The fear alluded to by the Professor in his introductory lecture, that men reading for the Mathematical Tripos would not find time for attendance at the laboratory, was justified. One of the weaknesses of our Cambridge plan has been the divorce between Mathematics and experimental work, encouraged by our system of examinations. Experimental knowledge is supposed not to be needed for the Mathematical Tripos; the Mathematics permitted in the Natural Sciences Tripos are very simple; thus it came about that few men while reading for the Mathematical Tripos attended the laboratory, and this unfortunate result was intensified by the action of the University in 1877–78, when the regulations for the Mathematical Tripos were again altered.[41] Still there were pupils eager and willing to work, though they were chiefly men who had already taken their B.A. degree, and who wished to continue Physical reading and research, even though it involved “a considerable amount of dull labour not altogether attractive.” My own work there began in 1876, and it may be interesting if I recall my reminiscences of that time. The first experiments I can recollect related to the measurement of electrical resistance. I well remember Maxwell explaining the principle of Wheatstone’s bridge, and my own wish at the time that I had come to the laboratory before the Tripos, instead of afterwards. Lord Rayleigh had, during the examination, set an easy question which I failed to do for want of some slight experimental knowledge, and the first few words of Maxwell’s talk showed me the solution. I did not attend his lectures regularly--they were given, I think, at an hour which I was obliged to devote to teaching; besides, there was his book, the “Electricity and Magnetism,” into which I had just dipped before the Tripos, to work at. Chrystal and Saunder were then busy at their verification of Ohm’s law. They were using a number of the Thomson form of tray Daniell’s cells, and Maxwell was anxious for tests of various kinds to be made on these cells; these I undertook, and spent some time over various simple measurements on them. He then set me to work at some of the properties of a stratified dielectric, consisting, if I remember rightly, of sheets of paraffin paper and mica. By this means I became acquainted with various pieces of apparatus. There were no regular classes and no set drill of demonstrations arranged for examination purposes; these came later. In Maxwell’s time those who wished to work had the use of the laboratory and assistance and help from him, but they were left pretty much to themselves to find out about the apparatus and the best methods of using it. Rather later than this Schuster came and did some of his spectroscope work. J. E. H. Gordon was busy with the preliminary observations for his determination of Verdet’s constant, and Niven had various electrical experiments on hand; while Fleming was at work on the B. A. resistance coils.