xxxviu 



misunderstanding; drawn together by similar scientific tastes, the 

 two men had otherwise little in common. In their political and eccle- 

 siastical opinions they differed fundamentally, and had it not been for 

 Cockle's imperturbable temper and graciously tolerant spirit, these 

 differences would often have disturbed their cordial relations. Con- 

 troversy, however, was distasteful to him, and he avoided the conflict 

 of argument. When it was suggested on one occasion that he should 

 offer himself for a seat in Parliament, he said playfully : " My addres. 

 to the electors shall run thus, — Gentlemen, I am in favour of making 

 things agreeable all round — all round ! " The saying revealed his 

 spirit. He desired to live peaceably with all men, and so far as we 

 know he had not a single enemy. A man of somewhat phlegmatic 

 temperament, he was not easily excited. His features in repose were 

 calm and serious, and to strangers he usually gave the impression of 

 being very reserved ; but when conversing with his friends on con- 

 genial subjects his countenance would light up with a pleased expres- 

 sion, and his manner become animated, while his fulness of knowledge 

 and ripe and varied experience imparted to his observations an 

 interest of their own. He was extremely cautious in offering a defi- 

 nite opinion on any debateable question, a habit probably due to his 

 legal training. When not engaged in mathematical investigations, 

 his leisure was mostly devoted to problems in metaphysics and 

 theology, studies which had for him a special attractiveness, and in 

 both of which he was deeply versed. His modesty was remarkable ; 

 rarely speaking of his own work, he was ever ready to recognise and 

 do full justice to the work of others. There was in him none of the 

 petty jealousies which haunt meaner minds. The writer remembers 

 with gratitude how, when he entered fields which Cockle might be 

 said to have made his own, he was not treated as an intruder or a 

 rival, but welcomed as a friend and fellow- worker, and how he 

 received from his elder an amount of encouragement and help which 

 he can never sufficiently acknowledge. 



Cockle was an excellent correspondent, his caligraphy was clear 

 and good, and when writing on congenial themes he would often wax 

 truly eloquent. He had a positive enthusiasm for mathematics, and 

 the discovery of a new theorem or a new method always gave him 

 intense delight. The writer has preserved most of the letters he 

 received from him, and placed them bound in several goodly volumes 

 among the choicest of his literary treasures. 



Something of a recluse, Sir James astonished many of his friends, 

 both in England and Australia, by the zest with which, during the 

 last ten or twelve years, he threw himself into the club life of the 

 Metropolis. He became a member of the Grarrick, the Savile, and 

 the Savage, and an habitue of allthree, being particularly attached to 

 the last, of which he was Treasurer from 1884 to 1889. Queens- 



