202 NATURAL HISTORY. 



the last half-century was forced to expend a large part of 

 its energy in mere drudgery that could have been as well, 

 or perhaps better, done by one of meaner capacity. A 

 secondary result, it need not be doubted, was the impair- 

 ment of his health and the shortening of his term of life. 



In 1848 Forbes married, his wife being the daughter of 

 General Sir C. Ash worth. In 1851, the Royal School of 

 Mines, in connection with the Geological Survey, was 

 founded, and Forbes was appointed to the professorship of 

 natural history in the new institution. During his tenure 

 of office the School of Mines never became prosperous 

 or popular, and its comparative failure was a source of 

 great disappointment to him. In 1853 Professor Jameson 

 at last resigned the chair of natural history in the uni- 

 versity of Edinburgh, towards which Forbes had been 

 looking for many years. To this chair, after some delays, 

 Forbes was ultimately appointed, thus realising what had 

 been the ambition of his life. The relief from the harassing 

 overwork of years had at last come to him; but it had 

 unfortunately come, as it proved, too late. In the summer 

 of 1854, Forbes gave his first course of lectures in his 

 new chair, to a very large class, and with brilliant success. 

 In the early part of this year he had been elected to the 

 highly honourable position of President of the Geological 

 Society of London ; and in the autumn of this year he 

 filled the presidential chair in the geological section of the 

 British Association. On the ist of November he delivered 

 the introductory lecture to the class of natural history, 

 but after a few days of lecturing he was attacked by a 

 severe illness, which from the first assumed a very serious 

 aspect, and to which he succumbed on the 23d of the 



