SCIENTIFIC INTEREST. 5 



portant of the lectures given at this period was a 

 course which I dehvered at the instance of Professor 

 Joseph Henry, in the fine lecture-room of the Smith- 

 sonian Institution at ¥/ashington. These lectures were 

 the more important, m that they secured to the un- 

 dertaking the friendship and support of Professor 

 A. D. Bache, the learned and efficient chief of the 

 United States Coast Survey. 



In April, 1858, I brought the subject before the 

 American Association for the Advancement of Sci- 

 ence, at its annual meeting held in Baltimore ; and 

 that body of representative men, at the suggestion 

 of Professor Bache, appointed sixteen of its leading 

 members a committee on "Arctic Exploration." 



It remained now only to secure the necessary ma- 

 terial aid. With this object in view, committees were 

 promptly appointed by the American Philosophical 

 Society, the Academj^ of Natural Sciences of Philadel- 

 phia, the American Geographical Society, the Lyceum 

 of Natural History of New York, the American Acad- 

 emy of Arts and Sciences, and the Boston Society of 

 Natural History. 



Subscription Hsts were at once opened by these sev- 

 eral committees, and Professor Bache, at all times fore- 

 most to promote scientific discovery, headed the list 

 with his powerful name. 



The learned Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, Professor Joseph Henry, further strengthened the 

 cause by the profl:er of scientific instruments, and this 

 was followed by the earnest support of Mr. Henry 

 Grinnell, v/hose zealous efforts and sacrifices in behalf 

 of Arctic exploration are too well known to gain any 

 thing from my commendation. 



At a subsequent period I addressed the Chamber 



