264 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



youngest iDurgess of the guild." His portrait was also painted by- 

 request, that it might have a j)lace in the Scottish Portrait Gal- 

 lery. It now hangs there, an admirable work of art by Sir George 

 Reid, President of the Scottish Academy. To Sir Daniel, Edin- 

 burgh was (in his own words) "as Jerusalem was to the royal 

 Hebrew, or the city of the violet crown to the old Athenian " ; 

 and these marks of the esteem and personal regard of his early 

 friends and their children were specially grateful and cheering. 

 On his return home the elasticity of his spirits was noted by his 

 friends and correspondents. A busy winter followed, in which 

 his energy and intellectual force showed themselves in no way 

 abated. Then, almost suddenly, the end came. A brief and near- 

 ly painless illness closed with his death on August G, 1892, in the 

 seventy-seventh year of his age. 



His life was, as he himself said, "a singularly happy one." 

 " I have been fortunate," he wrote, " beyond my deserts, and seem 

 to have had far more than my share of God's best gifts." The 

 qualities which insured this singular happiness appear to deserve 

 particular note. A naturally sanguine and sunny temperament 

 had doubtless much to do with it, but the main element was un- 

 questionably his entire unselfishness. His thoughts were con- 

 stantly for others, and were only for himself so far as the power 

 of serving others was concerned. This disposition was quickly 

 evident to all with whom he came in contact, and was evinced in 

 many ways, great and small. " His colleagues," we are told by 

 one who knew him intimately, " noted his extreme thoughtfulness 

 for others and forgetfulness of self. This naturally led to har- 

 monious relations and strong attachments. One writes, "My 

 friendship for him is one of the sweetest recollections of my 

 life " ; and he was not alone in the expression of such a feeling. 

 In his students he took a deep personal interest, frequently invit- 

 ing them to his house. In their debating societies, sports, and 

 Young Men's Christian Association they could always rely on his 

 practical sympathy. No length of years diminished his interest 

 in a former student's fortunes. The result was a strong affection 

 for him, which was displayed whenever an occasion offered. 



A striking characteristic, we are told, " was his unfailing fun. 

 It made his home a very merry one. His letters are full of it, 

 and remind one of Thackeray in their humor. With his students 

 a joke was a more potent weapon for maintaining order than a 

 reproof. He would cleverly turn the laugh of the class against 

 some idler or disturber of the peace. Senate and council meet- 

 ings were relieved of their tedium by his ready wit ; and when in 

 good spirits and he was rarely otherwise he was a great ac- 

 quisition to any social gathering. In early days he wrote valen- 

 tines for his daughters, and was found out in delivering one of 



