importing mortal illness). Instantly there had
passed through my mind the certainty of my succeeding him, the good
position in which I stood towards the University, the probability of
that position being improved by improved lectures, &c., &c., and by
increased reputation from the matters in which I was now engaged, the
power of thus commanding an increase of income. I should then have,
independent of my Fellowship, some competent income, and a house over
my head. I was quite aware that some time might elapse, but now for
the first time I saw my way clearly. The care of the Observatory had
been for two or three years attached to the Plumian Professorship. A
Grace was immediately prepared, entrusting the temporary care of the
Observatory to Dr French, to me, Mr Catton, Mr Sheepshanks, and Mr
King (afterwards Master of Queens' College). On Dec. 6th I have a note
from Mr King about going to the Observatory.

"On Dec. 6th my Paper on corrections of the elements of the Solar
Tables was presented to the Royal Society. On Dec. 9th, at 1 h. 4
m. a.m. (Sunday morning), I arrived at the result of my calculations
of the new inequality. I had gone through some fluctuations of
feeling. Usually the important part of an inequality of this kind
depends entirely on the eccentricities of the orbits, but it so
happened that from the positions of the axes of the orbits, &c., these
terms very nearly destroyed each other. After this came the
consideration of inclinations of orbits; and here were sensible terms
which were not destroyed. Finally I arrived at the result that the
inequality would be about 3"; just such a magnitude as was required. I
slipped this into Whewell's door. This is, to the time of writing
(1853), the last improvement of any importance in the Solar
Theory. Some little remaining work went on to Dec. 14th, and then,
being thoroughly tired, I laid by the work for revision at some future
time. I however added a Postscript to my Royal Society Paper on Solar
Errors, notifying this result.

"On Dec. 19th I went to Bury. While there I heard from Whewell that
Woodhouse was dead. I returned to Cambridge and immediately made known
that I was a candidate for the now vacant Plumian Professorship. Of
miscellaneous scientific business, I find that on Oct. 13th Professor
Barlow of Woolwich prepared a memorial to the Board of Longitude
concerning his fluid telescope (which I had seen at Woodford), which
was considered on Nov. 1st, and