370 LIFE OF BENJAMIN SILLIMAN. 



seated by her on the sofa, than she handed me her ear- 

 trumpet, which I held, and she placed the other end of the 

 flexible tube in her own ear. But there was little occasion 

 to prompt her. She was very communicative, and dis 

 coursed freely about this country, not always in laudatory 

 terms, and I thought her to be bold and opinionated, but 

 very intelligent and extremely fluent." 



Last year a repeated course in the day was found to be 

 very useful, and in the present course, also, it was early 

 resolved upon, after due consultation. In a letter to Mrs. 

 Silliman, dated March 8th, the day after my first lecture, is 

 the following passage : " Our battle is won ; the course 

 opened charmingly last evening, with an attendance of at 

 least a thousand persons. We were obliged to refuse sell 

 ing any more evening tickets, and we now turn over all 

 applicants to the day-course, to begin on Wednesday, 

 March 9, at four o'clock, p. M. Our new galvanic instru 

 ment, an immense deflagrator, was put into operation yes 

 terday, and its performance was splendid, far beyond any 

 thing I ever saw, or anything known here." 



On Monday night, after my successful opening lecture, I 

 was too much excited, and too agreeably, to permit me to 

 sleep much. My mind had been overwrought, and in the 

 morning I indulged in the relaxation of writing letters. In 

 the journal I remark : " Invitations to dinner are coming 

 in, but I decline them all, on the score of my urgent en 

 gagements. I intend to reserve the day for our experi 

 mental labors, and for some little relaxation in excursions, 

 arid in seeing interesting things." We finished the prepa 

 rations for the first day's lecture by eleven o'clock, A. M., 

 which enabled me to come home and rest, so as to be pre 

 pared for my duty 



In a letter to Mrs. Silliman, dated March 17, 



after all the three lectures had been given and repeated, I 

 find the following passage. In reference to the severe 

 labor of the double course it is said : " I assure you that I 



