1885 LETTERS TO SIR M. FOSTER 421 



On the same subject he writes to Sir M. Foster : 



Obedience be hanged. It would not lie in my mouth, 

 as the lawyers say, to object to anybody's getting his own 

 way if he can. 



If Clark had not been a personal friend of mine I 

 should not have hesitated a moment about deciding in his 

 favour. Under the circumstances it was quite clear what 

 I should do if I were forced to decide, and I thought it 

 would have been kindly and courteous to the President 

 if he had been let off the necessity of making a decision 

 which was obviously disagreeable to him. 



If, on the other hand, it was wished to fix the respon- 

 sibility of what happened on him, I am glad that he had 

 the opportunity of accepting it. I never was more clear 

 as to what was the right thing to do. 



So also at other times ; he writes in September to 

 Sir M. Foster, the Secretary, with reference to even- 

 ing gatherings at which smoking should be permitted. 



BOURNEMOUTH, Sept. 17, 1885. 



I am not at all sure that I can give my blessing to 

 the " Tabagie." When I heard of it I had great doubts 

 as to its being a wise move. It is not the question of 

 " smoke " so much, as the principle of having meetings in 

 the Society's rooms, which are not practically (whatever 

 they may be theoretically), open to all the fellows, and 

 which will certainly be regarded as the quasi-private 

 parties of one of the officers. You will have all sorts of 

 jealousies roused, and talk of a clique, etc. 



When I was Secretary the one thing I was most care- 

 ful to avoid was the appearance of desiring to exert any 

 special influence. But there was a jealousy of the x Club, 

 and only the other day, to my great amusement, I was 

 talking to an influential member of the Royal Society 

 Club about the possibility of fusing it with the PhiL Club, 



