CONCLUSION.

In a work on the Decline of Science, at a period when England has so recently lost two of its brightest ornaments, I should hardly be excused if I omitted to devote a few words to the names of Wollaston and of Davy. Until the warm feelings of surviving kindred and admiring friends shall be cold as the grave from which remembrance vainly recalls their cherished forms, invested with all the life and energy of recent existence, the volumes of their biography must be sealed. Their contemporaries can expect only to read their eloge.

In habits of intercourse with both those distinguished individuals, sufficiently frequent to mark the curiously different structure of their minds, I was yet not on such terms even with him I most esteemed, as to view his great qualities through that medium which is rarely penetrated by the eyes of long and very intimate friendship.

Caution and precision were the predominant features of the character of Wollaston, and those who are disposed to reduce the number of principles, would perhaps justly trace the precision which adorned his philosophical, to the extreme caution which pervaded his moral character. It may indeed be questioned whether the latter quality will not in all persons of great abilities produce the former.

Ambition constituted a far larger ingredient in the character of Davy, and with the daring hand of genius he grasped even the remotest conclusions to which a theory led him. He seemed to think invention a more common attribute than it really is, and hastened, as soon as he was in possession of a new fact or a new principle, to communicate it to the world, doubtful perhaps lest he might not be anticipated; but, confident in his own powers, he was content to give to others a chance of reaping some part of that harvest, the largest portion of which he knew must still fall to his own share.

Dr. Wollaston, on the other hand, appreciated more truly the rarity of the inventive faculty; and, undeterred by the fear of being anticipated,

when he had contrived a new instrument, or detected a new principle, he brought all the information that he could collect from others, or which arose from his own reflection, to bear upon it for years, before he delivered it to the world.

The most singular characteristic of Wollaston's mind was the plain and distinct line which separated what he knew from what he did not know; and this again, arising from his precision, might be traced to caution.

It would, however, have been visible to such an extent in few except himself, for there were very few so perfectly free from vanity and affectation. To this circumstance may be attributed a peculiarity of manner in the mode in which he communicated information to those who sought it from him, which was to many extremely disagreeable. He usually, by a few questions, ascertained precisely how much the inquirer knew upon the subject, or the exact point at which his ignorance commenced, a process not very agreeable to the vanity of mankind; taking up the subject at this point, he would then very clearly and shortly explain it.

His acquaintance with mathematics was very limited. Many years since, when I was an unsuccessful candidate for a professorship of mathematics, I applied to Dr. W. for a recommendation; he declined it, on the ground of its not being his pursuit. I told him I asked it, because I thought it would have weight, to which he replied, that it ought to have none whatever. There is no doubt his view was the just one. Yet such is the state of ignorance which exists on these subjects, that I have several times heard him mentioned as one of the greatest mathematicians of the age. [This of course could only have happened in England.] But in this as in all other points, the precision with which he comprehended and retained all he had ever learned, especially of the elementary applications of mathematics to physics, was such, that he possessed greater command over those subjects than many of far more extensive knowledge.

In associating with Wollaston, you perceived that the predominant principle was to avoid error; in the society of Davy, you saw that it was the desire to see and make known truth. Wollaston never could have been a poet; Davy might have been a great one.

A question which I put, successively, to each of these distinguished philosophers, will show how very differently a subject may be viewed by minds even of the highest order.

About the time Mr. Perkins was making his experiments on the compression of water, I was much struck with the mechanical means he had brought to bear on the subject, and was speculating on other applications of it, which I will presently mention.

Meeting Dr. Wollaston one morning in the shop of a bookseller, I proposed this question: If two volumes of hydrogen and one of oxygen are mixed together in a vessel, and if by mechanical pressure they can be so condensed as to become of the same specific gravity as water, will the gases under these circumstances unite and form water? "What do you think they will do?" said Dr. W. I replied, that I should rather expect they would unite. "I see no reason to suppose it," said he. I then inquired whether he thought the experiment worth making. He answered, that he did not, for that he should think it would certainly not succeed.

A few days after, I proposed the same question to Sir Humphry Davy. He at once said, "they will become water, of course;" and on my inquiring whether he thought the experiment worth making, he observed that it was a good experiment, but one which it was hardly necessary to make, as it must succeed.

These were off-hand answers, which it might perhaps be hardly fair to have recorded, had they been of persons of less eminent talent: and it adds to the curiosity of the circumstance to mention, that I believe Dr. Wollaston's reason for supposing no union would take place, arose from the nature of the electrical relations of the two gases remaining unchanged, an objection which did not weigh with the philosopher whose discoveries had given birth to it.

[The result of the experiment appeared, and still appears to me, to be of the highest importance; and I will shortly state the views with which it was connected. The next great discovery in chemistry to definite proportions, will be to find means of forming all the simple unions of one atom with one, with two, or with more of say other substance: and it occurred to me that the gaseous bodies presented the fairest chance of

success; and that if wishing, for instance, to unite four atoms of one substance with one of another, we could, by mechanical means, reduce the mixed gases to the same specific gravity as the substance would possess which resulted from their union, then either that such union would actually take place, or the particles of the two substances would be most favourably situated for the action of caloric, electricity, or other causes, to produce the combination. It would indeed seem to follow, that if combination should take place under such circumstances, then the most probable proportion in which the atoms would unite, should be that which furnished a fluid of the least specific gravity: but until the experiments are made, it is by no means certain that other combinations might not be produced.]

The singular minuteness of the particles of bodies submitted by Dr. Wollaston to chemical analysis, has excited the admiration of all those who have had the good fortune to witness his experiments; and the methods he employed deserve to be much more widely known.

It appears to me that a great mistake exists on the subject. It has been adduced as one of those facts which prove the extraordinary acuteness of the bodily senses of the individual, --a circumstance which, if it were true, would add but little to his philosophical character; I am, however, inclined to view it in a far different light, and to see in it one of the natural results of the admirable precision of his knowledge.

During the many opportunities I have enjoyed of seeing his minute experiments, I remember but one instance in which I noticed any remarkable difference in the acuteness of his bodily faculties, either of his hearing, his sight, or of his sense of smell, from those of other persons who possessed them in a good degree. [This was at Mr. South's observatory, and the object was, the dots on the declination circle of his equatorial; but, in this instance, Dr. Wollaston did not attempt to TEACH ME HOW TO SEE THEM.]

He never showed me an almost microscopic wire, which was visible to his, and invisible to my own eye: even in the beautiful experiments he made relative to sounds inaudible to certain ears, he never produced a tone which was unheard by mine, although sensible to his ear; and I believe this

will be found to have been the case by most of those whose minds had been much accustomed to experimental inquiries, and who possessed their faculties unimpaired by illness or by age.

It was a much more valuable property on which the success of such inquiries depended. It arose from the perfect attention which he could command, and the minute precision with which he examined every object. A striking illustration of the fact that an object is frequently not seen, FROM NOT KNOWING HOW TO SEE IT, rather than from any defect in the organ of vision, occurred to me some years since, when on a visit at Slough. Conversing with Mr. Herschel on the dark lines seen in the solar spectrum by Fraunhofer, he inquired whether I had seen them; and on my replying in the negative, and expressing a great desire to see them, he mentioned the extreme difficulty he had had, even with Fraunhofer's description in his hand and the long time which it had cost him in detecting them. My friend then added, "I will prepare the apparatus, and put you in such a position that they shall be visible, and yet you shall look for them and not find them: after which, while you remain in the same position, I will instruct you how to see them, and you shall see them, and not merely wonder you did not see them before, but you shall find it impossible to look at the spectrum without seeing them."

On looking as I was directed, notwithstanding the previous warning, I did not see them; and after some time I inquired how they might be seen, when the prediction of Mr. Herschel was completely fulfilled.

It was this attention to minute phenomena which Dr. Wollaston applied with such powerful effect to chemistry. In the ordinary cases of precipitation the cloudiness is visible in a single drop as well as in a gallon of a solution; and in those cases where the cloudiness is so slight, as to require a mass of fluid to render it visible, previous evaporation, quickly performed on slips of window glass, rendered the solution more concentrated.

The true value of this minute chemistry arises from its cheapness and the extreme rapidity with which it can be accomplished: it may, in hands like those of Wollaston, be used for discovery, but not for measure. I have thought it more necessary to place this subject on what I consider its

true grounds, for two reasons. In the first place, I feel that injustice has been done to a distinguished philosopher in attributing to some of his bodily senses that excellence which I think is proved to have depended on the admirable training of his intellectual faculties. And, in the next place, if I have established the fact, whilst it affords us better means of judging of such observations as lay claim to an accuracy "MORE THAN HUMAN," it also opens, to the patient inquirer into truth, a path by which he may acquire powers that he would otherwise have thought were only the gift of nature to a favoured few.

APPENDIX, No. 1.

In presenting to my readers the account of the meeting of men of science at Berlin, in the autumn of 1828, I am happy to be able to state, that its influence has been most beneficial, and that the annual meeting to be held in 1831, will take place at Vienna, the Emperor of Austria having expressed a wish that every facility which his capital affords should be given to promote its objects.

It is gratifying to find that a country, which has hitherto been considered adverse to the progress of knowledge, should become convinced of its value; and it is sincerely to be hoped, that every one of the numerous members of the Society will show, by his conduct, that the paths of science are less likely than any others to interfere with those of politics.

ACCOUNT OF THE GREAT CONGRESS OF PHILOSOPHERS AT BERLIN, ON THE 18TH OF SEPTEMBER 1828. FROM THE EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, APRIL, 1829.

The existence of a large society of cultivators of the natural sciences meeting annually at some great capital, or some central town of Europe, is a circumstance almost unknown to us, and deserving of our attention, from the important advantages which may arise from it.

About eight years ago, Dr. Okens, of Munich, suggested a plan for an annual meeting of all Germans who cultivated the sciences of medicine and botany. The first meeting, of about forty members, took place at Leipsic, in 1822, and it was successively held at Halle, Wurtzburg, Frankfort on the Maine, Dresden, Munich, and Berlin. All those who had

printed a certain number of sheets of their inquiries on these subjects were considered members of this academy.

The great advantages which resulted to these sciences from the communication of observations from all quarters of Germany, soon induced an extension of the plan, and other departments of natural knowledge were admitted, until, at the last meeting, the cultivators even of pure mathematics were found amongst the ranks of this academy.

Several circumstances, independent of the form and constitution of the academy, contributed to give unwonted splendour to the last meeting, which took place at Berlin in the middle of September of the last year.

The capital selected for its temporary residence is scarcely surpassed by any in Europe in the number and celebrity of its savans.

The taste for knowledge possessed by the reigning family, has made knowledge itself fashionable; and the severe sufferings of the Prussians previous to the war, by which themselves and Europe were freed, have impressed on them so strongly the lesson that "knowledge is power," that its effects are visible in every department of the government; and there is no country in Europe in which talents and genius so surely open for their possessors the road to wealth and distinction.

Another circumstance also contributed its portion to increase the numbers of the meeting of the past year. The office of president, which is annually changed, was assigned to M. Alexander de Humboldt. The universality of his acquirements, which have left no branch within the wide range of science indifferent or unexplored, has connected him by friendship with almost all the most celebrated philosophers of the age; whilst the polished amenity of his manners, and that intense desire of acquiring and of spreading knowledge, which so peculiarly characterizes his mind, renders him accessible to all strangers, and insures for them the assistance of his counsel in their scientific pursuits, and the advantage of being made known to all those who are interested or occupied in similar inquiries.

Professor Lichtenstein, (Director of the Museum of Zoology,) as secretary of the academy, was indefatigable in his attentions, and most ably seconded the wishes of its distinguished president.

These two gentlemen, assisted by several of the residents at Berlin, undertook the numerous preliminary arrangements necessary for the accommodation of the meeting.

On the 18th of September, 1828, there were assembled at Berlin 377 members of the academy, whose names and residences (in Berlin) were printed in a small pamphlet, and to each name was attached a number, to indicate his seat in the great concert room, in which the morning meetings took place. Each member was also provided with an engraved card of the hall of meeting, on which the numbers of the seats were printed in black ink, and his own peculiar seat marked in red ink, so that every person immediately found his own place, and knew where to look for any friend whom he might wish to find.

At the hour appointed for the opening of the meeting, the members being assembled, and the galleries and orchestra being filled by an assemblage of a large part of the rank and beauty of the capital, and the side-boxes being occupied by several branches of the royal family, and by the foreign ambassadors, the session of the academy was opened by the eloquent address of the president.

SPEECH made at the Opening of the Society of German Naturalists and Natural Philosophers at Berlin, the 18th of September, 1828. - By ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT.

Since through your choice, which does me so much honour, I am permitted to open this meeting, the first duty which I have to discharge is one of gratitude. The distinction which has been conferred on him who has never yet been able to attend your excellent society, is not the reward of scientific efforts, or of feeble and persevering attempts to discover new phenomena, or to draw the light of knowledge from the unexplored depths of nature. A finer feeling, however, directed your attention to me. You have assured me, that while, during an absence of many years, and in a distant quarter of the globe, I was labouring in the same cause with yourselves, I was not a stranger in your thoughts. You have likewise greeted my return home, that, by the sacred tie of gratitude, you might bind me still longer and closer to our common country.

What, however, can the picture of this, our native land, present more

agreeable to the mind, than the assembly which we receive to-day for the first time within our walls; from the banks of the Neckar, the birth-place of Kepler and of Schiller, to the remotest border of the Baltic plains; from hence to the mouths of the Rhine, where, under the beneficent influence of commerce, the treasuries of exotic nature have for centuries been collected and investigated, the friends of nature, inspired with the same zeal, and, urged by the same passion, flock together to this assembly. Everywhere, where the German language is used, and its peculiar structure affects the spirit and disposition of the people. From the Great European Alps, to the other side of the Weichsel, where, in the country of Copernicus, astronomy rose to renewed splendour; everywhere in the extensive dominions of the German nation we attempt to discover the secret operations of nature, whether in the heavens, or in the deepest problems of mechanics, or in the interior of the earth, or in the finely woven tissues of organic structure.

Protected by noble princes, this assembly has annually increased in interest and extent. Every distinction which difference of religion or form of government can occasion is here annulled. Germany manifests itself as it were in its intellectual unity; and since knowledge of truth and performance of duty are the highest object of morality, that feeling of unity weakens none of the bonds which the religion, constitution, and laws of our country, have rendered dear to each of us. Even this emulation in mental struggles has called forth (as the glorious history of our country tells us,) the fairest blossoms of humanity, science, and art.

The assembly of German naturalists and natural philosophers since its last meeting, when it was so hospitably received at Munich, has, through the flattering interest of neighbouring states and academies, shone with peculiar lustre. Allied nations have renewed the ancient alliance between Germany and the ancient Scandinavian North.

Such an interest deserves acknowledgment the more, because it unexpectedly increases the mass of facts and opinions which are here brought into one common and useful union. It also recalls lofty recollections into the mind of the naturalist. Scarcely half a century has elapsed since Linne appears, in the boldness of the undertakings which he

has attempted and accomplished, as one of the greatest men of the last century. His glory, however bright, has not rendered Europe blind to the merits of Scheele and Bergman. The catalogue of these great names is not completed; but lest I shall offend noble modesty, I dare not speak of the light which is still flowing in richest profusion from the North, nor mention the discoveries in the chemical nature of substances, in the numerical relation of their elements, or the eddying streams of electro- magnetic powers. [The philosophers here referred to are Berzelius and Oersted.] May those excellent persons, who, deterred neither by perils of sea or land, have hastened to our meeting from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Holland, England, and Poland, point our the way to other strangers in succeeding years, so that by turns every part of Germany may enjoy the effects of scientific communication with the different nations of Europe.

But although I must restrain the expression of my personal feelings in presence of this assembly, I must be permitted at least to name the patriarchs of our national glory, who are detained from us by a regard for those lives so dear to their country;--Goethe, whom the great creations of poetical fancy have not prevented from penetrating the ARCANA of nature, and who now in rural solitude mourns for his princely friend, as Germany for one of her greatest ornaments;--Olbers, who has discovered two bodies where he had already predicted they were to be found;--the greatest anatomists of our age--Soemmering, who, with equal zeal, has investigated the wonders of organic structure, and the spots and FACULAE of the sun, (condensations and openings of the photosphere;) Blumenbach, whose pupil I have the honour to be, who, by his works and his immortal eloquence, has inspired everywhere a love of comparative anatomy, physiology, and the general history of nature, and who has laboured diligently for half a century. How could I resist the temptation to adorn my discourse with names which posterity will repeat, as we are not favoured with their presence?

These observations on the literary wealth of our native country, and the progressive developement of our institution, lead us naturally to the obstructions which will arise from the increasing number of our fellow-

labourers, The chief object of this assembly does not consist, as in other societies whose sphere is more limited, in the mutual interchange of treatises, or in innumerable memoirs, destined to be printed in some general collection. The principal object of this Society is, to bring those personally together who are engaged in the same field of science. It is the immediate, and therefore more obvious interchange of ideas, whether they present themselves as facts, opinions, or doubts. It is the foundation of friendly connexion which throws light on science, adds cheerfulness to life, and gives patience and amenity to the manners.

In the most flourishing period of ancient Greece, the distinction between words and writing first manifested itself most strongly amongst a race, which had raised itself to the most splendid intellectual superiority, and to whose latest descendants, as preserved from the shipwreck of nations, we still consecrate our most anxious wishes. It was not the difficulty of interchange of ideas alone, nor the want of German science, which has spread thought as on wings through the world, and insured it a long continuance, that then induced the friends of philosophy and natural history in Magna Graecia and Asia Minor to wander on long journeys. That ancient race knew the inspiring influence of conversation as it extemporaneously, freely, and prudently penetrates the tissue of scientific opinions and doubts. The discovery of the truth without difference of opinion is unattainable, because the truth, in its greatest extent, can never be recognized by all, and at the same time. Each step, which seems to bring the explorer of nature nearer to his object, only carries him to the threshold of new labyrinths. The mass of doubt does not diminish, but spreads like a moving cloud over other and new fields; and whoever has called that a golden period, when difference of opinions, or, as some are accustomed to express it, the disputes of the learned, will be finished, has as imperfect a conception of the wants of science, and of its continued advancement, as a person who expects that the same opinions in geognosy, chemistry, or physiology, will be maintained for several centuries.

The founders of this society, with a deep sense of the unity of nature, have combined in the completest manner, all the branches of physical knowledge, and the historical, geometrical, and experimental philosophy.

The names of natural historian and natural philosopher are here, therefore, nearly synonimous, chained by a terrestrial link to the type of the lower animals. Man completes the scale of higher organization. In his physiological and pathological qualities, he scarcely presents to us a distinct class of beings. As to what has brought him to this exalted object of physical study, and has raised him to general scientific investigation, belongs principally to this society. Important as it is not to break that link which embraces equally the investigation of organic and inorganic nature, still the increasing ties and daily developement of this institution renders it necessary, besides the general meeting which is destined for these halls, to have specific meetings for single branches of science. For it is only in such contracted circles, --it is only among men whom reciprocity of studies has brought together, that verbal discussions can take place. Without this sort of communication, would the voluntary association of men in search of truth be deprived of an inspiring principle.

Among the preparations which are made in this city for the advancement of the society, attention has been principally paid to the possibility of such a subdivision into sections. The hope that these preparations will meet with your approbation, imposes upon me the duty of reminding you, that, although you had entrusted to two travellers, equally, the duty of making these arrangements, yet it is to one alone, my noble friend, M. Lichtenstein, that the merit of careful precaution and indefatigable activity is due. Out of respect to the scientific spirit which animates the Society of German Naturalists and Natural Philosophy, and in acknowledgment of the utility of their efforts, government have seconded all our wishes with the greatest cheerfulness.

In the vicinity of the place of meeting, which has in this manner been prepared for our general and special labours, are situated the museums dedicated to anatomy, zoology, oryctognosy, and geology. They exhibit to the naturalist a rich mine for observation and critical discussion. The greater number of these well-arranged collections have existed, like the University of Berlin, scarcely twenty years. The oldest of them, to which the Botanical Garden, (one of the richest in Europe) belongs, have during this period not only been increased, but entirely remodelled. The

amusement and instruction derived from such institutions, call to our minds, with deep feelings of gratitude, that they are the work of that great monarch, who modestly and in simple grandeur, adorns every year this royal city with new treasures of nature and art; and what is of still greater value than the treasures themselves,--what inspires every Prussian with youthful strength, and with an enthusiastic love for the ancient reigning family,--that he graciously attaches to himself every species of talent, and extends with confidence his royal protection to the free cultivation of the understanding.

This was followed by a paper on magnetism, by Professor Oersted; and several other memoirs were then read.

The arrival of so many persons of similar pursuit, (for 464 members were present,) rendered it convenient to have some ordinary, at which those who chose might dine, and introduce their friends or families. This had been foreseen, and his Majesty had condescended to allow the immense building used for the exercise of his troops, to be employed for this purpose. One-third of it was floored on the occasion, and tables were arranged, at which, on one occasion, 850 persons sat down to dinner. On the evening of the first day, M. de Humboldt gave a large SOIREE in the concert rooms attached to the theatre. About 1200 persons assembled on this occasion, and his Majesty the King of Prussia honoured with his presence the fete of his illustrious chamberlain. The nobility of the country, foreign princes, and foreign ambassadors, were present. It was gratifying to observe the princes of the blood mingling with the cultivators of science, and to see the heir-apparent to the throne, during the course of the evening, engaged in conversation with those most celebrated for their talents, of his own, or of other countries.

Nor were the minor arrangements of the evening beneath the consideration of the President. The words of the music selected for the concert, were printed and distributed to the visitors. The names of the most illustrious philosophers which Germany had produced, were inscribed in letters of gold at the end of the great concert room.

In the first rank amongst these stood a name which, England, too, enrolls amongst the brightest in her scientific annals; and proud, as well

she may be, of having fostered and brought to maturity the genius of the first Herschel, she has reaped an ample reward in being able to claim as entirely her own, the inheritor of his talents and his name.

The six succeeding days were occupied, in the morning, by a meeting of the academy, at which papers of general interest were read. In the afternoon, through the arrangement of M. de Humboldt and M. Lichtenstein, various rooms were appropriated for different sections of the academy. In one, the chemical philosophers attended to some chemical memoir, whilst the botanists assembled in another room, the physiologists in a third, and the natural philosophers in a fourth. Each attended to the reading of papers connected with their several sciences. Thus every member was at liberty to choose that section in which he felt most interest at the moment, and he had at all times power of access to the others. The evenings were generally spent at some of the SOIREES of the savans, resident at Berlin, whose hospitality and attentions to their learned brethren of other countries were unbounded. During the unoccupied hours of the morning, the collections of natural history, which are rapidly rising into importance, were open to examination; and the various professors and directors who assisted the stranger in his inquiries, left him equally gratified by the knowledge and urbanity of those who so kindly aided him.

A map of Europe was printed, on which those towns only appeared which had sent representatives to this scientific congress; and the numbers sent by different kingdoms appeared by the following table, which was attached to it;-- Russia. . . . . . . . . 1 Austria 0

England . . . . . . . . 1 Holland . . . . . . . . 2 Denmark 7

France . . . . . . . . 1 Sardinia . . . . . . . 0 Prussia 95

Bavaria . . . . . . . . 12 Hanover . . . . . . . . 5 Saxony 21

Wirtemburg . . . . . . 2 Sweden . . . . . . . . 13 Naples 1

Poland . . . . . . . . 3 German States 43

--- 206 Berlin 172

--- 378

The proportion in which the cultivators of different sciences appeared, was not easy to ascertain, because there were few amongst the more

eminent who had not added to more than one branch of human knowledge. The following table, though not professing to be very accurate, will afford, perhaps, a tolerably fair view:--

Geometers . . . . . . . 11 Astronomers . . . . . . 5 Natural Philosophers . 23 -- 39

Mines . . . . . . . . . 5 Mineralogy . . . . . . 16 Geology . . . . . . . .

9 -- 30

Chemistry . . . . . . . . . 18 Geography 8

Anatomy 12

Zoology . . . . . . . . 14 Natural History . . . . 8 Botany . . . . . . . . .

35 -- 57

Physicians . . . . . . . 175 Amateurs . . . . . . . 9

Various . . . . . . . . 35 ---

381

A medal was struck in commemoration of this meeting, and it was proposed that it should form the first of a series, which should comprise all those persons most celebrated for their scientific discoveries in the past and present age.

APPENDIX, No. 2.

An examination into some charges brought against one of the twenty- four candidates, mentioned in a note as having their names suspended in the meeting-room of the Royal Society, at one time, has caused a printed pamphlet to be circulated amongst the members of the Society. Of the charges themselves I shall offer no opinion, but entreat every member to judge for himself. I shall, however, make one extract, which tends to show how the ranks of the Society are recruited.

EXTRACT FROM A PRINTED LETTER FROM A. F. M. TO J. G. CHILDREN, ESQ. DATED, 22, UPPER BEDFORD-PLACE, MARCH 13, 1830.

"When I wished you to Propose me at the Geological Society, you asked me why you should not propose me also at the Royal Society; and my answer was, that it was an honour to which I did not think I could aspire; that my talents were too insignificant to warrant such pretensions.

Many days passed, and still you pressed me on the subject, because your partiality made you think me deserving of the honour; but I resisted, really through modesty, not that I did not covet the distinction, until something was said of my paper on the meteoric mass of iron of Brazil, which was published some years ago in the Transactions of the Royal Society; when you insisted on proposing me, and I assented gratefully, because I was and am desirous of being a Fellow of the Royal Society, if I can be supposed worthy of having my name so honourably enrolled."

EXTRACT FROM A LETTER OF J. G. CHILDREN, ESQ. TO A. F.

M. ESQ. DATED, BRITISH MUSEUM, MARCH 24, 1830.

"All that you have said respecting your being a candidate for admission into the Royal Society, is correct to the letter. I pressed the subject upon you, and I would do it again to-morrow, were it necessary." Here, then, we find Mr. Children, who has been on the Council of the Royal Society, and who was, a few years since, one of its Secretaries, pressing one of his friends to become, and actually insisting on proposing him as, a Fellow of the Royal Society, He must have been well aware of the feelings which prevail amongst the Council as to the propriety of such a step, and by publishing the fact, seems quite satisfied that such a course is advantageous to the interests of the Society. That similar applications were not unfrequently made in private, is well known; but it remains for the Society to consider whether, now they are publicly and officially announced to them, it will sanction this mode of augmenting the already numerous list of its fellows.

I had intended to have printed a list of those persons to whom the Royal Society had in past years awarded the Copley medals, and the reasons for which they were given; but having applied to the Council for permission to employ an amanuensis, to copy those awards, either from the minutes, or from the volumes of the Philosophical Transactions, I was surprised at receiving a refusal. I confess it appeared to me, that as a whole, those adjudications did us credit, although I doubted the propriety of many individual cases. As, however, the Council seem to have had a different opinion, and as I had made the application through courtesy, I shall decline printing a list, every individual portion of which has been

already published in many ways, although the whole has never been printed in a collected form.