His visit to Heidelberg was a higli compliment to me, for it did not 

 lie in his usual route from Switzerland to England, and I, needless to 

 say, was immensely gratified. After he had told me something of his 

 experiences in the Alps, I besought him to give up his perilous moun- 

 taineering, almost going on my knees to him in my extreme anxiety. 

 I said: "You have no right to run such risks; your life belongs to Euro- 

 pean science, not to yourself, and you are wrong to imperil it without 

 necessity." But he repUed : "There is no real danger in my cHmbing and, 

 besides, it's the only thing that does me any good. A vacation in the 

 Alps sets me up for the winter's work as nothing else will." I remained 

 unconvinced and my fears were prophetic, for my dear friend was 

 killed the following summer, when I was in the Bad Lands of South 

 Dakota. 



In the spring of 1888, almost six years later, at a dinner table in 

 London, I met Sir Martin Conway, who had started to Switzerland as 

 soon as the telegram announcing the catastrophe had reached Balfour's 

 friends in England. With melancholy interest, I listened to his account 

 of finding the bodies and his explanation of how the accident had hap- 

 pened. With only a single guide, my friend had attempted the very 

 difficult ascent of Mont Blanc from the Italian side. When far up on 

 the side of the mountain, one or the other had slipped and fallen, drag- 

 ging his companion with him. They fell for more than 1,800 feet; it 

 was consolation to know that death had been instantaneous. 



As the summer began to draw toward its close, I felt compelled to 

 work longer and longer hours. On August 3, I wrote: "I am about 

 half-dead tonight, as I have been working almost steadily since seven 

 o'clock this morning and now I am only fit for bed. As the time of my 

 departure begins to be thought upon, I grudge every minute away 

 from my work. I am getting on well, but, still, not so fast as I should 

 like. Every day I seem to do only about half of what I ought to do. . . . 

 I have just come from the other side of the Neckar, where we all went 

 to see an illumination of the castle. . . . And now, good night; I must 

 go to bed, or I shall fall to pieces. 



"Yesterday, I was surprised by receiving two calls from Professor 

 Marsh, of Yale, whom I had never before met. He was extremely 

 poHte, asked me to dine with him, which I did and spent a very pleas- 

 ant evening in talking over scientific matters. I met, at the same time, 

 Baron von Osten-Sacken, who is a celebrated Russian zoologist and, 

 apparently, a very nice old party. Gegenbaur is off for Switzerland today 

 and I shall see him no more." 



