It imposed on the
Government various duties about the preparation of Standards.
Suddenly, at the very expiration of the time allowed this
came to the knowledge of Government. On Oct. 1st Lord Monteagle
applied to me for assistance. On Oct. 15th and 22nd I wrote to Mr
Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, and received authority to ask for
the assistance of Prof. W.H. Miller.--I made an examination of Mr
Ball's eyes (long-sighted and short-sighted I think).--In February I
made an Analysis of the Cambridge Tripos Examination, which I
communicated to some Cambridge residents." In a letter on this subject
to one of his Cambridge friends Airy gives his opinion as follows: "I
have looked very carefully over the Examination Papers, and think them
on the whole very bad. They are utterly perverted by the insane love
of Problems, and by the foolish importance given to wholly useless
parts of Algebraical Geometry. For the sake of these, every Physical
Subject and every useful application of pure mathematics are cut down
or not mentioned." This led to much discussion at Cambridge. In this
year the Smith's Prizes were awarded to the 4th and 6th Wranglers.
Of private history: "On Apr. 29th Mrs Smith (my wife's mother) died at
Brampton.
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