462 Bibliographical Notice, 



none could do otherwise than highly appreciate his character and 

 lament his death. 



Mr. Jenyns justly remarks that " No man ever lived less to him- 

 self. Whatever acquirements he made in the various branches of 



human knowledge (and the degree to which he was master of many 

 of them was very considerable), whatever he took in hand was done 

 with a view to the benefit of all within his reach. There was no 

 light hid under a bushel, there was no talent laid up in a napkin." 

 Hence resulted his skill as a teacher, and his distinguished success 

 in reforming a wild and neglected parish, and promoting the moral 

 and religious character of all persons with whom he mixed. 



In his own University he resided long enough to start the move- 

 ment which is still in progress for the advancement of the natural 

 sciences ; and he just lived to see them take their true position as a 

 means of attaining honourable distinction and academic degree. 



Mr. Jenyns has entered in considerable detail upon the considera- 

 tion of these subjects, and the mode in which Henslow's influence 

 was brought to bear upon them. He has said much, but not too 

 much, of the extent of that influence. He has shown how great it 

 must have been had the Professor been resident at Cambridge during 

 the later years of his Ufe ; and he causes those who take an interest 

 in the advancement of such scientific studies heavily to feel the loss 

 which the University has sustained. Had he continued an active 

 resident member of that body, it is probable that we should never 

 have heard of the strong opposition which has temporarily frustrated 

 the plan for obtaining museums and lecture-rooms for the Professors 

 of Science. 



When he attained to the chair of Botany, it had been occupied by 

 an eminent man who, at least thirty years previously, made one 

 attempt to lecture on his science at Cambridge, and failing then to 

 obtain a class, gave up the endeavour, and absented himself from 

 the University until his death. Doubtless he had a tolerably good 

 excuse for doing so ; for then he would find all, or nearly all, the 

 leaders of the University discouraging the study of the natural 

 sciences to the utmost of their power. They knew nothing of those 

 studies, and seemed to fancy not " omne ignotum pro magnifico," 

 but exactly the reverse. The study of nature was trifling, if not 

 worse. In their estimation (and we are sorry to add, in the opinion 

 of many good and learned men now), it was of no use as a training 

 for the mind, and utterly worthless by the side of classics and 

 mathematics. 



The possibility of using it to teach exactness in thought, accuracy 

 in observation, and correctness in language, was first shown to them 

 by Professor Henslow. It is true that they long continued to apply 

 the opprobrious name of *^ non-reading men " to the lovers of na- 

 tural science ; but by degrees the majority of such persons have at- 

 tained the knowledge that "non-reading men" (being naturalists) may 

 really be hard and diligent students. It is worthy of remark that 

 several of our most eminent naturalists and geologists of the present 

 day were, from their preference of the study of nature, considered, 



