74 Presidentship of the Earl of Macclesfield 1760 



than two made their appearance at a meeting, but one 

 of these was pretty sure to be Henry Cavendish. 



In 1809, the last complete year of his life, he attended 51 

 times and in the succeeding January and February he was 

 in his accustomed place every week until little more than 

 a fortnight from his death, which took place on loth 

 March, 1810, in the seventy-ninth year of his age. It is 

 thus obvious that he was but little away from London 

 during the last forty years of his life, and that he must 

 have had remarkably good health to be able to make his 

 appearance so regularly, in spite of inclemencies of weather 

 and the complaints which accompany them. 



That he was the creature of habit was shown in many 

 little ways, such as his always hanging his cocked hat on 

 the same peg, and having his stick placed in one of his 

 boots and always the same boot. But probably his relation 

 to the Royal Society Club is the most signal illustration 

 of this feature of his character. Brought at first by his 

 father into the company of the philosophers he, naturally 

 so shy and silent, soon got used to it, and he must have 

 found a solace in it, seeing that for so many years he could 

 not dispense with his weekly sitting at the Club. It was 

 the custom among the members when a " clubbable " visitor 

 appeared among them, that others than his first introducer 

 invited him again and again, and this was done more par- 

 ticularly with regard to men who were proposed as candidates. 

 Cavendish seems to have overcome his timidity and to have 

 observed this custom by inviting prospective candidates 

 whom he liked, though he may have had few interests in 

 common with them. For the first twelve years he did 

 this good-natured service somewhat sparingly, but from 

 1772 onwards he became more hospitably inclined. Thus 

 in 1779 he had altogether 19 guests throughout the year, 

 sometimes two at the same dinner. Most of them were 

 no doubt candidates, but some were probably invited by 

 him as more especially his own friends. There can be little 

 doubt, for example, that the Rev. John Michell, who from 

 1767 was from time to time his guest, and who was not a 



