I told him that my reform movement would be to bring together
the astronomers who had no instruments and the instruments which had no
astronomers.
"Mr. Airy is exceedingly systematic. In leading me by narrow passages
and up steep staircases, from one room to another of the irregular
collection of rooms, he was continually cautioning me about my
footsteps, and in one place he seemed to have a kind of formula: 'Three
steps at this place, ten at this, eleven at this, and three again.' So,
in descending a ladder to the birthplace of the galvanic currents, he
said, 'Turn your back to the stairs, step down with the right foot, take
hold with the right hand; reverse the operation in ascending; do not, on
coming out, turn around at once, but step backwards one step first.'
"Near the throne of the astronomical autocrat is another proof of his
system, in a case of portfolios. These contain the daily bills, letters,
and papers, as they come in and are answered in order. When a portfolio
is full, the papers are removed and are sewed together. Each year's
accumulation is bound, and the bound volumes of Mr. Airy's time nearly
cover one side of his private room.
"Mr. Airy replies to all kinds of letters, with two exceptions: those
which ask for autographs, and those which request him to calculate
nativities. Both of these are very frequent.
"In the drawing-room Mr. Airy is cheery; he loves to recite ballads and
knows by heart a mass of verses, from 'A, Apple Pie,' to the 'Lady of
the Lake.
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