138 THE LIFE OF JAMES D. FORBES. [CHAP. 



A few of liis letters about this time will illustrate the 

 nature of his intercourse with these young friends : 



To THOMAS CLEGHORN, ESQ. 



1 THE DEAN HOUSE, Oct. 22nd, 1836. 



"... When I had the pleasure of seeing you here in 

 May last, .you suggested the possibility of establishing a 

 society of an academical character for the special object 

 of encouraging a taste for physical science. You may 

 perhaps not have thought much on the subject since, 

 but I assure you that the more that I reflect upon the 

 chances of success of such an undertaking, and the im- 

 portance of which it might ultimately prove, the more I 

 feel disposed to encourage any well-devised scheme for 

 attaining the object in view. I have often and ma- 

 turely thought of it since, and I write to say that if 

 you feel disposed to prosecute your own suggestion, you 

 may reckon upon my cordial co-operation. 



* So far as I recollect, the desideratum which you and 

 some of your companions have felt was of a purely 

 academical character. It had no similarity to those 

 societies of which one or two already exist, and whose 

 object is to imitate exactly the great scientific asso- 

 ciations of the country. Your object seemed to be to 

 have a society which should encourage the taste and 

 give facilities for physical studies by the union of 

 kindred minds, rather than to pretend to the more 

 arduous task of extending the boundaries of human 

 knowledge. . . . 



{ I have thought of no means so fit as your suggestion 

 of a society which might act energetically in two 

 ways : (1), by inducing a careful study of experimental 

 essays Newton's Optics, for example in order to take 

 a share in a discussion which might be raised upon any 

 disputable point in experimental investigation, of which 

 there are thousands ; and (2), by providing from the funds 

 of the society instruments of a simpler kind, but which 

 are yet too costly for the easy purchase of an individual ; 

 for instance, a barometer and an electrical machine. Also, 



