resigned the office which he had held so long with such distinction
to himself and such benefit to his country. He had married in 1830
the daughter of the Rev. Richard Smith, of Edensor. Lady Airy died
in 1875, and three sons and three daughters survived him. One
daughter is the wife of Dr. Routh, of Cambridge, and his other
daughters were the constant companions of their father during the
declining years of his life. Up to the age of ninety he enjoyed
perfect physical health, but an accidental fall which then occurred
was attended with serious results. He died on Saturday, January 2nd,
1892, and was buried in the churchyard at Playford.




HAMILTON.



William Rowan Hamilton was born at midnight between the 3rd and 4th
of August, 1805, at Dublin, in the house which was then 29, but
subsequently 36, Dominick Street. His father, Archibald Hamilton,
was a solicitor, and William was the fourth of a family of nine. With
reference to his descent, it may be sufficient to notice that his
ancestors appear to have been chiefly of gentle Irish families, but
that his maternal grandmother was of Scottish birth. When he was
about a year old, his father and mother decided to hand over the
education of the child to his uncle, James Hamilton, a clergyman of
Trim, in County Meath. James Hamilton's sister, Sydney, resided with
him, and it was in their home that the days of William's childhood
were passed.