6

BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OP THE LATE

Anglesey, North Wales . How does your chemical society get ou ? I amafraid, badly, since poor Irvine is gone. However, you must keep it up.We intend another volume of our transactions by next spring. I am out ofthe scrape, and shall continue so till the end of the chapter.

“ Yours, ever,

“A. Eason.”

In these, and other letters amongst Mr. Macintosh’s papers,allusion is made to the proceedings of a chemical society, ofwhich he was a member,* and which appears to have met inthe University ; and to have been under the surveillance of theProfessors. Several Essays, which seem to have been contri-butions to this society, remain in Mr. Macintosh’s handwrit-ing. They are to be regarded as the productions of a tyro, atthe time when chemistry was upon the eve of the revolutionwhich gave it its present form, and extended sphere of useful-ness.

A few extracts from these Essays may here suffice for thepurpose contemplated in the present memoir :—*f*

* The following letter relates to the proceedings of this society :—

“ From William Couper, Esq. to Charles Macintosh , Esq. (then in Holland).

“ Glasgow , December 14tli, 1Y8G.

“My Dear Sir, —I had the pleasure of your letter dated at Rotterdam sometime ago. Some convulsions in our Society, which are now happily over, inducedme to put off writing till I saw their termination. Owing to a regulation of theCollege Faculty, every Society existing within the College was under the necessityof acquainting the Principal with the nature and intention of their meetings, andof sending him a list of the members. This, though it appeared to most of us athing simple, and easy to be submitted to, liad a different effect on others ; and welost Mr. Candlish , Mr. Tillocli, and Mr. Crawford. In other respects, wo, I think,flourish ; and, I doubt not, will continue to do so. * * * *

“ Believe me, dear Sir,

“ Yours, most sincerely,

“ Wm. Couper.”

The Mr. Candlish alluded to in the foregoing letter was a student of divinity, whoafterwards became what is termed a grinder, in the University of Glasgow . Hewas the father of the celebrated Dr. Candlish , of Free Church notoriety ; so thatdisruption seems to have been hereditary in the family. Mr. Tillocli settled inLondon , and established the Philosophical Magazine, and Star Newspaper, of whichhe was editor. Mr. John Wilson, of Ilurlet, Major Finlay, Royal Engineers, Dr.John M'Lean, afterwards Professor of Chemistry in the College of Princeton , inthe United States , were all members of the Glasgow Chemical Society, at the dateabove-mentioned.— Ed.

f When these Essays were written by Mr. Macintosh, he was between 19 and21 years of age.— Ed.