ion, had said, "The Nautical Almanac, we believe, is
published three or four years in advance." In fact, the Almanac for
1851--with Mr. Adams's paper at the end--was published at the end of 1847
or very beginning of 1848; it had therefore been more than two years before
the public when the passage quoted was written. And probably every person
in the country who was fit to review Mr. Adams's {148} paper--and most of
those who were fit to read it--knew that it had been widely circulated, in
revise, at the end of 1846: my copy has written on it, "2d revise, December
27, 1846, at noon," in the handwriting of the Superintendent of the
Almanac; and I know that there was an extensive issue of these revises,
brought out by the Le-Verrier-and-Adams discussion. I now give the review
of myself, (February 23, 1850):

"_The British Almanack and Companion._

"The Companion to this Almanack, for some years after its first
publication, annually contained scientific articles by Sir J. Lubbock[262]
and others of a high order and great interest; we have now, however, closed
the publication as a scientific one in remembrance of what it was, and not
in consequence of what it is. Its list of contributors on science, has
grown 'small by degrees and beautifully less,' until it has dwindled down
to one--'a last rose of summer left withering alone.' The one contributor
has contributed one paper 'On Ancient and Modern Usage in Reckoning.'

"The learned critic's _chef d'oeuvre_, is considered, by competent judges,
to be an Essay on _Old Almanacks_ printed a few years ago in this annual,
and supposed to be written with the view of surpassing a profound memoir on
the same subject by James O. Halliwell,[263] Esq., F.R. and A.S.S., but the
tremendous effort which the learned writer then made to excel many titled
competitors for honors in the antique line appears to have had a sad effect
upon his mental powers--at any rate, his efforts have since yearly become
duller and duller; happily, at last, we should suppose, 'the ancient {149}
and modern usage in reckoning' indicates the lowest point to which the _vis
inertia_ of the learned writer's peculiar genius can force him.

"We will give a few extracts from the article.

"The learned author says, 'Those who are accustomed to settle the meaning
of ancient phrases by self-examination will find some _strange_ conclusions
arrived at by us.' The writer never wrote a more correct sentence--it
admits of no k