33 



own, when they agree, and lead to discussions when they 

 disagree/' Prof. Lesley exhibits nice delicacy in thus e\- 

 pressing his dissent from some of Hunt's conclusions. 



As a lecturer he attained well- deserved fame. He never 

 indulged in bursts of eloquence, and in speaking, as well as 

 in writing, lie eschewed fine language, but his conceptions 

 were always clear, his thoughts well arranged, and his inein- 

 -tored with an inexhaustible magazine of facts and illus- 

 trations. An ample vocabulary of words, t bough not a 

 redundant one, was always at his command. 



In private it was a great pleasure to listen to his CODY. 

 tion, or rather his monologue, for like all good talkers he 

 m >nop >lized the subject, and one of the charms of his public 

 utterances was that he delivered them with all the ease of a 

 personal address. His attitudes were never awkward, and 

 lie never indulged in violent gestures, but his voice was 

 musical and llexiblc and his manner earnest. 



His first professorship was at the Laval University of 

 Quebec, of which he was one of the original staff, from its 

 organization in 1856. He continued to give a course in 

 cheinistrv every spring, between that date and 1862, speak- 

 ing French, in which language be could express himself not 

 only fluently, but with eloquence and accuracy. He also 

 lectured for several * McGill University. Montreal. 



Hut it was not till he severed his connection with the Cana- 

 dian Survey that p: 1 work was not only his chief 

 occupation bu t his source of salary. He l-i't Canada to till 

 sir of Geology in tin- Mass u-husctts Institute of 

 ni )lo--y. which post ' ;'<! from Is7'j t o L878. But 

 teach ing was igenial, perhaps because he had not i : 

 genial qualities which attract anl endrnr students lo some 

 professors. It was n jreeable to him to dil 

 an 1 devote lim- - which were outside the 

 range of his <!. -. Lecturing upon his favoritr 



i choose the sub tulatlirj 



ll, but the routine work of the college C 



"t'ul. It 



