I drew on my gloves when the
other ladies drew on theirs, and then we waited. Mrs. Airy saw the
dilemma, made the little speech, and the gentlemen escorted us to the
door, and then returned to their wine.
"We went back to the drawing-room and had coffee; after coffee new
guests began to come, and we went into the magnificent room with the
oriel windows.
"Professor Sedgwick came early--an old man of seventy-four, already a
little shattered and subject to giddiness. He is said to be very fond of
young ladies even now, and when younger made some heartaches; for he
could not give up his fellowship and leave Cambridge for a wife; which,
to me, is very unmanly. He is considered the greatest geologist in
England, and of course they would say 'in the world,' and is much loved
by all who know him. He came to Cambridge a young man, and the elms
which he saw planted are now sturdy trees. It is pleasant to hear him
talk of Cambridge and its growth; he points to the stately trees and
says, 'Those trees don't look as old as I, and they are not.'
"I did not see Professor Adams at that time, but I spent the whole of
Monday morning walking about the college with him. I asked him to show
me the place where he made his computations for Neptune, and he was
evidently well pleased to do so.
"We laughed over a roll, which we saw in the College library, containing
a list of the ancestors of Henry VIII.
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