| Description | Commencing with an assessment of Alan, whom he had not banished from his mind. He is glad that Dorothy could say he is a changed man after the shock of Margery's death, and he is encouraged to think that he may be converted before he can desire to have his children baptized. Concerning the Herscheliana, he thanks Dorothty for her very full report in the transfers to the Royal Society and Royal Astronomical Society. He gives his recollections on the surviving oak ladder rungs from the 40 foot telescope and at least one frame was made from them. On the Molyneaux chronometer, his father's decision to lend it to the Admiralty during the last war confirms his and Dorothy's decision to lend it in this. He has no scruple in requesting compensation if it is lost, and its return in good repair if damaged. He notes the war sacrifices already made, feeling that the chronometer is not absolutely his to give, unlike the correspondence, which will be in safe custody. John Herschel's notes should accompany the chronometer and he encloses a draft of his letter to the Admiralty [not present]. |