CHAPTER V. 



PROFESSORIAL LIFE. 



JAMES FORBES'S election to the Chair of Natural Philo- 

 sophy took place oil the 30th January, 1833, and as he 

 had not to enter on its active duties till next November, 

 he had nine months to prepare for the new task that 

 awaited him. When he was elected he was under 

 twenty- four, and he had to take the place of a professor 

 who had made himself a name in his generation. But 

 to the work before him he girt himself with all the 

 energy and courage of opening manhood, and with a 

 methodical and sober wisdom beyond his years. His 

 feelings of satisfaction at success were well tempered 

 by thoughts which do not often occur to one so young. 



The way in which he viewed his then situation is 

 seen in a confidential letter to his sister, written in the 



May alt- r the election: 



'PARIS, MayZQth, 1833. 



' DEAR SISTER, 



4 ... Were I asked whether I derived more 

 unmixed pleasure from my recent appointment, or 

 from my tour in Switzerland, I must answer, from the 

 T; for however intense and piquant the pleasures 

 derived from one's position in society may be, they 

 undoubtedly fall far short in singleness, purity, and 

 charm in retrospect to intercourse with nature where 

 we have nothing to regret, where the pursuit is the 



