"But Dr. Lee has his way of doing good. Being fond of astronomy, he has bought an eight and a half feet equatorial telescope, and with a wisdom which one could scarcely expect, he employed Admiral Smyth to construct an observatory. He has also a fine transit instrument, and the admiral, being his near neighbor, has the privilege of using the observatory as his own. In the absence of the Lees he has a private key, with which he admits himself and Mrs. Smyth. They make the observations (Mrs. Smyth is a very clever astronomer), sleep in a room called 'The Admiral's Room,' find breakfast prepared for them in the morning, and return to their own house when they choose. "I saw in the observatory a timepiece with a double second-hand; one of these could be stopped by a touch, and would, in that way, show an observer the instant when he thought a phenomenon, as an occultation for instance, had occurred, and yet permit him to go on with his count of the seconds, and, if necessary, correct his first impression. "Admiral Smyth is a hard worker, but I suspect that many of the amateur astronomers of England are Dr. Lees--rich men who, as a hobby, ride astronomy and employ a good astronomer. Dr. Lee gives the use of a good instrument to the curate; another to Mr. Payson, of Cambridge, who has lately found a little planet. "I saw at Admiral Smyth's some excellent photographs of the moon, but in England they have not yet photographed the stars." CHAPTER VI 1857 FIRST EUROPEAN TOUR CONTINUED--CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY--AMBLESIDE--MISS SOUTHEY---THE HERSCHELS--A LONDON ROUT--EDINBORO' AND GLASGOW OBSERVATORIES--"REFLECTIONS AND MUTTERINGS" "If any one wishes to know the customs of centuries ago in England, let him go to Cambridge. "Sitting at the window of the hotel, he will see the scholars, the fellows, the masters of arts, and the masters of colleges passing along the streets in their different gowns. Very unbecoming gowns they are, in all cases; and much as the wearers must be accustomed to them, they seem to step awkwardly, and to have an ungraceful feminine touch in their motions. "Everything that you see speaks of the olden time. Even the images above the arched entrance to the courts around which the buildings stand are crumbling slowly, and the faces have an unearthly expression. "If the visitor is fortunate enough to have an introduction to one of the college professors, he will be taken around the buildings, to the libraries, the 'Combination' room to which the fellows retire to chat over their wine, and perhaps even to the kitchen. "Our first knowledge of Cambridge was the entrance to Trinity College and the Master's Lodge. "We arrived in Cambridge just about at lunch time--one o'clock. "Mrs. Airy said to me, 'Although we are invited to be guests of Dr. Whewell, he is quite too mighty a man to come to meet us." Her sons, however, met us, and we walked with them to Dr. Whewell's.