107 



arriving at positive and precise conclusions such as the 

 world requires even when there is no thorough conviction. 



Of the charms of Dr. Smith's conversation, only those are 

 able to form an idea who had the pleasure of his personal 

 acquaintance, for it was not of a kind to be reproduced in 

 set phrases. Without being at all eloquent or indulging in 

 harangue and giving due weight to everything his hearers 

 had to say, he was able from the fulness of his knowledge 

 and the originality of his views to throw a new light on 

 almost every subject he touched on, and thus he would 

 sometimes continue to instruct without dogmatising and 

 entertain without wearying until it was found that not 

 minutes but hours had slipped away in listening. 



One trait in Dr. Smith's character must not be passed 

 over, though to mention it in this age of materialism may 

 seem to require some apology — he was a firm believer in a 

 spiritual world, that is of a v/orld above and beyond the 

 senses, of the reality of which, whether we can communicate 

 with it directly or not — and of this he never seemed quite 

 sure — he was firmly convinced. Those who remain to 

 lament his loss, and who share the same belief, may unite in 

 the fervent trust that in the world of which he thouarht 

 much, but spoke little, his spirit may have found not merely 

 rest and satisfaction, but also a continuance of that mental 

 activity and development which to him were life. 



Dr. Smith was never married, but for many years liis 

 niece. Miss Jessie Knox Smith, was his constant companion 

 and confidante, ministering to him with a zeal and devo- 

 which could not have been exceeded had the relationship 

 been that of father and daughter. 



"On a variation in the size of an image on the retina 

 according to the distance of the background on which it is 

 seen," by Alfred Brothers, F.R.A.S. 



The effect on the retina when the eyes have been fixed 



