My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

258 MY LIFEAt Glasgow, in 1876, I was President of theBiological Section, and our meeting was renderedrather lively by the announcement of a paper by ProfessorW. F. Barrett on experiments in thoughtreading.The reading of this was opposed by Dr. W.B. Carpenter and others, but as it had been acceptedby the section, it was read. Then followed a ratherheated discussion ; but there were several supportersof the paper, among whom was Lord Rayleigh, andthe public evidently took the greatest interest in thesubject, the hall being crowded.After having studiedthe matter some years longer, Professor Barrett, withthe assistance of the late Frederick Myers, ProfessorEdmund Gurney, and a few other friends,Sidgwick,founded the Society for Psychical Research, whichhas collected a very large amount of evidence and isstill actively at work.My wife and I were entertained at Glasgow by Mr.and Mrs. Mirlees, and at one of their dinner-parties weenjoyed thecompany of William Pengelly, of Torquay,the well-known explorer of Kent's Cavern, whoseacquaintance I had made some years before whilespending a few days at Torquay with my friend andpublisher, Mr. A. Macmillan. He sat on one side ofour hostess, and my wife and I on the other, andduring the whole dinner he kept up such a flow ofamusing and witty conversation that the entire party(a large one) looked at us with envy. He was certainlyamong the most genial and witty men I haveever met, and could make even dry scientific subjectsattractive by his humorous way of narrating them.After this year I felt that I had pretty wellexhausted the interests of the Association meetings,and preferred to take my autumn holiday, with mywife and two children, either by the sea or among the