156 COPLEY MEDAL. 



Mr. Binney, Drs. Schunck and Angus Smith and Mr. Gaskell. 

 Dr. Roscoe (Sir Henry) and Mr. Baxendell were Secretaries. 

 With all these Joule was on terms of intimate friendship. 

 Sir Henry Roscoe's affection for Joule was rather that of a 

 son for his father than of Secretary for President. He used 

 to get Joule, whose life at this time was very retired, to 

 come and dine with him not infrequently, and whenever 

 any foreign or non-resident savant happened to be in 

 Manchester. On such occasions Joule's eminently sociable 

 -disposition would appear. He would take a lively part in 

 the discussion of any general topic, and although conserva- 

 tive in his views, would show himself perfectly amiable 

 and tolerant of the views of others. At such, and other 

 times, when his mind unbent, he would chat away and 

 talk intelligent nonsense in discussing a paradox with the 

 greatest pleasure and child-like simplicity. 



At this time Joule was in possession of his usual health, 

 and showed no signs of having suffered from his long- 

 continued labours. 



In 1870, Joule received that Blue Ribbon of English 

 science — the Copley medal ; and in the same year was 

 elected corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences, 

 Institute of France, besides being again Vice-President of 

 the British Association. 



The fact that only one Copley medal is awarded each 

 year conveys no idea of the honour which it confers on an 

 Englishman, as it is open to all the world, and it only falls 

 to an Englishman about once in three years. Thus it was 

 awarded Darwin in 1864, Wheatstone in 1868, and Joule in 

 1870, Silvester in 1880, Cayley in 1882, and Thomson in 

 1883. 



These honours caused the greatest delight in the 



