4 W. M. HAMLET. 



vortex of credulity and the whirlpool of falsehood, from that 

 whirling Eddy that deludes itself under the pretence of 

 Science and forsooth calls itself Christian, may the world 

 be soon delivered ! Verily is credulity a sloughing sore 

 that demands the powerful cautery of satire and exposure ! 



But it is not necessary to dilate further on superstition 

 and fraud: let us turn to brighter things, for there is happily 

 a nobler subject before us to night, namely the presentment 

 of the progress of science during the past year; for super- 

 stition based on constructive credulity has grown to be 

 incongruous with intelligence, and Teufelsdrockh may now 

 look down into the nebulous haze, and see the shining 

 shafts of light, for lo ! the search-light of science sweeps 

 round upon the wasp's nest, and the people walking in 

 darkness shall behold at last the light. We rejoice to 

 report that science is slowly but surely overcoming the 

 inertia of ignorance, and the yearly progress of scientific 

 work shows that great advances have been made. The 

 work of the Royal Society is sharply divided into two 

 divisions: — First, contributions to original research, and 

 secondly, the delivery of popular science lectures, whereby 

 the net results of scientific activity are put into commend- 

 ably plain speech within the comprehension and under- 

 standing of ordinary people. May I put before you some 

 of the work now engaging the study and attention of some 

 of our workers in New South Wales ? 



It is the work of men in the very forefront of the battle, 

 valiantly fighting on the frontier of the limitless country 

 of the unknown; and the victories gained are chiefly due to 

 the advance made in physics and physical methods; we find 

 this permeating all branches of scientific work. Even in 

 the most superficial survey of say, modern physiological 

 literature, it is at once apparent that physics and chemistry 

 underlie the whole of the work. It has now become the 



