1883.] General Monthly Meeting. 405 



The following Eesolution, passed by the Managers at their Meeting 

 this day, was read : — 



"In the death of Sir William Siemens the Koyal Institution has lost an 

 eminent member and a generous friend. The outcome of his great practical 

 researches was frequently brought before us in lectures delivered in our theatre ; 

 he was our benefactor in presenting to us apparatus of great value ; while his 

 wise counsel, as a Manager, was ever ready when the interests of the Institution 

 required it. He showed his veneration for one of its Professors by naming a 

 vessel — a model one of its kind — constructed under his personal supervision for 

 the transport and laying down of telegraphic cables, ' The Faraday.' In every- 

 thing he touched, practical genius, guided by a knowledge of principles not 

 frequent among practical men, was displayed. In the domains of heat, electricity, 

 and metallurgy he won his chief renown; and here the ultimate issues of his 

 labours are at present incalculable. England, the land of his adoption, has lost 

 through his death an engineer of singular power, penetration, and many-sidedness. 

 The source of the quality last mentioned, by which he was characterised, was, 

 first of all, inherent ability, and, secondly, the comprehensive scientific education 

 which he received in the seminaries and universities of his native land. He came 

 to us thoroughly equipped with the theoretic knowledge necessary for practical 

 ends, and he applied that knowledge successfully in the most varied spheres of 

 action. As regards invention, he came of a family to the manner born : all his 

 brothers, and especially his eldest brother, the celebrated Dr. Werner Siemens, 

 having achieved distinction in applying science to the uses of life. William 

 Siemens was a man of the most charming disposition, genial, kindly, without 

 jealousy or bitterness, and as a natural result he secured not only the respect but 

 the warm affection of those who intimately knew him. The Members who were 

 present on the occasion of our last Monthly Meeting will not readily forget the 

 animated description he then gave us from the Chair, of a new application of 

 steam power which he had just seen tried on the River Spree, near Berlin. How 

 little could the freshness and the vigour of that exposition prepare his hearers 

 for the catastrophe so soon to follow ! Among the Members of the Ro\al Institu- 

 tion he iias left many mourning friends, wiio profoundly sympathise with his 

 family in their great bereavement, and more especially with Lady Siemens in 

 her irreparable loss." 



The following Lecture Arrangements were announced : — 



Professok Dewar, M.A. F.R.S. M.R.I. — Six Experimental Lectures (adapted 

 to a Juvenile Auditory) on Alchemy (in relation to Modern Science) ; on Dec. 27 

 (Thursday), Dec. 29, 1883 ; Jan. 1, 3, 5, 8, 1884. 



Eeginald Stuart Poole, Esq. Keeper of Coins, British Museum. — Two 

 Lectures on The Interest and Usefulness of the Study of Coins and Medals ; 

 on Tuesdays, Jan. 15, 22. 



Ernst Pauer, Esq. Principal Professor of the Pianoforte at the Royal College 

 of Music— Six Lectures on The History and Development of the Music; for 

 the Pianoforte and its Predecessors the Clavecin, Harpsichord, &c. (with 

 Musical Illustrations on these Instruments); on Thursdays, Jan. 17 to Feb. 21. 



Professor Tyndall, D.C.L. F.R.S. il/.i?.J.— Six Lectures on The Older 

 Electricity: its Phenomena and Investigators; on Thursdays, Feb. 28 to 

 April 3. 



Archibald Geikie, Esq. F.R.S. Director-General of the Geological Survey of 

 the United Kingdom.— Five Lectures on The Origin of the Scenery op the 

 British Isles ; on Tuesdays, Jan. 29 to Feb. 26. 



Professor John G. McKendrick, M.D. F.R.S.E. Prof. Inst, of Med. Univ. of 

 Glasgow, Fullerian Prof, of Physiology, R.I.— Five Lectui-es on Animal Heat : 

 ITS Origin, Distribution, and Regulation; on Tuesdays, March 4 to April 1. 



