Autobiography of Sir George Biddell Airy by George Biddell Airy (top 100 novels .TXT) 📕

now commemorated by you, which determined the action of his whole subsequent life.

It is not improbable that, among those who still remember Clarkson, my acquaintance with him began at the earliest time of all. I knew him, intimately, from the beginning of 1815 to his death. The family which he represented must have occupied a very good position in society. I have heard that he sold two good estates to defray the expenses which he incurred in his personal labours for Abolition: and his brother was Governor of Sierra Leone (I know not at what time appointed). Thomas Clarkson was at St John's College; and, as I gather from circumstances which I have heard him mention, must have been a rather gay man. He kept a horse, and at one time kept two. He took Orders in the Church; and on one occasion, in the course of his Abolition struggle, he preached in a church. But he afterwards resolutely laid aside all pretensions to the title of Minister of the Church, and never would accept any title except as layman. He was, however, a very earnest reader of theology during my acquaintance with him, and appeared to be well acquainted with the Early Fathers.

The precise words in which was announced the subject for Prize Essay in the University were "Anne liceat invitos in servitutem trahere."

After the first great victory on the slave trade question, he established himself in a house on the bank of Ullswater. I have not identified the place: from a view which he once shewed me I supposed it to be near the bottom of the lake: but from an account of the storm of wind which he encountered when walking with a lady over a pass, it seemed to be in or near Patterdale. When the remains of a mountaineer, who perished in Helvellyn (as described in Scott's well-known poem), were discovered by a shepherd, it was to Mr Clarkson that the intelligence was first brought.

He then lived at Bury St Edmunds. Mrs Clarkson was a lady of Bury. But I cannot assign conjecturally any dates to his removals or his marriage. His only son took his B.A. degree, I think, about 1817.

I think it was in 1814 that he began his occupation of Playford Hall--a moated mansion near Ipswich, formerly of great importance --where he lived as Gentleman Farmer, managing a farm leased from the Marquis of Bristol, and occupying a good position among the gentry of the county. A relative of mine, with whom I was most intimately acquainted, lived in the same parish (where in defiance of school rules I spent nearly half my time, to my great advantage as I believe, and where I still retain a cottage for occasional residence), and I enjoyed much of Mr Clarkson's notice. It was by his strong advice that I was sent to Cambridge, and that Trinity College was selected: he rode with me to Rev. Mr Rogers of Sproughton for introductory examination; he introduced me to Rev. C. Musgrave (subsequently of Halifax), accidentally doing duty at Grundisburgh, who then introduced me to Sedgwick, Peacock, and T. Musgrave (subsequently of York). In 1825, when I spent the summer at Keswick, he introduced me to Southey and Wordsworth.

Mr Clarkson lived about thirty years at Playford Hall, and died there, and lies interred with his wife, son, and grandson, in Playford churchyard. I joined several friends in erecting a granite obelisk to his memory in the same churchyard. His family is extinct: but a daughter of his brother is living, first married to T. Clarkson's son, and now Mrs Dickinson, of the Rectory, Wolferton.

I am, my dear Sir,
Very faithfully yours,
G.B. AIRY.

_The Very Reverend,
The Dean of Ely._


1880

"The Admiralty, on final consideration of the estimates, decided not to proceed with the erection of a new Library near the Magnetic Observatory in the present year. In the mean time the space has been cleared for the erection of a building 50 by 20 feet.--I have removed the Electrometer Mast (a source of some expense and some danger), the perfect success of Sir William Thomson's Electrometer rendering all further apparatus for the same purpose unnecessary.--Many years ago a double-image micrometer, in which the images were formed by the double refraction of a sphere of quartz, was prepared by Mr Dollond for Capt. Smyth, R.N. Adopting the same principle on a larger scale, I have had constructed by Mr Hilger a micrometer with double refraction of a sphere of Iceland spar. Marks have been prepared for examination of the scale, but I have not yet had opportunity of trying it.--The spectroscopic determination of Star-motions has been steadily pursued. The stars are taken from a working list of 150 stars, which may eventually be extended to include all stars down to the fourth magnitude, and it is expected that in the course of time the motions of about 300 stars may be spectroscopically determined.--A new pressure-plate with springs has been applied by Mr Browning to Osler's Anemometer, and it is proposed to make such modification as will give a scale extending to 50 lbs. pressure on the square foot. Other parts of the instrument have also been renewed.--As regards the reduction of the magnetical results since 1863: In the study of the forms of the individual curves; their relations to the hour, the month, the year; their connection with solar or meteorological facts; the conjectural physico-mechanical causes by which they are produced; there is much to occupy the mind. I regret that, though in contemplation of these curves I have remarked some singular (but imperfect) laws, I have not been able to pursue them.--The mean temperature of the year 1879 was 46.1 deg., being 3.3 deg. below the average of the preceding 38 years. The highest temperature was 80.6 deg. on July 30, and the lowest 13.7 deg. on Dec. 7. The mean temperature was below the average in every month of the year; the months of greatest deviation being January and December, respectively 6.8 deg. and 7.6 deg. below the average; the months of April, May, July, and November were each between 4 deg. and 5 deg. below the average. The number of hours of bright sunshine, recorded with Campbell's Sunshine Instrument, during 1879, was only 983.--In the summer of 1879 Commander Green, U.S.N., came over to this country for the purpose of determining telegraphically the longitude of Lisbon, as part of a chain of longitudes extending from South America to Greenwich. A successful interchange of signals was made with Commander Green between Greenwich and Porthcurno on four nights, 1879, June 25 to 29. The results communicated by Commander Green shew that the longitude of Lisbon Observatory, as adopted in the Nautical Almanac, requires the large correction of +8.54".--With regard to the coming Transit of Venus in 1882: From the facility with which the requirements for geographical position are satisfied, and from the rapid and accurate communication of time now given by electric telegraph, the observation of this Transit will be comparatively easy and inexpensive. I have attached greater importance than I did formerly to the elevation of the Sun.... I remark that it is highly desirable that steps be taken now for determining by telegraph the longitude of some point of Australia. I have stated as the general opinion that it will be useless to repeat photographic observations. --In April Mr Barlow called, in reference to the Enquiry on the Tay Bridge Disaster. (The Bridge had been blown down on Dec. 28th, 1879.) I prepared a memorandum on the subject for the Tay Bridge Commission, and gave evidence in a Committee Room of the House of Lords on Apr. 29th." (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 Bridge, in 1873.)--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 Companies, which latter were alleged to have infringed the monopoly of the Post Office in commercial telegraphs: Airy made a declaration on the subject.--In July Mr Bakhuyzen came to England to determine the longitude of Leyden, on which he was engaged till Sept. 9th, and carried on his observations at the Observatory.--In July Airy was much engaged in perusing the records of Mr Gill's work at the Cape of Good Hope.

Of private history: On Jan. 24th he returned from Playford.--From June 14th to July 4th he was again at Playford.--From September 21st to October 20th he was staying at Portinscale near Keswick.--On Dec. 23rd he went again to Playford for his winter holiday.

Respecting the agitation at Cambridge for granting University degrees to women, the following extract from a letter addressed to a young lady who had forwarded a Memorial on the subject for his consideration, and dated Nov. 10th, 1880, contains Airy's views on this matter.

"I have not signed the Memorial which you sent for my consideration: and I will endeavour to tell you why. I entirely approve of education of young women to a higher pitch than they do commonly reach. 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 it. But I do not think that their nature or their employments will permit of their mastering the _severe_ steps of beginning (and indeed all through) and the _complicated_ steps at the end. And I think it well that this their success should be well known--as it is sure to be--among their relatives, their friends, their visitors, and all in whom they are likely to take interest. Their connection with such a place as Girton College is I think sufficient to lead to this. 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 knowledge, namely the delicacy of woman's character. And here, I think, our views totally separate. I do not imagine that the University Degree would really imply, as regards education, anything more than is known to all persons (socially concerned in the happiness of the young woman) from the less public testimonial of the able men who have the means of knowing their merits. And thus it appears to me that the admission to University Degree would simply mean a more extended publication of their names. I dread this."


1881

"The new line of underground telegraph wires has been completed by the officers of the General Post Office. The new route is down Croom's Hill in Greenwich, and the result of this change, at least as regards the earth-current wires, and probably as regards the other wires, has not been satisfactory. 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 currents.... If this fault cannot be removed, I should propose to return to