Sound: A Course of Eight Lectures

conducting experiments and observations of the character revealed here without fee or reward; and I think it will be conceded that he not only deserves credit from his own country, but also sets an example of high-minded devotion for his younger scientific contemporaries, both in his country and ours.

I was quite aware, in a general way, that labors like those now being made public for the first time had been conducted in the United States, and this knowledge influenced my conduct. The first instruments mounted at the South Foreland A chalk headland on the Kent coast of England, overlooking the Strait of Dover; a critical site for testing maritime signals. were of English manufacture; and I, for various reasons, felt a strong sympathy for their talented builder, Mr. Holmes Frederick Hale Holmes, a pioneer in lighthouse illumination and fog signals.. From the outset, however, I resolved to suppress such feelings, as well as all other external considerations, whether personal or national. My goal was to obtain the best instruments, regardless of the country that produced them. Accordingly, when reporting on the observations of May 19 and 20, 1873 (our first two days at the South Foreland), I addressed these words to the Elder Brethren of the Trinity House original: Elder Brethren of the Trinity House; the senior members of the official authority for lighthouses and maritime safety in England and Wales.:—

“Given the reported performance of horns and whistles in other places, the question arises whether those mounted at the South Foreland, to which the previous remarks refer, are of the best possible design. . . . I believe our first duty is to familiarize ourselves with the best instruments made so far, regardless of where they were manufactured; and then, if domestic talent can surpass them, to provide it every encouragement. Great and unnecessary expense may be incurred if we do not avail ourselves of the results of existing experience.

“I have always sympathized, and I shall always sym-