598 ANNUAL, REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1925 



active to the last, and it was not until a few months before his death 

 that the busy pen was allowed to rest. From early youth until old 

 age could no longer be denied his career had been one of uninter- 

 rupted progress. When fresh from school he attracted the attention 

 of the most eminent geologists of the time; in the profession which 

 lie chose and in the societies which he joined he rose to the highest 

 posts; in every country he visited he won the respect of its most 

 eminent scientific men; every function that he attended gained in 

 significance and dignity by his presence. 



The keynote of his success was industry directed by sagacity. An 

 innate love of writing and a remarkably retentive memory kept his 

 pen always busy. The most arduous day's Avork in the field or the 

 office put no check upon his reading and writing, and both were of 

 the best, for he loved a good author and had himself cultivated the 

 power of narrating the marvels Avhich he had wrested from nature 

 in language worthy of the theme. A clear if somewhat cold judg- 

 ment controlled his actions, but in his biographical work the coldness 

 was masked b}^ a studied kindliness of expression. Though he made 

 many friends at home and abroad, his sympathies with his fellow 

 men were somewhat overshadowed by his love of nature and passion 

 for work. He did not seek collaboration, but preferred to work 

 single handed, nor could he brook criticism. 



Archibald Geikie now takes his place in history as one who has 

 enriched the world by his labors and his writings, and as one of 

 those outstanding leaders who has raised the science of geology to a 

 higher plane than that on which he found it. 



