HISTORY OF HIS LIFE AFTER HIS RESIGNATION OF
OFFICE.
On the 16th of August 1881 Airy left the Observatory which had been
his residence for nearly 46 years, and removed to the White
House. Whatever his feelings may have been at the severing of his old
associations he carefully kept them to himself, and entered upon his
new life with the cheerful composure and steadiness of temper which he
possessed in a remarkable degree. He was now more than 80 years old,
and the cares of office had begun to weigh heavily upon him: the
long-continued drag of the Transit of Venus work had wearied him, and
he was anxious to carry on and if possible complete his Numerical
Lunar Theory, the great work which for some years had occupied much of
his time and attention. His mental powers were still vigorous, and his
energy but little impaired: his strong constitution, his regular
habits of life, the systematic relief which he obtained by short
holiday expeditions whenever he found himself worn with work, and his
keen interest in history, poetry, classics, antiquities, engineering,
and other subjects not immediately connected with his profession, had
combined to produce this result.
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