RUSKIN MALVERN SCOTLAND 



265 



May 6, Monday. We went to hear Mr. Ruskin lecture on the "Swal- 

 low." We were disappointed; even his drawings on the blackboard were 

 not remarkable ; more than that, Mr. Shaler was exasperated by the state- 

 ment he made that men of science had given no attention to so remarkable 

 a phenomenon as the flight of birds. On his way out he said to one of the 

 professors, "Is it possible that Ruskin knows nothing of Marais' great 

 work on the flight of birds? "Of course, he knows all about it, but it 

 doesn't suit his purpose to recognize it here." "Hypocrite!" exclaimed 

 Mr. Shaler, and forthwith his sentiment was confirmed by a knowing wink 

 on the part of the lecturer's colleague. 



In spite of the disillusionment as to Ruskin's veracity, 

 Mr. Shaler paid close attention to the Art School that he had 

 founded. He knew that both Mr. Norton and Mr. Charles H. 

 Moore regarded it as admirable for scope and thoroughness 

 and without parallel elsewhere in Europe. 



May 9th. We returned to Malvern late last evening; found our lodgings 

 comfortable and pleasant. Mr. Shaler not well, however, and much depressed 

 in spirits ; fears he will never regain his strength. We can only hope and 

 pray for the best. 



While undergoing a mild form of treatment at the establish- 

 ment at Malvern, Mr. Shaler made use of this health-giving 

 resort as a place of departure for excursions to the surrounding 

 towns. He also journeyed to Scotland, making a point of 

 visiting certain classic geological localities, noting with special 

 interest the glacial scratches which many years before had 

 yielded his master, Agassiz, such joy as indisputable proof of 

 his glacial theory, viz., that a great ice period had covered the 

 surface of the earth with a sheet of ice extending at least from 

 the North Pole to central Europe and Asia. Besides the asso- 

 ciation with Agassiz, Scotland was the home of Hutton, that 

 man of genius whose "immortal theory" of the earth made a 

 turning-point in the history of geology; his conception that 

 the past history of the globe must be explained by what can be 

 seen to be happening at present struck a responsive chord in 

 Mr. Shaler's mental attitude towards nature. Arthur's Seat and 

 Salisbury Crags, with their records of ancient volcanic eruptions, 



