LINNEAN SOCIETY Or LO>'DOX. 43 



upou his career. Together with. Eay Lankester and Eutherford 

 he acted as demonstrator in 1870 to Huxley's first practical course 

 of Biology held at South Kensington ; he succeeded Huxley as 

 Pullerian Professor at the Eoyal Institution, and as Biological 

 Secretary of the Eoyal Society, and it was largely due to Huxley's 

 recommendation that in 1870 Foster left London and came to 

 Cambridge as Praelector in Physiology at Trinity College. 



The mark made by Poster on the thought and on the science of 

 his times falls, broadly speaking, under three heads. He was a 

 great teacher, profoundly influencing those who came into personal 

 contact with him. He was a great Mriter and the author of a 

 classical text-book which spread his influence far beyond the walls 

 of his lecture -room and Laboratory. He was a most capable 

 organizer, and first at Cambridge, and later in London, he initiated 

 and carried to a successful issue many important schemes for the 

 advancement of Science. 



When he first came up to Cambridge the L^niA^ersity was able to 

 assign him only one room, now part of the Philosophical Library, 

 and this served him both as laboratory and as lecture-room. Here 

 he gathered around him a small band of pupils, stimulated by his 

 enthusiasm to devote their lives to his science. Amongst these 

 may be mentioned Walter Gaskell, Prank Balfour, J, N. Langley, 

 A. "Sheridan Lea, A . G. Drew-Smith, H. Newall-Martin, A. Milnes 

 Marshall, S. H. Vines, and, later, many others. His principle of 

 teaching involved much practical work. He held " that a student 

 must see and do things for himself in order to gain a real and 

 lasting hold on any scientific subject." He was always ready to 

 discuss difficulties and to suggest solutions to difiicult problems. 

 At his coming to Cambridge the Medical School, fostered by the 

 care of Sir George Paget and Sir George Humphrey, was already 

 flourishing ; but it now grew to be one of the largest Faculties in 

 the University, and Foster was soon lecturing to large audiences. 

 At his prime, Foster was a remarkable lecturer, deliberate, slow, 

 reasoning out his siibjects as he went along, and, avoiding dog- 

 matic statement, he made his audience think. He had an admirable 

 skill in making histological sketches with but few lines, and always 

 with three coloured chalks. He used little gesticulation, stood 

 very still, rolling the chalk in his hands, and occasionally giving 

 forth most gravely some humorous thought which was punctuated 

 by a little up-look at the class, and sometimes by his characteristic 

 half-suppressed chuckle. 



During the early years at Cambridge, and before in London, 

 Foster published several original memoirs, which are enumerated 

 by Professor Langley in his article in the 'Journal of Physiology'*. 

 Later the pressure of other work prevented his investigating him- 

 self, but he was the cause of much research in others, and he took 

 the keenest and deepest interest in the work carried on by his pupils. 



Foster's ' Text-book of Physiology ' is a classic. The first edition 

 appeared in 1876, and there were many editions until, growing as 

 * Vol. XXV. 1907, p. 233. 



