On my quires at Cambridge I was working on the effects of
separating the object-glass lenses, with the view of correcting the
secondary spectrum: and on Jan. 31st I received some numbers (indices
of refraction) from Mr Herschel, and reference to Fraunhofer's
numbers.
"About this time it was contemplated to add to the Royal Observatory
of Greenwich two assistants of superior education. Whether this
scheme was entertained by the Admiralty, the Board of Longitude, or
the Royal Society, I do not know. Somehow (I think through Mr
Peacock) a message from Mr Herschel was conveyed to me, acquainting me
of this, and suggesting that I should be an excellent person for the
principal place. To procure information, I went to London on Saturday,
Feb. 7th, sleeping at Mr South's, to be present at one of Sir Humphrey
Davy's Saturday evening soirees (they were then held every Saturday),
and to enquire of Sir H. Davy and Dr Young. When I found that
succession to the post of Astronomer Royal was not considered as
distinctly a consequence of it, I took it coolly, and returned the
next night. The whole proposal came to nothing.
"At this time I was engaged upon differential equations, mountain
barometer problem and determination of the height of the Gogmagogs and
several other points, investigations connected with Laplace's
calculus, spherical aberration in different planes, geology
(especially regarding Derbyshire, which I proposed to visit), and much
of optics.
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