"TAIT AND STEELE" 207 



the desire of preserving more or less intact Steele's original contribution to 

 the treatise no doubt stood in the way. It is certain, however, that Tait 

 would never in his later days have put together a book of the type of 

 " Tait and Steele." Written by him when he had just emerged triumphantly 

 from the Tripos examination it was meant for students with like ambitions. 

 Important examples were fully worked out and numerous exercises appended 

 to the chapters for the eager student to sharpen his weapons on. The 

 ground covered was considerable ; and when compared with other similar 

 books Dynamics of a Particle in its later editions maintained its position 

 both for accurate treatment of important classes of problems and for 

 the great amount of original matter it contained. The treatment was 

 analytical throughout ; but here and there, as edition succeeded edition, Tait 

 inserted some of his neat geometrical demonstrations. The contents are 

 fairly well indicated by the titles of the chapters : Kinematics, Laws of 

 Motion, Rectilinear Motion, Parabolic Motion, Central Orbits, Elliptic 

 Motion, Resisted Motion, Constrained Motion, General Theorems (Action, 

 Brachistochrones, etc.), Impact. The chapter on Central Orbits, especially 

 in the numerous examples of extraordinary laws of attraction adjusted to 

 give integrable solutions, reflects the Cambridge School of Wrangler trainers 

 of half a century ago. For these and other artificial problems invented 

 for examination purposes Tait had during the last forty years of his life a 

 genuine horror. 



It is curious to note that, as Dynamics of a Particle was the first 

 book Tait gave to the world, so the last piece of composition he penned 

 was the preface to the seventh edition (Nov. 7, 1900). It finishes with 

 the sentence, 



Meanwhile I once more despatch the Veteran on a campaign, with a few necessary 

 patches on his battered harness. 



In little more than a month ill-health compelled him to lay aside his 

 own harness and weapons, and before many months had passed his battle 

 of life had closed. 



The years immediately preceding 1867 were remarkably productive 

 from the literary point of view. Thomson and Tait's Natural Philosophy 

 was launched on a wondering world ; and as if this did not give scope 

 enough for his busy pen Tait found time to instruct the mathematicians 

 and natural philosophers in the use of Quaternions and the history of 



