Scientific Meetings. 28S 



** Travelling in Prussia some years ago, when secret societies were the 

 order of the day, and the German governments in great alarm, he talked, as 

 usual, more freely and boldly than was encouraged in that country. The 

 Prussian government was offended, and Pfaff having got safe home, the 

 Prussian ambassador at Copenhagen was charged to make a remonstrance on 

 the subject ; but the king paid no attention, and his ministers, therefore, 

 could give the ambassador no satisfaction. Determined on pushing the af- 

 fair, the ambassador had an audience of the king, and signified that the 

 Prussian government expected Pfaff should be punished. ' OA,' said the 

 king, ' Pfaff is my very good friend, he has only been a little distrait ; he has 

 fancied he was in his oivn country, where he might say any thing.' A ter- 

 rible satire, coming as it did from the most absolute monarch in Europe." 



Amongst the others were Lichtenstein and Encke from Berlin, 

 with the celebrated Oersted from Copenhagen. Professor Fischer 

 of the Botanic Garden of St. Petersburg, and Fischer the Zoolo- 

 gist and President of the Academy of Sciences of Moscow, not 

 the vegetable, but the animal Fischer, as he wittily told Mr. John- 

 ston when presented. Struve, eminent in astronomy, from Dor- 

 pat ; Oken from Munich ; Dr. Schmeisser of Hamburgh, lecturer 

 on chemistry, and an old friend and pupil of the celebrated Dr. 

 Black, was prevented from attending the meeting by ill health, 

 but Mr. Johnston has preserved some of his lively sayings, and 

 amongst the rest the following pun of Blumenbach. 



" And he told [Schmeisser] with much glee, how, when the method had be- 

 come newly known, he formed a quantity of artifical spermaceti from some 

 half decayed muscles by means of nitric acid, and making it into candles, 

 sent some of them to Blumenbach, with the notice that they were prepared 

 from the legs of a man, who in his life time had done no good, and how Blu- 

 menbach punningly replied to him, ' Mortui lucent qui in vita obscuri fu- 

 erunt." 



There were only two or three individuals from England, and 

 America was represented by Dr. Jamieson of Baltimore. The 

 Naturforchers dined in public ; from five hundred to six hundred 

 individuals assembled, including the wives and sisters of members. 

 Notwithstanding the presence of the ladies, it seems the noise and 

 confusion, the running about, and the scrambling for places, were 

 perfectly intolerable. An attempt however was made to drown 

 the noise by the introduction of music, vocal and instrumental, 

 which in some degree succeeded. 



The opening of the session commenced on the 18th September, 

 by the delivery of an inaugural discourse from the President 

 Battels. The secretary then read the laws of the society. From 



