276 MEMOIR OF DR. DALTON, AND 



although it was feared that scarlet would scarcely suit one of 

 the Society of Friends, Mr. Babbage, who took him, remarked 

 that as he had a " kind of colour blindness, all red colours 

 appeared to him of the colour of dirt." Mr. Babbage adds, 

 " besides, I found that our friend entertained very reasonable 

 views of such mere matters of form;" a remark perfectly 

 true. Dalton was no bigot or formalist. The ceremony was 

 rehearsed beforehand by his friends, and it passed over well, 

 but not without remark on the length of time that he remained 

 before the king, who detained him long enough to ask him 

 several questions. Some say that Dalton, not imagining that 

 he had to pass on without a word of conversation, had waited 

 to be spoken to, and somewhat embarrassed his Majesty, in 

 his desire to be civil, to find suitable questions to put to 

 him. But Dalton had learnt his part well, and the reason 

 of the honor that he had of staying a few seconds longer 

 than anyone else, until people began to ask who he could 

 be, is more likely to have been caused by the fact which 

 Mr. Babbage mentions, that the king was informed of the 

 unusual presentation by Lord Brougham, who was Lord 

 Chancellor at the time, and nominally presented him. 



Honors of various kinds soon became familiar to him, 

 such as fellowships of societies and degrees from universities, 

 of which the title of LL.D., from Edinburgh, was one. 

 They came upon him as on one to whom they were welcome, 

 but remained entirely external to him; his life had been 

 complete without their aid, and it was too late for them to 

 find a perfect sympathy either in his intellect or his habitual 

 feeling. 



It is to be regretted that Miss Johns has not preserved more 

 about Dalton, as she had the ability and also his confidence ; 

 we might have obtained through her means a better picture 

 of his mental and moral phases. In the year 1830, when the 

 Johns family left the town, Dalton took a house close to their 



