72 Presidentship of the Earl of Mac c lesfie Id 1760 



philosophers would, ere many years had passed, be recog- 

 nised as one of the master-minds in physical and chemical 

 science. 



Cavendish in his mature years must have presented a 

 strikingly picturesque figure as he moved through the streets 

 of London and took his place under the roof of the Mitre 

 Tavern. From the narratives left by his contemporaries 

 it is possible to form some conception of his appearance 

 and manner. Persistently retaining throughout his life the 

 costume of a bygone generation, he at once arrested the 

 attention of the passers-by. His slim body was wrapped 

 in a greyish-green or faded violet coat that rose high round 

 his neck and allowed his frilled shirt- wrists to project from 

 its sleeves. A quaint three-cornered cocked-hat crowned his 

 head. This garb remained the same from year to year, 

 no matter what changes might be transpiring in the fashions 

 of the society of the day. He is said to have calculated 

 " the advent of his tailor to make a new suit of clothes, 

 as he would have done that of a comet, and consulted the 

 almanac to discover when the artist should appear." He 

 had a shrill and somewhat disagreeable voice, a shy, nervous 

 and awkward manner, a remarkable dislike to encounter 

 strangers and a habit of silence in company, save when the 

 conversation specially interested him, and then his range of 

 knowledge and depth of thought would flash a fresh light 

 on the subject that was being discussed. 



For the first half of his life he lived on limited resources, 

 during the last half he was one of the wealthiest men in 

 England. Yet the change from comparative poverty to 

 affluence made little or no difference in his manner of living, 

 which was extremely simple. Though he became constant 

 in his attendance at the dinners of the Club he seldom 

 invited anyone to his own house, whether at Clapham, 

 where he had a pleasant abode in what was then largely 

 open country, or in town near the British Museum, where 

 he formed a good scientific library to which any serious 

 student could have access. His biographer has recorded 

 that Cavendish lived comfortably but made no display. 



