at a neighboring restaurant.

In justice to Captain Gilliss it must be said that he was not in
any way responsible for this lack of system. It grew out of the
origin and history of the establishment and the inaction of Congress.
The desirableness of our having a national observatory of the same
rank as those of other countries was pointed out from time to time by
eminent statesmen from the first quarter of the century. John Quincy
Adams had, both while he filled the presidential office and afterward,
made active efforts in this direction; but there were grave doubts
whether Congress had any constitutional authority to erect such an
institution, and the project got mixed up with parties and politics.
So strong was the feeling on the subject that, when the Coast Survey
was organized, it was expressly provided that it should not establish
an astronomical observatory.

The outcome of the matter was that, in 1842, when Congress at length
decided that we should have our national observatory, it was not
called such, but was designated as a "house" to serve as a depot
for charts and instruments for the navy. But every one knew that
an observatory was meant. Gilliss was charged with its erection,
and paid a visit to Europe to consult with astronomers there on
its design, and to order the necessary instruments. When he got
through with this work and reported it as completed he was relieved,
and Lieutenant Matthew F. Maury was appointed superintendent of the
new institution.

Maury, although (as he wrote a few years later) quite without
experience in the use of astronomical instruments, went at his work
with great energy and efficiency, so that, for two or three years,
the institution bade fair to take a high place in science. Then he
branched off into what was, from a practical standpoint, the vastly
more important work of studying the winds and currents of the ocean.
The epoch-making character of his investigations in this line,
and their importance to navigation when ships depended on sails for
their motive power, were soon acknowledged by all maritime nations,
and the fame which he acquired in pursuing them added greatly to
the standing of the institution at which the work was done, though
in reality an astronomical outfit was in no way necessary to it.
The new work was so absorbing that he seemed to have lost interest
in the astronomical side of the establishment, which he left to his
assistants. The results were t