| Description | ' I am deeply grateful to the Council of the Royal Society for the decision conveyed in your letter of the 19th, and to yourself for your kind personal supplement to the official message.
No ordinary expression of gratitude is adequate in acknowledgment of the Council's offer to nominate me for the highest honour that any body of scientific men can confer upon one of their number. I am acutely aware of the fact that the position of President of the Royal Society is one, not only of unrivalled honour to a worker in science, but of the greatest influence and responsibility.
I do not think that you or the Council will doubt my sincerity, when I say that I find it very difficult to believe that I have any sufficient merit, either of achievement or ability, to justify the confidence which their decision implies. I am encouraged, however, by happy and grateful memories of the friendly help and guidance which in former years, as Secretary, I received from those who were my colleagues in office, and by the confident hope of again enjoying, as President, the assistance of my friends who are now the other officers of the Society. I believe that I can promise, also, that, so far as sincere endeavour and devotion to the Society's interests can make good what may be lacking in other ways, these will be forthcoming, if the Society accept the Council's nomination.
Will you, therefore, kindly convey to the Council my grateful acceptance of their proposal? If elected, I shall do my betto deserve their confidence. ' |