“Of private history.  On Feb. 29th I went to Cambridge with my Paper on the Going Fusee.  On Mar. 27th I went to visit Mrs Smith, my wife’s mother, at Brampton near Chesterfield.  I made a short visit to Playford in April and a short expedition to Winchester, Portsmouth, &c., in June.  From Sept. 5th to Oct. 3rd I was travelling in the North of England and South of Scotland.” [This was an extremely active and interesting journey, in the course of which a great number of places were visited by Airy, especially places on the Border mentioned in Scott’s Poems, which always had a great attraction for him.  He also attended a Meeting of the British Association at Glasgow and made a statement regarding the Planetary and Lunar Reductions:  and looked at a site for the Glasgow Observatory.] “In November I went for a short time to Cambridge and to Keysoe (my brother’s residence).  On Dec. 26th my daughter Hilda was born (subsequently married to E.J.  Routh).  In this year I had a loss of L350 by a fire on my Eye estate.”

* * * * *

The following extracts are from letters to his wife.  Some of them relate to matters of general interest.  They are all of them characteristic, and serve to shew the keen interest which he took in matters around him, and especially in architecture and scenery.  The first letter relates to his journey from Chesterfield on the previous day.

FLAMSTEED HOUSE,
1840, April 2.

I was obliged to put up with an outside place to Derby yesterday, much against my will, for I was apprehensive that the cold would bring on the pain in my face.  Of that I had not much; but I have caught something of sore throat and catarrh.  The coach came up at about 22 minutes past 8.  It arrived in Derby at 20 minutes or less past 11 (same guard and coachman who brought us), and drew up in the street opposite the inn at which we got no dinner, abreast of an omnibus.  I had to go to a coach office opposite the inn to pay and be booked for London, and was duly set down in a way-bill with name; and then entered the omnibus:  was transferred to the Railway Station, and then received the Railway Ticket by shouting out my name.  If you should come the same way, you would find it convenient to book your place at Chesterfield to London by your name (paying for the whole, namely, coach fare, omnibus fare _-6_, and railway fare _L1. 15s. 0d._ first class).  Then you will only have to step out of the coach into the omnibus, 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 omnibus.

* * * * *

FLAMSTEED HOUSE, GREENWICH,
1840, April 15.

I forgot to tell you that at Lord Northampton’s I saw some specimens of the Daguerrotype, pictures made by the Camera Obscura, and they surpass in beauty of execution anything that I could have imagined.  Baily who has two or three has promised to lend them for your inspection when you return.  Also I saw some post-office stamps and stamped envelopes:  I do not much admire the latter.