496 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



wise to write in anger, and still less to print what is thus written, and 

 Captain Noble's letter is a striking exami^le of this. In addition to charges 

 of " impudence " and a reflection on the Council for which there was no 

 foundation, the letter contained the assertion that the period from the 

 middle of February to the middle of April was four months, which 

 sufficiently shows the state of mind in which it was written. 



The unkindest cut of all came, however, not from the enemy, but from 

 a friend, Captain Noble's own editor, who after very impartially publishing 

 a further letter * from " One Who Knows," closed the discussion with the 

 following remark : — 



" This ends this matter. Our space is too precious to devote to 

 " the endless discussion of the merits or shortcomings of other 

 " publications of no interest to one in a hundred of our readers." 



We are sure every Fellow will agree in the very sensible view of the 

 editor, and it is only left to wonder why when Captain Noble had such a 

 plain course open to him, he should have adopted one which exposed him 

 to the well-deserved criticism we have quoted. 



The matter, moreover, does not end with the manifestation of its puerility. 

 Never having troubled to obtain an answer to his inquiry. Captain Noble 

 remained in ignorance of the cause of the delay in issuing the index, and 

 hence was led to deal with the matter in a way which he would otherwise 

 not have done, thus exposing himself to be considered not a little inhumane, 

 though we are sure such a charge would in reality be unjust. Whatever 

 his temperament, we are satisfied he would be among the last to, for 

 instance, dance a pas des foiis at the funeral of his neighbour. We are 

 gratified to know that we have the sympathy of such of the Fellows as are 

 aware of the cause of the delay, and notwithstanding the justification 

 which Captain Noble has given for supposing the contrary, we are sure 

 that if he had only taken the same trouble to get an answer as he did to 

 ask the question we should have had his sympathies also. We only cite 

 the fact to show how more than ridiculous his proceeding has been, whether 

 looked at from the light of his position of a Fellow of the Society or even 

 as an outsider. 



In writing these lines we have had no desire to press harshly upon 

 Captain Noble. Though we cannot flatter ourselves that (at the moment at 

 any rate) he will pay much heed to any remarks from ourselves, we have 

 certainly a hope that the expression of opinion from his own editor will 

 have more weight, so that he may not find himself again in such an un- 

 dignified position. Our object in writing is similar to that which suggested 

 in olden times the fixing of the heads of misguided persons on Temple Bar. 

 They, poor wretches, were beyond the influence of example. The ghastly 

 display was solely intended pour encourager les autres. If others are 

 tempted to enter on such a proceeding as that on which we are now com- 

 menting, we invite their perusal of this note and ask them to consider the 

 moral it points before launching on the world in print a discussion " of no 

 " interest to one in a hundred of their readers." 



Bernard, J. G. — Histoire des Microscopes; ce que leur doit la Medecine. (History 

 of Microscoijcs ; wliat Medicine owes to them.) 



[I. 1. History of simple Microscopes, the solar Microscope, and compound Micro- 

 scopes, before achromatism. 2. Construction of lenses, achromatism, methods 

 of illumination. 3. Simple and compound Microscopes after achromatism. 

 4. Accessories. H. 1. What Medicine owed to the Microscope before Schwann. 

 2. And since Schwann. Recent discoveries, future of medicine. 1 



iv. and 145 pp. aud 1 pi., 8vo, Paris, 1886. 



* Eng. Mech., xlv. (1887) p. 242. 



