as not. I was
quite satisfied that Bache took an active part, but Henry assured me
that he could not believe this, because he was so intimate with Bache
that, had the latter known anything of the matter, he would surely
have consulted him. Some recent light is thrown on the subject
by letters of Rear-Admiral Charles H. Davis, found in his "Life,"
as published by his son. Everything was carried on in the greatest
secrecy, until the bill chartering the body was introduced by Senator
Henry Wilson of Massachusetts. Fifty charter members were named,
and this number was fixed as the permanent limit to the membership.
The list did not include either George P. Bond, director of the
Harvard Observatory, perhaps the foremost American astronomer of the
time in charge of an observatory, nor Dr. John W. Draper. Yet the
total membership in the section of astronomy and kindred sciences was
very large. A story to which I give credence was that the original
list, as handed to Senator Wilson, did not include the name of
William B. Rogers, who was then founding the Institute of Technology.
The senator made it a condition that room for Rogers should be found,
and his wish was acceded to. It is of interest that the man thus
added to the academy by a senator afterward became its President,
and proved as able and popular a presiding officer as it ever had.

The governmental importance of the academy arose from the fact
that its charter made it the scientific adviser of the government,
by providing that it should "investigate, examine, experiment,
and report upon any subject of science or art" whenever called
upon by any department of the government. In this respect it was
intended to perform the same valuable functions for the government
that are expected of the national scientific academies or societies
of foreign countries.

The academy was empowered to make its own constitution. That first
adopted was sufficiently rigid and complex. Following the example of
European bodies of the same sort, it was divided into two classes,
one of mathematical and physical, the other of natural science.
Each of these classes was divided into sections. A very elaborate
system of procedure for the choice of new members was provided.
Any member absent from four consecutive stated meetings of the
academy had his name stricken from the roll unless he communicated
a valid reason for his absence. Notwithstanding this requirement,
the academy had no