Memoir of the late Francis Baily, Esq.^ F.B.S., ^c. 71 



feet simply because nothing is protuberant. Equal to every 

 occasion which arose, either in public or private life, yet, when 

 not called forth, or when others occupied the field, content to 

 be unremarked ; to speak of his conduct as unassuming would 

 convey but a faint idea of the perfect simplicity with which he 

 stood aside from unnecessary prominence or interference. 



Hardly less inadequate would it be to say of his temper that, 

 always equable and cheerful, it was a source of peace and hap- 

 piness to himself and others. It was much more, — it was a 

 bond of kindness and union to all around him, and infused an 

 alacrity of spirit into every affair in which the cooperation of 

 others was needed, which was more than a simple reflex of his 

 own good humour. It rendered every relation between him- 

 self and others easy and natural, and brought out all the latent 

 warmth of every disposition. One would have been ashamed 

 to evade a duty or refuse a burden when it was seen how 

 lightly his share was borne; how readily he stepped out of his 

 way to offer aid wherever he saw it needed, and how frankly 

 every suggestion was received, and every aid from others ac- 

 cepted and acknowledged. This is the secret of all successful 

 cooperation. 



Order, method and regularity are the essence of business, 

 and these qualities pervaded all proceedings in which he took 

 a part, and, indeed, all his habits of life. In consequence, all 

 details found their right place and due provision for their ex- 

 ecution in every matter in which he engaged. This was not 

 so much the result of acquired habits as a man of business, as 

 the natural consequence of his practical views, and an emana- 

 tion of that clear, collected spirit, of which even his ordinary 

 handwriting was no uncertain index. Among hundreds of 

 his letters which I possess, there is hardly an erasure or cor- 

 rection to be found, but everywhere, on whatever subject, or 

 whatever the haste, the same clear, finished, copperplate cha- 

 racters. 



Of his choice of life I have already spoken something. For- 

 tune he regarded as a mean to an end, but that end he placed 

 very high ; and fortune, he well knew, though a mean to its 

 attainment, was not the only or the chief mean. As a mem- 

 ber of civilized society, to add something to civilization, to 

 ennoble his country and improve himself, by enlarging the 

 boundaries of knowledge, and to provide for his own dignity 

 and happiness by a pursuit capable of conferring both, — these 

 were the ends which he proposed and accomplished. In 

 choosing the particular line which he did, it is impossible too 

 highly to appreciate the self-knowledge and judgement which 

 enabled him to see and adopt those objects best adapted to 



