History of the Keiv Observatory. 



45 



Paris, 1817, the account of an amusing episode in the astronomical 

 studies of George III during the later years of his life. 



Extract from Simond's "Voyage en Angleterre." Paris, 8vo, 1817. 



" Le roi aime l'astronomie, et a un Observatoire dans un petit pare 

 a Richmond, appele " The King's Paddock." II y a.un grand telescope 

 de Herschel ; un instrument des passages (transit) de huit pieds de 

 long, a travers lequel nous observames passant le meridien ; un 

 instrument vertical de douze pieds, pour les observations au zenith : 

 un mural de huit pieds de rayon ; un telescope equatorial, et plusieurs 

 autres instrumens moins considerables ; quelques modeles de machines, 

 entre autres, une pour determiner la pression laterale des voiites ; 

 une collection de mineraux, et un cabinet d'instrumens de physique. 



" Sa Majeste etant venue a l'Observatoire, il y a quelques annees, 

 pour observer une occultation de planetes, un daim poursuivi de 

 Windsor, traversa la riviere, franchit les palissades, suivi de toute la 

 meute, et vint se laisser prendre au pied de l'Observatoire, precisement 

 au moment de l'observation. 



"Je demandai si l'attention de Sa Majeste s'etait montree supe- 

 rieure a cette interruption. On me repondit qu'un nuage, malheureuse- 

 ment survenu precisement au meme instant, avait rendu l'observation 

 impossible, et qu'autrement rien n'aurait pu Ten distraire." 



The following would appear to be a correct account of the incident 

 somewhat romantically treated in the above, as it was narrated by the 

 late Sir James South to Dr. Balfour Stewart : — 



One day Sir James was at the Observatory with the King (George 

 III) when they saw the stag hunt from Windsor approaching, and 

 ascended to the roof to watch it. Concealed by the parapet His Majesty 

 pointed out to Sir James the different gentlemen following the hounds, 

 and at the royal dinner in the evening the King created considerable 

 amusement by assigning to the guests the relative places they each 

 occupied in the hunt, as they were unable to imagine what position of 

 vantage His Majesty had occupied during the proceedings. 



With this the record of the first period of the Observatory comes to 

 a close, and the building passed into the management of the British 

 Association for the Advancement of Science, for the space of thirty 

 years, till August 1871. The negotiations, which were carried out in 

 connection with the establishment by H.M.'s Commissioners of 

 Woods and Forests, in the first instance with the Royal Society, and 

 in the second with the British Association, cannot be better described 

 than in the following Memorandum drawn up in 1871 by Sir Charles 

 Wheatstone, who himself, with Sir Edward Sabine and Mr. J. P. 

 Gassiot, was among the original subscribers to the undertaking in 

 1842. The same three gentlemen, as Members of the Committee, 



