Now, though it was permissible for the Archdeacon to be also the
Andrews Professor, yet when the Archdeacon became a Bishop, it was
understood that he should transfer his residence from the observatory
to the palace. The chair of Astronomy accordingly became vacant.
Brinkley's subsequent career seems to have been devoted entirely to
ecclesiastical matters, and for the last ten years of his life he did
not contribute a paper to any scientific society. Arago, after a
characteristic lament that Brinkley should have forsaken the pursuit
of science for the temporal and spiritual attractions of a bishopric,
pays a tribute to the conscientiousness of the quondam astronomer,
who would not even allow a telescope to be brought into the palace
lest his mind should be distracted from his sacred duties.
The good bishop died on the 13th September, 1835. He was buried in
the chapel of Trinity College, and a fine monument to his memory is a
familiar object at the foot of the noble old staircase of the library.
The best memorial of Brinkley is his admirable book on the "Elements
of Plane Astronomy." It passed through many editions in his lifetime,
and even at the present day the same work, revised first by Dr. Luby,
and more recently by the Rev.
Pages:
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274