104 LIFE AND EXPERIENCES CHAP. 



Scott was a man of remarkable power, and his influence 

 upon those who came into personal contact with him 

 was profound. It was to his memory that George 

 Macdonald dedicated his novel Robert Falconer. " To 

 the man who stands highest in the oratory of my 

 memory, Alexander John Scott, I, daring, presume to 

 dedicate this book." He was, however, wanting in 

 business habits, and he did not understand how to 

 raise up a university college in the Manchester of 

 those early days. Soon after my appointment he 

 resigned his office, and Dr. Greenwood became Prin- 

 cipal. He was exactly the man for the post. A 

 scholar and classic, he had wide sympathies, and under- 

 stood that if the college was to succeed it must be on 

 modern lines. He had the satisfaction of seeing his 

 handiwork prosper, but always acknowledged that this 

 prosperity was greatly due to the help he received 

 from his colleagues. 



On taking up my duties at the college as the Pro- 

 fessor of Chemistry I found my old friend Frederic 

 Guthrie installed as the sole assistant, and Joseph 

 Hey wood as the famulus. Dittmar continued to act 

 as my private assistant, and we worked together on 

 various subjects in physical chemistry, especially on 

 the solubility of gases in water and on the com- 

 position of the aqueous acids, the results of which 

 have found their due place in the structure of modern 

 chemistry. I also encouraged research among the older 

 students, and before long my laboratory became known 

 as one where a man could get a training in research 

 methods, with the result that in those early years a 

 considerable number of original communications were 

 contributed to the scientific societies. 



An American professor once said that the task of 

 an investigator requires for its success the toughness 



