"There are some exceedingly valuable footnotes; we give one of the most interesting, taken from the learned Mr. Halliwell's profound book on Nursery Rhymes[[264]]—a celebrated production, for which it is supposed the author was made F.R.S.
"'One's nine,
Two's some,
Three's a many,
Four's a penny,
Five's a little hundred.'
'The last line refers to five score, the so-called hundred being more usually six score. The first line, looked at etymologically, is one is not one, and the change of thought by which nine, the decimal of one, aims to be associated with the decimal of plurality is curious:'—Very.
"This valuable and profound essay will very probably be transferred to the next edition of the learned Mr. Halliwell's rare work, of kindred worth, entitled 'Rara Mathematica,' it will then be deservedly handed down to posterity as a covering for cheap trunks—a most appropriate archive for such a treasure."
In December, 1846, the Mechanics' Magazine published a libel on Airy in the matter of the discovery of Neptune. In May, 1849, one * * * was to have been brought forward for election at the Astronomical Society, and was opposed by me and others, on the ground that he was the probable author of this libel, and that he would not, perhaps could
not, deny it. [N.B. I no more doubt that he was the author then I doubt that I am the author of this sentence.][[265]]