270 SIR WILLIAM RAMSAY 



AMERICA IN 1912. 



This last visit to America differed in many ways 

 from previous visits, and was perhaps the one Ramsay 

 enjoyed the most. All the previous journeys were made 

 at lightning speed, everything having to be done in a 

 very limited time. 



As retiring President, Ramsay had arranged to attend 

 the triennial meeting of the International Chemical Con- 

 gress at New York in September of this year, and he 

 obtained leave of absence from University College for 

 a great part of the autumn term. He had, therefore, 

 nearly four months at his disposal, and determined to 

 spend the time in seeing parts of America that he had 

 never seen before. This was made the more easy by 

 the fact that he had been asked to be one of the lecturers 

 at the opening of the Rice Institute in Texas in October, 

 and to deliver a course of the Lowell Lectures in Boston 

 at the end of that month and the beginning of November. 

 These engagements all fitted in, giving intervals of 

 leisure, so that there was plenty of diversified interest 

 and yet no feeling of hurry, while the fees for the 

 lectures removed all difficulties in the way of a very 

 enjoyable holiday. 



On the 9th of August the Ramsays started from Liver- 

 pool on the Tunisian. Previous voyages had been timed 

 to suit meetings of the British Association, 1884 and 

 1897, and the Society of Chemical Industry in 1904, 

 and on these occasions the ship had been full of colleagues 



