other persons they would not agree to it, and I assented
to keeping them. I applied to the Press Syndicate to print the work,
and on Nov. 10th at the request of T. Musgrave (afterwards Archbishop
of York) I sent a specimen of my MS.: on Nov. 11th they granted 250
copies, and the printing soon commenced."

1829

"During a winter holiday at Playford I wrote out some investigations
about the orbits of comets, and on Jan. 23rd 1829 I returned to
Cambridge. The Smith's Prize Examination soon followed, in which I set
a Paper of questions as usual. On Feb. 18th I made notes on
Liesganig's geodetic work at the British Museum.

"I was naturally anxious now about the settlement of my salary and of
the Observatory establishment. I do not know when the Syndicate made
their Report, but it must have been in the last term of 1828. It
recommended that the salary should be annually made up (by Grace) to
_L500_: that an Assistant should be appointed with the assent of the
Vice-Chancellor and dismissable by the Plumian Professor: and that a
Visiting Syndicate should be appointed, partly official and partly of
persons to be named every year by Grace. The Grace for adopting this
Report was to be offered to the Senate on Feb. 27th. The passing of
the Grace was exposed to two considerable perils. First, I found out
(just in time) that a Senior Fellow of Trinity (G.A. Browne) was
determined to oppose the whole, on account of the insignificant clause
regarding dismissal of Assistants, which he regarded as tyrannical. I
at once undertook that that clause should be rejected. Secondly, by
the absurd constitution of the 'Caput' at Cambridge, a single M.A. had
the power of stopping any business whatever, and an M.A. actually
came to the Senate House with the intention of throwing out all the
Graces on various business that day presented to the Senate. Luckily
he mistook the hour, and came at 11 instead of 10, and found that all
were dispatched. The important parts of the Grace passed without any
opposition: but I mustered some friends who negatived that part which
had alarmed G.A. Browne, and it was corrected to his satisfaction by a
new Grace on Mar. 18th. I was now almost set at rest on one of the
great objects of my life: but not quite. I did not regard, and I
determined not to regard, the addition to my salary as absolutely
certain until a payment had been actually made to me: and I carefully
abstained, for