.

"A summer-house on the grounds was erected by Lady Elizabeth Lee, and
some verses inscribed on its walls, written by her, show that the Lees
have not always been fools.

"But Dr. Lee has his way of doing good. Being fond of astronomy, he has
bought an eight and a half feet equatorial telescope, and with a wisdom
which one could scarcely expect, he employed Admiral Smyth to construct
an observatory. He has also a fine transit instrument, and the admiral,
being his near neighbor, has the privilege of using the observatory as
his own. In the absence of the Lees he has a private key, with which he
admits himself and Mrs. Smyth. They make the observations (Mrs. Smyth is
a very clever astronomer), sleep in a room called 'The Admiral's Room,'
find breakfast prepared for them in the morning, and return to their own
house when they choose.

"I saw in the observatory a timepiece with a double second-hand; one of
these could be stopped by a touch, and would, in that way, show an
observer the instant when he thought a phenomenon, as an occultation for
instance, had occurred, and yet permit him to go on with his count of
the seconds, and, if necessary, correct his first impression.

"Admiral Smyth is a hard worker, but I suspect that many of the amateur
astronomers of England are Dr. Lees--rich men who, as a hobby, ride
astronomy and employ a good astronomer. Dr. Lee gives the use of a good
instrument to the curate; another to Mr. Payson, of Cambridge, who has
lately found a little planet.

"I saw at Admiral Smyth's some excellent photographs of the moon, but in
England they have not yet photographed the stars."

CHAPTER VI

1857

FIRST EUROPEAN TOUR CONTINUED--CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY--AMBLESIDE--MISS
SOUTHEY---THE HERSCHELS--A LONDON ROUT--EDINBORO' AND GLASGOW
OBSERVATORIES--"REFLECTIONS AND MUTTERINGS"

"If any one wishes to know the customs of centuries ago in England, let
him go to Cambridge.

"Sitting at the window of the hotel, he will see the scholars, the
fellows, the masters of arts, and the masters of colleges passing along
the streets in their different gowns. Very unbecoming gowns they are, in
all cases; and much as the wearers must be accustomed to them, they seem
to step awkwardly, and to have an ungraceful feminine touch in their
motions.

"Everything that you see speaks of the olden time. Even the images above
the arched entrance to the courts around which the buildings stand are
crumbling slo