| Description | 'I am troubled in spirit about a letter you wrote here on May 14th relating to the functions of the Society and to the Copley Medal in particular. I was fully under the impression that I have answered your question, but I can find no copy of my letter and yours in only marked "Acknowledged". In case my impression of having replied is mistaken I neg you to excuse my omission on the ground of my having been very greatly pressed with work of many kinds lately.
Your informant from the City of London was certainly profoundly mistaken in what he asserted with during the session for the express purpose of reading papers, most of which are afterwards published in the Proceedings of Philosophical Transactions.
He was also mistaken with regard to the Copley Medal, which is awarded every year by the Council and is regarded by the whole scientific world as the greatest honour the Royal Society can bestow. I am afraid I cannot identify the paper on "Gravitation" you refer to without a more precise reference, as we have some 200 papers communicated to the Society in the course of the year.' |