JUNE 8, 1899] 
NATURE 
129 
for their hospitality in granting the use of the Hall, and 
Dr. Butler replied on behalf of the College. 
In addition to the guests who were more directly asso- 
ciated with the celebration of the jubilee, the following 
were present at the banquet :—Mr. Justice Mathew, the 
High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire, the Lord Lieutenant of 
Cambridgeshire, the Bishop of Ely, the Right Hon. 
A. J. Balfour, and many other distinguished guests. 
This dinner brought the official proceedings to an end, 
but on Monday a meeting of the Philosophical Society 
was held for the presentation of papers to be published in 
a special volume of the Society’s 7yansactions commem- 
orative of the long connection of Sir G. G. Stokes with the 
Society. The following are amongst those who formally 
communicated papers :— 
I. By Prof. M, G. Mittag-Leffer: On the analytical 
representation of a uniform branch of a monogenic 
function. 
II. By Prof. H. Poincaré : 
By Dr. L. Boltzmann : 
By Prof, A. Righi : 
V. By Prof. A. A. Michelson : 
scope. 
The theory of groups. 
On the echelon spectro- 
VI. By Major P. A. Macmahon, R.A.: Application of the 
partition analysis to the study of the properties of 
any system of consecutive integers. 
VII. By Lord Kelvin: On diffraction of solitary waves. 
VIII. By Prof. A. Schuster: On the periodogram of mag- 
netic declination derived from twenty-five years’ 
observations at the Greenwich Observatory. 
IX. By Prof. W. D. Niven: <A general method of deter- 
mining free electric distributions by successive 
approximations. 
X. By Prof. G. D. Liveing: The influence of temperature 
on the absorption spectra of salts. 
XI. By Prof. A. R. Forsyth: On the integrals of systems 
of differential equations. 
XII. By Mr. J. Larmor: On the general theory of the 
optical relations of magnetism. 
Together with papers by Prof. J. J. Thomson, Dr. E. W. Hob- 
son, Mr. E. H. Griffiths, Mr. W. N. Shaw, Mr. E. W. Brown, 
and Mr. H. M. Macdonald. 
In conclusion, it may be stated that from beginning 
to end the celebration was a complete success. The 
weather played an important part in securing this 
success, but the thanks of all who assisted at the 
jubilee must also be tendered to those at Cambridge who 
took such careful forethought for their convenience and 
comfort. 
The Cambridge Review for June 1 publishes several 
contributions referring to the jubilee, and issues as a 
special supplement an excellent portrait of Sir George 
Stokes. Prof. J. J. Thomson gives an appreciative 
account of the scientific career and work of the es- 
teemed Lucasian Professor. In concluding the article, 
he remarks ;— 
“By his researches on hydrodynamics he has founded 
a new branch of the science ; in optics he has, to use the 
words of Lord Kelvin, been the teacher and guide of his 
contemporaries ; he was the first to enunciate in his lec- 
tures the principles on which spectrum analysis is 
founded; he unravelled the laws of fluorescence ; he 
investigated the variation of gravity over the surface of 
the earth ; he has solved problems of the greatest diffi- 
culty in pure mathematics ; while the latest of his long 
series of researches is his remarkable paper on the nature 
of the Rontgen rays. His papers are the classics of 
science ; they are remarkable, not only for the results 
obtained, but also for their perfect clearness of expression 
and thought, for the elegance of the mathematical 
methods, for their maturity of judgment and for that care 
and finish on which so much of the impressiveness of a 
paper depends. 
The little more and how much It is, 
The little less and what worlds away. 
NO. 1545, VOL. 60] 
These researches show the combination of supreme 
mathematical and experimental power; with simple 
apparatus and without the appliances which are now at 
the command of physicists, he has made experiments 
which have settled some of the most crucial points in 
optics, and which will be quoted as long as science exists. 
The rooms in Pembroke, where he made many of his 
experiments, will in the history of science and of the 
University be associated with those in the Old Court of | 
Trinity, where Newton made the prism reveal the nature 
of white light. And, indeed, there are many points of 
resemblance between the careers of Newton and of 
Stokes : both held the Lucasian Professorship, both were 
Presidents of the Royal Society, both represented the 
University in Parliament ; and the resemblance is not 
confined to the offices they held, it extends to their type 
of mind. Often, in reading Stokes’s papers, we feel this 
is just how Newton would have treated this point, these 
are the deductions which Newton would have drawn.” 
Prof. Jebb contributes the following ode to the Cam- 
bridge Review. 
To SIR GEORGE GABRIEL STOKES. 
JUNE I, 1899. 
Clear mind, strong heart, true servant of the light, 
True to that light within the soul, whose ray, 
Pure and serene, hath brightened on thy way, 
Honour and praise now crown thee on the height 
Of tranquil years. Forgetfulness and night 
Shall spare thy fame, when, in some larger day 
Of knowledge yet undream’d, time makes a prey 
Of many a deed and name that once were bright. 
Thou, without haste or pause, from youth to age, 
Hast moved with sure steps to thy goal. And thine 
That sure renown which sage confirms to sage, 
Borne from afar. Yet wisdom shows a sign 
Greater, through all thy life, than glory’s wage ; 
Thy strength has rested on the Love Divine. 
CENTENARY OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTION. 
HE celebration of the centenary of the foundation 
of the Royal Institution was commenced on 
Monday by a banquet given by the managers of the 
Institution in the Hall of the Merchant Taylors’ Com- 
pany. The Duke of Northumberland, president of the 
Institution, occupied the chair. The Prince of Wales 
was present, and a number of distinguished men of 
science were among the guests. Reference to a few 
points connected with the history and work of the In- 
stitution were made in the course of the evening. In 
acknowledging the toast of his health, the Prince of 
Wales said : 
I consider it a great privilege and honour to take part, as 
vice-patron of this Institution, in the celebration of its 1ooth 
anniversary. I had an early acquaintance with the Royal 
Institution. Although it is nearly half a century ago, I have 
not forgotten that just after Christmas my brother, the Duke of 
Coburg, and myself were sent to attend the lectures given by 
the great Prof. Michael Faraday. I have not forgotten the 
clear way in which Prof. Faraday explained difficult scientific 
problems, and showed the chemical experiments which were 
then the order of the day. Among the most remarkable dis- 
coveries with which the Institution is associated is that of Davy, 
which has saved thousands of lives. It is needless to speak of 
the researches of Faraday, whom I knew; and in our own 
time of the remarkable achievements in several branches of 
science of Lord Rayleigh. I thank you once more most cor- 
dially, and express my high appreciation of this great and 
important centenary event. I am glad also to see so many 
distinguished foreigners who have come over to take part in 
this interesting gathering. 
The Duke of Cambridge proposed ‘‘ The Royal Institution of 
Great Britain,” and in doing so remarked that the declared 
object of the Institution was the diffusion of knowledge and the 
