ESSAY ON THE SNAIL. 33 



permission, which he well knew he would not obtain, 

 begged the favour of the society to call upon a 

 stranger then present for his opinions on the paper 

 that had just been read. Goodsir was taken aback by 

 this appeal, and could not help himself. So he rose 

 for the first time in public arena, and pointed out 

 the anatomy and true uses of the structures in the 

 chameleon, and satisfied the author of the paper, and 

 the society of his thorough knowledge of this oft- 

 questioned and poetically- painted animal. This 

 pleasant public initiative of Goodsir was taken advan- 

 tage of by Forbes and Eeid, who, aided by J. H. 

 Bennett, now professor of the institutes of medicine — 

 a friend who knew Goodsir's strength of intellect to 

 be associated with a severe modesty — persuaded him 

 to read an account of the snail, which he had drawn 

 up, to the Anatomical and Physiological Society.* 

 This paper, so novel and elaborate and highly illus- 

 trated, surprised and delighted his audience. It is 

 characteristic of Goodsir, that this, his earliest scientific 

 communication, was only drawn forth by repeated 

 solicitations of his friends. 



When anatomy, physic, and natural history — each 

 ;n id all in succession at nights — had satisfied his 

 1 lowers of hard thought, he took to Milton and the 

 poets, Coleridge and other English writers of emi- 

 nence, amongst whom Eerschel ranked high. He 



" This essay is nol forthcoming. It. has been supposed thai he read it t" 

 the "Royal Physical;" bul the evidence i-> largely in favour of the Bociety 



menti I in the text 



I) 



