146 
unwearied attentions. I live in hope to see them do credit 
to their instructor; and on some future occasion to prove 
themselves no despicable mathematicians. At present you 
have no sons of your own, and until the time arrives when 
some sturdy brat shall scream Papa I must view you in the 
light I have always done, as a second father to my children. 
I sat down to write you a few lines about the pillars, it has 
turned out a long letter, which altho’ of some slight interest 
to myself is nevertheless unworthy of postage. I must 
therefore look out for a frank, and remain 
Ever faithfully yours, 
W. Fairbatrn. 
I have a scheme in embryo, which I think I shall rumi- 
nate on, namely, an account or disquisition upon our iron 
ship building, accompanied with a few readable experiments 
for the Association. I will want you to put a correcting 
hand to the document in order to prevent it turning out the 
mountain in labour. 
“ On Aurin,” by Tt. S. Dale, B. A„ and C. Schorlemmer, 
F.RS. 
In a paper read before this Society, on 31st October, 1871, 
we gave a short account of this colouring matter, which was 
discovered by Kolbe and Schmitt in 1861. We showed 
that the commercial product, which is called aurin or 
corallin, and is obtained by heating of phenol with sul- 
phuric acid and oxalic acid, is a mixture of different bodies 
from which we isolated a colouring matter which crystallised 
exceedingly well and for which we retained the name of 
Aurin.* The analysis of this body gave numbers agreeing 
with the formula C 2 oH 14 0 3) from which we concluded that 
it was produced by the action of nascent carbonic oxide on 
phenol : 
* A full account of this investigation is found in Journ. Chem. Soc. 
(21, XI., 434.) 
