412 THE LIFE OF JANES D. FORBES. [CHAP. 



in historical associations than any other castle in Scot- 

 land. Forbes' pleadings had some effect at the time ; 

 but to all antiquarian and historical appeals the present 

 heads of the Government Department turn a much 

 deafer, more defiant ear than their predecessors in office, 

 to whom Principal Forbes eleven years ago addressed 

 his remonstrance. 



To the REV. DR. WHEWELL. 



* ST. ANDREWS, January 12th, 1862. 



' In answer to your inquiries, I can state with confi- 

 dence that I have found every reason to be grateful for 

 the change of position which I made two years ago. 

 The burden of a duty felt to be imperfectly, and in part 

 vicariously performed with the almost certainty that 

 year by year it will be more severely felt, until it becomes 

 simply impossible is one which was to me crushing 

 both to body and spirit. In coming to St. Andrews I 

 left many pleasant and lifelong associations. But I 

 found a practicable sphere of not unwelcome duties. The 

 climate is not at all worse than that of Edinburgh, and 

 at this season, I should think, has a considerable resem- 

 blance to that of the very country where you now are ; 

 the winter isothermals running as they do nearly due 

 north and south. Moreover, as a general rule, I am not 

 obliged to go out in bad weather ; and having a tolerably 

 comfortable old-fashioned house in a sheltered situation, 

 with my books about me, I feel that Providence has in 

 every way been very kind to me. My health is certainly 

 better on the whole than even when we last met. I 

 have not attempted experiments. This place is singularly 

 unadapted for them. There is the want of assistance, 

 locality, apparatus, and artists, which I have always 

 been almost luxuriantly supplied with, and I have not 

 had the courage to do much without them. I am about 

 to commence a short course of lectures on Glaciers volun- 

 tary twice a week, of which I enclose a syllabus. 



' You kindly ask concerning the success of our College 

 Hall. I rejoice to say that it has succeeded beyond our 



