for he preserved all his correspondence1 and the chief sources of information are as follows3 7#a7 ,his ,autobiography4 7#b7 ,his ,annual ,reports to the ,board of ,visitors4 7#c7 ,his printed ,papers entitled ,papers by ,g4,b4 ,airy4 7#d7 ,his miscellaneous private correspondence4 7#e7 ,his letters to his wife4 7#f7 ,his business correspondence4 7#a7 ,his ,autobiography1 after the time that he became ,astronomer ,royal1 is1 as might be expected1 mainly a record of the scientific work carried on at the ,greenwich ,observatory3 but by no means exclusively so4 ,about the time when he took charge of the ,observatory there was an immense development of astronomical enterprise3 observatories were springing up in all directions1 and the ,astronomer ,royal was expected to advise upon all of the ,british and ,colonial ,observatories4 ,it was necessary also for him to keep in touch with the ,continental ,observatories and their work1 and this he did very diligently and successfully1 both by correspondence and personal intercourse with the foreign astronomers4 ,there was also much work on important subjects more or less connected with his official duties--such as geodetical survey work1 the establishment of time-balls at different places1 longitude determinations1 observation of eclipses1 and the determination of the density of the ,earth4 ,lastly1 there was a great deal of time and work given to questions not very immediately connected with his office1 but on which the ,government asked his assistance in the capacity of general scientific adviser3 such were the ,correction of the ,compass in iron ships1 the ,railway ,gauge ,commission1 the ,commission for the ,restoration of the ,standards of ,length and ,weight1 the ,maine ,boundary1 ,lighthouses1 the ,westminster ,clock1 the ,london ,university1 and many other questions4 ,besides those above-mentioned there were a great many subjects which he took up out of sheer interest in the investigations4 ,for it may fairly be said that every subject of a distinctly practical nature1 which could be advanced by mathematical knowledge1 had an interest for him3 and his incessant industry enabled him to find time for many of them4 ,amongst such subjects were ,tides and ,tidal ,observations1 ,clockwork1 and the ,strains in ,beams and ,bridges4 ,a certain portion of his time was also given to ,lectures1 generally on current astronomical questions1 for he held it as his duty to popularize the science as far as lay in his power4 ,and he attended the meetings of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society with great regularity1 and took a very active part in the discussions and business of the ,society4 ,he also did much work for the ,royal ,society1 and 7up to a certain date7 for the ,british ,association4 ,all of the foregoing matters are recorded pretty fully in his ,autobiography up to the year #ahfa4 ,after that date the ,autobiography is given in a much more abbreviated form1 and might rather be regarded as a collection of notes for his ,biography4 ,his private history is given very fully for the first part of his life1 but is very lightly touched upon during his residence at ,greenwich4 ,a great part of the ,autobiography is in a somewhat disjointed state1 and appears to have been formed by extracts from a number of different sources1 such as ,official ,journals1 ,official ,correspondence1 and ,reports4 ,in editing the ,autobiography it has been thought advisable to omit a large number of short notes relating to the routine work of the ,observatory1 to technical and scientific correspondence1 to ,papers communicated to various ,societies and official business connected with them1 and to miscellaneous matters of minor importance4 ,these in the aggregate occupied a great deal of time and attention4 ,but1 from their detached nature1 they would have but little general interest4 ,at various places will be found short ,memoirs and other matter by the ,editor4 7#b7 ,all of his ,annual ,reports to the ,board of ,visitors are attached to his ,autobiography and were evidently intended to be read with it and to form part of it4 ,these ,reports are so carefully compiled and are so copious that they form a very complete history of the ,greenwich ,observatory and of the work carried on there during the time that he was ,astronomer ,royal4 ,the first ,report contained only four pages1 but with the constantly increasing amount and range of work the ,reports constantly increased in volume till the later ,reports contained #ba pages4 ,extracts from these ,reports relating to matters of novelty and importance1 and illustrating the principles which guided him in his conduct of the ,observatory1 have been incorporated with the ,autobiography4 7#c7 ,the printed ,papers by ,g4,b4 ,airy are bound in #ad large quarto volumes4 ,there are #eah of these ,papers1 on a great variety of subjects3 a list of them is appended to this history1 as also is a list of the books that he wrote1 and one or two of the ,papers which were separately printed4 ,they form a very important part of his life's work1 and are frequently referred to in the present history4 ,they are almost all to be found in the ,transactions of ,societies or in newspapers1 and extend over a period of #fc years 7#ahbb to #ahhe74 ,the progress made in certain branches of science during this long period can very fairly be traced by these ,papers4 7#d7 ,his private correspondence was large1 and like his other papers it was carefully arranged4 ,no business letters of any kind are included under this head4 ,in this correspondence letters are occasionally found either dealing with matters of importance or in some way characteristic1 and these have been inserted in this biography4 ,as already stated the ,autobiography left by ,airy is confined almost entirely to science and business1 and touches very lightly on private matters or correspondence4 7#e7 ,the letters to his wife are very numerous4 ,they were written during his occasional absences from home on business or for relaxation4 ,on these occasions he rarely let a day pass without writing to his wife1 and sometimes he wrote twice on the same day4 ,they are full of energy and interest and many extracts from them are inserted in this history4 ,a great deal of the personal history is taken from them4 7#f7 ,all correspondence in any way connected with business during the time that he was ,astronomer ,royal is to be found at the ,royal ,observatory4 ,it is all bound and arranged in the most perfect order1 and any letter throughout this time can be found with the greatest ease4 ,it is very bulky1 and much of it is1 in a historical sense1 very interesting4 ,it was no doubt mainly from this correspondence that the ,autobiography1 which so far as related to the ,greenwich part of it was almost entirely a business history1 was compiled4 ,the history of the early part of his life was written in great detail and contained a large quantity of family matter which was evidently not intended for publication4 ,this part of the ,autobiography has been compressed4 ,the history of the latter part of his life was not written by himself at all1 and has been compiled from his ,journal and other sources4 ,in both these cases1 and occasionally in short paragraphs throughout the narrative1 it has been found convenient to write the history in the third person4 #b1 ,,the ,,circus1 ,,greenwich4 ,,note4 ,the ,syndics of the ,cambridge ,university ,press desire to express their thanks to ,messrs ,macmillan ,co4 for their courteous permission to use in this work the steel engraving of ,sir ,george ,biddell ,airy published in ,nature on ,october #ca1 #ahgh4 ,,table ,,of ,,contents4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,personal ,sketch of ,george ,biddell ,airy ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,from his birth to his taking his ,b4,a4 ,degree at ,cambridge ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,at ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge1 from his taking his ,b4,a4 ,degree to his taking charge of the ,cambridge ,observatory as ,plumian ,professor ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,at ,cambridge ,observatory1 from his taking charge of the ,cambridge ,observatory to his residence at ,greenwich ,observatory as ,astronomer ,royal ,,chapter ,v4 ,at ,greenwich ,observatory1 #ahcf-ahdf ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,at ,greenwich ,observatory1 #ahdf-ahef ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,at ,greenwich ,observatory1 #ahef-ahff ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,at ,greenwich ,observatory1 #ahff-ahgf ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,at ,greenwich ,observatory1 from ,january #ast1 #ahgf1 to his resignation of office on ,august #aeth1 #ahha ,,chapter ,x4 ,at the ,white ,house1 ,greenwich1 from his resignation of office on ,august #aeth1 #ahha1 to his death on ,january #bnd1 #ahib ,,appendix4 ,list of ,printed ,papers by ,g4,b4 ,airy1 and ,list of ,books written by ,g4,b4 ,airy ,,index4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,personal ,,sketch ,,of ,,george ,,biddell ,,airy4 ,the history of ,airy's life1 and especially the history of his life's work1 is given in the chapters that follow4 ,but it is felt that the present ,memoir would be incomplete without a reference to those personal characteristics upon which the work of his life hinged and which can only be very faintly gathered from his ,autobiography4 ,he was of medium stature and not powerfully built3 as he advanced in years he stooped a good deal4 ,his hands were large-boned and well-formed4 ,his constitution was remarkably sound4 ,at no period in his life does he seem to have taken the least interest in athletic sports or competitions1 but he was a very active pedestrian and could endure a great deal of fatigue4 ,he was by no means wanting in physical courage1 and on various occasions1 especially in boating expeditions1 he ran considerable risks4 ,in debate and controversy he had great self-reliance1 and was absolutely fearless4 ,his eye-sight was peculiar1 and required correction by spectacles the lenses of which were ground to peculiar curves according to formulae which he himself investigated3 with these spectacles he saw extremely well1 and he commonly carried three pairs1 adapted to different distances3 he took great interest in the changes that took place in his eye-sight1 and wrote several ,papers on the subject4 ,in his later years he became somewhat deaf1 but not to the extent of serious personal inconvenience4 ,the ruling feature of his character was undoubtedly ,order4 ,from the time that he went up to ,cambridge to the end of his life his system of order was strictly maintained4 ,he wrote his autobiography up to date soon after he had taken his degree1 and made his first will as soon as he had any money to leave4 ,his accounts were perfectly kept by double entry throughout his life1 and he valued extremely the order of book-keeping3 this facility of keeping accounts was very useful to him4 ,he seems not to have destroyed a document of any kind whatever3 counterfoils of old cheque-books1 notes for tradesmen1 circulars1 bills1 and correspondence of all sorts were carefully preserved in the most complete order from the time that he went to ,cambridge2 and a huge mass they formed4 ,to a high appreciation of order he attributed in a great degree his command of mathematics1 and sometimes spoke of mathematics as nothing more than a system of order carried to a considerable extent4 ,in everything he was methodical and orderly1 and he had the greatest dread of disorder creeping into the routine work of the ,observatory1 even in the smallest matters4 ,as an example1 he spent a whole afternoon in writing the word ,empty on large cards1 to be nailed upon a great number of empty packing boxes1 because he noticed a little confusion arising from their getting mixed with other boxes containing different articles2 and an assistant could not be spared for this work without withdrawing him from his appointed duties4 ,his arrangement of the ,observatory correspondence was excellent and elaborate3 probably no papers are more easy of reference than those arranged on his system4 ,his strict habits of order made him insist very much upon detail in his business with others1 and the rigid discipline arising out of his system of order made his rule irksome to such of his subordinates as did not conform readily to it3 but the efficiency of the ,observatory unquestionably depended mainly upon it4 ,as his powers failed with age the ruling passion for order assumed a greater prominence2 and in his last days he seemed to be more anxious to put letters which he received into their proper place for reference than even to master their contents4 ,his nature was eminently practical1 and any subject which had a distinctly practical object1 and could be advanced by mathematical investigation1 possessed interest for him4 ,and his dislike of mere theoretical problems and investigations was proportionately great4 ,he was continually at war with some of the resident ,cambridge mathematicians on this subject4 ,year after year he criticised the ,senate ,house ,papers and the ,smith's ,prize ,papers question by question very severely3 and conducted an interesting and acrimonious private correspondence with ,professor ,cayley on the same subject4 ,his great mathematical powers and his command of mathematics are sufficiently evidenced by the numerous mathematical treatises of the highest order which he published1 a list of which is appended to this biography4 ,but a very important feature of his investigations was the thoroughness of them4 ,he was never satisfied with leaving a result as a barren mathematical expression4 ,he would reduce it1 if possible1 to a practical and numerical form1 at any cost of labour3 and would use any approximations which would conduce to this result1 rather than leave the result in an unfruitful condition4 ,he never shirked arithmetical work3 the longest and most laborious reductions had no terrors for him1 and he was remarkably skilful with the various mathematical expedients for shortening and facilitating arithmetical work of a complex character4 ,this power of handling arithmetic was of great value to him in the ,observatory reductions and in the ,observatory work generally4 ,he regarded it as a duty to finish off his work1 whatever it was1 and the writer well remembers his comment on the mathematics of one of his old friends1 to the effect that he was too fond of leaving a result in the form of three complex equations with three unknown quantities4 ,to one who had known1 in some degree1 of the enormous quantity of arithmetical work which he had turned out1 and the unsparing manner in which he had devoted himself to it1 there was something very pathetic in his discovery1 towards the close of his long life1 that the figures would not add up4 ,his energy and business capacity were remarkable4 ,he was made for work and could not long be happy without it4 ,whatever subject he was engaged upon1 he kept his object clearly in view1 and made straight for it1 aiming far more at clearness and directness than at elegance of periods or symmetry of arrangement4 ,he wrote his letters with great ease and rapidity3 and having written them he very rarely had occasion to re-write them1 though he often added insertions and interlineations1 even in the most important official letters4 ,without this it would have been impossible for him to have turned out the enormous quantity of correspondence that he did4 ,he never dictated letters1 and only availed himself of clerical assistance in matters of the most ordinary routine4 ,in his excursions1 as in his work1 he was always energetic1 and could not endure inaction4 ,whatever there was of interest in the places that he visited he examined thoroughly and without delay1 and then passed on4 ,and he thus accomplished a great deal in a short vacation4 ,his letters written to his wife1 while he was on his excursions1 are very numerous and characteristic1 and afford ample proofs of his incessant energy and activity both of body and mind4 ,they are not brilliantly written1 for it was not in his nature to write for effect1 and he would never give himself the trouble to study the composition of his letters1 but they are straight-forward1 clear1 and concise1 and he was never at a loss for suitable language to express his ideas4 ,he had a wonderful capacity for enjoyment3 the subjects that chiefly interested him were scenery1 architecture1 and antiquities1 but everything novel or curious had an interest for him4 ,he made several journeys to the ,continent1 but by far the greater number of his excursions were made in ,england and ,scotland1 and there were few parts of the country which he had not visited4 ,he was very fond of the ,lake ,district of ,cumberland1 and visited it very frequently1 and each time that he went there the same set of views had an eternal freshness for him1 and he wrote long descriptions of the scenery and effects with the same raptures as if he had seen it for the first time4 ,many of his letters were written from ,playford1 a village in a beautiful part of ,suffolk1 a few miles from ,ipswich4 ,here he had a small property1 and generally stayed there for a short time once or twice a year4 ,he was extremely fond of this country1 and was never tired of repeating his walks by the well-known lanes and footpaths4 ,and1 as in ,cumberland1 the ,suffolk country had an eternal freshness and novelty for him4 ,wherever he went he was indefatigable in keeping up his acquaintance with his numerous friends and his letters abound in social reminiscences4 ,his memory was singularly retentive4 ,it was much remarked at school in his early days1 and in the course of his life he had stored up in his memory an incredible quantity of poetry1 ballads1 and miscellaneous facts and information of all sorts1 which was all constantly ready and at his service4 ,it is almost needless to add that his memory was equally accurate and extensive in matters connected with science or business4 ,his independence of character was no doubt due to and inseparable from his great powers4 ,the value of his scientific work greatly depended upon his self-reliance and independence of thought4 ,and in the heavy work of remodelling the ,observatory it was a very valuable quality4 ,this same self-reliance made him in his latter years apt to draw conclusions too confidently and hastily on subjects which he had taken up more as a pastime than as work4 ,but whatever he touched he dealt with ably and in the most fearless truthseeking manner1 and left original and vigorous opinions4 ,he had a remarkably well-balanced mind1 and a simplicity of nature that appeared invulnerable4 ,no amount of hero-worship seemed to have the least effect upon him4 ,and from a very early time he was exposed to a great deal of it4 ,his mind was incessantly engaged on investigations of ,nature1 and this seems to have been with him1 as has been the case with others1 a preserving influence4 ,this simplicity of character he retained throughout his life4 ,at the same time he was sensible and shrewd in his money matters and attentive to his personal interests4 ,and his practical good sense in the general affairs of life1 combined with his calm and steady consideration of points submitted to him1 made his advice very valuable4 ,this was especially recognized by his own and his wife's relations1 who consulted him on many occasions and placed the fullest confidence in his absolute sense of justice as well as in his wise counsel4 ,he was extremely liberal in proportion to his means1 and gave away money to a large extent to all who had any claim upon him4 ,but he was not in any sense reckless1 and kept a most cautious eye on his expenses4 ,he was not indifferent to the honours which he received in the scientific world1 but he does not appear to have sought them in any way1 and he certainly did not trouble himself about them4 ,his courtesy was unfailing3 no amount of trouble could shake it4 ,whether it was the ,secretary of the ,admiralty1 or a servant girl wanting her fortune told3 whether a begging-letter for money1 or miscellaneous invitations3 all had their answer in the most clear and courteous language4 ,but he would not grant personal interviews when he could avoid it3 they took up too much of his time4 ,his head was so clear that he never seemed to want for the clearest and most direct language in expressing his meaning1 and his letters are models of terseness4 ,in all his views and opinions he was strongly liberal4 ,at ,cambridge at an early date he was one of the #hc members of the ,senate who supported the application to permit the granting of medical degrees without requiring an expression of assent to the religious doctrines of the ,church of ,england4 ,and in #ahfh he declined to sign a petition against the abolition of religious declarations required of persons admitted to ,fellowships or proceeding to the degree of ,m4,a4 ,and he was opposed to every kind of narrowness and exclusiveness4 ,when he was appointed to the post of ,astronomer ,royal1 he stipulated that he should not be asked to vote in any political election4 ,but all his views were in the liberal direction4 ,he was a great reader of theology and church history1 and as regarded forms of worship and the interpretation of the ,scriptures1 he treated them with great respect1 but from the point of view of a freethinking layman4 ,in the ,preface to his ,notes on the ,earlier ,hebrew ,scriptures he says1 ,in regard to the general tone of these notes1 ,i will first remark that ,i have nothing to say on the subject of verbal inspiration4 ,with those who entertain that doctrine1 ,i can have nothing in common4 ,nor do ,i recognize1 in the professedly historical accounts1 any other inspiration which can exempt them from the severest criticism that would be applicable to so-called profane accounts1 written under the same general circumstances1 and in the same countries4 ,and his treatment of the subject in the ,notes shews how entirely he took a rationalistic view of the whole question4 ,he also strongly sided with ,bishop ,colenso in his fearless criticism of the ,pentateuch1 though he dissented from some of his conclusions4 ,but he was deeply imbued with the spirit of religion and reflected much upon it4 ,his whole correspondence conveys the impression of the most sterling integrity and high-mindedness1 without a trace of affectation4 ,in no letter does there appear a shadow of wavering on matters of principle1 whether in public or private matters1 and he was very clear and positive in his convictions4 ,the great secret of his long and successful official career was that he was a good servant and thoroughly understood his position4 ,he never set himself in opposition to his masters1 the ,admiralty4 ,he never hesitated to ask the ,admiralty for what he thought right1 whether in the way of money grants for various objects1 or for occasional permission to give his services to scientific matters not immediately connected with the ,observatory4 ,sometimes the ,admiralty refused his requests1 and he felt this very keenly1 but he was far too busy and energetic to trouble himself about such little slights1 and cheerfully accepted the situation4 ,what was refused by one ,administration was frequently granted by another2 and in the meantime he was always ready to give his most zealous assistance in any matter that was officially brought before him4 ,this cheerful readiness to help1 combined with his great ability and punctuality in business matters1 made him a very valuable servant1 and speaking generally he had the confidence of the ,admiralty in a remarkable degree4 ,in many of his ,reports to the ,board of ,visitors he speaks gratefully of the liberality of the ,admiralty in forwarding scientific progress and research4 ,in matters too which are perhaps of minor importance from the high stand-point of science1 but which are invaluable in the conduct of an important business office1 such for example as estimates and official correspondence1 he was orderly and punctual in the highest degree4 ,and1 what is by no means unimportant1 he possessed an excellent official style in correspondence1 combined with great clearness of expression4 ,his entire honesty of purpose1 and the high respect in which he was held both at home and abroad1 gave great weight to his recommendations4 ,with regard to his habits while he resided at the ,observatory1 his custom was to work in his official room from #i to about #b4cj1 though in summer he was frequently at work before breakfast4 ,he then took a brisk walk1 and dined at about #c4cj4 ,this early hour had been prescribed and insisted upon by his physician1 ,dr ,haviland of ,cambridge1 in whom he had great confidence4 ,he ate heartily1 though simply and moderately1 and slept for about an hour after dinner4 ,he then had tea1 and from about #g to #aj he worked in the same room with his family4 ,he would never retire to a private room1 and regarded the society of his family as highly beneficial in taking the edge off his work4 ,his powers of abstraction were remarkable3 nothing seemed to disturb him2 neither music1 singing1 nor miscellaneous conversation4 ,he would then play a game or two at cards1 read a few pages of a classical or historical book1 and retire at #aa4 ,on ,sundays he attended morning service at church1 and in the evening read a few prayers very carefully and impressively to his whole household4 ,he was very hospitable1 and delighted to receive his friends in a simple and natural way at his house4 ,in this he was most admirably aided by his wife1 whose grace and skill made everything pleasant to their guests4 ,but he avoided dinner-parties as much as possible--they interfered too much with his work--and with the exception of scientific and official dinners he seldom dined away from home4 ,his tastes were entirely domestic1 and he was very happy in his family4 ,with his natural love of work1 and with the incessant calls upon him1 he would soon have broken down1 had it not been for his system of regular relaxation4 ,two or three times a year he took a holiday3 generally a short run of a week or ten days in the spring1 a trip of a month or thereabouts in the early autumn1 and about three weeks at ,playford in the winter4 ,these trips were always conducted in the most active manner1 either in constant motion from place to place1 or in daily active excursions4 ,this system he maintained with great regularity1 and from the exceeding interest and enjoyment that he took in these trips his mind was so much refreshed and steadied that he always kept himself equal to his work4 ,airy seems to have had a strong bent in the direction of astronomy from his youth1 and it is curious to note how well furnished he was1 by the time that he became ,astronomer ,royal1 both with astronomy in all its branches1 and with the kindred sciences so necessary for the practical working and improvement of it4 ,at the time that he went to ,cambridge ,physical ,astronomy was greatly studied there and formed a most important part of the ,university course4 ,he eagerly availed himself of this1 and mastered the ,physical ,astronomy in the most thorough manner1 as was evidenced by his ,papers collected in his ,mathematical ,tracts1 his investigation of the ,long ,inequality of the ,earth and ,venus1 and many other works4 ,as ,plumian ,professor he had charge of the small ,observatory at ,cambridge1 where he did a great deal of the observing and reduction work himself1 and became thoroughly versed in the practical working of an ,observatory4 ,the result of this was immediately seen in the improved methods which he introduced at ,greenwich1 and which were speedily imitated at other ,observatories4 ,optics and the ,undulatory ,theory of ,light had been very favourite subjects with him1 and he had written and lectured frequently upon them4 ,in the construction of the new and powerful telescopes and other optical instruments required from time to time this knowledge was very essential1 for in its instrumental equipment the ,greenwich ,observatory was entirely remodelled during his tenure of office4 ,and in many of the matters referred to him1 as for instance that of the ,lighthouses1 a thorough knowledge of ,optics was most valuable4 ,he had made a great study of the theory and construction of clocks1 and this knowledge was invaluable to him at ,greenwich in the establishment of new and more accurate astronomical clocks1 and especially in the improvement of chronometers4 ,he had carefully studied the theory of pendulums1 and had learned how to use them in his experiments in the ,cornish mines4 ,this knowledge he afterwards utilized very effectively at the ,harton ,pit in comparing the density of the ,earth's crust with its mean density2 and it was very useful to him in connection with geodetic surveys and experiments on which he was consulted4 ,and his mechanical knowledge was useful in almost everything4 ,the subjects 7outside those required for his professional work7 in which he took most interest were ,poetry1 ,history1 ,theology1 ,antiquities1 ,architecture1 and ,engineering4 ,he was well acquainted with standard ,english poetry1 and had committed large quantities to memory1 which he frequently referred to as a most valuable acquisition and an ever-present relief and comfort to his mind4 ,history and theology he had studied as opportunity offered1 and without being widely read in them he was much at home with them1 and his powerful memory made the most of what he did read4 ,antiquities and architecture were very favourite subjects with him4 ,he had visited most of the camps and castles in the ,united ,kingdom and was never tired of tracing their connection with ancient military events3 and he wrote several papers on this subject1 especially those relating to the ,roman invasions of ,britain4 ,ecclesiastical architecture he was very fond of3 he had visited nearly all the cathedrals and principal churches in ,england1 and many on the ,continent1 and was most enthusiastic on their different styles and merits3 his letters abound in critical remarks on them4 ,he was extremely well versed in mechanics1 and in the principles and theory of construction1 and took the greatest interest in large engineering works4 ,this led to much communication with ,stephenson1 ,brunel1 and other engineers1 who consulted him freely on the subject of great works on which they were engaged3 in particular he rendered much assistance in connection with the construction of the ,britannia ,bridge over the ,menai ,straits4 ,there were various other subjects which he read with much interest 7,geology in particular71 but he made no study of ,natural ,history1 and knew very little about it beyond detached facts4 ,his industry was untiring1 and in going over his books one by one it was very noticeable how large a number of them were feathered with his paper marks1 shewing how carefully he had read them and referred to them4 ,his nature was essentially cheerful1 and literature of a witty and humourous character had a great charm for him4 ,he was very fond of music and knew a great number of songs2 and he was well acquainted with the theory of music3 but he was no performer4 ,he did not sketch freehand but made excellent drawings with his ,camera ,lucida4 ,at the time when he took his degree 7#ahbc7 and for many years afterwards there was very great activity of scientific investigation and astronomical enterprise in ,england4 ,and1 as in the times of ,flamsteed and ,halley1 the earnest zeal of men of science occasionally led to much controversy and bitterness amongst them4 ,airy was by no means exempt from such controversies4 ,he was a man of keen sensitiveness1 though it was combined with great steadiness of temper1 and he never hesitated to attack theories and methods that he considered to be scientifically wrong4 ,this led to differences with ,ivory1 ,challis1 ,south1 ,cayley1 ,archibald ,smith1 and others2 but however much he might differ from them he was always personally courteous1 and the disputes generally went no farther than as regarded the special matter in question4 ,almost all these controversial discussions were carried on openly1 and were published in the ,athenaeum1 the ,philosophical ,magazine1 or elsewhere2 for he printed nearly everything that he wrote1 and was very careful in the selection of the most suitable channels for publication4 ,he regarded it as a duty to popularize as much as possible the work done at the ,observatory1 and to take the public into his confidence4 ,and this he effected by articles communicated to newspapers1 lectures1 numerous ,papers written for scientific societies1 reports1 debates1 and critiques4 ,his strong constitution and his regular habits1 both of work and exercise1 are sufficient explanation of the good health which in general he enjoyed4 ,not but what he had sharp touches of illness from time to time4 ,at one period he suffered a good deal from an attack of eczema1 and at another from a varicose vein in his leg1 and he was occasionally troubled with severe colds4 ,but he bore these ailments with great patience and threw them off in course of time4 ,he was happy in his marriage and in his family1 and such troubles and distresses as were inevitable he accepted calmly and quietly4 ,in his death1 as in his life1 he was fortunate3 he had no long or painful illness1 and he was spared the calamity of aberration of intellect1 the saddest of all visitations4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,from ,,his ,,birth ,,to ,,his ,,taking ,,his ,b4,a4 ,,degree ,,at ,,cambridge4 ,,from ,,july #bg,,th #ahja ,,to ,,january #ah,,th #ahbc4 ,george ,biddell ,airy was born at ,alnwick in ,northumberland on ,july #bgth #ahja4 ,his father was ,william ,airy of ,luddington in ,lincolnshire1 the descendant of a long line of ,airys who have been traced back with a very high degree of probability to a family of that name which was settled at ,kentmere in ,westmorland in the #adth century4 ,a branch of this family migrated to ,pontefract in ,yorkshire1 where they seem to have prospered for many years1 but they were involved in the consequences of the ,civil ,wars1 and one member of the family retired to ,ousefleet in ,yorkshire4 ,his grandson removed to ,luddington in ,lincolnshire1 where his descendants for several generations pursued the calling of small farmers4 ,george ,biddell ,airy's mother1 ,ann ,airy1 was the daughter of ,george ,biddell1 a well-to-do farmer in ,suffolk4 ,william ,airy1 the father of ,george ,biddell ,airy1 was a man of great activity and strength1 and of prudent and steady character4 ,when a young man he became foreman on a farm in the neighbourhood of ,luddington1 and laid by his earnings in summer in order to educate himself in winter4 ,for a person in his rank1 his education was unusually good1 in matters of science and in ,english literature4 ,but at the age of #bd he grew tired of country labour1 and obtained a post in the ,excise4 ,after serving in various ,collections he was appointed ,collector of the ,northumberland ,collection on the #aeth ,august #ahjj1 and during his service there his eldest son ,george ,biddell ,airy was born4 ,the time over which his service as ,officer and ,supervisor extended was that in which smuggling rose to a very high pitch1 and in which the position of ,excise ,officer was sometimes dangerous4 ,he was remarkable for his activity and boldness in contests with smugglers1 and made many seizures4 ,ann ,airy1 the mother of ,george ,biddell ,airy1 was a woman of great natural abilities both speculative and practical1 kind as a neighbour and as head of a family1 and was deeply loved and respected4 ,the family consisted of ,george ,biddell1 ,elizabeth1 ,william1 and ,arthur who died young4 ,william ,airy was appointed to ,hereford ,collection on #bbnd ,october #ahjb1 and removed thither shortly after4 ,he stayed at ,hereford till he was appointed to ,essex ,collection on #bhth ,february #ahaj1 and during this time ,george ,biddell was educated at elementary schools in writing1 arithmetic1 and a little ,latin4 ,he records of himself that he was not a favourite with the schoolboys1 for he had very little animal vivacity and seldom joined in active play with his schoolfellows4 ,but in the proceedings of the school he was successful1 and was a favourite with his master4 ,on the appointment of ,william ,airy to ,essex ,collection1 the family removed to ,colchester on ,april #eth #ahaj4 ,here ,george ,biddell was first sent to a large school in ,sir ,isaac's ,walk1 then kept by ,mr ,byatt ,walker1 and was soon noted for his correctness in orthography1 geography1 and arithmetic4 ,he evidently made rapid progress1 for on one occasion ,mr ,walker said openly in the schoolroom how remarkable it was that a boy #aj years old should be the first in the school4 ,at this school he stayed till the end of #ahac and thoroughly learned arithmetic 7from ,walkingame's book71 book-keeping by double entry 7on which knowledge throughout his life he set a special value71 the use of the sliding rule 7which knowledge also was specially useful to him in after life71 mensuration and algebra 7from ,bonnycastle's books74 ,he also studied grammar in all its branches1 and geography1 and acquired some knowledge of ,english literature1 beginning with that admirable book ,the ,speaker1 but it does not appear that ,latin and ,greek were attended to at this school4 ,he records that at this time he learned an infinity of snatches of songs1 small romances1 c41 which his powerful memory retained most accurately throughout his life4 ,he was no hand at active play3 but was notorious for his skill in constructing guns for shooting peas and arrows1 and other mechanical contrivances4 ,at home he relates that he picked up a wonderful quantity of learning from his father's books4 ,he read and remembered much poetry from such standard authors as ,milton1 ,pope1 ,gay1 ,gray1 ,swift1 c41 which was destined to prove in after life an invaluable relaxation for his mind4 ,but he also studied deeply an excellent ,cyclopaedia called a ,dictionary of ,arts and ,sciences in three volumes folio1 and learned from it much about ship-building1 navigation1 fortification1 and many other subjects4 ,during this period his valuable friendship with his uncle ,arthur ,biddell commenced4 ,arthur ,biddell was a prosperous farmer and valuer at ,playford near ,ipswich4 ,he was a well-informed and able man1 of powerful and original mind1 extremely kind and good-natured1 and greatly respected throughout the county4 ,in the ,autobiography of ,george ,biddell ,airy he states as follows3 ,i do not remember precisely when it was that ,i first visited my uncle ,arthur ,biddell4 ,i think it was in a winter3 certainly as early as the winter of #ahab--ac4 ,here ,i found a friend whose society ,i could enjoy1 and ,i entirely appreciated and enjoyed the practical1 mechanical1 and at the same time speculative and enquiring talents of ,arthur ,biddell4 ,he had a library which1 for a person in middle life1 may be called excellent1 and his historical and antiquarian knowledge was not small4 ,after spending one winter holiday with him1 it easily came to pass that ,i spent the next summer holiday with him3 and at the next winter holiday1 finding that there was no precise arrangement for my movements1 ,i secretly wrote him a letter begging him to come with a gig to fetch me home with him3 he complied with my request1 giving no hint to my father or mother of my letter3 and from that time1 one-third of every year was regularly spent with him till ,i went to ,college4 ,how great was the influence of this on my character and education ,i cannot tell4 ,it was with him that ,i became acquainted with the ,messrs ,ransome1 ,w4 ,cubitt the civil engineer 7afterwards ,sir ,w4 ,cubitt71 ,bernard ,barton1 ,thomas ,clarkson 7the slave-trade abolitionist71 and other persons whose acquaintance ,i have valued highly4 ,it was also with him that ,i became acquainted with the works of the best modern poets1 ,scott1 ,byron1 ,campbell1 ,hogg1 and others3 as also with the ,waverley ,novels and other works of merit4 ,in #ahac ,william ,airy lost his appointment of ,collector of ,excise and was in consequence very much straitened in his circumstances4 ,but there was no relaxation in the education of his children1 and at the beginning of #ahad ,george ,biddell was sent to the endowed ,grammar ,school at ,colchester1 then kept by the ,rev4 ,e4 ,crosse1 and remained there till the summer of #ahai1 when he went to ,college4 ,the ,autobiography proceeds as follows3 ,i became here a respectable scholar in ,latin and ,greek1 to the extent of accurate translation1 and composition of prose ,latin3 in regard to ,latin verses ,i was ,i think more defective than most scholars who take the same pains1 but ,i am not much ashamed of this1 for ,i entirely despise the system of instruction in verse composition4 ,my father on some occasion had to go to ,london and brought back for me a pair of #ab-;inch globes4 ,they were invaluable to me4 ,the first stars which ,i learnt from the celestial globe were alpha ,lyrae1 alpha ,aquilae1 alpha ,cygni3 and to this time ,i involuntarily regard these stars as the birth-stars of my astronomical knowledge4 ,having somewhere seen a description of a ,gunter's quadrant1 ,i perceived that ,i could construct one by means of the globe3 my father procured for me a board of the proper shape with paper pasted on it1 and on this ,i traced the lines of the quadrant4 ,my command of geometry was tolerably complete1 and one way in which ,i frequently amused myself was by making paper models 7most carefully drawn in outline7 which were buttoned together without any cement or sewing4 ,thus ,i made models1 not only of regular solids1 regularly irregular solids1 cones cut in all directions so as to shew the conic sections1 and the like1 but also of six-gun batteries1 intrenchments and fortresses of various kinds c4 ,from various books ,i had learnt the construction of the steam-engine3 the older forms from the ,dictionary of ,arts and ,sciences2 newer forms from modern books4 ,the newest form however 7with the sliding steam valve7 ,i learnt from a #f-;horse engine at ,bawtrey's brewery 7in which ,mr ,keeling the father of my schoolfellow had acquired a partnership74 ,i frequently went to look at this engine1 and on one occasion had the extreme felicity of examining some of its parts when it was opened for repair4 ,in the mean time my education was advancing at ,playford4 ,the first record1 ,i believe1 which ,i have of my attention to mechanics there is the plan of a threshing-machine which ,i drew4 ,but ,i was acquiring valuable information of all kinds from the ,encyclopaedia ,londinensis1 a work which without being high in any respect is one of the most generally useful that ,i have seen4 ,but ,i well remember one of the most important steps that ,i ever made4 ,i had tried experiments with the object-glass of an opera-glass and was greatly astonished at the appearance of the images of objects seen through the glass under different conditions4 ,by these things my thoughts were turned to accurate optics1 and ,i read with care ,rutherford's ,lectures1 which my uncle possessed4 ,the acquisition of an accurate knowledge of the effect of optical constructions was one of the most charming attainments that ,i ever reached4 ,long before ,i went to ,college ,i understood the action of the lenses of a telescope better than most opticians4 ,i also read with great zeal ,nicholson's ,dictionary of ,chemistry1 and occasionally made chemical experiments of an inexpensive kind3 indeed ,i grew so fond of this subject that there was some thought of apprenticing me to a chemist4 ,i also attended to surveying and made a tolerable survey and map of my uncle's farm4 ,at school ,i was going on successfully1 and distinguished myself particularly by my memory4 ,it was the custom for each boy once a week to repeat a number of lines of ,latin or ,greek poetry1 the number depending very much on his own choice4 ,i determined on repeating #ajj every week1 and ,i never once fell below that number and was sometimes much above it4 ,it was no distress to me1 and great enjoyment4 ,at ,michaelmas #ahaf ,i repeated #bcid lines1 probably without missing a word4 ,i do not think that ,i was a favourite with ,mr ,crosse1 but he certainly had a high opinion of my powers and expressed this to my father4 ,my father entertained the idea of sending me to ,college1 which ,mr ,crosse recommended3 but he heard from some college man that the expense would be #bjj a year1 and he laid aside all thoughts of it4 ,the farm of ,playford ,hall was in #ahac or #ahad hired by ,thomas ,clarkson1 the slave-trade abolitionist4 ,my uncle transacted much business for him 7as a neighbour and friend7 in the management of the farm c4 for a time1 and they became very intimate4 ,my uncle begged him to examine me in ,classical knowledge1 and he did so1 ,i think1 twice4 ,he also gave some better information about the probable expenses c4 at ,college4 ,the result was a strong recommendation by my uncle or through my uncle that ,i should be sent to ,cambridge1 and this was adopted by my father4 ,i think it likely that this was in #ahaf4 ,in ,december #ahaf1 ,dealtry's ,fluxions was bought for me1 and ,i read it and understood it well4 ,i borrowed ,hutton's ,course of ,mathematics of old ,mr ,ransome1 who had come to reside at ,greenstead near ,colchester1 and read a good deal of it4 ,about ,ladyday #ahag ,i began to read mathematics with ,mr ,rogers 7formerly1 ,i think1 a ,fellow of ,sidney ,college1 and an indifferent mathematician of the ,cambridge school71 who had succeeded a ,mr ,tweed as assistant to ,mr ,crosse in the school4 ,i went to his house twice a week1 on holiday afternoons4 ,i do not remember how long ,i received lessons from him1 but ,i think to ,june1 #ahah4 ,this course was extremely valuable to me1 not on account of ,mr ,rogers's abilities 7for ,i understood many things better than he did7 but for its training me both in ,cambridge subjects and in the ,cambridge accurate methods of treating them4 ,i went through ,euclid 7as far as usually read71 ,wood's ,algebra1 ,wood's ,mechanics1 ,vince's ,hydrostatics1 ,wood's ,optics1 ,trigonometry 7in a geometrical treatise and also in ,woodhouse's algebraical form71 ,fluxions to a good extent1 ,newton's ,principia to the end of the #ith section4 ,this was a large quantity1 but ,i read it accurately and understood it perfectly1 and could write out any one of the propositions which ,i had read in the most exact form4 ,my connexion with ,mr ,rogers was terminated by his giving me notice that he could not undertake to receive me any longer3 in fact ,i was too much for him4 ,i generally read these books in a garret in our house in ,george ,lane1 which was indefinitely appropriated to my brother and myself4 ,i find that ,i copied out ,vince's ,conic ,sections in ,february1 #ahai4 ,the first book that ,i copied was the small geometrical treatise on ,trigonometry1 in ,may1 #ahag3 to this ,i was urged by old ,mr ,ransome1 upon my complaining that ,i could not purchase the book3 and it was no bad lesson of independence to me4 ,during the same period #ahag-ahai he was occupied at school on translations into blank verse from the ,aeneid and ,iliad1 and read through the whole of ,sophocles very carefully4 ,the classical knowledge which he thus gained at school and subsequently at ,cambridge was sound1 and he took great pleasure in it3 throughout his life he made a practice of keeping one or other of the ,classical ,authors at hand for occasional relaxation4 ,he terminated his schooling in ,june #ahai4 ,shortly afterwards his father left ,colchester and went to reside at ,bury ,st ,edmund's4 ,the ,autobiography proceeds as follows3 ,mr ,clarkson was at one time inclined to recommend me to go to ,st ,peter's ,college 7which had been much enriched by a bequest from a ,mr ,gisborne74 ,but on giving some account of me to his friend ,mr ,james ,d4 ,hustler1 tutor of ,trinity ,college1 ,mr ,hustler urged upon him that ,i was exactly the proper sort of person to go to ,trinity ,college4 ,and thus it was settled 7mainly by ,mr ,clarkson7 that ,i should be entered at ,trinity ,college4 ,i think that ,i was sent for purposely from ,colchester to ,playford1 and on ,march #fth1 #ahai1 ,i rode in company with ,mr ,clarkson from ,playford to ,sproughton near ,ipswich to be examined by the ,rev4 ,mr ,rogers1 incumbent of ,sproughton1 an old ,m4,a4 of ,trinity ,college2 and was examined1 and my certificate duly sent to ,mr ,hustler2 and ,i was entered on ,mr ,hustler's side as ,sizar of ,trinity ,college4 ,in the summer of #ahai ,i spent some time at ,playford4 ,on ,july #bgth1 #ahai 7my birthday1 #ah years old71 ,mr ,clarkson invited me to dinner1 to meet ,mr ,charles ,musgrave1 ,fellow of ,trinity ,college1 who was residing for a short time at ,grundisburgh1 taking the church duty there for ,dr ,ramsden1 the ,rector4 ,it was arranged that ,i should go to ,grundisburgh the next day 7,i think7 to be examined in mathematics by ,mr ,musgrave4 ,i went accordingly1 and ,mr ,musgrave set before me a paper of questions in geometry1 algebra1 mechanics1 optics1 c4 ending with the first proposition of the ,principia4 ,i knew nothing more about my answers at the time2 but ,i found long after that they excited so much admiration that they were transmitted to ,cambridge 7,i forget whether to ,mr ,musgrave's brother1 a ,fellow of ,trinity ,college and afterwards ,archbishop of ,york1 or to ,mr ,peacock1 afterwards ,dean of ,ely7 and were long preserved4 ,the list of the ,classical subjects for the first year in ,trinity ,college was transmitted to me1 as usual1 by ,mr ,hustler4 ,they were--,the ,hippolytus of ,euripides1 the #crd ,book of ,thucydides1 and the #bnd ,philippic of ,cicero4 ,these ,i read carefully and noted before going up4 ,mr ,hustler's family lived in ,bury2 and ,i called on him and saw him in ,october1 introduced by ,mr ,clarkson4 ,on the morning of ,october #ahth1 #ahai1 ,i went on the top of the coach to ,cambridge1 knowing nobody there but ,mr ,hustler1 but having letters of introduction from ,mr ,charles ,musgrave to ,professor ,sedgwick1 ,mr ,thomas ,musgrave1 and ,mr ,george ,peacock1 all ,fellows of ,trinity ,college4 ,i was set down at the ,hoop1 saw ,trinity ,college for the first time1 found ,mr ,hustler1 was conducted by his servant to the robe-maker's1 where ,i was invested in the cap and blue gown1 and after some further waiting was installed into lodgings in ,bridge ,street4 ,at #d o'clock ,i went to the ,college ,hall and was introduced by ,mr ,hustler to several undergraduates1 generally clever men1 and in the evening ,i attended ,chapel in my surplice 7it being ,st ,luke's day7 and witnessed that splendid service of which the occasional exhibition well befits the place4 ,as soon as possible1 ,i called on ,mr ,peacock1 ,mr ,musgrave1 and ,professor ,sedgwick4 ,by all ,i was received with great kindness3 my examination papers had been sent to them1 and a considerable reputation preceded me4 ,mr ,peacock at once desired that ,i would not consider ,mr ,c4 ,musgrave's letter as an ordinary introduction1 but that ,i would refer to him on all occasions4 ,and ,i did so for several years1 and always received from him the greatest assistance that he could give4 ,i think that ,i did not become acquainted with ,mr ,whewell till the next term1 when ,i met him at a breakfast party at ,mr ,peacock's4 ,mr ,peacock at once warned me to arrange for taking regular exercise1 and prescribed a walk of two hours every day before dinner3 a rule to which ,i attended regularly1 and to which ,i ascribe the continuance of good general health4 ,i shewed ,mr ,peacock a manuscript book which contained a number of original ,propositions which ,i had investigated4 ,these much increased my reputation 7,i really had sense enough to set no particular value on it7 and ,i was soon known by sight to almost everybody in the ,university4 ,a ridiculous little circumstance aided in this4 ,the former rule of the ,university 7strictly enforced7 had been that all students should wear drab knee-breeches3 and ,i1 at ,mr ,clarkson's recommendation1 was so fitted up4 ,the struggle between the old dress and the trowsers customary in society was still going on but almost terminated1 and ,i was one of the very few freshmen who retained the old habiliments4 ,this made me in some measure distinguishable3 however at the end of my first three terms ,i laid these aside4 ,the ,college ,lectures began on ,oct4 #bb3 ,mr ,evans at #i on the ,hippolytus1 and ,mr ,peacock at #aj on ,euclid 7these being the ,assistant ,tutors on ,mr ,hustler's side73 and then ,i felt myself established4 ,i wrote in a day or two to my uncle ,arthur ,biddell1 and ,i received from him a letter of the utmost kindness4 ,he entered gravely on the consideration of my prospects1 my wants1 c43 and offered at all times to furnish me with money1 which he thought my father's parsimonious habits might make him unwilling to do4 ,i never had occasion to avail myself of this offer3 but it was made in a way which in no small degree strengthened the kindly feelings that had long existed between us4 ,i carefully attended the lectures1 taking notes as appeared necessary4 ,in ,mathematics there were geometrical problems1 algebra1 trigonometry 7which latter subjects the lectures did not reach till the terms of #ahbj74 ,mr ,peacock gave me a copy of ,lacroix's ,differential ,calculus as translated by himself and ,herschel and ,babbage1 and also a copy of their ,examples4 ,at this time1 the use of ,differential ,calculus was just prevailing over that of ,fluxions 7which ,i had learnt74 ,i betook myself to it with great industry4 ,i also made myself master of the theories of rectangular coordinates and some of the differential processes applying to them1 which only a few of the best of the university mathematicians then wholly possessed4 ,in ,classical subjects ,i read the ,latin 7,seneca's7 and ,english ,hippolytus1 ,racine's ,phdre 7which my sister translated for me71 and all other books to which ,i was referred1 ,aristotle1 ,longinus1 ,horace1 ,bentley1 ,dawes c41 made verse translations of the ,greek ,hippolytus1 and was constantly on the watch to read what might be advantageous4 ,early in ,december ,mr ,hustler sent for me to say that one of the ,company of ,fishmongers1 ,mr ,r4 ,sharp1 had given to ,mr ,john ,h4 ,smyth1 ,m4,p4 for ,norwich1 the presentation to a small exhibition of #bj a year1 which ,mr ,smyth had placed in ,mr ,hustler's hands1 and which ,mr ,hustler immediately conferred on me4 ,this was my first step towards pecuniary independence4 ,i retained this exhibition till ,i became a ,fellow of the ,college4 ,i stayed at ,cambridge during part of the winter vacation1 and to avoid expense ,i quitted my lodgings and went for a time into somebody's rooms in the ,bishop's ,hostel4 7,it is customary for the tutors to place students in rooms when their right owners are absent47 ,i took with me ,thucydides and all relating to it1 and read the book1 upon which the next term's lectures were to be founded1 very carefully4 ,the latter part of the vacation ,i spent at ,bury1 where ,i began with the assistance of my sister to pick up a little ,french3 as ,i perceived that it was absolutely necessary for enabling me to read modern mathematics4 ,during a part of the time ,i employed myself in writing out a paper on the geometrical interpretation of the algebraical expression sqrt7-#a74 ,i think that the original suggestion of perpendicular line came from some book 7,i do not remember clearly71 and ,i worked it out in several instances pretty well1 especially in ,de ,moivre's ,theorem4 ,i had spoken of it in the preceding term to ,mr ,peacock and he encouraged me to work it out4 ,the date at the end is #ahbj1 ,january #ba4 ,when some time afterwards ,i spoke of it to ,mr ,hustler1 he disapproved of my employing my time on such speculations4 ,about the last day of ,january ,i returned to ,cambridge1 taking up my abode in my former lodgings4 ,i shewed my paper on sqrt7-#a7 to ,mr ,peacock1 who was much pleased with it and shewed it to ,mr ,whewell and others4 ,on ,february #a ,i commenced two excellent customs4 ,the first was that ,i always had upon my table a quire of large-sized scribbling-paper sewn together3 and upon this paper everything was entered3 translations into ,latin and out of ,greek1 mathematical problems1 memoranda of every kind 7the latter transferred when necessary to the subsequent pages71 and generally with the date of the day4 ,this is a most valuable custom4 ,the other was this3 as ,i perceived that to write ,latin prose well would be useful to me1 ,i wrote a translation of ,english into ,latin every day4 ,however much pressed ,i might be with other business1 ,i endeavoured to write at least three or four words1 but if possible ,i wrote a good many sentences4 ,i may fix upon this as the time when my daily habits were settled in the form in which they continued for several years4 ,i rose in time for the chapel service at #g4 ,it was the ,college regulation that every student should attend ,chapel four mornings and four evenings 7,sunday being one of each7 in every week3 and in this ,i never failed4 ,after chapel service ,i came to my lodgings and breakfasted4 ,at #i ,i went to ,college lectures1 which lasted to #aa4 ,most of my contemporaries1 being intended for the ,church1 attended also divinity lectures3 but ,i never did4 ,i then returned1 put my lecture notes in order1 wrote my piece of ,latin prose1 and then employed myself on the subject which ,i was reading for the time3 usually taking mathematics at this hour4 ,at #b or a little sooner ,i went out for a long walk1 usually #d or #e miles into the country3 sometimes if ,i found companions ,i rowed on the ,cam 7a practice acquired rather later74 ,a little before #d ,i returned1 and at #d went to ,college ,hall4 ,after dinner ,i lounged till evening chapel time1 #a_/b past #e1 and returning about #f ,i then had tea4 ,then ,i read quietly1 usually a classical subject1 till #aa2 and ,i never1 even in the times when ,i might seem most severely pressed1 sat up later4 ,from this time to the close of the annual examination 7beginning of ,june7 ,i remained at ,cambridge1 stopping there through the ,easter ,vacation4 ,the subjects of the mathematical lectures were ordinary algebra and trigonometry3 but ,mr ,peacock always had some private problems of a higher class for me1 and saw me ,i believe every day4 ,the subjects of the ,classical lectures were1 the termination of ,hippolytus1 the book of ,thucydides and the oration of ,cicero4 ,in mathematics ,i read ,whewell's ,mechanics1 then just published 7the first innovation made in the ,cambridge system of ,physical ,sciences for many years73 and ,i find in my scribbling-paper notes1 integrals1 central forces1 ,finite ,differences1 steam-engine constructions and powers1 plans of bridges1 spherical trigonometry1 optical calculations relating to the achromatism of eye-pieces and achromatic object-glasses with lenses separated1 mechanical problems1 ,transit of ,venus1 various problems in geometrical astronomy 7,i think it was at this time that ,mr ,peacock had given me a copy of ,woodhouse's ,astronomy #ast ,edition71 the rainbow1 plans for anemometer and for a wind-pumping machine1 clearing lunars1 c41 with a great number of geometrical problems4 ,i remark that my ideas on the ,differential ,calculus had not acquired on some important points the severe accuracy which they acquired in a few months4 ,in ,classics ,i read the ,persae of ,aeschylus1 ,greek and ,roman history very much 7,mitford1 ,hooke1 ,ferguson7 and the books of ,thucydides introductory to that of the lecture subject 7the #crd73 and attended to ,chronology4 ,on the scribbling-paper are verse-translations from ,euripides1 careful prose-translations from ,thucydides1 maps1 notes on points of grammar c4 ,i have also little ,,ms4 books with abundant notes on all these subjects3 ,i usually made a little book when ,i pursued any subject in a regular way4 ,on ,may #ast ,mr ,dobree1 the head lecturer1 sent for me to say that he appointed me head-lecturer's ,sizar for the next year4 ,the stipend of this office was #aj1 a sum upon which ,i set considerable value in my anxiety for pecuniary independence3 but it was also gratifying to me as shewing the way in which ,i was regarded by the ,college authorities4 ,on ,wednesday1 ,may #bdth1 #ahbj1 the examination began4 ,i was anxious about the result of the examination1 but only in such a degree as to make my conduct perfectly steady and calm1 and to prevent me from attempting any extraordinary exertion4 ,when the ,classes were published the first ,class of the ,freshman's ,year 7alphabetically arranged1 as is the custom7 stood thus3 ,airy1 ,boileau1 ,childers1 ,drinkwater1 ,field1 ,iliff1 ,malkin1 ,myers1 ,romilly1 ,strutt1 ,tate1 ,winning4 ,it was soon known however that ,i was first of the ,class4 ,it was generally expected 7and certainly by me7 that1 considering how great a preponderance the ,classics were understood1 in the known system of the ,college1 to have in determining the order of merit1 ,field would be first4 ,however the number of marks which ,field obtained was about #agjj1 and that which ,i obtained about #aijj4 ,no other competitor1 ,i believe1 was near us4--,in a letter to ,airy from his ,college ,tutor1 ,mr ,j4 ,d4 ,hustler1 there is the following passage3 ,it is a matter of extreme satisfaction to me that in the late examination you stood not only in the ,first ,class but first of the first4 ,i trust that your future exertions and success will be commensurate with this honourable beginning4 ,of the men whom ,i have named1 ,drinkwater 7,bethune7 was afterwards ,legal ,member of the ,supreme ,court of ,india1 ,field was afterwards ,rector of ,reepham1 ,romilly 7afterwards ,lord ,romilly7 became ,solicitor-,general1 ,strutt 7afterwards ,lord ,belper7 became ,m4,p4 for ,derby and ,first ,commissioner of ,railways1 ,tate was afterwards master of ,richmond ,endowed ,school1 ,childers was the father of ,childers who was subsequently ,first ,lord of the ,admiralty4 ,i returned to ,bury immediately4 ,while there1 some students 7some of them men about to take their ,b4,a4 degree at the next ,january7 applied to me to take them as pupils1 but ,i declined4 ,this year of my life enabled me to understand how ,i stood among men4 ,i returned to ,cambridge about ,july #aath4 ,as a general rule1 undergraduates are not allowed to reside in the ,university during the ,long ,vacation4 ,i believe that before ,i left1 after the examination1 ,i had made out that ,i should be permitted to reside3 or ,i wrote to ,mr ,hustler4 ,i applied to ,mr ,hustler to be lodged in rooms in ,college3 and was put1 first into rooms in ,bishop's ,hostel1 and subsequently into rooms in the ,great ,court4 ,the first affair that ,i had in ,college was one of disappointment by no means deserving the importance which it assumed in my thoughts4 ,i had been entered a ,sizar1 but as the list of ,foundation ,sizars was full1 my dinners in ,hall were paid for4 ,some vacancies had arisen3 and as these were to be filled up in order of merit1 ,i expected one3 and in my desire for pecuniary independence ,i wished for it very earnestly4 ,however1 as in theory all of the first class were equal1 and as there were some ,sizars in it senior in entrance to me1 they obtained places first3 and ,i was not actually appointed till after the next scholarship examination 7,easter #ahba74 ,however a special arrangement was made1 allowing me 7,i forget whether others7 to sit at the ,foundation-,sizars' table whenever any of the number was absent3 and in consequence ,i received practically nearly the full benefits4 ,mr ,peacock1 who was going out for the vacation1 allowed me access to his books4 ,i had also 7by the assistance of various ,fellows1 who all treated me with great kindness1 almost to a degree of respect7 command of the ,university ,library and ,trinity ,library3 and spent this ,long ,vacation1 like several others1 very happily indeed4 ,the only non-mathematical subjects of the next examination were ,the ,gospel of ,st ,luke1 ,paley's ,evidences1 and ,paley's ,moral and ,political ,philosophy4 ,thus my time was left more free to mathematics and to general classics than last year4 ,i now began a custom which ,i maintained for some years4 ,generally ,i read mathematics in the morning1 and classics for lectures in the afternoon3 but invariably ,i began at #aj o'clock in the evening to read with the utmost severity some standard classics 7unconnected with the lectures7 and at #aa precisely ,i left off and went to bed4 ,i continued my daily translations into ,latin prose as before4 ,on ,august #bdth1 #ahbj1 ,rosser1 a man of my own year1 engaged me as private tutor1 paying at the usual rate 7#ad for a part of the ,vacation1 and #ad for a term73 and immediately afterwards his friend ,bedingfield did the same4 ,this occupied two hours every day1 and ,i felt that ,i was now completely earning my own living4 ,i never received a penny from my friends after this time4 ,i find on my scribbling-paper various words which shew that in reading ,poisson ,i was struggling with ,french words4 ,there are also ,finite ,differences and their ,calculus1 ,figure of the ,earth 7force to the center71 various ,attractions 7some evidently referring to ,maclaurin's71 ,integrals1 ,conic ,sections1 ,kepler's ,problem1 ,analytical ,geometry1 ,d',alembert's ,theorem1 ,spherical ,aberration1 ,rotations round three axes 7apparently ,i had been reading ,euler71 ,floating bodies1 ,evolute of ,ellipse1 ,newton's treatment of the ,moon's ,variation4 ,i attempted to extract something from ,vince's ,astronomy on the physical explanation of ,precession3 but in despair of understanding it1 and having made out an explanation for myself by the motion round three axes1 ,i put together a little treatise 7,sept4 #aj1 #ahbj7 which with some corrections and additions was afterwards printed in my ,mathematical ,tracts4 ,on ,sept4 #adth ,i bought ,woodhouse's ,physical ,astronomy1 and this was quite an epoch in my mathematical knowledge4 ,first1 ,i was compelled by the process of changing the independent variable to examine severely the logic of the ,differential ,calculus4 ,secondly1 ,i was now able to enter on the ,theory of ,perturbations1 which for several years had been the desired land to me4 ,at the ,fellowship ,election of ,oct4 #ast1 ,sydney ,walker 7among other persons7 was elected ,fellow4 ,he then quitted the rooms in which he had lived 7almost the worst in the ,college71 and ,i immediately took them4 ,they suited me well and ,i lived very happily in them till ,i was elected ,scholar4 ,they are small rooms above the middle staircase on the south side of ,neville's ,court4 7,mr ,peacock's rooms were on the same staircase47 ,i had access to the leads on the roof of the building from one of my windows4 ,this was before the ,new ,court was built3 my best window looked upon the garden of the ,college butler4 ,i had brought to ,cambridge the telescope which ,i had made at ,colchester1 and about this time ,i had a stand made by a carpenter at ,cambridge3 and ,i find repeated observations of ,jupiter and ,saturn made in this ,october term4 ,other mathematical subjects on my scribbling-paper are3 ,geometrical ,astronomy1 ,barometers 7for elevations71 ,maclaurin's ,figure of the ,earth1 ,lagrange's ,theorem1 ,integrals1 ,differential ,equations of the second order1 ,particular ,solutions4 ,in general mathematics ,i had much discussion with ,atkinson 7who was ,senior ,wrangler1 ,january #ahba71 and in ,physics with ,rosser1 who was a friend of ,sir ,richard ,phillips1 a vain objector to gravitation4 ,in ,classics ,i read ,aeschylus and ,herodotus4 ,on ,october #eth ,i received notice from the ,head ,lecturer to declaim in ,english with ,winning4 7,this exercise consists in preparing a controversial essay1 learning it by heart1 and speaking it in ,chapel after the ,thursday evening's service47 ,on ,october #fth we agreed on the subject1 ,is natural difference to be ascribed to moral or to physical causes8 ,i taking the latter side4 ,i spoke the declamation 7reciting it without missing a word7 on ,october #beth4 ,on ,october #bfth ,i received notice of ,latin declamation with ,myers3 subject agreed on1 ,utrum civitati plus utilitatis an incommodi afferant leges quae ad vitas privatorum hominum ordinandas pertinent2 ,i took the former4 ,the declamation was recited on ,november #aa1 when a curious circumstance occurred4 ,my declamation was rather long3 it was the first ,saturday of the term on which a declamation had been spoken3 and it was the day on which arrived the news of the withdrawal of the ,bill of ,pains and ,penalties against ,queen ,caroline4 7,this trial had been going on through the summer1 but ,i knew little about it47 ,in consequence the impatience of the undergraduates was very great1 and there was such an uproar of coughing c4 in the ,chapel as probably was never known4 ,the ,master 7,dr ,wordsworth1 appointed in the beginning of the summer on the death of ,dr ,mansell1 and to whom ,i had been indirectly introduced by ,mrs ,clarkson7 and ,tutors and ,deans tried in vain to stop the hubbub4 ,however ,i went on steadily to the end1 not at all frightened4 ,on the ,monday the ,master sent for me to make a sort of apology in the name of the authorities1 and letters to the ,tutors were read at the ,lectures1 and on the whole the transaction was nowise disagreeable to me4 ,on the ,commemoration ,day1 ,december #aeth1 ,i received my ,prize 7,mitford's ,greece7 as ,first-,class man1 after dinner in the ,college ,hall4 ,after a short vacation spent at ,bury and ,playford ,i returned to ,cambridge1 walking from ,bury on ,jan4 #bbnd1 #ahba4 ,during the next term ,i find in ,mathematics ,partial ,differential ,equations1 ,tides1 ,sound1 ,calculus of ,variations1 ,composition of rotary motions1 ,motion in resisting medium1 ,lhuillier's theorem1 ,brightness of an object as seen through a medium with any possible law of refraction 7a good investigation71 star-reductions1 numerical calculations connected with them1 equilibrium of chain under centripetal force 7geometrically treated1 as an improvement upon ,whewell's algebraical method71 investigation of the magnitude of attractive forces of glass1 c41 required to produce refraction4 ,i forget about ,mathematical ,lectures2 but ,i have an impression that ,i regularly attended ,mr ,peacock's lectures1 and that he always set me some private problems4 ,i attended ,mr ,evans's lectures on ,st ,luke3 and ,i find many notes about the history of the ,jews1 ,cerinthus and various heresies1 ,paley's ,moral ,philosophy1 ,paley's ,evidences1 and ,biblical ,maps3 also speculations about ancient pronunciations4 ,for a week or more before the annual examination ,i was perfectly lazy4 ,the ,classes of my year 7,junior ,sophs7 were not published till ,june #aa4 ,it was soon known that ,i was first with #bjjj marks1 the next being ,drinkwater with #abjj marks4 ,after a short holiday at ,bury and ,playford ,i returned to ,cambridge on ,july #ahth1 #ahba4 ,my daily life went on as usual4 ,i find that in writing ,latin ,i began ,cicero ,de ,senectute 7retranslating ,melmoth's translation1 and comparing74 ,some time in the ,long ,vacation the names of the ,prizemen for ,declamations were published3 ,i was disappointed that not one1 ,english or ,latin1 was assigned to me3 but it was foolish1 for my declamations were rather trumpery4 ,my former pupil1 ,rosser1 came again on ,august #adth4 ,on ,august #bith ,dr ,blomfield 7afterwards ,bishop of ,london7 called1 to engage me as ,tutor to his brother ,george ,beecher ,blomfield1 and he commenced attendance on ,sept4 #ast4 ,with these two pupils ,i finished at the end of the ,long ,vacation3 for the next three terms ,i had one pupil1 ,gibson1 a ,newcastle man1 recommended by ,mr ,peacock1 ,i believe1 as a personal friend 7,mr ,peacock being of ,durham74 ,the only classical subject appointed for the next examination was the #eth1 #fth and #gth ,books of the ,odyssey3 the mathematical subjects all the ,applied ,mathematics and ,newton4 ,there was to be however the ,scholarship ,examination 7,sizars being allowed to sit for ,scholarships only in their #crd year3 and the ,scholarship being a kind of little ,fellowship necessary to qualify for being a candidate for the real ,fellowship74 ,when the ,october term began ,mr ,hustler1 who usually gave lectures in mathematics to his third-year pupils1 said to me that it was not worth my while to attend his lectures1 and he or ,mr ,peacock suggested that ,drinkwater1 ,myers1 and ,i should attend the ,questionists' examinations4 ,the ,questionists are those who are to take the degree of ,b4,a4 in the next ,january3 and it was customary1 not to give them lectures1 but three times a week to examine them by setting mathematical questions1 as the best method of preparing for the ,b4,a4 examination4 ,accordingly it was arranged that we should attend the said examinations3 but when we went the ,questionists of that year refused to attend4 ,they were reported to be a weak year1 and we to be a strong one3 and they were disposed to take offence at us on any occasion4 ,from some of the scholars of our year who sat at table with scholars of that year ,i heard that they distinguished us as 'the impudent year1' 'the annus mirabilis' c4 ,on this occasion they pretended to believe that the plan of our attendance at the ,questionists' examinations had been suggested by an undergraduate1 and no explanation was of the least use4 ,so the ,tutors agreed not to press the matter on them3 and instead of it1 ,drinkwater1 ,myers1 and ,i went three times a week to ,mr ,peacock's rooms1 and he set us questions4 ,i think that this system was also continued during the next two terms 7ending in ,june #ahbb7 or part of them1 but ,i am not certain4 ,in ,august #ahba ,i copied out a ,m4,s4 on ,optics1 ,i think from ,mr ,whewell3 on ,august #bdth one on the ,figure of the ,earth and ,tides2 and at some other time one on the motion of a body round two centers of force2 both from ,mr ,whewell4 ,on my scribbling paper ,i find--,a problem on the vibrations of a gig as depending on the horse's step 7like that of a pendulum whose support is disturbed71 ,maclaurin's ,attractions1 ,effect of separating the lenses of an achromatic object-glass 7suggested by my old telescope71 ,barlow's theory of numbers1 and division of the circle into #ag parts1 partial differentials1 theory of eye-pieces1 epicycloids1 ,figure of the ,earth1 ,time of body in arc of parabola1 ,problem of ,sound1 ,tides1 ,refraction of ,lens1 including thickness1 c41 ,ivory's paper on ,equations1 ,achromatism of microscope1 ,capillary ,attraction1 ,motions of ,fluids1 ,euler's principal axes1 ,spherical pendulum1 ,equation b7dy_/dx77dy_/dt71 barometer1 ,lunar ,theory well worked out1 ordinary differential equations1 ,calculus of ,variations1 ,interpolations like ,laplace's for ,comets1 ,kepler's theorem4 ,in ,september ,i had my old telescope mounted on a short tripod stand1 and made experiments on its adjustments4 ,i was possessed of ,white's ,ephemeris1 and ,i find observations of ,jupiter and ,saturn in ,october4 ,i planned an engine for describing ellipses by the polar equation ,a_/7#a e cos theta7 and tried to make a micrometer with silk threads converging to a point4 ,mr ,cubitt called on ,oct4 #d and ,nov4 #a2 he was engaged in erecting a treadmill at ,cambridge ,gaol1 and had some thoughts of sending plans for the ,cambridge ,observatory1 the erection of which was then proposed4 ,on ,nov4 #ai ,i find that ,i had received from ,cubitt a ,nautical ,almanac1 the first that ,i had4 ,on ,dec4 #aa ,i made some experiments with ,drinkwater3 ,i think it was whirling a glass containing oil on water4 ,in ,classics ,i was chiefly engaged upon ,thucydides and ,homer4 ,on ,october #fth ,i had a letter from ,charles ,musgrave1 introducing ,challis1 who succeeded me in the ,cambridge ,observatory in #ahcf4 ,at this time my poor afflicted father was suffering much from a severe form of rheumatism or pain in the legs which sometimes prevented him from going to bed for weeks together4 ,on the ,commemoration ,day1 ,dec4 #ahth1 ,i received my prize as first-class man in ,hall again4 ,the next day ,i walked to ,bury1 and passed the winter vacation there and at ,playford4 ,i returned to ,cambridge on ,jan4 #bdth1 #ahbb4 ,on ,feb4 #abth ,i kept my first ,act1 with great compliments from the ,moderator1 and with a most unusually large attendance of auditors4 ,these disputations on mathematics1 in ,latin1 are now discontinued4 ,on ,march #bjth ,i kept a first ,opponency against ,sandys4 ,about this time ,i received ,buckle1 a ,trinity man of my own year1 who was generally supposed to come next after ,drinkwater1 as pupil4 ,on my sheets ,i find integrals and differential equations of every kind1 astronomical corrections 7of which ,i prepared a book71 chances1 ,englefield's comets1 investigation of the brightness within a rainbow1 proof of ,clairaut's theorem in one case1 metacentres1 change of independent variable applied to a complicated case1 generating functions1 principal axes4 ,on ,apr4 #hth ,i intended to write an account of my eye3 ,i was then tormented with a double image1 ,i suppose from some disease of the stomach3 and on ,may #bhth ,i find by a drawing of the appearance of a lamp that the disease of my eye continued4 ,on ,feb4 #aath ,i gave ,mr ,peacock a paper on the alteration of the focal length of a telescope as directed with or against the ,earth's orbital motion 7on the theory of emissions7 which was written out for reading to the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society on ,feb4 #bdth and #beth4 ,this ,society ,i think was then about a year old4 ,on ,feb4 #a my ,,ms4 on ,precession1 ,solar ,inequality1 and ,nutation1 was made complete4 ,the important examination for ,scholarships was now approaching4 ,as ,i have said1 this one opportunity only was given to ,sizars 7,pensioners having always two opportunities and sometimes three71 and it is necessary to be a ,scholar in order to be competent to be a candidate for a ,fellowship4 ,on ,apr4 #ajth ,i addressed my formal ,latin letter to the ,seniors4 ,there were #ac vacancies and #cg candidates4 ,the election took place on ,apr4 #ahth1 #ahbb4 ,i was by much the first 7which ,i hardly expected7 and was complimented by the ,master and others4 ,wrote the formal letter of thanks as usual4 ,i was now entitled to claim better rooms1 and ,i took the rooms on the ground floor on the ,east side of the ,queen's ,gate of the ,great ,court4 ,even now ,i think of my quiet residence in the little rooms above the staircase in ,neville's ,court with great pleasure4 ,i took possession of my new rooms on ,may #bgth4 ,the ,annual ,examination began on ,may #cjth4 ,the ,classes were published on ,june #eth1 when my name was separated from the rest by two lines4 ,it was understood that the second man was ,drinkwater1 and that my number of marks was very nearly double of his4 ,having at this time been disappointed of a proposed walking excursion into ,derbyshire with a college friend1 who failed me at the last moment1 ,i walked to ,bury and spent a short holiday there and at ,playford4 ,i returned to ,cambridge on ,july #abth1 #ahbb4 ,i was steadily busy during this ,long ,vacation1 but by no means oppressively so3 indeed my time passed very happily4 ,the ,scholars' ,table is the only one in ,college at which the regular possessors of the table are sure never to see a stranger1 and thus a sort of family intimacy grows up among the ,scholars4 ,moreover the ,scholars feel themselves to be a privileged class 'on the foundation1' and this feeling gives them a sort of conceited happiness4 ,it was the duty of ,scholars by turns to read ,grace after the ,fellows' dinner and supper1 and at this time 7#ahdh7 ,i know it by heart4 ,they also read the ,lessons in ,chapel on week days3 but as there was no daily chapel-service during the summer vacation1 ,i had not much of this4 ,in the intimacy of which ,i speak ,i became much acquainted with ,drinkwater1 ,buckle1 ,rothman1 and ,sutcliffe3 and we formed a knot at the table 7first the ,undergraduate ,scholars' table1 and afterwards the ,bachelor ,scholars' table7 for several years4 ,during this ,vacation ,i had for pupils ,buckle and ,gibson4 ,i wrote my daily ,latin as usual1 beginning with the retranslation of ,cicero's ,epistles1 but ,i interrupted it from ,sept4 #bgth to ,feb4 #hth4 ,i believe it was in this ,vacation1 or in the ,october term1 that ,i began every evening to read ,thucydides very carefully1 as my notes are marked #ahbb and #ahbc4 ,on ,august #bg ,i find that ,i was reading ,ovid's ,fasti4 ,in ,mathematics ,i find the equation x y a1 xq yq b1 ,caustics1 ,calculus of ,variations1 ,partial ,differentials1 ,aberration of ,light1 ,motions of ,comets1 various ,optical constructions computed with spherical aberrations1 ,particular ,solutions1 ,mechanics of ,solid ,bodies1 ,attractions of ,shells1 ,chances1 ,ivory's attraction-theorem1 ,lunar ,theory 7algebraical71 ,degrees across meridian1 theoretical refraction1 ,newton's #crd ,book1 ,investigation of the tides in a shallow equatoreal canal1 from which ,i found that there would be low-water under the moon1 metacentres1 rotation of a solid body round three axes1 ,attractions of ,spheroids of variable density1 finite differences1 and complete ,figure of the ,earth4 ,there is also a good deal of investigation of a mathematical nature not connected with ,college studies1 as musical chords1 organ-pipes1 sketch for a computing machine 7suggested by the publications relating to ,babbage's71 sketch of machine for solving equations4 ,in ,august there is a plan of a ,,ms4 on the ,differential ,calculus1 which it appears ,i wrote then3 one on the ,figure of the ,earth written about ,august #aeth2 one on ,tides1 ,sept4 #beth2 one on ,newton's ,principia with algebraical additions1 ,nov4 #ast4 ,on ,sept4 #fth and #ajth there are ,lunar ,distances observed with ,rothman's ,sextant and completely worked out2 for these ,i prepared a printed skeleton form1 ,i believe my first4 ,on ,december #acth there are references to books on ,geology 7,conybeare and ,phillips1 and ,parkinson7 which ,i was beginning to study4 ,on ,july #bgth1 being the day on which ,i completed my #bast year1 ,i carefully did nothing4 ,another subject partly occupied my thoughts1 which1 though not 7with reference to practical science7 very wise1 yet gave me some ,cambridge celebrity4 ,in ,july #ahai ,i had 7as before mentioned7 sketched a plan for constructing reflecting telescopes with silvered glass1 and had shewn it afterwards to ,mr ,peacock4 ,i now completed the theory of this construction by correcting the aberrations1 spherical as well as chromatic4 ,on ,july #acth1 #ahbb1 ,i drew up a paper about it for ,mr ,peacock4 ,he approved it much1 and in some way communicated it to ,mr 7afterwards ,sir ,john7 ,herschel4 ,i was soon after introduced to ,herschel at a breakfast with ,mr ,peacock3 and he approved of the scheme generally4 ,on ,august #eth ,i drew up a complete mathematical paper for the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society1 which ,i entrusted to ,mr ,peacock4 ,the aberrations1 both spherical and chromatic1 are here worked out very well4 ,on ,nov4 #beth it was read at the meeting of the ,philosophical ,society1 and was afterwards printed in their ,transactions3 this was my first printed ,memoir4 ,before this time however ,i had arranged to try the scheme practically4 ,mr ,peacock had engaged to bear the expense1 but ,i had no occasion to ask him4 ,partly 7,i think7 through ,drinkwater1 ,i communicated with an optician named ,bancks1 in the ,strand1 who constructed the optical part4 ,i subsequently tried my telescope1 but it would not do4 ,the fault1 as ,i had not and have not the smallest doubt1 depends in some way on the crystallization of the mercury silvering4 ,it must have been about this time that ,i was introduced to ,mr 7afterwards ,sir ,james7 ,south1 at a party at ,mr ,peacock's rooms4 ,he advised me to write to ,tulley1 a well-known practical optician1 who made me some new reflectors1 c4 7so that ,i had two specimens1 one ,gregorian1 the other ,cassegrainian74 ,however the thing failed practically1 and ,i was too busy ever after to try it again4 ,during the ,october term ,i had no pupils4 ,i kept my second ,act on ,nov4 #f 7opponents ,hamilton1 ,rusby1 ,field71 and an ,opponency against ,jeffries on ,nov4 #g4 ,i attended the ,questionists' ,examinations4 ,i seem to have lived a very comfortable idle life4 ,the ,commemoration ,day was ,dec4 #ahth1 when ,i received a ,prize1 and the next day ,i walked to ,bury4 ,on ,jan4 #dth1 #ahbc1 ,i returned to ,cambridge1 and until the ,b4,a4 ,examination ,i read novels and played cards more than at any other time in ,college4 ,on ,thursday1 ,jan4 #ith1 #ahbc1 the preliminary classes1 for arrangement of details of the ,b4,a4 ,examination1 were published4 ,the first class1 ,airy1 ,drinkwater1 ,jeffries1 ,mason4 ,as far as ,i remember1 the rule was then1 that on certain days the classes were grouped 7in regard to identity of questions given to each group7 thus3 #ast1 #bnd_/#crd1 #dth_/#eth c41 and on certain other days thus3 #ast_/#bnd1 #crd_/#dth1 c4 ,on ,saturday1 ,jan4 #aath1 ,i paid fees4 ,on ,monday1 ,jan4 #acth1 the proceedings of examination began by a breakfast in the ,combination ,room4 ,after this1 ,gibson gave me breakfast every day1 and ,buckle gave me and some others a glass of wine after dinner4 ,the hours were sharp1 the season a cold one1 and no fire was allowed in the ,senate ,house where the ,examination was carried on 7my place was in the ,east gallery71 and altogether it was a severe time4 ,the course of ,examination was as follows3 ,monday1 ,jan4 #acth4 #h to #i1 printed paper of questions by ,mr ,hind 7moderator72 half-past #i to #aa1 questions given orally2 #a to #c1 ditto2 #f to #i1 paper of problems at ,mr ,higman's rooms4 ,tuesday1 ,jan4 #adth4 #h to #i1 ,higman's paper2 half-past #i to #aa1 questions given orally2 #a to #c1 ditto2 #f to #i1 paper of problems in ,sidney ,college ,hall4 ,wednesday1 ,jan4 #aeth4 ,questions given orally #h to #i and #a to #c1 with paper of questions on ,paley and ,locke 7one question only in each was answered74 ,thursday1 ,jan4 #afth4 ,we went in at #i and #a1 but there seems to have been little serious examination4 ,friday1 ,jan4 #ag4 ,on this day the brackets or classes as resulting from the examination were published1 #ast bracket ,airy1 #bnd bracket ,jeffries1 #crd bracket ,drinkwater1 ,fisher1 ,foley1 ,mason1 ,myers4 ,on ,saturday1 ,jan4 #ahth1 the degrees were conferred in the usual way4 ,it had been arranged that my brother and sister should come to see me take my degree of ,b4,a41 and ,i had asked ,gibson to conduct them to the ,senate ,house ,gallery3 but ,mr ,hawkes 7a ,trinity ,fellow7 found them and stationed them at the upper end of the ,senate ,house4 ,after the preliminary arrangements of papers at the ,vice-,chancellor's table1 ,i1 as ,senior ,wrangler1 was led up first to receive the degree1 and rarely has the ,senate ,house rung with such applause as then filled it4 ,for many minutes1 after ,i was brought in front of the ,vice-,chancellor1 it was impossible to proceed with the ceremony on account of the uproar4 ,i gave notice to the ,smith's ,prize ,electors of my intention to 'sit' for that prize1 and dined at ,rothman's rooms with ,drinkwater1 ,buckle1 and others4 ,on ,monday1 ,jan4 #bjth1 ,i was examined by ,professor ,woodhouse1 for ,smith's ,prize1 from #aj to #a4 ,i think that the only competitor was ,jeffries4 ,on ,tuesday ,i was examined by ,prof4 ,turton1 #aj to #a1 and on ,wednesday by ,prof4 ,lax1 #aj to #a4 ,on ,thursday1 ,jan4 #bcrd1 ,i went to ,bury by coach1 on one of the coldest evenings that ,i ever felt4 ,mr ,peacock had once recommended me to sit for the ,chancellor's medal 7,classical ,prize74 ,but he now seemed to be cool in his advice1 and ,i laid aside all thought of it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it seems not out of place to insert here a copy of some ,cambridge ,reminiscences written by ,airy1 which will serve to explain the ,acts and ,opponencies referred to in the previous narrative1 and other matters4 ,,the ,,acts4 ,the examination for ,b4,a4 degrees was preceded1 in my time1 by keeping two ,acts1 in the ,schools under the ,university ,library3 the second of them in the ,october term immediately before the examination2 the first 7,i think7 in the ,october term of the preceding year4 ,these ,acts were reliques of the ,disputations of the ,middle ,ages1 which probably held a very important place in the discipline of the ,university4 7,there seems to be something like them in some of the ,continental ,universities47 ,the presiding authority was one of the ,moderators4 ,i apprehend that the word ,moderator signified ,president1 in which sense it is still used in the ,kirk of ,scotland2 and that it was peculiarly applied to the ,presidency of the ,disputations1 the most important educational arrangement in the ,university4 ,the ,moderator sent a summons to the ,respondent to submit three subjects for argument1 and to prepare to defend them on a given day3 he also named three ,opponents4 ,this and all the following proceedings were conducted in ,latin4 ,for my ,act of #ahbb1 ,nov4 #f1 ,i submitted the following subjects3 ,recte statuit ,newtonus in ,principiis suis ,mathematicis1 libro primo1 sectione undecim4 ,recte statuit ,woodius de ,iride4 ,recte statuit ,paleius de ,obligationibus4 ,the ,opponents named to attack these assertions were ,hamilton of ,st ,john's1 ,rusby of ,st ,catharine's1 ,field of ,trinity4 ,it was customary for the ,opponents to meet at tea at the rooms of the ,senior ,opponent1 in order to discuss and arrange their arguments2 the ,respondent was also invited1 but he was warned that he must depart as soon as tea would be finished3 then the three ,opponents proceeded with their occupation4 ,as ,i have acted in both capacities1 ,i am able to say that the matter was transacted in an earnest and business-like way4 ,indeed in the time preceding my own 7,i know not whether in my own time7 the assistance of a private tutor was frequently engaged1 and ,i remember hearing a senior ,m4,a4 remark that my ,college ,tutor 7,james ,d4 ,hustler7 was the best crammer for an ,act in the ,university4 ,at the appointed time1 the parties met in the ,schools3 the ,respondent first read a ,latin ,thesis on any subject 7,i think ,i took some metaphysical subject71 but nobody paid any attention to it3 then the ,respondent read his first ,dogma1 and the first ,opponent produced an argument against it1 in ,latin4 ,after this there were repeated replies and rejoinders1 all in viv voce ,latin1 the ,moderator sometimes interposing a remark in ,latin4 ,when he considered that one argument was disposed of1 he called for another by the words ,probes aliter4 ,the arguments were sometimes shaped with considerable ingenuity1 and required a clear head in the ,respondent4 ,when all was finished1 the ,moderator made a complimentary remark to the ,respondent and one to the first ,opponent 7,i forget whether to the second and third74 ,in my ,respondency of #ahbb1 ,november #f1 the compliment was1 ,quaestiones tuas summo ingenio et acumine defendisti1 et in rebus mathematicis scientiam plan mirabilem ostendisti4 ,in an ,opponency 7,i forget when7 the compliment was1 ,magno ingenio argumenta tua et construxisti et defendisti4 ,the ,acts of the high men excited much interest among the students4 ,at my ,acts the room was crowded with undergraduates4 ,i imagine that1 at a time somewhat distant1 the maintenance of the ,acts was the only regulation by which the ,university acted on the studies of the place4 ,when the ,acts had been properly kept1 license was given to the ,father of the ,college to present the undergraduate to the ,vice-,chancellor1 who then solemnly admitted him ad respondendum ,quaestioni4 ,there is no appearance of collective examination before this presentation3 what the ,quaestio might be1 ,i do not know4 ,still the undergraduate was not ,b4,a4 ,the ,quaestio however was finished and approved before the day of a certain ,congregation1 and then the undergraduate was declared to be actualiter in artibus ,baccalaureum4 ,probably these regulations were found to be insufficient for the control of education1 and the ,january examination was instituted4 ,i conjecture this to have been at or shortly before the date of the earliest ,triposes recorded in the ,cambridge ,calendar1 #agdh4 ,the increasing importance of the ,january examination naturally diminished the value of the ,acts in the eyes of the undergraduates2 and1 a few years after my ,m4,a4 degree1 it was found that the ,opponents met1 not for the purpose of concealing their arguments from the ,respondent1 but for the purpose of revealing them to him4 ,this led to the entire suppression of the system4 ,the most active man in this suppression was ,mr ,whewell3 its date must have been near to #ahcj4 ,the shape in which the arguments were delivered by an ,opponent1 reading from a written paper1 was1 ,si 7quoting something from the ,respondent's challenge71 c41 c4 ,cadit ,quaestio2 ,sed 7citing something else bearing on the subject of discussion71 ,valet ,consequentia2 ,ergo 7combining these to prove some inaccuracy in the ,respondent's challenge71 ,valent ,consequentia et ,argumentum4 ,nobody pretended to understand these mystical terminations4 ,apparently the original idea was that several ,acts should be kept by each undergraduate2 for1 to keep up the number 7as it seemed71 each student had to gabble through a ridiculous form ,si quaestiones tuae falsae sint1 ,cadit ,quaestio3--sed quaestiones tuae falsae sunt1 ,ergo valent ,consequentia et ,argumentum4 ,i have forgotten time and place when this was uttered4 ,,the ,,senate-,,house ,,examination4 ,the ,questionists1 as the undergraduates preparing for ,b4,a4 were called in the ,october term1 were considered as a separate body2 collected at a separate table in ,hall1 attending no lectures1 but invited to attend a system of trial examinations conducted by one of the ,tutors or ,assistant-,tutors4 ,from the ,acts1 from the annual ,college examinations1 and 7,i suppose7 from enquiries in the separate ,colleges1 the ,moderators acquired a general idea of the relative merits of the candidates for honours4 ,guided by this1 the candidates were divided into six classes4 ,the ,moderators and ,assistant ,examiners were provided each with a set of questions in manuscript 7no printed papers were used for ,honours in the ,senate ,house2 in regard to the ,greek3 hoi polloi ,i cannot say74 ,on the ,monday on which the examination began1 the ,father of the ,college received all the ,questionists 7,i believe71 at any rate all the candidates for honours1 at breakfast in the ,combination ,room at #h o'clock1 and marched them to the ,senate ,house4 ,my place with other honour-men was in the ,east ,gallery4 ,there one ,examiner took charge of the #ast and #bnd classes united1 another ,examiner took the #crd and #dth classes united1 and a third took the #eth and #fth united4 ,on ,tuesday1 one ,examiner took the #ast class alone1 a second took the #bnd and #crd classes united1 a third took the #dth and #eth classes united1 and a fourth took the #fth class alone4 ,on ,wednesday1 ,thursday1 and ,friday the changes were similar4 ,and1 in all1 the questioning was thus conducted4 ,the ,examiner read from his manuscript the first question4 ,those who could answer it proceeded to write out their answers1 and as soon as one had finished he gave the word ,done2 then the ,examiner read out his second question1 repeating it when necessary for the understanding by those who took it up more lately4 ,and so on4 ,i think that the same process was repeated in the afternoon2 but ,i do not remember precisely4 ,in this manner the ,examination was conducted through five days 7,monday to ,friday7 with no interruption except on ,friday afternoon4 ,it was principally1 perhaps entirely1 bookwork4 ,but on two evenings there were printed papers of problems3 and the examination in these was conducted just as in the printed papers of the present day3 but in the private ,college ,rooms of the ,moderators4 ,and there1 wine and other refreshments were offered to the ,examinees4 ,how this singular custom began1 ,i know not4 ,the order of merit was worked out on ,friday afternoon and evening1 and was in some measure known through the ,university late in the evening4 ,i remember ,mr ,peacock coming to a party of ,examinees and giving information on several places4 ,i do not remember his mentioning mine 7though undoubtedly he did7 but ,i distinctly remember his giving the ,wooden ,spoon4 ,on the ,saturday morning at #h o'clock the manuscript list was nailed to the door of the ,senate-,house4 ,the form of further proceedings in the presentation for degree 7ad respondendum quaestioni7 ,i imagine has not been much altered4 ,the kneeling before the ,vice-,chancellor and placing hands in the ,vice-,chancellor's hands were those of the old form of doing homage4 ,the form of examination which ,i have described was complicated and perhaps troublesome1 but ,i believe that it was very efficient1 possibly more so than the modern form 7established ,i suppose at the same time as the abolition of the ,acts74 ,the proportion of questions now answered to the whole number set is ridiculously small1 and no accurate idea of relative merit can be formed from them4 ,,the ,,college ,,hall4 ,when ,i went up in #ahai1 and for several years later1 the dinner was at #a_/d past #c4 ,there was no supplementary dinner for special demands4 ,boat-clubs ,i think were not invented1 even in a plain social way1 till about #ahbd or #ahbe2 and not in connection with the ,college till some years later4 ,some of the senior ,fellows spoke of the time when dinner was at #b1 and regretted the change4 ,there was supper in ,hall at #i o'clock3 ,i have known it to be attended by a few undergraduates when tired by examinations or by evening walks2 and there were always some seniors at the upper table3 ,i have occasionally joined them1 and have had some very interesting conversations4 ,the supper was cold1 but hot additions were made when required4 ,one little arrangement amused me1 as shewing the ecclesiastical character of the ,college4 ,the ,fasts of the ,church were to be strictly kept1 and there was to be no dinner in ,hall4 ,it was thus arranged4 ,the evening chapel service1 which was usually at #e-a_/b 7,i think71 was held at #c2 and at #d the ordinary full meal was served in ,hall1 but as it followed the chapel attendance it was held to be supper2 and there was no subsequent meal4 ,there were no chairs whatever in ,hall1 except the single chair of the vice-master at the head of the table on the dais and that of the senior dean at the table next the ,east wall4 ,all others sat on benches4 ,and ,i have heard allusions to a ludicrous difficulty which occurred when some princesses 7of the ,royal ,family7 dined in the ,hall1 and it was a great puzzle how to get them to the right side of the benches4 ,the ,sizars dined after all the rest2 their dinner usually began soon after #d4 ,for the non-foundationists a separate dinner was provided1 as for pensioners4 ,but for the foundationists1 the remains of the ,fellows' dinner were brought down2 and ,i think that this provision was generally preferred to the other4 ,the dishes at all the tables of undergraduates were of pewter1 till a certain day when they were changed for porcelain4 ,i cannot remember whether this was at the time when they became ,questionists 7in the ,october ,term71 or at the time when they were declared actualiter esse in artibus ,baccalaureos 7in the ,lent ,term74 ,up to the ,questionist time the undergraduate ,scholars had no mixture whatever2 they were the only pure table in the ,hall3 and ,i looked on this as a matter very valuable for the ultimate state of the ,college society4 ,but in the ,october term1 those who were to proceed to ,b4,a4 were drafted into the mixed body of ,questionists3 and they greatly disliked the change4 ,they continued so till the ,lent ,term1 when they were formally invited by the ,bachelor ,scholars to join the upper table4 ,,mathematical ,,subjects ,,of ,,study ,,and ,,examination4 ,in the ,october ,term #ahai1 the only books on ,pure ,mathematics were3--,euclid generally1 ,algebra by ,dr ,wood 7formerly ,tutor1 but in #ahai ,master1 of ,st ,john's ,college71 ,vince's ,fluxions and ,dealtry's ,fluxions1 ,woodhouse's and other ,trigonometries4 ,not a whisper passed through the ,university generally on the subject of ,differential ,calculus2 although some papers 7subsequently much valued7 on that subject had been written by ,mr ,woodhouse1 fellow of ,caius ,college2 but their style was repulsive1 and they never took hold of the ,university4 ,whewell's ,mechanics 7#ahai7 contains a few and easy applications of the ,differential ,calculus4 ,the books on applied ,mathematics were ,wood's ,mechanics1 ,whewell's ,mechanics1 ,wood's ,optics1 ,vince's ,hydrostatics1 ,vince's ,astronomy1 ,woodhouse's ,plane ,astronomy 7perhaps rather later71 ,the ,first ,book of ,newton's ,principia3 ,i do not remember any others4 ,these works were undoubtedly able2 and for the great proportion of ,university students going into active life1 ,i do not conceal my opinion that books constructed on the principles of those which ,i have cited were more useful than those exclusively founded on the more modern system4 ,for those students who aimed at the mastery of results more difficult and 7in the intellectual sense7 more important1 the older books were quite insufficient4 ,more aspiring students read1 and generally with much care1 several parts of ,newton's ,principia1 ,book ,i41 and also ,book ,,iii4 7perhaps the noblest example of geometrical form of cosmical theory that the world has seen74 ,i remember some questions from ,book ,,iii4 proposed in the ,senate-,house ,examination #ahbc4 ,in the ,october term #ahai1 ,i went up to the ,university4 ,the works of ,wood and ,vince1 which ,i have mentioned1 still occupied the lecture-rooms4 ,but a great change was in preparation for the ,university ,course of ,mathematics4 ,during the great ,continental war1 the intercourse between men of science in ,england and in ,france had been most insignificant4 ,but in the autumn of #ahai1 three members of the ,senate 7,john ,herschel1 ,george ,peacock1 and ,charles ,babbage7 had entered into the mathematical society of ,paris1 and brought away some of the works on ,pure ,mathematics 7especially those of ,lacroix7 and on ,mechanics 7principally ,poisson's74 ,in #ahbj they made a translation of ,lacroix's ,differential ,calculus2 and they prepared a volume of ,examples of the ,differential and ,integral ,calculus4 ,these were extensively studied3 but the form of the ,college ,examinations or the ,university ,examinations was not1 ,i think1 influenced by them in the winter #ahbj-ahba or the two following terms4 ,but in the winter #ahba-ahbb ,peacock was one of the ,moderators2 and in the ,senate-,house ,examination1 ,january #ahbb1 he boldly proposed a ,paper of important questions entirely in the ,differential ,calculus4 ,this was considered as establishing the new system in the ,university4 ,in ,january #ahbc1 ,i think the two systems were mingled4 ,though ,i was myself subject to that examination1 ,i grieve to say that ,i have forgotten much of the details1 except that ,i well remember that some of the questions referred to ,newton1 ,book ,,iii4 on the ,lunar ,theory4 ,to these ,i have already alluded4 ,no other work occurs to me as worthy of mention1 except ,woodhouse's ,lunar ,theory1 entirely founded on the ,differential ,calculus4 ,the style of this book was not attractive1 and it was very little read4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,,at ,,trinity ,,college1 ,,cambridge1 ,,from ,,his ,,taking ,,his ,b4,a4 ,,degree ,,to ,,his ,,taking ,,charge ,,of ,,the ,,cambridge ,,observatory ,,as ,,plumian ,,professor4 ,,from ,,january #ah,,th1 #ahbc1 ,,to ,,march #ae,,th1 #ahbh4 ,on ,jan4 #cjth1 #ahbc1 ,i returned to ,cambridge4 ,i had already heard that ,i had gained the #ast ,smith's ,prize1 and one of the first notifications to me on my return was that the ,walker's good-conduct prize of #aj was awarded to me4 ,i remember that my return was not very pleasant1 for our table in hall was half occupied by a set of irregular men who had lost terms and were obliged to reside somewhat longer in order to receive the ,b4,a4 degree4 ,but at the time of my completing the ,b4,a4 degree 7which is not till some weeks after the examination and admission7 ,i with the other complete bachelors was duly invited to the table of the ,b4,a4 scholars1 and that annoyance ended4 ,the liberation from undergraduate study left me at liberty generally to pursue my own course 7except so far as it was influenced by the preparation for fellowship examination71 and also left me at liberty to earn more money1 in the way usual with the graduates1 by taking undergraduate pupils4 ,mr ,peacock recommended me to take only four1 which occupied me four hours every day1 and for each of them ,i received #bj guineas each term4 ,my first pupils1 for the ,lent and ,easter terms1 were ,williamson 7afterwards ,head ,master of ,westminster ,school71 ,james ,parker 7afterwards ,q4,c4 and ,vice-,chancellor71 ,bissett1 and ,clinton of ,caius4 ,to all these ,i had been engaged before taking my ,b4,a4 degree4 ,i kept up classical subjects4 ,i have a set of notes on the ,greek3 ,ploutos and ,greek3 ,nephelai of ,aristophanes1 finished on ,mar4 #aeth1 #ahbc1 and ,i began my daily writing of ,latin as usual on ,feb4 #hth4 ,in mathematics ,i worked very hard at ,lunar and ,planetary ,theories4 ,i have two ,,ms4 books of ,lunar ,theory to the #eth order of small quantities1 which however answered no purpose except that of making me perfectly familiar with that subject4 ,i worked well1 upon my quires1 the figure of ,saturn supposed homogeneous as affected by the attraction of his ring1 and the figure of the ,earth as heterogeneous1 and the ,calculus of ,variations4 ,i think it was now that ,i wrote a ,,ms4 on constrained motion4 ,on ,mar4 #agth1 #ahbc1 ,i was elected ,fellow of the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society4 ,on ,may #ith a cast of my head was taken for ,dr ,elliotson1 an active phrenologist1 by ,deville1 a tradesman in the ,strand4 ,i had long thought that ,i should like to visit ,scotland1 and on my once saying so to my mother1 she 7who had a most kindly recollection of ,alnwick7 said in a few words that she thought ,i could not do better4 ,i had therefore for some time past fully determined that as soon as ,i had sufficient spare time and money enough ,i would go to ,scotland4 ,the interval between the end of ,easter ,term and the usual beginning with pupils in the ,long ,vacation offered sufficient time1 and ,i had now earned a little money1 and ,i therefore determined to go1 and invited my sister to accompany me4 ,i had no private introductions1 except one from ,james ,parker to ,mr ,reach1 a writer of ,inverness3 some which ,drinkwater sent being too late4 ,on ,may #bjth we went by coach to ,stamford2 thence by ,pontefract and ,oulton to ,york1 where ,i saw the ,cathedral1 which then disappointed me1 but ,i suppose that we were tired with the night journey4 ,then by ,newcastle to ,alnwick1 where we stopped for the day to see my birthplace4 ,on ,may #bdth to ,edinburgh4 ,on this journey ,i remember well the stone walls between the fields1 the place 7in ,yorkshire7 where for the first time in my life ,i saw rock1 the ,hambleton1 ,kyloe1 ,cheviot and ,pentland ,hills1 ,arthur's ,seat1 but still more strikingly the revolving ,inch ,keith ,light4 ,at ,edinburgh ,i hired a horse and gig for our journey in ,scotland1 and we drove by ,queensferry to ,kinross 7where for the first time in my life ,i saw clouds on the hills1 viz4 on the ,lomond ,hills71 and so to ,perth4 ,thence by ,dunkeld and ,killicrankie to ,blair ,athol 7the dreariness of the ,drumochter ,pass made a strong impression on me71 and by ,aviemore 7where ,i saw snow on the mountains7 to ,inverness4 ,here we received much kindness and attention from ,mr ,reach1 and after visiting the ,falls of ,foyers and other sights we went to ,fort ,augustus and ,fort ,william4 ,we ascended ,ben ,nevis1 on which there was a great deal of snow1 and visited the vitrified fort in ,glen ,nevis4 ,then by ,inverary to ,tarbet1 and ascended ,ben ,lomond1 from whence we had a magnificent view4 ,we then passed by ,loch ,achray to ,glasgow1 where we found ,james ,parker's brother 7his father1 of the house of ,macinroy and ,parker1 being a wealthy merchant of ,glasgow74 ,on ,june #aeth to ,mr ,parker's house at ,blochairn1 near ,glasgow 7on this day ,i heard ,dr ,chalmers preach71 and on the #agth went with the family by steamer 7the first that ,i had seen7 to ,fairly1 near ,largs4 ,i returned the gig to ,edinburgh1 visited ,arran and ,bute1 and we then went by coach to ,carlisle1 and by ,penrith to ,keswick 7by the old road3 never shall ,i forget the beauty of the approach to ,keswick74 ,after visiting ,ambleside and ,kendal we returned to ,cambridge by way of ,leeds1 and posted to ,bury on the #bhth ,june4 ,the expense of this expedition was about #ha4 ,it opened a completely new world to me4 ,i had little time to rest at ,bury4 ,in the preceding term ,drinkwater1 ,buckle1 and myself1 had engaged to go somewhere into the country with pupils during the ,long ,vacation 7as was customary with ,cambridge men74 ,buckle however changed his mind4 ,drinkwater went to look for a place1 fixed on ,swansea1 and engaged a house 7called the ,cambrian ,hotel1 kept by a ,captain ,jenkins74 ,on the morning of ,july #bnd ,i left ,bury for ,london and by mail coach to ,bristol4 ,on the morning of ,july #crd by steamer to ,swansea1 and arrived late at night4 ,i had then five pupils3 ,parker1 ,harman ,lewis 7afterwards ,professor in ,king's ,college1 ,london71 ,pierce ,morton1 ,gibson1 and ,guest of ,caius 7afterwards ,master of the ,college74 ,drinkwater had four1 viz4 two ,malkins 7from ,bury71 ,elphinstone 7afterwards ,m4,p471 and ,farish 7son of ,professor ,farish74 ,we lived a hard-working strange life4 ,my pupils began with me at six in the morning3 ,i was myself reading busily4 ,we lived completely en famille1 with two men-servants besides the house establishment4 ,one of our first acts was to order a four-oared boat to be built1 fitted with a lug-sail3 she was called the ,granta of ,swansea4 ,in the meantime we made sea excursions with boats borrowed from ships in the port4 ,on ,july #bcrd1 with a borrowed boat1 we went out when the sea was high1 but soon found our boat unmanageable1 and at last got into a place where the sea was breaking heavily over a shoal1 and the two of the crew who were nearest to me 7,a4 ,malkin and ,lewis71 one on each side1 were carried out3 they were good swimmers and we recovered them1 though with some trouble3 the breaker had passed quite over my head3 we gained the shore and the boat was taken home by land4 ,when our own boat was finished1 we had some most picturesque adventures at the ,mumbles1 ,aberavon1 ,caswell ,bay1 ,ilfracombe1 and ,tenby4 ,from all this ,i learnt navigation pretty well4 ,the mixture of hard study and open-air exertion seemed to affect the health of several of us 7,i was one73 we were covered with painful boils4 ,my ,latin-writing began again on ,july #beth3 ,i have notes on ,demosthenes1 ,lucretius1 and ,greek ,history4 ,in mathematics ,i find ,chances1 ,figure of the ,earth with variable density1 ,differential ,equations1 ,partial ,differentials1 sketch for an instrument for shewing refraction1 and ,optical instruments with effects of chromatic aberration4 ,in ,august there occurred an absurd quarrel between the ,fellows of ,trinity and the undergraduates1 on the occasion of commencing the building of ,king's ,court1 when the undergraduates were not invited to wine1 and absented themselves from the hall4 ,there were vacant this year 7#ahbc7 five fellowships in ,trinity ,college4 ,in general1 the ,b4,a4's of the first year are not allowed to sit for fellowships3 but this year it was thought so probable that permission would be given1 that on ,sept4 #bnd ,mr ,higman1 then appointed as ,tutor to a third 'side' of the ,college1 wrote to me to engage me as ,assistant ,mathematical ,tutor in the event of my being elected a ,fellow on ,oct4 #ast1 and ,i provisionally engaged myself4 ,about the same time ,i had written to ,mr ,peacock1 who recommended me to sit1 and to ,mr ,whewell1 who after consultation with the ,master 7,dr ,wordsworth71 discouraged it4 ,as there was no absolute prohibition1 ,i left ,swansea on ,sept4 #aath 7before my engagement to my pupils was quite finished7 and returned to ,cambridge by ,gloucester1 ,oxford1 and ,london4 ,i gave in my name at the butteries as candidate for fellowship1 but was informed in a day or two that ,i should not be allowed to sit4 ,on ,sept4 #aith ,i walked to ,bury4 ,i walked back to ,cambridge on ,oct4 #agth1 #ahbc4 ,during this ,october term ,i had four pupils3 ,neate1 ,cankrein1 ,turner 7afterwards #bnd wrangler and ,treasurer of ,guy's ,hospital71 and ,william ,hervey 7son of the ,marquis of ,bristol74 ,in the ,lent term ,i had four 7,neate1 ,cankrein1 ,turner1 ,clinton74 ,in the ,easter term ,i had three 7,neate1 ,cankrein1 ,turner74 ,my daily writing of ,latin commenced on ,oct4 #bgth4 ,in ,november ,i began re-reading ,sophocles with my usual care4 ,in mathematics ,i find investigations of ,motion in a resisting medium1 ,form of ,saturn1 ,draft of a ,paper about an instrument for exhibiting the fundamental law of refraction 7read at the ,philosophical ,society by ,mr ,peacock on ,nov4 #ajth1 #ahbc71 ,optics1 ,solid ,geometry1 ,figure of the ,earth with variable density1 and much about attractions4 ,i also in this term wrote a ,,ms4 on the ,calculus of ,variations1 and one on ,wood's ,algebra1 #bnd and #dth parts4 ,i have also notes of the temperature of mines in ,cornwall1 something on the light of oil-gas1 and reminiscences of ,swansea in a view of ,oswick ,bay4 ,in ,november ,i attended ,professor ,sedgwick's geological lectures4 ,at some time in this term ,i had a letter from ,mr ,south 7to whom ,i suppose ,i had written7 regarding the difficulty of my telescope3 he was intimately acquainted with ,tulley1 and ,i suppose that thus the matter had become more fully known to him4 ,he then enquired if ,i could visit him in the winter vacation4 ,i accordingly went from ,bury1 and was received by him at his house in ,blackman ,street for a week or more with great kindness4 ,he introduced me to ,sir ,humphrey ,davy and many other ,london savans1 and shewed me many ,london sights and the ,greenwich ,observatory4 ,i also had a little practice with his own instruments4 ,he was then on intimate terms with ,mr ,herschel 7afterwards ,sir ,john ,herschel71 then living in ,london1 who came occasionally to observe double stars4 ,this was the first time that ,i saw practical astronomy4 ,it seems that ,i borrowed his mountain barometer4 ,in the ,lent term ,i wrote to him regarding the deduction of the parallax of ,mars1 from a comparison of the relative positions of ,mars and #df ,leonis1 as observed by him and by ,rumker at ,paramatta4 ,my working is on loose papers4 ,i see that ,i have worked out perfectly the interpolations1 the effects of uncertainty of longitude1 c41 but ,i do not see whether ,i have a final result4 ,in ,jan4 #ahbd1 at ,playford1 ,i was working on the effects of separating the two lenses of an object-glass1 and on the kind of eye-piece which would be necessary3 also on spherical aberrations and ,saturn's figure4 ,on my quires at ,cambridge ,i was working on the effects of separating the object-glass lenses1 with the view of correcting the secondary spectrum3 and on ,jan4 #cast ,i received some numbers 7indices of refraction7 from ,mr ,herschel1 and reference to ,fraunhofer's numbers4 ,about this time it was contemplated to add to the ,royal ,observatory of ,greenwich two assistants of superior education4 ,whether this scheme was entertained by the ,admiralty1 the ,board of ,longitude1 or the ,royal ,society1 ,i do not know4 ,somehow 7,i think through ,mr ,peacock7 a message from ,mr ,herschel was conveyed to me1 acquainting me of this1 and suggesting that ,i should be an excellent person for the principal place4 ,to procure information1 ,i went to ,london on ,saturday1 ,feb4 #gth1 sleeping at ,mr ,south's1 to be present at one of ,sir ,humphrey ,davy's ,saturday evening soires 7they were then held every ,saturday71 and to enquire of ,sir ,h4 ,davy and ,dr ,young4 ,when ,i found that succession to the post of ,astronomer ,royal was not considered as distinctly a consequence of it1 ,i took it coolly1 and returned the next night4 ,the whole proposal came to nothing4 ,at this time ,i was engaged upon differential equations1 mountain barometer problem and determination of the height of the ,gogmagogs and several other points1 investigations connected with ,laplace's calculus1 spherical aberration in different planes1 geology 7especially regarding ,derbyshire1 which ,i proposed to visit71 and much of optics4 ,i wrote a draft of my ,paper on the figure of ,saturn1 and on ,mar4 #aeth1 #ahbd1 it was read at the ,philosophical ,society under the title of ',on the figure assumed by a fluid homogeneous mass1 whose particles are acted on by their mutual attraction1 and by small extraneous forces1' and is printed in their ,memoirs4 ,i also wrote a draft of my ,paper on ,achromatic ,eye-pieces1 and on ,may #agth1 #ahbd1 it was read at the ,philosophical ,society under the title of ',on the ,principles and ,construction of the ,achromatic ,eye-pieces of ,telescopes1 and on the ,achromatism of ,microscopes1' including also the effects of separating the lenses of the object-glass4 ,it is printed in their ,memoirs4 ,amongst miscellaneous matters ,i find that on ,mar4 #bbnd of this year ,i began regularly making extracts from the books of the ,book ,society1 a practice which ,i continued to ,march #ahbf4 ,on ,mar4 #bgth1 a very rainy day1 ,i walked to ,bury to attend the funeral of my uncle ,william ,biddell1 near ,diss1 and on ,mar4 #cjth ,i walked back in rain and snow4 ,on ,feb4 #bdth ,i dined with ,cubitt in ,cambridge4 ,on ,may #bast ,i gave a certificate to ,rogers 7the assistant in ,crosse's school1 and my instructor in mathematics71 which my mother amplified much1 and which ,i believe procured his election as master of ,walsall ,school4 ,on ,june #bcrd ,i went to ,bury4 ,the speeches at ,bury ,school1 which ,i wished to attend1 took place next day4 ,at this point of his ,autobiography the writer continues1 ,now came one of the most important occurrences in my life4 ,the important event in question was his acquaintance with ,richarda ,smith1 the lady who afterwards became his wife4 ,the courtship was a long one1 and in the ,autobiography there are various passages relating to it1 all written in the most natural and unaffected manner1 but of somewhat too private a nature for publication4 ,it will therefore be convenient to digress from the straight path of the narrative in order to insert a short memoir of the lady who was destined to influence his life and happiness in a most important degree4 ,richarda ,smith was the eldest daughter of the ,rev4 ,richard ,smith1 who had been a ,fellow of ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge1 but was at this time ,private ,chaplain to the ,duke of ,devonshire1 and held the small living of ,edensor1 near ,chatsworth1 in ,derbyshire4 ,he had a family of two sons and seven daughters1 whom he had brought up and educated very carefully4 ,several of his daughters were remarkable both for their beauty and accomplishments4 ,richarda ,smith was now in her #bjth year1 and the writer of the ,autobiography records that at ,matlock we received great attention from ,mr ,chenery3 in speaking of ,mr ,smith ,i remember his saying that ,mr ,smith had a daughter whom the ,duke of ,devonshire declared to be the most beautiful girl he ever saw4 ,this was before he had made the acquaintance of the family4 ,airy was at this time on a walking tour in ,derbyshire with his brother ,william1 and they were received at ,edensor by ,mr ,smith1 to whom he had letters of introduction4 ,he seems to have fallen in love with ,miss ,smith at first sight1 and within two days of first seeing her he made her an offer of marriage4 ,neither his means nor his prospects at that time permitted the least idea of an immediate marriage1 and ,mr ,smith would not hear of any engagement4 ,but he never had the least doubt as to the wisdom of the choice that he had made3 he worked steadily on1 winning fame and position1 and recommending his suit from time to time to ,miss ,smith as opportunity offered1 and finally married her1 nearly six years after his first proposal4 ,his constancy had its reward1 for he gained a most charming and affectionate wife4 ,as he records at the time of his marriage1 ,my wife was aged between #be and #bf1 but she scarcely appeared more than #ah or #bj4 ,her beauty and accomplishments1 her skill and fidelity in sketching1 and above all her exquisite singing of ballads1 made a great sensation in ,cambridge4 ,their married life lasted #de years1 but the last six years were saddened by the partial paralysis and serious illness of ,lady ,airy4 ,the entire correspondence between them was most carefully preserved1 and is a record of a most happy union4 ,the letters were written during his numerous journeys and excursions on business or pleasure1 and it is evident that his thoughts were with her from the moment of their parting4 ,every opportunity of writing was seized with an energy and avidity that shewed how much his heart was in the correspondence4 ,nothing was too trivial or too important to communicate to his wife1 whether relating to family or business matters4 ,the letters on both sides are always full of affection and sympathy1 and are written in that spirit of confidence which arises from a deep sense of the value and necessity of mutual support in the troubles of life4 ,and with his active and varied employments and his numerous family there was no lack of troubles4 ,they were both of them simple-minded1 sensible1 and practical people1 and were very grateful for such comforts and advantages as they were able to command1 but for nothing in comparison with their deep respect and affection for one another4 ,both by natural ability and education she was well qualified to enter into the pursuits of her husband1 and in many cases to assist him4 ,she always welcomed her husband's friends1 and by her skill and attractive courtesy kept them well together4 ,she was an admirable letter-writer1 and in the midst of her numerous domestic distractions always found time for the duties of correspondence4 ,in conversation she was very attractive1 not so much from the wit or brilliancy of her remarks as from the brightness and interest with which she entered into the topics under discussion1 and from the unfailing grace and courtesy with which she attended to the views of others4 ,this was especially recognized by the foreign astronomers and men of science who from time to time stayed as guests at the ,observatory and to whom she acted as hostess4 ,although she was not an accomplished linguist yet she was well able to express herself in ,french and ,german1 and her natural good sense and kindliness placed her guests at their ease1 and made them feel themselves 7as indeed they were7 welcomed and at home4 ,her father1 the ,rev4 ,richard ,smith1 was a man of most cultivated mind1 and of the highest principles1 with a keen enjoyment of good society1 which the confidence and friendship of his patron the ,duke of ,devonshire amply secured to him1 both at ,chatsworth and in ,london4 ,he had a deep attachment to his ,alma ,mater of ,cambridge1 and though not himself a mathematician he had a great respect for the science of mathematics and for eminent mathematicians4 ,during the long courtship already related ,mr ,smith conceived the highest respect for ,airy's character1 as well as for his great repute and attainments1 and expressed his lively satisfaction at his daughter's marriage4 ,thus on ,january #bjth1 #ahcj1 he wrote to his intended son-in-law as follows3 ,i have little else to say to you than that ,i continue with heartfelt satisfaction to reflect on the important change about to take place in my dear daughter's situation4 ,a father must not allow himself to dilate on such a subject3 of course ,i feel confident that you will have no reason to repent the irrevocable step you have taken1 but from the manner in which ,richarda has been brought up1 you will find such a helpmate in her as a man of sense and affection would wish to have1 and that she is well prepared to meet the duties and trials 7for such must be met with7 of domestic life with a firm and cultivated mind1 and the warm feelings of a kind heart4 ,her habits are such as by no means to lead her to expensive wishes1 nor will you ,i trust ever find it necessary to neglect those studies and pursuits upon which your reputation and subsistence are chiefly founded1 to seek for idle amusements for your companion4 ,i must indulge no further in speaking of her1 and have only at present to add that ,i commit in full confidence into your hands the guardianship of my daughter's happiness4 ,and on ,april #eth1 #ahcj1 shortly after their marriage1 he wrote to his daughter thus3 ,if thinking of you could supply your place amongst us you would have been with us unceasingly1 for we have all of us made you the principal object of our thoughts and our talk since you left us1 and ,i travelled with you all your journey to your present delightful home4 ,we had all but one feeling of the purest pleasure in the prospect of the true domestic comfort to which we fully believe you to be now gone1 and we rejoice that all your endearing qualities will now be employed to promote the happiness of one whom we think so worthy of them as your dear husband1 who has left us in the best opinion of his good heart1 as well as his enlightened and sound understanding4 ,his late stay with us has endeared him to us all4 ,never did man enter into the married state from more honourable motives1 or from a heart more truly seeking the genuine happiness of that state than ,mr ,airy1 and he will1 ,i trust1 find his reward in you from all that a good wife can render to the best of husbands1 and his happiness be reflected on yourself4 ,it would be difficult to find letters of more genuine feeling and satisfaction1 or more eloquently expressed1 than these4 ,the narrative of the ,autobiography will now be resumed4 ,i had been disappointed two years before of an expedition to ,derbyshire4 ,i had wished still to make it1 and my brother wished to go3 and we determined to make it this year 7#ahbd74 ,we were prepared with walking dresses and knapsacks4 ,i had well considered every detail of our route1 and was well provided with letters of introduction1 including one to the ,rev4 ,r4 ,smith of ,edensor4 ,on ,june #bith we started by coach to ,newmarket and walked through the ,fens by ,ramsay to ,peterborough4 ,then by ,stamford and ,ketton quarries to ,leicester and ,derby4 ,here we were recognized by a ,mr ,calvert1 who had seen me take my degree1 and he invited us to breakfast1 and employed himself in shewing us several manufactories1 c4 to which we had been denied access when presenting ourselves unsupported4 ,we then went to ,belper with an introduction from ,mr ,calvert to ,jedediah ,strutt3 saw the great cotton mills1 and in the evening walked to ,matlock4 ,up to this time the country of greatest interest was the region of the fens about ,ramsay 7a most remarkable district71 but now began beauty of scenery4 ,on ,july #ith we walked by ,rowsley and ,haddon ,hall over the hills to ,edensor1 where we stayed till the #abth with ,mr ,smith4 ,we next visited ,hathersage1 ,castleton1 and ,marple 7where ,i wished to see the canal aqueduct71 and went by coach to ,manchester1 and afterwards to ,liverpool4 ,here ,dr ,traill recommended us to see the ,pontycyssylte ,aqueduct1 and we went by ,chester and ,wrexham to ,rhuabon1 saw the magnificent work1 and proceeded to ,llangollen4 ,thence by ,chester and ,northwich 7where we descended a salt-mine7 to ,macclesfield4 ,then to the ,ecton mine 7of which we saw but little7 through ,dovedale to ,ashbourn1 and by coach to ,derby4 ,on ,july #bdth to ,birmingham1 where we found ,mr ,guest1 lodged in his house1 and were joined by my pupil ,guest4 ,here we were fully employed in visiting the manufactures1 and then went into the iron country1 where ,i descended a pit in the ,staffordshire ,main4 ,thence by coach to ,cambridge1 where ,i stopped to prepare for the ,fellowship ,examination4 ,i had two pupils in this portion of the ,long ,vacation1 ,turner and ,dobbs4 ,on ,august #bnd my writing of ,latin began regularly as before4 ,my principal mathematics on the quires are ,optics4 ,on ,august #beth ,i made experiments on my left eye1 with good measures1 and on ,aug4 #bfth ordered a cylindrical lens of ,peters1 a silversmith in the town1 which ,i believe was never made4 ,subsequently1 while at ,playford1 ,i ordered cylindrical lenses of an artist named ,fuller1 living at ,ipswich1 and these were completed in ,november1 #ahbd4 ,my letter to the ,examiners1 announcing my intention of sitting for ,fellowship 7which like all other such documents is preserved on my quires7 was delivered on ,sept #bast4 ,the ,examination took place on ,sept4 #bbnd and the two following days4 ,on ,oct4 #ast1 #ahbd1 at the usual hour of the morning1 ,i was elected ,fellow4 ,there were elected at the same time ,t4,b4 ,macaulay 7afterwards ,lord ,macaulay71 who was a year senior to me in ,college1 and ,i think ,field of my own year4 ,i drew up my letter of acknowledgment to the ,electors4 ,on ,oct4 #bnd at #i in the morning ,i was admitted ,fellow with the usual ceremonies1 and at #aj ,i called on the ,electors with my letter of acknowledgment4 ,i immediately journeyed to ,derbyshire1 paid a visit at ,edensor1 and returned by ,sheffield4 ,on ,oct4 #aath 7it having been understood with ,mr ,higman that my engagement as ,assistant ,mathematical ,tutor stood7 the ,master sent for me to appoint me and to say what was expected as duty of the office4 ,he held out to me the prospect of ultimately succeeding to the ,tutorship1 and ,i told him that ,i hoped to be out of ,college before that time4 ,about this time the ',athenaeum1' a club of a scientific character1 was established in ,london1 and ,i was nominated on it1 but ,i declined 7,oct4 #adth74 ,in this year 7#ahbd7 ,i commenced account with a banker by placing #aaj in the hands of ,messrs ,mortlock and ,co4 ,on ,oct4 #afth ,i walked to ,bury1 and after a single day's stay there returned to ,cambridge4 ,on ,oct4 #bcrd1 #ahbd1a began my lectures as ,mathematical ,assistant ,tutor4 ,i lectured the ,senior ,sophs and ,junior ,sophs on ,higman's side4 ,the number of ,senior ,sophs was #ba4 ,besides this ,i took part in the ',examinations of the ,questionists1' a series of exercises for those who were to take the ,bachelor's degree in the next ,january4 ,i examined in ,mechanics1 ,newton1 and ,optics4 ,i had also as private pupils ,turner1 ,dobbs1 and ,cooper4 ,i now ceased from the exercise which ,i had followed with such regularity for five years1 namely that of daily writing ,latin4 ,in its stead ,i engaged a ,french ,master 7,goussel7 with whom ,i studied ,french with reasonable assiduity for the three terms to ,june1 #ahbe4 ,among mathematical investigations ,i find3 ,theory of the ,moon's brightness1 ,motion of a body in an ellipse round two centres of force1 ,various differential equations1 ,numerical computation of sin pi from series1 ,numerical computation of sines of various arcs to #ah decimals1 ,curvature of surfaces in various directions1 ,generating functions1 ,problem of sound4 ,i began in the winter a ,latin ,essay as competing for the ,middle ,bachelors' ,prize1 but did not proceed with it4 ,i afterwards wished that ,i had followed it up3 but my time was fully occupied4 ,on ,jan4 #bhth1 #ahbe1 ,i started for ,edensor1 where ,i paid a visit1 and returned on ,feb4 #bnd4 ,on ,feb4 #dth ,i wrote to ,mr ,clarkson1 asking his advice about a profession or mode of life 7the cares of life were now beginning to press me heavily1 and continued to do so for several years74 ,he replied very kindly1 but his answer amounted to nothing4 ,about the same time ,i had some conversation of the same kind with ,mr ,peacock1 which was equally fruitless4 ,on ,feb4 #dth ,i have investigations of the density of light near a caustic 7on the theory of emissions74 ,on ,feb4 #eth ,i finished a ,paper about the defect in my eye1 which was communicated to the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society on ,feb4 #bast4 ,mr ,peacock or ,mr ,whewell had some time previously applied to me to write a ,paper on ,trigonometry for the ,encyclopaedia ,metropolitana1 and ,i had been collecting some materials 7especially in regard to its history7 at every visit to ,london1 where ,i read sometimes at the ,british ,museum3 also in the ,cambridge libraries4 ,i began this ,paper 7roughly7 on ,feb4 #hth1 and finished it on ,mar4 #crd4 ,the history of which ,i speak1 by some odd management of the ,editors of the ,encyclopaedia1 was never published4 ,the ,,ms4 is now amongst the ,,mss4 of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 ,other subjects on my quires are3 ,theory of musical concords1 many things relating to trigonometry and trigonometrical tables1 achromatic eye-pieces1 equation to the surface bounding the rays that enter my left eye1 experiments on percussion4 ,also notes on ,cumberland and ,wales 7,i had already proposed to myself to take a party of pupils in the ,long ,vacation to ,keswick71 and notes on history and geology4 ,i had been in correspondence with ,dr ,malkin 7master of ,bury ,school71 who on ,feb4 #hth sent a certificate for my brother ,william1 whom ,i entered at ,trinity on ,peacock's side4 ,on ,mar4 #beth ,i changed my rooms1 quitting those on the ground-floor east side of ,queen ,mary's ,gate for first-floor rooms in ,neville's ,court1 south side1 the easternmost rooms4 ,in this term my lectures lasted from ,apr4 #ahth to ,may #adth4 ,apparently ,i had only the ,senior ,sophs1 #ai in number1 and the same four pupils 7,turner1 ,dobbs1 ,cooper1 ,hovenden7 as in the preceding term4 ,the only scientific subjects on which ,i find notes are1 a ,paper on the forms of the ,teeth of ,wheels1 communicated to the ,philosophical ,society on ,may #bnd2 some notes about ,musical ,concords1 and some examination of a strange piece of ,iceland ,spar4 ,on ,apr4 #bith ,i was elected to the ,northern ,institution 7of ,inverness72 the first compliment that ,i received from an extraneous body4 ,on ,may #adth ,i have a most careful examination of my money accounts1 to see whether ,i can make an expedition with my sister into ,wales4 ,my sister came to ,cambridge1 and on ,monday1 ,may #bcrd1 #ahbe1 we started for ,wales1 equipped in the lightest way for a walking expedition4 ,we went by ,birmingham to ,shrewsbury3 then to the ,pontycyssylte ,aqueduct and by various places to ,bala1 and thence by ,llanrwst to ,conway4 ,here the suspension bridge was under construction3 the mole was made and the piers1 but nothing else4 ,then on to ,bangor1 where nine chains of the suspension bridge were in place1 and so to ,holyhead4 ,then by ,carnarvon to ,bethgelert1 ascending ,snowdon by the way1 and in succession by ,festiniog1 ,dolgelly1 and ,aberystwyth to ,hereford 7the first time that ,i had visited it since my father left it74 ,from thence we went by coach to ,london1 and ,i went on to ,cambridge on the #bcrd of ,june4 ,i had arranged to take a party of pupils to ,keswick1 and to take my brother there4 ,mr ,clarkson had provided me with introductions to ,mr ,southey and ,mr ,wordsworth4 ,on ,wednesday1 ,june #bith1 #ahbe1 we started1 and went by ,leicester1 ,sheffield1 ,leeds1 and ,kendal1 to ,keswick1 calling at ,edensor on the way4 ,my pupils were ,cleasby1 ,marshman1 ,clinton1 ,wigram1 ,tottenham1 and ,m4 ,smith4 ,at ,keswick ,i passed three months very happily4 ,i saw ,mr ,southey's family frequently1 and ,mr ,wordsworth's occasionally4 ,by continual excursions in the neighbourhood1 and by a few excursions to places as distant as ,bowness1 ,calder ,bridge1 c4 7always climbing the intermediate mountains71 ,i became well acquainted with almost the whole of that beautiful country1 excepting some of the ,s4 ,w4 dales4 ,a geological hammer and a mountain barometer were very interesting companions4 ,i had plenty of work with my pupils3 ,i worked a little ,lunar ,theory1 a little of ,laplace's ,equations1 something of the ,figure of the ,earth1 and ,i wrote out very carefully my ,trigonometry for the ,encyclopaedia ,metropolitana4 ,i read a little of ,machiavelli1 and various books which ,i borrowed of ,mr ,southey4 ,on ,friday1 ,sept4 #cjth1 my brother and ,i left for ,kendal1 and after a stay of a few days at ,edensor1 arrived at ,cambridge on ,oct4 #aath4 ,on ,oct4 #bast my ,lectures to the ,junior ,sophs began1 #ci names1 lasting to ,dec4 #acth4 ,those to the ,senior ,sophs1 #af names1 ,oct #bith to ,dec4 #ajth4 ,i also examined ,questionists as last year4 ,i have notes about a ,paper on the connection of impact and pressure1 read at the ,philosophical ,society on ,nov4 #adth1 but not printed1 dipping-needle problems1 curve described round three centres of force1 barometer observations1 theory of the ,figure of the ,earth with variable density1 and effect on the ,moon1 correction to the ,madras pendulum1 wedge with friction1 spots seen in my eyes1 density of rays near a caustic4 ,in this term ,i accomplished the preparation of a volume of ,mathematical ,tracts on subjects which1 either from their absolute deficiency in the ,university or from the unreadable form in which they had been presented1 appeared to be wanted4 ,the subjects of my ,tracts were1 ,lunar ,theory 7begun ,oct4 #bfth1 finished ,nov4 #ast71 ,figure of the ,earth 7#ast part finished ,nov4 #ahth71 ,precession and ,nutation 7my old ,,ms4 put in order71 and the ,calculus of ,variations4 ,i applied1 as is frequently done1 to the ,syndicate of the ,university ,press for assistance in publishing the work2 and they agreed to give me paper and printing for #ejj copies4 ,this notice was received from ,professor ,turton on ,nov4 #bith1 #ahbe4 ,it was probably also in this year that ,i drew up an imperfect ',review' of ,coddington's ,optics1 a work which deserved severe censure3 my review was never finished4 ,in the ,long ,vacation at ,keswick ,i had six pupils at #db each4 ,in the ,october term ,i had ,marshman and ,ogilby at #aje for three terms1 and ,dobbs at #ge for three terms4 ,i had1 at ,mr ,peacock's suggestion1 raised my rate from #fj to #ajj guineas for three terms3 this prevented some from applying to me1 and induced some to withdraw who had been connected with me3 but it did me no real hurt1 for engrossment by pupils is the worst of all things that can happen to a man who hopes to distinguish himself4 ,on ,dec4 #agth ,i went to ,bury1 and returned to ,cambridge on ,jan4 #cjth1 #ahbf4 ,i have the attendance-bills of my ,lectures to ,senior ,sophs 7#af7 from ,feb4 #crd to ,feb4 #bcrd1 and to ,freshmen 7#dj7 from ,feb4 #bgth to ,mar4 #ae4 ,it would appear that ,i gave but one college-lecture per day 7my belief was that ,i always had two74 ,the tutor's stipend per term was #ej4 ,on my quires ,i find1 ,investigations for the ellipticity of a heterogeneous spheroid when the density is expressed by sin qc_/qc 7the remarkable properties of which ,i believe ,i discovered entirely myself1 although they had been discovered by other persons71 ,theoretical ,numbers for precession1 nutation1 c41 some investigations using ,laplace's ,y1 hard work on the ,figure of the ,earth to the #bnd order1',woodhouse's remaining apparatus1' ,notes about ,lambton's and ,kater's errors1 ,depolarization1 ,notes of ,papers on depolarization in the ,phil4 ,trans41 ,magnetic ,investigations for ,lieut4 ,foster1 ,isochronous ,oscillations in a resisting medium1 ,observations on a strange piece of ,iceland ,spar4 ,on ,mar4 #gth forwarded ,preface and ,title ,page for my ,mathematical ,tracts4 ,some time in this term ,i began to think of the possibility of observing the diminution of gravity in a deep mine1 and communicated with ,whewell1 who was disposed to join in experiments4 ,my first notion was simply to try the rate of a clock1 and the ,ecton mine was first thought of4 ,i made enquiries about the ,ecton mine through ,mr ,smith 7of ,edensor71 and visited the mine1 but in the meantime ,whewell had made enquiries in ,london and found 7principally from ,dr ,paris7 that the mine of ,dolcoath near ,camborne in ,cornwall would be a better place for the experiment4 ,dr ,paris wrote to me repeatedly1 and ultimately we resolved on trying it there4 ,in my papers on ,mar4 #bast are various investigations about attractions in both mines4 ,on ,apr4 #crd ,i went to ,london1 principally to arrange about ,dolcoath1 and during ,april and ,may ,i was engaged in correspondence with ,sir ,h4 ,davy 7,president of the ,royal ,society71 ,mr ,herschel1 and ,dr ,young 7,secretary of the ,board of ,longitude7 about the loan of instruments and pendulums4 ,on ,apr4 #bcrd ,i was practising pendulum-observations 7by coincidence72 and about this time repeatedly practised transits with a small instrument lent by ,mr ,sheepshanks 7with whom my acquaintance must have begun no long time before7 which was erected under a tent in the ,fellows' ,walks4 ,on my quires ,i find various schemes for graduating thermometers for pendulum experiments4 ,i find also ,notes of examination of my brother ,william1 who had come to ,college last ,october2 and a great deal of correspondence with my mother and sister and ,mr ,case1 a lawyer1 about a troublesome business with ,mr ,cropley1 an old friend of ,g4 ,biddell1 to whom my father had lent #ejj and whose affairs were in ,chancery4 ,my lectures in this term were to the ,junior ,sophs from ,apr4 #ajth to ,may #acth3 they were six in number and not very regular4 ,on ,apr4 #bhth ,i sent to ,mawman the copy of my ,trigonometry for the ,encyclopaedia ,metropolitana1 for which ,i received #db4 ,i received notice from the ,press ,syndicate that the price of my ,mathematical ,tracts was fixed at #fs4 #f;d43 ,i sold the edition to ,deighton for #gj1 and it was immediately published4 ,about this time ,i have letters from ,mr ,herschel and ,sir ,h4 ,davy about a ,paper to be presented to the ,royal ,society--,i suppose about the ,figure of the ,earth to the #bnd order of ellipticity1 which was read to the ,royal ,society on ,june #aeth4 ,on ,saturday1 ,may #acth1 #ahbf1 ,i went to ,london on the way to ,dolcoath1 and received four chronometers from the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 ,i travelled by ,devonport and ,falmouth to ,camborne1 where ,i arrived on ,may #bjth and dined at the count-house dinner at the mine4 ,i was accompanied by ,ibbotson1 who was engaged as a pupil1 and intended for an engineer4 ,on ,may #bdth ,whewell arrived1 and we took a pendulum and clock down1 and on the #cjth commenced the observation of coincidences in earnest4 ,this work1 with the changing of the pendulums1 and sundry short expeditions1 occupied nearly three weeks4 ,we had continued the computation of our observations at every possible interval4 ,it is to be understood that we had one detached pendulum swinging in front of a clock pendulum above1 and another similarly mounted below2 and that the clocks were compared by chronometers compared above1 carried down and compared1 compared before leaving1 and brought up and compared4 ,the upper and lower pendulums had been interchanged4 ,it was found now that the reliance on the steadiness of the chronometers was too great2 and a new method was devised1 in which for each series the chronometers should make four journeys and have four comparisons above and two below4 ,this arrangement commenced on the #aith ,june and continued till the #bjth4 ,on the #bfth we packed the lower instruments1 intending to compare the pendulum directly with the upper one1 and sent them up the shaft3 when an inexplicable occurrence stopped all proceedings4 ,the basket containing all the important instruments was brought up to the surface 7in my presence7 on fire2 some of the instruments had fallen out with their cases burning4 ,whether a superstitious miner had intentionally fired it1 or whether the snuff of a candle had been thrown into it1 is not known4 ,our labour was now rendered useless4 ,on the #bhth ,i packed up what remained of instruments1 left for ,truro1 and arrived at ,bury on ,july #ast4 ,during our stay in ,cornwall ,i had attended a 'ticketing' or sale of ore at ,camborne1 and we had made expeditions to the ,n4,w4 ,coast1 to ,portreath and ,illogan1 to ,marazion and ,st ,michael's ,mount1 and to ,penzance and the ,land's ,end4 ,on ,july #crd ,i saw ,mr ,cropley in ,bury gaol1 and went to ,cambridge4 ,on the #dth ,i was admitted ,a4,m41 and on the #eth was admitted ,major ,fellow4 ,i had engaged with four pupils to go to ,orlans in this ,long ,vacation3 my brother ,william was also to go4 ,one of my pupils1 ,dobbs1 did not join3 the other three were ,tinkler1 ,ogilby1 and ,ibbotson4 ,we left ,london on ,july #ith1 and travelled by ,brighton1 ,dieppe1 ,rouen1 and ,paris to ,orlans4 ,at ,paris ,i saw ,bouvard1 ,pouillet1 ,laplace and ,arago4 ,i had introductions from ,mr ,peacock1 ,mr ,south1 ,mr ,herschel1 ,dr ,young2 and from ,professor ,sedgwick to an ,english resident1 ,mr ,underwood4 ,on the #aith ,i was established in the house of ,m4 ,lagarde1 ,protestant ,minister4 ,here ,i received my pupils4 ,on the #bhth ,i commenced ,italian with an ,italian master3 perhaps ,i might have done more prudently in adhering to ,french1 for ,i made no great progress4 ,on ,aug4 #bnd ,i saw a murderer guillotined in the ,place ,martroi4 ,the principal investigations on my quires are--,investigations about pendulums1 ,calculus of ,variations1 ,notes for the ,figure of the ,earth 7,encyc4 ,metrop47 and commencement of the article1 steam-engine machinery1 c4 ,i picked up various ,french ballads1 read various books1 got copies of the ,marseillaise 7this ,i was obliged to obtain rather secretly1 as the legitimist power under ,charles ,x4 was then at its height7 and other music1 and particulars of farm wages for ,whewell and ,r4 ,jones4 ,the summer was intensely hot1 and ,i believe that the heat and the work in ,dolcoath had weakened me a good deal4 ,the family was the old clergyman1 his wife1 his daughter1 and finally his son4 ,we lived together very amicably4 ,my brother lodged in a ,caf in the ,place ,martroi2 the others in different families4 ,i left ,orlans on ,sept4 #cjth for ,paris4 ,here ,i attended the ,institut1 and was present at one of ,ampre's ,lectures4 ,i arrived at ,cambridge on ,oct4 #adth4 ,on ,oct4 #afth ,whewell mentioned to me that the ,lucasian ,professorship would be immediately vacated by ,turton1 and encouraged me to compete for it4 ,shortly afterwards ,mr ,higman mentioned the ,professorship1 and ,joshua ,king 7of ,queens'7 spoke on the restriction which prevented ,college tutors or ,assistant tutors from holding the office4 ,about this time ,mr ,peacock rendered me a very important service4 ,as the emolument of the ,lucasian ,professorship was only #ii1 and that of the ,assistant ,tutorship #aej1 ,i had determined to withdraw from the candidature4 ,but ,mr ,peacock represented to me the advantage of position which would be gained by obtaining the ,professorship 7which ,i then instantly saw71 and ,i continued to be a candidate4 ,i wrote letters to the ,heads of ,colleges 7the electors7 and canvassed them personally4 ,only ,dr ,davy1 the ,master of ,caius ,college1 at once promised me his vote4 ,dr ,french1 ,master of ,jesus ,college1 was a candidate2 and several of the ,heads had promised him their votes4 ,mr ,babbage1 the third candidate1 threatened legal proceedings1 and ,dr ,french withdrew4 ,the course was now open for ,mr ,babbage and me4 ,in the meetings of the ,philosophical ,society a new mode of proceeding was introduced this term4 ,to enliven the meetings1 private members were requested to give oral lectures4 ,mine was the second1 ,i think1 and ,i took for subject ,the ,machinery of the ,steam ,engines in the ,cornish mines1 and especially of the ,pumping ,engines and ,pumps4 ,it made an excellent lecture3 the subjects were at that time undescribed in books1 and unknown to engineers in general out of ,cornwall4 ,my ,college lectures seem to have been1 ,oct4 #bast to ,dec4 #adth to #ca ,junior ,sophs1 ,dec4 #dth to #abth to #ab ,senior ,sophs4 ,i assisted at the examinations of the ,questionists4 ,i had no private pupils4 ,on ,nov4 #bfth ,i communicated to the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society a ,paper on the ,theory of ,pendulums1 ,balances1 and ,escapements3 and ,i find applications of ,babbage's symbolism to an escapement which ,i proposed4 ,i have various investigations about the ,earth1 supposed to project at middle latitudes above the elliptical form4 ,in ,november an account of the ,dolcoath failure 7by ,whewell7 was given to the ,royal ,society4 ,at length on ,dec4 #gth1 #ahbf1 the election to the ,lucasian ,professorship took place3 ,i was elected 7,i think unanimously7 and admitted4 ,i believe that this gave great satisfaction to the ,university in general4 ,my uncle1 ,arthur ,biddell1 was in ,cambridge on that evening1 and was the first of my friends who heard of it4 ,on the same page of my quires on which this is mentioned1 there is a great list of apparatus to be constructed for ,lucasian ,lectures1 notes of experiments with ,atwood's ,machine1 c4 ,in ,december1 correspondence with ,dollond about prisms4 ,i immediately issued a printed notice that ,i would give professorial lectures in the next ,term4 ,on ,dec4 #acth ,i have a letter from ,mr ,smith informing me of the dangerous illness 7fever7 which had attacked nearly every member of his family1 ,richarda worst of all4 ,on ,dec4 #bcrd ,i went to ,bury4 ,the affairs with ,cropley had been settled by the sale of his property under execution1 and my father did not lose much of his debt4 ,but he had declined much in body and mind1 and now had strange hallucinations4 ,the commencement of #ahbg found me in a better position 7not in money but in prospects7 than ,i had before stood in3 yet it was far from satisfactory4 ,i had resigned my ,assistant ,tutorship of #aej per annum together with the prospect of succeeding to a ,tutorship1 and gained only the ,lucasian ,professorship of #ii per annum4 ,i had a great aversion to entering the ,church3 and my lay fellowship would expire in #g years4 ,my prospects in the law or other professions might have been good if ,i could have waited3 but then ,i must have been in a state of starvation probably for many years1 and marriage would have been out of the question3 ,i much preferred a moderate income in no long time1 and ,i am sure that in this ,i judged rightly for my happiness4 ,i had now in some measure taken science as my line 7though not irrevocably71 and ,i thought it best to work it well1 for a time at least1 and wait for accidents4 ,the acceptance of the ,lucasian ,professorship prevented me from being pressed by ,sedgwick 7who was ,proctor this year7 to take the office of moderator3 which was a great relief to me4 ,as ,lucasian ,professor ,i was ipso facto ,member of the ,board of ,longitude4 ,a stipend of #ajj a year was attached to this1 on condition of attending four meetings3 but ,i had good reason 7from intimations by ,south and other persons in ,london7 for believing that this would not last long4 ,the fortnightly notices of the meetings of the ,board were given on ,jan4 #ahth1 ,mar4 #bbnd1 ,may #bdth and ,oct4 #ahth4 ,on ,jan4 #bnd1 #ahbg1 ,i came from ,london to ,bury4 ,i found my father in a very declining state 7the painful rheumatism of some years had changed to ulcerations of the legs1 and he was otherwise helpless and had distressing hallucinations74 ,on ,jan4 #hth ,i walked to ,cambridge4 ,at both places ,i was occupied in preparations for the ,smith's ,prize ,examination and for lectures 7for the latter ,i obtained at ,bury gaol some numerical results about tread-mills74 ,of the ,smith's ,prize ,i was officially an ,examiner3 and ,i determined to begin with---what had never been done before--making the examination public1 by printing the papers of questions4 ,the ,prize is the highest ,mathematical honour in the ,university3 the competitors are incepting ,bachelors of ,arts after the examination for that ,degree4 ,my day of examination 7apparently7 was ,jan4 #bast4 ,the candidates were ,turner1 ,cankrein1 ,cleasby1 and ,mr ,gordon4 ,the first three had been my private pupils3 ,mr ,gordon was a ,fellow-commoner of ,st ,peter's ,college1 and had just passed the ,b4,a4 examination as ,senior ,wrangler1 ,turner being second4 ,my situation as ,examiner was rather a delicate one1 and the more so as1 when ,i came to examine the papers of answers1 ,turner appeared distinctly the first4 ,late at night ,i carried the papers to ,whewell's rooms1 and he on inspection agreed with me4 ,the other examiners 7,professors ,lax and ,woodhouse1 ,lowndean and ,plumian ,professors7 generally supported me3 and ,turner had the honour of ,first ,smith's ,prize4 ,on ,jan4 #cjth my mother wrote1 asking if ,i could see ,cropley in ,london1 where he was imprisoned for contempt of ,chancery4 ,i attended the meeting of the ,board of ,longitude on ,feb4 #ast1 and afterwards visited ,cropley in the ,fleet ,prison4 ,he died there1 some time later4 ,it was by the sale of his effects under execution that my father's debt was paid4 ,on ,feb4 #aeth ,i communicated to the ,royal ,society a ,paper on the correction of the ,solar ,tables from ,south's observations4 ,i believe that ,i had alluded to this at the ,february meeting of the ,board of ,longitude1 and that in consequence ,mr ,pond1 the ,astronomer ,royal1 had been requested to prepare the errors of the ,sun's place from the ,greenwich observations3 which were supplied some months later4 ,with the exception of ,south's ,solar ,errors1 and some investigations about dipping-needles1 ,i do not find anything going on but matters connected with my approaching lectures4 ,there are bridges1 trusses1 and other mechanical matters1 theoretical and practical1 without end4 ,several tradesmen in ,cambridge and ,london were well employed4 ,on ,feb4 #acth ,i have a letter from ,cubitt about groins3 ,i remember studying those of the ,custom-house and other places4 ,on ,feb4 #bjth my ,syllabus of ,lectures was finished3 this in subsequent years was greatly improved4 ,i applied to the ,royal ,society for the loan of ,huyghens's object-glass1 but they declined to lend it4 ,about this time ,i find observations of the spectrum of ,sirius4 ,there had been no lectures on ,experimental ,philosophy 7,mechanics1 ,hydrostatics1 ,optics7 for many years4 ,the ,university in general1 ,i believe1 looked with great satisfaction to my vigorous beginning3 still there was considerable difficulty about it4 ,there was no understood term for the ,lectures3 no understood hour of the day3 no understood lecture room4 ,i began this year in the ,lent ,term1 but in all subsequent years ,i took the ,easter ,term1 mainly for the chance of sunlight for the optical experiments1 which ,i soon made important4 ,i could get no room but a private or retiring room 7not a regular lecture room7 in the buildings at the old ,botanic ,garden3 in following years ,i had the room under the ,university ,library4 ,the ,lectures commenced on some day in ,february #ahbg3 ,i think that the number who attended them was about #fd4 ,i remember very well that the matter which ,i had prepared as an ,introductory ,lecture did not last above half the time that ,i had expected1 but ,i managed very well to fill up the hour4 ,on another occasion ,i was so ill-prepared that ,i had contemplated giving notice that ,i was unable to complete the hour's lecture1 but ,i saw in the front row some strangers1 introduced by some of my regular attendants1 very busy in taking notes1 and as it was evident that a break-down now would not do1 ,i silently exerted myself to think of something1 and made a very good lecture4 ,on ,mar4 #ast1 as official examiner1 ,i received notices from #ad candidates for ,bell's ,scholarships1 and prepared my ,paper of questions4 ,i do not remember my day of examination2 but ,i had all the answers to all the examiners' questions in my hands1 when on ,mar4 #bgth ,i received notice that my father had died the preceding evening4 ,this stopped my ,lectures3 they were concluded in the next term4 ,i think that ,i had only ,mechanics and imperfect ,optics this term1 no ,hydrostatics2 and that the resumed ,lectures were principally ,optical4 ,they terminated about ,may #adth4 ,with my brother ,i at once went to ,bury to attend my father's funeral4 ,he was buried on ,mar4 #cast1 #ahbg1 in the churchyard of ,little ,whelnetham1 on the north side of the church4 ,shortly afterwards ,i went to ,london1 and on ,apr4 #eth ,i attended a meeting of the ,board of ,longitude1 at which ,herschel produced a ,paper regarding improvements of the ,nautical ,almanac4 ,herschel and ,i were in fact the leaders of the reforming party in the ,board of ,longitude3 ,dr ,young the ,secretary resisted change as much as possible4 ,after the meeting ,i went to ,cambridge4 ,i find then calculations of achromatic eye-pieces for a very nice model with silk threads of various colours which ,i made with my own hands for my optical lectures4 ,on ,apr4 #gth ,herschel wrote to me that the ,professorship held by ,dr ,brinkley 7then appointed ,bishop of ,cloyne7 at ,dublin would be vacant1 and recommended it to my notice1 and sent me some introductions4 ,i reached ,dublin on ,apr4 #aeth1 where ,i was received with great kindness by ,dr ,brinkley and ,dr ,mac,donnell 7afterwards ,provost74 ,i there met the then ,provost ,dr ,bartholomew ,lloyd1 ,dr ,lardner1 ,mr ,hamilton 7afterwards ,sir ,w4 ,r4 ,hamilton7 and others4 ,in a few days ,i found that they greatly desired to appoint ,hamilton if possible 7they did in fact overcome some difficulties and appoint him in a few months71 and that they would not make such an augmentation as would induce me to offer myself as a candidate1 and ,i withdrew4 ,i have always remembered with gratitude ,dr ,mac,donnell's conduct1 in carefully putting me on a fair footing in this matter4 ,i returned by ,holyhead1 and arrived at ,birmingham on ,apr4 #bcrd4 ,while waiting there and looking over some papers relating to the spherical aberration of eye-pieces1 in which ,i had been stopped some time by a geometrical difficulty1 ,i did in the coffee-room of a hotel overcome the difficulty2 and this was the foundation of a capital paper on the ,spherical ,aberration of ,eye-pieces4 ,this paper was afterwards presented to the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society4 ,about this time a circumstance occurred of a disagreeable nature1 which however did not much disconcert me4 ,mr ,ivory1 who had a good many years before made himself favourably known as a mathematician1 especially by his acquaintance with ,laplace's peculiar analysis1 had adopted 7as not unfrequently happens7 some singular hydrostatical theories4 ,in my last ,paper on the ,figure of the ,earth1 ,i had said that ,i could not receive one of his equations4 ,in the ,philosophical ,magazine of ,may he attacked me for this with great heat4 ,on ,may #hth ,i wrote an answer1 and ,i think it soon became known that ,i was not to be attacked with impunity4 ,long before this time there had been some proposal about an excursion to the ,lake ,district with my sister1 and ,i now arranged to carry it out4 ,on ,may #bcrd ,i went to ,bury and on to ,playford3 while there ,i sketched the ,cumberland excursion4 ,on ,june #eth ,i went to ,london1 ,i believe to the ,visitation of the ,greenwich ,observatory to which ,i was invited4 ,i also attended the meeting of the ,board of ,longitude4 ,i think it was here that ,pond's ,errors of the ,sun's place in the ,nautical ,almanac from ,greenwich ,observations were produced4 ,on ,june #gth ,i went by coach to ,rugby1 where ,i met my sister1 and we travelled to ,edensor4 ,we made a number of excursions in ,derbyshire1 and then passed on by ,penrith to ,keswick1 where we arrived on ,june #bbnd4 ,from ,keswick we made many excursions in the ,lake ,district1 visited ,mr ,southey and ,mr ,wordsworth1 descended a coal mine at ,whitehaven1 and returned to ,edensor by the way of ,ambleside1 ,kendal1 and ,manchester4 ,with sundry excursions in ,derbyshire our trip ended1 and we returned to ,cambridge on the #bast ,july4 ,during this ,long ,vacation ,i had one private pupil1 ,crawford1 the only pupil this year1 and the last that ,i ever had4 ,at this time there is on my papers an infinity of optical investigations3 also a plan of an eye-piece with a concave lens to destroy certain aberrations4 ,on ,aug4 #bjth ,i went to ,woodford to see ,messrs ,gilbert's optical works4 ,from ,aug4 #acth ,i had been preparing for the discussion of the ,greenwich ,solar ,errors1 and ,i had a man at work in my rooms1 engaged on the calculation of the ,errors4 ,i wrote to ,bouvard at ,paris for observations of the sun1 but he recommended me to wait for the ,tables which ,bessel was preparing4 ,i was busy too about my ,lectures3 on ,sept4 #bith ,i have a set of plans of printing presses from ,hansard the printer 7who in a visit to ,cambridge had found me making enquiries about them71 and ,i corresponded with ,messrs ,gilbert about optical constructions1 and with ,w4 and ,s4 ,jones1 ,eastons1 and others about pumps1 hydraulic rams1 c4 ,on ,sept4 #beth occurred a very magnificent ,aurora ,borealis4 ,i do not find when the investigation of ,corrections of ,solar ,elements was finished1 or when my ,extracts from ,burckhardt1 ,connaissance des ,temps #ahaf1 were made4 ,but these led me to suspect an unknown inequality in the ,sun's motion4 ,on ,sept4 #bgth and #bhth ,i find the first suspicions of an inequality depending on #h mean longitude of ,venus--#ac mean longitude of ,earth4 ,the thing appeared so promising that ,i commenced the investigation of the perturbation related to this term1 and continued it 7a very laborious work7 as fast as ,i was able1 though with various interruptions1 which in fact were necessary to keep up my spirits4 ,on ,oct4 #cjth ,i went to ,london for the ,board of ,longitude meeting4 ,here ,i exhibited the results of my ,sun investigations1 and urged the correction of the elements used in the ,nautical ,almanac4 ,dr ,young objected1 and proposed that ,bouvard should be consulted4 ,professor ,woodhouse1 the ,plumian ,professor1 was present1 and behaved so captiously that some members met afterwards to consider how order could be maintained4 ,i believe it was during this visit to ,london that ,i took measures of ,hammersmith ,suspension ,bridge for an intended ,lecture-model4 ,frequently1 but not always1 when in ,london1 ,i resided at the house of ,mr ,sheepshanks and his sister ,miss ,sheepshanks1 #cj ,woburn ,place4 ,my quires1 at this time1 abound with suggestions for lectures and examinations4 ,on some day about the end of ,november or beginning of ,december #ahbg1 when ,i was walking with ,mr ,peacock near the outside gate of the ,trinity ,walks1 on some mention of ,woodhouse1 the ,plumian ,professor1 ,mr ,peacock said that he was never likely to rise into activity again 7or using some expression importing mortal illness74 ,instantly there had passed through my mind the certainty of my succeeding him1 the good position in which ,i stood towards the ,university1 the probability of that position being improved by improved lectures1 c41 c41 and by increased reputation from the matters in which ,i was now engaged1 the power of thus commanding an increase of income4 ,i should then have1 independent of my ,fellowship1 some competent income1 and a house over my head4 ,i was quite aware that some time might elapse1 but now for the first time ,i saw my way clearly4 ,the care of the ,observatory had been for two or three years attached to the ,plumian ,professorship4 ,a ,grace was immediately prepared1 entrusting the temporary care of the ,observatory to ,dr ,french1 to me1 ,mr ,catton1 ,mr ,sheepshanks1 and ,mr ,king 7afterwards ,master of ,queens' ,college74 ,on ,dec4 #fth ,i have a note from ,mr ,king about going to the ,observatory4 ,on ,dec4 #fth my ,paper on corrections of the elements of the ,solar ,tables was presented to the ,royal ,society4 ,on ,dec4 #ith1 at #a h4 #d m4 a4m4 7,sunday morning71 ,i arrived at the result of my calculations of the new inequality4 ,i had gone through some fluctuations of feeling4 ,usually the important part of an inequality of this kind depends entirely on the eccentricities of the orbits1 but it so happened that from the positions of the axes of the orbits1 c41 these terms very nearly destroyed each other4 ,after this came the consideration of inclinations of orbits2 and here were sensible terms which were not destroyed4 ,finally ,i arrived at the result that the inequality would be about #c2 just such a magnitude as was required4 ,i slipped this into ,whewell's door4 ,this is1 to the time of writing 7#ahec71 the last improvement of any importance in the ,solar ,theory4 ,some little remaining work went on to ,dec4 #adth1 and then1 being thoroughly tired1 ,i laid by the work for revision at some future time4 ,i however added a ,postscript to my ,royal ,society ,paper on ,solar ,errors1 notifying this result4 ,on ,dec4 #aith ,i went to ,bury4 ,while there ,i heard from ,whewell that ,woodhouse was dead4 ,i returned to ,cambridge and immediately made known that ,i was a candidate for the now vacant ,plumian ,professorship4 ,of miscellaneous scientific business1 ,i find that on ,oct4 #acth ,professor ,barlow of ,woolwich prepared a memorial to the ,board of ,longitude concerning his fluid telescope 7which ,i had seen at ,woodford71 which was considered on ,nov4 #ast1 and ,i had some correspondence with him in ,december4 ,in ,june and ,august my ,trigonometry was printing4 ,on ,jan4 #eth1 #ahbh1 ,i came from ,london4 ,it seems that ,i had been speculating truly 'without book' on perturbations of planetary elements1 for on ,jan4 #agth and #ahth ,i wrote a ,paper on a supposed error of ,laplace1 and just at the end ,i discovered that he was quite right3 ,i folded up the ,paper and marked it ',a ,lesson4' ,i set two papers of questions for ,smith's ,prizes 7there being a deficiency of one ,examiner1 viz4 the ,plumian ,professor74 ,before the beginning of #ahbh ,whewell and ,i had determined on repeating the ,dolcoath experiments4 ,on ,jan4 #hth ,i have a letter from ,davies ,gilbert 7then ,president of the ,royal ,society7 congratulating me upon the ,solar ,theory1 and alluding to our intended summer's visit to ,cornwall4 ,we had somehow applied to the ,board of ,longitude for pendulums1 but ,dr ,young wished to delay them1 having with ,capt4 ,basil ,hall concocted a scheme for making ,lieut4 ,foster do all the work3 ,whewell and ,i were indignant at this1 and no more was said about it4 ,on ,jan4 #bdth ,dr ,young1 in giving notice of the ,board of ,longitude meeting1 informs me that the clocks and pendulums are ready4 ,i had made known that ,i was a candidate for the ,plumian ,professorship1 and nobody thought it worth while to oppose me4 ,one person at least 7,earnshaw7 had intended to compete1 but he called on me to make certain that ,i was a candidate1 and immediately withdrew4 ,i went on in quality of ,syndic for the care of the ,observatory1 ingrafting myself into it4 ,but meantime ,i told everybody that the salary 7about #cjj7 was not sufficient for me2 and on ,jan4 #bjth ,i drafted a manifesto or application to the ,university for an increase of salary4 ,the day of election to the ,professorship was ,feb4 #fth4 ,as ,i was officially 7as ,lucasian ,professor7 an elector1 ,i was present1 and ,i explained to the electors that ,i could not undertake the responsibility of the ,observatory without augmentation of income1 and that ,i requested their express sanction to my application to the ,university for that purpose4 ,they agreed to this generally1 and ,i was elected4 ,i went to ,london immediately to attend a meeting of the ,board of ,longitude and returned on ,feb4 #hth4 ,on ,feb4 #aeth ,i began my ,lectures 7which1 this year1 included ,mechanics1 ,optics1 ,pneumatics1 and ,hydrostatics7 in the room below the ,university ,library4 ,the number of names was #bf4 ,the ,lectures terminated on ,mar4 #bbnd4 ,on ,feb4 #beth ,i received from ,mr ,pond information on the emoluments at ,greenwich ,observatory4 ,i drew up a second manifesto1 and on ,feb4 #bfth ,i wrote and signed a formal copy for the ,plumian electors4 ,on ,feb4 #bgth ,i met them at ,caius ,lodge 7the ,master1 ,dr ,davy1 being ,vice-,chancellor74 ,i read my ,paper1 which was approved1 and their sanction was given in the form of a request to the ,vice-,chancellor to permit the paper to be printed and circulated4 ,my paper1 with this request at the head1 was immediately printed1 and a copy was sent to every resident ,m4,a4 7more than #bjj went out in one day74 ,the statement and composition of the paper were generally approved1 but the ,university had never before been taken by storm in such a manner1 and there was some commotion about it4 ,i believe that very few persons would have taken the same step4 ,mr ,sheepshanks wrote to me on ,mar4 #gth1 intimating that it was desperate4 ,i had no doubt of success4 ,whewell told me that some people accused me of bad faith1 in omitting allusion to the #ajj a year received as ,member of the ,board of ,longitude1 and to the profits of ,lectures4 ,i wrote him a note1 telling him that ,i had most certain information of the intention to dissolve the ,board of ,longitude 7which was done in less than six months71 and that by two years' ,lectures ,i had gained #de 7the expenses being #bjj1 receipts #bde74 ,this letter was sent to the complaining people1 and no more was said4 ,by the activity of ,sheepshanks and the kindness of ,dr ,davy the business gradually grew into shape1 and on ,mar4 #bast a ,grace passed the ,senate for appointing a ,syndicate to consider of augmentation4 ,sheepshanks was one of the ,syndicate1 and was understood to represent1 in some measure1 my interests4 ,the progress of the ,syndicate however was by no means a straightforward one4 ,members of the ,senate soon began to remark that before giving anything they ought to know the amount of the ,university revenue1 and another ,syndicate was then appointed to enquire and report upon it4 ,it was more than a year before my ,syndicate could make their recommendation3 however1 in fact1 ,i lost nothing by that delay1 as ,i was rising in the estimation of the ,university4 ,the ,observatory house was furnished1 partly from ,woodhouse's sale1 and partly from new furniture4 ,my mother and sister came to live with me there4 ,on ,mar4 #aeth #ahbh ,i began the ,observatory ,journal2 on ,mar4 #bgth ,i slept at the ,observatory for the first time1 and on ,apr4 #aeth ,i came to reside there permanently1 and gave up my college rooms4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,at ,,cambridge ,,observatory4 ,,from ,,his ,,taking ,,charge ,,of ,,the ,,cambridge ,,observatory ,,to ,,his ,,residence ,,at ,,greenwich ,,observatory ,,as ,,astronomer ,,royal4 ,,from ,,march #ae,,th #ahbh ,,to ,,jan4 #a,,st #ahcf4 #ahbh ,i attended a meeting of the ,board of ,longitude on ,apr4 #crd4 ,and again on ,june #dth2 this was the last meeting3 ,sheepshanks had previously given me private information of the certainty of its dissolution4--,on ,apr4 #dth ,i visited ,mr ,herschel at ,slough1 where one evening ,i saw ,saturn with his #bj-;foot telescope1 the best view of it that ,i have ever had4--,in ,june ,i attended the ,greenwich ,observatory ,visitation4--,before my election 7as ,plumian ,professor7 there are various schemes on my quires for computation of transit corrections1 c4 ,after ,apr4 #aeth there are corrections for deficient wires1 inequality of pivots1 c4 ,and ,i began a book of proposed regulations for observations4 ,in this are plans for groups of stars for ,r4,a4 7the ,transit ,instrument being the only one finished73 order of preference of classes of observations3 no reductions to be made after dinner1 or on ,sunday3 no loose papers3 observations to be stopped if reductions are two months in arrear3 stars selected for parallax4--,the reduction of transits begins on ,apr4 #aeth4 ,on ,may #aeth ,mr ,pond sent me some moon-transits to aid in determining my longitude4--,dr ,young1 in a letter to me of ,may #gth1 enquires whether ,i will accept a free admission to the ,royal ,society1 which ,i declined4 ,on ,may #ith ,i was elected to the ,astronomical ,society4--,towards the end of the year ,i observed ,encke's ,comet3 and determined the latitude of the ,observatory with ,sheepshanks's repeating circle4--,on my papers ,i find a sketch of an ,article on the ,figure of the ,earth for the ,encyclopaedia ,metropolitana4 ,as early as ,feb4 #bcrd ,i had been in correspondence with ,t4 ,jones1 the instrument-maker1 about pendulums for a repetition of the ,dolcoath ,experiments4 ,invitations had been received1 and everything was arranged with ,whewell4 ,sheepshanks1 my brother1 and ,mr ,jackson of ,ipswich 7,caius ,coll47 were to go1 and we were subsequently joined by ,sedgwick1 and ,lodge 7,magdalene ,coll474 ,on ,july #crd ,sheepshanks and ,i started by ,salisbury1 taking ,sherborne on our way to look at the church1 which had alarmed the people by signs of a crack1 and arrived at ,camborne on ,july #hth4 ,on the #adth we set up the pendulums1 and at once commenced observations1 our plan being1 to have no intermission in the pendulum observations1 so that as soon as the arc became too small a fresh series was started4 ,on ,july #bith we raised the instruments1 and ,sheepshanks1 who managed much of the upper operations1 both astronomical and of pendulums1 mounted the pendulums together in his observatory4 ,we went on with our calculations1 and on ,august #hth1 on returning from a visit to ,john ,williams at ,barncoose1 we heard that there was a 'run' in ,dolcoath1 that is a sinking of the whole mass of rock where it had been set free by the mine excavations3 probably only a few inches1 but enough to break the rock much and to stop the pumps4 ,on ,aug4 #ajth the calculations of our observations shewed that there was something wrong1 and on the #acth ,i perceived an anomaly in the form of the knife edge of one pendulum1 and of its agate planes1 and suggested cautions for repeating the observations4 ,we determined at once to repeat them3 and as the water was rising in the mine there was no time to be lost4 ,we again sent the instruments down1 and made observations on the #afth1 #agth and #ahth4 ,on the #aith ,i sent the instruments up1 for the water was near our station1 and ,sedgwick1 ,whewell1 and ,i went on a geological expedition to the ,lizard4 ,on our return we met ,sheepshanks and the others1 and found the results of the last observations unsatisfactory4 ,the results of comparing the pendulums were discordant1 and the knife edge of the faulty pendulum had very sensibly altered4 ,we now gave up observations1 with the feeling that our time had been totally lost1 mainly through the fault of the maker of the pendulum 7,t4 ,jones74 ,on the #bhth we made an expedition to ,penzance and other places1 and arrived at ,cambridge on the #agth of ,september4 ,in the course of the work at ,dolcoath we made various expeditions as opportunity offered4 ,thus we walked to ,carn ,brea and witnessed the wrestling1 the common game of the country4 ,on another occasion ,sedgwick1 ,whewell1 and ,i had a capital geological expedition to ,trewavas ,head to examine granite veins4 ,we visited at ,pendarves and ,trevince1 and made the expedition to the ,lizard already referred to1 and saw many of the sights in the neighbourhood4 ,after visiting ,penzance on the conclusion of our work we saw ,cape ,cornwall 7where ,whewell overturned me in a gig71 and returned homewards by way of ,truro1 ,plymouth 7where we saw the watering-place and breakwater3 also the ,dockyard1 and descended in one of the working diving-bells71 ,exeter1 ,salisbury1 and ,portsmouth4 ,in returning from ,camborne in #ahbf ,i lost the principal of our papers4 ,it was an odd thing that1 in going through ,exeter on our way to ,camborne in #ahbh1 ,i found them complete at ,exeter1 identified to the custodian by the dropping out of a letter with my address4 ,on my return to ,cambridge ,i was immediately immersed in the work of the ,observatory4 ,the only instrument then mounted at the ,observatory was the ,transit4 ,i had no ,assistant whatever4--,a ,mr ,galbraith of ,edinburgh had questioned something in one of my ,papers about the ,figure of the ,earth4 ,i drew up a rather formal answer to it3 ,whewell saw my draft and drew up a much more pithy one1 which ,i adopted and sent to the ,philosophical ,magazine4--,for comparing our clocks at the upper and lower stations of ,dolcoath we had borrowed from the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 six good pocket chronometers3 they were still in the care of ,mr ,sheepshanks4 ,i arranged with him that they should be sent backwards and forwards a few times for determining the longitude of ,cambridge ,observatory4 ,this was done on ,oct4 #bast1 #bbnd1 #bcrd3 the result was #bced1 and this has been used to the present time 7#ahec74 ,it evinced an error in the ,trigonometrical ,survey1 the origin of which was found1 ,i think1 afterwards 7,dr ,pearson in a letter of ,dec4 #agth spoke of the mistake of a may-pole for a signal-staff74 ,i drew up a ,paper on this1 and gave it to the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society on ,nov4 #bdth4 7,my only academical ,paper this year47--,i had several letters from ,dr ,young1 partly supplying me with calculations that ,i wanted1 partly on reform or extension of the ,nautical ,almanac 7which ,dr ,young resisted as much as possible74 ,he considered me very unfairly treated in the dissolution of the ,board of ,longitude3 ,professor ,lax wished me to join in some effort for its restoration1 but ,i declined4 ,as my reduction of observations was kept quite close1 ,i now began to think of printing4 ,in regard to the form ,i determined to adopt a plan totally different from that of any other observations which ,i had seen4 ,the results were to be the important things3 ,i was desirous of suppressing the separate wires of transits4 ,but upon consulting ,herschel and other persons they would not agree to it1 and ,i assented to keeping them4 ,i applied to the ,press ,syndicate to print the work1 and on ,nov4 #ajth at the request of ,t4 ,musgrave 7afterwards ,archbishop of ,york7 ,i sent a specimen of my ,,ms43 on ,nov4 #aath they granted #bej copies1 and the printing soon commenced4 #ahbi ,during a winter holiday at ,playford ,i wrote out some investigations about the orbits of comets1 and on ,jan4 #bcrd #ahbi ,i returned to ,cambridge4 ,the ,smith's ,prize ,examination soon followed1 in which ,i set a ,paper of questions as usual4 ,on ,feb4 #ahth ,i made notes on ,liesganig's geodetic work at the ,british ,museum4 ,i was naturally anxious now about the settlement of my salary and of the ,observatory establishment4 ,i do not know when the ,syndicate made their ,report1 but it must have been in the last term of #ahbh4 ,it recommended that the salary should be annually made up 7by ,grace7 to #ejj3 that an ,assistant should be appointed with the assent of the ,vice-,chancellor and dismissable by the ,plumian ,professor3 and that a ,visiting ,syndicate should be appointed1 partly official and partly of persons to be named every year by ,grace4 ,the ,grace for adopting this ,report was to be offered to the ,senate on ,feb4 #bgth4 ,the passing of the ,grace was exposed to two considerable perils4 ,first1 ,i found out 7just in time7 that a ,senior ,fellow of ,trinity 7,g4,a4 ,browne7 was determined to oppose the whole1 on account of the insignificant clause regarding dismissal of ,assistants1 which he regarded as tyrannical4 ,i at once undertook that that clause should be rejected4 ,secondly1 by the absurd constitution of the ',caput' at ,cambridge1 a single ,m4,a4 had the power of stopping any business whatever1 and an ,m4,a4 actually came to the ,senate ,house with the intention of throwing out all the ,graces on various business that day presented to the ,senate4 ,luckily he mistook the hour1 and came at #aa instead of #aj1 and found that all were dispatched4 ,the important parts of the ,grace passed without any opposition3 but ,i mustered some friends who negatived that part which had alarmed ,g4,a4 ,browne1 and it was corrected to his satisfaction by a new ,grace on ,mar4 #ahth4 ,i was now almost set at rest on one of the great objects of my life3 but not quite4 ,i did not regard1 and ,i determined not to regard1 the addition to my salary as absolutely certain until a payment had been actually made to me3 and ,i carefully abstained1 for the present1 from taking any steps based upon it4 ,i found for ,assistant at the ,observatory an old ,lieutenant of the ,royal ,navy1 ,mr ,baldrey1 who came on ,mar4 #af4 ,on ,may #dth ,i began lectures3 there were #cb names4 ,the ,lectures were improving1 especially in the optical part4 ,i do not find note of the day of termination4--,i do not know the actual day of publication of my first small volume of ,cambridge ,observations1 #ahbh1 and of circulation4 ,the date of the preface is ,apr4 #bgth #ahbi4 ,i have letters of approval of it from ,davies ,gilbert1 ,rigaud1 and ,lax4 ,the system which ,i endeavoured to introduce into printed astronomical observations was partially introduced into this volume1 and was steadily improved in subsequent volumes4 ,i think that ,i am justified1 by letters and other remarks1 in believing that this introduction of an orderly system of exhibition1 not merely of observations but of the steps for bringing them to a practical result--quite a novelty in astronomical publications--had a markedly good effect on ,european astronomy in general4--,in ,feb4 and ,march ,i have letters from ,young about the ,nautical ,almanac3 he was unwilling to make any great change1 but glad to receive any small assistance4 ,south1 who had been keeping up a series of attacks on ,young1 wrote to me to enquire how ,i stood in engagements of assistance to ,young3 ,i replied that ,i should assist ,young whenever he asked me1 and that ,i disapproved of ,south's course4--,the date of the first visitation of the 7,cambridge7 ,observatory must have been near ,may #aath3 ,i invited ,south and ,baily to my house2 ,south and ,i were very near quarrelling about the treatment of ,young4--,in a few days after ,dr ,young died3 ,i applied to ,lord ,melville for the superintendence of the ,nautical ,almanac3 ,mr ,croker replied that it devolved legally upon the ,astronomer ,royal1 and on ,may #cjth ,pond wrote to ask my assistance when ,i could give any4 ,on ,june #fth ,i was invited to the ,greenwich ,visitation1 to which ,i believe ,i went on the #ajth4 ,i had long desired to see ,switzerland1 and ,i wished now to see some of the ,continental ,observatories4 ,i was therefore glad to arrange with ,mr ,lodge1 of ,magdalene ,college 7perhaps #aj years senior to myself71 to make a little tour4 ,capt4 ,w4,h4 ,smyth and others gave me introductions4 ,i met ,lodge in ,london1 and we started for ,calais on ,july #bgth #ahbi4 ,we visited a number of towns in ,belgium 7at ,brussels ,i saw the beginning of the ,observatory with ,quetelet71 and passed by ,cologne1 ,frankfort1 ,fribourg1 and ,basle to ,zurich4 ,thus far we had travelled by diligence or posting3 we now procured a guide1 and travelled generally on foot4 ,from the #acth to the #cast ,august we travelled diligently through the well-known mountainous parts of ,switzerland and arrived at ,geneva on the #cast ,august4 ,here ,i saw ,m4 ,gautier1 ,m4 ,gambard1 and the beginning of the ,observatory4 ,mr ,lodge was now compelled to return to ,cambridge1 and ,i proceeded alone by ,chambry to ,turin1 where ,i made the acquaintance of ,m4 ,plana and saw the ,observatory4 ,i then made a tour through north ,italy1 looking over the ,observatories at ,milan1 ,padua1 ,bologna1 and ,florence4 ,at ,leghorn ,i took a passage for ,marseille in a xebeque1 but after sailing for three days the weather proved very unfavourable1 and ,i landed at ,spezia and proceeded by ,genoa and the ,cornici ,road to ,marseille4 ,at ,marseille ,i saw ,m4 ,gambart and the ,observatory1 and passed by ,avignon1 ,lyons1 and ,nevers to ,orlans1 where ,i visited my old host ,m4 ,legarde4 ,thence by ,paris1 ,beauvais1 and ,calais to ,london and ,cambridge1 where ,i arrived on the #cjth ,october4 ,i had started with more than #adj and returned with #bs4 #f;d4 ,the expedition was in many ways invaluable to me4 ,on my return ,i found various letters from scientific men3 some approving of my method for the mass of the ,moon3 some approving highly of my printed observations1 especially ,d4 ,gilbert1 who informed me that they had produced good effect 7,i believe at ,greenwich71 and ,herschel4--,on ,nov4 #acth ,i gave the ,royal ,astronomical ,society a ,paper about deducing the mass of the ,moon from observations of ,venus3 on ,nov4 #afth a ,paper to the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society on a correction to the length of a ball-pendulum3 and on ,dec4 #adth a ,paper on certain conditions under which perpetual motion is possible4--,the engravings for my ,figure of the ,earth in the ,encyclopaedia ,metropolitana were dispatched at the end of the year4 ,some of the ,paper 7perhaps much7 was written after my return from the ,continent4--,i began1 but never finished1 a ,paper on the form of the ,earth supposed to be projecting at middle latitudes4 ,in this ,i refer to the printed ,paper which ,nicollet gave me at ,paris4 ,i believe that the investigations for my ,paper in the ,encyclopaedia ,metropolitana led me to think the supposition unnecessary4--,on ,nov4 #fth ,i was elected member of the ,geological ,society4 ,on ,nov4 #afth #ahbi notice was given of a ,grace to authorize payment to me of #aeg4 #is4 #a;d41 in conformity with the regulations adopted on ,feb4 #bgth1 and on ,nov4 #ahth the ,grace passed the ,senate4 ,on ,nov4 #aith the ,vice-,chancellor wrote me a note enclosing the cheque4 ,on ,nov4 #bcrd 7practically the first day on which ,i could go7 ,i went to ,london and travelled to ,edensor1 where ,i arrived on the #bfth4 ,here ,i found ,richarda ,smith1 proposed to her1 and was accepted4 ,i stayed there a few days1 and returned to ,cambridge4 #ahcj ,on ,jan4 #beth #ahcj the ,smith's ,prize ,paper was prepared4 ,i was 7with my ,assistant1 ,mr ,baldrey7 vigorously working the ,transit ,instrument and its reductions1 and gradually forming a course of proceeding which has had a good effect on ,european ,astronomy4 ,and ,i was preparing for my marriage4 ,on ,mar4 #aath ,i started with my sister to ,london1 and arrived at ,edensor on the afternoon of the #adth4 ,on the #agth ,i started alone for ,manchester and ,liverpool4 ,through ,mr ,mason1 a cotton-spinner at ,calver1 near ,edensor1 ,i had become acquainted with ,mr ,john ,kennedy of ,manchester1 and ,i had since #ahbd been acquainted with ,dr ,traill of ,liverpool4 ,amongst other things1 ,i saw the works of the ,manchester and ,liverpool ,railway1 then advancing and exciting great interest1 and saw ,george ,stephenson and his son4 ,on ,mar4 #bdth ,i was married to ,richarda ,smith by her father in ,edensor4 ,we stopped at ,edensor till ,apr4 #ast1 and then started in chaises by way of ,newark and ,kettering 7where we were in danger of being stopped by the snow71 and arrived at ,cambridge on ,apr4 #crd4 ,i was now busy in preparing for lectures1 especially the part of the optical lectures which related to the theory of interferences and polarization4 ,i think it was now that my wife drew some of my lecture pictures1 exhibiting interference phenomena4 ,my lectures began on ,apr4 #bfth and finished on ,may #bdth4 ,the number of names was #ej4 ,they were considered an excellent course of lectures4 ,may #ith is the date of my ,preface to the #ahbi ,observations3 all was then printed4 ,apparently ,i did not go to the ,visitation of the ,greenwich ,observatory this year4--,i was at this time pressing ,tulley1 the optician1 about an object-glass for the ,mural ,circle4--,a new edition of my ',tracts' was wanted1 and ,i prepared to add a ,tract on the ,undulatory ,theory of ,light in its utmost extent4 ,the ,syndicate of the ,university ,press intimated through ,dr ,turton that they could not assist me 7regarding the book as a second edition74 ,on ,july #ajth ,i have some negociation about it with ,deighton the bookseller4--,on ,may #ahth ,i have a note from ,whewell about a number of crystals of plagiedral quartz1 in which he was to observe the crystalline indication1 and ,i the optical phenomena4--,the ,report of the ,syndicate for visiting the ,observatory is dated ,june #ahth3 it is highly laudatory4--,the ,proctor 7,barnard of ,king's ,college7 requested me to name the ,moderator for the next ,b4,a4 ,examination3 ,i named ,mr ,challis4 ,on ,june #adth my wife and ,i went1 in company with ,professor and ,mrs ,henslow1 to ,london and ,oxford2 at ,oxford we were received in ,christchurch ,college by ,dr and ,mrs ,buckland4 ,my wife and ,i then went to ,bedford to visit ,capt4 and ,mrs ,smyth1 and returned to ,cambridge on the #bcrd4 ,on ,july #eth we went on a visit to my mother and uncle at ,playford4 ,while there ,i took a drive with my uncle into some parts near the valley of the ,gipping1 in which ,i thought that the extent of the chalk was inadequately exhibited on ,greenough's map1 and communicated my remarks to ,buckland4 ,i find letters from ,dr ,robinson and ,col4 ,colby about determining longitudes of certain observatories by fire signals3 ,i proposed chronometers as preferable4 ,also from ,herschel1 approving of my second volume of observations3 and from ,f4 ,baily1 disclaiming the origination of the attack on the old ,nautical ,almanac 7with which ,i suppose ,i had reproached him74 ,on ,july #cjth ,i received a summons from ,south to a committee for improving the ,nautical ,almanac2 and subsequently a letter from ,baily about ,schumacher's taking offence at a passage of mine in the ,cambridge ,observations1 on the comparative merits of ,ephemerides1 which ,i afterwards explained to his satisfaction4 ,on ,aug4 #bdth my wife and ,i started for ,edensor1 and after a short stay there proceeded by ,manchester to ,cumberland1 where we made many excursions4 ,we returned by ,edensor1 and reached ,cambridge on ,oct4 #fth1 bringing my wife's sister ,susanna on a visit4 ,my mother had determined1 as soon as my intention of marriage was known to her1 to quit the house1 although always 7even to her death7 entertaining the most friendly feelings and fondness for my wife4 ,it was also judged best by us all that my sister should not reside with us as a settled inhabitant of the house4 ,they fixed themselves therefore at ,playford in the farm-house of the ,luck's ,farm1 then in the occupation of my uncle ,arthur ,biddell4 ,on ,oct4 #bast ,i have a letter from my sister saying that they were comfortably settled there4 ,in this month of ,october 7principally1 ,i believe7 ,i made some capital ,experiments on ,quartz1 which were treated mathematically in a ,paper communicated in the next year to the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society4 ,in some of these my wife assisted me1 and also drew pictures4--,on ,nov4 #aeth the ,grace for paying me #aih4 #acs4 #h;d4 to make my income up to #ejj passed the ,senate4--,i made three journeys to ,london to attend committees1 one a committee on the ,nautical ,almanac1 and one a ,royal ,society ,committee about two southern observatories4--,on ,dec4 #cast ,i have a letter from ,maclear 7medical practitioner and astronomer at ,biggleswade7 about occultations4--,in this ,december ,i had a quartz object-glass by ,cauchaix mounted by ,dollond1 and presented it to the ,observatory4--,in this ,december occurred the alarm from agrarian fires4 ,there was a very large fire at ,coton1 about a mile from the ,observatory4 ,this created the most extraordinary panic that ,i ever saw4 ,i do not think it is possible1 without having witnessed it1 to conceive the state of men's minds4 ,the gownsmen were all armed with bludgeons1 and put under a rude discipline for a few days4 #ahca ,on ,jan4 #dth ,i went with my wife1 first to ,miss ,sheepshanks in ,london1 at #cj1 ,woburn ,place1 and next to the house of my wife's old friend1 the ,rev4 ,john ,courtney1 at ,sanderstead1 near ,croydon4 ,i came to ,london on one day to attend a meeting of the new ,board of ,visitors of the ,greenwich ,observatory4 ,formerly the ,board of ,visitors consisted of the ,council of the ,royal ,society with persons invited by them 7in which capacity ,i had often attended74 ,but a reforming party1 of which ,south1 ,babbage1 ,baily and ,beaufort were prominent members1 had induced the ,admiralty to constitute a new ,board1 of which the ,plumian ,professor was a member4 ,mr ,pond1 the ,astronomer ,royal1 was in a rather feeble state1 and ,south seemed determined to bear him down3 ,sheepshanks and ,i did our best to support him4 7,i have various letters from ,sheepshanks to this purpose47--,on ,jan4 #bbnd we returned to ,cambridge1 and ,i set an ,examination ,paper for ,smith's ,prizes as usual4--,on ,jan4 #cjth ,i have a letter from ,herschel about improving the arrangement of ,pond's ,observations4 ,i believe that much of this zeal arose from the example of the ,cambridge ,observations4 ,on ,feb4 #bast my ,paper ',on the nature of the light in the two rays of ,quartz' was communicated to the ,philosophical ,society3 a capital piece of deductive optics4 ,on ,mar4 #bnd ,i went to ,london1 ,i suppose to attend the ,board of ,visitors 7which met frequently1 for the proposed reform of ,pond's ,observations1 c474 ,as ,i returned on the outside of the coach there occurred to me a very remarkable deduction from my ideas about the rays of ,quartz1 which ,i soon tried with success1 and it is printed as an ,appendix to the ,paper above mentioned4 ,on ,mar4 #fth my son ,george ,richard was born4 ,miscellaneous matters in the first half of this year are as follows3 ,faraday sends me a piece of glass for ,amici 7he had sent me a piece before74--,on ,apr4 #ith ,i dispatched the ,preface of my #ahcj ,observations3 this implies that all was printed4--,on ,apr4 #ahth ,i began my ,lectures and finished on ,may #bdth4 ,there were #di names4 ,a very good series of lectures4--,i think it was immediately after this1 at the ,visitation of the ,cambridge ,observatory1 that ,f4 ,baily and ,lieut4 ,stratford were present1 and that ,sheepshanks went to ,tharfield on the ,royston ,downs to fire powder signals to be seen at ,biggleswade 7by ,maclear7 and at ,bedford 7by ,capt4 ,smyth7 as well as by us at ,cambridge4--,on ,may #adth ,i received #ajj for my article on the ,figure of the ,earth from ,baldwin the publisher of the ,encyclopaedia ,metropolitana4--,i attended the ,greenwich ,visitation on ,june #crd4--,on ,june #cjth the ,observatory ,syndicate made their report3 satisfactory4 ,on ,july #fth #ahca ,i started with my wife and infant son for ,edensor1 and went on alone to ,liverpool4 ,i left for ,dublin on the day on which the loss of the ',rothsay ,castle' was telegraphed1 and had a bad voyage1 which made me ill during my whole absence4 ,after a little stay in ,dublin ,i went to ,armagh to visit ,dr ,robinson1 and thence to ,coleraine and the ,giant's ,causeway1 returning by ,belfast and ,dublin to ,edensor4 ,we returned to ,cambridge on ,sept4 #ith4 ,up to this time the ,observatory was furnished with only one large instrument1 namely the #aj-;foot ,transit4 ,on ,feb4 #bdth of this year ,i had received from ,thomas ,jones 7#fb1 ,charing ,cross7 a sketch of the stone pier for mounting the ,equatoreal which he was commissioned to make3 and the pier was prepared in the spring or summer4 ,on ,sept4 #bjth part of the instrument was sent to the ,observatory2 other parts followed1 and ,jones himself came to mount it4 ,on ,sept4 #afth ,i received ,simms's assurance that he was hastening the ,mural ,circle4--,in this autumn ,i seriously took up the recalculation of my ,long ,inequality of ,venus and the ,earth1 and worked through it independently2 thus correcting two errors4 ,on ,nov4 #ajth ,i went to ,slough1 to put my ,paper in the hands of ,mr ,herschel for communication to the ,royal ,society4 ,the ,paper was read on ,nov4 #bdth4--,this was the year of the first ,meeting of the ,british ,association at ,york4 ,the next year's meeting was to be at ,oxford1 and on ,oct4 #agth ,i received from the ,rev4 ,w4 ,vernon ,harcourt an invitation to supply a ,report on ,astronomy1 which ,i undertook3 it employed me much of the winter1 and the succeeding spring and summer4--,the second edition of my ,tracts was ready in ,october4 ,it contained1 besides what was in the first edition1 the ,planetary ,theory1 and the ,undulatory ,theory of ,light4 ,the ,profit was #hj4--,on ,nov4 #adth ,i presented to the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society a ,paper ',on a remarkable modification of ,newton's ,rings'3 a pretty good ,paper4--,in ,november the ,copley ,medal was awarded to me by the ,royal ,society for my advances in ,optics4--,amongst miscellaneous matters ,i was engaged in correspondence with ,col4 ,colby and ,capt4 ,portlock about the ,irish ,triangulation and its calculation4 ,also with the ,admiralty on the form of publication of the ,greenwich and ,cape ,observations4 #ahcb ,in ,january my ,examination ,paper for ,smith's ,prizes was prepared as usual4--,two matters 7in addition to the daily routine of ,observatory work7 occupied me at the beginning of this year4 ,one was the translation of ,encke's ,paper in successive numbers of the ,astronomische ,nachrichten concerning ,encke's ,comet2 the ,university ,press printed this gratuitously1 and ,i distributed copies1 partly by the aid of ,capt4 ,beaufort4--,the other was the ,report on ,astronomy for the ,british ,association1 which required much labour4 ,my reading for it was principally in the ,university ,library 7possibly some in ,london71 but ,i borrowed some books from ,f4 ,baily1 and ,i wrote to ,capt4 ,beaufort about the possible repetition of ,lacaille's ,meridian ,arc at the ,cape of ,good ,hope4 ,the ,report appears to have been finished on ,may #bnd4--,at this time the ,reform ,bill was under discussion1 and one letter written by me 7probably at ,sheepshanks's request7 addressed ,i think to ,mr ,drummond1 ,lord ,althorp's secretary1 was read in the ,house of ,commons4 ,optics were not neglected4 ,i have some correspondence with ,brewster and ,faraday4 ,on ,mar4 #eth ,i gave the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society a ,paper ',on a new ,analyzer1' and on ,mar4 #aith one ',on ,newton's ,rings between two substances of different refractive powers1' both ,papers satisfactory to myself4--,on the death of ,mr ,f4 ,fallows1 astronomer at the ,cape of ,good ,hope ,observatory1 the ,admiralty appointed ,mr ,henderson1 an ,edinburgh lawyer1 who had done some little things in astronomical calculation4 ,on ,jan4 #ajth ,i discussed with him observations to be made1 and drew up his ,official ,instructions which were sent on ,jan4 #ajth4--,on ,feb4 #afth ,sir ,james ,south writes that ,encke's ,comet is seen3 also that with his #ab-;inch achromatic1 purchased at ,paris1 and which he was preparing to mount equatoreally1 he had seen the disk of ,aldebaran apparently bisected by the ,moon's limb4--,capt4 ,beaufort and ,d4 ,gilbert write in ,march about instructions to ,dunlop1 the astronomer at ,paramatta4 ,i sent a draft to ,capt4 ,beaufort on ,apr4 #bgth4 ,the ,preface to my #ahca ,observations is dated ,mar4 #bjth4 ,the distribution of the book would be a few weeks later4--,on ,may #gth ,i began my ,lectures3 #ea names3 ,i finished on ,may #bith4--,the mounting of the ,equatoreal was finished some time before the ,syndicate ,visitation at the end of ,may1 but ,jones's charge appeared to be exorbitant3 ,i believe it was paid at last1 but it was considered unfair4--,on ,june #bnd ,i went to ,london3 ,i presume to the ,greenwich ,visitation4--,i went to ,oxford to the meeting of the ,british ,association 7lodging ,i think with ,prof4 ,rigaud at the ,observatory7 on ,june #afth1 and read part of my ,report on ,astronomy in the ,theatre4 ,on ,june #bfth ,i started with my wife for the ,highlands of ,scotland4 ,after a short stay at ,edensor1 we went by ,carlisle to ,glasgow1 and through the ,lake ,district to ,inverness4 ,thence by ,auchnanault to ,balmacarra1 where we were received by ,mr ,lillingstone4 ,after an expedition in ,skye1 we returned to ,balmacarra1 and passed on to ,invermoriston1 where we were received by ,grant of ,glenmoriston4 ,we then went to ,fort ,william and ,oban1 and crossed over to ,mull1 where we were received by ,maclean of ,loch ,buy4 ,we returned to ,oban and on to ,edinburgh1 where we made a short stay4 ,then to ,melrose1 where we were received by ,sir ,d4 ,brewster1 and by ,edensor to ,cambridge1 where we arrived on ,sept4 #agth4 ,i received 7at ,edinburgh ,i believe7 a letter from ,arago1 writing for the plans of our observing-room shutters4--,mr ,vernon ,harcourt wrote deprecating the tone of my ,report on ,astronomy as related to ,english ,astronomers1 but ,i refused to alter a word4--,sheepshanks wrote in ,september in great anxiety about the ,cambridge ,circle1 for which he thought the pier ought to be raised3 ,i would have no such thing1 and arranged it much more conveniently by means of a pit4 ,on ,oct4 #ith ,simms says that he will come with the circle immediately1 and ,jones on ,sept4 #bith says that he will make some alteration in the equatoreal3 thus there was at last a prospect of furnishing the ,observatory properly4--,on ,oct4 #ith1 ,i have ,encke's thanks for the translation of the ,comet ,paper4--,one of the desiderata which ,i had pointed out in my ,report on ,astronomy was the determination of the mass of ,jupiter by elongations of the #dth satellite3 and as the ,equatoreal of the ,cambridge ,observatory was on the point of coming into use1 ,i determined to employ it for this purpose4 ,it was necessary for the reduction of the observations that ,i should prepare ,tables of the motion of ,jupiter's #dth ,satellite in a form applicable to computations of differences of right-ascension4 ,the date of my ,tables is ,oct4 #crd1 #ahcb4--;,in ,october the ,observatory ,syndicate made their ,report3 quite satisfactory4 ,on ,oct4 #bjth ,sheepshanks wrote asking my assistance in the ,penny ,cyclopaedia3 ,i did afterwards write ',gravitation' and ',greenwich4' --,capt4 ,beaufort wrote in ,november to ask my opinion on the ,preface to an edition of ,groombridge's ,catalogue which had been prepared by ,h4 ,taylor3 ,sheepshanks also wrote2 he had objected to it4 ,this was the beginning of an affair which afterwards gave me great labour4--,vernon ,harcourt writes1 much offended at some terms which ,i had used in reference to an office in the ,british ,association4 ,the ,equatoreal mounting which ,troughton and ,simms had been preparing for ,sir ,james ,south's large telescope had not entirely succeeded4 ,i have various letters at this time from ,sheepshanks and ,simms1 relating to the disposition which ,sir ,james ,south shewed to resist every claim till compelled by law to pay it4--,a general election of ,members of ,parliament was now coming on3 ,mr ,lubbock was candidate for the ,university4 ,on ,nov4 #bgth ,i had a letter from ,sedgwick requesting me to write a letter in the newspapers in favour of ,lubbock2 which ,i did4 ,on ,dec4 #gth ,i have notice of the ,county voting at ,newmarket on ,dec4 #ahth and #aith3 ,i walked there to vote for ,townley2 he lost the election by two or three votes in several thousands4 ,the ,mural ,circle was now nearly ready in all respects1 and it was known that another ,assistant would be required4 ,mr ,richardson 7one of the ,assistants of ,greenwich ,observatory7 and ,mr ,simms recommended to me ,mr ,glaisher1 who was soon after appointed1 and subsequently became an ,assistant at ,greenwich4--,on ,dec4 #bdth ,i have a letter from ,bessel 7the first ,i believe74 ,i think that ,i had written to him about a general reduction of the ,greenwich ,planetary ,observations1 using his ,tabulae ,regiomontanae as basis1 and that this was his reply approving of it4 #ahcc ,on ,jan4 #dth #ahcc my daughter ,elizabeth was born4--,i prepared an examination paper for ,smith's ,prizes as usual4--,on ,jan4 #eth ,i received notice from ,simms that he had received payment 7#ajej7 for the ,mural ,circle from the ,vice-,chancellor4 ,about this time the ,circle was completely made serviceable1 and ,i 7with ,mr ,glaisher as ,assistant7 immediately began its use4 ,a puzzling apparent defect in the circle 7exhibiting itself by the discordance of zenith points obtained by reflection observations on opposite sides of the zenith7 shewed itself very early4 ,on ,feb4 #dth ,i have letters about it from ,sheepshanks and ,simms4--,on ,jan4 #agth ,i received notice from ,f4 ,baily that the ,astronomical ,society had awarded me their ,medal for my long inequality of ,venus and the ,earth3 on ,feb4 #gth ,i went to ,london1 ,i suppose to receive the ,medal4--,i also inspected ,sir ,j4 ,south's telescope1 then becoming a matter of litigation1 and visited ,mr ,herschel at ,slough3 on ,feb4 #abth ,i wrote to ,sir ,j4 ,south about the support of the instrument1 hoping to remove one of the difficulties in the litigation2 but it produced no effect4--,herschel wrote to me1 from ,poisson1 that ,pontcoulant had verified my ,long ,inequality4 ,mar4 #abth is the date of the ,preface to my #ahcb volume of ,observations3 it was of course distributed a few weeks later4--,in my ,report on ,astronomy ,i had indicated the ,mass of ,jupiter as a subject requiring fresh investigation4 ,during the last winter ,i had well employed the ,equatoreal in observing elongations in ,r4,a4 of the #dth ,satellite4 ,to make these available it was necessary to work up the theory carefully1 in which ,i discovered some remarkable errors of ,laplace4 ,some of these1 for verification1 ,i submitted to ,mr ,lubbock1 who entirely agreed with me4 ,the date of my first calculations of the ,mass of ,jupiter is ,mar4 #ast3 and shortly after that ,i gave an oral account of them to the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society4 ,the date of my ,paper for the ,astronomical ,society is ,april #abth4 ,the result of my investigations 7which was subsequently confirmed by ,bessel7 entirely removed the difficulty among ,astronomers2 and the mass which ,i obtained has ever since been received as the true one4 ,on ,apr4 #ith my wife's two sisters1 ,elizabeth and ,georgiana ,smith1 came to stay with me4--,on ,apr4 #bbnd ,i began lectures1 and finished on ,may #bast3 there were #ed names4 ,during the course of the lectures ,i communicated a ,paper to the ,philosophical ,society ',on the calculation of ,newton's experiments on ,diffraction4'--,i went to ,london on the ,visitation of the ,greenwich ,observatory3 the dinner had been much restricted1 but was now made more open4--,it had been arranged that the meeting of the ,british ,association was to be held this year at ,cambridge4 ,i invited ,sir ,david ,brewster and ,mr ,herschel to lodge at the ,observatory4 ,the meeting lasted from ,june #bdth to #cjth4 ,we gave one dinner1 but had a breakfast party every day4 ,i did not enter much into the scientific business of the meeting1 except that ,i brought before the ,committee the expediency of reducing the ,greenwich ,planetary ,observations from #agej4 ,they agreed to represent it to the ,government1 and a deputation was appointed 7,i among them7 who were received by ,lord ,althorp on ,july #beth4 ,on ,aug4 #crd ,herschel announced to me that #ejj was granted4 ,on ,aug4 #gth ,i started with my wife for ,edensor4 ,at ,leicester we met ,sedgwick and ,whewell3 my wife went on to ,edensor1 and ,i joined ,sedgwick and ,whewell in a geological expedition to ,mount ,sorrel and various parts of ,charnwood ,forest4 ,we were received by ,mr ,allsop of ,woodlands1 who proved an estimable acquaintance4 ,this lasted four or five days1 and we then went on to ,edensor4--,on ,aug4 #aeth ,herschel wrote to me1 communicating an offer of the ,duke of ,northumberland to present to the ,cambridge ,observatory an object-glass of about #ab inches aperture by ,cauchaix4 ,i wrote therefore to the ,duke1 accepting generally4 ,the ,duke wrote to me from ,buxton on ,aug4 #bcrd 7his letter1 such was the wretched arrangement of postage1 reaching ,bakewell and ,edensor on the #beth7 and on the #bfth ,i drove before breakfast to ,buxton and had an interview with him4 ,on ,sept4 #ast the ,duke wrote1 authorizing me to mount the telescope entirely1 and he subsequently approved of ,cauchaix's terms3 there was much correspondence1 but on ,dec4 #bhth ,i instructed ,cauchaix how to send the telescope4--,on our return we paid a visit to ,dr ,davy1 ,master of ,caius ,college1 at ,heacham1 and reached ,cambridge on ,oct4 #hth4 ,groombridge's ,catalogue1 of which the editing was formally entrusted to ,mr ,henry ,taylor 7son of ,taylor the first-assistant of the ,greenwich ,observatory71 had been in some measure referred to ,sheepshanks3 and he1 in investigating the work1 found reason for thinking the whole discreditable4 ,about ,may he first wrote to me on his rising quarrel with ,h4 ,taylor1 but on ,sept4 #gth he found things coming to a crisis1 and denounced the whole4 ,capt4 ,beaufort the ,hydrographer 7in whose office this matter rested7 begged me with ,baily to decide upon it4 ,we did not at first quite agree upon the terms of investigation c41 but after a time all was settled1 and on ,oct4 #dth the ,admiralty formally applied1 and ,i formally accepted4 ,little or nothing had been done by ,mr ,baily and myself1 when my work was interrupted by illness4 ,sheepshanks had thought that something might be done to advance the interests of myself or the ,observatory by the favour of ,lord ,brougham 7then ,lord ,chancellor71 and had urged me to write an article in the ,penny ,cyclopaedia1 in which ,lord ,brougham took great interest4 ,i chose the subject ',gravitation1' and as ,i think wrote a good deal of it in this ,autumn3 when it was interrupted by my illness4 ,on ,dec4 #ith #ahcc1 having at first intended to attend the meeting of the ,philosophical ,society and then having changed my mind1 ,i was engaged in the evening on the formulae for effects of small errors on the computation of the ,solar ,eclipse of #ahcc4 ,a dizziness in my head came on4 ,i left off work1 became worse1 and went to bed1 and in the night was in high fever with a fierce attack of scarlet fever4 ,my wife was also attacked but very slightly4 ,the first day of quitting my bedroom was ,dec4 #cast4 ,somewhere about the time of my illness my wife's sister1 ,susanna ,smith1 who was much reduced in the summer1 died of consumption4 ,miscellaneous notes in #ahcc are as follows3 ,henderson 7at the ,cape7 could not endure it much longer1 and on ,oct4 #adth ,stratford writes that ,maclear had just sailed to take his place3 ,henderson is candidate for the ,edinburgh ,observatory4--,stratford writes on ,dec4 #bnd that the ,madras observations have come to ,england1 the first whose arrangement imitates mine4--,on ,nov4 #crd ,herschel1 just going to the ,cape1 entrusted to me the revisal of some proof sheets1 if necessary3 however it was never needed4--,in ,november ,i sat for my portrait to a painter named ,purdon 7,i think73 he came to the house and made a good likeness4 ,a pencil portrait was taken for a print-seller 7,mason7 in ,cambridge3 it was begun before my illness and finished after it4--,i applied through ,sheepshanks for a copy of ,maskelyne's ,observations1 to be used in the ,reduction of the ,planetary ,observations3 and on ,dec4 #bdth 7from my bedroom7 ,i applied through ,prof4 ,rigaud to the ,delegates of the ,clarendon ,press for a copy of ,bradley's ,observations for the same4 ,the latter request was refused4 ,in ,october ,i applied to the ,syndics of the ,university ,press for printed forms for these ,reductions3 the ,syndics agreed to grant me #ab1jjj copies4 #ahcd ,on ,jan4 #aath #ahcd ,i went with my wife to ,london for the recruiting of my strength4 ,we stayed at the house of our friend ,miss ,sheepshanks1 and returned on ,feb4 #acth4--,i drew up a ,paper of ,questions for ,smith's ,prizes1 but left the whole trouble of examination and adjudication to ,professor ,miller1 who at my request acted for me4--,while ,i was in ,london ,i began to look at the papers relating to ,groombridge's ,catalogue3 and ,i believe that it was while in ,london that ,i agreed with ,mr ,baily on a ,report condemnatory of ,h4 ,taylor's edition1 and sent the ,report to the ,admiralty4 ,the ,admiralty asked for further advice1 and on ,feb4 #bhth ,i replied1 undertaking to put the ,catalogue in order4 ,on ,mar4 #agth ,capt4 ,beaufort sent me all the papers4 ,some time however elapsed before ,i could proceed with it4 ,there was in this spring a furious discussion about the admission of ,dissenters into the ,university3 ,i took the ,liberal side4 ,on ,apr4 #cjth there was a letter of mine in the ,cambridge newspaper4--,on ,apr4 #adth ,i began lectures1 and finished on ,may #bjth3 there were #hg names4--,my ',gravitation' was either finished or so nearly finished that on ,jan4 #bdth ,i had some conversation with ,knight the publisher about printing it4 ,it was printed in the spring1 and on ,apr4 #bgth ,sheepshanks sent a copy of it to ,lord ,brougham4 ,i received from ,knight #hc4 #ags4 #a;d4 for this ,paper4--,on ,may #ajth ,i went to ,london1 ,i believe to attend one of the ,soires which the ,duke of ,sussex gave as ,president of the ,royal ,society4 ,the ,duke invited me to breakfast privately with him the next morning4 ,he then spoke to me1 on the part of the ,government1 about my taking the office of ,astronomer ,royal4 ,on ,may #aith ,i wrote him a semi-official letter1 to which reference was made in subsequent correspondence on that subject4 ,on ,may #abth my son ,arthur was born4--,in ,june the ,observatory ,syndicate made a satisfied ,report4--,on ,june #gth ,i went to the ,greenwich ,visitation1 and again on ,june #adth ,i went to ,london1 ,i believe for the purpose of trying the mounting of ,south's telescope1 as it had been strengthened by ,mr ,simms by ,sheepshanks's suggestions4 ,i was subsequently in correspondence with ,sheepshanks on the subject of the ,arbitration on ,south's telescope1 and my giving evidence on it4 ,on ,july #bith1 as ,i was shortly going away1 ,i wrote him a ,report on the ,telescope1 to be used in case of my absence4 ,the award1 which was given in ,december1 was entirely in favour of ,simms4--,on ,july #bcrd ,i went out1 ,i think to my brother's marriage at ,ixworth in ,suffolk4--,on ,aug4 #ast ,i started for ,edensor and ,cumberland1 with my wife1 sister1 and three children3 ,georgiana ,smith joined us at ,edensor4 ,we went by ,otley1 ,harrogate1 ,ripon1 and ,stanmoor to ,keswick1 from whence we made many excursions4 ,on ,aug4 #aath ,i went with ,whewell to the clouds on ,skiddaw1 to try hygrometers4 ,mr ,baily called on his way to the ,british ,association at ,edinburgh4 ,on ,sept4 #ajth we transferred our quarters to ,ambleside1 and after various excursions we returned to ,edensor by ,skipton and ,bolton4 ,on ,sept4 #aith ,i went to ,doncaster and ,finningley ,park to see ,mr ,beaumont's ,observatory4 ,on ,sept4 #beth we posted in one day from ,edensor to ,cambridge4 ,on ,aug4 #beth ,mr ,spring ,rice 7,lord ,monteagle7 wrote to me to enquire whether ,i would accept the office of ,astronomer ,royal if it were vacant4 ,i replied 7from ,keswick7 on ,aug4 #cjth1 expressing my general willingness1 stipulating for my freedom of vote1 c41 and referring to my letter to the ,duke of ,sussex4 ,on ,oct4 #hth ,lord ,auckland1 ,first ,lord of the ,admiralty1 wrote3 and on ,oct4 #ajth ,i provisionally accepted the office4 ,on ,oct4 #cjth ,i wrote to ask for leave to give a course of lectures at ,cambridge in case that my successor at ,cambridge should find difficulty in doing it in the first year3 and to this ,lord ,auckland assented on ,oct4 #cast4 ,all this arrangement was for a time upset by the change of ,ministry which shortly followed4 ,amongst miscellaneous matters1 in ,march ,i had some correspondence with the ,duke of ,northumberland about the ,cauchaix ,telescope4 ,in ,august ,i had to announce to him that the flint-lens had been a little shattered in ,cauchaix's shop and required regrinding3 finally on ,dec4 #agth ,i announced its arrival at ,cambridge4--,in the ,planetary ,reductions1 ,i find that ,i employed one computer 7,glaisher7 for #cd weeks4--,in ,november the ,lalande ,medal was awarded to me by the ,french ,institut1 and ,mr ,pentland conveyed it to me in ,december4--,on ,march #adth ,i gave the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society a ,paper1 ',continuation of researches into the value of ,jupiter's ,mass4' ,on ,apr4 #adth1 ',on the ,latitude of ,cambridge ,observatory4' ,on ,june #acth1 ',on the position of the ,ecliptic1' and ',on the ,solar ,eclipse of #ahcc1' to the ,royal ,astronomical ,society4 ,on ,nov4 #bdth1 ',on ,computing the ,diffraction of an ,object ,glass1' to the ,cambridge ,society4 ,and on ,dec4 #crd1 ',on the ,calculation of ,perturbations1' to the ,nautical ,almanac3 this ,paper was written at ,keswick between ,aug4 #bbnd and #bith4--,i also furnished ,mr ,sheepshanks with investigations regarding the form of the pivots of the ,cape ,circle4 #ahce ,on ,jan4 #ith #ahce ,i was elected correspondent of the ,french ,academy2 and on ,jan4 #bfth ,mr ,pentland sent me #ab4 #fs41 the balance of the proceeds of the ,lalande ,medal ,fund4--,i prepared my ,paper for ,smith's ,prizes1 and joined in the ,examination as usual4 ,there had been a very sudden change of ,administration1 and ,sir ,r4 ,peel was now ,prime ,minister as ,first ,lord of the ,treasury1 and ,lord ,lyndhurst was ,lord ,chancellor4 ,on ,jan4 #aith ,i wrote to ,lord ,lyndhurst1 asking him for a ,suffolk living for my brother ,william1 which he declined to give1 though he remembered my application some years later4 ,whether my application led to the favour which ,i shortly received from the ,government1 ,i do not know4 ,but1 in dining with the ,duke of ,sussex in the last year1 ,i had been introduced to ,sir ,r4 ,peel1 and he had conversed with me a long time1 and appeared to have heard favourably of me4 ,on ,feb4 #agth he wrote to me an autograph letter offering a pension of #cjj per annum1 with no terms of any kind1 and allowing it to be settled if ,i should think fit on my wife4 ,i wrote on ,feb4 #ahth accepting it for my wife4 ,in a few days the matter went through the formal steps1 and ,mr ,whewell and ,mr ,sheepshanks were nominated trustees for my wife4 ,the subject came before ,parliament1 by the ,whig ,party vindicating their own propriety in having offered me the office of ,astronomer ,royal in the preceding year2 and ,spring ,rice's letter then written to me was published in the ,times1 c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the correspondence relating to the pension above-mentioned is given below1 and appears to be of interest1 both as conveying in very felicitous terms the opinion of a very eminent statesman on the general subject of such pensions1 and as a most convincing proof of the lofty position in ,science which the subject of this ,memoir had then attained4 ,,whitehall ,,gardens1 ,feb4 #ag #ahce4 ,,sir1 ,you probably are aware that in a ,resolution voted by the ,house of ,commons in the last ,session of ,parliament1 an opinion was expressed1 that ,pensions on the ,civil ,list1 ought not thereafter to be granted by the ,crown excepting for the satisfaction of certain public claims1 among which those resting on ,scientific or ,literary ,eminence were especially mentioned4 ,i trust that no such ,resolution would have been necessary to induce me as ,minister of the ,crown fully to recognize the justice of such claims1 but ,i refer to the ,resolution1 as removing every impediment to a ,communication of the nature of that which ,i am about to make to you4 ,in acting upon the ,principle of the ,resolution in so far as the ,claims of ,science are concerned1 my first address is made to you1 and made directly1 and without previous communication with any other person1 because it is dictated exclusively by public considerations1 and because there can be no advantage in or any motive for indirect communication4 ,i consider you to have the first claim on the ,royal ,favour which ,eminence in those high ,pursuits to which your life is devoted1 can give1 and ,i fear that the ,emoluments attached to your appointment in the ,university of ,cambridge are hardly sufficient to relieve you from anxiety as to the ,future on account of those in whose welfare you are deeply interested4 ,the state of the ,civil ,list would enable me to advise the ,king to grant a pension of three hundred pounds per annum1 and if the offer be acceptable to you the ,pension shall be granted either to ,mrs ,airy or yourself as you may prefer4 ,i beg you distinctly to understand that your acquiescence in this ,proposal1 will impose upon you no obligation personal or political in the slightest degree4 ,i make it solely upon public grounds1 and ,i ask you1 by the acceptance of it1 to permit the ,king to give some slight encouragement to ,science1 by proving to those who may be disposed to follow your bright ,example1 that ,devotion to the highest ,branches of ,mathematical and ,astronomical ,knowledge shall not necessarily involve them in constant solicitude as to the future condition of those1 for whom the application of the same ,talents to more lucrative ,pursuits would have ensured an ample ,provision4 ,i have the honor to be1 ,sir1 ,with true ,respect and ,esteem1 ,your faithful ,servant1 ,,robert ,,peel4 ,mr ,professor ,airy1 c41 c41 ,cambridge4 ,,observatory1 ,,cambridge1 #ahce1 ,feb4 #ah4 ,,sir1 ,i have the honor to acknowledge your letter of the #agth acquainting me with your intention of advising the ,king to grant a pension of #cjj per annum from the ,civil ,list to me or ,mrs ,airy4 ,i trust you will believe that ,i am sensible of the flattering terms in which this offer is made1 and deeply grateful for the considerate manner in which the principal arrangement is left to my choice1 as well as for the freedom from engagement in which your offer leaves me4 ,i beg to state that ,i most willingly accept the offer4 ,i should prefer that the pension be settled on ,mrs ,airy 7by which ,i understand that in case of her surviving me the pension would be continued to her during her life1 or in the contrary event would cease with her life74 ,i wish that ,i may have the good fortune to prove to the world that ,i do not accept this offer without an implied engagement on my part4 ,i beg leave again to thank you for your attention1 and to assure you that the form in which it is conveyed makes it doubly acceptable4 ,with sincere respect ,i have the honor to be1 ,sir1 ,your very faithful ,servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,the ,right ,hon4 ,sir ,robert ,peel1 ,bart41 ,first ,lord of the ,treasury1 c41 c4 ,,whitehall1 ,feb4 #aith #ahce4 ,,sir1 ,i will give immediate directions for the preparation of the ,warrant settling the ,pension on ,mrs ,airy--the effect of which will be1 as you suppose1 to grant the ,pension to her for her life4 ,i assure you ,i never gave an official order1 which was accompanied with more satisfaction to myself than this4 ,i have the honor to be1 ,sir4 ,your faithful ,servant1 ,,robert ,,peel4 ,mr ,professor ,airy1 c41 c41 ,cambridge4 99 99 99 99 99 ,on ,march #ahth #ahce ,i started 7meeting ,sheepshanks at ,kingstown7 for ,ireland4 ,we visited ,dublin ,observatory1 and then went direct to ,markree near ,sligo1 to see ,mr ,cooper's telescope 7our principal object74 ,we passed on our return by ,enniskillen and ,ballyjamesduff1 where my former pupil ,p4 ,morton was living1 and returned on ,apr4 #crd4--,on ,apr4 #bjth ,i was elected to the ,royal ,society1 ,edinburgh4--,apr4 #bbnd my wife wrote me from ,edensor that her sister ,florence was very ill3 she died shortly after4--,on ,may #dth ,i began lectures and finished on ,may #bith3 there were #eh names4--,my former pupil ,guest asks my interest for the ,recordership of ,birmingham4--,in ,june was circulated the ,syndicate ,report on the ,observatory4--,the date of the ,preface to the #ahcd ,observations is ,june #afth4 ,the ,ministry had been again changed in the spring1 and the ,whigs were again in power4 ,on ,june #aath ,lord ,auckland1 who was again ,first ,lord of the ,admiralty 7as last year71 again wrote to me to offer me the office of ,astronomer ,royal1 or to request my suggestions on the filling up of the office4 ,on ,june #aeth ,i wrote my first reply1 and on ,june #agth wrote to accept it4 ,on ,june #ahth ,lord ,auckland acknowledges1 and on ,june #bbnd the ,king approved4 ,lord ,auckland appointed to see me on ,friday1 ,june #bcrd1 but ,i was unwell4 ,i had various correspondence with ,lord ,auckland1 principally about buildings1 and had an appointment with him for ,august #acth4 ,as ,lord ,auckland was just quitting office1 to go to ,india1 ,i was introduced to ,mr ,charles ,wood1 the ,secretary of the ,admiralty1 with whom principally the subsequent business was transacted4 ,at this meeting ,lord ,auckland and ,mr ,wood expressed their feeling1 that the ,observatory had fallen into such a state of disrepute that the whole establishment ought to be cleared out4 ,i represented that ,i could make it efficient with a good ,first ,assistant2 and the other ,assistants were kept4 ,but the establishment was in a queer state4 ,the ,royal ,warrant under the ,sign ,manual was sent on ,august #aath4 ,it was understood that my occupation of office would commence on ,october #ast1 but repairs and alterations of buildings would make it impossible for me to reside at ,greenwich before the end of the year4 ,on ,oct4 #ast ,i went to the ,observatory1 and entered formally upon the office 7though not residing for some time74 ,oct #gth is the date of my ,official ,instructions4 ,i had made it a condition of accepting the office that the then ,first ,assistant should be removed1 and accordingly ,i had the charge of seeking another4 ,i determined to have a man who had taken a respectable ,cambridge degree4 ,i made enquiry first of ,mr ,bowstead 7brother to the bishop7 and ,mr ,steventon3 at length1 consulting ,mr ,hopkins 7a well-known private tutor at ,cambridge71 he recommended to me ,mr ,robert ,main1 of ,queens' ,college1 with whom ,i corresponded in the month 7principally7 of ,august1 and whom on ,august #cjth ,i nominated to the ,admiralty4 ,on ,oct4 #bast ,f4,w4 ,simms1 one of the ,assistants 7who apparently had hoped for the office of ,first ,assistant1 for which he was quite incompetent7 resigned2 and on ,dec4 #dth ,i appointed in his place ,mr ,james ,glaisher1 who had been at ,cambridge from the beginning of #ahcc1 and on ,dec4 #ajth the ,admiralty approved4 ,during this quarter of a year ,i was residing at ,cambridge ,observatory1 visiting ,greenwich once a week 7at least for some time71 the immediate superintendence of the ,observatory being placed with ,mr ,main4 ,i was however engaged in reforming the system of the ,greenwich ,observatory1 and prepared and printed #cj skeleton forms for reductions of observations and other business4 ,on ,dec4 #adth ,i resigned my ,professorship to the ,vice-,chancellor4 ,but ,i continued the reduction of the observations1 so that not a single figure was left to my successor3 the last observations were those of ,halley's ,comet4 ,the ,preface to my #ahce ,cambridge ,observations is dated ,aug4 #bbnd1 #ahcf4 ,in regard to the ,northumberland ,telescope1 ,i had for some time been speculating on plans of mounting and enclosing the instrument1 and had corresponded with ,simms1 ,a4 ,biddell1 ,cubitt1 and others on the subject4 ,on ,apr4 #bdth ,tulley the younger was endeavouring to adjust the object-glass4 ,on ,may #cast ,i plainly asked the ,duke of ,northumberland whether he would defray the expense of the mounting and building4 ,on ,june #dth he assented1 and money was placed at a banker's to my order4 ,i then proceeded in earnest3 in the autumn the building was erected1 and the dome was covered before the depth of winter4 ,i continued in #ahcf to superintend the mounting of the instrument4 ,in regard to the ,planetary ,reductions3 to ,july #aath ,j4 ,glaisher had been employed #bg weeks1 and from ,july #aath to ,jan4 #afth1 #ahcf1 #be weeks4 ,mr ,spring ,rice1 when ,chancellor of the ,exchequer1 had promised money1 but no official minute had been made1 and no money had been granted4 ,on ,aug4 #bast ,i applied to ,mr ,baring 7,secretary of the ,treasury74 ,after another letter he answered on ,oct4 #aeth that he found no official minute4 ,after writing to ,vernon ,harcourt and to ,spring ,rice1 the matter was arranged3 my outlay was refunded1 and another sum granted4--,in regard to ,groombridge's ,observations1 ,i find that on ,dec4 #afth certain trial reductions had been made under my direction by ,j4 ,glaisher4--,i had attempted some optical experiments in the summer1 especially on the polarization of sky-light2 but had been too busy with the ,observatory to continue them4 ,in ,august my wife was in a critical state of health4--,in ,december ,i received information regarding merchant ships' chronometers1 for which ,i had applied to ,mr ,charles ,parker of ,liverpool4--,on ,dec4 #hth ,mr ,spring ,rice and ,lord ,john ,russell offered me knighthood1 but ,i declined it4--,on ,july #bcrd ,i went into ,suffolk with my wife's sisters ,elizabeth and ,georgiana1 and returned on ,august #crd3 this was all the holiday that ,i got in this year4--,on the #adth of ,august ,i saw ,mr ,taylor1 the ,admiralty ,civil ,architect in ,london1 and the extension of buildings at ,greenwich ,observatory was arranged4--,i made various journeys to ,greenwich1 and on ,dec4 #agth1 having sent off our furniture1 we all quitted the ,cambridge ,observatory1 and stayed for some days at the house of ,miss ,sheepshanks4 ,thus ended a busy and anxious year4 99 99 99 99 99 ,with reference to the offer of knighthood above-mentioned1 ,airy's reply is characteristic1 and the short correspondence relating to it is therefore inserted4--,the offer itself is an additional proof of the high estimation in which he stood at this time4 ,,downing ,,street1 ,dec4 #hth #ahce4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 ,i have been in communication with my colleague ,lord ,john ,russell which has made me feel rather anxious to have the pleasure of seeing you1 but on second thoughts it has occurred to me that the subject of my communication would render it more satisfactory to you to receive a letter than to pay a visit4 ,in testimony of the respect which is felt for your character and acquirements1 there would be every disposition to recommend you to ,his ,majesty to receive the distinction of ,knighthood4 ,i am quite aware that to you individually this may be a matter of small concern1 but to the scientific world in general it will not be indifferent1 and to foreign countries it will mark the consideration felt for you personally as well as for the position which you occupy among your learned contemporaries4 ,from a knowledge of the respect and esteem which ,i feel for you ,lord ,john ,russell has wished that the communication should be made through me rather than through any person who had not the pleasure of your acquaintance4 ,pray let me hear from you and believe me my dear ,sir1 with compliments to ,mrs ,airy1 ,very truly yours1 ,t4 ,,spring ,,rice4 ,p4,s4--,it may be right to add that when a title of honor is conferred on grounds like those which apply to your case1 no fees or charges of any kind would be payable4 ,,observatory1 ,,cambridge1 #ahce1 ,dec4 #ajth4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 ,i beg to acknowledge your letter of the #hth1 which ,i have received at this place1 conveying to me an intimation of the wish of ,his ,majesty's ,ministers to recommend me to the ,king for the honor of ,knighthood4 ,i beg to assure you that ,i am most sensible to the liberality which ,i have experienced from the ,government in other as well as in pecuniary matters1 and that ,i am very highly gratified by the consideration 7undeserved by me1 ,i fear7 which they have displayed in the present instance4 ,and if ,i now request permission to decline the honor offered to me1 ,i trust ,i may make it fully understood that it is not because ,i value it lightly or because ,i am not anxious to receive honors from such a source4 ,the unalterable custom of this country has attached a certain degree of light consideration to titles of honor which are not supported by considerable fortune2 or at least1 it calls for the display of such an establishment as may not be conveniently supported by even a comfortable income4 ,the provision attached to my official situation1 and the liberality of the ,king towards one of the members of my family1 have placed me in a position of great comfort4 ,these circumstances however have bound me to consider myself as the devoted servant of the country1 and to debar myself from efforts to increase my fortune which might otherwise have been open to me4 ,i do not look forward therefore to any material increase of income1 and that which ,i enjoy at present is hardly sufficient1 in my opinion1 to support respectably the honor which you and ,lord ,john ,russell have proposed to confer upon me4 ,for this reason only ,i beg leave most respectfully to decline the honor of ,knighthood at the present time4 ,i have only to add that my services will always be at the command of the ,government in any scientific subject in which ,i can be of the smallest use4 ,i am1 my dear ,sir1 ,your very faithful ,servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,the ,right ,honorable ,t4 ,spring ,rice4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in brief revision of the years from #ahbg to #ahce ,i may confine myself to the two principal subjects--my ,professorial ,lectures1 and my ,conduct of the ,cambridge ,observatory4 ,the ,lectures as begun in #ahbg included ordinary ,mechanics1 ordinary ,hydrostatics and ,pneumatics 7,i think that ,i did not touch1 or touched very lightly1 on the subjects connected with the ,hydraulic ,ram71 and ordinary ,optics 7with a very few words on ,polarization and ,depolarization74 ,in #ahbh the two first were generally improved1 and for the third 7,optics7 ,i introduced a few words on ,circular ,polarization4 ,i believe that it was in #ahbi that ,i made an addition to the ,syllabus with a small engraving1 shewing the interference of light in the best practical experiment 7that of the flat prism72 and ,i went thoroughly into the main points of the ,undulatory ,theory1 interference1 diffraction1 c4 ,in #ahcj ,i believe ,i went 7in addition to what is mentioned above7 into ,polarization and ,depolarization of all kinds4 ,my best lecture diagrams were drawn and painted by my wife4 ,the ,lectures were universally pronounced to be valuable4 ,the subjects underwent no material change in #ahca1 #b1 #c1 #d1 #e2 and ,i believe it was a matter of sincere regret to many persons that my removal to ,greenwich terminated the series4 ,each lecture nominally occupied an hour4 ,but ,i always encouraged students to stop and talk with me2 and this supplement was usually considered a valuable part of the lecture4 ,practically the lecture1 on most days1 occupied two hours4 ,i enjoyed the ,lectures much3 yet ,i felt that the labour 7in addition to other work7 made an impression on my strength1 and ,i became at length desirous of terminating them4 ,the ,observatory1 when ,i took charge of it1 had only one instrument--the ,transit-,instrument ,the principles however which ,i laid down for my own direction were adapted to the expected complete equipment1 ,planets 7totally neglected at ,greenwich7 were to be observed4 ,observations were to be reduced completely1 and the reductions were to be exhibited in an orderly way3 this was a novelty in ,astronomy4 ,i considered it so important that ,i actually proposed to omit in my publication the original observations1 but was dissuaded by ,herschel and others4 ,i sometimes suspended1 observations for a short time1 in order to obtain leisure for2 the reductions4 ,i had at first no intention of correcting the places of the fundamental stars as settled at ,greenwich4 ,but ,i found myself compelled to do so1 because they were not sufficiently accurate2 and then ,i took the course of observing and reducing as an independent observer1 without reference to any other observatory4 ,i introduced the principle of not correcting instrumental errors1 but measuring them and applying numerical corrections4 ,i determined my longitude by chronometers1 and my latitude by a repeating circle borrowed from ,mr ,sheepshanks1 which ,i used so well that the result2 was only half a second in error4 ,the form of my reductions in the published volume for #ahbh is rather irregular1 but the matter is good3 it soon attracted attention4 ,in #ahbi the process was much the same3 ,i had an assistant1 ,mr ,baldrey4 ,in #ahcj still the same1 with the additions3--that ,i formally gave the corrections of relative right-ascension of fundamental stars 7without alteration of equinox1 which ,i had not the means of obtaining7 to be used in the year #ahca2 and that ,i reduced completely the observed occultations 7with a small error1 subsequently corrected74 ,in #ahca the system of correction of broken transits was improved3 the errors of assumed ,r4,a4 of ,fundamental ,stars were exhibited3 ,mean ,solar ,time was obtained from ,sidereal ,time by time of ,transit of ,symbol3 ,aries 7computed by myself73 the method of computing occultations was improved4 ,in #ahcb the small ,equatoreal was erected1 and was soon employed in observations of the elongation of the #dth ,satellite of ,jupiter for determining the mass of ,jupiter4 ,the ,mural ,circle was erected at the end of the year1 but not used4 ,the calculation of ,r4,a4 of ,fundamental ,stars was made homogeneously with the others3 separate results of all were included in ledgers3 a star-catalogue was formed3 all as to the present time 7#ahga74 ,with the ,equatoreal the difference of ,n4,p4,d4 of ,mars and stars was observed4 ,with the beginning of #ahcc the ,mural ,circle was established at work1 a second assistant 7,mr ,glaisher7 was appointed1 and the ,observatory might be considered complete4 ,i made experiments on the graduations of the ,circle4 ,i detected and was annoyed by the ,r--,d4 ,i determined the latitude4 ,i exhibited the separate results for ,n4,p4,d4 of stars in ledger1 and their means in ,catalogue4 ,i investigated from my observations the place of equinox and the obliquity of the ecliptic4 ,i made another series of observations of ,jupiter's #dth ,satellite1 for the mass of ,jupiter4 ,i observed the solar eclipse with the ,equatoreal1 by a method then first introduced1 which ,i have since used several times at ,cambridge and ,greenwich with excellent effect4 ,the ,moon and the ,planets were usually observed till near two in the morning4 ,correction for defective illumination applied when necessary4 ,the volume is very complete1 the only deficiency being in the observation of ,moon and ,planets through the severe morning hours4 ,in #ahcd the only novelties are--examination of the graduations of the declination circle of the ,equatoreal 7excessively bad73 observations of a spot on ,jupiter for rotation1 and of ,mars and stars4 ,in #ahce 7including ,january #ahcf7 there is a more complete examination of the ,equatoreal graduations3 parallax and refraction for ,equatoreal observations3 a spot on ,jupiter3 a series of observations on ,jupiter's #dth ,satellite for the mass of ,jupiter3 ,mars and stars3 ,halley's ,comet 7the best series of observations which could be made in the season73 and a short series of meteorological observations1 on a plan suggested by ,sir ,john ,herschel then at the ,cape of ,good ,hope4 ,i cannot tell precisely in which year ,i introduced the following useful custom4 ,towards the end of each year ,i procured a pocket-book for the following year with a space for every day1 and carefully examining all the sources of elements of observations1 and determining the observations to be made every day1 ,i inserted them in the pocket-book4 ,this system gave wonderful steadiness to the plan of observations for the next year4 ,the system has been maintained in great perfection at the ,observatory of ,greenwich4 7,the first of these pocket-books which ,prof4 ,adams has found is that for #ahcc47 ,printed skeleton forms were introduced for all calculations from #ahbh4 ,in the ,greenwich ,observatory ,library there is a collection1 ,i believe complete1 of printed papers commencing with my manifesto1 and containing all ,syndicate ,reports except for #ahcc 7when perhaps there was none74 ,it seems from these that my first written ,report on ,observations1 c41 was on ,may #cjth1 #ahcd4 ,the first ,syndicate ,report is on ,may #beth1 #ahbi4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a few remarks on ,airy's private life and friends during his residence at ,cambridge ,observatory may be here appropriately inserted4 ,amid the laborious occupations recorded in the foregoing pages1 his social life and surroundings appear to have been most pleasant and congenial4 ,at that period there were in residence in ,cambridge1 and particularly at ,trinity1 a large number of very brilliant men4 ,airy was essentially a ,cambridge man4 ,he had come up poor and friendless3 he had gained friends and fame at the ,university1 and his whole work had been done there4 ,from the frequent references in after times both by him and his wife to their life at ,cambridge1 it is clear that they had a very pleasant recollection of it1 and that the social gatherings there were remarkably attractive4 ,he has himself recorded that with ,whewell and ,sedgwick1 and his accomplished sisters-in-law1 who were frequently on long visits at the ,observatory1 they formed pretty nearly one family4 ,his friendship with ,whewell was very close4 ,although ,whewell was at times hasty1 and rough-mannered1 and even extremely rude1 yet he was generous and large-minded1 and thoroughly upright4 ,footnote3 ,the following passage occurs in a letter from ,airy to his wife1 dated #ahde1 ,sept4 #agth3 ,i am sorry that ---- speaks in such terms of the ',grand ,master1' as she used to be so proud of him3 it is only those who have well gone through the ordeal of quarrels with him and almost insults from him1 like ,sheepshanks and me1 that thoroughly appreciate the good that is in him3 ,i am sure he will never want a good word from me4 ,in power of mind1 in pursuits1 and interests1 ,airy had more in common with ,whewell than with any other of his friends4 ,it was with ,whewell that he undertook the experiments at ,dolcoath3 it was to ,whewell that he first communicated the result of his remarkable investigation of the ,long ,inequality of ,venus and the ,earth2 and some of his ,optical researches were conducted jointly with ,whewell4 ,whewell took his degree in #ahaf1 seven years before ,airy1 and his reputation1 both for mathematical and all-round knowledge1 was extremely and deservedly great1 but he was always most generous in his recognition of ,airy's powers4 ,thus in a letter of ,mar4 #afth1 #ahbc 7,life of ,william ,whewell by ,mrs ,stair ,douglas71 he says1 ,airy is certainly a most extraordinary man1 and deserves everything that can be said of him2 and again in the autumn of #ahbf he writes to his aunt1 ,you mentioned a difficulty which had occurred to you in one of your late letters2 how ,airy should be made ,professor while ,i was here1 who1 being your nephew1 must of course1 on that account1 deserve it better than he could4 ,now it is a thing which you will think odd1 but it is nevertheless true1 that ,airy is a better mathematician than your nephew1 and has moreover been much more employed of late in such studies4444 ,seriously speaking1 ,airy is by very much the best person they could have chosen for the situation1 and few things have given me so much pleasure as his election4 ,how much ,whewell depended upon his friends at the ,observatory may be gathered from a letter which he wrote to his sister on ,dec4 #bast1 #ahcc4 ,we have lately been in alarm here on the subject of illness4 ,two very near friends of mine1 ,prof4 and ,mrs ,airy1 have had the scarlet fever at the same time2 she more slightly1 he very severely4 ,they are now1 ,i am thankful to say1 doing well and recovering rapidly4 ,you will recollect that ,i was staying with them at her father's in ,derbyshire in the summer4 ,they are1 ,i think1 two of the most admirable and delightful persons that the world contains4 ,and again on ,dec4 #bjth1 #ahce1 he wrote to his sister ,ann1 ,my friends--,i may almost say my dearest friends --,professor ,airy and his family have left ,cambridge1 he being appointed ,astronomer ,royal at ,greenwich--to me an irreparable loss2 but ,i shall probably go and see how they look in their new abode4 ,their close intercourse was naturally interrupted by ,airy's removal to ,greenwich1 but their friendly feelings and mutual respect continued without material break till ,whewell's death4 ,there was frequent correspondence between them1 especially on matters connected with the conduct and teaching of the ,university1 in which they both took a keen interest1 and a warm welcome at ,trinity ,lodge always awaited ,mr and ,mrs ,airy when they visited ,cambridge4 ,in a letter written to ,mrs ,stair ,douglas on ,feb4 #aath1 #ahhb1 enclosing some of ,whewell's letters1 there occurs the following passage3 ,after the decease of ,mrs ,whewell1 ,whewell wrote to my wife a mournful letter1 telling her of his melancholy state1 and asking her to visit him at the ,lodge for a few days4 ,and she did go1 and did the honours of the house for several days4 ,you will gather from this the relation in which the families stood4 ,whewell died on ,mar4 #fth1 #ahff1 from the effects of a fall from his horse1 and the following extract is from a letter written by ,airy to ,whewell's niece1 ,mrs ,sumner ,gibson1 on hearing of the death of his old friend3 ,the ,master was1 ,i believe1 my oldest surviving friend 7beyond my own family71 and1 after an acquaintance of #df years1 ,i must have been one of his oldest friends4 ,we have during that time been connected privately and officially3 we travelled together and experimented together3 and as opportunity served 7but ,i need not say in very different degrees7 we both laboured for our ,college and ,university4 ,a terrible blank is left on my mind4 ,sedgwick was probably #ae years older than ,airy3 he took his degree in #ahjh4 ,but the astonishing buoyancy of spirits and bonhomie of ,sedgwick fitted him for all ages alike4 ,he was undoubtedly the most popular man in ,cambridge in modern times4 ,his ability1 his brightness and wit1 his fearless honesty and uprightness1 his plain-speaking and good humour1 rendered him a universal favourite4 ,his close alliance with ,airy was much more social than scientific4 ,it is true that they made some geological excursions together1 but1 at any rate with ,airy1 it was far more by way of recreation than of serious study1 and ,sedgwick's science was entirely geological4 ,their friendship continued till ,sedgwick's death1 though it was once or twice imperilled by ,sedgwick's impulsive and hasty nature4 ,peacock took his degree in #ahac 7,herschel's year71 and was therefore probably #aj years older than ,airy4 ,he was the earliest and staunchest friend of ,airy in his undergraduate years1 encouraged him in every possible way1 lent him books1 assisted him in his studies1 helped him with wise advice on many occasions1 and took the greatest interest in his success4 ,he was a good and advanced mathematician1 and with a great deal of shrewdness and common-sense he united a singular kindness and gentleness of manner4 ,it is therefore not to be wondered at that he was regarded by ,airy with the greatest esteem and affection1 and though they were afterwards separated1 by ,peacock becoming ,dean of ,ely and ,airy ,astronomer ,royal1 yet their warm friendship was never broken4 ,the following letter1 written by ,airy to ,mrs ,peacock on receiving the news of the death of the ,dean1 well expresses his feelings towards his old friend3 ,,trinity ,,lodge1 ,,cambridge1 #aheh1 ,dec4 #d4 ,,my ,,dear ,,madam1 ,i have desired for some time to express to you my sympathies on occasion of the sad bereavement which has come upon me perhaps as strongly as upon any one not connected by family ties with my late friend4 ,but ,i can scarcely give you an idea how every disposable moment of my time has been occupied4 ,i am now called to ,cambridge on business1 and ,i seize the first free time to write to you4 ,my late friend was the first person whom ,i knew in ,college 7,i had an introduction to him when ,i went up as freshman74 ,from the first1 he desired me to consider the introduction not as entitling me to a mere formal recognition from him1 but as authorizing me at all times to call on him for any assistance which ,i might require4 ,and this was fully carried out3 ,i referred to him in every difficulty3 ,i had the entire command of his rooms and library 7a very important aid in following the new course of mathematics which he had been so instrumental in introducing into the ,university7 in his occasional absences3 and in all respects ,i looked to him as to a parent4 ,all my debts to other friends in the ,university added together are not comparable to what ,i owe to the late ,dean4 ,latterly ,i need not say that ,i owed much to him and that ,i owe much to you for your kind notice of my two sons1 even since the sad event which has put it out of his power to do more4 ,in the past summer1 looking to my custom of making a visit to ,cambridge in some part of the ,october ,term1 ,i had determined that a visit to ,ely this year should not depend on the chance of being free to leave ,cambridge1 but that1 if it should be found convenient to yourself and the ,dean1 the first journey should be made to ,ely4 ,i wish that ,i had formed the same resolution one or two years ago4 ,with many thanks for your kindness1 and with deep sympathy on this occasion1 ,i am1 ,my dear ,madam1 ,yours very faithfully1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,sheepshanks was a ,fellow of ,trinity1 in orders3 he was probably seven years older than ,airy 7he took his degree in #ahaf74 ,he was not one of ,airy's earliest friends1 but he had a great taste and liking for astronomy1 and the friendship between them when once established became very close4 ,he was a very staunch and fearless friend1 an able and incisive writer1 and remarkably energetic and diligent in astronomical investigations4 ,he1 or his sister1 ,miss ,sheepshanks1 had a house in ,london1 and ,sheepshanks was very much in ,london1 and busied himself extremely with the work of the ,royal ,observatory1 that of the ,board of ,longitude1 and miscellaneous astronomical matters4 ,he was most hospitable to his friends1 and while ,airy resided at ,cambridge his house was always open to receive him on his frequent visits to town4 ,in the various polemical discussions on scientific matters in which ,airy was engaged1 ,sheepshanks was an invaluable ally1 and after ,airy's removal to ,greenwich had more or less separated him from his ,cambridge friends1 ,sheepshanks was still associated with him and took a keen interest in his ,greenwich work4 ,and this continued till ,sheepshanks's death4 ,the warmest friendship always subsisted between the family at the ,observatory and ,mr and ,miss ,sheepshanks4 ,there were many other friends1 able and talented men1 but these four were the chief1 and it is curious to note that they were all much older than ,airy4 ,it would seem as if ,airy's knowledge had matured in so remarkable a manner1 and the original work that he produced was so brilliant and copious1 that by common consent he ranked with men who were much his seniors3 and the natural gravity and decorum of his manners when quite a young man well supported the idea of an age considerably greater than was actually the case4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,,at ,,greenwich ,,observatory--#ahcf ,,to #ahdf4 #ahcf ,through the last quarter of #ahce ,i had kept everything going on at the ,greenwich ,observatory in the same manner in which ,mr ,pond had carried it on4 ,with the beginning of #ahcf my new system began4 ,i had already prepared #cj printed skeleton forms 7a system totally unknown to ,mr ,pond7 which were now brought into use4 ,and1 having seen the utility of the ,copying ,press in merchants' offices1 ,i procured one4 ,from this time my correspondence1 public and private1 is exceedingly perfect4 ,at this time the dwelling house was still unconnected with the ,observatory4 ,it had no staircase to the ,octagon ,room4 ,four new rooms had been built for me on the western side of the dwelling house1 but they were not yet habitable4 ,the ,north-east ,dome ground floor was still a passage room4 ,the ,north ,terrace was the official passage to the ,north-west ,dome1 where there was a miserable ,equatoreal1 and to the #be-;foot ,zenith ,tube 7in a square tower like a steeple1 which connected the ,n4,w4 ,dome with ,flamsteed's house74 ,the southern boundary of the garden ran down a hollow which divides the peninsula from the site of the present ,magnetic ,observatory1 in such a manner that the principal part of the garden was fully exposed to the public4 ,the ,computing ,room was a most pitiful little room4 ,there was so little room for me that ,i transported the principal table to a room in my house1 where ,i conducted much of my own official business4 ,a large useless reflecting telescope 7,ramage's71 on the plan and nearly of the size of ,sir ,w4 ,herschel's principal telescope1 encumbered the centre of the ,front ,court4 ,on ,jan4 #aath ,i addressed ,mr ,buck1 agent of the ,princess ,sophia of ,gloucester1 ,ranger of ,greenwich ,park1 for leave to enclose a portion of the ground overlooking my garden4 ,this was soon granted1 and ,i was partially delivered from the inconvenience of the public gaze4 ,the liberation was not complete till the ,magnetic ground was enclosed in #ahcg4 ,in the inferior departments of the ,admiralty1 especially in the ,hydrographic ,office 7then represented by ,captain ,beaufort7 with which ,i was principally connected1 the ,observatory was considered rather as a place for managing ,government chronometers than as a place of science4 ,the preceding ,first ,assistant 7,taylor7 had kept a book of letter references1 and ,i found that out of #hdj letters1 #hbj related to ,government chronometers only4 ,on ,jan4 #agth ,i mentally sketched my regulations for my own share in chronometer business4 ,i had some correspondence with ,captain ,beaufort1 but we could not agree1 and the matter was referred to the ,admiralty4 ,finally arrangements were made which put the chronometer business in proper subordination to the scientific charge of the ,observatory4 ,in my first negociations with the ,admiralty referring to acceptance of the office of ,astronomer ,royal1 in #ahcd1 ,lord ,auckland being then ,first ,lord of the ,admiralty1 ,i had stipulated that1 as my successor at ,cambridge would be unprepared to carry on my ,lectures1 ,i should have permission to give a final course of ,lectures there4 ,at the end of #ahce ,lord ,auckland was succeeded by ,lord ,minto3 ,i claimed the permission from him and he refused it4 ,when this was known in ,cambridge a petition was presented by many ,cambridge residents1 and ,lord ,minto yielded4 ,on ,april #ahth ,i went to ,cambridge with my wife1 residing at the ,bull ,inn1 and began ,lectures on ,april #bast3 they continued 7apparently7 to ,may #bgth4 ,my lecture-room was crowded 7the number of names was #aaj7 and the lectures gave great satisfaction4 ,i offered to the ,admiralty to put all the profits in their hands1 and transmitted a cheque to the ,accountant ,general of the ,navy3 but the ,admiralty declined to receive them4 ,on ,june #dth the ,annual ,visitation of the ,observatory was held1 ,mr ,f4 ,baily in the ,chair4 ,i presented a written ,report on the ,observatory 7a custom which ,i had introduced at ,cambridge7 in which ,i did not suppress the expression of my feelings about chronometer business4 ,the ,hydrographer1 ,captain ,beaufort1 who was one of the ,official ,visitors1 was irritated3 and by his influence the ,report was not printed4 ,i kept it and succeeding ,reports safe for three years1 and then the ,board of ,visitors agreed to print them2 and four ,reports were printed together1 and bound with the ,greenwich ,observations of #ahch4 ,in the course of this year ,i completed the volume of ,observations made at ,cambridge ,observatory in #ahce and on ,nov4 #ajth the printed copies were distributed4 ,about the end of #ahce the ,dome for the ,northumberland ,telescope was erected3 but apparently the polar frame was not erected4 ,the following account of an accident which occurred during the construction of the dome is extracted from a letter by ,airy to his wife dated #ahcf ,jan4 #cast4 ,the workmen's account of the dome blowing off is very curious3 it must have been a strange gust4 ,it started suddenly when the men were all inside and ,beaumont was looking up at it3 the cannon balls were thrown in with great violence 7one of them going between the spokes of ,ransomes' large casting71 and instantly after the dome had started1 the boards of the outside scaffolding which had been tossed up by the same gust dropped down into the gap which the dome had left4 ,it is a wonder that none of the men were hurt and that the iron was not broken4 ,the dome is quite covered and ,i think does not look so well as when the hooping was visible4 ,previous to #ahcf ,i had begun to contemplate the attachment of ,magnetic ,observations to the ,observatory1 and had corresponded with ,prof4 ,christie1 ,prof4 ,lloyd1 ,prof4 ,j4 ,d4 ,forbes1 and ,mr ,gauss on the subject4 ,on ,jan4 #abth #ahcf ,i addressed a formal letter to the ,admiralty1 and on ,jan4 #ahth received their answer that they had referred it to the ,board of ,visitors4 ,on ,march #beth ,i received authority for the expenditure of #cj1 and ,i believe that ,i then ordered ,merz's #b-;foot magnet4 ,the ,visitors met on ,feb4 #bfth and after some discussion the site was chosen and the extent of ground generally defined1 and on ,dec4 #bbnd ,mr ,spring ,rice 7,lord ,monteagle7 as ,chancellor of the ,exchequer virtually effected the transfer of the ground4 ,but no further steps were taken in #ahcf4 ,a letter on a systematic course of magnetic observations in various parts of the world was addressed by ,baron ,alexander ,humboldt to the ,duke of ,sussex1 ,president of the ,royal ,society2 and was referred to ,prof4 ,christie and me4 ,we reported on it on ,june #ith #ahcf1 strongly recommending the adoption of the scheme4 ,a plan had been proposed by the ,promoters of the ,london and ,gravesend ,railway 7,col4 ,landman1 ,engineer7 for carrying a railway at high level across the bottom of the ,park4 ,on ,jan4 #ith ,i received orders from the ,admiralty to examine into its possible effect in producing vibrations in the ,observatory4 ,after much correspondence1 examination of ground1 c41 ,i fixed upon a part of the ,greenwich ,railway 7not yet opened for traffic7 near the place where the ,croydon trunk line now joins it1 as the place for trains to run upon1 while ,i made observations with a telescope viewing a collimator by reflection in mercury at the distance of #ejj feet4 ,the experiments were made on ,jan4 #beth1 and ,i reported on ,feb4 #dth4 ,it was shewn that there would be some danger to the ,observatory4 ,on ,nov4 #bnd ,mr ,james ,walker1 ,engineer1 brought a model of a railway to pass by tunnel under the lower part of the ,park3 apparently this scheme was not pressed4 ,in addition to the routine work of the ,observatory1 a special set of observations were made to determine the mass of ,jupiter4--,also the ,solar ,eclipse of ,may #aeth was observed at ,greenwich in the manner which ,i had introduced at ,cambridge4--,the ,ordnance ,zenith ,sector1 and the instruments for the ,st ,helena ,observatory were brought for examination4--,much attention was given to chronometers1 and various steps were taken for their improvement4--,i had some important correspondence with ,mr 7,sir ,john7 ,lubbock1 upon the ,lunar ,theory generally and his proposed empirical lunar tables4 ,this was the first germ of the great reduction of ,lunar ,observations which ,i subsequently carried out4--,in ,october ,i was nominated on the ,council of the ,royal ,society1 having been admitted a ,fellow on ,feb4 #ahth #ahcf4 ,i was ,president of the ,astronomical ,society during this and the preceding year 7#ahcf and #ahce74 ,my connection with ,groombridge's ,catalogue of ,stars began in #ahcb1 and the examination1 in concert with ,mr ,baily1 of the edition printed by ,mr ,henry ,taylor1 resulted in its condemnation4 ,in #ahcd ,i volunteered to the ,admiralty to prepare a new edition1 and received their thanks and their authority for proceeding4 ,it required a great deal of examination of details1 and much time was spent on it in #ahcf3 but it was not brought to the state of readiness for press4 ,my predecessor1 ,mr ,pond1 died on ,sept4 #gth #ahcf1 and was interred in ,halley's tomb in ,lee churchyard4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following letter was written by ,airy in support of the application for a pension to ,mrs ,pond1 who had been left in great distress3 ,to ,,henry ,,warburton1 ,,esq4 ,the points upon which in my opinion ,mr ,pond's claims to the gratitude of ,astronomers are founded1 are principally the following4 ,first and chief1 the accuracy which he introduced into all the principal observations4 ,this is a thing which from its nature it is extremely difficult to estimate now1 so long after the change has been made1 and ,i can only say that so far as ,i can ascertain from books the change is one of very great extent3 for certainty and accuracy1 ,astronomy is quite a different thing from what it was1 and this is mainly due to ,mr ,pond4 ,the most striking exemplification of this is in his laborious working out of every conceivable cause or indication of error in the ,circle and the two ,circles3 but very great praise is also due for the new system which he introduced in working the ,transit4 ,in comparing ,mr ,pond's systems of observation with ,dr ,maskelyne's1 no one can avoid being impressed with the inferiority of ,dr ,maskelyne's4 ,it is very important to notice that the continental observatories which have since attracted so much attention did not at that time exist or did not exist in vigour4 ,secondly1 the attention bestowed by ,mr ,pond on those points 7chiefly of sidereal astronomy7 which he regarded as fundamental3 to which such masses of observations were directed as entirely to remove the doubts from probable error of individual observations or chance circumstances which have injured many other determinations4 ,thirdly1 the regularity of observation4 ,the effect of all these has been that1 since the commencement of ,mr ,pond's residence at ,greenwich1 ,astronomy considered as an accurate representation of the state of the heavens in the most material points has acquired a certainty and an extent which it never had before4 ,there is no period in the history of the science so clean4 ,on some matters 7in regard to the choice of observations7 ,i might say that my own judgment would have differed in some degree from ,mr ,pond's1 but one thing could have been gained only by giving up another1 and upon the general accuracy no improvement could have been made4 ,mr ,pond understood nothing of physical astronomy2 but neither did anybody else1 in ,england4 ,the supposed decrease of general efficiency in the last few years is to be ascribed to the following causes3 #a4 ,mr ,pond's ill health4 #b4 ,the inefficiency of his first assistant4 #c4 ,the oppression of business connected with chronometers4 ,the last of these1 as ,i have reason to think1 operated very far4 ,business of this nature which 7necessarily7 is daily and peremptory will always prevail over that which is general and confidential4 ,i will not trouble you with an account of the various ways in which the chronometer business teazed the ,astronomer ,royal 7several alterations having been made at my representation71 but shall merely remark that much of the business had no connection whatever with astronomy4 ,i beg to submit these remarks to your perusal1 requesting you to point out to me what part of them should be laid before any of the ,king's ,ministers1 at what time1 in what shape1 and to whom addressed4 ,i am quite sure that ,mrs ,pond's claims require nothing to ensure favourable consideration but the impression of such a feeling of ,mr ,pond's astronomical merits as must be entertained by any reasonable astronomer2 and ,i am most anxious to assist in conveying this impression4 ,of private history3 ,i went to ,suffolk for a week on ,mar4 #beth4 ,on ,sept4 #aith my son ,wilfrid 7my fourth child7 was born4 ,in ,october ,i made an excursion for a week round the coast of ,kent4 ,in ,november ,i went to my brother's house at ,keysoe in ,bedfordshire3 ,i was much exposed to cold on the return-journey1 which probably aggravated the illness that soon followed4 ,from ,nov4 #bgth ,i was ill2 made the last journal entry of the year on ,dec4 #fth2 the next was on ,jan4 #adth1 #ahcg4 ,i find that in this year ,i had introduced ,arthur ,biddell to the ,tithe ,commutation ,office1 where he was soon favourably received1 and from which connection he obtained very profitable employment as a valuer4 #ahcg ,my connection with ,cambridge ,observatory was not yet finished4 ,i had determined that ,i would not leave a figure to be computed by my successor4 ,in ,october ,i had 7at my private expense7 set ,mr ,glaisher to work on reducing the observations of ,sun1 ,moon1 and ,planets made in #ahcc1 #ahcd1 #ahce2 and subsequently had the calculations examined by ,mr ,hartnup4 ,this employed me at times through #ahcg4 ,i state here1 once for all1 that every calculation or other work in reference to the ,cambridge ,observatory1 in this and subsequent years1 was done at my private expense4 ,the work of the ,northumberland ,telescope was going on through the year3 from ,nov4 #bdth to #bith ,i was at ,cambridge on these works4 ,an object-glass of #f-c_/d inches aperture 7a most unusual size at this time1 when it was difficult to find a #d-;inch or #e-;inch glass7 had been presented to the ,greenwich ,observatory by my friend ,mr ,sheepshanks1 and on ,mar4 #bith ,i received from the ,admiralty authority for mounting it equatoreally in the empty ,south ,dome1 which had been intended for a copy of the ,palermo ,circle4--,in the month of ,july the ,admiralty wished for my political assistance in a ,greenwich election1 but ,i refused to give any4--,on ,jan4 #crd ,i gave notice to the ,admiralty that ,i had finished the computations of ,groombridge's ,catalogue1 and was ready to print4 ,the printing was authorized and proceeded 7the introduction was finished on ,nov4 #bbnd71 but the book was not quite ready till the beginning of #ahch4--;,in connection with the ,cavendish experiment3 on ,june #ajth ,i wrote to ,spring ,rice 7,chancellor of the ,exchequer7 for #ejj1 which was soon granted3 and from this time there is a great deal of correspondence 7mainly with ,mr ,baily7 upon the details of the experiment and the theory of the calculation4--,on ,july #bdth ,i saw the descent of the parachute by which ,mr ,cocking was killed4 ,i attended the coroner's inquest and gave evidence a few days later4 ,the ,planetary ,reductions from #agej to #ahcj had been going on3 the computers 7,glaisher1 ,hartnup1 and ,thomas7 worked in the ,octagon ,room1 and considerable advance was made4--,in consequence of the agitation of the proposal by ,mr ,lubbock to form empirical tables of the ,moon1 for which ,i proposed to substitute complete reduction of the observations of the ,moon from #agej1 the ,british ,association at ,york 7,oct4 #bcrd1 #ahcg7 appointed a deputation 7including myself7 to place the matter before the ,government4 ,i wrote on the matter to ,mr ,wood 7,lord ,halifax7 stating that it would be proper to raise the ,first ,assistant's salary1 and to give me more indefinite power about employing computers4 ,in all these things ,i received cordial assistance from ,mr ,wood4 ,the ,chancellor of the ,exchequer 7,mr ,spring ,rice7 received us on ,dec4 #bjth3 statements were furnished by me1 and the business was sanctioned immediately4--,during this year ,i was very much engaged in correspondence with ,lubbock and others on improvements of the ,lunar ,theory4 ,in the operations of #ahcf and #ahcg a great quantity of papers had been accumulated4 ,i had kept them in reasonably good order1 tied up in bundles3 but this method began to fail in convenience1 as the number increased4 ,the great lines of classification were however now well understood4 ,i believe it was in the latter part of the year #ahcg that ,i finally settled on the principle of arranging papers in packets and subordinate packets1 every paper being flat1 by the use of four punched holes in every paper4 ,i have never seen any principle of arrangement comparable to this4 ,it has been adopted with the greatest ease by every assistant1 and is used to the present time 7#ahga7 without alteration4 ,on ,jan4 #crd ,i was informed unofficially by ,mr ,wood 7,admiralty ,secretary7 that the addition of the ,magnetic ,ground was sanctioned4 ,on ,feb4 #afth ,mr ,rhodes 7an officer of the ,department of ,woods and ,works7 came to put me formally in possession of the ground4 ,between ,apr4 #bfth and ,may #acth the ground was enclosed1 and my garden was completely protected from the public4 ,the plan of the building was settled1 and numerous experiments were made on various kinds of concrete3 at last it was decided to build with wood4 ,after a dinner given by ,lord ,burlington1 ,chancellor1 the first meeting of the ,london ,university was held on ,mar4 #dth1 and others followed4 ,on ,apr4 #ahth ,i handed to the ,chancellor a written protest against a vote of a salary of #ajjj to the ,registrar3 which salary1 in fact1 the ,government refused to sanction4 ,dissensions on the question of religious examination were already beginning1 but ,i took little part in them4 ,in #ahcc ,mr ,henderson had resigned the superintendance of the ,cape of ,good ,hope ,observatory1 and ,mr ,maclear was appointed4 ,i recommended the same ,official ,instructions for him 7they had included an allusion to ,la ,caille's ,arc of ,meridian7 with an addition on the probability of ,trigonometrical ,survey1 on ,aug4 #hth1 #ahcg4 ,on ,feb4 #bdth1 #ahcg1 ,i wrote to ,beaufort suggesting that ,bradley's ,sector should be used for verifying the astronomical determinations1 and subsequently received the approval of the ,admiralty4 ,in ,june ,sir ,j4 ,herschel and ,i had an interview with ,mr ,wood on the ,cape equipment generally4 ,the ,sector was erected with its new mounting1 careful drawings were made of every part1 instructions were prepared for its use1 and on ,aug4 #ajth it was sent to ,woolwich ,dockyard and shipped for the ,cape4 ,of private history3 ,on ,aug4 #bcrd ,i started with my wife for an excursion in ,south ,wales1 c4 ,on ,sept4 #ith ,i gave a lecture in the ,town ,hall of ,neath4 ,while at ,swansea we received news of the death of my wife's father1 the ,rev4 ,richard ,smith1 and returned at once4--,in this year ,arthur ,biddell bought the little ,eye estate for me4 #ahch ,cambridge ,observatory3--,on ,dec4 #bith1 #ahcg1 ,i had set ,mr ,glaisher to work in collecting the annual results for star-places from the ,cambridge ,observations1 to form one catalogue3 ,i examined the calculations and the deduced catalogue1 and on ,dec4 #ad1 #ahch1 presented it to the ,royal ,astronomical ,society1 under the title of ',the ,first ,cambridge ,catalogue4'--,for the ,northumberland telescope ,i was engaged with ,simms about the clockwork from time to time up to ,apr4 #cjth1 and went to ,cambridge about it4 ,the instrument was brought to a useable state1 but some small parts were still wanting4 ,at ,greenwich3--,in ,april ,i drew up a little history of the ,observatory for the ,penny ,cyclopaedia4--,on ,june #cjth the ,lords of the ,admiralty paid a short visit to the ,observatory3 on this occasion ,mr ,wood suggested a passage connecting the ,observatory with the dwelling-house1 and ,i subsequently prepared sketches for it2 it was made in the next year4--,in the course of the year the ,sheepshanks ,equatoreal was mounted1 and ,encke's ,comet was observed with it from ,oct4 #bfth to ,nov4 #acth4--,on ,mar4 #cast1 c4 ,i reported to the ,admiralty on the selection of chronometers for purchase1 from a long list3 this was an important beginning of a new system4--,the ,magnetic ,observatory was built1 in the form originally planned for it 7a four-armed cross with equal arms1 one axis being in the magnetic meridian7 in the beginning of this year4 7,no alteration has since been made in form up to the present time1 #ahga1 except that the north arm has been lengthened #h feet a few years ago47 ,on ,may #bast a magnet was suspended for the first time1 ,mr ,baily and ,lieut4 7afterwards ,sir ,william7 ,denison being present4--,groombridge's ,catalogue was finished1 and on ,mar4 #crd ,i arranged for sending out copies4--,the ,planetary ,reductions were carried on vigorously4 ,on ,may #cast1 #ahch1 the ,treasury assented to the undertaking of the ,lunar ,reductions and allotted #b1jjj for it3 preparations were made1 and in the autumn #g computers were employed upon it4 ,it will easily be seen that this undertaking added much to my labours and cares4--,the geodetic affairs of the ,cape of ,good ,hope began to be actively pressed1 and in ,february ,beaufort wrote to me in consequence of an application from ,maclear1 asking about a standard of length for ,maclear 7as foundation for a geodetic survey74 ,i made enquiries1 and on ,mar4 #acth wrote to ,mr ,wood1 alluding also generally to the want of a ,national ,english standard after the destruction of the ,houses of ,parliament4 ,on ,apr4 #bdth the ,admiralty sanctioned my procuring proper ,standard ,bars4--,in connection with the ,cavendish ,experiment1 ,i have an immense quantity of correspondence with ,mr ,baily1 and all the mathematics were furnished by me3 the experiment was not finished at the end of the year4--,the ,perturbations of ,uranus were now attracting attention4 ,i had had some correspondence on this subject with ,dr ,hussey in #ahcd1 and in #ahcg with ,eugne ,bouvard4 ,on ,feb4 #bdth1 of #ahch1 ,i wrote to ,schumacher regarding the error in the tabular radius-vector of ,uranus1 which my mode of reducing the observations enabled me to see4 ,the ,national ,standards of ,length and ,weight had been destroyed in the fire of the ,houses of ,parliament4 ,on ,may #aath ,i received a letter from ,mr ,spring ,rice1 requesting me to act 7as chairman7 with a committee consisting of ,f4 ,baily1 ,j4,e4 ,drinkwater ,bethune1 ,davies ,gilbert1 ,j4,g4,s4 ,lefevre1 ,j4,w4 ,lubbock1 ,g4 ,peacock1 and ,r4 ,sheepshanks1 to report on the steps now to be taken4 ,i accepted the charge1 and the first meeting was held at the ,observatory on ,may #bbnd2 all subsequent meetings in ,london1 usually in the apartments of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society4 ,i acted both as chairman and as working secretary4 ,our enquiries went into a very wide field1 and ,i had much correspondence4 ,on ,jan4 #dth ,mr ,wood wrote to me1 mentioning that ,capt4 ,johnson had made some observations on the magnetism of iron ships1 and asking whether they ought to be continued2 a steamer being offered at #ej per week4 ,i applied to ,beaufort for a copy of ,johnson's ,observations1 and on ,jan4 #gth replied very fully1 discouraging such observations2 but recommending a train of observations expressly directed to theoretical points4 ,on ,feb4 #agth ,i reported that ,i had examined the ,deptford ,basin1 and found that it would do fairly well for experiments4 ,on ,july #adth1 #ahch1 ,capt4 ,beaufort wrote to me that the ,admiralty wished for experiments on the ship1 the ',rainbow1' then in the river1 and enquired whether ,i would undertake them and what assistance ,i desired1 as for instance that of ,christie or ,barlow4 ,i replied that one person should undertake it1 either ,christie1 ,barlow1 or myself1 and that a basin was desirable4 ,on ,july #afth and #agth ,i looked at the basins of ,woolwich and ,deptford1 approving the latter4 ,on ,july #bast the ,admiralty gave me full powers4 ,from ,july #bcrd ,i was almost entirely employed on preparations4 ,the course of operations is described in my printed ,paper3 the original maps1 curves1 and graphical projections1 are in the bound ,,mss43 ',correction of ,compass in ,iron ,ships--,rainbow1' at the ,greenwich ,observatory4 ,the angular disturbances were found on ,july #bfth and #cjth1 requiring some further work on a raft1 so that they were finally worked out on ,aug4 #aath4 ,i struggled hard with the numbers1 but should not have succeeded if it had not occurred to me to examine the horizontal magnetic intensities4 ,this was done on ,aug4 #adth1 and the explanation of the whole was suggested at once3 graphical projections were made on ,aug4 #afth and #agth for comparison of my explanation with observations1 and the business was complete4 ,on ,aug4 #agth and #ahth ,i measured the intensity of some magnets1 to be used in the ship for correction4 ,it is to be remarked that1 besides the effect of polar magnetism1 there was no doubt of the existence of an effect of induced magnetism requiring correction by other induced magnetism3 and experiments for this were made in the ,magnetic ,observatory4 ,all was ready for trial3 and on ,aug4 #bjth ,i carried my magnets and iron correctors to ,deptford1 mounted them in the proper places1 tried the ship1 and the compass1 which had been disturbed #ej degrees to the right and #ej degrees to the left1 was now sensibly correct4 ,on ,aug4 #bast ,i reported this to the ,admiralty1 and on ,aug4 #bdth ,i tried the ship to ,gravesend4 ,on ,aug4 #cjth ,i had the loan of her for an expedition with a party of friends to ,sheerness1 and on ,sept4 #ith ,i accompanied her to ,gravesend1 on her first voyage to ,antwerp4--,on ,oct4 #eth application was made to me by the owner of the ',ironsides' to correct her compasses4 ,in consequence of this ,i went to ,liverpool on ,oct4 #beth1 and on this occasion made a very important improvement in the practical mode of performing the correction4--,on ,nov4 #afth ,i reported to the ,admiralty in considerable detail4 ,on ,dec4 #dth ,i had an interview with ,lord ,minto 7,first ,lord of the ,admiralty7 and ,mr ,wood4 ,they refused to sanction any reward to me4--,the following is a copy of the report of the ,captain of the ',rainbow' after her voyage to ,antwerp3 ',having had the command of the ,rainbow steamer the two voyages between ,london and ,antwerp1 ,i have the pleasure to inform you that ,i am perfectly satisfied as to the correctness of the compasses1 and feel quite certain they will continue so4 ,i took particular notice from land to land from our departure and found the bearings by compass to be exact4'--,the following extracts from letters to his wife refer to the ,ironsides3 on ,oct4 #bhth #ahch he writes1 ,i worked up the observations so much as to see that the compass disturbance is not so great as in the ',rainbow' 7#ce instead of #ej71 but quite enough to make the vessel worthless2 and that it is quite different in direction from that in the ',rainbow'--so that if they had stolen one of the ',rainbow' correctors and put it into this ship it would have been much worse than before4 ,and on ,nov4 #ast he writes1 ,on ,wednesday ,i again went to the ship and tried small alterations in the correctors3 ,i am confident now that the thing is very near1 but we were most abominably baffled by the sluggishness of the compass4 ,the ,university of ,london3--,on ,jan4 #fth ,i attended a sub-committee meeting on the minimum of acquirements for ,b4,a4 degree1 and various meetings of the ,senate4 ,on ,july #adth ,i intimated to ,mr ,spring ,rice my wish to resign4 ,i had various correspondence1 especially with ,mr ,lubbock1 and on ,dec4 #acth ,i wrote to him on the necessity of stipends to ,members of ,senate4 ,the dissensions on religious examination became very strong4 ,i took a middle course1 demanding examination in the languages and books1 but absolutely refusing to claim any religious assent4 ,i expressed this to ,dr ,jerrard1 the principal representative on the religious side1 by calling on him to substitute the words ',recognition of ,christian ,literature' for ',recognition of ,christian ,religion'3 ,i addressed a printed letter to ,lord ,burlington 7,chancellor7 and the ,members of the ,senate1 on this subject4 ,of private history3 ,in ,january ,i made a short excursion in ,norfolk and ,suffolk1 and visited ,prof4 ,sedgwick at ,norwich4 ,in ,april ,i paid a short visit to ,mr ,courtney at ,sanderstead1 with my wife4 ,on ,june #adth my son ,hubert was born4 ,in ,september ,i went with my sister by ,cambridge1 c41 to ,luddington1 where ,i made much enquiry concerning my father and the family of ,airy who had long been settled there4 ,we then visited various places in ,yorkshire1 and arrived at ,brampton1 near ,chesterfield1 where ,mrs ,smith1 my wife's mother1 now resided4 ,and returned by ,rugby4 ,i had much correspondence with my brother and for him about private pupils and a better church living4 ,i complained to the ,bishop of ,norwich about the mutilation of a celebrated monument in ,playford ,church by the incumbent and curate4 ,the following extracts are from letters to his wife relating to the above-mentioned journeys3 ,,close1 ,,norwich4 #ahch1 ,jan4 #ba4 ,i do not know what degree of cold you may have had last night1 but here it was 7,i believe7 colder than before--thermometer close to the house at #c4 ,i have not suffered at all4 ,however ,i do not intend to go to ,lowestoft4 ,,brampton4 #ahch1 ,sept4 #cjth4 ,we began to think that we had seen enough of ,scarborough1 so we took a chaise in the afternoon to ,pickering1 a small agricultural town1 and lodged in a comfortable inn there4 ,on ,wednesday morning at #h we started by the railroad for ,whitby1 in a huge carriage denominated the ,lady ,hilda capable of containing #dj persons or more drawn by one horse1 or in the steep parts of the railway by two horses4 ,the road goes through a set of defiles of the eastern moorlands of ,yorkshire which are extremely pretty3 at first woody and rich1 then gradually poorer1 and at last opening on a black moor with higher moors in sight3 descending in one part by a long crooked inclined plane1 the carriage drawing up another load by its weight3 through a little tunnel3 and then along a valley to ,whitby4 ,the rate of travelling was about #aj miles an hour4 ,betsy declares that it was the most agreeable travelling that she ever had4 ,yesterday 7,saturday7 ,caroline drove ,betsy and ,miss ,barnes drove me to ,clay ,cross to see the works at the great railroad tunnel there4 ,coming from the north1 the railroad passes up the ,chesterfield valley close by the town and continues up the same valley1 till it is necessary for it to enter the valley which runs the opposite way towards ,buttersley3 the tunnel passes under the high ground between these two vallies3 so that it is in reality at the water-shed3 it is to be ,i think more than a mile long1 and when finished #bg feet clear in height1 so it is a grand place4 ,we saw the preparations for a blast1 and heard it fired3 the ladies stopping their ears in due form4 #ahci ,cambridge ,observatory3--,on ,mar4 #gth ,i went to ,cambridge on the business of the ,northumberland ,telescope3 ,i was subsequently engaged on the accounts1 and on ,aug4 #afth ,i finally resigned it to ,prof4 ,challis1 who accepted it on ,aug4 #aith4 ,on ,sept4 #aath ,i communicated its completion and the settlement of accounts to the ,duke of ,northumberland4 ,the total expense was #aich4 #is4 #b;d4 #aejjj francs for the object-glass4 ,at ,greenwich ,observatory3--,on ,jan4 #crd ,i received the last revise of the #ahcg ,observations1 and on ,jan4 #hth the first sheet for #ahch4--;,in ,july ,i report on selection from a long list of chronometers which had been on trial1 and on ,sept4 #bnd ,i pointed out to ,capt4 ,beaufort that the system of offering only one price would be ruinous to the manufacture of chronometers1 and to the character of those supplied to the ,admiralty3 and that ,i would undertake any trouble of classifying the chronometers tried4 ,this letter introduced the system still in use 7#ahga71 which has been most beneficial to the manufacture4 ,on ,sept4 #aath ,i proposed that all trials begin in the first week of ,january3 this also has been in use as an established system to the present time4--,it was pointed out to me that a certain chronometer was affected by external magnetic power4 ,i remedied this by placing under it a free compass magnet3 a stand was specially prepared for it4 ,i have never found another chronometer sensibly affected by magnetism4--,in ,november and ,december ,i tried my new double-image micrometer4--,between ,may #afth and ,oct4 #acth a fireproof room was constructed in the southern part of the quadrant room2 and in ,november a small shed was erected over the entrance to the ,north ,terrace4--,the position of the free ,meridional ,magnet 7now mounted in the ,magnetic ,observatory7 was observed at every #e m4 through #bd hours on ,feb4 #bbnd and #bcrd1 ,may #bdth and #beth1 ,aug4 #cjth and #cast1 and ,nov4 #bith and #cjth4 ,this was done in cooperation with the system of the ,magnetic ,union established by ,gauss in ,germany4--,the ,reduction of the ,greenwich ,planetary and ,lunar ,observations1 #agej to #ahcj1 went on steadily4 ,i had six and sometimes seven computers constantly at work1 in the ,octagon ,room4--,as in #ahch ,i had a great amount of correspondence with ,mr ,baily on the ,cavendish ,experiment4--,i attended as regularly as ,i could to the business of the ,university of ,london4 ,the religious question did not rise very prominently4 ,i took a very active part1 and have a great deal of correspondence1 on the nature of the intended examinations in ,hydrography and ,civil ,engineering4--,on the ,standards ,commission the chief work was in external enquiries4--,on ,june #fth ,i had enquiries from ,john ,quincey ,adams 7,u4,s4,a47 on the expense1 c41 of observatories3 an observatory was contemplated in ,america4--,i had correspondence about the proposed establishment of observatories at ,durham1 ,glasgow1 and ,liverpool4 ,i had in this year a great deal of troublesome and on the whole unpleasant correspondence with the ,admiralty about the correction of the compass in iron ships4 ,i naturally expected some acknowledgment of an important service rendered to ,navigation3 but the ,admiralty peremptorily refused it4 ,my account of the ,experiments c4 for the ,royal ,society is dated ,april #ith4 ,the general success of the undertaking soon became notorious1 and 7as ,i understood7 led immediately to extensive building of iron ships3 and it led also to applications to me for correction of compasses4 ,on ,jan4 #ith ,i was addressed in reference to the ,royal ,sovereign and ,royal ,george at ,liverpool2 ,july #ahth the ,orwell2 ,may #aath two ,russian ships built on the ,thames2 ,sept4 #dth the ships of the ,lancaster ,company4 ,i had much work in connection with the ,cape of ,good ,hope ,observatory1 chiefly relating to the instrumental equipment and to the geodetical work4 ,as it was considered advisable that any base measured in the ,cape ,colony should be measured with compensation bars1 ,i applied to ,major ,jervis for the loan of those belonging to the ,east ,indian ,survey1 but he positively refused to lend them4 ,on ,jan4 #bjth ,i applied to ,col4 ,colby for the compensation bars of the ,british ,survey1 and he immediately assented to lending them4 ,col4 ,colby had suggested to the ,ordnance ,department that ,capt4 ,henderson and several sappers should be sent to use the measuring bars1 and it was so arranged4 ,it still appeared desirable to have the command of some soldiers from the ,garrison of ,cape ,town1 and this matter was soon arranged with the military authorities by the ,admiralty4 ,the following are the principal points of my private history3 it was a very sad year4 ,on ,jan4 #bdth ,i went with my wife to ,norwich1 on a visit to ,prof4 ,sedgwick1 and in ,june ,i visited ,sir ,j4 ,herschel at ,slough4 ,on ,june #acth my dear boy ,arthur was taken ill3 his malady soon proved to be scarlet fever1 of which he died on ,june #bdth at #g in the morning4 ,it was arranged that he should be buried in ,playford churchyard on the #bhth1 and on that day ,i proceeded to ,playford with my wife and my eldest son ,george ,richard4 ,at ,chelmsford my son was attacked with slight sickness1 and being a little unwell did not attend his brother's funeral4 ,on ,july #ast at #d;h4#aem4 in the morning he also died3 he had some time before suffered severely from an attack of measles1 and it seemed probable that his brain had suffered4 ,on ,july #eth he was buried by the side of his brother ,arthur in ,playford churchyard4--,on ,july #bcrd ,i went to ,colchester on my way to ,walton-on-the-,naze1 with my wife and all my family2 all my children had been touched1 though very lightly1 with the scarlet fever4--,it was near the end of this year that my mother quitted the house 7,luck's7 at ,playford1 and came to live with me at ,greenwich ,observatory1 where she lived till her death2 having her own attendant1 and living in perfect confidence with my wife and myself1 and being ,i trust as happy as her years and widowhood permitted4 ,my sister also lived with me at the ,observatory4 #ahdj ,in the latter part of #ahci1 and through #ahdj1 ,i had much correspondence with the ,admiralty1 in which ,i obtained a complete account of the transfer of the ,observatory from the ,ordnance ,department to the ,admiralty1 and the transfer of the ,visitation of the ,observatory from the ,royal ,society to the present ,board of ,visitors4 ,in #ahdj ,i found that the papers of the ,board of ,longitude were divided between the ,royal ,society and the ,admiralty3 ,i obtained the consent of both to bring them to the ,observatory4 ,in this year ,i began to arrange about an annual dinner to be held at the ,visitation4--,my double-image micrometer was much used for observations of circumpolar double stars4--,in ,magnetism and ,meteorology1 certain quarterly observations were kept up2 but in ,november the system of incessant eye-observations was commenced4 ,i refused to commence this until ,i had secured a ',watchman's ,clock' for mechanical verification of the regular attendance of the ,assistants4--,with regard to chronometers3 ,in this year1 for the first time1 ,i took the very important step of publishing the rates obtained by comparisons at the ,observatory4 ,i confined myself on this occasion to the chronometers purchased by the ,admiralty4 ,in ,march a pigeon-house was made for exposure of chronometers to cold4--,the ,lunar and ,planetary ,reductions were going on steadily4--,i was consulted about an ,observatory at ,oxford1 where ,i supported the introduction of the ,heliometer4--,the stipend of the ,bakerian ,lecture was paid to me for my explanation of ,brewster's new prismatic fringes4--,the business of the ,cape ,observatory and ,survey occupied much of my time4--,in #ahch the ,rev4 ,h4 ,j4 ,rose 7,editor of the ,encyclopaedia ,metropolitana7 had proposed my writing a ,paper on ,tides1 c42 ,in ,oct4 #ahdj ,i gave him notice that ,i must connect ,tides with ,waves1 and in that way ,i will take up the subject4 ,much correspondence on ,tides1 c41 with ,whewell and others followed4 ,with regard to the ,magnetical and ,meteorological ,establishment4 ,on ,june #ahth ,mr ,lubbock reported from the ,committee of ,physics of the ,royal ,society to the ,council in favour of a ,magnetic and ,meteorological ,observatory near ,london4 ,after correspondence with ,sheepshanks1 ,lord ,northampton1 and ,herschel1 ,i wrote to the ,council on ,july #ith1 pointing out what the ,admiralty had done at ,greenwich1 and offering to cooperate4 ,in a letter to ,lord ,minto ,i stated that my estimate was #eej1 including #ajj to the ,first ,assistant3 ,lubbock's was #c1jjj4 ,on ,aug4 #aath the ,treasury assented1 limiting it to the duration of ,ross's voyage4 ,on ,aug4 #agth ,wheatstone looked at our buildings and was satisfied4 ,my estimate was sent to the ,admiralty1 viz4 #aej outfit1 #ebj annual expense2 and ,glaisher to be ,superintendent4 ,i believe this was allowed for the present2 for the following year it was placed on the ,estimates4 ,most of the contemplated observations were begun before the end of #ahdj3 as much as possible in conformity with the ,royal ,society's plan4 ,mr ,hind 7subsequently the ,superintendent of the ,nautical ,almanac7 and ,mr ,paul were the first extra assistants4 ,of private history4 ,on ,feb4 #bith ,i went to ,cambridge with my ,paper on the ,going ,fusee4 ,on ,mar4 #bgth ,i went to visit ,mrs ,smith1 my wife's mother1 at ,brampton near ,chesterfield4 ,i made a short visit to ,playford in ,april and a short expedition to ,winchester1 ,portsmouth1 c41 in ,june4 ,from ,sept4 #eth to ,oct4 #crd ,i was travelling in the ,north of ,england and ,south of ,scotland4 ,this was an extremely active and interesting journey1 in the course of which a great number of places were visited by ,airy1 especially places on the ,border mentioned in ,scott's ,poems1 which always had a great attraction for him4 ,he also attended a ,meeting of the ,british ,association at ,glasgow and made a statement regarding the ,planetary and ,lunar ,reductions3 and looked at a site for the ,glasgow ,observatory4 ,in ,november ,i went for a short time to ,cambridge and to ,keysoe 7my brother's residence74 ,on ,dec4 #bfth my daughter ,hilda was born 7subsequently married to ,e4,j4 ,routh74 ,in this year ,i had a loss of #cej by a fire on my ,eye estate4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following extracts are from letters to his wife4 ,some of them relate to matters of general interest4 ,they are all of them characteristic1 and serve to shew the keen interest which he took in matters around him1 and especially in architecture and scenery4 ,the first letter relates to his journey from ,chesterfield on the previous day4 ,,flamsteed ,,house1 #ahdj1 ,april #b4 ,i was obliged to put up with an outside place to ,derby yesterday1 much against my will1 for ,i was apprehensive that the cold would bring on the pain in my face4 ,of that ,i had not much2 but ,i have caught something of sore throat and catarrh4 ,the coach came up at about #bb minutes past #h4 ,it arrived in ,derby at #bj minutes or less past #aa 7same guard and coachman who brought us71 and drew up in the street opposite the inn at which we got no dinner1 abreast of an omnibus4 ,i had to go to a coach office opposite the inn to pay and be booked for ,london1 and was duly set down in a way-bill with name2 and then entered the omnibus3 was transferred to the ,railway ,station1 and then received the ,railway ,ticket by shouting out my name4 ,if you should come the same way1 you would find it convenient to book your place at ,chesterfield to ,london by your name 7paying for the whole1 namely1 coach fare1 omnibus fare -_/#f1 and railway fare #a4 #aes4 #j;d4 first class74 ,then you will only have to step out of the coach into the omnibus1 and to scream out once or twice to the guard to make sure that you are entered in the way-bill and that your luggage is put on the omnibus4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,flamsteed ,,house1 ,,greenwich1 #ahdj1 ,april #ae4 ,i forgot to tell you that at ,lord ,northampton's ,i saw some specimens of the ,daguerrotype1 pictures made by the ,camera ,obscura1 and they surpass in beauty of execution anything that ,i could have imagined4 ,baily who has two or three has promised to lend them for your inspection when you return4 ,also ,i saw some post-office stamps and stamped envelopes3 ,i do not much admire the latter4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following relates to the fire on his ,eye farm1 referred to above3 ,,playford1 #ahdj1 ,april #bc4 ,on ,wednesday 7yesterday7 went with my uncle to the ,eye ,estate1 to see the effects of the fire4 ,the farming buildings of every kind are as completely cleared away as if they had been mown down3 not a bit of anything but one or two short brick walls and the brick foundations of the barns and stacks4 ,the aspect of the place is much changed1 because in approaching the house you do not see it upon a back-ground of barns1 c41 but standing alone4 ,the house is in particularly neat and good order4 ,i did not think it at all worth while to make troublesome enquiries of the people who reside there1 but took ,mr ,case's account4 ,there seems no doubt that the fire was caused by the maid-servant throwing cinders into a sort of muck-place into which they had been commonly thrown4 ,i suppose there was after all this dry weather straw or muck drier than usual1 and the cinders were hotter than usual4 ,the whole was on fire in an exceedingly short time2 and everything was down in less than an hour4 ,two engines came from ,eye1 and all the population of the town 7as the fire began shortly after two o'clock in the afternoon74 ,it is entirely owing to these that my house1 and the farm 7,sewell's7 on the opposite side of the road1 were not burned down4 ,at the beginning of the fire the wind was ,n4,e4 which blew directly towards the opposite farm 7,sewell's73 although the nearest part of it 7tiled dwelling house7 was #ajj yards off or near it1 and the great barn 7thatched roof7 considerably further1 yet both were set on fire several times4 ,all this while1 the tail of my house was growing very hot3 and shortly after the buildings fell in burning ruins1 the wind changed to ,n4,w41 blowing directly to my house4 ,if this change had happened while the buildings were standing and burning1 there would have been no possibility of saving the house4 ,as it was1 the solder is melted from the window next the farm-yard1 and the roof was set on fire in three or four places4 ,one engine was kept working on my house and one on the opposite farm4 ,a large pond was pretty nearly emptied4 ,mr ,case's horses and bullocks were got out1 not without great difficulty1 as the progress of the fire was fearfully rapid4 ,a sow and nine pigs were burnt1 and a large hog ran out burnt so much that the people killed it immediately4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,george ,,inn1 ,,winchester1 #ahdj1 ,june #ba4 ,at ,winchester we established ourselves at the ,george and then without delay proceeded to ,st ,cross4 ,i did not know before the nature of its hospital establishment1 but ,i find that it is a veritable set of alms-houses4 ,the church is a most curious specimen of the latest ,norman4 ,i never saw one so well marked before--,norman ornaments on pointed arches1 pilasters detached with cushion capitals1 and various signs3 and it is clearly an instance of that state of the style when people had been forced by the difficulties and inelegancies of the round arch in groining to adopt pointed arches for groining but had not learnt to use them for windows4444444,this morning after breakfast went to the ,cathedral 7looking by the way at a curious old cross in the street74 ,i thought that its inside was wholly ,norman1 and was most agreeably surprised by finding the whole inside groined in every part with excellent late decorated or perpendicular work4 ,yet there are several signs about it which lead me to think that the whole inside has been ,norman1 and even that the pilasters now worked up into the perpendicular are ,norman4 ,the transepts are most massive old ,norman1 with side-aisles running round their ends 7which ,i never saw before74 ,the groining of the side aisles of the nave very effective from the strength of the cross ribs4 ,the clerestory windows of the quire very large4 ,the organ is on one side4 ,but the best thing about the quire is the wooden stall-work1 of early decorated1 very beautiful4 ,a superb ,lady ,chapel1 of early ,english4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,portsmouth1 #ahdj1 ,june #bc4 ,we left ,winchester by evening train to the ,dolphin1 ,southampton1 and slept there4 ,at nine in the morning we went by steamboat down the river to ,ryde in the ,isle of ,wight3 our steamer was going on to ,portsmouth1 but we thought it better to land at ,ryde and take a boat for ourselves4 ,we then sailed out 7rather a blowing day7 to the vessel attending ,col4 ,pasley's operations1 and after a good deal of going from one boat to another 7the sea being so rough that our boat could not be got up to the ships7 and a good deal of waiting1 we got on board the barge or lump in which ,col4 ,pasley was4 ,here we had the satisfaction of seeing the barrel of gunpowder lowered 7there was more than a ton of gunpowder71 and seeing the divers go down to fix it1 dressed in their diving helmets and supplied with air from the great air-pump above4 ,when all was ready and the divers had ascended again1 the barge in which we were was warped away1 and by a galvanic battery in another barge 7which we had seen carried there1 and whose connection with the barrel we had seen71 upon signal given by sound of trumpet1 the gunpowder was fired4 ,the effect was most wonderful4 ,the firing followed the signal instantaneously4 ,we were at between #ajj and #bjj yards from the place 7as ,i judge71 and the effects were as follows4 ,as soon as the signal was given1 there was a report1 louder than a musket but not so loud as a small cannon1 and a severe shock was felt at our feet1 just as if our barge had struck on a rock4 ,almost immediately1 a very slight swell was perceived over the place of the explosion1 and the water looked rather foamy3 then in about a second it began to rise1 and there was the most enormous outbreak of spray that you can conceive4 ,it rose in one column of #fj or #gj feet high1 and broad at the base1 resembling a stumpy sheaf with jagged masses of spray spreading out at the sides1 and seemed to grow outwards till ,i almost feared that it was coming to us4 ,it sunk1 ,i suppose1 in separate parts1 for it did not make any grand squash down1 and then there were seen logs of wood rising1 and a dense mass of black mud1 which spread gradually round till it occupied a very large space4 ,fish were stunned by it3 our boatmen picked up some4 ,it was said by all present that this was the best explosion which had been seen3 it was truly wonderful4 ,then we sailed to ,portsmouth4444444,the explosion was a thing worth going many miles to see4 ,there were many yachts and sailing boats out to see it 7,i counted #bf before they were at the fullest71 so that the scene was very gay4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here are some notes on ,york ,cathedral after the fire3 ,,red ,,lion ,,hotel1 ,,redcar1 #ahdj1 ,sept4 #g4 ,my first letter was closed after service at ,york ,cathedral4 ,as soon as ,i had posted it1 ,i walked sedately twice round the cathedral1 and then ,i found the sexton at the door1 who commiserating me of my former vain applications1 and having the hope of lucre before his eyes1 let me in4 ,i saw the burnt part1 which looks not melancholy but unfinished4 ,every bit of wood is carried away clean1 with scarcely a smoke-daub to mark where it has been3 the building looks as if the walls were just prepared for a roof1 but there are some deep dints in the pavement1 shewing where large masses have fallen4 ,the lower parts of some of the columns 7to the height of #h or #aj feet7 are much scaled and cracked4 ,the windows are scarcely touched4 ,i also refreshed my memory of the chapter-house1 which is most beautiful1 and which has much of its old gilding reasonably bright1 and some of its old paint quite conspicuous4 ,and ,i looked again at the old crypt with its late ,norman work1 and at the still older crypt of the pre-existing church4 99 99 99 99 99 #ahda ,the routine work of the ,observatory in its several departments was carried on steadily during this year4--,the ,camera ,obscura was removed from the ,n4,w4 ,turret of the ,great ,room1 to make way for the ,anemometer4--,in ,magnetism and ,meteorology the most important thing was the great magnetic storm of ,sept4 #bith1 which revealed a new class of magnetic phenomena4 ,it was very well observed by ,mr ,glaisher1 and ,i immediately printed and circulated an account of it4--,in ,april ,i reported that the ,planetary ,reductions were completed1 and furnished estimates for the printing4--,in ,august ,i applied for #ah1jjj copies of the great skeleton form for computing ,lunar ,tabular ,places1 which were granted4--,i reported1 as usual1 on various ,papers for the ,royal ,society1 and was still engaged on the ,cavendish ,experiment4--,in the ,university of ,london ,i attended the meeting of ,dec4 #hth1 on the reduction of ,examiners' salaries1 which were extravagant4--,i furnished ,col4 ,colby with a plan of a new ,sector1 still used in the ,british ,survey4--,i appealed to ,colby about the injury to the cistern on the ,great ,gable in ,cumberland1 by the pile raised for the ,survey ,signal4--,on ,jan4 #crd occurred a most remarkable tidal disturbance3 the tide in the ,thames was #e feet too low4 ,i endeavoured to trace it on the coasts1 and had a vast amount of correspondence3 but it elicited little4 ,of private history3 ,i was a short time in ,suffolk in ,march4--,on ,mar4 #cast ,i started with my wife 7whose health had suffered much7 for a trip to ,bath1 ,bristol1 ,cardiff1 ,swansea1 c4 ,while at ,swansea we received news on ,apr4 #bdth of the deadly illness of my dear mother4 ,we travelled by ,neath and ,cardiff to ,bath1 where ,i solicited a rest for my wife from my kind friend ,miss ,sutcliffe1 and returned alone to ,greenwich4 ,my dear mother had died on the morning of the #bdth4 ,the funeral took place at ,little ,whelnetham 7near ,bury7 on ,may #ast1 where my mother was buried by the side of my father4 ,we went to ,cambridge1 where my wife consulted ,dr ,haviland to her great advantage1 and returned to ,greenwich on ,may #gth4--,on ,may #adth to #afth ,i was at ,sanderstead 7,rev4 ,j4 ,courtney7 with ,whewell as one sponsor1 at the christening of my daughter ,hilda4--,in ,september ,i went for a trip with my sister to ,yorkshire and ,cumberland1 in the course of which we visited ,dent 7,sedgwick's birthplace71 and paid visits to ,mr ,wordsworth1 ,miss ,southey1 and ,miss ,bristow1 returning to ,greenwich on the #cjth ,sept4--,from ,june #aeth to #aith ,i visited my brother at ,keysoe4 ,the following extracts are from letters written to his wife while on the above trip in ,yorkshire and ,cumberland3 ,,red ,,lion ,,inn1 ,,redcar1 #ahda1 ,sept4 #aa4 ,we stopped at ,york3 went to the ,tavern ,hotel4 ,in the morning 7,friday7 went into the ,cathedral4 ,i think that it improves on acquaintance4 ,the nave is now almost filled with scaffolding for the repair of the roof1 so that it has not the bare unfinished appearance that it had when ,i was there last year4 ,the tower in which the fire began seems to be a good deal repaired3 there are new mullions in its windows1 c4 ,we stopped to hear part of the service1 which was not very effective4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here are notes of his visit to ,dentdale in ,yorkshire1 the birthplace of his friend ,sedgwick3 ,,king',s ,,head1 ,,kendal1 #ahda1 ,sept4 #ae4 ,the day was quite fine1 and the hills quite clear4 ,the ascent out of ,hawes is dull2 the little branch dale is simple and monotonous1 and so are the hills about the great dale which are in sight4 ,the only thing which interested us was the sort of bird's-eye view of ,hardraw dell1 which appeared a most petty and insignificant opening in the great hill side4 ,but when we got to the top of the pass there was a magnificent view of ,ingleborough4 ,the dale which was most nearly in front of us is that which goes down to ,ingleton1 past the side of ,ingleborough4 ,the mountain was about nine miles distant4 ,we turned to the right and immediately descended ,dent-dale4 ,the three dales 7to ,hawes1 to ,ingleton1 and to ,dent7 lay their heads together in a most amicable way1 so that1 when at the top1 it is equally easy to descend down either of them4 ,we found very soon that ,dent-dale is much more beautiful than that by which we had ascended4 ,the sides of the hills are steeper1 and perhaps higher3 the bottom is richer4 ,the road is also better4 ,the river is a continued succession of very pretty falls1 almost all of which have scooped out the lower strata of the rock1 so that the water shoots clear over4 ,for several miles 7perhaps #aj7 it runs upon bare limestone without a particle of earth4 ,from the head of the dale to the village of ,dent is eight miles4 ,at about half-way is a new chapel1 very neat1 with a transept at its west end4 ,the village of ,dent is one of the strangest places that ,i ever saw4 ,narrow street1 up and down1 with no possibility of two carriages bigger than children's carts passing each other4 ,we stopped at the head inn and enquired about the ,geolog3 but he is not in the country4 ,we then called on his brother1 who was much surprised and pleased to see us4 ,his wife came in soon after 7his daughter having gone with a party to see some waterfall7 and they urged us to stop and dine with them4 ,so we walked about and saw every place about the house1 church1 and school1 connected with the history of the ,geolog3 and then dined4 ,i promised that you should call there some time when we are in the north together and spend a day or two with them4 ,mr ,sedgwick says it is reported that ,whewell will take ,sedbergh living 7which is now vacant3 ,trinity ,college is patron74 ,then we had our chaise and went to ,sedbergh4 ,the very mouth of ,dent-dale is more contracted than its higher parts4 ,sedbergh is embosomed among lumping hills4 ,then we had another carriage to drive to ,kendal4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here is a recollection of ,wordsworth3 ,,salutation1 ,,ambleside1 #ahda1 ,sept4 #ai4 ,we then got our dinner at ,lowwood1 and walked straight to ,ambleside1 changed our shoes1 and walked on to ,rydal to catch ,wordsworth at tea4 ,miss ,wordsworth was being drawn about in a chair just as she was seven years ago4 ,i do not recollect her appearance then so as to say whether she is much altered1 but ,i think not4 ,mr ,wordsworth is as full of good talk as ever1 and seems quite strong and well4 ,mrs ,wordsworth looks older4 ,their son ,william was at tea1 but he had come over only for the day or evening4 ,there was also a little girl1 who ,i think is ,mrs ,wordsworth's niece4 #ahdb ,in this year ,i commenced a troublesome work1 the ,description of the ,northumberland ,telescope4 ,on ,sept4 #ith ,i wrote to the ,duke of ,northumberland suggesting this1 sending him a list of ,plates1 and submitting an estimate of expense #abj4 ,on ,sept4 #aith ,i received the ,duke's assent4 ,i applied to ,prof4 ,challis 7at the ,cambridge ,observatory7 requesting him to receive the draughtsman1 ,sly1 in his house1 which he kindly consented to do4 ,with regard to ,estimates4 ,i now began to point out to the ,admiralty the inconvenience of furnishing separate estimates1 viz4 to the ,admiralty for the ,astronomical ,establishment1 and to the ,treasury for the ,magnetical and ,meteorological ,establishment4--,the great work of the ,lunar ,reductions proceeded steadily3 #ad computers were employed on them4--,with regard to the ,magnetical and ,meteorological ,establishment3 ,i suppose that ,james ,ross's expedition had returned3 and with this1 according to the terms of the original grant1 the ,magnetical and ,meteorological ,establishments expired4 ,there was much correspondence with the ,royal ,society and the ,treasury1 and ultimately ,sir ,r4 ,peel consented to the continuation of the establishments to the end of #ahde4--;,in this year began my correspondence with ,mr ,mitchell about the ,cincinnati ,observatory4 ,on ,aug4 #be ,mr ,mitchell settled himself at ,greenwich1 and worked for a long time in the ,computing ,room4--,and in this year ,mr ,aiken of ,liverpool first wrote to me about the ,liverpool ,observatory1 and a great deal of correspondence followed3 the plans were in fact entirely entrusted to me4--,july #gth was the day of the ,total ,eclipse of the ,sun1 which ,i observed with my wife at the ,superga1 near ,turin4 ,i wrote an account of my observations for the ,royal ,astronomical ,society4--,on ,jan4 #ajth ,i notified to ,mr ,goulburn that our ,report on the ,restoration of the ,standards was ready1 and on ,jan4 #abth ,i presented it4 ,after this followed a great deal of correspondence1 principally concerning the collection of authenticated copies of the ,old ,standards from all sides4--,in some discussions with ,capt4 ,shirreff1 then ,captain ,superintendent of the ,chatham ,dockyard1 ,i suggested that machinery might be made which would saw ship-timbers to their proper form1 and ,i sent him some plans on ,nov4 #hth4 ,this was the beginning of a correspondence which lasted long1 but which led to nothing1 as will appear hereafter4--,on ,dec4 #aeth1 being on a visit to ,dean ,peacock at ,ely1 ,i examined the ,drainage ,scoop ,wheel at ,prickwillow1 and made a ,report to him by letter1 which obtained circulation and was well known4--,on ,may #bfth the manuscript of my article1 ',tides and ,waves1' for the ,encyclopaedia ,metropolitana was sent to the printer4 ,i had extensive correspondence1 principally on local tides1 with ,whewell and others4 ,tides were observed for me by ,colby's officers at ,southampton1 by myself at ,christchurch and ,poole1 at ,ipswich by ,ransome's man2 and a great series of observations of ,irish ,tides were made on my plan under ,colby's direction in ,june1 ,july and ,august4--,on ,sept4 #aeth ,mr ,goulburn1 ,chancellor of the ,exchequer1 asked my opinion on the utility of ,babbage's calculating machine1 and the propriety of expending further sums of money on it4 ,i replied1 entering fully into the matter1 and giving my opinion that it was worthless4--,i was elected an ,honorary ,member of the ,institution of ,civil ,engineers1 ,london4 ,the reduction and printing of the astronomical observations had been getting into arrear3 the last revise of the #ahdj observations went to press on ,may #ahth1 #ahdb4 ,on ,aug4 #ahth came into operation a new organization of ,assistants' hours of attendance1 c41 required for bringing up reductions4 ,i worked hard myself and my example had good effect4 ,his reference to this subject in his ,report to the ,visitors is as follows3 ,i have in one of the preceding articles alluded to the backwardness of our reductions4 ,in those which follow it ,i trust that ,i have sufficiently explained it4 ,to say nothing of the loss1 from ill health1 of the services of most efficient assistants1 ,i am certain that the quantity of current work will amply explain any backwardness4 ,perhaps ,i may particularly mention that in the observations of #ahdj there was an unusual quantity of equatoreal observations1 and the reductions attending these occupied a very great time4 ,but1 as regards myself1 there has been another cause4 ,the reduction of the ,ancient ,lunar and ,planetary ,observations1 the attention to chronometer constructions1 the proposed management of the printing of papers relating to important operations at the ,cape of ,good ,hope2 these and similar operations have taken up much of my time4 ,i trust that ,i am doing well in rendering ,greenwich1 even more distinctly than it has been heretofore1 the place of reference to all the world for the important observations1 and results of observations1 on which the system of the universe is founded4 ,as regards myself1 ,i have been accustomed1 in these matters1 to lay aside private considerations2 to consider that ,i am not a mere ,superintendent of current observations1 but a ,trustee for the honour of ,greenwich ,observatory generally1 and for its utility generally to the world2 nay1 to consider myself not as mere ,director of ,greenwich ,observatory1 but 7however unworthy personally7 as ,british ,astronomer1 required sometimes by my office to interfere 7when no personal offence is given7 in the concerns of other establishments of the ,state4 ,if the ,board supports me in this view there can be little doubt that the present delay of computations1 relating to current observations1 will be considered by them as a very small sacrifice to the important advantage that may be gained by proper attention to the observations of other times and other places4 ,of private history3 ,in ,february ,i went for a week to ,playford and ,norwich1 visiting ,prof4 ,sedgwick at the latter place4 ,on ,mar4 #ast my third daughter ,christabel was born4 ,in ,march ,i paid a short visit to ,sir ,john ,herschel at ,hawkhurst4 ,from ,june #abth to ,aug4 #aath ,i was travelling with my wife on the ,continent1 being partly occupied with the observation of the ,total ,eclipse of the ,sun on ,july #gth4 ,the journey was in ,switzerland and ,north ,italy4 ,in ,december ,i went to ,cambridge and ,ely1 visiting ,dr ,peacock at the latter place4 ,from ,feb4 #bcrd to #bhth ,airy was engaged on ,observations of ,tides at ,southampton1 ,christchurch1 ,poole1 and ,weymouth4 ,during this expedition he wrote frequently 7as he always did7 to his wife on the incidents of his journey1 and the following letters appear characteristic3 ,,king',s ,,arms1 ,,christchurch1 ,,or ,,xchurch1 #ahdb1 ,feb4 #bd4 ,the lower of the above descriptions of my present place of abode is the correct one1 as ,i fearlessly assert on the authority of divers direction-posts on the roads leading to it 7by the bye this supports my doctrine that x in ,latin was not pronounced eks but khi1 because the latter is the first letter of ,christ1 for which x is here traditionally put74 ,finding this morning that ,yolland 7who called on me as soon as ,i had closed the letter to you7 was perfectly inclined to go on with the tide observations at ,southampton1 and that his corporals of sappers were conducting them in the most exemplary manner1 ,i determined on starting at once4 ,however we first went to look at the ,new ,docks 7mud up to the knees7 and truly it is a very great work4 ,there is to be enclosed a good number of acres of water #bb feet deep3 one dock locked in1 the other a tidal dock or basin with that depth at low water4 ,they are surrounded by brick walls eight feet thick at top1 #aj or more at bottom2 and all the parts that ever can be exposed are faced with granite4 ,the people reckon that this work when finished will attract a good deal of the ,london commerce1 and ,i should not be surprised at it4 ,for it is very much easier for ships to get into ,southampton than into ,london1 and the railway carriage will make them almost one4 ,a very large steamer is lying in ,southampton ,water3 the ,oriental1 which goes to ,alexandria4 ,the ,lady ,mary ,wood1 a large steamer for ,lisbon and ,gibraltar1 was lying at the pier4 ,the said pier is a very pleasant place of promenade1 the water and banks are so pretty1 and there is so much liveliness of ships about it4 ,well ,i started in a gig1 in a swashing rain1 which continued off and on for a good while4 ,of the #ba miles1 ,i should think that #ae were across the ,new ,forest4 ,i do not much admire it4 ,as for ,norman ,william's destruction of houses and churches to make it hunting ground1 that is utter nonsense which never could have been written by anybody that ever saw it3 but as to hunting1 except his horses wore something like mud-pattens or snow-shoes1 it is difficult to conceive it4 ,almost the whole ,forest is like a great sponge1 water standing in every part4 ,in the part nearer to ,xchurch forest trees1 especially beeches1 seem to grow well4 ,we stopped to bait at ,lyndhurst1 a small place high up in the ,forest3 a good view1 such as it is1 from the churchyard4 ,the hills of the ,isle of ,wight occasionally in sight4 ,on approaching ,xchurch the chalk cliffs of the west end of the ,isle of ,wight 7leading to the ,needles7 were partly visible2 and1 as the sun was shining on them1 they fairly blazed4 ,xchurch is a small place with a magnificent-looking church 7with lofty clerestory1 double transept1 c41 but with much irregularity7 which ,i propose to visit to-morrow4 ,also a ruin which looks like an abbey1 but the people call it a castle4 ,there is a good deal of low land about it1 and the part between the town and the sea reminded me a good deal of the estuary above ,cardigan1 flat ill-looking bogs 7generally islands7 among the water4 ,i walked to the mouth of the river 7more than two miles7 passing a nice little place called ,sandford1 with a hotel and a lot of lodgings for summer sea-people4 ,at the entrance of the river is a coastguard station1 and this ,i find is the place to which ,i must go in the morning to observe the tide4 ,i had some talk with the coastguard people1 and they assure me that the tide is really double as reported4 ,as ,i came away the great full moon was rising1 and ,i could read in her unusually broad face 7indicating her nearness to the earth7 that there will be a powerful tide4 ,i came in and have had dinner and tea1 and am now going to bed1 endeavouring to negociate for a breakfast at six o'clock to-morrow morning4 ,it is raining cats and dogs4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,luce',s ,,hotel1 ,,weymouth1 #ahdb1 ,feb4 #bg4 ,this morning when ,i got up ,i found that it was blowing fresh from ,s4,w4 and the sea was bursting over the wall of the eastern extremity of the ,esplanade very magnanimously4 ,so 7the swell not being favourable for tide-observations7 ,i gave them up and determined to go to see the surf on the ,chesil ,bank4 ,i started with my great-coat on1 more for defence against the wind than against rain2 but in a short time it began to rain1 and just when ,i was approaching the bridge which connects the mainland with the point where the ,chesil ,bank ends at ,portland 7there being an arm of the sea behind the ,chesil ,bank7 it rained and blew most dreadfully4 ,however ,i kept on and mounted the bank and descended a little way towards the sea1 and there was the surf in all its glory4 ,i cannot give you an idea of its majestic appearance4 ,it was evidently very high1 but that was not the most striking part of it1 for there was no such thing as going within a considerable distance of it 7the occasional outbreaks of the water advancing so far7 so that its magnitude could not be well seen4 ,my impression is that the height of the surf was from #aj to #bj feet4 ,but the striking part was the clouds of solid spray which formed immediately and which completely concealed all the other operations of the water4 ,they rose a good deal higher than the top of the surf1 so the state of things was this4 ,a great swell is seen coming1 growing steeper and steeper2 then it all turns over and you see a face just like the pictures of falls of ,niagara2 but in a little more than one second this is totally lost and there is nothing before you but an enormous impenetrable cloud of white spray4 ,in about another second there comes from the bottom of this cloud the foaming current of water up the bank1 and it returns grating the pebbles together till their jar penetrates the very brain4 ,i stood in the face of the wind and rain watching this a good while1 and should have stood longer but that ,i was so miserably wet4 ,it appeared to me that the surf was higher farther along the bank1 but the air was so thickened by the rain and the spray that ,i could not tell4 ,when ,i returned the bad weather abated4 ,i have now borrowed somebody else's trowsers while mine are drying 7having got little wet in other parts1 thanks to my great-coat1 which successfully brought home a hundredweight of water71 and do not intend to stir out again except perhaps to post this letter4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,flamsteed ,,house1 #ahdb1 ,may #ae4 ,yesterday after posting the letter for you ,i went per steamboat to ,hungerford4 ,i then found ,mr ,vignoles1 and we trundled off together1 with another engineer named ,smith1 picking up ,stratford by the way1 to ,wormwood ,scrubs4 ,there was a party to see the ,atmospheric ,railway in action3 including 7among others7 ,sir ,john ,burgoyne1 whom ,i met in ,ireland several years ago1 and ,mr ,pym1 the ,engineer of the ,dublin and ,kingstown ,railway1 whom ,i have seen several times1 and who is very sanguine about this construction2 and ,mr ,clegg1 the proposer of the scheme 7the man that invented gas in its present arrangements71 and ,messrs ,samuda1 two ,jews who are the owners of the experiment now going on2 and ,sir ,james ,south6 ,with the latter hero and mechanician we did not come in contact4 ,unfortunately the stationary engine 7for working the air-pump which draws the air out of the pipes and thus sucks the carriages along7 broke down during the experiment1 but not till we had seen the carriage have one right good run4 ,and to be sure it is very funny to see a carriage running all alone as if the ,devil drove it without any visible cause whatever4 ,the mechanical arrangements we were able to examine as well after the engine had broken down as at any time4 ,and they are very simple and apparently very satisfactory1 and there is no doubt of the mechanical practicability of the thing even in places where locomotives can hardly be used3 whether it will pay or not is doubtful4 ,i dare say that the ,commissioners' ,report has taken a very good line of discrimination4 99 99 99 99 99 #ahdc ,in ,march ,i wrote to ,dr ,wynter 7,vice-,chancellor7 at ,oxford1 requesting permission to see ,bradley's and ,bliss's manuscript ,observations1 with the view of taking a copy of them4 ,this was granted1 and the books of ,transits were subsequently copied under ,mr ,breen's superintendence4 --,the following paragraph is extracted from the ,report to the ,visitors3 ',in the ,report of last year1 ,i stated that our reductions had dropped considerably in arrear4 ,i have the satisfaction now of stating that this arrear and very much more have been completely recovered1 and that the reductions are now in as forward a state as at any time since my connection with the ,observatory4' ,in fact the observations of #ahdb were sent to press on ,mar4 #ast1 #ahdc4--;,about this year the ,annual ,dinner at the ,visitation began to be more important1 principally under the management of ,capt4 ,w4,h4 ,smyth1 ,r4,n4--,in ,november ,i was enquiring about an #h-;inch object-glass4 ,i had already in mind the furnishing of our meridional instruments with greater optical powers4--,on ,july #adth the ,admiralty referred to me a ,memorial of ,mr ,j4,g4 ,ulrich1 a chronometer maker1 claiming a reward for improvements in chronometers4 ,i took a great deal of trouble in the investigation of this matter1 by books1 witnesses1 c41 and finally reported on ,nov4 #dth that there was no ground for claim4--,in ,april ,i received the first application of the ,royal ,exchange ,committee1 for assistance in the construction of the ,clock3 this led to a great deal of correspondence1 especially with ,dent4--,the ,lunar ,reductions were going on in full vigour4--,i had much work in connection with the ,cape ,observatory3 partly about an equatoreal required for the ,observatory1 but chiefly in getting ,maclear's work through the press4--,in this year ,i began to think seriously of determining the longitude of ,valencia in ,ireland1 as a most important basis for the scale of longitude in these latitudes1 by the transmission of chronometers2 and in ,august ,i went to ,valencia and examined the localities4 ,in ,september ,i submitted a plan to the ,admiralty1 but it was deferred4--,the new ,commission for restoring the ,standards was appointed on ,june #bjth1 ,i being ,chairman4 ,the work of collecting standards and arranging plans was going on2 ,mr ,baily attending to ,standards of ,length1 and ,prof4 ,w4,h4 ,miller to ,standards of ,weight4 ,we held two meetings4--,a small assistance was rendered to me by ,mr ,charles ,may 7of the firm of ,ransomes and ,may71 which has contributed much to the good order of papers in the ,observatory4 ,mr ,robert ,ransome had remarked my method of punching holes in the paper by a hand-punch1 the places of the holes being guided by holes in a piece of card1 and said that they could furnish me with something better4 ,accordingly1 on ,aug4 #bhth ,mr ,may sent me the punching machine1 the prototype of all now used in the ,observatory4 ,on ,sept4 #beth was made my proposal for an ,altazimuth ,instrument for making observations of the ,moon's place more frequently and through parts of her orbit where she could never be observed with meridional instruments2 the most important addition to the ,observatory since its foundation4 ,the ,board of ,visitors recommended it to the ,admiralty1 and the ,admiralty sanctioned the construction of the instrument and the building to contain it4 ,the following passage is quoted from the ,address of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors at the ,special ,meeting of ,nov4 #ajth1 #ahdc3 ,the most important object in the institution and maintenance of the ,royal ,observatory has always been the ,observations of the ,moon4 ,in this term ,i include the determination of the places of fixed stars which are necessary for ascertaining the instrumental errors applicable to the instrumental observations of the ,moon4 ,these1 as regards the objects of the institution1 were merely auxiliaries3 the history of the circumstances which led the ,government of the day to supply the funds for the construction of the ,observatory shews that1 but for the demands of accurate ,lunar ,determinations as aids to navigation1 the erection of a ,national ,observatory would never have been thought of4 ,and this object has been steadily kept in view when others 7necessary as fundamental auxiliaries7 were passed by4 ,thus1 during the latter part of ,bradley's time1 and ,bliss's time 7which two periods are the least efficient in the modern history of the ,observatory71 and during the latter part of ,maskelyne's presidency 7when1 for years together1 there is scarcely a single observation of the declination of a star71 the ,observations of the ,moon were kept up with the utmost regularity4 ,and the effect of this regularity1 as regards its peculiar object1 has been most honourable to the institution4 ,the existing ,theories and ,tables of the ,moon are founded entirely upon the ,greenwich ,observations2 the ,observatory of ,greenwich has been looked to as that from which alone adequate observations can be expected1 and from which they will not be expected in vain3 and it is not perhaps venturing too much to predict that1 unless some gross dereliction of duty by the managers of the ,observatory should occur1 the ,lunar ,tables will always be founded on ,greenwich ,observations4 ,with this impression it has long been to me a matter of consideration whether means should not be taken for rendering the series of ,observations of the ,moon more complete than it can be made by the means at present recognized in our observatories4--,in illustration of the foregoing remarks1 the original inscription still remaining on the outside of the wall of the ,octagon ,room of the ,observatory may be quoted4 ,it runs thus3 ',carolus ,,ii's ,rex ,optimus ,astronomiae et ,nauticae ,artis ,patronus ,maximus ,speculam hanc in utriusque commodum fecit ,anno ,d'ni ,,mdclxxvi ,regni sui ,,xxviii curante ,iona ,moore milite ,,rtsg4' ,the ,ashburton ,treaty had been settled with the ,united ,states1 for the boundary between ,canada and the ,state of ,maine1 and one of its conditions was1 that a straight line about #fe miles in length should be drawn through dense woods1 connecting definite points4 ,it soon appeared that this could scarcely be done except by astronomical operations4 ,lord ,canning1 ,under ,secretary of the ,foreign ,office1 requested me to nominate two astronomers to undertake the work4 ,i strongly recommended that ,military ,officers should carry out the work1 and ,capt4 ,robinson and ,lieut4 ,pipon were detached for this service4 ,on ,mar4 #ast they took lodgings at ,greenwich1 and worked at the ,observatory every day and night through the month4 ,my detailed astronomical instructions to them were drawn out on ,mar4 #bith4 ,i prepared all the necessary skeleton forms1 c41 and looked to their scientific equipment in every way4 ,the result will be given in #ahdd4 ,of private history3 ,in ,january ,i went to ,dover with my wife to see the blasting of a cliff there3 we also visited ,sir ,j4 ,herschel at ,hawkhurst4 ,in ,april ,i was at ,playford1 on a visit to ,arthur ,biddell4 ,on ,apr4 #ith my daughter ,annot was born4 ,from ,july #bbnd to ,august #beth ,i was travelling in the ,south of ,ireland1 chiefly to see ,valencia and consider the question of determining its longitude3 during this journey ,i visited ,lord ,rosse at ,birr ,castle1 and returned to ,weymouth1 where my family were staying at the time4 ,in ,october ,i visited ,cambridge1 and in ,december ,i was again at ,playford4 ,the journey to ,cambridge 7,oct4 #bdth to #bgth7 was apparently in order to be present on the occasion of the ,queen's visit there on the #beth3 the following letter relating to it was written to his wife3 ,,sedgwick',s ,,rooms1 ,,trinity ,,college1 ,,cambridge4 #ahdc1 ,oct4 #bf1 ,thursday4 ,i have this morning received your letter3 ,i had no time to write yesterday4 ,there are more things to tell of than ,i can possibly remember4 ,the ,dean of ,ely yesterday was in a most ludicrous state of misery because his servant had sent his portmanteau 7containing his scarlet academicals as well as everything else7 to ,london1 and it went to ,watford before it was recovered3 but he got it in time to shew himself to-day4 ,yesterday morning ,i came early to breakfast with ,sedgwick4 ,then ,i walked about the streets to look at the flags4 ,cambridge never had such an appearance before4 ,in looking along ,trinity ,street or ,trumpington ,street there were arches and flags as close as they could stand1 and a cord stretched from ,king's ,entrance to ,mr ,deck's or the next house with flags on all its length3 a flag on ,st ,mary's1 and a huge royal standard ready to hoist on ,trinity ,gateway3 laurels without end4 ,i applied at the ,registrar's office for a ticket which was to admit me to ,trinity ,court1 the ,senate ,house1 c41 and received from ,peacock one for ,king's ,chapel4 ,then there was an infinity of standing about1 and very much ,i was fatigued1 till ,i got some luncheon at ,blakesley's rooms at #a o'clock4 ,this was necessary because there was to be no dinner in hall on account of the ,address presentation4 ,the ,queen was expected at #b1 and arrived about #aj minutes after #b4 ,when she drove up to ,trinity ,gate1 the ,vice-,chancellor1 masters1 and beadles went to meet her1 and the beadles laid down their staves1 which she desired them to take again4 ,then she came towards the ,lodge as far as the ,sundial1 where ,whewell as master took the college keys 7a bundle of rusty keys tied together by a particularly greasy strap7 from the bursar ,martin1 and handed them to the ,queen1 who returned them4 ,then she drove round by the turret-corner of the court to the ,lodge door4 ,almost every member of the ,university was in the court1 and there was a great hurraing except when the ceremonies were going forward4 ,presently the ,queen appeared at a window and bowed1 and was loudly cheered4 ,then notice was given that the ,queen and ,prince would receive the ,addresses of the ,university in ,trinity hall1 and a procession was formed1 in which ,i had a good place1 as ,i claimed rank with the ,professors4 ,a throne and canopy were erected at the top of the hall1 but the ,queen did not sit1 which was her own determination1 because if she had sat it would have been proper that everybody should back out before presenting the ,address to the ,prince3 which operation would have suffocated at least #ajj people4 ,the ,queen wore a blue gown and a brown shawl with an immense quantity of gold embroidery1 and a bonnet4 ,then it was known that the ,queen was going to service at ,king's ,chapel at half past three3 so everybody went there4 ,i saw the ,queen walk up the antechapel and she looked at nothing but the roof4 ,i was not able to see her in chapel or to see the throne erected for her with its back to the ,table1 which has given great offence to many people4 7,i should have said that before the ,queen came ,i called on ,dr ,haviland1 also on ,scholefield1 also on the ,master of ,christ's47 ,after this she returned to ,trinity1 and took into her head to look at the chapel4 ,the cloth laid on the pavement was not long enough and the undergraduates laid down their gowns4 ,several of the undergraduate noblemen carried candles to illuminate ,newton's statue4 ,after this the ,prince went by torchlight to the library4 ,then ,i suppose came dinner1 and then it was made known that at half-past nine the ,queen would receive some ,members of the ,university4 ,so ,i rigged myself up and went to the leve at the ,lodge and was presented in my turn2 by the ,vice-,chancellor as ,ex-,professor ,airy1 your ,majesty's ,astronomer ,royal4 ,the ,queen and the ,prince stood together1 and a bow was made to and received from each4 ,the ,prince recognised me and said ,i am glad to see you1 or something like that4 ,next to him stood ,goulburn1 and next ,lord ,lyndhurst1 who to my great surprise spoke very civilly to me 7as ,i will tell you afterwards74 ,the ,queen had her head bare and a sort of ,french white gown and looked very well4 ,she had the ribbon of the ,garter on her breast2 but like a ninny ,i forgot to look whether she had the ,garter upon her arm4 ,the ,prince wore his ,garter4 ,i went to bed dead tired and got up with a headache4--,about the degree to the ,prince and the other movements ,i will write again4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here is a note from ,cubitt relating to the blasting of the ,round ,down ,cliff at ,dover referred to above3 ,,great ,,george ,,street1 ,jan4 #bjth1 #ahdc4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 ,thursday next the #bfth at #ab is the time fixed for the attempt to blow out the foot of the ,round ,down ,cliff near ,dover4 ,the ,galvanic apparatus has been repeatedly tried in place--that is by exploding cartridges in the very chambers of the rock prepared for the powder--with the batteries at #abjj feet distance they are in full form and act admirably so that ,i see but little fear of failure on that head4 ,they have been rehearsing the explosions on the plan ,i most strongly recommended1 that is--to fire each chamber by an independent battery and circuit and to discharge the three batteries simultaneously by signal or word of command which answers well and no mistake4 ,i shall write to ,sir ,john ,herschel to-day1 and remain ,my dear ,sir1 ,very truly yours1 ,w4 ,,cubitt4 ,g4,b4 ,airy1 ,esq4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following extracts are from letters to his wife written in ,ireland when on his journey to consider the determination of the longitude of ,valencia4 ,,skibbereen1 #ahdc1 ,july #bh4 ,by the bye1 to shew the quiet of ,ireland now1 ,i saw in a newspaper at ,cork this account4 ,at some place through which a repeal-association was to pass 7,i forget its name7 the repealers of the place set up a triumphal arch4 ,the police pulled it down1 and were pelted by the repealers1 and one of the policemen was much bruised4 ,o',connell has denounced this place as a disgrace to the cause of repeal1 and has moved in the full meeting that the inhabitants of this place be struck off the repeal list1 with no exception but that of the parish priest who was proved to be absent4 ,and ,o',connell declares that he will not pass through this place4 ,now for my journey4 ,it is a sort of half-mountain country all the way1 with some bogs to refresh my eyes4 ,,valencia ,,hotel1 #ahdc1 ,august #f4 ,it seems that my coming here has caused infinite alarm4 ,the common people do not know what to conjecture1 but have some notion that the sappers and miners are to build a bridge to admit the charge of cavalry into the island4 ,an attendant of ,mrs ,fitzgerald expressed how strange it was that a man looking so mild and gentle could meditate such things but never fear1 ,maam1 those that look so mild are always the worst3 then she narrated how that her husband was building some stables1 but that she was demanding of him ,pat1 you broth of a boy1 what is the use of your building stables when these people are coming to destroy everything4 ,i suspect that the people who saw me walking up through the storm yesterday must have thought me the prince of the powers of the air at least4 ,,hibernian ,,hotel1 ,,tralee1 #ahdc1 ,august #g4 ,i sailed from ,valencia to ,cahersiveen town in a sail-boat up the water 7not crossing at the ferry74 ,i had accommodated my time to the wish of the boatman1 who desired to be there in time for prayers3 so that ,i had a long waiting at ,cahersiveen for the mail car4 ,in walking through the little town1 ,i passed the chapel 7a convent chapel7 to which the people were going3 and really the scene was very curious4 ,the chapel appeared to be overflowing full1 and the court in front of it was full of people1 some sitting on the ground1 some kneeling1 and some prostrate4 ,there were also people in the street1 kneeling with their faces towards the gate pillars1 c4 ,it seemed to me that the priest and the chapel were of less use here than even in the continental churches1 and ,i do not see why both parties should not have stopped at home4 ,when the chapel broke up1 it seemed as if the streets were crammed with people4 ,the turnout that even a small village in ,ireland produces is perfectly amazing4 #ahdd ,in the course of #ahdc ,i had put in hand the engraving of the drawings of the ,northumberland ,telescope at ,cambridge ,observatory1 and wrote the description for letterpress4 ,in the course of #ahdd the work was completed1 and the books were bound and distributed4 ,the building to receive the ,altazimuth ,instrument was erected in the course of the year2 during the construction a foreman fell into the foundation pit and broke his leg1 of which accident he died4 ,this is the only accident that ,i have known at the ,observatory4--,the ,electrometer ,mast and sliding frame were erected near the ,magnetic ,observatory4--,the six-year ,catalogue of #adci stars was finished2 this work had been in progress during the last few years4--,in ,may ,i went to ,woolwich to correct the compasses of the ',dover1' a small iron steamer carrying mails between ,dover and ,ostend3 this ,i believe was the first iron ship possessed by the ,admiralty4--,the ,lunar ,reductions were making good progress2 #af computers were employed upon them4 ,i made application for printing them and the required sum 7#ajjj7 was granted by the ,treasury4--,in this year commenced that remarkable movement which led to the discovery of ,neptune4 ,on ,feb4 #acth ,prof4 ,challis introduced ,mr ,adams to me by letter4 ,on ,feb4 #aeth ,i sent my observed places of ,uranus1 which were wanted4 ,on ,june #aith ,i also sent places to ,mr ,e4 ,bouvard4--,as regards the ,national ,standards1 ,mr ,baily 7who undertook the comparisons relating to standards of length7 died soon1 and ,mr ,sheepshanks then undertook the work4--,i attended the meeting of the ,british ,association held at ,york 7principally in compliment to the ,president1 ,dr ,peacock71 and gave an oral account of my work on ,irish ,tides4--,at the ,oxford ,commemoration in ,june1 the honorary degree of ,d4,c4,l4 was conferred on ,m4 ,struve and on me1 and then a demand was made on each of us for #f4 #fs4 for fees4 ,we were much disgusted and refused to pay it1 and ,i wrote angrily to ,dr ,wynter1 the ,vice-,chancellor4 ,the fees were ultimately paid out of the ,university ,chest4 ,in this year the longitude of ,altona was determined by ,m4 ,struve for the ,russian ,government4 ,for this purpose it was essential that facilities should be given for landing chronometers at ,greenwich4 ,but the consent of the customhouse authorities had first to be obtained1 and this required a good deal of negotiation4 ,ultimately the determination was completed in the most satisfactory manner4 ,the chronometers1 forty-two in number1 crossed the ,german ,sea sixteen times4 ,the transit observers were twice interchanged1 in order to eliminate not only their ,personal ,equation1 but also the gradual change of ,personal ,equation4 ,on ,sept4 #cjth ,otto ,struve formally wrote his thanks for assistance rendered4 ,for the determination of the longitude of ,valencia1 which was carried out in this year1 various methods were discussed1 but the plan of sending chronometers by mail conveyance was finally approved4 ,from ,london to ,liverpool the chronometers were conveyed by the railways1 from ,liverpool to ,kingstown by steamer1 from ,dublin to ,tralee by the ,mail ,coaches1 from ,tralee to ,cahersiveen by car1 from ,cahersiveen to ,knightstown by boat1 and from ,knightstown to the station on the hill the box was carried like a sedan-chair4 ,there were numerous other arrangements1 and all succeeded perfectly without a failure of any kind4 ,thirty pocket chronometers traversed the line between ,greenwich and ,kingstown about twenty-two times1 and that between ,kingstown and ,valencia twenty times4 ,the chronometrical longitudes of ,liverpool ,observatory1 ,kingstown ,station1 and ,valencia ,station are #abm #j4jes1 #bdm #ca4ags1 #dam #bc4bes2 the geodetic longitudes1 computed from elements which ,i published long ago in the ,encyclopaedia ,metropolitana1 are #abm #j4cds1 #bdm #ca4dgs1 #dam #bc4jfs4 ,it appears from this that the elements to which ,i have alluded represent the form of the ,earth here as nearly as is possible4 ,on the whole1 ,i think it probable that this is the best arc of parallel that has ever been measured4 ,with regard to the ,maine ,boundary3 on ,may #gth ,col4 ,estcourt1 the ,british ,commissioner1 wrote to me describing the perfect success of following out my plan3 the line of #fd miles was cut by directions laid out at the two ends1 and the cuttings met within #cda feet4 ,the country through which this line was to pass is described as surpassing in its difficulties the conception of any ,european4 ,it consists of impervious forests1 steep ravines1 and dismal swamps4 ,a survey for the line was impossible1 and a tentative process would have broken the spirit of the best men4 ,i therefore arranged a plan of operations founded on a determination of the absolute latitudes and the difference of longitudes of the two extremities4 ,the difference of longitudes was determined by the transfer of chronometers by the very circuitous route from one extremity to the other2 and it was necessary to divide the whole arc into four parts1 and to add a small part by measure and bearing4 ,when this was finished1 the azimuths of the line for the two ends were computed1 and marks were laid off for starting with the line from both ends4 ,one party1 after cutting more than forty-two miles through the woods1 were agreeably surprised1 on the brow of a hill1 at seeing directly before them a gap in the woods on the next line of hill2 it opened gradually1 and proved to be the line of the opposite party4 ,on continuing the lines till they passed abreast of each other1 their distance was found to be #cda feet4 ,to form an estimate of the magnitude of this error1 it is to be observed that it implies an error of only a quarter of a second of time in the difference of longitudes2 and that it is only one-third 7or nearly so7 of the error which would have been committed if the spheroidal form of the ,earth had been neglected4 ,i must point out the extraordinary merit of the officers who effected this operation4 ,transits were observed and chronometers were interchanged when the temperature was lower than #ai below zero3 and when the native assistants1 though paid highly1 deserted on account of the severity of the weather1 the ,british officers still continued the observations upon whose delicacy everything depended4 ,of private history3 ,from ,july #crd to ,aug4 #acth ,i was in ,ireland with my wife4 ,this was partly a business journey in connection with the determination of the longitude of ,valencia4 ,on ,jan4 #dth ,i asked ,lord ,lyndhurst 7,lord ,chancellor7 to present my brother to the living of ,helmingham1 which he declined to do3 but on ,dec4 #abth he offered ,binbrooke1 which ,i accepted for my brother4 #ahde ,a map of the ,buildings and ,grounds of the ,observatory was commenced in #ahdd1 and was still in progress4--,on ,mar4 #aith ,i was employed on a matter which had for some time occupied my thoughts1 viz41 the re-arrangement of current manuscripts4 ,i had prepared a sloping box 7still in use7 to hold #bd portfolios3 and at this time ,i arranged papers ,a1 and went on with ,b1 ,c1 c4 ,very little change has been made in these4--,in reference to the time given to the weekly report on ,meteorology to the ,registrar ,general1 the ,report to the ,board of ,visitors contains the following paragraph3 ',the devotion of some of my assistants' time and labour to the preparation of the ,meteorological ,report attached to the weekly report of the ,registrar ,general1 is1 in my opinion1 justified by the bearing of the meteorological facts upon the medical facts1 and by the attention which ,i understand that ,report to have excited4'--,on ,dec4 #acth the sleep of ,astronomy was broken by the announcement that a new planet1 ,astraea1 was discovered by ,mr ,hencke4 ,i immediately circulated notices4--,but in this year began a more remarkable planetary discussion4 ,on ,sept4 #bbnd ,challis wrote to me to say that ,mr ,adams would leave with me his results on the explanation of the irregularities of ,uranus by the action of an exterior planet4 ,in ,october ,adams called1 in my absence4 ,on ,nov4 #eth ,i wrote to him1 enquiring whether his theory explained the irregularity of radius-vector 7as well as that of longitude74 ,i waited for an answer1 but received none4 7,see the ,papers printed in the ,royal ,astronomical ,society's ,memoirs and ,monthly ,notices74--,in the ,royal ,society1 the ,royal ,medal was awarded to me for my ,paper on the ,irish ,tides4--,in the ,royal ,astronomical ,society ,i was ,president2 and1 with a speech1 delivered the ,medal to ,capt4 ,smyth for the ,bedford ,catalogue of ,double ,stars4--,on ,jan4 #bast ,i was appointed 7with ,schumacher7 one of the ,referees for the ,king of ,denmark's ,comet ,medal3 ,i have the ,king's ,warrant under his sign manual4--,the ,tidal ,harbour ,commission commenced on ,apr4 #eth3 on ,july #bast my ,report on ,wexford ,harbour 7in which ,i think ,i introduced important principles7 was communicated4 ,one ,report was made this year to the ,government4--,in the matter of ,saw ,mills 7which had begun in #ahdb71 ,i had prepared a second set of plans in #ahdd1 and in this year ,mr ,nasmyth made a very favourable report on my plan4 ,a machinist of the ,chatham ,dock ,yard1 ,sylvester1 was set to work 7but not under my immediate command7 to make a model3 and this produced so much delay as ultimately to ruin the design4--,on ,jan4 #ast ,i was engaged on my ,paper ',on the flexure of a uniform bar1 supported by equal pressures at equidistant points4' 7,this was probably in connection with the support of ,standards of ,length1 for the ,commission4 ,ed474--,in ,june ,i attended the ,meeting of the ,british ,association at ,cambridge1 and on the #bjth ,i gave a ,lecture on ,magnetism in the ,senate ,house4 ,the following quotation relating to this ,lecture is taken from a letter by ,whewell to his wife 7see ,life of ,william ,whewell by ,mrs ,stair ,douglas73 ,i did not go to the ,senate ,house yesterday evening4 ,airy was the performer1 and appears to have outdone himself in his art of giving clearness and simplicity to the hardest and most complex subjects4 ,he kept the attention of his audience quite enchained for above two hours1 talking about terrestrial magnetism4--,on ,nov4 #bith ,i gave evidence before a ,committee of the ,house of ,commons on ,dover ,harbour ,pier4 ,with respect to the ,magnetical and ,meteorological ,establishment1 the transactions in this year were most important4 ,it had been understood that the ,government establishments had been sanctioned twice for three-year periods1 of which the second would expire at the end of #ahde3 and it was a question with the scientific public whether they should be continued4 ,my own opinion was in favour of stopping the observations and carefully discussing them4 ,and ,i am convinced that this would have been best1 except for the subsequent introduction of self-registering systems1 in which ,i had so large a share4 ,there was much discussion and correspondence1 and on ,june #gth the ,board of ,visitors resolved that ',in the opinion of the ,visitors it is of the utmost importance that these observations should continue to be made on the most extensive scale which the interests of those sciences may require4' ,the meeting of the ,british ,association was held at ,cambridge in ,june3 and one of the most important matters there was the ,congress of ,magnetic ,philosophers1 many of them foreigners4 ,it was resolved that the ,magnetic ,observatory at ,greenwich be continued permanently4 ,at this meeting ,i proposed a resolution which has proved to be exceedingly important4 ,i had remarked the distress which the continuous two-hourly observations through the night produced to my ,assistants1 and determined if possible to remove it4 ,i therefore proposed ',that it is highly desirable to encourage by specific pecuniary reward the improvement of self-recording magnetical and meteorological apparatus3 and that the ,president of the ,british ,association and the ,president of the ,royal ,society be requested to solicit the favourable consideration of ,her ,majesty's ,government to this subject1' which was adopted4 ,in ,october the ,admiralty expressed their willingness to grant a reward up to #ejj4 ,mr ,charles ,brooke had written to me proposing a plan on ,sept4 #bcrd1 and he sent me his first register on ,nov4 #bdth4 ,on ,nov4 #ast the ,treasury informed the ,admiralty that the ,magnetic ,observatories will be continued for a further period4 ,the ,railway ,gauge ,commission in this year was an important employment4 ,the ,railways1 which had begun with the ,manchester and ,liverpool ,railway 7followed by the ,london and ,birmingham7 had advanced over the country with some variation in their breadth of gauge4 ,the gauge of the ,colchester ,railway had been altered to suit that of the ,cambridge ,railway4 ,and finally there remained but two gauges3 the broad gauge 7principally in the system allied with the ,great ,western ,railway72 and the narrow gauge 7through the rest of ,england74 ,these came in contact at ,gloucester1 and were likely to come in contact at many other points--to the enormous inconvenience of the public4 ,the ,government determined to interfere1 beginning with a ,commission4 ,on ,july #crd ,mr ,laing 7then on the ,board of ,trade7 rode to ,greenwich1 bearing a letter of introduction from ,sir ,john ,lefevre and a request from ,lord ,dalhousie 7,president of the ,board of ,trade7 that ,i would act as second of a ,royal ,commission 7,col4 ,sir ,frederick ,smith1 ,airy1 ,prof4 ,barlow74 ,i assented to this3 and very soon began a vigorous course of business4 ,on ,july #bcrd and #bdth ,i went with ,prof4 ,barlow and our ,secretary to ,bristol1 ,gloucester1 and ,birmingham3 on ,dec4 #agth ,i went on railway experiments to ,didcot3 and on ,dec4 #bith to ,jan4 #bnd ,i went to ,york1 with ,prof4 ,barlow and ,george ,arthur ,biddell1 for railway experiments4 ,on ,nov4 #bast ,i finished a draft ,report of the ,railway ,gauge ,commission1 which served in great measure as a basis for that adopted next year4 ,of private history3 ,i wrote to ,lord ,lyndhurst on ,feb4 #bjth1 requesting an exchange of the living to which he had presented my brother in ,dec4 #ahdd for that of ,swineshead3 to which he consented4--,on ,jan4 #bith ,i went with my wife on a visit to my uncle ,george ,biddell1 at ,bradfield ,st ,george1 near ,bury4--,on ,june #ith ,i went into the mining district of ,cornwall with ,george ,arthur ,biddell4--,from ,aug4 #beth to ,sept4 #bfth ,i was travelling in ,france with my sister and my wife's sister1 ,georgiana ,smith4 ,i was well introduced1 and the journey was interesting4--,on ,oct4 #bith my son ,osmund was born4--,mr ,f4 ,baily bequeathed to me #ejj1 which realized #dej4 ,here are some extracts from letters written to his wife relating to the visit to the ,cornish mines1 c4-- ,,pearce',s ,,hotel1 ,,falmouth1 #ahde1 ,june #abth1 ,thursday4 ,then we walked to the ,united ,mines in ,gwennap4 ,the day was very fine and now it was perfectly broiling3 and the hills here are long and steep4 ,at the ,united ,mines we found the ,captain1 and he invited us to join in a rough dinner1 to which he and the other captains were going to sit down4 ,then we examined one of the great pumping engines1 which is considered the best in the country3 and some other engines4 ,between #c and #d there was to be a setting out of some work to the men by a sort of ,dutch ,auction 7the usual way of setting out the work here73 some refuse ores were to be broken up and made marketable1 and the subject of competition was1 for how little in the pound on the gross produce the men would work them up4 ,while we were here a man was brought up who was hurt in blasting3 a piece of rock had fallen on him4 ,at this mine besides the ladder ways1 they have buckets sliding in guides by which the men are brought up3 and they are just preparing for work another apparatus which they say is tried successfully at another mine 7,tresavean73 there are two wooden rods ,a and ,b reaching from the top to the bottom1 moved by cranks from the same wheel1 so that one goes up when the other goes down1 and vice vers3 each of these rods has small stages1 at such a distance that when the rod ,a is down and the rod ,b is up1 the first stage of ,a is level with the first stage of ,b3 but when the rod ,a is up and the rod ,b is down1 the second stage of ,a is level with the first stage of ,b3 so a man who wants to descend steps on the first stage of ,a and waits till it goes down3 then he steps sideways on the first stage of ,b and waits till it goes down3 then he steps sideways to the second stage of ,a and waits till it goes down1 and so on3 or if a man is coming up he does just the same4 ,while we were here ,mr ,r4 ,taylor came4 ,we walked home 7a long step1 perhaps seven miles7 in a very hot sun4 ,went to tea to ,mr ,alfred ,fox1 who has a house in a beautiful position looking to the outside of ,falmouth ,harbour4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,penzance1 #ahde1 ,june #ad1 ,saturday4 ,yesterday morning we breakfasted early at ,falmouth1 and before #i started towards ,gwennap4 ,i had ascertained on ,thursday that ,john ,williams 7the senior of a very wealthy and influential family in this country7 was probably returned from ,london4 ,so we drove first to his house ,burntcoose or ,barncoose1 and found him and his wife at home4 7,they are ,quakers1 the rest of the family are not47 ,sedgwick1 and ,whewell1 and ,i1 or some of our party including me1 had slept once at their house4 ,they received ,george and me most cordially1 and pressed us to come and dine with them after our visit to ,tresavean mine1 of which intention ,i spoke in my last letter3 so ,i named #d o'clock as hour for dinner4 ,after a little stay we drove to ,tresavean1 where ,i found the ,captain of the mine prepared to send an ,underground ,captain and a ,pit-man to descend with us4 ,so we changed our clothes and descended by the ladders in the pumpshaft4 ,pretty work to descend with the huge pump-rods 7garnished with large iron bolts7 working violently1 making strokes of #ab feet1 close to our elbows2 and with a nearly bottomless pit at the foot of every ladder1 where we had to turn round the foot of the ladder walking on only a narrow board4 ,however we got down to the bottom of the mine with great safety and credit1 seeing all the mighty machinery on the way1 to a greater depth than ,i ever reached before1 namely #aijj feet4 ,from the bottom of the pump we went aside a short distance into the lowest workings where two men nearly naked were driving a level towards the lode or vein of ore4 ,here ,i felt a most intolerable heat3 and upon moving to get out of the place1 ,i had a dreadful feeling of feebleness and fainting1 such as ,i never had in my life before4 ,the men urged me to climb the ladders to a level where the air was better1 but they might as well have urged me to lift up the rock4 ,i could do nothing but sit down and lean fainting against the rocks4 ,this arose entirely from the badness of the air4 ,after a time ,i felt a trifle better1 and then ,i climbed one short ladder1 and sat down very faint again4 ,when ,i recovered1 two men tied a rope round me1 and went up the ladder before me1 supporting a part of my weight1 and in this way ,i ascended four or five ladders 7with long rests between7 till we came to a level1 #bfj fathoms below the adit or nearly #cjj fathoms below the surface1 where there was a tolerable current of pretty good air4 ,here ,i speedily recovered1 though ,i was a little weak for a short time afterwards4 ,george also felt the bad air a good deal1 but not so much as ,i4 ,he descended to some workings equally low in another place 7towards which the party that ,i spoke of were directing their works71 but said that the air there was by no means so bad4 ,we all met at the bottom of the man-engine #bfj fathoms below the adit4 ,we sat still a little while1 and ,i acquired sufficient strength and nerve1 so that ,i did not feel the slightest alarm in the operation of ascending by the man-engine4 ,this is the funniest operation that ,i ever saw3 it is the only absolute novelty that ,i have seen since ,i was in the country before3 it has been introduced #b-a_/b years in ,tresavean1 and one day in the ,united ,mines4 ,in my last letter ,i described the principle4 ,in the actual use there is no other motion to be made by the person who is ascending or descending than that of stepping sideways each time 7there being proper hand-holds7 with no exertion at all1 except that of stepping exactly at the proper instant3 and not the shadow of unpleasant feeling in the motion4 ,any woman may go with the most perfect comfort1 if she will but attend to the rules of stepping1 and forget that there is an open pit down to the very bottom of the mine4 ,in this way we were pumped up to the surface1 and came up as cool as cucumbers1 instead of being drenched with perspiration4 ,in my description in last letter ,i forgot to mention that between the stages on the moving rods which ,i have there described there are intermediate stages on the moving rods 7for which there is ample room1 inasmuch as the interval between the stages on each rod used by one person is #bd feet71 and these intermediate stages are used by persons descending3 so that there are persons ascending and persons descending at the same time1 who never interfere with each other and never step on the same stages1 but merely see each other passing on the other rods--,it is a most valuable invention4 ,we then changed our clothes and washed1 and drove to ,barncoose1 arriving in good time for the dinner4 ,i found myself much restored by some superb ,sauterne with water4 ,when we were proposing to go on to ,camborne1 ,mr and ,mrs ,williams pressed us so affectionately to stop that we at length decided on stopping for the night1 only bargaining for an early breakfast this morning4 ,this morning after breakfast1 we started for ,redruth and ,camborne4 ,the population between them has increased immensely since ,i was here before4 c4 c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here is a letter written to his wife while he was engaged on the business of the ,railway ,gauge ,commission4 ,it contains reminiscences of some people who made a great figure in the railway world at that time1 and was preceded by a letter which was playfully addressed ,from the ,palace of ,king ,hudson1 ,york4 ,,george ,,inn1 ,,york1 #ahde1 ,dec4 #cj4 ,i wrote yesterday from ,mr ,hudson's in time for the late post1 and hope that my letter might be posted by the servant to whom it was given4 ,our affairs yesterday were simple3 we reached ,euston ,station properly1 found ,watson there1 found a carriage reserved for us1 eat pork-pie at ,wolverton 7not so good as formerly71 dined at ,derby1 and arrived in ,york at #e4bj4 ,on the way ,watson informed me that the ,government have awarded us #ejj each4 ,sir ,f4 ,smith had talked over the matter with us1 and ,i laid it down as a principle that we considered the business as an important one and one of very great responsibility1 and that we wished either that the ,government should treat us handsomely or should consider us as servants of the ,state acting gratuitously1 to which they assented4 ,i think the ,government have done very well4 ,mr ,hudson1 as ,i have said1 met us on the platform and pressed us to dine with him 7though ,i had dined twice74 ,then we found the rival parties quarrelling1 and had to arrange between them4 ,this prevented me from writing for the early post4 7,i forgot to mention that ,saunders1 the ,great ,western ,secretary1 rode with us all the way74 ,at ,hudson's we had really a very pleasant dinner3 ,i sat between ,vernon ,harcourt and ,mrs ,malcolm 7his sister ,georgiana7 and near to ,mr ,hudson4 ,this morning we were prepared at #i at the ,station for some runs4 ,brunel and other people had arrived in the night4 ,and we have been to ,darlington and back1 with a large party in our experimental train4 ,george ,arthur ,biddell rode on the engine as representing me4 ,but the side wind was so dreadfully heavy that1 as regards the wants of the case1 this day is quite thrown away4 ,we have since been to lunch with ,vernon ,harcourt 7,mrs ,harcourt not at home7 and then went with him to look at the ,cathedral4 ,the ,chapter-house1 which was a little injured1 has been pretty well restored3 all other things in good order4 ,the ,cathedral looks smaller and lower than ,french cathedrals4 ,now that we have come in1 the ,lord ,mayor of ,york has just called to invite us to dinner to-morrow4--,i propose to ,george ,arthur ,biddell that he go to ,newcastle this evening1 in order to see glass works and other things there to-morrow1 and to return when he can4 ,i think that ,i can persuade ,barlow to stop to see the experiments out1 and if so ,i shall endeavour to return as soon as possible4 ,the earliest day would be the day after to-morrow4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following extract is from a letter written to ,mr ,murray for insertion in his ,handbook of ,france1 relating to the ,breakwater at ,cherbourg1 which ,airy had visited during his journey in ,france in the autumn of this year4 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 #ahde1 ,oct4 #hth4 ,my opinion on the construction ,i need not say ought not to be quoted3 but you are quite welcome to found any general statement on it2 or perhaps it may guide you in further enquiries4 ,to make it clear1 ,i must speak rather generally upon the subject4 ,there are three ways in which a breakwater may be constructed4 #a4 ,by building a strong wall with perpendicular face from the bottom of the sea4 #b4 ,by making a bank with nothing but slopes towards the sea4 #c4 ,by making a sloping bank to a certain height and then building a perpendicular wall upon it4--,now if the #ast of these constructions could be arranged1 ,i have no doubt that it would be the best of all1 because a sea does not break against a perpendicular face1 but recoils in an unbroken swell1 merely making a slow quiet push at the wall1 and not making a violent impact4 ,but practically it is nearly impossible4 ,the #bnd construction makes the sea to break tremendously1 but if the sloping surface be made of square stone put together with reasonable care there is not the smallest tendency to unseat these stones4 ,this is the principle of construction of ,plymouth ,breakwater4 ,in the #crd construction1 the slope makes the sea to break tremendously1 and then it strikes the perpendicular face with the force of a battering ram3 and therefore in my opinion this is the worst construction of all4 ,a few face-stones may easily be dislodged1 and then the sea entering with this enormous force will speedily destroy the whole4 ,this is the form of the ,cherbourg ,digue4 ,from this you will gather that ,i have a full belief that ,plymouth ,breakwater will last very long1 and that the ,digue of ,cherbourg1 at least its upper wall1 will not last long4 ,the great bank will last a good while1 gradually suffering degradation1 but still protecting the ,road pretty well4 ,i was assured by the officers residing on the ,digue that the sea which on breaking is thrown vertically upwards and then falls down upon the pavement does sometimes push the stones about which are lying there and which weigh three or four tons4 ,i saw some preparations for the foundations of the fort at the eastern extremity of the ,digue4 ,one artificial stone of concrete measured #ab'i #f'g #e'g1 and was estimated to weigh #bejjj kilogrammes4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,,at ,,greenwich ,,observatory--#ahdf ,,to #ahef4 #ahdf ,on ,nov4 #gth ,i proposed a change in the form of ,estimates for the ,observatory4 ,the original astronomical part was provided by the ,admiralty1 and the new magnetical and meteorological part was provided by the ,treasury3 and the whole ,estimates and ,accounts of the ,observatory never appeared in one public paper4 ,i proposed that the whole should be placed on the ,navy ,estimates1 but the ,admiralty refused4 ,i repeated this in subsequent years1 with no success4 ,meantime ,i always sent to the ,admiralty a duplicate of my ,treasury ,estimate with the proper ,admiralty ,estimate4--,stephenson's ,railway through the lower part of the ,park1 in tunnel about #hej feet from the ,observatory1 was again brought forward4 ,on ,feb4 #bjth it was put before me by the ,government1 and on ,march #ith ,i made experiments at ,kensal ,green1 specially on the effect of a tunnel3 which ,i found to be considerable in suppressing the tremors4 ,on ,may #fth ,i made my ,report1 generally favourable1 supposing the railway to be in tunnel4 ,on ,may #acth ,i1 with ,mr ,stephenson1 had an interview at the ,admiralty with ,lord ,ellenborough and ,sir ,george ,cockburn4 ,the ,earl appeared willing to relax in his scruples about allowing a railway through the ,park1 when ,sir ,george ,cockburn made a most solemn protest against it1 on the ground of danger to an institution of such importance as the ,observatory4 ,i have no doubt that this protest of ,sir ,george ,cockburn's really determined the ,government4 ,on ,june #ajth ,i was informed that the ,government refused their consent4 ,after this the ,south ,eastern ,railway ,company adopted the line through ,tranquil ,vale4--,in consequence of the defective state of ,paramatta ,observatory ,i had written to ,sir ,robert ,peel on ,april #afth raising the question of a ,general ,superintending ,board for ,colonial ,observatories3 and on ,june #bgth ,i saw ,mr ,gladstone at the ,colonial ,office to enquire about the possibility of establishing local ,boards4 ,on ,june #bith a general plan was settled1 but it never came to anything4--,forty volumes of the ,observatory ,,mss4 were bound--an important beginning4--,deep-sunk thermometers were prepared by ,prof4 ,forbes4--,on ,june #bbnd ,sir ,robert ,inglis procured an ,order of the ,house of ,commons for printing a paper of ,sir ,james ,south's1 ostensibly on the effects of a railway passing through ,greenwich ,park1 but really attacking almost everything that ,i did in the ,observatory4 ,i replied to this on ,july #bast by a letter in the ,athenaeum addressed to ,sir ,robert ,inglis1 in terms so strong and so well supported that ,sir ,james ,south was effectually silenced4 ,the following extract from a letter of ,airy's to the ,earl of ,rosse1 dated ,dec4 #aeth #ahdf1 will shew how pronounced the quarrel between ,airy and ,south had become in consequence of the above-mentioned attack and previous differences3 ,after the public exposure which his conduct in the last summer compelled me to make1 ,i certainly cannot meet him on equal terms1 and desire not to meet him at all4 7,ed474--,in the ,mag4 and ,met4 ,department1 ,i was constantly engaged with ,mr ,charles ,brooke in the preparation and mounting of the self-registering instruments1 and the chemical arrangements for their use1 to the end of the year4 ,with ,mr ,ronalds ,i was similarly engaged3 but ,i had the greatest difficulty in transacting business with him1 from his unpractical habits4--,the equipment of the ,liverpool ,observatory1 under me1 was still going on3 ,i introduced the use of ,siemens's ,chronometric ,governor for giving horary motion to an ,equatoreal there4 ,i have since introduced the same principle in the ,chronograph ,barrel and the ,great ,equatoreal at ,greenwich3 ,i consider it important4--,on ,feb4 #acth ,i received the ,astronomical ,society's ,medal for the ,planetary ,reductions4--,in the ,university of ,london3 ,at this time seriously began the discussion whether there should be a compulsory examination in matters bearing on religious subjects4 ,after this there was no peace4--,for discovery of ,comets three medals were awarded by ,schumacher and me3 one to ,peters1 two to ,de ,vico4 ,a comet was seen by ,hind1 and by no other observer3 after correspondence1 principally in #ahdh1 the medal was refused to him4--,with respect to the ,railway ,gauge ,commission3 ,on ,jan4 #ast1 in our experiments near ,york1 the engine ran off the rails4 ,on ,jan4 #bith the ,commissioners signed the ,report1 and the business was concluded by the end of ,april4 ,our recommendation was that the narrow gauge should be carried throughout4 ,this was opposed most violently by partisans of the broad gauge1 and they had sufficient influence in ,parliament to prevent our recommendation from being carried into effect4 ,but the policy1 even of the ,great ,western ,railway 7in which the broad gauge originated71 has supported our views3 the narrow gauge has been gradually substituted for the broad3 and the broad now 7#ahgb7 scarcely exists4--,on ,june #bjth ,lord ,canning enquired of me about makers for the clock in the ,clock ,tower of ,westminster ,palace4 ,i suggested ,vulliamy1 ,dent1 ,whitehurst2 and made other suggestions3 ,i had some correspondence with ,e4 ,b4 ,denison1 about clocks4--,i had much correspondence with ,stephenson about the ,tubular ,bridge over the ,menai ,straits4 ,stephenson afterwards spoke of my assistance as having much supported him in this anxious work3 on ,dec4 #aath ,i was requested to make a ,report1 and to charge a fee as a ,civil ,engineer2 but ,i declined to do so4 ,in ,january ,i went1 with ,george ,arthur ,biddell1 to ,portsmouth1 to examine ,lord ,dundonald's rotary engine as mounted in the ',janus1' and made a ,report on the same to the ,admiralty3 and ,i made several subsequent ,reports on the same matter4 ,the scheme was abandoned in the course of next year2 the real cause of failure1 as ,i believe1 was in the bad mounting in the ship4 ,the engrossing subject of this year was the discovery of ,neptune4 ,as ,i have said 7#ahde7 ,i obtained no answer from ,adams to a letter of enquiry4 ,beginning with ,june #bfth of #ahdf ,i had correspondence of a satisfactory character with ,le ,verrier1 who had taken up the subject of the disturbance of ,uranus1 and arrived at conclusions not very different from those of ,adams4 ,i wrote from ,ely on ,july #ith to ,challis1 begging him1 as in possession of the largest telescope in ,england1 to sweep for the planet1 and suggesting a plan4 ,i received information of its recognition by ,galle1 when ,i was visiting ,hansen at ,gotha4 ,for further official history1 see my communications to the ,royal ,astronomical ,society1 and for private history see the papers in the ,royal ,observatory4 ,i was abused most savagely both by ,english and ,french4 ,the ,report to the ,visitors contains an interesting account of the ,great ,lunar ,reductions1 from which the following passage is extracted3 ,of the ,third ,section1 containing the comparison of ,observed ,places with ,tabular ,places1 three sheets are printed1 from #agej to #agef4 ,this comparison1 it is to be observed1 does not contain a simple comparison of places1 but contains also the coefficients of the various changes in the moon's place depending on changes in the elements4444 ,the process for the correction of the elements by means of these comparisons is now going on3 and the extent of this work1 even after so much has been prepared1 almost exceeds belief4 ,for the longitude1 ten columns are added in groups1 formed in thirteen different ways1 each different way having on the average about nine hundred groups4 ,for the ecliptic polar distance1 five columns are added in groups1 formed in seven different ways1 each different way having on the average about nine hundred groups4 ,thus it will appear that there are not fewer than #aej1jjj additions of columns of figures4 ,this part of the work is not only completed but is verified1 so that the books of comparison of ,observed and ,tabular ,places are1 as regards this work1 completely cleared out4 ,the next step is to take the means of these groups1 a process which is now in hand3 it will be followed by the formation and solution of the equations on which the corrections of the elements depend4 ,the following remarks1 extracted from the ,report to the ,visitors1 with respect to the instrumental equipment of the ,observatory1 embody the views of the ,astronomer ,royal at this time3 ,the utmost change1 which ,i contemplate as likely to occur in many years1 in regard to our meridional instruments1 is the substitution of instruments of the same class carrying telescopes of larger aperture4 ,the only instrument which1 as ,i think1 may possibly be called for by the demands of the astronomer or the astronomical public1 is a telescope of the largest size1 for the observation of faint nebulae and minute double stars4 ,whether the addition of such an instrument to our apparatus would be an advantage1 is1 in my opinion1 not free from doubt4 ,the line of conduct for the ,observatory is sufficiently well traced2 there can be no doubt that our primary objects ought to be the accurate determination of places of the fundamental ,stars1 the ,sun1 the ,planets1 and1 above all1 the ,moon4 ,any addition whatever to our powers or our instrumental luxuries1 which should tend to withdraw our energies from these objects1 would be a misfortune to the ,observatory4 ,of private history3 ,in ,march ,i visited ,prof4 ,sedgwick at ,norwich4--,on ,mar4 #bhth the ',sir ,henry ,pottinger' was launched from ,fairbairn's ,yard on the ,isle of ,dogs1 where ,i was thrown down and dislocated my right thumb4--,from ,apr4 #ajth to #aeth ,i was at ,playford4--,on ,june #ajth ,prof4 ,hansen arrived1 and stayed with me to ,july #dth4--,from ,july #fth to #ajth ,i was visiting ,dean ,peacock at ,ely4--,from ,july #bcrd to #bith ,i was at ,playford1 where for the first time ,i lodged in my own cottage4 ,i had bought it some time before1 and my sister had superintended alterations and the addition of a room4 ,i was much pleased thus to be connected with the happy scenes of my youth4--,from ,aug4 #ajth to ,oct4 #aath ,i was with my wife and her sister ,elizabeth ,smith on the ,continent4 ,we stayed for some time at ,wiesbaden1 as my nerves were shaken by the work on the ,railway ,gauge ,commission1 and ,i wanted the ,wiesbaden waters4 ,we visited various places in ,germany1 and made a #aj-;days' excursion among the ,swiss ,mountains4 ,at ,gotha we lodged with ,prof4 ,hansen for three days2 and it was while staying here that ,i heard from ,prof4 ,encke 7on ,sept4 #bith7 that ,galle had discovered the expected planet4 ,we visited ,gauss at ,gttingen and ,miss ,caroline ,herschel at ,hannover4 ,we had a very bad passage from ,hamburgh to ,london1 lasting five days3 a crank-pin broke and had to be repaired3 after four days our sea-sickness had gone off1 during the gale--a valuable discovery for me1 as ,i never afterwards feared sea-sickness4--,on ,dec4 #bbnd ,i attended the celebration of the #cjjth anniversary of ,trinity ,college4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following extracts relating to the engines of the ,janus are taken from letters to his wife dated from ,portsmouth1 ,jan4 #fth and #gth1 #ahdf3 ,as soon as possible we repaired to the ,dock ,yard and presented ourselves to the ,admiral ,superintendant--,admiral ,hyde ,parker 7not ,sir ,hyde ,parker74 ,found that the ,janus had not arrived3 the ,admiral ,superintendant 7who does not spare a hard word7 expressing himself curiously thereon4 ,but he had got the proper orders from the ,admiralty relating to me3 so he immediately sent for ,mr ,taplin1 the superintendant of machinery3 and we went off to see the small engine of ,lord ,d--d's construction which is working some pumps and other machinery in the yard4 ,it was kept at work a little longer than usual for us to see it4 ,and ,i have no hesitation in saying that it was working extremely well4 ,it had not been opened in any way for half a year1 and not for repair or packing for a much longer time4444 ,this morning we went to the ,dock ,yard1 and on entering the engine house there was ,shirreff1 and ,lord ,d--d soon appeared4 ,the ,janus had come to anchor at ,spithead late last night1 and had entered the harbour this morning4 ,blowing weather on ,saturday night4 ,we had the engine pretty well pulled to pieces1 and sat contemplating her a long time4 ,before this ,denison had come to us4 ,we then went on board the ,janus with ,shirreff but not with ,lord ,d--d4 ,the engines were still hot1 and so they were turned backwards a little for my edification4 7,this was convenient because1 the vessel being moored by her head1 she could thus strain backwards without doing mischief47 ,the vacuum not good4 ,then1 after a luncheon on board1 it was agreed to run out a little way4 ,but the engines absolutely stuck fast1 and would not stir a bit4 ,this ,i considered a perfect ,godsend4 ,so the paddle-wheels 7at my desire7 were lashed fast1 and we are to see her opened to-morrow morning4 ,this morning 7,jan4 #gth7 we all went off to the ,janus1 where we expected to find the end of the cylinder 7where we believe yesterday's block to have taken place7 withdrawn4 ,but it was not near it4 ,after a great many bolts were drawn1 it was discovered that one bolt could not be drawn1 and in order to get room for working at it1 it was necessary to take off the end of the other cylinder4 ,and such a job6 ,three pulley hooks were broken in my sight1 and ,i believe some out of my sight4 ,however this auxiliary end was at last got off3 and the people began to act on the refractory bolt4 ,but by this time it was getting dark and the men were leaving the dockyard1 so ,i left1 arranging that what they could do in preparation for me might be done in good time to-morrow morning4 #ahdg ,on ,nov4 #acth ,i circulated an ,address1 proposing to discontinue the use of the ,zenith ,tube1 because it had been found by a long course of comparative trials that the ,zenith ,tube was not more accurate than the ,mural ,circle4 ,the ,address stated that ',this want of superior efficiency of the ,zenith ,tube 7which1 considered in reference to the expectations that had been formed of its accuracy1 must be estimated as a positive failure7 is probably due to two circumstances4 ,one is1 the use of a plumb-line2 which appears to be affected with various ill-understood causes of unsteadiness4 ,the other is1 the insuperable difficulty of ventilating the room in which the instrument is mounted4'--,on ,december #bjth ,i circulated an ,address1 proposing a ,transit ,circle1 with telescope of #h inches aperture4 ,the ,address states as follows3 ',the clear aperture of the ,object-,glass of our ,transit ,instrument is very nearly #e inches1 that of our ,mural ,circle is very nearly #d inches4'--,i had been requested by the ,master-,general of ,ordnance 7,i think7 to examine ,candidates for a ,mastership in ,woolwich ,academy1 and ,i was employed on it in ,february and ,march1 in conjunction with ,prof4 ,christie4--,in ,january ,i applied to ,lord ,auckland for money-assistance to make an astronomical journey on the ,continent1 but he refused4--,on ,mar4 #aith ,sir ,james ,south addressed to the ,admiralty a formal complaint against me for not observing with the astronomical instruments3 on ,mar4 #cast ,i was triumphantly acquitted by the ,admiralty4--,in ,june ,i was requested by the ,commissioners of ,railways to act as ,president of a ,commission on ,iron ,bridges 7suggested by the fall of the bridge at ,chester74 ,lord ,auckland objected to it1 and ,i was not sorry to be spared the trouble of it4--,in ,december ,i was requested1 and undertook to prepare the ,astronomical part of the ,scientific ,manual for ,naval ,officers4--,on ,sept4 #bdth occurred a very remarkable ,magnetic ,storm1 to which there had been nothing comparable before4 ,mr ,glaisher had it observed by eye extremely well1 and ,i printed and circulated a paper concerning it4--,hansen1 stimulated by the ,lunar ,reductions1 discovered two long inequalities in the motion of the ,moon1 produced by the action of ,venus4 ,in the ,report to the ,visitors this matter is thus referred to3 ',in the last summer ,i had the pleasure of visiting ,prof4 ,hansen at ,gotha1 and ,i was so fortunate as to exhibit to him the corrections of the elements from these ,reductions1 and strongly to call his attention to their certainty1 the peculiarity of their fluctuations1 and the necessity of seeking for some physical explanation4 ,i have much pleasure in indulging in the thought1 that it was mainly owing to this representation that ,prof4 ,hansen undertook that quest1 which has terminated in the discovery of his two new lunar inequalities1 the most remarkable discovery1 ,i think1 in ,physical ,astronomy4'--,in discussing points relating to the discovery of ,neptune1 ,i made an unfortunate blunder4 ,in a paper hastily sent to the ,athenaeum 7,feb4 #ahth7 ,i said that ,arago's conduct had been indelicate4 ,i perceived instantly that ,i had used a wrong expression1 and by the very next post ,i sent an altered expression4 ,this altered expression was not received in time1 and the original expression was printed1 to my great sorrow4 ,i could not then apologize4 ,but at what appeared to be the first opportunity1 in ,december1 ,i did apologize2 and my apology was accepted4 ,but ,i think that ,arago was never again so cordial as before4--,on ,july #dth ,hebe was discovered4 ,after this ,iris and ,flora4 ,now commenced that train of discoveries which has added more than #ajj planets to the ,solar ,system4--,on ,oct4 #hth was an ,annular ,eclipse of the ,sun1 of which the limit of annularity passed near to ,greenwich4 ,to determine the exact place1 ,i equipped observatories at ,hayes1 ,lewisham ,south ,end1 ,lewisham ,village1 ,blackwall1 ,stratford1 ,walthamstow1 and ,chingford4 ,the weather was bad and no observation was obtained4--,in the ,royal ,astronomical ,society3 ,in #ahdf1 the dispute between the partisans of ,adams and ,le ,verrier was so violent that no medal could be awarded to either4 ,in #ahdg ,i 7with other ,fellows of the ,society7 promoted a special ,meeting for considering such a modification of the bye-laws that for this occasion only it might be permissible to give two medals4 ,after two days' stormy discussion1 it was rejected4--,in the ,university of ,london3 ,at a meeting in ,july1 where the religious question was discussed1 it was proposed to receive some testimonial from affiliated bodies1 or to consider that or some other plan for introducing religious literature4 ,as the propriety of this was doubtful1 there was a general feeling for taking legal advice3 and it was set aside solely on purpose to raise the question about legal consultation4 ,that was negatived by vote3 and ,i then claimed the consideration of the question which we had put aside for it4 ,by the influence of ,h4 ,warburton1 ,m4,p41 this was denied4 ,i wrote a letter to be laid before the ,meeting on ,july #bhth1 when ,i was necessarily absent1 urging my claim3 my letter was put aside4 ,i determined never to sit with ,warburton again3 on ,aug4 #bnd ,i intimated to ,lord ,burlington my wish to retire1 and on ,aug4 #bith he transmitted to the ,home ,secretary my resignation4 ,he 7,lord ,burlington7 fully expressed his opinion that my claim ought to have been allowed4--,on ,june #ith1 on the occasion of ,prince ,albert's state visit to ,cambridge1 knighthood was offered to me through his ,secretary1 ,prof4 ,sedgwick1 but ,i declined it4--,in ,september1 the ,russian ,order of ,st ,stanislas was offered to me1 ,mr ,de ,berg1 the ,secretary of ,embassy1 coming to ,greenwich personally to announce it3 but ,i was compelled by our ,government ,rules to decline it4--,i invited ,le ,verrier to ,england1 and escorted him to the ,meeting of the ,british ,association at ,oxford in ,june4--,as regards the ,westminster ,clock on the ,parliamentary ,building3 in ,may ,i examined and reported on ,dent's and ,whitehurst's clock factories4 ,vulliamy was excessively angry with me4 ,on ,may #cast a great ,parliamentary ,paper was prepared in return to an ,order of the ,house of ,lords for correspondence relating to the ,clock4--,with respect to the ,saw ,mills for ,ship ,timber3 work was going on under the direction of ,sylvester to ,mar4 #ahth4 ,it was1 ,i believe1 at that time1 that the fire occurred in ,chatham ,dock ,yard which burnt the whole of the saw-machinery4 ,i was tired of my machinery3 and1 from the extending use of iron ships1 the probable value of it was much diminished2 and ,i made no effort to restore it4 ,of private history3 ,in ,february ,i went to ,derby to see ,whitehurst's clock factory2 and went on with my wife to ,brampton near ,chesterfield1 where her mother was living4--,from ,apr4 #ast to #eth ,i was at ,playford4--,on ,holy ,thursday1 ,i walked the ,parish ,bounds 7of ,greenwich7 with the ,parish officers and others4 ,from ,apr4 #aith to #bdth ,i was at ,birmingham 7on a visit to ,guest1 my former pupil1 and afterwards ,master of ,caius ,college7 and its neighbourhood1 with ,george ,arthur ,biddell4--,from ,june #bcrd to #bhth ,i was at ,oxford and ,malvern3 my sister was at ,malvern1 for water-cure3 the meeting of the ,british ,association was at ,oxford and ,i escorted ,le ,verrier thither4--,july #bhth to #cjth ,i was at ,brampton4--,from ,august #ajth to ,september #ahth ,i was engaged on an expedition to ,st ,petersburg1 chiefly with the object of inspecting the ,pulkowa ,observatory4 ,i went by ,hamburg to ,altona1 where ,i met ,struve1 and started with him in an open waggon for ,lbeck1 where we arrived on ,aug4 #adth4 ,we proceeded by steamer to ,cronstadt and ,petersburg1 and so to ,pulkowa1 where ,i lodged with ,o4 ,struve4 ,i was here engaged till ,sept4 #dth1 in the ,observatory1 in expeditions in the neighbourhood and at ,st ,petersburg1 and at dinner-parties1 c4 ,i met ,count ,colloredo1 ,count ,ouvaroff1 ,count ,stroganoff1 ,lord ,bloomfield 7,british ,ambassador71 and others4 ,on ,sept4 #dth ,i went in a small steamer to ,cronstadt1 and then in the ,vladimir to ,swinemnde3 we were then towed in a passage boat to ,stettin1 and ,i proceeded by railway to ,berlin4 ,on ,sept4 #ith ,i found ,galle and saw the ,observatory4 ,on ,sept4 #ajth ,i went to ,potzdam and saw ,humboldt4 ,on the #abth ,i went to ,hamburg and lodged with ,schumacher3 ,i here visited ,repsold and ,rmker4 ,on ,sept4 #adth ,i embarked in the ,john ,bull for ,london1 and arrived there on the evening of the #ahth3 on the #afth it was blowing 'a whole gale1' reported to be the heaviest gale known for so many hours2 #d bullocks and #bd sheep were thrown overboard4--,from ,dec4 #crd to #hth ,i was at ,cambridge1 and from the #bbnd to #cast at ,playford4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here is a letter to his wife written from ,birmingham1 containing a note of the progress of the ironwork for the ,menai ,bridge3 ,,edgbaston1 ,,birmingham1 #ahdg1 ,apr4 #bb4 ,yesterday morning we started between #aj and #aa for ,stourbridge1 first to see some clay which is celebrated all over the world as the only clay which is fit to make pots for melting glass1 c4 ,you know that in all these fiery regions1 fire-clay is a thing of very great importance1 as no furnace will stand if made of any ordinary bricks 7and even with the fire-clay1 the small furnaces are examined every week71 but this ,stourbridge clay is as superior to fire-clay as fire-clay is to common brick-earth4 ,then we went to ,fosters' puddling and rolling works near ,stourbridge4 ,these are on a very large scale3 of course much that we saw was a repetition of what we had seen before1 but there were slitting mills1 machines for rolling the puddled blooms instead of hammering them1 c41 and we had the satisfaction of handling the puddling irons ourselves4 ,then we went to another work of the ,fosters not far from ,dudley1 where part of the work of the ,tube ,bridge for the ,menai is going on4 ,the ,fosters are1 ,i believe1 the largest iron masters in the country1 and the two principal partners1 the elder ,mr ,foster and his ,nephew1 accompanied us in all our inspections and steppings from one set of works to another4 ,the length of ,tube ,bridge which they have in hand here is only #abj feet1 about #a_/d of the whole length3 and at present they are only busy on the bottom part of it3 but it is a prodigious thing4 ,i shall be anxious about it4 ,then we went to other works of the ,fosters' at ,king's ,wynford1 where they have blast furnaces3 and here after seeing all other usual things we saw the furnaces tapped4 ,in this district the ,fosters work the #aj-yard coal in a way different from any body else3 they work out the upper half of its thickness and then leave the ground to fall in3 after a year or two this ground becomes so hard as to make a good safe roof1 and then they work away the other half3 thus they avoid much of the danger and difficulty of working the thick bed all at once4 ,the ventilation of these mines scarcely ever requires fires1 and then only what they call lamps1 those little fire-places which are used for giving light at night4 7,in the ,northumberland and ,durham pits1 they constantly have immense roaring fires to make a draught47 ,then we came home through ,dudley4 99 99 99 99 99 ,during his stay in ,russia1 there was a great desire manifested by the astronomers and scientific men of ,russia that he should be presented to the ,emperor4 ,this would no doubt have taken place had not the movements of the ,court and his own want of time prevented it4 ,the following letter to the ,british ,ambassador1 ,lord ,bloomfield1 relates to this matter3 ,,pulkowa1 #ahdg1 ,august #beth4 ,wednesday evening4 ,,my ,,lord1 ,i had the honour yesterday to receive your ,lordship's note of ,sunday last1 which by some irregularity in the communications with this place reached me1 ,i believe1 later than it ought4 ,from this circumstance1 and also from my being made acquainted only this afternoon with some official arrangements1 ,i am compelled to trouble you at a time which ,i fear is less convenient than ,i could have desired4 ,the object of my present communication is1 to ask whether 7if the movements of the ,court permit it7 it would be agreeable to your ,lordship to present me to the ,emperor4 ,in explanation of this enquiry1 ,i beg leave to state that this is an honour to which1 personally1 ,i could not think of aspiring4 ,my presence however at ,pulkowa at this time is in an official character4 ,as ,astronomer ,royal of ,england1 ,i have thought it my duty to make myself perfectly acquainted with the ,observatory of ,pulkowa1 and this is the sole object of my journey to ,russia4 ,it is understood that the ,emperor takes great interest in the reputation of the ,observatory1 and ,i am confident that the remarks upon it which ,i am able to make would be agreeable to him4 ,i place these reasons before you1 awaiting entirely ,your ,lordship's decision on the propriety of the step to which ,i have alluded4 ,i am to leave ,st ,petersburg on ,saturday the #dth of ,september4 ,i have the honor to be ,my ,lord1 ,your ,lordship's very faithful servant1 ,g4 ,b4 ,,airy4 ,lord ,bloomfield1 c41 c4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it was probably in acknowledgment of this letter that in due time he received the following letter with the offer of the ,russian ,order of ,st ,stanislas3 ,,monsieur ,l',,astronome ,,royal1 ,sa ,majest l',empereur en apprciant les travaux assidus qui vous ont donn une place distingue au rang des plus illustres ,astronomes de l',europe1 et la coopration bienveillante1 que vous n'avez cess de tmoigner aux ,astronomes ,russes dans les expditions1 dont ils taient chargs1 et en dernier lieu par votre visite l',observatoire central de ,poulkova1 a daign sur mon rapport1 vous nommer ,chevalier de la seconde classe de l',ordre ,imprial et ,royal de ,st ,stanislas4 ,je ne manquerai pas de vous faire parvenir par l'entremise de ,lord ,bloomfield les insignes et la patente de l'ordre4 ,veuillez en attendant1 ,monsieur1 recevoir mes sincres flicitations et l'assurance de ma parfaite considration4 ,le ,ministre de l'instruction publique1 ,,cte ,,ouvaroff4 ,,st ,p,,tersbourg1 ce #bd ,aot1 #ahdg ---------- #e ,septbr4 ,mr ,g4 ,b4 ,airy1 ,esq41 ,astronome ,royal de ,s4 ,m4 ,britannique ,greenwich4 99 99 99 99 99 ,airy provisionally accepted the ,order1 but wrote at once to ,lord ,john ,russell the following letter of enquiry3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 #ahdg1 ,oct4 #ae4 ,,my ,,lord1 ,in respect of the office of ,astronomer ,royal1 ,i refer to the first ,lord of the ,treasury as ,official ,patron4 ,in virtue of this relation ,i have the honour to lay before your ,lordship the following statement1 and to solicit your instructions thereon4 ,for conducting with efficiency and with credit to the nation the institution which is entrusted to me1 ,i have judged it proper to cultivate intimate relations with the principal ,observatories of ,europe1 and in particular with the great ,observatory founded by the ,emperor of ,russia at ,pulkowa near ,st ,petersburg4 ,i have several times received ,mr ,struve1 the ,director of that ,observatory1 at ,greenwich3 and in the past summer ,i made a journey to ,st ,petersburg for the purpose of seeing the ,observatory of ,pulkowa4 ,since my return from ,russia1 ,i have received a communication from ,count ,ouvaroff1 ,minister of ,public ,instruction in the ,russian ,empire1 informing me that the ,emperor of ,russia desires to confer on me the decoration of ,knight ,commander in the second rank of the ,order of ,st ,stanislas4 ,and ,i have the honour now to enquire of your ,lordship whether it is permitted to me to accept from the ,emperor of ,russia this decoration4 ,i have the honour to be1 ,my ,lord1 ,your ,lordship's very obedient servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,the ,rt ,honble ,lord ,john ,russell1 c4 c4 c4 ,first ,lord of the ,treasury4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the answer was as follows3 ,,downing ,,street1 ,october #ai1 #ahdg4 ,,sir1 ,i am desired by ,lord ,john ,russell to acknowledge the receipt of your letter1 of the #adth inst4 and to transmit to you the enclosed paper respecting ,foreign ,orders by which you will perceive that it would be contrary to the regulations to grant you the permission you desire4 ,i am1 ,sir1 ,your obedient servant1 ,c4,a4 ,,grey4 ,g4 ,b4 ,airy1 ,esq4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the passage in the ,regulations referred to above is quoted in the following letter to ,count ,ouvaroff3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 #ahdg1 ,oct4 #bb4 ,,sir1 ,referring to your ,excellency's letter of the #bd ,august_/#e ,september1 and to my answer of the #beth ,september1 in which ,i expressed my sense of the high honor conferred on me by ,his ,majesty the ,emperor of ,russia in offering me1 through your ,excellency1 the ,order of ,st ,stanislas1 and my pride in accepting it3--,i beg leave further to acquaint you that ,i have thought it necessary to make enquiry of ,lord ,john ,russell1 ,first ,lord of ,her ,majesty's ,treasury1 as to my competency to accept this decoration from ,his ,majesty the ,emperor of ,russia3 and that his ,lordship in reply has referred me to the following ,regulation of the ,british ,court2 #eth4 ,that no ,subject of ,her ,majesty could be allowed to accept the ,insignia of a ,foreign ,order from any ,sovereign of a ,foreign ,state1 except they shall be so conferred in consequence of active and distinguished services before the ,enemy1 either at ,sea1 or in the ,field2 or unless he shall have been actually employed in the ,service of the ,foreign ,sovereign4 ,in consequence of the stringency of this ,regulation1 it is my duty now to state to your ,excellency that ,i am unable to accept the decoration which ,his ,majesty the ,emperor of ,russia was pleased1 through your ,excellency1 to offer to me4 ,i beg leave to repeat the expression of my profound reverence to ,his ,majesty and of my deep sense of the honor which he has done me4 ,i have the honor to be1 ,sir1 ,your ,excellency's very faithful and obedient servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,to ,his ,excellency ,count ,ouvaroff1 c4 c4 ,in the course of the following year a very handsome gold medal1 specially struck1 was transmitted by ,count ,ouvaroff on the part of the ,emperor of ,russia1 to ,mr ,airy4 #ahdh ,in ,april ,i received authority to purchase of ,simms an #h-;inch object-glass for the new ,transit ,circle for #cjj4 ,the glass was tested and found satisfactory4 ,while at ,playford in ,january ,i drew the first plans of the ,transit ,circle3 and ,c4 ,may sketched some parts4 ,definite plans were soon sent to ,ransomes and ,may1 and to ,simms in ,march4 ,the instrument and the building were proceeded with during the year4 ,the ,new ,transit ,circle was to be erected in the ,circle ,room1 and considerable arrangement was necessary for continuing the ,circle ,observations with the existing instruments1 whilst the new instrument was under erection4 ,when the new ,transit is completely mounted1 the old ,transit ,instrument may be removed1 and the ,transit ,room will be free for any other purpose4 ,i propose to take it as ,private ,room for the ,astronomer ,royal4--,on ,may #abth ,i made my first proposal of the ,reflex ,zenith ,tube4 ,the principle of it is as follows3 ,let the micrometer be placed close to the object-glass1 the frame of the micrometer being firmly connected with the object-glass cell1 and a reflecting eye-piece being used with no material tube passing over the object-glass3 and let a basin of quicksilver be placed below the object-glass1 but in no mechanical connection with it1 at a distance equal to half the focal length of the object-glass4 ,such an instrument would at least be free from all uncertainties of twist of plumb-line1 viscosity of water1 attachment of upper plumb-line microscope1 attachment of lower plumb-line microscope1 and the observations connected with them3 and might be expected1 as a result of this extreme simplicity1 to give accurate results4--,a considerable error was discovered in the graduation of ,troughton's ,circle1 amounting in one part to six seconds1 which is referred to as follows3 ',this instance has strongly confirmed me in an opinion which ,i have long held--that no independent division is comparable in general accuracy to engine-division1--where the fundamental divisions of the engine have been made by ,troughton's method1 and where in any case the determination by the astronomer of errors of a few divisions will suffice1 in consequence of the uniformity of law of error1 to give the errors of the intermediate divisions4'--,the method of observing with the ,altazimuth is carefully described1 and the effect of it1 in increasing the number of observations of the ,moon1 is thus given for the thirteen lunations between #ahdg1 ,may #ae1 and #ahdh1 ,may #cj4 ',number of days of complete observations with the ,meridional ,instruments1 #aaa2 number of days of complete observations with ,altitude and ,azimuth ,instrument1 #bjc4 ,the results of the observations appear very good2 perhaps a little1 and but a little1 inferior to those of the ,meridional ,instruments4 ,i consider that the object for which this instrument was erected is successfully attained4'--,being satisfied with the general efficiency of the system arranged by ,mr ,brooke for our photographic records 7of magnetical observations7 ,i wrote to the ,admiralty in his favour1 and on ,aug4 #beth the ,admiralty ordered the payment of #ejj to him4 ,a ,committee of the ,royal ,society also recommended a reward of #bej to ,mr ,ronalds1 which ,i believe was paid to him4--,on ,may #ast the last revise of the ,lunar ,reductions was passed1 and on ,may #eth1 #ejj copies were sent for binding4--,in this year ,schumacher and ,i refused a medal to ,miss ,mitchell for a ,comet discovered1 because the rules of correspondence had not been strictly followed3 the ,king of ,denmark gave one by special favour4--,in this year occurred the discovery of ,saturn's #hth ,satellite by ,mr ,lassell3 upon which ,i have various correspondence4--,on the #ahth of ,december the degree of ,,ll4,d4 was conferred upon me by the ,university of ,edinburgh4--,the ,ipswich ,lectures3 ,a wish had been expressed that ,i would give a series of ,astronomical ,lectures to the people of ,ipswich4 ,i therefore arranged with great care the necessary apparatus1 and lectured six evenings in a room 7,i forget its name--it might be ,temperance ,hall--high above ,st ,matthew's ,street71 from ,mar4 #acth to the end of the week4 ,a shorthand writer took them down3 and these formed the ',ipswich ,lectures1' which were afterwards published by the ,ipswich ,museum 7for whose benefit the lectures were given7 and by myself1 in several editions1 and afterwards by ,messrs ,macmillan in repeated editions under the title of ',airy's ,popular ,astronomy4'--,it had been found necessary to include under one body all the unconnected ,commissions of ,sewers for the ,metropolis1 and ,lord ,morpeth requested me to be a member4 ,its operations began on ,oct4 #bhth4 ,in constitution it was the most foolish that ,i ever knew3 consisting of1 ,i think1 some #bjj persons1 who could not possibly attend to it4 ,it came to an end in the next year4 ,of private history3 ,i was at ,playford from ,jan4 #ast to #aath1 and again from ,jan4 #agth to #beth3 also at ,playford from ,june #bast to ,july #abth4--,from ,aug4 #bcrd to ,sept4 #abth ,i was in ,ireland on a visit to ,lord ,rosse at ,parsonstown1 chiefly engaged on trials of his large telescope4 ,i returned by ,liverpool1 where ,i inspected the ,liverpool ,equatoreal and ,clockwork1 and examined ,mr ,lassell's telescopes and grinding apparatus4--,from ,dec4 #fth to #bjth ,i was at ,edinburgh with my wife1 on a visit to ,prof4 ,j4 ,d4 ,forbes4 ,we made various excursions1 and ,i attended lectures by ,prof4 ,wilson and ,sir ,w4 ,hamilton3 on the #ahth ,i gave a lecture in ,prof4 ,forbes's room4 ,i received the ,honorary ,degree of ,,ll4,d41 and made a statement on the ,telescopes of ,lord ,rosse and ,mr ,lassell to the ,royal ,society of ,edinburgh4 ,returned to ,greenwich by ,brampton4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here is a reminiscence of the ,ipswich ,lectures1 in a letter to his wife1 dated ,playford1 #ahdh ,mar4 #ad1 ,at the proper time ,i went to the hall3 found a chairman installed 7,mr ,western73 was presented to him1 and by him presented to the audience3 made my bow and commenced4 ,the room was quite full3 ,i have rarely seen such a sea of faces2 about #gjj ,i believe4 ,everything went off extremely well1 except that the rollers of the moving piece of sky would squeak3 but people did not mind it3 and when first a star passed the meridian1 then ,jupiter1 then some stars1 and then ,saturn1 he was much applauded4 ,before beginning ,i gave notice that ,i should wait to answer questions3 and as soon as the lecture was finished the ,chairman repeated this and begged people to ask4 ,so several people did ask very pertinent questions 7from the benches7 shewing that they had attended well4 ,others came up and asked questions4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following extracts are from letters written to his wife while on his visit to ,lord ,rosse at ,parsonstown in ,ireland4 ,on the way he stopped at ,bangor and looked at the ,tubular ,bridge ,works1 which are thus referred to3 ,stopped at ,bangor1 settled pro tem4 at the ,castle1 and then walked past the ,suspension ,bridge towards the ,tube ,works1 which are about #a-a_/b mile south-west of the ,suspension ,bridge4 ,the way was by a path through fields near the water side3 and from one or two points in this1 the appearance of the ,suspension ,bridge was most majestic4 ,the ,tube ,bridge consists of four spans1 two over water and two over sloping land4 ,the parts for the double tube over the water spans 7four lengths of tube7 are building on a platform as at ,conway1 to be floated by barges as there3 the parts over the sloping banks are to be built in their place1 on an immense scaffolding4 ,i suspect that1 in regard to these parts1 ,stephenson is sacrificing a great deal of money to uniformity of plan3 and that it would have been much cheaper to build out stone arches to the piers touching the water4444 ,the ,tube ,works are evidently the grand promenade of the idlers about ,bangor3 ,i saw many scores of ladies and gentlemen walking that way with their baskets of provision1 evidently going to gipsy in the fields close by4 ,,the ,,castle1 ,,parsonstown1 #ahdh1 ,aug4 #bi4 ,after tea it was voted that the night was likely to be fine1 so we all turned out4 ,the night was uncertain3 sometimes entirely clouded1 sometimes partially1 but objects were pretty well seen when the sky was clear3 the latter part was much steadier4 ,from the interruption by clouds1 the slowness of finding with and managing a large instrument 7especially as their finding apparatus is not perfectly arranged7 and the desire of looking well at an object when we had got it1 we did not look at many objects4 ,the principal were1 ,saturn and the ,annular ,nebula of ,lyra with the #c-;feet2 ,saturn1 a remarkable cluster of stars1 and a remarkable planetary nebula1 with the #f-;feet4 ,with the large telescope1 the evidence of the quantity of light is prodigious4 ,and the light of an object is seen in the field without any colour or any spreading of stray light3 and it is easy to see that the vision with a reflecting telescope may be much more perfect than with a refractor4 ,with these large apertures1 the rings round the stars are insensible4 ,the planetary nebula looked a mass of living and intensely brilliant light3 this is an object which ,i do not suppose can be seen at all in our ordinary telescopes4 ,the definition of the stars near the zenith is extremely good3 with a high power 7as #hjj7 they are points or very nearly so--indeed ,i believe quite so--so that it is clear that the whole light from the great #f-;feet mirror is collected into a space not bigger than the point of a needle4 ,but in other positions of the telescope the definition is not good3 and we must look to-day to see what is the cause of this fault4 ,it is not a fault in the telescope1 properly so-called1 but it is either a tilt of the mirror1 or an edge-pressure upon the mirror when the telescope points lower down which distorts its figure1 or something of that kind4 ,so ,i could not see ,saturn at all well1 for which ,i was sorry1 as ,i could so well have compared his appearance with what ,i have seen before4 ,i shall be very much pleased if we can make out what is the fault of adjustment1 and so correct it as to get good images everywhere4 ,it is evident that the figuring of the mirror1 the polishing1 and the general arrangement1 are perfectly managed4 ,,the ,,castle1 ,,parsonstown1 #ahdh1 ,aug4 #cj4 ,yesterday we were employed entirely about the ,great ,telescope1 beginning rather late4 ,the principal objects had relation to the fault of definition when the telescope is pointed low 7which ,i had remarked on the preceding night71 and were1 to make ourselves acquainted with the mechanism of the mirror's mounting generally1 and to measure in various ways whether the mirror actually does shift its place when the telescope is set to different angles of elevation4 ,for the latter we found that the mirror actually does tilt #a_/d of an inch when the tube points low4 ,this of itself will not account for the fault but it indicates that the lower part is held fast in a way that may cause a strain which would produce the fault4 ,these operations and reasonings took a good deal of time4 ,lord ,rosse is disposed to make an alteration in the mounting for the purpose of correcting this possible strain4 ,,the ,,castle1 ,,parsonstown1 #ahdh1 ,aug4 #ca4 ,the weather here is still vexatious3 but not absolutely repulsive4 ,yesterday morning ,lord ,rosse arranged a new method of suspending the great mirror1 so as to take its edgewise pressure in a manner that allowed the springy supports of its flat back to act4 ,this employed his workmen all day1 so that the proposed finish of polishing the new mirror could not go on4 ,i took one ,camera ,lucida sketch of the instrument in the morning1 dodging the heavy showers as well as ,i could2 then1 as the afternoon was extremely fine1 ,i took another1 with my head almost roasted by the sun4 ,this last view is extremely pretty and characteristic1 embracing parts of the mounting not shewn well in the others1 and also shewing the ,castle1 the ,observatory1 and the #c-;feet telescope4 ,the night promised exceedingly well3 but when we got actually to the telescope it began to cloud and at length became hopeless4 ,however ,i saw that the fault which ,i had remarked on the two preceding nights was gone4 ,there is now a slight exhibition of another fault to a much smaller extent4 ,we shall probably be looking at the telescope to-day in reference to it4 ,,the ,,castle1 ,,parsonstown1 #ahdh1 ,sept4 #a4 ,yesterday we made some alterations in the mounting of the great mirror4 ,we found that sundry levers were loose which ought to be firm1 and we conjectured with great probability the cause of this1 for correction of which a change in other parts was necessary4 ,the mirror was then found to preserve its position much more fixedly than before4444 ,at night1 upon trying the telescope1 we found it very faulty for stars near the zenith1 where it had been free from fault before4 ,the screws which we had driven hard were then loosened1 and immediately it was made very good4 ,then we tried with some lower objects1 and it was good1 almost equally good1 there4 ,for ,saturn it was very greatly superior to what it had been before4 ,still it is not satisfactory to us1 and at this time a strong chain is in preparation1 to support the mirror edgeways instead of the posts that there were at first or the iron hoop which we had on it yesterday4 ,nobody would have conceived that an edgewise gripe of such a mass of metal could derange its form in this way4 ,last night was the finest night we have had as regards clouds1 though perhaps not the best for definition of objects4 ,,the ,,castle1 ,,parsonstown1 #ahdh1 ,sept4 #b4 ,i cannot learn that the fault in the mirror had been noticed before1 but ,i fancy that the observations had been very much confined to the ,zenith and its neighbourhood4 #ahdi ,in ,july the new constant-service water-pipes to the ,observatory were laid from ,blackheath4 ,before this time the supply of water to the ,observatory had been made by a pipe leading up from the lower part of the ,park1 and was not constant4--,in ,may the new staircase from my dwelling-house to the ,octagon ,room was commenced4--,in the ,report to the ,visitors there is a curious account of ,mr ,breen's 7one of the ,assistants7 personal equation1 which was found to be different in quantity for observations of the ,moon and observations of the ,stars4--,the most important set of observations 7of planets7 was a series of measures of ,saturn in four directions1 at the time when his ring had disappeared4 ,they appear completely to negative the idea that ,saturn's form differs sensibly from an ellipsoid4--,among the ,general ,remarks of the ,report the following appears3 ',another change 7in prospect7 will depend on the use of galvanism2 and as a probable instance of the application of this agent1 ,i may mention that1 although no positive step has hitherto been taken1 ,i fully expect in no long time to make the going of all the clocks in the ,observatory depend on one original regulator4 ,the same means will probably be employed to increase the general utility of the ,observatory1 by the extensive dissemination throughout the kingdom of accurate time-signals1 moved by an original clock at the ,royal ,observatory2 and ,i have already entered into correspondence with the authorities of the ,south ,eastern ,railway 7whose line of galvanic communication will shortly pass within nine furlongs of the ,observatory7 in reference to this subject4'--,i agreed with ,schumacher in giving no medal to ,mr ,g4 ,p4 ,bond2 his comet was found to be ,petersen's4 ,five medals were awarded for comets in #ahdg 7,hind1 ,colla1 ,mauvais1 ,brorsen1 ,schweizer74--,the ,liverpool ,observatory was finished this year3 and the thanks of the ,town ,council were presented to me4--,respecting ,fallows's ,observations at the ,cape of ,good ,hope3 ,i had received the ,admiralty sanction for proceeding with calculations in #ahdf1 and ,i employed computers as was convenient4 ,on ,july #bjth of this year ,i was ready with final results1 and began to make enquiries about ,fallows's personal history1 and the early history of the ,cape ,observatory4 ,on ,oct4 #bcrd ,i applied for sanction for printing1 which was given1 and the work was soon finished off1 in the ,astronomical ,society's ,memoirs4--,in the month of ,march ,i had commenced correspondence with various persons on the imperfect state of publication of the ,british ,survey4 ,sheets of the ,map were issued by scores1 but not one of them had an indication of latitude or longitude engraved4 ,i knew that great pains had been taken in giving to the principal triangulation a degree of accuracy never before reached1 and in fixing the astronomical latitudes of many stations with unequalled precision4 ,finally ,i prepared for the ,council of the ,royal ,society a very strong representation on these subjects1 which was adopted and presented to the ,government4 ,it was entirely successful1 and the ,maps were in future furnished with latitude and longitude lines4--,i was elected ,president of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society on ,feb4 #ith4--,in ,june ,i went with ,sheepshanks to see some of the operation of measuring a ,base on ,salisbury ,plain4 ,the following extract from a letter to his wife dated #ahdi1 ,june #bgth1 relates to this expedition3 ',in the morning we started before eight in an open carriage to the ,plain3 looking into ,old ,sarum on our way4 ,the ,base is measured on what ,i should think a most unfavourable line1 its north end 7from which they have begun now1 in verification of the old measure7 being the very highest point in the whole plain1 called ,beacon ,hill4 ,the soldiers measure only #beb feet in a day1 so it will take them a good while to measure the whole seven miles4 ,while we were there ,col4 ,hall 7,colby's successor7 and ,yolland and ,cosset came4' ,of private history3 ,i made short visits to ,playford in ,january1 ,april and ,july4 ,from ,july #bhth to ,sept4 #abth ,i made an expedition with my wife to ,orkney and ,shetland4--,from ,dec4 #bdth to #bfth ,i was at ,hawkhurst1 on a visit to ,sir ,john ,herschel4 #ahej ,the ,report to the ,board of ,visitors opens with the following paragraph3 ',in recording the proceedings at the ,royal ,observatory during the last year1 ,i have less of novelty to communicate to the ,visitors than in the ,reports of several years past4 ,still ,i trust that the present ,report will not be uninteresting2 as exhibiting1 ,i hope1 a steady and vigorous adherence to a general plan long since matured1 accompanied with a reasonable watchfulness for the introduction of new instruments and new methods when they may seem desirable4'--,since the introduction of the self-registering instruments a good many experiments had been made to obtain the most suitable light1 and the ,report states that ',no change whatever has been made in these instruments1 except by the introduction of the light of coal-gas charged with the vapour of coal-naptha1 for photographic self-registration both of the magnetic and of the meteorological instruments4444 ,the chemical treatment of the paper is now so well understood by the ,assistants that a failure is almost unknown4 ,and1 generally speaking1 the photographs are most beautiful1 and give conceptions of the continual disturbances in terrestrial magnetism which it would be impossible to acquire from eye-observation4' --,amongst the ,general ,remarks of the ,report it is stated that ',there are two points which have distinctly engaged my attention4 ,the first of these is1 the introduction of the ,american method of observing transits1 by completing a galvanic circuit by means of a touch of the finger at the instant of appulse of the transiting body to the wire of the instrument1 which circuit will then animate a magnet that will make an impression upon a moving paper4 ,after careful consideration of this method1 ,i am inclined to believe that1 in ,prof4 ,mitchell's form1 it does possess the advantages which have been ascribed to it1 and that it may possess peculiar advantages in this ,observatory1 where the time-connection of transits made with two different instruments 7the ,transit and the ,altazimuth7 is of the highest importance4444 ,the second point is1 the connection of the ,observatory with the galvanic telegraph of the ,south ,eastern ,railway1 and with other lines of galvanic wire with which that telegraph communicates4 ,i had formerly in mind only the connection of this ,observatory with different parts of the great ,british island3 but ,i now think it possible that our communications may be extended far beyond its shores4 ,the promoters of the submarine telegraph are very confident of the practicability of completing a galvanic connection between ,england and ,france3 and ,i now begin to think it more than possible that1 within a few years1 observations at ,paris and ,brussels may be registered on the recording surfaces at ,greenwich1 and vice versa4'--,prof4 ,hansen was engaged in forming ,lunar ,tables from his ,lunar ,theory1 but was stopped for want of money4 ,on ,mar4 #gth ,i represented this privately to ,mr ,baring1 ,first ,lord of the ,admiralty2 and on ,mar4 #cjth ,i wrote officially to the ,admiralty1 soliciting #aej with the prospect1 if necessary1 of making it #bjj4 ,on ,apr4 #ajth the ,admiralty gave their assent4 ,the existence of ,hansen's ,lunar ,tables is due to this grant4--,the ,king of ,denmark's ,medal for ,comets was discontinued1 owing to the difficulties produced by the hostility of ,prussia4--,on ,aug4 #ast ,i gave to the ,treasury my opinion on the first proposal for a large reflector in ,australia3 it was not strongly favourable4--,in ,august1 being 7with my wife and ,otto ,struve7 on a visit to ,lady ,breadalbane at ,taymouth ,castle1 ,i examined the mountain ,schehallien4--,as in other years1 ,i reported on several ,papers for the ,royal ,society1 and took part in various business for them4--,in the ,royal ,astronomical ,society ,i had much official business1 as ,president4--,in ,march ,i communicated to the ,athenaeum my views on the ,exodus of the ,israelites3 this brought me into correspondence with ,miss ,corbaux1 ,robert ,stephenson1 ,capt4 ,vetch1 and ,prof4 ,j4,d4 ,forbes4--,in ,december ,i went to the ,london ,custom ,house1 to see ,sir ,t4 ,freemantle 7,chairman of ,customs71 and to see how far decimal subdivisions were used in the ,custom ,house4 ,of private history3 ,from ,mar4 #aith to #bbnd ,i was on an expedition to ,folkestone1 ,dover1 ,dungeness1 c4--,from ,apr4 #crd to #hth at ,playford1 and again for short periods in ,june and ,july4--,from ,aug4 #ast to ,sept4 #eth ,i was travelling in ,scotland with my wife and ,otto ,struve 7for part of the time74 ,at ,edinburgh ,i attended the ,meeting of the ,british ,association1 and spoke a little in ,section ,a4 ,i was nominated ,president for #ahea at ,ipswich4 ,we travelled to ,cape ,wrath and returned by ,inverness and the ,caledonian ,canal4--,i was at ,playford for a short time in ,october and ,december4 #ahea ,in this year the great shed was built 7first erected on the ,magnetic ,ground1 and about the year #ahfh transferred to the ,south ,ground74--,the chronometers were taken from the old ,chronometer ,room 7a room on the upper story fronting the south1 now1 #ahgb1 called ,library #b7 and were put in the room above the ,computing ,room 7where they remained for #aj or #ab years1 ,i think73 it had a chronometer-oven with gas-heat1 erected in #ahej4--,the following passage is quoted from the ,report to the ,visitors3--',as regards ,meridional ,astronomy our equipment may now be considered complete4 ,as ,i have stated above1 an improvement might yet be made in our ,transit ,circle2 nevertheless ,i do not hesitate to express my belief that no other existing meridional instrument can be compared with it4 ,this presumed excellence has not been obtained without much thought on my part and much anxiety on the part of the constructors of the instrument 7,messrs ,ransomes and ,may1 and ,mr ,simms74 ,but it would be very unjust to omit the further statement that the expense of the construction has considerably exceeded the original estimate1 and that this excess has been most liberally defrayed by the ,government4'--,in ,december ,sir ,john ,herschel gave his opinion 7to the ,admiralty1 ,i believe7 in favour of procuring for the ,cape ,observatory a ,transit ,circle similar to that at ,greenwich4--,i had much correspondence about sending ,pierce ,morton 7formerly a pupil of mine at ,cambridge1 a clever gentlemanly man1 and a high wrangler1 but somewhat flighty7 as ,magnetic ,assistant to the ,cape ,observatory3 he was with me from ,may to ,october1 and arrived at the ,cape on ,nov4 #bgth4--,i was much engaged with the clock with conical motion of pendulum1 for uniform movement of the ,chronographic ,barrel4--,regarding galvanic communications3 ,on ,sept4 #aith ,i had prepared a ,draft of ,agreement with the ,south ,eastern ,railway ,company1 to which they agreed4 ,in ,november ,i wrote to ,sir ,t4 ,baring 7,first ,lord of the ,admiralty7 and to the ,admiralty for sanction1 which was given on ,dec4 #ahth4 ,in ,december ,i had various communications about laying wires through the ,park1 c41 c41 and correspondence about the possibility of using sympathetic clocks3 in ,june1 apparently1 ,i had seen ,shepherd's sympathetic clock at the ,great ,exhibition1 and had seen the system of sympathetic clocks at ,pawson's1 ,st ,paul's ,churchyard4--,in the last quarter of this year ,i was engaged in a series of calculations of chronological eclipses4 ,on ,sept4 #cjth ,mr ,bosanquet wrote to me about the ,eclipse of ,thales1 and ,i urged on the computations related to it1 through ,mr ,breen4 ,in ,october the eclipse of ,agathocles 7the critical eclipse for the motion of the ,moon's node7 was going on4 ,in ,october ,hansteen referred me to the darkness at ,stiklastad4--,i went to ,sweden to observe the total eclipse of ,july #bhth1 having received assistance from the ,admiralty for the journeys of myself1 ,mr ,dunkin1 ,mr ,humphreys and his friend1 and ,capt4 ,blackwood4 ,i had prepared a map of its track1 in which an important error of the ,berliner ,jahrbuch 7arising from neglect of the earth's oblateness7 was corrected4 ,i gave a lecture at the ,royal ,institution1 in preparation for the eclipse1 and drew up suggestions for observations1 and ,i prepared a scheme of observations for ,greenwich1 but the weather was bad4 ,the official account of the ,observations of the ,eclipse1 with diagrams and conclusions1 is given in full in a paper published in the ,royal ,astr4 ,society's ,memoirs4--,this year ,i was ,president of the ,british ,association1 at the ,ipswich ,meeting3 it necessarily produced a great deal of business4 ,i lectured one evening on the coming eclipse4 ,prince ,albert was present1 as guest of ,sir ,william ,middleton3 ,i was engaged to meet him at dinner1 but when ,i found that the dinner day was one of the principal soire days1 ,i broke off the engagement4--,on ,may #bfth ,i had the first letter from ,e4 ,hamilton 7whom ,i had known at ,cambridge7 regarding the selection of professors for the ,university of ,sydney4 ,herschel1 ,maldon1 and ,h4 ,denison were named as my coadjutors4 ,plenty of work was done1 but it was not finished till #aheb4--;,in connection with the clock for ,westminster ,palace1 in ,february there were considerations about providing other clocks for the various buildings2 and this probably was one reason for my examining ,shepherd's ,clocks at the ,great ,exhibition and at ,pawson's4 ,in ,november ,i first proposed that ,mr ,e4,b4 ,denison should be associated with me4 ,about the end of the year1 the plan of the tower was supplied to me1 with reference to the suspension of the weights and other particulars4--,in #ahej ,admiral ,dundas 7,m4,p4 for ,greenwich and one of the ,board of ,admiralty7 had requested me to aid the ,trustees of the ,dee ,navigation against an attack2 and on ,mar4 #aith #ahea ,i went to ,chester to see the state of the river4 ,on ,jan4 #ast #aheb ,i went to give evidence at the ,official ,enquiry4--,at a discussion on the construction of the ,great ,exhibition building in the ,institution of ,civil ,engineers1 ,i expressed myself strongly on the faulty principles of its construction4--,in this year ,i wrote my first ,paper on the landing of ,julius ,caesar in ,britain1 and was engaged in investigations of the geography1 tides1 sands1 c41 relating to the subject4 ,of private history3 ,i was several times at ,playford during ,january1 and went there again on ,dec4 #bcrd4--,in this year a very heavy misfortune fell on us4 ,my daughter1 ,elizabeth1 had been on a visit to ,lady ,herschel at ,hawkhurst1 and on ,apr4 #bnd ,sir ,j4 ,herschel wrote to me1 saying that she was so well in health4 ,she returned a few days later1 and from her appearance ,i was sure that she was suffering under deadly disease4 ,after some time1 an able physician was consulted1 who at once pronounced it to be pulmonary4 ,a sea voyage was thought desirable1 and my wife took her to ,shetland1 where there was again a kind welcome from ,mr ,edmonston4 ,but this1 and the care taken on her return1 availed nothing3 and it was determined to take her to ,madeira4 ,my wife and daughter sailed in the brig ',eclipse' from ,southampton on ,dec4 #aath4 ,the termination came in #aheb4--,on ,nov4 #bcrd ,i went to ,bradfield1 near ,bury3 my uncle1 ,george ,biddell1 died1 and ,i attended the funeral on ,nov4 #bith4--,from ,july #ahth to ,aug4 #bdth ,i was in ,sweden for the ,observation of the ,eclipse1 and returned through ,holland4--,in ,october ,i was about a week at ,ventnor and ,torquay1 and from ,dec4 #gth to #aath at ,southampton1 on matters connected with my daughter's illness4 ,the following extracts are from letters to his wife1 relating to the ,observation of the eclipse1 his interview with the ,king of ,sweden1 c41 and his visit to the pumping engines at ,haarlem3 ,july #bh1 half-past #aj1 morning4 ,the weather is at present most perfectly doubtful4 ,nearly the whole sky is closely covered1 yet there is now and then a momentary gleam of sun4 ,the chances are greatly against much of the eclipse being seen4 ,all is arranged to carry off the telescope1 c41 at #aa3 they can be carted to the foot of the hill1 and we have made out a walking-pass then to the top4 ,we are to dine with ,mr ,dickson afterwards4 ,july #bh1 #aj at night4 ,well we have had a glorious day4 ,as soon as we started1 the weather began to look better4 ,we went up the hill and planted my telescope1 and the sky shewed a large proportion of blue4 ,at first ,i placed the telescope on the highest rock1 but the wind blew almost a gale1 and shook it slightly3 so ,i descended about #h feet to one side4 7,the power of doing this was one of the elements in my choice of this station1 which made me prefer it to the high hill beyond the river47 ,the view of scenery was inexpressibly beautiful4 ,the beginning of eclipse was well seen4 ,the sky gradually thickened from that time1 so that the sun was in whitish cloud at the totality1 and barely visible in dense cloud at the end of the eclipse4 ,the progress of the eclipse brought on the wonderful changes that you know3 just before the totality ,i saw a large piece of blue sky become pitch black2 the horror of totality was very great2 and then flashed into existence 7,i do not know how7 a broad irregular corona with red flames instantly seen of the most fantastic kind4 ,the darkness was such that my assistant had very great trouble in reading his box chronometer4 7,a free-hand explanatory diagram is here given47 ,some important points are made out from this4 #ast the red flames certainly belong to the sun4 #bnd they certainly are in some instances detached4 #crd they are sometimes quite crooked4 #dth they seem to be connected with spots4 ,the corona was brilliant white4 ,one star brilliant3 ,i believe ,venus4 ,i had no time to make observations of polarization1 c41 although prepared4 ,when the totality was more than half over ,i looked to ,n4 and ,n4,w41 and in these regions there was the fullest rosy day-break light4 ,after the sun-light reappeared1 the black shadow went travelling away to the ,s4,e4 exactly like the thunder-storm from the ,main4 ,the day then grew worse1 and we came home here 7after dinner7 in pouring rain4 ,,stockholm1 #ahea1 ,aug4 #e4 ,i then by appointment with ,sir ,edmund ,lyons went with him to the ,minister for ,foreign ,affairs1 ,baron ,stjerneld1 who received me most civilly4 ,my business was to thank him for the orders which had been given to facilitate the landing of our telescopes1 c41 c4 ,he was quite familiar with the names of my party1 ,humphreys ,milaud1 c41 so that ,i trust they have been well received 7,i have had no letter74 ,he intimated1 ,i suppose at ,sir ,e4 ,lyons's suggestion1 that perhaps ,king ,oscar might wish to see me1 but that it would not be on ,tuesday4 ,so ,i replied that ,i was infinitely flattered and he said that he would send a message to ,sir ,e4 ,lyons by ,tuesday evening4 ,now all this put me in a quandary3 because ,i wanted to see ,upsala1 #dg miles off3 and the steamboats on the ,mlar only go in the morning and return in the morning3 and this was irreconcileable with waiting for his ,majesty's appointment which might be for ,wednesday morning4 ,so after consultation ,sir ,e4 ,lyons put me in the hands of a sort of courier attached to the ,embassy1 and he procured a calche1 and ,i posted to ,upsala yesterday afternoon 7knocking the people up at #aa at night7 and posted back this afternoon4 ,and sure enough a message has come that the king expects me at #aa to-morrow morning4 ,posting of course is much dearer than steam-boat travelling1 but it is cheap in comparison with ,england3 two horses cost #as4 for nearly #g miles4 ,at ,upsala there is a very good old cathedral1 ,i suppose the only one in ,sweden3 and many things about the ,university which interested me4 ,i sent my card to ,professor ,fries1 and he entirely devoted himself to me3 but imagine our conversation--he spoke in ,latin and ,i in ,french3 however we understood each other very well4 ,it is on the whole a dreary country except where enlivened by lakes3 some parts are pine forests and birch forests1 but others are featureless ground with boulder stones1 like the worst part of the ,highlands4 ,august #f1 ,wednesday1 #c o'clock4 ,i rigged myself in black trowsers and white waistcoat and neckcloth this morning4 ,sir ,edmund ,lyons called4 ,baron ,wrede called on me3 he had observed the ,eclipse at ,calmar and brought his drawing1 much like mine4 ,he conducted me to the ,palace4 ,the ,minister for ,foreign ,affairs came to me4 ,in the waiting-room ,i was introduced to the ,lieutenant-,governor of ,christianstad1 who had had the charge of ,humphreys and ,milaud4 ,he had placed a guard of soldiers round them while they were observing4 ,they saw the eclipse well4 ,captain ,blackwood went to ,helsingborg instead of ,bornholm1 and saw well4 ,i am sorry to hear that it was cloudy at ,christiania1 ,mr ,dunkin's station4 ,i heard some days ago that ,hind had lost his telescope1 but ,i now heard a very different story3 that he landed at ,ystad1 and found a very bad hotel there3 that he learnt from ,murray that the hotels at ,carlscrona 7or wherever he meant to go7 were much worse2 and so he grew faint at heart and turned back4 ,i was summoned in to the ,king and presented by the ,minister 7,stjerneld71 and had a long conversation with him3 on the eclipse1 the arc of meridian1 the languages1 and the ,universities4 ,we spoke in ,french4 ,then ,baron ,wrede went with me to the ,rittershus 7,house of ,lords or ,nobles7 in ,session1 and to the ,gallery of ,scandinavian ,antiquities1 which is very remarkable3 the collection of stone axes and chisels1 bronze do41 iron do41 ornaments1 c4 is quite amazing4 ,i was struck with seeing specimens from a very distant age of the ,maid of ,norway's brooch3 the use of which ,i explained to the ,director4 ,i dined and drove out with ,sir ,e4 ,lyons1 and called at the houses of the ,baron ,stjerneld and of the ,norwegian ,minister ,baron ,du1 and had tea at the latter4 ,most of these people speak ,english well1 and they seem to live in a very domestic family style4 ,i should soon be quite at home here3 for ,i perceive that my reception at ,court1 c41 make people think that ,i am a very proper sort of person4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the extract concerning his visit to the ,pumping-,engines at ,haarlem is as follows3 ,,leyden1 #ahea1 ,august #bj1 ,wednesday4 ,i went to see the great ,north ,holland ,canal1 and went a mile or two in a horse-drawn-boat upon it3 a very comfortable conveyance4 ,saw windmills used for sawing timber and other purposes1 as well as some for grinding and many for draining4 ,yesterday at half-past one ,i went by railway to ,haarlem4 ,i did not look at anything in the town except going through it and seeing that it is a curious fantastic place1 but ,i drove at once to the burgomaster to ask permission to visit one of the three great pumping engines for draining the immense ,haarlem lake1 and then drove to it4 ,imagine a round tower with a steam-cylinder in its center2 and the piston which works up-and-down1 instead of working one great beam as they usually do1 works eight1 poking out on different sides of the round tower1 and each driving a pump #f feet in diameter4 ,i am glad to have seen it4 ,then by railway here4 99 99 99 99 99 #aheb ,galvanic communication was now established with ,lewisham station 7thus giving power of communicating with ,london1 ,deal1 c474--,from the ,report to the ,board of ,visitors it appears that1 in the case of the ,transit ,circle1 the azimuth of the ,instrument as determined by opposite passages of the ,pole ,star had varied four seconds2 and in the case of the ,altazimuth1 there was a discordance in the azimuthal zeros of the ,instrument1 as determined from observations of stars4 ,in both cases it was concluded that the discordances arose from small movements of the ground4--,under the head of ',general ,remarks' in the ,report1 the following paragraph occurs3 ',it will be perceived that the number of equatoreal observations made here at present is small3 and that they are rarely directed to new comets and similar objects which sometimes excite considerable interest4 ,this omission is intentional4 ,it is not because the instrumental means are wanting 7for our ,equatoreals1 though not comparable to those of either ,cambridge1 or of ,pulkowa1 are fully equal to those usually directed to such objects71 but it is because these observations are most abundantly supplied from other observatories1 public and private1 and because the gain to those observations from our taking a part in them would1 probably1 be far less than the loss to the important class of observations which we can otherwise follow so well4 ,moreover1 ,i am unwilling to take any step which could be interpreted as attempting to deprive the local and private observatories of honours which they have so nobly earned4 ,and1 finally1 in this act of abstinence1 ,i am desirous of giving an example of adhesion to one principle which1 ,i am confident1 might be extensively followed with great advantage to astronomy3--the principle of division of labour4'--,discoveries of small planets were now not infrequent3 but the only one of interest to me is ,melpomene1 for the following reason4 ,on #aheb ,june #bd ,i lost my most dear1 amiable1 clever daughter ,elizabeth3 she died at ,southampton1 two days after landing from ,madeira4 ,on that evening ,mr ,hind discovered the planet2 and he requested me to give a name4 ,i remembered ,horace's ',praecipe lugubres cantus1 ,melpomene1' and ,cowley's ',i called the buskin'd muse ,melpomene and told her what sad story ,i would write1' and suggested ,melpomene1 or ,penthos3 ,melpomene was adopted4--,the first move about the ,deal ,time ,ball was in a letter from ,commander ,baldock to the ,admiralty1 suggesting that a ,time ,ball1 dropped by galvanic current from ,greenwich1 should be attached to one of the ,south ,foreland ,lighthouses4 ,the ,admiralty sent this for my ,report4 ,i went to the place1 and ,i suggested in reply 7,nov4 #aeth7 that a better place would be at an old signal station on the chalk downs4 ,the decisive change from this was made in #ahec4--;,as the result of my examination and enquiries into the subject of sympathetic clocks1 ,i established #h sympathetic clocks in the ,royal ,observatory1 one of which outside the entrance gate had a large dial with ,shepherd's name as ,patentee4 ,exception was taken to this by the solicitor of a ,mr ,bain who had busied himself about galvanic clocks4 ,after much correspondence ,i agreed to remove ,shepherd's name till ,bain had legally established his claim4 ,this however was never done3 and in #ahec ,shepherd's name was restored4--,in ,nov4 #ahea1 ,denison had consented to join me in the preparation of the ,westminster ,clock4 ,in ,feb4 #aheb we began to have little disagreements4 ,however on ,apr4 #fth ,i was going to ,madeira1 and requested him to act with full powers from me4--,i communicated to the ,royal ,society my ,paper on the ,eclipses of ,agathocles1 ,thales1 and ,xerxes4--,in the ,british ,association1 ,i had presided at the ,ipswich ,meeting in #ahea1 and according to custom ,i ought to attend at the #aheb ,meeting 7held at ,belfast7 to resign my office4 ,but ,i was broken in spirit by the death of my daughter1 and the thing generally was beyond my willing enterprise4 ,i requested ,sir ,roderick ,murchison to act generally for me3 which he did1 as ,i understood1 very gracefully4--,in this year a proposal was made by the ,government for shifting all the ,meeting ,rooms of the ,scientific ,societies to ,kensington ,gore1 which was stoutly resisted by all1 and was finally abandoned4 ,of private history3 ,i was at ,playford in ,january1 and went thence to ,chester on the enquiry about the tides of the ,dee2 and made excursions to ,halton ,castle and to ,holyhead4--,from ,apr4 #hth to ,may #adth ,i was on the voyage to and from ,madeira1 and on a short visit to my wife and daughter there4--,on ,june #bcrd ,i went to ,southampton to meet my wife and daughter just landed from ,madeira3 on ,june #bdth my dear daughter ,elizabeth died3 she was buried at ,playford on ,june #bith4--,i was at ,playford also in ,july and ,december4--,from ,sept4 #afth to #bdth ,i went to ,cumberland1 vi ,fleetwood and ,peel4 #ahec ,on ,may #crd #ahec ,i issued an address to the individual ,members of the ,board of ,visitors1 proposing the extension of the ,lunar ,reductions from #ahcj4 ,from this it appears that ',through the whole period 7from #ahcj to #ahec71 the places of the ,moon1 deduced from the observations1 are compared with the places computed in the ,nautical ,almanac3 that is1 with ,burckhardt's tables1 which have been used for many years in computing the places of the ,nautical ,almanac4444444,very lately1 however1 ,mr ,adams has shewn that ,burckhardt's ,parallax is erroneous in formula and is numerically incorrect1 sometimes to the amount of seven seconds4 ,in consequence of this1 every reduction of the ,observations of the ,moon1 from #ahcj to the present time1 is sensibly erroneous4 ,and the error is of such a nature that it is not easy1 in general1 to introduce its correction by any simple process4444 ,the number of observations to the end of #ahea 7after which time the parallax will be corrected in the current reductions7 is about #befj4 ,an expense approaching to #djj might be incurred in their reduction4' ,subsequently ,i made application to the ,admiralty1 and the #djj was granted on ,dec4 #abth4--,in the ,report to the ,visitors it is stated that with regard to the ,transit ,circle1 changes are under contemplation in its reflection-apparatus3 one of these changes relates to the material of the trough4 ',several years ago1 when ,i was at ,hamburgh1 my revered friend ,prof4 ,schumacher exhibited to me the pacifying effect of a copper dish whose surface had been previously amalgamated with quicksilver4444444,the ,rev4 ,charles ,pritchard has lately given much attention to this curious property of the metals1 and has brought the practical operation of amalgamation to great perfection4 ,still it is not without difficulty1 on account of a singular crystallization of the amalgam4'--,with regard to the ,chronograph1 the ,report states3 ',the ,barrel ,apparatus for the ,american method of observing transits is not yet brought into use4444 ,i have1 however1 brought it to such a state that ,i am beginning to try whether the ,barrel moves with sufficient uniformity to be itself used as the ,transit ,clock4 ,this1 if perfectly secured1 would be a very great convenience1 but ,i am not very sanguine on that point4'--,a change had been made in the ,electrometer-apparatus3 ',a wire for the collection of atmospheric electricity is now stretched from a chimney on the north-west angle of the leads of the ,octagon ,room to the ,electrometer pole4444 ,there appears to be no doubt that a greater amount of electricity is collected by this apparatus than by that formerly in use4'--,as regards the ,magnetical ,observations3 ',the ,visitors at their last ,meeting1 expressed a wish that some attempt should be made to proceed further in the reduction or digest of the magnetical results1 if any satisfactory plan could be devised4 ,i cannot say that ,i have yet satisfied myself on the propriety of any special plan that ,i have examined4444 ,i must1 however1 confess that1 in viewing the capricious forms of the photographic curves1 my mind is entirely bewildered1 and ,i sometimes doubt the possibility of extracting from them anything whatever which can be considered trustworthy4'--,great progress had been made with the distribution of time4 ',the same ,normal ,clock maintains in sympathetic movement the large clock at the entrance gate1 two other clocks in the ,observatory1 and a clock at the ,london ,bridge ,terminus of the ,south-,eastern ,railway4444 ,it sends galvanic signals every day along all the principal railways diverging from ,london4 ,it drops the ,greenwich ,ball1 and the ,ball on the ,offices of the ,electric ,telegraph ,company in the ,strand2444 ,all these various effects are produced without sensible error of time2 and ,i cannot but feel a satisfaction in thinking that the ,royal ,observatory is thus quietly contributing to the punctuality of business through a large portion of this busy country4 ,i have the satisfaction of stating to the ,visitors that the ,lords ,commissioners of the ,admiralty have decided on the erection of a ,time-,signal ,ball at ,deal1 for the use of the shipping in the ,downs1 to be dropped every day by a galvanic current from the ,royal ,observatory4 ,the construction of the apparatus is entrusted to me4 ,probably there is no roadstead in the world in which the knowledge of true time is so important4'--,the ,report includes an account of the determination of the ,longitude of ,cambridge ,observatory by means of galvanic signals1 which appear to have been perfectly successful4--,under the head of ,general ,remarks the following passage appears3 ',the system of combining the labour of unattached computers with that of attached ,assistants tends materially to strengthen our powers in everything relating to computation4 ,we find also1 among the young persons who are engaged merely to serve as computers1 a most laudable ambition to distinguish themselves as observers2 and thus we are always prepared to undertake any observations which may be required1 although necessarily by an expenditure of strength which would usually be employed on some other work4'--,considerable work was undertaken in preparing a new set of maps of our buildings and grounds4--,on ,apr4 #bcrd there was a small fire in the magnetic observatory1 which did little mischief4--,in ,december ,i wrote my description of the ,transit ,circle4--,lieut4 ,stratford1 the ,editor of the ,nautical ,almanac1 died1 and there was some competition for the office4 ,i was willing to take it at a low rate1 for the addition to my salary3 ,mr ,main--and ,i think ,mr ,glaisher--were desirous of exchanging to it3 ,prof4 ,adams was anxious for it4 ,the ,admiralty made the excellent choice of ,mr ,hind4--,in ,october ,faraday and ,i1 at ,lothbury1 witnessed some remarkable experiments by ,mr ,latimer ,clark on a galvanic current carried four times to and from ,manchester by subterranean wires 7more than #bjjj miles7 shewing the retardation of visible currents 7at their maximum effect7 and the concentration of active power4 ,i made investigations of the velocity of the ,galvanic ,current4--,i was engaged on the preliminary enquiries and arrangements for the ,deal ,time ,ball4--,with respect to the ,westminster ,clock2 an angry paper was issued by ,mr ,vulliamy4 ,in ,october ,i expostulated with ,denison about his conduct towards ,sir ,charles ,barry3 on ,november #gth ,i resigned4--,on ,feb4 #aath ,i was elected ,president of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society4--,in the ,royal ,institution ,i lectured on the ,ancient ,eclipses4--,on ,dec4 #aeth ,i was elected to the ,academy of ,brussels4--,after preliminary correspondence with ,sir ,w4 ,molesworth 7,first ,commissioner of ,works1 c47 and ,sir ,charles ,barry 7,architect of the ,westminster ,palace71 ,i wrote1 on ,may #adth1 to ,mr ,gladstone about depositing the four ,parliamentary ,copies of ,standards1 at the ,royal ,observatory1 the ,royal ,mint1 the ,royal ,society1 and within a wall of ,westminster ,palace4 ,mr ,gladstone assented on ,june #bcrd4--,on ,mar4 #bfth ,i wrote to ,mr ,gladstone1 proposing to take advantage of the new copper coinage for introducing the decimal system4 ,i was always strenuous about preserving the ,pound ,sterling4 ,on ,may #ajth ,i attended the ,committee of the ,house of ,commons on decimal coinage3 and in ,may and ,september ,i wrote letters to the ,athenaeum on decimal coinage4--,i had always something on hand about ,tides4 ,a special subject now was1 the cry about intercepting the tidal waters of the ,tyne by the formation of the ,jarrow ,docks1 in ,jarrow ,slake2 which fear ,i considered to be ridiculous4 ,of private history3 ,from ,jan4 #aeth to #bdth ,i was at ,playford4--,on ,mar4 #dth ,i went to ,dover to try time-signals4--,from ,june #bdth to ,aug4 #fth ,i was at ,little ,braithwaite near ,keswick1 where ,i had hired a house1 and made expeditions with members of my family in all directions4 ,on ,july #bhth ,i went1 with my son ,wilfrid1 by ,workington and ,maryport to ,rose ,castle1 the residence of ,bishop ,percy 7the ,bishop of ,carlisle71 and on to ,carlisle and ,newcastle1 looking at various works1 mines1 c4--,on ,dec4 #bdth ,i went to ,playford4 #ahed ,the chronograph ,barrel-,apparatus for the ,american method of transits had been practically brought into use3 ,i have only to add that this apparatus is now generally efficient4 ,it is troublesome in use2 consuming much time in the galvanic preparations1 the preparation of the paper1 and the translation of the puncture-indications into figures4 ,but among the observers who use it there is but one opinion on its astronomical merits--that1 in freedom from personal equation and in general accuracy1 it is very far superior to the observations by eye and ear4--,the printing and publication of the ,observations1 which was always regarded by ,airy as a matter of the first importance1 had fallen into arrear3 ,i stated in my last ,report that the printing of the ,observations for #aheb was scarcely commenced at the time of the last meeting of the ,visitors4 ,for a long time the printing went on so slowly that ,i almost despaired of ever again seeing the ,observations in a creditable state4 ,after a most harassing correspondence1 the printers were at length persuaded to move more actively1 444 but the volume is still very much behind its usual time of publication4--,the ,deal ,time-,ball has now been erected by ,messrs ,maudslays and ,field1 and is an admirable specimen of the workmanship of those celebrated engineers4 ,the galvanic connection with the ,royal ,observatory 7through the telegraph wires of the ,south ,eastern ,railway7 is perfect4 ,the automatic changes of wire-communications are so arranged that1 when the ,ball at ,deal has dropped to its lowest point1 it sends a message to ,greenwich to acquaint me1 not with the time of the beginning of its fall 7which cannot be in error7 but with the fact that it has really fallen4 ,the ,ball has several times been dropped experimentally with perfect success2 and some small official and subsidiary arrangements alone are wanting for bringing it into constant use4--,the operations for the galvanic determination of the longitude of ,brussels are described1 with the following conclusion3 ,thus1 about #cjjj effective signals were made1 but only #ajjj of these were admissible for the fundamental objects of the operation4 ,the result1 ,i need scarcely remark1 claims a degree of accuracy to which no preceding determination of longitude could ever pretend4 ,i apprehend that the probable error in the difference of time corresponds to not more than one or two yards upon the ,earth's surface4--,a careful scheme had been arranged for the determination of the longitude of ,lerwick1 but 'unfortunately1 the demand for chronometers caused by our large naval armament has been so considerable that ,i cannot reckon on having at my disposal a sufficient number to carry on this operation successfully2 and ,i have1 therefore1 unwillingly deferred it to a more peaceful time4'--,the covering stone of ,halley's ,tomb in ,lee ,churchyard was much shattered1 and ,i applied to the ,admiralty for funds for its complete restoration3 these were granted on ,feb4 #crd4--,in this year1 under my cognizance1 #ajj was added to the ,hansen grant4--,i had much correspondence and work in connection with the printing of ,maclear's work at the ,cape of ,good ,hope4 ,in ,june1 all accounts1 c4 about the ,transit ,circle were closed at the ,admiralty1 and the instrument was completely mounted at the ,cape4--,dr ,scoresby 7who in his own way was very imperious7 had attacked my methods of correcting the compass in iron ships3 ,i replied in a letter to the ,athenaeum on ,oct4 #agth4--,i made enquiries about operations for determining the longitude of ,vienna1 but was utterly repelled by the foreign telegraph offices4--,in the ,royal ,astronomical ,society2 ,i prepared the ,address on presenting the ,medal to ,rmker4--,in ,melbourne ,university3 ,the first letter received was from the ,chancellor of the ,university dated ,jan4 #bfth1 requesting that ,sir ,john ,herschel1 ,prof4 ,malden1 ,mr ,lowe 7subsequently ,chancellor of the ,exchequer71 and ,i would select professors4 ,we had a great deal of correspondence1 meetings1 examination of testimonials1 c41 and on ,august #adth we agreed on ,wilson1 ,rowe1 ,mc,coy1 and ,hearn4--,on ,feb4 #agth ,i received the ,prussian ,order of ,merit4--,i had correspondence with the ,treasury on the scale to be adopted for the ,maps of the ,british ,survey4 ,i proposed #a_/cjjj1 and for some purposes #a_/fjj4--;,i printed a ,paper on the ,deluge1 in which ,i shewed 7,i believe to certainty7 that the ,deluge of ,genesis was merely a ,destructive ,flood of the ,nile4--,being well acquainted with the mountains of ,cumberland1 ,i had remarked that a 'man' or cairn of stones erected by the ,ordnance ,surveyors on the ,great ,gable had covered up a curious natural stone trough1 known as one of the remarkable singularities of the country4 ,this year1 without giving any notice to the ,ordnance ,surveyors1 ,i sent two wallers from ,borrowdale to the mountain top1 to remove the 'man' about #aj feet and expose the trough4 ,sir ,henry ,james afterwards approved of my act1 and refunded the expense4--,i investigated the optical condition of an eye with conical cornea4 ,the ,harton ,colliery ,experiment3 ,i had long wished to repeat the experiment which ,i had attempted unsuccessfully in #ahbf and #ahbh1 of determining by pendulum-vibrations the measure of gravity at the bottom of a mine4 ,residing near ,keswick this summer1 and having the matter in my mind1 ,i availed myself of an introduction from ,dr ,leitch to some gentlemen at ,south ,shields1 for inspection of the ,harton ,colliery4 ,i judged that it would answer pretty well4 ,i find that on ,aug4 #aath ,i wrote to ,mr ,anderson 7lessee of the mine71 and on the same day to the ,admiralty requesting authority to employ a ,greenwich ,assistant1 and requesting #ajj for part payment of expenses4 ,on ,august #afth the ,admiralty assent4 ,there were many preparations to be made1 both personal and instrumental4 ,my party consisted of ,dunkin 7,superintendant71 ,ellis1 ,criswick1 ,simmons1 ,pogson1 and ,rmker3 ,i did not myself attend the detail of observations4 ,the observations began on ,oct4 #bnd and ended on ,oct4 #bast3 supplementary observations were subsequently made at ,greenwich for examining the coefficient of temperature-correction4 ,on ,oct4 #bdth ,i gave a ,lecture at ,south ,shields on the whole operation4 ,in ',punch' of ,nov4 #ahth there was an excellent semi-comic account of the experiment1 which as ,i afterwards found was written by ,mr ,percival ,leigh4 ,of private history3 ,on ,jan4 #ahth ,i returned from ,playford4 ,from ,mar4 #ajth to #acth ,i was at ,deal1 and visited ,sir ,john ,herschel at ,hawkhurst4--,from ,june #bhth to ,aug4 #gth ,i was staying with my family at ,the ,grange1 in ,borrowdale near ,keswick3 and also made an expedition to ,penrith1 ,carlisle1 ,newcastle1 ,jarrow1 c42 and descended the ,harton ,pit4--,in ,september and also in ,october ,i was at ,south ,shields on the ,harton ,experiments4--,from ,dec4 #adth to #ahth ,i was at ,cambridge1 and on the #bfth ,i went to ,playford4 ,the following letter1 written in answer to a lady who had asked him to procure permission from ,lord ,rosse for her to observe with his telescope1 is characteristic3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich4 #ahed1 ,september #bj4 ,,dear ,,madam1 ,the state of things with regard to ,lord ,rosse's ,telescope is this4 ,if a night is fine1 it is wanted for his use or for the use of professional astronomers4 ,if it is not fine1 it is of no use to anybody4 ,now considering this1 and considering that the appropriation of the telescope on a fine night to any body but a technical astronomer is a misapplication of an enormous capital of money and intellect which is invested in this unique instrument--it is against my conscience to ask ,lord ,rosse to place it at the service of any person except an experienced astronomer4 ,no introduction1 ,i believe1 is necessary for seeing it in the day-time4 ,the instrument stands unenclosed in the ,castle ,demesne1 to which strangers are admitted without question1 ,i believe444444444444444 ,faithfully yours1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 #ahee ,on ,may #ith it was notified to me 7,i think through the ,hydrographer7 that the ,admiralty were not unwilling to increase my salary4 ,i made application therefore2 and on ,jan4 #bast #ahef ,sir ,charles ,wood notified to me that the ,admiralty consented to have it raised from #hjj to #ajjj4--;,in the ,report to the ,board of ,visitors it appears that ',at the instance of the ,board of ,trade1 acting on this occasion through a ,committee of the ,royal ,society1 a model of the ,transit ,circle 7with the improvement of perforated cube1 c4 introduced in the ,cape ,transit ,circle7 has been prepared for the ,great ,exhibition at ,paris4'--,under the head of ,reduction of ,astronomical ,observations it is stated that ',during the whole time of which ,i have spoken1 the galvanic-contact method has been employed for transits1 with the exception of a few days1 when the galvanic apparatus was out of order4 ,from the clock errors1 ,i have deduced the personal equations of the observers in our usual way4444 ,the result is that the magnitude of the personal equations in the galvanic-touch method is not above half of that in the eye and ear method4'--,with regard to the ,reduction of the ,magnetical ,observations1 ',i have not yet felt sufficiently satisfied with any proposed method of discussing the magnetic results to devote any time to their further treatment4'--',the ,time-,signal ,ball at ,deal was brought into regular use at the beginning of the present year4 ,in a short time1 however1 its action was interrupted1 partly by derangement of the apparatus1 and partly by the severity of the weather1 which froze the sulphuric acid to the state of jelly4 ,i sent an assistant and workman to put it in order1 and since that time it has generally acted very well4--,application has been made to me from one of the important offices of ,government 7the ,post ,office7 for the galvanic regulation of their clocks4--,on considering the risks to which various galvanic communications are liable1 and the financial necessity for occupying wires as little as possible1 ,i perceived that it was necessary to devise constructions which should satisfy the following conditions4 ,first1 that a current sent once a day should suffice for adjusting the clock1 even if it had gone ten or more seconds wrong4 ,secondly1 that an occasional failure of the current should not stop the clock4 ,i have arranged constructions which possess these characters1 and the artist 7,mr ,c4 ,shepherd7 is now engaged in preparing estimates of the expense4 ,i think it likely that this may prove to be the beginning of a very extensive system of clock regulation4--,with respect to the operations for determining the longitude of ,paris1 it is stated that1 ,the whole number of days of signal transmission was eighteen1 and the whole number of signals transmitted was #becj4 ,the number of days considered available for longitude1 in consequence of transits of stars having been observed at both ,observatories1 was twelve1 and the number of signals was #agjc4 ,very great care was taken on both sides1 for the adjustments of the instruments4 ,the resulting difference of longitude1 #im4 #bj4fcs41 is probably very accurate4 ,it is less by nearly #as4 of time than that determined in #ahbe by rocket-signals1 under the superintendance of ,sir ,john ,herschel and ,col4 ,sabine4 ,the time occupied by the passage of the galvanic current appears to be #a_/abth of a second4--,with regard to the ,pendulum ,experiments in the ,harton ,colliery1 after mentioning that personal assistance had been sought and obtained from the ,observatories of ,cambridge1 ,oxford1 ,durham1 and ,red ,hill1 the ,report states that ,the experiments appear to have been in every point successful1 shewing beyond doubt that gravity is increased at the depth of #abfj feet by #a_/ajjjjth part4 ,i trust that this combination may prove a valuable precedent for future associations of the different ,observatories of the kingdom1 when objects requiring extensive personal organization shall present themselves4--,on ,oct4 #ahth the ,astronomer ,royal printed an ,address to the ,individual ,members of the ,board of ,visitors on the subject of a large new ,equatoreal for the ,observatory4 ,after a brief statement of the existing equipment of the ,observatory in respect of equatoreal instruments1 the ,address continues thus3 ,it is known to the ,visitors that ,i have uniformly objected to any luxury of extrameridional apparatus1 which would materially divert us from a steady adherence to the meridional system which both reason and tradition have engrafted on this ,observatory4 ,but ,i feel that our present instruments are insufficient even for my wishes2 and ,i cannot overlook the consideration that due provision must be made for future interests1 and that we are nearer by twenty years to the time when another judgment must decide on the direction which shall be given to the force of the ,observatory4--,in ,august ,i had some correspondence about the ,egyptian wooden astronomical tablets with ,mr ,gresswell and others3 they were fully examined by ,mr ,ellis4--,in this year ,i was much engaged on schemes for compasses1 and in ,june ,i sent my ,paper on ,discussions of ,ships' ,magnetism to the ,royal ,society4--,on ,dec4 #fth the mast of the ,observatory time-ball broke1 and the ,ball fell in the ,front ,court4--,on ,aug4 #dth my valued friend ,mr ,sheepshanks died2 and on ,aug4 #adth ,i went to ,london to see the ,standard ,bars as left by him4 ,afterwards1 on ,oct4 #beth ,i went to ,reading to collect the papers about ,standards left by ,mr ,sheepshanks4--,i made a mechanical construction for ,euclid ,i4 #dg1 with which ,i was well satisfied4--,on ,apr4 #acth ,i joined a deputation to the ,chancellor of the ,exchequer 7,sir ,g4 ,cornewall ,lewis7 on ,decimal ,coinage4 ,of private history3 ,i was at ,playford for a large part of ,january4--,on ,mar1 #bfth ,i went to ,reading1 to visit ,mr ,sheepshanks1 and afterwards to ,silchester and ,hereford4--,on ,june #bast ,i went with my wife and two eldest sons to ,edinburgh and other places in ,scotland1 but residing principally at ,oban1 where ,i hired a house4 ,amongst other expeditions1 ,i and my son ,wilfrid went with the ',pharos' 7,northern ,lights ,steamer7 to the ,skerry ,vohr ,lighthouse1 c4 ,i also visited ,newcastle1 c41 and returned to ,greenwich on ,aug4 #bnd4--,from ,oct4 #abth to #agth ,i was at ,cambridge4--,on ,dec4 #bdth ,i went to ,playford4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,at ,,greenwich ,,observatory--#ahef ,,to #ahff4 #ahef ,in the ,report to the ,visitors there is an interesting account of the difficulties experienced with the ,reflex ,zenith ,tube in consequence of the tremors of the quicksilver transmitted through the ground4 ,attempts were made to reduce the tremor by supporting the quicksilver trough on a stage founded at a depth of #aj feet below the surface1 but it was not in the smallest degree diminished1 and the ,report states that ',the experience of this investigation justifies me in believing that no practicable depth of trench prevents the propagation of tremor when the soil is like that of ,greenwich ,hill1 a gravel1 in all places very hard1 and in some1 cemented to the consistency of rock4'--,with respect to the regulation of the ,post ,office clocks1 ',one of the galvanic clocks in the ,post ,office ,department1 ,lombard ,street1 is already placed in connection with the ,royal ,observatory1 and is regulated at noon every day 444 other clocks at the ,general ,post ,office are nearly prepared for the same regulation1 and ,i expect that the complete system will soon be in action4'--,under the head of ,general ,remarks a careful summary is given of the work of the ,observatory1 and the paragraph concludes as follows3 ',lastly there are employments which connect the scientific ,observatory with the practical world2 the distribution of accurate time1 the improvement of marine time-keepers1 the observations and communications which tend to the advantage of ,geography and ,navigation1 and the study1 in a practical sense1 of the modifications of ,magnetism2 a careful attention to these is likely to prove useful to the world1 and conducive to the material prosperity of the ,observatory3 and these ought not to be banished from our system4'--,in ,september ,i prepared the first specification for the building to carry the ,s4,e4 ,dome4--,in ,september1 learning that ,hansen's ,lunar ,tables were finished in manuscript1 ,i applied to ,lord ,clarendon and they were conveyed to me through the ,foreign ,office3 in ,october ,i submitted to the ,admiralty the proposal for printing the ,tables1 and in ,november ,i learned that the ,treasury had assented to the expense4--,lieut4 ,daynou's eclipses and occultations for longitudes of points in ,south ,africa1 observed in #ahed and #ahee1 were calculated here in this year4--,on ,feb4 #afth ,i made my first application to ,sir ,c4 ,wood 7,first ,lord of the ,admiralty7 for assistance to ,c4 ,piazzi ,smyth to carry out the ,teneriffe ,experiment3 grounding it in part on the failure of attempts to see the solar prominences4 ,he gave encouragement1 and on ,mar4 #ahth ,i transmitted ,piazzi ,smyth's ,memorial to the ,admiralty3 on ,may #bnd the ,admiralty authorized an expense of #ejj4 ,i drew up suggestions4--,the ,sheepshanks ,fund3 ,after the death of my friend ,richard ,sheepshanks1 his sister ,miss ,anne ,sheepshanks wished to bestow some funds in connection with the ,university of ,cambridge1 ,trinity ,college1 and ,astronomy1 to which his name should be attached4 ,there must have been some conversation with me1 but the first letter is one from ,de ,morgan in ,august4 ,in ,september ,i had a conversation with ,miss ,sheepshanks1 and sent her my first draft of a scheme1 to which she assented4 ,on ,sept4 #cjth ,i wrote to ,whewell 7,master of ,trinity7 who was much trusted by ,miss ,sheepshanks3 he consented to take part1 and made some suggestions4 ,there was further correspondence1 but the business did not get into shape in this year4--,in connection with the ,correction of the ,compass in ,iron ,ships3 ,i discussed the observations made in the voyage of the ,royal ,charter4 ,on ,feb4 #acth ,i proposed to the ,admiralty a system of mounting the compasses with adjustable magnets1 and it was ordered to be tried in the ,trident and ,transit4--,in ,february ,i reported to the ,admiralty that the ,deal ,time-,ball had been successful1 and ,i proposed time-balls at ,portsmouth1 ,plymouth1 and ,sheerness4 ,there was much correspondence in various directions about ,portsmouth and ,devonport1 and in ,march ,i went to ,devonport and specially examined ,mount ,wise and the ,devonport ,column4--,i had correspondence with ,sir ,howard ,douglas about the sea breaking over the unfinished ,dover ,pier4 ,i have an idea that this followed evidence given by me to a ,harbour ,commission1 in which ,i expressed as a certainty that the sea will not be made to break by a vertical wall4 ,of private history3 ,i returned from ,playford on ,jan4 #ahth4--,from ,june #afth to ,august #eth ,i was1 with my son ,wilfrid1 on an expedition to ,south ,italy and ,sicily3 on our return from ,sicily1 we remained for three days ill at ,marseilles from a touch of malaria4--,on ,dec4 #bbnd ,i went to ,playford4--,in acknowledgment of the pleasure which ,i had derived from excursions in the ,cumberland ,passes1 ,i made a foot-bridge over a troublesome stream on the ,pass of the ,sty ,head4 #aheg ,in the ,report to the ,visitors1 when on the subject of the ,altazimuth1 the following paragraph occurs3 ',i alluded in a preceding section to the cutting away of a very small portion of one of the rays of the three-armed pier which carries the ,altazimuth4 ,the quality of the brickwork is the best that ,i have ever seen1 and not a single brick was disturbed beyond those actually removed4 ,yet the effect was to give the ,altazimuth an inclination of about #bc4 ,this inclination evidently depends on the elasticity of the brickwork4'--,with reference to the new ,s4,e4 ,equatoreal the ,report states that ',the support of the north or upper end of the polar axis has been received1 and is planted within the walls of the building in a position convenient for raising it to its ultimate destination4 ,it is one piece of cast-iron1 and weighs nearly #e tons4'--,small changes as previously mentioned had been noticed with regard to the ,zero of ,azimuth of the ,transit ,circle1 and the ,report states that ',in regard to the ,azimuth of the ,transit ,circle1 and the ,azimuth of its ,collimator1 ,mr ,main has brought together the results of several years1 and the following law appears to hold4 ,there is a well-marked annual periodical change in the position of the ,transit ,circle1 the southerly movement of the eastern pivot having its minimum value in ,september1 and its maximum in ,march1 the extreme range being about #ad seconds2 and there is a similar change1 but of smaller amount1 in the position of the ,collimator4 ,i cannot conjecture any cause for these changes1 except in the motion of the ground4 ,there is also a well-marked connection between the state of level of the axis and the temperature4 ,the eastern pivot always rises when the temperature rises1 the extreme range being about #f seconds4 ,i cannot offer any explanation of this4'--,under the head of ,extraneous ,works the ,report states that ',the ,british ,government had for some years past contributed by pecuniary grants to the preparation of ,prof4 ,hansen's ,lunar ,tables4 ,in the last winter they undertook the entire expense of printing a large impression of the ,tables4 ,the reading of the proof-sheets 7a very considerable labour7 has been effected entirely at the ,observatory4 ,i may take this opportunity of stating that the use of these ,tables has enabled me1 as ,i think1 incontestably to fix the capture of ,larissa to the date ,b4,c4 #eeg1 ,may #ai4 ,this identification promises to prove valuable1 not merely for its chronological utility1 but also for its accurate determination of an astronomical epoch1 the point eclipsed being exactly known1 and the shadow having been very small4'--,in ,april ,i gave a lecture to the ,royal ,astronomical ,society on the methods available through the next #be years for the determination of the ,sun's parallax4--,dr ,livingstone's observations for ,african longitudes were computed at the ,observatory4--,the ,admiralty enquire of me about the feasibility of adopting ,piazzi ,smyth's construction for steadying telescopes on board ship3 ,i gave a ,report1 of mixed character1 on the whole discouraging4--,i had correspondence with ,g4,p4 ,bond and others about photographing the ,stars and ,moon4--,on ,feb4 #agth ,piazzi ,smyth's books1 c4 relating to the ,teneriffe ,experiment were sent to me3 ,i recommended that an abridged ,report should be sent to the ,royal ,society4--,respecting the ,sheepshanks ,fund3 there was correspondence with ,miss ,sheepshanks and ,whewell1 but nothing got into shape this year3 ,miss ,sheepshanks transferred to me #aj1jjj lying at ,overend and ,gurney's4--,in ,november experiments were made for the longitude of ,edinburgh1 which failed totally from the bad state of the telegraph wire between ,deptford and the ,admiralty4--,in ,june the first suggestion was made to me by ,capt4 ,washington for time-signals on the ,lizard ,point3 which in no long time ,i changed for the ,start ,point4--,the ,admiralty call for estimates for a time-ball at ,portsmouth3 on receiving them they decline further proceeding4--,i was engaged in speculations and correspondence about the ,atlantic ,submarine ,cable4--,in the ,royal ,astronomical ,society1 ,i presented ,memoirs and gave lectures on the three great chronological eclipses 7,agathocles1 ,thales1 ,larissa74--,on ,dec4 #eth ,airy wrote to the ,vice-,chancellor of the ,university of ,cambridge1 objecting to the proposed changes regarding the ,smith's ,prizes--a subject in which he took much interest1 and to which he ascribed great importance4--,on ,apr4 #bgth ,i was in correspondence with ,g4 ,herbert of the ,trinity ,house1 about floating beacons4--,in ,july ,i reported to the ,treasury on the ,swedish ,calculating ,engine 7,i think on the occasion of ,mr ,farr1 of the ,registrar-,general's ,office1 applying for one74--,in ,november ,i had correspondence about the launch of the ,great ,eastern1 and the main drainage of ,london4 ,of private history3 ,on ,jan4 #adth ,i returned from ,playford4--,from ,june #bgth to ,aug4 #eth ,i was travelling in ,scotland with my wife and two eldest sons1 chiefly in the ,west ,highlands4 ,on our return we visited ,mrs ,smith 7my wife's mother7 at ,brampton4--,on ,dec4 #bfth ,i went to ,playford4 #aheh ,in the ,minutes of the ,visitors it is noted that the new ,queen's ,warrant was received4 ,the principal change was the exclusion of the ,astronomer ,royal and the other ,observatory ,officers from the ,board4--,in the ,report to the ,visitors it is stated that ',the ,papers of the ,board of ,longitude are now finally stitched into books4 ,they will probably form one of the most curious collections of the results of scientific enterprise1 both normal and abnormal1 which exists4'--,it appears that the galvanic communications1 external to the ,observatory1 had been in a bad state1 the four wires to ,london ,bridge having probably been injured by a thunderstorm in the last autumn1 and the ,report states that ',the state of the wires has not enabled us to drop the ,ball at ,deal4 ,the feeble current which arrives there has been used for some months merely as giving a signal1 by which an attendant is guided in dropping the ,ball by hand4'--,regarding the new ,equatoreal the ,report states that ',for the new ,south-,east ,equatoreal1 the object-glass was furnished by ,messrs ,merz and ,son in the summer of last year1 and ,i made various trials of it in a temporary tube carried by the temporary mounting which ,i had provided1 and finally ,i was well satisfied with it4 ,i cannot yet say that ,i have certainly divided the small star of gamma ,andromedae2 but1 for such a test1 a combination of favourable circumstances is required4 ,from what ,i have seen1 ,i have no doubt of its proving a first-rate object-glass4'--,on ,march #aeth was an annular eclipse of the ,sun1 for the observation of which ,i sent parties fully equipped to ,bedford1 ,wellingborough1 and ,market ,harborough4 ,the observations failed totally in consequence of the bad weather3 ,i myself went to ,harrowden near ,wellingborough4--,respecting the ,altazimuth1 the ,report states that with due caution as to the zero of azimuth 'the results of observation are extremely good1 very nearly equal to those of the meridional instrument2 perhaps ,i might say that three observations with the ,altazimuth are equivalent to two with the ,transit ,circle4'--,respecting ,meteorological ,observations the ,report states that ',the observations of the maximum and minimum thermometers in the ,thames1 interrupted at the date of the last ,report1 have been resumed1 and are most regularly maintained4 ,regarding the ,thames as the grand climatic agent on ,london and its neighbourhood1 ,i should much regret the suppression of these observations4'--,after much trouble the longitude of ,edinburgh had been determined3 'the retard of the current is #j4jds very nearly1 and the difference of longitudes #abm #dc4jes1 subject to personal equations4'--,the ,report concludes thus3 ',with regard to the direction of our labours1 ,i trust that ,i shall always be supported by the ,visitors in my desire to maintain the fundamental and meridional system of the ,observatory absolutely intact4 ,this1 however1 does not impede the extension of our system in any way whatever1 provided that such means are arranged for carrying out the extension as will render unnecessary the withdrawal of strength from what are now the engrossing objects of the ,observatory4'--,i had much correspondence on ,comets1 of which ,donati's great ,comet was one3 the tail of this ,comet passed over ,arcturus on ,october #eth4--,respecting the ,sheepshanks ,fund3 ,in ,september ,i met ,whewell at ,leeds1 and we settled orally the final plan of the scheme4 ,on ,oct4 #bgth ,i saw ,messrs ,sharp1 ,miss ,sheepshanks's solicitors1 and drew up a ,draft of the ,deed of ,gift4 ,there was much correspondence1 and on ,nov4 #bjth ,i wrote to the ,vice-,chancellor of ,cambridge ,university4 ,a counter-scheme was proposed by ,dr ,philpott1 ,master of ,st ,catharine's ,college4 ,by arrangement ,i attended the ,council of the ,university on ,dec4 #crd1 and explained my views1 to which the ,council assented4 ,on ,dec4 #ith the ,senate accepted the gift of ,miss ,sheepshanks4--,i had much correspondence throughout this year1 with the ,treasury1 ,herschel1 ,sabine1 and the ,royal ,society1 about the continuation of the ,magnetic ,establishments4 ,the ,reductions of the ,magnetic ,observations #ahdh-aheg were commenced in ,february of this year1 under the direction of ,mr ,lucas1 a computer who had been engaged on the ,lunar ,reductions4--,in this year ,i came to a final agreement with the ,south ,eastern ,railway ,company about defining the terms of our connection with them for the passage of ,time ,signals4 ,i was authorized by the ,admiralty to sign the 'protocol' or ,memorandum of ,agreement1 and it was signed by the ,south ,eastern ,railway ,directors4--,on ,aug4 #bhth ,i made my first proposal to ,sir ,john ,packington 7,first ,lord of the ,admiralty7 for hourly time signals on the ,start ,point1 and in ,september ,i went to the ,start to examine localities1 c4 ,on ,dec4 #bcrd the ,admiralty declined to sanction it4--,i presented to the ,royal ,society a ,paper about drawing a great-circle trace on a ,mercator's chart4--,in ,october ,i gave a ,lecture on ,astronomy in the ,assembly ,room at ,bury4--,on ,jan4 #beth ,i was busied with my ,mathematical ,tracts for republication4--,in this year ,airy published in the ,athenaeum very careful and critical remarks on the ,commissioners' ,draft of ,statutes for ,trinity ,college4 ,he was always ready to take action in the interests of his old ,college4 ,this ,paper procured him the warmest gratitude from the ,fellows of the ,college4 ,of private history3 ,on ,jan4 #bcrd ,i returned from ,playford4 ,from ,july #eth to ,aug4 #fth ,i was on an expedition in ,switzerland with my two eldest sons4 ,at ,paris we visited ,le ,verrier1 and at ,geneva we visited ,gautier1 ,de ,la ,rive1 and ,plantamour4 ,we returned by ,brussels4--,on ,dec4 #bcrd ,i went to ,playford4--,in this year was erected in ,playford ,churchyard a granite obelisk in memory of ,thomas ,clarkson4 ,it was built by subscription amongst a few friends of ,clarkson's1 and the negociations and arrangements were chiefly carried out by ,airy1 who zealously exerted himself in the work which was intended to honour the memory of his early friend4 ,it gave him much trouble during the years #ahef to #aheh4 ,here is a letter to the ,editor of the ,athenaeum on some other ,trinity matters3 #aheh1 ,november #bb4 ,,dear ,,sir1 ,in the ,athenaeum of ,november #bj1 page #fej1 column #c1 paragraph #d1 there is an account of the erection of the statue of ,barrow in ,trinity ,college ,antechapel 7,cambridge7 conceived in a spirit hostile to the ,university1 and written in great ignorance of the facts4 ,on the latter ,i can give the writer some information4 ,the ,marquis of ,lansdowne1 who was a ,trinity man and whose son was of ,trinity1 intimated to the authorities of the ,college that he was desirous of placing in the antechapel a statue of ,milton4 ,this1 regard being had to the customs and the college-feelings of ,cambridge1 was totally impossible4 ,the antechapel of every college is sacredly reserved for memorials of the men of that college only2 and ,milton was of ,christ's ,college4 ,the ,marquis of ,lansdowne1 on hearing this objection1 left the choice of the person to be commemorated1 to certain persons of the college1 one of whom 7a literary character of the highest eminence and a profound admirer of ,milton7 has not resided in ,cambridge for many years4 ,several names were carefully considered1 and particularly one 7not mentioned by your correspondent7 of very great literary celebrity1 but in whose writings there is ingrained so much of ribaldry and licentiousness that he was at length given up4 ,finally the choice rested on ,barrow1 not as comparable to ,milton1 but as a person of reputation in his day and as the best who could be found under all the circumstances4 ,cromwell never was mentioned2 he was a member of ,sidney ,college3 moreover it would have been very wrong to select the exponent of an extreme political party4 ,but ,cromwell has ,i believe many admirers in ,cambridge1 to which list ,i attach myself4 ,i had no part in the negociations above mentioned1 but ,i saw the original letters1 and ,i answer for the perfect correctness of what ,i have stated4 ,but as ,i am not a principal1 ,i decline to appear in public4 ,it is much to be desired1 both for the ,athenaeum and for the public1 that such an erroneous statement should not remain uncorrected4 ,and ,i would suggest that a correction by the ,editor would be just and graceful1 and would tend to support the ,athenaeum in that high position which it has usually maintained4 ,i am1 dear ,sir1 ,yours very faithfully1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,hepworth ,dixon1 ,esq4 #ahei ,the ,report to the ,visitors states that ',the ,lunar ,reductions with amended elements 7especially parallax7 for correction of ,observations from #ahca to #ahea are now completed4 ,it is1 ,i think1 matter of congratulation to the ,observatory and to ,astronomy1 that there are now exhibited the results of uninterrupted ,lunar ,observations extending through more than a century1 made at the same place1 reduced under the same superintendence and on the same general principles1 and compared throughout with the same theoretical ,tables4'--,after reference to the great value of the ,greenwich ,lunar ,observations to ,prof4 ,hansen in constructing his ,tables1 and to the liberality of the ,british ,government in their grants to ,hansen1 the ,report continues thus3 ',a strict comparison of ,hansen's ,tables with the ,greenwich ,observations of late years1 both meridional and extra-meridional1 was commenced4 ,the same observations had1 in the daily routine of the ,observatory1 been compared with the ,nautical ,almanac or ,burckhardt's ,tables4 ,the result for one year only 7#aheb7 has yet reached me1 but it is most remarkable4 ,the sum of squares of residual errors with ,hansen's ,tables is only one-eighth part of that with ,burckhardt's ,tables4 ,when it is remembered that in this is included the entire effect of errors and irregularities of observation1 we shall be justified in considering ,hansen's ,tables as nearly perfect4 ,so great a step1 to the best of my knowledge1 has never been made in numerical physical theory4 ,i have cited this at length1 not only as interesting to the ,visitors from the circumstance that we have on our side contributed to this great advance1 but also because an innovation1 peculiar to this ,observatory1 has in no small degree aided in giving a decisive character to the comparison4 ,i have never concealed my opinion that the introduction and vigorous use of the ,altazimuth for observations of the ,moon is the most important addition to the system of the ,observatory that has been made for many years4 ,the largest errors of ,burckhardt's ,tables were put in evidence almost always by the ,altazimuth ,observations1 in portions of the ,moon's ,orbit which could not be touched by the meridional instruments2 they amounted sometimes to nearly #dj of arc1 and they naturally became the crucial errors for distinction between ,burckhardt's and ,hansen's ,tables4 ,those errors are in all cases corrected with great accuracy by ,hansen's ,tables4'--,the ,report concludes with the following paragraph3 ',with the inauguration of the new ,equatoreal will terminate the entire change from the old state of the ,observatory4 ,there is not now a single person employed or instrument used in the ,observatory which was there in ,mr ,pond's time1 nor a single room in the ,observatory which is used as it was used then4 ,in every step of change1 however1 except this last1 the ancient and traditional responsibilities of the ,observatory have been most carefully considered3 and1 in the last1 the substitution of a new instrument was so absolutely necessary1 and the importance of tolerating no instrument except of a high class was so obvious1 that no other course was open to us4 ,i can only trust that1 while the use of the ,equatoreal within legitimate limits may enlarge the utility and the reputation of the ,observatory1 it may never be permitted to interfere with that which has always been the staple and standard work here4'--,concerning the ,sheepshanks ,fund3 ,there was much correspondence about settling the ,gift till about ,feb4 #bast4 ,i took part in the first examination for the ,scholarship in ,october of this year1 and took my place with the ,trinity ,seniority1 as one of their number on this foundation1 for some general business of the ,fund4--,with respect to the ,correction of the ,compass in ,iron ,ships3 ,i sent ,mr ,ellis to ,liverpool to see some practice there in the correction of the ,compass4 ,in ,september ,i urged ,mr ,rundell to make a voyage in the ,great ,eastern 7just floated7 for examination of her compasses1 and lent him instruments3 very valuable results were obtained4 ,mr ,archibald ,smith had edited ,scoresby's ,voyage in the ,royal ,charter1 with an introduction very offensive to me3 ,i replied fully in the ,athenaeum of ,nov4 #gth4--,the ,sale of ,gas ,act3 ,an ,act of ,parliament promoted by private members of the ,house of ,commons had been passed1 without the knowledge or recollection of the ,government4 ,it imposed on the ,government various duties about the preparation of ,standards4 ,suddenly1 at the very expiration of the time allowed this came to the knowledge of ,government4 ,on ,oct4 #ast ,lord ,monteagle applied to me for assistance4 ,on ,oct4 #aeth and #bbnd ,i wrote to ,mr ,hamilton1 ,secretary of the ,treasury1 and received authority to ask for the assistance of ,prof4 ,w4,h4 ,miller4--,i made an examination of ,mr ,ball's eyes 7long-sighted and short-sighted ,i think74--,in ,february ,i made an ,analysis of the ,cambridge ,tripos ,examination1 which ,i communicated to some ,cambridge residents4 ,in a letter on this subject to one of his ,cambridge friends ,airy gives his opinion as follows3 ,i have looked very carefully over the ,examination ,papers1 and think them on the whole very bad4 ,they are utterly perverted by the insane love of ,problems1 and by the foolish importance given to wholly useless parts of ,algebraical ,geometry4 ,for the sake of these1 every ,physical ,subject and every useful application of pure mathematics are cut down or not mentioned4 ,this led to much discussion at ,cambridge4 ,in this year the ,smith's ,prizes were awarded to the #dth and #fth ,wranglers4 ,of private history3 ,on ,apr4 #bith ,mrs ,smith 7my wife's mother7 died at ,brampton4--,from ,july #dth to ,aug4 #bnd ,i was in ,france 7,auvergne and the ,vivarais7 with my two eldest sons4 ,maclear travelled with us to ,paris4--,on ,dec4 #bcrd ,i went to ,playford4--,antiquities and historical questions connected with military movements had a very great attraction for ,airy4 ,on his return from the expedition in ,france above-mentioned1 he engaged in considerable correspondence with military authorities regarding points connected with the battle of ,toulouse4 ,and in this year also he had much correspondence with the ,duke of ,northumberland concerning his ,map of the ,roman ,wall1 and the military points relating to the same4 #ahfj ,in ,june ,mr ,main accepted the office of ,radcliffe ,observer at ,oxford 7,mr ,johnson having died7 and resigned the ,first ,assistancy at ,greenwich3 in ,october ,mr ,stone was appointed ,first ,assistant4--,at an adjourned ,meeting of the ,visitors on ,june #ahth there were very heavy discussions on ,hansen's merits1 and about the grant to him4 ,papers were read from ,sir ,j4 ,lubbock1 ,babbage1 ,south1 ,whewell1 and me4 ,finally it was recommended to the ,government to grant #ajjj to ,hansen1 which was paid to him4--,in the ,report to the ,board of ,visitors the following remark occurs3 ',the apparent existence of a discordance between the results of ,direct ,observations and ,reflection ,observations 7after the application of corrections for flexure1 founded upon observations of the horizontal collimator wires7 to an extent far greater than can be explained by any disturbance of the direction of gravity on the quicksilver by its distance from the vertical1 or by the attraction of neighbouring masses1 perplexes me much4'--,with respect to the discordance of dips of the dipping-needles1 which for years past had been a source of great trouble and puzzle1 the ,report states that ',the dipping-needles are still a source of anxiety4 ,the form which their anomalies appear to take is that of a special or peculiar value of the dip given by each separate needle4 ,with one of the #i-;inch needles1 the result always differs about a quarter of a degree from that of the others4 ,i can see nothing in its mechanical construction to explain this4--,reference is made to the spontaneous currents through the wires of telegraph companies1 which are frequently violent and always occur at the times of magnetic storms1 and the ,report continues ',it may be worth considering whether it would ever be desirable to establish in two directions at right angles to each other 7for instance1 along the ,brighton ,railway and along the ,north ,kent ,railway7 wires which would photographically register in the ,royal ,observatory the currents that pass in these directions1 exhibiting their indications by photographic curves in close juxtaposition with the registers of the magnetic elements4'--,in connection with the ,reduction of the ,greenwich ,lunar ,observations from #ahca to #ahea1 the ,report states that ',the comparison of ,hansen's ,lunar ,tables with the ,greenwich ,observations1 which at the last ,visitation had been completed for one year only1 has now been finished for the twelve years #ahdg to #aheh4 ,the results for the whole period agree entirely1 in their general spirit1 with those for the year #aheb cited in the last ,report4 ,the greatest difference between the merits of ,burckhardt's and ,hansen's ,tables appears in the ,meridional ,longitudes #ahee1 when the proportion of the sum of squares of errors is as #ca 7,burckhardt7 to #b 7,hansen74 ,the nearest approach is in the ,altazimuth ,latitudes #ahed1 when the proportion of the sum of squares of errors is as #ab 7,burckhardt7 to #e 7,hansen74'--,a special ,address to the ,members of the ,board of ,visitors has reference to the proposals of ,m4 ,struve for 7amongst other matters7 the improved determination of the longitude of ,valencia1 and the galvanic determination of the extreme ,eastern ,station of the ,british triangles4--,on ,sept4 #acth ,i circulated amongst the ,visitors my ,remarks on a ,paper entitled ',on the ,polar ,distances of the ,greenwich ,transit-,circle1 by ,a4 ,marth1' printed in the ,astronomische ,nachrichten2 the ,paper by ,mr ,marth was an elaborate attack on the ,greenwich methods of observation1 and my ,remarks were a detailed refutation of his statements4--,on ,oct4 #bjth ,i made enquiry of ,sabine as to the advantage of keeping up magnetic observations4 ,on ,oct4 #bbnd he wrote1 avoiding my question in some measure1 but saying that our instruments must be changed for such as those at ,kew 7his observatory73 ,i replied1 generally declining to act on that advice4--,in ,march and ,april ,i was in correspondence with ,mr ,cowper 7,first ,commissioner of ,works1 c47 about the bells of the ,westminster ,clock2 also about the smoky chimneys of the various apartments of the ,palace4 ,on ,apr4 #bast ,i made my ,report on the clock and bells1 #bj foolscap pages4 ,i employed a professional musician to examine the tones of the bells4--,in ,november ,i was writing my book on ,probable ,errors1 c4--,i was engaged on the ,tides of ,kurrachee and ,bombay4--,the first examination of ,navy telescopes was made for the ,admiralty4 --,hoch's ,paper on ,aberration appeared in the ,astronomische ,nachrichten4 ,this 7with others7 led to the construction of the water-telescope several years later4--,in ,september ,i wrote in the ,athenaeum against a notion of ,sir ,h4 ,james on the effect of an upheaval of a mountain in changing the ,earth's axis4 ,in ,october ,i had drawn up a list of days for a possible evagation of the ,earth's poles3 but apparently nothing was done upon them4 ,in this year ,i was a good deal occupied for the ,lighthouse ,commission4 ,on ,feb4 #bast ,admiral ,hamilton 7chairman7 applied to me for assistance4 ,in ,april ,i went to ,chance's ,factory in ,birmingham on this business4 ,in ,may ,i made my report on the ,start ,lighthouse1 after inspection with the ,commission4 ,in ,june1 with my son ,hubert1 ,i visited the ,whitby ,lighthouses1 and discovered a fault of a singular kind which most materially diminished their power4 ,this discovery led to a general examination of lighthouses by the ,trinity ,board1 to a modification of many1 and to a general improvement of system4 ,on ,june #beth ,i reported on the ,lights at ,calais1 ,cap de ,valde1 ,grisnez1 ,south ,foreland1 and ,north ,foreland4 ,in ,august ,i had been to the ,north ,foreland again1 and in ,september to ,calais and the ,cap d',ailly4 ,in ,october ,i went with my son ,hubert to ,aberdeen to see the ,girdleness ,lighthouse4 ,on ,nov4 #ajth ,i made a ,general ,report4 ,this was the year of the great total solar eclipse visible in ,spain4 ,at my representation1 the ,admiralty placed at my command the large steamship ',himalaya' to carry about #fj astronomers1 ,british and ,foreign4 ,some were landed at ,santander3 ,i with many at ,bilbao4 ,the ,eclipse was fairly well observed3 ,i personally did not do my part well4 ,the most important were ,mr ,de ,la ,rue's photographic operations4 ,at ,greenwich ,i had arranged a very careful series of observations with the ,great ,equatoreal1 which were fully carried out4 ,the eclipse expedition to ,spain1 shortly referred to above1 was most interesting1 not merely from the importance of the results obtained 7and some of the parties were very fortunate in the weather7 but from the character of the expedition4 ,it was a wonderful combination of the astronomers of ,europe1 who were all received on board the ',himalaya1' and were conveyed together to the coast of ,spain4 ,the polyglot of languages was most remarkable1 but the utmost harmony and enthusiasm prevailed from first to last1 and this had much to do with the general success of the expedition4 ,those who landed at ,bilbao were received in the kindest and most hospitable manner by ,mr ,c4,b4 ,vignoles1 the engineer-in-chief of the ,bilbao and ,tudela ,railway1 which was then under construction4 ,this gentleman made arrangements for the conveyance of parties to points in the interior of the country which were judged suitable for the observation of the eclipse1 and placed all the resources of his staff at the disposal of the expedition in the most liberal manner4 ,the universal opinion was that very great difficulty would have been experienced without the active and generous assistance of ,mr ,vignoles4 ,it is needless to say that the vote of thanks to ,mr ,vignoles1 proposed by the ,astronomer ,royal during the return voyage1 was passed by acclamation and with a very sincere feeling of gratitude3 it was to the effect that 'without the great and liberal aid of ,mr ,c4,b4 ,vignoles1 and the disinterested love of science evinced by him on this occasion1 the success of the ,himalaya eclipse expedition could not have been ensured4' ,there is a graphic and interesting account of the reception of the party at ,bilbao given in the ',life of ,c4,b4 ,vignoles1 ,f4,r4,s41 ,soldier and ,civil ,engineer1' by ,o4,j4 ,vignoles1 ,m4,a4 ,of private history3 ,on ,may #bfth my venerable friend ,arthur ,biddell died4 ,he had been in many respects more than a father to me3 ,i cannot express how much ,i owed to him1 especially in my youth4--,from ,june #abth to #aeth ,i visited the ,whitby ,lighthouses with my son ,hubert4--,from ,july #fth to #bhth ,i was in ,spain1 on the ',himalaya' expedition1 to observe the total eclipse3 ,i was accompanied by my wife1 my eldest son1 and my eldest daughter4--,from ,oct4 #eth to #ahth ,i went with my son ,hubert to ,aberdeen to see the ,girdleness ,lighthouse1 making lateral trips to ,cumberland in going and returning4--,on ,dec4 #bast ,i went to ,playford4 #ahfa ,in the ,report to the ,visitors there is great complaint of want of room4 ',with increase of computations1 we want more room for computers2 with our greatly increased business of ,chronometers and ,time-,distribution1 we are in want of a nearly separate series of rooms for the ,time-,department3 we want rooms for book-stores2 and we require rooms for the photographic operations and the computations of the ,magnetic ,department4'--,the ,report gives a curious history of ,dr ,bradley's ,observations1 which in #aggf had been transferred to the ,university of ,oxford1 and proceeds thus3 ',more lately1 ,i applied 7in the first instance through ,lord ,wrottesley7 to the ,vice-,chancellor1 ,dr ,jeune1 in reference to the possibility of transferring these manuscripts to the ,royal ,observatory4444 ,finally1 a decree for the transfer of the manuscript observations to the ,royal ,observatory1 without any condition1 was proposed to ,convocation on ,may #bnd1 and was passed unanimously4 ,and on ,may #gth my ,assistant1 ,mr ,dunkin1 was sent to ,oxford to receive them4 ,and thus1 after a delay of very nearly a century1 the great work of justice is at length completed1 and the great gap in our manuscript observations is at length filled up4'--,with reference to the ,transit ,circle1 it had been remarked that the ,collimators were slightly disturbed by the proximity of the gas-flames of their illuminators1 and after various experiments as to the cause of it1 the ,report proceeds thus3 ',to my great surprise1 ,i found that the disturbance was entirely due to the radiation of the flame upon a very small corner 7about #af square inches7 of the large and massive stone on which the collimator is planted4 ,the tin plates were subsequently shaped in such a manner as to protect the stone as well as the metal2 and the disturbance has entirely ceased4' --,regarding the large ,s4,e4 ,equatoreal1 the ,report states that ',on the character of its object-glass ,i am now able to speak1 first1 from the examination of ,mr ,otto ,struve1 made in a favourable state of atmosphere2 secondly1 from the examinations of my ,assistants 7,i have not myself obtained a sight of a test-object on a night of very good definition74 ,it appears to be of the highest order4 ,the small star of gamma ,andromedae is so far separated as to shew a broad dark space between its components4 ,some blue colour is shewn about the bright planets4'--,it is noted in the ,report that ',the ,equatoreal observations of the ,solar ,eclipse are completely reduced2 and the results are valuable4 ,it appears from them that the error in right ascension of ,burckhardt's ,lunar ,tables at the time of the eclipse amounted to about #ch2 while that of ,hansen's 7ultimately adopted by ,mr ,hind for the calculation of the eclipse7 did not exceed #c4'--,with regard to ,chronometers it is stated that ',by use of the ,chronometer ,oven1 to which ,i have formerly alluded1 we have been able to give great attention to the compensation4 ,i have reason to think that we are producing a most beneficial effect on the manufacture and adjustment of chronometers in general4'--,with regard to the ,cape of ,good ,hope ,observatory and ,survey1 the ,admiralty enquire of me when the ,survey work will be completed1 and ,i enquire of ,maclear ',how is the printing of your ,survey ,work8' ,in #ahfb ,i began to press it strongly1 and in #ahfc very strongly4--,i introduced a method 7constantly pursued since that time at the ,royal ,observatory7 for computing interpolations without changes of sign4--,i had correspondence with ,herschel and ,faraday1 on the possible effect of the ,sun's radiant heat on the sea1 as explaining the curve of diurnal magnetic inequality4 7,that diurnal inequality was inferred from the magnetic reductions #ahdh-aheg1 which were terminated in #ahfj47--,regarding the proposal of hourly time-signals on the ,start ,point1 ,i consulted telegraph engineers upon the practical points1 and on ,dec4 #bast ,i proposed a formal scheme1 in complete detail4 7,the matter has been repeatedly brought before the ,admiralty1 but has been uniformly rejected47--,i was engaged on the question of the bad ocular vision of two or three persons4--,the ,british ,association ,meeting was held at ,manchester3 ,i was ,president of ,section ,a4 ,i gave a ,lecture on the ,eclipse of #ahfj to an enormous attendance in the ,free ,trade ,hall4 ,the following record of the ,lecture is extracted from ,dr ,e4,j4 ,routh's ,obituary ,notice of ,airy written for the ,proceedings of the ,royal ,society4 ,at the meeting of the ,british ,association at ,manchester in #ahfa1 ,mr ,airy delivered a ,lecture on the ,solar ,eclipse of #ahfj to an assembly of perhaps #cjjj persons4 ,the writer remembers the great ,free ,trade ,hall crowded to excess with an immense audience whose attention and interest1 notwithstanding a weak voice1 he was able to retain to the very end of the lecture4444,the charm of ,professor ,airy's lectures lay in the clearness of his explanations4 ,the subjects also of his lectures were generally those to which his attention had been turned by other causes1 so that he had much that was new to tell4 ,his manner was slightly hesitating1 and he used frequent repetitions1 which perhaps were necessary from the newness of the ideas4 ,as the lecturer proceeded1 his hearers forgot these imperfections and found their whole attention rivetted to the subject matter4 ,of private history3 ,on ,jan4 #bnd there was a most remarkable crystallization of the ice on the flooded meadows at ,playford3 the frost was very severe4--,from ,june #bjth to ,aug4 #ast ,i was at the ,grange near ,keswick 7where ,i hired a house7 with my wife and most of my family4--,from ,nov4 #eth to #adth ,i was on an expedition in the ,south of ,scotland with my son ,wilfrid3 we walked with our knapsacks by the ,roman ,road across the ,cheviots to ,jedburgh4--,on ,dec4 #bast ,i went to ,playford4 #ahfb ,the ,report to the ,board of ,visitors states that ',a new range of wooden buildings 7the ,magnetic ,offices7 is in progress at the ,s4,s4,e4 extremity of the ,magnetic ,ground4 ,it will include seven rooms4'--,also ',i took this opportunity 7the relaying of the water-main7 of establishing two powerful fire-plugs 7one in the ,front ,court1 and one in the ,magnetic ,ground72 a stock of fire-hose adapted to the ,brigade-,screw having been previously secured in the ,observatory4'--',two wires1 intended for the examination of spontaneous earth-currents1 have been carried from the ,magnetic ,observatory to the ,railway ,station in the town of ,greenwich4 ,from this point one wire is to be led to a point in the neighbourhood of ,croydon1 the other to a point in the neighbourhood of ,dartford4 ,each wire is to be connected at its two extremities with the ,earth4 ,the angle included between the general directions of these two lines is nearly a right angle4'--',the ,kew unifilar magnetometer1 adapted to the determination of the horizontal part of terrestrial magnetic force in absolute measure1 was mounted in the summer of #ahfa2 and till #ahfb ,february1 occasional observations 7#ad in all7 were taken simultaneously with the old and with the new instrument4 ,the comparison of results shewed a steady but very small difference1 not greater probably than may correspond to the omission of the inverse seventh powers of distance in the theoretical investigation2 proving that the old instrument had been quite efficient for its purpose4'--,great efforts had been made to deduce a law from the ,diurnal ,inequalities in ,declination and ,horizontal ,force1 as shewn by the ,magnetic observations2 but without success3 the ,report states that ',the results are most amazing1 for the variation in magnitude as well as in law4 ,what cosmical change can be indicated by them is entirely beyond my power of conjecture4'--',i have alluded1 in the two last ,reports1 to the steps necessary1 on the ,english side1 for completing the great ,arc of ,parallel from ,valencia to the ,volga4 ,the ,russian portion of the work is far advanced1 and will be finished 7it is understood7 in the coming summer4 ,it appeared to me therefore that the repetition of the measure of astronomical longitude between ,greenwich and ,valencia could be no longer delayed4 ,two ,assistants of the ,royal ,observatory 7,mr ,dunkin and ,mr ,criswick7 will at once proceed to ,valencia1 for the determination of local time and the management of galvanic signals4'--',i now ask leave to press the subject of ,hourly ,time ,signals at the ,start ,point on the attention of the ,board1 and to submit the advantage of their addressing the ,board of ,admiralty upon it4 ,the great majority of outward-bound ships pass within sight of the ,start1 and1 if an hourly signal were exhibited1 would have the means of regulating their chronometers at a most critical part of their voyage4 ,the plan of the entire system of operations is completely arranged4 ,the estimated expense of outfit is #bjag1 and the estimated annual expense is #cbf2 both liable to some uncertainty1 but sufficiently exact to shew that the outlay is inconsiderable in comparison with the advantages which might be expected from it4 ,i know no direction of the powers of the ,observatory which would tend so energetically to carry out the great object of its establishment1 viz4 the finding out the so much desired ,longitude at ,sea4'--,the attention of the ,visitors is strongly drawn to the pressure on the strength of the ,observatory caused by the observation of the numerous small planets1 and the paragraph concludes thus3 ',i shall1 however1 again endeavour to effect a partition of this labour with some other ,observatory4'--,a small fire having occurred in the ,magnetic ,observatory1 a new building of zinc1 for the operation of naphthalizing the illuminating gas1 is in preparation1 external to the ,observatory3 and thus one of the possible sources of accidental fire will be removed4--,miss ,sheepshanks added1 through me1 #bjjj to her former gift3 ,i transferred it1 ,i believe1 to the ,master and ,seniors of ,trinity ,college4--,in this year ,airy contributed to the ,royal ,society two ,papers1 one ,on the ,magnetic properties of ,hot-,rolled and ,cold-,rolled ,malleable ,iron1 the other ,on the ,strains in the ,interior of ,beams4 ,he gave evidence before the ,select ,committee on ,weights and ,measures1 and also before the ,public ,schools ,commission4 ,in the latter part of #ahfb a difference arose between ,airy and ,major-,general ,sabine1 in consequence of remarks made by the latter at a meeting of the ,committee of ,recommendations of the ,british ,association4 ,these remarks were to the effect ,that it is necessary to maintain the complete system of self-registration of magnetic phenomena at the ,kew ,observatory1 because no sufficient system of magnetic record is maintained elsewhere in ,england2 implying pointedly that the system at the ,royal ,observatory of ,greenwich was insufficient4 ,this matter was taken up very warmly by ,airy1 and after a short and acrimonious correspondence with ,sabine1 he issued a private ,address to the ,visitors1 enclosing copies of the correspondence with his remarks1 and requesting the ,board to take the matter of this attack into their careful consideration4 ,this ,address is dated ,november #ahfb1 and it was followed by another dated ,january #ahfc1 which contains a careful reply to the various points of ,general ,sabine's attack1 and concludes with a distinct statement that he 7the ,astronomer ,royal7 can no longer act in confidence with ,sabine as a ,member of the ,board of ,visitors4 ,of private history3 ,there were the usual short visits to ,playford at the beginning and end of the year4--,from ,june #bhth to ,aug4 #eth he was in ,scotland 7chiefly in the ,western ,highlands7 with his wife and his sons ,hubert and ,osmund4 ,in the course of this journey he visited the ,corryvreckan whirlpool near the island of ,scarba1 and the following paragraph relating to this expedition is extracted from his journal3 ,landed in ,black ,mile ,bay1 island of ,luing1 at #aj4cj4 ,here by previous arrangement with ,mr ,a4 ,brown1 agent of the steam-boat company1 a #d-oared boat was waiting to take us to ,scarba and the ,corryvreckan4 ,we were pulled across to the island of ,lunga1 and rowed along its length1 till we came to the first channel opening from the main sea1 which the sailors called the ,little ,gulf4 ,here the sea was rushing inwards in a manner of which ,i had no conception4 ,streams were running with raving speed1 sometimes in opposite directions side by side1 with high broken-headed billows4 ,where the streams touched were sometimes great whirls 7one not many yards from our boat7 that looked as if they would suck anything down4 ,sometimes among all this were great smooth parts of the sea1 still in a whirling trouble1 which were surrounded by the mad currents4 ,we seemed entirely powerless among all these4 ,in the beginning of this year 7#ahfb7 the ,duke of ,manchester1 in writing to the ,rev4 ,w4 ,airy1 had said1 ,i wish your brother1 the ,astronomer ,royal1 could be induced to have investigations made as to whether the aspects of the ,planets have any effect on the weather4 ,this enquiry produced the following reply3 ,a subject like that of the occult influences of the planets 7using the word occult in no bad sense but simply as meaning not thoroughly traced7 can be approached in two ways--either by the priori probability of the existence of such influences1 or by the posteriori evidence of their effects4 ,if the two can be combined1 the subject may be considered as claiming the dignity of a science4 ,even if the effects alone are certain1 it may be considered that we have a science of inferior degree1 wanting however that definiteness of law and that general plausibility which can only be given when true causes1 in accordance with antecedent experience in other cases1 can be suggested4 ,now in regard to the priori probability of the existence of planetary influences1 ,i am far from saying that such a thing is impossible4 ,the discoveries of modern philosophy have all tended to shew that there may be many things about us1 unknown even to the scientific world1 but which well-followed accidents reveal with the most positive certainty4 ,it is known that every beam of light is accompanied by a beam of chemical agency1 totally undiscoverable to the senses of light or warmth1 but admitting of separation from the luminous and warm rays2 and producing photogenic effects4 ,we know that there are disturbances of magnetism going on about us1 affecting whole continents at a time1 unknown to men in general1 but traceable with facility and certainty1 and which doubtless affect even our brains and nerves 7which are indisputably subject to the influence of magnetism74 ,now in the face of these things ,i will not undertake to say that there is any impossibility1 or even any want of plausibility in the supposition that bodies external to the earth may affect us4 ,it may well be cited in its favour that it is certain that the sun affects our magnetism 7it is doubtful whether it does so immediately1 or mediately by giving different degrees of warmth to different parts of the earth71 and it is believed on inferior evidence that the moon also affects it4 ,it may therefore seem not impossible or unplausible that other celestial bodies may affect perhaps others of the powers of nature about us4 ,but there ,i must stop4 ,the denial of the impossibility is no assertion of the truth or probability1 and ,i absolutely decline to take either side--either that the influences are real1 or that the influences are unreal--till ,i see evidence of their effects4 ,such evidence it is extremely difficult to extract from ordinary facts of observation4 ,i have alluded to the sun's daily disturbance of the magnet as one of the most certain of influences1 yet if you were to observe the magnet for a single day or perhaps for several days1 you might see no evidence of that influence1 so completely is it involved with other disturbances whose causes and laws are totally unknown4 ,i believe that1 in addition to the effects ascribable to ,newtonian gravitation 7as general motion of the earth1 precession of the equinoxes1 and tides71 this magnetic disturbance is the only one yet established as depending on an external body4 ,men in general1 however1 do not think so4 ,it appears to be a law of the human mind1 to love to trace an effect to a cause1 and to be ready to assent to any specious cause4 ,thus all practical men of the lower classes1 even those whose pecuniary interests are concerned in it1 believe firmly in the influence of the moon upon the winds and the weather4 ,i believe that every careful examiner of recorded facts 7among whom ,i place myself as regards the winds7 has come to the conclusion that the influence of the moon is not discoverable4 ,i point out these two things 7magnetic disturbances and weather7 as tending to shew that notoriety or the assumed consent of practical men1 are of no value4 ,the unnotorious matter may be quite certain1 the notorious matter may have no foundation4 ,everything must stand on its own evidence1 as completely digested and examined4 ,of such evidence the planetary influence has not a particle4 ,my intended short note has1 in the course of writing1 grown up into a discourse of very unreasonable length2 and it is possible that a large portion of it has only increased obscurity4 ,at any rate ,i can add nothing1 ,i believe1 which can help to explain more fully my views on this matter4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in this year 7#ahfb1 ,june #ith7 ,airy received the ,honorary ,degree of ,,ll4,d4 in the ,university of ,cambridge4 ,he was nominated by the ,duke of ,devonshire1 as appears from the following letter3 ,,lismore ,,castle1 ,,ireland1 ,april #aith1 #ahfb4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 ,it is proposed according to usage to confer a considerable number of ,honorary ,degrees on the occasion of my first visit to ,cambridge as ,chancellor of the ,university4 ,i hope that you will allow me to include your name in that portion of the list which ,i have been invited to draw up4 ,the ceremony is fixed for the #ajth of ,june4 ,i am1 my dear ,sir1 ,yours very truly1 ,,devonshire4 ,the ,astronomer ,royal4 99 99 99 99 99 ,airy's reply was as follows3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 ,,london1 ,s4,e4 #ahfb1 ,april #ba4 ,,my ,,lord ,,duke1 ,i am exceedingly gratified by your communication this day received1 conveying a proposal which ,i doubt not is suggested by your ,grace's recollection of transactions now many years past4 ,i have always been desirous of maintaining my connection with my ,university1 and have in various ways interested myself practically in its concerns4 ,it would give me great pleasure to have the connection strengthened in the flattering way which you propose4 ,i had conceived that alumni of the ,university were not admissible to honorary degrees2 but upon this point the information possessed by your ,grace1 as ,chancellor of the ,university1 cannot be disputed4 ,i am1 my ,lord ,duke1 ,your ,grace's very faithful servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,his ,grace ,the ,duke of ,devonshire4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there were in all #ai ,honorary ,degrees of ,doctor of ,laws conferred on the #ith of ,june1 including men of such eminence as ,armstrong1 ,faraday1 and ,fairbairn4 #ahfc ,in this year there were several schemes for a ,railway through the lower part of ,greenwich ,park1 the most important being the scheme of the ,london1 ,chatham and ,dover ,railway ,company4 ,in reference to this scheme the ,report to the ,visitors states ,i may say briefly that ,i believe that it would be possible to render such a railway innocuous to the ,observatory2 it would however be under restrictions which might be felt annoying to the authorities of the ,railway1 but whose relaxation would almost ensure ruin to the ,observatory4--,the meridional observations of ,mars in the ,autumn of #ahfb have been compared with those made at the ,observatory of ,williamstown1 near ,melbourne1 ,australia1 and they give for mean solar parallax the value #h4icb1 exceeding the received value by about #a_/bdth part4 7,a value nearly identical with this #h4ic has also been found by comparing the ,pulkowa and ,cape of ,good ,hope ,observations47--,the results of the new ,dip-,instrument in #ahfa and #ahfb appear to give a firm foundation for speculations on the state and change of the dip4 ,as a general result1 ,i may state as probable that the value of dip in the middle of #ahdc was about #fia'1 and in the middle of #ahfb about #fhaa'4 ,the decrease of dip appears to be more rapid in the second half of this interval than in the first2 the dip at beginning of #ahec being about #fhdd'4--,with reference to the re-determination of the longitude of ,valencia1 it is stated that ,the concluded longitude agrees almost exactly with that determined by the transmission of chronometers in #ahdd2 and entitles us to believe that the longitudes of ,kingstown and ,liverpool1 steps in the chronometer conveyance1 were determined with equal accuracy4--,the computations1 for inferring the direction and amount of movement of the ,solar ,system in space from the observed proper motions of #aafg stars1 have been completed4 ,the result is1 that the ,sun is moving towards a point1 ,r4,a4 #bfd1 ,n4,p4,d4 #fe 7not very different from ,sir ,w4 ,herschel's1 but depending much in ,n4,p4,d4 on the accuracy of ,bradley's quadrant observations71 and that its annual motion subtends1 at the distance of a star of the first magnitude1 the angle #j4d4 ,but the comparison1 of the sum of squares of apparent proper motions uncorrected1 with the sum of squares of apparent proper motions corrected for motion of ,sun1 shews so small an advance in the explanation of the star's apparent movements as to throw great doubt on the certainty of results2 the sum of squares being diminished by only #a_/beth part4--,i had been writing strongly to ,maclear on the delays in publishing both the geodetic work and the ,star ,catalogue at the ,cape of ,good ,hope3 he resolves to go on with these works4 ,in ,december ,i am still very urgent about the geodesy4 ,of private history3 ,there was the usual short visit to ,playford at the beginning and end of the year4--,from ,june #bgth to ,august #ajth ,i was travelling in the ,north and ,west of ,scotland with my wife1 my youngest son ,osmund1 and my daughter ,annot4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in this year the offer of ,knighthood 7for the third time7 was made to ,airy through the ,rt ,hon4 ,sir ,george ,c4 ,lewis1 ,bart4 ,the offer was accepted on ,feb4 #abth1 #ahfc1 but on the same day a second letter was written as follows3 #ahfc1 ,feb4 #ab4 ,,dear ,,sir1 ,i am extremely ignorant of all matters connected with court ceremonial1 and in reference to the proposed ,knighthood would ask you3-- #a4 ,i trust that there is no expense of fees4 ,to persons like myself of small fortune an honour may sometimes be somewhat dear4 #b4 ,my highest social rank is that given by my ,academical ,degree of ,d4,c4,l4 which ,i hold in the ,universities of ,oxford and ,cambridge4 ,in regard to costume1 would it be proper that ,i should appear in the scarlet gown of that degree8 or in the ordinary ,court ,dress8 ,i am1 ,dear ,sir1 ,yours very faithfully1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,the ,right ,honourable ,sir ,george ,c4 ,lewis1 ,bart41 c4 c4 c4 ,to this letter ,sir ,g4,c4 ,lewis replied that the fees would amount to about #cj1 an intimation which produced the following letter3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 ,s4,e4 #ahfc1 ,feb4 #aith4 ,,dear ,,sir1 ,i have to acknowledge your letter of yesterday3 and ,i advert to that part of it in which it is stated that the ,fees on ,knighthood amount to about #cj4 ,twenty-seven years ago the same rank was offered to me by ,lord ,john ,russell and ,mr ,spring ,rice 7then ,ministers of the ,crown71 with the express notice that no fees would be payable4 ,i suppose that the usage 7whatever it be7 on which that notice was founded still subsists4 ,to a person whose annual income little more than suffices to meet the annual expenses of a very moderate establishment1 an unsought honour may be an incumbrance4 ,it appears1 at any rate1 opposed to the spirit of such an honour1 that it should be loaded with ,court ,expenses in its very creation4 ,i hope that the principle stated in #ahce may serve as precedent on this occasion4 ,i am1 dear ,sir1 ,your very faithful servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,the ,right ,honourable ,sir ,g4 ,c4 ,lewis1 ,bart41 c4 c4 c4 ,no intimation however was received that the fees would be remitted on the present occasion1 and after consideration the proposed ,knighthood was declined in the following letter3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 ,s4,e4 #ahfc1 ,april #ae4 ,,dear ,,sir1 ,i have frequently reflected on the proposal made by you of the honour of ,knighthood to myself4 ,i am very grateful to you for the favourable opinion which you entertain in regard to my supposed claims to notice1 and for the kindness with which you proposed publicly to express it4 ,but on consideration ,i am strongly impressed with the feeling that the conditions attached by established regulation to the conferring of such an honour would be unacceptable to me1 and that the honour itself would in reality1 under the circumstances of my family-establishment and in my social position1 be an incumbrance to me4 ,and finally ,i have thought it best most respectfully1 and with a full sense of the kindness of yourself and of the ,queen's ,government towards me1 to ask that the proposal might be deferred4 ,there is another direction in which a step might be made1 affecting my personal position in a smaller degree1 but not tending to incommode me1 which ,i would ask leave to submit to your consideration4 ,it is1 the definition of the ,rank of the ,astronomer ,royal4 ,the singular character of the office removes it from ordinary rules of rank1 and sometimes may produce a disagreeable contest of opinions4 ,the only offices of similar character corresponding in other conditions to that of the ,british ,astronomer ,royal are those of the ,imperial ,astronomers at ,pulkowa 7,st ,petersburg7 and ,paris4 ,in ,russia1 where every rank is clearly defined by that of military grade1 the ,imperial ,astronomer has the rank of ,major-,general4 ,in ,france1 the definition is less precise1 but the present ,imperial ,astronomer has been created 7as an attachment of rank to the office7 a ,senator of the ,empire4 ,i am1 dear ,sir1 ,your very faithful servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,the ,rt ,hon4 ,sir ,george ,c4 ,lewis1 ,bart41 c4 c4 c4 ,sir ,g4 ,c4 ,lewis died before receiving this letter1 and the letter was afterwards forwarded to ,lord ,palmerston4 ,some correspondence followed between ,lord ,palmerston and ,airy on the subject of attaching a definite rank to the office of ,astronomer ,royal1 as proposed in the above letter4 ,but the ,home ,office 7for various reasons set forth7 stated that the suggestion could not be complied with1 and the whole subject dropped4 #ahfd ,the following remarks are extracted from the ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4--,in a very heavy squall which occurred in the gale of ,december #b of last year1 the stay of the lofty iron pillar outside of the ,park ,rails1 which carried our telegraph wires1 gave way1 and the pillar and the whole system of wires fell4--,an important alteration has been made in the ,magnetic ,observatory4 ,for several years past1 various plans have been under consideration for preventing large changes of temperature in the room which contains the magnetic instruments4 ,at length ,i determined to excavate a subterraneous room or cellar under the original room4 ,the work was begun in the last week in ,january1 and in all important points it is now finished4--,in the late spring1 some alarm was occasioned by the discovery that the ,parliamentary ,standard of the ,pound ,weight had become coated with an extraneous substance produced by the decomposition of the lining of the case in which it was preserved4 ,it was decided immediately to compare it with the three ,parliamentary ,copies1 of which that at the ,observatory is one4 ,the ,national ,standard was found to be entirely uninjured4--,on ,november #af of last year1 the ,transit ,instrument narrowly escaped serious injury from an accident4 ,the plate chain which carries the large western counterpoise broke4 ,the counterpoise fell upon the pier1 destroying the massive gun-metal wheels of the lifting machinery1 but was prevented from falling further by the iron stay of the gas-burner flue4--,the ,prismatic ,spectrum-,apparatus had been completed in #ahfc4 ,achromatic object-glasses are placed on both sides of the prism1 so that each pencil of light through the prism consists of parallel rays2 and breadth is given to the spectrum by a cylindrical lens4 ,the spectral lines are seen straighter than before1 and generally it is believed that their definition is improved4--,for observation of the small planets1 a convention has been made with ,m4 ,le ,verrier4 ,from new moon to full moon1 all the small planets visible to #ac;h are observed at the ,royal ,observatory of ,greenwich4 ,from full moon to new moon1 all are observed at the ,imperial ,observatory of ,paris4 ,the relief gained in this way is very considerable4--,in determining the variations in the power of the horizontal-force and vertical-force magnets depending on temperature1 it was found by experiment that this depended materially on whether the magnet was heated by air or by water1 and ',the result of these experiments 7with air7 is to give a coefficient for temperature correction four or five times as great as that given by the water-heatings1'--,with regard to the discordances of the results of observations of dip-needles1 experiments had been made with needles whose breadth was in the plane passing through the axis of rotation1 and it appeared that the means of extreme discordances were1 for an ordinary needle #aa' #de1 and for a flat needle #c' #bg1 and the ,report continues thus3 ,after this ,i need not say that ,i consider it certain that the small probable errors which have been attributed to ordinary needles are a pure delusion4--,the ,report states that in the various operations connected with the trials and repairs of chronometers1 and the system of time-signals transmitted to various time-balls and clocks1 about one-fourth of the strength of the ,observatory is employed1 and it continues thus3 ,viewing the close dependence of ,nautical ,astronomy upon accurate knowledge of time1 there is perhaps no department of the ,observatory which answers more completely to the original utilitarian intentions of the ,founder of the ,royal ,observatory4--,with regard to the proposal of time-signals at the ,start ,point1 it appears that communications referring to this proposal had passed between the ,board of ,admiralty and the ,board of ,trade1 of which the conclusion was1 that the ,board of ,trade possessed no funds applicable to the defraying of the expenses attending the execution of the scheme4 ,and the ,admiralty did not at present contemplate the establishment of these time-signals under their own authority4--,amongst other ,papers in this year1 ,airy's ,paper entitled ,first ,analysis of #agg ,magnetic ,storms1 c41 was read before the ,royal ,society4 ,of private history3 ,there was the usual visit to ,playford in the beginning of the year4--,from ,june #hth to #bcrd ,i made an excursion with my son ,hubert to the ,isle of ,man1 and the ,lake ,district4--,from ,sept4 #gth to #adth ,i was on a trip to ,cornwall with my two eldest sons1 chiefly in the mining district4--,in ,august of this year my eldest 7surviving7 daughter1 ,hilda1 was married to ,mr ,e4,j4 ,routh1 ,fellow of ,st ,peter's ,college1 ,cambridge1 at ,greenwich ,parish ,church4 ,they afterwards resided at ,cambridge4 #ahfe ,our telegraphic communications of every kind were again destroyed by a snow-storm and gale of wind which occurred on ,jan4 #bhth1 and which broke down nearly all the posts between the ,royal ,observatory and the ,greenwich ,railway ,station4--,the ,report to the ,visitors states that ',the only change of ,buildings which ,i contemplate as at present required is the erection of a fire-proof ,chronometer ,room4 ,the pecuniary value of ,chronometers stored in the ,observatory is sometimes perhaps as much as #hjjj4'--,the ,south ,eastern and ,london ,chatham and ,dover scheme for a railway through the ,park was again brought forward4 ,there was a meeting of ,sir ,j4 ,hanmer's ,committee at the ,observatory on ,may #bfth4 ,mr ,stone was sent hastily to ,dublin to make observations on ,earth-disturbance by railways there4 ,i had been before the ,committee on ,may #beth4 ,on ,sept4 #ast ,i approved of an amended plan4 ,in reference to this matter the ,report states that ',it is proper to remark that the shake of the ,altazimuth felt in the earthquake of #ahfc1 ,oct4 #eth1 when no such shake was felt with instruments nearer to the ground 7an experience which1 as ,i have heard on private authority1 is supported by observation of artificial tremors71 gives reason to fear that1 at distances from a railway which would sufficiently defend the lower instruments1 the loftier instruments 7as the ,altazimuth and the ,equatoreals7 would be sensibly affected4'--,some of the ,magnets had been suspended by steel wires1 instead of silk1 of no greater strength than was necessary for safety1 and the ,report states that ',under the pressure of business1 the determination of various constants of adjustment was deferred to the end of the year4 ,the immediate results of observation1 however1 began to excite suspicion2 and after a time it was found that1 in spite of the length of the suspending wire 7about #h feet7 the torsion-coefficient was not much less than #a_/f4 ,the wires were promptly dismounted1 and silk skeins substituted for them4 ,with these1 the torsion-coefficient is about #a_/baj4'--,the ,dip-,instrument1 which had given great trouble by the irregularities of the dip-results1 had been compared with two dip-instruments from ,kew ,observatory1 which gave very good and accordant results4 ',it happened that ,mr ,simms1 by whom our instruments now in use were prepared1 and who had personally witnessed our former difficulties1 was present during some of these experiments4 ,our own instrument being placed in his hands 7,nov4 #ajth to #aith7 for another purpose1 he spontaneously re-polished the apparently faultless agate-bearings4 ,to my great astonishment1 the inconsistencies of every kind have nearly or entirely vanished4 ,on raising and lowering the needles1 they return to the same readings1 and the dips with the same needle appear generally consistent4' ,some practical details of the polishing process by which this result had been secured are then given4--,after numerous delays1 the apparatus for the self-registration of ,spontaneous ,earth ,currents was brought into a working state in the month of ,march4 ,a description of the arrangement adopted is given in the ,report4--',all ,chronometers on trial are rated every day1 by comparison with one of the clocks sympathetic with the ,motor ,clock4 ,every ,chronometer1 whether on trial or returned from a chronometer-maker as repaired1 is tried at least once in the heat of the ,chronometer-,oven1 the temperature being usually limited to #ij ,fahrenheit2 and1 guided by the results of very long experience1 we have established it as a rule1 that every trial in heat be continued through three weeks4'--',the only employment extraneous to the ,observatory which has occupied any of my time within the last year is the giving three ,lectures on the ,magnetism of ,iron ,ships 7at the request of the ,lords of the ,committee of ,council on ,education7 in the ,theatre of the ,south ,kensington ,museum4 ,the preparations1 however1 for these ,lectures1 to be given in a room ill-adapted to them1 occupied a great deal of my own time1 and of the time of an ,assistant of the ,observatory4'--',referring to a matter in which the interests of ,astronomy are deeply concerned1 ,i think it right to report to the ,visitors my late representation to the ,government1 to the effect that1 in reference to possible observation of the ,transit of ,venus in #ahhb1 it will be necessary in no long time to examine the coasts of the ,great ,southern ,continent4' ,of private history3 ,there were the usual visits to ,playford at the beginning and end of the year4--,from ,june #ahth to #bfth ,i was on a trip in ,wales with my sons ,hubert and ,osmund4--,from ,sept4 #fth to ,oct4 #bnd ,i was staying with most of my family at ,portinscale near ,keswick3 we returned by ,barnard ,castle1 ,rokeby1 c4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,,at ,,greenwich ,,observatory--#ahff ,,to #ahgf4 #ahff ,in this year the cube of the ,transit ,circle was pierced1 to permit reciprocal observations of the ,collimators without raising the instrument4 ,this involved the construction of improved ,collimators1 which formed the subject of a special ,address to the ,members of the ,board of ,visitors on ,oct4 #bast #ahfe4--;,from the ,report to the ,visitors it appears that ,on ,may #bcrd #ahfe1 a thunderstorm of great violence passed very close to the ,observatory4 ,after one flash of lightning1 ,i was convinced that the principal building was struck4 ,several galvanometers in the ,magnetic ,basement were destroyed4 ,lately it has been remarked that one of the old chimneys of the principal building had been dislocated and slightly twisted1 at a place where it was surrounded by an iron stay-band led from the ,telegraph ,pole which was planted upon the leads of the ,octagon ,room4--,on consideration of the serious interruptions to which we have several times been exposed from the destruction of our open-air ,park-wires 7through snow-storms and gales71 ,i have made an arrangement for leading the whole of our wires in underground pipes as far as the ,greenwich ,railway ,station4--,the ,committee of the ,house of ,commons1 to whom the ,greenwich and ,woolwich ,line of the ,south ,eastern ,railway was referred1 finally assented to the adoption of a line which ,i indicated1 passing between the buildings of the ,hospital ,schools and the public road to ,woolwich4--,the ,galvanic ,chronometer attached to the ,s4 ,e4 ,equatoreal often gave us a great deal of trouble4 ,at last ,i determined1 on the proposal of ,mr ,ellis1 to attempt an extension of ,mr ,r4 ,l4 ,jones's regulating principle4 ,it is well known that ,mr ,jones has with great success introduced the system of applying galvanic currents originating in the vibrations of a normal pendulum1 not to drive the wheelwork of other clocks1 but to regulate to exact agreement the rates of their pendulums which were1 independently1 nearly in agreement2 each clock being driven by weight-power as before4 ,the same principle is now applied to the chronometer4444 ,the construction is perfectly successful2 the chronometer remains in coincidence with the ,transit ,clock through any length of time1 with a small constant error as is required by mechanical theory4--,the printed volume of ,observations for #ahfd has two ,appendixes2 one containing the calculations of the value of the ,moon's ,semi-diameter deduced from #bie ,occultations observed at ,cambridge and ,greenwich from #ahcb to #ahfj1 and shewing that the ,occultation ,semi-diameter is less than the ,telescopic ,semi-diameter by #b2 the other containing the reduction of the ,planetary ,observations made at the ,royal ,observatory in the years #ahca-ahce2 filling up the gap1 between the ,planetary ,reductions #agej-ahcj made several years ago under my superintendence1 and the ,reductions contained in the ,greenwich ,volumes #ahcf to the present time3 and conducted on the same general principles4--,some trouble had been found in regulating the temperature of the ,magnetic ,basement1 but it was anticipated that in future there would be no difficulty in keeping down the annual variation within about #e and the diurnal variation within #c4--,longitudes in ,america were determined in this year by way of ,valencia and ,newfoundland3 finished by ,nov4 #adth4 ,of private history3 ,in ,april he made a short visit to ,ventnor in the ,isle of ,wight4--,from ,june #aeth to ,july #bcrd he was on an expedition in ,norway with his son ,osmund and his nephew ,gorell ,barnes4--,there was probably a short stay at ,playford in the winter4 ,in this and in the previous year 7#ahfe7 the free-thinking investigations of ,colenso1 the ,bishop of ,natal1 had attracted much notice1 and had procured him the virulent hostility of a numerous section4 ,his income was withheld from him1 and in consequence a subscription fund was raised for his support by his admirers4 ,airy1 who always took the liberal side in such questions1 was a subscriber to the fund1 and wrote the following letter to the ,bishop3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 ,s4,e41 #ahfe1 ,july #bd4 ,,my ,,lord1 ,with many thanks ,i have to acknowledge your kind recollection of me in sending as a presentation copy the work on ,joshua1 ,judges1 and especially on the divided authorship of ,genesis2 a work whose investigations1 founded in great measure on severe and extensive verbal criticism1 will apparently bear comparison with your ,lordship's most remarkable examination of ,deuteronomy4 ,i should however not do justice to my own appreciation if ,i did not remark that there are other points considered which have long been matters of interest to me4 ,on several matters1 some of them important1 my present conclusions do not absolutely agree with your ,lordship's4 ,but ,i am not the less grateful for the amount of erudition and thought carefully directed to definite points1 and above all for the noble example of unwearied research and freedom in stating its consequences1 in reference to subjects which scarcely ever occupy the attention of the clergy in our country4 ,i am1 ,my ,lord1 ,yours very faithfully1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,the ,lord ,bishop of ,natal4 99 99 99 99 99 ,here also is a letter on the same subject1 written to ,professor ,selwyn1 ,professor of ,divinity at ,cambridge3-- ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 ,,london1 ,s4,e41 #ahff1 ,may #e4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 ,the ,,ms4 concerning ,colenso duly arrived4 ,i note your remarks on the merits of ,colenso4 ,i do not write to tell you that ,i differ from you1 but to tell you why ,i differ4 ,i think that you do not make the proper distinction between a person who invents or introduces a tool1 and the person who uses it4 ,the most resolute antigravitationist that ever lived might yet acknowledge his debt to ,newton for the ,method of ,prime and ,ultimate ,ratios and the ,principles of ,fluxions by which ,newton sought to establish gravitation4 ,so let it be with ,colenso4 ,he has given me a power of tracing out truth to a certain extent which ,i never could have obtained without him4 ,and for this ,i am very grateful4 ,as to the further employment of this power1 you know that he and ,i use it to totally different purposes4 ,but not the less do ,i say that ,i owe to him a new intellectual power4 ,i quite agree with you1 that the sudden disruption of the old traditional view seems to have unhinged his mind1 and to have sent him too far on the other side4 ,i would not give a pin for his judgment4 ,nevertheless1 ,i wish he would go over the three remaining books of the ,tetrateuch4 ,i know something of ,myers1 but ,i should not have thought him likely to produce anything sound on such things as the ,hebrew ,scriptures4 ,i never saw his ,thoughts4 ,i am1 my dear ,sir1 ,yours very truly1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,professor ,selwyn4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following letter has reference to ,airy's proposal to introduce certain ,physico-,mathematical subjects into the ,senate-,house ,examination for ,b4,a4 ,honors at ,cambridge4 ,on various occasions he sharply criticized the ,papers set for the ,senate-,house ,examination and the ,smith's ,prize ,examination1 and greatly lamented the growing importance of pure mathematics and the comparative exclusion of physical questions in those examinations4 ,his proposal as finally submitted in the letter that follows was somewhat modified 7as regards the mode of introducing the subjects7 from his original draft1 in deference to the opinions of ,whewell1 ,adams1 ,routh1 and other friends to whom he had submitted it4 ,his proposal was favourably received by the ,mathematical ,board1 and recommendations were made in the direction1 though not to the extent1 that he desired1 and he subsequently submitted a ,memorandum on those recommendations3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 #ahff1 ,may #aa4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 ,you will perceive1 from perusal of the enclosed paper1 that ,i have acted on the permission which you kindly gave me1 to transmit to you my proposal for extension of the mathematical education of the ,university in the ,physical direction4 ,it is an unavoidable consequence of the structure of the ,university that studies there will have a tendency to take an unpractical form depending much on the personal tastes of special examiners4 ,i trust that1 as a person whose long separation from the daily business of the ,university has enabled him to see in some measure the wants of the external scientific and practical world1 ,i may be forgiven this attempt to bring to the notice of the ,university my ideas on the points towards which their attention might perhaps be advantageously turned4 ,i am1 my dear ,sir1 ,very faithfully yours1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,the ,rev4 ,dr ,cartmell1 ,master of ,christ's ,college and ,vice-,chancellor4 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 #ahff1 ,may #aa4 ,,my ,,dear ,,mr ,,vice-,,chancellor1 ,about two years ago1 by the kindness of the ,university1 an opportunity was presented to me of orally stating what ,i conceived to be deficiencies in the educational course of the ,university as regards mathematical physics4 ,since that time1 the consideration of those deficiencies1 which had long been present to me1 has urged itself on my attention with greater force3 and finally ,i have entertained the idea that ,i might without impropriety communicate to you my opinion1 in a less fugitive form than on the occasion to which ,i have alluded3 with the request that1 if you should deem such a course appropriate1 you would bring it before the ,board of ,mathematical ,studies1 and perhaps ultimately make it known to the ,resident ,members of the ,senate4 ,i will first give the list of subjects1 which ,i should wish to see introduced1 and to the prosecution of which the generally admirable course of the ,university is remarkably well adapted3 and ,i will then1 without entering into every detail1 advert to the process by which ,i think it probable the introduction of these subjects could be effected4 ,in the following list1 the first head is purely algebraical1 and the second nearly so3 but they are closely related to observational science1 and to the physical subjects which follow4 ,some of the subjects which ,i exhibit on my list are partially1 but in my opinion imperfectly1 taught at present4 ,i entirely omit from my list ,physical ,optics1 ,geometrical ,astronomy1 and ,gravitational ,astronomy of ,points3 because1 to the extent to which ,academical ,education ought to go1 ,i believe that there is no teaching on these sciences comparable to that in the ,university of ,cambridge4 7,it is1 of course1 still possible that improvements may be made in the books commonly used47 ,it might1 however1 be a question1 whether1 as regards the time and manner of teaching them1 some parts of these subjects might ultimately be associated with the other subjects included in my list4 ,i4 ,list of subjects proposed for consideration4 7#a7 ,partial ,differential ,equations to the second order1 with their arbitrary functions3 selected principally with reference to the physical subjects4 7#b7 ,the ,theory of ,probabilities as applied to the combination of ,observations4 7#c7 ,mechanics 7including ,hydraulic ,powers7 in the state which verges upon practical application1 and especially including that part in which the abstract ideas of power and duty occur4 7#d7 ,attractions4 ,this subject is recognized in the existing course of the ,university3 but1 so far as ,i can infer from examination-papers1 it appears to be very lightly passed over4 7#e7 ,the ,figure of the ,earth1 and its consequences1 ,precession1 c4 ,i believe that the proposal is sanctioned1 of adopting some part of this theory in the ordinary course2 but perhaps hardly so far as is desirable4 7#f7 ,the ,tides4 7#g7 ,waves of ,water4 7#h7 ,sound 7beginning with ,newton's investigation72 ,echoes2 ,pipes and ,vibrating ,strings2 ,acoustics2 the ,mathematical part of ,music4 7#i7 ,magnetism1 terrestrial and experimental1 and their connection4 7,i omit for the present ,mineralogy and ,mathematical ,electricity47 ,this list of subjects appears formidable3 but they are in reality easy1 and would be mastered in a short time by the higher ,wranglers4 ,,ii4 ,mode of introducing these subjects into the ,university4 ,after much consideration1 and after learning the opinions of several persons whose judgment claims my deepest respect1 ,i propose the gradual introduction of these subjects into the ,examination for ,honors at admission to the ,b4,a4 ,degree1 as soon as the preparation of ,books and the readiness of ,examiners shall enable the ,university to take that step4 ,i conceive that1 by a judicious pruning of the somewhat luxuriant growth of ,pure ,algebra1 ,analytical ,geometry1 and ,mere ,problems1 sufficient leisure may be gained for the studies of the undergraduates1 and sufficient time for the questions of the examiners4 ,i do not contemplate that the students could advance very far into the subjects2 but ,i know the importance of beginning them2 and1 judging from the train of thoughts1 of reading1 and of conversation1 among the ,bachelors with whom ,i associated many years ago1 ,i believe that there is quite a sufficient number who will be anxious to go deep into the subjects if they have once entered into them4 ,if six ,wranglers annually would take them up1 my point would be gained4 ,the part which these gentlemen might be expected1 in a short time1 to take in the government of the ,university1 would enable them soon to act steadily upon the ,university course3 the efficiency of the ,university instruction would be increased2 and the external character of the ,university would be raised4 ,the real difficulties1 and they are not light ones1 would probably be found in providing ,examiners and ,books4 ,at present1 both are wanting within the ,university4 ,where there is a great and well-founded objection to intrusting examinations to persons foreign to the ,university1 and where the books have to be created with labour and with absolute outlay of money 7for their sale could never be remunerative71 the progress must be slow4 ,still progress would be certain1 if the authorities of the ,university should think the matter deserving of their hearty encouragement4 ,requesting that you and the ,members of the ,university will accept this proposal as an indication of my deep attachment to my ,university1 ,i am1 ,my dear ,mr ,vice-,chancellor1 ,your very faithful servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,the ,rev4 ,dr ,cartmell1 c4 c4 ,vice-,chancellor of the ,university of ,cambridge4 #ahfg ,in this year it was arranged that my ,treasury accounts were to be transferred to the ,admiralty1 making the simplification which ,i had so long desired4--,from the ,report to the ,visitors it appears that a relic of the ,geodetic operations commenced in #aghg for connecting the ,observatories of ,greenwich and ,paris1 in the shape of an observing cabin on the roof of the ,octagon ,room1 was shifted and supported in such a manner that the pressure on the flat roof was entirely avoided4--,with regard to the ,transit ,circle1 the new ,collimators with telescopes of seven inches aperture had been mounted4 ,when the ,transit ,telescope directed vertically is interposed1 the interruptions in the central cube impair the sharpness of definition1 still leaving it abundantly good for general use4 ,it had been regarded as probable that the astronomical flexure of the telescope1 after cutting away small portions of the central cube1 would be found sensibly changed3 and this proved to be the case4 ,the difference of flexures of the two ends has been altered more than a second of arc4--,referring to a new ,portable ,altazimuth which had lately been tested1 the ,report states as follows3 ',i may mention that a study of defects in the vertical circle of a small ,altazimuth formerly used by me1 and an inspection of the operations in the instrument-maker's work-shop1 have convinced me that the principal error to be feared in instruments of this class is ovality of the graduated limb2 this cannot be eliminated by two microscopes1 and such an instrument should never be fitted with two only4 ,our instrument has four4'--',in ,osler's ,anemometer1 a surface of #b square feet is now exposed to the wind instead of one foot as formerly2 and the plate is supported by weak vertical springs instead of rods running on rollers4 ,its indications are much more delicate than formerly4'--',the ,meteors on ,nov4 #adth were well observed4 ,eight thousand and three hundred were registered4 ,the variations of frequency at different times were very well noted4 ,the points of divergence were carefully determined4'--,referring to the gradual improvement in the steadiness of chronometers from #ahea to #ahff1 it appears that from #ahea to #ahed the 'trial number' 7which is a combination of changes of weekly rate representing the fault of the chronometer7 varied from #cd4hs to #eb4es1 while from #ahfb to #ahff it varied from #ba4bs to #be4hs4--,the following statement will shew the usual steadiness of the ,great ,clock on the ,westminster ,palace3 ,on #ch per cent4 of days of observation1 the clock's error was below #as4 ,on #ch per cent1 the error was between #as and #bs4 ,on #ba per cent4 it was between #bs and #cs4 ,on #b per cent4 between #cs and #ds4 ,on #a per cent4 between #ds and #es4--,the ,report contains an account of the determination of the longitude of ,cambridge ,u4,s4 by ,dr ,b4 ,a4 ,gould1 by means of galvanic currents through the ,atlantic ,cable1 in the spring of #ahfg3 and advantage was taken of this opportunity for re-determining the longitude of ,feagh ,main near ,valencia in ,ireland4 ,the longitude of ,feagh ,main1 found by different methods is as follows3 ,by chronometers in #ahdd1 #dam #bc4bcs2 by galvanic communication with ,knight's ,town in #ahfb1 #dam #bc4cgs2 by galvanic communication with ,foilhommerum in #ahff1 #dam #bc4ais4 ,the collected results for longitude of ,cambridge ,u4,s4 from different sources are3 ,by moon-culminators 7,walker in #ahea1 and ,newcomb in #ahfb-c71 #d;h #ddm #bh4dbs and #d;h #ddm #bi4efs respectively2 by ,eclipses 7,walker in #ahea71 #d;h #ddm #bi4fds2 by occultations of ,pleiades 7,peirce #ahch-ahdb1 and #ahef-ahfa71 #d;h #ddm #bi4ias and #d;h #ddm #cj4ijs respectively2 by chronometers 7,w4 ,c4 ,bond in #ahea1 and ,g4 ,p4 ,bond in #ahee71 #d;h #ddm #cj4ffs and #d;h #ddm #ca4his respectively2 by ,atlantic ,cable #ahff1 #d;h #ddm #cj4iis4--,after noticing that many meteorological observatories had suddenly sprung up and had commenced printing their observations in detail1 the ,report continues thus3 ',whether the effect of this movement will be that millions of useless observations will be added to the millions that already exist1 or whether something may be expected to result which will lead to a meteorological theory1 ,i cannot hazard a conjecture4 ,this only ,i believe1 that it will be useless1 at present1 to attempt a process of mechanical theory2 and that all that can be done must be1 to connect phenomena by laws of induction4 ,but the induction must be carried out by numerous and troublesome trials in different directions1 the greater part of which would probably be failures4'--,there was this year an annular eclipse2 ,i made large preparations at the limits of the annularity2 failed entirely from very bad weather4--,in this year ,airy contributed a ,paper to the ,institution of ,civil ,engineers ',on the use of the ,suspension ,bridge with stiffened roadway for ,railway and other ,bridges of ,great ,span1' for which a ,telford ,medal was awarded to him by the ,council of the ,institution4 ,and he communicated several ,papers to the ,royal ,society and the ,royal ,astronomical ,society4 ,of private history3 ,there was the usual visit to ,playford in ,january4--,in ,april there was a short run to ,alnwick and the neighbourhood1 in company with ,mr and ,mrs ,routh4--,from ,june #bgth to ,july #dth he was in ,wales with his two eldest sons1 visiting ,uriconium1 c4 on his return4--,from ,august #hth to ,sept4 #gth he spent a holiday in ,scotland and the ,lake ,district of ,cumberland with his daughter ,christabel1 visiting the ,langtons at ,barrow ,house1 near ,keswick1 and ,isaac ,fletcher at ,tarn ,bank4 ,in ,june of this year 7#ahfg7 ,airy was elected an ,honorary ,fellow of his old ,college of ,trinity in company with ,connop ,thirlwall1 the ,bishop of ,st ,david's4 ,they were the first ,honorary ,fellows elected by the ,college4 ,the announcement was made in a letter from the ,master of ,trinity 7,w4,h4 ,thompson71 and ,airy's reply was as follows3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 ,,london1 ,s4,e4 #ahfg1 ,june #abth4 ,,my ,,dear ,,master1 ,i am very much gratified by your kind note received this morning1 conveying to me the notice that the ,master and ,sixteen ,senior ,fellows had elected me1 under their new powers1 as ,honorary ,fellow of the ,college4 ,it has always been my wish to maintain a friendly connection with my ,college1 and ,i am delighted to receive this response from the ,college4 ,the peculiar form in which the reference to the ,statute enables them to put it renders it doubly pleasing4 ,as the ,statute is new1 ,i should be obliged by a copy of it4 ,and1 at any convenient time1 ,i should be glad to know the name of the person with whom ,i am so honorably associated4 ,i am1 ,my dear ,master1 ,very faithfully yours1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 99 99 99 99 99 ,consequent on ,airy's proposals in #ahff for the introduction of new physical subjects into the ,senate-,house ,examination and his desire that the large number of questions set in ,pure ,mathematics1 or as he termed it ,useless ,algebra1 should be curtailed1 there was a smart and interesting correspondence between him and ,prof4 ,cayley1 who was the great exponent and advocate of ,pure ,mathematics at ,cambridge4 ,both of them were men of the highest mathematical powers1 but diametrically opposed in their views of the use of ,mathematics4 ,airy regarded mathematics as simply a useful machine for the solution of practical problems and arriving at practical results4 ,he had a great respect for ,pure ,mathematics and all the processes of algebra1 so far as they aided him to solve his problems and to arrive at useful results2 but he had a positive aversion to mathematical investigations1 however skilful and elaborate1 for which no immediate practical value could be claimed4 ,cayley on the contrary regarded mathematics as a useful exercise for the mind1 apart from any immediate practical object1 and he considered that the general command of mathematics gained by handling abstruse mathematical investigations 7though barren in themselves7 would be valuable for whatever purpose mathematics might be required3 he also thought it likely that his researches and advances in the field of ,pure ,mathematics might facilitate the solution of physical problems and tend to the progress of the practical sciences4 ,their different views on this subject will be seen from the letters that follow3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 ,,london1 ,s4,e4 #ahfg1 ,nov4 #h4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 ,i think it best to put in writing the purport of what ,i have said1 or have intended to say1 in reference to the ,mathematical ,studies in the ,university4 ,first1 ,i will remark on the study of ,partial ,differential ,equations4 ,i do not know that one branch of ,pure ,mathematics can be considered higher than another1 except in the utility of the power which it gives4 ,measured thus1 the ,partial ,differential ,equations are very useful and therefore stand very high1 as far as the ,second ,order4 ,they apply1 to that point1 in the most important way1 to the great problems of nature concerning time1 and infinite division of matter1 and space3 and are worthy of the most careful study4 ,beyond that ,order they apply to nothing4 ,it was for the purpose of limiting the study to the ,second ,order1 and at the same time working it carefully1 philosophically1 and practically1 up to that point1 that ,i drew up my little work4 ,on the general question of ,mathematical ,studies1 ,i will first give my leading ideas on what ,i may call the moral part4 ,i think that a heavy responsibility rests on the persons who influence most strongly the course of education in the ,university1 to direct that course in the way in which it will be most useful to the students--in the two ways1 of disciplining their powers and habits1 and of giving them scientific knowledge of the highest and most accurate order 7applying to the phenomena of nature7 such as will be useful to them through life4 ,i do not think that the mere personal taste of a teacher is sufficient justification for a special course1 unless it has been adopted under a consideration of that responsibility4 ,now ,i can say for myself that ,i have1 for some years1 inspected the examination papers1 and have considered the bearing of the course which they imply upon the education of the student1 and am firmly convinced that as regards men below the very few first--say below the ten first--there is a prodigious loss of time without any permanent good whatever4 ,for the great majority of men1 such subjects as abstract ,analytical ,geometry perish at once4 ,with men like ,adams and ,stokes they remain1 and are advantageous2 but probably there is not a single man 7beside them7 of their respective years who remembers a bit1 or who if he remembers them has the leisure and other opportunities of applying them4 ,i believe on the other hand that a careful selection of physical subjects would enable the ,university to communicate to its students a vast amount of information2 of accurate kind and requiring the most logical treatment2 but so bearing upon the natural phenomena which are constantly before us that it would be felt by every student to possess a real value1 that 7from that circumstance7 it would dwell in his mind1 and that it would enable him to correct a great amount of flimsy education in the country1 and1 so far1 to raise the national character4 ,the consideration of the education of the reasoning habits suggests ideas far from favourable to the existing course4 ,i am old enough to remember the time of mere geometrical processes1 and ,i do not hesitate to say that for the cultivation of accurate mental discipline they were far superior to the operations in vogue at the present day4 ,there is no subject in the world more favourable to logical habit than the ,differential ,calculus in all its branches if logically worked in its elements3 and ,i think that its applications to various physical subjects1 compelling from time to time an attention to the elementary grounds of the ,calculus1 would be far more advantageous to that logical habit than the simple applications to ,pure ,equations and ,pure ,algebraical ,geometry now occupying so much attention4 ,i am1 my dear ,sir1 ,yours very truly1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,professor ,cayley4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,dear ,,sir1 ,i have been intending to answer your letter of the #hth ,november4 ,so far as it is 7if at all7 personal to myself1 ,i would remark that the statutory duty of the ,sadlerian ,professor is that he shall explain and teach the principles of ,pure ,mathematics and apply himself to the advancement of the ,science4 ,as to ,partial ,differential ,equations1 they are high as being an inverse problem1 and perhaps the most difficult inverse problem that has been dealt with4 ,in regard to the limitation of them to the second order1 whatever other reasons exist for it1 there is also the reason that the theory to this order is as yet so incomplete that there is no inducement to go beyond it2 there could hardly be a more valuable step than anything which would give a notion of the form of the general integral of a ,partial ,differential ,equation of the second order4 ,i cannot but differ from you in toto as to the educational value of ,analytical ,geometry1 or ,i would rather say of ,modern ,geometry generally4 ,it appears to me that in the ,physical ,sciences depending on ,partial ,differential ,equations1 there is scarcely anything that a student can do for himself3--he finds the integral of the ordinary equation for ,sound--if he wishes to go a step further and integrate the non-linear equation 7dy_/dx77dy_/dt7 a7dy_/dx7 he is simply unable to do so2 and so in other cases there is nothing that he can add to what he finds in his books4 ,whereas ,geometry 7of course to an intelligent student7 is a real inductive and deductive science of inexhaustible extent1 in which he can experiment for himself--the very tracing of a curve from its equation 7and still more the consideration of the cases belonging to different values of the parameters7 is the construction of a theory to bind together the facts--and the selection of a curve or surface proper for the verification of any general theorem is the selection of an experiment in proof or disproof of a theory4 ,i do not quite understand your reference to ,stokes and ,adams1 as types of the men who alone retain their abstract ,analytical ,geometry4 ,if a man when he takes his degree drops mathematics1 he drops geometry--but if not ,i think for the above reasons that he is more likely to go on with it than with almost any other subject--and any mathematical journal will shew that a very great amount of attention is in fact given to geometry4 ,and the subject is in a very high degree a progressive one2 quite as much as to ,physics1 one may apply to it the lines1 ,yet ,i doubt not thro' the ages one increasing purpose runs1 and the thoughts of men are widened with the progress of the suns4 ,i remain1 dear ,sir1 ,yours very sincerely1 ,a4 ,,cayley4 ,,cambridge1 #f ,dec41 #ahfg4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 ,,london1 ,s4,e4 #ahfg1 ,december #i4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 ,i have received with much pleasure your letter of ,december #f4 ,in this ,university discussion1 ,i have acted only in public1 and have not made private communication to any person whatever till required to do so by private letter addressed to me4 ,your few words in ,queens' ,hall seemed to expect a little reply4 ,now as to the ,modern ,geometry4 ,with your praises of this science--as to the room for extension in induction and deduction1 c42 and with your facts--as to the amount of space which it occupies in ,mathematical ,journals2 ,i entirely agree4 ,and if men1 after leaving ,cambridge1 were designed to shut themselves up in a cavern1 they could have nothing better for their subjective amusement4 ,they might have other things as good2 enormous complication and probably beautiful investigation might be found in varying the game of billiards with novel islands on a newly shaped billiard table4 ,but the persons who devote themselves to these subjects do thereby separate themselves from the world4 ,they make no step towards natural science or utilitarian science1 the two subjects which the world specially desires4 ,the world could go on as well without these separatists4 ,now if these persons lived only for themselves1 no other person would have any title to question or remark on their devotion to this barren subject4 ,but a ,cambridge ,examiner is not in that position4 ,the ,university is a national body1 for education of young men3 and the power of a ,cambridge ,examiner is omnipotent in directing the education of the young men2 and his responsibility to the cause of education is very distinct and very strong4 ,and the question for him to consider is--in the sense in which mathematical education is desired by the best authorities in the nation1 is the course taken by this national institution satisfactory to the nation8 ,i express my belief that it is not satisfactory4 ,i believe that many of the best men of the nation consider that a great deal of time is lost on subjects which they esteem as puerile1 and that much of that time might be employed on noble and useful science4 ,you may remember that the ,commissions which have visited ,cambridge originated in a ,memorial addressed to the ,government by men of respected scientific character3 ,sabine was one1 and ,i may take him as the representative4 ,he is a man of extensive knowledge of the application of mathematics as it has been employed for many years in the science of the world2 but he has no profundity of science4 ,he1 as ,i believe1 desired to find persons who could enter accurately into mathematical science1 and naturally looked to the ,great ,mathematical ,university2 but he must have been much disappointed4 ,so much time is swallowed up by the forced study of the ,pure ,mathematics that it is not easy to find anybody who can really enter on these subjects in which men of science want assistance4 ,and so ,sabine thought that the ,government ought to interfere1 probably without any clear idea of what they could do4 ,i am1 my dear ,sir1 ,yours very truly1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,professor ,cayley4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,dear ,,sir1 ,i have to thank you for your last letter4 ,i do not think everything should be subordinated to the educational element3 my idea of a ,university is that of a place for the cultivation of all science4 ,therefore among other sciences ,pure ,mathematics2 including whatever is interesting as part of this science4 ,i am bound therefore to admit that your proposed extension of the problem of billiards1 if it were found susceptible of interesting mathematical developments1 would be a fit subject of study4 ,but in this case ,i do not think the problem could fairly be objected to as puerile--a more legitimate objection would ,i conceive be its extreme speciality4 ,but this is not an objection that can be brought against ,modern ,geometry as a whole3 in regard to any particular parts of it which may appear open to such an objection1 the question is whether they are or are not1 for their own sakes1 or their bearing upon other parts of the science to which they belong1 worthy of being entered upon and pursued4 ,but admitting 7as ,i do not7 that ,pure ,mathematics are only to be studied with a view to ,natural and ,physical ,science1 the question still arises how are they best to be studied in that view4 ,i assume and admit that as to a large part of ,modern ,geometry and of the ,theory of ,numbers1 there is no present probability that these will find any physical applications4 ,but among the remaining parts of ,pure ,mathematics we have the theory of ,elliptic ,functions and of the ,jacobian and ,abelian ,functions1 and the theory of ,differential ,equations1 including of course ,partial ,differential ,equations4 ,now taking for instance the problem of three bodies--unless this is to be gone on with by the mere improvement in detail of the present approximate methods--it is at least conceivable that the future treatment of it will be in the direction of the problem of two fixed centres1 by means of elliptic functions1 c42 and that the discovery will be made not by searching for it directly with the mathematical resources now at our command1 but by prospecting for it in the field of these functions4 ,even improvements in the existing methods are more likely to arise from a study of differential equations in general than from a special one of the equations of the particular problem3 the materials for such improvements which exist in the writings of ,hamilton1 ,jacobi1 ,bertrand1 and ,bour1 have certainly so arisen4 ,and the like remarks would apply to the physical problems which depend on ,partial ,differential ,equations4 ,i think that the course of mathematical study at the ,university is likely to be a better one if regulated with a view to the cultivation of ,science1 as if for its own sake1 rather than directly upon considerations of what is educationally best 7,i mean that the best educational course will be so obtained71 and that we have thus a justification for a thorough study of ,pure ,mathematics4 ,in my own limited experience of examinations1 the fault which ,i find with the men is a want of analytical power1 and that whatever else may have been in defect ,pure ,mathematics has certainly not been in excess4 ,i remain1 dear ,sir1 ,yours sincerely1 ,a4 ,,cayley4 ,,cambridge1 #ajth ,dec41 #ahfg4 99 99 99 99 99 #ahfg1 ,december #ag4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 ,since receiving your letter of #ith ,i positively have not had time to express the single remark which ,i proposed to make on it4 ,you state your idea that the educational element ought not to be the predominating element in the ,university4 ,i do not think that every thing should be subordinated to the educational element4 ,i cannot conceal my surprise at this sentiment4 ,assuredly the founders of the ,colleges intended them for education 7so far as they apply to persons in statu pupillari71 the statutes of the ,university and the ,colleges are framed for education1 and fathers send their sons to the ,university for education4 ,if ,i had not had your words before me1 ,i should have said that it is impossible to doubt this4 ,it is much to be desired that ,professors and others who exercise no control by force should take every method1 not only of promoting science in themselves1 but also of placing the promoted science before students3 and it is much to be desired that students who have passed the compulsory curriculum should be encouraged to proceed into the novelties which will be most agreeable to them4 ,but this is a totally different thing from using the ,compulsory ,force of ,examination to drive students in paths traced only by the taste of the examiner4 ,for them1 ,i conceive the obligation to the nation and the duty to follow the national sense on education 7as far as it can be gathered from its best representatives7 to be undoubted2 and to be1 in the intensity of the obligation and duty1 most serious4 ,i am1 my dear ,sir1 ,yours very truly1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,professor ,cayley4 99 99 99 99 99 #ahfh ,in the ,south-,east ,dome1 the alteration proposed last year for rendering the building fire-proof had been completely carried out4 ,the middle room1 which was to be appropriated to ,chronometers1 was being fitted up accordingly4--,from the ,report it appears that 'our subterranean telegraph wires were all broken by one blow1 from an accident in the ,metropolitan ,drainage ,works on ,groom's ,hill1 but were speedily repaired4'--,in my office as ,chairman of successive ,commissions on ,standards1 ,i had collected a number of ,standards1 some of great historical value 7as ,ramsden's and ,roy's ,standards of ,length1 ,kater's ,scale-beam for weighing great weights1 and others71 c4 ,these have been transferred to the newly-created ,standards ,department of the ,board of ,trade4--,in the ,report is given a detailed account of the system of preserving and arranging the manuscripts and correspondence of the ,observatory1 which was always regarded by ,airy as a matter of the first importance4--,from a careful discussion of the results of observation ,mr ,stone had concluded that the refractions ought to be diminished4 ',relying on this1 we have now computed our mean refractions by diminishing those of ,bessel's ,fundamenta in the proportion of #a to #j4iigig4'--,the ,magnetometer-,indications for the period #aheh-ahfc had been reduced and discussed1 with remarkable results4 ,it is inferred that magnetic disturbances1 both solar and lunar1 are produced mediately by the ,earth1 and that the ,earth in periods of several years undergoes changes which fit it and unfit it for exercising a powerful mediate action4--,the ,earth-current records had been reduced1 and the magnetic effect which the currents would produce had been computed4 ,the result was1 that the agreement between the magnetic effects so computed and the magnetic disturbances really recorded by the magnetometers was such as to leave no doubt on the general validity of the explanation of the great storm-disturbances of the magnets as consequences of the galvanic currents through the earth4--,referring to the difficulty experienced in making the meteorological observations practically available the ,report states thus3 ',the want of ,meteorology1 at the present time1 is principally in suggestive theory4'--,in this year ,airy communicated to the ,royal ,astronomical ,society a ,paper ',on the ,preparatory ,arrangements for the ,observation of the ,transits of ,venus #ahgd and #ahhb'3 this subject was now well in hand4--,the ,first ,report of the ,commissioners 7of whom he was ,chairman7 appointed to enquire into the condition of the ,exchequer ,standards was printed3 this business took up much time4--,he was in this year much engaged on the ,coinage ,commission4 ,of private history3 ,there was the usual winter visit to ,playford1 and a short visit to ,cambridge in ,june4--,from about ,aug4 #ast to ,sept4 #crd he was travelling in ,switzerland with his youngest son and his two youngest daughters4 ,in the course of this journey they visited ,zermatt4 ,there had been much rain1 the rivers were greatly flooded1 and much mischief was done to the roads4 ,during the journey from ,visp to ,zermatt1 near ,st ,nicholas1 in a steep part of the gorge1 a large stone rolled from the cliffs and knocked their baggage horse over the lower precipice1 a fall of several hundred feet4 ,the packages were all burst1 and many things were lost1 but a good deal was recovered by men suspended by ropes4 ,in this year also ,airy was busy with the subject of ,university ,examination1 which in previous years had occupied so much of his attention1 as will be seen from the following letters3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 ,,london1 ,s4,e4 #ahfh1 ,march #ab4 ,,my ,,dear ,,master1 ,i have had the pleasure of corresponding with you on matters of ,university ,examination so frequently that ,i at once turn to you as the proper person to whom ,i may address any remarks on that important subject4 ,circumstances have enabled me lately to obtain private information of a most accurate kind on the late ,mathematical ,tripos3 and among other things1 ,i have received a statement of every individual question answered or partly answered by five honour-men4 ,i have collected the numbers of these in a small table which ,i enclose4 ,i am struck with the almost nugatory character of the five days' honour examination as applied to ,senior ,optimes1 and ,i do not doubt that it is totally nugatory as applied to ,junior ,optimes4 ,it appears to me that1 for all that depends on these days1 the rank of the ,optimes is mere matter of chance4 ,in the examinations of the ,civil ,service1 the whole number of marks is published1 and also the number of marks gained by each candidate4 ,i have none of their papers at hand1 but my impression is that the lowest candidates make about #a in #c2 and the fair candidates about #b in #c1 instead of #a in #aj or #a in #ac as our good ,senior ,optimes4 ,i am1 my dear ,master1 ,very truly yours1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,the ,rev4 ,dr ,cookson1 ,master of ,st ,peters ,college1 c4 c4 ,the ,table referred to in the above letter is as follows3 ,number of ,questions1 and numbers of ,answers to ,questions as given by several ,wranglers and ,senior ,optimes1 in the ,examination of ,mathematical ,tripos for ,honours1 #ahfh1 ,january #ac1 #ad1 #ae1 #af1 #ag4 ,number of ,questions and ,riders in the ,printed ,papers4 ,questions4 ,riders4 ,aggregate4 ,in the #aj ,papers of the #e days #abc #aja #bbd ,,number ,,of ,,questions ,,and ,,riders ,,answered4 ,questions4 ,riders4 ,aggregate4 ,by a ,wrangler1 between the #ast and #gth #fi-a_/b #be-a_/b #ie #a in #b4cf ,by a ,wrangler1 between the #abth and #bbnd #dh-a_/b #ab-a_/b #fa #a in #c4fh ,by a ,wrangler1 between the #bbnd and #cbnd #cf #ab-a_/b #dh-a_/b #a in #d4fb ,by a ,sen4 ,opt4 between the #ast and #ajth #ag-a_/b #e #bb-a_/b #a in #i4ie ,by a ,sen4 ,opt4 between the #ajth and #bjth #ad-a_/b #b #af-a_/b #a in #c4fj ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 #ahfh1 ,march #ab4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,st ,,peter',s ,,college ,,lodge1 ,,cambridge1 ,march #acth1 #ahfh4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 ,i am much obliged by your letter and enclosed paper4 ,anything done in the last five days by a ,junior ,optime only shews 7generally7 that he has been employing some of his time mischievously1 for he must have been working at subjects which he is quite unable to master or cramming them by heart on the chance of meeting with a stray question which he may answer4 ,the chief part of the ,senior ,optimes are in something of the same situation4 ,i think that the proposed addition of a day to the first part of the ,examination1 in which easy questions in physical subjects may be set1 is1 on this account1 a great improvement4 ,our new ,scheme comes on for discussion on ,friday next1 ,march #bj1 at #b p4m4 in the ,arts ,school4 ,it is much opposed by private tutors1 examiners and others1 and may possibly be thrown out in the ,senate this year1 though ,i hope that with a little patience it may be carried1 in an unmutilated form1 eventually4 ,the enclosed ,report on the ,smith's ,prize ,examination will be discussed at the same time4 ,i will consider what is best to be done on the subject to which your note refers1 without delay4 ,with many thanks1 ,i am1 ,very faithfully yours1 ,h4,w4 ,,cookson1 ,the ,astronomer ,royal4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in this year certain ,members of the ,senate of the ,university of ,cambridge petitioned ,parliament against the abolition of religious declarations required of persons admitted to ,fellowships or proceeding to the degree of ,m4,a4 ,the document was sent to ,airy for his signature1 and his reply was as follows3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 ,,london1 ,s4,e4 #ahfh1 ,march #ah4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 ,though ,i sympathize to a great extent with the prayer of the petition to ,parliament which you sent to me yesterday1 and assent to most of the reasons1 ,i do not attach my signature to it1 for the following considerations3 #a4 ,i understand1 from the introductory clause1 and from the unqualified character of the phrase any such measures in the second clause1 that the petition objects to granting the ,m4,a4 degree without religious declaration4 ,i do not see any adequate necessity for this objection1 and ,i cannot join in it4 #b4 ,it appears to me that the ,colleges were intended for two collateral objects3--instruction by part of the ,fellows1 on a religious basis2 and support of certain ,fellows for scientific purposes1 without the same ostentatious connection with religion4 ,i like this spirit well1 and should be glad to maintain it4 #c4 ,i therefore think 7as ,i have publicly stated before7 that the ,master of the ,college ought to be in holy orders2 and so ought those of the ,fellows who may be expected to be usually resident and to take continuous part in the instruction4 ,but there are many who1 upon taking a fellowship1 at once lay aside all thoughts of this3 and ,i think that such persons ought not to be trammelled with declarations4 #d4 ,my modification of existing regulations1 if it once got into shape1 would ,i dare say be but a small fraction of that proposed by the measures in contemplation4 ,still ,i do not like to join in unqualified resistance to interference in the affairs of the ,established ,colleges1 with that generality of opposition to interference which the petition seems to intimate4 ,i agree with articles #c1 #d1 and #e2 and ,i am pleased with the graceful allusion in article #d to the assistance which has been rendered by the ,colleges1 and by none perhaps so honourably as ,trinity1 to the parishes connected with it4 ,and ,i could much wish that the spirit of #c and #e could be carried out1 with some concession to my ideas in my paragraph #c1 above4 ,i am1 my dear ,sir1 ,yours very truly1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,rev4 ,dr ,lightfoot4 99 99 99 99 99 #ahfi ,from the ,report to the ,board of ,visitors it appears that application had been made for an extension of the grounds of the ,observatory to a distance of #ajj feet south of the ,magnetic ,ground1 and that a ,warrant for the annexation of this space was signed on #ahfh1 ,dec4 #h4 ,the new ,dept for the ,printed ,productions of the ,observatory had been transferred to its position in the new ground1 and the foundations for the ,great ,shed were completed4--,the courses of our wires for the registration of spontaneous terrestrial galvanic currents have been entirely changed4 ,the lines to ,croydon and ,deptford are abandoned2 and for these are substituted1 a line from ,angerstein ,wharf to ,lady ,well ,station1 and a line from ,north ,kent ,junction to ,morden ,college ,tunnel4 ,at each of these points the communication with ,earth is made by a copper plate #b feet square4 ,the straight line connecting the extreme points of the first station intersects that connecting the two points of the second station1 nearly at right angles1 and at little distance from the ,observatory4--,the question of dependence of the measurable amount of sidereal aberration upon the thickness of glass or other transparent material in the telescope 7a question which involves1 theoretically1 one of the most delicate points in the ,undulatory ,theory of ,light7 has lately been agitated on the ,continent with much earnestness4 ,i have calculated the curvatures of the lenses of crown and flint glass 7the flint being exterior7 for correcting spherical and chromatic aberration in a telescope whose tube is filled with water1 and have instructed ,mr ,simms to proceed with the preparation of an instrument carrying such a telescope4 ,i have not finally decided whether to rely on ,zenith-distances of gamma ,draconis or on right-ascensions of ,polaris4 ,in any form the experiment will probably be troublesome4--,the transit of ,mercury on #ahfh1 ,nov4 #dth1 was observed by six observers4 ,the atmospheric conditions were favourable2 and the singular appearances usually presented in a planetary transit were well seen4--,mr ,stone has attached to the ,south-,east ,equatoreal a thermo-multiplier1 with the view of examining whether heat radiating from the principal stars can be made sensible in our instruments4 ,the results hitherto obtained are encouraging1 but they shew clearly that it is vain to attempt this enquiry except in the most superb weather2 and there has not been a night deserving that epithet for some months past4--,the preparations for observing the ,transits of ,venus were now begun in earnest4 ,i had come to the conclusion1 that after every reliance was placed on foreign and colonial observatories1 it would be necessary for the ,british ,government to undertake the equipment of five or six temporary stations4 ,on ,feb4 #aeth ,i sent a pamphlet on the subject to ,mr ,childers 7,first ,lord of ,admiralty71 and in ,april ,i wrote to the ,secretary1 asking authority for the purchase of instruments4 ,on ,june #bbnd authority is given to me for the instruments3 the ,treasury assent to #aj1ejj4 ,on ,august #ith ,i had purchased #c equatoreals4--,i have given a short course of ,lectures in the ,university of ,cambridge on the subject of ,magnetism1 with the view of introducing that important physical science into the studies of the ,university4 ,the want of books available to ,students1 and the novelty of the subject1 made the preparation more laborious than the duration of the lectures would seem to imply4--,in this year there was much work on the ,standards ,commission1 chiefly regarding the suggested abolition of ,troy ,weight1 and several ,papers on the subject were prepared by ,airy4--,he also wrote a long and careful description of the ,great ,equatoreal at ,greenwich4 ,of private history3 ,there was the usual visit to ,playford in the winter4 ,mrs ,airy was now becoming feebler1 and did not now leave ,greenwich3 since ,april of this year her letters were written in pencil1 and with difficulty1 but she still made great efforts to keep up the accustomed correspondence4--,in ,april ,airy went to ,cambridge to deliver his lectures on magnetism to the undergraduates3 the following passage occurs in one of his letters at this time3 ,i have a mighty attendance 7there were #adg names on my board yesterday71 and1 though the room is large with plenty of benches1 ,i have been obliged to bring in some chairs4 ,the men are exceedingly attentive1 and when ,i look up ,i am quite struck to see the number of faces staring into mine4 ,i go at #ab1 and find men at the room copying from my big papers3 ,i lecture from #a to #b1 and stop till after #c1 and through the last hour some men are talking to me and others are copying from the papers2 and ,i usually leave some men still at work4 ,the men applaud and shew their respect very gracefully4 ,there are present some two or three persons who attended my former lectures1 and they say that ,i lecture exactly as ,i did formerly4 ,one of my attendants is a man that they say cannot1 from years and infirmity and habit1 be induced to go anywhere else3 ,dr ,archdall1 the ,master of ,emmanuel4 ,i find that some of my old lecturing habits come again on me4 ,i drink a great deal of cold water1 and am very glad to go to bed early4--,from ,june #ajth-#cjth he was travelling in ,scotland1 and staying at ,barrow ,house near ,keswick 7the residence of ,mr ,langton71 with his son ,hubert4--,subsequently1 from ,aug4 #agth to #cast1 he was again in the ,lake ,district1 with his daughter ,christabel1 and was joined there by his son ,hubert on the #bdth4 ,the first part of the time was spent at ,tarn ,bank1 near ,carlisle1 the residence of ,mr ,isaac ,fletcher1 ,m4,p4 ,from thence he made several expeditions1 especially to ,barrow in ,furness and ,seascale1 where he witnessed with great interest the ,bessemer process of making steel4 ,from ,barrow ,house he made continual excursions among the ,cumberland mountains1 which he knew so well4 #ahgj ,in this year ,mr ,stone1 the ,first ,assistant1 was appointed to the ,cape of ,good ,hope ,observatory1 and resigned his post of ,first ,assistant4 ,mr ,christie was appointed in his place4--,from the ,report to the ,visitors it appears that ',a few months since we were annoyed by a failure in the illumination of the field of view of the ,transit ,circle4 ,the reflector was cleaned1 but in vain2 at last it was discovered that one of the lenses 7the convex lens7 of the combination which forms the object-glass of a ,reversed ,telescope in the interior of the ,transit-axis1 and through which all illuminating light must pass1 had become so corroded as to be almost opaque4'--,the ,south-,east ,equatoreal has been partly occupied with the thermo-multiplier employed by ,mr ,stone for the measure of heat radiating from the principal stars4 ,mr ,stone's results for the radiation from ,arcturus and alpha ,lyrae appear to be incontrovertible1 and to give bases for distinct numerical estimation of the radiant heat of these stars4--,in my last ,report ,i alluded to a proposed systematic reduction of the meteorological observations during the whole time of their efficient self-registration4 ,having received from the ,admiralty the funds necessary for immediate operations1 ,i have commenced with the photographic registers of the thermometers1 dry-bulb and wet-bulb1 from #ahdh to #ahfh4--,our chronometer-room contains at present #bai chronometers1 including #cg chronometers which have been placed here by chronometer-makers as competing for the honorary reputation and the pecuniary advantages to be derived from success in the half-year's trial to which they are subjected4 ,i take this opportunity of stating that ,i have uniformly advocated the policy of offering good prices for the chronometers of great excellence1 and that ,i have given much attention to the decision on their merits2 and ,i am convinced that this system has greatly contributed to the remarkably steady improvement in the performance of chronometers4 ,in the trial which terminated in ,august #ahfi1 the best chronometers 7taking as usual the average of the first six7 were superior in merit to those of any preceding year4--,with the funds placed at my disposal for the ,transit of ,venus #ahgd ,i purchased three #f-;inch equatoreals1 and have ordered two3 ,i have also ordered altazimuths 7with accurate vertical circles only71 and clocks sufficient1 as ,i expect1 to equip five stations4 ,for methods of observation1 ,i rely generally on the simple eye-observation1 possibly relieved of some of its uncertainty by the use of my colour-correcting eyepiece4 ,but active discussion has taken place on the feasibility of using photographic and spectroscopic methods2 and it will not be easy for some time to announce that the plan of observations is settled4--,there can be no doubt1 ,i imagine1 that the first and necessary duty of the ,royal ,observatory is to maintain its place well as an ,observing ,establishment2 and that this must be secured1 at whatever sacrifice1 if necessary1 of other pursuits4 ,still the question has not unfrequently presented itself to me1 whether the duties to which ,i allude have not1 by force of circumstances1 become too exclusive2 and whether the cause of ,science might not gain if1 as in the ,imperial ,observatory of ,paris for instance1 the higher branches of mathematical physics should not take their place by the side of ,observatory routine4 ,i have often felt the desire practically to refresh my acquaintance with what were once favourite subjects3 ,lunar ,theory and ,physical ,optics4 ,but ,i do not at present clearly see how ,i can enter upon them with that degree of freedom of thought which is necessary for success in abstruse investigations4 ,of private history3 ,there was a longer visit than usual to ,playford1 lasting till ,jan4 #bgth4--,in ,april he made a short excursion 7of less than a week7 with his son ,hubert to ,monmouth1 c4--,from ,june #adth to ,july #bnd he was staying at ,barrow ,house1 near ,keswick1 with his son ,hubert3 during this time he was much troubled with a painful skin-irritation of his leg and back1 which lasted in some degree for a long time afterwards4--,from ,sept4 #beth to ,oct4 #fth he made an excursion with his daughter ,christabel to ,scarborough1 ,whitby1 c41 and again spent a few days at ,barrow ,house4 #ahga ,in ,april #ahgj the ,assistants had applied for an increase of salary1 a request which ,i had urged strongly upon the ,admiralty4 ,on ,jan4 #bg of this year the ,admiralty answered that1 on account of ,mr ,childers's illness1 the consideration must be deferred to next year6 ,the ,assistants wrote bitterly to me3 and with my sanction they wrote to the ,first ,lord4 ,on ,jan4 #cast ,i requested an interview with ,mr ,baxter 7secretary of the ,admiralty71 and saw him on ,feb4 #crd1 when ,i obtained his consent to an addition of #ecj4 ,there was still a difficulty with the ,treasury1 but on ,june #bgth the liberal scale was allowed4--,experiments made by ,mr ,stone shew clearly that a local elevation1 like that of the ,royal ,observatory on the hill of ,greenwich ,park1 has no tendency to diminish the effect of railway tremors4--,the correction for level error in the ,transit ,circle having become inconveniently large1 a sheet of very thin paper1 #a_/bgj inch in thickness1 was placed under the eastern ,y1 which was raised from its bed for the purpose4 ,the mean annual value of the level-error appears to be now sensibly zero4--,as the siege and war operations in ,paris seriously interfered with the observations of small planets made at the ,paris ,observatory1 observations of them were continued at ,greenwich throughout each entire lunation during the investment of the city4--,the new ,water-,telescope has been got into working order1 and performs most satisfactorily4 ,observations of gamma ,draconis have been made with it1 when the star passed between #bj;h and #ag;h1 with some observations for adjustment at a still more advanced time4 ,as the astronomical latitude of the place of observation is not known1 the bearing of these observations on the question of aberration cannot be certainly pronounced until the autumn observations shall have been made2 but supposing the geodetic latitude to be accordant with the astronomical latitude1 the result for aberration appears to be sensibly the same as with ordinary telescopes4--,several years since1 ,i prepared a barometer1 by which the barometric fluctuations were enlarged1 for the information of the public2 its indications are exhibited on the wall1 near to the entrance gate of the ,observatory4 ,a card is now also exhibited1 in a glass case near the public barometer1 giving the highest and lowest readings of the thermometer in the preceding twenty-four hours4--,those who have given attention to the history of ,terrestrial ,magnetism are aware that ,halley's ,magnetic ,chart is very frequently cited2 but ,i could not learn that any person1 at least in modern times1 had seen it4 ,at last ,i discovered a copy in the library of the ,british ,museum1 and have been allowed to take copies by photolithography4 ,these are appended to the ,magnetical and ,meteorological ,volume for #ahfi4--,the trials and certificates of hand-telescopes for the use of the ,royal ,navy have lately been so frequent that they almost become a regular part of the work of the ,observatory4 ,i may state here that by availing myself of a theory of eyepieces which ,i published long since in the ,cambridge ,transactions1 ,i have been able to effect a considerable improvement in the telescopes furnished to the ,admiralty4--,the occurrence of the ,total ,eclipse of the ,sun in ,december last has brought much labour upon the ,observatory4 ,as regards the assistants and computers1 the actual observation on a complicated plan with the ,great ,equatoreal 7a plan for which few equatoreals are sufficiently steady1 but which when properly carried out gives a most complete solution of the geometrical problem7 has required1 in observation and in computation1 a large expenditure of time4--,my preparations for the ,transit of ,venus have respect only to eye-observation of contact of limbs4 ,with all the liabilities and defects to which it is subject1 this method possesses the inestimable advantage of placing no reliance on instrumental scales4 ,i hope that the error of observation may not exceed four seconds of time1 corresponding to about #j4ac of arc4 ,i shall be very glad to see1 in a detailed form1 a plan for making the proper measures by heliometric or photographic apparatus2 and should take great interest in combining these with the eye-observations1 if my selected stations can be made available4 ,but my present impression is one of doubt on the certainty of equality of parts in the scale employed4 ,an error depending on this cause could not be diminished by any repetition of observations4--,after referring to the desirability of vigorously prosecuting the ,meteorological ,reductions 7already begun7 and of discussing the ,magnetic ,observations1 the ,report concludes thus3 ,there is another consideration which very often presents itself to my mind2 the waste of labour in the repetition of observations at different observatories44444 ,i think that this consideration ought not to be put out of sight in planning the courses of different ,observatories4--,in this year ,de ,launay's ,lunar ,theory was published4 ,this valuable work was of great service to ,airy in the preparation of the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory1 which he subsequently undertook4--,in the latter part of this year ,airy was elected ,president of the ,royal ,society1 and held the office during #ahgb and #ahgc4 ,at this time he was much pressed with work1 and could ill afford to take up additional duties1 as the following quotation from a letter to one of his friends shews3 ,the election to the ,presidency of ,r4,s4 is flattering1 and has brought to me the friendly remembrances of many persons2 but in its material and laborious connections1 ,i could well have dispensed with it1 and should have done so but for the respectful way in which it was pressed on me4 ,of private history3 ,there was the usual winter visit to ,playford4--,in ,april he made a short trip to ,cornwall with his daughter ,annot4--,in ,june he was appointed a ,companion of the ,bath1 and was presented at ,court on his appointment4--,mrs ,airy was staying with her daughter1 ,mrs ,routh1 at ,hunstanton1 during ,june1 her state of health being somewhat improved4--,from ,august #ast to #bhth he was chiefly in ,cumberland1 at ,barrow ,house1 and at ,grange1 ,borrowdale1 where his son ,osmund was staying for a holiday4 #ahgb ,from the ,report to the ,board of ,visitors it appears that ',the ,normal ,siderial ,clock for giving sidereal time by galvanic communication to the ,astronomical ,observatory was established in the ,magnetic ,basement in #ahga1 ,june2 that locality being adapted for it on account of the uniformity of temperature1 the daily changed of temperature rarely exceeding #a ,fahrenheit4 ,its escapement is one which ,i suggested many years ago in the ,cambridge ,transactions2 a detached escapement1 very closely analogous to the ordinary chronometer escapement1 the pendulum receiving an impulse only at alternate vibrations4444 ,the steadiness of rate is very far superior to any that we have previously attained4'--,the aspect of railway enterprise is at present favourable to the ,park and to the ,observatory4 ,the ,south-,eastern ,railway ,company has made an arrangement with the ,metropolitan ,board of ,works for shifting the course of the great ,southern ,outfall ,sewer4 ,this enables the ,company to trace a new line for the railway1 passing on the north side of ,london ,street1 at such a distance from the ,observatory as to remove all cause of alarm4 ,i understand that the ,bill1 which was unopposed1 has passed the ,committee of the ,house of ,commons4 ,i trust that the contest1 which has lasted thirty-seven years1 is now terminated4--,the observations of #g ,draconis with the ,water-,telescope1 made in the autumn of #ahga1 and the spring of #ahgb1 are reduced1 the latter only in their first steps4444 ,using the values of the level scales as determined by ,mr ,simms 7which ,i have no reason to believe to be inaccurate7 the spring and autumn observations of #ahga absolutely negative the idea of any effect being produced on the constant of aberration by the amount of refracting medium traversed by the light4--,the great ,aurora of #ahgb ,feb4 #d was well observed4 ,on this occasion the term ,borealis would have been a misnomer1 for the phenomenon began in the ,south and was most conspicuous in the ,south4 ,three times in the evening it exhibited that umbrella-like appearance which has been called 7perhaps inaccurately7 a corona4 ,i have very carefully compared its momentary phenomena with the corresponding movements of the magnetometers4 ,in some of the most critical times1 the comparison fails on account of the violent movements and consequent faint traces of the magnetometers4 ,i have not been able to connect the phases of aurora and those of magnetic disturbance very distinctly4--,the ,report contains a detailed account of the heavy preparations for the observation of the ,transit of ,venus #ahgd1 including the portable buildings for the instruments1 the instruments themselves 7being a transit-instrument1 an altazimuth1 and an equatoreal1 for each station71 and first class and second-class clocks1 all sufficient for the equipment of #e stations1 and continues thus3 ,i was made aware of the assent of the ,government to the wish of the ,board of ,visitors1 as expressed at their last meeting1 that provision should be made for the application of photography to the observation of the ,transit of ,venus4 ,it is unnecessary for me to remark that our hope of success is founded entirely on our confidence in ,mr ,de ,la ,rue4 ,under his direction1 ,mr ,dallmeyer has advanced far in the preparation of five photoheliographs4444 ,the subject is recognized by many astronomers as not wholly free from difficulties1 but it is generally believed that these difficulties may be overcome1 and ,mr ,de ,la ,rue is giving careful attention to the most important of them4--,i take this opportunity of reporting to the ,board that the ,observatory was honoured by a visit of ,his ,majesty the ,emperor of ,brazil1 who minutely examined every part4--,after referring to various subjects which in his opinion might be usefully pursued systematically at the ,observatory1 the ,report proceeds thus3 ',the character of the ,observatory would be somewhat changed by this innovation1 but not1 as ,i imagine1 in a direction to which any objection can be made4 ,it would become1 pro tanto1 a physical observatory2 and possibly in time its operations might be extended still further in a physical direction4'--,the consideration of possible changes in the future of the ,observatory leads me to the recollection of actual changes in the past4 ,in my ,annual ,reports to the ,visitors ,i have endeavoured to chronicle these2 but still there will be many circumstances which at present are known only to myself1 but which ought not to be beyond the reach of history4 ,i have therefore lately employed some time in drawing up a series of skeleton annals of the ,observatory 7which unavoidably partakes in some measure of the form of biography71 and have carried it through the critical period1 #ahcf-ahea4 ,if ,i should command sufficient leisure to bring it down to #ahfa1 ,i think that ,i might then very well stop4 7,the skeleton annals here referred to are undoubtedly the manuscript notes which form the basis of the present biography4 ,ed47--,on ,feb4 #bcrd in this year ,i first 7privately7 formed the notion of preparing a numerical ,lunar ,theory by substituting ,delaunay's numbers in the proper ,equations and seeing what would come of it4 ,of private history3 ,there was the usual visit to ,playford--in this year later than usual--from ,feb4 #dth to ,mar4 #dth4 ,the letters written during this visit are1 as usual1 full of freshness and delight at finding himself in his favourite country village4--,on ,june #eth he went to ,barrow ,house1 near ,keswick1 to be present at the marriage of his second son ,hubert to ,miss ,s4 ,c4 ,langton1 daughter of ,z4 ,langton ,esq41 of ,barrow ,house4--,after the wedding he made a trip through the ,trossachs district of ,scotland with his daughter ,annot1 and returned to ,greenwich on ,june #agth4 ,on the #bfth ,june #ahgb ,airy was appointed a ,knight ,commander of the ,most ,honourable ,order of the ,bath3 he was knighted by the ,queen at ,osborne on the #cjth of ,july4 ,in the course of his official career he had three times been offered ,knighthood1 and had each time declined it3 but it seemed now as if his scruples on the subject were removed1 and it is probable that he felt gratified by the public recognition of his services4 ,of course the occasion produced many letters of congratulation from his friends3 to one of these he replied as follows3 ,the real charm of these public compliments seems to be1 that they excite the sympathies and elicit the kind expressions of private friends or of official superiors as well as subordinates4 ,in every way ,i have derived pleasure from these4 ,from the ,assistants of the ,royal ,observatory he received a hearty letter of congratulation containing the following paragraph4 ,our position has naturally given us peculiar opportunities for perceiving the high and broad purposes which have characterized your many and great undertakings1 and of witnessing the untiring zeal and self-denial with which they have been pursued4 99 99 99 99 99 ,on the #ahth of ,march #ahgb ,airy was nominated a ,foreign ,associate of the ,institut de ,france1 to fill the place vacant by the death of ,sir ,john ,herschel4 ,the following letter of acknowledgment shews how much he was gratified by this high scientific honour3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 #ahgb1 ,march #bc4 ,messieurs ,messieurs ,,elie ,,de ,,beaumont1 et ,j4,b4 ,,dumas1 ,secrtaires perpetuels de l',acadmie des ,sciences1 ,institut de ,france4 ,,gentlemen1 ,i am honoured with your letter of ,march #ah1 communicating to me my nomination by the ,academy of ,sciences to the place rendered vacant in the class of ,foreign ,associates of the ,academy by the decease of ,sir ,john ,herschel1 and enclosing ,copy of the ,decree of the ,president of the ,french ,republic approving the ,election4 ,it is almost unnecessary for me to attempt to express to you the pride and gratification with which ,i receive this announcement4 ,by universal consent1 the title of ,associ ,etranger de l',acadmie des ,sciences is recognised as the highest distinction to which any man of science can aspire2 and ,i can scarcely imagine that1 unless by the flattering interpretation of my friends in the ,academy1 ,i am entitled to bear it4 ,but in any case1 ,i am delighted to feel that the bands of friendship are drawn closer between myself and the distinguished body whom1 partly by personal intercourse1 partly by correspondence1 and in every instance by reputation1 ,i have known so long4 ,i beg that you will convey to the ,academy my long-felt esteem for that body in its scientific capacity1 and my deep recognition of its friendship to me and of the honor which it has conferred on me in the late election4 ,i have the honor to be ,gentlemen1 ,your very faithful servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 99 99 99 99 99 ,on the #bjth ,november #ahgb ,airy was nominated a ,grand ,cross in the ,imperial ,order of the ,rose of ,brazil3 the insignia of the ,order were accompanied by an autograph letter from the ,emperor of ,brazil1 of which the following is a transcript4 ,,monsieur1 ,vous tes un des doyens de la science1 et le ,prsident de l'illustre ,socit1 qui a eu la bienveillance d'inscrire mon nom parmi ceux de ses associs4 ,la manire1 dont vous m'avez fait les honneurs de votre ,observatoire m'a impos aussi l'agrable devoir d'indiquer votre nom l'empereur de ,brsil pour un tmoignage de haute estime1 dont je suis fort heureux de vous faire part personellement1 en vous envoyant les dcorations que vous garderez1 an moins1 comme un souvenir de ma visite ,greenwich4 ,j'espre que vous m'informerez1 quand il vous sera ais1 des travaux de votre observatoire1 et surtout de ce que l'on aura fait pour l'observation du passage de ,vnus et la dtermination exacte de la passage4 ,j'ai reu dj les ,proceedings de la ,royal ,society lesquels m'intressent vivement4 ,je voudrais vous crire dans votre langue1 mais1 comme je n'en ai pas l'habitude1 j'ai craign de ne pas vous exprimer tout--fait les sentiments de ,votre affectionn1 ,d4 ,,pedro ,d',,alcantara4 ,,rio1 #bb ,octobre1 #ahgb4 99 99 99 99 99 ,airy's reply was as follows3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 #ahgb1 ,november #bf4 ,,sire1 ,i am honoured with your ,imperial ,majesty's autograph letter of ,october #bb informing me that1 on considering the attention which the ,royal ,society of ,london had been able to offer to your ,majesty1 as well as the explanation of the various parts of the establishment of this ,observatory which ,i had the honor and the high gratification to communicate1 ,you had been pleased to place my name in the ,imperial ,order of the ,rose1 and to present to me the ,decorations of ,grand ,cross of that ,order4 ,with pride ,i receive this proof of ,your ,majesty's recollection of your visit to the scientific institutions of ,great ,britain4 ,the ,diploma of the appointment to the ,order of the ,rose1 under the ,imperial ,sign ,manual1 together with the ,decorations of the ,order1 have been transmitted to me by his ,excellency ,don ,pereira de ,andrada1 ,your ,majesty's ,representative at the ,british ,court4 ,your ,majesty has been pleased to advert to the approaching ,transit of ,venus1 on the preparations for which you found me engaged4 ,it is unfortunate that the ,transit of #ahgd will not be visible at ,rio de ,janeiro4 ,for that of #ahhb1 ,rio will be a favourable position1 and we reckon on the observations to be made there4 ,your ,majesty may be assured that ,i shall loyally bear in mind your desire to be informed of any remarkable enterprise of this ,observatory1 or of any principal step in the preparations for the ,transit of ,venus and of its results4 ,i have the honor to be ,sire1 ,your ,imperial ,majesty's very faithful servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,to ,his ,majesty ,the ,emperor of ,brazil4 99 99 99 99 99 ,airy's old friend1 ,adam ,sedgwick1 was now very aged and infirm1 but his spirit was still vigorous1 and he was warm-hearted as ever4 ,the following letter from him 7probably the last of their long correspondence7 was written in this year1 and appears characteristic3 ,,trinity ,,college1 ,,cambridge1 ,may #aj1 #ahgb4 ,,my ,,dear ,,airy1 ,i have received your card of invitation for the #ast of ,june1 and with great joy should ,i count upon that day if ,i thought that ,i should be able to accept your invitation3 but alas ,i have no hope of the kind1 for that humiliating malady which now has fastened upon me for a full year and a half has not let go its hold1 nor is it likely to do so4 ,a man who is journeying in the #hhth year of his pilgrimage is not likely to throw off such a chronic malady4 ,indeed were ,i well enough to come ,i am deaf as a post and half blind1 and if ,i were with you ,i should only be able to play dummy4 ,several years have passed away since ,i was last at your ,visitation and ,i had great joy in seeing ,mrs ,airy and some lady friends at the ,observatory1 but ,i could not then attend the dinner4 ,at that ,meeting were many faces that ,i knew1 but strangely altered by the rude handling of old ,time1 and there were many new faces which ,i had never seen before at a ,royal ,society ,meeting2 but worse than all1 all the old faces were away4 ,in vain ,i looked round for ,wollaston1 ,davy1 ,davies ,gilbert1 ,barrow1 ,troughton1 c4 c42 and the merry companion ,admiral ,smyth was also away1 so that my last visit had its sorrowful side4 ,but why should ,i bother you with these old man's mopings4 ,i send an old man's blessing and an old man's love to all the members of your family2 especially to ,mrs ,airy1 the oldest and dearest of my lady friends4 ,i remain1 my dear ,airy1 ,your true-hearted old friend1 his ,,adam ,x ,,sedgwick4 mark ,p4,s4 ,shall ,i ever again gaze with wonder and delight from the great window of your ,observatory4 ,the body of the above letter is in the handwriting of an amanuensis1 but the signature and ,postscript are in ,sedgwick's handwriting4 7,ed47 99 99 99 99 99 #ahgc ,chronographic registration having been established at the ,paris ,observatory1 ,mr ,hilgard1 principal officer of the ,american ,coast ,survey1 has made use of it for determining the longitude of ,harvard from ,greenwich1 through ,paris1 ,brest1 and ,st ,pierre4 ,for this purpose ,mr ,hilgard's ,transit ,instrument was planted in the ,magnetic ,court4 ,i understand that the result does not sensibly differ from that obtained by ,mr ,gould1 through ,valentia and ,newfoundland4--,it was known to the scientific world that several of the original thermometers1 constructed by ,mr ,sheepshanks 7in the course of his preparation of the ,national ,standard of ,length7 by independent calibration of the bores1 and independent determination of the freezing and boiling points on arbitrary graduations1 were still preserved at the ,royal ,observatory4 ,it was lately stated to me by ,m4 ,tresca1 the principal officer of the ,international ,metrical ,commission1 that1 in the late unhappy war in ,paris1 the ,french original thermometers were destroyed2 and ,m4 ,tresca requested that1 if possible1 some of the original thermometers made by ,mr ,sheepshanks might be appropriated to the use of the ,international ,commission4 ,i have therefore transferred to ,m4 ,tresca the three thermometers ,a4#f1 ,s4#a1 ,s4#b1 with the documentary information relating to them1 which was found in ,mr ,sheepshanks's papers2 retaining six thermometers of the same class in the ,royal ,observatory4--,the ,sidereal ,standard ,clock continues to give great satisfaction4 ,i am considering 7with the aid of ,mr ,buckney1 of the firm of ,e4 ,dent and ,co47 an arrangement for barometric correction1 founded on the principle of action on the pendulum by means of a magnet which can be raised or lowered by the agency of a large barometer4--,the ,altazimuth has received some important alterations4 ,an examination of the results of observations had made me dissatisfied with the bearings of the horizontal pivots in their ,y's4 ,mr ,simms1 at my request1 changed the bearings in ,y's for bearing in segments of circles1 a construction which has worked admirably well in the pivots of the ,transit ,circle4 7,and in various other respects the instrument appears to have received a thorough overhauling4 ,ed47--,with the consent of the ,royal ,society and of the ,kew ,committee1 the ,kew ,heliograph has been planted in the new dome looking over the ,south ,ground4 ,it is not yet finally adjusted4--,some magnetic observations in the ,britannia and ,conway tubular bridges were made last autumn4 ,for this purpose ,i detached an ,assistant 7,mr ,carpenter71 who was aided by ,capt4 ,tupman1 ,r4,m4,a42 in other respects the enterprise was private and at private expense4--,the rates of the first six chronometers 7in the annual trials7 are published1 in a form which appears most likely to lead to examination of the causes that influence their merits or demerits4 ,this report is extensively distributed to ,british and ,foreign horologists and instrument-makers4 ,all these artists appear to entertain the conviction that the careful comparisons made at this ,observatory1 and the orderly form of their publication1 have contributed powerfully to the improvement of chronometers4--,very lately1 application has been made to me1 through the ,board of ,trade1 for plans and other information regarding time-signal-balls1 to assist in guiding the authorities of the ,german ,empire in the establishment of time signals at various ports of that ,state4 ,in other foreign countries the system is extending1 and is referred to ,greenwich as its origin4--,the arrangements and preparations for the observation of the ,transit of ,venus occupied much attention4 ,with regard to the photoheliographs it is proposed to make trial of a plan proposed by ,m4 ,janssen1 for numerous photographs of ,venus when very near to the ,sun's limb4 ,on ,apr4 #bfth the engaging of photographic teachers was sanctioned4 ,observers were selected and engaged4 ,a working model of the ,transit was prepared1 and the use of ,de ,la ,rue's ,scale was practised4 ,there was some hostile criticism of the stations selected for the observation of the ,transit1 which necessitated a formal reply4--,reference is made to the increase of facilities for making magnetical and meteorological observations4 ,the inevitable result of it is1 that observations are produced in numbers so great that complete reduction becomes almost impossible4 ,the labour of reduction is very great1 and it is concluded that1 of the enormous number of meteorological observations now made at numerous observatories1 very few can ever possess the smallest utility4--,referring to my ,numerical ,lunar ,theory3 on ,june #cjth1 #ahgc1 a theory was formed1 nearly but not perfectly complete4 ,numerical development of powers of ar and ra4 ,factors of corrections to ,delaunay first attempted1 but entirely in numerical form4--,in ,march of this year ,airy was consulted by ,mr ,w4,h4 ,barlow1 ,c4,e41 and ,mr ,thomas ,bouch 7the ,engineer of the ,tay ,bridge1 which was blown down in #ahgi1 and of a proposed scheme for a ,forth ,bridge in #ahgc7 on the subject of the wind pressure1 c41 that should be allowed for in the construction of the bridge4 ,airy's report on this question is dated #ahgc1 ,apr4 #ith3 it was subsequently much referred to at the ,official ,enquiry into the causes of the failure of the ,tay ,bridge4--,at the end of this year ,airy resigned the ,presidency of the ,royal ,society4 ,in his ,address to the ,society on ,dec4 #ast he stated his reasons in full1 as follows3 the severity of official duties1 which seem to increase1 while vigour to discharge them does not increase2 and the distance of my residence4444 ,another cause is a difficulty of hearing1 which unfits me for effective action as ,chairman of ,council4 ,of private history3 ,there was the usual visit to ,playford in ,january3 also a short visit in ,may3 and a third visit at ,christmas4--,there was a short run in ,june1 of about a week1 to ,coniston1 with one of his daughters4--,and there was a trip to ,weymouth1 c41 for about #aj days1 with one of his daughters1 in the beginning of ,august--,on his return from the last-mentioned trip1 ,airy found a letter from the ,secretary of the ,swedish ,legation1 enclosing the ,warrant under the ,royal ,sign ,manual of ,his ,majesty 7,oscar71 the ,king of ,sweden and ,norway1 by which he was nominated as a ,first ,class ,commander of the ,order of the ,north ,star1 and accompanying the ,decorations of that ,order4 #ahgd ,in this year ,mr ,glaisher resigned his appointment3 ,i placed his ,department 7,magnetical and ,meteorological7 under ,mr ,ellis4--,a balance of peculiar construction has been made by ,mr ,oertling1 from my instructions1 and fixed near the public barometer at the ,entrance ,gate4 ,this instrument enables the public to test any ordinary pound weight1 shewing on a scale the number of grains by which it is too heavy or too light4--,fresh counterpoises have been attached to the ,great ,equatoreal to balance the additional weight of the new ,spectroscope1 which was finally received from ,mr ,browning's hands on ,may #bnd of the present year4 ,the ,spectroscope is specifically adapted to sweeping round the ,sun's limb1 with a view to mapping out the prominences1 and is also available for work on ,stars and ,nebulae1 the dispersive power being very readily varied4 ,an induction-coil1 capable of giving a six-inch spark1 has been made for this instrument by ,mr ,browning4--,some new classes of reductions of the meteorological observations from #ahdh to #ahfh have been undertaken and completed in the past year4 ,the general state of this work is as follows3 ,the diurnal changes of the dry-bulb thermometer1 as depending on the month1 on the temperature waves1 on the barometric waves1 on the overcast and cloudless states of the sky1 and on the direction of the wind1 have been computed and examined for the whole period2 and the exhibition of the results is ready for press4 ,the similar reductions for the wet-bulb thermometer are rapidly approaching completion4 --,regarding the preparations for the ,transit of ,venus ,expeditions4 ,originally five stations were selected and fully equipped with equatoreals1 transits1 altazimuths1 photoheliographs1 and clocks2 but ,i have since thought it desirable to supplement these by two branch stations in the ,sandwich ,islands and one in ,kerguelen's ,island2 and the additional instruments thus required have been borrowed from various sources1 so that there is now an abundant supply of instrumental means4444 ,there will thus be available for observation of the ,transit of ,venus #bc telescopes1 nine of which will be provided with double-image-micrometers2 and five photoheliographs2 and for determination of local time1 and latitude and longitude1 there will be nine transits and six altazimuths4444 ,all the observers have undergone a course of training in photography2 first1 under a professional photographer1 ,mr ,reynolds1 and subsequently under ,capt4 ,abney1 ,r4,e41 whose new dry-plate process is to be adopted at all the ,british ,stations4444 ,a ,janssen slide1 capable of taking #ej photographs of ,venus and the neighbouring part of the ,sun's limb at intervals of one second1 has been made by ,mr ,dallmeyer for each of the five photoheliographs4--,attached to the ,report to the ,visitors is a copy of the ,instructions to ,observers engaged in the ,transit of ,venus ,expeditions1 prepared with great care and in remarkable detail4--,in the past spring ,i published in the ,monthly ,notices of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society a statement of the fundamental points in a new treatment of the ,lunar ,theory1 by which1 availing myself of all that has been done in the best algebraical investigations of that theory1 ,i trust to be able by numerical operations only to give greater accuracy to final results4 ,considerable progress has been made in the extensive numerical developments1 the work being done1 at my private expense1 entirely by a junior computer2 and ,i hope1 at any rate1 to put it in such a state that there will be no liability to its entire loss4 ,when this was reported to the ,board of ,visitors1 it was resolved on the motion of ,prof4 ,stokes1 that this work1 as a public expense1 ought to be borne by the ,government2 and this was forwarded to the ,admiralty4 ,on ,june #bdth ,i wrote to the ,secretary of the ,admiralty1 asking for #ajj for the present year1 which after the usual enquiries and explanations was sanctioned on ,aug4 #bith4 ,of private history3 ,there were short visits to ,playford in ,january1 ,june1 and ,october1 but only for a few days in each case4--,in ,march there was a run of two or three days to ,newnham 7on the ,severn7 to see the ,bore on the ,severn1 and to ,malvern4--,in ,july he went to ,newcastle to observe with ,mr ,newall's great telescope1 but the weather was unfavourable3 he then went on to ,barrow ,house near ,keswick1 and spent a few days there1 with excursions among the mountains4--,on ,aug4 #acth he went with his daughter ,christabel to the ,isle of ,arran1 and then by ,glasgow to the ,trosachs1 where he made several excursions to verify the localities mentioned in the ,lady of the ,lake4--,while in ,scotland he heard of the death of his brother1 the ,rev4 ,william ,airy1 and travelled to ,keysoe in ,bedfordshire to attend the funeral2 and returned to ,greenwich on ,aug4 #bdth4 #ahge ,in ,october of this year ,i wrote to the ,admiralty that ,i had grounds for asking for an increase of my salary3 because the pension which had been settled on my wife1 and which ,i had practically recognized as part of my salary1 had been terminated by her death2 so that my salary now stood lower by #bjj than that of the ,director of ,studies of the ,royal ,naval ,college4 ,the ,admiralty reply favourably1 and on ,nov4 #bgth the ,treasury raise my salary to #a1bjj4--;,for the service of the ,clock ,movement of the ,great ,equatoreal1 a water-cistern has been established in the highest part of the ,ball-,turret1 the necessity for which arose from the following circumstance3 ,the ,water ,clock was supplied by a small pipe1 about #hj feet in length1 connected with the #c-;inch ,observatory main 7which passes through the ,park71 at a distance of about #bej feet from any other branch pipe4 ,in spite of this distance ,i have seen that1 on stopping the water-tap in the ,battery-,basement under the ,north-,east ,turret1 the pressure in the gauge of the ,water ,clock has been instantly increased by more than #dj lbs4 per square inch4 ,the consequent derangement of the ,water ,clock in its now incessant daily use became intolerable4 ,since the independent supply was provided1 its performance has been most satisfactory4--,with the ,spectroscope the solar prominences have been mapped on #bh days only2 but the weather of the past winter was exceptionally unfavourable for this class of observation4 ,after mapping the prominences1 as seen on the ,c line1 the other lines1 especially ,f and b1 have been regularly examined1 whenever practicable4 ,great care has been taken in determining the position1 angle1 and heights of the prominences in all cases4 ,the spectrum of ,coggia's ,comet was examined at every available opportunity last ,july1 and compared directly with that of carbon dioxide1 the bands of the two spectra being sensibly coincident4 ,fifty-four measures of the displacement of lines in the spectra of #aj stars1 as compared with the corresponding lines in the spectra of terrestrial elements 7chiefly hydrogen71 have been made1 but some of these appear to be affected by a constant error depending on faulty adjustment of the ,spectroscope4--,photographs of the ,sun have been taken with the ,kew ,photoheliograph on #ahf days2 and of these #cgg have been selected for preservation4 ,the ,moon1 ,jupiter1 ,saturn1 and several stars 7including the ,pleiades and some double stars7 have been photographed with the ,great ,equatoreal1 with fairly satisfactory results1 though further practice is required in this class of work4--,i would mention a supplemental mechanism which ,i have myself introduced into some chronometers4 ,i have long remarked that1 in ordinary good chronometers1 the freedom from irregularities depending on mechanical causes is most remarkable2 but that1 after all the efforts of the most judicious makers1 there is in nearly every case a perceptible defect of thermal compensation4 ,there is great difficulty in correcting the residual fault1 not only because an inconceivably small movement of the weights on the balance-curve is required1 but also because it endangers the equilibrium of the balance4 ,the mechanism adopted to remedy the defect is described in a ,paper in the ,horological ,journal of ,july #ahge by ,mr ,w4 ,ellis1 and has received the approval of some able chronometer-makers4--,with respect to the ,transit of ,venus ,expeditions3 ,the parties from ,egypt and ,rodriguez are returned4 ,i am in continual expectation of the arrival of the other parties4 ,i believe the eye-observations and the ordinary photographs to be quite successful2 ,i doubt the advantage of the ,janssen2 one of the double-image-micrometers seems to have failed2 and the ,zenith-telescope gives some trouble4 ,at three stations at ,rodriguez1 and three at ,kerguelen1 the observations appear to have been most successful4 ,at the ,sandwich ,islands1 two of the stations appear to have been perfectly successful 7except that ,i fear that the ,janssen has failed71 and a rich series of lunar observations for longitude is obtained4 ,at ,new ,zealand1 ,i grieve to say1 the observations were totally lost1 entirely in consequence of bad weather4 ,there has been little annoyance from the dreaded 'black drop4' ,greater inconvenience and doubt have been caused by the unexpected luminous ring round ,venus4--,with regard to the progress of my proposed ,new ,lunar ,theory3 ,three computers are now steadily employed on the work4 ,it will be remembered that the detail and mass of this work are purely numerical2 every numerical coefficient being accompanied with a symbolical correction whose value will sometimes depend on the time1 but in every case is ultimately to be obtained in a numerical form4 ,of these coefficients1 extracted 7for convenience7 from ,delaunay's results1 there are #ajj for parallax1 #ahb for longitude1 #adb for latitude2 the arguments being preserved in the usual form4--,after reviewing the changes that had taken place at the ,observatory during the past forty years1 the ,report to the ,board of ,visitors concludes thus3 ,i much desire to see the system of time-signals extended1 by clocks or daily signals1 to various parts of our great cities and our dockyards1 and above all by hourly signals on the ,start ,point1 which ,i believe would be the greatest of all benefits to nautical chronometry4 ,should any extension of our scientific work ever be contemplated1 ,i would remark that the ,observatory is not the place for new physical investigations4 ,it is well adapted for following out any which1 originating with private investigators1 have been reduced to laws susceptible of verification by daily observation4 ,the ,national ,observatory will1 ,i trust1 always remain on the site where it was first planted1 and which early acquired the name of ',flamsteed ,hill4' ,there are some inconveniences in the position1 arising principally from the limited extent of the hill1 but they are1 in my opinion1 very far overbalanced by its advantages4--,in a letter on the subject of the ,smith's ,prizes ,examination at ,cambridge1 which was always a matter of the greatest interest to him1 ,airy renewed his objections to the preponderance in the ,papers of a class of ,pure ,mathematics1 which he considered was never likely under any circumstances to give the slightest assistance to ,physics4 ,and1 as before1 these remarks called forth a rejoinder from ,prof4 ,cayley1 who was responsible for many of the questions of the class referred to4--,in this year ,airy completed his ,notes on the ,earlier ,hebrew ,scriptures1 which were shortly afterwards published as a book by ,messrs ,longmans1 ,green1 ,co4 ,in his letter to the publishers introducing the subject1 he says1 ,for many years past ,i have at times put together a few sentences explanatory as ,i conceive of the geographical and historical circumstances connected with the principal events recorded in the ,hebrew ,scriptures4 ,the view which ,i take is free1 but ,i trust not irreverent4 ,they terminate with a brief review of ,colenso's great work4 ,the collection now amounts to a small book4 ,from the references already given in previous years to his ,papers and correspondence on the geography of ,exodus1 his correspondence with ,colenso1 c4 c41 it will be seen that he took a great interest in the early history of the ,israelites4--,on ,august #ajth1 #ahge1 ,airy celebrated the ,bicentenary of the ,royal ,observatory by a dinner in the ,octagon ,room1 which was attended by the ,presidents of the ,royal ,society and the ,r4 ,astr4 ,society1 and by a large number of ,scientific gentlemen interested in ,astronomy4--,in ,february he was revising his ,treatise on ,probabilities4 ,of private history3 up to ,jan4 #afth ,airy was at ,playford as usual4--,for about a week in ,april he was in the ,isle of ,man with his daughter ,christabel4--,in ,june there was a short trip to ,salisbury1 ,blandford1 and ,wimborne4--,on ,august #abth he started with his daughter ,annot for a holiday in ,cumberland1 but on the next day he was recalled by a telegram with the intelligence that a change for the worse had come over his wife's health4 ,lady ,airy died on ,august #acth1 #ahge4 ,for the last five years of her life she had been very helpless from the effects of a paralytic stroke--a very sad ending to a bright and happy life--and had been continually nursed throughout this time by her two unmarried daughters with the greatest self-denial and devotion4 ,her husband had been unremitting in his care and attention4 ,nothing was wanting that the most thoughtful kindness could supply4 ,and in all his trips and excursions his constant and kind letters shewed how anxious he was that she should participate in all his interests and amusements4 ,from the nature of the case it could hardly be said that her death was unexpected1 and he received the shock with the manly steadiness which belonged to him4 ,lady ,airy was buried in ,playford churchyard4--,from ,sept4 #bbnd to ,oct4 #d he made a short expedition to ,wales 7,capel ,curig1 c474--,on ,dec4 #aeth he attended the ,commemoration at ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge4--,on ,dec4 #bbnd he went as usual to ,playford4 ,in this year ,airy received the high honour of the ,freedom of the ,city of ,london1 in the following communication3 ,,stone1 ,mayor4--,a ,common ,council holden in the ,chamber of the ,guildhall of the ,city of ,london1 on ,thursday the #bith day of ,april #ahge4 ,resolved ,unanimously ,that the ,freedom of this ,city in a ,gold ,box of the value of ,one hundred guineas be presented to ,sir ,george ,biddell ,airy1 ,k4,c4,b41 ,d4,c4,l41 ,,ll4,d4 c41 ,astronomer ,royal1 as a recognition of his indefatigable labours in ,astronomy1 and of his eminent services in the advancement of practical science1 whereby he has so materially benefited the cause of ,commerce and ,civilization4 ,,monckton4 ,this ,resolution was forwarded with a letter from ,benjamin ,scott1 the ,chamberlain4 ,airy's reply was as follows3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 ,s4,e4 #ahge1 ,may #a4 ,,dear ,,sir1 ,i have the honour to acknowledge your letter of ,april #cj1 accompanied with ,copy of the ,resolution of the ,common ,council of the ,city of ,london passed at their ,meeting of ,april #bi1 under signature of the ,town ,clerk1 ,that the ,freedom of the ,city of ,london in a valuable ,box be presented to me1 in recognition of works stated in the ,resolution4 ,and ,i am requested by you to inform you whether it is my intention to accept the compliment proposed by the ,corporation4 ,in reply1 ,i beg you to convey to the ,right ,honorable the ,lord ,mayor and the ,corporation that ,i accept with the greatest pride and pleasure the honour which they propose to offer to me4 ,the ,freedom of our ,great ,city1 conferred by the spontaneous act of its ,municipal ,governors1 is in my estimation the highest honour which it is possible to receive2 and its presentation at this time is peculiarly grateful to me4 ,i have the honour to be1 ,sir1 ,your very obedient servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,benjamin ,scott1 ,esq41 c4 c4 c4 ,chamberlain of the ,corporation of the ,city of ,london4 ,as it was technically necessary that a ,freeman of the ,city of ,london should belong to one or other of the ,city ,companies1 the ,worshipful ,company of ,spectacle ,makers through their clerk 7with very great appropriateness7 enquired whether it would be agreeable that that ,company should have the privilege of conferring their ,honorary ,freedom on him1 and added3 ,in soliciting your acquiescence to the proposal ,i am directed to call attention to the fact that this ,guild is permitted to claim all manufacturers of ,mathematical and ,astronomical ,instruments within the ,city of ,london1 which is now pleaded as an apology for the wish that one so distinguished as yourself in the use of such ,instruments should be enrolled as a ,member of this ,craft4 ,in his reply1 accepting the ,freedom of the ,company1 ,airy wrote thus3 ,i shall much value the association with a body whose ostensible title bears so close a relation to the official engagements which have long occupied me4 ,i have had extensive experience both in arranging and in using optical and mathematical instruments1 and feel that my own pursuits are closely connected with the original employments of the ,company4 ,the ,freedom of the ,company was duly presented1 and the occasion was celebrated by a banquet at the ,albion ,tavern on ,tuesday1 ,july #fth4 ,the ,freedom of the ,city of ,london was conferred at a ,court of ,common ,council held at the ,guildhall on ,thursday the #dth of ,november4 ,in presenting the gold box containing the ,freedom1 the ,chamberlain1 in an eloquent speech1 first referred to the fact that this was the first occasion on which the ,freedom had been conferred on a person whose name was associated with the sciences other than those of war and statecraft4 ,he then referred to the solid character of his work1 in that1 while others had turned their attention to the more attractive fields of exploration1 the discovery of new worlds or of novel celestial phenomena1 he had incessantly devoted himself to the less interesting1 less obtrusive1 but more valuable walks of practical astronomy4 ,and he instanced as the special grounds of the honour conferred1 the compilation of nautical tables of extraordinary accuracy1 the improvement of chronometers1 the correction of the compasses of iron ships1 the restoration of the standards of length and weight1 and the ,transit of ,venus ,expeditions4 ,in his reply ,airy stated that he regarded the honour just conferred upon him as the greatest and proudest ever received by him4 ,he referred to the fact that the same honour had been previously conferred on the valued friend of his youth1 ,thomas ,clarkson1 and said that the circumstance of his succeeding such a man was to himself a great honour and pleasure4 ,he alluded to his having received a small exhibition from one of the ,london ,companies1 when he was a poor undergraduate at ,cambridge1 and acknowledged the great assistance that it had been to him4 ,with regard to his occupation1 he said that he had followed it in a great measure because of its practical use1 and thought it fortunate that from the first he was connected with an institution in which utility was combined with science4 ,the occasion of this presentation was celebrated by a ,banquet at the ,mansion ,house on ,saturday ,july #crd1 #ahge1 to ,sir ,george ,airy 7,astronomer ,royal7 and the ,representatives of ,learned ,societies4 ,there is no doubt that ,airy was extremely gratified by the honour that he had received4 ,it was to him the crowning honour of his life1 and coming last of all it threw all his other honours into the shade4 ,to his independent and liberal spirit there was something peculiarly touching in the unsolicited approbation and act of so powerful and disinterested a body as the ,corporation of the ,city of ,london4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,,at ,,greenwich ,,observatory ,,from ,,january #a,,st1 #ahgf1 ,,to ,,his ,,resignation ,,of ,,office ,,on ,,august #ae,,th1 #ahha4 #ahgf ,at the door from the ,front ,court to the staircase of the ,octagon ,room 7the original entrance to the ,observatory as erected by ,sir ,christopher ,wren71 a small porch-shelter has been often desired4 ,i proposed to fix there a fan-roof of quadrantal form1 covering the upper flat stone of the external steps4--,on a critical examination of the micrometer-screws of the ,transit ,circle it was found that the corrections1 which range from -#ach to #jgf1 indicate considerable wear in the screws2 and it was found that as much as one-hundreth part of an inch had been worn away from some of the threads4 ,the old screws were consequently discarded1 and new ones were made by ,mr ,simms4--,the adjustment of the ,spectroscope has occupied a great deal of attention4 ,there was astigmatism of the prisms2 and false light reflected from the base of the prisms1 causing loss both of light and of definition4 ,the latter defect was corrected by altering the angles1 and then astigmatism was corrected by a cylindrical lens near the slit4 ,the definition in both planes was then found to be perfect4--,the number of small planets has now become so great1 and the interest of establishing the elements of all their orbits so small1--while at the same time the light of all those lately discovered is very faint1 and the difficulty and doubt of observation greatly increased1--that ,i have begun to think seriously of limiting future observations to a small number of these objects4--,all observations with the ,spectroscope have been completely reduced2 the measures of lines in the spectra of elements being converted into corresponding wave-lengths1 and the observations of displacement of lines in the spectra of stars being reduced so as to exhibit the concluded motion in miles per second1 after applying a correction for the earth's motion4 ,sixteen measures of the ,f line in the spectrum of the ,moon as compared with hydrogen give a displacement corresponding to a motion of less than two miles a second1 which seems to shew that the method of comparison now adopted is free from systematic error2 and this is supported by the manner in which motions of approach and recession are distributed among the stars examined on each night of observation4 ,the results recently obtained appear to be on the whole as consistent as can be expected in such delicate observations1 and they support in a remarkable manner the conclusions of ,dr ,huggins1 with regard to the motions of those stars which he examined4--,photographs of the sun have been taken with the photoheliograph on #ahb days4 ,on one of the photographs1 which was accidentally exposed while the drop slit was being drawn up1 there appears to be a faint image of a cloud-like prominence close to the sun's limb1 though the exposure probably only amounted to a fraction of a second4 ,a prominence of unusual brilliancy was seen with the ,spectroscope about the same time and in the same position with reference to the ,sun's limb4 ,all groups of ,sun-spots and faculae have been numbered1 and the dates of their first and last appearances entered up to the present time4 ,areas of spots have been measured1 and the measures have been reduced to millionths of the ,sun's visible hemisphere4--,the examination of the readings of the deep-sunk thermometers from #ahdf to #ahgc has exhibited some laws which had been sufficiently established before this time1 and some which were less known4 ,among the former were the successive retardations of seasons in successive descents1 amounting to about four months at the depth of #be feet2 and the successive diminutions of the annual range of temperature4 ,among the latter is the character of the changes from year to year1 which the great length of this series of observations brings well to light4 ,it is found that from year to year the mean temperature of the surface for the year1 varying by three or four degrees of ,fahrenheit1 follows in its changes the mean temperature of the atmosphere for the year1 and that the changes of annual temperature are propagated downwards1 retarded in phase and diminishing in amount of change1 in the same manner 7though probably not following the same law7 as the season changes4 ,the inference from this is1 that changes of temperature come entirely from the exterior and in no discoverable degree from the interior2 an inference which may be important in regard both to solar action and to geology4 --,referring to the ,transit of ,venus observations3 ,in the astronomical part of the reductions1 there has been great labour and difficulty in the determination of local sidereal times2 some books of observations required extensive transcription2 some instrumental errors are still uncertain2 the latter determinations have perplexed us so much that we are inclined to believe that1 in spite of the great facilities of reduction given by the transit instrument1 it would be better to rely on the altazimuth for time-determinations4444 ,in the photographic part1 ,i have confined my attention entirely to measures of the distance between the centres of the ,sun and ,planet1 a troublesome and complex operation4--,referring to the progress of the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory3 ,with a repetition of grant from the ,treasury1 ,i have usually maintained four junior computers on this work4 ,the progress1 though considerable1 has not been so great as ,i had hoped1 by reason of the excessive personal pressure upon me during the whole year4--,i wrote a letter of congratulation to ,le ,verrier on the completion of his great work of ,planetary ,tables4--,on ,may #acth the ,queen was at ,south ,kensington1 and ,i attended to explain the astronomical instruments1 and shewed ,her ,majesty one of the ,transit of ,venus photographs4 ,of private history3 ,he returned from his ,playford visit on the #ahth of ,january4--,in ,april there was a two-day trip to ,colchester4--,from ,june #acth to ,july #abth he was travelling in the ,north of ,scotland and the ,orkneys with his daughters1 staying for a short time with ,mr ,webster1 ,m4,p41 at ,aberdeen1 and with ,mr ,newall at ,newcastle4--,in ,september there was a week's run to ,birkenhead and ,keswick4--,in ,november a week's run to ,playford4--,from the #acth to #aeth of ,december he was at ,cambridge1 and on the #bhth he went to ,playford for the usual winter stay there4 #ahgg ,in ,april of this year ,i was much engaged on the subject of ,mr ,gill's expedition to ,ascension to observe for the determination of the parallax of ,mars at the approaching opposition of that planet4--,a large ,direct-vision ,spectroscope has been quite recently made by ,mr ,hilger under ,mr ,christie's direction on a new plan1 in which either great dispersion or great purity of spectrum is obtained by the use of ',half-prisms1' according as the incident pencil falls first on the perpendicular or on the oblique face4 ,in this ,spectroscope either one or two half prisms can be used at pleasure1 according to the dispersion required1 and there is facility for increasing the train to three or four half-prisms1 though the dispersion with two only is nearly double of that given by the large ten-prism ,spectroscope4 ,the definition in this form of ,spectroscope appears to be very fine4--,at the end of ,may #ahgf1 spectroscopic determinations of the ,sun's rotation were made by observations of the relative displacement of the ,fraunhofer lines at the east and west limbs respectively4 ,the results are in close agreement with the value of the rotation found from observations of ,sun-spots4 ,a similar determination has also been made in the case of ,jupiter1 with equally satisfactory results4--,an ,electrometer on ,sir ,william ,thomson's plan1 for continuous photographic registration of atmospheric electricity has been received from ,mr ,white of ,glasgow4 ,it was mounted in ,december4--,the computation of the photographic records of the barometer from #ahed to #ahgc has so far advanced that we can assert positively that there is no trace of lunar tide in the atmosphere2 but that there is a strongly marked semi-diurnal solar tide1 accompanied with a smaller diurnal tide4 ,we are at present engaged in comparing the barometric measures with the directions of the wind4--,regarding the distribution of the printed observations3 ,there is no extensive wish for separate magnetic observations1 but general magnetic results are in great demand1 especially for mining operations1 and to meet this a map of magnetic declination is furnished in the newspaper called the ',colliery ,guardian4'--,as regards the operations for the ,transit of ,venus3 ,the computing staff has by degrees been reduced to two junior computers within the ,observatory2 and one or two computers external to the ,observatory1 who are employed on large groups of systematic calculations4 ,the principal part of the calculations remaining at the date of the last ,report was that applying to the determination of the geographical longitudes of fundamental stations4 ,at the moment of my writing1 the last of these 7the longitude of ,observatory ,bay1 ,kerguelen7 is not absolutely finished3444 ,the method of determining the geographical longitude of the principal station in each group by vertical transits of the ,moon has been found very successful at ,honolulu and ,rodriguez4 ,for stations in high south latitude1 horizontal transits are preferable4--,as regards the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory3 ,with the view of preserving1 against the ordinary chances of destruction or abandonment1 a work which is already one of considerable magnitude1 ,i have prepared and have printed as ,appendix to the ,greenwich ,observations 7with additional copies as for a separate work7 the ordinary ,equations of ,lunar ,disturbance1 the novel theory of ,symbolical ,variations1 and the ,numerical ,developments of the quantities on the first side of the ,equations4--,at various times from ,february to ,may ,i was engaged on the reduction of ,malta ,tides1 and on a ,paper concerning the same4--,in ,july ,i was awarded the ,albert ,medal for my ,compass corrections1 and received the same from the ,prince of ,wales4--,in ,february1 ,campbell's instrument for the registration of sunshine was introduced3 it was mounted in ,july4 ,of private history3 ,i was at ,playford until ,jan4 #aith1 in close correspondence as usual with ,mr ,christie at the ,observatory1 and attending to my ,numerical ,lunar ,theory4--,from ,mar4 #bith to ,apr4 #bnd ,i went on a short trip to ,hereford1 ,worcester1 c4--,from ,june #hth to #bjth ,i was at ,playford4--,from ,aug4 #acth to ,sept4 #hth ,airy was on an expedition in ,ireland1 chiefly in the ,north and ,west1 with his daughters4 ,when at ,dublin he visited ,grubb's instrument factory4 ,on the return journey he stayed for some time in the ,lake ,district of ,cumberland1 and took soundings in the neighbourhood of the place of the 'floating island' in ,derwentwater4 ,airy took the greatest interest in antiquarian matters1 whether military or ecclesiastical1 and his feelings on such matters is well illustrated by the following letter3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 ,s4,e4 #ahgg1 ,february #bg4 ,,dear ,,sir1 ,i venture to ask if you can assist me in the following matter4 ,in the ,parish ,church of ,playford1 near ,ipswich1 ,suffolk1 was a splendid brass tombstone to ,sir ,thomas ,felbrigg4 ,by an act of folly and barbarism1 almost unequalled in the history of the world1 the ,incumbent and ,curate nearly destroyed the brass inscription surrounding the image of the ,knight4 ,this tombstone is figured in ,gough's ,sepulchral ,antiquities1 which1 ,i presume1 is to be found in the ,british ,museum4 ,and ,i take the liberty to ask if you would kindly look at the engraving1 and give me any suggestion as to the way in which some copies of it could be made1 in a fairly durable form4 ,i am connected with the parish of ,playford1 and am anxious to preserve for it this memorial of a family of high rank formerly resident there4 ,i am1 dear ,sir1 ,very faithfully yours1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,t4 ,winter ,jones1 ,esq4 ,to this request ,mr ,winter ,jones immediately acceded1 and the engraving was duly photographed1 and copies were circulated with a historical notice of ,sir ,george 7not ,sir ,thomas7 ,felbrigg and a history of the ,monument4 ,sir ,george ,felbrigg was ,esquire-at-,arms to ,edward ,,iii41 and ,lord of the ,manor of ,playford3 he died in #adjj1 and was buried in the ,north wall of ,playford ,church4 #ahgh ,the ,report to the ,board of ,visitors has this paragraph3 ,i continue to remark the approaching necessity for ,library extension4 ,without having absolutely decided on a site1 ,i may suggest that ,i should wish to erect a brick building1 about #ej feet by #bj1 consisting of two very low stories 7or rather of one story with a gallery running round its walls71 so low that books can be moved by hand without necessity for a ladder4--,in the month of ,december1 #ahgg1 the azimuthal error of the ,transit ,circle had increased to #aj4 ,a skilful workman1 instructed by ,mr ,simms1 easily reduced the error to about #b4e 7which would leave its mean error nearly #j71 the western ,y being moved to the north so far as to reduce the reading of the transit micrometer1 when pointed to the south1 from #cer4#ejj to #cer4#jjj4 ,the level error was not sensibly affected4--,the ,sidereal ,standard ,clock preserves a rate approaching to perfection1 so long as it is left without disturbance of the galvanic-contact springs 7touched by its pendulum71 which transmit signals at every second of time to sympathetic clocks and the chronograph4 ,a readjustment of these springs usually disturbs the rate4--,to facilitate the observations of stars1 a new working catalogue has been prepared1 in which are included all stars down to the third magnitude1 stars down to the fifth magnitude which have not been observed in the last two catalogues1 and a list of #beh stars of about the sixth magnitude of which the places are required for the ,united ,states ,coast ,survey4 ,the whole number of stars in our new working list is about #bejj4 ,it may be here mentioned that an extensive series of observations was made1 during the autumn1 of about #gj stars1 at the request of ,mr ,gill1 for comparison with ,mars1 ,ariadne1 and ,melpomene4--,on ,apr4 #ajth last1 a very heavy fall of rain took place4 ,between ,apr4 #aj;d4 #e;h4 and ,apr4 #aa;d4 #b;h41 #b4hbd inch4 was recorded1 and #ge per cent4 of this1 or #b4ab inch41 fell in the eight hours between #ac-a_/b;h4 and #ba-a_/b;h42 and on ,may #g1 #a inch of rain fell in #ej minutes1 of which #a_/b inch fell in #ae minutes4--,the supplementary compensation continues to be applied with success to ,government chronometers which offer facilities for its introduction1 and a marked improvement in the performance of chronometers returned after repair by the makers appears to have resulted from the increased attention now given to the compensation4 ,of the #bi competitive chronometers1 #be have the supplementary compensation4--,with regard to the reduction of the observations of the ,transit of ,venus3 ,after reference to the difficulties arising from the errors and the interpretation of the language used by some of the observers1 the ,report continues thus3 ,finally a ,report was made to the ,government on ,july #eth1 giving as the mean result for ,mean ,solar ,parallax #h4gf2 the results from ingress and from egress1 however1 differing to the extent of #j4aa4444 ,after further examination and consideration1 the result for parallax has been increased to #h4hb or #h4hc4 ,the results from photography have disappointed me much4 ,the failure has arisen1 perhaps sometimes from irregularity of limb1 or from atmospheric distortion1 but more frequently from faintness and from want of clear definition4 ,many photographs1 which to the eye appeared good1 lost all strength and sharpness when placed under the measuring microscope4 ,a final result #h4ag was obtained from ,mr ,burton's measures1 and #h4jh from ,capt4 ,tupman's4--,with regard to the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory3 ,a cursory collection of the terms relating to the ,areas 7in the ,ecliptic7 led me to suppose that there might be some error in the computations of the ,annual ,equation and related terms4 ,a most jealous re-examination has however detected nothing1 and has confirmed my belief in the general accuracy of the numerical computations4 ,i dare not yet venture to assume an error in ,delaunay's theory2 but ,i remember that the ,annual ,equation gave great trouble to the late ,sir ,john ,lubbock1 and that he more than once changed his conclusions as to its true value4--,in ,february ,i was engaged on the drawings and preparations for my intended ,lecture at ,cockermouth on the probable condition of the interior of the ,earth4 ,the ,lecture was delivered in ,april4--,at different times in the autumn ,i was engaged on diagrams to illustrate the passage of rays through eye-pieces and double-image micrometers4--,the miscellaneous scientific correspondence1 which was always going on1 was in this year unusually varied and heavy4 ,of private history3 ,he was at ,playford till ,jan4 #bfth4--,in ,april he went to ,cockermouth to deliver his ,lecture above-mentioned3 the journey was by ,birmingham1 where he stayed for two days 7probably with his son ,osmund1 who resided there71 to ,tarn ,bank 7the residence of ,isaac ,fletcher1 ,m4,p473 the lecture was delivered on the #bbnd3 he made excursions to ,thirlmere and ,barrow1 and to ,edward ,i4's ,monument1 and returned to ,greenwich on the #bgth4--,from ,june #agth to #bhth he was at ,playford4--,from ,aug4 #aith to ,sept4 #agth he was travelling in ,scotland1 visiting the ,tay ,bridge1 the ,loch ,katrine ,waterworks1 c41 and spent the last fortnight of his trip at ,portinscale1 near ,keswick4 ,on ,dec4 #bcrd he went to ,playford4 #ahgi ,the manuscripts of every kind1 which are accumulated in the ordinary transactions of the ,observatory1 are preserved with the same care and arranged on the same system as heretofore4 ,the total number of bound volumes exceeds #djjj4 ,besides these there is the great mass of ,transit of ,venus reductions and manuscripts1 which when bound may be expected to form about #bjj volumes4--,with regard to the numerous group of ,minor ,planets1 the ,berlin authorities have most kindly given attention to my representation1 and we have now a most admirable and comprehensive ,ephemeris4 ,but the extreme faintness of the majority of these bodies places them practically beyond the reach of our meridian instrument1 and the difficulty of observation is in many cases further increased by the large errors of the predicted places4--,after a fine autumn1 the weather in the past winter and spring has been remarkably bad4 ,more than an entire lunation was lost with the ,transit ,circle1 no observation of the ,moon on the meridian having been possible between ,january #h and ,march #a1 a period of more than seven weeks4 ,neither ,sun nor stars were visible for eleven days1 during which period the clock-times were carried on entirely by the preceding rate of the clock4 ,the accumulated error at the end of this time did not exceed #js'#c4--,some difficulty was at first experienced with the ,thomson ,electrometer1 which was traced to want of insulation4 ,this has been mastered by the use of glass supporters1 which carry some sulphuric acid4 ,the instrument is now in excellent order1 and the photographic registers have been perfectly satisfactory since #ahgi1 ,february1 when the new insulators were applied4--,from the annual curves of diurnal inequality1 deduced from the ,magnetic ,reductions1 most important inferences may be drawn1 as to the connection between magnetic phenomena and sun-spots4 ,these annual curves shew a well-marked change in close correspondence with the number of sun-spots4 ,about the epoch of maximum of sun-spots they are large and nearly circular1 having the same character as the curves for the summer months2 whilst about the time of sun-spot minimum they are small and lemniscate-shaped1 with a striking resemblance to the curves for the winter months4 ,the connection between changes of terrestrial magnetism and sun-spots is shewn in a still more striking manner by a comparison which ,mr ,ellis has made between the monthly means of the diurnal range of declination and horizontal force1 and ,dr ,r4 ,wolf's 'relative numbers' for frequency of sun-spots4--,the records of sunshine with ,campbell's ,registering ,sun-dial are preserved in a form easily accessible for reference1 and the results are communicated weekly to the ,agricultural ,gazette4--,prof4 ,oppolzer's results for the determination of the longitudes of ,vienna and ,berlin1 made in #ahgg1 have now been made public4 ,they shew a remarkable agreement of the ,chronometric determination formerly made with the ,telegraphic4 ,it may be of interest to recall the fact that a similar agreement was found between the ,chronometric and ,telegraphic determinations of the longitude of ,valentia4--,for observing the ,transit of ,venus of #ahhb1 the general impression appears to be that it will be best to confine our observations to simple telescopic observations or micrometer observations at ,ingress and ,egress1 if possible at places whose longitudes are known4 ,for the first phenomenon 7accelerated ingress7 the choice of stations is not good2 but for the other phenomena 7retarded ingress1 accelerated egress1 retarded egress7 there appears to be no difficulty4--,with regard to the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory3 ,respecting the discordance of ,annual ,equation1 ,i suspend my judgment4 ,i have now discussed the theory completely2 and in going into details of secular changes1 ,i am at this time engaged on that which is the foundation of all1 namely1 the change of excentricity of the ,solar ,orbit1 and its result in producing ,lunar ,acceleration4 ,an important error in the theoretical formulae for ,variations of ,radius ,vector1 ,longitude1 and ,latitude1 was discovered2 some calculations depending on them are cancelled4--,referring to the magnitude of the printed volume of ,greenwich ,observations1 and the practicability of reducing the extent of it1 the ,report states thus3 ,the tendency of external scientific movement is to give great attention to the phenomena of the ,solar disc 7in which this ,observatory ought undoubtedly to bear its part74 ,and ,i personally am most unwilling to recede from the existing course of magnetical and meteorological observations4444,the general tendency of these considerations is to increase the annual expenses of the ,observatory4 ,and so it has been1 almost continuously1 for the last #db years4 ,the annual ordinary expenses are now between #b-a_/b and #c times as great as in my first years at the ,royal ,observatory4--,mr ,gill was appointed to the ,cape ,observatory1 and ,i wrote out instructions for him in ,march3 there was subsequently much correspondence respecting the equipment and repairs of the ,cape ,observatory4--,in the ,monthly ,notices of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society for ,january an article had appeared headed ,notes on the late ,admiral ,smyth's ,cycle of ,celestial ,objects1 ,vol4 ,,ii4 by ,mr ,herbert ,sadler4 ,in this article ,mr ,sadler had criticized the work of ,admiral ,smyth in a manner which ,airy regarded as imputing bad faith to ,admiral ,smyth4 ,he at once took up the defence of his old friend very warmly1 and proposed certain ,drafts of ,resolutions to the ,council of the ,society4 ,these ,resolutions were moved1 but were amended or negatived1 and ,airy immediately resigned his office of ,vice-,president4 ,there was considerable negociation on the subject1 and discussion with ,lord ,lindsay1 and on ,may #ith ,airy's ,resolutions were accepted by the ,council4--,in ,october ,airy inspected the ,faraday telegraph ship1 then lying in the river near ,messrs ,siemens' works1 and broke his finger by a fall on board the vessel4--,in this year ,airy wrote and circulated a letter to the ,members of the ,senate of the ,university of ,cambridge1 on the subject of the ,papers set in the ,smith's ,prizes ,examination4 ,in this letter1 as on former occasions1 he objected much to the large number of questions in purely idle algebra1 arbitrary combinations of symbols1 applicable to no further purpose4 ,and in particular he singled out for comment the following question1 which was one of those set1 ,using the term circle as extending to the case where the radius is a pure imaginary1 it is required to construct the common chord of two given circles4 ,this drew forth as usual a rejoinder from ,prof4 ,cayley1 who wrote enclosing a solution of his problem1 but not at all to ,airy's satisfaction1 who replied as follows3 ,i am not so deeply plunged in the mists of impossibles as to appreciate fully your explanation in this instance1 or to think that it is a good criterion for ,university candidates4 ,of private history3 ,on ,jan4 #bast he returned from ,playford4--,on ,march #bbnd he attended the funeral of his sister at ,little ,welnetham near ,bury ,st ,edmunds3 ,miss ,elizabeth ,airy had lived with him at the ,observatory from shortly after his appointment4--,for about a week at the end of ,april he was visiting ,matlock1 ,edensor1 and ,buxton4--,from ,june #adth to ,july #ahth he was staying at ,portinscale near ,keswick4--,he was at ,playford for two or three days in ,october1 and went there again on ,dec4 #bcrd for his usual winter holiday4 ,the following letter1 relating to the life of ,thomas ,clarkson1 was written to ,dr ,merivale1 ,dean of ,ely1 after reading the account in the ,times of ,october #ajth of the unveiling of a statue of ,clarkson near ,ware3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 ,,london1 ,s4,e4 #ahgi1 ,october #aa4 ,,dear ,,sir1 ,pardon my intrusion on you1 in reference to a transaction which has greatly interested me--the honour paid by you to the memory of ,thomas ,clarkson4 ,with very great pleasure ,i have heard of this step3 and ,i have also been much satisfied with the remarks on it in the ,times4 ,i well remember1 in ,clarkson's ,history of the ,abolition1 which ,i read some #fj years ago1 the account of the circumstance1 now commemorated by you1 which determined the action of his whole subsequent life4 ,it is not improbable that1 among those who still remember ,clarkson1 my acquaintance with him began at the earliest time of all4 ,i knew him1 intimately1 from the beginning of #ahae to his death4 ,the family which he represented must have occupied a very good position in society4 ,i have heard that he sold two good estates to defray the expenses which he incurred in his personal labours for ,abolition3 and his brother was ,governor of ,sierra ,leone 7,i know not at what time appointed74 ,thomas ,clarkson was at ,st ,john's ,college2 and1 as ,i gather from circumstances which ,i have heard him mention1 must have been a rather gay man4 ,he kept a horse1 and at one time kept two4 ,he took ,orders in the ,church2 and on one occasion1 in the course of his ,abolition struggle1 he preached in a church4 ,but he afterwards resolutely laid aside all pretensions to the title of ,minister of the ,church1 and never would accept any title except as layman4 ,he was1 however1 a very earnest reader of theology during my acquaintance with him1 and appeared to be well acquainted with the ,early ,fathers4 ,the precise words in which was announced the subject for ,prize ,essay in the ,university were ,anne liceat invitos in servitutem trahere4 ,after the first great victory on the slave trade question1 he established himself in a house on the bank of ,ullswater4 ,i have not identified the place3 from a view which he once shewed me ,i supposed it to be near the bottom of the lake3 but from an account of the storm of wind which he encountered when walking with a lady over a pass1 it seemed to be in or near ,patterdale4 ,when the remains of a mountaineer1 who perished in ,helvellyn 7as described in ,scott's well-known poem71 were discovered by a shepherd1 it was to ,mr ,clarkson that the intelligence was first brought4 ,he then lived at ,bury ,st ,edmunds4 ,mrs ,clarkson was a lady of ,bury4 ,but ,i cannot assign conjecturally any dates to his removals or his marriage4 ,his only son took his ,b4,a4 degree1 ,i think1 about #ahag4 ,i think it was in #ahad that he began his occupation of ,playford ,hall--a moated mansion near ,ipswich1 formerly of great importance --where he lived as ,gentleman ,farmer1 managing a farm leased from the ,marquis of ,bristol1 and occupying a good position among the gentry of the county4 ,a relative of mine1 with whom ,i was most intimately acquainted1 lived in the same parish 7where in defiance of school rules ,i spent nearly half my time1 to my great advantage as ,i believe1 and where ,i still retain a cottage for occasional residence71 and ,i enjoyed much of ,mr ,clarkson's notice4 ,it was by his strong advice that ,i was sent to ,cambridge1 and that ,trinity ,college was selected3 he rode with me to ,rev4 ,mr ,rogers of ,sproughton for introductory examination2 he introduced me to ,rev4 ,c4 ,musgrave 7subsequently of ,halifax71 accidentally doing duty at ,grundisburgh1 who then introduced me to ,sedgwick1 ,peacock1 and ,t4 ,musgrave 7subsequently of ,york74 ,in #ahbe1 when ,i spent the summer at ,keswick1 he introduced me to ,southey and ,wordsworth4 ,mr ,clarkson lived about thirty years at ,playford ,hall1 and died there1 and lies interred with his wife1 son1 and grandson1 in ,playford churchyard4 ,i joined several friends in erecting a granite obelisk to his memory in the same churchyard4 ,his family is extinct3 but a daughter of his brother is living1 first married to ,t4 ,clarkson's son1 and now ,mrs ,dickinson1 of the ,rectory1 ,wolferton4 ,i am1 my dear ,sir1 ,very faithfully yours1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,the ,very ,reverend1 ,the ,dean of ,ely4 #ahhj ,the ,admiralty1 on final consideration of the estimates1 decided not to proceed with the erection of a new ,library near the ,magnetic ,observatory in the present year4 ,in the mean time the space has been cleared for the erection of a building #ej by #bj feet4--,i have removed the ,electrometer ,mast 7a source of some expense and some danger71 the perfect success of ,sir ,william ,thomson's ,electrometer rendering all further apparatus for the same purpose unnecessary4--,many years ago a double-image micrometer1 in which the images were formed by the double refraction of a sphere of quartz1 was prepared by ,mr ,dollond for ,capt4 ,smyth1 ,r4,n4 ,adopting the same principle on a larger scale1 ,i have had constructed by ,mr ,hilger a micrometer with double refraction of a sphere of ,iceland spar4 ,marks have been prepared for examination of the scale1 but ,i have not yet had opportunity of trying it4--,the spectroscopic determination of ,star-motions has been steadily pursued4 ,the stars are taken from a working list of #aej stars1 which may eventually be extended to include all stars down to the fourth magnitude1 and it is expected that in the course of time the motions of about #cjj stars may be spectroscopically determined4--,a new pressure-plate with springs has been applied by ,mr ,browning to ,osler's ,anemometer1 and it is proposed to make such modification as will give a scale extending to #ej lbs4 pressure on the square foot4 ,other parts of the instrument have also been renewed4--,as regards the reduction of the magnetical results since #ahfc3 ,in the study of the forms of the individual curves2 their relations to the hour1 the month1 the year2 their connection with solar or meteorological facts2 the conjectural physico-mechanical causes by which they are produced2 there is much to occupy the mind4 ,i regret that1 though in contemplation of these curves ,i have remarked some singular 7but imperfect7 laws1 ,i have not been able to pursue them4--,the mean temperature of the year #ahgi was #df4a1 being #c4c below the average of the preceding #ch years4 ,the highest temperature was #hj4f on ,july #cj1 and the lowest #ac4g on ,dec4 #g4 ,the mean temperature was below the average in every month of the year2 the months of greatest deviation being ,january and ,december1 respectively #f4h and #g4f below the average2 the months of ,april1 ,may1 ,july1 and ,november were each between #d and #e below the average4 ,the number of hours of bright sunshine1 recorded with ,campbell's ,sunshine ,instrument1 during #ahgi1 was only #ihc4--;,in the summer of #ahgi ,commander ,green1 ,u4,s4,n41 came over to this country for the purpose of determining telegraphically the longitude of ,lisbon1 as part of a chain of longitudes extending from ,south ,america to ,greenwich4 ,a successful interchange of signals was made with ,commander ,green between ,greenwich and ,porthcurno on four nights1 #ahgi1 ,june #be to #bi4 ,the results communicated by ,commander ,green shew that the longitude of ,lisbon ,observatory1 as adopted in the ,nautical ,almanac1 requires the large correction of #h4ed4--,with regard to the coming ,transit of ,venus in #ahhb3 ,from the facility with which the requirements for geographical position are satisfied1 and from the rapid and accurate communication of time now given by electric telegraph1 the observation of this ,transit will be comparatively easy and inexpensive4 ,i have attached greater importance than ,i did formerly to the elevation of the ,sun4444 ,i remark that it is highly desirable that steps be taken now for determining by telegraph the longitude of some point of ,australia4 ,i have stated as the general opinion that it will be useless to repeat photographic observations4 --,in ,april ,mr ,barlow called1 in reference to the ,enquiry on the ,tay ,bridge ,disaster4 7,the ,bridge had been blown down on ,dec4 #bhth1 #ahgi47 ,i prepared a memorandum on the subject for the ,tay ,bridge ,commission1 and gave evidence in a ,committee ,room of the ,house of ,lords on ,apr4 #bith4 7,much of the ,astronomer ,royal's evidence on this occasion had reference to the opinions which he had expressed concerning the wind-pressure which might be expected on the projected ,forth ,bridge1 in #ahgc47--;,in ,may ,airy was consulted by the ,postmaster-,general in the matter of a dispute which had arisen between the ,post ,office and the ,telephone ,companies1 which latter were alleged to have infringed the monopoly of the ,post ,office in commercial telegraphs3 ,airy made a declaration on the subject4--,in ,july ,mr ,bakhuyzen came to ,england to determine the longitude of ,leyden1 on which he was engaged till ,sept4 #ith1 and carried on his observations at the ,observatory4--,in ,july ,airy was much engaged in perusing the records of ,mr ,gill's work at the ,cape of ,good ,hope4 ,of private history3 ,on ,jan4 #bdth he returned from ,playford4--,from ,june #adth to ,july #dth he was again at ,playford4--,from ,september #bast to ,october #bjth he was staying at ,portinscale near ,keswick4--,on ,dec4 #bcrd he went again to ,playford for his winter holiday4 ,respecting the agitation at ,cambridge for granting ,university degrees to women1 the following extract from a letter addressed to a young lady who had forwarded a ,memorial on the subject for his consideration1 and dated ,nov4 #ajth1 #ahhj1 contains ,airy's views on this matter4 ,i have not signed the ,memorial which you sent for my consideration3 and ,i will endeavour to tell you why4 ,i entirely approve of education of young women to a higher pitch than they do commonly reach4 ,i think that they can successfully advance so far as to be able clearly to understand--with gratification to themselves and with advantage to those whose education they will superintend--much of the results of the highest class of science which have been obtained by men whose lives are in great measure devoted to it4 ,but ,i do not think that their nature or their employments will permit of their mastering the severe steps of beginning 7and indeed all through7 and the complicated steps at the end4 ,and ,i think it well that this their success should be well known--as it is sure to be--among their relatives1 their friends1 their visitors1 and all in whom they are likely to take interest4 ,their connection with such a place as ,girton ,college is ,i think sufficient to lead to this4 ,but ,i desire above all that all this be done in entire subservience to what ,i regard as infinitely more valuable than any amount of knowledge1 namely the delicacy of woman's character4 ,and here1 ,i think1 our views totally separate4 ,i do not imagine that the ,university ,degree would really imply1 as regards education1 anything more than is known to all persons 7socially concerned in the happiness of the young woman7 from the less public testimonial of the able men who have the means of knowing their merits4 ,and thus it appears to me that the admission to ,university ,degree would simply mean a more extended publication of their names4 ,i dread this4 #ahha ,the new line of underground telegraph wires has been completed by the officers of the ,general ,post ,office4 ,the new route is down ,croom's ,hill in ,greenwich1 and the result of this change1 at least as regards the earth-current wires1 and probably as regards the other wires1 has not been satisfactory4 ,it was soon found that the indications of the earth-current wires were disturbed by a continual series of petty fluctuations which almost completely masked the proper features of earth currents4444 ,if this fault cannot be removed1 ,i should propose to return to our original system of independent wires 7formerly to ,croydon and ,dartford74--,the new ,azimuth-mark 7for the ,altazimuth71 upon the parapet of the ,naval ,college1 is found to be perfectly satisfactory as regards both steadiness and visibility4 ,the observations of a low star for zero of azimuth have been omitted since the beginning of #ahha2 the mark1 in combination with a high star1 appearing to give all that is necessary for this purpose4--,all the instruments have suffered from the congealing of the oil during the severe weather of the past winter1 and very thorough cleaning of all the moving parts has been necessary4--,the ,solar ,eclipse of #ahhj1 ,dec4 #ca1 was well observed4 ,the first contact was observed by four observers and the last contact by two4 ,the computations for the observations have been exceptionally heavy1 from the circumstance that the ,sun was very low 7#hf #ad' ,z4,d4 at the last observation7 and that it has therefore been necessary to compute the refraction with great accuracy1 involving the calculation of the zenith distance for every observation4 ,and besides this1 eighty-six separate computations of the tabular ,r4,a4 and ,n4,p4,d4 of cusps have been required4--,amongst other interesting spectroscopic observations of the ,sun1 a remarkable spectrum of a sun-spot shewing #ag strong black lines or bands1 each as broad as b#a1 in the solar spectrum1 was observed on #ahhj1 ,nov4 #bg and #bi4 ,these bands to which there is nothing corresponding in the ,solar ,spectrum 7except some very faint lines7 have also been subsequently remarked in the spectrum of several spots4--,the ,police ,ship ',royalist' 7which was injured by a collision in #ahgi and had been laid up in dock7 has not been again moored in the river1 and the series of observations of the temperature of the ,thames is thus terminated4 --,part of the month of ,january #ahha was1 as regards cold1 especially severe4 ,the mean temperature of the period ,january #ab to #bf 7#ae days7 was only #bd4b1 or #ad4g below the average2 the temperature fell below #bj on #aj days1 and rose above the freezing point only on #c days4 ,the highest temperature in this period was #ce4c1 the lowest #ab4g4 ,on ,january #agth 7while staying at ,playford7 my son ,hubert and ,i noticed an almost imperceptible movement in the upper clouds from the ,south-,east4 ,on that night began the terrible easterly gale1 accompanied with much snow1 which lasted to the night of the #ahth4 ,the limiting pressure of #ej lbs4 on the square foot of ,osler's ,anemometer was twice exceeded during this storm4--,with respect to the ,diurnal ,inequalities of ,magnetic ,horizontal ,force3 ,assuming it to be certain that they originate from the ,sun's power1 not immediately1 but mediately through his action on the ,earth1 it appears to me 7as ,i suggested long ago7 that they are the effects of the attraction of the red end or north end of the needle by the heated portions of our globe1 especially by the heated sea1 whose effect appears to predominate greatly over that of the land4 ,i do not say that everything is thus made perfectly clear1 but ,i think that the leading phenomena may be thus explained4 ,and this is almost necessarily the way of beginning a science4--,in the first few years after the strict and systematic examination of competitive chronometers1 beginning with #ahef1 the accuracy of chronometers was greatly increased4 ,for many years past it has been nearly stationary4 ,i interpret this as shewing that the effects of bad workmanship are almost eliminated1 and that future improvement must be sought in change of some points of construction4--,referring to the ,transit of ,venus in #ahgd1 the printing of all sections of the ,observations1 with specimens of the printed forms employed1 and remarks on the photographic operations1 is very nearly completed4 ,an ,introduction is begun in manuscript4 ,i am in correspondence with the ,commission which is entrusted with the arrangements for observation of the ,transit of #ahhb4--,the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory has been much interrupted by the pressure of the ,transit of ,venus work and other business4--,in his ,report to the ,board of ,visitors 7his #dfth and last71 ,airy remarks that it would be a fitting opportunity for the expression of his views on the general objects of the ,observatory1 and on the duties which they impose on all who are actively concerned in its conduct4 ,and this he proceeds to do in very considerable detail4--,on ,may #eth he wrote to ,lord ,northbrook 7,first ,lord of the ,admiralty7 and to ,mr ,gladstone to resign his post of ,astronomer ,royal4 ,from time to time he was engaged on the subject of a house for his future residence1 and finally took a lease of the ,white ,house at the top of ,croom's ,hill1 just outside one of the gates of ,greenwich ,park4 ,on the #aeth of ,august he formally resigned his office to ,mr ,w4,h4,m4 ,christie1 who had been appointed to succeed him as ,astronomer ,royal1 and removed to the ,white ,house on the next day1 ,august #afth4 ,his holiday movements in the portion of the year up to ,august #afth consisted in his winter visit to ,playford1 from which he returned on ,jan4 #bdth3 and a subsequent visit to ,playford from ,june #gth to #ahth4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following correspondence relating to ,airy's retirement from office testifies in a remarkable manner to the estimation in which his services were held1 and to the good feeling which subsisted between him and his official superiors4 #aj1 ,,downing ,,street1 ,,whitehall1 ,june #f1 #ahha4 ,,dear ,,sir ,,george ,,airy1 ,i cannot receive the announcement of your resignation1 which you have just conveyed to me1 without expressing my strong sense of the distinction you have conferred upon the office of ,astronomer ,royal1 and of the difficulty of supplying your place with a person of equal eminence4 ,let me add the expression of my best wishes for the full enjoyment of your retirement from responsibility4 ,i remain1 dear ,sir ,george ,airy1 ,faithfully yours1 ,w4,e4 ,,gladstone4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,admiralty1 ,june #ajth1 #ahha4 ,,sir1 ,i am commanded by my ,lords ,commissioners of the ,admiralty to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the #dth instant1 intimating your desire to retire on the #aeth ,august next from the office of ,astronomer ,royal4 #b4 ,in reply ,i am to acquaint you that your wishes in this matter have been communicated to the ,prime ,minister1 and that the further necessary official intimation will in due course be made to the ,treasury4 #c4 ,at the same time ,i am instructed by their ,lordships to convey to you the expression of their high appreciation of the remarkably able and gifted manner1 combined with unwearied diligence and devotion to the ,public ,service 7especially as regards the ,department of the ,state over which they preside71 in which you have performed the duties of ,astronomer ,royal throughout the long period of forty-five years4 #d4 ,i am further to add that their ,lordships cannot allow the present opportunity to pass without giving expression to their sense of the loss which the ,public ,service must sustain by your retirement1 and to the hope that you may long enjoy the rest to which you are so justly entitled4 ,i am1 ,sir1 ,your obedient ,servant1 ,,robert ,,hall4 ,sir ,g4 ,b4 ,airy1 ,k4,c4,b4 c41 c41 ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,admiralty1 #bhth ,june1 #ahha4 ,,sir1 ,my ,lords ,commissioners of the ,admiralty have much pleasure in transmitting copy of a resolution passed by the ,board of ,visitors of the ,royal ,observatory on the #dth ,june last1 bearing testimony to the valuable services you have rendered to ,astronomy1 to ,navigation1 and the allied ,sciences throughout the long period during which you have presided over the ,royal ,observatory4 ,i am1 ,sir1 ,your obedient ,servant1 ,,robert ,,hall4 ,sir ,george ,biddell ,airy1 ,k4,c4,b4 c41 c41 c41 ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 ,the ,astronomer ,royal 7,sir ,george ,b4 ,airy7 having announced his intention of shortly retiring from his position at the ,royal ,observatory1 the following resolution proposed by ,professor ,j4 ,c4 ,adams1 and seconded by ,professor ,g4 ,g4 ,stokes1 was then unanimously adopted and ordered to be recorded in the ,minutes of the ,proceedings4 ,the ,board having heard from the ,astronomer ,royal that he proposes to terminate his connection with the ,observatory on the #aeth of ,august next1 desire to record in the most emphatic manner their sense of the eminent services which he has rendered to ,astronomy1 to ,navigation and the allied ,sciences1 throughout the long period of #de years during which he has presided over the ,royal ,observatory4 ,they consider that during that time he has not only maintained but has greatly extended the ancient reputation of the ,institution1 and they believe that the ,astronomical and other work which has been carried on in it under his direction will form an enduring monument of his ,scientific insight and his powers of organization4 ,among his many services to ,science1 the following are a few which they desire especially to commemorate3 7a7 ,the complete re-organization of the ,equipment of the ,observatory4 7b7 ,the designing of instruments of exceptional stability and delicacy suitable for the increased accuracy of observation demanded by the advance of ,astronomy4 7c7 ,the extension of the means of making observations of the ,moon in such portions of her orbit as are not accessible to the ,transit ,circle4 7d7 ,the investigation of the effect of the iron of ships upon compasses and the correction of the errors thence arising4 7e7 ,the ,establishment at the ,observatory and elsewhere of a ,system of ,time ,signals since extensively developed by the ,government4 ,the ,board feel it their duty to add that ,sir ,george ,airy has at all times devoted himself in the most unsparing manner to the business of the ,observatory1 and has watched over its interests with an assiduity inspired by the strongest personal attachment to the ,institution4 ,he has availed himself zealously of every scientific discovery and invention which was in his judgment capable of adaptation to the work of the ,observatory2 and the long series of his annual reports to the ,board of ,visitors furnish abundant evidence1 if such were needed1 of the soundness of his judgment in the appreciation of suggested changes1 and of his readiness to introduce improvements when the proper time arrived4 ,while maintaining the most remarkable punctuality in the reduction and publication of the observations made under his own superintendance1 he had reduced1 collected1 and thus rendered available for use by astronomers1 the ,lunar and ,planetary ,observations of his predecessors4 ,nor can it be forgotten that1 notwithstanding his absorbing occupations1 his advice and assistance have always been at the disposal of ,astronomers for any work of importance4 ,to refer in detail to his labours in departments of ,science not directly connected with the ,royal ,observatory may seem to lie beyond the province of the ,board4 ,but it cannot be improper to state that its members are not unacquainted with the high estimation in which his contributions to the ,theory of ,tides1 to the undulatory theory of ,light1 and to various abstract branches of ,mathematics are held by men of ,science throughout the world4 ,in conclusion the ,board would express their earnest hope1 that in his retirement ,sir ,george ,airy may enjoy health and strength and that leisure for which he has often expressed a desire to enable him not only to complete the numerical ,lunar ,theory on which he has been engaged for some years past1 but also to advance ,astronomical ,science in other directions4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,admiralty1 #bgth ,october1 #ahha4 ,,sir1 ,i am commanded by my ,lords ,commissioners of the ,admiralty to transmit to you1 herewith1 a copy of a ,treasury ,minute1 awarding you a ,special ,pension of #aajj a year1 in consideration of your long and brilliant services as ,astronomer ,royal4 ,i am1 ,sir1 ,your obedient ,servant1 ,,robert ,,hall4 ,sir ,g4,b4 ,airy1 ,k4,c4,b41 ,f4,r4,s41 c41 c4 ,the ,white ,house1 ,croom's ,hill1 ,greenwich4 ,copy of ,treasury ,minute1 dated #ajth ,october1 #ahha3 ,my ,lords have before them a statement of the services of ,sir ,george ,biddell ,airy1 ,k4,c4,b41 ,f4,r4,s41 who has resigned the appointment of ,astronomer ,royal on the ground of age4 ,sir ,george ,airy has held his office since the year #ahce1 and has also1 during that period1 undertaken various laborious works1 demanding scientific qualifications of the highest order1 and not always such as could strictly be said to be included among the duties of his office4 ,the salary of ,sir ,g4 ,airy as ,astronomer ,royal is #abjj a year1 in addition to which he enjoys an official residence rent free1 and1 under ordinary circumstances he would be entitled to a pension equal to two-thirds of his salary and emoluments4 ,my ,lords1 however1 in order to mark their strong sense of the distinction which1 during a long and brilliant career ,sir ,george ,airy has conferred upon his office1 and of the great services which1 in connection with1 as well as in the discharge of1 his duties1 he has rendered to the ,crown and the ,public1 decide to deal with his case under the ,i,xth ,section of the ,superannuation ,act1 #ahei1 which empowers them to grant a special pension for special services4 ,accordingly my ,lords are pleased to award to ,sir ,george ,biddell ,airy1 ,k4,c4,b41 ,f4,r4,s41 a special ,retired ,allowance of #aajj per annum4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,white ,,house1 ,,croom',s ,,hill1 ,,greenwich1 #ahha1 ,october #bi4 ,,sir1 ,i have the honour to acknowledge your letter of ,october #bg1 transmitting to me1 by instruction of ,the ,lords ,commissioners of ,admiralty1 copy of a ,treasury ,minute dated #ahha ,october #aj1 in which the ,lords ,commissioners of ,her ,majesty's ,treasury are pleased to award to me an annual retired allowance of #aajj per annum4 ,acknowledging the very liberal award of the ,lords ,commissioners of ,treasury1 and the honourable and acceptable terms in which it is announced1 ,i take leave at the same time to offer to ,their ,lordships of the ,admiralty my recognition of ,their ,lordships' kindness and courtesy in thus handing to me copy of the ,treasury ,minute4 ,i have the honour to be1 ,sir1 ,your very obedient ,servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,the ,secretary of the ,admiralty1 99 99 99 99 99 ,from the ,assistants of the ,royal ,observatory1 with whom he was in daily communication1 whose faithful and laborious services he had so often thankfully recognized in his ,annual ,reports to the ,board of ,visitors1 and to whom so much of the credit and success of the ,observatory was due1 he received the following address3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 #ahha1 ,august #aa4 ,,dear ,,sir1 ,we cannot allow the official relation which has so long existed between yourself and us to terminate without expressing to you our sense of the admirable manner in which you have1 in our opinion1 upheld the dignity of the office of ,astronomer ,royal during the many years that you have occupied that important post4 ,your long continued and varied scientific work has received such universal recognition from astronomers in all lands1 that it is unnecessary for us to do more than assure you how heartily we join in their appreciation of your labours4 ,we may however add that our position has given us opportunities of seeing that which others cannot equally well know1 the untiring energy and great industry which have been therein displayed throughout a long and laborious career1 an energy which leads you in retirement1 and at fourscore years of age1 to contemplate further scientific work4 ,we would ask you to carry with you into private life the best wishes of each one of us for your future happiness1 and that of your family1 expressing the hope that the days of retirement may not be few1 and assuring you that your name will long live in our remembrance4 ,we are1 dear ,sir1 ,yours very faithfully1 ,w4,h4,m4 ,,christie1 ,,edwin ,,dunkin1 ,,william ,,ellis1 ,,george ,,strickland ,,criswick1 ,w4 ,c4 ,,nash1 ,a4,m4,w4 ,,downing1 ,,edward ,w4 ,,maunder1 ,w4,g4 ,,thackeray1 ,,thomas ,,lewis4 ,sir ,g4,b4 ,airy1 ,k4,c4,b41 c41 c41 ,astronomer ,royal4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 #ahha1 ,august #ac4 ,,my ,,dear ,,mr ,,christie1 and ,gentlemen of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,with very great pleasure ,i have received your letter of ,august #aa4 ,i thank you much for your recognition of the general success of the ,observatory1 and of a portion of its conduct which--as you remark--can scarcely be known except to those who are every day engaged in it3 but ,i thank you still more for the kind tone of your letter1 which seems to shew that the terms on which we have met are such as leaves1 after so many years' intercourse1 no shadow of complaint on any side4 ,reciprocating your wishes for a happy life1 and in your case a progressive and successful one1 ,i am1 ,my dear ,mr ,christie and ,gentlemen1 ,yours faithfully1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 99 99 99 99 99 ,throughout his tenure of office ,airy had cultivated and maintained the most friendly relations with foreign astronomers1 to the great advantage of the ,observatory4 ,probably all of them1 at one time or another1 had visited ,greenwich1 and to most of them he was well known4 ,on his retirement from office he received an illuminated ,address from his old friend ,otto ,struve and the staff of the ,pulkowa ,observatory1 an illuminated ,address from the ,vorstand of the ,astronomische ,gesellschaft at ,berlin signed by ,dr ,auwers and the ,secretaries1 a complimentary letter from the ,academy of ,sciences at ,amsterdam1 and friendly letters of sympathy from ,dr ,gould1 ,prof4 ,newcombe1 ,dr ,listing1 and from many other scientific friends and societies4 ,his replies to the ,russian and ,german ,addresses were as follows3 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 #ahha1 ,august #e4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 ,i received1 with feelings which ,i will not attempt to describe1 the ,address of yourself and the ,astronomers of ,pulkowa generally1 on the occasion of my retirement from the office of ,astronomer ,royal4 ,i can scarcely credit myself with possessing all the varied claims to your scientific regard which you detail4 ,i must be permitted to attribute many of them to the long and warm friendship which has subsisted so long between the ,directors of the ,pulkowa ,observatory and myself1 and which has influenced the feelings of the whole body of ,astronomers attached to that ,institution4 ,on one point1 however1 ,i willingly accept your favourable expressions--,i have not been sparing of my personal labour--and to this ,i must attribute partial success on some of the subjects to which you allude4 ,in glancing over the marginal list of scientific pursuits1 ,i remark with pleasure the reference to ,optics4 ,i still recur with delight to the ,undulatory ,theory1 once the branch of science on which ,i was best known to the world1 and which by calculations1 writings1 and lectures1 ,i supported against the ,laplacian ,school4 ,but the close of your remarks touches me much more--the association of the name of ,w4 ,struve and my own4 ,i respected deeply the whole character of your ,father1 and ,i believe that he had confidence in me4 ,from our first meeting in #ahcj 7on a ,commission for improvement of the ,nautical ,almanac7 ,i never ceased to regard him as superior to others4 ,i may be permitted to add that the delivery of his authority to the hands of his son has not weakened the connection of myself with the ,observatory of ,poulkova4 ,acknowledging gratefully your kindness1 and that of all the ,astronomers of the ,observatory of ,poulkova1 and requesting you to convey to them this expression1 ,i am1 my dear ,sir1 ,yours most truly1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,to ,m4 ,otto von ,struve1 ,director of the ,observatory of ,poulkova and the ,astronomers of that ,observatory4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,royal ,,observatory1 ,,greenwich1 #ahha1 ,august #c4 ,,my ,,dear ,,sir1 ,with very great pleasure ,i received the ,address of the ,astronomische ,gesellschaft on occasion of my intended resignation of the ,office of ,astronomer ,royal3 dated ,july #bg1 and signed by yourself as ,president and ,messrs ,schoenfeld and ,winnecke as ,secretaries of the ,astronomische ,gesellschaft4 ,i thank you much for the delicacy of your arrangement for the transmission of this document by the hands of our friend ,dr ,huggins4 ,and ,i think you will be gratified to learn that it arrived at a moment when ,i was surrounded by my whole family assembled at my jour-de-fte1 and that it added greatly to the happiness of the party4 ,i may perhaps permit myself to accept your kind recognition of my devotion of time and thought to the interests of my ,science and my ,office4 ,it is full reward to me that they are so recognized4 ,as to the success or utility of these efforts1 without presuming1 myself1 to form an opinion1 ,i acknowledge that the connection made by the ,astronomische ,gesellschaft1 between my name and the advance of modern astronomy1 is most flattering1 and will always be remembered by me with pride4 ,it is true1 as is suggested in your ,address1 that one motive for my resignation of ,office was the desire to find myself more free for the prosecution of further astronomical investigations4 ,should my health remain unbroken1 ,i hope to enter shortly upon this undertaking4 ,again acknowledging the kindness of yourself and the ,vorstand of the ,astronomische ,gesellschaft1 and offering my best wishes for the continued success of that honourable institution1 ,i am1 my dear ,sir1 ,yours very truly1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,to ,dr ,aimers and the ,vorstand of the ,astronomische ,gesellschaft4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,,at ,,the ,,white ,,house1 ,,greenwich4 ,,from ,,his ,,resignation ,,of ,,office ,,on ,,august #ae,,th1 #ahha1 ,,to ,,his ,,death ,,on ,,january #b,,nd1 #ahib4 ,,history ,,of ,,his ,,life ,,after ,,his ,,resignation ,,of ,,office4 ,on the #afth of ,august #ahha ,airy left the ,observatory which had been his residence for nearly #df years1 and removed to the ,white ,house4 ,whatever his feelings may have been at the severing of his old associations he carefully kept them to himself1 and entered upon his new life with the cheerful composure and steadiness of temper which he possessed in a remarkable degree4 ,he was now more than #hj years old1 and the cares of office had begun to weigh heavily upon him3 the long-continued drag of the ,transit of ,venus work had wearied him1 and he was anxious to carry on and if possible complete his ,numerical ,lunar ,theory1 the great work which for some years had occupied much of his time and attention4 ,his mental powers were still vigorous1 and his energy but little impaired3 his strong constitution1 his regular habits of life1 the systematic relief which he obtained by short holiday expeditions whenever he found himself worn with work1 and his keen interest in history1 poetry1 classics1 antiquities1 engineering1 and other subjects not immediately connected with his profession1 had combined to produce this result4 ,and in leaving office1 he had no idea of leaving off work2 his resignation of office merely meant for him a change of work4 ,it is needless to say that his interest in the welfare and progress of the ,observatory was as keen as ever2 his advice was always at the service of his successor1 and his appointment as ,visitor a year or two after his resignation gave him an official position with regard to the ,observatory which he much valued4 ,the ,white ,house1 which was to be his home for the rest of his life1 is just outside one of the upper gates of the ,park1 and about a quarter of a mile from the ,observatory4 ,here he resided with his two unmarried daughters4 ,the house suited him well and he was very comfortable there3 he preferred to live in the neighbourhood with which he was so familiar and in which he was so well known1 rather than to remove to a distance4 ,his daily habits of life were but little altered3 he worked steadily as formerly1 took his daily walk on ,blackheath1 made frequent visits to ,playford1 and occasional expeditions to the ,cumberland ,lakes and elsewhere4 ,the work to which he chiefly devoted himself in his retirement was the completion of his ,numerical ,lunar ,theory4 ,this was a vast work1 involving the subtlest considerations of principle1 very long and elaborate mathematical investigations of a high order1 and an enormous amount of arithmetical computation4 ,the issue of it was unfortunate3 he concluded that there was an error in some of the early work1 which vitiated the results obtained3 and although the whole process was published1 and was left in such a state that it would be a comparatively simple task for a future astronomer to correct and complete it1 yet it was not permitted to the original author of it to do this4 ,to avoid the necessity of frequent reference to this work in the history of ,airy's remaining years1 it will be convenient to summarize it here4 ,it was commenced in #ahgb3 ,on ,feb4 #bcrd in this year ,i first 7privately7 formed the notion of preparing a ,numerical ,lunar ,theory by substituting ,delaunay's numbers in the proper ,equations and seeing what would come of it4 ,from this time forward till his power to continue it absolutely failed1 he pursued the subject with his usual tenacity of purpose4 ,during his tenure of office every available opportunity was seized for making progress with his ,lunar ,theory1 and in every ,report to the ,visitors a careful statement was inserted of the state in which it then stood4 ,and1 after his resignation of office1 it formed the bulk of his occupation4 ,in #ahgc the ,theory was formed1 and by #ahgd it was so far advanced that he published in the ,monthly ,notices of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society a statement of the fundamental points of the ,theory4 ,in #ahge1 the ,theory having advanced to a stage where extensive arithmetical computation was required1 he obtained a small grant from the ,government in aid of the expense of the work1 and other grants were made in subsequent years4 ,by #ahgh the calculations were so far advanced that an opinion could be formed as to the probable accuracy of the ,theory1 and the following remark is made3 ,a cursory collation of the terms relating to the ,areas 7in the ,ecliptic7 led me to suppose that there might be some error in the computations of the ,annual ,equation and related terms2 but no error could be discovered and the work proceeded4 ,the complex character of the ,theory1 and the extreme care required in the mathematical processes1 are well illustrated by the following statement1 which occurs in the ,report of #ahgi1 ,an important error in the theoretical formulae for ,variations of ,radius ,vector1 ,longitude1 and ,latitude1 was discovered2 some calculations depending on them are cancelled4 ,in #ahhj and #ahha the work was continued1 but was sadly interrupted by the pressure of the ,transit of ,venus work and other business4 ,after his resignation of the ,office of ,astronomer ,royal he had no further public assistance1 and did much of the computations himself1 but a sum of #ajj was contributed by ,mr ,de ,la ,rue in furtherance of the work1 and this sum was spent on computers4 ,in his retirement the work made good progress1 and on ,dec4 #cast1 #ahhb1 he made the following note3 ,i finished and put in general order the final tables of ,equations of ,variations4 ,this is a definite point in the ,lunar ,theory4444 ,i hope shortly to take up severely the numerical operations of the ,lunar ,theory from the very beginning4 ,the work was continued steadily through #ahhc1 and on ,mar4 #bdth1 #ahhd1 he made application through the ,board of ,visitors to the ,admiralty to print the work3 after the usual enquiries as to the expense this was acceded to1 and copy was sent to the printers as soon as it was ready4 ,the first printed proofs were received on ,feb4 #eth1 #ahhe1 and the whole book was printed by the end of #ahhf4 ,from the frequent references in his journal to errors discovered and corrected during the progress of these calculations1 it would seem likely that his powers were not what they had been1 and that there was a probability that some important errors might escape correction4 ,he was far too honest to blind himself to this possibility1 and in the ,preface to his ,numerical ,lunar ,theory he says thus3 ,i have explained above that the principle of operations was1 to arrange the fundamental mechanical equations in a form suited for the investigations of ,lunar ,theory2 to substitute in the terms of these equations the numerical values furnished by ,delaunay's great work2 and to examine whether the equations are thereby satisfied4 ,with painful alarm1 ,i find that they are not satisfied2 and that the discordance1 or failure of satisfying the equations1 is large4 ,the critical trial depends on the great mass of computations in ,section ,,ii4 ,these have been made in duplicate1 with all the care for accuracy that anxiety could supply4 ,still ,i cannot but fear that the error which is the source of discordance must be on my part4 ,i cannot conjecture whether ,i may be able to examine sufficiently into this matter4 ,he resolutely took in hand the revision of his work1 and continued it till ,october #ahhh4 ,but it is clear from the entries in his journal that his powers were now unequal to the task1 and although from time to time he suspected that he had discovered errors1 yet it does not appear that he determined anything with certainty4 ,he never doubted that there were important errors in the work1 and later on he left the following private note on the subject3 ,,numerical ,,lunar ,,theory4 #ahij1 ,sept4 #bi4 ,i had made considerable advance 7under official difficulties7 in calculations on my favourite ,numerical ,lunar ,theory1 when ,i discovered that1 under the heavy pressure of unusual matters 7two ,transits of ,venus and some eclipses7 ,i had committed a grievous error in the first stage of giving numerical value to my ,theory4 ,my spirit in the work was broken1 and ,i have never heartily proceeded with it since4 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,probably the error referred to here is the suspected error mentioned above in his ,report of #ahgh1 as to which he subsequently became more certain4 ,whatever may be the imperfections of the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory1 it is a wonderful work to have been turned out by a man #he years old4 ,in its idea and inception it embodies the experience of a long life actively spent in practical science4 ,and it may be that it will yet fulfil the objects of its author1 and that some younger astronomer may take it up1 correct its errors 7wherever they may be71 and fit it for practical use4 ,and then the labour bestowed upon it will not have been in vain4 ,subject always to the absorbing occupations of the ,lunar ,theory he amused himself with reading his favourite subjects of ,history and ,antiquities4 ,his movements during the remainder of the year #ahha were as follows3 ,in ,september he paid a two days' visit to ,lady ,herschel at ,hawkhurst4 ,from ,oct4 #dth to #agth he was at the ,cumberland ,lakes and engaged in expeditions in the neighbourhood4 ,from ,nov4 #eth to #hth he was at ,cambridge1 inspecting ,prof4 ,stuart's workshops1 and other scientific institutions4 ,on ,dec4 #acth he went to ,playford4--,amongst miscellaneous matters3 in ,november he wrote to ,mr ,rothery on the loss of the ',teuton' at some length1 with suggestions for the safer construction of such vessels4--,in ,october he was asked for suggestions regarding the establishment of a ,standard ,time applicable to the railway traffic in the ,united ,states3 he replied as follows3 #ahha1 ,oct4 #ca4 ,,sir1 ,i have to acknowledge your letter of ,october #ag1 introducing to my notice the difficulty which appears to be arising in ,america regarding a ,standard ,time1 for extensive use throughout ,n4 ,america applicable to railway traffic only4 ,the subject1 as including considerations of convenience in all the matters to which it applies1 is one of difficulties probably insuperable4 ,the certainty1 however1 that objections may be raised to every scheme1 renders me less timid in offering my own remarks2 which are much at your service4 ,i first comment upon your expression of ,standard ,time444 applicable to railway traffic only4 ,but do you mean this as affecting the transactions between one railway and another railway1 or as affecting each railway and the local interests 7temporal and others7 of the towns which it touches8 ,the difference is so great that ,i should be disposed to adopt it as marking very strongly the difference to be made between the practices of railways among themselves and the practices of railways towards the public2 and will base a system on that difference4 ,as regards the practices of railways among themselves3 if the various railways of ,america are joined and inosculated as they are in ,england1 it appears to me indispensable that they have one common standard among themselves3 say ,washington ,observatory time4 ,but this is only needed for the office-transactions between the railways2 it may be kept perfectly private2 never communicated to the public at all4 ,and ,i should recommend this as the first step4 ,there will then be no difficulty in deducing1 from these private ,washington times1 the accurate local times at those stations 7whose longitude is supposed to be fairly well known1 as a sailor with a sextant can determine one in a few hours7 which the railway authorities may deem worthy of that honour2 generally the termini of railways4 ,thus we shall have a series of bases of local time1 of authoritative character1 through the country4 ,of such bases we have two1 ,greenwich and ,dublin3 and they are separated by a sea-voyage4 ,in the ,u4,s4 of ,america there must be a greater number1 and probably not so well separated4 ,still it is indispensable to adopt such a system of local centers4 ,no people in this world can be induced to use a reckoning which does not depend clearly upon the sun4 ,in all civilized countries it depends 7approximately7 on the sun's meridian passage4 ,even the sailor on mid-ocean refers to that phenomenon4 ,and the solar passage1 with reasonable allowance1 #bjm4 or #cjm4 one way or another1 must be recognized in all time-arrangements as giving the fundamental time4 ,the only practical way of doing this is1 to adopt for a whole region the fundamental time of a center of that region4 ,and to this fundamental time1 the local time of the railway1 as now entering into all the concerns of life1 must be adapted4 ,a solicitor has an appointment to meet a client by railway2 a physician to a consultation4 ,how is this to be kept if the railway uses one time and every other act of life another8 ,there is one chain of circumstances which is almost peculiar--that of the line from ,new ,york to ,san ,francisco4 ,here ,i would have two clocks at every station3 those on the north side all shewing ,san ,francisco time1 and those on the south all shewing ,new ,york time4 ,every traveller's watch would then be available to the end of his journey4 ,a system1 fundamentally such as ,i have sketched1 would give little trouble1 and may ,i think be adopted with advantage4 ,i am1 ,sir1 ,your faithful servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,mr ,edward ,barrington4 #ahhb ,he returned from ,playford on ,jan4 #ag3 his other movements during the year were as follows3 from ,apr4 #bgth to ,may #aath he was at ,playford2 and again from ,august #ast to #bdth4 ,from ,oct4 #ith to ,nov4 #ast he was travelling with his two unmarried daughters in the ,lake ,district of ,cumberland3 the journey was by ,furness and ,coniston to ,portinscale near ,keswick2 on ,oct4 #acth he fell and sprained his ankle1 and his excursions for the rest of the time were mainly conducted by driving4 ,shortly after his return1 on ,nov4 #aath1 while walking alone on ,blackheath1 he was seized with a violent attack of illness1 and lay helpless for some time before he was found and brought home3 he seems however to have recovered to a great extent in the course of a day or two1 and continued his ,lunar ,theory and other work as before4 ,on ,june #bbnd he made the following sad note1 ,this morning1 died after a most painful illness my much-loved daughter-in-law1 ,anna ,airy1 daughter of ,professor ,listing of ,gttingen1 wife of my eldest son ,wilfrid4 ,in ,february he wrote out his reminiscences of the village of ,playford during his boyhood4 ,in ,june he was much disturbed in mind on hearing of some important alterations made by the ,astronomer ,royal in the ,collimators of the ,transit ,circle1 and some correspondence ensued on the subject4--,during the year he had much correspondence on the subject of the subsidences on ,blackheath4 ,the following letter was written in reply to a gentleman who had asked whether it could be ascertained by calculation how long it is since the ,glacial ,period existed3 #ahhb1 ,july #d4 ,,sir1 ,i should have much pleasure in fully answering your questions of ,july #c if ,i were able to do so3 but the subject really is very obscure4 7#a7 ,though it is recognized that the glacial period 7or periods7 is late1 ,i do not think that any one has ventured to fix upon a rude number of years since elapsed4 7#b7 ,we have no reason to think that the mean distance of the earth from the sun has sensibly altered4 ,there have been changes in the eccentricity of the orbit 7making the earth's distance from the sun less in one month and greater in the opposite month71 but ,i do not perceive that this would explain glaciers4 7#c7 ,i consider it to be certain that the whole surface of the earth1 at a very distant period1 was very hot1 that it has cooled gradually1 and 7theoretically and imperceptibly7 is cooling still4 ,the glaciers must be later than these hot times1 and later than our last consolidated strata3 but this is nearly all that ,i can say4 ,i am1 ,sir1 ,your obedient ,servant1 ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,james ,alston1 ,esq4 #ahhc ,from ,may #bnd to #bith he was at ,playford4 ,from ,july #ajth to #bjth he was travelling in ,south ,wales with his daughters4--,from ,oct4 #ajth to ,nov4 #ajth he was at ,playford4--,between ,nov4 #bjth of this year and ,jan4 #dth of the year #ahhd1 he sat several times to ,mr ,john ,collier for his portrait3 the picture was exhibited in the ,academy of #ahhd2 it is a most successful and excellent likeness4 ,throughout the year he was very busy with the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory4--,in ,march he was officially asked to accept the office of ,visitor of the ,royal ,observatory1 which he accepted1 and in this capacity attended at the ,annual ,visitation on ,june #bnd1 and addressed a ,memorandum to the ,visitors on the progress of his ,lunar ,theory4--,on ,march #abth he published in several newspapers a statement in opposition to the proposed ,braithwaite and ,buttermere ,railway1 which he considered would be injurious to the ,lake ,district1 in which he took so deep an interest4--,in ,may he communicated to ,the ,observatory a statement of his objections to a ,theory advanced by ,mr ,stone 7then ,president of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society7 to account for the recognized inequality in the ,mean ,motion of the ,moon4 ,this ,theory1 on a subject to which ,airy had given his incessant attention for so many years1 would naturally receive his careful attention and criticism1 and it attracted much general notice at the time4--,in ,december he wrote to the ,secretary of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society his opinion as to the award of the ,medal of the ,society4 ,in this letter he stated the principles which guided him as follows3 ,i have always maintained that the award of the ,medal ought to be guided mainly by the originality of communications3 that one advance in a new direction ought in our decision to outweigh any mass of work in a routine already established3 and that1 in any case1 scientific utility as distinguished from mere elegance is indispensable4--,in ,july ,lieut4 ,pinheiro of the ,brazilian ,navy called with an autograph letter of introduction from the ,emperor of ,brazil4 ,the ,lieutenant desired to make himself acquainted with the ,english system of ,lighthouses and ,meteorology1 and ,airy took much trouble in providing him with introductions through which he received every facility for the thorough accomplishment of his object4--,on ,oct4 #hth he forwarded to ,prof4 ,cayley proofs of ,euclid's ,propositions ,i4 #dg and ,,iii4 #ce with the following remarks3 ,i place on the other side the propositions which may be substituted 7with knowledge of ,euclid's ,,vi4 book7 for the two celebrated propositions of the geometrical books4 ,they leave on my mind no doubt whatever that they were invented as proofs by ratios1 and that they were then violently expanded into cumbrous geometrical proofs4--,on ,june #bhth he declined to sign a memorial asking for the interment of ,mr ,spottiswoode in ,westminster ,abbey1 stating as his reason1 ,i take it1 that interment possessing such a public character is a public recognition of benefits1 political1 literary1 or philosophical1 whose effects will be great and durable4 ,now ,i doubt whether it can be stated that ,mr ,spottiswoode had conferred such benefits on ,society4 ,but he adds at length his cordial recognition of ,mr ,spottiswoode's scientific services4--,throughout his life ,airy was a regular attendant at church1 and took much interest in the conduct of the ,church services4 ,in ,october of this year he wrote a long letter to the ,vicar of ,greenwich on various points1 in which occurs the following paragraph3 ,but there is one matter in the present form of the ,church ,service1 on which my feeling is very strong1 namely the 7so-called1 ,i believe7 ,choral ,service1 in the ,confession1 the ,prayer1 and the ,creed4 ,i have long listened with veneration to our noble ,liturgy1 and ,i have always been struck with the deep personally religious feeling which pervades it1 especially those parts of it which are for ',the ,people4' ,and an earnest ,priest1 earnestly pressing these parts by his vocal example on the notice of the ,people1 can scarcely fail to excite a corresponding earnestness in them4 ,all this is totally lost in the choral system4 ,for a venerable persuasion there is substituted a rude irreverential confusion of voices2 for an earnest acceptance of the form offered by the ,priest there is substituted--in my feeling at least--a weary waiting for the end of an unmeaning form4 ,he also objected much to singing the responses to the ,commandments4 #ahhd ,from ,apr4 #bith to ,may #cjth he was at ,playford1 concluding his ,journal there with the note ,so ends a pleasant ,vacation4--,on ,june #aath he went to ,cambridge and attended the ,trinity ,college ,commemoration ,service1 and dined in ,hall4--,from ,aug4 #adth to ,sept4 #aath he was at ,playford4--,on ,sept4 #bfth he made an expedition to ,guildford and ,farnham4--,during this year he was closely engaged on the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory1 and for relaxation was reading theology and sundry books of the ,old ,testament4 ,on ,june #gth he attended at the ,visitation of the ,royal ,observatory4--,in a letter written in ,april to ,lt4-,col4 ,marindin1 ,r4,a41 on the subject of wind pressure there occurs the following remark3 ,when the heavy gusts come on1 the wind is blowing in directions changing rapidly1 but limited in extent4 ,my conclusion is that in arches of small extent 7as in the ,tay ,bridge7 every thing must be calculated for full pressure2 but in arches of large extent 7as in the ,forth ,bridge7 every thing may be calculated for small pressure4 ,and for a suspension bridge the pressure is far less dangerous than for a stiff arch4--,in ,january he had some correspondence with ,professor ,tyndall on the ,theory of the ,white ,rainbow1 and stated that he thoroughly agreed with ,dr ,young's explanation of this phaenomenon4 --,the following is extracted from a letter on ,may #ast to his old friend ,otto ,struve3 ,i received from you about #c or #d weeks past a sign of your friendly remembrance1 a copy of your paper on the ,annual ,parallax of ,aldebaran4 ,it pleased me much4 ,especially ,i was delighted with your noble retention of the one equation whose result differed so sensibly from that of the other equations4 ,it is quite possible1 even probable1 that the mean result is improved by it4 ,i have known such instances4 ,the first1 which attracted much attention1 was ,capt4 ,kater's attempt to establish a scale of longitude in ,england by reciprocal observations of azimuth between ,beachy ,head and ,dunnose4 ,the result was evidently erroneous4 ,but ,colonel ,colby1 on examination of the original papers1 found that some observations had been omitted1 as suspicious2 and that when these were included the mean agreed well with the scale of observation inferred from other methods4--,in a letter to the ,rev4 ,r4,c4,m4 ,rouse1 acknowledging the receipt of a geometrical book1 there occurs the following paragraph3 ,i do not value ,euclid's ,elements as a super-excellent book of instruction--though some important points are better presented in it than in any other book of geometrical instruction that ,i have seen4 ,but ,i value it as a book of strong and distinct reasoning1 and of orderly succession of reasonings4 ,i do not think that there is any book in the world which presents so distinctly the 'because444444 therefore4444444' ,and this is invaluable for the mental education of youth4--,in ,may he was in correspondence with ,professor ,balfour ,stewart regarding a projected movement in ,terrestrial ,magnetism to be submitted to the ,british ,association4 ,airy cordially approved of this movement1 and supported it to the best of his ability1 stating that in his opinion what was mainly wanted was the collation of existing records4--,in ,january and ,february he was much pressed by ,prof4 ,pritchard of ,oxford to give his opinion as to the incorrectness of statements made by ,dr ,kinns in his ,lectures on the ,scientific ,accuracy of the ,bible4 ,airy refused absolutely to take part in the controversy1 but he could not escape from the correspondence which the matter involved3 and this led up to other points connected with the early history of the ,israelites1 a subject in which he took much interest4 #ahhe ,from ,may #dth to ,june #crd he was at ,playford4--,from ,july #bnd to #bbnd he was in the ,lake ,district4 ,the journey was by ,windermere to ,kentmere1 where he made enquiries concerning the ,airy family1 as it had been concluded with much probability from investigations made by his nephew1 the ,rev4 ,basil ,r4 ,airy1 that the family was settled there at a very early date4 ,some persons of the name of ,airy were still living there4 ,he then went on by ,coniston and ,grasmere to ,portinscale1 and spent the rest of his time in expeditions amongst the hills and visits to friends4--,on ,july #bhth he went to ,woodbridge in ,suffolk and distributed the prizes to the boys of the ,grammar ,school there4--,from ,oct4 #ith to ,nov4 #abth he was again at ,playford4--,throughout the year he was busily engaged on the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory1 and found but little time for miscellaneous reading4 ,of printed papers by ,airy in this year the most important was one on the ,results deduced from the ,measures of ,terrestrial ,magnetic ,force in the ,horizontal ,plane1 c4 ,this was a long ,paper1 communicated to the ,royal ,society1 and published in the ,phil4 ,trans41 and was the last ,scientific ,paper of any importance 7except the ,volume of the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory7 in the long list of ,papers by ,g4,b4 ,airy4 ,the preparation of this ,paper took much time4--,of miscellaneous matters3 ,in ,may a ,committee of the ,royal ,society had been appointed to advise the ,india ,office as to the publication of ,col4 ,j4 ,herschel's pendulum observations in ,india2 and ,airy was asked to assist the ,committee with his advice4 ,he gave very careful and anxious consideration to the subject1 and it occupied much time4--,in the early part of the year he was asked by ,sir ,william ,thomson to assist him with an affidavit in a lawsuit concerning an alleged infringement of one of his ,patents for the improvement of the ,compass4 ,airy declined to make an affidavit or to take sides in the dispute1 but he wrote a letter from which the following is extracted3 ,i cannot have the least difficulty in expressing my opinion that you have made a great advance in the application of my method of correcting the compass in iron ships1 by your introduction of the use of short needles for the compass-cards4 ,in my original investigations1 when the whole subject was in darkness1 ,i could only use existing means for experiment1 namely the long-needle compasses then existing4 ,but when ,i applied mechanical theory to explanation of the results1 ,i felt grievously the deficiency of a theory and the construction which it suggested 7necessarily founded on assumption that the proportion of the needle-length to the other elements of measure is small7 when the length of the needles was really so great4 ,i should possibly have used some construction like yours1 but the ,government had not then a single iron vessel1 and did not seem disposed to urge the enquiry4 ,you1 under happier auspices1 have successfully carried it out1 and1 ,i fully believe1 with much advantage to the science4--,he wrote a ,paper for the ,athenaeum and had various correspondence on the subject of the ,badbury ,rings in ,dorsetshire1 which he 7and others7 considered as identical with the ,mons ,badonicus of ,gildas1 the site of an ancient ,british battle4--,in ,february he was in correspondence with the ,astronomer ,royal on ,uniform ,time ,reckoning1 and on considerations relating to it4--,on ,june #fth he attended the ,annual ,visitation of the ,observatory1 and brought before the ,board his investigations of the ,diurnal ,magnetic ,inequalities1 and the revises of his ,lunar ,theory4 #ahhf ,from ,june #hth to ,july #agth he was at ,playford4--,and again at ,playford from ,oct4 #eth to ,nov4 #hth4--,on ,march #bgth he had an attack of gout in his right foot1 which continued through ,april and into ,may1 causing him much inconvenience4--,he was busy with the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory up to ,sept4 #beth1 when he was reading the last proof-sheet received from the printers3 during this period his powers were evidently failing1 and there are frequent references to errors discovered and corrected1 and to uncertainties connected with points of the ,theory4 ,but his great work on the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory was printed in this year3 and there can be no doubt that he experienced a great feeling of relief when this was accomplished4--,he was in correspondence with ,prof4 ,adams as to the effect of his reduction of the ,coefficient of ,lunar ,acceleration on the calculation of the ancient historical eclipses4--,he compiled a ,paper ,on the establishment of the ,roman dominion in ,england1 which was printed in #ahhg4--;,he wrote a notice concerning events in the life of ,mr ,john ,jackson of ,rosthwaite near ,keswick1 a well-known guide and much-respected authority on matters relating to the ,lake ,district4--,he also wrote a short account of the connection of the history of ,mdlle de ,quroualle with that of the ,royal ,observatory at ,greenwich4--,on ,june #dth he attended at the ,annual ,visitation of the ,observatory4 #ahhg ,on ,may #ith to #aath he made a short visit to ,eastbourne and the neighbourhood4--,from ,june #hth to ,july #acth he was at ,playford4--,from ,aug4 #bith to ,sept4 #eth he was travelling in ,dorsetshire and ,wiltshire3 he went first to ,weymouth1 a very favourite centre for excursions with him1 and afterwards visited ,bridport and ,lyme ,regis3 then by ,dorchester to ,blandford1 and visited the ,hod ,hill1 ,badbury ,rings1 c43 at ,wimborne he was much interested in the architecture of the church3 lastly he visited ,salisbury1 ,old ,sarum1 ,stonehenge1 c41 and returned to ,greenwich4--,from ,oct4 #aath to ,nov4 #abth he was at ,playford4--,during this year he partly occupied himself with arranging his papers and drawings1 and with miscellaneous reading4 ,but he could not withdraw his thoughts from his ,lunar ,theory1 and he still continued to struggle with the difficulties of the subject1 and was constantly scheming improvements4 ,his private accounts also now gave him much trouble4 ,throughout his life he had been accustomed to keep his accounts by double entry in very perfect order4 ,but he now began to make mistakes and to grow confused1 and this distressed him greatly4 ,it never seemed to occur to him to abandon his elaborate system of accounts1 and to content himself with simple entries of receipts and expenses4 ,this would have been utterly opposed to his sense of order1 which was now more than ever the ruling principle of his mind4 ,and so he struggled with his accounts as he did with his ,lunar ,theory till his powers absolutely failed4 ,in his ,journal for this year there are various entries of mental attacks of short duration and other ailments ascribable to his advanced age4 ,the last printed ,papers by ,g4,b4 ,airy belong to this year4 ,one was the ,paper before referred to ,on the establishment of the ,roman dominion in ,england3 another was on the solution of a certain ,equation3 and there were early reminiscences of the ,cambridge ,tripos1 c4--,in ,february he attended a little to a new edition of his ,ipswich ,lectures1 but soon handed it over to ,mr ,h4,h4 ,turner of the ,royal ,observatory4--,on ,may #bcrd he was drawing up suggestions for the arrangement of the ,seckford ,school1 c41 at ,woodbridge4--,on ,june #dth he attended the ,visitation of the ,royal ,observatory1 when a resolution was passed in favour of complete photography of the star-sky4 #ahhh ,from the #adth to #afth of ,may he made a short expedition to ,bournemouth1 and stopped on the way home to visit ,winchester ,cathedral4--,from ,june #bgth to ,aug4 #crd he was at ,playford2 and again from ,oct4 #acth to ,nov4 #ajth4--,during the first half of the year he continued his examination of his ,lunar ,theory1 but gradually dropped it4 ,there are several references in his ,journal to his feelings of pain and weakness1 both mental and bodily3 at the end of ,march he had an attack of gout in the fingers of his right hand4 ,during the latter part of the year he was troubled with his private accounts1 as before4--,he does not appear to have been engaged on any miscellaneous matters calling for special notice in this year4 ,but he kept up his astronomical correspondence--with ,lockyer on the meteorite system of planetary formation2 with ,pritchard on the work of the ,oxford ,university ,observatory2 with ,adams on his ,numerical ,lunar ,theory1 c41 and with others4--,on ,june #bnd he attended the ,visitation of the ,royal ,observatory4--,he amused himself occasionally with reading his favourite subjects of history and antiquities1 and with looking over some of his early investigations of scientific questions4 #ahhi ,on ,june #eth he made a one-day's excursion to ,colchester4--,from ,july #bnd to #bgth he was in the ,cumberland ,lake ,district1 chiefly at ,portinscale near ,keswick4 ,while staying at ,portinscale he was seized with a sudden giddiness and fell upon the floor3 he afterwards wrote a curious account of the visions which oppressed his brain immediately after the accident4 ,he returned by ,solihull1 where his son ,osmund was residing4--,from ,oct4 #dth to ,nov4 #hth he was at ,playford4 ,while there he drew up a short statement of his general state of health1 adverting particularly to the loss of strength in his legs and failure of his walking powers4--,his health seems to have failed a good deal in this year3 on ,feb4 #dth he had an accidental fall1 and there are several entries in his ,journal of mental attacks1 pains in his limbs1 affection of his eye-sight1 c4--,in the early part of the year he was much engaged on the history of the ,airy family1 particularly on that of his father4--,in this year the ,white ,house was sold by auction by its owners1 and ,airy purchased it on ,may #bdth4--,he was still in difficulties with his private accounts1 but was making efforts to abandon his old and elaborate system4--,for his amusement he was chiefly engaged on ,theological ,notes which he was compiling3 and also on early optical investigations1 c4 ,on ,june #ast he attended the ,visitation of the ,royal ,observatory1 and moved a resolution that a ,committee be appointed to consider whether any reduction can be effected in the amount of matter printed in the ,volume of ,observations of the ,royal ,observatory4 ,during his tenure of office he had on various occasions brought this subject before the ,board of ,visitors1 and with his usual tenacity of purpose he now as ,visitor pressed it upon their notice4--,in ,may he zealously joined with others in an application to get for ,dr ,huggins a pension on the ,civil ,list4--,in ,january he prepared a short ,paper illustrated with diagrams to exhibit the ,interference of ,solar ,light1 as used by him in his ,lectures at ,cambridge in #ahcf3 but it does not appear to have been published4--,in ,april he received a copy of a ,paper by ,mr ,rundell1 referring to the complete adoption of his system of compass correction in iron ships1 not only in the merchant service1 but also in the ,navy4 ,this was a matter of peculiar gratification to ,airy1 who had always maintained that the method of ,tables of ,errors1 which had been so persistently adhered to by the ,admiralty1 was a mistake1 and that sooner or later they would find it necessary to adopt his method of mechanical correction4 ,the passage referred to is as follows3 ,the name of ,sir ,george ,airy1 the father of the mechanical compensation of the compass in iron vessels1 having just been mentioned1 it may not be inappropriate to remind you that the present year is the fiftieth since ,sir ,george ,airy presented to the ,royal ,society his celebrated paper on this subject with the account of his experiments on the ',rainbow' and ',ironsides4' ,fifty years is a long period in one man's history1 and ,sir ,george ,airy may well be proud in looking back over this period to see how complete has been the success of his compass investigation4 ,his mode of compensation has been adopted by all the civilized world4 ,sir ,william ,thomson1 one of the latest and perhaps the most successful of modern compass adjusters1 when he exhibited his apparatus in #ahgh before a distinguished meeting in ,london1 remarked that within the last ten years the application of ,sir ,george ,airy's method had become universal1 not only in the merchant service1 but in the navies of this and other countries1 and added--,the compass and the binnacles before you are designed to thoroughly carry out in practical navigation the ,astronomer ,royal's principles4 #ahij ,from ,may #agth to #bdth he was on an expedition to ,north ,wales1 stopping at ,chester1 ,conway1 ,carnarvon1 ,barmouth1 and ,shrewsbury4--,from ,june #ahth to ,july #bdth he was at ,playford2 and again from ,oct4 #aath to ,nov4 #aeth4--,in this year his powers greatly failed1 and he complained frequently of mental attacks1 weakness of limbs1 lassitude1 and failure of sleep4 ,he occupied himself as usual with his books1 papers1 and accounts2 and read ,travels1 ,biblical ,history1 c41 but nothing very persistently4 ,on ,june #gth he attended the ,visitation of the ,royal ,observatory4--,from a letter addressed to him by ,mr ,j4 ,hartnup1 of ,liverpool ,observatory1 it appears that there had grown up in the mercantile world an impression that very accurate chronometers were not needed for steam ships1 because they were rarely running many days out of sight of land3 and ,airy's opinion was requested on this matter4 ,he replied as follows on ,mar4 #crd3 ,the question proposed in your letter is purely a practical one4 7#a7 ,if a ship is likely ever to be two days out of sight of land1 ,i think that she ought to be furnished with two good chronometers1 properly tested4 7#b7 ,for the proper testing of the rates of the chronometers1 a rating of the chronometers for three or four days in a meridional observatory is necessary4 ,a longer testing is desirable4--,in ,march he was in correspondence1 as one of the ,trustees of the ,sheepshanks ,fund1 with the ,master of ,trinity relative to grants from the ,fund for ,cambridge ,observatory4 #ahia ,from ,june #afth to ,july #aeth he was at ,playford4 ,and again from ,oct4 #abth to ,dec4 #bnd 7his last visit74 ,throughout the year his weakness1 both of brain power and muscular power1 had been gradually increasing1 and during this stay at ,playford1 on ,nov4 #aath1 he fell down in his bed-room 7probably from failure of nerve action7 and was much prostrated by the shock4 ,for several days he remained in a semi-unconscious condition1 and although he rallied1 yet he continued very weak1 and it was not until ,dec4 #bnd that he could be removed to the ,white ,house4 ,up to the time of his fall he had been able to take frequent drives and even short walks in the neighbourhood that he was so fond of1 but he could take but little exercise afterwards1 and on or about ,nov4 #ahth he made the following note3 ,the saddest expedition that ,i have ever made4 ,we have not left home for several days4 ,the rapid failure of his powers during this year is well exemplified by his handwriting in his ,journal entries1 which1 with occasional rallies1 becomes broken and in places almost illegible4 ,he makes frequent reference to his decline in strength and brain-power1 and to his failing memory1 but he continued his ordinary occupations1 made frequent drives around ,blackheath1 and amused himself with his family history researches1 arrangement of papers1 and miscellaneous reading3 and he persisted to the last with his private accounts4 ,his interest in matters around him was still keen4 ,on ,june #acth he was driving along the ,greenwich ,marshes in order to track the course of the great sewer2 and on ,august #eth he visited the ,crossness ,sewage ,works and took great interest in the details of the treatment of the sewage4--,in ,march he contributed1 with great satisfaction1 to the ,fund for the ,portrait of his old friend ,sir ,g4,g4 ,stokes1 with whom he had had so much scientific correspondence4--,on ,july #beth an afternoon party was arranged to celebrate the #ijth anniversary of his birthday 7the actual anniversary was on ,july #bgth74 ,none of his early friends were there3 he had survived them all4 ,but invitations were sent to all his scientific and private friends who could be expected to come1 and a large party assembled4 ,the afternoon was very fine1 and he sat in the garden and received his friends 7many of whom had come from long distances7 in good strength and spirits4 ,it was a most successful gathering and was not without its meaning2 for it was felt that1 under the circumstances of his failing powers1 it was in all probability a final leave-taking4--,on ,july #bgth he went down to the ,greenwich ,parish ,church at #i p4m41 to be present at the illumination of the church clock face for the first time--a matter of local interest which had necessitated a good deal of time and money4 ,on this occasion at the request of the company assembled in and around the ,vestry he spoke for about a quarter of an hour on ,time--the value of accurate time1 the dissemination of ,greenwich time throughout the country by time-signals from the ,observatory1 and the exhibition of it by time-balls1 c41 c41--the subject to which so large a part of his life had been devoted4 ,it was a pleasant and able speech and gave great satisfaction to the parishioners1 amongst whom he had lived for so many years4--,he received two illuminated addresses--one from the ,astronomer ,royal and ,staff of the ,royal ,observatory2 the other from the ,vorstand of the ,astronomische ,gesellschaft at ,berlin--and various private letters of congratulation4 ,the address from the ,staff of the ,observatory was worded thus3 ,we1 the present members of the ,staff of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 beg to offer you our most sincere congratulations on the occasion of your #ijth birthday4 ,we cannot but feel how closely associated we are with you1 in that our whole energies are directed to the maintenance and development of that practical astronomical work1 of which you essentially laid the foundation4 ,it affords us great pleasure to think that after the conclusion of your life's work1 you have been spared to live so long under the shadow of the noble ,observatory with which your name was identified for half a century1 and with which it must ever remain associated4 ,after his return from ,playford he seemed to rally a little3 but he soon fell ill and was found to be suffering from hernia4 ,this necessitated a surgical operation1 which was successfully performed on ,dec4 #agth4 ,this gave him effectual relief1 and after recovering from the immediate effects of the operation1 he lay for several days quietly and without active pain reciting the ,english poetry with which his memory was stored4 ,but the shock was too great for his enfeebled condition1 and he died peacefully in the presence of his six surviving children on ,jan4 #bnd1 #ahib4 ,he was buried in ,playford churchyard on ,jan4 #gth4 ,the funeral procession was attended at ,greenwich by the whole staff of the ,royal ,observatory1 and by other friends1 and at his burial there were present two former ,fellows of the ,college to which he had been so deeply attached4 ,,appendix4 ,,list ,,of ,,printed ,,papers ,,by ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,,list ,,of ,,books ,,written ,,by ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,,printed ,,papers ,,by ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,with the instinct of order which formed one of his chief characteristics ,airy carefully preserved a copy of every printed ,paper of his own composition4 ,these were regularly bound in large quarto volumes1 and they are in themselves a striking proof of his wonderful diligence4 ,the bound volumes are #ad in number1 and they occupy a space of #b ft4 #f in4 on a shelf4 ,they contain #eah ,papers1 a list of which is appended1 and they form such an important part of his life's work1 that his biography would be very incomplete without a reference to them4 ,he was very careful in selecting the channels for the publication of his ,papers4 ,most of the early ,papers were published in the ,transactions of the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society1 but several of the most important1 such as his ,paper ,on an inequality of long period in the motions of the ,earth and ,venus1 were published in the ,philosophical ,transactions of the ,royal ,society1 and others1 such as the articles on ,the ,figure of the ,earth1 ,gravitation1 ,tides and ,waves1 c41 were published in ,encyclopaedias4 ,after his removal to ,greenwich nearly all his ,papers on scientific subjects 7except astronomy71 such as ,tides1 ,magnetism1 ,correction of the ,compass1 c41 c41 were communicated to the ,royal ,society1 and were published in the ,philosophical ,transactions4 ,but everything astronomical was reserved for the ,royal ,astronomical ,society4 ,his connection with that ,society was very close3 he had joined it in its earliest days 7the date of his election was ,may #ith1 #ahbh71 and regarded it as the proper medium for the discussion of current astronomical questions1 and for recording astronomical progress4 ,he was unremitting in his attendance at the ,monthly ,meetings of the ,society1 and was several times ,president4 ,in the ,memoirs of the ,society #ce of his ,papers are printed1 and in addition #abi ,papers in the ,monthly ,notices4 ,in fact a meeting of the ,society rarely passed without some communication from him1 and such was his wealth of matter that sometimes he would communicate as many as #c ,papers on a single evening4 ,for the publication of several short mathematical ,papers1 and especially for correspondence on disputed points of mathematical investigation1 he chose as his vehicle the ,philosophical ,magazine1 to which he contributed #cb ,papers4 ,investigations of a more popular character he published in the ,athenaeum1 which he also used as a vehicle for his replies to attacks on his work1 or on the ,establishment which he conducted3 in all he made #ee communications to that ,newspaper4 ,to various ,societies1 such as the ,institution of ,civil ,engineers1 the ,british ,association1 the ,royal ,institution1 c41 he presented ,papers or made communications on subjects specially suited to each2 and in like manner to various ,newspapers3 there were #eh ,papers in this category4 ,in so long an official life there would naturally be a great number of ,official ,reports1 ,parliamentary ,returns1 c41 and these1 with other miscellaneous ,papers printed for particular objects and for a limited circulation1 amounted in all to #ada4 ,under this head come his ,annual ,reports to the ,board of ,visitors1 which in themselves contain an extremely full and accurate history of the ,observatory during his tenure of office4 ,there are #df of these ,reports1 and they would of themselves form a large volume of about #gdj pages4 ,the following summary of his ,printed ,papers shews the manner in which they were distributed3 ,,summary ,,of ,,printed ,,papers ,,by ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,number of ,papers4 ,in the ,transactions of the ,cambridge ,philosophical ,society #cj ,in the ,philosophical ,transactions of the ,royal ,society #bi ,in the ,proceedings of the ,royal ,society #i ,in the ,memoirs of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society #ce ,in the ,monthly ,notices of the ,royal ,astronomical ,society #abi ,in the ,philosophical ,magazine and ,journal #cb ,in the ,athenaeum #ee ,in ,encyclopedias1 and in various ,newspapers and ,transactions #eh ,in ,official ,reports1 ,addresses1 ,parliamentary ,returns1 ,evidence before ,committees1 ,lectures1 ,letters1 ,sundry ,treatises1 and ,papers #ada --- ,total #eah ,,printed ,,papers ,,by ,g4,b4 ,,airy4 ,date when read or published4 ,title of ,paper4 ,where published4 #ahbb ,nov4 #be ,on the use of ,silvered ,glass for the ,mirrors ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 of ,reflecting ,telescopes4 #ahbd ,mar4 #ae ,on the ,figure assumed by a ,fluid ,homogeneous ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 ,mass1 whose ,particles are acted on by their mutual ,attraction1 and by small extraneous ,forces4 #ahbd ,may #ag ,on the ,principles and ,construction of the ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 ,achromatic ,eye-,pieces of ,telescopes1 and on the ,achromatism of ,microscopes4 #ahbd ,trigonometry4 ,encycl4 ,metrop4 #ahbe ,feb4 #ba ,on a peculiar ,defect in the ,eye1 and a ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 mode of correcting it4 #ahbe ,may #b ,on the ,forms of the ,teeth of ,wheels4 ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 #ahbf ,may #h ,on ,laplace's ,investigation of the ,attraction ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 of ,spheroids differing little from a ,sphere4 #ahbf ,june #ae ,on the ,figure of the ,earth4 ,phil4 ,trans4 #ahbf ,nov4 #bf ,on the ,disturbances of ,pendulums and ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 ,balances1 and on the ,theory of ,escapements4 #ahbg ,feb4 #ae ,remarks on a ,correction of the ,solar ,phil4 ,trans4 ,tables1 required by ,mr ,south's observations4 #ahbg ,may #i ,on some ,passages in ,mr ,ivory's ,remarks ,phil4 ,mag4 on a ,memoir by ,m4 ,poisson relating to the ,attraction of ,spheroids4 #ahbg ,may #ad ,on the ,spherical ,aberration of the ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 ,may #ba ,eyepieces of ,telescopes4 #ahbg ,dec4 #f ,on the corrections in the elements of ,phil4 ,trans4 ,delambre's ,solar ,tables required by the observations made at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 #ahbh ,feb4 #bf ,address to the ,members of the ,senate1 on an ,improvement in the ,position of the ,plumian ,professor4 #ahbh ,nov4 #bd ,on the ,longitude of the ,cambridge ,observatory4 ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 #ahbi ,nov4 #ac ,on a method of determining the ,mass of ,astr4 ,soc4 the ,moon from ,transit ,observations of 7,memoirs7 ,venus near her inferior conjunction4 #ahbi ,nov4 #af ,on a ,correction requisite to be applied ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 to the ,length of a ,pendulum consisting of a ,ball suspended by a fine ,wire4 #ahbi ,dec4 #ad ,on certain ,conditions under which a ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 ,perpetual ,motion is possible4 #ahcj ,aug4 #ag ,figure of the ,earth4 ,encycl4 ,metrop4 #ahca ,feb4 #ba ,on the ,nature of the ,light in the ,two ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 ,rays produced by the ,double ,refraction of ,quartz4 #ahca ,apr4 #ah ,addition to the above ,paper4 ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 #ahca ,nov4 #ad ,on a remarkable ,modification of ,newton's ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 ,rings4 #ahca ,nov4 #bd ,on an inequality of long period in the ,phil4 ,trans4 motions of the ,earth and ,venus4 #ahcb ,jan4 #b ,translation of ,encke's ,dissertation 7on ,encke's ,comet7 contained in ,nos4 #baj and #baa of the ,astronomische ,nachrichten4 #ahcc ,mar4 #e ,on a new ,analyzer1 and its use in ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 ,experiments of ,polarization4 #ahcb ,mar4 #ai ,on the ,phenomena of ,newton's ,rings when formed between two transparent ,substances of different refractive ,powers4 #ahcb ,may #b ,report on the ,progress of ,astronomy ,trans ,brit4 ,ass4 during the present century4 #ahcb ,oct4 ,report of the ,syndicate of the ,cambridge ,observatory4 #ahcc ,feb4 #b ,remarks on ,mr ,potter's ,experiment on ,phil4 ,mag4 ,interference4 #ahcc ,apr4 #ab ,on the ,mass of ,jupiter1 as determined ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 from the ,observation of ,elongations of 7,memoirs7 the ,fourth ,satellite4 #ahcc ,syllabus of a ,course of ,experimental ,lectures4 #ahcc ,may #g ,on the ,calculation of ,newton's ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 ,experiments on ,diffraction4 #ahcc ,may #g ,remarks on ,sir ,david ,brewster's ,paper ,phil4 ,mag4 ,on the ,absorption of ,specific ,rays c4 #ahcc ,may #af ,results of the ,repetition of ,mr ,potter's ,phil4 ,mag4 ,experiment of interposing a ,prism in the ,path of ,interfering ,light4 #ahcc ,may ,on a supposed black bar formed by ,phil4 ,mag4 ,diffraction4 #ahcc ,june #bj ,report on ,mr ,barlow's ,fluid-,lens ,r4 ,soc4 7,proc47 ,telescope #ahcd ,mar4 #ad ,continuation of ,researches into the ,value ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 of the ,mass of ,jupiter1 by observation of 7,memoirs47 the ,elongations of the ,fourth ,satellite4 #ahcd ,apr4 #ad ,on the ,latitude of ,cambridge ,observatory ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 #ahcd ,june ,report of the ,syndicate of the ,cambridge ,observatory4 #ahcd ,june #ac ,on the ,position of the ,ecliptic1 as inferred ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 inferred from ,transit and ,circle 7,memoirs47 ,observations made at ,cambridge ,observatory in the year #ahcc4 #ahcd ,june #ac ,observations of the ,solar ,eclipse of ,july ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 #afth1 #ahcc1 made at ,cambridge ,observatory1 7,memoirs47 and ,calculations of the ,observations4 #ahcd ,nov4 #bd ,on the ,diffraction of an ,object-,glass ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 with ,circular ,aperture4 #ahcd ,dec4 #c ,on the ,calculation of the ,perturbations ,naut4 ,alm4 of the ,small ,planets and the ,comets of 7#ahcg1 ,app47 short period4 #ahce ,may #h ,continuation of ,researches into the ,value ,r4 ,astr1 ,soc4 of ,jupiter's ,mass4 7,memoirs47 #ahce ,june ,report of the ,syndicate of the ,cambridge ,observatory4 #ahce ,june #ab ,on the ,position of the ,ecliptic1 as ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 inferred from ,observations with the 7,memoirs47 ,cambridge ,transit and ,mural ,circle1 made in the year #ahcd4 #ahce ,june #ab ,on the ,time of ,rotation of ,jupiter4 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 7,memoirs47 #ahcf ,feb4 #ab ,speech on delivering the ,medal of the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 to ,sir ,john ,herschel4 7,proc47 #ahcf ,june #d ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahcf ,june #i ,report upon a ,letter 7on a ,systematic ,r4 ,soc4 ,course of ,magnetic ,observations7 addressed 7,proc47 by ,m4 le ,baron de ,humboldt to ,his ,royal ,highness the ,president of the ,royal ,society 7by ,s4 ,hunter ,christie and ,g4,b4 ,airy74 #ahcg ,jan4 #ac ,continuation of ,researches into the ,value ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 of ,jupiter's ,mass4 7,memoirs47 #ahcg ,feb4 #aj ,speech on delivering the ,medal of the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 to ,professor ,rosenberger4 7,proc7 #ahcg ,mar4 #aj ,results of the ,observations of the ,sun1 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,moon1 and ,planets1 made at ,cambridge 7,memoirs7 ,observatory in the years #ahcc1 #ahcd1 and #ahce4 #ahcg ,may #ab ,on the ,position of the ,ecliptic1 as ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 inferred from ,observations with the 7,memoirs7 ,cambridge ,transit and ,mural ,circle1 made in the year #ahce4 #ahcg ,june #c ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahcg ,sept4 #i ,address delivered in the ,town ,hall of ,neath4 #ahcg ,nov4 #aj ,on the ,parallax of alpha ,lyrae4 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 7,memoirs47 #ahch ,feb4 #aj ,address to the ,earl of ,burlington on ,religious ,examination in the ,university of ,london4 #ahch ,mar4 #bf ,on the ,intensity of ,light in the ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 neighbourhood of a ,caustic4 #ahch ,june #b ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahch ,dec4 #ad ,a ,catalogue of #gbf ,stars1 deduced from ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 the ,observations made at the ,cambridge 7,memoirs47 ,observatory1 from #ahbh to #ahce2 reduced to ,january #a1 #ahcj4 #ahci ,apr4 #be ,account of ,experiments on ,iron-built ,phil4 ,trans4 ,ships1 instituted for the purpose of discovering a correction for the deviation of the ,compass produced by the iron of the ,ships4 #ahci ,june #a ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahci ,nov4 #h ,on the ,determination of the ,orbits of ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,comets1 from ,observations4 7,memoirs47 #ahci ,article ,gravitation4 ,penny ,cyclop4 #ahci ,article ,greenwich ,observatory4 ,penny ,cyclop4 #ahdj ,mar4 #b ,on a ,new ,construction of the ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 ,going-,fusee4 #ahdj ,mar4 #ac ,on the ,regulator of the ,clock-work for ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 effecting uniform ,movement of ,equatoreals4 #ahdj ,may #ae ,on the ,correction of the ,compass in ,un4 ,serv4 ,journ4 ,iron-built ,ships4 7,proc47 #ahdj ,results of ,experiments on the ,disturbance ,j4 ,weale4 of the ,compass in ,iron-built ,ships4 #ahdj ,june #f ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahdj ,june #ah ,on the ,theoretical ,explanation of an ,phil4 ,trans4 apparent new ,polarity in ,light4 #ahdj ,nov4 #ai ,supplement to the above ,paper4 ,phil4 ,trans4 #ahdj ,dec4 #d ,on the ,diffraction of an ,annular ,aperture4 ,phil4 ,mag4 #ahdj ,dec4 #i ,remarks on ,professor ,challis's ,investigation ,phil4 ,mag4 of the ,motion of a ,small ,sphere vibrating in a ,resisting ,medium4 #ahda ,jan4 #bj ,correction to the above ,paper ,on the ,phil4 ,mag4 ,diffraction1 c4 #ahda ,mar4 #bb ,remarks on ,professor ,challis's ,reply to ,phil4 ,mag4 ,mr ,airy's ,objections to the ,investigation of the ,resistance of the ,atmosphere to an ,oscillating ,sphere4 #ahda ,june #e ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahda ,july #aj ,reply to ,professor ,challis1 on the ,phil4 ,mag4 ,investigation of the ,resistance of the ,air to an ,oscillating ,sphere4 #ahda ,oct4 #bf ,extraordinary ,disturbance of the ,magnets4 #ahda ,nov4 #be ,on the ,laws of the ,rise and ,fall of the ,phil4 ,trans4 ,tide in the ,river ,thames4 #ahda ,dec4 #ba ,report of the ,commissioners appointed to consider the steps to be taken for ,restoration of the ,standards of ,weight and ,measure4 #ahdb ,apr4 #af ,on the ,greek3 ,ichtis of ,diodorus ,athenaeum4 #ahdb ,may #ac ,account of the ,ordnance ,zenith ,sector4 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 7,proc47 #ahdb ,june #d ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahdb ,nov4 #aa ,observations of the ,total ,solar ,eclipse of ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 #ahdb ,july #g4 7,memoirs47 #ahdb ,dec4 #a ,remarks on the ,present ,state of ,hatcliff's ,private ,charity 7,greenwich74 #ahdb ,article on ,tides and ,waves4 ,encyc4 ,metrop4 #ahdc ,mar4 #b ,on the ,laws of ,individual ,tides at ,phil4 ,trans4 ,southampton and at ,ipswich4 #ahdc ,apr4 #bi ,on ,monetary and ,metrical ,systems4 ,athenaeum4 #ahdc ,june #c ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahdc ,sept4 #be ,address to the ,individual ,members of the ,board of ,visitors of the ,royal ,observatory 7proposing the ,altazimuth74 #ahdc ,oct4 #f ,account of the ,northumberland ,equatoreal and ,dome1 attached to the ,cambridge ,observatory4 #ahdc ,nov4 #aj ,address and ,explanation of the proposed ,altitude and ,azimuth ,instrument to the ,board of ,visitors of the ,royal ,observatory4 #ahdd ,june #a ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahdd ,dec4 #ab ,on the ,laws of the ,tides on the ,coasts of ,phil4 ,trans4 ,ireland1 as inferred from an extensive series of observations made in connection with the ,ordnance ,survey of ,ireland4 #ahde ,jan4 #aj ,on the ,flexure of a ,uniform ,bar ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 supported by a number of equal ,pressures 7,memoirs47 applied at equidistant points1 c4 #ahde ,feb4 #ad ,speech on delivering the ,medal of the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 to ,capt4 ,smyth 7,proc47 #ahde ,may #i ,on a ,new ,construction of the ,divided ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,eye-,glass ,double-,image ,micrometer4 7,memoirs47 #ahde ,june #g ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahde ,july #ba ,on ,wexford ,harbour4 #ahdf ,report of the ,gauge ,commissioners4 ,and letter to ,sir ,e4 ,ryan4 #ahdf ,may #g ,on the ,equations applying to ,light under ,phil4 ,mag4 the action of ,magnetism4 #ahdf ,may #ab ,remarks on ,dr ,faraday's ,paper on ,phil4 ,mag4 ,ray-vibrations4 #ahdf ,may #be ,on a ,change in the ,state of an ,eye ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 affected with a ,mal-formation4 #ahdf ,june #f ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahdf ,june ,account of the ,measurement of an ,arc of ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,longitude between the ,royal ,observatory 7,month4 ,not47 of ,greenwich and the ,trigonometrical ,station of ,feagh ,main1 in the ,island of ,valentia4 #ahdf ,july #be ,letter to ,sir ,robert ,harry ,inglis1 ,bart41 ,athenaeum4 ,m4,p41 in answer to ,sir ,james ,south's attack on the ,observations at the ,greenwich ,observatory4 #ahdf ,nov4 ,on the ,bands formed by the partial ,phil4 ,mag4 ,interception of the ,prismatic ,spectrum4 #ahdf ,nov4 #ac ,account of some circumstances historically ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 connected with the ,discovery of the 7,memoirs47 ,planet exterior to ,uranus4 #ahdg ,jan4 #h ,reduction of the ,observations of ,halley's ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,comet made at the ,cambridge ,observatory in 7,memoirs47 the years #ahce and #ahcf4 #ahdg ,jan4 #h ,on a proposed ,alteration of ,bessel's ,method ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 for the ,computation of the ,corrections by 7,memoirs47 which the ,apparent ,places of ,stars are derived from the ,mean ,places4 #ahdg ,feb4 ,on ,sir ,david ,brewster's ,new ,analysis of ,phil4 ,mag4 ,solar ,light4 #ahdg ,feb4 #bj ,on the ,name of the ,new ,planet4 ,athenaeum4 #ahdg ,feb4 #bg ,mr ,adams and the ,new ,planet4 ,athenaeum4 #ahdg ,plan of the ,buildings and ,grounds of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 with ,explanation and ,history4 #ahdg ,may #ad ,explanation of ,hansen's ,perturbations of ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 the ,moon by ,venus4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahdg ,june #e ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahdg ,nov4 #cj ,address to the ,individual ,members of the ,board of ,visitors of the ,royal ,observatory4 7,zenith ,tube47 #ahdg ,dec4 #aj ,results deduced from the ,occultations of ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,stars and ,planets by the ,moon1 observed 7,memoirs47 at ,cambridge ,observatory from #ahcj to #ahce4 #ahdh ,feb4 #aa ,abstract of ,struve's tudes d',astronomie ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,stellaire4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahdh ,mar4 #ac ,syllabus of ,lectures on ,astronomy to be delivered at the ,temperance ,hall1 ,ipswich4 #ahdh ,apr4 #aj ,remarks on ,prof4 ,challis's ,theoretical ,phil4 ,mag4 ,determination of the ,velocity of ,sound #ahdh ,may #h ,supplement to a ,paper on the ,intensity of ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 ,light in the neighbourhood of a ,caustic4 #ahdh ,may #ab ,address to ,individual members of the ,board of ,visitors4 7,new ,transit ,circle1 ,reflex ,zenith ,tube1 c47 #ahdh ,june #c ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahdh ,june #i ,corrections of the ,elements of the ,moon's ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,orbit1 deduced from the ,lunar 7,memoirs47 ,observations made at the ,royal ,observatory1 of ,greenwich from #agej to #ahcj4 #ahdh ,aug4 #i ,explanation of a proposed construction of ,zenith ,sector3 addressed to the ,board of ,visitors of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 #ahdh ,oct4 #ad ,on the ,construction of ,chinese ,balls ,athenaeum4 #ahdi ,description of the ,instruments of ,process used in the ,photographic self-registration of the ,magnetical and ,meteorological ,instruments at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 #ahdi ,description of the ,altitude and ,azimuth ,instrument erected at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 in the year #ahdg4 #ahdi ,astronomy4 7,tract written for the ,scientific ,manual47 #ahdi ,mar4 #i ,substance of the ,lecture delivered by the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,astronomer ,royal on the large ,reflecting 7,month4 ,not47 ,telescopes of the ,earl of ,rosse and ,mr ,lassell4 #ahdi ,june ,on a difficulty in the problem of ,sound4 ,phil4 ,mag4 #ahdi ,june #b ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahdi ,june #h ,on ,instruments adapted to the ,measure of ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 small ,meridional ,zenith ,distances4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahdi ,nov4 #i ,results of the ,observations made by the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,rev4 ,fearon ,fallows at the ,royal 7,memoirs47 ,observatory1 ,cape of ,good ,hope1 in the years #ahbi1 #ahcj1 #ahca4 #ahdi ,nov4 #i ,on ,bell's ,calculating machine1 and on ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,lord ,rosse's ,telescope4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahdi ,nov4 #aj ,on the ,exodus of the ,israelites4 ,athenaeum4 #ahdi ,dec4 #ad ,on the ,method of observing and recording ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,transits1 lately introduced in ,america1 c4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahej ,jan4 #aj ,on a problem of ,geodesy4 ,phil4 ,mag4 #ahej ,feb4 #h ,address on presenting the ,medal of the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 to ,m4 ,otto von ,struve4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahej ,mar4 #ae ,on the ,present ,state and ,prospects of the ,r4 ,inst4 ,science of ,terrestrial ,magnetism4 #ahej ,mar4 #af ,on the ,exodus of the ,israelites ,athenaeum4 #ahej ,mar4 #cj ,on the ,exodus of the ,israelites4 ,athenaeum4 #ahej ,may #aj ,statement concerning ,assistance granted ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 by the ,admiralty to ,hansen--,also on 7,month4 ,not47 ,henderson's numbers for the teeth of wheels4 #ahej ,may #aj ,on the ,weights to be given to the separate ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,results for ,terrestrial ,longitudes1 7,memoirs47 determined by the observation of ,transits of the ,moon and ,fixed ,stars4 #ahej ,june #a ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahej ,june #ad ,letter from ,hansen on his ,lunar ,tables4--,valz ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 on an arrangement of double-image 7,month4 ,not47 micrometer4--,on the ,computation of ,longitude from ,lunar ,transits #ahej ,dec4 #ac ,on a ,method of regulating the ,clock-work ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 for ,equatoreals4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahej ,dec4 #ac ,supplement to a ,paper ,on the ,regulation ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 of the ,clock-work for effecting ,uniform 7,memoirs47 ,movement of ,equatoreals4 #ahej ,dec4 #bg ,on the ,relation of the ,direction of the ,phil4 ,trans4 ,wind to the ,age of the ,moon1 as inferred from ,observations made at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 from #ahdj ,nov4 to #ahdg ,dec4 #ahea ,jan4 #ad ,remarks on ,mr ,wyatt's ,paper on the ,inst4 ,c4,e4 ,construction of the ,building for the 7,minutes47 ,exhibition of the ,works of ,industry of all ,nations in #ahea4 #ahea ,feb4 #ae ,address on presenting the medal of the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 to ,dr ,annibale de 7,month4 ,not47 ,gasparis4 #ahea ,mar4 #bh ,letter to ,professor ,challis regarding the ,adams ,prize4 #ahea ,mar4 #bi ,on ,caesar's place of landing in ,britain4 ,athenaeum4 #ahea ,suggestions to ,astronomers for the ,brit4 ,assoc4 ,observation of the ,total ,eclipse of the ,sun on ,july #bh1 #ahea4 #ahea ,apr4 #aa ,on the ,determination of the probable ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,stability of an ,azimuthal ,circle by 7,month4 ,not47 ,observations of ,star and a permanent ,collimator4 #ahea ,may #b ,on the ,total ,solar ,eclipse of #ahea1 ,july #bh4 ,r4 ,inst4 7,lecture47 #ahea ,may #i ,on the ,vibration of a ,free ,pendulum in an ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,oval differing little from a ,straight ,line 7,memoirs7 #ahea ,june #g ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahea ,july #b ,the ,president's ,address to the ,twenty-first ,athenaeum4 ,meeting of the ,british ,association for the ,advancement of ,science1 ,ipswich4 #ahea ,oct4 #ag ,on ,julius ,caesar's ,expedition against ,naut4 ,mag4 ,england1 in relation to his places of departure and landing4 #ahea ,nov4 #ad ,account of the ,total ,eclipse of the ,sun on ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 #ahea1 ,july #bh1 as observed at ,gttenburg1 7,memoirs47 at ,christiania1 and at ,christianstadt4 #ahea ,dec4 #ac ,on the ,geography of the ,exodus4 ,athenaeum4 #aheb ,jan4 #i ,on the ,solar ,eclipse of ,july #bh1 #ahea4 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 7,month4 ,not47 #aheb ,on the place of ,caesar's ,departure from ,soc4 of ,antiq4 ,gaul for the ,invasion of ,britain1 and 7,memoirs47 the ,place of his ,landing in ,britain1 with an ,appendix on the ,battle of ,hastings4 #aheb ,on a ,new ,method of computing the ,naut4 ,alm4 #ahef1 ,perturbations of planets1 by ,j4,f4 ,app4 ,encke--translated and illustrated with notes by ,g4,b4 ,airy4 #aheb ,june #e ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahec ,feb4 #c ,on the ,eclipses of ,agathocles1 ,thales1 ,phil4 ,trans4 and ,xerxes4 #ahec ,feb4 #d ,lecture on the results of recent ,r4 ,inst4 calculations on the ,eclipse of ,thales and ,eclipses connected with it4 #ahec ,may #c ,address to the ,individual ,members of the ,board of ,visitors of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 7,lunar ,reductions47 #ahec ,may #ad ,on ,decimal ,coinage4 ,athenaeum4 #ahec ,june #d ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahec ,june ,lecture on the ,determination of the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,longitude of the ,observatory of 7,month4 ,not47 ,cambridge by means of ,galvanic ,signals4 #ahec ,sept4 #aj ,on ,decimal ,coinage4 ,athenaeum4 #ahec ,dec4 #ad ,description of the ,transit ,circle of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 7,app4 ,gr4 ,observ4 #aheb47 #ahec ,dec4 #ad ,regulations of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 7,app4 ,gr4 ,observ4 #aheb47 #ahed ,jan4 #ad ,on the ,telegraphic ,longitude of ,brussels4 ,athenaeum4 #ahed ,feb4 #aj ,address on presenting the ,gold ,medal of ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 to ,mr ,charles ,rmker4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahed ,feb4 #be ,on ,reforms in the ,university of ,cambridge4 ,athenaeum4 #ahed ,apr4 #ae ,letters relating to ,the ,late ,m4 ,mauvais4 ,liter4 ,gaz4 #ahed ,june #c ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahed ,sept4 ,the ,deluge4 ,private4 #ahed ,oct4 #bh ,on the ,correction of the ,compass in ,iron ,athenaeum4 ,ships4 7,scoresby's ,experiments47 #ahed ,nov4 #aj ,on the ,difference of ,longitude between ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 the ,observatories of ,brussels and ,greenwich1 7,memoirs47 as determined by ,galvanic ,signals4 #ahee ,jan4 #a ,lecture at ,s4 ,shields on the ,pendulum ,experiments in the ,harton ,pit1 and ,letter on the ,results4 #ahee ,feb4 #b ,lecture on the ,pendulum ,experiments ,r4 ,inst4 lately made in the ,harton ,colliery for ascertaining the mean ,density of the ,earth4 #ahee ,feb4 #c ,on the ,correction of the ,compass in ,iron ,athenaeum4 ,ships4 7,remarks on ,dr ,scoresby's ,investigations47 #ahee ,address on presenting the ,medal of the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 to the ,rev4 ,william ,rutter 7,month4 ,not47 ,dawes4 #ahee ,feb4 #ae ,on the ,computation of the ,effect of the ,phil4 ,trans4 ,attraction of ,mountain ,masses1 as disturbing the ,apparent ,astronomical ,latitude of ,stations in ,geodetic ,surveys4 #ahee ,june #b ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahee ,oct4 #ah ,address to the ,individual ,members of the ,board of ,visitors of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 7,equatoreal47 #ahee ,nov4 #ba ,remarks upon certain ,cases of ,personal ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,equation which appear to have hitherto 7,memoirs47 escaped notice1 accompanied with a ,table of ,results4 #ahee ,nov4 #bb ,discussion of the ,observed ,deviations of ,phil4 ,trans4 the ,compass in several ,ships1 ,wood-built and ,iron-built3 with a ,general ,table for facilitating the examination of ,compass-,deviations4 #ahee ,description of the ,reflex ,zenith ,tube of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 7,app4 to the ,greenwich ,obs4 for #ahed47 #ahef ,jan4 #i ,on ,professor ,peirce's ,criterion for ,astr4 ,journ4 discordant observations4 7,cambr47 #ahef ,jan4 #bd ,account of ,pendulum ,experiments undertaken ,phil4 ,trans4 in the ,harton ,colliery1 for the purpose of determining the ,mean ,density of the ,earth4 #ahef ,june #g ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahef ,aug4 #be ,on ,scheutz's ,calculating ,machine4 ,phil4 ,mag4 #ahef ,aug4 #cj ,science and the ,government4 7,reply to ,athenaeum4 statements in the ,morning ,chronicle about the instrumental equipment of the ,royal ,observatory47 #aheg ,may #h ,on the ,means which will be available for ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 correcting the ,measure of the ,sun's 7,month4 ,not47 ,distance in the next twenty-five years4 #aheg ,may #ab ,knowledge expected in ,computers and ,assistants in the ,royal ,observatory4 #aheg ,june #f ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #aheg ,june #ab ,on the ,eclipse of ,agathocles1 the ,eclipse ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 at ,larissa1 and the ,eclipse of ,thales4 7,memoirs47 ,with an ,appendix on the ,eclipse of ,stiklastad4 #aheg ,june #ah ,account of the ,construction of the ,new ,phil4 ,trans4 ,national ,standard of ,length1 and of its principal copies4 #aheg ,dec4 #e ,letter to the ,vice-,chancellor of ,cambridge ,university regarding ,smith's ,prizes4 #aheg ,dec4 #g ,on the ,substitution of ,methods founded ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 on ,ordinary ,geometry for ,methods based on the ,general ,doctrine of ,proportions1 in the treatment of some ,geometrical ,problems #aheg ,description of the ,galvanic ,chronographic ,gr4 ,obs4 #ahef1 ,apparatus of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,app4 ,greenwich4 #aheh ,mar4 #h ,suggestions for ,observation of the ,annular ,eclipse of the ,sun on #aheh1 ,march #ad-ae4 #aheh ,mar4 #ab ,note on ,oltmann's ,calculation of the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,eclipse of ,thales4 ,also ,on a ,method 7,month4 ,not47 of very approximately representing the ,projection of a ,great ,circle upon ,mercator's ,chart4 #aheh ,may ,the ,atlantic ,cable ,problem4 ,naut4 ,mag4 #aheh ,may #bj ,report of the ,ordnance ,survey ,commission2 together with ,minutes of ,evidence and ,appendix4 #aheh ,june #e ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #aheh ,june #af ,on the ,mechanical ,conditions of the ,phil4 ,mag4 ,deposit of a ,submarine ,cable4 #aheh ,july ,instructions and ,chart for ,observations ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 of ,mars in right ascension at the 7,special47 ,opposition of #ahfj for obtaining the ,measure of the ,sun's ,distance4 #aheh ,aug4 #bj ,on the ,advantageous ,employment of ,photog4 ,notes4 ,stereoscopic ,photographs for the representation of ,scenery4 #aheh ,nov4 #f ,on the ,draft of ,proposed ,new ,statutes ,athenaeum4 for ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge4 #aheh ,nov4 #bj ,letter to the ,vice-,chancellor of the ,university of ,cambridge1 offering the ,sheepshanks ,endowment4 #aheh ,dec4 #f ,suggestion of a ,proof of the ,theorem ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 that ,every ,algebraic ,equation has a ,root4 #ahei ,manual of ,astronomy--for the ,admiralty4 ,parly4 ,paper4 #ahei ,feb4 #a ,letter to ,lord ,monteagle relating to the ,standards of ,weights and ,measures4 #ahei ,feb4 #d ,remarks on ,mr ,cayley's ,trigonometrical ,phil4 ,mag4 ,theorem1 and on ,prof4 ,challis's ,proof that ,equations have ,roots4 #ahei ,mar4 #aa ,on the ,movement of the ,solar ,system in ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,space4 7,memoirs47 #ahei ,apr4 #h ,on the ,apparent ,projection of ,stars upon ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 the ,moon's ,disc in ,occultations4 ,also 7,month4 ,not47 ,comparison of the ,lunar ,tables of ,burckhardt and ,hansen with ,observations of the ,moon made at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 #ahei ,apr4 #h ,on the ,apparent ,projection of ,stars upon ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 the ,moon's ,disc in ,occultations4 7,memoirs47 #ahei ,june #d ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahei ,june #aj ,abstract of ,maxwell's ,paper ,on the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,stability of the ,motion of ,saturn's ,rings4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahei ,july #h ,corrections of the ,elements of the ,moon's ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,orbit1 deduced from the ,lunar ,observations 7,memoirs47 made at the ,royal ,observatory of ,greenwich from #agej to #ahea4 #ahei ,sept4 #aj ,on the ,invasion of ,britain by ,julius ,caesar4 ,athenaeum4 7,answer to ,mr ,lewin47 #ahei ,nov4 #ab ,on ,iron ,ships--,the ,royal ,charter4 ,athenaeum4 7,answer to ,archibald ,smith's ,remarks47 #ahei ,nov4 ,circular requesting observations of small ,planets4 #ahei ,dec4 #i ,notice of the approaching ,total ,eclipse of ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 the ,sun of ,july #ah1ahfj1 and suggestions 7,month4 ,not47 for observation4 #ahei ,dec4 #ab ,supplement to ,a ,proof of the ,theorem ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 that ,every ,algebraic ,equation has a ,root4 #ahfj ,jan4 #ac ,description of the ,new ,equatoreal at the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 ,also 7,month4 ,not47 ,abstract of an ,essay by ,gen4 ,t4,f4 de ,schubert on the ,figure of the ,earth4 #ahfj ,jan4 #bh ,on the ,claudian or ,plautian ,invasion of ,athenaeum ,britain4 #ahfj ,feb4 #b ,examination of ,navy #b-;foot ,telescopes at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 #ahfj1 ,jan4 #ca to ,feb4 #b4 #ahfj ,feb4 #aa ,report on the ,instrumental ,equipments ,ho4 of ,commons4 of the ,exchequer ,office of ,weights and 7,parly4 ,paper47 ,measures1 as regards the means for preventing ,fraud in the ,sale of ,gas to the ,public2 and on the ,amendments which may be required to the existing ,legislation on that subject4 #ahfj ,mar4 #i ,address on the approaching ,solar ,eclipse ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 of ,july #ah1 #ahfj1 c4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahfj ,may #aj ,correspondence between the ,lords ,ho4 of ,commons4 ,commissioners of ,her ,majesty's ,treasury1 7,parly4 ,paper47 c41 and the ,astronomer ,royal1 relating to ,gas ,measurement1 and the ,sale of ,gas ,act4 #ahfj ,june #b ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 ,and ,address to the ,members of the ,board in reference to ,struve's ,geodetic suggestions4 #ahfj ,june #g ,correspondence regarding the ,grant of #ajjj to ,prof4 ,hansen for his ,lunar ,tables4 #ahfj ,sept4 #ac ,remarks on a ,paper entitled ,on the ,polar ,distances of the ,greenwich ,transit ,circle1 by ,a4 ,marth4 ,addressed to the ,members of the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahfj ,sept4 #bb ,on ,change of ,climate1 in answer to ,athenaeum4 certain speculations by ,sir ,henry ,james4 #ahfj ,oct4 #bj ,circular relating to the distribution of ,greenwich ,observations and other publications of the ,royal ,observatory4 #ahfj ,nov4 #i ,account of ,observations of the ,total ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,solar ,eclipse of #ahfj1 ,july #ah1 made 7,month4 ,not47 at ,herea1 near ,miranda de ,ebro2 c4 c4 #ahfj ,nov4 #ag ,on ,change of ,climate3 further discussion4 ,athenaeum4 #ahfj ,letters on ,lighthouses1 to the ,commission on ,lighthouses4 #ahfj ,dec4 #ad ,note on the translation of a passage in a ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 letter of ,hansen's relating to 7,month4 ,not47 coefficients4 #ahfa ,feb4 #i ,on the ,temperature-correction of ,syphon ,athenaeum4 ,barometers4 #ahfa ,march ,results of ,observations of the ,solar ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,eclipse of #ahfj ,july #ah made at the ,royal 7,month4 ,not47 ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 for determination of the ,errors of the ,tabular ,elements of the ,eclipse4 ,also ,suggestion of a new ,astronomical ,instrument1 for which the name ,orbit-,sweeper is proposed4 ,also ,theory of the ,regulation of a ,clock by ,galvanic ,currents acting on the ,pendulum4 #ahfa ,june #a ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahfa ,june #e ,on a supposed ,failure of the ,calculus of ,phil4 ,mag4 ,variations4 #ahfa ,july ,report of a ,committee of the ,r4 ,soc4 on ,r4 ,soc47,proc47 the advisability of re-measuring the ,indian ,arc of ,meridian4 #ahfa ,sept4 #ba ,lecture at ,manchester on the ,great ,solar ,athenaeum4 ,eclipse of ,july #ah1 #ahfj4 #ahfa ,sept4 #ba ,the same ,lecture4 ,london ,review4 #ahfa ,oct4 ,examination ,paper for the ,sheepshanks ,exhibition4 #ahfa ,nov4 #a ,translation of ,dr ,lamont's ,paper ,on the ,phil4 ,mag4 most ,advantageous ,form of ,magnets4 #ahfa ,nov4 #h ,note on a ,letter received from ,hansen on ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 the ,lunar ,theory4 ,also ,discussion of 7,month4 ,not47 a ,result deduced by ,mr ,d',abbadie from ,observations of the ,total ,solar ,eclipse of #ahfj1 ,july #ah4 #ahfa ,nov4 #af ,instructions for observing the ,total ,eclipse of the ,sun on ,december #ca4 #ahfa ,dec4 ,on a ,projection by ,balance of ,errors for ,phil4 ,mag4 ,maps4 #ahfa ,dec4 #bh ,on the ,circularity of the ,sun's ,disk4 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,also ,table of ,comparative ,number of 7,month4 ,not47 ,observations of ,small ,planets4 #ahfb ,jan4 ,on the ,direction of the ,joints in the ,phil4 ,mag4 ,faces of ,oblique ,arches4 #ahfb ,mar4 #ae ,review of ,an ,historical ,survey of the ,athenaeum4 ,astronomy of the ,ancients by the ,rt ,hon4 ,sir ,g4 ,cornewall ,lewis4 #ahfb ,apr4 #bd ,notes for the ,committee on ,weights and ,measures1 #ahfb4 #ahfb ,may #ae ,on the ,magnetic ,properties of ,hot-,rolled ,phil4 ,trans4 and ,cold-,rolled ,malleable ,iron4 #ahfb ,june #g ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahfb ,june #bd ,evidence given before the ,select ,committee on ,weights and ,measures4 #ahfb ,oct4 #d ,biography of ,g4,b4 ,airy 7probably in part ,london ,review4 based upon data supplied by himself74 #ahfb ,oct4 #aa ,abstract of ,paper ,on the ,strains in the ,athenaeum4 ,interior of ,beams and ,tubular ,bridges4 #ahfb ,oct4 #aa ,translation of a ,letter from ,prof4 ,lament ,phil4 ,mag4 on ,dalton's ,theory of ,vapour1 c4 #ahfb ,nov4 #f ,on the ,strains in the ,interior of ,beams4 ,phil4 ,trans4 #ahfb ,nov4 ,correspondence with ,sabine concerning his attack on the ,greenwich ,magnetic ,observations4 7,confidentially communicated to the ,board of ,visitors47 #ahfb ,nov4 #ba ,evidence given before the ,public ,schools ,commission4 #ahfb ,nov4 ,abstract of ,m4 ,auwers's ,paper on the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 proper motion of ,procyon1 and ,note on 7,month4 ,not47 same4 #ahfb ,dec4 ,abstract of ,mr ,safford's ,paper on the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,proper ,motion of ,sirius4 ,also on the 7,month4 ,not47 ,forms of ,lenses proper for the ,negative ,eye-pieces of ,telescopes4 ,also on the measurements of the ,earth1 and the dimensions of the ,solar ,system4 ,also on ,fringes of ,light in ,solar ,eclipses4 #ahfc ,jan4 ,address to the ,board of ,visitors on a further attack by ,sabine on the ,greenwich ,magnetic ,observations 7confidential74 #ahfc ,jan4 #i ,on the ,observations of ,saturn made at ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,pulkowa and ,greenwich4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahfc ,feb4 #bd ,report to the ,board of ,trade on the ,proposed ,lines of ,railway through ,greenwich ,park4 #ahfc ,mar4 #b ,determination of the ,longitude of ,valencia in ,ireland by ,galvanic ,signals in the summer of #ahfb 7,app4 ,,iii4 to the ,gr4 ,astr4 ,obsns4 #ahfb74 #ahfc ,mar4 #ac ,on the ,movement of the ,solar ,system in ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,space1 deduced from the ,proper ,motions 7,memoirs47 of #aafg ,stars4 ,by ,edwin ,dunkin 7for ,g4,b4,a474 #ahfc ,mar4 #ac ,on the ,visibility of ,stars in the ,pleiades ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 to the unarmed eye4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahfc ,mar4 #ba ,on ,marriage ,odes4 ,athenaeum4 #ahfc ,apr4 #i ,further ,report as to the ,probable ,effects of the ,london1 ,chatham and ,dover ,railway on the ,royal ,observatory in ,greenwich ,park4 #ahfc ,apr4 #aj ,determination of the ,sun's ,parallax from ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 observations of ,mars during the 7,month4 ,not47 ,opposition of #ahfb4 ,by ,e4,j4 ,stone 7for ,g4,b4,a474 ,also ,remarks on ,struve's account of a ,local deviation in the direction of ,gravity1 near ,moscow4 ,also an ,account of an apparatus for the observation of the spectra of stars1 and results obtained4 #ahfc ,apr4 #bc ,on the ,diurnal ,inequalities of ,phil4 ,trans4 ,terrestrial ,magnetism1 as deduced from observations made at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 from #ahda to #aheg4 #ahfc ,may #h ,on the ,discordance between the ,results ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 for ,zenith-,distances obtained by ,direct 7,memoirs47 ,observation1 and those obtained by ,observation by ,reflection from the ,surface of ,quicksilver4 #ahfc ,june #f ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahfc ,july #b ,on the ,amount of ,light given by the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,moon at the greatest stage in the 7,month4 ,not47 ,excentrically-total ,eclipse1 #ahfc1 ,june #a4 #ahfc ,aug4 ,plan of the ,buildings and ,grounds of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 with ,explanation and ,history4 #ahfc ,sept4 #e ,on the origin of the apparent luminous ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 band which1 in partial eclipses of the 7,month4 ,not47 ,sun1 has been seen to surround the visible portion of the ,moon's limb4 #ahfc ,sept4 #e ,on the ,invasions of ,britain by ,julius ,athenaeum4 #ahfc ,oct4 #c ,caesar4 #ahfc ,oct4 #ag ,the ,earthquake as observed from ,greenwich4 ,athenaeum4 #ahfc ,nov4 ,on the ,numerical ,expression of the ,phil4 ,mag4 ,destructive ,energy in the ,explosions of ,steam-,boilers1 c4 #ahfc ,nov4 #ac ,convention arranged between ,m4 ,le ,verrier ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 and the ,astronomer ,royal for meridional 7,month4 ,not47 observations of the small ,planets1 c4 #ahfc ,nov4 #ac ,translation of ,hansen's ,paper ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,calculation of the ,sun's ,parallax 7,month4 ,not47 from the ,lunar ,theory1 with ,notes by ,g4,b4,a4 #ahfc ,dec4 #ag ,first ,analysis of #agg ,magnetic ,storms1 ,phil4 ,trans4 registered by the ,magnetic ,instruments in the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 from #ahda to #aheg4 #ahfd ,jan4 #h ,pontcoulant's ,paper ,sur le ,coefficiant ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 de l'quation ,parallactique dduit de la 7,month4 ,not47 ,thorie1 with ,notes by ,g4,b4,a4 #ahfd ,jan4 #bf ,remarks on ,redman's ,paper on the ,east ,inst4 ,c4 ,e4 ,coast 7,chesil ,bank1 c474 7,minutes47 #ahfd ,mar4 #aj ,note on a ,passage in ,capt4 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,jacob's ,measures of ,jupiter1 c4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahfd ,mar4 #aa ,notes for the ,committee on ,weights and ,ho4 of ,comm4 ,measures1 #ahfb4 7,parly4 ,paper47 #ahfd ,mar4 #ag ,on a ,method of ,slewing a ,ship without ,inst4 ,nav4 ,arch4 the aid of the ,rudder4 #ahfd ,apr4 #e ,comparison of the ,chinese ,record of ,solar ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,eclipses in the ,chun ,tsew with the 7,month4 ,not47 ,computations of ,modern ,theory4 #ahfd ,june #d ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahfd ,june #aj ,on the ,transit of ,venus1 #ahhb1 ,dec4 #f4 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahfd ,june #aj ,on the bright band bordering the ,moon's ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,limb in ,photographs of ,eclipses4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahfd ,notes on ,methods of ,reduction applicable to the ,indian ,survey4 #ahfd ,sept4 #c ,a ,visit to the ,corryvreckan4 ,athenaeum4 #ahfd ,sept4 #bi ,examination ,paper for the ,sheepshanks ,scholarship4 #ahfe ,jan4 #ac ,comparison of the ,transit-,instrument in ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 its ordinary or reversible form with the 7,month4 ,not47 ,transit-,instrument in its non-reversible form1 as adopted at ,greenwich1 the ,cape of ,good ,hope1 and other ,observatories4 #ahfe ,mar4 #i ,syllabus of a course of three ,lectures on ,magnetical ,errors1 c41 with special reference to ,iron ,ships and their ,compasses1 delivered at the ,south ,kensington ,museum4 #ahfe ,apr4 #a ,remarks on ,mr ,ellis's ,lecture on the ,horolog4 ,journ4 ,greenwich ,system of ,time ,signals4 #ahfe ,apr4 #a ,free ,translation of some lines of ,virgil1 ,athenaeum4 ,cithar crinitus ,iopas1 c4 #ahfe ,june #c ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahfe ,june #ag ,note on my ,recommendation 7in #ahci7 ,athenaeum4 of ,government ,superintendence of the ,compasses of ,iron ,ships4 ,also ,note on the birthplace of ,thomas ,clarkson4 #ahfe ,july ,on ,hemiopsy4 ,phil4 ,mag4 #ahfe ,aug4 #bb ,on the ,value of the ,moon's ,semidiameter ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 as obtained by the ,investigations of 7,month4 ,not47 ,hugh ,breen1 ,esq41 from ,occultations observed at ,cambridge and ,greenwich4 #ahfe ,sept4 #af ,on ,the ,land of ,goshen--,reply to ,a ,athenaeum4 ,suffolk ,incumbent4 #ahfe ,oct4 #ba ,address of the ,astronomer ,royal to the individual members of the ,board of ,visitors4 7,on improved ,collimators47 #ahfe ,oct4 #bc ,note on an ,error of ,expression in two ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 previous ,memoirs4 ,also ,description and 7,month4 ,not47 ,history of a ,quadrant made by ,abraham ,sharp4 #ahfe ,nov4 #aa ,on the ,possible ,derivation of the ,national ,athenaeum4 ,name ,welsh4 #ahfe ,essays on the ,invasion of ,britain by ,julius ,private4 ,caesar2 ,the ,invasion of ,britain by ,plautius1 and by ,claudius ,caesar2 ,the ,early ,military ,policy of the ,romans in ,britain2 ,the ,battle of ,hastings4 7,with corr47 #ahff ,mar4 #aj ,on ,the ,compass in ,iron ,ships4 ,objections ,athenaeum4 to passages in a ,lecture by ,archibald ,smith4 #ahff ,apr4 #ac ,on the ,supposed ,possible ,effect of ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,friction in the ,tides1 in influencing the 7,month4 ,not47 ,apparent ,acceleration of the ,moon's ,mean ,motion in ,longitude4 ,also on a ,method of ,computing ,interpolations to the ,second ,order without ,changes of ,algebraic ,sign4 #ahff ,june #b ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahff ,july #ag ,papers relating to ,time ,signals on the ,ho4 of ,comm4 ,start ,point4 7,parly4 ,paper47 #ahff ,sept4 #a ,on the ,campaign of ,aulus ,plautius in ,athenaeum4 ,britain4 7,reply to ,dr ,guest47 #ahff ,nov4 #ai ,on the ,continued ,change in an ,eye ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 affected with a peculiar malformation4 #ahff ,dec4 ,on the ,simultaneous ,disappearance of ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,jupiter's ,satellites in the year #ahfg4 7,month4 ,not47 ,also ,inference from the observed ,movement of the ,meteors in the appearance of #ahff1 ,nov4 #ac-ad4 #ahfg ,jan4 #a ,memorandum for the consideration of the ,commission on ,standards4 7,policy of introducing ,metrical ,standards47 #ahfg ,jan4 #ab ,on ,decimal ,weights and ,measures4 ,athenaeum4 #ahfg ,feb4 #ai ,on the use of the ,suspension ,bridge with ,inst4 ,c4,e4 ,stiffened ,roadway for ,railway and other 7,minutes47 ,bridges of ,great ,span4 #ahfg ,mar4 #ba ,computation of the ,lengths of the ,waves ,phil4 ,trans4 of ,light corresponding to the ,lines in the ,dispersion ,spectrum measured by ,kirchhoff4 #ahfg ,mar4 ,corresponding ,numbers of ,elevation in ,r4 ,obs4 7,also ,english ,feet1 and of ,readings of ,aneroid ,meteor4 ,soc4 or ,corrected ,barometer in ,english ,apr4 #ag1 #ahfg47 ,inches4 #ahfg ,apr4 #af ,remarks on ,sir ,w4 ,denison's ,paper on ,inst4 ,c4,e4 ,the ,suez ,canal4 7,minutes47 #ahfg ,may #c ,statement of the ,history and ,position of ,private4 the ,blue-coat ,girls' ,school1 ,greenwich4 #ahfg ,june #a ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahfg ,june #ad ,on ,certain ,appearances of the ,telescopic ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,images of ,stars described by the ,rev4 7,month4 ,not47 ,w4,r4 ,dawes4 #ahfg ,dec4 #ac ,note on the ,total ,solar ,eclipse of #ahfh1 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,aug4 #ag-ah4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahfh ,biography of ,g4,b4 ,airy4 7,probably corrected by himself47 #ahfh ,jan4 #d ,biography 7with portrait7 of ,g4,b4 ,airy4 ,ill4 ,lond4 ,news4 7,probably corrected by himself47 #ahfh ,feb4 #f ,comparison of ,magnetic ,disturbances ,phil4 ,trans4 recorded by the ,self-registering ,magnetometers at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 with ,magnetic ,disturbances deduced from the corresponding ,terrestrial ,galvanic ,currents recorded by the ,self-registering ,galvanometers of the ,royal ,observatory4 #ahfh ,mar4 #ac ,address of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,individual ,members of the ,board of ,visitors4 7,number of ,copies of ,observations47 #ahfh ,june #f ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahfh ,july #bd ,first ,report of the ,commissioners appointed ,parly4 ,paper4 to enquire into ,the ,condition of the ,exchequer ,standards4 #ahfh ,sept4 #ai ,the ,inundation at ,visp4 ,athenaeum4 #ahfh ,nov4 #i ,on the ,factorial ,resolution of the ,trinomial ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 xn - #b;cos n4 a4 #a_/xn4 #ahfh ,dec4 #aj ,on the ,diurnal and ,annual ,inequalities ,phil4 ,trans4 of ,terrestrial ,magnetism1 as deduced from ,observations made at the ,royal ,observatory from #aheh to #ahfc1 c4 #ahfh ,dec4#aa ,on the ,preparatory ,arrangements for the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,observation of ,the ,transits of ,venus 7,month4 ,not47 #ahgd and #ahhb4 #ahfh ,dec4 #ab ,on the ,migrations of the ,welsh ,nations4 ,athenaeum4 #ahfi ,mar4 #h ,memorandum by the ,chairman 7on the use of the ,troy ,weight7 for the consideration of the ,members of the ,standards ,commission4 #ahfi ,apr4 #c ,second ,report of the ,commissioners appointed ,parly4 ,paper4 to enquire into the condition of the ,exchequer 7now ,board of ,trade7 ,standards4--,the ,metric ,system4 #ahfi ,april ,syllabus of ,lectures on ,magnetism to be delivered in the ,university of ,cambridge4 #ahfi ,apr4 #bg ,remarks on ,shelford's ,paper ,on the ,inst4 ,c4,e4 ,outfall of the ,river ,humber4 7,minutes47 #ahfi ,june #a ,memorandum for the consideration of the ,standards ,commission1 on the state of the ,question now before them regarding the suggested ,abolition of ,troy ,weight4 #ahfi ,june #e ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahfi ,supplementary ,memorandum by the ,astronomer ,royal on the proposed ,abolition of ,troy ,weight4 #ahfi ,july #f ,correspondence between the ,treasury1 the ,ho4 of ,comm4 ,admiralty1 and the ,astronomer ,royal1 7,parly4 ,paper47 respecting the arrangements to be made for ,observing the ,transits of ,venus1 which will take place in the years #ahgd and #ahhb4 #ahfi ,aug4 #g ,note on ,atmospheric ,chromatic ,dispersion ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 as affecting ,telescopic ,observation1 and 7,month4 ,not47 on the ,mode of ,correcting it4 #ahfi ,oct4 #ai ,description of the ,great ,equatoreal of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 ,greenwich ,observations1 #ahfh4 ,app4 #ahgj ,feb4 #c ,note on an ,extension of the ,comparison ,phil4 ,trans4 of ,magnetic ,disturbances with ,magnetic ,effects inferred from observed ,terrestrial ,galvanic ,currents2 c4 c4 #ahgj ,apr4 #h ,on the question of a ,royal ,commission ,journ4 ,soc4 ,arts4 for ,science4 #ahgj ,may #b ,letters to the ,first ,lord of the ,admiralty enclosing ,application of the ,assistants for an increase of ,salaries4 #ahgj ,may #ac ,on ,decimal and ,metrical ,systems4 ,journ4 ,soc4 ,arts4 #ahgj ,june #d ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahgj ,aug4 #bg ,on the meaning of the word ,whippultree4 ,athenaeum4 #ahgj ,oct4 #bb ,on the ,locality of ,paradise4 ,athenaeum4 #ahgj ,nov4 #ab ,on the ,locality of the ,roman ,gesoriacum4 ,athenaeum4 #ahgj ,nov4 #cj ,recommendation of ,prof4 ,miller for a ,r4 ,soc47,proc47 ,royal ,medal of the ,royal ,society4 7,quoted by the ,president47 #ahgj ,revised ,edition of ,astronomy4 ,man4 ,naut4 ,sci4 #ahga ,jan4 #ba ,the ,burial of ,sir ,john ,moore4 ,athenaeum4 #ahga ,mar4 #ad ,letter to the ,hydrographer of the ,admiralty on the qualifications and claims of the ,assistants of the ,royal ,observatory4 #ahga ,apr4 #e ,remarks on the ,determination of a ,ship's ,r4 ,soc4 7,proc47 ,place at ,sea4 #ahga ,may #b ,remarks on ,samuelson's ,paper ,description ,inst4 ,c4,e4 of two ,blast ,furnaces1 c4 7,minutes47 #ahga ,may #c ,note on ,barometric ,compensation of the ,phil4 ,mag4 ,pendulum4 #ahga ,june #c ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahga ,june #i ,remarks on ,mr ,abbott's observations on ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 eta ,args4 ,also on ,a4,s4 ,herschel's and 7,month4 ,not47 ,j4 ,herschel's ,mechanism for measuring ,time automatically in taking ,transits4 #ahga ,erratum in ,results of ,greenwich ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,observations of the ,solar ,eclipse of #ahfj1 7,month4 ,not47 ,july #ah4 ,also ,observations of the ,solar ,eclipse of #ahgj1 ,dec4 #ba-bb1 made at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 #ahga ,aug4 ,investigation of the ,law of the ,progress ,phil4 ,mag4 of ,accuracy in the usual process for ,forming a ,plane ,surface4 #ahga ,nov4#af ,corrections to the ,computed ,lengths of ,phil4 ,trans4 ,waves of ,light for ,kirchhoff's ,spectral ,lines4 #ahga ,on a supposed alteration in the amount ,r4 ,soc4 7,proc47 of ,astronomical ,aberration of ,light1 produced by the passage of the ,light through a considerable thickness of ,refracting ,medium4 #ahga ,nov4 #bi ,biography of ,g4,b4 ,airy4 7,probably ,daily ,telegraph4 corrected by himself47 #ahga ,dec4 #h ,note on a special point in the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 determination of the ,elements of the 7,month4 ,not47 ,moon's ,orbit from ,meridional ,observations of the ,moon4 #ahga ,dec4 #bf ,proposed devotion of an ,observatory to ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 observation of the phenomena of ,jupiter's 7,month4 ,not47 ,satellites4 #ahgb ,jan4 ,address to the ,council of the ,royal ,society on the propriety of continuing the ,grant to the ,kew ,observatory for meteorological observations4 #ahgb ,feb4 #h ,experiments on the ,directive ,power of ,phil4 ,trans4 large ,steel ,magnets1 of ,bars of magnetized ,soft ,iron1 and of ,galvanic ,coils1 in their ,action on external small ,magnets--with ,appendix by ,james ,stuart4 #ahgb ,feb4 #ab ,further ,observations on the state of an ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 ,eye affected with a peculiar malformation4 #ahgb ,mar4 #bj ,notes on ,scientific ,education1 submitted to the ,royal ,commission on ,scientific ,instruction and the ,advancement of ,science4 #ahgb ,may #i ,on a ,supposed ,periodicity in the ,r4 ,soc4 7,proc47 ,elements of ,terrestrial ,magnetism1 with a period of #bf-a_/d days4 #ahgb ,nov4 #cj ,address 7as ,president7 delivered at the ,anniversary ,meeting of the ,royal ,society4 #ahgb ,dec4 #ai ,magnetical ,observations in the ,phil4 ,trans4 ,britannia and ,conway ,tubular ,iron ,bridges4 #ahgc ,feb4 #be ,remarks on ,mr ,thornton's ,paper on ,inst4 ,c4,e4 ,the ,state ,railways of 7,minutes47 ,india--chiefly in reference to the proposed break of gauge4 #ahgc ,mar4 #ab ,note on the want of ,observations of ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,eclipses of ,jupiter's ,first ,satellite 7,month4 ,not47 from #ahfh to #ahgb4 #ahgc ,mar4 #ad ,letter to the ,secretary of the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,admiralty on certain ,articles which 7,month4 ,not47 had appeared in the ,public ,newspapers in regard to the approaching ,transit of ,venus4 #ahgc ,additional ,note to the ,paper on a ,r4 ,soc4 7,proc47 supposed ,alteration in the ,amount of ,astronomical ,aberration of ,light produced by the passage of the ,light through a considerable thickness of ,refracting ,medium4 #ahgc ,apr4 #aj ,list of ,candidates for election into the ,royal ,society--classified4 #ahgc ,on the ,topography of the ,lady of ,private4 the ,lake4 #ahgc ,june #g ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahgc ,nov4 #ad ,on the rejection1 in the ,lunar ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,theory1 of the term of ,longitude 7,month4 ,not47 depending for argument on eight times the mean longitude of ,venus minus thirteen times the mean longitude of the ,earth1 introduced by ,prof4 ,hansen2 c4 #ahgc ,dec4 #a ,address 7as ,president7 delivered at the ,anniversary ,meeting of the ,royal ,society4 #ahgd ,jan4 ,on a ,proposed ,new ,method of treating ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 the ,lunar ,theory4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahgd ,may #d ,british ,expeditions for the ,observation of the ,transit of ,venus1 #ahgd1 ,december #h4 ,instructions to ,observers4 #ahgd ,june #f ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahgd ,aug4 #f ,regulations of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 ,appendix to the ,greenwich ,observations1 #ahgc4 #ahgd ,oct4 #c ,science and ,art4 ,the ,moon as carved ,athenaeum4 on ,lee church4 #ahgd ,nov4 #ac ,preparations for the ,observation of the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,transit of ,venus #ahgd1 ,december #h-i4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahgd ,nov4 #ag ,remarks on the ,paper ,on the ,nagpur ,inst4 ,c4,e4 ,waterworks4 7,minutes47 #ahgd ,dec4 ,telegrams relating to the ,observations ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 of the ,transit of ,venus #ahgd1 ,dec4 #i4 7,month4 ,not47 #ahge ,feb4 #b ,remarks on ,mr ,prestwich's ,paper on the ,inst4 ,c4,e4 ,origin of the ,chesil ,bank4 7,minutes47 #ahge ,feb #be ,letter to the ,rev4 ,n4 ,m4 ,ferrers1 on the subject of the ,smith's ,prizes4 #ahge ,mar4 #ab ,on the ,method to be used in ,reducing ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 the ,observations of the ,transit of 7,month4 ,not47 ,venus #ahgd1 ,dec4 #h4 #ahge ,mar4 ,report on the ,progress made in the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,calculations for a ,new ,method of 7,month4 ,not47 treating the ,lunar ,theory4 #ahge ,june #e ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahge ,june #g ,apparatus for ,final ,adjustment of the ,horolog4 ,journ4 ,thermal ,compensation of ,chronometers1 by the ,astronomer ,royal4 #ahge ,nov4 ,chart of the ,apparent ,path of ,mars1 #ahgg1 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 with neighbouring ,stars4 ,also 7,month4 ,not47 ,spectroscopic ,observations made at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 ,also ,observations of the ,solar ,eclipse of #ahge1 ,september #bh-bi1 made at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 #ahgf ,jan4 ,report by the ,astronomer ,royal on the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 present state of the ,calculations in his 7,month4 ,not47 ,new ,lunar ,theory4 #ahgf ,jan4 #bg ,note on a point in the life of ,sir ,william ,athenaeum4 ,herschel4 #ahgf ,mar4 #ae ,evidence given before the ,government ,committee on the ,meteorological ,committee4 #ahgf ,may #bj ,on ,toasting at ,public ,dinners4 ,public ,opinion4 #ahgf ,june #c ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors1 #ahgf ,aug4 #g ,on a ,speech attributed to ,nelson4 ,athenaeum4 #ahgf ,dec4 ,spectroscopic ,results for the ,rotation of ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,jupiter and of the ,sun1 obtained at the 7,month4 ,not47 ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 #ahgg ,jan4 ,stars to be compared in ,r4,a4 with ,mars1 ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 #ahgg1 for ,determination of the ,parallax 7,month4 ,not47 of ,mars4 #ahgg ,mar4 ,note by the ,astronomer ,royal on the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,numerical ,lunar ,theory4 ,also ,remarks 7,month4 ,not47 on ,le ,verrier's intra-,mercurial ,planet4 ,also on ,observations for the ,parallax of ,mars4 #ahgg ,mar4 #bg ,remarks on a ,paper on ,the ,river ,inst4 ,c4,e4 ,thames4 7,minutes47 #ahgg ,apr4 ,on observing for ,le ,verrier's intra-,mercurial ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,planet4 ,also on the ,parallax of 7,month4 ,not47 ,mars1 and ,mr ,gill's proposed expedition4 #ahgg ,may ,on the vulgar notion that the ,sun or ,moon ,the ,observatory is smallest when overhead4 7,no4 #b74 #ahgg ,june #b ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahgg ,july #af ,report on the ,telescopic ,observations of ,ho4 of ,commons the ,transit of ,venus #ahgd1 made in the ,parly4 ,paper4 ,expedition of the ,british ,government1 and on the ,conclusion derived from those ,observations4 #ahgg ,sept4 #ac ,on ,spurious ,discs of ,stars produced by ,the ,observatory oval object-glasses4 7,no4 #g74 #ahgg ,sept4 #bd ,obituary ,notice of the work of ,le ,daily ,news4 ,verrier--died ,sept4 #bc1 #ahgg4 #ahgg ,nov4 #bj ,on the ,value of the ,mean ,solar ,parallax ,the ,observatory c4 from the ,british telescopic ,observations 7,no4 #h74 of the ,transit of ,venus #ahgd4 ,also ,remarks on ,prof4 ,adams's ,lunar ,theory4 #ahgg ,nov4 ,on the ,inferences for the ,value of ,mean ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,solar ,parallax c4 from the ,telescopic 7,month4 ,not47 ,observations of the ,transit of ,venus #ahgd1 which were made in the ,british ,expedition for the ,observation of that ,transit4 #ahgg ,numerical ,lunar ,theory3 ,appendix to ,greenwich ,astronomical ,observations #ahge4 #ahgg ,dec4 #f ,on the ,tides at ,malta4 ,phil4 ,trans4 #ahgh ,correspondence with ,le ,verrier on his ,the ,observatory ,planetary ,tables in #ahgf4 7,no4 #aj74 #ahgh ,on the ,proposal of the ,french ,committee ,the ,observatory to erect a ,statue to ,le ,verrier4 ,also 7,no4 #ac74 on the ,observation of the approaching ,transit of ,mercury4 #ahgh ,mar4 #aa ,on the ,correction of the ,compass in ,phil4 ,mag4 ,iron ,ships without use of a ,fixed ,mark4 #ahgh ,mar4 #cj ,on the ,standards of ,length in the ,the ,times4 ,guildhall1 ,london4 #ahgh ,apr4 #bg ,report of ,lecture on ,the probable ,w4 ,cumberland condition of the ,interior of the ,times4 ,earth4 ,on the probable condition of the ,trans4 of the ,interior of the ,earth--,revised ,cumberland ,edition of above ,lecture4 ,assoc41 c4 #ahgh ,june #a ,discussion of the ,observations of ,the ,observatory the ,transit of ,mercury on ,may #f4 7,no4 #ad74 #ahgh ,abstract of ,lecture delivered at ,the ,observatory ,cockermouth on ,the ,interior of the 7,no4 #ad74 ,earth4 #aigh ,june #a ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahgh ,july #a ,remarks on the measurement of the ,the ,observatory photographs taken in the ,transit of 7,no4 #ae74 ,venus ,observations4 #ahgh ,july #ac ,on the ,variable ,star ,r4 ,scuti3 ,the ,observatory distortion in the ,photo-heliograph4 7,no4 #af74 #ahgh ,remarks on ,mr ,gill's ,heliometric ,the ,observatory ,observations of ,mars4 7,no4 #bj74 #ahgh ,dec4 ,note on a ,determination of the ,mass ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 of ,mars1 and reference to his own 7,month4 ,not47 determination in #ahbh4 ,also ,note on the ,conjunction of ,mars and ,saturn1 #ahgi1 ,june #cj4 #ahgi ,jan4 #a ,on the remarkable conjunction of ,the ,observatory the ,planets ,mars and ,saturn which 7,no4 #ba74 will occur on #ahgi1 ,june #cj4 #ahgi ,feb4 #ae ,on the names ,cabul and ,malek4 ,athenaeum #ahgi ,feb4 #be ,on ,faggot ,votes in ,cornwall in #ahbh4 ,athenaeum #ahgi ,mar4 #ac ,letter on the ,examination ,papers for the ,smith's ,prizes4 #ahgi ,apr4 #g ,drafts of ,resolutions proposed concerning ,sadler's ,notes on the late ,admiral ,smyth's ,cycle of ,celestial ,objects4 #ahgi ,june #a ,letter to ,le ,verrier1 dated #ahge1 ,the ,observatory ,feb4 #e1 in support of the ,method 7,no4 #bf74 of ,least ,squares4 #ahgi ,june #a ,remarks in debate on ,sadler's ,the ,observatory ,notes above-mentioned4 7,no4 #bf74 #ahgi ,june #g ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahgi ,july #bi ,index to the ,records of occasional ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,observations and ,calculations made 7,month4 ,not4 at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 supplementary47 and to other miscellaneous ,papers connected with that ,institution4 #ahgi ,biography of ,g4 ,b4 ,airy 7perhaps corrected by himself7 in ,french1 published at ,geneva4 #ahgi ,sept4 ,on the ,construction and ,use of a ,phil4 ,mag4 ,scale for ,gauging ,cylindrical ,measures of ,capacity4 #ahhj ,on the ,theoretical ,value of the ,the ,observatory ,acceleration of the ,moon's ,mean 7,no4 #cg74 ,motion4 #ahhj ,on the ,secular ,acceleration of ,the ,observatory the ,moon--additional note4 7,no4 #cg74 #ahhj ,apr4 #bg ,memoranda for the ,commission appointed to consider the ,tay ,bridge casualty4 #ahhj ,apr4 ,on the ,theoretical ,value of the ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,acceleration of the ,moon's ,mean 7,month4 ,not47 ,motion in ,longitude produced by the ,change of ,eccentricity of the ,earth's ,orbit4 #ahhj ,may ,on the ,preparations to be made for ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,observation of the ,transit of ,venus 7,month4 ,not47 #ahhb1 ,dec4 #f4 #ahhj ,on the present ,proximity of ,jupiter ,the ,observatory to the ,earth1 and on the ,intervals of 7,no4 #db74 ,recurrence of the same ,phaenomena4 #ahhj ,june #e ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahhj ,sept4 #d ,on the e muet in ,french4 ,athenaeum4 #ahhj ,sept4 #d ,excursions in the ,keswick ,keswick ,district4 ,guardian4 #ahhj ,dec4 #a ,description of ,flamsteed's ,the ,observatory ,equatoreal ,sextant1 and ,remarks on 7,no4 #dd74 ,graham4 #ahhj ,addition to a ,paper entitled ,on ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 the ,theoretical ,value of the ,moon's 7,month4 ,not4 ,mean ,motion in ,longitude1 c4 supplementary47 #ahha ,mar4 ,effect on the ,moon's ,movement in ,r4 ,astr4 ,soc4 ,latitude1 produced by the slow 7,month4 ,not47 change of ,position of the ,plane of the ,ecliptic4 #ahha ,june #d ,report of the ,astronomer ,royal to the ,board of ,visitors4 #ahha ,logarithms of the ,values of all ,inst4 ,c4 ,e4 ,vulgar ,fractions with ,numerator and 7,minutes47 ,denominator not exceeding #ajj3 arranged in order of magnitude4 #ahha ,july #f ,a ,new ,method of ,clearing the ,lunar ,distance4--,admiralty4 #ahha ,aug4 #d ,on a ,systematic ,interruption in the order ,phil4 ,mag4 of numerical values of ,vulgar ,fractions1 when arranged in a series of consecutive magnitudes4 #ahhb ,sept4 #ae ,monthly ,means of the ,highest and ,r4 ,soc4 7,proc47 ,lowest ,diurnal ,temperatures of the ,water of the ,thames1 and ,comparison with the corresponding ,temperatures of the ,air at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 #ahhb ,oct4 #ai ,on the ,proposed ,forth ,bridge4 ,nature4 #ahhb ,dec4 #g ,on the ,proposed ,forth ,bridge4 ,nature4 #ahhc ,jan4 #ba ,on the ,ossianic ,poems4 ,athenaeum4 #ahhc ,mar4 #ab ,on the proposed ,braithwaite and ,daily ,news4 ,buttermere ,railway4 ,times4 ,standard4 #ahhc ,apr4 #bh ,memorandum on the progress of the ,numerical ,lunar ,theory1 addressed to the ,board of ,visitors of the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich4 #ahhc ,letter on ,the ,apparent ,inequality in the ,the ,observatory ,mean ,motion of the ,moon4 7,no4 #gd74 #ahhc ,aug4 #ah ,on a ,singular ,morning ,dream4 ,nature4 #ahhc ,sept4 #aj ,power of organization of the common ,nature4 mouse4 #ahhc ,nov4 #ag ,on ,chepstow ,railway ,bridge1 with general ,nature4 remarks suggested by that ,structure4 #ahhd ,mar4 #h ,on the ,erroneous ,usage of the term ,athenaeum4 arterial drainage4 #ahhd ,on the ,comparison of ,reversible and ,the ,observatory ,non-reversible ,transit ,instruments4 7,no4 #he74 #ahhd ,nov4 #aj ,on an obscure passage in the ,koran4 ,nature4 787 #ahhe ,may #bh ,an ,incident in the ,history of ,trinity ,athenaeum4 ,college1 ,cambridge4 #ahhe ,june #h ,incident ,no4 #b in the ,history of ,trinity ,athenaeum4 ,college1 ,cambridge4 #ahhe ,nov4 #bf ,results deduced from the ,measure of ,phil4 ,trans4 ,terrestrial ,magnetic ,force in the ,horizontal ,plane1 at the ,royal ,observatory1 ,greenwich1 from #ahda to #ahgf4 #ahhf ,apr4 #f ,integer ,members of the ,first ,centenary ,nature4 satisfying the ,equation ,a ,b ,c4 #ahhg ,feb4 #ab ,on the earlier ,tripos of the ,university of ,nature4 787 ,cambridge3 in ,,mss4 #ahhg ,apr4 #ad ,on the ,establishment of the ,roman ,dominion ,nature4 in ,south-,east ,britain4 #ahhg ,july #bc ,on a special ,algebraic function1 and its ,camb4 ,phil4 ,soc4 application to the solution of 787 some ,equations3 in ,,mss4 ,,books ,,written ,,by ,g4 ,b4 ,,airy4 ,mathematical ,tracts on ,physical ,astronomy1 the ,figure of the ,earth1 ,precession and ,nutation1 and ,the ,calculus of ,variations4 ,this was published in #ahbf4 ,in a #bnd ,edition published in #ahca the ,undulatory ,theory of ,optics was added to the above list4 ,four ,editions of this work have been published1 the last in #aheh4 ,the ,undulatory ,theory of ,optics was published separately in #ahgg4 ,gravitation3 an ,elementary ,explanation of the ,principal ,perturbations in the ,solar ,system4 ,written for the ,penny ,cyclopaedia1 and published previously as a book in #ahcd4 ,there was a #bnd ,edition in #ahhd4 ,trigonometry4 ,this was written for the ,encyclopaedia ,metropolitana about #ahbe1 and was published as a separate book in #ahee under the ,title of ,a ,treatise on ,trigonometry4 ,six ,lectures on ,astronomy delivered at the meetings of the friends of the ,ipswich ,museum at the ,temperance ,hall1 ,ipswich1 in the month of ,march #ahdh4 ,these ,lectures under the above ,title1 and that of ,popular ,astronomy1 a series of ,lectures1 have run through twelve editions4 ,on the ,algebraical and ,numerical ,theory of ,errors of ,observations and the ,combination of ,observations1 #ast ,edition in #ahfa1 #bnd in #ahge1 #crd in #ahgi4 ,essays on the ,invasion of ,britain by ,julius ,caesar2 ,the ,invasion of ,britain by ,plautius1 and by ,claudius ,caesar2 ,the ,early ,military ,policy of the ,romans in ,britain2 ,the ,battle of ,hastings1 with ,correspondence4 ,collected and printed for private distribution in #ahfe4 ,an ,elementary ,treatise on ,partial ,differential ,equations4 #ahff4 ,on ,sound and ,atmospheric ,vibrations1 with the ,mathematical ,elements of ,music4 ,the #ast ,edition in #ahfh1 the #bnd in #ahga4 ,a ,treatise on ,magnetism1 published in #ahgj4 ,notes on the ,earlier ,hebrew ,scriptures1 published in #ahgf4 ,numerical ,lunar ,theory1 published in #ahhf4 ,,index4 ,accidents 7see also ,illnesses7 ,accounts ,acts and ,opponencies ,adams1 ,prof4 ,j4,c4 ,adams1 ,john ,quincey ,agrarian fires ,aiken ,airy1 ,william1 father of ,g4,b4,a4 ,airy1 ,ann1 mother of ,g4,b4,a4 ,airy1 ,william1 brother of ,g4,b4,a41 and ,basil ,r4 ,airy1 his son ,airy1 ,arthur1 brother of ,g4,b4,a4 ,airy1 ,elizabeth1 sister of ,g4,b4,a4 ,airy1 ,richarda1 wife of ,g4,b4,a4 ,airy1 children of ,g4,b4,a4 ,george ,richard ,elizabeth ,arthur ,wilfrid ,hubert ,hilda ,christabel ,annot ,osmund ,allsop ,alnwick ,altazimuth instrument ,althorp1 ,lord ,american ,observatories ,american method of recording ,observations 7see ,galvanic ,registration7 ,ampre ,ancient eclipses ,anderson1 lessee of ,harton ,colliery ,anemometer 7see ,meteorology7 ,anniversary parties ,antiquarian researches and notes ,arago ,architecture 7see ,cathedrals1 c47 ,astronomical ,society 7see ,royal ,astr4 ,soc47 ,astronomische ,gesellschaft ,athenaeum newspaper ,athenaeum ,club ,atkinson1 ,senior ,wrangler #ahba ,atlantic cable ,atmospheric railway 7see ,railways7 ,auckland1 ,lord ,aurora ,borealis ,australian ,observatories 7see also ,observatories7 ,auwers1 ,dr ,babbage1 ,charles ,baily1 ,francis ,bakhuysen1 of ,leyden ,balance 7,public ,balance7 ,baldock1 ,commander ,baldrey1 assistant ,banks1 optician ,baring1 ,sir ,t4 ,barlow1 ,prof4 ,barlow1 ,w4,h4 ,barnard1 ,proctor ,barnes1 ,miss ,barnes1 ,gorell ,barometers ,barry1 ,sir ,c4 ,barton1 ,bernard ,baxter1 secretary to the ,admiralty ,beacons1 floating ,beaufort1 ,captain ,beaumont's ,observatory ,bedingfield1 pupil ,bell ,scholarships 7see ,examinations7 ,bessell1 astronomer ,biddell1 ,arthur1 uncle of ,g4,b4,a4 ,biddell1 ,george1 uncle of ,g4,b4,a4 ,biddell1 ,william1 uncle of ,g4,b4,a4 ,biddell1 ,george ,arthur1 son of ,arthur ,biddell ,biographical notes ,bissett1 pupil ,blackwood1 ,captain ,blakesley1 ,canon ,blasting ,bliss's observations ,blomfield1 ,g4,b41 pupil ,bloomfield1 ,lord ,board of ,longitude ,boileau ,bond1 ,g4,p4 ,books1 written by ,g4,b4,a41 ,appendix ,book ,society1 ,cambr4 ,bosanquet ,bouch1 ,t4 ,civ4 ,eng4 ,boundary of ,canada 7see ,canada7 ,bouvard1 ,e4 ,bowstead ,bradley's observations ,brazil1 ,emperor of ,breakwaters 7see ,harbours7 ,breen1 assistant ,brewster1 ,sir ,d4 ,bridges ,brinkley1 ,dr ,bristow1 ,miss ,britannia ,bridge 7see ,bridges7 ,brooke1 ,charles ,british ,association ,brougham1 ,lord ,browne1 ,g4,a4 ,brunel1 ,civ4 ,eng4 ,buck ,buckland1 ,dr ,buckle1 pupil ,burgoyne1 ,sir ,j4 ,burlington1 ,lord ,burton ,busts 7see ,portraits7 ,calculating machines ,calvert ,cambridge ,observatory3 ,assistants ,instruments ,printed observations ,general ,cambridge ,university ,cambridge ,observatory1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,canada boundary ,cankrein1 pupil ,canning1 ,lord ,cape of ,good ,hope1 ,observatory and ,survey ,carpenter1 assistant ,cartmell1 ,dr ,case ,catalogues of stars 7see ,stars7 ,cathedrals and churches ,catton ,cavendish experiment ,cayley1 ,prof4 ,challis1 ,prof4 ,chalmers1 ,dr ,cherbourg 7see ,harbours7 ,chesil ,bank ,childers ,childers1 ,first ,lord of ,admiralty ,christchurch ,christie1 ,prof4 ,christie1 ,astronomer ,royal ,chronographic barrel 7see ,galvanic ,registration7 ,chronometers ,churches 7see ,cathedrals7 ,church service ,cincinnati ,observatory ,clarendon1 ,lord ,clark1 ,latimer ,clarkson1 ,thomas1 and ,mrs ,clarkson ,cleasby1 pupil ,clegg ,clinton1 pupil ,clocks ,cockburn1 ,sir ,g4 ,coinage 7see ,decimal ,coinage7 ,colby1 ,col4 ,colchester ,colenso1 ,bishop ,college ,hall ,collorado1 ,count ,colonial ,observatories 7see ,observatories7 ,comets ,commissions ,compass corrections ,cookson1 ,dr ,cooper1 pupil ,cooper's telescope 7see ,telescopes7 ,copying press ,corbaux1 ,miss ,corryvreckan whirlpool ,courtney1 ,rev4 ,j4 ,cowper1 ,first ,commissioner of ,works ,crawford1 pupil ,criswick1 assistant ,cropley1 ,crosse1 ,rev4 ,e4 ,cubitt1 ,sir ,w4 ,daguerrotypes ,dalhousie1 ,lord ,davy1 ,sir ,humphrey ,davy1 ,dr ,daynou1 ,lieut4 ,deal time ball ,de ,berg ,decimal coinage and decimal subdividing ,dee navigation 7see ,rivers7 ,degrees 7see also ,orders and ,elections to ,societies7 ,deighton1 publisher ,de ,la ,rive ,de ,la ,rue ,de ,launay ,deluge1 ,the ,de ,morgan1 ,a4 ,denison1 ,e4,b4 ,denison1 ,sir ,w4 ,denison1 ,h4 ,denmark1 ,king of ,dent1 clockmaker ,dent-dale ,devonshire1 ,duke of ,dobbs1 pupil ,dobree1 lecturer ,docks 7see ,harbours7 ,dolcoath experiments ,dollond1 instrument maker ,drainage ,drinkwater1 ,bethune ,double-image micrometer ,douglas1 ,sir ,h4 ,dover 7see ,harbours7 ,dublin professorship 7see ,professorships7 ,dublin ,observatory 7see ,observatories7 ,du1 ,baron ,dundas1 ,admiral ,dundonald1 ,lord ,dunkin1 assistant ,dunlop1 astronomer ,durham observatory ,earnshaw ,earth currents ,eastons1 manufacturers ,eclipses 7see also ,ancient ,eclipses7 ,edinburgh ,observatory ,edmonston1 ,dr ,education 7see ,university ,education7 ,egyptian ,astronomical ,tablets ,elections to societies1 c4 7see also ,degrees and ,orders7 ,electricity1 atmospheric ,ellenborough1 ,lord ,ellis1 ,w41 assistant ,elphinstone ,encke and ,encke's ,comet ,encyclopaedia ,metropolitana ,engines 7see ,steam-engines7 ,equatoreal1 large ,estcourt1 ,col4 ,evans1 lecturer ,examinations ,exhibitions and prizes ,exodus of the ,israelites ,eye1 defects of ,eye1 estate at ,fallows1 astronomer ,faraday ,farish ,farr ,fellowship ,field ,fisher ,fishmongers' ,company ,fletcher1 ,isaac1 ,m4,p4 ,floating ,island1 ,derwentwater ,fluid telescope1 ,barlow's ,foley ,forbes1 ,prof4 ,j4,d4 ,foster1 ,messrs ,fox1 ,alfred ,freedom of the ,city of ,london ,freemantle1 ,sir ,t4 ,french1 ,dr ,friends1 ,personal friends at ,cambridge ,fries1 ,prof4 ,galbraith ,galle ,galvanic communication1 ,time-signals1 ,clocks1 and ,registration 7see also ,earth currents7 ,gambard ,gas ,act ,gauss ,gautier ,geodesy ,geology ,geological ,society ,germany ,gibson1 pupil ,gilbert1 ,messrs ,gilbert1 ,davies ,gill1 astronomer ,gladstone1 ,w4,e4 ,glaisher1 assistant ,glasgow ,observatory ,gordon ,gosset ,goulburn1 ,chancellor of the ,exchequer ,gould1 ,dr ,b4,a4 ,goussel ,graduation of circles ,grant1 of ,glenmoriston ,great ,circle sailing 7see ,navigation7 ,great ,eastern 7see ,ships7 ,great ,exhibition ,great ,gable ,green1 ,commander ,u4,s4,n4 ,greenwich ,greenwich ,observatory1 before his appointment as ,astronomer ,royal ,greenwich ,observatory3 ,appointment as ,astronomer ,royal1 and subsequently as ,visitor ,buildings and grounds in1 ,instruments ,assistants ,computations ,papers and manuscripts 7arrangement of7 ,estimates ,printed ,observations ,visitations and ,reports ,general ,gresswell ,groombridge's ,catalogue 7see ,stars7 ,guest1 ,caius ,college ,haarlem ,hall1 ,col4 ,halley and ,halley's ,comet ,hamilton ,hamilton1 ,sir ,w4,r4 ,hamilton1 ,admiral ,hansard ,hansen1 ,prof4 ,hansteen ,harbours ,harcourt1 ,rev4 ,w4 ,vernon ,hartnup1 astronomer ,harton ,colliery experiments ,haviland1 ,dr ,hawkes1 ,trinity ,college ,hebrew ,scriptures ,heliograph ,hencke ,henderson1 astronomer ,henslow1 ,prof4 ,herbert1 ,g4 ,hereford ,herschel1 ,sir ,john ,herschel1 ,miss ,caroline ,herschel1 ,col4 ,j4 ,hervey1 pupil ,higman1 ,tutor1 ,trinity ,college ,hilgard1 ,u4,s4,a4 ,himalaya ,expedition ,hind1 ,moderator ,hind1 ,superintendent ,nautical ,almanac ,hopkins ,hovenden1 pupil ,hudson ,huggins1 ,dr ,humboldt1 ,baron ,a4 ,humphreys ,hussey1 ,dr ,hustler1 ,tutor1 ,trinity ,college ,hyde ,parker1 ,admiral ,hygrometers ,ibbotson1 pupil ,iliff ,illnesses ,inequality1 ,venus and ,earth ,inglis1 ,sir ,r4 ,institut de ,france ,institution of ,civil ,engineers ,inverness1 ,northern ,institution of ,ipswich ,lectures ,ireland1 notes of ,ivory ,jackson ,jackson1 ,john ,james1 ,sir ,h4 ,janus 7see ,steam-engines7 ,jarrow 7see ,harbours7 ,jeffries ,jerrard1 ,dr ,jervis1 ,major ,jeune1 ,dr1 ,v4,c4 of ,oxford ,johnson1 ,capt4 ,johnson1 astronomer ,jones1 instrument-makers ,jones1 ,r4 ,journeys3 ,scotland and ,cumberland2 ,swansea2 ,derbyshire1 c42 ,wales2 ,keswick1 c42 ,cornwall1 c42 ,orlans2 ,lake ,district1 c42 ,continent1 ,observatories1 c42 ,cornwall1 c42 ,derbyshire2 ,oxford c42 ,cumberland2 ,ireland2 ,scotland2 ,derbyshire1 c42 ,cumberland1 c42 ,ireland2 ,kent2 ,s4 ,wales2 ,luddington and ,yorkshire2 ,border of ,scotland2 ,s4 ,wales2 ,cumberland and ,yorkshire2 ,south of ,ireland2 ,ireland2 ,france2 ,cornwall2 ,germany2 ,petersburg1 c42 ,ireland2 ,shetland2 ,scotland2 ,sweden2 ,madeira2 ,cumberland2 ,cumberland2 ,oban1 c42 ,italy and ,sicily2 ,west ,highlands2 ,switzerland2 ,central ,france2 ,spain 7eclipse72 ,cumberland2 ,west ,highlands2 ,west ,highlands2 ,cumberland2 ,norway2 ,cumberland2 ,switzerland2 ,cumberland2 ,cumberland2 ,cumberland2 ,scotland2 ,scotland2 ,n4 of ,scotland2 ,ireland2 ,scotland1 c42 ,cumberland2 ,cumberland2 ,cumberland2 ,cumberland2 ,s4 ,wales2 ,cumberland #ceh2 ,cumberland ,julius ,caesar1 landing of ,jupiter 7see ,planets7 ,keeling ,kennedy ,king1 ,joshua ,kingstown ,knight1 publisher ,knighthood1 offers of ,lagarde ,laing ,landman1 ,engineer ,langton ,lardner1 ,dr ,lassell1 and ,lassell's telescope ,latitude determinations ,lax1 ,prof4 ,lectures3 ,college ,professorial ,miscellaneous ,lefevre1 ,j4,g4,s4 ,leitch1 ,dr ,le ,verrier ,lewis1 ,h4 ,lewis1 ,sir ,g4,c4 ,lightfoot1 ,rev4 ,dr ,lighthouses ,lightning ,lillingstone ,lindsay1 ,lord ,listing1 ,prof4 ,liverpool ,observatory ,livingstone1 ,dr ,lloyd1 ,dr ,lloyd1 ,prof4 ,lockyer ,lodge ,london ,university ,london1 ,freedom of the ,city ,long vacations1 with pupils ,longitude determinations ,longitude1 ,board of 7see ,board of ,longitude7 ,lowe1 ,chancellor of the ,exchequer ,lubbock1 ,sir ,john ,lucas 7computer7 ,lucasian ,professorship 7see ,professorships7 ,lunar ,reductions ,lunar ,theory and ,tables 7see also ,numerical ,lunar ,theory7 ,lyndhurst1 ,lord ,lyons1 ,sir ,e4 ,macaulay1 ,t4,b4 ,macdonnell1 ,dr ,maclean1 of ,loch ,buy ,maclear1 ,astronomer ,madras ,observatory #aja ,magnetic ,observatory and ,magnetism 7see also ,meteorology1 ,compass corrections1 and ,earth currents7 ,main1 ,robert ,maine ,boundary 7see ,canada7 ,maiden1 ,prof4 ,malkin ,malta ,man-,engines 7see ,mines7 ,manuscripts 7see ,papers7 ,mars 7see ,planets7 ,marshman1 pupil ,marth1 ,a4 ,martin1 ,trin4 ,coll4 ,maskelyne1 astronomer ,mason ,mathematical ,investigations 7see also ,appendix ,printed ,papers7 ,mathematical ,tracts ,mathematical subjects in ,maudslays and ,field ,may1 ,ransomes and ,may ,medals ,melbourne ,university ,melville1 ,lord ,mercury 7see ,planets7 ,merivale1 ,dr ,meteorology ,meteors ,middleton1 ,sir ,w4 ,milaud ,military researches ,miller1 ,prof4 ,mines ,minto1 ,lord ,mitchell1 astronomer ,mitchell ,miss ,molesworth1 ,sir ,w4 ,monteagle1 ,lord ,monument in ,playford church ,moon3 ,observations of ,theory and ,tables of 7see ,lunar ,theory and ,tables7 ,reductions of ,observations of 7see ,lunar ,reductions7 ,mass of ,morpeth1 ,lord ,morton1 ,pierce1 pupil ,murchison1 ,sir ,r4 ,murray1 publisher ,musgrave1 ,charles ,musgrave1 ,t4 ,archbishop ,myers ,nasmyth ,nautical ,almanac ,navigation ,neate1 pupil ,neptune and ,uranus ,newall ,newcombe1 ,prof4 ,new ,forest ,northampton1 ,lord ,northumberland ,telescope ,numerical ,lunar ,theory ,observatories3 see ,american1 ,australian1 ,beaumont's1 ,cambridge1 ,cambridge ,u4,s4,a41 ,cape of ,good ,hope1 ,cincinnati1 ,colonial1 ,dublin1 ,durham1 ,edinburgh1 ,glasgow1 ,greenwich1 ,liverpool1 ,madras1 ,oxford1 ,paris1 ,paramatta1 ,pulkowa1 ,st ,helena1 ,williamstown ,occultations ,o',connell ,ogilby1 pupil ,oppolzer1 ,prof4 ,opponencies 7see ,acts and ,opponencies7 ,optics ,orders 7see also ,degrees and ,elections to ,societies7 ,ouvaroff1 ,count ,oxford ,observatory ,oxford1 ,miscellaneous ,packington1 ,sir ,j4 ,palmerston1 ,lord ,papers 7see ,appendix ,printed ,papers7 ,papers1 ,arrangement of ,parachute1 ,fall of ,parallax 7see ,sun7 ,paramatta ,observatory ,parker1 ,charles ,parker1 ,vice-,chancellor ,paris1 ,dr ,paris ,observatory ,paris ,exhibition ,parliamentary ,elections ,pasley ,paul ,peacock1 ,george ,pearson1 ,dr ,peel1 ,sir ,robert ,pendulum ,investigations and ,experiments ,penny ,cyclopaedia ,pension ,pentland ,percy1 ,bishop ,personal sketch ,philosophical ,society1 ,cambridge ,philpott1 ,dr ,photography ,piers 7see ,harbours7 ,pinheiro1 ,lieut4 ,pipon1 ,lieut4 ,plana1 astronomer ,planetary influences ,planetary ,reductions ,planets 7see also ,transits of ,venus7 ,plantamour ,playford ,plumian ,professorship 7see ,professorships7 ,pocket-books for ,observations ,pogson1 astronomer ,pond1 astronomer ,portlock1 ,capt4 ,portraits1 busts1 c4 ,post ,office1 7clocks1 c47 ,post ,office1 stamps and envelopes ,pouillet ,prince ,albert ,pritchard1 ,rev4 ,c4 ,prizes 7see ,exhibitions7 ,probable errors ,professorships3 ,dublin2 ,lucasian2 ,plumian ,public ,schools ,commission ,pulkowa ,observatory ,pupils3 ,bedingfield2 ,bissett2 ,blomfield2 ,buckle2 ,cankrein2 ,cleasby2 ,clinton2 ,cooper2 ,crawford2 ,dobbs2 ,gibson2 ,guest2 ,hervey2 ,hovenden2 ,ibbotson2 ,lewis2 ,marshman2 ,morton2 ,neate2 ,ogilby2 ,parker2 ,rosser2 ,smith2 ,tinkler2 ,tottenham2 ,turner2 ,wigram2 ,williamson ,pym1 ,engineer ,queen1 ,h4,m4 the ,queen1 ,quroualle1 ,mdlle de ,quetelet ,railways1 near ,observatory ,railway ,gauge ,commission ,railways1 miscellaneous ,rain 7see ,meteorology7 ,rainbows ,ransomes1 also ,ransomes and ,may #ag1 ,reach ,reflex zenith tube ,religious tests and views ,repsold ,rhodes ,richardson1 assistant ,rigaud1 ,prof4 ,rivers ,robinson1 ,dr ,robinson1 ,capt4 ,rogers1 ,rev4 ,rogers1 school assistant ,romilly1 ,lord ,ronalds ,rose1 ,rev4 ,h4,j4 ,rosse1 ,lord1 and ,rosse's ,telescope ,rosser1 pupil ,rothery ,rothman ,round ,down ,cliff1 blasting of ,rouse1 ,rev4 ,r4,c4 ,m4 ,routh1 ,dr ,e4,j4 ,royal ,astronomical ,society 7see also ,appendix ,printed ,papers7 ,royal ,exchange clock ,royal ,institution ,royal ,society 7see also ,appendix ,printed ,papers7 ,royal ,society of ,edinburgh ,rncker1 ,paramatta ,rncker ,rundell ,rusby ,russell1 ,lord ,john ,sabine1 ,col4 ,sadler1 ,h4 ,saint ,helena ,observatory ,samuda ,saturn 7see ,planets7 ,saunders1 ,g4,w4 ,by ,saw-mills 7see ,ship timbers7 ,schehallien1 mountain ,scholarship ,scholefield ,schumacher ,scientific ,manual ,scoop-wheels ,scoresby1 ,dr ,scriptural ,researches 7see ,hebrew ,scriptures7 ,sedgwick1 ,adam ,selwyn1 ,prof4 ,senate ,house ,examination 7see also ,university ,education7 ,sewers ,commission ,sheepshanks1 ,rev4 ,richard1 and ,miss ,sheepshanks ,sheepshanks ,fund and ,scholarship ,shepherd1 clock-maker ,ship-timbers1 ,machinery for sawing1 ,shirreff1 ,capt4 ,simmons ,simms1 ,f4,w4 ,simms 7see ,troughton and ,simms7 ,skeleton forms ,sly1 draughtsman ,smith1 ,rev4 ,r4 ,smith1 father-in-law of ,g4,b4,a41 and ,mrs ,smith1 ,smith1 the ,misses ,smith1 sisters of ,richarda ,airy1 ,susanna2 ,elizabeth2 ,georgiana2 ,florence2 ,caroline ,smith1 ,archibald ,smith1 ,m41 pupil ,smith's ,prizes ,smyth1 ,capt4 ,w4,h4 ,smyth1 ,piazzi ,societies1 c41 ,elections to 7see ,elections7 ,solar ,eclipses 7see ,eclipses7 ,solar ,inequality 7see ,sun7 ,solar ,system 7see ,sun7 ,solar ,tables 7see ,sun7 ,south1 ,sir ,james ,south's ,telescope ,south-,eastern ,railway ,southampton ,southey 7,poet7 ,spectroscopy ,spottiswoode ,spring-,rice1 ,lord ,monteagle ,standards of ,length and ,weight1 and ,standards ,commission ,stars ,start ,point ,steam-engines ,stephenson1 ,george ,stephenson1 ,robert ,steventon ,stewart1 ,prof4 ,balfour ,stjerneld1 ,baron ,stokes1 ,prof4 ,stone1 ,astronomer ,stratford1 ,lieut4 ,stroganoff1 ,count ,strutt1 ,lord ,belper ,strutt1 ,jedediah ,struve1 ,otto ,stuart1 ,prof4 ,j4 ,sun3 ,miscellaneous ,parallax of 7see also ,transits of ,venus7 ,eclipses of 7see ,eclipses7 ,inequality1 ,venus and ,earth ,tables of ,surveys 7see ,trigonometrical ,surveys7 ,sussex1 ,duke of1 ,sutcliffe ,sutcliffe1 ,miss ,sydney ,university ,sylvester ,sweden1 ,king of ,tate ,taylor1 architect ,taylor1 ,first ,assistant to ,pond1 ,taylor1 ,h4 ,telegraphs 7see ,galvanic communications7 ,telescopes 7see also ,cambridge ,observatory ,instruments1 and ,greenwich ,observatory ,instruments7 ,teneriffe ,experiment ,thames1 the ,river1 ,theology 7see also ,hebrew ,scriptures and ,colenso7 ,thermometers ,thermo-multiplier ,thirlwall1 ,bishop ,thomas1 assistant ,thompson1 ,master ,trin4 ,coll4 ,thomson1 ,sir ,w4 ,tidal ,harbour ,commission ,tides1 ,time-signals and ,time 7see also ,galvanic communication1 c47 ,time balls 7see ,time signals7 ,tinkler1 pupil ,tottenham1 pupil ,traill1 ,dr ,transit ,circle1 ,transits of ,venus ,trigonometrical ,survey ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge ,trinity ,house ,tripos ,examination 7see ,senate-,house ,examination7 ,troughton and ,simms ,tulley1 optician ,tupman1 ,capt ,turner1 pupil ,turton1 ,prof4 ,tutorship ,ulrich1 ,j4,g4 ,universities 7see ,cambridge1 ,dublin1 ,edinburgh1 ,london1 ,melbourne1 ,oxford1 ,sydney7 ,university ,education 7see also ,smith's ,prizes and ,senate-,house ,examination7 ,university ,press1 ,uranus 7see ,neptune7 ,valencia 7see also ,longitude ,determinations7 ,venus 7see ,planets1 and ,transits of ,venus7 ,venus and ,earth inequality 7see ,inequality7 ,vernon ,harcourt 7see ,harcourt7 ,vetch1 ,capt4 ,vibrations of ground ,vignoles1 ,c4,b41 engineer ,vulliamy1 clockmaker ,wales1 ,prince of ,walker1 ,byatt ,walker1 ,james1 engineer ,walker1 ,sydney1 ,warburton1 ,h4 ,washington1 ,capt4 ,water telescope 7see also ,fluid telescope7 ,watson ,waves 7see ,tides7 ,webster1 ,m4,p4 for ,aberdeen ,western ,westminster clock 7see also ,clocks7 ,wexford harbour 7see ,harbours7 ,wheatstone ,whewell1 ,william ,white ,house1 the1 ,wigram1 pupil ,williams1 ,john ,williamson1 pupil ,williamstown ,observatory ,wilson1 ,prof4 ,winchester ,winds 7see ,meteorology7 ,winning ,wood1 ,sir ,charles ,wood1 ,dr ,woodbridge1 ,suffolk ,woodhouse1 ,prof4 ,woolwich ,academy 7see ,examinations7 ,wordsworth1 ,dr1 ,master of ,trin4 ,coll4 ,wordsworth1 poet ,wrede1 ,baron ,wynter1 ,vice-,chancellor1 ,oxford ,yolland1 ,col4 ,york ,cathedral ,young1 ,dr