CORRESPONDENCE, 1856-66. 299 



What they want is that Parliament shall not legislate for the 1859. 

 Church without consent of Convocation, and this Parliament 

 will never agree to. In the meanwhile they are allowed to use 

 logarithms, not Napier's, but of the sort which Sophocles men- 

 tions, A,dy<oi/ apifyios, which is translated a set of words. 



Now you may guess what the Prolocutor of Convocation is. 

 Until very lately, and from George I. or thereabouts, they did 

 nothing but walk in procession, at the meeting in Parliament, 

 to St. Paul's or the Abbey, where they heard a sermon, and were 

 prorogued. A happy New Year to all. 



Yours very truly, 



A. DE MORGAN. 



To Sir John Herschel. 



Camden Street, May 2, 1859. 



MY DEAR SIR JOHN, Did your Southern dealings ever bring 

 you in contact with the history of the formation of the south 

 polar constellations ? Do you know any work which treats that 

 subject especially ? Did you ever come in contact with the 

 doings of Frederic Houtmann, the real framer of these constella- 

 tions, as far as giving their star materials is concerned ? Next, 

 answer the question Come sta, curiously Englished by How goes it, 

 with reference to yourself and selves. I suppose the Italian 

 phrase to be Ptolemaic, and the English to be Copernican. 



What have I to do with Houtmann ? He adjoins himself 

 more slantendiculari to the question of a manuscript sold in. 

 Libri's sale, as written by Galileo on the doctrine of the sphere. 

 Some question has arisen about the evidence, external and inter- 

 nal, and I have been looking up the points. The internal 

 evidence is to me very satisfactory ; and as to the handwriting, 

 there is a hitch about the letter r, which all the Galileos we 

 have to compare with make r, and the MS. makes i. In spite 

 of this I cannot help believing that the MS. is Galileo's. It 

 would be much better worth its money if it were not . 



As to the state of things in general I have nothing to say. I 

 don't know whether the Austrians have forced a tete du pont 

 at Buffaloroary, or some such place, or not. I hope some bright 

 nebula or other is of a white heat, and is set apart for all who 

 make or instigate wars of ambition. I wish Lord Bosse could 

 find it out, and could show III. that I. 1 has his spirit herme- 



1 Meaning the first and third Napoleon. ED. 



