UNIVEKSITY COLLEGE, LONDON 117 



" The Leeds Meeting of the British Association in 1890 is 

 memorable as marking the first Ionic invasion of England in 

 the persons of van't Hoff and Ostwald. It was, of course, 

 in the early days of the ionic theory of solution and I 

 remember Ostwald remarking that the united ages of him- 

 self, van't Hoff and Arrhenius were then less than a hundred 

 years. 



Ramsay and Ostwald met for the first time as fellow-guests 

 in my house, which became accordingly a sort of cyclonic centre 

 of the polemical storm that raged during the whole week. No 

 meeting within my experience has more fully illustrated the fact 

 that the most interesting and stimulating proceedings of the British 

 Association are those which occur outside the section rooms. 

 The discussion was, as I have said, incessant. I remember 

 conducting a party to Fountains Abbey on the Saturday and 

 hearing nothing but talk of the ionic theory amid the beauties 

 of Studley Royal. The climax, however, was reached the next 

 day Sunday. The discussion began at luncheon when Fitz- 

 gerald raised the question of the molecular integrity of the salt 

 in the soup and walked round the table with a diagram to con- 

 found van't Hoff and Ostwald. After luncheon the party 

 adjourned to the garden and was gradually increased by the 

 arrival of strolling philosophers until it assumed quite large 

 proportions. I regret that at this distance of time I cannot 

 recall the names, but I believe it included, in addition to Ramsay 

 and those named, Lodge, Armstrong, Pickering, Otto Pettersson, 

 and there were others. 



The discussion continued throughout the afternoon with 

 alternating vehemence and hilarity. I have a particular recol- 

 lection of Fitzgerald walking restlessly about with his hand 

 clasped on his brow and declaring in his rich Irish brogue, ' I 

 can't see where the energy comes from.' Ramsay, as you can 

 imagine, was no silent spectator. Being a convinced ionist, he 

 was eager in helping out the expositions of Ostwald, whose 



