“On Jan. 3rd I was informed unofficially by Mr Wood (Admiralty Secretary) that the addition of the Magnetic Ground was sanctioned.  On Feb. 16th Mr Rhodes (an officer of the Department of Woods and Works) came to put me formally in possession of the ground.  Between Apr. 26th and May 13th the ground was enclosed, and my garden was completely protected from the public.  The plan of the building was settled, and numerous experiments were made on various kinds of concrete:  at last it was decided to build with wood.

“After a dinner given by Lord Burlington, Chancellor, the first meeting of the London University was held on Mar. 4th, and others followed.  On Apr. 18th I handed to the Chancellor a written protest against a vote of a salary of L1000 to the Registrar:  which salary, in fact, the Government refused to sanction.  Dissensions on the question of religious examination were already beginning, but I took little part in them.

“In 1833 Mr Henderson had resigned the superintendance of the Cape of Good Hope Observatory, and Mr Maclear was appointed.  I recommended the same Official Instructions for him (they had included an allusion to La Caille’s Arc of Meridian) with an addition on the probability of Trigonometrical Survey, on Aug. 8th, 1837.  On Feb. 24th, 1837, I wrote to Beaufort suggesting that Bradley’s Sector should be used for verifying the astronomical determinations, and subsequently received the approval of the Admiralty.  In June Sir J. Herschel and I had an interview with Mr Wood on the Cape equipment generally.  The Sector was erected with its new mounting, careful drawings were made of every part, instructions were prepared for its use, and on Aug. 10th it was sent to Woolwich Dockyard and shipped for the Cape.

“Of private history:  On Aug. 23rd I started with my wife for an excursion in South Wales, &c.  On Sept. 9th I gave a lecture in the Town Hall of Neath.  While at Swansea we received news of the death of my wife’s father, the Rev. Richard Smith, and returned at once.—­In this year Arthur Biddell bought the little Eye estate for me.”

1838

“Cambridge Observatory:—­On Dec. 29th, 1837, I had set Mr Glaisher to work in collecting the annual results for star-places from the Cambridge Observations, to form one catalogue:  I examined the calculations and the deduced catalogue, and on Dec. 14, 1838, presented it to the Royal Astronomical Society, under the title of ’The First Cambridge Catalogue.’—­For the Northumberland telescope I was engaged with Simms about the clockwork from time to time up to Apr. 30th, and went to Cambridge about it.  The instrument was brought to a useable state, but some small parts were still wanting.