454 A Century of /Science 



for that book did not uphold the undulatory the 

 ory. &quot; Oh ! &quot; said I, &quot; then are you falling back 

 on the corpuscular theory ? &quot; &quot; No, indeed ; mine 

 is neither the one nor the other,&quot; and again came 

 the Sibylline smile. As I went for the book, I 

 found Professor Lovering in the alcove, halfway 

 up a tall ladder. &quot; Hallo ! &quot; said I sotto voce. 

 &quot; There is a man in here who has upset the undu 

 latory theory of light ; do you want to see him ? &quot; 

 &quot; Heavens, no ! Can t you inveigle him into some 

 dark corner while I run away ? &quot; &quot; Don t worry,&quot; 

 I replied, &quot; make yourself comfortable ; I 11 

 keep him from you.&quot; So I lured Mr. Flighty into 

 a discourse on the bigotry of scientific folk, while 

 Old Joe, whose fears were not so easily allayed, 

 soon stealthily emerged from his alcove and hur 

 ried from the hall. 



The next time that I happened to be in New 

 York, chatting with Youmans at the Century 

 Club, I alluded to Mr. Flighty, who believed he 

 had made a convert of him. 



&quot; Ay, ay,&quot; rejoined Youmans, &quot; and he said the 

 same of you.&quot; 



&quot; Indeed ! Well, I suspected as much. Unless 

 you drive a crank from the room with cuffs and 

 jeers, he is sure to think you agree with him. I 

 do not yet know what Mr. Flighty s theory is.&quot; 



