TALK AT THE X CLUB 541 



In fact two distinguished scientific colleagues of mine once 

 carried on a conversation (which I gravely ignored) across 

 me, in the smoking room of the Athenaeum, to this effect : 

 * I say, A., do you know anything about the x Club ? ' 'Oh 

 R. yes, B., I have heard of it. What do they do ? ' * Well, 

 p. they govern scientific affairs, and really, on the whole, they 

 don't do it badly.' If my good friends could only have been 

 present at a few of our meetings, they would have formed a 

 much less exalted idea of us, and would, I fear, have been 

 much shocked at the sadly frivolous tone of our ordinary- 

 conversation. 



Thus, in the minutes of December 5, 1885, already quoted, 

 when Huxley as treasurer revived the early custom of making 

 some notes of the conversation, we read : * Talked politics, 

 scandal, and the three classes of witnesses — ^liars, d — d liars, 

 and experts. Huxley gave account of civil list pension. Sat 

 to the unexampled hour of 10 p.m., except Lubbock, who 

 had to go to Linnean.' 



In the minutes of the sixties and early seventies the notes 

 of talk usually record the more serious subjects, especially the 

 progress of science through education in schools, learned 

 societies, and research. Thus at the first meeting there was 

 discussed the reorganisation of the Beader, a journal in which 

 the Young Guard of science were seeking a literary mouth- 

 piece. Again ' the claims of several candidates now proposed 

 for admission to the AthensBum and Eoyal Society formed 

 one of the subjects of conversation.' Later * the present un- 

 j satisfactory mode of election of the Council of the Eoyal Society 

 *\^ was discussed. Frankland, Hirst, and Spottiswoode expressed 

 their intention of bringing the subject before the Council as 

 soon as possible.' The subject recurs more than once in the 

 minutes, and indeed it was subsequently ' agreed that the 

 K.S. Council should form a subject of consideration at the 

 October meeting of the Club each year ' ; while, when Huxley 

 was President Elect of the British Association, the choice of 

 presidents of the sections was discussed and a provisional list 

 made out. 



-So too ' Lubbock's proposition was discussed of the founda- 



