^0 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [June 



to us as many of their other doings.. We understand 

 that a fund was once started in the American Microscop- 

 ical Society but that it did not meet with expected en- 

 couragement. Why then did not the society put its 

 funds in with those of the opticians in order to make a 

 more creditable monument? Now that the monument is 

 up what will the A. M. S. do with its "Tolles fund ?" 

 We have been led to believe that the fund had to be used 

 temporarily to pay a part of the debt which the society 

 was run into by issuing Dr. Seaman's quarterly but if so 

 the fund will be made good presumably after the Society 

 has cleared off its old scores. 



But to return to the dedication. An address of Presi- 

 dent McKenzie was read by Secretary Donovan and an 

 oration of W. Bohne was spoken by Edwin F. Wells. 

 From its sentences the following are of interest: "What 

 is the dredging of the depths of the sea for the purpose 

 of wrenching secrets from nature, what is the scaling of 

 the heights of mountains, what would be the discovery of 

 the poles, what steam power, what even the circling of 

 the globe by electricity in comparison with the journey 

 to the stars which the genius and skill of the optician 

 made possible by the invention of the telescope ? 



And what are these inventions and achievements when 

 compared to the microscope, the golden key unlocking 

 priceless treasures, and revealing myriads of worlds never 

 dreamed of even fifty years ago ? What was science 

 prior to the advent of the microscope ? Take the mi- 

 croscope away and what will science be tomorrow ? 



The greatest master of the microscope, the man who 

 reached the pinnacle of perfection, whose work was 

 never equalled in any country in the world, was Robert 

 B. Tolles. He stood in the front rank of those whom the 

 world should honor as the greatest of men. But world 

 and gratitude are not synonyms and thus Tolles was suf- 

 fered to moulder in an unknown grave. Is it not sad 



