PROFESSOR TYNDALL. 647 



cepted the happy suggestion of our mathematicians to call it the 

 x Club; and the proposal of some genius among us, that we 

 should have no rules, save the unwritten law not to have any, was 

 carried by acclamation. Later on, there were attempts to add 

 other members, which at last became wearisome, and had to be 

 arrested by the agreement that no proposition of that kind should 

 be entertained, unless the name of the new member suggested 

 contained all the consonants absent from the names of the old 

 ones. In the lack of Slavonic friends this decision put an end to 

 the possibility of increase. Once in the year there was an outing, 

 to which our respective wives were invited. 



If I remember rightly, the meetings of the x Club began early 

 in the sixties. They were steadily continued for some twenty 

 years, before our ranks began to thin ; and, one by one, " geistige 

 Naturen " (departed spirits), such as those for which the poet * so 

 willingly paid the ferryman, silent but not unregarded, took the 

 vacated places. Tyndall was a constant attendant and a great 

 promoter of vivacious conversation, until his health failed. Two 

 years ago, a deep gloom was cast over one of our meetings by the 

 receipt of a telegram to the effect that he had but few hours to 

 live, and his partial recovery, at that time, was a marvel to all 

 who knew his condition. I believe that the " x " had the credit of 

 being a sort of scientific caucus, or ring, with some people. 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, yes, B, I have heard of 

 it. What do they do ? " " Well, 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. Assuredly Tyndall did not usually 

 help us to be serious. 



But I must bring these brief and too hurried reminiscences to 

 a close. I believe that ample materials exist, and will be used, 

 for a fitting biography : indeed, the putting these materials into 

 autobiographical form was the final piece of work to which Tyn- 



* " Nimm dann Fahrmann, Take, ferryman, 



Nimm die Miethe Take triple fare, 



Die ich gerne dreifach biete : Which I freely offer thee ; 



Zwei, die eben iiberfuhren, Two who just went over 



Waren geistige Naturen." Were departed spirits. 



I quote from memory ; but it is long since I read these verses, and more likely than not 

 the citation errs. 



