FEBRUARY, 1916. Vol. XLI., No. 479. THE ANALYST. OBITUARY. RAPHAEL MELDOLA-AN APPRECIATION. RAPHAEL MELDOLA was born June 19, 1849, in Islington; he died suddenly, of heart failure, at his home in Bloomsbury Square, November 16, 1915. According to the Jewish Cyclopaedia, he came of an ancient Spanish-Portuguese Jewish family, which long flourished in Toledo, traceable, it is said, down to 1282 through sixteen generations.His grandfather of the same name was a Jewish Rabbi of distinction : born in Leghorn in 1754, he died in London in 1828; he was a noted scholar and a dominant factor of the British Jewry of his generation-indeed, so remarkable were his talents that he was permitted to take his seat in the rabbinical college when only fifteen years old. Meldola’s marked literary ability and philosophical tendencies, which are clearly displayed in his numerous addresses, evidently came to him from this grandfather.He was slight in figure and of frail appearance, though a good walker, The writer first learnt to know him in 1866, when he entered as a student, under Frankland, at the Royal College of Chemistry, Oxford Street. A couple of years later, Meldola became junior assistant, under Mr.C. E. Groves, in the private research laboratory of Dr. Stenhouse ; at the time, this was the best school of organic chemistry in the kingdom for a young worker but it was good in other ways, as fervent disputations, sometimes on religious topics, were of frequent ocourrence. About 1870 he entered the laboratory of the colour works established at Brentford by Greville Williams (who had been one of Perkin’s assistants), Thomas and Dower.Otto Witt was subsequently chemist in this works and while there brought out the first recognised azo-colour that was put upon the English market. In 1872 he returned to Frankland’s laboratory and was mainly occupied, in succession to Alexa,nder Pedler, on the Bppointment of the latter to a Professorship in Calcutta, in assisting Mr.Norman Lockyer, then in the first flush of his astronomical career. Lockyer was engaged, in conjunction with Frankland, in studying the effect of pressure, etc., on the spectra of gases. This engagement led to his taking part, in 1875, in the international expedition to the Nicobar Islands, in the Bay of Bengal, to view the total eclipse of the sun ; it probably also led him to take an interest in photography.In 1877 he became chemist to Brooke, Simpson and Spiller, who had taken over Perkin’s business a few years previously; he remained there until 1885, when he assumed the Professorship at the Finsbury Technical College, vacant through my appointment to the Central Technical College at South Kensington.He held this office up to the time of his death. Fortunately, Meldola never speculated in ions and knew what was required of the chemist, so-with the aid of my old Why Meldola left this firm I do not know.28 OBITUARY : RAPHAEL MELDOLA assistant Streatfeild, an incomparable lieutenant-his students were trained to be chemists-to use their hands and do things, instead of playing with froth.A large number of young men were turned out from the school who became really useful in works, especially as the course at Finsbury, which my colleagues, Ayrton and Perry and I had instituted, involved some attention being given by would-be chemists to engineering drawing and the rudiments of engineering, as well as to electricity. He had the advantage of working without being subject to the control of any outside examining body-a, condition we had laid down as the sine qua non of success, which has been maintained to the present day and has distinguished the Finsbury College from most other institutions of similar grade in London and elsewhere, giving it a deserved supremacy.While saying this, I cannot help expressing the fear that in later years professional examinations have tended, in a measure, to neutralise some of the advantages the Finsbury School had formerly. The time must come when we shall recognise that all such prescribed tests have an arresting effect on mental development, unless taken by students in their stride, without any special preparation.Some day, probably, we shall devise some series of penny-in-the-slot cranial testing machines, such as Midshipman Easy’s father worked at, that will be far more effective than any set of present-day, unimaginative, academic examiners ; after passing through these, the candidate will be stamped-‘‘ A Chemist, well and truly made.” While still a student of chemistry, in 1868, before he published anything chemical, he began to write about insects and early took an interest in the problems of mimicry; he appears to have given special attention to this subject through Darwin’s encouragement, as the great naturalist put him in possession of letters written from Brazil by Fritz Miiller, the earliest authority on these matters.I n fact, although his professed occupation was that of a chemist, at heart he was ever a naturalist-not the mere ordinary variety but a philosophic naturalist ; yet he took great interest in field work and occasionally, when the fit was on him, collected vigorously; but to his great credit, be it said, he‘was only too ready to scrap his collection at any time if he saw an opportunity of encouraging a young worker.His interests, in fact, always lay far above those of the systematists; his scientific training had made it impossible for him merely to collect and split hairs in coining new species.Hence he became the translator of Weismann’s “Studies in the Theory of Descent ” and Darwin honoured him by writing a prefatory notice to the first volume, published in 1881. Hence also, later on, as President of the Entomo- logical Society, in two addresses delivered in 1900 and 1901, he urged bug-hunters to become experimentalists and theorists and argued strongly in favour of the use of the imagination-a course which, I know, made some of the conservative seniors uneasy.Meldola, I think, though fond of a good story, had no great sense of humour ; he failed to realise, apparently, that the naturalist species only occasionally throws aberrant forms with scientific pro~livities-~~ his not to reason why, his but to do and die”; in other words, to collecf and record, not to generalise.The truly soientific worker must utilise his materid ; he cannot save it. Zoology will never be more than a descriptive science in the hands of the zoologists-the biologists alone can make its dead bones live. Meldola certainly played a considerable part inOBITUARY : RAPHAEL MELDOLA 29 this country in founding a school of entomologicd thought, with aspirations towards a science of entomology. Technically well versed in his subject, he has done much interesting detailed chemical investigation, though in a curiously restricted field.I have always thought that his chemical work lacked enthusiasm and that he failed to display the philo- sophical grasp apparent in his biological essays.To me this has always been an interesting feature of his psychology. Through lack of means, he was forced in early life to become a professional-at heart, his proclivities were such, I believe, that, had circumstances been favourable, he would have elected to play the part of that par- ticularly English species, the amateur, by preference.On this account, he had the innate faculty of being attracted by and of attracting older men-thus, he knew Darwin well and I believe that Darwin valued his opinion highly; I think I may say that he loved Wallace and that Wallace returned his affection ; two other pioneer naturalists, Bates and Trimen, were also his intimates ; Poulton and he have long figured as fast friends. But I doubt if, outside these, many really knew him.Though reticent and mute in his early life, in later years he became a confident and fluent speaker. At all times he was more at home and ready to talk shop with naturalists than with chemists : our narrowness bored his catholic taste, I think. I have never known him better company than when out with the Geologists’ Association, especially on one occasion in the Bournemouth district, when he brought Wallace, who then lived at Poole, in his train ; the occasion is fresh in my mind, as I have a photograph I took of the two men and Starkie Gardiner resting on a bank of Nummulite remains close to the beaoh.The work he did in founding the Epping Forest and County of Essex Field Club and his subsequent entire devotion to this body are probably the best testimonial of his ability as an organiser on record.He was first President of the Club and again held office when the Association came of age : on this occasion he delivered an address in which he summarised the proceedings of the club; he was in the proud position of showing that it could claim to have done much real work, though he nowhere hinted that this was largely due to his inspiring influence and constant care.His translation of the two volumes of Weismann’s ‘‘ Theory of Descent ” (1883-83) was a remarkable achievement in its way-not the least on account of the happy rendering he gave of the crabbed German of the original; as a literary performance, it touched a high level.He was at all times prepared to break a lance on behalf of Darwin. His Herbert Spencer Lecture, delivered in 1910, on “Evolution : Darwinian and Spencerian,” is a scholarly essay in which he traced the impression left by each of the two great founders of the modern school of evolution. It isnote- worthy that in this address he declared his belief that the answer evolution has given us is that “the invocation of extraneous powers-of a principle of vitality-to explain processes of which we are ignorant is simply the reintroduction of long- abandoned unscientific methods.” His discussion, in this essay, of the chemical processes which may have been operative at an early stage, and have led to the introduction of “life,” is not prtrticu- Ia,rly illuminating; it is strange that he does not appear to have had his attention directed to the importance of enzymic phenomena in this conneotion.He regards30 OBITUARY : RAPHAEL MELDOLA ‘‘ vital polygenesis ” as conceivable--i.e., the independent origin of life at various centres. He was a photographer in early days and his book on The Chemistry of Pho- tography ’’ is full of interest, dealing as it does with the principles underlying the art.His big book in “The Chemical Synthesis of Vital Products,” published in 1904, was a disappointment-just & dull, dry dictionary, the introductory chapter alone being of interest. Instead of dealing with the substances that are met with in animals and plants with reference to their occurrence and function, unfortunately he wasted his energies in giving a complete account of the methods by which such substances could be prepared.He contributed a readable “ Introduction to Chemistry ” to the Home University Series ; also a semi-popular account of ‘‘ Coal Tar and its Uses” to the series published by the S.P.C.K. His technical addresses to the societies of which he was President-the Chemical Society, the Dyers and Colourists and the Society of Chemical Industry*- are all noteworthy literary productions.His first address to the Chemical Society had reference to the ‘6 Living Organism as a Chemical Agency ” and is a scholarly epitome of the work done in the borderlands of chemistry and biology ; but, like the later essay on Evolution, this is marred by repetition of too many of the vague generalities of biological speculation and lacks depth of technical feeling.His second address dealt with the position and prospects of research, a topic which also figures in several of his other addresses. It is specially noteworthy on account of his outspoken criticism of the modern Polytechnics. Meldola did his best for the cause of science but I fear he failed to produce much effect upon industry.He preached, as we have all done, too much to the converted-not nearly enough to the uninstructed public. It is clear that we have to go out into the highways and byways if we are to produce any effect. Probably, too, his main outlook was upon Nature and his style too refined. I venture to point out these things, being of opinion that it will advantage the younger chemists to study the writings of such a man and to extract from them the lessons they convey; they will certainly gain encouragement and lessons in grace of style. Meldols has distinctly won the right to be canonised as an advocate of the need of applying scientific method in all our affairs.I n .the not distant future, when schools are reformed and made of worth, it will perhaps be enacted that a third lesson, selected from the works of lay saints, be read in school chapel every Sunday. Chapters from Saint Huxley and Saint Meldola will be amongst those declaimed with advantage. If I should eventually be included among such men of wrath, I can imagine what delectable reading some of my essays on the constant encouragement given to science in schools by our schoolmasters will afford, though perhaps it is more likely that I may be regarded as a sort of scientific Boccaccio and that my pages will be turned over by boys only stealthily. Meldola will ever be regarded as orthodox. HENRY E. ARMSTRONG. * In addition to being President of these Societies, Professor Meldola served as President of the Institute of Chemistry from 191%1915.-EDITOR.