PETER SPENCE 257 



with elegant mansions; and the distant view 

 of the Grampian mountains, the northern 

 screen of this exquisite landscape." Such 

 scenery imparts an inspiration to a nature 

 susceptible of such impressions, and is lasting 

 in its beneficial influence on life and character. 



"Though absent long, 

 These forms of beauty have not been to me 

 As is a landscape to a blind man's eye; 

 But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din 

 Of towns and cities, I have owed to them 

 In hours of weariness, sensations sweet, 

 Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart ; 

 And passing even into my purer mind, 

 With tranquil restoration." 



The industrious apprentice, the scientific 

 student, and the romantic youth is, we believe, 

 a faithful picture of Peter Spence during the 

 years he spent in the city of Perth and its 

 lovely neighbourhood. He had few helps in 

 his chemical studies, but had to depend almost 

 entirely on what books he could get; his daily 

 occupations were no assistance to him, but 

 rather the contrary. Several men, who have 

 risen to eminence as chemists, have been won 

 to the science by having been placed, in their 

 early years, amidst surroundings that invited 



