My life : a record of events and opinions - Wallace-online.org

362 MY LIFEhundred pounds. And it was all brought upon meby my ignorance and my own fault—ignorance of thefact so well shown by the late Professor de Morgan—that " paradoxers," as he termed them, can neverbe convinced, and my fault in consenting to getmoney by any kind of wager. It constitutes, therefore,the most regrettable incident in my life. Asmany inaccurate accounts have been published, I willnow state the facts, as briefly as possible, from documentsstill in my possession.In Scientific Opinion of January 12, 1870, Mr.John Hampden (a relative of Bishop Hampden)challenged scientific men to prove the convexity ofthe surface of any inland water, offering to stake;^500 on the result. It contained the following words :" He will acknowledge that he has forfeited hisdeposit if his opponent can exhibit, to the satisfactionof any intelligent referee, a convex railway, river,canal, or lake." Before accepting this challenge Ishowed it to Sir Charles Lyell, and asked him whetherhe thought I might accept it. He replied, " Certainly.It may stop these foolish people to have it plainlyshown them." I therefore wrote accepting the offer,proposing Bala lake, in North Wales, for the experiment,and Mr. J.H. Walsh, editor of the Field, orany other suitable person, as referee. Mr. Hampdenproposed the Old Bedford canal in Norfolk, which,near Downham Market, has a stretch of six milesquite straight between two bridges. He also proposeda Mr. William Carpenter (a journeymanprinter, who had written a book upholding the "flatearth " theory) as his referee ; and as Mr. Walshcould not stay away from London more that oneday, which was foggy, I chose Mr. Coulcher, a surgeonand amateur astronomer, of Downham Market,