ne or of the earth itself, and had realised
that there might be a _nutation_ which would go through a cycle in about
nineteen years, the period in which the moon's nodes revolve. He was not
mathematician enough to work out the cause completely, but he saw clearly
that to trace the whole effect he must continue the observations for
nineteen years; and accordingly he entered on this long campaign without
any hesitation. His instrument was still that in his aunt's house at
Wansted, where he continued to live and make the observations for a few
years, but in 1732 he removed to Oxford, as we shall see, and he must have
made many journeys between Wansted and Oxford in the course of the
remaining fifteen years during which he continued to trace out the effects
of nutation. His aunt too left Wansted to accompany Bradley to Oxford, and
the house passed into other hands. It is to the lasting credit of the new
occupant, Mrs. Elizabeth Williams, that the great astronomer was allowed
to go on and complete the valuable series of observations which he had
commenced. Bradley was not lodged in her house; he stayed with a friend
close by on his visits to Wansted, but came freely in and out of his
aunt's old home to make his observations. How many of us are there who
would cheerfully allow an astronomer to enter our house at any hour of the
night to make observations in the coal-cellar! It says much, not only for
Bradley's fame, but for his personal attractiveness, that he should have
secured this permission, and that there should be no record of any
friction during these fifteen years. At the end of the whole series of
nineteen years his conclusions were abundantly verified, and his second
great discovery of nutation was established. Honours were showered upon
him, and no doubt the gentle heart of Mrs. Elizabeth Williams was uplifted
at the glorious outcome of her long forbearance.

[Sidenote: Residence at Oxford.]

But we may now turn for a few moments from Bradley's scientific work to
his daily life. We have said that in 1732, after holding his professorship
for eleven years, he first went definitely to reside in Oxford. He
actually had not been able to afford it previously. His income was only
L140 a year, and the statutes prevented him from holding a living: so
that he was fain to accept Mrs. Pound's hospitable shelter. But in 1729 an
opportunity of adding to his income presented itself, by giving lectures
in "experimental philosophy