io8 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



on the part of his own countrymen, Prof. Tyndall was indignant that 

 Englishmen, who pride themselves upon fair play, should detract one 

 iota from the just fame of the unfortunate foreigner. The man was 

 unknown to him, but the rights of the discoverer and the honor of 

 science were involved, and against the attacks of Professors Thomson, 

 Tait, and others, Prof. Tyndall made a defence so effectual that the 

 claims of the German philosopher will hardly be brought in question 

 again. 



Of Prof. Tyndall as an author, it is hardly necessary to speak, as 

 his various works have been widely circulated, and the reading public 

 is familiar with them. Yet his genius as a wx*iter is so marked that it 

 cannot be omitted even in the briefest sketch of his character. Among 

 scientific writers he stands almost alone in the poetic vividness, force, 

 and finish of his style. His descriptions and narrations are enriched 

 by a bold and striking pictorial imagery, which presents the subject 

 with almost the perspective and " coloring of reality." No man better 

 understands the high office of imagination in science, or can more 

 effectively employ it to fascinate and illuminate the minds of others. 

 Of an ardent and poetic temperament, and at home among the 

 grandeurs of natural phenomena, there is often an inspiration in his 

 words that rouses and thrills our highest feelings. 



Prof. Tyndall is now among us, to speak upon science in several 

 of the chief cities of the country, and it is therefore as a lecturer that 

 the public will be chiefly interested in him. We quote an excellent 

 account of his characteristics as a public teacher from the October 

 Galaxy : 



" Prof. Tyndall's manner as a lecturer is in a remarkable degree individual 

 and unique. He never reads, but holds bis audience by the power of lucid and 

 forcible extemporaneous statement. He is not what would be called a fluent or 

 even speaker, who keeps up a continuous strain of agreeable utterance. He is 

 not an elegant declaimer, whose measured cadences are accompanied by 

 graceful and appropriate gestures. He is irregular and sometimes hesitating in 

 speecb, and unstudied in gestures and movements. His babit of speaking ha9 

 been formed in connection with bis babit of experimenting, and this latter is so 

 essential a feature of bis platform exercises that it greatly influences bis manner 

 of public address. Clearness, force, vividness of description, felicity of illustra- 

 tion, and the eloquence inspired by grand conceptions are the striking features 

 of his style. Of a poetic and imaginative temperament, but with these traits 

 under thorough discipline, he gives vivacity and attractiveness to accurate and 

 solid exposition. Prof. Tyndall is a thoroughly-trained and well-poised enthu- 

 siast in science. He is intensely in earnest, and is always as much interested 

 in the subject and the proceedings as the audience he carries with him. He is 

 a remarkable example of self-forgetfulness upon the platform, being always 

 absorbed in his subject. Strongly sympathetic with his audience, he seems 

 animated by but one purpose : to make them understand the question before 

 them, to make them see it and feel it as he sees and feels it. As an original 

 and skilful experimenter Prof. Tyndall is unrivalled. Fertile and ingenious in 

 contrivances for bringing out his points, the effects are always telling and im- 



