XV1U 



" morning till late in the evening in other words, what would in the 

 " case of most people, be called ' his whole time ; ' and compass investi- 

 " gation of the most minute and severe nature, undertaken after mid- 

 " night, and carried on far into the morning hours by a man whose brain 

 " had been working all day, and must work again the next day, can 

 " hardly be called ' the amusement of lighter hours.' The same remark 

 " applies to vacations, during which his magnetic papers were constantly 

 " with him on railway journeys, on board the yacht, the last subject of 

 " his thoughts at night, the first in the morning, at one time depriving 

 " him, to an alarming extent, of the power of sleep ; for, unlike the 

 " labours of law, these abstruse subjects cannot be dismissed at will. 



" The fact is that, in addition to the love of science for her own sake, 

 " he was penetrated by the conviction of the usefulness of his work. 

 " His splendid abilities, supported by a constitution of unusual vigour, 

 " were freely and heartily devoted to the service of his country, and the 

 " good of his fellow-creatures. * Think how many lives it will save,' was 

 " his answer to an anxious friend who begged him to relinquish labours 

 " so exhausting, and to give himself ordinary rest. But the inevitable 

 " result followed ; and though in earlier days it had seemed as if nothing 

 " could hurt his constitution, and his friends might anticipate for him 

 " the length of days for which many of his family had been remarkable, 

 " yet the continued mental strain did its work too surely, and in 1870 

 " he was compelled to give up his profession with shattered health, to 

 " spend two short years with those he loved, and then sink into a prema- 

 " ture grave. You observe that ' from the very commencement of his 

 " career Her Majesty's Government (to their credit be it said) appreciated 

 " the supreme importance of his researches.' In justice to the Grovern- 

 " ment, it ought also to be mentioned, that they asked [twelve years ago] 

 " what acknowledgment should be made to him for work undertaken at 

 " their request, and when Smith named a watcJi, it was presented to him by 

 " the Admiralty. The testimonial presented to him during the past year, 

 " ' not as representative of the money value of his researches, but as a 

 " ' mark of their appreciation of their worth,' and still more, the graceful 

 " letter in which Mr. Goschen intimated to him that it was awarded, 

 " gave him pleasure, and his friends must always be glad that it did not 

 " come too late. 



" The truth is, Sir and it is for this reason that I address you that 

 " services such as his, rendered at such heavy cost to himself and his 

 " sorrowing friends, deserve the highest reward which can be given, 

 " namely, the gratitude of the nation." 



One more extract in conclusion. The following from the ' Solicitors' 

 Journal and Eeporter ' of January llth, 1873, contains a brief statement 

 regarding the estimation in which Smith was held in relation to his legal 

 profession, and concludes with words in which the writer of this article 

 wishes to join, and therefore gives without quotation marks : 



