Image TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage TileImage Tile
Image size: 5120x6144 Scale: 35% - PanoJS3
Page overview thumbnail

Article text

TH El REV. KIOH.VIID SHEEP-..
1 SHANKS. . ' . 1.1 .
. Ai.yii,'; ; v.i
(From the Examiner. September 8.) j
On Saturday, August 4t.lv, died of apo
plexy ;at„ Ills resilience, Reading, the Kev;
R, >'lieepsh|tnks, F.R S ,'F.U.A.S.,- Fellow
of Trinity College, Cambridge, ami 0110 of
tho Visitors of the Royal Obsovatoryi
-Greenwich, aged s-'xty-oue. - Formore
thau tliirty years he had tevot al hiB i'iii r.-
giesto tile oultivntion and 'promotion ol
astronomy. Wore this all, we might, .with
brief imt'co, direct our rentiers for further
information to the annual obituaries ot the
societies to which I10 belonged. But this
was not all. Ho was ono of thoso singu
larly marked characters which impose a
diffioult "task upon tho biographer, who
wishes both to preserve tho features of his
subjeot, and at tho same' time to respect the
feelings of tho many who regarded that sub
ject with the feelings of roce'nt. loss, and to
some of- whom nnythiugmorc explicit than
the epitaph may bo as yet in some degree -
repulsive. ' . .
Mr. Sheepshanks took his degree nt
Cambridge wiili oirttiiu'tiim, and when h<
obtained his Ml.iw-hip at Trinity Culloge,
and cmo into his share, of his fathers , Hue-
session, fiiund himself' under 110 necessity
of seeking a profession " liy" 'wliicli ti>. live'
He had been. in '-school days a pupil of the.
widely-known James Tale; of It vlimuiid,
with - w lioiii rids ' frieiicleliip" Oiilit i uUeil
to the end ;ol''h|.sf old|AQh%/diuasiyr's lilev
Under siic.li.ti-irii'n lie luid a sound Imsi- of.
acholaraiiip; .iniii -to ;»he end p( Ijis .lilt In
' kcpi 'np' ''liiH' neqiiiiiiitfince.'xvith tlie Gr-rk
and Roman writers, especially" those wliicli
treated iif his, own pursuits.,. Onrieaying
Cambridge, Mr. Slieep-hniiks applied h ttt-
sclf.to' tlia study iif t- o lawi anil was called
to tho'hiir." 1 If be hail niiy ' eei'ious iiiteu-
tioii of practiBiiig, it' was' friistra'red Ity'aiT
affection of the eyes, which ennt'iiiueil tcv
annoy him at jntervnla duringriiis life. He
took orders, and for simb time ' continued'
to re-idu'ai. Cambridge', lie, then .begun,
to devote himself to astronomy; and in-,
came a Fellow- of the Astronomical So
ciety, of 'the council of which he was a most
actiye'member to t.he'day of his il-ath.
. He a'pp.lit'tt himself i'sppuinlly to the,suli-
' jeet of eHtvonomir.nl ineti'inneiiis, wit oil
many of/pitr readers ,wi ll siip|i(ise. to 0 for
Lnt-a'siiiali;. laneo of- thought. or nccujni
' tioni' iBut "the fact iB that, this snhjecl tasks
all the energies ii'tid< demands all the sopa-
ate powers of. the mathnm itician. the 11s-
troiiomer, the optician, anil the engineer '
besides calling for especial aid .from the
ohbmistp 'aiid fur smhething - from almost
every cultivator of- suience, -In' this, his
particular pursuit, Mr: SI.e -ps' auk wa
long. the. adviser ot every- yiiuuger man who
meditated '-the "cons' ruotioii of- an olnerva-
tory or the ti o; of an' instruineut,' A
scientific society of itselfts n'mere ahstruc!
tion, or a. machine without motive power;
Buf'it brings tlie'aspiraht into communica
tion with those .who can direct aud advise
until direction- niiil coatnel are 'tie bitigor
wanted. Jlio .leisure wliicli -Mr. Sheep
shanks possessed, his extreme accessibility.1
and his readiness, to help the instant ho saw
any prospoei of forming a new astronomer,
were uo inconeiderable fraction of the whole
ways and means of- the Astronomical So
ciety to the end of his valnablo life. . This
kind of a rt , to science is not tho road to
posthumous fame. It will be remembered
that' he applied clock motion to'tho equ,i-
toreat telescope, and that he wrote such
articles on astronomical instruments in the
Penny Cyclopcedia, as could not be found
elsewhere; long after his usefulness as an
astronomical adviser is forgotten. :
-The greatest' individual work in which
he was engaged— -passing over such things
as the pendulum experiments in the Corn1
wall mines, and the conuoc ion of Valeiieia
and Brussels , with the Ohservntory , , at
Greenwich— , was tho restoration. ; of tho
loat stamlard of 'ength. When in. 1844
Francis -Baily- died; this matter was -tit-
trasted to. him by the .Government, ami it
was hardly complete in all its consequential
details when .his own- death' took place.
Very few of those ' 'Ko passed .by B»mcraei
Hpu;e would know that in one of .the dark
eel ar- utider, the Astronbiiiical Spoloty.
with no light except a so'ull lump to illu-
minnte the' field ol- a tiiicroscope, nn \111-
paid; astronomer was .working through \vi>
dare .not say j ho w tuaiiy . hiuirs 'c f. i levcii
yeiirs. FeweFstRlvWoiFd
idea-of the vast nia.-s pf expoVnuents on thf
thermometer, on. the expansion of inetals,
&e.,. which there took pliico, ' or of t'ie ex
cessive uiiiiuleuess of the end to be gainex.
Rabelais might :have- said;, or ppihips he
himself might lutvc a pil, tlmtbe had fallen
in love with the -thirty thousandth pari of
an iheh. He certainly served lon er tlvin
Jacob for Uueliel Bat there is "o tlo'uht
that in that dark cellar much light wn»
thrown upon the difficttlties of micrometry
We hnvo not ap co here to. point out the:
cientifie importance of the dote-initiation
tq which o much ti i e and thought were
devoted ; but it is fully appr- ciatcd' by
those who understand the sttnject.
In itiator, and politics Mr Slteepshatik.-
was one of those who read beyond the
newspaper; one 'of those few with whom
the politics of the day are in their minds
the last intelligence of the -history of the
world. Ho was n most decided liberal —
not merely a constitutional liberal, but a
libernl liecause of and for the sake of tin
constitution. A.calm friend of the Church
under wliicli lie had enlisted, lie nlwavs
avowed what many a" prist of the old
school now thinks in his heurt, tliut but
for the triumph of liberal principles that
Church could tmt have lasted. II- never
had any direct connection with a political
question, except as a boundary commis
sioner under the Reform Bill, With liiui
was paired the late Mr. T— , a verv
This is no reflection on the Government. Sir
Robert Peel offered Mr. Bnily a handsome salary,
which yas declined; and Mr. Sheepshanks never
would accept auylliiiig. Even aa a boundary com
missioner he paid his own travelling expenses,
qxcepl when a colleague was with him, j
strong Tory, and confidential agent of tin
then Lhiko of Newcastle, a most excellent
and highly respected man ; 'the consequence
was. such , ait /amount of wurm political
disqiissiqniaa made thorn fast friends for
life.- In Ills dealings as a commissioner he
was remarkable for uonsorvatis <i in clinic
.of nnoiout lines of boundary 'when , possi-
iilq ; smile of the oommiwioners wore very
nuioh luliliqted to new and arbitrary lines
The Government " of 1881 showed its.
honesty when it ooupled tlie " rad'oal par
son," ak a friend UBod to call Mr. S ieop-
shanks, and the solicitor of. tho man who
claimed to do. as he liked with his own :
and it showed its sagacity in the plan of
depending 011 its own commission rs. Mr.
Sheepshanks, by his' way of telling the
story, must have been in the .house, when n
remarkable proof of the wisdom of this
measure was. exhibited. Sir Robert Peel,
with more than usual confidence of manner,
called the attention of the Government
to .the. returns -from, a certain borough,
which showed— we forget tho figures,
but sny— 894 houses in tlie whole borough,
and 546 houses' rated ! to" assessed taxes.
". How is - it -possible," nske1. the Tory
statesm«n, "that the noble lord oppos:be
can ask lionoiirablo gentlemen to legislate
on infortilatioh like this?" There was j"y
on one side of the Speaker and fear on tho
other ; -but both were supended by sheer
astonishment when' Lord John Russell
very calmly said that he agreed with tlie
right : honourable baronet that to ask for
iourislntiqn on such information as. - that
.would lie.the height of; absurdity; " But,"
continued Lord John, " if lie will' cast Ids
eye- oh -the b'dttiiiiT Tiif .-tlie :p-ige, he
will ' see the signature of' the mayor
of. the borough, while, if- Im will
turn' over" .tlie''1 page, ho will sec
the. information furiiisjipd by , the commis
sioners appoint d oy, the Government, with
wlii h. I hove no doubt he ill not be able
to fiijd-ai.lt"
. . .The frdliiw'ng j extract rfrum a- letter
writto i by' Mr. 'Sheepshanks to it friend in
I 50 will illustrate the .writer's style, aud
amuse our. reqdera.:—. ':
Mv excelleatj friend and colleague T- (we
were. eo-cnminissioners for most of the toronglis
between tlie llmober nml .llH' Thames), though a
good .'I'ory, Town Clerk ot' Newark, and agent of. the
Dukef Nqwca-p.e, was also tlie usual YVltig agent
for the bnrmijdi of — — ; Besides other electioneer
ing wiirlc;'!!' waa liis bushien; as 'agent. 'in give the
usual c oTiijilithetit (I -tlaltik <620. hut -1' don't feel
certain as to' the shut ) to each voter 011 the cnncla-
siim of the uflitir.' "lle snitl he scarcely btlieved his
inforinimt when lie' was : initiated into- his duties '
and t ild tit t he must make no exceptions, .but ' do
unto the respectablo inhabitants even as mito the
suability. Must I give to Mr. one of. the
leading medical men,— he asked; " To be sure
you must. He won't mi you tor itrbtif he will cntl
nit yon everyiday till ynu'ti'p, '/was tlie reply. : Mr.':
— called. ' T.': . in taking him by the hand
. pressed the proper douceur into his palni, which the,
. — -er passed into, his, pocket. I blushed," saitl
T- — - ''like ti girl'." " How.'did yi ur. friend-take
it?" , I inquired.) ' " Like new . milk, quite: iiiuo-
' cently." . : ,
i Now T— — had linuiagetl the boruugh of— —
: for Lord — — 'und Mr. — — so often' tuid so long,
that he would haye niithing to do with reforming
the borough. 'Tliis he left 10 iife; assuring me. that",
piil.tically speaking, they were one and all as corrupt
as need be ; and to show how little, they thought of
bribery, ra-utioned' tha" story : following, which had
jnat occurred. -. '
> He hud latbly'heen talking with some notability
of , who complained , very, bitterly of the loss of
one lhemhe'r. . - — — fell into. : schedule B. Me
could not' speak of other places; there had boon/lie
feared, great. bribery elsewhere, " hut you know," he
said, addressing T- — —, " that there was no bribery
at >" "No .1" exclaimed my friend, " what do
you say of the money given so regularly after every
eleetion " That's no bribery,"! said the elector,
" tlmt was polling money."
Mr. . Shoepshnnks"" was" extensively ac
quainted wiih Englishliterature, aiid litiil
attended to the French,,. German, and
Italian. Suqh knowledge he shitred wit It
inariy ; 1 but there was one' pursuit of a pti-
ciili'ar Uind wliicli lib carried tn a peculiar
extent. "He eultiyuted with nil the 'nriiof
'if aity professional s Tidier, ntnl far ,/mp're
Je-f ply than mint; soltliers, ..tlie Bulijeet 0
tactics t aneieut ,;aud : mo era." . Oil thL
point: it may:- be regretted- that he did not
attempt: notes1 on ' a military classio. , An
edition of . I'oly'i'iius/or Guesur by a seliqlat'
who was; familiar witit Jomiui aud the
: history 'of inuderu:' warfare would hn ve
becii a certuin lielp tp the , man of; orud;-.
tion,- perhaps even. to the uian:of arms.
' Anyone who »as " in /company with' Mr'
Slieepshuuks for the fii'st tiiiio woiild' have
. leiiiarkcdi and' at firat.witli. some ouriosity,
tn 'man ..'! hardly .middle','' stature, iif .'rapid
anil ainncwliat uiilixtiiict utterunce, of very
. "decided opinion upon the matter, in die-
eussion;'and apparcutly.iif . a a irca-itio turn
of thought and 11 . piquant cht .ice of | ihra.-e.
By;' the time he ueoertuined, wh oh lie
would '..tips' he. 'long ' iii doing, that' the
sjibqker!wq8<a.s'eh 4ar ami a gjiitle.iun, lie
would at first be inelinijd toacti,iui eowit
as- a livery 'rirreveiertt. aeholurj - aud u
Very positive gontleip'ttii, Tnis: would lusi
until a poitit ar so' on 'whioh -Mr. Siioep-
ahttiikB hud hot1 thought, or had hot reu>i,
uud then his uiiJitor woiild periiei e.thut
lie had the not very uomthoii, facility of
muking a wide difference between hi- mode
of talking uuout what he liml attoudo i to,
and' what he hud not. Ilia utterance wou.ti
aluckeu, his energy of. maimer would douto,
and lie Would resem-Ju it "cautious witiie-s
speaking upon o ,t-i When it liiippqii'ed
tlmt tlie- nucoasity arose; qf iiefeiidiiig .wiiut
lie really respcoted ugaiu«t uiiy .oppbsitioii
worth considering, the tone of fligiity sar
casm disappeared and -an earnest depart -
meiit to k its i-iace.' v- , 1
All this arose from a' mixture of two
prominent feelings ; a strong, abiding, uu
self-aocrittcing devotion to, what .h? hoist
good and true, uud- a keeu. sarcastic,. uiul
luughier-loviug contempt f-<r ali thut pre
tended ' to ' be what it was not.
No wonder tlmt, in the world wo
live _ iu, tho second feeling piv-
doininnt d over the first in the formation
of his-hubits op tpqech and of arguiueiit
With 110 luck of allowance iur every wull-
ineuut and honest nffori, his temperament
did not permit him to work out au
average trout the' head of gold and
Ilhe f et of clay : tiie clay did not ue-
preuiute the . gold, nor did the gold,
enhance the clay. No man knew bettor '
how to defend his so entlfie and personal
opponents, on those paints on AVhielt tliey
wore defensible-; riitid "rio' thiini iiiot'e'- c- n-
stmitly' di«l it. .The rchiaitiin i trait." wli|i:h'
must bo niiticed . is tlie vigorous nial prac
tical olinriictor of his frie'tiilsiiip ; his iiotiv;!,'
uod: unwearied assistunoe. wa- as surely, 'to'
lie rickonoil, on as a liiw, of nutiiro,-. espe
cially if: to the cause of his .friend was »it-
tnclie'l the "opportunity of supp irtiiiir.'soni"
prineiplb, or Aiding ;; some qnesti'm : of
science. Nor was /his fe ndness of foelinb'
limited to his frieiids. . It showed itself in
real and. tlionglitful eonsidyrajion for all
with whom lie came ,. in contact. Hud lie
been a physician,, his fanoiful and self-tor--
menting patients would have thought him
the worst of their ills, his mild-r cases of
reul suffoi'ing would hiivo been cheered by :
his bantering kindness, while severe and!
dangerous malady would havo felt the pre
sence of the sympathy whioh money, can
not buy, shown Yvith a delicacy which be
nevolence itself cannot :;al wayB command:
. .His love for, his friends, his hntred of
pretension, his sense of the ludicrous and
iiis power of- expressing it, le i liim .into— -
in nome- cases -induced him to soelc— :
printed controvers;es, his management ot.
which somewimt scandalised those who
oold the ;Ub(jtrine': of dignifie I gravity.
These bbntrbyersies,' it, is notneoessarv to
.revive. .Those who provoked, tlie limb of
Iiis satire wimlit p-rlinps lie glad if his
piquant pamphlets - conld be burieil in Iiis.
grave ,' but they will remain- to illustrate,
the so ence of our century, and will furnish
ample materials to the future -collector
»f bur, literary purpisitieH. YVheu a-ked
iiy - those nearest" to hi ai 'why he. a1 lowed
hitiiself' to enter into sue dispiites, lie
wolrd: reply that he .was just, the person
for- it ; that he lind leisure, courage,- and
contfinpt for .opiiiiim>, when : lib- know : lie
was r 'ght. Same of Iiis defeated iippouent-
knocked nt the d -or of one scientific in-
ti tut ion after another, praying t at he
might lie put on h-s trial for highly disre
putable conduct, upon tlie evidence'- of a
conversation 11 wiy aiid .reebntly. asserted
to have been hold by one of., thein -thirty
years ago with un eminent tub) wiio died
twenty yeius ago, and never alluded to
at the time 'when, ; if- ever, it might have
provoked tlie question of-commanding 11-
tention. /Fne instituliiin- knockeil at wore
riither too. English ..iu their notions of evi
dence to admit this to he. a prima facie
ease for inquiry, huti shut their doors ac
cordingly. Mr. Sheepshanks re lied by a
pamp'ilet, and.ns usually, happened til hi-
contests,, was- left master of the field.- Yi'(,
only mention this .as giving occasion t
notice the fact that, throughout tlie .-cien
ti fie world, there was liotiian upon whose
integrity greater reliance was placed than
upon lliat of Mr. Sheepshanks.
1 -His sudden death,, at an! age which, in
onr temperate day. .often promises' many
ycars-of active utility, causes a loss wh oh
. tiie astronomical- w- rid will not eusily sup
ply. ' YY'o trust that the' example he' h.o
left will' find followers."'
$