178 LIFE OF BENJAMIN SILLIMAN. 



Professor Leslie was of our party at Professor Stewart's ; 

 he had honored me by calling upon me, and I was al 

 ready in some degree acquainted with him. He had not 

 the quiet, polished dignity of his friend Stewart ; his man 

 ners had a blunt frankness which, however, inspired con 

 fidence in his sincerity. His person was large. He was 

 distinguished by an ingenious and original volume contain 

 ing researches on heat. The differential thermometer was 

 described in that volume, and^jnany curious results on the 

 radiation of heat were obtained by means of this instru 

 ment. (The originality of the discovery of the differential 

 thermometer was afterwards denied in the Edinburgh 

 Journals.) Professor Leslie had travelled on the Conti 

 nent, and in his researches on heat there were occasion 

 ally poetical and picturesque allusions to scenery. He 

 visited the United States soon after the peace of 1783, at 

 the close of the American Revolution. He said that he 

 found the country poor, and the people discontented, 

 and no wonder, considering the immense expenditure of 

 money and blood by which the conflict had been sustained 

 during eight years of suffering. The election of Professor 

 Leslie was attended by a severe conflict between the Or 

 thodox party which sustained him, and the Arminian party 

 which opposed him. The latter charged him with infidel 

 ity, and the former vindicated him. A war of pamphlets 

 was carried on during the winter, and in one of them which 

 I saw, the clergy were, by name, arranged in two columns. 

 The Orthodox column was headed by Clean, and the 

 Arminian Unclean, " Tantcene animis celesf.ibus ircp, ? 

 The column of the Clean was headed by the name of the 

 President of the University, Dr. Baird ; but it should be 

 remembered that it was not placed there by himself, but 

 by the invidious rivalry of party. Professor Leslie was 

 regarded as well worthy to fill the place of his illustrious 

 predecessor, Dr. Robison. 



I was never introduced to that eminent writer, Dr. Thomas 



