RHYMING CORRESPONDENCE 93 



air containing O'o6 per cent, and that of air containing 0*2 per cent, of 

 olefiant gas." This result was in agreement with what Tait himself obtained 

 from a first rough experiment, and indicated that damp air was less absorbent 

 of low heat rays than air mixed with a small quantity of olefiant gas. 



These are a few of the investigations which did not yield all that Tait 

 hoped for ; in some instances indeed they were wholly abortive, or did not 

 reach even the stage of being tried. 



When any promising idea occurred to his mind, Tait was in the habit of 

 referring it to the judgment of Stokes or Maxwell ; and although unfortunately 

 Tail's letters to Maxwell were not preserved, there has survived an amusing 

 rhyming correspondence bearing upon the nature of electricity. In June 1877 

 Tait thus described the experiment he was thinking of making : 



Will mounted ebonite disk 



On smooth unyielding bearing 

 When turned about with motion brisk 



(Nor excitation sparing) 

 Affect the primitive repose 



Of + or in the wire, 

 So that while either downward flows 



The other upwards shall aspire? 

 Describe the form and size of coil 



And other things that we may need, 

 Think not about increase of toil 



Involved in work at double speed. 

 I can no more, my pen is bad, 



It catches in the roughened page 

 But answer us and make us glad, 



THOU ANTI-DISTANCE-ACTION SAGE ! 

 Yet have I still a thousand things to say 



But work of other kinds is pressing, 

 So your petitioner will ever pray 



That your defence be triple messing\ 



This last Anglo-German pun on the well-known Horatian text is a good 

 example of one of Tail's forms of humour. 



The following is Maxwell's reply as preserved in the original letter pasted 

 into Tail's Scrap Book. The annotations are Maxwell's even to the references 

 lo Art. 770 at verse i and Art. 577 at verse 7. These were pencilled in and 

 refer to Maxwell's Electricity and Magnetism, First Edilion. 



