**
. L
* T
MEMOIR
OF THE LATE
ALFBED SMEE, F.B.S.
MBMOIE
OF THE LATE
ALFKED SMEE, E.E.S.
BY
HIS DAUGHTER.
WITH A SELECTION FROM HIS
MISCELLANEOUS WKITINGS.
LONDON:
GEOEGE BELL AND SONS, YOKE STREET,
COVENT GARDEN.
1878.
LONDON :
PBINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
PREFACE.
IT is with much diffidence that I submit this Memoir to the
public. It was undertaken partly as a duty to the memory of
my father, partly in the belief that it would not be unacceptable
to the many readers of his different works. His pursuits, indeed,
were so earnest and various, and his writings extended over such
a wide range of subjects, that some account, however imperfect,
of his doings, and some selection, however incomplete, from his
writings, could not, I felt, be without interest to the general
reader.
I was further desirous to bring under public notice a record
of my father's inventions and researches, especially in that
branch of science to which he first gave the name of Electro-
Metallurgy. His treatise on this subject, which went through
several editions, has long been out of print. From it has been
taken the introductory chapter on the history of Electro-Metal-
lurgy, included in the present selection.
I have devoted considerable space, also, to the enunciation
and discussion of my father's views on Mental Philosophy, and
have extracted several passages from ' The Mind of Man,' his
last work on this his favourite subject, and the last published
work of his life.
The numerous scientific papers, lectures, pamphlets, anony-
mous and other writings of my father have also furnished con-
tributions to the present volume. Artists will find something
to interest them in his remarks on binocular vision, and on the
methods resorted to by various eminent painters to produce
2065774
VI PKEFACE.
effects whereby the results of binocular perspective are more
or less successfully imitated.
In connection with the potato disease, the views put forth
by the subject of this Memoir in 1845-47 receive fresh interest
from the confirmation afforded them by the recent researches of
Mr. Worthington Smith.
My father's knowledge of gardening and love for natural
history in all its branches meet with frequent illustration. Some
account more especially is given of the experimental garden
which he formed at Wallington, in Surrey, now, indeed, become
almost of celebrity through his well-known book entitled ' My
G-arden.' It may interest many to know that this garden is
still kept up, in tribute to its founder's memory, by my brother,
Mr. Alfred Hutchison Smee.
E. M. 0.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTEE I.
AGE - TO 161818 TO 1834.
1818.' Alfred Smee, born June 18th Family Infancy His love for fruit
Is precocious Goes to St. Paul's School His natural power of
observation displayed as a boy Fights a bully Other traits in his
character as a boy An adept in climbing trees Ignorant of all games
Love of animals shown Dislikes cruelty to dumb creatures
CHAPTER II.
AGE 16 TO 211834 TO 1839.
1834. Leaves St. Paul's School, age sixteen, and becomes a medical student
at King's College, London. 1836. Distinguishes himself at King's
College Takes the first prize for Chemistry. 1837. Takes the first
prize for Anatomy and the first prize for Physiology His answers in
Divinity. 1838. Reads his first paper before the Geological Society,
' On the State in which Animal Matter is usually found in Fossils '
His second paper, 'On the Chemical Nature of the External
Envelope of the Frog's Spawn ' Leaves King's College and goes to
St. Bartholomew's, where he carries off the prize for Surgery Nearly
loses the sight of one eye by a chemical experiment. 1839. Invents
a form of splint for fractures, and writes a paper on it, ' On the
Formation of Moulding Tablets for Fractures' Also one on 'Gutta
Percha Splints ' His paper on ' Photogenic Drawing ' Reads a paper
before the Royal Society, ' On the Structure of Normal and Adven-
titious Bone ' His experiment-book Account-book Laboratory
Life at the Bank of England His love of music
CHAPTER III.
AGE 22 TO 241840 TO 1842.
1840. Twenty-second year of his age " Smee's Battery " Marriage of
Alfred Smee, June 2nd Paper 'On the Ferrosesquicyanuret of
Potassium' His first book, published in December, on 'Electro-
Metallurgy ' His researches in that science Gives the name Electro-
Metallurgy. 1841. Letter of Brande, the chemist Alfred Smee gives
a lecture at the Royal Institution, January 26th, ' On the Laws
regulating the Voltaic Precipitation of Metals ' His specimens in
Electro-Metallurgy shown at various places The coppered cucumber
VU l CONTENTS.
PAGE
Lectures before the Numismatic Society, 21st January, on Electro-
Metallurgy Elected Surgeon to the Bank of England Elected Fellow
of the Royal Society, 10th June, in the twenty-third year of his age.
1842. Elected Surgeon to the Royal General Dispensary, Aldersgate
Street Paper ' On the New Definition of the Voltaic Circuit, with
Formulas for ascertaining its Power under different Circumstances '
Writes various medical papers Makes a durable writing ink. 1843.
Lecture at the Royal Institution, ' On the Cause of the Reduction of
Metals when Solutions of their Salts are subjected to the Galvanic
Current ' Paper ' On the Inhalation of Ammonia Gas as a Remedial
Agent' 16
CHAPTER IV.
AGE 25 TO 291843 TO 1847.
1843. ' Sources of Physics ' (book), published 1st September Is Lecturer to
the Aldersgate School of Medicine. 1844. His introductory lecture
His lecture ' On the Detection of Needles impacted in the Human
Frame.' 1845. Paper ' On the New Application of Electricity to
Surgery ' Paper ' On Vessels in Fat smaller than the Capillaries '
His carmine injections Visit to Switzerland. 1845-46-47. Potato
disease. 1846. Publishes ' The Potato Plant, its Uses and Properties,
together with the Cause of the Present Malady ' (book) Corre-
pondence on the Potato disease Rancorous animosity and skits on
A. S. Aphis vastator, nomenclature of. 1847. Famine Food soiree
Lecture at the London Institution on the ' Potato Plant ' Skeleton
of the lecture drawn up by Alfred Smee Prepares many hundred
microscopical preparations of aphides and slices of diseased potato
Their use in 1876 Last researches on the potato disease The rate at
which aphides multiply Alfred Smee is engaged on the ventilation
of large buildings Invents an ether-inhaler .. .. .. .. 25
CHAPTER V.
AGE 30 TO 31-1848 TO 1849.
1848. Publishes ' The Eye in Health and Disease ' (book) Smee's opto- .
meter Smee's horizontal fish-tail burners Sheet of ' Directions for
Accidents and Emergencies ' Royal Society : Mr. Smee's opinion on
its reducing its number of Fellows ; also on the system by which the
publication of learned papers are determined Paper 'On Electric
Light and Gas Companies,' &c. Personal appearance of Alfred Smee
Love of his family His powers of abstraction His untidiness Indif-
ference to dress His walk Jingling keys Quick temper Quick in
action Sensitive to a slight Not jealous Impatient of opposition
Disliked arguments Expected others to have the same quickness of
apprehension as himself Worked for others Disposition Never feared
responsibility His dislike of routine work His charity Genial and
social Loved society, yet disliked the London season being in summer
His readings Keen sense of imagination and of fun .. .. .. 38
CONTENTS. IX
CHAPTER VI.
AGE 31 TO 361849 TO 1854.
PAGE
1849. ' Electro-Biology ' is published (book) Lecture on Electro-Biology
' Principles of the Human Mind ' Article on ' Gutta-percha and its
Uses' The Cholera, article on. 1850. 'Instinct and Reason'
(book) Why written Sketch of the general plan of the work
Smee's hot and cold detector. 1851. Third edition of ' Electro-Metal-
lurgy ' brought out, and Alfred Smee also publishes ' The Process of
Thought' (book) Relational and differential machines Writes long
articles in the 'Illustrated London News' and in the 'Morning
Chronicle' Article on Wardian cases, and on plants that can be
grown in London or a smoky town Lectures at Newbury and else-
where Writes a Memoir of Wyon First visit to Paris Is an angler
Is a regular attendant at St. Paul's Cathedral Power of prayer . . 50
CHAPTER VII.
AGE 36 TO 401854 TO 1858.
1854. Second edition of the 'Eye' Binocular Perspective Soiree
On Education Is the originator of the educational lectures at the
London Institution, and delivers the first of them there, for which
he draws up a diagram showing the faculties of the human mind
at different periods of life Alfred Smee originates and establishes a
new form of printing the Bank of England note. 1856. Letters to the
Society of Arts' Journal on the ' Practical Application of the Decimal
Coinage,' and on the ' Relation between Decimal Coins and Weights
and Measures.' 1857. Lecture at the London Institution on ' The
Monogenesis of Physical Forces' Visit to Paris. 1858. Eclipse of
the sun Experiments at Blisworth with Smee's photometer .. .. 63
CHAPTER VIII.
AGE 41 TO 481859 TO 1866.
1859. ' Debility and Defective Nutrition ' is published (book) To Switzer-
land Making of garden at Wallington The Saturday reunions
Sewage Croydon Local Board Injunctions against, extending over
some years. 1866. Water supply and pre-existing sewage. 1860 to
1865. Proposed spoliation of Finsbury Circus by railways Import-
ance of gardens for London Advocates for trees to be" planted along
the Thames Embankment. 1860. Introduces the French system of
pisciculture into England His fish-breeding house at Wallington
Alfred Smee was a sportsman as well as a fisherman, and also fond of
yachting. 1861. He was the first in England to discover the comet of
June 30th, 1861. 1862. Effect on hearing a sermon Writes an
anonymous pamphlet on ' Reasons for not hanging Garrotters and
Burglars ' Other anonymous satires from his pen. 1863. Controversy
with the Oratorians Private and secret burial-grounds, &c. . . . . 69
CONTENTS.
CHAPTEK IX.
AGE 46 TO 521864 TO 1870.
PACE
1864-65. Alfred Smee contests Rochester Election in 1865 Anony-
mous pamphlets ' The Puppet Parliament,' and ' The Final Reform
Bill 'Becomes a Freemason. 1866. Projected movement for the
City of London College School to be associated with the London
Institution defeated hy Alfred Smee Visit to Paris Writes a letter
to Dr. Gray, F.R.S., of the British Museum, and strongly advocates a
large aquarium to he established at the Zoological Gardens Describes
the Monde de la Mer at Paris Writes several letters to the ' Times,'
&c., on " Locked-up Money," for which he suggests a remedy.
1867. Brings out another form of ' Accident Sheet,' which is illustrated
by woodcuts Professional life of Alfred Smee. 1868. Illness, and
goes to Whitby There nicknamed the Professor of Ferns Writes a
letter to Mr. Gassiot on the importance of posting up weather telegrams
at Whitby Another election at Rochester Letters to his family from
Rochester Why defeated Speech at complimentary dinner given to
him at Rochester His speeches How delivered. 1870. Visits Italy,
and returns with plants and ferns found in that country Extracts from
letters to his son on the states of vegetation in Italy, &c. Various
anonymous papers written at different periods of his life ' On the
Unseaworthiness of Ships ' ' On Chancery Reform,' &c. . . . . 92
CHAPTER X.
AGE 52 TO 571870 TO 1875.
1871. ' The Widow and the Rabbits,' a fairy legend, is published anony-
mously (book) Extracts from. 1870. Letter to the ' Times ' on
St. Saviour's church being struck by lightning Letter on the aurora
borealis which occurred the 26th October, 1870. 1872. Letter to the
' Times ' on a violent gale, in which he urges the invention of cheap
barometers for the use of fishermen Letter to the ' Times ' on Brixton
church being struck by lightning ' My Garden ' is published (book)
Plan of work Lectures delivered at the London Institution A
'Gossip on Gardening:' why given Village fete at his garden, at
which he gave prizes to the school children for collections of wild
flowers Alfred Smee is an active supporter of flower shows, or rather
the exhibitions of window plants grown within the City The prizes he
gave Letters to his daughter, showing the activity of his character
and his love for Nature. 1874. He attends an International Botanical
Congress at Florence, as representative of the Royal Horticultural
Society of England, and reads a paper at the Congress on ' The best
Varieties of Fruits cultivated in England ' More letters to his daughter
from abroad Again contests Rochester Presentation of plate Speech
Letter, &c. 1875. Letters on the manner the Members for Council
of the Royal College of Surgeons are elected .. .. .. ,. 105
CONTENTS. Xi
CHAPTEB XI.
57TH YEAR OF HIS AGE 1875.
PAOK
April, 1875. ' The Mind of Man ' is published (last book) Plan of work
Extracts from. 1873-1876. Sewage question Alfred Smee's views
on Correspondence on milk, typhoid fever, and sewage. 1873. Paper
read before the Health Section of the Social Science Congress at
Norwich. 1875. Paper read before the Society of Arts on 'Proposed
Heads of Legislation for the Regulation of Sewage Grounds ' Alfred
Smee's reply to the discussion, January 1876 .. .. .. .. 126
CHAPTER XII.
AGE 57 TO 581876 TO 1877.
Book on Fishing Hard working Letters from abroad Letters to the
' Times ' and various newspapers : August 17th, 1876, on " A Homicidal
River ; " October 17th, " On Distribution of Seeds by Panthers ; "
November, 1876, his last published letter on " Bird-catching extra-
ordinary " Death of Alfred Smee, January llth, 1877, aged fifty-eight
Buried at St. Mary's, Beddington, Surrey, within sight of his garden,
January 16th, 1877 134
[APPENDIX.
c
Ill CONTENTS.
APPENDIX.
No. YEAR. PAGE
I. 1838. On the State in which Animal Matter is usually
found in Fossils. Paper .. .. .. .. 143
II. 1838. On the Chemical Nature of the external Envelope of
the Frog's Spawn. Paper.. .. .. .. 145
III. 1839. On the Formation of Moulding Tablets for Fractures ;
and On Gutta-percha Splints (1846). Papers . . 147
IIlA. 1839. On the Structure of Normal and Adventitious Bone.
Paper .. .. .. .. .. .. 151
IV. 1839. On Photogenic Drawing. Paper 157
V. 1840. On the Principle, Construction, and Use of Smee's
Battery ; its various Forms, with full Directions for
its Manipulation, more especially in the Processes
of Electro-Metallurgy. Transcribed from Paper
read before Society of Arts, and from ' Electro-
Metallurgy,' &c. .. .. .. .. .. 164
VI. 1840. On the Production of Electrotypes. Paper.. .. 172
VII. 1840. On the Ferrosesquicyanuret of Potassium. Paper.. 174
VIII. 1840. History of Electro-Metallurgy, with the Researches
of Alfred Smee in that science .. .. .. 181
IX. Eeceipt of a Writing Ink 187
X. 1843. On the Cause of the Reduction of Metals. Paper . . 188
XI. 1843. On the Inhalation of Ammonia Gas as a remedial
Agent. Paper .. .. .. .. .. 194
XII. 1843. The Sources of Physical Science. Plan of the book.
(This plan was not written by ALFRED SMEE.)
With the concluding Chapters of ' Sources of
Physical Science.' (By ALFRED SMEE) . . . . 199
XIII. 1844. Introductory Lecture delivered at the Aldersgate
School of Medicine. Lecture .. .. .. 213
XIV. 1844. On the Detection of Needles and other Steel Instru-
ments impacted in the Human Body. Lecture .. 221
XV.A. 1847. An Account of the various Breads exhibited under
the title of " Famine Food " at Mr. Smee's house.
(This account was not written by ALFRED SMEE) . . 225
XV.B. 1847. On the Potato Disease and the Aphis vastator.
Lecture .. .. .. .. .. .. 227
1846-47. Also Monthly Reports and Correspondence on Aphides 235
XV.c. 1876. Recent Researches on the Potato Disease. (This was
not written by ALFRED SMEE) . . . . . . 252
XVI. 1849. Electro-Biology. Plan of the Book. (This was not
written by ALFRED SMEE) .. .. .. .. 255
XVII. 1849. On Electro-Biology; or, the Voltaic Mechanism of
Man. Lecture .. .. .. .. .. 260
XVII.A. 1849. Principles of the Human Mind deduced from Phy-
sical Laws. Pamphlet .. .. .. .. 26^
CONTENTS.
Xlll
No.
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
XXI.
YKAE.
1849.
1854.
1853.
1854.
XXII. 1854.
XXIII.
XXIV.
XXV.
XXVI.
1857.
1858.
1867-69.
1863.
XXVII. 1863.
XXVIII.
XXIX.
XXX.
XXXI.
XXXII.
XXXIII.
XXXIV.
XXXV.
1864.
1864.
1866.
1871.
1868-74.
XXXVI.A. 1873-76.
XXXVI.B.
XXXVI.c.
1873.
1875.
1876.
On the Production of Cholera by insufficient Drain-
age. Paper .. .. .. .. .. .. 276
Investigations in Binocular Perspective, with rules . . 279
On Education. Letter .. .. .. .. 283
Introductory Discourse on the Objects and Advan-
tages of Educational Lectures. Lecture .. .. 289
On the new Bank of England Note, and the Sub-
stitution of Surface Printing from Electrotypes
for Copper-plate Printing. Paper.. .. .. 299
On the Monogenesis of Physical Forces. Lecture . . 317
On the Eclipse of the Sun. (Experiments with
Smee's photometer.) Letter .. .. .. 326
On the Water Supply of London. Speech, Letters . . 328
Rejoinder to the Manifesto of Dr. Dalgairns, Principal
of the Oratory, &c. Pamphlet 332
On the Practical Remedy for Extortion and Intimi-
dation practised by the aid of the Superior Law
Courts. Pamphlet: ANON. .. .. .. 343
The Puppet Parliament. Pamphlet : ANON. . . 347
The Final Reform Bill. Pamphlet : ANON. .. 350
On Locked-up Money. Letters . . . . . . 354
Various Letters : ANON. .. .. .. .. 357
On the Unseaworthiness of Ships sent to Sea.
Letters: ANON. .. .. .. .. .. 358
On Chancery Reform. Letters : ANON. . . . . 362
A Gossip about Gardening. .Lecfawe .. .. 366
Part of two Speeches delivered at Rochester.
Speeches .. .. .. .. .. .. 374
Milk, Typhoid Fever, and Sewage, Correspondence
on. Letters .. .. .. .. .. .. 382
On Sewage, Sewage Produce, and Disease. Paper 394
Proposed Heads of Legislation for the Regulation
of Sewage Grounds. Paper .. .. . . 403
Reply to the Discussion of the above. Speech .. 415
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
F ' G - PACK
PORTRAIT .. .. .... Frontispiece.
1. Alfred Smee's working-room in the Bank of England .. .. .. 13
2. Smee's Ether-inhaler .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 37
3. Optometer .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 38
4. Gas-burner and jet .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 39
5. Hot and cold Detector .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 54
6. Alfred Smee, with his son, fishing in the Thames .. To face 135
GA. Roman coin found at Clermont .. .. .. .. .. .. 137
7. View of St. Mary's, Beddington, from the Garden .. To face 141
7 A. The Grave of Alfred Smee 142
8. Smee's Battery, compound six cells .. .. .. .. .. 169
9. Smee's Battery, for Electrotype .. .. .. .. .. ..170
10. Smee's Odds-and-Ends Battery 170
11. Covered wire, as generally used for the formation of Electro-magnets.. 222
12. Electro-magnet 223
13. Magnetized Needle, for discovering needles within the body .. .. 224
14. Resting-spores of the Potato Fungus within an Aphis .. .. .. 254
15. Resting-spores of the Potato Fungus within the cellular tissue of
Potatoes 254
16. Illustration showing the Interpenetration of Objects when seen by
two eyes, and the geometrical law on which it is founded . . . . 280
17. Diagram of the Faculties of the Human Mind at different Periods of
Life 291
18. Smee's Photometer .. .. 326
LIST OF BOOKS BY ALFRED SMEE.
YEAB
No. PUBLISHED.
I. 1840. Elements of Electro-Metallurgy.
II. 1843. Sources of Physical Science.
III. 1846. The Potato Plant : its Uses and Properties ; together with
the Cause of the present Malady.,
IV. 1848. The Eye in Health and Disease.
V. 1849. Elements of Electro-Biology.
VI. 1850. Instinct and Reason.
VII. 1851. Process of Thought.
VIII. 1859. Debility and Defective Nutrition.
IX. 1871. Fairy Legend : The Widow and the Rabbits. ANON.
X. 1872. My Garden.
XI. 1875. The Mind of Man.
XII. 1876-77. A Book on Fishing. (Not completed.)
MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE.
CHAPTEE I.
1818 TO 1834.
Alfred Smec born June 18th, 1818 Family Infancy Love for fruit Goes to
St. Paul's School His natural power of observation displayed as a boy
Fights a bully Other traits in his character as a boy An adept in climbing
trees Ignorant of all games Love of animals shown Dislikes cruelty to
dumb creatures.
ALFRED SMEE, the subject of this biography, was born on the
anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, the 18th of June, 1818.
He was the second son of William Smee, who held the position of
Accountant-General to the Bank of England. The Smee family
is derived from an ancient English stock. From the time of
Charles I. the family was to be found in the county of Suffolk ;
previously to the turbulent times of the Civil Wars, they crossed
the country from the north. Many curious traditions exist in
the family ; but as I am not writing the history of the Smees,
but of one of its members only, there is no need here to narrate
them. It suffices therefore here to say that my father's great-
grandfather was a man of considerable influence and wealth in
the county of Suffolk, and was, like the rest of the family, a
staunch Tory ; his high character and integrity were known to
all around him. He was, as I have heard, on intimate terms with
Sir Hans Sloane and with Lord North, and he knew also the
renowned Wedgwood. On the tombstone of this ancestor of ours
are the significant and laconic words : " An honest man."
Alfred Smee's father, William Smee, was being educated at
St. John's College, Cambridge, when family misfortunes obliged
him to leave the University to seek his own livelihood. I have
heard my grandfather ,say how he wept on the bridge at
Cambridge at the thought of being obliged to leave that aca-
demical town. Had Lord North not been dismissed from office,
2 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. I.
my grandfather would have had a good government appoint-
ment given to him ; however, that was not to be, and so William
Smee entered the service of the Bank of England. He, like
his grandfather, bore a high character for integrity ; and that,
coupled with uncommon talents and an iron will, made him re-
spected and esteemed throughout the mercantile community of
the City of London. On his death a long resolution was passed
at the Court of Directors of the Bank of England, testifying to
the " high integrity of his character and his indefatigable exer-
tions " in the discharge of his duties, and to the high esteem in
which he was held by all who knew him. Some years previously
the directors wished him to become a member of their body, but
my grandfather declined this honour ; and when the time for
the election drew near, he disqualified himself from becoming a
director by withdrawing certain sums of money from the Bank
stock, and so remained in his old position. Whether he acted
in this case wisely may, I think, be considered an open question.
When William Smee was between thirty and forty years of age,
he married a young Suffolk lady of the name of Kay, and she
was ever to him a wise, frugal, and an intelligent companion.
For several years they resided in a house of their own at Cam-
berwell, and it was here, amidst fields and trees and orchards
(for Camberwell fifty-eight years ago was very different to the
Camberwell of the present day), that Alfred Smee was born, and
spent the first few years of his life.
As a child, Alfred Smee was singularly precocious, and, like
many precocious children, gave, as my grandmother used to say,
a great deal of trouble to his nurse; indeed, that unfortunate
attendant must have had a very hard time of it, if the various
anecdotes that my grandmother was wont to tell about this
madcap boy are to be credited. From his earliest years
Alfred Smee had an inordinate love for fruit, to obtain which
he would but too frequently rise with the sun, and, eluding
the vigilance of the servants, stroll into the garden, climb the
trees, and satisfy himself to his heart's content. One day, as
my grandfather was walking in his garden, his attention was
attracted to a peach-tree full of fruit, which was just ripe. To
his dismay a small piece was bitten out of every peach, and all
the fruit bore unmistakable signs of a child's teeth. Little
Alfred, who was by his side at the time, and who was then
about four years old, could not forbear inquiring into the fact
whether snails have teeth. Besides an excessive love for fruit,
CHAP. I.] FIGHTS A BULLY. 3
which remained with him till the last, my father ever had
from infancy a great love of natural history in all its branches.
When he was four years old, through running and over-heating
himself on a hot day in June, in a hay-field, after a favourite
rabbit that had escaped from its hutch, he became ill with what
was then supposed to be a kind of croup, but which proved to
be the first attack of hay-fever, a complaint of rare occurrence
at that time ; but from that summer to a late period of his life
he was always a great sufferer from that disagreeable disorder.
In my grandfather's account-book for June 18th, 1823, is the
following entry, which shows the far-seeing character of the
former in the estimation of his second son's abilities, this son
being at the time five years old.
This day I have transferred "10 Imperial 3 per Cent. Annuity into the
names of William Smee, of the Bank, Gentleman, and Alfred Smee, of
Camberwell, Gentleman. I have been much gratified with the good con-
duct and zeal displayed by my dear Alfred in his studies, and I hope the
Almighty will continue such dispositions, which I confidently think will
lead to a brilliant result.
After my grandfather had left Camberwell to reside at the
Bank of England, my father went, as did his elder brother, to
St. Paul's School. At that school, which prides itself on having
educated Milton, Marlborough, and many distinguished men,
Alfred Smee did not shine as a scholar ; but notwithstanding his
want of book learning, he left a mark, and at St. Paul's School his
name is held in respect. As a schoolboy his powers for natural
observation were a strong feature in his character. One of my
father's schoolfellows (afterwards one of our judges) amused him
one day by telling him that, on first coming to school, Alfred
Smee's first words to him were, "What a long back you have got!"
The other boys were questioning him on his name, age, parentage,
&c., but only Alfred Smee noticed this peculiarity of his. "I
have often," added the judge, " laughed over this observation of
yours."
While he was a small boy at school, his prowess was shown by
thrashing a " big bully " some years older than himself ; and
though Alfred Smee was not a fighting boy, and small and
unskilful in the art, yet his temper could not brook the im-
perious tones of a bully. The unfortunate boy who had incurred
his ire was wofully " mauled," to the delight of the rest of the
school. Another trait of his character we see in the following
anecdote. At the time he was at St. Paul's, the schoolroom clock
B 2
4 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAI-. 1.
was fast, consequently the boys got into trouble for coming late.
The clockmaker was made aware of the fact, but several mornings
passed, and the clock was not set right. In my father's class the
master was very strict, and, quite ignoring that the fault lay in
the clock, caned the unfortunate boys for being late. This was
more than young Smee could submit to it was an injustice ; he
accordingly hit upon the following expedient to set right such
a dismal order of affairs. He persuaded the classes under his
master to march up Cheapside in single file to the clockmaker's at
the Eoyal Exchange. Then every boy in turn, according to his
age, was to enter the shop, and taking off his cap, say, " Please, sir,
master's compliments, and will you put the schoolroom clock
right ?" At first the man was very civil, but as naturally may
be supposed, after about the tenth boy had appeared with the
same message, he became excessively irate. Young Sniee entered
the shop, saw the fury the man was in, made a wry face at him,
did not wait to say anything, but rushed out of the shop. " What
did he say ?" was the eager inquiry. " Oh, nothing," replied young
Smee. In went the next boy (a very stupid boy I have heard, who
turned out badly in life), but it was too late : the man, exasperated
beyond all endurance, caught him and thrashed him. Off went
then the boys round the Exchange, running in and out of the legs
of the sober merchants, and finished their amusement, much to
the discomfiture of that respectable body of citizens. It is
almost needless to add that the schoolroom clock was speedily set
right, and though the clockmaker made a complaint to the master,
yet the latter was too much amused with the story to chastise
the boys for their audacious expedient. After this adventure it
was a long time before St. Paul's schoolroom clock went again
in advance of Greenwich time.
About the same time a very favourite amusement of Alfred
Smee's was to climb trees. In this accomplishment he excelled.
He would climb the highest trees where no other boy would
venture, and, to use his own expression, weave in and out the
branches, swaying the while like a bird, and ascending, and
ascending, until he reached the topmost branch ; when, waving his
cap to his schoolfellows below, it was duly acknowledged by that
august assembly that he had done "their dads." One poor
boy, however, tried to emulate him, but not being so skilful,
fell into a pond of water beneath, from the effects of which
he died; and so young Smee remained undisputed master of
the trees.
CHAP. I.] LOVE OF ANIMALS SHOWN. 5
With cricket or other amusements of schoolboys my father
never meddled. In after-life he never entered into such recreation
as billiards, backgammon, or whist, or any other game. Strange
though it may seem, yet he was ignorant of any of the games
belonging to cards, and not only did he not know their names,
but he was also totally ignorant of the names of the cards
themselves.
While he was a schoolboy, as at other periods of his life, he
was extremely fond of animals and birds. Not many days before
my father's death, an old schoolfellow of his came to see him, and he
talked with him about the innumerable rabbits in hutches simple
contrivances, all made by young Alfred Smee that he used to go
and see in a court of the Bank, between the hours of school.
Here it should be stated, that from early boyhood my father
showed a great aptitude for carpentry. A few old boxes, and
a few pieces of wood, nails, a saw, gimlet, hammer, and a few
of the like common implements, were sufficient for him to
make many ingenious contrivances. We have still an old table
that had a fractured leg, which was bound up and mended by
him when he was but a boy of eight years old, and I think
even an indifferent person would admit that a grown-up man, or
even a carpenter, could scarcely have done the job better.
Besides keeping innumerable rabbits at the Bank, he used
also to keep some pigeons. In one of the anecdotes in ' Instinct
and Keason/ he relates how he once, on leaving London for some
days, left the birds in charge of a servant. Upon returning, the
first question naturally asked was, as to the health of the favourite
birds.
But (says lie) I received the startling answer, " Lor', indeed, sir, I never
once thought of them." Their fate seemed inevitable ; and up I ran to the
dovecot, to confirm, as I thought, my worst fears. To my astonishment,
however, all the birds were in good health. The young ones looked fat, and
the old ones had built new nests, although not a particle of food nor a drop
of water was to be found. As the birds had done so long without food and
water, I thoiight they could not hurt by waiting a little longer, and there-
fore I determined to see what they did. After a little time the birds
became uneasy, and, after pluming their feathers, they all flew off. I
watched them as far as the eye could reach, and I could trace them beyond
Shoreditch Church ; and after an hour and a half they came back. There
is no doubt that they had flown off to the fields for food, and thus were not
the least the worse for the servant's inattention.
Besides pigeons and rabbits, young Smee had, when a boy,
other pets. One of these was a magpie, who used to be allowed
6 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. I.
his liberty in the room where Alfred Smee and his elder
brother were having their early breakfast, before the rest of
the family, previous to their setting off to St. Paul's School,
where the boys had to be, at those times, by 8 o'clock. This
magpie was, like his young master, partial to buttered toast, and
he would hop about the table, making a good breakfast. When
Mr. Mag had partaken of as much toast as was consistent with
his comfort, he would betake himself to tease the dog, who was
basking before the fire, by hopping up to the poor beast and
awakening him by a violent tug at his tail. At first the
drowsy dog would just raise his head, give a growl, and would go
to sleep again, upon which Mr. Mag would repeat the same dis-
agreeable operation. When, after several repetitions of the like
affront,. the poor dog would be fairly roused from his slumbers,
then the magpie used to hop round the room in a state of exulta-
tion, crying, " Mag, mag, mag !"
But this dog was not always doomed to be made miserable,
for my father and his brother were fond of taking him to bed
with them, although it was strictly forbidden them to do so.
As this anecdote is forcibly given in ' Instinct and Keason ' as an
example of reason in animals, I will quote the rest from that
work.
The mamma was determined to stop the practice, went at night into the
room, and turned the dog out, and he was compelled to sneak down stairs
with tail between his legs. On the next night, however, the boys put the
dog into one of the drawers and shut him up, so that, when the mamma
came, no dog was found, and the boys afterwards took him to bed. The
dog seemed fully to appreciate the boys' movements, and used perfectly to
fall in with their plans. Some nights, indeed, the dog was discovered, but
generally he was hid up in such an ingenious manner that he was not dis-
covered. If the dog was called or whistled he took no notice, but used to
lie perfectly quiet till the boys took him out of his hiding-place.
My father always retained his love for animals, and incul-
cated that love in his own children. I suppose few other children
(if any) have been brought up from infancy with so many kinds
of birds, animals, reptiles, and fishes. We had pets in thrushes,
blackbirds, canaries, goldfinches, bullfinches, and even- nightin-
gales; we had pets in pigeons, pheasants, godwits, magpies,
sea-gulls, owls, and hawks. We kept, at different times of our
infancy, pet dogs, cats, guinea-pigs, and, amongst many other
animals too numerous to enumerate here, was a domesticated wild
rabbit. This rabbit used to be allowed to come out at dessert-
time, when it would immediately jump up on the table, and glide
CHAP. I.] DISLIKES CRUELTY TO DUMB CREATURES. 7
so dexterously in and out among the glass, that it never broke
one or even knocked a wine-glass down, but would stop at the
plate of each person present until it received a piece of fruit,
after eating which it would continue its walk around the table,
allowing everyone to pet and caress it.
This rabbit was specially fond of my -father, and he of it,
and great was the grief in the family when Bunny at last died of
old age. He kept pet hedgehogs and tortoises, and a pet Guernsey
lizard, which would partake as a l>onne louche of a dish of black
beetles for breakfast. He had also at one time a pet toad, which
was caught by my father during one of his walks in the wood
which formerly existed on the spot where the Crystal Palace
now stands. This toad was quite a baby when he first became
possessed of it, but it throve so thoroughly upon black beetles,
that in due course of time it became a full-grown toad, and lived
many years. My father took a great liking to this toad, and
was wont, whenever a friend dined with him, to show, as soon as
the cloth was removed, to the astonished guest the wonderful
powers which this creature possessed of seeing, and its rapidity
and unerring seizure of its prey. The unfortunate toad at last
met with an untimely death, through a quarrel arising with the
Guernsey lizard over one delicious black beetle. The toad re-
ceived a blow on the head from the lizard which paralysed it.
It lingered some time, but ultimately died from its effects. He
kept besides pet mice and even a pet rat. The latter's favourite
place was in a person's pocket, where he would remain for a long
while quite still and comfortable. When he was tired of that
locality, he would walk out and sit upon the shoulder, and nestle
to a person's neck. In this manner this rat used to frequently
perform little journeys through the streets of London ; but I am
bound to say my father never took him out. The very goldfish
knew my father's voice, and when he whistled to them would
come up from amongst the various water-plants which were kept
in a large tank in the greenhouse at the end of the garden of
Finsbury Circus, and take the food from his fingers. Others
might whistle to them, but the goldfish took no notice (though
it might even be at feeding time) of any other voice but that
of my father.
Mr. Smee ever abhorred cruelty to animals, especially when it
was occasioned through wanton wilfulness. But, on the other
hand, he considered that there are times when animals must
suffer for the weal of man ; then morbid sentimentality ought
8 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP, j
not to be permitted to step in to stop experiments which are
needful to he made, in order to obtain knowledge by which the
sufferings of the human race may be relieved ; at the same time
those experiments should be conducted in such a manner as to
cause as little suffering to the poor beast as it is practicable.
The best plan to prevent wanton cruelty to animals is to bring
up children from their tender years to love all the lower creatures,
and to teach them that God has made them all, and has implanted
into them feelings, curious instincts, and to a certain extent
reason.
When a boy my father made a fair collection of insects, and a
collection of birds' eggs, both of which still exist. He also made
a collection of what fossils his limited resources could procure.
These are dispersed, but by the catalogue of them, which he
neatly wrote in a book, there seem to have been some interesting
specimens among them. In this book the names are given, the
stratum each specimen was found in, the locality, and whether
found by himself, or how otherwise procured.
CHAP. IT.] LEAVES ST. PAUL'S SCHOOL.
CHAPTEE II.
1834 TO 1839.
Leaves St. Paul's School, age sixteen, and enters as a medical student at King's
College, London Distinguishes himself at King's College; age seventeen
Takes more prizes ; age nineteen Alfred Smee reads his first paper ;
age twenty His second paper Leaves King's College and goes to St. Bar-
tholomew's Hospital Takes more prizes in 1838 Invents a splint ; age
twenty-one Experiment-book Account-book Laboratory Life at the
Bank of England His love of music.
IN midsummer 1834, Alfred Smee left St. Paul's School, and in
October of the same year he commenced his studies for the
medical profession, and became a medical student of King's
College, London. Up to this time we have seen him as a boy
endowed with strong feelings, possessing a strong will, keen
susceptibilities, and an innate love for natural history ; a sharp
pair of eyes which nothing passed unheeded, a keen sense for fun,
an open and very generous disposition, and a kind heart towards
his fellow-creatures and the lower animals.
But up to this period of his life he had not shown any dis-
position for book lore. His literature when a young boy was
limited, and it consisted principally of a few works on natural
history. For Gilbert White's 'History of Selborne' he ever
entertained an unbounded admiration, as he did also for the
immortal works of Shakspeare. By this it will be seen that
Alfred Smee was not what is termed a " reading man." Of the
plays of Shakspeare the ' Tempest,' supposed to be the last
written by the poet, was his favourite. Perhaps it may not be
out of place here to mention that my father, to the last year of
his life, never ceased to speak of the marvellous and unrivalled
manner in which Shakspeare's plays were put on the stage by
Macready in 1839-40.*
* For a full account of the exquisite pains which Macready gave himself in
putting on the stage the plays of Shakspeare, I refer the reader to the intcrestin"
diary of that tragedian, edited by Sir Frederick Pollock.
10 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. II.
But to return to my subject. As a medical student, Alfred
Smee became studious. Indeed, from the moment he became one
he never ceased from the most laborious work. At the time my
father began his professional career, medical students, as a rule,
'were not all that could be desired. But too many of them were
addicted to idleness, drinking, and other vices ; and, indeed, they
had the character of being but too frequently very rough members
of society. Young Smee, however, though full of fun and of
buoyant spirits, was noted for his unexceptionable good conduct,
steadiness, and sobriety, and was besides a most hard-working
young man.*
Alfred Smee had not been more than two years at King's
College before he carried off the silver medal, the prize for
Chemistry ; Professor Daniell, so well known to the scientific
world as the inventor of a battery which bears his name, being
professor at King's College at the time. The following year, in
1837, Smee took the silver medal for Anatomy, Partridge being
professor ; and he also took the silver medal for Physiology, Todd
being professor. For the latter he used to prepare the experi-
ments for the lectures which that distinguished physician deli-
vered. In 1837 young Smee also contended for the theological
prize at King's College. He lost it by one mark only, and it
appeared that his answers on the one hand, and those of the
winner of the prize on the other, were so even, that there were
thoughts of giving two prizes, as the examiner, the Bishop of
London's chaplain, said that the answers in divinity were so
excellent as to entitle Alfred Smee to take orders for ordination.
I mention this fact particularly, as it shows how, at a very early
period, my father's mind was imbued with religious thoughts,
which hereafter proved a very remarkable feature in his
character.
On the 4th of April, 1838, Alfred Smee's first paper was read
before the Geological Society ; it was ' On the State in which
Animal Matter is usually found in Fossils,' and it was communi-
cated by Professor Koyle of King's College. The paper will be
found in the Appendix, No. I., of this work.
In the following month, on the 26th of May, 1838, appeared
in the ' London Medical Gazette ' the second paper from his pen.
* In all the testimonials which Alfred Smee received from his masters
and professors, his extreme steadiness and good conduct, and the great talent
which he displayed in his various professional attainments, are made a great
point of.
CHAP. II.] INVENTS A SPLINT. 11
This was entitled ' On the Chemical Nature of the External En-
velope of the Frog's Spawn.' For this see the Appendix, No. II.
The same year Smee left King's College and entered his
name on the books at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. King's
College Hospital was not then erected, and therefore it was
essential for the aspirant to medical fame to gain practical
knowledge elsewhere. He became dresser to the eminent surgeon
Lawrence, and held the dressership a whole year. Alfred Smee
was not long at St. Bartholomew's before he carried off the
surgical prize, which consisted of three volumes of books by
Lawrence. As at King's College, so did young Smee distin-
guish himself at St. Bartholomew's by his good conduct, his
steadiness, and by his untiring industry. When he was only
eighteen years of age, he became engaged to a young lady, whom
he married shortly after he had finished his medical education.
In 1839, besides giving much attention to surgery, he also
employed himself upon chemistry, and some of his numerous
experiments were given to the public the following year.
Through an explosion which ensued in conducting one of these
varied experiments he met with an accident to one of his eyes,
which at the time it was feared would cost him the sight of it.
Through the skilful treatment of Sir William Lawrence, the eye
was saved, although that eminent surgeon had for two or three
days almost despaired of it.
Besides these experiments, Alfred Smee about this time
invented a form of splint for fractures, and wrote a paper on it,
which appeared in the ' London Medical Gazette ' of the 9th of
February, 1839. It was published also in the ' Lancet,' and it was
also translated into French and into German. The title of the
paper was, ' On the Formation of Moulding Tablets for Fractures.'
The splint was tried in every hospital in the metropolis, and was
used at St. Bartholomew's, as well as in other hospitals. Some
years later (in 1846), after gutta-percha had come into use, he
invented a modification of the above tablets, and the article on
' Gutta Percha Splints ' was also published in the ' London
Medical Gazette.' Both these papers will be found in the
Appendix, No. III., of this work. Following these two papers
will also be found a very curious paper on ' Photogenic Drawing,'
which he wrote in 1839, in the ' Literary Gazette.' See the
Appendix, No. IV.
During the year 1839 the ' Experiment Book ' of Alfred
Smee shows that his mind was employed upon other subjects
12 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. II.
besides splints and surgery and photogenic drawings. He was
at work on the ' Contractility of Tissues,' which was intended to
be exemplified by many hundred experiments. He was at work
on ' Melanosis,' which was designed for a paper, but which was
abandoned before its completion for other more weighty subjects.
He was experimenting on inks. He was experimenting on a
waterproofing liquid. He was besides making his researches on
his important paper on the ' Ferrosesquicyanuret of Potassium ; '
he was devising his " battery," and was besides carrying on other
experiments relating to electro-metallurgy.
By the account-book of Alfred Smee, we find that up to the
time he left school, when he was sixteen years old, he only
received ninepence a week for pocket-money. This money
he carefully husbanded, and expended on retorts and other ne-
cessaries for chemical experiments. Even after he became a
medical student he had not more than 30 a year, which had
to suffice for the expenses of his wardrobe, for obtaining objects
for dissecting, and for the various other objects required to
carry on his numerous researches. I have heard my father say
how pinched he was in early life for money, and what a benefit
it would have been to him throughout his life had he, at the
commencement of his career, had more money at his disposal.
But he made the most of his small means. His microscope was
given to him, but it was a very inferior one. With a five-
pound note, given to him by his father on gaining one of the
prizes, he procured for himself a -J-inch lens, which he had long
coveted to possess. I must here exonerate my grandfather's
memory from the supposition that he was either a mean man, or
an unnatural father. On the contrary, he was very fond of his
children, and particularly proud of his son Alfred. But my grand-
father had been brought up in the school of adversity. He had
seen his father's fortune go from him ; he had lived in turbulent
times, when the revolution of France had filled men's minds with
horror ; he had, as a young man, lived in the society of French
noble refugees, amongst whom was an archbishop who had
escaped to this country for protection against the oppressions
of their own countrymen : thus my grandfather having from his
youth witnessed the instability of fortune, it had thereby caused
him to become in middle age more prudent, more cautious in
money matters than it was his natural disposition to be.
The room in which he carried on his numerous experiments
where all the experiments for ' Electro-Metallurgy ' were worked
CHAP. II.]
LIFE AT THE BANK OF ENGLAND.
13
out, where " Sinee's Battery " was devised was one having a
stone floor which led out of one of the drawing-rooms at the
house my grandfather occupied at the Bank of England. This
room, which produced such great works, was not worthy of the
appellation of laboratory.
Through the kindness of my mother, I am enabled to give
a picture of this room. It was etched on copper by her brother,
the late Mr. William Hutchison. The lines which appear below
the etching were written by my father on a copy belonging to
my friend Miss Fooks, which she kindly placed at my disposal.
In this room my father worked ; he had no assistant to help him ;
every single experiment for ' Electro-Metallurgy,' &c., had to be
carried out by his own hands ; and his pecuniary means were, as
already observed, small to a degree. Think of this, young men
of talent, and turn your abilities to as good an account as Alfred
Since did his, and with such a pittance !
The home life at the Bank was a singularly simple one.
14 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. II.
According to the rules of the Bank of England, its gates were
locked and barred at 10 o'clock at night (a few years later than
the time I am now writing about, the gates were not closed till
11 o'clock); consequently balls and evening parties were interdicted
to the members of the Smee family, for to have the Bank gates
opened after they were closed for the night was attended by so
much formality, such as ringing up the chief cashier, and having
the names of the party entered in a book, that practically it never
was done unless in a case of urgent necessity. Thus in a great
measure society was a sealed book for the young people, and
they were obliged to seek their amusements in themselves. After
dinner, which was always precisely at 5 o'clock, the family generally
used to devote themselves to music. Some played the piano,
another the violin, and another the violoncello, and the daughter
of the house sang ; and thus by delightful duets, trios, and even
quartetts and songs, the long evenings were beguiled. My grand-
father was a skilful amateur performer on the piano ; he had been
a pupil of Battershill, the well-known pupil of Handel. My grand-
father had, besides, a thorough knowledge of musical composition.
He would read off musical compositions as he would an ordinary
reading book. It is not, therefore, surprising to find that a
talent for music was inherited by the children, though in
various degrees. My father was generally too much engaged
with his numerous researches to be able to take a prominent
part in these musical soirees. He, however, was very fond of
music, and played a little on the violoncello. He had an
infallible ear for rhythm, and it was painful to him to have to
listen to performers (however skilful they might otherwise be in
their playing) if they did not give the precise accentuation : the
slightest fault his ear detected. His favourite musical works were
those by Mozart, more especially the music of 'Don Juan' and the
' Zauberflote ;' those by Meyerbeer, the music from 'Koberto ' being
the favourite ; and the music of ' Der Freischiitz,' by Weber. He
liked, too, classical chamber music, although he used to say he
found that class of music too fatiguing to listen to after a long hard
day's work. He was especially fond of sacred pieces, such as the
'Messiah' by Handel, the 'Elijah' by Mendelssohn, the 'Creation'
by Haydn, and other oratorios. For some years he regularly took
two stalls at Exeter Hall, and there weekly he and his family en-
joyed by turns the magnificent rendering of the various oratorios by
the great masters. Besides oratorios, my father liked chorals and
hymns, Pergolesi's ' Hymn of Praise ' being among his favourites.
CHAP. II.] SETS UP AS A SURGEON. 15
At his house on a Sunday he would not permit other than sacred
music to be performed. He was also particularly skilful in
analysing the musical works of the great composers, in which
he could detect the particular phrase or subject upon which
the work be it a sonata, an oratorio, or an opera was framed;
and he would come home from an opera, for instance, humming
the subject upon which the opera was based. He was very
fond of a good opera, and had stalls at one of the opera
houses for several years, and he was very fond of a good ballet.
He was no dancer himself, but it afforded him pleasure to see
others dance, and he liked dance music for the rhythm's sake.
His ear was not, however, acute for tune; for whether the
instrument were somewhat flat or sharp made but little difference
to him, provided the rhythm or the accentuation of the playing
was strictly correct.
In speaking of the home life of the Bank, I should not omit to
mention that Alfred Smee was much attached to his father, towards
whom he ever behaved in the most filial and respectful manner,
and he was devoted to his mother and to his only sister. His
sister seems to have possessed much of my father's zealous and
active disposition ; but she died young, leaving behind her not a
few traces of uncommon talent, and the memory of a sweet dis-
position which was treasured by those who knew her.
After Alfred Smee had completed his medical education at
King's College and at St. Bartholomew's, he became for a short
time (a month or two) an articled apprentice of a general prac-
titioner, and later, in 1840, he became member of the Eoyal College
of Surgeons, after which he set up in Finsbury Circus as a con-
sulting surgeon.
16 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. III.
CHAPTEE III.
1840 TO 1842.
Twenty-second year of his age "Smee's Battery" Marriage of Alfred Smee,
June 2nd, 1840 ' Ferrosesquicyanuret of Potassium ' paper ' Electro-Metal-
lurgy ' published December 1840 ; age, twenty-two Alfred Smee's re-
searches in electro-metallurgy Base coinage Delivers a lecture at the Royal
Institution, February 1841 ; age twenty-three His specimens in electro-
metallurgy shown to the Prince Consort Surgeon to the Bank of England
Elected Fellow of the Royal Society Makes a durable ink Elected Surgeon
to the Royal General Dispensary, Aldersgate Street Paper OB the ' Reduc-
tion of Metals ' Lecture at the Royal Institution on ' Reduction of Metals '
Paper on ' Inhalation of Ammonia ' Other scientific papers, &c.
THE year 1840 was, perhaps, the most momentous one in my
father's life, for in this year many of his inventions and dis-
coveries were given to the public. On the 29th of February his
paper was read before the Royal Society, ' On the Galvanic Pro-
perties of the Principal Elementary Bodies, with a Description of
a new Chemico-Mechanical Battery ' now of world- wide repute,
and known by the name of the " Smee Battery." The same sub-
ject was made a paper, which was read at the Society of Arts,
June 1st, 1840. For the latter paper, the Gold Isis Medal, which
he received from the hands of the Duke of Sussex, was bestowed
upon him. Millais, the celebrated artist, also received a medal
on the same day.
" Smee's Battery " was devised through conducting a series
of experiments on the ferrocyanuret of potassium, which gave
frequent occasion for the use of a galvanic battery.
I found (Mr. Smee adds in ' Electro-Metallurgy ' *) that although the
batteries of Daniell and of Grove were admirably-contrived instruments,
yet it was very desirable to possess one that could be set in action at
a moment's notice, and with comparatively little trouble. It became
* Page 23.
CHAP. III.] SMEE'S BATTERY. 17
thenceforth my endeavour to construct one that should require little
or no labour in its employment, and this was followed by devising the
Chemico-mechanical battery.
This battery, after I had minutely investigated every property which
belongs to the metals of which batteries are constructed, was made upon
noticing the property which rough surfaces possess of evolving the
hydrogen, and smooth surfaces of favouring its adhesion.
The value of the battery process, Smee's battery (he writes in his
' History of Electro-Metallurgy ' *), over all others, is its applicability to all
cases ; moreover, when we use a single cell of the battery, the quantity of
zinc dissolved to do any amount of work is the same, or even less, than
attends the use of the other apparatus, because the local action in a battery
of this construction is less than in the single-cell apparatus, and lastly, the
quality of the precipitated metal can be regulated with the utmost nicety.
The platinized silver battery is peculiarly suitable for the operator,
for when it is in action it communicates to him the degree of work
that it is doing; in fact, it completely talks to its possessor. If the
current is very feeble, a faint murmur is heard ; if a little stronger, the
battery whispers ; if a moderate current is passing, it hisses ; but if a
violent one, it roars. At this present moment I have nineteen batteries at
work in the same room where I am writing, and they are each telling me
the work they are performing. This very instant the fall of a heavy
ledger in a neighbouring office has jarred two wires into contact, and
the roar of that one battery has immediately informed me of the fact,
notwithstanding the action of the eighteen others ; I have separated the
wires, and the universal singing communicates to me that all are now
woi'king satisfactorily. Any local action on zinc in the same manner is
immediately notified by its different and peculiar voice, and I have been
surprised how quickly the experimenter catches the characteristic pecu-
liarity of each noise, which is learnt more readily than the sound of different
bells in a strange house.
As soon as this new battery was made known it created
a great sensation throughout the country. The great manu-
facturers entertained so high an opinion of it, that before the
year had closed some thousands of them, or about 2000 worth,
were sold to the country. Thirty-six years have now passed since
its invention, and yet it is still in use.
As with most, if not with all inventions, there are always to
be found a few persons to endeavour to cry down any important
novelty, so it may be supposed that " Smee's Battery " did not
escape the ire of the jealous few ; but in this case, as in all other
cases where merit exists, it only brought its worth more into
view, and thus it became the one employed by the great
manufacturers of this country. Soon its fame reached other
countries, where it was likewise employed.
* P. 23.
t This was written at the time when he lived at his father's house at the
Bank of England.
C
18 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. III.
In the Appendix, No. V., a description of this battery will be
found, illustrated by woodcuts, with a very full account for
the working of the same.
The day following that on which Alfred Smee received the
gold medal from the Society of Arts for his battery, he was
married to Miss Hutchison, a young lady of Irish descent,
to whom he had been engaged at the early age of seventeen.
The marriage took place at 8 o'clock on the morning of the
2nd of .June, 1840 (before the Bank of England was opened
to the public), at St. Margaret's, Lothbury, the venerable Arch-
deacon Hollingsworth officiating, in the presence of six members
only of the two families. This privacy was occasioned through
my grandfather's official position at the Bank ; and as my mother
was an orphan, and Mr. and Mrs. Smee were her guardians,
she and her brother lived with them. Alfred Smee was ever a
most devoted husband, and his great affection for his wife is
shown in the dedication to her of ' My Garden.'
In April 1840, he wrote a paper on electrotypes, which I have
inserted in its place in the Appendix, No. VI.
The next paper of Alfred Smee's was a very important one : it
was the one through conducting the experiments for which he had
invented his battery, namely, 'On the Ferrosesquicyanuret of
Potassium.' It was read before the Eoyal Society on his birthday,
the 18th of June, 1840, only sixteen days after his marriage, and
it was printed in the ' London and Edinburgh Philosophical Maga-
zine :' see Appendix, No. VII. Although in this paper he pointed
out, before Schonbein's discovery of ozone, that electrolytic oxygen
converted the ferro- into the ferri-cyanide of potassium, yet for
some reason or other, best known to that learned body, or to the
set or clique which at that time governed it, this highly im-
portant paper was, like its predecessor on the battery, ordered to
be deposited in the archives of the Society ; that is to say, it was
not allowed to be published in the Eoyal Society's ' Proceedings '
or ' Transactions.' In consequence of this treatment Alfred Smee
did not for some time send any more papers. to the Eoyal Society,
but published them elsewhere.
' Electro-Metallurgy,' the first great work of Alfred Smee, was
published on the 1st of December, 1840.
Although most of the subjects contained in that book are now
generally known to the public, yet few only are aware that the
greater part, and indeed a very important part, of the science
of electro-metallurgy was the creation of his brain, and that at
CHAP. III.] ' ELECTRO-METALLURGY ' PUBLISHED. 19
the time this work was written, now thirty- seven years ago, it
was the only important contribution and the only complete
exposition of the subject embraced therein. The very name of
the science, electro-metallurgy, owes its name to him. The
late Prince Consort graciously allowed the book to be dedicated
to him. In the Appendix, No. VIII., will be found the history of
this science, as it is given in every edition of ' Electro-Metallurgy,'
as well as a brief view of the various subjects treated of in the
work itself. It suffices, therefore, here to enumerate some of the
more important researches which Mr. Smee made in the science
of electro-metallurgy. The important ones, therefore, were :
1. " The laws regulating the reduction of all metals in different
states." By these laws, gold, silver, platinum, palladium, copper,
iron, and almost every other metal, can be thrown down in three
states ; namely, as a black powder, as a crystalline deposit, or as
a flexible plate.
It is these laws (he says) which raise the isolated facts hitherto
known as the electrotype into a science. The hundreds of experiments (he
adds), I may even say the thousands, that have been tried to elucidate these
laws, could never have been executed had I not first discovered my galvanic
battery ; for its simplicity alone enabled me, without any assistance, to
undergo the laborious undertaking.
2. The processes for platinating and palladiating, until de-
scribed in his ' Electro-Metallurgy,' were facts altogether un-
known to science ; for the reduction of those metals into any other
state than that of the black powder had hitherto been always
considered impossible. By these processes, reliefs and intaglios
in gold and nearly every other metal were enabled to be executed.
3. To Mr. Smee we are also indebted for being the first to
discover the means by which perfect reverses of plaster could be
obtained : for it may seem singular that although every writer on
the subject had previously given directions for making moulds of
plaster casts in metal, yet before Smee's investigations no perfect
reverse of plaster had been obtained. He soon found out that the
reason of the failures lay in the extreme porosity of the plaster,
and he removed the difficulty by rendering the plaster non-
absorbent. In speaking of this matter he says :
The success of this department of my experiments has amply repaid
me for my labours and expense ; for there is not a town in England that I
have happened to visit, and scarcely a street of this metropolis, where pre-
pared plasters are not exposed to view for the purpose of alluring persons
to follow the delightful recreation by the practice of electro-metallurgy.
4. He also extended the use of white wax, bees'-wax, and resin.
c 2
20 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. III.
5. Amongst the many other novel facts first brought forward
in this work, ' Elements of Electro-Metallurgy/ a work which
naturally created a great sensation at the time, is the novel appli-
cation for the coating of fruit, ferns, leaves, &c., with copper.
As this would afford a pleasant recreation for ladies, I have tran-
scribed the directions for coating these natural objects in the
author's own words (see the Appendix, No. VIII.)
Besides being well reviewed, from the moment ' Electro-Metal-
lurgy ' was published, numerous were the letters which poured in to
my father about some matter or other appertaining to the subject,
not only from most of the manufacturers of this country, but also
from those of other countries. Indeed, up to the time of his
death, he never ceased receiving letters or seeing persons engaged
in the application of electro-metallurgy, all seeking for informa-
tion respecting either Smee's battery or some matter connected
with the process. As my father always gave his advice gra-
tuitously, his family have often been surprised and pleased by
receiving some small token made by the above kind of battery
as a recognition of some service, in the form of advice,
given by my father. As may be expected, there were not
wanting forgers of base coin to take advantage of the process
of electro-metallurgy for counterfeiting the coins of the realm.
In the prosecution of such cases my father was frequently called
as a witness.
I have dwelt long upon Smee's ' Electro-Metallurgy,' because
that work is now out of print, and it has been my desire to show
exactly to what extent Alfred Smee contributed to this science,
for other works are now appearing on that subject, in which
his name is more or less being ignored. I have also given many
details of Smee's battery, so as to serve as useful hints to those
employing the same ; for now the inventor is dead, his advice con-
cerning its management can be heard no more.
On the 4th of January, 1841, the distinguished chemist,
Brande, wrote from the Koyal Mint to Mr. Smee, thus :
MY DEAR SIR, Mr. Palmer has been good e'nough to Bend me a
copy of your valuable essay on Electro-Metallurgy, and as it will shortly
fall to my lot to give an evening at the Royal Institution, I am inclined to
take up that subject, provided you will lend me your aid. I was in hope
Faraday would have done it, but he is not well enough to take an active
part at present. Pray give me a line to tell me your feelings upon the
subject, and whether you will allow me to talk the matter over with
you in a day or two. Yours faithfully,
"W. T. BRANDE.
CHAP. III.] ELECTKOMETALLURGY. 21
Ten days later the same wrote :
Should you happen to be this way on Monday forenoon next and
would look in, you will find me at work on electrotypes, and might perhaps
be able to give me a little practical advice.
The lecture was delivered at the Koyal Institution on Friday
evening, January 22nd; and on the following month, Friday
evening, February 26th, 1841, one was delivered by Alfred
Smee ' On the Laws regulating the Voltaic Precipitation of
Metals.' The theatre was densely crowded on both occasions,
and from letters from members of the Royal Institution and
from other sources, it would seem that Mr. Smee's lecture was
a great success, as was that of Brande. Previously to this,
Mr. Smee had also given a very successful one before the Numis-
matic Society, on the 21st of January, 1841.
In April of the same year my father showed his various
specimens of electro-metallurgy to the late Prince Consort, at
Buckingham Palace. The Prince was greatly interested with
them. A cucumber that my father had coated with copper was
shown to her Majesty, and she became so interested with the
subject that she broke the casting with her finger, to see if really
the cucumber was inside. This coppered cucumber with the hole
is still in existence, as well as some of the other first specimens
in electro-metallurgy that were made by Alfred Smee. These
specimens were also frequently shown at the various great soirees
of London.
Besides the works already described, Alfred Smee had other
occupations to engross his time and attention. We find that on
the first Thursday in January, 1841, he was elected Surgeon to
the Bank of England. This appointment was specially created
for him, and for it he was mainly indebted to that eminent
surgeon, Sir Astley Cooper. Sir Astley had taken a great
interest in the young man, and came several times to the
Bank to see his various experiments. Being a friend of the
Governor of the Bank, Sir John Bay Beed, Sir Astley Cooper told
him to be sure " not to let Mr. Alfred Smee leave the Bank," for,
said he,
You don't know what a treasure you have got in that young man ;
he has shown signs of working out problems for himself which will be sure
to be useful some time or another.
I give this conversation as I have been told it by one (not the
person interested) who heard it. Evidently Sir Astley Cooper
22 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. III.
thought that " It is not the place honours the man, but the man
the place." * Besides being surgeon to the Bank of England, my
father held other public offices : he was also in private practice,
and was considered eminent as an oculist.
How he got through his various avocations is a marvel, but
the truth is, he was never idle. His mind was ever employed
upon some matter or other, and it resulted in his mind wearing
out his body while he was only in middle age.
On the 10th of June, 1841, before he was twenty-three years
old, he was elected Fellow of the Eoyal Society. There was some
opposition got up from a quarter least expected; but on the
eminent mathematician and actuary (B. Grompert) and some
others taking the matter up warmly, and on that gentleman,
on the day of the election, entering the room where it was to
take place, and signifying his intention of noting down the name
of every Fellow that voted, and how he voted, with a view of
publishing it to the world, those who led the opposition ended
by voting for Mr. Smee, who was duly elected.
The close of 1841 saw Mr. Smee the father of a son, an only
one.
In 1842 Mr. Smee succeeded in making a writing ink for the
Bank of England. Various specimens of writing made with his
ink about this time, thirty-six years ago, now exist, the letters of
which are as black as jet. Other specimens of writing made by
some of the manufacturers of ink at that time are more or less
faded, in some cases so much so that the writing is scarcely
legible. As the receipt for making this ink is no secret, it may
interest some of my readers to know what its ingredients are,
and how it is manufactured. I have, therefore, endeavoured to
satisfy them by giving the receipt in the Appendix, No. IX.
While I am on the subject of inks it will not be out of place
here to add that my father, to use his own words, made at various
times " almost innumerable examinations of different inks." In
Bush's case,f all the inks found in Bush's house were sent to my
father's house for examination, together with the paper thrown
into Stanfield Hall, with the inks from a large portion of the
county of Norfolk, to compare with that with which the document
was written. Another time his chemical analysis of some ink was
the means of showing that a gentleman who had been accused of
carelessness had been the victim of fraud, and thereby he had the
* See Talmud. t A celebrated murder case in 1847.
CHAP. III.] SCIENTIFIC PAPERS. 23
gratification not only of sustaining his reputation, but of saving
him from the payment of 1000.
In February of 1842 Mr. Smee was elected surgeon to the
Eoyal General Dispensary, Aldersgate Street. The " success " to
this election tf is much enhanced," writes Lord Carington, " by
the handsome majority."
During this year a paper of Mr. Smee's appeared in the
twenty-first number of the ' Philosophical Magazine,' and also in
the second volume of the 'Archives de I'ElectriciteY It was entitled
' On the New Definition of the Voltaic Circuit, with Formulae for
ascertaining its Power under different Circumstances.' This
paper was afterwards incorporated in the second edition of
* Electro-Metallurgy,' on which Mr. Smee was this year hard at
work. During this same year he wrote a few medical papers,
among which may be mentioned, ' On Glossites producing Sup-
puration,' to be found in the ' London Medical Journal ' of March
10th ; ' On the Treatment of Syphilis,' and an account of 'Violent
Hysteria in a Man.'
On the 9th of March, 1843, Mr. Smee read before the Koyal
Society his paper, ' On the Cause of the Eeduction of Metals
when Solutions of their Salts are subjected to the Galvanic
Current.' This paper was also incorporated in the second edition
of 'Electro-Metallurgy.' The paper itself will be found in the
Appendix, No. X.* The following evening he delivered a lecture
on the subject at the Koyal Institution, which appears to have
been very successful. .
Previously his attention had, with others, been directed to a
plan for conducting a Medical Association for Clerks, in connection
with the Provident Clerks' Benefit Association and Benevolent
Fund. It is a long draft, and the MS., which is in his hand-
writing, consists of several sheets of paper. The gist of the plan
was to ensure for those gentlemen who are occupied as clerks in
the city of London the benefits of being attended by the highest
medical skill, and for procuring for them the best medicines and
all the various comforts applicable in cases of sickness at a rate
commensurate with the pecuniary means of such seeking benefit
therefrom. The institution was to be in a central position, and
was to have baths, drugs, and a dispensing department. Medical
* This paper was published in the fourth volume of the ' Archives de I'Elec-
triciteY in 1844 ; in Majocchi, ' Ann. Fis. Chim.' vol. xv. 1844 ; in the ' Philo-
sophical Magazine,' vol. xxv. 1844 ; in the ' Proceedings of the Royal Society ;'
and in the ' Poggend. Annal.' No. Ixv. 1845.
24 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. III.
men were to be on the spot to attend to patients. There are
long rules and numerous regulations, which show that the
most minute detail was fully considered for the management of
this institution. I believe the scheme fell through for want of
funds.
The ' London Medical Gazette ' for April 3rd, 1843, contains
a paper by his pen, 'On the Inhalation of Ammonia das as a
Bemedial Agent.' See the Appendix, No. XI.
This year his only daughter was born to him.
CHAP. IV.] ' SOURCES OF PHYSICS ' PUBLISHED. 25
CHAPTEK IV.
1843 TO 1847.
' Sources of Physics,' second book, 1843-1844 Lectures on ' Detection of
Needles ' 1845 Paper, ' Application of Electricity to Surgery ' Carmine
injections Potato disease 1846 Third book on the 'Potato Plant'
Aphis vastator, nomenclature of 1847 Rancorous animosity and skits
on A. S. Famine Food soiree Skeleton of lecture Lecture Ventilation
Smee's ether inhaler.
THE same year appeared Alfred Smee's book on ' The Sources of
Physical Science,' which was specially written as an introduction
to the ' Study of Physiology through Physics,' and which comprises
the connection of the several departments of physical science, their
dependence on the same laws, and the relation of the material to
the immaterial. This work was published on the 1st of Sep-
tember, 1843. It is divided into seven chapters, thus :
CHAP. I. The Fundamental Sciences. Matter Arithmetic Attraction.
II. On the Sciences of Matter under Attraction. Chemistry
Crystallography Geometry Trigonometry Gravity Mag-
netism.
III. Chi the Sciences of the Disturbance of Attraction. Electricity
Mechanics Hydrostatics Pneumatics.
IV. The Sciences of Actions and Reactions. Time Heat Light
Sound Odour.
V. On the Performance of Human Operations.
VI. On the Complex Sciences.
VII. On the Relation of the Material to the Immaterial.
He had originally intended to draw up a slight sketch of
physical science to form an introductory chapter to his great
work, ' Electro-Biology,' which appeared about six years later ;
but finding that he was unable to compress the matter of the
intended chapter within three hundred pages, he resolved to
publish the work as a separate treatise.
At the commencement of my physiological inquiries (he writes) I
had no idea of dedicating a separate volume to the Sources of Physical
26 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IV.
Science, nor should I have published it if I could have referred to any
sufficiently condensed work on these subjects. But having felt the want
of a work considering the subjects of the sciences, and showing their
relative position, I conceived that my own attempts to forward these
inquiries might not be unacceptable to many lovers of scientific knowledge.
If I shall hereafter find that my labours have been useful to society, or
have induced others to produce a more perfect treatise, I shall feel most
amply rewarded.*
From these words we learn that Alfred Smee was the first
who published a condensed yet exhaustive view of the physical
sciences.
Although since this work was written, now thirty-four years
ago, great strides, nay, colossal strides, have been made in physical
science, yet it must be borne in mind that ' Sources of Physics '
was the forerunner of all the numerous treatises which have since
been issued in this branch of knowledge, and it was therefore at
the time of its publication a most original work.
In this work he impresses the reader with the importance of
studying physics as a whole, not in divisions.
For (says he) by the investigation of the phenomena of one science
we become more acquainted with its details ; but when we are desirous
of contemplating the real nature of the phenomena, and the cause of their
production, we must study the effects as a whole, to prevent erroneous
conclusions and vain creations of imponderables.!
The tendency of the present day is to take up one branch of
knowledge only nay, to divide one branch of knowledge into
various subdivisions, and to investigate only the details of one of
these subdivisions, thereby narrowing the mind ; for as the sight
of man is injured by viewing objects only through the microscope,
so in a similar manner is the mind narrowed by only using it for
the investigation of mere matters of detail.
In another place $ my father advocates for different classes
more freely to interchange ideas.
The tendency of the period (says he) is for society to group
together in classes ; even the Royal Society for the Promotion of Natural
Knowledge is most exclusive to all but actual followers of natural science.
The clergy separate themselves, the doctors congregate together, but a
continual intercourse in a right spirit has a tendency to perfect the mind
of all ; and whether they work in the upper, lower, or middle departments
of their minds, all should accord.
See ' Sources of Physics,' Preface, p. vii. f Idem, p. 254.
t See ' Mind of Man,' p. 106.
CHAP. IV.] ' SOURCES OF PHYSICS ' LECTURES. 27
My father also always held that the older a person grew
the more he should cultivate the acquaintance of young people ;
for by these means mutual benefit is derived. A young person
brings the new facts and feelings of the age added to a freshness
and vigour of mind, and thus prevents the elder from growing
old in intellect.
To return to ' Sources of Physics,' a full analysis of that work
will be found in the Appendix, No. XII., together with the two
concluding chapters, which, as they treat on the relation of the
material to the immaterial, are there given in entirety, as they not
only strongly bear upon subjects in his mental philosophy,* but
further they fully demonstrate how Alfred Smee's mind was, as
a young man as in middle-age, ever dwelling upon that which is
infinite ; and how he was ever demonstrating that that which is
infinite must not be limited, neither must time be confounded
with eternity, matter with space, the body with the soul, or
material actions with God.
Mr. Smee had for some time previously been elected lecturer
to the Aldersgate School of Medicine. In the Appendix,
No. XIII., is the Introductory Lecture delivered the 5th of
October, 1844, and in the same place at No. XIV. is part of
another lecture delivered before the same audience on the 9th
of December in the same year. The latter was embodied in a
paper entitled ' The Detection of Needles impacted in the
Human Frame.' During this year he received pressing letters
from the Royal Institution authorities to lecture before that
scientific body, but I am not aware that he did so.
His lectures were clearly delivered, and as it has been re-
marked of him, " he possessed great perspicuity of language,"
and "his manner was pleasing;" but unfortunately he did not
possess a good voice. He suffered as a young man much from
affection of the throat, which often deprived him in a great
measure of the use of his voice, and rendered him for a
considerable time afterwards husky and hoarse. He used to
deplore his not possessing a melodious voice, which was indeed
a great drawback in his lecturing and in his speaking before
public meetings, which he did frequently throughout his life.
A paper on the ' New Application of Electricity to Surgery '
was published in the 26th volume of the ' Philosophical Magazine.'
The same year he was elected Vice-president of the Medical
Society at King's College. I should not omit to mention that
* See ' Electro-Biology,' and ' The Mind of Man.'
28 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IV.
when he was a student of King's College, he belonged to their
Debating Society, and it was there he learned to speak in public.
He would speak on any question that was before the meeting in
order to acquire a fluency of language a custom from which, he
observed in later life, he had derived considerable benefit.
In March 1845, he wrote a paper for the Microscopical Society,
'On Vessels in Fat smaller than the Capillaries.' Curiously
enough the paper was lost by that society, which caused him
considerable irritation and annoyance : * for this paper contained
the description of the process he adopted in the preparation of his
beautiful carmine injections of the brain and spinal cord. These
injections were exceedingly difficult to prepare : they were made
by using a solution of carmine in ammonia mixed with size. The
preparations were then dried and placed in balsam, so that they
are permanent, and, being transparent, constitute the most lovely
microscopical specimens which can possibly be perceived. These
carmine injections will bear a very high magnifying power.
They were the very first that were made. Over a period of more
than thirty years these beautiful microscopic preparations have
been constantly shown at the various great soirees of London,
and up to the present day never are they exhibited without
filling the mind of the spectator with wonder and admiration.t
Early in the summer (June 1845), my father and mother,
with her brother, went to Switzerland for a month. Since
the time of his marriage, this was the first holiday he had been
enabled to take. It was the first time he had seen the
snow mountains, and from his intense love of Nature we may
well imagine his feelings of delight on beholding the Alps,
where
" The palaces of nature
Have pinnacled in clouds their snowy scalps,
And throned eternity in icy walls
Of cold sublimity." BYKON, Childe Harold.
In the summer of the same year a disease appeared in Europe
among potato plants, which caused the tubers to decay. The
first communication of the fact was in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,'
on the 16th of August, 1845, by Dr. Bell Salter. No sooner
had this letter appeared than other communications were sent
to that journal, stating that the disease had existed to a large
extent the previous season, although such an important state-
* It was supposed to have been stolen,
f See ' Mind of Man,' p. 233.
CHAP. IV.] WORK ON THE POTATO DISEASE. 29
ment had not previously been chronicled. The disease was at
first considered a totally new malady, but Mr. Smee found, on
inquiry, that in Germany, in 1830, Martius wrote on the subject,
and that he attributed its effect to a fungus. Berkeley, the great
fungologist -who, though differing in opinion from Mr. Smee,
always carried on the controversy in the most courteous
manner, and whom my father held in great respect and esteem
considered the fungus called the Botrytis to be the cause.
My father became interested in the subject, and began making
his own researches. He concluded that the first cause of the
disease was occasioned by an aphis which punctured the leaf,
sucked the sap, and destroyed the relation between the leaf and
the root, thus causing the leaf or some other part of the plant to
become gangrenous, and die. After the attack of the aphis, fungi
grew, which " growth," he writes, " is probably in many cases
materially assisted by the prior attack of the aphis." The results
of Mr. Smee's inquiries and researches on aphides, and their
relation to the potato and other plants, became so numerous, that
he was led, in 1846, into embodying his views on the subject in a
treatise containing 170 pages, which is well known by the title
of the ' Potato Plant, its Uses and Properties, together with the
Cause of the Present Malady.' * In this book, which is dedicated
to the late Prince Consort, the properties and growth of the
potato plant are set forth, as is also its individuality, and the
chemistry and use of that plant, &c. ; its gangrene, or present
disease, and the chemistry of the disease; the relation of the
disease to internal and external causes; the effect of temperature,
light, electricity, upon the disease; the relation of the disease
to soils and manures, to fungi; the relations of gangrene to
animal parasites. The various aphides are then described. The
insect that attacked the potato plant he considered to be an aphis,
which, when fully grown, is about a tenth of an inch long, and
its colour, either white, olive-green, brown, or inclined to red.
This aphis, the destroyer of the potato, he found was identically
the same which had been previously known to infest the turnip,
and which is called by Curtis on that account the Aphis
rapse. On the great confusion attending such a nomenclature,
Mr. Smee determined, for the sake of perspicuity, to call it
the Aphis vastator, or destroyer of our best provisions: for
the Aphis vastator destroys, in a similar manner as it does the
* This book is still in print, and is published by Messrs. Longman and Co.,
Paternoster Row.
30 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IV.
potato, the turnip, the swede, the beetroot, the cabbage, the
broccoli, the radish, the horse-radish, the various wild Solani,
some kinds of henbane, the Stramonium, the Belladonna, the
clover, the groundsel, the Euphorbia, some sorts of Murex, the
mallow, the shepherd's purse, the holy thistle, some kinds of
grass, and even wheat, the Jerusalem artichoke and the sweet
potato, and perhaps other plants.
There are many other kinds of aphides, besides the Aphis
vastator, which destroy other plants, and even trees, and we had,
about five years ago, some large willow-trees totally destroyed
by their ravages at "my garden" at Wallington.* Many of
these different sorts of aphides and injuries caused by them are
also delineated in this work on the potato disease. He also
shows the relation of the Vastator and other aphides to fungi ;
and he then gives the natural and artificial remedies for the
present diseases among plants. The work is illustrated by ten
lithographs of potato plants in health and in disease, of diseased
carrots and turnips, parsnips, and mangold-wurzel, of the Aphis
vastator and of other aphides, and of various fungi.
Mr. Curtis, the distinguished entomologist, blamed Mr. Smee
for having violated the established custom, in not having used
the prior name of the aphis. " But it appears," says my father,
" that Mr. Curtis named this self-same creature rapse, when it
had the former name, dianthi, assigned to it, as Mr. Walker has
informed me." Thus we have Aphis vastator (the destroyer) alias
rapse, alias dianthi. How many more aliases will this dire scourge
to mankind receive ?
The moment this book on the potato plant was published,
it was assailed in the most extraordinary way. The writers did
not attempt to attack his facts or his reasoning, but they mis-
represented his views, and indeed but too frequently made my
father say the very reverse of what he did say, and then they wrote
their own fabulous versions of his writings.f
The controversy which ensued during this potato pestilence,
and the violence of various parties, were truly a reproach to science.
At last, as my father has said,|
Foolish, people used to amuse me by sending threatening letters by
nearly every post (many of these have been collected together), cautioning
me that I should be amply punished if I dared to continue to write upon
* See ' My Garden,' second edition, p. 477.
f See ' Instinct and Reason,' p. 263. J Idem, p. 265.
CHAP. IV.] PERIOD OF POTATO DISEASE. 31
the subject (his life was even threatened). Notwithstanding all this, it was
very curious to notice how kindly the public used to supply me with facts
for my guidance ; and I received valuable communications, some of them
of great length, though, when the controversy was at its height, they
were sent anonymously. By the middle of summer nearly every agricul-
turist was made acquainted with my investigations despite this rancorous
animosity.
I can just remember the time of the potato disease. Our
drawing-rooms were ornamented with innumerable specimens of
diseased potatoes. Potatoes were on the mantelpieces ; potatoes
were on the tables ; potatoes innumerable were on the floor. I am
by no means sure that the chairs were not occupied by potatoes !
Wherever the eye glanced, diseased potatoes met the view.
In the Appendix, No. XV.B., will be found a selection from the
voluminous correspondence which Alfred Smee carried on in
various newspapers on the potato disease during the years 1845,
1846, and 1847.
In the ' Annual Register ' for 1805 it is stated in an article upon the
aphis, " In some years the aphides are so numerous as to cause almost a
total failure of the hop and potato plantations ; in other years the peas are
equally injured, while exotics, raised in stoves and greenhouses, are fre-
quently destroyed by their depredations." In the Linnsean Transactions
Mr. W. Curtis states, " To potatoes, and even to corn, we have known the
aphides to prove highly detrimental, and no less so to melons." Mr. Curtis
further states that " the aphis is the grand cause of blights in plants, and
that erroneous notions are entertained, not only by the vulgar and
illiterate, but even by persons of education, that aphides attack none but
sickly plants, with other notions as altogether false in fact as unphilo-
sophical in principle."*
Besides the rancorous animosity of the ignorant and of the
bigoted, Mr. Smee was subjected to be taken off in humorous
skits. Mr. Punch, of course, was not behindhand.
In the pantomime at Drury Lane appeared :
Scene, a Village Fair with Shows, &c. &c.
Little Boy looking at a peep-show.
Showman. This is the Aphis vastator, as you may see,
Yery much magnified by Mr. Smee.
Boy. Please, sir, which is the aphis and which is the tater ?
Showman. Whichever you like, my young investigator.
The Knight and the Wood Demon ;
or, One o'clock.
' Instinct and Reason,' p. 263.
32 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IV.
In one of the newspapers appeared the following humorous
lines :
Lines on reading Mr. Smee's Account of the Aphis vastator, supposed by
him to cause the Potato Blight.
Well ! this confounded tater blight
Is now clear'd up by Smee ;
And for a cure all people must
To fumigation flee.
Let all peruse his handsome book
About the wondrous fly,
Which is the cause of all the ill
So says his theory.
On reading first the title-page
(I say it in no joke),
From seeing F.R.S., I thought
The thing must end in smoke.
That some large bugs have been the cause
We've had some keen debaters ;
But none till now thought little flies
Could turn out such vast (e)aters.
That this vast-eating insect thrives
On its new kind of food,
There is no doubt, for milliards are
Born daily to the brood :
Which shows potatoes 'mongst all plants
Still hold the foremost place,
In making insects breed in swarms,
As well's the human race.
Alas ! how many other crops
This aphis now will finish !
And though we may have gammon left,
We'll have no more of spinach.
On turnips, carrots, and on beets,
They jump about in flocks ;
Even dandelions are not free,
Nor nettles, grass, nor docks.
Let some strong dose be now devised
By chemic speculators,
To massacre, this very year,
These terrible vastators.
Other lines appeared elsewhere, such as
" The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-mal
All jump'd out of Alfred Smee's rotten pot:
and others I might enumerate had I space so to do.
CHAP. IV.] FAMINE FOOD SOIREE". 33
But in the midst of the investigations, in the midst of the
bitter controversies and the humorous skits on the subject, the
disease still went rapidly on, till the scourge became so great
that a famine ensued in the land, and in Ireland the people were
dying of starvation. Then, in the midst of their distress, the
people bethought them of turning to Heaven for assistance ;
and accordingly we find that, on the llth of October, 1846,
prayers to the Almighty were offered up in all the churches
and chapels in England and Wales, for relief from the dearth and
scarcity then existing in parts of the United Kingdom. A few
months later, on Wednesday, the 24th of March, 1847, a form of
prayer was used in all churches and chapels throughout England
and Ireland, that being the day appointed by proclamation for a
general fast and humiliation.
Meanwhile, my father was trying various experiments to
ascertain how far other kinds of food might be employed for
the relief of the poor starved population of these realms. On
Saturday, the 6th of February, 1847, he held a large soiree at
his residence in Finsbury Circus, expressly to exhibit his famine
food, at which between 200 and 300 of the most distinguished
professional and literary men of the metropolis were present.
The account of the various kinds of bread constituting the
famine food is given in the Appendix, No. XV.A.
The company tasted all the samples prepared, and pronounced
Mr. Smee to have succeeded beyond expectation in his attempt.
Though a mere child at the time, I have a distinct recollection of
the nauseous taste of the Iceland moss bread ; but the hay bread
and the hay biscuit I remember having found very sweet and
palatable. It should here be added that my father did not himself
believe that any of these breads, excepting the cereal breads, could
compete with wheat in nutritive power or price, so that, besides
being inferior in quality, they could never be brought into use
from their additional cost.*
On the 10th of March of the same year Mr. Smee delivered a
lecture at the London Institution on aphides being the cause of
the potato disease. Whenever he delivered a lecture or wrote a
book, he always drew up on a card, or on one sheet of paper,
the plan of the lecture or of the book. This he called the
" skeleton." And in lecturing he only employed such brief notes
as were contained in his " skeleton." I will here subjoin the
skeleton of the lecture he delivered on the cause of the potato
* See 'Instinct and Reason,' p. 106.
34 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IV.
disease, as it is a very good example of all of them. The lecture
clothed in its proper form will be found in the Appendix, No.
XV.B.
Insect Plagues. 800,000, St. Augustine. Barnes, 2000 miles
covered by them.
Aphides.
Demonstration :
1. Live plants.
2. Healthy.
3. Sucks juices.
4. Impairs qualities.
5. Alters properties.
6. Bad sap not nourish.
7. Imperfect tissue dies.
8. Death local, remote.
9. Remote death entirely kill the plant.
10. Wild plants resist better than cultivated.
11. Cultivated plants ill resist.
12. Deposition of fibre.
13. Propagation of diseased fibre.
14. Injury to plants hastens transformation.
15. Growth of fungi.
Destroyers of aphides ladybirds, gauze-wings, synphidas, ichneumons,
Chalcididse, birds.
Great fleas and little fleas have smaller fleas to bite 'em ;
These smaller fleas have lesser fleas, so on ad infinitum.
Aphides live on all plants.
Yastator potato no novelty.
Gangrene.
Vastator, name, leaf, root, history, anatomy, chemistry.
Subsistence.
Tendrils. Oxyhydrogen. Microscope.
Future prospects, transitions.
" I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, and it shall not destroy the
fruits of the ground."
Whenever my father found a plant infested by an aphis,
he used to secure some specimens, put them in a pill-box, and in
the evening place them in Canada balsam so as to carefully
examine them. In this way he preserved all his evidences
upon this point for future reference, and the name of the plant
on which the insect fed was immediately scratched on the glass
with a diamond, so that no source of error could possibly arise.
The mode of fixing the insect in Canada balsam was very simple :
a slip of glass was warmed over a candle, and a drop of the
CHAP. IV.] MICROSCOPIC PREPARATIONS. 35
balsam was then placed upon it ; the insect, whilst yet alive,
was then placed on the balsam, and the glass was again very
gently warmed in order to kill the insect ; another piece of the glass
was then heated over a candle and placed on the insect, when the
creature was hermetically sealed up for ever.
It is necessary (lie says) that the insect should be dry when it is
mounted, and we must take especial care not to apply too much heat,
which will corrugate the antennae and destroy the form of the insect. I
strongly recommend to all entomologists this mode of preserving small
insects; and having once properly secured them, they will last for an
indefinite period, and can be handled without the slightest risk of
injury.*
Mr. Smee mounted many hundreds of these microscopic
preparations of the Aphis vastator, and of slices of diseased
potatoes ; and these slides have, after the lapse of nearly thirty
years, been the means by which this great controversy on the
potato disease has probably at last been settled. For in the winter
of 1876, when Mr. Worthington Smith was investigating the
subject of diseased potatoes, my father placed in his hands for
examination 360 slides of diseased potatoes and of aphides, all of
which the latter had himself mounted during the great potato
murrain of 1846-1847. On placing these slides under a
powerful microscope, Mr. Smith discovered that some of the
aphides were completely filled with the fungus internally and
covered with it externally, and that gentleman has further demon-
strated that this insect punctures the potato, and inserts in it the
fungus. A full account of these recent observations of Mr. Smith,
together with two drawings which that gentleman has kindly
made for me from my father's mounted specimens of the Aphis
vastator, and of a diseased potato showing the resting spore of
the fungus within the aphis, will be found in the Appendix,
No. XV.c. By this it would appear that the primary cause of
the potato murrain of 1846-1847 was the aphis, and the
secondary cause the fungus.
The following question, which my father addressed to a well-
known actuary, is transcribed for the amusement of those who
may be fond of figures:
An aphis arrived on my cucumber, January 1, 1861. It had ten young
ones at the end of ten days, ten more in ten days' time, and every suc-
ceeding ten days. Every young one had ten young ten days after birth,
* See ' Potato Plant,' p. 14.
D 2
36 MEMOIK OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IV.
and again every other ten days, till December 31st, 1861. How many
aphides in all, if the mother aphis and her whole progeny were alive on the
31st of December P
Every aphis weighed -^ grain. What was the total weight of the aphides
so produced? ALFRED SMEE.
Answer.
Let a = total number of generations from the mother aphis = 36.
Let & = the number at each birth = 10,
The formula will be 1 + ab + (a - 1) 6* + (a - 2) & 3 + etc
(a - 35) b 36 .
The answer to the first question, i.e. what number of aphides in all,
is
1,234,567,901,234,567,901,234,567,901,234,567,861 aphides, or nearly
li sextillions of aphides.
The answer to the second question is
78,728,820,231,496,422,293,148,463 tons weight, or nearly 78J quad-
rillions of tons weight.
Besides interesting himself with aphides, we find him occu-
pied on other subjects ; for in 1846, in conjunction with one of
the managers, he was engaged on the ventilation of the theatre
of the London Institution. To draw comparisons is odious : yet we
cannot but wish that all public rooms were as well ventilated as
is the theatre of the London Institution. During different periods
of his life he was employed on the ventilation of various large
buildings, and the Grand Hotel at Brighton owed its proper
ventilation to him.
During 1846 he was invited to take part in a discussion at
the Civil Engineers' on the explosion of boilers, as he was known
to have turned his attention to the subject.
In 1847 he invented an ether-inhaler, which was exhibited
at his soiree. The first one was made by Messrs. Maw, of
Aldersgate Street. The ' Illustrated London News ' * says
In a former number (245) we called attention to the important medical
discovery, whereby a state of the body could be produced by the inhalation
of ether, which renders the patient insensible to the pain of the most
severe operations. Since the discovery has been promulgated, medical
men have been actively engaged throughout the country in prosecuting
their inquiries upon the subject, and numerous forms of apparatus have
been devised for conducting the inhalation.
It is found by experience that the more rapidly the effect is produced
January 30th, 1847.
CHAP. IV.]
SMEE'S ETHER-INHALEK.
37
on the body the better is the result for the patient. It is upon this
idea that an inhaler has been contrived by Mr. Alfred Smee, surgeon
to the Bank of England, whereby the evaporization of
ether is promoted by warmth given to the apparatus from
a little chamber of hot water.
Mr. Smee's inhaler, which is here figured, was made
by Mr. Ferguson, of Smithfield; and consists of a tin
vessel, either circular or oval, about eight inches long
and three wide, divided into two compartments one
smaller (A), to contain hot water; the other larger (B),
to contain the ether. The larger compartment is divided
into two by a diaphragm, and has another opening to
admit the ether and the entrance of the air (D). Into
this larger compartment a tube is fixed, which has a valve
at the extremity (E), for inspiration, and another valve (G)
near the mouthpiece, for expiration. The mouth-piece
(F) has an india-rubber covering, to adapt itself to dif-
ferent mouths.
When this instrument is to be used, the smaller
chamber is filled with hot water (c), and a little ether,
an ounce for instance, is placed in the larger compart-
ment, which has sponge placed in it, to prevent its
moving about. On inhalation, the current of air passes c
, . ., * Smee's Ether-inhaler.
in the direction of the arrows, and is said to produce
far more rapid effects than when any other instrument is employed.
This instrument, with other ingenious arrangements for the inhalation
of ether, have been submitted to us by the proprietor of the celebrated
Depot for Inventions, 201, Strand.
FIG. 2.
38 MEMOIK OF ALFEED SMEE. [CHAP. V.
CHAPTER V.
1848 TO 1849.
' The Eye,' fourth book Smee's optometer Smee's horizontal fish-tail burners
Sheet of Accidents and Emergencies Royal Society : on its reducing its
number of Fellows Personal appearance of Alfred Smee Love of his family
His powers of abstraction His untidiness Indifference to dress His
walk Jingling keys Quick temper Quick in action Sensitive to a slight
Not jealous Impatient of opposition Disliked arguments Expected
others to have the same quickness of apprehension as himself Works for
others Disposition Never feared responsibility His dislike of routine
work His charity His genial and social disposition Loved society, but
disliked the London season being in summer His favourite authors.
ON the 16th and 23rd of March, 1848, Alfred Smee gave a course
of two lectures on Vision at the London Institution ; he also gave
other lectures at the Central London Ophthalmic Hospital, which
were afterwards incorporated in a book, and published under the
title of ' The Eye in Health and Disease.' The book had an
extensive sale and was translated into French. In it there is an
account of one of his clever contrivances for the adaptation of
glasses for impaired, aged, or defective sight. The optometer for
FIG. 3. Optometer.
such is the name of the instrument is most simple in its con-
struction, yet most useful, and it should invariably be employed
by the optician before spectacles are sold to the applicant. The
instrument consists of a convex lens to which a graduated scale
is affixed of such a length, that convergent, parallel, and diver-
gent rays may be brought within a reasonable scope, and thus
the eye may be tested by it. In this book is also an account of
a novel kind of photometer, which he designed to judge of the
CHAP. V.] IMPROVEMENT IN GAS-BUENERS. 39
amount of light; but I shall have to speak of this instrument
when I give an account of its being used at the eclipse of the
sun in 1858, so that there is no need of further describing it
here. There is also a description of his ingenious contrivance
for the better lighting of rooms by horizontal fish-tail gas-
burners.
It occurred to me (lie writes) that the light should be placed at about
an angle of forty-five degrees if placed about the centre of the room, or if
near the ceiling, almost horizontal.
In my own library (and in his dining-
room, too), I am using a star with
three fish-tail burners, so arranged
that the gas passes out horizontally,
a direction which causes the flame to
assume a curve eminently calculated
to illuminate the table. An enormous FlG - 4 - Gas-burner and jet.
increase of light is obtained by these means. From the very great
superiority of the illuminating power obtained by this very simple
arrangement, I feel but little doubt that it will be at last generally
adopted.
He lived to see it universally adopted, although few if any
beyond his intimate circle of friends know to whom they are
indebted for originating this perfect manner of illumination.
The treatise contains also fifty short rules for the preservation
of sight, and for the choice of spectacles.
It may suffice here to add that the eye was my father's
speciality, aad that over a series of years he was largely con-
sulted on that subject by a high class of patients. It is to me a
source of regret that other inducements caused him to abandon
in a great measure this part of his profession, in which he was,
to use the words of Sir David Brewster, " so distinguished."
In 1848 he also brought out a sheet of Directions for Accidents
and Emergencies to be used before the arrival of medical aid.
This sheet was specially designed for the poor. For the title of
the sheet, which was made ornamental so that the poor should
hang it up in their cottages, an engraving after a painting
by Sir Joshua Eeynolds, in the Dulwich Gallery, was selected.
In this painting the idea of life is represented by an angel,
death is depicted by another figure, and disease in the form of
a child.
A few other short papers also appeared from his pen during
this year, amongst which may be mentioned one in the ' Illus-
trated London News ' for December 2nd, 1848, ' On Electric
Light and Gas Companies.'
40 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. V.
This year he was elected memher of the Hunterian Society.
During the same year (1848), Mr. Smee's mind seems also to
have been bent on setting the Council of the Eoyal Society to
rights, for the ' Athenaeum ' on the 25th of November contains two
anonymous letters from his pen. Here it should be mentioned
that he was always adverse to the Koyal Society curtailing its
number of Fellows, whereby he considered the strength of the
Society was proportionately reduced. If the Institute of France
be taken as an example, then certainly his suppositions relative
to the Eoyal Society would give some grounds for apprehension.
He was also opposed to the system by which the publication and
rejection of learned papers are determined. In speaking of the
rejection of a valuable paper by Mr. Spencer, we find in his
history of Electro-Metallurgy these remarkable words :
It is improper to throw the whole blame of the rejection of that paper
upon Dr. Lardner, for this is by no means the only essay of importance
which has been consigned to oblivion. The rejection of valuable papers is
a fault of the system, not of the man. At all the learned societies a paper
submitted to the society is referred to persons to report upon its merits,
and upon that report the committees act with regard to its publication
or suppression, which, in some cases, is facetiously termed a careful
deposition in the archives of the society, which expression literally means,
that it is placed in some large box from which it will be excluded from the
cheering influence of the sun's rays for ever. The examination into the
merits of any particular paper is, however, a most unthankful, disagree-
able, and troublesome office. And it is not, therefore, surprising that the
referees should sometimes exercise their characters as men, in supporting
their own or the opinions of their friends and those to whom they ai*e
under obligations, and occasionally forget their situation as judges. Their
services being gratuitous, entitle the referees to the heartiest thanks of the
public; but an important office like that they occupy, in which the pros-
perity of the whole country is interested, should decidedly not be held
without remuneration, and when remunerated the officers should be held
responsible for their decisions. One never can tell to what great end a
single new fact or application, though in an ill-drawn-up paper, may not
ultimately tend.*
These remarks, it will be seen, are also applicable to other
societies.
Perhaps before this I should have given an account of my
father's outward appearance. He was short, not exceeding 5 feet
8 inches in height. As a young man he was very slim ; became,
however, in the prime of his life corpulent; but the last eight
years again became very thin, and indeed emaciated. Although
* See ' Electro-Metallurgy,' p. xix.
CHAP. V.] PERSONAL APPEARANCE. 41
short, he would have been taken for a tall man when seen sitting in
a chair. There appears to have been an arrest of growth between
his hip and his knee ; otherwise, as his family frequently heard
him remark, he ought to have been a man nearly six feet high.
He always sat bolt upright, and disliked lounging chairs. His
face was singularly handsome, and he possessed delicate yet well-
defined features. He was very dark, and had a clear complexion,
his cheeks being slightly tinged with colour. Through intense
mental work his hair became grey at the early age of eighteen.
When I first remembered him, his hair was of an iron grey and
very short and curly. When a boy, he had, as I have heard,
beautiful long ringlets which fell over his shoulders, and all
who saw him called him the " beautiful boy." In the prime of
life his curly locks used to glisten like silver in the sun. If,
however, he were not quite well, his hair would assume a
leaden tint ; but no sooner was he again better in health, than
his hair resumed its usual silvery beauty. His forehead was
broad and prominent, and singularly square. His mouth was
small, his lips thin and firmly set, and his face was set off by
a pretty dimple in his chin, which, when he was animated in
conversation or when he smiled, enhanced the beauty of his
countenance. Later in life he wore a beard which robbed him
of a part of his good looks. He had also small ears, a well-
formed nose, small hands singularly handy in manipulation
and small feet. But perhaps the most striking feature of his
appearance were his eyes, which were truly wonderful. All who
saw him in former days can testify to this. When a young
man, they would flash fire. I have myself seen many instances
of the marvellous power of a glance of his eye on persons trying
to conceal any matter or to prevaricate. It was terrible to such
persons !
Here I must remark that my brother and myself from early
childhood were constantly with my father. We were always
with him at his breakfast and frequently during his dinner, for
my father, unless conducting his experiments or seeing patients,
was never thoroughly happy unless he had his family around
him. In the morning he used to write at the breakfast-table
whether his books or his pamphlets, or his papers, or his
reports or letters whilst my brother and myself were supposed
to be playing about the room. But too often our play was
stopped to make observations upon him. Yet at other times we
were quite noisy, and would have, as we used to say, a bear-fight
42 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. V.
between ourselves, when down we would go on the floor on our
hands and knees and pretend to be two bears fighting. Nothing of
our play or conversation escaped my father, busy and seemingly
absorbed as' he was with his writings. Afterwards I have heard
him observe, that during those breakfast hours he obtained a
greater insight into our separate characters than he would have
done had he seen us only when we were fully aware that he was
watching us, for we as children looked upon him as an extra-
ordinary man, who was so absent that we might do what we
liked, and he would not notice it. How differently perhaps
should we have behaved had we known that his eyes too were
upon us !
In this way we heard and saw much of great interest, for
he had the remarkable faculty of being able to write on the
most abstruse questions with people talking around him in
the same room, so great were his powers of abstraction and
concentration. It was his custom to write books, as it were,
in the mind, as he moved about in any ordinary avocations of
life. When composed in the mind, it frequently became, as he
has written,
a mere question of mechanical labour to transmit to paper those ideas
when thought out ; and so mechanical is the act of writing, that I
frequently find myself using the pen on important matters whilst
conversing with those around me on the ordinary trivial subjects of
the day.*
Sometimes his mind could attend to two matters at one time,
as instanced above, and sometimes even three operations of the
brain would occur to him simultaneously, besides many slighter
matters which the mind apprehended, such as the " ticking of a
watch or the passage of a figure before the eye," &c. However,
in laughing with him over his doing three things at one time, so
contrary to the adage, he would own that he " generally made a
hash of that." But duality of mental action or thought was an
ordinary habit with him. He has written concerning this
With me it is so constant, that it is my custom to read or even to
write upon one subject when my family are conversing upon another.
Most of my published treatises have been written, after having been
thought out, when I have been talking with my family and friends upon
the ordinary subjects which are discussed at a family gathering on a
winter's evening.f
* See ' Mind of Man,' p. 13. t Idem.
CHAP. V.] PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 43
But against this there were times when the mind required to
isolate itself, as it were, from the external world, and concen-
trate thought upon the subject to be worked out.
The ear must not hear nor the eye see. Many times I have been so
thoroughly absorbed in developing a general scheme, that whilst walking
the public streets I have found myself standing still to grasp, as it were,
the relation of one part of the complicated details of the subject to another ;
aiid one day when it poured with rain I was amused on passing a friend to
find that I had said, " A fine day," so entirely was my mind engrossed by
the consideration of the matter before me.
This was by no means an uncommon case; for on similar
mistakes arising from his absorption of mind, I might quote many
laughable occurrences and sources of merriment to his family.
His powers of memory were truly remarkable.
He was once at an important meeting where no reporter was present,
and it was considered desirable for a report to appear. Upon application
two or three days afterwards, he wrote out such of the speeches as were
required, in such a manner that the substance was so correctly given that
no person found out that his very words had not been taken down in the
room by a shorthand- writer. Those proceedings happened to interest the
public, and have been copied from paper to paper, and from newspapers
to standard works.*
After this it may seem a paradox to state that he could never
learn anything by rote : to commit Homer or Virgil to memory
would have been to him an impossibility. Yet he could quote
numerous favourite passages from the immortal Shakspeare's
works. When at King's College, he used to write the lectures
that he there attended verbatim after he came home. He did
not take notes during the lectures, but afterwards, for his memory
was so perfect that he could often write them out as they were
delivered. It has been told him that he could learn from a book
by heart if he only chose, to which assertion he always gave
an unequivocal denial. Yet any image that had once been re-
gistered on his brain he never forgot. As an instance of this,
he would remember thirty years after where he had placed a
most trivial object, which ordinary individuals speedily forgot ; yet
he did not take any trouble to remember, but did remember
nevertheless. I must confess that his family would not have
regretted the absence of such a power of memory, for he was
particularly untidy and careless ; and as he used every room in
the house as his study, and as he never dreamt of sorting or
* ' Instinct and Reason,' p. 52.
44 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. V.
arranging his numerous papers and letters (and I think few houses
had so many letters and various papers sent to them as his had),
it ^followed that the house was one huge writing room and waste-
paper basket, the intricacy of which no one knew but himself ;
and as he quite ignored that there were such creatures as house-
maids in the world, he had but too frequently to suffer for his
determined forgetfulness of that necessary appendage to society.
Then, if some cherished scrap of paper or some letter requiring
instant answering (the moment my father had an idea in his head
it must be done that very instant), or whatever object it might
be that was required, were not instantly forthcoming, then
ruesome were the faces in our household ! Whoever could hold
his ground, now was the time ! " If you please, mum, master
won't have his papers touched ; how am I to clear the breakfast
table ? " was the incessant question from the servants. At last I
tried to keep his multifarious papers in somewhat like order. He
would ask, " )*Vhere is that paper or letter which came on such a
subject, three or four years ago? I want it immediately;" and
matters had to be arranged so that what was required could
be found in the twinkling of an eye. All was well so long as
I remained at home ; but if by chance I left home for two or
three days on a visit (I never left home for more than ten days
together, and then never more than three times in my life), then
everything went wrong with the papers. On one of these occa-
sions I received the following letter from my father :
MY DEAR MARY, The head magpie has so badly taught the other
magpies that all think themselves quite competent to take the place of
the head magpie, and nothing left out for a moment is thrust under the
pillows, or behind the sofa, so that the house is so magpied that every-
thing is unfindable. It is a great dispensation of Providence that I am so
heavy that they cannot hide me, or I should be hid in an old shoe, or
perhaps in the key -hole, and never be able to find myself again.
My father was also extremely indifferent about his dress. So
long as they were baggy and he could slip quickly into his clothes,
that was all he required. Unless it was very- cold weather, gloves
he would never wear, excepting sometimes in the evening, and
then he insisted upon having them about two sizes too large for
him, that he might put them easily on, his fingers not being
inserted more than half-way in them. But they were too
frequently never put on ; yet from the peculiar twistings and
contortions they had undergone during the evening, they were
invariably quite unfit to appear on any future occasion.
CHAP. V.] PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS. 45
To show his utter indifference to dress, he was. going one
evening to a large dinner-party, at which he wished to appear
at his hest. His dress-clothes were duly put out for him (he
never looked to such things himself) in his dressing-room ; by
ill luck, an old worn-out garden coat was lying near : my father,
thinking of utterly different things from what he should be at
that moment, slipped into his old rusty worn-out garden coat,
and went off to the dinner-party ; when to his discomfort, whilst
sitting at the table next to the hostess, he suddenly discovered
the mistake. Speaking of evening dress, it should be observed
that my father ever had a great partiality for tail coats, and
for many years of his life nothing could induce him to wear any
other form of coat.
Besides this peculiarity in his dress, my father had also a pecu-
liarity in his walk if walk we may call it, for he usually used to
run along, taking very short steps ; but what with his short steps
and his peculiar run, it was no easy matter to keep up with him.
He usually had a large bunch of keys in one hand, which he
jingled all the time he was running or walking. Oh, those keys !
I cannot think of them without a horror. What have my nerves
suffered through ye, keys ? If he was thinking, jingle went
the keys ; if he was writing, again jingle went the keys : when-
ever an opportunity was afforded him to jingle those precious keys
they were jingled. I have often wondered he did not jingle them
in his sleep : if they had been near him, I am sure he would have
done so. In later life he gave up this dreadful habit, to the
satisfaction of his family.
My father's temper was quick, as indeed was everything he did.
When once his mind was made up for any given action, he seldom
paused, but acted immediately, and it is thus he got through such
an immense amount of work. Whilst others considered he acted.
To a supposed slight he was particularly sensitive : this unfor-
tunately caused him at times to take offence when none was
intended. He had not the slightest tinge of jealousy, and he was
always willing to give, and did continually give, a helping hand
to any who required it. As a young man he had suffered con-
siderably from the jealousy of others, his elders, and it made
him have a feeling heart for others in a similar position.
Opposition, however, my father could not brook. What he saw
distinctly, that he expected others also to see. This made him
an impatient teacher. He always expected his hearers to meet
him more than half-way in understanding a subject, forgetting,
46 MEMOIK OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. V.
or rather ignoring, that they might not be even cognizant of
the facts on which his conclusions were based. Arguments
he detested. To his mind a proposition was either right or
wrong : and if one person took one side of a question, and
another person took another, no amount of argument, he con-
tended, would alter the opinion of either party, but would
make both sides more pertinacious in their respective views. So
my father would never permit an argument to be carried on by
his family in his presence, which was often vexatious to them,
the younger members being of an argumentative and contra-
dictory turn of mind. As it has been just above observed, he was
extremely quick in at once seizing the points of a question, or in
deciding on any course of action. This made him intolerant
of slowness of comprehension in others; and once having
determined upon any course of action, nothing would irritate
him more than for others to begin to talk or discuss upon that
which, as his quick mind had already perceived, allowed of only
one course of action. Woe betide that unfortunate individual,
for Alfred Smee would invariably cut short his " twaddle." But
in this it must be admitted he committed a grievous mistake, for
this quickness of character is not born in everyone, and most
persons' amour propre would be wounded on being told in forcible
language that their talk was not worth listening to. This, I must
admit, was the worst feature in my father's character. Though
impetuous to a degree, never had a man a kinder heart than had
Alfred Smee. What labour would he not give himself for the
good of others (entirely without the domestic circle) ! His
family, not possessing perhaps a sufficiently philanthropic spirit,
have often said to him, " Why do you work so hard for So-and-so ?
You will never be thanked for it or, So-and-so will not appreciate
your kindness towards him." " You are only killing yourself." the
writer of these lines used invariably to add, " for others who do
not deserve it." This was but too often the case ; he has often
overworked himself for several who have proved ungrateful. Upon
these remarks his family were always censured, and reminded
that it was not right to do good only when we were sure of our
reward, but that it was our duty to be always trying to do good
to others. Alfred Smee was also most kind-hearted, and would
never willingly inflict pain by word or look, or by action, to any
person or creature, unless, indeed, his ire was roused by being
slighted, molested, or personally abused, either by words or
writing, or, to use a homely yet a favourite expression of his, if
CHAP. V.] HIS DISLIKE OF ROUTINE WORK. 47
anyone " trod on his toes ; " then he spared not his foe, hut with
his pen he cut deep until he made his adversary writhe again.
My father never feared responsibility, neither did he fear
asserting that which he considered to be the truth. Where others
shrunk, he ventured ; where others wavered, he decided : he was
essentially a man of action. He trusted his own powers and
acted up to them. He had a great idea of persons forming them-
selves decided opinions upon a subject and acting up to them.
He writes to his son from abroad, on a question in dispute, " You
must come to the front and form a clear, decided opinion, and
contend for a very definite course of action upon the best opinion
that can be formed."
With my father's love for action, and with his restless dis-
position, it is a wonder that he did not take the management of
his house into his hands ; for that, however, he ever showed an
indifference quite remarkable. He had his own peculiar ways
of managing his own money matters. So much a year he put
by for house expenditure and for his family, and so much he
allowed himself for pocket-money. What he allowed for himself
was mostly spent on treats and presents to the different members
of his family, or for charity. So long as no more money was
required for the house, or for the necessities appertaining to
the family's social condition, well and good ; he then troubled
himself but little, if indeed at all, how the money was expended.
Especially did the evil grow upon him in later life of a dislike
of routine work. He detested attending to any matters of
detail, and liked instead to soar in the regions above, and pro-
pound those noble generalizations of physical force and mental
phenomena, which it has been more especially the object of
this work to show.
In charity he gave not a little, and from what his family have
learnt from persons who have proved grateful for his bounty, it
seems that in the bestowing of his charity he let not his left
hand know what his right hand did. But although he was very
beneficent, yet he was wise in his acts of charity ; for he liked to
assist persons by procuring for them some occupation befitting
them, that they might thereby become independent workers of
their own livelihood instead of living upon the charity of others.
This little trait is seen in the following anecdote. For some
years a poor woman sat on the steps of a house situated at the
corner of a street which he daily passed, and solicited alms of
the passers-by. One day it struck my father, Why should not
48 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. V.
this woman get her own livelihood ? He accordingly accosted
her, and asked her, Why did she always sit there doing nothing ?
Why did she not sell newspapers to the passers-by, and thereby
earn something instead of begging. It was a good position for
that purpose, for the honse was a corner one, in a busy and
frequented part of the city of London. " Alas," replied the poor
woman, " I have no money to get the newspapers, and nobody
will give me credit." " If that is all," said my father, " take this
sovereign, and get some newspapers, and let me see you to-
morrow selling them." The woman did so, and for many years
she might have been observed at the same corner, selling her
stock of papers, and looking much happier than when she solicited
alms of the passers-by. She is now dead having died of old
age. I doubt not that sovereign given her in that manner
enabled her to end her days in more comfort, and certainly
with greater happiness. For her little business throve every
year more and more ; indeed, it must have become a capital
speculation, for after her death another old woman appeared
carrying on the same business.
Many instances similar to the above might be enumerated to
show my father's beneficence. After his death, how many of the
poor came to tell his family that they, too, mourned his loss
that they, too, had indeed lost a true friend !
From Alfred Smee's genial and social disposition it may be
inferred that he loved society, and shone in it. Much as my
father liked being in society, yet never could he tolerate the
London season being in the spring and summer months, when
the country was looking its best. For no sooner did the
flowers begin to bloom, the trees to push forward their buds,
and the birds to warble their melodious songs, than his soul
panted to be amidst such scenes, rather than in hot ill-ventilated
rooms during the lovely months of May, June, and July. Why
the season could not be in winter, when people would more
enjoy social intercourse in warm rooms than they could in hot
weather, he never could understand. He was not a fox-hunter
himself, and perhaps had not sufficient sympathy with the par-
takers of that sport, and, therefore, he could not appreciate the
motives for persons preferring the country in the winter to the
summer.
My father's mode of reading was cursory. He had a peculiar
facility in seizing at once what was valuable in any book without
perusing it from beginning to end. He would read philosophic
CHAP. V.] HIS FAVOUKITE READING. 49
works or books on travels, but novels lie never could be induced
to read, and always declared, and indeed boasted, he had never
read a novel through in his life. If he saw anybody about him
with a novel, he would contrive to get hold of it, and would
then amuse himself by holding it up to ridicule by picking out
in an instant one of the weaker parts of it, and, reading aloud
the passage, would then, to the discomfort of the reader, laugh-
ingly inquire, " What pleasure could be derived by reading such
stuff?" He disliked books where truth and fiction were so inter-
woven that the one could not be distinguished from the other.
But books of fiction, such as fairy tales, and other works of
imagination or satire, he liked. And so those wonderful con-
ceptions from the vivid imagination of Shakspeare were to my
father the most delightful specimens of the kind. My father's
keen sense of imagination and of fun enabled him to enjoy
farces, comedies, and pantomimes, and I doubt whether any child
had more delight in the transformation scenes of a pantomime
than had my father. He therefore delighted in taking children
to see them. On a friend's not allowing his children to see a
pantomime until he considered them old enough to go behind
the sfcenes and see how delusive everything was, my father ex-
pressed his utter disapprobation of such a course, and remarked
that children should be brought up to know that no one is
exempt from being taken in by his senses. Those children,
my father asserted, who were brought up without imagination,
and who never saw tricks played before them without having
them all explained, were sure to be the ones who would be the
most likely to be deceived in after-life, and to become the victims
of designing men.
50 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VI.
CHAPTEE VI.
1849 TO 1854.
Fifth book, ' Electro-Biology 'Lecture on Electro-Biology' Principles of the
Human Mind' Cholera Cholera medicine given away 'Instinct and Koason'
written to illustrate Electro-Biology Sketch of the general plan of the work
Smee's hot and cold detector Third edition of 'Electro-Metallurgy'
brought out ' Process of Thought ' written Long articles in the ' Illustrated
London News ' Plants that can be grown in London Lecture at Newbury
Writes a memoir of Wyon Lectures to the clerks of the Bank of England
on 'Instinct and Keason' First visit to Paris Alfred Smee an angler
A regular attendant at St. Paul's Cathedral Power of prayer.
ALFRED SMEE'S great work, ' The Elements of Electro-Biology,'
which embraces his ' Natural System of Mental Philosophy,'
appeared in February 1849. On this work he had been engaged
at intervals for the last ten years. The important researches
detailed in this work cost him an immense amount of time,
labour, and thought, and they were nearly all worked out at his
residence in Finsbury Circus, " unaided," as he has sadly written,
" by the advantages which public laboratories afford to their
fortunate occupiers." Indeed, he had not even an assistant to
aid him, if we except the services at times of a young lad in
his teens, who was only too pleased to run and search for cats,
or perform other little services for my father.* At one time the
dearth of cats occasioned by these electro-biological researches
was so great, that friends used to shut up their pussies to prevent
them falling into the hands of the enemy. " The anxiety among
the ladies became at last so distressing, that one young lady, a
personal friend, wrote the following amusing letter :
MY DEAR SIR, Having been apprised by my brother of the instruc-
tions which you have given to your page to obtain violent possession of the
* This lad was bright and intelligent, and he learnt a good deal from my
father. He has since done well in life.
CHAP. VI.] LECTUKE ON ELECTEO-BIOLOGY. 51
sacred person of my only and beloved child, I beg to say, that if such
instructions are not countermanded, I shall be obliged to put personal
restraint on the actions of my darling ; in consequence of that restraint he
will pine away and sink into an early grave, leaving a tender mother and
a doting grandmother to bewail his loss. Mr. Smee, you are a father, and
to your feelings as a father I appeal. I need say no more, I am sure. Be
generous, and my thanks, my warmest and most unbounded gratitude,
shall be yours.
The carrying out of the numerous experiments required for this
great work was laborious, and his private practice and his official
duties taking up the best part of the day, he was obliged to steal
those hours that are by most persons devoted to rest and sleep.
The physical experiments relating to the laws of voltaic electricity
are to be found in * Electro-Metallurgy,' and we have seen that
' Sources of Physics ' was expressly written as an introduction to
the 'Elements of Electro-Biology.' There is such a lucid plan
of this book in ' Chambers's Edinburgh Journal ' that I have
transcribed it among my father's writings, at No. XVI. of the
Appendix. I do not know by whom the account was written.
In April of the same year Mr. Smee delivered a lecture at the
London Institution on Electro-Biology before a crowded audience.
At this lecture Mr. Smee's injections of the brain were ex-
hibited, which elicited these words from one of the daily papers,
" These injections were of surpassing beauty, and well illustrated
the exclamation of the inspired Psalmist, 'How fearfully and
wonderfully are we made !' "
The lecture was afterwards printed, and published with the
' Principles of the Human Mind,' written as a sequel to ' Electro-
Biology.' This as the learned Dr. Pereira wrote, "Your lec-
tures on Electro -Biology and the Principles of the Human Mind
are very briefly but clearly drawn up, and will aid much in read-
ing your longer copy" I have transcribed in the Appendix,
No. XVII. Besides this lecture, Mr. Smee gave others on the
same subject elsewhere. Throughout the country he was re-
peatedly asked to deliver lectures, but he had not time at his
disposal so to do.
This year also he wrote (the 3rd of March, 1849) in the
'Morning Chronicle' a short article on Gutta-percha and its
Uses.
The summer of 1849, it may be remembered, was a sad one
for numbers of persons ; for that direful scourge, pestilence, in
the form of cholera, had made its ravages felt throughout the
E 2
52 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VI.
length and breadth of the land. My father was himself attacked
by it towards the close of the summer : happily he recovered, yet
I believe he permanently suffered from its effects. In September
we find him investigating into the cause of this direful malady,
and the results of his inquiry are incorporated in a paper
which appeared in the ' Lancet.' (See Appendix, No. XVIII.) It
should here be observed that whenever an epidemic of cholera
ensued, he had large quantities of cholera medicine (his own
prescription) made up and largely distributed. No one who came
to the house and asked for cholera medicine, whether for himself
or for friends, was refused. Numbers of persons flocked to the
house and availed themselves of this privilege.
The close of this year was to bring a heavy affliction to Alfred
Smee, in the loss of his mother, to whom he was devotedly
attached, and for whom he held the highest respect and esteem.
He felt this loss most acutely, and his mind seemed for a time
quite unable to throw off its sorrow and pursue further scientific
investigations. At length Dr. Eoupell, the senior physician to
St. Bartholomew's, persuaded him to write an illustration or key
to ' Electro-Biology,' whereby the abstract principles of that
important work could be illustrated by facts, so that it might be
more readily comprehended by a larger portion of mankind. No
sooner did my father commence this new work than his wonted
energy was roused, and he entered with such heart and soul into
' Instinct and Season ' (for that was the name of the book) that it
was published in April 1850.
He did not even commence to write the book till the begin-
O
ning of that year, and it is a matter of surprise how such a work,
full of coloured plates and of various woodcuts, could have been
got out in such a marvellously short period.
In the first chapter of ' Instinct and Eeason ' he treats of the
relation of Mind to Life, in which he makes the comparison
between man, animals, plants, stones, and pieces of mechanism.
For an example of animal existence he gives the dog, and shows
how the volitions of animals are regulated by experience, to prove
which he gives numerous facts ; and, indeed, I may here observe
that the great charm of this treatise consists in the most abstruse
laws of mental action being all made palpably clear to the mind
by various facts set forth in the form of interesting anecdotes,
nearly all of which were facts that had come under the range
of his own observation and experience. After showin^ how the
CHAP. VI.] ANALYSIS OF ' INSTINCT AND KEASON.' 53
mind is dependent upon the brain and nervous system, he passes
on to consider the Organs of Sensation in man and in animals.
Then pleasure and pain are fully described ; pain being proved
by abundant illustrations to be absolutely necessary to our
welfare, and its absence impossible in a material world. The
fourth chapter is devoted to Memory in Man and Animals.
Without memory all that ennobles man is destroyed, and he is
lowered almost to the condition of a plant. Reason in Man and
Animals is then exemplified. Up to this part of the treatise, it
has been shown that man, in respect to the powers of mind which
he possesses, is similar to animals ; and yet we know that man
far exceeds all living creatures in the faculties of the mind. If
mankind possessed no further faculties than what have been
already enumerated, he would be no whit better than the beast ;
therefore, in the chapter following that on Eeason, those other
faculties which entitle man to hold the first place in the scale of
Creation are considered, and so the greatest works of man are
here set forth as illustrations to prove his superiority over the
brute beast. Passing from the operations of man, he next treats
of Instinct. Accordingly, the works of animals, birds, and other
creatures occupy the greater part of the seventh chapter. Instinct
is also shown to exist in childhood. This chapter is particularly
interesting to those possessed of the taste for natural history.
Beautiful coloured plates illustrating the various and curious
specimens of bird-nests, wasp-nests, spider-webs, ant-nests, bee-
hives, and nests of other creatures, form a valuable adjunct to
this chapter. Then he proceeds to define Intuitive Ideas, and
shows their influence on mankind. Thence he proceeds to show
that man has the faculty of expressing his ideas by sounds or
marks. From words and language he proceeds to compare the
works of man with the works of Nature, and shows that there is
a limitation of the works of man. He then passes on to the
Theory of Instinct and Eeason, devotes a chapter to Eeason and
Faith, and another to Perverted Eeason. Then he gives a
chapter to the various Families of Man, and shows that even the
savages and the lowest types of man possess faculties which give
to him a superiority over all animals. A great gulf divides the
mental powers of the lowest type of man from that of animals,
which can never, he declares, be bridged over. The natural
Classification of Mankind ends this highly original and interesting
work on Instinct and Eeason. The illustrations to this book are
very beautiful : it has ten large coloured plates, and is, besides,
54
MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE.
[CHAP. VI.
interspersed with numerous woodcuts.* Although the work itself
is based on such an abstruse subject as mental philosophy is
generally considered to be, yet it is so interwoven with anec-
dotes, most of which had come under his own observation, on
natural history and other subjects, that not only does the book
afford a forcible illustration to ' Electro-Biology ' and ' The Mind
of Man,' but it is also admirably suited to be placed in the hands
of the young ; for by interesting the reader in the investigation
of Nature, he is led on to discipline the mind, and thereby able
to seek a knowledge of the laws of Grod, obey the divine will, and
act rightly to his fellows. I know of no better book for a prize
at school than is ' Instinct and Keason.' Unfortunately at the
present moment the work is out of print ; but I hope that a new
edition may appear, as it would afford a lucid illustration to that
work which has been based on ' Electro-Biology,' namelv, ' The
Mind of Man.' f
In ' Instinct and Reason ' is a description of one of Mr. Smee's
clever little contrivances, which he called the Hot and Cold
Fio. 5. Hot and Cold Detector.
Detector ; " a trifle " which he conceived in order to inform him
of the temperature of a small hot-house behind his house.}
* The illustrations for ' Instinct and Reason,' such as the various bird-nests
and birds, wasp-nests, fossils, minerals, the South Sea Islanders' various im-
plements, &c., were arranged in a long case which formed one complete side of
our drawing-room at Finsbury Circus.
f 'The Mind of Man' was published in 1875, and was written as another
edition of ' Electro-Biology.'
| See ' Instinct and Reason/ p. 97.
CHAP. VI.] THE HOT AND COLD DETECTOR. 55
Now my plants (lie writes) would be injured if the heat fell below 50
or rose above 90, and I therefore wished to have some contrivance which
should inform me in my own study whether the temperature were remain-
ing or not within these limits. For this pui*pose a thermometer was made
for me into which two platinum wires were inserted, which came in contact
respectively with the mercury at those two points (fig. 5). By this con-
trivance, when the heat either fell below or rose above these two points,
the mercury and platinum were not in contact, and a voltaic current could
not be maintained. Telegraphic communications were laid down from
these two platinum wires to my dwelling-house, and a large pair of zinc
and copper plates were sunk into the ground for a battery. By attaching
the wires to a galvanometer we can always ask how the temperature is ;
and, by attaching an alarum, a gardener might be warned of any accident
at any time of the night. I must say, that had I the care of so valuable
a collection of plants as that of Kew, I should never be easy till I had
such an apparatus in my bed-room to tell me if any of my plants were
under unfavourable circumstances.
This hot and cold detector was also modified and used under
other circumstances than telling the temperature of a hot-house.
Many years ago Mr. Smee's father had a cottage at Clapton, on the
banks of the river Lea. The garden abounded with fruit, which the
boys in the neighbourhood were only too glad to avail themselves
of generally choosing the time for their thefts when the family
were at dinner. Now one day my father attached fine thread to
the wires of the battery, in such a manner that as soon as the
boys were fairly in the garden they must insensibly move one of
these threads. Immediately down went the alarum in the house,
out ran my father, followed by his brothers and by his brother-in-
law. The boys, surprised in the very act of taking the fruit, were
soundly thrashed, and one of them having a squint was marched
off into the house by my father, and then and there had to submit
to the operation of having it cut. I am afraid that boy's ideas of
right and wrong must have been from henceforth rather confusing.
He had done wrong, for the effect of which he immediately
derived benefit, which he would not have derived had he done
what was right and had kept out of the garden. Let us hope, how-
ever, that he possessed a contented mind, and that he went not forth
again to steal fruit, in order to derive further benefits therefrom.
The beginning of 1851 found Mr. Smee re-writing and bring-
ing out in an enlarged form a third edition of ' Electro-Metal-
lurgy.' This was followed in the month of March by a short
treatise from his pen on ' Process of Thought,' which contains a
lengthy description of the Kelational and Differential Machines.*
* Woodcuts and explanations of the relational and differential machines are
to be found iu the ' Miud of Man,' pp. 94, 100.
56 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VI.
As this treatise has since been incorporated in his last work,
' The Mind of Man,' I refer the reader to that book for further
information on the subject.
In May he became one of the jurors to that most interesting
of all exhibitions the one held in Hyde Park.
Between the months of May and of September he wrote
several long and interesting articles for the ' Illustrated London
News,' on various articles exhibited in the Exhibition. Amongst
these' may be mentioned 'On the Origin of the Forces which
have been employed in the Manufacture of the Articles exhibited,'
which appeared in that journal on the 10th of May, 1851, as well
as another article, ' On the Application of Electricity.' On the
17th of May that journal contained the following articles from
his pen : ' Light and its Applications ;' ' Electricity ' (Supple-
mental Notice); 'Dumas's Expanding Model of a Man.' On
May 24th, ' Heat and its Application.' On June 7th, ' Mechanical
Force.' On June 14th, 'The Food of Man.' On June 21st,
'Ibbetson's Castings.' On July 5th, ' Chemitypy, Stylegraphy,
and Galvanography ; ' ' Microscopical Preparations ; ' ' Food of
Man' (No. 2); 'Philosophical Instruments.' On July 19th,
' Food of Man ' (No. 3). On August 2nd, ' Wardian Cases.' On
August 9th, ' Surgical Instruments.'
Besides these long articles in the ' Illustrated London News,'
there are long articles on ' Electricity,' ' Electro-Metallurgy,' and
other matters, in the ' Morning Chronicle ' for the 15th and 31st
of May.
The following extracts from the article in the ' Illustrated
London News ' on Wardian Cases is here quoted, as it may
interest those who are fond of plants, and who are obliged to
dwell in a smoky town, to know which can be grown under such
adverse circumstances.
In London (says he) but very few plants will thrive. The Oriental plane
rears its head in the heart of the city, in Cheapside, and forms a stately tree.
Russell Square and Guildford Street exhibit also noble specimens of this
beautiful tree ; yet by coming into leaf late, and shedding its foliage early,
it is not so susceptible of those influences which injure other plants. The
lime-tree will also partially flourish ; and in the very centre of the Bank
two noble and ancient limes shade the parlour from the scorching sun of
summer, and yearly cast forth delicious perfume from abundant flowers.
With these exceptions, flowers and vegetable structures can scarce be
cultivated in London, except with the aid of a Ward's case. Residing in
the very centre of the metropolis, we now write with two beautiful Ward's
cases before us, which exhibit the most luxuriant foliage. In these cases
we have at this moment the beautiful wax-plant, or Hoya carnosa, in
CHAP. VI.] WARDIAN CASES. 57
abundant flower. "We have recently introduced the newly -imported and
lovely Hoya bella, which is also now in flower ; and the odoriferous Francisco,
Hopeana is always ready to refresh us by its scent on opening the door of
the case. We have five species of Lycopodia, which gratify the eye by
their luxuriant green ; and no less than fifteen or sixteen species of exotic
ferns gladden the eye by their charming forms, their verdant foliage, and
luxuriant appearance. The leaves of the Maranta bicolor, never soiled by
wet, are of surpassing beauty; and several species of Achomenes are
rapidly growing, to display their brilliant colours in the latter part of
summer. Many of our plants have been in their present situation for
ten years, and so the delight which we have had in the observation and
cultivation of them in the Wardian case makes us look with increased
interest upon those first examples of construction which Mr. Ward has
contributed to the Exhibition.
We take this opportunity of calling attention to the Wardian cases,
because, much as their use has increased, still they are not nearly so much
employed in large towns as they ought to be. The cultivation of plants is
an occupation delightful in itself, and one that is calculated to afford
intense pleasure to those who follow the amusement. In that gloomy
prison of Pentonville, where the inmates are not allowed from their cell to
see a passing cloud, it is recorded that the only pleasure which a prisoner
could find was to watch from day to day the growth and flowering of a
few pieces of grass, shepherd's purse, chickweed, and groundsel, when he
took his daily airing in the little space allotted to his walk. Every London
child should have his Wardian case, if on ever so small a scale. The love
of the cultivation of plants would grow with the knowledge of their per-
fection, and the mind would be led insensibly by the true and natural
process of thought from a study of Nature's works to the contemplation
of Nature's G-od.
And the following account taken from ' Instinct and Eeason '
will further show my father's observation on this question.
In this vast metropolis so much poisonous gas and smoke is exhaled
from the chimneys of the thousands of houses and manufactories here
accumulated together, that the sulphurous acid poisons the plants, and the
absence of light is fatal. Under such circumstances, horticulture seems
futile ; and yet, when I say that, despite these difficulties, I have now, in
the middle of January, lilacs, azaleas, an oncidium, and an epidendrum, in
full bloom, it must be acknowledged that even here plants may be grown
not altogether in vain, although in less perfection than in the horticultural
gardens surrounding London.
As far as appertains to the foul sulphurous acid and smoke, Ward has
taught us that by simply covering the plants with a glass shade, they may
be effectually grown. In my dining-room I have had two of these cases
for nine years ; and the plants which I first purchased from Loddige's are
still alive. In fact, the luxuriance of their growth is so great, that I am
periodically compelled to remove large quantities of the plants. Besides
ferns, I attempt the growth of a few flowering plants. I commence with
crocuses ; I go on with hyacinths, and an occasional tulip or narcissus.
Later in the year the common cereus is generally covered with flowers,
affording a gorgeous display. However, this plant generally blooms itself
58 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VI.
to death. In July, my Hoya carnosa, or wax-plant, gives rise to a dozen
or a dozen and a half of fine flowers ; and I am now venturing to try the
charming Stephanotis floribunda. During the fall of the year I obtain a
fine display of Achomenes, and my ferns and Lycopodiums form an elegant
green covering all the year.*
Now, from observation and experiment, I think I can communicate
a great secret as to the plants which will do well in a London atmosphere ;
for I find that the tropical plants, as a general rule, flourish nearly as
well as in the country. We read that the lights of tropical countries are
apt to be yellow, like the dismal yellow lights of London. Palms, bananas,
and many plants of this description will thrive.
Some orchids, although they do not like the sun, require much light,
and they do not thrive, though others may be grown satisfactorily.
I have lately constructed a portable hot-house which can be heated
by a candle, oil, or coal-gas. The one which I have is like a "Ward's case,
but has a compartment to hold water at the bottom, through which is
inserted a copper tube, to carry the heated air and warm the water.
I hope to be enabled, by this contrivance, to obtain the more beautiful
orchids and tropical plants in ordinary dwelling-rooms ; and I question,
if I can fully succeed, whether the largest conservatory in the most
extensive orchideous house, when cultivated by the hired gardener, can
give half as much pleasure as this little portable hot-house.
My father also, assisted only by a lad, constructed a green-
house at the bottom of a narrow strip of ground at the back
of his residence in Finsbury Circus. This house he heated by
pipes, and in it he grew many varieties of tropical plants. The
sugar-cane here throve. Besides, he had a tank in it with
hot -house water-plants, and which also" contained gold-fish.
These gold-fish knew their master, and it was most amusing to
see them come to the water's surface when he whistled, and take
the morsels of bread from his hand. In ' Instinct and Season '
he gives an interesting account of the breeding of gold-fish in
this tank in the hot-house at the bottom of his garden. He
afterwards converted the hot-house into a green-house, where
all the British ferns were to be found growing in the greatest
luxuriance. Amidst my father's numerous avocations he always
found time to attend to his beloved green-house, and even to paint
it whenever it was required. How well do I remember the times
of painting the green-house, what fun it was, and what trouble
* Se e ' Instinct and Reason,' p. 131. In the obituary notice of Alfred
bmee in the Gardeners' Chronicle,' January 27th, 1877, we read
" Many years ago the fern-cases in his dwelling-house in Finsbury Circus
were as remarkable, and attracted almost as much attention, as those of the late
*?' yft < Wnter of these Iines wel1 remembers the time when he was
the habit of passing and repassing the windows in Finsbury Circus, with the
sole object ot ascertaining what were the species that throve under such dis-
advantageous circumstances."
CHAP. VI.] VISIT TO PAKIS LOVE OF FISHING. 59
we children got into afterwards with the higher powers of the
nursery !
On the llth of September, 1851, Mr. Smee gave the opening
lecture of the session at the Newbury Literary Institution, ' On
the Eesults of the Great Exhibition ;' and later on, the 8th of
November, he had the melancholy satisfaction of writing in the
'Illustrated London News' the memoir of his much-lamented
friend William Wyon, E.A., the chief engraver to the Mint,
whose numerous medals of high artistic worth have given the
name of Wyon a wide celebrity.
On the 25th of November Mr. Smee delivered a lecture be-
fore the Bank of England Literary Association, on Instinct and
Eeason.
During the early part of the summer of 1851 there was a
reunion of English savants at Paris, under the auspices of
Napoleon III., then President. This occasion was the first visit
of my father and mother to Paris, and it was the first holiday of
more than a day's duration that my father had since 1845. He
used, however, to take at times a day's holiday, and spend a few
hours at a favourite pastime fishing : for my father was a keen
fisherman, and as his love of and skill in angling were well
known among many, he had always abundant orders and invita-
tions to fish in some choice spot or other. Jack-fishing was a
favourite sport of his, and in his dining-room was a very noble
specimen of that ferocious fish. Its form is perfect; it weighed
twenty-two pounds, and was killed by a small hook. To hear
my father describe the landing of this fish, one could fancy one
was listening to a page of Izaak Walton. But my father did
not disdain other kinds of fishing. He would sit in a punt on
the river for hours, angling for any fish that would come to his
hook.
In such times the scenery of the river, the singing of the
birds, afforded him ample enjoyment, and his overworked brain
found rest and solace in the charms of Nature. He knew the note
of almost every bird, and loved to teach the different songs of
the songsters to his children. In trout-fishing he was an adept.
During the summer months my grandfather used to take a house
for himself and for us in the country, at such a distance from
London that he and my father could daily attend their businesses
in London, and thence return in the cool of the evening and enjoy
the quiet solitude of a country life. Somehow or other our country
(JO MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VI.
house was generally situated near a river, and so my father in the
cool summer evenings had frequent opportunities of exercising
his skill in fishing. At these times he was generally surrounded
by his family. My grandfather, too, frequently mingled in our
sports ; and when the latter caught a fish, how speedily did the
length of the fish increase until it grew to a wonderful size !
But in fishing, as in other things, my father generally won the
laurels: but what fun it was for the domestic circle each to
contend for our places as skilful fishermen, none can appreciate
but those who have tried their hand in the art ! The distinguished
chemist and investigator Professor Graham (former Master of the
Mint) had similar tastes to my father. How amusing it was
to spectators to hear them intermingling their conversations on
abstruse chemical and philosophical theories with their theories
on the art of fishing !
On Sundays my father used with his family to be a regular
attendant at the morning service at St. Paul's Cathedral. In
various parts of this work it has been shown that one of the
great peculiarities of Alfred Smee's mind was that it belonged
to that class (Pneuma-Noemic) which is particularly capable
of appreciating spiritual qualities. He was ever labouring to
demonstrate that religion and reason were not discordant.
After my father had fulfilled the duties of attending a service
at a place of worship, he would then with his family betake
himself into the country, and there investigate Nature, and,
contemplating the Author of all things, would rejoice in the
works of the Almighty, and sing in his heart, Glory be to God
most High !
Although the following anecdote is perhaps unconnected
with my present subject, yet it is so typical of the minds of
the two men Faraday and Alfred Smee, both electricians, and
both possessing a fervent and deep-rooted religion, though each
of his own kind that it may not be out of place to mention
it here. It was on one Sunday morning, now many years ago,
as my father and myself were going to attend the 10 o'clock
morning service at St. Paul's Cathedral, that we met Faraday
close to the General Post Ofiice. He was hurrying to the San-
demanian Chapel, not far from St. Martin's-le-Grand, where he
was wont to preach. He stopped us, and after a few words of
conversation suddenly inquired where we were going to at that
early hour in the morning. "To St. Paul's," was the reply.
CHAP. VI.] A BELIE VEE IN PEAYER. 61
"Is there anything particular going on there, then?" exclaimed
Faraday, in a hurried manner. "Nothing particular," said my
father, " only the ordinary morning service." " Ah ! " replied
Faraday, " we are then all three hound for the one great ohject."
The fervent manner in which he uttered the last few words made
a great impression upon us. I never hear the name of Faraday
mentioned without seeing him as I saw him then, his fine intel-
ligent face lit up with reverence and devotion.
Alfred Smee was a firm believer of the power of prayer, as we
find in the following lines :
Some men learned in many sciences Lave called in question the effi-
cacy of prayer to alter the natural course of events. These men argue that,
because God governs the world by immutable laws, He heeds not prayer.
Experience shows that the direct course of the affairs of the universe
is not interrupted by prayer : the sun never reversed its course in con-
sequence of prayer ; nor did any person rise, contrary to gravity, from one
floor to another by praying. But a study of the human mind indicates
that in all human actions prayers have great effect in governing men's
actions, and leading to results. When a man prays with earnestness and
sincerity, it affects his whole mind, and all his actions are directed to
obtain the result for which he prays. When many men pray for one
object, the purpose of many persons is directed to one end, and all con-
tinue in heart and will to obtain the desired object.
The influence of prayer on human actions, if tested by experience, will
be found to be immense. In producing resignation, and in confirming
action, its power is great, although its influence to control the laws of the
universe is void, and of no effect.*
In 'Instinct andKeason' is the following illustration, showing
the power of prayer over the actions of man, during the great
trial of the year 1849 :
During the prevalence of cholera in the infected districts, neither
writing, nor talking, nor preaching, could cause the inhabitants to rouse
themselves and prepare to endeavour to ward off death from their habita-
tions. At length, however, when Death had extensively accomplished his
work, men were afraid, and in some parishes they even sacrificed a week-
day's profit to pray that the malady might be stayed. To their prayers
and supplications they added all their endeavours to stop the pestilence :
they subscribed for the poor ; they provided attendance, remedies, and
visitations ; and immediately the effect was felt, and the disease was lessened.
The people saw the necessity of acting vigorously and decidedly according
to the laws of the attack of the malady, which were, in fact, the laws of
God; thus their prayers were instantaneously followed by more or less
beneficial results, f
See ' Mind of Man,' p. 128. f See ' Instinct and Treason,' p. 226.
62 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VI.
The following prayer was written by himself when he was a
young man :
Most gracious God, the beneficent Author of every good thing, we bless
Thee for all Thy mercies bestowed upon us. "We magnify Thee for our
creation, preservation, and existence. We truly thank Thee for Thy goodness
in granting us senses, intellect, and inclination to love and enjoy Thy noble
works. "We render Thee our sacrifice of praise for food, clothing, and
habitation. We worship Thee for warding off dangers and averting afflic-
tions. We glorify Thee for the peace and happiness conferred upon us.
We heartily adore Thee for averting death and promising us everlasting
life through our Saviour Jesus Christ; and finally, we acknowledge Thee
the only true God, Father Almighty, to whom all blessing, praise, love,
worship, and adoration are due from everlasting to everlasting.
CHAI-. VII. 1 BINOCULAK PERSPECTIVE. 63
CHAPTEE VII.
1854 TO 1858.
Second edition of 'The Eye' Binocular Perspective Soiree at which ladies
were first present Lecture on Education at London Institution Originator
of educational lectures at the London Institution Alfred Smee originates and
establishes a new form of printing the Bank of England notes Decimal
coinage Lecture on Monogenesis of Physical Forces Visit to Paris Eclipse
of the sun ; experiments at Blisworth Loses his father.
IN the beginning of 1854 Alfred Smee brought out another edition
of ' The Eye.' This edition contained a long account of his inves-
tigations on Binocular Perspective, which will be found in the
Appendix, No. XIX. It will be sufficient, therefore, to notice here
that Mr. Smee possessed several paintings executed purposely for
him in this Binocular Perspective system, by the late Mr. Price
of the Bank of England. Mr. Smee had also many photographs
taken for him by the moving camera. These photographs were
shown by my father to the late lamented Prince Consort, who
was considerably interested in the system, and compared these
delicately shaded photographs to the soft tones of Eembrandt.
In June of the same year these paintings and photographs, illus-
trating the system of Binocular Perspective, were shown at a
large soiree held at Mr. Smee's residence in Finsbury Circus.
I believe this was the first time that ladies were present at a
reunion hitherto only resorted to by distinguished members of
the sterner sex.
Mr. Smee further devoted much attention to the system of
education, which he not only considered to be in a deficient state,
but too frequently based on a wrong principle. He contended
that in youth the observation and registration of facts should
be carefully cultivated and practised, and upheld the system in
Germany, " where the youths are taken out in the country to be
shown the flowers and plants, the rocks and stones and soils, so
64 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VII.
as to acquire rudimentary botanical knowledge, as well as a
knowledge of mineralogy and geology. Accurate ' Syndramic '
knowledge is a department of education which requires cultiva-
tion in England."* Mr. Smee was ever from the first a consis-
tent and strong opponent of the present system of " cramming,"
and of competitive examination, both of which he contended
materially injured the functions of the brain, and thereby les-
sened the mental faculties of man. In the Appendix, No. XX.,
is a long letter on education from Mr. Smee's pen addressed to
the Committee of Industrial Instruction in London. For his
further views on education I must refer the reader to the chapter
on that subject in ' The Mind of Man.'
So firmly was Alfred Smee's mind bent upon endeavouring to
improve the education of the youths of the city of London, that
through his means he induced his co-managers of the London
Institution to allow educational lectures to be given two after-
noons every week in the lecture-room, on astronomy, botany,
chemistry, geology, and zoology. They were delivered by
eminent professors. At first his brother managers tried to laugh
my father out of the idea. I remember one of them saying in my
presence, " Smee, whatever are you thinking of now ? Just as if a
parcel of children could understand or care about lectures." One
of the parcel of children that heard this remark was considerably
offended, I remember, and it was a long time before the writer of
this entertained friendly feelings towards that gentleman.
But my father pressed the matter, and the managers con-
sented to try the experiment. The first lecture of the first course
of educational lectures at the London Institution was delivered
by Alfred Smee on the afternoon of Saturday, October the 14th,
1854. The object of this lecture was to set forth the objects and
advantages of educational lectures, and it was based on his
" natural system of mental philosophy." The lecture-table and
space around was covered with apparatus for experiments. The
children were delighted and learnt much ; the adults were
delighted, and also found that tney had much to learn. The
success of the various educational lectures was greater than
even my father had anticipated. For myself, I shall never
cease to think of those years during which I regularly attended
those lectures without grateful feelings for the units of know-
ledge which I thereby acquired, and regret only that I was not
more diligent in taking advantage of such golden opportunities.
* See chapter v. on Education, in ' Mind of Man,' p. 34.
CHAP. VII.] A NEW MODE OF PRINTING BANK-NOTES. 65
The lecture is to be found in its place in the Appendix,
No. XXI.
For some time past a considerable part of Alfred Smee's time
had been devoted to arranging a new mode of printing the Bank of
England notes, which he at last succeeded in effecting with the
assistance of Mr. Hensman, the engineer to the Bank of England,
and Mr. Coe, the superintendent of the printing department to
that establishment, after enormous labour, and after having to
surmount innumerable difficulties. A full description of the
process will be found in the Appendix, No. XXII., in a paper ' On
the New Bank of England Note and the Substitution of Surface
Printing and Electrotypes for Copper-plate Printing,' which was
read before the Society of Arts on the 22nd of December, 1854.
Previously to the establishment of this new form of printing
the bank-notes by Alfred Smee, the Bank authorities had been
thrown into a state of alarm by discovering that some ingenious
persons had succeeded in splitting the old form of note so that
two notes were obtained in the place of one. The matter was
brought before Alfred Smee, and he soon found that, with a
little practice, it was by no means so difficult a process as at first
would appear. By the new form of Bank of England note this
" splitting " of it could not be effected.
There was some talk in 1856 about introducing into this
country the decimal coinage, and the two following letters will
show the interest Mr. Smee took in the subject.
PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE DECIMAL COINAGE.
To the Editor of the Society of Arts' Journal.
SIR, Permit me to occupy a, short space in the Journal to detail a
practical plan for introducing decimal coins into our monetary system.
The difficulty which has to be encountered arises from our penny,
which, as the -^^ part of a pound, cannot be converted into a decimal
fraction ; and unless some system be adopted, by which our present coins
shall bear a definite relation to decimal coins, decimals must remain a
bugbear to the million, and their use be unpopular if not almost impossible
in practice.
The thought which has occurred to my mind is, to construct our
decimal and present systems in definite relations, which shall be evident
to the mind through the medium of the senses, so that, on throwing
two masses of coins upon the table, they may be either sorted into the
decimal or ordinary systems, and one may be rendered exactly equal to
the other.
The decimal coinage might consist of the Pound, the Florin, the
Decat, and the Mil.
F
66 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VII.
The penny, however, cannot possibly bear any relation to decimal
coinage, and we cannot afford to neglect the consideration of this coin, as
probably more than 2000 tons, and possibly as much as 6000 tons of copper,
are in circulation over the country.
To meet this difficulty a set of small copper coins should be issued,
called the mite, half -mite, and quarter-mite, the mite bearing the value of
the i of a mil. A penny would be equal to four mils and one mite, the
halfpenny to two mils and half a mite, and the farthing to one mil and a
quarter-mite.
By the conversion of our present money into mites, the untaught could
always tangibly satisfy themselves of their mutual relations, and they
would find that, by dividing the number of mites by six, the result would
represent decimal coins.
This mode of dealing with the question, which is applicable to weights
and measures, as well as money, has been forced upon my mind upon
psychological grounds, based upon the properties of matter on the one hand,
and on the powers of the mind on the other. In support of it, I would
refer to the statement of Mr. Bidder, the great mental calculator, who tells
us that he satisfied himself of the properties of numbers through the
medium of the senses, as he made the multiplication table for himself, by
grouping sets of objects and counting them, thus demonstrating to his
own mind, that the multiplication table was an absolute fact of universal
application. I remain, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
7, FlNSBURY CIRCUS, ALFRED SlUEE.
June 10th, 1856.
RELATION BETWEEN DECIMAL COINS AND WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
SIR, The serious objections which exist against the adaptation of
decimal coins to our currency again must be pleaded as a reason for
my addressing the Journal, to point out the practical manner by which
they may be probably introduced with least injury, and be rendered suffi-
ciently attractive for the mass of people to desire their adoption.
In my last letter I recommended for practical use the additional issue
of the -jL of a florin, and the -^ of a florin, with the superaddition, for
adjustment, of little coins of the value of the of the ^ of a florin, the
5^ and the -fa of the same, to be called respectively mites, half -mites, and
quarter-mites.
Without unnecessarily occupying space in your Journal with abstract
views on this question, which I have fully considered in my ' Sources of
Physical Science,' I have here to propose that the new coins be brought
into relation with our weights and measures, so that, tens of centuries
hence, upon the discovery of these coins, a near approximation may be
obtained of the standards of value, length, weight, and capacity used in
our times.
The decat or ^ of a florin might represent also the & of a pound of
avoirdupois, the ^ of a foot, the ^ of the ^ of the weight of an imperial
gallon of water, and the J of the ^ of tbe bulk of an imperial pint.
To accomplish this object the decat must weigh 700 grains be the
Jjj of a foot in diameter, and the metal must either have a specific 'oravity
CHAP. VII.] LETTEK ON DECIMAL COINAGE. 67
of 8'75, or, if copper, have its rim raised to compensate the excess of spe-
cific gravity, which is from 8'8 to 8'9.
The mil might represent the ^ of the T ^ of a pound avoirdupois,
and be 5 inch diameter.
The mite should weigh 10 grains, the half-mite 6 grains, and the
quarter-mite 1 grain, which would be useful weights for chemists and
other dealers in small quantities of matter, and thus coins would be
brought into relation with apothecaries' and troy weights.
As this letter is merely suggestive, I do not think it necessary to enter
minutely into all the practical results which would be attained by the
above system. It is manifest, however, that it would give a basis of a
decimal division of value, weight, length, and bulk, and at the same time
afford a material relation between the decimal division and the other
modes of division now in use.
If the principle be adopted, the nomenclature would have to be care-
fully reconsidered ; and it appears to me, whether we consider value,
breadth, surface, weight, or capacity, from five to ten of the decimal
divisions should have definite words assigned to them. At first we should
have both systems in operation at once, but by degrees, hereafter, all
divisions not found to be practically convenient might be gradually
withdrawn. I remain, Sir,
Tour obedient servant,
BANK OF ENGLAND, ALFRED SMEE.
June 28th, 1856.
A very interesting lecture was delivered by Mr. Smee on the
18th of February, 1857, at the London Institution, on the Mono-
genesis of Physical Forces. This lecture is a connecting link
between 'Electro-Metallurgy,' 'Sources of Physics,' 'Electro-
Biology,' and later ' The Mind of Man.' The lecture itself will
be found in the Appendix, No. XXIII.
In the autumn of this year my brother fell ill, and an entire
change of air and scene was considered necessary for him. We
were taken to Paris. It was our first visit to the Continent.
During our stay there my father had the greatest possible delight
in taking my brother and myself to see all the sights of Paris :
he never wearied. One of our favourite amusements used to be
to go into the Tuileries Gardens and take part of our breakfast
roll and feed the wild pigeons who used to eat out of our hands,
and the sparrows who used to hover about in the air before us
and catch the morsels of bread we threw up to them.
The following spring there was a total eclipse of the sun.
The astronomical savants nocked, on the 17th of March, 1858,
to Blisworth in Buckinghamshire, that being considered the best
spot to observe the phenomenon. We that is to say, my father
and mother, my brother and myself also betook ourselves
F 2
68 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VII.
thither, for my father had a great desire to try the effects of
his photometer.* We were located for the day in a stiff clay
ploughed field rendered extra stiff and disagreeable for quick
locomotion by some continued rains previously. There was a
hut hard by at which the savants and the ladies of their party
retired to warm themselves and refresh the inner man, when
their presence was not required for observing the great natural
phenomenon. There were some amusing accounts of these savants
and of the eclipse sight-seers in some of the journals of the time,
especially in the local papers.
It came on to rain, and at the end of the day we all left that
ploughed clay field, thankful that we could get out of it : yet most,
if not all, felt that they had thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and
had lived a day to be remembered always with delight. The
results of my father's experiments with his photometer were
published in the ' Times,' the ' Morning Chronicle,' and some other
papers. For his letter to the ' Morning Chronicle,' with the
drawing and description of the photometer, see the Appendix,
No. XXIV.
A brilliant comet followed this total eclipse of the sun, and
later, in the middle of November, my grandfather died, just nine
years and one day after the death of his wife. As 1849, so
did 1858 both eventful years in physical phenomena close
in sorrow to Alfred Smee.
* See p. 39.
CHAP. VIII.] BOOK ON DEBILITY. 69
CHAPTEE VIII.
1859 TO 1863.
Sixth book, on 'Debility and Defective Nutrition' Switzerland Making of
garden at Wallington Hot-water pipes Croydon Local Board Injunctions
against Pre-existing sewage Spoliation of Finsbury Circus Trees on the
Embankment Comet, July 1st, 1861 Pisciculture Anonymous pamphlet,
entitled ' Reasons for not hanging Garrotters and Burglars ' Oratorians
Extortion and intimidation of the superior Law Courts.
THE oration of the Hunterian Society was delivered on the
9th of February, 1859, by Alfred Smee, one of the fellows of that
society. The subject chosen by him was ' Debility and Defective
Nutrition : their Causes, Consequences, and Treatment.' The
oration was published in a small volume consisting of about ninety
pages, which are divided into six chapters. In the first chapter
his views on the structure of man, and the proper nutrition
required for the use of the body, are detailed. In the second the
varieties and symptoms of debility are given. He shows that de-
bility is often mistaken for disease or incubation of disease, and
he dwells on capricious appetite, by which a person in affluence
may, amidst the greatest delicacies which a skilful cook can pre-
pare, yet not take sufficient food to sustain nature. He then
shows the various causes of debility. He also treats of excess in
drink, and shows how the frame of the drunkard is debilitated
throughout, until he is prematurely cut off by one or other of
the maladies attendant on debility. " If the career of a drunkard
be watched, it is astonishing how soon he passes away, as if the
voice of Nature exclaimed, 'Cut it down; why cumbers it the
ground ? ' "
My father was always an extremely sober man, and had a
great horror of, and indeed disgust for, spirit-drinkers. He never
took spirits himself, and even within a few days of his death
70 MEMOIE OF ALFKED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII.
would constantly refuse even small quantities of brandy. When-
ever he saw an inclination in any person to spirits, he would
warn them in the most solemn manner of the danger they were
thereby incurring. He considered spirits ought to be used only
as a medicine, and then only when ordered by the doctor.
In speaking of Alfred Smee being a sober man, I may here
add that he never took wine excepting at dinner, and sometimes
at his luncheon. He considered the taking of a glass of wine,
with or without a biscuit, as being most destructive to the
digestive organs.
Opium-eating, smoking, and other causes for debility are also
examined in the above treatise. The fourth chapter is devoted
to the consequences of debility, the fifth to its treatment, and the
relation of debility to different periods is given in the sixth and
last chapter.
There is an interesting appendix to this little work, in which
is given the chemical composition of various substances of food,
&c., as well as a table showing the solid constituents in one
gallon of water supplied to towns, which was compiled for him
by Professor Attfield, F.C.S., Chemist to the Pharmaceutical
Society. This little book has had a good sale a second edi-
tion was issued in 1862 and it is a serviceable little book for
families to possess, for much practical and useful information
concerning one's every-day life may be obtained from it.
In August 1859, my father went with his wife and his two
children to Switzerland, and enjoyed for a month the grand and
sublime scenery which that country affords. A dreadful accident,
attended by loss of life, had occurred at Zermatt the day previous
to our arrival there, which occasioned some letters to the ' Times '
on the bad organization of the guides at that place. Among
these letters is an anonymous one on the 16th of September,
1859, from the pen of Alfred Smee. Before leaving this sub-
ject I will here merely add that, during this visit to Switzer-
land, my father amused himself by taking many observations
with his photometer, the description of which will be found in
his letter on the Eclipse of the Sun in 1858, No. XXIV. of the
Appendix.
During this visit the natural flower-garden of the valley of
Zermatt was robbed of many of its choicest specimens, to be trans-
ferred to that garden near London which has now become of world-
wide repute.
The trout-fishery of the Wandle was what first attracted
CHAP. VIII.] MAKING OF GAKDEN AT WALLINGTON. 71
my father's attention to Wallington. Already, in 1858, he had
rented that fishery, and a little later obtained a narrow strip
of land, where he grew a few peas, beans, &c. At that time
what is now " my garden " was a barren field, which it was
impossible to walk across without sinking above your knees in
water. A few willows divided the field almost midway, and along
the side of the road it was skirted by tall elms, and a little thicket
of trees in Beddington Park enclosed it on another side. This
field, this waste land, the soil of which was singularly devoid of
vegetative qualities, Alfred Smee converted into an experimental
garden where there is grown the largest collection of fruit-trees
and other species of plants of any private collection in Europe,
for the description of which I must refer the reader to his great
work, ' My Garden.' The forming of this garden, and the experi-
ments he there carried on for the cultivation of various plants,
were ever the recreation of my father from his multifarious mental
labours and anxieties of life. The objects of this garden are seen
in my father's dedication " In Lucem, Lucrum, Ludum." The
dedication of a garden is new in England, yet in Italy it fre-
quently occurs, and it was from the latter country that my
father borrowed the idea. From the year 1859, most of the
Saturdays were spent in this garden, among his beloved plants,
and here he would throw off all cares, and show in a remarkable
way how his genius was not to be confined in one path. In the
memoir of him in the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' * we read that this
garden
contains something of everything. Though the surface is flat, landscape
effects and artistic surprises are numerous. The visitor passes in a
moment from a bold bit of lake scenery to a tiny fern-clad ravine, through
which meanders a crystal stream, laving as it goes a host of lovely bog-
plants. A turn, and the visitor is in a rose-garden, or admiring a choice
collection of alpines. Now long shady walks invite attention; now the
treasures of the herbaceous border attract notice. Nor j.s the more
utilitarian part of gardening omitted : on the contrary, it is in places
somewhat too obtrusively prominent. Be this as it may, the collection
of vegetables, and specially of fruit-trees, is very remarkable. No mere
amateur's collection within our experience rivals this one in extent and
variety. As to the houses and garden structures, they are numerous and
efficient. They have no architectural pretensions ; indeed, one object of the
proprietor was to show how, at a comparatively very slight expense, men
of very moderate means might enjoy the pleasures and luxuries of a green-
house, a fernery, a stove, or a vinery. Mr. Smee's " poor man's houses "
See ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' January 27th, 1877.
72 MEMOIR OF ALFKED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII.
exactly realize this ideal. They are sufficient to give profit, pleasure, nay,
luxury, to the mere labourer. Of course it is not to be expected that the
keepin^ or the condition of the houses, or of the plants in them, would
satisfy a head-gardener on a ducal estate ; but from the point of view of the
proprietor they are all that could be desired or expected, and relatively to
the outlay we should not be surprised if the produce were larger, as the
pleasure to the proprietor was certainly greater, than in establishments of
greater pretensions. Insects, fishes, birds, fossils, nothing came amiss to
the hospitable proprietor of this garden. How keen his interest, how
great his delight in these matters, is evidenced in his work, ' My Garden,'
reviewed in these pages at the time of publication.
What happy days were those to us those which were bestowed
on the laying out of that garden ! From a narrow strip of land came
a little more under cultivation, then a little more, until the whole
plot of ground consisted of nearly eight acres of land and water.
Well shall I ever remember how we looked forward to the Satur-
days, on which days my brother and myself had always a holiday,
and when we two with my father betook ourselves to Walling-
ton, my mother joining us in the afternoon. Well shall I ever
remember the excitement of the Friday evenings, fearing lest we
might not awake betimes on the morrow, and thereby miss getting
to the embryo garden by the dawn of day. And the planting of
trees, the forming of the bowers, the walks, the constructing of the
glass houses, the bridges and other works of the like kind, which
must necessarily interest children who had from their earliest
years imbibed a love of Nature ! for who could live with Alfred
Smee without becoming a votary to her shrine ? The entertain-
ments which my father and mother gave during the summer
months, commencing on the 1st of May, the first day of trout-
fishing, at " my garden " at Wallington, will long be remem-
bered by the hundreds who not only enjoyed their hospitality,
but who were benefited by the botanical knowledge obtained
therein, whereby many had awakened in them a keener appre-
ciation of Nature's works. The ' Gardeners' Magazine ' for the
4th of July, 1868, contains an interesting description of one of
these Saturday reunions. Many friends have told us how from
year to year they have looked forward to spend some Saturdays
with Mr. Smee in his garden.
In an anonymous little pamphlet in which one of the members
of the B's * amused himself by portraying in verses some of the
* The B's is a club composed of some of the leading chemists of the day.
They call themselves B's because the department for chemistry was grouped in B
section at the Great Exhibition of 1851.
CHAP. VIII.] CEOYDON LOCAL BOARD. 73
leading characters of his chemical brothers, my father is hit off
in these few witty lines :
" Sinee, the vivacious, who, as chance may wish,
Invents a battery, or hooks a fish,
Famous in both exploits as well can be
(An old inhabitant of Finsbury)
The welkin rings with his ecstatic shout
"When from the stream he lands the spotted trout ;
Now wrapt in science, then a thought will strike
His varied mind, and straight he trolls for pike ;
Or, at that pleasant spot in Surrey, shares
A market-gardener's spoils without his cares
Grapes, nectarines, peaches, figs, bright apples, plums, and pears."
But my father was not long destined to enjoy his fishery and
his garden without molestation, for the Croydon Board of Health
carried all the sewage into the river which passed through
Beddington Park to his garden, and as he said, " the effluvium
was noxious ; the fish died, and foul mud was deposited at the
bottom of the river." It became a question whether he should
abandon the fishery and the garden. Fortunately he determined
otherwise, and commenced instead an agitation, which, with
intervals, lasted two years, to stop the pollution of rivers.*
" Communications were made to the Privy Council ; a series of
bills in Chancery were filed nearly simultaneously by three
separate landowners ; and injunctions were obtained restraining
the Board of Health from polluting the stream. The Croydon
Board resisted the law till a committal was signed to commit the
members of the Board to prison." Indeed, the members of the
Croydon Local Board were very near being incarcerated on one
Christmas Day ; and if I remember rightly they have to thank my
father that such a misfortune did not overtake them, though I
must admit that I thought at the time, and think so now, that
they would have richly deserved the punishment for the unfair
manner of their proceedings. Through them the ratepayers were
involved in great costs ; but in the end the law proved too strong
even for a Board of Health, and so my father was again permitted
to enjoy his garden in peace. The correspondence between the Local
Board of Health of Croydon and my father is curious and highly
instructive, especially to those interested in the manner in which
Local Boards of Health sometimes conduct their proceedings.
The cholera which devastated the East of London in 1866
resulted in many warm discussions on the quality of water
* See ' My Garden,' p. 32.
74 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII.
supplied to the metropolis; for it may be remembered that the
cholera in that part of London was attributed to the drinking of
impure water. Into this question Mr. Smee entered with his
usual enthusiastic temperament, and spoke at various meetings on
the subject. Moreover, some of the daily newspapers contained
several letters from his pen. For his opinions on the subject see
the Appendix, No. XXV.
During five years, from 1860 to 1865, we were greatly dis-
mayed at finding Finsbury Circus was threatened to be taken
away from us by a railway. Headed by Alfred Smee, the inha-
bitants determined to resist this encroachment. The fight com-
menced by resolutions passed by the inhabitants on the 12th of
December, 1860, who viewed
with surprise and dismay the proposed demolition of Fins"bury Circus,
which comprises by far the most beautiful open space in the city of London.
Whilst affording a choice spot for exercise and recreation, both to the poor
of the district and also to the higher class of residents in the City, it is
used by the professional and mercantile men compelled to live within the
precincts of the City, as one of the few places where houses available for
residence are left. This meeting pledges itself to use its utmost influence
to preserve it in its present state, and to oppose any attempts to encroach
upon it by railroads. That the directors of the Circus be requested to pre-
pare a memorial in accordance with the foregoing resolution, to be presented
to the Aldermen and Common Council, to her Majesty's Government, to the
members for the city of London, and to both Houses of Parliament.
This was followed by the accompanying letter from Mr. Smee,
which appeared in the ' Times,' Christmas Day, 1860, as well as
in the ' City Press.' For this letter, in which all the beauties of
Finsbury Circus Gardens are highly coloured, he was greatly ban-
tered by his friends. Everybody read the letter ; and everybody
who knew my father and the Circus, smiled. In one of the
journals of the day (the ' Athenaeum ') Finsbury Circus was termed
Mr. Smee's " Paradise," and this term ever clung to him. But he
said he intended to highly colour the beauties of the garden, and
he certainly did so. It was this letter, followed by energetic
action, which has saved Finsbury Circus from being converted
into a huge, unsightly railway station.
THE PROPOSED DEMOLITION OF FINSBTJRY CIRCUS.
To the Editor of the City Press.
SIR, I trust that the importance of the subject will excuse the occupa-
tion of your space with this letter, to call public attention to the proposed
demolition of Finsbury Circus, the most important spot of the city of
London.
CHAP. VIII.] FINSBUEY CIRCUS. 75
As an open area it is of priceless value to the citizens, for all experience
shows that open spaces are of paramount consequence to secure the health
of the inhabitants of the City. The area of this open space is so arranged
that it forms a complete semicircle, with a south aspect on one side, which
is protected against all cold winds, and on which every ray from the sun
can in the cold spring months fall.
At that period of the year hundreds of the young and tender, of the
old and infirm, of the sick and weak, resort to this delightful sheltered
spot to enjoy the air and genial breezes.
The centre constitutes a circle planted with exquisite taste with the
choicest trees, and forms a tout-ensemble which might be admired in any
part of the world. It challenges for beauty the garden of any square in
London, and it is the admiration and astonishment of foreigners as an
affair of private enterprise, and not a creation of the State.
A return made by the gardener states that it contains three trees 60
feet high, and 180 feet in the circle of the head ; 20 trees between 45 and
55 feet high ; 34 trees between 35 and 45 feet high ; 60 trees between 25
and 35 feet high; and 107 trees between 15 and 30 feet high; besides
upwards of 700 fine shrubs and several beautiful weeping trees, all of more
than half a century of growth. The effect of trees in the centre of towns
cannot be too much appreciated. They carry up large quantities of water
into the over-dried atmosphere, and this little forest of trees must play an
important and beneficial part to the neighbourhood.
At the present time the City is too crowded, and contains by far too
few open spaces and trees. There are (it is true) two trees in the Bank of
England, and one in Cheapside, two or three smaller ones in St. Paul's-
churchyard, and a few others scattered about, but where are the trees
which we possess in Finsbury Circus ?
Nevertheless, regardless of beauty, healthfulness, or of any considera-
tion but gain, a speculative terminus has been projected to utterly annihilate
Finsbury Circus, with its beautiful gardens and excellent residences ; but,
as such a garden .could never be formed in our time, it behoves all who
reside in the City to be up and stirring to avert a calamity which cannot
be remedied during the days the present generation may reasonably expect
to live. Half a century has passed away while these trees have made their
growth. Half a century would be required for a second Finsbury Circus,
even could a suitable space be found.
As long as London stands professional men must live within its
precincts. Finsbury Circus is in one of the few spots adapted for their
purpose, and many of its residents are in dismay, asking each other where
they can find a suitable habitation. The Bank of England, the banking-
houses, the large mercantile firms, must have residents to protect the
wealth therein deposited, and where can the daily constitutional walk be so
well taken as in Finsbury Circus ?
If a great central railroad terminus is to be made to bring persons
from everywhere and take them everywhere, let those who live in London
exact that by its construction an additional lung be created for the City,
that disease may be lessened and the value of life increased. I am, &c.,
ALFRED SMEB,
7, FINSBURY CIRCUS, A Director of Finsbury Circus.
Dec. 24th, 1860.
76 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII.
In 1869, the unfortunate Circus was threatened by no less
than three railways, as is shown by the following resolutions :
That the inhabitants of Finsbury Circus regard with surprise and
regret, after the determination of the Legislature to protect the gardens
of the squares of the metropolis, that no less than three railroads, includ-
ing the Metropolitan, are projected, which involve the reckless spoliation
of the gardens of Finsbury Circus.
That a committee of the House of Lords having carefully framed rules
for the guidance of railroad projectors in the formation of lines through-
out London, it is the opinion of this meeting that the wilful neglect of
these rules is not only disrespectful to the Legislature, but a wanton dis-
regard of private rights ; and that the repeated parliamentary notices
which year by year have harassed the inhabitants of Finsbury Circus,
inflict great and unnecessary injury upon them.
That the inhabitants request the Committee of Management to oppose
the Metropolitan and other railway lines seeking to spoliate the garden,
and in conformity with the above views to present petitions to both Houses
of Parliament, the Board of Trade, the Board of "Works, and to petition
that the railroad projectors who seek parliamentary powers to construct
lines, in contravention of principles laid down by the Legislature, may be
made amenable for any injury inflicted upon individuals by loss of trade
and deterioration of property caused by their act.
The fight between the inhabitants of Finsbury Circus and the
promoters of the railways waxed yearly more fierce. It was
proposed in 1864 that one of the railways should contribute 12
annually for the maintenance of the gardens. In consequence of
this paltry sum being offered, the following handbill was imme-
diately sent round to all interested in the matter.
FINSBURY CIRCUS SPOLIATION.
The committee of the House of Commons yesterday declared the
preamble to the Metropolitan Extension Bill proven.
They recommended clauses for the protection of the garden, and a
sum to be paid of 12 annually for its maintenance.
The practical effect of this decision is to give to the Metropolitan
Railroad land worth many thousand pounds for the paltry pittance of
12 a year, and to destroy the garden, which is so .attractive to the neigh-
bourhood.
The City of London, who engaged to defend the garden, neglected to
call more than three witnesses ; but it is hoped that so great a violation of
private rights, and so great a public injury, may not receive the sanction
of the House of Lords.
ALFRED SMEE.
July 6th, 1864.
Various petitions against these railways were presented from
the owners, lessees, and occupiers of house property in Finsbury
CHAP. VIII.] FINSBUKY CIKCUS GAEDENS. 77
Circus, from the Corporation of the London Institution, from the
Ophthalmic Hospital, from the inhabitants of the district who use
and frequent Finsbury Circus, &c. &c., to both Houses of Parlia-
ment. There were numerous deputations also against the rail-
ways to the Board of Trade to the First Commissioner of Office
of Works, &c. Voluminous, too, was the correspondence between
my father and the late Lord Derby, Sir "William Tite, Sir Joseph
Paxton, and many others, on the subject. But I think the rail-
way promoters wished Alfred Smee had lived in any other part
of London than in Finsbury Circus.
The result of this fight was that the railways were all worsted
with the exception of the Metropolitan, which only carried the bill
by the insertion of a clause that it was only to tunnel underneath
the garden, and not to destroy any of the houses or the garden,
and was to pay 100 for the annual keeping up of the latter.
Here again we find that my father's energetic character carried
all before him. I must here plead guilty, as having done my best
to fan the flame of opposition to the railways, for even those
who had no unfriendly spirit towards them were like chaff driven
before the wind, and found themselves opposing that which they
would otherwise have let go unheeded.
That Mr. Smee did not cease to take an interest in Finsbury
Circus Gardens after the termination of this fight, is shown by
the following letter. He also greatly assisted and promoted the
holding of Horticultural Shows in the Gardens. We thus see
that even in small matters he was as enthusiastic and as energetic
as he was in more weighty matters. So far as he himself was
concerned, he was perfectly indifferent whether Finsbury Circus
was or was not converted into a railway station. Still, in so
crowded a place as the city of London, it must be a matter of
gratification to the* citizens that one open space is reserved for
them.
FINSBURY CIRCUS GARDENS.
According to promise, I have made an inspection of Finsbury Circus
Gardens.
The contractors were willing to meet the views of the inhabitants,
inasmuch as they undertook to provide any reasonable quantity of earth
to improve the design of the parts of the garden injured by the railway
works ; and it was hoped that this London garden might in some manner
have partaken of the picturesque features of Paris gardens.
However, the general curves and contour lines, which were exceedingly
well laid in the former garden, are now arranged in such an extraordinary
78 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII.
manner as to be offensive to the eye, and from the tipper windows of the
houses present a comical appearance, as in its general effect the garden,
besides a general bad design, is divided into two unequal and unsymmetrical
portions.
A rare opportunity for the improvement of the garden has been lost,
which is much to be regretted, as the error cannot now to any great extent
be rectified.
The grass-plot is not level, which will be detrimental to the game of
croquet, for which lawns are used in many of the other London square-
gardens.
The garden as a whole, excepting the trees and grass, which always
have an agreeable appearance, is little more than a dreary waste, which
has been arranged in effect, if not in intention, to require the minimum of
labour. Should the inhabitants think fit, the gardens may be kept up in
their present condition by a labourer employed on an average one or two
days a week, as there is really no occupation for a gardener. In bygone
years there used to be abundance of flowers, and the atmosphere of the
City is better now than it was at that time.
As Finsbury Circus possesses a scientific institution, with its Professor
of Botany, there is no reason why the garden should not be rendered
instructive as well as ornamental, and there is now a good opportunity for
this to be done, as our accomplished Treasurer is well versed in botanical
knowledge. Such a plan will only require the vigilance of a competent
gardener, as, from the influence of many of the inhabitants, the plants
could be obtained gratuitously for an educational object, and the natural
families of plants might be illustrated by interesting growing plants.
By raising the character of the garden, order and decorum can be
more rigidly maintained than it has been of late years.
It was particularly desired that the playground should be so enclosed
by a sufficiently raised border that it should not be seen by the factory
boys who frequent the road, who are apt to throw stones : this has been
neglected. The interior of the playground has been lined by a wall of
loose brickbats, which is actually a source of danger to the children, as its
materials are well known to be liable to move and crush the limbs or bodies
of children, who will and now do climb to the top of it. This rough wall
should be immediately removed, to prevent destruction of limb or life, and
perhaps legal liability to the inhabitants.
In the rough manner in which the swings, &c., are used by full-grown
men and women, some serious accident may, and in all probability will,
arise ; to prevent which the gardener ought to exercise a supervision at
those times when the playground is frequented by children, and be held
responsible for a proper use of the apparatus.
The earth which has been selected for the flower-beds is perhaps the
very worst which could have been obtained from any source. It is the old
moor earth of the ancient Moorfields, and contains the leaves of moor
plants and the shells of water snails. At the present time it is utterly
unfit for horticultural purposes, and can only be made so by much
expense and skill.
The few recently-planted trees, which are important for the general
effect, should at once be taken up and replanted in topspit fibrous soil, such
as has been used for the trees on the Thames Embankment.
CHAP. VIII.] FINSBUKY CIKCUS GARDENS. 79
Where flowers and plants are to be grown, a similar soil should have
been employed as is now being used in the Temple Gardens ; and, to show
the importance of using this soil, I may mention that about forty years
ago the circle of lime-trees in the Circus showed signs of decay, and some
actually perished. At that time every tree at much cost had its roots laid
bare and topspit loam placed against it, since which time the trees have
grown to their present size.
The contractor is in my judgment bound to supply a reasonable
quantity of topspit fibrous mould, and more especially as the inhabitants
have facilitated the operations of the railroad.
The gravel in the playground and elsewhere (if it is finished) is bad,
and the loose stones should have been removed by the gardener.
The new shrubs and trees have been planted in defiance of all hor-
ticultural principles. The kinds of trees appear to have been selected
without judgment, and many of them have been planted so deeply that
they can hardly be expected to live, even if the earth had been suitable for
their growth.
The planting of all the evergreens at one spot looks singular, and the
whole of the newly-planted trees should be inspected by some person who
understands planting, and many should at once be replanted.
Many of the roots of the old trees have been covered so deeply with
earth that it may be anticipated that the roots will perish and become the
nidus of fungi, which sooner or later will kill the trees. This effect occurs
with different rapidity in varying circumstances, but there is no doubt that
many will be killed by the depth to which they have been covered.
It is a remarkable fact that no part of the restoration of the garden
exhibits the slightest gardening talent or merits approbation, whilst so
much which has been done necessitates severe condemnation, inasmuch as
grave errors might have been avoided by a minimum of knowledge and
attention.
That my father was an advocate for having trees in a town
is also seen from the following extracts from a letter in which he
pleaded for a row of trees to be planted along the whole line of
the Thames Embankment.
The effect of trees planted along the edge of the pavement (he writes)
is well seen in Paris, where not only on the Boulevards but along the line
of the Seine the trees are tended with the utmost care. Plane-trees
would probably be best adapted to the situation, as the noble plane in
Cheapside and in our squares shows how well they grow in London. Limes
might also succeed, as the two beautiful trees in the Bank of England
testify.
He then goes on to show how in
no other city in Europe are there so few trees as in London, where they
are so much required. Should the Board of Works consent to adopt these
suggestions, now would be the time to begin to select the trees siiitable
for the situation, so that they may be planted in October or the beginning
of November, and become well rooted before next year.
My father was fond of late years of rising with the sun, and,
80 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII.
when he could, of going to bed with the same orb. One summer's
evening (Sunday, June 30th, 1861), he was going upstairs to bed
about a quarter before nine o'clock, when on the staircase he
suddenly espied a comet in the heavens. This was too interesting
and too novel a spectacle, so, to the surprise of all of us, down he
came again into the drawing-room, sent for his telescope, and the
result was the following letter, which appeared in the ' Times ' the
next morning.
SIR, It may interest your readers to hear that an enormous comet has
this moment appeared in the north, having been suddenly discovered by the
passage of a large cloud.
Its nucleus is of great dimensions, much larger and brighter than a
star of the first dimensions ; and its tail, which extends many degrees in the
heavens, is of the same form, and will probably equal in extent the comet
which visited this country in 1858. At the moment I write it is not so
bright as the comet of 1858 in its brightest periods, but it is only second
to that in relation to any comet which has appeared within my memory,
and therefore everyone should witness this object when it again becomes
visible this evening.
At twenty minutes past 11 o'clock it is twelve degrees east of north, by
a magnetic needle, and about ten degrees above the horizon ; but these
measurements are only rough estimates, as I have not accurate instruments
at my command.
I remain, Sir,
7, FINSBTTRY CIRCUS, Tour obedient servant,
Sunday Evening, half-past 11 o'clock. ALFRED SMEE.
Alfred Smee was the first to discover this comet in England.
The President of the Astronomical Society an old friend of my
father's was greatly surprised on his going to town on the
Monday morning to read in the ' Times ' the discovery of a new
comet, he having, like other astronomers, missed seeing the
phenomenon.
Alfred Smee was the first to introduce the French system of
pisciculture into England. He introduced it into this country in
the beginning of 1860, and on the 24th of April of the same spring
he wrote the following letter to the ' Times :'
SIE, The great interest which is now taken in pisciculture induces
me to call more particular attention to the French system devised by
Professor Coste of the College of France in Paris, and practised on a large
scale at Huninguen. I learnt the system at Paris in 1859, and brought
it at once to England, but even now it is not as sufficiently known or
appreciated as it deserves. The plan consists in placing the ova on a grid-
iron of glass, where they remain with a jet of water passing over them till
the young fish are hatched. Coste's system is absolutely perfect, and leaves
nothing to be desired, provided excess of light is excluded. Any number
CHAP. VIII.] PISCICULTURE. 81
of fish may be hatched at a cost and trouble almost nominal, for I do not
think that I lost 5 per cent, this year of good eggs subjected to the process.
Much however has still to be learnt with respect to the treatment of the
young fry, for it is still a debatable question whether we should place them
in small streams full of weeds and animalculse, their natural food, or cram
them, as the French recommend, with the flesh of frogs or powdered bullock's
liver. I adopt the former plan, but am not so confident as to its superiority
to consider it the sole good treatment of these delicate juveniles. The
great liberality and kindness of the French Government in gratuitously
aiding English pisciculturists is beyond all praise, but the time has surely
arrived when all English society might imitate the works of the French
State and stock our rivers with salmon, trout, and grayling. The breeding
boxes which I have had made in England far surpass in excellence those
sold in France, and had M. Counter's unqualified approbation on his
visit to England last summer. One of these may now be seen at the ' Field '
office in the Strand ; and until a piscicultural society on a large scale is
formed, I shall be happy to hatch and distribute to the Thames any number
of thousands of salmon ova which our northern proprietors may send me.
I remain, Sir,
7, FINSBURY CIRCUS, Your obedient servant,
April 24th. ALFRED SMEE.
The first fish he hatched according to this system were young
salmon. In 1861 he sent salmon ova to Hampton to Mr. Ponder,
chairman of the Sub-committee on Pisciculture. My father was
continually being asked for information on this subject, not only
from various persons in this country, but also from America.
And he was constantly sending ova or young fish to stock different
rivers. His own fish-breeding house, which he conducted on a
large scale at his garden at Wallington, was highly interesting,
and during the early spring months many came there specially
to see it. For a fuller account of pisciculture, see ' My Garden,'
page 497.
My father was not only a complete angler and lover of pisci-
culture, but was also during parts of his life fond of shooting.
From 1863 to 1866 he rented with a select party some pheasant-
shooting of considerable extent in Hertfordshire, where he used
to spend one day a week, and from which he always returned in
raptures with the beautiful woods and the country. In 1867 he
held with others some shooting at Tunbridge Wells, but this he
did not enjoy so much as his Hertfordshire shooting. He had,
besides, many pleasant days of sport at different times with friends
on their estates and at their shooting-boxes. After 1867, with
the exception of a few hours on the moors at Whitby, he shot
no more.
Besides being a sportsman, he was very fond of yachting,
a
82 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII.
and would delight in a sail at the mouth of the Thames in his
son's yacht, the Snowfleck* Often on these yachting excursions
he would betake himself to his old and favourite pastime, fishing,
and obtained not a little experience in sea-fishing. At other times,
when not engaged in catching fish, he would station himself by
the helm, and would employ himself in, to use his own words,
" looking out for dangers." This, his family would jokingly tell
him, was to him a source of great amusement. He did not, how-
ever, seem to appreciate such levity, and was, I believe, thoroughly
convinced that he was thereby the means of preventing sundry
dire accidents, such as collisions with steamboats or sailing boats,
or being shipwrecked by running on sandbanks, wrecks, &c.
But his being on the look-out for accidents generally ended by
his going to sleep, to the no small satisfaction of the crew. After
all these " outings," whether he had been yachting, fishing, shoot-
ing, or gardening, he returned home, his mind invigorated and
refreshed, and would work with redoubled energy.
London was much alarmed in 1862 by its houses being
broken into in the dead of night by burglars, and by its sober-
minded and respectable citizens being garrotted in the streets.
Some of the sentimental part of the community held that burglars
and garrotters ought not to be severely dealt with ; whilst others,
again, viewed with horror the spreading of this pestilence to
society, by which it had become unsafe for persons to be out of
doors after sunset, or to sleep with safety of a night, and these
urged strong measures for the suppression of such crimes. Whilst
these two conflicting opinions were running high, the following
anonymous pamphlet appeared from Alfred Smee's pen. Shortly
after its appearance (it was widely circulated) a Bill was passed
for the flogging of garrotters, and soon after the Bill was put
into force the citizens of London were left unmolested by these
ruffians. In ' The Mind of Man,' at page 63, the best manner
for dealing with our criminal classes is given in the chapter on the
government of mankind. " Our present system," he says, " is as
useless as it is unphilosophical, as the professed thief goes to
prison to come out and repeat his career as before."
It is curious that this anonymous pamphlet on garrotters
was entirely thought out one Sunday, while one of our eminent
preachers was giving a long sermon at Westminster Abbey. My
father was observed at the time to be seemingly listening with great
* The yachting commenced in 1867, when a friend kindly lent us his yacht
for the season. Afterwards my brother built himself a yacht.
CHAP. VIII.] PAMPHLET ON GARROTTERS. 83
attention to the sermon. On being asked after the service by a
friend, one of the clergymen of the Abbey, his opinion of the
sermon, my father replied, " Oh ! I liked it very well." " Liked
it very well ? " exclaimed his friend ; " I am surprised to hear
you say so, for I have often heard you denounce similar sermons
to that which you heard to-day." My father, finding he was
thus driven into a corner, confessed he had not heard one word
of it. This still more perplexed his friend the clergyman,
for Mr. Smee had appeared to be paying marked attention to
it. " Well," said my father, " I must tell you the truth. I
have been mentally writing an anonymous pamphlet the whole
time has been preaching ; and so intent have I been upon
my subject, that I have not heard a single word of the
sermon." And he added, " I will send you the result of my
work, providing I have your promise not to divulge from whom
it came."
The pamphlet was written out within twenty-four hours, and
it was published within a week. It was sent to the clergyman, who,
I believe, was never after thoroughly convinced that Mr. Smee ever
listened to any sermon, however intent he might appear to be.
And I am afraid that but too frequently he was correct in such
conjectures ; for as soon as the preacher ascended the pulpit, then
was that quiet time when he could think out his various projects.
The following is the aforesaid pamphlet.
PHILOSOPHICAL REASONS FOR NOT HANGING
GARROTTERS AND BURGLARS.
BY A MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OP FRIENDS ! ! !
Preface.
DEAR FRIENDS, Stirring times have come upon us, when it behoves
us all to be up and moving, or all our devices for centuries past will be
undone, and all the schemes which we have successfully promulgated for
comforting the assassin, the burglar, and the garrotter, will be swept away
at one fell swoop.
It is by our care that a goodly race has arisen, which is not without
its proper influence on society. Persons are now nightly stopped, and are
either eased of " the root of all evil," or, by suffering bodily injury, are
deprived of " the incentives to personal vanity."
A panic has, however, all at once seized the people ; and unless the
Society of Friends wake up, and use all the instruments under their
control, as sure as Friends are meek and humble and wear broad-brimmed
hats, an Act of Parliament will be passed to hang every man caught com-
mitting an act of burglary, or garrotting.
G 2
84 MEMOIR OF ALFEED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII.
To prevent this interference with the scheme of creation, which has
formed Quakers or good people, and burglars or evil people, I write
earnestly that thou mayest be primed with arguments to resist the inven-
tion of the enemy, and retain those whom worldly-minded men call felons,
to balance the order of creation.
Remember, it is only by a strong pull, a long pull, and a pull altogether,
that it is possible, with the present morbid temper of the public, to
preserve to society the burglar and garrotter ; but with great exertions they
may be retained for the blessed operations of a second Elizabeth Fry.
I remain,
MEETING HOUSE, Thy affectionate Teacher,
November 18th, 1862. AN ELBER.
Arguments.
1. The first great argument for not hanging burglars and garrotters
is the terrible example which would be set to others, as the capture and
execution of a few would have such an effect upon the remainder, that
there would be speedily none left, and at once an important section
of the community would disappear. In my young days a burglary or
highway robbery was never heard of, but it is only since the human
mind has been more enlightened, and the beautiful model of Thugs
has been exposed to view in the British Museum, that the taste for
burglary and garrotting has been developed; but to stop suddenly the
progression of the thinking mind, would be to fly in the face of
Providence, who has created both bad and good. So, we Friends and
thinking people must stop so terrible an exigence, and preserve the
garrotter and burglar to the world.
Police Argument.
2. If we regard the consequences of the burglar and garrotter, we
find that the guardians of the peace, frightened out of all propriety,
have doubled the police force, and thus we see how beautifully evil produces
good, for winter is coming on, many honest men will have employment
in the police, and be kept by an over-fattened public simply to look after
them. It is quite clear that this additional force will cause the garrotter
and burglar to take sufficient exercise before they obtain their end.
And it may be likened to the wise dispensation in natural history, which
causes the tiger to prowl for a long time before it finds its victim, and
to seize it with more relish from the keen appetite it has obtained in its
pursuit.
As long as burglars are not hung they do not care now very much
about the inconvenience of being caught ; and whilst they take all reason-
able care to overcome or escape the police, they constantly get away, and,
in fact, are so rarely taken, that their chase causes them to experience
the same pleasing excitement which the Indian feels in hunting the
tiger.
Fire-arms Argument.
3. Lancashire is now weeping from lack of employment, owing to
the dearth of cotton, but Birmingham thrives by reason of the burglar
CHAP. VIII.] PAMPHLET ON GAEROTTERS. 85
and garrotter. What a powerful evidence of design to fill the stomach
of the infant and mother is here to be traced to the presence of the
burglar and garrotter ! The public, strong in their own conceit, say they
will not be robbed, they will not have their houses invaded at night.
For resistance they are now arming themselves with guns, pistols, and
swords, to enter into combat with their opponents. As a Friend, I
naturally make acquaintance with these people, and my acquaintances
tell me that " they go for plunder, not for bullets and bayonet wounds."
For this object they parade in twos and threes, and their system is to
half-kill their victim before he knows he is attacked. One man said,
" Would he not like to poke a man's weapon into his own torso ? " a senti-
ment worthy of classical times. That man told me that " the gun and
pistol dodge would soon come to an end, for they would be shooting
the wrong man, and what a lark it would be to make one victim shoot
another, a circumstance which would frighten the public, and render the
garrotter safer than ever."
Besides, said he, " our noble judges are so good that they never allow
the hair of a garrotter to be ruffled." He must be taken by the police, that
is, if they can catch him at all, as tenderly as a lover handles his sweet-
heart. Our considerate law administrators sometimes have men more
severely punished for resistance than they have the robber. Nobody can
doubt but the burglar simply desires to possess something the other man
has. Would it not be a proper Christian act to give at once what is desired,
when the possessor might dispense with fire-arms, and be spared the chance
of an attack ?
Hope and Anxiety Argument.
4. Untrained minds indulge continually in the lower feelings. How
grovelling was that picture at the International Exhibition of a young
mother with an infant in her arms drawing aside the blind to look after
the lost husband, the prop and support of the home. What an untrained
mind does the mother show to be anxious ! For the father is either
alive or dead : if he is alive, she ought to exhibit hope, not anxiety ; and
if he has been proved to have been garrotted and past all hope, then she
ought to exhibit resignation. To my female friends say I, Train thou thy
mind, and when thy husband is proved to be garrotted, then exert thy-
self and get another. What a blessed instrument in mind-training might
the burglar and garrotter become, and how great ought to be our exertions
to prevent their being hung !
The Fog Argument.
5. During the severe fogs of November persons are now fearful of leav-
ing their homes because fog gives to the garrotter an easy chance of carrying
out his plans. This is surely a mest unreasonable accusation against
garrotters, because, in this instance, they do a positive benefit by keeping
people out of the influence of a fog, which is known to be extremely bad
for their constitutions. Such, however, is the perverse character of the
human mind that they would use the liability of being maimed or killed by
robbers during the prevalence of a fog, as an argument for hanging them,
as a terror to other evil-doers. During great fogs in London gentlemen
are watched from their clubs, when there are scamps who think it great
86 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII.
fun to seize suddenly their hats and bolt with them without fear of pursuit.
This fooling pastime and small robbery is checked by the garrotter, for
many who do not care for the mere chance of losing a hat, are kept at
home when they fear to lose their lives, and then their wives and children
know where they are.
The Over-Population Argument.
6. Nobody doubts that the country has plenty of people to take any
place which 'may become vacant, when its present occupants are killed. A
great fuss was made last year, because an M.P. was strangled in Pall Mall,
when returning from his parliamentary duties. What could it have
mattered if he had been so far garrotted as to have lost his life ? There
would be still too many in Parliament to transact its business properly,
and not only too many, but a hundred applicants for every vacant place.
What is true of a Member of Parliament is true of any other occupation ;
for there is not a clergyman in the country who would not delight to take
the office of a bishop, if one should unfortunately be garrotted, though, as
Friends, we must consider that bishops are altogether superfluous. Under
the present system there is not a person in the kingdom who may not be
destroyed by the burglar or garrotter ; and should one be so destroyed,
there would be plenty delighted to take his place. Now, Friend, I would
ask thee this question, Why should we hang a garrotter or burglar who
may, in pursuing his usual avocation, give delight to any person in this
over-populous country ?
Timidity Argument.
7. When a burglar enters a house at the dead of night, and kills the
inmates, such as was done at the celebrated Frimly murder, it is a vulgar
fashion for other people, neither killed nor attacked, to take on great fear.
In secluded houses the inmates remain sleepless all the livelong nights,
fearing each noise, and listening to every rustle of the leaves, and spending
their lives in terror and trembling. Other persons witnessing these results,
revile the burglar and wish him to be hanged, that their friends may enjoy
their homes in peace and comfort. Now, in th^se cases, as members of
the advanced thinking community to which we belong, we should like to
put the burden on the right shoulder, and, instead of punishing the burglar,
would severely reprimand the nervous sufferers, and command them to
sleep soundly, even when they are conscious that burglars have broken in
the front door.
Assurance Argument.
8. Assurance Companies are frightened out of all propriety by gar-
rotters and burglars, because they say that lives are lost, and claims arise
therefrom. It is quite clear, however, that there would be no assurances if
there were no deaths ; and, surely, Accidental Death Assurance Companies
must derive business from the knowledge which the public possesses, that
no person can tell whether he will be attacked ou any given day, and
maimed. Nothing can more completely show that the complaints of the
Assurance Companies are quite groundless, and not to be entertained for
a moment, when the great social problem of petting great criminals is at
stake.
CHAP. VIII.] PAMPHLET ON GAEROTTEKS. 87
Injury Argument,
9. If we believe the doctors, who are always dogmatical, we shall hear
that cases of personal violence leave traces for life. Dr. Forbes Winslow
may say that insanity is often traced to blows on the head inflicted years
before. The brain doctors tell us that epilepsy, apoplexy, and with females,
the most severe and terrible hysteria, are brought on by a shock to the brain.
We hear oculists declare that vision is often impaired. Aurists tell us that
persons are rendered deaf. Some persons are deprived of smell, others of
taste, and innumerable cases of stiff joints and lameness are produced by
personal violence arising from resistance to the demands of the garrotter
for his victim to give up his personal property, or to the burglar from
entering his house. It is, thereupon, argued that garrotters and burglars
are so savage and relentless in their course, that death by the gallows should
be their doom. Can anything be more foolish ? for a damaged man is a
patient for life, a certain annuity to the doctor. Under these circumstances,
medical men have no cause for grumbling ; but, on the contrary, ought
rather to rejoice that the garrotte and house-breaking have so deep a hold
upon our social system.
The Expense Argument.
10. Mean hardhearted citizens consider that, as they work for their
living, they have no right to keep hundreds in idleness and greater luxury
than their own workpeople. Nothing can be more futile than this argu-
ment, although it must be confessed that it is very hard to drive it out of
their heads, that it is not right to give a garrotter meat when the workmen
live on bread and cheese. He argues, naturally enough for a mere counting-
house man, that the criminal should not be better off than the honest work-
man. The more comprehensive mind will discover that the criminal is the
pet of pets of a certain section of the thinking community, and the honest
man may go to the wall.
Outbreak Argument.
11. All experience shows that it is no easy matter to keep a number of
burglars and garrotters, used to every kind of cruelty and violence, in due
subjection. With the greatest care caged murderers will do violence to
the gaoler. Used to every brutality, they stand very badly the slight re-
straint imposed upon them by a prison life. What can be greater proof of
the folly of catching them, when, by convicting them of a murder, you
induce them to commit two or three more ? As a matter of fact, wouldst
thou like a house-breaker or murderer to live in thy family ? and if thou
wouldst not like him in thy house, is it fair and equitable to expose the
warders to his influence ?
The War Argument.
12. In warfare how many brave men sacrifice themselves simply as a
matter of duty to their country, or a sense of manly feeling to protect their
wives and families. When in battle we see thousands of the good and just
fall in a single day, unthinking people inquire why should millions of
Englishmen be kept in terror by one or two score of worthless, degraded
reprobates. But the fact is that neither the garrotter nor biirglar is a brave
gg MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII.
or just man. He is an arrant coward. It never entered his head to be
killed or even to be hurt, and he maims or kills his opponent as an act of
cowardice for his own protection. Under these circumstances the fate of
the brave man who is killed in war, and fears not his doom for the sake of
duty, is not to be compared with the cowardly miscreant who is fearful and
cruel. For this reason the entire population had better be kept in con-
tinual terror than that the garrotter or burglar shall receive the doom
which he never contemplated.
The Food Treatment.
13. It is now very difficult to catch a burglar or imprison a garrotter.
This might all be obviated by properly regulated prisons. If there was no
restraint, and they could go where they liked, they would undoubtedly
come into prison of their own accord ; that is, if they had sufficient induce-
ment for so doing. Now, bread and water continuously is no inducement
for anybody; but a well-ordered prison with parks, pleasure-grounds,
winter- gardens, fish and game preserves, with a proper supply of such fare
as turkey and plum-pudding for Christmas, and of the various delicacies
at the earliest possible moment they respectively come into season, would
soften the garrotter's heart, and, instead of assaulting the police as they do
at present, they would freely admit their own guilt, save all the expenses
of prosecution, and come into gaol when they felt they had had enough of
their adventures. What a beautiful sight it would be to see troops of
garrotters and burglars coming to repent every morning of their wickedness
done in the night !
The Bump Treatment.
14. No member of the Society of Friends nor thinking individual can
doubt but that the cruelty of the burglar and garrotter is due to certain
bumps of the head which are too prominent. The first process in the
treatment would be effectually to gauge the head. Possibly an humble
petition numerously signed by Friends and Unitarians would secure for
that object the services of Dr. Carpenter, whom some people consider to be
as great in his physiology as sound in his religion. Under his instruction
gentle young ladies might be employed to manupress the cruelty bumps
and draw forth with an exhausting tube the benevolent ones. Who knows,
when the heads of garrotters are rubbed into models of benevolence and
kindness, how many cases of affection may spring up between the garrotter
and bump-represser, which would give to the young robber-changer a most
amiable partner for life ? The process is so efficacious that gorillas can, by
the manipulation of their bumps, be turned into perfect men. How many
gorillas have been so changed nobody can tell, unless it be the Bishop of
Oxford, who at the British Association appeared to have some special
knowledge of these creatures. What more powerful reason can be given
for stopping the stupid Legislature from hanging garrotters than the
possibility of their being rubbed into judges, bishops, or members of
Parliament ?
African Project.
15. In looking at the question of dealing with great criminals we must
not overlook the proposition to send burglars and garrotters to Sierra
CHAP. VIII.] PAMPHLET ON GARROTTERS. 89
Leone, or West Coast of Africa, for the purpose of performing the labour
necessary for an experimental growth of cotton, sugar-cane, or other tropical
productions. As Friends we must not tolerate such a proposition, which
might cause criminals to live no longer than honest, virtuous men. Upon
the whole, the question may be safely left to competent statisticians, and
no doubt such an able man as Mr. Newmarch would settle the duration of
life to the thirty-ninth place of decimals, and would rather the globe itself
on which he lives should dissolve than allow a criminal to have no longer
a duration of life than an upright, honest working man.
The Whipping Project.
16. Not a few persons are to be found who commend whipping for
brutalized criminals ; and when a citizen has been severely maimed by a
person of this class, the evil passions of his neighbours naturally desire
to see the criminal well flogged. It is difficult to meet the argument ; but
if whipping is allowed, the Friends' trust must be in the doctor, who
should receive orders to discontinue the process the moment the pulse
rises one beat, or any emotion can be detected. The arguments against
whipping are very awkward to be applied, as flogging has proved to be an
admirable remedy against attacks upon her Majesty, or in cases of wanton
destruction of works of art. Nevertheless, thou hadst better ask those who
recommend its application, how far they would like the cat-o'-nine-tails
themselves ; and if they would dislike it, why apply it to the garrotter ?
Conclusion.
17. Those who read the arguments against hanging garrotters and
burglars must perceive that, although the reasons are strong, it will require
the greatest possible exertion to prevent the gallows from rearing again
its lofty head. London is nightly patrolled by garrotters ; England has
a nest of cruel, cowardly assassins, who terrify the peaceable and well-
disposed. Men and women have such an antipathy to robbery with
violence, that they instinctively desire to shoot their dastardly maimers,
or hand the man to a terrible justice. In this great emergency it behoves
all Quakers, and other thinking men, to bestir themselves vehemently, and
the more fear is exhibited by the public of being killed, robbed, or per-
manently maimed, the more will be our merit to protect the ill-doers.
When people are killed, or paralysed, or maimed by law-breakers, in the
eyes of mankind the robber is thought to be a great criminal ; and the
greater the criminal, the greater pet should we make of him. A vulgar
public will treat a felon, brutalized by every vice, and degraded by every
cruelty and passion, as they would a mad dog, or a venomous snake. A
thinking man, however, would supply him with every comfort, and give
him food, clothes, habitation, and luxuries, beyond the means of honest
working men.
Friend, there is one thing, in conclusion, that I would have thee never
forget, and that is, when a burglar and garrotter is hung, he is never able
to rob or kill again, and others are deterred by his example. Remember,
when criminals cease, sentiment is done, and Quakerdom and cant must
fall.
90 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. VIII.
In July 1863, commenced the celebrated fight between
Alfred Smee and the Jesuits. My mother's brother had joined
one of their confraternities, and had during this month died,
leaving the whole of his property inherited from his father to the
Principal of the Brompton Oratorians. For many years before
my father had wished to have a passage of arms with the Jesuits,
and would have done so had not my mother been fearful lest they
should send her brother to some monastery on the Continent
where she could never see him again, and she ever indulged in
the hope that her brother might one day be rescued from the
clutches of the Oratorians. This hope, however, was not realized,
for he died in the forty-first year of his age ; though I think that
had he recovered from his last illness he would have been induced
to leave the Oratorians, and live under the roof of his sister
and her husband, both of whom he had, previous to joining
the Komish Church, ever held in great affection. After my
uncle's death the fight commenced : there was a lengthy corre-
spondence in the press during the summer and latter part
of 1862, and the beginning of 1863, to which I must refer the
reader. The will was contested, and it was not until it was
brought into court that any information could be obtained.
However, the case was lost : there was not sufficient legal
evidence which we were not surprised at. But it was as well
the will was put into court, for it thereby showed to the world
the manner in which the wills of the members of the Brompton
Oratory are made. It awakened against them a feeling of dis-
gust among those who love the liberty of Protestant England.
Already, long before his death, my uncle was a poor man :
the bulk of his property had gone. Where? My father also
contested the right of religious communities to have private and
secret burial-grounds. Here, again, the correspondence was
lengthy, but the gist of it is that my father complained, " 1st,
That the Oratory has a private and secret burial-ground, without
public access or boundary walls, which has no public register
of burials, and where the names on the tombstones are changed ;
2nd, That this private and secret burial-ground, and the means
of concealment you have in your houses, are used to obtain
money from converts under religious intimidation."
During this summer a party wishing to see the grave were
refused, as they had no private order from the Oratorians with
them. This private and secret burial-ground is in the garden
attached to a house they have at Sydenham. Great interest was
CHAP. VIII.] FIGHT WITH THE JESUITS. 91
felt in the Broinpton Oratorian case throughout the country. It
was referred to several times in the House of Commons.
In the Appendix, No. XXVI., is the rejoinder to the manifesto
of Dr. Dalgairns, Principal of the Oratory, entitled ' The Private
and Secret Burial-Ground of the Oratory,' together with a corre-
spondence with Sir George Grey, and a petition to the House
of Commons.
My father was always a consistent opponent of religious
houses such as monasteries and nunneries, and in 1871 he gave
evidence against them in the Committee Eoom of the House of
Commons.
The pamphlet ' On the Practical Remedy for Extortion and
Intimidation practised by the aid of the Superior Law Courts '
was written by my father in 1863. This pamphlet had the
desired effect of drawing the attention of the Legislature to the
abus.es there alluded to. Such extortion can now be no longer
practised, for by an Act passed in 1867 it was provided that any
person against whom an action for malicious prosecution, illegal
arrest, illegal distress, assault, false imprisonment, libel, slander,
or other action of tort, may be brought, may make an affidavit
that the plaintiff has no visible means of paying the costs of
the defendant ; and thereupon a judge of the court in which the
action is brought is empowered to stay the proceedings, unless
full security for the defendant's costs is given. See Appendix,
No. XXVII.
92 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAF. IX.
CHAP TEE IX.
1865 TO 1870.
Contests Rochester Alfred Smee a Freemason and an Oddfellow London
Institution saved from becoming a clerks' school Aquarium at Paris
Accident Sheet Professional life of Alfred Smee Illness Visit to Whitby
Posting up storm telegrams at Whitby Contests Rochester a second
ti me Speeches Visits Italy Anonymous writings on the Unseaworthiness
of Ships, on Chancery Reform, &c.
AT the General Election of 1865, Alfred Smee contested
Rochester, and there brought forward political views under a
new phase, which he termed " Conservative Progress." Although
enthusiastically received at that city, he was unsuccessful. He
was surrounded by his family during the contest, and I still
always look back to that general election as a very agreeable
phase of my existence. The year after he wrote two political
skits, the one termed ' The Puppet Parliament,' and the other
' The Final Reform Bill.' Neither of the pamphlets bore his name.
See the Appendix, Nos. XXVIII. and XXIX.
In that entitled ' The Final Reform Bill,' he says :
There are four great diseases before Parliament this year : 1. The
rinderpest, or death of cattle ; 2. The cholera pest, or death of mankind
both bodily diseases, to be treated after an exact study of Nature's works :
3. The nigger pest, white murder by blacks; 4. The Fenian pest the
annihilation of social order and religion both mental epidemics, to be
treated after an earnest study of God's moral laws.
Who shall legislate upon these serious maladies ? Shall they who
have bought their parliamentary seats by money, and pandered to the
follies of their age P Or shall they who represent independent, thoughtful
voters, and who have studied Nature's works and followed moral laws ?
In 1865 Mr. Smee was made a Freemason at Gundulph's
Lodge at Rochester, and he was about the same time also elected
a member of the Oddfellows in the same city. On the 22nd of
February, 1867, he was elected a member of Jerusalem Lodge, in
London, one of the oldest lodges. Although he took a warm interest
CHAP. IX.] A FREEMASON. 93
in Freemasonry, yet he was too idle to learn the symbols, and never
attained the rank of Master. Many of his Freemason brethren
had determined to make him at last a Master, and I doubt not
that in course of time, had he lived, they would have cajoled him
into learning the requisites necessary to attain that office. He
always declared he never could learn by heart ; but as it has been
seen that his memory was so excellent that he was able to take
down on one occasion some important speeches two days after
they were delivered, and as he used always to take down the
lectures delivered at King's College verbatim on his return home
in the evening, it would seem that, had he so willed it, he could also
have learnt by rote. However, he did not do so ; but whether he
could not, as he said, or would not, is very doubtful. He had several
decorations and orders in Freemasonry, and he was present at the
installation of His Eoyal Highness the Prince of Wales as Grand
Master at Albert Hall. I mention this because it was extremely
difficult to obtain an invitation to that installation, and I suppose
he was the only one present who had not ranked as a Master.
He was extremely pleased at being present at that ceremony,
which interested him much, and thoroughly appreciated the kind-
ness of the donor of the invitation.
In 1868 he was admitted, on the 7th of February, among the
first five hundred of the City Carlton Club, a Conservative club in
the City. He was also admitted among the first hundred members
of St. Stephen's Club. He had previously, it should be added,
belonged to the Eeform Club, but had to leave it on his contesting
Eochester. He had not joined the Eeform Club for political
motives, for until he contested Eochester in the Conservative
cause he had never previously taken a leading interest in party
questions, and, indeed, had not troubled himself to use his vote
at political elections. He had several friends at the Eeform
Club, and it had other attractions in possessing a good library,
and better still a good cuisine, for Francatelli was at that time
the chef.
In 1866 there was a movement for a clerks' school (the City
of London College) to be associated with the London Institution.
By this project the London Institution was to keep the building
of the college in repair, the students of the college were to
have access to the educational lectures, the life shares of the
London Institution were to be given as prizes to the students,
and the students were to have access to the library, besides sharing
in other emoluments. It may seem surprising, but nevertheless
94 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IX.
true, that one of the managers tried his utmost to bring about
this arrangement. Mr. Smee wrote to him as follows :
MY DEAE SIE, I have read with very great care your proposal to
annihilate the London Institution.
It does seem to me to be a most highly objectionable project, and one
which I hope there will be but little chance of carrying out.
It is a total change of purpose to convert a literary and scientific
institution into a mere boys' school, but one step better than that of a
charity school.
You have fixed the meeting at a time when I am afraid I cannot
possibly attend, next Wednesday, which I extremely regret, as I fear that
I shall feel it my duty to oppose it with all my might.
My doctrine would be to improve what we possess, not to radically
destroy.
Mr. Smee went to the meeting, which was attended by the
proprietors and managers, and in a long speech denounced the
movement as being most pernicious to the London Institution.
When he finished his speech, the proprietors rose en masse, and
cheered and cheered him again and again. The scheme was
upset, my father victorious, and the London Institution saved.
While my father and myself were on a short visit to
Paris in the autumn of 1866, we visited a splendidly fitted-up
aquarium, which had recently been established, and which,
before the Brighton Aquarium was made, was a master one
of its kind. This aquarium in Paris fired my father's ima-
gination, and forthwith he considered that it was a grievous
pity that an equally good if not a better one should not be
immediately established at the Zoological Gardens in London.
Accordingly, the next morning, when I came down to breakfast,
before 9 o'clock, I found he had written off to the late much
lamented and distinguished naturalist, Dr. Gray, of the British
Museum, on the subject, and I found afterwards the aforesaid
letter published in the ' Annals of Natural History,' 3rd series,
vol. xix.*
THE " MONDE DE LA MEE."
MY DEAE SIE, I have just returned from a visit to the " Monde de
la Mer," a noble aquarium opened to the public at a charge of two francs
per head within the last week, on the Boulevard Montmartre. It is
arranged as a large grotto, with cement stalactites, and the light almost
entirely comes through the glass front of the aquarium. There are no less
than thirteen aquaria, with glass fronts, about 15 feet long and 4 feet deep ;
* The Brighton Aquarium was not in existence when this letter was
written.
CHAP. IX.] THE " MONDE DE LA HER." 95
and there are glass facings to brick and cement tanks, 5 or 6 feet wide.
These thirteen are for salt water alone; but there are others for fresh
water, and two little ponds 10 or 12 feet across. The aquaria are lit by
gas-lights placed above, which light up in the most 'efficient manner the
interior, and show every fish most perfectly. There appears to be no
confervoid growth ; and doubtless the gas-light is unfavourable to such
vegetation, but gives an illumination more resembling the natural con-
dition in deep water. A gas-engine is employed to change the water,
which continually runs to a tank below, and is pumped back, the jet
being thrown with such force as to carry down a great quantity of air in
very minute division so much, in fact, that I thought it was done by an
air-pump, until the attendant obliged me by allowing me to go behind the
scenes and inspect the contrivance. The " Monde de la Mer " in these
tanks were truly wonderful : large fish a yard long, soles and skates of
ample proportions, with lobster, crayfish, and numerous species of fish of
brilliant colours from the Mediterranean. Hundreds of anemones made
a sort of flower-garden ; and the effect was so interesting and so beautiful
that it has to be seen to be believed and appreciated.
The aquarium at the Zoological Gardens, which formerly attracted so
much attention, was a mere baby to it, and gave no idea of the behaviour
of the great-grandfather fish which are here contained.
It occurred to me, that if I was a child and fell in love with this
beautiful exhibition, there must be hundreds and thousands of grown-up
children who would also like to be introduced to the " Monde de la Mer."
Then why not get up a bigger " Mer," and a more distinguished " Monde "
at the Zoological Gardens ?
The place would be the bank sloping to the canal, looking towards
the north : for fish have a decided natural objection to be cooked by a
southern sun. And the moment I arrive in England I shall rush to the
Zoo to see if perfidious Albion has copied the idea and out-Mer'd and out-
Monde'd the " Monde de la Mer " of Paris.
I remain, my dear Sir,
Yours faithfully,
HOTEL MEURICE, Paris, ALFRED SMEE.
Nov. 19th, 1866.
In 1866, it will be remembered, a great monetary panic occurred
in the city of London, when many families lost large fortunes,
and when, to add to the misfortune, the discount house of Overend
and Grurney stopped payment. To endeavour to stop the stagna-
tion which was occasioned by large sums of money which were
not lost, but not get-at-able, in fact " locked up " for a consider-
able space of time, an ingenious remedy was suggested by Alfred
Smee, which will be found in the Appendix, No. XXX. This
panic was succeeded by hardships which had to be endured by
unfortunate shareholders of public companies in liquidation,
and which elicited some anonymous letters from Mr. Smee's
pen. These letters follow those on ' Locked-up Money,' in the
Appendix, No. XXXI.
96 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IX.
In 1867, Mr. Smee brought out another form of Accident
Sheet somewhat similar to, though in a more complete form than,
the one he published in 1847.*
Up to the present time very little notice has been taken of
my father's professional career, beyond his being a surgeon of
no mean repute, and of his being more especially eminent as
an oculist. That part of his work which has hitherto been
given was performed mostly in his leisure, and was chiefly
the intellectual pastime of his prolific brain, but the greater
part of his time was taken up by his medical profession, and
by various companies, to some of which he was medical officer,
whilst of others he was a director.
It has already been mentioned that the office of Surgeon
to the Bank of England was specially created for him when
he was only twenty-two years old. He was also elected at
an early age, and almost immediately on entering his profession,
Surgeon to the Eoyal General Dispensary, in Aldersgate Street,
to the Central London Ophthalmic Hospital, and was besides
surgeon to several other important institutions. He was medical
officer to several Life Assurance Companies, amongst the more
important of which may be mentioned the Accident Company
and the Gresham, of both of which he was one of the founders.
But the latter company was materially assisted by my grand-
father, Mr. William Smee, Accountant-General of the Bank of
England, who was also one of the trustees of the Gresham,
in conjunction with the Chief Cashier of the Bank, Mr. Matthew
Marshall, and the banker Mr. Oldham. Without my grand-
father's assistance the Gresham would not have existed. As
it was, it was born in the dining-room of 7, Finsbury Circus,
during the autumn of 1847.
One of the companies to which he belonged caused, for a
space of time stretching over several years, my father a great
deal of anxiety, and added many cares to his life. Fortunately
these anxieties came to a satisfactory termination. Through the
indomitable courage and high principle of Alfred Smee many
were saved from pressing cares and losses; but, unhappily,
the intense mental excitement and labour attending it, left an
indelible mark upon his bodily powers, and sowed the seed of the
disease which he succumbed to at the early age of fifty-eight.
This Accident Sheet can be either obtained in the form of a sheet or in a
small book, at the printers', Messrs. Collingridge, Long Lane, or at the office of
the Accident Company, 37, Old Jewry, E.G., for the small sum of one penny.
CHAP. IX.] STORM SIGNALS. 97
From the huge packet of MS. papers, of printed speeches,
various reports, written and spoken by Alfred Smee for the benefit
of sundry companies to which he belonged (which I had the
curiosity to collect and preserve), it would seem that he must
have been the moving spirit in them, and in losing him they
must indeed have lost a friend and a strong supporter.
In the summer of 1868 my father had a serious illness, which
at the time was supposed to be a severe form of colic, but which
would appear to have been rather the beginning of the disease
which proved fatal to him at the beginning of last year: for
from that moment he lost his stoutness, and became year by year
thinner and thinner. From that moment, too, he cannot be said
to have enjoyed robust health. Through the kind attention of
his old friend Dr. Jones, he rallied from this illness, and when
convalescent he went to Whitby, where he thoroughly enjoyed
himself, sometimes in fishing, sometimes on the moors, sometimes
amidst the rocks, searching for fossils embedded in the lias or
oolitic strata, and sometimes in the beautiful woods in the vicinity,
searching for ferns for his beloved garden at Wallington, which,
when absent from it, was never forgotten by him. At such times we
would return to Whitby with the carriage so filled with oak ferns,
beech ferns, and other sorts of ferns, that our heads only would
just be visible above the mass of lovely foliage, much to the
amusement of the good folks of that seaport, who thereupon
styled my father the "Professor of Ferns." Besides these in-
nocent amusements, which tended to restore his health, he took
steps to promote the interests of the fishermen of Whitby, as will
be seen from the following letter, which he wrote immediately
on his return to London, to the late Mr. Gassiot, F.K.S.
MY DEAR SIR, I have been at Whitby during the last equinox, and
took great interest in the storm signals on that dangerous coast, and
I write the general result for you to lay before the committee for their
information.
1. The barometer was of the highest importance to the fishermen.
Every morning they walked up the pier to examine it, and their decision
was most materially guided by its rising and falling.
2. The storm signal seemed to be of secondary importance to the indi-
cation of the barometer, though of great use taken in conjunction with it,
and the reason for its being hoisted. Upon this matter I have a suggestion
to make. I found that whenever the drum was hoisted, every sailor knew
the reason of its being hoisted from the Preventive Service men, and they
would tell me that there was a great storm raging in the Channel, a high
wind on the coast of Scotland, and one day that there was a storm so near
as Yarmouth.
98 MEMOIR OF ALFEED SMEE. [CHAP. IX.
Now, I recommend that the reasons for the hoisting of the drum be
always posted up in writing, as I am quite confident that these men are
thinking of the bearing of the question all day long, and gradually
they will use the drum in conjunction with the barometer, and obtain
for each place much closer results than can be obtained by any other
method.
Practically my recommendation is to give the fishermen facts for
them to apply. I think then great results will ensue, and they will be
able to bring the foretelling of the weather for a few hours to as near a
certainty as possible.
It was resolved by the Meteorological Committee of the Koyal
Society that Mr. Scott be instructed to take steps to promote the
posting up of the weather telegrams at Whitby. The following
summer, on our second visit to Whitby, my father took much
interest in the working of the same.
In 1868 there was another election at Rochester. His address
to the electors was issued from Whitby, where he was staying on
account of illness, and he was on that account obliged to postpone
appearing among his friends and supporters for several weeks.
He, however, wrote many addresses to them, and amused himself
with drawing up rules and regulations for the organization of the
Conservative party in that city ; and before he was quite recovered
from his indisposition he, against the advice of his medical adviser,
Dr. Jones, and of his friends, threw himself heart and soul into
the contest, quite regardless of his own health. He went to the
poll, but again met with unsuccess. That he had good grounds
for expecting success will be fully seen from the following letters
sent to his wife and others during the heat of the contest, and by
the speech he made at the complimentary dinner which was given
to him by his supporters in the city of Rochester on the 17th of
December, 1868. His family have heard since, from information
obtained from the Radical side, that Mr. Smee was so beloved at
Rochester, that had he but paid a select number at the rate of a
day's wages he would have been elected. But bribery he would
not allow to be resorted to. Not very long after this election a
great many men emigrated from Rochester. Their last act on
leaving Chatham for their ships was to give three cheers for Mr.
Smee. " Had we returned him as our member for Rochester," they
exclaimed, " we should not have been obliged to leave Rochester
and emigrate." My father was not a little pleased when he heard
of this demonstration of affection and esteem for him.
MY DEAR ELIZABETH, We have had a most extraordinary meeting at
Rochester; 20,000 people out, all the road lined. The moment I arrived
CHAP. IX.] ELECTION AT EC-CHESTER. 99
at the station, tremendous cheering, a great procession of torches, with red
fire, with a boy dressed in pink, typifying Conservatism, with a band pre-
ceding. We marched through the town, all the people calling out, " There
he is, he has come at last," till we got to the King's Head, where the
crowd was so great that policemen had to keep order, and the pressure so
tremendous that the windows were broken. I gave my speech, a pretty
violent one.
I told the people that they must do the work, as I could not, and read
my parody on Longfellow. It is reported that Kinglake has resigned on
the strength of it, but that is improbable. I must see on Monday,
and am to see Elliot to-morrow. Mary would have enjoyed the fun.
KING'S HEAD HOTEL, Rochester,
October 29th, 1868.
MY DEAR ELIZABETH, Great meeting this evening "to protest
against recent attempts to stir up class feelings in the city." The whole
meeting called for Smee, and I was sent for, and entered the room amidst
the most uproarious cheering. I got up on the platform, and shook Martin
warmly by the hand (with such a scene as you never saw), but after waiting
for two hours neither of us could be heard, so we agreed to leave the
meeting quietly, when the police rushed in and cleared the hall. I was
enthusiastically cheered, and all is now quiet, the Blue magistrates being
furious. Promises pour in to me, and we have a good chance.
KING'S HEAD HOTEL, Rochester,
November 13th, 1868, 10 o'clock.
Overwhelming show of hands in favour of Smee; all going on
gloriously.
ROCHESTER, November 17th, 1868.
This telegram was sent to us after the nomination, and the
day before the poll.
In a letter he wrote after the election he says :
SIR, I have lately contested Rochester in the Conservative interest
and although not successful, from special reasons appertaining to that
city, yet I think that I have found the key to obtain the enthusiastic
support of the masses for the Conservative cause from the following
principles :
1. Conservatives desire a step by step progression from that which is
good to that which is better ; in fact Conservatism is a continual growth
and improvement.
This doctrine always flashed in the people's minds, and when illustrated
by natural phenomena, always delighted and enchanted them.
2. The interests of the working men have a natural affinity with those
of the gentry and aristocracy, and both should act together.
This always stirred up marked enthusiasm.
3. The Church belongs to the people, the clergy having ever de-
fended the people against oppression, and is the source of England's
freedom.
This carried conviction, but I did not find it desirable to say too much
upon Church questions.
H 2
100 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IX.
4. The liberal doctrines of Bright, Mill, and Co. really amount to the
lowest pay for the largest amount of labour, and the least quantity of the
necessaries of life for the largest amount of money.
This was almost too exciting for the masses. It completely carried
them away, and completely turned the tables against the employers of
labour and the small shopkeepers, the enemies of the Conservative cause.
5. Labour -and capital equally suffer from disagreement, and members
of Parliament should be their mediators.
6. The Conservative Reform Bill has given the power to the people,
but at present the people are not freemen, as their masters compel them
to vote as they please, to their own injury.
This doctrine was generally met with shouts of the names of the
Government contractors at Rochester, who command the electors, and
frequently with suggestions for the ballot.
7. Yiolent political struggles are inimical to the interests of the
people : hence Gladstone had done great injury by stirring up the Church
question.
By this line of argument I showed that the aristocracy, gentry, and
clergy constitute the Conservative party, with the working men, but that
the Liberal party were composed of the employers of labour and the small
shopkeepers.
The Liberal party were furious at the enthusiasm produced by these
doctrines, and called an indignation meeting, but the multitude completely
foiled the attempt.
At Rochester I carried the clergy, the gently, and the working men
with me, and I have no doubt that we have the key to the future Conserva-
tive government of the country. A large majority of working men were
compelled to vote as their masters dictated.
And again, at the complimentary dinner given to him at
Kochester on the 17th of December, 1868 :
It is with a great deal of diffidence that I rise to express the thanks
which I feel for the honour you have done me this day in asking me to
come amongst you after the defeat we have experienced at the late election.
We have unmistakably had a great defeat in Rochester, a defeat which we
did not expect. The moment I entered the city I received numerous promises
of support ; those promises came rolling in day by day till 10 o'clock each
night ; they amounted at last to 1024 on the day before the nomination.
After the nomination, at which, as you know, we gained the show of hands,
that same evening no more promises came in, but promises began to fall
off; withdrawal began to be made, which showed the city must be under
the power of certain persons in it (sensation) ; and on the next day these
1024 promises degenerated into 702 performances (shame). Accustomed as
I am to numbers, I sat ticking off the votes at the Guildhall as they came
in, and I soon saw that there was something wrong. I sent word to my
committee, " Why don't the voters come up ? " No answer came. I
wrote again : " Tell me, why don't the voters come up ? " A slip of paper
then came with s. d. upon it (sensation). I understood at once the
meaning. Now there must be some very potent reason which prevented
1024 promises from realizing more than 702 votes. In the first place I
CHAP. IX.] VISIT TO ITALY. 101
think many good Conservatives were victims to despair. I found they
worshipped success, and the moment they saw we were not likely to be at
the head of the poll, they stayed at home and did not vote (shame).
In speaking before public meetings Mr. Smee varied not a
little. Generally his speeches were fluently delivered, and were
at times most brilliant ; at other times his speeches would fall
flat, and then he would search for the words to use. When he got
up, no one could predict whether he was in the humour and would
give one of his brilliant speeches, or whether it would be painful
to listen to him. Two sentences were, however sufficient for
those who knew him well to tell whether the speech would be a
success or not. His facts he would generally, not always, get
up beforehand, but the manner in which they were to be arranged
was always left till the time of speaking. But perhaps the
most brilliant and most effective of his speeches were those
which he took no trouble about, when he rose on the spur of the
moment and delivered them off-hand.
In the spring of 1870 my mother and I accompanied my
father to Italy, and there enjoyed all the beauties which that
classic land can yield. How much the charming scenery of the
Riviera delighted him, and Florence that lovely city where
" Sculpture with her rainbow sister vies ! "
" Girt by her theatre of hills, she reaps
Her corn, and wine, and oil, and Plenty leaps
To laughing Life with her redundant horn."
From Florence we went to Naples, which city and its
neighbourhood afforded Mr. Smee, as may be supposed, fresh
novelties of intense interest. He was greatly surprised to find
the Ceterach fern thriving almost at the summit of Mount
Vesuvius, and the Maidenhair fern luxuriating in all its glory
in the ruined amphitheatre at Pozzuoli near Naples.
Some of the fronds (he writes) were eighteen or more inches in length,
and the earthen walls were covered with sheets of this lovely fern, stand-
ing out at right angles from the wall, or hanging down from the roof. I
must confess that, when I beheld this great and glorious sight, I was
more impressed with it than with the thought that I was present on a
spot where dramas of blood were enacted centuries before. I speedily
collected a number of plants, to the no small disgust of the cicerone, who
could not do the amphitheatre at his usual gallop, and who shrugged his
shoulders at my utter want of taste in gathering useless weeds. Some of
these plants now gi'ow at my garden in the fern cave.
102 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IX.
My father, wherever he went, found something new or tempt-
ing for his garden. His portmanteau was but too frequently
converted into a flower-garden before he reached England again,
and which not a little surprised the Customs' officers, when they
inspected his luggage. Plants were the primary consideration,
clothes secondary, if they could claim any consideration at all.
At Pompeii he found more Maidenhair ferns growing on the
walls of that ruined town, to which he paid repeated visits. At
Rome he was much impressed with the grand buildings and ruins.
He went daily to St. Peter's, the Coliseum, and was much struck
with the noble proportions of the Pantheon. The pictures and
sculptures afforded him much pleasure, and it was during this
visit that he made those curious notes on Binocular Perspective
which are alluded to in the Appendix, No. XIX. My father
gained much recreation and enjoyment, and would have re-
turned, I doubt not, a stronger man, had he not, unhappily,
been obliged by untoward circumstances to stop, and not only
doctor, but also help with my mother to nurse, severe cases of
illness. He was urgently required in London, and he could not
leave, and the worry and anxiety attending this delay greatly
marred the enjoyment of this visit, and prevented that benefit
to his health which his family had hoped to see. What
a keen interest he took in the new forms of vegetation he met
with in beautiful Italy, the following extracts from letters
to my brother, who was in England acting as his deputy, will
show :
March 16th, 1870, Florence. To compai'e with Carshalton.
Almonds now in flower; some peach-trees and pear-trees swelling
their buds ; anemones in flower ; sloe-trees in full flower.
April 6th, 1870, Florence. I forgot to tell you that swallows appeared
at Naples on March 28th, and I saw them here on March 31st.
April 12th, 1870. The country is really very beautiful with wild
tulips, wild flowers, and all the fruit-trees in flower, and the mountains
look lovely.
M. is still very weak. I do not know how I am to get home ; I shall
be so thankful to write and state that we are on the move.
April 23rd, 1870. I heard the nightingales last night, April 22nd ;
compare with Carshalton, for I believe the birds distribute well over
Europe on the same day. Inquire at Carshalton, and make a note of it.
April 24th, 1870. Nightingales in quantities. I heard yesterday also
the cuckoo the first time.
CHAP. IX.] ON UNSEAWORTHINESS OF SHIPS. 103
April 25th, 1870. People must clearly know that illness is the cause
of my absence. Poor Carshalton has not seen ,1116 this spring. I hope
everything is properly attended to.
Lilies are now in flower. The May is just coming into flower. Pear-
trees are beginning to go off. Plum-trees are mostly gone off. Peach-ti-ees
are generally off. The vines are beginning in warm situations to sprout
(not in the vineyards). The spotted orchis is in flower.
April 25th, 1870. The swallows are building. The buttercups and
tulips, all over the fields, red and yellow, are in flower. The white mulberry
is just breaking. The first leaf of spring is coining over the poplars and
elms. The underwood has much leaf.
Before Mr. Plimsoll, to whom great praise is due, had the
courage to bring forward his Merchant Shipping Bill to the
notice of Parliament, there had appeared numerous anonymous
letters in the ' Insurance Times,' besides some pamphlets circulated
elsewhere, in which was shown in a very strong light the un-
seaworthiness of ships that were (according to these writings)
" sent to sea at the peril of men's lives." These letters and
pamphlets caused a good deal of excitement at the time among
persons interested, among owners of ships, underwriters, and
marine companies. Frequently half-a-dozen short pithy letters
would appear in the same paper on one day, followed up for some
weeks by others equally short and telling. Many of these letters
were from the pen of Alfred Smee. There was a great grievance,
he conceived, to be remedied only by strong measures. In many
of his anonymous writings he writes as if he were himself a
sufferer ; but that form, it will be speedily seen, was merely used
as a figure of speech, so as to bring more forcibly forward the
grievance which he was endeavouring by agitation to redress.
The following spring Mr. Plimsoll brought forward his Mer-
chant Shipping Act, which my father thought erred only by
being "too lenient;" and the remarks that gentleman uttered
in the House of Commons on the unseaworthiness of ships
sent to sea came, I have heard my father say, " far within
the mark : " yet the virtuous indignation with which Mr.
Plimsoll was assailed may still be remembered. But although
the Bill was lost that Session, the storm was fairly roused, and
the sailors were in a body with Plimsoll, and in 1876 the
Government deemed it expedient to pass an Act to stop unsea-
worthy ships being sent to sea. A selection from the various
anonymous letters from Alfred Smee's pen on the above subject
is placed in the Appendix, No. XXXII. It must be remem-
bered that these letters are not to be looked upon as specimens
104 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. IX.
of logic or of literature; they were purely intended for one
end, and that was to hring forward in a prominent way before
the public the above subject.
Mr. Smee was throughout his life frequently writing various
papers or pamphlets to which he did not affix his name : amongst
the most important of these anonymous writings are those on
Chancery Eeform. Although the papers were not written
during the years treated of in this chapter, yet as this and the
preceding one contain most of the anonymous writings of Mr.
Smee, it may not be out of place to mention them here. These
papers were printed separately, and were from time to time
distributed by post among the leading members of the legal
profession, and more especially among the members of the
Chancery bar. The perusal of these papers will suffice to
show their extreme importance to the public. They are placed
in the Appendix, No. XXXIII.
CHAP. X.] ' THE WIDOW AND THE RABBITS.' 105
CHAPTER X.
1870 TO 1875.
' The Widow and the Eabbits ' Letters to the ' Times ' ' My Garden,' seventh
book Impromptu lecture The marriage of his daughter Attends an
International Botanical Congress Letters to his daughter from abroad
Address at Kochester Letter to the Council of the Eoyal College of
Surgeons, England.
IT would occupy too much space to insert all the anonymous
writings of Alfred Smee, for they were voluminous. I cannot,
however, refrain from giving a few extracts from one more
of his little works, to which he did not attach his name, more
especially as it forms a link to show his vivid imagination, his
unwearying energy, and how numerous and various were his
publications. This was written in the autumn of 1871, when he,
myself, and my mother went for a short trip to Scotland. We
were hospitably entertained for a while at a friend's house, after
which we travelled over the wildest and most beautiful parts of
Scotland :
" So wondrous wild, the whole might seem
The scenery of a fairy dream."
SCOTT'S Lady of the Lake.
My father was an early riser, and was generally up before the
rest of the family. For two or three mornings before breakfast he
amused himself by writing ' The Widow and the Eabbits.' This
fairy legend by a Ferret, which is really a humorous skit, as the
following dedication shows, is very prettily illustrated.*
* Published by Messrs. Rixon and Arnold, 29, Poultry, London.
106 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X.
THE WIDOW AND THE BABBITS.
To ELIZABETH MARY, WHO HAS VISITED MANY HAPPY VALLEYS AND
OBSERVED THE ILL EFFECTS OF EXCESSIVE RABBIT PRESERVA-
TION, THIS STORY is DEDICATED BY HER FATHER.
The story opens thus :
In the North of Scotland there is a very beautiful valley. A
foaming river runs through it, where abundance of trout disport them-
selves in the sun and rise to every little fly which settles upon the water.
When rain falls, the river swells and overflows its banks; but amidst
the roar of the water, the salmon rush up the torrent from the sea,
and thus a delicious food is afforded to the fishermen. These catch
them with an artificial fly, and not only supply the people of the district
with fish, but exchange them for other luxuries with the inhabitants of
Edinburgh and London, who have neither trout nor salmon in their rivers.
The whole valley was formerly filled with villages, the people of which
tended their flocks and herds, and cultivated their fields. The inhabitants
were good and kind to each other, and aimed at promoting the happiness
of all. As the land was good, and Providence was bountiful in bestowing
the fruits of the earth, everyone was thankful for the gifts he received,
and rejoiced in the lovely scenes which he daily saw, from the time the
sun rose in the morning till it gave forth its heat in mid-day, and set in
the west in the evening ; when the villagers, after they had uttered their
praises for the blessings already received, and had prayed for a con-
tinuance of their joys in the future, retired to rest.
The valley is surrounded by high hills to the west, so that no man
has ever been able to pass. It has rugged hills to the north, which almost
constitute a wall, and to the south there are also hills, leaving only one
narrow entrance for foreigners to come in, or for the inhabitants to go out.
It was, therefore, always called " The Happy and Secluded Yalley of the
North."
About 1000 years ago, naore or less, for the learned have never been
able to decide the exact time ; some say it was in the year 770, others in
790 ; but the most reliable, from documents existing in the great library of
Kamskatka, consider that it was in the year 772, a foreigner named Lord
Gryndum came with numerous retainers, and took possession of this
happy valley, and built himself a great castle. The villagers, always
happy and living in peace with each other, were never accustomed to
resist ; and, in fact, they never had either an army or policeman to protect
them, and so the villagers suffered the foreign Laird to take possession of
their valley and charge them rents for their lands. Not contented with
this, he soon after took their hunting-grounds from them, where they were
wont to kill game, especially deer, white hares, and grouse for their winter's
use ; and the Laird liking himself to kill fish (as he had nothing else to do
but fish, shoot, and hunt) ordered his retainers to drive the villagers from
the river, and prevent them catching a single salmon, or even killing a
trout. He was not even satisfied then, and his aggressive disposition
caused him to bring some rabbits from England, which he forbade to be
killed under the pain of a severe fine, or even of imprisonment. The
CHAP. X.] ' THE WIDOW AND THE RABBITS.' 107
better to carry out his wicked device, lie made interest with the ting, by
bribing the attendants with haunches of venison and with salmon, to
make him a magistrate, by which he had power to cruelly ill-treat his
tenants, and to punish the peasantry for the slightest offence.
The rabbits multiplied exceedingly, and the whole valley became a
vast rabbit warren, from which the creatures sallied forth by armies at
night and devoured all the grass in the fields ; and when they had finished
the grass, they ate the turnips ; and when they had eaten the turnips, they
attacked the corn ; and when they could get neither grass nor corn, nor
turnips, they set to work and destroyed the young trees by eating the
bai-k and young shrubs.
The poor people in vain encircled their garden plots with close
palings, for wire fencing was not invented at that time. The rabbits
either scrambled over them, or burrowed underneath. Sometimes it is
recorded that they actually ate their way through the wooden palings, and,
when under the pressure of hunger, they smelt the poor men's cabbages ;
they have been seen to jump over the fence, when, in a short time, the
vegetables were eaten and disappeared. It was particularly noticed that
they always took the choicest and sweetest vegetables in the garden.
What they did not eat they spoilt, so that nothing was left for use in
the winter.
******
In ten short years the rabbits so changed the Happy Valley of the
North, that all the population were wretched, and it became known in
more southern countries as " The Valley of Misery and Woe."
At this time there was a poor widow named Mary Suffermuch, whose
family had lived in the village more than five hundred years. She had lost
her husband by the fall of an ash-tree which overhung the road, and
which was blown down in a high wind, after the rabbits had undermined
the tree by cutting the roots with their sharp teeth, which are formed like
chisels.
******
But on the 10th of November, which in that year 780 fell on a Monday,
the poor widow looked at her prospects, and she found that the rabbits
had so far destroyed her crops that she had no turnips left for her cow, as
the interior of every one was eaten out, and merely the outside shell was
left. The ground was covered with snow, as winter had set in early that
year. She had only porridge for two days more. The barley had all been
sold, and the money expended for shoes for the children. The poor widow,
when she realized her position, was miserable indeed, and cried most bitterly.
***** *
The widow then goes off to a relation for assistance in her
misery, but finds him as destitute as herself. On her way thither
she admires the beauty of the country. Dispirited and dis-
heartened with her fruitless errand (all this is most pathetically
told), she sets off to return home.
To rest herself she sat down on a bench in a beautiful wood, where
the waters of the river ran alongside, roaring among the rocks and large
stones ; there, too, the bright mid-day sun shone xipon the white barks of
108 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X.
the birch-trees, and on the deep-coloured branches of the ever green Scotch
pines. She cried very much when she thought of her past happiness and
present misery, till she was quite exhausted and fell sound asleep.
A fairy here suddenly appears before her, coming " with a
rush of wind." After a long colloquy between the fairy and the
widow,
the lovely fairy, who was quite distressed at such grievous misery, gazed
with the tenderest compassion upon the face of the sorrow- stricken
widow. In a tone of authority, the fairy said, with earnestness but
sweetness : " Homeward go, Mary ! Rabbits shall no more trouble thee !
This day I have full power over the rabbits in this valley." And then
with a clear, shrill, musical voice the fairy cried, " Change, bunnies, change."
The sound in the dead stillness echoed through the woods from rock to
rock, and from tree to tree, " Change, change, change," and died away
in the extreme distance, echoing " Change, change, change," till the last
murmuring was scarcely audible to the most delicate ear. In an instant
the snow was torn up like a whirlwind, and, with a rushing sound, the
fairy passed away in the cloud of snow the wind had raised
On her way home the widow saw, to her surprise,
a large black cat rush out of a rabbit hole and prowl about, seeking
for food ; presently she saw many other cats, some black, some black and
white, but there was not a tabby amongst them. The words " Change,
bunnies, change," came to her mind, and she perceived that the rabbits
had been changed, and that their tails had grown long, and their ears had
become short, and that it was perfectly clear the rabbits had been changed
into cats.
As she slowly continued her journey homeward, she noticed the rooks
wheeling in circles to the south, and then fly away in the direction of the
next valley. After that, a long zigzag line appeared in the sky, which she
knew to be a flock of wild ducks. Later an immense pack of grouse,
screaming wildly, flew out of the valley towards the highest hill of the east.
Then the linnets and warbling tribes of small birds, which she could not
exactly distinguish, formed a great flock, and darted about like flies in the
air, and then flew out of sight. Even the owls, although it was only two
o'clock in the afternoon, were on the wing, screaming in B flat. The
herons, with their immense wings, flew away to distant places.
The widow sat to rest herself on a large granite stone by the side of
the river, and she was surprised to see that the salmon were jumping over
the stones and swimming down to the sea as fast as they could. She then
plainly understood that all living creatures were leaving the valley for f ear
of the number of black and black and white cats which were prowling
about.
The quaint and cunning description of the " Babbit Protec-
tors " here follows, and should be read to be appreciated, but is
too long for these pages.
A stone, long since decayed, was placed over the grave, with the
inscription : " To the Perpetual Memory of the thirty-four Babbit Pro-
CHAP. X.] ' THE WIDOW AND THE BABBITS.' 109
tectors, of the Valley of Misery." Two of the keepers ran down the road
to England, one of whom escaped across the sea in a trading vessel to
Holland, where he was heard of many years afterwards. Seven went to the
South, and were never heard of again ; but as they had to cross a river, it
was surmised they were all drowned, and that their bodies were carried out
to sea. Two quarrelled over a piece of cold venison ; and one had his leg
broken by a kick by his companion, and perished in the snow. His com-
panion was tried and executed at Edinburgh. One got into a deep snow-
drift directly he started, and perished; but the remaining nine were
sheltered by a compassionate old woman at the north of the village, and
returned after two weeks' time, and became good labourers, declaring they
never would be Rabbit Protectors again. In this way the whole forty-
seven were exactly accounted for. With regard to those who crossed the
river, it is stated by the great historian Findout, that several bodies were
washed ashore one November, at the paiish of Seaside, not seven miles
from the mouth of the river ; but Mr. Exact, in his popular account of the
district, points out that the year is not mentioned, or the number of
bodies stated, nor was the identity ever proved ; so whether they were the
bodies of the keepers, or of sailors from the wreck of some ship, can never
be discovered.
Thursday came, and the cats, from exposure to the intense frost of the
preceding night, were very hungry, and were prowling about in all direc-
tions for food. It was particularly mentioned that, although the birds
flew over the valley that day, none settled when they saw the terrible army
of cats ready to devour them.
In the evening the Laird was in a state of wild passion at not having
his grouse for dinner, and went to bed half stupefied, after having drunk a
bottle of brandy. The cats, in the desperation of famine, attacked the
house by myriads, and tried to get in ; but the windows and doors were
securely bolted. As the Laird heard the shrieks and cries of the cats, he
shivered with fright in his bed ; when of a sudden the Fairy appeared in
a sheet of fire, standing on a table before his bed. " Who are you, and
whence do you come ?" cried he ; " how did you enter when all the doors
were locked and the windows barred? Tell me quick." The Fairy,
unmoved by his violent gestures, sweetly replied, " I am the Fairy Dogood :
I am flesh and blood like you, but not so gross. I dwell where I like;
where all is peace; but generally at the mountain top, to overlook the
valley. Sometimes I lie in the scarlet flower of a lichen; sometimes I
nestle amidst the pollen of Linnseus' flower : when I go abroad, I flit on the
wings of a blue butterfly to survey the flowers, or I soar in the air between
the wings of a gnat to enjoy the evening breeze. I practise gymnastics on
the delicate thread of a spider's web, and dance on the top of a thorn of
the gorse ; I feed upon the odour of the sweet gale ; I drink the invisible
water of the air, and eat the blue bloom which covers the fruit of the dew-
berry ; I bathe in the particles of the mist as it rises over the mountain
top, and I swim in the dewdrops which hang on the flowers ; I slide on
the snow-flakes as they drift in the air, and I skate on the hailstones as
they drop from the sky. When I suspect wrong, I leave the mountain top ;
and I have dwelt in the key -hole of your bedroom to see what you have
been about. When I see injustice, I ride itpon the whirlwind and gallop
in the flames. I have come to visit you through a crack in a pane of glass
MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X.
in your bedroom window, which, although you can scarcely see, is quite
wide enough for me to pass through."
At these words, the Laird shook and shook again, as well he might,
and covered his face with the bedclothes ; but he saw the Fairy neverthe-
less, and could not hide her from his view. In a stentorian voice which
shook the very walls of the house, the Fairy continued : " I have answered
thy questions fully, and perhaps more fully than you expected; now
answer mine. Will you compensate the villagers for the damage the
rabbits have caused?" " I will," he quickly cried, " but spare me, O Fairy
Dogood." "Will you promise never to keep Rabbit Protectors again?"
" I will," he wildly shrieked, more dead than alive with fear ; " but, O dear
Fairy Dogood, keep the cats from devouring me." The Fairy with a voice
like thunder exclaimed, " Don't call me dear, but keep thy promise ; for if
ever thou bi-eakest it, the proprietorship of the lands of the valley shall
never descend in the direct line in thy family ; and mark, if thou art ever
guilty of further extortions, the lands you have acquired by conquest will
be taken from you, and given back to the people from whom, in plain truth,
you have stolen them. Power has only been given to me by Queen Mab over
rabbits, but not over cats," said the Fairy ; " I cannot help you, and would
not if I could." And then in a flame which lit up for a minute the whole
valley, and was seen by many persons hundreds of miles around, the Fairy
instantly disappeared through the same crack she had entered, saying with
a voice like thunder, " Keep thy promise." A great scientific man, Mr.
Factfinder, who carefully examined the pane of glass with a lens, is
reported to have been of opinion that the flames fused the two sides of the
crack which the fairy passed through, as he could not find any reflection
on the surfaces ; though he clearly perceived the direction of the cut by a
slight irregularity in the glass.
In the celebrated collection of Baron Oldfinder, a window was men-
tioned in the catalogue one pane of which showed signs of having been
cracked. A minute investigation showed a central part of the disturbance
of the substance of the glass, from which irregular curved lines radiated.
It is possible that this might have been the very pane of glass which Fairy
Dogood went through. It is impossible, however, to clear up the mystery,
as the heir of the seventh Baron Breakeverything Larky, when a boy, and
not knowing the priceless value of this antiquity, used it as a target to fire
at, and literally smashed it to atoms. He ever regretted the circumstance,
and used to say, in after-years, that any object which could throw light on
the important legend of the Widow and the Rabbits was of great interest
to the whole civilized world, and he deeply deplored that he had inad-
vertently destroyed this important link of the evidence.
After the flames, which occurred three minutes past midnight, and are
recorded in all good astronomical books of a subsequent period, the air
became very still and cold, in fact colder than ever has been known before
or since. How cold it was, never can be known, for no thermometer has
ever been made to register such extreme cold as prevailed that still night.
The cats, exhausted by hunger and fatigue, succumbed to the frost, and lay
dead in all directions. The next day, when the villagers looked out of the
windows, the white snow was literally strewn with dead cats; the black
cats were very distinctly visible on the white gi-ound, though the white ones
were not visible, as they could hardly be distinguished from the snow.
CHAP. X.] 'THE WIDOW AND THE RABBITS.' Ill
In the course of Thursday, the Laird, who was still afraid, and very ill
from the effects of the brandy which he had drunk and from the fright he
had received, sent his trusty forester, Mr. Treecarer, to the village, to say,
that he would compensate all those who had suffered injury from the
rabbits, and he begged them at once to make out their accounts that he
might discharge them. When the villagers heard this, their joy was
unbounded, and they cried : " Away with misery and woe ; now come back
happiness and joy." One old man, however, said, " Do not waste your
time in merry-making too soon : we should not be wasteful, if we were rich ;
but now we are poor, we should waste nothing. Remember that a good
cat-skin is worth fourpence, so skin the cats and sell the skins." All the
villagers thought this good advice, and started off at once with a hurrah,
and up to Saturday night got as many skins as realized 2,500 exactly, at
fourpence each. Thus it is proved that 150,000 rabbits existed before
they were turned into cats ; and as the valley contained 15,000 acres, it is
proved that there were 10 rabbits to every acre of land. But this is not
quite exact, for rain set in on the Sunday, which spoilt the skins of many of
the black cats, and many of the white eats had been passed over, as they
could not be seen in the white snow. It is possible that the total amount
of rabbits which lived in the valley were 15 per acre, or 225,000 in the whole.
After much consultation and consideration the villagers were compensated
by a return of five years' rents, which actuaries consider fair under the cir-
cumstances ; because the rabbits had been brought to the valley ten years
back. At first there were very few rabbits, and they did but little harm ;
gradually they increased, by a geometric progression, till the above enormous
quantity was bred. By accepting five years' rents as compensation, a fair
average was struck, and a very difficult discussion avoided. The lawyers
indeed wanted to go into fractions, because in some years the rabbits
multiplied more than in others, and hence the progression was not uniform.
One lawyer, Mr. Stirupstrif e, desired to file amicable Bills in Chancery as '
to the appropriation of the money ; but the villagers were too sensible by
far to listen to this proposition, although Mr. Barrister Helplawyer
strongly advised that course. All legal difficulties were surmounted : and
the lawyers were prevented from eating up the funds, which they very much
wanted to do, by each payment of the Laird being a free gift, subject to
the terms and conditions of the giver, which were equitable in each par-
ticular case where the money had to be divided amongst the children who
had lost their parents.
On Thursday the birds, seeing that the cats were dead, returned to
their own haunts ; and on Sunday a rapid thaw took place, which caused a
great flood, and on Monday morning the salmon returned by shoals to the
river ; and all was again prosperity and peace.
The villagers, out of the proceeds of the sale of the cats-skins, bought
the poor widow a new house, with a farm of thirty-five acres of arable and
grass land, and seven roods of wood. She also had ample compensation
for the damage done by the rabbits. The remainder of the money was
spent in building a new church which was badly wanted the round
arches of which exist to this day. Unfortunately the builder, who came
from a town called Cheatem, took the villagers in, or they would have
been able to construct a bridge over the river. To this day, 1,000 years
afterwards, the river has to be crossed by a ford, to the great peril of
112 MEMOIR OF ALFEED SMEE. [CHAP. X.
the inhabitants; and when I went to the ford, had I attempted to pass, I
should certainly hare been drowned, showing how long the effects of
roguery may be felt.
The Laird carried out honestly his compensation to the peasants and
his promises to the Fairy ; and was always happy and contented after-
wards. All the villagers ever since have protected his partridges, grouse,
and deer, and reserved to him three miles of river, containing five fine
salmon pools, for his own private use. He lived to the ripe old age of 91,
and on his tombstone he ordered to be engraved, after his name, date of
birth, and age at death
BEWAEE OP RABBITS ! !
The previous year the two following letters were published in
the ' Times : '
It was known all over London that the venerable church of St.
Saviour's was this morning struck by lightning, when the majestic peal
of thunder rolled throughout the metropolis at about half -past eight, and
this afternoon I examined the course of the electric force in its destruc-
tive career.
The church has a noble central tower, with four stone turrets, one at
each angle, and each turret is surmounted with a large copper vane, over
which is placed a copper ball. The south-east turret has been struck
by lightning ; and as a result, the stones of which it was composed were
thrown off in all directions, exactly as the bark of a tree is thrown off
when that is struck by lightning. The force with which the stones com-
posing the turret were scattered may be appreciated when it is stated that
one stone was thrown at least fifty yards to the western extremity of the
churchyard, where it broke two iron rails and then injured a house.
* Other stones were thrown on the roofs of the houses near London Bridge.
Some were thrown on the roof of the church, breaking through to the
pavement below, and all the surrounding houses bear more or less
the marks of violence with which large stones were thrown from the
turret at the top of the tower.
An inmate of one of the almshouses below told me that what with
the lightning, the roar of the thunder, the pelting rain, the falling
stones, and the breaking in of the roofs, she really thought the end of the
world had arrived. The copper ball at the top of the vane bore the marks
of the lightning discharge. The turret itself being composed of stone,
and therefore a bad conductor of electricity, offered a resistance to the
transmission of the electric force, and was consequently disintegrated
and its component parts thrown outwards. The electric force then passed
to the flat lead roof at the top of the tower, and was thence conveyed by a
water-pipe to the lead-gutters on the roof of the southern aisle of the nave.
From this roof it passed down two other water-pipes to the churchyard.
On the most easterly of these pipes, or the nearest to the tower, the pipe
showed a curious lateral discharge, forming a funnel-shaped hole, and on
the more westerly water-pipe a dilation existed, but without the aperture.
From the examination which I made, it is demonstrated that, had there
been a conductor from the vane to the water-pipes, at a cost of two or
three pounds, the present damage, which is roughly estimated at 500,
CHAP. X.] LETTERS TO THE ' TIMES ' AND ' STANDARD.' 113
would have been spared ; and the moral may be learnt, never to have two
surfaces of metal in so high and exposed a situation without a lightning-
conductor. I have lived in a house struck by lightning where the
lightning-conductors, from being badly constructed, were really lightning
attractors, but in this case the mischief is due entirely to the parsimony of
the parish authorities. Thunder and lightning is in no part of Europe,
not even excepting the high Alps, so terrifically grand as in the centre of
the city of London ; and when to this marvellous natural phenomenon is
superadded its power of destruction of the more beautiful works of man,
the interest attending its operation is materially increased.
July 26th, 1870.
Another magnificent display of the aurora borealis occurred last
night. I was driving from Carshalton to London when I noticed that it
suddenly became very chilly, and that the sky exhibited much the same
appearance as when a beautiful aurora occurred at Oxford about five weeks
since. The remark had hardly been made when the first light appeared in
the south-east. Within two or three minutes a grand display of red
light appeared overhead, with 'streamers stretching down to the northern
horizon. A few minutes afterwards the light showed itself towards the
west, with streamers of light stretching to the western horizon. The
glorious scene was ever changing, when a vast mass of red light appeared
in the north-east. This resembled the light of a large London fire, and
was in the greatest perfection whilst we were on Clapham Common, about
a quarter to 6 o'clock. It continued, however, till we arrived in London,
and ceased about 7 o'clock. These great displays of northern lights so
early in the season are unprecedented in my recollection.
Oct. 26th, 1870.
On January 24th, 1872, a violent gale passed over the
metropolis, which occasioned a letter to the ' Standard ' on the
25th, on barometric pressure, and which called for the invention
of cheap barometers for the use of our fishermen, so that they
might thereby be enabled to prognosticate a coming gale.
The violent gale which passed last night over the metropolis was accom-
panied by corresponding changes in the barometer. Yesterday the barometer
stood at 29'03, but in consequence of the violence of the gale which raged
this morning I examined the barometer at half- past 4 and found that it had
faUen to 28'35, and that at 5 o'clock it had receded to 28*34. The flint
glass barometer of the London Institution, which is a duplicate of the
famous instrument made for the Royal Society, with a platinum ring in
the tube, recorded at 6 A.M. 28'37 inches of pressure, and at 6 P.M. 28'87,
showing a rise of half an inch in twelve hours. I kept my mountain
aneroid barometer, specially constructed for me by Messrs. Home and
Thomthwaite, under observation the entire day. By 9 o'clock it had risen
to 28-6 ; by 10 to 28'65 ; by 11 to 287 ; at noon it stood at 28'74. Then a
storm of wind and rain ensued, when by 1 o'clock it had fallen to 28'73.
By 2 o'clock the mercury rose again to 28'76 ; by 3 o'clock to 28'84 ; by 4
to 28'86 ; by 5 to 28'87, when it remained stationary till half-past 9, when
it reached 28*9. At 11 o'clock P.M. it stood at 28'93, when the observations
I
MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X.
were discontinued, as the mercury had returned to nearly its former
position. The mercury in the large tube in the barometer of the Bank
of England was at noon in a state of visible motion from the rapidity of
the variation of the atmospheric pressure. It is important to call the
particular attention of our mariners to the occurrence of great gales, with
rapid changes in barometric pressure ; and he who can invent a cheap,
delicate, and practical instrument for the use of our fishermen and seamen,
to enable them to prognosticate a coming storm, will be the greatest
philanthropist of the age, by tending to the protection of life from the
perils of the winds and waves.
On July 25th, 1872, a letter was written to the ' Times ' on
the incident of Brixton Church having been struck by lightning
in the storm.
The intensity and violence of the storms throughout Europe this
summer naturally attract general attention. On Thursday, July 1.1, so
frequent were the electrical discharges that I counted in one hour 394
flashes of lightning. The storm over London on Tuesday was severe, but
singularly enough at Carshalton, although the roars of the peals of thunder
came from every side, and the repeated flashes of lightning were dazzling
and terrific, scarcely a drop of rain fell. Between Carshalton and London
the full force of the storm was experienced, and the steeple of Brixton
Church was struck by lightning. I was curious to examine the injury,
and to trace the course of the electric force. I found the steeple was
built of stone, and had a stone ornament at the summit, with a stone
cross. All this was supported by stone columns, and there was no good
electric conductor between the stone cross and the earth. The electrical
discharge shivered the stone ornament, breaking it into fragments, which
were dispersed in all directions. Some fell upon the roof of the church,
breaking the slates and even the rafters, but many of the pieces of broken
stone were thrown to the churchyard beneath. In this particular instance
the electrical discharge did not appear to have passed between the clouds
and the earth by any water-pipe, gas-pipe, or other electric conductor
connected with the part of the steeple struck, but probably was carried by
the down-pouring rain, which is itself an efficient conductor of electiicity.
I remember this steeple to have been struck by lightning about thirty years
ago, and this second injury indicates that even a stone steeple in an
exposed situation is not safe without an efficient metallic lightning-
conductor.
These letters on storms show the great interest which Mr.
Smee evinced in such phenomena. Indeed it was seldom that he
heard of a building or tree in the metropolis or its vicinity being
struck by lightning, but he would hasten to the scene to take
observations on the occurrence.
' My Garden ' was the next published work from Alfred Smee's
pen. It was written in every spare moment as a solace to his
mind. The work, now so well known, details the geology of the
CHAP. X.J THE PUBLICATION OF 'MY GARDEN.' 115
district. The Celtic, Koman, and Anglo-Saxon periods of its
history are exemplified, as are also the mediaeval. The prin-
ciples of gardening are given, and the very tools that are neces-
sary for that operation fully described. The construction of glass
houses, with their ventilation, and the curious and novel modes
for heating them, are also explained. The arrangements for the
propagation of plants, the management of garden vegetables,
of the fruit garden, the general flower garden, the special flower
garden (comprising the roses, orchids, climbing plants, Alpine
flowers, ornamental grasses); weeds and wild plants; the algse,
mosses, lichens, liverworts, fungi ; the ferns, lycopods, &c., are"
all fully set forth. Forest trees and shrubs are duly noticed
(this chapter was written during the three weeks he was in Scot-
land, in the autumn of 1871, when he also wrote ' The Widow and
the Eabbits ') ; and the animal kingdom, from the animalcules
in the river Wandle and insects of the garden to the larger
animals. The birds and the fish and the reptiles hold an im-
portant part in the work. The climate and spring frosts are
recorded ; and the work ends with a calendar of plants in flower
under glass and out of doors, of fruit, of vegetables, of garden
operations, and of the natural history, during every week for the
year 1871. 'My Garden' is illustrated by 1300 engravings,
nearly all taken from nature ; it is not only a work of reference,
but it is fitted, from the beauty of its illustrations, for the
drawing-room table. This book has been compared to White's
' Natural History of Selborne.' To those who are lovers of
gardening this book is indeed a prize !*
Not many months before ' My Garden ' was issued to the
public, Professor Huxley, who was giving a course of lectures
at the London Institution, fell suddenly ill. The audience were
already assembling in the theatre of the London Institution.
What was to be done ? Some one rushed off to our house, a
few doors off, and fortunately my father came in at that very
moment. " It is a pity," he said, " that so many should come,
some a long distance, and should go away disappointed. Suppose
I give them a lecture ?" " Yes, do ! " was the eager exclamation.
Then my father said he would give them a lecture, a gossip about
gardening. So, without any preparation, he walked into the
theatre, crowded with people who had come to hear Professor
Huxley on Biology, but who remained to hear what Mr. Smee
* ' My Garden ' is published by Messrs. Bell, York Street, Covent Garden.
i 2
MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X.
had to say about gardening. Without any notes or premeditation
he commenced. On another occasion, within a few months, my
father delivered another lecture on the same subject at an equally
short notice, but this is the only one which has been preserved,
through the kindness of Mr. Shadbolt, a proprietor, who took
shorthand notes of it, and which was afterwards printed in the
Journal of the London Institution, February 5th, 1872. (See
Appendix, No. XXXIV.) My father's family are naturally proud
of this fresh demonstration of his genius.
A few weeks after the publication of ' My Garden,' he gave
in August 1872 a fete in his garden, on the marriage of his
daughter. On this occasion he invited the children of the neigh-
bourhood to exhibit wild flowers, so as to "develope in them
intelligence, observation, emulation, and the sense of the beau-
tiful." He gave rewards in useful books to those who exhibited
the most beautiful collection of wild flowers, of which the species
were the most varied or which were arranged with the best
taste. The exhibition took place and was a great success, and
contributed to the interest of the fete.
My father was an active supporter of flower-shows being held
in the city of London. Of late years, flower-shows, or rather
exhibitions of window-plants grown within the City, have been
held in Finsbury Circus, and he gave prizes for wild flowers
at these little horticultural displays. He gave two prizes in
1875, three in 1876, and in 1877 he had intended to give no less
than six prizes for wild flowers, which were to be collected by
any resident in the city of London coming within the limits of
the society.
The first prize will be for the best collection of wild flowers, correctly
named.
2nd. Second best collection, correctly named.
3rd. The best collection of wild flowers, unnamed.
4th. Second best collection, unnamed.
5th. The best collection of wild flowers tastefully arranged.
6th. The second best tastefully arranged.
The judges are empowered to withhold any prize if in their opinion a
sufficient standard of excellence is not attained.
ALFRED SMEE.
These prizes were distributed last summer by my mother
according to the wishes of her husband. These shows have been
very successful, and they have already realized the hopes of the
most ardent of their supporters.
CHAP. X.] LETTERS TO HIS DAUGHTER. 117
My father laid out our garden at Oxford and stocked it
with the choicest kinds of the fruits and outdoor plants which
were grown in his own garden, and he always looked upon the
former as a miniature Carshalton garden. After my marriage
rarely a day passed, if ever, without his writing to me
one, and sometimes two letters, in nearly all of which some
advice or information is given appertaining to the little garden
formed by his skill. These letters, perhaps more than anything
else, show the energy and extreme activity of his character, as
well as his love for Nature, which was with him a veritable
passion.
I shall not come down till Thursday, and then will stop till Tuesday/
Go and hurry on the workmen to-day (Wednesday) to finish the green-
house, to get it painted inside, and to have the ends ready that I may
plant on Saturday, to save Sunday. To be precise :
Have the greenhouse painted twice inside and glazed (glazed first).
Get the end glazed and fixed if not time to paint.
Get the ventilators up.
Make B. get the vine borders ready.
I hope that all the vines will be growing by Saturday.
In another letter he says :
There is a cart-load of things waiting to come to you, and cart-load
after cart-load will follow. Drive them on. You would make a bad nigger
driver. You do not fluster them half enough.
Got home all right.
We tumbled into the work yesterday pretty well ; but there is a lot
to do.
Tell your husband he was right about the axis of the croquet lawn ; it
was out about 15 inches. I adjusted roughly, but it will require the most
minute adjustment at the finish.
I do not like the south part of the walk near the park. It is like a
hedge and looks vulgar.
Give B. the enclosed drawing, and tell him to get out the earth as in
the enclosed drawing, beginning right down at the path, and carrying it
back somewhat in the enclosed form to the very verge of the croquet
ground, &c.
Whenever my father came down, he always found the work
done wrong. I was only too glad his instructions were not
properly carried out in his absence, for by that means I got him
down oftener than I otherwise should have done. My father
took great interest in our garden, and I was always having
letters about it, and I was well lectured if I did not give that
amount of attention to it which his enthusiastic spirit wished.
118 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X
An immense hamper of plants will be sent from Carshalton, and I
have made arrangements for Saxifrages, Sempervivums, and Sedums to be
sent, as well as a stock of bedding plants.
The hampers had better be sent back to Carshalton.
I have ordered my largest Wistaria to be taken up and sent to cover
your verandah.
I have ordered some lavender and the various herbs to be sent. I
think that they had better be planted under the peach-trees near the road,
but perhaps they had better wait till I come down.
Drive on the men ! Get in the earth. Get me lots of stones, and
give B. the enclosed plan for him to finish the park side. You must
worry them three times a day at least, for you will gain a year by working
hard this month and getting in your crops.
I shall bring some seed-peas with me and other seeds to be planted at
once, and the rest will follow.
Let me know every day what is done.
I have made inquiries about some peat, for I must contrive that you
have a few American plants if I can manage it.
I have ordered your Azaleas and Camellias to be sent directly, also
some Alpine plants. I have also sent a hamper full of bulbs, BO neces-
sary to make your garden beautiful in spring. The Hyacinths and
Narcissi are to be planted in pots for the greenhouse; the Scillas on
the mound.
Then follows a drawing how the bulbs should be arranged.
We have just come back from Carshalton. The garden is most
lovely; all our Cacti are planted out. Many of the little ones are in
flower; most interesting. Our Cacti have only been watered once this
winter.
I am quite afraid your man will seiiously damage yours, so plant them
all out forthwith, but label them first. I should have gone to bed
straight, but I did not like you to spoil your plants, &c.
There is an anemone on the mound, with a white flower somewhere in
this position (here follows a drawing). I think you had better either
eradicate or curtail it to a very little bit. It is a most aggressive rascal.
Mine has eaten up nearly twenty species, and has almost driven me wild
Whit Monday, 10.20.
For some years previously he had been a member of the
Council of the Eoyal Horticultural Society; he was chairman
of the fruit committee, as well as a member of the scientific
committee, of the same society. Just before his death he was
elected vice-president of the scientific committee. He ever took
an active part in these committees, and was rarely absent from
them.
In May 1874, an International Botanical Congress was held
at Florence, and Alfred Smee was sent there as representative of
CHAP. X.] LETTERS FROM ABROAD. 119
the Eoyal Horticultural Society of England. He read a paper at
that congress on * The best Varieties of Fruits cultivated in
England,' with a view of advancing horticulture by communicat-
ing from one country to another the experience which has been
obtained of the cultivation of flowers and fruit under varieties of
soils and differences of climate. He received a few months later
a silver medal from the King of Italy.
Whilst abroad I received many letters from him; two or
three of which are here transcribed.
You have passed the Semmering, and you remember how we turned
round to ascend the pass. Well, we left Yienna and slept hei-e, stopping
at the station at the turn round at the eleventh station. (Here follows
a diagram.)
Semmering. The place is most beautiful, with a face of rock of
astounding grandeur behind the hotel. This morning we started about
8 o'clock and drove up the gorge, which is perhaps the finest in Europe.
The first mile or two was flat, and we saw the waterworks for Vienna,
which come out of limestone rocks, as the water comes from the ground at
Carshalton. After a time the valley narrows to a gorge, only sufficient
room for the river and the* wood. At one place the road is carried on
planks over the course of the river thus (here is a drawing). The whole
road had abundance of wild flowers ; amongst the most remarkable were
Sempervivums, Sedums, Saxifrages, the blue Hepatica, the Cyclamen, the
grape Hyacinth, the beautiful Gentian Yerna. Several plants I never
saw before the wild Auricula, the Trolleus Europaeus, the green-stalked
Spleenwoi-t, all of which I sent many specimens, of which you shall come
in for your fair share. I was quite tired grubbing up the plants, and got
a large quantity. On our return many of the party saw a number of
chamois, seven of which rushed up the mountain, sending down the stones
and mightily delighting the observers.
From the cold and wet we have had lately, the tips of all the moun-
tains, which are about 5000 feet high, are covered with snow; and the
Cupivah of snow-clad mountains, pine-clad sides, the clear, sparkling
river, and the cumulous clouds casting their shadows ever each and
towards the mountain-tops, produced a scene which was truly delightful
in itself, and caused us all to think that the day was one never to be for-
gotten. You must never go to Yienna without visiting this mountain
gorge, which is superior to anything which I have ever seen before. It
is much larger and finer than the Hellerthal of the Black Mountains;
it is wider and finer than the gorge which you saw in Switzerland ; and
it is much larger, and the mountains higher, than the gorge of the
baths of Pfeffers, which you have so often laughed at me for so much
admiring.
We are all well, and your mother is behaving like a brick, getting up
at seven in the morning. She is now drying some flowers.
To-morrow we go to Trieste, thence to Venice, Hotel Europe ; but it
will be no use sending any more letters till ,we arrive at Florence, where
we hope to be on May 10th, in the evening.
SEMMERING, May 3, 1874.
120 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X.
We came yesterday (Monday) to Trieste, arriving at ten at night.
As you have done the road, I need not describe it. It is a very fine
journey, the Seminering being covered with the lovely Gentian Yerna.
The Edelweiss was sold by ragged boys at the stations. I bought you a
little bouquet of flowers. I wanted to have got a lot of roots, but
somehow or other Herr B. did not act with sufficient energy, and I only
bought two plants of the gardener at English prices, one for you and one
for myself.
We did our journey amidst cloud and rain, which made the effects in
the mountains very fine and beautiful. To get from here to Yenice we go
either by water or by rail. Some want one way and some another, where-
upon an argument arises.
I shall remain calm upon the point, as I do not care one hair's breadth
which way we go.
I have been much pleased to watch the progress of the trees, for
although we are so much south, we are still much in the same state as
you are in England : for example, the apple-trees are in the beginning of
flower; the horse-chestnuts in the same state. The vines have barely
started, so that when they begin they will go on at a terrible rate, to make
up in summer for the lost time in winter and spring.
Keep your house moist. Give water to the atmosphere by watering the
floor and walls every day, and, above all things, do not permit cold blasts of air.
Yesterday I despatched a box of alpines to England of my own
getting, but really, when you are out for the whole day, there is very little
time for plant-hunting, which is tiring and wearisome.
I am writing this letter, looking over the Adriatic, with its ships
and port.
Write and tell me how your little man is (his grandson) .... I must
bring him home a little plant, as we must make him love fruit and
flowers, &c. &c.
Yesterday we had the most lovely day at Trieste; one of those
grand sunshines which Italy only can offer. We drove along the
bay to the house of Maximilian, one of the most beautiful houses
which I ever saw. It was faultless in design, fitted up with the
most exquisite taste. The gardens were delightful, and for the first
time the nightingales sung their delicious tunes. All was lovely, whether
within or without. But where were the proprietors ? The lady in a
mad-house; the master dead from the ruthless bullets of foreign bar-
barians ! Avoid too much ambition. Do not desire to have the baby
grow as high as St. Paul's, or write poetry like Homer before he can
speak.
" Who pants for glory, finds but short repose ;
A breath revives him, or a breath o'erthrows." POPE.
At Trieste we found the Maidenhair fern, and got a pretty good
handful. If you show due obedience, and speak very prettily, I will give
some to you.
The Wistarias were in full blossom, and all Nature is putting forth
its spring attire.
Poor Yenice looks more decayed than when you were here ; but we
will let you know further when we have seen more, &c. &c.
CHAP. X.] TESTIMONIAL FROM WORKING MEN. 121
Here we are, and asked for a letter from you, but, alas ! no letter to
hand. Are you weary ? are you dreary ? or are you too cheery to write ?
Perhaps little Georgey attracts all attention, and poor is
forgotten.
The setting sun fades, the rising grows higher and brighter ; so grand-
papa grows less, grandson bigger. You may be able to telegraph to me
till Saturday if you think of coming to us in Switzerland. [There was some
talk of myself and my husband joining them abroad, but it fell through.]
I am writing to you with a thunderstorm raging over the Apennines.
It is warmer here than before.
The king opens the Horticultural Exhibition to-morrow at half -past
eleven. We are all well. As you have seen Florence, I need not describe
it. There is an absence of swifts which is remarkable, as there was a
great number which used to skim by the windows when we were last here.
In January 1874, the Conservative candidate for Kochester
having withdrawn at the last moment, Alfred Smee suddenly
stepped into a train and found himself at Kochester the day only
before the nomination, causing a great fright among the Kadicals,
who thought they were going this time to walk the course. Not-
withstanding such a short notice, he telegraphed to Eochester to
say he would address them that same evening. The room was
crowded so as to cause great inconvenience, even the road outside
the house being blocked up; and what was most peculiar was,
that the meeting was almost entirely of working men. He polled
835 votes,* and for his pluck in coming forward like this at
the last hour he received from the working men of Kochester a
very handsome testimonial, consisting of a silver claret jug, cups
and salver, accompanied by an illuminated scroll, containing the
signatures of 600 subscribers. On the claret jug is the following
inscription:
" Presented to Alfred Smee, F.R.S., by the Conservative freemen and
electors of the city of Rochester, in recognition of his spirited conduct
in contesting the city on constitutional principles, April 2nd, 1874."
The presentation was made the occasion of a very imposing
demonstration. One of the papers recording the speeches says,
Mr. Smee and some London friends arrived at the South Eastern
Railway Station at Strood about 7 o'clock in the evening, and was met
by a large and enthusiastic gathering of his followers, accompanied by a
strong band and by bearers carrying flags and banners. A carriage and
pair had been provided for Mr. Smee, and several of his followers were also
in carriages. Immediately on Mr. Smee's arrival a procession was formed,
headed by the band, and the principal streets of the borough were paraded
* Mr. Smee polled upwards of 200 more votes than were ever before
recorded for a Conservative candidate for Rochester.
122 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X.
by the imposing gathering. Bed lights were burned all along the route,
and gave a romantic touch to the procession. Crowds of persons watched
the progress of the demonstration through the streets, windows were
thrown open, handkerchiefs were waved, and the cheering was immense.
The Corn Exchange was entered at about half-past eight, and was soon
entirely filled with Mr. Smee's warm-hearted supporters. The silver
articles forming the presentation lay upon a table on the platform. Mr.
G. Watson, jun., hon. secretary to the presentation fund (a true, zealous,
and steadfast supporter of Mr. Smee), read some letters from various
gentlemen who signified their gratification at Mr. Smee having a pre-
sentation. Major McCory was in the chair, and after an excellent speech
Mr. C. J. Carter, a working man, in appropriate terms presented the testi-
monial. Mr. Smee then rose to reply.
A full report of his speech, as reported in the ' Kochester
Journal/ is in the Appendix, No. XXXV.
Previous to this and immediately after the election, I received
this letter from my father :
MY DEAR MARY, The Rochester affair is quite a romance, and too
long to tell you. I went down and had only half-an-hour to sign the
preliminary forms.
I found that the party was so split up that I determined to return to
London ; but having called a meeting at about three hours' notice, when
the hotel was full and the whole street was full, I felt bound to address
them. I was received with extraordinary enthusiasm, and my voice being
much more than usual obedient to my will, I made a most elegant and
eloquent speech, which fetched the whole audience.
At the end I told them that the party were not sufficiently organized,
and that I should go back to London.
There was the greatest uproar you ever heard, and I believe, if I had,
some of the Conservative leaders would have been lynched. The whole
room called upon me to stand, but I replied that the money came out of
my pocket, and I could not, in justice to my family, permit it.
I required half-an-hour for consideration, and the chairman was taken
by me from the working men. They appointed four delegates to wait
upon me, who said they wanted neither money nor beer, but wanted me to
be their member, whereupon a solemn compact was formed between us
that I should pay nothing for organization, that they would do all the
work for nothing, and I, on my part, should stand and pay the Act of
Parliament expenses.
The most enthusiastic and exciting affair took place, and they kept
their word. They brought up eight hundred and thirty-five people, and we
had only thirty-six hours' notice. Carts and waggons and more remark-
able than all a donkey-cart decked out in pink ribbons stood before the
King's Head all day in case they should be required.
Not one drop of beer or wine was given away, and not one shilling
The election would have been secured by the distribution of a few
half-crowns among the very poor.
We had two enormous meetings on the day before the poll, at one of
CHAP. X.] THE ROCHESTER ELECTION. 123
which the Admiral came from Chatham and spoke strongly in my
favour.
The city was perfectly quiet. The present members received me with
every courtesy. Martin spoke of the rows of former times, and said what
a fright he was in. He spoke of it with laughter, and said if I did not get
in he hoped I would write another book, as he had bought ' My Garden,' and
was very much pleased with it. Mr. Goldsmith was purposely courteous, to
show there was no ill feeling. I spoke to Foord and Aveling and the town
clerk and Steele, the chairman of the other side. He roared when I told
him that I offered a man a sovereign at the last election to cover his house
with my bills, to give him a hint as to how he should vote ; but I told him
he was afraid of the Bench. We had also a good laugh with the mayor
and town eouncil in solemn conclave assembled. There was a question
whether I might or might not stop in the council chamber, when I told
them perhaps I had better stop, or they would form a committee to oppose
my return, which caused the member and some of the council who saw the
joke to roar with laughter ; but some of the Blues did look blue indeed at
having their dignity tiifled with. The result of the election is looked
upon as a gain for Conservatism, by the manner I have worked the in-
dustrial classes ; but I have lost, and there is an end of it.
Perhaps it may not be out of place here to insert the kind
terms in which Mr. Martin, the Liberal member for Kochester,
referred to Mr. Smee in a speech delivered to his constituents
shortly after my father's death, for it shows so well the generous
nature of Mr. Martin and the entire absence of ill feeling
between them.
Mr. Martin, on rising to address the meeting, was received with a
round of applause. He said, before proceeding to the topics of his speech
he would do what he felt was only English and manly to do, and that was
to refer to one who had just departed this life. The person he meant did
not belong to their side, but he had known him many years and had four
times contested that city with him. He referred to the late Mr. Alfred
Smee. (Applause.) He was a man of great good humour, of pleasant
manners, and an able man in his profession. He was affectionate and
pleasant in his private life, and although they had fought he hoped they
had never interrupted their friendship. (Applause.) Although an oppo-
nent, Mr. Smee used to send him a copy of all his new books, and he
(Mr. M.) must acknowledge that he was a most formidable opponent. At
the last election, by his plucky manner and great good humour, he not
only got the votes of nearly every Conservative in the city, but he also
got more neutral votes than any other man could have got, and he (Mr. M.)
deeply regretted that he had been removed from amongst them. (Loud
applause.)
In 1875, he put forth the hypothesis that the Council for the
Eoyal College of Surgeons in England should be elected from
Fellows by seniority of their membership, and not of their Fellow-
ship ; and on that principle he offered himself as a candidate for a
MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. X.
seat on the Council. For this purpose the following circulars or
letters were published :
GENTLEMEN, I beg to return my thanks to the numerous Fellows
who have answered my last circular, asking their opinion whether seniority
should be determined by the date of membership or Fellowship.
The Fellows, in the proportion of nearly twelve to one, have expressed
an opinion that seniority should rank from the date of membership.
One of our most distinguished army surgeons adds these significant
words : " Just as in the army, medical service time for progressive increase
of pay counts from the date of the first and lowest commission."
It has been suggested to me that there is a combination of medical
schools to return their own men, which, if true, would practically amount
to a disenfranchisement of the Fellows, as no individual candidate can
stand against a combination of interests, and thus the creation of the
Fellowship for independent election is absolutely frustrated.
To the minority who desire seniority to rank from the date of Fellow-
ship, I would point out that, as in the past the members were deprived of
their just seniority by the institution of the Fellowship, so in the future
there is nothing to prevent the Fellows from being deprived of their
present seniority by the creation of a new class, such for instance as the
institution of doctors of surgery, from whom the Council might be chosen,
to the exclusion of the remainder of the Fellows.
It now clearly appears, that the Fellows who approve the principle of
seniority from membership cannot come to the College to vote without the
almost prohibitory inconvenience of a journey to London.
It must not be forgotten that, from the peculiar properties of members
in connection with election matters, it will be necessary (particularly if
combination exists) that plumpers and only plumpers be recorded, in
order that the election may be secured.
For that reason, as this is a contest of principle, and not, as far as I
am concerned, a fight between rival competitors, I earnestly beg all those
Fellows who desire that a seniority once obtained should never be taken
away by any subsequent legislation, to vote for myself, without any respect
to personal consideration, but solely as the representative of the principle
of seniority by membership.
SIE, The last election at the Royal College of Surgeons has revealed
a wide-spread discontent among the Fellows. It is assumed that the
members of Council are elected by the Fellows at large ; but the election
takes place at the College in London, whilst the majority of the electors
reside in the country, hundreds of miles distant, so that it is not possible
that any election can represent the opinions of the general body.
It is a mere mockery of justice to bestow a franchise on Fellows
which in many cases they cannot possibly use, because they are unable to
leave their duties and incur the cost, the loss of time, and fatigue of the
journey, simply to enable them to drop a voting-paper into a ballot-box.
Every man entrusted with a vote is bound to have a bond fide opportunity
of recording it; for if he have not, he is virtually disfranchised. For
this reason, Parliament has wisely decreed that the members of TJniver
sities, who are in a similar position with respect to residence to the
CHAP. X.] LETTER TO ROYAL COLLEGE OP SURGEONS. 125
Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons, can vote by papers without the
necessity of a journey.
By the Act 24 & 25 Viet. cap. 53, the members of the Universities
of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin are empowered to employ voting-
papers. This privilege was extended to members of the London Univer-
sity by 30 & 31 Viet. cap. 102 ; and the details of election were further
simplified by 31 & 32 Viet. cap. 65. The College of Surgeons having been
shown the way, has only to take advantage of the precedent by procuring
an Act, of a few lines in length, rehearsing the University Election Acts,
and applying their provisions to the particular case of the College of
Surgeons before the next election takes place. The question has only to
be raised for its propriety to be admitted ; for where is the surgeon who
would not rather watch a serious case, when life or death may depend,
than neglect his patient, that he may formally hand over a printed paper
to the recognized official of the College of Surgeons? To obtain the
desired end, proper means must be taken. The body of country Fellows
must ask before their request can be granted ; and I shall be glad to
receive the names of every Fellow desirous of voting by papers, that we
may at once take steps to obtain the Act of Parliament necessary to give us
our just due. (Signed) ALFBED SMEE.
P.S. Only fifty-seven country Fellows voted at the last election.
126 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [HAP. XL
CHAPTEE XL
1875.
'The Mind of Man,' eleventh book Plan of work Religion not discordant
with Reason Different classes of men should associate more together
Sewage Question begun, 1873 to 1876.
IN the spring of 1875, 'The Mind of Man, a Natural System
of Mental Philosophy,' was published. This was the last printed
book from Alfred Smee's pen, and was based on his earlier work,
' Electro-Biology.'
In ' The Mind of Man ' we find that mankind is primarily
divided into five great classes or groups, according as man
exhibits more or less of each particular quality of mental power.
These classes or groups are again subdivided into lesser divisions.
Thus :
1st Class. Aisthenic ideas, from aia-Qija-is, meaning " sensation."
2nd Class. Syndramic, from a-vvSpapeiv, " to combine." It
means the possession of ideas, and is the result of all the actions
on the ultimate fibrils at any one instant of time.
3rd Class. Noemic, from vovs, "mind," is the faculty of
inducing laws and acting upon them, and evinces the higher
powers of mind.
4th Class. Pneuma-Noemic, from irvevpa, "spirit," as it
appertains to the appreciation of spiritual qualities, where the
qualities of the mind are regulated by the consideration of the
soul, of eternity, of heaven, and of hell.
5th Class. Dynamic, from Swa/u?, " force." Individuals may
be comprised in this class who evince great activity either from
an external stimulus upon their organs of sensation, or from the
internal stimulus of their own thoughts. All active men there-
fore belong to this class. Activity may have its origin at various
parts of the nervous system.
Each of these groups or classes admits of subdivisions : thus
CHAP. XL] ' THE MIND OF MAN.' 127
the Aisthenie group admits of six subdivisions, five of which
represent the mental power derived from the respective organs
of sensation and one from knowledge derived from bodily
feeling, as
Eye sensations or Opsaisthenics.
Ear Ousaisthenics.
Taste Ghimaisthenics.
Odour Khinaisthenics.
Feeling (bodily) Cosnaisthenics.
Feeling (mental) Somaisthenics.
Each of these divisions may be again subdivided : thus a man
may have a powerful vision for small objects, a great range of
adjustment, a power for the appreciation of colours, or a quick-
ness in the perception of objects.
Every other organ of sensation may be likewise subdivided.
The Syndramic group comprises not only all those qualities
of the mind which appertain to the first or Aisthenic group, but
also superadds to them the faculty of receiving information from
the words and writings of others : and this second quality again
presents many varieties, from the classes of knowledge which the
mind of any particular man is competent to receive. Again, all
the above varieties of mind are also doubled by the consideration
that the same impression may variously affect different men : for
instance, "the same amount of light, though a delight to one
man, is a pain to another."
"As there may be three qualities in each subdivision of this
group, it follows, therefore, that no less than eighteen divisions
of this class may be noted."
The Noemic group are likewise also governed by all the lower
subdivisions, but have also characteristics superadded, so that
this group may also be considerably subdivided. We read that,
under Noemic reason, " There is a gap in the powers of mind
between the human reason and the reason of brutes. The mind
deals with its various ideas, and forms abstract conceptions. It
forms the notion of mankind apart from any particular man :
the notion of heat apart from hot things ; of light apart from
illuminated bodies. The capability of using these higher abstrac-
tions confers upon all men powers not possessed by the lower
animals. Mankind alone of all the animal creation uses words
and language for the communication of ideas; employs fire to
cook food ; lamps to illuminate rooms ; electricity to convey intel-
MEMOIR OF ALFEED SMEE. [CHAP. XI.
ligence, or tools by which mechanical force is regulated. No
animal but man has the power of abstraction or of using abstract
ideas." For further illustrations of the great difference there is
in the mind of animals and the mind of man, I refer the reader
to ' The Mind of Man,' as well as to ' Instinct and Eeason.'
The Pneuma-Noemic group. Where the faculties of dwelling
upon that which is infinite such as the Deity, the soul, eternity,
heaven, hell " bear a proper relation to the other faculties com-
prised within the former classes, the man is greatly dignified and
raised above his fellows. In cases where these properties of the
mind are shown, to the exclusion of the other faculties, the man
degenerates to the degraded position of the wild fanatic and
devotee."
We must (he adds, in ' Instinct and Reason ') not mistake cases of per-
verted reason for instances where these faculties are fully developed. For
instance, the Hindoo priests induce the widow to sacrifice herself on the
f uneral pile only by an intense excitement of her nervous system ; so also
the Popish priests ensnare their victims for nunneries and convents in a
similar manner. In like manner the fanatical enthusiasts of America are
so over-stimulated that it is recorded that they not only injure their bodily
frame, but occasionally damage permanently their mental powers. All
these cases do not come under this class ; but the sufferers exhibit the
natural degradation of perverted reason under the false guidance of a
heartless priesthood.
The Dynamic group. There are also many varieties or sub-
divisions of this group.
Some persons are quick of action, others indolent; some act by
aisthenic impressions, others direct their actions by thought. Some are
governed by religious impressions ; others act solely from the immediate
impressions of pleasure or pain.
Throughout all these subdivisions the human mind is modified
by memory or forgetfulness.
All these states of the mind, too, are governed by the age of the indi-
vidual. The boy exhibits properties in the various departments of the mind
different from those of the child, the youth from the boy, the adult from
the youth, advanced life from the adult, and senility from advanced life.
This is beautifully shown in the diagram accompanying the
fifth chapter on 'The Mind of Man,' in which he speaks of education,
and how it should be conducted, so that no one department of the
mind should be brought into play to the exclusion of the rest. In
' Instinct and Eeason ' is a pretty illustration of the difference in
CHAP. XL] PLAN OF ' THE MIND OF MAN.' 129
the mental faculties that is required according to the profession
or calling of the individual. Thus he shows how the lawyer
requires the second and third class of faculties (Syndramic and
Noemic) more especially to be brought into play. The doctor
has a more extensive range, and requires for his profession the
first three classes of faculties to be fully developed (Aisthenic,
Syndramic, and Noemic). The engineer requires faculties in
almost all respects similar to those which the doctor must
possess for the successful exercise of his profession, and the
clergyman should have a full development of the faculties of
the second, third, and fourth classes (Syndramic, Noemic, and
Pneuma-Noemic).
Besides dividing the mental faculties into the above-named
classes or groups, he further proves that the nervous system is
a voltaic circuit.
All batteries (says he) in animal bodies are compound batteries, one
battery being in the body, the other in the brain ; and, moreover, it is not
only a compound battery, but is also one in which its fibres interlace in a
wonderfully complex manner.
This he most fully sets forth and further illustrates by maps,
diagrams, and various woodcuts. In two diagrams at page 213, the
theoretical nervous combination of lower animals and that of man
are demonstrated. It suffices here to mention that these two dia-
grams show a marked difference between the nervous combination
of lower animals and that of man. In the diagram showing the
nervous combination of man, we find that the Aisthenic occupies
the lower department of the mind ; higher in the mind we come to
the Syndramic department ; then higher still the Noemic, until we
reach the Pneuma-Noemic, which is the highest department of all
of the mind.
Such is the rough sketch of the general plan on which the
' Mind of Man ' and earlier ' Electro-Biology ' are based. Upon
this model were all Alfred Smee's writings and speeches con-
structed. His whole course of life was modelled upon this his
cherished metaphysical and moral structure.
This work treats extensively of the supposed discordance of
religion and science : for to show, and indeed to prove, that for
the welfare of mankind religion and science must go hand in
hand, was ever the favourite task of his life. In this work he
has fully proved where the fallacy lies ; how it is to be remedied,
so as to prevent idolatry, ignorance, and matter-worship on the
MEMOIR OP ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. XT.
one hand, ,and conceit, infidelity, and ignorance on the other.
We read
There are two modes by which the human mind may be affected, and
all our actions regulated to a common purpose : one by the impression of
the nervous system by induction from below upwards, that is, from the
action on the nerves of sensation through the mind to general laws ; and
the other from the effect of general laws, which act downwards by deduc-
tion to the particular instance.
The one by induction is the ordinary result of the natural mind as
detailed in this work. The one by deduction is by the reception of the
laws of God as given us by religion.
Are religion and reason discordant ? No ! One affects from above
downward, the other from below upward ; and if both are right, they must
agree, they cannot possibly differ. The doctrines of religion would be vain
unless they are the laws of God and the word of God. In like manner it
must be remembered that the inductions of the human mind, if made in
sincerity and truth, are equally the result of the mechanism created by God.
Man should therefore accept as a fact that the results of the true
reason of man are identical with the laws of God, and the one originating
inductively from the human mind should aecord deductively with the
results which are obtained by the ordinances of religion.
Mentally, if both are right, there can be no disagreement ; for whether
we examine the question from above downwards or from below upwards, no
difference can possibly exist, inasmuch as the mind is one whole. Then why
should there be, therefore, these continual differences between the teachers
of religion and the teachers of science ? At the present time it is difficult
to enter a church without hearing the name of science being held from the
pulpit to disrespect ; and it is equally difficult to enter the chambers of
science without hearing the pastor of religion in a like manner spoken of
with dissatisfaction. And why? The pastors of religion are, as a rule,
profoundly ignorant of the physical laws which govern the universe, and
the teachers of science are equally ignorant of the moral laws which govern
the actions of mankind.
Then a little further on we read
The fault of the present day is the education of teachers of religion
at one school, where physical science is not only discarded but ignored,
and the education of teachers of science at another school, where the laws
of religion are almost as equally ignored.
The remedy for this gigantic evil would be to teach all men to a
certain extent knowledge in common, so that when they diverge af terwards
into their special studies, science shall not be without religion, nor religion
without knowledge
The priest trained to the study of the external world, and of the
natural operations of the human mind, is a totally different man from the
priest who ignores knowledge and the effect of reason. The one sees
Nature and God as they are, the other only by his own unenlightened mind,
which leads many to inconstancy, idolatry, and man- worship
Wherever religion and science do not exactly accord, the discrepancy
marks error. It is then worth any labour to make them agree, by the con-
CHAP. XI.] HIS OPINION OF DAKWINISM. 131
joined operations of the labourers in religion and science, that truth may
prevail.
For the last five-and-f orty years I have been a regular attendant at St.
Paul's Cathedral, and consequently have heard most of the preachers of
mark in the metropolis of this century. It is clear to any rational mind
there is error in the pulpit : one affirms, another denies, whilst it is
the property of truth ever to remain unchanged, and to stand the test
of fair inquiry.
And further on we read
Those who love their church, and view it as an inestimable blessing
to mankind, most earnestly wish that the pastors should so discipline
their own minds by knowledge that they might appeal to the minds of their
hearers from the general law to the particular instance, and from the par-
ticular instance to the general law, for the teachings of religion and science
must be identical when both are true. It is a lamentable fact, but never-
theless one which admits of no contradiction, that religion, as frequently
taught in the pulpit, is not the religion of the mass of the congregation of
ordinary knowledge and intelligence. Religion is often brought forward in
a form positively distasteful to the minds of many. The omnipotence of
God, and the importance of His almighty laws, are neglected for human
traditions and mediaeval superstitions. This very serious position cannot
long remain without danger to the community, for reason and religion are
one, and cannot be divided ; and, above all things, it is of paramount im-
portance that religious teachings, involving as they do the laws of God,
should be in every minute particular based on absolute purity and
unswerving truth.
And in another part
Every good follower of religion must admit that the time which ought
to be spent in the elucidation of the moral laws of God to regulate actions,
is frequently spent in discussions of the propriety of frivolous garments, or
the vain conduct of idle ceremonies, and on the discourse on vain supersti-
tions, till those who pretend to be teachers show that they ought to be
taught, as they bring the doctrines of religion into contempt.
On Darwinism, or the gradual development of the higher
animals from the lower, he writes :
There appear to be some persons who imagine that every conceivable
form of organic being is produced by chance, or a fortuitous concurrence
of atoms ; and of these all which are not suitable for surrounding cir-
cumstances perish, and only those which are suitable for the circum-
stances live.
When we regard the intricate complexity of many parts of organic
beings, to say nothing of the requisite relation of one organic being to
another, as for instance an insect to a flower, it requires a much stronger
exercise of faith than such persons themselves would like to admit, when
they adopt a theory of chance where infinite contrivance and wisdom
seem so clearly to manifest themselves.
K 2
132 MEMOIE OF ALFEED SMEE. [CHAP. XI.
I have lingered long over this last and important work of
Alfred Smee, because it embraces his great system of Mental
Philosophy, which should be studied by every intelligent youth,
that he may conduct on a sure basis the discipline of his own
mind, and his relations with his fellow-men. Of all the
books Alfred Smee wrote this was unquestionably his favourite.
The frontispiece contains an admirable likeness of him drawn
by Mr. H. B. Kobertson, which was most delicately and finely
engraved for this work by the celebrated engraver Mr. C. H.
Jeens. The picture was expressly taken for the above work, and
was the gift to my mother from one of the public companies to
which my father belonged, as a kind token of grateful recognition
for some great services he had done it. There are besides
fifty-eight woodcuts, and the book, like ' My Garden,' is beauti-
fully got up, and published by Messrs. Bell.
In the summer of 1873 there was an outburst of typhoid fever
in the West-end of London, in the close vicinity of Cavendish
Square. The question was raised that this pestilence was caused
by the milk from cows fed upon sewage grass, and a controversy
ensued whether or no sewage grounds were hurtful to health.
For some years Alfred Smee had been investigating the question
of sewage ; and his son, Alfred Hutchison Smee, who kept a
small herd of cows at Wallington, had also been making various
experiments on the feeding of cows, the results of which the
latter gentleman has embodied in a valuable little treatise full of
important statistics, which is entitled ' Milk in Health and
Disease.' * No sooner did this controversy on sewage begin in
the daily papers than my father wrote his own experience.
The correspondence of Alfred Smee on ' Milk, Typhoid Fever,
and Sewage,' will be found in the Appendix, No. XXXVI. A., as
also the paper he read before the Health Section of the Social
Science Congress at Norwich, October 3rd, 1873, on ' Sewage,
Sewage Produce, and Disease.' (See Appendix, No. XXXVI.B.)
Later, on December 3rd, 1875, Alfred Smee read a paper before
the Society of Arts, on ' Proposed Heads of Legislation for the
Regulation of Sewage Grounds.' (See Appendix, No. XXXVI.c.)
The discussion on this paper was adjourned to January 19th,
1876. To this discussion Alfred Smee replied, and that evening
was the last time I heard my father speak before a public meet-
ing. Little did I think that evening that exactly in a year and
* This little book is published by Messrs. Newman, Devonshire Street,
Bishopsgate Street. (1875.)
CHAP. XL] THE SEWAGE QUESTION. 133
three days we should have laid him in his grave. Happy it is
for us that we cannot read the future !
One of the members of the Croydon Board of Health made
an eloquent speech on this occasion, in which he several times
reproached Mr. Smee with the absurdity of wishing to draw a
concord round the farm at Beddington. The absurdity was
evident to other persons besides the speaker, for as he sat down
amid general cheering, the following epigram was handed to
Mr. Smee :
" To think a man the Croydon Board on
Should take a concord for a cordon I "
134 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. XII.
CHAPTEB XII.
1876 TO 1877.
Book on Fishing Hard-working Letters from abroad Letters to the ' Times,'
'Standard,' and the 'Gardeners' Chronicle' His death, January 11, 1877,
aged fifty-eight Buried at St. Mary's, Beddington, within sight of the
garden, January 16, 1877.
IN the beginning of the year 1876 we have seen Mr. Smee discussing
the heads of legislation which he had drawn up for the regulation
of sewage grounds ; this was immediately followed by his taking
a great interest in the fresh facts relating to the potato disease
(see p. 35, also the Appendix, No. XV.c.). He was also interesting
himself in the Colorado beetle, and was carrying on a correspon-
dence in America and Germany, finding out all that was known
of the devastation and habits of the insect. He had himself
obtained a dead Colorado beetle from a friend, and had had a
woodcut made of it. Besides this, in the midst of his other
business, he was, in spare moments before breakfast and after a
late dinner, busy writing a new book on Fishing. Much was
written ; still the finishing touches of the master hand were re-
quired for those chapters which were otherwise completed. This
book was to have been copiously illustrated ; and from some of
the woodcuts which have come under my notice, and from frag-
ments of the manuscript which my father read to me from time to
time, I should say that this work on Fishing bade fair to rival
its sister book, ' My Garden.' But this work was not to be com-
pleted ; and as Longfellow tells us :
" Labour with what zeal we will,
Something still remains undone.
Something uncompleted still
Waits the rising of the sun."
My brother has kindly offered me one of the illustrations for this
work. It is a woodcut taken from a water-colour drawing, of
CHAP. XII.] HIS LOVE FOB HIS GRANDSON. 135
my father and my brother in the latter's boat on the Thames.
The one is fishing and the other rowing.
In May, Mr. Smee went abroad on business connected with
one of the companies to which he belonged. That he contrived
on this journey to see some of his favourite haunts, will be
perceived in the following letters he sent to his daughter. He
had intended to go in March ; but as he writes to her
The weather indeed has been awful : terrible snow- storms ; horrible
gales and tempests ; excessive rain ; darkness ; floods ; eruptions of
Vesuvius.
I intended to have gone abroad, but did not like the aspect of things.
The poor children must suffer from this detestable weather. Tell
Georgey I really love him very much and should like to see him, and I
hope nice warm weather will come, and then his pretty flowers will grow
and grow, &c.
Here I should perhaps give a passing allusion to an extra-
ordinary attachment (if I may so call it) which had sprung up
between himself and his little grandson; for no one who had
not been a witness to it could appreciate this attachment to
its full extent. Upon the child what pains would not the
grandfather bestow ! He would never tire of explaining to him
the different plants, and would take him frequently to the
Zoological Gardens to teach him not only the names of the
animals, but the habits of the various creatures that are
there kept. So often did they go that the keepers knew my
father and his little charge, and were only too eager to show
the child the peculiarities of the different animals committed to
their care. Even in the midst of business hours this grandson
was still often in his grandfather's thoughts, and he would at
those times go and search for books or toys, or send him letters
which, although written with the simplicity of a child, yet at
the same time always contained some knowledge worthy of a
great and good man.
On sending a lock of his little grandson's hair, his daughter
received the following letter :
Many thanks for your kind wishes and handsome donation, which
you only could have sent. This gift of gifts deserves a crystal box to
preserve it, and perhaps after I have attained my hundredth year, and I
return to the earth of which I am made, and your kind present returns to
you, this little token of affection will be looked upon by you, himself,
and peradventure his descendant, with rare and curious interest, and
your thoughts will be carried back to time about persons past and with
hopes for time and persons to come.
136 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. XII.
From Zurich, May 13th, 1876, he writes :
We have been to Brussels, from thence to Frankfort, thence to
Passau, from Passau to Lintz down the Danube, and then from Lintz
to Vienna by the Danube.
We then went to Ansteller, from thence to Salzthal across to Inn-
spruck, by the most wonderful road that you could imagine.
It was a single line which ran through gorges over mountains by bad
curves, by terrible inclines, across mountain torrents, altogether a remark-
able ride through mountains, for hour after hour, till the eye became
weary. Acres of lovely violets covered the ground. Masses of marsh
marigolds lit up the fields ; the lovely gentians gladdened the eyes ; and
literally acres of violets or rather pansies, yellow and tricoloured, formed a
natural flower garden gorgeous to behold. The skirts of the woods were
Nature's own landscape-gardening, with curved lines of woods and shrubs
on the sward of emerald green grass mixed with flowers. Then the moun-
tains were snow-covered and cloud-capped, and different views were
opened out at every turn of the road.
Every now and then an eagle or huge hawk traversed the valleys.
Any traveller must go right through, for the accommodation is queer,
as you may judge when I tell you that we took our meals at a restaurant
at a station, and slept in a cottage.
I sent the boy (his grandson) a letter. Tell your mother how he liked
it, and she can tell me when she writes.
I suppose your husband will be off before this arrives ; if not, give my
love, and tell him I wish him a happy and prosperous voyage.
The weather has been very bad cold, dark, and cloudy ; in, fact we
have not seen the sun for fourteen days.
The Tyrol Pass was not altogether free from danger. We saw a
railroad carriage which had been smashed to atoms in a mountain torrent
below, and we did not go more than three to ten miles an hour. We could
not go over the Madler Pass or up the Engadine, because there was so
much snow ; in fact some patches of snow were lying at below 3000 feet.
The snow mixed with the black pines and bright green foliage was
very striking. We shall move from here to Lucerne ; thence to Yevey ;
thence to Lyons, Toulouse, Nantes, and home : altogether 3000 miles.
Kiss the boy and girl.
Iff another letter he writes thus :
I wrote a letter to the dear boy (his grandson) which I thought would
do for the dear girl that is, you also ; but I have not heard how your
little daughter progresses.
We have had an extraordinary journey : we went down the Danube
from Passau to Lintz, from Lintz to Vienna, which I much enjoyed. It
was so bitterly cold that we were compelled to keep in the cabin, where
the views were as good as out of doors.
We then crossed the Tyrol by a new route to Innspruck, the worst
travellers' route which ever was seen. The way lay south of Salzburg.
Then he speaks of the flowers he saw, which have been already
alluded to in the former letter, and continues :
CHAP. XII.]
LETTERS FROM ABROAD.
137
From Innspruck we took a drive up the Bremer and crossed the
Lake Constance, and came to Zurich. From Zurich we came to Lucerne.
From Lucerne we went up the railway to the Bigi : there was so much
snow that we eould not get to the top, but only one-third the way up.
The mountains about here are covered deeply with snow. Pilatus is
snow a long way down. All the mountains up the lake are well covered,
which makes the views intensely beautiful. We went up the lake to
Fluelen, and have returned to table d'hote. The lake never looked so
lovely, and, what is best of all, we are not troubled with numerous tourists.
We are still like the premature swallows. I enjoy my rest excessively ;
and as I have nothing to do, not even to settle accounts or railway
tickets, it is a thorough rest to me, which I feel I want.* We have been
at least 1600 miles in fourteen days, which is more than 110 miles a day.
I hope the tall boy (the gardener) does his work in the garden, for soon
all the succulent plants must take a promenade. Write to me to Hotel de
France, Bordeaux. I have seen a glorious sunset over Pilatus, also a sun-
rise. We have had a fish in the lakes of Zurich and Lucerne, without
being troubled with any weight of fish to carry afterwards. With best
love to boy and girl.
During this visit my father visited Clermont in France, and
was interested with the geological formation of that place. One
of the mountains at Clermont is an extinct volcano, and from
there he brought home a Roman coin. This Roman coin was
" found," he writes, " in digging the foundation of an observatory
on the top of the Dorno, about 5000 feet high, the centre of a
huge series of extinct volcanoes at Clermont, in the centre of
France." My brother has kindly allowed me to take a woodcut
of the coin, which is here given.
FIG. 6A. Roman Coin found at Clermont.
On the 17th of August he wrote the following letter to the
' Times ' on " A Homicidal Kiver."
The river Lea was as famous for its annual deaths half a century
ago as it is now. For several summers 1 resided on its banks, and on
* When they came to sundry towns, it should be observed he had to
attend to weighty matters of business ; but, although he was travelling at the
rate of 110 miles a day, even this was a rest compared to his mental work in
London.
138 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. XII.
no year did we escape witnessing terrible calamities. On one day about
twenty-two were drowned by a boat casualty. Continually there were
deaths from swimming misadventures, notwithstanding that an almost
fabulous number of lives were saved by a skilled boatman named
Solomons.
The bed of the river Lea is unequal. At every curve there is a deep
and dangerous hole, with under back currents, and there are deep shelves
in many parts of the banks. Hence the ordinary apparatus used by the
Royal Humane Society for dragging the river is comparatively useless, and
the boat hook has to be relied upon.
I have been present when bodies have been raised. The exact position
to a foot has been known. The body could be felt by the hook and even
turned over, and yet could not be raised till repeated trials had been made.
All this caused so much delay that the last spark of life had fled before
the body could be recovered ; and well do I remember the terrible scenes
of grief which were witnessed among the surviving relatives at so sudden
a bereavement.
No person ought to venture to swim in the river Lea unless an
expert swimmer, and then only when thoroughly conversant with the
peculiarities of the river, and the boats ought to have police surveillance to
see that they are sound in structure, and that they are not let to an undue
number, of persons.
There was always a popular idea that the water of the Lea was
particularly deadly, but at that time the water was clear and pure. Pro-
bably its deadly character is to be ascribed to its sluggishness, its great
depth, to its undercurrents, and to the difficulty of reclaiming bodies from
the dangerous shelves at the bottom.
" This is true glory and renown ; when God,
Looking on the earth, with approbation marks
The just man, and divulges him through heaven
To all His angels, who with true applause
Recount his praises ! "
MILTON, Paradise Regained.
His health now broke down. Being anxious to see his
daughter, who was ill at the time, he came down to Oxford
with the intention of staying two or three days. I was shocked
at the change in his appearance since I last saw him, about
three weeks previously. He said he was tired, and had been
examining medically about a dozen persons. He stayed between
four and five weeks with us at Oxford, and then returned to
his house in London, and at our urgent solicitations he promised
to give his whole attention to his own health, and to put himself
under the care of Dr. Moxon, one of the senior physicians of
Guy's Hospital, whose skill in medical knowledge is only equalled
CHAP. XII.] HIS LAST ILLNESS. 139
by the extreme thoughtfulness and kindness of his disposition.
Dr. Moxon was ever a great favourite, they having many sym-
pathies in common, and both being lovers of Nature's works.
But my father was beyond human skill, and the eyes of his family
were rudely opened to the shock that nothing could save him.
His lungs were too far gone ; and he was also suffering from
that seemingly incurable complaint, diabetes. But his family
owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Moxon for the untiring zeal
and kindness he displayed in lessening and soothing his patient's
sufferings.
Throughout his illness my father's vigour of mind never
forsook him : to the last he retained the full use of his faculties.
At first he took delight in reading, in looking through and
properly arranging his carmine injections ; and when he became
too weak to write himself, he dictated to others. The following
letter from his pen, on the " Distribution of Seeds by Panthers,"
appeared in the ' Standard ' on October 17th, 1876 :
An interesting fact in natural history was revealed dnring the recent
visit of his Royal Highness the Prince of "Wales to India. In one of
the hunting excursions in the neighbourhood of Baroda a panther was
shot, and numerous seeds were found to be attached to the skin. The
seeds had two perfect hooks, manifestly designed to attach themselves to
foreign bodies. As the panther moved about it collected the seeds on the
skin and carried them about wherever it went, but when it rubbed against
the shrubs it of necessity brushed some off, and thus distributed them.
These seeds were taken from the skin by an officer who was one of the
hunting party, and several came into the possession of Mrs. Home of
Staines, a great lover of horticulture, who did me the favour of sending me
specimens. I was so struck with the incident and the remarkable character
of the seed, that, after accurately figuring it, I desired it to be sown at
" My Garden," when it rapidly grew into a handsome plant, and produced
beautiful clusters of tubular flowers. It was immediately recognized to
belong to the genus Martynia, and on examination both Professor Oliver,
of the Royal Gardens, Kew, and Dr. Masters agree that it is Martynia
diandra, a plant which, although introduced into this country as far back
as 1731, has scarcely ever been cultivated for many years. I have
placed my specimen in the hands of Mr. Sowerby, the secretary of the
Royal Botanic Society, Regent's Park; and the plant, with one of the
seeds taken from the panther's skin, are now exhibited in the great
conservatory.
Later, in November, he dictated the following little letter,
which was sent to the ' Gardeners' Chronicle,' and was copied
into many papers :
140 MEMOIR OF ALFRED SMEE. [CHAP. XII.
BiBD-CATCHING EXTRAORDINARY.
In " My Garden " a somewhat large collection of ericas is grown, and
many of their beautiful flowers are coated with a layer of- sticky and viscid
material, the use of which is by no means apparent. It is somewhat similar
to the viscid material which is found on the so-called carnivorous plants.
During this summer a little bird, probably one of the hedge-warblers with
which the garden abounds, entered the greenhouse in which the plants
were located, alighted upon the heath, when the feathers adhered so
tightly to the plant that the bird was retained a prisoner. When the
gardener came, he could only set free the bird by detaching a number of
the feathers. Of course it is not to be supposed that the erica is a
carnivorous plant, and that it eats up little birds ! This remarkable event
has been twice noticed this year at " My Garden."
Throughout his illness he took pleasure in seeing his friends,
and was vexed when any were denied him ; for so many would
come every afternoon to see him, that his family were sometimes
fearful lest he should be over-tired. In the mornings he would
drive with my mother, myself, and his dearly loved little grandson
along the Thames Embankment.
Throughout his last illness Alfred Smee showed himself a
true philosopher, and was most thoughtful and solicitous for the
comfort and welfare of others. He was soon to reap the reward
of his labours, for about 5 o'clock on the morning of Thursday,
the llth of January, 1877, amidst the wild storm of a raging
wind, he gently passed away without a sigh. The problem of his
life was now solved ; but how solved, he was unable to impart
to us. Many who mourned his loss came once again to see him,
and these, though parting in sadness, yet went away in a firm
and steadfast belief that to a righteous man death has no
terrors.
A few days later, on Tuesday, the 16th of January, 1877, a
sad procession left 7, Finsbury Circus, and passed on its way
the Bank of England, Kennington, Clapham Common, Mitcham,
along the road which skirts that beautiful garden at Wallington,
which is delineated in the book ' My Garden,' and stopped before
the schools of St. Mary's, Beddington. Thence the mortal remains
of Alfred Smee were borne to the church by the gardeners and
by the men of my brother's yacht. Though the family wished
the funeral to be strictly private, yet so many testified their
respect to Alfred Smee that St. Mary's Church was full of
persons, that church which but four years before had been
CHAP. XII.] HIS BURIAL AT ST. MARY'S, BEDDINGTON. 141
filled with friends who had thither repaired to show their
sympathy with him on the occasion of his much-loved daughter's
marriage, that church which received his dear grandson as a
member of the Church of England, and to which his own eyes
had so often turned with pleasure during the happy hours spent
in his garden. It is thus he speaks of it in his book : " The
church with its churchyard is one of the most picturesque near
London. It has been supplied with a melodious peal of bells,
which record the sorrow and declare the joy of the inhabitants.
The tower of the church is seen through a vista of trees from
my garden, and then reflected from the transparent waters of the
lake, as though Nature ordained that so good an object should
be twice seen."
The service was choral, and the lessons were most impres-
sively read by the much esteemed rector, the Reverend A. H.
Bridges ; and after the beautiful and touching hymn which
commences
" Christ will gather in His own
To the place where He is gone,
Where their heart and treasure lie,
Where our life is hid on high " *
the sad procession wended its way to the little cemetery in
Beddington Park ; and there, after the most solemn yet most
exquisite singing by the choir, of Dr. Dyce's hymn
" Days and moments quickly flying
Blend the living with the dead ;
Soon will you and I be lying
Each within his narrow bed " f
there, amidst the sobs of the multitude of high and low estate, we
laid in his grave all that was mortal of Alfred Smee. In his life-
time flowers he loved : we covered him with flowers in his grave,
and left him, the investigator of Nature, he whose thoughts
were ever contemplating the Author of all things, in that
little cemetery seen from his garden, amidst the scenes which he
in his lifetime had so much loved.
The numbers of persons who came, many from long distances,
to pay their last respects to Alfred Smee, and the sobs of the
multitude, showed how much he was beloved, and how much his
* From a German chorale. See ' Hymns Ancient and Modern,' No. 400.
f ' Hymns Ancient and Modern,' No. 289.
142 MEMOIE OF ALFEED SMEE. [CHAP. XII.
loss was deplored. The poor said : " We have indeed lost a good
and kind friend ; we shall never have one like him again."
" Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
" Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord ; for they rest
from their labours, and their works do follow them."
APPENDIX.
No. I.
ON THE STATE IN WHICH ANIMAL MATTER IS USUALLY
FOUND IN FOSSILS. By MR. ALFRED SMEB, Student of King's
College, London, and communicated by PROF. ROYLE, M.D., F.G.S.
(Proceedings of the Geological Society of London, No. 57. 1838.)
THE author first describes briefly the composition of those parts of
recent animals capable of being preserved in a fossil state ; and then
proceeds to detail his investigations into the composition of fossil organic
remains.
For the sake of arrangement, he divides fossils into two great classes,
one in which animal matter is present in various states, the other in which
it has been removed. The first class he further subdivides into three
cases : 1. Comprehending those fossils in which animal matter retains its
original condition. 2. Those in which it has been partially changed.
3. Those in which only the carbon of the animal matter remains.
1. The following examples were given of the first case.
Small portions of the tooth of a horse, of an ox, and a stag, from the
chalk rubble at Brighton, were submitted to the action of diluted muriatic
acid ; and after the earthy portions had been removed, the animal matter
retained the shape of the bone, was white, and of the consistence of
cartilage. Fragments of a tooth of a mammoth from Norfolk, and of a
rib of a mastodon from Big-bone-lick in Ohio, when similarly treated,
gave the same results. A thin slice of the rib exhibited under the
microscope the structure of recent bone. Fragments of a stag's rib and
horn, of an ox's head, and the tusk of a boar, found near the Bank of
England, associated with Roman implements, retained their animal matter
unaltered. Small portions of a Terebratula and of two species of Productae,
from the Silurian rocks of Malvern, were placed in very diluted muriatic
acid ; and when the earthy portions had been removed, small flocculi of
animal matter, resembling the recent membrane of a shell, floated in the
solution. A minute fragment of Asaplius caudatus yielded little shreds of
animal matter. The experiments on the shells were repeated several times
with the same results. Under the microscope these fossils exhibited also
the structure of recent shells.
2. The second case in which animal matter has been partially changed
was illustrated by the following experiments : Portions of a stag's jaw
144 APPENDIX. [No. I.
from the Brighton chalk rubble, of a fish-bone, and a shark's tooth from
the London clay, when dissolved in diluted muriatic acid, gave only a
brown powder ; and the animal matter of a fragment of the humerus of a
mastodon from Big-bone-lick exhibited but little flexibility, and was
easily torn, particularly in the longitudinal direction. It was found
impossible to make sections of the jaw-bone of the stag or the humerus of
the mastodon for microscopic observation. Part of a human parietal bone
found upon the site of the cathedral of Old Sarnm, and human bones
obtained from the churchyard of St. Ch'ristophe le Stocks, on part of
which the Bank of England stands, were ascertained to have had their
animal matter reduced to the same state as that of the stag's jaw. A
fossil oyster from the Isle of Wight, when placed under the microscope,
showed black spots over its surface, and the structure of the shell was
apparently destroyed. A fragment of a Pecten from the lias also exhibited
opaque spots. Part of an ammonite when dissolved left a substance
resembling sepia.
3. The third case, where only the carbon of the animal matter
remains, was explained by two series of experiments, one of which
proved it to be associated with bitumen, and the other that it existed
by itself. The scales of Dapedium politum and other fishes from Lyme
Regis, when acted upon by acid, left carbon undissolved ; and when heated
under a test-tube gave a considerable quantity of bitumen.
Portions of the bones of the Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus from the
lias yielded a black residuum, which deflagrated with red-hot nitre, and
the resulting mass gave a precipitate with chloride of calcium. To prove
that the carbon was a portion of the bone and not an adventitious
ingredient, a section was made, and the greatest quantity of carbon was
found in the thickest part ; and an analysis showed that the proportion of
carbon was about the same as in the animal matter of a similar mass of
recent bone. A still further proof was adduced, in no gelatine having been
detected after thirty-six hours' boiling of a fragment of the fossil. A
section of recent bone displayed, when carbonized by heat and charged
with crystals of alum or a composition of whiting, a similar appearance in
the arrangement of the carbon as in the fossil bone. No bitumen was
given off, when fragments of these bones were acted upon by heat under a
test-tube.
With respect to the second great class in which the animal matter
has been removed, the following cases were mentioned : Portion of the
external and internal parts of a mammoth tusk from Siberia did not
blacken by heat, and dissolved completely in muriatic acid. The internal
part of a tusk from Ohio gave the same results, but the external part was
found to contain a considerable proportion of animal matter. In bones
from the crag, the animal matter had been abstracted. Human bones
which had been long buried were found to be in the same state.
The paper concluded with the following remarks : As the different
states in which animal matter is found in fossils pass insensibly into each
other, and as many of the changes occur in churchyard and other bones,
it follows that no extraordinary circumstances are requisite to produce
these alterations, but that they may be effected by the ordinary processes
of putrefaction. Even the carbonization of animal matter may be
accomplished by similar processes without the aid of heat, as bones
No. II.] APPENDIX. 145
become black by being macerated too long. It is also to be observed
that the parts of animals preserved in the fossil state are those which
longest resist putrefaction. It having been likewise shown that the degree
of change does not depend upon the age of the bed in which the fossil
occurs, it is a curious subject of inquiry for the geologist to ascertain how
far the conditions necessary to putrefactive air, a certain temperature and
moisture, were present in those strata in which the change has been great ;
how far they were absent in those in which the change has been small.
No. II.
ON THE CHEMICAL NATURE OF THE EXTERNAL ENVELOPE
OF THE FROG'S SPAWN. By ALFRED SMEE, Student of King's
College. (' London Medical Gazette,' May 26, 1838.)
THE nature of the envelope of the spawn of the frog does not seem to
have been investigated chemically, some authors stating generally that
it is of an albuminous, others that it is of a gelatinous nature. To me,
however, it appears to be neither of the above substances, but rather a
form of mucus, as the following observations show :
1. When the envelope is separated from the ova, it gradually sinks
in water.
2. It is not soluble either in hot or cold water, but swells considerably
when first placed in it, after which it may be dried without losing any of
its former properties, for on the addition of water it will again swell to its
former size and appearance.*
3. When portions of the external covering were boiled in water, it was
not dissolved, nor was there any coagulation.
4. When the spawn was treated with nitric acid, there was no coa-
gulation, but after a short period the external covering was dissolved,
leaving the ova.
5. Sulphuric acid had the same action on the spawn as the nitric.
6. Muriatic acid, like the preceding acids, did not coagulate, but
dissolved the envelope.
7. Acetic acid, even when pretty strong, produced little or no effect
on the spawn.
8. The action of the oxalic acid was found to be the same as the
acetic acid.
9. The envelope was then treated with a solution of caustic potash,
when it was dissolved.
10. Ammonia produced apparently no effect on the envelope.
11. When the ova were treated with alcohol, no coagulation ensued,
nor was the envelope dissolved.
12. Tincture of galls was also found to produce no effect on the
envelope.
* It does not appear, after a long time, to be dissolved, as after five or six
weeks ; but probably here decomposition may, in some manner, alter its nature.
L
APPENDIX. [No. II.
13. When the ova were placed in a solution of prussiate of potash, no
coagulation or other change ensued.
14. When the envelope was placed in a strong solution of corrosive
sublimate in alcohol, no change took place.
15. Solutions of muriate of ammonia and common salt produced no
change.
16. The solution of the envelope in nitric acid was treated with
ammonia when it was not again re-precipitated.
17. The solution was then treated with potash, when the result was
the same as before.
18. A solution of tannic acid gave a white precipitate with the acid
solution.
19. A solution of gallic acid failed to give a precipitate with the
solution.
20. When the acid solution was neutralized and treated with ferro-
cyanates of potassa, no change ensued.
21. The acid solution was found to give no precipitate with acetate
of lead.
22. The gelatinous, or rather the mucous envelope, was found to be
neutral, neither changing the colour of litmus-paper to red, nor restoring
reddened litmus-paper, and it was also found to have no action on
turmeric paper.
From these experiments it is decidedly proved that this covering is
neither albuminous nor gelatinous : for had it been the former, many of
the above tests would have coagulated it ; and had it been the latter, water
would have dissolved, and tincture of galls had a sensible effect on it, &c.
The nearest animal product then, which it approaches in its general
characters, is mucus, which is known to differ in different situations of
its secretion.
This mucous envelope is found to be a product exclusively of the
oviduct, for the ova at no period of their existence in any way possess it,
the proof of which is obtained from killing a frog just before spawning is
expected, when the ova in the ovaries will be found to have no covering,
and when placed in water do not swell out. Those ova, however, which
have found their way into the oviduct possess the mucous covering, and
when placed in water do swell out. The oviducts do not form the mucus
suddenly when the ova are about to be discharged, but keep forming it for
a considerable period, as I have found the oviducts to be distended with it
six months at least previous to the period of spawning, and even immediately
after the ova have been discharged are not entirely free from it, though
they are much contracted in size. That the substance contained in the
oviducts and the envelope of the ova after their discharge is identical,
is proved by the following experiments :
1. When a portion of the oviduct was placed in water, it swelled as
the envelope when first excreted ; and if a frog before spawning be killed
and cut open, and then placed in water, the contents of the oviducts will
swell to an almost incredible size.
2. When the contents of the oviducts were placed in acid, they
dissolved, and did not coagulate.
No. III.] APPENDIX. 147
No. III.
ON THE FORMATION OF MOULDING TABLETS FOB FRAC-
TURES. By ALFRED SMEE, Dresser at St. Bartholomew's Hospital.
(' London Medical Gazette,' February 9, 1839.)
THE importance of a substance that can be moulded accurately to any
part of the body at a moment's notice, must be admitted by every member
of the medical profession, yet many difficulties attend the formation of a
composition which shall at the period of its application be so yielding and
soft that it may take an accurate cast of any part, and when dry shall still
retain the form given it, and become sufficiently hard to resist external
impressions, and at the same time shall be tough, elastic, and devoid of
brittleness and much flexibility; and further difficulties present them-
selves, where the capability of its being quickly dried is required. The
advantage of lightness and cheapness is also a great desideratum.
As I had frequently noticed that the composition of gum-arabic and
whiting, when dry, possessed great hardness and toughness, and yet was
so free from brittleness that it could scarcely be pounded in a mortar,
I was determined to ascertain how far it would answer to make tablets
which might be used to form extemporaneous splints.
For this purpose a piece of coarse sheeting was copiously brushed
over on one surface with a thick solution of gum, after which it was
covered with a composition made by rubbing whiting with mucilage, con-
tinually adding the powder until the whole was of the consistence of a
thick paste; a second piece of sheeting was now rubbed over on one
side with the solution of gum, and the moistened side applied upon the
composition with which the piece of sheeting had been covered, and we
thus had two thicknesses of sheeting, with an intervening layer of the
composition of mucilage and whiting, the thickness of which may be
increased or diminished as strength or lightness is desired. The whole
was then dried, and formed a tablet about the thickness of slight
pasteboard.
This experiment succeeded beyond my most sanguine expectations ;
for whilst the tablet remained dry it was exceedingly hard, and, when
sponged over with a little warm water, became so yielding that, by mould-
ing it with the fingers, a cast could be taken of any part of the body. The
hand and knuckles were defined with great accuracy, and I succeeded by a
little management in taking a cast of the greater part of the face. It is
sometimes advisable not to allow the substance to dry upon the part on
which it is moulded ; but after the depressions and elevations have been
traced with the fingers, it should be carefully removed and partially dried
before the fire, and as soon as the texture is sufficiently dry to retain its
shape it may be placed near a stove, or even on the hob of a grate, without
fear of corrugating or becoming otherwise deformed. In most cases,
however, this drying is quite unnecessary, it being requisite only to
envelope the moist tablet with a bandage. A cast thus taken is extremely
hard and tenacious, so that when not much thicker than a wafer, it may be
struck violently and repeatedly against any hard substance and not be
destroyed. It possesses but slight flexibility, and after being bent returns
L 2
148 APPENDIX. [No. III.
to its previous form, showing considerable elasticity. It is neither liable
to be torn nor broken ; and, lastly, it possesses the advantage of light-
ness combined with durability. Whilst in search of a moulding sub-
stance, I thought it advisable to try various compositions in order. that
the best might be selected, but none appeared so exceUent as that last
described.
[Several paragraphs here follow of other ways for making these
tablets, which I omit here.]
Of all these preparations, and many others that were tried, few were
applicable, and none in all respects equal to the composition of gum
and whiting, both of which substances are always easily obtained, and
have the additional advantage of cheapness. The solution of gum which
was found most adapted contained 10 or 12 ounces of gum to the pint
of water. As far as regards the nature and texture of the cloth it is
to be remarked that linen is stronger than cotton, and less liable to be
torn, and therefore to be preferred. Of the various kinds of linen,
none moulds so perfectly as moderately coarse old sheeting ; for when the
tablets were made of finer Irish, they were inferior in this respect. The
application of these tablets is rather extensive ; they may be used with
great advantage for all fractures of the rnetacarpal bones, also for those of
the forearm, or even for the humerus. When the humerus is fractured, the
method which has been adopted is to cut a piece of paper somewhat into
the shape of the required splint. It should cover a portion of the pectoralis
major, and extend as high as the bend of the neck, and include the whole
of the scapula. From this broad plate a piece descends to the bend of
the elbow, and should be sufficiently wide to cover about two-thirds of
the outer part of the arm. The paper is then placed on one of the
prepared tablets, which is cut to a similar shape. The piece thus prepared
is moistened until it becomes perfectly soft, and it is then moulded on the
arm and neck. From the general shape of these parts, there will be found
a superfluity of substance about the deltoid, which must be pinched up
and turned down so as to form a fold over the other part. The splint
then may be in a degree dried, and its inner surface lined with lint. The
whole is to be enveloped in a starched roller.*
This mode of proceeding may appear tedious, but it is a source of
much comfort to the patient ; for whilst the upper arm is enveloped in this
hard case, so that it is quite immovable, the forearm and hand may be let
loose, and the patient may in some degree enjoy the use of them. The
benefit of this mode of treating fractures is not confined to the patient
only ; it lessens also the labour of the surgeon : for when the injured limb
is once put up in this manner, it requires no further attention for days,
weeks, or even till the cure is accomplished. Its application to chronic
diseases of the joints will be found particularly useful. In these cases two
lateral splints are to be formed, and enveloped in a starch roller. It is
hardly necessary to add that in fractures of the lower jaw it must prove a
valuable auxiliary. Great, however, as these advantages may be, perhaps
they are trifling in comparison with the importance of its application to
simple fractures of the leg. The mode of treating these fractures at
* The roller is merely soaked in boiled starch and wound up in the usual
manner before it is applied.
No. III.] APPENDIX. 149
St. Bartholomew's Hospital has been for some months the method first
adopted by Mr. John Lawrence, of Brighton. His plan was to form
two strong splints on either side of the injured leg by successive
layers of pieces of bandage, united together by white of egg and flour.
Now, as far as this method is concerned, it requires no improvement, as
durability, strength, and an accurate cast are obtained by this mode of
proceeding, and the numerous cases which have been treated by it at the
hospital show its complete success. By using the tablets formed of gum
and whiting, upon the same plan as that of Mr. John Lawrence, a great
saving of the surgeon's time is effected, and equal firmness and durability
obtained. The mode in which I have made splints for the leg is first to
obtain the exact shape by drawing a piece of sheeting or paper round the
limb, and marking the part which corresponds to the tibia for the whole
length of the leg, and continuing the line on the foot to the extent that it
may be considered necessary to cover.* By this means, it is apparent that
the exact size of the limb is obtained ; but as the leg is to be enclosed by two
splints, it becomes necessary to divide the cloth into two, which will give
the exact pattern of either splint. These splints are to be moistened and
moulded ; and after being first lined with lint or leather, the whole is to be
enveloped by a roller soaked in boiled starch. This composition of gum
and whiting has answered perfectly in all the cases in which it has been
tried, and splints made with it are perhaps superior to the splints made
with flour and white of egg, because, when dry, they preserve accurately
the shape of the limb, and do not at all corrugate, which all compositions
of flour are liable at times to do.
Fractures of the patella are treated in a similar way, a splint being
placed on either side of the knee, extending from about the centre of the
thigh to about the centre of the leg. The patella is not to be covered with
these splints, but a gap left corresponding to its shape, and the two pieces
or splints are not to meet accurately at any part, but an interval is to
be left of about three-fourths of an inch, or an inch, throughout their
whole extent.
In enveloping these splints for fractures, they are not to be applied
when there is much inflammation or swelling, but the part should be
allowed first to get into a perfectly quiet state. Leeches, cold water, or
poultices should be applied, if necessary, to effect this object. In general,
a delay of a week, ten days, or even sometimes three weeks, is required, but
in some favourable cases there is no occasion to wait, and the splints may
be applied with safety and advantage on the second or third day after the
accident. This mode has also been adopted in favourable cases of com-
pound fracture, but most surgeons are agreed never to cover these wounds
with concealing bandages.
It is not for me to expatiate upon the advantages with which this method
of treating fractures is attended, for that belongs rather to Mr. John
Lawrence as the first adapter of the principle ; but the fixing of the bones
more firmly and securely than can be accomplished by any other method,
the prevention of loss of health by enabling the patients to walk on the
* Either splint should overlap the heel and under-surface of the foot in cashes
where they are used immediately after the accident, but where this application
is delayed this is of no importance.
150 APPENDIX. [No. m.
fourth or fifth day after receiving the accident, and permitting them to be
moved to a situation more healthy and airy. The prevention of stiff joints,
and more speedy and final uniting of the bone, are advantages too great
to be passed over unmentioned. These benefits are likely to be enjoyed by
a greater number when the time required for the first application of the
splints is diminished, and the objection is removed of allowing the limb to
remain without bandages during the time required for drying the splints.
The tablets which I have described possess these additional advantages,
and with them superior cheapness is also subjoined.
[Some years later (in 1846), after gutta-percha had come into use, he
invented a modification of the above tablets for fractures, and the following
article " On Gutta Percha Splints " was published in the London ' Medical
Gazette,' the same paper in which his first invention had been made known
to the world.]
At the introductory address to the Medical Society of King's College,
I called attention to a novel surgical application of the new material called
gutta-percha. I have employed this substance, when rolled out into
tablets, for the formation of splints, similar to those which I described
as being made from the moulding tablets in the ' Medical Gazette ' and
' Lancet ' for the year 1839. It has advantages over the moulding tablets
which I then described, inasmuch as tablets of this material, rolled to the
required thickness, are more easily moulded into the required form when
soaked in water.
It has moreover advantages in its being impervious to and uninjured
by water, alcohol, ether, acid, and alkaline solutions, and therefore espe-
cially applicable to interrupted' splints where an aperture is required to be
left for the application of these substances. It is not so good however as
the moulding tablet, inasmuch as it retains the perspiration, whilst the
moulding tablet transmits it. This difficulty may be overcome by punc-
turing numerous holes in the gutta-percha, or by lining it with a piece of
thin lint, which allows the perspiration to escape. If the perspiration is
retained, it irritates and excoriates the skin. I have employed this sub-
stance for fractured limbs and diseased joints. I have also found it of
great value after the division of tendons for contractions, and in cases
where pressure and counter-pressure are to be employed, as the force may
be then distributed over a large extent of the body. The moulding tablets
for fracture are, in my opinion, not so much employed as they deserve to
be; solely, I believe, because surgeons do not like the trouble of their
preparation. Under these circumstances, I hope that gutta-percha tablets
will lead to a far more extensive adoption of this form of splint.
No. III.A.] APPENDIX. 151
No. III.A.
ON THE STRUCTURE OF NORMAL AND ADVENTITIOUS
BONE.
To the Editor of the ' Medical Gazette.'
SIE, The enclosed paper contains the results of observations on the
structure of bone, made at various times during the last three years. It
was read before the Royal Society last winter, and I have now added here
and there new matter from my physiological note-book.
I remain, Sir,
BANK OF ENGLAND, Your obedient servant,
Oct. 27th, 1840. ALFBED SMEE.
The intimate or microscopic structure of bone has been the subject of
much investigation both in this country and abroad, yet there still appears
to be much scope for further discoveries. To the uninitiated the structure
of bone under the microscope is one of the most splendid sights possible.
To the initiated, though he may often have participated in the pleasure of
examining it, yet the beautiful arrangement never ceases to afford the
greatest delight.
The best mode of preparing the sections of bone is to cut portions, of a
convenient thickness, with a saw, and then to rub one surface quite smooth
on a hone, and afterwards to polish it upon a piece of leather ; a slip of
glass is then to be obtained, and one or two drops of balsam of Canada are
to be placed on one surface : the polished side of the bone is to be put on
the balsam, the glass is to be heated, which melts the balsam, and causes
it, when cool, to fix the section firmly on the glass. The next operation is
to polish the opposite side of the bone, and render it sufficiently thin to be
translucent, which is to be effected either by grinding it upon a hone, or,
if the section is very thick in the first instance, by filing the bone down to
the required thinness ; lastly, the specimen is to be polished as before.
Occasionally the structure is best seen by scraping down the bone, but this
is a tedious operation and seldom required.
The sections by these processes are made extremely thin, and are now
fit for examination by the microscope. The canals of Havers are seen
conspicuously when the bone is moderately magnified. They are irregular
canals running for the most part in the direction of the long axis of the
bone, and frequently anastomosing with each other. They are frequently
seen to arise either from the external or internal margin of the bone.
Around these canals are small irregular bodies, arranged in circles,
and having the surfaces parallel to the long diameter, looking towards their
several canals. Apart from these series of corpuscules, attached to the
Haversian canals is a row running round both the exterior edge of the
bone and the edge of the medullary cavity. These run round every
filament of the cellular tissue of bone, which, unless any portion happens
to be very thick, has more of the Haversian canals.
A junction is effected between the corpuscules and the Haversian
canals, and also between the corpuscules and the margins of the bone, by
numerous little fine lines which communicate in every direction with the
neighbouring corpuscules. These fine lines also connect the corpuscules of
152 APPENDIX. [No. III.A.
the extreme circles round each Haversian canal with the corresponding
corpuscules of the neighbouring canal. Between the system of corpuscules
surrounding the Haversian canal there is no row taking the general
direction of the bone, as some have asserted.
If the Haversian canals are examined in a recent subject, where the
capillaries are well filled with blood, they are observed to contain vascular
tubes, and the blood can be distinctly recognized in them. To ascertain
this fact it is better that the bone be scraped, and no heat applied to fix
the bone to the glass.
The corpuscules are arranged around the Haversian canals in a series
of rows proportionate to the size of the canals : thus a small canal has one,
two, or three rows round it, while a large canal has five or six rows. It is
to be noticed that the rows around the medullary canal and external edge
of the bone seldom exceed two or three series.
An opinion is very prevalent amongst physiologists that these little
bodies are solid ; and many consider that they consist of the phosphate of
lime and earthy matter of bone ; but this opinion appears to be incorrect,
from viewing sections of bone under different circumstances.
A similar opinion has been entertained of the fine lines running from
the corpuscules, which have been termed the calcigerous tubes, but I would
suggest the name of corpuscular lines or tubes, as the truth of this will be
shown presently.
When a section of fresh bone is examined, these bodies appear opaque
as well as their lines ; but when a section from the same bone is thoroughly
boiled in balsam of Canada, the balsam enters the canals of Havers, the
corpuscular lines disappear, with few exceptions, and some of the corpuscules
become transparent and nearly invisible, and others partially transparent.
The same effect has been produced by our forefathers in their process of
embalming ; for in the tibia of a mummy which I possess, the corpuscules
are transparent, and most of them are decidedly filled with a yellow matter
similar to that which exists in the blood-vessels. The corpuscular Hues
are so translucent as to be scarcely visible. In this case the canals of
Havers were also filled with yellow matter.
When the section of recent bone is ground down to the utmost possible
limit, the corpuscules either appear as a transparent irregular oval ring, or
they have the appearance of containing some shrivelled matter in their
interior. In these cases the section of bone is only a portion of corpuscule
in thickness.
The corpuscules with the lines are exceedingly opaque when a section
of bone is examined in which the canals of Havers are filled apparently
with adipocere, which occasionally happens after maceration.
If a thin section of bone is thoroughly calcined, then soaked in oil,
and afterwards carefully ground down extremely thin, the canals of Havers,
the corpuscules, and corpuscular canals will be quite visible in the sub-
stance .of the bone.*
* The labour and care required to make these specimens are very great. It
is better to calcine a thin section in a crucible, over a hot fire, then to place it in
oil, and keep it there for a very long period, when it may be fixed to the glass
with balsam of Canada. No heat should be applied, but it must be allowed to
remain till it spontaneously dries, when its thickness may be further reduced and
gently polished.
No. III. A.] APPENDIX. 153
When the earthy matter is removed from calcined bone, the corpus-
cular lines disappear, but the corpuscules themselres, though transparent,
are still visible.
In these instances the examination has been made by transmitted
light; but differences, according to circumstances, are seen when the object
is viewed by light thrown on the surface. The corpuscules with the lines
appear white when a thin section is examined with a dark ground under-
neath it ; but a thick polished piece of bone, or a section of bone with a
portion of white paper underneath it, does not present these appearances.
The reflection of light from the deeper corpuscnles is the reason why the
corpuscules are not apparent in a thick section, nor when white paper is
placed underneath one of greater tenuity. Those corpuscules which present
a transparent ring by transmitted light still appear white when viewed by
reflected light, for some are seen as white rings on a black ground, and
others as rings having a little irregular white matter in the centre. The
whiteness of the corpuscules is owing to the reflection of light from
the surface of the corpuscules, whilst between them it passes to the
back, and is absorbed. The same effect is produced when a piece of
black cloth or scratched glass is viewed under similar circumstances, in
which cases the elevations on the one and the depressions in the other
appear white.
If, however, the piece of mummy-bone before mentioned be examined
by reflected light, the transparency of the corpuscules allows the light, in
some degree, to pass, and that part which is reflected appears of the same
yellow colour as when the section is viewed by transmitted light.
Such are the principal circumstances which modify the appearances of
the corpuscules, and which may be thus summed up : first, that the earthy
matter is associated with the animal matter, and pervades every part of
the bone, which is shown in the section of burnt bone; secondly, that the
corpuscules may exist without any earthy matter being there, as in the
cartilage of the shark, or the animal matter of bone which is left after
maceration; thirdly, that the corpuscular canals communicate with the
Haversian canal, as the specimens boiled in Canada balsam prove ; fourthly,
that the coi-puscul.es present themselves under two circumstances, for they
are either opaque, as in recent and adipocere bone, or transparent, as in
those boiled in balsam of Canada, as are also those of the mummy-bones.
All these facts show that the corpuscules and corpuscular lines are
themselves cavities into which the various substances enter. "We have
already mentioned that, in the bones of mummies, a yellow matter is found
in the corpuscules similar in appearance to that filling up the Haversian
canals. That they are cavities is farther proved by the corpuscules
appearing as rings when the section is reduced to extreme tenuity.
Attempts were made to fill the cavities with a coloured substance by
various methods, such as had been effected in the bones of the mummy,
but watery solutions penetrated only for a short distance into the Havei-sian
canals, so that double decomposition of ferrocyanate of potass and sulphate
of iron were found to be useless.
Balsam of Canada and dragon's blood were melted together, and
pieces of bone were then boiled in the mixture. On the examination of
thin sections of this, the Haversiau canals were found filled with the com-
pound, but whether it entered farther I could not so satisfactorily make
154 APPENDIX. [No. III.A.
up my mind as to enable me to state the fact positively ; but, upon the
whole, after numerous examinations of various specimens prepared in
this manner, it may be stated that there was an appearance in those
corpuscules immediately surrounding the canals, of its having pene-
trated the cavities; but, perhaps, the facts already adduced require no
confirmation.
Having proved by the results of direct observation that the corpus-
cules are cells, and therefore ill named corpuscules, but better cellules,
their use is the next point which demands our notice; but this will
probably be for ever theoretical. Perhaps they act the same part to
compact tissue of the bones as cells do to the cellular ; namely, that of
giving lightness without materially diminishing their strength.
What the particular structure of the bone is between the corpuscular
lines and corpuscules there appears to be no means of ascertaining ; for
the highest power in the thinnest section only exhibits a transparent
homogeneous texture.
Whether the corpuscular tubes contain blood perhaps we may also for
ever be ignorant, but, considering that they communicate with decided
blood-vessels, this opinion is far from improbable. It is certain they are
much too small to cany the globules, but the opinion of their being blood-
vessels may receive additional weight from the fact that in bone there are
no canals smaller than the Haversian.
The size of the corpuscules or cellules is about equal to two or three
globules of blood ; they appear for the most part broader when viewed in
a section parallel to the Haversian canals, than when seen in a section
perpendicular to them : if it is really the depth which is seen in the
longitudinal section of bone, it follows that these little bodies are deeper
than they are broad, and we have already noticed that their length is much
greater than their breadth. I conceive that the form of the corpuscules
may be exactly given by taking a piece of wood twice as deep as it is
broad, and twice or three times as long as it is deep, and then rounding off
all its angles. Sections in different planes through this would present
every form which is observed in the corpuscules.
Thus we have seen that the structure of bone is extremely simplified,
as there is a medullary cavity from which spring the corpuscular tubes,
and three or four layers of corpuscules or cellules around it. The same is
seen with regard to the exterior part of the bone. Between these two
layers run tubes for blood, irregular as to size, frequently anastomosing
with their neighbours, and having the general direction of the bony tissue
in which they are imbedded.
Radiatory lines are spoken of by some as existing round the Haversian
canals, but they have no real existence, and are only the corpuscular canals
or lines seen deep in the section, and out of focus ; and they are only to
be seen when these lines are opaque, and the section thick.
The cellular tissue of bone has no Haversian canals ; for there the cells
have the same relation to the bony structure of each cell as the Haversian
canal has to the bone immediately surrounding it.
With regard to the laminae of bone which have been described by
other authors, they appear to me to exist only as the result of the inge-
nuity of the anatomist, for we see that the shaft of a long bone consists
of a large medullary cavity, with a series of corpuscules and corpuscular
No. III. A.] APPENDIX. 155
lines, and a number of Haversian canals containing blood, with, their series
of corpuscules around them. Now, if a bone has long undergone putre-
faction, it can be torn precisely in this manner. It will, in fact, tear to
shreds, and a transverse section of each of these shreds shows the Haver-
sian canal in the centre, and the corpuscules around it.
The corpuscules are to be seen in every true bone of the body, and
form a good criterion to distinguish bone from other tissues. It is worthy
of remark that but little difference exists between the structure of different
bones, and even the intense hardness of the temporal bone immediately
surrounding the semicircular canals presents no microscopic difference to
account for that peculiarity.
The changes which bones undergo in the interior of the earth are very
interesting. They may have their animal matter entire; they may have
the animal matter removed ; they may have the earthy matter partly
removed ; or, lastly, the animal matter may be carbonized.
The bones which exhibit the animal matter entire are those which
have lain in certain situations not exposed to the air. I find them in this
state from Beg Bone Lick, in Kentucky ; and I have sections of the bones
of the mastodon from thence, showing the structure in the most beautiful
manner. Some bones found in making a sewer behind the Bank of
England, together with Roman sacrificial utensils, were in a similar state.
In both these instances, as well as in others, the Haversian canals appeared
to be full of black matter.
The relation which the proportion of animal matter bears to the
earthy, I have examined by calcination in twenty different species. The
bones were all well macerated, and not greasy. The proportion in these
varies but little one way or another, and that more from the state of the
bone than anything else ; for the average is as near as possible 60 per
cent, of earthy material.
When the animal matter is removed, we may always venture an opinion
that the bone has been imbedded in a sandy or gravelly stratum. In every
churchyard with this soil that I have examined, bones have been found
with the smallest trace of animal matter, and others not so far advanced
in decomposition have been noticed. Many fossil bones possess their
phosphate of lime, with so little animal matter as scarcely to be coloured
by heat. None of the bones without animal matter can by any contrivance
whatever be made to show the corpuscular structure, although the Haver-
sian canals are distinct to the naked eye, and the general appearance of
the bone is not materially altered, except perhaps being white, and of a
somewhat mineral aspect.
The next division is that in which the animal matter is too abundant,
part of the earthy matter having been removed. This condition is rare,
and in these cases the bone will tear into shreds, each containing its
Haversian canal and series of corpuscules. I do not know under what
conditions this takes place.
The last change is the conversion of animal matter into bitumen or
carbon. This change is common to the blue clay and blue lias, as here the
bones retain their usual quantity of phosphate of lime, but their animal
matter is converted into coal. This alteration appears quite unconnected
with heat, and takes place as a spontaneous change in a moist situation,
to which no air has access. I have seen different bones in every transition
156 APPENDIX. [No. III.A.
of this change from different situations ; they mostly show not only the
Haversian canals, but even the corpuscules.
We have next to examine adventitious bone ; which may be arranged
under the heads reproduction of bone, growths from bone, and ossifica-
tions of other tissues. Of the former a piece of callus from a simple
fracture was examined, and was not found to differ in any respect from
true bone ; it had the cellules with their lines, and the Haversian canals,
precisely as normal bone. The same thing was noticed in a section of
callus from a compound fracture. The new bone after necrosis, or even
the necrosed portion, exhibited no diversity from this structure. The
reproduction of bone is particularly interesting, as the new deposit is
precisely the same as normal bone, with almost all the tissues ; the repro-
duced part widely differs from the normal tissue.
Of the different growths from bone, a piece was examined which had
been thrown out from two anchylosed vertebras for additional strength, and
this presented the appearance of true bone.
Hard bony exostoses were examined with exactly the same result.
Ossifications may be divided into two classes bone of cartilages,
and bone of other tissues. Ossifications of the thyroid and coracoid
cartilage in the human subject were examined, and both presented the
cellules, and the former the Haversian canals not at all different from
recent bones.
The human trachea is not in general sufficiently ossified to show the
corpuscules of the natural size, for in partial ossifications large cells are
seen, but a section of a small part showed these cellules of the size natural
to bone. The trachea of the macaw, and the inferior larynx of the
widgeon, which are naturally bones, also present no difference from the
general appearance of bone.
Examinations of the structures of the costal cartilages when ossified
were attended with like results.
The ossification in the thyroid ligament was examined, which showed
here and there the cellules.
The fibrous membranes when ossified do not generally exhibit this
structure : in fact, we may say never, unless they be connected with bone.
A portion of ossified tendon attached to bone was examined, which had
these cellules differing in no respect from bone.
A section of a fibrous tumour of the uterus was examined. This had
the fibres running in the osseous matter, but no cellules nor anything like
cellules could be discovered.
Of the serous membranes, the pleura is sometimes ossified, but that
appears to be only a deposit of irregular granules, and no structure could
be detected.
The arterial tissue is frequently ossified, and then its appearance
is similar to that of the pleura; it displays a granular mass and no
cellules.
Thus we may state that ossifications are of two kinds : first, that of
true bone, which, in a word, always exists when any enlargement of bone
in any way takes place, either as an ossification of the neighbouring tissues,
or in any other way. Secondly, ossification of the tissues not at all related
to bone, which presents nothing but a mass of granules.
The structure of bone from a very old person was examined, which,
No. IV.] APPENDIX. 157
after six weeks, had made no effort at reparation, but no difference could
be detected.
A section of a femur was examined, in which the head of the bone was
affected by scrofula, but no change could be detected in the cellules.
A transverse section of enlarged femur had the cellules in the enlarged
part, but in this case the canals of Havers did not run in the direction of
the long axis of the bone, but ran from the exterior edge.
The structure of bone and that of the cellules have been examined in
numerous specimens of recent bone from different parts of the body.
The long, the round, the flat, the sesamoid bones, have all received their
share of attention, and these, with macerated bones, mummies' bones, bones
altered by chemical agents, diseased bones, and ossifications connected
with cartilage or bone, possess these cellules.
The bones of animals and of birds which have been examined also
possess them. The bones of some fish, as the sturgeon and porpoise, and
the ossific plates or the skin on the former, agree in possessing these
cellules. Even the cartilaginous fishes are not destitute of them.
The structure of bone is not only such at the present moment, but has
been the same from the earliest period, for the mighty ichthyosaunis, the
tyrant of the water in former ages, and the vast mastodon, the giant of the
land, possessed these cellules. Although six thousand years had elapsed
before the microscopic structure of bone was made known to the anatomist,
yet in every age, in every country, geological and antiquarian researches
have revealed that the same structure has existed. The imperfection of
our instruments has been the cause of our previous ignorance, and doubt-
less there is now ten times more to be learned than is already known.
In every case where the corpuscules or cellules exist, they can be
distinctly perceived to be hollow. Let, therefore, the universality of this
fact be the only apology for its communication.
For the following measurements I am indebted to the kindness of
Mr. Bowerbank :
Haversian canals.
Small. Large.
3^3 5^0 in diameter.
Corpuscules or cellules seen in a transverse section.
One of the largest. One of the smallest.
Diameter ^Vs Lengthy^. Diameter ^j s . Length ^3
Longitudinal section.
One of the largest. One of the smallest.
Diameter ^^ Length -^ . Diameter ^Ve Length ^
No. IV.
PHOTOGENIC DRAWING. (' Literary Gazette,' May 18, 1839.)
YAEIOTTS have been the methods detailed for the preparation of paper
which can be acted upon with facility by the powerful agency of the light
from the sun ; yet, notwithstanding all that has been written on this
158 APPENDIX. [No. IV.
interesting subject, the practical student in this art finds that great
difficulties occur in every department of photogenic drawing.
In the first place, he finds that the paper which he has prepared the
preceding evening is by no means equal in its qualities, as sometimes he
may have two or three sheets very excellent, so that, when they are
exposed to the light, they become in every part of a uniform dark colour ;
sometimes, on the contrary, he finds that the paper, after it has been
similarly acted upon by the solar rays, becomes black over the greater part
of its surface, yet numerous white spots occur throughout which detract
much from the beauty and effect of drawings made with it ; and, lastly, it
occasionally happens that some sheets are not affected by the most
powerful light, except, perhaps, at a few points.
Indeed, should the paper be good, and the drawings made, yet, with-
out the greatest care in the fixing of them, they may be found to have a
ground of an irregular tint, or they may be imperfectly stopped, and even
the colour may be altogether removed.
To surmount with certainty these various difficulties, numerous
experiments have been performed in every department of the manufacture
of photographs, which we shall now describe ; first as regards the chemical
substances, then the paper, and, lastly, the most efficient stopping
solution.
The various compounds of silver have been long known to be acted
upon powerfully by the solar rays: this property is possessed by far the
greater number of the preparations of that metal, yet not by all ; and
upon the former, the effect of light differs materially in its degree of
sensitiveness.
The two soluble salts of silver with which we are most acquainted are
the nitrate and sulphate, both of which communicate to organic textures
and substances made from them a black stain when exposed to light ; but
these, neither on paper nor in combination with albumen, gelatin, gums,
or glutea, have sufficient delicacy to be applicable for the manufacture of
photogenic drawings.
The ammonia-nitrate of silver will be found considerably more
delicate than either the nitrate or sulphate, and may be used where
rapidity of action is not required, particularly as it lessens the trouble, by
the application of only one solution to the paper.
The chloride of silver is the substance to which we principally look
for the ready action of the solar rays, and the modes of its application to
the paper are numerous. It is by itself very insoluble in water, and, on
the contrary, easily dissolved by ammonia; but, unfortunately, the
ammonia-chloride, of silver cannot with good effect be used for the pre-
paration of this paper, and thus we are compelled to form a chloride upon
it by a more circuitous process. This object may be effected by the
application of either chlorine, chloride of an oxide, chloride of metal, or
hydrochloric acid, first to the paper, and afterwards a solution of nitrate
of silver.
When a nearly saturated solution of chlorine is used, it should be
applied lightly with a sponge to the paper, taking care that every part
is moistened by the liquid : the paper should then be allowed to dry,
and the solution of nitrate of silver applied also with a sponge, in a
similar way.
No. IV.] APPENDIX. 159
This form of chloride is not quite so delicate as some others, and
requires a long time to become quite black. It has its advantages from
enabling the most highly-glazed papers to be prepared with great facility
and certainty, and it becomes of a beautiful brown, which is but slightly
altered by the stopping agents.
The chlorides of oxides, such as the chlorides of soda and of lime,
may be advantageously applied in some cases where the chlorine is useful.
.... The chloride of soda, however, must not be used for absorbent
papers, such as those used in printing ; but with the glazed papers it
becomes very delicate and sensitive to light, whether it be applied before
or after the solution of silver. The strength which was found most useful
was that usually employed for medical purposes.
The solution of chloride of lime was made by adding twelve grains of
chloride of lime to an ounce of water, and allowing any insoluble part to
subside. This is found applicable both to printing and to glazed papers,
but is more certain when used prior to the nitrate of silver.
The chlorides of metals, as common salt, require more care in their
proportions than the foregoing substances ; and an experiment which was
tried, shows the absolute necessity of using an excess of nitrate of silver.
A weak solution of nitrate of silver (twenty grains to the ounce) was
treated with excess of chloride of sodium, when an insoluble chloride was
precipitated : this was exposed to the direct rays of the sun, without the
slightest change; the supernatant liquor was then poured off, and the
precipitate well washed two or three times with distilled water, to remove
any superfluous salt which might perchance be present ; the chloride of
silver was again exposed to the light for many hours, when only a slight
brown tint was produced. On the contrary, when the nitrate of silver was
treated with such small quantities of salt that part of the solution of
silver remained in excess, the light speedily blackened the chloride exposed
to its action Similar experiments were tried with chlorine, chlo-
ride of lime, and chloride of soda, when excess did not prevent the black-
ening ; but when muriatic acid was used, the same phenomenon was
observed Without endeavouring to explain the difference of the
action of light under these different circumstances, an important practical
inference is to be drawn from them ; for if any circumstance prevents the
nitrate of silver being in excess, no action will be produced.
The proportions given by Mr. Golding Bird are evidently so designed,
that an equivalent proportion of each substance should be used; for
although he employs only a 20- grain solution of nitrate of silver to the
ounce, with a 12-grain solution of salt, yet, by using the silver twice,
it becomes equal to the single application of a 40-grain solution. To
insure success, the ratio of the chloride of sodium to the nitrate of silver
should be about one to five. As the relative proportions of these two sub-
stances are of importance, great care must be taken in the application of
the salt in the first place to the paper. A 10-grain solution of salt should
be sponged over one surface of the paper, and all superfluous moisture
carefully removed by the sponge wrung dry ; the paper ought then to be
allowed to dry, but taking care that the salt does not settle in any part,
and thereby cause an excess ; when the paper is dry, the solution of nitrate
of silver is to be applied in a similar way. An advantageous mixture
can be made of the chlorides of oxides and chlorides of metals : thus,
160 APPENDIX. [No. IV.
a very excellent paper may be made by a solution containing ten grains
of salt and twelve of chloride of lime to the ounce of water.
Dilute muriatic acid may also be used for the manufacture of the
photogenic paper, in the proportion of about twenty-four drops of the
distilled acid, sp. gr. 1*12, to an ounce of water. It may be used either on
the glazed or absorbent papers, but for the latter it should not exceed half
the strength. The same observations apply to any excess of muriatic acid
as were noticed to. apply to the fluoride of sodium. This forms a delicate
paper, and becomes of a very even colour.
A more sensitive paper may be prepared by using the bromide of
silver instead of the chloride ; but the expense of bromine and its com-
pounds is an objection.
-A solution of bromine in water cannot be used in a way similar to a
solution of chlorine with any good result, and recourse must be had to the
bromide of potassium, of which twelve grains to the ounce, applied in the way
described when treating of the chloride of silver, and afterwards conjoined
with a solution of nitrate of silver (fifty grains to the ounce), will be found
a suitable proportion.
Other salts may be used besides the chloride and bromide, such as the
phosphates, chlorates, &c., but have the disadvantage of not being so
sensitive to light. A benefit, however, attends the use of the phosphates,
&c. ; for while any excess of the chlorides must be carefully 'avoided, an
undue proportion of the latter salts is attended with no inconvenience.
The expense of the nitrate of silver renders it desirable to reduce the
quantity used ; but if a dark ground is wanted, a smaller quantity than
fifty grains to the punce cannot well be employed.
Having considered the chemical substances which may be used for
the photogenic paper, the different kinds of paper, and those suited to
each particular preparation of silver, next demand attention.
Papers may be divided into three classes the bibulous, the absorbent,
and the highly-glazed papers. Of the bibulous papers, blotting-paper
and tissue papers are examples ; but none of them will be found at all
applicable to the purposes of the photogenic art. These papers are made
from rags, but there are papers made from other substances, sxich as old
sacking, &c., which possess great strength, as well after they have been
moistened as before.
The finest paper of this sort is called "double small ends." That
which I employed, when sponged over, seemed to be equally moistened
in every part, and was found well adapted for the intended purpose, as
there was not, after being prepared with the solutions, a single spot that
resisted the action of light in any one of the sheets. There are, however,
disadvantages attending the use of this paper, for it is not so smooth as
others more highly glazed, and therefore not so well adapted for every
description of photographs.
The absorbent papers, or the papers used in printing, possess a finer
texture than that last described ; and when they can be obtained good,
they answer very well for photogenic purposes.
Of the various papers which have been tried of this description, a
thin paper used for printing newspapers, called " double copy," was found
the best ; for the thicker papers, that have much plaster of Paris added
to increase their substance and weight, do not answer so well, as they
No. IV.] APPENDIX. 161
are apt to absorb the solutions unequally. These papers are fittest when
the common salt and nitrate of silver are used.
The highly-glazed papers, or writing papers, require no particular
observation, for if either chlorine, chloride of lime, or chloride of soda be
used, the colour will be found uniform ; and the finer and more highly
glazed the paper is, the better will it suit the intended purpose. These
will be found advantageous, not only from possessing a smooth and
uniform colour, but also from a smaller quantity of the solution of
nitrate of silver being used in their preparation, as it is applied only on
the surface, and does not penetrate any distance into the texture. For
this latter property, paper such as the satin post may be prepared on
both surfaces, should that be deemed advisable.
The modes of applying the chemical substances to the paper have
been already noticed, and the sponge was mentioned as being the agent
employed.
The extent to which the paper should be moistened is, that such a
quantity of solution should be used, that it may, as artists term it,
" bear out " in every part of the surface ; that is, that a slight layer of
moisture should appear at every point after the usual absorption has
taken place, and that all superfluous moisture is to be carefully removed
by a pressed sponge.
After the paper has been prepared, it will be hardly necessary to state
that it must be kept carefully from the action of the light.
The mode of making the drawings has been sufficiently detailed in
various publications. When prints are to be copied, the printed side
must be pressed by a piece of flat glass close to the prepared paper, and
exposed to the light of the sun. When drawings of feathers or other
irregular bodies are desired, a piece of the photogenic paper is to be laid
upon any yielding substance, as folded linen, flannel, or, what is perhaps
better, a layer of sand or bran ; the object is then to be covered with a
square of flat glass, and, if necessary, pressed down by weights, and is to
be finally exposed to the light of the sun.
The paper will be found to be most rapidly acted upon by the direct
rays of the sun, but this is by no means indispensable, as a clear sky is
very effectual, and even on a very cloudy day a delineation is produced,
only it requires a longer time. The circumstances which appear most
to retard the photogenic properties of the solar beam, are those dense
collections of smoke which hover over the metropolis when the wind has
not sufficient power to disperse the deleterious particles of which they are
composed.
Most of the modes of preparing the paper which have been described,
are applicable to the camera obscura with a short focus; and those
prepared with the chloride of soda, chloride of lime, and bromide of
potassium, do extremely well. Its use in this department will for ever be
limited, for a portion of an object only can be represented accurately, as,
for every distance, the camera requires a different adjustment of its focus ;
so that to take a landscape a hundred different foci would scarce suffice.
For this reason, it certainly appears that the results of M. Daguerre's
experiments must be exaggerated.
The fixing of the drawings after they have been made is completely
a chemical action, and requires as much care as the preparation of the
M
162 APPENDIX. [No. IV.
paper. The substances that may be employed for this purpose are dilute
muriatic acid, chloride of sodium, hydriodic acid, hydriodate of potash,
iodic acid, hyposulphites, and sulphocyanate of potash. Before using any
of these substances, the drawing ought to be soaked in common water for
a few minutes, to remove any excess of the salt of silver; the stopping
solution is then to be applied with a sponge to every part of the surface
equally.
No particular advantage attends the use of the muriatic acid, but it
will be found to stop pretty well when in the proportion of about twenty-
four drops of the distilled acid to an ounce of water, but it is not quite
permanent. The chloride of sodium, or common salt, is very effectual in
stopping any further action of the light, as drawings fixed by this agent
have not undergone the slightest alteration from many hours' exposure to
the brightest sunshine. When the impressions are very dark, they do not
change colour, but lighter drawings become altered to a yellowish brown :
the addition of a little sesquichloride of iron corrects this, and gives a
pink tinge to them. The solution recommended by Mr. Bird answers very
well ; it contains two ounces of salt, and one ounce of the sesquichloride
of iron, to the pint of water. The hydriodic acid, and the hydriodate of
potash, are also very effective in preventing any further action of the
solar rays ; they turn the white parts to a pale yellow, and are very apt,
if the solution be too strong, to remove the colour of the dark ground,
especially if the drawing has been exposed to the light for only a short
time : for this reason, the solution of hydriodate of potash ought not to
exceed ten grains to the ounce of water. A solution of iodic acid, fifteen
or twenty grains to the ounce, is very excellent for stopping photogenic
drawings ; it is particularly applicable to delicate drawings of feathers,
when it is desirable not to allow them to remain long in the light ; and
at the same time the contrast of black and white heightens the effect.
Care must be taken not to apply too strong a solution, for that is apt to
whiten the dark ground, but it never turns it to any other tint.
The hyposulphates of potash and soda have been much used for the
fixing of drawings, but, if exposed to the sun, they do not appear quite
so effective as the common salt, or hydriodate of potash ; they have the
advantage, however, of stopping them a darker colour. The sulpho-
cyanate of potassa is also found to stop these drawings ; it changes the
colour of the ground to a bi-own, and has no particular advantage.
The different effects of these several fixing-solutions can be turned
to good account by suiting the colour of the drawings to the fancy of the
artist, or the nature of the subject ; and a still greater alteration of tint
may be produced by varying the duration of time which the light is
allowed to act upon the paper.
Many other chemical substances have been tried for fixing the draw-
ings, but none attended with success. The following are the principal :
Chlorine, chloride of soda, chloride of lime, tincture sesquichloride of
iron, chloride of manganese, chloride of tin, chlorate of potassa, solution
of iodine in water and in alcohol, carbonate of potash, hydrocyanic acid,
dichromate of potash, biborate of soda, oxalate of ammonia, fluate of
ammonia, benzoate of ammonia, succinate of ammonia, phosphate of soda,
gallic acid, arsenite of ammonia, and sulphite of soda.
Should it from any cause be thought desirable to remove from the
No. IV.] APPENDIX. 163
paper the colour which it acquired by light, this may be performed either
by a strong solution of corrosive sublimate, which will render the paper
quite white, or by a strong solution of hydriodate of potash, which gives
it a yellow tint. If to the saturated solution of corrosive sublimate a little
gum be added, it may be used with a quill pen, either to prevent the
action of light, or to make white lines or marks after the action of the
solar rays. Drawings may be made with great effect in this way, on
paper previously exposed to the sun ; and this is by far the best mode of
proceeding, when naturalists or others are desirous of circulating a few
copies of any delineation among their own friends ; for, as the white parts
are exceedingly diaphanous, and the black impervious to light, the draw-
ings made by this means are much more distinct than those made by the
ordinary described processes. This mode will be found exceedingly valu-
able where a few copies of any drawing of machinery are suddenly wanted
for estimates of prices or other causes ; and the strongest light will never
affect the original drawing.
By the common method of making photogenic drawings, should any
be imperfect or otherwise damaged, it will be better to expose them freely
to the action of the sun ; by which means a uniform black ground will be
produced, which will be suitable for the use of the corrosive sublimate :
and thus any waste will be prevented. A thin paper, which should be
slightly moistened before use, is most applicable to this mode of drawing.
The photogenic paper may be blackened either by a dilute solution of
protosulphate of iron, or by hydrosulphate of ammonia.
The principal points in every department of the photogenic art have
now been described; and if the minutiae which have been detailed are
strictly followed, and the preparation of silver suited to the kind of paper
as here laid down, the student in this interesting and new field of science
will be enabled not only to prepare his paper, but also to make and fix his
drawings with ease and certainty.
An omission was made in the paper on Photogenic Drawing, which
was inserted in the last Number of the Literary Gazette; for, whilst
treating of the ammonio-nitrate of silver, I forgot to mention the pro-
portions which were found most suitable : this may seem unimportant in
a paper which is not very sensitive, but, as the ease and certainty of its
preparation, as well as its cheapness, exceed all other described papers, it
possesses a particular claim on our notice. Twenty grains of nitrate of
silver are to be dissolved in an ounce of water ; then a few drops of
ammonia are to be added, which at first throws down a considerable
precipitate ; this, by a further addition of ammonia, redissolves, and the
solution becomes quite clear, when it will be ready to be applied by a
sponge to the paper. The most suitable paper for this preparation of
silver is the " double copy." The whole cost of photogenic paper does not
exceed, by this process, one penny for a sheet equal in size to large
foolscap, which, if bought of vendors, would cost between one shilling and
fourpence and four shillings. The cost of all other papers does not exceed
twopence-halfpenny the sheet, except that prepared with the bromide of
potassium ; which, for the same quantity, would be about one penny more
expensive. The preparation of paper suitable for the use of the corrosive
M 2
164 APPENDIX. [No. V-
sublimate is still more simple, for here it is only necessary to sponge over
a very thin paper with a 20-grain solution of nitrate of silver, and expose
it to the action of the light of the sun. Drawings made in this way have
analogy with etchings executed on glass, covered with black varnish, but
are more easily made ; the white parts of the paper are, however, not so
transparent as the glass. An error requiring notice has also crept into
my paper; for the hyposulphates, instead of the hyposulphites, are there
mentioned as stopping agents.
No. V.
THE PRINCIPLE, CONSTRUCTION, AND USE OF SMEE'S
BATTERY; ITS VARIOUS FOEMS, WITH FULL DIRECTIONS FOR
ITS MANIPULATION, MORE ESPECIALLY IN THE PROCESSES OF
ELECTRO-METALLURGY. (Transcribed from Paper read at the Society
of Arts, June 1st, 1840, and from Smee's 'Elements of Electro-
Metallurgy,' &c.)
THE most valuable instrument which chemists employ for their ana-
lytical experiments is, no doubt, the galvanic battery ; but so much trouble
attends its use, that, except in the laboratory of the professed chemist, it
is not employed to any considerable extent. Experiencing this incon-
venience in the experiments which I conducted on the red ferrocyanate of
potash, it became a matter of the gi*eatest importance to ascertain how far
a battery could be constructed, that at once should possess a capability of
being used at a moment's notice, and have besides considerable power
united with cheapness of action, and, at the same time, without the
necessity of much laborious cleaning after its employment.
After experimenting with the batteries before known to the public, I
became convinced that it was of the highest importance to supersede the
necessity of diaphragms, attended as they are with continual trouble and
expense ; and as the power of the battery seems to depend upon the
facility offered to the evolution of the hydrogen and preventing its
adhesion to the negative metal, whereby it is coated as with a varnish, and
the action almost entirely destroyed, all my experiments were directed to
this object. I first perceived that the gas was not evolved equally from
every part of the surface of a smooth piece of platinum, but chiefly from
the corners, edges, and points. Following this hint, I roughened the
metal with sand-paper and found the evolution of the gas to be increased ;
and when the surface of other metals, as silver or iron, was roughened by
some acid, I found the gas also to be much increased. Moreover, zinc
shavings, which present the singular anomaly of having one surface ex-
tremely bright and the other of a delicate frosted appearance, show this
property well, gas being freely given off from the rough, but adhering
firmly to the bright surface. The same differences are also observed when
rough and polished steel are employed. These experiments induced the
idea that spongy platinum, which may be considered as a mass of metallic
points, would be very efficient in forming a galvanic circuit ; and on trying
No. V.] APPENDIX. 165
the experiment, the quantity of hydrogen evolved from a minute portion of
this substance, when touched with a piece of zinc, was truly astonishing.
The mass in this state was so fragile that the hydrogen disintegrated it
almost instantaneously, showing that in this form it could not be used for
a voltaic battery.
My next experiments were to coat other metals with this finely-divided
platinum; and I found that platinum, palladium, or silver, answered
admirably for the reception of it, and similar help was afforded to the
evolution of the hydrogen, as the contrast between the gas given off from
the smooth metal and rough metal forms a most striking experiment.
Other metals received the platinum with advantage ; as plated copper or
iron, and even charcoal, was benefited to a similar extent.*
The metals thus roughened by platinum have, in addition to their
power, some properties which are very interesting: thus, when a piece of
the prepared metal is placed in dilute sulphuric acid and touched with a
small rod of zinc, gas is not given off from its whole extent, but only from
the space of a small circle ; and when contact is completed with a smooth
piece of platinum, the gas will not be given off from the latter, but will
travel principally to the rough portion, there to be evolved. This curious
experiment affords a marked difference from those cases where the hydro-
gen is absorbed, as when a piece of silver is touched with a rod of zinc in
dilute sulphate of copper, for in this case an immense circle of copper will
be thrown down.
A difficulty now arose in this stage of the proceeding, for the finely-
divided platinum was so easily rubbed off that it could not be practically
used with advantage. However, when the silver or other metal was first
roughened by the removal of the surface by an acid, then the adhesion was
so great that a piece of platinum thus prepared was sent accidentally to
the instrument-maker, where the workman mistook the finely-divided
platinum for dirt, and could only remove it with sand-paper.
It now became desirable to ascertain the power of metal thus prepared
relatively with the other batteries, and also with metals uncovered with
the finely-divided platinum ; and to make this comparison, I perceived that
considerable difficulty occurred, for as this preparation of the metals in-
creases the quantity, but does not interfere with the intensity, a fair com-
parison cannot be made where there is any impediment or difficulty to
be overcome, unless that difficulty be superseded by increasing the number
of cells of the battery : and therefore, had I at first taken the decomposi-
tion of water as the test for my numerous experiments, they would have
been attended with an immense expense ; had I taken the heating of wire
as my test, that would also have been uncertain, according as the heating
of large or small wires was estimated, but I considered that a close rela-
tive estimate of power could be ascertained by the magnetical effect ; for
by using large wires round the temporary magnet, but little impediment
was offered to he current, and thus the quantity, independent of the in-
tensity, could be accurately ascertained ; and in repeating my experiments,
at different times, on the same magnet and with the same surface of like
* Charcoal and plumbago might be considered to afford points enough for
the escape of the hydrogen, but to these there is great adhesion of the gas.
166 APPENDIX. [No. V.
metals, I found that they coincided with remarkable accuracy, and only
one cell was required for the experiment. Though the weight, which was
supported even by a small magnet with large wires, was inconveniently
great, I determined to ascertain the distance at which a small but lesser
weight was attracted.
The following are the results of like surface of metal with the same
metal :
Layers of paper.
Smooth silver, supported keeper through . . 2
Smooth copper
Silver heated, quenched in acid 9
surface removed by nitric acid .... 9
Iron rough
DanielFs battery 6
Platinized silver 20
iron, two or three varieties . . ,. . 20
platinum 18
Grove's battery 26
platinized platinum 30
Plain platinum heated, quenched in acid ... 12
By these experiments we see the great advantage of the rough metals
and those covered with platinum over the smooth metals and Daniell's
arrangement.
The only metal which may take the place of finely-divided platinum is
palladium, but probably rhodium, iridium, and osmium would have the
same property, as they are precipitated in a fine black powder by zinc.
The cause of this black colour is not at all evident ; and the f orm of the
black deposit has eluded not only my own but the observation of others,
although aided by the microscope. Probably, however, the colour is owing
to the particles being too small to reflect the light, as is said to be the case
with a specimen of quartz in the cabinet of the Duchess of Gordon, but
this is merely hypothetical.
We have now seen that platinum, palladium, silver, plated copper, or
iron, are suitable for the finely-divided metal, and these are to be first
roughened, the two former with sand-paper, and the three latter with a
little nitric acid, which is to be again cleaned oft 7 by washing. The metals
are then to be placed in any convenient vessel with a little dilute sulphuric
acid, to which a small quantity of nitro-muriate of platinum has been
added ; a porous tube or paper bag, containing a piece of zinc, with more
dilute sulphuric acid, is also to be placed in the vessel, when, as soon
as the circuit is completed, the platinum is precipitated on the metal
placed for its reception. The cost of this process will be best under-
stood by mentioning that the assayers sell one ounce of the prepared
silver for one shilling above the price which is charged for the silver
alone.
The zinc which is used for the battery should be the best thick rolled
zinc, as this is far preferable to the cast zinc, and it is to be amalgamated
with mercury aided by dilute sulphuric acid ; for the application of this
process to the zinc of my battery will be found, unlike other batteries, not
to require repeating.
No. V.] APPENDIX. 167
The form which is most suitable for the battery appears to me a
matter of fancy rather than of importance one circumstance alone being
requisite ; that is, if we are desirous of obtaining the greatest power with
the utmost economy of silver, it is requisite that every portion of silver
should be opposed to a piece of zinc, but the size of the latter, within
moderate limits, is but of little consequence.* Thus, if we use the many-
celled porcelain trough, it is better to surround the silver by zinc in the
same way as the copper surrounds the zinc in the old Woollaston battery.
If the circular form be adopted, a piece of zinc should be placed in the
interior as well as the exterior of the cylinder, as by that means both sur-
faces of the silver are brought into action; if the Cruikshanks be adopted,
one surface is necessarily lost, but in this case plated copper answers
sufficiently well, as the edges are sunk into the cement which, if exposed as
in the other forms, are apt to have a portion of the copper dissolved, which
is again deposited on the silver, and is liable to become oxidized and be
detrimental to the power of the battery. The closer the zinc can con-
veniently be 'brought to the other metal, the more favourable will it be.
Whichsoever form is adopted, the power will depend on the series and
size of the plates. For decomposition of water and most other purposes,
it is better to have twelve pairs of plates and then to increase their size.
The battery having twelve 5-inch plates, which was exhibited to the Com-
mittee of the Society of Arts, gave off fifteen cubic inches of mixed gas in
the first minute, and showed great calorific power by immediately burning
stout steel music wire.
The duration of the action of the battery will depend, like a fire, upon
the quantity of fuel supplied to it in the first instance, for, as there is no
local action, it follows that the solution of the zinc will be exactly propor-
tionate to the power produced ; and for this reason, when the battery is
required to continue in operation for a long period, as in the method
which I detailed elsewhere for the production of electrotypes, a larger
receptacle for acid should be employed, or a contrivance can easily be
adopted to carry off gradually, by means of syphon tubes, the saturated
solution of sulphate of zinc, whilst at the same time dilute acid is supplied
from another tube.
A galvanic battery thus constructed owes its increase of power to the
mechanical evolution of the gas ; and as the experiments of Faraday have
shown that the source of power in any voltaic pile is chemical action, I
have ventured to call my form of apparatus the " Chemico-Mechanical
Battery."
To those versed in electrical science it may be needless to mention
that, this form of battery simply increasing the quantity of electricity, it
is most important that large communications and large wires should be
used in its construction, or else the whole of the additional power might
be lost.f
The advantages of the Chemico-Mechanical Battery are, the cheap-
* It is of great disadvantage to employ the zinc too small, as a simple rod to
a large cylinder of silver. A certain quantity of zinc seems absolutely necessary
to elfcit the full power of this arrangement.
f This I have actually known to be the case ; the power of the battery being
almost destroyed by the use of small wires and small connexions.
168 APPENDIX. [No. V.
ness in its employment, and its requiring not only less manipulation
than any other battery, but also less cleaning. It can be put into action
at a moment's notice, and, after having been used, can be as readily laid
by. When in the fluid, it will be quiet till communications are made, and
will then possess considerable power. It neither gives off poisonous fumes
nor requires the aid of strong acids, and but one fluid is employed ; and,
lastly, the amalgamation of the zinc does not require to be renewed. Such
are the principal advantages of this battery, and they appear to be suffi-
cient to entitle it to the very extensive application whieh it has met with ;
but, in conclusion, I wish to be clearly understood that it does not possess
the 'absolute constancy of Daniell's, or the intensity of Grove's battery.
Smee's Battery was invented through noticing the property which
rough surfaces possess of evolving the hydrogen, and smooth surfaces of
favouring its adhesion.
" Thus, whatever metal we use for our negative plate, we take care
that it be roughened, either by a corrosive acid, as iron by sulphuric acid,
copper and silver by nitric acid, or mechanically, by rubbing the surface
with sand-paper. Even by these means the metals are rendered much
more efficient; but, to take advantage of this principle to the fullest
extent, I cover platinum with finely-divided black powder of platinum by
galvanic means ; that is, I place the platinum as the copper is placed in a
Daniell's battery, but, instead of employing sulphate of copper in the
outer vessel, I use a small quantity of nitro-muriate of platinum, so that
the finely-divided metal is thrown down on the sheet platinum previously
roughened by sand-paper. In this way it was also placed on palladium,
silver (roughened by nitric acid), plated copper, iron of every sort, and on
charcoal, with the same good result ; but no other metal was found to
answer for its reception. The metal generally employed is silver, because
of its cheapness and its not undergoing any alteration. But whatever
metal be used, the principle is the same, viz. the affording a surface to
which the hydrogen shall not adhere, but from which it shall be evolved ;
and the infinity of the points which are presented by such a surface as
above described, appeal's to be the cause of this excellent result. The pre-
paration of the silver is now made a separate branch of a trade, and perhaps
it is the first application of the decomposing power of the galvanic battery
which was publicly sold. The platinized metal can now be bought ready
for use ; but for those who desire to perform this operation a brief descrip-
tion is here added.
" The metal to be prepared should be of a thickness sufficient to carry
the current of electricity, and should be roughened, either by sand-paper,
as in the case of platinum or palladium, or, when silver is employed, by
brushing it over with a little strong nitric acid, so that a frosted appear-
ance is obtained. The silver is then washed, and placed in a vessel with
dilute sulphuric acid, to which a few drops of nitro-muriate of platinum
are added. A porous tube is then placed in this vessel, with a few drops
of diluted sulphuric acid ; into this the zinc is put. Contact being made,
the platinum will in a few seconds be thrown down upon the surface of the
silver, as a black metallic powder. The operation is now completed, and
the platinized metal ready for use. However, iron when thus prepared is
No. V.] APPENDIX. 169
as effectual as silver, and may be sometimes employed with advantage.
With this metal all that is required is to rub a little nitro-muriate of
platinum over it, and an immediate deposit of the black powder takes
place. Palladium and iridium are found nearly as effectual as platinum
to coat other metals with, and the platinized silver of commerce usually
possesses a considerable quantity of this latter metal. Within the last
few months an idea has prevailed in the minds of some, that wire-gauze
might be used with advantage ; but it is difficult to conceive where the
benefit would lie, for the cost of the material would be greater, the surface
for the same weight of metal would be less, and neither space nor power
gained by its adoption.
" The liquid generally adopted to excite this battery is a mixture of
one part by measure of sulphuric acid, and seven of water, which will be
found amply strong for all purposes. When we desire greater intensity,
we can obtain it by the addition of a few drops of nitric acid ; but if too
much be used, it might attack the silver. When, however, platinized
platina is employed, the nitric acid may be used with impunity. The
electro-metallurgist will frequently find it advisable to use dilute sulphuric
FIG. 8. Smee's Battery, compound six cells.
acid, only containing from ^ to the T V of the pure acid, and adding some
acid when the first is exhausted ; taking care, however, that the quantity
of acid never exceeds ^ of the original water, for any excess above that
quantity will be useless, as the liquid will then become saturated with the
sulphate of zinc. The zinc, acid, and water being severally required to
excite the battery, it is possible to regulate them that they should all be
exhausted at once, so that the zinc should neutralize the acid, and the
resulting sulphate of zinc exactly saturate the water. This, however, may
be very interesting in principle, but practically it would be impossible to
act with such precision ; yet we must never forget this fact whenever we
charge our batteries.
" Numerous inquiries have been made as to what arrangement is
best suited for this battery ; but this must depend upon the purpose
for which it is employed. For the student's laboratory the porcelain
trough of many cells appears to be best adapted ; and it is some-
times so constructed, that any number of cells can be employed,
independently of the others, as they may be required. The silver being
the most expensive metal, the zinc should completely surround it, so that
the whole of the silver may be brought into action. Where a battery is
required to continue in action for a very long time, as for days or even
weeks, a larger vessel, to contain more dilute acid, must be used : for
electro-metallurgical purposes it has been hitherto found most economical
170
APPENDIX.
[No. V.
FIG. 9. Smee's Battery,
for Electrotype.
to use a vessel of a size sufficient to hold liquid to last for seven or ten days.
The form of battery now most universally employed
for these purposes consists of a piece of silver (s),
on the top of which is fixed a beam of wood (w), to
prevent contact with the silver. A binding screw
is soldered on to the silver to connect it to any re-
quired object. A strip of zinc (z), varying at the fancy
of the operator from one-half to the entire width
of the silver, is placed on each side of the wood, and
both are held in their place by a binding screw (&),
sufficiently wide to embrace the zincs and wood.
These batteries vary from the size of a tumbler to
a 10- or 12-gallon vessel. In the very extensive
application of this battery to the arts, the little
pieces of zinc which remain undissolved in the
battery form an important consideration to the
manufacturer. Some distil the mercury from them, others sell them
to the zinc works, whilst others have never turned them to any account
at all, waiting patiently in the hope that some more beneficial applica-
tion of them might be discovered. These latter have hundredweights
of odds and ends in hand which they are desirous to employ. After
considering the matter carefully, I have to propose the following use
for them ; in fact, I make them the positive pole of a battery, by placing
them at the bottom of a vessel and covering them with mercury. A
silver wire is then placed down a glass tube into the quicksilver, so
that the wire may nowhere touch the dilute sulphuric acid with which
the vessel is filled, but simply make a good metallic communication
with the mercury. At the other end of the wire a binding screw may
be attached, for the convenience of the operator. The platinized silver
plate (s) is then to be immersed in the fluid, and placed as near to the
mercury as possible, without actually being in contact, whilst no part
of it should be more than three inches from it, as a considerable reduction
of power would then ensue. This form of battery may be fairly called the
Odds-and-Ends Battery ; and though not so philosophical an instrument
in its construction as the form last described, yet no manufacturer should
be without one to use up the scraps from his other
batteries ; and I must say this instrument requires
less trouble in its manipulation than any other
form I have ever seen. An odds-and-ends com-
pound battery, which will only require a binding
screw at each end, may be made by placing the
mercury and zinc at the bottom of a many-celled
porcelain trough ; the platinized silver should be
cut into suitable squares, leaving a narrow slip to
connect it with the next cell. The strip must be
placed in a glass tube, or covered with any non-
conducting substance, leaving the end only to dip
in the mercury of the next cell. A series of little
glasses may be used instead of the many-celled trough for some purposes.
The only objection which I have found in this form of compound battery is
the possibility of the zinc in one cell being completely exhausted, when the
FIG. 10. Smce'g Odds-and-
Euds Battery.
No. V.] APPENDIX. 171
silver wire will begin to dissolve ; in all other respects it is a delightful
instrument when you do not care about obtaining the maximum of power,
and you can obtain the galvanic principle by this means at a lower cost
than by any other way. The odds-and-ends battery is admirably adapted
for gilding and plating, or it may be employed for any operation that
requires much time for its performance. The charge for this battery
might contain one-third by measure of strong sulphuric acid, as the local
action is very trifling ; but it is found more advisable not to employ the
solution so strong, as, when nearly exhausted, the sulphate of zinc will
sometimes envelope the zinc and mercury, and prevent further action
before the top part of the liquid is fully saturated. An advantage of this
instrument is, that spelter, or raw zinc, may be used instead of manu-
factured zinc, and that no mercury is wasted, as the whole is left after the
solution of the zinc.
" When we desire to employ a battery for manufacturing purposes, it
might be as well in some cases to remove the sulphate of zinc as soon as
formed, by means of a syphon tube passing to the bottom of the vessel,
while fresh acid is continually supplied at the top ; but this is not generally
necessary. For these purposes the battery should be so constructed, that
any of the zinc plates, when worn out, can be readily replaced. There are
many other forms which may be adopted, as the circular with the zinc
outside ; or it may be used as a tumbler battery.
" The characteristic of this battery is the great quantity of electricity
produced, and its simplicity ; moreover, it requires but very little trouble
in its manipulation. The zinc seldom demands but one amalgamation, as
that will generally last till the metal is all dissolved. It is very important
to use for batteries zinc as pure as possible, for by that means the chance
of local action is materially lessened. The manufacturers of zinc plates
have a trick which is very fatal to this metal, for they buy up the refuse
or waste pieces which frequently contain solder, a composition of lead and
tin, and melt them with the raw zinc. This mixture always tells its tale
during the action of the battery, as a light spongy flocculent precipitate
rises to the top of the liquid, which is metallic tin, and when any particle
touches the zinc a little local battery is formed, which causes great waste
of metal.
" In using this battery it is important that no salt of copper, lead, or
other base metal be dropped into the exciting fluid, as by that means the
silver would become coated therewith ; the plain consequence being, that
a surface of copper, instead of that of the finely-divided platinum, is
presented to the fluid. From a want of knowledge of this fact, in some
who have used the battery, I have seen the negative metal covered with
copper, which, finally becoming oxidated, rendered the platinum useless.
When this takes place, it is best removed by immersing the plate in dilute
sulphuric acid, to which a few drops of nitro-muriate of platinum should
be previously added ; by this process the baser metals are dissolved and
metallic platinum thrown down. Some manufacturers prefer dipping
the silver into a solution of this sort every week. In this battery the
zinc is never reduced upon the negative metal, from the sulphate of
zinc formed during the action of the battery, so long as the exciting
fluid contains any acid at all. Other interesting matter connected with
this subject will be detailed when treating of the reduction of zinc."
172 APPENDIX. [No. VI.
After explaining the difference between his battery and the two other
batteries, he finishes thus :
" Professor Daniell's excellent invention being distinguished by its
constancy ; Mr. Grove's powerful battery, by its intensity ; and my own,
by the cheapness with which the quantity of electricity may be developed,
and by its simplicity. By some it (Smee's battery) has been too much
extolled, by others too much blamed. Notwithstanding the mis-state-
ments on both sides, it has fully stood the test of time, and has been
employed by the public in a manner which I had not even hoped. The
reason they prefer it for general and especially for manufacturing
purposes, appears to be, that it does not require the use of porous tubes
or of the strong acids, and that it does not give off poisonous fumes. It
usually continues in active operation for six, eight, ten, or more days,
when a sufficiency of acid is supplied to it. The zinc frequently demands
but one amalgamation ; and the time required either for setting it in
action, or for maintaining its operation, is comparatively not worth a
thought ; and, lastly, the expense of working it is reduced to the lowest
possible amount, being exactly proportionate to the power obtained.
" Although theoretically it is not absolutely constant, yet practically, for
the purposes of the electro-metallurgist, its constancy remains for two or
three days, or, in other words, until the battery is nearly exhausted ; and
then, to replenish the solution of zinc with a fresh supply of dilute acid
will not occupy more than half a minute. In recording my own experience
of its practical, though not of its absolute constancy, I can at the same
time conjoin the testimony of some of the most extensive manufacturers in
this country. By the practical manufacturer this instrument is re-charged
with acid, at intervals varying from three days to a fortnight, according
to the size of the vessel containing the acid. Whilst upon the use of the
battery, I may state that the platinum, with proper care, never wears off
the silver, and that the platinized silver never undergoes the slightest
change, or is affected by the slightest local action.
" Perhaps I may be expected to give an approximation to the relative
cost of working the three batteries. In mine it is the cost of the zinc
dissolved by the acid : zinc -I- acid + a local action. In Daniell's battery,
it is zinc + acid + sulphate of copper + much local action. Each cell
of this, to do any given amount of work, would cost about twice as much
as mine. In Grove's battery it is zinc + acid + nitric acid reduced by
the hydrogen + nitric acid combined with ammonia formed during the
action of the battery + extensive waste of the zinc = about three times as
much as mine."
VI.
ON THE PRODUCTION OF ELECTROTYPES. By ALFBED SMEE,
Esq., Surgeon. (' London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine and
Journal of Science,' April 21st, 1840.)
THE mode of taking copies of medals by the galvanic current is de-
servedly occupying much of public attention, and each is striving to add
his mite to the perfection of this elegant and useful process. There are
No. VI.] APPENDIX. 173
two or three points to which I am desirous of drawing the attention of
your readers, as they appear to open a new and important field for investi-
gation for which I have not the time at present. With regard to the
precipitation of the copper, I beg leave to submit a modification of a plan
first proposed by Mr. Mason, but I believe also contemporaneously used by
other persons, that of making copper form the oxygen side of the battery,
which being dissolved is again thrown down at the platina or hydrogen
end upon the medal or cast put for its reception.
The mode which I adopt is, first to obtain a long dish or trough, and
then to place a wire in the inside along its bottom, which is connected to
the zinc of one of the cells of my battery along the opposite side of the
vessel ; a large piece of copper is placed in connection with the silver of
the battery, and a solution of sulphate of copper is then added. By this
arrangement the current is generated at the zinc, passes to the medal,
reduces the copper whilst the oxygen and acid are transferred to the refuse
copper, and dissolves a corresponding quantity of copper, and by this
means the solution is always kept saturated with the metal.
When medals are to be copied, they are singly placed in contact with
the wire in connection with the zinc of the battery, and in this way many
may be done in the same vessel, and either may be taken out and examined
without the slightest interruption to the others. The rapidity of the
pi'ocess may be increased without detriment by the use of two to six or
even more cells of the battery, as the copper will still be extremely tough.
It will be found that my battery will require not the slightest alteration,
except once a day, when the liquid should be changed. I have tried other
solutions of copper, such as the nitrate : but although the process is
hastened, the metal is apt to be brittle, or have other imperfections.
When engraved plates are to be copied, the first copy is in basso-
rilievo, and therefore a second is required to be made which is in " inta-
glio," and then ready for printing. Copies may even be taken of non-
conducting substances, as woodcuts, &c., by brushing them over with
black-lead, taking care that the copper wire is in good contact with the
plumbago.
The great advantages of this mode of proceeding above all others are :
first, the quality of the copper is far better than when reduced in the usual
way as described by Messrs. Spencer and Solly this advantage is owing
to the use of the copper at the oxygen end as suggested by Mr. Mason ;
secondly, all the plates or medals, for there is no limit to the number, are
in the same vessel ; thirdly, the process may be hurried or retarded, accord-
ing as the number of plates of the battery are increased or diminished ;
fourthly, the plates will not require to be interfered with till the precipita-
tion is completely finished, aud there are even many other more trifling
advantages which it would be tedious to enumerate.
The mode of proceeding here detailed differs but little from others
which have been described ; but these trifling differences are so important
in practice, that this mode will probably supersede every other. In fact, I
have had the pleasure of seeing many most valuable copper-plates sub-
jected to this process, and the specimen which accompanies this paper I
believe is the first which has ever undergone the ordeal of having the large
number of impressions, required for any publication, printed from it. Of
174 APPENDIX. [No. VII.
course it is a perfect facsimile, and therefore this method would be of the
greatest importance to bankers for their notes, and is far superior to Mr.
Perkins's apparatus for the multiplication of plates, because in that case
they almost invariably require to be touched up afterwards, and therefore
absolute identity is destroyed. The cost of their manufacture would be
trifling, being merely the value of the zinc * dissolved in the battery, and
a pound of zinc of the value of sixpence would produce a copper-plate
weighing about two pounds ; and I trust that copper will again, from its
beauty, take the place of steel engravings.
So much for the precipitation of the copper : and the next thing to
which I have to direct your attention, is a mode of making copper-plate
engraving without an engraving in the first instance. This is done by
drawing upon a smooth piece of copper (such as a plate used for engrav-
ing) with any thick varnish or pigment insoluble in water, and then
exposing the plate in the usual way to the influence of the current, when
first copper will be thrown down upon the uncovered parts and will
gradually grow over the drawing, and the electrotype when removed will
be ready for printing. A practical difficulty arises in the application of
this for the arts, as unless very thick oil paint is used, sufficient depth is
not obtained to hold the ink. However, judging from the sharpness of
the edges of the lines, I have but little doubt that this difficulty may be
overcome by those who are accustomed to drawing ; and it possesses, as
an additional advantage to its cheapness, the valuable property of not
requiring the artist to reverse the design. An opposite effect to this may
be produced by placing a piece of copper similarly drawn upon at the
oxygen end of the battery, when the metal will be acted upon, leaving a
drawing in basso-rilievo.
No. YII.
ON THE FERROSESQUICYANURET OF POTASSIUM. By ALFRED
SMEE, Esq., Surgeon. (' London and Edinburgh Philosophical Maga-
zine and Journal of Science,' September 1840.)
THE action of chlorine upon the ferrocyanuret of potassium is a subject
of much interest to the chemist, and has not been examined to any extent
in this countiy. It therefore has been my endeavour to investigate this
action carefully, and to see under what circumstances the change from the
ferrocyanate into the ferrosesquicyanuret takes place ; and the methods
which are here detailed to obtain this latter salt uncontaminated with
impurities, will be found free from the difficulties and uncertainties
attending on the present mode of preparing it.
When a current of chlorine is passed through a solution of ferrocya-
nate of potassa, or an aqueous solution of that gas is added to it in certain
quantities, the persalts of iron are not precipitated. This solution has no
* The zinc in the fluid mi<*ht be precipitated as a carbonate, for which there
is great demand in the arts, and thereby the expense of the electrotype would
be further diminished.
No. VII.] APPENDIX. 175
smell of chlorine, and is changed from a yellow colour to a dark red, and
deposits on evaporation red crystals. A similar change takes place when
bromine is added to the ferrocyanate, and in both cases the weight of the
entire red mass is equal to that of the yellow ferrocyanate, plus the weight
of the chlorine or bromine used, but minus the quantity of water which
the yellow crystals are known to contain. This indicates, first, that the
red crystals are anhydrous ; and, secondly, that the chlorine or bromine is
actually absorbed by the salt. The former fact is confirmed by heating
the red precipitate in a test tube, when no water is given off ; and the
latter fact is also proved by the evolution of chlorine or bromine, on the
addition of two or three drops of strong heated sulplraric acid to a few
grains of red salt.
When heated alcohol is added to this red mass, a small portion is dis-
solved, which is again deposited when the spirit is evaporated. This salt
by its characters is known to be either the bromide or the chloride of
potassium. By this method the red ferrocyanate of potassa, which is
insoluble in alcohol, becomes purified : but this is a troublesome and
expensive process, as the bromide or chloride is but little soluble in the
spirit, and therefore a large quantity must be used.
About half an equivalent of chlorine or bromine is required to effect
this change, and great care must be employed to prevent excess of these
substances, as they are apt to react upon a portion of the salt. The liquid
in this case contains Prussian blue dissolved, which materially discolours
the salts, and it can only be precipitated from the solution by the addition
of neutral salts, as sulphate of soda, which renders the red ferrocyanate
impure. In a similar manner, chloride of soda, as might be expected,
forms the red ferrocyanate of potassa.
From the foregoing details a knowledge is obtained of the action of
chlorine and bromine upon the ferrocyanate, for we have seen that chloride
and bromide of potassium is formed, and that one-half an equivalent of
these substances is necessary for this change. Now it is manifest that
half an equivalent of potassium is removed from the ferrocyanate, so that
the new salt, instead of consisting of iron one equivalent, potassium two
equivalents, cyanogen three equivalents, contains iron one equivalent,
potassium one and a-half equivalent, cyanogen three equivalents; and
therefore it is rightly named the ferrosesquicyanuret of potassium : that
half an equivalent of potassium has been removed from the salt, two or
three experiments have verified.
The acids as a class will not effect a similar change, because as they
combine not with potassium but with potassa, water must be decomposed,
the oxygen uniting with the metal, and the hydrogen passing to the
ferrocyanate, forming hydroferrocyanic acid.
A question naturally arises whether the potassium may not be removed
from the ferrocyanuret by other processes, and we are led to try the
action of the anions, and of these I attempted to add oxygen to the salts
by the use of nitric acid. This acid, when added in small quantities to
the yellow ferrocyanate, acts as the other acids by liberating hydroferro-
cyanic acid, which is speedily decomposed into a pale bluish cyanuret of
iron. When, however, further additions of this acid are made, the potas-
sium takes oxygen, forms potassa, deutoxide of nitrogen is evolved, and
176 APPENDIX. [No. VII.
the solution becomes dark-coloured. This liquor, when neutralized with
potassa, is found to give no precipitate with the persalts of iron, but forms
Prussian blue with the protosalts of that metal. The rapidity of this
change depends upon the heat of the solution, for when warm the effect
takes place immediately, whilst, on the contrary, two or three days are
required at a low temperature. When evaporated, a large quantity of
nitrate of potassa is deposited ; and, lastly, some red crystals are f onned.
When acid is more used, the ferrocyanate is totally decomposed ; the black
mass which is the result has at first a sweet, but afterwards leaves a dis-
agreeable metallic taste upon the palate. This process can never be used
advantageously to form the f errosesquicyanuret, from the quantity of acid
which is required, the degree of nicety which must be employed to effect
the change, and the impurity of the salt when obtained.
The next highly-oxygenated acid which we have to examine is the
iodic : this when added to ferrocyanate of potash becomes decomposed,
the oxygen passes to the potassium to form potassa, free iodine is evolved,
and the potassa passes to another portion of iodic acid, and is precipitated
as the iodate of potassa. The free iodine can be readily removed by agita-
tion with a little ether, and in this way a tolerably pure ferrosesquicy-
anuret of potassium can be extemporaneously obtained, for the solution
contains but little iodate of potassa from its insolubility.*
Chloric acid operates in the same way as iodic acid, but is more diffi-
cult of decomposition, and it requires the action of heat before the smell
of chlorine is exhaled and the red ferrocyanate formed.
If chlorate of potassa be added to the ferrocyanate, and dilute sul-
phuric acid be dropped into the solution, red ferrocyanate of potash will
also be formed.
Bromic acid will not act upon the ferrocyanate with the production of
the ferrosesquicyanuret, but acts as other acids in forming Prussian blue.
A great variety of other oxyacids have been tried, but none were
found to part with their oxygen.
When a large quantity of peroxide of manganese in fine powder is
added to a solution of the ferrocyanate of potash, and the mixture digested
for a considerable time, the ferrocyanate becomes converted into the
ferrosesquicyanuret, and on evaporation crystals of the most beautiful
ruby red are obtained. The salt thus procured appears to be very pure.
If a little dilute sulphuric acid be added to the solution in conjunction
with the peroxide of manganese, the action takes place more quickly, but
sulphate of potassa is f ormed, which is a great disadvantage.
The last process in which nascent oxygen contributes to the formation
of ferrosesquicyanuret of potassium, is, perhaps, one of the most elegant,
efficient, and simple processes in the whole range of chemistry. This
mode I was induced to follow from the consideration, that as nascent
oxygen effects a change of the yellow to the red ferrocyanate of potassa, a
similar change must be produced by its being subjected to a galvanic
current. Accordingly some solution of the salt was placed in a tube bent
* This elegant process can be employed with advantage when a small
quantity of the salt is suddenly wanted, as it scarcely requires a minute to
effect.
No. VII.] APPENDIX. 177
like a syphon, and at the bottom a piece of tow was thrust, in order that a
separation might so far be effected, that the solution on one side could not
readily pass to the solution on the other. Having thus completed the
arrangement, a galvanic circuit was passed through the fluid ; when at the
cathode, hydrogen was evolved, and at the anode no oxygen, on the con-
trary, was given off, but the solution became of a dark colour. The dark
solution was found to precipitate only the protosalts of iron, and on
evaporation deposited red crystals of the f errosesquicyanuret, but at the
cathode potash was discovered. The rationale of this change may be
deduced from circumstances attending slight alterations of arrangement :
for if on the zinc side of the bent tube a saturated solution of the ferro-
cyanate be placed, and on the platinum side distilled water, and then the
galvanic circuit be completed, potash will appear at the platinode, and red
ferrocyanate at the zincode. On the contrary, if the distilled water is
placed at the zinc side and the ferrocyanate at the platinum side, potash is
left at the platinode, whilst at the zincode no red ferrocyanate is found,
but a substance which does not redden litmus-paper, and which speedily
decomposes into Prussian blue : this is probably ferrocyanogen. Thus it
appears that one equivalent of the yellow feiTOcyanate is decomposed, the
free potash travelling one way and the hydrof errocyanic acid the other ;
the oxygen unites with the hydrogen of the acid and sets ferrocyanogen at
liberty ; this again unites with an equivalent of ferrocyanuret of potassium
to form the ferrosesquicyanuret.
Various other attempts were made to form the red ferrocyanate
by oxygen, such as heating it with nitrate of potassa, but the mixture
exploded at a temperature below redness.
When a mixture of powdered ferrocyanate and peroxide of manganese
was heated together, no ferrosesquicyanuret was formed. Several other
oxides, as those of mercury, silver, tin, iron, &c. &c., were digested with
ferrocyanate of potassa, but none that were tried, except the peroxide of
manganese, formed the red ferrocyanate ; many of them were converted
into cyanurets.
A current of oxygen gas passed through the solution of the salt
produces no alteration, showing that the gas must be in a nascent state
to cause the change.
The next substance we have to examine is phosphorus, and its action
is somewhat remarkable ; for little or no change is effected by the addition
of an alcoholic or etherial solution of phosphorus. When a piece of
phosphorus is also placed in a solution of the ferrocyanate, or when
phosphorus is heated with powdered ferrocyanate, the sesquicyanuret is
not produced ; but if a stick of phosphorus is placed in a bottle containing
a solution, of the salt, and only a portion of it is covered with the liquor,
the phosphorus gradually burns away, the solution becomes sour and red,
and ceases to precipitate the persalts of iron. This change takes place
with a rapidity exactly proportionate to the wasting of the phosphorus ;
for if the temperature is below 45, but little action takes place, but above
60 the reddening is very speedily produced. The red solution is not to
be tested with the salt of iron whilst it is acid, for in that case a copious
greenish-white precipitate is produced of phosphate of iron ; but after it
has been neutralized with potassa, a solution of baryta is to be added, to
N
178 APPENDIX. [No. VII.
throw down the phosphate, and a drop of dilute sulphuric acid may then
be added to remove any excess of baryta.
The solution will now be found not to precipitate persalts of iron,
but, on the contrary, a large quantity of Prussian blue is produced with
the protosalts. The actual combustion of the phosphorus seems essential
to this change ; for if the water in which phosphorus has been allowed to
bum be added to the solution of the ferrocyanate, a similar change will
not be produced. The cause of this change appears paradoxical, for
phosphorus has in other instances a deoxidizing agency, so that a piece
placed in a solution of either gold, silver, platinum, or copper, has the
metal precipitated upon it. Perhaps it depends upon decomposition of
water and the formation of phosphuretted hydrogen ; for a narrow bottle,
to which air has but limited access, is more favourable to the change than
a wide vessel. If this explanation is correct, the action of phosphorus
must be classed with the other oxygenating substances, for oxygen, and
not phosphorus, removes the potassium.*
No mode of abstracting the half equivalent of potassium by sulphur
is known ; for if half an equivalent of sulphur be heated with powdered
ferrocyanuret, the ferrosesquicyanuret is not produced, and the alcoholic
or terebinthine solution of sulphur, added to a solution of the ferro-
cyanuret, also failed to produce this change. Even nascent sulphur arising
from the decomposition of sulphuret of potash by an acid did not produce
any effect.f
A current of cyanogen gas passed through a solution of the salt is
gradually absorbed, and it becomes of a very dark colour, but red ferro-
cyanate is not formed.
Doubtless many may be surprised that the action of iodine has not
been adverted to before, and more especially that it should not have been
mentioned with chlorine and bromine, as to these it has a striking analogy
in most of its properties ; but in reality little resemblance exists between
the action of iodine on the ferrocyanate of potassa, and that of chlorine
and bromine, as we shall immediately see. If iodine is added to a solution
of the salt, it speedily becomes dissolved, the solution turning to a dark
red, and gives a blue precipitate with salts of either oxide of iron. One
equivalent of ferrocyanate of potash dissolves about one equivalent of
iodine, which remains in great part uncombined in solution. If the
solution is allowed spontaneously to evaporate, the free iodine passes off,
and a whitish uncrystallized mass is obtained which has no free iodine,
but hydriodate of potassa in its composition. This gives a precipitate
with both oxides of iron. Now there is a ready method of ascertaining
how much iodine the ferrocyanate will not only dissolve, but combine
with, and for this purpose a definite quantity of the salt is to be dissolved
in a small quantity of water, and then placed in a phial. Upon the
solution ether is to be poured, then the iodine is to be added gradually,
when as soon as the ether is discoloured the saturation is known to be
effected. Brisk and continued agitation must follow each addition of the
* No change takes place if the phosphorus is completely under the solution
of the salt.
t It is foreign to this paper to describe the sulphocyanuret of potassium.
No. VII.] APPENDIX. 179
iodine, in order that the ether may part with any iodine previously to the
point of saturation. When evaporated to dryness, move of the iodine is
evolved, but still hydriodate of potash may be abstracted from the mass by
alcohol. When all the iodine is removed from the mass, a result which is
known by its not discolouring starch upon the addition of nitric acid, it
still retains its power of forming Prussian blue with salts of either oxide
of iron, and still presents the same indisposition to crystallize, for it
neither shows itself as the yellow nor the red ferrocyanate of potash, but
as a compound having properties intermediate with both.
When iodide of potassium is added to the ferrosesquicyanuret, iodine
is evolved, the solution loses its red colour, and the salt possesses the
characters similar to the mass obtained by the action of iodine on the
ferrocyanate of potash. Thus it is evident that if a solution of persulphate
of iron be treated with the red ferrocyanate whilst an iodide is present,
Prussian blue will be formed.
Whether this is really a mixture of the ferrocyanuret and ferro-
sesquicyanuret or a distinct compound, it is difficult to determine, but
the latter is rendered probable from its generally presenting itself as an
amorphous mass ; yet, however, when the purified mixture is dissolved
two or three times in water, a dark mass is deposited, and at last crystals
of the yellow salt are formed.
Every method which has been discovered of converting the ferro-
cyanate of potassa into the ferrosesquicyanuret' has now been detailed,
and we have seen that they may each be referred to the class of anions,
for of the cathions the powerful agency of potassium was unable to effect
this change.
' Upon the first formation of the ferrosesquicyanuret the colour will
occasionally be a very dark red, but this is an adventitious, not a necessary
property ; for when prepared by peroxide of manganese or chloride of soda,
it does not possess this dark colour. If the red crystals be carefully
picked and re-dissolved, in no instance is this seen, and in every case where
the dark red exists it yields to liquor ammonias or potassse, with the pro-
duction of a small quantity of the f errocyanate.
The ferrosesquicyanuret, however prepared, has the same peculiar
properties. It has been already mentioned that the protosalts are preci-
pitated blue, whilst the persalts are not effected by this agent ; however,
the solution in the latter case is always much darkened, and after a time
a small quantity of dark-coloured substance is deposited. The mode of
preparation of the ferrosesquicyanuret does not influence this result.
With almost every acid, especially if heat be applied, Prussian blue is
f ormed and hydrocyanic acid is given off ; and thus upon testing for minute
quantities of metal, care must be taken to prevent any excess of acid, as in
that case the chemist would find iron in everything he examines. With
excess of alkali, on the contrary, no precipitate of Prussian blue is pro-
duced ; and therefore if search be made for that most useful of all metals,
the experiment would declare that iron had no real existence : but if the
golden mean be employed, or the solution be but very slightly acid, the
ferrosesquicyanuret, as well as the ferrocyanuret, become most valuable
and delicate tests, the one for the peroxide, the other for the protoxide of
that metal.
N 2
180 APPENDIX. [No. VII.
The change by chlorine and bromine has been shown to result from
the abstraction of the half equivalent of potassium by the formation of
chloride or bromide of that metal, and therefore the ferrosesquicyanuret
is impure till that is removed by alcohol. We have seen also that the
change may be effected by the iodic, nitric, and chloric acids, but by these
methods the salt is also contaminated to a great extent by the nitrate of
potash, but to a much less extent with the chlorate, and scarcely at all
with the iodate ; with phosphorus the salt in a very impure state may still
be made. With peroxide of manganese, however, and the galvanic current,
it may be made of absolute purity.
This last mode will probably supersede entirely every other mode of
preparation, as with a galvanic battery a large quantity can be readily
made. The battery which I have used for these experiments is the
platinized silver, which from its simplicity is so well adapted for general
purposes, and suitable for long-continued action.
TABLE OF DECOMPOSITIONS.
By Chlorine and Bromine.
1 eq. f errocyanate )
of potassa
2 eq. of chlorine
2^^
IPotassa 2
= 1 eq . red ferro-(* ron
. _ _
'Potassium 1.
2 eq. chloride of potassium.
Bromine acts in the same way.
By the Galvanic Current.
1 eq. ferrocyanate ) i* 1 f= 1 eq . red ferro-(* ron L
ofpotassa . .)= yan ? en 3 C yanate . Cyanogen 3.
(Potassium 2 ! I Potassium l
2 eq. of oxygen. i eq. of potassa.
i eq. of hydrogen from decomposition | eq. of hydrogen evolved.
of water. (
The action of the acids, &c., has been already sufficiently adverted to.
TABLE OF PRECIPITATES WITH THE IODO-FERROCYANATE
OF POTASSA PURE.
solution red, no precipitate.
Platinum .... a little white deposit.
Mercury, bichloride white, becoming green.
Lead ...... white, abundant.
Si ^ver ..... white, with a little reddish tinge.
Bismuth .... white, afterwards yeUow.
Zinc ...... white.
Copper ..... dark brown.
Iron protosalts . . Prussian blue.
Iron persalts . . . Prussian blue.
No. VIII.]
APPENDIX.
181
TABLE OF PRECIPITATES WITH THE RED FEBEOCYANATE
OP POTASSA.
Gold . n
Platina .
Palladium
Silver . .
Nickel
Copper . j
Mercury . <
Bismuth. .
Tin. . ,
Iron . . <
Antimony !
Manganese
Cobalt .
Zinc . .
Cadmium
Curanium
Lead . .
Alumina .
Baryta . <
Strontia .
Lime .
chloride . .
chloride . .
nitrate . . .
nitrate . . .
sulphate . .
acetate . . .
nitrate . . .
sulphate . .
ammoniuret .
protonitrate .
bichloride . .
nitrate . . .
protochloride
protosulphate
persulphate .
potassio-
tartrate .
chloride
chloride ,
sulphate
sulphate .
nitrate . .
acetate . .
acetate . .
muriate
nitrate . .
nitrate . .
muriate
solution darker, no precipitate,
solution darker, small crystals deposited,
red-brown precipitate.
deep orange.
red brown.
yellow brown.
deep-greenish brown.
at first yellow brown, then white, then green.
none.
pale yellow brown.
white, gelatinous.
Prussian blue.
none, with iodide, potassium, Prussian blue.
none.
sepia.
chocolate brown.
buff.
pale yellow.
deep red brown.
solution brownish, none.
none,
none.
No. VIII.
ELEMENTS OF ELECTRO-METALLURGY. By ALFBED SMEE.
THE 'Elements of Electro-Metallurgy' was first issued to the public on
the 26th December, 1840. The first edition was speedily sold off, and
the second edition appeared at first in parts, thus : the first forty pages
appeared on the 1st April, 1842 ; forty pages- more were ready on the
1st May ; the third forty on the 1st July ; the succeeding forty on the
1st August ; the fifth part, containing forty-four pages, was published
1st September ; the sixth part, to the 236th page, on the 1st October ; the
next forty pages on the 1st November, and the remainder on the 1st of
December, when all the parts were published in one volume.
During these two years (1840 to 1842) Alfred Smee had prosecuted his
labours in this branch of knowledge to such an extent that the second
edition of the ' Elements of Electro-Metallurgy ' bore rather the feature
of a new treatise than of a second edition ; for the work had been doubled
in bulk and partly re- written.
182 APPENDIX. [No. VIII.
The book commences with a brief but lucid exposition of galvanism,
and then proceeds to describe the most approved batteries, concluding
with a general view of the one invented by himself, which has been
employed by him in all the processes of electro-metallurgy. The second
part of Electro-Metallurgy treats of the apparatus to be employed for the
reduction of the metals ; of the substances capable of receiving the metallic
deposit ; and of the laws regulating the reduction of the metals.
Although the laws which regulate the deposit of every metal appear
to be the same, and although they are very simple, yet they cost Mr. Smee
much labour for their development. He states them as follows :
Law 1. The metals are invariably thrown down as a black powder,
when the current of electricity is so strong in relation to the strength of
the solution, that hydrogen is evolved from the negative plate of the
decomposition cell.
XM W 2. Every metal is thrown down in a crystalline state, when
there is no evolution of gas from the negative plate, or no tendency
thereto.
Law 3. Metals are reduced in the reguline state when the quantity
of electricity in relation to the strength of the solution is insufficient to
cause the production of hydrogen on the negative plate in the decomposi-
tion trough, and yet the quantity of electricity very nearly suffices to
induce that phenomenon. For further information on the reduction of
metals I refer the reader to the paper read before the Royal Society,
9th of March, 1843, at page 188.
The third part of Electro-Metallurgy treats of electro-gilding, electro-
plating, &c. ; of coppering non-metallic substances, medallions, fruit,
vegetables, baskets, earthenware, &c.
In the fourth part we learn the various applications of the reduction
of metals by galvanism : as the multiplication of coins and medals ; of
copying seals ; of plaster casts, &c. ; of the multiplication of brasses ; of
making dies from embossed surfaces ; of the manufacture of moulds from
fruits, vegetables, &c. ; of the application of electro-metallurgy to sculp-
ture and other purposes.
Part the fifth treats of the electrotype : as the multiplication of
type ; of plain copper-plates ; of copying engraved copper-plates ; of the
multiplication of steel plates ; of woodcuts ; of the daguerreotype.
The sixth and last part of this work treats of galvanic etching.
Such is the plan of Smee's ' Elements of Electro-Metallurgy.' In
order to show more thoroughly how and to what extent the author of this
work contributed towai-ds the discoveries which led to the application of
this science not only in this country but throughout the civilized world,
I here transcribe its history as it is given in every edition of Smee's
' Elements of Electro-Metallurgy.'
" We have not," he says, " to extend our inquiry into remote periods
to trace the history of the arts of working in metals by the galvanic fluid,
for truly it may be said that this art belongs to our own time, and is a
characteristic of the present age. Whilst, however, we pursue our investi-
gations into the history of this subject, we find that it has had by no
means a sudden origin : for, at different periods, 
