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LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 


homo  (mea  sententia)  summa  prudentia,  multa  etiam  doctrina,  plu- 

rimo  rerum  usu  (addo  urbanitatem,  quie  est  virtus,  ut  Stoici  rectissime  pu- 
tant.)  — Cic.  AD  Div.  III.  7. 

"  Peace  to  the  memory  of  a  man  of  worth, 
A  man  of  letters,  and  of  manners  too ! 
Of  manners  sweet  as  virtue  always  wears, 
When  gay  good-nature  dresses  her  in  smiles. 
He  graced  a  college,  in  which  order  yet 
Was  sacred;  and  was  honour'd,  loved,  and  wept, 
By  more  than  one,  themselves  conspicuous  there." 

COWPER. 


LIFE 


OF 


BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN,  M.D.,  LL.D. 


LATE    PROFESSOR    OF    CHEMISTRY,    MINERALOGY,  AND    GEOLOGY 
YALE  COLLEGE. 


CHIEFLY  FROM  HIS  MANUSCRIPT  REMINISCENCES,  DIARIES, 
AND  CORRESPONDENCE. 


BY 

GEORGE  P.  FISHER, 

PKOFESSOK  IN  YALE  COLLEGE. 


IN  TWO   VOLUMES. 
VOLUME  I. 


NEW  YORK: 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER  AND  COMPANY. 

124  GRAND  STREET. 
1866. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1866,  by 

CHARLES  SCRIBXER  AND  COMPANY, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York 


• 

- 


RIVERSIDE,  CAMBRIDGE: 

STEREOTYPED  AND  PRINTED  BT 

H.  0.  UOUQHTON  AND  COMPANY. 


PREFACE. 

PROFESSOR  SILLIMAN,  after  he  had  retired  from 
active  duty  in  College,  spent  considerable  time,  at 
the  request  of  members  of  his  family,  in  writing  down 
reminiscences  of  his  life.  His  first  design  was  to 
describe  the  establishment  and  growth  of  the  depart- 
ments of  instruction  in  Yale  College,  which  had  been 
so  long  under  his  care ;  and  for  this  reason  he  com- 
mences with  his  appointment  as  Professor  of  Chem- 
istry. From  the  beginning,  however,  he  introduces 
other  facts  relating  to  his  personal  history,  and  before 
he  has  proceeded  far,  he  announces  such  a  modifi- 
cation of  his  plan  as  gives  to  the  work,  during  the 
period  which  it  covers,  the  character  of  an  Auto- 
biography. The  narrative  terminates  with  the  resig- 
nation of  his  Professorship.  From  this  date,  —  and, 
indeed,  for  several  years  previous  to  it,  —  his  Diary 
is  a  full  repository  of  public  and  private  events,  until 
within  a  few  years  of  his  death,  when  other  occupa- 
tions left  him  less  time  for  keeping  up  this  daily 
record.  In  addition  to  these  valuable  documents, 
there  are  found  among  his  papers  an  autobiographical 
fragment  relating  to  the  period  of  his  childhood ;  an 


VI  PREFACE. 

extended  sketch  of  the  character  and  military  services 
of  his  father  ;  a  manuscript  volume  pertaining  to  the 
family  of  the  second  Governor  Trumbull,  whose 
daughter  he  married,  and  to  society  in  Lebanon, 
where  they  resided  ;  another  similar  volume  con- 
taining his  Recollections  of  Colonel  Trumbull,  and 
remarks  upon  his  paintings  ;  and  various  other  writ- 
ings having  a  biographic  value,  besides  a  volumin- 
ous mass  of  correspondence. 

In  undertaking,  by  the  invitation  of  his  family,  to 
prepare  a  Memoir  of  my  venerated  friend,  it  appeared 
to  me  that  the  work  should  be,  as  far  as  practicable, 
in  his  own  words ;  that  extracts  from  the  Reminis- 
cences, and,  when  they  terminate,  from  the  Diary, 
should  furnish  the  basis  of  it ;  that  letters  and  other 
contemporary  papers  should  be  interlaced  at  the 
fitting  points,  —  breaking,  however,  as  little  as  possi- 
ble, the  continuity  of  his  own  narrative  ;  that  his 
friends  and  scientific  contemporaries  should  be  called 
upon  to  communicate  their  personal  recollections, 
and  their  estimate  of  his  character  and  influence  ; 
and  that  these  various  materials  should  be  cemented 
and  illustrated  by  such  additional  statements  as 
might  be  found  requisite  for  this  end. 

In  carrying  out  this  plan,  it  has  been  an  important 
part  of  my  duty  to  select  from  the  copious  auto- 
biographical manuscripts  named  above,  the  matter 
which  might  properly  be  inserted  in  these  volumes. 
While  performing  this  delicate  and  responsible  task, 


PREFACE.  vil 


I  have  been  anxious  not  to  transgress  the  limit  of  pro- 
priety in  bringing  out  the  details  of  private  life ;  but  I 
have  equally  guarded  against  the  prudish  reserve  that 
would  suppress  harmless  and  characteristic  incidents 
and  expressions  of  personal  feeling.  That  in  every 
case  I  have  judged  with  discretion,  is  more  than  I 
dare  claim.  At  all  events,  the  reader  will  see  Pro- 
fessor Silliman  as  he  was,  in  the  different  periods  of 
his  life,  and,  I  venture  to  predict,  will  rise  from  the 
perusal  of  this  work  with  no  diminished  appreciation 
of  his  excellence.  Although  the  use  here  made  of 
the  documents  referred  to  is  one,  it  is  believed,  which 
he  would  have  sanctioned,  yet  it  should  be  distinctly 
stated  that  they  were  composed  primarily  for  the 
entertainment  of  his  own  family.  They  are  written, 
therefore,  in  the  frank  and  artless  style  of  colloquial 
narrative,  and  with  no  attempt  to  guard  against  the 
imputation  of  egotism.  Hume  begins  his  Auto- 
biography by  remarking  that  "  it  is  difficult  for  a 
man  to  speak  long  of  himself  without  vanity."  In 
truth,  it  is  inevitable  that  the  semblance  of  egotism 
should  belong  to  whatever  a  man  writes  about  him- 
self; but  it  will  be  found  that  Professor  Silliman 
really  set  a  modest  estimate  upon  his  talents,  acquire- 
ments, and  services. 

Not  all  the  parts  of  this  Memoir  will  have  an  equal 
attraction  for  every  reader.  For  example,  details 
respecting  the  history  and  progress  of  Yale  College 
will  naturally  be  of  more  interest  to  the  graduates 


viii  PREFACE. 

of  this  Institution  than  to  others ;  and  yet  even  the 
European  friends  of  Professor  Silliman,  into  whose 
hands  this  work  may  fall,  will,  perhaps,  be  interested 
in  marking  the  steps  by  which  the  higher  Institutions 
of  learning  in  this  country  have  risen  to  their  present 
degree  of  prosperity.  On  other  topics,  also,  details, 
which  might  appear  to  some  gratuitous,  I  have  fre- 
quently admitted  for  the  reason  that  they  served  to 
fill  out  a  picture,  or  were  characteristic  of  the  Author. 
Little  circumstances  that  aid  us  in  reproducing  the 
features  of  social  life  in  the  past,  have  a  constantly 
increasing  value. 

But  a  small  part  of  the  correspondence  on  the  fol- 
lowing pages  has  to  do  with  strictly  scientific  in- 
quiries. Professor  Silliman  did  a  great  work  for 
science  ;  but  he  was  not  given  to  speculation,  nor 
did  he  devote  himself,  as  under  other  circumstances 
lie  might  have  done,  to  original  investigations.  Hence 
his  strictly  scientific  correspondence  is  mainly  that 
of  an  Editor,  and  affords  comparatively  little  matter 
of  permanent  value.  But  his  epistolary  intercourse 
with  men  of  science  was,  nevertheless,  large,  and  is 
probably  of  more  interest  to  the  general  reader  than 
if  it  were  predominantly  made  up  of  scientific  dis- 
cussions. To  the  persons  who  have  granted  me  the 
use  of  correspondence,  I  render  my  thankful  acknowl- 
edgments. In  the  case  of  a  very  few  foreign  letters, 
it  has  been  inconvenient  to  consult  their  authors ; 
but  these  letters  contain  nothing  of  a  private  nature, 


. 


PREFACE.  ix 


,nd  are  inserted  merely  to  illustrate  the  relations  in 
which  he  stood  with  eminent  men  abroad.* 

A  number  of  unpublished  letters  of  General  Wash- 
ington, addressed  to  Governor  Trumbull,  were  in  the 
possession  of  Professor  Silliman.  Two  of  them  were 
written  in  the  last  year  of  Washington's  life,  and 
embrace  highly  interesting  observations  on  political 
affairs.  They  contain  a  response  to  the  suggestion 
that  he  should  save  the  Federal  party  from  division 
and  defeat,  by  allowing  himself  to  be  brought  forward 
once  more  as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  f  In 
connection  with  the  letters  to  Governor  Trumbull, 
other  letters  of  historical  value,  addressed  by  John 
Adams,  Lafayette,  and  other  distinguished  persons, 
to  Colonel  Trumbull,  the  Artist,  are  printed  in  the 
Appendix. 

Not  a  few  references  by  Professor  Silliman  to 
persons  who  are  still  living,  have  been  retained.  It 
would  have  been  difficult  to  erase  them,  and  since 
his  notices  are  always  kindly,  it  seemed  unnecessary. 

*  Notes  which  I  have  added  either  to  letters  or  to  citations  are  distin- 
guished by  the  initial,  F. 

t  These  letters  supply  a  deficiency  which  is  noticed  by  Mr.  Sparks  in  his 
collection  of  "  The  Writings  of  Washington,"  Vol.  XI.  p.  444.  Referring 
to  the  request  in  regard  to  the  Presidency,  addressed  to  Washington  by 
Governor  Trumbull,  Mr.  Sparks  observes:  —  "  Similar  sentiments  were  ex- 
pressed in  letters  from  other  persons.  No  answer,  nor  any  remarks  on  the 
subject  by  Washington,  are  found  among  his  papers.  See  Sparks's  Life 
of  Governeur  Morris,  Vol.  III.  p.  123."  The  letter  of  Governor  Trumbull, 
to  which  the  first  of  the  two  letters  mentioned  above  is  a  reply,  is  given 
by  Mr.  Sparks  on  the  same  page  with  the  foregoing  note. 


X  PREFACE. 

In  the  notes  which  relate  to  his  labors  in  Boston, 
where,  as  he  considered,  his  highest  success  was 
obtained,  such  personal  allusions  are  frequent.  These 
notes  are  important,  not  only  as  disclosing  the  asso- 
ciations into  which  he  was  brought,  but  also  as 
revealing  the  intellectual  processes  and  the  feelings 
involved  in  the  preparation  and  delivery  of  his  pub- 
lic lectures.  There  is  one  circumstance  which  he  at 
least  would  have  regretted.  It  has  been  impossible 
to  make  mention  of  more  than  a  fraction  of  the  great 
number  of  persons  in  different  parts  of  the  land, 
whose  names  are  coupled,  in  the  manuscripts  before 
me,  with  some  expression  of  gratitude  or  esteem. 

Without  further  explanation,  I  present  these  vol- 
umes to  the  numerous  relatives  of  Professor  Silliman, 
and  to  the  more  numerous  and  widely  dispersed 
family  of  his  pupils,  in  the  hope  that  they  will  prove 
to  be  a  not  unsuitable  memorial  of  his  worth  and 
services. 

G.  P.  F. 

NEW  HAVEN,  March  1,  1866. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.  I. 


PART  I. 

FROM  HIS  BIRTH  TO  HIS  APPOINTMENT  AS  PROFESSOR  IN  YALE 
COLLEGE. 

1779-1802. 
CHAPTER   I. 

HIS   CHILDHOOD   AND  EARLY  HOME. 

His  Birth.  —  Origin  of  the  Family.  —  His  Father.  —  His  Mother.  — 
His  Father's  Capture  by  the  British.  — An  Early  Journey  to  Ston- 
ington.  —  Anecdote  of  Dr.  Franklin.  —  Manners  and  Society  in 
New  England.  —  Death  of  his  Father. — His  Early  Religious  Train- 
ing. —  The  Assembly's  Catechism.  —  His  First  School.  —  Slavery 
in  New  England.  —  His  Preparation  for  College.  —  Society  in  Fair- 
field:  Mr.  Eliot;  Mr.  Burr;  Dr.  Dwight;  Judge  Sturges.  —  His 
Love  of  Natural  Scenerv 1 


CHAPTER  II. 

A   STUDENT  IN  YALE   COLLEGE.  ' 

His  Admission  to  College.  —  President,  Stiles.  —  President  Dwight.  — 
His  Studies.  —  College  Diary:  His  Anxiety  to  be  cured  of  Faults; 
Inauguration  of  Dr.  Dwight;  Recitations  under  Dr.  Dwight;  Situ- 
ation of  College  under  the  New  President;  His  Reading;  Dinner  at 
Dr.  Dana's;  His  Desire  of  Knowledge;  Thoughts  about  a  Profes- 
sion    .27 


CHAPTER  III. 

A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR  IN  COLLEGE. 
His  Labors  on  the  Farm  at  Home.  —  Teaches  School  in  Wethersfield. 
—  Becomes  a  Law-Student  in  New  Haven,  and  Tutor  in  Yule  Col- 
lege. —  Letters  of  Rev.  Dr.   Marsh  and  Rev.  Dr.   Porter.  —  His 


xii  CONTENTS. 


PAOK 

Early  Friends. —His  Early  Productions. — Early  Letters.  —  His 
Religious  Impressions 45 


PART  II. 

FROM  HIS  APPOINTMENT  AS  PROFESSOR  TO  THE  COMMENCE- 
MENT OF  HIS  CAREER  AS  A  PUBLIC  LECTURER. 

1802-1834. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

APPOINTI;I>  IM:OFI:SSOR:  A  STUDENT  OF  CHEMISTRY  IN  PHILA- 
DELPHIA. 

His  Long  Acquaintance  with  Yale  College.  —  The  Study  of  Science  in 

Yak-   Cull, p.    in    the    Last    Century.  —  His  Consultation  with  Dr. 

n,   and   tint   Oiler  of  the    Professorship  of  Chemistry.  —  His 

M  lor  Aceeptintf  this  Proposal.  —  His  l.leetion  to  tin-  Ollice. — 
His  FirM  Winter  in  Philadelphia  ( ISUJ-a).—  His  Fellow-Boarders  at 
Mrs.  Smiih's. —  I  >r.  Woodhousc's  Lecture--. —  His  Assoeialion  with 

•  Hare. —  Tin'  (  Kv-II ydro^cn  I'.low-Pipe. —  Dr.  ISeiijamin 
Rush. —  Dr.  Lectures.  —  Dr.  Wi>(ar's  Lectures.  —  Intor- 

\\ith    Dr.    I'rh'-tiey.  —  Snninier  of  1803   at   New   Haven.— 
ace   in    rrineeton. —  I  >r.   .John    Maclean.  —  President 
Smith.  — His  Second  Winter  in   Philadelphia  (lH():i-4).  —  Hi 
quuintanec   in  that  City.  —  Correspondence  with   G.  S.   Silliman, 
Moses  Stuart.  .!.  L.  Kin^sley,  &c 87 


CHAPTER  V. 

•Mil     1:1  ..INMN.;   OF    HIS  WORK  AS  PROFESSOR. 

D   College  (1804).  —  Construction  of  the  Subterra- 
nean I.aKoratory.  —  Its  Alteration.— Lectures  to  the  Class  of  1804-5 
(in    the    Fall    of   1804).  —  His    Apparatus.  —  Su--csiions    of   Dr. 
;  y. —  Plan  for   Visiting  l-'.urope. —  Interview  uith    Prcsi<lent 
Lt  —  I'reparalions  for    Departure.  —  Letter   from  llcv.  John 
I -out. —Letters  of  Professor  Silliman  to  his  brother 121 

CIlAI'TKIi   VI. 

i    K)   KUBOPBl    1:1  BIDXKOE   IN    I.DNDOX. 

Residenct-   in    Kuropo.  —  Mr.  .lolm   Taylor.  —  Dr.   William  ITcnrj'. — 
Dr.  Dalton's  Lecture  and  Conversation.  —  Arrival  in  London.  —  Mr. 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

PAQI 

William  Nicholson.  —  Frederic  Accum,  the  German  Chemist.  — 
Dr.  George  Pearson  and  his  Lectures.  —  Illumination  by  Gas.  — 
Scientific  Societies.  —  Davy.  —  Sir  Joseph  Banks.  —Visit  to  Cornr 
wall.  —  Dr.  Ryland  and  Mr.  Winterbotham.  —  Military  Prepara- 
tions on  the  English  Coast.  —Back  to  London.  —  At  the  House  of 
Benjamin  West:  Joel  Barlow,  Robert  Fulton,  and  Earl  Stanhope. 

—  Interview  with  Davy.  —  Professor  William  Allen's  Lecture  and 
Conversation.  —  At  Cambridge :  Professor  Farish.  —  Visit  to  Lind- 
ley  Murray 136 

CHAPTER  VII. 
VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH. 

His  Residence  in  Edinburgh.  —  His  Associates,  Mr.  Codman  and  Mr. 
Gorham.  —  Introduction  to  Dr.  Thomas  Hope.  —  Dr.  Gregory.  — 
Dr.  Hope's  Lectures.  —  Dr.  John  Murray  and  his  Lectures.  —  Dr. 
Hope  and  Dr.  Murray  on  Geology.  —  Controversy  of  the  Hutto- 
cians  and  Wernerians. — The  Progress  of  his  own  Geological  Views. 

—  Dr.  John  Barclay's  Lectures  on  Anatomy.  —  Narrow  Escape  on 
Salisbury  Craig 155 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH. 

Residence  in  Edinburgh  (continued).  —  Other  Eminent  Men.  —  Dugald 
Stewart;  a  Party  at  his  House.  —  Professor  Leslie.  —  Dr.  Thomas 
Thomson.  —  Dr.  (now  Sir)  David  Brewster.  —  Lord  Webb  Sey- 
mour. _  Dr.  Anderson.  —  Earl  of  Buchan.  —  Lord  Rawdon.  —  Mr. 
Liston.  —  Rev.  David  Dickson.  —  Rev.  Mr.  Black.  —  The  "  Edin- 
burgh Review";  Information  received  from  the  Publishers.  —  Sir 
John  Stirling  and  Lady;  Romantic  History  of  Lady  Stirling. — 
Social  Habits  in  Edinburgh.  —  Result  of  his  Residence  in  Europe: 
in  Relation  to  Business ;  in  Relation  to  Personal  Culture  and  Im- 
provement. —  Arrival  in  New  York.  —  Visits  to  Oliver  Wolcott. — 
Arrival  in  New  Haven,  and  Welcome  from  President  Dwight.  — 
Correspondence  with  President  Dwiglit,  Professors  Day  and  Kings- 
ley,  &c 176 

CHAPTER  IX. 

GEOLOGY  AND  MINERALOGY  IN  YALE  COLLEGE!  THE  WESTON 
METEOR. 

Visit  to  his  Mother.  —  Reaction  from  Excitement  and  the  Benefit  of 
Occupation.  —  Lectures  to  the  Class  of  1806.  —  Introduction  to  the 
Cabinet  of  Col.  Gibbs  at  Newport.  —  Miss  Ruth  Gibbs.  —  The  Col- 
lection of  Minerals  in  Yale  College.  —  Origin  of  Geology  in  Yale 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

»  PAGE 

College.  —  Geological  Excursions  about  New  Haven.  —  Dr.  Noah 
Webster.  —  Lectures  in  1806-7.  —  Intercourse  with  Col.  George 
Gibbs.  —  Visit  to  Boston  and  Cambridge.  —  Kindness  of  the  Gibbs 
Family.  —  Purchase  of  the  Perkins  Cabinet.  —Visit  of  Gov.  Trurn- 
bull  to  the  Cabinet.—  Republication  of  Henry's  Chemistry.  —  The 
Weston  Meteor.  —  Correspondence  .............................  213 

CHAPTER  X. 

HIS  MARRIAGE:  REMINISCENCES  OF  GOVERNOR  TRUMBULL. 

His  Marriage.  —  The  First  Governor  Trumbull.  —  The  Second  Gov- 
ernor Trumbull  :  His  Person,  Manners,  and  Character;  His  House 
and  Family;  His  Appearance  in  Public;  Experience  of  his  Personal 
Kindness.  —  First  Introduction  to  Miss  Trumbull.  —  Governor  Trum- 
bull's  Political  Firmness.  —  Popular  Chemical  Lectures  in  New 
Haven,  and  Further  Acquaintance  with  Miss  Trumbull.  —  Visits  to 
Lebanon.  —  Death  of  Governor  Trumbull.  —  His  Marriage  .......  231 

CHAPTER  XI. 

HIS  JOURNAL  OF  TRAVELS  :   THE   GIBBS  CABINET  :   THE  MEDICAL 
M  HOOL. 

Publication  of  his  Journal  of  Travels.  —  Reception  of  the  Work.  — 
Letter  .»f  <  'haueellor  Kent.  —  Letter  from  Mr.  Wilberforce.  —  Ac- 
cident in  the  Laboratory.  —  Transfer  of  Colonel  Gibbs's  Cabinet  to 
New  Haven.  —  Impression  made  by  the  new  Cabinet.  —  War  with 
Great  Britain.  —  The  Medical  Institution  of  Yale  College  :  its  Or- 
igin and  Organization.  —  Provisions  for  the  Defence  of  New  Haven 
against  the  I'.ritish.  —  Birth  of  a  Son.  —  News  of  the  Conclusion  of 
Peace.  —  Destructive  Gale  of  1815.  —  Death  of  President  Dwight. 
—  Letters  of  .Judge.  Desaussure,  Professor  Cleaveland,  and  Judge 
Daggett.  —  Letter  from  Dr.  John  Murray  .......................  248 


CHAPTER  XII. 

TIIK   "  .TOUKXAI,   OF   SriKNCK":    DOMESTIC   EVENTS:    THE    CABINET 
OF   MINERALS. 

The  Establishment  of  the  "  Journal  of  Science."  —  The  Death  of  his 
Mother.  —  The.  Death  of  his  Son.  —  .Journey  to  Canada  with  Mr. 
A  orth.  —  Purchase  of  the  <  lihhs  (  'aliinet.  —  Robert  Bakewell 
and  his  Contrihution  of  Minerals.  —  A  Icxander  Brongniart.  —  Wil- 
liam Maclure  and  his  Services.  —  Dr.  Thomas  Cooper:  his  Charac- 
ter. —  Letters  from  John  C.  Calhoun,  Chancellor  Kent,  Robert  Y. 
Haync,  &c  ...................................................  272 


CONTENTS.  XV 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

\ 

HIS  PROFESSIONAL  ASSISTANTS:  HIS  LOSS  OF  HEALTH:  HIS 
"ELEMENTS  OP  CHEMISTRY." 

PAGE 

Organization  for  Aid  in  his  Department.  —  His  Assistant,  Lyman 
Foot:  Subsequent  History  of  Dr.  Foot.  —  Prof.  D.  Olrusted.  —  Mr. 
George  T.  Bowen:  their  Subsequent  History.  —  Temporary  Assist- 
ants. —  First  Permanent  Assistant,  Mr.  S.  J.  Andrews.  —  Domestic 
Affliction,  and  Interruption  of  his  Health.  —  Journey  to  West  Point. 
—  Death  of  Professor  A.  M.  Fisher.  —  Second  Journey  with  Mr. 
Wadsworth..  —  Mr.  Andrews  as  Amanuensis.  —  Journey  to  Ballston 
and  Saratoga.  —  Journey  to  Washington  :  Dinner  with  Mr.  Cal- 
houn:  Interview  with  President  Monroe:  Visit  to  Arlington  House: 
Notice  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Custis.  —  Means  by  which  his  Health  was 
Regained.  —  Advantages  of  Temperance.  —  Resignation  and  Sub- 
sequent Career  of  Mr.  Andrews.  —  Mr.  Benjamin  D.  Silliman,  Suc- 
cessor of  Mr.  Andrews.  —  Dr.  Burr  Noyes:  Professor  Charles  U. 
Shepard:  Professor  Oliver  P.  Hubbard:  Professor  J.  D.  Dana: 
Professor  B.  Silliman,  Jr.,  and  other  Assistants.  —  His  "  Elements 
of  Chemistry."  —  Correspondence:  Letters  from  Professor  A.  M. 
Fisher,  Mrs.  Sigourney,  D.  Wadsworth,  J.  C.  Calhoun,  Jared  Sparks, 
Josiah  Quincy,  Lafayette,  Commodore  Hull,  H.  W.  Desaussure,  J. 
Fenimore  Cooper  ..............................................  298 


PART  HI. 

FROM  THE  COMMENCEMENT  OF  HIS  CAREER  AS  A  PUBLIC  LECTURER 
TO  THE  RESIGNATION  OF  HIS  COLLEGE  OFFICE. 

1834-1853. 
CHAPTER  XIV 

LECTURES   IN  HARTFORD;    IN  LOWELL;   IN  BOSTON;   IN   SALEM. 

His  Lectures  outside  of  College.  —  Course  of  Geology  in  Hartford 
(1834). — Lectures  in  Lowell:  Daniel  Webster  and  Jeremiah  Smith. 
—  Course  on  Geology  in  Boston  (1835).  —  Hospitable  Treatment  in 
Boston.  —  Party  at  Dr.  Warren's.  —  Governor  Winthrop.  —  Party 
at  Mr.  Nathan  Appleton's.  —  Judge  Davis. — Dinner  at  General 
William  Sullivan's.  —  Judge  Story.  —  Dr.  Gannett.  —  Interview 
with  Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence.  —  Lectures  in  Salem:  Mr.  S.  C.Phil- 
lips: Dr.  Prince:  Mr.  Silsbee:  Judge  White 339 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

LECTURES  IN  NANTUCKET    AND    BOSTON:    INVESTIGATION  UPON  THE 
CULTURE   OF   SUGAR. 

PAGE 

Lectures  in  Nantucket.  —  Intercourse  with  John  Quincy  Adams.  — 
Arduous  Labors.  —  Chemical  Course  in  Boston  (1836).  — Dr.  Chan- 
ning.  —  Miss  Martineau.  —  His  Success  in  Boston.  —  His  Invest  i Ca- 
tion of  the  Culture  and  Manufacture  of  Sugar.  —  Interviews  with 
General  Jackson  and  Mr.  McLean.  —  Visit  to  the  Gold  Mines  of 
Virginia.  —  Slavery 364 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

FOUR  COURSES  OF  LOWELL  LECTURES  IN  BOSTON. 

Double  Course  of  Chemistry-  in  New  York  (1838).  —  Accident.  —  The 
Lowell  Lectures:  Plan  of  the  Several  Courses.  —  First  Course 
(1840).  — His  Introduction  to  the  Audience  by  Mr.  Everett.  —  Pop- 
ularity of  the  Lectures.  —  Dinner  at  Mr.  Tuckerman's.  —  Mr.  John 
Lowell.  —  Mr.  Jeremiah  Mason.  —  Courtesies  Received.  —  Second 
Course  in  Boston  (1841). — Interest  Manifested  in  the  Lectures. — 
Presides  over  the  Geological  Society  in  Philadelphia.  —  Third 
Course  in  Boston  (1842). — Dr.  Walker's  Lecture.  —  Hi-  Opening 
Lecture.  —  Social  Civilities.  —  Fourth  Course  in  Boston  (1843). — 
His  Concluding  Reflections. — Correspondence  with  I'miessor  Kings- 
ley,  Chancellor  Kent,  &c 380 


LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 
CHAPTER  I. 

HIS  CHILDHOOD  AND  EARLY  HOME. 

His  Birth.  —  Origin  of  the  Family.  —  His  Father.  —  His  Mother.  —  His 
Father's  Capture  by  the  British.  — An  Early  Journey  to  Stonington. — 
Anecdote  of  Dr.  Franklin.  —  Manners  and  Society  in  New  England.  — 
Death  of  his  Father.  —  His  Early  Religious  Training.  —  The  Assembly's 
Catechism.  —  His  First  School.  —  Slavery  in  New  England.  —  His 
Preparation  for  College.  —  Society  in  Fairfield:  Mr.  Eliot;  Mr.  Burr; 
Dr.  Dwight;  Judge  Sturges.  —  His  Love  of  Natural  Scenery. 

BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN,  the  most  eminent  of  Ameri- 
can teachers  of  Natural  Science,  was  born  in  North 
Stratford  (now  Trumbull),  Connecticut,  on  the  8th 
of  August,  1779.  His  life  opened  in  the  midst  of 
stirring  scenes  of  the  Revolutionary  conflict.  The 
home  of  the  family,  from  which  his  father  had  lately 
been  forcibly  carried  away  as  a  prisoner  by  a  party 
of  British  soldiers,  and  from  which  his  mother,  to 
escape  the  perils  of  war,  was  now  a  voluntary  exile, 
was  situated  in  the  town  of  Fairfield,  at  the  distance 
of  a  few  miles  from  the  place  of  his  birth.  To  this 
home  his  mother  was  speedily  restored ;  and  here  his 
childhood  was  spent,  on  or  near  the  spot  where  his 
ancestors  on  the  paternal  side  had  lived  for  several 
generations.  Daniel  Silliman,  the  first  of  the  name 
who  settled  in  Fairfield,  was  understood  in  the  tradi- 


2  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

tions  of  the  family  to  have  been  an  emigrant  from 
Holland.  Later  discoveries,  in  which  Professor  Sil- 
lirnan  was  much  interested,  indicate  that  the  family 
was  of  Italian  origin.  At  the  epoch  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, persons  bearing  the  name  of  Sillimandi,  and  pro- 
fessing the  Reformed  faith,  removed  from  Lucca,  in 
Tuscany,  and  took  refuge  in  Geneva,  then  the  com- 
mon resort  of  persecuted  Protestants.  Their  descend- 
ants, who  had  dropped  the  terminal  syllable  di  from 
the  name,  are  now  found  established  in  Switzerland. 
They  have  among  them  the  tradition  that  a  mem- 
ber of  their  family  named  Daniel  Silliman,  who  had 
held  a  civil  office  in  Berne,  left  that  city  for  political 
reasons,  and  went  to  America  about  the  time  of  the 
Puritan  emigration  from  England.  There  are  strong 
reasons  for  believing  that  the  first  Daniel  Silliman 
of  Fairfield  was  either  this  emigrant  from  Berne,  or 
a  near  relative.  In  this  case  Holland  may  have  been 
a  place  of  temporary  sojourn,  and,  at  any  rate,  from 
Holland  he  would  naturally  embark  for  America,  — 
which  will  perhaps  account  for  the  tradition  connect- 
ing the  progenitors  of  the  Fairfield  Sillimans  with 
that  country. 

The  Sillimans  of  Fairfield  were  settled  from  the 
beginning  upon  an  eminence  about  two  miles  from 
the  village  of  that  name,  and  called,  in  consequence 
probably  of  the  reputed  origin  of  Daniel  Silliman, 
Holland  Hill.  It  is  a  piece  of  elevated  land  stretch- 
ing for  a  considerable  distance,  and  rising  to  a  suf- 
ficient height  to  command  very  fine  views  of  Long 
Island  Sound,  with  the  adjacent  country  extending 
down  to  its  shores.  In  full  view  from  the  Hill,  at 
the  edge  of  the  water,  lie  the  towns  of  Fairfield  and 


HIS   CHILDHOOD  AND  EARLY  HOME.  3 

Bridgeport,  of  which  the  latter,  however,  at  the  time 
when  Professor  Silliman  was  born,  was  only  an  in- 
significant hamlet.  Answering  in  some  degree  to 
the  local  situation  of  the  family,  was  the  considera- 
tion which  they  appear  to  have  enjoyed  in  the  com- 
munity in  which  they  resided.  In  earlier  times  in 
New  England  the  communal  feeling  was  stronger, 
the  distinction  of  ranks  more  marked,  and  social 
affairs  more  under  the  guidance  of  recognized  lead- 
ers or  leading  families,  than  at  present.  Such  ap- 
pears to  have  been  the  rank  of  the  Sillimans  of  Fair- 
field  in  the  last  century.  Ebenezer  Silliman,  the 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  memoir,  was  a 
graduate  of  Yale  College  in  the  class  of  1727 ;  he 
pursued  the  profession  of  law,  became  a  Judge  of 
the  Superior  Court  of  the  Colony,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Governor's  Council.  He  was  the  propri- 
etor of  a  large  landed  estate,  and  an  influential  man 
in  public  affairs.  His  son,  Gold  Selleck  Silliman, 
the  father  of  Professor  Silliman,  was  likewise  gradu- 
ated at  Yale  College  in  1752.  After  engaging  for  a 
short  time  in  business,  he  studied  law,  and  became  a 
successful  practitioner  at  the  bar,  as  is  indicated  by 
his  holding  the  office  of  Prosecuting  Attorney  for  the 
County.  He  had  interested  himself  in  military 
affairs,  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary 
struggle  was  a  colonel  of  cavalry  in  the  local  militia. 
But  during  the  most  of  the  war  he  held  the  rank  of 
Brigadier- General,  and  was  charged  with  superintend- 
ing the  defence  of  the  southwestern  frontier  of  Con- 
necticut, which,  on  account  of  the  long  occupation 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  West  Chester  County, 
as  well  as  Long  Island,  by  the  British,  was  a  post 


4  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAX. 

requiring  much  vigilance  and  efficiency.  He  took 
the  field  at  the  head  of  a  regiment  early  in  1776,  was 
in  the  battle  on  Long  Island ;  and  both  in  that  re- 
treat and  in  the  retreat  of  the  American  forces  from 
the  city  of  New  York,  his  command  was  placed  as  the 
rear-guard.  He  bore  a  perilous  and  honorable  part 
in  the  battle  of  White  Plains,  and  on  this,  as  on  sev- 
eral other  occasions,  narrowly  escaped  the  balls  of 
the  enemy.  While  serving  in  the  camp  of  Wash- 
ington, General  Silliman  enjoyed  his  confidence. 
Disparaging  remarks,  made  by  Adjutant- General 
Reed  with  reference  to  the  New-England  troops,  had 
stirred  up  much  ill  feeling  among  them  ;  and  Wash- 
ington chose  to  evince  his  disapproval  of  the  Adju- 
tant's conduct  by  showing  marked  courtesy  to  Gen- 
eral Silliman  and  one  or  two  other  well-known  New- 
England  officers.  General  Silliman  descried  the 
British  fleet  when  approaching  to  hind  the  troops 
for  the  destruction  of  the  military  stores  at  Danbury 
in  1777,  and  rapidly  collecting  the  militia,  he,  in  con- 
nection with  Generals  Arnold  and  Wooster,  inter- 
posed a  resistance  to  their  progress,  sustaining  the 
attack  of  superior  numbers  in  the  conflict  at  Ridge- 
field,  and  harassing  the  enemy  on  their  way  back  to 
their  vessels.  The  estimate  that  was  put  upon  the 
value  of  his  services  is  attested  by  the  enterprise 
undertaken  by  the  British  in  conjunction  with  the 
Tories,  which  resulted  in  his  being  detained  in  cap- 
tivity for  nearly  a  year. 

On  his  mother's  side,  Mr.  Silliman  was  directly 
descended  from  Pilgrims  of  the  Mayflower.  His 
grandmother,  whose  maiden  name  was  Rebecca 
Peabody,  was  the  daughter  of  Elizabeth  Peabody 


HIS  CHILDHOOD  AND  EARLY    HOME.  0 

who  lies  buried  in  Little  Compton,  Rhode  Island ; 
and  hr.r  mother  was  the  daughter  of  John  Alden  and 
Priscilla  Mullius,  the  legend  of  whose  love,  which 
brought  disappointment  to  the  hopes  of  Captain 
Miles  StandLsh,  has  been  commemorated  in  Mr. 
Longfellow's  verse.  Mr.  Silliman  well  remembered 
his  grandmother,  who  died  in  her  eightieth  year  in 
his  father's  house;  and  she  was  fourteen  years  old 
when  her  grandmother  died.  On  her  who  caressed 
him  in  his  childhood  had  rested  the  hands  of  one 
who  was  nurtured  by  emigrants  in  the  Mayflower. 
The  grandfather  of  Mr.  Silliman,  in  the  maternal 
line,  was  Rev.  Joseph  Fish,  a  graduate  of  Harvard 
College,  and  for  fifty  years  the  pastor  of  a  church  in 
North  Stonington,  Connecticut,  whose  reputation  as 
a  man  of  exemplary  piety  is  sustained  by  his  letters, 
many  of  which  have  been  preserved.  His  ministry 
was  disturbed  by  the  divisions  excited  in  his  parish 
by  the  Separatists,  whose  subversive  movements  fol- 
lowed the  great  religious  revival  of  1740,  and  against 
whom  his  principal  publication,  a  collection  of  Ser- 
mons, was  directed.  His  eldest  daughter,  JMary  Fish, 
the  mother  of  Mr.  Silliman,  was  first  married,  in 
1758,  to  the  Rev.  John  Noyes,  son  of  the  pastor  of 
the  First  Church  in  New  Haven.  Mr.  Noyes  died 
in  1767.  Her  marriage  with  General  Silliman  took 
place  in  1775.  He  had  been  previously  married,  and 
a  son,  William  Silliman,  the  fruit  of  this  earlier  mar- 
riage, was  now  a  youth.  Three  of  her  children  also 
survived,  Joseph,  John,  and  James  Noyes,  the  last 
two  of  whom  ultimately  became  faithful  ministers 
of  the  Gospel,  and  died  at  an  advanced  age.  In 
1804  she  was  married  the  third  time,  to  Dr.  John 


6  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Dickinson,  of  Middletown,  who  died  in  1811.  Her 
own  death  occurred  in  1818.  She  combined  in  her 
nature  a  woman's  tenderness  with  a  remarkable 
fund  of  energy  and  fortitude.  The  mild  blue  eye 
that  looks  down  from  her  portrait,  and  the  com- 
pressed lip,  indicate  the  mingling  of  gentleness  and 
resolution  that  marked  her  character.  Her  de.voted 
love  to  her  children  was  reciprocated  by  a  most  warm 
and  reverential  affection  on  their  part,  and  seldom 
has  filial  love  so  fine  a  combination  of  virtues  to 
fasten  upon. 

The  story  of  the  capture  of  his  father,  and  the  pict- 
ure of  his  early  home,  which  follow,  are  from  Pro- 
fessor Silliman's  own  pen.  The  extracts  are  taken 
from  the  biographical  Sketch  of  his  Father,  and  from 
the  fragment  of  an  Autobiography,  —  both  written 
in  the  very  last  years  of  his  life. 

My  father's  vigilance  made  him  obnoxious  to  the  Tories, 
and  he  was  so  much  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  British  incur- 
sions that  it  became  an  important  object  to  make  him  pris- 
oner, especially  as  the  British  in  New  York  were,  as  it  now 
appears,  about  to  devastate  the  coast  of  New  England, 
plundering  and  burning  their  towns  and  destroying  their 
resources  ;  and  as  Connecticut,  on  account  of  its  strenuous 
opposition  to  British  aggression  on  the  rights  of  the  Colo- 
nies, was,  in  their  view,  peculiarly  worthy  of  chastisement, 
it  was  determined  to  make  this  hated  colony  the  first  object 
of  their  resentment.  A  secret  boat  expedition  was  sent  by 
Sir  Henry  Clinton  from  New  York  —  manned  chiefly  by 
Tories  :  this  craft  was  a  whale-boat ;  the  crew  were  nine 
in  number,  and  only  two  of  them  were  foreigners.  They 
entered  Black  Rock  Harbor  at  Fairfield,  drew  up  their  boat 
into  the  sedge,  and  leaving  one  of  their  number  as  a  guard, 
the  remaining  eight  proceeded  across  the  hills,  two  miles, 


HIS   CHILDHOOD  AND  EARLY  HOME.  7 

to  my  father's  house,  which  at  the  midnight  hour  was  all 
quiet  and  the  family  asleep.  On  May  1st,  1779,  between 
twelve  and  one  o'clock  A.  M.,  the  house  was  violently  as- 
saulted by  large  heavy  stones  banging  against  both  doors, 
with  oaths,  imprecations,  and  threats.  My  father,  being 
awaked  from  a  sound  sleep,  seized  two  loaded  guns  stand- 
ing at  his  bedside,  rushed  to  the  front  windows,  and  by  the 
light  of  the  moon  seeing  armed  men  in  the  stoop  or  por- 
tico, he  thrust  the  muzzle  of  a  musket  through  a  pane  of 
glass  and  pulled  the  trigger,  but  there  was  only  a  flash  in 
the  pan,  and  the  gun  did  not  go  off.  Percussion  caps 
were  then  unknown,  and  muskets  were  fired  by  flint  and 
steel.  Instantly  the  windows  were  dashed  in,  and  the  ruf- 
fians were  upon  him.  The  doors  were  opened,  and  he 
became  their  prisoner.  William  his  son,  although  ill  with 
ague  and  fever,  was  aroused  from  his  bed  and  became  also 
their  captive.  These  rude  men,  bearing  guns  with  fixed 
bayonets,  followed  my  father  into  the  bedroom,  —  a  terrific 
sight  to  his  wife,  she  being  in  bed,  with  her  little  son,  Gold 
Selleck,  not  yet  eighteen  months  old,  lying  upon  her  arm. 
The  invaders  were  soothed  by  my  father  as  if  they  were 
gentlemen  soldiers,  and  were  desired  to  withdraw  from  the 
presence  of  his  wife.  They  sulkily  complied;  and  my 
father,  by  tossing  my  mother's  dress  over  a  basket  contain- 
ing the  sacramental  silver  of  the  church*  of  which  he  was 
deacon,  thus  concealed  from  them  what  would  have  been  a 
rich  prize.  He  also  secured  some  valuable  papers  before 
he,  with  his  son,  was  hurried  off  to  the  boat,  leaving  my 
mother  disconsolate  and  almost  alone. 

The  capture  of  my  father  took  place  on  the  Sabbath 
morning  of  May  1st,  1779,  and  my  birthday  was  August 
8th  —  three  months  and  eight  days  after  the  midnight  sur- 
prise and  assault  which  made  my  father  a  prisoner  during 
a  year  with  the  British  at  New  York  and  on  Long  Island.f 

*  It  was  sacramental  day,  and  the  sacramental  vessels  would  have  been 
used  on  that  Sabbath. 

f  The  fact  of  Gen.  Silliman's  capture  is  reported  to  Gen.  Washington  by 


8  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

The  capture  of  the  father  was-  soon  followed  by 
the  retreat  of  his  wife  to  a  place  of  greater  safety. 

My  mother  had  secured  an  asylum  in  the  house  of  Mr. 
Eliakim  Beach  at  North  Stratford,  now  Trumbull,  and  had 
made  all  necessary  arrangements  for  her  own  removal  and 
that  of  a  part  of  her  family.  A  British  fleet  and  army, 
which  had  paid  a  hostile  visit  to  New  Haven  between  July 
4th  and  7th,  sailed  from  New  Haven  on  the  evening  of 
the  7th,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  8th  disembarked  at 
Kinsey's  Point  on  the  beach  at  Fairfield.  My  mother  and 
family  from  the  top  of  our  house  witnessed  the  disembarka- 
tion of  these  troops,  and  that  was  the  signal  for  their  own 
retreat  to  North  Stratford,  a  distance  of  seven  or  eight 
miles,  where,  with  several  members  of  her  family,  she  was 
comfortably  established  and  kindly  treated. 

In  their  progress  on  their  pilgrim  journey  the  cannon 
began  to  roar,  and  the  little  boy  Gold  Selleck,  amused  with 
the  sound  that  brought  sorrow  to  many  hearts,  at  every 
report  cried,  bang  !  bang  !! 

u  To  our  ears,"  writes  my  mother,  "  these  were  doleful 
sounds  ;  "  and  she  adds  :  —  "  Oh,  the  horrors  of  that  dread- 
ful night !  At  the  distance  of  seven  miles  we  could  see 
the  light  of  the  devouring  flames  by  which  the  town  was 
laid  in  ashes.  It  was  a  sleepless  night  of  doubtful  expecta- 
tion." "  I  returned,"  says  my  mother,  "  to  visit  our  house, 
and  found  it  full  of  distressed  people  whose  houses  had 
been  burned,  and  our  friend,  Captain  Bartram,  lay  there 
a  wounded  man." 

My  mother's  cheerful  courage  contributed  to  sustain  her  ; 
and  I  ought  to  be  (I  trust  I  am)  grateful  to  my  noble  mother 
and  to  my  gracious  God,  that  the  midnight  surprise,  the 
horror  of  ruffians  armed  for  aggression,  and  the  loss  of  her 
husband,  as  perhaps  she  might  fear,  by  the  hands  of  assas- 

I'ntiinm,  in  a  letter  d.ited  May  7,  1779.     (Sparks'  Correspondence  of 
tiie  American  Revolution,  II.  2U4.     P.) 


IITS  CHILDHOOD  AND  EARLY  HOME. 

sins,  had  not  prevented  my  life,  or  entailed  upon  it  physical, 
mental,  or  moral  infirmities.  Hope  and  comfort  returned 
to  my  mother  with  the  assurance  of  my  father's  safety,  and 
with  the  restoration  of  correspondence,  although  restricted 
to  open  letters  and  to  the  surveillance  and  jealousy  of 
Avar. 

At  the  expiration  of  a  year,  General  Silliman  was 
restored  to  his  home. 

The  family  were  all  presented  in  the  porch  or  portico 
before  he  crossed  the  threshold.  My  brother,  then  two  and 
a  half  years  old,  was  brought  to  his  paternal  arms,  and 
to  this  day  remembers  his  first  sight  of  the  unknown  gen- 
tleman in  his  military  garb ;  while  the  little  Benjamin  — 
nearly  nine  months  old  —  was  retained  in  the  house  until 
the  first  interviews  were  over;  and  until  William,  the  only 
son  of  a  departed  mother,  and  the  three  Noyes,  sons  of  a 
departed  father,  had  paid  their  devoirs;  when  the  little 
stranger  was  brought  in  the  arms  of  his  cousin,  Amelia 
Burr,  who  said,  "  Here,  uncle,  is  your  little  boy."  That 
"  little  boy,"  now  the  veteran  of  more  than  fourscore,  can 
only  thank  God  for  the  signal  mercies  of  which  he  was 
then  unconscious. 

While  looking  through  my  mother's  letters,  and  those  of 
my  father  at  this  crisis  and  in  other  years,  I  made  some 
brief  memoranda  —  outline  sketches  —  which  may  interest 
my  children.  Some  of  them  I  will  annex,  just  as  they  were 
jotted  down  upon  a  loose  sheet. 

1779  ;  May  llth.  To  her  Son,  Joseph  Noyes,  at  Stoning- 
ton.  —  «  As  we  have  strong  fears  on  account  of  the  Tories, 
we  have  every  night  a  guard  of  armed  men  —  as  we  believe, 
faithful  and  true ;  and  as  it  would  be  a  very  desirable  thing 
to  the  enemy  —  our  foes  —  to  recapture  my  husband,  he 
does  not  always  lodge  at  home.  I  fear  very  much,  if  you 
were  here,  the  enemy  would  be  for  carrying  you  off  too." 


10  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Of  the  Little  JSoys,  to  their  Father  on  Long  Island.  Dec.  4, 
1779.  —  "I  never  enjoyed  a  better  state  of  health.  I  never 
made  so  good  a  nurse  to  any  of  my  children  as  I  do  to  the 
dear  babe  now  in  my  lap.  He  is  a  fine  little  fat  fellow, 
as  good  as  possible  at  night,  and  so  in  the  daytime  too, 
if  properly  attended  to.  His  little  brother  is  very  fond  of 
him  ;  they  both  sleep  with  me,  and  both  awake  before  sun- 
rise, when  I  get  up  and  leave  them  to  play  together,  —  a 
sweet  sight  to  a  fond  parent.  Selleck  and  Bennie  are  my 
only  constant  companions ;  and  sweet  little  sociable  beings 
they  are.  I  long  that  you  should  see  them."  A  year  later, 
my  mother  remarks  in  a  letter :  —  "  Little  Selleck,  three 
years  and  three  months  old,  is  a  little  chatter-box,  and  Ben- 
nie, sixteen  months  old,  begins  to  use  his  tongue." 

My  father's  manners  were  those  of  a  dignified  gentleman 
of  the  old  school,  softened  by  a  benignant  amenity  and 
affability  which  made  his  society  attractive  in  an  uncommon 
degree  ;  and  being  a  man  of  great  intelligence  and  large 
intercourse  with  his  fellow-men,  he  was  an  object  of  great 
respect  and  confidence.  He  had  high  conversational  pow- 
ers, enjoyed  society  exceedingly,  took  great  satisfaction  in 
female  society,  and  held  woman  in  high  regard,  lie  taught 
us,  his  sons,  to  be  very  attentive  and  respectful  to  ladies, 
and  always  to  give  them  the  preference.  I  have,  at  the 
distance  of  seventy -two  years,  the  most  distinct  recollection 
of  his  person  and  manners. 

He  was  a  decidedly  religious  man,  but  had  no  austerity 
or  bigotry.  The  family  prayers  were  punctually  attended, 
as  far  as  practicable,  by  all  the  circle,  —  negro  domestics 
as  well  as  hired  white  people.  He  was  not  willing  that  any 
member  of  the  family  should  miss  the  opportunity  for 
religious  influence,  or  that  any  of  his  household  should  be 
absent  from  public  worship  on  the  Sabbath,  although  in  a 
large  family  it  was  not  easy  to  send  all  to  church,  especially 
as  there  were  little  negro  children  to  be  taken  care  of,  and 
we  lived  two  miles  from  the  town.  As,  however,  we  had 


usual 


HIS  CHILDHOOD  AND  EARLY  HOME.  11 


ly  half  a  dozen  horses  and  two  chaises,  we  were  toler- 
ably provided  for ;  and  the  horses  under  the  saddle  some- 
times carried  two,— a  female  riding  on  a  pillion  or  a  blanket, 
behind  a  man  or  a  lad.  My  brother  and  I  were  sometimes 
instructed  to  take  each  of  us  one  of  the  daughters  of  our 
clergyman,  —  the  Rev.  Mr.  Eliot,  —  who  had  more  girls 
than  horses ;  and  we  were  at  an  age  when  the  jeers  of  our 
school-fellows  made  this  a  rather  embarrassing  duty.  At 
our  Sabbath  evening  prayers  there  was  always  a  hymn 
sung,  and  as  the  members  of  the  family  were  most  of  them 
good  singers,  this  addition  to  the  usual  service  was  very 

interesting 

The  Sabbath  was  considered  as  beginning  on  Saturday 
evening  at  sunset,  and  ending  on  the  next  evening  at  the 
same  hour.  All  farm-work  and  other  labors,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, were  adapted  accordingly.  Family  visits  and  calls  of 
particular  friends  were,  however,  interchanged  on  Sabbath 
evening,  and  the  children  were  indulged  in  moderate  play 
with  the  setting  sun  and  the  appearance  of  the  first  stars. 

My  Maternal  Grandmother,  Rebecca  Fish.  —  This  vener- 
able lady,  after  her  husband's  death,  in  May,  1781,  removed 
to  Fairfield  and  became  a  member  of  the  family  of  my 
father  and  mother ;  and  although  she  died  when  I  was  only 
between  three  and  four  years  old,  I  retain  a  distinct  recol- 
lection of  her  person  and  manners.  She  took  the  charge 
of  dressing  an-d  undressing  us ;  she  knit  our  warm  stock- 
ings for  winter ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  taught  us  our  early 
prayers  and  hymns,  although  this  latter  fact  I  do  not 
remember.  We  were  always  accustomed  to  kiss  grandma 
for  good-night,  when  we  were  about  retiring  to  bed ;  and 
on  one  occasion  we  were  told  that  grandma  was  sick ;  and 
I  well  remember  her  appearance  as  she  lay  in  the  bed,  the 
last  night  that  we  saw  her  alive  and  received  her  last  kiss. 
The  next  day,  when  we  came  to  bid  grandma  good-morn- 
ing, she  did  not  speak  to  us  as  usual,  and  they  told  me  that 


12  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

she  was  dead.  I  inquired  what  that  meant,  (for  I  believe  I 
had  then  no  distinct  idea  of  death.)  They  replied  that  an 
angel  had  come  in  the  night  and  taken  grandma's  soul  up 
to  heaven  through  the  window.  This  was  my  earliest 
impression  of  death,  and  I  believe  it  has  not  been  without 
an  influence  upon  my  feelings  in  subsequent  years  in  rela- 
tion to  that  solemn  event,  diminishing  its  terrors  by  the 
association  with  an  angel  visit. 

In  connection  with  the  memory  of  my  maternal  grand- 
parents, I  will  mention  my  visit  to  Stonington  in  171)2. 
My  mother,  then  fifty-six  years  of  age,  my  half-brother, 
Rev.  John  Xovos,  then  thirty,  and  myself,  thirteen  years 
old,  formed  the  little  party.  We  had  a  chaise,  and  a  saddle- 
horse  on  which  I  rode,  mother  and  brother  being  in  the 
chaise.  At  Norwich  we  lodged  in  the  hospitable  house 
of  my  mother's  affectionate  friend,  Dr.  Joshua  Lathrop, 
whoso  lady  was  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Eells,  my  grand- 
father Fish's  particular  friend  and  neighbor,  as  well  as  min- 
isterial coadjutor,  as  he  was  settled  over  another  parish  in 
Stonington.  These  families  visited  each  other  often.  The 
house  of  Mr.  Eells  was  situated  up  a  narrow  lane  some 
distance  from  the  road.  My  grandfather  had  sold  a  swift 
Narragansett  black  mare,  which  ho  and  the  family  had 
often  rode  to  the  house  of  his  friend  ;  and  this  horse  came 
into  the  possession  of  Dr.  Franklin,  who,  in  one  of  his 
journeys  to  Boston,  came  unconsciously  opposite  to  the 
lane  leading  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Eells;  (for  gentlemen  in 
that  day  travelled  chiefly  on  horseback.)  The  horse  in- 
stantly wheeled  towards  the  house,  and  the  rider  applied 
whip  and  spur  and  voice  in  vain  to  force  the  animal  along 
the  public  road.  At  length  he  gave  her  the  rein,  and  away 
she  flew  for  the  house,  and  was  soon  at  the  door.  The 
family,  seeing  a  strange  gentleman  ride  up,  soon  lined  the 
windows ;  and  the  reverend  gentleman  coming  out  made  a 
courteous  bow  to  the  traveller,  as  if  to  bid  him  welcome. 
He  raised  his  hat  in  turn,  and  added,  "  Sir,  my  name  is 


HIS   CHILDHOOD  AND  EARLY  HOME.  13 

Benjamin  Franklin,  of  Philadelphia.  I  am  travelling  to 
Boston,  and  my  horse  appears  to  have  some  business  with 
you,  as  he  has  insisted  upon  coming  to  your  house."  "  Oh, 
sir,"  replied  Mr.  Eel  Is,  "that  horse  has  often  been  here 
before.  Pray  alight  and  come  in  and  lodge  with  us  to- 
night." The  invitation  so  cordially  given  was  as  frankly 
accepted,  and  it  resulted  in  a  permanent  friendship  ;  and 
Dr.  Franklin,  whenever  he  travelled  that  road,  found  here 
a  welcome  and  a  happy  home.  He  used  to  remark  that  he 
believed  he  was  the  only  man  who  was  ever  introduced  by 
his  horse.  This  anecdote  I  had  from  my  mother.  The 
two  ministers  were  six  miles  apart. 

In  our  progress  through  Stonington  we  were  everywhere 
greeted  warmly  by  the  people,  who  were  rejoiced  to  see  the 
only  surviving  child  of  their  revered  and  beloved  minister, 
with  two  of  her  sons.  The  population  were  principally 

substantial  farmers There  were  few  public  roads, 

but  many  private  avenues  to  the  farm-houses.  Often  I  dis- 
mounted to  let  down  the  bars,  or  to  open  the  great  gate  ; 
and  sometimes  the  final  access  to  the  house  was  over  a 
stile 

People  in  those  days  were  not  so  much  hurried  as  now ; 
there  was  more  leisure  in  the  family,  and  personal  friend- 
ship was  cherished  often  through  long  lives.  Thus  my 
mother  through  life  cultivated  the  kind  regard  of  some  per- 
sons belonging  to  her  father's  pastoral  charge.  I  remem- 
ber her  correspondence  with  Miss  Hannah  Fellows,  of 
Stonington, —  a  single  lady,  whose  friendship  she  highly  val- 
ued and  retained  through  life.  Those  who  were  born  and 
educated  under  the  primitive  influence  of  New-England 
sentiments  and  manners,  when  population  was  yet  sparse 
and  personal  friendships  still  partook  of  the  simplicity  and 
sincerity  of  colonial  manners,  —  the  good  people  of  that 
early  era,  —  appear  to  have  felt  and  cherished  the  social 
sentiments  as  a  part  of  their  nature,  and  the  hospitality 
which  characterized  that  state  of  society  offered  a  welcome 


14  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

asylum  to  the  travelling  friend.  My  mother  was  born  and 
educated  under  such  influences,  and  a  refined  standard 
of  deportment  in  the  parental  home  added  graceful  at- 
tractions to  her  manners. 

Among  the  first  people  in  New  England  there  was  a 
graceful  dignity  blended  with  winning  kindness,  —  and,  in 
the  case  of  acknowledged  friends,  crowned  by  a  cheer- 
ful greeting  when  they  met,  which  produced  reciprocal 
feelings  and  a  cordial  response.  These  traits  were  con- 
spicuous not  only  among  persons  in  elevated  position,  but 
in  a  good  degree  also  in  those  gradations  in  society  in 
which  refinement  was  not  dependent  on  wealth,  and  limited 
resources  demanded  even  a  frugal  hospitality.  Such  was 
the  case  with  the  clergymen,  who,  being  usually  men  of 
education,  and  often — as  well  as  their  families  —  possess- 
ing very  interesting  manners,  caused  their  homes,  with  the 
aid  of  manly  sons  and  lovely  daughters,  to  present  delight- 
ful family  circles.  My  mother  was  very  attentive  to  our 
manners.  We  were  taught  to  be  very  respectful,  especially 
to  older  persons  and  to  ladies.  If  we  received  a  book  or 
anything  else  from  her  hand,  a  look  of  acknowledgment 
was  expected,  with  a  slight  inclination  of  the  head,  which 
she  returned.  In  a  word,  she  wished  to  form  our  manners 
to  a  standard  at  once  respectful  and  polite.  We  must  not 
interrupt  any  one  who  was  speaking,  and  never  speak  in  a 
rude,  unmannerly  way.  We  were  taught  always  to  give  place 
at  a  door  or  gate  to  another  person,  especially  if  older.  Of 
course  all  profaneness  and  levity  on  religious  subjects,  and 
all  coarse  and  indelicate  language,  were  prohibited.  The 
family  manners  in  those  early  times  were  superior  in  some 
respects  to  those  which  are  often  observed  at  the  present 
day.  The  blunt  reply  to  a  parent,  without  the  addition  of 
sir  or  ma'am  to  yes  and  no,  was  then  unknown,  except 
among  rude  and  unpolished  people.*  The  change  is  not 
an  improvement.  The  omission  of  terms  of  reverence  and 

*  Of  course  I  do  not  refer  to  the  Quakers  or  Friends,  with  whom  plain- 
ness of  speech  is  a  religious  habit. 


HIS  CHILDHOOD  AND  EARLY  HOME.  15 

respect  tends  toward  the  loss,  or  at  least  the  weakness  of 
the  sentiment  itself.  Reverence  towards  parents  and  oth- 
ers superior  in  age,  position,  or  character,  enables  us  the 
more  readily  to  manifest  and  feel  reverence  for  our  Creator 
and  Redeemer.  As  to  my  mother,  in  the  course  of  long  ex- 
perience I  do  not  remember  to  have  seen  a  finer  example 
of  dignity  and  self-respect,  combining  a  kind  and  winning 
manner  and  a  graceful  courtesy  with  the  charms  of  a  cheer- 
ful temper  and  a  cultivated  mind,  which  made  her  society 
acceptable  in  the  most  refined  and  polished  circles.  Her 
delightful  piety,  adding  the  charm  of  sincerity  and  benevo- 
lence both  to  her  action  and  conversation,  attracted  the  wise 
and  the  good,  and  won  the  thoughtless  to  consideration.  It 
is  a  great  blessing  to  have  had  such  a  mother.  I  loved 
and  honored  her  in  life,  and  her  memory  is  precious. 

Of  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  death 
of  his  father  he  retained  a  full  recollection. 

About  sunsetting,  at  the  close  of  a  bright  and  beautiful 
summer's  day,  when  all  was  brilliant  without,  our  father, 
sitting  by  the  side  of  the  bed  in  the  old  arm-chair,  expe- 
rienced a  strong  rally  of  mind,  a  last  effort,  such  as  often 
precedes  death ;  when,  being  close  to  the  northern  window, 
he  cast  his  eyes  abroad  upon  the  face  of  nature,  as  if  to 
bid  the  world  farewell,  and  then,  in  a  clear  and  distinct 
voice,  calling  us  around  him,  said  to  our  mother,  "My 
dear,  I  am  going  the  way  of  all  the  earth ;  take  good  care 
of  our  dear  children."  He  repeated  the  hymn  — 

"  Show  pity,  Lord,  0  Lord,  forgive, 
Let  a  repenting  rebel  live : 
Are  not  thy  mercies  large  and  free ; 
May  not  a  sinner  trust  in  Thee?  " 

I  know  not  how  many  verses  he  repeated,  but  enough  to 
show  the  state  of  his  mind.  He  also  added,  "  I  have  that 
peace  of  mind  the  world  can  neither  give  nor  take  away." 
He  repeated  also  several  times,  "  The  morning  of  the  resur- 


16  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

rection  !  "  These  effusions  of  the  dying  Christian  were  fol- 
lowed, or  perhaps  preceded,  by  a  fervent  prayer  for  him- 
self, for  us  his  children,  and  for  our  dear  mother.  He 
prayed  for  forgiveness  of  his  own  unworthiness.  How 
beautiful,  how  consoling  was  this  closing  scene  !  His  sun 
broke  out  from  the  clouds,  and  shone  with  cheering  splen- 
dor, and  then  the  night  of  death  closed  in 

The  morning  after  his  death,  our  heavenly  -  minded 
mother  sat  down  in  the  room  where  our  father  lay  a 
corpse,  and  taking  her  two  young  sons,  one  on  either  hand, 
read  to  us  passages  of  Scripture  containing  God's  promises 
to  the  widow  and  fatherless.  During  her  widowhood,  in 
the  absence  of  male  friends  of  proper  age  and  feelings,  she 
prayed  aloud  with  us  and  in  the  family,  using  her  own 

language The   earnest  injunction    of   our    dying 

father  was  most  faithfully  fulfilled  by  the  best  of  mothers. 
During  the  twenty-eight  years  that  she  survived  my  father, 
she  was  at  liberty  during  twenty-one  of  those  years  to  live 
most  of  the  time  with  her  children  in  their  families,  and 
she  was  ever  received  as  an  angel  of  love.  She  was  indeed 
the  best  of  mothers  ;  and  she,  chiefly  from  our  limited  pa- 
ternal inheritance,  courageously  gave  us  brothers  a  public 
education,  while  the  solvency  of  our  father's  estate  was  still 
hanging  in  doubt,  although  it  proved  in  the  end  solvent, 
and  but  for  the  Revolution  would  have  been  ample.  Her 
beautiful,  benignant  portrait  continues  to  smile  upon  us 
from  the  wall  of  the  drawing-room  of  our  house ;  and  had  I 
a  Cowper's  poetical  talent,  as  I  have  his  filial  love,  I  too 
would  dedicate  "  a  poem  to  my  mother's  picture." 

My  recollections  of  my  childhood  and  early  youth  will 
be  perhaps  unmethodical,  and  will  often  present  my  only 
brother  of  the  whole  blood,  as  we  were  almost  constant 
companions  from  our  infancy  until  we  had  finished  our 
college  education,  when  I  was  nearly  seventeen,  and  he 
almost  nineteen  years  old. 


HIS  CHILDHOOD  AND  EARLY  HOME.  17 

For  our  early  religious  training  we  were  indebted  chiefly 
to  our  mother.  She  taught  us  prayers  and  hymns,  and 
every  morning  heard  us  read  in  the  Bible  and  other  relig- 
ious books  adapted  to  our  age.  In  mild  weather  we  usually 
resorted  to  the  parlor-chamber,  the  best  chamber  in  the 
house,  which  was  also  reserved  for  our  guests.  Here,  while 
our  mother  combed  the  hair  and  adjusted  the  dress  of  one, 
the  other  read  or  recited  passages  of  Scripture  or  hymns 
and  sacred  poetry.  Our  mother  also  gave  us  the  best  ad- 
vice and  instructions  from  her  own  lips.  These  opportu- 
nities were  precious,  and  were  repeated  in  other  places  of 
retirement,  as  was  convenient.  I  still  possess  the  large  folio 
Bible  which  was  my  father's,  —  London  edition  of  1759,  — 
one  hundred  and  three  years  old.  It  was  printed  on  beau- 
tiful paper,  with  a  clear  good  type,  and  was  fully  illustrated 
by  engravings  of  Bible  scenes,  and  by  maps  and  plans.  In 
the  settlement  of  my  father's  estate,  this  Bible  went  out  of 
the  family  and  was  carelessly  used.  A  few  years  ago  I 
bought  it  back  and  had  it  put  in  order :  the  text  is  all  per- 
fect ;  the  prints  and  maps  are  all  preserved ;  and  those 
works  of  art  which  were  the  admiration  of  us  children, 
now  in  my  old  age  bring  back  very  interesting  reminis- 
cences, and  always  of  our  blessed  mother.  Our  father,  as  I 
have  said,  was  a  decidedly  religious  man,  without  austerity, 
and  was  a  strict  observer  of  the  Sabbath,  and  of  all  the  laws 
of  morals  and  religion.  Although  he  was  much  engrossed 
by  public  and  private  duties,  and  therefore  left  our  religious 
training  chiefly  to  our  mother,  his  daily  life  shed  a  holy 
influence  over  the  family.  Thus  we  breathed  in  a  religious 
atmosphere,  and  our  sentiments  and  manners  were  influ- 
enced and  formed  by  a  Christian  standard  of  thought  and 
action. 

The  Assembly's  Catechism  was  in  those  days  taught,  not 
only  in  the  schools,  but  was  recited  by  question  and  answer 
in  the  families  of  religious  people,  especially  of  the  Con- 
gregational and  Presbyterian  denominations.  It  is  indeed 

VOL.   I.  2 


18  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

a  very  able  summary,  and  may  be  read  with  advantage  by 
mature  minds ;  but  it  is  not  easy  for  children  to  compre- 
hend the  doctrines  or  to  master  the  language.  Still  it 
should  not  be  discarded ;  it  has  been  an  important  educa- 
tor, although  all  its  views  are  not  adopted  in  this  age.  It 
is  also  an  interesting  historical  document,  illustrating  the 
religious  character  of  the  century  that  succeeded  next  after 
that  of  the  Reformation.  On  Sabbath  afternoon,  the  pub- 
lic service  being  concluded,  we,  my  brother  and  myself, 
with  the  younger  servants  who  were  negroes,  —  the  chil- 
dren of  the  older  servants,  — stood  up  in  a  line,  and  recited 
as  much  as  we  could  of  the  catechism ;  (the  Assembly's  was 
the  one  that  we  generally  rehearsed.)  With  the  plainer 
parts  we  did  tolerably  well,  and  could  repeat  the  com- 
mandments ;  but  we  found  it  difficult  to  remember,  and 
perhaps  still  more  difficult  to  understand,  the  complex  illus- 
trations of  the  commandments.  I  well  recollect  the  rest- 
lessness of  the  colored  children,  and  all  were  glad  when 
this  exercise  was  finished.  Still,  an  impression  of  solemnity 
was  left  on  the  mind,  and  I  find  that  catechism  still  deeply 
lodged  in  my  memory  and  engraven  in  my  religious  tem- 
perament. 

The  writings  of  that  excellent  Christian  instructor  and 
charming  poet,  Dr.  Watts,  were  ever  delightful  to  my 
brother  and  myself.  His  catechism,  both  the  longer  and  the 
shorter,  were  quite  intelligible  to  our  young  minds,  and  to 
recite  them  was  a  pleasant  employment.  There  was  also 
in  them  a  kindness  and  gentleness  that  attracted  us ;  they 
seemed  like  the  voice  of  an  affectionate  Christian  parent, 
or  of  the  Saviour  himself.  The  hymns  for  children  were 
lovely ;  some  of  them  remain  among  the  permanent  stores 
of  my  memory,  and  ever  bring  up  to  my  mind  refreshing 
visions  of  the  days  of  childhood. 

"How  doth  the  little  busy  bee 

Improve  each  shining  hour, 

And  gather  honey  all  the  day 

From  ever}-  opening  flower. 


HIS   CHILDHOOD  AND  EARLY  HOME.  19 

How  skilfully  she  builds  her  cell; 

How  neat  she  spreads  her  wax; 
And  labors  hard  to  store  it  well 

With  the  rich  food  she  makes." 

These  verses,  written  from  recollection,  are  among  the 
charming  reminiscences  that  flit  through  my  memory  like 
angel  visits  in  a  dream,  and  like  other  dreams  they  vanish 

on  waking  to  the  realities  of  life The  anxious  and 

wise  care  of  our  excellent  mother  extended  to  the  period 
when  we  arrived  at  full  manhood,  and  her  life  was  con- 
tinued, as  an  inappreciable  blessing,  until  we  had  almost 
reached  our  meridian. .  I  was  almost  forty,  my  brother 
almost  forty-two,  when  our  mother  died,  July  2,  1818. 

It  is  my  recollection  that  the  elements  of  English  read- 
ing were  taught  us  by  our  mother  at  home  along  with  our 
religious  instruction. 

I  am  not  quite  certain  as  to  priority  of  time,  but  it  is  my 
impression  that  our  first  school  for  reading  and  spelling 
was  in  a  small  schoolhouse  on  the  hill  in  the  road  to  Fair- 
field  town.  It  was  not  over  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  our 
house,  and  was  situated  upon  a  basis  of  granite  rock,  with 
loose  masses  and  cliffs  of  the  same  rock  on  the  descend- 
ing hill ;  and  upon  and  around  these  masses  we  children 
played  in  the  recess  from  school,  unconscious  that  these 
loose  rocks,  as  well  as  the  firm  ledges  of  granite  (a  name 
then  unknown  to  me),  were  historical  records  of  the 
planet 

The  discipline  of  our  almost  infant  school  was  parental 
and  not  severe  discipline.  The  rod  was  rarely  or  never 
used ;  but  milder  methods  were  employed.  On  one  occa- 
sion our  ma'am  —  for  that  was  her  familiar  title  —  detected 
a  little  girl  and  a  little  boy  in  whispering  and  playing.  The 
punishment  was,  that  a  double  yoke  of  limber  branches  of 
willow  was  adjusted  to  the  necks  of  the  offenders,  and  they 
were  required  to  walk  home  as  yoke-fellows.  The  little  girl, 
not  at  all  abashed,  addressed  her  shrinking  companion  by 
epithets  of  endearment :  he  was  compelled  to  bear  the  sly 


20  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN.    ' 

titter  of  his  school-fellows,  —  a  punishment  not  soon  for- 
gotten. 

There  was  a  fine  fishing-ground  at  some  distance  from 
the  shore,  and  the  long  clams  standing  erect  in  the  sand 
afforded  the  requisite  bait.  Fishes  also  for  the  seine  flowed 
with  the  refluent  waves  into  the  narrow  inlets  in  great  num- 
bers, especially  at  the  head  of  Black  Rock  Harbor,  among 
which  the  striped  bass  were  the  most  esteemed  ;  and  sea- 
fowl  flitted  across  the  spit  or  bar  which  ran  out  almost 
a  mile  from  Fairfield  Beach,  and  at  low  water  appeared 
a  naked  rocky  reef,  resembling  an  artificial  breakwater. 
We  boys  loved  to  wander,  when  the  tide  was  out,  on  the 
hard  flats,  which  were  so  firm  that  the  human  foot  made 
hardly  any  impression,  and  they  were  hardly  marked  by 
the  iron  shoes  of  a  horse,  resounding  to  his  tread. 

One  afternoon,  as  Mr.  Fowler  —  who  was  our  first  male 
teacher  —  did  not  arrive  with  his  usual  punctuality,  a  rumor 
was  circulated  among  us  that  he  was  not  coming,  and  that 
we  were  then  to  have  a  holiday.  "  Quod  volumus  facile 
credit// /t  x"  and  away  we  went  under  the  leadership  of  some 
master-spirit  down  the  narrow  lane  *  to  Fairfield  Beach. 
Smooth  shells  and  polished  pebbles  decorated  the  beach, 
and  there  were  numerous  islets  of  hard  sand  peering  above 
the  waves,  but  soon  to  be  submerged  again  with  the  return- 
ing tide.  To  one  and  another  of  these  islets  we  wandered, 
wading  through  the  shallow  channels  by  which  they  were 
surrounded.  Like  thoughtless  children,  as  we  were,  we  did 
not  heed  the  rising  tide  until  the  channel  became  filled  and 
the  water  too  deep  for  most  of  us  to  pass  with  safety ;  and 
few  of  us  could  swim.  By  the  exertions  of  the  taller 
and  stronger  boys,  however,  the  shorter  and  feebler  were 
helped  over  the  strait,  and  glad  were  we  to  be  once  more 
on  terra  firma.  It  was  a  moment  of  danger.  The  claim 

*  By  this  lane  the  British  army  marched  from  their  ships  when  they 
burned  Fairfield. 


HIS  CHILDHOOD   AND  EARLY  HOME.  21 

vl'  a  holiday  proved  to  be  a  blunder,  or  a  story  fabricated 
for  the  occasion ;  and  the  next  day  the  matter  was  inquired 
into,  and  some  punishments  were  inflicted ;  but  I  believe 
the  boys  of  Holland  Hill  escaped  what  we  all  deserved. 
Indeed,  I  do  not  remember  that  the  ferule  was  ever  ap- 
plied to  my  hand,  or  the  rod  to  my  back. 

Of  the  situation  of  his  mother  after  his  father's 
death,  he  speaks  as  follows  :  — 

That  bereavement  brought  upon  our  mother  a  world  of 
trouble  ;  and  it  was  in  that  crisis  that  she  was  obliged  to 
decide  the  question  whether  my  brother  and  myself  should 
receive  a  public  education,  —  my  age  being  eleven  years 
wanting  eighteen  days,  and  my  brother's  thirteen  years 
wanting  three  months  and  five  days. 

There  was  a  very  considerable  property  in  land,  with 
fanning  implements,  carts,  carriages,  horses  and  cattle,  — 
including  cows,  oxen,  sheep,  and  swine  ;  but  the  establish- 
ment was  unproductive  without  labor.  I  regret  to  record 
that  there  were  slaves,  —  some  slaves  by  purchase,  others 
by  descent,  or  slaves  born  under  our  roof.  Our  northern 
country  was  not  then  as  fully  enlightened  as  now  regarding 
human  freedom;  there  were  I1  ouse-slaves  in  the  most 
respectable  families,  even  in  those  of  clergymen  in  the  now 
free  States ;  and  those  who  fought  for  their  country,  of 
whom  our  father  was  one,  did  not  appear  to  have  felt  their 
own  inconsistency.  Under  our  roof,  or  roofs,  (for  there  was 
a  distinct  building  for  the  black  servants,)  there  were,  at 
the  time  of  my  father's  death,  about  a  dozen  negroes,  young 
and  old,  including  those  who  were  occasionally  there  from 
their  connection  with  ours.  Among  them  were  two  mar- 
vied  pairs,  and  their  children  swelled  the  list  of  consumers, 
but  not  of  producers.  The  mothers  served  in  the  kitchen 
and  the  laundry,  and  the  older  girls  and  boys  were  waiters. 
Some  of  the  older  boys  worked  on  the  land.  The  prin- 
cipal man,  Tego,  (a  corruption  from  Antigua,  from  which 


22  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

island  he  came,)  was  an  able  man,  but  now  having  no  mas- 
ter, he  was  bold  and  sometimes  impudent  to  my  mother. 
His  wife,  Sue,  was  kind  and  faithful. 

A  sense  of  integrity  alone  induces  me  to  record  these 
painful  facts  regarding  the  participation  of  our  family 
in  the  sin  and  shame  of  slavery.  I  trust  that  we  have 
been  for  many  years  cleared  of  these  injuries  to  our  fel- 
low-men, and  our  nation  is  now  settling  an  awful  account 
with  heaven  for  the  accumulated  guilt  of  more  than  two 
centuries,  for  which  we  are  paying  the  heavy  penalty  of  our 
blood 

Domestic  slavery  was  extensively  diffused  through  these 
colonies,  in  a  mild  form  indeed,  —  the  men  working  on  the 
farms,  and  the  women  generally  in  the  house,  more  rarely 
on  the  land,  especially  during  harvest-time  and  haying. 
The  dairy  was  managed  chiefly  by  the  women,  with  occa- 
sional help  from  the  men  in  milking.  In  general,  the 
treatment  was  not  severe  ;  the  lash  was  rarely  used  on 
human  beings,  and  never  on  women.  In  general,  the 
slaves,  especially  on  the  farms,  fared  as  to  food  as  their 
masters  did.  The  in-door  servants  were  often  favorites 
with  the  family,  and  especially  with  the  children.  In  the 
North,  slaves  rarely  became  fugitives,  and  were  never 
hunted  by  the  gun  and  the  blood-hound,  and  were  never 
loaded  with  the  ball  and  chain,  or  with  the  iron  collar ; 
nor,  in  general,  were  they  overtasked  with  labor.  Eng- 
land, from  the  planting  of  Virginia,  forced  slavery  and  the 
slave-trade  upon  the  colonies.  On  this  subject,  even  the 
Puritans,  to  a  certain  extent,  followed  the  bad  example 
of  the  cavaliers  of  the  South.  The  Quakers,  however, 
stood  out  as  a  noble  exception,  and  are  in  general  con- 
sistent opposers  of  slavery  to  this  day.  As  regards  my 
paternal  family,  I  am  sure  it  was  a  wasteful  institution,  not 
to  mention  its  injustice.  My  father  would  have  been 
much  better  off  with  his  legal  business  alone,  than  with 
the  horde  of  negro  servants  who  consumed  the  products 


HIS  CHILDHOOD  AND  EARLY  HOME.  23 

of  the  farms,  and  were  in  general  triflers,  and  some  of  them 
dishonest. 

Mr.  Silliman  prepared  for  college  under  the  tuition 
of  his  pastor,  Rev.  Andrew  Eliot.  During  the  occu- 
pation of  Boston  by  the  British,  a  number  of  fam- 
ilies had  left  that  place  and  taken  refuge  in  Fairfield. 
Among  them  was  the  family  of  Rev.  Andrew  Eliot 
(Sen.),  D.  D.,  a  patriotic  and  faithful  minister,  who 
himself  remained  in  Boston  in  the  discharge  of  his 
appropriate  duties.  Some  of  the  persons  who  thus 
resorted  to  Fairfield  found  a  permanent  home  there ; 
and  among  them  the  younger  Mr.  Eliot,  who  became 
pastor  of  the  church. 

Mr.  Eliot  was  a  thorough  scholar,  and  was  so  fully  imbued 
with  classical  zeal  that  he  was  not  always  patient  of  our  slow 
progress.  He,  however,  devoted  himself  with  great  zeal 
and  fidelity  to  our  instruction  in  all  good  learning  that  was 
adapted  to  our  age  and  destination,  and  carried  us  safely 
through.  He  was  most  faithful  during  the  more  than  two 
years  that  we  were  his  private  pupils,  —  and  his  only  pupils, 

except  his  own  children Mr.  Eliot  took  great 

delight  in  reading  aloud  to  us  from  the  JEneid.  Being 
excited  and  animated  both  by  the  poetry  and  the  story,  he 
evidently  enjoyed  the  subject,  and  would  fain  have  imparted 
to  us  a  portion  of  his  own  enthusiasm.  Virgil's  vrorks  were 
pleasant  to  me,  even  from  this  early  period ;  and  after  I 
became  sufficiently  familiar  with  the  language  and  the 
structure  both  of  the  grammar  and  the  verse,  they  were  to 
me  an  agreeable  study. 

We  did  not  find  the  Orations  of  Cicero  equally  captivat- 
ing as  the  epic  verse  of  Virgil.  Those  beautiful  allusions 
to  natural  scenery  and  physical  facts  and  events,  which 
abound  in  the  writings  of  Virgil,  had  little  place  in  forensic 
pleadings  and  popular  appeals.  It  was  also  more  difficult 


24  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

for  boys  at  our  age  to  resolve  at  a  glance  the  sometimes 
Ion""  and  elaborate  and  involved  sentences  and  sections  of 

& 

the  Orations  of  Cicero.     Still,  we  diligently  worked  our 
way  through  them. 

From  a  more  extended  sketch  of  society  in  Fair- 
field  a  few  extracts  follow. 

There  was  also  in  Fairfield  pleasant  society.  Thaddeus 
Burr,  Esq.,  was  a  principal  inhabitant,  and  a  man  of  wealth, 
especially  before  his  large  mansion  was  burned  and  his 
property  devastated  by  the  British,  in  July,  1779.  He  then 
converted  a  store  or  warehouse  into  a  dwelling,  and  it  was 
a  neat  and  commodious  mansion.  Mr.  Burr  was  hospi- 
table, and  his  wife  was  an  accomplished  lady.  The  place  is 
memorable,  having  been  a  favorite  resort  of  Dr.  Dwight, 
afterward  President  of  Yale  College.  He  was  then  minis- 
ter of  Greenfield,  and  gave  celebrity  to  that  hill,  both  by 
the  splendor  of  his  talents  and  pulpit  eloquence,  and  by 
the  Academy  for  the  instruction  of  the  youth  of  both 
sexes,  which  he  established  and  conducted  for  a  series  of 
years  with  great  success.  Dr.  Dwight  generally  rode  down 
two  or  three  miles  on  horseback  on  Saturday  afternoon,  to 
pass  those  hours  of  relaxation,  and  take  tea  with  his  friends, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burr.  lie  possessed  rare  colloquial  talents. 
His  mind  was  rich  in  intellectual  stores,  which  he  freely 
imparted  in  conversation,  with  a  genial  warmth  of  social 
feeling,  and  with  the  advantage  of  a  noble  person,  a  fine 
and  powerful  voice,  and  impressive  features.  His  conver- 
sation was  equally  entertaining  and  instructive,  a  feast  for 
both  mind  and  heart. 

Judge;  Jonathan  Sturges,  a  noble  gentleman,  was  an  or- 
nament to  the  town.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Yale,  (in  the 
class  of  17-V.).)  and  although  seven  years  later  than  my 
father's  class  of  17"»2,  they  were  friends  and  contemporaries 
at  the  bar,  at  which  both  were  eminent  practitioners.  Mr. 
Siurges  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of 


HIS   CHILDHOOD  AND  EARLY  HOME.  25 

the  United  States  when  convened  in  New  York,  in  1789, 
in  the  first  year  of  the  Presidency  of  General  Washington, 
and  the  evening  years  of  his  life  were  devoted  to  the  bench 
of  the  Superior  Court  of  Connecticut 

With  a  fine  person,  he  had  the  superior  manners  of  that 
day,  —  dignity  softened  by  a  kind  and  winning  courtesy, 
with  the  stamp  of  benevolence.  lie  is  pictured  on  my 
memory,  and  the  reminiscence  is  very  agreeable,  —  a  recol- 
lection of  my  early  youth.  Judge  Sturges  had  a  large  fam- 
ily, sons  and  daughters ;  the  sons  were  gentlemen  in  senti- 
ments and  manners,  and  the  daughters  refined  ladies, 
partaking  of  the  blended  traits  of  both  parents.  They 
were  all  amiable  and  intelligent  and  pleasant ;  some  of 
them  were  beautiful.  It  was  a  delightful  female  circle.  .  .  . 

In  my  early  days,  much  company  resorted  to  Holland 
Hill,  —  not  a  few  lodging  guests  ;  and  it  was  a  favorite  ex- 
cursion from  Fairfield,  especially  with  young  people  of  both 
sexes,  —  and  in  Mr.  Eliot's  family  there  were  sensible  and 
agreeable  daughters.  The  reverend  gentleman  was  not  for- 
gotten by  his  Boston  friends,  even  by  the  great.  I  remem- 
ber that  on  one  occasion  the  celebrated  Gov.  Hancock,  Pres- 
ident of  Congress,  drove  up  to  Mr.  Eliot's  in  his  coach  and 
four  horses,  and  while  he  made  his  call,  the  coachman 
drove  farther  up  the  road  to  find  a  place  wide  enough  to 
turn  the  horses  and  carriage. 

Living  in  a  situation  perfectly  rural,  on  elevated  ground 
overlooking  the  country  for  many  leagues  ;  having  before  us 
Long  Island  Sound,  a  beautiful  strait  perhaps  twenty  miles 
in  average  breadth,  —  a  strait  often  adorned  by  the  white 
canvas  of  sailing  vessels,  occasionally  fretted  by  winds  and 
storms  into  waves  which  adorned  the  blue  bosom  of  the 
deep  with  snowy  crests  and  ridges,  —  in  such  a  situation, 
we  had  only  to  open  our  eyes  in  a  clear  atmosphere  to  be 
charmed  with  the  scenery  of  this  beautiful  world,  as  here 
presented  to  our  view.  A  love  of  natural  scenery  thus 


26  LIFE   OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

took  early  possession  of  our  young  minds,  and  with  it  were 
associated  all  the  attractions  of  the  farm,  of  the  forest,  and 
the  waters,  —  the  beauty  and  melody  of  birds,  and  the  activ- 
ity and  instinct  of  animals.  In  a  word,  we  were  by  birth, 
by  education,  and  choice,  country  boys ;  and  we  honored 
our  rural  origin  by  adopting  the  amusements  and  varieties 
of  exercise  which  belong  peculiarly  to  the  country. 


CHAPTER   II. 

A  STUDENT  IN  YALE  COLLEGE. 

His  Admission  to  College.  —  President  Stiles.  —  President  Dwight.— His 
Studies.  —  College  Diary:  His  Anxiety  to  be  cured  of  Faults;  Inau- 
guration of  Dr.  Dwight;  Recitations  under  Dr.  Dwight;  Situation  of 
College  under  the  New  President;  His  Reading;  Dinner  at  Dr.  Dana's; 
His  Desire  of  Knowledge ;  Thoughts  about  a  Profession. 

MR.  SILLIMAN  entered  Yale  College  in  1792,  the 
youngest  of  his  class  save  one.  During  the  first 
three  years  of  his  college  life  the  institution  was  un- 
der the  presidency  of  Dr.  Ezra  Stiles.  He  was  prob- 
ably the  most  learned  man  of  his  time  in  America. 
In  theology  he  was  a  diligent  student  of  the  Fathers 
and  the  Rabbies  in  the  original  tongues;  but  such 
was  his  avidity  for  all  sorts  of  knowledge,  that  he 
made  himself  equally  conversant  with  history,  mathe- 
matics, and  the  physical  sciences.  Dr.  Stiles  was 
a  liberal-minded  man,  was  possessed  of  superior 
natural  powers,  and  formed  his  opinions  with  inde- 
pendence. Yet  his  other  qualities  were  in  part  hid- 
den under  the  copious  stream  of  erudition  which 
seemed  to  pour  out  spontaneously  whenever  he 
opened  his  lips  in  public.  Mr.  Silliman  being  of  the 
younger  classes,  seldom  came  into  near  contact  with 
the  President,  and  the  chief  impression  which  Dr. 
Stiles  produced  on  him  was  that  of  awe  for  his 
station  and  for  his  uncommon  acquirements.  He 


28  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

retained  a  vivid  recollection  of  occasionally  walking 
through  the  long  yard  that  fronted  the  President's 
house,*  hat  in  hand,  according  to  the  old  etiquette, 
(which  Dr.  Stiles  strictly  enforced,)  to  present  an  ex- 
cuse, or  obtain  leave  to  be  temporarily  absent.  Once, 
in  his  Freshman  year,  oblivious  of  the  rule,  he  gave  a 
kick  to  a  stray  football  in  the  college  yard,  for  which 
misdemeanor  he  was  instantly  fined  a  sixpence  by 
the  President,  who  happened  to  be  an  eye-witness, — 
a  circumstance  that  drew  upon  him  some  banter 
from  Mr.  Eliot  and  his  friends  at  home,  who  were 
much  amused  that  "  Sober  Ben,"  as  they  were  wont 
to  style  him,  should  be  so  unlucky  as  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  law.  This,  it  is  believed,  was  the  only 
instance  in  which  he  exposed  himself  to  penalty  or 
censure  daring  his  college  course.  Though  only  thir- 
teen years  old  when  he  came  to  college,  he  was 
somewhat  grave  for  his  years,  and  his  thoughtful 
temper  disinclined  him  to  coarse  or  mischievous 
sports.  The  purity  of  his  character  was  sullied  by 
no  gross  or  unworthy  act.  The  accession  of  Dr. 
Dwight  to  the  presidency  at  the  beginning  of  his 
Senior  year  made  an  epoch  in  Mr.  Silliman's  col- 
lege career.  This  eminent  man  seems  to  have  cast 
a  spell  over  him  from  the  first.  The  vigorous  and 
animated  discussions  of  Dr.  Dwight,  in  the  lectai-e- 
roorn  and  the  pulpit,  opened  to  his  admiring  pupil  a 
new  world  of  thought.  Although  Mr.  Silliman,  on 
account  of  a  severe  wound  in  the  foot  from  an  axe, 
which  was  unskilfully  treated,  was  obliged  to  be 
absent  during  portions  of  his  last  year,  he  yet  received 
a  deep  and  lasting  influence  from  the  inspiring  les- 

*  Which  was  on  the  lot  where  the  College-Street  Church  now  stands.  —  F. 


A  STUDENT  IN  YALE  COLLEGE,  29 

sons  of  his  preceptor.  Through  life,  Dr.  Dwight 
stood  before  his  mind  as  a  model  of  human  great- 
ness. Mr.  Silliman  exhibited  in  his  college  essays 
and  debates,  as  well  as  in  the  letters  written  by  him 
in  that  period,  both  a  maturity  of  thought  and  a  cor- 
rectness of  style  hardly  to  be  expected  in  one  so 
young.  He  was  fond  of  writing  verses,  and  acquired 
no  mean  facility  in  versification.  His  closing  piece 
at  graduation  was  a  poem,  as  was  also  the  piece 
which  he  delivered  afterwards  on  taking  the  master's 
degree.  He  does  not  appear  to  have  shown  an  ex- 
clusive predilection  for  any  one  department  of  knowl- 
edge, but  attained  to  a  highly  respectable  proficiency 
in  all.  He  speaks  of  himself  as  having  been  unusually 
fond  of  rhetorical  and  poetical  studies,  but  as  also 
taking  delight  in  geometry,  and  being  strongly  in- 
terested in  natural  phenomena.  His  reading,  as  far 
as  it  went  beyond  the  requirements  of  the  curriculum, 
was  chiefly  in  history  and  English  literature,  —  espe- 
cially in  history. 

Some  extracts  from  a  private  journal,  which  he 
kept  in  the  latter  part  of  his  college  course,  will  show 
the  tenor  of  his  daily  thoughts  and  occupations,  at 
the  same  time  that  it  affords  glimpses  of  student  life 
in  Yale  seventy  years  ago.  These  should  be  read 
with  the  recollection  that  they  emanate  from  a  youth 
of  sixteen,  on  whom,  as  will  be  seen,  they  reflect  no 
discredit.  This  diary  shows  that  students  then  bore 
a  close  resemblance  to  students  now. 

1795;  Aug.  13. — Rain  in  the  forenoon,  partly  clear  in  the 
afternoon  ;  but  it  is  still  cloudy,  and  the  weather  appears  to 
be  unsettled.  Studied  in  the  forenoon,  and  wrote  all  the 
afternoon  ;  in  the  evening  went  to  Brothers  in  Unity  So- 


30  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ciety  ;  returned  to  my  room  with  Bishop,  Bobbins,  and 
Tucker.  We  dressed  Robbins  in  the  lean  mode,  but  mak- 
ing a  little  too  much  noise,  Mr.  Linsly  came  up  to  still 
us.  Nevertheless,  we  finished  the  transformation  of  Rob- 
bins,  and  he  strutted  around  college  with  considerable  dig- 
nity. We  raised  the  electrical  kite  this  day,  but  the  air 
was  too  near  an  equilibrium  to  afford  any  of  the  fluid.  Mr. 
Day*  called  upon  us  in  the  forenoon  on  his  return  from 
Greenfield,  and  informed  us  that  Dr.  D wight  was  dismissed, 
and  that  he  (Mr.  Day)  was  to  take  his  school. 

Aug.  15. —  Fine,  clear,  wholesome  air,  —  very  cool.  I 
studied  in  the  forenoon,  and  came  home  in  the  afternoon 
determined  to  write,  but  as  I  felt  in  a  poor  mood  for  study, 
I  went  and  danced  in  the  hall ;  however,  I  might  as  well 
have  kept  to  my  books.  I  have  been  this  evening  at  Bish- 
op's room,  when  the  conversation  turned  upon  swearing, 
and  a  profane  person  who  was  present  said  that  he  was 
determined  to  break  himself  of  swearing ;  but  I  fear  that 
his  promises  are  more  easily  made  than  kept.  I  have  just 
now  come  to*a  resolution  to  write  down  every  material 
error  of  my  life  in  this  journal,  that  by  a  retrospective 
view  I  may  keep  myself  free  from  error.  I  hope  I  shall 
be  enabled  to  do  myself  justice  and  not  to  be  partial ;  but 
perhaps  I  shall  sometimes  express  myself  in  ambiguous 
terms  known  only  to  myself,  and  I  shall  likewise  write 
proper  names,  which  I  do  not  wish  to  have  known,  in  a  par- 
ticular manner.  I  think  of  no  material  error  of  which  I 
have  this  day  been  guilty,  but  in  general  I  would  observe 
that  I  am  in  some  degree  addicted  to  detraction,  but  I 
hope  I  shall  be  able  to  cure  myself. 

Aug.  17.  —  I  have  been  this  evening  to  the  <J>BK.  Sel- 
leck  has  been  out  in  town  and  is  not  yet  returned.  I  do 
not  recollect  tfiat  I  have  this  day  been  guilty  of  any  mate- 
rial error.  I  wish,  however,  to  gain  the  ascendency  over 
my  irascibility,  and  to  cultivate  the  heavenly  virtue  of  affa- 
»  Afterwards  President  Day.  —  F. 


A  STUDENT  IN  TALE  COLLEGE.  31 

bility  and  complacency  to  all,  that  so  my  life,  whether  short 
or  long,  may  be  both  more  agreeable  to  myself  and  to 

others 

Aug.  22.  —  Somewhat  cloudy,  and  very  cool  for  the  sea- 
son of  the  year,  but  very  good  weather  for  study.  I  copied 
compositions  all  the  forenoon,  and  went  to  recitation  at 
eleven.  The  class  recited  about  half  round,  and  because 
two  of  them  missed  and  had  not  studied  their  recitations, 

Mr.  S jumped  up  in  a  pet  and  told  the  class  to  get 

their  recitations  better,  and  to  come  prepared  to  recite  the 
same  recitation  on  Monday,  and  went  out  of  the  chapel 
with  amazing  velocity.  In  consequence  of  his  intemperate 
conduct,  the  class  were  very  much  offended,  and  declared 
that  they  would  not  give  him  a  present.  I  think  that  he 
ought  to  have  commanded  his  temper,  although  it  must  be 
acknowledged  that  a  man  ought  to  have  the  patience  of 
Job  to  officiate  as  a  tutor  in  the  college 

Sept.  8.  —  I  stayed  at  Mrs.  Hill's  all  the  forenoon,  copied 
tunes,  fluted,  &c.  Dr.  Dwight  was  to  have  been  inducted 
into  the  office  of  President  at  ten  A.  M.,  but  through  some 
misfortune  was  not,  and  it  was  postponed  until  six  p.  M., 
when  I  attended  in  the  chapel,  which  was  filled  with  clergy- 
men, students,  &c.  The  ceremony  was  begun  by  an  anthem  ; 
then  a  Latin  oration  and  address  to  the  President  elect, 
by  Mr.  Williams.  The  President  then  made  a  Latin  ora- 
tion and  addresses  to  the  corporation,  and  the  whole  was 
concluded  by  an  anthem  called  "  The  Heavenly  Vision." 
The  first  act  of  power  exercised  by  the  new  President  was  — 
"  cantatur  anthema"  I  then  went  to  supper  and  then  to 
college,  to  see  the  illumination  and  fireworks :  the  illumi- 
nation was  partial,  as  well  as  the  fireworks,  but  the  music 
was  very  good.  I  walked  the  yard  with  Page,  and  feel 
considerably  fatigued,  but  hope  to  receive  no  material  in- 
jury from  my  extraordinary  exercise.  There  were  very  few 
people  in  the  yard,  compared  with  some  Commencements, 


32  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

(I  suppose)  on  account  of  .the  sickness  and  the  rains  which 
have  hindered  them  from  coming  into  town 

Oct.  29.  —  Thus  after  a  long  intermission  of  about  seven 
weeks,  I  again  begin  to  note  down  the  occurrences  of  my 
life.  I  think  that  upon  the  whole  I  have  never  spent  a 
vacation  more  agreeably  than  the  last.  I  have  been  blessed 
with  good  health  and  good  spirits,  and  no  inconsiderable 
portion  of  my  time  was  spent  in  the  company  of  the  ladies, 
which  I  think  not  an  unprofitable  employment,  —  which  is  a 
very  happy  circumstance,  seeing  it  is  so  agreeable.  I  have 
attended  four  balls,  or,  more  properly,  one  ball  and  three 
dances.  I  stayed  for  more  than  two  weeks  at  Mr.  Eliot's, 
while  my  mother  was  gone  on  a  journey  with  my  brother  Sel- 
leck,  and  this  I  reckon  among  the  most  pleasant  part  of  the 
vacation,  as  he  has  two  very  sprightly  agreeable  daughters. 
I  have  done  nothing  of  any  consequence  this  day,  as  I  have 
been  in  town  only  two  days,  and  am  hardly  settled  in  my 
studies.  I  board  at  present  at  Mrs.  Hill's,  but  expect  soon 
to  live  in  commons.  I  have  been  this  evening  to  the  meet- 
ing of  the  Brother's  Society,  where  I  read  a  composition 
and  returned,  and  am  now  sitting  in  my  great  chair,  but 
hope  soon  to  be  in  bed,  —  so  good-night  to  you  all 

Oct.  31. —  I  studied  as  usual,  and  attended  recitation. 
Our  recitations  are  now  becoming  very  interesting,  by  the 
useful  and  entertaining  instruction  which  is  communicated 
in  them  by  the  President.  He  is  truly  a  great  man,  and  it 
is  very  rare  that  so  many  excellent  natural  and  acquired 
endowments  are  to  be  found  in  one  person.  When  I  hear 
him  speak,  it  makes  me  feel  like  a  very  insignificant  being, 
and  almost  prompts  me  to  despair  ;  but  I  am  reencouraged 
when  I  reflect  that  he  was  once  as  ignorant  as  myself,  and 
that  learning  is  only  to  be  acquired  by  long  and  assiduous 
application. 

Nov.  1. —  Clear  and  cold,  but  a  very  healthy  air.  I 
attended  meeting  all  day  in  the  chapel,  and  was  well  enter- 
tained with  two  excellent  sermons  from  the  President.  One 


A  STUDENT   IN  YALE  COLLEGE.  33 

of  them  (the  first)  was  upon  the  subject  of  indifference  in 
the  affairs  of  religion,  which  he  thought  to  be  a  greater 
crime  than  direct  opposition.  The  other  was  upon  the 
authenticity  of  the  account  which  the  Evangelists  have 
given  of  the  death  and  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  impossibility  of  the  apostles  being  either  deceived  or 
deceivers.  I  remember  to  have  heard  the  same  sermon  at 
Fairfield  last  summer,  when  I  was  at  home.  At  a  meeting 
in  the  afternoon  I  was  attacked  with  a  dizziness  in  my  head, 
which  rose  to  such  a  height  that  I  was  hardly  able  to  sit 
erect,  but  it  soon  subsided  to  a  degree,  although  it  came  on 
again  in  the  evening,  but  was  not  so  bad.  In  the  evening 
Selleck  went  with  Charles  Denison  to  Dr.  Gould's,  and  I 
spent  a  part  of  it  at  Prince's  room,  as  I  did  not  wish  to  be 
alone  when  I  had  that  disagreeable  feeling  in  my  head.  I 
returned  and  went  to  bed  at  a  little  past  eight 

Nov.  3.  —  My  collegiate  life  now  begins  to  draw  toward 
a  close,  and  I  am  perplexed  to  know  in  what  manner  I 
shall  employ  my  time  to  the  greatest  advantage,  but  rather 
think  that  I  ought  to  apply  myself  to  history  in  the  greatest 
part  of  the  time  which  is  not  occupied  by  my  classical  pur- 
suits and  other  necessary  employments. 

Nov.  4.  —  Clear  and  pleasant  weather  as  usual.  I  have 
studied  all  day  as  usual,  and  nothing  has  occurred  out  of 
the  common  order  of  things  which  I  now  recollect.  Mr. 
Meigs  heard  the  class  recite  at  noon,  as  Dr.  Dwight  is  out 
of  town. 

Although  Mr.  Meigs  is  a  very  sensible  man,  and  very 
well  calculated  for  the  office  which  (as  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics and  Natural  Philosophy)  he  now  fills,  still  it  is  very 
easy  to  make  a  contrast  between  him  and  the  President ; 
but  I  am  doubtful  whether  the  comparison  is  not  a  false 
one.  because  the  President  is  one  of  those  characters  which 
we  very  seldom  meet  with  in  the  world,  and  who  form  its 
greatest  ornaments.  In  the  beginning  of  the  evening  I 
went  with  a  member  of  my  class  to  look  at  the  planet  Jupi- 


34  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ter  through  the  large  telescope  from  the  Museum,  which 
with  his  four  moons  we  very  easily  discovered.  I  returned 
from  the  Museum,  and  had  a  call  to  go  into  Bacon's  room, 
to  help  despatch  some  wine  ;  which  I  very  readily  obeyed, 
and  I  presume  acted  my  part  faithfully.  I  then  returned 
to  my  own  room,  where  I  found  Lynde  ;  and  soon  after 
Bishop  came  in,  —  who  had  been  with  me  at  Bacon's 
room,  —  and  soon  after  him  Strong.  We  drank  a  few 
glasses  of  wine,  and  had  some  sprightly  conversation,  &c.? 
&c.  They  all  returned  about  nine ;  and  here  am  I  at  half- 
past  nine,  sitting  in  my  great  chair,  —  Selleck  reading  the 
History  of  Greece,  and  I  writing  what  you  now  read.  My 
time  passes  very  agreeably,  and  were  it  not  for  the  cancer- 
ous humor  which  I  mentioned  the  other  day,  I  should  be 
in  perfect  health  ;  but  even  this  (at  present)  does  not  give 
me  much  uneasiness,  —  it  is  only  the  future  consequences 
which  I  fear.  I  am  now  engaged  in  reading  ancient  his- 
tory; and  notwithstanding  that  Dr.  Dwight  talks  very 
pointedly  against  our  reading  much  history  while  in  col- 
lege, still  I  must  think  that  it  is  highly  advantageous,  if 
read  with  judgment  and  attention. 

Nov.  6.  —  ....  I  think  that  I  have  never  seen  college  in 
so  regular  a  situation  as  at  present.  There  are  no  disturb- 
ances, and  the  students  attend  the  exercises  with  punctu- 
ality. Vigorous  preparations  are  making  for  commons,  and 
we  shall  enter  the  hall  next  week  on  Tuesday.  I  have  just 
now  finished  reading  the  first  volume  of  ancient  history, 
and  find  a  very  pleasing,  and  I  am  apt  to  think  a  profitable, 
study.  The  contest  between  those  two  powerful  and 
haughty  republics,  Carthage  and  Rome,  affords  a  very  in- 
teresting piece  of  history.  How  different  was  the  state  of 
society  —  and  particularly  in  the  art  of  war  —  in  those  ages 
from  the  present !  And  I  cannot  help  concluding  in  favor 
of  the  age  in  which  I  live,  which  has  stripped  war  of  half 
its  horrors. 

Nov.  9.  —  ....  I  rose  as  early  as  usual,  attended  prayers, 


A  STUDENT  IN  YALE  COLLEGE.  35 


and  wrote  in  a  part  of  the  forenoon  upon  the  question, 
"  Whether  a  minority  can  ever  be  justified  in  rebelling 
against  a  majority."  In  the  afternoon  I  read  and  wrote 
upon  the  following  question :  "  Whether  the  mental  abilities 
of  the  females  are  equal  to  those  of  the  males,"  —  of  the 
affirmative  of  which  I  am  a  strenuous  advocate.  I  believe 
that  the  difference  in  the  appearance  of  the  sexes  (as  to 
their  minds)  is  owing  entirely  to  neglect  of  the  education 
of  females,  which  is  a  shame  to  man,  and  ought  to  be  rem- 
edied. In  the  evening  I  went  to  the  meeting  of  4>BK ; 
returned  and  wrote  upon  the  above  question  until  half- 
past  ten.  The  wind  is  now  N.  W. ;  I  think  the  possibility 
is  that  it  will  be  cold.  It  is  so  late  that  I  must  retire  to 
bed,  and  leave  my  observations. 

Nov.  10.  —  Clear  and  pleasant,  rather  cooler  than  yester- 
day. I  wrote  all  the  forenoon  in  favor  of  the  equality  of 
female  abilities  to  those  of  the  males.  It  was  warmly  con- 
tested at  the  eleven  o'clock  recitation,  arid  decided  in  favor 
of  the  females,  after  a  debate  of  more  than  two  hours.  I  did 
very  little  in  the  afternoon,  as  the  boys  were  bringing  up 
wood  into  our  chamber,  and  kept  up  a  continual  noise.  .  .  . 

Nov.  11. —  ....  I  rose  as  early  as  usual,  and  attended 
prayers  ;  then  returned.  I  wrote  poetry  in  the  greater  part 
of  the  forenoon  with  tolerable  success,  and  the  same  in  the 
afternoon,  and  likewise  in  the  evening,  until  Marsh,  a  grad- 
uate, came  in,  and  after  him  Tucker,  Cantey,  Bassett,  &c., 
&c.  We  drank  a  few  glasses  of  wine,  and  the  conversation 
ran  upon  politics  in  general,  and  particularly  upon  the  cor- 
ruption of  some  of  our  great  men,  the  state  of  France,  of 
England,  &c.  Matters  ran  pretty  high,  as  is  generally  the 
case  in  politics.  Many  men  who  in  private  life  are  of  the 
most  amiable  and  gentle  dispositions,  when  they  come  to 
converse  upon  politics  are  ravenous  wolves.  The  company 
did  not  break  up  until  past  ten.  We  invited  Marsh  to 
stop  at  our  room,  which  he  did,  and  I  slept  with  Prince  at 
his  room. 


36  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Nov.  12. —  ....  In  the  afternoon  I  went  to  speaking,  after 
which  the  Senior  called  up  the  Freshman  class  into  the  long 
gallery,  and  gave  them  some  advice ;  after  which  I  was 
appealed  to  as  umpire  between  a  Freshman  and  a  Junior 
who  had  commanded  the  Freshman  to  go  of  an  errand,  and 
he  refused.  I  decided  conditionally  in  favor  of  the  Fresh- 
man, and  my  judgment  was  afterwards  confirmed  by  the 
opinions  of  my  classmates 

Nov.  15. — .  .  .  .  I  wrote  poetry  (or,  perhaps  more  prop- 
erly, rhyme)  all  the  evening,  in  addition  to  a  piece  which  I 
began  some  time  since,  and  which  I  expect  to  exhibit  before 
the  Brothers'  Society,  in  the  form  of  an  oration.  It  will  be 
my  first  attempt  in  public ;  how  I  shall  succeed  I  know 
not,  but  am  prepared  for  the  worst ;  so  whether  it  should 
be  acceptable  or  not,  it  cannot  injure  me. 

Nov.  16. — .  .  .  .  At  supper  this  evening  Tutor  S 

undertook  to  reprove  the  scholars  for  being  too  noisy,  by 
telling  a  little  story  of  President  Clap.  The  effect  was  a 
universal  laugh  ;  thus  his  very  reproof  caused  a  repetition 
of  the  noise  for  which  he  was  reproving  them.  But  J  must 
confess  that  I  cannot  tell  whether  they  laughed  most  at  the 
wit  or  folly  of  the  story. 

Nov.  17.  —  Cloudy.  I  rose  early  this  morning,  after  a 
night  of  tolerable  though  not  undisturbed  repose.  I  wrote 
all  the  forenoon  upon  the  question,  "  Whether  the  want  of 
religious  principles  ought  to  exclude  a  man  from  a  public 
office."  Copied  poetry  in  the  afternoon.  In  the  evening 
viewed  the  moon  through  a  telescope,  read  the  newspaper, 
&c.,  &c. 

Nov.  23.  — .  .  .  .  We  (the  Senior  class)  this  day  sent  a 
petition  to  the  steward,  to  change  our  sugar,  &c.  Nothing 
remarkable  has  occurred  this  day,  but  I  could  wish  to 
find  myself  amended  in  several  particulars.  I  find  that  I 
am  very  apt  to  be  guilty  of  scandal,  although  I  acquit  my- 
self of  doing  it  through  any  malicious  design.  I  desire  to 
make  it  a  rule  from  this  time  never  to  say  anything  con- 


A  STUDENT  IN  YALE  COLLEGE.  37 

cerning  any  person,  (if  I  cannot  speak  in  his  favor,)  unless 
it  is  absolutely  necessary 

I  ought  likewise  to  be  more  careful  of  speaking  concern- 
ing myself.  No  person  ought  to  speak  of  himself  unless 
when  it  is  absolutely  necessary,  and  even  then  with  the  ut- 
most modesty.  For  if  you  speak  well  of  yourself,  it  argues 
vanity  ;  if  ill,  you  will  be  called  a  hypocrite.  I  hope  I  shall 
observe  these  particulars,  and  any  others  which  may  tend  to 
make  one  a  Christian  scholar  and  gentleman. 

Nov.  27.- — ...  I  am  every  day  more  and  more  convinced 
of  the  importance  of  modesty  in  a  young  person  ;  it  is  his 
letter  of  recommendation.  A  bold  and  loquacious  air  may 
dazzle  the  thoughtless  and  ignorant,  but  modesty  alone  will 
procure  the  good-will  of  persons  of  real  worth.  If  you 
wish  to  be  noticed,  say  but  very  little  of  yourself,  and  that 
with  the  utmost  modesty.  Speak  well  of  others  ;  make 
them  pleased  with  themselves ;  and  there  is  no  danger  of 
their  being  displeased  with  you.  Never  strive  to  hurt  the 
feelings  of  any  person.  Do  not  affect  to  despise  others. 
Finally,  put  on  modesty,  and  it  will  procure  you  a  recep- 
tion in  all  good  company. 

Nov.  28.  —  Clear  and  pleasant.  I  rose  to  prayers  this 
morning  by  candle-light.  I  read  ancient  history,  and  Vin- 
cent's exposition  of  the  catechism,  in  the  forenoon,  which 
we  recited  at  eleven.  Dr.  Dwight  disagreed  with  Mr.  Vin- 
cent in  some  points.  He  does  not  believe  that  any  of  the 
attributes  of  Deity  can  be  proved  from  the  light  of  nature. 
He  supposes  that  heathen  nations  have  derived  all  their 
ideas  of  Deity  from  tradition,  and  that  this  tradition  was 
originally  founded  upon  the  revelation  given  to  Adam,  &c. 
As  he  is  a  great  man,  I  revere  his  opinions,  but  do  not 
think  myself  bound  implicitly  to  believe  the  word  of  any 
man,  although  I  am  rather  inclined  in  favor  of  this  doctrine. 

Nov.  29.  —  Cloudy,  and  some  small  probability  of  snow. 
I  rose  this  morning  at  half-past  eight,  and  consequently  did 
not  attend  prayers.  The  President  preached  in  the  fore- 


38  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

noon  upon  the  impossibility  of  forming  an  idea  of  the  di- 
vine character  from  the  works  of  nature.  He  thought  that 
the  bounty,  power,  and  patience  of  the  Deity  might  possibly 
be  proved  from  his  works,  but  none  of  his  other  attributes. 
The  afternoon  sermon  was  a  continuation  of  the  same  sub- 
ject, wherein  he  demonstrated  the  assertions  which  he 
made  in  the  forenoon,  from  the  total  disagreement  of  the 
opinions  of  almost  all  the  heathen  philosophers,  both 
ancient  and  modern.  There  were  in  Greece  alone  two 
hundred  arid  eighty-eight  opinions  concerning  the  Chief 
Good,  and  three  hundred  concerning  the  Chief  God.  No 
two  philosophers  of  any  distinction  agreed  in  their  senti- 
ments concerning  the  Deity,  and  each  philosopher  had  his 
own  peculiar  standard  of  moral  rectitude,  and  all  indulged 
themselves  in  views  of  the  most  flagitious  nature.— It  began 
to  rain  this  afternoon  about  three  o'clock,  with  a  strong 
wind  from  the  east.  I  read  Millet's  Ancient  History  until 
eight  in  the  evening,  entertained  company  until  half-past 
nine,  and  did  not  go  to  bed  until  after  eleven.  Some  neces- 
sary business  kept  me  up  to  the  late  hour  which  I  men- 
tioned. I  do  not  mean  to  make  it  a  practice  to  sit  up  late, 
because  it  always  unhinges  me  for  the  next  day. 

Nov.  30.  —  ....  I  read  Millot  all  the  forenoon.  In  the 
afternoon  I  did  the  same.  Athens  and  Sparta,  although 
so  much  celebrated  in  later  times,  were  nothing  when 
compared  with  modern  States,  although  it  must  be  con- 
fessed that  they  were  far  advanced  in  civilization  for  the 
age  in  which  they  flourished.  The  pervading  character  of 
the  Athenians  appears  to  be  fickleness,— always  repenting 
of  their  errors,  but  never  improving  by  their  experience. 
They  were  likewise  extremely  jealous 

Dec.  4.  — ....  I  have  pursued  my  usual  routine  of 
employment,  although  not  with  very  great  vigor,  as  I  have 
not  been  very  well.  I  have  read  the  news  this  evening. 
Paris  appears  to  be  in  a  state  of  open  rebellion,  and  the 
Convention  in  danger.  Unhappy  country  !— The  President 


A  STUDENT  IN  YALE  COLLEGE.  39 

has  come  in  town  with  his  family.  There  has  been  a  fire 
at  New  York  which  has  consumed  several  houses,  but  was 
fortunately  extinguished.  The  weather  is  clear  and  very 
moderate  for  the  season.  As  1  do  not  feel  very  well,  I 
believe  that  I  must  retire  to  bed.  Good  night !  (half-past 
eight.) 

Dec.  8.  —  I  have  almost  finished  a  piece  which  I  expect 
soon  to  exhibit  before  the  Society.  It  is  my  first  attempt 
of  the  kind,  and  I  am  very  diffident  of  success.  After  sup- 
per, as  Selleck  was  absent  with  the  keys  of  the  room,  I 
went  into  Belden's  room,  where  we  had  some  conversation 
upon  the  ladies,  &c.,  a  number  of  whom  we  toasted.  I  do 
not  conceive  that  they  are  very  highly  honored  by  it,  but  it 
affords  us  amusement,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  the  aifair 
will  ever  come  to  their  ears. 

Dec.  24.  —  President  Dwight  gave  us  a  very  good  dis- 
course from  this  text :  "  Praise  ye  the  Lord."  Soon  after 
meeting,  according  to  a  previous  invitation,  I  went  with 
my  brother  to  dine  at  Dr.  Dana's,  where  we  were  very 
agreeably  entertained  with  good  company  and  good  food. 
After  dinner,  we  employed  our  time  in  conversation  upon 
politics  until  prayer-time.  Speaking  of  the  division  of 
the  German  empire  by  the  King  of  Prussia,  Dr.  Dana 
observed  that  if  such  an  event  should  take  place,  that 
Prussia,  Sweden,  and  Denmark  would  form  a  very  good 
barrier  against  that  "  Old  She-bear  of  the  North."  He 
appears,  notwithstanding  his  misfortunes,  to  be  almost  as 
cheerful  as  ever,  and  makes  himself  agreeable  to  his  friends. 
How  much  better  is  his  conduct  than  that  of  many,  who 
sink  under  the  weight  of  misfortune,  and  seem  to  think 
that  there  is  no  other  source  of  joy  except  that  which  they 
have  lost. 

Dec.  28.  —  Clear  and  pleasant  I  rose  to  prayers  this 
morning.  My  forenoon  was  principally  employed  in  read- 
ing Paley.  At  the  eleven-o'clock  recitation,  Dr.  Dwight 
gave  us  his  ideas  upon  a  number  of  bad  habits  to  which 


40  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

we  are  subject.  Among  them  I  remarked  a  few  which 
I  thought  would  very  justly  apply  to  myself.  They  were, 
whispering  in  the  chapel,  and  sitting  in  uneasy  postures, 
not  only  in  my  room,  but  in  public.  To  these  habits  I 
am  subject,  particularly  to  the  last ;  and  before  they  are 
too  deeply  rooted,  I  will  endeavor  to  eradicate  them.  In 
addition  to  these  observations  I  would  remark  that  I  am 
apt  to  speak  inconsiderately  when  in  free  conversation,  and 
thus  not  unfrequently  utter  things  for  which  I  am  after- 
wards very  sorry.  I  am  not  sufficiently  tender  of  the  feel- 
ings of  others,  and  thus  (if  I  have  not  already  done  it)  I 
may  give  offence.  I  studied  spheric  geometry  in  the  after- 
noon ;  in  the  evening  went  to  the  Society  meeting,  returned 
about  seven,  and  went  to  bed  at  half-past  eight. 

Dec.  30.  —  ....  I  rose  to  prayers  and  recitation,  when  I 
read  the  dispute  which,  I  wrote  yesterday.  I  observe  that 
young  disputants  (and  myself  among  the  rest)  are  generally 
very  uncandid.  If  they  find  anything  in  favor  of  their  own 
side,  they  impute  everything  to  that  simple  cause,  and 
allow  no  weight  to  anything  which  is  advanced  upon  the 
opposite  side.  I  will  endeavor  in  future  to  canvass  both 
sides,  and  allow  everything  its  proper  weight,  and  nothing 
more.  We  ought  not  to  dispute  for  victory,  but  for  the  dis- 
covery of  truth.  I  studied  as  usual  until  eleven,  when  the 
President  gave  us  a  most  excellent  discourse  upon  pro- 
faneness,  ridicule,  levity  in  matters  of  religion,  &c.  Just 
before  dinner  I  took  a  walk  to  the  shoemaker's.  After 
dinner  I  went  to  Page's  room,  and  he  told  me  of  an  obser- 
vation made  by  Miss ,  to  this  effect,  that  she  liked  the 

Messieurs  Silliman  very  well,  but  Selleck  the  best.  I  sup- 
pose that  I  know  the  cause  of  her  opinion ;  but  if  I  do  not, 
it  gives  me  no  trouble :  I  shall  treat  her  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  usual.  I  mean  to  treat  every  person  well ;  if  I  have 
failed  to  please  in  this  instance,  it  is  unfortunate,  but  can- 
not be  helped.  Whether  her  opinion  arises  from  prejudice, 
from  partiality,  or  from  a  little  incident  which  happened 


A  STUDENT  IN  YALE  COLLEGE.  41 

the  other  evening,  while  I  was  in  her  company,  I  cannot 
tell.  It  is  the  lot  of  all  mankind  to  be  liked  by  some,  and 
disliked  by  others  ;  and  she,  among  the  rest,  has  a  right  to 
her  opinion.  These  little  incidents  ought  to  prompt  me  to 
acquire  something  more  durable  for  my  harbinger  into  the 
world  than  the  smiles  of  a  woman ;  although  I  would  wish, 
if  possible,  to  live  upon  good  terms  with  the  whole  sex ; 
but,  if  the  contrary  is  my  lot,  I  will  in  silence  kiss  the  rod. 

In  the  afternoon  I  did  little  to  effect,  for  while  I  was 
engaged  in  a  number  of  things,  nothing  was  finally  done. 
Herd,  then,  I  may  see  the  importance  of  seizing  upon  some 
one  object,  and  there  bending  all  my  whole  force.  For,  while 
the  mind  is  engaged  in  a  number  of  pursuits,  none  will  be 
followed  with  assiduity,  and  thus,  by  aiming  at  too  much, 
we  often  lose  the  whole.  I  just  now  begin,  toward  the  last 
part  of  my  college  life,  to  discover  that  I  am  a  mere  infant 
in  learning.  It  seems  as  if  I  had  only  obtained  a  sufficient 
degree  of  knowledge  to  discover  my  own  ignorance.  Then 
let  me  faithfully  improve  my  time  while  it  is  still  present. 

1796;  Jan.  1. —  ....  It  was  my  intention  to  have 
.attended  a  family  ball  this  evening,  but  indisposition  pre- 
vented, and  I  spent  a  great  part  of  the  evening  at  Prince's 
room.  Returning  to  my  room  this  afternoon,  I  observed  a 
poor  old  beggar  in  the  entry  adjoining  my  room,  and  locked 
my  door  against  him ;  but  I  was  soon  forced  by  the  admoni- 
tions of  that  faithful  monitor,  conscience,  to  open  it.  Sup- 
posing this  should  ever  be  my  lot,  should  I  wish  to  have 
tl^e  door  of  the  rich  shut  against  me?  Certainly  I  should 
esteem  it  a  very  great  hardship!  But  nothing  is  more 
possible  than  that  this  may  one  day  be  my  situation. 
Then  let  me  no  more  lock  my  doors  against  the  miserable 
whose  wants  very  possibly  I  may  relieve,  or  at  least  allevi- 
ate. How  can  I  ask  blessings  from  the  Divine  hand,  which 
I  refuse  to  confer  upon  a  miserable  fellow-mortal  ?  I  rep- 
robate this  action  of  mine,  and  would  willingly  efface  it 
from  my  memory !  As  this  poor  old  beggar  was  going 


42  LIFE  OF   BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

down-stairs,  one  of  my  classmates  threw  a  bowl  of  water  in 
his  face.  My  indignation  rose  to  see  gray  hairs  thus  in- 
sulted by  the  levity  of  youth;  but  I  very  much  doubt 
whether  his  deed  was  worse  than  my  own 

Jan.  3.  —  ....  I  rose  this  morning  as  early  as  usual. 
Read  different  books  until  the  hour  of  public  worship,  when 
I  attended  meeting,  but  either  was  duller  than  usual,  or  the 
President  did  not  preach  with  his  usual  pungency.  I  rather 
believe  that  there  existed  a  little  of  both,  for  I  could  not 
tell  what  was  his  subject  when  I  came  home 

At  prayers  a  very  good  sermon  was  read 'upon 

the  text,  "  This  year  thou  shalt  die,"  —  very  applicable  to 
the  present  Sabbath,  as  being  the  first  after  new-year. 
After  supper  I  went  with  my  brother  to  Dr.  Gould's,  where 
we  spent  the  evening.  There  were  a  number  of  gentlemen 
present.  Our  conversation  was  not,  I  apprehend,  of  the 
most  useful  kind,  for,  as  the  company  was  large,  none  but 
the  most  frivolous  subjects  could  be  admitted.  I  shall  not 
pretend  to  account  for  the  phenomenon,  but  it  is  certainly 
a  fact,  that  the  conversation  of  the  young  ladies  (at  least 
as  far  as  I  have  observed)  is  too  prone  to  be  confined  to 
small  and  insignificant  subjects.  (Query:  Is  not  this  in 
some  measure  the  fault  of  our  sex,  who  very  rarely  intro- 
duce any  other  subjects  ?) 

Jan.  4.  —  I  read  in  the  forenoon  as  usual,  and  went  to 
recitation  at  11  A.M.,  where  the  President,  in  conjunction 
with  our  recitation,  gave  the  democratic  societies  a  severe 
and  deserved  trimming. 

Jan.  6.  —  .  .  .  .  It  was  so  dark  by  4  p.  M.  that  I 
could  not  study,  and  went  to  Prince  and  Bishop's  room, 
where  I  enjoyed  conversation  until  prayer-time,  upon  poli- 
tics and  smoking.  I  asserted  that  smoking  was  attended 
with  nothing  of  a  beneficial  nature,  and  that  it  was  a  very 
bad  habit.  Bishop,  on  the  contrary,  (who,  by  the  way,  is  an 
old  smoker,)  defended  it  with  all  the  pathos  of  a  person 


A  STUDENT  IN  YALE  COLLEGE.  43 

contending  for  his  dearest  rights;  and  the  result  of  the 
whole  was,  that  he  should  enjoy  his  opinions  and  I  mine. 
He  thought  that  I  was  wrong,  but  I  knew  that  he  was. 
Different  persons  will  have  different  opinions,  and,  as  long 
as  this  is  the  case,  should  learn  to  respect,  although  we 
cannot  believe,  the  opinions  of  others.  This  is  called,  in 
one  word,  candor. 

Jan.  7. — After  prayers  I  went  to  meeting; 

stayed  until  about  seven,  and  went  to  Button's  room,  and 
then,  according  to  a  previous  appointment,  we,  together 

with  Page,  went  to  Mrs.  W 's.  Button  introduced  me 

with  the  usual  ceremonies,  and  we  took  our  seats.  There 

were  present  Miss ,  two  Misses ,  Miss ,  &c. 

We  conversed  upon — what? — ah!  —  what,  sure  enough, 
for  I  'm  sure  I  can't  tell.  Not  a  single  useful  observa- 
tion have  I  heard  this  evening,  but  I  have  (I  hope)  made 
some.  And  the  torture  of  etiquette  !  Stuck  up  like  a  wax 
figure,  I  must  sit ;  first  cross  one  leg,  then  the  other ; 
then  thrust  my  hand  into  my  jacket;  then  drag  forth  a 
studied  observation,  or  hear  one  equally  sensible ;  —  such 

as,  "  Mr. is  a  fine  dancer."  "  Did  you  attend  the  last 

assembly  ?  "  "  Did  you  ever  dance  a  cotillon  ?  Mr.  Silli- 
man,  do  sing  ! "  "  Pray,  excuse  me,  ma'am  !  "  "  O  no,  sir. 
Good  singers  always  need  urging."  —  Such  is  the  conver- 
sation of  great  companies.  I  can  see  no  pleasure  in  such 
conversation.  The  chimney-corner  is  the  place  for  me. 

Jan.  13. — I  arrived  at  home  about  noon. 

Found  all  friends  well.  I  found  my  honofed  mother  sitting 
alone  in  the  parlor.  Feeling  very  much  fatigued,  I  lay 
down  soon  after  I  came  home,  and  slept  for  a  considerable 
time.  I  was  much  refreshed  by  my  nap,  and  upon  coming 
down  found  Mr.  Day,  whom  I  was  very  glad  to  see.  He 
stayed  until  some  time  in  the  evening,  and  our  conversa- 
tion was  principally  upon  the  regulation  of  the  interest  of 
money  by  law. 

Jan.  15.  — My  time  has  this  day  been  employed 


44  LIFE   OF  BENJAMIN    SILLIMAN. 

upon  a  number  of  trifles,  which  have  however  whirled  off 
the  time.  About  the  middle  of  the  forenoon,  (who  will  be- 
lieve it?)  Quixote-like,  I  assumed  the  character  of  a  knight- 
errant,  viz.,  I  literally  went  to  the  succor  of  a  distressed 
damsel,  as  all  true  knight-errarits  should  do.  The  damsel 
had  lost  her  horse,  and  I  forthwith  mounted  Rosinante, 
and  with  all  speed  went  upon  the  pursuit,  —  ay !  and  with 
success  too,  for  I  soon  brought  him  back. — My  brothers 
William  and  Joseph  took  tea  at  our  house  this  evening, 
and  we  conversed  upon  the  lawfulness  of  divorce ;  and  this 
subject  was  succeeded  by  one  which  more  immediately  con- 
cerned myself:  it  was  that  of  choosing  a  profession.  Broth- 
er William  and  my  mother  would  have  us  preach  ;  but 

I  feel  very  little  confidence  in  the  idea  that  I  shall 

obtain  a  living  by  either  of  the  learned  professions.  I 
won't  be  a  doctor.  I  am  not  good  enough  for  a  priest ; 
and  lawyers  are  so  plenty  that  they  can  hardly  get  a  case 
apiece.  What,  then,  shall  I  be  ?  Time  only  can  answer 
this  question,  to  me  so  interesting.  In  the  evening  I  did 
very  little,  my  eyes  being  so  weak  that  I  could  not  read. 
I  fluted  some,  talked  some,  laughed  some,  and  finally  did 
nothing  at  all.  So  time  goes.  If  I  were  at  college,  and 
spent  my  time  as  I  now  do,  I  think  I  should  make  these 
pages  look  pretty  black  with  self-reproach.  But  it  is  vaca- 
tion !  and  vacations  were  never  made  to  study  in. 

Jan.  17. — While  I  am  reading  the  letters  of 

my  deceased  father,  I  cannot  realize  that  he  lives  no  more. 
It  seems  as  if  he  must  still  be  alive.  A  thousand  little 
circumstances,  incidents,  and  modes  of  expression  peculiar 
to  himself,  set  him  afresh  before  my  eyes,  and  make  me 
deeply  sensible  of  the  irreparable  loss  which  I  have  sus- 
tained. Why  could  he  not  have  been  spared  a  little  longer  ? 
But  let  me  not  complain  :  the  hand  of  God  has  done  it. 


CHAPTER   III. 

V  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR  IN  COLLEGE. 

;Iis  Labors  on  the  Farm  at  Home.  —  Teaches  School  in  Wethersfield. — 
Becomes  a  Law-Student  in  New  Haven,  and  Tutor  in  Yale  College.  — 
Letters  of  Rev.  Dr.  Marsh  and  Rev.  Dr.  Porter.  — His  Early  Friends. — 
His  Early  Productions.  —  Early  Letters.  —  His  Religious  Impressions. 

THE  year  following  his  graduation  Mr.  Silliman 
spent  at  the  home  of  his  mother,  in  Fairfield.  His 
father's  business  as  a  lawyer  had  been  broken  up  by 
the  Revolutionary  War;  he  had  been  obliged  to  neg- 
lect his  farm ;  and  as  he  was  not  in  the  continental 
line,  nor  in  active  service  at  the  time  of  his  capture, 
he  was  never  reimbursed  for  the  serious  losses  and 
expenses  incident  to  his  protracted  imprisonment. 
His  life  terminated  before  he  had  extricated  his  af- 
fairs from  embarrassment,  and  although  his  property 
proved  to  be  more  than  sufficient  to  meet  the  de- 
mands upon  his  estate,  careful  management  was  re- 
quired. Mr.  Silliman,  on  graduating,  was  still  a  suf- 
ferer from  the  effects  of  the  hurt  above  mentioned, 
and  disabled  for  the  most  part  from  intellectual  la- 
bor. For  this  reason,  and  moved  by  the  stronger  im- 
pulse of  filial  duty,  he  devoted  himself  to  reclaiming 
the  farm-lands,  which  had  run  to  waste.  He  went 
into  the  field  with  the  laborers,  and  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  conferring  a  substantial  benefit  upon  his  sur- 
viving parent.  But  during  this  period  he  was  cut 


46  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

off  from  the  society  of  cultivated  young  men  of  his 
own  age.  With  the  exception  of  an  occasional  in- 
terchange of  visits  with  former  associates  in'  New 
Haven,  he  was  almost  bereft  of  companionship.  In 
this  situation,  uncertain  as  he  was  respecting  his 
career  in  the  future,  and  oppressed  with  a  nervous 
infirmity,  it  is  not  strange  that  he  became  for  a  while 
a  prey  to  gloomy  thoughts  and  apprehensions.  His 
letters  manifest  a  dejection  of  spirits,  occasionally  a 
despondency,  which  were  naturally  foreign  to  his 
temperament.  Yet  perhaps  in  no  part  of  his  life 
was  the  excellence  of  his  character  more,  manifest 
than  in  the  patient  exertions  which  he  made  at  this 
time  for  the  sake  of  his  mother. 

Another  year  brought  with  it  an  improved  tone  of 
health ;  and  this,  together  with  the  not  less  potent 
influence  of  a  change  of  scene,  and  a  new,  congenial 
employment,  soon  restored  his  cheerfulness. 

He  accepted  an  invitation  to  take  charge  of  a 
select  school  in  Wethersfield,  where  he  resided  dur- 
ing most  of  the  year  1798.  Here  he  was  introduced 
to  a  pleasant,  genial  circle.  His  fidelity  and  winning 
manners  gained  the  favor  of  his  pupils,  some  of 
whom  were  not  far  from  his  own  age.  His  hopes 
were  revived,  and  he  felt  desirous  of  entering,  as 
soon  as  practicable,  upon  the  study  of  law.  He  had 
fixed  his  mind  upon  this  profession,  not  from  any 
strong,  controlling  bias  in  favor  of  it,  but  from  the 
persuasion  that  he  was  better  adapted  to  it  than  to 
either  of  the  other  learned  professions.  And  what- 
ever his  feeling  in  respect  to  the  practice  of  law  might 
prove  to  be,  his  taste  for  the  study  of  jurisprudence 
needed  no  stimulant.  In  October,  1798,  we  find  him 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   47 

back  in  New  Haven,  in  the  law  office  of  Hon.  Sim- 
eon Baldwin.  It  was  necessary  for  him  to  husband 
his  pecuniary  resources,  and  his  correspondence 
shows  that  he  was  considering  plans  for  abridging 
and  providing  for  his  expenses.  His  appointment 
the  next  year  —  in  September,  1799,  when  he  had 
just  reached  the  age  of  twenty  —  to  the  office  of 
tutor  in  college  relieved  him  of  apprehension  as  to 
the  means  of  support. 

He  was  now  joined  in  his  law  studies  by  his 
brother,  who  had  returned  from  South  Carolina, 
where  he  had  been  engaged  in  teaching  in  a  pri- 
vate family.  Moot  courts  were  held  every  week  in 
the  office  of  Hon.  David  Daggett.  A  considerable 
number  of  young  men  were  preparing  for  the  bar  in 
different  offices  in  town,  and  Mr.  Silliman  prosecuted 
his  studies  with  zeal  and  pleasure.  At  the  end  of  a 
year,  with  the  full  approbation  of  Judge  Baldwin,  — 
whom  he  held  in  the  highest  esteem  for  his  disinter- 
ested character,  —  Mr.  Silliman  passed  into  the  office 
of  Hon.  Charles  Chauncey,  late  Judge  of  the  Supe- 
rior Court,  where  were  assembled  a  larger  number 
of  students.  At  the  expiration  of  his  three-years' 
course  he  received  ample  testimonials  from  both 
these  gentlemen,  and,  after  the  usual  examination, 
was  duly  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  1802. 

The  two  letters  which  follow  are  from  venerable 
graduates  of  the  College,  who  knew  Mr.  Silliman 
nearly  seventy  years  ago.  The  first  speaks  of  him 
more  particularly  as  a  teacher  at  Wethersfield ;  the 
second,  as  he  appeared  in  the  exercise  of  his  tutor- 
ship. 


48  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 


REV.   DR.   MARSH   TO    G.    P.   FISHER. 

BROOKLYN,  N.  Y.,  March  2,  1865. 

SIR,  —  You  are  pleased  to  ask  from  me  some  reminis- 
cences of  our  departed  friend,  Professor  Silliman.  My 
first  acquaintance  with  him  was  in  1797,  when  I  was  nine 
years  of  age.  That  year  he  came  to  Wethersfield,  Conn., 
the  place  of  my  birth,  to  teach  our  private,  or,  as  it  was 
called,  Grammar  school.  My  father,  the  pastor  of  the  Con- 
gregational Church,  anxious  for  the  mental  improvement  of 
the  youth  of  his  charge,  had  succeeded  in  establishing  such 
a  school,  placing  in  it  as  its  first  teacher  the  afterwards 
famous  Dr.  Azel  Backus.  At  his  graduation,  Mr.  Silliman 
was  recommended  for  the  place,  though  his  youthfulness 
was  considered  a  serious  objection.  The  school  numbered 
about  forty,  and  some  of  the  young  ladies  in  it  were  already 
highly  cultivated  and  older  than  himself.  I  was  one  of  the 
youngest  in  the  school ;  but  being  devoted,  as  most  minis- 
ters' sons  were,  to  a  college  life,  I  began  with  him  my  Latin 
grammar  and  went  nearly  through  it  for  the  first  time.  But 
the  next  year  I  was  transferred  to  the  school  of  Dr.  Backus, 
at  Bethlehem,  where  I  remained  two  years ;  when,  under  the 
inspirations  of  two  such  teachers,  I  was  able  in  September 
1800,  at  the  age  of  twelve  (unfortunately),  to  tread  the  halls 
of  Yale.  During  his  residence  and  instructions  at  Wethers- 
field,  Mr.  Silliman  was  as  marked  for  the  elegance  and 
courteousness  of  his  manners  and  his  efficiency  in  all  the 
business  that  was  committed  to  his  trust,  as  at  any  period 
of  his  life  ;  and  it  has  ever  been  conceded  that  he  did  much 
in  perpetuating  and  even  increasing  among  the  young  that 
refinement  of  manners  for  which  the  place  had  ever  been 
signal.  Mr.  Silliman  was  succeeded  in  the  school  by  Pro- 
fessor Kingsley,  a  gentleman  in  most  respects  the  opposite, 
—  so  timid  and  bashful,  that  he  could  scarce  appear  in  fam- 
ily circles  or  look  a  scholar  in  the  face,  and  yet  found  to 
be  such  a  scholar  himself  as  to  inspire  with  fear  all  who 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.  49 

came  to  recite  a  lesson.  He  too  was  invaluable  in  his 
place. 

On  coming  to  New  Haven,  I  found  Mr.  Silliman  associ- 
ated with  Mr.  (afterwards  President)  Day,  Mr.  Davis,  Mr. 
Kingsley,  and  my  brother,  Ebenezer  Grant  Marsh,  in  the  Tu- 
tor's office  ;  (there  were  then  no  Professors  but  Mr.  Meigs  ;) 
and  rooming  as  I  did  with  my  brother,  I  often  saw  those 
lovely  men  there  freely  unbending  amid  the  cares  and  labors 
of  office  ;  and  never  were  there  more  congenial  spirits,  or  men 
more  worthy  of  their  stations.  No  wonder  that  Dr.  Dwight 
loved  them,  and  conceived  the  thought  of  establishing  them 
as  Professors  for  life.  When  Mr.  Silliman  returned  from 
his  first  winter  in  Philadelphia,  and  commenced  lecturing  on 
chemistry,  our  class  rushed  to  the  lecture-room  with  great 
eagerness  to  see  and  hear,  and  we  considered  ourselves  as 
peculiarly  fortunate  in  being  born  at  so  late  a  period,  and 
as  already  wiser  than  all  who  had  gone  before  us.  What 
much  impressed  us,  and  made  us  feel  that  this  was  a  new 
science,  was  to  see  Dr.  Dwight,  with  whom  we  supposed 
was  all  wisdom  and  all  knowledge;  come  regularly  to  the 
lectures,  take  a  seat  on  the  same  floor  with  the  scholars, 
(that  he  might  see  the  experiments,)  and  drink  in  with 
great  gusto  all  the  truths  which  were  developed. 

Perhaps  I  have  gone  as  far  as  you  may  wish,  in  these 
early  remembrances  of  one  whom  from  my  boyhood  I  have 
known  and  loved,  and  who  from  his  attachment  to  my 
father's  family  at  Wethersfield,  and  to  my  brother  who  died 
in  the  Tutorship,  and  I  may  perhaps  add  to  the  cause  of 
temperance,  has  ever  admitted  me  to  intimate  friendship. 

One  thing  which  I  may  not  fail  to  mention,  and  which 
endeared  him  to  a  large  portion  of  the  students,  was  his 
sympathy  with  the  great  revival  of  1802.  Had  he  turned 
from  it  in  disgust,  and  become  an  infidel  philosopher,  what 
a  blast  he  would  have  proved  among  scientific  men.  But 
he  meekly  bowed  to  the  yoke  of  Christ.  In  August,  1802, 
I  with  sixteen  others,  —  some  of  them  proved  eminent 


VOL.  i.  4 


I 


50  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

men,  —  united  with  the  College  Church.  At  the  next  com- 
munion in  September,  to  our  great  joy.  Tutor  Silliman  and 
others  followed.  Yours  truly, 

JOHN  MARSH. 

FROM  REV.  DR.  NOAH  PORTER  (SENIOR). 

FARMING-TON,  Dec.  12,  1864. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  had  my  first  impressions  of  Mr.  Silli- 
man in  the  old  chapel  at  the  beginning  of  my  Freshman 
year,  in  the  fall  of  1799,  —  a  fair  and  portly  young  man, 
having  his  thick  and  long  hair  clubbed  behind  (a  la  mode 
George  Washington),  closely  following  President  Dwight 
as  they  passed  up  the  middle  aisle  for  evening  prayers, 
and  taking  his  seat  in  the  large  square  pew  at  the  right  of 
the  pulpit.  After  prayers,  the  call  from  the  President  — 
sedete  omnes  —  brought  us  all  upon  our  seats,  when  Mr. 
Silliman,  at  a  signal  from  the  President,  rose  and  read  a 
written  formula  declaring  his  assent  to  the  Westminster 
Catechism  and  the  Saybrook  Platform.  So  he  was  inducted 
into  the  Tutorship.  The  other  tutors  that  year  were 
Messrs.  Day,  Davis,  Denison,  and  Marsh.  Messrs.  Silli- 
man and  Marsh  were  the  tutors  of  the  Freshmen,  and  the 
division  to  which  I  belonged  was  assigned  to  the  former, 
and  the  entire  course  of  instruction  for  the  first  three  years 
was  given  us  by  him  alone  ;  for,  although  we  were  called 
together  with  the  rest  of  college,  in  a  few  instances,— Wed- 
nesday afternoon  in  the  chapel,  to  hoar  a  lecture  by  Profes- 
sor Josiah  Meigs  in  his  department,— the  latter  was  removed, 
soon  after  I  joined  college,  to  the  University  in  Georgia; 
and  all  our  lessons,  till  we  came  under  the  instruction  of 
President  Dwight,  were  recited  to  Mr.  Silliman.  I  am, 
perhaps,  in  consequence  more  indebted  to  him  than  to  any 
other  man  for  such  early  education  as  I  received  ;  and  cer- 
tainly there  are  few  men  for  whom  I  have  ever  since  enter- 
tained higher  esteem  or  veneration.  The  class  did  not 
consider  him  a  profound  scholar,  but  we  admired  him  as  an 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   51 

accomplished  gentleman ;  we  respected  him  as  a  man  of 
great  sense  and  quick  apprehension,  and  we  exceedingly 
loved  him  as  a  teacher  devotedly  kind  and  faithful.  Hav- 
ing scarcely  passed  his  boyhood  when  he  entered  college, 
he  could  not  be  supposed  to  have  thoroughly  mastered  the 
whole  course ;  and  having  never  reviewed,  as  I  suppose,  in 
his  mature  years,  he  probably  —  as  indeed  some  of  us  sup- 
posed at  the  time  was  the  case  —  was  obliged  to  devote 
almost  as  much  time  and  labor  to  his  preparation  for  the 
recitation  room  as  his  pupils  themselves ;  but  I  do  not 
remember  that  we  ever  found  him  wanting,  or  caught  him 
stumbling,  though  my  old  friend  Aaron  Button  sometimes 
said,  u  Benny  blushed  as  he  was  trying  to  help floun- 
dering in  the  mire  of  a  problem  which  he  was  unprepared 
to  solve." 

But  the  course  of  college  learning  at  that  time,  —  do  you 
know  how  meagre  it  was  ?  As  though  we  had  come  fresh 
from  the  common  school,  we  were  put  back  into  our  gram- 
mar, geography,  and  the  common  learning,  and  kept  in  them 
a  great  part  of  the  first  two  years,  so  that  at  their  close  we 
had  scarcely  advanced  farther  than  is  now  requisite  for  ad- 
mission. And  then  what  poor  barren  things  our  grammars, 
lexicons,  and  text-books  then  were,  compared  with  such  as 
are  now  furnished !  And  our  teachers  were  as  scantily  fur- 
nished as  our  books,  with  stores  of  knowledge  that  are  now 
prepared  for  the  acquisition  of  the  earnestly  studious  mind. 
I  wonder  that  any  of  us  came  out  men,  or  ever  became 
such.  And  yet  we  were  fully  employed,  and  on  such  things 
as  were  put  into  our  hands  we  were  kept  hard  at  work. 
Though  we  were  perhaps  half  a  year  on  Morse's  two  huge 
volumes  of  geography,  we  were  required  to  recite  the 
whole  of  them,  and  our  memories,  if  no  other  faculties,  were 
severely  tasked.  We  were  required  to  review  our  studies 
again  and  again,  and  to  be  very  exact  in  our  recitations. 
Every  mistake  was  marked,  and  the  account,  we  were  told, 
was  preserved.  And  it  may  b%  less  important,  in  the  pro- 


52  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

cess  of  education,  what  is  the  subject  of  thought  and  study, 
than  the  thought  itself,  the  habit  of  study,  the  power  of  con- 
centrating the  mind  on  whatever  may  come  before  it. 

After  leaving  college,  I  was  much  delighted  by  Mr.  Silli- 
man's  kind  attentions.  Particularly  the  winter  following, 
on  my  way  to  the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland,  I  found  him 
in  Philadelphia,  in  attendance  on  a  course  of  lectures  on 
chemistry ;  and  by  his  importunity  was  persuaded  to  remain 
over  a  day;  —  was  conducted  by  him  to  points  of  interest, 
and  brought  to  dine  with  him  and  a  few  other  gentlemen 
of  his  circle.  I  was  also  favored  with  an  epistolary  corre- 
spondence with  him  for  a  year  or  two.  Mr.  Silliman  was 
personally  interested  in  the  glorious  revival  at  college  in 
1802.  He  was  supposed  to  be  a  convert  to  Christianity  at 
that  time.  He  had  been  exemplary  before,  and  his  prayers 
in  the  chapel  indicated  thought  and  feeling  on  the  great 
things  of  the  Christian  faith,  though  before  the  revival  they 
were  probably  precomposed.  Precious  man,  may  we  be 
prepared  to  follow  him  ! 

Some  notice  should  be  here  given  of  the  early 
friends  of  Professor  Silliman.  Among  these,  none 
stood  nearer  than  his  classmate  Charles  Denison. 
They  were  tutors  together,  and  were  admitted  to  the 
Bar  at  the  same  time.  With  the  exception  of  his 
own  brother,  there  was  no  one  for  whom  Mr.  Silli- 
man cherished  a  warmer  regard  than  for  Denison. 
This  gentleman  became  a  lawyer  of  high  respecta- 
bility in  New  Haven,  and  died  in  1825.  Among  his 
fellow-tutors  were  two  with  whom  he  was  destined 
to  be  intimately  associated  for  nearly  the  whole  of  a 
long  life.  These  were  Jeremiah  Day  and  James  L. 
Kingsley.  Mr.  Day  was  a  year  before  him  in  col- 
lege, and  Mr.  Kingsley  three  years  after  him.  The 
three  men  were  widely  .different  from  each  other  — 


A  TEACHER  :  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   53 

in  some  respects  the  complement  of  each  other  — 
in  their  native  characteristics ;  and  during  upwards 
of  half  a  century  of  daily  association  their  mutual 
confidence  experienced  no  abatement.  Of  his  other 
contemporaries  in  the  tutorship,  Ebenezer  Grant 
Marsh  died  early ;  Henry  Davis,  who  attracted  the 
strong  esteem  of  his  early  colleagues,  attained  to  the 
Presidency,  first  of  Midtllebury,  and  then  of  Hamil- 
ton, College  ;  Warren  Dutton  settled  as  a  lawyer  in 
Boston  ;  Bancroft  Fowler  became  Professor  of  Sacred 
Literature  at  Bangor;  and  Moses  Stuart,  after  dis- 
tinguishing himself  as  a  preacher  in  the  First  Church 
of  New  Haven,  made  himself  still  more  eminent  as 
an  author  and  theological  professor  at  Andover.  His 
early  letters  of  friendship  are  full  of  the  exuberant 
vivacity  that  characterized  him  through  life.  There 
were  other  young  men  with  whom  Mr.  Silliman 
early  established  relations  of  friendship.  Shubael 
Bartlett,  of  the  Class  of  1800,  who,  in  the  decline  of 
practical  religion  in  Yale  College,  which  preceded 
the  Revival  of  1802,  was  on  one  occasion  the  sole 
communicant  from  the  ranks  of  the  students  at  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  who  remained  after  graduation 
as  a  theological  pupil  of  Dr.  Dwight,  was  numbered 
among  his  respected  friends  and  correspondents.* 
Mr.  Stephen  Twining,  a  contemporary  in  college, 
and  for  many  years  the  college  steward,  stood  in  the 
same  category.  The  most  distinguished  of  his  asso- 
ciates in  the  study  of  law  was  Seth  P.  Staples, 
who  rose  to  the  first  rank  in  his  profession.  But  to 

*  This  excellent  minister,  of  simple  and  sincere  piety,  after  he  became  an 
old  man,  informed  Rev.  Dr.  Bacon  that  he  and  his  wife  had  together  sung 
through  the  Connecticut  Collection  of  Hymns,  which  had  not  long  before 
been  published. 


54  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIX  SILLIMAN. 

none  of  those  who  have  been  named  —  not  even  to 
Denison —  was  Mr.  Silliman  more  warmly  attached 
than  to  the  sons  of  his  instructor,  Charles  and  Elihu 
Chauncey.  They  were  his  bosom-friends.  Charles 
Chauncey  was  admitted  by  examination  to  Yale 
College  when  he  was  only  ten  years  and  one  month 
old,  but  was  kept  back  by  his  father  from  entering 
the  institution  until  a  year  later.  He  received  the 
honors  of  the  college  in  1792,  at  the  age  of  fifteen. 
His  younger  brother,  Elihu  Chauncey,  was  a  class- 
mate of  Mr.  Silliman.  Both  the  brothers  were  edu- 
cated for  the  law,  and  established  themselves  in  Phil- 
adelphia. The  former,  by  his  talents,  probity,  cour- 
tesy, and  devotedness  to  professional  duty,  became 
one  of  the  foremost  of  American  lawyers.  The  lat- 
ter, if  less  distinguished,  was  nowise  inferior  to  his 
brother  in  intellectual  ability.  Early  withdrawing 
from  his  profession,  he  devoted  his  life  principally  to 
financial  studies  and  pursuits.  When  a  young  man, 
he  was  one  of  the  editors  of  the  "  United  States 
Gazette,"  an  influential  organ  of  the  Federal  party ; 
and  in  the  political  strife  of  that  day  he  had  occasion 
to  manifest  in  more  than  one  way  his  characteris- 
tic energy  and  courage.  Mr.  Nathaniel  Chauncey,  a 
still  younger  brother  in  the  same  family,  was,  it  may 
be  remarked,  at  a  later  period,  an  esteemed  friend 
of  Mr.  Silliman.  The  latter  sympathized  with  the 
Chaunceys  and  the  rest  of  his  friends  in  political 
sentiment.  They  were  all  stanch  Federalists,  hold- 
ing the  political  theories  of  Jefferson  in  cordial  de- 
testation, and  supporting  with  all  their  might  the 
party  of  Washington  and  Hamilton,  of  Jay  and 
Ellsworth.  The  warfare  of  politics  was  waged  with 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AIS7D  TUTOR.      55 

more  zeal  and  more  acrimony  than  have  ever  pre- 
vailed since  in  this  country,  —  even  during  the  late 
[Rebellion  in  the  districts  not  the  scene  of  actual 
hostilities. 

In  his  brother,  his  companion  from  childhood,  Mr. 
Silliman  had  a  friend  to  whom  he  could  pour  out  his 
heart  without  reserve.  That  gentleman,  after  com- 
pleting his  law  studies,  took  up  his  abode  in  New- 
port, Rhode  Island,  and  was  married  to  Miss  Hepsa 
Ely,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ely,  the  minister  of 
Huntington,  Connecticut.  Had  this  lady  been  a 
sister  by  the  tie  of  consanguinity  instead  of  by  mar- 
riage, Mr.  Silli man's  fraternal  love  could  not  have 
been  stronger.  In  all  the  fortunes  of  his  brother's 
household  he  ever  continued  to  feel  the  most  affec- 
tionate interest. 

Among  the  early  productions  of  Mr.  Silliman, 
which  have  been  preserved,  are  several  of  his  college 
compositions.  One  of  them,  which  was  written  in 
his  junior  year,  when  he  was  only  sixteen  years  old, 
is  a  dissertation,  of  about  twenty  pages  in  length,  on 
Natural  History.  It  was  read  or  delivered  before  the 
Society  of  Brothers  in  Unity.  It  is  a  clearly  and 
concisely  written  survey  of  the  three  kingdoms  of 
nature  in  their  fundamental  peculiarities.  It  must 
have  been  the  fruit  of  careful  study,  and,  when  the 
age  of  the  writer  is  considered,  discovers  no  ordinary 
skill  in  composition.  Mr.  Silliman  was  early  in  life 
an  occasional  contributor  to  the  newspapers.  A  few 
years  after  graduation  he  wrote  for  the  New  York 
"  Commercial  Advertiser  "  —  which  had  been  estab- 
lished by  Noah  Webster  —  a  series  of  essays,  some  of 
them  touching  satirically  on  the  follies  of  fashionable 


56  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

society.  The  idea  appears  to  have  been  suggested 
by  Goldsmith's  "  Letters  of  a  Chinese  Philosopher." 
In  one  of  these  papers  he  descants  upon  the  recent 
American  poets,  Dwight,  Barlow,  Trumbull,  and 
Humphreys ;  and  is  bold  enough  to  qualify  his  praise 
of  the  "  Conquest  of  Canaan" — the  youthful  pro- 
duction of  Dwight  — by  confessing  that  "  his  rhyme, 
from  the  length  of  the  poem,  produces  an  uniformity 
which  is  sometimes  unpleasant."  In  1802  Mr.  Silli- 
man  was  honored  with  an  invitation  to  deliver  an 
address  before  the  Society  of  Cincinnati,  at  Hart- 
ford. The  theme  of  his  oration  was,  "  The  Theories 
of  Modem  Philosophy  in  Religion,  Government,  and 
Morals,  contrasted  with  the  Practical  System  of 
New  England."  He  attacks  the  Gallic  theories  of 
human  rights,  the  notion  that  particular  affections 
are  to  be  supplanted  by  a  general  benevolence,  and 
other  pestilent  heresies  of  that  day.  No  small  part 
of  the  discourse  is  levelled  at  Godwin's  "  Political 
Justice,"  which  had  made  some  stir  in  this  country; 
and  notice  is  taken  of  the  work  of  Godwin's  mis- 
tress and  subsequent  wife, —  Miss  Wolstonecraft's 
"  Vindication  of  the  Rights  of  Woman."  The  polit- 
ical bearing  of  the  discourse  was  too  obvious  for  it 
to  be  neglected  by  the  democratic  newspapers,  which 
bestowed  upon  it  their  censure.  Bat  it  was  accept- 
able to  the  Federalists,  and  given  to  the  press. 

Allusion  has  already  been  made  to  Mr.  Silliman's 
juvenile  essays  in  poetry.  His  piece  at  graduation 
was  a  poetical  sketch  of  the  condition  of  the  Euro- 
pean nations,  in  contrast  with  the  comparatively 
happy  lot  of  his  own  country.  The  closing  passage 
is  creditable  to  his  feelings,  and  is  at  the  same  time 
a  fair  specimen  of  his  verse  :  — 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   57 


"  But  who  is  this,  sullen  and  sad  amid 
The  joyful  crowd,  with  downcast  eyes,  slow  step, 
And  face  of  grief  ?    While  all  around  is  life, 
And  ev'ry  foot  trips  gayly  on  the  ground, 
He  only  drags  a  cumbrous  weight  of  woe. 
Ah !  't  is  the  hapless  African.    No  more 
His  sorrows  wake  surprise.    Not  for  himself 
He  toils;  nor  for  himself  he  lives.     His  life, 
His  labors,  are  another's  wealth.     For  him 
Life  has  no  joys.    The  rising  sun  but  brings 
Another  day  of  pain ;  and  all  the  gay 
Enchanting  scenes  of  nature  only  serve 
To  mind  him  of  his  woe.    Columbians  brave ! 
AVhile  to  your  list'ning  sons  ye  tell  the  deeds 
Your  sires  achieved  in  freedom's  cause,  and  teach 
Their  tongues  to  lisp  the  name  of  Wasldnyton,  — 
While  in  their  tender  minds  ye  plant  the  seeds 
Of  true,  unblemished  liberty,  and  teach 
The  feeling  heart  to  mourn  for  all  the  ills 
Which  tyranny  has  brought  on  man,  —  then  turn 
Your  eyes,  behold  the  hapless  negro  toil, 
And,  moved  by  shame  and  pity,  set  him  free !  " 

That  he  took  a  genuine  interest  in  the  theme  of 
this  passage  is  shown  by  another  poem  which  he 
wrote  not  long  after,  and  which  appeared,  after  an 
interval  of  several  years,  in  the  "  Commercial  Adver- 
tiser." It  is  entitled  "  The  Negro,"  and  embodies  an 
imaginary  lament  of  a  slave  on  the  banks  of  the  Po- 
tomac. The  author  explains  in  a  prefatory  note  that 
no  imputation  upon  Washington  is  implied,  since  he 
had  given  proof  of  his  hostility  to  slavery ;  and  he 
appends  to  his  verses  the  following  remarks  :  — 

"  If  the  purchasers  and  holders  of  African  slaves  would 
suffer  their  minds  seriously  to  contemplate  the  miseries 
produced  by  this  accursed  traffic,  their  hearts  would  cer- 
tainly rise  up  in  rebellion  against  a  practice  which  outrages 
every  principle  of  natural  right  and  of  common  humanity. 
The  wars,  the  carnage  and  desolation  which  this  trade  pro- 
duces among  the  negro  tribes  of  Africa  ;  the  tearing  asun- 


58  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

der  of  those  whose  hearts  are  united  by  the  tenderest  rela- 
tions,—  husbands  and  wives,  parents  and  children,  brothers 
and  sisters  ;  the  confinement  in  irons,  on  board  of  crowded 
ships,  in  the  midst  of  darkness,  pestilence,  and  death  ;  the 
second  rending  asunder  of  those  whom  mutual  sufferings 
have  endeared  to  each  other,  when  the  promiscuous  vendue 
is  made  ;  and  the  stripes,  the  labor,  and  the  anguish  of 
mind  which  these  unhappy  beings  endure  through  a  life  of 
servitude,  —  certainly  form  a  picture  of  horror  from  which 
a  Christian  ought  to  turn  with  mingled  emotions  of  sorrow, 
pity,  and  indignation.  A  captain  of  an  African  ship,  who 
certainly  could  have  no  motive  to  exaggerate,  as  the  facts 
which  he  related  made  directly  against  himself,  once  told 
me  the  following  story: — 'We  were  sailing,'  said  he,  'on 
the  ocean,  with  a  cargo  of  slaves,  when,  about  midnight,  the 
moon  shining  clear,  some  of  the  stoutest  and  bravest  rose 
upon  us  and  gained  the  deck.  They  had  no  fire-arms  and 
no  weapons,  except  the  loose  articles  which  they  could  pick 
up  on  deck.  We  therefore  succeeded  in  driving  them  to- 
ward the  stern  of  the  ship.  As  I  understood  something  of 
their  language,  I  stepped  forward,  and  told  them  that  they 
might  take  their  choice,  —  either  to  return  peaceably  into 
the  hold,  or  I  Avould  shoot  the  first  man  that  refused  through 
the  heart.  A  stout  fellow,  who  appeared  to  be  their  leader, 
instantly  stepped  out,  offered  his  breast  to  my  pistol,  and 
bade  me  shoot  him  for  the  first.  I  fired,  and  he  fell 
dead  at  my  feet.  A  second  and  a  third  followed  his  exam- 
ple, and  met  the  same  fate.  A  fourth  succeeded  in  their 
place,  —  but  the  sight  of  the  three  men  bleeding  at  my  feet 
was  too  much  :  I  could  proceed  no  further  ;  and  I  began  to 
feel  also  that  I  was  diminishing  the  profits  of  my  voyage. 
By  this  time  the  survivors  were  so  disheartened  that  they 
surrendered  at  discretion,  and  we  confined  them  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  the  tragedy.' 

"  That  the  above  relation  was  given  to  the  writer,  can  be 
satisfactorily  proved,  if  necessary.     This  is  only  one  shade 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   59 

in  the  dreadful  picture  of  the  African  slave-trade.  How 
great  must  have  been  the  anguish  of  mind,  and  how  com- 
plete the  despair  of  those  unfortunate  beings,  to  produce 
such  a  degree  of  desperate  resolution  and  astonishing  hero- 
ism !  If  this  feeble  attempt,  in  a  country  where  so  much  is 
said  about  freedom  and  the  rights  of  man,  to  turn  the  pub- 
lic attention  to  the  real  sufferings  and  inexpiable  guilt 
arising  from  the  slave-trade,  should  stimulate  some  Amer- 
ican Wilberforce  to  advocate  the  cause  of  this  degraded 
race  with  equal  zeal,  ability,  perseverance,  and  success  as 
have  been  exhibited  by  that  great  and  good  man,  the  writer 
would  feel  that  pleasure  from  the  consciousness  of  having 
contributed  to  the  advancement  of  a  good  cause,  which 
must  ever  form  one  of  the  highest  pleasures  of  a  real  phi- 
lanthropist." 

The  subject  of  Mr.  Silliman's  poem  on  taking  his 
second  degree,  in  1799,  was  Columbia,  —  the  sound- 
ing name  by  which  the  patriotic  poets  of  that  time 
generally  apostrophized  their  country.  The  Indian 
aborigines, — the  appearance  of  the  country  when  the 
Europeans  arrived, — the  Revolution  and  its  principal 
actors,  —  the  subsequent  prosperity  of  the  country,  are 
reviewed,  —  and  then  the  author  passes,  like  a  true 
Federalist,  to  a  dark  picture  of  French  intrigue,  and 
its  threatening  consequences.  This  production  still 
remains,  with  interlinear  corrections  of  President 
Dvvighr,  in  his  own  handwriting;  and  the  following 
extract,  in  which  these  are  inserted,  may  not  be  un- 
acceptable to  the  curious  reader :  — 

the  Btime  successive 

"From  oa-j'iC'.'n- climes,  see  gathering  numbers  come, 

howlin;: 

To  seek,  'mid  ciuturi  wilds,  a  peaceful  home. 

The  arms, 

With  thorn- the  arts  they  bring  of  polished  life, 
To  till  the  ground,  or  kindle  mental  strife. 
Now,  first,  the  axe  resounded  through  the  wood, 


60  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Where,  thick  and  tall,  the  forest's  monarchs  stood,  — 

head 

The  ancient  oak,  whose -£ef>  for  ages  past 

Had  braved  the  lightning's  blaze  and  winter's  blast; 

Bows  to  the  potent  steel,  and  side  by  side 

-I h e  mountain  pine,  whcwc  vortex  pierced  the  sky,' 

The  elm's  broad  shade,  the  pine's  imperial  pride. 

•With  thun(Ti-ins  noise  came  m-aai.ing  irom  on  high. 

spread  its  unpierccd 

"Where  once  the  forest  stood  with  piercclosa  gloom, 
See  cornfields  rise,  and  smiling  orchards  bloom; 

8  embank 

See  verdant  meadows  skirt  the  river-side. 
And  rip'ning  harvests  wave  their  golden  pride; 
See  verdure  crown  the  rugged  mountain-brow, 

And 

W-h-rle  crystal  streams  through  spreading  pastures  flow. 

cheerful  pern  the  enamell'd 

See,,  hamlets  rise  with  neatness  o'er  tho  plain, 
And  future  cities  skirt  the  spreading  main. 

havens, 

Lo!  mighty  rivers,  harbors  straits,  and  seas, 
Which  long  had  useless  rolled  'mid  rocks  and  trees, 
Beneath  the  weight  of  ships,  indignant  roar, 
And  crystal  waters  feel  the  dashing  oar. 
Wide  o'er  the  land  the  spreading  people  roam, 
And  seek  in  unknown  wilds  their  future  home,— 
Full  a 

•In- manyjeagues- along  the  ocean's  strand, 

Full  a 

4». manyjeagues-  amid  the  forest  land, 
Where'er  they  -ge-' the  strong,  prolific  soil 

harvest  smiles  beneath 

With  ample  crops  rcwarda  their  4*H4y-  toil." 

This  poem  was  published,  with  a  complimentary 
notice  from  the  editor,  in  the  "  New  England  Palla- 
dium" of  Boston.  It  is  unnecessary  to  say  more  of 
Mr.  Silliman's  efforts  in  poetry.  He  had  too  just  an 
idea  of  his  own  powers  to  aspire  to  fame  in  this 
species  of  composition.  Now  and  then,  at  later 
periods  in  life,  he  wrote  verses  for  the  gratification 
of  friends,  or  as  a  natural  expression  of  his  own  emo- 
tions on  some  occasion  of  particular  interest.  Many 
years  after  these  early  productions  were  written,  and 
when  he  had  become  absorbed  in  scientific  pursuits, 
his  friend  Mrs.  Sigourney,  then  Miss  Huntley,  in  an 


A  TEACHER  :  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.  61 

t 

ode  addressed  to  him,  alluded  to  his  former  poetical 
studies  and  compositions.  He  responded  (under 
date  of  Sept.  18,  1816)  in  a  sort  of  farewell  to  the 
Muses,  from  which  the  following  is  an  extract:  — 

i. 

Many  thanks  to  your  Muse,  and  thanks  to  your  lyre, 

For  all  the  sweet  numbers  you  sing; 
Again  they  awaken  the  long  dormant  fire, 
Anew  fan  the  embers  about  to  expire, 

And  crown  my  cold  winter  with  spring. 

2. 

For  many  a  month  and  many  a  year, 

Old  Time  has  rolled  swiftly  away, 
Since  I  gave  to  the  Muses  a  sigh  or  a  tear, 
Or  felt  for  renown  a  hope  or  a  fear, 

Or  fashioned  a  rhyme  or  a  lay. 

3. 

The  Muses,  if  ever  they  deigned  me  a  smile, 

Long  since  have  they  bid  me  adieu, 
Nor  did  they  consent  to  "  tarry  a  while," 
Or  list  to  the  jargon  of  chemical  style, 

'Mid  odors  and  noises  so  new. 

4. 
No  Muse  waves  her  wings  where  furnaces  blaze, 

And  gases  mephitic  exhale; 
Minerva,  indignant,  stops  not  to  gaze, 
Nor  Apollo  illumes  with  all-cheering  rays 

The  cell  of  the  Alchemist  pale. 

To  this,  Mrs.  Sigourney  rejoined  with  an  address 
"  to  a  Poet  who  had  written  a  farewell  to  the  Muses 
in  some  very  sweet  stanzas."  A  part  of  this  humor- 
ous expostulation  is  here  given  :  — 

i. 

Oh,  bid  not  the  train  of  Parnassus  farewell ! 

Or  use  not  so  gentle  a  strain ; 

For  the  sweet  tones  would  summon  each  Muse  from  her  cell, 
From  the  murmuring  fountain  or  slumbering  dell, 

And  bring  them  in  legions  again. 


02  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

••> 

2. 

So  soft  a  dismission  the  musical  throng 

Would  mistake  for  a  welcome  as  kind: 
They  would  crowd  to  your  mansion  and  beg  for  a  song, 
With  ceaseless  intrusion  and  visits  so  long, 
That  no  refuge  or  rest  could  you  find. 


And  should  you  complain,  like  the  diligent  cleric, 

That  you  have  for  such  visits  no  time, 
They  Ml  join  in  your  toils,  at  your  furnace  they  '11  work, 
In  the  bills  of  the  students  mischievously  lurk, 

And  compel  you  to  write  them  in  rhyme. 

From  the  early  correspondence  of  Mr.  Silliman 
we  select  a  few  letters,  most  of  which  are  addressed 
to  his  brother.  Two  or  three  from  his  friends  to  him 
are  included.  These  letters  serve  to  illustrate  the 
biographical  statements  which  precede  them  in  the 
present  chapter. 

TO    MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

FAIRFIELD,  March  11, 1797. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  Saturday  evening  brings  me 
home  again  to  converse  with  one  than  whom  none  is  dearer 
to  me  ;  for,  believe  me,  in  the  last  week  I  have  hardly  had 
time  to  eat.  Tired  with  murmuring  at  my  situation,  which 
obliges  me  to  stop  short  in  a  pursuit  which  is  my  delight, 
and  patiently  to  see  my  contemporaries  outstrip  me,  I  have 
at  length  become  quiet,  and  determined  to  submit  where 
resistance  would  be  ineffectual.  My  last  was  from  "VVal- 
lingford.  On  my  return  home  I  stayed  several  days  at 

New  Haven,  which  I  spent  in  visiting  my  friends 

I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Miss  Hepsa  Ely  at  New 
Haven,  a  lady  whom  I  believe  you  have  seen,  although  per- 
haps, at  such  a  distance  of  time  and  place  as  that  at  which 
you  now  are,  you  may  not  recollect  her.  Ever  since  my 
return  I  have  been  assiduously  employed  in  domestic 
concerns,  and  have  the  satisfaction  to  find  that  my  health 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.  03 

is  slowly  mending,  and  my  mind  recovering  its  accustomed 
tone.  Since  my  last,  my  mind  has  been  greatly  relieved  by 
your  welcome  letters  of  the  19th,  20th,  and  21st  of  January, 
in  which  I  have  the  satisfaction  to  find  that  your  situation 
is  perfectly  agreeable,  and  I  am  now  easy  concerning  you 
as  to  everything  but  the  climate.  But  trusting  in  God  and 
in  your  personal  temperance  and  caution,  I  hope  that  you 
will  escape 


TO    MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

FAIRFIELD,  May  9, 1797. 

I  STILL  continue  at  home,  in  the  same  employ- 
ments which  engaged  my  attention  when  last  I  wrote.  I 
endeavor,  as  much  as  possible,  to  lighten  the  cares  and 
to  cheer  the  spirits  of  that  mother  to  whose  anxious  care 
and  unwearied  exertions  we  owe  those  superior  advantages 
which  it  has  been  our  lot  to  enjoy.  I  have  taken  the  whole 
care  of  the  farm  and  its  appendages,  so  that  she  has  no 
further  concern  in  the  business  than  merely  to  give  her 
advice.  It  has  been  since  the  breaking  up  of  winter,  and 
still  is,  an  object  of  constant  attention  to  put  every  part  of 
the  farm  into  the  best  state  of  improvement  of  which  it  is 
capable.  The  fences  are  all  repaired ;  the  lot  which  occa- 
sioned so  much  ill  blood  last  year,  and  the  lot  before  brother 
Noyes's  door,  are  sowed  with  foxtail  and  clover  seed,  and 
next  season  I  do  not  doubt  that  we  shall  have  from  them  a 
plenty  of  the  best  of  hay.  The  orchard  is  to  be  ploughed 
and  planted  with  corn  in  order  to  extirpate  the  elders  which 
have  overrun  it,  and  the  other  lots  are  improving  in  some 
way  or  other.  We  calculate  that  the  productions  of  the 
farm  will,  this  year  at  least,  support  the  family,  which  you 
know  was  far  from  being  the  case  last  year.  My  present 
employment  is  far  from  being  one  to  which,  at  the  present 
period  of  my  life,  I  should  wish  to  give  my  time.  But  I 
have  found  by  experience  that  it  conduces  to  my  health  and 


64  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

to  my  interest,  and  therefore  I  think  it  is  clearly  my  duty 
to  pursue  it  until  a  return  of  health  shall  enable  me  to  pros- 
ecute that  employment  to  which  I  have  been  educated,  and 
which  is  my  delight.  Think  not,  my  brother,  that  I  pay 
no  attention  to  books.  As  often  as  leisure  and  health  per- 
mit, I  improve  the  opportunity  in  reading  or  writing,  and 
not  unfrequently  in  wooing  the  Muses 


TO   MR.    STEPHEN   TWINING. 

FAIRFIELD,  May  13, 1797. 

SINCE  Commencement  I  have  continued  at  home, 

and  as  the  infirm  state  of  my  health  would  not  permit  me 
to  pursue  any  business  which  requires  much  application,  I 
have  employed  my  time  in  attending  to  my  mother's  affairs. 
This  employment  I  at  first  assumed  merely  to  keep  myself 
busy,  not  supposing  that  one  half  of  my  time  would  be 
occupied  in  it ;  but  so  astonishingly  have  cares  of  one  kind 
and  another  increased  upon  me,  that  I  find  myself  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  involved  in  all  the  business  of  active  life, 
and  in  fact  acting  the  part  of  a  head  of  a  family.  But  this 
constant  occupation  has  answered  a  valuable  purpose  with 
respect  to  my  health  :  it  has  kept  me  from  thinking  upon 
those  gloomy  subjects  upon  which  I  had  been  a  long  time 
accustomed  to  ponder,  and  has  furnished  me  with  abun- 
dance of  bodily  exercise.  Upon  the  whole,  I  find  myself 
much  better  in  health  and  spirits  than  at  Commencement, 
and  hope,  by  perseverance  in  my  present  mode  of  life, 
before  a  long  time,  to  be  able  to  begin  to  make  prepara- 
tions for  a  permanent  establishment  in  life.  What  this 
establishment  will  be,  I  do  not  yet  know.  If  I  find  myself 
sufficiently  firm  in  my  health  to  pursue  a  literary  employ- 
ment, I  think  I  shall  pursue  one  of  the  learned  profes- 
sions. If  not,  I  shall  choose  some  other  business  which 
affords  prospect  of  a  decent  support,  —  probably  agricult- 
ure or  trade.  . 


A  TEACHER  :  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.      65 


TO    MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

FAiuriKi,n,  Mmj  19, 1797. 

WE  are  now  separated,  for  life  perhaps,  perhaps 

only  for  a  short  period.  God  grant  that  the  last  may 
eventually  prove  to  be  true.  Oh,  my  brother,  I  wish  I 
could  at  once  lay  open  my  heart  to  you  without  the  trouble 
of  writing.  My  mind  is  racked  and  torn  by  a  thousand 
anxious  cares,  half  of  them  perhaps  imaginary  ;  but  whether 
real  or  imaginary,  they  have  the  effect  of  sinking  my  spir- 
its. You  will  be  curious  to  inquire  the  cause,  and  perhaps 
will  first  of  all  ask,  whether  it  be  what  sometimes  makes  the 
heart  of  a  young  man  sad.  To  this  question  I  can  confi- 
dently answer,  No  !  My  youth,  my  ill  health,  and  conse- 
quent want  of  business,  are  sufficient  motives  to  make  me 
keep  clear  of  all  direct  or  implicit  engagements  of  that 
kind,  and  I  can  assure  you  that  my  feelings  upon  that  sub- 
ject are  at  present  quite  calm.  One  great  and  constant 
source  of  uneasiness  to  my  mind  you  are  well  acquainted 
with.  It  is  the  embarrassed  situation  of  our  affairs.  I  do 
everything  in  my  power  to  render  the  remaining  part  of 
the  estate  as  profitable  as  possible,  but  brothers  are  so 
much  occupied  with  their  own  affairs,  that  they  find  very 
little  time  to  attend  to  those  of  the  estate.  I  hope,  how- 
ever, in  the  course  of  the  summer,  that  this  lengthy  and 
perplexed  business,  which  has  already  consumed  almost 
seven  years,  will  be  brought  to  a  close.  But  I  have  a  still 
greater  source  of  uneasiness  than  this.  My  health,  al- 
though better  than  when  you  left  us,  is  still  so  unconfirmed, 
that  it  would  be  folly  for  me  to  commence  the  pursuit  of 
any  business  for  life.  In  fine,  I  am  in  a  state  of  perfect  sus- 
pense with  respect  to  my  future  prospects,  and  this  alone 
is  a  cause  sufficient  to  destroy  the  greater  part  of  my  peace. 
I  know  that  you  will  tell  me  that  I  am  still  young,  that  I 
shall  by-and-by  regain  my  health,  and  that  I  ought  to  wait 
for  providence.  Of  the  truth  of  all  this  I  am  convinced,  but 

VOL.  i.  5 


66  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

this  will  not  smother  a  ruling  passion But  I  will 

cease  to  complain.     I  deserve  more  than  I  suffer. 


TO   MR.  G.  S.  SILLIMAN. 

FAIHFIELP,  May  27, 1797. 

BE  not  surprised  at  anything,  nor  he  induced 

to  believe  that  my  feelings  always  run  in  so  low  a  chan- 
nel. I  experience  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time  a  phil- 
osophic serenity,  and  it  is  only  when  I  cast  my  thoughts 
upon  the  interesting  subjects  which  I  last  spoke  of  that  I 
experience  a  depression.  But  I  see  much  ground  to  hope 
that  my  situation  will  by-and-by  be  better.  Patience  and 
fortitude  are  the  best  defence  against  adversity,  and  never 
does  human  nature  appear  more  truly  respectable  than 
when  calmly  resisting  misfortune.  The  public  mind  in  this 
part  of  the  Union  has,  in  a  short  period  past,  undergone  a 
great  change  with  respect  to  France.  Those  who,  before 
their  depredations  upon  our  commerce,  were  opposed  to 
them,  now  cry  out  vehemently ;  those  who  were  calm  begin 
to  bestir  themselves,  and  their  friends  hold  their  tongues. 
A  war  with  France  is  dreaded  by  all,  but  expected  by 
many 

TO   MR.  STEPHEN   TWINING. 

WETHEKSKIKLD,  ^farcll  19,  1798. 

You  no  doubt  have  heard,  from   some  one  of 

those  to  whom  I  have  written  in  New  Haven,  of  the  agree- 
ableness  of  my  present  situation.  I  am  very  happily  dis- 
appointed in  two  respects.  I  was  fearful  that  attention  to 
business,  after  so  long  a  season  of  relaxation,  would  cause 
a  return  of  those  disagreeable  and  dangerous  companions, 
whose  presence  had  obliged  me  to  throw  by  my  books.  I 
presumed,  too,  that  the  employment  of  instruction  would 
be  tiresome  and  tedious.  But  I  am  happily  disappointed 
in  both  these  respects.  I  have  not,  in  two  years  past, 


A  TEACHER:   A   STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.       67 

enjoyed  five  weeks  of  so  great  mental  and  bodily  health  as 
that  which  I  have  experienced  during  the  five  weeks  in 
which  I  have  resided  here 


FROM   MR.  SETH    P.  STAPLES. 

NEW  HAVEN,  July  7, 1798. 

WE  celebrated  Independence  here  with  great 

pomp  and  splendor.  The  morn  was  ushered  in  by  the  fir- 
ing of  cannon  and  the  ringing  of  bells,  —  a  cant  expres- 
sion, and  it  will  be  in  every  Boston  paper  for  this  month. 
At  nine  o'clock  A.  M.  a  procession  was  formed  down  in  the 
new  township,  consisting  of — 1st,  the  Governor's  guard  ;  2d, 
the  militia  company ;  3d,  the  new-formed  company  of  ar- 
tillery, John  P.  Austin,  captain  ;  4th,  mayor  and  aldermen 
of  the  city,  the  civil  authority,  the  two  orators  Dr.  Dwight 
and  Noah  Webster,  Jr.,  Esq.,  sheriffs,  deputies,  clergymen, 
candidates,  citizens,  and  students,  and  a  military  company 
of  boys.  Perhaps  I  have  not  got  them  exactly  in  their 
order.  From  the  new  township  they  moved  up  Chapel 
Street  in  procession  till  they  came  to  the  brick  [church] ; 
then  the  military  opened  on  the  right  and  left,  and  the 
procession  walked  through.  After  they  were  seated,  the 
President  delivered  an  excellent  sermon,  and  Mr*  Webster 
an  oration  equally  good.  After  the  exercise,  formed  again, 
and  walked  again  in  procession  to  the  State  House,  where 
was  prepared  a  public  dinner  with  excellent  liquors.  After 
dinner,  drank  a  number  of  very  patriotic  toasts,  which  you 
will  probably  see  in  your  papers  ;  and  a  most  ardent  spirit 
of  patriotism  appeared  to  diffuse  itself  through  every  rank 
and  grade  of  society.  Many,  before  they  left  the  tables, 
got  very  high.  The  ladies  in  town,  to  a  very  great  num- 
ber, took  tea  at  Mix's,  over  in  the  new  township.  To  give 
you  an  account  of  their  manoeuvres  would  exceed  this  let- 
ter. They  drank  toasts,  sang  songs,  and  appeared  equally 
gay  with  the  gentlemen. 


68  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN"  SILLIMAN. 


FROM   MR.  ELIHU   CHAUNCEY. 

PHILADELPHIA,  Jaw.  30,  1801. 

POLITICS  here  claim  the  attention  of  all,  from  the 

highest  to  the  lowest,  and  my  fondness  for  things  of  this 
kind  will  not  suffer  me  to  remain  a  calm  spectator.  A  few 
weeks  since,  Bronson  and  myself  attended  a  Democratic 
meeting,  and  amused  ourselves  among  the  mob  for  an  hour 
or  two.  A  scene  of  more  complete  riot  and  confusion  I 
never  witnessed ;  but,  being  unknown,  we  remained  safe, 
though  we  were  somewhat  apprehensive  that  violence 
would  be  offered,  in  which  case  we  should  have  come  off 
poorly,  notwithstanding  we  were  well  armed  for  our  de- 
fence. But  here  they  openly  talked  of  settling  the  differ- 
ences of  party  by  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  their  con- 
duct and  conversation  evidently  showed  that  they  stood 
ready  to  cut  our  throats  at  the  first  signal.  I  thank  you 
for  your  kind  wishes  for  my  prosperity  ;  but,  sir,  such  is  the 
state  of  things  in  Pennsylvania,  that  I  think  no  young  man, 
whose  principles  are  not  fully  Jacobin,  can  calculate  upon 
an  immediate  rise  in  business.  Such  is  the  violence  of  the 
Democrats,  that  they  deem  no  Federalist  too  insignificant 
for  their  exertions  to  obstruct  his  progress.  They  will  use 
any  means  to  accomplish  their  ends,  and  they  are  all-pow- 
erful in  Pennsylvania.  My  brother  [Charles]  is  doing  tol- 
erably well ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  that,  if  he  would  turn 
Democrat,  he  would  soon  acquire  a  decent  property,  and 
gain  political  promotion.  But  I  think  he  will  yet  prefer  to 
subsist  upon  a  few  dollars,  which  he  sometimes  gets,  than 
sacrifice  his  principles,  though  it  should  be  attended  with 
the  first  honors  of  the  state 

TO    MR.  G.  S.  SILLIMAN. 

NEW  HAVEN,  Feb.  13, 1800. 

I  "  HAVE  resumed  my  change  with  alacrity,"  and 

shall  make  every  exertion  "to  discharge  my  trust  with  fidel- 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   69 

ity,"  thankful  at  the  same  time  "  for  all  my  mercies,"  al- 
though I  do  not  yet  know  whether  the  tide  of  popularity 
runs  against  me  or  for  me.  Whichever  is  or  may  hereafter 
be  the  fact,  no  change  will  be  effected  in  my  governing 
principles. 

I  am  resolved  to  do  my  duty  with  faithfulness,  at  the 
same  time  softening  the  tone  of  authority  by  affability  and 
easiness  of  access.  I  should  be  in  no  hurry  to  leave  my 
present  situation,  unless  disagreeable  circumstances  should 
render  it  necessary. 

TO   HIS    MOTHER. 

NEW  HAVEN,  June  2,  1800. 

COLLEGE  is  in  regular  motion  once  more,  and 

the  wheels  run  very  smoothly.  I  am  as  happy  as  I  ever 
expect  to  be  in  this  imperfect  state.  Indeed  I  cannot  be 
too  thankful  for  it.  But  I  feel  a  constant  aspiration  after 
another  and  a  better  state.  I  hope,  my  dear  mother,  that 
while  you  are  spared  to  bless  your  children,  you  will  not 
spare  those  excellent  counsels  to  which  I  owe  almost  every- 
thing which  is  good  in  me ;  and  when  you  are  gone  to 
heaven,  I  sincerely  pray  that  the  bright  image  of  your  ex- 
ample may  always  be  present  to  keep  me  from  sin.  I  have 
found  the  excellent  letter  which  you  wrote  last  winter.  I 
have  read  it  with  strong  emotions  of  filial  affection  and 
reverence 

TO   MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

NEW  HAVEN,  June  28, 1800. 

I  AM  resolved  to  free  myself  from  all  pecuniary 

embarrassment,  which  the  regular  returns  of  my  salary  will 
in  a  few  months  enable  me  to  effect.  After  that,  I  shall 
certainly  aim  to  lay  by  something  every  quarter,  to  assist 
me  in  the  first  months  of  professional  life.  My  principal 
pecuniary  weakness  has  been  a  taste  for  elegance,  which  in 
circumstances  more  eligible  would  have  been  perfectly 


70  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

proper,  but  in  mine  was  certainly  reprehensible.  You 
justly  remark,  however,  that  our  rank  in  society  will  not 
permit  us  to  stoop  to  mean  economy.  It  will  not ;  but  I  am 
conscious  that  I  have  spent  much  money  which  I  might 
have  saved.  Perhaps  $200  would  comprehend  everything 
of  this  kind  ;  but  this  sum,  although  small,  is  something  in 

the  support  of  a  year President  Adams  arrived 

in  town  this  afternoon,  and  we  expect  him  at  meeting  to- 
morrow at  the  Chapel.  I  am  very  well ;  feel  no  bad  effects 

from  the  summer's  heat It  is  my  turn  to  officiate 

this  evening,  and  as  the  bell  is  now  ringing,  I  must  bid 
you  adieu 

The  following  letter  describes  a  journey  made  on 
horseback  from  Newport,  R.  I.,  to  Boston,  and  thence 
to  New  Haven,  by  the  way  of  Worcester  and  Spring- 
field. 

TO    MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

NEW  HAVEX,  June  5, 1801. 

DEAR    SELLECK,  — Noon,  Monday,  May  19. — 

After  we  parted  with  you  and  your  charming  compan- 
ion, we  rode  on  to  the  ferry,  noticing  in  our  progress  the 
traces  of  war  upon  the  surrounding  hills.  We  passed  the 
ferry  safely ;  but  from  the  extreme  ill-nature  and  boorish- 
ness  of  the  ferrymen,  we  were  confident  that  they  belonged 
to  the  lowest  type  of  democracy.  As  we  sailed,  the  seat 
of  King  Philip  excited  in  my  mind  an  interesting  train  of 
reflections  upon  the  surprising  declension  of  the  Indian, 
and  the  rise  of  the  Anglo-American,  power  in  this  country. 
The  singular  neatness  and  thrift  of  Bristol  and  Warren 
would  have  given  me  much  more  pleasure  had  they  been 
produced  by  any  other  means  than  the  misery  of  the  Afri- 
cans. Between  two  and  three  P.  M.  we  dined  at  Cole's, 
and  arrived  in  Providence  a  little  before  sunsetting.  We 
put  up  at  Aldrich's,  took  tea,  dressed,  &c. ;  but  an  unlucky 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   71 

jent  which  I  gave  one  of  my  boots  in  drawing  it  on,  lost 
for  us  half  the  evening  before  it  could  be  repaired.  I  soon 
discovered  that  our  hostess  was  a  lady  of  quality ;  and, 
from  our  inquiring  for  Mrs.  Bowman's,  Pres.  Maxcy's,  &c., 
or  from  some  strange  defect  in  her  optics,  she  took  us  for 
gentlemen  of  style,  and  in  a  very  short  time  she  actually  pro- 
nounced us  Carolina  gentlemen.  No  attention  was  now 
enough  for  us  ;  the  good  things  of  the  house  were  brought 
forth,  and  the  servants  were  all  on  tiptoe  to  await  our 
commands.  AVe  were  not  anxious,  you  will  readily  believe, 
to  undeceive  our  hostess ;  for,  had  we  once  informed  her 
that  we  were  from  Connecticut,  we  should  have  dwindled 
to  common  travellers.  What  I  anticipated  respecting  our 
bills  we  realized,  for  we  were  charged  in  proportion  to  our 
style.  The  time  which  we  had  allotted  to  spend  at  the 
President's  and  at  Mr.  Mumford's  was  now  elapsed,  and  we 
found  ourselves  able  to  call  only  at  Mrs.  Bowman's.  Un- 
fortunately the  whole  family,  except  Miss  Lynch  and  John, 
were  abroad ;  with  them,  however,  we  spent  an  hour,  left 
our  respects  for  Mrs.  B.  and  the  family,  and  retired. 

Tuesday,  20tk,  6  A.  M.  —  Notwithstanding  the  urgent  so- 
licitations of  our  hostess  the  evening  before,  and  our  partial 
promise  that  we  would  spend  a  few  days  in  Providence,  we 
left  the  town,  not  a  little  diverted  that  we  had  brought  off 
our  quality  without  discovering  our  Yankee  extraction. 
The  style  of  building  in  Providence  is,  I  think,  superior  to 
that  of  any  other  town  which  I  have  seen.  Pawtucket 
Falls  attracted  our  attention  as  we  passed  the  bridge.  We 
passed  on  into  the  eastern  part  of  Attleborough,  where 
we  found  a  most  excellent  breakfast  at  Holmes's,  thirteen 
miles  from  Providence.  The  stage  drove  up  full  of  sailors 
just  discharged  from  the  George  Washington.  They  com- 
plained much  of  Captain  Bainbridge,  declaring  that  the 
Turks  treated  them  with  more  humanity  than  he.  We 
passed  on  through  Wrentham  and  Walpole  to  Dedham, 
where  we  dined  with  the  Judges  of  the  County  Court  at 


72  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Gay's.  They  were  plain,  sensible  men,  but  apparently  of 
moderate  information.  All  mouths  at  Dedhain  were  full 
of  the  shocking  murder  committed  the  day  before  ;  and  the 
perpetrator  lay,  groaning  with  his  wounds,  at  a  neighboring 
house.  The  appearance  of  the  country  had  been  very  fine 
ever  since  we  entered  Massachusetts,  but  Declham  is  a  de- 
lightful spot,  and  Mr.  Ames  has  the  most  charming  seat  in 
it.  At  three  o'clock  r.  M.  we  started  for  Boston,  and  as 
we  proceeded,  the  country  grew  more  and  more  delightful. 
About  four  miles  from  Boston,  my  horse,  which,  in  conse- 
quence of  his  being  shod  very  badly  at  Providence,  had 
frequently  stumbled  in  the  course  of  the  day,  when  going 
upon  a  full  trot,  fell  headlong  with  great  violence,  and 
pitched  me  over  his  head  three  or  four  yards.  Owing  to 
the  great  goodness  of  my  Preserver,  1  was  not  in  the  least 
degree  injured,  but  after  leading  my  horse  on  for  two  miles 
I  left  him  to  be  shod  again  in  Roxbury,  and  I  walked  into 
Boston.  We  put  up  at  Vose's,  in  School  Street,  —  an  ex- 
cellent house.  Button's  and  Denison's  lodgings  were  only 
two  doors  off,  but  they  being  out,  we  spent  the  evening  at 
the  Columbian  Museum.  There  we  saw  a  great  multitude 
of  curious  things,  —  wax  figures,  and  particularly  wax 
beauties  in  abundance  ;  but  I  declare  to  you  I  am  so  little 
of  a  connoisseur,  that  these  same  wax  figures  freeze  me ; 
they  have  the  coldness  of  death  ;  —  in  truth,  I  had  rather 
spend  half  an  hour  with  Miss  —  —  than  a  whole  year  with 
these  wax  beauties. 

Wednesday,  2\st.  —  After  breakfast  we  went  with  Dut- 
ton  and  Denison  into  the  Mall  and  Common,  and  ascended 
to  the  pinnacle  of  the  new  State  House,  where  we  were 
presented  witli  a  prospect  which  for  extent  and  beauty  ex- 
ceeded anything  I  had  ever  seen.  The  limits  of  my  paper 
will  not  allow  me  to  give  a  description  of  Boston  and  its 
vicinity.  But  I  will  just  remark  that  the  country  around 
Boston  is  really  a  terrestrial  paradise.  After  descending 
from  the  State  House,  Ely  and  I  mounted  our  horses  and 


A  TEACHER.  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   73 

rode  over  Charlestown  Bridge  to  Breed's,  usually  called 
Bunker's  Hill.  Here  I  spent  half  an  hour  with  great  emo- 
tion. Leaning  against  the  monument  of  Warren,  I  surveyed 
the  scene  of  carnage,  now  a  verdant,  charming  meadow. 
Our  lines  of  defence,  however,  are  still  visible.  We  de- 
scended the  hill,  and  spent  two  hours  with  Doctor  Morse. 
He  treated  us  with  great  politeness,  and  requested  our 
company  to  breakfast  the  next  day.  We  returned  to  Bos- 
ton, rode  around  the  various  parts  of  the  town,  and  dined 
at  our  lodgings.  In  the  afternoon,  Button,  Denison,  Ely, 
and  myself,  with  Mr.  Wells,  lately  a  tutor  in  Harvard,  went 
in  a  hack  to  Cambridge.  Mr.  Wells  introduced  us  to  the 
gentlemen  of  college ;  ....  we  were  conducted  into  the 
Library,  Museum,  &c.,  and  took  tea  at  Pres.  Willard's.  In 

the  mean  time  Mr.  Ely  and  I  called  upon  Mr.  R ; 

....  he  received  us  very  cordially,  nor  will  I  detract  from 
the  goodness  of  his  heart  by  hinting  that  the  interesting 
despalches  of  which  I  was  the  bearer  might  have  added 
some  value  in  his  view  to  the  hand  which  presented  them. 
We  drove  back  to  Boston,  and  I  spent  the  evening  with 

my  companion  at  Captain  Goodwin's 

Thursday,  22d.  — We  breakfasted  with  Dr.  Morse,  and  he 
waited  upon  us  back  to  Boston.  I  then  called  upon  Dr. 
Eliot,  brother  of  our  Mr.  Eliot.  He  showed  me  much 
attention  ;  conducted  me  to  the  Historical  Library  and 
Museum,  introduced  me  to  a  number  of  respectable  gen- 
tlemen, and  showed  me  the  house  where  Dr.  Franklin  was 
born.  The  Doctor's  mother,  it  seems,  went  to  church  in  the 
forenoon,  became  his  mother  in  the  intermission,  and  the 
infant  was  baptized  in  the  afternoon,  —  so  that  the  Doctor 
used  humorously  to  say  that  he  attended  meeting  the  whole 
of  that  day.  I  then  called  upon  Eunice  Eliot,  and  our 
classmate  Gurley.  We  dined  with  Dutton  and  a  circle  of 
literati,  ....  where  we  enjoyed  "  the  feast  of  reason,  and 
the  flow  of  soul,"  until  four  p.  M.,  when  Mr.  E.  and  I  ex- 
cused ourselves  and  retired.  Mr.  Eliot,  of  Fail-field,  I 


74  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

found  at  our  lodgings  ;  he  had  just  arrived  on  a  visit  to 
his  friends.  At  five  P.  M.  we  left  Boston,  and  proceeded  to 
Cambridge,  where  we  were  detained  an  hour  by  rain.  We 
then  proceeded  through  Watertown  to  Waltham,  ten  miles 
from  Boston,  where  we  put  up  for  the  night  at  Harrington's. 

Friday,  23d.  — We  proceeded  through  East  Sudbury  and 
West  Sudbury,  where  we  breakfasted  at  Howe's ;  then  on 
through  Maryborough,  Northborough,  and  Shrewsbury,  to 
Worcester,  where  we  arrived  at  one  p.  M.,  forty-seven  miles 
from  Boston.  We  dined  at  Barker's,  and  partook  of  a  very 
animated  dessert,  administered  by  a  democratic  lawyer  of 
the  town  who  dined  at  our  table.  The  subject  of  dispute 
was  the  right  of  the  people  to  choose  the  electors  of  Pres- 
ident. Unfortunately,  the  gentleman  made  me  such  con- 
cessions as  ran  him  on  shore  at  once,  while  our  jolly  land- 
lord was  laughing  in  his  sleeve  at  the  confusion  of  one  who, 
I  suppose,  had  hitherto  ruled  the  roost  in  his  house.  Wor- 
cester is  a  beautiful  inland  town,  and  the  country  between 
it  and  Boston  is  generally  very  fine.  At  three,  we  pro- 
ceeded through  Leicester  and  Spencer,  a  hilly  country,  to 
East  Brookfield,  a  delightful  village  in  a  fruitful  vale, 
where  one  of  my  pupils  —  Reed  —  found  us  out,  and  con- 
ducted us  to  his  father's,  where  we  took  tea.  Major  Reed 
lives  in  elegant  country  style.  We  proceeded  to  West 
Brookfield,  where  we  put  up  at  Draper's,  fifty-seven  miles 
from  the  place  where  we  set  out  in  the  morning.  This 
moment  comes  in  your  letter  by  Mr.  Wales.  I  feel  grate- 
ful to  the  persons  who  have  expressed  a  wish  to  become 
acquainted  with  your  brother,  nor  shall  I  ever  forget  the 
unmerited  attentions  which  I  received  while  in  Newport, 
particularly  from  Major  Lyman's  family. 

Saturday,  24th. — We  mounted  our  horses  at  five  p.  M., 
designing  to  reach  Hartford,  if  possible,  fifty- six  miles. 
We  rode  through  a  hilly  country,  but  a  pleasant  one  ;  the 
road  was  turnpiked  ;  breakfasted  at  Bates's  in  Palmer,  —  a 
very  contentious  and  ill-governed  family.  We  proceeded 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   75 

for  Springfield.  In  Wilbraham  they  showed  us  the  pond 
where  the  six  young  people  were  drowned  last  summer. 
We  arrived  at  Springfield  about  one  P.  M.  The  keeper  of 
the  Armory  was  absent,  and  we  could  not  see  the  arms.  We 
made  no  stop  East,  but  crossed  the  river  and  dined  in  West 
Springfield.  My  horse  was  so  much  fatigued  and  stumbled 
in  so  alarming  a  manner,  that  we  put  up  for  the  night  at 
Suffield,  although  it  was  only  four  p.  M.,  and  of  course  there 
was  sufficient  time  to  have  reached  Hartford.  Our  land- 
lord, Mr.  Austin,  was  a  warm,  though  weak,  Democrat,  and 
by  drinking  Jefferson's  health  with  him  we  were  soon  in 
high  credit. 

Sabbath,  2oth.  —  Before  sunrise  we  proceeded  for  Hart- 
ford, but  at  Windsor  my  horse  travelled  so  ill  that  I  turned 
him  adrift  to  follow  Ely,  and  hired  a  chaise  and  boy  to 
convey  me  to  Hartford,  where  we  arrived  in  good  breakfast- 
time.  Attended  Mr.  Strong's  meeting ;  took  tea  with  Dr. 
Fish  ;  spent  the  evening  all  over  town,  as  we  fell  in  with  a 
company  of  young  ladies  who  were  disposed  to  enjoy  the 
fine  evening  in  a  walk,  —  and  ladies,  you  know,  when  once 
in  motion,  are  very  erratic  creatures. 

Monday,  2Gth.  —  We  breakfasted  with  Dr.  Fish,  and 
dined  with  Mills,  Sherwood,  and  several  other  gentlemen 
of  our  acquaintance,  at  their  lodgings.  In  the  afternoon 
we  proceeded  to  Wethersfield,  where  we  remained  until  the 
next  day,  Tuesday,  27th,  when  Ely  proceeded  for  New 
Haven  (via  Durham).  I  remained  in  Wethersfield  a  little 
longer ;  dined  at  Mr.  Marsh's ;  took  tea  at  Col.  Chester's. 
After  tea,  I  attended  Misses  Hannah  and  Mary  Chester, 
with  Hannah  and  Julia  Mitchell,  on  a  walk  in  the  meadows 
by  moonlight  We  rambled  about  till  nine. 

TO    MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

NEW  HAVEN,  Aug.  29, 1801. 

You  will  learn  with  much  pain  that  my  good 

friend,  Mr.  Day,  the  tutor,*  is,  to  all  human  appearance,  fast 
*  Afterwards  President.  —  F. 


76  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

sliding  into  consumption.  He  relinquished  all  business 
several  weeks  since;  has  bled  at  the  lungs  frequently;  is 
attended  with  an  occasional  fever,  and  grows  poor  and  weak 
very  fast.  His  misfortune  was  induced  by  preaching.  Some 
chance  remains  for  his  recovery,  but,  although  we  do  not 
entirely  despair,  we  have  no  reason  to  hope.  He  is  still  in 
town.  I  passed  the  last  night  with  him,  and  left  him  quite 
comfortable  this  morning.  Chauncey  Whittelsey  of  Mid- 
dietown,  a  most  respectable  man,  and  an  able  and  faithful 
officer,  has  been  turned  out,  since  my  last,  from  the  Col- 

lectorship  of   Middletown,   and  A W ,  a  known 

atheist,  profligate,  and  bankrupt,  appointed  in  his  place. 
This  is  Jefferson's  policy  to  heal  national  wounds ;  this  is 
democratical  sincerity.  I  am,  my  dear  brother,  not  with 
empty  presidential  professions,  your  sincere  friend  and  affec- 
tionate brother. 

The  annexed  letter  alludes  to  the  separation  of  his 
brother's  wife  from  her  family  consequent  upon  her 
marriage. 

TO    MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

NEW  HAVEN,  April  3,  1802. 

I  PITY  her  with  all  my  heart  when  I  think  what 

a  parting  she  must  have  had  with  the  best  of  parents,  and 
the  most  affectionate  of  brothers  and  sisters.  Indeed,  my 
dear  brother,  when  I  consider  what  sacrifices  this  dear 
friend  is  making  to  promote  your  happiness,  I  need  not 
add  anything  to  stimulate  your  exertions  to  supply,  as  far 
as  possible,  sources  of  happiness  which  shall  in  some 
measure  Compensate  her  for  the  loss  she  has  sustained.  I 
earnestly  pray  Heaven  to  bless  you  both,  and  to  render  the 
land  in  which  you  are  settled  as  pleasant  as  that  which  you 
have  left.  I  expect  to  receive  letters  from  you  by  the 
middle  of  next  week,  but  I  shall  endeavor  to  feel  perfectly 
easy  about  you,  since  you  are  in  the  hands  of  a  kind  Provi- 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   77 

dence,  and  every  circumstance,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  is 
in  your  favor.  I  have  not  heard  a  word  from  any  of  our 
friends  of  either  family  since  you  left  Connecticut.  I  must 

now  say  a  word  to  Ilepsa 

DEAR  HEPSA, —  This  is  the  first  time  that  I  ever  sat 
down  to  write  to  you  with  my  face  eastward ;  but  I  think  I 
shall  now  look  upon  the  sun  at  his  rising  with  additional 
pleasure,  since  he  will  shine  upon  two  of  my  dearest 
friends  before  he  illuminates  New  Haven.  I  have  thought 
of  you,  my  dear  sister,  often  during  this  week,  and  I  have 
felt  for  you  sincerely  when  I  considered  that  the  ligaments 
which  bound  you  to  your  family  were  so  interwoven  with 
the  cords  of  your  heart  that  they  must  bleed  when  torn 
asunder.  But  I  will  not  enhance  your  grief  by  dwelling 
upon  the  subject.  Think  how  happy  yon  will  be  to  return 
to  the  bosom  of  your  family,  and  to  welcome  your  friends 
to  Newport.  I  trust  that  David  and  I  shall  be  among  the 
first  from  Connecticut  who  will  enter  your  doors 

The  effect  of  his  oration  at  Hartford  is  thus  stated 
in  a  letter  to  his  brother :  — 

TO    MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

NEW  HAVEN,  July  24, 1802. 

THE  oration  was  a  systematical  delineation  of 

the  doctrines'of  modern  philosophy,  as  they  affect  religion, 
government,  and  the  morals  and  habits  of  private  life,  and 
a  comparison  of  them  with  the  practical  system  of  New 
England,  with  respect  to  these  three  great  interests  of 
society.  It  is  hardly  consistent  with  propriety,  to  detail 
in  a  letter  what  was  said  by  the  friends  of  the  cause  which 
I  advocated.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  their  praises  far  ex- 
ceeded the  demands  of  justice.  Babcock's  paper,  after  a 
long  piece  upon  the  abuses  of  the  society  in  permitting 
orators  to  write  their  own  sentiments,  pronounces  Dwight's 
oration  of  last  year  one  of  the  most  execrable,  malicious, 


78  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

and  libellous  performances  ;  and  declares  this  to  be  only  a 
continuation  of  that,  with  this  difference  only, — that  the 
abuse  of  the  President  and  officers  of  government  is 
more  insidious  and  artful  in  the  latter,  although  it  is  evi- 
dent that  they  both  flowed  from  one  pen,  namely,  Dr. 
Dvvight's.  The  demos  were  the  more  angry  at  me  because 
they  supposed  1  meant  them,  although  I  did  not  say  a  word 
about  them 

The  foregoing  pages  have  enabled  the  reader  to 
judge  of  the  intellectual  qualities  of  Mr.  Silliman  in 
his  youth,  and  of  the  culture  which  he  attained.  A 
more  particular  notice  of  his  religious  views  and  im- 
pressions may  properly  conclude  this  chapter.  Edu- 
cated, as  he  was,  at  home,  and  being  naturally  sober 
and  reflective,  he  was  never  without  reverence  for 
God,  and  a  quick  sense  of  moral  obligations.  His 
frequent  religious  expressions  —  though  an  occasional 
reference  to  religion  was  deemed  to  be  a  part  of  de- 
corum in  those  days  more  than  at  present  —  are  evi- 
dently spontaneous.  He  had  been  in  the  habit  of 
daily  reading  the  Scriptures  and  offering  up  prayer. 
Yet  prior  to  the  closing  year  of  his  tutorship,  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel  had  not  so  vividly  impressed 
his  feelings  as  to  exert  a  full  control  over  the  purpose 
and  spirit  of  his  life.  A  few  months  after  gradua- 
tion, in  a  letter  to  his  brother,  he  indicates  an  inten- 
tion to  make  Christianity  a  study. 

TO   MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

FAIKFIELD,  April  24,  1797. 

I  AM  well  convinced  of  the  importance  of  an 

early  and  thorough  examination  of  the  evidence  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  intend  that  it  shall  be  one  of  the 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   79 

first  objects  of  my  attention.  I  am  the  more  induced  to 
make  this  examination,  as  some  of  the  doctrines  contained 
in  the  New  Testament  are  apparently  so  contradictory  to 
each  other,  and  so  subversive  of  the  conclusions  drawn  by 
human  reason,  concerning  the  justice  of  the  Deity  in  his 
government  of  the  world,  and  in  the  dispensation  of  future 
rewards  and  punishments,  that  I  expect  to  found  my  belief 
of  these  doctrines  solely  upon  the  external  evidence  that 
they  came  from  God.  If  I  find  sufficient  evidence  that 
Jesus  Christ  so  appeared,  so  lived,  so  taught,  so  died,  and 
so  ascended  into  heaven,  as  in  the  Bible  he  is  represented 
to  have  done,  to  command  my  belief,  then  I  must  of  con- 
sequence believe  the  doctrines  which  he  taught.  I  am 
at  present  reading  Bossuet's  "Universal  History,"  which 
throws  much  light  upon  this  subject  by  showing  the  con- 
nection of  sacred  and  profane  history 

Three  years  after  he  writes  in  a  similar  strain. 

TO    MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

NEW  HAVEN,  Aug.  22, 1800. 

I  AM  gratified  with  the  seriousness  which  often 

marks  your  letters,  and  which  was  particularly  conspicuous 
in  your  last.  It  is  indeed  true  that  we  must  soon  leave 
"  this  vale  of  tears,"  and  pass  through  the  "  dark  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death  "  into  that  unknown  world  from  which 
there  is  no  return.  The  thought  strikes  me,  I  must  con- 
fess, with  terror,  but  still  I  am  conscious  that  no  object  in 
this  world  is  capable  of  satisfying  the  desires  of  an  immor- 
tal mind.  I  am  engaged  in  a  serious  examination  of  the 
evidences  of  the  Christian  religion.  What  I  have  already 
perused  would  have  staggered  my  mind  had  I  been  an 
infidel.  I  devote  my  Sabbaths  to  the  pursuit,  and  mean  to 
continue  it  until  •!  am  able  "  to  give  a  reason  of  the  hope 
that  is  in  me."  The  solicitude  of  our  excellent  mother  is 
so  great  respecting  us  both  upon  this  subject,  that  I  should 


80  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

have  engaged  in  the  pursuit  from  duty  alone,  had  other 
motives  been  wanting.  I  have  received  a  letter  from  her, 
written  upon  the  8th  instant,  when  you  may  remember  I 
completed  my  minority.  It  was  full  of  every  motherly  and 
excellent  sentiment  appropriate  to  the  occasion. 

In  an  earlier  letter  to  his  mother,  after  confessing 
that  his  religious  feelings  had  declined  in  strength, 
though  his  determination  to  avoid  all  vice  is  un- 
changed, he  opens  his  heart  without  reserve. 

TO    HIS    MOTHER. 

NEW  HAVEN,  Dec.  15,  1798. 

I  WILL  tell  you,  my  dear  parent,  what  I  esteem 

to  be  the  strongest  springs  of  action,  by  which  my  mind  is  at 
present  impelled.  By  considering  these,  you  will  be  better 
able  to  determine  the  truth  of  my  preceding  remarks.  I 
find  no  propensity  in  my  system  stronger  than  a  wish  to  be 
highly  respectable  and  respected  in  society.  I  must  act  in  a 
particular  sphere,  and  that  sphere  which  is  assigned  me  is 
the  Law.  This  affords  a  boundless  field  for  the  display  of 
every  great  and  good  quality.  In  a  country  like  ours  this 
profession  is  a  staircase  by  which  talents  and  industry 
will  conduct  their  possessor  to  the  very  pinnacle  of  useful- 
ness and  fame.  This  pinnacle  is  constantly  in  my  eye.  I 
am  not  content  (as  I  once  thought  it  best)  to  walk  ob- 
scurely along  through  some  sequestered  vale  of  life 

No,  1  must  embark  in  the  great  business  of  life ;  and  that 
reputation  and  usefulness  may  attend  me,  my  present  time 
must  be  devoted  to  laborious  study.  A  lawyer  ought  to  be 
tin  <ille,  counsellor  and  an  eloquent  man.  Intense  study  is 
the  only  means  by  which  he  can  attain  the  first  character ; 
and  practice,  with  unremitting  attention  to  the  great  models 
before  his  eyes,  and  a  constant  habit  of  elegance  and  accu- 
racy of  language,  are  the  principal  means  for  attaining  the 
second.  This  same  thirst  for  respectability  influences 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   81 

likewise  all  my  conduct.  I  wish  to  make  myself  the  easy, 
agreeable,  and  endearing  man  in  society.  With  the  grave, 
I  wish  to  be  sententious ;  with  the  girls,  easy,  affable,  and 
polite,  nay,  sometimes  moderately  trifling ;  but  with  the 
friends  of  my  heart,  open  and  sincere.  In  short,  I  wish  to 
make  myself  u  all  things  to  all  men,"  as  far  as  decency, 
morality,  and  religion  will  suffer  me  to  go.  Another  strong 
propensity  is  that  which  impels  me  to  associate  with  females 
of  equal  age  and  respectability,  and  from  them  to  cull  out 
some  guardian  angel,  some  tutelary  deity,  who  may  be  my 

protectress  and  the  object  of  my  care Should  I 

meet  a  congenial  soul  I  should  be  a  happy  man,  but  my 
ardor  may  drive  me  to  an  improper  connection,  and  then  I 
shall  be  truly  miserable.  These,  my  dear  parent,  I  believe 
to  be  the  great  traits  of  my  present  character.  1  could 
enlarge  upon  them  and  trace  them  through  all  their  various 
ramifications,  but  I  should  tire  you  with'  egotism.  Now,  my 
dear  parent,  is  there  anything  in  all  this  which  is  unwor- 
thy? I  hear  you  answer,  "  No,  my  dear  son  ;  but  remem- 
ber that  all  you  have  said  respects  the  little,  very  little,  space 
of  time  comprehended  within  the  limits  of  human  life  ;  — 
eternity  succeeds,  —  prepare  for  that !  "  I  feel  the  full 
force  of  the  great  truth,  and  sincerely  pray  God  to  assist 
me,  and  to  make  me  the  good  Christian  as  well  as  the 
worthy  man 

Under  a  later  date,  he  writes  to  his  mother,  de- 
ploring his  lack  of  vivid  feeling  in  respect  to  the 
objects  of  faith. 

TO    HIS    MOTHER. 

NEW  HAVEN,  March  15,  1800. 

MY  DEAR  PARENT,  —  This  evening  brings  us  repose 
from  the  fatigues  of  a  four  days'  examination,  and  I  sit 
down  with  satisfaction  to  converse  a  little  while  with  my 
dear  parent 

VOL.  I.  6 


82  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Your  affectionate  parental  and  instructive  letter  I  have 
perused  again  and  again.  I  wish,  indeed,  that  I  could  give 
you  an  account  of  my  religious  concerns  sufficiently  pleasing 
to  repay  your  exertions  and  to  satisfy  my  own  anxious  feel- 
ings. I  can  say  with  truth  that  this  great  subject  dwells 
in  my  mind  when  I  am  at  liberty  to  think,  "  but  shadows, 
clouds,  and  darkness  rest  upon  it."  Not  that  I  doubt,  but 
that  I  do  not  feel,  although  I  readily  assent  to  the  propo- 
sition that  these  things  are  so.  When  I  read  that  one  of 
our  frigates  has  fought  a  severe  battle  with  a  ship  of  supe- 
rior force,  I  feel  it  at  once.  I  trace  every  circumstance 
in  my  mind,  and  fancy  that  I  hear  the  roaring  cannon,  the 
shouts  of  victory,  and  the  groans  of  the  dying.  But  — 
whether  it  is  owing  to  some  fatal  cause,  or  merely  to  the 
triteness  of  the  subject,  I  know  not  —  when  the  awful 
truths  of  Christianity  are  announced  from  the  desk,  I  do 
not  always  feel  that  interest  which  the  subject  ought  to 
command.  But  I  will  reserve  this  subject  until  I  see 
you 

His  letters  to  his  brother  at  this  time  betray  a  like 
solicitude. 

TO    MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

NEW  HAVEN,  Mmj  14, 1800. 

WHY  is  it,  since  no  fact  not  already  accomplished 

is  .so  clearly  demonstrated  as  human  mortality,  and  nothing 
is  so  uncertain  as  the  time  and  manner  of  that  event,  that 
mankind  treat  the  subject  as  an  idle  tale,  the  dream  of 
superstition,  and  the  bugbear  of  timorous  minds  ?  My  dear 
brother,  as  we  regard  our  eternal  salvation,  let  us  daily 
strive  to  run  the  Christian  race,  that  in  the  end  we  may 
obtain  a  crown  of  glory  which  fadeth  not  away 

In  1802,  during  the  last  year  of  Mr.  Silliman's 
tutorship,   a    remarkable    attentiveness    to    religion 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   83 

sprung  up  in  Yale  College.  In  this  Revival  a  large 
number  of  persons  became  deeply  interested,  of 
whom  Mr.  Silliman  was  one.  During  the  progress 
of  the  Revival  he  writes  to  his  mother  as  fol- 
lows :  — 

YALE,  June  11,  1802. 

IT  would  delight  your  heart,  my  dear  mother,  to 

see  how  the  trophies  of  the  Cross  are  multiplied  in  this  In- 
stitution. Yale  College  is  a  little  temple :  prayer  and  praise 
seem  to  be  the  delight  of  the  greater  part  of  the  students, 
while  those  who  are  still  unfeeling  are  awed  into  respect- 
ful silence.  Pray  for  me,  my  dear  mother,  that  while  I  am 
attempting  to  forward  others  in  the  journey  to  heaven,  I 
may  not  be  myself  a  castaway.  I  send  you  one  volume  of 
Pope's  Letters,  also  a  most  excellent  new  publication 

On  the  5th  of  September,  1802,  he  united  with 
the  College  Church.  The  following  memorandum, 
written  on  that  day,  is  found  among  his  papers,  to 
which  is  appended  a  record  of  a  similar  nature,  made 
a  year  later. 

NEW  HAVEN,  Sept.  5, 1802. 
Morning,  9  o'clock. 

Sabbath  and  Communion  Day.  —  This  day  I  intend,  with 
the  permission  and  assistance  of  the  good  Spirit  of  God,  to 
give  myself  up  publicly  in  a  perpetual  covenant  with  God 
as  my  Father,  with  Jesus  Christ  as  my  Saviour,  and  with 
the  Holy  Ghost  as  my  Sanctifier.  O  Thou  Triune  God, 
my  Creator,  my  Redeemer,  and  my  Sanctifier,  accept  me 
in  the  Covenant  of  Grace ;  dispose  of  me  according  to  thy 
own  good  pleasure  ;  employ  me  in  thy  service  ;  save  me  in 
thy  own  way ;  and  enable  me  to  perform  with  sincerity  the 
solemn  act  of  publicly  committing  my  soul  into  thy  hands. 
Not  because  I  am  assured  of  my  soul's  health  do  I  thus 
resolve  to  profess  and  promise.  I  am  not  without  hope 


84  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

(although  it  is  but  faint  and  glimmering)  that  God  has 
accepted  of  my  soul,  which  was  early  given  up  to  Him  in 
baptism  by  my  pious  parents,  one  of  whom  I  trust  is  now 
singing  the  song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb,  and  the  other,  I 
trust,  is  fast  ripening  for  heaven  ;  nor  can  I  entirely  de- 
spair that  the  secret  act  of  self-dedication  which  I  have  per- 
formed in  my  closet  has  been  regarded  by  Him  who  search- 
eth  the  heart  and  trieth  the  reins.  O  my  Redeemer,  when 
this  day  for  the  first  time  I  taste  the  bread,  the  sacred  sym- 
bol of  thy  flesh,  which  was  torn  for  my  sins,  and  drink  the 
wine,  that  sacred  symbol  of  thy  blood,  which  was  shed  for 
my  sins,  may  I  be  melted  with  grief  for  my  sins,  warmed 
with  gratitude  for  thy  disinterested  love,  and  elevated  with 
hope  by  the  remembrance  that  my  Redeemer  liveth,  and 
that  I  shall  stand  before  Him  at  the  last  day  ! 

YALE  COLLEGE,  Sept.  11, 1803. 

Sabbath  and  Communion  .Day,  4£  o'clock,  p.  M.  —  This  day 
completes  a  year,  reckoning  by  Sabbaths,  since  I  did  pub- 
licly and  solemnly  give  up  my  soul  to  God  the  Father,  Son, 
and  Holy  Ghost.  On  that  day,  for  the  first  time,  I  sat 
down  at  his  table,  and  commemorated  his  dying  love.  On 
that  day  I  vowed  not  only  to  deny  all  sinful  inclinations,  but 
to  resign  friends  and  even  life,  should  God  call  me  so  to  do. 
I  promised  as  far  as  possible  to  work  out  my  own  salvation, 
but  with  fear  and  trembling,  humbly  hoping  for  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  without  which  I  can  do  nothing.  My  life  has 
been  prolonged,  my  probation  extended,  and  salvation  may 
still  be  in  store  for  me. 

This  year  has  been  attended  by  mercies,  —  yes,  innumer- 
able and  of  incalculable  value.  I  have  enjoyed  a  state  of 
health  unexampled  for  many  years,  with  great  vigor  of 
body  and  activity  of  mind.  I  have  not  been  confined  by 
sickness,  nor  detained  more  than  two  half-days  from  the 
house  of  God.  My  dear  friends,  in  comfortable  health  and 
circumstances,  have  all  been  spared  to  me.  I  have  received 


A  TEACHER:  A  STUDENT  OF  LAW,  AND  TUTOR.   85 

an  appointment  which  will  afford  me  a  comfortable  and 
honorable  support  through  life,  with  the  prospect  of  exten- 
sive usefulness  to  youth  and  to  my  country.  My  wants 
have  all  been  supplied,  and  I  am  in  health  and  comfort 
This  moment  the  funeral  bell  tolls  for  I  know  not  whom, 
and  I  am  alive ;  and  is  not  this  a  great  mercy  ! 

But  what  have  I  done  to  show  my  gratitude  to  God  ?  And 
have  I  received  these  blessings  with  humility,  and  with  a 
sense  of  my  entire  dependence  upon  the  Giver  of  all  good  ? 
Plave  I  striven  to  keep  up  a  lively  intercourse  with  Heaven 
by  prayer,  by  reading,  and  meditation  ?  Has  my  deport- 
ment before  the  world  been  so  guarded  that  no  reproach 
may  be  brought  upon  the  Christian  name ;  in  short,  have  I 
striven  to  lead  the  life  of  a  Christian  ?  I  must  plead  guilty, 
inasmuch  as  my  obedience  has  been  very  imperfect,  and 
sin  has  not  always  been  excluded.  Still  I  hope  that  God 
may  have  seen  something  good  in  me  by  his  grace,  and  that 
I  have  not  wholly  neglected  my  religious  duties  while  I 
have  received  innumerable  blessings. 

My  devotions,  although  generally  performed  at  stated  in- 
tervals, have  been  sometimes  omitted,  or  performed  with 
coldness  and  constraint,  and  worldly  thoughts  have  too  often 
intruded  in  the  hours  of  public  worship,  and  opportunities 
of  doing  and  obtaining  good  have  not  always  been  made 
use  of  as  they  should  have  been.  My  deportment  has  been 
too  unguarded  before  the  world,  and  I  have  been  wanting 
in  zeal,  in  love,  and  engagedness  in  the  Christian  life. 

For  all  these  things  I  desire  to  humble  myself  before 
God ;  and  I  ask  his  gracious  aid  to  walk  hereafter  more 
worthily  of  my  Christian  profession. 

This  day  I  have  again  approached  the  table  of  the  Lord, 
and  I  hope  I  may  not  have  partaken  unworthily  of  the 
sacred  elements  that  represent  the  great  sacrifice  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ 

God  only  knows  whether  another  anniversary  of  this  day 
will  be  granted  to  me,  or  whether  I  shall  sooner  be  called 


86  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

to  give  up  my  account.  O  Heavenly  Father,  I  implore 
thine  aid  through  the  Spirit  of  truth,  should  my  life  be 
spared  another  year,  to  enable  me  to  live  more  agreeably 
to  the  character  of  a  Christian ;  more  agreeably  to  thy  re- 
vealed will,  and  to  my  own  solemn  professions ;  and  wilt 
Thou  assist  me  this  clay  to  renew  my  covenant  with  Thee, 
and,  having  renewed  it,  to  keep  it  inviolate. 

Other  proofs  remain  of  the  sincerity  with  which 
he  entered  upon  the  Christian  life.  Thenceforward, 
in  all  his  plans,  he  had  a  conscious  reference  to  the 
Divine  will  and  to  the  realities  of  the  invisible  world. 
No  one  who  peruses  this  memoir  will  find  reason  to 
doubt  that  he  served  God. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:    A  STUDENT  OF  CHEMISTRY  IN 
PHILADELPHIA. 

His  Long  Acquaintance  with  Yale  College.  — The  Study  of  Science  in 
Yale  College  in  the  Last  Century.  —  His  Consultation  with  Dr.  Dwight, 
and  the  Offer  of  the  Professorship  of  Chemistry.  —  His  Reasons  for  Ac- 
ci'pting  this  Proposal.  —  His  Election  to  the  Office.  —  His  First  Winter 
in  Philadelphia  (1802-3).  — His  Fellow-Boarders  at  Mrs.  Smith's.  — Dr. 
Woodhouse's  Lectures.  —  His  Association  with  Robert  Hare.  —  The 
Oxy-Hydrogen  Blow-Pipe.  —  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush. — Dr.  Barton's  Lec- 
tures. —  Dr.  Wistar's  Lectures.  —  Interview  with  Dr.  Priestley.  —  Sum- 
mer of  1803  at  New  Haven.  —  Brief  Residence  in  Princeton.  —  Dr. 
John  Maclean.  —  President  Smith.  —  His  Second  Winter  in  Philadel- 
phia (1803-4).  —  His  Acquaintance  in  that  City.  —  Correspondence 
with  G.  S.  Silliman,  Moses  Stuart,  J.  L.  Kingsley,  £c. 

FROM  this  point  we  are  able  to  avail  ourselves  of 
Mr.  Silli man's  own  Reminiscences.  When  he  com- 
menced this  Record,  he  had  chiefly  in  view  that 
department  of  instruction  in  Yale  College  with  the 
origin  and  growth  of  which  he  was  so  closely  con- 
nected. He  accordingly  begins  with  a  notice  of  his 
relations  to  the  College. 

MY  own  membership  in  Yale  College  as  an  under-grad- 
uate  extended  from  September,  1792,  to  September,  1796; 
jJEt.  13  to  17.  Its  concerns  continued  to  be  known  to  me 
during  the  two  succeeding  years,  when  I  did  not  reside  in 
New  Haven.  In  October,  1798,  I  resumed  my  residence 
here,  and  was  engaged  in  the  study  of  the  law.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1799,  I  was  appointed  a  tutor  in  Yale  College, 
20.)  In  October  following  I  entered  upon  the  duties 


88  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

of  that  office,  and  remained  in  the  instruction  and  govern- 
ment of  the  Institution  until  1 853,  when  I  fully  resigned, 
Laving  made  an  overture  for  a  resignation  in  1850,  which 
was  not  accepted.  During  this  period,  on  two  different 
occasions,  I  passed  nearly  two  years  abroad.  By  invitation 
of  the  Corporation  and  Faculty  of  the  College,  I  continued 
to  give  the  chemical  lectures  to  the  termination  of  the 
course  of  1853,  and  the  lectures  on  mineralogy  and  geol- 
ogy until  the  termination  of  the  academic  year  of  1855. 
My  personal  knowledge  of  Yale  College  has  covered  more 
than  sixty  years,  and  therefore,  as  to  historical  facts,  I  may 
be  regarded  as  a  competent  witness  during  more  than  one 
third  of  the  period  of  its  existence. 

A  primary  object  in  the  institution  of  the  College  was 
the  education  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel.  Classical  learn- 
ing was,  therefore,  the  principal  object  of  attention,  and  so 
it  continued  to  be  until  my  time.  To  train  young  men  to 
write  and  to  speak  was  the  great  effort  of  the  instructors. 
Theological,  ethical,  and  metaphysical  subjects  were  much 
cultivated,  and  logic  was  also  a  prominent  topic.  The 
mathematics  were  not  forgotten,  and  their  value  was  appre- 
ciated. The  discoveries  of  Newton  in  the  preceding  cen- 
tury had  given  great  dignity  and  attractiveness  to  astron- 
omy and  to  physical  dynamics,  and  there  were  always  in 
the  College  devotees  to  these  sciences  and  to  mathematics. 
The  Rev.  President  Clap— 1739  to  1766  —  was  an  emi- 
nent mathematician  and  astronomer ;  and  the  Rev.  Presi- 
dent Stiles —  1777  to  1795  —  in  addition  to  a  wide  range 
of  knowledge  on  almost  all  subjects,  was  an  ardent  devo- 
tee to  astronomy.  It  was  said  that  he  cherished  the  hope 
that  in  the  future  life  he  would  be  permitted  to  visit  the 
planets,  and  to  examine  the  rings  of  Saturn  and  the  belts 
and  satellites  of  Jupiter.  He  continued  to  my  time,  hav- 
ing died  in  1795,  in  the  May  vacation  of  my  Junior  year. 

In  the  first  century  of  Yale  College,  a  single  room  was 
appropriated  to  apparatus  in  physics.  It  was  in  the  old 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:   STUDIES   IN  PHILADELPHIA.      89 

college,  second  loft,  northeast  corner,  now  No.  56.  It  was 
papered  on  the  walls ;  the  floor  was  sanded,  and  the  win- 
dow-shutters were  always  kept  closed  except  when  visitors 
or  students  were  introduced.  There  was  an  air  of  mys- 
tery about  the  room,  and  we  entered  it  with  awe,  increas- 
ing to  admiration  after  we  had  seen  something  of  the 
apparatus  and  the  experiments.  There  was  an  air-pump, 
an  electrical  machine  of  the  cylinder  form,  a  whirling 
table,  a  telescope  of  medium  size,  and  some  of  smaller  di- 
mensions ;  a  quadrant,  a  set  of  models  for  illustrating  the 
mechanical  powers,  a  condensing  fountain  with  jets  cTeau, 
a  theodolite,  and  a  magic  lantern — the  wonder  of  Freshmen. 
These  were  the  principal  instruments ;  they  were  of  con- 
siderable value :  they  served  to  impart  valuable  informa- 
tion, and  to  enlarge  the  students'  knowledge  of  the  ma- 
terial world.  AVe  should  not  now  undervalue  the  mental 
culture,  and  certainly  the  discipline,  of  the  first  century  in 
Yale  College.  In  relation  to  the  early  condition  of  the 
country,  the  means  of  education  were  commensurate  with 
the  demands  of  the  community,  and  great  and  wise  and 
good  and  useful  men  were  trained  in  Yale  College  in  those 
times,  many  of  whom  have  left  their  mark  on  the  passing 
age  in  which  they  lived. 

During  my  novitiate,  chemistry  was  scarcely  ever  named. 
I  well  remember  when  I  received  my  earliest  impressions 
in  relation  to  chemistry.  Professor  Josiah  Meigs  —  1794 
to  1801 — delivered  lectures  on  natural  philosophy  from 
the  pulpit  of  the  College  Chapel.  He  was  a  gentleman  of 
great  intelligence,  and  had  read  Chaptal,  Lavoisier,  and 
other  chemical  writers  of  the  French  school.  From  these, 
and  perhaps  other  sources,  he  occasionally  introduced 
chemical  facts  and  principles  in  common  with  those  of 
natural  philosophy.  I  heard  from  him  (JEt  15  and  1C)  that 
water  contains  a  great  amount  of  heat  which  does  not 
make  the  water  any  hotter  to  the  touch  or  to  the  ther- 
mometer ;  that  this  heat  comes  out  of  the  water  when  it 


90  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILL1MAX 

freezes,  and  still  the  freezing  water  is  not  warmed  by  the 
escaping  heat,  except  when  the  water  has  been  cooled  be- 
low the  freezing-point  before  freezing ;  then,  when  it  actu- 
ally freezes,  the  temperature  rises  to  32°  ;  and  that  all  this 
heat  must  be  reabsorbed  by  the  ice  when  it  melts,  and  then 
becomes  latent,  as  if  it  were  extinguished,  but  is  again  to 
escape  when  the  ice  melts  anew.  This  appeared  to  me 
very  surprising ;  and  still  more  astonishing  did  ii  appear 
that  boiling  water  cannot  be  made  any  hotter  by  urging 
the  fire.  My  curiosity  being  awakened,  I  opened  an 
encyclopedia,  and  there  read  that  balloons  were  inflated 
by  an  inflammable  gas  obtained  from  water ;  and  I  looked 
with  intense  interest  at  the  figures  representing  the  ap- 
paratus, by  means  of  which  steam,  made  to  pass  through 
an  ignited  gun-barrel,  came  out  inflammable  gas  at  the 
other  end  of  the  tube.  These  and  similar  things  created 

& 

in  my  youthful  mind  a  vivid  curiosity  to  know  more  of 
the  science  to  which  they  appertained.  Little  did  I  then 
imagine  that  Providence  held  this  duty  and  pleasure  in 
reserve  for  me. 

President  Dwiglit  and  his  enlarged  Views.  —  (1795  to 
1817.)  —  This  great  man  was  the  successor  of  the  l»ev. 
Dr.  Stiles,  who  was  both  a  living  polyglot  and  a  living 
encyclopedia.  President  Dwight,  if  his  vigorous  mind  at 
the  meridian  age  of  forty-three  was  not  overrunning,  like 
that  of  Dr.  Stiles,  with  every  variety  of  curious  lore,  it  in- 
cluded in  his  wide  range  of  vision  all  the  great  branches 
of  human  knowledge.  A  divine,  a  poet,  a  rhetorician,  a 
scholar,  and  a  high-bred  gentleman,  he,  when  physical 
science  did  not  swny  the  universal  mind  as  now,  still  saw 
with  a  telescopic  view  both  its  intrinsic  importance  and  its 
practical  relations  to  the  wants  of  man  and  to  the  progress 
of  human  society.  Chemistry  early  attracted  his  attention, 
and  although  he  had  never  been  personally  conversant 
with  the  science,  it  was  apparent  from  his  remarks  that  he 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:    STUDIES   IN  PHILADELPHIA.      91 

understood  its  nature  and  its  position  among  the  physical 
sciences.  I  was,  on  an  early  occasion,  much  impressed  with 
the  correctness  of  his  views,  when  I  accidentally  overheard 
him  on  the  door-steps  of  the  Laboratory  replying  to  a  lady, 
a  stranger,  who  asked  him,  "  Pray  sir,  what  is  chemistry  ?  " 
To  her  he  correctly  and  forcibly  enunciated  its  nature  and 
object. 

I  have  already  mentioned  that  I  returned  to  New  Haven 
in  1 798,  (it  was  in  October,)  and  that  I  then  commenced 
the  study  of  the  law.  This  course  of  study,  after  my  ap- 
pointment as  tutor  in  Yale  College,  I  continued  collaterally 
with  my  duties  of  instruction  ;  and  having  advanced  nearly 
through  the  third  year  of  my  studies,  I  was  favorably  im- 
pressed by  an  overture  for  an  establishment  in  a  distant 
State.  A  proposal  was  made  to  me,  through  some  of  my 
college  friends  in  Georgia,  to  take  charge  of  the  important 
and  flourishing  academy  at  Sunbury  in  Liberty  County,  not 
far  from  Savannah.  As  this  county  was  settled  by  a  Puritan 
population,  —  emigrants  from  the  colony  of  Old  Plymouth 
and  Dorchester,  —  its  people  retained  the  institutions  and 
habits  of  their  Northern  friends ;  and  those  persons  from 
Liberty  County  whom  I  had  known  contributed  to  confirm 
my  favorable  impressions.  My  Southern  friends  represented 
to  me  that  a  liberal  income,  enjoyed  for  a  few  years,  would 
aid  me  in  passing  into  the  practice  of  law  in  Georgia,  and 
thus  I  might  obtain  an  establishment  in  a  country  where  the 
profession  commanded  more  ample  rewards  than  at  the 
North. 

While  I  was  deliberating  upon  this  important  subject,  I 
met  President  Dwight,  one  very  warm  morning  in  July, 
1801,  under  the  shade  of  the  grand  trees  in  the  street  in 
front  of  the  college  buildings,  when,  after  the  usual  saluta- 
tions, we  lingered,  and  conversation  ensued.  He  had  been 
a  warm  personal  friend  of  my  deceased  father ;  and  their 
residences  being  but  three  miles  apart,  —  Holland  Elill  and 
Greenfield  Hill,  both  in  Fairfield,  —  an  active  interest  was 


92  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

maintained  between  them  and  their  families.  The  Pres- 
ident having  ever,  and  particularly  since  his  accession  to 
the  presidency  in  1795,  taken  a  parental  interest  in  the 
welfare  of  my  brother  and  myself,  —  my  brother  Gold.  S. 
Silliman  and  myself  were  classmates,  —  I  felt  it  to  be  both 
a  privilege  and  a  duty  to  ask  his  advice  on  this  occasion. 
After  I  had  stated  the  case  to  him,  he  promptly  replied, 
and  with  his  usual  decision  said  :  "  I  advise  you  not  to  go 
to  Georgia.  I  would  not  voluntarily,  unless  under  the  in- 
fluence of  some  commanding  moral  duty,  go  to  live  in  a 
country  where  slavery  is  established ;  you  must  encounter, 
moreover,  the  dangers  of  the  climate,  and  may  die  of  a  fever 
within  two  years.  I  have  still  other  reasons  which  I  will 
now  proceed  to  state  to  you."  He  then  proceeded  to  say 
that  the  corporation  of  the  College  had,  several  years  before, 
at  his  recommendation,  passed  a  vote  or  resolution  to  estab- 
lish a  Professorship  of  Chemistry  and  Natural  History  as 
soon  as  the  funds  would  admit  of  it.  The  time,  he  said, 
had  now  arrived  when  the  College  could  safely  carry  the 
resolution  into  effect.  lie  said,  however,  that  it  was  at 
present  impossible  to  find  among  us  a  man  properly  qual- 
ified to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office.  He  remarked, 
moreover,  that  a  foreigner,  with  his  peculiar  habits  and  prej- 
udices, would  not  feel  and  act  in  unison  with  us,  and  that 
however  able  he  might  be  in  point  of  science,  he  would  not 
understand  our  college  system,  and  might  therefore  not  act 
in  harmony  with  his  colleagues. 

He  saw  no  way  but  to  select  a  young  man  worthy  of 
confidence,  and  allow  him  time,  opportunity,  and  pecuniary 
aid  to  enable  him  to  acquire  the  requisite  science  and  skill, 
and  wait  for  him  until  he  should  be  prepared  to  begin.  He 
decidedly  preferred  one  of  our  own  young  men  born  and 
trained  among  us,  and  possessed  of  our  habits  and  sympa- 
thies. 

The  President  then  did  me  the  honor  to  propose  that 
I  should  consent  to  have  my  name  presented  to  the  Cor- 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:  STUDIES  IN  PHILADELPHIA.      93 

poration,  giving  me  at  the  same  time  the  assurance  of  his 
cordial  support,  and  of  his  belief  that  the  appointment 
would  be  made.  I  was  then  approaching  twenty-two  years 
of  age,  —  still  a  youth,  or  only  entering  on  early  manhood. 
I  was  startled  and  almost  oppressed  by  the  proposal.  A 
profession,  —  that  of  the  law,  —  in  the  study  of  which  I  was 
already  far  advanced,  was  to  be  abandoned,  and  a  new  pro- 
fession was  to  be  acquired,  preceded  by  a  course  of  study 
and  of  preparation  too,  in  a  direction  in  which  in  Connecti- 
cut there  was  no  precedent. 

The  good  President  perceived  both  my  surprise  and  my 
embarrassment,  and  with  his  usual  kindness  and  resource 
proceeded  to  remark  to  this  effect :  —  "I  could  not  propose 
to  you  a  course  of  life  and  of  effort  which  would  promise 
more  usefulness  or  more  reputation.  The  profession  of 
law  does  not  need  you  ;  it  is  already  full,  and  many  eminent 
men  adorn  our  courts  of  justice  ;  you  may  also  be  obliged 
to  cherish  a  hope  long  deferred,  before  success  would  crown 
your  efforts  in  that  profession,  although,  if  successful,  you 
may  become  richer  by  the  law  than  you  can  by  science. 
In  the  profession  which  I  proffer  to  you  there  will  be  no 
rival  here.  The  field  will  be  all  your  own.  The  study 
will  be  full  of  interest  and  gratification,  and  the  presenta- 
tion which  you  will  be  able  to  make  of  it  to  the  college 
classes  and  the  public  will  afford  much  instruction  and 
delight.  Our  country,  as  regards  the  physical  sciences,  is 
rich  in  unexplored  treasures,  and  by  aiding  in  their  develop- 
ment you  will  perform  an  important  public  service,  and 
connect  your  name  with  the  rising  reputation  of  our  native 
land.  Time  will  be  allowed  to  make  every  necessary  prep- 
aration ;  and  when  you  enter  upon  your  duties,  you  will 
speak  to  those  to  whom  the  subject  will  be  new.  You  will 
advance  in  the  knowledge  of  your  profession  more  rapidly 
than  your  pupils  can  follow  you,  and  will  be  always  ahead 
of  your  audience." 

Thus   encouraged  by   remarks  so  forcibly  put  and  so 


94  LIFE   OF    BENJAMIN    SILLIMAN. 

kindly  suggested,  I  expressed  my  earnest  and  most  respect- 
ful thanks  for  the  honor  and  advantages  so  unexpectedly 
offered  to  me,  and  asked  for  a  few  weeks  for  consideration 
and  for  consultation  with  my  nearest  friends.  We  then 
emerged  from  under  the  shade  of  those  noble  elms,  and  I 
retired,  thoughtful  and  pensive,  to  my  chamber.  The  con- 
fidence reposed  in  me  by  President  Dwight,  and  thus  ten- 
dered in  advance,  increased  my  sense  of  responsibility  in 
view  of  a  highly  important  and  arduous  undertaking.  I 
felt  it,  however,  to  be  a  relief  to  escape  from  the  practice 
of  the  law,  which  never  appeared  to  me  desirable.  There 
are  indeed  bright  spots  in  a  career  at  the  Bar :  right  may 
sometimes  be  vindicated  against  wrong,  and  injured  inno- 
cence protected ;  but  the  temptation  would  often  be  strong 
—  especially  when  backed  by  wealth  —  to  contend  against 
justice,  and  by  force  of  talent  and  address  to  make  the 
worse  appear  the  better  cause,  and  to  screen  the  guilty  from 
punishment,  the  fraudulent  from  the  payment  that  is  justly 
due.  If  one  could  always  be  engaged  in  a  good  cause,  and 
could  be  at  liberty  to  follow  the  promptings  of  his  con- 
science, without  suppression  or  perversion  of  truth,  or  con- 
cealment or  palliation  of  wrong,  then  indeed  the  practice 
of  law  would  appear  most  desirable  and  honorable  ;  and 
with  requisite  talent  and  learning,  and  the  impulses  of  a 
generous  temperament,  a  career  at  the  Bar  might  be  truly 
noble  ;  but  having  been  a  diligent  and  attentive  listener  in 
the  courts  of  law  during  my  course  of  study  of  the  pro- 
fession, I  had  seen  that  the  beau-ideal  sketch  was  too  often 
merely  a  picture  of  the  imagination.  The  associations 
which  the  practice  of  the  law  creates  are  often  highly 
undesirable.  Often  the  most  unworthy  part  of  mankind 
throng  the  courts  of  justice,  or  are  compelled  to  appear 
there  by  the  mandate  of  law,  and  the  practising  lawyer  is 
obliged  to  consort  with  the  weak  and  the  wicked,  as  well 
as  with  the  wise  and  good.  Such  were  some  of  the  thoughts 
which  occurred  to  me  on  the  first  view  of  the  question  of 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:   STUDIES  IN  PHILADELPHIA.     95 

changing  professions.  On  the  other  hand,  the  study  of 
Nature  appeared  very  attractive.  In  her  works  there  is  no 
falsehood,  although  there  are  mysteries  to  unveil,  which  is 
a  very  interesting  achievement.  Everything  in  Nature  is 
Straightforward  and  consistent.  There  are  no  polluting 
influences ;  all  the  associations  with  these  pursuits  are  ele- 
vated and  virtuous,  and  point  towards  the  infinite  Creator. 
My  taste  also  led  me  in  this  direction,  and  I  anticipated  no 
sacrifice  of  feeling  in  relinquishing  the  prospect  of  practice 
at  the  liar,  although  I  had  no  occasion  to  regret  that  I  had 
spent  much  time  in  the  study  of  the  noble  science  of  the 
law,  founded  as  it  is  in  sound  reason  and  ethics,  and  sacred 
to  the  best  interests  of  mankind. 

Consultation  with  Friends.  —  Prominent  among  them  was 
a  wise  and  good  mother,  standing  in  the  place  of  an  excel- 
lent father,  whom  death  had  removed  when  I  had  attained 
but  half  of  my  then  present  age.  To  her  and  to  a  higher 
Tribunal  I  had  chief  reference,  and  I  found  the  impression 
gaining  strength  in  my  mind  in  favor  of  the  pursuits  of 
science.  I  therefore  decided  to  accept  the  proffered  nomi- 
nation of  the  President,  and  to  take  my  chance  of  appoint- 
ment by  the  corporation.  As  I  was,  however,  drawing  near 
to  the  close  of  my  term  of  legal  study,  I  resolved  to  con- 
tinue my  efforts  in  that  direction,  and  secure  an  .admission 
to  the  Bar  as  a  retreat  in  case  of  disaster  to  the  College 
from  the  violence  of  party  spirit.  President  Dvvight  was 
an  ardent  Federalist  of  the  Washington  School,  and  his 
eloquent  appeals  excited  the  hostility  of  the  rising  Democ- 
racy. I  stood  my  examination  successfully,  as  conducted 
by  the  Hon.  David  Daggett  on  the  19th  and  20th  of 
March,  1802.  I  was  admitted,  with  the  usual  oath,  to  the 
Bar  of  Connecticut,  in  company  with  my  friends  and  fellow- 
students,  Charles  Denison  and  Myron  Holley.  President 
Dwight  kindly  consented  to  remain,  for  the  present,  silent, 
and  I  continued  to  act  and  teach  as  a  tutor,  until  the  devel- 


96  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

opment  took  place  which  is  announced  in  the  following 
paragraphs. 

President  Dwight  had  been  in  office  but  three  years  be- 
fore he  procured  the  passage  of  the  following  resolution, 
which  is  taken  from  the  record  of  the  doings  of  the  Presi- 
dent and  Fellows  of  Yale  College  at  their  regular  meeting, 
Sept.  12,  1798:  — 

"  Voted,  That  a  Professorship  of  Chemistry  and  Natural 
History  be  instituted  in  this  College  as  soon  as  the  funds 
shall  be  sufficiently  productive  to  support  it." 

From  the  doings  of  the  same,  Sept.  7,  1802,  four  years 
later :  — 

Whereas,  in  Sept.  1798,  it  was  voted  by  this  Board  that 
a  Professorship  of  Chemistry  and  Natural  History  be  insti- 
tuted in  this  College  as  soon  as  the  funds  shall  be  suffi- 
ciently productive  to  support  it ;  arid  it  now  appearing  that 
the  funds  are  adequate  to  the  object,  — 

"  Voted,  That  a  Professorship  of  Chemistry  and  Natural 
History  be,  and  it  is  hereby,  instituted  in  this  College. 

"  Voted,  That  it  is  expedient  to  elect,  for  a  Professor  of 
Chemistry  and  Natural  History,  some  person  of  competent 
talents,  giving  him  such  time  to  give  his  answer  whether  he 
will  accept  such  appointment  or  not,  as  he  may  desire,  and 
as  may  be  agreed  on  between  him  and  the  Corporation. 

"  The  Corporation  being  led  to  the  choice  of  a  Professor 
of  Chemistry  and  Natural  History  in  this  College,  on  the 
provisions  of  the  foregoing  vote, 

BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN,  ESQ., 
was  declared  chosen." 

The  secret  had  been  faithfully  kept  by  President  Dwight 
and  the  small  number  of  friends  to  whom  it  had  been  con- 
fided. The  appointment  was,  of  course,  a  cause  of  wonder 
to  all,  and  of  cavil  to  political  enemies  of  the  College.  Al- 
though I  persevered  in  my  legal  studies,  as  already  men- 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:  STUDIES   IN  PHILADELPHIA.     97 

tioned,  I,  soon  after  the  confidential  communication  of 
President  Dwight,  obtained  a  few  books  on  chemistry,  and 
kept  them  secluded  in  my  secretary,  occasionally  reading 
in  them  privately.  This  reading  did  not  profit  rne  much. 
Some  general  principles  were  intelligible,  but  it  became 
at  once  obvious  to  me  that  to  see  and  perform  experi- 
ments, and  become  familiar  with  many  substances,  was 
indispensable  to  any  progress  in  chemistry,  and  of  course 
I  must  resort  to  Philadelphia,  which  presented  more  advan- 
tages in  science  than  any  other  place  in  our  country.  As 
to  my  appointment,  when  ignorant  of  the  science  I  was 
appointed  to  teach,  it  was  easily  explained  and  vindicated 
to  all  reasonable  people  by  such  suggestions  made  by  Pres- 
ident Dwight  himself  as  are  recorded  above.  I  was  not 
elated  by  the  appointment ;  but  having  youth,  health,  zeal, 
energy,  and  perseverance  on  my  side,  1  did  not,  with  God's 
blessing,  despair  of  success. 

FIRST   RESIDENCE    IN   PHILADELPHIA. 

(Nov.  1802  to  March  1803.)  —  Absent  from  New  Haven 
from  Oct.  20th  to  March  17th,  —  four  months  and  twenty- 
one  days.  I  was  all  the  time,  except  six  days,  in  Philadel- 
phia. I  arrived  in  Philadelphia  at  the  close  of  a  season  of 
yellow  fever,  having  never  been  there  before.  The  city  was 
comparatively  deserted ;  the  streets  were  quiet,  and  an  air 
of  anxiety  was  visible  in  the  aspect  of  the  remaining  citi- 
zens. Still,  as  cool  weather  had  commenced,  no  serious 
danger  was  apprehended,  and  by  the  recommendation  of 
my  friends,  Charles  and  Elihu  Chauncey,  I  engaged  lodg- 
ings with  them  at  Mrs.  Smith's,  corner  of  Dock  and  Walnut 
streets.  Dock  Street  runs  diagonally  from  the  river,  cross- 
ing Walnut  Street  at  an  acute  angle,  and  there  a  wedge- 
shaped  house  had  been  erected  which  was  now  to  be  my 
home  for  four  months,  both  in  this  year  and  the  next. 

This  house  attracted  a  select  class  of  gentlemen.  The 
Connecticut  members  of  Congress  resorted  to  it,  I  believe, 

VOL.   I.  7 


98  LIFE   OF   BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

while  the  government  was  in  Philadelphia ;  and  after  its 
removal,  as  they  were  passing  to  and  from  Washington,  it 
was  a  temporary  resting-place.  Other  gentlemen  of  intel- 
ligence were  among  its  inmates,  and  several  of  them,  being 
men  of  great  promise,  were  then  rising  into  the  early  stages 
of  that  eminence  which  they  attained  in  subsequent  years. 
Among  them  were  Horace  Binney,  Charles  Channcey, 
Elihu  Chauncey,  Robert  Hare,  John  Wallace  and  his 
brother  ;  and  as  frequent  visitors,  John  Sargeant  and  George 
Vanx.  There  were  occasionally  other  gentlemen,  but  those 
I  have  named  were  our  stars.  Alas !  of  the  eight  whom  I 
have  named  only  two  remain  ;  and  if  I  add  myself, —  then 
an  almost  unknown  young  man,  —  the  circle  of  names  will 
be  nine,  and  the  survivors  three,  —  Horace  Binney,  Robert 
Hare,  and  B.  Silliman.*  Horace  Binney,  Charles  Chauncey, 
and  John  Sargeant  rose  to  the  head  of  the  Philadelphia 
Bar,  and  John  Sargeant  was  afterwards  a  member  of  Con- 
gress, and,  I  believe,  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 
Robert  Hare  took  the  first  rank  as  a  chemist  and  philoso- 
pher ;  Elihu  Chauncey  was  an  eminent  banker  and  finan- 
cier, and  the  Wallaces  and  Vaux  were  most  agreeable 
gentlemen,  —  Vaux,  a  Quaker,  but  warm-hearted  and  of 
easy,  polished  manners.  Enos  Bronson,  of  Connecticut 
and  Yale  College,  was  also  of  our  number.  He  edited  the 
"  United  States  Gazette  "  with  much  talent. 

The  gentlemen  whom  I  have  named,  with  the  friends  and 
visitors  that  were  by  them  attracted  to  the  house,  formed  a 
brilliant  circle  of  high  conversational  powers.  They  were 
educated  men,  of  elevated  position  in  society,  and  their 
manners  were  in  harmony  with  their  training.  Rarely  in 
my  progress  in  life  have  I  met  with  a  circle  of  gentlemen 
who  surpassed  them  in  courteous  manners,  in  brilliant 
intelligence,  sparkling  sallies  of  wit  and  pleasantry,  and 
cordial  greeting  both  among  themselves  and  with  friends 
and  strangers  who  were  occasionally  introduced.  Our 
hostess,  Mrs.  Smith,  a  high-spirited  and  efficient  woman, 
*  Dr.  Hare  died  May  15th,  1858. 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:  STUDIES   IN  PHILADELPHIA.     99 

was  liberal  almost  to  a  fault,  and  furnished  her  table 
even  luxuriously.  Our  habits  were,  indeed,  in  other  re- 
spects far  from  those  of  teetotalers.  No  person  of  that 
description  was  in  our  circle.  On  the  contrary,  agreeably 
to  the  custom  which  prevailed  in  the  boarding-houses  of 
our  cities  half  a  century  ago,  every  gentleman  furnished 
himself  with  a  decanter  of  wine,  —  usually  a  metallic  or 
other  label  being  attached  to  the  neck,  and  bearing  the 
name  of  the  owner.  Healths  were  drunk,  especially  if 
stranger  guests  were  present,  and  a  glass  or  two  was  not 
considered  excessive,  —  sometimes  two  or  three,  according 
to  circumstances.  Porter  or  other  strong  beer  was  used 
at  table  as  a  beverage.  As  Robert  Hare  was  a  brewer  of 
porter  and  was  one  of  our  number,  his  porter  was  in  high 
request,  and  indeed  it  was  of  an  excellent  quality.  I  do 
not  remember  any  water-drinker  at  our  table  or  in  the 
house,  for  total  abstinence  was  not  there  thought  of  except, 
perhaps,  by  some  wise  and  far-seeing  Franklin. 

Accustomed  to  a  simple  diet  in  New  Haven,  without 
wine  or  porter,  and  perhaps  with  only  cider  at  dinner,  the 
new  life  to  which  I  was  now  introduced  did  not  agree  well 
with  my  health.  Occasionally,  vertigo  disturbed  my  head, 
and  the  nervous  system  was  affected.  At  the  end  of  both 
seasons  in  Philadelphia  I  had  made  some  progress  towards 
incipient  gout.  On  my  knuckles,  what  appeared  to  be 
chalky  concretions  began  to  form,  which  however  went 
away  after  my  return  to  New  Haven  and  to  my  usual  mode 
of  living.  In  the  upper  classes  of  society  in  Philadelphia, 
the  habits  of  living  were  then  very  luxurious  and  the  spirit 
worldly.  In  my  case,  the  effects  of  luxurious  living  were 
to  a  degree  counteracted  by  vigorous  exercise.  Often  I 
walked  with  my  friend  Charles  Chauncey,  even  in  severe 
weather  and  before  breakfast,  to  the  river  Schuylkill,  two 
to  two  and  a  half  miles,  and  of  course  four  to  five  miles 
out  and  back  ;  and  Robert  Hare's  brewery,  one  and  a  half 
mile  up  town,  often  gave  the  occasion  of  useful  exercise : 


100  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

he  became  a  warm  friend  to  me.  There  were  no  outward 
manifestations  of  religion  in  our  boarding-house.  Grace 
was,  I  believe,  never  said  at  table,  nor  did  I  ever  hear  a 
prayer  in  the  house.  I  trust  that  private  personal  prayers 
ascended  from  some  hearts  and  lips,  in  a  house  where  so 
many  were  amiable  and  worthy,  although  without  a  relig- 
ious garb.  On  the  Sabbath,  some  of  our  gentlemen  re- 
sorted to  the  churches,  and  some  dined  out  on  that  day. 
For  myself  I  attended,  almost  without  exception,  the 
church  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ashbel  Green.  He  was  an  excel- 
lent preacher,  and  I  was  favored  with  his  kind  regard. 
Rev.  Dr.  Janeway  was  his  colleague,  and  preached  with 
ability.  My  friend  Charles  Chauncey  was  generally  my 
companion  at  Dr.  Green's  church  in  Arch  Street.  Mrs. 
Smith  and  her  daughter  Elizabeth  also  attended  in  this 
church,  —  they  held  Dr.  Green  in  high  reverence,  and  re- 
spected religion.  He  was  afterwards  and  for  many  years 
President  of  Princeton  College. 

My  Opportunities  for  Professional  Improvement.  —  The 
lectures  on  chemistry  by  Dr.  James  Woodhouse  formed  a 
part  of  the  course  of  medical  instruction  in  the  Medical 
School  of  Philadelphia.  These  were  given  in  a  small 
building  in  South  Fourth  Street,  opposite  to  the  State- 
House  Yard.  Above,  over  the  laboratory,  was  the  Anatom- 
ical Hall.  Neither  of  these  establishments  was  equal  to 
the  dignity  and  importance  of  the  Medical  School,  and  the 
accommodations  in  both  were  limited  :  the  lecture-rooms 
were  not  capacious  enough  for  more  than  one  hundred  or 
one  hundred  and  twenty  pupils,  and  there  was  a  great  de- 
ficiency of  extra  room  for  the  work,  which  was  limited  to 
a  few  closets.  The  chemical  lectures  were  important  to 
me,  who  had  as  yet  seen  few  chemical  experiments.  Those 
performed  by  Dr.  Woodhouse  were  valuable,  because  every 
fact,  with  its  proof,  was  an  acquisition  to  me.  The  appa- 
ratus was  humble,  but  it  answered  to  exhibit  some  of  the 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:  STUDIES  IN  PHILADELPHIA.  101 

most  important  facts  in  the  science  ;  and  our  instructor 
delighted,  although  he  did  not  excel,  in  the  performance  of 
experiments.  He  had  no  proper  assistant,  and  the  work 
was  imperfectly  done  ;  but  still  it  was  a  treasure  to  me. 
Our  Professor  had  not  the  gift  of  a  lucid  mind,  nor  of  high 
reasoning  powers,  nor  of  a  fluent  diction  ;  still,  we  could 
understand  him,  and  I  soon  began  to  interpret  phenomena 
for  myself  and  to  anticipate  the  explanations.  Dr.  Wood- 
house  was  wanting  in  personal  dignity,  and  was,  out  of 
lecture -hours,  sometimes  jocose  with  the  students.  He 
appeared,  when  lecturing,  as  if  not  quite  at  his  ease,  as 
if  a  little  fearful  that  he  was  not  highly  appreciated,  — as 
indeed  he  was  not  very  highly. 

In  his  person  he  was  short,  with  a  florid  face.  He  was 
always  dressed  with  care  ;  generally  he  wore  a  blue  broad- 
cloth coat  with  metal  buttons ;  his  hair  was  powdered,  and 
his  appearance  was  gentlemanly.  His  lectures  were  quite 
free  from  any  moral  bearing,  nor,  as  far  as  I  remember, 
did  he  ever  make  use  of  any  'of  the  facts  revealed  by 
chemistry,  to  illustrate  the  character  of  the  Creator  as  seen 
in  his  works.  At  the  commencement  of  the  course  he 
treated  with  levity  and  ridicule  the  idea  that  the  visitations 
of  the  yellow  fever  might  be  visitations  of  God  for  the  sins 
of  the  people.  He  imputed  them  to  the  material  agencies 
and  physical  causes,  —  forgetting  that  physical  causes  may 
be  the  moral  agents  of  the  Almighty.  His  treatment  of 
myself  was  courteous.  I  dined  with  him  in  his  snug  little 
bachelor's  establishment,  —  for  he  had  no  family,  and  a 
matron  housekeeper  superintended  his  small  establishment. 
I  should  add  respecting  his  lectures  that  they  were  brief. 
He  generally  occupied  a  fourth  or  a  third  of  the  hour  in 
recapitulating  the  subject  of  the  preceding  lecture,  and  thus 
he  advanced  at  the  rate  of  about  forty  or  forty-five  minutes 
in  a  day. 

At  the  commencement  of  my  first  course  with  him,  in 
1802,  he  had  just  returned  from  London,  where  he  had 


102  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

been  with  Davy  and  other  eminent  men.  He  brought  with 
him  a  galvanic  battery  of  Cruickshank's  construction,  • — the 
first  that  I  had  ever  seen,  —  but  as  it  contained  only  fifty 
pairs  of  plates,  it  produced  little  effect.  Dr.  Woodhouse 
attempted  to  exhibit  the  exciting  effects  of  Davy's  nitrous 
oxide,  but  failed  for  want  of  a  sufficient  quantity  of  gas,  and 
the  tubes  were  too  narrow  for  comfortable  respiration.  He 
did  not  advert  to  these  facts,  but  was  inclined  to  treat  the 
supposed  discovery  as  an  illusion.  I  had  afterwards,  at 
New  Haven,  an  opportunity  to  prove  that  there  was  no 
mistake,  and  that  Davy  had  not  overrated  the  exhilarating 
effects  of  the  gas  when  respired  conveniently  and  in  proper 
quantities,  —  three  or  four  quarts  to  a  person  of  medium 
size,  inhaled  through  a  wide  tube.  An  amusing  occurrence 
happened  one  day  in  the  laboratory.  Hydrogen  gas  was 
the  subject,  and  its  relation  to  life.  It  was  stated  that  an 
animal  confined  in  it  would  die  ;  and  a  living  hen  was,  for 
the  experiment,  immersed  in  the  hydrogen  gas,  with  which 
a  bell-glass  was  filled.  The  hen  gasped,  kicked,  and  lay 
still.  "  There,  gentlemen,"  said  the  Professor,  "  you  see 
she  is  dead  ;"  but  no  sooner  had  the  words  passed  his  lips, 
than  the  hen  with  a  struggle  overturned  the  bell-glass,  and 
with  a  loud  scream  flew  across  the  room,  flapping  the  heads 
of  the  students  with  her  wings,  while  they  were  convulsed 
with  laughter.  The  same  thing  might  have  occurred  to 
any  one  who  had  incautiously  omitted  to  state  that  this  gas 
is  not  poisonous,  like  carbonic  acid,  but  kills,  like  water,  by 
suffocation. 

The  death  of  Dr.  Woodhouse  took  place  in  1815,  I  sup- 
pose from  apoplexy.  He  was  found  dead  in  his  bed.  He 
had  a  short  neck,  and  was  of  a  full  sanguineous  habit. 
The  chemistry  of  that  period  —  that  of  my  attendance  on 
the  lectures  of  Dr.  Woodhouse,  more  than  half  a  century 
ago  —  had  not  attained  the  precision  which  it  now  has. 
The  modern  doctrine  of  definite  proportions  or  ecfuivalent 
proportions  was  then  only  beginning  to  be  understood ;  the 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:  STUDIES  IN  PHILADELPHIA.  103 

combining  proportions  of  bodies  were  generally  given  in 
centesimal  numbers,  and  thus  the  memory  was  burdened, 
and  with  little  satisfaction.  The  modern  analysis  of  organic 
bodies  was  then  hardly  begun.  Galvanism  had  indeed 
awakened  Europe,  and  progress  had  been  made  towards 
those  interesting  developments  which  have  filled  the  world 
with  astonishment ;  but  their  era  was  several  years  later. 
A\Y  may  not,  therefore,  impute  to  a  professor  of  that  period 
the  deficiencies  which  belonged  to  that  stage  of  this  science. 

I  had  not  reason  to  regret  that  I  attended  on  the  lectures 
of  Dr.  Woodhouse.  He  supplied  the  first  stepping-stones 
by  which  I  was  enabled  at  no  distant  day  to  mount  higher. 

The  deficiencies  of  Dr.  Woodhouse's  courses  were,  in  a 
considerable  degree,  made  up  in  a  manner  which  I  could 
not  have  anticipated.  I  have  already  mentioned  that  Robert 
Hare  was  a  fellow-boarder  and  companion  at  Mrs.  Smith's. 
He  was  a  genial,  kind-hearted  man,  one  year  younger  than 
myself,  and  was  already  a  proficient  in  chemistry  upon  the 
scale  of  that  period  ;  and  being  informed  of  my  object  in 
coming  to  Philadelphia,  he  kindly  entered  into  my  views 
and  extended  to  me  his  friendship  and  assistance.  A  small 
working  laboratory  was  conceded  to  us  by  the  indulgence 
of  our  hostess,  Mrs.  Smith,  and  we  made  use  of  a  spare 
cellar-kitchen,  in  which  we  worked  together  in  our  hours 
of  leisure  from  other  pursuits.  Mr.  Hare  had>  one  year 
before,  perfected  his  beautiful  invention  of  the  oxy-hydro- 
gen  blow-pipe,  and  had  presented  the  instrument  to  the 
Chemical  Society  of  Philadelphia.  His  mind  was  much 
occupied  with  the  subject,  and  he  enlisted  me  into  his 
service.  We  worked  much  in  making  oxygen  and  hydrogen 
gases,  burning  them  at  a  common  orifice  to  produce  the 
intense  heat  of  the  instrument.  Hare  was  desirous  of 
making  it  still  more  intense  by  deriving  a  pure  oxygen 
from  chlorate  of  potassa,  then  called  oxy-muriate  of  potassa. 
Chemists  were  then  ignorant  of  the  fact  that,  by  mixing  a 
little  oxide  of  manganese  with  the  chlorate,  the  oxygen  can 


104  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

be  evolved  by  the  heat  of  a  lamp  applied  to  a  glass  retort. 
Hare  thought  it  necessary  to  use  stone  retorts  with  a  fur- 
nace-heat; the  retorts  were  purchased  by  me  at  a  dollar 
each,  and,  as  they  were  usually  broken  in  the  experiment, 
the  research  was  rather  costly ;  but  my  friend  furnished 
experience,  and,  as  I  was  daily  acquiring  it,  I  was  rewarded, 
both  for  labor  and  expense,  by  the  brilliant  results  of  our 
experiments.  Hare's  apparatus  was  ingenious,  but  unsafe 
as  regards  the  storage  of  the  gases.  Novice  as  I  was,  I 
ventured  to  suggest  to  my  more  experienced  friend  that  by 
some  accident  or  blunder  the  gases  —  near  neighbors  as 
they  were  in  their  contiguous  apartments  —  might  become 
mingled,  when,  on  lighting  them  at  the  orifice,  an  explosion 
would  follow.  I  was  afterwards  informed,  although  not  by 
Hare,  that  this  accident  actually  happened  to  him,  although 
with  no  other  mischief  than  a  copious  shower-bath  from  the 
expulsion  of  the  water.  Many  years  afterwards,  Professor 
Hitchcock  at  Amherst,  from  the  same  cause,  met  with  an 
explosion  which  gave  him  a  great  shock,  and  for  a  time 
greatly  impaired  his  hearing. 

After  my  return  to  New  Haven,  I  contrived  a  mode  of 
separating  these  gases  so  effectually  that  they  could  not 
become  mixed.  Eventually  I  employed  separate  gasom- 
eters, one  to  contain  the  oxygen  and  the  other  the  hydro- 
gen, and  during  forty  years  that  they  were  in  use  no  acci- 
dent ever  happened.  On  this  subject  I  may  remark  again 
farther  on.  During  the  second  course  in  Philadelphia 
(winter  of  1803-4)  I  commenced  writing  lectures  on  heat 
and  other  general  topics  of  chemistry,  with  reference  to  the 
commencement  of  my  labors  of  instruction  in  Yale  College. 
I  enjoyed  the  important  assistance  of  the  lectures  of  the 
distinguished  Dr.  Black  of  Edinburgh,  then  recently  pub- 
lished by  his  pupil  and  friend,  Dr.  Robison.  This  book 
was  to  me  a  mine  of  riches.  The  first  edition  of  Thomson's 
Chemistry,  in  four  volumes,  had  then  just  appeared,  and  I 
took  hold  of  it  with  avidity  and  with  profit. 


•POINTED  PROFESSOR:  STUDIES   IX  PHILADELPHIA.   105 

The  temptation  was  strong  to  attend  other  courses  of 
fcures,  and  I  attempted  it ;  but  soon  found  that  I  must 
>nfine  my  attention  mainly  to  my  own  pursuits,  and  there- 

I  relinquished  all,  except  two  extraneous  courses,  which 

II  presently  name. 

I  attended  an  introductory  lecture  of  Dr.  Benjamin 
sh,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  identifying  his  person 
manner,  and  I  occasionally  met  him  in  society.  His 

>ice  was  musical,  his  person  and  features  pleasing,  and 
his  diction  clear  and  emphatic.  Alluding  to  the  use  of  the 
lancet  in  yellow  fever,  he  called  it  in  his  lecture,  that 
"  magnum  donitm  Dei. " 

Dr.  Barton  was  a  learned  professor  of  materia  medico, 
and  Botany,  and  his  name  is  perpetuated  in  several  valu- 
able works.  He  was  also  a  proficient  in  natural  history 
generally,  and  he  offered  a  private  course  —  I  think  —  on 
zoology.  This  I  attended  in  the  evening,  and  was  enter- 
tained and  instructed.  After  the  course  had  advanced  far 
enough  to  make  illustrations  from  specimens  instructive, 
our  Professor  one  evening  remarked  to  us,  that  it  would 
be  desirable  to  visit  Peale's  Museum,  which  was  rich  in 
preserved  specimens  of  animals,  birds,  reptiles,  &c.  The 
week  being  filled  with  lectures,  Dr.  Barton  proposed  that 
we  should  go,  by  special  permission  of  Mr.  Peale,  on  Sun- 
day, as  tli at  was  a  day  of  leisure,  and  then  we  should 
not  be  interfered  with  by  the  usual  visiting  company.  The 
proposition  was  no  sooner  made  than  it  was  adopted  by 
general  silent  consent.  With  some  hesitancy  I  rose,  and 
in  the  most  respectful  terms  stated  that  I  regretted  to  in- 
terfere with  the  wishes  or  convenience  of  the  Professor  and 
the  class,  but  that  for  myself  I  had  other  occupations  on 
the  day  proposed,  and  if  that  were  to  be  the  time,  I  must 
lose  the  instruction.  After  a  moment's  pause,  the  Pro- 
fessor named  Saturday  afternoon,  which  was  adopted.  A 
few  days  after,  when  passing  down  Market  Street,  I  met  a 
Dr.  Parish,  a  young  Quaker  physician,  who  caught  me  by 


10G  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

the  hand,  and  said :  "  Friend  Silliman,  I  was  glad  to  hear 
that  thee  had  objected  to  visiting  Peale's  Museum  on  first 
day,  when  it  was  proposed  by  Dr.  Barton."  First  day  is 
not  sacred  time  with  the  Quakers,  but  they  generally  hold 
meetings  on  that  day,  and  partake,  to  a  degree,  of  the  gen- 
eral reverence  for  the  Sabbath  entertained  in  most  Christian 
countries. 

The  lectures  on  anatomy  and  surgery  by  Dr.  Caspar 
"Wistar  enjoyed  a  high  reputation,  and  I  was  not  willing  to 
resist  the  temptation  to  attend  them,  especially  as  I  ex- 
pected eventually  to  be  connected  with  a  medical  school  in 
New  Haven  ;  and  chemistry,  moreover,  sustains  important 
relations  to  anatomy.  The  lectures  of  Dr.  Wistar  were 
highly  instructive  and  interesting.  He  combined  perfect 
dignity  with  deep  feeling  and  enthusiasm,  which  enabled 
him  to  throw  a  charm  over  his  subject,  revolting  as  many  of 
its  demonstrations  appear  to  an  unprofessional  novice.  So 
great  was  his  command  of  his  class,  that  no  levity  was  mani- 
fested by  them  on  occasions  when  it  would  have  been  with 
difficulty  repressed  by  a  professor  of  an  opposite  character. 
He  had  an  able  demonstrator,  by  whom  the  recent  subjects 
were  skilfully  prepared.  The  structure  of  our  wonderful 
frame  was  most  ably  demonstrated  in  all  its  parts.  Their 
combination  and  use  were  fully  explained,  and  the  reasons 
that  must  have  influenced  the  Creator  in  the  adaptation  of 
every  part  to  every  other  were  made  manifest.  Dr.  Wis- 
tar's  treatment  of  his  classes  was  paternal  and  kind,  and  he 
took  a  deep  interest  in  their  improvement.  On  one  occa- 
sion he  was  demonstrating  the  structure  and  functions  of 
the  eye  and  the  theory  of  vision,  when  a  student  left  the 
theatre.  The  Professor  made  an  abrupt  pause,  and,  with 
evident  and  strong  emotion,  added:  "Gentlemen,  this  is 
the  first  time  I  ever  knew  a  student  to  go  away  during  the 
demonstration  of  this  most  interesting  organ."  Many  of 
these  things  have  remained  for  half  a  century  so  deeply 
impressed  on  my  mind,  that  they  now  appear  vividly, 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:   STUDIES  IN  PHILADELPHIA.   107 

almost  as  if  I  had  heard  them  recently.  I  should  mention 
that  Dr.  Wistar,  when  returning  from  Europe  in  his  early 
manhood,  having  finished  his  professional  studies  abroad, 
landed  at  Boston,  and  in  his  journey  to  Philadelphia, 
stopped  at  New  Haven,  visited  Yale  College,  and  had  an 
interesting  interview  with  President  Stiles.  He  admired 
exceedingly  his  various  and  curious  erudition,  his  enthusi- 
asm and  eloquence,  and  the  winning  courtesy  of  his  man- 
ners. He  seemed  fond  of  returning  to  the  theme,  which 
was  of  course  pleasing  to  me  as  a  son  of  Yale,  who  passed 
almost  three  years  under  the  Presidency  of  Dr.  Stiles. 

Dr.  Wistar  treated  me  with  marked  consideration,  and  I 
was  invited  twice  to  dine  at  his  hospitable  table,  which  was 
supplied  with  an  elegant  and  tasteful  liberality,  but  without 
ostentation.  I  enjoyed  these  occasions  exceedingly.  Dr. 
Wistar  was  childless ;  but  his  wife  seemed  to  be  actuated 
by  the  same  spirit  of  hospitality. 

Meeting  with  Dr.  Joseph  Priestley.  —  This  celebrated 
gentleman  was  also  a  guest  on  one  of  these  occasions, 
when  I  dined  at  Dr.  Wistar's.  As  a  very  young  man,  (of 
twenty-three  or  twenty-four  years,)  I  felt  it  an  honor  and 
advantage  to  be  introduced  to  so  celebrated  an  author 
and  philosopher.  He  had  become  obnoxious  in  his  native 
country  on  account  of  political  and  religious  opinions,  as 
he  was  a  friend  of  civil  liberty,  and  his  religious  creed 
was  Arian,  or  Unitarian.  At  that  time,  during  the  early 
part  of  the  French  revolution,  there  was  a  strong  excite- 
ment in  England  against  revolutionary  sentiments  and 
movements.  Dr.  Priestley  then  resided  at  Birmingham, 
and  during  an  anniversary  commemoration  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Bastile,  although  he  was  not  then  in  the  city, 
the  mob  proceeded  to  his  house,  which  they  burned,  with 
his  library,  apparatus,  and  manuscripts.  All  were  lost; 
and  the  outrage  was  said  to  have  been  countenanced  by 
persons  of  consideration  both  lay  and  clerical.  In  1794 


108  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

he  fled  from  persecution,  and  took  refuge  with  his  family  at 
Northumberland,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  Susquehanna  River. 
Here  he  resumed  his  philosophical  pursuits,  and  made 
occasional  visits  to  Philadelphia.  It  was  on  one  of  these 
occasions  that  I  was  invited  to  meet  him  at  Dr.  Wistar's 
table,  and  the  interview  was  to  me  very  gratifying.  In 
person  he  was  small  and  slender,  and  in  general  outline  of 
person  not  unlike  the  late  President  Stiles.  His  age  was 
then  about  seventy.  His  dress  was  clerical  and  perfectly 
plain.  His  manners  were  mild,  modest,  and  conciliatory  ;  so 
that,  although  in  controversy  a  sturdy  combatant,  he  always 
won  kind  regard  and  favor  in  his  personal  intercourse.  At 
the  dinner,  Dr.  Priestley  was,  of  course,  the  honored  guest, 
and  there  was  no  other  except  one  gentleman  and  myself. 
Some  of  Dr.  Priestley's  remarks  I  remember.  Speak- 
ing of  his  chemical  discoveries,  which  were  very  numerous, 
he  said :  —  "  When  I  had  made  a  discovery,  I  did  not  wait 
to  perfect  it  by  a  more  elaborate  research,  but  at  once 
threw  it  out  to  the  world,  that  I  might  establish  my  claim 
before  I  was  anticipated."  He  remarked  upon  those  pas- 
sages in  the  Epistle  of  John  which  relate  to  the  Trinity, 
that  they  were  modern  interpolations,  not  being  found  in 
the  most  ancient  manuscripts.*  He  spoke  much  of  New- 
ton and  his  discoveries,  and  the  beauty  and  simplicity  of 
his  character  ;  and  I  think  that  he  claimed  him  as  thinking 
in  religion  as  he  himself  did.  He  mentioned  being  present 
at  a  dinner  in  Paris  given  by  the  Count  de  Vergennes 
during  the  American  Revolution,  and  the  seat  next  to  him 
was  occupied  by  a  French  nobleman.  At  another  part  of 
the  table  were  two  gentlemen  dressed  in  canonicals.  When, 
said  Dr.  Priestley,  I  inquired  of  the  nobleman  the  names  of 
those  two  gentlemen,  he  replied :  "  One  of  them  is  Bishop 
So-and-so,  and  the  other  Bishop  So-and-so;  but  they  are 
very  clever  fellows ;  and,  although  they  are  bishops,  they 
don't  believe  anything  more  of  this  mummery  of  Chris- 
*  Dr.  Priestley  doubtless  referred  to  1  John  v.  7.  —  F. 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:  STUDIES  IN  PHILADELPHIA.   109 

tianity  than  you  or  I  do."  "  Speak  for  yourself,  sir,"  I  re- 
plied ;  "  for,  although  I  am  accounted  a  heretic  in  England, 
I  do  believe  what  you  call  '  this  mummery  of  Christianity.'" 
Dr.  Priestley,  whom  I  saw  on  various  occasions,  when  in- 
vited to  dine,  accepted  the  invitation,  but  took  out  his 
memorandum-book  and  noted  the  engagement,  remarking 
that  he  had  now  only  an  artificial  memory.  He  died  in  his 
seventy-first  year,  at  Northumberland,  February  6th,  1801. 
After  rejecting  the  doctrine  of  Phlogiston  in  early  years, 
he  resumed  it  at  a  later  period  of  life  ;  and  it  was  reported 
at  Philadelphia  that  he  was  occupied  on  his  death-bed  in 
correcting  the  proof  of  a  new  pamphlet  on  that  subject. 
He  died  from  inanition,  being  unable  to  take  any  food, — 
his  digestive  powers  being  gone. 

Summer  of  1803,  at  New  Haven. —  On  my  return  to  New 
Haven  in  March,  1803,  I  resumed  the  instruction  of  a  class 
in  the  ordinary  routine  of  college  studies.  I  had  pre- 
viously, in  conjunction  with  my  respected  colleague  and 
friend,  Rev.  Ebenezer  Grant  Marsh,  carried  a  class  through 
the  three  years  from  1799  to  1802.  In  the  fourth  year 
the  class  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  President,  and  was 
graduated  in  1803.  I  ought  to  have  been  released  from  all 
other  duties  of  instruction,  that  I  might  devote  my  time 
entirely  tc»  professional  study ;  but  the  College  was  poor, 
and  it  was  necessary  to  economize  in  the  labor  of  the  offi- 
cers, as  well  as  in  all  other  ways.  Still,  I  found  time  to 
perform  some  experiments,  and  to  construct  apparatus 
which  would  be  available  in  my  future  labors.  I  devoted 
as  much  time  as  possible  to  scientific  studies,  and  was  thus 
the  better  prepared  to  resume  my  residence  in  Philadel- 
phia during  the  next  winter. 

Sri ef  Residence  in  Princeton.  — At  this  celebrated  seat  of 
learning,  an  eminent  gentleman,  Dr.  John  Maclean,  resided 
as  the  Professor  of  Chemistry,  &c.  I  early  attained  an 


110  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

introduction  to  him  by  correspondence,  and  he  favored  me 
with  a  list  of  books  for  the  promotion  of  my  studies. 
Among  these  were  Chaptal's,  Lavoisier's,  and  Fonrcroy's 
Chemistry,  Scheel's  Essays,  Bergman's  Works,  Kirwan's 
Mineralogy,  &c.  I  also  passed  a  few  days  with  Dr.  Mac- 
lean in  my  different  transits  to  and  from  Philadelphia,  and 
obtained  from  him  a  general  insight  into  my  future  occu- 
pation ;  inspected  his  library  and  apparatus,  and  obtained 
his  advice  regarding  many  things.  Dr.  Maclean  was  a  man 
of  brilliant  mind,  with  all  the  acumen  of  his  native  Scot- 
land ;  and  a  sprinkling  of  wit  gave  variety  to  his  conversa- 
tion. I  regard  him  as  my  earliest  master  of  chemistry,  and 
Princeton  as  my  first  starting-point  in  that  pursuit  ;  al- 
though I  had  not  an  opportunity  to  attend  any  lectures 
there.  Mrs.  Maclean  was  a  lovely  woman,  and  made  my 
visits  at  the  house  very  pleasant  to  me.  She  was  a  sister  of 
Commodore  Bainbridge,  afterwards  signalized  by  the  cap- 
ture of  the  British  frigate  Java,  in  the  war  of  1812—15. 
Mrs.  Maclean  gave  me  an  introduction  to  the  family  of 
Commodore  Bainbridge  in  Philadelphia,  in  which  I  was 
an  occasional  visitor.  Dr.  Maclean,  the  President  of 
Princeton  College  at  this  time  and  for  some  years  past,  is 
the  worthy  son  of  Professor  Maclean,  and  does  honor  to 
his  father  and  to  the  institution  over  which  he  ably  pre- 
sides. President  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith  was  the  head  of 
the  college  during  my  early  acquaintance  with  Princeton, 
and  I  had  the  honor  of  an  introduction  to  him,  and  of  din- 
ing in  his  family.  Mrs.  Smith,  a  grave,  taciturn  lady,  was 
a  daughter  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Witherspoon,  of  Revo- 
lutionary memory,  a  member  of  the  Congress  which  de- 
clared the  independence  of  the  Colonies,  to  which  instru- 
ment he  added  his  signature.  The  personal  presence  of 
President  Smith  was  noble  and  commanding ;  but  there 
was  a  stately  gravity  about  him  which  did  not  encourage 
freedom,  and  I  felt  much  constraint  in  his  society.  He  was 
a  powerful  writer  and  an  eloquent  speaker. 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:  STUDIES  IN  PHILADELPHIA.   Ill 

J/y  Second  Winter  in  Philadelphia.  (Nov.  5,  1803,  to 
March  25, 1804.) — There  was  little  to  distinguish  this  from 
the  preceding  winter.  I  attended,  as  before,  the  course  of 
chemistry  and  anatomy,  and  resumed  my  private  labors 
with  Robert  Hare.  The  familiarity  which  I  had  acquired 
in  the  preceding  year  with  men  and  things,  enabled  me  to 
derive  additional  advantage,  and  made  me  feel  more  at 
home.  My  circle  of  acquaintance  was  more  extended, 
quite  as  much  as  was  consistent  with  my  studies.  I  was 
admitted  hospitably  or  socially  to  some  of  the  most  esti- 
mable families,  —  that  of  Judge  Wilson,  son  of  him  of  the 
Revolution ;  to  Bishop  White's,  Dr.  Strong's,  Col.  Biddle's, 
where  there  were  beautiful  daughters,  (afterwards  Mrs.  Dr. 
Chapman  and  Mrs.  Cadwallader.)  I  have  mentioned  the 
Wistars,  Bainbridges,  and  Greens.  At  Judge  Peters's, 
also,  I  was  acquainted,  and  at  Mrs.  Bradford's.  I  visited 
also  the  public  institutions,  —r-  the  Hospital,  the  Mint,  the 
Navy  Yard,  the  Water  Works,  the  libraries,  manufactories, 
&c.  Philadelphia  had  then  seventy-five  or  eighty  thousand 
inhabitants ;  now  it  has  more  than  half  a  million.  The 
present  beautiful  Washington  Square  was  a  Potter's  Field, 
and  all  was  country  between  it  and  the  Hospital.  About 
this  time  I  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Philosophical  So- 
ciety founded  by  Franklin,  and  of  course  had  free  access  to 
its  library,  and  to  its  very  intelligent  and  kind  librarian, 
Mr.  John  Vaughan,  a  man  of  large  benevolence.  I  con- 
tinued the  writing  of  my  lectures,  and  began  to  collect  ap- 
paratus, although  on  a  humble  scale. 

In  March,  1804,  after  passing  a  few  days  in  Princeton,  I 
returned  to  New  Haven,  and  devoted  my  time  to  writing 
lectures. 

To  Mr.  Silliman's  reminiscences,  written  after  the 
lapse  of  many  years,  may  be  added  brief  passages 
from  his  correspondence  daring  the  period  covered 
by  the  foregoing  chapter. 


112  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

TO    MR.  STEPHEN    TWINING. 

PHILADELPHIA,  November  21,  1802. 

THIS  is  truly  a  great  town,  and  presents  many 

objects  worthy  the  attention  of  a  stranger.  If  I  live  to  re- 
turn to  Connecticut,  I  will  describe  them  to  you.  But  I 
have  seen  one  which  I  cannot  refrain  from  mentioning. 

Governor  McK is  so  popular  among  tavern -haunters 

that  the  owners  of  public-houses  are  very  fond  of  hoisting 
up  a  picture  of  his  Excellency  over  the  doors.  Two  men  in 
Dock  Street,  brothers,  one  a  Demo  and  the  other  a  Fed, 
being  joint-owners  of  a  house,  —  but  the  Fed  possessing 
rather  the  most  wit,  and  consciously  the  superior  influ- 
ence,—  differed  concerning  a  new  sign  which  they  thought 
of  putting  up.  The  Demo  plead  for  his  Excellency,  and 
the  Fed  finally  consented,  but  gave  the  printer  private  or- 
ders to  represent  the  Republican  magistrate  in  the  attitude 
in  which  he  generally  appears  at  four  o'clock  p.  M.  The 
governor  accordingly  stands  forth,  or  rather  staggers  forth, 
on  the  sign,  a  solemn  memento  to  the  lovers  of  brandy  and 
Democracy 

TO    MR.  G.  S.  SILLIMAN. 

No.  40  Walnut  St.,  PHILADELPHIA. 
November  1!),  1803. 

MY  DEAR  BROTHER, — The  honorable  confi- 
dence tendered  to  me  in  advance  by  the  Corporation,  the 
hopes  of  many  friends,  and  the  envy  of  a  few  ambitious 
contemporaries, — the  extent  and  importance  of  the  sciences 
I  am  to  teach,  and  the  responsibility  for  their  advantageous 
introduction  into  the  College  and  State  to  which  I  belong, — 
are  motives  sufficient  to  excite  my  most  active  and  unre- 
mitted  exertions.  Since  the  Chair  has  been  offered  to  me, 
I  have  not  therefore  considered  myself  as  at  liberty  to  in- 
dulge in  recreation,  or  even  in  the  common  relations  and 
most  interesting  pleasures  of  friendship.  My  vacations,  in 
common  with  the  rest  of  the  year,  have  been  devoted  to 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:  STUDIES  IN  PHILADELPHIA.   113 

the  study  or  practice  of  my  profession,  and  I  have  the  sat- 
isfaction to  find  that  I  have  made  progress. 

With  these  considerations  before  you,  you  will  acquiesce 
in  my  conduct,  although  like  me  you  will  regret  that  it 
should  have  prevented  us  from  an  intercourse  which,  next 
to  that  with  a  reconciled  God,  affords  the  truest,  the  most 
heartfelt  delight.  Indeed,  I  bless  Heaven  that  I  have  such 
a  brother,  and  that  he  has  allied  me  to  such  a  sister ;  and  I 
trust  that  more  of  those  elevated  pleasures  which  I  have 
experienced  in  their  society  are  still  in  store  for  me 

Pray,  my  dear  brother,  write  to  me  soon  ;  detail  the  mi- 
nuticR  of  your  welfare ;  tell  me  something  about  my  dear 
little  niece.  —  My  dear  Hepsa,  write  something  with  your 
own  hand ;  let  me  know  how  you  are  sustained  under  God's 
chastenings,  —  whether  religion  or  time  bring  you  any  con- 
solation, and  at  all  alleviate  your  grief;  and  above  all, 
whether  you  have  reason  to  hope  that  the  present  affliction, 
though  it  seem  not  joyous  but  grievous,  will  in  the  end 
work  for  your  good.  And  now,  my  dear  Selleck  and  Hepsa, 
with  the  tenderest  affection  and  the  sincerest  prayers  for 
your  welfare,  I  commit  you  to  the  care  of  Heaven. 
Your  very  affectionate 

friend  and  brother, 

BENJ.  SILLIMAN. 

FROM  TUTOR  J.  L.  KINGSLET. 

Februa-ry  18, 1802. 

THE  President  called  upon  me  this  morning  and  wished 
me  to  write  you  a  request  from  him  to  pay  some  attention, 
if  possible,  before  you  return,  to  the  analyzing  of  stones. 
You  may  possibly  recollect  that  we  some  time  ago  received 
some  of  the  basalts  from  the  Giant's  Causeway.  The 
President  supposes  there  is  stone  in  the  neighborhood  of 
this  town  of  a  similar  nature,  and  wishes  to  ascertain  the 
fact. 

VOL.  I.  8 


114  LIFE   OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

FROM   MR.    CHARLES   DENISON. 

December  5, 1802. 

I  HAVE  lately  heard  from  Mr.  Day.     He  is  no 

better,  but  rather  worse,  than  when  he  left  us Dr. 

Dwight  told  me,  a  short  time  since,  that  he  had  given  over 
the  expectation  of  ever  seeing  Mr.  Day  in  the  professor's 
chair.  What  a  loss  to  the  Institution  !  A  character  so 
near  perfection  is  not  often  found  in  this  wicked  world. 
Indeed,  I  know  but  few  who  are  his  equals,  and  I  never 
saw  his  superior.  That  such  a  man  should  be  cut  off  in 
the  very  blossom  of  life  is  to  the  human  eye  dark  and  mys- 
terious.* We  must,  however,  submit  to  Him  who  seeth 
not  as  man  seeth 

The  following  are  passages  from  a  humorous  let- 
ter of  one  of  his  colleagues  in  the  tutorship.  In  the 
treatment  of  these  light  topics,  the  reader  will  detect 
traits  of  style  which  reappear  in  the  erudite  essays 
and  commentaries  of  the  author's  later  years.  The 
"  Gazette  "  was  a  document  composed  by  the  tutors 
for  the  entertainment  of  their  absent  associate. 

FROM   TUTOR   MOSES    STUART. 

YALE  COLLEGE,  December  21, 1802. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  So  much  time  has  elapsed  since  the  publi- 
cation of  our  last  "  Gazette,"  that  it  becomes  pleasing,  and 
in  a  degree  necessary,  to  give  you  further  information  re- 
specting the  "  gestion "  of  our  affairs.  To  be  very  brief, 

Mr.  has  been  rusticated,  (for  rolling  barrels  down 

my  stairs,)  for  the  term  of  two  months*     Sophomore  — 
has  received  the  darts  of  Dr.  Dwight's  quiver,  until  they 
were  exhausted,  for  cutting  bell-ropes  and  blasphemy,  but 
without  any  harm ;  he  yet  stands  unhurt  "  amidst  the  war, 
&c."      Freshman   -      -   has   been  suspended   for   crimes 

*  Mr.  Day  is  now  (October  18G5)  living,  at  the  age  of  ninety-two.  —  F. 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:  STUDIES  IN  PHILADELPHIA.   115 

of  almost  every  name.  Many  others  stand  trembling  in 
"fearful  looking  for  of  fiery  indignation"  In  short,  there 
appear  to  be  more  devils  in  college  at  present  than  were 
cast  out  of  Mary  Magdalene.  I  have  been  honored  by  a 
broadside  at  one  of  my  windows,  which  popped  off  without 
ceremony  six  squares  of  glass.  No  matter ;  you  were  hon- 
ored in  the  same  way.  I  congratulate  myself  on  having 
obtained  the  honor.  "  Fiat  justitia  mat  ccelum"  is  my 
maxim.  But  the  devil  does  not  extend  his  dominion  over 
students  alone.  The  august  body  of  tutors  have  occasion- 
ally acknowledged  his  power.  Last  evening  they  met  at 
the  "  Luxembourg  "  to  read  "  Dialogues  "  for  the  January 
exhibition. 

The  letter  proceeds  to  detail,  in  the  same  sportive 
vein,  the  particulars  of  a  harmless  frolic  such  as 
young  men,  even  though  clothed  with  tutorial  dig- 
nity, sometimes  indulge  in,  and  in  which  a  wrongly 
directed  missile  —  " miserabile  dictu"  to  quote  the 
writer's  phrase  —  shivered  into  a  thousand  pieces  a 
large  mirror  belonging  to  Mr.  Silliman. 

This  was  the  catastrophe :  "  Valete,  Plaudite"  The  only 
observation  I  have  to  make  on  the  above  is :  I  hope  the 
students  will  not  discover  it.  "  Dulce  est  desipere  in  loco" 
is  a  sentiment  we  feel  to  be  true,  and  I  have  only  to  regret 
that  you  were  not  present  to  heighten  and  partake  of  our 
festivity,  hilarity,  puerility,  madness,  pleasure,  or  whatever 
name  it  may  deserve.  You  will  probably  be  occupied  at 
least  two  weeks  in  deciphering  our  "  Gazette."  I  am 
desired  by  our  brethren  to  excuse  our  not  sending  it  on 
sooner.  The  reason  was,  we  waited  to  send  it  by  Morse, 
the  printer,  who  finally  failed  of  going  to  Philadelphia  as 
he  intended. 

Since  I  have  been  here,  I  have  been  paying  some  atten- 
tion to  Italian,  but  I  am  not  able  to  procure  suitable  books. 


116  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

If  in  some  of  your  rambles  you  would  call  at  some  of  the 
Philadelphia  bookstores,  and  inquire  for  an  Italian  gram- 
mar, dictionary, — Tasso,  Dante,  Ariosto,  Metastasio.  or  any 
other  Italian  writer,  if  it  even  be  a  novelist, — I  would  thank 
you.  If  any  or  all  of  these  can  be  found,  you  would  oblige 
me  by  giving  information  soon,  that  I  may  take  the  proper 
means  of  procuring  them.  Especially,  I  want  Dante,  Ari- 
osto, and  Tasso 

Yours  forever, 
B.  SILLIMAN,  Esq.  MOSES  STUART. 

A  second  letter  from  the  same  vivacious  writer 
announced  the  reception  of  the  Italian  books,  and 
remarked  further  on  the  state  of  the  College. 

YALE  COLLEGE,  Febi-uary  6, 1803. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  received  my  "  Italian  Library," 
and  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  pains  you  took  in  pro- 
curing it.  I  could  wish  you  had  not  purchased  Metastasio, 
as  the  edition  is  somewhat  incorrect  and  very  badly  printed ; 
but  since  it  is  come,  I  acquiesce  in  the  purchase.  My  in- 
tention was  to  have  you  write  me  a  catalogue  of  some  Ital- 
ian books  which  could  be  purchased  at  Philadelphia,  and 
not  to  make  the  purchase  before  I  had  calculated  what  I 
could  afford  to  spare  from  my  "  liberal  wages,"  in  making  a 
purchase  of  this  kind.  I  presume,  however,  that  I  did  not 
express  myself  in  my  letter  to  you  according  to  this  inten- 
tion, and  therefore  am  content  with  my  'fc  library." 

We  are  all  anticipating  your  return,  and  expect  to  be  taught 
where  we  may  find,  or  rather  how  we  may  compose,  the 
"philosopher's  stone"  For  my  own  part,  I  am  so  grossly 
ignorant  respecting  chemistry,  that  I  hardly  know  what  it 
cannot  effect.  This  business  of  analyzing  sometimes  makes 
bad  work.  If  you  confine  yourself  to  the  laboratory  of 
Woodhouse,  and  do  not  happen  to  get  analyzed  in  the  lab- 
oratory of  some  Philadelphia  ladies,  you  will  do  well.  But 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:  STUDIES  IN  PHILADELPHIA.   117 

i 

I  fear  the  particles  of  which  you  are  composed,  and  those 
of  some  fine  ladies  there,  are  sufficiently  homogeneous  to 
possess  in  a  great  degree  the  attraction  of  affinity.  If  so, 
I  am  convinced  that  on  near  approach  they  would  cause 

such  a  fermentation  as  would  produce  a  composition 

As  to  College  affairs,  they  go  on  much  in  the  old  way.  We 
had  many  convulsions  last  quarter,  many  furious  "  spasms 

of  infuriated"  Sophomores  and    Freshmen Mr. 

Fowler's  door  almost  split  to  pieces  with  stones ;  my  win- 
dows broken ;  Freshman  publicly  dismissed  ;  Sopho- 
mores -  -  and  -  -  sent  home  ;  T ,  Sophomore, 

rusticated  three  months ;  and  W ,  Freshman,  sent  off. 

Nothing  but  wars  and  rumors  of  wars.  This  term  there 
appears  to  be  some  disposition  to  enter  into  a  treaty  of 
peace ;  at  least,  a  cessation  of  hostilities  is  agreed  upon. 

The  time  of  your  return  is  now  so  near  that  we  begin  to 
anticipate  much  pleasure  from  a  relation  of  some  of  your 
chemical  experiments.     Wishing  you  a  safe  return,  without 
leaving  your  heart  in  any  laboratory  in  Philadelphia, 
I  am,  sir, 

Yours  with  esteem, 

MOSES  STUART. 

FROM  PROFESSOR  DAY. 

YALE  COLLEGE,  January!,  1804. 

I  AM  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  plan  of  lect- 
ures, so  far  as  you  have  already  arranged  them.  As  for 
myself,  instead  of  having  written  my  fifth  lecture,  I  have 
not  written  my  first,  and  probably  shall  not  this  long  time. 
My  present  course  of  instruction  occupies  all  the  attention 
which  my  health  will  allow  me  to  pay  to  the  subject.  My 
principal  object  at  present  is  to  collect  and  arrange  the 
most  important  materials  in  a  course  of  philosophy.  I  so 
contrive  the  business  as  to  communicate  the  substance  of 
these,  in  my  recitations,  to  the  Senior  class,  and  at  the  same 
time  preserve  them  for  future  use.  I  take  the  several 


118  LIFE  OF   BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

branches  nearly  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  arranged  in 
Enfield's  Philosophy.  I  consult  the  various  authors  on  the 
subject,  select  what  is  particularly  interesting  from  each,  and 
if  my  own  noddle  suggests  anything  beside,  I  put  all  upon 
paper  and  throw  it  into  a  form  somewhat  like  the  skeleton 
of  a  lecture.  This  I  carry  to  recitation,  and,  with  such  en- 
largements as  occur  on  the  occasion,  retail  it  to  the  class. 
In  addition  to  these  recitations,  I  propose  frequently  prob- 
lems in  philosophy  which  require  a  mathematical  solution. 
The  answers  which  are  handed  in  by  the  members  of  the 
class,  I  examine  and  correct.  This,  little  as  it  may  seem, 
is  all  that  I  am  doing  at  present.  As  to  what  I  intend  to 
do  hereafter,  I  can  say  very  little.  I  intend  to  do  what  I 
can  ;  but  my  health  is  such  that  I  form  no  very  distant  and 
extensive  projects.  The  course  which  I  have  begun  I  shall 
probably  continue  through  next  term.  The  summer  will  be 
partly  or  wholly  occupied  with  experiments.  After  Com- 
mencement, it  is  possible  I  may  begin  to  read  lectures  in 

the  chapel I  have  anticipated  with  much  pleasure 

your  return  to  this  place  in  March.     But  if  you  are  to  hold 

a  talk  of  three  weeks  with  your  great  brother  in  Princeton,* 

•I  see  plainly   my  expectations  will   be  frustrated.     Pray 

bring  home  with  you  a  specimen  of  the  strings  of  wampum 

exchanged  on  the  occasion My  dear  friend,  I  daily 

long  for  your  return  to  this  place.  Though  I  am  surrounded 
with  excellent  friends  and  companions,  yet,  for  one  reason 
and  another,  there  is  no  one  to  whom  I  unbosom  my  full 
soul.  I  could  do  it  to  Mr.  Davis,  if  he  were  in  health ;  but 
his  situation  is  such  at  present  that  it  is  desirable  that  his 
mind  should  be  kept  as  free  as  possible  from  all  painful  or 
turbulent  emotions.  You  already  know  my  feelings  on  one 
subject  of  immense  importance.  When  I  see  you  again, 
perhaps  I  may,  and  perhaps  I  may  not,  disclose  to  you  some 
other  anxious  thoughts  which  contribute  at  times  to  disturb 

the  serenity  of  my  mind 

*  /.  «.,  the  Chemical  Professor  in  Princeton  College.  —  F. 


APPOINTED  PROFESSOR:  STUDIES  IN  PHILADELPHIA.  119 

FROM   MR.    CHARLES    DENIS  ON. 

NEW  HAVEN,  February  8,  1804. 

I  READILY  recognize  not  only  your  handwriting, 

but  your  very  self,  in  your  very  acceptable  letter.  You  are 
still  Ben  Silliman,  notwithstanding  the  mysterious  addition 
to  your  name  of  "  Chem.  &  Hist.  Nat.  Prof."  I  don't  mean, 
my  dear  Ben,  that  this  learned  addition  to  your  former 
simple  title  of  Plsq.  does  not  perfectly  becloud  you  with 
dignity,  so  that  those  who  view  you  at  a  distance  must  ex- 
ceedingly fear  and  quake.  Yet  you  must  excuse  me,  to 
whom  you  deign  the  honor  of  a  near  approach  to  your 
chemical  majesty,  if  I  should  be  more  familiar  than  prop- 
erly becomes  one  whose  highest  honors  reach  no  higher 
than  once  to  have  been  grand-juror  and  lister  for  the  town 
of  New  Haven 

The  following  letter  was  addressed  to  an  esteemed 
pupil  who  was  engaged  in  teaching  in  the  State  of 
Maryland. 

TO    MR.    \JIOW   REV.    DR.]    N.    PORTER. 

YALE  COLLEGE,  October  14, 1804. 

I  AM  glad  that  experience  enables  you  practically 

to  realize  the  feelings  of  an  instructor  towards  a  pupil,  of 
which  you  were  before  but  an  incompetent  judge.  An 
amiable,  worthy,  and  industrious  pupil  makes  advances  in 
the  affections  of  his  instructor,  of  which  he  has  but  little 
conception.  I  am  gratified  that  you  find  your  situation  in 
so  many  important  points  agreeable In  my  opin- 
ion you  are,  on  the  whole,  employing  your  time  very  profit- 
ably ;  the  rust  which  gathers  on  your  learning  you  will 
soon  brush  off  again.  In  the  mean  time  you  are  gaining  a 
species  of  knowledge  without  which  the  other  would  be 
of  little  use,  —  I  mean  a  knowledge  of  mankind.  And  in 
my  opinion,  gentlemanlike  manners  are  worth  some  time 
and  attention ;  they  are  a  perpetual  letter  of  introduction, 


120  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

wherever  you  go.  On  this  point  you  cannot  fail  to  improve, 
and  I  am  sure  you  have  too  much  good  sense  to  reject  the 
instruction.  I  cannot  be  understood  by  you  to  exalt  good 
manners  and  a  knowledge  of  the  world  beyond  their  real 
value ;  for  without  good  sense,  good  principles,  useful  em- 
ployment, and  intellectual  improvement,  they  are  the  mere 
tinsel  gilding  on  a  wooden  ball.  I  am  happy  to  hear  that 
you  intend  to  return  as  soon  as  January.  I  hope  you  will 
make  New  Haven  the  scene  of  your  professional  studies. 
You  will  find  your  friends  Dutton  and  Whittlesey  are 
here,  and  I  shall  be  happy  to  have  you  an  inmate  of  our 
society.  I  have  lately  received  a  letter  from  your  classmate 
ChifTelle.  Poor  fellow !  his  spirits  are  much  depressed  by 
the  conflict  between  his  religious  feelings  and  principles 
and  the  habits  of  Carolina,  to  which  he  seems  to  submit 
with  the  utmost  reluctance. 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE  BEGINNING  OF  HIS  WORK  AS  PROFESSOR. 

His  First  Lectures  in  College  (1804). —  Construction  of  the  Subterranean 
Laboratory.  —  Its  Alteration.  —  Lectures  to  the  Class  of  1804-5  (in  the 
Fall  of  1804).  —  His  Apparatus.  —  Suggestions  of  Dr.  Priestley.  — 
Plan  for  Visiting  Europe.  —  Interview  with  President  Dwight.  —  Prep- 
arations for  Departure.  —  Letter  from  Rev.  John  Pierpont.  —  Letters  of 
Professor  Silliman  to  his  Brother. 

MY  FIRST  LECTURE.  April  4,  1804.  —  In  a  public  room, 
hired  for  college  purposes,  in  Mr.  Tuttle's  building  on 
Chapel  Street,  nearly  opposite  to  the  South  College,  I  met 
the  Senior  class,  and  read  to  them  an  introductory  lecture 
on  the  history  and  progress,  nature  and  objects,  of  chemis- 
try. I  was  then  twenty-four  years  old.  and  in  August  of 
that  year  I  was  twenty-five.  I  continued  to  lecture,  and  I 
believe  in  the  same  room,  until  the  Senior  class  retired  in 
July,  preparatory  to  their  Commencement  in  September. 
My  first  efforts  were  received  with  favor,  and  the  class 
which  I  then  addressed  contained  men  who  were  afterwards 
distinguished  in  life.  Among  them  were  John  C.  Calhoun, 
S.  C. ;  Rev.  John  Chester ;  Rev.  Ezra  Stiles  Ely ;  Bishop 
Gadsden  ;  John  Preston,  Hampton,  Miss. ;  Judge  Hinman, 
Conn. ;  Dr.  Lansing,  N.  Y. ;  Rev.  Dr.  McEwen ;  Rev.  John 
Marsh;  Rev.  John  Pierpont,  poet;  Rev.  Dr.  Tyler,  and 
*  others.  On  the  4th  of  April,  ]  804,  I  commenced  a  course 
of  duty  as  a  lecturer  and  professor,  in  which  I  was  sus- 
tained during  fifty-one  years ;  and  now,  by  God's  blessing, 
I  am  still  in  good  health  and  power,  sixty-five  and  a  half 
years  from  my  entrance  into  Yale  College  ;  sixty-one  and 
a  half  years  from  graduating ;  fifty-eight  and  a  half  years 


122  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

from  being  appointed  tutor  ;  and  fifty-six  and  a  half  years 
from  my  appointment  as  Professor. 

In  1802  the  Corporation  of  Yale  College  erected  the 
building  which  has  ever  since  been  known  as  the  Lyceum. 
Its  position  is  between  the  old  South  Middle  and  the  North 
Middle  College.  I  understood  that  a  deep  excavation  un- 
der the  west  end  of  the  building  was  intended  for  a  labo- 
ratory. This  building  was  erected  before  my  appointment, 
and  soon  after  President  Dwight  had  confidentially  offered 
the  Professorship  of  Chemistry  to  me.  I  could,  therefore, 
before  my  appointment,  only  look  on  with  suppressed  curi- 
osity as  to  the  structure  and  progress  and  destination  of  the 
edifice,  as  I  was  not  at  liberty  to  speak.  It  was  under- 
stood that  the  main  object  was  for  a  library-room,  and  for 
suitable  apartments  for  the  recitations  of  the  classes,  and 
for  study-rooms  for  two  of  the  professors.  I  was  not  con- 
sulted as  to  the  laboratory,  nor  could  I  have  been,  openly, 
before  my  appointment,  nor  afterwards  with  advantage, 
until  I  had  acquired  some  knowledge  of  chemistry.  Still, 
after  the  prospect  of  my  appointment  had  been  opened  to 
me  by  President  Dwight,  I  cast  anxious  glances  into  that 
deep  excavation,  not  exactly  comprehending  how  it  could 
be  rendered  available  for  the  purposes  of  science ;  but  my 
lips  were  as  yet  sealed  in  silence. 

An  English  architect,  Mr.  Bonner,  had  established  him- 
self in  New  Haven,  and  had  acquired  a  deserved  reputation 
for  knowledge,  talent,  and  taste  in  his  profession.  He  was 
charged  with  the  erection  of  the  Lyceum ;  but,  having  no 
particular  knowledge  of  a  laboratory,  he  placed  it  almost 
under  ground.  On  my  return  from  Philadelphia,  in  the 
spring  of  1803,  I  found  that  a  groined  arch  of  boards  had 
been  constructed  over  the  entire  subterranean  room.  It 
rose  from  stone  pillars  of  nearly  half  of  the  height  of  the 
room,  erected  in  each  of  the  four  corners  and  on  the  middle 
of  the  opposite  sides.  The  effect  was,  therefore,  by  the 
curves  of  the  arches,  to  cut  off  the  light,  more  or  less,  from 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  HIS  WORK  AS  PROFESSOR.      123 

all  the  windows,  —  one  third,  or  half,  and  even  two  thirds 
in  some  of  them.  At  once  I  saw  that  it  would  never  an- 
swer, and  I  made  my  appeal  to  the  Corporation  at  their 
next  meeting.  I  invited  them  to  visit  the  room,  to  which 
there  was  no  practicable  access  except  through  a  hole  or 
scuttle  in  the  roof  of  the  arch.  A  ladder  was  therefore 
raised  from  below,  or  let  down  from  above,  and,  Crusoe- 
like,  the  grave  and  reverend  gentlemen  of  the  Corporation 
descended,  as  Robinson  did  into  his  den,  and  arrived  safely 
on  the  floor.  President  Dwight,  Rev.  Dr.  Ely,  Hon.  James 
Hillhouse,  and  his  venerable  father,  then  fourscore  or  more, 
and  others,  —  members  of  the  College  Senate,  —  found 
themselves  in  a  gloomy  cavern,  fifteen  or  sixteen  feet  be- 
low the  surface  of  the  ground,  into  which,  especially  as 
there  was  as  yet  no  trench  excavated  around  the  outside  of 
the  building,  little  more  light  glimmered  than  just  enough 
to  make  the  darkness  visible. 

To  see  was  to  be  convinced.  I  had  no  difficulty  in  per- 
suading the  gentlemen  that  the  model  arch  of  boards  must 
be  entirely  knocked  away,  the  stone  pillars  removed,  and 
the  space  opened  freely  to  the  roof,  of  the  room,  which 
should  be  finished  square  up  to  the  ceiling,  like  any  other 
large  room.  It  was  indeed  to  be  regretted  that  several 
hundred  dollars  had  been  worse  than  thrown  away  upon 
the  preposterous  arch.  How  did  it  happen  ?  I  suppose 
that  Mr.  Bonner,  an  able  civil  architect,  as  I  have  already 
said,  had  received  only  some  vague  impressions  of  chemis- 
try, —  perhaps  a  confused  and  terrific  dream  of  alchemy, 
with  its  black  arts,  its  explosions,  and  its  weird-like  mys- 
teries. He  appears,  therefore,  to  have  imagined,  that  the 
deeper  down  in  mother  earth  the  dangerous  chemists  could 
be  buried,  so  much  the  better ;  and  perhaps  he  thought 
that  a  strong  arch  would  keep  the  detonations  under,  al- 
though, as  an  architect  and  engineer,  he  would  of  course 
know  that  the  arch,  when  pressed  from  above,  grows 
stronger  until  it  is  crushed ;  but,  struck  from  below,  its 


124  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

resistance  is  feeble,  and  it  may  more  easily  collapse  with 
a  crash. 

I  lost  no  time  in  having  the  model  arch  removed,  and 
the  room  finished  as  if  there  had  been  no  arch.  I  caused 
also  a  wide  trench  to  be  excavated  outside,  all  around  the 
room,  and  the  earth-banks  to  be  sustained  by  the  masonry 
of  stone  walls  whitened,  so  that  a  cheerful  light  was  thus 
reflected  into  a  large  and  lofty  room,  whose  windows  were 
now  free  to  the  external  radiance  of  the  atmosphere  and 
the  solar  beams  from  the  west. 

Still  the  place  was  a  very  unfortunate  one,  to  which,  had 
I  been  seasonably  informed,  I  should  have  objected  de- 
cidedly. When  I  stood  on  the  floor  of  the  room,  my  head 
was  still  six  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  of 
course  the  room  was  very  damp :  all  articles  of  iron  were 
rapidly  rusted,  and  all  preparations  that  attracted  water 
became  rnoist  or  even  deliquesced. 

I  devoted  the  spring  and  early  weeks  of  the  summer  to 
the  finishing  and  arrangement  of  my  half  subterranean 
working  and  lecture  room.  There  was  no  remedy;  the 
College  was  not  able  to  construct  another,  and  I  was  afraid 
of  alarming  them  with  the  prospect  of  expenses  which  I 
was  well  aware  must  be  considerable,  and  would  be  an- 
nual and  always  recurring.  There  was  therefore  no  way 
but  to  make  the  best  of  a  faulty  location.  The  room  was 
now  paved  with  flag-stones ;  a  false  floor  of  boards  was 
constructed,  rising  from  the  lowest  level  as  high  as  the 
ground-sill  of  the  outer  door,  arid  thus  affording  an  eleva- 
tion —  an  inclined  plane  —  sufficient  to  prevent  the  vision 
of  the  rear  from  being  obstructed  by  the  front  rows  of  hear- 
ers. A  gallery  was  erected  on  the  side  of  the  room  oppo- 
site to  the  windows,  access  being  made  from  the  front  of 
the  tower  or  steeple  through  the  intervening  cellar,  over  a 
paved  walk.  Tables  were  established  on  the  floor  of  the 
laboratory,  in  a  line  with  a  large  hydro-pneumatic  cistern 
or  gas-tub,  and  a  marble  cistern  for  a  mercurial  bath.  The 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  HIS  WORK  AS  PROFESSOR.      125 

small  collection  of  apparatus  which  I  had  got  together  was 
duly  arranged,  and  things  began  to  look  like  work.  Ar- 
rangements were  made  for  furnaces,  and  for  the  introduc- 
tion of  water  from  a  neighboring  well.  The  tables  were 
covered  with  green  cloth  ;  the  stone  floor  was  sprinkled 
with  white  beach-sand  ;  the  walls  and  ceiling  were  white- 
washed ;  the  backs  and  writing-tables  of  the  benches,  and 
the  front  and  end  of  the  gallery,  were  painted  of  a  light 
lead  color ;  and  the  glass  of  the  windows  being  washed 
clean,  the  laboratory  now  made  a  very  decent  and  rather 
inviting  appearance,  like  the  offices,  store-rooms,  and  kitch- 
ens that  are  seen  almost  underground  in  cities. 

During  fifteen  of  the  best  years  of  my  life,  from  the  age 
of  twenty-five  to  forty,  I  was  a  diligent  worker  in  this  deep- 
seated  laboratory,  and  I  will  mention  further  on  how  I 
finally  emerged.  This  room  had  the  advantage  of  a  more 
agreeable  temperature  than  if  it  had  been  on  the  surface 
of  the  ground. 

In  October,  1804,  the  new  laboratory  received  the  class 
that  were  to  graduate  in  September,  1805.  Here,  again, 
were  those  who  in  after-life  became  men  of  renown. 
Among  them  were  Thomas  Hopkins  Gallaudet,  friend  of 
the  deaf  mutes ;  Edward  Hooker,  an  able  classical  instructor ; 
Rev.  Heman  Humphrey,  D.  D. ;  Rev.  Samuel  F.  Jarvis, 
D.  D. ;  Dr.  J.  M.  Scott  McKnight,  S.  C. ;  Rev.  Gardiner 
Spring,  D.  D. ;  &c.  The  very  limited  apparatus  was  some- 
what extended  and  embellished  by  several  chemical  instru- 
ments which  I  found  in  a  closet  in  the  old  philosophical 
chamber,  and  which,  as  I  understood,  had  been  brought  out 
from  London,  in  the  time  of  President  Stiles,  by  the  late 
President  Ebenezer  Fitch.  This  gentleman  was  graduated 
in  Yale  College  in  1777  ;  was  a  tutor  in  it  from  1780  to 
1783  ;  went  into  trade  with  Henry  Daggett,  Esq.,  in  New 
Haven,  and  their  concerns  led  him  to  England,  where  he 
obtained  the  apparatus  named  above.  There  were  several 
very  beautiful  gas-flasks,  with  sigmoid  tubes  ground  into 


126  LIFE   OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

them.  There  was  also  a  Nooth's  machine  for  impregnating 
water  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  and  a  collection  of  glass 
tubes.  I  used  also  some  of  the  glass  bells  from  the  phil- 
osophical apparatus;  and,  as  my  audience  were  novices, 
probably  the  appearance  of  the  apparatus  was  respectable. 
I  recollected,  also,  a  remark  which  I  heard  Dr.  Priestley 
make,  namely,  that  with  Florence  flasks  (cleaned  by  sand 
and  ashes)  and  plenty  of  glass  tubes,  vials,  bottles,  and 
corks,  a  tapering  iron  rod  to  be  heated  and  used  as  a  cork- 
borer,  and  a  few  live  coals  with  which  to  bend  the  tubes,  a 
good  variety  of  apparatus  might  be  fitted  up.  Some  gun- 
barrels  also,  he  said,  would  be  of  much  service  ;  and  I  had 
brought  from  Philadelphia  an  old  blacksmith's  furnace, 
which  served  for  the  heating  of  the  iron  tubes.  He  said, 
moreover,  that  sand  and  bran,  (coarse  Indian  meal  is 
better,)  with  soap,  would  make  the  hands  clean,  and  that 
there  was  no  sin  in  dirt. 

At  that  time  there  were  very  few  chemical  instruments 
of  glass  to  be  obtained  in  this  country.  I  had  picked  up  a 
few  glass  retorts  in  Philadelphia,  and  I  made  application  to 
Mr.  Mather,  a  manufacturer  of  glass  in  East  Hartford,  a 
few  years  later,  to  make  some  for  me.  On  stating  my  wish, 
he  said  he  had  never  seen  a  retort,  but  if  I  would  send  him 
one  as  a  pattern,  he  did  not  doubt  he  could  make  them.  I 
had  a  retort  the  neck  or  tube  of  which  was  broken  off  near 
the  ball, —  but  as  no  portion  was  missing,  and  the  two  parts 
exactly  fitted  each  other,  I  sent  this  retort  and  its  neck  in 
a  box,  never  dreaming  that  there  could  be  any  blunder. 
In  due  time,  however,  my  dozen  of  green  glass  retorts,  of 
East  Hartford  manufacture,  arrived,  carefully  boxed  and 
all  sound,  except  that  they  were  all  cracked  off  in  the  neck 
exactly  where  the  pattern  was  fractured ;  and  broken  neck 
and  ball  lay  in  state  like  decapitated  kings  in  their  coffins. 
This  more  than  Chinese  imitation  affords  a  curious  illustra- 
tion of  the  state  of  the  manufacture  of  chemical  glass  at 
that  time  in  this  country,  or  rather  in  Connecticut;  the 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  HIS  WORK  AS  PROFESSOR.      127 

same  blunder  would  probably  not  have  been  made  in  Phil- 
adelphia or  Boston. 

As  far  as  I  could  judge,  the  impression  on  my  pupils  of 
the  institution  and  on  the  public  was  favorable.  The  ex- 
periments were  prepared  with  great  care,  and  a  failure  was 
a  very  rare  occurrence.  Although  manuscripts  fully  written 
out  lay  before  me,  I  soon  began  to  speak  without  reading, 
and  found  my  own  feeling  freer  and  easier,  and  the  audience 
more  interested.  I  always,  however,  prepared  the  matter 
of  the  lecture  thoroughly,  and  therefore  avoided  embarrass- 
ment in  the  delivery.  Even  with  my  immature  and  limited 
acquirements  I  was  encouraged  to  proceed  by  recollecting 
other  remarks  which  I  heard  from  Dr.  Priestley.  Being 
complimented  upon  his  numerous  discoveries,  he  replied  to 
this  effect :  —  "I  subjected  whatever  came  to  hand  to  the 
action  of  fire  or  various  chemical  agents,  and  the  result 
was  often  fortunate  in  presenting  some  new  discovery.  In 
teaching  I  have  always  found  that  the  best  way  to  learn  is 
to  teach,  when  you  will  be  sure  to  study  your  subject  well, 
and  I  could  always  keep  ahead  of  my  pupils.  Thus  while 
I  was  teacher,  I  was  still  more  a  learner." 

In  September  1804,  at  a  meeting  of  the  President  and 
Fellows  of  Yale  College,  it  was  voted  to  expend  ten  thou- 
sand dollars  in  Europe  during  the  ensuing  year,  in  the 
purchase  of  books  for  the  library,  and  in  the  purchase 
of  philosophical  and  chemical  apparatus.  Symptoms  of 
dysentery  were  coming  upon  me  during  the  examination 
that  preceded  the  Commencement,  and  I  was  hardly  able 
to  perform  my  duty.  The  disease  made  such  progress  that 
I  was  entirely  unable  to  attend  the  public  exercises  of  Com- 
mencement week,  but  was  confined  to  my  bed  at  Mrs. 
Twining's  under  medical  treatment  by  Dr.  Eli  Ives.  There 
I  accidentally  heard  of  the  vote  of  the  corporation,  and, 
immediately  I  believe,  a  project  occurred  to  me  which  I 
resolved  to  disclose  as  soon  as  I  should  be  sufficiently  re- 
covered to  walk  abroad ;  fearful  in  the  mean  time  that  I 
might  be  anticipated. 


128  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

President  Dwight  was  at  that  time  fifty-two  years  of  age, 
and  was  in  the  full  splendor  of  his  exalted  powers,  physical 
and  mental. 

I  called  upon  him  at  his  house,  and  found  him  at  leisure 
in  the  front  parlor,  and  in  a  state  of  mind  to  receive  my 
suggestions  favorably.  After  ascertaining  from  him  that 
the  report  which  I  had  heard  of  the  appropriation  of  ten 
thousand  dollars  was  true,  I  inquired  in  what  manner  the 
business  would  be  transacted.  He  replied,  probably  through 
the  house  of  Isaac  Beers  &  Howe,  the  college  booksellers, 
and  by  the  agency  of  their  correspondents  in  London.  I 
then  inquired  on  what  terms.  He  replied,  by  paying  them  a 
commission  of  perhaps  five  per  cent.  I  then  added,  "  Why 
not,  sir,  send  me  to  transact  the  business,  allowing  me  the 
percentage,  and  continuing  my  salary,  which,  if  I  were 
absent  but  six  or  eight  months,  would  probably  pay  my 
expenses,  and  I  should  in  the  mean  time  have  opportunity 
to  improve  in  my  profession."  The  plan  was  afterwards 
altered,  and  the  time  allotted  was  double  of  that  originally 
proposed. 

To  this  proposal  he  instantly  replied  with  his  character- 
istic decision  and  frankness,  and  spoke  as  follows :  —  "I 
am  very  glad  you  have  made  the  suggestion  ;  the  thought 
had  never  occurred  to  me ;  this  will  be  the  best  possible 
arrangement,  and  it  shall  have  my  decided  support ;  but 
the  corporation  of  the  college  have  adjourned  and  cannot 
now  be  consulted  without  calling  a  special  meeting,  which 
I  think  will  not  be  necessary,  as  the  Prudential  Committee 
can  arrange  the  business,  and  I  have  no  doubt  they  will  be 
willing  to  assume  the  responsibility.  Step  into  a  carriage, 
therefore,  and  drive  to  Repton  "  (now  Huntington,  fourteen 
miles  from  New  Haven),  "  and  consult  the  Rev.  David  Ely, 
D.  D.,  a  member  of  the  corporation  and  of  the  Prudential 
Committee.  Then  go  to  Farmington,  twenty-eight  miles, 
and  submit  the  matter  to  Gov.  Treadwell,  who  is  an  ex- 
officio  member  of  both  boards.  You  will  thus  have  con- 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  HIS  WORK  AS  PROFESSOR.      129 

suited  the  Committee,  and  Rev.  James  Dana,  D.  D.,  the 
other  member  of  the  Prudential  Committee,  is  here  in  town, 
and  can  be  readily  seen. 

The  proposal  of  President  D  wight  was  immediately 
adopted  and  carried  into  effect.  I  was  too  much  interested 
to  make  any  delay,  and  hastened  to  those  excellent  patrons 
and  guardians  of  the  college,  explained  to  them  the  pro- 
posed plan,  and  had  the  happiness  to  find  that  it  met 
their  cordial  approbation.  I  had  now  a  prospect  of  grati- 
fying the  cherished  desire  of  visiting  Europe,  and  under 
auspices  that  would  insure  my  favorable  reception.  This 
arrangement  was  adopted,  it  is  to  be  observed,  in  the 
autumnal  vacation.  I  entered,  therefore,  upon  the  labors 
of  my  course  of  chemistry  already  referred  to,  with  a  fresh 
stimulus  for  exertion,  and  was  cheered  through  the  winter 
with  prospects  brightening  on  my  view  as  the  spring  drew 
near.  As  yet  the  plan  was  not  spoken  of  except  to  a  few 
friends ;  but  I  was  making  my  arrangements  to  carry  into 
execution  the  proposed  undertaking. 

The  lectures  were  given  at  the  rate  of  four  in  a  week, 
which  furnished  a  course  of  sufficient  length, —  sixty  lectures 
or  more,  including  some  notices  of  mineralogy.  By  the 
middle  of  March  I  had  accomplished  all  that  I  proposed 
to  do  in  that  season,  and  was  now  ready  to  finish  my  final 
arrangements  and  to  take  my  departure,  which  was  fixed 
for  the  22d  of  March,  from  New  Haven  for  New  York  and 
Philadelphia,  to  obtain  additional  letters  of  introduction, 
to  select  a  ship,  and  engage  my  passage  for  Liverpool,  not 
expecting  to  return  again  to  New  Haven  before  sailing. 
Four  years  and  eight  months  had  elapsed  from  the  time 
when  President  Dwight  gave  me  the  first  confidential  in- 
timation of  his  views  and  plan,  and  three  years  and  a  half 
since  my  appointment.  Chemistry  was  a  favorite  with  Dr. 
Dwight,  and  he  looked  forward  to  its  establishment  with 
the  connected  sciences  with  a  high  and  evident  interest, 
which  increased  in  strength  as  the  department  advanced 
VOL.  r.  9 


130  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAX. 

towards  active  efficiency.  The  present  was  an  epoch  in  my 
life.  In  my  old  expense-book  under  the  date  of  March  22, 
1805,  I  find  the  following  remark  :  — "  Here  close  my 
accounts  in  this  town  (New  Haven),  having  paid  every  de- 
mand, —  being  about  to  depart  in  the  evening  for  Europe." 
If  I  had  never  returned,  no  one  would  have  been  a  loser 
by  me. 

A  survivor  of  the  Class  of  1804,  and  a  hearer  of 
Mr.  Silliman's  first  lectures,  himself  distinguished  in 
the  walks  of  literature,  writes  as  follows  :  — 

REV.  JOHN    riEEFONT    TO    G.   P.    FISHER. 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  March  6,  18G5. 

MY  first  sight  of  Mr.  Silliman  was,  when  the 

day  before  Commencement  1800,  I,  with  other  candidates 
for  admission  to  college,  with  a  very  turbulent  heart,  took 
my  seat  in  the  old  dining-hall,  for  examination.  I  felt  that 
it  was  —  and  very  probably  it  was  — the  most  eventful  day 
of  my  life.  The  Examiners  were  then  the  now  venerable 
and  saintly  Ex-President  Day,  arjd  Mr.  Silliman,  who,  I 
then  thought,  was  the  handsomest  man  that  I  had  ever  seen. 

I  was  never  in  a  class  —  academical  —  that  enjoyed  the 
advantage  of  Mr.  Silliman's  immediate  instruction ;  he,  if 
I  remember  aright,  being  connected  with  the  Junior,  when 
I  was  of  the  Freshman  class. 

As  you  remark,  sir,  I  was  of  the  class  that  first  heard  his 
lectures  on  chemistry,  in  the  preparation  of  which  he  had 
spent  some  time.  I  do  not  recollect  whether  or  not  I 
went  to  his  first  lecture  prepared  to  take  notes  of  it.  But  I 
think  I  remember  the  introductory  sentence  of  it,  defining 
the  science  that  was  to  be  the  subject  of  his  course  ;  — 
"  Chemistry  is  the  science  that  treats  of  the  changes  that 
are  effected  in  material  bodies  or  substances  by  light,  heat, 
and  mixture." 

My  impression  now  is,  that  he  did  not  read  his  lectures ; 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  HIS  WORK  AS  PROFESSOR.     131 

so  that  his  instructions  were  not  etymologic-ally  lectures 
or  readings,  but  free,  fluent  talks,  prepared  for  evidently 
with  care,  and  delivered  in  a  style,  as  some  would  say, 
rather  ornate  for  a  strictly  scientific  discourse.  Severe  and 
sensitive  critics  might  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  there  was  in 
his  style  of  lecturing  a  slight  affectation  of  the  exquisite  ; 
while  others  would  say  "  nay,  but  a  very  natural  elegance." 

In  his  demonstrative  experiments  he  was  always  success- 
ful, and  in  all  his  manipulations  there  was  uniformly  a 
grace  and  nicety  that  was  pleasant  to  those  of  us  whose 
ideality  had  begun  to  be  developed. 

His  elocution  was  distinct,  sometimes  rather  too  rapid  for 
those  of  us  who  were  slow  of  apprehension,  but  it  seemed 
to  go  so  fast  because  he  feared  there  would  n't  be  time 
enough  for  it  all  to  get  out  —  there  was  so  much  of  it  — 
before  the  clock  would  strike  and  shut  the  laggards  in. 

It  was,  I  think,  in  1829,  that,  at  the  request  of  the  first 
association  for  a  course  of  popular  lectures  in  Boston,  I 
called  upon  Mr.  Silliman  to  solicit  from  him  a  course  of 
lectures  in  that  city.  As  to  his  manner  in  that  course,  I 
could  see  in  it  but  little  change.  It  seemed  almost  identi- 
cal with  what  it  was  when  I  first  heard  him.  His  style  of 
rhetoric  was  perhaps  rather  more  severe,  but  his  experi- 
ments were  equally  graceful,  and,  as  of  old,  equally  and 
always  successful.  What,  under  certain  combinations  and 
mixtures,  he  said  would  come  to  pass,  always  did  come  to 
pass.  lie  was  as  a  lecturer  a  true  prophet,  showing  a  full 
knowledge  of  his  subject,  and  because  of  that  knowledge 
able  to  predict  the  phenomena  that  would  result  from  stated 
conditions. 

Mr.  Silliman's  chemical  lectures  in  Boston  were  emi- 
nently successful.  In  regard  to  his  manner  of  lecturing 
when  I  just  compared  it  with  what  it  was  when  I  first  heard 
him,  if  I  speak  as  I  have  done,  of  its  almost  perfect  iden- 
tity, thereby  implying  that  he  had  not  improved  much  be- 
tween those  periods,  you,  sir,  ouejht  not  to  be  greatly 


132  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

surprised  ;  for  what  great  improvement  could  be  rationally 
expected  in  1829,  in  what  was  so  nearly  perfect  a  quarter 
of  a  century  before  ? 

I  fear,  my  dear  sir,  that  you  will  be  able  to  make  little, 
if  any,  use  of  what  I  have  here  given  you,  but  as  the  poor 
best  that  I  can  do  for  you,  I  beg  you  to  accept  it. 
With  respects  of 

Your  obdt.  servant, 

JNO.  PIERPONT. 

The  annexed  letters  were  written  after  his  plan 
for  visiting  Europe  was  formed,  and  prior  to  his 
departure. 

TO   MRS.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

YALE  COLLEGE,  January  12,  1805. 

A  WEEK  to-morrow  evening   I  wrote   to   your 

husband  and  gave  him  reason  to  believe  that  it  would  be 
impossible  for  me  to  visit  you  before  my  embarkation.  My 
heart  knows  how  much  I  regret  this.  I  love  you  both 
more  than  I  can  express,  and  I  know  not  any  earthly  wish 
that  I  should  sooner  pray  to  have  gratified  than  that  which 
would  place  you  both  where  I  could  see  you  and  converse 
with  you  every  day.  I  love  your  society  ;  it  not  only  agrees 
with  every  sentiment  of  duty  derived  from  family  alliance, 
but  it  suits  my  taste  exactly.  With  all  the  delights  of 
science  and  varied  society,  I  have  a  sad  vacuum ;  I  have,  I 
trust,  about  me  many  well-wishers  and  more  than  one  cor- 
dial friend,  but  mother  is  not  here,  Selleck  and  He.psn,  are 
not  here,  and  I  must  smother  in  my  own  bosom  much  which 
would  make  my  tongue  eloquent  had  I  such  ears  as  yours 
and  theirs  to  lay  my  mouth  to ;  but  I  must  grow  concise 

and  proceed  to  other  topics My  chemical  lectures 

were  most  of  them  written  carelessly  as  to  the  handwriting, 
because  I  expected  to  copy  them ;  but  this  I  have  given 
up.  But  I  will  make  no  excuses ;  and  although  I  believe 


THE  BEGINNING   OF  HIS  WORK  AS   PROFESSOR.       133 

they  will  afford  Selleck  but  little  entertainment,  because 
they  all  go  upon  the  supposition  that  the  experiments  elu- 
cidating the  principles  are  exhibited  at  the  same  time,  I 
will,  nevertheless,  send  them;  they  with  the  Spectacle  de  la 
Nature  will  just  fill  a  small  trunk,  which  I  will  forward. 
The  lectures  must  be  returned  as  soon  as  I  return  next 
fall,  that  I  may  have  them  to  begin  my  course  with. 

The  feeling  and  eloquent,  though  too  flattering,  manner 
in  which  you  urge  me  to  leave  behind  a  copy  of  my  face,  as 
a  sad  remembrance,  should  I  never  return,  took  strong  hold 
of  my  feelings,  and  drew  tears  from  eyes  very  little  prone  to 
weep.  I  felt  the  request  to  be  reasonable,  and  I  will  not 
be  so  fastidiously  delicate  as  to  doubt  that  a  faithful  copy 
of  my  face  would  be  to  my  friends  a  dear  memorial  of  one 
whom  they  loved  living,  and  would  lament  if  dead 

I  intended  to  tell  you  how  I  am  delighted  with  the  de- 
tails which  maternal  tenderness,  and  not  weakness,  has  led 
you  to  give  me  of  those  dear  babes  ;  if  you  insist  that  it  is 
weakness,  continue  to  be  weak  whenever  you  write.  Your 
pencil  is  so  successful  that  I  see  them  both  now  in  my 
mind's  eye.  Kiss  them  six  times  apiece  for  me,  and  tell 
them  Uncle  Ben  dearly  loves  his  little  "  pappoose  "  and  his 
little  '"  bo\v-wow."  On  Monday  evening  my  friend  Day  is 
to  be  married.  I  stand  bridesman.  The  connection  prom- 
ises mutual  happiness  on  the  most  rational  grounds.  I 
assure  you  I  feel  very  much  disposed  to  go  and  do  likewise, 
but  at  least  six  thousand  miles  of  water  lie  between  me  and 
any  glimpse  of  matrimony 

TO    MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

RYE,  (State  of  New  York,) 
January  24,  1805. 

DEAR  SELLECK,  — I  left  New  Haven  on  Wed- 
nesday morning  of  last  week  with  Dr.  Dwight,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  New  York,  which  we  reached  on  Thursday  at 
eleven  o'clock  A.  M.  We  left  it  to-day  at  twelve  o'clock. 


134  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Our  stay  was  therefore  one  week.  This  period  I  have  spent 
very  usefully  and  agreeably.  I  have  met  with  very  polite 
and  friendly  attention  from  people  of  the  first  respectability. 
I  have  secured  letters  of  introduction  to  Scotland,  England, 
Holland,  and  France;  from  Samuel  M.  Hopkins,  Dr.  Ma- 
son, the  house  of  Murray  and  Son,  Oliver  Wolcott,  Dr.  Per- 
kins, Col.  Trumbull,  and  Mr.  King.  All  these  gentlemen 
offer  me  every  information  and  assistance  in  their  power. 
Mr.  King  will  introduce  me  to  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  President 
of  the  Royal  Society,  to  Sir  Charles  Blagden,  late  Secre- 
tary of  it,  &c.  Col.  Trumbull,  in  addition  to  letters,  will 
give  me  in  writing  directions  for  travelling  to  advantage, — 
particularly  to  enable  me  to  make  a  respectable  appearance 
with  the  least  possible  expense ;  for  he  remarked  that  he 
had  visited  Europe  in  circumstances  very  similar  to  mine, 
and  therefore  knew  how  to  direct  me.  In  company  with 
Dr.  Dwight  and  Mr.  Rogers,  I  spent  two  hours  one  morn- 
ing at  Mr.  King's.  I  was  gratified  to  find  in  a  man  who 
had  been  so  long  conversant  with  Courts,  and  who  had  so 
long  enjoyed  the  admiration  of  Europe  and  America,  the 
utmost  affability  and  a  total  freedom  from  formality  and 

that  rcpulsivcness  so  commonly  mistaken  for  dignity 

While  in  New  York  I  dined  with  Moses  Rogers,  in  com- 
pany with  James  Watson,  Dr.  Mason,  Mr.  Hopkins,  Mr. 
Gracie,  Oliver  Wolcott,  &c.  I  dined  also  with  Win.  Wool- 
sey,  Lynde  Catlin,  Mr.  Winthrop  ;  breakfasted  with  Peter 
lladcliff,  Mr.  Hopkins,  and  Mr.  Rogers,  &c.,  &c.  I  must 
stop  to-morrow  night  with  brother  John,  and  reach  New 
Haven  on  Saturday  evening.  On  Monday  I  shall  go  to 
Middletown  to  spend  a  day  or  two  with  Hond>  Mother,  and 
this  will  close  the  vacation.  I  must  then  give  an  assiduous 
application  to  the  duties  of  my  professorship  and  to  my 
preparations,  till  my  departure 

A  voyage  to  Europe  sixty  years  ago  was  a  far 
more  serious  undertaking  than  now;  and  the  fare- 
wells exchanged  were  proportionately  serious. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  HIS  WORK  AS  PROFESSOR.       135 

TO    MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

YALE  COLLEGE,  February  21,  1805. 

THE  solemn  trust  which  you  so  tenderly  commit 

to  me  in  case  of  an  event,  —  which  may  God  of  his  infinite 
mercy  avert,  —  I  with  all  seriousness  and  sincerity  accept 
As  you  do  not  doubt  the  strength  of  my  affection  for  you, 
our  dear  Ilepsa,  and  the  lovely  babes,  so  you  cannot  hesi- 
tate to  believe  that  my  affections  would  be  seconded  by  my 
principles  and  exertions.  So  long,  then,  as  I  have  life  or 
ability,  you  may  rest  assured  that  any  relicts  of  a  brother, 
whom  I  love  as  I  do  my  own  life,  would  share  my  last  far- 
thing, and  the  little  ones  would  command  all  my  vigilance 
and  wisdom  to  form  their  hearts  to  piety  and  their  under- 
standings to  knowledge.  Do  not,  I  beseech  you,  lay  it  to 
heart  that  I  cannot  visit  you.  We  should  be  obliged  to 
part  even  then  ;  and  would  it  not  be  more  painful  than  to 
make  up  our  minds  to  it  now  ?  I  trust  firmly,  cheerfully, 
and  confidently  in  Heaven,  that  ive  shall  meet  again.  I 
have  not  one  gloomy  foreboding,  one  desponding  thought 
or  doubtful  apprehension.  Do  not  think  I  want  feeling. 
Most  sensibly  do  I  feel  the  idea  that  I  must  be  separated 
for  more  than  a  year  from  those  I  love  ;  but  I  will  not  give 
way  to  such  feelings;  my  mind  is  made  up,  and  I  go, 
resolutely  and  cheerfully,  to  meet  whatever  is  before  me. 
I  have  also  a  firm  confidence,  under  God,  that  I  shall  not 
be  influenced  by  the  infidelity  or  the  splendid  pleasures 
and  gilded  fopperies  of  the  Old  World.  Spare  me  not, 
when  I  return,  if  you  find  that  I  have  made  a  fool  of  my- 
self. My  mind  is  bent  on  acquiring  professional  science, 
a  knowledge  of  mankind,  that  general  information  which 
shall  give  me  pleasing  resources  for  reflection  and  conver- 
sation, those  polished  manners  which  shall  prove  a  per- 
petual letter  of  introduction,  and  that  easy,  elegant,  and 
chastened  style  of  speech  which  shall  give  a  garnish  to  all 
the  rest.  I  have  not  the  vanity  to  believe  I  shall  accom- 
plish all  this  ;  but  such  are  my  objects 


CHAPTER   VI. 

VISIT  TO  EUROPE:   RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON. 

Residence  in  Europe. — Mr.  John  Taylor.  —  Dr.  William  Henry.  —  Dr. 
Dalton's  Lecture  and  Conversation.  —  Arrival  in  London.  —  Mr.  Wil- 
liam Nicholson.  —  Frederic  Accum,  the  German  Chemist.  —  Dr.  George 
Pearson  and  his  Lectures.  —  Illumination  by  Gas.  —  Scientific  Socie- 
ties.—  Davy.  —  Sir  Joseph  Banks. — Visit  to  Cornwall.  —  Cr.  Ryland 
and  Mr.  Winterbotham.  —  Military  Preparations  on  tin1  English  Coast.  — 
Back  to  London.  —  At  the  House  of  Benjamin  West:  Joel  Barlow, 
Robert  Fulton,  and  Karl  Stanhope.  —  Interview  with  Davy.  —  Professor 
William  Allen's  Lecture  and  Conversation.  —  At  Cambridge:  Professor 
Parish.  —  Visit  to  Lindley  Murray. 

THE  year  which  Mr.  Silliman  spent  abroad  was 
crowded  with  profitable  and  agreeable  employments. 
In  Liverpool,  where  he  landed  and  first  saw  the 
English  on  their  own  island,  he  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  form  the  acquaintance  of  Mr.  Eoscoe.  After 
a  visit  to  Manchester,  he  resorted  to  the  Derbyshire 
mines,  which  he  diligently  explored.  At  Coventry 
he  witnessed  the  confusion  and  riot  of  an  English 
election.  Pursuing  his  way  to  London,  he  took  up 
his  abode  in  that  metropolis  for  several  months,  exe- 
cuting the  commission  with  which  he  was  charged 
by  the  College,  prosecuting  his  scientific  studies,  and 
making  himself  acquainted  with  things  and  persons 
of  note.  In  society  he  met  the  leading  scientific 
men  of  the  day,  including  Watt,  and  our  country- 
man, Robert  Fulton.  In  Parliament  he  had  the 


VISIT  TO   EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON.       137 

opportunity  to  hear  the*  celebrated  statesmen  Pitt, 
Castlereagh,  "Windham,  Fox,  and  Sheridan.  He 
saw  Lord  Nelson  on  the  Strand,  with  a  crowd  at  his 
heels,  and  afterwards  witnessed  his  embarkation  at 
Portsmouth,  with  the  glittering  decorations  on  his 
breast  which  soon  after  proved  a  mark  for  the  fatal 
shot  on  the  deck  of  the  Victory ;  and  he  witnessed 
the  mingled  exultation  and  grief  of  the  English 
people  at  the  news  of  Trafalgar.  He  made  an  ex- 
cursion to  Cornwall,  and  a  laborious  examination  of 
the  mining  operations  in  that  region,  besides  excur- 
sions to  Bath,  Bristol,  and  other  places  in  England. 
Passing  over  to  Holland,  he  encountered  the  only 
serious  disappointment  attending  his  tour.  It  was 
during  the  period  after  the  rupture  of  the  Peace  of 
Amiens,  when  the  tide  of  Napoleon's  wrath  against 
England  was  at  the  highest  point,  and  when  the 
great  army  which  soon  after  achieved  the  capitula- 
tion at  Ulm  and  the  victory  of  Austerlitz  had  sud- 
denly marched  from  the  northern  coast  of  France, 
where  they  had  long  menaced  the  opposite  shores 
with  invasion.  At  Antwerp,  Mr.  Silliman  and  his 
travelling  companion  were  stopped  by  the  French 
police  on  suspicion  of  being  spies,  —  no  other  proof 
being  alleged  than  the  fact  that  they  had  come  from 
England.  To  come  from  England,  whatever  might 
be  the  nationality  of  the  traveller,  was  at  that  time 
considered  an  offence  meriting  the  imperial  dis- 
pleasure. Though  deprived  of  the  privilege  of  seeing 
Paris  and  its  men  of  science,  Mr.  Silliman  embraced 
the  opportunity  to  visit  several  of  the  principal  cities 
of  Holland.  Returning  to  London,  he  saw  Mrs. 
Siddons  in  the  Covent  Garden  Theatre,  in  one  of 


138  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

her  favorite  parts,  the  Grecian  Daughter;  he  re- 
ceived the  hospitalities  of  Mr.  Thornton,  member  of 
parliament  and  friend  of  Wilberforce,  and  by  that 
gentleman  was  introduced  to  the  illustrious  states- 
man, with  whom  he  spent  several  hours  most  agree- 
ably;  and  he  was  brought  into  personal  intercourse 
with  the  distinguished  scientific  professors,  Davy  and 
Allen.  Taking  the  University  of  Cambridge  on  his 
way,  and  passing  through  York  and  Newcastle,  he 
arrived  in  Edinburgh  in  the  latter  part  of  Novem- 
ber, 1805.  He  found  everything  to  delight  him  in 
this  ancient  and  beautiful  city,  and  in  the  University, 
where  he  found  the  ablest  instructors  in  the  depart- 
ments of  study  to  which  he  was  devoted.  Here  he 
remained  until  the  following  spring,  when  he  set  sail 
from  Greenock,  and  reached  New  York  on  the  27th 
of  May. 

In  his  Reminiscences,  Mr.  Silliman  has  presented 
fresh  and  lively  details  of  this  early  sojourn  in  Europe, 
and  especially  of  the  winter  at  Edinburgh.  To  no 
part  of  his  long  life  does  he  seem  to  revert  with  more 
pleasure  than  to  this.  The  following  passages  em- 
brace but  a  part  of  what  he  has  written  :  — 

My  travels  and  residence  in  Europe  in  1805-G,  although 
undertaken  chiefly  for  the  interests  of  Yale  College  and  of 
science,  did  not  preclude  observations  of  popular  subjects 
along  with  notices  of  science  and  the  arts.  These  observa- 
tions were  preserved  in  a  Journal  which  was  published  in 
1810,  and  two  other  editions  followed. 

The  ride  from  Liverpool  made  me  acquainted  with  a  gen- 
tleman, Mr.  John  Taylor,  who  proved  to  me  an  invaluable 
friend  through  a  long  life.  He  died  Dec.  0,  1857,  aged  78. 
(For  a  fuller  notice  of  him  see  the  8vo.  edition  of  my  first 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON.        139 

travels  published  in  1810,  Vol.  I.  p.  70  ;  also  Vol.  I.  pp.  17 
and  20  of  the  visit  to  Europe  in  1851.)  My  relations  with 
him  were  most  agreeable  and  useful  to  me,  but  had  no 
particular  reference  to  science.  He  was,  however,  ever 
ready  to  serve  me,  and  did,  many  years  after,  perform  an 
important  service  in  the  line  of  my  studies,  by  sending  me 
large  specimen  slates  from  the  sandstone  quarry  of  Storeton, 
near  Liverpool,  containing  fine  copies,  in  relief,  of  the  feet 
of  the  Chirotheriurn  ;  they  are  now  in  the  Cabinet  of  Yale 
College. 

Two  gentlemen  eminent  in  science,  resided  at  Manches- 
ter. I  sought  them  under  the  guidance  of  Mr.  Taylor,  but 
did  not  find  Dr.  William  Henry,  an  eminent  author  on 
chemistry,  of  whose  excellent  "Elements"  I  published,  a  few 
years  after,  three  American  editions  with  notes.  I  sus- 
tained an  occasional  correspondence  with  him,  and  sent 
him  a  rather  copious  table  of  errata  in  his  work,  which  he 
received  courteously  and  even  gratefully. 

I  found  Mr.  Dal  ton,  who  was  a  Quaker,  with  the  plain 
dress  and  address  of  his  sect.  He  was  apparently  from 
thirty-five  to  forty  years  old.  I  attended  an  evening  lecture 
by  him  on  Electricity.  The  audience  was  popular,  and  ladies 
formed  a  part  of  it.  The  lecture  was  beautifully  illustrated 
by  experiments,  and  among  them,  in  a  darkened  room,  the 
electrical  discharge  was  conveyed  around  the  cornices  of 
the  room  by  means  of  an  interrupted  wire,  cut  at  short 
intervals  ;  and  as  the  discharge  passed,  there  was  a  brilliant 
light  at  each  interruption,  and  without  any  appreciable  suc- 
cession in  time.  Mr.  Dalton  had  already  distinguished 
himself  by  his  researches  on  heat  and  vapor  and  evapo- 
ration and  the  law  of  diffusion  of  mixed  gases.  His  great 
achievement,  however,  was  the  establishment  of  the  doc- 
trine of  definite  or  equivalent  proportions,  including  the 
volumes  of  gases.  Gay  Lussac  in  Paris  had  also  brought 
forward  similar  views  and  proofs,  before  there  was  any 
communication  between  them,  or  knowledge  of  each  other's 


140  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

researches.  The  morning  after  the  lecture,  Mr.  Dalton 
gave  me  an  hour  or  two  in  a  conversational  explanation  of 
his  views,  and  in  showing  me  his  apparatus  and  mode  of 
experimenting.  I  had,  in  after  years,  occasion  often  to 
quote  his  discourses.  He  lived  to  an  honored  old  age,  and 
his  name,  as  well  as  that  of  his  (then  to  him  unknown)  co- 
worker,  Gay  Lussac,  is  deeply  engraven  on  the  monumental 
column  dedicated  to  men  eminent  in  science.  Mr.  Dalton 
was  the  first  scientific  man  whom  I  saw  in  England.  I  had 
seen  Mr.  Roscoe  equally  eminent  in  literature. 

Dr.  Henry  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  scientific  public, 
and  by  the  aid  of  chemical  manufactures  had  secured 
wealth,  and  his  labors  in  science  had  won  for  him  a  high 
and  deserved  reputation.  But  a  mysterious  Providence 
removed  him  from  life.  He  had  recently  returned  from  a 
meeting  of  the  British  Association  at  Bristol,  when,  as  is 
believed,  in  a  fit  of  derangement,  he  shot  himself  in  a 
domestic  chapel  in  his  own  garden. 

On  Monday,  May  20th,  I  arrived  in  London,  last  from 
Oxford,  and  obtained  a  home  at  No.  13  Margaret  Street, 
Cavendish  Square,  which  had  been  the  abode  of  a  friend 
of  mine,  Dr.  Archibald  Bruce  of  New  York.  By  him  I  was 
introduced  to  the  worthy  lady  of  the  house,  Mrs.  Brooke  ; 
and  this  was  my  residence  for  nearly  six  months.  It  was 
every  way  comfortable  and  desirable.  The  vote  of  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  Yale  College,  of  Sept.  7th,  1802, 
included  Natural  History  along  with  Chemistry  in  the  Pro- 
fessorship. So  wide  a  range  of  research  was  very  startling 
to  me.  I  was,  however,  willing  to  look  at  the  subject  and 
see  what  could  be  done.  The  orders  Avhich  were  com- 
mitted to  me  for  the  purchase  of  books  and  apparatus  re- 
quired a  residence  in  London  during  the  summer ;  and  I 
was  desirous  to  discover  what  sources  of  information  were 
accessible  in  the  metropolis.  My  first  object  was,  however, 
to  make  arrangements  for  obtaining  the  books  for  the 
library,  and  the  apparatus  for  the  philosophical  and  chemical 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON.       141 

departments.  I  had  already  arranged  my  money  concerns 
with  the  great  American  banker  of  that  day,  Samuel  Wil- 
liams, Esq.,  of  Finsbury  Square,  a  nephew  of  Col.  Timothy 
Pickering,  by  whom  I  was  responsibly  introduced  ;  and  the 
funds  which  I  brought  were  deposited  with  him,  a  well- 
known,  exact,  and  reliable  man,  of  few  words,  but  of  many 
good  deeds  of  kind  service. 

A  stranger  in  London,  and  a  novice  in  its  business 
affairs,  I  did  not  feel  safe  in  proceeding  without  mature 
and  wise  counsel.  For  this  purpose  I  obtained  an  intro- 
duction to  William  Nicholson,  a  veteran  in  science,  and  an 
author  and  journalist  of  high  reputation.  I  called  on  him 
at  his  residence  in  Soho  Square,  and  was  personally  intro- 
duced by  a  friend.  My  calls  were  repeated  several  times, 
and  I  was  present  at  one  of  his  conversazioni.  Nicholson 
was  an  instrument-maker.  I  found  this  distinguished  man 
very  affable  and  kind;  and  having  explained  to  him  my 
object  in  coming  to  London,  he  entered  into  my  views  with 
great  readiness,  and  would  not  permit  me  to  apologize  for 
the  call.  He  said,  on  the  contrary,  that  he  had  always 
made  it  a  principle  to  aid,  as  far  as  possible,  every  worthy 
effort,  and  to  impart  to  inquirers  all  the  information  in  his 
power.  In  this  course  he  said,  morever,  that  he  had  re- 
ceived his  reward  in  the  great  readiness  which  he  found  in 
others  to  aid  him  in  turn.  Such  liberal  sentiments  relieved 
any  embarrassment  which  I  might  have  felt,  and  I  hope 
his  sentiments  have  not  been  lost  upon  me,  as  an  example. 
Mr.  Nicholson  survived  these  interviews  about  fifteen  years, 
and  the  world  was  a  loser  when  he  died.  In  my  published 
journal  of  travels  in  England,  I  have  recorded  that  he  bore 
a  strong  resemblance  to  the  late  President  Dwight,  both 
in  person  and  in  the  features  of  his  mind.  In  his  commu- 
nications he  was,  like  him,  copious,  flowing,  lucid,  and 
courteous,  bearing  upon  the  given  topic  with  great  energy 
and  scope  of  thought,  ready  on  almost  every  subject,  and 
pouring  a  full  stream  from  a  fountain  so  much  more  full 
and  ample  that  it  was  never  exhausted. 


142  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

I  early  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  celebrated  practical 
chemist,  Frederick  Accum,  a  German,  but  fully  established 
in  London,  and  speaking  the  English  language  very  intel- 
ligibly. After  frequenting  his  establishment  near  Soho 
Square  daily  for  many  weeks,  for  purposes  to  be  mentioned 
hereafter.  I  became  satisfied  that  I  could  employ  him  ad- 
vantageously to  obtain  for  me  the  desired  chemical  ap- 
paratus. He  was  well  acquainted  with  practical  chemistry, 
and  was  much  resorted  to  to  make  chemical  analyses  and 
examinations  of  many  things  ;  —  he  was  to  the  Londoners 
a  pet  chemist.  He  was  a  most  obliging  and  kind-hearted 
man ;  and  in  ways  which  I  will  hereafter  mention,  as  well 
as  in  relation  to  apparatus  and  preparations,  he  was  always 
prompt  to  serve  me,  and  would  for  that  purpose  go  to  the 
end  of  London,  if  not  to  the  end  of  the  earth.  He  had 
been,  moreover,  the  operative  assistant  of  Davy,  in  the  Royal 
Institution,  and  in  that  way  had  become  familiar  with  the 
requirements  of  philosophical  chemistry  and  class  instruc- 
tion, as  well  as  with  the  wants  of  the  arts  and  economics. 
In  his  house  he  kept  a  considerable  variety  of  apparatus ; 
and  his  extensive  acquaintance  with  all  dealers  and  man- 
ufacturers of  instruments  enabled  him  to  obtain  all  that  I 
wanted,  better  than  I  could  do  it  myself  in  the  immense 
world  of  London,  then  (the  summer  of  1805)  containing  a 
million  of  people,  now,  I  suppose,  two  and  a  half  millions. 

Before  coming  to  I^ngland  I  had  made  myself  familiar, 
in  a  good  degree,  with  popular  chemistry,  and  having  a 
natural  tact  for  manipulations,  I  was  already  a  pretty  expert 
experimenter.  I  wished,  however,  to  become  acquainted 
with  difficult  processes,  and  I  therefore  engaged  Mr.  Ac- 
cum to  give  me  private  instructions,  and  to  devote  some 
hour  or  hours  to  me  daily  in  his  working  laboratory.  IIo 
then  requested  me  to  name  the  subjects  with  which  I  was 
least  acquainted,  or  not  acquainted  at  all,  and  to  them  we 
devoted  our  time  and  efforts.  Among  the  subjects  were  the 
analysis  of  ores,  the  formation  of  the  crystallized  vegetable 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON.       143 

acids,  the  arsenical  compounds,  &c.  We  operated  upon 
arsenious  acid,  white  arsenic,  by  nitrate  of  potassa  in  a  hot 
crucible,  for  the  purpose  of  turning  it  into  arsenical  acid. 
Mr.  Accuni  did  not  caution  me  against  inhaling  the  fumes 
which  were  floating  about  the  room,  and,  indeed,  without  a 
caution  from  him,  I  ought  to  have  been  on  my  guard,  as  I 
very  well  knew  these  fumes  to  be  poisonous  ;  but  our  minds 
were  so  much  engaged  that  we  neglected  our  safety.  We 
both  suffered  serious  inconvenience  for  some  days  in  pros- 
trated muscular  power,  and  in  debility  and  derangement 
of  the  digestive  organs.  The  time  passed  in  this  manner 
with  Mr.  Accum  was,  in  general,  profitably  spent ;  some- 
times we  were  engaged  together  a  whole  morning.  He 
would  receive  no  compensation  for  his  time,  his  re-agents, 
and  his  services, —  the  only  instance  of  the  kind  that  I  met 
with  anywhere,  at  home  or  abroad,  during  my  novitiate. 

Eventually,  however,  Mr.  Accum  received  compensation 
indirectly  by  the  very  considerable  order,  already  named, 

which  he  executed  for  Yale  College Coming  to 

the  laboratory  one  day,  I  found  Accum  laughing  and  in 
high  glee  on  account  of  a  good  bargain  he  had  made  with 
Mr.  Pitt,  the  Prime  Minister,  for  government.  Mr.  Pitt, 
he  said,  had  ordered  a  large  quantity  of  chemical  apparatus 
for  a  place  in  my  country.  "Ah,"  I  replied,  "  what  is  the 
name  of  the  place  ?  "  "  Pondicherry,"  he  replied.  "  Pondi- 
cherry,  indeed  !  That  is  not  in  my  country  :  it  is  in  India, 
at  our  antipodes ;  and,  moreover,  Mr.  Pitt  would  not  send 
apparatus  to  my  country."  "  But  no  matter,"  he  said,  "  I 
have  taken  this  opportunity  to  sweep  my  garrets  of  all  my 
old  apparatus  and  odds  and  ends  that  had  been  accumu- 
lating for  years,  and  have  turned  everything  over  to  gov- 
ernment." Well,  thought  I,  Mr.  Pitt  is  not  here  to  look 
after  his  apparatus,  and  if  he  were  present  he  would 
probably  not  be  a  very  good  judge  ;  but  I  am  here,  and 
shall  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  my  own  concerns. 

On  my  passage  out  from  New  York,  I  copied  into  my 


144  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

journal  all  my  documents  and  letters  of  introduction. 
Among  the  latter  was  one  from  the  late  Benjamin  Doug- 
lass Perkins  to  Dr.  George  Pearson.  Mr.  Perkins  passed 
several  years  in  London,  occupied  in  diffusing  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  once  celebrated  metallic  tractors,  first  applied 
to  use  by  his  father,  the  late  Dr.  Perkins  of  Plainfield, 
Connecticut.  Dr.  Pearson  favored  the  efforts  of  B.  D. 
Perkins,  and  thus  a  personal  interest  was  cherished  between 
them.  In  the  introduction  to  Dr.  Pearson,  he  (Perkins) 
wrote  thus  :  —  "  Visiting  your  country  with  such  views, 
[explained  in  the  preceding  part  of  the  letter,]  to  whom 
could  I  with  more  propriety  address  him  than  to  the  oldest 
lecturer  and  the  greatest  chemist  in  England?"  There 
were  then  —  it  being  summer  —  no  other  chemical  lec- 
tures going  on  in  London,  except,  perhaps,  at  the  hospitals, 
and  as  I  wished  to  make  the  best  use  of  my  time,  in  ob- 
taining professional  knowledge,  and  to  hear  moreover  in 
what  manner  eminent  men  in  Europe  lecture,  it  appeared 
to  me  fortunate  that  I  could  listen  to  "  the  oldest  lecturer 
and  the  greatest  chemist  in  England."  I  therefore  took  Dr. 
Pearson's  tickets.  He  gave  lectures  on  three  different  sub- 
jects —  Chemistry,  Materia  Medica,  and  Therapeutics  — 
in  immediate  succession.  He  began  in  the  office  connected 
with  his  house,  at  eight  o'clock  A.  M.,  and  lectured  forty-five 
minutes  on  Chemistry ;  next  on  Materia  Medica  for  the 
same  time  ;  and  last  on  Therapeutics  forty-five  minutes  ; 
finishing  at  fifteen  minutes  past  ten.  There  was  no  inter- 
val for  breathing  or  for  a  gentle  transition  to  a  new  subject. 
This  mental  repletion  was  not  favorable  to  intellectual 
digestion.  I  attended  the  lecture  on  Chemistry  and  that 
on  Materia  Medica.  A  learned  man  Dr.  Pearson  certainly 
was,  but  I  was  disappointed  in  the  great  advantage  which 
I  had  expected.  The  lecture-room  was  ill  furnished,  and 
the  appearance  of  it  was  shabby  and  even  mean.  The 
apparatus  was  quite  limited,  and  the  experiments  not 
numerous  nor  well  performed.  The  class  was  composed  of 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:   RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON.       145 

young  men,  seemingly  very  raw,  and  not  appearing  like 
cultivated  and  intelligent  youth.  Dr.  Pearson  usually  came 
into  the  lecture-room  quite  in  dishabille  —  but  half  dressed, 
and  the  air  of  things  was  not  up  to  the  dignity  of  a  lecture- 
room.  I  felt  that  I  was  out  of  place,  and  in  company  to 
which  I  did  not  belong.  Some  of  Dr.  Pearson's  own  discov- 
eries were  interesting  to  me  ;  for  example,  the  composition 
of  James's  powcler,  and  the  decomposition  of  carbonic  acid 
by  boiling  phosphorus  with  carbonate  of  soda.  The  greater 
part  of  the  things  said  and  done  were  familiar  to  me,  and 
some  I  thought  I  had  done  better  at  home.  On  the  whole, 
J  did  not  feel  that  these  lectures  returned  me  an  equivalent 
for  my  time  and  money.  Had  I  not  paid  for  my  tickets,  and 
—  a  stronger  reason  still  —  had  I  not  been  personally  in- 
troduced and  received  civilities  from  Dr.  Pearson,  I  should 
have  given  up  these  courses.  I  breakfasted  with  Dr.  Pear- 
son and  family,  and  he  had  taken  me  in  a  coach  down  to 
Woolwich,  —  a  government  military  station,  eight  miles  be- 
low London  ;  and  I  looked  about  while  he  visited  a  patient. 
His  personal  deportment  towards  me  was  courteous,  and  he 
even  commended  me  to  a  friend  as  having  made  "  astonish- 
ing progress  while  attending  his  lectures."  Of  this  prog- 
ress I  was  not  myself  sensible,  nor  could  I  feel  how  he 
could  have  discovered  my  improvement,  as  there  were  no 
scientific  communications  between  us,  except  that  I  occa- 
sionally macle  an  inquiry. 

The  first  illumination  by  gas  in  London  took 

'place  in  the  summer  of  1805,  and  it  was  my  good  fortune 
to  see  this  exhibition  on  the  evening  of  July  4th  of  that 
year.  Returning  with  a  companion  from  Hyde  Park, 
through  Piccadilly,  we  stopped  at  the  shop  of  a  chemist 
and  apothecary,  near  Albany  House.  This  shop  —  it  being 
evening  —  was  surrounded  by  a  large  crowd  of  people  who 
were  attracted  by  the  brilliant  exhibition  of  gas-light.  It 
sufficed  not  only  to  illuminate  the  premises,  which  it  did 
very  splendidly,  but  the  doors  and  windows  being  open,  it 

VOL.  i.  10 


146  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

made  noonday  in  the  streets.  As  I  had  never  seen  any- 
thing of  the  kind  before,  beyond  the  small  experiments  of 
the  scientific  laboratory,  I  asked  permission  of  the  head  of 
the  establishment  to  see  his  apparatus.  At  first  he  refused, 
but  when  I  assured  him  that  I  had  no  manufacturing  or 
trade  interests  to  serve,  but  only  those  of  science,  he  con- 
sented and  accompanied  me  into  the  cellar.  There  was 
nothing  in  the  arrangement  different  from  those  now  in 
use,  except  that  they  were  less  perfect.  The  upper  apart- 
ment being  open  to  the  breeze,  the  numerous  long  and 
pointed  jets  of  flame  of  great  brilliancy,  waving  with  every 
breath  of  air,  seemed  as  if  endowed  with  animation,  and 
produced  an  effect  almost  magical.  Fifty  years  have  pro- 
duced a  great  change.  Now,  illumination  by  gas  prevails 
throughout  the  civilized  world,  and  its  advantages  are  too 
obvious  to  require  any  illustration.  I  suppose  that  the  gas- 
tubes  of  London  —  those  in  the  houses  included  —  must 
extend  several  hundred  miles. 

Among  the  advantages  which  I  enjoyed  in  London,  I 
must  not  omit  the  learned  societies,  —  The  Royal  Society, 
the  Antiquarian  Society,  the  Academy  of  Painting  and 
Sculpture,  the  Exhibition  of  Paintings  (annual)  in  Somer- 
set House,  the  Royal  Institution,  Sir  Joseph  Banks's  conver- 
sazioni at  his  house,  and  the  British  Museum.  From  all 
these,  some  rays  of  light  would  shine  into  the  mind  of  a 
young  stranger  seeking  knowledge.  At  the  Royal  Institu- 
tion I  saw  and  conversed  with  Davy  in  an  informal  inter- 
view in  his  working  laboratory.  At  Sir  Joseph  Banks's  I 
saw  many  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  day.  I  had 
daily  freedom  of  access,  so  far  as  my  time  would  allow,  at 
Sir  Joseph's,  where  there  was  always  a  public  breakfast  in 
addition  to  the  soiree.  At  Sir  Joseph's,  beside  himself 
and  his  learned  secretary  Dr.  Solander,  I  saw  Mr.  Watt, 
Major  Rennell,  Dr.  Wollaston,  Dr.  Tooke,  Lord  Macartney 
the  ambassador  to  China,  Mr.  Cavendish,  Dalrymple  the 
marine  geographer,  Windham  the  parliamentary  orator, 


VISIT   TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON.        147 

and  many  others.  I  heard  William  Allen  lecture  at  the 
Royal  Institution,  and  dined  with  Mr.  Greville,  of  Padding- 
ton  Green,  son  of  the  Karl  of  Warwick,  whose  collection 
of  minerals  was  one  of  the  first  in  Europe. 

In  the  course  of  his  journey  to  the  mines  of  Corn- 
wall, he  tarried  at  Bristol. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Ryland,  head  of  the  Baptist  College  in 
Bristol,  and  his  colleague  the  Rev.  Mr.  Page,  showed 
us  much  kindness  while  here.  They  by  their  influence 
obtained  access  for  us  to  several  important  manufactures : 
that  of  pins,  that  of  brass,  and  that  of  glass  bottles,  for  all 
of  which  Bristol  was  famous.  They  showed  us  also  many 
Oriental  idols,  and  other  objects  connected  with  the  early 
Baptist  Mission  in  India,  in  promoting  which  these  gentle- 
men and  their  friends  had  been  actively  engaged. 

Mr.  Winterbotham,  a  clergyman,  an  author  of  a  volumi- 
nous work  on  American  geography,  met  us  at  Dr.  Ryland's. 
He  had  been  captivated,  as  many  worthy  people  were,  by 
the  French  revolution,  and  becoming  obnoxious  to  the 
British  government,  he  was  shut  up  in  Newgate  Prison, 
where  he  produced  his  large  work.  While  in  prison  he 
became  acquainted  with  the  detestable  principles  of  some 
of  his  political  associates,  one  of  whom  declared  ,to  him, 
that  if  his  party  should  prevail,  not  a  teacher  of  religion 
should  be  left  alive  in  the  land.  Winterbotham  replied  :  — 
"  I  am  a  preacher,  and  the  moment  I  am  liberated  from 
prison,  I  will  preach  again."  "  Then,"  said  his  companion, 
"  I  will  be  the  first  to  plunge  a  dagger  into  your  bosom." 
Mr.  Winterbotham  deserted  this  violent  party  and  made 
amends  for  his  error ;  and  indeed  his  parishioners,  the 
people  of  his  flock,  believed  that  government  had  dealt  too 
harshly  with  him. 

Rev.  President  Ryland  kindly  volunteered  to 

give  me  a  general  introduction  to  his  friends  in  the  region 


148  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

which  I  was  about  to  visit.  His  letter  was  truly  a  catholic 
epistle,  not  indeed  to  the  churches,  but  to  the  ministers  of 
his  denomination  in  the  provincial  places  on  my  intended 
route  to  Cornwall  and  back  to  London. 

After  stating  my  character  as  it  was  made  known  to  him 
by  President  Dwight,  and  my  object  in  travelling,  he  rec- 
ommends me  to  a  long  column  of  clergymen  with  their 
places  of  residence  annexed  ;  and  finally,  u  to  any  one  else 
who  knows  John  Ryland." 

As  I  travelled  along  the  coast  of  the  English  Channel,  I 
saw  piles  of  combustibles  which  had  been  placed  on  the 
hills,  to  be  seen  as  burning  signals  in  case  the  French 
should  invade  England.  Before  I  left  London  I  was  in- 
formed that  every  volunteer  was  warned  to  be  ready,  and 
not  to  leave  his  place  even  for  a  short  time,  without  leaving 
a  notice  where  he  might  be  found  at  a  moment's  warning. 
My  book-merchant,  Ogilby,  showed  me  such  a  government 
notice.  All  the  vehicles  of  the  country,  including  farm- 
wagons,  were  numbered  and  registered,  that  they  might 
be  employed  in  transporting  troops  ;  and  the  people  were 
in  a  state  of  constant  anxiety.  When  I  crossed  the  Channel 
I  found  that  the  fears  of  the  English  had  not  been  without 
cause.  An  immense  array  was  assembled  at  Boulogne, 
ready  to  embark.  Troops  were  actually  embarked  in  Hol- 
land, and  were  ready  to  embark  from  other  ports,  when  the 
new  war  in  Germany  called  for  the  troops  to  be  marched 
in  that  direction,  and  the  campaign  which  ended  in  the 
battle  of  Austerlitz,  diverted  jNapoleon  from  his  purpose 
of  invading  England. 

Returning  to  London,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  West, 

the  distinguished  American  artist,  I  met  our  celebrated 
countryman  Joel  Barlow,  recently  from  the  Continent.  lie 
was  a  Fairfield-County  man,  was  acquainted  at  my  father's, 
and  was  a  class-mate  with  my  oldest  half-brother,  Joseph 
Noyes,  in  Yale  College.  He  received  me  with  great  cordi- 
ality, and  furnished  me  with  letters  to  eminent  men  of  science 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON.         149 

in  Paris  and  Lyons,  which  my  repulse  at  Antwerp  prevented 
me  from  delivering.  Although  his  own  field  of  fame  had 
been  in  poetry  and  belles-lettres,  he  appreciated  science,  and 
kindly  invited  me  to  pass  an  evening  at  his  lodgings  in 
Swallow  Street,  to  meet  Earl  Stanhope  and  Robert  Fulton, 
two  scientific  stars.  I  went  accordingly,  but  there  is  little 
to  record,  except  the  pleasure  of  meeting  men  of  renown. 
The  conversation  turned  chiefly  on  scientific  subjects  and 
those  connected  with  the  arts.  Mr.  Fulton  was  silent 
respecting  his  reputed  projects  for  submarine  explosions 
in  war  for  the  destruction  of  an  enemy's  ships  or  flotillas. 
There  was,  at  that  time,  much  conversation  in  London 
regarding  Mr.  Fulton  and  his  reputed  invention,  called 
"  kata  maran"  (beneath  the  sea),  and  no  small  amount  of 
asperity  and  ridicule  was  vented  on  the  occasion.  In  table 
talk,  I  heard  it  said  that  neither  the  French  nor  the  Eng- 
lish government  favored  the  propositions  of  Mr.  Fulton,  to 
explode  the  marine  armaments  of  their  respective  enemies. 
However  this  may  have  been,  and  whether  true  or  not,  it 
was  fortunate  for  mankind  and  for  the  fame  of  Mr.  Fulton, 
that  his  inventive  mind,  perhaps  from  disappointment,  re- 
ceived another  direction,  which  resulted  in  placing  the 
Chancellor  Livingston  steamer  triumphantly  upon  the  Hud- 
son, within  two  years  after  the  time  when  I  saw  him.  The 
world  is  his  debtor,  and  his  country  is  preeminently  so  ;  but 
that  country  has  been  shamefully  parsimonious  to  his  family, 
while  untold  millions  alone  can  adequately  represent  the 
amount  of  her  gains,  resulting  from  the  only  successful  ap- 
plication of  steam  to  navigation.  As  to  P^arl  Stanhope,  — 
omitting  his  gloomy  political  auguries,  (for  he  was  in  the 
opposition),  — I  will  mention  only  a  very  ingenious,  but  not 
very  important,  invention  which  he  named  to  me.  There 
was  with  the  Earl  at  Mr.  Barlow's,  a  German  lady,  possess- 
ing both  musical  genius  and  musical  taste  and  tact  in  so 
high  a  degree,  that  upon  the  piano  she  would  often  throw 
off  extempore,  from  the  ends  of  her  fingers,  the  most  de- 


150  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

lightful  airs,  which  she  herself  could  not  afterwards  recall. 
In  order  to  arrest  this  fugitive  harmony,  the  Earl  con- 
trived an  apparatus  to  be  connected  with  the  keys  of  the 
instrument  and  to  be  actuated  by  their  movement,  so  that 
the  music  was  dotted  down  as  it  was  played,  and  thus 
recorded  on  the  tablet  which  was  placed  to  receive  and 
preserve  it. 

Mr.  Barlow  inquired  with  much  interest  concerning  his 
native  State  and  his  Alma  Mater.  He  expressed  satisfac- 
tion that  chemistry  and  the  associated  sciences  were  being 
introduced  into  Yale  College,  and  added,  that  he  would 
have  sent  out  a  chemical  apparatus  and  preparations  had 
he  not  supposed  that,  coining  from  him,  the  college  au- 
thorities would  make  a  bonfire  of  them  in  the  college  yard. 
I  could,  in  reply  to  this  bitter  remark,  add  nothing  more 
than  the  assurance  that  such  a  gift  would  have  been  highly 
acceptable,  and  that  the  articles  would  have  been  carefully 
preserved.  Mr.  Barlow  had  been  a  minister  of  the  gospel, 
had  preached  and  prayed  publicly,  and  written  sacred 
hymns  in  elevated  strains,  both  of  poetry  and  devotion, 
some  of  which  are  still  preserved  in  our  Congregational 
collection  of  sacred  poetry.  He  espoused  the  French  rev- 
olution with  great  warmth,  even  in  its  most  bloody  periods, 
and  even  wrote  a  song  in  praise  of  the  guillotine  ;  and  one 
sentiment  in  it  was,  that  under  the  axe  "  Great  George's 
head  would  roll."  In  his  poem  on  the  "  Hasty  Pudding," 
he  apostrophizes  the  cow,  and  says  :  — 

"Sure  it  is  to  me, 

Were  I  to  leave  my  God,  I  'd  worship  thee." 

His  early  friends  regarded  him  as  an  apostate  from 
Christianity.  As  an  ambassador  to  Napoleon,  he  sought 
him  in  Poland,  and  fell  a  victim  to  the  severity  of  winter 
at  Wilnain  1815-16. 

Just  before  leaving  London,  in  November  1805, 

I  visited  again  the  Royal  Institution  under  the  introduction 
of  Mr.  Accum,  who  had  formerly  been  assistant  operator  to 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON.       151 

Professor  Davy.  My  principal  object  was  to  see  that  cele- 
brated man,  whom  we  found  in  his  laboratory  in  the  base- 
ment of  the  building  (in  Albemarle  Street),  beneath  the 
lecture-room.  He  received  me  with  ease  and  affability,  his 
manners  being  perfectly  polite  and  unassuming.  In  person 
he  was  above  the  middle  size,  with  a  genteel  figure  and  an 
open  countenance.  In  our  brief  interview,  we  conversed 
on  chemical  topics  and  upon  his  late  tour  in  Ireland,  from 
which  he  had  only  recently  returned,  having  been  absent 
through  the  summer.  He  showed  me  an  ingenious  article 
of  apparatus  which  he  had  lately  invented.  His  appear- 
ance at  the  age  of  twenty-six  (nearly  my  own  age)  was 
even  more  youthful  than  the  years  indicate.  He  inquired 
about  Dr.  Woodhouse,  who  was  here  in  1802.  I  have 
already  mentioned  that  the  obscure  town  of  Penzance,  in 
Cornwall,  was  his  birthplace,  and,  although  without  social 
position  or  university  education,  he  had  by  his  own  efforts 
and  talents,  arisen  to  his  present  eminence  among  the  most 
distinguished  philosophers  of  Europe.  I  wrote  at  the  time 
about  him,  thus  :  —  "  He  is  now  very  much  caressed  by  the 
great  men  of  London,  and  by  the  fashionable  world  ;  and  it 
is  certainly  no  small  proof  of  his  merit  that  he  has  so  early 
attained  such  favor  and  can  bear  it  without  intoxication." 
It  is  not  agreeable  therefore  to  add,  that  after  his  elevation 
to  the  title  and  rank  of  an  English  baronet,  and  to  the 
Presidency  of  the  Royal  Society,  he  became  haughty,  and 
his  biographer  and  eulogist,  Dr.  Paris,  records  that  he  bore 
himself  so  loftily  during  a  visit  in  Paris,  as  to  repel  the 
advances  of  the  Parisian  philosophers,  who  were  them- 
selves so  distinguished  for  unassuming  courtesy  of  man- 
ners. I  have  been  credibly  informed,  also,  as  I  believe,  by 
the  late  Dr.  Mantell  of  London,  that  when  Faraday,  then 
Davy's  assistant,  was  with  him  in  Paris,  he  was  repressed 
by  him,  who  was  unwilling  that  he  should  appear  in  French 
society  as  his  companion  and  equal,  although  he  then  gave 
promise  of  equalling  if  not  surpassing  the  attainments, 


152  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

merit,  and  fame  of  his  patron.  Alas  for  human  weakness ! 
When,  in  July  1851,  I  stood  by  the  grave  of  Davy  in  the 
public  cemetery  of  Geneva,  I  forgot  his  follies,  and  remem- 
bered only  his  virtues  and  his  brilliant  success  and  service 
to  mankind.  He  was  cut  off  at  fifty-one  and  a  half  years 
of  age,  a  little  past  the  meridian  of  life.  "  What  shadows 
we  are  and  what  shadows  we  pursue  !  " 

Prof.    William  Allen  belonged  to  the   Society 

of  Friends.  I  first  met  him  at  dinner  at  Mr.  William 
Vaughan's,  and  was  interested  by  his  intelligence  and  agree- 
able manners,  —  the  manners  of  a  gentleman,  joined  to 
those  of  a  Quaker,  —  simple,  but  without  stiffness  or  any  un- 
necessary deviation  from  customary  forms  of  speech.  J  was 
indeed  happy  in  hearing  a  lecture  from  him  in  the  Royal 
Institution,  which  I  felt  to  be  some  compensation  for  miss- 
ing Prof.  Davy,  who  would  not  lecture  until  after  I  should 
have  left  London.  The  lecture-room  of  the  Royal  Institu- 
tion accommodates  an  audience  of  one  thousand  persons. 
The  room  is  sky-lighted,  and  a  movable  screen  with  the  aid 
of  a  pully  enables  the  lecturer  to  cut  off  the  daylight  and 
thus  to  darken  the  room  in  the  daytime.  In  this  way  Davy 
was  able  to  exhibit  the  wonderful  illuminating  power  of  the 
gigantic  battery  of  the  Royal  Institution,  of  two  thousand 
pairs  of  plates,  and  Faraday  has  successfully  followed  his 
steps  with  results  still  more  astonishing.  At  Mr.  Allen's 
lecture,  the  audience  was  of  all  ages  and  of  both  sexes; 
and  about  half  were  young  ladies  with  some  matrons. 
Thus  one  of  the  great  objects  of  the  Institution  is  an- 
swered by  affording  rational  entertainment  and  instruction 
for  the  vacant  aristocracy  of  London,  as  well  as  for  those 
who  are  in  earnest  in  seeking  mental  improvement.  Prof. 
Allen  gave  a  very  interesting  and  instructive  lecture  on  the 
general  properties  of  matter ; — his  style  was  lucid,  his  illus- 
trations were  appropriate  and  satisfactory,  as  were  his  con- 
clusions. It  was  my  privilege  again  to  hear  a  lecture  in 
the  Royal  Institution,  but  it  was  after  an  interval  of  forty- 
six  years. 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  LONDON.       153 

On  his  way  to  Edinburgh,  he  stopped  for  a  short 
time  at  Cambridge. 

Arriving  at  evening,  I  had  drawn  my  boots  off,  and  with 
pen  in  hand  was  just  beginning  to  write,  by  a  comfortable 
fire  in  my  chamber  in  the  hotel,  when  I  received  a  call 
from  one  of  the  Fellows,  to  whom  I  forwarded  a  letter  of 
introduction  from  London.  He  insisted  upon  my  going 
over  to  his  apartments  to  sup  with  him,  and  the  invitation 
was  so  kindly  pressed  that  I  complied,  and  enjoyed  a  very 
pleasant  interview  with  a  most  agreeable  and  polished  gen- 
tleman, the  Rev.  Mr.  Cunningham.  The  next  day,  by  the 
introduction  of  another  Fellow,  Rev.  Mr.  Currie,  I  dined 
with  a  large  circle  of  University  men,  Heads  of  Colleges, 
Professors,  Fellows,  &c.,  and  thus  I  was  made  to  feel  at 
home. 

Elementary  Chemistry,  in  1805,  was  taught  in  the  Uni- 
versity by  Prof.  Wollaston.  Prof.  Farish  was  the  founder 
of  a  new  course  of  chemistry  and  mechanics,  applied  to  the 
arts.  I  called  on  this  gentleman,  to  whom  I  had  letters  of 
introduction,  and  was  received  with  great  courtesy  and 
kindness.  He  took  me  to  the  laboratory  and  showed  me 
his  extensive  apparatus.  Prof.  Farish  made  it  his  leading 
object  to  demonstrate  the  most  important  applications  of 
chemistry  and  mechanics  to  the  arts  of  life,  and  particu- 
larly to  the  manufactures  of  Great  Britain,  many  of  the 
establishments  of  which  he  had  in  person  visited  for  the 
sake  of  inspecting  their  processes.  He  had  a  complete  set 
of  models  and  machines,  and  of  apparatus  for  the  purpose 
of  carrying  his  designs  into  effect.  A  small  steam-engine 
served  to  illustrate  the  nature  of  that  instrument,  and  the 
moving  power  thus  obtained  was  then  applied  to  work  the 
rest  of  the  machinery. 

Lindley  Murray,  a  man  equally  distinguished  in  a 

different  line, —  that  of  English  grammar  and  philosophy,-— 
resided  near  York  at  the  time  of  my  visit  here  in  Novem- 


154  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ber  1805.  At  evening  I  rode  out  on  horseback  to  his  resi- 
dence at  Holgate,  a  suburban  village.  I  passed  out  under 
a  Roman  arched  gateway.  This  eminent  man,  early  in  life, 
removed  from  New  York  to  old  York,  on  account  of  a 
muscular  weakness  in  his  limbs,  hoping  for  relief  from  the 
climate  of  England  ;  and  in  this  country  he  found  a  perma- 
nent home,  although  he  did  not  obtain  the  desired  relief. 
His  grammar  of  the  English  language  was  the  best  that 
had  been  written,  and  he  published  several  other  works. 
"  In  the  chaste,  perspicuous,  and  polished  style  of  his  writ- 
ings, and  in  the  pure  and  dignified  moral  sentiments  which 
they  contain,  one  may  discern  proofs  of  the  character  of 
the  man.  Both  he  and  Mrs.  Murray  retained  the  simplicity 
of  Quaker  manners,  while  they  were  refined  and  polished 
people.  I  was  fortunate  in  finding  him  able  to  converse, 
for  at  times  he  cannot  utter  even  a  whisper,  and  is  com- 
pelled to  decline  even  seeing  his  friends." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

VISIT  TO  EUROPE:    RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH. 

His  Residence  in  Edinburgh.  —  His  Associates,  Mr.  Codman  and  Mr.  Gor- 
ham.  —  Introduction  to  Dr.  Thomas  Hope.  —  Dr.  Gregory.  —  Dr.  Hope's 
Lectures. —  Dr.  John  Murray  and  His  Lectures. —  Dr.  Hope  and  Dr.  Mur- 
ray on  Geology.  —  Controversy  of  the  Huttonians  and  Wernerians.  — 
The  Progress  of  his  own  Geological  Views. — Dr.  John  Barclay's 
Lectures  on  Anatomy.  —  Narrow  Escape  on  Salisbury  Craig. 

MR.  SILLIMAN  came  to  Edinburgh  well  provided 
with  letters  of  introduction  to  persons  whom  he 
would  wish  to  know.  Some  of  these  had  been  fur- 
nished by  Mr.  Thornton  ;  and  the  interest  which  this 
gentleman  had  taken  in  forwarding  the  plans  of  the 
young  American  is  indicated  by  the  following  note, 
which  he  doubtless  sent  to  Mr.  Silliman  after  the 
arrival  of  the  latter  in  Scotland. 

HENRY  BROUGHAM,  ESQ.,  (now  LORD  BROUGHAM,)  TO  MR. 
THORNTON. 

1,  TANFIELD  COURT,  January  4. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  only  to-day  received  a  letter  from 
Edinburgh,  with  one  enclosed  from  you,  in  which  you  do  me 
the  favor  of  introducing  me  to  Prof.  Silliman.  lie  does  not 
appear  to  have  arrived  at  Edinburgh  previous  to  my  depart- 
ure, —  at  least  he  never  called  on  me  before  that  time.  I 
therefore  have  to  regret  that  I  had  no  opportunity  of  mak- 
ing his  acquaintance.  But  I  have  to-day  written  a  letter 
to  some  of  my  friends  at  Edinburgh,  whom  I  conceive  Prof. 
S.  would  like  to  know,  as  they  will  immediately  introduce 


156  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

him  to  the  best  literary  circles  of  the  place.  I  have  par- 
ticularly requested  the  person  alluded  to,  to  introduce  Mr. 
Silliman  to  a  club  composed  of  the  most  select  part  of 
the  professors  and  other  eminent  men  in  Edinburgh,  which 
is  one  of  the  greatest  resources  in  point  of  good  society 
that  the  place  has. 

I  am,  however,  a  little  afraid  that  it  may  be  difficult  to 
find  Mr.  S.'s  address,  as  he  left  none  when  he  called  at  my 
father's  house.  If  you  know  it  and  can  send  it  to  me,  you 
will  greatly  oblige, 

Dear  sir, 
Your  obliged  and  faithful  servant, 

HENRY  BROUGHAM. 

Mr.  Silliman  was  the  bearer  of  a  letter  from  Presi- 
dent Dwight  to  Dr.  John  Robison,  Professor  of  Nat- 
ural Philosophy  at  Edinburgh.  In  addition  to  scien- 
tific writings  of  importance,  he  had  published  in 
1797  a  book  against  the  Illuminati,  entitled,  "  Proofs 
of  a  Conspiracy  against  all  the  Religions  and  Gov- 
ernments of  Europe."  This  brought  upon  him  both 
praise  and  odium.  He  died  before  the  arrival  of 
Mr.  Silliman  in  Edinburgh  ;  and  the  letter  of  Dr. 
Dwight,  for  the  intrinsic  interest  that  belongs  to  it, 
is  here  subjoined. 

NEW  HAVEN,  March  20,  1805. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  This  letter  will  be  handed  to  you  by  Ben- 
jamin Silliman,  Esq.,  Professor  of  Chemistry  in  Yale  Col- 
lege. He  goes  to  Europe  on  business  of  this  Seminary, 
and  to  further  his  own  acquaintance  with  his  science  and 
scientifical  men.  I  beg  leave  to  introduce  him  to  you,  as  a 
young  gentleman  of  the  best  character  and  hopes.  He  is 
ambitious  of  an  acquaintance  with  persons  of  literary  dis- 
tinction, and  particularly  desirous  of  seeing  you.  The 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     157 

ambition  is  worthy  of  him,  and  merits  every  aid  which  I 
can  furnish  ;  and  the  particular  wish  which  he  indulges  of 
knowing  Prof.  Robison  is  highly  agreeable  to  me.  When 
you  have  become  acquainted  with  him,  I  am  confident  that 
this  introduction  will  need  no  further  apology. 

The  letter  which  you  were  so  good  as  to  direct  to  me,  in 
answer  to  one  from  me  to  our  good  friend  Doctor  Erskine, 
was  by  some  means  or  other  left  in  the  Custom- House, 
whither  it  was  carried  by  some  accident,  and  did  not  come 
to  hand  until  six  or  seven  months  after  I  received  Doctor 
Erskine's  answer.  I  had  given  it  up  for  lost  when  it  ar- 
rived. The  controversy  which  it  respected  was  given  up  by 
your  enemies,  —  if  those  may  be  called  such  who  opposed 
you  because  you  opposed  vice  and  falsehood,  and  opposed 
you  without  even  a  disadvantageous  thought  of  your  real 
character.  The  reason  why  they  gave  it  up  was  their  ina- 
bility to  maintain  it  against  the  continually  accumulating 
evidence  of  the  unstained  respectability  of  your  character, 
and  of  the  substantial  foundations  of  your  book.  Multi- 
tudes of  my  countrymen,  and  among  them  the  wisest  and 
best,  feel  deeply  indebted  to  you  for  your  efforts  in  the 
cause  of  truth  and  righteousness,  —  efforts,  in  their  opinion, 
able,  upright,  and  indispensably  demanded  by  the  time.  I 
have  the  satisfaction  to  inform  you  that  beyond  all  doubt, 
you  have  contributed  largely  and  effectually  to  the  erection 
of  an  immovable  standard  against  the  miserable  scheme 
of  profligacy  formed  by  Weishaupt,  and  then  spreading 
through  this  country  as  well  as  through  Europe.  Around 
this  standard  a  great  number  of  wise  and  good  men  have 
rallied,  and  have  presented  a  body  of  opposers  too  formi- 
dable to  be  hopefully  resisted.  I  am  sure  this  information 
will  give  you  pleasure.  It  is  to  be  deeply  regretted  that 
mathematical  philosophy  and  chemistry,  so  honorable  to 
the  present  age,  and  so  calculated  to  advance  our  views  of 
the  divine  wisdom,  should  be  prostrated  to  the  miserable 
purpose  of  dishonoring  God  and  corrupting  man.  We 


158  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

cannot,  however,  be  surprised  at  such  an'  event  when  we 
remember  that  Revelation  itself  has  been  thus  abused.  I 
have  been  looking  for  the  publication  of  the  books  an- 
nounced by  your  letter,  but  have  hitherto  learned  nothing 
concerning  this  subject.  Should  they  appear,  particularly 
the  formidable  one,  which  the  French  philosopher  has  pre- 
pared for  the  final  overthrow  of  theism,  I  hope  your  health 
and  your  business  will  permit  you  to  answer  it.  I  have  not 
a  fear  that  any  effort  of  this  kind  will  stand  the  test  of  fair 
examination,  but  I  dread  the  immediate  effect  of  all  such 
efforts  on  the  votaries  of  both  pleasure  and  the  world. 
Truth  will  ultimately  prevail,  even  in  this  wicked  world ; 
but  the  ravages  of  falsehood  will,  whenever  it  comes  out 
in  a  specious  and  imposing  garb,  be  great  and  lamentable. 
Would  my  poor  eyes  permit,  J  would  willingly  write  more 
on  this  subject  than  your  time  or  patience  would  suffer 
you  to  read.  But  I  am  obliged  to  desist.  My  best  wishes 
attend  you.  I  am,  with  the  most  respectful  sentiments, 

Dear  sir, 
Your  very  obedient  friend  and  servant, 

TIMOTHY  DWIGHT. 
PROF.  KOBISON. 

Of  Edinburgh  and  his  residence  in  that  city,  Mr. 
Silliman  writes :  — 

My  Domestic  Establishment.  —  My  banker  and  friend,  Mr. 
Samuel  Williams,  of  Finsbury  Square,  London,  gave  me 
an  introduction  to  two  very  worthy  gentlemen  from  Boston, 
U.  S.,  —  Mr.  John  Codman  and  Dr.  John  Gorham.  With 
them  I  became  associated.  We  occupied  the  square  apart- 
ment of  a  house  in  Fyfe  Street  in  the  old  town,  and  near 
to  the  University.  Our  repasts  were  provided  for  us  by 
Mrs.  Herriott,  the  head  of  the  house  :  the  breakfast  was  in 
one  of  our  three  parlors,  the  dinner  in  another,  and  the  tea 
in  the  third.  We  paid  the  net  cost  of  the  articles  of  con- 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IX  EDINBURGH.     159 

sumption,  with  a  gratuity  to  our  faithful  female  servant* 
Every  Saturday  night  we  cancelled  the  bill,  and  Mrs.  Her- 
riott's  gain  was  in  the  rent  of  her  apartments.  My  asso- 
ciates were,  except  myself,  the  only  men  from  New  England 
in  the  University,  and  as  we  were  congenial,  we  formed  a 
happy  domestic  society.  There  were  attending  the  lectures 
more  than  thirty  Americans,  chiefly  from  the  South.  My 
companions  became  distinguished  in  afterlife,  —  Dr.  Gor- 
ham  as  a  Professor  in  the  Medical  College  of  Cambridge 
and  Boston,  and  Mr.  (afterwards  Dr.)  Codman,  as  an 
eminent  Congregational  minister  at  Dorchester,  Mass.,  and 
as  a  very  influential  man  in  the  religious  concerns  of  the 
country.  Dr.  Gorham  died  before  attaining  the  meridian 
of  life.  Dr.  Codman  enjoyed  a  long  life  of  usefulness. 

My  earliest  introduction  among  men  of  science 

was  to  Dr.  Thomas  Hope,  Professor  of  Chemistry,  &c.  in 
the  University  of  Edinburgh.  I  found  him  at  his  house  in 
the  New  Town,  and  received  a  very  kind  and  courteous 
welcome.  Dr.  Hope  was  a  polished  gentleman,  but  a  little 
stately  and  formal  withal.  After  reading  the  letter  of  in- 
troduction, he  turned  to  me  and  said,  "  I  perceive  that  I 
am  addressing  a  brother  Professor."  I  bowed,  a  little 
abashed  ;  a  very  young  man,  as  I  still  was,  (at  the  age  of  26,) 
thus  to  be  recognized  as  the  peer  of  a  renowned  veteran  in 
science,  the  able  successor,  as  he  had  been  the  associate,  of 
the  distinguished  Dr.  Black.  He  proceeded,  —  "  Now  sir, 
from  long  experience,  I  will  give  you  one  piece  of  advice, — 
that  is,  never  to  attempt  to  give  a  lecture  until  you  are 
entirely  possessed  of  your  subject,  and  never  to  venture  on 
an  experiment  of  whose  success  you  are  doubtful."  I  bowed 
respectfully  my  assent,  adding  at  the  same  time  that  I  was 
happy  to  find  that  I  had  begun  right,  for  I  had  hitherto 

*  We  each  of  us  gave  good  Margaret  a  shilling  on  Saturday  evening,  in- 
tending the  gratuity  both  as  a  reward  for  her  fidelity  and  as  a  comfortable 
addition  to  her  small  wages;  but  we  were  sorry  and  displeased  to  learn  late 
in  the  season  that  she  was  compelled  to  pay  this  money  over  to  her  mistress, 
•whilo  the  poor  girl  was  going  barefoot  m  the  winter. 


160  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

endeavored  to  adopt  the  very  course  which  he  had  pre- 
sented, and  which  I  should  endeavor  still  to  follow.  I 
thought  I  perceived  that  something  in  his  manner  indicated 
that  he  would  have  been  quite  as  well  pleased  if  I  had  not 
in  some  measure  anticipated  his  experience.  He  proved 
himself  a  model  professor,  and  fully  entitled  to  act  as  a 
mentor. 

The  professorship  of  chemistry  was,  at  the  time  of  my 
Edinburgh  residence,  very  lucrative.  The  chair  was  so 
ably  filled,  and  the  science  so  fully  illustrated  by  experi- 
ments, that  the  course  drew  a  large  audience,  which,  at 
three  guineas  a  ticket,  probably  gave  him  an  income  of 
four  thousand  dollars  or  more,  —  some  said,  five  thousand. 
He,  with  his  brother,  kept  bachelor's  hall  in  a  handsome 
house  on  Princes  Street,  in  the  New  Town.  In  this  house 
I  was  received  with  hospitality,  being  one  of  a  party  of  in- 
vited guests,  —  I  believe  students  of  the  University,  and 
others,  older  gentlemen.  Dr.  Hope  dressed  and  appeared 
like  other  gentlemen,  and  his  conversation  was  easy  and 
polite.  No  lady  appeared  in  the  parlor  or  at  the  table  ;  it 
was  exclusively  a  party  of  men,  —  and  such  parties  are 
never  equally  agreeable  with  those  of  which  ladies  form  a 
part.  The  famous  Dr.  Black,  the  predecessor  of  Dr.  Hope, 
was  also  a  bachelor,  and  there  was  unfortunately  among 
gentlemen  in  this  country  too  great  a  tendency  towards 
celibacy.  An  establishment  must  of  course  be  maintained 
at  an  expense  approaching  that  demanded  by  a  family,  but 
without  its  solaces  and  home-felt  joys.  —  At  Dr.  Hope's,  this 
evening,  (Dec.  18th),  I  met  a  son  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Dar- 
win, and  a  brother  of  the  no  less  celebrated  Maria  Edge- 
worth.  As  neither  of  the  gentlemen  conversed  at  all,  I 
had  no  opportunity  to  judge  of  their  talents  and  attainments. 
Mr.  (or  Dr.)  Darwin  was  a  man  of  large  and  massy  frame. 
At  Dr.  Hope's  I  was  somewhat  annoyed  by  the  frequent 
mention  of  my  title.  I  should  much  rather  have  preferred 
to  pass  simply  as  Mr.,  being  sufficiently  conscious  that  my 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     161 

years  —  not  to  say  my  attainments  —  hardly  justified  the 
appellation  of  Professor.  It  is  true  that  Professor  Hum- 
phrey Davy  of  London  was  a  man  of  my  own  age,  and  was 
equally  youthful  in  appearance  ;  but  he  had  already  distin- 
guished himself  by  important  researches  and  discoveries. 
To  Dr.  Hope  I  was  indebted  for  other  civilities,  —  particu- 
larly in  walking  with  me  to  Leith,  to  use  his  personal  in- 
fluence in  obtaining  for  me  some  articles  of  glass  apparatus, 
especially  some  instruments  like  those  which  I  had  seen 
successfully  used  in  his  own  experiments.  He  was  too 
liberal  to  allow  any  little  jealousy  of  a  pupil  to  restrain  him 
from  a  kind  and  useful  action.  The  father  of  Dr.  Hope 
was  Professor  of  Botany  in  the  University.  In  a  walk  with 
Mr.  Codmnn  to  Leith,  we  entered  the  Botanical  Garden, 
which  was  beautiful,  although  it  was  winter.  A  monument 
has  been  erected  in  the  garden  by  the  late  Botanical  Pro- 
fessor to  the  memory  of  Linnaeus.  It  bears  the  simple 
inscription  —  Limiceo  posuit  C.  Hope. 

Expecting  from  the  first  to  be  ultimately  connected  with 
a  medical  school  in  Yale  College,  I  attended  the  course  of 
anatomy  in  Philadelphia,  and  here  in  Edinburgh  I  selected 
several  courses  of  which  mention  will  be  made  hereafter. 
That  of  Dr.  Gregory  had  great  celebrity,  and  1  took  his 
ticket  among  the  first.  An  amusing  circumstance  occurred 
when  I  called  at  his  office.  It  was  evening,  and  I  found 
him  in  a  basement  room  impatiently  listening  to  a  long 
story  of  ailments,  and  he  evidently  wished  to  be  rid  of  his 
long-winded  patient.  I  waited  quietly  until  the  man  rose 
to  depart,  evidently  very  much  to  the  Professor's  relief,  and 
the  departing  invalid  had  only  cleared  the  door,  when  Dr. 
Gregory  threw  it  back  with  a  thundering  noise,  and  then 
turning  to  me  abruptly,  exclaimed,  "A  dyspeptic  man, — 
never  get  well  and  never  die,  —  plague  one  to  death  ! "  I 
contented  myself  with  taking  the  Professor's  ticket  and 
paving  for  it,  (£3  5s.,)  but  as  I  did  not  make  myself  known, 
'  I  had  no  occasion  to  complain  of  want  of  liberality.  The 

VOL.  I.  11 


162  LIFE  OF   BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

courtesy  of  a  free  ticket  was  never  in  any  similar  case  ex- 
tended to  me,  at  home  or  abroad.  I  have  myself  generally 
given  free  tickets  to  professors  and  to  those  who  are  pre- 
paring to  be  professors.  When,  however,  they  have  gone 
through  the  practical  drill  of  instruction  by  daily  labors  in 
the  experimental  laboratory,  I  have  generally  charged  the 
institutions  with  which  they  were  connected.  It  has  been 
my  practice  to  give  free  tickets  to  clergymen,  and  to  their 
daughters,  when,  as  pupils  in  the  female  schools  in  New 
Haven,  they  have  attended  my  lectures.  —  But  to  return  to 
Dr.  Gregory.  As  the  son  of  an  eminent  father,  the  author 
of  "  A  Father's  Legacy  to  his  Daughters,"  he  enjoyed  a  pres- 
tige of  enviable  fame.  But  there  was  no  occasion  to  build 
on  his  father's  foundation.  Being  a  man  of  distinguished 
talents,  of  large  stores  of  knowledge,  and  a  fervid,  rapid 
eloquence,  his  lecture-hall  was  crowded  with  an  attentive 
and  gratified  audience.  His  lectures  were  very  informal, 
although  not  immethodical ;  if  they  were  written  out,  he 
made  no  use  of  notes,  but  began  without  exordium,  and 
poured  out  the  rich  treasures  of  his  ardent  mind  with  such 
crowding  rapidity  of  diction  that  it  was  not  always  easy  to 
apprehend  fully  his  thoughts,  because  we  could  not  dis- 
tinctly hear  all  his  words.  He  had  many  historical  and 
personal  anecdotes,  some  of  which  have  remained  with  me 
during  the  fifty-two  years  that  have  passed  since  I  heard 
them. 

Dr.  Gregory  sometimes  indulged  in  sarcastic  wit.  He 
was  not  on  good  terms  with  Dr.  Hope,  who  was  reputed  to 
be  very  conservative  of  money  ;  and  Dr.  Gregory  was  re- 
ported to  have  said,  that  no  sooner  did  a  golden  guinea 
touch  the  palm  of  his  colleague's  hand,  than  it  produced  a 
convulsive  movement  of  the  flexor  muscles  which  locked 
fast  the  precious  coin. 

Dr.  Gregory's  mind  kindled  so  much  with  his  subject, 
that  he  was  not  ready  to  stop  when  the  bell  told  that  the 
hour  was  gone,  and  the  students  rushed  for  the  door  that 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     163 

they  might  reach  the  best  seats  in  the  hall  of  the  professor 
who  was  to  lecture  next.  But  the  zealous  teacher  did  not 
give  over  with  the  ebbing  tide  of  his  pupils,  but  continued, 
with  an  elevated  voice  and  excited  action,  to  pursue  the  re- 
tiring crowd  until  they  had  cleared  the  door  and  he  could 

be  heard  no  more I  never  lost  one  of  Dr.  Hope's 

lectures,  although  I  was  absent  from  one,  —  I  believe  on 
the  occasion  of  going  to  breakfast  with  Dr.  Anderson, 
April  2,  1806,  with  my  friend  Mr.  Codman,  to  meet  the 
Earl  of  Buchan  and  a  literary  circle  ;  but  my  kind  friend, 
Rev.  David  Dickson,  took  full  notes  for  me.  I  took  notes 
myself  always  ;  and  in  my  rough  way,  without  graphic 
skill,  I  made  such  sketches  of  apparatus,  when  there  was 
anything  peculiar,  that  I  could  afterwards  recall  the  struct- 
ure and  arrangement.  I  still  have  my  note-book  of  Dr. 
Hope's  lectures,  and  they  were  of  material  service  to  me 
both  in  the  composition  of  my  own  lectures,  and  in  the  ex- 
perimental preparation  and  delivery  after  my  return 

I  have  paused  for  a  few  moments  to  look  them  up,  and 
have  them  now  before  me,  numbered  "  Hope's  Lectures,  I. 
II.  III."  They  were  hastily  written,  chiefly  in  the  lecture- 
room,  and  although  fifty-two  and  fifty-three  years  old,  they 
are  still  quite  legible,  and  the  figures,  rude  indeed,  are  in- 
telligible. There  is  a  pensive  interest  in  looking  them 
over.  I  believe  all  who  were  concerned  in  them  with  me, 
and  at  Dr.  Anderson's  breakfast,  are  dead.  Dr.  Codman, 
Dr.  Gorham,  the  learned  Professor  Hope  himself,  Rev.  Dr. 
Dickson,  who  wrote  the  notes  in  my  stead,  Dr.  Anderson, 
and  his  guest  the  Earl  of  Buchan,  and  probably  most,  if 
not  all,  of  those  assembled  at  that  literary  breakfast,  are 
now  in  the  other  world,  and  perhaps  I  may  be  the  only  sur- 
vivor, at  the  age  of  almost  seventy-nine.  On  looking  at 
my  notes  and  journal,  I  find  that  I  lost  no  time.  I  arrived 
in  Edinburgh  at  midnight,  November  22d,  1805,  on  Friday. 
Saturday,  November  23d,  I  settled  myself  in  lodgings  ;  the 
24th  was  the  Sabbath,  and  on  Monday,  the  25th,  the  ear- 


164  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIX  SILLIMAN. 

liest  day  possible,  I  attended  the  lectures  of  Dr.  Gregory, 
Dr.  Hope,  and  Professor  Dugald  Stewart.  I  find  in  my 
note-book  the  very  leaves  which  were  neatly  and  accurately 
written  out  in  full  by  the  excellent  Rev.  Dr.  Dickson.  The 
subject  was  Copper,  and  I  pinned  the  lectures  in  their 
proper  place  among  my  own  notes :  there  they  are,  as  leg- 
ible as  print,  and  afford  me  a  touching  remembrance  of  my 
departed  friend  Dickson.  The  very  pin  which  holds  them 
was  put  in  at  Edinburgh,  and  has  never  been  moved. 
These  preliminary  recollections  have  interested  me,  al- 
though it  is  like  wandering  among  funeral  monuments,  like 
Old  Mortality  ;  and  I  now  turn  to  the  lectures  of  Dr.  Hope, 
—  still  following,  however,  the  record  of  the  dead. 

Dr.  Hope's  lectures  formed  a  strong  contrast  to  the 
course  which  I  attended  in  Leicester  Square  in  London. 
They  were  not  only  learned,  posting  up  the  history  of  dis- 
covery, and  giving  the  facts  clearly  and  fully,  but  the  ex- 
periments were  prepared  on  a  liberal  scale.  They  were 
apposite  and  beautiful,  and  so  neatly  and  skilfully  per- 
formed, that  rarely  was  even  a  drop  spilled  upon  the  table. 
No  experiment  failed,  except  that  in  two  instances  glass 
vessels  were  broken  by  the  heat  evolved  in  the  experiment: 
in  one  case,  by  burning  phosphorus,  and  in  another,  by  sul- 
phur and  iron  filings  combining  with  incandescence  when 
gently  heated  ;  —  but  in  these  cases  there  was  no  fault  in 
the  experimenter ;  the  experiment  was  hazardous  to  the 
vessels,  and  in  such  cases,  if  the  lecturer  states  the  fact 
beforehand,  he  will  save  his  credit,  even  if  the  glass  should 
be  shattered.  Dr.  Hope  lectured  in  full  dress,  without  any 
protection  for  his  clothes ;  he  held  a  white  handkerchief  in 
his  hand,  and  performed  all  his  experiments  upon  a  high 
table,  himself  standing  on  an  elevated  platform,  and  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  and  behind  by  his  pupils.  It  was  an 
indifferent  room  for  a  laboratory,  and  the  furnace  conven- 
iences were  very  limited.  He,  however,  overcame  the  dif- 
ficulties by  ingenious  contrivances The  lectures 


VISIT   TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     165 

were  all  written  out,  but  very  rarely  read.  He  generally 
spoke,  doubtless  casting  his  eyes  upon  his  MS.  to  observe 
and  follow  the  order  of  his  subject.  He  was  very  method- 
ical, and  filled  out  his  themes  without  omission,  repletion, 
or  confusion.  He  was  not,  like  Dr.  Gregory,  fluent  and 
impetuous ;  he  was  cool  and  lucid,  but  sometimes  rising 
above  his  MS.,  he  essayed  a  flight  of  eloquence.  In  these 
cases  he  was  not  very  successful,  and  we  regretted  that  so 
able  a  man  should  provoke  a  smile  when  he  looked  for  ad- 
miration. I  thought  he  once  caught  me  with  a  smile  upon 
my  face,  which  might  have  appeared  equivocal,  unless  self- 
love  might  have  preferred  to  regard  the  expression  as  one 
of  approbation  rather  than  of  mirthful  ness.  After  this,  I 
was  more  on  my  guard,  especially  as  a  friend  who  attended 
the  lectures  informed  me  that,  as  I  generally  sat  very  near 
the  Professor,  he  kept  an  eye  on  his  "  brother  Professor," 
and  once  remarked  to  my  informant  that  he  believed  I  lost 
nothing  of  the  lectures,  and  did  not  permit  anything  to 
escape  my  attention  ;  and  I  supposed  that  he  might  have 
descried  some  of  my  pen  sketches,  which  might  well  have 
provoked  a  smile  in  turn.  I  was  early  a  faithful  and  de- 
lighted student  of  the  lectures  of  Dr.  Black,  as  published 
by  his  surviving  pupil  and  friend,  Professor  Robison,  from 
notes  taken  by  himsL-lf  and  others.  This  work,  being  very 
familiar  to  me,  I  was  forcibly  struck  with  the  great  resem- 
blance of  Dr.  Hope's  lectures,  in  style,  substance,  and  illus- 
trations, to  those  of  his  great  master.  As  his  pupil,  ad- 
mirer, and  assistant,  it  is  not  extraordinary  that  he  should 
have  formed  himself  upon  that  excellent  model.  Dr. 
Black's  lectures,  in  two  volumes  quarto,  were  so  instruc- 
tive and  attractive  too,  that  I  studied  them  with  equal 
pleasure  and  profit.  Dr.  Hope  had  enjoyed  also  the  ad- 
vantage of  knowing  and  studying  under  another  great 
master.  lie  informed  me  that  he  was  associated  with,  and 
was  instructed  by,  the  illustrious  Lavoisier,  the  Newton  of 
Chemistry,  as  he  has  been  called.  He  was  made  familiar 


166  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

with  his  apparatus  and  experiments,  and  with  the  opera- 
tions of  his  great  mind ;  and  as  my  conversation  regarding 
Lavoisier  was  only  eleven  and  a  half  years  after  his  death, 
Dr.  Hope's  recollections  of  him  were  doubtless  correct. 
Lavoisier  was  guillotined  May  8th,  1794,  by  the  Revolution- 
ary Tribunal,  on  the  frivolous  pretext  that  he  had  adulter- 
ated tobacco  ;  and  they  even  refused  him  a  respite  of  a  few 
days,  to  enable  him  to  complete  some  experiments  then  in 
progress.  The  report  in  his  case  declared  that  the  Repub- 
lic had  no  need  of  chemists.  Bloody  and  execrable  des- 
potism,—  infamous  through  all  time  !  Dr.  Hope's  admira- 
ble course  finished  my  educational  training  in  chemistry. 
I  understood,  realized,  and  retained  every  part  of  it.  To 
me  it  was  worth  a  voyage  across  the  Atlantic. 

Dr.  John  Murray  —  called  then  Mr.  Murray  —  was  a 
private  lecturer,  not  connected  with  the  University  ;  but  his 
high  reputation  for  talents  and  learning  secured  him  a 
class  respectable  for  numbers  and  character.  Pie  had  also 
distinguished  himself  by  an  excellent  elementary  work  on 
chemistry,  and  by  a  system  of  materia  medico,  which  was 
of  the  first  authority  among  the  treatises  on  that  subject. 
He  was  a  very  agreeable  lecturer,  with  a  pleasant  intona- 
tion, and  a  voice  of  sufficient  strength.  He  spoke  with 
perfect  ease,  in  a  style  lucid,  terse,  and  flowing,  but  without 
diffuseness.  His  manner  and  action  were  graceful,  and  his 
treatment  of  the  class  polite  and  friendly  ;  so  that  he  se- 
cured their  good-will,  and  was  able  to  maintain  good  order 
in  his  lecture-room,  which  was  an  apartment  in  his  house, 
not  capable  of  containing  more  than  thirty-five  or  forty 
persons. 

Dr.  Murray,  when  I  was  his  pupil,  was  threatened  with 
consumption,  and  died  not  many  years  after  I  left  Edin- 
burgh. He  wrote  to  me  a  year  or  two  after  my  return,  and 
informed  me  that  he  was  about  going  to  the  south  of  Eng- 
land to  revive  his  health.  A  son  who  bore  his  name,  re- 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:   RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     167 

published  his  father's  elementary  work  on  chemistry,  post- 
ing it  up  to  the  time.  The  principal  advantage  which  I 
derived  from  Dr.  Murray's  course  of  chemistry  was  from  his 
perspicuous  and  highly  philosophical  views  of  the  science, 
as  such.  His  experiments  were  few  and  simple,  and  not 
very  remarkable  for  tact  and  beauty  in  the  performance. 

His  mind  was  of  a  highly  philosophical  cast.    The 

flow  both  of  his  language  and  the  thoughts  of  his  mind  was 
like  that  of  a  deep  river,  smooth  on  the  surface,  transparent 
to  the  very  bottom,  and  whose  evenness,  free  from  rocks 
and  eddies,  presented  no  impediment  to  the  equable  cur- 
rent. Dr.  Murray's  course  was  a  valuable  adjunct  to  that 
of  Dr.  Hope,  and,  both  united,  gave  a  finish  and  complete- 
ness which  was  all  I  could  desire  to  enable  me  to  resume 
my  course  of  instruction  at  home. 

Dr.  Hope  and  Dr.  Murray  on  Geology.  —  There  was  no 
distinct  course  of  geology  in  Edinburgh  in  1805-6.  Some 
dissatisfaction  was  indeed  expressed  regarding  Professor 
Jameson,  —  who  had  then  recently  returned  from  Werner's 
celebrated  school  of  geology  at  Freiburg,  in  Saxony,  and 
who  was  fully  imbued  with  the  doctrines  of  his  great  master, 
—  that  he  did  not  commence  his  course  of  instruction.  He 
had,  however,  an  able  substitute  in  Dr.  Murray,  who  was 
a  well-instructed  and  zealous  advocate  of  the  Wernerian 
theory  on  the  agency  of  water ;  while  Dr.  Hope,  on  the 
other  hand,  was  an  ardent  and  powerful  supporter  of  the 
Huttoriian  or  igneous  theory.  The  discussions  on  these 
subjects  were  held  in  the  midst  of  the  chemical  lectures, 
being  introduced  in  connection  with  the  elementary  and 
proximate  constitution  of  rocks  and  minerals.  My  geolog- 
ical notions  were  crude  and  unsettled  when  I  left  home  ;  I 
had  not  enjoyed  any  opportunities  of  geological  instruction, 
and  was  slowly  climbing  up  the  ladder  of  mineralogy,  when 
I  took  my  departure  for  England.  Both  subjects  began  to 
be  unfolded  in  the  mines  and  mineral  districts  of  England, 


168  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLTMAN. 

and  both  in  those  regions,  and  in  others  marked  by  diversity 
of  structure,  I  had  received  the  elements  of  geological  and 
mineralogical  instruction  ;  and  I  was  in  the  condition  of  a 
hopeful  pupil,  who  already  understands  enough,  both  to 
enable  and  dispose  him  to  know  more  ;  keenly  alive  to  see, 
and  prompt  to  understand,  everything  that  was  presented 
to  my  view,  —  industrious,  persevering,  and  hopeful.  My 
Edinburgh  life  was  one  of  constant  effort,  and  my  exertions, 
while  in  that  city,  pressed  hard  upon  my  health,  so  that  I 
was  compelled  occasionally  to  relax  my  labors,  and  both  to 
take  additional  exercise  and  to  indulge  in  the  recreations 
>f  social  intercourse  in  society  which  was  enlivened  by 
female  conversation.  No  five  months  of  my  life  were  ever 
spent  more  profitably  ;  and  this  residence  laid  the  top  stones 
of  my  early  professional  education,  which  extended  nearly 
through  four  years.  Not,  however,  that  I  considered  the 
work  as  even  then  done.  As  a  teacher,  I  was  still  more 
of  a  learner  than  my  pupils,  and  I  found  my  own  pupilage 
to  be  coextensive  with  my  professional  life  of  fifty  years ; 
for  I  have  never  ceased  to  learn,  especially  as  the  progress 
of  discovery  in  science  unfolded  new  facts  and  modified  or 
substantiated  old  views.  The  discussions  of  Dr.  Hope  and 
Dr.  Murray  afforded  me  a  rich  entertainment,  and  a  wide 
range  of  instruction.  Dr.  Murray  would  solve  most  geologi- 
cal phenomena  by  the  agency  of  water.  Even  granite,  and 
of  course  the  members  of  that  family,  were  a  ci^stalline 
deposit  from  the  primeval  chaotic  ocean  ;  and  this  being 
granted,  the  Wernerians  would  fain  give  an  aqueous  origin 
even  to  porphyry  and  bastilt  and  all  the  traps.  As  far  as 
I  had  any  leaning,  it  was  towards  the  Wernerian  system. 
Water  is  always  active  upon  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and 
it  flows  also  from  its  interior  ;  and  atmospheric  waters  are 
ever  descending  upon  the  earth  in  rain,  snow,  and  hail,  as 
well  as  in  the  gentle  dews,  not  only  to  refresh  the  surface 
and  to  sustain  life,  in  all  its  various  forms,  but  to  replenish 
the  fountains  themselves.  Then  again  it  reascends  by 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN   EDINBURGH.     169 

evaporation  to  form  the  clouds,  those  exhaustless  store- 
houses of  rain,  snow,  and  hail.  But  in  the  progress  of  this 
endless  circulation,  it  is  everywhere  obvious  that  water 
produces  extensive  and  highly  important  geological  results, 
in  the  transportation  and  deposition  of  solid  as  well  as  of 
dissolved  materials,  in  the  formation  and  disintegration  of 
strata,  aud  especially  in  the  ceaseless  wear  of  rivers  and 
torrents,  and  in  the  never-ending  motions  of  the  oceans 
and  seas  in  tidal  waves  and  storm  billows  and  currents.  It 
is  not  wonderful,  then,  that  the  powerful  mind  of  Werner 
should  appreciate,  and  even  exaggerate,  these  agencies. 
He  had  not  travelled  far  away  from  his  own  (geologically) 
peaceful  Saxony,  and  knew  little  from  personal  observations 
of  the  agencies  of  internal  fire.  He  founded  his  system, 
therefore,  upon  a  partial  and  imperfect  view  of  evidence  ; 
but  his  zeal  and  eloquence  captivated  his  numerous  pupils, 
whose  delight  it  was  to  blazon  the  system  of  their  great 
teacher  ;  and  for  many  years  few  were  bold  enough  to 
question  its  entire  truth.  But  a  change  of  opinion  had 
been  for  some  years  going  on.  The  philosophy  of  fire  as 
regards  its  agencies  in  the  earth  —  not  entirely  new  in- 
deed—  had  been  revived  and  greatly  extended  by  the  re- 
searches of  Dr.  Hutton  of  Edinburgh,  aided  by  his  enthu- 
siastic followers,  Playfair,  Hall,  Hope,  Seymour  and  others. 
The  followers  of  Hutton  were  now  organized  into  a  geolog- 
ical phalanx,  and  my  residence  in  Edinburgh  occurred  at 
the  fortunate  crisis,  when  the  combatants  on  both  sides 
were  in  the  field ;  and  I,  although  a  non-combatant,  was 
within  the  wind  of  battle,  and  prepared,  like  victory,  to  join 
the  strongest  side.  When  Dr.  Hope  came  out  with  his 
array  of  facts  in  support  of  the  Huttoriian  theory,  I  was  in 
a  state  of  mind  to  yield  to  evidence.  Being  a  young  man, 
uncommitted  to  either  theory,  I  was  a  deeply  interested 
listener  to  the  discussions  of  both  the  Wernerian  and  Hut- 
ton  i  an  hypothesis.  From  the  fierce  central  heat  of  the 
philosophers  of  fire,  and  its  destructive  heavings  and  irrup- 


170  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

tions  and  overflows,  I  went  to  bathe  in  the  cool  ocean  of 
Werner ;  and  as  both  views  were  ably  and  eloquently  sus- 
tained, the  exercise  was  to  me  a  delightful  recreation  and 
a  most  instructive  study.  I  found  time,  also,  to  read  Play- 
fair's  illustrations  of  the  Huttonian  theory,  and  Murray's 
comparative  view  of  both  the  conflicting  theories  ;  and  I 
was  not  long  in  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  both  theories 
were  founded  in  truth,  and  that  the  crust  of  the  earth  had 
been  formed  and  greatly  modified  by  the  combined,  or 
sometimes  antagonistic  and  conflicting  powers  of  fire  and 
water.  The  two  theories  occupied  to  a  considerable  extent 
a  common  ground  as  to  the  agency  of  water,  but  fire  came 
in  to  modify,  or  entirely  transform,  the  materials  which 
water  had  deposited.  The  stratified  rocks,  the  igneous 
theory  still  conceded  to  the  dominion  of  water ;  but  por- 
phyry and  all  the  trap  family,  and  even  granite,  it  claimed 
as  the  products  of  fire.  The  strong  analogy  existing  be- 
tween the  porphyries  and  traps  and  lithoid  lava,  both  in 
physical  characters  and  composition,  and  frequently  in  posi- 
tion, left  no  reasonable  doubt  that  both  are  igneous.  The 
dykes  and  intrusive  veins  in  rocks,  go  to  the  same  account. 
I  felt  greatly  relieved  when  I  was  excused  from  attempting 
to  compel  myself  to  believe  that  porphyry,  trap  in  all  its 
varieties,  and  even  granite,  had  ever  been  dissolved  in 
water.  I  became,  therefore,  to  a  certain  extent,  a  Iluttonian, 
and  abating  that  part  of  the  rocks  which  the  igneous  theory 
reclaims  as  the  production  of  fire,  I  remained  as  much  of  a 
Wernerian  as  ever.  But  I  held  myself  aloof  from  entire 
committal  to  either  theory,  or  to  any  theory  except  one 
derived  directly  from  the  facts.  Up  to  the  time  of  my 
leaving  New  Haven  for  England,  (March  20,  1805,)  I  only 
supposed  that  the  east  and  west  rocks  of  New  Haven  were 
of  the  basaltic  family,  agreeably  to  a  suggestion  reported 
from  an  English  traveller  many  years  before.  Now  I  felt 
assured  of  their  igneous  origin.  New  Haven  resembled 
Edinburgh,  having  trap  rocks  in  its  immediate  vicinity. 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:   RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     171 

Salisbury  Craig  is  situated  in  relation  to  Edinburgh,  almost 
exactly  as  the  East  Rock  is  in  reference  to  New  Haven, 
and  the  two  are  not  unlike  in  form.  I  have  already  men- 
tioned the  Castle  Rock  as  trap  or  basalt.  Arthur's  Seat, 
also  very  near  to  Edinburgh,  is  nearly  eight  hundred  feet 
high,  and  in  elevation  and  form  is  not  unlike  our  Mount 
Carmel ;  and  between  the  old  town  of  Edinburgh  and  the 
new,  or  rather  on  the  borders  of  the  new,  rises  the  Calton 
Hill  of  porphyry,  —  the  hill  which  is  consecrated  to  mon- 
uments,—  those  of  Hume,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  others. 
I  now  felt  that  my  geological  difficulties  were  vanishing, 
and  I  began  to  repose,  in  great  confidence,  upon  the  double 
action  of  fire  and  water.  After  my  return  home  it  was  a 
great  pleasure  to  me  to  view  all  the  trap  ranges  of  Con- 
necticut and  Massachusetts  and  New  Jersey,  as  belonging 
to  the  same  category  with  Scottish  trap,  or  whinstone,  as 
it  is  called  in  Scotland.  I  became  convinced,  also,  that  the 
basalt  of  the  Giant's  Causeway  belonged  to  the  same  family  ; 
and  that  compact  lava  and  trap  basalt  and  porphyry, 
are  merely  modes  of  one  and  the  same  operation.  Many 
years  afterwards,  (May  1851,)  on  Mount  Etna,  I  saw  true 
basaltic  columns  that  had  been  formed  in  a  lava  current 
(See  Visit  to  Europe  in  1851,  Vol.  II.  p.  26).  Extended 
observations  in  different  countries,  and  comparison  with 
Vesuvius  and  Etna,  by  a  visit  to  those  mountains,  have 
given  my  mind  entire  satisfaction  on  the  subject  of  igneous 
agency.  Seventeen  years  after  my  return  from  Scotland 
Cordier's  little  book  appeared,  assuming  to  prove,  as  he  did 
prove,  that  the  heat  increases  regularly  in  all  countries  as 
we  descend  into  the  earth,  after  passing  below  the  effects 
of  atmospheric  variations  ;  and  the  average  rate  of  increase 
is  about  one  degree  for  every  fifty  feet  of  descent.  Of 
course,  if  the  ratio,  or  any  ratio  of  increase,  continues,  we 
must  eventually  arrive  at  ignited  and  even  melted  rocks. 
The  deductions  of  Cordier  have  been  since  confirmed  by 
observations  made  in  many  countries,  particularly  in  deep 


172  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

mines  and  artesian  wells,  whose  water,  if  derived  from 
deep  sources,  always  rises  to  an  elevated  temperature,  and 
in  many  countries  hot  and  even  boiling  springs  spout  from 
the  ground.  I  was  greatly  satisfied  with  the  result  of  my 
geological  studies  in  Scotland,  and  felt  that,  on  account  of 
that  subject  as  well  as  chemistry,  it  would  have  been  worth 
a  voyage  across  the  Atlantic. 

Remark.  —  In  April,  1851,  I  saw  Cordier  in  Paris,  still 
vigorous,  active,  and  cheerful,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five,  and 
full  sixty  years  after  he  with  others  went  to  Egypt  in  the 
train  of  Napoleon,  as  a  member  of  the  corps  of  learned 
men,  artists,  &c.  which  that  extraordinary  man  took  along 
with  him.  In  Avar  Napoleon  did  not  forget  the  arts  of 
peace  and  the  interests  of  science. 

I  was  desirous  to  add  anatomy  to  my  list  of  studies,  and, 
of  course,  my  mind  was  at  first  directed  to  the  Anatomical 
Hall  of  the  University.  I  did  attend  a  single  lecture  there 
under  Professor  Monroe,  the  third  of  the  name  and  family, 
—  father,  son,  and  grandson  having  occupied  that  chair. 
More,  certainly,  from  the  reports  of  students  and  others 
who  had  attended  on  him  than  from  the  slight  experience 
of  a  single  lecture,  I  decided  not  to  attend  on  that  course, 
and  to  prefer  that  of  Dr.  John  Barclay,  a  private  lecturer, 
to  whom  many  of  the  medical  students  resorted,  to  take 
advantage  of  his  high  talents  and  accurate  knowledge,  not 
only  of  human,  but  of  comparative  anatomy.  The  students 
took  the  Monroe  ticket  because  it  was  necessary  to  enable 
them  to  graduate,  and  often  they  took  Dr.  Barclay's  ticket  also 
for  the  sake  of  the  valuable  knowledge  which  was  imparted 
by  that  course.  I  had  not  occasion  to  regret  my  decision. 
I  found  Dr.  Barclay  to  be  a  man  of  vigorous  mind  and 
great  enthusiasm.  As  to  his  subject,  or  rather  subjects,  he 
was  tofus  in  illis.  He  was  not  satisfied  with  human  anat- 
omy only  ;  he  illustrated  it  in  a  very  instructive  and  inter- 
esting manner  by  comparative  anatomy,  ranging  through 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     173 

the  creation,  and  bringing  monkeys,  or  the  quadrumana, 
the  cctacea,  the  carnivora,  the  amphibia,  the  rodentia,  and 
pachydennata  alongside  of  man,  to  illustrate  their  com- 
parative corporeal  structure,  and,  so  to  speak,  mental 
powers  also,  and  the  perfection  of  their  respective  organiza- 
tions. A  statue  of  the  Venus  de  Medici  stood  elevated  on 
a  pedestal  to  illustrate  the  beau  ideal  of  the  human  figure ; 
while  the  head  of  a  crocodile  was  placed  side  by  side  with 
a  human  cranium,  the  frontal  orb  of  the  latter  rising  in  in- 
tellectual grandeur,  the  same  portion  of  the  skull  of  the 
former  being  very  shallow  and  depressed,  leaving  little  room 
for  brain  and  intellect.  Thus  he  followed  the  intellectual 
gradation  of  animals  from  its  lowest  to  its  highest  develop- 
ment ;  and  in  fact  he  showed  himself  the  master  of  human 
and  comparative  anatomy  and  of  physiology,  in  both  brutes 
and  men  ;  while  the  whole  range  of  natural  history  afforded 
him  ample  and  happy  illustrations.  One  of  his  most  favor- 
ite topics  was  muscular  action  and  its  laws.  On  this  sub- 
ject he  was  great ;  and  his  thoughts  and  illustrations  were 
afterwards  published  in  a  work  which,  I  believe,  has  a  high 
reputation  among  anatomists.  He  was  himself  a  striking 
example  of  powerful  muscular  organization.  His  figure 
was  short  and  very  robust,  with  powerful  limbs  ;  a  massy 
figure  constructed  for  strength  and  not  for  speed ;  and,  in- 
deed, judging  from  his  energetic,  decisive  manner,  he  could 
hardly  regret  that  he  was  not  made  for  flight,  for  I  believe 
he  would  not  have  fled  in  battle.  Although  more  than  half 
a  century  has  passed  away  since  I  heard  his  voice,  I  can 
see  him  now,  with  his  iron  frame  and  firm  features,  enforc- 
ing his  lucubrations  by  the  gestures  of  his  brawny  arm,  and 
earnestly  enforcing  the  truths  he  taught,  with  his  broad 
Scotch  dialect  and  intonations,  not  softened,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  professors  whom  I  have  named,  —  in  them  de- 
prived in  a  great  measure  of  national  peculiarities  by 
southern  cultivation  in  England  and  even  by  foreign  travel. 
While  writing  these  reminiscences  of  Edinburgh  chiefly 


174  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

from  recollection,  I  have  been  surprised  by  the  fidelity 
with  which  that  faithful  prompter,  memory,  summons  up 
scenes  and  thoughts  that  have  apparently  long  since  passed 
into  oblivion,  and  have  faded  away  from  our  minds.  Asso- 
ciation is,  however,  the  strongest  cord  which,  woven  into 
a  moral  and  intellectual  network,  yields  to  our  soliciting 
force  expended  upon  it,  and  produces  a  rich  result,  as  a 
seine  in  the  sea  draws  in  a  multitude,  a  whole  school,  when 
we  might  have  thought  that  there  were  only  a  few  strag- 
glers, and  they  scarcely  worthy  of  the  capture. 

Salisbury  Craig.  —  Among  the  visits  which  I  made  to 
this  celebrated  mountain,  that  of  March  5,  1806,  came  very 
near  being  made  memorable.  As  it  was  a  very  fine  morn- 
ing, I  passed  several  hours  in  examining  the  Craig,  in  pur- 
suit of  its  minerals.  The  columns  appeared  to  be  from 
seventy  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  high,  and  immedi- 
ately at  their  feet  commenced  a  sloping  descent,  so  nearly 
vertical,  that  one  could  walk  only  with  great  care,  making 
his  way  over  it  with  watchful  eyes.  The  mass  is  composed 
of  the  ruins  of  the  cliffs,  brought  clown,  through  ages,  by 
frost,  rains,  wind,  and  gravity.  The  accumulation  forms  a 
slope  of  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  feet.  My  course 
lay  along  at  the  top  of  the  slope  and  at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs  ; 
immediately  over  my  head  were  the  impending  cliffs,  and 
at  my  feet  a  giddy  descent  to  the  bottom  of  the  mountain. 
Stopping  every  few  minutes  to  examine  the  rocks,  and 
freighting  my  pockets  with  minerals.  I  pursued  my  course 
at  leisure,  not  without  some  solicitude  lest  a  false  step  or 
a  faithless  fragment,  treacherous  to  .my  weight,  should  pre- 
cipitate me  to  the  bottom.  Coasting  along  the  front  of  the 
mountain,  I  had  nearly  reached  its  western  extremity,  when 
I  was  induced  by  a  place  that  looked  very  promising, 
to  clamber  up  over  a  great  mass  of  loose  stones  to  the 
very  foot  of  the  precipice,  and  was  busily  occupied  be- 
neath the  ragged  and  ruinous  cliffs,  which  seemed  ready 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     175 

for  a  movement,  —  and  indeed  they  occasionally  gave  a 
premonition  by  the  fall  of  a  fragment  of  stone,  but  not 
large  enough  to  excite  alarm.  Soon,  however,  on  looking 
up,  I  saw  with  consternation  a  large  mass  of  rock  at  that 
instant  separating  to  commence  its  fall.  A  little  below  me 
a  column  of  some  magnitude,  an  avalanche  from  an  earlier 
convulsion,  lay  in  its  bed,  firmly  projecting,  prominent  from 
the  mass  of  ruins.  It  was  but  a  glance  upward  and  then 
downward,  when  I  saw  my  asylum,  and,  quick  as  thought, 
with  a  desperate  effort,  I  leaped  over  the  stones  and  was 
sheltered  by  the  friendly  column  ;  had  I  delayed,  even  the 
few  beats  of  the  pulse,  while  the  ruin  was  beginning  its 
fall,  it  might  have  been  too  late.  Thank  Heaven !  I  was 
securely  sheltered  while  the  desolation  was  passing  ly.  One 
mass  of  rock  as  large  as  a  barrel  struck  about  twenty  feet 
above  where  I  had  stood,  and,  rebounding,  flew  with  great 
velocity  down  the  mountain,  passing  in  the  line  of  my  for- 
mer position,  at  about  the  height  of  a  man's  breast,  and  of 
course  might  have  been  fatal  to  me  had  I  remained  where 
I  was.  In  my  flight  I  had  left  behind  me  my  collected 
minerals,  and  my  cane,  which  stuck  fast  in  the  crevices  of 
the  rock.  Thinking  that  the  avalanche  was  past,  I  was, 
with  some  hesitation,  stepping  forward  to  recover  my  relics, 
when  another  mass,  which  must  have  weighed  twenty 
tons,  broke  off  from  the  cliff,  and  came  thundering  down 
with  a  loud  crash,  filling  the  air  with  flying  rocks  and  frag- 
ments and  dust,  and  covering  all  that  tract  of  the  moun- 
tain where  I  had  been  exploring,  and  to  which  I  was  re- 
turning, with  ruins  and  desolation.  Had  the  fall  been 
delayed  for  only  one  minute,  I  should  have  been  in  the 
midst  of  the  space  which  it  swept,  and  a  more  brief  narra- 
tive by  some  other  hand  would  have  related  the  result. 
Such  was  the  noise  produced  by  this  avulsion,  that  the 
people  living  in  the  vicinity  and  in  the  Palace  of  Holy- 
rood  came  running  out  to  learn  the  cause. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH. 

Residence  in  Edinburgh  (continued).  —  Other  Eminent  Men. —  Dugald 
Stewart;  a  Party  at  his  House.  —  Professor  Leslie.  —  Dr.  Thomas  Thom- 
son.—  Dr.  (now  Sir)  David  Brewster.  —  Lord  Webh  Seymour.  —  Dr. 
Anderson.  —  Earl  of  Buchan.  —  Lord  Rawdon. — Mr.  Listen.  —  Rev. 
David  Dicksoa. —  Rev.  Mr.  Black.  —  The  "  Edinburgh  Review  "  ;  Infor- 
mation received  from  the  Publishers. —  Sir  John  Stirling  and  Ladv;  Ro- 
mantic History  of  Lady  Sterling.  —  Social  Habits  in  Edinburgh. —  Result 
of  his  Residence  in  Europe:  in  Relation  to  Business;  in  Relation  to 
Personal  Culture  and  Improvement.  —  Arrival  in  New  York. —  Visits 
to  Oliver  Wolcott.  —  Arrival  in  New  Haven,  and  Welcome  from  Presi- 
dent Dwight.  —  Correspondence  with  President  Dwight,  Professors  Day 
and  Kingsley,  &c. 

MY  time  was  so  much  engrossed  by  my  professional 
studies  and  the  engagements  connected  with  them,  that 
I  had  little  leisure,  when  residing  in  Edinburgh,  to  become 
acquainted  with  its  celebrated  men.  Several  of  them  I 
have,  however,  already  mentioned  at  some  length,  —  Hope, 
Gregory,  Murray,  Barclay,  the  Monroes,  &c.  To  Professor 
Dugald  Stewart,  I  was  indebted  for  very  courteous  atten- 
tions, but  unfortunately  I  missed  him,  both  when  I  called 
at  his  house  and  when  he  returned  my  calls.  I  missed 
him  always  in  both  places,  and  indeed  I  thought  it  very 
condescending  in  a  man  of  double  my  age  and  of  his  high 
reputation,  to  reiterate  his  calls  at  my  lodgings.  At  last, 
however,  we  met  at  an  informal  soiree.  This  was  held  at 
the  house  of  the  distinguished  professor,  and  there  was 
present  an  interesting  group  of  persons  of  both  sexes. 
Their  manners  were  easy  and  polite,  and  the  more  so  as 
the  refreshments  were  all  served  upon  several  tables  in 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     177 

different  parts  of  a  large  room,— -  a  cold  collation  with  a 
warm  reception  ;  and  the  guests  walked  freely  about  enjoy- 
ing conversation  or  refreshments  as  they  chose.  "  Pro- 
fessor Stewart  is  the  pride  and  ornament  of  the  University, 
and  of  Scotland.  With  a  countenance  strongly  marked  by 
the  lines  of  intellect ;  with  an  expression  of  thought  amount- 
ing almost  to  severity,  but  in  conversation  softened  by 
great  benignity,  and  with  manners  uniting  everything  of 
dignity  and  ease,  he,  even  at  first  sight,  impressed  a 
stranger  forcibly  with  an  idea  of  his  superiority."  "  When 
he  speaks,  either  in  his  lecture-room  or  in  conversation, 
he  draws  forth  the  resources  of  a  highly  enriched  and  pol- 
ished mind  ;  he  charms  the  hearer  by  the  beauty  of  his 
language  and  the  fine  cadence  of  his  voice,  while  he  arrests 
his  attention  by  the  energy  and  fulness  of  his  eloquence." 
(Published  Travels  of  the  author.)  Professor  Stewart 
conversed  with  me  upon  American  topics.  Soon  after  the 
American  war,  he  had  known  Dr.  Franklin  in  Paris,  and 
he  spoke  of  him  in  terms  of  the  highest  respect.  On  topics 
of  American  literature,  he  expressed  himself  in  polite  and 
delicate  terms,  although  it  was  evident  that  our  literature 
was  not  highly  appreciated  by  him.  When  our  poems 
were  inquired  for,  it  was  evident  that  the  distinguished 
men  around  me  had  not  heard  even  the  names  of  our 
poets,  Dvvight,  Trumbull,  Barlow,  Humphreys,  and  others. 
Before  I  had  met  him,  I  went  with  my  friend,  Mr.  Cod- 
man,  to  hear  one  of  Professor  Stewart's  lectures.  It  was 
equal  to  his  high  reputation,  and  served  to  identify  his 
person  and  manner.  He  was  very  sensitive  as  regards  in- 
attention and  levity  in  his  lecture-room.  Mr.  Codman  told 
me  that  the  Professor  was  much  incensed  one  day  by  the 
improper  conduct  of  a  pupil;  he  made  a  solemn  pause, 
and,  with  a  stern  voice  and  a  keen  glance,  required  the 
offending  youth  to  call  and  receive  his  money  back,  sur- 
render his  ticket,  and  never  to  appear  in  that  lecture-room 
again. 

VOL.  I.  12 


178  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Professor  Leslie  was  of  our  party  at  Professor  Stewart's ; 
he  had  honored  me  by  calling  upon  me,  and  I  was  al- 
ready in  some  degree  acquainted  with  him.  He  had  not 
the  quiet,  polished  dignity  of  his  friend  Stewart ;  his  man- 
ners had  a  blunt  frankness  which,  however,  inspired  con- 
fidence in  his  sincerity.  His  person  was  large.  He  was 
distinguished  by  an  ingenious  and  original  volume  contain- 
ing researches  on  heat.  The  differential  thermometer  was 
described  in  that  volume,  and  many  curious  results  on  the 
radiation  of  heat  were  obtained  by  means  of  this  instru- 
ment. (The  originality  of  the  discovery  of  the  differential 
thermometer  was  afterwards  denied  in  the  Edinburgh 
Journals.)  Professor  Leslie  had  travelled  on  the  Conti- 
nent, and  in  his  researches  on  heat  there  were  occasion- 
ally poetical  and  picturesque  allusions  to  scenery.  He 
visited  the  United  States  soon  after  the  peace  of  1783,  at 
the  close  of  the  American  Revolution.  He  said  that  he 
found  the  country  poor,  and  the  people  discontented,  — 
and  no  wonder,  considering  the  immense  expenditure  of 
money  and  blood  by  which  the  conflict  had  been  sustained 
during  eight  years  of  suffering.  The  election  of  Professor 
Leslie  was  attended  by  a  severe  conflict  between  the  Or- 
thodox party  which  sustained  him,  and  the  Arminian  party 
which  opposed  him.  The  latter  charged  him  with  infidel- 
ity, and  the  former  vindicated  him.  A  war  of  pamphlets 
was  carried  on  during  the  winter,  and  in  one  of  them  which 
I  saw,  the  clergy  were,  by  name,  arranged  in  two  columns. 
The  Orthodox  column  was  headed  by  Clean,  and  the 
Arminian  Unclean,  —  "  Tantcene  animis  celeslibus  irce  ?  " 
The  column  of  the  Clean  was  headed  by  the  name  of  the 
President  of  the  University,  Dr.  Baird ;  but  it  should  be 
remembered  that  it  was  not  placed  there  by  himself,  but 
by  the  invidious  rivalry  of  party.  Professor  Leslie  was 
regarded  as  well  worthy  to  fill  the  place  of  his  illustrious 
predecessor,  Dr.  Robison. 

I  was  never  introduced  to  that  eminent  writer,  Dr.  Thomas 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     179 

Thomson,  whose  chemistry,  as  I  have  already  mentioned, 
was  among  my  very  early  studies.  It  is  always  interesting 
to  see  the  persons  and  to  observe  the  manner  of  eminent 
men,  and  with  this  view  I  resorted  to  the  lecture-room  of 
Dr.  Thomson.  In  person  he  was  not  above  the  middle 
height,  his  complexion  was  dark,  and  the  impression  of 
his  entire  appearance  was  not  prepossessing.  His  manner 
as  a  lecturer  — judging  from  a  single  lecture  —  was  formal 
and  precise,  not  flowing  and  easy,  like  that  of  Murray. 
It  seemed  to  be  in  harmony  with  the  excellent  method  of 
his  published  works. 

Dr.  (now  Sir  David)  Brewster,  was  present  at  the  soiree 
of  Prof.  Stewart,  and  should  have  been  mentioned  in  that 
connection.  Although  I  saw  him  only  on  that  occasion,  I 
retain  a  very  distinct  impression  of  his  personal  appear- 
ance. He  was  of  about  the  middle  stature,  complexion 
bright  and  slightly  florid,  form  rotund  but  not  corpulent ; 
manners  affable  and  pleasing,  simple,  direct,  and  unaffected. 
I  did  not  suppose  I  had  made  a  lodgment  in  his  memory, 
but  an  editorial  sympathy  brought  us  together  in  subse- 
quent years.  In  1819  a  joint-editorship  of  the  "  Edin- 
burgh Philosophical  Journal,"  by  Dr.  David  Brewster 
and  Prof.  Jameson,  (1819-1823,)  was  established,  and  ten 
volumes  were  published.  Then  followed  a  distinct  work, 
(the  editors  having  dissolved  their  partnership,)  Brewster's 
«  Edinburgh  Journal  of  Science,"  (1824-1829,)  also  in  ten 
volumes.  Prof.  Jameson  then  instituted  still  another  jour- 
nal, —  the  "Edinburgh  Philosophical  Journal,"  (1824— 
1826  ;  four  volumes).  Then  Prof.  Jameson  published  still 
another  journal  under  the  same  title,  —  the  "  Edinburgh 
Philosophical  Journal "  (1826-1838  ;  eighteen  volumes). 
A  degree  of  rivalry  seems  to  have  been  cherished  between 
these  eminent  men.  Dr.  Brewster  established  still  another 
journal,  —  "  Brewster's  Edinburgh  Journal  of  Science," 
(1829-1832;  five  volumes).  These  works  are  now  in 
my  library.  From  the  dates  last  mentioned  to  the  present 


180  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

time,  Edinburgh  has  never  been  without  a  journal  of 
science.  That  of  Prof.  Jameson  was  continued  until  his 
death,  a  few  years  since ;  and  able  successors  have  followed 
in  the  same  line  of  labor. 

A  mutual  sympathy  was  sustained  between  Sir  David 
Brewster  and  myself,  not  only  by  editorial  services  and 
courtesies,  but  by  his  numerous  memoirs.  Being  desirous 
that  they  should  appear  in  the  "American  Journal,"  he  sent 
them  to  me  from  time  to  time,  in  detached  printed  forms 
or  "  brochures,"  as  the  French  call  them  ;  and  each  memoir 
was  usually  accompanied  by  a  letter  from  the  author.  If  I 
live  to  revise  my  files  of  letters,  and  to  select  those  that  are 
to  be  preserved,  I  shall  leave  a  small  file  of  Dr.  Brewster's. 
Dr.  Brewster  still  lives,  and  is  almost  alone  among  my 
Edinburgh  contemporaries.  He  has  led  a  highly  useful 
life,  and  must,  I  should  think,  have  now  reached  fourscore. 
He  is  not  only  a  man  eminent  in  science,  he  is  a  man  of 
decided  religious  principles,  and,  I  trust,  of  piety. 

At  Prof.  Du^ald  Stewart's  I  met  Lord  Webb  Seymour. 
I  know  little  of  his  history.  He  was,  however,  a  compeer 
with  Playfair,  Hope,  Leslie,  Sir  James  Hall,  and  other  men 
eminent  in  physical  science,  especially  in  mineralogy  and 
geology.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  me  to  meet  him,  iioj;  because 
he  was  a  nobleman,  but  because,  being  a  nobleman,  he  was 
exempt  from  pride  and  bore  himself  with  perfect  courtesy 
and  affability.  I  had  an  agreeable  conversation  with  him, 
and  to  me  it  was  instructive  also.  He  appeared  to  be  well 
acquainted  with  chemistry,  and  named  several  processes  in 
the  arts  in  which  there  was  great  loss  from  an  ignorance 
of  chemical  principles.  In  person,  he  was  tall  and  rather 
slender ;  his  dress  was  that  of  a  genteel  man,  or,  in  other 
words,  that  of  a  gentleman,  as  without  his  title  he  would 
have  been  a  noble  man.  His  age  appeared  to  be  about 
thirty-five. 

I  am  not  certain  whether  I  met  Dr.  Thomas  Brown  first 
at  Prof.  Dugald  Stewart's ;  he  called  on  me  at  my  lodg- 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:   RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     181 

ings,  and  when  returning  his  call  I  found  him  living  with 
a  widowed  mother.  His  intellectual  and  metaphysical 
works  are  well  known  in  this  country.  He  gave  me  a  small 
Latin  treatise  of  his  own  composition  ;  I  think  it  was  en- 
titled "  De  sornniis"  His  appearance  was  that  of  an  amia- 
ble man,  of  modest  and  conciliating  manners.  His  person 
was  genteel,  his  countenance  mild  and  pleasing ;  and  his 
age  might  have  been  thirty-two  or  thirty-three. 

I  have  mentioned  a  literary  breakfast  at  the  house  of  a 
celebrated  gentleman, —  Dr.  Anderson,  the  well-known  edi- 
tor of  the  British  Poets.  I  met  there  an  agreeable  circle  of 
gentlemen,  and  the  conversation  was  more  or  less  literary. 
American  literature,  of  course,  comes  in  for  a  share  of  at- 
tention on  such  occasions.  Dr.  Anderson  conceded  to  us 
much  talent  and  keenness,  especially  in  debate, —  what  the 
English  call  cleverness,  —  with  a  fair  amount  of  information, 
but  he  said  we  had  not  yet  attained  to  taste.  Our  literary 
productions  being  "often  tumid  and  bombastical,"  (but 
hardly  more  so  than  a  sermon  which  I  heard,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  National  Thanksgiving,  by  Dr.  Baird,  President 
of  the  University  of  Edinburgh).  If  such  remarks  are 
annoying,  I  could  not  but  admit,  tacitly,  that  they  were 
but  too  well  founded.  I  parried  Dr.  Anderson's  censure, 
however,  by  adding,  that  there  was  much  talent  and  taste 
in  my  country,  the  results  of  which  did  not  reach  Europe. 
Dr.  Anderson  was  a  gentleman,  I  should  suppose,  then 
turned  of  fifty.  His  person  and  presence  were  both  com- 
manding and  affable,  but  his  costume  was  negligent,  his 
apparel  old  and  worn,  and  was  hardly  worthy  of  himself  or 
his  guests ;  but  I  was  led  to  believe  that  his  circumstances 
were  far  from  affluence,  —  a  fact  not  uncommon  in  Edin- 
burgh. 

That  eccentric  nobleman,  the  Earl  of  Buchan,  was  one 
the  guests  at  Dr.  Anderson's.  He  appeared  to  be  sixty 
sixty-five  years  old.  I  was  no  sooner  announced  to  him 
an  American,  than  he  singled  me  out  as  a  subject  of 


182  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

attention.  This  arose  from  his  political  position.  He  was 
a  decided  friend  to  the  Americans  in  their  Revolutionary 
struggle,  and  remained  an  ardent  admirer  of  Washington. 
He  had,  as  most  persons  will  remember,  transmitted  to 
General  Washington  a  box  made  from  the  wood  of  the  tree 
which  sheltered  Sir  William  Wallace.  It  was  accompanied 
by  a  request  that  General  Washington  would  designate 
a  successor,  one  whom  he  would  regard  as  most  worthy 
to  possess  the  box  after  he  should  have  done  with  it. 
That  great  man  declined  the  invidious  office,  and  in  his 
will  directed  that  the  box  should  be  returned  to  the  Earl 
of  Buchan.  On  the  present  occasion  he  was  full  of  Wash- 
ington, condemning  his  own  government  not  only  in  their 
treatment  of  the  colonies,  but  for  entering  upon  one  unnec- 
essary war  after  another,  thus  involving  the  nation  in  debt 
and  wasting  human  life.  Had  things  been  ordered  as  his 
friend,  Mr.  Fox,  and  the  party  which  he  led,  himself  in- 
cluded, had  wished,  all  these  evils  would,  he  said,  have  been 
avoided.  As  the  Earl  was  short-sighted,  he  came  so  near 
to  me  that  I  was  within  the  limit  of  his  distinct  vision, 
and  when  I  retreated  to  gain  a  little  more  offing,  he  fol- 
lowed me  so  perseveringly  that  I  brought  up  against  the 
mantle  and  was  rather  inconveniently  pressed  between  the 
fire  and  his  nobility.  Without  preface  or  apology  he  gave 
me  the  history  of  his  agricultural  proceedings  for  the  sea- 
son, and  especially  in  the  culture  of  the  turnip  ;  and  he 
continued  to  pour  forth  an  uninterrupted  effusion  on  agri- 
culture, John  Bull,  Mr.  Pitt,  General  Washington,  and 
twenty  other  topics,  and  I  could  find  space  only  for  an 
occasional  interjection  of  admiration  or  wonder.  From  the 
embarrassing  effort  to  preserve  the  gravity  of  my  muscles, 
I  was  occasionally  relieved  by  flashes  of  wit  or  humor  which 
now  and  then  broke  forth  from  the  Earl,  and  the  relief  was 
complete  when  a  hearty  laugh  exploded  between  us.  When 
seated  at  the  table,  the  garrulous  old  nobleman  resumed 
line  strain  of  talk,  —  the  most  extraordinary  specimen 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     183 


of  incongruities  and  eccentricities  that  I  have  ever  met  with. 
This,  it  is  said,  was  always  the  character  of  his  mind,  and 
that  it  had  been  excited  almost  to  a  happy  delirium  by  the 
recent  success  of  his  party.  In  person,  the  Earl  of  Buchan 
was  not  much  above  the  middle  size,  and  there  was  very 
little  of  dignity  in  his  appearance.  His  dress  was  coarse 
and  negligently  worn,  so  that  he  might  have  been  mistaken 
for  a  very  common  man.  Indeed,  my  friend  Codman  told 
me  that  the  Earl  was  conducted  into  the  kitchen,  while  the 
house-servant  went  to  inform  the  Rev.  Charles  Lowell  of 
Boston,  that  a  man  wished  to  see  him ;  and  of  course  an 
apology  was  made  for  the  blunder. 

TJie  Earl  of  Mbira,  olim  Lord  Rawdon.  —  This  distin- 
guished nobleman  and  commander  was  probably  acquainted 
with  no  other  science  than  that  of  war.  It  was  that  dis- 
tinction which  created  a  strong  interest  in  my  mind  to  see 
a  man  who  inflicted  much  suffering  on  my  country,  espec- 
ially in  the  Southern  States,  where,  as  the  daring  and  im- 
petuous Lord  Rawdon,  he  combated  our  ablest  generals : 
but  a  stain  remains  permanently  attached  to  his  character 
on  account  of  the  military  execution  of  Col.  Isaac  Hayne, 
in  Charleston,  in  August,  1781.  This  act  of  severity,  alike 
cruel  and  unnecessary,  brought  so  much  odium  upon  Lord 
Rawdon  (then  only  twenty-seven  years  old)  and  his  coad- 
jutor, Col.  Balfour,  that  Lord  Rawdon  in  1813,  thirty-four 
years  after  the  event,  wrote  an  elaborate  defence,  which 
was  not  published  until  1824.  This  defence,  with  all  the 
most  important  historical  documents  relating  to  the  trag- 
edy, is  ably  analyzed  in  the  "  Southern  Review,"  (Vol.  I., 
Art.  III.,)  for  February,  1828.  A  careful  perusal  of  the 
article  has  not  served  to  change  my  opinion.  To  say  the 
least,  it  was  a  case  in  which  clemency  was  demanded,  and 
it  would  have  promoted  the  royal  cause  far  more  than  the 
merciless  severity  which  was  exercised.  But  it  was  in  har- 
mony with  the  spirit  which  prevailed  in  the  British  coun- 


184  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

sels  —  the  counsels  of  the  king  and  the  ministry,  not  of 
the  people  of  England,  —  and  armies,  during  that  bloody 
and  barbarous  crusade  against  the  colonies.  The  occasion 
when  I  saw  Earl  Moira  was  at  a  military  review  (January 
18,  1806),  both  of  the  regulars  and  the  volunteers.  I  en- 
countered it  accidentally  in  a  morning  walk,  in  Princes 
Street,  in  the  new  town.  I  chose  a  position  very  near  to 
his  lordship,  who  was  on  horseback  in  the  full  British  uni- 
form of  the  coin  man der-in-chief  of  the  forces  in  Scotland. 
The  housing  of  his  saddle  was  a  leopard  skin,  the  holsters 
were  covered,  as  is  usual,  with  bear-skin,  and  he  wore  the 
three-cornered  military  hat.  He  was  a  noble-looking  vet- 
eran. Although  only  fifty  years  old,  care,  fatigue,  and  dan- 
ger had  given  him  the  aspect  of  sixty  years.  His  face  was 
furrowed  and  marked  by  anxiety.  I  studied  him  intently, 
and  thought  to  myself,  "  then  you  are  the  man  who,  as  an 
active  and  brave  young  officer,  associated  with  Col.  Tarle- 
ton,  and  both,  acting  under  Lord  Cornwallis,  desolated 
South  Carolina,  and  hanged  one  of  its  most  estimable  citi- 
zens." I  was  so  near  that  I  could  have  heard  every  word, 
had  he  spoken,  but  he  was  entirely  silent.  It  was  a  mere 
reconnoissance  of  troops,  exercising  and  passing  before  him 
in  review  by  hundreds  and  thousands,  —  a  grand  and  beau- 
tiful spectacle ;  with  all  the  pomp  and  apparatus  of  war 
it  gave  a  spectator  a  vivid  impression  of  the  reality  of 
those  sanguinary  scenes,  so  falsely  called  the  fields  of 
glory.  The  mute  artillery,  with  burnished  brass  cannon, 
attended  by  their  gunners  and  matrosses  with  their  cais- 
sons, and  all  their  machinery,  passed  quietly  along,  a  harm- 
less pageant,  but  ready  to  wake  the  thunders  of  war. 

The  Earl  of  Moira  appears  not  to  have  lost  his  dislike 
to  the  Americans,  even  when  the  contest  was  finished. 
Col.  Trumbull  told  me  that  when  one  of  his  historical  pict- 
ures—  I  believe  it  was  Bunker  Hill  —  was  being  exhibited 
in  Somerset  House,  and  was  visited  by  the  young  army  offi- 
cers, Earl  .Moira  caused  them  to  be  informed  that  the  visit- 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     185 

ing  of  the  pictures  of  that  artist  would  be  regarded  as  a 
proof  of  want  of  loyalty,  and  of  course  the  visits  ceased. 
This  was  very  narrow  and  illiberal,  and  of  a  piece  with  the 
execution  of  Col.  Hayne.  From  1812  to  1822,  he  was 
Governor-General  of  India.  In  1824  he  was  appointed 
Governor  of  Malta,  and  resided  there  until  1825,  when  he 
died  on  board  of  the  British  ship-of-war  Revenge  in  the 
bay  of  Baiae,  near  Naples.  It  is  mentioned  to  his  honor, 
that  his  "  profuse  liberality  and  generous  hospitality,"  par- 
ticularly to  the  French  emigrant  noblesse,  clouded  the 
later  years  of  his  life.  His  country-seat  was  near  Edin- 
burgh, and  Holyrood  House  was  occupied  by  the  Count 
D'Artois  and  his  friends  of  the  Bourbon  family  ;  and  again  it 
became  an  asylum  for  French  exiles  after  the  fall  of  Charles 

X.  in  1830 

Among  the  celebrities  of  Edinburgh,  Mr.  Listen  (after- 
wards Sir  Robert  Listen)  must  not  be  forgotten.  Probably 
he  had  no  more  to  do  with  science  than  the  Earl  of  Moira ; 
for,  unlike  him,  he  had  passed  a  public  life,  not  in  the  field, 
but  accredited  as  a  minister  to  most  of  the  cabinets  of 
Europe,  and  to  that  of  the  United  States.  He  had  had, 
therefore,  an  opportunity  to  study  the  science  of  govern- 
ment. From  Henry  Thornton,  Esq.,  M.  P.,  I  had  brought 
a  letter  of  introduction  to  a  venerable  friend  of  his  in  Edin- 
burgh, Mr.  R.  S.  Moncrieff ;  and  he  was  on  terms  of  inti- 
macy with  Mr.  Listen.  Mr.  Moncrieff,  learning  from  me 
that  I  bore  a  letter  from  Col.  Pickering  to  Mr.  Listen, 
proposed  that  we  should  ride  out  together  on  horseback  to 
Mr.  Liston's  residence  at  Melbourne,  five  miles  from  Edin- 
burgh, in  season  for  breakfast.  We  were  received  by  Mrs. 
Liston  with  great  politeness,  and  then  by  her  husband,  who 
was  called  in  from  the  field,  where  he  was  directing  the 
agricultural  operations  of  spring.  During  the  administra- 
tion of  General  Washington,  Mr.  Liston  had  been  long 
resident  minister  of  Great  Britain  at  the  American  court, 
which  was  then  held  in  Philadelphia.  They  (Mr.  and  Mrs. 


186  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Listen)  both  retained  the  kindest  recollections  of  their 
American  residence,  and  Mrs.  Liston  cherished  a  small 
American  garden  devoted  to  our  trees,  shrubs,  and  plants ; 
and  into  this  garden  she  admitted  nothing  that  was  not  of 
transatlantic  origin.  I  looked  with  peculiar  interest  to 
these  natives  of  my  country.  We  found  these  interesting 
people  living  in  all  the  simplicity  and  retirement  of  rural 
life.  Their  house,  a  neat  stone  cottage,  was  of  one  story, 
with  a  thatched  roof,  and  had  a  few  handsome  rooms.  It 
was  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  farm  which  Mr.  Liston  cul- 
tivated, not  without  personal  toil.  His  person  was  tall  and 
dignified,  his  manners  presented  a  model  of  graceful  sim- 
plicity, and  his  conversation  was  highly  intelligent,  instruc- 
tive, and  agreeable.  We  took  breakfast  in  a  small  octag- 
onal apartment  resembling  a  ship's  cabin,  and  lighted  from 
above.  Mrs.  Liston  did  the  honors  of  the  occasion  with 
much  dignity  and  affability.  Their  sentiments  on  the 
United  States  and  its  affairs,  its  government,  and  the  pros- 
pect of  the  permanency  of  its  institutions,  were  highly 
favorable.  Mr.  Liston  was  now  in  retirement,  and  ap- 
peared to  be  past  sixty  years  of  age.  A  revolution  of  par- 
ties having  recently  taken  place,  and  the  party  of  Mr.  Fox 
having  come  into  power,  allusion  was  made  to  that  fact,  and 
to  the  probability  that  he,  Mr.  Liston,  would  soon  be  called 
again  into  public  life,  when  he  replied,  —  "  If  they  want  me, 
they  know  where  to  find  me  ; "  and  I  believe  he  was  soon 
after  sent  on  some  foreign  mission.  Mr.  Liston,  while  re- 
siding in  Philadelphia  as  minister  from  the  Court  of  Lon- 
don, was  constantly  assailed  by  "  The  Aurora,"  the  leading 
Democratical  paper  of  that  day.  At  breakfast  he  remarked 
to  us  pleasantly,  that  finding  one  morning  that  his  name  did 
not  appear  in  "  The  Aurora  "  sheet  as  usual,  he  was  led  to 
inquire  whether  he  had  done  any  base  act  that  day  or  re- 
cently to  entitle  him  to  favor  from  "  The  Aurora."  He 
remarked  that  the  editor,  Duane,  was  a  renegade  English- 
man, and  Callender  was  another  base  instrument  also,  —  an 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.    187 

Englishman  who  was  set  up  on  purpose  to  assail  General 
Washington  and  his  administration.  At  this  day,  as  for 
many  years,  a  Scotchman  in  New  York  edits  a  paper  noto- 
rious for  falsehood  and  slander.  It  is  thus  that  foreigners 
disgrace  us. 

Sir  Harry  Moncrieff  Wellwood,  an  excellent  baronet, 
deserves  to  be  commemorated  among  the  eminent  men  of 
Scotland  of  my  time.  He  was  an  established  minister  of 
the  West  Kirk  at  the  foot  of  the  Castle  Rock,  Parish  of 
St.  Cuthbert's,  and  although  a  titled  man,  he  was  a  fervent 
minister  of  the  gospel.  Cowper  mentions,  as  a  wonder, 
the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  who  "  wears  a  coronet  and  prays." 
I  often  attended  the  preaching  of  the  Rev.  Sir  Henry  M. 
Wellwood,  who  retained  his  aristocratic  title,  and  was  rarely 
called  Reverend.  He  exhibited  every  appearance  of  a 
sound  and  excellent  mind,  and  every  proof  of  rational, 
although  ardent  piety.  He  appeared  to  be  about  sixty ; 
but  his  physical  frame  was  robust,  and  he  seemed  to  have 
the  stamina  of  a  long  life. 

Rev.  David  Dickson  was  an  intimate  friend  of  my  asso- 
ciate, Mr.  Codman,  and  he  honored  me  with  his  friendship 
and  confidence.  I  was  also  kindly  received  in  the  family  of 
his  father,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dickson,  senior.  I  occasionally 
heard  the  father  preach,  and  often  listened  to  the  son  in 
the  West  Kirk,  near  which  Mr.  Dickson  resided  in  a  bach- 
elor's home,  with  an  intelligent  and  agreeable  sister  to  do 
the  honors  of  his  house.  His  hospitality  we  often  enjoyed, 
and  the  most  valued  part  of  the  entertainment  was  derived 
from  his  own  bright  intelligence,  joyous  spirits,  sparkling 
wit,  and  warm  welcome.  He  was  a  man  of  talents  and 
learning.  In  the  pulpit,  he  was  solemn,  earnest,  and  affec- 
tionate ;  his  sermons  were  lucid,  and  their  tendency  was 
eminently  practical.  He  had  read  the  writings  of  our  prin- 
cipal New-England  divines,  —  Edwards,  Hopkins,  Bellamy, 
and  others,  —  and  he  remarked  to  me  once  that  he  thought 
our  preachers  indulged  too  much  in  metaphysics.  "  We 


183  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

here,"  added  he,  "  take  the  doctrines  for  granted,  and  ap- 
peal directly  to  the  hearts  of  our  people  and  make  our  teach- 
ings bear  upon  their  lives."  Still  the  preaching  of  the 
Evangelical  clergy  in  Edinburgh  often  involved  doctrines 
with  their  warm  exhortations.  On  my  leaving  Edinburgh, 
in  April,  1800,  he  gave  me  as  a  remembrancer  a  volume, 
elegantly  bound,  of  the  published  sermons  of  Sir  Henry 
MoncrierT  Wellwood,  and  on  a  blank  leaf  he  wrote,  — 
"TO  B.  SILLIMAN,  ESQ., 

from  a  friend. 

Etsi  corpore  absens,  spiritu  tamen  praesens. 
Edin.  April  26,  180G." 

The  inscription  was  in  his  most  beautiful  chirography, 
and  the  sentiment  was  so  perfectly  printed  by  his  pen  in 
an  imitation  of  the  impress  of  type,  that  even  now,  more 
than  fifty-two  years  after  the  time,  I  find  it  difficult  to  con- 
vince a  friend  that  it  is  not  really  printing. 

Rev.  Mr.  Black,  an  excellent  man,  was  a  devout  and 
earnest  preacher  of  the  gospel.  He  was  not  reckoned 
among  the  stars  of  Edinburgh,  but  he  was  greatly  re- 
spected, and  he  drew  very  large  and  attentive  congrega- 
tions. We  were  occasionally  in  his  church,  and  every 
seat  was  occupied.  The  people  filled  the  alleys,  and  hung 
around  the  door  in  dense  masses,  like  bees  clustering 
around  a  hive  in  cold  weather.  The  spirit  of  John  Knox 
had  not  died  out  in  Scotland,  and  seemed  to  animate  many 
of  the  preachers  and  no  small  portion  of  the  people.  We 
enjoyed  occasionally  the  hospitality  of  Rev.  Mr.  Black, 
and  met  there  intelligent  and  interesting  people.  The 
standing  topic  of  American  literature  being  introduced  with 
the  usual  intimations  of  its  inferiority,  I  ventured  to  sug- 
gest that  an  American,  Lindley  Murray,  had  given  to 
Hritain  as  well  as  America  the  best  grammar  of  the  Eng- 
lish language  which  had  been  published.  Mr.  Black  then 
with  playful  retaliation  replied,  that  Mr.  Murray,  by  long 
residence  in  this  country,  had  learned  the  language.  Alas, 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.      189 

the  winter  was  not  passed  before  Mr.  Black  was  called 
away  !  Hearing  that  he  was  sick,  we  sent  our  servant-girl 
daily  to  inquire  as  to  his  condition.  At  last  she  returned 
one  morning  and  said,  "  Sir,  he  has  gone  to  his  rest"  —  a 
beautiful  annunciation  of  his  death. 

The  fame  of  our  American  Dr.  John  Mitchell  Mason 
was  widely  extended  in  Scotland,  and  especially  in  Edin- 
burgh where  he  was  educated.  Although  they  were  proud 
of  his  talents  and  eloquence,  adorned  as  they  were  by  a 
noble  person  and  a  commanding  voice  and  manner,  he 
was  not  permitted  to  preach  in  the  churches  of  the  Estab- 
lishment, because  his  family,  which  was  from  Scotland,  be- 
longed to  the  Seceders.  They  regarded  him,  moreover,  as 
too  ornate  in  his  style ;  and  in  London  he  was  censured  for 
eulogizing  Colonel  Hamilton,  who  in  July,  1804,  had  fallen 
in  a  duel  with  Colonel  Burr. 

"  Edinburgh  Review."  —  A  curiosity,  natural  on  my  part, 
to  know  something  more  of  the  organization  and  history 
of  this  Review,  was  gratified  by  the  hospitality  of  our  book- 
seller, Mr.  Ross.  This  kind  friend,  as  he  ever  proved 
himself  to  be.  invited  me  to  meet  at  dinner  at  his  house 
a  party  of  gentlemen,  and  among  them  Messrs.  Constable 
and  Hunter,  the  publishers  and  proprietors  of  the  Edin- 
burgh Journal.  These  gentlemen,  with  great  frankness 
and  liberality,  communicated  to  me  those  facts  respecting 
the  origin  and  plan  and  execution  of  this  journal  which 

I  have  published  in  my  early  travels At  dinner, 

at  Mr.  Hunter's,  the  next  day,  I  found  in  him  not  only 
hospitality  but  great  intelligence,  with  an  extended  knowl- 
edge of  books,  especially  those  that  are  rare  and  valuable, 
of  which  Mr.  Hunter  was  a  great  collector.  I  mentioned 
Mather's  "  Magnalia,"  of  which  I  wished  to  obtain  a  copy 
for  a  friend  at  home.  It  was  sometime  after  procured  at  an 
expense  of  seven  dollars,  but  unfortunately  was  lost  from 
the  stage  between  Edinburgh  and  Liverpool.  Mr.  Hun- 


190  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ter's  house  had  then  in  the  press  for  Walter  Scott,  "  Mar- 
mion."  His  sun  was  at  that  time  in  the  ascendant,  but  it 
did  not  culminate  in  full  splendor  until  years  after  my 
return  home.  I  believe,  however,  that  the  "Minstrelsy 
of  the  Scottish  Border,"  and  his  "  History  of  the  Scottish 
Border,"  had  been  published. 

Sir  John  Stirling  and  Lady.  —  In  my  childhood,  an  itin- 
erant mechanic,  an  artist  in  metals,  travelled  from  place  to 
place,  bearing  his  tools  on  his  back,  and  he  was  occasion- 
ally at  my  father's  house  to  repair  the  utensils  of  the 
kitchen.  My  brother  and  myself,  both  below  our  teens, 
were  delighted  with  the  visits  of  the  old  man,  —  listening  to 
the  clatter  of  his  hammer  as  it  was  applied  to  the  sounding 
brass,  and  entertained  more  still  by  his  legendary  lore. 
Among  other  tales,  he  was  wont  to  enlarge  upon  the  high 
condition  of  a  daughter,  married,  as  he  said,  to  a  Laird  in 
Scotland,  the  possessor  of  a  great  estate,  and  of  flocks  of 
sheep  and  herds  of  cattle,  with  their  herdsmen  and  shep- 
herds. The  story  sounded  like  romance  ;  but  it  was  stated 
in  proof  of  its  truth,  that  the  daughter,  still  filial  in  feeling, 
although  exalted  in  condition,  did  not  forget  her  family, 
and  proved  her  fidelity  by  sending  out  annually  presents 
of  valuable  things  to  her  humble  sire  and  mother.  Such 
was  the  story  of  old  Fulsome  (Folsom),  as  he  was  called; 
and  the  tale  went  through  Stratford  and  Fairfield  that, 
before  the  American  Revolution,  a  young  Scotch  Laird 
stopped  over  the  Sabbath  at  Stratford,  either  voluntarily 
or  constrained  by  the  strictness  of  Puritanical  laws  which 
forbade  travelling  on  that  day ;  and  what  could  he  do  bet- 
ter than  go  to  church  ?  And  to  church  he  went,  seeking 
edification,  as  we  might  charitably  hope,  but  finding,  at 
least,  occupation,  and  finding,  moreover,  a  boon  little  ex- 
pected. The  legend  relates  that  a  beautiful  girl  among 
the  singers  caught  the  eye  of  the  young  traveller,  and, 
more  than  the  minister,  fixed  and  engaged  his  attention. 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     191 

Inquiry  discovered  her  humble  condition,  but  did  not  abate 
the  virtuous  feelings  which  she  had  excited,  and  doubtless 
they  were  confirmed  by  personal  interviews.  She  was  in 
due  time  favored  with  educational  training,  and  having 
native  dignity  and  good  sense,  it  may  be  presumed  that  she 
honored  her  station  not  less  than  it  honored  her.  Many 
years  passed  away ;  the  tales  of  childhood  faded  into 
glimmering  recollections ;  and  this  story  would  doubtless 
have  been  remembered  no  more,  had  it  not  been  revived 
by  an  accidental  occurrence.  Being  invited  to  dine  at  the 
house  of  one  of  our  friends,  a  clergyman,  I  was  informed 
that  I  should  there  meet  an  American  lady.  I  accepted 
the  invitation,  and  was  introduced  to  Sir  John  Stirling  and 
lady  and  daughter.  They  were  sensible  and  agreeable 
people,  intelligent  and  courteous,  and,  withal,  dignified 
without  formality.  Sir  John  might  have  been  fifty-six,  and 
his  wife  fifty-three.  Conversation,  of  course,  turned  on 
America,  and  Lady  Stirling  and  myself  were  drawn  a  little 
nearer  in  interest,  as  we  could  speak  of  a  common  country. 
The  course  of  conversation  soon  discovered  that  New  Eng- 
land and  Connecticut  was  our  native  land,  and  I  avowed 
myself  Connecticut  born.  It  appeared  that  the  lady  had 
left  the  land  of  her  nativity  thirty  years  or  more  ago  ;  and 
when  I  took  the  liberty  to  inquire  still  farther  for  her  native 
town,  she  named  Stratford,  and  I  responded  that  it  was 
also  my  native  town,  although  that  portion  of  it  where  I 
was  born  now  bore  the  name  of  Trumbull.  The  next 
town,  Fairfield,  was  the  abode  of  my  family,  but  my  mother 
was  driven  into  exile  by  the  British  invasion  along  our 
coast,  and  I  was  born  away  from  home.  In  an  instant  the 
tales  of  childhood  were  summoned  afresh  from  their  long 
repose  in  my  memory,  and  I  felt  no  doubt  that  the  once 
young  and  beautiful  Miss  Folsom  was  now  before  me  as 
Lady  Stirling,  —  a  grave  matron,  —  and  the  ardent  and 
gallant  young  Scotchman  was  the  veritable  Sir  John  Stir- 
ling, —  a  grave  knight.  I  pursued  my  inquiries  no  further ; 


192  LIFE   OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

and  as  the  lady  did  not  name  her  family,  I  remained  silent, 
except  to  my  two  Boston  friends,  the  companions  of  my 
domestic  retirement.  I  thought  that  perhaps  she  would 
not  care  to  advert  to  her  own  early  history;  and  I  saw 
them  no  more.* 

Among  the  Edinburgh  friends  whose  hospitality 
and  kindness  Professor  Silliman  always  remembered 
with  pleasure,  was  the  family  of  Mr.  Ebenezer  Ma- 
son, a  respectable  merchant,  an  uncle  of  Dr.  Mason 
of  New  York.  After  many  years  he  had  the  satis- 
faction of  renewing  his  acquaintance  with  members 
of  Mr.  Mason's  family,  who  emigrated  to  this  coun- 
try. 

The  recollections  of  his  Edinburgh  life  conclude 
as  follows :  — 

A  supper  at  nine  o'clock,  ample  although  frugal,  and  got 
up  in  good  taste,  frequently  afforded  a  scene  of  pleasant 
intercourse  in  Edinburgh  families.  Social  intercourse  was 
easy,  and  in  a  high  degree  friendly.  The  time  went  away 
rapidly,  and  brought  us  sometimes  to  the  midnight  hour, 
when  a  hearty  good-night  followed,  not  unfrequently  ani- 
mated by  a  farewell  song.  Scotch  social  feelings  needed 
physical  excitement ;  it  is,  however,  not  to  be  denied 
that  they  were  often  intensified  by  libations  of  the  moun- 
tain dew,  —  the  favorite  name  of  "  Highland  whiskey."  A 
large  bowl,  reeking  with  hot  whiskey-toddy,  sometimes 
found  a  place  in  the  centre  of  the  supper-table ;  a  ladle 
served  to  transfer  portions  of  the  cheering  fluid  from  the 
central  reservoir  to  the  glasses  of  the  guests,  who  sipped 
it  from  time  to  time,  by  means  of  small  ladles,  one  in  each 
glass  ;  and  it  was  not  difficult  to  discover  the  effect  on  the 

*  In  Dod's  Book  nf  Peerage,  &c.,   1856,   Sir  Samuel   Stirling  is  de- 
1  as   the   "  son   of  the  sixth   baronet   by  his  marriage   with  Miss 
Folson  [an  error  for  Folsom]  of  Stratford,  North  America."  —  (1<\ 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.    193 

sociability  and  colloquial  powers  of  the  company.  How- 
ever gratifying  at  the  moment,  the  tendency  was  no  doubt 
bad,  and  we  presume  that  the  jovial  beginnings  had  some- 
times a  melancholy  end.  Entertainments  were  not  always, 
however,  so  frugal.  I  dined  on  one  occasion  with  a  Scotch 
bachelor,  who  for  a  few  guests  spread  a  sumptuous  table, 
which  he  told  me  of  his  own  accord  cost  twelve  pounds,  or 
sixty  dollars.  It  was  less  agreeable  than  the  frugal  sup- 
pers, and  was  not  recommended  by  the  free  habits  and 
sentiments  of  our  host  as  developed  by  himself.  In  family 
parties  in  Edinburgh,  music,  both  vocal  and  instrumental, 
was  a  favorite  entertainment.  Native  airs  and  native  songs 
or  poems  exerted  a  fascinating  power,  and  it  often  hap- 
pened that  the  music  of  the  piano  was  the  signal  for 
Scotch  reels  on  the  parlor  carpet,  ending  at  the  usual  hour 
of  family  retirement.  To  these  few  notices  of  social  man- 
ners in  Edinburgh,  I  add  a  paragraph  from  my  published 
travels.  "  The  Scotch  are  a  noble  people  ;  and,  poor  and 
narrow  as  is  the  tract  of  earth  allotted  to  them,  cut  up  by 
friths,  enfiladed  by  mountains,  and  girded  by  a  belt  of  stormy 
islands,  Scotland  may  still  proudly  challenge  the  nations 
whom  the  Creator  has  placed  in  more  favored  climes,  to 
produce  higher  examples  of  all  that  adorns  and  ennobles 
the  human  character." 

RESULT  OF  MY  RESIDENCE  IN  EUROPE  IN  RELATION 
TO  THE  OBJECTS  OF  MY  MISSION.  —  I.  In  Relation  to 
Business.  —  I  was  fortunate  in  my  engagements  in  London 
for  the  purchase  of  books  and  apparatus.  I  met  with  faith- 
ful men  in  all  the  departments,  who  executed  the  orders 
with  zeal,  punctuality,  and  fidelity.  All  the  books,  and 
every  article  of  apparatus,  except  a  few  unimportant  pieces 
of  glass,  arrived  in  safety,  and  met  the  full  approbation  of 
my  patrons.  After  examining  all  my  accounts,  and  those 
of  the  artists  and  booksellers,  with  the  vouchers,  and  my 
own  account  of  personal  expenditures,  I  received  a  full 

VOL.  i.  13 


194  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

discharge  of  my  pecuniary  responsibility  and  a  vote  of 
approbation.  It  was  signed  by  the  Prudential  Committee 
of  Yale  College,  namely,  —  Timothy  Dwight,  President ; 
John  Treadwell,  Governor  of  Connecticut;  Rev.  James 
Dana,  D.  D. ;  and  Rev.  David  Ely,  D.  D.  The  two  latter 
were  members  of  the  Corporation  of  Yale  College,  and 
Dr.  Ely  was  Secretary. 

I  was  charged  also  with  various  private  commissions,  all 
of  which  were  executed  with  fidelity,  and  the  money  duly 
accounted  for,  and  I  made  no  charge  for  services.  I  have 
on  my  files  the  book  which  contained  the  account  of  all  my 
personal  expenses,  and  entries  of  the  concerns  of  other 
persons.  I  left  home  for  Europe,  and  Europe  for  home, 
without  leaving  any  unsatisfied  demand ;  in  a  word,  with  a 
healthy  conscience  and  an  unsullied  character ;  a  name,  I 
trust,  without  reproach,  —  and,  for  the  satisfaction  of  my 
children,  may  it  ever  so  remain  !  As  regards  my  personal 
expenditures,  I  not  only  kept  an  account  of  every  disburse- 
ment, but  I  footed  up  always  on  Saturday  night,  and  noted 
the  ratio  of  my  expenditure  compared  with  my  means.  Thus 
I  was  able  to  keep  myself  within  the  limits  of  safety.  I 
neither  borrowed  money  nor  loaned  my  funds,  and  there- 
fore my  resources  proved  sufficient ;  but  there  was  no  ex- 
cess. I  had  no  money  left ;  but  I  had  not  anticipated  my 
salary,  and  therefore  my  small  means  began  again  to 
grow. 

II.  In  Relation  to  Professional  Improvement,  Intellectual 
Culture,  Enlargement  of  Mind,  and  Social  Advancement. — 
My  first  duty  and  highest  obligation  were,  to  dispose  of  the 
funds  of  Yale  College  which  had  been  confided  to  me  with 
fidelity,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  with  good  judgment,  so  as  to 
effect  the  objects  in  view.  Ten  thousand  dollars  was  a  con- 
siderable sum  more  than  fifty  years  ago,  and  a  few  hundred 
more  were  remitted  afterwards,  in  addition  to  the  bills  of  ex- 
change which  I  carried  with  me,  and  of  which,  for  safety,  du- 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     195 

plicates  were  forwarded  by  the  usual  channels.  I  have  already 
stated  that  I  received  a  full  discharge  from  my  pecuniary 
responsibility.  This  document  I  still  hold,  with  the  signa- 
tures of  the  great  and  good  men  who  are  long  since  re- 
moved from  life.  I  hold  also  another  document,  an  hono- 
rary and  honorable  testimonial  of  entire  satisfaction  on  the 
part  of  my  patrons,  as  regards  the  use  of  all  the  means, 
opportunities,  and  time  that  were  placed  at  my  disposal. 
This  document  has  the  signatures  of  a  majority  of  the 
Board,  —  the  Prudential  Committee  of  Yale  College.  It 
is  in  my  recollection  that  two  of  the  gentlemen  were  absent 
from  the  meeting,  and  that  I  neglected  afterwards  to  ob- 
tain their  signatures,  which  would  have  been  given  at  any 
time.  In  relation  to  professional  improvement,  I  trust  it 
has  been  already  rendered  evident  that  a  much  higher 
standard  of  excellence  than  I  had  before  seen  was  pre- 
sented to  me,  especially  in  Edinburgh.  Upon  that  scale  I 
endeavored  to  form  my  professional  character,  to  imitate 
what  I  saw  and  heard,  and  afterwards  to  introduce  such 
improvements  as  I  might  be  able  to  hit  upon  or  invent.  It 
is  obvious  that,  had  I  rested  content  with  the  Philadelphia 
standard,  except  what  1  learned  from  my  early  friend, 
Robert  Hare,  the  chemistry  of  Yale  College  would  have 
been  comparatively  an  humble  affair.  In  mineralogy,  my 
opportunities  at  home  had  been  very  limited.  As  to  geol- 
ogy, the  science  did  not  exist  among  us,  except  in  the 
minds  of  a  very  few  individuals,  and  instruction  was  not 
attainable  in  any  public  institution.  In  Edinburgh  there 
were  learned  and  eloquent  geologists  and  lecturers,  and 
ardent  and  successful  explorers  ;  and  in  that  city  the  great 
geological  conflict  between  the  Wernerian  and  Huttonian 
schools  elicited  a  high  order  of  talent  and  rich  resources 
both  in  theory  and  facts.  Here  my  mind  was  enlightened, 
interested,  and  excited  to  efforts  which,  through  half  a 
century,  were  sustained  and  increased.  Had  I  remained  at 
home,  I  should  probably  never  have  reached  a  high  stand- 


196  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAK. 

ard  ot  attainment  in  geology,  nor  given  whatever  impulse 
has  emanated  from  New  Haven  as  one  of  the  centres 
of  scientific  labor  and  influence.  Intellectual  culture  and 
enlargement  of  mind  resulted,  of  course,  from  the  oppor- 
tunities which  I  enjoyed.  I  went  abroad  at  a  period 
of  life  when  the  ardor  of  youth  was  associated  with  the 
maturity  of  manhood.  Having  no  proclivities  to  wrong 
courses,  my  time,  money,  efforts,  were  all  enlisted  in  the 
enlargement  not  only  of  professional,  but  of  general  knowl- 
edge. I  had  vigorous  health  ;  and,  except  a  few  days  of 
debility  and  derangement  arising  from  the  inhalation  of 
arsenical  fumes  in  London,  and  from  the  influence  of  the 
stagnant  waters  of  Holland,  —  producing,  however,  no  in- 
termission of  labor,  —  I  was,  during  my  entire  European 
noviciate,  capable  of  strenuous  exertion.  I  found  it  a 
source  of  enjoyment  as  well  as  of  improvement;  and  the 
acquisitions  of  that  period,  with  the  habits  then  formed, 
proved  to  be  an  available  capital,  even  forty-six  years  after- 
ward, when  Europe  was  the  theatre  of  mature  observation 
in  the  evening  of  life.  That  some  enlargement  of  mind 
and  social  culture  in  the  survey  of  human  society  and  in- 
stitutions, as  well  as  in  physical  observations,  resulted  from 
my  European  residence,  has,  I  hope,  appeared  in  some  de- 
gree in  my  earlier  as  well  as  more  recent  published  vol- 
umes of  travels.  They  have  proved,  at  least,  that  I  was 
not  an  idler  nor  a  devotee  of  pleasure,  and  that  I  made 
the  best  use  of  my  time  and  opportunities  of  which  I 
was  capable.  I  believe  I  may,  without  vanity  or  presump- 
tion, repose  upon  the  verdict  of  approval  which  has  been 
pronounced  upon  those  works  by  the  public  in  all  their 
numerous  editions.  Thus  I  conclude  my  review  of  an 
important  portion  of  my  life,  and  with  grateful  acknowl- 
edgment to  a  kind  Providence,  which,  as  with  an  unseen 
hand,  guided  me  in  a  path  which  I  had  not  known,  and 
having  kept  me  in  safety  and  prospered  my  efforts,  brought 
me  back  in  peace  to  my  native  land.  I  arrived  in  New 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.      197 

York  May  27,  180G,  being  then  twenty-six  years  and  nine 
months  old. 

On  Thursday  the  29th,  I  breakfasted  with  Oliver  Wolcott, 
Esq.,  who  arranged  the  business  concerns  of  my  mission, 
and  with  whom  I  corresponded.  Mr.  Wolcott  was  succes- 
sor to  Gen.  Alexander  Hamilton  as  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury of  the  United  States  under  President  Washington.  Mr. 
Wolcott  was  a  highly  dignified  and  intelligent  gentleman, 
and  was  now  a  merchant  of  high  position  and  connections 
in  New  York.  With  him  I  called  on  Col.  John  Trumbull, 
who  had  acted  as  my  patron  and  friend  in  England.  I 
dined  with  my  old  friend,  Mr.  Zachariah  Lewis.  Although 
Mr.  Wolcott  had  lost  his  wife,  who  is  remembered  as  a  lady 
of  great  excellence  and  loveliness,  he,  notwithstanding  the 
derangement  of  his  family,  held  at  his  house  a  soiree  of 
some  of  the  most  eminent  men  of  the  city,  among  whom 
were  Mr.  Hoffman,  Mr.  William  W.  Woolsey,  Col.  Tram- 
bull,  Archibald  Gracie,  Judge  Radcliflfe,  and  many  more. 
Probably  not  an  individual  of  them  is  now  living.  The 
gentlemen  thus  assembled  were  members  of  a  social  club, 
and  this  was  one  of  their  meetings.  On  looking  into  my 
journal  written  at  the  time,  I  find  that  I  was  admitted  in 
courtesy.  The  meeting  was  social,  easy,  and  agreeable,  and 
was  characterized  by  good  sense,  intelligence,  and  politeness. 
I  received  of  course  many  warm  greetings  from  the  friends 
whom  I  met  on  this  occasion.  On  Friday,  May  30,  I  break- 
fasted with  Mr.  Samuel  Miles  Hopkins,  a  delightful  man 
with  a  polished  and  intelligent  wife  (Miss  Rogers,  daughter 
of  Moses  Rogers,  an  eminent  New  York  merchant).  I 
dined  with  Mr.  Codman,  uncle  of  my  Edinburgh  friend, 
and  like  him,  an  agreeable  and  friendly  gentleman. 

Steamboats  and  railroads  were  in  those  days  unknown, 
and  stage-coaches  were  slow.  Dr.  Gorham  and  myself 
prepared  to  take  our  chance  in  a  New-Haven  packet,  the 
Maria,  Capt.  Bradley,  in  which  we  embarked  at  four  o'clock 
p.  M.,  on  Friday.  With  a  continuance  of  the  fair  wind  with 


198  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

which  we  set  sail,  we  should  have  been  in  New  Haven  the 
next  morning,  as  we  confidently  expected.  We  were  how- 
ever becalmed,  and  wore  away  both  our  Saturday  and  the 
Sabbath  in  listless  inaction  ;  but  we  were  not  unmindful 
of  the  holy  day,  and  occupied  some  of  its  hours  with  read- 
ing sermons  and  singing  hymns,  —  this  being  the  only 
instance  in  which  I  had  witnessed  such  observances  on  ship- 
board on  the  Sabbath.  The  day  had  been  passed  off  Strat- 
ford Point,  within  twenty  miles  of  home  ;  but  at  last  a 
favoring  breeze  arose,  which  wafted  us  safely  into  the  har- 
bor. At  four  o'clock  p.  M.,  Sabbath  evening,  June  1,  1806, 
I  stepped  upon  the  long  wharf,  and  was  first  welcomed  by 
my  early  friend,  Charles  Denison.  The  public  services  of 
the  day  were  over,  but  I  resorted  to  the  evening  prayers 
at  the  college  chapel.  President  Dwight,  my  great  and 
good  friend,  led  the  services ;  when  they  were  finished 
he  gave  me  a  warm,  paternal  welcome,  inviting  both  Dr. 
Gorham  and  myself  home  to  tea ;  and  we  had  a  very  inter- 
esting evening.  I  then  realized  that  I  was  indeed  at  home 
again,  and  safe  once  more  in  my  own  town  and  institution. 
My  excellent  friend,  Professor  Day,  came  to  President 
Dwight's,  and  we  accepted  his  invitation  to  find  our  beds 
at  his  house,  which  had  become  a  house  of  mourning  by 
the  death  of  his  estimable  wife  (Miss  Sherman,  daughter 
of  the  eminent  patriot,  Roger  Sherman).  Instances  of 
death  among  my  friends  and  acquaintance  had  been  pain- 
fully numerous  during  my  absence  of  fourteen  months  and 
ten  days  ;  but  I  had  been  protected  and  preserved  in  every 
vicissitude  on  the  ocean  and  on  the  land,  and  excepting 
some  political  jealousy  at  Antwerp,  I  had  been  treated 
everywhere  with  confidence  and  kindness.  I  had  therefore 
only  to  thank  my  great  Preserver,  and  to  address  myself  to 
perform  with  zeal  and  energy  the  arduous  and  interesting 
duties  appertaining  to  my  professorship. 

During  his  absence  from  home  and  country,  Mr. 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     199 


Siiliman  was  not  forgetful  of  his  friends.  The  selec- 
tions which  follow  from  his  correspondence  afford 
pleasant  glimpses  of  his  relations  to  them. 

FROM   PRESIDENT   D WIGHT. 

NEW  HAVEN,  May  7, 1805. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  regret,  that  having  so  good  an  oppor- 
tunity, it  is  out  of  my  power  to  write  you  more.  My  eyes 
have  been  miserably  worried  for  some  time  past,  and  are 
now  very  troublesome. 

All  whom  you  love  are  as  well  in  this  neighborhood  as 
when  you  left  us.  Two  pamphlets  for  Doctor  Ryland  ac- 
company this,  and  a  certificate  of  your  church-membership. 

Governor  Strong  is  elected  by  a  majority  of  somewhat 
more  than  two  thousand  votes ;  and  Governor  Trumbull 
by  the  usual  majority.  Democracy  appears  plainly  to  de- 
cline here.  The  Livingstons  and  Clintons  are  entirely 
separated,  at  least  for  the  present.  The  Pennsylvania  fever 
is  not  yet  come  to  a  crisis.  Mr.  Porter,  of  Hadley,  is  sen- 
sibly better  ;  and  will,  I  think,  soon  recover  a  sound  state. 

We  have  had  many  fears  concerning  you  on  account  of 
the  islands  of  ice,  and  they  are  not  yet  over. 

I  am,  very  affectionately,  your  friend, 

TIMOTHY  DWIGHT. 
BENJ.  SILLIMAN,  Esq. 

TO    MR.    AND    MRS.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

/  LONDON,  June  3, 1805. 

MY  letters  of  introduction  are  beginning  to  take 

effect,  and  I  am  daily  receiving  civilities ;  but  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  an  Englishman  is  generally  little  more  in 
effect  than  an  order  to  this  purpose :  "  Sir,  —  Please  to 
give  the  bearer  a  dinner  and  charge  the  same  to  yours,  &c." 
But  among  the  numerous  letters  which  I  have  delivered 
here,  I  shall  secure,  no  doubt,  some  friends  whose  atten- 
tions and  civilities  will  be  both  interesting  and  useful.  I 


200  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

already  find  this  in  an  eminent  degree  in  Mr.  Williams,  a 
most  excellent  man,  formerly  our  consul  here.  I  begin  to 
look  out  for  letters  from  America,  and  you  must  not  be 
negligent  in  writing.  Tell  me  everything ;  how  do  the 
sweet  babies  ?  kiss  them  for  me,  and  tell  them  there  are  no 
such  lovely  ones  in  England 

TO    PROFESSOR   J.   DAY. 

LONDON,  July  9, 1805. 

THE  death  of  Mr.  Heart  is  a  striking  instance 

of  the  vanity  of  human  hopes.  God  grant  that  the  de- 
stroying angel  may  not  be  suffered  to  enter  the  houses  of 
any  of  my  friends !  Present  me  affectionately  to  our  good 
friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davis.  I  am  glad  to  hear  even  of  a 
little  amelioration  in  his  health,  and  hope  that  his  journey 
has  proved  useful  to  him,  —  never  forget  him  in  your  let- 
ters. That  the  State  and  College  still  keep  on  in  the  good 
old  way  gives  me  great  pleasure,  as  you  say  the  March 
Devil  has  kept  far  to  leeward.  I  hope  he  will  be  joined 
with  the  political  devils,  and  that  all  will  drift  away,  I  care 
not  whither. 

As  to  myself  you  will  learn  how  I  am  spending  my  time 
from  my  letter  to  Dr.  Dwight.  In  my  domestic  situation  I 
am  very  fortunate ;  my  good  landlady  treats  me  with  the 
kindness  of  a  mother ;  but  there  are  hours  which  neither 
study,  business,  nor  amusement  can  occupy,  and  then  I 
very  much  want  a  friend  intra  mcenia  et  parietes.  This  is 
the  only  serious  drawback  on  my  enjoyment.  I  have  seen 
a  considerable  number  of  the  distinguished  literati,  politi- 
cians, and  philosophers  of  this  country.  I  have  heard  Pitt, 
Fox,  Sheridan,  and  Windham  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
I  have  conversed  with  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  Sir  Charles  Blag- 
den,  Dr.  Tooke,  Major  Rennel,  Mr.  Watt,  &c. ;  have  been 
in  company  with  Cavendish,  Wollnston,  Lord  Macartney, 
&c. ;  have  attended  a  meeting  of  the  Royal  Society,  and 
seen  their  Majesties  and  the  Royal  family.  My  own  conn- 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     201 


try  has  risen  in  my  estimation  by  a  comparison  with 
this.  We  are  in  the  rear,  but  not  so  far  as  I  had  imagined 
before  I  came  to  England.  I  have  it  in  contemplation  to 
go  to  the  Continent  for  a  few  weeks  in  the  coming  au- 
tumn, but  I  cannot  speak  decisively.  I  want  a  good  com- 
panion who  speaks  French  well.  Those  whom  I  remember 
with  affection  in  New  Haven  are  so  numerous  that  I  cannot 
mention  them  all ;  I  therefore  give  you  a  general  commis- 
sion to  remember  me  as  you  know  I  wish  to  be  remem- 
bered. Pray  write  often,  and  remember  that  .you  are 
surrounded  by  friends  and  the  dearest  relations  of  domestic 
life,  but  that  I  am  a  stranger  in  a  strange  land,  and  there- 
fore need  the  consolations  of  friendship.  I  am,  my  dear 
friend,  very  affectionately  yours 

TO    MR.   AND    MRS.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

LONDON,  July  14, 1805. 

DEAR  HEPSA,  —  Give  me  credit  a  little,  if  you 

please.  I  have  not  lost  my  heart  since  I  arrived  in  Eng- 
land. The  worst  thing  I  have  done  in  this  way  is  to  fall  in 
love  with  a  portrait  of  a  young  lady  in  a  gallery  of  pictures 
in  London.  I  have  been  several  times  to  see  this  lovely 
picture,  and  have  ranted  about  it  terribly  in  my  journal, 
but  that 's  all ;  the  lady  I  believe  is  dead,  —  so  no  harm 
done. 

How  are  you  both  ?  Do  you  ever  talk  about  your  brother  ? 
Have  the  sweet  babes  forgotten  me  ?  how  do  they  do  ?  kiss 
them  both  a  hundred  times.  As  I  said  before,  there  are 
no  babes  in  England  like  them.  Has  our  venerable  mother 

visited  you  this  summer  ? Now  that  I  am  so  far 

away,  I  realize,  more  than  I  ever  did,  her  almost  saint-like 
excellence.  There  are  very  few  such  mothers  (or  such 
women)  as,  dear  Hepsa,  your  mother  was  and  mine  is.  I 
doubt  not  that  the  one  will  go  to  heaven,  and  the  other  is 
there.  There  is  no  news,  my  dear  friends ;  only  invasion  is 
still  talked  off,  and  the  English  are  expecting  every  day  to 


202  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

hear  that  Lord  Nelson  has  destroyed  the  French  and  Span- 
ish fleets 

TO    TUTOR   J.    L.   KINGSLEY. 

LONDON,  July  26, 1805. 
16  Margaret  Street,  Cavendish  Square. 

You  judge  correctly  that  a  multitude  of  inter- 
esting objects  now  crowd  upon  me  on  every  side.  It  is 
so  indeed.  I  am  very  industrious  in  exploring  the  metrop- 
olis, but  it  is  such  a  world  of  men  and  things  that  the  most 
a  stranger  can  expect  to  do  is  to  make  a  judicious  selection 
from  a  whole  wilderness  of  curiosities.  I  have  already  seen 
much,  and  am  now  so  familiar  with  London  that  I  go  every- 
where by  night  or  by  day,  and  generally  without  embarrass- 
ment. You  may  rely  upon  it,  I  shall  take  great  pleasure 
in  satisfying  the  curiosity  which  you  express,  as  far  as  it  is 
in  my  power.  My  only  fear  is  that  my  information  will  not 
be  equal  to  your  expectations.  I  have  it  in  contemplation 
to  go  on  to  the  Continent  early  in  the  month  of  September. 
I  want  a  good  companion  who  speaks  French  well,  and  this 
I  have  some  prospect  of  obtaining.  I  shall  probably  re- 
turn to  England  by  the  beginning  of  November,  and  then 
fix  down  for  the  winter,  either  in  London  or  Edinburgh.  I 
still  speak  with  uncertainty. 

I  do  not  think  it  worth  while  to  fill  my  letters  with  my 
views  of  England  ;  they  are  recorded  every  day  in  my  jour- 
nal, and  if  I  am  so  happy  as  to  return  in  safety,  I  will  talk 
you  to  death  if  you  wish  it.  I  could  say  very  little  in  the 
compass  of  a  letter  if  I  were  to  attempt  a  description  of 
anything.  I  will  just  say,  however,  that  I  went  the  other 
day  to  see  the  garret  where  Goldsmith  in  his  days  of  poetry 
and  poverty  used  to  live.  It  is  small  and  low,  and  lighted 
through  the  roof  with  one  window,  set  with  the  old-fash- 
ioned diamond  glass  in  lead  frames. 

Remember  me  particularly  to  our  friend  Mr.  Stuart,  and 
tell  him  for  me,  that  should  he  be  settled  according  to  the 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     203 

prospects  held  out  in  the  letters  which  I  have  received,  I 
should  think  it  a  very  fortunate  circumstance  to  have  him 
added  to  our  circle  of  friends  in  New  Haven. 

There  is  no  news.  The  invasion  is  still  talked  of,  but  it 
does  not  come,  although  immense  preparations  are  said  to 
be  going  forward.  We  wait  impatiently  to  hear  the  event 
of  Lord  Nelson's  interview  with  the  French  and  Spanish 
fleets.  With  sentiments  of  great  esteem,  and  the  best 
wishes  for  your  happiness,  I  remain,  truly  your 

Affectionate  friend,  &c. 

TO    PROFESSOR   J.    DAT. 

LONDON,  August  22, 1805. 

AND  now,  my  dear  friend,  having  given  a  com- 
plete, I  fear  a  tedious,  statement  of  our  concerns,  I  must  say 
a  word  to  you  in  your  character  of  a  friend.  I  have  literally 
been  longing  for  letters  these  many  weeks.  Had  I  been  in 
love  and  been  expecting  letters  from  my  charmer  so  long 
without  obtaining  any,  I  should  long  ago  have  gone  mad 
and  jumped  over  London  Bridge  into  the  Thames.  But  as 
it  is  not  the  fashion  to  kill  one's  self  for  friendship,  I  have 
thought  it  best  since  I  am  not  in  love,  to  take  the  matter 
more  coolly  and  wait  a  few  weeks  longer 

Your  Commencement  approaches.  I  shall  think  of  you 
on  that  day ;  write  me  anything  interesting  concerning  it. 
I  hope  you  will  grant  a  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  to  Bona- 
parte, for  he  certainly  has  discovered  himself  to  be  a  mas- 
ter of  arts  in  the  management  of  his  fleets  this  summer. 

There  is  no  news  of  much  importance.  Before  this 
arrives  you  will  have  heard  of  the  action  between  the  com- 
bined fleets  and  Admiral  Calder.  The  English  are  much 
chagrined  at  the  result. 

The  alarm  of  invasion  has  been  very  active  here  for  two 
or  three  weeks,  and  the  whole  country  has. been  on  tiptoe 
looking  towards  France  ;  but  I  think  the  sensation  is  sub- 
siding, although  the  danger  and  probability  of  invasion  are 
certainly  as  great  as  they  ever  were. 


204  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Farewell,  my  dear  friend ;  I  wish  you  health  and  happi- 
ness, and  remain,  with  every  sentiment  of  esteem  and  emo- 
tion of  friendship,  truly  yours. 

TO    MR.    CHARLES    DENISON. 

BKISTOL,  September  1, 1805. 

WE  received  every  attention  from  Miss  Her- 

schel,  so  celebrated  for  the  discovery  of  some  of  the  sat- 
ellites of  the  new  planet ;  she  obligingly  explained  to  us 
the  arrangement  of  the  machinery,  and  left  little  for  us  to 
wish  but  the  sight  of  the  Doctor  himself.  This  telescope 
is  indeed  a  wonder.  His  Majesty  has  walked  through  it, 
stooping  however,  I  presume  ;  but  Bony,  I  am  confident, 
might  go  through  it  erect,  with  hat  and  feather  standing. 
I  will  thank  you  to  tell  Mr.  Kingsley  that  the  beautiful 
young  lady  whom  his  ardent  imagination  had  painted  as 
star-gazing  through  her  father's  magnificent  tube,  and  dis- 
covering moons  with  eyes  which  might  well  have  slain  lov- 
ers, is  an  ancient  maiden  lady,  hard  on  threescore,  and  the 
sister,  not  the  daughter,  of  the  great  astronomer. 

FROM   PROFESSOR    DAY. 

NEW  HAVEN,  September  30, 1805. 

OUR  good  friend,  Mr.  Davis,  has  declined  ac- 
cepting his  appointment  at  College.  His  health  appears  to 
be  slowly  mending.  He  will  probably  spend  the  winter  in 
New  Haven,  boarding  and  instructing  young  gentlemen 
and  ladies.  He  has  not  yet  fixed  upon  any  business  for 
life.  It  may  be  merchandise,  but  more  probably  instruc- 
tion. Dr.  D wight  is  elected  Professor  of  Divinity  with  a 
compensation  of  five  hundred  dollars  for  himself  and  an 
amanuensis.  I  know  it  will  do  you  good  to  hear  that  Mr. 
Kingsley  is  elected  Professor  of  Languages  and  Ecclesias- 
tical History.  You  will  ask  what  are  to  be  his  duties  ;  and 
how  is  he  to  be  supported  ?  There  is  no  vote  concerning 
either.  But  I  understand  something  like  this,  —  that  he  is 
to  have  charge  of  one  division  of  the  Junior  Class ;  that 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     205 


he  is  to  instruct  in  Hebrew,  and  be  Librarian.  Whether 
he  or  the  senior  tutor  is  to  matriculate  is  yet  a  controverted 
point.  His  salary  I  suppose  is  to  be  made  up  much  in  the 
same  way:  one  hundred  pounds  instead  of  a  tutor's  salary  ; 
thirty-six  for  Hebrew  instruction  ;  something  for  keeping 
the  library ;  and  fifty  pounds  taken  from  the  salary  of  Pro- 
fessor of  Divinity,  will  make  up  the  two  hundred  pounds  ; 
which,  it  would  seem,  is  to  be  the  whole  Professor's  com- 
pensation. I  was  surprised  to  hear  Dr.  Dana  say  the  other 
day,  that  he  should  strongly  oppose  the  idea  of  giving 
houses  to  professors.  It  seems,  then,  we  have  calculated 
too  much  upon  the  premium  matrimonial.  We  must  learn 
a  little  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  republican  economy,  to  support 
families  upon  six  hundred  and  seventy  dollars  a  year.  Mr. 
Kingsley,  when  he  left  town,  requested  me  to  inform  you 
that  he  regretted  extremely  that  he  was  unable  to  write  to 
you;  that  he  had  several  times  taken  his  pen,  but  was 
obliged  to  drop  it.  Pie  was  so  unwell  during  commence- 
ment week  as  to  be  unable  to  attend  to  any  business.  We 
hear  he  is  better  since  he  has  been  in  the  country.  He 
left  the  following  list  of  books,  which  he  has  obtained  the 
President's  approbation  to  have  forwarded  for  the  library, 
and  which  you  will  add  to  your  catalogue :  —  Bingham's 
"  Ecclesiastical  Antiquities,"  Jortin's  "  Remarks  on  Eccles- 
iastical History,"  with  the  continuations,  Father  Paul  on 
"Ecclesiastical  Benefices,"  Bowers'"  History  of  the  Popes," 
—  the  first  two  volumes  are  now  in  the  library ;.  the  other 

volumes  are  much  wanted I  wrote  in  my  last  for 

a  few  mathematical  books.  The  principal  were  Ilutton's 
"  Mathematical  Recreations,"  and  the  works  of  Donna  Maria 
Gatona  Aynesi,  female  professor  at  Bologna,  translated  by 
Colson.  This  is  for  de  curiosity  of  de  ting.  As  for  myself, 
J  am  as  happy  as  I  ever  expect  to  be  in  this  world.  My 
health,  I  think,  has  not  been  so  good  these  four  years  as  it 
is  now.  I  am  the  same  steady,  silent,  slow-moulded  jogger 
that  I  always  was  ;  and  as  affectionately  yours  as  ever. 

J.  DAY. 


206  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

FROM    MR.    STEPHEN    TWINING. 

NEW  HAVEN,  November  16, 1805. 

WE  have  been  in  much  commotion  in  our  soci- 
ety through  the  past  summer  and  until  now,  with  Doctor 
Dana.  The  ground  of  the  difficulty  has  been  an  irrecon- 
cilable hostility  in  the  Doctor  to  the  settlement  of  Mr. 
Stuart  in  the  society,  and  a  very  general  attachment  of  the 
members  of  the  society  to  him.  The  present  week,  a  com- 
promise has  been  effected  between  the  society  and  the 
Doctor,  by  which  the  Doctor  unites  with  the  society  in  ask- 
ing a  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation  between  them.  I 
expect  an  Ecclesiastical  Council  will  meet  to  dismiss  the 
Doctor  about  the  first  Tuesday  in  December,  and  that  an 
invitation  of  Mr.  Stuart  to  settle  will  immediately  succeed 
it.  There  is  some  talk  here  of  war  between  this  country 
and  Spain.  In  Pennsylvania,  McKean's  party,  with  the 
help  of  the  Federalists,  have  prevailed  over  Duane  and  his 
party,  the  Snyderites,  by  a  majority  of  about  five  thousand 
votes  for  McKean.  The  State  of  Delaware  holds  to  its 
Federalism.  New  Jersey  has  been  considerably  agitated 
by  the  revolutionists ;  but  the  Quids  and  Federalists  have 
a  large  majority.  The  legislature  of  this  State  had  more 
Federalists  in  it  than  it  has  had  for  several  years 

TO    PROFESSOR   J.    DAY. 

EDINBURGH,  December  28, 1805. 

MY  DEAR  FRIEND,  — Brother  Davis  *  will  not 

doubt  that  I  am  deeply  grieved  at  the  part  which  he  has 
found  it  necessary  to  act  with  respect  to  his  office.  We 
must  submit  to  God's  will,  believing  that  all  is  for  the  best. 
I  hope,  however,  that  our  brother  (for  so  we  must  still 
call  him)  will  be  able  to  find  a  proper  avocation  in  New 
Haven,  so  that  we  may  still  enjoy  his  society  and  conversa- 
tion. My  love  to  him  and  Mrs.  D.  Dr.  D wight,  it  seems, 
*  Afterwards  President  Davis.— F. 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.     207 

is  rising ;  he  may  live  to  be  a  tutor  yet  if  he  goes  on  at 
this  rate.*  I  need  not  tell  you  how  well  I  am  pleased  that 
since  we  are  thwarted  with  respect  to  Mr.  Davis,  we  may 
still  sit  under  his  [Dr.  Dwight's]  preaching.  To  the  new- 
born Professor  of  Languages  and  Ecclesiastical  History,f 
you  will,  in  the  first  place,  in  an  official  capacity,  make  my 
most  profound  salutations,  and  then  assure  him  it  is  with 
real  pleasure  I  learn  that  there  is  a  probability  of  his  being 
permanently  connected  with  us,  for  the  books  which  he 
sends  for  seem  to  indicate  that  he  will  accept. 

I  am  not  at  all  pleased  with  the  remarks  which  you 
quote  from .  I  cannot  believe,  however,  that  a  major- 
ity of  the  corporation  are  of  the  same  opinion.  I  should 
certainly  consider  it  as  severe  and  unjust  treatment.  So 
far  from  being  diminished,  the  compensation  of  the  pro- 
fessors must  be  increased,  or  they  cannot  live  with  families, 
and  will  be  compelled  to  resort  to  some  other  employment. 
I  thank  you  for  various  articles  of  intelligence,  which  I 
cannot  now  particularly  notice.  The  death  of  my  venera- 
ble friend,  Mr.  Eliot,  gives  me  pain.  He  has,  however, 
left  a  most  worthy  son  to  bear  up  his  name  and  useful- 
ness  

TO    MR.    CHARLES    DENISON. 

EDINBURGH,  January  6,  1806. 

ON  the  22d  of  November  I  crossed  the  Tweed, 

and  at  midnight  arrived  in  Edinburgh.  I  live  most  agree- 
ably. Mr.  Codman,  a  student  in  divinity,  and  Mr.  Gor- 
ham,  a  student  in  medicine,  (the  only  Yankees  here  besides 
myself,)  both  from  Boston,  men  of  correct  habits,  con- 
genial sentiments,  and  the  most  amiable  manners,  are  my 
companions  ;  for  we  three  occupy  a  house  and  have  our 
meals  at  a  common  table  ;  our  landlady  provides  whatever 

*  An  allusion  to  President  Dwight's  acceptance  of  the  Professorship  of 
Divinity,  which  Mr.  Davis  was  obliged  to  decline.  —  F. 
t  Professor  Kingsley. — F. 


208  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

we  order,  and  we  have  separate  apartments.  This  mode 
of  living  unites  retirement,  independence,  comfort,  and 
economy;  in  short,  it. is  just  what  Mr.  Day,  you  and  I 
should  have  realized,  if  he  had  not  deserted.*  I  am  in  the 
midst  of  professors,  lecturers,  apparatus,  and  books,  and 
wholly  devoted  to  my  studies I  am  much  satis- 
fied with  my  advantages  here.  I  can  tell  you  no  news 
except  what  you  will  learn  from  the  papers.  Peace  and 
security  reign  in  this  island,  while  human  blood  is  flowing 
in  carnage  almost  unexampled  on  the  Continent  I  pray 
God  to  preserve  you,  my  dear  Charles 

TO    PROFESSOR   J.    L.    KINGSLEY. 

EDINBURGH,  January  29,  180G. 

YOUR  favors  of  November  18  and  19  are  before  me; 
they  arrived  on  the  10th  hist,  accompanied  by  others  from 
Mr.  Twining,  Dr.  Dwight.  Mr.  Whittelsey,  Mr.  Day,  &c. 
These  letters  afforded  me  a  degree  of  pleasure  of  which  you, 
in  the  midst  of  your  country  and  friends,  can  have  no  ade- 
quate conception.  There  was  a  period  of  five  or  six  months 
in  the  past  summer  and  autumn,  when  I  was  almost  with- 
out a  letter.  I  had  fretted  myself  quiet,  and  began  to  find 
some  consolation  in  despair ;  when  a  flood  of  letters  burst 
in  upon  me,  and  has  continued  since  to  flow  in  a  regular 
stream,  so  that  for  a  month  past  I  have  bathed  in  epis- 
tolary pleasures.  I  answered  Mr.  Twining's  letter  three 
days  ago.  I  wrote  to  Mr.  Day  and  Mr.  Denison  on  the 
Cth  inst,  before  their  last  letters  arrived,  and  shall  delay 
writing  to  them  again  till  the  next  ship,  especially  as  I 
cannot  give  Mr.  Day  satisfactory  information  concerning 
his  apparatus,  as  my  returns  from  London  are  behindhand. 
You  will  remember  me  to  these  gentlemen,  to  the  aca- 
demic board,  and  to  all  my  friends,  with  every  expression 
of  remembrance.  And  now  as  to  your  letters,  —  there  is 
no  doubt  that  they  are  genuine ;  never  did  compositions 
*  A  reference  to  his  marriage.  —  F. 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN  EDINBURGH.       209 

contain  stronger  internal  evidence  ;  there  are  Kingsleyisms 
in  every  sentence,  and  this  is  only  saying  that  they  are  re- 
plete with  what  makes  letters  interesting  to  one  in  a  foreign 
country.  I  would  gladly  notice  every  particular  that  gives 
me  pleasure,  but  I  must  set  bounds  to  my  garrulity,  or  I 
shall  swell  your  postage  unreasonably.  I  hope  your  health 
and  that  of  our  little  Mantua  is  by  this  time  restored  ;  it 
gives  me  concern  that  either  should  have  been  impaired. 
If  Mr.  Davis  is  still  with  you  give  my  love  to  him  and  his 
lady.  I  wish  he  would  settle  in  New  Haven  that  we  may 
have  him  near  us.  The  prosperity  of  our  College,  the 
general  health  of  our  friends,  the  increasing  number  of 
hymeneal  devotees,  the  happiness  of  those  who  have  so 
recently  surrendered  their  liberties,  —  all  afford  me  pleas- 
ure. With  these  general  acknowledgments  I  must  pass 
to  a  few  articles  of  business.  The  books  which  you  and 
Mr.  Day  and  Dr.  Dwight  have  written  for  are  all  ordered. 
I  trust  you  have  by  this  time  received  Reiske's  "Greek 
Orators,"  with  a  great  many  other  classical  books  which  I 
bought  in  Rotterdam ;  they  were  shipped  in  the  Diana,  Cap- 
tain French,  from  Amsterdam.  The  other  classical  works 
will  be  sent  from  London.  I  sent  you  poorer  editions 
of  the  French  and  Italian  classics  than  I  could  wish  to 
have  done,  because,  as  they  were  not  ordered  by  the  Com- 
mittee, and  as  there  is  a  prepossession  especially  against 
French  writings,  I  did  not  feel  myself  authorized  to  expend 
much  money  upon  them.  A  copy  of  Aristotle's  works 
went  with  the  rest.  As  to  the  books  which  remain,  we 
are  waiting  only  to  receive  answers  to  the  queries  which 
we  sent  out  to  the  Committee,  when  the  business  can  be 

closed  in  a  few  days 

,  Since  I  am  disappointed  in  not  having  "The  Gazette,"* 
I  beg  that  you  will  preserve  it  till  my  return,  for  it  will 
afford  a  "  sentimental  history  "  of  your  circle.  Now,  then, 

*  The  humorous  production  of  the  young  college  officers,  for  private 
circulation.  —  F. 

VOL.  I.  14 


210  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN"  SILLIMAN. 

for  a  few  words  about  myself,  and  then  I  will  fill  the  rest 
of  my  letter  with  anything  which  may  amuse  you.  I  left 
London  about  the  middle  of  November,  and  went  first  to 
Cambridge.  I  had  letters  to  the  gentlemen  of  the  Univer- 
sity, and  was  constantly  among  them.  —  dining,  supping, 
walking,  &c.,  for  two  days.  I  was  a  kind  of  phenome- 
non,—  an  American  Professor  is  a  kind  of  personage  not 
often  on  this  side  the  water,  and  of  course  1  was  not  a 
little  stared  at.  How  little  my  external  man  came  up  to 
the  gravity  and  vastitude  of  those  associations  which  the 
European  world  connect  with  a  Professor,  (not  to  mention 
more  important  matters,)  I  leave  you  to  judge.  I  cannot 
now  say  much  of  Cambridge,  for  want  of  space  and  time  ; 
but  I  will  fully  satisfy  you  if  we  live  to  meet  again.  I  was 
however  gratified  and  instructed,  and  on  the  whole,  I  was 
treated  with  great  kindness.  The  University  gentlemen 
of  England  are  rather  more  convivial  than  we  are  in  our 
American  colleges.  They  push  the  bottle  briskly,  and  I 
was  urged  to  take  a  rubber  at  whist  with  a  party  composed 
of  Masters  and  Professors.  At  York  I  saw  Lindley  Mur- 
ray, and  was  greatly  gratified  with  the  interview.  He  was 
pleased  at  hearing  that  his  grammar  is  a  text-book  with 
us.  I  am  finely  situated  for  study  in  Edinburgh.  The 
medical  professors  are  able  men,  and  Dr.  Hope  gives  us 
chemistry  in  high  style.  I  have  heard  Dugald  Stewart 
lecture.  He  is  the  first  man  in  the  University,  and  is 
really  a  fine  example  of  a  highly  enriched  and  polished 
mind,  with  manly  and  impressive  eloquence.  I  sup  with 
him  on  Friday  evening.  At  last  I  have  realized  our  old 
project  of  keeping  bachelor's  hall.  Dr.  Gorham  and  Mr. 
Codman,  two  fine  young  men,  from  Boston,  with  myself, 
occupy  a  house,  and  live  in  all  the  comfort,  independence, 
economy,  and  quiet  which  can  be  imagined.  Our  land- 
lady does  everything  that  we  say;  we  have  everything  in 
good  order,  and  I  never  lived  more  comfortably.  Query  — 
If  I  should  live  to  return,  and  you  should  remain  unmar- 


VISIT  TO  EUROPE:  RESIDENCE  IN"  EDINBURGH.       211 

ried,  what  then  ?  Now  for  the  "  tender  and  pathetic."  I 
have  been  through  Holyrood  House,  and  have  seen  Queen 
Mary's  apartments ;  they  remain  precisely  as  in  her  time. 
There  are  her  bed  and  sofa,  wrought  by  her  own  hands  ;  her 
toilet,  with  all  its  female  ornaments  and  appendages.  I  saw 
the  apartment  in  which  she  sat  at  supper  when  Darnley  and 
the  conspirators  entered ;  and  there  is  the  stain  of  Rizzio's 
blood  on  the  floor.  I  have  seen  the  apartment  in  the 
Castle  where  James  I.  of  England,  and  VI.  of  Scotland 
was  born.  His  mother  retired  there  for  safety  after  the 
assassination  of  Rizzio  ;  it  is  a  little  room,  not  larger  than 
one  of  your  college  studies.  I  have  been  to  see  David 
Hume's  mausoleum.  It  is  a  large  cylindrical  stone  monu- 
ment, and  records  only  his  name  and  the  time  of  his  birth 
and  death. 

I  have  seen  the  house  where  the  sweet  pastoral  bard, 
Allan  Ramsay,  used  to  live.  It  is  a  neat  little  octagonal 
lodge,  well  suited  to  the  moderate  wishes,  and  still  more 
moderate  means  of  a  poet.  I  am  happy  to  inform  you  that 
Robert  Burns's  favorite  dog  is  living  in  good  health.  I 
have  not  seen  him,  but  hope  to  be  introduced  to  his  dog- 
ship  among  other  distinguished  personages. 

I  have  been  to  see  the  ruins  of  Roslin  Castle,  about 
seven  miles  from  town.  Every  lover  has  heard  of  Roslin 
Castle,  and  it  is  very  happy  that  this  celebrated  ruin  is  not 
near  New  Haven ;  for  some  of  your  remarkable  young 
Strephons,  in  the  delirium  of  success  or  the  paroxysms  of 
despair,  might  be  induced  to  throw  themselves  down  from 
the  giddy  height  on  which  it  stands.  I  am  much  engrossed 
by  my  studies,  but  am  occasionally  in  Scotch  society,  where 
I  am  treated  with  much  cordiality.  I  know  some  of  the 
pretty  Scotch  lassies  and  am  not  a  little  diverted  with 
their  u  dinna  kens  "  and  other  Scotch  phrases.  Convers- 
ing the  other  day  with  a  young  lady  on  the  subject,  I 
lamented  my  ignorance  of  the  beauties  of  the  Scotch  lan- 
guage and  begged  her  to  instruct  me.  She  consented,  and 


212  LIFE  OF   BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

began  by  saying,  — "  Qua  canta  colin  pre  my  moo."  (I 
only  give  you  the  sounds,  probably  not  the  orthography.) 
Now  what  do  you  think  this  means  ?  I  puzzled  myself  to 
no  purpose,  till  a  grave  matron,  sitting  by,  gave  me  the  in- 
terpretation :  "  Come  my  smart  laddie  and  give  me  a  kiss." 
But  as  I  had  not  made  the  discovery  myself,  I  was  not 
entitled  to  the  benefits  of  it.  I  begged  the  young  lady  to 
repeat  it  that  I  might  get  the  pronunciation  more  perfectly, 
but  she  was  too  wary  for  me.  I  trust  you  have  now  enough 
of  the  "  tender  and  the  pathetic,"  and  remain  sincerely  your 
friend 

TO    MR.    CHARLES   DENIS  ON. 

EDINBURGH,  February  27,  1806. 

AND  now,  Charles,  as  to  your  hypothetical  and 

paradoxical  statements  of,  —  it  may  be  and  it  may  not  be,  — 
that  you  are  and  you  are  not  —  that  you  expect  to  be  —  and 
that  you  do  not  expect  to  be.  I  know  what  it  all  means  ;  as 
Falstaff  says,  I  know  you,  —  I  know  you,  Hal !  Well ;  as 
the  old  ladies  say,  1  thought  it  would  come  to  this.  I  con- 
clude, then,  my  dear  fellow,  that  your  die  is  cast,  at  least 
by  this  time.  Well,  I  will  not  be  selfish.  It  will  give  me 
the  most  heartfelt  satisfaction  to  see  you  as  happy  as  our 
friend  Jere*  is,  and  you  do  not  deserve  to  be  any  happier, 
deserving  as  you  are.  By  the  by,  Charles,  I  am  afraid  you 
will  work  up  this  play  so  fast,  that  the  catastrophe  will  hap- 
pen before  my  return.  If  you  must  put  on  fetters,  like  the 
rest  of  the  world,  I  should  like  to  stand  by  and  see  them 

riveted,  as  I  did  last  winter  when  Jere  was  married 

*  Professor  Day.— F. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

GEOLOGY  AND  MINERALOGY  IN  YALE  COLLEGE:  THE 
WESTON  METEOR. 

Visit  to  his  Mother.  —Reaction  from  Excitement  and  the  Benefit  of  Occu- 
pation.—  Lectures  to  the  Class  of  1836.  —  Introduction  to  the  Cabinet 
of  Col.  Gibbs  at  Newport.  — Miss  Ruth  Gibbs.  — The  Collection  of  Min- 
erals in  Yale  College.—  Origin  of  Geology  in  Yale  College.  —  Geological 
Excursions  about  New  Haven.  —  Dr.  Noah  Webster.  —  Lectures  in 
18)6-7.  —  Intercourse  with  Col.  George  Gibbs.  —  Visit  to  Boston  and 
Cambridge.  —  Kindness  of  the  Gibbs  Family.  —  Purchase  of  the  Perkins 
Cabinet. — Visit  of  Gov.  Trumbull  to  the  Cabinet.  —  Republication  of 
Henry's  Chemistry.  —  The  Weston  Meteor.  —  Correspondence. 

MY  last  duty  on  leaving  my  country  for  Europe,  in  March 
1805,  was  to  bid  farewell  to  my  mother  and  the  excellent 
family  in  which  she  had  formerly  resided ;  so  my  first  duty 
after  my  return,  was  to  resort  again  to  Wallingford  —  she 
had  been  married  in  the  spring  of  1804  to  Dr.  John  Dick- 
inson ;  her  home  was  now  at  Middletown,  but  our  inter- 
views were  at  Wallingford  —  to  present  myself  to  her,  by 
God's  blessing,  safe  and  sound.  At  seventy  years  of  age, 
her  faculties  were  still  in  full  vigor,  and  her  affections  fresh 
as  in  earlier  years.  This  filial  duty  being  discharged,  pro- 
fessional claims  commanded  my  attention  next.  I  attended 
to  the  opening  of  the  chemical  apparatus  and  preparations. 
This  occupation  was  both  a  duty  and  a  relief.  It  was  a 
duty  as  an  indispensable  preliminary  to  the  renewal  of  my 
professional  labors,  and  it  was  a  relief  from  mental  collapse. 
I  had  been  between  fourteen  and  fifteen  months  in  a  state 
of  high  excitement,  and  while  in  Europe  I  was  constantly 
engaged  in  efforts  which  called  into  action  both  my  intel- 
lectual and  physical  powers. 


214  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLDIAX. 

After  the  warm  welcome  of  friends  had  subsided,  and 
the  enthusiasm  of  travelling  had  ceased,  a  mental  col- 
lapse ensued.  I  felt  a  sinking  of  spirits,  and  ennui,  which 
was  foreign  from  my  natural  character,  began  to  make  its 
approaches.  What  remedy  should  I  seek,  and  what  sub- 
stitute should  I  find,  for  the  exciting  and  engrossing  scenes 
in  which  I  had  been  so  long  engaged,  —  for  I  had  then  no 
home,  "  sweet  home,"  of  my  own.  Occupation  was  my  only 
resource,  and  this,  happily  for  me,  was  demanded  imme- 
diately in  the  line  of  my  profession.  The  boxes  of  appa- 
ratus and  preparations  had  arrived,  and  it  had  been  re- 
quested in  my  letter  that  the  opening  of  them  might  be 
reserved  for  myself.  Accordingly,  without  wasting  time,  I 
took  hammer  and  chisel  in  hand,  and  with  some  assistance 
removed  the  covers  and  explored  the  treasures  that  had 
been  packed  in  London. 

At  the  period  of  my  arrival  from  England,  June  1,  1806, 
the  summer  term  was  already  begun,  and  but  five  weeks 
remained  for  the  then  senior  class  before  their  final  exami- 
nation. I  therefore  commenced  lecturing  without  loss  of 
time,  and  carried  the  subject  of  chemistry  as  far  as  pos- 
sible in  the  short  period  at  rny  command.  In  this  class, 
also,  there  were  distinguished  men,  among  whom  were  Gov. 
Bissell,  Judge  Carlton  of  Louisiana,  Nathaniel  Chauncey, 
Isaac  M.  Ely,  Alfred  Hennen  of  New  Orleans,  Jabez  W. 
Iluntington,  llenry  Strong,  Dr.  Win.  Tully,  et  alii. 

Introduction  to  the  Cabinet  of  Col.  George  Gibbs.  —  This 
gentleman,  as  I  was  informed,  had  in  1805,  brought  over 
from  Europe  a  splendid  collection  of  minerals,  augmented 
from  time  to  time  by  magnificent  additions,  only  a  part  of 
which  had  as  yet  been  opened.  He  himself  had  again  gone 
abroad,  and  was  still  absent.  My  brother,  through  a  com- 
mon friend,  obtained  for  me  an  introduction  to  Miss  Ruth 
Gibbs,  a  sister  of  Col.  Gibbs,  who  very  kindly  permitted 
me  to  inspect  and  examine  such  minerals  belonging  to  her 
brother's  collection,  as  were  open  and  accessible. 


GEOLOGY  AND  MINERALOGY:   THE  WESTON  METEOR.  215 

They  were  stored  chiefly  in  the  chamber  of  a  warehouse 
in  the  Main  Street  [in  Newport]  contiguous  to  the  family 
mansion.  In  this  room,  Miss  Gibbs  was  so  obliging  as  to 
meet  me  several  times,  and  to  remain  while  1  examined 
the  minerals.  Her  intelligence,  courtesy,  and  benignity 
made  these  interviews  extremely  agreeable  to  me.  If  I 
was  fearful  of  intruding  upon  her  time  and  engagements, 
she  made  everything  easy  to  me,  and  I  was  even  more 
delighted  with  the  lady  than  with  the  minerals,  although 
the  latter  were  very  instructive  and  gratifying,  and  gave 
me  exalted  ideas  of  what  the  entire  collection  probably 
contained.  Important  results  grew  out  of  these  inter- 
views, as  I  shall  have  occasion  to  mention  farther  on. 
Miss  Ruth  Gibbs  married  her  cousin,  Wm.  E.  Channing, 
afterwards,  and  for  a  long  life,  the  admired  and  honored 
Rev.  Dr.  Channing  of  Boston,  whose  exalted  talents,  at- 
tainments, and  virtues  made  him  well  worthy  of  so  noble  a 
woman.  He  was  removed  by  death  a  number  of  years 
ago,  but  she  remains  his  honored  widow,  and  has  not  par- 
ticipated in  the  decays  which  commonly  attend  the  evening 
of  life.  Dr.  Channing  gave  me  strong  proofs  of  esteem 
and  confidence  during  the  years  when  I  knew  him  in  Bos- 
ton, and  Mrs.  Channing  has  recently  spoken  with  interest 
to  a  common  friend  in  Boston,  (Miss  D.  L.  Dix,)  of  those 
early  interviews  over  her  brother's  minerals. 

I  had  not  been  negligent  of  the  few  minerals  which  I 
found  in  the  drawers  of  the  old  Museum  of  Yale  College. 
I  have  often  mentioned  that  I  carried  them  in  a  small  box 
to  Philadelphia,  and  that  Dr.  Adam  Seybert  kindly  named 
them  for  me.  They  were  chiefly  metallic  ores,  among 
which  lead  and  iron  were  the  most  remarkable  ;  there  was 
a  splendid  specimen  of  irised  oxide  of  iron,  from  Elba. 
My  brother  had  then  recently  purchased  for  Yale  College 
a  very  small  collection  of  minerals  brought  out  from  Eng- 
land by  Dr.  Senter,  who  afterwards  fell  in  a  duel  with  John 
Rutledge  at  Savannah— ^femina  teterrima  causa"  Among 


216  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

them  there  were  some  beautiful  specimens,  particularly  in 
the  lime  family.  They  were  regarded  by  me  as  an  inter- 
esting acquisition.  My  own  collections  in  the  mines  of 
Derbyshire  and  Cornwall,  in  England,  —  not  numerous, 
indeed,  but  valuable,  —  with  a  beautiful  suite  of  Italian 
polished  marbles  purchased  in  Edinburgh,  and  some  local 
specimens  obtained  in  my  rambles  among  the  trap-rocks  of 
the  Scottish  capital,  —  all  these  things,  when  arranged, 
labelled,  and  described  in  illustration  of  the  mineral  por- 
tion of  the  chemical  lectures,  served  to  awaken  an  interest 
in  the  subject  of  mineralogy,  and  to  produce  both  aspira- 
tions and  hopes,  looking  towards  a  collection  which  should 
by-and-by  deserve  the  name  of  a  cabinet.  Our  own  local- 
ities in  the  vicinity  of  New  Haven,  containing  agates,  chal- 
cedonies, phrenite,  zeolites,  marble,  and  serpentines,  were, 
in  the  progress  of  research,  not  neglected,  and  the  discov- 
ery of  them  in  due  time  excited  zeal  and  afforded  pleasure- 

Origin  of  Geology  in  Tale  College.  —  It  has  been  already 
remarked  that  when  I  left  New  Haven,  in  March,  1805,  on 
my  way  to  England,  I  was  quite  in  the  dark  regarding  the 
nature  of  the  rocks  that  surrounded  me  at  home,  and  I 
have  already  stated  how  light  broke  in  upon  me  in  Edin- 
burgh. It  was,  therefore,  natural  that  I  should,  early  after 
my  return,  attempt  to  ascertain  whether  the  geological 
analogies,  which  I  thought  I  had  discovered  between  New 
Haven  and  Edinburgh,  were  well  founded.  Accordingly, 
as  soon  as  academical  duties  would  permit,  I  commenced 
the  examination  of  the  mineral  structure  of  our  plains, 
hills,  and  mountains.  In  these  excursions,  generally  made 
on  horseback,  because  an  extensive  area  and  circuit  of 
country  were  to  be  examined,  I  was  attended  by  several 
friends  who  felt  an  interest  in  the  subject,  and  who,  both 
from  personal  and  scientific  feeling,  sympathized  with  the 
youthful  explorer.  I  mention  with  pleasure,  that  the  dis- 
tinguished philologist,  Dr.  Noah  Webster,  then  in  the  me- 


.„ 


LOGY  AND  MINERALOGY :  THE  WESTON  METEOR.  217 

riclian  of  life,  was  among  the  most  zealous  of  my  compan- 
ions, and  with  activity  and  perseverance  he  dismounted 
with  me  to  examine  every  feature  of  the  country  which  was 
not  intelligible  when  viewed  from  the  saddle.  His  large 
mind  admitted  every  species  of  knowledge,  and  the  fruits 
of  his  untiring  industry  in  the  prosecution  of  truth  are 
garnered  in  his  admirable  Dictionary. 

I  arrived  in  New  Haven  from  Scotland  on  the  first  of 
June,  180G,  and  on  the  first  day  of  September  I  read  to 
the  Connecticut  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences  a  report 
on  the  mineral  structure  of  the  environs  of  New  Haven, 
which  was  printed  in  the  first  volume  of  the  transactions 
of  the  Academy.  This  report  occupies  fourteen  pages, 
and  having  been  published  more  than  fifty-two  years  ago, — 
when  I  was  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  —  I  have  been  grati- 
fied to  find  that  an  attentive  re-perusal  yesterday,  (January 
6,  1859,)  —  after  I  know  not  how  many  years  of  oblivion,  — 
suggested  very  few  alterations,  and  I  have  not  discovered 
any  important  errors.  As  regards  the  trap-rocks,  and  their 
relation  to  the  associated  sandstone  and  conglomerate  rocks, 
the  analogy  is  fully  sustained  between  Edinburgh  and  New 
Haven.  The  coal  formation,  and  the  fossiliferous  lime- 
stones and  fossil  trees  of  Edinburgh,  are  not  found  here  ; 
but  the  relation  of  the  trap  and  sandstone  formations  to 
the  primary  slates,  now  called  metamorphic,  is  here  imme- 
diate and  accessible,  and  thus  affords  the  geological  student 
an  interesting  field  of  observation  and  instruction..  On  the 
whole,  I  do  not  see  any  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  my  youth- 
ful effort  in  geology,  nor  do  I  think  that  half  a  century  has 
materially  improved  my  style  of  writing.  In  a  literary 
point  of  view,  I  could  not  do  the  work  any  better  now  than 
I  did  it  then. 

In  the  autumn  of  1806, 1  found  myself,  four  years  after 
my  appointment,  in  a  condition  to  attempt  a  full  course. 
Through  that  winter  and  spring,  and  through  half  of  the 


218  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

summer,  I  labored  with  zeal  and  untiring  industry  to  im- 
part instruction  in  chemistry,  including  also  mineralogy 
and  geology,  as  far  as  I  had  means  of  illustrating  them. 
I  gave  three  and  four  lectures  in  a  week,  and  the  mineral- 
ogy and  geology  were  interspersed  among  the  chemical 
lectures,  wherever  there  were  mutual  relations. 

This  course  of  lectures  in  1806-7  was  more  satisfactory 
to  myself  than  either  of  the  more  imperfect  courses  which 
I  had  given.  Among  the  members  of  this  class  were  some 
men  of  note:  Thaddeus  Betts,  Lieutenant- Governor  of 
Connecticut  and  Senator  in  Congress ;  J.  P.  Cushman,  mem- 
ber of  Congress  ;  William  Dubose,  Lieutenant-Governor  of 
South  Carolina  ;  Thomas  Smith  Grimke,  of  Charleston,  an 
eminent  jurist  and  scholar  ;  William  Jay,  judge,  and  son  of 
the  distinguished  John  Jay  ;  Dr.  Alexander  H.  Stevens, 
of  New  York,  an  eminent  surgeon  ;  James  Sutherland, 
judge,  &c.  in  the  State  of  New  York ;  Dr.  Nathaniel  W. 
Taylor,  an  eminent  divine  and  theological  professor ;  Jon- 
athan George  Washington  Trumbull,  an  amiable  and  ex- 
cellent man,  but  never  in  public  life. 

Colonel  George  Gibbs  having  returned  from  Europe,  I 
was  introduced  to  him  in  Newport,  where,  after  the  lectures 
were  finished,  I  passed  many  weeks  in  the  summer  and 
autumn  of  1807.  He  was  a  courteous  gentleman,  and  a 
zealous  promoter  of  physical  science,  especially  of  min- 
eralogy and  geology.  Having  been  made  acquainted  with 
my  pursuits  he  warmly  espoused  my  cause,  and  made  me  at 
home  in  his  house  and  in  the  family  of  his  mother  and 
sisters.  He  was  a  bachelor,  but  he  maintained  a  distinct 
establishment  in  a  mansion  on  the  hill  opposite  to  the  old 
stone  tower,  (doubtless  once  the  foundation  of  a  wind-mill, 
although  some  assigned  to  it  a  fabulous  origin  and  antiquity). 
In  this  house,  Colonel  Gibbs  —  Colonel  Gibbs,  although  he 
cherished  a  martial  spirit,  had  never  seen  service  ;  the  title 
of  Colonel  is  given  by  courtesy  to  an  aid  of  the  commander, 
who  in  this  case  was  Governor  Fenner  of  Rhode  Island  — 


20LOGY  AND  MINERALOGY:  THE  WESTON  METEOR.  219 

established  himself  with  a  portion  of  his  library,  and 

>re  of  his  cabinet  of  minerals  than  I  had  before  seen  was 
opened,  while  numerous  boxes,  filled  with  minerals, 

mined  in  the  warehouses,  unopened.  What  I  now  saw, 
had  before  seen,  excited  in  my  mind  a  strong  interest 

see  and  examine  the  whole.  My  daily  visits  to  the  Gibbs 
house,  which  was  always  accessible  to  me,  made  me  familiar 
with  its  contents,  and  placed  me  on  terms  of  easy  inter- 
course with  its  liberal-minded  proprietor.  An  intelligent 
colored  servant,  Scipio,  was  always  ready  to  admit  me. 

I  had  now  acquired  a  scientific  friend  and  a  professional 
instructor  and  guide,  much  to  my  satisfaction,  and  he  ap- 
peared equally  pleased  to  find  a  companion  in  his  scientific 
sympathies  and  pursuits,  especially  in  a  young  man  full  of 
zeal,  and  both  willing  and  desirous  to  work.  There  were 
in  Newport  no  other  men  that  were  devotees  of  science, 
and  therefore  we,  as  regards  these  pursuits,  became  inti- 
mately associated,  and  were  not  long  in  planning  excursions 
on  this  picturesque  and  beautiful  island,  whose  physical 
features  of  course  depend  upon  its  geological  structure. 

Soon  after  our  return  from  an  excursion  to  Cumberland 
we  visited  Boston,  and  returned  to  Newport  October  3, 
1807.  This  visit  introduced  me  to  some  persons  having  a 
taste  for  science.  Among  them  was  the  Hon.  John  Davis, 
Judge  of  the  District  Court  under  the  General  Govern- 
ment. Judge  Davis  showed  me  much  kindness ;  I  enjoyed 
his  friendship  to  the  end  of  his  long  life ;  and  his  brother, 
Mr.  Isaac  P.  Davis,  was  also  my  friend. 

There  was  not  at  that  period  —  fifty  years  ago  —  much 
of  a  spirit  of  science  in  Boston.  Literature  was  cultivated 
and  flourished.  In  my  visits  to  Cambridge,  I  saw  their 
small  but  beautiful  collection  of  minerals,  given  them  by  the 
French  Republic,  which  was  followed  by  a  similar  donation 
from  Dr.  Letsome  of  London.  But  mineralogy  seems  not 
then  to  have  taken  root  at  Cambridge ;  and  neither  min- 


220  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN"  SILLIMAN. 

eralogy  or  geology  entered  into  the  plans  of  education  in 
any  of  our  seminaries.  Salem  presented  a  very  interesting 
and  instructive  collection  in  its  P^ast  India  Museum.  This 
remarkable  institution  was  founded  by  the  illustrious  Dr. 
Nathaniel  Bowditch. 

I  made  three  journeys  to  Newport  in  the  season  of  1807, 
and  there  and  in  the  environs,  including  Boston,  passed 
all  the  time  which  was  at  my  command.  The  summer  was 
a  very  profitable  one  for  me  in  a  professional  view,  and,  as 
will  appear  farther  on,  drew  after  it  important  results. 

Among  the  families  to  which  1  was  indebted  for  a  kind 
hospitality,  I  must  not  omit  to  mention,  more  specially  than 
I  have  done,  the  families  of  Gibbs  and  Channing.  Their 
social  position  was  elevated,  and  their  means  being  ample 
they  of  course  stood  first  in  the  rank  of  society;  and 
although  I  did  not  feel  particularly  flattered  on  that  ac- 
count, their  kindness  and  favor,  shown  in  hospitable  and 
other  useful  and  agreeable  manifestations,  formed  a  pleasant 
and  sustaining  indorsement  of  the  adoption  of  me  already 
made  by  their  son  and  brother.  The  mother  of  Col.  Gibbs 
was  a  dignified  and  estimable  matron,  and  the  daughters 
cultivated,  refined,  and  agreeable  ladies. 

The  second  full  course  of  lectures  in  my  department  was 
given  in  1807-8.  I  had  now  tried  my  powers  and  my  ac- 
quirements so  far  successfully,  that  I  felt  very  much  re- 
lieved from  anxiety  in  regard  to  my  ultimate  success.  A 
warm  interest  had  been  excited  in  the  College  and  in  the 
public  mind,  and  it  was  my  earnest  wish  to  increase  in 
every  way  in  my  power  the  means  and  the  value  of  instruc- 
tion in  my  departments. 

About  this  time,  the  Corporation  were  persuaded 
by  Mr.  Silliman  to  purchase  the  cabinet  of  minerals 
belonging  to  Mr.  Benjamin  D.  Perkins  of  New  York. 
Tliis  had  been  collected  during  the  residence  of  Mr. 
Perkins  in  England,  and  was  of  considerable  value. 


GEOLOGY  AND  MINERALOGY :  THE  WESTON  METEOR.  221 

The  price  paid  for  it  by  the  College  was  one  thousand 
dollars.  It  was  transferred  to  Mr.  Silliman's  cham- 
ber, and  was  the  starting-point  for  more  extensive 
collections  added  afterwards. 

Soon  the  news  of  the  arrival  of  this  cabinet  was  spread 
abroad,  and  my  chamber  was  visited  by  many  persons,  — 
ladies  and  gentlemen.  Some  were  intelligent,  and  appre- 
ciated the  cabinet  in  relation  to  science,  and  all  were  curi- 
ous to  see  beautiful  things.  On  one  occasion  the  late  Gov- 
ernor of  Connecticut,  Jonathan  Trumbull,  Esq.,  honored  the 
room  with  a  visit,  and  I  had  much  pleasure  in  displaying 
and  explaining  the  specimens.  He  was  very  cautious  and 
reserved  as  to  handling  them,  and  when  I  presented  to  him 
the  beautiful  silky  amianthus,  at  the  same  time  handling 
its  delicate  threads  and  offering  it  to  his  own  ringers,  he 
declined,  saying  that  he  would  obey  the  general  noli  me 
tangere  rule  of  cabinets.  I  assented,  adding,  however,  that 
the  rule  was  for  the  many,  but  as  there  was  only  one  gov- 
ernor in  the  State,  the  precedent  could  not  be  followed,  and 
therefore  he  might  handle.  The  remark  was  received  with 
his  usual  courteous  smile  of  acquiescence.  I  was  then 
twenty-eight  years  old,  and  confess  I  was  not  a  little  grati- 
fied that  the  devotion  of  five  years  to  my  profession  at  home 
and  abroad  had  been  so  far  successful. 

B.  D.  Perkins,  of  whom  the  cabinet  was  purchased,  had 
become,  with  a  partner,  Mr.  Collins,  a  publisher  of  books ; 
and  to  that  firm  I  intrusted  the  republication  of  "  Henry's 
Chemistry  "  with  my  additions.  The  work  was  in  progress 
in  their  hands,  and  the  proofs  were  arriving  for  my  correc- 
tion, when  the  Weston  Meteor  made  its  appearance.  As 
soon  as  the  news  reached  New  Haven  I  broke  off  every 
other  engagement,  and  immediately  resorted  to  the  scene 
of  this  remarkable  event.  On  my  return,  after  an  absence 
of  some  days,  I  found  an  accumulation  of  proofs  from  friend 
Perkins,  not  without  some  reproofs,  as  pointed  as  a  Quaker, 


222  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLBIAN. 

and  a  newly  converted  one,  would  presume  to  indite,  —  the 
dampened  sheets  being  ready  for  the  .press :  but  the  re- 
proofs were  cancelled  when  the  cause  of  my  absence  was 
made  known,  and  the  Weston  Meteor  furnished  an  inter- 
esting subject  for  future  annotations.  I  may  as  well  men- 
tion in  this  place,  that  my  edition  of  "  Henry,"  with  notes 
and  other  addenda,  met  with  so  much  favor,  that  two  other 
editions  under  my  hand  followed,  and  these  editions  were 
generally  adopted  in  the  schools. 

I  have  introduced  a  digression  in  my  narrative,  as  there 
was  a  digression  of  events.  In  Europe  I  had  become  ac- 
quainted with  meteorites  and  the  phenomena  that  usually 
attend  their  fall,  and  several  specimens  had  come  under 
my  notice.  I  did  not  dream  of  being  favored  by  an  event  of 
this  kind  in  my  own  vicinity,  and  occurring  on  a  scale  truly 
magnificent.  The  event  happened  on  December  14th,  1807. 
In  the  morning  of  that  day,  at  early  dawn,  (6-£  o'clock,) 
a  grand  fire-ball  passed  over  the  town  of  Weston  in  the 
county  of  Fair  field,  apparently  two  thirds  as  large  as  the 
moon.  Its  motion  was  mainly  from  the  N.  to  S.,  rising 
rapidly  towards  the  zenith,  with  a  vermicular  or  serpentine 
motion.  Several  loud  explosions  took  place  near  the  zenith, 
like  heavy  cannon,  with  intermediate  and  subsequent  dis- 
charges like  those  of  musketry.  There  were  three  princi- 
pal explosions,  during  which  the  fire-ball  travelled  about 
ten  miles,  and  at  each  of  those  explosions  stones  fell  to  the 
earth,  —  some  of  them  very  large,  —  twelve,  twenty,  and 
even  thirty-six  pounds  in  weight.  One  mass  that  was  split 
to  pieces  upon  a  rock  and  ploughed  its  way  into  the  earth, 
might  have  weighed  a  hundred  or  two  hundred  pounds. 
It  made  a  hole  in  the  ground  of  five  feet  long,  four  and  a 
half  broad,  and  almost  deep  enough  for  a  grave.  It  was 
ascertained  that  stones  fell  at  six  places,  and  probably  at 
many  more,  as  the  report  of  falling  bodies  was  heard  in 
various  directions,  several  of  which  were  examined,  both 
with  and  without  success.  The  report  of  these  events  did 


GEOLOGY  AND  MINERALOGY :  THE  WESTON  METEOR.  223 

not  reach  New  Haven  until  two  or  three  days  had  passed, 
when  my  friend  and  colleague,  Professor  Kingsley,  accom- 
panied me  to  Weston,  which  is  about  twenty-five  miles  west 
from  New  Haven.  We  visited  all  the  places  where  stones 
were  reported  to  have  fallen  ;  we  examined  most  of  the  wit- 
nesses as  well  as  the  attendant  circumstances,  and  brought 
away  a  considerable  number  of  specimens.  We  published 
an  account  of  the  facts  in  the  "  Connecticut  Herald," 
of  New  Haven,  which  was  extensively  copied  into  other 
papers.  I  afterwards  made  a  chemical  examination  of  the 
masses,  and  in  the  course  of  the  season  a  revised  account, 
with  the  chemical  analysis,  was  communicated  to  the  Phil- 
osophical Society  of  Philadelphia,  which  was  published  in 
their  transactions,  and  afterwards  republished  in  the  memoirs 
of  the  Connecticut  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  The 
case  was  deemed  so  interesting  and  important  that  the  pub- 
lished account  was  read  aloud  in  the  Philosophical  Society 
of  London,  and  in  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Paris.  It 
was  admitted  to  be  one  of  the  most  extensive  and  best 
attested  occurrences  of  the  kind  that  has  happened,  and  of 
which  a  record  has  been  preserved. 


The  exciting  effect  produced  on  his  own  mind,  as 
well  as  on  the  minds  of  others,  by  the  investigation 
of  the  Weston  Meteor,  may  be  gathered  from  the 
subjoined  letter  which  Mr.  Silliman  wrote  from  Phil- 
adelphia to  his  friend,  Mr.  Kingsley. 

TO    PROFESSOR   KINGSLEY. 

PHILADELPHIA,  January  23, 1808. 
Saturday  Morning. 

DEAR  KINGSLEY,  —  I  am  by  no  means  ripe  for  an  ulti- 
mate account  of  everything,  yet,  knowing  your  keenness 
for  letters,  I  now  begin  a  few  memoranda.  We  arrived  on 
Wednesday  morning,  after  riding  all  night  through  New 


224  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Jersey.     The  night  was  very  cold,  and  we  suffered  much, 

but  as  Miss  W was  very  solicitous  to  get  forward,  I 

would  not  hang  back.  Anecdotes  of  the  journey  will  come 
better  orally,  —  there  were,  however,  none  of  any  moment, 
—  but  I  hasten  to  Philadelphia.  I  attended  Woodhouse's 
lecture  the  day  after  I  arrived.  He  received  me  politely, 
but  made  no  allusion  to  the  offensive  part  of  his  letter.  He 
showed  me  his  laboratory,  which  is  a  very  fine  one  indeed. 
I  dined  with  him  yesterday  and  met  a  large  party  of  savans. 
I  cannot  stay  to  relate  many  particulars.  (Monday  25.) 
The  meteor  is  immediately  brought  forward  in  every  circle 
where  I  go.  It  was  so  at  Woodhouse's.  He  was  very 
modest,  and  even  ridiculed  the  lunar  theory  which  he  advo- 
cated in  his  letter.  There  was  a  Dr.  C.  present,  who,  with 
an  air  of  ridicule  and  of  self-importance,  began  questioning 
me,  and  intimated  incredulity  on  several  chemical  and  as- 
tronomical points ;  but  I  met  him  with  a  decision  and  sever- 
ity which  I  would  not  often  indulge  in  society,  and  the  Doc- 
tor being  really  as  ignorant  as  he  was  vain  and  impertinent, 
I  found  no  difficulty  in  laying  him  on  his  back.  N.  B.  — 
Through  the  remainder  of  the  evening  he  treated  me  with 
fawning  civility.  Both  Mitchell's  and  Coxe's  "Journal"  are 
out,  so  that  our  piece  cannot  appear  under  two  or  three 
months  in  either  of  them.  Perkins  told  me  in  New  York 
that  the  first  piece  would  undoubtedly  be  reprinted  in  the 
"  Medical  Repository."  I  am  uncertain  what  I  shall  do. 
They  are  very  solicitous  here  to  obtain  the  communication 
for  the  Philadelphia  transactions,  which  are  now  on  the 
point  of  appearing.  I  would  give  it  to  them,  if  they  would 
at  the  same  time  permit  us  to  send  it  abroad ;  this,  how- 
ever, would  be  considered  as  invading  their  priority.  I 
shall,  nevertheless,  make  the  proposition  to  the  secretary, 
and  if  he  refuses,  as  I  expect  he  will,  I  shall  bring  it  home 
that  we  may  revise  it,  copy  the  printed  part,  and  forward  it 
to  London  and  Paris.  Our  account  has  been  reprinted  in 
most  or  all  of  the  papers  of  this  city,  and  has  been  the 


GEOLOGY  AND  MINERALOGY :  THE  WESTON  METEOR.  225 

subject  of  universal  conversation.  I  have  had  occasion 
many  times  to  detail  and  illustrate  President  Clapp's  the- 
ory, and  it  has  generally  been  considered  as  better  than 
any  other ;  the  lunar  philosophers  are  humorously  called 
lunatics.  I  am  told  that  at  a  public  dinner  here  the  meteor 
was  the  subject  of  conversation,  and  a  gentleman  present 
exclaimed,  —  somewhat  impiously  perhaps,  but  very  pithily, 
—  "  Well,  I  must  believe  it  because  of  the  testimony,  and  I 
do  believe  it,  but  before  God  it  is  impossible !  "  (Ten  o'clock 
at  night).  —  I  have  dined  with  Bronson  since  writing  the 
above  and  he  has  thrown  new  light  on  our  subject,  — or,  to 
make  my  figure  more  consistent  with  fact,  —  he  proposes 
to  throw  a  little  money  into  our  purses.  I  am  quite  serious 
in  what  I  am  now  saying.  Bronson  says,  that  if  we  will  im- 
mediately revise  the  whole  subject,  collect  all  well-authenti- 
cated instances  of  similar  events,  arrange  and  illustrate 
them,  relate  our  own  case  with  the  analysis,  and  the  result  of 
the  analytical  examination  of  the  rest,  state  all  the  theories 
and  refute  them,  bring  forward  the  Yalensian  theory  with 
the  ample  illustrations  of  which  it  is  susceptible,  and,  in 
short,  make  a  look,  which  shall  be  worth  a  dollar,  that  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  it  will  give  us  a  handsome  remunera- 
tion. He  says  he  will  bear  and  risk  all  the  expenses  of 
publication,  and  will  remunerate  us  in  any  way  that  we  can 
agree  upon.  He  even  went  so  far  as  to  say,  that  he  had  no 
doubt  it  would  bring  us  a  sum  equal  to  a  year's  salary. 
Besides,  he  urges  that  this  is  a  favorable  time  to  come 
before  the  public  and  to  write  ourselves  into  reputation  and 
into  bread  ;  that  we  ought  not  to  lose  the  benefit  of  the 
labor  which  we  have  already  expended,  and  that  if  the 
work  is  throughout  as  well  executed  as  what  we  have  al- 
ready published,  he  will  insure  its  success.  Much  more 
passed,  and  Elihu  Chauncey,  who  was  present,  is  of  the 
same  opinion.  Both  these  men  know  the  whole  book-sell- 
ing concern  from  beginning  to  end,  and  are  therefore  qual- 
ified to  judge.  T  confess  myself  an  entire  convert  to  their 

VOL.  I.  15 


226  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

opinion.  You  will  remember  I  mentioned  this  thing  before 
we  parted,  although  not  with  a  view  of  profit.  Now  I  think 
the  thing  perfectly  practicable.  You  must  collect  all  the 
historical  evidence.  I  will  do  everything  connected  with 
mineralogy  and  chemistry,  and  together,  and  with  the  occa- 
sional aid  of  brother  Day,  we  will  state  and  refute  the 
prevalent  theories  and  magnify  our  own  and  make  it  honor- 
able. I  am  confident  the  thing  may  be  done  in  high  style. 
With  this  view  I  have  determined  not  to  leave  our  commu- 
nication with  any  of  them,  especially  as  it  contains  all  my 
original  chemical  matter,  and  this  is  capable  of  much  am- 
plification and  illustration.  Dr.  Seybert  is  the  only  man 
here  who  has  perused  it.  He  gives  it  full  credit  and  says 
that  my  views  of  the  effects  of  heat,  connected  with  the 
experiments,  are  demonstrative.  I  have  not  communicated 

the  piece  to ,  nor  said  anything  to  him  about  it.     I  am 

convinced,  from  what  he  has  told  me,  that  his  own  analysis 
was  altogether  loose  and  not  to  be  depended  on,  nor  am  I 
at  all  afraid  of  any  publication  of  his.  Seybert  advised  me 
not  to  trust  him ;  said  he  would  play  me  some  trick,  —  for 
instance,  purloin  and  publish  it  as  his  own ;  and  averred 
that  he  did  not  know  how  to  analyze  a  stone,  and  that  he 
had  not  a  single  sure  test  or  agent  of  any  kind  to  do  it 
with. 

—  's  reputation  is  up,  both  here  and  at  New  York,  for 
unfair  dealing  and  in  matters  affecting  scientific  reputation. 
I  leave  this  place  on  Wednesday  morning  for  Princeton, 
and  shall  be  in  New  York  on  the  succeeding  Monday ; 
there  let  a  letter  meet  and  tell  me  that  you  have  been  em- 
ployed every  leisure  moment  in  attending  to  this  business. 
It  will  be  very  important  that  the  work  come  out  soon.  We 
shall  not  lose  reputation,  and  some  money  we  shall  cer- 
tainly gain.  Now  don't  trifle  with  it ;  close  in  with  the 
proposition  ;  the  bones  of  the  business  are  already  together. 
If  you  do  not  undertake  it,  I  shall  do  it  without  you.  Elihu 
Chauncey  says,  —  "  Publish  the  journal  by  all  means  ;  one 


GEOLOGY  AND  MINERALOGY:  THE  WESTON  METEOR.  227 

edition  can  be  sold  good  or  bad,  and  if  popular,  it  will 
be  a  permanent  source  of  profit."  *  You  see,  matters  look 

up Direct  to  me  at  86  William  Street,  New  York, 

care  of  David  Ely.  Remember  me  to  all  friends.  Show 
this  letter  to  nobody  but  brother  Day,  and  lose  no  time  in 
going  to  work  on  our  new  book.  I  will  return  as  speedily 
as  possible ;  will  repeat  the  analysis  and  analyze  every 
separate  part.  You  don't  know  how  keen  the  world  this 
way  are  for  meteors.  Perkins  told  me  that  the  publica- 
tion was  received  with  great  favor  in  New  York,  and  that 
no  occurrence  had,  in  his  recollection,  excited  such  general 
interest.  It  is  late,  so  good-night. 

Yours  affectionately, 

DIOPETES. 

The  annexed  letter  makes  mention  of  his  mode  of 
living  and  of  the  labors  in  which  he  was  engaged. 

TO   MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

YALE  COLLEGE,  December  5, 1807. 

I  HAVE  a  complete  equipment  of  every  article 

requisite  for  breakfast  and  tea,  arranged  in  a  large  new 
closet  in  one  of  rny  studies,  and  it  is  now  four  weeks  that  I 
have  taken  my  breakfast  and  tea  in  my  own  chamber,  with 
more  economy  of  time,  addition  of  comfort,  and  indepen- 
dence, than  I  can  describe,  and  with  very  little  additional 
trouble  or  expense.  My  little  writing-desk  lies  open  on 
a  stand  on  the  right  of  the  fire,  and  on  the  right  of 
that  is  a  table  for  my  books  in  immediate  use.  I  have 
now  the  accommodations  and  respectable  establishment  of 
a  genteel,  literary  man,  and  I  have  no  thoughts  at  present 
of  leaving  my  state  of  celibacy.  The  publication  of  the 
chemical  text-book,  of  my  journal,  the  completion  of  my 
lectures,  an  admission  after  some  previous  study  to  the 
faculty  of  medicine,  now  become  very  necessary  by  my 

*  The  reference  is  probably  to  hia  manuscript  journal  of  travels. — F. 


228  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

being  about  to  become  permanently  one  of  the  Board  who 
will  instruct  and  license  the  physicians  of  this  State ;  an 
increase  of  salary  which  is,  I  trust,  no  very  distant  event, 
and  an  increase  of  revenue  from  the  chemical  tickets,  seem 
to  be  necessary  preliminaries  to  a  matrimonial  settlement 

Dr.  Dwight  and  all  the  Faculty  of  College  have 

at  various  times  taken  tea  with  me,  and  occasionally  other 
friends 

TO   MR.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

YALE  COLLEGE,  December  10, 1807. 

MR.  DAGGETT  *  and  family  have  lately  perused 

my  journal  with  eagerness,  if  I  may  judge  from  the  ra- 
pidity with  which  they  called  for  the  volumes.  I  met  Mr.  D. 
in  the  street  the  other  day  while  he  was  perusing  the  work. 
He  stopped  me,  and,  after  requesting  the  remaining  vol- 
umes, added  :  "  I  observe  you  describe  the  manner  of  rap- 
ping in  London.  I  wish  you  would  rap  four  or  jive  times 
at  my  door."  This  rap,  you  will  remember,  is  the  gentle- 
man visitor's  rap.  When  he  had  finished  the  work,  he  de- 
livered the  last  volume  with  a  flattering  note,  thanking  me 
for  the  pleasure  I  had  afforded  him,  saying  that  he  had  ac- 
companied me  with  great  satisfaction  through  every  part 
of  my  journey,  and  had  learned  many  new  and  interesting 
facts.  The  approbation  of  such  a  man  is  highly  encourag- 
ing and  gratifying.  I  cannot,  however,  even  commence 
any  great  labor  for  some  weeks,  till  the  text-book  is  fin- 
ished. The  ladies  affect  to  consider  me  as  gone  over  to 
irremediable  celibacy ;  but  I  do  not  perceive  that  they  are 
less  polite  than  before.  You  see  I  egotize  as  much  as 
ever.  I  only  wish  I  could  do  it  by  word  of  mouth.  I  re- 
member with  great  satisfaction  our  many  happy  hours  last 
summer  and  fall,  and  do  not  entirely  despair  of  their  re- 
turn  But,  at  any  rate,  let  us  write  frequently  ;  and, 

for  my  part,  I  promise  to  write  as  much  folly  as  I  would 
*  Hon.  David  Daggett.  —  F. 


GEOLOGY  AND  MINERALOGY:  THE  WESTON  METEOR.  229 

talk Dear  Hepsa,  kiss  the  pretty  children  for  me 

My  dear  brother  and  sister,  I  bear  you  affection- 
ately on  my  heart,  and  long  again  for  your  endeared 
society 

His  sympathetic  feeling  when  any  danger  im- 
pended over  those  whom  he  loved,  may  be  seen  in 
the  following  letter 

TO    MR.   AND    MRS.    G.    S.    SILLIMAN. 

YALE  COLLEGE,  March  16, 1808. 

MY  DEAR  FRIENDS,  —  I  sympathize  with  you  in  your 
distress,  and  have  waited  with  trembling  solicitude  to  hear 
how  it  was  to  fare  with  the  dear  little  lamb.*  I  did  not 
answer  your  first  letter  because  I  was  in  hopes  of  receiving 
another  immediately.  That  letter  came  to-day,  and  I  could 
hardly  muster  resolution  enough  to  break  the  seal,  till  I 
saw  that  it  was  not  a  black  one.  You  must  pardon  me  for 
not  having  forwarded  your  first  letter  to  Huntington,  be- 
cause I  really  did  expect  better  news,  and  thought  that  in 
the  worst  event  I  could  but  send  it  as  preliminary.  I  shall 
now  commit  both  letters  to  David's  care  (he  is  in  town). 
I  am  writing  in  the  midst  of  company  and  conversation, 
and  must  beg  you  to  pardon  my  hurried  letter.  Most  fre- 
quently do  I  beseech  Almighty  God  to  spare  the  life  of  our 
darling.  She  is  very  dear  to  me,  for  she  is  a  very  lovely 
child ;  but  if  she  is  to  be  removed,  may  God  of  his  infinite 
mercy  grant  that  you  may  be  sustained  and  comforted,  and 
that  the  affliction  may  redound  to  our  good.  My  dear 
friends,  I  feel  most  sensibly  for  you,  and  am  anxious  that 
every  passing  hour  should  bring  me  news  on  this  most 
anxious  subject.  Write  a  line  by  every  mail,  —  yes,  by  every 
mail,  without  omitting  one,  —  till  our  dear  little  lamb  is  out 
of  danger,  for  I  trust  that  she  will  be  soon,  notwithstanding 
her  distressed  state.  I  mention  no  other  topic,  except  that 
*  Mary,  afterwards  Mrs.  Jones.  — F. 


230  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN 

I  go  this  week  to  meet  our  mother  at  Wallingford.  She  is 
now  there,  but  no  better.  Dr.  Dana  lies  dangerously  ill, 
and  I  am  to  watch  with  him  to-night.  Commending  you 
both,  but  especially  our  lovely  little  friend,  to  the  care  of 
Him  who  doeth  for  us,  and  will  deal  justly  and  mercifully 
with  us,  even  in  His  present  dispensations,  I  remain,  my 
dearly  beloved  brother  and  sister, 

Most  affectionately  your  sympathizing 

Friend  and  Brother. 


CHAPTER   X. 

HIS  MARRIAGE:  REMINISCENCES  OF  GOVERNOR  TRUMBULL. 

His  Marriags.  —  The  First  Governor  Trumbull.  —  The  Second  Governor 
Trumbull:  His  Person,  Manners,  and  Character;  His  House  and  Family; 
His  Appearance  in  Public;  Experience  of  his  Personal  Kindness. — 
First  Introduction  to  Miss  Trumbull.  —  Governor  Trumbull's  Political 
Firmness.  —  Popular  Chemical  Lectures  in  New  Haven,  and  Further 
Acquaintance  with  Miss  Trumbull.  — Visits  to  Lebanon.  —  Death  of 
Governor  Trumbull.  —  His  Marriage. 

AN  important  event  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Silliman 
occurred  about  three  years  after  his  return  from 
Europe.  This  was  his  marriage  to  Miss  Harriet 
Trumbull,  daughter  of  the  second  Governor  Trum- 
bull. Jonathan  Trumbull,  the  elder,  a  graduate  of 
Harvard  College,  had  distinguished  himself  by  re- 
fusing to  join  a  part  of  his  colleagues  on  the  Coun- 
cil in  administering  to  Governor  Fitch  the  oath  to 
execute  the  stamp-act,  and  being  chosen  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  he  had  himself  likewise  refused  to  take  the 
oath  to  carry  out  the  oppressive  measures  of  Parlia- 
ment. Chosen  Governor  in  1769,  he  was  reflected 
for  fourteen  consecutive  terms, —  the  only  Colonial 
Governor  who  retained  his  office  after  the  beginning 
of  the  Revolutionary  war.  He  stood  very  high,  as 
is  well  known,  in  the  esteem  of  Washington,  who 
pronounced  him  "  one  of  the  first  of  patriots,"  and 
whom  he  sustained  with  resolute,  unfailing  patriot- 
ism to  the  end  of  the  great  struggle.  A  sedate 


232  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

Puritan,  deeply  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  religion, 
and  fearless  in  the  discharge  of  every  duty,  he  stands 
among  the  heroic  figures  in  our  national  history.* 

His  son,  the  second  Governor,  and  the  father  of 
Mrs.  Silliman,  was  worthy  of  such  a  parent.  After 
filling  various  important  offices,  which  will  be  men- 
tioned hereafter,  he  was  made  Governor  of  Connecti- 
cut in  1798,  and  held  this  station  until  his  death  in 
1S09. 

In  one  respect,  Mr.  Silliman's  marriage  had  more 
than  the  ordinary  influence  resulting  from  such  a 
connection.  The  Revolutionary  character  and  ser- 
vices of  the  family  to  which  he  was  now  allied 
strongly  moved  his  feelings,  and  contributed  to 
establish  him  in  the  political  ideas,  as  well  as  patri- 
otic sentiments,  in  which  he  had  been  educated. 
He  has  recorded,  in  a  separate  manuscript  volume, 
notices  of  Governor  Trumbull  and  his  family ;  and 
a  portion  of  these,  independently  of  their  bearing  on 
his  own  personal  history,  will  be  interesting  to  all 
who  would  know  New  England  as  it  was  in  the 
past.f 

JONATHAN  TRUMBULL  was  the  second  of  that  name  who 
held  the  office  of  Governor  of  Connecticut.  In  stature  he 
could  not  have  exceeded  five  feet  and  eight  inches.  In 
form  he  was  slender,  erect,  well  proportioned;  in  move- 
ment alert,  but  with  an  air  of  energy  and  decision.  The 
impression  which  he  made  on  an  observer  who  was  a 
stranger  to  him,  would  lead  him  to  conclude  that  he  was 

*  A  life  of  the  first  Governor  Trumbull  has  been  written  by  Isaac 
Stuart. 

t  irrpprtant  letters  of  General  Washington,  and  a  letter  of  Martha 
Washington,  addressed  to  Governor  Trnmbull,  the  father  of  Mrs.  Silliman, 
arc  printrd  in  the  Appendix  to  this  Memoir. 


HIS  MARRIAGE:   REMINISCENCES   OF  GOV.  TRUMBULL.  233 

no  common  man.  Dignity  without  formality,  hung  about 
him  like  an  every-clay  robe,  worn  easily  and  naturally  as 
his  common  costume.  His  manners  were  those  of  a  well- 
bred,  polished  gentleman,  combining  in  a  high  degree  dig- 
nity with  a  finished  courtesy  and  affability.  His  benevo- 
lence shed  a  charm  over  his  intercourse  ;  it  animated  his 
features,  prompted  and  enlivened  his  conversation,  and 
shone  like  a  living  soul  in  his  interviews  with  society. 
The  most  humble  people  were  so  kindly  received  by  him ; 
and,  without  descending  to  undue  familiarity,  so  well  did 
he  adapt  his  conversation  to  their  intelligence  and  circum- 
stances that  they  left  him  with  friendly  and  grateful  feel- 
ings. His  versatility  of  manners  fitted  him  equally  for 
the  society  of  the  most  elevated  and  refined  individuals, 
and  for  that  of  the  small  farmers  and  mechanics  around 
his  rural  abode,  who,  not  unfrequently,  called  to  pass  an 
evening  hour  at  his  house.  Still,  this  was  the  same  man 
who  had  been  the  associate  and  confidential  friend  of 
Washington,  his  private  secretary,  and  the  intimate  of  his 
marquee. 

His  conversation  was  very  attractive  ;  it  was  full  of  intel- 
ligence, uniting  perspicuity  and  vivacity,  with  occasional 
sallies  of  humor.  The  existing  portraits  of  him  (the  best 
is  at  Ex-Governor  Trumbull's,  at  Hartford,)  convey  no 
adequate  idea  of  the  animation  and  expression  of  his 
face,  in  which  both  the  mind  and  the  heart  shone  forth, 
although  correct  in  the  form  of  the  features  and  head. 

His  voice  was  very  remarkable.  It  was  strong,  clear, 
and  melodious,  with  a  fine  musical  cadence  and  intona- 
tion. His  reading  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  family  worship 
was  very  impressive,  being  distinct,  deliberate,  and  solemn. 
Not  a  word  was  lost,  and  the  hearer  felt  that  he  received 
a  more  forcible  impression  of  the  meaning  than  ever  before. 
With  his  diction,  the  Prophet  Isaiah  appeared  doubly  ma- 
jestic. His  manners  in  his  family  were  delightful.  His 
cheerfulness,  his  cordiality,  his  hopeful  temperament,  his 


234  LIFE   OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

• 

ample  store  of  materials  for  conversation,  and  his  unwaver- 
ing kindness  shed  a  charm  over  the  domestic  circle  and 
made  his  house  a  happy  home.  It  was  a  beautiful  rural 
residence.  The  house  was  not  an  architectural  structure 
according  to  the  rules  of  art.  It  had  indeed  a  colonnade 
with  square  pillars,  in  imitation  of  Mount  Vernon.  There 
were  noble  trees,  and  ample  fields  and  out-houses,  and  an 
office  detached  from  the  mansion.  A  wide  court-yard 
separated  the  house  from  the  office.  A  long  gate,  or 
pair  of  gates,  for  the  admission  of  carriages,  seemed  to 
swing,  almost  voluntarily,  on  the  hinges,  and  arriving 
friends  drove  in,  with  full  confidence  of  a  kind  and  hos- 
pitable reception. 

Many  friends  were  there  received.  The  hospitality  of 
the  house  was  well  known,  and  besides  relations  and  family 
friends  and  associates,  few  strangers  of  distinction  passed 
through  Lebanon  without  calling  to  pay  their  respects  to 
him  who  had  been  Paymaster  of  the  Northern  Army,  Pri- 
vate Secretary  of  Washington,  Speaker  of  the  second  Con- 
gress under  the  Constitution  at  Philadelphia,  when  Wash- 
ington was  President ;  Senator  of  the  same  august  body,  and 
finally  Governor  of  his  native  State  of  Connecticut,  in  which 
office  he  remained  until  death.  The  interior  of  the  house 
was  a  model  of  chastened  elegance.  It  made,  indeed,  no 
pretensions  to  splendor  ;  but  everything  was  in  the  highest 
degree  neat  and  comfortable,  and  in  the  best  taste.  Mrs. 
Trumbull  *  had  admirable  administrative  talents.  She 
united  great  energy  with  excellent  judgment,  and  the 
power  of  influencing  and  moving  her  servants  and  all  who 
owed  her  deference.  Her  daughters  f  were  lovely  and 
accomplished  women,  and  being  trained  also  in  habits  of 
useful  industry,  they  both  aided  their  mother  efficiently, 
and  were  the  bright  and  polished  ornaments  of  a  family 
circle,  than  which  none  was  more  attractive. 

*  Eunice  Backus,  of  Norwich. 

t  Mrs.  Daniel  Wadsworth,  Mrs.  Henry  Hudson,  Mrs.  Benj.  Silliman. 


ms 


MARRIAGE :  REMINISCENCES  OF  GOV.  TRUMBULL.  235 


The  house  at  Lebanon  had  ample  literary  resources. 
A  large  library  in  the  office,  and  a  smaller  select  collec- 
tion in  the  house  afforded  abundant  means  of  entertain- 
ment and  instruction,  especially  in  the  long  winter  even- 
ings, and  in  the  many  days  of  the  same  season  when  cold 
and  snow  gave  almost  undisturbed  quiet  in  a  country  vil- 
lage of  sparse  population,  and  whose  principal  street  was  in 
fact  a  wide  common  across  which  it  was  not  always  easy 
to  pass.  It  used  to  be  said,  sportively,  that  the  people  on 
the  opposite  sides  of  the  street  had  so  little  intercourse  that 
they  spoke  different  languages. 

The  physical  comforts  of  the  family  were  also  abundant. 
The  apartments  had  a  cheerful,  hospitable  air ;  the  table 
was  spread  with  the  best  food,  prepared  with  skill  and 
taste  ;  the  table  furniture  was  in  keeping  with  the  dignity 
of  the  house,  and  Mrs.  Trumbull,  by  her  provident  care 
and  energy,  managed  to  obtain  the  more  rare  articles  of 
food,  and  even  the  treasures  of  the  seas. 

Kindness  to  the  poor  and  the  humble  was  a  bright  trait 
of  this  family.  Not  only  was  charity  extended  to  the  needy 
and  suffering,  but  plain  and  obscure  neighbors  were  re- 
ceived with  a  gentle  welcome,  and  made  to  feel  happy  in 
the  society  of  those  whose  social  position  was  so  much  supe- 
rior to  their  own.  Some  persons  of  this  description,  per- 
haps coming  from  a  more  distant  home,  were  received  as 
visiting  friends,  and  remained  for  several  weeks  at  a  time 
in  the  family,  but  they  were  always  distinguished  for  per- 
sonal worth. 

With  the  dignity  of  elevation  there  was  no  family  pride. 
A  sense  of  religious  duty,  and  the  mild  but  prevailing  effect 
of  Christian  feeling,  shed  a  happy  influence  over  the  do- 
mestic scenes ;  and  family  worship,  always  attended  with 
seriousness  and  punctuality,  seemed  both  a  fair  exponent 
and  a  happy  result  of  the  living  religion  of  the  house. 

It  was  usual  to  anticipate  the  arrival  of  the  Governor, 


236  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

when  attending  the  Legislature  at  New  Haven  or  at  Hart- 
ford, by  a  cavalcade  of  honor  composed  of  large  numbers  of 
citizens,  both  in  carriages  and  on  horseback,  who  met  the 
Governor  some  miles  from  town  at  some  designated  place, 
—  I  believe  Woodbridge's  tavern  in  East  Hartford,  ten 
miles  from  Hartford,  and  Eastman's  tavern  in  North  Haven, 
eight  miles  from  New  Haven.  Salutations  were  inter- 
changed, some  refreshments  taken,  and  the  procession  re- 
turning was  received  with  the  ringing  of  bells  and  other 
demonstrations  of  joy.  I  remember,  long  before  my  mar- 
riage, coming  in  from  Eastman's,  on  one  occasion,  in  Gov- 
ernor Trumbull's  retinue,  when  we  were  wrapt  in  a  cloud 
of  dust  so  dense  that  we  were  all  in  uniform.  I  should 
mention  that  the  Governor  usually  entered  the  town  on 
horseback.  Governor  Trumbull  told  me  the  following  an- 
ecdote of  a  little  occurence  near  Hartford.  The  cavalcade 
had  arrived  at  the  ferry  in  East  Hartford,  opposite  to  the 
city,  and  there  being  at  that  time  no  bridge,  they  were 
waiting  for  the  flat-boat  to  carry  them  over,  when  an  old 
salt  —  a  short,  thick-set  little  man  —  was  pressing  his  way 
among  the  crowd  to  obtain  a  sight  of  the  Governor ;  but 
not  finding,  like  Zaccheus  of  old,  a  friendly  tree,  he  rose 
on  his  toes  and  eagerly  asked,  "  Which  is  the  Governor  ?  " 
Some  one  pointed  out  a  small,  genteel  man  mounted  conspic- 
uously on  a  fine  horse,  when  the  sailor  exclaimed, —  "  That 
the  Governor,  —  why,  he  is  not  bigger  than  a  cob  !  "  He 
had  associated  official  dignity  with  physical  volume  of  per- 
son. The  Governor  was  much  amused  by  Jack's  surprise, 
the  expression  of  which  he  overheard. 

While  the  Legislature  was  in  session  he  always,  when  he 
appeared  abroad,  wore  a  three-cornered  cocked  hat,  such 
as  was  worn  by  officers  in  the  Revolutionary  army.  There 
was  mounted  upon  it  a  handsome  cockade,  made  of  black 
satin  ribbon,  elegantly  and  tastefully  arranged,  probably  by 
the  hand  of  a  daughter.  He  wore  breeches  and  long  boots 
with  white  tops,  and  he  always  retained  the  sword  as  a 


HIS  MARRIAGE :  REMINISCENCES  OF  GOV.  TRUMBULL.  237 

badge  of  office.  Although  not  above  middle  size  in  per- 
son, and  in  other  respects  dressed  like  a  citizen,  the  cos- 
tume that  I  have  named  on  a  gentleman  of  a  decidedly 
military  air  corresponded  well  with  the  dignity  of  his  sta- 
tion as  Governor  of  the  State. 

The  Governor  was  ex-offtcio  President  of  the  Council 
(or  Senate),  and  being  present  at  all  their  deliberations 
his  opinions  had  deservedly  great  weight.  When  there 
was  a  public  hearing,  the  House  of  Representatives  came  in 
a  body  to  the  Senate  Chamber.  The  Governor's  speech  or 
address  at  the  opening  of  the  session  was  delivered  in  pres- 
ence of  the  entire  Legislature.  I  was  present  on  one  of 
those  occasions,  and  I  well  remember  Governor  Trum- 
bull's  highly  dignified  and  impressive  manner.  His  power- 
ful and  musical  voice  filled  the  room  ;  his  enunciation  was 
perfect,  and,  being  very  deliberate,  not  a  word  was  lost. 
His  sword  and  cocked  hat  lay  on  the  table  before  him,  and 
his  graceful  and  elevated  manner  gave  the  best  possible 
effect  to  his  communications.  Never  before  or  since  have 
I  listened  to  such  a  speaker. 

I  believe  I  must  have  seen  Governor  Trumbull  first  in 
some  of  those  public  gatherings  to  which  I  have  alluded. 
As  he  was  Governor  from  1798  to  1809,  and  was  ex-officio 
a  member  of  the  College  Corporation,  he  always  attended 
the  Commencements  and  united  in  the  deliberations.  He 
appeared  on  these  occasions  in  the  costume  which  I  have 
described, —  the  sword,  perhaps,  excepted,—  and  was  seated 
on  the  stage,  in  the  place  of  the  highest  honor.  He  may 
have  been  present  when  my  class  took  their  first  degree,  in 
September  1796,  but  he  was  then  Lieutenant-Governor. 
When,  in  1799,  I  became  a  tutor  in  Yale  College,  in  com- 
mon with  the  other  members  of  the  faculty  I  was  intro- 
duced to  the  Governor  and  to  the  other  members  of  the 
corporation.  Dr.  Dwight  established  the  custom  of  a 
friendly  meeting,  at  dinner  of  the  faculty  and  corporation, 
on  the  day  before  the  Commencement,  and  this  afforded  a 


238  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

pleasant  opportunity  of  recognition.  In  1802,  having  been 
appointed  Professor  of  Chemistry,  &c.,  I  passed  the  next 
two  winters  in  pursuing  my  studies  in  Philadelphia,  and 
was  of  course,  by  my  appointment,  known  to  the  Governor. 
I  was  present  at  the  College  Commencements,  and  he  as 
a  member  of  the  corporation  knew  my  position.  In  the 
autumn  of  1804,  it  was  determined  that  I  should  proceed 
to  England  in  the  ensuing  spring  of  1805.  A  few  weeks 
before  my  departure  from  New  Haven,  which  was  March 
20th,  I  addressed  a  letter  to  Governor  Trumbull  at  Leb- 
anon, informing  him  of  my  projected  journey,  and  request- 
ing from  him,  as  chief  magistrate  of  my  native  State,  an 
official  document  certifying  my  citizenship  and  my  col- 
legiate and  social  position.  To  this  request  he  promptly 
acceded.  I  have  his  letters  respecting  this  matter,  but  I 
believe  that  the  paper  was  left  in  Europe,  —  perhaps  with 
Mr.  Monroe,  then  our  minister  in  London.  When  the  Gov- 
ernor met  the  Legislature  in  New  Haven  in  the  October  fol- 
lowing my  return,  the  College  was  remembered  in  his  speech, 
and  he  did  me  the  honor  to  mention  emphatically  the  new 
department  of  chemistry,  and  to  recommend  it  and  me  as 
its  head  to  the  favor  of  the  Government.  The  terms  in 
which  he  mentioned  me  were  such  as  to  gratify  and  encour- 
age a  young  man  of  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  and  the 
impression  on  his  mind  was  only  that  of  an  increased  sense 
of  obligation  to  perform  his  duty  in  the  best  manner  possi- 
ble. The  confidence  of  this  distinguished  magistrate  thus 
bestowed  on  me  in  advance,  was  followed  by  an  invitation, 
warmly  expressed,  that  I  would  call  on  him  at  his  house 
in  Lebanon,  and  I  did  not  forget  the  invitation.  In  the 
summer  of  1807,  Mr.  Daniel  Wadsworth  of  Hartford,  the 
husband  of  the  Governor's  eldest  daughter  Faith,  came 
to  New  Haven,  —  prompted  by  an  interest  excited  in  his 
mind  by  the  perusal  of  the  MS.  volumes  of  my  "  Travels 
in  England,  Holland,  and  Scotland."  On  this  occasion  he 
made  my  acquaintance,  proffered  me  his  personal  friend- 


HIS  MARRIAGE :  REMINISCENCES  OF  GOV.  TRUMBULL.  239 

ship,  and  tendered  me  the  hospitality  of  his  house.  Early 
in  the  autumn,  I  was  most  kindly  received  there  as  a  guest, 
and  there  became  acquainted  with  that  most  estimable  lady, 
Mrs.  Wadsworth.  I  remained  a  day  or  two,  and  took  my 
departure  for  Newport,  via  Lebanon  and  Norwich.  Mrs. 
Wadsworth  volunteered  a  letter  by  me  to  her  sister,  Miss 
Harriet  Trumbull,  which  was  made  introductory  by  my 
name  upon  the  outside.  I  availed  myself  of  the  short  stop 
which  the  stage  made  at  the  post-office  in  Lebanon,  to  run 
forward  half  a  mile,  and  thus  I  gained  time  to  deliver  the 
letter.  The  family  were  at  dinner,  but  I  was  promptly 
admitted,  most  kindly  received  by  the  Governor,  and  with 
courtesy  by  Miss  Trumbull.  A  chair  was  placed  for  me  at 
the  table,  and  I  yielded  to  the  hospitable  invitation  to  oc- 
cupy it  even  for  the  few  minutes  that  were  at  my  disposal. 
The  occasion,  apparently  fortuitous,  was  fruitful  of  the 
most  important  results,  and  a  series  of  providential  events 
brought  that  noble  and  lovely  lady,  whom  I  then  saw  for 
the  first  time,  to  this  house,  which  she  blessed  during  forty 

years 

The  confidence  reposed  in  me  by  the  good  man  [Gov- 
ernor Trumbull],  was  truly  paternal,  and  I  had  full  oppor- 
tunity to  scan  and  understand  the  character  and  circum- 
stances which  in  the  preceding  pages  I  have  endeavored 
faithfully  to  unfold.  My  visits  were,  of  course,  frequent, 
and  Hartford  afforded  an  interesting  and  convenient  middle 
ground.  During  several  weeks  of  suffering  that  preceded  his 
death,  I  remained  constantly  in  the  family,  and  participated 

in  the  final  scene I  ought  not  to  omit  to  mention 

an  action  of  Governor  TrumbuH's  public  life,  very  near 
the  close  of  his  career,  which  was  regarded  as  very  impor- 
tant. The  American  Democracy  had  long  been  seeking  an 
occasion  to  quarrel  with  England,  and  the  leaders  at  Wash- 
ington were  not  only  preparing  the  public  mind  for  that 
result,  but  were  meditating  on  the  means  of  carrying  it  into 
effect.  It  was  therefore  deemed  of  primary  importance  to 


2-10  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN 

obtain  the  control  of  the  militia,  and  especially  of  that  of 
New  England  and  New  York,  with  particular  reference  to 
the  invasion  of  Canada.  With  this  view  the  experiment  was 
made,  first  upon  Governor  Trumbull,  whose  courtesy  of 
manners  and  kindness  of  temper  might  have  induced  them 
to  believe  that  he  would  not  oppose  the  wishes  of  the  admin- 
istration. General  Dearborn  was  then  Secretary  of  War, 
and  Mr.  Madison,  President.  In  the  spring  of  1809,  I  hap- 
pened to  be  at  Lebanon,  when  the  letter  of  the  Secretary 
was  received.  He  appeared  to  be  aware  that  he  was  tread- 
ing on  delicate  ground,  and  therefore  his  letter  was  written 
in  the  most  deferential  terms.  The  object  in  view  was  to 
obtain  the  Governor's  approbation  to  the  placing  of  the 
militia  under  the  command  of  military  officers  of  the  United 
States,  in  which  case  they  might  be  marched  out  of  the 
State  into  Canada  or  anywhere  else.  It  was  requested  by 
the  Secretary  that  in  communicating  the  order  to  the  mili- 
tia and  in  the  selection  for  service  the  utmost  kindness  and 
even  delicacy  might  be  used.  The  administration  had  mis- 
taken their  man.  Governor  Trumbull  did  not  hesitate  to 
refuse  compliance  ;  and  in  firm  but  respectful  terms,  in- 
formed the  administration  that  he  did  not  discover  either 
in  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  or  in  the  laws  of 
his  own  State,  any  power  to  surrender  the  command  of  the 
militia,  which  were  reserved  for  local  defence  and  to  repel 
actual  invasion.  He  communicated  the  correspondence  to 
me  and  requested  me  to  criticize  his  reply  with  severity, 
adding  that  the  step  he  was  taking  would  make  a  great 
deal  of  noise  and  be  trumpeted  as  incipient  rebellion.  So  it 
proved,  but  the  decision  was  warmly  welcomed  by  the  op- 
posite party  and  by  the  Governor's  personal  friends.  I  was 
present  at  an  evening's  conversation  at  Dr.  Dana's,  when 
Judge  Daggett,  alluding  to  this  decision,  said  that  Governor 
Trumbull  had  not  a  weak  nerve  in  him,  and  Samuel  AV. 
Dana,  Dr.  Dana's  brilliant  son,  said  that  if  the  hot  men  of 
the  South  should  come,  as  they  threatened,  to  fight  Con- 


HIS  MARRIAGE:  REMINISCENCES  OF  GOV.  TRUMBULL.  241 

necticut,  their  coffins  would  be  a  necessary  part  of  their 
baggage. 

How  the  acquaintance  with  Miss  Trumbull  ripened 
into  an  intimacy  and  resulted  in  their  union,  is  de- 
tailed in  the  "  Reminiscences,"  to  which  we  now  re- 
vert. It  may  be  remarked  that  the  course  of  lectures 
to  persons  outside  of  College,  of  which  he  speaks, 
was  an  event  of  no  little  importance  in  his  career  as 
a  teacher  of  science. 

First  Course  of  Popular  Lectures  in  Yale  College,  May 
1808.  Personal  Events.  —  My  mother  some  two  years  be- 
fore had  fallen  on  the  ice  and  inflicted  a  severe  injury  upon 
the  wrist  of  her  left  arm,  which  had  been  unskilfully  set, 
so  that  the  arm  remained  useless,  and  was  even  an  encum- 
brance. A  journey  of  business  in  the  month  of  May  1808, 
took  me  to  Norwich  and  through  Lebanon,  where  I  re- 
ceived such  decisive  evidence  of  the  skill  of  the  elder  Dr. 
Sweet  in  breaking  up  and  setting  anew  injured  members, 
that  after  an  interview  with  him  J  induced  my  mother  to 
come  on  with  me  and  place  herself  under  this  self-taught 
surgeon.  The  effort  in  which  I  participated  as  an  assistant 
was  successful.  A  delicate  lady  of  seventy-two  submitted 
to  the  severe  torture,  supported  solely  by  her  own  firm- 
ness, without  stimulants  or  sedatives,  and  the  injured  arm, 
although  not  rendered  perfect,  was  eventually  restored  to 
usefulness  and  comfort,  and  served  for  ten  years  more  until 
her  death.  My  frequent  journeys  to  Lebanon  to  attend  on 
my  mother's  case  during  several  anxious  weeks,  produced 
an  interesting  social  intercourse  with  my  mother's  early 
friends,  the  family  of  Governor  Jonathan  Trumbull.  Be- 
fore I  left  New  Haven  a  course  of  popular  chemistry  for 
ladies  and  gentlemen  had  been  proposed  by  Mr.  Timothy 
Dwight,  Jr.,  the  eldest  son  of  President  Dwight ;  and  the 
proposal  having  been  sanctioned  by  him  and  consented  to 

VOL.  i.  16 


242  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN"  SILLIMAN. 

by  me,  the  class,  to  the  number  of  about  forty-five,  had 
been  secured  without  any  effort  on  my  part.  The  proposi- 
tion was  pleasing  to  me,  as  it  placed  me  professionally  in  a 
new  position,  responsible  indeed,  but  promising  to  secure 
additional  favor  for  the  science  then  so  new  in  Yale  College, 
and  almost  new  indeed  in  this  country.  Having  been  before 
accredited  in  my  public  character  by  Governor  Trumbull, 
and  invited  by  him  to  his  house,  I  learned  with  pleasure 
that  his  daughter,  Miss  Harriet  Trurnbull,  would  soon  go  to 
New  Haven,  and  pass  some  weeks  with  the  ladies  of  the 
family  of  the  PI  on.  James  Hillhouse.  I  thought  it  not  in- 
trusive, therefore,  to  invite  her  to  attend  on  the  professional 
course  of  lectures  with  the  young  ladies  of  the  Hillhouse 
family;  and  having  been  before  received  into  the  confi- 
dence and  friendship  of  Mr.  Daniel  "Wadsworth,  of  Hart- 
ford, Miss  Trumbull's  brother-in-law,  I  ventured  still  further 
as  his  friend,  to  offer  myself  to  show  her  those  civilities 
which  might  be  useful  and  agreeable  during  her  stay  in 
New  Haven.  This  statement  would  hardly  be  appropriate 
to  scientific  reminiscence,  were  it  not  that  the  proposed 
course  had,  in  New  Haven,  turned  on  female  hinges,  and 
as  I  had  occasion  afterwards  to  know,  sentiment  lubricated 
the  joints.  It  was  my  province  in  the  proposed  course  to 
explain  the  affinities  of  matter,  and  I  had  not  advanced  far 
in  my  pleasing  duties  before  I  discovered  that  moral  affin- 
ities, also  moving  without  my  intervention,  were  playing 
an  important  part.  To  this  I  could  not  object,  and  it 
was  certainly  the  most  gratifying  result  of  my  labors  that 
several  happy  unions  grew  incidentally  out  of  those  bright 
evening  meetings.  The  happy  parties  enjoyed  many  ge- 
nial years,  although  death  has  now  broken  all  those  har- 
monious bands  asunder.  This  being  my  first  attempt  to 
explain  science  to  a  popular  audience  I  endeavored  to 
study  simplicity  and  perspicuity  ;  simplicity  in  the  absence 
of  all  unnecessary  technicality,  and  perspicuity  by  the 
choice  of  good  Saxon  words  and  by  explaining  all  that 


HIS  MARRIAGE :  REMINISCENCES  OF  GOV.  TRUMBULL.  243 

would  not  be  obviously  intelligible  to  a  good  mind.  The 
lectures,  I  have  said,  were  given  in  the  evening,  and  as  the 
course  was  begun  in  the  spring  vacation,  ladies  were  not 
embarrassed  in  coining  to  the  college  laboratory  ;  and  the 
precedent  being  once  established,  was  easily  continued  into 
the  summer  term.  The  lectures  were  fully  illustrated  by 
experiments  which  were  carefully  prepared  and  successfully 
performed.  On  the  whole,  the  course  itself  was  a  decided 
success,  and  I  had  no  reason  to  regret  that  I  had  under- 
taken it.  I  have  before  had  occasion  to  observe  that  Provi- 
dence often  leads  us  in  ways  that  we  know  not,  and  to 
results  which  we  are  not  aware  of.  Tins  course  was  the 
opening  of  a  series  of  labors  performed  many  years  after- 
wards, with  popular  audiences,  often  in  large  assemblies, 
and  sometimes  in  distant  cities,  —  as  I  shall  in  due  time 
have  occasion  to  relate.  It  is  also  with  grateful,  although 
pensive  recollections,  that  I  mark  this  course  as  one  of  the 
most  important  crises  of  my  life,  —  important  to  my  profes- 
sional reputation,  and  fruitful  of  the  most  signal  blessings 
extending  through  many  years,  and  I  trust,  connecting 
earth  with  heaven. 

The  hint  on  the  preceding  page  will  prevent  surprise, 
and  the  conclusion  will  have  been  already  anticipated.  I 
was  drawn  again  to  Lebanon,  but  on  a  more  agreeable 
errand  than  in  May ;  and  the  courtesies  of  hospitality 
which  I  then  received  were  now  most  agreeably  ripened 
into  the  confidence  of  an  assured  friendship,  without  other 
desired  limits  than  that  of  life  itself;  and  so,  by  God's 
blessing,  it  proved.  Visits  of  reasonable  frequency  shed  a 
cheering  influence  over  the  time  as  it  passed,  and  I  could 
discern  that  earlier  events,  then  not  understood,  had  provi- 
dentially guided  me  in  a  way  that  I  then  knew  not,  until  I 
perceived  at  last  whither  the  path  led.  My  early  travels 
in  Europe  —  the  travels  addressed  to  my  brother  —  which 
were  sent  out  in  MS.  volumes,  and,  by  some  liberty  in  loan- 
ing, came  under  the  eye  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wadsworth  and 


244  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

her  sister,  two  or  three  years  before  they  were  published, 
had  silently  pleaded  my  cause ;  they  made  Mr.  Wads- 
worth  my  friend.  The  influence  was,  however,  not  con- 
fined to  him  ;  and  my  mother's  severe  casualty  placed  me 
in  the  most  favorable  circumstances  for  observation  and 
influence.  Ten  months  passed  rapidly  away,  and  the  sun 
during  all  that  period  shone  upon  me  without  a  cloud. 
But  the  halcyon  days  were  about  to  be  overcast  by  domes- 
tic afflictions,  and  the  happy  family  at  Lebanon  were  soon 
to  be  called  to  mourn.  In  the  early  part  of  the  summer, 
their  loved  and  venerated  head  began  to  experience  alarm- 
ing symptoms,  which  created  solicitude,  and  produced  fruit- 
less efforts  for  relief  by  travelling ;  but  the  succeeding  days 
and  weeks  brought  only  increased  anxiety. 

After  the  middle  of  July,  I  was  at  liberty  as  regards 
college  engagements ;  my  letters  had  prepared  me  to  ex- 
pect unfavorable  tidings  ;  and  accordingly  I  was  summoned, 
about  July  loth,  to  the  bedside  of  the  sufferer.  The  stages 
were  circuitous  and  slow,  and  I  therefore  took  a  spirited 
horse,  with  a  chair-sulky  without  a  top,  and  crossing  the 
Connecticut,  made  as  straight  a  course  as  possible  ;  and,  in 
an  all-day  tempest  of  wind  and  rain,  holding  an  umbrella 
with  one  hand  and  driving  with  the  other,  I  arrived  at 
Lebanon  by  daylight,  and  found  the  revered  patient  still 

living lie  died  August  7,  1809,  having  attained 

the  age  of  seventy  the  preceding  April.  Thus  passed 
away  the  wise  and  good  man,  the  faithful  husband  and 
affectionate  father  and  friend,  the  tried  patriot  and  gov- 
ernor, the  confidential  secretary,  companion,  and  friend  of 
Washington,  who  loved  him  as  a  father  loves  a  devoted 
son,  and  corresponded  with  him  to  the  end  of  his  life.  The 
people  of  the  State  were  sincere  mourners,  and  his  loss 
was  felt  throughout  the  United  States. 

My  Marriage,  September  17,  1809.  —  This  event,  so 
happy  for  me,  —  happy,  I  may  say,  for  both  parties,  —  took 


HIS  MARRIAGE:  REMINISCENCES  OF  GOV.  TRUMBULL.   245 

place  at  Lebanon,  September  17,  1809,  —  six  weeks, 
wanting  one  day,  after  the  death  of  Governor  Trunibull, 
whose  approbation  and  blessing  rested  upon  us.  After  a 
journey  to  Newport,  to  visit  my  brother  and  family,  and 
calls  upon  other  friends,  we  returned  to  the  now  solitary 
mansion  at  Lebanon.  After  a  few  days  of  repose,  the 
bereaved  mother,  with  Christian  firmness,  resigned  the 
only  remaining  solace  of  her  home,  and  we  with  mixed 
emotions  bade  farewell.  At  Hartford  we  were  cheered  by 
a  brief  visit  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wadsworth  ;  and  a  Sabbath 
at  Wallingford  formed  a  tranquillizing  transition  to  our 
own  home  at  New  Haven,  where  our  house  was  in  readi- 
ness to  receive  us.  October  1C,  1809,  is  to  me  a  memo- 
rable day,  for  we  then  for  the  first  time  crossed  the  threshold 
of  our  own  door  and  found  a  home,  —  "a  sweet  home,"  — 
over  which,  as  I  have  already  written,  the  lady  who  now 
honored  me  by  adopting  my  name  presided  most  happily 
for  forty  years,  —  presided,  too,  with  dignity,  wisdom,  kind- 
ness, and  hospitality.  She  died  January  18,  1850,  aged 
sixty-six  years,  four  months,  and  fourteen  days,  having 
been  born  September  3,  1783.  Now,  at  the  time  of  my 
writing,  January  14,  1859,  I  am  still  an  inhabitant  of  the 
same  house,  and  if  I  live  and  remain  here  until  October  16 
of  this  year,  I  shall  have  inhabited  the  same  house  fifty 
years. 

Mrs.  Trunibull  maintained  her  independent  establish- 
ment in  Lebanon  until  1814,  when  she  came  to  this  house 
as  a  home,  visiting  at  Mr.  Wadsworth's,  as  she  had  done  at 
both  Hartford  and  New  Haven  before,  —  passing  months 
at  a  time  in  either  place,  as  she  found  it  convenient 

In  a  letter  to  his  brother,  dated  May  9,  1809,  he 
describes  the  house  which  was  his  place  of  abode  for 
the  remainder  of  his  life. 

I  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  a  charm- 


246  LIFE  OF  BEXJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ing  new  stone  house,  completely  and  genteelly  finished 
from  cellar  to  the  very  ridge,  with  an  acre  of  ground : 
rooms:  —  parlor,  dining-room,  bed- room,  and  five  lodging 
chambers,  besides  a  finished  garret,  two  kitchens,  and 
cellars  paved,  and  little  accommodations  in  abundance. 
The  house  was  built  by  Mr.  Hillhouse,  and  stands  in  that 
beautiful  avenue  near  his  house,  —  rent,  $175.  No  house 
except  this  could  be  obtained  in  the  town  under  $200, 
except  half-houses,  and  they  were  from  $130  to  $150 

A  day  or  two  subsequent  to  his  marriage,  he  wrote 
to  Professor  Kings! ey  as  follows  :  — 

LEBANON,  September  19,  1809. 

DEAR  KINGSLEY, —  My  story  is  a  very  short  one,  and, 
fortunately,  as  pleasant  as  it  is  short.  I  arrived  here  on 
Saturday  at  five  o'clock,  and  found  my  friends  well.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Wadsworth  had  arrived  the  day  before  from 
Hartford. 

On  Sunday  the  intention  was  duly  announced.  We 
attended  meeting  all  day;  but  Mr.  Ely  stole  the  march 
upon  us  by  reading  the  publishment  at  the  commencement 

of  the  afternoon  session,  and  before and  I  had  arrived. 

As  we  were,  however,  entirely  ignorant  of  the  circum- 
stance, we  had  the  pleasure  of  expecting  it  through  the 
afternoon,  and  of  being  disappointed  at  last  by  having  our 
friends  whisper  to  us  that  the  thing  had  been  done  already. 
We  had,  however,  the  advantage  of  going  into  meeting  in 
the  afternoon  with  the  utmost  composure.  On  the  Sabbath 
evening,  between  seven  and  eight  o'clock,  the  ceremony  was 
performed  by  Mr.  Ely,  and  in  a  very  impressive  and  proper 
manner.  Miss  Sebor  was  the  only  person  present  not  be- 
longing to  the  family,  except  Jonathan  G.  W.  Trumbull  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Williams,  who  came  in  in  the  evening. 

To-morrow  we  set  out  for  Newport,  and  expect  to  return 
here  within  a  fortnight. 


EIS  MARRIAGE:  REMINISCENCES  OF  GOV.  TRUMBULL.  247 

Tell  Mr.  Denison  that  on  Thursday  he  may  expect  a 
wagon  from  Lebanon  with  furniture.  I  shall  direct  the 
man  to  drive  at  once  to  the  house ;  but  I  wish  Mr.  Deni- 
son would  walk  up  and  see  that  everything  is  safely  put 
away.  I  attended  freemen's  meeting  here  yesterday,  and 
voted  for  the  nomination ;  thus  you  see  that  in  the  midst 
of  private  felicity,  I  did  not  forget  my  duty  to  the  State. 

I  cannot  say  more,  and  I  am  not  disposed  to  say  less 
than  that  everything  has  been  as  happy  as  I  could  wish ; 
and  although  I  am  now  actually  wearing  those  badges  of 
subjection  which  some  consider  as  iron  chains,  and  some  as 
silken  bands,  I  am  conscious  of  no  diminution  of  liberty, 
nor  of  any  irksome  weight  of  obligation. 

You  will  give  proper  publicity  to  the  thing ;  and,  as  a 
name  and  a  fee  are  now  demanded  at  the  "  Herald  "  office 
for  such  publication,  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  furnish  both. 

Remember  me  affectionately  to  Denison  and  Day ;  and 
I  have  only  to  add  that  I  hope  you  will  all  go  and  do  like- 
wise. Your  affectionate  friend. 


CHAPTER   XL 

HIS  JOURNAL  OF  TRAVELS:    THE  GIBBS'  CABINET:  THE 
MEDICAL  SCHOOL. 

Publication  of  his  Journal  of  Travels.  —  Reception  of  the  Work.  — Letter 
of  Chancellor  Kent.  —  Letter  from  Mr.  Wilberforce.  —  Accident  in  the 
Laboratory.  —  Transfer  of  Colonel  Gibbs's  Cabinet  to  New  Haven. — 
Impression  made  by  the  new  Cabinet.  —  War  with  Great  Britain.  — The 
Medical  Institution  of  Yale  College:  its  Origin  and  Organization.  —  Pro- 
visions for  the  Defence  of  New  Haven  against  the  British.  —  Birth  of  a 
Son.  — News  of  the  Conclusion  of  Peace.  —  Destructive  Gale  of  1815. — 
Death  of  President  Dwight.  —  Letters  of  Judge  Desaussnre,  Professor 
Cleaveland,  and  Judge  Daggett.  —  Letter  from  Dr.  John  Murray. 

IN  the  year  next  following  his  marriage,  he  gave 
to  the  press  his  "Journal  of  Travels  in  England, 
Holland,  and  Scotland,"  which  passed  through  three 
editions.  He  had  been  advised  by  Dr.  Dwight  and 
other  friends  to  publish  this  work,  but  the  circum- 
stance which  determined  hirn  to  comply  with  their 
wish  was  the  unsolicited  offer  of  Mr.  Daniel  Wads- 
worth  to  assume  the  pecuniary  risk  of  the  publica- 
tion. The  manuscript  journal  had  been  circulated 
among  his  personal  friends,  and,  as  narrated  above, 
had  found  its  way  into  the  family  of  Mr.  Wadsworth, 
and  won  for  the  author  their  respect  and  regard. 
Probably  no  book  of  European  travel,  by  an  Ameri- 
can, has  been  so  much  read  or  so  generally  admired. 
A  great  many  persons  derived  from  it  their  first  dis- 
tinct impressions  of  England  and  English  society. 
Not  a  few,  who  still  live,  preserve  a  fresh  recollection 


HIS  JOURNAL  OF  TRAVELS.  249 

of  the  delight  with  which,  in  their  youthful  days,  they 
hung  over  its  pages.  It  was  well  received  by  the 
critics,  at  home  and  abroad ;  and  was  favorably  noticed 
in  the  "  Quarterly  Review,"  a  journal  not  disposed  to 
flatter  American  writers.  The  Reviewer  (in  the  num- 
ber for  July,  1816)  says  :  —  "  The  American  traveller 
brought  with  him  such  feelings  as  become  a  man  of 
letters  and  a  member  of  that  commonwealth  in  which 
all  distinctions  of  country  should  be  forgotten,  or 
remembered  only  when  principles  and  paramount 
interests  are  at  stake.  His  Journal  represents  Eng- 
land to  the  Americans  as  it  is,  and  exhibits  to  the 
English  a  fair  specimen  of  the  real  American  charac- 
ter." "  Mr.  Siliiman  is  a  good  representative  of  the 
best  American  character."  "  England  is  to  them 
what  Italy  and  Greece  are  to  the  classical  scholar, 
what  Rome  is  to  the  Catholic,  and  Jerusalem  to  the 
Christian  world.  Almost  every  hamlet,  says  Mr. 
Siliiman,  has  been  the  scene  of  some  memorable 
action,  or  the  birthplace  of  some  distinguished  per- 
son. It  is  interesting  to  observe  this  feeling,  and 
trace  its  manifestation  in  a  writer  who  makes  no 
ostentation  of  his  feelings,  and  who  never  disfigures 
his  plain  and  faithful  Journal  by  any  affectation  of 
eloquence  or  of  sentiment."  More  pleasing  to  Mr. 
Siliiman  than  even  this  praise  was  a  compliment 
which  came  to  him  from  a  much  humbler  quarter. 
Professor  Olmsted,  on  a  certain  occasion,  stopped  at 
a  toll-gate  and  found  the  toll-keeper,  who  was  also  a 
shoemaker,  with  Silliman's  Travels  open  before  him 
as  he  labored  on  his  bench,  —  the  most  interesting 
book,  he  said,  that  he  had  ever  read. 

This  publication  served  to  bring  the  author  into 


250  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

an  acquaintance  with  the  distinguished  jurist,  Chan- 
cellor Kent,  from  whom  he  received  a  complimentary 
letter. 

FROM    CHANCELLOR   KENT. 

ALBANY,  April  11, 1810. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  This  is  the  first  letter  I  have  ever  written 
to  a  stranger  with  no  other  motive  than  to  gratify  the 
wishes  of  my  heart.  We  all  owe  a  debt  of  gratitude  to  an 
author  when  he  has  pleased  and  instructed  us.  I  have  just 
finished  your  "Journal  of  Travels,"  and  I  feel  a  propensity 
too  strong  to  be  resisted  of  making  known  to  you  the 
pleasure  I  have  received  from  the  perusal,  and  the  lively 
impression  of  respect  and  esteem  which  it  has  given  me 
for  your  character.  The  volumes  were  read  by  me  with 
minute  attention  and  unceasing  interest.  By  the  aid  of 
excellent  maps  I  followed  your  steps  over  every  part  of  the 
town  and  the  country,  and  I  feel  proud  that  an  American, 
and  more  so  that  a  professor  of  the  College  to  which  I  once 
belonged  and  for  which  I  still  feel  a  filial  veneration,  should 
have  given  to  the  world  one  of  the  most  instructive  and 
interesting  views  of  England  that  any  single  traveller  has 
ever  presented. 

It  would  not  be  proper  here  to  enlarge  on  this  subject. 
I  will  only  add  that  your  work  has  one  feature  not  always 
to  be  met  with  in  books  of  that  description.  It  has  pre- 
served "  virtue  in  its  dignity  and  taught  innocence  not  to 
be  ashamed."  If  ever  you  should  be  led  to  visit  this  part 
of  the  country  I  hope  you  will  give  me  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  you,  and  perhaps  my  duties  would  not  intervene  to 
prevent  rne  from  attending  you  to  any  interesting  objects 
or  scenery  in  this  State  to  which  your  taste  or  scientific 
researches  might  direct  you. 

I  am,  with  much  respect, 
Yours,  &c. 

JAMES  KENT. 


LETTER  TO  CHANCELLOR  KENT.  251 

PROFESSOR    SILLIMAN    TO    CHANCELLOR   KF,NT. 

NKW  HAVKN,  April  30, 1810. 

DEAR  SIR, — I  have  the  pleasure  of  acknowledging  your 
favor  of  the  llth  inst,  and  you  will  do  me  the  justice  to 
believe  that  uncommon  occupation  and  not  insensibility  to 
your  kindness  has  alone  prevented  me  from  thanking  you 
before  for  an  honor  which  was  as  unexpected  as  gratifying. 
Although  I  have  not  been  so  happy  as  to  enjoy  your  ac- 
quaintance I  am  not  ignorant  of  the  character  which  you 
have  long  sustained,  nor  of  the  enhanced  value  attached  to 
a  spontaneous  commendation  flowing  from  such  a  source. 
There  is  something  in  the  manner  of  a  kindness  which  is 
often  as  important  as  the  substance,  "and  you  will  allow  me 
to  say,  sir,  that  no  mark  of  approbation  could  have  been 
communicated  in  a  way  more  delicate  and  generous,  or  have 
been  more  grateful  to  my  feelings.  Although  I  was  sup- 
ported by  the  opinions  of  friends  whose  judgment  I  re- 
spected, I  dismissed  the  Journal  with  unfeigned  diffidence, 
and  endeavored  to  prepare  myself  for  the  sneers  of  fastid- 
ious criticism,  if  not  for  the  condemning  sentence  of  the 
candid  and  discerning.  But  when  you,  sir,  assure  me  that 
you  have  found  my  book  "  one  of  the  most  instructive  and 
interesting  views  of  England  that  any  single  traveller  has 
ever  presented,"  and,  more  than  all,  that  "  it  has  preserved 
virtue  in  its  dignity,  and  taught  innocence  not  to  be 
ashamed,"  I  confess  I  feel  my  courage  so  much  fortified 
that  I  can  look  forward  with  composure  to  treatment  of  a 
different  character.  Should  I  ever  visit  Albany  again,  it 
will  give  me  great  pleasure  to  avail  myself  of  your  kind- 
ness, and  I  shall  take  as  much  pleasure  in  receiving  the 
polite  and  useful  attentions  which  you  offer  as  I  should  in 
returning  or  advancing  them  should  you  visit  New  Haven, 
or  should  circumstances  ever  allow  me  the  pleasure  of 
meeting  you  at  another  place.  Whatever  may  be  the  gen- 
eral voice  respecting  the  Journal,  it  can  never  be  worthless 


252  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

in  my  eyes,  since  it  affords  me  an  opportunity  of  subscribing 
myself,  with  sentiments  of  gratitude  and  respect, 
Your  obliged,  humble  servant, 

B.  SILLIMAN. 

Mr.  Silliman  received  the  following  letter  from  the 
eminent  statesman  and  philanthropist  whom  he  had 
met  in  England,  and  to  whom  he  had  sent  a  copy 
of  the  "  Journal  of  Travels." 

FROM   MR.    WILBERFORCE. 

(Near)  LONDON,  January  28,  1811. 

SIR,  — I  fear  I  may  appear  chargeable  with  the  imputa- 
tion of  making  a  very  unfriendly  return  for  the  kindness 
which  obtained  for  me  the  obliging  marks  of  your  remem- 
brance with  which  I  was  favored  about  three  weeks  since, 
in  delaying  for  so  long  a  time  to  make  my  acknowledg- 
ments ;  but  I  can  truly  assure  you  that  my  dilatoriness  has 
not  arisen  from  my  having  been  insensible  to  your  obliging 
conduct  towards  me ;  but  I  have  been,  and  indeed  I  still 
am,  exceedingly  occupied  both  with  public,  and,  as  it  hap- 
pens, with  private  business,  and  being  thus  circumstanced, 
I  have  naturally  put  off  sitting  down  to  a  letter  which  I 
conceived  might  probably  wait  in  the  post-office  a  week  or 
more  before  it  would  depart.  But  in  justice  to  myself,  I 
must  no  longer  remain  silent,  though  I  can  now  do  little 
more  than  thank  you  for  the  kind  recollections  which 
prompted  you  to  send  me  a  proof  of  your  regard.  I  shall 
avail  myself  of  some  of  my  first  leisure  intervals  for  pe- 
rusing your  book,  convinced  that  the  remarks  of  an  intel- 
ligent writer  (I  do  not  like  to  call  a  subject  of  the  United 
States,  stranger  or  even  foreigner,  though  a  member  of  a 
different  community)  who  lives  in  a  circle  different  from 
our  own,  may  afford  both  profit  and  pleasure.  I  should 
have  been  happy  to  introduce  you  to  Mrs.  II.  More,  whom, 
besides  respecting  her  as  one  of  the  most  elegant  writers 


LETTER  FROM  MR.  WILBERFORCE.  253 

and  useful  characters  of  our  age,  I  have  the  pleasure,  find 
indeed  honor,  to  number  among  my  personal  friends.  The 
praise  due  to  her  for  her  writings  is  scarcely  less  than  that 
which  she  has  justly  earned  by  her  humane  and  judicious 
labors,  carried  on  now  for  many  years,  in  educating  and 
improving  the  lower  orders  of  a  populous  country,  which 
she  found  in  a  very  rude  and  ignorant  state.  I  cannot  lay 
down  my  pen,  though  forced  to  draw  towards  a  conclusion, 
without  expressing  my  most  earnest  hopes,  that  instead  of 
mutual  jealousy  and  recrimination,  much  more,  instead  of 
an  actual  rupture  between  our  two  countries,  they  may  be 
long  united  together  by  the  bonds  of  reciprocal  esteem, 
confidence,  and  affection.  It  cannot  be  that  the  well-being 
of  each  is  inconsistent,  rather  let  me  say  is  not  identical, 
with  that  of  the  other.  To  admit  the  contrary  supposition, 
would  almost  deserve  the  name  of  blasphemy  against  the 
great  Creator  of  us  both,  and  surely  we  can  never  so  well 
fulfil  His  purposes,  or  provide  for  our  common  happiness, 
as  by  striving  to  maintain  between  us  unbroken  peace  and 
harmony.  This  may  include  in  special  cases  a  disposition 
to  forego  on  either  side  some  temporary  gain,  but  again  to 
be  far  more  than  compensated  by  a  greater  and  more  dura- 
ble benefit  I  have  no  time  to  dilate,  explain,  or  qualify  ; 
but  trusting  these  effusions  of  the  heart  to  your  candor, 
and  may  I  not  also  hope,  to  your  fellow-feeling, 
I  remain,  sir, 

Your  faithful  servant, 

W.  WILBERFORCE. 

p.  g.  —  I  am  chiefly  occupied  (inter  alia)  in  considering 
how  best  to  enforce  the  act  for  abolishing  the  slave-trade, 
which,  I  grieve  to  say,  is  shamefully  evaded.  I  must  add, 
by  none  so  much  as  by  your  countrymen  ;  I  should,  how- 
ever, say,  by  individuals  among  them,  for  the  government 
of  America  has  shown  an  eager  disposition  to  enforce  your 
own  laws  against  that  wicked  traffic ;  but  the  aid  of  indi- 
viduals may  be  more  useful  in  this  case,  by  obtaining  intel- 


254  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ligence,  especially  legal  evidences  of  breaches  of  the  act, 
and  assisting  prosecutions,  &c.,  &c.  I  am  persuaded  I  need 
not  apologize  for  this  hint. 

Mr.  Silliman  persevered  in  zealous  attention  to  his 
professional  pursuits.  While  engaged  in  his  labora- 
tory, in  the  preparation  of  fulminating  silver,  the 
materials  exploded  in  the  vessel  over  which  he  was 
bending.  The  accident  is  described  in  the  Reminis- 
cences. 

My  own  experience  in  chemistry  had  hitherto  been  very 
successful.  I  devoted  myself  laboriously  and  zealously  to 
the  duties  of  the  laboratory,  and  had  now  acquired  a  good 
degree  of  confidence  in  my  own  experience,  —  too  much 
indeed,  as  the  sequel  will  prove.  I  had  still  to  a  degree 
the  characteristics  of  youth,  and  was  just  advancing  into 
mature  manhood. 

After  detailing  the  process  of  the  experiment,  he 
adds: — 

My  face  and  eyes  being  directly  over  the  dish,  they 
received  the  full  force  of  a  violent  explosion,  which  threw 
me  back  upon  the  wall  behind,  and  produced  intense  pain 
both  from  the  concussion  and  from  the  corrosive  materials, 
• —  alcohol,  nitric  acid,  and  lunar  caustic,  —  blown  forcibly 
into  my  eyes.  I  was  stunned,  but  not  deprived  of  my  con- 
sciousness, and  1  fully  comprehended  my  perilous  condi- 
tion. I  was  entirely  alone  ;  my  assistant,  Lyman  Foot, 
having  gone  away  on  an  errand.  I  made  my  way,  in  the 
horror  of  deep  darkness,  —  for  my  eyes  were  involuntarily 
shut,  —  I  groped  my  way  to  the  pneumatic  cistern,  the  only 
water  that  I  could  hope  to  reach.  It  was  covered  with 
drawers  full  of  minerals,  but  I  managed  to  throw  some  of 
them  aside,  and  thus  reached  the  water  with  which  I 
washed  my  face,  and  especially  my  eyes  abundantly.  My 


ACCIDENT  IN  THE  LABORATORY.  255 

first  anxiety  was  to  ascertain  whether  fragments  of  the 
porcelain  dish  had  hit  and  penetrated  the  balls  of  the  eyes. 
With  intense  anxiety  I  passed  my  fingers  carefully  over  the 
blind  orbs,  and  to  my  inexpressible  relief,  ascertained  that 
the  eyes  were  there  and  not  lacerated.  I  then  pulled  the 
lids  apart,  one  after  the  other  on  both  eyes,  and  to  my  great 
and  grateful  satisfaction,  found  that  the  objects  in  the  room 
could  be  dimly  discerned  as  if  through  a  thick  and  yellow 
haze.  I  had  now  done  everything  for  myself  that  I  could 
possibly  do  alone,  and  sat  down  to  await  the  arrival  of  my 
assistant.  Happily  he  came  at  the  critical  moment.  The 
carriage  of  my  friend  and  family  physician,  Dr.  Eli  Ives, 
was  at  hand,  and  I  was  borne  to  my  own  house,  distressed, 
even  more  than  by  the  injury,  because  I  must  inflict  severe 
mental  suffering  upon  my  devoted  and  affectionate  wife. 
Her  firmness  was,  however,  equal  to  her  kindness,  and  no 
heroine  of  romance  or  of  the  battle-field  could  have  be- 
haved better. 

It  was  an  hour  of  dismay  when  I  was  carried,  a  blind 
and  suffering  man,  to  my  before  happy  home,  —  perhaps, 
like  Milton  in  that  one  particular,  to  behold  no  more  the 
loved  faces  of  my  excellent  wife,  my  sweet  daughter  of 
one  year  and  one  month,*  and  of  many  loving  and  loved 
friends.  As  I  passed  along  from  the  College,  I  prayed 
mentally  that  I  might  not  thus  be  consigned  to  darkness, 
so  early  after  I  had  begun  my  professional  career,  and  in 
the  bright  morning  of  my  domestic  happiness.  I  was  then 
nearly  through  my  thirty-second  year,  and  had  been  but 
five  years  fully  established  in  my  professorship.  But  it 
pleased  God  to  give  me  in  time  perfect  restoration.  My  eyes 
gradually  recovered  their  strength  ;  and  now,  forty- seven 
and  a  half  years  after  the  accident,  and  when  I  am  almost 

*  His  eldest  child,  Maria,  now  Mrs.  John  B.  Church,  of  New  York,  was 
born  June  16,  1810.  The  birth  of  this  child,  writes  Mr.  Silliman,  "sent 
joy  to  many  hearts  and  grateful  thanks  to  Heaven.  With  this  new  theme 
of  gratulation  came  a  new  motive  for  exertion  and  a  novel  source  of  hap- 
piness,—  which,  blessed  be  God,  still  remains."  — F. 


256  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

half  way  through  my  eightieth  year,  I  am  writing  without 
glasses,  my  eye  is  not  dim  by  reason  of  age,  nor  is  my  nat- 
ural force  abated ;  and  I  bless  my  great  Preserver  that  I 
am  so  exempt  from  infirmities  incident  to  the  evening  of 
life,  that  I  am  passing  comfortably  and  hopefully  through 
my  evening  twilight,  and  looking  forward  to  the  glorious 
morning  light,  which  will  break  forth  beyond  the  dark 
valley. 

About  the  time  of  this  accident,  Mr.  Silliman  re- 
ceived a  noble  accession  to  the  means  of  illustrating 
one  of  his  favorite  sciences. 

In  the  winter  of  1809-10,  Colonel  Gibbs,  on  a  journey, 
called  on  me  in  the  evening,  and,  as  usual  when  we  met, 
the  conversation  turned  on  the  cabinet,  and  I  inquired : 
"  Have  you  yet  determined  where  you  will  open  your  col- 
lection ?  "  To  my  great  surprise  he  immediately  replied : 
"  I  will  open  it  here  in  Yale  College,  if  you  will  fit  up 
rooms  for  its  reception."  I  rejoined  :  "Are  you  in  earnest  ?  " 
and  he  instantly  responded  :  "  I  am."  "  May  I  then  con- 
sult President  Dwight  and  the  college  authorities  on  the 
subject  ?  "  "  You  may,  as  soon  as  you  please." 

I  was  thus  suddenly  called  upon  to  think  of  and  pro- 
pose some  feasible  plan  for  the  accommodation  of  this 
large  cabinet.  There  was  no  building  on  the  college 
ground  fitted  for  its  reception.  I  lost  no  time,  however,  in 
laying  the  subject  before  President  Dwight.  His  enlarged 
mind  warmly  espoused  the  design,  and,  without  hesitation, 
acceded  to  the  plan  which  I  suggested.  The  alleys  or  en- 
tries of  the  college  halls  divide  them  crosswise  or  trans- 
versely ;  and  two  rooms,  with  their  bedchambers  and 
closets,  occupy  the  breadth  of  the  building.  I  proposed  to 
knock  down  all  these  divisions  in  the  second  floor,  north 
end  of  South  Middle,  throw  the  entire  space  into  one  room, 
and  thus  establish  a  mineral  gallery,  lighted  at  both  ends 
by  two  windows.  The  dimensions  of  the  room  thus  pre- 


WAR  WITH  GREAT  BRITAIN.  257 

pared  would  be  forty  by  eighteen  feet  Colonel  Gibbs  hav- 
ing observed  the  premises,  approved  of  the  plan,  and  no 

time  was  lost  in  taking  steps  to  carry  it  into  effect 

While  the  work  was  in  progress,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ely,  one  of 
the  most  active  and  efficient  members  of  the  College  Cor- 
poration and  of  the  Prudential  Committee,  said  to  me,  on 
inspecting  the  work  :  "  Why,  Domine,"  (his  usual  style  in 
college  matters,)  "  Domine,  is  there  not  danger  that  with 
these  physical  attractions  you  will  overtop  the  Latin  and 
the  Greek  ?  "  I  replied  :  "  Sir,  let  the  literary  gentlemen 
push  and  sustain  their  departments.  It  is  my  duty  to  give 

full  effect  to  the  sciences  committed  to  my  care." 

Nothing  had  been  before  seen  in  this  country  which  could, 
as  regards  mineralogy,  be  compared  with  this  cabinet.  It 
kindled  the  enthusiasm  of  the  students,  and  excited  the 
admiration  of  intelligent  strangers.  It  was  visited  by  many 
travellers,  and  New  Haven  was  then  a  focus  of  travel  be- 
tween North  and  South.  Railroads  were  unknown,  and 
navigation  by  steam  had  hardly  begun.  The  compara- 
tively slow-moving  coaches  conveyed  the  passengers,  who 
were  generally  willing  to  pass  a  little  time  in  New  Haven ; 
and  the  cabinet  of  Colonel  Gibbs  afforded  a  powerful  at- 
traction, while  it  afforded  also  a  high  gratification.  The 
liberal  proprietor  of  the  cabinet  was  himself  highly  grat- 
ified, both  by  the  brilliant  appearance  of  the  collection,  and 
by  the  admiration  of  the  country,  and  especially  by  that  of 
such  men  as  the  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy,  the  lion.  Harrison 
Gray  Otis,  Hon.  Daniel  Webster,  Col.  David  Humphreys, 
and  other  eminent  individuals  who  were  among  the  vis- 
itors. Trains  of  ladies  graced  this  hall  of  science  ;  and  thus 
mute  and  animated  nature  acted  in  unison,  in  making  the 
cabinet  a  delightful  resort. 

Before  his  new  treasures  had  been  deposited  on 
their  shelves,  Mr.  Silliman  had  been  disturbed  in  his 
work  by  the  alarms  of  war. 

VOL.  I.  17 


258  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

June,  1812,  is  rendered  memorable  by  events  associated 
in  my  mind.  Mr.  Mills  Day,  a  tutor  in  Yale  College,  and 
brother  of  Professor  (afterwards  President)  Day,  lay  dead 
at  his  brother's  house  on  the  corner  of  Orange  and  Crown 
Streets.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Daniel  Wadsworth  were  in  my 
house  on  a  visit ;  and  Colonel  Gibbs  was  in  town,  ready  to 
proceed  with  the  opening  of  the  cabinet,  when,  on  a  Sab- 
bath morning  in  June,  the  tidings  came  of  the  declaration 
of  war  with  England.  A  thrill  of  painful  excitement  —  an 
electrical  stroke  —  vibrated  through  the  Continent.  It 
was  a  thrill  of  horror  to  all  good  minds  that  were  not  par- 
alyzed by  party  ;  for  fraternal  blood,  after  a  peace  of  almost 
thirty  years,  was  now  to  be  shed  again  ;  and  it  did  flow  in 
torrents.  This  war  of  less  than  three  years,  —  indeed,  only 
two  years  and  eight  months,  —  sent  probably  50,000  men 
on  both  sides  to  premature  graves,  while  nothing  was 
gained  on  either  side  but  military  and  naval  renown,  — 
dearly  bought.  A  spirit  of  justice  and  mutual  conciliation 
would  have  prevented  the  conflict.  On  our  side  we  gained 
not  one  of  the  points  for  which  we  had  contended.  In  the 
treaty  of  peace  concluded  at  Ghent  in  December,  1814, 
the  principal  alleged  causes  of  the  war  —  the  right  of 
search  for  the  property  of  an  enemy,  and  the  impressment 
of  American  seamen  —  are  not  even  mentioned.  But  I 
forbear.  The  painful  topic  was,  however,  not  without  an 
important  bearing  upon  the  peaceful  pursuits  of  science. 
The  question  of  course  arose  in  our  minds :  Shall  we  pro- 
ceed to  open  more  treasures  in  a  maritime  town,  —  treas- 
ures which  we  cannot  remove,  and  which  may  be  destroyed 
by  the  vicissitudes  of  war  ?  We  concluded,  however,  to 
trust  in  God  and  proceed  with  our  work. 

Colonel  Gibbs  devoted  himself  with  great  zeal  to  our 
pleasant  labor,  and  he  was  quite  satisfied  to  remain  quietly 
in  New  Haven,  for  he  had  brought  with  him  a  treasure 
more  valuable  than  his  gems.  Miss  Lnura  Wolcott, 
daughter  of  the  distinguished  statesman  and  patriot,  the 


THE  GIBBS  CABINET.  .      259 

Hon.  Oliver  Wolcott,  now  appeared  here  as  Mrs.  Gibbs, 
and  cheered  our  labors  by  her  agreeable  society  and 
assistance.  The  work  went  on  cheerfully,  and  by  mid- 
summer we  had  occupied  the  new  cases,  and  the  entire 
circuit  presented  a  rich  and  beautiful  sight.  The  fame  of 
this  cabinet  was  now  blazoned  through  the  land,  and  at- 
tracted increasing  numbers  of  visitors.  This  collection 
doubtless  exerted  its  influence  upon  the  public  mind  in 
attracting  students  to  the  College,  and  was  regarded  as  a 
very  valuable  as  well  as  brilliant  acquisition.  The  collec- 
tions were  all  (I  am  not  aware  of  any  general  catalogue  of  the 
Russian  Collection  *  )  furnished  with  catalogues,  scientific 
and  popular ;  and  it  could  not  happen  that  the  opening  and 
examining  of  ten  thousand  specimens,  with  a  frequent  refer- 
ence to  the  descriptive  catalogues,  could  fail  to  give  greater 
extension  and  precision  to  my  knowledge  of  the  subject. 
I  had  become  a  zealous  student  of  mineralogy  and  geology, 
and  now  felt  that  the  time  had  come  to  present  them  with 
more  strength  and  fulness  than  in  former  years. 

Hitherto  the  public  instructions  in  mineralogy  and  geol- 
ogy—  I  mean  those  which  were  intended  for  the  entire 
classes  —  had  been  given,  as  I  have  already  stated,  in  the 
laboratory  in  connection  with  the  chemical  courses.  The 
lectures  to  the  private  class  on  the  Perkins  cabinet  had 
been  given  in  my  chamber.  Being  now  furnished  with 
ample  means  of  illustration,  I  separated  the  lectures  on 
mineralogy  and  geology  from  the  chemical  course.  The 
Perkins  cabinet  was  brought  over  to  the  newly  prepared 
rooms,  that  thus  all  the  resources  in  the  department  might 
be  in  one  place.  The  requisite  fixtures  of  table  and  seats 
were  also  introduced ;  and  as  soon  as  practicable,  I  began 
to  lecture  in  the  new  rooms,  but  I  believe  not  fully,  until 
the  next  year,  1813.  Thus  the  department  became  fully 
inaugurated,  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  progress 
from  the  small  box  of  unlabelled  minerals,  carried  to  Phil- 
*  The  "Russian  Collection"  formed  a  part  of  Col.  Gibbs's  cabinet  — F. 


260      t  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

adelphia  to  be  named  by  Dr.  Seybert  in  1802-3,  —  the 
triumphant  progress  from  this  humble  beginning  to  the 
splendid  cabinet  of  twelve  thousand  specimens  by  which 
I  was  now  surrounded  ;  and  many  more  were  contained  in 
closets  and  in  drawers. 

The  Medical  Institution  of  Yale  College.  —  Tt  is  not  my 
purpose  to  give  a  history  of  this  department,  but  I  must 
make  some  mention  of  it  on  account  of  my  own  connection 
with  it.  Rev.  Dr.  Nathan  Strong  of  Hartford,  then  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Corporation  of  the  College,  introduced,  in  1806.  a 
resolution  for  establishing  a  Medical  Professor  —  such  is 
the  language  of  the  resolution  ;  doubtless  it  was  intended  as 
the  leading  step  towards  a  Medical  School,  which  actually 
took  its  origin  from  that  resolution  —  in  the  College  ;  and 
I  had  the  honor  of  being  named  with  him  as  a  committee 
to  examine  and  report,  and  to  devise  means  for  effecting 
the  object.  There  was  a  general  Medical  Society  for  the 
State,  and  there  were  local  societies  for  the  counties,  and 
to  the  last  named  belonged  the  duty  of  examining  and 
licensing  candidates  for  practice.  At  first  there  was  jeal- 
ousy of  the  College,  and  it  was  necessary  to  conciliate.  I 
omit  the  mention  of  many  intermediate  steps,  and  come  at 
once  to  the  important  measure,  —  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  of  conference  and  consultation,  —  an  equal  num- 
ber being  appointed  by  the  Medical  Society  and  by  the  Cor- 
poration of  the  College.  President  Dwight  was  at  the  head 
of  the  college  committee,  of  which  1  was  a  member.  Dr. 
Woodward,  the  elder,  led  the  medical  committee,  of  which 
Dr.  Eli  Ives  was  a  member.  The  joint  committee  met  in 
my  chamber  in  the  Lyceum.  The  prejudices  with  which 
some  of  the  medical  men  appeared  to  have  come  to  the 
meeting,  were  removed,  and  harmonious  action  ensued.  .  . 
I  pass  over  the  various  enactments  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, of  the  Corporation  of  the  College,  and  of  the  Medical 
Society,  which  were  necessary  to  authorize  and  organize  the 


THE  MEDICAL  SCHOOL.  261 

medical  institution  and  to  carry  it  into  effect.  In  the  end 
everything  was  harmoniously  effected.  A  new  stone  build- 
ing, erected  by  the  Hon.  James  Hillhouse,  was  rented  to 
accommodate  the  lectures,  and  after  some  years  it  was  pur- 
chased   The  medical  students  attended  the 

lectures  in  the  college  laboratory  along  with  academical 
students,  but  with  separate  seats.  The  laboratory  was  en- 
larged for  their  accommodation.  I  gave  them  also  distinct 
instruction  on  their  own  subjects,  both  by  lectures  and  re- 
citation  The  institution  has  been  decidedly  suc- 
cessful, as  regards  valuable  instruction  and  the  elevation  of 
the  medical  profession  in  the  State.  As  regards  the  num- 
ber of  students,  it  has  been  only  moderately  successful. 

^Vhen  the  subject  of  the  organization  of  the  Medical  Col- 
lege was  under  discussion  in  the  Corporation,  I  was  present 
and  heard  from  the  Hon.  Chauncey  Goodrich  the  following 
observations,  succeeded  by  a  distinct  proposition.  "The 
medical  class,"  he  remarked,  "  having  a  building  devoted 
to  their  use,  and  many  of  them  having  their  rooms  there, 
they  constitute  in  fact  a  peculiar  family,  and  they  ought 
to  have  a  family  constitution.  There  must,  therefore,  be 
prayers,  as  in  the  College  proper."  The  proposition  was 
accepted  with  little  discussion,  and  without  inquiring  for 
my  opinion.  Not  being  a  member  of  the  Corporation,  I 
could  not  volunteer  in  the  discussion.  I  did  not,  however, 
believe  it  to  be  a  wise  measure,  although  proposed  by  a 
very  wise  and  good  man.  A  transient  collection  of  students, 
most  of  them  without  previous  discipline,  afforded  but  a 
small  prospect  of  a  reverent  and  attentive  audience  ;  but 
the  attempt  succeeded  better  than  I  expected,  and  some 
special  religious  meetings  were  held  in  the  Medical  College 
on  Sabbath  evenings.  Commons  were  also  instituted  in 
the  Medical  College  as  a  family ;  but  the  experiment  was 

unfortunate Neither   did   the   inhabiting   of  the 

building  by  the  students  produce  a  happy  result.  They 
were,  in  their  habits,  too  familiar,  sometimes  noisy  and 


262  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

rude,  and  of  course  the  studious  individuals  were  annoyed 
by  their  more  restless  companions.  By  degrees  the  entire 
building,  except  the  wing,  was  relinquished  in  favor  of  the 
public  purposes  of  the  institution,  and  the  attempt  at  sus- 
taining a  family  condition  was  tacitly  relinquished. 

The  decisive  and  sanguinary  battle  of  1814  on  Lake 
Champlain  between  the  American  commander  McDonough, 
and  the  British  commodore  Downie,  —  fatal  to  the  latter, — 
followed  the  not  less  bloody  and  equally  decisive  conflict 
of  1813,  on  Lake  Erie,  between  the  commanders  Perry 
and  Barclay.  I  should  hardly  allude  to  these  events,  had 
not  the  same  state  of  things  placed  us  in  peril  upon  the 
seaboard,  and  caused  us  to  hesitate,  even  in  our  quiet  and 
peaceful  walks  of  science.  British  cruisers  and  squad- 
rons occupied  Long  Island  Sound  and  Gardiner's  Bay. 
Our  local  commerce  by  water  was  suspended,  and  heavy 
land-wagons  laden  with  flour  and  other  objects  of  traffic,  and 
drawn  by  teams  of  four  and  six  horses,  constantly  traversed 
the  roads  between  New  York  and  Boston.  Some  hesitating 
scruples  we  had  indeed  felt  while  unpacking  and  arranging 
our  minerals,  lest  the  chances  of  war  should  reach  and 
destroy  them  ;  and  we  were  hardly  settled  in  our  enjoyment 
of  these  treasures,  when  increased  strength  was  given  to 
our  apprehensions  by  British  depredations  on  Connecticut 
River,  and  by  the  appearance  of  a  British  squadron  at  anchor 
near  Guilford,  only  sixteen  miles  from  New  Haven.  Two 
hours  of  favoring  winds  might  place  them  at  the  mouth  of 
our  harbor;  their  spars  were  distinctly  visible  from  our 
heights,  and  we  could  make  out  a  ship  of  the  line,  a  frigate, 
and  a  sloop  of  war. 

The  citizens  of  New  Haven  had,  for  some  weeks,  been 
alarmed,  and  the  bombardment  of  Stonington  had  shown 
the  probability  that  New  Haven  might  be  assailed  in  the 
same  manner,  although  the  want  of  depth  of  water  in  the 
harbor  might  afford  protection  against  large  ships,  but  not 


DEFENCE  OF  NEW  HAVEN.  263 


against  bomb-ketches.  Money  was  contributed  by  the  citi- 
zens, and  personal  labor  also  was  contributed  to  strengthen 
the  old  fort  of  the  Revolution  on  Prospect  Hill,  east  of  the 
harbor.  Officers  of  the  College  and  their  pupils  entered 
zealously  into  the  plans  of  defence,  and  quotas  of  the 
students,  say  fifty  at  a  time,  led  by  their  officers,  worked 
in  relief-parties  along  with  the  citizens.  Professor  Day 
and  myself  were  among  the  laborers ;  we  worked  in  ear- 
nest, as  our  blistered  hands  might  prove.  Engineering 
skill  was  also  employed  ;  a  substantial  bomb-proof  was  con- 
structed to  contain  the  powder ;  the  old  breastwork  in  the 
form  of  a  regular  redoubt  was  raised,  and  a  triangular  out- 
work to  protect  the  gate  on  the  land  side.  Some  heavy  can- 
non were  drawn  up  from  Fort  Hale,  —  a  low  and  indefen- 
sible water-battery  but  little  above  the  waves.  There  were 
no  soldiers,  however,  to  man  our  main  fort,  but  the  citizens 
and  military  companies  volunteered.  On  the  day  when  the 
British  squadron  were  descried  near  Guilford,  the  com- 
panies paraded.  I  saw  Mr.  James  A.  Hillhouse,  the  scholar 
and  poet,  in  the  ranks,  marching  with  shouldered  musket 
as  a  volunteer,  emulating  the  example  of  his  noble  father, 
when  this  city  was  invaded  by  the  British  forces,  July  3, 
1779,  during  the  American  Revolution.  Happily  our  alarms 
died  away  and  no  hostile  aggression  was  made.  On  one 
occasion  there  was  a  report  that  a  small  British  cruiser  was 
in  the  Sound,  and  forthwith  an  artillery  company,  com- 
manded by  Captain  Philos  Blake,  volunteered  to  go  out  to 
attack  the  enemy.  I  saw  them  embark  on  board  a  sloop 
at  the  end  of  the  long  wharf,  with  their  pieces  of  field  artil- 
lery mounted  as  for  long  service.  I  saw  it  with  regret,  for 
it  was  obvious  that  they  stood  no  chance  against  ship-guns, 
and  that  their  only  hope  would  be  the  forlorn  one  of  board- 
ing. Happily  they  did  not  sail,  and  Captain  Blake  remains 
my  neighbor  to  this  day.* 

*  Captain  Blake  states  that  Major  Thomas  Sherman  had  the  chief  com- 
mand, and  that  they  sailed  for  some  distance  out  into  the  harbor  before  they 
were  led  to  abandon  this  imprudent  enterprise.  —  F. 


264  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

The  most  interesting  domestic  event  of  this  year  (1814), 
was  the  birth  of  a  son.  Jonathan  Trumbnll  Silliman  was 
born  August  24,  1814,  in  the  midst  of  the  alarms  of  war, 
on  the  very  day  on  which  the  city  of  Washington  was  de- 
stroyed by  a  British  army.  The  Government  was  dis- 
graced by  permitting  this  capture;  and  the  British  dis- 
graced themselves,  not  by  burning  the  ships  and  the  muni- 
tions of  naval  warfare  at  the  navy-yard,  —  for  that  was 
within  the  rules  of  war,  —  but  by  destroying  by  fire  the 
National  Capitol,  the  Presidential  Palace,  the  National 
Library,  and  Public  Offices.  It  was  indeed  said  in  pallia- 
tion, that  General  Dearborn's  army  had  committed  similar 
atrocities  at  Little  York,  on  Lake  Ontario,  now  Toronto. 
If  so,  they  also  disgraced  themselves.  The  little  stranger, 
unconscious  of  these  events,  brought  joy  to  the  hearts  of 
his  parents  during  the  almost  five  years  of  his  short  life, 
and  deep  sorrow  when  his  beautiful  form  was  laid  in  a  pre- 
mature grave,  June  27,  1819. 

But  of  this  severe  bereavement  I  may  say  somewhat 
more,  when  in  these  annals  that  day  arrives, — dark,  indeed, 
in  parental  grief,  but  bright  in  the  full  assurance  that  the 
lovely  boy,  who,  while  with  us,  won  all  hearts,  became  in  a 
better  world  like  an  angel  of  light.  The  sanguinary  and  de- 
cisive battle  of  New  Orleans  had  been  fought  and  won  on 
the  8th  of  January,  1815.  Many  other  victories  had  been 
obtained  by  land  and  by  sea  ;  but  still  the  war  was  very 
distressing,  and  tidings  were  eagerly  desired  from  our 
Commissioners,  who  were  in  conference  with  the  British 
Commissioners  at  Ghent.  As  we  were  going  to  the  chapel 
service  in  the  afternoon  of  an  early  Sabbath  in  February, 
we  met  Mr.  Wm.  M'Crackan,  who  informed  us  that  an  ex- 
press had  just  passed  through  town  from  Boston,  bearing 
the  joyful  news  of  peace.  I  suppose  that  the  news  had 
not  been  made  known,  and  it  was  announced  by  President 
Dwight  from  the  pulpit  by  reading  the  following  very 
appropriate  hymn:  — 


LECTURES  ON  MINERALOGY.         265 

"  Great  Ruler  of  the  earth  and  skies, 
A  word  of  thy  almighty  breath 
Can  sink  the  world  or  bid  it  rise: 
Thy  smile  is  life,  thy  frown  is  death. 

When  angry  nations  rush  to  arms, 

And  rage  and  noise  and  tumult  reign, 
And  war  resounds  its  dire  alarms, 

And  slaughter  spreads  the  hostile  plains;  — 

Thy  sovereign  eye  looks  calmly  down, 
And  marks  their  course  and  bounds  their  power; 

Thy  word  the  angry  nations  own, 
And  noise  and  war  are  heard  no  more." 

The  audience  were  thrilled  with  joy.  The  impressive 
manner  of  the  President,  with  a  touch  of  pathos,  as  he  was 
himself  deeply  affected,  and  the  following  prayer,  —  grate- 
ful, fervent,  and  eloquent,  —  produced  a  powerful  effect. 
The  city  was  illuminated  on  Monday  night,  and  the  people 
manifested  their  joy  by  congratulations  and  many  sportive 
exhibitions. 

The  summer  of  1815  found  the  cabinet  fully  arranged, 
and  the  lectures  of  that  department  well  systematized  and 
established.  I  gave  elementary  mineralogy  in  a  course, 
generally  twelve  or  fifteen  lectures.  They  were  given 
in  the  spring,  and  the  geology  followed.  The  private 
course  was  also  continued,  parallel  with  the  public  course. 
The  lectures  on  geology  were  delivered  in  the  summer, 
and  the  lectures  relating  to  both  mineralogy  and  geology 
were  given  in  the  cabinet,  which  had  now  become  the 
grand  repository  of  all  the  specimens  in  these  departments. 

President  Dwight,  who,  from  the  first,  took  a  deep  inter- 
est in  the  lectures  on  these  subjects,  was  now  more  inter- 
ested than  ever,  and  was  generally  present,  particularly  at 
the  lectures  on  geology. 

My  early  friend,  Robert  Hare,  who,  ten  or  twelve  years 
before,  led  me  in  chemistry,  was  now  content  to  follow  me 
in  geology,  which  he  had  not  studied.  Having  formed  a 


266  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

happy  alliance  with  a  superior  and  lovely  lady,  Miss  Har- 
riet Clark  of  Providence,  he  came  to  pass  the  summer  in 
New  Haven,  and  was  daily  with  me  in  the  cabinet,  and  in 
attendance  on  the  lectures.  He  became  well  informed  in 
geology,  and  made  valuable  observations,  as  he  travelled, 
during  subsequent  years. 

In  the  autumn  of  1815  a  fever  prevailed  in  New  Haven, 
and  I  removed  Mrs.  Silliman  and  the  children  to  Walling- 
ford.  I  remained  most  of  the  time  in  town,  going  out  fre- 
quently to  my  family,  until  the  malady  had  subsided.  In 
September  there  was  a  very  destructive  gale  which  devas- 
tated the  coast  of  New  England.  It  blew  from  the  south- 
east, and  the  saline  spray  was  blown  far  into  the  interior 
of  the  country.  There  was  a  saline  incrustation  upon  the 
front  windows  of  my  house,  and  the  fruit-trees  that  were 
not  protected  by  the  buildings  were  killed.  The  twigs 
and  leaves  were  said  to  be  salted  as  far  inland  as  Worces- 
ter, Mass.  The  town  of  Providence  presented  an  appal- 
ling scene  of  devastation.  My  friend,  Mr.  Wadsworth, 
proposed  to  me  to  go  with  him  to  see  it.  We  travelled  in 
his  phaeton,  and  saw  with  painful  interest  the  records  of  the 
tempest,  in  ships  on  shore,  high  and  dry  in  the  streets,  or 
on  high  sandbanks,  and  in  ruined  warehouses  and  dwell- 
ings. Mr.  Wadsworth  made  a  pen-and-ink  sketch  of  the 
scene  as  it  appeared  from  an  upper  room  in  our  hotel ;  and 
this  drawing,  bold,  graphic,  and  effective,  I  have  preserved 
to  this  day.  We  returned  to  his  beautiful  villa  at  Monte 
Video,  ten  miles  from  Hartford,  where  the  family  were 
staying. 

Mr.  Silliman,  recording  only  the  events  which 
were  most  noteworthy,  passes  to  the  death  of  his 
illustrious  friend,  Dr.  Dwight. 

This  great  and  good  man  was  called  home,  January  11, 
1817.  His  physical  frame  had  been  growing  more  and 


CORRESPONDENCE.  267 

more  infirm  for  two  or  three  years,  but  his  metital  powers 
remained  almost  to  the  last.  His  disease  was  ascertained 
to  be  of  the  prostate  gland,  —  which  in  popular  language 
is  usually  called  a  cancer  of  that  organ.  His  sufferings 
were  very  severe,  and  surgical  instruments  were  necessary 
for  his  daily,  almost  hourly,  relief.  His  instructions  were 
continued  until  within  a  few  days  of  his  death  ;  but  to- 
wards the  last,  his  mind  wandered,  and  he  sometimes  spoke 
incoherently,  but  he  always  preserved  his  courtesy.  He 
appeared  not  to  be  fully  aware  of  his  approaching  end.  I 
read  aloud  to  him  the  14th,  15th,  and  16th  chapters  of  St. 
John,  which  appeared  to  command  his  earnest  attention. 
When  I  parted  with  him  the  evening  before  his  death,  he 
bade  me  good-night,  and  added  :  u  My  best  respects  to  the 
ladies."  By  invitation  of  the  Corporation,  I  delivered  in 
the  Centre  Church  a  eulogy  upon  his  talents  and  charac- 
ter ;  and  to  this  I  refer  for  my  views. 

The  state  of  public  feeling  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  war  with  Great  Britain  is  indicated  in  the  letters 
which  follow.  The  first  is  from  the  Hon.  Henry  W. 
Desaussure,  the  distinguished  jurist  and  scholar  of 
South  Carolina.  The  writer  of  the  second,  Professor 
Parker  Cleaveland,  of  Bowdoin  College,  was  at  that 
time  preparing  his  meritorious  work  upon  mineral- 
ogy, a  department  in  which  he  acquired  deserved 
honor.  Judge  Daggett,  the  author  of  the  third  letter, 
was  then  United  States  Senator  from  Connecticut.  * 

FROM   JUDGE    DESAUSSURE. 

COLUMBIA,  S.  C.,  July  5, 1814. 

DEAR  SIR, —  I  avail  myself  of  the  opportunity  furnished 
by  my  worthy  friend  Mr.  Hooker,  who  has  the  pleasure  of  a 
personal  acquaintance  with  you,  to  inquire  after  your  health, 
and  to  transmit  you  catalogues  of  the  officers,  graduates, 


208  LITE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

and  students  of  the  College  established  at  this  place  under 
the  State  authority.  You  will  perceive  that  something  has 
been  clone  since  the  work  commenced,  and  I  doubt  not  that 
the  College  will  succeed,  and  will  be  of  very  great  utility  to 
the  country.  You  will,  I  dare  say,  be  struck  with  the  few 
deaths  marked  or  starred  in  the  catalogue ;  and  you  may 
be  induced  to  think  that  this  is  not  so  dying  a  climate  as 
you  northern  gentlemen  usually  think  it  is.  The  truth  is 
that  the  country  from  about  the  falls  of  the  river  which  are 
generally  at  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  the  sea, 
(by  the  road,)  is  a  very  sickly  country.  But  from  thence 
to  the  mountains  it  is  remarkably  healthy.  I  am  inclined 
to  think  that  this  part  of  the  two  or  three  southern  States 
is  the  healthiest  part  of  the  United  States,  being  equally 
free  from  the  bilious  diseases  of  the  flat,  swampy  sea-coast, 
and  the  consumptions,  rheumatisms,  and  pleurisies  of  the 
eastern  and  northern  States,  and  being  absolutely  clear  of 
the  spotted  and  other  malignant  fevers  of  every  species. 

I  am  thus  particular  in  my  communication  to  you, 

because  I  am  persuaded  that  you  take  a  deep  interest  in 
the  success  of  all  literary  institutions.  Indeed,  it  seems  to 
me  that  upon  their  success  depends,  not  only  a  large  por- 
tion of  happiness  in  considerable  numbers  of  the  commu- 
nity, but  the  duration  of  our  free  institutions  and  of  the 
Union  of  the  Republic.  For  no  people  can  remain  long  in 
the  enjoyment  of  so  much  freedom,  so  little  regulated,  with- 
out abusing  it  to  its  destruction,  unless  enlightened  to  a 
.very  high  degree.  I  have,  however,  trespassed  too  long  on 
your  time  already.  Allow  me  only  to  add  my  grief  at  the 
present  deplorable  state  of  our  country.  If  the  same  wise 
and  overruling  Providence  which  has  so  recently  prostrated 
usurpation  and  tyranny  in  Europe,  and  tranquillized  the  na- 
tions, almost  against  all  hope  or  expectation,  does  not  save 
us  and  give  us  peace,  I  fear  we  are  doomed  to  great  suffer- 
ing, and,  what  is  of  infinitely  more  importance,  I  fear 
your  discontents  in  the  East  will  drive  you  to  the  desperate 


CORRESPONDENCE.  269 

isure  of  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  which  would  seal 
the  ruin  of  our  country.  I  am,  dear  sir,  with  very  sincere 
esteem, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

HENRY  W.  DESAUSSURE. 

FROM   PROFESSOR    CLEAVELAND. 

BRUNSWICK,  September  20,  1814. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  long  been  wishing  to  write  you, 
and  among  other  things,  to  thank  you  for  the  politeness, 
&c.,  of  your  last  favor.  I  need  not  attempt  to  describe  to 
you  the  state  of  alarm  in  which  we  have  lived  during  a 
great  proportion  of  the  last  summer ;  for  I  perceive  you 
must  have  participated  in  similar  troubles.  There  is  now 
one  army  of  nearly  t\vo  thousand  men  within  seven  miles 
of  my  house  —  another  of  nearly  three  thousand  at  the  dis- 
tance of  eighteen  miles,  —  and  another,  this  larger,  about 
twenty-six  miles  west  of  us.  It  has  been  supposed,  that 
Brunswick  is  in  very  considerable  danger  of  an  attack,  as 
we  have  two  large  manufacturing  establishments,  and  two 
iron  furnaces,  one  of  which  is  constantly  bringing  forth  the 
means  of  annoyance,  —  as  Mr.  Madison  calls  them,  —  that 
is,  cannon-balls ;  and  more  especially,  as  we  are  so  easily 
accessible  from  the  sea.  I  have  not,  perhaps,  felt  so  much 
consternation  as  many  of  my  neighbors,  because  I  have 
ever  believed  that  college-ground  would  be  held  sacred.  I 
have,  however,  found  it  difficult  to  avoid  entirely  the  con- 
tagion of  alarms,  and  have  for  some  time  kept  my  most 
valuable  papers,  &c.,  in  trunks,  ready  to  decamp  when  I 
see  contiguous  buildings  in  flames.  So  much,  —  and  all  to 
gratify  the  cursed  democracy  of  this  country.  Can  brother 
Day  keep  cool,  even  when  breathing  the  sober  atmosphere 
of  mathematics  ?  I  confess  I  cannot,  —  and,  when  I  re- 
flect on  the  present  state  of  our  native  country,  and  per- 
ceive "  Troja  fuit "  written  on  all  our  greatness,  my  only 
relief  is  to  sally  forth  with  my  hammer,  and  vent  my  feelings 


270  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

in  the  demolition  of  some  rugged  cliff  of  granite  that  rise 
on  the  banks  of  the  Androscoggin.  But  I  have  insensibly 
gotten  into  the  mineral  kingdom,  and  will  now  endeavor  to 
feel  a  little  calmer,  notwithstanding  these  turbulent  times. 
I  still  go  on,  and  suffer  no  day  to  pass  without  a  page  or  two. 
For  several  reasons,  however,  the  work  cannot  appear 
before  the  winter.  Indeed,  were  I  this  day  ready  for  the 
press,  I  should  doubt  the  expediency  of  proceeding  in- 
stantly, such  is  the  universal  state  of  excitation  and  alarm 
throughout  our  country.  I  am  yet  to  receive  considerable 
assistance  from  two  or  three  gentlemen  in  Baltimore, 
which  must,  of  course,  be  delayed  by  recent  events  in 
that  vicinity. 

FROM   HON.    DAVID    DAGGETT. 

WASHINGTON,  November  28, 1814. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  letter  of  the  24th  instant,  concern- 
ing a  twenty-dollar  note  of  one  of  the  banks  of  this  dis- 
trict, is  received.  I  will  readily  do  all  I  can  in  the  case. 
It  can  scarcely  be  credited  in  Connecticut,  but  so  the  fact 
is,  that  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States  cannot  pay  this 
nor  any  other  sum  in  any  other  than  a  depressed  currency. 
Our  wages  we  must  spend  here,  or  fund,  or  loan  to  individ- 
uals. A  dollar  cannot  be  raised  here  in  any  paper  east  of 
Baltimore.  Silver  and  gold  are  literally  banished.  You 
might  as  well  hunt  for  foxes  or  deer  on  our  green  as  for  a 
dollar  in  Washington.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  deplorable 
is  our  condition  as  a  nation.  I  see  no  prospect  of  a  furor- 
able  change.  If  the  war  shall  continue  a  year,  the  gov- 
ernment must  cease  to  operate.  It  cannot  —  it  will  not  — 
be  administered  by  its  present  incumbents.  With  my  regards 
to  Mrs.  S.,  I  am,  dear  sir, 

Truly  yours, 

DAVID  DAGGETT. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  271 

The  war  did  not  wholly  break  off  communication 
with  men  of  science  whom  he  had  known  in  Great 
Britain,  as  is  shown  by  the  following  letter  :  — 

FROM   DR.   JOHN   MURRAY. 

EDINBURGH,  February  5, 1813. 

In  a  letter  which  I  had  very  lately  from  Mr. 

Griscom  of  New  York,  he  mentioned  to  me  that  you  are 
not  a  convert  to  Davy's  opinion  on  the  oxy-muriatic  and 
muriatic  acids.  It  does  not  gain  ground,  I  think,  here  ; 
indeed,  I  have  scarcely  heard  of  any  chemist  of  eminence 
having  decidedly  embraced  it.  In  one  of  the  latest  volumes 
of  the  "  Annales  de  Chemie  "  there  are  two  excellent  papers 
in  opposition  to  it,  one  by  Berzelius,  and  another  a  report  by 
Berthollet  and  Vauquelin.  If  you  have  seen  the  late  vol- 
umes of  Nicholson,  you  will  have  observed  that  the  contro- 
versy in  which  I  have  been  engaged  on  this  subject  rests 
much  on  the  experiment  of  obtaining  water  by  heat  from 
the  salt  formed  by  the  combination  of  muriatic  and  ammoni- 
acal  gases.  Sir  Humphrey  visited  Edinburgh  a  few  months 
ago,  and  at  that  time  performed  the  experiment  with  Dr. 
Hope,  and  a  very  inconsiderable  quantity  of  water  was  ob- 
tained. The  experiment,  however,  was  conducted  in  a  man- 
ner very  liable  to  fallacy.  I  have  repeated  it  within  these 
few  days  with  Dr.  Hope,  in  a  less  exceptionable  manner,  and 
a  larger  quantity  of  water  was  obtained.  None  ought  to 
appear,  according  to  Sir  Humphrey's  opinion.  .... 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  JOURNAL  OF  SCIENCE:  DOMESTIC  EVENTS:  THE  CABI- 
NET OF  MINERALS. 

The  Establishment  of  the  Journal  of  Science.  — The  Death  of  his  Mother.  — 
The  Death  of  his  Son.  —  Journey  to  Canada  with  Mr.  Wadsworth. — 
Purchase  of  the  Gibbs  Cabinet.  —  Robert  IJakewell  and  his  Contribution 
of  Minerals. —  Alexander  Brongniart. —  William  Mac-lure  and  his  Ser- 
vices. —  Dr.  Thomas  Cooper  :  his  Character.  —  Letters  from  John  C. 
Calhoun,  Chancellor  Kent,  Robert  Y.  Hayne,  &c. 

IN  following  up,  as  far  as  possible,  the  annals  of  our 
scientific  labors,  we  now  come  to  the  birth  of  the  "  American 
Journal  of  Science  and  Arts."  In  the  preface  to  the  fiftieth 
volume  of  that  work,  being  the  index  volume  of  the  entire 
series  to  that  time,  —  184G,  —  there  is  a  full  history  of  the 
rise  and  progress  of  the  Journal.  It  is  not  my  design  to 
recapitulate  it  on  this  occasion,  except  so  far  as  to  mark  its 
origin  at  this  era.  Dr.  Archibald  Bruce  of  New  York,  had, 
in  1810,  instituted  an  American  journal  of  mineralogy;  it 
was  ably  conducted,  and  was  most  favorably  received  ;  but 
it  lingered  with  long  intervals  between  its  four  numbers, 
and  stopped  with  one  volume  of  two  hundred  and  seventy 
pages.  The  declining  health  of  Dr.  Bruce,  ending  in  apo- 
plexy, rendered  any  prospect  of  the  continuance  of  his 
Journal  hopeless.  His  own  life  hung  in  doubt,  and  was  act- 
ually ended  the  22d  February,  1818,  in  the  forty-first  year  of 
his  age.  Anticipating  the  death  of  Dr.  Bruce,  and  it  being 
certain  that  his  Journal  could  never  be  revived  by  him, 
Colonel  George  Gibbs,  in  an  accidental  meeting  on  board 
the  steamer  Fulton  on  Long  Island  Sound,  in  1817,  urged 
upon  me  the  duty  of  instituting  a  new  Journal  of  Science ; 


JOURNAL  OF  SCIENCE.  273 

that  we  might  not  only  secure  the  advantages  already 
gained,  but  make  advances  of  still  more  importance.  After 
much  consideration  and  mature  advice,  I  reluctantly  con- 
sented to  make  the  attempt.  It  was  not  done,  however, 
without  showing  clue  deference  to  Dr.  Bruce.  It  was  in 
the  autumn  of  1817  that  I  called  upon  him  at  his  house 
and  asked  his  opinion,  which  was  given  at  once  in  favor  of 
the  effort,  and  moreover  in  approbation  of  the  plan,  which 
included  the  entire  circle  of  the  physical  sciences  and  their 
applications.  The  first  number  appeared  in  July  1818,  and 
the  Journal,  under  many  discouragements  and  through  some 
perils,  has  survived  until  this  time,  February  3,  1859,  hav- 
ing already  had  a  life  of  forty  and  a  half  years ;  and  the 
labors  of  its  editors  and  contributors  are  recorded  in  the 
seventy-sixth  volume. 

The  Journal  was  often  obliged  to  maintain  a 
dubious  struggle  for  existence ;  but,  when  it  was 
most  endangered,  the  friends  of  Mr.  Silliman  and 
the  friends  of  science  rallied  to  its  support.  This 
was  particularly  the  case  when  a  discreditable  effort 
was  made  by  an  individual  to  destroy  it  and  to  sup- 
plant it  by  a  rival  publication.  Mr.  George  Gris- 
wold,  and  other  liberal-minded  gentlemen  of  New 
York,  came  forward  at  that  time  with  their  generous 
patronage.  A  few  years  after  the  Journal  was  started, 
it  was  recommended  to  the  public  by  Mr.  Edward 
Everett  in  an  article  in  the  "  North  American  Re- 
view," (for  July,  1821,)  of  which  he  was  then  the 
editor.  He  speaks  of  it  as  "  a  work  which  does 
honor  to  American  science,"  and  as  "  a  vehicle  of 
imparting  to  the  world  the  scientific  speculations 
and  discoveries  of  our  countrymen,  which  is  held  in 
honorable  esteem  by  the  philosophers  of  Europe." 
This  last  remark  truly  describes  a  most  important 

VOL.   I.  18 


274  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

service  rendered  to  science  by  the  Journal.  As 
editor,  Mr.  Silliman  became  the  recipient  of  com- 
munications without  number  from  every  part  of  the 
country.  Not  only  such  as  made  science  a  profes- 
sion sent  him  their  papers,  but  unlearned  pioneers 
in  the  East  and  the  West  would  give  him  informa- 
tion of  curious  objects  that  fell  under  their  notice  in 
exploring  the  country.  By  gathering  together  so 
many  scattered  rays  of  light,  the  Journal  aided  not 
only  in  the  diffusion,  but  also  in  the  advancement, 
of  the  sciences.  Another  result  was  the  intercourse 
into  which  'Mr.  Silliman  was  brought  with  scientific 
men  abroad.  Their  discoveries  were  also  announced 
to  the  American  public  in  the  Journal,  and  their 
articles  not  unfrequently  found  a  place  on  its  pages. 
His  reputation  in  Europe  was  without  doubt  the 
effect,  for  the  most  part,  of  his  editorial  labors. 

The  following  paragraphs  record  bereavements 
that  deeply  affected  him, — the  death  of  his  mother 
and  of  his  eldest  son  :  — 

Sickness  and  Death  of  my  Mother,  JE.  83.  —  Until  the 
spring  of  1814  she  had  enjoyed  very  good  health,  when  she 
was  prostrated  at  Wallingford,  at  the  age  of  seventy-eight, 
by  an  attack  of  pneumonia,  and  she  never  recovered  her 
former  vigor.  She  was  thrice  a  widow,  and  the  time  when 
she  was  at  liberty  she  divided  among  her  children.  I  brought 
her  from  Norfield,  the  residence  of  her  son,  the  Rev.  John 
Noyes,  in  June  1818.  She  passed  a  few  days  in  my  house, 
and  I  then  conducted  her  to  Wallingford,  which  was  her 
favorite  home.  She  was  feeble,  and  continued  to  decline 
until  July  2d,  when  she  passed  gently  out  of  life,  —  eighty- 
two  years  old  in  the  preceding  May.  I  had  not  received 
information  of  the  impending  event.  A  letter  sent  by  a 
private  hand  was  not  seasonably  delivered.  I  was  therefore 


DOMESTIC  EVENTS.  275 


deprived  of  the  satisfaction  of  watching  her  last  hours.  On 
the  4th  of  July  we  went,  Mrs.  Silliraan  and  all  my  children, 
in  a  family  carriage  to  attend  the  funeral.  The  Rev. 
Matthew  Noyes  conducted  the  religious  services  with  solem- 
nity ;  and  we  remained  over  the  night.  My  little  Trumbull, 
who  was  with  us,  was  very  ill,  and  it  was  the  first  of  those 
premonitory  attacks  which  ended  his  mortal  life.  My 
brother,  Gold  Selleck  Silliman,  did  not  arrive  until  after 
the  funeral.  Thus  was  ended  an  excellent  Christian  life, 
and  we  felt  that  our  mother  had  been  spared  to  us  to  a 
good  old  age,  and  was  summoned  home  when  she  was 
mature  for  heaven.  She  cherished  a  cheerful  confidence 
in  her  Saviour,  and  looked  at  death  without  dismay.  She 
told  me  after  her  recovery  from  the  attack  of  pneumonia, 
that  she  had  no  fear  of  death,  and  was  ready  and  willing  to 
go  at  any  time.  She  opened  her  trunk  and  showed  me  her 
shroud,  and  all  the  dress  for  the  grave  which  she  kept  by 
her,  that  whenever  she  might  be  summoned,  her  death 
might  make  little  trouble  in  preparation.  She  was  a  heroic 
woman,  and  encountered  with  firmness  the  trials  and  terrors 
of  the  American  Revolution,  in  which  my  father  was  largely 
concerned.  She  did  not  lose  her  self-control,  when  three 
months  before  my  birth  the  house  was  assailed  by  an  armed 
banditti  at  the  midnight  hour,  the  windows  demolished,  and 
my  father  and  elder  half-brother  were  torn  away  from  her, 
and  my  father  detained  for  a  year  at  Flatbush,  Long  Island, 
as  a  prisoner  of  war.  Blessed  Mother  !  In  her  widowhood, 
after  my  father's  death  in  1790,  she  struggled  on  in  embar- 
rassed circumstances,  and  gave  my  brother  and  myself  a 
public  education,  forming  our  minds  at  home  to  purity  and 
piety.  Whatever  I  have  of  good  in  me,  I  owe,  under  God, 
mainly  to  her,  and  I  look  with  mingled  reverence  and 
delight  at  her  lovely  picture,  which  smiles  upon  me  still. 

Her  death  was  soon  followed  by  that  of  his  son, 
whom  he  tended,  during  a  lingering  illness,  with 
affectionate  care. 


276  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

This  lovely  and  promising  child  gave  us  only  delight, 
until  occasional  ill  turns  of  fever  and  cough,  in  the  autumn 
of  1818,  began  to  excite  alarm.  All  his  unfavorable  symp- 
toms were  aggravated  in  the  winter,  and  my  own  solicitude 
and  watchfulness  at  night,  after  busy  and  laborious  days  at 
College,  were  increased  by  the  sufferings  of  his  mother 
with  acute  rheumatism.  His  nights  were  much  broken  by 
his  cough  and  fever,  but  his  spirits  were  cheered  by  the 
hymns  which  I  often  sung  to  him  during  the  watches  of  the 
night.  Spring  brought  some  recreation  to  the  dear  child 
by  riding ;  but  it  was  only  too  obvious  that  his  progress 
was  downward  toward  an  early  grave. 

The  little  sufferer  was  removed  by  his  father  to 
Hartford,  in  the  hope  that  good  would  result  from 
the  journey  and  the  change  of  place. 

I  remained  in  Hartford  with  my  precious  little  patient 
as  long  as  there  appeared  the  slightest  prospect  of  allevia- 
tion. At  last,  with  a  bed  in  the  coach  as  before,  we  pro- 
ceeded slowly  homeward,  and  one  week  of  respite  was 
afforded  us  before  death  came  to  his  relief.  We  had  a 
few  short  rides,  and  I  had  arranged  a  swing  for  his  amuse- 
ment ;  but  all  in  vain.  The  evening  before  his  death,  his 
little  brother,  Benjamin,  came  into  the  room,  and,  although 
Trumbull  was  panting  with  cough  and  fever,  on  seeing  his 
little  friend  waddling  into  the  room,  he  smiled,  and  uttered 
his  favorite  expression :  "  O  funny  little  Bunny  ! "  On 
Sabbath  morning,  June  27, 1  was  alone  with  him  when  he 
gently  expired,  and  he  put  up  his  cold  lips  to  kiss  me  a 
few  minutes  before  he  ceased  breathing.  His  mother  was 
brought  down  in  a  double  chair,  and  looked  upon  his  cold 
remains,  still  beautiful  in  death,  as  he  lay  in  his  coffin  ; 
and  she  could  only  follow  with  her  tearful  eyes  the  funeral 
procession  as  it  moved  from  the  house.  We  were  sorely 
bereaved  ;  but  we  submitted  without  repining,  feeling  that 


DOMESTIC  EVENTS.  277 


He  who  had  given  us  this  child  of  hope  and  promise  had 
a  right  to  take  him  again  ;  and  we  blessed  His  holy  name. 
This  bereavement  took  fast  hold  on  me.  The  shaft  of 
death,  which  never  before  had  been  discharged  in  this 
house,  was  levelled  against  my  oldest  son,  a  child  of  the 
most  attractive  traits,  lovely  and  beautiful,  serious,  con- 
siderate, and  affectionate,  but  with  a  slight  air  of  pensive- 
ness,  which  added  to  the  interest  of  his  character,  although 
a  child  not  yet  five  years  old  when  he  died.  We  believed 
that  he  was  accepted  by  the  Saviour,  to  whom  he  had  been 
offered  in  baptism  and  commended  in  prayer. 

The  death  of  this  child  inflicted  a  wound  which 
was  never  fully  healed.  All  the  toys  which  he  had 
used  were  carefully  garnered  up  by  his  sorrowing 
father,  who  never  ceased  to  recollect,  with  tenderness 
of  feeling,  the  loss  which  he  had  sustained. 

What  with  the  labors,  the  watching,  and  anxiety  of 
the  preceding  year,  followed  by  this  affliction,  my  spirits 
drooped  and  my  health  began  to  be  affected,  when  a  source 
of  alleviation  was  opened  by  my  ever  kind  and  considerate 
brother-in-law,  Mr.  Daniel  Wadsworth,  and  it  was  the 
more  seasonable,  as  death  had  more  recently  smitten  an- 
other lamb  in  our  flock.* 

Neither  Mr.  Wadsworth  or  myself  had  ever  visited  Can- 
ada, and  we  resolved  on  this  journey  as  a  tour  of  refresh- 
ment and  observation,  without  any  motives  of  business. 
As  it  is  my  habit,  when  circumstances  are  favorable,  to 
preserve  written  notices  of  my  journeys,  I  began  to  do  it 
in  this  instance  with  the  design  of  inserting  in  the  "  Journal 
of  Science  "  any  notices  that  might  appear  worthy  of  it ; 
but  the  interesting  objects  and  scenes  and  historical  asso- 
ciations were  so  numerous  that  my  MS.  became  a  small 

*  This  was  an  infant  which  was  born  a  week  before  the  death  of  Trum- 
buH.  — F. 


278  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

volume,  which  appeared  in  two  editions,  in  1820  and  1824, 
entitled,  "  A  Short  Tour  between  Hartford  and  Quebec  in 
the  Autumn  of  1819,"  with  pictorial  illustrations  by  Mr. 
Daniel  Wadsworth.  To  this  volume  of  443  pages  12mo., 
I  refer  for  the  details  of  the  journey. 

My  little  book  met  with  favor.  It  became  a  vade  mecum 
for  travellers  to  Canada,  and  might  readily  have  passed  to 

a  third  edition,  had  I  moved  in  the  matter It  was 

agreeable  to  me  also  to  find  that  the  book  met  a  very 
favorable  reception  in  Canada.  I  received  from  officers 
of  the  British  army  on  service  in  that  country,  as  well  as 
from  persons  in  civil  life,  a  decided  expression  of  approval. 
These  communications  were  made  to  me  both  by  letter  and 
in  personal  interviews.  To  this  day  this  unpretending 
volume  is  sought  for  by  tourists  going  to  Canada ;  and  re- 
peated applications  have  been  made  to  me  by  strangers  for 
the  loan  of  the  book,  as  it  was  not  to  be  found  on  sale. 

Purchase  of  the  Cabinet  of  Colonel  Gibbs.  —  In  May, 
1825,  I  received  a  letter  from  Colonel  Gibbs,  in  which  he 
informed  me  that  he  intended  to  sell  his  cabinet,  but  that 
he  now  offered  to  Yale  College  the  right  of  preemption. 
The  price  named  was  twenty  thousand  dollars,  with  a 
reasonable  allowance  of  time  to  make  the  payments.  We 
were  startled,  indeed,  by  his  letter,  and  taken  by  surprise, 
although  we  had  no  right,  as  regards  the  liberal  proprietor, 
to  entertain  any  other  sentiments  than  those  of  grateful 
acknowledgment  for  the  long  -  continued  loan  of  such  a 
treasure.  The  cabinet  had  rested  with  us  from  thirteen  to 
fifteen  years.  From  it  the  owner  had  derived  no  pecuniary 
advantage  whatever  ;  but  he  enjoyed  the  richer  satisfaction 
of  doing  good  to  many  hundreds  of  young  people,  of  diffus- 
ing useful  knowledge  through  the  country,  and  elevating 
the  reputation  and  dignity  of  science.  I  have  already 
mentioned  that  he  had,  at  his  own  expense,  and  without 


THE  CABINET  OF  MINERALS.  279 

our  knowledge,  kept  the  cabinet  insured.  It  is  true  that 
he  derived  from  his  liberality  a  rich  reward  of  honor  and 
esteem  by  the  common  verdict  of  his  country,  an  honor 
more  permanent  than  that  of  sanguinary  success  in  war ; 
for,  while  military  heroes  enjoyed  only  a  transient  fame, 
the  name  of  Gibbs  is  enrolled  for  posthumous  fame  as  long 
as  science  shall  be  cultivated  and  honored. 

On  myself  as  the  head  of  the  department  rested  of 
course  the  duty  of  making  the  first  movement.  I  had  able 
counsellors;  President  Day,  the  Hon.  James  Hillhouse, 
our  Treasurer,  and  my  brother  Professors,  were  unanimous 
in  the  feeling  that  the  Gibbs  Cabinet,  so  long  our  pride 
and  ornament,  must  not  be  removed  from  Yale  College. 

The  Corporation  was  called  together  by  the  President 
The  meeting  took  place  at  Hartford  on  the  24th  day  of 
May ;  the  Governor,  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  six 
members  of  the  Senate  of  the  State,  who  are  ex-officio 
members  of  the  Corporation,  being  already  there  in  attend- 
ance on  the  Legislature  then  in  session.  The  clerical 
members  were  summoned  to  meet  them,  and  the  subject 
was  at  once  proposed  for  their  consideration.  They  also 
were  unanimous  in  the  sentiment,  that  the  Gibbs  Cabinet 
must  be  retained,  and  they  approved  of  the  measures 
already  adopted  in  New  Haven.  The  treasury  of  the  Col- 
lege could  not  afford  to  make  the  purchase,  and  our  only 
resource  appeared  to  be  to  call  again, —  as  had  always  been 
done  for  the  endowment  of  the  College,  —  upon  the  loyalty 
of  our  alumni  and  the  liberality  of  the  friends  of  science  and 
of  the  College,  —  a  resource  which  had  never  failed  in  pre- 
vious exigencies.  (See  the  appendix  to  Baldwin's  "  His- 
tory of  Yale  College,"  for  a  list  of  contributors  on  many 
occasions.) 

Agreeably  to  the  intimation  already  stated,  the  Corpora- 
tion passed  votes,  in  form,  approving  of  our  efforts  to  save 
the  Cabinet,  and  gave  us  authority  to  invite  subscriptions 
and  contributions. 


280  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

The  first  effort  appears  to  have  been  made  in  New 
Haven. 

As  a  preliminary  to  a  public  meeting,  a  hand-bill  was 
prepared,  in  which  the  case  was  concisely  but  clearly  and 
forcibly  stated,  with  an  invitation  to  the  citizens  to  attend  a 
public  meeting  at  a  time  and  place  named,  to  hear  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  merits  of  the  case.  The  hand-bill  was  ex- 
tensively distributed  in  the  town,  and  the  meeting,  which 
soon  followed,  was  well  attended,  and  was  warmly  addressed, 
not  only  by  gentlemen  of  the  College,  but  by  some  of  our 
prominent  citizens.  Among  them  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cros- 
well,  Rector  of  Trinity  Church.  Although  not  an  alumnus, 
nor  sympathizing  in  the  religious  organization  of  the  Col- 
lege, he  addressed  the  assembly  with  powerful  arguments, 
which  were,  perhaps,  rendered  more  effective  by  touching  a 
string  of  policy,  and  no  one  knew  better  than  he  how  to  do 
it.  He  gave  an  intimation  that  if  New  Haven  did  not  come 
forward  and  secure  the  Gibbs  Cabinet,  Hartford  might 
secure  it,  as  the  people  of  Hartford  were  always  prompt 
and  liberal  in  cases  where  their  local  interests  were  con- 
cerned, and  they  too  had  a  college. 

The  public  meeting  in  New  Haven  was  immediately 
followed  by  personal  applications  to  the  citizens.  The  per- 
manent officers  of  the  College  subscribed  first,  and  then 
dividing  the  town  into  districts,  each  solicitor  called  upon 
individuals  and  asked  for  their  donations.  This  canvass 
was  laborious,  and  such  duties  are  always  irksome  ;  but 
when  the  object  is  a  public  one,  and  not  personal,  we  do 
not  feel  that  we  are  chargeable  with  selfishness,— which  is 
a  great  relief.  President  Day  zealously  led  in  the  canvass, 
and  all  the  gentlemen  put  forth  such  efforts  as  were  con- 
venient to  them.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  no  one  could 
be  expected  to  labor  so  much  as  the  head  of  the  depart- 
ment. I  was  indeed  most  ably  and  zealously  assisted  by 
Prof.  Chauncey  A.  Goodrich,  who  was  always  zealous  and 


THE  CABINET  OF  MINERALS.  281 


efficient  in  every  good  cause  in  which  he  engaged.  He 
worked  with  all  his  might,  and  he  had  uncommon  tact  in 
approaching  people ;  he  could  put  on  the  pressure  both 
upon  the  right  man  and  in  the  right  place,  and  was  not 
only  successful  with  the  willing,  but  with  the  unwilling. 

When  Mr.  Edward  Everett  came  to  New  Haven  to 
deliver  his  discourse  upon  Washington,  he  related  in 
a  short  speech  to  the  college  students,  an  anecdote 
connected  with  the  purchase  of  the  Gibbs  Cabinet. 
Understanding  that  this  collection  was  offered  for 
sale,  Mr.  Everett  had  suggested  to  several  friends  of 
Harvard  that  it  might  be  secured  for  that  institution. 
"  But,"  said  Mr.  Everett,  "  they  hung  fire  ;  and  after 
the  bargain  was  concluded  by  Mr.  Silliman,  I  ob- 
served to  him  that  I  hoped  the  affair  would  give  a 
useful  lesson  to  our  people  against  delay  in  such 
matters.  '  You  are  welcome,'  said  Mr.  Silliman  with 
a  smile,  to  any  moral  benefit  to  be  derived  from  the 
matter ;  we,  meanwhile,  will  get  what  good  we  can 
from  the  Cabinet." 

Other  additions  were  made  from  time  to  time 
to  this  noble  collection,  one  of  the  most  important 
of  which  was  the  cabinet  of  Baron  Lederer,  Aus- 
trian Consul- General  in  the  United  States,  which 
was  purchased  by  subscription  in  1843.  From  his 
scientific  correspondents  Mr.  Silliman  obtained  valu- 
able specimens,  and  several  of  these  friends,  together 
with  their  contributions,  are  noticed  in  the  "  Remi- 
niscences," in  connection  with  the  history  of  'the 
cabinet. 

A  Collection  was  purchased  from  Robert  Bdkewett,  Lon- 
don. —  I  became  acquainted  early  with  the  system  of  geol- 


282  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ogy  by  this  gentleman.  By  profession  a  mineral  surveyor, 
he  was,  of  course,  a  practical  geologist,  and  being  a  man 
of  strong  mind,  sound  judgment,  and  moral  courage,  he 
pursued  an  independent  course,  without  being  committed  to 
existing  theories.  In  commencing  my  geological  lectures, 
I  used  the  sketch  of  the  Wernerian  system,  which  was  an- 
nexed as  an  appendix  to  Brochant's  "  Mineralogy,"  and 
from  this  I  derived  important  aid  ;  but  I  found  it  difficult 
to  make  out  all  the  Wernerian  distinctions,  and  to  identify 
the  rocks  which  they  were  intended  to  illustrate.  I  was, 
therefore,  greatly  relieved  by  Mr.  BakewelPs  straightfor- 
ward, common-sense  method,  which  tore  away  and  threw 
aside  useless  subtleties  and  refinements,  and  took  strong 
hold  of  the  great  framework  of  the  subject.  I  therefore 
decided  to  adopt  Mr.  Bakewell's  work  as  a  text-book,  and 
wrote  to  the  author,  requesting  that  any  additions  or  cor- 
rections might  be  forwarded  to  me.  Eventually  I  pub- 
lished three  editions  with  copious  notes  and  additions,  and 
the  work  was  generally  adopted  in  this  country.  My  first 
edition  was  from  Mr.  Bakewell's  third. 

We  became,  of  course,  correspondents,  and  his  letters 
were  always  interesting  and  instructive,  and  sometimes 
brilliant  with  original  thoughts.  Wishing  to  see  the  origi- 
nal types  representing  Mr.  Bakewell's  ideas,'  I  obtained 
from  him  a  small  collection  of  rocks  and  minerals  which 
came  out,  numbered  in  reference  to  a  detailed  catalogue 
which  accompanied  them.  In  earlier  years  I  became  ac- 
quainted, at  Edinburgh,  as  I  have  already  stated,  with  the 
geological  ideas  that  prevailed  in  Scotland,  and  was  famil- 
iar with  their  representative  types.  Now  I  had  before  me 
the  palpable  thoughts  (so  far  as  stones  could  represent 
them)  of  an  eminent  English  geologist,  and  I  had  the  sat- 
isfaction of  finding  that  I  had  before  not  erred  in  any  im- 
portant fact  or  opinion. 

Mr.  Bakewell  appeared  much  gratified  that  his  work  had 
been  made  so  extensively  known  in  this  country.  In  the 


THE  CABINET  OF  MINERALS.  283 

to  a  new  edition,  following  my  first,  he  quotes  from 
the  remark  that  I  had  adopted  his  book  as  being  one 

it  "  my  pupils  would  be  willing  to  read  and  able  to  un- 
stand,"  and  he  justly  regarded  this  as  a  high  recommen- 

tion.     Such  was  his  feeling  of  personal  and  scientific 

lependence  that  he  held  himself  aloof  from  the  aristoc- 
racy of  science,  and  he  even  declined  the  proffered  honor 
of  membership  in  the  Royal  Society,  after  he  had,  almost 
alone,  vindicated  his  claims  to  rank  among  the  most  emi- 
nent geologists  of  the  day.  His  travels  among  the  Alps 
added  to  his  reputation,  —  ("  Travels  in  the  Tarentaise  and 
Grecian  and  Pennine  Alps,  and  in  Switzerland  and  Au- 
vergne,  in  the  years  1820,  1821,  and  1822,  by  R.  Bakewell 
Esq.")  Dr.  Man  tell  was  his  warm  and  constant  friend. 

I  received  a  French  collection  from  Mr.  Alexander 
Brongniart  of  Paris.  The  specimens  related  chiefly  to  the 
tertiary  and  chalk  formations  of  the  basin  of  Paris,  and 
the  collection  included  also  miscellaneous  specimens  from 
many  other  places.  Mr.  Brongniart  forwarded  to  me  his 
work  on  the  mineral  and  paleontological  history  and  struc- 
ture of  the  basin  of  Paris.  At  a  later  period  I  received 
also  from  him  the  revised  and  improved  edition  of  his 
work,  —  a  great  work  indeed.  He  sent  to  me  also  a  suite 
of  specimens  illustrating  the  materials  and  the  manufacture 
of  porcelain,  especially  as  it  is  carried  on  at  the  Royal 
Manufactory  of  Sevres,  six  miles,  or  two  leagues,  from 
Paris,  of  which  Mr.  Brongniart  was  superintendent.  This 
collection  I  left  in  the  laboratory  of  Yale  College,  with  the 
catalogue  and  description  of  the  process  in  the  handwriting 
of  Mr.  Brongniart.  His  letters  to  me  were  highly  instruc- 
tive and  very  friendly.  He  corresponded  with  me  also  on 
the  subject  of  a  collection  which  he  was  forming  to  illustrate 
the  art  of  pottery  in  all  ages  and  countries.  It  was  in  my 
power  to  aid  his  design  in  a  small  degree,  by  specimens  of 
aboriginal  pottery  of  the  American  Indians,  and  by  the 
products  of  our  advancing  arts  in  common  ware  and  in 


284  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

porcelain,  —  the  porcelain  especially  of  Philadelphia,  which 
compared  very  well  with  that  of  Sevres.  We  were  at 
Sevres  early  in  April  1851,  and  saw  this  extensive  collec- 
tion in  the  ceramic  art,  and  surveyed  with  admiration  the 
splendid  productions  of  the  manufactory. 

William  Maclure  :  His  Contributions.  —  This  gentleman, 
born  in  Scotland  in  1763,  resided  some  years  in  London 
as  a  member  of  a  mercantile  firm,  and  early  became  opulent. 
He  retired  from  business  about  1798-9.  He  visited  the 
United  States  in  1782,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  and  again  in 
1796.  In  1803  he  appeared  in  London  along  with  two 
colleagues,  as  a  commissioner  of  claims  upon  the  French 
government  for  spoliations  on  American  commerce.  During 
some  years  following  he  visited  most  of  the  countries  of 
Europe  and  collected  specimens  in  geology  and  other 
branches  of  natural  history,  which  he  sent  to  the  United 
States,  his  adopted  home.  He  then  came  to  America  and 
commenced  the  exploration  of  its  geology,  and  the  result 
was  published  in  1809  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Philosoph- 
ical Society  of  Philadelphia.  In  1817,  eight  years  after, 
he  published  a  revised  edition  of  his  memoir,  enlarged  and 
made  more  perfect,  and  it  appeared  also  in  a  small  separate 
volume,  with  maps.  His  observations  were  extended  through 
nearly  all  the  States,  from  Canada  to  the  Mexican  Gulf, 
and  from  Maine  to  the  Mississippi,  —  also  including  the 
West  Indies.  In  order  to  obtain  correct  sections  of  the 
Alleghanies,  he  crossed  that  chain  of  mountains  fifty  times, 
back  and  forward.  During  all  his  journeys  he  collected 
geological  specimens  which,  from  time  to  time,  he  boxed 
and  forwarded  to  Philadelphia,  or  other  places  of  deposit. 
He  came  to  New  Haven  in  the  autumn  of  1808,  and  I 
passed  several  days  with  him  in  exploring  our  geology.  He 
had  then  come  from  Maine,  and  had  become  acquainted 
with  Professor  Parker  Cleaveland,  whom  he  greatly  admired. 
He  travelled  in  a  private  carriage  with  a  servant,  and  a 


THE  CABINET  OF  MINERALS.         285 


pair  of  horses  which,  as  they  transported  loads  of  stone 
from  place  to  place,  were  lean  and  dull.  Mr.  Maclure  was 
at  that  time  in  his  meridian.  Being  a  teetotaller,  drinking 
nothing  but  water  and  requiring  only  a  moderate  quantity 
of  the  most  common  articles  of  food,  his  health  was  perfect, 
and  his  frame  robust  and  vigorous,  as  his  temperance  was 
associated  with  much  travelling  and  with  mountain  excur- 
sions on  foot ;  his  countenance  had  a  ruddy  glow,  and  his 
manners  were  in  a  high  degree  winning  and  attractive.  His 
language  was  pure  and  elevated,  and  his  mind  being  im- 
bued with  the  love  of  science,  he  was  successful  in  exciting 
similar  aspirations  in  other,  and  especially  in  younger,  minds. 
In  1817,  he  was  elected  President  of  the  Philadelphia 
Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  and  he  was  annually  reflected 

until  his  death At  the  meeting  of  the  Geological 

Society,  November  17,  1828,  Mr.  Maclure  appeared 
decidedly  m.arked  by  age  and  infirmity.  The  brilliant  man 
whom  I  first  saw  twenty  years  before,  had  now  hoary  locks  ; 
he  stooped  as  he  walked,  and  an  ulcer  on  his  leg  made  him 
lame.  His  friend,  Dr.  Thomas  Cooper,  was  with  him,  and 
these  two  celebrated  men  did  me  the  honor  to  attend  one 
of  my  lectures  in  the  chemical  course,  and  to  call  at  my 
house.  The  principal  topic  was  the  moral  relations  of 
science  and  the  expositions  it  gives  of  the  mind  and 
thoughts  of  the  Creator,  as  they  are  recorded  in  his  works. 
Other  topics  might  have  been  more  agreeable  to  these 
gentlemen.  Dr.  Cooper  was  well  known  as  a  sturdy  sceptic 
in  religion,  and  Mr.  Maclure's  plans  of  education  did  not 
include  the  Bible.  Still  all  his  efforts,  continued  through 
forty  years  with  an  immense  expenditure  of  money  and  an 
unselfish  devotion  of  time  and  effort  without  any  personal 
advantage,  bore  every  mark  of  benevolence  and  good-will, 
not  only  to  his  adopted  country,  but  to  mankind.  Mr. 
Maclure  was  a  punctual  correspondent.  For  about  twenty 
years,  we  exchanged  letters,  rarely,  I  believe,  omitting  a 
year.  His  brother,  who  was  his  executor,  kindly  returned 


236  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

to  me  many  of  my  letters,  but,  I  should  think,  not  all. 
There  are  about  twenty-five,  five  or  six  of  which  passed  to 
him  in  Spain  through  Paris ;  the  remainder  are  directed 
to  the  city  of  Mexico ;  they  run  from  1821  to  1838,  —  from 
my  forty-second  to  my  fifty-eighth  year,  —  the  meridian  and 
best  part  of  my  life.  They  are,  of  course,  occupied  with  the 
busy  avocations  of  that  active  period  of  my  labors,  in  which 
I  might  have  truly  said,  "  Omnia  plena  laboris."  My  letters 
were  also  responsive  to  those  of  my  correspondent  on  the 
great  subjects  which  occupied  his  mind,  —  the  education 
of  the  young,  the  diffusion  of  useful  knowledge,  and  the 
elevation  of  the  masses  from  ignorance,  degradation,  poverty, 
and  vice.  His  views  were  noble  ;  his  fellow-creatures  were 
his  family,  and  to  carry  out  his  large  plans  his  ample  means 
were  munificently  bestowed.  His  own  personal  wants  were 
few  and  simple,  and  a  very  small  part  of  his  revenue  sufficed 
to  supply  them.  Although  some  of  his  views  were  vision- 
ary, they  were  benevolent,  and  he  was  one  of  the  benefac- 
tors of  his  race. 

As  the  companion  of  Mr.  Maclure  in  his  last  visit  to  New 
Haven,  Dr.  Cooper  is  entitled  to  be  mentioned  on  this 
occasion,  as  well  as  on  account  of  some  friendly  epistolary 
relations,  for  a  time,  subsisting  between  us.  Dr.  Cooper 
came  out  from  England,  I  believe,  with  Dr.  Priestley,  or  soon 
after,  in  1794,  during  the  exciting  periods  of  the  French 
Revolution.  Dr.  Cooper  resided  with  Dr.  Priestley  at  or 
near  Northumberland  on  the  Susquehannah  River,  and 
was  familiar  with  his  scientific  pursuits  ;  and  being  him- 
self a  man  of  science,  he  occasionally  wrote  to  me,  and 
always  exhibited  a  vigorous  and  discriminating  mind.  I  had 
never  seen  him  before  his  visit  to  New  Haven  with  Mr. 
Maclure  in  November  1828.  On  that  occasion  his  man- 
ners were  mild  and  conciliating,  and  his  appearance  was 
patriarchal  and  venerable,  very  different  from  what  I  had 
imagined  it  to  be.  Ten  years  after,  1839,  my  third  edition 
of  Bakewell's  Geology  appeared.  In  an  appendix  I  had 


DR.  THOMAS  COOPER.  287 

endeavored  to  reconcile  the  Mosaic  history  with  geology, 
but  this  gave  great  offence  to  Dr.  Cooper,  who  in  a  letter 
to  me  protested  against  my  views,  both  scientific  and  moral, 
and  he  even  wrote  a  considerable  book,  principally  in  op- 
position to  me  indeed,  but  still  more  to  vituperate  Moses 
or  the  author  of  the  Pentateuch,  whoever  he  might  be.  In 
the  last  letter  which  I  received  from  him  he  reviled  the 
Scriptures,  especially  of  the  Old  Testament,  pronouncing 
them  in  all  respects  an  unsupported  and,  in  some  respects, 
a  most  detestable  book.  To  this  letter  I  made  no  reply, 
feeling  that  it  was  such  a  violation  of  gentlemanly  courtesy 
when  writing  to  one  whose  sentiments  he  knew  to  be  so 
opposite  to  his  own,  that  I  thought  it  better  to  drop  the 
correspondence,  and  I  never  heard  from  him  again.  While 
presiding  over  the  College  at  Columbia,  S.  C.,  he  made 
no  secret  of  his  infidelity,  and  the  community  in  South 
Carolina  was  divided  into  supporters  and  opponents  of  Dr. 
Cooper,  until  he  was  constrained  to  resign.  One  of  his 
college  faculty,  Professor  Gibbs,  informed  me  that  as  he  — 
Professor  Gibbs  —  was  passing  the  college  grounds  on 
Sabbath  morning  on  his  way  to  church,  he  met  Dr.  Cooper 
going  to  work  in  his  laboratory,  who  said  to  him,  —  "  Come 
along  with  me  and  learn  something  that  is  true  and  worth 
knowing."  When  Dr.  Cooper  resigned  his  place,  some  of 
the  first  gentlemen  —  General  Hayne,  General  Hamilton, 
and,  I  believe,  Mr.  Calhoun  —  of  South  Carolina,  consulted 
me  to  know  whether  I  would  accept  the  Presidency  of  the 
College.  If  I  had  felt  no  other  reason  for  declining,  I 
should  have  been  very  reluctant  to  sow  in  a  field  which  had 
been  so  ill  prepared  to  receive  good  seed.  I  was  unwilling, 
moreover,  to  become  a  member  of  a  community  where  slavery 
was  established.  The  only  reason,  however,  which  I  as- 
signed for  declining  the  overture  was,  that  I  feared  I  should 
not  be  able  to  give  them  satisfaction.  I  would  not  forget 
the  friendly  maxim  — "  Nil  de  mortuis  nisi  bonum."  Dr. 
Cooper  was,  I  have  understood,  much  esteemed  by  those 


288  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

who  knew  him  intimately,  and  it  affords  a  pleasing  indica- 
tion of  his  domestic  character  that  he  lived  in  great  har- 
mony with  an  excellent  wife.  If  I  am  not  misinformed, 
the  ballad  "John  Anderson  my  jo  John"  would  have 
described  them  well.  In  religion  and  politics  he  was  pug- 
nacious and  sometimes  bitter.  He  was  considered  as  the 
leader  of  the  disunion  party  in  South  Carolina,  and  to  him 
was  first  attributed  the  sentiment,  uttered  at  a  convivial 
meeting,  that  it  was  "  high  time  to  calculate  the  value  of 
the  Union." 


Among  the  early  patrons  of  the  "  Journal  of 
Science,"  was  Mr.  Calhoun,  whose  feeling  with  ref- 
erence to  Yale  College  at  that  time  is  expressed  in 
a  note  to  Mr.  Silliman. 

FROM  HON.  JOHN  C.  CALHOUN. 

WAR  DEPARTMENT,  March  26, 1818. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  received  the  Prospectus  which  you 
transmitted  to  me,  and  I  hope  most  sincerely  that  you  may 
meet  with  ample  encouragement. 

The  utility  of  such  a  work,  particularly  in  this  country, 
must  be  apparent,  and  our  number,  wealth,  and  intellectual 
improvement  have  now  attained  that  point  at  which  there 
ought  to  be  sufficient  patronage. 

You  do  me  justice  in  supposing  that  I  still  retain  an 
affection  for  the  institution  with  which  you  are  connected. 
I  have  every  reason  to  feel  the  strongest  gratitude  to  Yale 
College,  and  shall  always  rejoice  in  her  prosperity. 
I  remain,  with  esteem, 

Yours,  &c., 

J.  C.  CALHOUN. 

The  principal  difficulty  in  sustaining  the  Journal 
is  indicated  in  the  following  note  from  Dr.  Hare. 


LETTER  FROM  MRS.  HUMPHREYS.  289 


The  Essays  on  Musical  Temperament  to  which 
he  refers  were  written  by  Professor  A.  M.  Fisher. 
Mr.  Silliman  succeeded  in  sustaining  the  enterprise 
without  suffering  the  Journal  to  become  a  merely 
popular  magazine. 

FROM   DR.    ROBERT   HARE. 

July  28,  1819. 

I  AM  grieved  to  hear  the  pecuniary  result  of 

your  publication  is  so  unfavorable.  In  our  city  the  inter- 
est in  favor  of  our  own  journals  is  very  strong.  I  have 
already  hinted  this  to  you  as  operating  against  the  giving 
of  communications  abroad,  and  of  course  it  will  operate 
against  subscriptions.  There  are  few  in  our  country  who 
take  interest  in  the  profounder  branches  of  knowledge.  I 
doubt  if  there  be  a  dozen  men  on  the  Continent  who  would 
peruse  some  of  the  essays  on  musical  temperament  in  your 
Journal.  I  was  told  in  New  York  that  many  said  they 
could  not  understand  my  memoir,  who  considered  their 
standing  such  as  to  feel  as  if  this  were  an  imputation 
against  me  rather  than  themselves.  I  could  not  write  it 
for  those  who  are  so  ignorant,  without  making  it  too  prolix 
and  commonplace  for  adepts.  There  is  our  difficulty, — 
we  cannot  write  anything  for  the  scientific  few  which  will 
be  agreeable  to  the  ignorant  many 

Among  the  letters  of  condolence  which  he  re- 
ceived on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  his  son,  was 
one  from  Mrs.  Humphreys,  the  widow  of  Colonel 
Humphreys. 

FROM  MRS.   HUMPHREYS. 

BOSTON,  October  6, 1819. 

I  CONDOLE  with  you  most  truly  and  sincerely 

on  the  loss  of  your  darling  child.  The  all-consoling  reflec- 
tion, that  you  describe  with  So  much  feeling,  is  so  just  and 

VOL.  I.  19 


290  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

so  true,  that  it  cannot  fail  to  heal  the  sorrow  of  every 
Christian  who  has  faith  in  the  words  of  our  Saviour.  I 
cannot  here  forbear  to  mention  to  you  the  customs  of  my 
native  land  —  Portugal  —  in  regard  to  the  death  of  little 
children  under  seven  years  old.  If  you  ask  a  mother  how 
many  children  she  has,  it  is  usual  that  she  should  answer : 
"  I  have  two  with  me,  and  three  in  Heaven"  Or,  if  she  has 
lost  them  all,  she  will  say,  without  hesitation :  "  I  have  so 
many  in  Heaven."  The  funerals  of  little  children  in  that 
country  are  accompanied  by  every  emblem  of  joy  instead 
of  sorrow ;  the  coffin,  or  rather  cradle,  is  of  pink  and  sil- 
ver ;  roses  and  myrtles  and  jasmine  are  thrown  upon  the 
corpse,  which  is  only  covered  with  a  transparent  silver 
gauze.  A  band  of  fine  music  accompanies  it.  After  the 
funeral,  all  the  friends  and  acquaintance  return  to  the 
house  to  congratulate  the  mother  (who  is  smiling  through 
her  tears)  on  having  an  angel  in  heaven  and  another  advo- 
cate in  her  favor.  Such  are  the  singular  customs  in 
Lisbon. 

I  pray  you  to  make  my  best  regards  to  Mrs.  Silliman, 
and  believe  me  to  be, 

Yours  with  esteem  and  friendship, 

A.  F.  HUMPHREYS. 

A  portion  of  the  journey  to  Canada  is  briefly 
described  in  the  following  letter :  — 

TO    PROFESSOR   J.   L.    KINGSLEY. 

QUEBEC,  October  8,  1819. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  In  compliance  with  your  request  and 
with  my  own  promise,  I  now  write  you  from  the  capital  of 
the  Canadas.  Our  journey  has  been  thus  far  prosperous. 
We  left  Hartford  in  the  equinoctial  gale,  September  22, 
Wednesday  ;  on  Friday  reached  Albany  ;  dined  and  spent 
most  of  a  day  with  Judge  Kent,  in  whose  fine  library  of 
between  two  and  three  thousand  volumes  you  would  revel : 


LETTER  TO  PROFESSOR  KINGSLEY.  291 


y  are  choice  books,  and  have  cost  him  $10,000.  I  was 
more  than  ever  delighted  with  the  Judge.  We  were  also 
at  the  Patroon's,  —  probably  the  most  like  an  ancient  baro- 
nial establishment  of  anything  in  America :  it  is  a  princely 
place.  At  Troy  we  saw  the  new  and  almost  ludicrous 
horse-boat,  which  two  horses,  without  ever  moving  a  step 
from  the  places  they  stand  in,  and  to  which  indeed  they  are 
harnessed,  propel  the  boat  merely  by  moving  their  legs, 
and  thus  causing  a  circular  flat  platform  on  which  they 
stand  to  revolve.  I  will  explain  it  fully  when  I  see  you. 
We  lodged  at  Stillwater,  in  the  house  in  which  General 
Frazer  died,  in  which  Lady  Harriet  Ackland  and  the 
Baroness  Reidesel  met  with  those  interesting  but  tragical 
adventures,  which  we  read  together,  you  may  remember. 
I  visited  the  battle-grounds  in  company  with  an  old  man 
(a  Lebanon  man,  too),  who  was  a  guide  to  our  armies  in 
all  the  fighting.  Mr.  Wadsworth  stopped  that  night  at 
Sandy  Hill,  and  I  proceeded  to  Lake  George.  I  will  say 
nothing  about  this  wonderful  scene  and  its  interesting  forts 
and  battle-grounds  till  we  meet.  I  rejoined  Mr.  W.  at 
Fort  Anne,  half  way  between  the  Hudson  and  Lake  Cham- 
plain  ;  and,  in  our  ride  to  Whitehall,  we  found  frequent 
occasions  to  wonder  at  seeing  a  fine  canal  to  connect  the 
waters  of  the  Hudson  and  of  Lake  Champlain,  running 
along  almost  side  by  side  with,  and  frequently  within  a 
stone's  throw  of,  a  still  finer  natural  canal,  a  wood-creek, 
which  empties  at  precisely  the  same  spot  with  the  canal. 
From  Whitehall  we  proceeded  down  the  lake,  in  the  only 
remaining  steamboat ;  the  horse  and  carriage  were  taken 
on  board  and  left  at  Burlington  (Vt),  to  await  our  return 
from  Canada,  when  we  proposed  to  cross  the  mountains  to 
Hanover,  and  so  home  down  the  river.  At  Plattsburgh 
we  saw  the  scene  of  Macdonough's  victory,  as  we  had  seen 
the  trophies  of  it  —  the  flotilla  —  laid  up  at  Whitehall ;  we 
found  out  Lyman  Foot,  who  is  very  happy,  and  in  high 
repute  in  the  army,  at  which  I  was  not  a  little  gratified, 


292  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

regarding  him  as  almost  my  child.  We  entered  St.  John's 
River  —  the  river  Sorel — just  nine  days  from  our  leaving 
Hartford,  and  passed  by  the  magnificent  stone  castle  on 
Rouse's  Point,  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Champlain,  the  guns 
of  which  were  intended  to  prevent  any  more  Commodore 
Downeses  from  ever  escaping  from  Canada  into  the  Lake ; 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  have  been  expended  on 
it,  and  it  is  now  ascertained  that  the  forty-fifth  degree  of 
latitude  falls  about  one  half  a  mile  south  of  it,  so  that  this 
work  now  falls  to  our  friends,  the  British,  who  will  thus 
affectionately  prevent  any  armament  proceeding  by  water 
to  St.  Johns.  At  the  Isle  au  Noix,  ten  miles  down  the  Sorel, 
we  passed  a  strong  British  fort,  a  frigate  on  the  stocks,  &c., 
&c.  Everything  looked  foreign  and  formidable. 

We  lodged  at  St.  Johns,  and  a  week  ago  to-day  arrived 
at  Montreal,  where  we  stayed  between  three  and  four  days. 
It  is  a  fine,  foreign  town,  much  underrated  by  our  country- 
men, and  the  city  and  environs  make  together  a  grand 
prospect.  Two  days  ago  we  arrived  here,  and  shall  stay 
several  days  longer,  determined  to  see  everything  in  and 
out  of  town.  We  are  highly  gratified  with  our  tour,  and 
everything  in  Canada  is  beyond  our  expectations.  The 
fortifications  here,  and  the  natural  situation  of  the  town,  are 
so  commanding,  that  it  seems  as  if  it  could  never  be  taken. 
We  have  got  acquainted  with  a  noble-hearted  fellow,  a 
captain  of  grenadiers,  in  the  garrison.  He  was  with  Sir 
John  Moore  at  Corunna,  and  with  Wellington  in  the  Pen- 
insula, and  has  taken  us  into  the  Citadel  on  Cape  Diamond, 
—  a  favor  very  rarely  granted  to  anybody.  But  I  imist 
have  done.  I  will,  however,  tell  you  a  great  deal  when  we 
meet. 

The  "  Tour  in  Canada  "  was  the  subject  of  an  in- 
teresting communication 


LETTER  FROM  CHANCELLOR  KENT.  293 


FROM    CHANCELLOR    KENT. 

ALBANY,  October  14,  1820. 
>EAR  SIR,  —  Your  obliging  letter  of  the  9th  instant  has 

in  received,  accompanied  with  your  "  Tour  to  Quebec," 
and  I  return  my  sincere  thanks  for  this  mark  of  your  kind- 
ness, and  for  the  great  pleasure  which  the  perusal  of  your 
book  has  given  me.  I  have  read  it  very  attentively,  and 
beg  leave  to  bear  my  humble  testimony  to  the  justness  and 
beauty  of  its  descriptions  and  the  accuracy  of  its  historical 
illustrations.  It  has,  also,  that  moral  charm  and  those  graces 
of  composition  which  are  diffused  over  all  the  productions 
of  your  pen.  There  is  not  a  page  too  much  on  geological 
observations,  and  no  more  than  what  was  due  to  your  char- 
acter and  required  from  your  station. 

I  have  not  been  to  the  northward  this  summer  as  you 
have  been  informed,  but  I  have  frequently  visited  the 
grounds  over  which  you  passed  between  the  matchless  val- 
ley of  Lebanon  and  Montreal.  The  first  time  I  visited  the 
shore  of  Lake  Champlain  was  twenty-five  years  ago  with 
Mrs.  K.,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  emotions  excited  when 
we  landed  for  the  first  time  near  sunset  at  Ticonderoga, 
and  hastily  ascended  to  the  top  of  its  mouldering  walls 
(then  a  solitary  and  awful  ruin)  and  caught  within  the 
sweep  of  the  eye  the  majestic  scenery  around  the  place, 
and  the  distant  lofty  summits  of  the  Green  Mountains.  I 
visited  at  that  time  old  Fort  St.  Frederick  at  Crown  Point, 
built  by  the  French  in  1731,  and  the  near  and  large  fort 
on  higher  ground,  built  by  Lord  Amherst  in  1759.  There 
was  not  then  a  human  habitation  on  that  peninsula.  We 
returned  through  Lake  George  in  a  small  sail-boat,  and 
lodged  at  a  dismal  old  house  which  had  been  a  military  bar- 
rack on  the  shore  below  fort  George.  It  was  all  woods 
where  the  beautiful  village  of  Caldwell  now  stands,  and  we 
ran  over  the  ruins  of  Fort  William  Henry,  then  most  fear- 
fully interesting  from  historical  recollections,  for  it  appeared 


294  LIFE   OF   BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

not  to  have  been  disturbed  by  the  hand  of  man  since  1757. 
I  think  you  must  admit  Mrs.  K.  and  I  had  considerable  en- 
terprise, considering  the  great  inconvenience  of  travelling  at 
that  day  in  what  was  then  a  new  and  wild  country.  I  had 
learned  in  early  youth  from  my  father  and  from  Carver's 
"  Travels "  (for  he  was  present)  the  tragical  story  of  the 
Massacre  of  the  garrison,  and  I  trod  the  ground  with  highly 
excited  feelings.  You  have  given  a  very  interesting  ac- 
count of  that  enchanting  spot  Monte  Video,  and  the  pencil 

of  Mr.  W has  contributed  exceedingly  to  illustrate  and 

adorn  your  work.  If  I  ever  go  to  Hartford  I  think  I  shall 
solicit  the  honor  of  his  company  on  a  visit  to  his  seat,  which 
does  infinite  credit  to  his  munificence  and  taste. 

All  the  leisure  I  have  had  this  season  was  occupied  in  a 
short  visit  to  Governor  Jay,  who  lives  at  Bedford,  about  ten 
miles  west  of  Ridgefield,  in  Connecticut.  I  went  through 
Dutchess  County  and  the  mountains  in  Putnam  County,  and 
discharged  a  debt  of  respect,  reverence,  and  gratitude, 
which  I  owed  to  that  venerable  man.  Mrs.  K.,  as  usual, 
accompanied  me,  and  we  stayed  a  night  with  him.  He  is 
now  seventy-four  years  old,  and  is  feeble  but  cheerful,  and 
his  mind  appears  to  have  retained  all  its  acuteness  and 
vigor.  Pie  has  a  grand  farm  of  six  hundred  acres,  and 
everything  about  him  was  plain,  convenient,  and  substan- 
tial, and  bore  the  same  stamp  of  solidity  and  simplicity 
which  has  always  characterized  the  owner.  He  received  us 
with  most  engaging  kindness,  and  conversed  freely  on  the 
passing  events  of  the  times,  and  dwelt  on  the  Revolution, 
in  which  he  bore  such  a  distinguished  part.  He  spoke 
highly  of  Dr.  Dwight's  volumes  on  theology,  and  regretted 
he  had  not  known  more  of  him  in  his  lifetime.  He  is 
very  religious  and  performed  family  worship  in  the  Episco- 
pal form  with  tender  and  impressive  devotion.  He  ap- 
peared to  be  a  perfect  model  of  a  Christian  sage,  and  I  am 
not  aware  that  we  have  a  more  finished  character  in  the 
country.  From  his  house  we  returned  through  Danbury, 


LETTER  FROM  HON.  ROBERT  Y.  HAYNE.  295 


where  I  lived  from  1773  to  1777,  and  then  visited  South- 
east Town,  in  Putnam  County,  where  my  father  once  re- 
sided. I  went  to  the  house,  and  to  the  very  room  where  I 
was  born,  where  I  saw  my  blessed  mother  die,  fifty  years 
ago  next  December.  I  never  viewed  any  scene  with  deeper 
interest  or  more  affecting  recollections.  Everything  looked 
decayed  and  melancholy,  and  the  features  of  nature  seemed 
to  have  dwindled  since  the  eye  of  youthful  exaggeration 
was  withdrawn.  I  was  astonished  to  find  how  much  the 
enchantment  of  youth  had  disappeared,  and  how  much 
forty  years  had  disrobed  the  spot  of  the  brightness  and 
charms  with  which  it  once  contributed  to  transport  me. 
But,  my  dear  sir,  excuse  my  wandering  pen.  I  set  out  to 
thank  you  for  your  friendship  and  goodness,  and  to  assure 
you  of  the  interest  I  take  in  whatever  concerns  your  wel- 
fare and  your  character.  I  am,  with  the  highest  esteem  and 
regard, 

Yours,  &c., 
PROF.  SILLIATAN.  JAMES  KENT. 

The  letter  of  invitation  to  the  Presidency  of  South 
Carolina  College,  with  Professor  Silliman's  reply,  is 
presented  below. 

FROM   HON.    ROBERT   T.   HAYNE. 

CHAKLESTON,  January  19, 1835. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  You  have  probably  seen  that  the  trustees 
of  the  South  Carolina  College  have  made  a  radical  reform 
in  that  institution,  the  president  and  all  the  old  professors 
(except  one,  Mr.  Nott)  having  gone  out  with  a  view  to  give 
place  to  others  to  be  chosen.  Three  only  have  as  yet  been 
elected  professors  :  Dew,  of  William  and  Mary,  to  the  pro- 
fessorship of  History  and  Political  Economy ;  Professor 
Davis,  of  West  Point,  to  the  professorship  of  Mathematics, 
and  Mr.  Cogswell,  formerly  of  Northampton,  to  the  profes- 
sorship of  Languages ;  the  presidency  with  the  professor- 


296  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ships  of  Moral  Philosophy  and  Chemistry,  still  remaining 
vacant  We  are  very  anxious  to  fill  these  with  men  of  high 
character  and  commanding  talents.  To  accomplish  this,  a 
committee  has  been  appointed  by  the  trustees,  consisting 
of  Governor  McDuffie,  General  Hamilton,  and  myself,  to 
make  inquiries  and  find  out  suitable  persons  for  these 
stations.  The  president  will  not  be  chosen  till  the  annual 
meeting  in  November  next ;  the  professors,  if  we  can  find 
proper  men,  may  be  elected  in  June  next,  to  enter  upon  the 
duties  of  their  respective  offices  in  October.  Now  it  has 
occurred  to  me  that  as  the  presidency  of  the  South  Caro- 
lina College  is  in  many  respects  the  most  desirable  literary 
office  in  the  Union,  it  might  suit  your  views  to  accept  it, 
and  believing  that  there  is  no  man  better  qualified  for  the 
station,  none  who  would  be  more  acceptable  not  only  to  the 
trustees  but  to  the  people  at  large,  I  take  the  liberty  of 
submitting  the  question  to  your  consideration.  The  salary 
is  $3000  per  annum,  with  a  good  house ;  the  tenure  during 
good  behavior.  The  salary  is  certain,  being  paid  out  of 
the  public  treasury.  The  number  of  students  it  is  not  ex- 
pected will  exceed  one  hundred  for  several  years  to  come, 
and  probably  never  extend  beyond  one  hundred  and  fifty. 
There  is  an  annual  vacation  from  June  to  October,  which 
includes  the  whole  season  in  which  autumnal  fevers  occa- 
sionally (though  rarely)  prevail  in  Columbia,  which,  as  you 
are  aware,  is  a  fine  flourishing  town,  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, and  possessing  a  polished  society  by  whom  the  fac- 
ulty of  the  College  are  greatly  cherished.  The  president 
might  choose  his  department,  and  chemistry  could  be  as- 
signed to  you.  I  am  persuaded  that  there  is  no  station  in 
the  Union  in  which  you  could  acquire  more  honor  or  be 
more  successfully  employed.  Under  the  new  arrangement, 
I  think  there  will  be  no  serious  difficulty  in  enforcing  dis- 
cipline. With  these  brief  suggestions,  I  submit  to  your 
consideration  whether  you  cannot  allow  us  to  look  to  you  to 
fill  the  vacancy.  I  am,  of  course,  not  authorized  to  act  for 


LETTER  TO  HON.  ROBERT  t.  HAYXI-.  297 

the  Board,  but  I  have  the  sanction  of  Governor  McDuffie 
and  General  Hamilton  for  saying,  that  we  should  not  only 
support  you  ourselves,  but  we  have  no  doubt  that,  should 
you  consent,  the  trustees  would  elect  you  without  hesitation. 
I  write  this  confidentially,  because  it  may  happen  that  you 
would  not  desire  (even  should  you  be  willing  to  be  a  can- 
didate for  the  office)  that  it  should  be  publicly  known,  with 
reference  to  your  present  situation.  I  shall  be  much  grati- 
fied to  hear  from  you  on  this  subject,  and  also  to  have  the 
names  of  suitable  persons  suggested  for  the  other  vacant 
offices  in  the  College.  I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 
PROFESSOR  SILLIMAN.  ROBERT  Y.  HAYNE. 

TO    HON.    ROBERT    T.    HAYNE. 

YALE  COLLEGE,  February  2,  1835. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  taken  a  few  days  to  consider  the 
very  important  subject  which  you  have  done  me  the  honor 
to  lay  before  me,  and  trust  I  have  not  trangressed  the  lim- 
its of  propriety  in  consulting  a  very  small  number  of  trust- 
worthy friends  immediately  around  me.  While  I  feel  much 
gratified  by  the  favorable  opinion  which  you  and  the  emi- 
nent gentlemen,  your  associates  in  this  affair,  are  so  kind  as 
to  entertain  of  me,  it  is  but  candid  to  say  that  I  cannot  dis- 
cover good  ground  of  confidence  in  myself,  that  I  should  be 
able  to  answer  the  reasonable  expectations  of  your  commu- 
nity. Having  from  a  very  early  period  corresponded  with 
several  gentlemen  in  the  faculty  of  your  University,  and 
with  others  interested  in  promoting  its  welfare,  it  will  give 
me  pleasure  still  to  exert  myself  for  that  object.  I  will 
therefore  keep  in  mind  the  vacant  offices,  and  should  the 
names  of  any  persons  qualified  to  fill  them  occur  to  me,  I 
will,  with  your  permission,  communicate  them  to  you.  I 
remain,  most  respectfully,  your 

Very  obedient  servant, 

HON.  ROBT.  Y.  HAYNE.  B.  SILLIMAN. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

HIS   PROFESSIONAL   ASSISTANTS:    HIS    LOSS   OF   HEALTH: 
HIS   "ELEMENTS   OF   CHEMISTKY." 

Organization  for  Aid  in  his  Department.  —  His  Assistant,  Lyman  Foot: 
Subsequent  History  of  Dr.  Foot. — ;  Professor  D.  Olmsted.  —  Mr.  George 
T.  Bowen:  their  Subsequent  History.  —  Temporary  Assistants.  —  First 
Permanent  Assistant,  Mr.  S.  J.  Andrews.  —  Domestic  Affliction,  and 
Interruption  of  his  Health.  —  Journey  to  West  Point.  —  Death  of  Pro- 
fessor A.  M.  Fisher.  —  Second  Journey  with  Mr.  "Wadsworth. —  Mr. 
Andrews  as  Amanuensis.  —  Journey  to  Ballston  and  Saratoga.  —  Jour- 
ney to  Washington:  Dinner  with  Mr.  Calhoun:  Interview  with  Presi- 
dent Monroe:  Visit  to  Arlington  Mouse:  Notice  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C'ustia. 
—  Means  by  which  his  Health  was  Regained. —  Advantages  of  Tem- 
perance.—  Resignation,  and  Subsequent  Career  of  Mr.  Andrews.  —  Mr. 
Benjamin  1).  Silliman,  Successor  of  Mr.  Andrews.  —  Dr.  Burr  Noyes: 
Professor  Charles  U.  Shepard:  Professor  Oliver  P.  Mubbard:  Professor 
J.  D.  Dana:  Professor  B.  Silliman,  Jr.,  and  other  Assistants.  —  His 
"Elements  of  Chemistry." — Correspondence:  Letters  from  Professor 
A.  M.  Fisher,  Mrs.  Sigourney,  D.  \Vadsworth,  J.  C.  Calhoun,  Jared 
Sparks,  Josiah  Quincy,  Lafayette,  Commodore  Hull,  II.  W.  Desaussure, 
J.  Fenimore  Cooper. 

IN  1806  I  made  the  first  arrangement  for  regular  aid  in 
the  manual  service  of  my  departments.  Before  I  went  to 
England,  I  depended  on  accidental  assistance,  by  hiring 
one  and  another  to  do  the  work.  But  in  the  autumn  of 
1806,  being  at  Wallingford,  Mrs.  Noyes  recommended  to 
me  a  lad  of  about  twelve  years  of  age,  by  name,  Foot,  who 
soon  after  came  to  me  at  the  College,  and  a  sleeping-room 
was  prepared  for  him  in  the  attic  of  the  Lyceum,  in  which 
building  was  my  own  chamber.  He  did  the  work  of  the 
laboratory  as  far  as  he  was  able.  During  the  autumnal, 
winter,  and  spring  seasons,  after  my  return  from  England, 
in  June  1806,  I  had  my  breakfast  and  evening  tea  in  my 
chamber,  —  until  October  1809,  when  I  had  a  better  home, 


PROFESSIONAL  ASSISTANTS.  299 

—  and  this  lad  arranged  everything  satisfactorily  for  my 
comfort,  while  his  own  food  was  taken  in  the  college  hall. 
In  the  summer  I  boarded  at  Mr.  Twining's,  in  the  town. 
Foot  grew  in  usefulness,  as  in  stature  and  intelligence ;  he 
was  studious  and  exemplary,  and  became  a  useful  assistant 
in  all  my  departments,  but  particularly  in  chemistry.  He 
remained  with  me  nine  years,  studied  medicine  and  surgery, 
received  a  diploma  from  our  medical  institution,  and  after 
a  short  term  of  service  in  rural  practice,  he  became  sur- 
geon in  the  army  by  the  recommendation  of  the  Professors 
addressed  to  Mr.  Calhoun,  then  Secretary  of  War.  Three 
of  us,  —  Mr.  Day,  Mr.  Kingsley,  and  myself,  —  in  addition 
to  President  Dwight,  had  been  instructors  of  Mr.  Calhoun 
in  Yale  College,  and  he  paid  more  attention  to  our  recom- 
mendation than  to  that  of  our  demagogues,  who  presented 
their  own  favorites.  Dr.  Foot  reared  an  interesting  family, 
from  whom  he  was  separated  by  active  service  in  the  war 
with  the  Seminoles  in  Florida,  and  in  the  Black  Hawk  war 
in  the  region  of  the  northern  Mississippi.  When  more 
than  fifty  years  of  age,  he  was  ordered  to  join  the  army  in 
the  Mexican  war,  but  his  constitution,  already  impaired  by 
severe  service  in  savage  warfare,  yielded  to  the  deleterious 
effects  of  the  climate,  and  he  died  of  dysentery  at  Port 
La  Vacca,  in  Texas.  From  the  situation  of  a  poor  boy,  of 
unfortunate  parentage,  he  rose  by  his  merit  to  ths  rank  of 
second  surgeon,  in  point  of  age,  in  the  American  army. 
President  Dwight  and  the  Professors  gave  him  their  friendly 
influence,  and  the  medical  professors  gave  him  the  fees  of 
their  respective  courses,  in  consideration  of  his  merits  and 
of  his  inability  to  purchase  their  tickets. 

After  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Foot  in  1815,  and  until 
1821,  I  had  no  regular  trained  assistant.  The  labor  of  the 
laboratory  was  performed  by  hired  men,  who  lived  in  my 
family,  serving  there  in  all  necessary  domestic  duties,  in- 
cluding the  garden  and  the  barn,  and  at  the  College,  as 
there  was  occasion.  It  may  be  well  supposed  that  such 


300  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

persons  would  not  be  very  adroit  adepts  in  scientific  em- 
ployments. A  few  of  them,  however,  having  acquired  some 
degree  of  skill,  became  very  useful  assistants,  but  others 
were  clumsy,  heavy-handed  men,  and  the  glass  vessels  suf- 
fered not  a  little  in  their  hands.  During  this  period,  and 
at  subsequent  times  also,  I  was  aided  by  private  pupils  who 
worked  in  the  laboratory  for  the  sake  of  obtaining  a  knowl- 
edge of  practical  chemistry.  Among  the  most  distinguished 
of  these  were  Prof.  Denison  Olmsted,  Prof.  George  T. 
Bowen,  and  Prof.  Edward  Hitchcock,  —  giving  them  the 
titles  which  they  afterwards  bore.  Prof.  Olmsted  had  been 
appointed  to  the  chair  of  chemistry  in  the  College  of 
Chapel  Hill,  North  Carolina ;  and  with  a  view  to  render 
himself  more  fit  for  the  duties  of  the  office,  he  passed  a 
year  with  me  at  the  expense  of  his  College,  and  became 
familiar  with  chemical  manipulations  and  with  the  various 
duties  of  all  my  departments.  When  departing  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1818,  from  New  Haven,  for  his  destination  in 
North  Carolina,  Mr.  Olmsted  feelingly  expressed  to  me  his 
sense  of  the  advantages  which  he  had  enjoyed  in  the  course 
of  preparatory  labor  and  instruction  through  which  he  had 
passed,  without  which  he  said  that  he  should  not  have  dared 
to  enter  upon  the  duties  of  his  station.  In  that  station, 
during  the  seven  or  eight  years  of  his  professorship  at 
Chapel  Hill,  he  bestowed  important  advantage  on  the  Col- 
lege there,  and  acquired  deserved  honor  for  himself.  In 
addition  to  his  duties  of  instruction  and  the  necessary  labor 
of  preparing  his  experiments,  he  explored  extensively  and 
successfully  the  geology  of  North  Carolina,  whose  territory 
is  rich  in  valuable  minerals,  and  in  facts  illustrative  of 
geological  theory,  which  were  presented  by  him  to  the 
public  in  a  small  but  valuable  volume,  —  an  interesting 
early  record  of  American  Geology.  He  deposited,  also, 
duplicate  specimens  in  Yale  College  Cabinet.  From  my 
successive  classes,  and  especially  from  my  private  pupils,  I 
withheld  no  important  fact  with  which  my  experience  had 


PROFESSIONAL  ASSISTANTS.  301 

made  me  acquainted,  and  I,  in  turn,  invited  a  frank  com- 
munication of  their  knowledge  and  of  their  objections  to 
my  views.  With  Horace  I  often  said  to  them,  "  Si  quid 
novisti  rectius  istis,  candidus  imperti ;  si  non,  his  utere 
mecum."  I  had  some  way  of  succeeding  in  every  depart- 
ment, but  I  was 'always  happy  to  hear  from  them  of  a  bet- 
ter way.  From  Chapel  Hill,  Professor  Olmsted  returned 
to  Yale  College  in  1825,  as  Professor  of  Mathematics  and 
Natural  Philosophy,  in  place  of  Rev.  Professor  Matthew 
Rice  Dutton,  deceased. 

Mr.  George  T.  Bowen,  of  Providence,  R.  I.,  when  a 
member  of  the  Junior  and  Senior  classes,  in  1821-22, 
made  application  to  me  for  admission  to  the  laboratory,  as 
a  private  pupil  and  assistant  in  the  preparation  of  the 
experiments.  As  such  an  engagement  might  interfere  with 
his  duties  as  an  undergraduate  and  a  member  of  one  of  the 
College  classes,  I  declined  receiving  him,  unless  he  could 
obtain  special  leave  from  the  President.  So  earnest  was 
the  young  man  in  his  application,  that  the  indulgence  was 
granted  upon  the  express  condition  that  he  should  perform 
all  his  college  duties  with  fidelity.  Under  these  conditions 
he  came  to  the  laboratory ;  and  he  proved  himself  a  zeal- 
ous, industrious,  ingenious,  and  efficient  pupil  and  assistant 
during  the  two  years  when  he  was  with  me.  He  performed 
several  analyses,  which  are  recorded  in  the  fifth  and  eighth 
volumes  of  the  "American  Journal  of  Science,"  and  in  the 
fifth  volume  he  recorded  the  magnetic  effects  produced  by 

the  calori motor  of  Dr.  Hare After  leaving  New 

Haven,  Mr.  Bowen  passed  some  time  with  Dr.  Hare,  in 
Philadelphia,  both  for  the  advantage  of  his  instruction 
and  from  social  considerations,  as  Mrs.  Harey  who  was  a 
lady  from  Providence,  was  also  his  relative.  He  went 
also  through  a  regular  course  of  medical  instruction  in 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  From  Philadelphia  Mr. 
Bowen  passed  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  as  Professor  of  Chemis- 
try in  the  University  of  Tennessee,  where,  under  President 


302  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Lindsley,  he  was  associated  with  the  eminent  Dr.  Troost 
We  had  occasion  to  lament  that  only  a  brief  course  of  duty 
was  allotted  to  him.  He  died  of  consumption,  in  1828, 
having  a  decided  Christian  hope.  From  his  death-bed  he 
sent  me  an  aerolite  that  had  fallen  in  Tennessee,  at  the 
same  time  that  he  sent  me  an  affectionate  farewell. 

More  than  forty  years  ago  — I  believe  in  the  year  1817 — 
I  received  a  box  of  minerals  from  a  person,  then  unknown 
to  me,  who  signed  his  name  Edward  Hitchcock,  teacher  of 
the  Academy  of  Deerfield,  Mass.  He  stated  that  he  had 
collected  these  minerals  from  the  rocks  and  mountains  in 
the  vicinity ;  and  as  he  stated,  moreover,  that  they  were 
unknown  to  him,  he  desired  me  to  name  them  and  return 
them  to  him  with  the  labels.  I  promptly  complied  with  the 
request,  and  as  the  accompanying  letter  of  Mr.  Hitchcock 
was  written  with  modest  good  sense,  and  indicated  a  love 
of  knowledge,  I  invited  him  to  send  to  me  another  box,, 
and  I  promised  him  to  return  it  with  the  information  he 
desired.  It  came,  and  was  attended  to  accordingly.  The 
minerals  were  chiefly  of  the  zeolite  family,  —  chabasie, 
analcime,  mezotype,  and  agatized  quartz,  &c.,  being  the 
usual  companions  of  trap-rocks,  such  as  are  numerous  in 
that  region.  I  then  invited  Mr.  Hitchcock  to  visit  me  in 
New  Haven.  The  invitation  was  accepted,  and  for  a  series 
of  years  he  was  often  here,  and  attended  all  the  courses  of 
lectures  with  more  or  less  of  regularity.  He  discovered  an 
amiable  character  and  an  ardent  mind  animated  by  the 
love  of  knowledge,  and  he  engaged  with  great  industry  in 
the  study  of  chemistry,  mineralogy,  and  geology.  The 
"  Journal  of  Science  and  Arts "  was  instituted  the  next 
year,  1818,  and  Mr.  Hitchcock  appeared  in  the  first  vol- 
ume. His  communications  have  been  numerous  and  im- 
portant. I  have  found  between  fifty  and  sixty  titles  of  his 
papers  in  the  tables  of  contents  and  in  the  index ;  not  a 
few  of  them  are  elaborate,  and  indicate  much  care  and  skill. 


PROFESSIONAL  ASSISTANTS.  303 

His  starting-point  was  with  us,  and  we  may  regard  him  as 
a  pupil  of  our  scientific  departments. 

I  cannot  take  time  to  follow  him  in  his  career  as  a 
minister  of  the  gospel  at  Conway,  in  his  office  as  Professor 
of  chemistry,  geology,  &c.,  in  Amherst  College,  as  Presi- 
dent afterwards,  for  several  years,  of  the  same  institution, 
and  as  Professor  again,  after  his  voluntary  resignation  of 
the  presidency. 

It  was  rare  that  I  was  without  private  pupils,  but  of  some 
the  term  was  too  short  or  the  result  too  unimportant  to 
merit  a  mention,  unless  very  transiently,  on  this  occasion. 

Rev.  Sereno  E.  Dwight  was  with  me  when  a  youth,  and 
worked  with  his  characteristic  zeal.  Prof.  Chester  Dewey 
and  Prof.  Robert  Hare  both  operated  with  me  at  different 
times  in  making  potassium,  and  Dr.  Hare  in  later  periods 
in  galvanism.  Prof.  Amos  Eaton  passed  a  winter  here  in 
preparation  to  become  a  lecturer,  and  he  became  a  dis~ 
tinguished  teacher.  With  the  same  view  came  Prof.  Wil- 
liam C.  Fowler,  although  he  did  not  follow  the  profession  ; 
and  the  same  was  true  of  Rev.  Gamaliel  Olds,  a  gentleman 
whose  mind  was  more  bent  on  metaphysics  than  physics. 
Prof.  Avery,  afterwards  of  Hamilton  College,  was  much 
engaged  as  a  student  of  chemistry,  and  so  was  Dr.  and 
Prof.  Edward  Leffingwell,  who  was,  moreover,  a  very 
useful  assistant,  although  he  could  not  distinguish  colors. 
Prof.  Vigus,  of  Alabama,  observed  and  recorded  every- 
thing, and  carried  his  knowledge  into  the  Southern  acade- 
mies. Prof.  Ormond  Beattie  was  an  earnest  student.  Oth- 
ers resorted  to  the  laboratory  as  amateurs,  —  as  Mr.  Dill, 
of  Indiana.  Mr.  George  Spalding  and  Mr.  John  W.  Par- 
ker studied  and  practised  to  become  chemical  manufactur- 
ers. There  were  doubtless  others  whose  names  do  not 
occur  to  me,  and  which  could  be  rallied  from  my  old  note- 
books,— for  it  was  very  seldom  that  the  laboratory  was  with- 
out extra  students  or  observers  of  the  operations.  Many 
times  I  have  said  to  those  who  as  novices  have  offered  to 


304  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

aid  me,  that  tliey  might  come  and  see  what  we  were  doing, 
and  I  should  much  prefer  that  they  should  do  nothing  ;  for 
then  they  would  not  hinder  me  and  my  trained  assistants, 
nor  derange  or  break  the  apparatus. 

Again  being  at  "Wallingford,  the  same  good  lady,  Mrs. 
Noyes,  wife  of  the  Rev.  James  Noyes,  on  being  informed 
that  an  assistant  was  needed  in  my  department  in  Yale 
College,  recommended  a  young  gentleman  of  Wallingford, 
Mr.  Sherlock  J.  Andrews,  a  son  of  an  eminent  physician 
of  that  place,  and  a  recent  graduate  of  Union  College, 
Schenectady.  Mr.  Andrews  readily  accepted  the  offer,  and 
came  with  me  to  New  Haven,  to  be  ready  to  commence  the 
business  of  the  term.  A  pleasant  chamber  was  assigned 
to  him  in  the  North  College,  opposite  to  President  Day. 
The  choice  of  Mr.  Andrews  was  a  happy  one.  He  was  a 
young  man  of  a  vigorous,  active  mind,  and  energetic  and 
quick  in  his  decisions  and  movements ;  of  a  warm  heart, 
and  a  genial  temper  and  temperament ;  of  the  best  moral 
and  social  habits ;  a  quick  and  skilful  penman,  an  agree- 
able inmate  of  my  family,  in  which  we  made  him  quite  at 
home  ;  and  in  short,  we  found  that  we  had  acquired  an 
interesting  and  valuable  friend,  as  well  as  a  good  profes- 
sional assistant.  It  is  true  he  had,  when  he  came,  no  ex- 
perience in  practical  chemistry.  He  had  everything  to 
learn,  but  he  learned  rapidly,  because  he  had  zeal,  industry, 
talent,  and  love  of  knowledge,  and  before  the  end  of  the 
first  term  he  had  proved  that  we  had  made  a  happy  choice. 

Mr.  Silliman  interrupts  his  account  of  the  services 
rendered  by  Mr.  Andrews,  for  the  purpose  of  describ- 
ing his  exertions  at  this  time  for  the  restoration  of 
his  health,  which  had  become  seriously  impaired. 
The  death  of  his  son,  Trurnbull,  and  also  of  an  in- 
fant daughter,  in  1819,  has  already  been  mentioned. 


PROFESSIONAL  ASSISTANTS:  LOSS  OF  HEALTH.       305 

Within  three  years,  two  other  infant  children  were 
taken  from  him  by  death.  "  Anxiety,  watching,  and 
sorrow"  had  worn  upon  his  health,  and  in  the 
autumn  of  1822  repeated  attacks  of  vertigo  warned 
him  of  the  necessity  of  seeking  some  relief.  He  first 
undertook  a  journey  to  West  Point,  having  been  ap- 
pointed an  official  visitor  to  the  military  school.  He 
was  on  his  way  back  when  he  received  the  appalling 
intelligence  of  the  death  of  his  friend  and  youth- 
ful colleague,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  young  men 
whom  the  country  has  produced, — Alexander  Metcalf 
Fisher. 

We  passed  a  night  at  Kingston,  and  at  Poughkeepsie  the 
morning  papers  shocked  us  with  the  news  of  the  wreck  of 
the  Albion  —  a  New  York  packet-ship  —  in  a  tempest  on 
the  rock-bound  coast  of  Old  Kinsale  in  Ireland,  with  the 
loss  of  all  her  cabin  passengers,  except  one,  and  among  the 
lost  was  our  Professor  Fisher  of  Yale  College,  who  was  on 
his  way  to  Europe  for  improvement.  More  than  forty  pas- 
sengers were  drowned,  besides  numbers  of  the  people  of 
the  ship  ;  and  her  commander,  Captain  Williams,  was  among 
them.  Her  spars  and  topsails  being  blown  away,  she  could 
not  be  kept  off  from  the  shore. 

Mr.  Fisher  perished  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  and  his 
attainments  and  merits  placed  him  among  the  very  first 
young  men  in  the  land.  My  companions  being  devout  men, 
we  all  kneeled  in  our  chamber  in  an  act  of  devotion,  lie- 
signed  indeed  we  were,  but  deeply  afflicted  by  this  most 
unexpected  event.  The  disaster  might  probably  have  been 
averted  had  the  ship  tacked  and  stood  out  to  sea  until 
the  southeast  gale  abated.  In  April  1805,  the  Ontario, 
in  which  I  was  a  passenger  for  Liverpool,  was  caught  in  a 
southeast  gale  in  the  same  part  of  the  channel,  and  she 
tacked  in  time  to  escape  being  driven  upon  those  terrible 


306  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLDIAN. 

cliffs  of  Kinsale.  In  my  last  trip  to  Liverpool,  in  March 
1851,  we  steamed  with  a  smooth  sea  so  near  these  cliffs 
that  they  were  very  distinctly  visible  within  two  miles,  and 
our  captain  pointed  out  the  very  place  where  the  Albion 
perished,  and  with  her,  poor  Fisher  and  his  companions. 

Having  returned  home,  Mr.  Silliman,  soon  made 
a  second  journey  with  Mr.  Wadsworth,  southward 
as  far  as  Philadelphia,  and  back  as  far  northward 
as  the  Catskill  Mountains. 

We  remained  two  days  in  New  York,  stopping  at  the 
City  Hotel,  where  the  house  was  not  quiet  until  past  mid- 
night, and  the  city,  with  milkmen,  sweeps,  and  moving  car- 
riages, was  astir  again  between  three  and  four  o'clock,  A.  M. 
Of  course,  there  was  little  time  for  repose,  and  I  felt  little 
spirit  for  the  interviews  of  the  day.  My  good  Quaker  friend, 
John  Griscom,  a  brother  chemist  and  lecturer,  dined  with 
me  quietly  at  the  hotel,  and  his  mild  and  soothing  manners 
and  modest  good  sense  formed  a  pleasant  relief  from  a 
rather  stormy  interview  with  an  English  travelling  geologist, 
whose  arrogant  assumption  of  superiority  over  American 
geologists  provoked  me  to  a  rather  sharp  rejoinder  and 
reproof,  and  somewhat  agitated  my  nerves  which  were 
prone,  in  my  enfeebled  state  of  health,  to  vibrate  painfully, 
when  roughly  touched.  This  gentleman,  however,  profited 
by  my  rebuke,  for  he  became  very  much  my  friend,  visited 
me  at  New  Haven  and  communicated  several  valuable 
papers  to  the  "  American  Journal  of  Science."  His  name 
was  John  Finch  ;  he  remained  several  years  in  this  country, 
returned  to  England,  and  is,  I  believe,  deceased. 

Mr.  Silliman  reverts  to  Mr.  Andrews,  and  to  the 
valuable  aid  derived  from  him. 

We  acquired  the  habit,  on  my  part,  of  dictating,  and  on 


PROFESSIONAL  ASSISTANTS:  LOSS  OF  HEALTH.        307 

his,  of  writing,  from  the  living  voice.  We  improved  daily 
in  this  exercise,  until  it  became  familiar  and  easy.  Often 
when  my  debility  induced  me  to  recline  on  the  sofa,  Mr. 
Andrews  wrote  for  me  by  the  hour,  and  sometimes  for 
whole  days,  for  it  cost  me  no  inconvenient  effort  to  dictate, 
although  I  had  little  ability  to  write.  I  began  usually  by 
stating  the  subject ;  then  I  gave  him  the  first  sentence, 
or  a  member  of  it,  if  it  was  long.  It  being  written  down, 
my  assistant  then  repeated  the  last  word  of  the  sentence  or 
clause  and  another  sentence  or  member  was  then  added, 
and  so  on  until  the  subject  was  finished.  Last  of  all,  the 
writing  was  read  aloud  for  corrections.  I  learned  these 
habits  from  President  Dwight,  who  from  the  weakness  of 
his  eyes,  was  compelled  to  dictate  most  of  his  writings. 
Even  his  great  theological  work  was  put  on  paper  by  the 
hand  of  an  amanuensis,  generally  a  regular  paid  assistant,  — 
but  sometimes  his  friends  wrote  for  him.  I  wrote  after  his 
dictation,  his  very  interesting  and  instructive  sermon,  on 
the  close  of  the  century  and  the  commencement  of  a  new 
century,  January  1,  1801,  —  not  January  1,  1800,  as  many 
strangely  imagined,  as  if  ninety-nine  years  were  a  century. 

Finding  his  health  not  established  by  these  re- 
peated journeys,  he  with  his  wife  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Wadsworth  spent  some  time  at  Ballston  and  Sara- 
toga. 

Among  our  guests  at  Ballston  were  Hon.  Martin  Van 
Buren  ;  Mr.  Short,  formerly  of  Paris ;  George  Harrison  of 
Philadelphia,  and  his  beautiful  wife ;  the  rich  bachelor,  Mr. 
Pollock  of  North  Carolina  ;  Harrison  Gray  Otis  and  family 
from  Boston  ;  John  Dickinson  and  lady  from  Troy  ;  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Williams  from  Mississippi ;  Rev.  Sereno  E.  Dwight, 
and  many  more  persons  of  the  higher  aristocracy,  as  well  as 
those  of  less  pretension.  Had  I  not  enjoyed  the  company 
of  my  good  wife  I  should,  however,  have  suffered  from 


308  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ennui,  for  we  had  few  sources  of  entertainment.  Our  walks 
were  limited  as  the  ground  was  not  very  eligible,  but  I 
enjoyed  riding  on  horseback  through  the  pine  woods,  in 
company  with  a  lady  friend,  Miss  Davenport,  now  and  for 
many  years  the  wife  of  Rev.  Dr.  Skinner  of  New  York,  — 
Mrs.  Silliman  not  preferring  that  kind  of  exercise.  We 
had  more  time  than  spirits  for  reading  in  our  chamber ;  the 
evenings  were  generally  passed  in  the  parlor,  where  we 
were  entertained  by  a  band  of  musicians,  who  also  sum- 
moned us  to  dinner  with  the  Marseilles  Hymn,  or  God  save 
the  Queen,  or  Hail  Columbia. 

In  1797,  soon  after  leaving  College,  owing  to  a  wound 
in  my  foot  from  an  axe,  I  was  in  danger  of  lockjaw,  and  a 
nervous  debility  followed  after  the  immediate  danger  was 
removed.  This  induced  me  to  pass  a  month  at  Ballston 
Springs.  My  companions  were  Mr.  John  Winn,  and  the 
Hon.  John  Elliott,  both  from  Sunbury,  Liberty  County, 
Georgia.  We  performed  the  journey  on  horseback,  and 
of  course  rode  daily  at  Ballston  when  the  weather  was 
favorable.  There  was  but  one  hotel,  that  of  Aldrich,  and 
in  the  street  in  front  of  the  house  the  sparkling  fountain 
of  chalybeate  water,  brisk  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  rose  as 
if  joyous,  from  the  earth  ;  and  the  area  was  enclosed  within 
an  iron  railing.  We  of  course  visited  Saratoga,  which  has 
now  become  a  large  and  celebrated  town,  owing  to  the 
excellence  of  its  waters.  Reverting  to  1797,  the  period  of 
my  early  visit,  it  is  interesting  to  mention  the  condition  of 
Saratoga  at  that  time.  We,  the  little  party  before  named, 
Mr.  Klliott,  Mr.  Winn  and  myself,  mounted  our  horses  one 
day  and  rode  seven  or  eight  miles  through  the  pine  forest, 
with  its  delightful  fragrance,  and  arrived  at  the  place  where 
they  said  that  there  were  some  mineral  springs.  There 
was  not  even  a  village,  but  only  two  or  three  log-houses 
standing  among  the  pine-trees.  The  people  were  civil,  and 
provided  hay  for  our  horses,  and  for  ourselves  bacon  and 
eggs.  They  then  piloted  us  into  a  morass  where  nature 


PROFESSIONAL  ASSISTANTS:   LOSS  OF  HEALTH.        309 

was  unsubdued,  and,  stepping  cautiously  from  bog  to  bog, 
we  soon  arrived  at  a  spring  which  they  called  the  Congress 
Spring,  and  we  drank  the  water  which  tasted  as  it  does 

now Twenty-six  years  had  passed  and  what  a 

change  !  A  beautiful  city  had  arisen  where  there  were  only 
a  morass  and  a  pine  barren.  Beautiful  lawns  adorned  with 
statuary  now  meet  the  eyes,  and  the  fashionable  world,  in 
the  summer  months,  throng  this  favorite  resort. 

Once  more,  in  May  1824,  with  his  usual  com- 
panion in  journeying,  Mr.  Wadsworth,  he  left  home 
and  travelled  southward  as  far  as  Washington. 

We  were  just  in  time  to  see  both  Houses  of  Congress 
in  session.  We  dined  with  Mr.  J.  C.  Calhoun,  a  distin- 
guished graduate  of  Yale  College,  who  was  the  Secretary 
of  War,  and  who  received  us  with  great  cordiality.  He 
explained  to  us  his  plans  for  internal  improvement,  which 
were  extensive  and  detailed,  and  included  not  only  a  ship- 
canal  between  Lakes  Superior  and  Huron,  by  the  Sault 
St.  Mary,  but  even  a  cut  across  the  neck  of  Cape  Cod,  thus 
uniting  Buzzard's  Bay  with  Massachusetts,  or  Cape  Cod 
Bay,  and  saving  a  dangerous  navigation  around  the  Cape. 
But  all  this  was  changed  when  sectional  jealousies  arose, 
and  the  high-minded,  honorable  patriot  became  the  antag- 
onist of  internal  improvement,  and  was  narrowed  down  to 
a  South  Carolina  politician.  President  Monroe  was  then 
at  the  head  of  the  Government.  He  had  been  kind  to  me 
in  1805,  when  he  was  our  minister  in  London,  and  I  called 
upon  him  there  in  company  with  the  late  Professor  Peck 
of  Harvard.  I  paid  my  respects  again  to  him  when  he 
visited  New  Haven  on  his  Eastern  tour  in  1816,  and  was 
promptly  recognized.  We  now  called  upon  him  in  the 
official  palace,  and  were  received  with  that  mild  benignity 
which  corresponded  with  his  amiable  character.  As  we 
then  thought  of  travelling  into  Virginia,  his  native  State, 


310  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

he,  unsolicited,  offered  us  letters  to  his  friends.  Although 
not  a  splendid  man,  he  was  a  wise  and  good  President. 
Twenty-five  years  have  passed  since  this  visit  at  Washing- 
ton, and  I  will  copy  from  a  letter  which  I  wrote  at  the  time, 
the  impression  which  I  then  received.  "  The  magnificence 
of  the  exterior  of  the  public  buildings  quite  equalled  my 
expectations,  and  the  city  itself  is  more  considerable  and 
more  respectable  in  its  appearance  than  some  people  will 
allow.  As  I  sit  writing  in  my  chamber,  the  grand  Poto- 
mac winds  and  stretches  far  away,  and  reminds  me  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  at  Montreal  and  Quebec.  Arlington  House, 
the  seat  of  George  Washington  Parke  Custis,  Esq.,  grand- 
son of  Mrs.  Washington,  makes  an  imposing  appearance 
on  a  high  hill  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  The 
carriage  is  at  the  door  to  take  us  to  the  Capitol,  —  for  no- 
body walks  here,  in  this  rudimentary  city,  where,  as  our 
Senator  Tracy  used  to  say,  '  it  is  three  miles  to  anything.' " 
In  many  visits  to  Washington  in  later  years,  I  have  seen  it 
gradually  filling  up,  until  it  is  no  longer  a  skeleton  city,  and 
now  numbers  50,000  people.  We  visited  Arlington  then 
(1824),  and  I  was  there  again  in  1852,  after  the  lapse  of 
twenty-eight  years,  and  found  everything  very  much  im- 
proved. The  hospitable  proprietor  made  this  brief  visit 
very  pleasant.  Mrs.  Custis  was  living,  and  the  house  was 
rich  in  relics  of  Washington  :  his  plate  in  many  forms ; 
his  portrait  at  the  period  of  Braddock's  campaign,  dressed 
in  the  full  and  flowing  costume  of  that  day  ;  —  and,  in  the 
visit  of  1824,  Mrs.  Custis  showed  me  the  bed  on  which 
General  Washington  died,  and  offered  it  in  hospitality  for 
my  repose,  —  if  repose  would  indeed  come  when  memory 
recalled  the  death-scene.  Mrs.  Custis  gave  me  a  terra 
cotta  medallion  of  Dr.  Franklin,  which  used  to  hang  in 
General  Washington's  study  or  office  at  Mount  Vernon  ; 
and  Mrs.  Custis  sent  to  Mrs.  Trumbull  a  saucer  of  the 
Presidential  period  at  Philadelphia,  from  a  set  made  for 
Mrs.  Washington  in  China.  A  napkin  also  was  sent,  be- 


I 


PROFESSIONAL  ASSISTANTS:  LOSS  OF  HEALTH.      311 


onging  to  the  camp  furniture  of  the  military  marquee. 
This  grand  tent  was  expanded  in  full  in  the  garret  at  Ar- 
lington ;  it  was  in  perfect  preservation,  fit  for  field-service 
again  ;  and  it  was  no  small  satisfaction  to  me  to  stand  be- 
neath its  ample  folds,  associated  as  they  had  been  with  so 
many  stirring  events,  and  anxious  as  well  as  joyous  mus- 
ings. Those  who  rendered  Arlington  so  attractive  are 
there  no  longer.  Mr.  Custis  died  October  10,  1857,  some 
years  after  he  had  returned  from  a  journey  to  Boston,  when 
I  received  a  call  from  him  at  my  house,  where  he  passed  an 
hour.  His  age,  when  he  died,  was  seventy-seven.  Mrs. 

Custis  died  before  him At  dinner,  at  Gadsby's, 

I  found  myself  next  to  General  Bernard,  the  distinguished 
engineer  of  Napoleon  I.  He  exhibited  the  suavity  of  his 
country ;  and,  as  he  was  about  to  visit  the  West  as  an  en- 
gineer of  our  government,  1,  by  a  passing  remark,  invited 
him  to  speak  of  our  great  system  of  Western  waters, — 
our  Mediterranean  -  like  lakes,  and  our  rivers  great  and 
full ;  and  I  ventured  to  add  that  the  regions  of  the  West 
were  admirably  adapted  to  a  system  of  internal  navigation. 

These  journeys  were  doubtless  salutary ;  but  the 
principal  cause  of  his  renewed  vigor  was  a  change 
of  diet,  of  the  nature  and  effect  of  which  he  gives 
the  following  description :  — 

When  my  health  began  to  fail  in  1821  and  1822, 1  was 
under  the  common  delusion  that  debility  and  functional 
derangement  must  be  overcome  by  a  moderate  use  of  stimu- 
lants. I  had  used  the  oxide  of  bismuth  -as  an  anti-dyspeptic 
remedy,  but  with  no  serious  benefit.  The  muscular  sys- 
tem was  enfeebled  along  with  the  digestive,  the  nervous 
power  was  thrown  out  of  healthy  action,  an  indescribable 
discomfort  deprived  me  in  a  great  degree  of  physical  en- 
joyment, and  the  mind  became  unequal  to  much  intellect- 


312  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ual  effort.  My  spirits,  were  however,  cheerful ;  and  even 
when  I  was  unable  to  sustain  a  conversation  with  a  calling 
stranger,  I  still  believed  that  I  should  recover,  for  my 
physicians,  after  careful  examination,  could  find  no  proof 
of  any  organic  disease,  but  only  of  functional  derangement. 
I  yielded  for  a  time  to  the  popular  belief  that  good  wine 
and  cordials  were  the  lever  which  would  raise  my  de- 
pressed power  ;  but  the  relief  was  only  temporary :  a  flash 
of  nervous  excitement  produced  an  illusive  appearance  of 
increased  vigor  with  which  the  mind  sympathized ;  the 
transient  brightness  was  soon  clouded  again,  and  no  per- 
manent benefit  followed ;  but  often  disturbed  slumbers, 
with  nocturnal  spasms  and  undefined  terrors  in  dreams, 
proved  that  all  was  wrong.  No  medical  man  informed  me 
that  I  was  pursuing  a  wrong  course  ;  but  the  same  wise 
and  good  friend,  to  whom  I  have  been  already  so  much  in- 
debted, Mr.  Daniel  Wadsworth,  convinced  me,  after  much 
effort,  that  my  best  chance  for  recovery  was  to  abandon  all 
stimulants  and  adopt  a  very  simple  diet,  and  in  such  quan- 
tities, however  moderate,  as  the  stomach  might  be  able  to 
digest  and  assimilate.  I  took  my  resolution  in  1823,  in  the 
lowest  depression  of  health.  I  abandoned  wine  and  every 
other  stimulant,  including,  for  the  time,  even  coffee  and  tea. 
Tobacco  had  always  been  my  abhorrence  ;  and  opium,  ex- 
cept medically,  when  wounded,  I  had  never  used.  With 
constant  exercise  abroad,  I  adopted  a  diet  of  boiled  rice, 
bread  and  milk,  —  the  milk  usually  boiled  and  diluted 
with  water,  —  plain  animal  muscle  in  small  quantity, 
varied  by  fowl  and  fish,  avoiding  rich  gravies  and  pastry, 
and  occasionally  using  soups  and  various  farinaceous  prep- 
arations. I  persevered  a  year  in  this  strict  regimen,  and 
after  a  few  weeks  my  unpleasant  symptoms  abated,  my 
strength  gradually  increased,  and  health,  imperceptibly  in 
its  daily  progress,  but  manifest  in  its  results,  stole  upon 
me  unawares.  While  this  course  of  regimen  was  in  prog- 
ress, I  met  at  Mr.  Wadsworth's  the  late  Mr.  William  Wat- 


PROFESSIONAL  ASSISTANTS:  LOSS  OF  HEALTH.       313 

son,  who,  as  an  invalid,  had  pursued  a  similar  course,  and, 
although  consumptive,  had  recovered  comfortable  health. 
He  gave  me  —  then  beginning  to  recover  strength  —  the 
fullest  assurance  that,  as  I  had  no  organic  disease,  I  should 
fully  recover,  provided  I  persevered  ;  and  that  in  his  opin- 
ion I  should  by -and -by  be  able  to  ride  all  night  in  the 
stage,  and  to  perform  all  the  labors  to  which  I  had  been 
accustomed  in  former  years.  I  was  then  at  the  meridian 
of  life,  in  my  forty-fourth  year ;  and  in  the  almost  thirty-six 
years  that  have  elapsed  since,  I  have  resumed  no  stimulus 
which  I  then  abandoned,  except  tea,  and  very  rarely  coffee. 
Tea  is  a  cordial  to  me  ;  "  it  cheers  but  not  inebriates." 
Tea  and  water  are  my  only  constant  drinks ;  milk  I  drink 
occasionally.  I  have  not  the  smallest  desire  for  wine  of 
any  kind,  nor  spirit,  nor  cider,  nor  beer ;  cold  water  is  far 
more  grateful  than  any  of  the  drinks  which  I  have  named 
ever  were.  I  never  used  them  more  than  moderately,  as 
they  were  formerly  used  in  the  most  sober  families.  If 
any  person  thinks  that  wine  and  brandy  are  useful  to  him, 
he  cannot,  at  this  day,  have  any  assurance  that  they  are 
not  manufactured  from  whiskey,  with  many  additions,  and 
some  of  them  noxious.  Very  little  port  wine  has  seen 
Portugal,  or  madeira  wine  Madeira,  or  champagne  wine 
France  ;  and  if  we  would  have  pure  wines,  and  avoid  im- 
position, they  must  be  manufactured  at  home  from  grapes 
or  other  fruits  ;  and  sugar  and  age  are  all  that  are  needed 
to  make  them  very  good. 

I  cannot  dismiss  this  topic  without  adding  that  Mr. 
Watson's  predictions  have  been  fulfilled.  Some  of  my 
most  arduous  labors  have  been  performed  since  my  recov- 
ery. I  have  not  only  been  able,  as  Mr.  Watson  predicted, 
to  travel  all  night  in  the  stage,  but  to  travel  extensively 
both  at  home  and  abroad ;  to  lecture  to  popular  audiences 
in  many  towns  and  cities,  —  some  of  them  far  away ;  to 
write  and  publish  books ;  to  ascend  the  White  Mountains 
of  New  Hampshire  in  1837 ;  to  explore  copper  mines  in 


314  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

the  Blue  Ridge  of  Virginia  in  1856  ;  twice  to  traverse  the 
Atlantic  and  portions  of  the  Mediterranean  ;  and  to  ascend 
Mount  l>olca,  near  Verona,  Mount  Vesuvius,  and  Mount 
Etna,  at  seventy-two  years  of  age,  in  1851.  I  record  these 
facts,  not  with  any  feeling  of  vanity  or  pride,  but  with  deep 
gratitude  to  God  ;  and  I  am  influenced  more  than  all  by 
the  wish  to  warn  my  children,  and  my  children's  children, 
to  obey  God's  physical  as  well  as  moral  laws,  and  so  re- 
member, if  they  would  enjoy  health  and  long  life,  that  they 
must  not  waste  their  physical  powers  upon  extraneous  in- 
dulgences, but  must  be  satisfied  with  nutritious  food,  water, 
or  watery  fluids  and  milk  for  drink,  regular  and  sufficient 
sleep,  and  a  due  regulation  of  all  propensities,  physical, 
moral,  and  intellectual.  With  a  good  conscience  and  a 
faithful  discharge  of  duty,  which  will  naturally  result  from 
the  course  which  I  have  sketched,  they  will  pass  on  agree- 
ably and  usefully  through  life,  and  may  expect,  under  the 
influence  of  religious  principles  and  the  hopes  which  they 
inspire,  to  meet  death  without  dismay. 

Resignation  of  Mr.  Andrews.  —  I  have  kept  Mr.  An- 
drews in  view  so  long,  because  his  services  were  of  the 
utmost  importance  to  me  during  three  to  four  years  of 
feeble  or  fluctuating  health,  —  from  1821  to  1824.  During 
this  anxious  crisis,  he  sustained  and  served  me  with  much 
ability,  and  with  the  zeal  of  an  affectionate  son.  Without 
such  aid  I  could  hardly  have  retained  my  place  in  the 
College.  He  remained  with  me  until  my  health  was  re- 
stored ;  and  he  has  been  ever  since  held  by  me  and  my 
family  in  grateful  remembrance.  His  chosen  profession 
was  the  law,  in  the  study  of  which  he  had  been  more  or 
less  engaged  during  his  residence  with  me.  In  1825  he 
resigned  his  place  as  assistant  in  my  department,  and,  soon 
after,  he  established  himself  in  Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  his  pro- 
fession, having  married  Miss  Ursula  Allen,  daughter  of 
the  late  Hon.  John  Allen  of  Litch field,  an  eminent  law- 


I  PROFESSIONAL  ASSISTANTS.  315 

,  and  a  member  of  Congress  from  Connecticut,  —  an 
estimable  lady,  still  surviving,  with  a  happy  family  of  four 
daughters  and  a  son.  Mr.  Andrews  has  taken  a  high 
stand  in  his  profession,  both  at  the  bar  and  as  a  judge. 
He  served  in  one  Congress ;  but,  not  being  pleased  with 
life  in  Washington  and  with  life  in  Congress,  he  returned 
to  his  profession  in  Cleveland.  He  is  a  learned  and  elo- 
quent advocate,  a  man  of  great  integrity  and  purity  of 
character,  ardent  and  earnest  in  support  of  a  good  cause, 
and  not  disposed  to  engage  in  one  that  is  bad.  His  high 
position  and  success  in  life  have  gratified  me  very  much, 
as  I  cherish  towards  him  a  paternal  regard.  The  children 
of  Mr.  Andrews  are  among  our  cherished  and  personal 
friends. 

Benjamin  Douglass  Silliman  was  the  successor  of  S.  J. 
Andrews.  Mr.  Silliman  was  graduated  in  Yale  College  in 
1824.  As  the  designated  successor  of  Mr.  Andrews,  he 
was  more  or  less  associated  with  him  in  the  laboratory  in 
the  last  year  of  his  College  life,  in  order  to  become  gradu- 
ally initiated  into  the  duties  of  the  department.  He  also 
aided  Mr.  Andrews  in  writing  for  me  by  dictation,  or  by 
copying;  and  these  gentlemen  being  persons  of  genial 
temper  and  temperament,  and  congenial  withal,  they  bright- 
ened the  laboratory  by  their  wit  and  good  humor.  Mr. 
Silliman,  being  the  oldest  son  of  my  brother,  Gold  S.  Sil- 
liman, I  may  be  presumed  to  have  been  partial  to  him  ; 
but  I  would  not,  on  that  account,  fail  to  do  him  justice, 
although  he  will,  in  this  narrative,  fill  a  much  smaller  space 
than  that  allotted  to  Mr.  Andrews.  This  is  not  merely 
because  he  remained  with  me  only  one  year,  —  for  that 
brief  period  was  sufficient  to  develop  the  interesting  and 
valuable  traits  of  his  character,  —  but  to  delineate  him  as 
he  was,  it  would  be  necessary  very  nearly  to  repeat  the 
account  of  Mr.  Andrews,  for  mutato  nomine  de  ilh,  historic* 
non  fabula  narratur.  He  was  equally  kind,  equally  de- 


316  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

voted,  and  equally  quick  and  skilful  with  his  pen,  —  quick 
also  in  apprehension,  aud  judicious  and  prompt  in  execu- 
tion. The  affairs  of  his  father  and  family,  and  his  own 
interests,  took  him  from  me  within  one  year  after  Mr. 
Andrews  left  me ;  but  I  have  long  had  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  him  in  the  first  rank  at  the  New  York  Bar,  and 
beloved  and  admired  for  his  winning  manners,  his  talents, 

and  generous   and  noble   social  qualities Mr. 

Silliman  has,  very  wisely,  avoided  being  drawn  into  the 
turbulent  maelstrom  of  politics,  from  which  very  few  es- 
cape unharmed.  He  has  pursued  quietly  his  professional 
course,  with  the  exception  of  being  once  a  member  of 
the  Legislature  at  Albany ;  and,  like  his  early  friend, 
Mr.  Andrews,  avoiding  political  life,  he  has  acquired  both 
honor  and  emolument  in  his  professional  course.  He 
very  reluctantly  yielded,  a  few  years  since,  to  the  urgent 
solicitations  of  his  fellow-citizens  in  the  district  in  which 
he  resided,  to  be  nominated  for  an  election  to  Congress, 
and  I  took  occasion  to  congratulate  him  upon  his  defeat, 
as,  had  he  succeeded,  it  would  have  been  a  serious  in- 
jury to  his  professional  business ;  for  in  Congress  it  is 
rare  that  any  one  saves  much  money,  or  gains  in  reputa- 
tion. 

Dr.  Burr  Noyes  was  also  of  my  family,  his  father  being 
my  eldest  half  brother.  He  was  of  the  same  graduating 
class  with  Mr.  B.  D.  Silliman,  and  had  been  engaged  in  the 
study  of  medicine,  at  or  near  his  native  home,  Norfield  and 
Saugatuck  in  Fail-field  County.  He  was  intelligent,  faith- 
ful, and  studious ;  and  as  chemistry  had  a  favorable  bearing 
on  his  professional  studies,  I  offered  him  the  place  of  as- 
sistant, when  Mr.  Silliman  resigned.  He  retained  it  only 
long  enough  to  make  me  regret  losing  him  so  soon,  lie 
passed  but  one  winter  with  me,  and  he  would  have  become 
a  still  more  useful  assistant,  had  his  experience  been  equal 
to  his  fidelity.  In  the  spring  of  1826,  after  the  chemical 
lectures  were  ended,  he  received  temporary  overtures  for 


PROFESSIONAL  ASSISTANTS.  317 

settlement  as  a  physician  at  Chester,  a  parish  of  Saybrook 
in  Connecticut  I  could  not  refuse  to  release  him,  especially 
as  the  happiness  of  another  was  deeply  involved  in  his  suc- 
cess. He  so  early  proved  himself  an  able  practitioner  that 
he  did  not  long  delay  to  introduce  a  lovely  partner  into  his 
house,  but  death  removed  her  within  a  few  weeks,  —  a  very 
noble  woman,  who  left  him  broken-hearted.  A  sudden 
hemorrhage  from  his  lungs,  induced  by  the  attempt  to  hold 
in  a  hard-mouthed,  running  horse,  ended  in  a  rapid  con- 
sumption, and  he  was  laid  in  an  early  grave.  He  died 
July  2,  1830. 

CJiarles  Upham  Shepard.  —  This  gentleman  had  been  for 
a  year  residing  in  New  Haven  as  a  student  of  natural 
science.  He  had  brought  with  him  a  reputation  for  the 
love  of  science,  especially  of  mineralogy  and  chemistry,  and 
he  had  given  lectures  to  some  of  the  schools  in  Boston. 
His  manners  were  amiable  and  gentlemanly,  and  his  moral 
character  pure.  He  was  not  an  alumnus  of  Yale  College, 
but  of  Amherst.  Dr.  Noyes  had  been  acquainted  with  him, 
and  as  he  mentioned  Mr.  Shepard's  name  as  a  successor  to 
himself,  I  offered  him  the  place  and  it  was  accepted.  Mr. 
Shepard  was  already  a  proficient  in  mineralogy,  and  his 
services  were  at  this  time  particularly  acceptable  in  that 
department,  as  I  was  now  to  resume  the  lectures  in  the 
Cabinet,  which  had  been  suspended  or  imperfectly  given  of 
late.  He  was  also,  to  a  considerable  •  extent,  acquainted 
with  geology,  and  was  advancing  in  both  of  these  depart- 
ments. He  had  formed  habits  of  travelling  to  observe 
localities  of  minerals,  fossils,  &c.,  and  his  views  were  directed 
to  science  as  the  business  of  life. 

Mr.  Shepard  retained  the  office  until  1831,  — five  years  ; 
he  discharged  the  duties  of  his  station  with  zeal,  fidelity, 
and  ability.  His  taste  was  eminently  scientific  ;  he  loved 
science  for  its  own  sake,  and  found  his  happiness  in  its 
pursuits ;  of  course,  his  society  was  congenial  and  we  pro- 


318  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ceeded  in  our  mutual  duties  with  entire  harmony.  His 
manners  were  habitually  polite  and  respectful,  and  his 
temper  so  amiable,  that  during  our  whole  intercourse  there 
was  never  a  moment  of  irritation,  still  less  of  alienation. 

Professor  Oliver  Payson  Hubbard  was  an  alumnus  of 
Yale  College,  of  the  Class  of  1828.  He  came  from  Hamil- 
ton College  at  Clinton,  N.  Y. ;  and  although  he  joined  the 
Junior  Class  in  Yale,  not  having  the  advantage  of  the 
instruction  of  the  previous  years  in  that  institution,  he  took 
a  high  rank  among  his  classmates,  and  was  greatly  respected 
for  his  intelligence,  his  virtues,  and  attainments.  He  had 
the  warm  recommendation  of  Professor  Olmsted,  and  was 
agreeably  remembered  by  me  as  an  attentive  hearer  of 
the  lectures,  and  as  indicating  by  his  inquiries  both  intelli- 
gence, curiosity,  and  habits  of  observation. 

Mr.  Hubbard  remained  with  me  five  years,  and  his  ser- 
vices were  very  important.  His  intelligence  and  gentle- 
manly bearing  made  him  very  acceptable  to  the  strangers 
who  very  often  called  upon  us.  He  was  also  highly  ac- 
ceptable to  the  students,  whom  he  treated  with  affability  and 
kindness.  His  punctuality,  his  exactness  in  affairs,  and 
perfect  integrity,  made  him  entirely  reliable,  while  his 
knowledge  of  science  in  all  the  branches  that  belonged  to 
the  department  qualified  him  to  render  efficient  assistance. 

Professor  Silliman  proceeds  to  speak  in  warm 
terms  of  the  eminent  ability  manifested  by  Mr. 
Dana,  who  succeeded  to  the  post  vacated  by  Mr. 
Hubbard.  "  Mr.  Dana's  works,"  he  remarks,  "  are 
of  the  highest  authority,  and  place  him  among  the 
first  scientific  men  of  the  age."  He  also  dwells 
with  tender  feeling  upon  the  long  -  continued  as- 
sistance rendered  him  by  his  son,  Mr.  Benjamin 
Silliman,  Jr.,  and  his  earnest  and  successful  devo- 
tion to  scientific  pursuits.  Honorable  mention  is 


HIS  WORK  ON  CHEMISTRY.  319 

made  of  his  last  regular  assistant,  Mr.  Mason  C. 
Weld,  one  of  the  present  editors  of"  The  American 
Agriculturist."  Among  the  gentlemen  who  were 
more  or  less  associated  with  him  as  occasional  as- 
sistants are  Mr.  William  Blake,  Prof.  T.  Sterry  Hunt, 
Prof.  Charles  H.  Porter,  Prof.  John  P.  Norton,  Prof. 
George  J.  Brush,  and  Prof.  William  H.  Brewer, 
names  since  distinguished  in  the  annals  of  American 
science. 

In  1830,  Professor  Silliman  published,  in  two  vol- 
umes, his  "  Elements  of  Chemistry."  This  extended 
work  was  mainly  written  in  a  little  room  connected 
with  his  laboratory,  to  which  he  retired  after  taking 
his  tea,  laboring  at  his  task  sometimes  until  near 
midnight.  He  says  of  the  work:  — 

In  the  preface  to  the  first  volume,  I  find  the  following 
statement  of  my  embarrassments.  "  If  it  does  not  excuse, 
it  may  account  for,  some  inadvertencies,  when  it  is  known 
that  an  arduous  and  responsible  work  was  written  and 
printed  under  the  unremitting  pressure  of  absorbing  and 
often  conflicting  duties.  Life  is  flying  fast  away,  while  in 
the  hope  of  discharging  more  perfectly  our  duties  to  our 
fellow-men,  we  wait  in  vain  for  continued  seasons  of  leisure 
and  repose,  in  which  we  may  refresh  and  brighten  our  fac- 
ulties and  perfect  our  knowledge.  But  after  we  are  once 
engaged  in  the  full  career  of  duty,  such  seasons  never 
come.  Our  powers  and  our  time  are  placed  in  incessant 
requisition,  there  is  no  discharge  in  our  warfare,  and  we 
must  fight  our  battles,  not  in  the  circumstances  and  position 
we  would  have  chosen,  but  in  those  that  are  forced  upon 

us  by  imperious  necessity." Its  reception  by  candid 

men  was  quite  favorable.  I  received  many  expressions  of 
approbation ;  and  teachers  of  chemistry  regarded  it  as  a 


320  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

magazine  of  valuable  facts,  disposed  in  an  orderly  and 
practicable  way,  so  that  they  could  avail  themselves  of  its 
affluence  in  materials.  The  work  also  contains  exact  and 
ample  directions  for  the  successful  performance  of  experi- 
ments, especially  of  those  which  are  attended  with  difficulty 
or  clanger.  I  had  been  a  zealous  and  active  experimenter, 
and  rarely  met  with  a  failure.  I  recorded  in  my  work  the 
results  of  twenty-five  years  of  experience,  and  my  contri- 
butions to  practical  chemistry  were  regarded  as  generous 
and  valuable.  I  had  the  satisfaction  to  find  that  processes, 
which  I  had  regarded  as  my  own,  were,  in  various  instances, 
similar  to,  or  identical  with,  those  which  Professor  Faraday 
had  published  in  his  very  valuable  work  on  chemical  ma- 
nipulations, which  I  had  not  then  seen. 

Considering  the  size  of  the  work  it  went  off  with  reason- 
able rapidity,  and  could  I  have  found  time  to  revise  and 
cast  it  anew  with  corrections  and  improvements,  and  with 
more  condensation,  its  vitality  might  have  been  continued. 

If  I  had  found  such  a  work  as  I  had  myself  Avritten,  I 
should  never  have  undertaken  a  duty  which  proved  to  be 
extremely  laborious,  and  with  the  result  of  which  I  was  dis- 
satisfied, because  I  had  overshot  my  mark,  and  therefore, 
as  a  manual  for  those  who  attended  on  my  lectures,  I  could 
not  but  regard  it  as  a  failure.  In  a  more  elevated  view  it 
was  no  failure.  It  was  a  very  valuable  work  for  professors 
and  teachers  in  colleges  who,  I  have  been  assured,  held  it 
in  high  estimation.  Everything  considered,  however,  I  was 
not  well  satisfied,  and  I  have  never  ceased  to  regret  that 
I  committed  myself,  as  I  did,  by  commencing  the  publica- 
tion while  I  was  lecturing,  and  with  the  vain  hope  that  I 
could  write  and  print  even  a  brief  work  so  rapidly  that  I 
could  keep  pace  with  my  own  doings  in  the  lecture-room. 


With   the   foregoing   chapter   may  be  connected 
some  letters  of  a  miscellaneous  character,  a  portion 


CORRESPONDENCE.  321 

of  which  relate  to  the  topics  of  the  preceding  narra- 
tive. 

The  first  of  them  have  a  melancholy  interest,  as 
emanating  from  Professor  A.  M.  Fisher,  just  prior  to 
his  departure  on  board  the  ill-fated  Albion. 

FROM   PROFESSOR   A.   M.    FISHER. 

WALL-STREET  HOUSE,  March  28, 1822. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  just  time  to  inform  you,  before 
the  departure  of  the  boat,  that  I  have  concluded  to  take 
my  passage  in  the  Albion,  which  starts  for  Liverpool  on 
Monday  next,  at  ten  A.  M.  I  previously  went,  in  company 
with  Mr.  Doolittle,  on  board  of  two  Danish  vessels  bound 
to  Havre ;  but  have  concluded  not  to  take  passage  in  either 
of  them,  for  three  very  good  reasons :  1st.  They  will  neither 
of  them  sail  under  two  or  three  weeks.  2d.  They  have 
very  wretched  accommodations.  3d.  They  positively  refuse 
taking  any  passengers.  The  Albion  has  most  excellent 
accommodations.  I  have  arranged  everything  to  my  saj- 
isfaction  with  the  captain,  and  have  my  passage  (all 
liquors  included  except  wines)  for  thirty  guineas.  It  is 
now  probable  that  I  shall  make  the  former  half  of  my  resi- 
dence abroad  in  England,  and  the  latter  in  France 

FROM   PROFESSOR   A.   M.    FISHER. 

NEW  YORK,  March  31, 1822. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  just  received  your  bulky  packet 
of  letters,  and  need  not  tell  you  under  what  obligations  1 
feel  to  you  for  furnishing  so  many  more  than  I  had  any 
claim  on  you  for,  or  than  I  anticipated.  The  few  words  of 
advice  at  the  close  of  your  letter  are  very  comprehensive, 
and  I  shall  endeavor  to  profit  by  them.  I  have  picked  up 
a  very  considerable  number  of  letters,  which  will  be  valu- 
able to  me,  during  my  short  stay  here,  and  that  with  very 
little  solicitation.  Mr.  Griscom,  alone,  besides  a  great 

VOL.   I.  21 


322  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

deal  of  useful  information,  will  furnish  me  with  eight  or 
ten.  Dr.  Mitchell  is  now  very  busy  with  his  medical  exam- 
ination, but  promises  to  send  out  a  number  of  letters  after 
me  for  the  Continent.  I  have  seen  a  good  deal  of  the  Doc- 
tor, and  am  not  sorry  that  I  took  your  advice  in  regard  to 
making  myself  acquainted  with  him.  I  trust  that  I  shall 
hear  from  some  of  you  every  few  weeks,  and  that  you  will 
not  wait  till  you  hear  from  me  before  you  begin  to  write. 

I  feel  ashamed  of  sending  you  two  such  scrawls  as 

this  and  my  last ;  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  arrange  mat- 
ters so  but  that  it  has  been  absolutely  necessary  to  dispatch 
a  half  dozen  letters  since  ten  o'clock  this  evening ;  and  I 
shall  be  called  up  to-morrow  at  five.  With  the  sincerest 
wishes  for  the  restoration  of  your  health,  and  the  welfare 
of  your  family  during  my  absence,  I  remain, 

Dear  sir, 
Yours  with  high  esteem  and  respect, 

A.  M.  FISHER. 

FROM   PROFESSOR   A.   M.    FISHER. 

NEW  YORK,  April  1, 1822. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  Since  I  despatched  the  letter  for  you 
by  the  steamboat,  it  has  occurred  to  me  that  perhaps  Dr. 
Morse  would  be  willing  to  make  me  the  bearer  of  a  line  to 

Mr.  Wilberforce Steamboat  Nautilus,  half-past 

ten.  — We  are  now  going  down  the  harbor  to  the  Albion  ; 
fair  weather,  and  a  west  wind  which  promises  to  take  us 
out  of  sight  of  land  before  night.  I  will  thank  you  to  in- 
form Mr.  Twining,  as  I  have  no  time  to  write  him  again, 
that  Mr.  Catlin  will  write  him  and  inform  him  what  is  the 
current  value  of  five-franc  pieces  ;  and  to  get  word  to  Mr. 
Orr,  of  Hartford,  if  you  can  do  it  without  any  trouble,  of 
the  receipt  of  his  last  communication.  This  is  my  last 
communication  to  my  friends  in  New  Haven.  So  I  bid 
you  and  them  an  affectionate  adieu. 

A.  M.  F. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  323 

This  proved,  in  truth,  the  "  last  communication  " 
of  its  gifted  author  to  his  New  Haven  friends. 

PROM   MRS.    L.   H.    SIGOURNEY. 

HARTFORD,  November  26, 1822. 

MY  principal  object  in  writing  at  the  present 

time  is  to  request  your  acceptance  of  the  volume  that  ac- 
companies this  letter.  You  may  possibly  recollect  that  it 
was  on  the  eve  of  publication  just  before  my  marriage,  — 
and  was  delayed  in  conformity  to  the  wishes  of  my  hus- 
band. Since  that  period,  he  has  been  anxious  that  I  should 
devote  my  intervals  of  leisure  to  its  improvement,  and 
after  it  had  received  considerable  additions,  became  desir- 
ous that  it  should  appear.  I  am  conscious  that  it  retains 
many  defects,  and  think  it  will  not  prove  a  popular  work, 
since  the  modern  taste  seems  drawn  more  powerfully  to 
productions  where  the  entertainments  of  fiction  predomi- 
nate. My  principal  anxiety  respecting  it,  is  to  remain  con- 
cealed, and  to  gain  something  from  its  sale  for  the  religious 
charities  to  which  it  is  devoted.  The  secret  of  its  publi- 
cation and  authorship  are  only  known  in  this  place  to  my 
dear  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wadsworth,  beyond  whom  I  hope  it  will 
not  go.  I  am  happy  to  be  permitted  to  give  you  and  Mrs. 
Silliman  and  your  mother  this  mark  of  my  confidence ; 
and  with  sincere  wishes  that  the  Almighty  will  send  the 
richest  of  His  blessings  upon  your  heads,  both  in  this  life 
and  the  next,  remain, 

Yours,  with 

Esteem  and  affection, 

L.  H.  SIGOURNEY. 

A  frequent  correspondent  of  Mr.  Silliman,  was  his 
brother-in-law,  Mr.  Wadsworth,  who  expressed  him- 
self with  force  and  decision  on  whatever  subject  he 
wrote.  The  letter  below  discovers  a  strong  impres- 


324  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

sion  that  a  new  style  of  preaching  was  coming  into 
vogue,  though  Dr.  Beecher  would  hardly  have  ac- 
cepted this  representation  of  his  views. 

FROM   MR.    WADSWORTH. 

HARTFORD,  February  14, 1825. 

THE  influence  which  has  so  long  prevailed  at 

New  Haven  on  religious  subjects,  has  extended  to  Hart- 
ford. Mr.  Maffit  seems  to  have  been  the  original  cause. 
Mr.  Beecher  has  been  here  nearly  a  fortnight,  and  preaches 
almost  every  night  to  the  most  crowded  audiences  in  one 
or  the  other  of  our  meeting-houses.  I  have  never  heard 
him  but  once  before,  but  now  five  times.  He  is  certainly  a 
most  uncommon  man  in  his  way.  But  I  have  not  been  so 
much  surprised  at  his  power  of  stating  in  a  clear  manner, 
without  being  tedious,  his  own  views  on  religious  subjects, 
as  at  his  entirely  giving  up,  or  sweeping  away,  in  as  unqual- 
ified a  manner  as  its  greatest  opposers  could  wish,  the  doc- 
trine of  election.  He  placed  it  exactly  in  the  light  that  you 
and  I  have  always  viewed  it.  He  also  expressed  his  horror 
at  the  idea  that  Christ  died  only  for  the  elect ;  and  declared 
that  it  was  blasphemy  to  suppose  that  God  had  called  upon 
us  all  to  be  saved  (which  he  did)  at  the  same  time  that  he 
had  made  it  impossible  for  a  certain  number  to  accept 
salvation,  which  he  had  offered  to  all,  —  and  they  could  be 
all  saved  if  they  would.  On  these  two  points,  he  was  so 
entirely  the  reverse  of  what  I  had  always  supposed  him, 
and  so  explicit,  that  I  take  it  for  granted  he  has,  like  many 
other  men,  grown  older,  and  consequently  found  out  that 
there  are  some  parts  of  the  administration  of  the  Almighty 
with  which  he  is  not  as  well  acquainted  as  he  would  have 
been  had  his  infallibility  been  as  certain  as  he  once  believed 
it  Whether  he  may  not  at  some  other  time  absolutely 
contradict  the  whole  of  this,  I  do  not  know.  But  he  said 
he  made  no  metaphysical  distinctions  between  will  and  can, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  325 

&c.,  &c.,  —  and  he  seemed  not  to  leave  himself  one  knot- 
hole to  creep  out  at  on  another  occasion.  He  might  as 
well  have  knocked  down  some  of  the  ministers  near  him 
(as  far  as  civility  went)  as  to  contradict  them  so  to  their 
teeth  about  what  they  had  so  labored  to  establish. 

To  a  request  to  contribute  to  the  purchase  of  the 
Cabinet,  a  cordial  response  was  received 

FROM   HON.   J.    C.    CALHOUN. 

August  14, 1825. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  You  do  not  mistake  my  feelings  in 
supposing  that  I  take  deep  interest  in  the  prosperity  of 
Yale  College.  Besides  the  feelings  with  which  I  regard 
it  as  one  of  her  sons,  (I  trust  not  less  strong  than  they 
ought  to  be,)  I  consider  it  one  of  the  lights  of  the  nation, 
which  under  Providence,  has  mainly  contributed  to  guide 
this  people  in  the  path  of  political,  moral,  and  religious 
duties.  I  regret  that  my  contribution  must  fall  so  much 
short  of  my  inclination.  I  had  the  misfortune  last  year  to 
lose  by  fire  my  cotton  crop  and  gin-house,  which  for  the 
present  has  greatly  limited  my  means.  You  will  place  me 
among  the  subscribers,  and  affix  one  hundred  dollars  to  my 
name,  which  will  be  paid  by  the  time  mentioned  in  the 
printed  address.  Should  there  be  any  difficulty  in  making 
out  the  necessary  sum  to  buy  the  collection,  and  thereby  a 
greater  effort  become  necessary  on  the  part  of  the  friends 
of  Yale,  I  trust  that  you  will  not  be  backward  in  inform- 
ing me,  as  I  would,  in  that  event,  very  cheerfully  increase 
my  contribution.  My  best  respects  to  Mr.  Day  and  Mr. 
Kingsley. 

With  sincere  regard, 

I  am,  &c.,  &c., 

J.  C.  CALHOUN. 

B.  SILLIMAN,  Esq. 


326  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

FROM   MR.   JARED    SPARKS. 

BOSTON,  July  26, 1826. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  fear  I  can  suggest  few  hints  that  will  be 
of  service  to  you  on  the  subject  you  mention.  My  experience 
in  the  business  of  periodicals,  it  is  true,  has  been  consid- 
erable, but  you  know  experience  is  not  always  the  handmaid 
of  wisdom  or  profit.  In  regard  to  the  "  North  American 
Review,"  nothing  has  been  done  from  the  beginning  but  to 
let  it  take  care  of  itself.  For  the  first  four  or  five  years,  it 
languished,  and  its  friends  aimed  at  little  more  than  to  keep 
its  head  above  water,  and  to  prevent  the  living  principle 
from  becoming  quite  extinct.  Since  that  time  it  has  been 
more  successful,  and  still  continues  to  receive  an  increased, 
substantial  support  of  the  public.  From  the  nature  of  this 
work,  it  must  of  course  be  adapted  to  a  greater  number  of 
readers,  in  this  country  particularly,  than  are  strictly  scien- 
tific ;  yet  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  there  are  scientific 
readers  enough  among  us  to  afford  a  most  liberal  patronage 
to  such  a  work  as  the  "  American  Journal."  The  character 
of  this  latter  is  strictly  national,  and  it  is  the  only  vehicle 
of  communication  in  which  an  inquirer  may  be  sure  to  find 
what  is  most  interesting  in  the  wide  range  of  topics,  which 
its  design  embraces.  It  has  become,  in  short,  not  more 
identified  with  the  science  than  the  literature  of  the  country. 
In  regard  to  the  means  of  promoting  the  circulation,  I 
would  remark,  in  the  first  place,  that  I  am  convinced  any 
attempt  at  a  forced  subscription  by  sending  out  runners  to 
importune  people,  for  this  or  any  other  work,  will  result  in 
more  harm  than  good.  There  is  no  difficulty  in  procuring 
any  number  of  names  in  this  way,  but  every  name  increases 
the  expenses.  The  greater  part  will  fall  off  at  the  end  of 
one  year,  and  many  of  the  remainder  will  never  pay  any- 
thing. This  system  has  been  the  ruin  of  many  of  our 
periodicals,  and  came  near  destroying  the  "Edinburgh" 
and  "  Quarterly  "  when  first  set  up  in  this  country. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  327 


There  are  two  general  classes  of  people  who  ought  to 
take  the  "  American  Journal  of  Science,"  first,  —  those  who 
are  particularly  interested  in  its  subjects ;  and  secondly, 
gentlemen  not  particularly  devoted  to  any  branch  of  study, 
but  who  seek  for  valuable  and  popular  works  to  supply  their 
libraries.  In  addition  to  these,  every  public  library  in  the 
country  should  take  a  copy.  A  reasonable  patronage  from 
these  sources  would  give  the  "  Journal "  a  wide  circulation, 
and  afford  it  ample  support,  such  as  would  remunerate  the 
editors,  publisher,  and  writers.  In  my  mind,  there  is  but 
one  mode  of  effecting  this  with  any  tolerable  chance  of 
success,  and  that  is  for  you  to  send  out  a  circular,  directed 
to  certain  individuals  by  name,  stating  the  present  condition 
of  the  "  Journal,"  the  importance  it  has  acquired  at  home 
and  abroad,  the  influence  it  is  calculated  to  exercise  on  the 
progress  of  physical  science  in  the  country,  by  bringing 
together  the  acquisitions  of  men  of  talents,  learning,  and 
ardor ;  also,  the  slender  patronage  it  receives  in  proportion 
to  the  expense  and  labor  of  the  work ;  and  such  other 
things  as  may  occur  to  you.  Let  this  circular  be  sent  only 
to  such  persons  as  you  have  good  reason  to  suppose  will 
feel  an  interest  in  the  subject,  such  as  contributors  to  the 
work,  physicians  of  eminence,  men  of  skill  and  practice  in 
the  mechanical  arts,  and  professors  of  the  sciences  in  the 
colleges.  Nor  should  this  be  done  through  the  publisher, 
but  as  coming  directly  from  you,  and  with  your  own  name, 
accompanied  with  such  suggestions  and  arguments  as  you 
think  will  have  weight.  Let  every  one  be  solicited  to  pro- 
cure names  within  the  circle  of  his  acquaintance,  and  let 
him  be  urged  to  this  by  motives  of  patriotism,  a  love  of 
science,  and  the  desire  of  encouraging  research  and  the 
diffusion  of  important  knowledge  by  affording  suitable  re- 
wards. Whether  such  a  plan  would  be  successful  I  know 
not,  but  I  should  think  it  worthy  of  a  trial,  and  in  every 
way  consistent  with  the  character  and  dignity  of  your  work. 
Meantime,  the  publisher  must  be  spurred  up  to  do  his  part. 


328  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Among  those  whose  appreciation  of  his  labors 
was  grateful  to  Mr.  Silliman,  there  were  none  whose 
praise  was  more  valued  than  that  of  the  author  of 
the  two  letters  which  follow. 

FROM   HON.   JOSIAH    QUINCY  (SENIOR.) 

CAMBRIDGE,  November  1, 1829. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  had  the  pleasure  some  months  since  of 
receiving  a  small  volume,  containing  the  outline  of  your 
geological  lectures,  rendered  doubly  valuable  from  their 
being  transmitted  to  me  by  the  author.  For  next  in 
degree  to  the  satisfaction  of  being  laudatus  a  laudato  viro, 
is  that  of  being  remembered  by  him.  I  ought  immediately 
to  have  acknowledged  my  sense  of  your  kindness.  I  have, 
however,  never  thought  it  a  compliment,  and  scarcely  jus- 
tice to  an  author,  to  return  thanks  for  a  work  which  one 
has  not  yet  read.  It  happened  in  this  case,  that  your  vol- 
ume came  to  hand  while  my  mind  was  wholly  occupied  in 
preparing  for  the  duties  of  a  new  official  relation,  unex- 
pectedly devolved  upon  me ;  and  being  myself,  in  this 
respect,  in  a  sort  of  "  transition  state,"  by  every  rule  of 
"  chemical  affinity,"  and  "  post-diluvial  action,"  I  thought  it 
my  duty  to  admit  nothing  into  the  sphere  of  operation, 
whether  it  were  of  "  aggregation  or  crystallization,"  which 
might  disturb  the  desired  result.  So  I  fairly  laid  your  work 
upon  the  shelf,  until  "  the  activity  "  of  the  then  "  existing 
chemical  agents  "  had  ceased,  and  the  "  crust "  of  things 
here  being  duly  "  arranged,"  and  my  "  transition "  state 
passed,  I  should  have  leisure  to  attend  to  matters  —  speak- 
ing with  reference  to  my  own  then  existing  necessities  — 
of  a  "  secondary  formation." 

That  period  having  recently  arrived,  I  have  read  your 
work,  and  permit  me  to  add,  with  unqualified  pleasure.  In- 
deed, the  interest  was  so  great  and  intense,  that  it  abso- 
lutely excluded  every  other  thought.  I  did  not  lay  it  down 
until  I  had  given  it  a  complete  perusal.  The  truth  is,  it  is 


CORRESPONDENCE.  329 

a  work  of  that  general  and  comprehensive  kind,  I  appre- 
hend, extremely  wanted  on  the  subject  concerning  which  it 
treats ;  and  it  is  admirably  qualified  to  excite  and  direct  the 
attention  to  its  object.  Be  assured,  sir,  I  take  great  delight 
in  observing  the  regular  and  rapid  extension  of  your  fame 
and  usefulness,  and  particularly  am  I  happy  to  find  that  the 
public  have  given  you  so  substantial  and  encouraging  evi- 
dence of  their  sense  of  your  merits  by  the  recent  enlarged 
subscription  to  your  "  Journal  of  Science."  Wishing  you 
every  success, 

I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

JOSIAH  QUINCY. 
BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN,  LL.  D. 

FROM   HON.   JOSIAH    QUINCY  (SENIOR.) 

CAMBRIDGE,  March  10, 1831. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  received  your  kind  favor  of  the  18th 
ult,  and  your  excellent  work  on  chemistry  of  which  your 
letter  was  a  precursor.  It  will  not  be,  I  assure  you, 
among  "  the  mutes  "  of  my  library.  Its  station  is  at  present 
on  my  parlor-table,  where  it  is  seen,  examined,  and  ap- 
proved by  the  many  intelligent  men,  who  are  my  occasional 
or  weekly  visitants.  When  it  takes  its  station  in  my  library, 
it  will  be  often  resorted  to  for  reference  or  comparison, 
and  with  the  more  interest  from  the  deep  personal  respect 
I  entertain  for  its  profound  and  laborious  author.  From 
the  cursory  survey  I  have  yet  been  alone  able  to  give  it,  I 
cannot  question  that  the  effort  has  been  successful  to  the 
extent  of  your  hopes,  and  that  it  will  be  a  most  useful  text- 
book, subserving  powerfully  the  cause  of  instruction  in  the 
branch  to  which  it  relates. 

Present  me  respectfully  to  President  Day  and  the  learned 
gentlemen  in  your  vicinity  to  whom  you  may  know  I  am 
not  unknown.  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  find  that  Dr. 
Webster  is  reaping  late  in  life  the  harvest,  at  least  of  ap- 


330  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

probation  if  not  of  reward,  for  which  he  has  been  so  faith- 
fully laboring.  His  dictionary  has  certainly  great  merit 
In  my  own  library  it  stands  by  the  side  of  half  a  dozen 
others.  It  never  fails  to  be  by  me  first  consulted,  and 
almost  ever  with  success.  In  a  manner,  it  has  in  point  of 
fact  superseded  the  use  of  all  others.  Again  repeating  my 
thanks  for  your  polite  attention, 

I  am,  very  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

JOSIAH  QUINCY. 
BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN,  Esq. 

Professor  Silliman  had  met  Lafayette  during  the 
progress  of  the  latter  through  this  country,  and  after- 
wards received  from  him  several  tokens  of  remem- 
brance. 

FROM   LAFAYETTE. 

PARIS,  February  21,  1827. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  requested  by  Mr.  Juillet,  who  has 
been  attached  to  the  foreign  department,  to  give  him  some 
letters  of  introduction  to  the  United  States,  where  he  is 
making  a  literary  tour,  with  a  view,  I  suppose,  to  publish 
his  observations.  The  learned  traveller  cannot  but  find 
everywhere  grounds  for  admiration,  but  nowhere  more 
than  in  his  acquaintance  with  the  city  of  New  Haven  and 
with  Doctor  Silliman.  Happy  I  am,  my  dear  sir,  in  this 
opportunity,  to  be  affectionately  remembered  to  my  friends, 
and  to  tell  you  once  more  that  I  am,  with  all  my  heart, 
Your  grateful  friend, 

LAFAYETTE. 

FROM  LAFAYETTE. 

PARIS,  July  30, 1828. 

MY  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  am  happy  in  every  opportunity  to 
remember  myself  to  you  and  to  our  friends  at  New  Haven ; 
this  instance  is  peculiarly  gratifying.  General  Verveer,  a 


CORRESPONDENCE.  331 


very  distinguished  gentleman,  lately  the  Dutch  Minister 
at  the  Congress  of  Panama,  now  returning  to  that  part  of 
the  country,  did  me  the  honor  of  a  visit  with  his  amiable 
daughter.  I  also  called  upon  them,  and  both  acquaintances 
left  me  the  regret  of  their  sudden  departure,  as  they  are  to 
sail  by  the  next  packet.  I  found  Miss  Verveer  a  most 
agreeable  young  lady,  and  what  won  my  heart,  a  most  de- 
cided Connecticut  patriot,  as  she  has  been  educated  in  New 
Haven,  and  is  returning  to  your  so  justly  beloved  city.  I 
would  feel  a  great  pleasure  to  think  I  may  somewhat  con- 
tribute to  the  welcome  to  which  her  accomplishments  and 
American  feelings  justly  entitle  her,  and  I  thought  the  ob- 
ject would  be  in  some  measure  attained  by  giving  her  the 
pleasant  charge  of  a  letter  to  you.  My  dear  sir,  remem- 
ber me  affectionately  to  your  family  and  friends,  and  accept 
the  affection  and  regards  of 

Your  most  sincere  friend, 

LAFAYETTE. 

Professor  Silliman,  although  opposed  to  the  last 
war  with  Great  Britain,  which  he  deemed  to  be  un- 
necessary, felt  a  warm  interest  in  the  achievements 
of  our  navy  in  that  contest.  The  following  letter  is 
from  the  commander  of  the  Constitution,  and  relates 
to  the  action  which  resulted  in  the  capture  of  the 
British  ship  Guerriere. 

FROM   COMMODORE    ISAAC    HULL. 

NAVY  YARD,  CHARLESTOWN, 
October  29, 1821. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  I  some  days  since  had  the  pleasure  to 
receive  your  letter  of  the  15th  instant,  but  my  time  has 
been  so  constantly  taken  up  on  duty  since,  that  I  could  not 
give  you  the  information  you  asked  for ;  nor  can  I  now,  in 
writing,  in  a  way  that  you  would  be  likely  to  understand 
it.  I  have  therefore  endeavored  to  show  you  the  manner 


DIAGRAM  OF  THE  ACTION  BETWEEN  THE  U.  8.  FRIGATE  CONSTITUTION, 
AND  THE  BRITISH  FRIGATE  GUERRIERE. 

Fig.  l.    The  Constitu- 
tion, mnning  before  the 
,     wind   with    all    sail    set, 
J.    seen  the   Guerriere  on  a 

wind  under  her  topsai  s, 

standing   to   the    south- 
ward and  westward. 

Fig.  2.  Constitution 
hauls  to  ;  shortens  sail, 
find  prepares  for  action. 

Fig.  3.  Constitution 
begins  to  bear  down  up- 
f>n  the  Guerriere,  who 
is  laying  with  her  main 
topsail  aback,  and  occa- 
sionally wearing,  as  in 
the  diagram.  Guerrii 


commences  tiring  on  the 
Constitution  tit '  fig.  I'.', 
being  about  two  miles' 
distant. 

Figs.  4,5,6.  Constitu- 
tion still  pressing  down 
upon  the  Guerriere  and 
receiving  her  fire  as  she 
wears. 

Fig.  7.  Constitution 
alongside  the  Guerriere. 
First  opens  her  fire  and 
shoots  away  her  iniz/eu 
mast. 

Fig.  8.  Constitution 
Btill  alongside  the  Guer- 
riere,  and  to  windward — 

close  fight  i  n, j. 

Fig.  9.  Constitution 
is  endeavoring  to  lav  her 
aboard,  on  the  larboard- 
bow,  shoots  ahead  and 

crosses  her  bows  ;  imme- 
diately after,  her  fore  and 
main  masts  fall  by  the 
board. 

Fig.  10.  The  Guerriere, 
under  double  reefs  stand*. 
Ing  on  a  wind  to  the 
southward  and  west- 
ward. 

Fig.  11.      Commences 

firing  on  the  Constitu- 
tion, then  wears  and  lays 
With  her  main  topsail 
aback. 

Fig.  12.  Fires,  and 
•gain  wears  (as  short 
round  as  possible.) 

Fig.  13.  Bears  up  before 

the  wind,  to  make  a  run- 
ning fight. 

Tin.  It.  Alongside  the 
Constitution.  Loses  her 
nmzen-mast. 

Fig.  I.1!.  Constitution  at- 
tempts to  lay  her  aboard 
on  the  larbo.ird  bow,  but 

shoots  ahead  am! 

her  bows ;  Immediately 
nfter  her  main  and  fore 
masts  fall. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  333 


in  which  the  Constitution  approached  the  Guerriere  whilst 
in  chase,  by  giving  you  the  track  of  each  of  the  ships,  by 
which  you  will  see  that  during  the  action  they  were  before 
the  wind.  Of  course  no  advantage  was  lost  by  me  in  hav- 
ing taken  the  larboard  side  instead  of  the  starboard,  for,  as 
the  wind  was  directly  aft,  one  was  as  much  the  weather-side 
as  the  other. 

I  am  proud  that  my  friends  are  pleased  to  consider  that 
I  possessed  humanity  on  that  occasion  ;  but  I  should  regret 
that  they  should  for  a  moment  suppose  that  any  advantage 
that  might  have  offered  would  have  been  overlooked  by 
me,  as,  by  doing  so,  the  honor  of  the  nation  and  my  own 
reputation  would  have  been  put  at  hazard. 

For  fear  that  you  may  not  understand  the  manner  in 
which  the  ships  approached  each  other,  by  the  tracks  ac- 
companying this  letter,  I  have  requested  my  friend  Captain 
Macdonough  to  call  and  see  you  on  the  subject,  and  ex- 
plain any  part  that  you  may  have  doubt  about. 

I  do  not  wish  any  remarks  I  have  made  published,  but 
leave  you  to  make  such  corrections  as  to  you  may  appear 
proper,  after  being  assured  that  no  advantage  on  my  part 
was  given  to  the  enemy.  With  very  great  respect  and 
sincere  regard, 

I  am,  Sir, 
Your  friend  and  obt.  servant, 

ISAAC  HULL. 

BENJ.  SILLIMAN,  Esq., 
New  Haven. 

Interesting  political  observations  are  found  in  the 
subjoined  letter 

FROM  JUDGE   DESAUSSURE. 

COLUMBIA,  S.  C.,  November  1, 1830. 

I  HOPE  your  fine  Institution  is  in  the  most  pros- 
perous state.  The  cause  of  literature  is  a  common  cause ; 
and  we  must  rely  upon  education  as  the  foundation  for  the 


334  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLBIAN. 

permanency  of  our  Republic  and  its  liberal  institutions.  God 
grant  that  we  may  have  the  wisdom  to  preserve  them !  There 
is  great  and  almost  universal  discontent  in  this  State  at 
the  imposition  of  enormous  duties  for  protection,  greatly 
beyond  the  actual  wants  of  the  government  for  legitimate 
purposes,  —  such  as  the  payment  of  the  debt,  the  civil  list, 
the  army,  navy,  and  other  indispensable  objects.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  a  tariff  for  protection  is  against  the  spirit  of  the 
Constitution,  and  that  it  is  oppressive,  unequal,  and  unjust. 
It  is  therefore  very  generally  odious,  and  is  weakening  the 
attachment  of  the  South  to  the  Union,  though  the  value  of 
that  is  felt  and  appreciated,  —  for  you  may  be  assured  that 
all  charges  of  a  desire  to  separate  from  the  Union  are 
fables  of  a  distempered  imagination.  It  may  ultimately 
come  to  that,  because  our  people  would  prefer  even  that 
deplorable  measure  to  having  a  government  of  unlimited 
powers.  At  present  we  are  divided  into  nearly  equal  parts, 
—  not  at  all  as  to  the  evil,  but  as  to  the  remedy,  and  to  the 
degree  of  forbearance.  If  the  tariff  of  protection  and  vast 
expenditures  for  internal  improvements  become  the  settled 
policy  of  the  government,  beyond  all  hope  of  redress,  the 
separation  of  the  Union  will  inevitably  follow ;  which  I 
pray  God  I  may  not  live  to  see 

Among  the  persons  who  had  the  misfortune  to  fall 
under  College  discipline,  but  who  did  not  lose  their 
respect  and  affection  for  Professor  Silliman,  was  the 
distinguished  novelist,  Mr.  Cooper.  In  a  long  letter, 
of  which  a  part  is  here  given,  he  adds  to  political 
speculations  on  the  state  of  Europe  some  recollec- 
tions of  Yale. 

FROM   MR.   J.   FENIMORE    COOPER. 

PARIS,  June  10, 1831. 

Now  France  is  guilty  of  the  extreme  folly  of 

attempting  to  imitate  a  system  which  is  just  found  out  to  be 


CORRESPONDENCE.  335 

intolerable  to  those  who  have  some  relief  for  its  abuses. 
France  has  no  countries  subsidiary  to  her  prosperity,  and 
the  sentiment  of  the  nation  is  opposed  to  aristocracy,  and 
yet  such  is  the  secret  object  of  her  present  rulers.  They 
do  not  see  that  England  has  got  on  in  spite  of  her  aristoc- 
racy, and  not  by  its  means,  and  that  when  the  true  agents 
of  her  wealth  and  power  are  beginning  to  fail  her,  that  she 
cannot  bear  the  inflictions  of  that  aristocracy,  and  is  about 
to  get  rid  of  it,  too,  along  with  other  evils.  But  there  is 
something  so  seductive  in  the  social  distinctions  and  the 
real  superiority  of  the  English  gentlemen  over  their  neigh- 
bors, that  it  proves  too  powerful  for  their  patriotism.  It  is 
fashionable  to  say  that  France  is  not  good  enough  for  free 
institutions.  Surely  this  involves  a  fallacy.  Free  institu- 
tions mean  the  responsibility  of  the  rulers  to  the  ruled ; 
and  the  worse  the  former  are,  the  greater  is  the  need  of 
this  responsibility.  We  trust  the  word  of  an  honorable 
man  ;  we  look  for  bond  and  mortgage  from  a  knave.  If 
men  were  virtuous,  government  would  be  unnecessary.  A 
strong  police  can  exist  in  a  republic ;  the  strongest  and 
best  in  Europe  is  in  Switzerland,  —  and  that  is  all  which  is 
required  to  suppress  ordinary  vice ;  and,  as  to  public  cor- 
ruption, surely  the  more  responsibility  the  better. 

Again,  there  is  no  better  training  for  public  virtues  than 
publicity  and  freedom.  You  will  ask  me  what  I  expect 
from  all  this.  It  is  my  opinion  things  cannot  stand  as  they 
are.  The  press  is  virtually  free  in  France,  and  five  years 
have  made  a  great  change  in  its  tone.  The  government 
has  been  guilty  of  the  weakness  of  offering  a  premium  to 
all  the  revolutionists  in  Europe  to  overturn  them,  since 
without  France  no  other  country  can  get  on.  I  have  little 
respect  for  the  king,  though  I  think  he  is  rather  a  weak 
than  a  bad  man.  It  is  impossible  to  foretell  what  course 
events  will  take  in  this  inflammable  nation,  but  the  move- 
ment cannot  be  stopped.  There  will  be  more  or  less  free- 
dom all  over  Europe  fifty  years  hence,  or  even  sooner. 
Public  opinion  has  already  secured  it  in  most  countries, 


336  LIFE   OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

despotic  or  not  in  name,  and  public  opinion  will  exact 
pledges  for  its  continuance.  At  present  all  the  efforts  of 
France  are  turned  towards  peace.  If  this  were  done  with 
a  good  motive,  it  would  be  respectable,  though  it  were 
weak.  But  the  motive  is  a  narrow  selfishness.  The  pow- 
ers that  be  know  that  a  war,  in  the  present  state  of  Europe, 
would  inevitably  throw  the  people  uppermost ;  and  this  is 
a  result  they  are  determined  to  avoid  at  any  hazard.  They 
wish  to  be  nobles,  and  in  that  vulgar  reason  you  have  what 
just  now  forms  the  whole  spring  of  English  and  French 
policy  — self,  self,  self. 

I  am  sorry  I  can  tell  you  nothing  of  the  person  you  name. 
I  never  saw  him  but  on  that  occasion,  and  I  think  I  was 
told  that  he  was  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  "  Revue  Ency- 
clopedique."  It  is  nothing  unusual  for  men  of  very  indif- 
ferent pretensions  in  Europe  to  make  a  figure  in  America. 
Still,  if  he  has  imparted  anything  as  from  himself,  you  will 
naturally  estimate  him  by  what  he  has  done,  rather  than 
by  what  he  is.  The  journal  to  which  he  was  then  attached 
is  of  no  great  reputation  itself,  nor  do  I  know  that  there 
is  a  single  French  literary  journal  of  any  reputation.  Eu- 
rope rates  our  men  very  differently  from  what  they  are 
rated  at  home,  and  we  rate  theirs  in  the  same  way.  If 
we  understood  each  other's  terms  better,  we  should  not 
make  so  many  blunders.  When  I  first  reached  Europe, 
I  was  all  wonder  at  the  ignorance  of  this  part  of  the 
world  concerning  ourselves,  and  now  that  I  have  leisure 
to  look  about  me,  I  am  all  wonder  at  the  ignorance  of 
America  concerning  Europe.  I  see  by  the  returns  that 
your  little  city  grows.  I  could  wish  you  to  mention  me  to 
Mr.  Day  and  Mr.  Kingsley ;  I  dare  say  I  should  say  Dr. 
Kingsley,  but  of  this  I  am  in  the  dark.  I  remember  the 
latter  with  affection.  He  did  his  duty,  and  more  than  his 
duty  by  me  ;  and  could  I  have  been  reclaimed  to  study  by 
kindness,  he  would  have  done  it.  My  misfortune  was  ex- 
treme youth.  I  was  not  sixteen  when  you  expelled  me.  I 
had  been  early  and  highly  educated  for  a  boy,  —  so  much 


CORRESPONDENCE.  337 

so  as  to  be  far  beyond  most  of  my  classmates  in  Latin  ;  and 
this  enabled  me  to  play  —  a  boy  of  thirteen  !  —  all  the  first 
year.  I  dare  say  Mr.  Kingsley  never  suspected  me  of 
knowing  too  much,  but  there  can  be  no  great  danger  now 
in  telling  him  the  truth.  So  well  was  I  grounded  in  the 
Latin  that  I  scarce  ever  looked  at  my  Horace  or  Tully 
until  I  was  in  his  fearful  presence ;  and  if  he  recollects, 
although  he  had  a  trick  of  trotting  me  about  the  pages  in 
order  to  get  me  mired,  he  may  remember  that  I  generally 
came  off  pretty  well.  There  is  one  of  my  college  adven- 
tures which  tickles  me,  even  to  this  day.  I  never  studied 
but  one  regular  lesson  in  Homer.  The  poor  bell,  or  a  cold, 
or  some  letter  had  to  answer  for  all  the  others.  Well,  when 
the  class  reviewed,  I  clapped  another  fifty  or  sixty  lines  to 
the  old  lesson,  and  went  to  recitation.  The  fact  was  noto- 
rious, —  so  notorious  that  the  division  used  to  laugh  when 
I  was  called  up  for  a  Homeric  excuse.  Examination  came 
at  length,  and  Mr.  Stuart,  between  whom  and  myself  I  can- 
not say  there  were  any  very  strong  sympathies,  was  exam- 
ining. I  had  calculated  my  distance,  and  by  aid  of  the 
Latin  translation,  which  I  read  as  easily  as  English,  I  was 
endeavoring  to  find  out  what  Homer  meant  in  a  certain 
paragraph  that  I  anticipated  would  fall  to  my  lot.  I  re- 
member that  I  sweated.  The  examiner  was  not  disposed 
to  give  me  the  benefit  of  my  recent  application,  but  skipped 
me  over  the  whole  book.  I  found  the  new  place  amid  a 
general  titter,  and  lo !  it  was  in  the  very  heart  of  my  two 
lessons.  As  we  sailors  say,  there  was  plenty  of  sea-room, 
and  I  had  half  a  mind  to  ask  the  examiner  to  take  his 
pick.  As  it  was,  I  got  through  admirably,  and  I  believe 
greatly  to  the  astonishment  of  the  examiner ;  and  I  know 
it  was  highly  to  the  amusement  of  my  own  tutor,  whose 
laughing  eyes  seemed  to  say, "  This  is  what  my  boys  can  do 
without  study."  If  I  ever  write  my  Memoir,  the  college 
part  of  it  will  not  be  the  least  amusing.  On  one  occasion, 
a  tutor  of  the  name  of  Fowler  was  scraped  in  the  hall. 
VOL.  i.  22 


338  LIFE   OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

Now  I  was  charged  with  being  one  of  his  assailants,  lyy  him- 
self, and  was  arraigned  before  you  all  in  conclave.  You 
presided,  and  appealed  to  my  honor  to  know  whether  I 
scraped  or  not.  I  told  you  the  truth  that  I  did  not,  for  I 
disliked  the  manner  of  assailing  a  man  en  masse.  You 
believed  me,  for  we  understood  each  other,  and  I  was  dis- 
missed without  even  a  reproof.  You  told  me  you  believed 
me,  and  I  was  not  a  boy  to  deceive  any  one  who  had  that 
sort  of  confidence  in  me.  This  little  court  made  a  pleasant 
impression  on  me  which  I  remember  to  this  day.  I  hope 
to  return  next  summer,  and  certainly  I  shall  come  and  take 
a  look  at  old  Yale.  You  cannot  claim  me  in  public,  for  the 
reason  that  Dr.  Busby  wore  his  hat  before  King  Charles ; 
but  I  hope  you  will  not  turn  your  backs  on  me  in  private. 
I  can  sit  in  the  gallery  at  least.  Is  Mr.  Twining  living  ? 
I  could  wish  to  be  recalled  to  the  memory  of  both  him  and 
his  wife.  I  trust  I  have  not  wearied  you  with  my  gossip. 
If  I  can  be  of  any  use  to  you  at  Paris,  where  I  shall  pass 
most  of  the  present  year,  I  beg  you  to  command  me. 
With  great  respect  and  regard, 
I  remain,  dear  sir, 
Yours  faithfully, 

J.  FENIMORE  COOPER. 
DR.  SILLIMAN,  Yale  College. 

In  looking  over  your  letter  I  see  I  ought  to  have  ex- 
plained to  you  that  no  moment  has  Paris  been  in  serious 
danger  of  disturbance,  except  at  that  when  the  Ministers 
were  acquitted.  Lafayette  then  saved  the  king,  and  the 
next  week  he  was  turned  out  of  his  office.  He  can  de- 
throne Louis  Philippe  even  now,  when  he  shall  please,  but 
he  acts  on  principle.  The  other  affairs  were  mere  riots  of 
no  great  moment,  though  they  looked  ominous  on  paper. 
You  are  quite  wrong  in  thinking  Franco  in  danger  of  des- 
potism. Bonaparte  himself  could  not  now  enslave  this 
nation,  —  rely  on  it.  The  new  generation  is  too  enlight- 
ened, and  has  too  much  the  habit  of  liberty  for  that. 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

LECTURES    IN   HARTFORD;    IN    LOWELL;    IN   BOSTON;   IN 
SALEM. 

His  Lectures  outside  of  College.  —  Course  of  Geology  in  Hartford  (1834). — 
Lectures  in  Lowell :  Daniel  Webster  and  Jeremiah  Smith.  —  Course  on 
Geology  in  Boston  ^835). —  Hospitable  Treatment  in  Boston.  —  Party  at 
Dr.  Warren's.  —  Governor  Winthrop.  — Party  at  Mr.  Nathan  Appleton's. 

—  Judge  Davis.  —Dinner  at  General  William  Sullivan's.— Judge  Story. 

—  Dr.  Gannett.  —  Interview  with  Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence.  —  Lectures  in 
Salem:  Mr.  S.  C.  Phillips:  Dr.  Prince:  Mr.  Silsbee:  Judge  White. 

THIS  chapter  marks  a  new  epoch  in  Mr.  Silliman's 
life.  Hitherto  his  lectures  had  been  addressed  to 
students  within  the  walls  of  College.  He  was  now 
to  step  forth  upon  a  broader  arena,  and  to  become 
the  teacher  of  the  people.*  Popular  lectures  were 
icn  comparatively  a  novel  thing.  Perhaps  he,  more 
lan  any  other  person,  was  instrumental  in  bringing 
this  mode  of  instruction  into  vogue  in  the  country. 
He  had  some  rare  qualifications  to  act  in  this  capac- 
ity. He  had  been  for  many  years  an  assiduous 
student  of  the  branches  which  he  taught,  and  was 
fully  possessed  of  their  principles  and  facts.  He 
knew  how  to  produce  brilliant  effects  by  experiments, 
which  he  so  prepared  that  they  almost  never  failed. 
As  a  public  speaker,  he  was  dignified,  animated,  and 
fluent.  At  the  same  time  his  engaging  manners  in 
private  conciliated  the  favor  of  all  classes,  and  espe- 

*  He  had,  however,  previously  (in  1831-32  and  1832-33)  given  courses 
of  lectures  on  chemistry  and  geology  to  the  mechanics  of  New  Haven,  in 
the  Franklin  Institute,  an  establishment  which,  under  his  encouragement, 
was  founded  and  supported  by  a  liberal-minded  man,  himself  a  mechanic, 
James  Brewster,  Esq. 


340,  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

cially  attracted  to  his  lectures  the  refined  and  cultiva- 
ted. The  numerous  courses  which  he  gave  in  all  parts 
of  the  land  were  almost  uniformly  successful.  He 
kindled  wherever  he  went  a  lively  interest  in  the 
study  of  physical  science.  And  he  was  everywhere 
the  object  of  warm  personal  esteem  and  admiration. 
Especially  was  this  true  in  Boston.  In  that  city  his 
lectures  were  thronged  by  audiences  of  the  highest 
respectability.  Marks  of  personal  regard  in  the  form 
of  hospitality  and  social  attention  were  showered 
upon  him.  The  six  courses  of  lectures  which  he  de- 
livered in  as  many  years  in  Boston  formed,  in  his  own 
view,  the  brightest  period  in  the  history  of  his  scien- 
tific labors.  We  quote  from  the  "  Reminiscences." 

After  April  1,  1834,  a  new  era  opened  upon  me.  Pub- 
lic courses  of  lectures  by  me  were  called  for  in  many 
places,  most  of  them  out  of  Connecticut,  and  this  call  con- 
tinued actively  for  twenty -three  years,  —  from  1834  to 
1857, — nor  is  it  quite  ended  yet,  at  the  close  of  twenty-five 
years.  Those  lectures  were  given  while  I  was  between 

fifty-five  and  eighty  years  of  age I  was  called 

out  in  the  maturity  of  my  powers,  experience,  and  repu- 
tation ;  and  while  I  enjoy  the  satisfactory  assurance  that  I 
have  popularized  science,  these  efforts  brought  important 
assistance  to  my  family  at  a  period  when  my  children  were 
requiring  aid  in  their  settlement  in  life.  I  conceive  that 
in  no  period  of  my  life  have  my  efforts  been  more  useful, 
both  to  my  country  and  my  family  ;  and  as  regards  pro- 
fessional labors,  there  is  no  part  of  my  career  which  I 
reflect  upon  with  more  satisfaction. 

The  Course  of  geology  in  Hartford,  in  April  and  May, 
1834,  was  the  first  that  I  delivered  out  of  New  Haven. 
The  overture  came  through  the  kind  attention  of  Alfred 
Smith  and  Daniel  Wadsworth,  Esqrs.  Their  letter,  dated 


LECTURES  IN  HARTFORD.          341 

April  9,  1834,  enclosed  an  official  communication  signed 
by  Daniel  Wadsworth.  (private  citizen.)  Thomas  S.  Wil- 
liams, (member  of  Congress  and  Judge,)  Thomas  Day, 
(Judge,)  Joel  Hawes,  (minister  of  the  First  Church.)  The 
following  passages  are  extracted :  "  After  the  interesting 
lecture  on  geology,  which  you  so  kindly  gave  at  Hartford 
last  winter,  January  10,  1834,  a  lively  interest  was  felt  to 
hear  a  full  course  from  you  on  the  same  subject."  "  Our 
object  in  writing  is  to  express  the  pleasure  which  we  should 
receive  from  hearing  a  course  of  lectures  on  geology,  and 
to  ask  whether  you  will  be  able  and  willing  to  attend  here 
for  that  purpose."  There  was  enclosed  a  subscription  of 
two  hundred  dollars,  with  an  assurance  that  it  would  in 
all  probability  be  largely  increased.  The  actual  result  was 
three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

This  course  was  attended  by  from  three  to  four  hundred 
persons  from  among  the  most  intelligent  and  estimable 
people  of  the  place.  The  lecture-room  of  the  Centre 
Church,  —  that  of  Rev.  Dr.  Hawes,  —  was  conceded  to  me 
without  charge,  and  I  of  course  had  a  welcome  home  at 
Mr.  Daniel  Wadsworth's.  I  had  a  considerable  collection 
of  drawings,  and  had  selected  numerous  specimens  of  min- 
erals and  fossils  to  illustrate  my  subject ;  they  were  stored 
in  a  room  in  the  wing  of  Mr.  Wadsworth's  house,  and  every 
morning  before  breakfast,  I  devoted  an  hour  in  the  lecture- 
room  to  meet  those  persons  who  wished  to  see  the  speci- 
mens more  fully,  and  to  hear  additional  explanations  of 
them.  The  number  of  individuals  who  attended  this  sec- 
ond meeting  was  not  indeed  large,  but  they  were  attentive 
and  interested.  The  number  of  lectures  in  a  week  was 
two  and  three,  and  the  audience  manifested  decided  satis- 
faction, while  by  this  first  experience  out  of  New  Haven, 
I  was  encouraged  to  listen  to  the  next  overture.  I  re- 
ceived a  warm  vote  of  thanks  from  the  gentlemen  who 
invited  me  to  Hartford. 


342  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year,  he  accepted  an 
invitation  to  give  a  course  of  lectures  in  Lowell. 
Among  his  auditors  at  one  of  these  lectures  was 
Daniel  Webster. 

I  ought  not  to  omit  that  the  Hon.  Daniel  Webster,  then 
in  the  very  height  of  his  power  and  fame,  attended  one  of 
my  lectures  on  geology.  The  subject  was  diluvial  action 
and  the  deluge.  As  he  lodged  at  our  hotel  I  had  an  in- 
terview with  him  after  the  lecture.  He  entered  into  the 
subject  with  zeal,  and  discoursed  upon  it  with  energy  and 
eloquence,  showing  that  his  great  mind  had  not  overlooked 
this  subject ;  and  many  years  afterwards  our  conversation 
was  renewed. 

The  Hon.  Jeremiah  Smith,  colleague  with  the  Hon. 
Daniel  Webster  and  Jeremiah  Mason,  in  the  famous  cause 
of  Dartmouth  College  and  the  State  of  New  Hampshire, 
came  to  Lowell  and  delivered  a  lecture  on  the  moral  prin- 
ciples and  character  of  Washington.  It  was  a  beautiful 
production,  and  to  a  gentleman  who  asked  my  opinion  of  it, 
I  replied  that  it  went  right  to  my  heart.  Mr.  Smith  has 
much  vivacity,  and  when  my  remark  was  reported  to  him, 
he  replied  that  it  could  not  go  to  a  better  place.  It  was 
one  of  those  gay  sallies  which  such  men  make  without  in- 
quiring into  their  truth. 

Boston  Course  on  Geology,  March  and  April,  1835.  —  So 
long  ago  as  when  the  Hon.  Josiah  Quincy  was  President 
of  the  Boston  Atheneum,  I  received,  through  him,  an  in- 
vitation from  the  trustees  of  that  institution  to  deliver  in 
their  hall,  for  the  public,  a  course  of  lectures  on  any  subject 
which  I  might  choose.  The  proposition  interested  me  deeply 
.'•ean  unexpected  honor.  Being  much  inclined  to  accept 
I  consulted  my  colleagues,  and  they  unanimously  en- 
couraged me  to  make  the  attempt  My  course  of  instruc- 
tion in  Yale  College  at  that  time  filled  the  entire  season  of 


LECTURES   IN  BOSTOX.  343 

iblic  lectures  in  the  cities,  and  I  was  therefore  constrained 
to  decline. 

Several  years  elapsed  before. the  subject  of  lectures  in 
Boston  was  again-  presented  to  me, , but  from  a  different 
source.  Mr.  William  J.  Loring,  a  lawyer  in  Boston,  ad- 
dressed me  on  behalf  of  a  Boston  society  for  the  promo- 
tion of  knowledge,  desiring  me  to  give  a  course  of  lec- 
tures in  their  city.  I  accepted  the  invitation,  thinking  that 
it  presented  a  fair  opportunity  of  introduction  to  the  Athens 
of  New  England ;  I  demanded  nothing  more  than  an  hon- 
orable endorsement  from  the  Society.  Waiving  all  pecu- 
niary stipulations,  I  agreed  to  take  my  chance,  and  to 
depend  solely  upon  my  own  efforts  for  a  favorable  verdict 
and  a  competent  remuneration. 

He  gives  an  account  of  his  stay  in  Boston  on  this 
occasion,  partly  availing  himself  of  brief  memoranda 
written  at  the  time.  A  portion  of  this  account  is 
presented  below :  — 

Monday,  March  2,  (1835).  —  Dined  with  Mr.  Edmund 
D wight  and  friends,  and  the  next  day  with  Mr.  William 
Lawrence,  —  a  beautiful  entertainment,  and  great  hospital- 
ity. The  morning  of  March  3d  was  passed  with  Robert* 
in  the  Temple  in  arranging  the  specimens  into  groups,  and 
in  preparing  for  the  first  lecture. 

As  I  had  never  before  appeared  publicly  in  Boston  as  a 
lecturer,  I  thought  it  both  fair  towards  my  audience,  and 
prudent  as  regards  myself,  to  afford  the  citizens  an  opportu- 
nity to  hear  me  before  any  of  them  should  have  been  com- 
mitted. After  consultation  with  some  friends,  I  decided 
upon  a  lecture  which  I  believed  would  be  interesting,  as  I 
felt  assured  it  would  be  novel.  As  it  was  to  be  gratuitous, 
it  would  also  be  an  indication,  by  the  attendance,  whether 
any  interest  was  felt  in  the  stranger  now  come  among  them. 
I  gave  the  lecture  at  the  instance  of  the  Natural  History 
*  Robert  Park,  his  faithful  colored  servant.  —  F. 


344  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Society,  and  was  introduced  to  the  audience  by  Mr.  Wil- 
liam J.  Loring,  the  gentleman  through  whom  I  had  received 
the  invitation  to  Boston.  I  dined  once  at  Mr.  Loring's, 
who  had  a  lovely  wife,  —  a  Thorndike.  He  died  the  next 
year.  A  brother  survives  him,  an  eminent  lawyer,  with 

whom   I    also   dined I   entered   the    lecture-hall 

through  a  private  door  leading  from  my  study.  A  large 
and  brilliant  audience  was  before  me,  —  much  larger  than 
any  one  that  I  had  ever  addressed.  I  was  awed  but  not 
abashed,  and  I  entered  upon  the  duty  with  good  courage 
and  entire  self-possession.  The  room  was  more  than  full, — 
alleys  and  all,  —  the  people  filled  the  stairs,  and  were  clus- 
tered around  the  door  in  crowds.  My  friend,  Dr.  Wood- 
bridge  Strong,  told  me  that  those  who  went  away  because 
they  could  not  gain  admittance,  were  more  than  the  actual 
audience.  They  were  differently  estimated,  by  different 
persons,  from  1000  to  1400;  perhaps  1200  might  have 
been  nearer  to  the  truth.  Such  an  audience  of  intelligent 
and  attentive  persons  was  sufficiently  encouraging.  The 
subject  of  the  lecture  was  Meteors.  I  spoke  seventy  min- 
utes, —  giving  first  an  introductory  view  of  luminous  me- 
teors, including  lightning  and  shooting  stars,  —  this  being 
merely  introductory  to  the  meteoric  fire-balls.  Then  fol- 
lowed a  historical  sketch  of  the  arrival  in  our  atmosphere 
of  fire-balls,  throwing  down  stones  and  iron,  preceded  and 
accompanied  by  violent  explosions  and  cannon-like  reports. 
The  Weston  Meteor  of  December  1807,  was  fully  described, 
and  a  summary  of  the  facts  was  given  from  my  own  inves- 
tigations at  the  places  and  among  the  people  where  the 
event  occurred.  Specimens  of  the  meteorites  were  then 
exhibited  ;  their  external  characters  and  mechanical  and 
chemical  compositions,  were  explained.  Theoretical  views 
were  then  presented. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  lecture,  Mr.  William  J.  Loring 
endorsed  me,  as  being  invited  by  the  Society  for  Promoting 
Useful  Knowledge,  and  he  announced  the  ensuing  course  of 


LECTURES  IN  BOSTON.  345 

geology ;  the  first  lecture  in  that  course  to  be  given  on 
the  next  evening,  March  4.  The  lecture  on  the  meteors, 
having  been  designed  merely  to  make  myself  known  in 
Boston  as  a  lecturer,  was  not  properly  a  part  of  the  intended 
course.  It  answered  the  object  1  had  in  view.  The  course 
of  geology  that  followed,  was  my  first  great  success,  both 
as  regards  reputation  and  remuneration.  The  courses  in* 
Hartford  and  Lowell  had  gained  for  me  a  high  reputation 
as  a  lecturer,  and  a  moderate  remuneration  in  money,— say 
$500  for  both,  and  with  the  addition  of  the  Lowell  gift, 
about  $600. 

March  4,  Wednesday.  —  After  the  evening  lecture  I  went 
with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Channing  to  Rev.  Mr.  Parkman's,- — both 
some  years  since  deceased  ;  Mr.  Parkman  by  a  mysterious 
suicide,  —  to  meet  a  literary  and  social  club  of  sixty  years' 
standing,  —  a  very  agreeable  interview. 

March  5. — In  the  morning  I  was  almost  entirely  at 
home ;  received  many  calls ;  gave  Robert  liberty  to  go 
and  amuse  himself;  wrote  to  B.  S.,  Jr.  Dined  with  Mr. 
Thomas  Lamb  (he  and  his  lady  and  family  are  warm  and 
constant  friends  to  this  day,  —  1859).  At  Mr.  Lamb's,  met 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Gannett,  —  a  small  and  agreeable  family  cir- 
cle. P.  M.  — Wrote  to  my  English  friend,  Mr.  Mantell,  to 
Mr.  Lyell,  and  others,  to  go  by  Mr.  Henry  Barnard.  Did 
not  go  out  in  the  evening. 

March  6,  Friday.  —  Ascertained  at  Mr.  Wm.  D.  Tick- 
nor's  the  state  of  payments  for  the  lectures,  —  very  satis- 
factory. Went  to  my  private  room  in  the  Temple  ;  wrote  to 
Robert  Bakewell  and  O.  Rich,  London,  by  Mr.  Barnard, 
and  to  Agassiz,  Neufchatel ;  to  Mrs.  S.,  at  home.  Made 
gases  with  Robert  for  the  afternoon  lecture.  Dined  at 
home ;  was  at  the  Temple  in  the  afternoon.  Received  a 
very  warm  call  and  reiterated  welcome  in  my  Temple  study, 
from  Mr.  John  Parker  and  son,  persons  of  high  considera- 
tion here.  Mr.  Parker,  the  father,  said  that  no  stranger  in 
such  a  character  had  ever  had  such  a  reception  in  Boston. 


346  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

At  Dr.  Bigelow's  in  the  evening,  —  a  soiree.  Present : 
President  Quincy,  President  Kirkland,  Alexander  Everett, 
and  many  other  eminent  men,  thirty  to  forty  in  number. 
All  stood  in  two  rooms ;  a  table  of  refreshments  was 
spread  in  one  of  them  ;  came  home  at  ten  p.  M.  Met 
Dr.  Wainwright,  who  says  that  the  impression  concerning 
*the  lectures  is  favorable. 

March  7.  —  Called  on  Willard  the  painter,  who  wished 
to  paint  my  portrait,  and  I  am  to  sit  for  him  on  Monday, 
March  9th.  At  home,  looking  over  my  notes.  Called  at 
W.  D.  Ticknor's  about  the  tickets;  on  Dr.  Bowditch  for 
missing  volumes  of  the  Academy,  —  very  kindly  welcomed  ; 
invited  to  tea.  Dined  at  home. 

"  The  first  week  of  my  very  important  and  interesting 
probation  in  Boston  is  now  closed,  and  very  happily.  We 
have  been  signally  prospered  in  everything.  Nothing  has 
failed,  either  in  the  lecture-room  or  in  the  city.  The  in- 
terest excited  and  the  numbers  in  attendance  are  for  beyond 
my  expectation.  I  suppose  that  in  both  the  courses  there 
are  twelve  hundred  persons.  Surely  goodness  and  mercy 
have  followed  me  hitherto,  and  I  will  humbly  and  audibly 
acknowledge  them  in  my  chamber,  and  privately  in  my 
thoughts  in  the  house  of  the  Lord." 

March  Sth,  Sabbath.  —  A  storm  of  snow  and  rain  ;  and  a 
cold  I  had  taken  kept  me  at  home  in  the  morning.  Read 
Dick's  «  Philosophy  of  Religion."  P.  M.,  attended  in  the 
Stone  Chapel,  —  it  was  the  King's  Chapel  before  the  Revo- 
lution ;  sermon  by  Mr.  Greenwood,  Unitarian,  on  the  Temp- 
tation of  our  Saviour.  After  coffee  at  Dr.  Wai nw right's, 
went  with  him  to  the  Boylston  Hall  to  hear  the  Oratorio 
of  the  Handel  and  Haydn  Society. 

March  9^7*,  Monday.  —  I  sat  one  hour  for  Willard  the 
artist,  and  wrote  business  letters.  I  dined  with  Dr.  Jack- 
son in  his  family,  one  son  and  four  daughters,  and  two 
gentlemen  friends.  The  sitting  was  rendered  agreeable  by 
rational  and  animated  conversation.  Tea  at  Mr.  Edmund 


tne 
but 


LECTURES  IN  BOSTON.  347 

ight's  in  the  family,  and  at  Professor  Ticknor's.    SI 
the  meteoric  stones,  and  stated  the  case  of  the  "  American 
rnal."    Professor  Ticknor  says,  that  I  speak  loud  enough, 

t  drop  my  voice  near  the  end  of  a  sentence  and  some 
words  are  lost.  I  attended  a  great  Government  party  at 
Lieut.  -  Governor  Armstrong's,  —  hundreds  of  gentlemen 
without  one  lady.  At  nine  o'clock,  I  retired  to  read  and 
write  at  home.  Governor  Armstrong,  formerly  a  bookseller, 
is  a  man  of  noble  person  and  mien,  and  courteous  manners. 
I  am  well,  and  all  goes  well  —  charmingly  indeed,  —  cor- 
diality and  interest  and  numbers  far  beyond  my  expecta- 
tions. Robert  *  is  well  and  does  exceedingly  well ;  he  is 
much  admired  in  his  station,  and  is  regarded  by  the  audi- 
ence as  a  sub-professor! 

March  llth,  Wednesday  Evening.  —  Room  very  full,  seats 
all  filled.  I  should  think  there  were  from  eight  hundred 
to  nine  hundred  people,  —  the  day-course  notwithstanding. 
Great  interest  was  manifested  by  the  most  profound  atten- 
tion, and  I  am  assured  that  there  was  great  satisfaction. 
In  a  letter  of  March  13,  1835,  to  Mrs.  Silliman,  I  say: 
"Many  people  have  been  denied  evening  tickets,  the 
seats  being  entirely  occupied ;  and  we  are  not  willing  to 
admit  a  crowd  to  annoy  each  other  in  the  alleys  and  spaces. 
In  consequence  the  day-course  grows,  but  I  cannot  tell  to 
what  extent."  "In  addition  to  the  remittance  of  sH'i'J. ."»<>, 
already  made  to  you,  there  is  enough  more  paid  in  to  make 
$2000 ;  the  expenses  will  be,  all  told,  about  §500,  and  $1500 
will  remain  as  my  reward.  Besides  the  money,  my  sin  • 
here  is  really  a  triumph.  The  audience  is  not  surpa 
in  numbers  and  intelligence  by  the  assemblies  at  the  Royal 
Institution  in  London.  The  interest  is  already  intense, 
and  the  moral  influence  is  said  to  be  of  the  happiest  kind. 
Clergymen,  both  Unitarian  and  Orthodox,  thank  nu-  warmly 
for  the  manner  in  which  they  say  that  delicate  point- 
treated.  They  tell  me  that  the  success  of  the  lectures  is 
*  His  colored  sen-ant.  —  F. 


348  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

without  a  precedent,  even  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Spurzheim,  as 
to  the  numbers  attending  and  the  interest  excited."  .... 

March  12,  Thursday  Evening.  —  I  did  not  think  that  I 
spoke  as  well  as  on  the  preceding  evening ;  and  have  noted 
in  my  observations  on  this  lecture  that  it  is  very  important 
to  be  cool  and  deliberate.  I  had  supposed  that  the  subjects 
of  this  lecture  might  be  rather  dry,  but  I  was  assured  that 
the  audience  manifested  great  interest  and  great  satisfac- 
tion, while  they  gave  profound  attention  and  behaved  with 
perfect  decorum.  The  room  was  entirely  filled,  and  all  the 
seats  occupied  by  apparently  eight  hundred  or  nine  hun- 
dred persons.  A  few  stood,  and  many  were  excluded  at 
the  door  for  want  of  room. 

Day  Lectures.  —  Friday  and  Saturday.  —  The  two  pre- 
ceding lectures  were  repeated  on  the  afternoons  of  Friday 
the  13th,  and  Saturday  the  14th,  to  audiences  from  four 
hundred  to  five  hundred  persons.  I  began  to  feel  and  act 
naturally,  and  thought  that  I  improved  in  speaking,  and  it 
became  more  easy.  The  audience  on  Saturday  afternoon 
was  larger  than  ever  before,  —  nearly  or  quite  five  hundred. 
The  audience  was  very  attentive,  and  appeared  to  be  deeply 
interested.  In  my  notes  I  remark  :  "  Everything  goes  well ; 
it  must  be  my  endeavor  to  sustain  the  interest,  and  this  will 
be  done  by  effectual  preparation  ;  but  my  time  (the  people 
are  so  cordial  and  kind)  is  much  cut  up  by  calls  and  en- 
gagements, —  sometimes  fifty  or  sixty  cards  on  the  frame 
of  the  mirror,  all  reminding  me  of  attentions  to  be  re- 
turned  

March  13.  —  After  tea  at  home,  went  to  Mrs.  Lamb's 
party  ;  and  then  to  Dr.  Warren's  soiree  at  8^  o'clock,  —  a 
large  number  of  gentlemen  without  ladies.  Dr.  Warren's  is 
a  splendid  house.  He  showed  us  the  Psalm-Book  that  was 
in  the  pocket  of  his  uncle,  General  Joseph  Warren,  when 
he  was  slain  at  Bunker's  Hill,  June  1 7,  1 775.  It  was  taken 
out  of  his  pocket  by  an  English  soldier,  who  carried  it  to 
England,  where  it  was  purchased  by  an  English  clergyman, 


LECTURES  IN  BOSTON.  349 


Dr.  Wilton,  who  gave  it  to  Dr.  Gordon,  the  English  his- 
torian of  the  Revolution,  and  he,  I  believe,  sent  it  out  to  the 
family.  It  was  of  the  Geneva  edition  of  1500  and  some 
years,  —  a  very  small  volume,  and  in  very  good  order,  con- 
taining the  Psalms  of  David 

Saturday,  March  14.  —  I  called  on  the  venerable  Governor 
Winthrop.  Arranged -for  the  afternoon  lecture  at  the 
Temple,  and  dined  at  home.  Then  to  Dr.  Bowditch  to  tea. 
We  sat  down  at  table  in  Connecticut  style,  —  a  rational  and 
profitable  evening  ;  a  charming  family,  and  Dr.  Bowditch  a 
delightful  man.  The  translator  and  annotator  of  the  "  Me- 
chanique  Celeste  "  is  at  his  fireside  a  bright  and  cheerful 
man,  with  buoyant  spirits  and  the  kindest  manners 

March  15,  Sabbath. —  At  Dr.  Lothrop's  —  formerly  Dr. 
Buckminster's  and  Dr.  Kirkland's  —  church.  In  the  morn- 
ing, sermon  on  Hope,  —  a  discourse  very  well  written  and 
well  spoken.  Dr.  Lothrop  ranks  as  a  Unitarian  ; . —  is  much 
esteemed.  Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence  attends  here.  Afternoon 
at  Dr.  Wain  wright's  church,  —  Episcopal.  A  very  good 
sermon.  Evening,  —  tea  at  Mr.  William  Lawrence's;  sup- 
per at  Professor  Ticknor's 

March  1 6,  Monday.  —  Forenoon  at  the  Temple.  Packing 
things  that  have  been  exhibited  and  are  not  wanted  here 
again.  Arranging  for  the  next  lecture.  Calls  from  Hon. 
Edward  Everett  and  Warren  Dutton,  Esq.  and  Hon.  Samuel 
Hubbard,  —  the  two  latter  distinguished  sons  of  Yale  ;  Mr. 
Everett,  the  pride  of  Harvard.  Dinner  at  three,,  at  Mr. 
Charles  G.  Loring's,  —  eminent  at  the  bar.  Mrs.  Loring 
was  Miss  Brace  of  Litchfield,  Connecticut 

March  16,  17,  Monday  and  Tuesday.  —  At  Mr.  Loring's 
table  met  General  William  Sullivan,  —  a  handsome  man,  of 
fine  presence,  of  very  polished  manners,  and  very  enter- 
taining. He  is  the  author  of  the  "  Familiar  Letters  "  de- 
scribing the  manners  of  the  Court  of  General  Washington, 
and  of  the  American  gentry  of  that  day.  I  remember  him 
at  a  $BK  anniversary  dinner  at  Cambridge,  when  he 


350  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

gave,  as  a  volunteer  toast :  "  Woman,  man's  social  and  in- 
tellectual companion."  The  sentiment  did  him  honor,  and 

was  received  with  enthusiasm.     At  the  dinner  at  Mr.  Lor- 

> 

ing's,  he  remarked  that  the  men  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion have  been  overrated.  I  suppose  he  thought  as  to 
talent,  and  that  veneration  for  the  cause  gave  them  in  the 
minds  of  the  people  an  exalted  rank.  General  Sullivan, 
sipping  with  moderation  his  glass  of  wine,  said  he  did  not 
know  what  wine  was  good  for,  except  to  set  "  a  fellow's 
tongue  a-running,"  —  meaning  that  it  was  a  promoter  of 
sociability.  Many  years  after,  being  at  the  public  dinner 
in  Cambridge  given  in  honor  of  the  inauguration  of  Pres- 
ident Everett,  water  and  lemonade  were  served  without 
wine,  and  I  did  not  perceive  any  want  of  wit  and  vivacity, 
comparing  the  occasion  with  similar  ones  at  Cambridge 
when  wine  was  freely  used 

March  17. —  From  the  pressure  of  the  subjects,  I  be- 
came a  little  hurried  towards  the  close  of  the  lecture.  The 
presence  of  a  great  audience,  too,  and  the  heat  of  the  room, 
contributed  to  a  degree  of  discomfort,  and  near  the  close 
of  the  evening  a  lady  fainted  quite  away,  which  created  a 
little  confusion ;  but  the  interest  excited  appeared  to  be  in- 
tense ;  and  as  this  was  only  the  fourth  geological  lecture,  I 
hoped  that  with  God's  blessing  it  would  be  sustained  and 
increased  to  the  end.  ..... 

Thursday.  —  I  dined  with  Mr.  Peter  C.  Brooks,  father- 
in-law  of  Mr.  Edward  Everett.  At  his  table  I  met  Mr. 
Edward  Everett,  Warren  Dutton,  Esq.,  Mr.  Isaac  P. 
Davis,  who  said  that  in  1817  I  had  shown  him  civilities  at 
New  Haven,  —  forgotten  by  me  ;  but  I  did  not  tell  him  so. 
Also  Rev.  Dr.  Wainwright  and  Rev.  Mr.  Frothingham. 
I  retired  in  season  to  prepare  for  the  lecture.  A  violent 
snow-storm  in  the  morning,  but  rain  and  melting  before 
noon.  The  walking  at  evening  being  still  wet,  the  audi- 
ence was  not  quite  so  full  as  the  evening  before  ;  but  the 
seats  were  all  occupied,  and  everything  went  well 


LECTURES  IN  BOSTON.  351 

After  lecture,  I  attended  a  splendid  party  at  Mr.  Nathan 
Appleton's.  The  drawing-rooms  were  magnificent,  with 
princely  furniture  and  appendages.  The  Scotch  lady,  Mrs. 
Inglis,  with  her  daughter,  was  there.  One  of  the  daughters 
was  taken  sick  at  the  Tontine  in  New  Haven,  and  we,  be- 
ing informed  of  it  by  Dr.  Lieber,  bestowed  some  attention 
upon  them,  for  which  they  were  very  grateful.*  They  con- 
duct a  female  academy  in  Boston. 

March  20,  Friday.  —  Made  many  calls  in  the  morning, 
arranged  for  the  next  lecture  at  the  Temple,  and  dined  at 
home.  At  three  quarters  after  six  o'clock  p.  at.,  I  went  with 
Mr.  Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  and  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of 
Loring,  to  Cambridge,  in  a  close  carriage.  The  meeting 
at  President  Quincy's  was  that  of  a  regular  Friday  Even- 
ing Club,  instituted  during  the  last  year.  Most  of  the 
College  gentlemen  were  present,  and  many  others.  I  was 
treated  with  great  kindness  and  attention.  Mrs.  and  Miss 
Quincy  appeared  before  the  meeting  was  over,  and  I  had 
a  brief  but  pleasant  interview  with  them.  "VVe  returned  to 
Boston  in  the  same  carriage  that  brought  us  over.  Pres- 
ident Quincy  and  lady  hold  Oliver  Wolcott,  Esq.,  of  Con- 
necticut, in  high  admiration.  They  knew  him  when  in  the 
Government  of  the  United -States  at  Philadelphia.  Mr. 
Josiah  Quincy,  Jr.,  kindly  took  me  to  Cambridge,  and 
attended  me  in  the  same  way  back  to  Boston 

March  22.  —  In  the  evening  I  had  not  indeed  quite 
recovered  my  full  physical  energy,  but  I  believe  that  my 
audience  gained  by  it,  for  I  was  more  calm  and  deliberate 
in  my  manner ;  and  this  lecture,  chiefly  on  the  early  or- 
ganic remains,  appeared  to  me  to  excite  more  attention 
than  any  preceding  one.  I  took  tea  at  Judge  Davis's.  At 
his  family  table  (I  believe  a  sister  presides,  as  he  is  a 
widower)  everything  was  rational  and  agreeable.  lie  is  a 
very  estimable  and  respectable  man,  cordial  in  a  high  de- 
gree, and  full  of  the  love-  of  science  and  of  good  learning. 
*  One  of  these  ladies  married  Don  Calderon  de  La  Barca. — F. 


3t)2  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

His  manners  are  gentle,  modest,  and  winning.  Among 
many  good  friends  in  Boston,  I  have  not  one  more  devoted 
than  Judge  Davis.  He  holds,  by  Washington's  appoint- 
ment, the  high  office  of  District  Judge  of  the  United 
States  for  Boston  and  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 

March  22.  —  Colonel  Pickman  of  Salem,  Speaker  of  the 
present  House  of  Representatives,  fell  dead  this  morning 
in  an  apoplectic  fit.  His  residence  was  under  our  roof,  in 
another  tenement  in  the  same  block  of  buildings.  "  In 
the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death ; "  let  us  be  always  ready, 
and  then  we  need  not  fear  the  summons.  While  I  remain 
in  this  world,  may  God  grant  me  both  the  ability  and  the 
disposition  to  do  good,  and  perfect  willingness  to  go  when- 
ever, and  in  whatever  manner,  He  may  call  me  !  May  God 
bless  my  dearest  wife  and  my  lovely  and  beloved  children, 
and  their  children  also !  May  we  be  all  saved  by  the 
great  and  glorious  redemption,  by  a  second  creation  unto 
righteousness!  In  the  afternoon  I  attended  the  church 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Winslow,  where  I  heard  an  excellent  ser- 
mon by  a  young  man,  a  stranger.  The  evening  was  stormy, 
and  I  remained  at  home. 

Dinner  at  General  William  SulKvan's.  —  When  General 
Sullivan  led  me  up  to  introduce  me  to  his  wife,  he  said :  "  I 
present  you  to  the  best  woman  in  the  world,"  and  I  sport- 
ively admitted  her  claim,  making  only  a  single  reservation. 
In  this  delightful  family  I  met  several  eminent  men,  — 
Judge  Story,  Rev.  Dr.  Wuimvright,  Mr.  George  B.  Emer- 
son, Professor  Ticknor,  Rev.  Mr.  Greenwood,  Mr.  Dexter, 
and  Professor  Farnir. 

Judge  Story  having  extraordinary  colloquial  powers, 
great  resources  for  conversation,  and  a  most  agreeable 
voice  and  manner,  with  a  noble  person  and  fine  presence, 
had  been  regarded  as  the  monarch  of  table-talk.  To-day 
he  seemed  conscious  that  he  might  be  regarded  as  too  en- 
grossing, and  when  he  advanced  to  pay  his  respects  to 


LECTURES  IN  BOSTON.  353 

Mrs.  Sullivan,  he  said :  u  Now,  madam,  I  am  not  going  to 
talk  to-day."  lie  took  a  seat,  and  kept  his  promise  for  a 
few  minutes,  when  the  gushing  torrent  broke  forth,  and 
flowed  almost  without  cessation,  very  pleasing  and  instruc- 
tive. There  was,  however,  an  interval,  which  Mr. 

made  use  of  to  introduce  an  anecdote.  lie  was,  as  he 
said,  one  evening  in  company  with  Professor  Parr  at  Ox- 
ford, when  the  conversation  grew  more  and  more  interest- 
ing, and  they  passed  the  night  in  high  converse  on  exalted 

classical  themes  ;  "  but,"  added  Mr. .  addressing  Judge 

Story,  "  it  was  a  dialogue,  Judge,  and  not  a  monologue." 
The  Judge  felt  the  application,  and  bowed  with  a  smile.  I 
had  been  before  somewhat  acquainted  with  this  eminent 
man,  having  met  him  more  than  once  in  the  New  Haven 
steamers,  passing  along  upon  his  judicial  journeys.  In 
the  letter  to  Mrs.  Silliman,  which  I  quoted  above,  I  find 
the  following  remarks  :  —  "  Everything  goes  on  most  agree- 
ably in  the  lectures  ;  everything  is  said  and  done  that  can 
gratify  and  encourage  me  ;  and  I  believe  I  have  completely 
won  the  confidence  and  gained  the  favor  of  my  audience : 
there  is  the  most  breathless  attention  at  all  the  lectures." 
"  All  this,  however,  although  it  cheers,  gratifies,  and  en- 
courages me,  so  far  from  producing  an  emotion  of  vanity, 
serves  only  to  increase  my  sense  of  responsibility  to  my 
generous  audience  and  to  Yale  College,  that  I  may  not  fail 
to  sustain  its  elevated  character."  Again  :  "  I  wish  I  could 
tell  you  all  that  passes  here ;  if  it  were  in  my  power,  I 
would  record  every  dinner  and  every  party,  and  all  that  is 
said  and  done ;  but,  as  this  is  impossible,  you  will  be  satis- 
fied with  selections.  I  must  decline  going  to  great  even- 
ing routes,  where  I  must  stand  for  hours ;  dinners  fatigue 
me  much  less.  I  can  sit  and  enjoy  conversation  without 
indulging  in  wine  and  luxuries.  I  am  habitually  very  care- 
ful'that  my  health  may  not  be  deranged  and  the  activity  of 
my  mind  impaired."  Referring  to  personal  religion  in  the 
children,  it  is  written  in  the  same  letter :  "  I  hope  our  dear 
VOL.  i.  23 


354  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

boy  will  put  himself  in  the  way  of  the  good  influence  which 

F writes  me  is  hopefully  abroad  in  the  College,  and  I 

wish  that  the  dear  little  girls  may  feel  it  too." 

March  24. — Dinner  at  Dr.  Shattuck's  ;  met  a  very  agree- 
able party  of  gentlemen;  among  them  were  Rev.  Dr. 
Charles  Lowell,  Mr.  Bowditch,  Jr.,  Rev.  Mr.  Adams,  Dr. 
Charles  T.  Jackson,  and  Mr.  Washington  Allston,  the  dis- 
tinguished artist  in  painting.  I  saw  Mr.  Allston  in  New 
Haven  many  years  ago,  then  a  bright  young  man  with 
black  hair,  now  an  old  man  with  snowy  locks.  Dr.  Lowell, 
a  moderate  Unitarian,  almost  Orthodox,  remarked  to  me 
that  theology  was  not  always  Christianity.  Dr.  Shattuck 
said  there  were  some  ideas  so  established  that  we  could  not 
go  behind  them  to  examine  their  origin,  —  e.  g.,  a  man's 
paternity. 

March  2G.  —  Dined  at  Governor  Winthrop's,  a  noble  and 
perfect  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  —  his  person  grand, 
being  large  and  handsome,  and  his  locks  white,  —  man- 
ners dignified,  but  courteous  and  encouraging  to  strangers. 
Guests:  Edward  Everett,  Jared  Sparks,  Alden  Bradford, 
Judge  James  Savage,  Mr.  Williams  from  Northampton, 
Judge  Davis,  Rev.  Dr.  Harris,  and  two  sons  of  Governor 
Winthrop.  Thus  this  noble  house  is  continued  from  the 
pilgrim  ancestors  down  to  our  time.  Dinner  and  enter- 
tainment excellent.  I,  rather  early,  retired  with  French 
leave,  and,  as  I  afterwards  thought,  too  abruptly,  as  I  sat 
on  the  Governor's  right  hand.  I  went  home  to  rest,  and 
to  prepare  for  the  lecture  of  the  evening,  which  went  off 
very  well.  After  lecture,  although  fatigued,  I  was  pre- 
vailed upon,  contrary  to  my  resolution,  to  attend  a  large 
and  brilliant  party  at  Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence's.  Mrs.  Law- 
rence kindly  provided  me  a  seat,  and  insisted  that  I  should 
occupy  it.  I  made  some  efforts  for  the  "American  Journal 
of  Science,"  and  wrote  a  circular  which  was  approved  by 
Dr.  Ticknor  and  other  judicious  friends. 

March  29,  Sabbath.  —  In  the  morning  I  went  with  Mrs. 


LECTURES  IN  BOSTON.  355 

John  Tappan  to  the  church  of  Mr.  Adams,  —  in  the  after- 
noon to  Dr.  Channing's,  but  did  not  hear  him.  In  the 
evening,  I  heard  his  colleague,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gannett,  at 
the  Temple,  where  he  gave  an  excellent  Sabbath-school 
address;  the  subject  was  the  Temptation  of  Christ.  His 
thoughts  were  excellent,  his  manner  fervent,  and  his  style 
eloquent  He  reminded  me  of  his  venerable  grandfather, 
Rev.  Dr.  Stiles,  President  of  Yale  College.  They  say  that 
he  is  one  of  the  most  engaged  and  warm  of  the  Unitarian 
clergy ;  and  if  I  may  judge  from  this  instance,  he  ap- 
proaches very  near  to  orthodoxy,  nor  could  I  discover  any- 
thing in  his  very  interesting  discourse  to  which  any  reason- 
able Christian  could  object. 

Monday,  March  30.  —  Good  news  from  home :  serious- 
ness prevails  in  College,  and,  I  thank  God,  my  dear  boy  is 
a  subject  of  it,  and  many  more  with  him.  May  God  carry 
it  through  the  Institution  !  Letters  from  Mrs.  Silliman  and 
Professors  Goodrich  and  Kingsley. 

The  arrangements  for  the  lecture  of  this  evening  occu- 
pied a  very  snowy  day  and  evening ;  but  this  did  not  hinder 
ladies  from  coming  to  the  lecture  in  the  usual  numbers.  I 
took  tea  at  Mr.  Louis  Dwight's,  the  celebrated  inspector  of 
prison  discipline.  I  declined  attending  the  lawyers'  club 
at  Mr.  Mason's.  Invitations  are  numerous.  I  have  just 
written  six  notes  of  acceptance  or  refusal 

April  1st,  Wednesday.  —  In  the  morning  with  Willard  the 
artist.  As  far  as  I  can  judge,  he  is  succeeding  well  with  the 
second  picture,  which  is  spirited ;  the  first  was  too  mild,  even 
tame.  After  arranging  the  preparations  for  the  evening 
lecture,  I  went  with  Robert  in  a  gig  to  Cambridge,  —  the 
weather  being  very  fine,  —  and  made  calls  on  Dr.  Palfrey, 
DP.  Beck,  Dr.  Webster,  President  Quincy,  and  George 
Gibbs,  returning  to  town  in  time  to  call  on  Rev.  Dr.  Chan- 
ning,  and  on  Gen.  William  Sullivan,  —  he  not  at  home, — 
but  with  Dr.  Channing  and  lady  I  had  a  very  pleasant 
interview.  I  have  already  mentioned  that  I  had,  in  1807 


356  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

and  1808,  a  very  agreeable  acquaintance  with  Mrs.  Chan- 
ning  in  her  native  city  of  Newport,  when  she  was  Miss 
Ruth  Gibbs.  I  dined  at  Judge  Prescott's,  the  distinguished 
son  of  a  distinguished  man,  the  Revolutionary  Col.  Pres- 
cott,  of  Bunker-Hill  memory.  Mr.  Loammi  Baldwin,  the 
celebrated  engineer,  was  of  the  party ;  also  Dr.  Bigelow, 
late  Rumford  Professor  of  the  Useful  Arts  at  Cambridge  ; 
Mr.  Isaac  P.  Davis,  always  joyous  and  cordial ;  Judge  James 
Savage,  the  genealogist ;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kirkland,  always 
sparkling ;  Rev.  Mr.  Young,  Unitarian  ;  and  Mr.  Codman 
and  others.  We  had  a  very  agreeable  time,  and  I  retired 
early  to  review  my  lecture  for  the  evening,  when  there  was 
a  very  full  house.  Although  I  spoke  eighty  minutes,  the 
audience  was  exceedingly  attentive,  and  appeared  deeply 
interested  in  the  history  of  the  saurian  and  iguanodon  age. 
I  spoke  to-night  more  satisfactorily  to  myself  than  at  any 
other  time  since  I  have  been  in  Boston.  I  was  cool,  self- 
possessed,  deliberate,  and  I  believe  easy  and  natural.  This 
manner  I  must  endeavor  to  retain  and  improve.  The  par- 
tiality and  special  kindness  with  which  I  am  treated  gives 
me  confidence,  and  places  me  at  ease. 

April  2.  —  I  dined  with  a  small  and  agreeable  party  at 
Mr.  Dunn's,  a  merchant  living  in  Mount  Vernon  Street. 
Mr.  Dunn  has  taken  so  much  interest  in  the  "  Journal  of 
Science  "  as  to  purchase  an  entire  set.  At  Mr.  Dunn's  I 
was  introduced  to  Rufus  Choate,  Esq.,  a  young  advocate 
then  beginning  to  figure  at  the  Boston  Bar,  and  giving 
more  than  indications  that  he  would  reach  the  eminence 
which  he  afterwards  attained.  On  this  occasion  he  was 
very  silent  and  reserved,  while  the  keen  glance  of  his 
brilliant  and  piercing  black  eye  seemed  to  scan  me  as  I 
yielded  to  the  efforts  of  the  company  to  draw  me  out  upon 
professional  subjects,  which  in  mixed  society  I  aim  to  avoid. 
That  chilling  impression  remained  until  an  accidental  inter- 
view at  the  Court  Room  in  Boston,  where  I  came  as  a  wit- 
ness in  a  case  managed  by  Mr.  Choate.  He  then  cheered 


LECTURES  IN  BOSTON.  357 

me  by  the  warming  influence  of  his   manners,  so  cordial, 
courteous,  and  winning,  that  I  could  hardly  believe  hi 
be  the  same  gentleman  whom  I  had  met  t\\. 
fore.     The  evening  lecture  was  very  fully  attend 
weather  was  very  warm,  but  people  go  an  hour  \x 
in  order  to  secure  good  seats,  and  appear  very  attentive 
during  lectures  of  seventy-five  and  eighty  minutes.     Not  to 
lose  time  while  they  are  waiting,  individuals  often  bring 
their  work,  —  knitting,  sewing,  reading,  and  proof- read  ing, 
not  to  mention  newspapers.     After  lecture  I  went  for  a  lit- 
tle while  to  a  party  at  Mr.  Gary's,  and  was  to  have  gone  to 
Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence's,  but  I  was  too  much  fatigued.   Good 
letters  came  this  evening  from  my  dear  wife,  from  Prof. 
Olmsted,  and  other  friends.     The  interest  in  the  course 
appears  unabated  and  indeed  increasing,  and  on  all  sides 
they  assure  me  that  I  am  doing  a  great  deal  of  good.     I 
bless  God  for  all  the  mercies  that  have  attended  me  in  this 
anxious   undertaking.     Everything  has  gone  delightfully, 
and  the  pecuniary  result  is  very  important  to  the  interests 
of  my  family. 

Friday,  April  3. —  AtJMr.  Amos  Lawrence's,  by  appoint- 
ment, I  met  Rev.  Mr.  Taylor,  the  noble  and  warm-he. n  t« •«! 
chaplain  of  the  seamen.  He,  with  much  interest,  is  an 
attendant  upon  the  course;  wished  to  hear  me  on  the 
relation  of  Geology  to  the  Mosaic  History.  The  family 
and  a  circle  of  friends  gathered  around,  eager  listeners  to 
the  statement  of  his  difficulties  by  Mr.  Taylor,  and  to  my 
efforts  to  remove  them,  in  which  I  was  generally  success- 
ful ;  and  when  we  were  through,  the  honest  and  honor- 
able man  and  fearless  minister  caught  my  hand,  and 
warmly,  "My  dear  friend,  I  am  satisfied,  —  may  you 
a  thousand  years." 

Saturday,  April  4.  — At  half-past  six   I  went   • 
Abbott  Lawrence's  in  Somerset  Street,  to  family  tea,- 
myself  the  only  guest.     All  the  Lawrences  wen-  my  fti 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Abbott  Lawrence  had  shown  a  particular 


358  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

interest  in  my  labors.  On  the  present  occasion  Mr.  Law- 
rence brought  on  a  free,  frank,  and  confidential  conversa- 
tion respecting  the  lectures.  With  warmth,  he  said  that 
no  man  before  me  had  ever  drawn  together  in  Boston  such 
audiences,  both  for  numbers  and  character;  and  that  he 
had  heard  animated  expressions  of  delight  and  of  surprise 
at  the  wonderful  developments  of  geology,  quite  novel  in 
Boston.  He  added,  "  You  must  come  again  next  winter, 
and  give  us  a  course  of  chemistry."  I  replied  that  there 
would  be  difficulties. 

These  difficulties  Mr.  Lawrence  labored  to  re- 
move, and  strenuously  urged  Mr.  Silliman  to  return 
to  Boston. 

April  10. — I  took  tea  at  Mr.  Dutton's,  who  expressed 
great  satisfaction  in  the  lectures.  He  was  a  college  contem- 
porary, and  always  a  friend.  My  last  call  was  at  Professor 
Ticknor's.  I  have  already  mentioned  that  at  the  conclud- 
ing lecture  I  discussed  the  question  of  time,  and  the  coin- 
cidence of  the  Mosaic  History,  and  I  concluded  with  a 
moral  and  religious  application  to  the  young  men.  There 
was  a  crowded  audience  who  showed  the  most  fixed  atten- 
tion and,  I  thought,  satisfaction,  —  but  I  may  have  erred. 
Dr.  Channing  heard  the  same  subject,  — Geology  and  the 
Scriptures,  —  discussed  in  the  day-course;  but  as  he  can- 
didly told  me,  he  was  not  well  satisfied ;  he  did  not  explain 
in  what  particulars,  but  he  added,  — "  We  do  not  trouble 
ourselves  much  about  the  Old  Testament."  I  presume  he 
may  have  referred  to  its  relation  to  questions  of  science, 
for  example,  Astronomy,  between  which  and  the  literal 
reading  there  is  an  entire  disagreement. 

April  10.  —  I  had  received  many  manifestations  of  ap- 
probation of  my  labors  during  the  whole  progress  of  the 
course,  which  had  occupied  six  weeks.  The  narrative 
which  I  have  given  proves,  also,  that  proffers  of  hospitality 


LECTURES  IX  BOSTON.  3-"0 


re  more  numerous  than  I  could  comfortably  accept.  I 
concluded  the  courses,  therefore,  with  a  mind  not  elated 
and  vain,  but  soberly  satisfied  with  what  1  had  faithfully 
and  laboriously  done  for  the  people,  and  with  what 
had  done  for  me.  But  there  was  a  concluding  act  which 
touched  my  feelings,  and  the  effect  of  which  remains  to  this 
day.  When  I  had  made  my  bow,  and  the  crowded  audi- 
ence were  beginning  slowly  to  retire,  a  committee  of  ladies, 
five  or  six  in  number,  came  upon  the  stage,  and  their  leader 
requested  me  to  linger  a  moment  She  then  expressed  for 
herself  and  her  companions,  their  satisfaction  and  grateful 
estimation  of  my  efforts  for  their  instruction  and  entertain- 
ment, and  on  behalf  of  the  ladies  who  had  attended  the 
course,  they  earnestly  requested  that  I  would  return  the 
next  season  and  give  them  a  course  of  chemistry.  I 
thanked  them,  of  course,  and  engaged  to  take  their  re- 
quest into  respectful  consideration,  but  did  not  allude  to  the 
overture  of  Mr.  Lawrence.  One  of  the  ladies,  the  leader, 
a  matron,  gave  me  a  little  book  on  Christian  Union,  on 
a  blank  leaf  of  which  was  inscribed  by  her,  —  "I  thank 
my  God  upon  every  remembrance  of  you." 

Saturday,  April  11.  —  At  six  o'clock  A.  M.,  in  company 
with  my  faithful  Robert,  I  left  Boston  for  Providence.  As 
objections  might  be  made  to  the  admission  of  a  colored  man 
into  the  passenger  cars  of  the  first  class,  and  being  unwill- 
ing to  disturb  the  feelings  of  one  who  had  served  me  so 
well,  and  contributed  materially  to  my  success,  I  went  with 
him  into  one  of  the  unoccupied  cars  of  the  second  i 
I  was  the  more  willing  to  do  this,  as  my  mind  having  been 
for  many  weeks  under  great  tension  and  excitement,  repose 
and  quiet  were  very  grateful  to  me,  and  I  gladly  avoided 
the  necessity  of  conversing  with  strangers  or  «.f  ivuving 
the  accidental  acquaintances  which  I  had  formed.  I 
just  concluded  successfully  an  arduous  and  n-sj.onxil.le 
enterprise.  I  had  been  permitted  to  sustain  the  honor  of 
my  College,  and  to  justify  the  favorable  opinion  of  my 


360  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

sponsors.  Everything  had  been  entirely  prosperous;  noth- 
ing of  all  my  undertakings  had  failed,  and  I  was  not  with- 
out a  pensive  religious  impression,  deeply  seated  in  my 
mind,  that  goodness  and  mercy  had  followed  me  all  the 
time,  and  in  our  solitary  car,  it  was  pleasant  to  me  to  in- 
dulge in  silent  gratitude. 

In  May  1835,  he  was  called  to  deliver  a  course  of 
geology  in  Salem.  Here  he  was  received  with  the 
same  cordial  hospitality.  The  next  passage  relates 
to  the  introductory  lecture. 

Rev.  Mr.  Williams,  Professor  Park,  of  Amherst,  Rev. 
Mr.  Worcester,  and  Ex-Senator  Phillips,  walked  with  me 
to  Crombie-Street  Church,  which  was  almost  full  when  we 
arrived,  and  soon  was  crowded.  Mr.  Phillips,  in  a  very 
handsome  manner,  introduced  me  to  the  audience,  and  I 
addressed  them  during  one  and  a  half  hours.  I  was  as- 
sured on  all  hands  that  the  lecture  gave  great  satisfaction, 
and  such  was  the  appearance  of  the  audience.  After  the 
lecture,  ladies  came  up  to  the  table  to  see  the  meteoric 
stones  and  meteoric  iron.  The  evening  was  warm,  and  the 
effort  of  speaking  so  long  to  a  crowded  audience,  was  some- 
what fatiguing Theodore  D.  Prince,  at  seventy- 
four  years  of  age,  was  still  performing  his  duties  as  a  Uni- 
tarian clergyman,  and  had  been  established  there  between 
forty  and  fifty  years.  He  said  to  us  that  when,  after  his 
probationary  preaching  was  finished,  and  the  question  was 
raised  in  the  meeting  of  the  society,  whether,  in  New  Eng- 
land phrase,  they  should  give  a  call,  that  is,  invite  him  to 
become  their  minister,  —  at  this  moment  a  venerable  man 
rose  in  his  place  and  said,  "  That  he  had  but  one  objection  to 
the  young  gentleman  ;  his  health  was  so  delicate  that  they 
would  probably  be  called  to  bury  him  within  the  first  year." 
"  But,"  said  Dr.  Prince,  "  I  have  lived  to  bury  every  indi- 
vidual of  the  assembly  that  voted  on  that  occasion."  Dr. 


LECTURES  IX  SALEM.  3G1 

'rince  was  a  venerable  man  ;  he  had  a  commanding  per- 
son,  and  dressed  in  the  costume  of  the  gentlemen  of  the 
old  school,  —  with  small  clothes  and  stockin.  \vhite 

wig.     He  made   us  at  home  among  his  instrument 
in  his  extensive  library,  so  closely  arranged  in  his 
ments  that  we  walked  among  the  books  through  narrow 
alleys.      Dr.    Prince    was   distinguished   by  an 
knowledge  of  natural   philosophy,  and  by  great  skill  in 
the    construction    and    use    of  philosophical    instnm. 
He  manifested  much  pleasure  in  showing  us  i-xpt-rin 
with  his  fine  instruments.      As  a  compliment  to  HIYM  If 
as   a  geologist,  I   suppose,  he   showed   us  a  mimic  vol- 
cano,—  an   artificial  Vesuvius,  in  fiery  eruption,  —  in   a 
darkened   room  ;   an   exhibition   resembling   that   of  Dr. 
Bourg's    cork   models,   which    I    witnessed    in    London. 

Hon.  Mr.  Silsbee  and  Hon.  Leverett  Saltonstall, 

both  eminent  in  Congress,  were  among  those  whom  we 
knew  in  Salem.  Mr.  Senator  Silsbee,  being  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  maritime  affairs,  was  always  Chairman  of  the 
Navy  Board,  and  rendered  important  service  in  that  ardu- 
ous and  responsible  station.  We  experienced  much  kind- 
ness from  the  Silsbee  families ;  and  Miss  Silsbee  —  now 
Mrs.  President  Sparks  —  was  one  of  the  most  intelligent 
and  interesting  of  my  female  auditors.  Hon.  Lrverett 
Saltonstall  was  absent  at  Washington,  as  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  until  near  the  end  of  our  course, 
but  he  returned  in  season  to  enable  us  to  form  his  acquaint- 
ance ;  and  in  1839,  he  visited  New  Haven  with  his  two 
daughters,  when  we  had  the  pleasure  to  show  tlu-in  partic- 
ular civilities,  and  to  conduct  them  to  the  old  Salt«>n 
House,  by  the  lake  of  the  same  name,  once  the  residence 
of  Governor  Saltonstall,  a  distinguished  member  of  their 

family Among  the  eminent  men  in  Salem  who 

honored  us  by  their  kindness  and  friendship,  no  one  is 
titled    to   stand  before  Judge  White,  — a  person  of  dis- 
tinguished literary  attainments,  a  finished  scholar,  wi- 


362  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

beautiful  refinement  of  thought  and  style,  simplicity  and 
purity  of  language  united  with  force,  in  manners  a  refined 
gentleman,  with  a  modest  gentleness,  creating  assurance 
and  ease  in  the  stranger,  and  inviting  confidence  in  one 
whom  you  would  fain  make  your  friend.  He  has  a  large 
and  select  library,  chiefly  literary,  for  although  he  appre- 
ciates science,  his  taste  has  not  led  him  so  much  in  that 
direction  as  into  the  fields  of  literature.  He  did  me  the 
honor  to  attend  my  course  of  lectures,  and  after  they  were 
finished,  he  in  conversation  reminded  me  of  an  opinion 
which  I  had  early  and  strongly  expressed  in  the  lecture- 
room,  namely,  that  after  astronomy  there  was  no  branch 
of  natural  science  which  possessed  such  grandeur  as  geol- 
ogy, and  none  which  was  sustained  by  so  many  and  such 
interesting  facts.  He  was  so  candid  as  to  add :  "  I  could 
not  at  the  time  admit  the  correctness  of  your  opinion, 
but  now  that  I  have  heard  the  entire  course,  I  am  ready  to 
say  that  you  have  sustained  your  statement,  and  as  I  judge 
I  should  give  the  case  in  your  favor."  I  am  happy  to  say 
(November  28,  1859,)  that  this  venerable  gentleman,  some 
years  over  fourscore,  is  still  living  in  the  full  possession  of 
his  powers,  intellectual  and  moral. 

We  returned  to  New  Haven  in  the  last  week  of  May. 
All  our  geological  establishment  was  transported  back  to 
Yale  College,  and  was  ready  for  use  there  in  the  regular 
academic  course.  I  had  little  respite  from  my  foreign 
labors,  when  I  opened  the  College  course  of  geology  in  the 
first  week  in  June.  Much  enthusiasm  existed  respecting 
geology,  and  there  was  a  great  pressure  from  without  to 
attend  on  the  lectures.  Ladies  attended  in  crowds,  and  the 
students  were  induced  from  politeness  to  relinquish  their 
seats,  greatly  to  their  inconvenience.  I  was,  therefore,  in- 
duced by  request  to  give  a  distinct  course  of  geology  to  an 
audience  of  about  seventy  persons  of  both  sexes.  I  gave 
this  second  course  parallel  with  the  College  course, —  allow- 
ing one  hour  between  the  lectures  to  afford  time  for  rear- 


LECTURES  IN  SALKM.  363 

rangement  of  specimens,  &c.,  and  for  a  little  rest  It  was, 
however,  a  fatiguing  service.  Both  lectures  were  in  the 
forenoon,  and  after  the  second  lecture  I  often  found  an 
hour's  repose  at  home  quite  necessary. 

The  extra  course  given  to  ladies  and  strangers  was  sat- 
isfactory, and  was  continued  several  years,  but  I  did  not 
attempt  again  to  lecture  twice  in  the  same  morning,  but 
took  a  different  hour,  or  gave  the  extra  course  after  the 
July  examination. 

After  a  few  years,  however,  I  relinquished  the  extra 
course  and  transferred  it  to  my  son,  who  gave  it  for  several 
years  more,  on  his  own  account 


CHAPTER   XV. 

LECTURES  IN  NANTUCKET  AND  BOSTON:  INVESTIGATION 
UPON  THE  CULTURE  OF  SUGAR. 

Lectures  in  Nantucket.  —  Intercourse  with  John  Quincy  Adams.  — Arduous 
Labors.  —  Chemical  Course  in  Boston  (1836).  —  Dr.  Clmnning.  —  Miss 
Martineau.  —  His  Success  in  Boston — His  Investigation  of  the  Culture 
and  Manufacture  of  Sugar.  —  Interviews  with  General  Jackson  and  Mr. 
McLean.  —  Visit  to  the  Gold  Mines  of  Virginia.  —  Slavery.  * 

THE  favorable  impression  resulting  from  the  four  public 
courses  of  geology,  which  I  had  given  during  the  last  year 
(1834),  three  of  them  in  Massachusetts,  in  and  near  Boston, 
was  extended  to  Nantucket.  Mr.  James  M.  Bunker,  a  grad- 
uate of  Yale  College  in  the  class  of  1832,  and  his  brother, 
on  behalf  of  the  citizens,  made  overtures  to  me  for  a  course 
of  lectures  in  their  maritime  city,  and  the  correspondence 
resulted  in  an  engagement. 

In  this  course,  as  previously  at  Salem,  he  was 
assisted  by  his  son,  Mr.  Benjamin  Sillirnan,  Jr. 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Silliman  of  September  8,  are  the  fol- 
lowing remarks  :  —  "I  have  lectured  one  hour  and  a  half, 
and  have  not  felt  the  worse  for  it.  Our  son  is  a  great  com- 
fort and  an  important  aid  to  me  ;  he  has  had  no  recreation 
except  one  excursion  with  his  gun,  in  company  with  an 
older  friend.  We  have  both  been  so  completely  occupied 
that  we  have  had  no  time  for  study.  Our  chemical  experi- 
ments have  given  us  much  employment,  and  all  of  them, 
especially  those  with  the  calorimotor  and  compound  blow- 
pipe, have  been  very  successful.  The  people  are  astonished 


LECTURES  IX  NANTUCKET. 

see  intense  ignition  coming  out  of  cold  fluids,  and  the 
jks  themselves  melting  under  a  stream  of  burning  gases. 
5uch  experiments  demonstrate  to  the  obsrm-rs  that  the 
lighty  power  of  heat  is  inherent  in  the  earth  as  well  as  in 
sun.  There  is,  as  far  as  we  can  learn,  universal  satis- 
;tion  with  the  lectures,  and  great  surprise  is  expressed  at 
seeing  experiments  — even  the  most  difficult  —  always  suc- 
cessful. I  have  now  no  doubt  of  the  entire  success  of  tho 
course,  life  and  power  being  continued.  We  are  both  \\.ll, 
and  have  become  accustomed  to  bad  water."  Tin-  follow- 
ing is  an  extract  from  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Silliman,  datt -<1 
tember  18,  1835:  "I  must  not  postpone  a  reply  to  your 
letter  until  next  week,  as  there  is  much  work  on  hand  for 
another  lecture  this  evening.  In  addition  to  a  great  and 
increasing  audience  from  the  town,  we  had  last  evening  at 
the  lecture,  the  Hon.  John  Quincy  Adams  and  son,  the  last 
a  son-in-law  of  Hon.  Peter  C.  Brooks  ;  Isaac  P.  Davis,  ! 
who  does  a  great  part  of  the  honors  of  Boston;  and  .Mr. 
Paine,  the  astronomer.  These  gentlemen  are  on  a  visit  of 
curiosity  and  observation  to  this  Island,  which  I  believe 
most  of  them  have  never'  visited  before."  "  Postscript, 
Saturday,  A.  M.,  September  19,  1835.  The  four  lectures 
of  the  week  are  safely  through.  The  great  folks  having 
passed  the  day  at  Siasconsit,  nine  miles  from  town,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  island,  returned  in  season  for  the  lecture, 
—  the  second  which  they  have  attended.  President  Adams 
sat  on  the  platform  near  me,  and  was  very  attentive ;  but 
how  much  interested,  I  do  not  know.  For  a  week  pav 
have  had  daily  invitations  to  tea,  to  dinner,  to  rides,  &c. 
.We  find  the  society  very  friendly  and  agreeable,  and  the 
people  universally  kind.  A  very  high  degree  of  inh-r. 
manifested  in  the  course,  and  they  are  feeling  my  pulse 
for  a  course  of  chemistry  another  year.  Everything  here 
promises  to  wind  up  with  great  and  mutual  ntis&ctioo." 
Again :  "  The  great  folks  are  here  in  the  Hotel  with  us,  and 
are  very  agreeable.  Mr.  Adams  especially  is  very  patient 


366  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

of  inquiries,  and  quite  ready  to  impart  information."  I  had 
seen  him  on  several  occasions  before,  and  was  first  intro- 
duced to  him  by  the  Hon.  Rufus  King,  in  his  office,  in 
January  1804,  in  New  York,  when  I  was  preparing  to  visit 
Europe.  Mr.  Brooks  I  had  seen  in  New  Haven,  with  Mr. 
Everett,  when  he  came  on  as  our  orator.  Mr.  Paine  I  had 
long  known.  Mr.  Isaac  P.  Davis  was  an  old  and  warm- 
hearted friend,  with  a  great  disposition  and  equal  power  to 
be  useful  to  me.  The  interlude  of  the  visit  of  these  gentle- 
men was  therefore  very  agreeable,  and  broke  up  a  little 
the  monotony  of  my  life  in  Nantucket. 

The  Nantucket  gentlemen  being  desirous  to  honor  these 
eminent  visitors  arranged  a  walk  about  the  town  and  its 
environs,  for  Saturday  morning,  September  19.  A  com- 
panion was  assigned  to  each  for  the  proposed  walk,  and  I 
had  the  honor  to  walk  with  Mr.  Adams.  The  lions  were 
few  in  a  town  so  much  better  acquainted  with  whales,  and 
our  excursions  therefore,  did  not  lead  us  far,  and  were 
limited  by  the  hour  of  the  departure  of  the  boat. 

A  principal  object  in  our  excursion  was  a  garden  and 
grapery  belonging  to  a  Mr.  Mitchell.  I  was  more  interested 
in  my  distinguished  companion  than  in  the  horticulture, 
and  I  took  the  liberty  to  make  some  inquiries  respecting 
his  early  life,  particularly  at  what  age  he  began  his  career. 
He  replied,  that  he  was  fifteen  years  old  when  he  acted  as 
private  secretary  to  his  father,  then  Minister  at  the  Hague. 
The  reason  why  he  was  employed  at  so  early  an  age  was 
that  he  both  wrote  and  spoke  the  French  language  fluently, 
and  therefore  could  be  very  useful  to  his  father.  At  that 
time  very  few  persons  in  our  country  were  acquainted  with, 
the  French  language.  This  was  his  beginning ;  and  he  had 
been,  more  or  less  through  his  whole  life,  occupied  with 
public  affairs.  I  had  seen  Mr.  Adams  at  Washington  in 
his  office  when  he  was  Secretary  of  State,  during  the  Monroe 
administration,  and  again  in  his  chair  as  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  and  again  at  the  table  of  the 


LECTURES  IN  NANTUCK 

Hon.  R.  S.  "Baldwin,  in  New  Haven,  at  which  the  gentle- 
men of  the  College  were  invited  to  meet  him.  It  was  a  few 
years  before  the  death  of  Colonel  Trumbull,  Novnnlx  r 
1843,  who  then  resided  in  my  family  ;  and  I  in 
Adams  to  ride  home  with  me  and  call  on  his  old  friend, 
the  venerable  Artist.  To  this  he  readily  a»si  in. -d.  and  he 
passed  about  two  hours  with  us  in  very  cheerful  and  ani; 
ted  conversation.  He  sat  at  the  tea-table  with  us,  —  Colonel 
Trumbull,  Mrs.  Silliman,  myself,  and,  I  believe,  several 
of  our  children.  I  had  never  seen  him  before  so  easy  and 
communicative.  There  was  nothing  of  the  stau-liness  of 
the  public  man,  but  perfect  affability  and  a  mellow  renewal, 
with  Colonel  Trumbull,  of  the  scenes  of  earlier  years  in 
Europe.  He  declined  to  eat  or  drink,  saying  that  this  was 
his  habit  when  about  to  speak  in  public,  as  he  was  engaged 
to  pronounce  a  lecture  that  evening  before  our  citi/ 
We  sat  long  at  the  table,  and  I  took  the  liberty  to  remark 
to  him  that  I  honored  him  much,  as  the  fearless  advocate 
of  freedom  in  the  right  of  petition  which  he  had  fully  vin- 
dicated ;  and  no  other  man  could  have  done  it  against  the 
powerful  assaults  of  the  united  South.  He  had  stood  firm 
like  a  rock  in  the  sea,  over  which  the  billows  broke  and 
moved  it  not.  I  thought  he  was  not  displeased  with  my 
frankness.  This  led  to  conversation  regarding  his  Presiden- 
tial career,  when  he  said  without  reserve  that  the  presidency 
of  the  second  term,  which  he  was  by  precedent  entitled  to 
expect,  was  lost  to  him  by  the  strenuous,  bitter,  and  perse- 
vering opposition  of  John  C.  Calhoun,  who  of  course  curried 
the  entire  South  with  him,  and  such  others  as  he  could 
influence.  His  own  eye  was  doubtless  fixed  upon  t lie- 
Presidency.  There  was  still  an  hour  or  two  before 
time  for  the  lecture,  and  as  Mr.  Adams  exprrx-i-d  a 
to  call  on  the  family  of  Vice-President  Gerry,  I  drove  with 
him  to  their  house,  then,  I  believe,  as  now,  in  Temple  Street, 
and  the  call  appeared  highly  gratifying  to  Mrs.  Gerry  and 
her  estimable  daughters.  I  believe  I  left  Mr.  Adams  at  the 


368  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

Tontine  Hotel  for  a  little  quiet  before  lecture.  His  appear- 
ance before  the  audience  was  very  impressive.  Although, 
I  believe,  then  in  his  seventy-third  year,  his  appearance  was 
almost  youthful.  He  wore  a  blue  coat  with  yellow  buttons  : 
he  had  a  slight  tint  of  red  upon  his  cheeks,  and  as  he 
kindled  with  his  subject,  he  forgot  his  years,  rose  on  his 
feet  with  energetic  and  graceful  action,  and  spoke  eloquently 
and  beautifully  upon  the  progress  of  human  society  from 
barbarism  to  Christian  civilization.  He  spoke  emphatically 
of  what  woman  had  gained  by  passing  from  the  condition 
of  a  mere  chattel,  liable  to  be  bought  and  sold,  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  rational  and  cherished  companion  of  man,  and 
the  wise  guardian  and  instructor  of  his  children. 

There  was  little  time  for  repose  after  our  return  from 
Nantucket,  September  28,  1835.  The  past  year  had  been 
one  of  incessant  labor.  In  addition  to  all  the  College 
courses,  which  were  given  in  full,  I  had  given  four  extra 
popular  courses  of  geology  with  full  illustrations,  both  pic- 
torial and  chemical,  in  Lowell,  Boston,  Salem,  and  Nan- 
tucket.  Now,  with  scarcely  a  breathing-spell,  we  returned 
to  the  chemical  course  in  Yale  College,  occupying  the 
months  of  October,  November,  and  December,  and  a  few 
days  in  January.  This  course  is  always  arduous,  and  ex- 
aminations were  held  weekly  with  both  the  Senior  class  of 
the  College,  and  the  Medical  class.  Still,  there  was  to  be 
no  rest.  I  was  called  to  New  York  in  the  January  vacation, 
1836,  the  College  recess  of  two  weeks,  to  give  a  brief  course 

of  geology The  lectures  were  generally  two  hours 

long,  or  nearly  so,  and  the  last  exceeded  two  hours,  so  great 
was  the  pressure  of  the  subject;  but  no  restlessness  was 
manifested.  At  the  concluding  lecture  there  were,  as  was 
supposed,  thirteen  hundred  people.  I  might  fairly  infer 
the  approbation  of  the  public  from  the  increasing  num- 
bers, and  from  the  zeal  and  enthusiasm  which  they  man- 
ifested. 


LECTURES  IN  BOSTON.  ;j<;<) 

I  refer  back  for  a  notice  of  an  important  overture  made 
to  me  in  Boston,  by  Mr.  Abbott  Lawivn  iing  a  pro- 

posed chemical  course  to  be  given  in  Boston  by  i. 
spring  of  1836.     Not  many  weeks  after  my  n  turn   home 
from  the  geological  course  of  1835,1  recei\r<l. 
ance  of  the  proposition  of  Mr.  Lawrence,  a  \\ri; 
ture  inviting  me  to  return  in  the  ensuing  season,  and  then 
to  deliver  a  course  of  lectures  on  chemistry.     The  con 
nication  was  signed  by  fifty  of  the  principal  citizens  of  Boa- 
ton,  among  whom  were  President  Quincy,  Dr.  Nathaniel 
Bowditch,  lion.  Judge  Davis,  all  the  Lawrence  brothers, 
Col.  Thomas  H.  Perkins,  W.  W.  Stone,  &c.     The  invita- 
tion was  full  and  cordial  in  its  terms,  and  placed  me  in  a 
proper  position. 

Mr.  Silliman  made  an  auspicious  beginning  of  his 
second  course  in  Boston. 

t  wrote  to  Mrs.  Silliman  (March  9)  :  "  You  will  to-mor- 
morning  receive  mine  of  yesterday,  informing  you  of 
splendid  success  of  the  course.  Hitherto  the  higher- 
priced  ticket  has  sold  more  rapidly  than  that  of  last  year, 
of  a  lower  price,  and  the  receipts  up  to  last  evening  were 
$1000  more  than  the  entire  receipts  of  last  year.  I  have 
just  now  received  a  call  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Chaiming,  who 
said  he  was  very  glad  to  see  me  again  in  Boston.  I  am  to 
go  to  his  house  this  evening  with  Mr.  Hubbard  to  meet  Miss 
Martineau.  There  is  also  a  visit  to  be  made  at  Prof.  An- 
drews's.  Great  admiration  is  expressed  at  the  experiment- 
ing on  Monday  evening ;  they  remark  to  me  :  '  We  were 
delighted  to  see  how  everything  went  just  like  clock-work, 
—  no  confusion,  no  hurry,  and  everything  beautifully  suc- 
cessful.' A  few  words  regarding  Miss  Martineau.  Know- 
ing that  she  was  deaf,  I  asked  Dr.  Channing  how  loud  I 
must  speak.  He  replied, '  Speak  in  your  usual  voice;  only 
speak  slowly,  and  articulate  distinctly.'  1  was  no 
VOL.  i.  24 


370  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

seated  by  her  on  the  sofa,  than  she  handed  me  her  ear- 
trumpet,  which  I  held,  and  she  placed  the  other  end  of  the 
flexible  tube  in  her  own  ear.  But  there  was  little  occasion 
to  prompt  her.  She  was  very  communicative,  and  dis- 
coursed freely  about  this  country,  —  not  always  in  laudatory 
terms,  —  and  I  thought  her  to  be  bold  and  opinionated,  but 
very  intelligent  and  extremely  fluent." 

Last  year  a  repeated  course  in  the  day  was  found  to  be 
very  useful,  and  in  the  present  course,  also,  it  was  early 
resolved  upon,  after  due  consultation.  In  a  letter  to  Mrs. 
Silliman,  dated  March  8th,  the  day  after  my  first  lecture,  is 
the  following  passage :  "  Our  battle  is  won  ;  the  course 
opened  charmingly  last  evening,  with  an  attendance  of  at 
least  a  thousand  persons.  We  were  obliged  to  refuse  sell- 
ing any  more  evening  tickets,  and  we  now  turn  over  all 
applicants  to  the  day-course,  —  to  begin  on  Wednesday, 
March  9,  at  four  o'clock,  p.  M.  Our  new  galvanic  instru- 
ment, an  immense  deflagrator,  was  put  into  operation  yes- 
terday, and  its  performance  was  splendid,  far  beyond  any- 
thing I  ever  saw,  or  anything  known  here." 

On  Monday  night,  after  my  successful  opening  lecture,  I 
was  too  much  excited,  and  too  agreeably,  to  permit  me  to 
sleep  much.  My  mind  had  been  overwrought,  and  in  the 
morning  I  indulged  in  the  relaxation  of  writing  letters.  In 
the  journal  I  remark :  "  Invitations  to  dinner  are  coming 
in,  but  I  decline  them  all,  on  the  score  of  my  urgent  en- 
gagements. I  intend  to  reserve  the  day  for  our  experi- 
mental labors,  and  for  some  little  relaxation  in  excursions, 
and  in  seeing  interesting  things."  We  finished  the  prepa- 
rations for  the  first  day's  lecture  by  eleven  o'clock,  A.  M., 
which  enabled  me  to  come  home  and  rest,  so  as  to  be  pre- 
pared for  my  duty 

In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Silliman,  dated  March  17, 

after  all  the  three  lectures  had  been  given  and  repeated,  I 
find  the  following  passage.  In  reference  to  the  severe 
labor  of  the  double  course  it  is  said :  "  I  assure  you  that  I 


LECTURES  IN  BOSTON. 

am  in  perfect  health,  and  am  quite  equal  to  all  my  labors, 
although  I  think  I  never  encountered  so  SCY, 
a  liberal  flow  of  money,  —  always  acceptable  u  |u-n  honestly 
earned,  — and  the  delight  expressed  on  all  hands  at  the 
style  of  successful  experimenting  and  the  course  of  state- 
ment and  reasoning,  gives  me  full  assurance  that  I  am  now 
as  firmly  established  here  chemically,  as  1  year 

geologically." 

« In  the  fifth  lecture,  I  made  a  very  liberal  use  of  potas- 
sium and  sodium,  which  are  not  only  splendid  subjects  of 
experiment  but  are  highly  illustrative  of  chemical  principle •*. 
Everything  went  beautifully.  After  the  sixth  lecture,  at  a 
large  party  at  Deacon  Walley's,  great  satisfaction  was  ex- 
pressed to  me  regarding  the  lectures.  The  Mayor,  .Mr. 
Armstrong,  said  that  he  thought  the  subject  very  interest- 
ing and  instructive,  and  was  pleased  that  a  moral  and  relig- 
ious aspect  was  given  to  the  science ;  and  similar  views  were 
expressed  by  others.  I  communicated  to-day,  at  the  lecture, 
the  discovery  that  cast-steel  of  the  first  quality  is  formed 
directly  from  the  ore,  and  that  malleable  iron  is  manufac- 
tured from  cast-iron  without  melting  it  again ;  specimens 
furnished  to  me  by  the  manufacturers  were  also  exhibited, 
and  I  was  assured  that  the  subject  excited  great  int.  ; 
and  gave  much  satisfaction.  My  mind  is  working  like  a 
steam-engine  in  perpetual  motion,  but  the  night  succeed- 
ing the  last  lecture  gave  me  refreshing  sleep,  and  I  awoke 
the  next  morning  in  remarkable  strength." 

I  make  some  remarks  upon  the  important  crisis  which 
brought  me  before  the  public  as  a  popular  lecturer.  I  was 
called  out,  as  I  have  said,  in  the  maturity  of  my  powers,  ex- 
perience, and  reputation,  at  fifty-five  or  fifty-six  years  of  age ; 
and  the  results  of  the  years  1834-35-36,  in  IIa.tti.nl.  Low- 
ell, Salem,  Nantucket,  and  Boston,  were  of  the  greatest 
portance  to  me  and  my  family.  The  two  Boston  courses 


372  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

were  peculiarly  important,  and  I  have,  therefore,  given  a 
particular  account  of  them.  I  have  given  also,  without 
reserve,  the  impressions  which  they  produced  upon  the  au- 
dience and  the  public.  The  entire  success  by  which  they 
were  attended  I  can  truly  say  never  produced  in  my  mind 
any  feelings  of  vanity  and  self-exaltation.  I  was  too  sen- 
sible of  the  responsibility  of  my  position,  and  of  the  diffi- 
culty of  presenting  those  great  subjects  clearly  and  attrac- 
tively to  such  large  and  intelligent  audiences,  —  too  sensible 
of  this  to  permit  any  other  feeling  than  that  of  the  most 
earnest  sincerity,  attended  by  the  most  strenuous  efforts  to 
perform  my  duty  well.  I  was  also  most  ably  assisted  ;  and 
never,  in  the  two  seasons,  and  in  the  forty-nine  or  fifty  lect- 
ures which  I  delivered  in  the  two  double  courses,  was  there 
any  failure  in  an  experiment  or  in  an  illustration. 

I  had,  moreover,  the  happiness  to  obtain  the  good-will  of 
the  people  of  Boston.  The  Orthodox  and  Unitarian  influ- 
ence was  united  in  my  favor.  I  had  many  warm  friends 
among  both  classes,  and  was  equally  cherished  by  both. 
The  moral  and  religious  bearing  of  the  lectures  was  de- 
cided in  illustration  of  the  wisdom,  power,  and  benevo- 
lence manifested  equally  in  the  mechanical  and  chemical 
constitution  of  our  world.  These  deductions  of  natural  the- 
ology were  out  of  the  bounds  of  politics,  and  were  equally 
acceptable  to  the  wise  and  good  of  all  religious  denomina- 
tions. The  language  of  the  press  was  entirely  friendly, 
and  even  laudatory ;  nor  have  I  ever  seen  or  heard  of  an 
unfriendly  paragraph.  I  was  deeply  gratified  and  deeply 
grateful  to  God,  and  to  a  community  which  had  thus  gen- 
erously adopted  me,  and  entertain  no  doubt  that  the  suc- 
cessful issue  of  these  Boston  courses  produced  the  still 
more  important  engagement  which  four  years  later  brought 
me  back  to  the  metropolis  of  New  England,  the  account  of 
which  I  hope  to  give  in  due  time.  It  was,  indeed,  a  bright 
era  in  my  life,  a  brilliant  and  remunerative  success  which 
diffused  the  benefits  of  science,  honored  the  Creator,  cheered 


LECTURES   IX   XK\V   YOKK.  373 

my  excellent  wife,  and  drew  in  its  train  beneficial  come- 
quences  which  are  felt  to  this  day. 

In  February,  1836,  Mr.  Silliman  received  an  invi- 
tation from   many  of  the   leading  citizens   of  New 
York,  to  give  a  geological  course  in  th:it  city.     ] 
he  complied  with,  and  the  lectures  were  given  i 
ensuing  April  and  May.     Of  this  course  he  says :  — 

The  course  was  quite  successful,  both  as  to  tin-  number 
of  hearers  and  the  interest  excited.  Among  the  audience 
were  many  of  the  first  people  of  the  city ;  there  were  n 
ladies,  and,  I  suppose,  a  solid  mass  of  intelligence  from  the 
middle  classes  of  society.  The  excitement  was  almost  as 
great  as  in  Boston. 

Mr.  Silliman  introduces  here  some  account  of 
other  labors  which  were  partly  contemporaneous 
with  the  delivery  of  his  public  courses  of  lectures, 
but  which  extend  back,  also,  to  an  earlier  date.  He 
first  notices  a  visit  of  exploration,  made  in  1830,  to 
the  valley  of  Wyoming,  and  to  its  coal  formations 
in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

Of  the  labor  of  the  investigation,  in  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Silli- 
man of  May  25,  1830,  it  is  remarked :  —  "  We  have  finished 
the  investigation.  We  have  examined,  I  suppose,  one  hun- 
dred mines  and  localities  of  coal  extending  through  forty 
miles  in  length,  and  as  we  have  explored  both  sit  Irs  <.f  the 
valley  with  many  crossings  and  doublings  back  :m<l  for- 
ward, we  have  investigated  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  one 
hundred  and  thirty  miles  of  mountains,  forests,  swamps,  and 
excavations.  We  have  travelled  occasionally  in  wagons, 
principally  on  horseback,  but  much  of  our  movements  have 
been  on  foot,  especially  in  regions  incessible  to  wheels  or 
horses.  I  have  never  in  my  life  gone  through  a  week  of 


374  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

such  arduous  exertion,  not  even  in  the  mountains  and 
mines  of  Derbyshire,  in  the  centre  of  England,  nor  in 
those  of  Cornwall,  at  the  Land's  End  in  the  same  country. 
If  I  was  able  to  perform  those  early  labors  at  the  age  of 
twenty-six,  I  have  not  shrunk  from  similar  efforts  at  the 
double  age  of  fifty-one,  and  I  have  not  succumbed  under 
them,  although  I  have,  from  exposure,  become  as  brown 
as  a  Cherokee.  My  report  was  finished  between  ten  and 
eleven  o'clock  last  night,  when  I  read  it  aloud  to  the  gen- 
tlemen assembled  at  the  hotel  to  hear  it,  and  it  appeared 
to  give  good  satisfaction."  It  was,  after  my  return,  print- 
ed, and  I  presented  two  hundred  copies  to  the  people  of 
the  valley. 

In  1832-3J  by  the  appointment  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment, he  engaged  in  a  scientific  examination  of 
the  subject  of  the  culture  and  manufacture  of  sugar. 
It  was  a  part  of  the  aid  which  he  rendered  in  the 
development  of  the  physical  resources  of  the  coun- 
try. The  "  Reminiscences  "  contain  an  account  of 
this  investigation. 

A  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
United  States  was  passed,  January  25, 1830,  requiring  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  "  to  cause  to  be  prepared  a  well- 
digested  manual,  containing  the  best  practical  information 
concerning  the  culture  of  the  sugar-cane,  and  the  fabrica- 
tion and  refinement  of  sugar,  including  the  most  modern 
improvements."  Being  at  Angelica,  N.  Y.,  on  a  visit  to 
my  daughter,  Maria  T.  Church  and  family,  in  September 
1832,  I  received  from  home  a  letter  from  the  Hon.  Louis 
McLean,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  dated  August  31, 
1832,  in  which  he  desired  me  to  take  charge  of  the  pro- 
posed investigation.  I  replied  that,  as  it  was  impossible  to 
visit  all  parts  of  the  United  States,  where  sugar  was  grown 
or  refined,  I  would  undertake  the  proposed  duty,  provided 


REPORT  ON  THE  CULTURE  OF  SUGAR.  375 


I  might  depute  competent  persons  to  the  remote  parts  of 
the  field,  while  I  would  myself  cxamim-  ti.  por- 

tions. In  a  letter  of  October  19,  the  Secretary  assented  to 
my  proposal.  To  Professor  0.  P.  Ilubbard,  I  committed 
the  Eastern  States,  especially  Boston;  to  Mr.  (  LulesU. 
Shepard,  the  Southern  States,  particularly  L..uisi;m:i  and 
Georgia.  In  the  course  of  the  ensuing  winter,  we  res<>: 
to  our  respective  fields  of  labor.  The  gentlemen  associated 
with  me  in  the  enterprise  were  active  and  zealous  in  tln-ir 
efforts,  and  they  received  kind  and  generous  aid  on  the 
part  of  the  proprietors  and  manufacturers  in  the  several 
places  which  they  visited.  I  also  experienced  similar  t: 
ment  in  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York ;  and  in 
the  last-named  city,  I  was  aided  by  my  brother,  Gold  Sel- 
leck  Silliman.  I  omit  the  details  of  our  investigation,  as 
the  results  were  embodied  in  a  report  to  the  lion.  Louis 
McLean,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  which  we  blended 
and  assimilated  our  information  into  a  harmonious  whole. 

I  finished  the  report  at  Washington,  May  27,  1833,  and 
communicated  it  to  the  Secretary  on  the  following  day,  May 
28.  It  was  approved  by  him,  and  was  printed  in  a  pamph- 
let of  121  pages,  with  all  necessary  wood-cuts  and  copper- 
plate engravings.  After  reading  my  introductory  letter 
addressed  to  himself,  the  Secretary  said  that  he  reposed 
entire  confidence  in  me,  and  should  at  once  accept  my  re- 
port. He  then  directed  Mr.  Dickens,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Senate,  to  pass  the  document  through  the  forms  of  office  — 
half  a  dozen  offices  in  number  —  which  occupied  three 
hours ;  but  it  was  all  accomplished  before  dinner,  and  to 
my  entire  satisfaction.  My  intercourse  with  Mr.  McLean, 
who  was  an  honorable  and  very  intelligent  man,  was 
tirely  agreeable.  He  introduced  me  to  President  Jackson, 
who  received  me  with  the  courtesy  and  dignity  for  which 
he  was  distinguished.  He  did  not  appear  to  have  been  in- 
formed of  the  duty  in  which  I  had  been  engaged,  and  whui 
it  was  mentioned  to  him  by  the  Secretary,  he  said  he  was 


376  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLBIAN. 

glad  I  had  undertaken  it.  My  charge  of  $1200  for  the 
investigation,  was  readily  allowed  by  the  Secretary,  and 
the  necessary  papers,  as  already  stated,  were  furnished  me 
for  passing  through  the  different  offices  of  the  Treasury. 
The  expenses  of  my  coadjutors  were  also  paid,  I  do  not 
remember  whether  on  this  or  on  a  subsequent  occasion. 
Altogether,  I  presume  the  investigation  cost  the  govern- 
ment $2000.  I  never  heard  that  the  government  took 
any  action  upon  the  report,  nor  do  I  know  what  was 
thought  of  it  by  any  one  at  Washington,  except  the  Sec- 
retary. However  this  may  have  been,  I  had  some  evi- 
dence that  the  report  was  favorably  appreciated  by  those 
interested  in  the  subject,  because  I  was  very  often  called 
upon  to  furnish  copies  of  it.  I  was  liberally  supplied  from 
the  Washington  government  press  with,  I  believe,  one 
hundred  copies,  and  only  one  is  left,  the  others  having 
been  given  away,  and  even  that  is,  at  this  late  day,  occa- 
sionally borrowed I  have  already  mentioned  that 

Mr.  McLean  introduced  me  t<5  the  President.  In  a  letter 
to  Mrs.  Silliman,  dated  Washington,  May  27,  1833,  I  find 
the  following  more  particular  notice  :  —  "  At  the  palace  I 
met  not  only  the  President,  but  Mr.  Edward  Livingston 
and  General  Cass,  Secretaries  of  departments.  The  Presi- 
dent received  me  with  great  kindness,  and  much  as  I  have 
heard  of  his  dignified  and  courteous  manners,  I  was  more 
agreeably  impressed  than  I  expected  to  be.  He  is  not  only 
a  dignified  but  a  winning  gentleman  of  the  old  school  of 
manners,  which  brought  up  to  my  mind  your  father,  the 
late  Governor  Trumbull.  He  informed  me  that  he  was 
soon  to  visit  the  Eastern  States,  and  should  stop  in  New 
Haven.  I  tendered  him  the  civility  of  showing  him  the 
Colleges,  which  he  said  he  should  be  very  happy  to  see.  He 
said  he  should  leave  Washington  in  a  week  or  more,  and 
that  he  wished  to  pass  quietly  along."  General  Jackson 
was  strongly  marked  by  time,  but  there  appeared  to  be  no 
abatement  of  physical  or  mental  vigor.  A  Connecticut 


EXPLORATION  OF  VIRGINIA  GOLD  MOTES.         37? 

ian  whom  I  had  long  known  —  Commodore  Hull kindly 

ad  me  out,  and  was  earnest  that  I  should  rvm.iin  through 
next  day  to  dine  with  Mr.  Vaujrhan.  the  I'.ritMi  Min- 
er, as  it  would  be  the  King's  birthday  ;  and  he  would 
hardly  let  me  off  from  a  strawberry  party  of  Airs.  Hull's, 
on  Wednesday  evening. 

In  August,  1836,  at  the  request  of  proprietors  in  New 
York,  Mr.  Silliman,  in  company  with  his  son  and 
Mr.  Eli  Whitney,  made  a  professional  tour  among 
the  gold  mines  of  Virginia.  Extracts  from  his  nar- 
rative of  this  visit  follow. 

The  morning  of  August  27th  found  us  at  the  landing-place 
in  Virginia,  and  a  train  of  stage-coaches  was  in  attendance  to 
convey  the  passengers  of  the  steamer  on  their  way.     Heavy 
rains  had  made  the  road  muddy  and  deep,  and  we  consumed 
two  or  three  hours  in  going  ten  miles  to  Fredericksburg. 
In  that  city  there  resided  a  highly  respectable  Scotch  mer- 
chant, James  Vass,  whose  sons  having  been  placed  under 
my  care  in  Yale  College,  an  extended  correspondence  had 
been  maintained  between   us  for  several  years.      I   had 
not  informed  him  of  my  intended  visit  to  Virginia  ;  but, 
one  of  his  sons  having  met  us  at  Washington,  and  having 
returned  home  by  an  earlier  boat,  had  informed  his  father, 
who  was  already  at  the  station  waiting  the  arrival  of  the 
stages.     They  had  hardly  come  to  a  stand,  when  I  observed 
a  gentleman  stranger  passing  rapidly  from  carriage  to  car- 
riage, apparently  looking  for  some  one.     I  had  never  seen 
him  before ;  but,  as  he  approached  our  carriage,  I  heard 
him  inquiring  for  me,  and,  as  he  came  up,  I  responded, 
when  he  announced  Mr.  Vass.     Of  course  he  gave  me  a 
cordial  greeting,  and  at  once  invited  me  to  his  house,  * 
the  following  dialogue  ensued:  —  "I  thank  \«>u.  rfrj  but 
as  I  visit  Virginia  on  a  professional  visit  among  the  gold 
mines,  I  may  be  very  irregular  in  my  movements,  and 


373  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ought  not  to  tax  your  hospitality."  "  No  matter  for  that," 
was  the  reply ;  "  go  and  come  as  you  please,  making  my 
house  your  head-quarters."  "  But,  sir,  I  may  be  a  month 
in  this  region."  "  So  much  the  better,"  was  the  answer. 
"  Nor  is  that  all.  I  have  two  young  friends  with  me,  — 
my  own  son  and  an  only  son  of  a  friend,  —  a  widowed 
mother,  —  and  I  cannot  part  from  them."  "  So  much  the 
better,"  was  the  generous  reply ;  "you  will  be  more  than 
welcome  at  my  house,  and  my  wife  and  children  will  be 
most  happy  to  entertain  you  with  Virginian  hospitality  dur- 
ing your  sojourn."  As  there  was  neither  time  nor  occasion 
for  more  debate,  I  therefore  accepted  the  hospitable  offer 
of  my  friend  Mr.  Vass,  and  we  received  a  cordial  welcome 
from  his  good  lady  and  their  household,  and  our  home  was 
now  established  in  their  house.  Never  was  a  home  made 
more  comfortable  and  agreeable  to  those  who  came  as 
strangers,  but  were  now  adopted  as  friends. 

In  our  travels,  and  in  the  prosecution  of  our  researches 
among  the  mines,  we  had  of  course  met  with  slaves  every- 
where, and  in  general  they  were,  as  far  as  we  observed, 
treated  kindly. 

Slaves  were  employed  about  the  mines,  and  the  strong 
arms  of  athletic  black  men  were  employed  to  crush  the 
quartz  for  us  in  heavy  iron  mortars,  preparatory  to  the 
washing  for  gold ;  they  also  broke  the  quartz  from  the 
veins ;  and  we  had  always  as  many  of  these  men  at  com- 
mand as  we  desired  for  the  accomplishment  of  our  labors. 
As  we  were  quietly  reading  in  our  apartment  at  a  tavern, 
on  the  Sabbath,  the  landlord  entered,  with  an  apology  for 
the  intrusion,  and,  opening  a  glass  case  in  the  corner  of  the 
room,  took  down  a  large  riding  coach-whip,  which  we  sup- 
posed was  wanted  for  some  excursion.  Within  a  few  min- 
utes, however,  we  heard  through  our  open  windows  the 
sharp  reverberations  of  the  lash  rapidly  repeated,  and  ac- 
companied by  loud  cries  of  distress.  We  found,  by  the  vol- 


EXPLORATION  OF  VIRGINIA  GOLD  MINTS.         379 

untary  reports  of  the  servants,  that  the  sufferer  was  a  negro 
man  whom  we  had  seen  about  the  harn  where  our  lionet 
were  stabled.     His  offence  was  being  seen  m-ar  tin- 
where  two  negroes  were  imprisoned  for  an  assault  on  r 
master.     It  did  not  appear  that  he  held  any  communu  ;it'mn 
with  them,  and  it  would  appear  very  improbable  that  he 
should  attempt  it  in  broad  daylight,  and  in  full  view  of  all 
passers-by.     Slavery,  begun  in  wrong,  is  sustained  by  a 
cruel  despotism. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

FOUR  COURSES   OF  LOWELL  LECTURES  IN  BOSTON. 

Double  Course  of  Chemistry  in  New  York  (1838).  —  Accident.  —  The 
Lowell  Lectures:  Plan  of  the  Several  Courses.  — First  Course  (1840).— 
His  Introduction  to  the  Audience  by  Mr.  Everett.  —  Popularity  of  the 
Lectures.  —  Dinner  at  Mr.  Tuckerman's.  —  Mr.  John  Lowell.  —  Mr. 
Jeremiah  Mason.  —  Courtesies  Received.  —  Second  Course  in  Boston 
(1841).  — Interest  Manifested  in  the  Lectures.  —  Presides  over  the  Geo- 
logical Society  in  Philadelphia.  —  Third  Course  in  Boston  (1842).  —  Dr. 
Walker's  Lecture.  — His  Opening  Lecture.  —  Social  Civilities.  —  Fourth 
Course  in  Boston  (1843). —  His  Concluding  Reflections.  —  Correspon- 
dence with  Professor  Kingsley,  Chancellor  Kent,  £c. 

RESUMING  the  narrative  of  his  efforts  as  a  popular 
lecturer,  Mr.  Silliman  makes  mention  of  the  double 
course  on  chemistry,  which  he  delivered  in  January, 
1838,  in  Clinton  Hall,  in  the  City  of  New  York. 
He  had  given,  a  year  before,  a  brief  course  on  geol- 
ogy, by  invitation  of  the  Lyceum  of  Natural  History. 
During  the  former  course,  —  of  which  he  preserved 
no  detailed  memoranda,  although  it  was  fully  suc- 
cessful, —  an  accident  befell  him,  which  gave  room 
for  the  exertion  of  remarkable  self-control. 

Although  there  was  no  failure  of  an  experiment,  I  met 
with  an  injury,  which,  however,  I  was  able  to  conceal  from 
the  audience  and  from  my  assistants.  I  was  exhibiting  the 
elements  of  water,  and  the  generating  of  heat  by  the  com- 
bustion of  oxygen  and  hydrogen  gases,  in  the  compound 
blow-pipe  of  Dr.  Hare.  A  suspended  gasometer  was  used 
for  each  of  the  gases,  and  weights  were  placed  upon  each 


FOUR  COURSES  OF  LOWELL  LECTURES. 

of  them  to  create  a  pressure  for  the  expulsion  of  the  goseft, 
—  the  rate  of  efflux  being  regulak-d  In  stop-rucks.     The 
platform  on  which  I  stood  with  the  apparatus  was  (,f  lim- 
ited dimensions  ;  and,  while  passing  by  the  ga>. 
hit  a  six-pound  iron  weight  which  lay  on  the  top  of  one  of 
the  gasometers,  when  it  fell  from  the  height  of  four  to 
and  a  half  feet  upon  my  right  foot,  the  great  toe  of  which 
received  a  severe  blow,  causing  me  to  draw  a  long  breath  ; 
and,  before  I  could  recover  my  natural  breathing,  I  became 
satisfied  that  I  should  not  faint,  although  the  pain  was  in- 
tense.    The  sensation  of  the  foot  was  as  if  standing  in  a 
fluid,  which,  in  this  case,  was  blood,  as  appeared  on  draw- 
ing off  my  boot  at  the  hotel,  —  the  stocking  being  soaked 
with  blood.     The  nail  of  the  large  toe  was  torn  up  at  the 
root,  and  merely  hung  like  a  loose  shingle  on  a  roof.    I 
went  on  half  an  hour  or  more,  and  finished  the  lecture. 
Blood  continued  to  issue  from  the  wound  during  ten  days. — 
the  bloody  dressings  being  removed  every  morning ;  and 
bleeding  kept  the  inflammation  down.     The  nail  grew  out 
again  very  slowly.     At  the  end  of  eight  months  it  had  not 
entirely  covered  the  original  surface.     In  my  childhood  I 
had  split  this  toe  with  an  axe,  and  the  nail  grew  out  after 
that  accident,  carrying  the  mark  of  the  axe  along  with  it 
This  marking  was  still  preserved  in  the  recent  restoration, 
but  the  parts  of  the  nail  were  not  united,  or  only  at  the 
root,  and  grew  out  separately,  but  side  by  side,  and  are  not 
perfectly  united  now  (1861),  twenty-two  years  after  the 
injury. — In  connection  with  the  subject  in  hand,  I  exhibited 
the  formation  of  water  from  its  two  elements,  —  oxygen 
and  hydrogen,  —  and  adverted  to  its  three  physical  con- 
ditions  of  vapor,   fluid,  or  water  and  ice.      In  speaking 
of  the  permanence  of  ice  in  very  cold  climates,  I  quoted 
memoriler  Cowper's  graphic  description  of  the  palace  con- 
structed  of  ice,   in    1740   or   1745,  on   the   river   Neva, 
near  St.  Petersburg,  to  celebrate  the  marriage  of  Prince 
Galitzin. 


382  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

"  Silently  as  a  dream  the  fabric  rose; 
No  sound  of  hammer  or  of  saw  was  there; 
But,  ice  on  ice,  the  well-adjusted  parts 
Were  soon  conjoined,  nor  other  cement  asked 
Than  water,  interfused,  to  make  them  one."  —  &c. 

My  brother,  from  Brooklyn,  was  present,  and  hearing  in 
the  morning  that  I  had  received  an  injury  during  the  lec- 
ture, said  to  his  family  that  it  could  not  be  so,  as  he  heard 
me  lecture  to  the  end,  and  that  it  was  concluded  by  poetry. 
The  injury  made  me  lame,  but  no  lecture  was  omitted.  I 
finished  the  courses  both  of  the  evening  and  the  day,  and 
there  was  no  occasion  to  mention  the  occurrence  to  the 
audience. 

Mr.  Silliman  was  called  upon  to  open  the  Lowell 
Institute,  which  had  been  established  by  the  mu- 
nificence of  a  citizen  of  Boston,  as  a  means  of  public 
instruction.  For  four  successive  years  he  had  the 
pleasure  of  presenting  the  truths  of  science  to  large 
and  approving  audiences.  These  courses  of  lectures 
he  regarded  as  the  crowning  success  of  his  profes- 
sional life.  In  all  of  them  he  had  the  assistance 
of  his  son.  Mr.  Silliman  had  been  consulted  by  Mr. 
John  A.  Lowell,  the  trustee  of  the  Lowell  fund,  as 
to  the  best  mode  of  organizing  the  Institution. 

In  consequence  of  previous  correspondence,  Mr.  Lowell 
came  in  the  month  of  June,  1838,  to  my  house  ;  an  inter- 
view took  place  in  the  library,  and  we  occupied  the  greater 
part  of  the  forenoon  in  presenting  views  of  what  such  an 
institution  ought  to  be,  and  in  suggestions  as  to  the  lectures. 
From  the  experience  of  thirty  years  in  the  departments  of 
science  which  hajd  been  committed  to  my  care,  I  was  able 
to  give  Mr.  Lowell  exact  information  as  to  the  necessary 
apparatus,  materials,  and  illustrations,  with  estimates  of  the 
probable  expense,  or  approximations  to  it.  As  I  supposed 


FOUR  COURSES   OF  LOWELL  LECTUKES. 

it  probable  that  an  overture  for  my  services  would  be  made, 
I  was  desirous  to  impress  upon  the  mind  .well 

that  to  give  effect  to  lectures  and  demon  ience 

a  liberal  expenditure  would  be  required. 

The  invitation  followed,  and  a  plan  was  adopted 
for  the  lectures  which  were  to  be  given. 

Mr.  Lowell  at  first  suggested  an  arrangement  for  three 
years,  but  yielded  to  my  view  that  the  work  would  be  more 
thoroughly  done  upon  a  basis  of  four  years ;  the  first  year, 
or  rather  the  first  winter,  to  be  for  geology,  and  ehen 
to  be  given  in  the   three   succeeding  seasons;  the  non- 
metallic  ponderables  for  the  second  year ;  the  inetui 
the  third  ;  the  dynamics  of  chemistry,  namely,  the  powers 
that  effect  the  changes  of  matter,  for  the  fourth. 

In  due  time   Mr.   Silliman   presented  himself  in 
Boston  to  fulfil  his  engagement. 

By  the  request  of  Mr.  Lowell,  the  trustee  of  the  Institute, 
His  Excellency  Governor  Edward  Everett  pronounced  an 
historical  eulogy  upon  the  Founder  of  the  Institute, — 
Mr.  John  Lowell.  On  December  31st,  1839,  this  address 
was  delivered  in  the  Odeon,  as  an  introduction  to  the  lec- 
tures, and  it  was  repeated  in  the  Marlborough  Chapel  on 
the  evening  of  January  2.  On  the  latter  occasion,  I  was 
present  with  my  son,  and  we  listened  with  great  satisfaction 
to  this  beautiful  eulogy,  which  has  been  published  in  the 
collection  of  "  Orations  and  Speeches  on  Various  Occns 
by  Edward  Everett,"  Vol.  II.  p.  379  (Edition  of  1856). 
Mr.  Everett  remarked  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  be- 
quest of  the  late  Mr.  Stephen  Girard  of  Philadelphia,  the 
sum  appropriated  by  Mr.  Lowell  was  the  largest  ever  given 
by  any  private  individual  in  this  country,  and  he  was  not 
aware  that  there  is  in  Europe  anything  of  this  detcription 
on  so  large  a  scale.  His  will  was  written  before  he  left 
this  country,  and  was  finished  on  the  ruins  ofThebes,  and 


384  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

a  codicil  added  at  the  Arabic  village  of  Luxor,  the  whole 
of  which  «is  situated  on  the  remains  of  an  ancient  palace. 
In  this  codicil  he  gives  his  kinsman,  Mr.  John  A.  Lowell, 
detailed  directions  for  the  administration  of  his  trust. 

Governor  Everett  announced  to  the  audience  the  name 
of  the  individual  who  would  have  the  honor  of  opening  the 
Institution,  by  giving  the  first  course  of  lectures.  He  re- 
marked thus  :  —  "  The  first  course  of  lectures  is  now  about 
to  commence  on  the  subject  of  Geology,  to  be  delivered  by 
a  gentleman  —  Professor  Silliman  of  Yale  College  —  whose 
reputation  is  too  well  established  in  this  department  of 
science,  both  in  Europe  and  America,  and  is  too  well  known 
to  the  citizens  of  Boston  to  need  an  attestation  on  my  part. 
It  would  be  arrogant  in  me  to  speak  farther  of  his  qualifi- 
cations as  a  lecturer  on  this  foundation.  The  great  crowd 
assembled  this  evening,  consisting  as  it  does  of  a  moiety 
only  of  those  who  have  received  tickets  of  admission  to  the 
course,  sufficiently  evinces  the  desire  which  is  felt  by  the 
citizens  of  Boston,  again  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  his 
instruction,  while  it  affords  a  new  proof,  if  further  proof 
were  wanting,  that  our  liberal  founder  did  not  mistake  the 
disposition  of  the  community  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
benefit  of  an  institution  of  this  character."  —  (p.  383.)  The 
Orator  added  :  —  "  The  few  sentences,  penned  with  a  tired 
hand  by  our  fellow-citizen  on  the  top  of  a  palace  of  the 
Pharaohs,  will  do  more  for  human  improvement  than,  for 
aught  that  appears,  was  done  by  all  of  that  gloomy  dynasty 

that  ever  reigned." I  thought  it  was  proper,  in 

opening  the  course,  to  acknowledge,  in  guarded  language, 
Governor  Everett's  generous  announcement  of  myself;  and 
I  therefore  pronounced  the  following  exordium  :  — 

"  Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  —  By  invitation  of  the  trustee 
and  director  of  the  Lowell  Institute,  I  have  the  honor  to 
stand  before  you  this  evening,  charged  with  the  fulfilment 
of  an  important  duty.  We  have  all  listened  with  de- 
lighted attention  to  the  history  of  the  origin  of  this  Insti- 


FOUR  COURSES  OF  LOWELL  LECTURES. 

tution,  and  to  the  biographical  sketch  of  its  noble  founder. 
The  simple  narrative  of  the  facts  was  clothed  \\ith  a  deep 
and  touching  pathos,  and  the  distinguish.^!  ,  irted 

to  them  an  intellectual  and  moral  beauty,  |]  :  Me 

to  the  dead  and  useful  to  the  living.  His  gem  : 
fidence,  bestowed  on  me  in  advance,  while  it  enhances  to 
an  almost  painful  degree  my  sense  of  obligation,  created  by 
my  present  position,  at  the  same  time  checks  the  expres- 
sion of  those  more  than  reciprocal  sentiments  which  glow 
in  my  mind.  His  pure  and  elevated  fame  office  cannot 
enhance  nor  retirement  eclipse.* 

"In  commencing  our  appropriate  duties  in  this  place, 
and  in  opening  the  course  of  instruction  to  be  given  in 
this  Institution,  we  are  happy  to  recognize  in  the  vie\\ 
its  lamented  founder  a  moral  purpose,  elevated  far  a' 
merely  physical  or  even  intellectual  advantages.     While 
aiming  to  secure  these  highly  important  results,  his  mind 
was  devoutly  directed  to  his  Maker.    The  investigation  and 
exhibition  of  physical  laws,  while  they  are  to  be  applied, 
by  his  direction,  to  the  illustration  of  the  attributes  of  the 
infinite  God,  are  to  be  summoned  also  to  prove  the  harmony 
.of  his  revealed  word  with  the  visible  creation,  and  of  both 
with  his  holy  character.    With  such  a  design,  worthy  of  the 
noble  and  virtuous  mind  of  Mr.  Lowell,  —  a  design  cherished 
from  youth  to  middle  life,  from   his  quiet  walks   in  this 
city   through  all  the  vicissitudes   of  his  eventful   tra 
renewed  in  sickness  and  sustained  in  death,  —  may  we  not 
hope  that  the  blessing  of  God  will  descend  upon  this  I 
tution,  and  that  those  to  whom  its  important  trusts  are 
committed  may  be  guided  by  wisdom  from  above  in  the 
fulfilment  of  their  high  and  responsible  function*.     With 
feelings  then   in  perfect  harmony  with  the  testamei 
injunctions  of  our  founder  we  turn  to  our  more  immediate 
duties." 

*  A  single  vote,  in  a  then  recent  election,  had  superseded  Gorwnor 
Everett,  and  made  Mr.  Morton  his  successor. 
VOL.  I.  25 


386  LITE  OF  BENJAMIX  SILLIMAN. 

Although  geology  had  been,  five  years  before,  discussed 
by  me  successfully  in  the  presence  of  a  Boston  audience, 
the  present  occasion  presented  some  advantages.  The 
subject  had  been  more  thoroughly  studied  by  me,  and  I 
was  still  an  anxious  and  faithful  student,  having  with  me 
a  collection  of  the  best  books  on  the  subject.  The  liberal 
views  of  the  trustee,  Mr.  Lowell,  had  enabled  me  to  obtain 
many  new  and  excellent  illustrations,  so  that  the  lecture- 
room  could  be  beautifully  decorated,  and  the  lectures  made 
both  intelligible  and  attractive,  by  drawings,  diagrams,  and 
pictures,  which  through  the  eye  informed  the  mind  and 

sustained  the  positions  that  were  to  be  assumed 

I  have  already  copied  the  exordium  of  the  introductory 
lecture  of  the  course.  I  now  approached  this  public  duty 
with  intense  anxiety,  and  the  more  so  as  my  voice  was 
not  perfectly  clear.  I  spoke,  however,  in  the  first  lecture 
apparently  with  good  effect  during  an  hour  and  a  half. 
Owing  to  my  hoarseness,  I  was  not  perfectly  heard  by  every 
one,  and  I  ran  into  my  old  fault  of  being  too  rapid ;  but 
still  I  was  assured  that  the  lecture  was  successful. 

The  second  lecture  (Saturday,  January  4)  gave  me  con- 
fidence. My  voice  served  me  well ;  I  was  deliberate  and 
animated,  and  was  heard  in  every  part  of  the  house.  From 
the  aspect  of  a  very  large  and  attentive  audience  I  felt  as- 
sured —  as  I  was  informed  was  the  fact  —  that  the  lecture 
gave  great  satisfaction.  I  spoke  two  hours  on  the  founda- 
tion-rocks of  the  globe,  allowing  an  interval  of  five  minutes 
at  the  end  of  an  hour.  It  gave  the  audience  a  brief  season 
for  conversation,  for  changing  position,  and  for  retiring, 
should  they  wish  so  to  do ;  but  I  believe  few  or  none  of 
them  withdrew.  I  wrote  home,  January  10  :  "  My  second 
lecture  was  warmly  commended.  Mrs.  John  A.  Lowell,  wife 
of  the  trustee,  said  to  my  son,  at  the  end  of  the  two  hours, 
that  she  should  be  willing  to  sit  two  hours  more.  The  elder 
Mr.  John  Lowell,  father  of  the  trustee,  heard  the  lecture, 
and  is  very  warm  and  cordial.  He  is  a  very  eminent  man. 


FOUR  COURSES  OF  LOWELL   I. rr TUBES. 

The  battle  is  now  won,  but  I  shall  have  an  anxious  and 
laborious  task  through  the  entire  com 
Sabbath,  with  our  excellent  friends,  t!  \V.  Blag- 

den  and  lady,  we  attended  worship  in  the  OKI  South,  of 
which  he  is  pastor;    we  listened  to  an  interest 
Year's  sermon,  and  participated  in  the  solemnity  oi 
rament,  which  was  administered  after  the  morning  sen 

The  following  passages  having  respect  to  his  stay 
in  Boston  on  this  occasion,  and  partly  drawn  from 
notes    made    at   the   time,   are   extracted    from 
"  Reminiscences  "  :  — 

Mr.  Webster,  having  recently  returned  from  a  visit  to 
England,  was  invited  by  the  Whig  members  of  the  legisla- 
ture to  speak  in  the  State  House,  on  Monday  evening,  .Jan- 
uary 7.  He  was  introduced  with  much  ceremony,  and 
addressed  by  Mr.  King,  chairman  of  the  senate.  His  ad- 
dress on  the  national  currency  and  the  reigning  policy  was 
very  powerful.  He  had  returned  from  his  travels  in  fine 
health.  His  manner  was  exceedingly  energetic  and  im- 
pressive, with  much  action,  great  deliberation,  good  pauses, 
and  perfect  self-possession.  He  was  highly  excited,  and  it 
was  considered  as  one  of  his  happiest  efforts.  I  had  seen 
him  in  private,  and  had  only  once  before*  heard  him  in 
public.  His  manner  now  exceeded  my  expectations.  I  went 
with  others,  after  he  had  finished,  to  congratulate  him  on 
his  happy  return,  and  we  were  courteously  received. 

Friday,  January  10.  —  Except  calls  at  Mr.  15amroft's 
and  Mr.  Lamb's  in  the  morning,  I  was  engrossed  by  my 
studies  with  reference  to  the  great  subjects  of  the  evening 
lecture.  The  tertiary  contains  amazing  revelations,  and 
the  Mosaic  deluge,  with  all  the  phenomena  of  floods  and 
moving  waters,  powerfully  arrests  the  attention  of  all  listen- 
ers. The  audience  was  all  that  the  house  could  contain : 

*  At  the  laying  of  the  foundation  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument,  Juno 
17, 1825. 


388  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

the  alleys  were  full,  and  the  third  gallery  as  well  as  the 
second  was  occupied.  I  had,  in  two  preceding  lectures, 
given  a  recess  of  five  minutes  at  the  end  of  the  first  hour, 
and  I  now  informed  the  audience  that,  as  my  subjects  were 
very  extensive,  and  would  take  me  into  the  second  hour,  I 
should,  as  a  regular  thing  give  them  that  relief  of  five  min- 
utes, and  to  this  notice  they  gave  a  warm  response.  This 
suspension  was  doubtless  felt  to  be  a  relief  to  them,  and  it 
was  most  acceptable  to  myself.  I  then  retired  at  once  into 
a  private  room  near  at  hand,  threw  myself  upon  the  sofa, 
closed  my  eyes,  and  neither  spoke  nor  was  spoken  to,  until 
the  five  minutes  were  past ;  in  the  mean  time  the  excited 
respiration  and  pulsation  subsided  to  their  natural  condi- 
tion, and  a  glass  of  water  enabled  me  to  return  quite  fresh 
to  the  audience,  and  to  resume  the  speaking  with  renewed 
energy.  The  impression  of  the  lecture  appeared  to  be 
strong  and  vivid.  I  concluded  that  I  had  won  the  audi- 
ence, and  that  with  great  exertions  I  might  hope  to  go 
through  successfully. 

I  record  again  that  the  assistance  of  my  son  was  invalu- 
able to  me  in  these  labors,  and  a  great  consolation  by  his 
amiable  conduct  and  filial  devotion.  In  our  apartment  we 
daily  commended  ourselves  and  our  friends  to  the  Giver  of 
all  good,  and  invoked  a  blessing  upon  our  public  efforts. 

Thursday. —  Dinner  at  Mr.  Edward  Tuckerman's,  Beacon 
Street.  A  very  delightful  occasion  in  a  refined  and  pol- 
ished family  ;  conversation  of  a  high  moral  tone.  Among 
the  guests  were  the  Rev.  Dr.  Stone,  of  St.  Paul's  Church, 
and  Prof.  Greenleaf,  of  the  Cambridge  Law  School.  Geol- 
ogy was  introduced,  but  not  by  me,  as  I  never  obtrude  pro- 
fessional subjects  upon  mixed  circles,  or  upon  any  uniniti- 
ated individuals.  Dr.  Stone  has  no  difficulties  as  between 
geology  and  the  Scriptures,  and  we  agreed  entirely  in  our 
views.  The  other  gentlemen  and  Dr.  Stone  will  accept  a 
copy  of  my  printed  remarks  on  this  subject 


FOUR  COURSES  OF  LOW  KM.    I.IXTURES. 

Jamutry  \  Itli,  FrMtn/.  — The  inte  i  ,  :ise. 

Some  people  come  at  six  o'clock,  at  the  op, ning  of  the 
door,  and  therefore  remain  three  hours;  and  curious  indi- 
viduals remain  half  an  hour  longer  after  tin-  lerture  to  ex- 
amine the  specimens,  which  are  explained  by  my  son  and 
Dr.  Wyman,  as  I  always  retire  at  once  to  my  room.  After 
half  an  hour's  rest,  I  resume  my  reading  for  an  hourm 
My  voice  served  me  well  at  the  last  lecture.  I  have  already 
mentioned  my  deep  sense  of  responsibility  in  introducing 
to  the  public  a  splendid  institution.  It  is  the  greatest  honor 
I  ever  received,  to  be  selected  for  such  a  lim 

there  are  so  many  able  men  of  their  own  here  and  in  this 
vicinity.  I  am  therefore  very  anxious  to  discharge  my  duty 
with  decided  ability,  that  the  institution  may  not  fail  in  my 
hands  ;  and  I  need  not  say  that  a  failure  would  be  most 
unhappy,  and  to  me  calamitous. 

January  19,  Sabbath.  —  Jn  the  morning,  at  the  Marlboro* 
Chapel  to  hear  President  Mahan  preach  on  perfection- 
ism. In  the  afternoon,  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lamb,  we  at- 
tended their  place  of  worship, —  Dr.  Channing's  and  .Mr. 
Gannett's.  The  latter  gentleman's  subject  was,  "A  double- 
minded  man  is  unstable  in  all  his  ways."  lie  urged  fer- 
vently the  duty  of  immediate  repentance,  and  exposed 
very  forcibly  the  sin  and  misery  of  being  half  in  earnest 
These  ministers  are  fervent  and  devout  men  ;  in  doctrine 

they  are  Unitarian,  in  spirit,  Christian 

January  31.  —  In  a  morning  which  was  bright  after  the 
rain,  Mr.  John  Lowell,  father  of  Mr.  John  A.  Lowell,  the 
trustee,  called  in  his  carriage,  and  took  us  both  to  hi*  • 
try-seat  in   Roxbury,  where  he  kindly  entertained   n 
more  than  an  hour,  by  explaining  to  n*  in  his   beautiful 
green-house  some  of  the  more  rare  plants,  anmn-  • 
were  the  Pandanus  or  screw  pine,  the  Auracaria  pin- 
Dracena  or  dragon-plant,  many  palms,  tin 
or  elastic  gum-plant,  some  of  the  Orchidice,  and  many  more. 
Most  of  these,  in  relation  to  their  fossil  analogues,  pos- 
sessed for  me  a  high  degree  of  interest 


390  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

My  first  knowledge  of  this  eminent  man  was  at  the  min- 
eral springs  at  Ballston,  in  1796,  when  he  appeared  with 
an  equipage  and  servants  ;  and  although  a  young  man,  he 
arrested  the  attention  of  all  by  his  high  conversational 
powers.  I  met  him  next  in  London,  in  1805,  where  he 
displayed  the  same  superiority,  only  intensified ;  next  in 
Boston,  at  the  table  of  his  brother,  Francis  Cabot  Lowell. 
During  my  present  engagement,  we  passed  an  evening  at 
his  house  in  Boston,  when  he  told  me  that  he  had  read 
every  article  of  the  "American  Journal  of  Science,"  includ- 
ing the  mathematical  papers,  which  I  considered  as  a  strong 
mark  of  his  approbation.  He  had  been  recently  in  Cuba, 
for  his  health,  and  there  he  learned  that  the  Caribs  prefer 
to  inter  their  dead  on  the  sea-shore,  next  to  the  tidal  wave, 
and  he  thought  that  practice  might  account  for  the  famous 
fossil  skeleton  of  Guadaloupe,  which  has  figured  so  much 
in  geology.  I  thought  the  suggestion  valuable.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  the  Charibs  thought  that  their  friends  might  pass 
by  water  to  another  world.  Mr.  Lowell  met  in  Cuba  a 
distinguished  English  botanist  who  had  visited  the  island 
on  purpose  to  see  tropical  plants  in  their  native  climates, 
but  was  deterred  from  exploring  rural  scenes  from  fear  of 
yellow  fever. 

Saturday,  February  1.  —  In  the  morning  a  walk  to  Mr. 
Alger's  foundry,  where  we  saw  the  boring  of  large  cannon 
for  the  United  States.  We  then  rode  to  Cambridge  in  a 
close-covered  sleigh,  as  it  snowed  rapidly.  Made  calls  at 
President  Quincy's,  Prof.  Lovering's,  Mr.  Sparks's,  Mr. 
King's,  Mr.  Worcester's,  &c.  Mr.  Worcester  occupied  the 
Dr.  Craige  house,  which  was  General  Washington's  head- 
quarters in  1775  and  1776.  Tea  at  Mr.  Jeremiah  Mason's, 
sitting  around  the  table  with  his  lovely  family, — Mrs.  Mason 
and  daughters,  with  the  noble  head,  a  magnificent  man, 
both  physically  and  mentally,  and,  withal,  most  kind  and 
gentle  in  manners  and  disposition ;  his  conversation  enlight- 
ened and  instructive. 


FOUR  COURSES  OF  LOWELL  LECTURES.  391 

Sabbath,  February  2.  —  Morning  at  the  Old  South,  and 
partook  of  the  sacrament.  In  the  afternoon  at  the  Uruttle- 
Street  Church,  —  preacher,  Mr.  Frothin-ham.  The  reg- 
ular incumbent  is  Rev.  Dr.  Lothrop,  a  moderate  Unita- 
rian, and  an  excellent  man.  Mr.  Abbott  Lawrence  and 
family  attend  here.  Mr.  Lawrence  said  to  me  that  he 
could  not  go  along  with  Dr.  Channing. 

February  4.  —  A  very  agreeable  dinner-party  at  Mr. 
William  Lawrence's.  Among  the  guests  were  Lieutemmt- 
Governor  Hull  and  Dr.  Charles  T.  Jackson.  We  inspected, 
on  our  return,  Wightman's  chemical  apparatus,  which  he  is 
constructing  for  our  next  course,  and  found  satisfactory 
progress  and  skilful  construction.  There  were  five  invita- 
tions for  the  evening,  of  which  we  accepted  three  and  de- 
clined two.  We  called  at  Mr.  Winslow's,  then  at  Mr.  Ed- 
ward Tuckerman's,  and  finished  at  Mr.  Armstrong's,  where 
there  was,  an  elegant  party  assembled  in  superb  rooms. 
Having  been  much  fatigued  during  the  day,  I  found  it  in- 
convenient to  remain  standing  during  so  many  hours  as  the 
party  might  last.  But  the  retreat  which  I  had  contem- 
plated was  prevented  by  an  unexpected  honor.  Mr.  Arm- 
strong committed  his  lady  to  my  care  to  lead  the  company 
to  the  supper-table,  and  to  do  its  honors,  at  least  as  an  aux- 
iliary. Of  course  I  braced  myself  up  to  the  requirements 
of  the  occasion,  and  literally  stood  it  out.  I  was  at  home 
by  eleven  o'clock,  and  found  time  and  strength  for  reading 
Darwin's  delightful  work  on  the  "  Natural  History  and 
Geology  of  South  America."  Darwin  was  the  naturalist 
of  the  exploring  expedition  of  the  British  ships  A</n-/, ?,,,•<> 
andJBeagle,  between  1826-1836;  making  a  voyage  around 
the  world.  The  reading  of  this  work  has  been  a  recreation 
at  night,  after  the  labors  of  the  day  and  evening. 

After  the  lapse  of  a  year,  Mr.  Silliman  was  again 
in  Boston,  to  commence  the  first  of  his  three  courses 
on  Chemistry. 


392  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

February  19. —  The  course  of  lectures  on  Natural  Re- 
ligion, in  the  Odeon,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Walker  of  Harvard 
College,  on  the  Lowell  foundation,  was  to  be  finished  the 
evening  of  our  arrival,  and  we  availed  ourselves  of  the  op- 
portunity to  hear  that  eminent  man.  His  lecture  was  able, 
instructive,  and  interesting,  and  his  manner  was  dignified 
and  impressive.  One  year  and  one  week  had  elapsed 
since  I  finished  the  course  of  geology  in  the  Odeon  ;  and, 
as  we  entered  this  evening  by  the  private  door  facing  the 
audience,  there  was  a  quiet  movement  of  welcome,  which 
showed  that  we  were  not  forgotten.  It  was  significant, 
although  not  boisterous,  and  was  returned  by  me  with  a 
bow  of  acknowledgment.  Rev.  Dr.  Walker  did  not  par- 
take of  any  narrow  feelings  towards  me  ;  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, when  I  afterwards  saw  him  at  Cambridge,  he  ex- 
pressed much  satisfaction  that  I  was  a  fellow-laborer  with 
him  in  the  Lowell  Institute. 

February  22,  Monday.  —  This  being  the  day  for  the  be- 
ginning of  the  course,  I  passed  the  time  in  revising,  correct- 
ing, and  reading  my  introductory.  It  was  written  with 
great  care,  and  contained  a  comprehensive  generalization 
of  all  science,  with  a  portraiture  of  physical  science  in  all 
its  departments,  divided  and  mapped  out,  so  as  to  show  the 
distinctive  features  and  boundaries  and  connections  of 
each,  coming  down  finally  to  the  one  science  —  chemistry 
—  which  was  to  engage  our  immediate  attention.  This 
lecture  was  read,  quite  audibly,  I  believe,  to  an  audience 
estimated  to  amount  to  fifteen  hundred  persons  or  more. 
They  were  very  attentive,  and  perfectly  quiet  during  the 
hour  and  a  quarter  which  the  discourse  occupied.  I 
was  glad  to  have  got  well  through  this  lecture,  —  the 
only  one  in  the  course  which  I  expected  to  read,  —  which 
I  very  much  dislike  to  do,  as  in  reading  my  manner  is 
artificial,  and  lacks  the  genial  tone  and  expression  which 
an  earnest  speaker,  full  of  his  subject,  and  looking  his 
audience  in  the  face,  naturally  assumes.  I  had,  how- 


FOUR  COURSES  OF  LOWELL   LECTURES.  393 

ever,  no  reason  to  be  dissatisfied  with  this  first  effort  of  the 
course 

March  8.  —  My  health  is  good,  and  my  voice  clear,  so 
that  I  fill  the  house  without  difficulty;  my  smi  is  very 
efficient;  and  at  both  lectures  the  theatre  is  quite  lull. 
Good  news  from  home ;  and  the  best  news  is,  that  my  two 

younger  daughters,  H and  .1 ,  have  become 

deeply  interested  in  religion,  and  I  wrote  to  them  to  bid 
them  God-speed  on  their  way  to  the  celestial  city. 

Sabbath,  March  14.  —  Yesterday  I  received  from  them  a 
very  gratifying  answer,  in  entire  sympathy  with  my  parental 
counsels  ;  and  their  response  shows  that  their  young  minds 
— their  ages  are  seventeen  and  fourteen — have  already  taken 
the  right  direction  in  deciding  to  embrace  the  offered  Sal- 
vation. I  was  so  happy  as  to  receive  similar  intelligence 
respecting  my  only  son,  Benjamin,  when  I  was  engaged  in 
my  first  course  of  lectures  in  Boston,  in  March,  1835  ;  and 
now,  in  the  same  city,  during  a  similar  engagement,  I  am 
again  favored  in  the  same  way.  I  have  been  permitted  here 
to  unfold  to  an  excited  and  interested  community  some 
views  of  the  secrets  of  God's  material  world,  as  displayed 
in  its  structure  and  constitution  ;  and  thus,  I  trust,  I  have 
been  enabled  to  contribute  not  only  to  the  mental  illumina- 
tion of  the  people,  but  to  the  increase  of  their  reverence  for 
God.  But  I  am  much  more  favored  in  hearing,  on  this  be- 
loved spot,  that  my  two  younger  children  are  determined 
to  walk  in  the  truth,  so  that  thus  all  my  dear  family  are 
hopefully  enrolled  in  the  Book  of  Life.  Not  unto  us,  O 
God  !  but  unto  Thy  great  and  holy  Name  be  all  the  honor 
and  glory ! 

Immediately  after  his  return  home,  at  the  comple- 
tion of  this  course,  he  went  on  an  important  scien- 
tific errand  to  Philadelphia. 

It  would  appear  strange,  even  to  myself,  that,  after  so 


394  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

long  an  absence,  I  should  pass  only  one  day  at  home  be- 
fore leaving  it  again ;  but  the  reason  was  one  that  I  could 
not  resist :  it  was  an  official  call  to  Philadelphia.  As  the 
object  was  geological,  it  falls  in  naturally  after  a  course  of 
professional  duty  in  Boston. 

In  the  spring  of  1840,  a  meeting  was  held  in  Philadel- 
phia of  those  gentlemen  who  had  been  professionally  en- 
gaged in  geological  surveys  under  public  authority.  This 
meeting  was  preliminary  to  the  formation  of  an  association 
of  geologists  for  the  purpose  of  promoting  the  progress  of 
the  science  and  its  applications  in  this  country.  A  consti- 
tution was  formed,  and  officers  appointed,  preparatory  to 
the  first  meeting  during  the  present  week.  They  saw  fit 
to  name  me  as  the  first  President ;  and  this  was  the  call 
that  took  me  to  Philadelphia  at  this  time.  I  proceeded, 
on  the  5th  of  April,  to  that  city,  arriving  with  my  friend 
Mr.  Win.  C.  Redfield  at  midnight.  We  found  a  shelter  at 
the  Washington  Hotel,  and  in  the  morning  I  resorted  to  my 
old  home  at  Mr.  Charles  Chauncey's,  where,  as  usual,  I  was 
affectionately  received.  On  the  morning  of  the  6th  of 
April,  I  found  my  way  to  the  hall  of  the  Academy  of  the 
Natural  Sciences,  and  took  my  place  as  presiding  officer. 

The  week  was  most  busily  employed  in  geological  meet- 
ings. Many  gentlemen  were  present  from  different  States, 
and  many  interesting  discussions  took  place,  which  were 
ably  sustained. 

The  society  formed  in  Philadelphia,  was  after  a 
time  succeeded  by  the  "  American  Association  of 
Geologists  and  Naturalists,"  and  later  by  the  "Amer- 
ican Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science." 
It  was  the  starting-point  of  those  annual  meetings 
of  scientific  men,  which  continued,  with  happy  re- 
sults, until  the  civil  war  broke  out,  in  1861. 

In  the  middle  of  February,  1842,   Mr.    Silliman 


FOUR  COURSES  OF  LOWKU.   I.IvirRKg. 

opened  the  third  of  his  courses  1.- 
Institute. 

Dr.  Walker's  lecture,  as  happened  on  our  arrival  lost 
year,  was  to  be  delivered  on  the  ensuing  evening ;  and  at 
we  found  our  friend,  the  Rev.  George  Jones,  a  fellow-lodger 
with  us  in  our  hotel,  we  took  him  along  with  us  to  hear  the 
lecture  —  which  was  excellent,  and  delivered  with  dig- 
nity and  force  — on  the  question,  "Whether  man  can  live 
and  improve  without  religious  education?"  The  house 
was  entirely  full,  stage  and  all,  and  a  breathless  silence 
prevailed.  We  were  received  into  the  box  of  Mr.  John  A. 
Lowell,  our  patron,  with  warm  greetings  from  him  and 
his  family  ;  also,  from  President  Quincy,  who  advanced 
promptly  to  meet  us  with  his  usual  cordiality  and  kind  in- 
quiries. To  Mr.  Lowell,  I  remarked  :  "  I  am  very  glad,  sir, 
to  see  that  the  Institute  does  not  fall  off."  "  Oh  no,"  said 
he,  "  the  interest  keeps  up,  and  there  have  been  as  many 
applicants  for  your  lectures  as  last  year,  which  you  will 
remember  was  about  ten  thousand,  and  each  ticket  drawn 
is  entitled  to  two  or  three  seats." 

I  was  told  that  on  the  day  of  applying  for  tickets,  Federal 
Street,  leading  to  the  Odeon,  was  entirely  filled  for  a  long 
distance  with  a  dense  mass  of  people,  waiting  for  hours  tlir 
a  chance,  and  content  to  advance  slowly  as  the  front  melted 
away.  The  tickets  at  once  commanded  two  or  three  or 
more  dollars,  and  they  are  often  drawn  by  servants  and 
others  for  the  purpose  of  selling  again  for  money. 

February  21.  —  On  entering  the  hall  I  was  saluted  by, 
I  think,  the  largest  audience  which  I  have  at  any  time  seen 
there.  Every  nook  and  corner  was  filled,  and  all  the  gal- 
leries, even  the  uppermost,  and  all  the  alleys. 

I  gave  a  concise  notice  of  the  course  last  year,  and  intro- 
duced this  course  with  an  exordium  which  I  thought  waft 
intelligible  and  apposite,  and,  what  was  still  better,  it  waa 
brief.  I  gave  a  classification  of  the  metals,  and  i-numcr- 


396  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ated  their  leading  properties,  —  the  chemical  first,  and  the 
physical  last.  This  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  close  the 
lecture  with  those  fine  mechanical  experiments,  which  are 
at  the  same  time  beautiful  and  instructive.  I  allude  to 
the  evolution  of  heat  by  percussion  of  metals.  The  ex- 
periments were  performed  on  lead  and  copper  ;  they  were 
entirely  successful,  and  appeared  to  give  satisfaction  to 
the  audience.  Although  I  was  diffident  as  to  the  suc- 
cess of  this  lecture,  I  spoke  deliberately,  and,  I  believe, 
clearly. 

February  22.  —  I  had  two  full  audiences,  exceedingly  at- 
tentive, and  the  repeated  lecture  went  off  very  well.  I  am 
told,  indeed,  that  the  audience  are  much  interested  in  the 
organic  chemistry ;  and  I  am  now  persuaded  that  what  I 
feared  might  be  dull,  will  make  only  a  pleasant  transition 
to  the  splendors  of  heat  and  light,  of  electricity  and  galvan- 
ism, whose  history  will  be  given  near  the  conclusion  of  the 
course. 

The  fourth  year  of  the  Lowell  lectures  brought 
a  repetition  of  the  social  attentions  with  which  Mr. 
Silliman  had  been  honored  in  Boston,  and  witnessed 
no  diminution  of  the  popular  interest  in  his  instruc- 
tions. 

February  27,  Monday.  —  Tea  at  Mr.  R.  II.  Dana's,  Sen. 
Met  there  Mr.  R.  H.  D.,  Jr.  (author  of  "  Two  Years  before 
the  Mast")  and  lady,  and  passed  an  hour  and  a  half  most 
agreeably,  —  Professor  Brown,  of  Dartmouth,  being  in  the 
circle. 

February  28,  Tuesday. —  Evening  at  Mr.  Andrews',  Mount 
Vernon  Street,  with  a  large  circle.  A  Mr.  Ford  and  his 
wife,  professional  mesmerizers,  exhibited  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  the  company.  She  was  said  to  be  magnetized  by 
her  husband,  and  in  the  early  part  of  the  evening  made,  as 
was  reported,  some  successful  hits,  but  after  we  came  in  she 


FOUR  COURSES   OF  LOW!.!. I.    I.KCTl'KES.  397 

was  not  fortunate  in  every  instance,  although  she  brought 
out  some  things  very  well.  But  the  phrenological  exhibi- 
tion was  ridiculous,  and  it  appeared  to  me  mere  acting. 

Tuesday,  A.  J\L,  February  28.  —  On  board  the  Emma  Isi- 
dora,  a  small  ship  bound  for  Smyrna ;  and  were  present  at 
the  parting  scene  with  Mr.  D.  B.  Stoddard,  late  Tutor  in 
Yale  College.  We  saw  the  Rev.  Mr.  Perkins  and  lady, 
now  returning  with  the  worthy  bishop,  Mar  Yohannan.  and 
with  them  several  young  missionaries.  A  solemn  religious 
service  was  performed,  a  large  crowd  of  people  being  as- 
sembled in  and  around  the  ship.  The  scene  was  touching, 
and  the  impression  solemn  and  happy 

Saturday  Morning,  March  26.  —  Another  week  of  labors 
and  cares  is  finished,  and  our  public  exertions  have  been 
crowned  with  entire  success.  Civilities  and  various  engage- 
ments have  multiplied  upon  us,  until  all  our  fragments  of 
time  are  taken  from  us.  A  cluster  of  social  interviews, 
especially  in  the  evening,  almost  used  us  up,  and  it  was  a 
real  relief  to  sit  at  Mr.  Mason's  table,  with  him  and  his 
most  agreeable  family  ;  and  we  had  quiet  interviews  at  Mr. 
Pliny  Cutler's,  and  a  delightful  family  sitting  at  Mr.  11.  H. 
Dana's,  Jr.,  with  themselves  alone,  in  their  quiet,  elegant 
parlor 

Last  evening  we  finished  our  labors  in  the  Lowell  Insti- 
tute, with  entire  success  in  the  whole  series  of  four  years 
(besides  the  two  years  before  the  Lowell  courses  began). 
God  be  praised  !  There  has  been  no  failure  of  health,  or 
of  punctuality,  or  of  any  experiment,  during  the  popular 
course  of  geology,  1835,  and  of  chemistry  in  1836,  and  of 
the  Lowell  courses,  —  six  years  in  all.  The  last  lecture  on 
galvanism  gave  great  delight  to  both  audiences.  I  have 
been  very  ably  assisted  by  my  affectionate  son,  and  by  our 
devoted  artist,  Mr.  Wightman. 

The  following  paragraph  is  from  the  "  Boston 
Transcript"  of  March  30,  1843:- 


398  LIFE   OF   BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

"Professor  Silliman,  whom  all  the  Bostonians  love  as  a 
Christian,  and  honor  as  a  man  of  science,  concluded  his 
series  of  valuable  and  instructive  lectures  to  one  of  his  au- 
diences, and  will  complete  this  evening,  before  another  audi- 
ence, his  engagements  in  the  Lowell  Institute,  which,  as  is 
well  known,  have  been  continued  for  four  years,  and  have 
diffused  among  our  people  much  useful  knowledge,  exciting, 
as  we  do  not  doubt,  many  a  dormant  intellect,  and  compel- 
ling the  awakened  mind  to  renewed  activity  and  investiga- 
tion. Admiring  as  we  do  the  perfection  of  science  exhib- 
ited continually  by  the  lecturer  in  all  that  he  has  undertaken 
to  explain,  we  have  yet  a  higher  love  and  reverence  for  that 
beautiful  exhibition  of  divine  truth  to  which  Mr.  Silliman 
constantly  alludes,  'as  seen  in  the  wonderful  works  which 
he  has  successfully  presented  as  designed  by  the  Almighty 
power,  and  made  known  to  man  by  human  intelligence. 
This  is  the  source  of  our  respect  for  this  accomplished  Pro- 
fessor, in  comparison  with  which  our  admiration  for  his 
scientific  attainments  sinks  into  insignificance.  In  the  con- 
clusion of  last  evening's  lecture,  Mr.  Silliman  paid  a  just 
encomium  to  the  progress  of  art  and  science  in  Boston, 
and  ended  with  a  heartfelt  tribute  to  the  city  itself  and  its 
excellent  citizens.  *  This  noble  city,'  he  said,  '  for  which 
his  prayer  was,  that  peace  might  be  within  her  walls,  and 
prosperity  within  her  palaces.' " 

He  thus  finishes  the  record  of  his  work  in  Bos- 
ton:  — 

In  concluding  my  labors  in  Boston  during  the  six  anxious 
years, —  the  most  arduous  scientific  engagements  of  my  life, 
—  I  did  not  indulge,  and  have  never  felt  any  sentiment  of 
pride  or  vanity.  Deeply  impressed  with  my  responsibility 
for  the  honor  of  Yale  College,  and  with  still  higher  moral 
obligations,  and  being  ably  assisted  by  my  excellent  son 
and  a  devoted  artist,*  I  labored  earnestly  to  fulfil  every 
*  Mr.  Wightman,  philosophical  instrument-maker  in  Boston. 


LETTERS  FROM  PROFESSOR  KINGSLEY.  399 

duty.  By  God's  blessing,  to  whom  be  all  the  honor,  our 
efforts  were  crowned  with  glorious  success,  and  I  was 
satisfied. 


The  following  are  letters  interchanged  between 
him  and  Professor  Kingsley,  in  the  period  covered 
by  the  preceding  chapter.  The  first  gives  an  account 
of  the  ceremonies  at  the  commemoration  of  the  first 
settlement  of  New  Haven. 

FROM    PROFESSOR   KINGSLEY. 

NEW  HAVEN,  May  2, 1838. 

THE  anniversary  of  the  25th  of  April  is  past, 

and  you  will  readily  believe  me  when  I  say  that  I  feel 
relieved  from  a  heavy  burden.  You  have  seen,  from  the 
newspapers,  the  printed  accounts  which  contain  the  chief 
particulars,  but  with  some  circumstantial  errors.  I  advised 
Benjamin  *  to  send  you  the  "  Palladium  "  and  "  Register  " 
of  this  town,  as  well  as  the  "  Herald."  You  will  see  from 
the  statements  in  all  these  that  the  affair  has  upon  the 
whole  gone  off  very  well,  and  without  the  intervention  of 
any  disturbing  political  or  sectarian  feeling.  The  exercises 
in  George  Street  were  very  impressive.  Mr.  Hotchkiss,  as 
you  know,  has  a  stentorian  voice,  and  the  thousands  on  the 
fences,  houses,  and  trees,  as  well  as  in  the  streets,  must  have 
heard  him  with  perfect  distinctness.  The  tunes  from  Stern- 
hold  and  Hopkins,  selected  by  Mr.  Bacon,  were  sung  with 
great  effect.  The  house  was  crowded  to  overflowing ;  and 
I  was  at  first  doubtful  whether  I  should  be  able  to  make 
myself  heard  by  so  great  a  multitude.  By  the  time,  how- 
ever, I  had  uttered  a  few  sentences,  I  was  satisfied  that 
there  was  no  cause  of  fear  on  this  account.  This  new  con- 
viction gave  me  of  course  confidence  and  strength  ;  and  I 
spoke  about  an  hour  and  a  half,  without  much  difficulty. 
#Mr.  Silliman,Jr.-F. 


400  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN   SILLIMAN. 

When  I  found  my  voice  failing,  I  called  to  my  aid  Mr 
Goodrich,  who  had  read  over,  the  evening  before,  a  part  of 
the  manuscript,  so  as  to  be  ready  for  such  an  emergency. 
My  friends  have  expressed  quite  as  much  satisfaction  in 
the  performance,  as  I  could  wish  ;  and  more  than,  in  my 
own  conviction,  the  piece  will  give  when  read  apart  from 
the  excitement  of  the  occasion.  In  reply  to  some  of  your 
questions,  I  am  able  to  state,  that  the  ode  first  sung  in  the 
house  was  written  by  young  Mr.  Bacon,  who  graduated  last 
Commencement ;  the  hymn  at  the  conclusion  was  written 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Bacon,  who  selected  likewise  the  words  of  the 
Anthem,  which  were  set  to  music  by  Mr.  Fitch. 

Mr.  Croswell  was  invited  to  read  the  Scripture?,  but  for 
some  reason  declined ;  and  this  service  was  performed  by 
Mr.  Bennett.  You  must  excuse  my  saying  so  much  of 
what  relates  more  or  less  directly  to  myself.  I  know  the 
interest  you  took  in  this  anniversary ;  and  have  supposed 
that  these  details  would  not  be  unacceptable.  The  his- 
torical discourse  is  about  going  to  press. 

FROM   PROFESSOR    KINGSLEY. 

NEW  HAVEN,  March  24,  1841. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  letter  of  Monday  was  quite  refresh- 
ing. Not  that  I  have  felt  any  apprehensions  about  the  suc- 
cess of  your  lectures,  especially  after  your  former  experience 
in  Boston  ;  yet  it  is  gratifying  to  have  it  under  your  own 
hand,  that  you  have  reason  to  believe  that  "  Mr.  Lowell 
and  the  public  are  satisfied."  The  attentions  you  have  re- 
ceived must  have  made  your  time  pass  more  pleasantly, 
and  perhaps  may  be  considered  as  evidence  not  only  of 
personal  regard,  but  of  kind  feeling,  or  at  least  of  the 
absence  of  all  unkind  feelings,  towards  our  College.  I  am 
sure  that  there  is  here  no  hostility  to  Cambridge  ;  indeed, 
I  have  always  considered  the  prosperity  of  that  institution 
as  highly  favorable  to  the  prosperity  of  ours.  I  have  ob- 
tained a  copy  of  Mr.  Quincy's  history,  and  of  course  do  not 


LETTERS  FROM  PROFESSOR  KINGSLEY.  401 

wish  you  to  purchase  one  for  me,  as  I  told  you  I  possibly 
might.  On  reading  the  work  more  attentively,  my  first 
impressions  are  confirmed.  Not  that  I  suppose  that  it 
contains  any  designed  misrepresentation,  but  for  some  rea- 
son or  other,  there  are  in  it  demonstrable  errors  in  point 
of  fact,  particularly  as  respects  Yale  College  ;  and  I  think 
likewise  that  there  are  in  the  book  very  manifest  errors  in 
point  of  opinion.  The  latter,  of  course,  it  would  be  more 
difficult  to  prove  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  public ;  yet  even 
here  I  should  not  despair  of  some  success.  The  work  as 
a  literary  performance  has  certainly  great  merit ;  and  the 
body  of  the  information  in  it  is  without  doubt  correctly 
given.  Whether  I  shall  make  any  remarks  on  this  work 
publicly,  is  still  uncertain.  If  I  should  determine  on  it, 
I  shall  find  it  necessary,  perhaps,  to  visit  Boston  to  con- 
sult a  few  books,  which  I  cannot  procure  here  ;  or  I  have 
thought  of  trying  to  borrow  several  volumes  through  my 

friend  Mr.  Worcester College  is  very  quiet 

There  are  some  things  in  the  present  religious  movements 
which  I  can  hardly  approve  of;  but  I  hope  for  the  best. 
One  evidence  of  the  "  genuineness  of  the  work,"  is,  that  our 

Faculty  meetings  pass  off  with  little  or  no  business 

I  have  received  from  Dr.  Beck  a  copy  of  the  pamphlet  on 
the  proposed  changes  in  the  studies  at  Cambridge.  This 
is  a  much  more  radical  proceeding  than  I  anticipated.  I 
am  a  little  curious  to  see  the  operation  of  the  new  system. 
I  am  not  bigoted  in  my  attachment  to  old  plans  of  study ; 
nor  am  I  disposed  to  be  caught  with  every  novelty.  Let 
them  at  Cambridge  try  experiments,  and  we  will  try  to 
profit  by  them.  They  are  better  able  to  experiment  than 
we  are.  .  . 


26 


402  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 


TO    PROFESSOR   KINGSLET. 

BOSTON,  March  22, 1841. 

WE  have  received  many  kind  attentions,  and 

they  have  been  much  increased  by  Susan's  *  residence  with 
us,  which  has  brought  in  a  great  wave  of  ladies,  — some  of 
the  most  noble  and  famed  being  on  the  top  of  the  billow. 
The  Quincy  family  have  been  particularly  attentive  and 
kind  ;  nearly  every  member  of  the  family  has  called,  —  the 

President  very  early I  suppose  Mrs.  S.  told  you 

that  Mr.  Q.  presented  two  copies  of  his  history,  —  one  for  our 
library,  and  another  to  myself,  —  with  a  friendly  letter.  Prob- 
ably Mrs.  S.  read  to  you  his  rejoinder  to  my  thanks  for  his 

civility Dr.  Walker  is  a  very  interesting  man.    I 

have  made  no  allusion  to  your  criticisms  on  the  history, 
except  in  conversation  with  Mr.  Jeremiah  Mason,  who  did 
not  appear  to  be  aware  of  the  facts,  and  I  much  doubt 
whether  there  is  any  purpose  to  do  injustice.  Mr.  Q.  is  a 
very  ardent  man.  Mr.  Gannett  is  laboring  very  hard  to 
illustrate  his  views  of  the  doctrines  of  grace.  I  heard  him 
last  evening  for  two  hours  and  twenty  minutes  on  Regen- 
eration. He  was  very  able  and  impressive  and  eloquent, 
and  said  many  excellent  things.  I  cannot  pretend  to  enter 
on  his  peculiarities.  I  can  tell  you  something  about  them 
when  we  meet.  One  thing,  however,  I  will  add.  His  allu- 
sions to  the  views  of  the  Orthodox  were  candid  and  decorous, 
and  such  as  become  a  Christian  gentleman.  His  house  is 
every  Sunday  evening  crowded  to  the  utmost,  aisles  and  all, 
to  hear  these  lectures.  From  what  I  hear  of  the  religious 
influence  in  College,  I  trust  you  have  had  quiet  times,  and 
will  have.  May  God  prosper  every  genuine  religious  in- 
fluence upon  the  hearts  of  those  young  men,  so  interesting 
to  their  friends  and  their  country. 

*  Mrs.  SiUiman,  Jr.  — F. 


LETTER  TO  PROFESSOR  KINGSLEY?  403 

* 
TO   PROFESSOR   KINGSLET. 

BOSTON,  March  20, 1842. 

I  HAVE  been  particularly  gratified  to  learn  from 

Mr.  Lamed,  that  you  had  a  half  hour  Faculty  meeting,  and 
that  everything  is  quiet  at  College  :  I  trust  it  will  continue 
so,  as  examination  is  impending.  Mrs.  Silliman,  I  suppose, 
informed  you  that  President  Quincy  was  almost  the  first 
gentleman  to  salute  me,  and  with  much  cordiality  of  courtesy, 
on  the  stage,  at  the  conclusion  of  Dr.  Walker's  lecture,  the 
evening  of  our  arrival.  He  called  at  our  lodgings  the  next 
day,  and  left  his  card,  as  we  were  not  in.  Yesterday  week 
I  dined  at  his  son's,  Mr.  Josiah  Quincy,  with  a  considerable 
party  of  the  aristoi  and  the  plousioi,  where  he  and  the 
President  were  very  polite,  and  yesterday  we  made  our 
calls  in  Cambridge,  —  at  Dr.  Beck's  ;  at  the  new  library, 
and  on  Dr.  Harris,  the  Librarian ;  and  last,  at  the  President's. 
There  was  no  abatement  of  kindness  on  the  part  of  the 
family,  —  and  ladies  are  more  sensitive,  and  not  always  as 
well  disciplined  in  suppressing  riled  feelings  as  men.  I 
have  not  heard  a  word  from  any  Unitarian  or  college  man 
or  college  friend,  which  would  enable  me  to  infer  that  they 
had  or  had  not  read  certain  criticisms.*  ....  Dr.  Taylor 
regretted  that  the  articles  had  not  been  struck  off  separately 
for  extensive  distribution,  and  we  concluded  that  the  author 
ought  to  pursue  his  investigations,  and  publish  a  complete 
history  of  Yale  College,  to  which  these  criticisms  and  all 
others  that  are,  or  may  be,  digested  may  be  appended.  I 
hope  you  will  not  neglect  this  subject,  for  there  neither 
is,  nor  ever  will  be,  any  one  who  can  do  the  work  well  but 
yourself. 

While  Professor  Silliman  was  gaining  his  great 
success  in  Boston,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  know- 

*  Professor  Kingsley's  articles  on  President  Quincy'a  History  of  Harvard 
College.  —  F. 


404  4     LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

ing  that  his  labors  were  appreciated  in  foreign  coun- 
tries. 

FROM   REV.   R.   R.    GURLET. 

WASHINGTON,  November  25, 1841. 

Too  long  have  I  neglected  to  express  my  obligations  for 
the  letters  with  which  you  were  pleased  to  honor  me  when 
about  to  embark  for  England,  and  my  regret  that  I  saw  so 
little,  while  there,  of  your  excellent  friends,  Dr.  Daubeny 
and  Professor  Buckland.  I  enjoyed,  however,  repeated 
interviews  with  both,  and  had  the  happiness  to  hear  from 
them  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect  and  regard  for  your- 
self. From  both  I  was  requested  to  bear  to  you  the  assur- 
ances of  their  warm  esteem  and  friendship.  Dr.  Buckland 
I  first  met  at  the  British  Association,  in  Glasgow,  when  at 
a  public  dinner  in,  the  theatre,  to  about  one  thousand 
gentlemen,  I  was  favored  with  an  opportunity  of  publicly 
expressing  my  admiration  of  your  character,  and  my  re- 
gret that  you  were  not  present  to  represent,  better  than 
any  other  American  could  do,  the  cause  of  science  in 
our  country.  And  you  may  be  assured,  that  among  the 
purest  pleasures  experienced  by  me  while  abroad,  was 
that  arising  from  the  applause  which  your  name  excited 
throughout  that  great  and  learned  assembly.  Dr.  Daubeny 
kindly  invited  me  to  Oxford,  but  it  was  not  in  my  power  to 
visit  that  place.  I  subsequently  dined  with  Dr.  Buckland, 
Lord  Northampton,  the  sculptor  Chantrey,  Professor  AVhe- 
well,  and  other  gentlemen  of  science,  at  the  Geological 
Club,  and  attended  the  meeting  of  the  Society  in  the  even- 
ing. I  cannot  but  hope,  my  dear  sir,  that  having  by  ardu- 
ous efforts  in  the  cause  of  science  and  humanity,  won  so 
bright  a  fame  in  Europe,  as  well  as  America,  you  will  yet 
revisit  England  to  renew  your  personal  intercourse  with 
those  who  love  and  admire  you  there,  thus  receiving  and 
imparting  happiness,  which  you  never  fail  to  do  in  every 
intelligent  and  refined  society. 


LETTER  FROM  CHANCELLOR  KENT.  405 

In  1842,  Professor  Silliman  gave  the  Address  to 
the  Alumni  of  Yale  College,  the  reception  of  a  copy 
of  which  was  thus  acknowledged  in  a  letter 

FROM   CHANCELLOR   KENT. 

NEW  YORK,  October  30, 1842. 

My  DEAR  SIR,  —  I  thank  you  for  your  address  before  the 
Alumni  of  Yale  College.  Though  I  heard  it  delivered,  I 
have  read  it  with  renewed,  and  indeed  increased,  interest. 
I  delight  in  the  visions  of  ancient  reminiscences,  and,  when 
I  was  at  New  Haven  I  saw,  with  a  pang,  the  desolate  ground 
where  the  President's  old  house  stood. 

Your  pamphlet  affords  me  an  apology  for  writing  to  you, 
for  you  must  know  that  I  was  deeply  attracted  by  your  ear- 
liest publication,  and  the  charm  of  your  style,  taste,  ability, 
learning,  and  moral  character,  has  been  ever  since  growing 
with  my  years  and  strengthening  with  my  judgment.  You 
are  aware,  I  presume,  that  I  take  your  "  Journal  of  Science," 
and  have  it  ab  initio.  The  address  in  the  October  num- 
ber before  the  geologists  at  Boston,  interested  me  exceed- 
ingly, and  I  have  much  to  regret  that  I  am  so  ignorant  of 
the  sciences,  except,  perhaps,  that  I  may  be  permitted  to 
claim  some  skill  in  the  science  of  law.  Of,  the  physical 
sciences,  I  am  much  attracted  and  delighted  by  astronomy 
and  geology.  I  ran  over  lately,  by  way  of  a  refresher,  Mrs. 
Sornerville's  delightful  sketch  of  the  "  Connection  of  the 
Physical  Sciences,"  and  some  of  the  earliest  of  the  English 
Quarterlies  first  drew  my  attention  to  the  sublime  science 
of  geology.  I  spent  an  evening  with  a  party  in  this  city, 
where  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lyell  were  present.  I  had  not  much 
conversation  with  him,  for  everybody  was  about  him,  and  I 
was  occupied  very  much  with  the  attractive  conversation  of 
his  wife.  He  told  me  he  was  the  author  of  one  of  the  early 
reviews  on  the  geology  of  Central  France.  I  own,  and 
have  read  and  studied,  his  two  volumes  on  the  "  Elements," 
and  his  four  volumes  on  the  "  Principles  of  Geology,"  and 


406  LIFE  OF  BENJAMIN  SILLIMAN. 

yet  I  feel  humble  at  the  reflection  how  little  I  know  of  the 
sciences  in  which  you  are  so  great  a  master.  But  you  must 
pardon  my  intrusion.  I  ventured  lately,  for  the  first  time 
in  my  life,  to  address  an  English  judge,  and  I  stated  in  a 
letter  to  Lord  Denman,  (Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's 
Bench,)  that  "  though  I  had  never  the  honor  of  a  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  any  judicial  character  in  Eng- 
land, yet,  that  my  familiarity  with  the  English  law,  and 
with  the  decisions  of  the  English  courts  for  the  last  half 
century,  made  me  feel  as  if  I  was  in  some  degree  address- 
ing a  companion."  He  replied  more  liberally,  and  said, — 
"  He  adopted  the  expression,  and  desired  to  add  to  it  "  (in 
its  application  to  me)  "  a  Guide  and  a  P'riend."  Now,  after 
that,  I  need  not  be  afraid  of  addressing  you  as  familiarly 
as  I  do.  I  have  long  since  made  up  my  mind  that  the 
discoveries  in  geology  are  not  unfavorable  to  the  Christian 
faith  in  the  Bible.  The  argument  is  conclusive,  that  the 
Holy  Scriptures  were  intended  for  man  as  a  moral  and  ac- 
countable being,  and  not  to  teach  him  physical  philosophy. 
The  boundless  antiquity  of  the  elements  of  geology,  and 
the  recent  creation  of  man,  are  indisputable  facts.  No  fos- 
sil evidences  of  the  existence  of  man,  prior  to  the  Mosaic 
date,  are  to  be  found,  and  that  fact  discloses  awful  and  sub- 
lime results,  and  shows  that  man  might  have  been  created 
perfect  in  his  mind  and  body,  by  extraordinary  and  omnipo- 
tent agency,  as  told  in  Genesis.  The  fact  gives  vast  energy 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  immaterial  soul  and  immortal  destiny 
of  man,  as  disclosed  in  the  Scriptures. 

Wishing  you  every  success  and  every  happiness,  I  am, 
with  my  best  respects  to  Mrs.  Silliman, 

Your  obedient  servant, 

PROFESSOR  SILLIMAN.  JAMES  KENT. 

English  travellers,  not  unfrequently,  brought  to  him 
letters  of  introduction.  His  kindness  and  hospitality 
never  failed  to  leave  upon  them  agreeable  impressions. 


LETTER  FROM  CAPTAIN  BASIL  HALL.  407 


FROM    CAPTAIN   BASIL    HALL. 

EDINBURGH,  February  22,  1837. 

IT  affords  me  much  pleasure  to  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  sending  you  Mrs.  Hall's  compliments  and  my  own, 
and  of  assuring  you  that  we  remember,  and  ever  shall  re- 
member, your  very  kind  attentions  to  us,  and  those  of  Mrs. 
Silliman  and  your  two  daughters.  Our  little  girl,  also,  to 
whom  you  were  so  kind,  though  she  has  forgotten  all  about 
her  transatlantic  travels,  is  kept  in  the  full  knowledge  of 
the  hospitality  with  which  she,  as  well  as  her  papa  and 
mamma,  were  received  in  America.  We  have  been  great 
wanderers  since  we  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you ;  but 
we  always  look  back  to  America  with  the  warmest  feelings 
of  gratitude,  not  merely  to  those  friends  to  whom  we  were 
personally  known,  but  to  the  country  generally,  and  if  I 
had  not  become  old  and  stiff  and  lazy,  I  might  venture 
again  across  the  Atlantic ;  for  I  should  suppose,  from  all  I 
hear,  that  in  the  few  years  which  have  elapsed  since  I  visited 
the  United  States,  the  circumstances  have  changed  so  as  to 
make  it  a  different  country.  I  wish  you  joy,  with  all  my 
heart,  of  your  railway  sort  of  speed,  and  hope  that  your 
happiness  and  success,  in  all  respects,  may  keep  pace  with 
your  speed  in  national  progress. 

Ever,  very  dear  sir, 

Most  sincerely  yours, 

BASIL  HALL. 


END  OP  VOL.  I. 


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143  Life  of  Benjamin  Silliman 

S5F5 

v.l 

Physical  & 
Applied  Sci.