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Current Topics.*
audits cultivation will at all times compensate for the toil and time expended in its pursuit . In the course of the twelve months which have elapsed since the last annual inauguration of our meetings , death has by no means spared the ranks of those who have been interested in , or who have indirectly assisted , our pursuits . A short notice of the more distinguished of those persons may , perhaps , suggest to many lessons of deep significance , both morally and artistically , and I hope ,
therefore , you will bear ivith me whilst I pay the the following short tribute to the memories of our late fellow workers : — The losses of our profession , this year , have been of a threefold character ; we have lost coadjutors in the more recondite branches of archteology , in the more abstruse branches of mechanical , chemical , and physical sciences , and from amongst our own immediate ranks . Amongst the former may he cited the names of Baron JBunsen , of the Earl of Aberdeen , and of Sir Francis Palgrave ; in
the ranks of scientific men connected directly or indirectly with our studies we miss such men as Wertheim , Vicat , Sir William Pasley , Eaton , Hcdgkinson , Berthier , and Sir William Cubitt ; whilst , amongst our own colleagues , we have to regret the loss of Professor Hosking , Mr . John Clayton , Mr . Henry Austin , our late esteemed solicitor and valued friend , Mr . W . L . Donaldson , Mr . George Bailey , and "Mr . Robert Grainger , of Newcastle . The researches of Baron Bunsenwhom I name firstbecause
, , his death occurred first in the order of time in cur sad list ( he died on 2 Sfch JKovember , 1863 ) , have , as you must be . aware , tended greatly to clear the obscurity which surrounded the history of that marvellous system of civilisation of Egypt , and also to throw some light upon tiie early history of the Church during the existence of the Roman Empire . The learned works upon " The Place of Egypt in the World's History , " and upon " Hippolytus and his Age , " maybe referred to as illustrations of the patient investigation , and
ofthe wide range of study requisite for the comprehension of the more obscure periods in the history of our race , and though the minute detail with which the various questions involved are discussed , at times renders the writings of Bunsen slightly wearisome ; yet our confidence in the results so obtained must be increased by the conviction of the conscientious examination their author must have bestowed on them . Bunsen does not seem to have been much of an artist , and he does not , therefore , dwell upon the influence of art and of social organisation upon one another more is necessary to support his views on the " Place of Egvpt in the
World ' s History . " A curious chapter is still to be written on this artistic problem , and equally as it would be desirable to trace the nature and the extent of the action and re-action of science , art , and politics in Ancient Egypt , so would ifc be desirable to trace them during the times of Hippolytus . The elements of both these chapters are to be found in Bunsen ' s works . The baron was born on 29 th August , 1791 , and died 2 Sth November , I 860 . He had resided iu England as Prussian
Ambassador between 1841 and 1854 , when he resigned his position on account of his disapproval of the wavering policy of his Government in the Russian war . In his latter years Bunsen seems to have confined himself to his Biblical studies . The Earl of Aberdeen is principally known to ns on account of his earnest efforts to promote the study of Grecian art and of his patronage of the researches undertaken under the auspices of the Athenian , of the Dilettanti , and of the antiquarian societies
amongst the ruins of the Hellenic civilization . The Earl had travelled in his youth in Greece , and , like most enthusiastic men of his generation , he had returned an ardent Philhellenist . Ifc is to this fact that we may attribute much of his attachment to the pure Grecian Architecture , and the fashion the day afforded a singular reflex of the peculiar tastes of the noble earl . He seems , however , to the end of his life to have remained true to the gods of the idolatry of his youth , and notwitbstannhig the sacrifices he
made for the service of his country , by his long devotion to her political interests , he retained to the last his affection for the studies and for the pursuits which had earned for him , from the satirical pen of his relative Byron , the equivocal title of " the Travelled Thane , Athenian , Aberdeen . " Sir F . Palgrave rendered great service to the cause of archaeology and to our knowledge of the political and moral condition of our Saxon aud Anglo-JNorman ancestors . It may appear to casual
observers that this class of researches has but little reference to our professional pursuits , yet if we reflect upon the intimate relations which must exist ' between the social organization of a nation , and its mode of artistic expression ; we must he convinced that ifc is impossible to understand the latter without being intimately acquainted with the former . In these days of revival of MedSawalism , therefore , ifc is essential for us to be ivell informed of the ruling principles of the times we are called upon artistically to repeat ; and few men have been more successful than was Sir F . Palgrave in his descri ptions of the manners and customs , or more . correct in his accounts of the social organization of our ancestors .
The Earl of Aberdeen was born on 2 S _ h January , 1784 , and died on 13 th December , 1860 . Sir F . Palgrave was born in the year 1788 , and died 6 th July , 1801 . The knowledge of the more abstruse parts of the Science of JMatural Philosopy applied to our profession has been so much advanced by the distinguished men I have cited amongst outrecent losses , that we may well devote some time to a review of their works . Tims , to Jul . Wertheim ( who was born at Vienna on
6 th May , 1 S 15 , and died at Tours , 19 th January , 1861 ) we are indebted for some important investigations in the laws of elasticity , and of the sonorous vibrations of air and gases . In 1816 M . Wertheim published a memoirp , written in conjunction with M .. Chevandier . " upon the mechanical properties of wood , " which , unfortunately , has not yet been translated into English ; and in a meinoire " upon the double refraction produced in isotropous bodies" M . AVertheim discussed the results obtained bMr .
y Hodgkinson from his experiments upon the elastic conditions of cast and wrought-iron , suggesting for the purpose of observing the gradual effects of compression of solid bodies the elegant chromatic dynamometer . This memoire will be found in the "Annales de Cliimie et de Physique . " The name and works of Vicat are of course known to all who have followed the history of modern science . Engaged in early life in the actual practice of his duties as engineer of the Fonts efc
Chaussees , he constructed some of the roads leading to Genoa on the banks of the Isle river , in the Perigueux ; and in 1813 ho was appointed engineer to the Bridge of Souillac , over the Dordonne , and it was in the course of the preliminary studies for this work that he was led to the discoveries which have so materially advanced the building arts and immortalised his name . ¦ At Souillac Vicat introduced the system of founding the piers of bridges on masses of concrete , sunk under water within close piled enclosures ,
or " caisses sans fonds , " and to secure the success of the system ifc was necessary that he should use a , lime wliich should be capable of setting under water . The chemical theory of limes and cements was at that period but very little understood , though the researches of Smeaton , Huggins , Guyton de JMorveau , Bergman , and de Saussure , and the introduction by Wyatfc of the . jioman cement , had placed at the disposal of inquirers many of the elements of its solution . About 1817 , Vicat communicated to tho Academie des Sciences the results of his analytical and synthetical experiments upon the composition of limes of various qualities ; and he
then propounded the theory ivhieh subsequent inquiries have confirmed and developed , to the effect that the hardening of mortars depended on the combination which takes place in them between the lime and the silicate of alumina they contained . Alcafc published in some separate brochures the results of his subsequent experiments , and in the Annates des Pouts et Chaussees he has also published some important me ' moires on the strains to which suspension bridges are exposed , on the resistance of iron wire ropes ,
on the compression of solid bodies and on the statistics of the limeproducing formations of France . He co-operated with M . St . Leger in the introduction of the manufacture of the artificial hydraulic limes , and indeed be must be considered to have led the way to all the modern improvements in that important branch of the building arts . M . Vicat was fortunate enough to witness the universal recognition of the truth and of the practical importance of his discoverieswhichwith the true irit of a hilosopherhe
, , sp p , had at once unreservedly placed at the service of the public He received honours from every government which in turn has ruled in France during his long and useful career , and iu 1845 the legislature of his country unanimously voted him a pension of 6 , 000 francs a year , on the strength of a report presented by MM .. Arngo aud Thcnard . When in 1853 Vicat resigned his post on account of his advanced age , he was named by a special decree of
the Emperor , Honorary Inspector-General of the Ponts et Chausscess ,. a dignity created expressly to honour this earnest and disinterested student . Vicat ' s works have been translated into almost every language of Europe ; into our own , by Captain E . H . Smith .. Vicat died on 10 th April , 1861 , aged 75 years . In the course of this year also , the ranks of science have lost M . Berthier , the distinguished author of the " Traite des Analyses parla voie seche" in the course of which will be foundsome chapters
, _ bearing upon our profession . Berthier devoted , in fact , much attention to the examination of Vicat ' s discoveries , and has discussed the princi ples on ivhieh they are founded , he also paid attention to the analytical inquiries into the nature of other building materials , and of the metals used in construction . Bertheir died 24 th August , 1861 . We have to regret also the loss of Sir William Pasley , whose name has been so intimately connected ivith the diffnsal in our
country of the inventions and theories of Vicat . Sir William was born in 1781 , and in 1797 he entered the army as second-lieutenant of artillery , but in the next year he exchanged into the Boyal Engineers . He served at the defence of Gaeta , in 1806 ; at the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Current Topics.*
audits cultivation will at all times compensate for the toil and time expended in its pursuit . In the course of the twelve months which have elapsed since the last annual inauguration of our meetings , death has by no means spared the ranks of those who have been interested in , or who have indirectly assisted , our pursuits . A short notice of the more distinguished of those persons may , perhaps , suggest to many lessons of deep significance , both morally and artistically , and I hope ,
therefore , you will bear ivith me whilst I pay the the following short tribute to the memories of our late fellow workers : — The losses of our profession , this year , have been of a threefold character ; we have lost coadjutors in the more recondite branches of archteology , in the more abstruse branches of mechanical , chemical , and physical sciences , and from amongst our own immediate ranks . Amongst the former may he cited the names of Baron JBunsen , of the Earl of Aberdeen , and of Sir Francis Palgrave ; in
the ranks of scientific men connected directly or indirectly with our studies we miss such men as Wertheim , Vicat , Sir William Pasley , Eaton , Hcdgkinson , Berthier , and Sir William Cubitt ; whilst , amongst our own colleagues , we have to regret the loss of Professor Hosking , Mr . John Clayton , Mr . Henry Austin , our late esteemed solicitor and valued friend , Mr . W . L . Donaldson , Mr . George Bailey , and "Mr . Robert Grainger , of Newcastle . The researches of Baron Bunsenwhom I name firstbecause
, , his death occurred first in the order of time in cur sad list ( he died on 2 Sfch JKovember , 1863 ) , have , as you must be . aware , tended greatly to clear the obscurity which surrounded the history of that marvellous system of civilisation of Egypt , and also to throw some light upon tiie early history of the Church during the existence of the Roman Empire . The learned works upon " The Place of Egypt in the World's History , " and upon " Hippolytus and his Age , " maybe referred to as illustrations of the patient investigation , and
ofthe wide range of study requisite for the comprehension of the more obscure periods in the history of our race , and though the minute detail with which the various questions involved are discussed , at times renders the writings of Bunsen slightly wearisome ; yet our confidence in the results so obtained must be increased by the conviction of the conscientious examination their author must have bestowed on them . Bunsen does not seem to have been much of an artist , and he does not , therefore , dwell upon the influence of art and of social organisation upon one another more is necessary to support his views on the " Place of Egvpt in the
World ' s History . " A curious chapter is still to be written on this artistic problem , and equally as it would be desirable to trace the nature and the extent of the action and re-action of science , art , and politics in Ancient Egypt , so would ifc be desirable to trace them during the times of Hippolytus . The elements of both these chapters are to be found in Bunsen ' s works . The baron was born on 29 th August , 1791 , and died 2 Sth November , I 860 . He had resided iu England as Prussian
Ambassador between 1841 and 1854 , when he resigned his position on account of his disapproval of the wavering policy of his Government in the Russian war . In his latter years Bunsen seems to have confined himself to his Biblical studies . The Earl of Aberdeen is principally known to ns on account of his earnest efforts to promote the study of Grecian art and of his patronage of the researches undertaken under the auspices of the Athenian , of the Dilettanti , and of the antiquarian societies
amongst the ruins of the Hellenic civilization . The Earl had travelled in his youth in Greece , and , like most enthusiastic men of his generation , he had returned an ardent Philhellenist . Ifc is to this fact that we may attribute much of his attachment to the pure Grecian Architecture , and the fashion the day afforded a singular reflex of the peculiar tastes of the noble earl . He seems , however , to the end of his life to have remained true to the gods of the idolatry of his youth , and notwitbstannhig the sacrifices he
made for the service of his country , by his long devotion to her political interests , he retained to the last his affection for the studies and for the pursuits which had earned for him , from the satirical pen of his relative Byron , the equivocal title of " the Travelled Thane , Athenian , Aberdeen . " Sir F . Palgrave rendered great service to the cause of archaeology and to our knowledge of the political and moral condition of our Saxon aud Anglo-JNorman ancestors . It may appear to casual
observers that this class of researches has but little reference to our professional pursuits , yet if we reflect upon the intimate relations which must exist ' between the social organization of a nation , and its mode of artistic expression ; we must he convinced that ifc is impossible to understand the latter without being intimately acquainted with the former . In these days of revival of MedSawalism , therefore , ifc is essential for us to be ivell informed of the ruling principles of the times we are called upon artistically to repeat ; and few men have been more successful than was Sir F . Palgrave in his descri ptions of the manners and customs , or more . correct in his accounts of the social organization of our ancestors .
The Earl of Aberdeen was born on 2 S _ h January , 1784 , and died on 13 th December , 1860 . Sir F . Palgrave was born in the year 1788 , and died 6 th July , 1801 . The knowledge of the more abstruse parts of the Science of JMatural Philosopy applied to our profession has been so much advanced by the distinguished men I have cited amongst outrecent losses , that we may well devote some time to a review of their works . Tims , to Jul . Wertheim ( who was born at Vienna on
6 th May , 1 S 15 , and died at Tours , 19 th January , 1861 ) we are indebted for some important investigations in the laws of elasticity , and of the sonorous vibrations of air and gases . In 1816 M . Wertheim published a memoirp , written in conjunction with M .. Chevandier . " upon the mechanical properties of wood , " which , unfortunately , has not yet been translated into English ; and in a meinoire " upon the double refraction produced in isotropous bodies" M . AVertheim discussed the results obtained bMr .
y Hodgkinson from his experiments upon the elastic conditions of cast and wrought-iron , suggesting for the purpose of observing the gradual effects of compression of solid bodies the elegant chromatic dynamometer . This memoire will be found in the "Annales de Cliimie et de Physique . " The name and works of Vicat are of course known to all who have followed the history of modern science . Engaged in early life in the actual practice of his duties as engineer of the Fonts efc
Chaussees , he constructed some of the roads leading to Genoa on the banks of the Isle river , in the Perigueux ; and in 1813 ho was appointed engineer to the Bridge of Souillac , over the Dordonne , and it was in the course of the preliminary studies for this work that he was led to the discoveries which have so materially advanced the building arts and immortalised his name . ¦ At Souillac Vicat introduced the system of founding the piers of bridges on masses of concrete , sunk under water within close piled enclosures ,
or " caisses sans fonds , " and to secure the success of the system ifc was necessary that he should use a , lime wliich should be capable of setting under water . The chemical theory of limes and cements was at that period but very little understood , though the researches of Smeaton , Huggins , Guyton de JMorveau , Bergman , and de Saussure , and the introduction by Wyatfc of the . jioman cement , had placed at the disposal of inquirers many of the elements of its solution . About 1817 , Vicat communicated to tho Academie des Sciences the results of his analytical and synthetical experiments upon the composition of limes of various qualities ; and he
then propounded the theory ivhieh subsequent inquiries have confirmed and developed , to the effect that the hardening of mortars depended on the combination which takes place in them between the lime and the silicate of alumina they contained . Alcafc published in some separate brochures the results of his subsequent experiments , and in the Annates des Pouts et Chaussees he has also published some important me ' moires on the strains to which suspension bridges are exposed , on the resistance of iron wire ropes ,
on the compression of solid bodies and on the statistics of the limeproducing formations of France . He co-operated with M . St . Leger in the introduction of the manufacture of the artificial hydraulic limes , and indeed be must be considered to have led the way to all the modern improvements in that important branch of the building arts . M . Vicat was fortunate enough to witness the universal recognition of the truth and of the practical importance of his discoverieswhichwith the true irit of a hilosopherhe
, , sp p , had at once unreservedly placed at the service of the public He received honours from every government which in turn has ruled in France during his long and useful career , and iu 1845 the legislature of his country unanimously voted him a pension of 6 , 000 francs a year , on the strength of a report presented by MM .. Arngo aud Thcnard . When in 1853 Vicat resigned his post on account of his advanced age , he was named by a special decree of
the Emperor , Honorary Inspector-General of the Ponts et Chausscess ,. a dignity created expressly to honour this earnest and disinterested student . Vicat ' s works have been translated into almost every language of Europe ; into our own , by Captain E . H . Smith .. Vicat died on 10 th April , 1861 , aged 75 years . In the course of this year also , the ranks of science have lost M . Berthier , the distinguished author of the " Traite des Analyses parla voie seche" in the course of which will be foundsome chapters
, _ bearing upon our profession . Berthier devoted , in fact , much attention to the examination of Vicat ' s discoveries , and has discussed the princi ples on ivhieh they are founded , he also paid attention to the analytical inquiries into the nature of other building materials , and of the metals used in construction . Bertheir died 24 th August , 1861 . We have to regret also the loss of Sir William Pasley , whose name has been so intimately connected ivith the diffnsal in our
country of the inventions and theories of Vicat . Sir William was born in 1781 , and in 1797 he entered the army as second-lieutenant of artillery , but in the next year he exchanged into the Boyal Engineers . He served at the defence of Gaeta , in 1806 ; at the