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sion in the world, bat is not ours also a beautiful succession, 

 exhibited on such a scale that you may cross nearly the whole 

 of it in a stout walk of a couple of days ? England may 

 be called a geological microcosm in which nearly all the 

 formations of the world are nicely packed as if on purpose 

 for human study. With all my heart I wish you success and 

 honor at your institute of technology, but also what terrible 

 news has reached us of your great fire, a calamity which is 

 even now acting upon the feelings and interest of the public 

 bodies of England. It will, I iear, have interrupted your 

 course of lectures, but have your scientific buildings escaped 

 its ravages? I trust you will inform me on this point, as I 

 cannot but feel some anxiety about your person 'and your 

 scientific prospects in your institute. Dr. Cookson, a man of 

 cautious and gentle temper, advised me to rnodifV some of 

 the statements in my Preface to the new catalogue, and I 

 have complied with his wishes, and my new version of the 

 Preface is actually now in the press, so that I hope the cata- 

 logue will be out in the course of the next week or ten days. 

 A great German historian had a motto which greatly took 

 my fancy, ' With truth and love,' or perhaps it would sound 

 better in English, * With truth and gentleness.' Shake- 

 speare's maxim is through the mouth of Hotspur, * Tell truth 

 and shame the Devil.' The weather now is pestiferous, 

 windy, wet and cold, but I rather think that the great ' storm 

 wave ' of November has not yet reached this part of Europe. 

 Strange to tell, I am unusually well at this time. Generally 

 speaking, I sink in spirits and undergo a kind of collapse 

 during wet weather. I have your photograph in my book, 

 and if you would like to possess it, I would send you mine r 

 but I have no copy of a reasonable size at this moment. 



" I think I may fight my way through this winter, but I 

 shall have a hard battle to fight next spring if I live so long. 

 The event is in my Makers hands. 



" I remain, my dear professor, 

 in truth and good will, 



faithfully and gratefully yours, 



"ADAM SEDGWICK.'' 



