84 THE LIFE OF JAMES D. FORBES. [CHAP. 



whose achievements in science he so greatly admired, to 

 whose friendship he owed so much, must have been a 

 severe trial to Forbes, and would have made many men 

 shrink from the contest. But while he admired the per- 

 formances of his elder friend, he had confidence in his 

 own powers, and was not a man to be daunted by any 

 reputation however great. I have before me a volume 

 in which Forbes collected the printed testimonials of 

 all the candidates. It is interesting now to read over 

 some of these, and to observe the way in which the 

 same Cambridge magnates testify to the performance 

 of Brewster and to the promise of Forbes. Professor 

 Airy, the Astronomer Royal, in writing of Sir David 

 expresses his conviction ' that there is no person of the 

 present day to whom his (Brewster' s) country owes so 

 much for its scientific character as himself/ He adds, 

 that if the choice of the electors is to be determined by 

 an estimation of past services, it must fall on Brewster. 

 He consoles himself in the end with the thought that, 

 * whatever the decision of the electors between Brewster 

 and Mr. Forbes may be, it cannot be unfavourable to 

 the University/ 



Dr. Whewell said of Sir David that ' in the department 

 of optical science he had brought to light more new 

 facts and new principles than any other person in any 

 country, and he might almost say than all other observers 

 together/ 



Nothing could well be stronger than these testimonies. 

 Comparing them with the language employed by the 

 same men when speaking of Forbes, we find them testi- 

 fying that Forbes's performances were already important 

 in themselves and very remarkable as coming from one so 

 young, and they drew from these and from their knowledge 

 of himself an augury of a brilliant future. 



From among the numerous testimonials which Forbes 

 produced from men of the highest scientific name, 

 Whewell, Airy, Peacock, Buckland, Vernon Harcourt, 

 Chalmers, Sir William Hamilton of Dublin, and many 

 more all speaking one language, the following words of 



