nkind_, in five volumes, and it was he who
protected me most chivalrously against the somewhat frivolous
objections of certain members, who were not over friendly towards
Prince Albert, Chevalier Bunsen, and all that was called German in
scholarship. All, however, went off well. Bunsen's speech was most
successful, and it is a pity that it should be buried in the
_Transactions of the British Association for 1847_. At that time it
was considered a great honour that his speech should appear there _in
extenso_. When Bunsen declared that he would not give it, unless Dr.
Meyer's paper and my own were published in the _Transactions_ at the
same time, there was renewed opposition. I was so little proud of my
own essay, that I should much rather have kept it back for further
improvement, but printed it was in the _Transactions_, and much
canvassed at the time in different journals.

I have always been doubtful about the advantages of these public
meetings, so far as any scientific results are concerned. Everybody
who pays a guinea may become a member and make himself heard, whether
he knows anything on the subject or not. The most ignorant men often
occupy the largest amount of time. Some people look upon these
congresses simply as a means of advertising themselves, and I have
actually seen quoted among a man's titles to fame the fact that he had
been a member of certain congresses. Another drawback is that no one,
not even the best of scholars, is quite himself before a mixed
audience. Whereas in a private conversation a man is glad to receive
any new information, no one likes to be told in public that he ought
to have known this or that, or that every schoolboy knows it. Then
follows generally a squabble, and the best pleader is sure to have the
laughter on his side, however ignorant he may be of the subject that
is being discussed. But Dr. Prichard was an excellent president and
moderator, and though he had unruly spirits to deal with, he succeeded
in keeping up a certain decorum among them. Dr. Prichard's authority
stood very high, and justly so, and his _Researches into the Physical
History of Mankind_ still remain unparalleled in ethnology. His
careful weighing of facts and difficulties went out of fashion when
the theory of evolution became popular, and every change from a flea
to an elephant was explained by imperceptible degrees. He dealt
chiefly with what was perceptible, with well-observed facts, and many
of the fac