1840 Wm. Whewell; C. Wheat stone; L. Agassiz 329 



to, a vacancy was thereby created. Professor Christie, one 

 of the Secretaries of the Royal Society, and Professor Daniell, 

 Foreign Secretary of the Society, having expressed their 

 willingness to withdraw from the list of balloted members 

 and enter the ex qfficio list, their offer was accepted with 

 thanks for their kindness in promoting the interest of the 

 Club. Three vacancies were thus declared, and on a ballot 

 these were filled by the election of the Rev. William Whewell, 

 Professor Charles Wheatstone, and James Walker (F.R.S. 

 1828). 



The arrangement which had now become customary in 

 regard to the dinners in the autumn months was continued. 

 The attendance at these dinners this year was less satisfac- 

 tory. On July 2nd the Treasurer sat alone. In August four 

 members made their appearance, in September only two. 

 But thereafter a sudden rise took place, twelve assembling 

 on October ist, and fifteen on November 5th. The Club 

 was becoming less frequented at Christmas time than it 

 used to be. The Treasurer again dined in solitary state on 

 December 24th, and on December 3ist there was no 

 attendance at all. 



A few foreign visitors were invited to the Club this year. 

 On January Qth Sir John Herschel brought the Comte 

 Piccolomini. On March igth Mr. Guillemard introduced 

 Chevalier Bronsted. On October ist Professor Christie 

 entertained Professor Jacobi. Special interest attaches to 

 the visit of Louis Agassiz on igth November. The dis- 

 tinguished Swiss ichthyologist and glacialist had come to 

 England this summer and attended the meeting of the 

 British Association at Glasgow, where a remarkable company 

 of geologists was assembled. He made excursions with 

 Buckland into various parts of the Highlands and Low- 

 lands, and found evidence everywhere that Scotland had 

 been once encased in wide sheets of ice. It was after 

 collecting this evidence that on the 4th of November he 

 gave to the Geological Society an account of what he had 

 seen and of the inferences which he drew from it. His 

 address formed the starting-point of the investigation of 



