216 JAMES CLERK MAXWELL. [CHAP. VII. 



lieves. James did not say anything in the controversy 

 which followed his speech, as he was to meet Sir D. 

 Brewster at the Kamsays' afterwards, where he would have 

 his top and other apparatus to show him. 



To HIS FATHER. 



(After the Meeting of the British Association at Glasgow). 



Holbrooke, by Derby, %4tli Sept. 1S55. 



We had a paper from Brewster on the theory of three 

 colours in the spectrum, in which he treated Whewell with 

 philosophic pity, commending him to the care of Prof. 

 Wartman of Geneva, who was considered the greatest 

 authority in cases of his kind, cases in fact of colour-blind- 

 ness. Whewell was in the room, but went out, and avoided 

 the quarrel ; and Stokes made a few remarks, stating the 

 case not only clearly but courteously. However, Brewster 

 did not seem to see that Stokes admitted his experiments to 

 be correct, and the newspapers represented Stokes as calling 

 in question the accuracy of the experiments. 



I am getting my electrical mathematics into shape, and I 

 see through some parts which were rather hazy before ; but I 

 do not find very much time for it at present, because I am 

 reading about heat and fluids, so as not to tell lies in my 

 lectures. I got a note from the Society of Arts about the 

 platometer, awarding thanks, and offering to defray the ex- 

 penses to the extent of 10, on the machine being produced 

 in working order. When I have arranged it in my head, I 

 intend to write to James Bryson about it. 



I got a long letter from Thomson about colours and 

 electricity. He is beginning to believe in my theory about 

 all colours being capable of reference to three standard ones, 

 and he is very glad that I should poach on his electrical 

 preserves. 



Trin. Coll., 27th Sept. 1855. 



',,: . . It is difficult to keep up one's interest in intel- 

 lectual matters when friends of the intellectual kind are 



