32 Dr. Bottomley on the late 



composed a meeting, would draw up to the green baize 

 table, with the President of the Section at one end, a cheer- 

 ful fire would give a pleasant glow to the old council room, 

 and four wax candles, if they could not compete with 

 modern methods of illumination, were not without a certain 

 charm, reminding us that we belonged to an old society, 

 and recalling the days of Mainwaring, Massey, Percival, 

 Henry, Dalton, and other old worthies of the Society. To 

 such an audience Mr. Baxendell would read his papers in a 

 low-toned voice but marked with earnestness. Of this 

 section he was elected president ten times. He always 

 spoke in very high terms of the Literary and Philosophical 

 Society, he would even declare that no other Society had 

 done so much useful work, an opinion which might appear 

 extravagant to a stranger unacquainted with its past history ; 

 to form some estimate of it, let us reflect that systematic 

 chemistry, which has been such a powerful agent in increas- 

 ing the resources of civilized life, had its origin here, while 

 the text books of the engineer bear testimony to the useful 

 work of Hodgkinson ; if living names were mentioned, they 

 would supply a strong proof of the useful work of the 

 Society, and so lend confirmation to Mr. Baxendell's 

 opinion. This character of use is also stamped on his own 

 work; he took a warm interest in the plan of supplying 

 storm warnings, and made a vigorous protest when the 

 Board of Trade announced an intention of discontinuing 

 them ; he was also anxious to obtain definite information 

 of the influence of meteorological conditions on public 

 health. His warning of the dry summer of 1868 was very 

 serviceable to the Manchester Corporation Water Works in 

 regulating the supply of water. On another occasion his 

 warning at Southport,to take precautionary measures against 

 an epidemic, was followed by an outbreak of small-pox. 

 The interest which he took in this Society was also testified 

 by his assiduous attention to the duties of Secretary ; his 



