14 
ADLER. 
room in the Smithsonian building which should be devoted 
to these collections. His death came at a time when the 
realization of this idea of his was about to have fruition. 
lie had for many years been in the habit of going annu- 
ally to Europe, and this personal contact with the scientific 
men of England and of the continent and the reputation 
that his researches had brought to him and to the Institu- 
tion, and his increased zeal in pushing forward the Exchange 
Service, led to a great enhancement of the international rep- 
utation of the Institution. 
It was my rare good fortune to accompany Mr. Langley 
upon two of his European trips — first in 1894 and again in 
1898. Upon the first occasion I heard him read before the 
Physical and Astronomical Sections of the British Associa- 
tion for the Advancement of Science a paper describing his 
work on the infra-red spectrum. The meeting was held at 
Oxford, and the hall, holding some 250 persons, was crowded. 
He spoke very simply and without notes, describing the ap- 
paratus that he had devised and brought together and the 
results that had been attained; and so vivid was his statement 
and so forceful that at the conclusion of his remarks the sup- 
posedly stolid Englishmen who composed the audience arose 
almost in a body and cheered. At a meeting of the Physical 
Section on the same occasion he discussed the future of aerial 
navigation. The session was held under the chairmanship of 
the late Lord Salisbury, Premier of Great Britain and that 
year President of the Association, and the discussion that 
followed was participated in by Lord Kelvin, Lord Rayleigh, 
and Sir Hiram Maxim, none of whom dissented from the 
views which Mr. Langley expressed. 
None regretted more keenly that he that of the many 
great benefactions which came to American science few, if 
any, found their way to the funds of the Smithsonian In- 
stitution; so that relatively the activities of the Institution 
proper were not increased in the United States commensurate 
with the growth of other scientific organizations, though it 
should be said that after the original foundation the only 
important addition to the Smithsonian funds, that received 
