102 LEADING AMERICAN MEN OF SCIENCE 



On his return; Silliman reached New Haven, Sunday, June i, 

 1806, and went at once to evening prayers in the College Chapel. 

 His days of tutelage were over and his career as a teacher began. 

 He soon made a comparison between the geological features of 

 New Haven and Edinburgh, and read a paper on this subject 

 before the Connecticut Academy. In the autumn, his lectures 

 began and they continued, practically without interruption, until 

 his final release from official duties. 



During this long period, Silliman was identified with Yale Col- 

 lege. No one in the faculty attracted more students, no one exerted 

 greater influence beyond the college walls. His lectures were 

 anticipated by successive classes with expectations of pleasure and 

 profit which were never disappointed. In later years, ladies were 

 regularly admitted. The lecturer was always punctual, prepared, 

 fluent and entertaining. He was skilful in the demonstrations 

 which he made before the class. After giving up the subterranean 

 room already referred to, his instructions were given in the old 

 dining-room of the College, a lecture room capable of holding 

 more than a hundred persons, with accessory rooms for prepara- 

 tions. Although this was called a laboratory, its construction and 

 its uses were very different from those now found in well-organized 

 colleges. Silliman was far from being a man of routine. He 

 threw himself, heart and soul, into the varied interests of the Col- 

 lege, and, from time to time, engaged in public affairs, as the fol- 

 lowing narrative will show. It will be more impressive to avoid 

 the chronological order in the treatment of his career, and to dis- 

 cuss, under various headings, his manifold services. 



We begin with his characteristics as a teacher of undergraduates. 



During fifty years, three men, selected by President Dwight, 

 were closely associated in the administration of Yale College. 

 Jeremiah Day began as Professor of Mathematics and afterwards 

 succeeded to the Presidency. James L. Kingsley, first a Professor 

 of Ancient Languages and Ecclesiastical History, was relieved 

 from these multiplex appointments, one after another, retaining 

 until the close of his life, the professorship of Latin. Silliman 

 began as Professor of Chemistry and Natural History, but Nat- 



