165 



upon hira by his additional duties at Cork might in some way or 

 other be reduced to one that he felt able to sustain. 



All chance of the Professorship he had looked forward to 

 obtaining having been finally removed, there seemed no prospect 

 before him but that of retiring from the Professorship he then held, 

 and settling down quietly for the remainder of his life at Penrith^ 

 where, at the house of his sister, Mrs. Pearson, he had long been 

 accustomed to make his home during the College vacations. 



Notwithstanding that, close upon the age of sixty, he was 

 beginning to feel himself unequal to the duties he had undertaken 

 to perform, his restless energy and untiring enthusiasm would not 

 allow him to take the rest he so much required, even when he 

 had the opportunity of doing so. He still continued to attend the 

 meetings of the British Association, and from time to time read 

 a paper before that body, or before the Geological Society, and 

 now and then wrote a review. 



It was about this time that Mr. Gordon, of the Penrith Grammar 

 School, was organising the valuable courses of lectures that may 

 justly be regarded as the first step towards the formation of the 

 Penrith Scientific Society. Mr. Gordon, as is very well known, 

 devoted a great deal of time and attention to this very useful work, 

 and succeeded, at least for some time, in providing, firee of charge, 

 intellectual entertainment of the highest order obtainable. Hark- 

 ness, who was. ever ready to give his active support to any under- 

 taking having for its object the diffusion of scientific knowledge, 

 cheerfully gave up part of that time his failing health required him 

 to devote to rest, and lectured here session after session until the 

 winter lectures were temporarily abandoned. Plis lectures at 

 Penrith chiefly related to Physical Geography, probably because 

 he considered that subject better adapted to the tastes of the 

 general audience of that time than one on any branch of Geology, 

 as generally understood. I remember, however, that he gave 

 one on that favourite topic of his, the Glacial Period. There 

 was another lecture, too, on the "Early History of Mankind," 

 wherein he gave a highly-condensed summary of his own extensive 

 knowledge of what bad at that; time l^en written, on that subject. 



