honoured in his own country. But our astronomer was not without the
reward of his work, even in his lifetime. The University of Oxford
conferred upon him the illustrious honorary degree of D.C.L. In 1816 he
received the Guelphic order of knighthood; and in 1820 he was chosen the
first president of the Astronomical Society.

From his sister's diary we gather a few particulars illustrative of his
mode of life.

On the 4th of October 1806 she writes:--


"My brother came from Brighton. The same night two parties from
the castle [Windsor] came to see the comet, and during the
whole month my brother had not an evening to himself. As he was
then in the midst of polishing the forty-foot mirror, rest
became absolutely necessary after a day spent in that most
laborious work; and it has ever been my opinion, that on the
14th of October his nerves received a shock of which he never
got the better afterwards; for on that day (in particular) he
had hardly dismissed his troop of men, when visitors assembled,
and from the time it was dark till past midnight he was on the
grass-plot, surrounded by between fifty and sixty persons,
without having had time for putting on proper clothing, or for
the least nourishment passing his lips.

"_February 6th, 1807_.--When I came to Slough to assist my
brother in polishing the forty-foot mirror, I found my
nephew[1] very ill with an inflammatory sore throat and fever.