358 MEMOIR OF AUGUSTUS DE MORGAN. 



1867. February 1867, and a few weeks later the annual meeting 

 took place. On both these occasions those who contended 

 for the old principle were beaten, and the College pro- 

 ceeded to work in its new character. Whether it is 

 held in higher estimation since then I have no means of 

 knowing. I only know that it is changed since I heard the 

 conversations of Lord Brougham, Thomas Campbell, and 

 my father at the time of its foundation. 



My husband told me that during the session in which 

 he worked after his resignation was sent in he met his 

 colleagues as before in the Professors' room. Not one of 

 them ever spoke on the subject of his retirement, and he 

 left the place without one word of acknowledgment for 

 all he had done for it. Only once, after the end of the 

 session, he paid a visit to his old lecture-room. He went 

 to bring away the note-books and manuscripts which he 

 had used in his lectures. The visit was a painful one, 

 but was so cheerfully borne that I should hardly have 

 known all he felt if I had not said something to the 

 effect that I hoped he would not suffer for the trial. He 

 said, c Oh, I shall do very well. I felt all the time to-day 

 that the College had left me, not I it. It was no longer 

 the old place. But then,' he added sorrowfully, ' all my 

 thirty l years' work has been thrown away.' The answer 

 to this was of course easy. I said that no such efforts as 

 his could ever be without result ; that his teaching had 

 trained many strong and honest minds ; and that if the 

 College had done nothing more, its establishment might 

 have helped in the opening of the two Universities. He 

 acquiesced, but the blow was struck. 



In the spring of 1867, after the efforts of many of the 

 best of his old pupils and friends to retrace the false step 

 had failed, some of these gentlemen, desirous that he 

 should not leave the scene of his work without taking 



1 It will be observed that sometimes more than thirty years are 

 mentioned. He was Professor from 1828 to 1833, and again from 

 1836 to 1866 in all more than thirty-five years. 



