Fellowship of the Royal Society were waiting for him; but, as one of
his friends said to his widow, "neither worth nor talent avails when
the great ordeal is presented to us." In a letter from Professor
Pritchard, he said: "Your husband has left his mark upon his age. No
optician of modern times has gained a higher reputation; and I for one
do not hesitate to call his loss national; for he cannot be replaced at
present by any one else in his own peculiar line. I shall carry the
recollection of the affectionate esteem in which I held Thomas Cooke
with me to my grave. Alas! that he should be cut off just at the
moment when he was about to reap the rewards due to his unrivalled
excellence. I have said that F.R.S. and medals were to be his. But he
is, we fondly trust, in a better and higher state than that of earthly
distinction. Best assured, your husband's name must ever be associated
with the really great men of his day. Those who knew him will ever
cherish his memory."

Mr. Cooke left behind him the great works which he founded in
Buckingham Street, York. They still give employment to a large number
of skilled and intelligent artizans. There I found many important
works in progress,--the manufacture of theodolites, of prismatic
compasses (for surveying), of Bolton's range finder, and of telescopes
above all. In the factory yard was the commencement of the Observatory
for Greenwich, to contain the late Mr. Lassell's splendid two feet
Newtonian reflecting telescope, which has been presented to the nation.
Mr. Cooke's spirit still haunts the works, which are carried on with
the skill, the vigour, and the perseverance, transmitted by him to his
sons.

While at York, I was informed by Mr. Wigglesworth, the partner of
Messrs. Cooke, of an energetic young astronomer at Bainbridge, in the
mountain-district of Yorkshire, who had not only been able to make a
telescope of his own, but was an excellent photographer. He was not yet
thirty years of age, but had encountered and conquered many
difficulties. This is a sort of character which is more often to be
met with in remote country places than in thickly-peopled cities. In
the country a man is more of an individual; in a city he is only one of
a multitude. The country boy has to rely upon himself, and has to work
in comparative solitude, while the city boy is distracted by
excitements. Life in the country is full of practical teachings;
whereas life in the city