SECOND ORDINARY MEETING, ROYAL INSTITUTION, 17th October, 1859, The Rev. H. H. HIGGINS, M.A., President, in the Chair. The following resignations were received and accepted :William Fisher, Ph.D., Messrs. C. Botterill, W. Mackinlay, W. Keith, and G. Casey. Professor ARCHER submitted the skull of a gorilla, which had been received from Mr. Hutchinson, her Majesty's consul at Fernando Po. Also, a specimen of preserved cream from Switzerland, which on being opened was found to be in a perfectly fresh condition, though it had been in the bottle about four years. He explained that the mode in which it was prepared, by the Societé des Alpes, engaged in the manufacture, was simply by getting rid, through the agency of heat, of a species of animal ferment, the real cause of decomposition. He also called attention to some specimens of the "coal money" found at Kimeridge, in Dorsetshire, and read a communication on the subject from Mr. Mansel, in which the various conjectures as to their Roman, Belgic, or Phoenician origin, were examined. The material of which they were formed was a bituminous shale, and they bore every appearance of having been turned in a lathe. Mr. C. S. GREGSON exhibited a small case of entomological specimens, including Pterophorus Loewii, Zel; Tinea fuscescentella, Greg.; Tinea dubiella, Greg.; Homolota flavapes; Oxypoda formicilicola; Ptilium latum, Greg.; Monotama conicicollis; and Homolata anceps. The last five species were all taken from the débris of an ant's nest (Formica rufa) in Perthshire, and several were new to our fauna. The Rev. Mr. ROBBERDS drew attention to a brillant display of red aurora borealis upon Wednesday last, more diffused, he thought, than it generally is. Dr. THOMSON had seen, and there were recorded, very beautiful displays of deep red aurora which passed through the usual phases of that phenomenon; the arch expanding as the aurora borealis continued, culminating in the magnetic meridian, and having brilliant corruscations. Mr. HIGGINSON inquired if the aurora borealis had been seen by day, for certain forms of clouds conveyed the impression that if illuminated they would appear as auroral beams. Dr. THOMSON replied that the aurora borealis had not been seen by daylight, though it had frequently been observed; sometimes in this country, but more frequently in the polar regions. So universal was the sympathy between the aurora borealis and the magnetic needle, that acute observers were able to predict a display of the phenomenon by the vibrations of the needle during the day. The clouds referred to were known to meterologists by the name of polar bands, and the connexion between the aurora borealis and the precipitation of moisture in the higher regions of the atmosphere in the forms alluded to was more than hypothetical. The intimate connexion of the phenomena had struck Humboldt, Wrangel, Kämtz, Bravais, Martins, and other meteorologists.* The REV. HENRY H. HIGGINS, M.A., then proceeded to read his INAUGURAL ADDRESS. After a few preliminary sentences, chiefly occupied with an expression of thanks to the society for the honour they had done him in selecting him for the office of President, he said: The name of our Society suggests a very wide range of subjects-literature and philosophy; learning, acquaintance • See Dr. Thomson's "Introduction to Meteorology," p. 128. with the writings of distinguished men in all ages and languages; science in all its branches, but more especially the explanation of the reasons of things. An address of this kind is, however, expected to contain remarks, not so much upon the past state of literature and philosophy, as upon their progress, and upon the features which distinguish their advancement in the age in which we live. It is probable that no two observers, together contemplating a phenomenon so vast as the joint progress of literature and science, would be struck with the same characteristic. To me there is one of almost absorbing interest, the practical bearing of which is so important and extensive, that I cannot for a moment hesitate in selecting it to be my subject on the present occasion. I refer to the gradual disappearance, before the light of increasing knowledge, of limits and distinctions which were formerly supposed to be exact and permanent. My illustrations will be taken first from the domain of science. Between many extremes which were once considered to be wholly disconnected, it has long been known that no boundary line exists. Heat and cold, light and darkness, may be cited as examples. The Zero of our thermometers has perhaps never been regarded as anything beyond an imaginary line adopted for the sake of convenience. Yet for ages no doubt was entertained that the temperature of an object was the exact measure of the heat which it possessed. Nevertheless, temperature was subsequently found, to give no indication except of that portion of the heat which is termed sensible. Still, heat, whether latent or otherwise, was considered to be a distinct entity. How shall we regard the progress of knowledge, which has made us acquainted with the convertibility of heat into light, force, electricity, &c., but as the taking away of limits the reality of which was never so much as doubted! Light was thought to have its limit in darkness till it was known to be probable that darkness, even in the substance of the most solid bodies, is imperfect, and the existence of latent light was proved and beautifully illustrated by photography. The three primary colours obtained by the decomposition of white light were for a long time considered to be elementary, the intermediate hues of the spectrum being attributed to a kind of mechanical blending together in different proportions of the three primaries. This distinction, too, has passed away, and we have recently been made acquainted with an instrument which, by causing an extremely rapid succession of impressions of black and white to be made upon the eye, produces the appearance of colours varying with the velocity of the motion, thus practically exhibiting the intimate relations subsisting between the primary colours. Here, then, we have, in respect of heat and light, the removal of almost all the ancient boundaries. Let us now suppose in the earlier days of the scientific knowledge of light and heat it had been announced that there was no ultimate line of demarcation between the two, or between the primary colours--that temperature was no indication of the amount of heat present in a body—that light existed in the midst of solid substances, &c.-is it not more than probable the announcement would have been met with the objection, were such things possible utter confusion must be the result, and there would no longer be any certainty, any precision, in our knowledge of these things? Yet, as we now find, it is not so, these limits have been obliterated, but not a single fact has suffered loss either in optics or in thermal science. Possibly no scientific system ever was calculated to give to its alumni more intense gratification than the theory of chymical equivalents, soon after it was promulgated. The numbers expressing the proportions of combining atoms were so simple, and the way in which the results were aptly represented by a new nomenclature was so captivating, the discovery was hailed with enthusiasm, and pronounced to be complete. What would the discoverers say if they could see their theory in its present condition? The limits with which they surrounded the combining powers of the elements broken up, the compactness and simplicity of the system well nigh gone, the elements themselves shewing suspicious tendencies, and putting their character as elements into extreme peril. But has chymical science suffered ? Far from it. The atomic theory itself has certainly not become less valuable, though bereft of the symmetry which was at first thought to be its highest excellence. Certain limitations have disappeared; the elementary substances are not seen with such sharply-defined edges as they formerly wore; but a broader, firmer grasp has been laid upon the subject; it is far more truly a possession of science now, with its difficulties increased, than when it was considered to be almost without intricacy, and wholly free from anomaly. The results of abstract mathematical operations form a class by themselves, admitting nothing of an uncertain or indefinite character; hence the term exact, or pure, science, applied to this portion of our knowledge. It is not hard to see the reason of this. All such results, even the most complicated, partake of the nature of truisms; they may be read backwards or forwards, an exceptional result implying something exceptional in the process by which it has been obtained. Yet even amongst the simplest combinations of purely mathematical symbols may be found indications, that even that portion of truth which is capable of being represented by them cannot be circumscribed. Let us take for example -1, the symbol of impossibility, or, the symbol of infinity. The use that is made of these symbols in applied mathematics is well known and deeply interesting. The appearance |