Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-08-16

was a great demonstration on the en-
trance of Professor Challenger when
he passed down to take his place at
the extreme end Of the front row Of
the platform Such a yell of welcome
broke forth when his black beard first
protruded round the corner that l be-
gan to suspect Tagp Henry was right
in his surmise and that this assem-
blage was there not merely for the
sake of the lecture, but because it had
got rumored abroad mat the famous
professor would take part in the pro
ceedings
There was SONS sympathetic laugh
ter on his entrance among the front
benches Of wei dressed spectators as
though the demonstration of the stu
dents in this instance was not unwel-
come to them That greeting was, in
deed, a frightful outburst of sound, the
uproar of the carnivora cage when the
step of the bucket bearing keeper is
heard in the distance. There was an
offensive tone in it. perhaps, and yet in
the main it struck me as mere riotous
outcry. the noisy reception of one who
amused and interested them. rather
than of one they disliked or deSpised.
Challenger smiled with weary and toll
Grant contempt, as a kindly man would
meet the yapping of a litter of pup
pies. He sat slowly down, blew out
his chest, passed his hand careSsingly
down his beard and looked with droop-
ing eyelids and supercilious eyes a the
crowded hall before him The uprOar
OF his advent had not yet died away
when Professor Ronald Murray, the
chairman. and Mr.. Waldron. the lee
turer. threaded their way TO the front
and the proceedings began.
Professor Murray will. l am sure, ex-
cuse me if I say that he has the com
mon fault of most Englishmen Of be
ing inaudible. Why on earth people
who have something to say which is
worth hearing should not take the
slight trouble to learn how to make it
heard is one Of the strange mysteries
of modern life. Their methods are as
reasonable as to try to pour some pre-
cious stuff from the spring to the reser-
vOir through a nonconducting pipe.
which could by the least effort be open
ed. Professor Murray made several
profound remarks to his white tie and
to the water carafe upon the table with
a humorous, twinkling aside to the sill
yer candlestick upon his right. Then
he sat down. and Mr.. Waldron. the
famous popular lecturer. rose amid
general murmur of applause. He was
a stern, gaunt man, with a harsh voice
and an aggressive manner, but he had
the merit of knowing how to assimi-
late the ideas of other men and TO pass
them on in a way which was intelhgi-
bic and even interesting to the lay pub
lie, with a happy knack of being funny
about the most unlikely objects, so
that the procession of the equinox or
the foundation of a vertebrate became
a highly humorous process as treated
by him.
It was a birdseye view of creation,
as interpreted by science, which. in
language always clear and sometimes
picturesque, he unfolded before US.
He told US OF the globe, huge mass
of flaming gas faring through the
heavens. Then he pictured the solidih-
cation, the cooling, the wrinkIing
which formed the mountains, the
steam which turned to water, the slow
preparation or the stage upon Wh1Cn
was to be played the 1nexplIcab1e
drama Of life. On the origin of life
itself he was discreetly vague That
the germs of it could hardly have sur
vived the original roasting was, he de
clared. fairly certain Therefore it had
come later. Had it built itself out Of
the cooling. inorganic elements of the
globe? Very likely. Had the germs
Of it arrived from outside upon a me-
teor? 1t was hardly conceivable. On
the whole, the wisest man was the
least dogmatic upon the point. We
could not, or at least we had not sue
ceded up to date in making organic
life in our laboratories out of inorga mic
materials. The gulf between the dead
and the living was something which
our chemistry could not as yet bridge.
But there was a higher and subtler
chemistry Of nature, which. working
with great forces over long epochs, !
might well produce results which were
impossible for US. There the matter |
must be left.
Question:" doomed a voice from the |
platform.
Mr.. Waldron was a strict disciplinari- |
an with a gift Of acid humor, as had |
been exemplified On many and varied |
occasions, which maCc it perilous to !
him. But this interjectian /
to him so absurd that he was |
at loss how to deal with it. So looks |
the Shakespearean who is confronted |
by a rancid Baconian or the astrono-
mer who is assailed by a fat earth /
fanatic. He paused for moment and |
then, raising his voice, repeated slow
~ the last words of his speech.
Question" doomed the voice once |
more.
Waldron looked with amazement /
along the line of professors upon the