THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. 231 



the heavenly bodies ; and he so nearly discovered the law of gravi- 

 tation that Newton was obliged to defend his claims before the 

 Royal Society. Even in controversies such as that with Hevelius 

 about an improvement of the telescope, where he had the best of 

 the argument, his unmanly conduct and irascible temper de- 

 stroyed all the honor he might otherwise have attained. 



With a person misshapen and repulsive, with a temper as dis- 

 torted as the body, miserly in his habits, and morbidly jealous of 

 his co-laborers, Hooke's transcendent mind recalls the fable of the 

 jewel in the frog's brain. Sir T. Molyneux, a contemporary, says, 

 " Hooke is the most ill-natured, conceited man in the world, hated 

 and despised by most of the Royal Society, pretending to have 

 all other inventions, when once discovered by their authors to the 

 world." 



An ill-requited life Hooke's must have been to call forth upon 

 his death the declaration that " society has gained more than sci- 

 ence has lost." 



August, 1663. Charles II displays his continued interest in 

 the society by presenting the president with the splendid mace, 

 which has been borne, as the insignia of his office, before every 

 president from that date to this. It is of silver, richly carved and 

 gilded, and weighs one hundred and ninety ounces avoirdupois. 

 With the mace is given the privilege of having two sergeants-at- 

 mace, whose duty shall be to wait upon the president. It is borne 

 before the president as he enters to his chair, and is placed before 

 him upon a table during the proceedings of the meeting. When 

 kings, princes of the blood, or distinguished ambassadors from 

 foreign courts desire to visit the society, the prasident, attended by 

 the mace and the sergeants-at-mace, meets them at the door and 

 escorts them to a seat beside him on the dais. No meeting is 

 legal unless held in the presence of this ensign of authority. The 

 chief decoration of the enchased work of the mace is the thistle, 

 the emblem of St. Andrew, who was the patron saint of the so- 

 ciety. The anniversary meetings and election of officers were 

 held upon St. Andrew's day, at which time the Fellows formerly 

 wore a St. Andrew's cross in their hats. It is in the minutes of 

 this year we find the resolution that " the president when in the 

 chair is to be covered, notwithstanding the Fellows of the society 

 be uncovered." 



June 28, 1665. The meetings were discontinued on account of 

 the plague which was at that time devastating England, carrying 

 off, from this date to the end of the year, seventy thousand per- 

 sons in London alone. 



On the 7th of June, 1665, Samuel Pepys for the first time saw 

 two or three houses marked with the red cross and the words 

 " Lord have mercy upon us ! " on the doors. On the 4th of Septem- 



