v PROFESSOR AT OWENS COLLEGE 105 



of a soldier, the temper of a saint, and the training of 

 a scholar, and he therefore cautions mere enthusiasts 

 from attempting to carry on so serious a business. 



The need of caution in these matters, though in 

 a somewhat different sense from the above, came home 

 to me in a singular way in my early years as a teacher. 

 As I have said, I was anxious to promote original work, 

 and I therefore accepted the proposal made to me by 

 a young man, by name Pearson, who had previously 

 gone through a scientific training elsewhere, to under- 

 take the revision of the atomic weight of uranium, a 

 matter upon which chemists were then in doubt. After 

 a time I observed that, although his method of mani- 

 pulation was inaccurate, his numerical results tallied in 

 a suspicious manner with his preconceived notions. In 

 short, I came to the conclusion that he was " cooking" 

 his results. So I determined to catch him, and catch 

 him I did, to my own satisfaction and that of my 

 assistant, who witnessed the operation. I need not 

 detail the methods I employed or the precautions I 

 took ; suffice it to say that the proof of guilt was com- 

 plete. On being accused of the offence, which, of 

 course, is the gravest a worker in science can commit, 

 he indignantly denied the charge. But, on pressure 

 being brought to bear, he after a while confessed his 

 guilt. Now came my mistake. I let him off with a 

 severe reprimand. I refused, of course, to allow him to 

 stay with me, but I got no written confession. This 

 was, however, only the beginning of a " strange event- 

 ful history." He turned parson, and after some time 

 blossomed out into a vigorous and popular preacher, 

 and ingratiated himself with the late Dr. Parker, of 

 City Temple renown, then living in Manchester. Soon 

 reports of strange doings on Pearson's part alarmed 

 the Congregationalist body, and an investigation was 



