“A lover of Nature and a close observer of her ways, as well in the forest walk as in the vault of heaven, Mr. Airy has roamed among the beautiful scenery of the Lake region until he is as good a mountain guide as can be found.  He has strolled beside Grassmere and ascended Helvellyn.  He knows the height of the mountain peaks, the shingles that lie on their sides, the flowers that grow in the valleys, the mines beneath the surface.

“At one time the Government Survey planted what is called a ‘Man’ on the top of one of the hills of the Lake region.  In a dry season they built up a stone monument, right upon the bed of a little pond.  The country people missed the little pond, which had seemed to them an eye of Nature reflecting heaven’s blue light.  They begged for the removal of the surveyor’s pile, and Mr. Airy at once changed the station.

“The established observatories of England do not step out of their beaten path to make discoveries—­these come from the amateurs.  In this respect they differ from America and Germany.  The amateurs of England do a great deal of work, they learn to know of what they and their instruments are capable, and it is done.

“The library of Greenwich Observatory is large.  The transactions of learned societies alone fill a small room; the whole impression of the thirty volumes of printed observations fills a wall of another room, and the unpublished papers of the early directors make of themselves a small manuscript library.

“October 22, 1857.  We have just returned from our fourth visit to Greenwich, like the others twenty-four hours in length.  We go again to-morrow to meet the Sabines.

“Herr Struve, the director of the Pulkova Observatory, is at Greenwich, with his son Karl.  The old gentleman is a magnificent-looking fellow, very large and well proportioned; his great head is covered with white hair, his features are regular and handsome.  When he is introduced to any one he thrusts both hands into the pockets of his pantaloons, and bows.  I found that the son considered this position of the hands particularly English.  However, the old gentleman did me the honor to shake hands with me, and when I told him that I brought a letter to him from a friend in America, he said, ’It is quite unnecessary, I know you without.’  He speaks very good English.

“Herr Struve’s mission in England is to see if he can connect the trigonometrical surveys of the two countries.  It is quite singular that he should visit England for this purpose, so soon after Russia and England were at war.  One of his sons was an army surgeon at the Crimea.

“Five visitors remained all night at the observatory.  I slept in a little round room and Miss S. in another, at the top of a little jutting-out, curved building.  Mrs. Airy says, ’Mr. Airy got permission of the Board of Visitors to fit up some of the rooms as lodging-rooms.’  Mr. Airy said, ’My dear love, I did as I always do:  I fitted them up first, and then I reported to the Board that I had done it.’