LECTURES IN HARTFORD. 341 



April 9, 1834, enclosed an official communication signed 

 by Daniel Wadsworth. (private citizen.) Thomas S. Wil- 

 liams, (member of Congress and Judge,) Thomas Day, 

 (Judge,) Joel Hawes, (minister of the First Church.) The 

 following passages are extracted : " After the interesting 

 lecture on geology, which you so kindly gave at Hartford 

 last winter, January 10, 1834, a lively interest was felt to 

 hear a full course from you on the same subject." " Our 

 object in writing is to express the pleasure which we should 

 receive from hearing a course of lectures on geology, and 

 to ask whether you will be able and willing to attend here 

 for that purpose." There was enclosed a subscription of 

 two hundred dollars, with an assurance that it would in 

 all probability be largely increased. The actual result was 

 three hundred and fifty dollars. 



This course was attended by from three to four hundred 

 persons from among the most intelligent and estimable 

 people of the place. The lecture-room of the Centre 

 Church, that of Rev. Dr. Hawes, was conceded to me 

 without charge, and I of course had a welcome home at 

 Mr. Daniel Wadsworth's. I had a considerable collection 

 of drawings, and had selected numerous specimens of min- 

 erals and fossils to illustrate my subject ; they were stored 

 in a room in the wing of Mr. Wadsworth's house, and every 

 morning before breakfast, I devoted an hour in the lecture- 

 room to meet those persons who wished to see the speci- 

 mens more fully, and to hear additional explanations of 

 them. The number of individuals who attended this sec- 

 ond meeting was not indeed large, but they were attentive 

 and interested. The number of lectures in a week was 

 two and three, and the audience manifested decided satis- 

 faction, while by this first experience out of New Haven, 

 I was encouraged to listen to the next overture. I re- 

 ceived a warm vote of thanks from the gentlemen who 

 invited me to Hartford. 



