officially to the Admiralty, soliciting L150 with the prospect, if necessary, of making it L200.  On Apr. 10th the Admiralty gave their assent.  The existence of Hansen’s Lunar Tables is due to this grant.—­The King of Denmark’s Medal for Comets was discontinued, owing to the difficulties produced by the hostility of Prussia.—­On Aug. 1st I gave to the Treasury my opinion on the first proposal for a large reflector in Australia:  it was not strongly favourable.—­In August, being (with my wife and Otto Struve) on a visit to Lady Breadalbane at Taymouth Castle, I examined the mountain Schehallien.—­As in other years, I reported on several Papers for the Royal Society, and took part in various business for them.—­In the Royal Astronomical Society I had much official business, as President.—­In March I communicated to the Athenaeum my views on the Exodus of the Israelites:  this brought me into correspondence with Miss Corbaux, Robert Stephenson, Capt.  Vetch, and Prof.  J.D.  Forbes.—­In December I went to the London Custom House, to see Sir T. Freemantle (Chairman of Customs), and to see how far decimal subdivisions were used in the Custom House.”

Of private history:  “From Mar. 19th to 22nd I was on an expedition to Folkestone, Dover, Dungeness, &c.—­From Apr. 3rd to 8th at Playford, and again for short periods in June and July.—­From Aug. 1st to Sept. 5th I was travelling in Scotland with my wife and Otto Struve (for part of the time).  At Edinburgh I attended the Meeting of the British Association, and spoke a little in Section A. I was nominated President for 1851 at Ipswich.  We travelled to Cape Wrath and returned by Inverness and the Caledonian Canal.—­I was at Playford for a short time in October and December.”

1851

“In this year the great shed was built (first erected on the Magnetic Ground, and about the year 1868 transferred to the South Ground).—­The chronometers were taken from the old Chronometer Room (a room on the upper story fronting the south, now, 1872, called Library 2) and were put in the room above the Computing Room (where they remained for 10 or 12 years, I think):  it had a chronometer-oven with gas-heat, erected in 1850.—­The following passage is quoted from the Report to the Visitors:—­’As regards Meridional Astronomy our equipment may now be considered complete.  As I have stated above, an improvement might yet be made in our Transit Circle; nevertheless I do not hesitate to express my belief that no other existing meridional instrument can be compared with it.  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 (Messrs Ransomes and May, and Mr Simms).  But it would be very unjust to omit the further statement that the expense of the construction has considerably exceeded the original estimate, and that this excess has been most liberally defrayed by the Government.’—­In December Sir John Herschel gave his opinion (to the