Manchester Memoirs, Vol. Ivii. (191 3), No. 10. 15 



esteemed, we were a little surprised to find that so 

 many of our members stood by whilst the ceremony 

 was performed." 



I think this article expresses nothing better than the 

 unfriendly spirit of its author, and one might be easily 

 induced to believe that the Quakers, as a body, were 

 opposed to the public honours which were given to Dalton. 

 It must be remembered that Peter Clare, who was himself 

 a member of the Society of Friends, not only identified 

 himself with the funeral, but took part in all the meetings 

 and thus sanctioned the proceedings. As a matter of 

 fact, it is most likely that only a very small proportion of 

 the Quakers took offence at the public honours paid to 

 Manchester's great citizen. 



A remarkable contrast to the pomp which charac- 

 terised Dalton's exit out of the world is shown in the 

 accompanjM'ng illustration of his humble birthplace, 

 Eaglesfield. {S&& PL III.A). 



Dalton was all his life a schoolmaster. The story is 

 well known that once a great French chemist called on 

 Dalton, who was at the time giving a lesson to a boy. 

 Dalton was not in the least disturbed, but said quietly, 

 " Please take a seat until I have put this lad right about 

 his arithmetic." But even this episode shows Dalton 

 already well advanced in his career as a teacher. Along 

 with his brother he started a school in a barn (See PI. II LB) 

 on the 28th of March, 1785, at Kendal. He was a 

 teacher up to the last, teaching not only little boys, 

 but the chemists of all countries the foundations of 

 their science. 



Later on, in about 1853, a still more substantial 

 tribute was paid to the memory of John Dalton. A 

 public fund, amounting to no less than ^^5,3 12, was raised 



