iv BUNSENIANA " 85 



After a leisurely journey up the Rhine I remember seeing 

 the white-coated Croats in garrison at Mayence I found 

 myself in Heidelberg and lost no time in presenting myself 

 to Bunsen, armed with the copy of the Times, the potted 

 shrimps, and the precious box containing the alkali metals. 

 Although it was still vacation time Bunsen had returned to 

 work. I was ushered into the little room you know so 

 well overlooking the Wrede Platz. The great man great 

 physically as well as intellectually rose from the table at 

 which he was writing I see him now and motioned me to 

 the sofa. He evidently was not unprepared for my coming 

 I suppose you must have informed him. I duly presented 

 your letter of introduction and, after answering his many 

 tender inquiries concerning you, moved up my heavy 

 battalions. I received a momentary check, however, for, 

 owing partly to his slight deafness but much more to my 

 imperfect knowledge of German, he moved across to the sofa 

 the better to hear me, and sat down on my hat ! I at once 

 brought the Times, the potted shrimps, and the alkali metals 

 into action. The " horrid murder " he would read at bedtime : 

 the potted shrimps would certainly be appreciated in the 

 morning : and we prepared ourselves for the alkali metals. 

 The servant was called to unpack the box, when to my con- 

 sternation he produced a bottle I remember it was an old 

 pickle-bottle partially filled with naphtha, at the bottom of 

 which were a few tablespoon fuls of a bright shining and 

 rather mobile fluid. I had given the Geheimrath such a 

 glowing account of the size of the sticks of the two metals 

 that I was simply speechless with astonishment and felt indeed 

 rather like an impostor. I had never realised so vividly 

 before the possibility of the transmutation of metals. " Well," 

 I said at last, " potassium and sodium were certainly put into 

 the bottle before I left home, but what is there now is un- 

 commonly like quicksilver." " No," said Bunsen, who was 

 holding the bottle, " it is not quicksilver. Feel the weight of 

 it ! " The fact was that our old friend Heywood, who had 

 been ordered by you to pack the specimens at the time in 

 separate bottles, perceiving that both could be got into one 

 bottle, had, with the charitable idea of not encumbering me 

 with too bulky a package, placed the two metals together 

 with the untoward result I have indicated. Chemical com- 

 bination between solids is not of very frequent occurrence, but 

 that it is possible under certain circumstances has never been 

 forgotten by me. I had no knowledge at the time of the 

 existence of this fluid alloy nor had Bunsen which, perhaps, 



