the gift of Miss Sheepshanks.—­I had much correspondence throughout this year, with the Treasury, Herschel, Sabine, and the Royal Society, about the continuation of the Magnetic Establishments.  The Reductions of the Magnetic Observations 1848-1857 were commenced in February of this year, under the direction of Mr Lucas, a computer who had been engaged on the Lunar Reductions.—­In this year I came to a final agreement with the South Eastern Railway Company about defining the terms of our connection with them for the passage of Time Signals.  I was authorized by the Admiralty to sign the ‘protocol’ or Memorandum of Agreement, and it was signed by the South Eastern Railway Directors.—­On Aug. 28th I made my first proposal to Sir John Packington (First Lord of the Admiralty) for hourly time signals on the Start Point, and in September I went to the Start to examine localities, &c.  On Dec. 23rd the Admiralty declined to sanction it.—­I presented to the Royal Society a Paper about drawing a great-circle trace on a Mercator’s chart.—­In October I gave a Lecture on Astronomy in the Assembly Room at Bury.—­On Jan. 25th I was busied with my Mathematical Tracts for republication.”—­In this year Airy published in the Athenaeum very careful and critical remarks on the Commissioners’ Draft of Statutes for Trinity College.  He was always ready to take action in the interests of his old College.  This Paper procured him the warmest gratitude from the Fellows of the College.

Of private history:  “On Jan. 23rd I returned from Playford.  From July 5th to Aug. 6th I was on an expedition in Switzerland with my two eldest sons.  At Paris we visited Le Verrier, and at Geneva we visited Gautier, De La Rive, and Plantamour.  We returned by Brussels.—­On Dec. 23rd I went to Playford.”—­In this year was erected in Playford Churchyard a granite obelisk in memory of Thomas Clarkson.  It was built by subscription amongst a few friends of Clarkson’s, and the negociations and arrangements were chiefly carried out by Airy, who zealously exerted himself in the work which was intended to honour the memory of his early friend.  It gave him much trouble during the years 1856 to 1858.

Here is a letter to the Editor of the Athenaeum on some other Trinity matters: 

1858, November 22.

DEAR SIR,

In the Athenaeum of November 20, page 650, column 3, paragraph 4, there is an account of the erection of the statue of Barrow in Trinity College Antechapel (Cambridge) conceived in a spirit hostile to the University, and written in great ignorance of the facts.  On the latter I can give the writer some information.