THE CABINET OF MINERALS. 285 



pair of horses which, as they transported loads of stone 

 from place to place, were lean and dull. Mr. Maclure was 

 at that time in his meridian. Being a teetotaller, drinking 

 nothing but water and requiring only a moderate quantity 

 of the most common articles of food, his health was perfect, 

 and his frame robust and vigorous, as his temperance was 

 associated with much travelling and with mountain excur- 

 sions on foot ; his countenance had a ruddy glow, and his 

 manners were in a high degree winning and attractive. His 

 language was pure and elevated, and his mind being im- 

 bued with the love of science, he was successful in exciting 

 similar aspirations in other, and especially in younger, minds. 

 In 1817, he was elected President of the Philadelphia 

 Academy of Natural Sciences, and he was annually reflected 



until his death At the meeting of the Geological 



Society, November 17, 1828, Mr. Maclure appeared 

 decidedly m.arked by age and infirmity. The brilliant man 

 whom I first saw twenty years before, had now hoary locks ; 

 he stooped as he walked, and an ulcer on his leg made him 

 lame. His friend, Dr. Thomas Cooper, was with him, and 

 these two celebrated men did me the honor to attend one 

 of my lectures in the chemical course, and to call at my 

 house. The principal topic was the moral relations of 

 science and the expositions it gives of the mind and 

 thoughts of the Creator, as they are recorded in his works. 

 Other topics might have been more agreeable to these 

 gentlemen. Dr. Cooper was well known as a sturdy sceptic 

 in religion, and Mr. Maclure's plans of education did not 

 include the Bible. Still all his efforts, continued through 

 forty years with an immense expenditure of money and an 

 unselfish devotion of time and effort without any personal 

 advantage, bore every mark of benevolence and good-will, 

 not only to his adopted country, but to mankind. Mr. 

 Maclure was a punctual correspondent. For about twenty 

 years, we exchanged letters, rarely, I believe, omitting a 

 year. His brother, who was his executor, kindly returned 



