ABSTRACT
Davy had been President of the Royal Society for nearly twelve months when he thus looked back at the remoteness and beauty of Mounts Bay, and at what he fancied might be the peace of mind of its inhabitants. The moving spirit was John Wilson Croker, Secretary to the Admiralty – Byron at one time praised the American Navy to pique him. Croker had proposed a club for literary men and artists. Within a month of receiving Davy’s letter Croker had named the club, produced a prospectus, and circulated it among the people he wished to bring together. It is said that he objected to the reception of one gentleman as a member on the ground that he was so notorious a bore. Instead, the library of the Royal Society in its apartments at Somerset House was opened on Thursday evenings, after the regular meeting was concluded, where the Fellows and visitors could converse familiarly on matters of science.
