144 LIFE OF BENJAMIN SILLIMAN. 



journal all my documents and letters of introduction. 

 Among the latter was one from the late Benjamin Doug 

 lass Perkins to Dr. George Pearson. Mr. Perkins passed 

 several years in London, occupied in diffusing the knowl 

 edge of the once celebrated metallic tractors, first applied 

 to use by his father, the late Dr. Perkins of Plainfield, 

 Connecticut. Dr. Pearson favored the efforts of B. D. 

 Perkins, and thus a personal interest was cherished between 

 them. In the introduction to Dr. Pearson, he (Perkins) 

 wrote thus : " Visiting your country with such views, 

 [explained in the preceding part of the letter,] to whom 

 could I with more propriety address him than to the oldest 

 lecturer and the greatest chemist in England ? " There 

 were then it being summer no other chemical lec 

 tures going on in London, except, perhaps, at the hospitals, 

 and as I wished to make the best use of my time, in ob 

 taining professional knowledge, and to hear moreover in 

 what manner eminent men in Europe lecture, it appeared 

 to me fortunate that I could listen to " the oldest lecturer 

 and the greatest chemist in England." I therefore took Dr. 

 Pearson's tickets. He gave lectures on three different sub 

 jects Chemistry, Materia Medica, and Therapeutics 

 in immediate succession. He began in the office connected 

 with his house, at eight o'clock A. M., and lectured forty-five 

 minutes on Chemistry ; next on Materia Medica for the 

 same time ; and last on Therapeutics forty-five minutes ; 

 finishing at fifteen minutes past ten. There was no inter 

 val for breathing or for a gentle transition to a new subject. 

 This mental repletion was not favorable to intellectual 

 digestion. I attended the lecture on Chemistry and that 

 on Materia Medica. A learned man Dr. Pearson certainly 

 was, but I was disappointed in the great advantage which 

 I had expected. The lecture-room was ill furnished, and 

 the appearance of it was shabby and even mean. The 

 apparatus was quite limited, and the experiments not 

 numerous nor well performed. The class was composed of 



