288 Presidentship of Sir Humphry Davy 1826 



and each brought a guest, so Sir Everard secured a party 

 of eight in the dull season. 



There are indications, moreover, of the rise of a custom 

 among the philosophers to take a short recess at Easter 

 and even also at Whitsuntide, for during those weeks the 

 meetings were now beginning to be but thinly attended. 



The Baron Domenique Jean Larrey, one of the greatest 

 military surgeons of the age, accompanied by his son, dined 

 with the Club on September 28th on the invitation of Sir 

 Everard Home. He had served through Napoleon's cam- 

 paigns and distinguished himself, not only by his great 

 surgical skill and faculty of organisation, but by the superb 

 bravery which he showed in succouring the wounded on 

 the field of battle. At Wagram Napoleon was so struck 

 with his devotion that he created him Baron on the spot. 

 Taken prisoner at Waterloo he ran great risk of being shot 

 by the Germans, but being brought to Blucher, whose son 

 he had once saved, he was set at liberty and protected by 

 an escort. After the war he continued to devote himself 

 to the improvement of the medical arrangements in the 

 French army and military hospitals in France and Algeria, 

 and wrote many valuable contributions to military surgery. 

 He lived until 1842 and died at Lyons at the age of seventy- 

 six. 



Sir Alexander Johnston took much pains to search out 

 foreign visitors and to introduce them to the Club. On 

 the I3th April he brought Count Einsiedelen and a fortnight 

 later " Mr. Bertolacci." The latter was probably the son 

 of the president of the supreme court of Corsica, and had 

 been employed by the British Government as administrator 

 of Ceylon. His hard work there, combined with the enervat- 

 ing influence of the tropical climate, compelled him at last 

 to return to Europe. He lived for a time in this country 

 and wrote here some works on political economy, and also 

 in 1828 after the battle of Navarino a chivalrous little tract, 

 in which he strongly advocated the closest alliance between 

 Britain and France a " terrae marisque connubium," in 

 which the two great powers, continental and maritime, 



