1852 HABITS 151 



I made a very tolerable speechification, at least every- 

 body says so. Lord Rosse had alluded to " science 

 having to take care of itself in this country," and in 

 winding up I gave them a small screed upon that text. 

 That you may see I kept your caution in mind, I will 

 tell you as nearly as may be what I said. I told them 

 that I could not conceive that anything I had hitherto 

 done merited the honour of that day (I looked so 

 preciously meek over this), but that I was glad to be 

 able to say that I had so much unpublished material as 

 to make me hopeful of one day diminishing the debt. I 

 then said, " The Government of this country, of this great 

 country, has been two years debating whether it should 

 grant the three hundred pounds necessary for the publica- 

 tion of these researches. I have been too long used to 

 strict discipline to venture to criticise any act of my 

 superiors, but I venture to hope that before long, in 

 consequence of the exertions of Lord Rosse, of the 

 President of the British Association, and the goodwill, 

 which I gratefully acknowledge, of the present Lord of 

 the Admiralty, I shall be able to lay before you some- 

 thing more worthy of to-day's award." 



I had my doubts how the nobs would take it, but 

 both Lord Rosse and Sabine warmly commended my 

 speech and regretted I had not said even more upon the 

 subject. 



Some light is thrown upon his habits at this time 

 by the following, part of his letter to Forbes of 

 November 19 : 



I have frequent visits from . He is a good man, 



but direfully argumentative, and in that sense to me a 

 bore. Besides that, the creature will come and call upon 

 me at nine or ten o'clock in the morning before I am 

 out of bed, or if out of bed, before I am in possession of 

 my faculties, which never arrive before twelve or one. 



