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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



Peter Lesley. 



THE LIFE OF PETER LESLEY 



The life and letters of Peter and 

 Susan Lesley have been edited by their 

 daughter, Mrs. Mary Lesley Ames, and 

 published in two volumes of consider- 

 able size by Messrs. G. P. Putnam's 

 Sons. The biography and the letters 

 are largely personal in character. They 

 are documents of human interest in 

 depicting the lives of two superior and 

 attractive personalities in their rela- 

 tions to the social conditions of New 

 England and Philadelphia during the 

 larger part of the last century. They 

 also throw some light on the history 

 of science in this country. 



Lesley was born in Philadelphia in 



1819 of Scotch presbyterian stock and 

 dedicated to the ministry. His health 

 being broken at the age of nineteen he 

 obtained a place as assistant in the 

 newly-organized geological survey of 

 Pennsylvania, in order that he might 

 have outdoor work for a season. Thus 

 he was drawn to geology almost by an 

 accident, as indeed it may be held that 

 the comparatively considerable con- 

 tribution of America to geology during 

 the last century was a by-product of 

 the development of our natural re- 

 sources. Lesley completed his theolog- 

 ical studies at Princeton, studied in 

 Germany at a time when this was 

 unusual, became a missionary in the 



