512 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY. 



places. For example, in the paper on "Stellar Photometry" pub- 

 lished in the Proceedings, Volume 11, the discussion of the path de- 

 scribed by stars at various declinations in the field of a telescope when 

 the axis is not properly adjusted, was prepared by him. Not only a 

 mathematician, he was proficient in many languages. "A Note on 

 the Battle of Pharsalus" was the result of re-reading Caesar's "De 

 Bello Civili," which he did for recreation. He amused himself in 

 writing verse both in Latin and in English. One of these poems 

 written at the time of his wife's death has been published since his own 

 death; the Latin version in the Harvard Graduates' Magazine, the 

 English version in Popular Astronomy. 



Professor Searle was the most modest of men. His extremely 

 retiring disposition probably accounts for his not accepting Dr. 

 Gould's invitation in 1869 to go as his assistant to Cordoba. Later, 

 he might have been appointed director of another observatory, if he 

 had been willing. His life flowed in a quiet stream. It was as he 

 would have it. The turmoil of strenuous life did not attract him. 

 From youth he was not keen for even the ordinary pleasures of society, 

 and yet he had many warm friends, and a host of acquaintances. All 

 who knew him well, were delighted with his conversational powers. 

 His sense of humor and the merry twinkle in his eye as he recounted 

 some episode were passports to friendliness. His philosophical studies 

 made his thinking clear. When he spoke, it was as one having the 

 authority of careful thought. In discussing any subject he had a 

 succinctness of expression which swept away all intricacies and left the 

 matter in outlines readily understood. He was of a type, not so com- 

 mon at the present day, of a scholarly gentleman, versed in many 

 branches of learning, and keenly susceptible to the delights of music, 

 of art, and the manifestations of nature. 



Edward S. King. 



WILLIAM THOMPSON SEDGWICK (1855-1921). 



Fellow in Class II, Section 3, 1886. 



William T. Sedgwick, a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts 

 and Sciences since 1886, died suddenly in Boston, January 25, 1921, 

 at the age of 66 years, while still in the full tide of his activities as a 



