540 THE JOUKNEY TO PALESTINE 
and allies of Tyndall ; Sir John Lubbock and Spottiswoode ^ 
were later friends of them all. 
, The one purpose of the club was to afford a definite meeting 
point for a few friends who were in danger of drifting apart 
in the flood of busy lives. But it was in itself a representative 
group of scientific men destined to play a large part in the 
history of science. Five of them received the Eoyal Medal ; 
three the Copley, the highest scientific award ; one the Kumford ; 
six w^ere Presidents of the British Association, three Associates 
of the Institute of France, and from amongst them the Koyal 
Society chose a Secretary, a Foreign Secretary, a Treasurer, 
and three successive Presidents. 
I think, originally [writes Huxley, I.e.] there was some 
vague notion of associating representatives of each branch 
of science ; at any rate, the nine who eventually came 
together could have managed, among us, to contribute inost 
of the articles to a scientific Encyclopaedia. 
As I have written elsewhere, they included leading repre- 
sentatives of half a dozen branches of science — mathematics, 
physics, philosophy, chemistry, botany, and biology ; and all 
were animated by similar ideas of the high function of science, 
and of the great Society which should be the chief representa- 
tive of science in this country. However unnecessary, it was 
perhaps not unnatural that a certain jealousy of the club and 
its possible influence grew up in some quarters. But what- 
ever influence fell to it as it were incidentally — and earnest 
men with such opportunities of mutual understanding and 
such ideals of action could not fail to have some influence on 
the progress of scientific organisation — it was assuredly not 
sectarian nor exerted for party purposes during the twenty- 
eight years of the club's existence. 
• I beheve that the x [continues Huxley] had the credit 
of being a sort of scientific caucus, or ring, with some people. 
1 William Spottiswoode (1825-83) was an accomplished mathematician and 
physicist as well as a man of business. He succeeded his father as Queen's 
Printer in 1846, and after being Treasurer became President of the Royal Society 
1878-83, following Hooker and preceding Huxley, His great personal charm 
endeared him to his friends. 
