HATCHETT. 57 



upon committees, whenever points of chemistry or other sciences 

 were to be discussed. In 1818, he formed one of the commission, 

 comprising amongst others Dr. Wollaston, Sir Joseph Banks, Sir 

 William Congreve, Davies Gilbert, &c., appointed to authorize an 

 inquiry into the best means of preventing the forgery of bank 

 notes ; he was also one of the chemists (consisting of Brande, 

 Hatchett, Wollaston, and Young) who met at Sir Joseph Banks's 

 house, to decide on the respective merits of Sir Humphry Davy and 

 George Stephenson, in the matter of the safety-lamp. 



Besides his scientific attainments, Hatchett possessed great con- 

 versational powers ; he was good-humoured, full of drollery, and 

 never at fault for some jocular or pleasant story, to amuse the 

 company he might be with. At the Royal Society Club, of which 

 he was a member, he was a great favourite, particularly with Sir 

 Joseph Banks, who, after Dr. Johnson, used to call him a clubable 

 man. Sir John Barrow gives the following anecdote : That " one day, 

 at the club, Hatchett amused us with the story of a dream, which 

 he prefaced by saying that, although it was * such stuff as dreams 

 are made of,' it still contained a reality in its conclusion, which had 

 very much distressed him. He dreamt that he had lost his way, 

 but came to a dark and dismal-looking building, into which he 

 passed through a forbidding sort of gate, opened by a black-looking 

 porter, who closed it immediately after him. He walked on, and 

 everywhere observed clumps of ill-looking people skirmishing and 

 fighting, while a little beyond were other groups, weeping and in 

 great distress ; further on still were flames of fire. Beginning to 

 think he had got into a very bad place, he endeavoured to retrace 

 his steps and get out again ; but the black doorkeeper refused to let 

 him pass. A furious fight ensued, and he pummelled the negro - 

 looking rascal, first with one fist and then with another. At length 

 he was brought to his senses by a scream, which, to his dismay, 

 proceeded from his poor wife, and he found that, instead of pum- 

 melling the black doorkeeper, he had given Mrs. Hatchett a black 

 eye." 



In 1809, Mr. Hatchett was elected one of the chosen few of the 

 Literary Club, originally instituted by Dr. Johnson and Sir Joshua 

 Reynolds ; and on the death of Dr. Burney, in 1829, was appointed 

 to the chief official station of treasurer to the elub. 



In 1810 he took up his residence at Belle Viie House, Chelsea, 

 where he continued for the remainder of his life, which terminated 

 in 1847, Mr. Hatchett having then attained the advanced age of 

 eighty-two. Sketches of the Royal Society and Royal Society Club, 

 by Sir John Barrow, Bart., FM.S. London, 1849. 



D 3 



