no FAMOUS SCOTS 



as those now existing. A racy sketch on The Geology 

 of the Bass formed part of a contribution to a work then 

 issued, dealing with the history, botany, and zoology of 

 the Bass Rock. The copyright of this he reserved with 

 a view to its subsequent incorporation into a long- 

 projected geological survey of Scotland. But this 

 cherished idea he never lived to accomplish, though 

 such a work from his hand would have been well-nigh 

 final and perfect in its descriptive graces. 



He was still in the enjoyment of his great physical 

 power in spite of the severe strain to which his editorial 

 and literary labours exposed him, added to as these 

 were by his appearances in London and elsewhere as a 

 public lecturer. As an exponent of science he could 

 attract an audience in Exeter Hall of five thousand 

 persons, whose attention he held to the close in spite 

 of his northern accent; though perhaps this, like the 

 Fifeshire speech of Chalmers and the Annandale 

 tongue of Carlyle, may have given an extra charm 

 to the individuality of the lecturer. The quarrel with 

 Candlish had thinned the ranks of some of his friends, 

 nor did he ever draw to the circle of Edinburgh as he 

 had done to those in Cromarty. He was not to be 

 easily got at by the eminent men who sought his ac- 

 quaintance, yet it is with pleasure we catch occasional 

 glimpses of him in the society of the best that either 

 Edinburgh or London could produce. Stewart in 

 Cromarty had passed away, in 1847, during the pro- 

 secution to him of a call to St. George's to succeed 



