Much remains for us in England to accomplish in the

organization of our secondary and scientific training, in which

our competitors are before us, and of which the importance and

the effects are well summed up in the following opinion of an

eminent German manufacturer: “We in Germany do not care whether

you in England are Free-traders or Protectionists, but what

we are afraid of is that some day your people will wake up to

the necessity of having a complete system of technical and

scientific education, and then with your energetic population,

with your insular position, and with your stores of raw

material it will be difficult, or it may be impossible, for us

to compete.”

In 1884 a knighthood was conferred on him, as stated in Mr. Gladstone’s

letter when intimating the Queen’s pleasure, “in acknowledgment of his

distinguished service on the Technical Education Commission.”

* * * * *

Roscoe has recorded in his autobiography the circumstances, altogether

unexpected by him, which led to his introduction to active political

life. He was elected for South Manchester—a constituency largely composed

of the upper and middle class—in 1885, the first Member of Parliament for

the division in which the University is situated and the only Liberal

then returned for the city. He held his seat during two succeeding

elections (1886 and 1892), but lost it in 1895, by a narrow majority,

to the Marquis of Lorne. Although frequently solicited to re-enter

Parliament he felt, to use his own phrase, that he “had had enough.”

Roscoe was a strong and consistent Liberal, a member of the Manchester

School of Economists, and a devoted adherent of Mr. Gladstone, whom

he followed in the Home Rule split. During the greater part of

his parliamentary career, that is from 1886 to 1892, he sat on the

Opposition benches, and had therefore comparatively little opportunity of

accomplishing much in the way of legislative achievement. On questions

involving scientific matters he could always secure the ear of the House,

especially when these related to the comfort and well-being of its

members, as when he took in hand the ventilation, lighting, and drainage

of the Palace of Westminster. In 1888, and again in 1889, he introduced

a Technical Education Bill, but it failed to reach the statute-book.

In the latter year, however, the Government passed the Technical

Instruction Act already referred to; this, although not wholly in accord

with the views he had put forward, he gladly accepted as a satisfactory

instalment. His efforts to pass an amending Bill in the following year

met with no success. In 1891 the National Association for the Promotion

of Technical Education, which was founded as a result of the Report of

the Royal Commission of 1881, entrusted him with a Bill to remove certain

disabilities which had been found to attend the working of the Act of

1889, and this he succeeded in carrying. It was one of the few private

Bills of the session of 1891 that became law.

He was frequently called upon to serve upon select committees, and in

his last session he was Chairman of the Select Committee on Weights and

Measures which led to Mr. Balfour’s Bill for legalizing the use of the

metrical system in this country.

Roscoe was a Vice-President of the Decimal Association, and lost no

opportunity of advocating the use of a system of weights and measures

which practically every other civilized community has found it expedient

to adopt. The reform of the method of holding parliamentary elections,

continuation schools, opening museums on Sundays, the housing of the

science collections at South Kensington, grants to University colleges,

industrial employment in Ireland, limitation of moisture in weaving

sheds, river pollution—were all questions upon which he was able to

exercise his influence and knowledge, and most of which he lived

to see satisfactorily settled. But, on the whole, he found little

satisfaction in his parliamentary life. There was much in it that was

irksome and distasteful to a man of his active and independent mind. It

was unfortunate for him that the greater part of his political career

should have to be spent in opposition, thus affording him only limited

opportunities of initiating legislative action. Owing to the political

circumstances of the time many questions with which he was specially

qualified to deal never came up for consideration. Others were only

discussed for the purpose of “marking time,” and he deplored the loss

of opportunity and waste of effort thereby involved. His rejection in

1895, therefore, occasioned him no very great concern. Whatever feeling

of disappointment he may have felt soon passed away, and he quickly went

back to his old occupations, and to pursuits more congenial to him than

haunting the precincts of the House of Commons. The following letter from

Woodcote, under date July 20, 1895, affords some indication of the way in

which he regarded the loss of his seat.

Many thanks for your kind note. As you surmise, I do not feel

personally much regret at my own defeat. I could tell you

something of the way the thing was worked.

Now I feel an “old freeman,” and able to do much more what I

like. But this not always—for I do not see my way just now

to accept your invitation. I have been worked up with the

election, and have to be careful, so that with this, and with

the present uncertainty of weather, I think I am safer on

entire dry land.

We are thankful for rain which loveth the thirsty land and

makes things green again.

Is it true that the “burning bush” manufactures C₂H₅OH

[alcohol]? If so, that is really interesting.[27]

Harden and I have found some most interesting results as

regards the genesis of the atomic theory, and I am going to

work them up.

How about Davy?… The editor asks for more, and I should be

pleased to satisfy his maw by giving him a lump of Davy.

Kindest regards.

Shortly after his removal to London he became interested in the sewage

problem of the Metropolis, and was called upon to advise the Metropolitan

Board of Works with respect to methods for improving the condition of the

river Thames. In connection with this work he established a laboratory,

specially equipped for studying its problems, in the Earl’s Court Road,

not far from his London residence. During the year 1887 he was engaged,

with the assistance of his former pupil Mr. Harry Baker, in reporting

to Lord Magheramorne, the Chairman of the Metropolitan Board of Works,

on the chemical methods employed for the deodorization of sewage (_a_)

in the metropolitan sewers, and (_b_) at the outfalls. Early in 1888

much larger problems were submitted to him: viz. the purification of the

sewage, the disposal of the sludge, and the effect of the discharge of

sewage sludge at sea on the foreshores of the estuary of the Thames. In

connection with these subjects he became impressed with the importance of

obtaining accurate scientific methods for determining the changes which

polluted water experiences during its natural purification. Some of the

results of his inquiries he published in conjunction with his pupil Mr.

Joseph Lunt in two memoirs, one “On Schützenberger’s Process for the

Estimation of Dissolved Oxygen in Water,” communicated to the Chemical

Society in 1889, and published in the _Transactions_,[28] and the other

entitled “Contributions to the Chemical Bacteriology of Sewage,” which

appeared in the _Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society_.[29]

The former paper contained the results of a careful investigation of the

conditions under which this method is alone trustworthy, and served to

explain the causes of the discrepancy between the statements of previous

observers who had critically examined it. The latter paper gave the

results of a protracted examination of the chemical and bacteriological

phenomena of crude sewage with the object of ascertaining the species of

organisms present, both pathogenic and saprophytic, and of determining

their chemical characteristics.

These investigations were carried on for more than two years,

concurrently with the technical and outside work required. During this

time purification works had been established at Crossness and Barking

outfalls, a sludge ship had been provided for the disposal of the sewage

sludge at sea, and the effect of the discharge had been studied in the

lower reaches and estuary of the Thames, and a chemical survey of the

condition of the foreshores had been completed. But the formation of the

London County Council, with Lord Rosebery as the first Chairman, involved

new arrangements. This circumstance, combined with the death of Sir

Joseph Bazalgette, the Chief Engineer, and the opposition of the Labour

Party, resulted in Roscoe resigning his post as Scientific Adviser.

Mr. Lunt transferred his services to the British Institute of Preventive

Medicine, but Roscoe continued to carry on his laboratory with the

assistance of Mr. Frank Scudder until 1898. During this period he acted

as chemical adviser to sanitary authorities all over the country on

questions of sewage purification and water-supply; and was frequently

consulted by manufacturers on works-processes, and on legal, patent,

and trade-mark cases, and in connection with parliamentary inquiries,

e.g. humidity and purity of air in textile mills, flashpoint of paraffin

oils, etc. He was further concerned in the promotion of Bills for the

creation of rivers boards, as, for example, those of the Mersey and

Irwell and West Riding. He gave considerable attention to the question

of the manufacture and use of water gas (“carburetted” and “blue” gas),

and inspected most of the water-gas plants then in operation in England

and on the Continent, sending Mr. Scudder to visit and report on the

installations in the principal cities of America. In 1898 they both gave

evidence before a Parliamentary Committee on the question of restricting

the amount of the poisonous carbonic oxide in town gas.

In 1891 Roscoe’s services were retained by the Mersey and Irwell Joint

Committee to report on the influence of the various manufacturing works

in the Mersey and Irwell basins in polluting the streams, and as to the

best means of preventing it. In 1893 the Committee made the position of

Scientific Adviser a permanent appointment, and established a properly

equipped laboratory in Manchester in connection with its work. Roscoe

retained the appointment until 1905, when the frequent journeys to attend

the meetings of the Joint Committee began to tell upon his health, and

at his suggestion Mr. Scudder was appointed to succeed him. The London

laboratory was given up in 1908.

CHAPTER XI

UNIVERSITY OF LONDON—ETON COLLEGE—UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF DUNDEE—SCOTTISH

UNIVERSITIES COMMISSION—ROYAL COMMISSION OF THE 1851 EXHIBITION—CARNEGIE

TRUST: SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES—SCIENCE AND ART DEPARTMENT: SCIENCE

MUSEUMS—LISTER INSTITUTE OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

Roscoe was long and honourably connected with the University of London.

A graduate in 1853, he acted as examiner in chemistry from 1874 to 1878.

It was largely through his action that practical laboratory work was

included in the curriculum in chemistry for science degrees. This not

only greatly enhanced their status, but reacted beneficially upon the

general character of laboratory instruction throughout the country. On

relinquishing parliamentary work he became a member of the Senate, and

took part in the movement for the reform of the University which led

incidentally to the formation of an association of teachers and others

for the promotion of a so-called Professorial University, of which Huxley

was President. The following letter refers to this circumstance:

MANCHESTER,

_June 26, 1892_.

I am delighted to hear that Huxley has joined and is to be

President of the Association. It will give me pleasure to act

as a Vice-President with Jebb.

Things look very well, and our views must greatly influence the

Royal Commission.

I will try to secure names here. My wife sends a list per

parcel post.

He made proposals with the idea of uniting what have come to be called

the Internal and External sides of the University, and in his evidence

before Lord Cowper’s Commission he suggested a machinery of a less

cumbrous and, as he hoped, of a more satisfactory character than that

which became law in 1898. In 1896 he succeeded Sir Julian Goldsmid

as Vice-Chancellor. It was during his term of office that the Act of

1898, which reconstituted the University as the result of Earl Cowper’s

Commission, was passed. As Vice-Chancellor it became his duty to watch

the progress of the measure, and to use his influence in promoting its

passage through Parliament.

Unfortunately the University was as a house divided against itself. One

section of its Senate, numerically not very strong, was avowedly hostile

to its reconstitution as a teaching body. Some members of Convocation

acted as if their conception of the sole purpose of a University was

the holding of examinations and the giving of degrees. Their object,

apparently, was to strengthen by all possible means the influence

of Convocation; to make it, in fact, the main controlling power.

Accordingly, they used such parliamentary support as they could command

to wreck the Bill, or failing that, so to modify its provisions as to

preserve as far as possible the existing constitution of the institution,

and to perpetuate its restricted functions. Thanks, however, to the

action and alertness of Lord Bryce, Lord Haldane, Sir W. Priestley, and

Sir John Gorst, and the firmness of the Government, the measure was

steered safely through Parliament and received the Royal Assent.

The statutory commission which followed the University of London Act of

1898 reported in 1900; its provisions were approved by Parliament in June

of that year, and the new Senate held its first meeting in the following

October. Roscoe took an active share in the rearrangements consequent on

the reconstitution of the University, and in the changes necessitated

by its removal from Burlington Gardens to the buildings of the Imperial

Institute at South Kensington.

This last step was a somewhat delicate matter. As housed in Burlington

Gardens the University was only moderately well provided for as regards

examination-rooms and administrative offices, but such laboratories and

store-rooms as it possessed were wholly inadequate for the practical

work required in the examinations for science and medical degrees. The

pressure on the limited space grew more severe each session, and for

some time previous to 1898 the necessity of making fresh provision had

forced itself upon the notice of the authorities. The wants of the

University in this respect had been freely ventilated in the course

of the discussion on the Bill. Accordingly, overtures were made to

the Senate to take over some portion of the building of the Imperial

Institute as a home for the reconstituted University. The offer was

not received with any great enthusiasm. The Imperial Institute had not

fulfilled the anticipations of its projectors; its associations, to say

the least, were not altogether academic, and this circumstance naturally

created a prejudice against it. Moreover, the building itself, although

grandiose in design, and possessing an admirable façade, was rather like

the geometrical definition of a line—length without breadth; and when

that portion of it intended to be assigned to the University was measured

up, it was actually not much, if any, larger in superficial area than was

available in Burlington Gardens. There was, however, more space in the

neighbourhood, and a certain amount of rearrangement and new construction

was possible. Moreover, the authorities of the Science and Art Department

were projecting new laboratories for chemistry and physics, and it was

hoped that facilities might be granted to the University to enable them,

under certain conditions, to use them, or some portion of them, for their

practical examinations in those sciences. But objections were raised in

regard to the geographical position of the building, its distance from

the main-line stations, etc. Its possible association with what was

styled “the South Kensington clique” was another rock of offence.

There were possible difficulties also with the Council of the Institute

as to the partition of the structure, use of the main entrance, etc.

But all these matters were adjusted eventually by the skill, tact, and

firmness of the Vice-Chancellor, with the concurrence of the Treasury and

of the Office of Works; and the University entered into the possession

of the eastern half of the building.

Not the least of the services which Roscoe rendered to the University was

his action with regard to the selection of the late Sir Arthur Rücker

as its first Principal. It was entirely through his efforts that the

appointment was made. Its success, he says in his “Life and Experiences,”

more than justified those efforts, and he always spoke of it as the best

day’s work he ever did for the University.

Roscoe resigned the Vice-Chancellorship in 1902, when he presented to

the University the handsome mace which now lies on the table during the

meetings of the Senate, and which is used on ceremonial occasions. It was

so employed, draped in crape, at the memorial service held in Rosslyn

Hill Chapel at his death.

He remained a member of the Senate until 1910, when age and increasing

deafness necessitated his retirement. In the resolution of condolence

which the Senate passed at its first meeting after his death, they

recalled with gratitude and admiration the great services he had rendered

to the University during the twenty-one years of his membership of the

Senate, at first as Fellow and later as one of the representatives of His

Majesty in Council; and especially the wisdom, born of long experience in

academic administration, with which he guided the University during the

six years of his Vice-Chancellorship, which witnessed its reconstitution

under the Act of 1898.

* * * * *

Roscoe was a Fellow of Eton College, as a representative of the

Royal Society, from 1889 to 1912, and did what he could during the

twenty-three years he served on the Governing Body to overcome what

he terms “the enormous inertia of this ancient machine.” He sought to

further the teaching of physical science in the School by himself giving

lectures, and through his efforts it is the richer by no less than one

large and one small physical laboratory, a physics lecture-room, a

workshop, and two more chemical laboratories, with store-rooms, etc.

He also reorganized the system of teaching, and introduced graduated

courses, which have resulted in an all-round improvement. Nevertheless,

the results have not been commensurate with all the hard work and

enthusiasm he put into his efforts. They have been largely discounted by

factors over which he had no control. No one realized this more clearly

than himself, and he felt keenly the disappointment of his hopes, so much

so that more than once he considered the advisability of resigning his

Fellowship as a protest. He earned the gratitude of the science staff by

his uniform kindness and sympathy, and by the readiness with which he

would discuss their difficulties with them and help them with advice and

encouragement.

As the representative of the Royal Society, his chief interests lay

with the teaching of physical science, but they did not rest there. No

Fellow worked harder for the general welfare of the School. In order

to make himself acquainted first-hand with facts connected with the

subjects to be discussed at the meetings of the Provost and Fellows,

he constantly visited Eton. His opinion and advice on all sorts of

questions were sought and respected, and he has left behind him a record

of whole-hearted service to the School that will long be remembered with

appreciation and gratitude.

Roscoe’s experience as an educationist, and his success in furthering the

development of Owens College, naturally caused him to be consulted when

institutions of a similar type were projected, and he was occasionally

induced to take part in their foundation and government. Thus he had

a large share in the arrangement of the curriculum of the University

College of Dundee in 1881, and he was afterwards concerned, as a member

of the Scottish Universities Commission, in establishing the connection

of that College with the University of St. Andrews. He was appointed

by the Duke of Devonshire to a governorship of University College,

Liverpool, a position particularly gratifying to him as a member of a

distinguished Liverpool family. He represented the University of London

on the Council of Firth College, Sheffield, which has since risen to the

dignity of a university, and was of service with respect to its science

curriculum.

In 1888 Roscoe acted as a member of an Executive Commission appointed to

carry out the provisions of the Scottish Universities Act. The Commission

succeeded in devising ordinances which in many respects revolutionized

the systems of the Scottish Universities, and by providing new avenues to

degrees are destined, it may be hoped, to have an important effect upon

the character of scientific education in Scotland.

* * * * *

In 1890 he was appointed a member of a Committee along with Lord

Playfair, Lord Kelvin, Professor Huxley, Mr. Mundella, Sir Norman

Lockyer, and Dr. William Garnett, to advise the Commissioners of the

1851 Exhibition on the question of establishing scholarships to aid the

development of scientific education in the manufacturing districts of the

country.

Roscoe remained a member of that body after it had presented its Report

and had been entrusted with the duty of putting into operation the

scheme which had been devised for the distribution and regulation of

the scholarships. The character of these scholarships cannot be better

described than in his own words:—

It was decided that these should be of a higher order than most

of those existing; in fact, that their functions should begin

where the ordinary educational curriculum ends, this system

having been adopted with excellent effect in the French _École

Pratique des Hautes Études_. In other words, the scholarships

were to be entirely confined to research, and strict conditions

were laid down as to the capability of the candidate to carry

out original investigation. The scholarships were to be £150

a year in value, tenable for two years, and to be limited to

those branches of science the knowledge of which is specially

important for our national industries. The Commissioners

from time to time were to select a number of institutions

throughout the Empire in which high scientific instruction is

given. Each university or college was to have the power of

nominating a student to a scholarship on the condition that he

exhibited a capacity for advancing science or its applications;

these scholarships, when awarded, were to be tenable in any

university, either at home or abroad, or other approved

institutions.…

The fact that a large number of the nominating institutions

are situated in the colonies, and that the scholars from

these institutions come to the mother-country to carry out

their scientific work, must exert an important influence in

strengthening the relations between different parts of the

Empire. The value of this system is fully appreciated by the

authorities at home and abroad, and many are the instances in

which men of ability, who would otherwise have been unable

to follow a scientific career, or to assist the progress of

our national industries, are now coming to the front in both

respects. It has been well remarked that if, in the course of a

century, even one Faraday should have been discovered, the sum

spent would have been amply repaid.

The policy laid down by the original committee has since been pursued

without essential variation, and what was at first regarded as an

educational experiment has proved itself by the test of time an entirely

successful undertaking, and one which has served as a model for the

institution of similar foundations, both in this country and abroad.

In recognition of the services rendered on this committee, Roscoe was

elected, in 1891, a member of the Royal Commission, and five years

afterwards, in 1896, he became a member of the Board of Management, and

at the same time succeeded Lord Playfair as Chairman of the Scholarships’

Committee.

As Chairman, the control and direction of the Committee’s work was very

largely in his hands, and the care he devoted to every detail of the

scholarship work undoubtedly contributed to the successful operation of

the scheme.

But there was something more to value (says Mr. Evelyn Shaw,

who contributes the above particulars) than the part he played

in the proceedings of the Committee. The charm and sympathy of

his personality were felt by so many scholars who had occasion

to consult him upon their work, and who often afterwards

remembered and were grateful for some kind and helpful advice.

He never failed to watch with interest the careers of past

scholars, as he regarded their record as the most convincing

proof of the value of the Commissioners’ Endowment.

In 1901 he consented, on the invitation of Lord Elgin, the Chairman, to

join the executive committee of the trustees appointed to carry out the

administration of Mr. Andrew Carnegie’s munificent gift to the Scottish

Universities for the benefit of scientific education; and he assisted in

the inauguration of a system of Carnegie Scholarships and Fellowships for

the encouragement of original investigation, resembling that of the Royal

Commissioners of the 1851 Exhibition.

* * * * *

Roscoe acted as chief examiner in chemistry of the Science and Art

Department in succession to the late Sir Edward Frankland, but resigned

the appointment on his election to Parliament. He took a great

interest in the aims of the department, and worked cordially with its

administrative officers, especially in the abolition of the old system of

“payment on results” for the elementary stage of science subjects, and in

remodelling organized science schools.

The importance of properly housing the valuable science collections

at South Kensington was constantly being pressed by him upon the

Government. In 1909 he accompanied a strong deputation, and presented

an influentially signed memorial to the Board of Education, pleading

for larger and better accommodation for the unique and almost priceless

exhibits of historically important objects which the museum possesses,

some of which are absolutely irreplaceable. He pointed out how valuable

such a collection was as an adjunct to the systematic teaching of

science and technology. Each model, or piece of apparatus, or specimen

of historic interest, was selected to bring into prominence underlying

principles, or to illustrate various stages of industrial progress. In

the temporary buildings in which the collections were placed, there was

not only no room for the necessary expansion, but the objects were so

crowded together that proper arrangement and inspection were impossible.

What was needed was a building adequate to the proper exhibition of

the present collection, and one worthy of British Science. He pointed

out that one consequence of storing the collections in so haphazard

and unsatisfactory a manner was that persons possessing objects of

interest naturally felt indisposed to present them to the nation, and

some of these when offered had to be refused through want of space.

Land sufficient for the purpose was in the hands of the Government, and

the Royal Commissioners for the 1851 Exhibition, so long ago as 1878,

offered to contribute £100,000 towards a building for the Science Museum.

Roscoe’s arguments were strongly supported by other members of the

deputation, and Mr. Runciman, who was then at the Board of Education,

expressed himself as convinced by their weight, and as wholly in sympathy

with the object of the speakers. A gratifying result of this action is to

be seen in the new buildings now in course of erection.

* * * * *

Roscoe’s high appreciation of Pasteur’s work as a chemist was, we may

presume, the immediate cause of the great interest with which he had

followed his remarkable discoveries concerning the causes and cure of

chicken cholera, anthrax, and the silkworm disease—an interest quickened,

no doubt, by the fact that he had made the personal acquaintance of

that distinguished man as far back as the early ’sixties. He had

specially informed himself of the working of the Institut Pasteur in

Paris, and of the anti-rabic treatment, and had borne his share in

combating the mischievous prejudices of those in this country who sought

to misrepresent the character and objects of Pasteur’s work. In 1886

he had used his parliamentary influence to induce Mr. Chamberlain,

who was then President of the Local Government Board, to appoint a

Government Commission, consisting of the late Lord Lister, Sir James

Paget, Professor Ray Lankester, and himself, with Sir Victor Horsley as

secretary, to inquire and report on the efficacy of Pasteur’s treatment

of hydrophobia. The Commission came to the conclusion, based upon

irrefragable proof, that this treatment had been the means of saving a

large number of lives that otherwise would have been sacrificed to a

dreadful and torturing death. Their report induced Sir James Whitehead,

when Lord Mayor of London, to call a Mansion House meeting for the

purpose of raising a fund partly to defray the cost of sending poor

persons, who may need treatment, to the Pasteur Institute in Paris, and

partly to repay some of our indebtedness to Pasteur and his co-workers

for having treated some two hundred of our countrymen gratuitously.

The Royal Society requested Roscoe, with Sir James Paget and Professor

Lankester, to represent them at the Lord Mayor’s meeting, and they

supported the action by a formal letter from the President. Roscoe seized

the opportunity of having to respond for “Science” at a Royal Academy

banquet to direct further attention to the subject, and he subsequently

spoke in the House of Commons of the great value of experiments on

living animals in opposition to an amendment designed to impede the

working of the Vivisection Acts. By memorials, popular lectures, and

articles in the periodical press, he kept the subject continually before

the public eye. Nor were his colleagues less active in instructing

and forming public opinion. Their efforts eventually resulted in the

establishment of an institute in London with aims similar to those of

that in Paris. Thanks to the munificent action of Lord Iveagh, it has

been housed and equipped not less worthily than its sister foundation.

The London Institute of Preventive Medicine now bears the honoured name

of Lord Lister, its first President.

Roscoe was its Treasurer from 1891 to 1904 and Chairman from 1904 to

1912, and again from 1914 to the time of his death. The building has now

been completed at a cost of £28,000, entirely paid out of income, and

there has been a gradual and considerable increase in the scientific

staff and in the volume of work done. The formation of the Medical

Research Committee was thought by Roscoe to affect the interests of the

Institute, and he considered that it might be better to bring about a

working arrangement between the two bodies. He felt that the independent

existence of two such schemes of research might lead to rivalry rather

than to co-operation, and that the superior resources of the Government

Committee might operate to the disadvantage of the Institute. It was also

thought that the addition of the resources of the Institute to those

at the disposal of the Committee together with the union of the two

scientific staffs would prove a great advantage to each and contribute

largely to the success of both. Another more practical point was that

the amalgamation scheme would remove from the Institute the burdensome

necessity of having to earn money by routine diagnosis work in order to

provide a sufficient income to support the scientific work, and to permit

of its increase. This contemplated action gave rise to a considerable

difference of opinion. As a question of policy it obviously admitted of

two sides, and when the matter came up for decision the preponderating

feeling was to let well alone and to allow the Institute to continue to

develop along independent lines.

CHAPTER XII

DIGNITIES AND HONOURS—THE _DEUTSCHE REVUE_—GERMANY AND ENGLAND—WORLD

SUPREMACY OR WAR

Roscoe’s services to science and to the cause of education were widely

recognized. He was an honorary graduate of many universities at home

and abroad, and an honorary or corresponding member of many foreign

scientific societies. He was a D.C.L. of Oxford; and LL.D. of Cambridge

(1883), Dublin (1878), Glasgow (1901), and Montreal (1884); and D.Sc. of

Aberdeen, Liverpool, and Victoria. On the occasion of the eighth jubilee

of the foundation of Heidelberg University he was made an honorary M.D.

He served as a member of the jury for chemical products of the English

section of the French Exhibition of 1878, and was made an officer of

the Legion of Honour, and in 1889 a corresponding member of the French

Institute of the Academy of Sciences. He was an honorary member of the

American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia and of the New York

Academy of Sciences; of the Chemical Society of Berlin; of the Bunsen

Gesellschaft, of the Verein für Naturwissenschaft of Brunswick, and of

the Physikalische Verein of Frankfort; a corresponding member of the

Bavarian Academy of Sciences of Munich, of the Royal Society of Sciences

of Göttingen, of the Royal Accad. Lincei of Rome, and of the Academy

of Natural Science of Catania; a member of the Leop. Carol. Akad. of

Halle, and of the Physiogr. Sällsk of Lund. He was an honorary member of

the Royal Irish Academy, and of the Literary and Philosophical Society

of Manchester. In 1912 the Franklin Institute awarded him the Elliott

Cresson Gold Medal.

He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1909—an honour which he accepted

not only as a personal distinction but as a recognition of the claims of

Science.

But of all the distinctions and marks of appreciation he received in

the course of his long and busy life, none afforded him a truer or

more heart-felt gratification than the action taken by his old pupils

in celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the date—March 25, 1854—on

which he took his Heidelberg degree. The warmth and cordiality with

which the idea of commemorating his jubilee was received, not only by

his former students but by every teaching institution, academic body,

and scientific society with which he was or had been connected, was a

striking testimony to the regard and esteem in which he was universally

held. The University of Heidelberg renewed its diploma of Doctor

Philosophiæ Naturalis, and accompanied it by an address from the Grand

Duke of Baden, Rector of the University, the Pro-Rector, Senior Dean, and

the other professors of the Philosophical Faculty. Addresses were also

sent by University College, London, the Victoria University, and the

Universities of London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Wales, Scotland, Montreal,

Melbourne, New Zealand, and Tokyo; King’s College, London, the Yorkshire

College, and the University Colleges of Sheffield, Newcastle, and Dundee;

the Royal and Chemical Societies, the Society of Chemical Industry,

British Association, the Lister and Pasteur Institutes, and a number

of the academies and scientific societies of Germany, Italy, Holland,

and America. In addition a large number of congratulatory letters

and messages were received from distinguished friends, chemists, and

physicists throughout Europe, America, and the British Dominions beyond

the Seas.

The celebration was held on April 22, 1904, in the beautiful Whitworth

Hall of the Victoria University in the presence of a large and

enthusiastic gathering of former students and colleagues, and of friends

who had journeyed to Manchester to present addresses.

Of all these addresses, the one, he says in his autobiography, that

touched him most nearly was that from his former pupils. It ran as

follows:

We, the undersigned, all of whom have the honour to number

ourselves among your pupils, desire on the occasion of the

celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the date of your

graduation as a Doctor of Philosophy of the University of

Heidelberg to offer you our hearty congratulations, and to

express our pleasure that you are able to be with us in health

and strength to receive this testimony of our gratitude and

esteem.

The half-century which has elapsed since the day of your Doctor

promotion _summa-cum-laude_, has witnessed an extraordinary

development in that branch of natural knowledge to which you

have particularly devoted yourself. We recall with pride in

how large a measure your own labours have contributed to that

growth—by your work as an original investigator, by your

literary productions, by your remarkable and almost unexampled

success as a teacher, by the influence you have exerted in

the organization and direction of societies concerned with

Science, by your unceasing and well-directed efforts to

secure for Science its due position in the scheme of National

Education and the fuller recognition of its relations to the

well-being of civilized communities. It was your good fortune

at the outset of your career to come under the influence of

illustrious chemical philosophers—Graham, Williamson, Bunsen.

Your good fortune has been our great gain. You have not only

worthily upheld the traditions associated with such names, but

you have inspired others by your example. Your influence is

to be seen in the creation of the great School of Chemistry

in which you have laboured for thirty years, and in which you

taught hundreds of pupils; it is equally felt in the many

similar places throughout this kingdom which are modelled upon

the lines you indicated, and which are to-day actuated by your

method and example.

We gratefully recall the obligations that we are under to

you as our teacher, and we cherish the memory of the signal

services you have rendered to the Institution of which we

are proud to be members. You came to it in the days of its

precarious infancy, you assisted to rear it into a vigorous

youth, sharing its aspirations, and stimulating its endeavours;

you behold it now of age, and entering upon a great career.

That you should have lived to see and enjoy this fruition of

your labours is a matter of special gratification to us, as it

must be to you. Blessed with continuing health and happiness

may you long be spared to witness its growth in prosperity and

usefulness.

To this address he replied:

Of all gratifying and far too flattering addresses which I am

to-day receiving, none come so near my heart as that signed by

three hundred of my former students.

What can a teacher value more than the sympathy and good

opinion of his pupils, and this you have given me in full

measure.

If I succeeded in forming a School of Chemistry at Owens, it

was because, in the first place, I learnt from Bunsen how the

foundations of such a school must be laid; secondly, because I

fortunately secured the co-operation in the task of good men

and true, like Schorlemmer and Dittmar; and last but not least

because I was surrounded by an ever-increasing band of young

men imbued with the true scientific spirit, able and anxious to

devote themselves to the study and to the advancement of their

science.

Well aware of my own deficiencies, and recognizing the gulf

which lies between promise and performance, I yield to none

in the personal interest which I take in your progress and

welfare, and in the affectionate remembrance in which I hold

each and all of you. Many, many thanks.

In his later years, and when the physical disabilities of age kept him

more and more indoors, Roscoe occupied himself in contributing short

articles to the _Deutsche Revue_ on academic or educational subjects.

Thus in his first article he recalls his Heidelberg experiences, and

dwells upon his friendly relations with German men of science, dating

from the early ’fifties of the last century. In a second article he

describes the rise of the English Universities—ancient and modern—their

characteristics and the differences in constitution and methods between

them and the German Universities. In 1908 an article entitled “An English

Man of Science on the Friendship of the German Emperor for England and

upon the relations of England and Germany,” indicates a certain feeling

of anxiety at the growing unrest he perceives in reference to Germany’s

intentions in so rapidly increasing the strength of her fleet. He follows

this up with a longer article on “The Peace Mission of the Sciences,” in

which he expands a favourite theme to which, to our grief, circumstances

have now given the lie direct. In quick succession he writes letters

to the editor on “A few words concerning England and Germany”;

“International Understanding”; “No more War in Europe”—in which he

strives to remove misapprehension, and to make clear to German readers

that there is no widespread feeling of animosity in this country towards

the Fatherland.

The following letter to the writer refers to this matter:—

… Has Anschütz sent you his pamphlet on Couper? It is very

interesting, and places C. on a level with Kekulé.… I am

languishing for some scientific converse. I fear no chance of

seeing you at present. But I should like to!

As a _Zeitvertreib_ I have written a political diatribe

entitled “Es soll in Europa kein mehr Krieg seyn” for the

_Deutsche Revue_. The Powers will tremble when they read

it—which they won’t! But the editor is pleased and calls me—or

rather, I fancy, his daughter does—“Dearest Sir Henry”!

Under the title of “King Edward VII the Peacemaker” he contributed to

the same review a short article written a few weeks after the King’s

death, in which he dilated on his high personal qualities, his merits

as a ruler, and his love of order and peace. His last communication on

“Germany and England” the editor declined to print, but it was published

in _Nord und Sud_, an old-established and well-known fortnightly review

of good repute. The article is so characteristic of the good sense and

right feeling of its author that it is well worthy of reproduction, apart

from its interest in relation to the one supreme topic of the time.

GERMANY AND ENGLAND.

I write neither from the point of view of a diplomatist nor

of a politician, but simply as a scientific man who, being

a _Menschenfreund_ and _Deutsch-gesinnt_ and anxious to

see differences between the nations as between individuals

disappear, asks himself the questions, who are the people who

are stirring up all this discord; what do they mean; what do

they want; what is their power? We in England call these men

Jingoes. In Germany, I believe, they are termed Pan-Germans or

All-Deutschen. In France they are “Revanchistes,” and in Italy

“Irredentisti.”

What they mean is clear enough; they mean mischief. What

they want is not so plain, for they do not tell us in simple

language; indeed, I doubt whether they know themselves. That

their language, whether spoken or written, is more or less

dangerous to the peace of the world everybody admits. What is

their power, and how far that danger goes, is another question.

Nobody believes that their wish to set the nations by the ears

is shared by the mass of mankind. The general good sense and

honesty of the people of every nationality is a strong bulwark

against Chauvinism. And if the true opinion of the British and

of the German peoples could be obtained who can doubt that

it would be in favour of peace and good feeling rather than

of hostility and war? But to err is human, and to be misled

is easy, so that it behoves those who love progress and hate

all that opposes progress to use all efforts to denounce

and destroy Chauvinism in every country and in every form.

In England Jingoism has practically no power. In Parliament

certainly none—witness the speeches lately delivered in both

Houses—not one note of ill-feeling towards Germany was heard.

On the contrary, the warmest expressions of appreciation of

goodwill and friendship fell from the lips not only of the

members of the present Government in Lords and Commons, but

also from the leaders of the Opposition in both Houses, and

the wish for an understanding with Germany was universal and

emphatic.

In the British Press, with a few dishonourable and unimportant

exceptions, the same thing may truthfully be said. The working

classes have never been infected by anti-Germanism. Our

commercial men, who are brought into intimate trading relations

with the Germans, desire an Anglo-German understanding beyond

all other aspirations in the sphere of foreign policy.

To believe that England now wishes, or is likely ever to

wish, to go to war with Germany is a delusion in which only

the insane can indulge. What on earth, may well be asked, can

England gain by commencing war with Germany? Suppose, for

instance, the British fleet could bombard and destroy Hamburg;

in what way would such an act of vandalism benefit us? In no

possible way; on the contrary, we should be cutting our own

throats, for is not Hamburg one of our best customers, merely

to look at the transaction from a monetary point of view?

Let me pull down another idol. It has been said, and is still

believed by many persons who ought to know better, that England

is jealous of the rising, or risen, world-wide trade of

Germany, and is determined to stop it in defence of her own.

That such a view has been expressed by certain of my countrymen

is, of course, a fact. But surely this is a totally false view.

Imagine, if you can, Germany reduced to the condition of half

a century ago, poor, disunited, with little or no world-wide

trade. Would English commerce be more flourishing than when, as

now, Germany is rich, united, and trading the wide world over?

Certainly not. The richer our neighbours and competitors become

the more will our own trade benefit. A man with sixpence in his

pocket is not much good as a buyer. With a handful of gold he

is a welcome customer! What the trade between the two countries

was worth fifty years ago I don’t know, but it must have been

a mere fraction of what it now amounts to, namely, over 100

millions sterling a year.

Is there any other point of view from which the notion that

England can personally gain by making war on Germany can be

urged? I do not know of one, and perhaps our Jingoes may even

admit this. But say they: “If we do not declare war Germany

is certain to do so. Is it not better for us to choose our

own time and occasion rather than allow our enemy to take the

step when the conditions are most favourable to them?” This

conclusion is sound provided the premises are also sound. Does

Germany intend to declare war or so to act as to bring about

a war with this country? What is the evidence? Certainly if

we are to accept the statements of the All-Deutschen party

as representing the opinion of the nation at large there are

good grounds for believing that war is inevitable. But surely

every one who knows anything of Germany and German opinion is

certain that the All-Deutschen have even less power to bring

about war than our own Jingoes have, and that their utterances

represent public opinion in Germany to a less extent than those

of our Jingoes represent the English opinion. The debates in

the Reichstag, the speeches of your Ministers, the expressions

in the more responsible organs of the German Press, and the

outspoken opinion of the German working classes, all tell the

same tale, “We do not want war.”

Still there remains in Germany a strong and widespread feeling

of animosity—not to use a harsher term—towards England.

Upon what is this feeling based? What has England done, is

doing, or is going to do that should create such a feeling of

mistrust and enmity? I have never been able to answer this

question, and I believe it arises out of a misunderstanding

and misconception; a sort of revival of the old French cry of

“_Perfide Albion_.” Can these All-Germans point to any one of

the many Anglo-German agreements which have been arrived at

from the time when Germany began to expand down to the present

moment which has not given Germany every opportunity to take

her place in the sun?

Let me come to the point. Has England interfered with German

trade? If she has, she has failed egregiously, for in spite

of England’s supposed efforts German trade has increased

and is increasing by leaps and bounds. But what signs of

interference has England shown? Can your Pan-Germans point to

a single instance? It is easy to write fiery articles, and to

attribute ill-feeling or jealousy, to say Germany cannot come

out in the sun because Britain “rules the waves,” to assert

that Englishmen dislike and despise the Germans, and that we

are jealous of German prosperity. This is not only foolish

and unfriendly talk, but it is false from beginning to end.

Instead of endeavouring to limit German trade our policy of

the open door has had the effect of expanding it enormously.

All our ports at home and in foreign waters, all our offices,

shops, and industries are open, and educated Germans have

taken great advantage of our policy both to their own and to

our immense benefit. Wherever British industry or commerce

flourishes there German merchants or manufacturers are found,

and there they remain. In our own great cities, in those of our

oversea dominions, as well as in our most distant settlements,

the ubiquitous German flourishes, and is a welcome strength

to the community. What more can England do to assist German

trade and industry than she has done and is doing? How can it

with any truth be said that England stops Germany from coming

out into the sun? “Yes,” these Pan-Germans may say, “we grant

that you are very kind, and give us a helping hand. That is,

however, not good enough for Germany. We must stand alone. We

insist upon having a Colonial Empire, an Oversea Dominion, a

_Deutschland über See_, as you have in Australasia, Canada, and

South Africa.”

Well, if these views were those of the German nation instead of

that of a somewhat insignificant clique, and if Germany were

to determine that at all hazards this wish must be fulfilled,

the question would at once become of grave importance, because

that would mean certain war with Britain, and probably with

the United States. And for this reason England being a long

consolidated great Power (_Welt Macht_), and having had the

command of the sea, and her people having the faculty of

successful colonization, has, for the last four hundred years

at least, sent forth peaceful armies to annex and dwell in the

most fruitful and habitable—but uncivilized—parts of the world.

To such an extent has this movement been successful that nearly

all the areas of land not already occupied by civilized man,

and capable of being made a permanent home by Europeans, have

been taken over by Englishmen or Americans, so that little

space of the kind is left for the young and aspiring German

nation to annex. Whether for good or for evil she has come too

late for this game of grab, unless, indeed, she is so rash

as to try to take land from those now in possession. This,

of course, entails war, and war the damage of which—even if

victorious on her side—no amount of land or gold could even

in a small degree repay. As to the truth of this statement,

consult the Credit Bankers of Berlin, and ask them what would

be the condition of the Berlin Exchange the day after war was

declared between Germany and England. I, for my part, do not

believe that Germany or its people are gone mad, or likely to

become so, and therefore I do not believe that Germany will

ever try to wrest from England her Oversea Dominions or to

invade the New World with the millions of armed men necessary

to establish a Fatherland in the West.

Much has lately been said about Germany being over-populated.

Her people increase by nearly one million souls yearly. “Some

outlet for these millions must be found,” say the All-Deutsch.

Is this so clear? The population of Germany is not nearly

so dense as that of our own country or that of Belgium, and

in both these countries the conditions of life are quite as

favourable as those in the Fatherland. Moreover, is it not true

that to-day thousands of workers from other lands are flocking

to fill new posts created by the ever-increasing demand for

labour in the German industries?

No! the high and glorious aim and true function of the German

nation is not to try to conquer by the “mailed fist” either

on land or sea, but to show how the world may be dominated

by proving to mankind the grand results which accrue to

civilization when a nation has both the power and the

determination to carry out its high ideals. No other nation

in either the Old or the New World possesses these ideals in

such high degree, and is, therefore, so fully able and so well

fitted to take the lead in this new departure as the German.

The old game of war is played out. It has become a disgraceful

instead of a glorious one in the eyes of twentieth-century

men. We look to Germany to show how a modern state is to be

carried on for the greatest good of its own people so as to

become an example to the rest. Take the opinions of your great

men of Science—men of the stamp of Helmholtz—men who looked

forward instead of backwards, and be guided by them. Ask them

in what is national glory to consist in the coming centuries.

Do not pin your faith on those who, like Treitschke, argue that

because war has been, it must continue to be, men who preach

the false doctrine that its influence is a purifying one, and

a saving grace. These views are those of the past. They do not

represent the present, still less the future opinion of mankind.

The time is now ripe, for has not Dr. von Bethmann-Hollweg

said on the part of the German people that the national slate

is clean? It will be the greatest wickedness and folly of both

nations if this appeal to the better feelings of the peoples is

not welcomed and acted upon.

Let Germany pursue her ideals, and her actions will rule the

world, because those ideals and actions make for peace and

progress.

That there was a section—and a not inconsiderable section—of the German

public to whom this appeal was not in vain was manifested by the

publication in Stuttgart of a remarkable article on “World Supremacy

or War,” written under the _nom-de-plume_ of “Nostradamus.” This so

impressed Roscoe that he translated it for the British-German Friendship

Society—a society of influential persons who strove to stem the rising

tide which broke down all barriers on that fateful day of August 1914.

The purport of the article was to point out that the true policy of

Germany was to seek an alliance with England. The writer admitted that we

were the first to offer the hand of friendship, but that under Bülow’s

_régime_ it was declined. He further shows it was this circumstance

that led England to seek alliances elsewhere—an action that was not

only natural but essential to our well-being, and wholly due to the

short-sighted policy of Germany. The pamphlet is too long to be quoted in

full, but a few extracts, read in the light of what is happening, may be

of interest.

WORLD SUPREMACY OR WAR.

… We have often enough declared that we never mean to attack

England. Does any one imagine that a prudent nation will

trust to such words when it comes to a question for her of to

be or not to be? What is it those Britons see who have been

following with interest for twenty years the events which have

taken place in our country? A steady and continuous increase

of armaments; a fleet born and growing each year more and more

rapidly; a ruler who is restlessly active—now in the saddle,

now on the captain’s bridge; his palace only used for sleeping.

Wherever the Kaiser goes his forces are in the forefront.

Exercises, manœuvres, mobilization of the fleet, war games,

conferences, and speeches quickly follow one another. His

speeches refer oftener than needful to the grip of the sword,

and at the same time he sedulously endeavours to negotiate

personally with his neighbouring States. Such things as the

Kruger telegram and the expedition to Tangiers look like froth,

but they really hide personal wishes and inclinations. Thus do

the English see us. What can they, what must they think of it

all? We are grown to be neighbours and yet we arm and arm. Our

trade is protected, and for offensive purposes a fleet will

arouse little sympathy. Have not both Holland and Belgium a

large trade and yet no one thinks of wresting it from them.

Against what is Germany arming if not against England’s command

of the sea? Must not every Englishman think so? Has not their

mistrust been fostered by our policy, by the utterances of our

men of mark, by the opinions of our Press, and last but not

least by the propaganda of our Navy League?

How can a clear-headed people like the English entertain

friendly feelings for us in view of these evident proofs of our

mistrust? We have driven England into the Double Alliance. “He

who is not with me is against me.” Should we not do exactly the

same? We carry on a sentimental policy, play the injured party,

whilst suspicion prevents us from being open-minded.

The German Empire ought therefore only to have a fleet

sufficient for her real needs, able to defend her coasts, to

act as maritime police in the areas of smaller States, and

to perform convoy duty for our troop-ships to our colonies.

A larger fleet is in fact either a luxury or it is directed

against England. Such logic is inexorable. For our centre

of gravity—otherwise than is the case with England—lies at

home. We are not dependent on the importation of foodstuffs;

the 5 per cent. of what is not grown on our own soil must be

sacrificed in war.

As to our commerce, there will be no dispute. In the countries

where our goods are sold the German merchant is not only a

necessity but valued as an indispensable friend and educator.

The merchant who is not able to create such a position is not

worth having battleships near him to back up his weaknesses.

Only the excellence and tastefulness of the wares he has to

sell and the tact and ingenuity of the seller, coupled with a

full knowledge of local requirements, can ensure the prosperity

of our commerce; never the mailed fist! This cannot be repeated

too often or too emphatically.

Up to now the agreement with France and Russia has guaranteed

England’s safety. Now England sees that France, relying on the

military convention with her two friends, is working seriously

for war. She knows that in Russia the voice for war against

Germany is increasing. Such a war would weaken England’s Navy;

it would throw a hundred and fifty thousand Englishmen on the

battlefield;[30] it would mean heavy demands on the country’s

finance and her colonies might make threatening movements

against her sovereignty. She would also lose her best buyer and

seller. Europe’s predominance would be imperilled!

These are the weighty reasons why the English Government are

trying—even at the eleventh hour—to prevent this war.

Many object that the psychological moment will not arrive for

this war. Internal conditions will tend to promote it. Never

have the opportunities been so favourable for the French

and Russians to cross swords with us, and to endeavour to

annihilate our position as a leading Power of the Continent.

France sees her population going down year by year. In the same

ratio the prospect is dwindling for France to regain Alsace

Lorraine and thereby increase of dominion, population, and

prestige. The hatred of the conqueror continues to blaze; they

have long since lost all respect for us, and they are longing

to measure their strength with ours. Newspapers and leaflets

stir up the flame and preach _ceterum censeo_.

The Republic undoubtedly binds the people together more

closely, and will provide more means and men for their

armaments than is the case with us. And the call will not be in

vain, neither are Alliances nor Military Conventions. Russia’s

Army and England’s fleet, plus 150,000 men, are guaranteed to

France. Italy is tied up in Tripoli, the North Sea Canal is

unusable, a third of the German voters have shown themselves as

enemies of the State, and party disputes have demoralized the

nation. When will such a concatenation be repeated?

And what is the outlook for Germany?

Do not let us fear to look the matter straight in the face. A

war on three sides. Our Navy against three Navies, and a triple

superiority. Victory at sea is impossible. However much we may

harm our opponents we are certain to lose many colonies. On

the mainland fighting on two flanks. Of course we cannot deny

it and must look at the future coolly. It is idle to waste

words about such a war; let us leave talk to others. Let us

look at a favourable solution: the defeat of both opponents.

What would peace bring us? Annexation of more French or Russian

possessions? No rational being could think of such a poisoned

gift.

And what about overseas and colonies? In foreign parts we shall

have nothing more to say, for our mercantile and naval fleet

will be almost entirely destroyed. And as for money indemnity,

even in case we conquered our opponents we cannot hope for

heavy terms. We shall be glad after this blood-letting to

embrace peace and to receive a portion of our war expenses. We

should have to fight hard, and only through rivers of blood and

by straining every nerve can we hope to keep our Empire intact.

In the 1870 war against the French Empire in nearly every case

our victories were bought with superior losses. And how dear

these victories cost us!

But not numbers, nor weapons, nor careful preparations in

times of peace are going to conquer in the war of the future.

_Esprit_ alone will turn the scale, and to quote the words

of Frederick the Great, “The _esprit_ of an army lies in its

officers.” Those officers will have the best influence on their

men who have the most hardened physique and who are trained

each one according to his particular bent, and are able to do

without comforts and have the natural gift of comradeship with

the common soldier combined with strict discipline. They must

evoke the soldiers’ esteem and dependence and the blind trust

which the unselfish care of their men will produce. This can

be brought about only by placing the well-being of the troops

in the forefront, and without the slightest consideration on

the officers’ part for their own advantage, unselfishly sinking

their personality, rising to every situation with courage, and

bracing up every weakling or coward under their care by their

example. That corps which possesses these qualities to the

fullest extent will carry victory with their colours, and only

such a set of officers can be our salvation.

Do not let us underestimate our opponents.

On the west we have the French Army with a lurking desire

for revenge, its material intelligent and full of soldierly

qualities. The sons of the Republic will fight with the same

courage they did in the 1870-1871 campaign but under better

generalship. The French have learnt a great deal; may we not

admit this to-day?

And how is it with us?

An admission must be made at a critical moment. That moment has

arrived. In the course of time the sober and earnest speech and

thought of the old Prussians has become remote. Let us beware

of overconfidence in ourselves. We have a forty years’ peace

behind us, which is not very good for the German Army. So much

for us.

And what will victory bring us?

The loss of our Navy and our Colonies, and our own destruction

only avoided by a sea of blood. What will happen when the

people return home, awakened as to their own character and

chastened by a fruitless fight? We speak of a favourable

result. And if this does not occur? If Germany does not win in

the next war shall we be bled to death? Bismarck said this, and

let us admit it openly: “In this war we have nothing to gain

and everything to lose.”

He who brings about this war and who does not try to obviate

the danger is perpetrating the greatest outrage on the German

nation. He is endangering the creation of Bismarck and his

King; he is playing with loaded dice.

Here was a voice crying in the wilderness—a prophet without honour in his

own country! But how true are his words!

CHAPTER XIII

HOME LIFE—LADY ROSCOE—WOODCOTE LODGE—PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS—DEATH

In 1863 Roscoe married the lady whom he had first met in his aunt

Crompton’s drawing-room in Hyde Park Square—Lucy, the youngest member

of the family of Edmund Potter, Esq., M.P. for Carlisle, a well-known

Manchester merchant and a friend and co-worker of Bright and Cobden.

Lady Roscoe was a strong and sincere character, of wide sympathies and

generous impulses, with a rich fund of common sense, and a high standard

of duty and performance. She had many intellectual interests and a

cultivated taste; was well read, a good judge of literary work, and

an assiduous collector of old rare and beautiful prints. In the early

days of her married life, and at a time when she had to work with wet

collodion or to prepare her own dry plates, she was recognized by experts

as a clever photographer, and obtained medals from the Photographic

Society for the technical excellence and artistic merit of her exhibits.

She was an admirable hostess, and all who have had the privilege of

partaking of her hospitality cherish an unfading memory of her kindly

manner, her quiet dignity, and unfailing tact. Time dealt tenderly with

her; the additional years brought an added charm, a widened sympathy,

and a larger measure of gentleness and pity. With her healthful, smiling

face and beautiful white hair, her characteristically simple dress and

the rare lace she draped about her head and shoulders, no woman was

ever more successful in the art of growing old gracefully. She died in

1910. Of this union it was said by one who had the best opportunities

of judging: “Of the forty-seven years of married life one who looked on

can say there never were two more of one heart and mind.” The one sorrow

of their lives—and it was a profound sorrow, a grief that changed the

whole current of their aspirations—was the death of their only son when

an undergraduate at Magdalen College, Oxford, just as he was entering on

manhood. He was a young man of great charm of manner, of high ideals,

and a strong sense of duty and responsibility, and with the ambition to

serve in a career of public usefulness or in some position in which his

well-marked powers of literary expression might be turned to account. Two

daughters were also born of this marriage, the elder of whom married Mr.

Charles E. Mallet, formerly M.P. for Plymouth and Under-Secretary for War

in the last Liberal Government.

* * * * *

Nowhere did Roscoe appear to greater advantage than in his home. His

domestic life was singularly unclouded save for the one great sorrow

“that failed the bright promise of an early day.” He had no great

anxieties and few cares—only the passing ones that attend the work of one

who strives to do with all his might whatsoever his hand findeth to do.

He was

Blessed with a temper whose unclouded ray

Can make to-morrow cheerful as to-day.

This happy condition of mind was, no doubt, largely temperamental; it

was based upon a calm and equable disposition that would have taken

Fortune’s buffets and rewards with equal thanks. That there were more

rewards than buffets was due less to Fortune than to himself, for he was

the architect of his own career, and used his opportunities wisely. It is

true he started with advantages—a handsome presence, a well-knit, manly

frame, a frank, ingenuous manner, good social connections, and, after his

marriage, no anxieties as to the _res angusta domi_.

He was fond of the society of his fellows, hospitably disposed, and of

a warm, genial nature. Indeed he had a genius for friendship, and a

boundless capacity for sympathy and kindness—instinctive, spontaneous,

impulsive—the sort of sympathy where action follows hard upon the

heels of inclination, and the kind of kindness which is doubled

because it acts quickly. Innumerable instances of his little nameless,

but _not_ unremembered acts of kindness and of love might be culled

from a correspondence which stretches over half a century. But one

characteristic action must suffice:

10 BRAMHAM GARDENS,

_November 25, 1893_.

I heard of you yesterday as having been out in a

bath-chair—poor man!—so I came to two conclusions: (1) That you

had been very ill. (2) That you were better. We have just come

back from three hours at Woodcote, and I said, “I wish Thorpe

was here.” “Why not ask him and his wife to stay here next

week?” said my better-half. So this I now do, and I hope you

will go there: the air is lovely: the house is warm. There is

an old woman who can cook—and an old man who cannot. You could

take one of your own maids to wait, and there is everything

ready—beds and sitting-rooms, bread and meat—only no whisky.

I shall be delighted if you will both go there on Tuesday.

There is Judy the pony and its cart at your service, and I can

order a closed carriage to take you up.

You _must_ take care of yourself. This attack ought to be and

will be a warning to you not to work on as you have done. It is

serious, and I am, with many friends, anxious you should draw

in your horns. Really your professional work is enough for one

man, and what a pile you put on to the top of this!

Let me know, if possible, to-morrow (Sunday) night whether you

will go. I am sure you would enjoy yourselves, and I will let

E⸺ know so that all shall be ready.

No man was more quick to recognize and to appreciate merit and worthy

motives. Of strong common sense, perfectly sincere, frank and direct of

speech, of an integrity of purpose which was perfectly obvious and which

admitted of no unworthy compromise, he was, as they say in the quaint

forceful Lancashire dialect he loved at times to recall as the speech

of his forerunners, his eminent grandfather included—“jannock”[31] to

the backbone—the very type we associate with the national character.

These marks of his personality constituted the source of his influence.

A broad-minded man, who thought spaciously and did things magnanimously,

nature intended him to be a leader. His example was infectious, and

nowhere was it more obvious than at Owens College, where the success of

his own department was a constant stimulus to his colleagues. Men valued

his counsel because they trusted his judgment.

He knew his limitations as a man of science. He was too honest and

sincere to cherish any illusions as to the position posterity would

assign to him as a leader in chemical inquiry. The profound respect,

amounting almost to reverence, he had for Faraday, Joule, Bunsen,

Helmholtz—all men he learned to know personally—was based upon the

knowledge that they had reached intellectual heights to which he

could not climb. He had not the studious, contemplative habit of his

master Graham. Contact with Williamson kindled no latent faculty

for speculation. The shibboleths of modern chemistry—types, bonds,

linkages, chains, etc., etc., had hardly more real meaning for him than

they had for Bunsen, to whom they were practically unintelligible. It

was characteristic of both that when, at Kekulé’s solicitation, they

jointly attended the chemical congress on nomenclature at Carlsruhe

in 1860, when Cannizzaro brought forward his memorable communication

concerning the rational basis of fixing atomic and molecular weights,

they should not have recognized its significance. Of course they were

not singular in this respect. The revolution did not come at once.

Avogadro’s hypothesis never affected Bunsen’s teaching; some years were

needed before it reached Manchester, and there are still survivals

who never have been clear why water should be HO one year and H₂O the

next. Bunsen, indeed, used to say that one new chemical fact, even an

unimportant one, accurately determined, was worth a whole congress of

discussion of matters of theory. The truth was Roscoe, in chemistry as

in other matters, was primarily a man of action: he was essentially an

“experimentarian philosopher,” as Hobbes sneeringly dubbed the whole of

the Fellows of the Royal Society. A fact absolutely ascertained was a

definite and permanent addition to knowledge; hypotheses and theories

were transitory and mutable; they have their day and cease to be.

But it would be unjust and untrue to assume that Roscoe set no value on

theory: he fully recognized that she was the handmaid of Science. He who

had so carefully studied Dalton’s papers and followed the workings of

his mind in the light of a century’s experience, could not be unmindful

of the worth of a fruitful conception. Mendelejeff’s generalization

when it was first promulgated at once attracted him, and he followed

its startling verifications with the greatest interest. It was always

a matter of gratification that his detection of the true relations of

vanadium to the other elements, just prior to the announcement of the Law

of Periodicity, should have removed at least what would have been one

apparent exception to the universality of its truth.

* * * * *

When Roscoe first settled in Manchester he lived with his mother in the

house which had been occupied by his predecessor, the late Sir Edward

Frankland. On his marriage he moved to Victoria Park, and subsequently,

after the birth of his children, to a larger residence which was built

for him in the same neighbourhood. It was a charming, well-arranged

house surrounded by a good-sized garden, and with an excellent tennis

lawn, to which his colleagues and senior students were freely invited

on half-holidays during the summer months. In those days Roscoe was an

active player, his reach and length of stride making him a formidable

opponent. Both he and Lady Roscoe were fond of horses, and for some

years riding in company with her was his usual form of outdoor exercise.

Occasionally they would plan a driving tour together, and considerable

sections of England and Wales were explored in this way. Whilst his

children were young his long vacations were usually spent in the Lakes

or in Scotland, or at Mr. Edmund Potter’s country seat, Camfield Place,

near Hatfield. Roscoe’s long vacations usually meant to him either a

change of occupation, or the continuance of a piece of literary work in

new surroundings. Many of his memoirs were, in fact, put together during

his vacations: it was only at such periods, when, free from the routine

of lecturing, laboratory superintendence and College committees, that

he could count upon the necessary freedom from interruption to arrange

the results of an inquiry. The compilation of his smaller text-books

was usually done at such times. The large treatise which he wrote with

Schorlemmer, and which necessarily needed ready access to a library

rich in serial publications, was mainly composed in Manchester. At one

period of his career he was a frequent contributor to certain of the

quarterly reviews, and the early volumes of _Nature_ contain occasional

communications from his pen. It was a point of honour to translate any

paper of Bunsen’s for the _Philosophical Magazine_.

During the earlier portion of his Parliamentary career he lived in Mrs.

Potter’s town house in Queen’s Gate, until he moved to Bramham Gardens,

South Kensington, which continued to be his London house until a short

time before his death.

Although he always regarded his thirty years at Owens as his chief work,

the thirty years of his London life were hardly less busy than the time

he spent in Manchester. The occupation might not be so continuous, but it

was certainly more multifarious. Ten years of Parliamentary and active

political life had brought with them new activities and fresh demands

upon his time and energy, and except for occasional periods of enforced

idleness due to attacks of gout—the only constitutional weakness from

which he suffered, and which, as he used ruefully to observe, he had

done nothing to deserve—he was always busy. He had a serious attack of

pneumonia in the winter of 1902, which left him enfeebled for a time,

but eventually, after a summer in Mürren and Burgenstock and a winter

in Algiers and Sicily, he seemed to have completely shaken off its ill

effects. Otherwise his sound and vigorous constitution kept him free

from even passing ailments, and his fourscore years were passed with few

interruptions to his activity from illness.

Shortly after Roscoe took up his residence in London he sought for some

_pied-à-terre_ in the country for the sake of rest and change of scene,

and relief from the physical and mental strain of continuous life in

town. In 1892 he was able to obtain a delightful place on Lord Lovelace’s

property in Surrey, some two dozen miles from London. It was beautifully

situated on the North Downs, between Guildford and Dorking, amidst some

of the loveliest scenery in the South of England. He and Lady Roscoe

altered it to suit their requirements: he to build a spacious study and

to provide room for his many books, and she to house her own collection

which was even more numerous, and to accommodate the many works of art

with which she had surrounded herself. Roscoe has given a charming

word-picture in his autobiography of this ideal retreat, to which as the

years increased they became more and more attached. Here they had

An elegant sufficiency, content,

Retirement, rural quiet, friendship, books,

Ease and alternate labour.

Here Lady Roscoe could indulge to the full her taste in gardening, and

the cultivation of flowers and flowering shrubs became her main outdoor

occupation. She worked at her hobby with all the enthusiasm and skill she

had formerly displayed in photography, and with equal success, for she

made Woodcote noted throughout the country-side for the choiceness and

richness of its floral wealth. One who knew her well wrote of her:

Flowers were named after her not so much as a criterion of her

horticultural knowledge, as a recognition of an almost lavish

generosity to the seedsmen and nursery gardeners, many of whom

were her personal friends.

Attached to the property was a home-farm of some seventy acres, which had

been allowed to get into a very backward state. Roscoe, with no previous

experience of farming, resolved to bring it into better condition, and

with the help of his Westmoreland bailiff he gradually succeeded in

doing so. The business was a constant interest to him. He was proud of

his cart-horses which gained commendation and prizes at the local shows;

of his well-bred Jersey cows; of his breed of Berkshire pigs—the little

pigs were a constant source of amusement—and of his poultry. He records

with much satisfaction that “our” field—(he always associated his bailiff

with these agricultural triumphs, as he always associated his co-workers

with his scientific achievements)—“our field of swedes on several

occasions received the first prize for the best show twenty miles round

Guildford.” He went round his farm as he used to go round his laboratory,

and seemed to be on the same genial terms with every animal on it as he

had been with his students. The affectionate regard with which he used to

contemplate an old sow—a most prolific creature by the way—was a source

of much fun to his friends. If she did not wholly succeed in “paying the

rint,” she doubtless did her best towards it, and so merited and received

commendation.

The hospitality of Woodcote is a treasured memory to numbers of Roscoe’s

friends. Few week-ends passed without one or more of them sharing its

pleasures with him. Sometimes it would be one of his old associates in

scientific work, or a political acquaintance, or a literary friend,

or some distinguished man of science from abroad. Indeed, few foreign

scientific men of any note passed through London without finding their

way to Roscoe’s hospitable board.

My father (says Miss Roscoe) delighted to bring foreigners,

and the more heterogeneous they were the more he was pleased.

I remember one luncheon party of late years, consisting of a

Chinaman, a Japanese, a Czech, a German, and our three selves,

and the Occidentals were much the quietest of the party.

The visitors’ book at Woodcote is a possession of no little historical

interest.

In spite of their varied delights and restful charm there were times

when Roscoe was not wholly content to breathe his native air in his own

grounds: pigs, poultry, and potatoes, as he said, occasionally lost

their spell, and “the pathetic sadness of a garden in autumn” would

drive him and Lady Roscoe to a sunnier clime. Grasse, Italy, Egypt,

Sicily, Algiers, Tunis, Biskra were in turn visited by them during

different winters. Both he and his wife were fond of foreign travel, and

well-written books of travel were a constant source of interest to her.

And so the evening of their lives drew to its close. Her end came

swiftly—and with scarce a warning. His call was to come five years

afterwards, and was to be no less sudden and equally unlooked for.

In the meantime came the War, with all its horrors, griefs, and

anxieties—the crushed hopes for the Peace he had struggled to preserve so

far as in him lay—the unending enmity and bitterness he foresaw between

two nations that in his big heart he had fondly linked together as the

mightiest humanizing forces of the world. It was a real grief to him

that he should have lived to see it all. He frequently thought and spoke

of his old Heidelberg friends—most of whom had passed away—and tried to

realize their feeling of horror at the spectacle which now confronts

us. But his Germany was not the Germany of to-day, and gradually and

reluctantly he was compelled to admit it. He still continued to occupy

himself with his customary pursuits—so long as recurrent attacks of

his arch-enemy the gout would permit. He read assiduously and took an

active interest in current topics—the varying fortunes of the struggle,

politics, and scientific matters. He preserved, in fact, all the

interests of his life to the end. How mentally alert and vigorous he

remained will be evident from the following letters:

WOODCOTE LODGE,

WEST HORSLEY, LEATHERHEAD,

_September 20, 1914_.

I have been laid up, more or less, since the war broke out

with dyspepsia and gout, but now I am recovering. What are you

doing, and when can we meet—which means when can you come here?

What do you say to Ostwald! I enclose a cutting from the

_Westminster_—which please return, as I am going to book it for

future reference. I agree with you that his swelled head is

cracked.

What horrors! One can scarcely believe that the German, as

you and I have known him, could have assumed such brutal

characteristics as we read of. Here we are peaceful enough,

but thirty young men, including Tom Huck, have gone from our

village of 700 souls. Not bad!

Our crops are in—hay poor; oats ditto; wheat fair. Pigs in

plenty, but no sale during the summer. I find on totting up

that during ten years—some very bad—of farming my average loss

has been £58 per annum, which I don’t think is unsatisfactory,

as I get quite that amount of value—beyond market price—in

having good foodstuffs, and then pleasure in the processes and

interest in the varying conditions, and in making things go in

a bad situation for a farmer.

The war is not bad for the only commercial undertaking I have

ever been connected with, for the demand for K, or rather NaCy,

is great owing to the disappearance of the Continental supply,

and the C. K. Co. are increasing the production to fill up the

void.

Then I am again Chairman of the Lister, owing to B⸺ declining

to have anything to do with a proposal to join the National

Medical Research Committee—which the Governing Body suggest,

and the question is to be settled in October by the vote of the

members of the Lister Institute. So I am still awake, though

lame and gouty.

Give my love to your wife, and let me hear from you.…

What is the name of the lame organic chemist who went from

Heidelberg to the Badische?

* * * * *

WOODCOTE LODGE,

_February 19, 1915_.

… The Government have been bamboozled by a want of scientific

acumen at the head—a not unusual occurrence _chez nous_. Thanks

for sending me the report.… I am at last downstairs, and more

or less in my right mind as well. So I feel better, but I do

not suppose I shall be able to go up to town and mix with the

gay world, as was my wont, until the March winds are over. A

chill with me means six weeks indoors, if not something more

serious.

What I need is to have some scientific gossip let loose at

me, but you in your southern retirement are no use at all in

that direction. Has your boat yet been requisitioned by the

Admiralty, and if so, do you go out in charge, having, of

course, previously joined the Navy?

We have here received notice to be prepared to drive off

somewhere or other all our living animals, horses, cows,

calves, pigs, and fowls! I scarcely know where I come in. Also

I believe we are to destroy all our crops, gathered or not

gathered—hay, potatoes, corn, and garden vegetables—so that the

Hun may be an hungred! Also I propose to empty my large cellar

of wine either down the drain or into the duck-pond, like Sir

Wilfrid Lawson.

I await with anxiety the result of the R[oyal] S[ociety]

election. If I were a betting man I should back G⸺ and M⸺,

and perhaps my R⸺ ought to come in 15th. What about the 104

necessarily rejected candidates! Is it not absurd!

* * * * *

WOODCOTE LODGE,

_September 21, 1915_.

… My old friend Pattisson, our Treasurer at the Lister, is

dead, and most of our men have joined the war in one or

other capacity. So much lies on my shoulders, and though

pretty broad, they are old, and I feel the responsibility of

chairmanship.

He attended the meeting of the Lister Institute which has been referred

to in one of his previous letters. The result disappointed him, but as

it was not wholly unexpected, it but slightly, if at all, disturbed

his usual philosophic calm. The death of his friend Rücker, the first

Principal of the London University, a man whom he greatly respected and

admired, which occurred on November 1st, was a far more serious blow, and

affected him greatly.

He had retired to rest at his customary hour, in his usual serene and

happy condition of mind and health, after spending a couple of hours in

his daughter’s society in the drawing-room reading or amusing himself,

as was his wont, on the pianola with one of Beethoven’s sonatas or some

other classical piece. He had been thinking of his approaching birthday,

and had suggested a little gathering of a chosen few of his old students

whom he knew would be glad to celebrate it with him. But this was not

to be. _Diis aliter visum._ Shortly after daybreak on the morning of

December 18, 1915, he was seized with an attack of angina pectoris, and

passed away with scarcely a struggle. With

No cold gradations of decay,

Death broke at once the vital chain,

And freed his soul the nearest way.

What was mortal of him was laid to rest in Brookwood Cemetery in the

grave which held the cherished partner of his life.

FOOTNOTES

[1]

Johnnie Carnegie lais heer,

Descendit of Adam and Eve;

Gif ony con gang hieher,

Ise willing give him leve.

[2] “Some Chemical Facts Respecting the Atmosphere of

Dwelling-houses.” By H. E. Roscoe. _Chem. Soc. Jour._ X. (1858),

pp. 251-268.

[3] “The Owens College: its Foundation and Growth.” By Joseph

Thompson. Manchester: J. E. Cornish.

[4] “Note on the Spontaneous Polymerisation of Volatile

Hydrocarbons at the Ordinary Atmospheric Temperature.” By H. E.

Roscoe. _Chem. Soc. Trans._ XLVII. (1885), pp. 669-671.

[5] “Photochemical Researches.” By R. W. Bunsen and H. E. Roscoe:

Part I. Measurement of the chemical action of light. (_Phil.

Trans._ (1857), pp. 355-380.)

Part II. Phenomena of photochemical induction. (_Phil. Trans._

(1857), pp. 381-402.)

Part III. Optical and chemical extinction of the chemical rays.

(_Phil. Trans._ (1857), pp. 601-620.)

Part IV. Comparative and absolute measurement of the chemical

rays. Chemical action of diffuse daylight. Chemical action of

direct sunlight. Photochemical action of the sun compared with

that of a terrestrial source of light. Chemical action of the

constituent parts of solar light. (_Phil. Trans._ (1859), pp.

879-926.)

Part V. On the direct measurement of the chemical action of

sunlight. (_Phil. Trans._ (1863), pp. 139-160.)

[6] “On the Measurement of the Chemical Brightness of Various

Portions of the Sun’s Disk.” By H. E. Roscoe. _Roy. Soc. Proc._

XII. (1862), pp. 648-650.

[7] “On a Method of Meteorological Registration of the Chemical

Action of Total Daylight.” By H. E. Roscoe. _Phil. Trans._ CLV.

(1865), pp. 605-632.

[8] “Note on the Relative Chemical Intensities of Direct Sunlight

and Diffuse Daylight at Different Altitudes of the Sun.” By H. E.

Roscoe and J. Baxendell. _Roy. Soc. Proc._ XV. (1867), pp. 20-24.

[9] “On the Chemical Intensity of Total Daylight at Kew and Pará,

1865-1867.” By H. E. Roscoe. _Phil. Trans._ CLVII. (1867), pp.

555-570.

[10] “On the Relation between the Sun’s Altitude and the Chemical

Intensity of Total Daylight in a Cloudless Sky.” By H. E. Roscoe

and T. E. Thorpe. _Phil. Trans._ CLX. (1870), pp. 209-316.

[11] “On a Self-recording Method of Measuring the Intensity of

the Chemical Action of Total Daylight.” By H. E. Roscoe. _Roy.

Soc. Proc._ XXII. (1874), pp. 158-159.

[12] “On the Absorption of Hydrochloric Acid and Ammonia in

Water.” _Chem. Soc. Jour._ XII. (1860), pp. 128-151.

[13] “On the Composition of the Aqueous Acids of Constant

Boiling-point.” By H. E. Roscoe. _Chem. Soc. Jour._ XIII. (1861),

pp. 146-164; XV. (1862), pp. 213-216.

[14] “On Perchloric Acid and its Hydrates.” By H. E. Roscoe.

_Roy. Soc. Proc._ II. (1861), pp. 493-503.

[15] “Note on Perchloric Ether.” By H. E. Roscoe. _Chem. Soc.

Jour._ XV. (1862), pp. 213-216.

[16] “On the Isomorphism of Thallium Perchlorate with the

Potassium and Ammonium Perchlorates.” By H. E. Roscoe. _Chem.

Soc. Jour._ IV. (1866), pp. 504-505.

[17] “Researches on Vanadium.” Part I. By H. E. Roscoe. _Phil.

Trans._ CLVIII. (1868), pp. 1-28.

[18] “Researches on Vanadium.” Part II. By H. E. Roscoe. _Phil.

Trans._ CLIX. (1869), pp. 679-692.

[19] “Researches on Vanadium.” Part III. By H. E. Roscoe. _Phil.

Trans._ CLX. (1870), pp. 317-332.

[20] “On Two New Vanadium Minerals.” By H. E. Roscoe. _Roy. Soc.

Proc._ XXV. (1877), pp. 109-112.

[21] “A Study of Certain Tungsten Compounds.” By H. E. Roscoe.

_Manchester Lit. Phil. Soc. Proc._ XI. (1872), pp. 79-90.

[22] “On a New Chloride of Uranium.” By H. E. Roscoe. _Chem. Soc.

Jour._ XII. (1874), pp. 933-935.

[23] “Note on the Specific Gravity of the Vapours of the

Chlorides of Thallium and Lead.” By H. E. Roscoe. _Roy. Soc.

Proc._ XXVII. (1878), pp. 426-428.

[24] “A Study of Some of the Earth-metals contained in

Samarskite.” By H. E. Roscoe. _Chem. Soc. Jour._ XLI. (1882), pp.

277-282.

[25] “The Spectrum of Terbium.” By H. E. Roscoe and A. Schuster.

_Chem. Soc. Jour._ XLI. (1882), pp. 283-287.

[26] “On the Measurement of the Chemical Intensity of Total

Daylight made at Catania during the Solar Eclipse of December 22,

1870.” By H. E. Roscoe and T. E. Thorpe. _Phil. Trans._ CLXI.

(1871), pp. 467-476.

[27] This query refers to the circumstance that at the time Lady

Roscoe was growing _Dictamnus Fraxinella_—the so-called “burning

bush”—for the writer, who had undertaken to investigate the cause

of the phenomenon which has given the plant its trivial name.

The ready inflammability was found to be due to the accumulation

in the vesicles on the flower-stems of small quantities of an

essential oil.

[28] “On Schützenberger’s Process for the Estimation of Dissolved

Oxygen in Water.” By H. E. Roscoe and Joseph Lunt. _Chem. Soc.

Trans._ (1889), LV. 552.

[29] “Contributions to the Chemical Bacteriology of Sewage.” By

H. E. Roscoe and Joseph Lunt. _Phil. Trans._ (1891), CLXXXII. pp.

633-664.

[30] It has thrown upwards of five millions.

[31] _Anglice_: “Fair, honest, straightforward, upright, genuine,

square.” Wright’s “English Dialect Dictionary.” Cf. Nodal and

Milner’s “Lancashire Glossary.”

INDEX

Absorption of hydrochloric acid and ammonia in water, 121

Agassiz, Louis, 116

Alais meteorite, 132

Allerton Hall, 6

Arsenic-eating in Styria, 132

Atomic weights, Dalton’s first table of, 132

Baines, Sir Edward, 61, 73

Bakerian Lectures, 114

Balmain, William H., 17

Barnes, Rev. Dr., 36

Baxendell, Joseph, 114

Bessemer process, application of spectroscope to, 133

Brühl, Professor, 140

Bryce, Lord, 43

Bunsen, R. W., his characteristics, 24, 26

Burning bush, 157

Carbon dioxide in sea air, 115

Carnegie, Mr. Andrew, 109

Carnegie Scholarships and Fellowships, 169

Cavendish, Lord Frederick, 55, 57, 61, 81

Chemical action of light, 110

“Chemistry Primer,” 139

Chorley, Henry, his appreciation of Henry Roscoe, 14

Clarke, William, 4, 6

Clothworkers’ Company of London, 57, 75, 88

Colonna, Vittoria, her life, by Maria Roscoe, 16

Columbium trichloride, 181

Conversation Club, Leeds, 55

Crompton, Mr. Justice, 20

Darwin, Sir George, 136

Darwin, Horace, 121

Debus, Dr. Heinrich, 142

Delafontaine, Philippe, 131

_Deutsche Revue_, 179

Devonshire, Duke of, 44, 61, 81, 82

Dittmar, Wilhelm, 27-35, 121

Draper (of New York), 110

Eclipse expedition to Sicily, 134

Enfield, Dr. William, 15

Ethyl perchlorate, 122

Eton College, 165

Fairbairn, Sir Andrew, 55

Fairfax, Henry, 46

Fairfax, Lord, 46

Faulkner, George, 29

Firth College, Sheffield, 167

Forster, W. E., 61, 66, 82

Frankland, Sir Edward, 128

Germany and England, 180

Gibson, John, sculptor, 6

Goldsmid, Sir Julian, 162

Gott, Rev. Dr., Bishop of Truro, 73

Graham, Thomas, his characteristics as a lecturer, 19

Green, Prof. A. H., 59

Greenwood, Principal, 34, 44, 48, 50

Guthrie, Dr. Frederick, 35

Harden, Dr., 36, 141, 189

Heaton, Dr. J. D., 55, 57, 83, 86

Heddle, Professor (of St. Andrews), 126, 127

Heywood, James, F.R.S., 47

Heywood, Joseph, 101, 126

Irving, Washington, his appreciation of William Roscoe, 12

Jevons, Stanley, 20

“John Dalton and the Rise of Modern Chemistry,” 141

Jones, H. L., his plan for University of Manchester, 47

Joule, James P., 37

Lead and thallium chlorides, vapour densities of, 131

Leeds Educational Council, 55

“Lessons in Elementary Chemistry,” 138

Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine, 171

Liveing, Dr., first laboratory in Cambridge, 23

Lunt, Dr. Joseph, 139, 158

Lupton, Francis, 75

M’Creery, John, 6

Manchester University, early attempts to found, 45

Marshall, Prof. John, his appointment to the Yorkshire College, 74

Miall, Prof. Louis C., his appointment to Yorkshire College, 42

Morley, Viscount, of Blackburn, 109

“New View of Dalton’s Atomic Theory,” 141

Nussey, Arthur, plan for a Technical Institution for Leeds, 54

Nussey, George Henry, his plan for a Technical Institution for Leeds and

District, 54

Nussey, Thomas, 53

Owens College, its origin, 28;

its foundation, 30;

its first professors, 31;

its location, 31;

its growth, 32;

its extension, 41;

new constitution, 42;

its first attempt to include women, 43;

erection of new buildings, 44;

new chemical laboratories, 44

Owens, John, 28, 29

Owens, Owen, 28

Pankhurst, Dr. Richard Marsden, 91

Perchloric acid and its hydrates, 122

“Philippium,” 131

Photochemical induction, 111

Photometric observations at Pará, 115;

near Lisbon, 120

Playfair, Lord, 62;

his address on technical education, 63, _et seq._

Pulling, Prof. F. S., his appointment to the Yorkshire College, 74

Reform Bills, 1831-1832, drafted by Henry Roscoe, 13

Reid, Sir Wemyss, his support of the Yorkshire College, 68, 141

Ripon, Lord, 61, 66, 80, 82

Roscoe, Henry, his birth, 12;

his characteristics, 12;

becomes a barrister, 13;

his legal works, 13;

drafts Reform Bills of 1831-1832; his “Life of William Roscoe,” 13;

married Maria Fletcher, 15;

becomes Judge of the Court of Passage, 14;

his death, 14;

appreciation of him by Henry Chorley, 14

Roscoe, Henry Enfield, his birth, 16;

his education, 17;

receives his first lessons in chemistry from William H. Balmain, 17;

enters University College, London, 18;

connection with Thomas Graham, 19;

elects to follow chemistry as a career, 20;

enters Birkbeck Laboratory, 21;

his appreciation of Williamson, 21;

becomes Williamson’s assistant, 21;

is offered an assayership in the Sydney Mint, 22;

takes his degree in the University of London, 22;

goes to Bunsen at Heidelberg, 23;

in Heidelberg, 25;

his first published paper, 25;

makes his doctor examination, 25;

memorial lecture on Bunsen, 25-26;

studies German University system, 26;

returns to London, 27;

is appointed to Owens College, 27;

his work at Owens, 34;

his part in shaping the curriculum of the new University, 38;

is elected Chairman of Convocation, 90;

as a teacher, 97;

is offered lectureship at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, 97;

Chair at Oxford, 98;

his method of working the Chemical Department at Owens, 98;

his characteristics as a lecturer, 101;

his portraits by Burgess and Herkomer, 103;

address by students, 103;

as an investigator, 110;

gives his first Bakerian Lecture, 114;

studies the absorption of hydrochloric acid and ammonia in water, 121;

perchloric acid and its hydrates, 122;

vanadium and its compounds, 123;

gives his second Bakerian Lecture, 128;

studies tungsten compounds, 130;

discovers uranium pentachloride, 130;

discovers columbium trichloride, 131;

determines vapour densities of chlorides of lead and thallium, 131;

disproves existence of “philippium,” 131;

maps spark spectrum of terbium, 131;

redetermines the atomic weight of carbon, 131;

lectures on spectrum analysis, 132;

papers on spectrum analysis, 134;

Sicilian eclipse expedition, 134;

wreck of H.M.S. _Psyche_, 135;

“Lessons in Elementary Chemistry,” 138;

“Chemistry Primer,” 139;

“Treatise on Chemistry,” 139;

“John Dalton and the Rise of Modern Chemistry,” 141;

“New View of Dalton’s Atomic Theory,” 141;

writes his life and experiences, 144;

is elected into the Royal Society, 146;

is awarded a Royal Medal, 146;

joins Chemical Society, 146;

is President, 146;

“Society of Chemical Industry,” 147;

receives medal of Society of Chemical Industry, 149;

Honorary President of the International Congress of Applied

Chemistry, 149;

British Association, 150;

British Association President, 151;

member of Royal Commissions, 152;

is knighted, 154;

enters Parliament, 154;

political services, 155;

chemical adviser to Metropolitan Board of Works, 157;

becomes Vice-Chancellor London University, 162;

Fellow of Eton College, 165;

member of Scottish Universities Commission, 167;

of Royal Commission of 1851 Exhibition, 168;

examiner in the Science and Art Department, 170;

Lister Institute, 171;

dignities and honours, 175;

member of Privy Council, 176;

his jubilee, 177;

the _Deutsche Revue_, 179;

Germany and England, 180;

home life, 190;

characteristics, 191;

Woodcote Lodge, 197;

death, 203

Roscoe, Maria, her marriage, 15;

her “Life of Vittoria Colonna,” 16;

her characteristics, 16;

letter from, 39

Roscoe, William, his birth, 2;

his schooling, 2;

his love of literature, 2;

becomes an attorney, 2;

his poem “Mount Pleasant,” 3;

attacks the Slave Trade, 3;

welcomes the French Revolution, 3;

his studies of Italian literature, 4;

his “Life of Lorenzo de’ Medici,” 4;

his translation of Tansillo’s “Nurse,” 5;

his “Life and Pontificate of Leo the Tenth,” 5;

purchases Allerton Hall, 6;

reclamation of Chat Moss, 6;

his connection with John M’Creery, 6;

his protection of John Gibson, 6;

his interest in botany, 7;

founded Society for the Encouragement of the Arts of Painting and

Design, in Liverpool, 7;

Liverpool Academy, 7;

Liverpool Literary and Philosophical Society, 7;

Liverpool Lyceum, 8;

Liverpool Atheneum, 8;

Liverpool Botanic Garden, 8;

Liverpool Royal Institution, 8;

is elected member for Liverpool, 9;

his share in the Abolition of the Slave Trade, 9;

votes for Catholic Emancipation, 10;

riots in Liverpool, 10;

his Parliamentary work, 10;

failure of Liverpool bank, 10;

his monograph on the monandrian plants, 11;

his edition of Pope’s works, 11;

his death, 12;

appreciation of him by Washington Irving, 12

Royal Institution, lecture on amount of chemical light in tropics by

Roscoe, 118

Rücker, Sir Arthur, 59, 81, 165

Sandbach, Mrs., 7

Schorlemmer, Carl, 35, 102, 121, 139

Schuster, Dr. Arthur, 131, 133

Science Lectures for the People, 38

Scott, Principal A. J., 33

Scottish Universities Commission, 167

Scudder, Frank, 159

Sherbrooke, Lord, 50

Spectrum analysis, 132

Spontaneous polymerization of volatile hydrocarbons, 101

Stewart, Dr. Balfour, 115

Technical Instruction Commission, 153

Terbium, spark spectrum of, 131

Thallium perchlorate, 123

“The Life and Experiences of Sir Henry E. Roscoe,” 144

Thompson, Joseph, his “History of Owens College,” 29, 46, 48

Tithonometer, 111

“Treatise on Chemistry,” 139

Tungsten pentabromide and pentachloride, 130

University College, Dundee, 167

University College, Liverpool, 167

University of London, 161

Uranium pentachloride, 130

Vanadium and its compounds, 123

Victoria University, 77;

constitution as proposed by Manchester, 78;

objections by Yorkshire, 80;

joint memorial in favour of, 81;

charter granted, 86;

associates of Owens College the first graduates, 93

Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, 11

Ward, Sir A. W., 48, 50, 81

Waterhouse, Alfred, R.A., 44, 75

Watts, Dr. W. Marshall, 133

Whatton, W. R., his plans for University of Manchester, 46

Williamson, Alexander, his characteristics, 21, 93

World Supremacy or War, 185

Wreck of H.M.S. _Psyche_, 135

Yorkshire Board of Education, 55

Yorkshire College, the, its origin and growth, 58, _et seq._;

report of Yorkshire Board of Education, 56;

foundation of professorships, 58;

its first premises, 59;

its inauguration ceremony, 60;

new college buildings, 75;

Council considers question of foundation of Northern University, 76, 79

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