The privilege appears to have been exercised for a time with considerable vigour, Dr. Charleton being appointed, by a Resolution of April 20th in the same year, "to have the care of Dissecting Bodies for one year." But although there are several entries in the Council Minutes relating to Anatomical Experiments, and in June, 1668, Henry Howard, afterwards sixth Duke of Norfolk, gave the Society a room in Arundel House for that purpose, no clear reference to the privilege in question has been found later than the Minute of August 29, 1666, when it was ordered "That an Amanuensis should make a Copy of the Warrant for demanding a Body for dissection, to be performed in Gresham College by some of the Fellows of the Society at their own charges." Ultimately it fell wholly into abeyance. The second Charter also granted the Society the use of arms, and in August, 1663, Charles II presented the Society with the mace, which is still in their possession, the warrant for which is dated May 23, 1663.* After the Incorporation, the now Royal Society conducted its meetings very much as they had been conducted while it was yet a private Society. What was the character of the meetings at that time may be learnt from the following record of the fourth meeting after the one at which the charter was read, copied from the Journalbook: September 10th, 1662. "Mersennus, his account of the tenacity of cylindricall bodies was read by Mr. Croone, to whome the prosecution of that matter by consulting Galilæo, was referred when the translation of that Italian treatise wherein he handleth of this subject shall bee printed. "It was order'd, that, at the next meeting Experiments should bee made with wires of severall matters of ye same size, silver, copper, iron, &c., to see what weight will breake them; the curator is Mr. Croone. "The reading of the french manuscript brought in by Sr. Robert Moray about taking heights and distances by catoptricks was differred till the description of the instrument should come. "Dr. Goddard made an experiment concerning the force that presseth the aire into lesse dimensions; and it was found, that twelve ounces did contract part of Aire. The quantity of Air is wanting. "My Lord Brouncker was desired to send his Glass to Dr. Goddard, to make further experiments about the force of pressing aire into less dimensions. “Dr. Wren was put in mind to prosecute Mr. Rook's observations concerning the motions of the satellites of Jupiter. "Dr. Charleton read an Essay of his, concerning the velocity of sounds, direct and reflexe, and was desired to prosecute this matter; and to bring his discourse again next day to bee enter❜d. "Dr. Goddard made the Experiment to show how much aire a man's lungs may hold, by sucking up water into a separating glasse after the lungs have been well emptied of Aire. Severall persons of the Society trying it, some sucked up in one suction about three pintes of water, one six, another eight pintes and three quarters, &c. Here was observed the variety of whistles or tones, which ye water made at the severall hights, in falling out of the glasse again. "Mr. Evelyn's experiment was brought in of Animal engrafting, and in particular of making a Cock spur grow on a Cock's head. "It was discoursed whether there bee any such thing as sexes in *The legend that this mace of the Society was the "bauble" turned out of the House of Commons by Oliver Cromwell has been exposed by Weld, 'Hist. Roy. Soc.,' vol. 1, p. 152, &c. trees and other plants; some instances were brought of Palme trees, plum trees, hollies, Ash trees, Quinces, pionies, &c., wherein a difference was said to be found, either in their bearing of fruit or in their hardnesse and softness, or in their medicall operations: some said that the difference which is in trees as to fertility or sterility may be made by ingrafting. "Mention was made by Sr. Rob. Moray of a French Gentleman who having been some while since in England, and present at a meeting of the Society, discoursed that the nature of all trees was to run altogether to wood, which was changed by a certaine way of cutting them, whereby they were made against their nature to beare fruit, and that according as this cutting was done with more, or lesse, skill the more or less fruitfull the tree would bee. "A proposition was offered by Sr. Robert Moray about the planting of Timber in England and the preserving of what is now growing. "Mr. Boyle shew'd a Puppey in a certaine liquour, wherein it had been preserved during all the hott months of the Summer, though in a broken and unsealed glasse. "Sir James Shaen proposed a Candidate by Sr. Rob. Moray." It is evident that one most important feature of a meeting was the performing of experiments before the members. In the warrant issued in 1663, ordering the mace to be made for the Royal Society, the Society is spoken of as "for the improving of Natural Knowledge by experiments." The experiment was performed for and by itself, and not merely, as now, in illustration of a paper communicated." Papers were read then as now; but the reading of such papers formed only a part, and by no means a great part, of the business of the meeting. Much time was spent in discussing the bearings of such experiments as were shown, and in devising other experiments to be shown at some subsequent meeting, or in instituting investigations to be carried out in divers places and under various circumstances. And from the very first much of the energy of the Society was spent in foreign correspondence, in giving information or advice upon inquiries reaching them, in seeking news, or in instigating researches in foreign places. The Letter-books of the Society contain very many letters between the Society and various learned bodies and individuals abroad; the first Letter-book begins with one dated 22nd July, 1661 (that is, before the incorporation of the Society), and addressed by the then President, Sir Robert Moray, to one Monsieur de Monmort, requesting the interchange of scientific communications. Monsieur de Monmort appears to have been the patron of science at whose house in Paris there assembled that small body of savants who later, in 1666, were incorporated as the "Académie des Sciences." The importance of the experiments carried out at the meetings is shown by the Society early availing itself of the power granted to it by the Charter of "appointing two or more curators of experiments," and appointing to this office Robert Hooke, who had been the assistant to Boyle, admitting him at the same time as a Fellow of the Society. He was elected Curator to the Society on January 11, 1664-65, "for perpetuity, with a salary of £30 a year, pro tempore," apartments being assigned to him for residence. He held the appointment concurrently with the secretaryship, to which he was elected in 1677. In 1684 Papin was chosen joint Curator with Hooke, and continued so until 1687, when he became Professor at Marburg. Both Hooke and Papin were very active in providing experiments to be shown at the meetings. There appear to have been additional Curators for special departments, besides the general Curatorship of Robert Hooke. Thus, in November, 1667, Dr. Lomer was appointed "Curator in Anatomical Experiments." In April, 1672, Dr. Grew was appointed "to be a Curator to the Royal Society for the Anatomy of Plants for a year, upon subscriptions amounting to £50, to be made by such members of the Society as should be willing to contribute thereto," and in December of that year the Council promised to "recommend him to the Society, to continue him another year, if the subscribers would please to continue their contributions." Whether he was actually continued does not appear. It will also be noticed that in the account of the meeting of September 10, 1662, given above, Mr. Croone is named as the Curator of a special series of experiments. On February 27, 1683-84," Mr. Hally was desired to bring in experiments at the meetings of the Society in the manner of a Curator, and he should be considered for it as others had been. He was desired to proceed first upon magnetism, which he promised to doe." On May 27, 1685, Mr. Molt was "imployed in making the chymical operations," and in 1707 Dr. Douglas and Mr. Hawksbee were similarly employed to prepare experiments, and were paid for so doing, but do not appear to have borne the title of Curator. Dr. Desaguliers, however, seems to have borne the title. He was elected a Fellow on July 15, 1714, and was excused his fees, on account of his usefulness in the Curatorship. Some of the experiments were instituted at the instigation of King Charles II; and in the early days the Society seems often to have prepared experiments at its meeting, hoping, but in many instances in vain, that the King would do them the honour to witness them. In order to carry out their inquiries and investigations more efficiently, the Society not only appointed special committees to make inquiries concerning and to report on particular questions, as, for instance, when Sir John Lawson desired that a Committee might be appointed "to examine Mr. Greatrix's Diving-instrument, or to direct a good way for staying under water for a considerable time, to lay the foundation of the mole at Tangier" (Council Minutes, January 13, 1663), but also instituted permanent Committees, each to take charge of some special branch of Natural Knowledge. Thus, in the first year after the second Charter, on March 30th, 1664, the following eight Committees were appointed: "1. Mechanical. To consider of and improve all Mechanical Inventions. [69 names.] 2. Astronomical and Optical. [15 names.] 3. Anatomical. All the Physitians of the Society, Mr. Boyle, Dr. Wilkins, Mr. Hook. 4. Chymical. Duke of Buckingham, Mr. Boyle, Sr. Kenelme Digby, Mr. Charles Howard, Mr. Henshaw, Mr. Le Febure, Sr. Robert Paston, All the Physitians of the Society. 5. Georgical. [32 names.] 6. For Histories of Trades. [35 names.] 7. For Collecting all the Phænomena of Nature hitherto observed, and all Experiments made and recorded. [21 names.] 8. For Correspondence. [20 names.]”* As will be seen from the Note on the Statutes, the time of the weekly meetings of the Society was fixed, at first in 1663, to be on Wednesday at 2 P.M., but the hour was soon, in July of the same year, changed to 3 P.M. In 1776 the time of the meeting is fixed as Thursday at 6 P.M., but between this and the above date were changes from Wednesday to Thursday and back again, and from 3 P.M. to 4 P.M., and again to 6 P.M. Since 1710 the meetings have been on Thursdays, the hour being changed in 1780 from 6 to 8 P.M., about 1831 to 8.30 P.M., and in 1880 to 4.30 P.M. *The portraits of the six early Presidents given in Plates 1 and 2 are from *MS. Journal-book, vol. 2, fol. 61. |