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and the number of these was so much the greater because 

 he could use the language of everyone. This led to his 

 being invited to lecture on his work many times in Paris 

 and several times in Berlin, so that the circle of ac- 

 quaintance continually widened, and many cases of mere 

 acquaintance ripened into friendship. Hence he had a 

 large correspondence with friends in other countries, in 

 addition to the constant exchange of letters with his 

 relatives and several friends, with whom he had kept up 

 unbroken communication from the time of his youth. 

 And he was a delightful friend, always cheerful, inspiring, 

 enthusiastic, full of ideas, and ready to give information 

 or discuss any difficulty. A very rapid worker in experi- 

 ment, and possessed of a remarkable skill in working 

 glass and fitting together glass apparatus. 



Naturally many honours fell to his lot. Of these 

 perhaps the most notable was the Nobel Prize, not merely 

 on account of its considerable pecuniary value (nearly 

 8000), but by reason of the deliberation and formality 

 which precedes the award. In 1896 he was made Officier 

 de la Legion d'Honneur ; a K.C.B. in 1902 ; a Commander 

 of the Order of the Crown of Italy ; Knight of the Prus- 

 sian Order " Pour le Merite " ; and received honorary 

 degrees or honorary membership from a large number 

 of universities and academies. A complete list of these 

 distinctions is given at the end. 



Notwithstanding the strenuousness of his life and the 

 immense labour given to his teaching and research, 

 Ramsay retained generally good health and showed 



