TALK AT THE X CLUB 641 
In fact two distinguished scientific colleagues of mine once 
carried on a conversation (which I gravely ignored) across 
me, in the smoking room of the Athen^um, to this effect : 
' I say, A., do you know anything about the x Club ? ' 'Oh 
yes, B., I have heard of it. What do they do ? ' ' Well, 
they govern scientific affairs, and really, on the whole, they 
don't do it badly.' If my good fiiends could only have been 
present at a few of our meetings, they would have formed a 
much less exalted idea of us, and would, I fear, have been 
much shocked at the sadly frivolous tone of our ordinary 
conversation. 
Thus, in the minutes of December 5, 1885, already quoted, 
when Huxley as treasurer revived the early custom of making 
some notes of the conversation, we read : ' Talked politics, 
scandal, and the three classes of witnesses — ^liars, d — d liars, 
and experts. Huxley gave account of civil list pension. Sat 
to the unexampled hour of 10 p.m., except Lubbock, who 
had to go to Linnean.' 
In the minutes of the sixties and early seventies the notes 
of talk usually record the more serious subjects, especially the 
progress of science through education in schools, learned 
societies, and research. Thus at the first meeting there was 
discussed the reorganisation of the Beader, a journal in which 
the Young Guard of science were seeking a literary mouth- 
piece. Again ' the claims of several candidates now proposed 
for admission to the Athenaeum and Eoyal Society formed 
one of the subjects of conversation.' Later ' the present un- 
satisfactory mode of election of the Council of the Eoyal Society 
was discussed. Frankland, Hirst, and Spottiswoode expressed 
their intention of bringing the subject before the Council as 
soon as possible.' The subject recurs more than once in the 
minutes, and indeed it was subsequently ' agreed that the 
K.S. Council should form a subject of consideration at the 
October meeting of the Club each year ' ; while, when Huxley 
was President Elect of the British Association, the choice of 
presidents of the sections was discussed and a provisional list 
made out. 
So too ' Lubbock's proposition was discussed of the founda- 
